June 20, 2009 at 3:40 pm · Filed under 2008, hollywood
When a naïve playboy investigates the shadowy death of his wealthy father, his charmed life as the eligible owner of the city’s hottest nightclub begins to spiral out of control. A sultry noir fever dream of music, seduction and murder, “Dark Streets” features stunningly choreographed dance numbers and an original soundtrack performed by some of the most acclaimed blues, jazz and R&B legends living today. Directed by Rachel Samuels (”The Suicide Club”) from a screenplay by Wallace King, the film stars Gabriel Mann (”The Bourne Supremacy”), Bijou Phillips (”Choke”), Izabella Miko (”Coyote Ugly”), Elias Koteas (”The Thin Red Line”) Michael Fairman (”Thirteen Days”) and Toledo Diamond (”Don’s Plum”). The film is produced by Andrea Balen (”American Night”), Claus Clausen (”The Lucky Ones”), Corina Danckwerts (”American Night”) and Glenn M. Stewart (”The Lucky Ones”); and executive produced by Steffen Aumueller (”The Lucky Ones”). The film’s rich blues score is composed by George Acogny (”Blood Diamond”), featuring BB King.
“Dark Streets” features 12 original songs written by James Compton, Tim Brown and Tony DeMeur, performed by stars Bijou Phillips and Izabella Miko as well as legendary artists including Dr. John, Etta James, Natalie Cole, Aaron Neville, Solomon Burke, Chaka Khan and Richie Sambora. The film’s stylish and seductive dance numbers are choreographed by Keith Young (Rent) and performed by sensational underground performer Toledo Diamond and a stage full of L.A.’s most talented dancers.
Set in a visually dazzling fantasy of 1930s New York, “Dark Streets” tells the story of Chaz Davenport (Gabriel Mann), a dashing playboy who owns what promises to become the hottest new nightclub in townif only the lights would stay on. Surrounded by the sumptuous blues music he adores, and with his pick of the gorgeous women who perform their sensual dance numbers on stage every night, Chaz is the envy of every man.
But with the city thrown into darkness by frequent blackouts and a menacing loan shark closing in, Chaz is in danger of losing the cluband far more. At the same time, he finds himself embroiled in a painful love triangle with the club’s alluring star singer, Crystal (Bijou Phillips), and a new arrival at the clubthe mysterious and seductive chanteuse Madelaine (Izabella Miko).
When people close to Chaz begin turning up dead, he doesn’t know where to turn or whom to trust. And the harder he tries to uncover the truth, the further he’s drawn into the darkness of lies and betrayala darkness as black as the city’s streets during a power outage. Welcome to the Blues.
June 20, 2009 at 3:38 pm · Filed under 2008, hollywood
This “lyrical documentary about the intersection of location and imagination” (New York Times) is an invitation to visit the creative spaces of five women artists, each of whom possesses her own energy, drive and passion. These artists, who span different decades and represent diverse cultures, have one thing in common beyond making art: the city to which they have journeyed and now call home– New York. The artists profiled are Nancy Spero, who was at the forefront of the feminist movement of the late 50s and 60s and whose work continues to question the polemics of sexual identity and warfare; Marina Abramovic, a pioneer of performance art who uses her own body as a canvas to respond deeply to contemporary cultural issues; Kiki Smith, who addresses philosophical, social and spiritual aspects of the human body through work that incorporates glass, plaster, ceramic, bronze and paper; Ghada Amer, who paints erotic canvases in traditional needle and thread and who refuses to bow to the puritanical elements of Western and Islamic culture and “institutionalized feminism”; and Swoon, one of New York’s most promising emerging artists, whose arresting and fugitive street art transmits the pulse of urban life. Director Chiara Clemente combines an intimate style of documentary filmmaking with the ephemera of city life surrounding each woman and the work she creates. The documented year held many triumphs and challenges for each of the participating artists, and the audience will catch a glimpse into the processes of creation and inspiration. Chiara Clemente has captured many moments in these artists lives, including Swoon’s first solo exhibition at Deitch Projects in New York, Ghada Amer’s return to her Egyptian homeland, Kiki Smith’s traveling retrospective, Marina Abramovic’s weeklong series of performances at the Guggenheim Museum in New York and Nancy Spero’s preparations of a new piece for the 2007 Venice Biennale. Stylistically, the film will have the feeling of a textured collage that will be the culmination of the director’s collaboration with the artist. Ultimately, Our City Dreams intends to bring a unique cultural and artistic experience to viewers and provide a testimony to the need to preserve great art and artists.
June 20, 2009 at 3:27 pm · Filed under 2008, hollywood
For decades, scores of doctors, government officials, journalists, and others have extolled the benefits of psychiatric medicines for children. GENERATION RX presents “the rest of the story” and unveils how this era of unprecedented change in Western culture really occurred – and what price has been paid by our society. International award-winning filmmaker Kevin P. Miller (Let Truth Be The Bias, The Promised Land) “delivers a jaw-dropping emotional ride,” and “weaves a terrifying tale of criminal conspiracy, the mass abandonment of medical ethics, and the routine betrayal of an entire generation.” By employing the expertise of internationally respected professionals from the fields of medicine, ethics, journalism, and academia, GENERATION RX investigates collusion between drug companies and their regulatory watchdogs at the FDA and focuses on the powerful stories of real families who followed the advice of their doctors – and faced devastating consequences for doing so. GENERATION RX is a film about families who confronted horror and found nowhere to turn for help – and how scores of children have been caught in the vortex of mind-bending drugs at the earliest stages of their growth and development. This powerful documentary also questions whether we have forced millions of children onto pharmaceutical drugs for commercial rather than scientific reasons. Ultimately, Generation RX may help parents decide whether the perceived benefits of these medications outweigh the serious risks to children.
June 20, 2009 at 3:22 pm · Filed under 2008, hollywood
Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams) finds herself a single mother attempting to support her son Oscar (Jason Spevack) and her unreliable sister Norah (Emily Blunt) while working a mundane job as a maid. Once the head cheerleader in school with plenty of prospects, Rose now has little to show for her years, and while she still sees the former lead football player (Steve Zahn), it is little more than a despondent affair. When Oscar is expelled from public school, Rose takes a job as a bio-hazard crime-scene cleaner to help pay for a private education, and brings Norah on to help in her steadily growing business. As the sisters work to clean up the messes left behind by the chaotic lives of others, they must learn to reconcile their own differences and overcome a troubled past if they hope to prosper in their newfound venture. – The Massie Twins.
From the producers of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE comes the charming Sundance hit SUNSHINE CLEANING, a spirited comedy-drama starring Amy Adams (DOUBT, ENCHANTED) as single-mom Rose Lorkowski, a plucky ex-cheerleader now cleaning houses and having an affair with her high-school sweetheart, Mac (Steve Zahn). When Mac, a police detective, suggests the lucrative job opportunities in crime-scene cleanup, Rose enlists her sister, Norah (Emily Blunt), to join her in the gory but ultimately fulfilling business enterprise. The sisterly chemistry between Adams and Blunt is impressive and forms the crux of their characters’ growth throughout the film: Roses optimism–reciting self-affirmations and positive spins on her occupation (”Its a growth industry”)–complements Norahs cynical, wickedly humorous exterior, which hides her bruised, vulnerable heart. Rounding out this likable cast is Alan Arkin, appearing as Joe, the sisters’ lovably grumpy father, and Jason Spevack, who plays Roses eight-year-old son, Oscar. SUNSHINE CLEANING has all the familiar ingredients of a small independent feature (dysfunctional family spanning three generations, offbeat comic situations, dark emotional subtext), but thanks to the keen directorial hand of Christine Jeffs (who also directed the Sylvia Plath biopic, SYLVIA), and a smart screenplay from first-time writer Megan Holley, the film manages to transcend indie-film quirkiness, offering a heartfelt story of family bonds and the unexpected curveballs in lifes road.
April 20, 2009 at 2:09 pm · Filed under 2008, hollywood
The seventeen year-old Kim is the pride and joy of her father, the retired agent Bryan Mills that left the secret service to stay near Kim in California. Kim lives with her mother Lenore and her wealthy stepfather Stuart; she convinces the reluctant Bryan to sign an authorization to travel to Paris with her friend Amanda. When they arrive, they share a cab with the stranger Peter and Amanda tells to him that they are alone in Paris. When Bryan succeeds in contacting his daughter, she tells that criminals have just break in the spot and they are kidnapped by an Albanese gang of human trafficking. Bryan promises in the phone to kill the kidnapper of his daughter and immediately travels to Paris to find Kim and chase the criminals.
April 19, 2009 at 3:34 pm · Filed under 2008, hollywood
When a sphere from outer space lands in the Central Park in Manhattan, a group of scientists are summoned by the American government under the call of the Secretary of Defense Regina Jackson. The reborn alien form Klaatu is brought to a military facility and Dr. Helen Benson decides to help him to escape and become the only chance to save the mankind from destruction.
The tale of three unlikely heroes – a misfit mouse who prefers reading books to eating them, an unhappy rat who schemes to leave the darkness of the dungeon, and a bumbling servant girl with cauliflower ears – whose fates are intertwined with that of the castle’s princess.
Carl Allen is at a standstill. No future… Until the day he enrolls into a personal development program based on a very simple idea: say yes to everything! Carl discovers with amazement the magical power of “Yes”, and sees his professional and romantic life turned upside down overnight: an unexpected promotion and a new girlfriend. But he’ll soon discover that better can be good’s enemy, and that all opportunities shouldn’t be taken.
April 19, 2009 at 3:20 pm · Filed under 2008, china
2008 would be a good year for HK style action films if it was just for “Ip Man” which takes the traditional kung fu film of the early 1980’s and updates it. Here we have an updating of the typical police action film of the late 1980’s. Looks like 2008 has been a banner year.
Combining gangster genre with the sort of police action that Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock would be in, we have a well shot, exciting police drama with great kung fu action (no guns) and some light comedy. What takes this above the average film from the 1980’s are the character touches that usually didn’t happen in the older films. I found a lot of the films from that era to be boring or too stupid but this film held my attention for the full 80 minutes.
