Towelhead

Puberty finds Jasira (Summer Bishil) being shipped off to her strict and uptight Lebanese father living in a Houston suburb. Tendrils of sexuality awakens in Jasira and she is further confused by the discovery of the orgasm. Things get more complicated for the naive teenager, when she is befriended by a lecherous neighbor (Aaron Eckhart) and starts to date a fellow African-American student. This Alan Ball film is like a harsher, cruder and soft porn version of American Beauty without the quirkiness and panache.

Rating: * +

Japanese Story

As they say, Jack and Jill went up the hill. To fetch some stones, despite being difficult strangers. Jack, as expected, fell and then broke his crown. Jill came crumbling after. A sad (as in, horrible) film, but with some outstanding Aussie desert footage.

Rating: * +

In her shoes

When ones recuperating, one ends up watching anything. A tale of two sisters that begins with conflict and ends with a wedding in neigbourhood Jamaican restuarant. No surprises.

Rating: * +