Centres on Hank Chinaski, the fictional alter-ego of “Factotum” author Charles Bukowski, who wanders around Los Angeles, CA trying to live off jobs which don’t interfere with his primary interest, which is writing. Along the way, he fends off the distractions offered by women, drinking and gambling.
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Drawing Restraint 9, a film by Matthew Barney with a soundtrack composed by Björk, represents the first creative collaboration of two of the most protean, dynamic forces in music and fine art.
It is an apt pairing. Refusing to choose between pop pleasure and restless experimentation, Björk’s musical vision weds technology and emotion, countering gut-level expression with an insistence upon formal modernity and innovation.Read More »
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Set in Marseilles, this coming-of-age tale centers on a Lolita-esque teen who is a big tease to a shy Arab kid. Lila is a gorgeous 16-year-old girl who has just moved, with her rather strange aunt, into a poor neighborhood populated primarily by Arab families. The two leaders of the suburb’s main gang fall in love with her. One is the film’s poetic narrator, a quiet boy with a talent for writing named Chimo; the other is Mouloud, a headstrong punk. One day, Lila dares Chimo to look up her skirt — if he can handle it — and by doing so, puts into motion a sequence of raw, devastating events. The ensuing maelstrom that develops out of this romantic triangle reveals the dangers inherent in sexual game playing.
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Pseudo-autobiographical movie by director and producer Augusto M. Torres with an exploration of his own narrative obsessions as director and his work as producer of many Spanish independent or experimental films. In the film he is supposed to be dead and many of his friends and colleagues in real life (mostly film directors, screenwriters and actresses) appear as themselves and talk with a (fictitious) daughter of the director who is investigating his father’s past. The daughter is played by excellent and beautiful actress Karme Màlaga (also in “La vida abysmal” / “Life on the edge”) and her investigation begins when she finds her father’s old films. Self-reference, metalanguage and reflections on the nature of cinematographic narrative (and on the drawbacks of human relationships) make this film unconventional and interesting. The main characters are the daughter, her boyfriend Fabrizio (Carlo d’Ursi, actor and producer in “Unione Europea”) and the beautiful young woman she meets during her research (Ariadna Cabrol, actress in “Perfume: the Story of a Murderer”, “Joves”/”Youth”, “Estocolm” and the Catalan hit TV series “Porca Misèria”).
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A humorous story of what happens when the U.S. Government sends comedian Albert Brooks to India and Pakistan to find out what makes the over 300 million Muslims in the region laugh. Brooks, accompanied by two state department handlers and his trusted assistant, goes on a journey that takes him from a concert stage in New Delhi, to the Taj Mahal, to a secret location in the mountains of Pakistan. It’s a comedic, insightful look at the some of the issues we are dealing with in a post-9/11 world. Read More »
Excellent new horror movie, 27 November 2008
10/10
Author: Rocket-Pictures from United Kingdom
Saw a preview of this. Was worried that it would be a bit cheesy but it had me and my girlfriend on the edge of our seats. Really gripping and uses psychological rather than gore to scare. Very good for a British horror and has a kind of style and gloss that you usually associate with American films. Lead girl (the one from Hollyoaks) is fantastic and very cute and there are good turns from some excellent upcoming British actors. Jeremy Sheffield (the handsome one from Holby City) is excellent I’m surprised he has not been a leading man before. Story pitch is about a couple of middle class families with issues who meet up for Chistmas together. One of the kids seems to have a virus and over the holiday gradually the behaviour of the children starts to change as they become wild and feral and turn on their over anxious parents. For people with kids it’s pretty uncomfortable and creepy, but if you’ve ever got fed up of those overly protective middle class parents who let their kids do whatever they want and can’t control them, then this is good fun. I notice it’s from the same director as WAZ, which was also a good film so it seems like he knows what he is doing and is one to watch in future.Read More »
How do we learn to live with others and their wishes? Director Nicolas Philibert poses this question in a village schoolhouse in Auvergne, where Georges Lopez teaches 13 children, ages ranging from about four to 12. Against a landscape of mountains and farmland, from driving snow to rain to sun, the children gather in Lopez’s warm and colorful classroom, to read, write dictation, cook, and sort things out. At home, the older ones do homework with parents after their chores. At year’s end, they look ahead to the next, visiting the middle school and meeting the little ones coming in the fall. As they learn sums and adjectives, with Lopez’s help, they also learn to live side by side -IMDbRead More »
In her first stint behind the lens, French actress Zabou Breitman takes serious material and spins a touching, funny, wonderfully played love story in “Beautiful Memories,” set in a home for amnesiacs. An ensemble cast, topped by Isabelle Carre and Bernard Campan as the two afflicted partners, keeps the fragile material fresh and engaging, though the movie’s discreet charms will make this a difficult sell offshore. However, more festival exposure is undoubtedly indicated. (Derek Elley, Variety)Read More »
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An episodic look at Grace Elliott (1760-1823) and Philippe, the Duke of Orleans, during the French Revolution. In 1790, they are friends, no longer lovers. He suggests she leave France, she warns him to quit the Revolution. In 1792, she must escape Paris on foot. Less than a month later, she returns on an errand of mercy and shows great courage saving the governor of Tuileries. The Duke in turn steps in to protect Grace. In early 1793, she demands a promise from the Duke that he vote to spare Louis’s life; he does not, and Grace is furious. In April, he warns her of a search; she is arrested and brought before the committee. Orleans, too, is suspect. The guillotine awaits. (From IMDb)Read More »