More Articles Mayna Bergmann
- Saving Sarah Cain
Street: Jan. 15 Prebook: Dec. 19 This Amish family drama is positioned to be the first major faith title of 2008. A culture clash between the Amish faith and the more modern world is at the center of Saving Sarah Cain, a film based on the 2000 novel The Redemption of Sarah Cain by Beverly Lewis. Cain (Lisa Pepper) is a big-city newspaper journalist in Portland, Ore. More - A Very Serious Person
WOLFE Street: Nov. 20 Prebook: now > Drag legend Charles Busch shows a very different side. Those who are used to seeing Charles Busch in drag (and that’s most everyone) might not recognize him in this movie, his directorial debut (he also co-wrote), as a male nurse dressed all in white and with a long red ponytail. More - My Best Friend
GENIUS Street: Oct. 23 Prebook: now > A surprisingly light—and funny—French buddy flick. Director Patrice Leconte’s strength is in the pairing of seemingly random individuals (a bank robber and a teacher in The Man On the Train; a knife-thrower and a suicidal young girl in The Girl On the Bridge), and his latest entry is no exception. More - Mouth to Mouth
STRAND Street: Sept. 25 Prebook: now > A cautionary drama about a dangerous cult. In this limited-theatrical release film, up-and-comer Ellen Page (who’s best known as Kitty Pryde from X-Men: The Last Stand) is Sherry, an aimless, surly teenager who gets swept up into a cult known as SPARK (Street People Armed With Radical Knowledge). More - Tara Road
FIRST LOOK Street: Oct. 9 Prebook: Sept. 4 > Chick lit via Ireland delivered on disc. If it’s by Maeve Binchy, it must take place in Ireland—and Tara Road is no exception. The Circle of Friends author penned this novel in 1998, and it was an Oprah’s Book Club selection the following year. More - The Dead One
ECHO BRIDGE Street: Sept. 18 Prebook: now > Hottie Wilmer Valderrama will be the main draw in this zombie flick. This comic book crossover finds That ’70s Show’s Wilmer Valderrama portraying 21-year-old Diego, who lives in East Los Angeles and is in love with Maria (Angie Cepeda). On the annual “Day of the Dead” celebration, he dresses up as a zombie for a party̵... More - Secret of the Cave
FIRST LOOK Street: Sept. 4 Prebook: now > Faith-based family film will have a solid appeal in the Christian market. Secret of the Cave has a Christian-themed message, a Dove Family-Approved Seal and it was a student film made by the Southern Adventist University. The Secret starts when young Roy (Kevin Novotny) is forced by his father (Patrick Bergin) to move to Ireland for the summer, wher... More - The Gymnast
WOLFE Street: Sept 18 Prebook: now > An effective look at the romantic allure of a unique and sensual art form. Aerial gymnastics is not a sport that gets a lot of play in the movies, and most people only think of it when they buy tickets to a Cirque de Soleil show. But in this case, the discipline takes front and center as a story line, along with the burgeoning love affair between the two... More - The Valet
SONY Street: Sept. 18 Prebook: AUG. 16 > Slapstick comedy imported from France by the form's modern masters. François Pignon is the alter-ego and hero/loser whom director Francis Veber uses as the protagonist for most of his French farces. Here, Pignon is played by Gad Elmaleh, a poor sap who parks cars for a living and was just turned down by his girlfriend (Virginie Ledoyen) after pr... More - Stephanie Daley
LIBERATION Street: Sept. 4 Prebook: July 31 > This topical drama with top-rate performances deserves attention. A decade ago, the “Prom Mom” case drew national headlines when a teenager in New Jersey hid her pregnancy, then gave birth in a bathroom stall and threw the baby in the trash. More - Bam Bam & Celeste
WOLFE Street: Aug. 14 Prebook: now > Margaret Cho’s name will lead the way for this otherwise hit-or-miss comedy. In stand-up comedian Margaret Cho’s first leading turn in a narrative feature film, Cho plays “fag hag” Celeste to Bruce Daniels “fag” Bam Bam. Growing up in a Midwestern town, the friends are tortured by their classmates for being different a... More - The Last Time
SONY Street: July 10 Prebook: now > Enjoyable if not wholly original noirish corporate drama with a familiar cast. Debuting writer/director Michael Caleo’s story of corporate salesmanship is a cocktail of movie genres: he takes a little of misanthropic Neil LaBute’s machismo take on the world, blends in modern film noir à la The Last Seduction and adds a dash of Glengarry G... More - Nunsensations! The Nunsense Vegas Revue
SRO/KULTUR Street: June 26 Prebook: now > Despite its Sin City setting, this musical is chaste enough for the whole family. The Nunsense franchise is 20 years old, but creator Dan Goggin clearly still has more songs to write for his leading lady nuns—and more audiences to enjoy them. This latest installment, Nunsensations!, is set in “The Pump Room” at the Mystique Motor L... More - Avenue Montaigne
THINKFILM Street: July 17 Prebook: June 21 > Gamine Cécile De France is adorable as a naïve Parisian girl in the Amelie mold. Avenue Montaigne is an actual street in Paris, and Bar des Théâtres—the restaurant where the majority of this film's action occurs—exists as well. More - A Tale of Two Pizzas
NEW VIDEO Street: June 26 Prebook: May 29 > Romantic comedy that pours on the cheese but is flimsy as a pizza crust. Romeo and Juliet minus the tragedy set in a Yonkers neighborhood where pizza reigns supreme is the premise of this wafer-thin romantic comedy. Warring pizzeria owners Vito (Vincent Pastore) and Frank (Frank Vincent) try to outdo each other with the help of their children, Ang... More - Live Free or Die
THINKFILM Street: July 24 Prebook: June 28 > An acceptable deadpan comedy hoping to cash in on the Seinfeld name. Live Free or Die’s plot follows a Fargo meets Dumb and Dumber story line in which John “Rugged” Rudgate (Aaron Stanford) befriends dim-witted Jeff (Paul Schneider) in the hopes of carrying off some heavy-duty crimes. More - Lola
VANGUARD Street: June 26 Prebook: May 18 > A Canadian Dogme-inspired indie boasts trio of strong performances. Canadian director Carl Bessai brings some of his Dogme-style sensibility to this naturalistic character study about an aimless woman named Lola (Sabrina Grdevich). Wandering around Vancouver, half-heartedly trying to be a designer, Lola has an emotionally abusive relationship wit... More - Loveless in Los Angeles
ALLUMINATION Street: May 29 Prebook: now > A derivative but fun debut comedy in the Swingers vein. In this Swingers -lite piece, Dash Mihok ( The Day After Tomorrow ) stars as Dave, an L.A. bachelor who works as a TV producer on a cheesy reality dating show. More - Bunny Whipped
THINKFILM Street: May 15 Prebook: now > Superhero silliness abetted by rap stars and gorgeous women. Esteban Powell (Little Athens, TV’s Monk) and a slew of hotties—including Joey Lauren Adams (Chasing Amy), Brande Roderick (TV’s Baywatch) and Rebecca Gayheart (TV’s Nip/Tuck)—star in this occasionally funny but disjointed romantic comedy. More - Resistance
LIONSGATE Street: May 29 Prebook: May 2 > Tame WWII love story will satisfy fans of the Anita Shreve novel. In this World War II drama, American fighter pilot Ted (Bill Paxton) is shot down over Belgium and taken in by underground resistance fighters Henri (Philippe Volter) and Claire (Julia Ormond). More
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