Film Reviews
Souls of Zen: Ancestors and Agency in Contemporary Japanese Temple Buddhism |
The Japanese population’s reaction to the catastrophe of March 2011 has been described as “stoic” by the Western media. The Japanese code of conduct is indeed deeply rooted in their Buddhist traditions, and young filmmakers Tim Graf and Jakob Montrasio observe in detail what this means for the people and their religion. At graveyards, in temples, at monasteries and with families, they question the impact this triple affliction has had on the lives and beliefs of the inhabitants. How deeply do their beliefs affect their grieving? What role do the monks play in assisting people with their grief? And, what effects has this enormous catastrophe had on their religious rituals? SOULS OF ZEN inserts the events of March 2011 into the context of traditional Zen Buddhism, examining Japan’s religiousness and the beliefs of those practising it at a crucial turning point. |
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Cosmos Laundromat |
On a desolate island, a suicidal sheep named Franck meets his fate…in the form of a quirky salesman named Victor, who offers him the gift of a lifetime. The gift is many lifetimes, actually, in many different worlds – each lasting just a few minutes. In the sequel to the pilot, Franck will find a new reason to live…in the form of a bewitching female adventurer named Tara, who awakens his long-lost lust for life. But can Franck keep up with her? |
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Mantervention |
Spencer turns to his best friend who's planned an unorthodox "mantervention" filled with debauchery to convert him from hopeless romantic to forever player, and in the process they discover that being in love is not so bad after all. |
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Under the Electric Sky |
This 3-D film chronicles the love, community, and life of festival-goers during Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas, the largest music festival in the U.S. Behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive interviews with Insomniac's Pasquale Rotella reveal the magic that makes this three-night, 345,000-person event a global phenomenon. |
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Bridgend |
Over a 5-year period in Bridgend in Wales, 79 people, many of them teenagers, committed suicide without leaving any clue as to why. This is the starting point for this mysterious social drama. |
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I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK |
Young-Goon works at manufacturing plant assembling radio’s. She also believes she is a cyborg. One day, while working at the factory, she decides to re-charge herself by slashing her wrist and implanting electrical wires into her arm. Her action gets Young-Goon a mental hospital full of bizarre characters. At New World, Young-Goon spends her time listening to the radio, talking with vending machines, and licking the terminals of 9 volt batteries. She soon encounters a guy named Il-Sun. Il-Sun is a thief of souls in the mental hospital. Young-Goon and Il-Sun soon form a strong bond as their odd personalities complements each other perfectly. Unfortunately, Young-Goon becomes gravely ill from malnutrition. Young-Goon doesn't believe cyborgs should eat human food. She soon loses most of her energy and becomes bedridden. Doctors say that Young-Goon has only a few more days to live if she continues her ways. Il-Sun must now find a way to connect to her soul and save her from imminent death. |
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I Ship It |
After a bad breakup, Zoe Smallman decides to take down her ex-boyfriend in a wizard rock battle of the bands. |
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Arnold |
Karen marries Arnold at his funeral and continues to get his money as long as she stays by his coffin. Meanwhile, various oddball relatives after Arnold's wealth are being killed in a creative variety of ways. |
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Babylon 5: The Lost Tales - Voices in the Dark |
This latest installment of Babylon 5 is in two parts: the first, is about an entity that has possessed a worker. It wants to be exorcised but Col. Lochley prevents the priest & sends it & the host both back to Earth. The second is about Galen trying to dupe President Sheridan into assassinating the future Centauri President to stop him possibly attacking Earth in 30 years time. |
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Shanghai Ghetto |
SHANGHAI GHETTO recalls the strange-but-true story of thousands of European Jews who were shut out of country after country while trying to escape Nazi persecution in the late 1930s. Left without options or entrance visas, a beacon of hope materialized for them on the other side of the world, and in the unlikeliest of places, Japanese-controlled Shanghai. Fleeing for their lives, these Jewish refugees journeyed to form a settlement in the exotic city, penniless and unprepared for their new life in the Far East. At the turn of the new millennium, filmmakers Dana Janklowicz-Mann and Amire Mann boldly snuck into China with two survivors and a digital camera to shoot at the site of the original Shanghai Ghetto, unchanged since WWII. |
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Walled In |
Having finally secured her first assignment from her family's demolition business, Sam Walczak (Mischa Barton) is sent to supervise the destruction of an apartment house, only to discover a group of tenants still living in the condemned building. One such tenant, Jimmy (Cameron Bright), tells Sam an urban legend about a serial murderer who used to live in the building and entomb his victims in the walls. What's worse, the dead are believed to still harass the residents to this day. |
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Son of a Lion |
In the Pakistani tribal village of Darra Adam Khel, a young Pashtun boy Niaz Afridi defies the expectations of his father to continue in the family business making weapons and calls for an education. |
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Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth |
Mike Tyson's one-man show is a fascinating journey into his storied life and career. MIKE TYSON: UNDISPUTED TRUTH is a rare, personal look inside the life and mind of one of the most feared men ever to wear the heavyweight crown. Directed by Academy Award® nominee Spike Lee, this riveting one-man show goes beyond the headlines, behind the scenes and between the lines to deliver a must-see theatrical knockout. |
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The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning |
Chrissie and her friends set out on a road trip for a final fling before one is shipped off to Vietnam. Along the way, bikers harass the foursome and cause an accident that throws Chrissie from the vehicle. The lawman who arrives on the scene kills one of the bikers and brings Chrissie's friends to the Hewitt homestead, where young Leatherface is learning the tools of terror. |
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The Butterfly Effect 2 |
After his girlfriend, Julie and two best friends are killed in a tragic auto accident, Nick struggles to cope with his loss and grief. Suffering from migraine-like seizures, Nick soon discovers that he has the power to change the past via his memories. However, his time-traveling attempts to alter the past and save his one true love have unexpected and dire consequences. |
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