All Movies Discussed
Unhappy with suburban life, 17-year-old Noriko (Kazue Fukiishi) spends more and more time on a Web site where she meets and chats with other teenage girls across Japan. But when she runs away from home, her new friends in Tokyo lead her into a dark world. She joins a group that gives her a new personality and family, only to find her dream life turn into a nightmare when a mass suicide of high school girls occurs.
At age 7, pint-sized sleuths Jason, Duncan and Charlie solved all manner of kiddie mysteries in Oakdale. Now, at 18, the Mystery Team is about to leave their Encyclopedia Brown-style tactics in the dust with their latest case: a real murder. High jinks ensue in this goofy, fast-paced caper comedy written by and starring Donald Glover, D.C. Pierson and Dominic Dierkes. The film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Philippe Petit captured the world’s attention in 1974 when he successfully walked across a high wire between New York’s Twin Towers. This Oscar winner for Best Documentary explores the preparations that went into the stunt as well as the event and its aftermath. Obsessed with the towers even before they were fully constructed, Petit sneaked into the buildings several times to determine the equipment he needed to accomplish his daring feat.
Fueled by fond memories from her childhood, Laura (Belén Rueda) persuades her husband (Fernando Cayo) to help her revamp a seaside orphanage into a facility for disabled children. But soon after the couple moves in, their son, Simón (Roger Príncep), begins exhibiting disturbing behavior. As Laura tries to understand Simón’s increasingly malevolent actions, she becomes drawn into the house’s terrifying secrets in this unnerving chiller.
A con man (Ryan O’Neal) and his precocious “daughter” (Tatum O’Neal, in an Oscar-winning role as Best Supporting Actress) grift their way across the heartland of depression-era America in director Peter Bogdanovich’s nostalgic look at the 1930s. As the two try desperately to scrounge up enough money to live on, their “father/daughter relationship” looks like a viable business partnership when they realize they need each other for survival.
Based on Jane Austen’s novel about manners and misguided matchmaking, this Academy Award-winning adaptation from director Douglas McGrath takes a richly comic look at the romantic meddling of young Emma Woodhouse (Gwyneth Paltrow). Surrounded by suitors (including Jeremy Northam and Ewan McGregor), Emma spends her time arranging friends’ romances, never noticing that her own true love is right beneath her nose.
Cary Grant stars as Peter, who may or may not be a flimflam man who aids the recently widowed Regina (Audrey Hepburn) in her mission to recover a fortune hidden by her late husband. But three sinister crooks (Walter Matthau, James Coburn and George Kennedy) — who’ll stop at nothing — also covet the loot. A cast of legendary stars has chemistry to burn in director Stanley Donen’s suave comedy with an Oscar-nominated score by Henry Mancini.
Upright Citizens Brigade: ASSSSCAT
Improv group Upright Citizens Brigade performs their famous “Asssscat” show live, with original members Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts, Matt Besser and Matt Walsh. Based on one-word suggestions from the audience, the troupe — with assistance from comics Andrew Daly, Sean Conroy, Chad Carter and Horatio Sanz (“Saturday Night Live”) — creates unrehearsed, on-the-spot hilarity that’s as smart as it is funny.
Rashomon
(Rashômon)
Considered one of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa’s masterpieces, this Oscar-winning crime drama unfolds as four witnesses to a rape and murder report their versions of the attack, leaving the viewer to decide what really happened. But the chain of events depicted by the bandit (Toshiro Mifune), the rape victim (Machiko Kyo), the murdered man’s ghost (Masayuki Mori) and the woodcutter (Takashi Shimura) have more differences than similarities.
Trevor Reznik (Christian Bale) hasn’t slept in a year, and his physical and mental health have eroded. So when cryptic notes pop up in his apartment and he has visions of a co-worker nobody else can see, is it reality — or just the next level of insomnia? His call-girl girlfriend (Jennifer Jason Leigh) seems to be the only bright spot in Trevor’s quickly deteriorating world. And he, too, seems to be breaking down.
This first Star Trek film reunites the U.S.S. Enterprise’s original crew from the 1960s television show. Capt. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) — now an admiral — and his former crew must save humanity from a giant alien ship steadily approaching Earth. There’s conflict on the ship as well as in the universe, as displaced Cmdr. Decker (Stephen Collins), the Enterprise’s new captain, becomes Kirk’s assistant. Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley co-star.
This Japanese anime feature from famed filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki follows the adventures of a 5-year-old boy, Sosuke, and his burgeoning friendship with Ponyo, a goldfish princess who desperately wants to become human. After running away from and then being recaptured by her strict father, Ponyo — with some help from Sosuke — becomes more determined than ever to make her dreams come true. But will her wishes throw the entire earth off balance?
Filmmaker Thierry Guetta had been casually documenting the underground world of street art for years, but when he encounters Banksy, an elusive British stencil artist, his project takes a fascinating twist. Unimpressed with Guetta’s footage, Banksy takes over filmmaking duties and Guetta reinvents himself as a street artist named Mr. Brainwash — and, much to Banksy’s surprise, immediately becomes a darling of the Los Angeles art scene.
A prominent New York City gang leader named Cyrus (Roger Hill) wants to wage an all-out battle against the police, and as part of his strategy he calls upon Gotham’s gangs to set aside their turf wars and come together at a summit. At the meeting, a rival leader kills Cyrus, but a Coney Island gang called the Warriors is wrongly blamed for Cyrus’ death. Before you know it, the cops and every gangbanger in town is hot on the Warriors’ trail.
Twelve-year-old Oskar (Kåre Hedebrant), the constant target of bullies, spends his time plotting revenge and collecting news items about the grisly murders plaguing his town. But things change when he meets a new girl named Eli (Lina Leandersson), a misfit vampire who steals his heart. As a serial killer continues to prey on teen boys in their small Swedish village, Eli helps Oskar find the courage to stand up to his tormenters.
In rustic 1957 Maine, 9-year-old Hogarth finds a colossal but disoriented robot (of unknown origin), and the two form a strong bond of friendship. Before long, however, a government agent is on their trail — and he’s intent on destroying the automaton. This beautifully rendered parable based on British poet Ted Hughes’ feted short story features the voices of Jennifer Aniston, Vin Diesel, Harry Connick Jr. and Cloris Leachman.
An easily spooked guy, Columbus (Jesse Eisenberg), joins forces with wild man Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) to fight for survival in a world virtually taken over by freakish zombies. As they destroy scores of the undead, they meet up with two other survivors, Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) and Wichita (Emma Stone), and journey to a supposedly safe abandoned amusement park. Ruben Fleischer directs this horror romp.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
From the idyllic shire of the Hobbits to the smoking chasms of Mordor, director Peter Jackson has created a world that surpasses the expectations of J.R.R. Tolkien purists as Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) embarks on his epic quest to destroy the ring of Sauron. The movie — which nabbed 13 Oscar nominations — is superbly cast with actors such as Ian McKellen (Gandalf) and Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), and stays remarkably true to the book.
Whether at home or at school, 9-year-old Phoebe (Elle Fanning) always seems to get in trouble for breaking the rules. When her drama teacher (Patricia Clarkson) casts her in a production of “Alice in Wonderland,” Phoebe begins to receive personal advice from the play’s characters. Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman and Campbell Scott also star in this fantastical tale about inspiration and overcoming adversity.
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