cryptexcode/MPST huggingface dataset:
Exposed

Plot synopsis:
A police detective investigates the circumstances behind his partner's death. The mysterious case leads to an attempted police cover-up and a dangerous secret involving an unlikely young woman. The two parallel story lines initially appear to have little in common, but as events gradually unfold in the two separate urban worlds, the young woman appears to somehow be involved in the detective's demise.
The dead cop was depraved and corrupt. His colleagues fear that the investigation into his death will bring these facts to light. The results would include bad press for the police department and the loss of his pension for his family. The fear is based on the fact that one of the prime suspects in the case is a young ex-convict who had allegedly been sexually molested with a broomstick wielded by Detective Cullen. Supervisors within the precinct would rather let the murderer go free than to open up a Pandora's Box of troubles for everyone concerned.
Meanwhile in Isabel's private world, she believes that the strange beings she has begun seeing on the streets are angels. Accordingly, she thinks that her mysterious "impossible" pregnancy is a gift from God. Strangely, however, nobody in her family believes her. Surprisingly, they are eventually proven to be correct.
Isabel's "angels" are a fabrication of her own mind. She created them to accompany a fictional narrative that would replace the unbearably traumatic memories of being raped by Detective Cullen on the subway platform the night that her "visions" began. She further suppressed the memory of catching him off guard afterwards and killing him in a fit of righteous rage. The buried memories are released in an avalanche of images after a brief stay at her parents' house triggers a sudden recollection of sexual abuse from her father many years ago.
There is a plot device employing the use of a young girl whom Isabel befriends who, it is finally revealed, is almost as imaginary as her "angels". The girl is revealed to be Isabel as a child. She disappears from the pew in the church as Isabel prays for the strength to accept what has happened.

Tags: suspenseful, murder, romantic

Review:
Very tightly executed thriller. Had this recommended to me from a friend. Watched it last night on Amazon VOD and enjoyed it very much. A very dark, exciting and unpredictable story. I also really liked the acting, the actors all did an amazing job. The writing is very good too, and I feel like they did a really good job of avoiding tired old thriller cliché's and character tropes. This one really kept me guessing!If you are into more dark thrillers with a bit of an indie edge I would really recommend this film. To be honest, I was getting a little tired of the genre and only took a viewing of it based on a recommendation from a friend and I can't say I am disappointed at all. Check this film out if you can, it's worth it.
3 Women

Plot synopsis:
Pinky Rose, a timid and awkward young woman, begins a job at a health spa for the elderly in a small California desert town. There, she becomes enamored of Millie Lammoreaux, a confident and talkative employee. Both natives of Texas, the two begin to develop a friendship and, in spite of their stark personality differences, decide to become roommates. Pinky moves in with Millie at the Purple Sage Apartments, owned by a has-been cowboy, Edgar Hart, and his wife Willie, a mysterious pregnant woman who paints striking and unsettling murals.
Millie takes Pinky along on her evening visits to Dodge City, a local tavern and shooting range also owned by Willie, where Millie talks incessantly. Tensions begin to rise between Pinky and Millie over their living situation. One night, when Millie prepares a dinner party for friends who fail to show up, she gets into a fight with Pinky and leaves the apartment, only to return with a drunk Edgar, and the two have sex. Pinky, distraught, jumps off the apartment balcony into the swimming pool.
Pinky survives the suicide attempt but goes into a coma. Millie, feeling responsible, begins to visit Pinky daily. When Pinky still doesn't wake up, Millie contacts and invites Pinky's parents in Texas to see if their presence will awaken her. She wakes up, but does not recognize her parents and furiously demands that they leave. Once sent home to live with Millie again, Pinky begins to exhibit increasingly uncharacteristic behaviors— she begins drinking and smoking, has an affair with Edgar, insists on being called "Mildred," and spends her time at the shooting range, just as Millie had.
Millie becomes increasingly frustrated by Pinky's imitative shift in personality, and begins to exhibit Pinky's timid and submissive personality herself. One night after Pinky has a bad dream, represented through an abstract montage of Millie crying and Willie's bizarre murals, a drunk Edgar enters their apartment and awakens them, initially making moves on Pinky before casually telling them that Willie is about to give birth. The two drive to Edgar and Willie's farmhouse, where Willie is alone and in labor. Her baby is stillborn, as Pinky does not seek medical help during the delivery as Millie told her to. Millie slaps Pinky in anger.
The film ends with Pinky and Millie, who are now working at Dodge City; a delivery vendor at the tavern refers to Edgar's "gun accident" when talking to Millie, who seems unaffected by it. Pinky appears to have reverted to her childlike timidity; she refers to Millie as her mother. Pinky and Millie leave the tavern and walk to Willie's farmhouse, where the three begin to prepare dinner together. The final shot pans to a pile of tires buried in the dirt, implied to be Edgar's resting place.

Tags: psychedelic, satire, atmospheric

Review:
Snorks

Plot synopsis:
The Snorks are a race of small, colorful beings that live happily in the undersea world of Snorkland. They have snorkels on their heads, which are used to propel them swiftly through the water. As evidenced by the cartoon series, when a Snork becomes excited their tube makes a "snork" sound. They have much of the same technology as contemporary humans, adapted to their own aquatic environment. The Snorks use clams as currency ("clams" is also a slang term for money).
According to the Snork back-story, which was described in the show's first opening theme, a few ventured to the surface (which the Snorks believe is "outer space") in 1643, and watched a Royal Navyship of the Spanish Armada being attacked by pirates. The captain wound up in the water, and that was the first contact between the species when the Snorks saved his life, to which the captain then expressed his gratitude by writing down the encounter in his logbook, although very few humans believe in the existence of the Snorks. Since then, Snorks have adopted several human habits, such as wearing clothes.
There are a few episodes which have human encounters with the Snorks. In the episode "Allstar's Freshwater Adventure", the Snorks (who are saltwater snorks) meet freshwater snorks. Freshwater snorks have two snorkels on their head and a distinctive biochemistry from saltwater snorks.

Tags: psychedelic

Review:
Hajji Washington

Plot synopsis:
A fictionalized account of the first Iranian ambassador in the United States, Hajji Hossein-Gholi Noori, a loyal Qajar statesman who goes to Washington to found the embassy. After meeting with President Grover Cleveland, Haji proudly rents a mansion and hires several servants and staff, however there are no Iranians in Washington and the embassy does not have any visitors. Haunted by nostalgia for home and his beloved daughter, Haji becomes plagued by nightmares. In his reports to the King, he writes exaggerated narrations of his activities using grandiose ornamented language. Funds dwindle and the embassy begins to disintegrate; the staff leaves and Haji’s dialogue with the King slowly declines into a personal monologue. One night president Cleveland shows up in the embassy. An excited Haji entertains his guest single-handedly while dreaming of writing another grandiose letter to the King of Persia only to learn that his guest is no longer president of United States, but a simple farmer who wants to learn how to grow pistachios. Not long after, a Native American enters the embassy to seek asylum and a friendship grows despite their inability to communicate. Haji refuses to handover the refugee and is removed from his post. Haji, now in the state of madness and absolute silence, boards the boat to return home.

Tags: alternate history

Review:
Embrace of the Vampire

Plot synopsis:
Charlotte is a "chaste" good girl, who is having some very bad dreams about sex. Her dreams are the only place where her dream lover is a dark, handsome vampire; however, that is a bit of a dilemma for her real-life boyfriend, who is not quite as fascinating as the vampire dream boy. Charlotte is given the choice between staying with her life as she knows it, or becoming a part of the vampire's world. There is also the usual struggle between such opposing entities, as Charlotte sees that not only does she have to choose between her boyfriend and her mysterious night-time visitor, but also between light and dark, and good and evil. In the end, after briefly kissing Milo and being interrupted by Eliza, the campus slut (who was killed by the vampire by banging her head against the wall, then licking the blood from the wall), she ends up having the dream one last time. This time, the vampire is telling her to come to him, as he believes there is nothing left for her here (on earth). After some dream scenes, finally, Charlotte is in the tower with the vampire. Chris (her boyfriend) is there, but the vampire pushes Chris away, and is about to put the bite on her when she utters Chris's name; he at first tells her not to think of Chris and instead think of himself and her as a couple. Then, after Charlotte utters Chris's name again, the vampire then says that she cannot take his life to the eternal life, and disappears. Charlotte and Chris wake up in the morning and kiss, and the vampire is destroyed while laying in a sunbeam.

Tags: violence

Review:
Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance

Plot synopsis:
In 1991, after taking down the Katana crime organization, Detective Joe Marshall plans to settle down with his wife Jennifer when she is suddenly murdered at a park. Twenty-five years later, Fuj Fujiyama has reorganized Katana Inc., but they are in the middle of a gang war with the Shinjuku and Ginza clans. He informs his Vice President Doggé Sakamoto and subordinates that the war has awakened Joe, and they must defeat him in order to secure the future of the clan.
Following the murder of a senator at the hands of Katana agent Hera and the Katana's massacre of the Shinjuku at a night club, Detective Frank Washington is led to a secret compound 400 miles away from Los Angeles and reunites with Joe, who had been in hiding for decades. After dispatching a group of ninjas at the compound, Joe reluctantly agrees to once again team up with Frank after being told that the case of his wife's murder will be reopened for his vengeance. After being reinstated as a detective, Joe proposes to set up a surveillance on the warring clans. At the same time, he develops a relationship with a brunette woman named Milena Roberts, but cannot help that she reminds him of Jennifer.
During a surveillance mission, Joe enters a nightclub, where he is suddenly greeted by a blonde Milena before a shootout between the Katana and the Ginza ensues. One night, Frank reveals to Joe that Milena is not who she says she is. The next day, Frank is suspended due to his failure to stop the war while Joe is informed that the case is now under the jurisdiction of FBI Agent Carter, who is actually the Ginza's new leader. Joe and Frank decide to work above the law to take down all the clans at the secret hideout known as "The Complex". Joe storms through The Complex and encounters the Ginza clan before Carter is suddenly gunned down by Mola Ram, leader of the Yick Lung clan. He kills Fujiyama and his henchwomen, then defeats Doggé in a sword fight. Linton Kitano, the new leader of the Shinjuku clan, battles Joe and is swiftly taken down, but confesses to Joe that he was the one who murdered Jennifer 25 years ago. Linton prepares to commit seppuku, but Milena intervenes, revealing that she is his sister and they used Joe to infiltrate the Katana and help the Shinjuku become the only clan in the country. A disillusioned Joe leaves The Complex and parts ways with Frank and Detective Higgins before Lauren Kimura, a former Katana henchwoman, proposes to join forces with him.

Tags: violence, cruelty, sadist

Review:
Teachers

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with a typical Monday morning at John F. Kennedy High School located in the inner city of Columbus, Ohio; "typical" events including a fight between teachers, a student with a stab wound and talk of an upcoming lawsuit. We meet haggard Vice Principal Roger Rubell (Judd Hirsch) and clueless Principal Eugene Horn (William Schallert), as well as stuffy lawyer and JFK alumna Lisa Hammond (JoBeth Williams), who is in charge of taking depositions for the Calvin case, in which a recent graduate is suing the school for granting him a diploma despite his illiteracy.
Alex Jurel (Nick Nolte) is a veteran Social Studies teacher who takes his job lightly despite being one of the most popular teachers in school because of his ability to identify and connect with the students. Jurel has been worn down by years of being in-between the rowdy students and the demands of the administration. He is assigned to temporarily take over the duties of the school psychologist (who started a fight in the office) and meets a young man named Eddie Pilikian (Ralph Macchio) to whom he becomes a mentor. During this time, a romance also develops between Jurel and Hammond, his former student.
The major plotline centers on the Calvin lawsuit, with Superintendent Donna Burke (Lee Grant) and school lawyer Al Lewis (Morgan Freeman) attempting to avoid bad publicity associated with the case. To this end, they try to figure out which teachers will potentially damage the school's reputation in their depositions. Intertwined with the major storyline are Jurel's efforts to reform Pilikian into a student who believes in himself.
A number of minor plotlines deviate from the primary goings-on. These include Herbert Gower (Richard Mulligan), a wandering mental institution outpatient mistaken for a substitute teacher and put in charge of a U.S. History class, whose brilliant history mind makes it fun, educational and engaging; gym teacher Mr. Troy’s sexual relationship with one of Jurel's students, Diane Warren (Laura Dern) that ends with Jurel taking her to an abortion clinic, and the death of Eddie Pilikian’s best friend Danny Reese (Crispin Glover), a schizophrenic and kleptomaniac student who is shot and killed by the police after he draws a gun from his locker during a drug search.
At the climax of the film, the administration recognizes the threat Jurel poses to their social standing and forces him to resign before his deposition. After harsh criticism from Lisa, as well as her streaking down the school hallway naked (an allusion to Jurel's earlier accusation that she was unable to walk down the school halls 'naked' and see its true troubles), he finally stands up to Burke and Rubell, reminding them that the school exists for the students and not for the administration and protecting their jobs. He also threatens to sue should he be fired. He proudly walks back into the school, with loud cheers from the school's students and Lisa looking on proudly.

Tags: satire

Review:
Chashme Buddoor

Plot synopsis:
Siddharth (Farooq Shaikh), Omi (Rakesh Bedi) and Jomo (Ravi Baswani) are close friends and room mates who are studying at Delhi University. Siddharth has completed M.A in Economics and is preparing for PhD. While Siddharth is a studious boy who loves to spend most of his time with books, his other two friends- Omi and Jomo are mostly busy chasing girls, watching movies or dramas. The only thing common among three of them is smoking. One day, Omi and Jomo see a girl (Neha) who is new to their neighborhood and try to impress her by their tricks. However, both of them give up after experiencing shameful events. After some days, Neha (Deepti Naval) visits their flat as the salesgirl of Chamko washing powder. As soon as Jomo and Omi see her, they hide quickly. Siddharth meets Neha for the first time and soon a love story begins. But when his other two friends find out, they decide to plot something to end their relationship and also to seek revenge to the embarrassment inflicted upon them by the girl. Initially, they succeed in separating Siddharth and Neha but later on repent when they realise that Siddharth has started losing his interest in work and study and is most likely to end his life as well. Finally, they decide to reunite both the lovers.
The parallel plot runs between Omi, Jomo, Siddharth and Lallan Miyan (Saeed Jaffrey). Lallan Miyan is the local shopkeeper who sells Cigarettes to Omi and Jomo on credit. But as students, they don't clear his debts, Lallan Miyan tries to follow up with them to get their dues.
A spate of kidnapping (especially of young girls) has started in Delhi. One fine day, Omi and his friends along with Neha's grandmother plan to stage a fake kidnapping and get married. But unfortunately, she is kidnapped by the real gang and the duo is left in a lurch. The later part of the story revolves on how they clear the confusion that she has been going through and how she was kidnapped by real thugs and finally rescued.

Tags: romantic

Review:
Anaganaga O Dheerudu

Plot synopsis:
Irendri (Lakshmi Manchu) is a sorceress, who terrorises people of Anga Rajyam. A guru arrests her, doesn't allow her to play with the lives of people, and destroys her. Before she was destroyed, Irendri takes her soul away and traps it in a locket. Though she dies, her soul lives in the locket. Her great-great-granddaughter is Priya (Shruthi Haasan) and she lives as a gypsy.
She, too, possesses magical powers, as she was born into a sorceress' family. Yodha (Siddharth) is a travelling swordsman who always romances women whenever there is opportunity. He is smitten by Priya’s beauty and falls in love with her. Sudigundam (Ravibabu) is a local goon and he attacks the gypsies' village. Yodha prevents him and defeats him in a fight. However, Sudigundam makes a stealth attack, ties the hands of Yodha, and sets afire the entire village.
In this process, the locket in Priya's neck falls down and Irendri’s soul comes out with the touch of fire. The sarpa sakthi (power of the serpents) tells her that she could gain power with a drop of Priya's blood. So, Irendri takes away Priya and imprisons her. Meanwhile, Yodha turns blind as Sudigundam pierces his eyes. However, Yodha gets saved by a swami (Subbaraya Sharma) and appoints to save a girl named Moksha (Baby Harshitha), who has divine powers. Irendri, to take revenge, attacks Agartha, a village in Anga Rashtram and make the children of the village senseless.
Druki (Ramji) goes to Pushpagiri to bring Moksha, who could save their children. Druki, Yodha and Moksha start from Pushpagiri and reach Agartha. At this juncture, the sarpa sakti tells Irendri that the blood of Moksha would make her invincible if it was taken by her on lunar eclipse day. So, Irendri sends her men to capture Moksha. But Yodha kills all of them. Irendri again sends Sudigundam, the commander-in-chief, to bring her. Yodha follows them in search of Moksha, finds Priya alive, and saves Moksha and Priya. Moksha brings back Yodha’s vision with her divine power. Yodha decides to completely destroy Irendri as she is trying to harm people and succeeds in the climax.

Tags: entertaining

Review:
Sheriff of Las Vegas

Plot synopsis:
The Duchess Alice Fleming, living in Las Vegas, Nevada promises to help the local schoolteacher Ann Carter (Peggy Stewart) with her “wild” boyfriend, Tom Blackwell (Jay Kirby). Red Ryder is asked to lend a hand by the Duchess but when he does, he discovers Tom drunk in the saloon owned by Dan Sedley (William Haade). Red is interrupted however, by an attempted bank robbery. He foils the heist and retrieves the money, which he returns to Arthur Stanton (Selmer Jackson), the bank president. What Red doesn’t know is that Stanton has embezzled over $40,000 from his bank and afterwards, had his bank robbed to cover the crime.
In the meantime, Tom Blackwell’s father, Judge Homer Blackwell (John Hamilton) says that he’s tired of his son’s behavior and will cut him out of his will. He asks Stanton to bring a list of his securities to his office that he might reconcile his books. To protect himself, Sedley slips into the Judge’s office and kills him.
Red Ryder, who has been appointed Sheriff, is compelled to arrest Tom who had threatened his father. Meanwhile, Red has a newspaper story printed stating that he has discovered evidence that vindicates Tom. The worried Stanton orders his crime partner, Sedley, to stir up a lynch mob. He wants to takeover Stanton’s large estate to cover the embezzled funds.
In order to protect Tom from the gathering lynch mob, Red hands him over to the Duchess but then tells Stanton that Tom is hiding in Ann’s schoolhouse. Red’s suspicions of Stanton are confirmed when the illicit banker sends Sedley to the schoolhouse to kill Tom. In the process, Sedley is mortally wounded by Red but before dying, confesses to the Judge’s murder.
Ryder sets a trap for Stanton by sending Tom to Stanton’s office seeking help. Stanton, sensing an opportunity, pulls a gun on Tom but is captured by Red Ryder before he can kill Tom. Sedley is later convicted and imprisoned.
Tom reforms and is ready to settle down with Ann, even vowing to use some of his inheritance to elect Red to the office of territorial governor. This proves to be too much for the red-headed cowboy who is last seen on the screen, riding off in the distance with Little Beaver (Robert Blake).

Tags: violence, murder

Review:
Chicago Overcoat

Plot synopsis:
Lou Marazano was once a feared hit man, but his reputation has dimmed significantly twenty years after his retirement. Unable to help his daughter financially after her ex-husband fails to pay child support, he asks the street boss, Lorenzo Galante, for work. Though reluctant to give him the job, Galante sends him to kill several witnesses who will testify against D'Agostino, the mob boss. After Marazano sends flowers to the widow of one of the men he kills, Ray Berkowski, a veteran cop, reopens a case that involved a string of murders from the early 1990s. Though discouraged from investigating, Berkowski and his partner, Ralph Maloney, stake out the second target. Picked up at the scene of he crime, Marazano does not talk, and the police are forced to set him free when his girlfriend and her neighbors provide an alibi.
Worried that Marazano may talk in order to avoid jail time, Galante orders him killed. Marazano stays a step ahead of his former friends, and he is able to kill the crew sent to assassinate him. Knowing that he must also kill Galante, Marazano heads to Galante's bar, where Galante threatens Marazano's family. Unmoved by the threats, Marazano kills Galante and offers his gold watch to an elderly man. When the elderly man is taken in by the police as a potential witness, they spot the distinctive watch and realize that they have enough evidence to arrest Marazano. Meanwhile, Marazano collects the money from his job and receives his final target, Maloney, who has taken over the investigation once Berkowski became frustrated with the department's red tape.
When their captain says that he has important information to share, Maloney and Berkowski, who has returned to active duty despite his cynicism, meet him in private at a parking lot. Unknown to the others, Mazarano tails the cops. Revealing that he is corrupt, the captain shoots both his subordinates. Before the captain can finish off either man, Marazano kills him. As Marazano turns to leave, Berkowski and Maloney attempt to stop him. In the ensuing gunfight, Berkowski accidentally kills Maloney. Enraged, he chases after Marazano, whom he blames for Maloney's death. When Berkowski confronts him, Marazano kills him. At his daughter's house, Marazano gives her all the money and urges her to leave the city, which he also plans to do.

Tags: revenge, murder, violence

Review:
Doom

Plot synopsis:
In the year 2046, a heavily populated research facility on Mars is suddenly attacked by an unknown assailant. Following a distress call sent by Dr. Todd Carmack, a group of marines, led by Asher "Sarge" Mahonin, is sent on a search-and-rescue mission. One of the marines, John "Reaper" Grimm, accompanies his sister, Dr. Samantha Grimm, to one of the labs within the devastated sector to retrieve data; here he learns that the dig site where their parents were accidentally killed was reopened and ancient skeletons of a genetically enhanced race were discovered.
While searching for survivors in the facility, the marines find Dr. Carmack, who is taken to a medical room for examination, but later disappears. The marines find a creature that leads them down to the facility's sewer. Marine Eric "Goat" Fantom is killed during their pursuit, along with the creature. The corpses of Goat and the creature are taken to the medical room. Marine Gregory "Duke" Schofield stays with Sam as she starts an autopsy, when they are attacked by a second creature. After trapping it, Sam continues the autopsy on the first creature, finding that its organs are human. Goat suddenly revives, and then kills himself by slamming his head against a glass window.
The squad tracks a third creature down into the dig site, where it kills three more marines. Sam and Reaper try to convince Sarge that the creatures are humans from the facility, mutated by the addition of a Martian chromosome (called C24) they found and synthesized from the bones discovered, and that not all of those infected will fully transform into creatures. Regardless, Sarge orders his team to sanitize the entire facility. Sarge kills the creature in the medical lab (revealed to be a mutated Dr. Carmack) and executes one of his marines for defying his commands. Sam and the surviving marines are then flanked by the infected, partly mutated, humans. Only Sam and a wounded Reaper escape. Sam injects Reaper with the C24 serum, enhancing his abilities so he is able to kill the infected humans and fully mutated creatures. Reaper then battles an infected Sarge and kills him. Having survived, Sam and Reaper enter the elevator to leave the facility.

Tags: violence

Review:
A High Wind in Jamaica

Plot synopsis:
A hurricane hits the isle of Jamaica in 1870. The Thorntons (Nigel Davenport and Isabel Dean), parents of five children, feel it is time to send the children to England for a more civilized upbringing and education.
During the voyage, pirates board the ship and take the children captive. The pirate captain, Chavez (Anthony Quinn) and first mate Zac (James Coburn) take an immediate liking to young Emily (Deborah Baxter), and decide to sail to Tampico and leave the kids safely with a woman there named Rosa (Lila Kedrova), a brothel madam with a good heart.
Rosa warns the pirates that the law is after them. Since they are innocent of the crimes attributed to them by the authorities—namely, the murder of the children—Chavez and his first mate (James Coburn) are unconcerned. But then one of the children, John (Martin Amis), slips from a window of the brothel and falls to his death. Chavez doesn't wish any more harm to come to the young ones so he refuses to attack a Dutch vessel that comes into view. His men mutiny, seize the Dutch boat, and capture its captain (Gert Fröbe).
A Royal Navy patrol vessel appears and the pirates re-board their own ship in panic. Chavez declines to join them. Awakened from sleep by the captured Dutch captain seeking her help, Emily mistakes his intentions and in a frenzy stabs him to death. The shocked Chavez intervenes too late and is left with bloodstains on his hands. He and his former crew are taken prisoner and shipped to Britain for trial. Under questioning in court, Emily places the responsibility of killing the Dutch captain on Chavez instead of on herself. The pirates are hanged. In the final scene children play innocently by a lake. Emily stands amongst them – staring at a model ship with adult eyes.

Tags: violence, action, murder

Review:
The Golden Boat

Plot synopsis:
The Golden Boat is inspired by American police series, mixed with Mexican soaps operas, and immersed in the artistic context of the Underground Art scene of the early 90’s of New York. In the street, a young student of philosophy and criticism at Village Voice, Israel Williams, meets Austin, an old man hurt and desperately in love with a soap opera star. Although he was stabbed several times, Austin does not seem to be affected by his injuries and refuses to go to see a doctor. He asks Israel to help him find his alienated son. Things get complicated when Israel discovers that the old man turns out to be a murderer. Israel is soon losing itself in a strange world populated by international celebrities, Marxist employees, and postmodern literary critics.
Shortly summed up as an absurdist odyssey through downtown Manhattan with a sweet old serial killer, a student rock-music critic, and international bohemians. The film is centered around the curious student Israel and the knife-happy Austin. Criminals in the film are desensitized and/or numb, with themes centralized around death, confusion, craziness, cowardice and loneliness. There are certainly more questions raised than answers given and the narrative seems to unfold in a way that parallels the narrative that is life. The film is primarily shot in color during which the audio, or music, seems to undermine the visuals through a technique of cutting in and out quickly. Ruiz jumps back and forth quite a bit from color to black and white visuals, during which the music seems to play a different role, for during the black and white shots the music seems to add to the visuals in a hyper-melodramatic way.

Tags: absurd, psychedelic, comedy, satire, violence

Review:
Decent first American film by Raoul Ruiz. Raoul Ruiz's first American movie is something of a parody of American TV with a few pinches of Mexican soap operas. Violence is treated as a normal means of interaction and it rarely has any real consequences. The film is structured as a series of episodes about Israel, a self absorbed young man who meets a Austin, a crazy old man who has just stabbed himself. Austin follows Israel before stopping to rest on a set of stairs. Israel, cool New York artist/critic/graduate student that he is, assumes Austin is dead and pockets his wallet. Throughout the rest of the film Austin periodically appears and people usually end up getting stabbed.The film is shot with Ruiz's usual sense of experimentation but there really isn't anything new here, Ruiz seems content to tread the same old ground technically. The film is very comical at times and is always entertaining enough to be worth a watch but it's far from Ruiz's best work.
Dil Kya Kare

Plot synopsis:
Anand Kishore (Ajay Devgan), an architect, his wife, Kavita (Mahima Chaudhry), and their only child, an adopted daughter, Neha (Akshita Garud), live a happy and serene life in Delhi, India. Their happy and lovely life together is turned upside down when Kavita finds out that Neha is being stalked by a woman named Nandita (Kajol), who comes to see her at school every day. Though Neha insists that Nandita is a sweet "Aunty", Kavita is frantic and confronts Nandita. She is then told that Nandita is the biological mother of Neha.
Kavita and Anand had adopted Neha after Kavita was involved in a car crash while pregnant, resulting in infertility. Nandita requests to spend some time with her daughter; seeing that Neha favors Nandita, Kavita lets her stay in their home. However, deeply buried secrets threaten to surface when Nandita and Anand come face-to-face. With a shock, it is revealed that Anand is actually the biological father of Neha—she is Anand and Nandita's child.
They have a short-lived history: Anand and Nandita were traveling by train when thugs took over and tried to kill Nandita. Anand saved Nandita and the two instantly fell in love, despite not even knowing each other's names, and made love together that night. The next morning, Anand awoke to find Nandita gone. While Anand moved on with his life, Nandita became pregnant with his child, unbecoming to him, and was forced to give up her child, Neha, for adoption, due to her unaccounted father.
Anand and Nandita hide their past from Kavita at first, though Anand tries many times to meet with Nandita alone and talk to her, anxious to know her after sharing that fateful night together. Soon after however, Kavita finds out the truth and is disgusted with Nandita. Heartbroken, Nandita promises she will leave forever but since she has no one in her life, she requests to take Neha along, since she is her daughter. Kavita becomes frantic, as she refuses to give up Neha. Anand reluctantly supports Kavita after realizing how desperate she is to keep Neha.
When Nandita realizes that Anand and Kavita love Neha, she decides to leave her daughter in their care and go away forever. Anand is shocked at this and runs to the train station alone without Kavita. He makes it just in time. He sees Nandita on the moving train, peering at him with tear-filled eyes and watches her leave with a heavy feeling in his heart.

Tags: romantic

Review:
Extremities

Plot synopsis:
Marjorie (Fawcett) is a young woman who works in a museum and lives with two female roommates, Pat (Woodard) and Terry (Scarwid) in Los Angeles. One night, while getting into her car, she is attacked at knifepoint by a masked assailant (Russo), who forces her to touch him sexually.
Marjorie manages to escape, but not before the mugger makes off with her purse. She goes to the police but is told there is very little they can do. One week later, while Marjorie's roommates are at work, her nightmare comes true as the assailant (named Joe) casually enters her house, having used her personal information to find out where she lives.
A terrifying sequence of events unfolds as Joe subjects Marjorie to a continuous barrage of mental and physical assaults. The tables finally turn, however, when Marjorie overpowers Joe by spraying his eyes and mouth with insect repellent as he's getting ready to rape her.
Marjorie then ties Joe up and subjects him to the same kind of physical and mental assaults he used on her earlier, even reducing him to tears as he pleads for his life when he learns that he's ingested some of the insect repellent Marjorie sprayed at him. When Terry and Pat return home, they try to convince Marjorie, who is contemplating murdering Joe, to think about the consequences of her actions, because Joe didn't actually rape or attempt to kill her. Joe attempts to fabricate a story that he had a one-night stand with Marjorie at a party some time ago, which her roommates almost believe. Marjorie calls him a liar and attacks him, finding the sheath knife he used on her in the first attack, proving her story to Patty and Terry.
Marjorie forces Joe to admit his guilt by torturing him with the blade, and at one point threatens to castrate him if he does not tell the truth. Defeated, a sobbing Joe confesses that he watched the house and stole letters to find out details of the women's lives, and that he intended to rape and kill Marjorie and her roommates that day. He also confesses to the rapes and presumed murders of three other women. Finally at peace, Marjorie allows Patty and Terry to get the police.

Tags: revenge, violence

Review:
Any Which Way You Can

Plot synopsis:
Two years after throwing his fight with Tank Murdock, Philo Beddoe is still fighting in underground bare-knuckle boxing matches to make money on the side. Philo decides to retire when he realizes that he has started to enjoy the pain. Philo and his manager Orville decide to end his career. The problem is Jack Wilson, a new breed of fighter from the east coast who mixes martial arts with boxing. He is so effective at maiming his opponents that his handlers cannot book fights for him.
The Black Widows, the biker gang with a long-running grudge against Philo, make their return. They still want revenge for the destruction of their bikes. However, Philo bests them in a chase that runs through an asphalt machine during a road-paving project. They lose their hair and must wear wigs and penciled-on eyebrows to camouflage their appearance.
After a fight between a mongoose and a rattlesnake, one of the handlers realizes that if Philo, king of the west coast brawlers, agreed to fight Wilson it would be the biggest draw in the history of bare-knuckle boxing. The Handlers, led by handicapper Jimmy Beekman, in conjunction with the Mafia, kidnap Philo's love interest, country-western singer Lynn Halsey-Taylor, in order to coerce Philo to agree to the fight.
Wilson, however, is a prize fighter with a sense of right and wrong. After learning of the plot, and helping Philo and Orville rescue Lynn, he decides they really don't need to fight to prove who is best. On the other hand, both fighter's personal pride makes them wonder who would have won. The brawl between the two characters ends up taking place, but is punctuated by pauses and personal reflections on their mutual admiration. Wilson breaks Philo's arm and offers to end the fight, but the two men continue the brawl. Meanwhile, the Black Widows bet everything they have on Philo because, despite their rivalry, they know he is the better fighter. When the mobsters decide to kill Philo once he gains the upper hand, the Black Widows protect their investment by beating up the Mafia men. After a long fight, Philo knocks Wilson out long enough to qualify for a win. Wilson helps Philo to the hospital to have his arm looked at, and the fighters and their friends have a beer at a bar.

Tags: violence

Review:
High Tide

Plot synopsis:
Lilli is one of three backing singers for a touring Elvis impersonator until she is fired. Then, left alone at the beginning of winter she is stranded in a ramshackle beach town on the windswept coast of New South Wales. This remote, working class, tourist-town has a pervasive sense of rootlessness and movement. The people survive by changing their occupations with the seasons and work hard in small businesses. Here, stuck in the Mermaid Caravan Park, she encounters her teenage daughter Ally (Claudia Karvan). When Lilli's young surfer husband had died, she felt lost; she gave up her baby to her mother-in-law, Bet. Lilli has been drifting ever since, and getting wasted. Bet is a rowdy, belligerent woman, devoted to Ally—she has taken care of her for 13 years but she has no idea how unhappy the girl is. Lilli has an immediate rapport with the lonely Ally even before she knows that Ally is her daughter, and after she knows, she can't take her eyes off her. They belong with each other. but Lilli's terrified of taking on the responsibilities of motherhood, and Bet tells her she's riff-raff. When we first see Ally she is in the water; surfing is—"her refuge from the noisy junkiness of life with Bet. Bet isn't a monster, she's simply the wrong person to be raising the pensive Ally, whose emotions are hidden away, like her mother's. The drama is in our feeling that Lilli must not leave her daughter in the embrace of this raucous old trouper."

Tags: murder

Review:
Grey Gardens

Plot synopsis:
The film is based on the life stories of the eccentric paternal aunt and first cousin of Jackie Kennedy, both named Edith Bouvier Beale. The elder Edith Bouvier Beale was the sister of Jackie Kennedy's father John Vernou Bouvier III and was referred to as "Big Edie", her daughter was referred to as "Little Edie". The Beale women were members of NYC high society, but in their later years, withdrew from the New York City life, taking shelter at their Long Island summer home/estate Grey Gardens. The house eventually fell into a state of disrepair that gave the Beale women notoriety.
Phelan Beale (husband of "Big Edie" and father of "Little Edie"), eventually divorced "Big Edie." In the movie, "Little Edie" decides to move to New York to pursue a career in acting (as well as an ill-fated romance with a high-profile married man). "Little Edie" sadly and slowly realizes her fate is to remain her mother's companion at Grey Gardens. The two women become reclusive and known around town as the highly eccentric proprietors of Grey Gardens, which has become decrepit and full of stray animals taken in by the Beale women. The plot includes the filming of the documentary Grey Gardens by Albert and David Maysles as well as events in the Beales' past, including their arrival at the estate, the disintegration of Big Edie's marriage, Little Edie's failed attempts to have her own life, and events subsequent to the premiere of the documentary.
The movie ends with Little Edie singing "Tea for Two" at the Reno Sweeney cabaret in Greenwich Village, and the quote, "My mother gave me a truly priceless life."

Tags: cult, psychedelic

Review:
Orphan of the Pecos

Plot synopsis:
Rancher Hank Gelbert (Lafe McKee) receives a visit from his foreman, Jess Brand (Forrest Taylor), who wants to see Gelbert's daughter Ann. Knowing that Brand is only interested in Ann to get money to pay off his gambling debts, Gelbert tells him to clear off his property. As Gelbert opens his safe to pay Brand his last wages, Brand shoots him and takes off with the money. On the road he encounters Ann (Jeanne Martel) and tries to persuade her that he loves her, but she does not trust him, knowing he only wants to marry her as a way of getting the ranch.
Meanwhile, cowboy Tom Rayburn (Tom Tyler), a stranger to the area looking for work, encounters a medicine salesman and ventriloquist, Jeremiah Mathews (Theodore Lorch), on the road outside of town. While Tom is amused by the salesman's talents, he declines to purchase any of his "medicine" and continues on to the Gelbert ranch, where he discovers Gelbert's body. When Ann and Brand arrive at the ranch, Ann finds Tom leaning over the body and assumes that he murdered her father. While pretending to search Tom, Brand plants the stolen money in his pocket and announces what he "found". He then encourages Ann to shoot him, but she chooses to let the law handle it.
While they wait for the sheriff to arrive, Tom and Brand get into a fight and Brand is knocked unconscious. As Tom prepares to leave, Ann picks up Tom's gun and threatens to shoot him, but he knows she will not do it. He takes his gun, tells her he will return to her to explain, and then leaves. Later that night as promised, Tom returns to the ranch and shows Ann the letter he received from her father offering him the foreman's job. He also points out that Brand had much more to gain from her father's death than he did. Ann believes him and gives him her father's coat.
Tom heads into town and finds Mathews, who is the only witness who can prove his innocence. Brand sees them talking and kidnaps Mathews outside of town and take him to a shack, where they instruct him to sign a document that would undermine Tom's alibi. Meanwhile, Tom discovers Mathews' abandoned car, locates the shack, and frees the medicine salesman.
After Tom returns to the Gelbert ranch, he and Ann see Brand approaching. Ann urges Tom to stay hidden while she gets rid of Brand. In the house, Tom gets the draw on Brand and the three wait for Mathews to arrive. When he shows up he provides Tim with a clear alibi. Using his skills as a ventriloquist, Mathews throws his voice and pretends to be the dead Gelbert, unsettling Brand to the point where he confesses to the murder. Just then Brand's men arrive and during the ensuing fight, Ann and Mathews manage to escape. Tom also escapes with Brand and his men in hot pursuit. Along the trail, Tom doubles back and captures Brand and his men. When Ann arrives, she offers Tom the foreman position at her ranch and he accepts.

Tags: murder

Review:
Cat Run 2

Plot synopsis:
Two assassin sisters Tatiana (Winter Ave Zoli) and Mina (Maria Rogers), disguised as Russian sex workers, arrive in New Orleans working under Cordray (Dan Bilzerian) in a strip club. The pair are hired by U.S. military soldiers for a "sex party" where they infiltrate the base and attempt to steal military secrets by storing it in a USB drive. After a massacre, Mina is killed and Tatiana escapes leaving Wilson (Thomas Tah Hyde III), one of the soldiers wounded. Back in New York City two private investigators, Anthony (Scott Mechlowicz) and Julian (Alphonso McAuley), attempt to start a restaurant before being selected to participate in a cooking contest in New Orleans.
Julian's family resides in New Orleans where the pair find residence until the contest. Wilson, who is Julian's cousin, returns home with memory loss. The pair decide to investigate and uncovers a military secret involving the creation of supersoldiers. The duo follow their lead to Cordray's strip club and interrogated him. They discover the morgue housing Mina's body. After a close encounter with Tatiana who returns for the USB drive, the pair return to their New Orleans home. Tatiana contacts her handler, Dragnovic (Lawrence P. Beron), only to find the information in the USB incomplete. She returns to Cordray's club and kills him for his betrayal.
While being hunted by assassins, Julian discovers his childhood friend Simone (Brittany S. Hall) has a professor with knowledge regarding the conspiracy. They are tipped off to the location of the Wollcroft (Vanessa Branch), Dragnovic's partner. Anthony, Julian and Simone arrive at the mansion where Wollcroft is located and Anthony confides to Tatiana his knowledge of her past sparking a connection between the two. Wollcroft makes a separate deal with the Chinese government involving powered exoskeletons betraying Dragnovic and killing him. Wollcroft now in a powered exoskeleton fights Tatiana who attempts to avenge the death of Dragnovic. Despite the suit's enhancement, Wollcroft is outmatched and killed by Tatiana.
Anthony and Julian win the cooking contest and returns to New York City. Tatiana secretly enters Anthony's home one night and the two have sex.

Tags: revenge, murder, flashback

Review: