Boogie (2008)

RecommendedRomaniaFeature FilmDirector: Radu MunteanWriters: Alexandru Baciu, Radu Muntean, Razvan RadulescuCinematographer: Tudor LucaciuCast: Dragos Bucur, Anamaria Marinca, Mimi Branescu, Adrian Vancica, Vlad Muntean, Geanina Varga, Roxana IancuWhilst on a seaside holiday with his young family, a man in his early thirties, looking to unwind after months of long hours working to keep his small furniture manufacturing business afloat, argues with...

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Three Strange Loves (1949)

Highly RecommendedSwedenFeature FilmOriginal Title: TörstDirector: Ingmar BergmanWriters: Herbert Grevenius, Birgit TengrothCinematographer: Gunnar FischerComposer: Erik NordgrenCast: Eva Henning, Birger Malmsten, Birgit Tengroth, Hasse Ekman, Mimi Nelson, Bengt Eklund, Gaby Stenberg, Naima WifstrandWith exquisite photography, eloquent mise en scène, expressive sound design, and a number of wonderful performances, Bergman brilliantly presents a portrait...

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Deception (2008)

Not RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirector: Marcel LangeneggerWriter: Mark BombackCinematographer: Dante SpinottiComposer: Ramin DjawadiCast: Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Maggie Q, Natasha Henstridge, Charlotte Rampling, Paul Sparks, Javier GodinoA timid accountant’s life gets turned upside down – first for better, then for worse – when he meets a charming lawyer, who (seemingly) inadvertently introduces him to The...

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Star Trek (2009)

RecommendedUSA/GermanyFeature FilmDirector: J.J. AbramsWriters: Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Gene RoddenberryCinematographer: Dan MindelComposer: Michael GiacchinoCast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Anton YelchinTime travelling terrorists ensure that the USS Enterprise’s maiden voyage is an eventful one, with planets destroyed and iconic relationships formed,...

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Dexter: Season 2 (2007)

USATelevision SeriesDeveloper: James Manos, Jr.Cast: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Jaime Murray, Lauren Vélez, David Zayas, James Remar, C.S. Lee, Christina Robinson, Preston Bailey, Erik King, Devon Graye, Dominic Janes, Maxwell Huckabee, Geoff Pierson, Keith CarradineDexter’s continuing emotional awakening is complicated by his pursuit of The Bay Harbor Butcher (who is in fact himself), his turbulent relationship with his long-term...

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Ciao Bella (2007)

RecommendedSwedenFeature FilmDirector: Mani Maserrat-AgahWriter: Jens JonssonCinematographer: Andréas LennartssonComposer: Martin WillertCast: Poyan Karimi, Chanelle Lindell, Oliver Ingrosso, Fredrika Tham, Arash Bolouri, Hussein Kazem, Adam Lundgren, Jimmy Lindström, Lotta Karlge, Mina Azarian, Ali-Reza ModjallalA quiet, middleclass 16-year-old boy of Iranian decent, desperate for a girlfriend, pretends to be an Italian whilst at an international...

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Positif: 2000-2009 bilan d'une décennie

The New World (2005) Million Dollar Baby (2004) There Will Be Blood (2007) Mulholland Dr. (2001) We Own the Night (2007) Still Life (2006) The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005) In the Mood for Love (2000) Saraband (2003) Spirited Away (2001) Elephant (2003) Uzak (2002) A History of Violence (2005)Private Fears in Public Places (2006) Couscous (2007) No Country for Old Men (2007)Talk to...

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Broken Blossoms (1919)

Cautiously RecommendedUSAFeature FilmOriginal Title: Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the GirlDirector: D.W. GriffithWriters: D.W. Griffith, Thomas BurkeCinematographer: G.W. BitzerCast: Lillian Gish, Richard Barthelmess, Donald Crisp, Arthur Howard, Edward Peil, George Beranger, Norman SelbyA teenage waif, who’d known only a loveless life of neglect and battery at the hands of her barbaric boxer father, finds the merest glimpse of hope for...

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Dexter: Season 1 (2006)

USATelevision SeriesDeveloper: James Manos, Jr.Cast: Michael C. Hall, Julie Benz, Jennifer Carpenter, Lauren Vélez, David Zayas, James Remar, Christian Camargo, C.S. Lee, Christina Robinson, Daniel Goldman, Erik King, Devon Graye, Mark Pellegrino, Dominic Janes, Maxwell Huckabee, Geoff PiersonBased on Jeff Lindsay’s novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter (2004), this uncomfortably entertaining and oft challenging series follows the exploits of Dexter Morgan,...

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(500) Days of Summer (2009)

RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirector: Marc WebbWriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. WeberCinematographer: Eric SteelbergComposers: Mychael Danna, Rob SimonsenCast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Geoffrey Arend, Chloe Moretz, Matthew Gray Gubler, Clark Gregg, Patricia Belcher, Rachel Boston, Minka KellyWebb’s bitter-sweet and thoroughly charming if occasionally rather cutesy film, featuring a pair of very likable and affecting central performances,...

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Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)

Essential ViewingFrance/SwedenFeature FilmOriginal Title: Au hasard BalthazarWriter/Director: Robert BressonCinematographer: Ghislain CloquetComposer: Jean WienerCast: Anne Wiazemsky, Walter Green, François Lafarge, Jean-Claude Guilbert, Philippe Asselin, Pierre Klossowski, Nathalie JoyautA donkey named Balthazar experiences cruelty, mistreatment, and even a little bit of love at the hands of his various owners, whilst also bearing witness to a lifetime’s...

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Bande à Part (1964)

RecommendedFranceFeature FilmOriginal Title: Bande à partDirector: Jean-Luc GodardWriter: Jean-Luc Godard, Dolores HitchensCinematographer: Raoul CoutardComposer: Michel LegrandCast: Anna Karina, Sami Frey, Claude Brasseur, Louisa Colpeyn, Danièle Girard, Ernest MenzerTwo unemployed chancers latch onto an innocent young woman, who they met at an English class, and with whom they are planning a rather slapdash robbery, but spend most of their time...

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Parks and Recreation: Season 1 (2009)

USATelevision SeriesCreators: Greg Daniels, Michael SchurCast: Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Paul Schneider, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Jim O'HeirUsing the same mockumentary format as their version of The Office, only with much less outlandish characters, Daniels and Schur’s promising new series follows the exploits of the Parks and Recreation department of the local government of a small Indiana town, concentrating on the...

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Looking for Eric (2009)

RecommendedUK/France/Italy/Belgium/SpainFeature FilmDirector: Ken LoachWriter: Paul LavertyCinematographer: Barry AckroydCast: Steve Evets, Eric Cantona, Stephanie Bishop, Gerard Kearns, Stefan Gumbs, Lucy-Jo Hudson, Matthew McNulty, Laura Ainsworth, John Henshaw, Steve MarshA middle-aged, suicidal postman with a passion for traditional rock and roll and Manchester United, when forced to deal with both the feelings of guilt he has about his treatment...

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The Inbetweeners: Series 2 (2009)

UKTelevision SeriesCreators: Damon Beesley, Iain MorrisDirector: Ben PalmerCinematographer: Jamie CairneyCast: Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas, Emily Head, Greg Davies, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Belinda Stewart-Wilson, Emily AtackVarious bodily fluids, bullying twelve-year-olds, suave exchange students, and the entirety of the female species ensure that Will, Jay, Neil, and Simon endure as much humiliation, embarrassment, and rejection...

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The Inbetweeners: Series 1 (2008)

UKTelevision SeriesCreators: Damon Beesley, Iain MorrisDirector: Gordon AndersonCinematographer: Rob KitzmannCast: Simon Bird, James Buckley, Blake Harrison, Joe Thomas, Emily Head, Greg Davies, Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Belinda Stewart-Wilson, Emily AtackFilled with deliciously foul dialogue and well timed comic performances, Beesley and Morris’s consistently entertaining comedy, which falls somewhere between Rushmore (1998) and American Pie (1999), follows...

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Wasp (2003)

RecommendedUKShort FilmWriter/Director: Andrea ArnoldCinematographer: Robbie RyanCast: Natalie Press, Danny Dyer, Jodie Mitchell, Molly Griffiths, Kaitlyn Raynor, Danny Daley, Lizzie Colbert, Ashley Routledge, Tabitha CreweA council estate dwelling single mother with four children, when asked out on a date by an old friend for which she is unable to find a babysitter, contrives to take them with her, leaving them outside of the pub with a glass of...

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Fish Tank (2009)

RecommendedUK/The NetherlandsFeature FilmWriter/Director: Andrea ArnoldCinematographer: Robbie RyanCast: Katie Jarvis, Kierston Wareing, Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Griffiths, Sydney Mary Nash, Harry TreadawayA council estate dwelling 15-year-old with a mean temper and a passion for dancing, recently expelled from school, slowly builds a tender but increasingly inappropriate relationship with her young mother’s charming and handsome Irish boyfriend,...

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The Office: Season 5 (2008-2009)

USATelevision SeriesDeveloper: Greg DanielsCast: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B.J. Novak, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nuñez, Phyllis Smith, Craig Robinson, Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Kate Flannery, Melora Hardin, Creed Bratton, Holly Flax, Idris Elba, Kelly Erin HannonMichael continues to insult and alienate just about everyone that he comes across, forever trying to be...

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All About My Mother (1999)

Essential ViewingSpain/FranceFeature FilmOriginal Title: Todo sobre mi madreWriter/Director: Pedro AlmodóvarCinematographer: Affonso BeatoComposer: Alberto IglesiasCast: Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña, Antonia San Juan, Penélope Cruz, Rosa María Sardá, Fernando Fernán Gómez, Toni Cantó, Eloy Azorín, Carlos LozanoWhen her son dies after being hit by a car, Manuela, a Madrid based nurse from Argentina, travels to Barcelona to find the boy’s...

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The Office: Season 4 (2007-2008)

USATelevision SeriesDeveloper: Greg DanielsCast: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B.J. Novak, Ed Helms, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nuñez, Phyllis Smith, Craig Robinson, Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Kate Flannery, Melora Hardin, Creed BrattonJim and Pam have finally got together and Ryan has taken over from Jan at corporate, however it’s pretty much business as usual at Dunder Mifflin,...

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Casque d'Or (1952)

Highly RecommendedFranceFeature FilmOriginal Title: Casque d'orDirector: Jacques BeckerWriters: Jacques Becker, Jacques CompanéezCinematographer: Robert LefebvreComposer: Georges Van ParysCast: Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani, Claude Dauphin, Raymond Bussières, William Sabatier, Claude CastaingAfter killing a man in a knife fight, a simple carpenter attempts to start a new life with a prostitute that he has fallen for, but when an old friend is implicated...

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Adventureland (2009)

RecommendedUSAFeature FilmWriter/Director: Greg MottolaCinematographer: Terry StaceyComposers: Yo La TengoCast: Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Margarita Levieva, Matt Bush, Jack Gilpin, Wendie MalickWhen his father receives a demotion at work, James, a sweet natured recent graduate, is forced to abandon his trip to Europe and take a job at Adventureland (a rather rubbishy theme park), where...

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The Office: Season 3 (2006-2007)

USATelevision SeriesDeveloper: Greg DanielsCast: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B.J. Novak, Rashida Jones, Ed Helms, David Denman, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nuñez, Phyllis Smith, Craig Robinson, Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Kate Flannery, Melora Hardin, Creed BrattonJim’s move to Stanford proves to be short lived when his new branch is merged with his old one, awkwardly bringing to...

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The Silence of Lorna (2008)

RecommendedBelgium/France/Italy/GermanyFeature FilmOriginal Title: Le silence de LornaWriter/Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc DardenneCinematographer: Alain MarcoenCast: Arta Dobroshi, Jérémie Renier, Fabrizio Rongione, Alban UkajAn Albanian immigrant, just about to achieve Belgian citizenship, begins to have second thoughts about her part in the potential murder of her junkie husband, whom she married to gain citizenship, when he decides to...

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Moon (2009)

RecommendedUK/USAFeature FilmDirector: Duncan JonesWriters: Nathan Parker, Duncan JonesCinematographer: Gary ShawComposer: Clint MansellCast: Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey, Dominique McElligott, Kaya ScodelarioWhen Sam, an astronaut approaching the end of a three year stint mining moon rocks, crashes his buggy whilst out performing his duties, he is surprised to be rescued by Sam, an astronaut just beginning a three year stint mining moon rocks, who...

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Autumn Sonata (1978)

Highly RecommendedSweden/France/UK/West GermanyFeature FilmOriginal Title: HöstsonatenWriter/Director: Ingmar BergmanCinematographer: Sven NykvistCast: Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Lena Nyman, Halvar BjörkAfter her Italian lover dies, a concert pianist travels home to Sweden to visit her grieving daughter and son-in-law, whom she hasn’t seen for several years, but the reunion doesn’t prove to be a happy one, as long repressed resentments seep to...

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The Office: Season 2 (2005-2006)

USATelevision SeriesDeveloper: Greg DanielsCast: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B.J. Novak, David Denman, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nuñez, Phyllis Smith, Craig Robinson, Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Kate Flannery, Melora Hardin, Creed BrattonThe second season of this consistently funny and perceptive workplace comedy sees it gently surpass its BBC progenitor as it gradually teases out...

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The Office: Season 1 (2005)

USATelevision SeriesDeveloper: Greg DanielsCast: Steve Carell, Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Jenna Fischer, B.J. Novak, David Denman, Leslie David Baker, Brian Baumgartner, Angela Kinsey, Oscar Nuñez, Phyllis Smith, Craig Robinson, Mindy Kaling, Paul Lieberstein, Kate Flannery, Melora HardinThis gently satirical and pathos-laden yet trouser-soilingly funny remake of the Gervais/Merchant BBC programme of the same name follows, in the form of a fly-on-the-wall...

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Genevieve (1953)

Highly RecommendedUKFeature FilmDirector: Henry CorneliusWriter: William RoseCinematographer: Christopher ChallisComposer: Larry AdlerCast: John Gregson, Dinah Sheridan, Kenneth More, Kay KendallAt the climax of the London to Brighton Rally, an alcohol, machismo, and jealousy fuelled night of increasing tensions leads to two old friends making a £100 wager on whose classic car will make it back to London first the next day, much to the chagrin of...

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Hannah Takes the Stairs (2007)

RecommendedUSAFeature FilmWriter/Director/Cinematographer: Joe SwanbergWriters/Cast: Greta Gerwig, Kent Osborne, Andrew Bujalski, Ry Russo-Young, Mark Duplass, Todd Rohal, Kevin Bewersdorf, Tipper Newton, Kris WilliamsHannah, a twenty-something aspiring playwright, working on the writing staff of a small satirical sketch show, struggles to find her place in life, drifting from boyfriend to boyfriend, finding moments of happiness but not the lasting...

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The Edge of Heaven (2007)

RecommendedGermany/Turkey/ItalyFeature FilmOriginal Title: Auf der anderen SeiteWriter/Director: Fatih AkinCinematographer: Rainer KlausmannComposer: ShantelCast: Nurgül Yesilçay, Baki Davrak, Tuncel Kurtiz, Hanna Schygulla, Patrycia Ziolkowska, Nursel KöseWhen an elderly Turkish immigrant is jailed for the manslaughter of his prostitute girlfriend, his son travels to Turkey to find the woman’s student daughter, intending to offer to pay for her...

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Couscous (2007)

Highly RecommendedFranceFeature FilmOriginal Title: La graine et le muletWriter/Director: Abdellatif KechicheCinematographer: Lubomir BakchevCast: Habib Boufares, Hafsia Herzi, Farida Benkhetache, Abdelhamid Aktouche, Bouraouïa Marzouk, Alice Houri, Leila D'Issernio, Abelkader Djeloulli, Olivier Loustau, Sabrina Ouazani, Mohamed Benabdeslem, Bruno Lochet, Cyril Favre, Sami Zitouni, Mohamed KaraouiA 61-year-old divorced Tunisian immigrant, after being...

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I'm Going Home (2001)

Highly RecommendedFrance/PortugalFeature FilmOriginal Title: Je rentre à la maisonDirector: Manoel de OliveiraWriters: Manoel de Oliveira, Eugène Ionesco, James Joyce, William ShakespeareCinematographer: Sabine LancelinCast: Michel Piccoli, Catherine Deneuve, John Malkovich, Antoine Chappey, Leonor Baldaque, Jean KoeltgenWhen his wife, daughter, and son-in-law die in a car crash, Gilbert, an elderly actor of moderate fame, strives to continue with...

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Uncle Ernest (1959)

UKShort StoryAuthor: Alan SillitoeSillitoe’s pathos-laden and all too brief short story sees a world weary and desperately lonely middle-aged man, a veteran of the First World War, take a brief respite from his alcohol fuelled journey towards oblivion when he forms an unlikely friendship with a pair of malnourished pre-teen sisters, treating them to meals and other presents on a regular basis; but, unfortunately for three of them, society doesn’t...

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The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1959)

UKShort StoryAuthor: Alan SillitoeAn angry young man from Nottingham, fresh out of borstal, recounts how he came to be there, how he (quite accidentally) became the darling of the governor through his talent for long distance running, and how he rejected the establishment’s attentions with a show of great defiance, in Sillitoe’s absorbing and thoroughly authentic feeling short story, a sort of working class Catcher in the Rye (1951). Iain.St...

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Under the Sand (2000)

Highly RecommendedFrance/JapanFeature FilmOriginal Title: Sous le sableDirector: François OzonWriters: Emmanuèle Bernheim, Marina de Van, François Ozon, Marcia RomanoCinematographers: Antoine Héberlé, Jeanne LapoirieComposer: Philippe RombiCast: Charlotte Rampling, Bruno Cremer, Jacques Nolot, Alexandra Stewart, Pierre Vernier, Andrée TainsyWhen her husband disappears (presumably drowned) whilst on a seaside holiday, a middle-aged English lady struggles...

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Mister Roberts (2008)

UKNovelAuthor: Alexei SayleA bullied thirteen-year-old boy, a member of the British ex-pat community of a small Spanish town, discovers a man-shaped robot suit, designed to house an alien being whilst it explores Earth, which he climbs into and learns to control, using it to have all manner of fun, but unfortunately his scheming mother has other, less savoury ideas for it, in Sayle’s perceptively jaundiced, tremendously inventive, and thoroughly...

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