Watch Sideways (2004) Online

Sideways (2004)Directed by Alexander Payne, Sideways follows Miles (Paul Giamatti), who is distressed about his lack of success as a novelist, and Jack (Thomas Haden Church), an equally unsuccessful actor with a rapidly approaching wedding.

In a last-ditch effort to sow their wild oats, Jack and Miles take off on a final road trip to California's wine country the week prior to Jack's wedding. Both men have goals for the vacation -- Miles wants to turn Jack on to the art of wine tasting, while Jack is concerned with exploiting his last days as a bachelor -- but when the two men come across two fascinating women (Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh), the duo is forced to examine their morality, and if maturity isn't such a depressing prospect -- at least, for one of them. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

R, 2 hr. 3 min.
Drama, Romance, Comedy
Directed By: Alexander Payne
Written By: Jim Taylor, Alexander Payne
In Theaters: Sep 13, 2004 Wide

7.6

Sideways (2004)

Watch Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) (2004) Online

Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) (2004)Jacques Demy's 1964 masterpiece is a pop-art opera, or, to borrow the director's own description, a film in song. This simple romantic tragedy begins in 1957. Guy Foucher (Nino Castelnuovo), a 20-year-old French auto mechanic, has fallen in love with 17-year-old Geneviève Emery (a luminous Catherine Deneuve), an employee in her widowed mother's chic but financially embattled umbrella shop. On the evening before Guy is to leave for a two-year tour of combat in Algeria, he and Geneviève make love.

She becomes pregnant and must choose between waiting for Guy's return or accepting an offer of marriage from a wealthy diamond merchant (Marc Michel, reprising his role from Demy's masterful debut, Lola). A completely sung movie, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is closest in form to a cinematic opera. Composer Michel Legrand composed the score, modeling it around the patterns of everyday conversation. Umbrellas was re-released in 1997. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

G, 1 hr. 35 min.
Drama, Romance, Musical & Performing Arts, Art House & International
Directed By: Jacques Demy
Written By: Jacques Demy
In Theaters: Feb 13, 2004 Limited

7.7

Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) (2004)

Watch Moolaadé (2004) Online

Moolaadé (2004)Pioneering Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene directed this controversial drama which deals in part with the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation (generally involving removal of the clitoris and temporary closure of the vagina), which is still practiced in a number of African nations in the name of "purification." Six girls who are scheduled to undergo the traditional purification ceremony escape, and four make their way to the home of Colle Ardo Gallo Sy (Fatoumata Coulibaly), a wife and mother who is sympathetic to their dilemma. Colle casts a "moolaade" spell, which will bring harm to anyone who attempts to hurt those under Colle's care. Colle finds few supporters in a village where tradition is sacred and change is regarded with great suspicion; the men who rule the tribe and the women who conduct the purification rituals both make their displeasure clear, but none can persuade Colle to vanquish the spell, which the others are obligated to respect. Meanwhile, Colle's daughter Amsatou (Salimata Traore) is facing a dilemma of her own. Amsatou has fallen in love with a young man who will one day inherit leadership of the tribe; a man who straddles traditional and modern life, he shuttles between an office job in Paris and the village of his birth.

But, while he cares for Amsatou, her mother spared her from the purification ritual, and now she's uncertain if he will be willing to violate centuries of tribal tradition and wed a woman who is unclean in the eyes of his family. Moolaadé was awarded the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Unrated, 2 hr.
Art House & International, Drama
Directed By: Ousmane Sembene
Written By: Ousmane Sembene
In Theaters: Oct 15, 2004 Limited

7.5

Moolaadé (2004)

Watch Take Out (2004) Online

Take Out (2004)Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou make their feature debut as writer/directors with the documentary-style DV drama Take Out. Korean-American actor Charles Jang stars as Ming Ding, a Chinese illegal immigrant struggling to make ends meet working as a deliveryman at a take-out restaurant. His day begins when he is rousted, beaten, and threatened with more violence by two men over an 800-dollar debt, which he incurred because he felt obligated to send some money back to his wife and child in China. Ming scrapes together what he can.

His co-worker, Young (Jeng-Hua Yu), lends him some money, and offers to forgo his deliveries for the day so Ming can make more cash. The film follows the stoic Ming, who speaks little English, over the course of the day as he interacts with the cooks and restaurant manager (Wang-Thye Lee, an actual employee of the restaurant where Take Out was filmed), and races in the rain on a multitude of deliveries on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, interacting with a broad spectrum of New Yorkers. The filmmakers made Take Out on an extremely low budget, even by indie standards, using the Internet to find their cast, and shooting at the restaurant during business hours with a skeleton crew. Take Out was shown at the 2004 New York Asian American Film Festival and at the 2004 Nashville Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Art House & International, Drama
Directed By: Sean Baker , Shih-Ching Tsou
In Theaters: Jan 18, 2004 Wide

6.5

Take Out (2004)

Watch Live-in Maid (Cama adentro) (2004) Online

Live-in Maid (Cama adentro) (2004)A once-wealthy Buenos Aires socialite who has fallen on hard times finds the roles between herself and her longtime live-in maid suddenly reversed in director Jorge Gaggero's class-conscious drama. Mrs. Beba is a 58-year-old woman whose days as a well-to-do socialite have long since passed, and Dora is the 51-year-old housekeeper who has been Mrs. Beba's live-in housekeeper for 35 years. As a successive cycle of personal and financial crises force Mrs. Beba to sell door-to-door beauty products as a way of making ends meet, she finds it increasingly difficult to pay her employee in a timely manner. Since Dora has been using her money to construct a house in a shantytown on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, this naturally poses something of a problem. It's been six months since Dora has received her last paycheck, and her patience has finally run out. Yet, despite the fact that class differences continually come into play between the pair, there is no denying the bond that has formed between them over the course of their three decades together.

When Mrs. Beba finally produces enough money to pay Dora's debt and offer a six-month salary advancement, Dora decides to finally strike out on her own despite her employer's objections. Later, after Dora moves into her new home with her weekend boyfriend, Miguel, Mrs. Beba's energy and telephone services are turned off for lack of payment. By the time summer arrives, Mrs. Beba must sell off her apartment just to stay out of debt. Remembering that her old employee has a new home, the now-homeless Mrs. Beba kindly offers to give her furniture to Dora. But Dora can't turn away an old friend in need, and before they know it, Dora and Mrs. Beba are living together once again. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
Directed By: Jorge Gaggero
Written By: Jorge Gaggero
In Theaters: Jul 18, 2007 Limited

7.1

Live-in Maid (Cama adentro) (2004)

Watch The Best of Youth (La meglio gioventù) (2005) Online

The Best of Youth (La meglio gioventù)Directed by Marco Tullio Giordana and La Meglio Gioventu, this film chronicles the youth, emotional development, and milestone events in the lives of brothers Nicola (Luigi Lo Cascio and Matteo Carti (Alessio Boni) between 1966 and the early 2000s.

Despite being polar opposites -- Nicola is a free spirited, romantic psychiatrist; Matteo is an angst-ridden idealist and member of the Italian police force -- the brothers stay connected through the nature of life, family, and time, even during their long periods of separation from one another. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

R, 5 hr. 58 min.
Drama, Romance, Art House & International
Directed By: Marco Tullio Giordana
Written By: Stefano Rulli, Sandro Petraglia
In Theaters: Jun 22, 2003 Wide

8.1

The Best of Youth (La meglio gioventù) (2005)

Watch Iron Island (Jazire Ahani) (2005) Online

Iron Island (Jazire Ahani) An abandoned ship anchored in the Persian Gulf offers refuge to a number of homeless Iranian squatters seeking sturdy shelter in this whimsical drama from Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof.


Presiding over the makeshift hostel is the stern but fair Captain Nemat (Ali Nasirian). A tireless authoritarian with genuine affection for his charges, the patriarchal captain assumes a wide variety of responsibilities that span the spectrum from matchmaker to supervisor as the residents scour their makeshift home for scrap metal that will bring in some much-needed cash. It seems that the only inhabitant of this makeshift town not to bend to Captain Nemat's every whim is Ahmad (Hossein Farzi-Zadeh), a rebellious youngster with eyes for an attractive young lass (Neda Pakdaman) whose overprotective father keeps her on a decidedly short leash. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Art House & International, Drama
Directed By: Mohammad Rasoulof
Written By: Mohammad Rasoulof
In Theaters: Mar 31, 2006 Limited

7.0

Iron Island (Jazire Ahani)(2005)

Watch Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams (Esma's Secret - Grbavica) (2005) Online

Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams (Esma's Secret - Grbavica) (2005)A woman sees her own traumatic past reflected in the actions of her teenage daughter in this drama from first-time writer and director Jasmila Zbanic. Esma (Mirjana Karanovic) is a single mother trying to raise her teenage daughter, Sara (Luna Mijovic), in Sarajevo in the wake of war. While Esma works as a barmaid at a nightclub run by Saran (Bogdan Diklic), a man on the wrong side of the law, she has trouble making ends meet, and receives occasional benefits payments from a support group for women who have been affected by the war. Esma has little interest in talking about the loss of her husband, whom she claims was a hero fighting for Bosnia, and can become hyper-emotional with little provocation.

As Pelda (Leon Lucev), one of Esma's co-workers at the club, attempts to interest her in romance, Esma notices that Sara has caught the eye of Samir (Kenan Catic), a rebellious young man who is one of her classmates. As Esma tries to discourage Sara from becoming involved with Samir, she finds fate has forced her to tell her daughter the truth about her father. Grbavica received its world premiere at the 2006 Berlin Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 34 min.
Art House & International, Drama
Directed By: Jasmila Zbanic
In Theaters: Feb 16, 2007 Wide

7.2

Grbavica: The Land of My Dreams (Esma's Secret - Grbavica) (2005)

Watch A fost sau n-a fost?, (12:08 East of Bucharest) (2006) Online

A fost sau n-a fost?, (12:08 East of Bucharest) Gil-Scott Heron once wrote "the revolution will not be televised," but one Romanian newsman attempts to put his nation's revolution on the air after the fact in this satiric comedy from writer and director Corneliu Porumboiu. It's the sixteenth anniversary of the revolt that removed Communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu from power in Romania, and Jderescu (Ion Sapdaru) is the host of a televised public affairs show who wants to do a special program on the revolution. Jderescu's idea is to bring on a handful of ordinary citizens to discuss their role in Ceausescu's overthrow and how their lives have changed since Communist rule was swept from Romania. However, Jderescu can only round up two guests for his broadcast -- elderly Piscoci (Mircea Andreescu), who's more interested in playing Santa Claus for the neighborhood kids than talking politics, and Manescu (Teo Corban), a schoolteacher nursing a brutal hangover.

As Jderescu tries to lead a serious discussion of how Romania has changed since Ceausescu was driven from power, the conversation wanders off on a tangent about where the revolution actually took place, and the waters become even more muddied when Jderescu opens up the phone lines for questions from viewers, most of whom have their own distinct (and strongly conflicting) memories of the Revolution . . . and one of which has a bone to pick with Manescu over some drunken insults he hurled the night before. A Fost Sau n-a Fost? (aka 12:08 East of Bucharest) received its North American premier at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 28 min.
Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
Directed By: Corneliu Porumboiu
Written By: Corneliu Porumboiu
In Theaters: Jun 6, 2007 Wide

7.1

A fost sau n-a fost?, (12:08 East of Bucharest) (2006)

Watch Triad Election (Hak se wui yi wo wai kwai) (2006) Online

Triad Election (Hak se wui yi wo wai kwai) Superstar action director Johnny To's Hong Kong gangster picture Triad Election (aka Election 2) revolves around Jimmy (Louis Koo), a second-tiered triad member vying aggressively for the position of godfather in the current election. He is restrained in his pursuits by the current mob boss, Lok (Simon Yam), who wants to hold on to his seat, despite the fact that his two years are up and he isn't officially eligible for reelection.

This leads to a bloody, cutthroat, do-or-die battle of wills between the two men, carried out in some of the most astonishing set pieces ever constructed for an action opus, including a psychotic interrogation with knives and rabid dogs, a hide-and-seek battle at an outdoor café, and a shocking, ultraviolent denouement. To ads an additional level to the film by turning it into a scathing critique of the voraciousness encouraged by a laissez-faire economic system. Wong Tin-lam, Yao Yung, Lam Suet, Nick Cheung, Lam Ka-tung, and Mok Sing-lun co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 35 min.
Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense
Directed By: Johnnie To
Written By: Nai-Hoi Yau, Tin-shing Yip, Yau Nai-Hoi
In Theaters: Apr 25, 2007 Limited

7.2

Triad Election (Hak se wui yi wo wai kwai) (2006)

Watch Pan's Labyrinth (2006) Online

Pan's LabyrinthMexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro returns to the phantasmagorical cinema that defined such early fare as Cronos and The Devil's Backbone with this haunting fantasy-drama set in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and detailing the strange journeys of an imaginative young girl who may be the mythical princess of an underground kingdom. Her mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), recently remarried to sadistic army captain Vidal (Sergi Lpez) and soon to bear the cruel military man's child, shy young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) is forced to entertain herself as her recently-formed family settles into their new home nestled deep in the Spanish countryside. As Ofelia's bed-ridden mother lies immobilized in anticipation of her forthcoming child and her high-ranking stepfather remains determined to fulfill the orders of General Francisco Franco to crush a nearby guerilla uprising, the young girl soon ventures into an elaborate stone labyrinth presided over by the mythical faun Pan (Doug Jones).


Convinced by Pan that she is the lost princess of legend and that in order to return to her underground home she must complete a trio of life-threatening tasks, Ofelia sets out to reclaim her kingdom and return to her grieving father as Vidal's housekeeper Mercedes (Maribel Verd) and doctor (Alex Angulo) plot secretly on the surface to keep the revolution alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

R, 1 hr. 55 min.
Drama, Horror, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Directed By: Guillermo del Toro
Written By: Guillermo del Toro
In Theaters: Dec 29, 2006 Wide

8.3

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Watch The Queen (2006) Online

The QueenThe British prime minister and the Royal Family find themselves quietly at odds in the wake of a national tragedy in this drama from director Stephen Frears. On August 31, 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died in an auto accident in Paris; despite the controversial breakup of her marriage to Prince Charles, she was still one of the most famous and best-loved women in the world, and the public outpouring of emotion over her passing was immediate and intense. However, given the messy circumstances of Diana's breakup with Charles, official spokespeople for the Royal Family were uncertain about how to publicly address her passing. It didn't take long for the media to pick up on the hesitation of Buckingham Palace to pay homage to Diana, and many saw this as a sign of the cool emotional distance so often attributed to the royals, which in this case was widely seen as an insult against Diana and the many people who loved her.

Prime Minister Tony Blair (played by Michael Sheen) saw a potential public-relations disaster in the making, and took it upon himself to persuade Queen Elizabeth II (played by Helen Mirren) to make a statement in tribute to the fallen Diana -- an action that went against the taciturn queen's usual nature. The Queen was released the same year that Helen Mirren played Queen Elizabeth I in an acclaimed miniseries for British television; The Queen also gave Michael Sheen his second opportunity to play Tony Blair after portraying the prime minister in the television film The Deal. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

PG-13, 1 hr. 43 min.
Drama
Directed By: Stephen Frears
Written By: Peter Morgan
In Theaters: Oct 6, 2006 Wide

7.4

The Queen (2006)

Watch Mountain Patrol: Kekexili (2006) Online

Mountain Patrol Kekexili Filmmaker Lu Chuan, who wrote and directed The Missing Gun, traveled to the remote border of China, Tibet, and Uygur, to make his next feature, Kekexili. Lu based the film on a true story about a reporter from Beijing, Ga Yu (Qi Liang), who traveled to the barren, frigid, high altitude region of the movie's title. Ga Yu had heard about volunteer patrols that were trying to protect the endangered Tibetan antelope from the poachers who were selling their pelts to be made into expensive, fashionable shawls. The cold-blooded murder of one of the patrol members at the hands of the well-armed poachers draws Ga Yu to a small village, where the leader of the patrol unit, Ritai (Tibetan actor Duobuji), agrees to take him out on a patrol, in the hopes that a story in the paper will spur the Chinese government to take stronger action to protect the animals.

Ritai is determined to find the gunman responsible for slaughtering the animals, and for killing his comrade. His determination gradually becomes a deadly obsession. Lu shot his movie on location under dangerous conditions, with a cast of mostly nonprofessional actors. Though the film is from Mainland China, it won Hong Kong's Golden Horse Awards for Best Cinematography (Cao Yu) and Best Picture. It was also shown by Subway Cinema as part of the 2005 New York Asian Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

PG-13, 1 hr. 30 min.
Drama, Action & Adventure, Art House & International
Directed By: Lu Chuan , Chuan Lu
Written By: Lu Chuan
In Theaters: Apr 14, 2006 Limited

7.5

Mountain Patrol: Kekexili (2006)

Watch Ten Canoes (2006) Online

Ten Canoes A man teaches his younger brother an important lesson through an ancient fable in this period comedy drama shot in Australia, and the first feature film made in the Aboriginal language of Ganalbingu. As narrator David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu sets up the story, we watch a group of tribesmen led by elder Minygululu (Peter Minygululu) set out on an expedition to gather bark for canoe building and collect the precious eggs of the magpie geese. It has become clear to Minygululu that his younger brother Dayindi (Jamie Dayindi Gulpilil Dalaithngu) is infatuated with the youngest of his three wives, and Minygululu wants to be sure Dayindi doesn't do something he'll regret later on.

To teach his brother a lesson, Minygululu shares with him a long story about Ridjimiraril (Crusoe Kurddal), a warrior who finds that his brother Yeeralparil (also played by Jamie Dayindi Gulpilil Dalaithngu) has become a rival for the affections of his bride. However, while Minygululu's story caries a clear message for his brother, it also goes on long enough with enough twists, turns, and digressions that it gives Dayindi little opportunity to get into mischief during the trip. Ten Canoes received its world premiere at Australia's Adelaide Festival of Arts, and was first screened in North America at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 32 min.
Drama, Action & Adventure, Comedy
Directed By: Rolf de Heer , Peter Djigirr
Written By: Rolf de Heer
In Theaters: Jun 1, 2007 Wide

6.8

Ten Canoes (2006)

Watch The Band's Visit (Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) (2007) Online

The Band's Visit (Bikur Ha-Tizmoret)
When the Ceremonial Police Band of Alexandria, Egypt, journeys to a gig in Israel, they can hardly anticipate getting stuck in a rut. But upon arrival at the Israeli airport, their hosts and transportation fail to show. So begins first-time director Eran Kolirin's fish-out-of-water comedy The Band's Visit (aka Bikur Hatizmoret, 2007).

Trapped in a middle-of-nowhere desert town, the group members try to figure out what to do and where to go. In desperation, two of the musicians -- conductor Tawfiq (Sasson Gabai) and playboy Haled (Saleh Bakri) -- accept an invitation from sexy café owner Dina (Ronit Elkabetz) to bunk at her residence, and seemingly within no time, the unlikeliest of interracial (Israeli-Palestinian) romances begin to blossom -- not only between Tawfiq and Dina, but between Haled and local wallflower Papi (Shlomi Avraham), whose night together at a roller disco turns into a veritable comedy of errors. Meanwhile, the remainder of the bandmembers room with local resident Itzik's (Rubi Moscovich) family, which produces overwhelming conflict and innumerable tensions. As the days roll on, the co-mingling of Egyptian bandmembers and Israeli residents imparts each individual with insights into his cultural identity and that of the others. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

PG-13, 1 hr. 29 min.
Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
Directed By: Eran Kolirin
Written By: Eran Kolirin
In Theaters: Dec 7, 2007 Limited
On DVD: Jul 29, 2008
US Box Office:$3.0M

7.5

The Band's Visit (Bikur Ha-Tizmoret) (2007)

Watch Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2007) Online

Anvil! The Story of Anvil
In 1981, Canadian heavy metal band Anvil released their first album, Hard 'n' Heavy, which earned them a potent reputation among discerning headbangers and established them as one of the pioneering acts of the speed metal movement. Anvil had a loyal following in their native Canada and they shared stages with some of the biggest names in heavy rock, but the lucky break that would have elevated them to real stardom never came, and legal troubles helped to derail the group's career in the mid-'80s.
Years later, the likes of Metallica and Slayer would cite Anvil as a key influence, but lead vocalist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner struggled to keep the band alive, recording new material for tiny independent labels and trying to organize club tours as they juggled day jobs, families, and adult responsibilities. Documentary filmmaker Sacha Gervasi follows Kudlow and Reiner as they struggle to keep their ambitions alive despite 35 years of missing the brass ring in Anvil! The True Story of Anvil, which paints a sympathetic but warts-and-all portrait of the unexpected consequences of the rock & roll dream. Anvil! received its American premiere at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Documentary, Drama, Musical & Performing Arts
Directed By: Sacha Gervasi
In Theaters: Apr 10, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Oct 6, 2009
US Box Office:$0.5M

7.9

Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2007)

Watch Avaze gonjeshk-ha (The Song of Sparrows) (2008) Online

Avaze gonjeshk-ha (The Song of Sparrows)
Fired from his job on an ostrich farm after one of the birds runs away and he is blamed for the loss, a man becomes so obsessed with collecting useless rubbish that he begins to neglect his wife and daughter while becoming completely oblivious to their familial hardships. Karim earned a decent living by working on the ostrich farm, so after he is fired he sets out on a futile attempt to locate the bird. One day, as Karim heads into town in order to have his daughter's hearing aid repaired, he offers a lift to a wandering man and decides that there is good money in the taxi business.
But as his connection to the people of the city grows stronger, his personality begins to transform. Every day, Karim returns home with a new haul of useless junk, giving his picturesque courtyard the appearance of a sprawling junkyard. When his wife offers a spare door from the courtyard to a neighbor in need, Karim completely looses his cool and sets out to retrieve the door. When Karim stumbles and breaks his foot while rummaging through his second-hand goods, the kindness of neighbors makes him realize that his priorities have taken a turn for the worse. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

PG, 1 hr. 36 min.
Art House & International, Drama
Directed By: Majid Majidi
Written By: Majid Majidi, Mehran Kashani
In Theaters: Apr 3, 2009 Wide
On DVD: Feb 9, 2010

7.7

Avaze gonjeshk-ha (The Song of Sparrows) (2008)

Watch Let the Right One In (2008) Online

Let the Right One In
A 12-year-old boy befriends a mysterious young girl whose appearance in town suspiciously coincides with a horrifying series of murders in director Tomas Alfredson's adaptation of the book by author John Ajvide Lindqvist, who also wrote the screenplay. Oskar is a young boy who can't seem to shake off the local bullies, but all of that begins to change when a new neighbor moves in next door. After striking up an innocent friendship with his eccentric next-door neighbor, Oskar realizes that she is the vampire responsible for the recent rash of deaths around town. Despite the danger, however, Oskar's friendship with the girl ultimately takes precedence over his fear of her. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

R, 1 hr. 54 min.
Drama, Horror, Art House & International
Directed By: Tomas Alfredson
Written By: John Ajvide Lindqvist
In Theaters: Jan 26, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Mar 10, 2009
US Box Office:$1.9M

8.0

Let the Right One In (2008)

Watch The Wrestler (2008) Online

The Wrestler
His sense of identity fading into nothingness after the spotlights dim and he experiences a close brush with mortality, a retired wrestler begins to evaluate his life while considering the comeback that could very well kill him in director Darren Aronofsky's poignant portrait of an introspective former superstar in the twilight of his career. Back in his heyday, wrestler Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Mickey Rourke) was an icon in the ring. His image immortalized in action figures and video games, he would headline arenas across the globe. Twenty years later, those glory days have passed, and Randy is forced to earn his keep by brawling before handfuls of fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey.
In the wake of a heart attack, the former icon attempts to earn a little extra cash while working in a deli and making an effort to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood). Yet, despite Randy's continued attempts at convincing local stripper Cassidy (Marisa Tomei) to settle down with him in his humble trailer, the ring still calls to him. Later, when the prospect of a high-profile rematch with his longtime nemesis presents itself, Randy is forced to weigh his mortality against his desire to hear the crowd roar one last time. The Wrestler snagged two Oscar nominations, one for Best Actor (Rourke) and one for Best Supporting Actress (Tomei). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

R, 1 hr. 49 min.
Drama
Directed By: Darren Aronofsky
Written By: Darren Aronofsky, Robert Siegel
In Theaters: Sep 5, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Apr 21, 2009
US Box Office:$26.1M

8.0

The Wrestler (2008)

Watch Aruitemo Aruitemo (Still Walking) (2008) Online

Aruitemo Aruitemo (Still Walking)
Director Hirokazu Kore-eda writes and directs this family drama that unfolds over the course of a single summer day as the Yokoyama family gathers for a rare reunion held to commemorate the death of the one who was taken before his time. It was 15 years ago that eldest Yokoyama son, Junpei, drowned in a tragic accident, and the only changes around the family home since that fateful day are so subtle that they're not likely to be noticed by anyone outside of the immediate family.
Retired family patriarch Kyohei (Yoshio Harada) used to run a successful medical clinic out of the home, though the lights in his medical examining room haven't even been turned on in years. The tiles in the kitchen where energetic Toshiko (Kirin Kiki) cooks family meals are slowly coming loose, and as youngest son Ryota (Hiroshi Abe) arrives home, he does his best to hide the fact that he's currently unemployed. His older sister, Chinami (You), has also arrived with her family, and does her best to entertain everyone despite the undeniable cloud of melancholy hanging over the home. As the festive gathering commences and Toshiko lays out a lavish meal, it gradually becomes obvious that resentment and sorrow bonds this family as powerfully as love. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 54 min.
Art House & International, Drama
Directed By: Hirokazu Koreeda
Written By: Hirokazu Kore-eda
In Theaters: Jun 28, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Mar 1, 2010
US Box Office:$86.0k

7.8

Aruitemo Aruitemo (Still Walking) (2008)