Wednesday, July 29, 2009

The Baker

Friday, July 24, 2009

Strigoi (2009)

Synopsis: Vlad investigates a mysterious death in his grandfather's village that raises questions about land ownership in the community. The trail points to ex-communist bully Constantin Tirescu and his wife, but when Vlad confronts them, he discovers that the richest landowners in the village have become real bloodsuckers.


http://www.strigoimovie.com/

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Moon (2009)

can't wait for this one

Monday, July 06, 2009

The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)

The Time Travelers Wife is based on the best-selling book about a love that transcends time. Clare (Rachel McAdams) has been in love with Henry (Eric Bana) her entire life. She believes they are destined to be together, even though she never knows when they will be separated: Henry is a time traveler—cursed with a rare genetic anomaly that causes him to live his life on a shifting timeline, skipping back and forth through his lifespan with no control. Despite the fact that Henrys travels force them apart with no warning, Clare desperately tries to build a life with her one true love.

"Nobody knows" (Japan) 2004


Yuuya Yagira was named Best Actor at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for his moving portrayal of the older brother trying desperately to support his three younger siblings in writer-director Hirokazu Kore-eda's masterful work NOBODY KNOWS. Kore-eda (MABOROSI, AFTER LIFE) also produced and edited the film, which was nominated for the Palme d'Or and was Japan's entry for the Academy Awards in 2004. Yagira stars as Akira, a determined and resourceful 12-year-old boy forced to take care of Kyoko (Ayu Kitaura), Shigeru (Hiei Kimura), and Yuki (Momoko Shimizu) every time their mother, Keiko (Japanese pop star and TV actress YOU), goes away for extended periods of time. Akira does the shopping, Kyoko does the laundry, Shigeru causes trouble, and Yuki is endlessly cute. However, in order to remain in their new apartment, the three younger children are not allowed outside or else the landlord, who does not know they live there, will evict them. Akira tries to teach his sisters and brother, as none of them attends school, with varying success. They have no friends, save for Saki (Hanae Kan), an offbeat outsider. When Keiko disappears and the money starts running out, the children are faced with severe problems, and tragedy lurks. Kore-eda based this powerful tale on a true story of abandoned children, and he has filmed NOBODY KNOWS with a documentarian's eye, lending it added reality that makes it that much more heartwarming and, ultimately, heartbreaking.

Friday, July 03, 2009

Before The Fall (Napola)

As Hitler launches the first major military aggressions of World War II, the strongest and smartest German young men enter exclusive schools known as "Napolas" to train as future leaders of the Third Reich. In 1942, a recruiter from one such Napola sets his sights on Friedrich, a talented adolescent boxer, who sees the training and prestige offered by the Napola as his ticket out of an impoverished family unit run by his anti-Nazi father.

In the Napola, Friedrich learns to fight without pity, becoming a formidable killing machine. Propagandistic classes reinforce a hardened worldview of his Aryan superiority.

Meanwhile, Friedrich forms a bond with fellow cadet Albrecht Stein, an aspiring writer and son of the local Nazi governor. Governor Stein dotes on Friedrich, barely masking his contempt for his own son's sensitivity. But Friedrich admires and empathizes with his friend, even though Albrecht criticizes Friedrich's brutality in the ring.

As the war escalates, the school's military training also intensifies. Unscrupulous trainers humiliate the more vulnerable cadets in front of their peers and send the others out on dubious war game exercises. In one such nightmarish event, they instruct Friedrich and Albrecht to shoot escaping POW's who turn out to be unarmed Russian civilians. Tormented with guilt, Albrecht rebels, and Friedrich must choose between his sworn allegiance to the Fuehrer and his best friend's moral imperative.

Fateless (Hungary)

Thursday, July 02, 2009

Valhalla Rising (2009)

Dir: Nicolas Winding Refn
1000 AD.For years, One Eye, a mute warrior of supernatural strength, has been held prisoner by the Norse chieftain Brade. Aided by Are, a boy slave, One Eye slays his captor and together they escape, beginning a journey into the heart of darkness. On their flight, One Eye and Are board a Viking vessel but the ship is soon engulfed by an endless fog that clears only as the crew sights an unknown land. As the New World reveals its secrets and the Vikings confront their terrible and bloody fate, One Eye discovers his true self.