Collection ID 654
Director: Fabrice Du Welz
Starring: Laurent Lucas, Jackie Berroyer, Philippe Nahon, Jean-Luc Couchard, Brigitte Lahaie
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Palm Pictures / Umvd   Release date: 2004   Rated: NR   
Language (Country): French (Belgien)
Summary: In the tradition of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, PSYCHO and DELIVERANCE comes this chilling Belgian horror that pushes the limits of shock filmmaking. Director and co-writer Fabrice Du Welz masterfully evokes a sense of deeply disturbing terror as Marc Stevens' world goes profoundly and utterly wrong. When his car breaks down in the middle of the isolated backcountry, he's forced to seek refuge in a rural inn. Marc is taken in by Bartel, a lonely and psychologically fragile innkeeper who promises to help. But when Marc catches him dismantling his car, he realizes that the innkeeper has other plans for him - sadistic plans that will push him to the bounds of human pain and suffering.
My Rating:
My Review: A small-time European lounge singer is on his way to his next gig, when his van breaks down... What happens next is a chilling tale of desolation and persecution. The characters (other than the lounge singer) are members of a deranged community. They're all looking for their lost love, and this lost lad becomes their target, when he turns out to have a talent for singing. Unwittingly caught up in a chorus of dementia, the main character has no idea what he's in for, when he stops at a back water inn looking for shelter. The camera work is excellent, the acting above par, and the locations evocative. The moods are set by the scenery and locations. The lighting is stunning and the story twisted. The ending was a bit of an anti-climax.

Collection ID 1350
Director: Fabrice Du Welz
Starring: Laurent Lucas, Jackie Berroyer, Philippe Nahon, Jean-Luc Couchard, Brigitte Lahaie
Genre: Art House & International
Studio: Palm Pictures / Umvd   Release date: 2004   Rated: NR   
Language (Country): French (Belgien)
Summary: In the tradition of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, PSYCHO and DELIVERANCE comes this chilling Belgian horror that pushes the limits of shock filmmaking. Director and co-writer Fabrice Du Welz masterfully evokes a sense of deeply disturbing terror as Marc Stevens' world goes profoundly and utterly wrong. When his car breaks down in the middle of the isolated backcountry, he's forced to seek refuge in a rural inn. Marc is taken in by Bartel, a lonely and psychologically fragile innkeeper who promises to help. But when Marc catches him dismantling his car, he realizes that the innkeeper has other plans for him - sadistic plans that will push him to the bounds of human pain and suffering.
My Rating:
My Review: A small-time European lounge singer is on his way to his next gig, when his van breaks down... What happens next is a chilling tale of desolation and persecution. The characters (other than the lounge singer) are members of a deranged community. They're all looking for their lost love, and this lost lad becomes their target, when he turns out to have a talent for singing. Unwittingly caught up in a chorus of dementia, the main character has no idea what he's in for, when he stops at a back water inn looking for shelter. The camera work is excellent, the acting above par, and the locations evocative. The moods are set by the scenery and locations. The lighting is stunning and the story twisted. The ending was a bit of an anti-climax.

Collection ID 601
Director: Joseph Cedar
Starring: Michaela Eshet, Hani Furstenberg, Moshe Ivgy, Maya Maron, Assi Dayan
Genre: Drama
Studio: Cinema Post Production Ltd.   Release date: 2004   Rated: Not Rated   
Language (Country): Hebrew (Israel)
Summary: a story of one woman's personal battle for acceptance, but also a portrait of a political movement that has forever affected millions of lives in the Middle East.
My Rating:
My Review: (Israel - Medurat Hashevet) A splendid drama filmed in Israel. Fantastic directing and acting in a story about a young mother who's trying to restart her life a year after the death of her husband. Can she fall in love for the first time? Will she be able to provide safety and parenting to her two young daughters? At the same time her two daughters are learning about love, friendship and sex? Will her community accept a single mother as a peer? Examines several critical themes in a male dominated society. Very well done. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Collection ID 1301
Director: Joseph Cedar
Starring: Michaela Eshet, Hani Furstenberg, Moshe Ivgy, Maya Maron, Assi Dayan
Genre: Drama
Studio: Cinema Post Production Ltd.   Release date: 2004   Rated: Not Rated   
Language (Country): Hebrew (Israel)
Summary: a story of one woman's personal battle for acceptance, but also a portrait of a political movement that has forever affected millions of lives in the Middle East.
My Rating:
My Review: (Israel - Medurat Hashevet) A splendid drama filmed in Israel. Fantastic directing and acting in a story about a young mother who's trying to restart her life a year after the death of her husband. Can she fall in love for the first time? Will she be able to provide safety and parenting to her two young daughters? At the same time her two daughters are learning about love, friendship and sex? Will her community accept a single mother as a peer? Examines several critical themes in a male dominated society. Very well done. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Collection ID 1626
Director: Harry Elfont, Deborah Kaplan
Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Studio: Columbia Pictures Corporation   Release date: 1998   Rated: PG-13   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: It's high school graduation and, like all seniors, they want to party. So, 500 high school seniors look forward to a party while, in the meantime, a boy wants to get a girl he's loved for years who just broke up with her boyfriend, and one head-case who wants revenge on a lifelong bully. So, the party comes, things develop. People have sex, drink, and go along with most of the guidelines of a high school graduation party.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 1710
Director: Felipe Cazals
Starring: Enrique Lucero, Salvador Sánchez, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Roberto Sosa, Arturo Alegro
Genre: Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Studio: Conacite Uno   Release date: 1976   Rated: Not Rated   
Language (Country): Spanish, Nahuatl (Mexico)
Summary: A group of students arrives in a small town during a hiking expedition. Once there, the local priest accuses them of being communist agitators on the run from an army crack-down against student demonstrations in nearby Mexico City and rallies the townsfolk to lynch them. Based on true facts occurred in the town of Canoa in 1968.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 1713
Director: Felipe Cazals
Starring: Enrique Lucero, Salvador Sánchez, Ernesto Gómez Cruz, Roberto Sosa, Arturo Alegro
Genre: Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Studio: Conacite Uno   Release date: 1976   Rated: Not Rated   
Language (Country): Spanish, Nahuatl (Mexico)
Summary: A group of students arrives in a small town during a hiking expedition. Once there, the local priest accuses them of being communist agitators on the run from an army crack-down against student demonstrations in nearby Mexico City and rallies the townsfolk to lynch them. Based on true facts occurred in the town of Canoa in 1968.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 217
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker
Genre: Crime
Studio: Amblin Entertainment   Release date: 1991   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, Spanish, French (USA)
Summary: A recently-released rapist stalks the family of the attorney who defended him.
My Rating:
My Review: Directed by one of my favorites (Martin Scorsese) and starring Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker. It even includes Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck (in a very small role). Here's a remake that, in my opinion - exceeds the original. The story is based on a novel, and remains the same - in most aspects - as the original movie. Nick Nolte is a public defender, and Robert De Niro plays a disgruntled ex-con. Nick Nolte's defense was less than honest, less than efficient, and less than effective. The result? The illiterate and violent Max Cady went straight to prison after his conviction in an underage rape case. When De Niro gets out of prison, he heads straight for the Florida town where Sam Bowden is practicing law. He's out for revenge. Revenge for 14 years of incarceration, 14 years of sodomy, misery, and hellish conditions. Max Cody (played by Robert De Niro) is planning his own brand of justice in this thrilling crime drama. This movie features plenty of great drama. By blurring the lines a bit, Scorsese manages to make this a darker film than the original. Nolte isn't as innocent as the Sam Bowden in the original movie. The acting by Robert De Niro may have been a bit overly dramatic, but he created the most frightening ex-con that I could ever imagine. Truly without social conscious, Max Cody is only interested in his own plan of retribution, he'll do whatever he needs to in order to extract his 'pound of flesh' from Sam Bowden. He's on a religious crusade that will only end when Max Bowden's soul is crucified on his alter of retribution. The character development in this movie is much more extensive than that of the original film, and the camera work excellent. The lighting was outstanding, as was the music. Despite the poor casting choice (she was too old for the role), Juliette Lewis's acting was outstanding. One of her best performances. She did an excellent job of portraying a 'blossoming' 15 year old girl. The acting by all concerned was outstanding. The climactic boathouse segment was audaciously over the top. A dramatic explosion, rivaling the fourth of July fireworks in this movie.

Collection ID 935
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker
Genre: Crime
Studio: Amblin Entertainment   Release date: 1991   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, Spanish, French (USA)
Summary: A recently-released rapist stalks the family of the attorney who defended him.
My Rating:
My Review: Directed by one of my favorites (Martin Scorsese) and starring Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, Juliette Lewis, Joe Don Baker. It even includes Robert Mitchum and Gregory Peck (in a very small role). Here's a remake that, in my opinion - exceeds the original. The story is based on a novel, and remains the same - in most aspects - as the original movie. Nick Nolte is a public defender, and Robert De Niro plays a disgruntled ex-con. Nick Nolte's defense was less than honest, less than efficient, and less than effective. The result? The illiterate and violent Max Cady went straight to prison after his conviction in an underage rape case. When De Niro gets out of prison, he heads straight for the Florida town where Sam Bowden is practicing law. He's out for revenge. Revenge for 14 years of incarceration, 14 years of sodomy, misery, and hellish conditions. Max Cody (played by Robert De Niro) is planning his own brand of justice in this thrilling crime drama. This movie features plenty of great drama. By blurring the lines a bit, Scorsese manages to make this a darker film than the original. Nolte isn't as innocent as the Sam Bowden in the original movie. The acting by Robert De Niro may have been a bit overly dramatic, but he created the most frightening ex-con that I could ever imagine. Truly without social conscious, Max Cody is only interested in his own plan of retribution, he'll do whatever he needs to in order to extract his 'pound of flesh' from Sam Bowden. He's on a religious crusade that will only end when Max Bowden's soul is crucified on his alter of retribution. The character development in this movie is much more extensive than that of the original film, and the camera work excellent. The lighting was outstanding, as was the music. Despite the poor casting choice (she was too old for the role), Juliette Lewis's acting was outstanding. One of her best performances. She did an excellent job of portraying a 'blossoming' 15 year old girl. The acting by all concerned was outstanding. The climactic boathouse segment was audaciously over the top. A dramatic explosion, rivaling the fourth of July fireworks in this movie.

Collection ID 468
Director: John Madden
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Penélope Cruz, John Hurt, Christian Bale, Irene Papas
Genre: Drama
Studio: Universal Pictures   Release date: 2001   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, French (UK)
Summary: When a fisherman leaves to fight with the Greek army during WWII, his fiancee falls in love with the local Italian commander.
My Rating:
My Review: Screenplay by Shawn Slovo, based upon a novel (same name). Directed by John Madden ((Shakespeare in Love, The Debt, the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel). Starring Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz, John Hurt and others. I actually liked this movie. I must be a romantic sap. I don't really care for Nicolas Cage and his over dramatic stage style of acting was a bit out of place in this movie. Penelope Cruz did an excellent job, and John Hurt was perfectly cast as the wizened village elder. Nicolas Cage plays an Italian fisherman who joins the army (during WWII). He is posted to a Greek Island where he rules with an iron 'Mandolin' and ends up falling in love. Something he clearly shouldn't be doing during a war. The story and writing was excellent, as was the directing. The locations, sets, and costumes were great. The music was fantastic. Overall this war-torn romantic drama is a very good chick flick. I actually give it 5 out of 5.