Sight and Sound 2009. All the films reviewed in Volume 19.
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- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsMichael StuhlbargRichard KindSari LennickLarry Gopnik, a Midwestern physics teacher, watches his life unravel over multiple sudden incidents. Though seeking meaning and answers amidst his turmoils, he seems to keep sinking.
- DirectorJane CampionStarsAbbie CornishBen WhishawPaul SchneiderThe three-year romance between 19th-century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne near the end of his life.
- DirectorPaul KingStarsEdward HoggSimon FarnabyVerónica EcheguiA young shut-in takes an imaginary road trip inside his apartment, based on mementos and memories of a European trek from years before.
- DirectorPhil LordChristopher MillerStarsAnna FarisBill HaderBruce CampbellA local scientist is often regarded as a failure until he invents a machine that can make food fall from the sky. But little does he know that things are about to take a turn for the worst.
- DirectorSophie BarthesStarsPaul GiamattiEmily WatsonDina KorzunPaul is an actor who feels bogged down by his participation in a production of Chekov's play, Vanya.
- DirectorPeter BillingsleyStarsVince VaughnMalin AkermanJon FavreauA comedy centered around four couples who settle into a tropical-island resort for a vacation. While one of the couples is there to work on the marriage, the others fail to realize that participation in the resort's therapy sessions is not optional.
- DirectorJordan ScottStarsEva GreenJuno TempleMaría ValverdeA look at the lives and relationships among girls at an elite boarding school.
- DirectorMatthew AeberhardLeander WardStarsMariella FrostrupZabou BreitmanKaroline HerfurthThe mysterious lives of flamingos are captured on film with a birds-eye view of the animals living in Africa.
- DirectorJon HarrisStarsMichael J. ReynoldsShauna MacdonaldJessika WilliamsRefusing to believe her story about cave-dwelling monsters, the sole survivor of a spelunking exploration gone horribly wrong is forced to follow the authorities back into the caves where something awaits.
- DirectorSteve JacobsStarsJohn MalkovichNatalie BeckerJessica HainesAfter having an affair with a student, a Cape Town professor moves to the Eastern Cape, where he gets caught up in a mess of post-apartheid politics.
- DirectorAstra TaylorStarsKwame Anthony AppiahJudith ButlerMichael HardtIn Examined Life, filmmaker Astra Taylor accompanies some of today's most influential thinkers on a series of unique excursions through places and spaces that hold particular resonance for them and their ideas.
- DirectorKevin TancharoenStarsKelsey GrammerBebe NeuwirthMegan MullallyAn updated version of the musical Fame (1980), which centered on the students of the New York Academy of Performing Arts. The name of the school in 1980 was Fiorello Laguardia High School.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsSasha GreyChris SantosPhilip EytanA drama set in the days leading up to the 2008 Presidential election, and centered on a high-end Manhattan call girl meeting the challenges of her boyfriend, her clients, and her work.
- DirectorStephen PoliakoffStarsRomola GaraiEddie RedmayneJuno TempleThe adopted daughter of a privileged British politician uncovers a family secret in the weeks leading up to World War II.
- DirectorRob ZombieStarsScout Taylor-ComptonTyler ManeMalcolm McDowellLaurie Strode struggles to come to terms with her brother Michael's deadly return to Haddonfield, Illinois; meanwhile, Michael prepares for another reunion with his sister.
- DirectorSteven KastrissiosStarsPeter MarshallCaroline MarohasyBrad McMurrayWhen Christian finds out his runaway teenage daughter, Jesse has been sexually attacked, the suburban father loses it. Setting out to find Jesse's attacker, Christian goes on a violent rampage.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMatt DamonTony HalePatton OswaltThe U.S. government decides to go after an agro-business giant with a price-fixing accusation, based on the evidence submitted by their star witness, vice president-turned-informant Mark Whitacre.
- DirectorRicky GervaisMatthew RobinsonStarsRicky GervaisJennifer GarnerJonah HillA comedy set in a world where no one has ever lied, until a writer seizes the opportunity for personal gain.
- DirectorKaryn KusamaStarsMegan FoxAmanda SeyfriedAdam BrodyA newly-possessed high-school cheerleader turns into a succubus who specializes in killing her male classmates. Can her best friend put an end to the horror?
- DirectorJean-Stéphane SauvaireStarsChristophe MinieDaisy Victoria VandyJoseph DuoA cast of unknown performers are used in this drama about child soldiers fighting a war in the West African Country Liberia.
- DirectorMasayuki MiyanoStarsYuri NakamuraSayuki MatsumotoMiyavi MatsunoiA nice looking SCOUT hooks a future PORN STAR near the department store one day. It didn't take her long to be the highest paid porn actress, which eventually leads her to meet her NYMPHOMANIAC mother living in a trash-filled house. Next to the house, there lived a KARAOKE BOX STAFF who can't say "no" yet thinks himself as a special agent of the Galactic Forces (photo at left). In his imagination, he fights with yakuza and high-school girls, who extort money from real old-men through affairs in karaoke boxes. Meanwhile, an educated FREELANCE WRITER whose only companion is his little boy, was making out for the first time in many years with an ASPIRING VOICE ACTRESS who secretly films a "Fat Girl and Ugly Guy" porn series. Each life overlaps with one another in the street of Tokyo. Are they happy? Can they overcome such miserable situation
- DirectorJérôme LaperrousazStarsBrick and LaceCapletonStephen 'Cat' CooreA powerful portrait of the leaders of the reggae music Movement, and how Reggae has become a worldwide phenomenon. The film showcases performances by the best Reggae and Dance Hall artists ever assembled.
- DirectorMichael KeatonStarsMichael KeatonKelly MacdonaldBobby CannavaleA woman leaves an abusive husband to start a new life in Chicago, where she befriends a man undergoing an emotional crisis, who she does not know is a professional killer, and a detective, who is investigating the hit man.
- DirectorLucy AkhurstStarsLucy AkhurstBrodie BassAndy BlackThis movie follows the fortunes of an avant garde Morris team in their struggle to evolve Morris Dancing.
- DirectorChristian AlvartStarsDennis QuaidBen FosterCam GigandetTwo crew members of a spaceship wake up from hypersleep to discover that all their colleagues are missing. Despite this, it appears that they are not alone.
- DirectorNicholas JasenovecStarsCharlyne YiMichael CeraJake JohnsonCharlyne Yi embarks on a quest across America to make a documentary about the one subject she doesn't fully understand: Love.
- DirectorSally PotterStarsSimon AbkarianPatrick J. AdamsRiz AhmedA young blogger at a New York fashion house shoots behind-the-scenes interviews on his cell-phone.
- DirectorJulian GilbeyStarsRoman KarpynecSaul LinklaterDominic Alan-SmithA relentlessly gritty action film, Reckoning Day takes its inspiration from modern day low-budget classics such as Evil Dead (Sam Raimi), Bad Taste (Peter Jackson) and El Mariachi (Robert Rodriguez), and gives it a uniquely British spin.
- DirectorRithy PanhStarsIsabelle HuppertGaspard UllielAstrid Bergès-FrisbeyA troubled mother's spirit crumbles when her adult children strike out for independence. Feeling abandoned she contemplates taking drastic action.
- DirectorMartin ProvostStarsYolande MoreauUlrich TukurAnne BennentIn 1912 German collector Wilhelm Uhde rents a flat in Senlis to write and take a break from Parisian life. He hires a 48-year old cleaning lady, Séraphine. Some time later, he notices a small painting on wood at a local notable home.
- DirectorJonathan MostowStarsBruce WillisRadha MitchellVing RhamesSet in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.
- DirectorTerence DawStarsBilly ZaneNatalie MendozaChristina ColeA TV documentary crew arrive on a remote island in the Philippines to film a survival special. Their back-to-the-wild adventure proves to be more terrifying than they ever could have imagined.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsDemetri MartinHenry GoodmanEdward HibbertA man working at his parents' motel in the Catskills inadvertently sets in motion the generation-defining concert in the summer of 1969.
- DirectorSergei DvortsevoyStarsAskhat KuchinchirekovTolepbergen BaisakalovSamal YeslyamovaOn the steppes of Kazakhstan, Asa lives in a yurt with his sister Samal, her husband Ondas, and their three children. Ondas is a herdsman, tough and strong. It's dry, dusty, and windy; too many lambs are stillborn. Against this backdrop, Asa, a dreamer who's slight of build and recently finished with a stint in the Russian Navy, tries to establish a life on the steppes. He, his friend Boni, and Ondas call on Tulpan, the only single girl in the area. The men talk to her parents while she listens out of sight. Her answer and Asa's later trips to talk to her form an arc of hope against the harsh land. Is this the place of Asa's dreams? What about the other lambs?
- DirectorMaryam HeneinGeorge LangworthyStarsElliot PageBret AdeeDennis CardozaThis documentary takes a piercing investigative look at the economic, political and ecological implications of the worldwide disappearance of the honeybee.
- DirectorOndi TimonerStarsJosh HarrisTom HarrisCarlos AlvarezA documentary focusing on the life of dot-com entrepreneur Josh Harris, and his exploits over the last decade.
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsChristian FriedelErnst JacobiLeonie BeneschStrange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. Who is responsible?
- DirectorDavid HolroydStarsRobert CambrinusGlenn ConroySomi De Souza2002: A low grade MI6 desk officer inadvertently discovers deliberate flaws in the evidence being compiled to invade Iraq, and tries to expose the truth.
- DirectorRuben FleischerStarsJesse EisenbergEmma StoneWoody HarrelsonA shy student trying to reach his family in Ohio, a gun-toting bruiser in search of the last Twinkie and a pair of sisters striving to get to an amusement park join forces in a trek across a zombie-filled America.
- DirectorRobert GuédiguianStarsSimon AbkarianVirginie LedoyenRobinson StéveninThe poet Missak Manouchian leads a mixed bag of youngsters and immigrants in a clandestine battle against the Nazi occupation. Twenty-two men and one woman fighting for an ideal and for freedom. News of their daring attacks, including the assassination of an SS general, eventually reaches Berlin.
- DirectorAsshu TrikhaStarsMithun ChakrabortyOm PuriSohum ShahA young lad from a crime-laden family grows up to be a much-feared gangster.
- DirectorPeter HyamsStarsJesse MetcalfeAmber TamblynMichael DouglasRemake of the 1956 film noir film "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt" in which a writer's plan to expose a corrupt district attorney takes an unexpected turn.
- DirectorMarc PriceStarsAlastair KirtonDaisy AitkensLeanne PammenOur hero Colin is bitten by a Zombie; he dies and returns from the dead. We follow him as he wanders through suburbia during the throes of a cadaverous apocalypse.
- DirectorLouie PsihoyosStarsRichard O'BarryLouie PsihoyosHardy JonesUsing state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.
- DirectorAlex De RakoffStarsClint KoroanFredi 'Kruga' Nwaka50 CentNick's borrowed money from a loan shark. He's 4 weeks behind. He gets 24 hours to come up with GBP100,000. His mom's a hostage.
- DirectorEileen YaghoobianStarsAmes BrothersArt ChantryBrian ChippendaleDied Young, Stayed Pretty is a candid look at the underground poster culture in North America. This unique documentary examines the creative spirit that drives these indie graphic artists. They pick through the dregs of America's schizophrenic culture and piece them back together. What you end up with is a caricature of the black and bloated heart that pulses greed through the US economy. The artists push further into the pulp to grab the attention of passersby, plastering art that's both vulgar and intensely visceral onto the gnarled surfaces of the urban landscape. The film gives us intimate look at some of the giants of this modern subculture. Outside of their own circle, they're virtually unknown. But within their ranks they make up an army of bareknuckle brawlers, publicly arguing the aesthetic merits of octopus imagery and hairy 70s porn stars. They've created their own visual language for describing the spotty underbelly of western civilization and they're not shy about throwing it in the face of polite society. Along the way, they manage to create posters that are strikingly obscene, unflinchingly blasphemous and often quite beautiful. Yaghoobian shows these artists for what they are: the vivisectionists of America's morbidly obese consumer culture.
- DirectorPatrick AlessandrinStarsCyril RaffaelliDavid BellePhilippe TorretonDamien and Leito return to District 13 on a mission to bring peace to the troubled sector that is controlled by five different gang bosses, before the city's secret services take drastic measures to solve the problem.
- DirectorDonald PetrieStarsNia VardalosRichard DreyfussRachel DratchA disgruntled tour guide in Greece gains an unexpected new outlook on life thanks to one of the people on what she intends to be her last tour.
- DirectorLone ScherfigStarsCarey MulliganPeter SarsgaardAlfred MolinaA coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsGeorge ClooneyMeryl StreepBill MurrayAn urbane fox cannot resist returning to his farm raiding ways and then must help his community survive the farmers' retaliation.
- DirectorDavid R. EllisStarsNick ZanoKrista AllenAndrew FiscellaA horrifying premonition saves a young man and his friends from death during a racetrack accident but terrible fates await them nonetheless.
- DirectorRémi BezançonStarsJacques GamblinZabou BreitmanDéborah FrançoisFive key days in a family's life.
- DirectorMark NeveldineBrian TaylorStarsGerard ButlerMichael C. HallLudacrisIn a future mind-controlling game, death row convicts are forced to battle in a 'Doom'-type environment. Convict Kable, controlled by Simon, a skilled teenage gamer, must survive thirty sessions in order to be set free.
- DirectorStephen SommersStarsDennis QuaidChanning TatumMarlon WayansAn elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.
- DirectorNeal BrennanStarsJeremy PivenVing RhamesDavid KoechnerUsed-car liquidator Don Ready is hired by a failing auto dealership to turn their Fourth of July sale into a majorly profitable event.
- DirectorAndrew HaighStarsPeter PittarosLewis WallisTristan FieldA year in the life of a London rent-boy.
- DirectorSerge BrombergRuxandra MedreaStarsRomy SchneiderBérénice BejoSerge ReggianiHenri-Georges Clouzot's unfinished masterpiece, Inferno (1964), is reconstructed in this film which is part drama and part documentary.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsChristopher PlummerLily ColeHeath LedgerHaving made a deal with the Devil himself for immortality many millennia ago, the now decrepit mystic Doctor Parnassus fights for the freedom of his only daughter's soul.
- DirectorWilson YipStarsDonnie YenSimon YamSiu-Wong FanDuring the Japanese invasion of China, a wealthy martial artist is forced to leave his home when his city is occupied. With little means of providing for themselves, Ip Man and the remaining members of the city must find a way to survive.
- DirectorLeander BasannavarMichael TchoubouroffStarsSimon PhillipsDanny DyerAshlie WalkerJack is an undercover cop infiltrating a criminal gang. Things go pear-shaped when Jack's chancer pal does a runner with a box belonging to the boss and ends up in a perilous situation which threatens to explode into disaster.
- DirectorPeter StricklandStarsHilda PéterNorbert TankóLászló MátrayIn the beautiful, otherworldly Carpathian Mountains a woman is traveling with a small boy in a horse and cart, looking to punish those who once abused her. For years, Katalin has been keeping a terrible secret. Hitchhiking with two men, she was brutally raped in the woods. Although she has kept silent about what happened, she has not forgotten, and her son Órban serves as a living reminder. When her village discovers her secret, Katalin's husband rejects her. With nothing to lose, she is free to seek revenge on the perpetrators. As she puts human faces to horrible acts, she is forced to consider that morality might not be as black and white as she had imagined.
- DirectorShane MeadowsStarsPaddy ConsidineDean PalinczukOlivia ColmanRock roadie, Le Donk, has lived, loved and learned. Along the way, he's lost a classy girlfriend but gained a sidekick, Scorz-Ayz-Ee. He sets out to make Scorz a star with a little help from the Artic Monkeys.
- DirectorSion SonoStarsTakahiro NishijimaHikari MitsushimaSakura AndôA bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.
- DirectorShane AckerStarsElijah WoodJennifer ConnellyCrispin GloverA rag doll that awakens in a postapocalyptic future holds the key to humanity's salvation.
- DirectorTony JaaPanna RittikraiStarsTony JaaSarunyu WongkrachangSorapong ChatreeA young Thai boxer learns the skills and inner meaning of martial arts.
- DirectorPaul GrossStarsPaul GrossMichael GreyeyesJames KotThe lives of a troubled veteran, his nurse girlfriend and a naive boy intersect first in Alberta and then in Belgium during the bloody World War I battle of Passchendaele.
- DirectorBruce McDonaldStarsStephen McHattieLisa HouleGeorgina ReillyA radio host interprets the possible outbreak of a deadly virus which infects the small Ontario town he is stationed in.
- DirectorNikolai MüllerschönStarsMatthias SchweighöferLena HeadeyTil SchweigerGerman biopic loosely based on the World War I fighter ace Manfred Von Richthofen, nicknamed the Red Baron by friend and foe alike.
- DirectorRichard ParryStarsRobert KingFollows Robert King in his fifteen years as a war photographer.
- DirectorStewart HendlerStarsBriana EviganRumer WillisCarrie FisherA group of sorority sisters try to cover up the death of their house-sister after a prank gone wrong, only to be stalked by a serial killer.
- DirectorHanno HöferRazvan MarculescuCristian MungiuStarsDiana CavalliotiRadu IacobanVlad IvanovSeveral urban legends of Communist Romania are dramatized.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsSong Kang-hoKim Ok-binChoi Hee-jinThrough a failed medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways.
- DirectorChristopher SmithStarsMelissa GeorgeJoshua McIvorJack TaylorFive friends set sail and their yacht is overturned by a strange and sudden storm. A mysterious ship arrives to rescue them, and what happens next cannot be explained.
- DirectorPhilippe LioretStarsVincent LindonFirat AyverdiAudrey DanaBilal sets off on an adventure-filled journey across Europe and wants to get to England to see his love who lives there.
- DirectorDominic SenaStarsKate BeckinsaleGabriel MachtTom SkerrittU.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko tracks a killer in Antarctica as the sun is about to set for six months.
- DirectorLesley ManningStarsWilliam BeckStephen KennedyMaureen LipmanIt's all in a day's work for high-flying literary agent Alexander; manuscripts to read, deals to be done, celebrity clients to be taken out to lunch, but first there is an author to deal with whose latest book the agent thinks is, frankly, not up to scratch. However he hadn't counted on the author's resourcefulness... This bitingly funny film takes you behind the scenes of the publishing world to witness the wheeling and dealing required to create the next best-seller.
- DirectorJohn SchultzStarsAshley TisdaleRobert HoffmanCarter JenkinsA group of kids must protect their vacation home from invading aliens.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsJohn KrasinskiMaya RudolphAllison JanneyA couple expecting their first child travels the U.S. seeking the perfect "family home." They have misadventures and find fresh connections with relatives and old friends who help them discover "home" on their own terms for the first time.
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsAgnès VardaAndré LubranoBlaise FournierAgnès Varda explores her memories, mostly chronologically, with photographs, film clips, interviews, reenactments, and droll, playful contemporary scenes of her narrating her story.
- DirectorMarco BechisStarsClaudio SantamariaAlicélia Batista CabreiraChiara CaselliWhen a tribe of indigenous Guarani Indians attempts to re-inhabit their ancestral land, which lies on the border of a wealthy landowner's fields, tensions escalate.
- DirectorJames KeachStarsChris PineAnjali JayEddie Kaye ThomasA young blind man (Pine) thinks he's found love with an Indian woman (Jay) though their relationship is fraught with cultural differences.
- DirectorOlivier DucastelJacques MartineauStarsLaetitia CastaGaëtan GallierYannick RenierTwo young lovers change their lives drastically after the 1968 revolt, leading to choices that move them in different directions.
- DirectorJeremy GoschStarsReno AbelliraClyde AikauEddie AikauThis documentary tells the story of a group of Australian and South African surfers who revolutionized their sport in Hawaii during the winter of 1975.
- DirectorLuis LopezTrisha ZiffStarsGerry AdamsAntonio BanderasGael García BernalA documentary on the iconography of Che Guevara.
- DirectorRupert GlassonStarsRobert TaylorLisa ChappellSam ParsonsonA woman unable to conceive a child with her husband, despite 15 months of trying, makes the drunken mistake of sleeping with a young stranger. The stranger then goes to terrifying lengths to prove his paternity.
- DirectorJon AmielStarsPaul BettanyJennifer ConnellyIan KellyTorn between faith and science, and suffering hallucinations, English naturalist Charles Darwin struggles to complete 'On the Origin of Species' and maintain his relationship with his wife.
- DirectorNeill BlomkampStarsSharlto CopleyDavid JamesJason CopeViolence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth finds a kindred spirit in a government agent exposed to their biotechnology.
- DirectorOliver ParkerStarsBen BarnesColin FirthRebecca HallA corrupt young man somehow keeps his youthful beauty eternally, but a special painting gradually reveals his inner ugliness to all.
- DirectorNick LoveStarsPaul AndersonCalum MacNabDaniel MaysFootball hooligans organize themselves into firms that represent their favorite team.
- DirectorAndrea ArnoldStarsKatie JarvisMichael FassbenderKierston WareingEverything changes for 15-year-old Mia when her mum brings home a new boyfriend.
- DirectorJudd ApatowStarsAdam SandlerSeth RogenLeslie MannWhen seasoned comedian George Simmons learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship causes him to take a relatively green performer under his wing as his opening act.
- DirectorHoyt YeatmanStarsWill ArnettPenélope CruzZach GalifianakisA specially trained squad of guinea pigs is dispatched to stop a diabolical billionaire from taking over the world.
- DirectorRamin BahraniStarsSouleymane Sy SavaneRed WestDiana Franco GalindoTwo men form an unlikely friendship that will change both of their lives forever.
- DirectorLuigi FalorniStarsLetekidan MicaelSolomie MicaelSeble TilahunThe true story of a young female soldier who comes of age during the Eritrean civil war.
- DirectorSimon WelsfordStarsAlex ReidShauna MacdonaldJamie DravenThe colliding lives of two strangers who find themselves washed up on the same beach.
- DirectorJoana HadjithomasKhalil JoreigeStarsCatherine DeneuveBrigitte CurmiJoseph SilvaJuly 2006. Another war breaks out in Lebanon. The directors decide to follow a movie star, Catherine Deneuve and a friend, actor and artist Rabih Mroue;, on the roads of South Lebanon. Together, they will drive through the regions devastated by the conflict. It is the beginning of an unpredictable, unexpected adventure...
- DirectorNora EphronStarsAmy AdamsMeryl StreepChris MessinaJulia Child's story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child's first book.
- DirectorJames HoneyborneStarsPaul NewmanRufus BeckAn inspiring exploration of one family's resilience and fortitude shot using innovative and groundbreaking filming techniques.
- DirectorJack PerezStarsLorenzo LamasDebbie GibsonVic ChaoThe California coast is terrorized by two enormous prehistoric sea creatures as they battle each other for supremacy of the sea.
- DirectorMark MonroeStarsChris BranningKate TheisenChris SchubertExperience an inspiring true-life adventure aboard the high-tech sloop MORNING LIGHT. Fifteen rookie sailors have one goal in mind -- to be part of her crew, racing in the most revered sailing competition on Earth, the Transpac Yacht Race.