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Click on the title for details. |
FEBRUARY 7 - FEBRUARY 13, 2006
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FEBRUARY 7 - FEBRUARY 13, 2006 |
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THE BEST OF YOUTH (dir: Marco Tullio Giordana, R) – Like Italian movies? Like six-freakin-hour-long Italian movies? One of last year’s best reviewed films is the story of two brothers’ turbulent relationship over forty years. This will be separated into two rentals so you don’t have to watch it all in one night. |
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DALTRY CALHOUN (dir: Katrina Holden Bronson, PG-13) – Johnny Knoxville gets semi-serious in this “heartwarming” tale of a dreamer catching up with the teenage daughter he has never known. | |||
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DOOM (dir: Andrzej Bartkowiak, Unrated) – It stars The Rock. It’s based on a video game. What else do you want to know? |
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DOWN AND DERBY (dir: Eric Hendershot, PG) – A group of competitive dads manage to suck every ounce of fun out of the soapbox derby for their kids in this winning family film. Sadly, this is the swansong of Noriyuki “Pat” Morita. | |||
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DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: WRATH OF THE DRAGON GOD (dir: Gerry Lively, Not Rated) – If you’re suffering post-LORD OF THE RINGS withdrawal and aren’t bothered by really cheap looking special effects, check out this straight-to-video sequel to the disastrously received original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS release. |
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ELIZABETHTOWN (dir: Cameron Crowe, PG-13) – I’m not sure why every film critic in America decided to gang up on Cameron Crowe’s latest movie/mix tape, but I was fairly charmed by it. Also, it’s nice to see Orlando Bloom not wearing tights for once. | |||
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EROS (dir: Wong Kar Wai / Steven Soderbergh / Michelangelo Antonioni, R) – These three short films are directed by three iconic filmmakers with one thing on their mind: SEXINESS! It’s RED SHOE DIARIES all tarted up for the art-house set. |
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EVILENKO (dir: David Greico, Not Rated) – Malcolm McDowell stars as one of the most evil men in history, capable of copious amounts of bloodshed in his quest for power. Sadly, this is not a follow up to the beloved milestone of cinema, CALIGULA, but a biopic of Russian serial killer Andrei Chikatilo. | |||
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EXTREME DATING (dir: Lorena David, R) – It’s nearly Valentine’s Day! Which is still no excuse for this dreary romantic-comedy to exist. |
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HAWAII, OSLO (dir: Erik Poppe, Not Rated) – Who doesn’t love Film Movement? Once a month, I open a package and inside is an interesting movie I know nothing about from some far corner of the globe. This month’s is one of the best in a while. It’s a Norwegian film featuring five interwoven stories about love set on the hottest day of the year in Oslo. | |||
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JUST LIKE HEAVEN (dir: Mark Waters, PG-13) – Reese Witherspoon is pretty rad. If you only know her rom-com stuff like LEGALLY BLONDE and SWEET HOME ALABAMA you owe yourself, and Reese, a viewing of ELECTION, FREEWAY or THE MAN IN THE MOON. Now that she’s piling up awards for WALK THE LINE, maybe she can leave piffle like JUST LIKE HEAVEN, in which she plays a lovelorn ghost, behind for good. |
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THE LAST BLUES (dir: Peter Gardos, Not Rated) – I don’t know too much about this movie except that it’s about a guy secretly carrying on two lives with two families in Poland and Hungary. But I did finally see another Hungarian movie, KONTROLL, which I’ve been meaning to see for about six months. I feel bad that I wasn’t able to give it a more enthusiastic blurb at the time, having not seen it. I thoroughly recommend you check out the darkly funny tale of ticket inspectors in the Budapest subway. Fun fact: it’s set entirely underground! You don’t see daylight once in the whole movie! | |||
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NATIONAL LAMPOON’S ADAM & EVE (dir: Jeff Kanew, R) – It’s movies like this that make me glad I got that cheek implant surgery. I plan on biting down hard on my cyanide capsule at about the twenty minute mark. |
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ONCE AND FUTURE QUEEN (dir: Todd Verow, Not Rated) – If you’re bummed out that New York City has been turned into a squeaky clean theme park and are pining for some TAXI DRIVER grit, check out this tale of a skuzzy punk rocker as she sleazes her way across the Lower East Side trying to get her band together. | |||
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SOAP GIRL (dir: Young Man Kang, Not Rated) – A beautiful young woman finds work in a sleazy Hollywood massage parlor and soon gets caught up with the colorful array of characters that congregate there, including a 30-year-old virgin who wants to write a book about her. |
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A STATE OF MIND (dir: Daniel Gordon, Not Rated) – Somehow, American filmmaker Daniel Gordon got permission to make a documentary in North Korea with unrestricted access. He follows two young gymnasts as they practice for the Mass Games, the largest choreographed spectacle on Earth. This fascinating film offers a rare glimpse into a country that most people only know as being part of the “axis of evil.” | |||
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SUCKER FREE CITY (dir: Spike Lee, R) – In this low-key Spike Lee release he abandons his beloved New York for a penetrating look at conflicts between Black, Latino and Asian gang members in San Francisco. |
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*WAITING… (dir: Rob McKittrick, Unrated) – You may feel guilty laughing at some of the more sophomoric gags in this blue collar version of OFFICE SPACE but funny is funny. There’s also a genuine undercurrent of working class struggle in this tale of waiters and waitresses just trying to make it through the dinner rush at a scarily accurate send up of an Applebee’s type restaurant. | |||
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^WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (dir: Nick Park / Steve Box, G) – If you don’t love this movie, you probably have a cold, dead heart. In other words, you are: A) a Russian serial killer, B) Dick Cheney, C) That evil judge from American Idol or D) All of the above. |
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YOU STUPID MAN (dir: Brian Burns, Not Rated) – Who doesn’t love Milla Jovovich? Do you remember in THE FIFTH ELEMENT when she was learning to pronounce chicken? Anyway, she’s really underrated and cool. Probably a lot cooler than this romantic comedy centered on a dude trying to decide between her and that gross breast-monster Denise Richards. | |||
| * = Greg's pick of the week ^ = Bart's pick of the week | ||||||