On the day after his fortieth birthday, the family man and computer analyst George Grieves goes to the Mt. Abaddon Hospital for a routine procedure of colonoscopy with Dr. Sharazi. Along his birthday party, his friends and family tell many cases of medical errors, and George is worried about. After the surgery, George finds that his surgery had complications because of a homonymous patient, and he had received a thoracoscopic sympathectomy instead. While interned, George discloses bizarre and dark secrets about the East Wing of the hospital while his wife and family have to take a decision about his fate. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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A young teacher (Swank) inspires her class of at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves, and pursue education beyond high school.

Set in the Los Angeles Police Department in April 1992, Dark Blue is a dramatic thriller that takes place just days before the acquittal of four white officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King and the subsequent L.A. riots. In this racially-charged climate,the LAPD’s elite Special Investigations Squad (SIS) is assigned a high-profile quadruple homicide. As they work the case, veteran detective Eldon Perry, known for his tough street tactics and fiery temper, tutors SIS rookie Bobby Keough in the grim realities of police intimidation and corruption. Meanwhile, Assistant Chief Holland, the only man in the department willing to stand up to the SIS, threatens to end Perry’s brand of singlehanded “justice” on the Los Angeles streets. While navigating through the tumultuous neighborhoods of South Central L.A., Perry and Keough must track down cold-blooded killers and face their own demons, which prove to be more ruthless than the criminals they pursue. Written by Press kit

While traveling on vacation to Florida, the college friends Anderson Lee, Cory Jones and Nelson Elliot meet the gorgeous Joey and Kat in a gas station traveling with their gay friend Ricky to the same location. Anderson gives his phone number to Joey in Florida. The teenagers decide to take a shortcut and they find a detour through an old road leading to the Southern town of Pleasant Valley. They are welcomed by the local Mayor Buckman as guests of honor together with Joey, Kat, Ricky and the Afro-American biker Malcolm and his Chinese girlfriend Leah and invited to stay for their Guts and Glory Jubilee with free lodging, meals and booze at Granny Boone’s hotel, and dancing, games and a mouth-watering barbecue in the climax of the jubilee. The group accepts the invitation but sooner they find who will supply the meat for the feast. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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I walked out of “House of Sand and Fog” with two distinct thoughts pinging around in my brain. One, the acting in “House of Sand and Fog” was some of the best of the year. And two, I was thinking in amazement about the way director/screenwriter Vadim Perelman was able to make me alternately despise and cheer for each of the central characters in a balanced fashion over the entire course of the movie. Normally you get to pick one bad guy and wish evil thoughts on him or her over the course of the film. That’s not so easy with “House of Sand and Fog.” The characters were so well developed and human, with all the foibles that implies, it was difficult to find a hero or a villain and label them with that designation for longer than a scene or two.

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In 1933, after leaving Dogville, while traveling with her father (Willem Dafoe) and his gangsters to the south of USA, Grace Margaret Mulligan (Bryce Dallas Howard) sees a slave ready to be punished in a property called Manderlay. The slavery had been abolished seventy years ago, and Grace becomes revolted with the attitude of the owners of Manderlay, keeping slaves in their cotton fields and following predetermined despicable rules called “Mam’s Law”. Grace decides to stay with some gangsters in Manderlay and give notions of democracy to the slaves and to the white family. When harvest time comes, Grace sees the social and economical reality of Manderlay. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

It is the year 2029: Astronaut Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg) boards a pod cruiser on a Space Station for a “routine” reconnaissance mission. But an aburupt detour through a space time wormhole lands him on a strange planet where talking apes rule over the human race. With the help of a sympathetic chimpanzee activist named Ari (Helena Bonham-Carter) and a small band of human rebels, Leo leads the effort to evade the advancing Gorilla Army led by General Thade (Tim Roth) and his most trusted warrior Attar (Michael Clarke Duncan). Now the race is on to reach a sacred temple within the planet’s Forbidden Zone to discover the shocking secrets of mankind’s past - and the key to its future. Written by Tim1370

“Bringing Down the House” telegraphs every joke before the actor hits the punchline but that’s the least of the movie’s problems. The film has some funny moments, but there are too many jokes that are just plain uncomfortable. Because every ethnic stereotype is used as a source of amusement, the scenes that are supposed to make you laugh are the scenes that actually make you cringe. It’s got cracks about Latinos only being allowed in a rich neighborhood if they have a leaf-blower in their hands, Steve Martin’s character for some strange reason has a pink maid outfit on hand that fits Queen Latifah (where did that come from?), and every person of color speaks slang and it’s up to a white guy to teach them how to speak proper English.

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Seth Gecko and his younger brother Richard are on the lam after a bloody bank robbery in Texas. They escape across the border into Mexico and will be home-free the next morning, when they pay off the local kingpin. They just have to survive ‘from dusk till dawn’ at the rendezvous point, which turns out to be a Hell of a strip joint. Written by Tad Dibbern {DIBBERN_D@a1.mscf.upenn.edu}

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