Among the few unfortunates sealed within its labyrinthian walls are a newly dumped Charlie (Doghouse’s Noel Clarke, who also scripted) and his ex, Shelly (Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Albert Nobbs), both of whom have come to retrieve their stuff. Each has brought a friend, too: Mark (Colin O’Donoghue, The Rite) and Nikki (Laura Haddock, The Inbetweeners Movie). […]
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In Their Skin
No matter the name, the film focuses on the family — in particular, the Hughes clan, headed by Mark (Joshua Close, The Master) and Mary (Selma Blair, TV’s Anger Management). With their young son (Quinn Lord, The Possession), they head to their country cottage for a little R&R. Shortly upon arrival at night, Mary asks […]
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Curandero: Dawn of the Demon
Certainly releasable, but only a goatee hair above watchable, the horror film is co-produced by Machete man Robert Rodriguez (no relation), who also wrote the original screenplay — “original” only in terms of it being rewritten, as there’s nothing new you haven’t seen 100 times before. To less adventurous viewers, I suppose the story’s being […]
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Best in Show
Although set amid the fictional Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show in Philadelphia, the comedy is really concerned with five sets of the contestants’ owners, including — but not limited to — a longtime married couple (Catherine O’Hara and co-writer Eugene Levy), two gay men (Michael McKean and John Michael Higgins) and a lonely woodsman (Guest). […]
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TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay — Away from Keyboard
The keyword there is “copyrighted,” of course. Violations of that law of have inflamed Hollywood, which responded with predictably fierce legal action. A 2008 court battle drives much of the new film TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay — Away from Keyboard. The feature debut of director Simon Klose, the documentary becomes available on demand from […]
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Smashed
New to Blu-ray and DVD after a too-brief theatrical release, the indie drama is reminiscent of 1988’s Clean and Sober, also a sturdy-enough addiction movie that lives and dies on its central performance — in other words, one actor shoulders the entire burden, elevating what is otherwise unremarkable (but not incompetent) material. He or she […]
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Sleepless Night
An opening cocaine heist turned bloody has authorities thinking “gangland killing,” but the man who’s really to blame is one of those investigating authorities: Vincent (Tomer Sisley, The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch), a Bad Lieutenant dealing with Far Worse Criminals. In retribution for having his bag of kilos swiped, nefarious club owner Marciano (Serge Riaboukine, […]
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The Millennium Bug
For his feature debut, The Millennium Bug, writer/director Kenneth Cran imagines that Something Actually Happened besides a world’s collective “whew!” Taking place on Dec. 31, 1999 (natch), the movie follows the Haskin family, whose three members head for the mountains in order to escape the panic and presumed riots. Instead, the happy campers find trouble […]
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Compliance
In a role that should have earned her an Academy Award nomination (but I suspect the old-fart contingent couldn’t make it through the film, if it tried at all), Ann Dowd (Side Effects) gets the role of her long character-actress career as Sandra, manager of a fictional fast-food restaurant. Her shift at ChickWich starts as […]
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The Master
Up for three Academy Awards on Sunday, all for its main performances, the inspired-by-Scientology-but-not-really drama follows Navy vet Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line) as he returns home post-WWII to find he never really had a home to begin with. He doesn’t “fit” anywhere; his string of tenuous relationships — with women, with jobs […]