Twenty-four hours in the lives of three young, wayward friends are chronicled in this impressive, low-budget charmer from Uruguay. Directors Juan Pablo Rebella and Pablo Stoll follow the trio's drift through existence, which allows them time to ponder their state of chronic boredom, wax philosophic on life, and encounter a variety of bizarre characters.
Our Take:
It’s the Uruguayan Stranger Than Paradise. What more is there to say?
An unforgettable and shocking wake-up call, A CRUDE AWAKENING offers the rock-solid argument that the era of cheap oil is in the past. Relentless and clear-eyed, this intensively-researched film drills deep into the uncomfortable realities of a world that is both addicted to fossil fuels and blissfully unaware of the looming "peak oil" crisis.
Our Take:
As the expert talking heads calmly explain in this hair-raising doc, we’re about to reach peak production of oil, and that’s a potentially catastrophic event horizon. Think no air travel, for starters. Then mass starvation. Endless war for limited resources. And so on. Everyone knows it. So why doesn’t anyone have a plan? Consider this a wake-up call.
From the makers of Ray, Amazing Grace tells the inspiring story of William Wilberforce and his passion and perseverance to pass a law ending the slave trade in the late 18th century.
Our Take:
Michael Apted (helmer of the long-running Seven Up documentaryries) brings history to life in this rousing true-life story about 18th-century British abolitionist William Wilberforce. Wait, who? Well, exactly! And who knew “Amazing Grace” was written by a repentant slaveholder, played here by the magnificent Albert Finney?
As quietly provocative as its thoughtful protagonist, Steve Skrovan and Henriette Mantel's galvanizing documentary, AN UNREASONABLE MAN, examines how one of the 20th century's most admired and indefatigable social activists, Ralph Nader, became a pariah among the same progressive circles he helped champion.
Our Take:
Ralph Nader got tarnished as a “spoiler” in the 2000 presidential election. But many have forgotten his triumphant history as a tenacious public advocate, active since the 1960s. Is he a megalomaniac, as his enemies maintain, or a man utterly committed to principle above all else? Nader’s contradictions emerge in this fascinating docu-portrait.
Married for almost 50 years, Grant's (Gordon Pinsent) and Fiona's (Julie Christie) commitment to each other appears unwavering. Their daily life is filled with tenderness and humor; yet this serenity is broken by Fiona's increasingly evident memory loss - and her restrained references to a past betrayal. For a while, the couple is able to casually dismiss these unwelcome changes. ...
Our Take:
Remember Julie Christie, sex symbol of the 1970s? She’s still as talented as ever, and in this tender, heart-wrenching film, she delivers one of the finest performances of her career as a happily married Canadian woman suffering the ravaging effects of Alzheimer’s.
BABEL is the crowning achievement in the trilogy from the unstoppable creative pairing of screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga and director Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, which also includes AMORES PERROS (2000) and 21 GRAMS (2003). Building upon its predecessors’ method of weaving together disparate storylines, BABEL reaches new heights of ambition with a tale that, in the absence of traditional narrative and protagonist, ...
Our Take:
Director Iñarritu and screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga have an uncommonly sophisticated rapport, first established in the films Amores Perros and 21 Grams. Here, they tie together the threads of a multicharacter story that spans the globe from Morocco to Mexico to San Diego, underscoring the myriad ways people do (and often tragically don’t) connect.
In a startling mature and nuanced performance, Parker Posey plays Nora Wilder, a thirty-something Manhattanite who is cynical about love and relationships, in this astute collaboration with first-time writer/director Zoe Cassavetes.
Our Take: See this film by the daughter of indie pioneer John Cassavetes for Posey’s fine performance as an unlucky-in-love career gal, as well as for smart supporting work by The Sopranos’ Drea De Matteo, fedora-clad Frenchman Melvil Poupaud, and the incomparable Gena Rowlands. Plus, Justin Theroux’s turn as a narcissistic actor nearly steals the show.
The award winning Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? is the inspiring story of a modern-day Mr. Smith's quixotic campaign to win the 2006 Missouri Democratic primary with little more than political savvy, tireless work, and passionate leadership over a committed group of grassroots volunteers that grows from a few friends to more than 500 by election day.
Our Take: Watch what happens when a feisty 29-year-old college instructor with a castrato-high voice and plenty of youthful idealism squares off against the son of a former governor who represents power, money, and the status quo. It’s an amusing gambit, but also deeply insightful about the state of American politics today.
Dan Klores' CRAZY LOVE tells the astonishing story of the obsessive roller-coaster relationship of Burt and Linda Pugach, which shocked the nation during the summer of 1959. Burt, a 32 year-old married attorney and Linda, a beautiful, single 20 year-old girl living in the Bronx had a whirlwind romance, which culminated in a violent and psychologically complex set of actions ...
Our Take: This is the ultimate tabloid story, studded with enough grotesque details to make today’s US Weekly cover stories look like innocent Disney fare. Burt and Linda are both candid about their lurid, high-rolling love affair in the 1950s that ended in a vicious, disfiguring attack, but that’s only the beginning of this weird tale of obsession. Crazy is right.
Our Take: At first glance, Father Ollie is a gentle, soft-spoken man, eloquently attempting to explain and express remorse for his three decades of crimes. But as Berg digs deeper and begins to speak with his victims, a shockingly different picture of this sanctimonious predator--and the Church authorities who protected him—begins to emerge. Harrowing stuff. Academy Award winners Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush join Academy Award® nominee Clive Owen in a gripping historical thriller full of suspense, intrigue and adventure! When Queen Elizabeth's reign is threatened by ruthless familial betrayal and Spain's invading army, she and her shrewd advisor must act to safeguard to the lives of her people. Our Take: Cate Blanchett is enthralling whether she’s channeling Bob Dylan or putting on airs as a 16th-century English regent. Here, she reinvigorates her triumphant 1998 turn as the Virgin Queen, this time facing down a political conspiracy. Clive Owen pops up, too, as cocky explorer Sir Walter Raleigh, while the lamentably under-sung Samantha Morton breathes prideful fire into her imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots.> As Ann reflects on one beautiful and life-changing weekend with the one true love of her life, her daughters come to their own understanding about the power of the past and the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters, family, and the loves of their lives. Our Take: Meryl Streep, Vanessa Redgrave, Claire Danes, and Glenn Close all put in good work in this classy weepie about a blue-blood family, sensitively adapted from Susan Minot’s novel by Michael Cunningham (The Hours). As Redgrave’s deathbed memories gently remind us, some of life’s mistakes aren’t worth regretting. Fay Grim, a single Mom from Woodside, Queens, is afraid her 14 year old son, Ned, will grow up to be like his father, Henry, who has been missing for seven years. Fay's brother Simon is serving ten years in prison for aiding in Henry's escape from the law. In the quiet of his cell, Simon has had time to ... Our Take: Leave it to New York sophisticate Hal Hartley to turn a spy thriller into another of his peculiar but entertaining exercises in poker-faced highbrow farce. Indie queen Parker Posey is lovably quirky as the globe-trotting housewife searching for her missing husband Henry, who may or may not be a casualty of CIA skulduggery. Director Amy Berg helms this shocking documentary, which looks at the activities of a priest named Oliver O'Grady. O'Grady had been identified by the Catholic church as a pedophile, but they allowed him to continue to work and molest children throughout the ...
When a meticulous structural engineer (Anthony Hopkins) is found innocent of the attempted murder of his wife (Embeth Davidtz), the young district attorney (Ryan Gosling) who is prosecuting him becomes a crusader for justice. Fracture is packed with twists and turns that weave in and out of the courtroom as the pair try to outwit each other.
Our Take: We loved Ryan Gosling as an urban schoolteacher with a baaad drug problem in Half Nelson. In this well-crafted courtroom thriller, he’s equally fetching as a morally conflicted attorney-on-the-rise trying to outwit murderous millionaire Hannibal…er, Anthony…Hopkins.
Shot in 16mm, Funny Ha Ha examines life after college in an understated and moving way. Focusing more on character than on plot, the film revolves loosely around Marnie (Dollenmayer), an attractive and intelligent young woman searching clumsily for some sense of purpose in what seems at times like an aimless life.
Our Take:
One of the key films of the so-called mumblecore movement, Bujalski’s tender-funny-awkward post-collegiate comedy of manners features a memorable performance from gawkish newcomer Kate Dollenmayer, as a hapless young woman looking for…something.
A man at the end of his emotional rope finally explodes, but not in a way anyone would have expected in this offbeat independent drama. Bob Maconel (Christian Slater) is a middle-aged nebbish working in an office building where few people know who he is and fewer still care. Bob has developed a seething hatred and resentment of those around ...
Our Take: Years ago, Slater’s role as a nerdy, would-be office shooter turned hero would have gone to angry white man Michael Douglas, but since this is a dark satire on the order of Office Space, Slater’s off-kilter persona is the perfect choice.
Inland Empire is the tale of an actress whose personality becomes increasingly fragmented as she delves ever deeper into her work for a high-profile filmmaker. Kingsley (Jeremy Irons) is a director looking to adapt for the screen a Polish gypsy folktale that was previously stalled when the two leads were viciously murdered. Having offered the female lead to devoted actress ...
Our Take:
Yeah, it’s weird and terrifying and downright baffling. But it’s David Lynch, continuing his interrogation of Hollywood’s dark, mythic psyche in the person of a schizoid Laura Dern. And in his hands, this Tinseltown nightmare is pure poetry.
Experience four films from one of the most influential and well-known French filmakers, Jean-Luc Godard. This pioneer of the "New Wave" cinematic movement enjoys a prolific career that has already spanned over 5 decades. This collection features four works from the 1980s and 1990s phase of his career. The films include Passion (1982), First Name: Carmen (Winner of the Golden ...
Our Take:
More than an icon of the Nouvelle Vague, JLG is cinema. Hey, he says so himself. If you want to know why this groundbreaking auteur still plies his trade with an aplomb and derring-do few directors can boast, check out Détective or Passion from this omnibus set. For Godard fans, these lesser-known works will simply reconfirm your worship of his distinctive film artistry.
The Cairn's (Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga) have it all: good marriage, nice apartment, a gifted nine-year-old son, Joshua, and a baby on the way. When their second child arrives, the young boy begins to resent his parents constant doting on his new sister. Suddenly, a series of tragic events fill the Cairn household with utter despair and unspeakable horror. ...
Our Take:
Not since The Bad Seed has a child scared the bejesus out of us like little Jacob Kogan. And he’s no Satan’s spawn, either! Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga score big points trying to figure what the hell’s up with junior, and the tension is enough to make Linda Blair wretch all over her nightie.
Douglas stars as Charlie, a troubled musician who has just been released from a mental hospital. He returns home to live with his 16-year-old daughter, Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood), who is not exactly thrilled to have him back.
Our Take:
Looking a bit like the Unabomber, Michael Douglas plays the wildly off-kilter Charlie with a lot of heart, trying to convince his pragmatic teenage daughter Evan Rachel Wood that there’s a heap of Spanish doubloons buried beneath their local Costco. This is a treasure hunt with some unexpected emotional twists.
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