Young@Heart is a documentary about a Massachusetts Senior Citizen’s chorus that rocks out to everything from the Clash, Ramones and Sonic Youth, to Coldplay and James Brown. (…)

Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time.  It’s a Hitchcockish film set during the early 20th century about Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), a silver miner turned oil tycoon that uproots his son H.W (Dillon Freasier), and sets off for Little Boston, where he hears that oil practically seeps from the earth.   Plainview begins to grow his fortune by scheming his way into cheaply buying the land from the residents of Little Boston.  He starts by buying up the home of preacher Eli Sunday’s family, and moves on to obtain the rest of the town.  Plainview’s wave of luck soon wanes as the film progresses, and his true character slowly surfaces. (…)

Hatchet, directed by Adam Green, is a disturbingly funny horror film about a group of tourists in New Orleans who end up on a haunted swamp tour.  After their weird tour guide sinks their wimpy boat in gator infested waters, they are forced to wander the woods in search of civilization.  In the dark and rainy forest, the tourists encounter Victor Crowley, a vengeful deformed maniac who calls the swamp home, setting out to kill anyone who dares venture on his land. (…)

The following movie review is from /Film correspondent Elaine Mak. (…)

Chalk, written and directed by former teacher Mike Akel, and presented by Morgan Spurlock, is a mockumentary film about teachers at the typical public high school, Harrison High. (…)

Naming Number Two is a film from New Zealand directed by Toa Fraser.  It is about about an old woman, Nanna Maria (Ruby Dee), who, following a dream, commands her grandchildren to throw a giant feast for her.  She tells them that she wants them all there for the feast, where she will name her successor, who she calls her “number two”. (…)

Crazy Legs Conti: Zen and the Art of Competitive Eating is a doc about Jason “Crazy Legs” Conti, a weird character who gets into competitive eating while working odd jobs as a sperm donor, window washer, and nude model.  Throughout the course of the film, Crazy Legs becomes the world oyster eating champion, and then goes on to try to compete in Nathan’s Coney Island Hot Dog Eating contest (a fun and crazy event that I myself attended last year while living near Coney Island). (…)

Sunshine takes place 50 years in the future, and follows a crew of astronauts aboard a spaceship named the Icarus II.  The characters are venturing into space to deliver a payload to reignite the sun which is about to burn out, obliterating all mankind.  The entire film takes place away from earth as the small crew fights technical difficulties, human error, and nature’s wrath to reach the sun intact and in time to save humanity. (…)

Oh wow, ventriloquists are creepy. I’m afraid of everything, so my review of the Dead Silence unrated DVD may be a little different than those brave souls out there. (…)

A Mighty Heart is one of those films that I’ve been hearing non-stop about for months. (…)

I love movies about everyday things.  The films that I enjoy most are not about heroic people and epic events, they are, rather, the ones that tell seemingly unimportant stories about regular people that inspire me, and subtlety change the way that I view the world.  Director John Carney’s “Once” is undoubtedly one of these films. 
“Once” is a modern-day Irish singer-songwriter musical.  In the film, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova play two main characters, known only as “Guy” and “Girl” in the credits.  Guy is a street musician by night, and a vacuum cleaner repairman by day, who falls in love with a piano-playing girl with a vacuum cleaner that needs repair.  Guy and Girl begin to play music together, telling the story of their growing relationship through song. 
This seemingly low-budget film with simple lighting and natural dialogue tells a beautiful love story in a creative way.  The music in this film is charming, and works well within the context of the story.  It never seems oddly interjected, as I feel happens in some musical films.  The characters are deep, lovable, and relatable.  They have a natural chemistry with one another, and the audience is able to feel that romantic connection. 
“Once is the Irish “Lost in Translation” with a musical twist.  It is a sweet little film that captures a wonderfully realistic love between an everyman and an everywoman. 
/Film Rating: 9.5 out of 10

I’m not normally one for artsy films.  They usually bore me, and are rarely able to catch my MTV generation attention span.  I have to say, however, that I was extremely impressed by Guy Maddin’s experimental film “Brand Upon the Brain!”. (…)

Directed by Todd Robinson, grandson of the main character of this true-story film, Lonely Hearts is an interesting story that explores the psychology of two lovers and notorious killers, and the detectives that seek to catch them.  Lonely Hearts takes place in the 1940s, where detective Elmer C. (…)

Air Guitar Nation is yet another “Spellbound formula” doc, this time, centering around two determined contestants, following their journey to the World Air Guitar Championships in Finland (who knew that even existed?). (…)

Beyond the Gates, directed by Michael Caton-Jones, starring John Hurt and Hugh Dancy is a true story about the 1994 Rwandan genocide. (…)