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A tamer female version of SWIMMING WITH SHARKS, this film looks at the world of fashion with an insider’s eye that looks at the pros and cons of the industry. Mainly the cons. The solid script is best served by a wonderful cast, who bring life to characters that in the hands of less skilled performers could have turned into ridiculous caricatures.

Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway, THE PRINCESS DIARIES) is a smart journalism graduate who gets an interview at RUNAWAY, the premier fashion magazine in the world. In her less than fashionable attire and complete lack of knowledge about the industry, she seems quite out of her league interviewing as the second assistant to editor-in-chief Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep, ADAPTATION), who is a legend in the business. Miranda’s first assistant Emily (Emily Blunt, MY SUMMER OF LOVE) thinks Andy is a joke, but Miranda hires her anyway, because the last two girls Emily picked her idiots.

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I’m quite a fan of classic horror films because they are often tales of terror that play on the mind more so than making our bodies jerk from being assaulted via “boo” moments and crashes on the soundtrack. My attention was brought to this film when a few years back TOTAL FILM magazine included it on their 50 best horror films of all time list. Because I’m a list junkie, I had to check it out and learning that it was directed by Jacques Tourneur (I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE, CAT PEOPLE) only made it more interesting.

Released in the U.K. in a longer version as NIGHT OF THE DEMON, the story follows American Dr. John Holden (Dana Andrews, LAURA) as he travels to London for a conference on paranormal activity. Upon arriving he learns that his colleague Prof. Henry Harrington (Maurice Denham, THE DAY OF THE JACKAL) has died in a bizarre accident, which we know may have been caused by a giant demon summoned by the mysterious Dr. Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis, LUST FOR LIFE). Upon meeting Harrington’s niece Joanna (Peggy Cummins), Holden begins to look deeper into what really happened to the professor.

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This is one of the most original and funny productions I’ve seen in a long, long time. Made for Nickelodeon’s RANDOM CARTOONS shorts program, this Annie nominated short film is slyly satirical as well as subversive. If this does go to series, I’m going to put myself out there and say it has the potential to be as monumental as REN & STIMPY. It’s that different and it’s that good.

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Set in the Caymen Island, this crime yarn jumps on the typical trend of weaving the stories of various characters together. However, the editing courses create a narrative that takes too long in developing its main characters, result in a style that is more distracting than clever.

The film opens with a brief scene with main characters Shy (Orlando Bloom, ELIZABETHTOWN) and Andrea (Zoe Saldana, THE TERMINAL) in an embrace in the ocean. Then we jump to the tale of corrupt businessman Carl Ripley (Bill Paxton, FRALITY), who must flee to the Caymens with his daughter Pippa (Agnes Bruckner, BLUE CAR), who is furious that they are moving again. She meets local small time hustler Fritz (Victor Rasuk, RAISING VICTOR VARGAS), who takes her to a party at the house of thug Richie Rich (Razaaq Adoti, BLACK HAWK DOWN), who Fritz owes money to. After Pippa and Fritz’s story comes to a climax, we move back to Shy’s story and learn that he works for Andrea’s rich father (Robert Wisdom, STORYTELLING), who doesn’t approve of her relationship with the older white boy. So does her brother Hammer (Anthony Mackie, MILLION DOLLAR BABY) who hangs with Richie Rich and thinks of himself as a gangster.

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Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival twice for their effortlessly natural dramas. I loved their ROSETTA and THE SON and nothing has changed with L’ENFANT. They are filmmakers in which I look forward to their next production. Similar to their previous Cannes winner, ROSETTA, L’ENFANT chronicles poor young adults as they try to find ways to survive.

Bruno (Jeremie Renier, BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF) is a street hustler who has just had a baby with his girlfriend Sonia (Deborah Francois). We watch as Sonia finds out that Bruno has subletted her apartment for a few nights and that they will have to spend the first night with the baby at the shelter. Bruno and Sonia are clearly in love, but they are still children themselves, often goofing off like kids and acting recklessly and impulsively. Bruno has younger kids steal for him to make money. When Sonia thinks she can get him a handyman job, he says regular work is for losers. While the baby seems to bring Sonia closer to Bruno, he looks at the child as just a burden and makes the decision on his own to sell the child. When Sonia finds out, Bruno sets out to bring back their son.

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The rash of recent horror remakes has failed to produce anything of quality. Though it may be the best of the recent remakes, THE OMEN redux still begs the question — why do it in the first place if there isn’t anything new to say with the story?

The plot, which is nearly identical to the original, finds U.S. deputy ambassador to Italy Robert Thorn (Liev Schreiber, SCREAM) accepting a proposition from a mysterious priest to replace his dead newborn with an orphaned boy without telling his wife Katherine (Julia Stiles, MONA LISA SMILE). Soon after the ambassador is made the new ambassador to England, he dies in a tragic accident, making Robert the youngest ambassador ever. As their son Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick) grows up, Katherine begins to notice that he isn’t like other children. Then following their nanny committing suicide at Damien’s birthday party, Mrs. Baylock (Mia Farrow, ROSEMARY’S BABY) comes to work for the Thorns, seeming to be able to connect with the boy more so than his mother, who begins to slip into a deep depression. In the meantime, Father Brennan (Pete Postlethwaite, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER) comes to visit Robert and warns him that his son is the anti-Christ. Later, a photographer Keith Jennings (David Thewlis, HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN) shows Robert some photographic proof that something strange is really going on.

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Hsiao-hsien Hou is a Taiwanese director whose work has been celebrated at festivals all around the world, but has had little exposure inside the U.S. The Weinstein Company’s release of THREE TIMES marks the first time one of his films has been released theatrically in the States. We have been missing out.

This anthology film tells three tales set in three different years — 1966, 1911 and 2005. The first tale titled “A Time for Love” follows as a young soldier named Chen (Chen Chang, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON) meets a pretty pool hall hostess named May (Qi Shu, THE TRANSPORTER) the night before he is to go off to base. Quietly as they play pool, we notice them sneak glances at each other and at the end of the night Chen promises to write. However, when he returns on leave, he discovers that May has moved on to a new job. The sequence has little dialogue; this story of love is told via actions and reactions. It’s quiet and beautiful.

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It has taken me some time to get to the work of Yasujiro Ozu, one of the most lauded filmmakers of all time. His TOKYO STORY appears on many best of all time lists. His style was completely original in its time and influences can be seen in many current Asian filmmakers’ work as well as Jonathan Demme.

Leisurely the story begins establishing the small Japanese fishing village setting. A traveling kabuki troupe arrives in town, which is going through a heat streak. Soon troupe leader Komajuro (Ganjiro Nakamura, KWAIDAN) emerges as our central character. The beginning reminded me of how in a Robert Altman film we take peeks into the lives of various characters. Turns out that Komajuro had an affair with teahouse worker Oyoshi (Haruko Sugimura, RED BEARD) and their son Kiyoshi (Hiroshi Kawaguchi, THE GREAT WALL) believes that his father is his uncle, who he hasn’t seen in 12 years. When the troupe’s lead actress and Komajuro’s mistress, Sumiko (Machiko Kyo, UGETSU), finds out, she is furious and plots to have pretty young actress Kayo (Ayako Wakao, AN ACTOR’S REVENGE) seduce Kiyoshi.

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I kind of suspected this to be bad going in, but I was surprised that it was bad for reasons that I didn’t think of. This really isn’t a self-contained feature film, but a TV pilot for a bad BUFFY rip-off. Worst line ever contender would have to be — I’m gonna make you my weotch. Sebastian Stan needs to find a new agent.

The story goes as follows: the first born male descendents of the Ipswich colony in Massachusetts begin to develop magical “witch-like” powers when they turn 13, growing in strength until they ascend to full strength at the moment they turn 18. I like how supernatural forces are kind enough to adhere to arbitrary society constructed distinctions of when someone becomes an adult. It makes full strength weotches perfect for military recruitment, but I digress. However, there is a problem — if one uses their powers too much they will become addicted and their body will rapidly age.

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How can a movie with so little conflict be so compelling? How can a movie whose target audience is preschoolers be so captivating to adults? How can an animated movie that amounts to a slice of life story become one of the most beloved family films on the planet? The short answer to all these questions is director Hayao Miyazaki.

The story is simple — two young girls — Satsuki and 4-year-old Mei — arrive at their new home with their father. Their mother is ill and has been moved to a hospital close by. Upon their arrival at their new home, the girls excitedly investigate every nook and cranny, discovering dust sprites living in the dark rooms. The little balls of fuzz are far more scared of the little girls then the girls are of them. As the family settles in, they meet their elderly neighbor Nanny and Satsuki’s classmate Kanta, who is embarrassed to have little girls move in next door. When Satsuki goes off to school, Mei wonders into the forest and meets the giant magical creature called Totoro.

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