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Saturday, December 9th, 2023  

Ballerina

Studio: First Run Features
Directed by Bertrand Normand; Starring: Diana Vishneva, Ulyana Lopatkina, Evgenia Obraztsova, Alina Somova and Svetlana Zakharova

Apr 17, 2009 Cinema Web Exclusive

In this 2006 video documentary, which has been making the rounds in art houses this year, director Bertrand Normand spotlights five Russian ballerinas at various stages in their careers at the Kirov Ballet.

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Alexander the Last

Studio: IFC Films
Directed by Joe Swanberg; Starring: Jess Weixler, Justin Rice, Barlow Jacobs, Amy Seimetz and Jane Adams

Apr 06, 2009 Cinema Web Exclusive

If you can survive the disconcerting first 11 minutes of Joe Swanberg’s fifth feature, then you’ll be rewarded with an intriguing look at how artists struggle to sustain committed relationships, which are complicated by disciplines that allow performers to share intimate experiences with various collaborators.

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Bart Got a Room

Studio: Anchor Bay Films
Written and directed by Brian Hecker; Starring: Steven Kaplan, Alia Shawkat, Brandon Hardesty, Jennifer Tilly, Cheryl Hines and William H. Macy

Apr 04, 2009 Cinema Web Exclusive

Bart Got a Room, written and directed by Brian Hecker, is a cautionary tale about high expectations.

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Paris 36

Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by Christophe Barratier; Written by Christophe Barratier, Pierre Philippe, and Julien Rappeneau; Starring: Nora Arnezeder, Gérard Jugnot, Clovis Cornillac, Kad Merad, and Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu.

Apr 04, 2009 Cinema Web Exclusive

Inspired by a set of songs composed by contemporary songwriters Frank Thomas (lyrics) and Reinhardt Wagner (music), Paris 36 is a knowingly old-fashioned French film directed by Christophe Barratier, whose previous effort, The Choir (2004), received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

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Tokyo Sonata

Studio: Regent Releasing

Feb 01, 2009 Cinema Winter 2009 - Anticipated Albums of 2009

The 2008 Jury Prize winner in the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard section, Tokyo Sonata is a departure for Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who is perhaps best known in the States for his creepy horror films Cure and Pulse.

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Skills Like This

Studio: Shadow Distribution

Feb 01, 2009 Cinema Winter 2009 - Anticipated Albums of 2009

Max Solomon (Spencer Berger) is such a poor writer that a performance of his play “The Onion Dance” hospitalizes his grandfather.

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Rachel Getting Married

Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Directed by: Jonathan Demme; Written by: Jenny Lumet; Starring: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Debra Winger, Bill Irwin and Tunde Adebimpe

Dec 10, 2008 Cinema Web Exclusive

If Anne Hathaway’s insolent, attention-craving character Kym seems intolerable after only a few scenes, and you begin to question whether you can spend another 100 minutes with her, then screenwriter Jenny Lumet and director Jonathan Demme have you right where they want you.

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The Black Balloon

Studio: NeoClassics Films
Directed by: Elissa Down; Written by: Elissa Down and Jimmy the Exploder; Starring: Rhys Wakefield, Gemma Ward, Luke Ford, Erik Thomson and Toni Collette

Dec 10, 2008 Cinema Web Exclusive

Australia’s The Black Balloon has its heart in the right place. The film observes autism through the eyes of Thomas, a 15-year-old boy (Rhys Wakefield) who struggles to accept his older brother Charlie’s (Luke Ford) disability, at an age when adolescents’ own self-consciousness becomes magnified.

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Che

Studio: IFC Films
Directed by Steven Soderbergh; Starring Benicio Del Toro

Nov 01, 2008 Cinema Year End 2008 - Best of 2008

As a whole, Che, which comprises two Spanish-language films over two hours each, is this decade’s most imposing film by an American director to receive theatrical distribution.

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