Robert Blecker Wants Me Dead (2009)

Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release:Feb 27, 2009 Limited
Director: Ted Schillinger

Synopsis
How far would you go for your beliefs? That question, along with many others, is pondered in this thought-provoking film. The man of the title is on a mission to promote the death penalty in... How far would you go for your beliefs? That question, along with many others, is pondered in this thought-provoking film. The man of the title is on a mission to promote the death penalty in America. As a professor at Manhattan's New York Law School, Robert Blecker champions the importance of capital punishment, espousing the idea that the death penalty is justice for the worst of crimes. But when Blecker meets death-row inmate Daryl Holton, his ideals are put to the test. Daryl Holton committed the atrocious crime of killing his four children (earning him four death sentences), but the man is also well-spoken and he and Blecker bond, even as Blecker supports Holton's death. This complex documentary addresses a variety of issues and goes beyond just the death penalty debate.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/robert_blecker_wants_me_dead/

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Coraline 2009

Rated: PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language and suggestive humor
Genre: Childrens
Theatrical Release: Feb 6, 2009 Wide
Starring: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders, Ian McShane
Director: Henry Selick

Synopsis
A high-definition stop-motion animated feature – the first to be originally filmed in 3-D – with spectacular CG effects, based on Neil Gaiman’s international best-selling book. A young girl (Dakota... A high-definition stop-motion animated feature – the first to be originally filmed in 3-D – with spectacular CG effects, based on Neil Gaiman’s international best-selling book. A young girl (Dakota Fanning) walks through a secret door in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life – only much better. But when this wondrously off-kilter, fantastical adventure turns dangerous, and her counterfeit parents (including Other Mother [Teri Hatcher]) try to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to get back home – and save her family.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/coraline/

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Eleven Minutes (2009)

Rated: Not Rated
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release: Feb 6, 2009 Limited
Starring: Jay McCarroll
Director: Michael Selditch, Robert Tate

Synopsis
It's been two long years since the sharp-witted Jay McCarroll was dubbed "the next great American designer" on season one of reality television's Project Runway, and he's anxious to finally show... It's been two long years since the sharp-witted Jay McCarroll was dubbed "the next great American designer" on season one of reality television's Project Runway, and he's anxious to finally show his first line of clothing. The feature documentary, Eleven Minutes, chronicles his year-long journey designing and preparing his first independent runway show for New York's Fashion Week in Bryant Park and the subsequent selling of his line to stores. The result is an in-depth, painfully raw and humorous exploration of the creative process and the constant conflict of balancing commerce with art, fame with talent, and reality-TV with actual reality.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eleven_minutes/

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Dealing and Wheeling in Small Arms

Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release: Jan 21, 2009 Limited
Director: Sander Francken

Synopsis
Dealing and Wheeling in Small Arms is a political documentary on the uncontrolled widespread of small arms, which rule and ruin the lives of a growing number of people in developing countries. ... Dealing and Wheeling in Small Arms is a political documentary on the uncontrolled widespread of small arms, which rule and ruin the lives of a growing number of people in developing countries.

Through the eyes of different experts whose lives depend on small arms, the film shows the causes and impact of the trade—both legal, 'grey' and illegal—in small arms and its ammunitions, in particular in regions where the European Union and the United Nations are active, such as former Yugoslavia and Congo. Especially interesting for the western audience, the film shows how brokers—often under some 'organized' legal cover—buy weapons collected by the EU and NATO during their mission in Bosnia. These brokers transfer the weapons directly to African battlefields where they continue their killing lifespan unhindered.

Shot on location in Cambodia, Eastern Congo, Uganda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Germany, the United States and The Netherlands, Dealing and Wheeling in Small Arms opens up our consciousness to a global reality rarely shown to the general public.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dealing_and_wheeling_in_small_arms/

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Of Time and the City 2009

Rated: Not Rated
Runtime: 72 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release: Jan 9, 2009 Limited
Director: Terence Davies


Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/of_time_and_the_city/

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The Tale of Despereaux (2008)

Rated: G
Genre: Childrens
Theatrical Release: Dec 19, 2008 Wide
Starring: Matthew Broderick, Robbie Coltrane, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Jenkins, Kevin Kline, Frank Langella, William H. Macy, James Nesbitt, Tracey Ullman, Sigourney Weaver, Frances Conroy, Tony Hale, Ciaran Hinds, Christopher Lloyd, Stanley Tucci, Emma Watson
Director: Sam Fell, Rob Stevenhagen

Synopsis
Once upon a time, in the faraway kingdom of Dor, there was magic in the air, raucous laughter aplenty and gallons of mouth-watering soup. But a terrible accident left the king broken-hearted, the princess filled with longing and the... Once upon a time, in the faraway kingdom of Dor, there was magic in the air, raucous laughter aplenty and gallons of mouth-watering soup. But a terrible accident left the king broken-hearted, the princess filled with longing and the townsfolk despondent. All hope was lost in a land where sunlight disappeared and the world became dreary gray. Until Despereaux Tilling was born... A brave and virtuous mouse, Despereaux is simply too big for his small world. Though tiny, wheezy and saddled with comically oversized ears, Despereaux refuses to live a life of weakness and fear...believing he was destined to be celebrated in the tales of chivalry he so adores. When he's banished from his home for not following the rules that society expects of a mouse, Despereaux befriends fellow outcast Roscuro, a good-hearted rat who can't bear to look in the mirror and hopes to live far from the grim underground of his kind. While Despereaux begins his noble quest to rescue Pea--a princess who can't see beyond her distorted view of the world--his pal Roscuro receives a painful rejection from her highness that sets him on a course of self-destruction. Along their parallel adventures, the two encounter colorful characters from a serving girl who wishes to be a princess to the evil leader of the sewer rats, who plots revenge on humans from his fiefdom in the subterranean shadows he relishes but Roscuro can't abide. From the highest turrets of the glittering castle to the dankest dark of Dor's sewers, friendships will be tested as Despereaux and Roscuro embark upon a journey that will change the way they look at their world--and themselves--forever. In this tale of bravery, forgiveness and redemption, one tiny creature will teach a kingdom that it takes only a little light to show that what you look like doesn't equal what you are.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tale_of_despereaux/

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Reclaiming the Blade 2008

Rated: Not Rated
Runtime: 78 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release: Dec 15, 2008 Limited
Starring: Bob Anderson, Viggo Mortensen, John Howell, Richard Taylor, Karl Urban
Director: Daniel McNicoll

Synopsis
The sword plays a central role in many of history, literature, and film's most essential stories, but it has been overtaken in modern narratives by the presence of guns. Narrated by LORD OF THE RINGS star John Rhys-Davies, this documentary... The sword plays a central role in many of history, literature, and film's most essential stories, but it has been overtaken in modern narratives by the presence of guns. Narrated by LORD OF THE RINGS star John Rhys-Davies, this documentary examines the history of the weapon in both Europe and Asia, featuring interviews with experts, as well as actors and crew in Hollywood, including Bob Anderson, Viggo Mortensen, Karl Urban, and Richard Taylor.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/reclaiming_the_blade/

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Delgo 2008

Rated: PG for sequences of fantasy action violence
Genre: Childrens
Theatrical Release: Dec 12, 2008 Wide
Starring: Freddie Prinze, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anne Bancroft, Chris Kattan, Val Kilmer, Malcolm McDowell, Louis Gossett, Michael Clarke Duncan, Eric Idle, Kelly Ripa, Burt Reynolds, Sally Kellerman
Director: Jason Maurer, Marc F. Adler

Synopsis
The land of Jhamora is torn apart by the mutual prejudice of two peoples—the winged Nohrin, masters of the skies, and the terrestrial Lockni, who harness the mystical powers of the land. When Delgo (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), a reckless Lockni... The land of Jhamora is torn apart by the mutual prejudice of two peoples—the winged Nohrin, masters of the skies, and the terrestrial Lockni, who harness the mystical powers of the land. When Delgo (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), a reckless Lockni teenager, forms a forbidden friendship with the spunky Nohrin Princess Kyla (Jennifer Love Hewitt), hostilities between the two peoples escalate, setting the stage for an exiled Empress (Anne Bancroft) to exact her revenge and reclaim her rule.

Falsely imprisoned, Delgo and his faint-hearted best friend, Filo (Chris Kattan), must put aside their differences to join forces with a sworn enemy (Val Kilmer) and travel to the mysterious land of Perran, where they discover more than just a scorned Empress and her two bumbling servants.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1201910-delgo/

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First Basket

Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release: Nov 14, 2008 Limited
Director: David Vyorst

Synopsis
David Vyorst’s documentary The First Basket explores the impact that basketball had on modern Jewish history, as well as the profound influence that unsung Jewish pioneers had on the evolution of basketball, as it grew from a game... David Vyorst’s documentary The First Basket explores the impact that basketball had on modern Jewish history, as well as the profound influence that unsung Jewish pioneers had on the evolution of basketball, as it grew from a game played with ash-cans on tenement steps to the second most popular sport in the world.

Though basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in Massachusetts, the game spread like wildfire through turn-of-the-century New York settlement houses and proved a perfect fit for urban Jewish kids. By the 1920s, basketball had become a staple of life in American Jewish communities, and many of the top teams grew out of these neighborhoods. The First Basket is the first documentary to comprehensively examine both the role that Jewish players had in the evolution of the game and the impact that basketball played in the assimilation of American Jews.

In The First Basket, Washington, DC based writer/producer/director David Vyorst and narrator Peter Riegert explore the little-known, yet very important, Jewish history of the game. Chock full of vivid anecdotes and distinctive characters, the film brings back famous as well as unsung basketball legends such as Red Auerbach, Red Holzman, Dolph Schayes, Red Sarachek, Barney Sedran, Eddie Gottlieb, Abe Saperstein, Ossie Schectman, Ralph Kaplowitz, Sammy Kaplan and many more.

The First Basket reveals the rich history and amazing contributions of Jewish athletes who became role models and heroes to generations of fans and changed the face and perception of Jews in all athletics. The First Basket is indeed ‘the greatest Jewish basketball documentary in the world.’

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/first_basket/

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Pray the Devil Back to Hell (2008)

Rated: Not Rated
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release: Nov 7, 2008 Limited
Director: Gini Reticker

Synopsis
History has many unacknowledged heroes and this documentary examines a group of women who fought for peace in Liberia, campaigning to end the country's devastating civil war. Gini Reticker directs this eye-opening film about political... History has many unacknowledged heroes and this documentary examines a group of women who fought for peace in Liberia, campaigning to end the country's devastating civil war. Gini Reticker directs this eye-opening film about political action.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pray_the_devil_back_to_hell/

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Universe of Keith Haring

Rated: Not Rated
Runtime: 82 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
Theatrical Release: Oct 24, 2008 Limited
Starring: Madonna, Yoko Ono, David LaChapelle, Andy Warhol, Ann Magnuson, Fab 5 Freddy, Grace Jones, Junior Vasquez
Director: Christina Clausen

Synopsis
The Universe of Keith Haring by director Christina Clausen is an intimate portrait of world-renowned artist Keith Haring whose mantra was that "Art is for everyone!" The film is a thorough and intimate exploration of the background and... The Universe of Keith Haring by director Christina Clausen is an intimate portrait of world-renowned artist Keith Haring whose mantra was that "Art is for everyone!" The film is a thorough and intimate exploration of the background and career of one of the most popular and significant artists of the 20th century. The film features interviews and archival footage of Fab 5 Freddy, Jeffrey Deitch, Kim Hastreiter, Grace Jones, Madonna, Yoko Ono, David LaChapelle, Kenny Scharf, Carlo McCormick, Andy Warhol, Ann Magnuson, Tony Shafrazi, and Junior Vasquez, among many others. Audio excerpts from original interviews with Keith Haring, were conducted by Haring's biographer John Gruen (Keith Haring: the Authorized Biography). The film's theme song is by the famed DJ and record producer, Junior Vasquez, with an original soundtrack by Angelo Talocci. The film was edited by Silvia Giulietti.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/universe_of_keith_haring/

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