12:08 East of Bucharest

Forty minutes into the film, I figured I needed to be Romanian to understand anything about this film.

Rating: +

Eagle vs Shark

An excruciating film about two social misfits trying to bond around the male misfit's need for revenge against a high school bully. It tries very hard to be the Napoleon Dynamite of awkward romantic comedies and fails.

Rating: *

La Vie En Rose

The life of Edith Piaf is splashed across the screen. And what a brilliant splash it is. Marion Cotillard plays her with a conviction that leads you to truly believe that that the Little Sparrow has come back to life on celluloid. Director Olivier Dahan has also deftly spliced the time lines in a non-linear fashion, albeit being predictable these days, serves the purpose of the story. All in all the film reflects the tragedy of Piaf's life but with a surprisingly gentle tone.

Rating: * * *

Radiant City

A documentary about suburban sprawl and the psychosis behind it. The camera follows a standard American family that has decided to move to the suburbs from the inner city. The soccer mom who is overwhelmed, the dad who wonders why he is putting up with a 4 hour commute and the kids who with their infinite fluidity seem to glide around while their parents struggle. Well interspersed with expert interviews and strange facts; this film keeps you engaged, enthralled and scared.

Rating: * * *

Ten Canoes

Watching this film is like taking yourself back to the nights of your grandfather telling you tales of yesteryear. The narrator guides you through a story within a story scenario of an ancient aboriginal tribe. A story of their old customs, sorcerers, fearsome warriors and their many wives. And as it is today many wives spells trouble even in the old days...

Rating: * * +

Burn After Reading

Ever wondered how a John le Carré spoof would turn out? Well you can stop wondering and walk into this flick by the Coen Brothers. The scene is Washington DC where mists of blackmail and clandestine affairs hover over the lives of men who work at Langley. A laugh riot whose tone is set in grave seriousness and lives in the realm of the surreal.

Rating: * * *

The Boss of it All

Kristoffer (Jens Albinus) is a self important pompous actor full of himself. So when is hired to play the role of the president of a company, he finds that he is a pawn in the hands of Ravn (Peter Gantzler) the evil lawyer. Ravn wants to use Kristoffer as the front man in the sale of the company but then of course morality invades the plot. A quirky comedy that I am sure I should have been laughing at but strangely the mirth did not come forth. Maybe the jokes were lost in translation.

Rating: * +

Angel-A

Andre (Jamel Debbouze) is a small time crook with big time debts. As he finds himself surrounded by cut throat gangsters aching to do him in, he decides to save every one the trouble and off himself. As he is about to commit suicide, he runs into Angela (Rie Rasmussen) who is about to do the same. By saving her he finds that he is saving himself. A film that starts out to be a gritty, ultra-cool laugh riot, suddenly morphs itself into a sappy, syrupy romantic comedy. The kind that makes you want to wring the director's neck for royally screwing up a good thing.

Rating: * +

Healing Hearts

Dr. Ching (Tony Leung) is a doctor at a hospital in Hong Kong pining away for his ex-girlfriend. All that changes when a patient Jackie (Michelle Reis) awakens from a coma and waltzes her way into his apartment. But even Mr. Leung can't save this film which suffers from non-existent direction, a puke worthy script and a meandering storyline.

Rating: *

Paprika

The DC-mini is a machine that can record dreams. The people who made it hoped it would treat arcane psychiatric diseases. But when the technology is stolen and dreams start to invade reality, their hopes prove otherwise. And now only Parika stands in the way. An anime thriller like no other that will make you think you are dreaming, every step of the way.

Rating: * * *

L'Iceberg

A contrived comedy about a woman who is stuck in a freezer overnight and is not missed by her family.

Rating: +

Away from Her

With Alzheimer's it is short term memory that goes first. The pains of the past are the last to go. This is what Grant (Gordon Pinsent) discovers when he is forced to admit Fiona (Julie Christie), his wife of 44 years, into a assisted living facility. After she moves in Grant find himself disappearing from her life. A gut wrenchingly sad movie, based on a Alice Munro short story, that does not weigh you down to despair in spite of its stark content.

Rating: * * +

Times and Winds

The film is the tale of four youngsters in a idyllic Turkish country town. Omer hates his Dad (Bulent Yarar) and spends his time coming up with ways to kill him. His best friend Yakup (Ali Bey Kayali) is in love with his teacher (Selma Ergeç) and walks around dreaming of her. Yildiz (Elit Iscan) is a precocious young girl who wanders around the hills, traumatized after seeing her parents indulge in intercourse. Then there is Yusuf (Yigit Özsener), the village orphan who herds sheep and is the constant playmate of the children. A beautiful film that plays out more like a documentary that takes a slice out of the lives of these kids.

Rating: * * *

Reprise

Philip (Anders Danielsen Lie) and Erik (Espen Klouman-Høiner) are budding writers and best of friends. Philip is the first to plunge into published world and crash his life. As he is recovering, Erik finds his writing career blossoming and you start to float around the lives of the two friends and pressures of the writing world. The film might seem heavy but the brilliant voice over carries you through it.

Rating: * * +

Pineapple Express

"Orey" funny movie about two stoner buddies on the run from drug dealers. Less said about it the better.

Rating: *

The Forsaken Land

The scene is rural Sri Lanka, caught unawares in the thrall between war and peace. A young couple try to eke out their living in this bleak landscape with their young child and her spinster aunt. Vimukthi Jayasundara's film captures their hollow existence so well that it leaves you feeling empty too.

Rating: * +
PS: "Jackie" is put even in rural Sri Lankan buses.

Daratt

The civil war in Chad has come to an end but not everyone is at peace. Atim's (Ali Barkai) father was murdered during the war and the government has granted amnesty to all the war criminals. So he sets out to seek revenge. His search leads him to a stern, just and kind man trying to live with the ghosts of his past. A still film about remorse and moral quandary.

Rating: * *

a/k/a Tommy Chong

Ever wondered all the possible ways that US tax payer's money could be wasted used. Some of it, to the tune of $12 Million, went to apprehend Tommy Chong for selling glass bongs over the Internet. A chilling and scary documentary about "Operation Pipe Dreams" that involved bringing Chong to "justice" and making America a "safer" place. The ironic bit is that this could have been the theme of a Cheech movie.

Rating: * * +