The Hidden Face (Spanish: La cara oculta), 2011. Directed by Andrés Baiz.Starring: Martina García, Clara Lago and Quim Gutiérrez. SYNOPSIS:   A Spanish orchestra conductor deals with the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend. Trailers revealing too much in general is nothing new, but some go one step further and divulge a plot point or character trajectory […]

The Missing Picture (French: L’image manquante), 2013. Directed by Pithy Panh. SYNOPSIS: Pol Pot’s reign of terror revisited through the eyes of a survivor. Rithy Panh’s incredibly moving story of life under the Khmer Rouge starts with the premise of a missing photo. It is a picture that does not exist, an image that details […]

Shield of Straw (Japanese: Wara no tate), 2013. Directed by Takashi Miike.Starring Nanako Matsushima, Tatsuya Fujiwara, and Takao Osawa. SYNOPSIS: The Japanese police have to transport a known child killer to Tokyo. When the billionaire grandfather of the murdered girl offers a reward for the killer’s assassination the police’s job gets a little tougher. Prolific […]

Blood, 2012. Directed by Nick MurphyStarring Paul Bettany, Stephen Graham, Mark Strong and Brian Cox.  SYNOPSIS: Thriller charting the moral collapse of a police family. Two cop brothers, smothered by the shadow of their former police chief father, must investigate a crime they themselves have committed. A young girl lies murdered inside two pools: one […]

Nothing But the Truth, 2008. Director Rod Lurie.Starring Kate Beckinsale, Matt Dillon, Angela Bassett, Alan Alda, Vera Farmiga, David Schwimmer, Courtney B. Vance, and Noah Wyle. SYNOPSIS: In Washington, D.C., a female reporter faces a possible jail sentence for outing a CIA agent and refusing to reveal her source. Nothing But the Truth is a […]

Bullhead, 2011. Written and Directed by Michael R. Roksam.Starring Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval and Jeanne Dandoy SYNOPSIS: Domineering cattle farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Schoenaerts), constantly pumped on steroids and hormones, initiates a shady deal with a notorious mafioso meat trader. When an investigating federal agent is assassinated and a woman from his traumatic past resurfaces, […]

Borgman, 2013.Directed by Alex van Warmerdam.Starring Jan Bijvoet, Hadewych Minis and Jeroen Perceval. SYNOPSIS: The arrival of Borgman in a middle-class family home has devastating results. The opening sequence of Alex van Warmerdam’s shocking and eerily funny Borgman looks something straight out of an episode of Lost or some post-Apocalyptic movie. A dirty-looking man clad […]

Stop the Pounding Heart, 2013. Directed by Roberto Minervini.Starring Sara Carlson and Colby Trichell. SYNOPSIS: A teenage girl deals with a crisis of conscience in gun-toting rural Texas. After The Passage and Low Tide, Italian filmmaker Roberto Minervini continues to focus his gaze on the people of rural Texas. Avoiding the large urban areas, Minervini […]

Jimmy P., 2013. Directed by Arnaud Desplechin.Starring Benicio Del Toro, Mathieu Amalric, Gina McKee, Larry Pine and Joseph Cross. SYNOPSIS: A Native American WWII veteran suffering from an inexplicable illness is admitted to a military hospital, where he comes under the care of a French anthropologist, psychoanalyst and specialist in Native American culture. Arnaud Desplechin’s […]

 Like Father, Like Son (Japan: Soshite chichi ni naru), 2013. Written and Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda.Starring Masaharu Fukuyama, Machiko Ono, Yoko Maki, and Lily Franky. SYNOPSIS:  Who would you choose: the son you’ve brought up for six years as your own, or your own flesh and blood? Two families have to decide. Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Like […]