Reviewer: James van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ****

The question "What’s the matter with Kansas?" should immediately bring to mind Thomas Frank’s best-seller on the subject. That’s good, since the documentary film of the same name is based on Frank's book. I have read only selections from this book, which uses the state of Kansas to make clear how the Republican Party, in tandem with the evangelical Christian movement, has boondoggled Americans into believing that it today represents the common man. I'll let Frank's own words speak for themselves here:

Reviewer: Jeffrey M. Anderson
Rating (out of 5): ****

Tanya Hamilton makes her feature writing and directing debut with the exceptional character study Night Catches Us; it veers perilously close to message mongering and smugness, but mostly does well to focus on some surprising character traits and fine period detail.

Anthony Mackie plays Marcus Washington, who suddenly returns home to 1976 Philadelphia after some mysterious time away, for his father's funeral. It's a rough-and-tumble time, with the remains of the Black Panther movement still evident in the streets. Marcus tries to fix up the family home in exchange for a place to sleep, but his brother wants nothing to do with him. Instead he ends up staying with an old flame, Patricia Wilson (Kerry Washington), a do-gooder with the habit of taking in stray souls.

Reviewer: Steve Dollar 
Rating (out of 5): *****

Today's news that Dogtooth (perfectly timed with the DVD release) has been nominated for an Academy Award in the best foreign film category is stunning. While it's gratifying to know that one of 2010's most outré critical favorites somehow slipped into what typically is the mushiest of Oscar competitions, it's even more fun to imagine the reactions of more middlebrow Academy voters to this perverse family drama. I expect a whole lot of “what...the...?” reactions.

The second feature from Greek director Giorgos Lanthimosis set in a studiously blank ex-urban home where three children - actually, fully grown college-age adults - spend their days competing in absurd challenges like: Who can inhale ether and not pass out the longest? For their dedication and achievement, the kids are rewarded with colorful stickers they can apply to the headboards of their beds. T

Reviewer: James Van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ***½

The reputation the French have for creating romantic comedy non pareil is well-deserved. In the last few years alone, we've had sophisticated charmers from Shall We Kiss to Priceless to Après vous. Now comes yet another, sporting a knock-out premise that is so original that it almost makes it impossible for the movie to live up to its nifty/nasty concept. That it finally does is due as much to the mysterious workings of chemistry between actors (Romain Duris and Vanessa Paradis) and the talent of new director Pascal Chaumeil (pronounced Show-MAY), as to the film's very funny and unusual script. 

I’ll not give away, plot-wise, even that very smart premise -- and, yes, it is tempting to talk about. Instead, be content with knowing that Heartbreaker (L'arnacoeur) involves a dashing and sexy young man (Duris), his nifty sister (Julie Ferrier) and her slightly demented boyfriend (François Damiens), a lovely woman about to be married (Paradis) and her father (Jacques Frantz), who for some reason is not particularly keen on the marriage. Out of this mix, Chaumeil and his script-writing team (Laurent Zeitoun, Jeremy Doner and Yohan Gromb) have spun their sometimes flaky flax into something approaching gold.