All American Orgy Review

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(More customer reviews)I happened to see this film in Louisiana, where they filmed it. First, let me unequivocally state that this film earned its R-rating; it is not the kind of film you want to watch with your family. Second, if you are a fan of comedy that goes way out into the inappropriate, where the characters say and do things that make you shake your head in disbelief and then burst out laughing, you will love this movie. It's a comedy that belongs on your shelf if you are a fan of David O. Russell, Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Larry David and comedies that rely more on brilliant dialogue than pratfalls or sight gags.
The story is that three couples have decided to go out to a lake house on a strawberry farm where they will all mutually engage in their first orgy. It's not entirely clear how these three young couples are friends, or even why. Now imagine that scenario written by the neurotic, inappropriate characters on Curb Your Enthusiasm. The three men are completely different personalities and don't even like each other, so it makes for some hilarious exchanges, as they are now literally planning on having sex with the others' girlfriends. The women all have different motivations for wanting to participate in this orgy, and as the story unfolds, you find yourself laughing out loud at certain revelations. Yasmine's solution for not wanting to have to look at Gordon during sex had me convulsing, as did Todd's commentary on his preference for what type of sex with his wife, played by Laura Silverman (Sarah Silverman's sister).
Standout performances from the neophyte cast, including Ted Beck (who also wrote it) and Yasmine Kittles, who could be the next darlings of indie cinema. Also great performances from Jordan Kessler as an aloof, amoral sensualist who says exactly what is on his mind, and Adam Busch as a repressed nerd with secret feelings for someone else at the orgy. Almost forgot to mention the effervescent and charming Aimee-Lynn Chadwick, who lights up the screen in every scene she is in.
A very funny film and an astonishing debut from these young filmmakers.All American Orgy

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Nothing is more relaxing then a trip to cottage country with a group of friends. Enjoying the outdoors, beers by the lake, and a friendly orgy... Hoping to broaden their horizons and save there relationships see the mayhem that ensues when three couples mix sex, drugs and alcohol in a crazy weekend getaway to Cummings Farm.

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Rocket Science Review

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(More customer reviews)For some, the joys of being a teenager include excelling at sports, having a girlfriend or boyfriend, being part of a close circle of friends, or just having fun. For others, there is only the constant feeling of being an outsider looking in. For some, even the thought of getting out of bed in the morning to go to school is filled with dread. Case in point - Hal Hefner, a fifteen year old attending Plainsboro High School in New Jersey, who is trying to make sense of growing up but is burdened by a stutter so debilitating that he cannot even tell the cafeteria worker at school that he wants pizza instead of fish. Rocket Science, the second feature by Jeffrey Blitz (Spellbound), who overcame his own stuttering disability, is a teen comedy that poignantly captures the painful loneliness of adolescence.
While on paper Rocket Science sounds like other coming of age films such as Election and Rushmore, it manages to capture something unique and very special about being a teenager without having to rely on grossness, stereotypes, or implausible situations. Brilliantly played by Vancouver actor Reece Thompson, Hal's sweetness and innocence is totally captivating and we identify with his pain and root for him to succeed. His family support, however, is virtually nonexistent. His brother Earl (Vincent Piazza) is a compulsive thief and bully who calls him by girls' names, his father has moved out of the house and his mother (Lizbeth Bartlett) has a Korean boyfriend, a Small Claims judge, (Steve Park) who laughs inappropriately and whose son Heston (Aaron Yu), a bisexual, shows an unusual amount of interest in him.
Hal has a speech therapist, Mr. Lewinsky (Maury Ginsberg), but he is so incompetent that he tells him that he wishes Hal was hyperactive so he would know how to treat him. Under these circumstances, the last place he would want to be is on the high school debating team, a collection of driven, super-confident word magicians who can speak with authority at breakneck speed on both sides of an issue. Surprisingly however, Hal is recruited by top debater Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick) to be her debate partner after her former partner Ben Wekselbaum (Nicholas D'Agosto) went blank at last year's championship match.
Ginny, a charming but overly aggressive super student, tells Hal that "deformed people" make good competitors because they have so much anger to express. Hal's first inclination is to say no but he is so taken with Ginny and flattered that someone could see some possibility in him that he accepts. Giving it the old high school try, he stumbles badly both in pursuing his romance and in debating the subject of sexual abstinence in high school, so badly in fact that he often has to hide in the janitor's closet from embarrassment.
Mr. Lewinsky advises Hal to try singing the words of the debate to the tune of Battle Hymn of the Republic, or speaking with a foreign accent and he does both with hilarious effect. Partly out of revenge and partly out of desperation, he turns to failed debater Ben Wekselbaum, now working in Trenton in a cleaners, to be his new partner after Ginny transfers to a different school. The ending is ripe for the big debate in which all the pieces fit neatly together but Blitz does not go there. Instead he relies on the inner strength of the characters to see them through, not on a contrived narrative.
While there are some predictably oddball characters like Philosophy major Lionel (Jonah Hill), pint-sized Josh (Lewis Garrles) who spies on Ginny for him (and models her bra that he has stolen), and an older couple who practice the Kama Sutra and play Violent Femmes "Blister In The Sun" duets on the cello and piano, Rocket Science has few false notes. It is wise, honest, funny, touching, and painfully sad with Oscar-caliber performances. It's not rocket science to figure out why it is the best film so far of 2007.

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Picturehouse and HBO Films present a story about Hal Hefner, an ordinary, shy 15 year-old boy who's struggling to make it through High School. On top of his parents' recent divorce and an obsessive- compulsive, kleptomaniac older brother, Hal has a stuttering problem. In spite of this speech impediment, the high school debate team star, Ginny Ryerson, invites Hal to join the team. Stumbling his way to the championship, Hal falls in love, gains confidence and ultimately, realizes that love and life should not be rocket science.DVD Features:FeaturetteMusic Video

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Dare (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Not since Threesome (1994), which born-again Stephen Baldwin has since disowned, has there been such a daring coupling of two men and one woman on screen. The tagline of that earlier film, "One girl. Two guys. Three possibilities," might have been adopted for Dare as well. The elephant in the room is the excellent Dare (2005) short included on the Blu-ray disc. While the swimming pool "dare" scene that is most of the short also appears in the new film, it has been truncated for no obvious reason, and it is not one of the deleted scenes. The new film also suffers by comparison because the chemistry between Johnny and Ben seems stronger in the short.
The new film is really not a gay film anymore. Alexa, who is peripheral to the short, drives the new film from the opening frames. Johnny's backstory of a distant father and a youthful stepmother certainly explains his vulnerability, but his friends are not privy to the same personal details the audience sees, and that sets up the somewhat unsatisfactory, though perhaps realistic, ending. Threesome, based on the college experiences of the director, was shot with an alternative ending that appeared on the 2001 release (unlike some male-male scenes that were cut and never seen) which also had problems. How do you resolve any threesome satisfactorily? We never learn how Johnny vanquished his personal demons except to see the sign on the door he enters in the last frames.
Threesome has about the same rating as this film overall, but has more five-star votes than otherwise. I would recommend Threesome over Dare, but the Dare short is a keeper and film comes very close as well.

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Emmy Rossum (The Phantom of the Opera), Zach Gilford (TV's Friday Night Lights) and Ashley Springer (Teeth) head up a stellar cast including Ana Gasteyer (Mean Girls), Rooney Mara (A Nightmare on Elm Street), comedienne Sandra Bernhard (TV's Roseanne) and Alan Cumming (X2: X-Men United) in this captivating story of high school seniors at the crossroads of their adult lives. When a pompous actor tells good girl Alexa (Rossum) that she hasn't lived, she embarks on a bold journey that takes her to mysterious bad boy Johnny (Gilford). Envious, her shy best friend Ben (Springer) also dares to pursue Johnny, complicating Alexa's romance and pushing the boundaries among the three friends.Stills from Dare

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The Filth and the Fury - A Sex Pistols Film (2000) Review

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(More customer reviews)...to pull out all my old Pistols LPs and remember how fun they are to listen to.
This movie almost seemed to zip by too fast, but then, so did the Sex Pistols. Come to think of it, the last 20 years (when I first started listening to them in junior high and chopped my hair off into a spike) also zipped by pretty fast...they put all the best songs, the best performances in here, along with some rare footage.
Sex Pistols fans may have already seen the interview with a nodded-out Sid Vicious and sleazy girlfriend Nancy Spungen (who makes Courtney Love on one of her bad days look like Grace Kelly in comparison) trying to wake him up for the camera as he snores ("Sid, wake up...they're tryin' ta interview ya..."). But what no fans may not have seen is a short, heartbreaking clip of an interview with Vicious after he is out on bail after being arrested for her murder. When the interviewer thoughtlessly asks him if he's 'having fun right now' (what was that reporter thinking? the kid looks completely miserable), Vicious just chuckles bitterly and asks him, "Are you kidding? No, I'm not having any fun, at all." When the interviewer asks him where he wishes he was right now, Vicious' quiet, calm answer to the question is so chilling and heartfelt that it made every hair on my body stand on end. In a scene shortly after, John Lydon talks about Sid getting his aforementioned wish, and for a minute you think that in the voice over he is laughing, because as a rule you don't see John Lydon displaying any other emotion other than general crankiness. Then you suddenly, shockingly realize he's actually in genuine tears over his dead boyhood friend.
But you can also see the fun the Sex Pistols had while it lasted-especially memorable during a retelling of how they played a children's party (still not sure what the story behind this was, or what the people who organized it were thinking, but it was a stroke of genius), with footage of them covered in cake after they start a food fight, to one of the Pistol's best songs (in my opinion), "Bodies". What struck me is how the Sex Pistols (who, at the time, were not far out of their teens themselves) look and act about the same age as the kids at the party. They are obviously having just as much fun as the kids, too- they try to look like tough punk rockers but can't wipe the smiles off their faces as they joyfully have a ball.
The soundtrack, timing, and editing are all perfect. "Submission", another of my favorite songs (and in my opinion, one of their more underrated ones) is played over the credits, and it fits perfectly. As I said, my one complaint that was it zipped by too fast, but talking with my husband after the movie, so did the Sex Pistols. One of the better rock documentaries I've seen. A must see for Sex Pistols fans.

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"Ever get the feeling you've been cheated?" sneers Johnny Rotten at the Sex Pistols' farewell performance. After seeing this picture you'll understand his disgust, but Julian Temple's sharp portrait of the ragged, raw band of working-class Brits won't leave you disappointed. The Sex Pistols left their legacy in a whirlwind 26-month reign, spitting out a caustic, confrontational brand of rock & roll that became the rallying cry for angry, disaffected youths in late 1970s England and defined the punk movement. Their story was first told two decades ago in the cynical The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, also directed by Temple but produced by the Sex Pistols' smarmy manager, Malcolm McLaren, who stage-managed the film into a self-promoting vanity project. For The Filth and the Fury, Temple turns to the four surviving band members to tell their own stories. His vibrant, vigorous direction captures the period of social unrest and alienated youth without turning into a history lesson, and shows the Pistols in all their insolent glory: spewing obscenities and gesturing lewdly to audiences and press alike, screaming out lyrics, overcoming musical limitations with pure passion and attitude. Rare, raw concert footage (including their final performance, which is appropriately enough the song "No Fun") and previously unseen interviews with the deceased Sid Vicious further energize the portrait. There's even footage of the smiling band cutting cake for kids at a fundraiser with nary a nasty gesture or sneering comment. Now there's a side of the Pistols you don't see everyday.

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Please Give (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)Eternally bitter, cynical but never toxic and always with a hint of beautiful humanity, Nicole Holofcener is always a distaff alternative to Woody Allen's neurotic obsessions. Her works, deemed as 'vagina movies', are no less assured, and even surpass the works of her male counterparts; whereas, Allen's works nowadays are consistent in their inconsistency, Holofcener's works organically evolve to correspond to the reality that we live in, and, as response, the people that we become. Her first film, "Walking and Talking" back in 1996 is a thoroughly charming and affable film, with concepts of loneliness, abandonment and feeling lost explored, but the pervading anxiety and bitter humour that have long since been her staple from her second film thereafter, are kept at bay, for most of the time. Her characters continually grow. Now, circa 21st century, and being caustic seems to be a natural trait. Still, Holofcener uses that to great effect; bitterness never overshadows, but merely used as a launching pad to explore the quiet beauty hidden amidst the toxic and the unpleasant.
In her fourth film, "Please Give", she tackles capitalism, displaced guilt, physical appearances, infidelity and death amidst a chaotic, arbitrary world that is rather nihilistic, but only in a gentle, breezy, free-wheeling meaninglessness that does not feel like a discourse on an Ingmar Bergman's nothingness, but more akin to Eric Rohmer's affable meandering that is no less understatingly hurtful and quietly emotional.
Set in rumbling New York City, Kathy (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) own a furniture store, set by the couple's practice of buying furnitures at very low prices and put them up with high markups. They are also waiting for the next door neighbour, a bitter, ungrateful old hag, Andra (Ann Guilbert), to die so that they could expand the size of their apartment. In the meantime, Andra's two nieces, Rebecca (Rebecca hall) and Mary (Amanda Peet) are dealing with their own problems: Rebecca is a busybody, working as a mammogram technician, keeping romance and personal life at bay; and Mary, a skin consultant, who continually stalks her ex-boyfriend's new girlfriend, and at some point, ends up having an affair with Alex. Amidst all this, Kathy and Alex's daughter, is dealing with her bodily appearance: her weight and acne problems.
"Please Give" sets up this multi-strand storylines via Holofcener's typical free floating, stream-of-conscious fashion that negates the structural device of storytelling, and opts for a presentation of a slice-of-life. The camera adopts an objective point of view, even revelling in arbitrary scenes that seem to never amount to anything, but somehow feel organic to the whole film. And even with this objectivity, it is never unsympathetic, even if most of these characters are unlikeable and even bordering on being nasty.
Indeed, sometimes it's better to start off with the negative to accentuate the positive. With this, Holofcener is able to explore the moral implications of living in a capitalistic society. To what extent does one go to successfully carve out a comfortable life for one's self? Kate's obsession with giving out a lot money to the poor seems irrational, but really an ascetic ideal that she churns out for herself, to get rid of her guilt for her wrong choices in life. It is an inherently self-destructive act, prompted by shame, insecurities, selfishness and self-absorption, that is merely offset by the outer appearance of the act: it is an ostentatiously kind and generous act of giving. Kate's asceticism mirrors Mary's affinity for stalking an unsuspecting woman and having an illicit affair with Alex: the lengths to which one goes to, just to find a name for an undefinable feeling of loneliness and pain. At least, with the daughter, it is called being chubby, and acne-ridden. Wait until she gets older.
All of these characters, just like in any other Holofcener films, feel insignificant; they struggle living in a hostile, unlovable world, and they respond to themselves and to each other in equally hostile, unlovable manner; but there is quiet beauty that is transcendental when one watches Holofcener deviates further more into seemingly random scenes; like seeing an anonymous couple looking for the right furniture in Kathy's store, or Rebecca walking the dog with Kathy's daughter. Like watching an unexpected petal falling off a dying flower, Holofcener's images are delicately evocative, and revelatory in their quietness.
"Please Give" is a very sharp, brutally honest work that is all at once, hilarious, acidic, and always strangely moving, without any need for emotional manipulation or ostentatious dramatic histrionics. See this, not merely as an entertainment, but as an opportunity to bask in its many quiet moments of emotional insights that neither praise nor condemn its characters. Besides, there is Catherine Keener, Holofcener's beloved muse, one of the very few actresses nowadays who can effectively kill someone with merely delivering a cutting remark, and simultaneously still break a heart with pathos for her character.

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Blue Velvet (Special Edition) (1986) Review

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(More customer reviews)I just recently saw David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" on the big screen (and in widescreen) for the first time. Having seen it now in its original aspect ratio, I can't bear to go back to my pan-and-scan videotape. Thank goodness that it's coming out on DVD."Blue Velvet," quite simply, is the best film of the 1980's; the only film that comes close to it is Scorsese's "Raging Bull." "Blue Velvet" was so ahead of its time when it was first released back in 1986. In fact, it remains so today, judging by the bewildered faces of people who were at the revival showing I attended. The film precedes "American Beauty" in blowing the doors off of the closet that Suburbia keeps its skeletons in, telling the story of a young college kid who, after finding a severed human ear, gets caught up in murder and mayhem in his hometown of "Lumberton USA."Lynch goes to great lengths to set up his picture-book depiction of small-town American life (complete with bright red fire trucks, white picket fences, and blue skies) before taking a wrecking ball to it. Like he did in his debut, "Eraserhead," Lynch shows us what we look like (tedium and all) but purposely twists our view of it, like a mad optometrist giving us the wrong eyeglass prescription.Apart from the fine directing, "Blue Velvet" boasts an excellent cast that delivers each line with patented Lynch-quirkiness. Kyle MacLachlan plays Jeffrey Beaumont like a modern-day Dante, travelling through the Inferno he never knew his hometown was. Isabella Rosselini is spectacularly disturbing as Dorothy Vallens, a lounge singer whose husband and son have been abducted. Her character is a first: a femme fatale who is more dangerous to herself than anyone else. And in what may be one of the top ten tour-de-force performances of all time, Dennis Hopper, as oxygen-huffing crime boss/hedonist Frank Booth, makes you laugh one minute, and cringe with fear the next after realizing that such a person probably does exist.You may not agree that "Blue Velvet" is the best film of the 80's but you'll have to do some digging to find one more original. It is a contemporary film noir classic that deserves to withstand the test of time like older noir classics such as "Double Indemnity" and "The Big Sleep." So far, it appears to be holding up. It's a strange world and "Blue Velvet" (both the film itself and the fact that it was made) is solid proof of just how strange it can be.

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Away We Go (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Like all road pictures, AWAY WE GO is about a couple in their early thirties trying to discover themselves (and what kind of home and family they want to create for themselves) through a round of visits in the sixth month of the pregnancy. I've never been a huge fan of Dave Eggers, but the script that he wrote with Vendela Vida is a brilliant one. The structure of the film is simple: Burt (THE OFFICE's Jim Krasinski) and Verona (SNL's Maya Rudolph) have moved to a small, cold house entirely so that they can live near Burt's parents. But after learning that they will be moving to Antwerp a month before their baby is due, they realize that they don't need to live any longer in a town where they have no friends and, now, no relatives. They plan a long trip that will see them visiting friends and relatives in a number of locations, including Scottsdale, Tucson, Montreal, and Miami. They see people whose lives they would like to emulate and those they would not.
And along the way hilarity ensues. The scenes between Burt and Verona are frequently hysterical, though when they are meeting their friends or relatives they tend to become "straight men" and the humor shifts over to the others. Although several people are absolutely outstanding, two actors deserve special mention. First, Allison Janney is absolutely hysterical as Verona's former boss in Chicago (more about Chicago in a second). She is, putting it simply, a nightmare of a mother. But in the most hysterical of ways. (Now on Chicago. Verona mentions working in Chicago and she is shown to be a medical illustrator. This is not unconnected with Chicago; in fact, there is a direct correlation between medical illustration and Chicago, since the most important medical illustration program is at the University of Illinois at Chicago Medical School. Odds are that if someone has studied medical illustration, they did it there.) The second actor who stands out is Maggie Gyllenhaal, who plays a college professor and old friend of Burt who and the embracer of more fringe and nutzoid ideas than one can imagine. Her ideas, and those of her husband, are so absurd that given gentle, placid Burt can take no more.
But the major kudos have to go to Krasinski and Rudolph, who manage to create two characters we come to like a great deal and who we very much hope will come to understand precisely what they and where they want to have it. This is an especially enjoyable film given the overwhelming amount of special effects fare at this time of the year. This is an intelligent film that also manages to be very, very funny. It is currently in somewhat limited release, but when you get a chance to see it, do so.

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John Krasinski (The Office) and Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) star in the heartfelt film that explores the comedic twists and turns in one couple’s journey across contemporary America. Anticipating the birth of their first child, longtime couple Burt (Krasinski) and Verona (Rudolph) embark on an ambitious itinerary to visit friends and family in order to find their perfect home. Featuring a remarkable soundtrack and an incredible ensemble cast – including Jeff Daniels, Allison Janney, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Catherine O’Hara and Jim Gaffigan. It’s the hilarious, witty film that critics are hailing as “absolutely extraordinary!" (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone)

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Blessed & Cursed (2010) (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)God opens a door and Dwight Hawkins' (Deitrick Haddon) eyes are opened. He wants something different in life; no more shackin' up, no more premarital sex. He wants to be a better man and he wants to use the gift God gave him. Dwight Hawkins is anointed to sing. Bishop Wright recognizes his gift and makes him Minister of Music of the church. Things are going along as well as can be expected, but then Dwight suffers a loss. He begins to struggle with his faith and makes bad choices. This gives the Bishop, who is jealous of Dwight's standing in the church by this time, just the ammunition he needs to get rid of him. Dwight works hard to get back on track for the Lord, but the word of his bad actions had spread, making his efforts seem worthless. But there is someone who still believes in him, so he isn't down for long.
I have two of Deitrick Haddon's' albums (Lost and Found/Crossroads) and I really enjoy listening to his modern gospel music. This is the reason why I purchased this DVD, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I'm sorry to say that some of the acting was over the top (not all, just some), but I'm glad to say that I am not referring to Deitrick's acting skills. He is a natural!! His performance and all of the music were what I liked about this movie; I was glad to see there were two music videos in the special features I could enjoy.
What didn't I like? The movie jumps around and some scenes seem incomplete or unexplained. And, I guess it was supposed to be for effect, but sometimes the camera would come in and out of focus and that happened too much, as well as too many close ups in certain parts. Blessed & Cursed is described as a modern twist on the biblical tale of David and Saul, but the plot wasn't clear. When the movie ended I was feeling dissatisfied, like I missed something.

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Pain, Deceit and Triumph are just some of the plots twists that viewers will experience in this highly anticipated movie! A modern retelling of the dramatic Biblical account of Saul and David, Blessed & Cursed stars Gospel sensation Deitrick Haddon in his first theatrical debut as Dwight Hawkins an incredibly gifted young man who is in search of his purpose amid setbacks and unexpected surprises! Also starring are Sheryl Lee Ralph (Moesha), Drew Sidora (Step Up) and a host of Gospel music stars including Karen Clark Sheard, DAMITA, Kierra 'Kiki' Sheard, Dr. Bobby Jones and Rance Allen.

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La Mission (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Writer/director Peter Bratt had the choice in LA MISSION to make a film about the Hispanic culture in San Francisco's Mission district to create a predictable imitation of life or a sensitive study of a culture with all of its beauty and with all of its problems: gratefully he took the latter. This is a film bursting with fantastic color from the inimitable clash of pigments used for the interiors of the homes of this culture to the fantasyland carefully restored old cars painted with religious and emotional scenes - the proud mark of the Low Riders - and the street celebrations full of lust and glamour and the intoxicating foods and dance. But it is also an internal film dealing with such realities as alcoholism, prison time, single parenting problems, pride in a child's educational and athletic achievements - and the delicate issue of responding to the presence of same sex relationships. It is a banquet of delights and problems that Bratt handles magnificently well.
Che Rivera (Benjamin Bratt in a role that defines his fine acting abilities) has served time in prison, is an Alcoholics Anonymous member, and since his wife's death early in their marriage is the loving father of his well-educated and well-loved son Jesse (Jeremy Ray Valdez, in a role that should mark him for an important career). Che works hard as a bus driver, spends his free time restoring old cars to ride every Friday evening - 'slow, low riding through the streets of San Francisco's Mission neighborhood'. His family includes Rene (Jesse Borrego) and Ana (Talisa Soto) who share as much pride in Jess as Che: their only son was born with a cardiac defect that has made them more sensitive to the differences in children. Che has only one problem: Jesse is gay and has a boyfriend Jordan (Max Rosenak) and the discovery of Jesse secret life destroys Che image of his family and of himself. A neighbor Lena (Erika Alexander) befriends Jesse and eventually Che and Lena are draw together over a tragedy that occurs: Jesse is shot by a homophobic fellow student, forcing Che to face his own demons and begin to understand his son more fully. The excellent way in which Bratt handles these major crossroad confrontations is written and directed and acted with such sensitivity - nothing occurs as expected and everyone maintains dignity - a very difficult range of emotions to handle.
The entire cast is excellent, the dialogue is spicy, the characters are well conceived, the particular gifts of Erika Alexander as a woman with a history of abuse who is devoting her life to working in a women's shelter who allows her physical needs to be met while maintaining her ownership of a wise woman of experience are extremely well utilized, and this film offers a platform deserving of the talent of Benjamin Bratt and Jeremy Ray Valdez. It is a tough story told with great sensitivity and truth. Hiro Narita's cinematography and Mark Kilian's musical score round out this very fine achievement in cinematic art. Grady Harp, August 10

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Set in the colorful, seedy streets of the San Francisco district that bears its name, La MISSION is a haunting story of healing and transformation: the healing of a broken man, of a father s relationship with his son, and of a neighborhood struggling to break the chains of violence.

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