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Click on the title for details. |
JULY 25 - JULY 31, 2006
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JULY 25 - JULY 31, 2006 |
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*ARISTIDE AND THE ENDLESS REVOLUTION (dir: Nicolas Rossier, Not Rated) – Most people living in Haiti have it rough, given that it’s the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. But it’s especially rough for Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the democratically elected president who has been deposed by CIA-backed coups not once but twice. |
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ASK THE DUST (dir: Robert Towne, R) – Colin Farrell is a writer in 1930s Los Angeles who can’t catch a break and Salma Hayek is the Mexican barmaid he falls for in this drama from CHINATOWN screenwriter Robert Towne. | |||
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AWESOME; I… SHOT THAT (dir: Nathaniel Hornblower, R) – For the last show of their 2004 world tour, The Beastie Boys distributed fifty handheld cameras to fans situated all over Madison Square Garden. The result is a unique concert film that authentically captures the live experience, bad seats and all. |
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THE BENCHWARMERS (dir: Dennis Dugan, PG-13) – Rob Schneider and David Spade play slackers who, due to the architecture of the High-Concept Comedy, must play the state’s best little leaguers in this melding of REVENGE OF THE NERDS and THE BAD NEWS BEARS. And that NAPOLEON DYNAMITE kid is in it too. | |||
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BLACKBALLED: THE BOBBY DUKES STORY (dir: Brant Sersen, Not Rated) – As if we needed another straight-to-video mockumentary, here’s the epic saga of paintball’s disgraced superstar. |
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COLD SHOWERS (dir: Antony Cordier, Not Rated) – Two teenage boys from different backgrounds bond over their love of judo and the same girl in this French coming-of-age drama. | |||
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FEED (dir: Brett Leonard, Not Rated) – Need another reason to despise Australia? Well, that island of depravity has now given us the sickest serial killer movie ever. I shan’t go into the specifics but just think “SUPER SIZE ME meets SILENCE OF THE LAMBS,” as one critic quipped. |
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FINAL DESTINATION 3 (dir: James Wong, R) – Another bunch of teenagers survive a tragedy to find that cheating death will only result in a prolonged, gory CGI death later on. | |||
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THE JOY OF LIFE (dir: Jenni Olson, Not Rated) – This offbeat documentary focusing on San Francisco seems like an ode to the city by the bay, until it morphs into a macabre examination of how the Golden Gate Bridge has become a suicide landmark. |
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LA MUJER DE MI HERMANO (dir: Ricardo De Montreuil, R) – In this soapy Mexican drama, a bored housewife learns to regret having an affair with her husband's brother. But not until after the protracted and obligatory steamy sex scenes. | |||
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ONE LAST RIDE (dir: Tony Vitale, R) – Ang Lee, for no apparent reason, is the executive producer on this story of a compulsive gambler who's having an especially bad day at the horse track. Chazz Palminteri co-stars as, yes, a gangster. |
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PURE (dir: Gillies Mackinnon, R) – A 10-year-old British boy tries to save his heroin-addled mother (Molly Parker) from certain doom with the help of a heroin-addled waitress played by Keira Knightley. That’s right. Lizzie Bennet’s on smack. | |||
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RED DUST (dir: Tom Hooper, R) – Hilary Swank plays a South African human rights lawyer who returns to her homeland to fight government corruption. A police officer guilty of atrocities under apartheid will be granted amnesty unless she pieces together the truth. |
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(A COLLECTION OF 2005 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATED) SHORT FILMS (dir: Various, Not Rated) – Collected here for the first time are all the nominees for Live Action Short and Animation Short from this year's Academy Awards. Included are the winners in each category, SIX SHOOTER and THE MOON AND THE SON. | |||
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^SOMERSAULT (dir: Cate Shortland, Not Rated) – This drama swept all 13 categories at the Australian Film Institute last year including the lead actress award for Abbie Cornish. She plays confused teenager Heidi who, after unwisely putting the moves on her mother's boyfriend, skips town and heads to a small skiing hamlet where she falls for a guy who shares her taste for self-destructive behavior. |
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STUPIDITY (dir: Albert Nerenberg, Not Rated) – From our irreverent friends at Disinformation comes this documentary suggesting that America’s success in the world is directly related to our subconscious choice to dumb our culture down. Watching clips of rioting by various drunken sports fans and moronic talk show guests makes it hard to disagree. | |||
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WHITE COATS (dir: Dave Thomas, R) – Funny Canadians Dave Foley, Dave Thomas and Dan Aykroyd headline this comedy set in the world's worst hospital. Dave Thomas wrote and directed it, so blame him if it's not funny. |
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ZIZEK! (dir: Astra Taylor, Not Rated) – Are you ready for a documentary about the Elvis of cultural theory? That would be Slavoj Zizek, the outspoken Slovenian who here expounds on subjects ranging from 9/11 to opera to Alfred Hitchcock. | |||
| * = Greg's pick of the week ^ = Bart's pick of the week | ||||||