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The feature debut from writer-director Steve Collins is a hilarious, compassionate look at youthful trauma, misguided affections and the discovery of self worth. Gawky and disregarded, Gretchen Finkle (Courtney Davis) is a high school senior with zero social prospects, save for her sleazy, would-be rebel boyfriend Ricky (John Merriman). The discovery of his infidelity leads Gretchen to a devastated reassessment of her priorities and aims in life. Winner of the L.A. Film Festival’s ‘Best Narrative Feature’ award and featuring remarkable performances by Davis, Merriman, Becky Ann Baker (Freaks & Geeks) and Stephen Root (Office Space, DodgeBall), ‘Gretchen’ balances soul-searching melancholy with a sprightly wit and deadpan comic invention to become a standout among recent independent features.Read More »
2001-2010
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Steve Collins – Gretchen (2006)
Drama2001-2010ComedySteve CollinsUSA -
Apichatpong Weerasethakul – Loong Boonmee raleuk chat AKA Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)
2001-2010Apichatpong WeerasethakulArthouseAsianThailandQuote:
Though often difficult to decipher, the quiet pace and gentle touch of Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s newest film, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, makes for a spiritual and meditative film experience like no other. Uncle Boonmee is ill and his sister-in-law and her son visit as he becomes habituated to the new regiment meant to extend his foreshortened life. Moving closer to death, the barrier between the world of the spirits and that of the living dissolves, and Boonmee is met with his dead wife, his lost son, and of course, his past lives.Read More » -
Baran bo Odar – Das letzte Schweigen aka The Silence (2010)
2001-2010Baran bo OdarDramaGermany13-year-old Sinikka vanishes on a hot summer night. Her bicycle is found in the exact place
where a girl was killed 23 years ago. The dramatic present forces those involved in the
original case to face their past.Read More » -
Harpreet Dehal – Oceania (2008)
2001-2010ArthouseDramaHarpreet DehalUSAQuote:
What does a 17 year old know about film making? Watch and see.Quote:
Two teenagers deal with their shattered family-life in a small California coastal town. Through a series of fragmented memories, one encounters sexuality and abuse, murder and suicide, truth and lies. Their lives so suddenly connect without anyone ever realizing the shared desire in their search for fulfillment. Written by Harpreet DehalRead More » -
Oxide Pang Chun & Danny Pang – Jiang Gui AKA The Eye (2002)
2001-2010AsianHong KongHorrorOxide Pang Chun and Danny PangHighly atmospheric Japanese horror. The premise: a blind woman regains sight through surgery but sees in the mirror, not her own reflection, but that of the dead woman whose corneas she has inherited.
Review
“The Eye” is a thriller about a blind young violinist from Hong Kong whose sight is restored through surgery, but who can then can see a little too well, so that she observes the Grim Reaper leading the doomed in solemn procession to the other side, and shares the anguish of the donor of her eyes. What’s more, she’s thrown out of the blind orchestra, now that she can see.Read More » -
Yôji Yamada – Otôto AKA About Her Brother (2010)
2001-2010AsianDramaJapanYôji YamadaQuote:
Ginko (Yoshinaga Sayuri) seems to be living the good life: She’s the respectable owner of a neighborhood drug store in Tokyo, and her daughter Kaharu (Aoi Yu) is about to get married to a doctor. However, Koharu’s wedding day also brings homes Ginko’s younger brother Tetsuro (Tsurube Shofukutei), a failed actor and a hard drinker who shows up causing trouble. Having covered for him all her life, Ginko is ready to disown her burdensome younger brother, but some things are easier said than done…Read More » -
Merzak Allouache – Harragas AKA Burn (2009)
2001-2010African CinemaAlgeriaArthouseDramaMerzak AllouacheDescription from IMDB:
“Set in the northern Algerian port city of Mostaganem. The title refers to the hordes of refugees, the ‘Harragas’, who smuggle themselves out of the country via any means possible. Here we meet one such group, Rachid, Nasser and Imene who pay a smuggler, Hassan, to take them to Spain in his rickety boat. Along with a group of African and Arab migrants, they are risking all they have to cross the stormy Straits.”Read More » -
Isaac Julien – BaadAsssss Cinema: A Bold Look at ’70s Blaxploitation Films (2002)
2001-2010DocumentaryExploitationIsaac JulienUSAfrom rottentomatoes
“Produced by the Independent Film Channel (IFC), this documentary by filmmaker Isaac Julien takes a look at blaxploitation films, and the huge cult following that has built up around them. Interviews with some of the original actors and directors of the genre are featured, including Richard Roundtree, Pam Grier and Melvin Van Peebles; Latter day fan Quentin Tarantino also offers his opinions. The explosive mixture of incredible fashions, hairstyles, comedy, sex, action and music contained in these films has won millions of fans all over the globe, find out why in BAASASSSSS CINEMA!”Read More » -
Partho Sen-Gupta, John McLaughlin & Zakir Hussain – Shakti Timeless (2006)
2001-2010DocumentaryJohn McLaughlinPartho Sen-GuptaPerformanceZakir Hussain“Shakti Timeless” tells the story of the Indo-Western music group Shakti. Formed in 1975, the group pioneered a groundbreaking and highly influential musical East-meets-West approach. In the 1970s, the group, whose name means creative intelligence, beauty and power, consisted of legendary British jazz guitarist John McLauglin, North Indian tabla master Zakir Hussain, violinist L. Shankar and percussionist T.H. Vinayakram, the latter two hailing from South India. Together, they created a fluid and organic sound that managed to successfully combine seemingly incompatible traditions. After a number of very successful live concerts and albums they disbanded. The group was reformed in 1997 under the name Remember Shakti with new talents from India, such as V. Selvaganesh, who replaced his father Vinayakram on percussion, and the young prodigy U. Shrinivas, who replaced L. Shankar. In 2000, the young Indian classical singer Shankar Mahadevan joined as the first vocal element in the group. The documentary is on the DVD “Remember Shakti – The Way of Beauty,” which also includes the 2000 concert film “Saturday Night in Bombay.”Read More »