A bittersweet musical drama set in London centers around a dejected jazz musician who is on the edge. He perceives a cold, black and white existence. In his heart there remains a ray of hope that will transport him to a warm and colorful world. Through the music, his spirit is renewed, if only for an instant, at the end of the rainbow.
Tag: USA
Interweaving evocative images with powerful performance footage, this short film explores Southern writer Dorothy Allison’s life, from the oppression of poverty and childhood abuse to a place where she has channeled that oppression into creativity.
A teen genius (Ari Meyers) escapes from a teen think tank with the plans for a secret weapon. On the run, she stows aboard a truck driven by two slow-witted brothers (Peter and David Paul) who are transporting toxic waste across the country. Martin Mull also appears as the mentor of the think tank, Claudia Christian is the school’s psychologist, and David Carradine is a repo man.
After his family is murdered, and he’s left for dead, a farmer awakens in the desert and finds himself transformed into a savage warrior, with all the powers and skills of the ancient gods. Guided by his “spirit masters” he’s given a mission; destroy Titan Corporation, the world’s most powerful high-tech computer company and its ambitious leader, Michael Burroughs. Burrough’s has discovered the technological remains of an ancient race and a secret that will allow him to open the Vortex and achieve immortality. Out in the desert, ancient powers collide with sophisticated technology as the Savage and Burroughs meet in a titanic struggle that could destroy mankind.
Excellent adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s provocative short story, still has impact. Unsettling depiction of the banality of evil. Like the short story, the film begins casually with the start of the annual ritual lottery and grows more intense as we slowly realize the lottery’s purpose. Its main character, Tessie Hutchinson, learns too late the dangers of not speaking up, and of blindly following and supporting tradition. Tradition is symbolized by lucky “Old Man Warner”(77 years in the lottery). Like the short story, the film is shocking because of its matter-of-fact tone: the lottery is depicted as just another mundane yearly event. Spare, powerful, and thought-provoking.
Two little girls hide in the boys’ bathroom at school so they can find out what happens there. When two boys come in, the four gradually talk each other into taking off their clothes. The principal catches them, and angrily berates them for what they’ve been up to, warning them that he’ll have to tell their parents about the incident. Later repercussions are seen as parents of three of them separately discuss and fight about what has happened. Returning to school poses an additional challenge, as everyone has found out what has gone on.
Elmo Bunn is an L.A. pizza delivery man with a reputation for never having delivered a cold pizza or being stiffed on a bill. When a call comes into his shop for an extra-large with sausage and anchovies to go to a dangerous part of East Hollywood, Elmo knows he’s in for trouble.
Griffin Byrne is a newly assigned teacher to a Catholic high school in an inner-city near slum neighbourhood of New York, which is run down by headmaster Father Frank Larkin. There, he meets and tries to help Lee Cortez, a smart boy from a poor and troubled family. Lee has a good heart and artistic skills, but is constantly dragged down by his social environment and about to leave the school. Byrne’s struggle to help Lee reflects the struggles and difficulties which the school is being subjected to every day.