Watch Man on Wire (2008) Online

Man on Wire
On August 7, 1974, a 24-year-old French high-wire artist named Philippe Petit committed one of the most astonishing performance stunts of the late 20th century: he strung a thin cable in between the two towers of the World Trade Center and not only walked across, from one building to another, but did a nerve-wracking series of knee-bends and acrobatic movements on the cable, some 1,350 feet above the ground, before turning himself in. This occurred to the consternation and chagrin of Port Authority policemen, who immediately arrested Petit for the act -- prompting many to dub Petit's stunt "the artistic crime of the century." James Marsh's documentary Man on Wire revisits and recounts this chain of events some 34 years after they occurred. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

PG-13, 1 hr. 34 min.
Documentary, Special Interest
Directed By: James Marsh
In Theaters: Jan 22, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Dec 9, 2008
US Box Office:$2.6M

7.9

Man on Wire (2008)

Watch Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009) Online

Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a top military strategist working for the RAND Corporation, leaked a 7,000 page document known as the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times. Disenchanted with the nation's conduct in Vietnam, Ellsberg believed the release of the top secret paper -- which outlined the "secret history" of the war -- was crucial to educating the public about the government's lies and misdeeds. This documentary chronicles the media and political frenzy that Ellsberg unleashed, and traces the effect of the leak on public perception of both the war and the White House. ~ Carly Wray, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 33 min.
Documentary
Directed By: Judith Ehrlich , Rick Goldsmith
In Theaters: Jun 1, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Jul 20, 2010
US Box Office:$0.5M

7.6

Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009)

Watch Sweetgrass (2009) Online

Sweetgrass
Filmmakers Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor continue their work capturing the stark beauty and danger of the Western landscape with this documentary. With only a soundtrack as narration, Sweetgrass tracks shepherds through Montana as they take their flocks on the long trek to the Beartooth Mountains. ~ Kimber Myers, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 45 min.
Documentary, Western, Special Interest
Directed By: Ilisa Barbash , Lucien Castaing-Taylor
In Theaters: Sep 26, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Aug 3, 2010
US Box Office:$0.2M

6.6

Sweetgrass (2009)

Watch Cell 211 (Celda 211) (2009) Online

Cell 211 (Celda 211)
A lawman must side with a gang of criminals if he's to save his own life in this action drama from Spanish director Daniel Monzon. Juan Oliver (Alberto Ammann) has accepted a job as a prison guard, and the day before he begins work he leaves his pregnant wife Elena (Marta Etura) at home and goes to the penitentiary for an orientation session. During a tour of the facilities, Juan is struck on the head in a freak accident; he passes out and is carried to a nearby cell.

As the jailers wait for a doctor to arrive, a riot breaks out, and Juan is left behind. When he wakes up, all is in chaos, and Malamadre (Luis Tosar) and a band of fellow inmates have taken control of the prison. Malamadre thinks Juan is another prisoner, and for the sake of his own survival he plays along, throwing in his lot with fellow rebels Tachuela (Vicente Romero) and Releches (Luis Zahera). When Malamadre learns that a handful of Basque terrorists are confined to the same prison, he sees an opportunity to use them as a bargaining chip with the government, and Juan is caught between saving his own skin and helping Malamadre make a deal that could have grave nationwide implications. Celda 211 (aka Cell 211) received its North American premiere at the 2009 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 44 min.
Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense
Directed By: Daniel Monzon
Written By: F.P. Gandull, Jorge Guerricaechevarría
In Theaters: Nov 6, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Aug 29, 2011

7.6

Cell 211 (Celda 211) (2009)

Watch Ajami (2009) Online

Ajami
Palestinian Scandar Copti and Israeli Yaron Shani collaborated on this independent drama, which examines how the troubled relationship between their countries colors everyday life in the Middle East. Nasri (Fouad Habash) is a teenager whose family is in crisis: his uncle got into an altercation with a local crime boss, and in reprisal, his cousin has been murdered. The shooters, it seems, originally intended to kill Nasri's younger brother, Omar (Shahir Kabaha), in lieu of the cousin. Abu Elias (Youssef Sahwani), a restaurateur and respected member of the community, steps in to negotiate.
Omar agrees to make a cash payment to the gangsters to prevent further violence, but since he doesn't have the money, he raises it by dealing drugs. Abu has a daughter, Hadir (Ranin Karim), who works at his restaurant; she's fallen in love with Omar, but since she's Christian and he's Muslim, they can't acknowledge their feelings in public. Also working at the restaurant is Malek (Ibrahim Frege), a 16-year-old illegal immigrant who is looking for any kind of job to help pay for his mother's medical treatments. And elsewhere, Dando (Eran Naim) is a policeman drawn into the chaotic life of Binj (Scandar Copti), a suspected drug dealer who has been arrested for attacking a Jewish neighbor; Dando is also preoccupied with the fate of his brother, who has suddenly gone missing. Ajami won a special distinction award at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Unrated, 2 hr.
Art House & International, Drama
Directed By: Scandar Copti , Yaron Shani
Written By: Scandar Copti, Yaron Shani
In Theaters: Feb 3, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Aug 24, 2010
US Box Office:$0.6M

7.0

Ajami (2009)

Watch A Prophet (Un prophete) (2009) Online

A Prophet (Un prophete)
Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena, part Arab, part Corsican, cannot read or write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang currently ruling the prison, he is given a number of "missions" to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader's confidence in the process. Malik is a fast learner and rises up the prison ranks, all the while secretly devising his own plans.

R, 2 hr. 35 min.
Art House & International, Drama
Directed By: Jacques Audiard
Written By: Thomas Bidegain, Jacques Audiard, Abdel Raouf Dafri, Nicolas Peufaillit
In Theaters: Feb 26, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Aug 3, 2010
US Box Office:$1.5M

7.9

A Prophet (Un prophete) (2009)

Watch Up (2009) Online

Up
A feisty septuagenarian teams with a fearless wilderness ranger to do battle with a vicious band of beasts and villains in this computer-animated adventure scripted by Pixar veteran Bob Peterson and co-directed by Peterson and Monsters, Inc. director Peter Docter. Carl Fredricksen is a 78-year-old balloon salesman. His entire life, Carl has longed to wander the wilds of South America.
Then, one day, the irascible senior citizen shocks his neighbors by tying thousands of balloons to his home and finally taking flight. But Carl isn't alone on his once-in-a-lifetime journey, because stowed away on his front porch is an excitable eight-year-old wilderness explorer named Russell. Later, as the house touches down on the world's second largest continent, Carl and his unlikely traveling companion step outside to discover that not only is their new front lawn considerably larger, but that the predators therein are much more ferocious than anything they ever faced back home. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

PG, 1 hr. 29 min.
Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids & Family, Comedy
Directed By: Peter Docter , Pete Docter
Written By: Bob Peterson, Pete Docter
In Theaters: May 29, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Nov 10, 2009
US Box Office:$293.0M

8.3

Up (2009)

Watch Racing Dreams (2009) Online

Racing Dreams
Racing Dreams follows three kids during a pivotal, career-making or breaking year, who dream of one day racing in NASCAR.Academy Award nominated director, Marshall Curry (Street Fight), takes us into the lives of Annabeth (11 years old), Josh (12), and Brandon (13) as they compete for the World Karting Association's National Championship. Clocking speeds of up to 70 mph in extreme racing karts, these young racers hope to follow the scores of great NASCAR drivers who got their start in racing's version of the little league.As they race their way through the year-long Championship series, they also navigate the treacherous road between childhood and young adulthood. In intimate moments of young love and family struggle we experience a time in life when allof us are just beginning to figure out who we are. -- (C) Official Site

PG, 1 hr. 35 min.
Documentary, Action & Adventure, Sports & Fitness, Special Interest
Directed By: Marshall Curry
In Theaters: May 21, 2010 Wide
On DVD: Nov 1, 2010

6.8

Racing Dreams (2009)

Watch L'Enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot (Henri-George Clouzot's Inferno) (2009) Online

L'Enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot (Henri-George Clouzot's Inferno)
In the 1950s and '60s, Henri-Georges Clouzot was one of France's most acclaimed and successful filmmakers, a director who enjoyed massive international success with Le Salaire de la Peur (aka The Wages of Fear) and Les Diaboliques, and his gift for generating tension and suspense onscreen earned him the nickname "the French Hitchcock." In 1963, Clouzot began work on a project called "L'Enfer" (aka "The Inferno"), a tale of jealousy that leads to madness, and the filmmaker was promised all the time and resources he needed for the picture.
However, while the director was meticulously prepared when shooting began, after only three weeks the production was halted and never resumed; Clouzot would complete only two more films before his death in 1977. Filmmakers Serge Bromberg and Ruxandra Medrea try to answer the question of what happened to a project so full of promise in L'Enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot (aka Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno), a documentary which looks into the shadowy history of this lost film. Including interviews with members of the cast and crew (among them production assistant Costa-Gavras, who went on to a distinguished career of his own) and excerpts from the surviving footage (seen by the public for the first time here), the film tells the tale of how a great director ran afoul of his own demons while making a movie about a troubled man. Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno received its world premiere at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 34 min.
Documentary, Television, Art House & International
Directed By: Ruxandra Medrea , Serge Bromberg
In Theaters: Jul 16, 2010 Wide
US Box Office:$24.0k
Park Circus

7.3

L'Enfer d'Henri-Georges Clouzot (Henri-George Clouzot's Inferno) (2009)

Watch Enemies of the People (2009) Online

Enemies of the People
The Khmer Rouge ran what is regarded as one of the twentieth century's most brutal regimes. Yet the Killing Fields of Cambodia remain unexplained. Until now. In ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE the men and women who perpetrated the massacres - from the foot-soldiers who slit throats to the party's ideological leader, Nuon Chea aka Brother Number Two - break a 30-year silence to give testimony never before heard or seen. Unprecedented access from top to bottom of the Khmer Rouge has been achieved through a decade of work by one of Cambodia's best investigative journalists, Thet Sambath. Sambath is on a personal quest: he lost his own family in the Killing Fields. The film is his journey to discover not how but why they died. In doing so, he hears and understands for the first time the real story of his country's tragedy. After years of visits and trust-building, Sambath finally persuades Brother Number Two to admit (again, for the first time) in detail how he and Pol Pot (the two supreme powers in the Khmer Rouge state) decided to kill party members whom they considered 'Enemies of the People'.
Sambath's remarkable work goes even one stage further: over the years he befriends a network of killers in the provinces who implemented the kill policy. For the first time, we see how orders created on an abstract political level translate into foul murder in the rice fields and forests of the Cambodian plain. We have repeatedly used the expression 'for the first time'. This is because Sambath's work represents a watershed both in Cambodian historiography and in the country's quest for closure on one of the world's darkest episodes.
The United Nations and the Cambodian government have set up a tribunal to try the senior leaders of the Khmer Rouge for international crimes. Brother Number Two's trial is expected to start in 2010. The trials are widely expected to deliver a form of justice but fewer expect the truth finally to come out through this process. Sambath says: "Some may say no good can come from talking to killers and dwelling on past horror, but I say these people have sacrificed a lot to tell the truth. In daring to confess they have done good, perhaps the only good thing left. They and all the killers like them must be part of the process of reconciliation if my country is to move forward." -- (C) Official Site

Unrated, 1 hr. 33 min.
Documentary, Special Interest
Directed By: Rob Lemkin , Thet Sambath
Written By: Rob Lemkin
In Theaters: Jul 30, 2010 Limited
On DVD: Feb 28, 2012
US Box Office:$73.2k

7.2

Enemies of the People (2009)

Watch Last Train Home (2009) Online

Last Train Home
Every spring, China's cities are plunged into chaos as 130 million migrant workers journey to their home villages for the New Year's holiday. This mass exodus is the world's largest human migration-an epic spectacle that reveals a country tragically caught between its rural past and industrial future.
Working over several years in classic verité style Chinese-Canadian filmmaker Lixin Fan (with the producers of the award-winning hit documentary Up the Yangtze) travels with one couple who have embarked on this annual trek for almost two decades. Like so many of China's rural poor, Changhua and Sugin Zhang left behind their two infant children for grueling factory jobs. Their daughter Qin-now a restless and rebellious teenager-both bitterly resents their absence and longs for her own freedom away from school, much to the utter devastation of her parents. Emotionally engaging and starkly beautiful, Last Train Home's intimate observation of one fractured family sheds light on the human cost of China's ascendance as an economic superpower.-- (C) Zeitgeist Films

PG, 1 hr. 25 min.
Documentary, Art House & International, Special Interest
Directed By: Lixin Fan
In Theaters: Sep 3, 2010 Limited
On DVD: Feb 22, 2011
US Box Office:$0.3M

7.6

Last Train Home (2009)