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Click on the title for details. |
AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2006
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AUGUST 29 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2006 |
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AKEELAH AND THE BEE (dir: Doug Atchison, PG) – Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett re-team for the first time since WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT, but this time the only thing getting beat up is the dictionary. They play the coach and mother of a spelling prodigy who’s on her way to Washington D.C. for the national bee. |
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AMERICAN GUN (dir: Aric Avelino, R) – FACT: there are now enough Uzis in America for every first grader to bring 3 to show and tell. FACT: there are now more hunting rifles in America than mosquitoes. What can we do about this scourge? Watch this preachy MAGNOLIA-style multi-narrative indie and learn what to think. | |||
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BAGHDAD ER (dir: Jon Alpert / Matthew O’Neill, Not Rated) – What would we do if one week they didn’t release a documentary about Iraq? This one takes a look at the 86th Combat Support Hospital, right in the heart of the action. Think M*A*S*H, without the laugh track. |
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THE CULT OF THE SUICIDE BOMBER (dir: David Batty / Kevin Toolis, Not Rated) – Robert Baer, the dude George Clooney got chubby and hairy to play in SYRIANA, heads back to the Middle East to explore the secret history of one of the more effective guerilla fighting techniques. Maybe I got the wrong message from this thing but I’m thinking if we’re going to turn this war in Iraq around we need to start strapping explosives to some little kids ASAP. | |||
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DESPERATION (dir: Mick Garris, R) – Tom Skerritt, Ron Perlman and Annabeth Gish star in this Stephen King adaptation about a small town with more than its share of secrets. Trying to spice things up a bit, he set this one in Nevada. |
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^DUCK SEASON (dir: Fernando Eimbcke, R) – Imagine MY DINNER WITH ANDRE reconfigured with 14-year-old Mexican potheads playing video games and you’ve got the general idea. | |||
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FRIENDS WITH MONEY (dir: Nicole Holofcener, R) – The director of outstanding indies WALKING & TALKING and LOVELY AND AMAZING returns with another inspired take on female relationships. Jennifer Aniston, Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener and Frances McDormand play best friends dealing with the subtle class struggles of Los Angeles as middle age approaches. |
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IRON ISLAND (dir: Mohammad Rasouof, Not Rated) – From Iran comes this captivating story of a community of displaced people living on a derelict oil tanker moored a few hundred yards off the Persian coast. When the ship’s owner decides to sell it for scrap, the residents must band together and find a future for themselves. | |||
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*LONESOME JIM (dir: Steve Buscemi, R) – Indie fave Steve Buscemi takes another turn behind the camera with this small movie about a disillusioned young man returning to his small hometown in Indiana. Casey Affleck, younger brother of Ben, has a nice turn as the slacker nearing 30 and not psyched to be back at his parents house - but very psyched to get to know hottie nurse Liv Tyler. |
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LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD (dir: Albert Brooks, PG-13) – Albert Brooks latest film apparently caused a few headaches in the marketing department at Warner Brothers and lands quietly on DVD after a mere obligatory theatrical stint. In this roman à clef, Albert Brooks is sent to India and Pakistan to report to the U.S. government on what makes Muslims laugh. | |||
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MOUNTAIN PATROL (dir: Lu Chuan, PG-13) – Here’s an adventure movie about as far from the Hollywood mold as possible. A journalist from Beijing travels to a remote village in Tibet and gets caught up in the manhunt for poachers responsible for decimating the sacred antelope of Kekexili. |
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THE SENTINEL (dir: Calrk Johnson, PG-13) – Michael Douglas tears himself away from impregnating Catherine Zeta-Jones for long enough to star in this utterly routine thriller about a veteran CIA agent framed as a traitor. | |||
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TAKE THE LEAD (dir: Liz Friedlander, PG-13) – Antonio Banderas hoofs it up as a ballroom dance instructor hired by inner city principal Alfre Woodard to inspire a bunch of underachieving kids. |
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WATER (dir: Deepa Mehta, PG-13) – Death threats, arson, and riots by religious extremists in India couldn’t stop Deepa Mehta from completing this follow up to EARTH and FIRE. It tells the story of a young girl sent to live in a colony of Hindu widows where her feisty presence deeply affects everyone. | |||
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THE ZODIAC (dir: Alexander Bulkley, R) – The Zodiac serial killer terrorized the San Francisco Bay area in the late sixties, sending clues to his identity to newspapers and boasting of his crimes. He’s still never been caught, which ups the creep-out factor on this surprisingly classy thriller. | |||||
| * = Greg's pick of the week ^ = Bart's pick of the week | ||||||