2001-2010

Excerpt from the NFO:
Lou Reed co-founder of The Velvet Underground and the man behind such iconic rock songs as Sweet Jane and Walk on the Wild Side stars in one of the most satisfying concert films (Lee Marshall, Screen International) in decades. Oscar-nominated director Julian Schnabel (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) captures this historic moment in time, as Reed performed his legendary 1973 album, Berlin, live for the first time. Rocking horns, soulful guitar and the angelic voices of the Brooklyn Youth Chorus bring Reed s devastatingly honest lyrics to full life in this exceptionally strong performance.Read More »

Alan, the assistant manager of the Rocket electrical store, is finally given a chance to prove
himself when he is left in charge on a busy bank holiday. What he wasn’t counting on,
however, was Frank, a sixty year old trainee who knows nothing about the retail, or
electrical, businesses…Read More »

Quote:
An informative 23-minute Mondo Macabro documentary on Turkish Pop Cinema, featuring interviews with living legend Cuneyt Arkin and director Yilmaz Atadeniz among others, along with plenty of footage to whet your appetite for more Turkish films.Read More »

NYT wrote:
Cinematic visionary and provocateur Jean-Luc Godard offers a typically challenging look at his favorite creative medium in the wake of the 20th Century in this ambitious blend of film, video, and collage. Moments Choisis des Histoire(s) du Cinema serves as both a history and critical examination of the cinema in the form of a collection of “chosen moments” from films that may or may not exist. It also offers a self-reflexive analysis of the filmmaker’s own life and work. Moments Choisis des Histoire(s) du Cinema received its American premier in a special screening at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. ~ Mark Deming, RoviRead More »

Malaysian horror/suspense thriller with Islamic themes about a woman who is haunted by a vengeful spirit trapped in an antique mirror. The plot centers on Nasrin (Natasha Hudson), whose face has been disfigured in a mysterious car accident.Read More »

After serving a 12-year sentence for killing a man for sleeping with his wife, a man ponders whether he should try and reconcile with his family, or take revenge on those who turned him in.
Read More »

Ostensibly a fast-paced tale about poor people in the Persian Gulf living aboard a sinking oil tanker, “Iron Island” is a galloping fable full of offbeat characters and entertaining moments. At the same time, it doesn’t take much to read this second feature from director Mohammad Rasoulof (“The Twilight”) as a sharp-edged allegory about the country of Iran. Festivals will be happy to sail on its irony and invention, though it may take auxiliary engines to market such a hard-to-classify little gem.Read More »

What could have been just another of the countless coming-of-age tracts churned out on the indie-sector conveyor belt each year becomes a deeply nuanced drama full of original angles in Michael Cuesta’s accomplished feature bow, “L.I.E.”

SYNOPSIS
Central character, adolescent Howie (Paul Franklin Dano), is introduced precariously balancing on the expressway overpass, his voiceover recalling the number of lives claimed on the road, from celebrities like Harry Chapin and Alan J. Pakula to his mother years earlier. He barely communicates with his building contractor father, Marty (Bruce Altman), who’s preoccupied with sleeping with his girlfriend and his mounting legal problems over a fire probe into the use of unsafe materials.Read More »

Dysfunctional family and culture run amok in Toilet, which had an absolutely packed house last night at the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and had many of the cast & crew in attendance at the screening. The film certainly has it’s Toronto roots showing as it was filmed here (although it’s actually set in the US), with familiar faces & locations on screen. We follow a family through a dysfunctional and eccentric set siblings Ray, Lisa and Maury and their grandmother from Japan, however a language barrier exists between the generations. It’s not the only barrier here as there are strong emotional barrier in each of the characters, all of whom have their own issues to work though. It’s an interesting tale of the individual journeys with the collective family journey, which although unintended become completely intertwined.Read More »