Movie Releases by Genre

Khodorkovsky

Khodorkovsky

November 30, 2011 | Not Rated
A documentary on the transformation of Mikhail Khodorkovsky - from a perfect socialist to a perfect capitalist and finally, in a Siberian prison, becoming a perfect martyr. Khodorkovky - the richest Russian, challenges President Putin. A fight of the titans begins. Putin warns him. But Khodorkovsky comes back to Russia - knowing that he will be imprisoned, once he returns. Why didn't Khodorkovsky stay in Exile with a couple of billions? Why did he come back? Why did he do that? A personal journey to Khodorkovsky. (LALA Film)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
tbd
Garbo: The Spy

Garbo: The Spy

November 18, 2011 | Not Rated
The Allies called him Garbo. The Nazis dubbed him Alaric. Both sides in World War II were sure Juan Pujol Garcia was their man. In reality, Pujol was a double agent - and his final allegiance was to the Allies. From the relative comfort of Lisbon, Garbo fed false information to the Nazis and fabricated a network of phantom agents across Europe. Although he never fired a single shot, Garbo helped to save thousands of lives, most notably by misinforming the Germans about the timing and location of the Normandy D-Day invasion. In his inexhaustible imagination he even went so far as to secure death benefits from the Nazis for an imaginary agent's nonexistent widow. (First Run Features)
Metascore:
67
User Score:
5.5
Eames: The Architect & The Painter

Eames: The Architect & The Painter

November 18, 2011 | Not Rated
The husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames are widely regarded as America’s most important designers. Perhaps best remembered for their mid-century plywood and fiberglass furniture, the Eames Office also created a mind-bending variety of other products, from splints for wounded military during World War II, to photography, interiors, multi-media exhibits, graphics, games, films and toys. But their personal lives and influence on significant events in American life – from the development of modernism, to the rise of the computer age – has been less widely understood. Narrated by James Franco, Eames: The Architect and the Painter is the first film since their death dedicated to these creative geniuses and their work. (First Run Features)
Metascore:
63
User Score:
tbd
Dzi Croquettes

Dzi Croquettes

November 18, 2011 | Not Rated
Dzi Croquettes: A Brazilian groundbreaking theater group that through talent, dance, political satire, and humor confronted the Brazilian violent dictatorship—the AI-5, the most infamous Institutional Act that overruled the Nation's Constitution; allowing unlimited power to the President and finally closing the Congress. Founded by American Lennie Dale-- “a rebel too good to be part of a Broadway chorus line”, according to choreographer Ron Lewis-- and Brazilian artist-thinker Wagner Ribeiro, this hypnotically sensual 13-member Dzi Croquettes group took Brazil and Europe by storm, attracted Liza Minnelli who became their godmother of sorts, and brought celebrity hype with front-row fans including Mick Jagger, Omar Sharif, Jeanne Moreau, Catherine Deneuve, Marisa Berenson, and Maurice Béjart, among others. Not a word could be found about Dzi Croquettes group until directors Raphael Alvarez and Tatiana Issa—raised since 3 years of age within the group because of her father’s work as set designer—unraveled around the world lost footage, as well as put together within Brazil’s political and musical context of the time, famous Brazilian artists who manifest their passionate testimonies about the group’s transformational influence over them. (TRIA Productions)
Metascore:
65
User Score:
tbd
The Conquest

The Conquest

November 11, 2011 | Not Rated
The day is May 6, 2007, France’s run-up to the presidential elections. As the French people are getting ready to go to the polls to elect their new president, presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy has shut himself away in his home. Though Sarkozy soon knows he has won the election, he is alone, gloomy and despondent. For hours he has been trying to reach his wife, Cécilia but to no avail. The last five years unfurl before our eyes, recounting Sarkozy’s unstoppable ascent, riddled with in-party backstabbing, media manipulation, riots, sarcastic confrontations and extra-marital affairs. The Conquest chronicles the volatile right-leaning Sarkozy’s startling rise to become President of France and the emotional and psychological stakes involved in the conquest of power. On the day the diminutive Sarkozy conquered his ultimate ambition, his wife—who for twenty years had struggled to pull the man she loved from the shadow into the light—walked out on him for another man. (Music Box Films)
Metascore:
62
User Score:
tbd
God's Fiddler: Jascha Heifetz

God's Fiddler: Jascha Heifetz

November 11, 2011 | Not Rated
Not since Paganini had there been such a magician on the violin. In this revealing documentary about the legendary musician we see vintage filmed performance clips of Jascha Heifetz and learn that he was the first truly modern violin virtuoso, the man about whom Itzhak Perlman said, “When I spoke with him, I thought, ‘I can’t believe I’m talking with God’.” This insightful film portrays an artist for whom only perfection would do, a musical wunderkind who went on to set the standards for nearly a century. We get to know Jascha Heifetz through home movies and personal family photos taken from 1903-1987, a prestigious concert artist so well known in popular culture, his name became shorthand for greatness, for everyone from Jack Benny to The Muppets to Woody Allen. This unique program includes interviews with the great violinists of his generation, and from many of his former students, telling how Heifetz was a legendary but mysterious figure whose story embodies the dual nature of artistic genius: the paradox of how a mortal man lives with immortal gifts - gifts he must honor, but which extract a life long price. (Kultur International Films)
Metascore:
48
User Score:
tbd
J. Edgar

J. Edgar

November 9, 2011 | R
J. Edgar explores the public and private life of one of the most powerful, controversial and enigmatic figures of the 20th century. As the face of law enforcement in America for almost fifty years, J. Edgar Hoover was feared and admired, reviled and revered. But behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life. (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Metascore:
59
User Score:
6.5
My Reincarnation

My Reincarnation

October 28, 2011 | Not Rated
Filmed over twenty years by acclaimed documentarian Jennifer Fox, My Reincarnation chronicles the epic story of the high Tibetan Buddhist Master, Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, and his western-born son, Yeshi. The film follows Namkhai Norbu’s rise to greatness as a Buddhist teacher in the West, while his son, Yeshi, recognized at birth as the reincarnation of a famous spiritual master, breaks away from his father’s tradition to embrace the modern world. Can the father convince his son to keep the family's threatened spiritual legacy alive? Never before has a high Tibetan Master allowed such complete access to his private life and it is doubtful that another ever will. With her signature intimate entry to both family and icons including the Dalai Lama, Fox expertly distills a decades-long drama into a universal story about love, transformation, and destiny. [Long Shot Factory]
Metascore:
63
User Score:
tbd
Klitschko

Klitschko

October 21, 2011 | Not Rated
Klitschko tells the story of the boxing world's most famous brothers: Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko. From the socialist drill of their childhood in the Ukraine, and their first successes as amateurs, to their move to Germany and subsequent rise as international stars on the verge of holding the championship titles of all five boxing federations. Along the way they experience defeats and setbacks, low points and triumphant comebacks as well as conflicts with each other. Exciting conversations with companions and opponents, including the very first with the Klitschkos' parents, give insight into their personal lives, plus never-before-seen footage of the draining preparations for a fight, and the boxing matches. Director Sebastian Dehnhardt composes an intimate portrait of two exceptional athletes who are, before all else, brothers. (Corinth Releasing)
Metascore:
63
User Score:
tbd
Paul Goodman Changed My Life

Paul Goodman Changed My Life

October 19, 2011 | Not Rated
Paul Goodman was once so ubiquitous in the American zeitgeist that he merited a “cameo” in Woody Allenʼs Annie Hall. Author of legendary bestseller Growing Up Absurd (1960), Goodman was also a poet, 1940s out queer, pacifist, visionary, co-founder of Gestalt therapy—and a moral compass for many in the burgeoning counterculture of the ‘60s. Paul Goodman Changed My Life immerses you in an era of high intellect when New York was peaking culturally and artistically; when ideas, and the people who propounded them, seemed to punch in at a higher weight class than they do now. (Zeitgeist Films)
Metascore:
68
User Score:
7.8
American Teacher

American Teacher

September 30, 2011 | Not Rated
The Teacher Salary Project encompasses a feature-length documentary film, an interactive online resource, and a national outreach campaign that delves into the core of our educational crisis as seen through the eyes and experiences of our nation's teachers. This project is based on the New York Times bestselling book Teachers Have It Easy by journalist and teacher Daniel Moulthrop, co-founder of the 826 National writing programs Nínive Calegari, and writer Dave Eggers. (First Run Features)
Metascore:
60
User Score:
tbd
The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby

The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby

September 23, 2011 | Not Rated
A son's riveting look at a father whose life seemed straight out of a spy thriller, The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father, CIA Spymaster William Colby uncovers the secret world of a legendary CIA spymaster. Told by William Colby’s son Carl, the story is at once a probing history of the CIA, a personal memoir of a family living in clandestine shadows, and an inquiry into the hard costs of a nation's most cloaked actions. From the beginning of his career as an OSS officer parachuting into Nazi-occupied Europe, William Colby rose through the ranks of "The Company," and soon was involved in covert operations in hot spots around the globe. He swayed elections against the Communists in Italy, oversaw the coup against President Diem in Saigon, and ran the controversial Phoenix Program in Vietnam, which sparked today's legacy of counter-insurgency. But after decades of obediently taking on the White House's toughest and dirtiest assignments, and rising to become Director of CIA, Colby defied the President. Braving intense controversy, he opened up to Congress some of the agency's darkest, most tightly held secrets and extra-legal operations. (First Run Features)
Metascore:
71
User Score:
tbd
Machine Gun Preacher

Machine Gun Preacher

September 23, 2011 | R
When ex-biker-gang member Sam Childers makes the life-changing decision to go to East Africa to help repair homes destroyed by civil war, he is outraged by the unspeakable horrors faced by the region’s vulnerable populace, especially the children. Ignoring the warnings of more experienced aide workers, Sam breaks ground for an orphanage where it’s most needed—in the middle of territory controlled by the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a renegade militia that forces youngsters to become soldiers before they even reach their teens. (Relativity Media)
Metascore:
43
User Score:
6.7
Jane's Journey

Jane's Journey

September 16, 2011 | Not Rated
More than 20 years ago, Dr. Jane Goodall, now 75, decided to give up her career as a primatologist, as well as her private life, in order to devote her entire energy to saving our endangered planet. Since then she’s been spending 300 days a year scouring the globe on her mission to spread hope for future generations. She has taken on the responsibilities of a UN Messenger of Peace, has been honoured with countless awards, was appointed “Dame of the British Empire” and was even admitted to the “Légion d’Honneur”, the highest decoration of France. In Jane’s Journey, we accompany her on her travels across several continents, with unprecedented access to her intense and exciting past. From her childhood home in Bournemouth, England, we embark to ‘Gombe National Park’ on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, in Tanzania, her second home. This is where she began her groundbreaking research nearly half a century ago, and where to this day she still returns every year to enjoy the company of the chimpanzees that made her the internationally recognized activist so loved and deeply respected. (Bavaria Film)
Metascore:
49
User Score:
6.2
The Weird World of Blowfly

The Weird World of Blowfly

September 16, 2011 | Not Rated
70-year-old Clarence Reid could be your cranky grandfather--until he puts on his gold-spangled superhero costume and starts singing some of the raunchiest tunes you've ever heard in your life (and we're big rap fans, so this is saying something). Reid begins his career as a lynchpin of the esteemed Miami soul scene, where he wrote Top-10 songs for Betty Wright, Gwen McCrae, and KC & The Sunshine Band. But his insanely profane recording as "Blowfly" have shocked audiences for over forty-five years, and include what may well be the world's first rap song, recorded in 1965. You may not know Blowfy just yet - but this loving, yet unflinching, film will fix that quick snap. (Variance Films)
Metascore:
52
User Score:
tbd
Bobby Fischer Against the World

Bobby Fischer Against the World

September 9, 2011 | Not Rated
Bobby Fischer against the World is a feature documentary that uses the narrative tension of the 1972 match between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer to explore the nature of genius, madness, and the game of chess itself. This film tells the stranger-than-fiction story of the rise and fall of an Fischer, a true icon. From veteran filmmaker Liz Garbus, and the final project of late editor Karen Schmeer, Bobby Fischer Against the World exposes the disturbingly high price Fischer paid to achieve his legendary success and the resulting toll it took on his psyche. Rare archival footage and insightful interviews with those closest to him expand this captivating story of a mastermind’s tumultuous rise—and fall. (Dogwoof Films)
Metascore:
76
User Score:
7.8
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life

August 31, 2011 | Not Rated
Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life is a completely original take on one of France’s greatest mavericks, the illustrious and infamous Jewish singer-songwriter, Serge Gainsbourg. Born Lucien Ginsburg to Russian-Jewish parents, Sfar follows him from his precocious childhood in Nazi-occupied Paris, to his beginnings as small time jazz musician and finally pop superstar. Along the way he romances many of the era’s most beautiful women, including Juliette Greco, Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin. Employing a witty surrealistic style and a soundtrack that includes many of the musician’s greatest hits, Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life is a quintessential time capsule to ‘60’s Paris. (Music Box Films)
Metascore:
58
User Score:
6.5
Summer Pasture

Summer Pasture

August 15, 2011 | Not Rated
We work in Kham, the easternmost of the three traditional Tibetan provinces. Its rugged landscape spans the Chinese provinces of Sichuan, Yunnan, Qinghai, and the Tibetan Autonomous Region. Most of the Tibetans who live here are farmers and nomads, and are tied to a predominantly subsistence economy. Our current projects are focused on various communities in the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. (Kham Film Project)
Metascore:
73
User Score:
tbd
Damn!

Damn!

August 12, 2011 | Not Rated
Damn! is the the story of Rent is 2 Damn High founder Jimmy McMillan, a Vietnam veteran, black belt Karate master, former stripper, and 70’s soul singer, who became an overnight sensation after his appearance on the 2010 New York gubernatorial debate went viral, receiving over 2 million views in 24 hours and lifting Jimmy from political obscurity into the international spotlight. In what becomes an unforgettable journey, Damn! is the only film to ever capture the rise of a viral sensation and the media fixation that follows as it all unfolds. It’s a sometimes funny and sometimes dark look into what happens when mass media, politics, and money all descend upon the life of one man. (The Disinformation Company)
Metascore:
44
User Score:
tbd
Senna

Senna

August 12, 2011 | PG-13
Senna's remarkable story, charting his physical and spiritual achievements on the track and off, his quest for perfection, and the mythical status he has since attained, is the subject of SENNA, a documentary feature that spans the racing legend's years as an F1 driver, from his opening season in 1984 to his final, tragic race a decade later. Far more than a film for F1 fans, SENNA unfolds a remarkable story in a remarkable manner, eschewing many standard documentary techniques in favour of a more cinematic approach that makes full use of astounding footage, much of which is drawn from F1 archives and is previously unseen. (Working Title Films)
Metascore:
79
User Score:
8.2
The Mouth of the Wolf

The Mouth of the Wolf

August 4, 2011 | Not Rated
A transsexual woman pledges to remain true to the man she loves as she carries out a prison term.
Metascore:
72
User Score:
tbd
The Devil's Double

The Devil's Double

July 29, 2011 | R
Summoned from the frontline to Saddam Hussein's palace, Iraqi army lieutenant Latif Yahia is thrust into the highest echelons of the "royal family" when he’s ordered to become the ‘fiday’ – or body double – to Saddam's son, the notorious "Black Prince" Uday Hussein, a reckless, sadistic party-boy with a rabid hunger for sex and brutality. With his and his family’s lives at stake, Latif must surrender his former self forever as he learns to walk, talk and act like Uday. But nothing could have prepared him for the horror of the Black Prince’s psychotic, drug-addled life of fast cars, easy women and impulsive violence. With one wrong move costing him his life, Latif forges an intimate bond with Sarrab, Uday's seductive mistress who’s haunted by her own secrets. But as war looms with Kuwait and Uday’s depraved gangster regime threatens to destroy them all, Latif realizes that escape from the devil’s den will only come at the highest possible cost. (Herrick Entertainment)
Metascore:
52
User Score:
7.3
The Undefeated

The Undefeated

July 15, 2011 | Not Rated
Alaska in mid-decade was a land of vast natural resources fought over by the largest companies in the world and governed by a corrupt and compromised political class. Rampant crony-capitalism stood in the way of the people of Alaska reaping the benefits of their natural birthright. Enter a galvanizing reformer, a small town mayor who took on her own political party and brought on “sudden and relentless reform.” An epic two-hour feature documentary film, “The Undefeated” chronicles the rise from obscurity of one of America’s new generation of leaders: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. Starting during the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989 when Palin worked a commercial fishing boat she owned with her blue-collar husband, the film shows the struggles, the victories and the setbacks during a controversial career. (Victory Film Group)
Metascore:
32
User Score:
2.6
The Chameleon

The Chameleon

July 8, 2011 | Not Rated
Spain 2000: a young man calling himself Nicholas Randall Mark and claiming to be American turns himself into the Spanish police. He says he was kidnapped by a cult. The Spanish police believe him to be an impostor but the sister of the young man seeks him out and takes him back to the United States where other members of his family seem to recognize him. The local paper writes about his miraculous which alerts FBI agent Jennifer Johnson. She decides to conduct an investigation to see if she can confirm that Nicholas is who he says he is. Based on true events. (Gaumont)
Metascore:
41
User Score:
tbd
Crime After Crime

Crime After Crime

July 1, 2011 | Not Rated
Crime After Crime tells the dramatic story of the legal battle to free Debbie Peagler, an incarcerated survivor of domestic violence. Over 26 years in prison could not crush the spirit of this determined African-American woman, despite the wrongs she suffered, first at the hands of a duplicitous boyfriend who beat her and forced her into prostitution, and later by prosecutors who used the threat of the death penalty to corner her into a life behind bars for her connection to the murder of her abuser. Her story takes an unexpected turn two decades later when two rookie land-use attorneys step forward to take her case. Through their perseverance, they bring to light long-lost witnesses, new testimonies from the men who committed the murder, and proof of perjured evidence. Their investigation ultimately attracts global attention to victims of wrongful incarceration and abuse, and becomes a matter of life and death once more.
Metascore:
72
User Score:
7.7
The Broken Tower

The Broken Tower

June 20, 2011
A biography of American poet Hart Crane who committed suicide at the age of 32 by jumping off the steamship SS Orizaba.
Metascore:
46
User Score:
tbd
Angel of Evil

Angel of Evil

June 17, 2011 | R
Placido's bio-pic of Renato Vallanzasca plays out like an Italian Mesrine, charting the rise and fall of the legendary underworld figure. In the 1980s, Vallanzasca (played enigmatically by Kim Rossi Stuart) worked his way to the top of Milan's crime scene, using brute force to dispatch his rivals and pulling off a series of daring robberies. Placido successfully captures the spirit of the times with breathless pacing and stunning set-pieces... (Artificial Eye)
Metascore:
48
User Score:
tbd
Empire of Silver

Empire of Silver

June 2, 2011 | Not Rated
China, 1899. In a land of exquisite beauty and timeless tradition a young man known as 'Third Master' is the heir to a banking fortune he cares little about. However, after his brother's wife is kidnapped he reluctantly submits to the pressure of his title and his father, Lord Kang. The fate of the banking empire and its most powerful family now lies with one idealistic young man torn between the needs of the people, the duty to his family, and the undying love of a woman. (China Lion)
Metascore:
54
User Score:
5.8
The First Grader

The First Grader

May 13, 2011 | PG-13
In a small, remote, mountaintop primary school in the Kenyan bush, hundreds of children are jostling for a chance for the free education newly promised by the Kenyan government. One applicant causes astonishment when he knocks on the door of the school. He is Maruge, an old Mau Mau veteran in his 80s, who is desperate to learn to read at this late stage of his life. He fought for the liberation of his country and now feels he must have the chance at the education so long denied—even if it means sitting in a classroom alongside six-year-old children. (Nat Geo Movies)
Metascore:
56
User Score:
7.2
Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

Hey, Boo: Harper Lee and 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

May 13, 2011 | Not Rated
Fifty years after winning the Pulitzer Prize, To Kill a Mockingbird remains a beloved bestseller and quite possibly the most influential American novel of the 20th Century. Nearly one million copies are sold each year and the novel has been translated into more than forty languages worldwide. The film version, starring Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, won a trio of Academy Awards, and the U.S. Postal Service's new stamp honoring Peck depicts him wearing glasses, as Finch. Behind it all was a young Southern girl named Nelle Harper Lee, who once said that she wanted to be South Alabama's Jane Austen. Hey, Boo explores Lee's life and unravels some of the mysteries surrounding her, including why she never published again. Containing never-before-seen photos and letters and an exclusive interview with Lee’s sister, Alice Finch Lee, the film also brings to light the context and history of the novel's Deep South setting and the social changes it inspired after publication. (First Run Features)
Metascore:
64
User Score:
7.2
There Be Dragons

There Be Dragons

May 6, 2011 | PG-13
There Be Dragons is an epic action-adventure romance set during the turmoil of the Spanish Civil War. The story traces the lives of two young men, Josemaria Escriva and Manolo Torres, childhood friends who are separated by the political upheaval of pre-war Spain to find themselves on opposite sides as war erupts. Choosing peace, Josemaria becomes a priest and struggles to spread reconciliation by founding the movement Opus Dei (work of God). (Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Metascore:
33
User Score:
8.1
The Robber

The Robber

April 29, 2011 | Not Rated
A champion marathoner leads a double life as a serial bank robber, sprinting between fixes (and away from police cavalcades) as many as three times a day. A lean, visceral study of pathological compulsion. (Kino International)
Metascore:
65
User Score:
5.9
The Arbor

The Arbor

April 27, 2011 | Not Rated
Instead of making a conventional documentary or adapting Dunbar’s play The Arbor for the screen, director Clio Barnard has crafted a truly unique work that transcends genre and defies categorization. Following two years conducting audio interviews with Dunbar’s family, friends and neighbors, Barnard filmed actors lip-synching the interviews, flawlessly interpreting every breath, tick and nuance. The film focuses in particular on the playwright’s troubled relationship with her daughter Lorraine who was just 10 when her mother died. Barnard re-introduces Lorraine to her mother’s play and private letters, prompting her to reflect on the extraordinary parallels between their lives. Interwoven with these interviews are staged scenes of Dunbar’s play filmed on The Arbor, the street where she lived. (Strand Releasing)
Metascore:
88
User Score:
7.6
American: The Bill Hicks Story

American: The Bill Hicks Story

April 8, 2011
Much more than a comedian, Bill Hicks was and still is an inspiration to millions. His timeless comedy tackled the contradictions of America and modern life head on. But his unique gift was to tease apart the essence of religion, the dangers of unbridled government power and the double standards inherent in much of modern society, using nothing but his hilarious ideas and the uncompromising observational style that continues to resonate with successive generations. (Variance Films)
Metascore:
55
User Score:
6.7
Wretches & Jabberers

Wretches & Jabberers

April 1, 2011
In Wretches & Jabberers, two men with autism embark on a global quest to change attitudes about disability and intelligence. Determined to put a new face on autism, Tracy Thresher, 42, and Larry Bissonnette, 52, travel to Sri Lanka, Japan and Finland. At each stop, they dissect public attitudes about autism and issue a hopeful challenge to reconsider competency and the future. (Area 23A)
Metascore:
63
User Score:
tbd
My Perestroika

My Perestroika

March 23, 2011 | Not Rated
My Perestroika follows five ordinary Russians living in extraordinary times — from their sheltered Soviet childhood, to the collapse of the Soviet Union during their teenage years, to the constantly shifting political landscape of post-Soviet Russia. Together, these childhood classmates paint a complex picture of the dreams and disillusionment of those raised behind the Iron Curtain. (Red Square Productions)
Metascore:
90
User Score:
7.3
Desert Flower

Desert Flower

March 18, 2011 | R
When, at the age of 13, Waris Dirie discovers that her father has decided to marry her off as the fourth wife to a considerable older man, the young girl realizes that she has no choice but to flee. In the middle of the night, she steal s away from the desert camp of her nomadic family and makes her way through rocky Somali desert to Mogadishu, where she finds her aunt and grandmother in the chaotic bustle of the Somali Capital. (National Geographic Entertainment)
Metascore:
54
User Score:
7.9
Bill Cunningham New York

Bill Cunningham New York

March 16, 2011
“We all get dressed for Bill,” says Vogue editrix Anna Wintour. The “Bill” in question is 80+ New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham. For decades, this Schwinn-riding cultural anthropologist has been obsessively and inventively chronicling fashion trends and high society charity soirées for the Times Style section in his columns “On the Street” and “Evening Hours.” Documenting uptown fixtures (Wintour, Tom Wolfe, Brooke Astor, David Rockefeller—who all appear in the film out of their love for Bill), downtown eccentrics and everyone in between, Cunningham’s enormous body of work is more reliable than any catwalk as an expression of time, place and individual flair. In turn, Bill Cunningham New York is a delicate, funny and often poignant portrait of a dedicated artist whose only wealth is his own humanity and unassuming grace. (Zeitgeist Films)
Metascore:
76
User Score:
7.8
The Desert of Forbidden Art

The Desert of Forbidden Art

March 11, 2011 | Unrated
How does art survive in a time of oppression? During the Soviet rule artists who stay true to their vision are executed, sent to mental hospitals or Gulags. Their plight inspires young Igor Savitsky. He pretends to buy state-approved art but instead daringly rescues 40,000 forbidden fellow artist's works and creates a museum in the desert of Uzbekistan, far from the watchful eyes of the KGB. Though a penniless artist himself, he cajoles the cash to pay for the art from the same authorities who are banning it. Savitsky amasses an eclectic mix of Russian Avant-Garde art. But his greatest discovery is an unknown school of artists who settle in Uzbekistan after the Russian revolution of 1917, encountering a unique Islamic culture, as exotic to them as Tahiti was for Gauguin. They develop a startlingly original style, fusing European modernism with centuries-old Eastern traditions. (inMotion Studios)
Metascore:
75
User Score:
tbd
Dressed

Dressed

February 4, 2011 | Unrated
The documentary, Dressed, is a compelling story of a young, self-taught clothing designer, Nary Manivong, who defied the odds of a broken childhood and homelessness is Columbus, Ohio, to reach his dream of showing his collection at New York's Fashion Week and launching his own brand. (OneRock Moving Pictures)
Metascore:
39
User Score:
tbd
Troubadours

Troubadours

February 2, 2011 | Unrated
In the wake of the turbulent 1960s, a new style of song and songwriter came to the fore. In Los Angeles, the emerging center of the American music scene, young songwriters come together to express, to inspire, to complete, to love. That scene largely revolved around an old beatnik club with capacity of a few hundred people, The Troubadour. The seed idea for this film, came out of a series of landmark reunion concerts James Taylor and Carole King played at the Troubadour in 2007, to mark the club’s 50th anniversary. (Tremolo Productions)
Metascore:
58
User Score:
tbd
Ip Man 2

Ip Man 2

January 28, 2011 | R
During the Sino-Japanese War, Ip Man protected the dignity of Chinese by his wushu (martial art). As he had beaten the Japanese army and made them mad, he had to escape. After the war, the family lived in Foshan and experienced hardship. Ip therefore went to Hong Kong to start a new page with his family in 1949. (Mandarin Films)
Metascore:
67
User Score:
7.6
Lemmy

Lemmy

January 28, 2011 | Unrated
In 2007 filmmakers Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski formed a partnership to produce and direct “Lemmy”, the highly acclaimed epic rock & roll adventure doc about Motörhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister. Born from the fire of “Lemmy”, Damage Case Films & Distribution is a production company dedicated to creating high quality, music-driven films, and a distribution company dedicated to bringing these works directly to the fan and audiences that deserve them. (Damage Case Films & Distribution)
Metascore:
64
User Score:
8.0
The Woodmans

The Woodmans

January 19, 2011 | Unrated
A fascinating, unflinching portrait of the late photographer Francesca Woodman, told through the young artist’s work (including experimental videos and journal entries) and remarkably candid interviews with her artist parents Betty and Charles (a ceramic sculptor and painter/photographer), who have continued their own artistic practices while watching Francesca’s professional reputation eclipse their own. (Lorber Films)
Metascore:
74
User Score:
7.3
Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune

Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune

January 5, 2011
As our country continues to embroil itself in foreign wars and pins its hopes on a new leader's promise for change, Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune is a timely and relevant tribute to an unlikely American hero. Over the course of a meteoric music career that spanned two turbulent decades, Phil Ochs sought the bright lights of fame and social justice in equal measure - a contradiction that eventually tore him apart. From youthful idealism to rage to pessimism, the arch of Ochs' life paralleled that of the times, and the anger, satire and righteous indignation that drove his music also drove him to dark despair. In this brilliantly constructed film, interview and performance footage of Ochs is illuminated by the ruminations of Joan Baez, Tom Hayden, Pete Seeger, Sean Penn, Peter Yarrow, Christopher Hitchens, Ed Sanders, and others. (First Run Features)
Metascore:
72
User Score:
8.2
I Am Secretly an Important Man

I Am Secretly an Important Man

December 15, 2010
I Am Secretly An Important Man is a feature length documentary film portrait of Steven J. Bernstein (aka Jesse Bernstein), one of Seattle's most celebrated voices. His angry, surprisingly fresh, lyrical writings are about sensitive souls, drifters and drug addicts; people alienated by a society that refuses to understand them. He peeled back the ugliness and the darkness of life on the fringe to expose tender and not so tender human feeling. His unique rhythms, filled with humor and pain, were especially exciting when read in his own gravely voice. People packed into theaters, bars and cafes to hear him read and sing.(Official Site)
Metascore:
52
User Score:
tbd
Bhutto

Bhutto

December 3, 2010
Bhutto tells the epic story of one of the most fascinating characters of our time — Benazir Bhutto, the first woman in history to lead a Muslim nation. A favored daughter of the family often called the “Kennedys of Pakistan,” Benazir was elected Prime Minister after her father was overthrown and executed by his own military. Her two terms in power saw extreme acts of courage and controversy as she tried to clean up Pakistan’s corrupt political culture while quelling the fires of radical Islam that threaten to engulf the region. A fascinating array of archival footage and interviews with family members and leading experts brings life to this tale of Shakespearean dimension in the country the Economist calls "the World's most dangerous place." (First Run Features)
Metascore:
68
User Score:
tbd
Frankie & Alice

Frankie & Alice

December 3, 2010 | R
After a series of inexplicable events, beautiful young Frankie Murdoch learns she suffers from multiple personality disorder. Working as a go-go dancer in Los Angeles in the early seventies, Frankie's very existence is threatened by the surfacing of Alice. [Freestyle Releasing]
Metascore:
47
User Score:
6.2
127 Hours

127 Hours

November 5, 2010 | R
127 HOURS is the true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolate canyon in Utah. (Fox Searchlight)
Metascore:
82
User Score:
8.1
Fair Game

Fair Game

November 5, 2010 | PG-13
A suspense-filled glimpse into the deark corridors of political power, Fair Game is a riveting action-thriller based on the autobiography of real-life undercover CIA operative Valerie Plame, whose career was destroyed and marriage strained to its limits when her covert identity was exposed by a politically motivated press leak. [Summit Entertainment]
Metascore:
69
User Score:
6.8
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story

Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story

November 5, 2010
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story portrays the contributions of Jewish major leaguers and the special meaning that baseball has had in the lives of American Jews. More than a film about sports, this is a story of immigration, assimilation, bigotry, heroism, the passing on of traditions, and the shattering of stereotypes.(7th Art Releasing)
Metascore:
53
User Score:
tbd
Eichmann

Eichmann

October 29, 2010
Based upon the final confession of Adolf Eichmann, made before his execution in Israel as he accounts to Captain Avner Less, a young Israeli Police Officer, of his past as the architect of Hitler's plan for the "final solution." Captured by intelligence operatives in Argentina, 15 years after World War II, Eichmann, the World's most wanted man, must be broken down and the truth unveiled. As the world waits, two men must confront each other in a battle of wills- the result of which will change a nation forever. (Regent Releasing)
Metascore:
35
User Score:
tbd
Winston Churchill: Walking with Destiny

Winston Churchill: Walking with Destiny

October 29, 2010 | Not Rated
Walking With Destiny highlights Churchill's years in the political wilderness, his early opposition to Adolf Hitler and Nazism, and his support for Jews under threat by the Nazi regime. As historian John Lukacs explains, Churchill may not have won the War in 1940, but without him, the War most certainly would have been lost. Sir Martin Gilbert, historical consultant for the film and Churchill's official biographer, adds that had Churchill's warnings about Nazi Germany's racial policies towards Jews been heeded in the early 1930's, the Holocaust may never have occurred. The film examines why Winston Churchill's legacy continues to be relevant in the 21st Century and explores why his leadership remains inspirational to current day political leaders and diplomats. (Moriah Films)
Metascore:
68
User Score:
tbd
Conviction

Conviction

October 15, 2010 | R
Convinced that her brother is innocent, Betty Anne puts herself through high school, college and, finally, law school in an 18 year quest to free Kenny. With the help of best friend Abra Rice, Betty Anne pores through suspicious evidence mounted by small town cop Nancy Taylor, meticulously retracing the steps that led to Kenny's arrest. Belief in her brother – and her quest for the truth - pushes Betty Anne and her team to uncover the facts and utilize DNA evidence with the hope of exonerating Kenny.(Fox Searchlight)
Metascore:
61
User Score:
7.0
Carlos

Carlos

October 15, 2010 | Not Rated
Carlos tells the story of Ilich Ramirez Sanchez who, for two decades, was one of the most wanted terrorists, on the planet. Between 1974 and 1994, he lived several lives under various pseudonyms, weaving his way through the complexities of international politics of the period. [IFC Films]
Metascore:
94
User Score:
7.9
The Two Escobars

The Two Escobars

October 15, 2010
Pablo Escobar was the richest, most powerful drug kingpin in the world, ruling the Medellín Cartel with an iron fist. Andres Escobar was the biggest soccer star in Colombia. The two were not related, but their fates were inextricably-and fatally-intertwined. Pablo's drug money had turned Andres' national team into South American champions, favored to win the 1994 World Cup in Los Angeles. It was there, in a game against the U.S., that Andres committed one of the most shocking mistakes in soccer history, scoring an "own goal" that eliminated his team from the competition and ultimately cost him his life. The Two Escobars is a riveting examination of the intersection of sports, crime, and politics. For Colombians, soccer was far more than a game: their entire national identity rode on the success or failure of their team. Jeff and Michael Zimbalist's fast and furious documentary plays out on an ever-expanding canvas, painting a fascinating portrait of Pablo, Andres, and a country in the grips of a violent, escalating civil war.
Metascore:
73
User Score:
8.6
Nowhere Boy

Nowhere Boy

October 8, 2010 | R
Imagine… John Lennon's childhood. Liverpool 1955: a smart and troubled fifteen year-old is hungry for experience. In a family full of secrets, two incredible women clash over John: Mimi, the buttoned-up Aunt who raised him, and Julia, the prodigal mother. Yearning for a normal family, John escapes into the new and exciting world of rock n' roll where his fledgling genius finds a kindred spirit in the teenage Paul McCartney. Just as John begins his new life, tragedy strikes. But a resilient young man finds his voice - and an icon explodes into the world. (The Weinstein Company)
Metascore:
67
User Score:
7.3
Ip Man

Ip Man

October 1, 2010 | R
Ip Man is the award winning film adaptation about the life story of Ip Man, the grand master of the Wing Chun style of kung fu and sifu (master) of legendary kung fu superstar Bruce Lee. Set in Foshan, China, during the Sino Japanese War, Ip Man vividly brings to life the brutality of the infamous Japanese occupation, where once proud men are forced to fight till their death for a precious bag of rice. Defined by courage and humility, one man rises to the fore, Grandmaster Ip Man, whose matchless fighting skills are revered all over China. Upon refusing to teach his beloved fighting art to the invading Japanese soldiers, he is forced to fight for the honor of his country in a series of battles that will culminate in a kill or be killed showdown with General Miura Japan’s greatest fighter. (Variance Films)
Metascore:
59
User Score:
8.2
The Social Network

The Social Network

October 1, 2010 | PG-13
On a fall night in 2003, Harvard undergrad and computer programming genius Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) sits down at his computer and heatedly begins working on a new idea. In a fury of blogging and programming, what begins in his dorm room soon becomes a global social network and a revolution in communication. A mere six years and 500 million friends later, Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire in history... but for this entrepreneur, success leads to both personal and legal complications. [Columbia Pictures]
Metascore:
95
User Score:
8.2
Ahead of Time

Ahead of Time

September 10, 2010
With her love of adventure and fearlessness, Ruth Gruber defied tradition from the moment she became the world’s youngest PhD at the age of 20 in 1931. Ahead of Time tells the remarkable journey of 96 year-old Gruber, and is the directorial debut of noted cinematographer Bob Richman (The September Issue, My Architect, and An Inconvenient Truth). Gruber continued to make history throughout her trail-blazing career by becoming the first journalist to enter the Soviet Arctic in 1935 and escorting 1000 Holocaust refugees from Naples to New York in a secret war-time mission in 1944. She covered the heart wrenching ordeal of the refugees aboard the ship Exodus 1947 with photographs that helped change the world. (Reel Inheritance Films)
Metascore:
74
User Score:
tbd
Max Manus

Max Manus

September 3, 2010
The rousing historical epic tells the true story of one of Europes's most celebrated World War II-era resistance fighters. Max Manus follows Manus from the outbreak of World War II until the summer of 1945. After fighting against the Russians during the Winter War in Finland, Manus returns to a German-occupied Norway. He joins the resistance movement and becomes one of the most important members of the so-called "Oslo Gang," soon confirming his reputation for audacity by making two daring escapes from German captivity. He eventually reunites with his best friend Gregers Gram in Scotland, where they receive special training as saboteurs with a pan-national resistance movement, after which they are parachuted back to their homeland. One of the film's most thrilling sequences is a detailed account of the sabotage techniques used to sink a heavily guarded German supply ship in Oslo harbour, an act that leads to severe retaliation from the local Gestapo leader, Siegfred Fehmer. (D Films)
Metascore:
60
User Score:
7.7
Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1

Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1

September 3, 2010 | R
Now back in France, Mesrine is finally in police custody and facing justice for his crimes. After escaping a courtroom and kidnapping the judge at gunpoint, Mesrine is declared Public Enemy Number 1 and is eventually condemned to a maximum-security prison where he writes his memoirs, establishing himself as a household name and the anti-hero across France. Mesrine stages another daring escape and disappears into the lawless underworld, taunting the police and reinventing himself as a celebrity criminal through his savvy manipulation of the media. After such a monumental rise, comes the inevitable fall as the police close in, bringing the life of Jacques Mesrine to full bloody circle. (Music Box Films)
Metascore:
72
User Score:
7.6
Mesrine: Killer Instinct

Mesrine: Killer Instinct

August 27, 2010 | R
Mesrine: Killer Instinct introduces us to Jacques Mesrine, a loyal son and dedicated soldier back home and living with his parents after serving in the Algerian War. Soon he is seduced by the neon glamour of sixties Paris and the easy money it presents. Mentored by Guido (Gerald Depardieu) Mesrine turns his back on middle class law-abiding and soon moves swiftly up the criminal ladder. After pulling off an audacious heist he and his lover Jeanne (Cecile de France) flee to Canada where the opportunity of one big payout lures him out of hiding and propels his towards international notoriety. (Music Box Films)
Metascore:
71
User Score:
8.0
The Wildest Dream

The Wildest Dream

August 6, 2010 | PG
Uses astonishing visuals to tell the intersecting stories of George Mallory, the first man to attempt a summit of Mount Everest, and Conrad Anker, the mountaineer who finds Mallory's frozen remains 75 years later.
Metascore:
57
User Score:
6.8
I Killed My Mother

I Killed My Mother

July 30, 2010 | Not Rated
Hubert Minel (Xavier Dolan) is a 16-year-old Québécois living in suburban Montreal with his single mother, Chantale (Anne Dorval). Beautifully capturing the anxieties of a mother-son relationship, as well as their inability to re-affirm their love for each other, Dolan made a movie that tackles a variety of issues including bullying, the difficulties of single parenting, and many specific challenges facing queer youth.
Metascore:
77
User Score:
7.8
John Rabe

John Rabe

May 21, 2010
Based on a true story, John Rabe tells the story of a German businessman who rescued more than 200,000 civilians during the so-called “Nanking Massacre” in China. (Strand Releasing)
Metascore:
57
User Score:
7.8
The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom

The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom

March 31, 2010
In The Sun Behind the Clouds, Tibetan filmmaker, Tenzing Sonam, and his partner, Ritu Sarin, take a uniquely Tibetan perspective on the trials and tribulations of the Dalai Lama and his people as they continue their struggle for freedom in the face of determined suppression by one of the world’s biggest and most powerful nations. The filmmakers had intimate access to the Dalai Lama and followed him over the course of an eventful year, which included the 2008 protests in Tibet, the international response to it, the Beijing Olympics, and the breakdown in talks between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government. (White Crane Films)
Metascore:
57
User Score:
tbd
Vincere

Vincere

March 19, 2010 | Unrated
In Vincere, the closely guarded story of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini's secret lover and son is revealed in fittingly operatic proportions. Thunderstruck by the young Mussolini's charisma, Ida Dalser gives up everything to help champion his revolutionary ideas. When he disappears during World War I and later resurfaces with a new wife, the scorned Dalser and her son are locked away in separate asylums for more than a decade. But Ida will not disappear without a fight. (IFC Films)
Metascore:
85
User Score:
7.0
Still Bill

Still Bill

January 27, 2010
Still Bill is an intimate portrait of soul legend Bill Withers. With his soulful delivery and warm, heartfelt sincerity, Withers has written the songs that have – and always will – resonate deeply within the fabric of our times. Filmmakers Damani Baker and Alex Vlack follow Withers and offer a unique and rare look inside the world of this fascinating man. Through concert footage, journeys to his birthplace, interviews with music legends, his family and closest friends, Still Bill presents the story of an artist who has written some of the most beloved songs in our time and who truly understands the heart and soul of a man. (B-Side Entertainment)
Metascore:
76
User Score:
tbd
Room and a Half

Room and a Half

January 22, 2010
When asked in an interview whether he ever intended to return to his Motherland, Joseph Brodsky replied: "Such a journey could only take place anonymously...". The creators of this film imagined that the journey in question was undertaken after all, selecting the genre of an ironic fairytale. The poet sails to the country of his childhood, and with him we traverse not only geographical expanses, but travel through time as well; stringing together a number of facts from the Nobel Prize Laureate's biography, we return to the USSR of the 50s and early 60s, soaking up the atmosphere of the "European" city of Petersburg, to this day Russia's cultural center. (Seagull films)
Metascore:
76
User Score:
tbd
Creation

Creation

January 22, 2010 | PG-13
As renowned scientist Charles Darwin struggles to accept his young daughter's death, he finds himself torn between his love for his god-fearing wife and his growing belief in a world that is its own perpetual creation. Directed by Jon Amiel,written by John Colley, and based upon the book by Darwin's great-great-grandson, Randal Keynes, this is the deeply human story of the evolution of Darwin's masterwork, of a passionate marriage torn apart by the most provocative idea in history, and of a tortured genius saved by the love of a child. (Newmarket Films)
Metascore:
51
User Score:
7.3
The Young Victoria

The Young Victoria

December 18, 2009 | PG
The story of Queen Victoria's early rise to power spans from her predicament as an object of a royal power-struggle in to her romantic courtship and legendary marriage to Prince Albert. (Momentum Pictures)
Metascore:
64
User Score:
7.9
Invictus

Invictus

December 11, 2009 | PG-13
Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match. (Warner Bros.)
Metascore:
74
User Score:
7.1
The Last Station

The Last Station

December 4, 2009 | R
After almost fifty years of marriage, the Countess Sofya, Leo Tolstoy’s devoted wife, passionate lover, muse and secretary—she’s copied out War and Peace six times…by hand!—suddenly finds her entire world turned upside down. In the name of his newly created religion, the great Russian novelist has renounced his noble title, his property and even his family in favor of poverty, vegetarianism and even celibacy. After she’s born him thirteen children! When Sofya then discovers that Tolstoy’s trusted disciple, Chertkov—whom she despises—may have secretly convinced her husband to sign a new will, leaving the rights to his iconic novels to the Russian people rather than his very own family, she is consumed by righteous outrage. This is the last straw. Using every bit of cunning, every trick of seduction in her considerable arsenal, she fights fiercely for what she believes is rightfully hers. The more extreme her behavior becomes, however, the more easily Chertkov is able to persuade Tolstoy of the damage she will do to his glorious legacy. (Sony Picture Classics)
Metascore:
76
User Score:
7.6
The Blind Side

The Blind Side

November 20, 2009 | PG-13
Teenager Michael Oher is surviving on his own, virtually homeless, when he is spotted on the street by Leigh Anne Tuohy. Learning that the young man is one of her daughter's classmates, Leigh Anne insists that Michael--wearing shorts and a t-shirt in the dead of winter--come out of the cold. Without a moment's hesitation, she invites him to stay at the Tuohy home for the night. What starts out as a gesture of kindness turns into something more as Michael becomes part of the Tuohy family despite the differences in their backgrounds. (Warner Bros.)
Metascore:
53
User Score:
7.4
Skin

Skin

October 30, 2009 | PG-13
Skin is one of the most moving stories to emerge from apartheid South Africa: Sandra Laing is a black child born in the 1950s to white Afrikaners, unaware of their black ancestry. Her parents are rural shopkeepers serving the local black community, who lovingly bring her up as their ‘white’ little girl. But at the age of ten, Sandra is driven out of white society. The film follows Sandra’s thirty-year journey from rejection to acceptance, betrayal to reconciliation, as she struggles to define her place in a changing world - and triumphs against all odds. (Elysian Films)
Metascore:
62
User Score:
tbd
Amelia

Amelia

October 23, 2009 | PG
After becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic, Amelia was thrust into a new role as America's sweetheart - the legendary "goddess of light," known for her bold, larger-than-life charisma. Yet, even with her global fame solidified, her belief in flirting with danger and standing up as her own, outspoken woman never changed. She was an inspiration to people everywhere, from First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt to the men closest to her heart: her husband, promoter and publishing magnate George P. Putnam, and her long time friend and lover, pilot Gene Vidal. In the summer of 1937, Amelia set off on her most daunting mission yet: a solo flight around the world that she and George both anxiously foresaw as destined, whatever the outcome, to become one of the most talked-about journeys in history. (Fox Searchlight)
Metascore:
37
User Score:
5.5
Bronson

Bronson

October 9, 2009 | R
In 1974, a misguided 19 year old named Michael Peterson decided he wanted to make a name for himself and so, with a homemade sawn-off shotgun and a head full of dreams he attempted to rob a post office. Swiftly apprehended and originally sentenced to 7 years in jail, Peterson has subsequently been behind bars for 34 years, 30 of which have been spent in solitary confinement. With an intelligent, provocative and stylized approach, BRONSON (based on a true story) follows the metamorphosis of Mickey Peterson into Britain's most dangerous prisoner, Charles Bronson. [Magnet Releasing]
Metascore:
71
User Score:
7.4
The Damned United

The Damned United

October 9, 2009 | R
Set in 1960’s and 1970’s England, The Damned United tells the confrontational and darkly humorous story of Brian Clough’s doomed 44 day tenure as manager of the reigning champions of English football Leeds United. Previously managed by his bitter rival Don Revie, and on the back of their most successful period ever as a football club, Leeds was perceived by many to represent a new aggressive and cynical style of football - an anathema to the principled yet flamboyant Brian Clough, who had achieved astonishing success as manager of Hartlepool and Derby County building teams in his own vision with trusty lieutenant Peter Taylor. Taking the Leeds job without Taylor by his side, with a changing room full of what in his mind were still Don’s boys, would lead to an unheralded examination of Clough’s belligerence and brilliance over 44 days. This is that story. The story of The Damned United. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Metascore:
81
User Score:
7.7
Coco Before Chanel

Coco Before Chanel

September 25, 2009 | PG-13
This is the story of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, who begins her life as a headstrong orphan, and through an extraordinary journey becomes the legendary couturier who embodied the modern woman and became a timeless symbol of success, freedom and style. (Sony Pictures Classics)
Metascore:
65
User Score:
7.0
In Search of Beethoven

In Search of Beethoven

September 23, 2009
In Search of Beethoven addresses the romantic myth that Beethoven was a heroic, tormented figure battling to overcome his tragic fate, struck down by deafness, who searched for his 'immortal beloved' but remained unmarried. It delves beyond the image of the tortured, cantankerous, unhinged personality, to reveal someone quite different and far more interesting. (Seventh Art Productions)
Metascore:
71
User Score:
tbd
Bright Star

Bright Star

September 16, 2009 | PG
London 1818: a secret love affair begins between 23 year old English poet, John Keats, and the girl next door, Fanny Brawne, and outspoken student of fashion. This unlikely pair started at odds, he thinking her a stylish minx, she unimpressed by literature in general. It was the illness of Keats' younger brother that drew them together. Keats was touched by Fanny's efforts to help and agreed to teach her poetry. By the time Fanny's alarmed mother and Keats' best friend Brown realized their attachment, the relationship had an unstoppable momentum. Intensely and helplessly absorbed in each other, the young lovers were swept into powerful new sensation, "I have the feeling as if I were dissolving," Keats wrote her. Together they rode a wave of romantic obsession that deepened as their troubles mounted. Only Keats' illness proved insurmountable. (Apparition)
Metascore:
81
User Score:
7.1
The Baader Meinhof Complex

The Baader Meinhof Complex

August 21, 2009 | R
Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the still fragile German democracy. The radicalised children of the Nazi generation led by Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Ensslin are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism: American imperialism supported by the German establishment, many of whom have a Nazi past. Their aim is to create a more human society but by employing inhuman means they not only spread terror and bloodshed, they also lose their own humanity. The man who understands them is also their hunter: the head of the German police force Horst Herold. And while he succeeds in his relentless pursuit of the young terrorists, he knows he’s only dealing with the tip of the iceberg. (Vitagraph Films)
Metascore:
76
User Score:
7.5
Julie & Julia

Julie & Julia

August 7, 2009 | PG-13
Based on two true stories, Julie & Julia intertwines the lives of two women who, though separated by time and space, are both at loose ends...until they discover that with the right combination of passion, fearlessness and butter, anything is possible. (Sony Pictures)
Metascore:
66
User Score:
7.3
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg

Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg

July 10, 2009
From Aviva Kempner, award-winning maker of The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, comes this humorous and eye-opening story of television pioneer Gertrude Berg. She was the creator, principal writer, and star of The Goldbergs, a popular radio show about a Jewish family living in New York City which became television’s very first character-driven domestic sitcom in 1949. She combined social commentary, family values and lots of humor to win the hearts of America. (International Film Circuit, Inc.)
Metascore:
69
User Score:
6.5
The Beaches of Agnès

The Beaches of Agnès

July 1, 2009
A reflection on art, life and the movies, The Beaches of Agnes is a magnificent new film from the great Agnes Varda, a richly cinematic self portrait that touches on everything from the feminist movement and the black panthers to the films of husband Jacques Demy and the birth of the French New Wave. (Cinema Guild)
Metascore:
86
User Score:
7.1
Public Enemies

Public Enemies

July 1, 2009 | R
No one could stop Dillinger and his gang. No jail could hold him. His charm and audacious jailbreaks endeared him to almost everyone—from his girlfriend Billie Frechette to an American public who had no sympathy for the banks that had plunged the country into the Depression. But while the adventures of Dillinger's gang thrilled many, Hoover made Dillinger America's first Public Enemy Number One. (Universal Pictures)
Metascore:
70
User Score:
7.5
Herb & Dorothy

Herb & Dorothy

June 5, 2009 | Not Rated
Herb and Dorothy Vogel redefine what it means to be an art collector.
Metascore:
74
User Score:
tbd
Séraphine

Séraphine

June 5, 2009 | Unrated
Seraphine vividly recounts the tragic story of French naïve painter Séraphine Louis aka Séraphine de Senlis (1864-1942), a humble servant who becomes a gifted self-taught painter. Discovered by prominent critic and collector William Uhde, she came to prominence between the wars grouped with other naïve painters like Henri Rousseau only to descend into madness and obscurity with the onset of the Great Depression and World War II. (Music Box Films)
Metascore:
84
User Score:
7.7
Little Ashes

Little Ashes

May 8, 2009 | R
In the midst of the repression and political unrest of pre-Spanish Civil War, eccentric artist Salvador Dalí and renowned poet and revolutionary Federico García Lorca find their artistic and sexual freedom. The two form a bond challenged by their fierce ambitions, their friends, the struggle between a love for Spain and a love for each other. (Regent Releasing)
Metascore:
41
User Score:
8.1
Il Divo

Il Divo

April 24, 2009 | Not Rated
In Rome, at dawn, when everyone is sleeping, one man is awake. That man is Giulio Andreotti. He's awake because he has to work, write books, move in fashionable circles and, last but not least, pray. Calm, crafty and inscrutable, Andreotti is synonym of power in Italy for over four decades. At the beginning of the Nineties, this impassive yet insinuating, ambiguous yet reassuring figure appears set to assume his seventh mandate as Prime Minister without arrogance and without humility. Approaching seventy, Andreotti is a gerontocrat who, with all the attributes of God, is afraid of no one and does not know the meaning of awe, since he is accustomed to seeing it stamped on the faces of all his interlocutors. His satisfaction is muted, impalpable. For him, satisfaction is power, with which he has a symbiotic relationship. Power the way he likes it. Unwavering and immutable, from the outset. He emerges unscathed from everything: electoral battles, terrorist massacres, slanderous accusations. He is untouched by it all, unchanging. Until the strongest counter power in Italy, the Mafia, declares war on him. Then things change. Perhaps even for the enigmatic, immortal Andreotti. But the question is: do they really change or only appear to? We can be sure of one thing: it is difficult to tarnish Andreotti, the man who knows the ways of the world better than any of us. [Music Box Films]
Metascore:
81
User Score:
7.2
The Soloist

The Soloist

April 24, 2009 | PG-13
In The Soloist, an emotionally soaring drama about the redemptive power of music, journalist Steve Lopez discovers Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, a former classical music prodigy, playing his violin on the streets of L.A. As Lopez endeavors to help the homeless man find his way back, a unique friendship is formed, one that transforms both their lives. (Paramount)
Metascore:
61
User Score:
6.9
Anvil! The Story of Anvil

Anvil! The Story of Anvil

April 10, 2009 | Unrated
At 14, Toronto school friends Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. They meant it. Their band, Anvil, went on to become the "demigods of Canadian metal," releasing one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982 Metal on Metal. The album influenced a musical generation, including Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, that went on to sell millions of records. But Anvil's career took a different path, straight into obscurity. (Abramorama Films)
Metascore:
82
User Score:
8.2
The Edge of Love

The Edge of Love

March 13, 2009 | Unrated
Two feisty, free-spirited women are connected by a brilliant, charismatic poet who loves them both. Desire and guilt are complicated by love and friendship in this real-life tale set in beautiful London and the majestic Welsh countryside. (Capitol Films)
Metascore:
39
User Score:
6.6
Of Time and the City

Of Time and the City

January 21, 2009
From the original voice of the great British auteur, Terence Davies, comes a visual poem which draws upon the first 28 years of the director's life in Liverpool until he left in 1973. "Cut it as if it were fiction," Davies says, with "images which speak" and a layered sound track of popular and classical music, voices, radio clips and a powerful, poignant voiceover by Mr. Davies. Of Time and The City is a very personal portrait of Liverpool, beyond its Beatles and its football clubs, the home of the writer’s birth, where youth and inspiration weave his own story into the recent history of the City with fascinating found footage and counterpointed sound. (Strand Releasing)
Metascore:
81
User Score:
6.0
Notorious

Notorious

January 16, 2009 | R
In just a few short years, Notorious B.I.G. rose from the streets of Brooklyn to become one of the most influential hip hop artists of all time. B.I.G. was a gifted storyteller; his narratives about violent life on the streets were told with a gritty, objective realism that won him enormous respect and credibility. His stories were universal and gave a voice to his generation. (Fox Searchlight)
Metascore:
60
User Score:
5.7
Waltz with Bashir

Waltz with Bashir

December 25, 2008 | R
One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images. [Sony Classics]
Metascore:
91
User Score:
7.9
Scott Walker: 30 Century Man

Scott Walker: 30 Century Man

December 17, 2008
Scott Walker: 30 Century Man is the new documentary feature about one of the most influential and enigmatic figures in rock history. Director Steven Kijak explores Walker's music and career, from his early days as a jobbing bass player on the Sunset Strip, to heartthrob mega-stardom in Britain’s swinging 60’s pop scene, and finally to his transformation into a composer of true genius; an uncompromising musician working at the peak of his powers who has hidden from fame. The filmmakers were granted unprecedented access to Scott and his musical process, the first time the famously reclusive artist has allowed this level of contact with a film crew in over 20 years. (Plexifilm)
Metascore:
65
User Score:
7.6
Che

Che

December 12, 2008 | Not Rated
November 26, 1956; led by Fidel Castro , a band of 80 rebels sails to Cuba. Among these young rebels is Argentine physician, Marxist, soldier, Ernesto "Che" Guevara. Nation-less, strapped for resources and fueled only by determination, the group engages in swift, bloody battle to free the Cuban people from the corrupt dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. Che and his soldiers wrestle the nation's resources and affection from Batista's grasp. Though considered a hero by some, Che becomes a hugely controversial figure. At the height of his fame and power, he disappears. Entering South America incognito, Che recruits another band of guerilla fighters in the harsh Bolivian jungles. They embark upon a mission to spark revolution throughout Latin America. (IFC Films)
Metascore:
64
User Score:
7.0
Cadillac Records

Cadillac Records

December 5, 2008 | R
In this tale of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950's Chicago, Cadillac Records follows the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter and Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry. (Sony Pictures)
Metascore:
65
User Score:
7.2
Coming Soon
  1. The Man with the Iron Heart

    • Runtime: 120 min
  2. McKellen: Playing the Part

    • Runtime: 92 min
  3. The Odyssey

    • Runtime: 122 min
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