Directed by Wayne Wong Based on the novel by Lisa See about two seven year-old girls living in 19th century China who had their feet bound on the same day and became laotongs. This was a relationship of choice (as opposed to marriage that was arranged for the purpose of producing sons) for life-long emotional […]
Directed by Larysa Kondracki I did not know that the United States is the only country participating in international peacekeeping missions not sending their own military troops. It outsources contracts to private companies. In 1999, when Nebraskan police officer Kathryn Bolkovac (Rachel Weisz) accepted a one-year contract with private contractor Democra Security for a peacekeeping […]
Directed by James Marsh In November 1973, a baby chimpanzee was taken from his mother soon after birth to be raised by a human ‘mother’ – a graduate student of psychology with three children of her own. This was the beginning of Project Nim, an experiment to test the nature versus nurture dichotomy. Learning sign […]
Directed by Aureliano Amadei Aureliano Amadei (Vince Marchioni) is a chronic smoker who still lives at home with his mother. With a group of friends, the 28 year-old is an unemployed actor who is busy organising an anti-war demonstration and hoping to make a documentary. When a friend of his mother’s, Stefano Rolla (Giorgio Colangeli), […]
Directed by Jon Favreau. The first time I became aware of Daniel Craig’s rear end in centre frame at the beginning of this film, I thought that he must be uncomfortable with such a ‘wedgie’. The next time I realised there had been half a dozen more shots of his derriere, I realised that I […]
Directed by Fred Schepisi. Even though Elizabeth Hudson (Charlotte Rampling) lies dying in her mansion in a wealthy Sydney suburb, she is still a force to be reckoned with. She has a couple of nurses, a housekeeper and a solicitor to tend to her every need and they indulge all her whims. In her morphine […]
Directed by Seth Gordon. Nick (Jason Bateman) quite enjoys his work and actually puts in extra hours in the hope of scoring a promised promotion. He feels that the key to success is to “take shit†and his boss (Kevin Spacey) is an evil sadist who dishes this out in copious amounts. Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) […]
Directed by Levan Gabriadze. Slava (Konstantin Khabenskiy) arrives in Moscow with a manuscript under his arm, hoping to publish his first novel. Before he even gets to the publishers, he receives a phone call informing him that his writing is shocking and he will never succeed because it is obvious that he knows nothing about […]
Directed by Robert Redford. Captain Fredrick Aiken (James McAvoy) returns from the Civil War as a hero and resumes his life as a lawyer in Washington. He is working for the former attorney general Reverdy Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) when President Lincoln is assassinated by John Booth and the Vice President and Secretary of State are […]
Directed by Jeanne Labrune. The French, or at least the French filmmakers, have always been very good at sex and Isabelle Huppert has become an expert, having played a prostitute in several films (Heaven’s Gate, Slow Motion, La Vie Promise) and pushed sexual boundaries in several others including The Piano Teacher. In Special Treatment she […]