Eve And The Fire Horse is set in 1970s, Vancouver BC. It focuses on two sisters, Eve and Karena, children of a traditional Chinese family. Chinese culture is full of bad omens: You curse a household by saying bad things during a birthday. Women should not chop down trees. The most profound superstition is that of the year of the Fire Horse. The year comes every 60 years, last in 1966. Women born into this year are supposed to bring nothing but trouble. In China, abortion rates spike as no one wants a baby from the year of the Fire Horse.
The Robe tells the story of the early years of Christianity through the eyes of one of the Roman soldiers who oversaw the Crucifixion. Based on a best-selling novel, the screenplay maintained the uplifting message, keeping it to the most general messages that Jesus preached.
In 1988, Pope John Paul II visited the town of Melo in Uruguay. The Pope's Toilet is about the people in that town and how they saw salvation in the Pope's visit -- financial salvation from the thousands of people expected to come to the town.
Ben is not your typical teenager. He goes to a regular school but he doesn't fit in; he doesn't know how to fit in. Ben has a form of autism known as Aspergers Syndrome but identifying that does not change things or make his integration any easier.
Notorious is the story of the life of Christopher Wallace, known to millions as the Notorious B.I.G, Biggie Smalls and Big Poppa. Starting from the moment he was shot, twelve years ago, then flashing back to tell the story of how he got there.
Ben Thomas (Will Smith) is on a mission - seven missions, actually - but he's also hiding a dark secret. As Seven Pounds unfolds, the audience is introduced to Ben's demons as he searches for redemption. Along the way we meet a blind salesman, a battered woman, and an artist with a heart condition.
Under The Bombs follows a mother's search for her missing son during a ceasefire in Southern Lebanon in 2006 and the friendship she forms with the taxi driver willing to take her into the region.
What happens when the predator becomes the prey? In Hard Candy, we watch a 30-something photographer, Jeff lure Hayley, a precocious honor-roll 14 year old from an internet chat room to a meeting at a local coffee shop and then to his home. Unfortunately for Jeff, Hayley already knows what she's getting into.
There are certain ingredients necessary for a good thriller. An interesting plot, some choice baddies and a little action thrown in for spice. Sadly The International provides only some small bites of each, failing to deliver a full serving of any.
Troubled Water is complete with superb acting, flawless direction, and incredible camera work. Moments of tenderness ease dramatic tension without derailing it. Troubled Water forces one to question morality, guilt, and consciousness.
Storm starts out with the trial of Serbian commander who is being prosecuted for crimes against humanity during the war in Bosnia. When the prosecutor, Hannah Maynard, is presented with evidence that indicates her key witness is lying, she demands an on-site investigation. When her witness commits suicide, Hannah meets his sister, Mira, who could be the person who saves the case.
Great movies never end the way we want or expect them to. For My Father, an Israeli film by Dror Zahavi, is a great movie. It is realistic, sensitive, and presents the Israel Palestine conflict with no prejudice. Everyone in the movie has heart, and they challenge what is right and what can be considered just.
The Wind Journeys is rich with bright colors, stunning landscapes, and vivid music from the unlikeliest of instruments, the accordion. For what it gives in picturesque beauty, it lacks in presence and dialogue. The film, which is quiet for the most part, is impressionable in some ways- stills from the film have stuck with me, as well as some of the music- does not deliver in other aspects.
