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Luchino Visconti utilized striking cinematography and a precise narrative in his adaptation of Thomas Mann's DEATH IN VENICE. The filmmaker was known for his deliberate, masterly work in films that delved deeply into a significant historical era or figure. The story follows the sickly composer, Gustav von Aschenbach (Dirk Bogarde), who arrives in Venice by steamboat from Munich. He is deeply distracted, nervous, uncomfortable, and conflicted. Nonetheless, he settles into a breathtaking seaside resort, where he fixates on Tadzio (Bjorn Andresen), an angelic blond Polish boy who is there with his family. While flashbacks to happy times spent with his wife and small daughter fill in some of the blanks of Aschenbach's personal past, others recall his harsh and competitive friend, Alfred (Mark Burns), who criticized Aschenbach's music for being too technically perfect and thus lacking in beauty and passion. Via these glimpses into the past, we see that Aschenbach feels defeated in both his personal and his professional lives. The film uses very little dialogue, relying largely on the characters' facial expressions to communicate the protagonist's tortured psyche, young Tadzio's curious vanity, and the pretentious airs of the bourgeois women who parade the Venetian beaches in taffeta, bonnets, and parasols. As Aschenbach's infatuation with Tadzio grows beyond his control, he learns that "Venice is gripped by pestilence" (as narrated in Mann's novel) and the city is being sequestered to prevent the spread of a cholera outbreak. With slow and concentrated pacing, some hauntingly surreal scenes, and a color scheme consisting of bold blacks and stark whites that are a constant reminder of the inevitable, DEATH IN VENICE captures the poignancy of Mann's novel with a sharp, sinister, and unwavering accuracy.

In 1937, Japanese armed forces entered Nanking, China, and systematically raped and killed over 200,000 Chinese in one of human history's worst atrocities. Decades later, there's still bad blood and unresolved tensions. This wrenching documentary from Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman combines harrowing archival footage, interviews with survivors (including contrite Japanese vets), and reenactments with actors Woody Harrelson, Stephen Dorff, Mariel Hemingway, and Jurgen Prochnow (as a Schindler-like member of the Nazi party), reading from the diaries of real-life heroic westerners who set up a safety zone in attempt to shelter the hundreds of thousands of refugees from the city. Though this element adds some much-needed hope for humanity, this is still a deeply upsetting documentary. It's very well made and should be considered required viewing, but be warned: some of the rarely-before-seen archival footage is truly graphic and disturbing. Based on the bestselling book, THE RAPE OF NANKING by Iris Chang, this documentary makes effective use of a quietly shattering Kronos Quartet score. The film is presented in English, Japanese, and Mandarin with English subtitles.
New York City lawyer Vinny Gambini ventures into the deep South with his loud-mouthed, big-haired girlfriend in tow to free his cousin Bill and Bill's friend after they are mistakenly accused of murdering a convenience-store clerk. Unfortunately, Vinny passed the bar (after 6 failed attempts!) only a few weeks before, and has never even seen the inside of a courtroom. But no Gambini has lost an argument yet.
Two-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank tries her hand at romantic comedy in this touching film based on the bestselling Irish novel. Holly Kennedy (Swank) and her charming Irish husband Gerry (Gerard Butler) are a young couple struggling to get by in New York City. Their marriage is 10 years strong, and they are madly in love, but the fates soon step in, when Gerry develops cancer and dies. Holly is completely devastated, and her friends Denise (Lisa Kudrow) and Sharon (Gina Gershon) do their best to console her. Her mother (Kathy Bates) and sister, Rose (Nellie Mckay), also offer their support, but it seems nothing can pull Holly out of her grief. Then one day, she begins to receive love letters Gerry penned before his death. The letters are filled with various stories and instructions, and one of them even contains a plan that sends her and her friends on a trip to Ireland. As Gerry's posthumous letters buoy her up, Holly slowly begins to piece her life back together. His letters help her to celebrate their special love story, and remind her that she must continue to live her life, and seek out happiness. The film's stellar cast delivers many tearjerker moments, and P.S. I LOVE YOU does a fine job of yanking on the heartstrings. However, the tone often shifts so abruptly, it at times feels as though they couldn't quite decide if Holly was a steel magnolia, a Bridget with a diary, or a devil in search of some Prada. But the strong performances manage to hold the tale together, and the story is ultimately moving, and yes, romantic.

On the fifteenth of May, in the jungle of Nool, in the heat of the day, in the cool of the pool. He was splashing...enjoying the jungle's great joys...When Horton the elephant heard a small noise. With his signature evocative and rhyming text, writer and cartoonist Dr. Seuss, an American treasure whose books have delighted generations of young people, opens one of his most beloved tales, Horton Hears a Who! Now, over fifty years since Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel, published this perennial favorite, the makers of ICE AGE and comedy giants Jim Carrey and Steve Carell, bring it to life in a way never before experienced. For the first time, a motion picture transports audiences into Dr. Seuss' incredible imagination, through state-of-the-art CG animation. DR. SEUSS' HORTON HEARS A WHO! (TM) is Seuss as you want to experience his work at the movies - and as it was meant to be seen. The film, like Seuss' book, presents an imaginative elephant named Horton (Carrey) who hears a faint cry for help coming from a tiny speck of dust floating through the air. Although Horton doesn't know it yet, that speck houses an entire city named Who-ville, inhabited by the microscopic Whos, led by the Mayor (Carell). Despite being ridiculed and threatened by his neighbors, who think he has lost his mind, Horton is determined to save the particle...because "a person's a person, no matter how small." Horton's eight-word explanation for his actions embodies an idea both simple and profound, and which means so much, to so many. The film provides more food for thought, having Horton explains to his skeptical friends: "If you were way out in space, and you looked down at where we live, we would look like a speck." Then there's Horton's code...his motto... that, "an elephant's faithful 100 percent" - pointing to his honesty and determination to never abandon his mission to find a new home for the speck that houses the incredible world of Who-ville. These philosophical declarations point to Seuss' unique ability to take complex issues and boil them down into understandable thoughts that anybody, at any age, could understand. It all comes together through the vision of a master storyteller, the magic of computer animation, and the special alchemy of three generations of comedy stars - Carrey and Carell are joined by the legendary Carol Burnett, as well as cutting-edge talents Will Arnett, Isla Fisher, Amy Poehler , Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill - to create an all-audience comedy event. --© Fox
While covering the night shift at a small-town fire department, an ambitious young television reporter (Manuela Velasco) and her cameraman follow the crew on a call to rescue an elderly woman unable to escape the inferno that is consuming her home. Upon their arrival at the scene, the calm midnight air is pierced by the sound of horrific screams, and the television report takes an unexpectedly dark turn.
Cut off by her wealthy father, a young woman talks her boyfriend into robbing a check cashing spot. Things don't quite work out for the couple, however, who are now being pursued by the cops.
Starring Mennonite actors (from Mexico, Canada and Russia), Silent Light lets the audience peek into the domestic rituals of a couple and their children in a Mennonite community outside Chihuahua. Johan (Cornelio Wall Fehr) is in the midst of a marital crisis with his wife Esther (award-winning Manitoba novelist Miriam Toews), because he believes himself to be deeply in love with Marianne (María Pankratz), with whom he has been having an affair. There is no deception, however. Johan has been upfront with Esther from the start. Yet despite his belief that Marianne is his ideal mate and “natural woman,” his desire to preserve the family’s stability and, most profoundly, his great love for his wife and children, prevent him from starting a new life with his mistress.

In STREET KINGS, a police thriller directed by David Ayer, Keanu Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a veteran LAPD Vice Detective. Ludlow sets out on a quest to discover the killers of his former partner, Detective Terrance Washington (Terry Crews). Academy® Award winner Forest Whitaker plays Captain Wander, Ludlow’s supervisor, whose duties include keeping him within the confines of the law and out of the clutches of Internal Affairs Captain Biggs (Hugh Laurie). Ludlow teams up with a young Robbery Homicide Detective (Chris Evans) to track Washington’s killers through the diverse communities of Los Angeles. Their determination pays off when the two Detectives track down Washington’s murderers and confront them in an attempt to bring them to justice. --© Fox Searchlight

Directed by Gregory Hoblit (FRACTURE, PRIMAL FEAR), UNTRACEABLE follows F.B.I. cybercrimes specialist Jennifer Marsh (Diane Lane) as she attempts to track down a serial killer who brazenly displays his murderous deeds on the Internet. Aided by fellow agent Griffin Dowd (Colin Hanks) and local detective Eric Box (Billy Burke), Marsh tenaciously hunts for the elusive criminal in rainy Pacific Northwest settings, but as she closes in on her target, he deviously finds ways to get closer to her, all the while killing his victims in increasingly faster fashion. Clearly referencing a number of renowned thrillers--most notably the SAW films, SEVEN, and SILENCE OF THE LAMBS--UNTRACEABLE is far from an original cinematic exercise. However, Lane's steely, smart, and beautiful heroine ably anchors the film, which also benefits from its appropriately gloomy Portland, Oregon, backdrop. As with any effective suspense movie, the thrill is in the chase, with the cold-blooded killer proving to be quite adept at disguising his real location, even as his disturbingly popular site remains prominently on the web (hence the picture's title). Though not up to par with classics such as SEVEN and SILENCE, UNTRACEABLE is a well-crafted genre film that easily eclipses other like-minded fare, particularly FEARDOTCOM and the SAW sequels.


A Florida con man named Thomas Jefferson Johnson uses the passing of the long time Congressman from his district, Jeff Johnson (who died of a seizure while having sex with his secretary), to get elected to Congress, where the money flows from lobbyists. Shortening his middle name and calling himself "Jeff" Johnson, he receives the endorsement of a political party comprised mostly of senior citizens called the "Silver Foxes."
PIERCE BROSNAN and LIAM NEESON star in Seraphim Falls – An epic action thriller set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. Directed by David Von Ancken (The Shield, CSI) Seraphim Falls is a visceral study of revenge and a bloody account of the aftermath of war. Combining the raw brutality of FIRST BLOOD with the mesmerizing savage beauty of COLD MOUNTAIN, this is a film that will leave audiences gasping, and on the edge of their seats. It's been five years since the end of the American Civil War. Somewhere deep within the snowy mountains of the American West a lone figure - Gideon (PIERCE BROSNAN) sits in front of a fire, lost in thought. Abruptly, he is pulled out of his reverie by the echo of a Henry rifle and a bullet puffing into the snow inches from his head. With no time to react another shot rings out. It connects with Gideon's shoulder and whips him to the ground. Instantly Gideon calculates his one chance of survival. To leave everything he owns and run for the cover of the nearby fir trees – his blood leaving a crimson trail in the snow… So begins the thrilling first act of SERAPHIM FALLS, and the final stage of Colonel Morsman Carver's (LIAM NEESON) terrible revenge - to hunt down and kill Gideon, no matter what it takes. There will be many men dead before these two meet face to face, and only then will Carver fully comprehend the full cost of his undertaking. Launched by a gunshot and propelled by rage, the relentless pursuit will take them both far from the comforts and codes of civilization and into the unforgiving wilderness. The emotional conclusion to this odyssey comes after a bloody climax in which both men are forced to confront their past and travel deep within the recesses of their souls. SERAPHIM FALLS - a taut action film, an epic chase and primal battle set in the mythic landscape of the West.

Neil and Abby Warner have the perfect life and a perfect marriage. With their beautiful young daughter, Sophie, they are living the American dream... until today. When Sophie is suddenly kidnapped, they have no choice but to comply with the abductors demands. The kidnapper, Ryan, a cold and calculating sociopath, takes over their lives with the brutal efficiency of someone who has nothing to lose. In the blink of an eye Neil and Abby's safe and secure existence is turned upside down. Over the next twenty-four hours they are at the mercy of a man who wants only one thing. That they do his bidding. It soon becomes clear that Ryan's demands are all the more terrifying... because he doesn't want their money. What he wants is for Neil and Abby's life, the life that they have built over 10 years, to be systematically dismantled and destroyed. Piece by piece. With time running out on their little girl, Neil and Abby realize their nightmare is about to take its most deadly turn: they will have to face Ryan's final, horrifying challenge - would they kill an innocent man to save their own child? In the far distance a solitary light burns in the window of a lodge as the car glides to a halt - and Neil knows it is a question only he can answer - when Ryan hands him the gun...
Sydney Wells (JESSICA ALBA) is an accomplished, independent, Los Angeles-based concert violinist. She is also blind, and has been so since a childhood tragedy. As our story opens, Sydney undergoes a double corneal transplant, a surgery she has waited her whole life to have, and her sight is restored. After the surgery, neural ophthalmologist Dr. Paul Faulkner (ALESSANDRO NIVOLA) helps Sydney with the difficult adjustment, and with the support of her older sister Helen (PARKER POSEY), Sydney learns to see again.
Sydney, a young, blind violinist is given the chance to see for the first time since childhood through a miraculous corneal transplant. As Sydney adjusts to a dizzying new world of colors and shapes, she is haunted by frightening visions of death itself capturing the doomed and dragging them away from the world of the living. Terrorized and on the brink of insanity, Sydney must discover whose eyes she has inherited, and what secret visions they have held.
Bridget Cardigan (Diane Keaton) is shocked to learn that she is on the verge of losing her home and comfortable upper middle class lifestyle when her husband Don (Ted Danson) is downsized from his job of 30 years. Don has been looking for a job for a whole year with no luck. Armed only with a decades old English Lit degree and years as a dedicated mother and corporate wife, Bridget is forced into the unfamiliar labor market with no job skills. Finally, she takes the only position she can find as a janitor at the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City.
In STREET KINGS, a police thriller directed by David Ayer, Keanu Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a veteran LAPD Vice Detective. Ludlow sets out on a quest to discover the killers of his former partner, Detective Terrance Washington (Terry Crews). Academy® Award winner Forest Whitaker plays Captain Wander, Ludlow’s supervisor, whose duties include keeping him within the confines of the law and out of the clutches of Internal Affairs Captain Biggs (Hugh Laurie). Ludlow teams up with a young Robbery Homicide Detective (Chris Evans) to track Washington’s killers through the diverse communities of Los Angeles. Their determination pays off when the two Detectives track down Washington’s murderers and confront them in an attempt to bring them to justice. --© Fox Searchlight

Two-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank tries her hand at romantic comedy in this touching film based on the bestselling Irish novel. Holly Kennedy (Swank) and her charming Irish husband Gerry (Gerard Butler) are a young couple struggling to get by in New York City. Their marriage is 10 years strong, and they are madly in love, but the fates soon step in, when Gerry develops cancer and dies. Holly is completely devastated, and her friends Denise (Lisa Kudrow) and Sharon (Gina Gershon) do their best to console her. Her mother (Kathy Bates) and sister, Rose (Nellie Mckay), also offer their support, but it seems nothing can pull Holly out of her grief. Then one day, she begins to receive love letters Gerry penned before his death. The letters are filled with various stories and instructions, and one of them even contains a plan that sends her and her friends on a trip to Ireland. As Gerry's posthumous letters buoy her up, Holly slowly begins to piece her life back together. His letters help her to celebrate their special love story, and remind her that she must continue to live her life, and seek out happiness. The film's stellar cast delivers many tearjerker moments, and P.S. I LOVE YOU does a fine job of yanking on the heartstrings. However, the tone often shifts so abruptly, it at times feels as though they couldn't quite decide if Holly was a steel magnolia, a Bridget with a diary, or a devil in search of some Prada. But the strong performances manage to hold the tale together, and the story is ultimately moving, and yes, romantic.

Screenwriter Jeff Lowell makes his directorial debut with the slightly unconventional romantic comedy OVER HER DEAD BODY. Overbearing bridezilla Kate (Eva Longoria Parker) is reviewing final details at the reception venue on her wedding day when the unthinkable happens: she's crushed by an ice sculpture of an angel before she makes it to the altar. A year later, her fiancé, Henry (Paul Rudd), is still devastated. To appease his concerned sister, Chloe (Lindsay Sloan), he visits Ashley (Lake Bell), a caterer and sometime psychic, in an attempt to contact Kate in the afterlife and gain some closure. Henry and Ashley hit it off, but misguided spirit Kate hasn't quite made it to heaven yet, and takes to haunting Ashley to protect her ex-fiancé from his potential new love interest. Will this otherworldly interference keep Henry from moving on with Ashley? Or will Kate realize that the best gift she can give Henry is happiness with someone new? Jason Biggs stars as Dan, Ashley's best friend and catering partner, who is a hiding a big secret from her. Rudd is his usual likable self as Henry, a veterinarian who manages to find humor in every situation despite his lingering sadness. Watch for a very amusing scene with his pet parrot. Longoria looks great as a very fashionable ghost, sporting a new hairdo and a new white outfit almost every time she appears on screen. Bell exudes an air of earnestness and optimism as Ashley, who decides that love is worth being haunted by a ghost. Character actor Stephen Root appears as the ice sculptor.

In STREET KINGS, a police thriller directed by David Ayer, Keanu Reeves plays Tom Ludlow, a veteran LAPD Vice Detective. Ludlow sets out on a quest to discover the killers of his former partner, Detective Terrance Washington (Terry Crews). Academy® Award winner Forest Whitaker plays Captain Wander, Ludlow’s supervisor, whose duties include keeping him within the confines of the law and out of the clutches of Internal Affairs Captain Biggs (Hugh Laurie). Ludlow teams up with a young Robbery Homicide Detective (Chris Evans) to track Washington’s killers through the diverse communities of Los Angeles. Their determination pays off when the two Detectives track down Washington’s murderers and confront them in an attempt to bring them to justice. --© Fox Searchlight

An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself traveling back to ancient China to join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King.

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