The Neverending Story II The Next Chapter 1990

The Neverending Story II The Next Chapter 1990
1h 30min | Adventure, Drama, Family | 25 October 1990 (Germany)
Storyline
Once again, Bastian is transported to the world of Fantasia which he recently managed to save from destruction. However, the land is now being destroyed by an evil sorceress, Xayide, so he must join up with Atreyu and face the Emptiness once more.
User review:
THE NEVERENDING STORY II is a wonderful and breathtaking familiar film with adventures and imagination but inferior to excellent original. A lonely and grieving little boy named Bastian(the sadly deceased Jonathan Brandis substituting to Barret Oliver) is only living with his father( John Wesley Shipp in similar role to Gerard McRaney)but his mother has deceased.He seeks refugee in the library where meets a bookkeeper and is taken a fantastic book .Thus, again he enters the storybook world of Fantasia through the ¨Neverending story¨ tale . This time Batian is really in the flick the complete time instead of outside of the pages but happens that with each wish he lost records. There, he goes to Silver City and he meets the young valiant warrior named Atreyu( Kenny Morrison replacing Noah Hathaway)as he must save the magic world of Fantasia threatened for the destruction by the advance of Nothing that will eventually wipe out all the things and rescue the imprisoned childlike Empress . She is detained by evil sorceress Xayide (Clarissa) supported by his large mechanical beetles. Xayide has a dark scheme for Fantasy world and the Childlike Empress. They'll have to fight a magical army of giant bugs on two legs that threaten our friends.
The story is an enjoyable fairy tale with great charm from the original novel by Michael Ende,trying to incorporate too much dreamland with fantastic beings like a giant bird named Nimbly, the large flying pink poodle dragon named Falcor ,among others weird and bizarre creatures .They have been made by big puppets and no by means of computer generator effects but at the time had not been invented. The visual beauty of the impressive scenarios give the movie a real sense of wonder.The production design and sets are visually rousing and appealing.The film contains an agreeable moral message about reading books.It's followed by a new sequel, the third part titled: ¨Escape from fantasia¨(directed by Peter McDonald)with Jason James Ritcher. Besides followed by a Television cartoon movies. The movie contains spectacular musical score by Robert Folk and colorful cinematography by David Connell. The motion picture filled with imaginative moments is professionally directed by George Miller though with no originality because takes too many elements from previous film. Miller is an Australian director usually working for television (Tidal wave, Journey to the center of the earth,Attack of the Sabretooth) and occasionally for cinema ( The man from Snowy river Zeus and Roxanne,Robinson Crusoe ). Rating : Passable, acceptable, 5,5.

Toast 2010

Toast 2010
1h 36min | Biography, Comedy, Drama | TV Movie 30 December 2010
Storyline
Wolverhampton,1967: nine year old Nigel Slater loves his mother though she is a hopeless cook, her finest offering being toast whilst he has great culinary aspirations. When she dies of asthma Nigel is left with a distant father but worse is to come when the 'common' Mrs. Joan Potter arrives as the Slaters' cleaner. Nigel fears, rightly, that her aim is to be the next Mrs. Slater and soon he has a new stepmother and is whisked away to the country. Joan is, however, a superb cook but this only makes for rivalry as Nigel, the only boy in his cookery class at secondary school, competes with her to find the way to his father's heart. A weekend job in a pub kitchen introduces Nigel to an older boy, another great cook and gay like himself, who gives him the confidence and inspiration to leave home after his father's death and head for the hotel kitchens of London.
User review:
The British always seem to have such interesting faces, and because of that their movies seems to have more depth and feeling than American movies. Toast is no exception. This movie contains little dialogue and relies much on visual communication, which could easily have turned it into one of those movies that makes you glance at your watch every twenty minutes. But the casting of such physically unique individuals makes it riveting.
The dynamics of family. I know, I know. Do we really need to go there again? Yes we do, and Toast puts it out there in a raw, you-are-scarred-for-life way that we can all relate to. It hurts to watch the way Nigel Carter, the British food writer on whose biography the movie is based, hurl insults at his dying mother, knowing this behavior will haunt him in the end. It's equally hard to watch the miscommunication between father and son—this could be any home in America where parents and children seem to speaking foreign tongues to each other, tearing the already weakened fabric of parent-child relationships. It's a wonder anyone survives.

Dreamers 2003

Dreamers 2003
18 | 1h 55min | Drama, Romance | 1 September 2003 (Italy)
Storyline
Paris, spring 1968. While most students take the lead in the May 'revolution', a French poet's twin son Theo and daughter Isabelle enjoy the good life in his grand Paris home. As film buffs they meet and 'adopt' modest, conservatively educated Californian student Matthew. With their parents away for a month, they drag him into an orgy of indulgence of all senses, losing all of his and the last of their innocence. A sexual threesome shakes their rapport, yet only the outside reality will break it up.
User review:
"The Dreamers" is all about three young adult upscale hippy types who languish in a flat in Paris in the late 60's and talk about cinema, politics, sex, and other stuff while sharing some first experiences. Two are brother (Garrel) and sister (Green) identical twins (or so we're told) who have an almost metaphysical bond and the third is an interloper (Pitt) who falls in lust with the sister. There's little plot to this slice of young adult life flick which seems to be more of a Bertolucci pet project than a commercial product for the masses. Less than engaging and much less than compelling, "The Dreamers" immerses itself in the esoterics of the place and time to the exclusion of anyone who wasn't there then. Beautifully filmed and masterfully crafted with some young actors doing superb work under difficult circumstances with plenty of graphic nudity and sex, "The Dreamers" will play best with aficionados of French cinema, Bertolucci fans, etc. Those who are squeamish about sex/nudity should pass. All others, be prepared for a marginally interesting watch.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci
Writers: Gilbert Adair (screenplay), Gilbert Adair (based on the novel)
Stars: Michael Pitt, Louis Garrel, Eva Green

Newcastle 2008

Newcastle 2008
1h 47min | Drama | 7 June 2008 (Japan)
Storyline
'Newcastle' is a coming-of-age/family drama/surfing movie. 17-year old Jesse lives in the shadow of his older brother Victor's failure to become surfing's Next Big Thing. Even when he's in his natural habitat of magnificent surf breaks, his blue-collar future is brought home by the coal barges that constantly line his horizon. Jesse has the natural skills to surf his way out of this reality and onto the international circuit but can he overcome his equally natural ability to sabotage himself? A momentous weekend away with his mates that includes first love and tragedy leads him to discover what's really important, and also to the performance of a lifetime.
User review:
I really liked this movie despite the lengthy surfing scenes and lack of real depth to the storyline. The actors in the film were all entertaining to watch. There was a array of characters with various interactions…some funny, some sad, some utterly bland but contributory nonetheless. The scenery was incredible. I think many modern films lack that beautiful setting which captivates the audience so it was nice to see it be different in Newcastle. I especially enjoyed the relationship between Xavier's and Kirk's characters. It felt real and very believable. I was upset that I missed the scene at the end of the credits. There should have been a heads up that the movie was not yet done. Overall, I give this movie a 9/10 as I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.
Director: Dan Castle
Writer: Dan Castle
Stars: Lachlan Buchanan, Xavier Samuel, Reshad Strik

Space Raiders 1983

Space Raiders 1983
1h 24min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | July 1983 (USA)
Storyline
A futuristic, sensitive tale of adventure and confrontation when a 10 year old boy is accidentally kidnapped by a spaceship filled with a motley crew of space pirates.
User review:
I can't help it, I love this film. Yes all the FX, sounds music etc are pinched from Battle Beyond the Stars, but they are expertly pinched! The music is actually a combination of the scores James Horner wrote for "Humaniods from the Deep" and "Battle …", scores which incidentally got him hired to do Star Trek II .. so he owes a lot to these pictures.
Frankly this is the kind of film the entertains me, it's not clever but it's not trying to be it's simple an adventure and I personally think the editing and reuse of shots from Battle Beyond … are very well done. Also you might be interested to know that all those FX shots, and the ships themselves were built and filmed by James Cameron !!, back before he'd done his directorial debut of "Piranha". So they're shots that deserved a bit of reuse. For sure only Roger Corman's company could get away with this .. but lets face it we all get a kick out of seeing the 'ship with the boobs'!

Those People 2015

Those People 2015
1h 29min | Drama, Romance | 6 May 2016 (USA)
Storyline
On Manhattan's gilded Upper East Side, a young gay painter is torn between an obsession with his infamous socialite best friend and a promising new romance with an older foreign concert pianist.
User review:
I saw this film at the Frameline LGBT Film Festival in San Francisco on Saturday night. Great performances, heartbreaking story & very intense love triangle. It keeps you on the edge of your seat. Charlie (the handsome, Jonathan Gordon) is a budding artist who is hung up on his self-centered BFF, Sebastian (Jason Ralph). The feeling is not mutual. Sebastian's life is turned upside down after a scandal puts his father in jail. When Charlie meets a hot Lebanese concert pianist, older & more grounded than Sebastian there developing relationship starts to interfere with Charlie & Sebastian's long time friendship. The cast is outstanding but Jonathan Gordon is the star & is just about in every scene except when Sebastian meets his father in jail. It's a heartbreaking moment. Joey Kuhn's directorial debut is very impressive. Well done. Highly recommended.
Director: Joey Kuhn
Writers: Joey Kuhn (screenplay), Joey Kuhn (story)
Stars: Jonathan Gordon, Jason Ralph, Haaz Sleiman