Cinema Directory

Summary: Noora, who lives in a small coastal community, finds a seal cub abandoned by its mother. Because of a group of German hunters, she has to hide the seal, which she has named Zelters. A mysterious parcel is thrown off a ship, and menacing summer guests commence a frantic chase for this parcel. This is a thriller for children, made by director Arne Lindtner Næss, who also directed the four Junior Olsen Gang films, and Finding Friends (2005).

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1 EX; English, Dolby Digital 6.1 EX; English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Comments: A star is... created.

Summary: A producer's film is endangered when his star walks off, so he decides to digitally create an actress to substitute for the star, becoming an overnight sensation that everyone thinks is a real person.

Summary: Sabine lives in an orphanage after she lost parents in a car accident. When one of her favourite caretaker there must quit due to pregnancy, Sabine runs away in frustration and wanders around Berlin, looking for some signs of hope in the world. On this journey through human life, she finds answers to many of her questions and in the end can return without anger to her home.

Languages: English

Summary: The adventures of the girls in the saddle club.

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Comments: A powerful story intertwining the lives of four neighboring families as they struggle to understand each other and, ultimately, themselves.

Summary: The Safety of Objects (Rose Troche, 2001)
The first thing you're going to notice about this brilliant, completely overlooked littke gem is the quality of the cast. I mean, we're talking major starpower here, and Troche blended them together to achieve something close to perfection. The story centers on four star-studded suburban families, a mysterious auto accident, and a contest that involves keeping your hand on a car longer than anyone else. Oh, and it was all written by the sick, twisted, brilliant novelist A. M. Homes. How could you possibly go wrong?
The Golds-- mother Esther (Glenn Close, giving a career-best Brandoesque performance),father Howard (Robert Klein), daughter Julie (Election's delicious chanteuse Jessica Campbell), and son Paul (Dawson's Creek alum Joshua Jackson)-- are the cornerstone of the piece. Paul was a victim of the car accident, and now spends his life in a coma. His mother dotes on him, his father can't bear to look at him, and his sister, well, she's a completely different story. Their next door neighbors are the Jennings. Mom (indie darling Patricia Clarkson, who is never less than great) is still perilously close to the edge a year after her husband (TV staple Andrew Airlie) left, raising a delinquent (Panic Room's Kristen Stewart) and a girl (Haylee Wanstall, recently found in Sugar) who is in some way mentally challenged; it's never said, but it looks like autism. Also involved are the Trains-- father Jim (Dermot Mulroney), mother Susan (Moira Kelly), and their two kids, and the Christensens, notably mom Helen (Mary Kay Place). All the moms want to sleep with the gardener (Timothy Olyphant). Okay, can you see the starpower radiating yet?
As with most of Homes' work, the idea here is that modern suburbia is weird. Very, very weird. Little, normal incidents grow into crises of insane proportions. Assumptions are pushed to their logical conclusions and coincide with completely irrational behavior, so that everything looks normal when it is anything but. And eventually, of course, it all begins to break down. Troche keeps the viewer's interest by being extremely coy about the details surrounding the car accident that sets everything in the story into motion, revealing piece by piece in flashback what it is that everyone's hiding, or guilty about, or sick of seeing over and over again in their heads. Meanwhile, present-day life is going on, and it's just as strange. Eventually, it all makes sense, but you have so much fun getting there that by the end, you wouldn't be terribly peeved had some of the pieces never fallen into place.
This is fantastic stuff. Very highly recommended. And watch for Jessica Campbell, the girl is going places fast. **** ½

Summary: The story is set in Afghanistan – during the Tabilan years. It starts with two children – an elder boy and younger girl – who are shown as rag-pickers – rescuing a stray dog – from chasing kids who want to torch the dog to fire in a cave hole. Immediately after the first scene one gets to know the huge cinematic backdrop the visuals are providing. Rough and sandy terrain of Afghanistan is brilliantly captured by the director.

The mother of these children is imprisoned by the authorities (due to language constraint I could not understand why) and every evening these children get access to go into the prison to sleep with their mother. But due to change of policy – the guards do not allow the children to go into the prison.

The children try desperately to get access to go and meet and sleep with their mother – they beg, cry, and even get angry and throw stones at the guard. But un-successful in all their attempts – they try to steal something – thinking that their stealing would lead them to being caught and land them up in the prison.

In their quest we are exposed to the nearly tribal culture of male dominated aggressive Afghanistan culture. The dog fight scenes, the robbing of the cows head by the children, the stealing of vegetable bag of a lady etc. are pictured poignantly. One feels sorry for the boys – because in all their attempts they are caught – smacked a little and set off free.

But the cruel culture of Afghanistan in the back-drop leaves the audience's stomach churning with disgust. This lead to one female audience leaving the movie hall in mid-way, giving away sighs of anguish on the incredible harsh images shown of Afghan cultural life.

At one point of time, the children are inspired to see a movie "The Bicycle Thieves" and after seeing the movie the elder boy tries to steal a bicycle and is caught by the police. And at that time – we as audience feel a sigh of relief – that at last their mission is over. But not yet! The elder son is taken by the police to a different prison from where the mother is kept. The young child the girl is left on the miserable streets alone. The girl tries to chase the police van that carries her brother – but she is too small and young to run and keep pace with the vehicle.

The movie ends up with mother crying in one prison, her elder son crying to go back outside to take care of his sister and the young sister sitting outside the mother's prison alone.

Languages: English

Summary: A young girl's desire to be an angel teaches her life lessons in SAINT MONICA. When Monica loses her part as an angel in a parade, she takes matters into her own small hands by stealing the most important part of the angel costume: the wings. When she loses them, her search takes her to a homeless woman who has spiritual aspirations of her own.

Summary: Charles (Charles Vanel) is a 100-year-old perfume magnate who decides to marry the equally ancient Emmanuelle (Denis Grey) in the French sex comedy. Company executives and family members scramble for position in the wake of the surprising announcement.

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Summary: Kindhearted Samantha Parkington's world starts to change the day Nellie O'Malley walks into her life. Nellie, her father, and her two little sisters have moved in next door to be servants for the Ryland family. Though they come from completely different backgrounds, Samantha and Nellie become fast friends. The girls turn to each other in happiness and sorrow, adventure and danger, and grow to be as close as even two sisters could be. But nothing could prepare them for the life-altering surprises that lie ahead!

Summary: When Lazar (Lazar Ristovski) comes home to reclaim his mother's house in a desolate town outside Belgrade, he finds Jasna (Jasna Zalica) and her 12-year-old autistic daughter, Jovana (Jovana Mitic), squatting there. It emerges that he had deserted from the Serbian army, sickened by the atrocities his unit was ordered to commit against civilians.

He turns to alcohol and accidentally kills his best friend in a drunken fight. His return home is after a ten year jail sentence. Although his initial inclination is to throw Jasna and Jovana out of the house, a tentative friendship soon emerges.

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Commentary by director David W. Evans, Unknown

Summary: In the 12-years-since comedic sequel to 1993's The Sandlot, a new group of kids have moved into the sandlot: David Durango (Max Lloyd-Jones), Mac McKing (Brett Kelly), Saul (Cole Evan Weiss), his deaf brother Sammy "Fingers" (Sean Berdy), Tarquell (Neilen Benvegnu), Scotty's younger brother Johnnie Smalls (James Willson), and a surprise for The Sandlot 2, a girl in the group Hayley Goodfarier (Samantha Burton). When Johnnie mistakenly sends a model rocket over the junk fence in The Great Fear's yard, the gang must retrieve it. Even with the help of The Retriever (Griffin Reilly Evans, the director's son), a kid who steals dog tags and finds The Great Fear's a challenge. Yes, complete with another psychotic name-calling scene with Mac and little league captain Singleton (Reece Thompson). And, of course, with James Earl Jones as Mr. Mertle.

Comments: Allting är som vanligt, men inget är som förr. Sommarlovet är över och Nora börjar sexan...

Summary: The holidays are over and Nora is starting in a new class. She is 12 years old and is in the uncertain borderland between childhood and the teenage world. Karin, who is different from the other girls, stands on the sidelines. She is harassed by the trendy pair Fanny and Sabina, and even by Nora. Nora is drawn into a spiral of intrigue and secrecy and finds it more and more difficult to choose... The action is set in the city and the film is about today’s young teenagers, their friendships and rivalries, and about alienation and the price of friendship.

Comments: Santa Claus is coming to town, November 1

Summary: Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) has been Santa Claus for the past eight years, and his loyal elves consider him the best Santa ever. But Santa's got problems (he's even mysteriously losing weight) and things quickly go south when he finds out that his son, Charlie, has landed on this year's "naughty" list. Desperate to help his son, Scott heads back home, leaving a substitute Claus to watch over things at the Pole. But when the substitute institutes some strange redefinitions of naughty and nice, putting Christmas at risk, it's up to Scott to return with a new bag of magic to try to save Christmas.

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1; French, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Spanish, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Comments: His time at the North Pole is about to go South.

Summary: Santa (Allen), aka Scott Calvin, is faced with double-duty: how to keep his new family happy, and how to stop Jack Frost from taking over Christmas.

Summary: The forty-something Leon who used to be with special forces is now an alcoholic after his wife left him. He gets a call to meet a mobster who's looking for a bodyguard. When he arrives the mobster refuses to hire him because he can tell he's an alcoholic, but when he saves his life a few minutes later, the gangster is very appreciative and gives Leon the job. He's not hired to protect the gangster, but the gangster's 16-year-old daughter, Sara. At first she is annoyed by him and is rebellious and won't cooperate with him, but when he saves her life and takes a bullet for her, she falls in love with him. She makes advances towards him telling him she wants him to be her man. Naturally he refuses her at first because he knows her father would kill him. Eventually he gives in and they become secret lovers. They're in love but how long can they continue their relationship before her father finds out? And what will he do when he finds out?

Languages: English

Comments: What will happen between midnight and 1 AM?

Summary: While visiting her childhood friends grandmother 17 year old sarah landon finds herself in the middle of a haunting mystery involving two brothers the local psychic & an evil spirit. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 09/09/2008 Run time: 80 minutes Rating: Pg

Comments: Yes, Sarah drinks. Drinks as though she has to, no matter what happens. Big trouble for anybody. And little Sarah is only 15.

Summary: Finding herself unable to cope with the divorce of her parents and the stress of daily life, 15-year-old Sarah Travis (Linda Blair) starts drinking in secret. At first, alcohol provides comfort and release. Then it sends her life spiraling out of control.

Summary: Documentary about 11-year-old Lancashire schoolgirl Sasha Bennington and her dreams of becoming a model.

Her ambitious mum Jayne and dad Martin have instilled in her that looks and money are the most important things in life and Jayne is actively helping her daughter on the road to stardom. After a model casting and TV appearance, Jayne takes Sasha and her younger brother Max to Dallas to become the first British kids to take part in a kids' beauty pageant.

Summary: Produced in 1982, "Savannah Smiles" tells the story of Savannah, a girl of privilege who runs away from home. She ends up in the company of Boots and Alvie, two ex-convicts on the run. This bumbling duo soon realizes who Savannah is and that a large reward has been offered for her return. They try to give her back, but instead of the parents being grateful, they accuse the two of kidnapping. Boots and Alvie have no choice but to go underground with Savannah, and the three soon become a family whose days are filled with kite flying, home-cooked meals, bedtime stories, and a puppy. But Boots and Alvie know in their hearts they must do the right thing and return Savannah to her parents. For its time, this is a sweet movie filled with innocence and fun. However, in a time when children are told never to go off with strangers, it is hard to justify a movie that glorifies that very thing, no matter how goodhearted the two felons are. (Ages 6 and older) "--Peggy Maltby-Etra"

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Summary: Can bad people be rehabilitated, or are some people just inherently bad? Should a person follow his head or his heart? Young Marty Preston (Jason Dolley) wrestles with these issues when dealing with his surly neighbor Judd Travers (Scott Wilson): a man that the entire community distrusts and who once seriously abused Marty's dog Shiloh. Etiquette requires that Marty be civil and even neighborly with Judd, but Shiloh refuses to even cross the bridge to Judd's property. When Judd has an automobile accident while driving drunk and then a dead body shows up in the woods, rumors run wild in town and Judd becomes the townsfolk's prime murder suspect. Even while Marty and his friend launch their own private investigation of Judd, Marty considers whether Judd may have really changed for the better and his compassion for Judd's chained dogs leads him to offer to help set up a fence at Judd's place. Judd and Marty become almost friendly with one another, but the results of the boys' investigation combined with a freak accident involving Marty's sister will ultimately test Marty's newfound faith in his neighbor to the extreme. Young audience members will find this sequel to "Shiloh" less disturbing than the original thanks to a toning down of both Judd's attitude and his abusive behavior toward his dogs. (Ages 5 and older) "--Tami Horiuchi"

Summary: Comedy about a young boy who is brought up by the domineering women in the slightly crazy Palazzi family.

Summary: This is one of the most disturbing yet accurate portrayals of child sexual abuse that I have ever seen. It underlines how much the child victim is psychologically at the mercy of the perpetrator, and how indelible are the scars of guilt and shame which the abuse creates. It left me shaking. If your standard of TV drama is the ABC Disease-of-the-Month weepie, then see this German made-for-TV movie (broadcast as OUTRAGE on French-language TV in Ontario) and learn how it ought to be done. There are no happy endings or trite plot resolutions. The characters, even the sympathetic ones, are flawed, self-absorbed. The performance by child actress Stephanie Charlotta Koetz as the abused child Bernice is quite overwhelming. Don't miss it if you get a chance.

Summary: A peaceful family-life is suddenly disturbed when the children enter puberty. The children take over the house and ban their parents from their lives.

Summary: Shadows of Time is set in the Jute mills of West Bengal where children used to be employed and exploited. The struggles of an ambitious Ravi, the protagonist, who saves money to get out of the system, how he realizes his ambitions and how he retains his humane nature in spite of his environment, forms the basis for an epic love story.

Summary: The film is based on the short story Butterflies by Ian McEwan. A little girl has drowned in a nearby canal. A 19-year-old man, who lives in the same inner-city neighborhood, is the sole witness. Although he has made a statement to the police of everything he saw, the father of the little girl wants to talk to him today. The young man still has a few hours before the meeting, and lots of time to kill on this dreary Saturday. The events of the past days spring forth in his memory.

Summary: In this German ghost story, a mischievous little girl swaps places with a ghost, and enjoys stirring up trouble in ghostly form. But when she wants to switch back, the snotty and ungrateful ghost won't cooperate.

Comments: In every child there is a doubt...

Summary: The story is about a young boy that frequently has to move from country to country. He only knows that his parents' profession has something to do with micro biology. After eavesdropping on them he is convinced that they are aliens from another planet. Or is this just childish imagination?

Summary: A sprawling Italian city of our times. The “unknown woman” is Irena. She had come to Italy many years before from the Ukraine, and today lives amidst ghosts of the past and a search for the present: two planes of time that interweave, superimpose, and make up an intriguing puzzle, a taut high-tension narrative. Who is Irena truly?

Languages: English

Summary: A fading New England fishing town is the setting of this gentle fable in which teen swimmer Amanda, troubled by her father's absence, skips school with some mild vandalism in mind but winds up saving a man who has jumped into the river. The man ("Cocoon"'s Hume Cronyn) was actually just out for a swim, as he and his wife (Joan Gregson) are sea people--the politically correct term for mermaids. Amanda (Tegan Moss) gets drawn into the elderly couple's quest for colder water, enlisting the help of a schoolmate (Shawn Roberts) with a fishing boat and a little sea people history of his own. Director Vic Sarin wisely chose to forgo special effects in this charming fantasy-drama that premiered on Showtime, letting his excellent cast do the work of convincing the audience instead. The intelligent script by Wendy Biller and Christopher Hawthorne manages to avoid both over sentimentality and cynicism. The result is an old-fashioned tale inhabited by thoroughly modern teens. Although appropriate for any age, this 90-minute movie will most intrigue ages 7 and up. "--Kimberly Heinrichs"

Summary:

Comments: A Story Of Understanding, Giving, And Love... Everyone Needs A Second Chance.

Summary: After losing her father in a devastating car crash, young Sunny Matthews becomes deeply withdrawn. This is the uplifting story of her journey back to happiness.

Summary: Catherine, a rebellious pre-teen who has been deeply affected by her parents’ divorce, plays a game which involves crossing a dangerous road with her eyes closed. She becomes friends with the girl next door, the quiet Ariane, to the consternation of Ariane’s father, David. Although he appears to be a model father, David is in fact obsessed by the need to protect his daughter. As such, he tries – unsuccessfully – to prevent Ariane from coming under Catherine’s bad influence. Ariane takes up smoking, starts telling lies, and begins to explore her sexuality. While Catherine’s mother attempts to seduce the handsome, and single, David, he sets a trap for Catherine. For Catherine, living dangerously is no longer a game, and she has to summon all her strengths in order to survive.

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Summary: After her parents die, Mary Lennox is sent to live in her embittered Uncle`s sad and gloomy house on the Yorkshire moors. Left in the care of the servants, the arrogant child soon befriends the maid`s brother Dickon and her bedridden cousin Colin, and the three of them find new happiness in an overgrown hidden garden which weaves its magic on all who enter its walls. It is a touching tale of self-reliance, newfound laughter and innocent faith.

This BBC production was originally broadcast between 1st January and 12th February 1975.

Languages: German, English, Spanish, Czech, Hungarian

Comments: The timeless tale of a special place where magic, hope and love grow.

Summary: Filmed before (and quite nicely) in 1949, Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic children's story was remade for this admirable 1993 release, executive produced by Francis Ford Coppola and directed by acclaimed Polish filmmaker Agnieszka Holland. Splendidly adapted by "Edward Scissorhands" screenwriter Caroline Thompson, the film opens in India during the early 1900s, when young Mary Lennox (Kate Maberly) is orphaned and sent to England to live in Misselthwaite Manor, the gloomy estate of her brooding and melancholy uncle, Lord Craven (John Lynch). Because the uncle is almost always away on travels, struggling to forget the death of his beloved wife, Mary is left mostly alone to explore the estate. Eventually she befriends the young brother of a staff maid and Lord Craven's apparently crippled son, who has been needlessly bedridden for years. Together the three children restore a neglected garden on the estate grounds, and in doing so they set the stage for a moving reaffirmation of life and love. Filmed with graceful style and careful attention to the intelligence and cleverness of young children, "The Secret Garden" is that rarest breed of family film that transcends its own generic category, encouraging a sense of wonder and optimism to become a rewarding experience for viewers of any age. "--Jeff Shannon"

Comments: Bring Your Girlfriends, Sisters, Mothers and Daughters

Summary: set in South Carolina in 1964, this is the tale of Lily Owens a 14 year-old girl who is haunted by the memory of her late mother. To escape her lonely life and troubled relationship with her father, Lily flees with Rosaleen, her caregiver and only friend, to a South Carolina town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters, Lily finds solace in their mesmerizing world of beekeeping.

Comments: "It's a secret"

Summary: When Scott moves to a new house opposite the mysterious Eel Island, he cannot wait to explore. Once home to the secretive Eel Catchers, the island is now apparently deserted, although rumours abound of the ghost of a little girl who guards its shores. But Scott discovers the last inhabitant of Eel Island is no ghost when he comes face to face with eight year old Sapphire, a fiercely free spirit, quite unlike anyone he has ever met.Together, in a world hidden from adults, they will share many adventures as they fight to protect the Secret of Eel Island.

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Commentary by director John Sayles, Unknown

Comments: The secret's out!

Summary: 10-year-old Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents in a small fishing village in Donegal, Ireland. She soon learns the local legend that an ancestor of hers married a Selkie - a seal who can turn into a human. Years earlier, her baby brother washed out to sea in a cradle shaped like a boat; someone in the family believes the boy is being raised by the seals. Then Fiona catches sight of a naked little boy on the abandoned Isle of Roan Inish and takes an active role in uncovering The Secret of Roan Inish. Written by John Oswalt.

Summary: A young American boy spends his summer in Ireland and solves the mystery that captivates the entire village. Driven by curiosity and his own search for meaning in life, he faces his fears and discovers the Secret of the Cave.

Summary: The young daughter of an abusive grandfather finds happiness when she is with an older black couple. Her mother tries to overcome the family's problems, but is constantly beat back by her controlling father.

Summary: After returning to Catania after a long period of time, Giuseppe (Ronet) reunites with his old lover, Caterina (Gastoni). Her 15 year-old daughter, Graziella (Tamburi) begins to seduce her mother's lover and he soon breaks down and begins an affair with her. As time passes Caterina begins having sneaking suspicions about Giuseppe's & Graziella's relationship.

Summary: Sam Seed, an insane mass murderer, is scheduled for execution at the hands of Warden Wright. Before the executioner throws the switch, Wright steps in front of Seed, "Do you have any last words?" Seed, " I'll see you again." After three attempts to electrocute, complete with boiling blood that steeps from his eyes, he's still alive. The executioner, Wright & the doctor collectively agree, that the breathing Seed be pronounced dead. He is bound and buried alive. After biting & clawing his way to the surface, Seed, the blood soaked, enraged madman, is now bent on vengeance. The reign of violence that follows will redefine the boundaries of extreme gore, physical & mental torture explored through cinema.

Languages: Deutsch

Summary: Die zwölfjährige Milla Christiansen zieht mit ihrer Mutter auf eine ostfriesische Insel. Während die Erwartungen an die neue Kurdirektorin enorm hoch sind und Maren Christiansen voll einspannen, erkundet Milla ihr neues Zuhause. Dabei entdeckt sie eine Seehundstation, in der elternlose Heuler aufgepäppelt werden. Die Tierschützer haben große finanzielle Probleme, die dem einheimischen Krabbenfischer Hajo Ehlers äußerst gelegen kommen: Er möchte auf dem Gelände ein Casino bauen.

Summary: In the school of Don Mati a musical aid becomes and the winner will go to the Disneyland. The second prize consists of a sum of money. Don Atilio returns to put in problems to the school and Parchis will donate its prize to obtain the money and to help with this Don Mati. Despite Parchis one insists on again obtaining the money sufficient to make the trip, so they are enlisted in different adventures besides to constantly threaten Don Atilio to that they wish to return to win. Finally they obtain it and with the money of the Atilio evildoer they so obtain his longed for trip to the Disneyland.

Summary: A film for the whole family about two sisters, 9 and 11, both with a vivid imagination, who spend their summer vacation away from their parents for the first time. The girls are to stay with two eccentric, elderly relatives who live on a run-down farm far out in the country. Nothing could be further from the two girls' way of life, so the mood at the farm is at an all time low. But despite their differences, the two parties grow on each other and their summer holiday becomes a memorable experience.

Languages: Spanish

Comments: Treinta años de odio. Un domingo de sangre. (Thirty years of hatred. One bloody Sunday)

Summary: Isabel Jimenez is a teenager witnessing a horrible feud between her own family and the Fuentes family, a fued involving broken hearts, property disputes and a mysterious fire that destroyed the Fuentes house. Isabel's uncle is murdered by Jeronimo Fuentes, who later tries to stab her father. After Jeronimo dies in jail, Isabel must look outside of her family for the truth, learning from the village idiot that her father may have set fire to the Fuentes home.

Summary: A dog who was named after the Beatles album, inherits his master's fortune. His owner's two children, however, devise a plan to make off with his wealth.

Comments: When you're fifteen, being in love is more than just...

Summary: A student invites her runaway friend to move into her house while her father is away only to find that the platonic arrangement crimps her budding relationship with a swellheaded high-school hero. An unusual and refreshing "teenpix" comedy that subverts many of that subgenre's conventions: the heroine is bright and ambitious, the absence of a parent doesn't result in kegger parties, and the big man on campus doesn't necessarily save the day. Winner of an award for Special Recognition in the Genre of Youth Comedy at the Sundance Film Festival.

Summary: Georgie 12, is growing up in Sydney’s Western suburbs in the 1970’s. She’s a tomboy, creative, and a dreamer; but always lives just outside herself and never quite in the present. She creates a magical underwater world to escape paternal abuse, and dreams of sharing this magical world, and the secret beneath it, with her best friend, Lisa. Lisa is in many ways Georgie’s opposite: quieter, girlish, at home in her world; but she realizes that Georgie is hiding some silent hurt, and is willing to do anything for her.

Summary: A two-hour CBC Big Ticket film-for-television which tells the inspiring rags-to-riches story of one Canada's most beloved and successful female artists of all time featuring Meredith Henderson (The Adventures of Shirley Holmes, MythQuest) starring in the lead role of megastar Shania Twain.

SHANIA depicts the superstar's early years and her struggle for stardom. The drama takes viewers on a compelling journey spanning two decades, beginning in 1973 with a gangly eight-year-old known as Elly (Reva Timbers) belting out songs in Northern Ontario bars for tips, continuing with a determined teenager (Shenae Grimes) making her own way to Toronto for an appearance on The Tommy Hunter Show, to an under-age teen (Meredith Henderson) dragging a Sudbury bar band into the limelight. SHANIA then follows Eilleen Twain to Nashville where she finds a cut-throat industry wanting only her voice - not her music. Finally, we see Eilleen on the cusp of transforming into one of the world's most celebrated stars when she gets a fateful call from renowned music producer Mutt Lange.

The film also features Megan Follows as Shania's mother Sharon Twain; Eric Schweig as her adoptive father Jerry; Darrell Dennis as one of her early mentors, symphony conductor John Kim Bell and Gordon Tootoosis as her beloved grandfather, who introduces her to the richness of First Nations' music, traditions and ceremony.

Languages: English, French

Comments: She'll fight like a tigress to save the land she loves...

Summary: Worth it for Tanya's 2 bathing scenes. I knew the girl had talent.

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0

Comments: No one makes it alone.

Summary: Three years after entering prison for robbery as a 19-year-old heroin addict, Sherry Swanson (Maggie Gyllenhaal) begins her first day of freedom, clean and sober. A model prisoner who has undergone personal transformation, she immediately sets out to regain custody of her young daughter Alexis (Ryan Simpkins), who has been cared for in her absence by her brother Bobby (Brad Henke) and his wife Lynn (Bridget Barkan).

Unprepared for the demands of the world she's stepped back into, Sherry's hopes of staying clean, getting a job, and becoming a responsible mother are challenged by the realities of unemployment, halfway houses, and parole restrictions. Bobby and Lynn's concerns about Sherry's ability to care for Alexis, and her inability to prove them wrong, threaten to destroy the already delicate relationship she has with her daughter, as well as her newfound sobriety.

Disillusioned and haunted by wounds from her childhood, Sherry is eventually confronted with life-altering questions about her own survival and what it means to be a good mother. Ultimately she learns that as the harsh realities of life often get in the way of her best intentions, sometimes it's best to take life one small step at a time.

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Summary: When a mistreated beagle pup follows 11-year-old Marty Preston (Blake Heron) home one day, it sparks a passion in the boy that leads him into a web of moral and emotional turmoil. Marty knows the dog belongs to his irascible neighbor, Judd Travers (a spittin' mean performance by Scott Wilson); he also knows Judd breaks local gaming laws and abuses his hounds. But Marty's father (Michael Moriarty) is a stickler for the first rule of pet ownership: he who owns the pet rules the pet. Marty seeks advice from the wise Doc Wallace (Rod Steiger), who tells the boy about his own struggle to claim legal guardianship over his granddaughter following her parents' death. The story inspires Marty to fight for the creature he has come to love. With a believable blend of nerve, conviction, and a hint of fear, Marty works every angle to beg, buy, or (finally) strike a trade with Travers to save Shiloh. While its pace runs a bit slow, the film provides a thoughtful lesson in weighing right and wrong and should appeal to families with children under 12. Based on the Newbery Award-winning book "Shiloh", by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. "--Liane Thomas"

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

Summary: The adventures of a boy and his beagle continue in this sequel to 1997's Shiloh. Marty Preston (Zachary Browne, replacing Blake Heron, who played the role in the first film) is a well-meaning 12-year-old who adopts Shiloh, a beagle who was treated cruelly by his first master, a bitter alcoholic named Judd (Scott Wilson). However, when Judd is hurt in an auto accident, Marty realizes Judd may have lost one of the only friends he had, even if he did mistreat Shiloh. With help from his parents (Michael Moriarty and Ann Dowd), Marty tries to help Judd get back on his feet both physically and emotionally. Rod Steiger also joins the cast returning from the first film as the crusty but lovable Doc Wallace.

Comments: The Shiralee. A love story.

Summary:

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 1.0

Summary: A fifteen year marraige dissolves, leaving both the husband and wife, and their four children, devastated. He's preoccupied with a career and a mistress, she with a career and caring for four young children. While they attempt to go their separate ways, jealousy and bitterness reconnect them.

Summary: Just a normal afternoon with a couple of con artists, Izzy (a 10-year-old girl) and Prince (her 5-year old brother).

Summary: Two long-separated childhood friends, a 14-year-old boy and girl, are reunited at summer camp. There, they begin to fall in love with one another and assume the responsibilities of adulthood. However, their budding romance is largely thwarted by the camp's strict rules prohibiting contact between boy and girl campers. They suffer further reverses when another girl with a crush on the boy writes an accusatory letter about the girl. Meanwhile, the camp is attempting to put together a production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. With pluck, determination and good cheer, things turn out well for the kids.

Summary: French:

Claire, onze ans, porte en elle un lourd secret. Mais ni son papa, ni personne d'autre ne le saura jamais. Sauf peut-être Éric, son copain de jeu, qui n'a pas peur de tonton Étienne.

English:

Claire,11 years old, bears a heavy secret. But neither her dad, nor anybody else must ever know. Except maybye Eric, her playmate, who is not afraid of Uncle Etienne…

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1

Comments: Enjoy your stay.

Summary: Sharon is a little girl who sleepwalks and has seizures; lately they've been getting worse. She keeps mentioning the same thing in her trances: Silent Hill. Over the protests of her husband, Sharon's mother (Rose) flees with her child. She ends up driving and crashes. She wakes up in the eerie and deserted town of Silent Hill. Sharon is gone. It's soon clear the town is not like any place she's ever been. It's inhabited by a variety of creatures and a living darkness that descends and literally transforms everything it touches. The human inhabitants - the ones who are left - are trapped and fighting a losing battle against the Darkness. Joined by a cop named Cybil, who was pulled in with her, Rose searches for her little girl while learning the history of Silent Hill.

Summary: This is a good short movie, a sort of thriller that messes with your mind and in the end you're not exactly sure what went on. It is basically about a young German girl going for a school trip. On the trip she tells her classmates that their reality is nothing more than her dream and she can control what goes on. When the children do not believe her, she makes one of the kids disappear, and then tells them that a the bus they are riding in will be in a accident shortly.

The story isn't straightforward and in the end the events aren't exactly clear, but it is still very atmospheric and even a bit frightening. -- IMDb

Summary: The first teenager love between two high school girls.

Summary: Through a series of twenty six short stories, a girl describes the childhood events that shaped her ideas about fatherhood, family relations, work and play. As the stories unfold, a dual portrait emerges: that of a father who cared more for his career than for his family, and of a daughter who was deeply affected by his behavior. Working in counterpoint to the forceful text are sensual black and white images that depict both the extraordinary and ordinary events of daily life. Together, they create a formally complex and emotionally intense film.

Comments: Crossing the bridge between cultures begins with a step.

Summary: AKA: Love and Dance
Chen, a young kid, is battling a cultural conflict between his Russian born mother and Israeli father. She is cultured and used to the finer things in life, including theater and fine dining. He is gruff on the outside but sweet on the inside - a Sabra; and looking to make his young son a man rather than the wimp his mother is raising. One day, Chen stumbles upon a ballroom dance class for young people and sees Natalie, a stunning Russian young girl he falls in love with immediately. His interest in Natalie leads him to taking ballroom dancing and to ultimately bridging the cultural divide of his own family - through the Cha Cha and the Tango. The teachers are a pair of former Russian world champions who never quite fulfilled their potential, but find themselves battling their demons through the instructions of the kids.

Comments: Laugh. Cry. Share the pants.

Summary: The movie is based on the young adult book, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, by Anne Brashares. As four best friends spend their first summer apart from one another, they share a magical pair of jeans. Despite being of various shapes and sizes, each one of them fits perfectly into the pants. To keep in touch they pass these pants to each other as well as the adventures they are going through while apart.

Comments: Before they stormed the city...they conquered the playground.

Summary: It’s another day in the city – their city, that is – the playground. Carrie has a problem. Small wants her to kiss him. For advice she turns to the expert on the matter, Samantha. But Samantha has a problem of her own. Her regular seesaw partner has started playing with another girl, and Samantha wants to show him a lesson. Meanwhile, Miranda is trying to make her mark on the boys’ soccer team. But it’s hard to do when your only available teammate is Charlotte – who doesn’t want to discuss boys, much less get her dress dirty.

While Samantha solves her problem with jalapeños, Carrie practices her skill, but decides, like her older counterpart, to take control of her own destiny instead of doing what a boy wants. And Charlotte finally gets a bit dirty, while Miranda learns that hanging out with girls isn’t so bad after all.

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1; English, DTS

Comments: This is Samantha Baker and today is her 16th birthday. The problem is, nobody remembers.

Summary: Samantha's life is going downhill fast. The fifteen-year-old has a crush on the most popular boy in school, and the geekiest boy in school has a crush on her. Her sister's getting married, and with all the excitement the rest of her family forgets her birthday! Add all this to a pair of horrendously embarrassing grandparents, a foreign exchange student named Long Duc Dong, and we have the makings of a hilarious journey into young womanhood.

Summary: Jasper is very sad because his best friend, the old fisherman Aron, has died. He decides to look after Prust, the fisherman's cat. He dreams about his old friend and imagines meeting him again. The boys at school bully him and he receives a note threatening to kill the cat. Two flirtatious girls tease Jasper but eventually they become friends.

Summary: Noel Black's entry to directing came in 1965 with Skaterdater, an 18-minute short which used only music and sound to advance the story of a gang of young skater boys and what happens when one of their members is distracted by a pretty girl on a banana bike.

Summary: In this fantasy with dragons and flying machines, Marta (Tatiana Aksyuta) is determined to find her brother who was kidnapped at Christmastime by a fake Saint Nick because the little boy is blessed with the ability to locate gold. A kindly, wise philosopher-type by the name of Orlando (Andrei Mironov) joins Marta in her search, and together they survive a gigantic sleeping dragon and imprisonment in a tower with no clear means of escape. They overcome that hurdle, but later on, Orlando succumbs to the evils of The Plague (an all-consuming woman!) and Marta continues on her search alone. Eventually, she does find her brother -- but that only introduces problems she had never considered. Professional and well-interpreted, this make-believe story might have a few unusual moments that still do not ultimately detract from the entertaining tale.

Languages: English,

Comments: There's nothing like knowing what you've been missing.

Summary: A young mother and her teenage son are banished to a remote provincial town by a domineering father.

Summary: Pavla (Michaela Kudiackova) has been put in an orphanage, also a home for underprivileged children, while her father is "free" to concentrate on his own life. Pavla develops an unhealthy dependence on her group's housemother, Jarmila (Veronika Freimanova), to the point where she is jealous of Jarmila's fiance -- and has raised the shackles of the forbidding Mrs. Moravek (Anna Ferencova). Finally, Jarmila cannot continue in the role that Pavla has placed on her, and she takes measures to end the dependence, no matter what the outcome.

Summary: Emma (Line Kruse) is an eleven year-old only child from a wealthy Danish family. Emma's parents seem more interested in their own interests than in her. One evening when Emma overhears her mother talking about how tragic it must be to have your child kidnapped, Emma decides to stage her own kidnapping. She soon meets Malthe, a kind-hearted, child-like, naïve sewer cleaner who literally stumbles on to her. She convinces Malthe that she is a Russian princess whose family is being chased by Bolsheviks, so Malthe lets Emma stay with him in his very modest abode. After being "kidnapped" for a few days, Emma decides to return home. But, just as she is about to return, she overhears a couple of servants talking about how her parents don't seem to be very upset over her dilemma. She then returns to Malthe and a close bond soon develops between Emma and Malthe. Meanwhile, the police are finally called and begin their investigation. Emma writes a ransom note for $2000, and her father pays it. Emma uses the money to buy Malthe some new clothes and to treat him to a "Russian" feast at the Grand Hotel. Just as they are leaving the hotel, the police finally catch up with them. Malthe believes the police want to return Emma to the Bolsheviks so he flees with her into the sewers.

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 2.0; Commentary by director Robert Hiltzik, Dolby Digital 2.0; Commentary by Felissa Rose, Dolby Digital 2.0; Commentary by moderator Jeff Hayes, Dolby Digital 2.0

Comments: ...you won't be coming home!

Summary: Angela Baker and her cousin, Ricky, go to Camp Arakwak for the summer. Ricky has lots of friends there and is happy but Angela is very shy and hardly ever speaks. A lot of the other kids tease her because she is so quite and doesn't participate in sports etc. But soon the kids at at Camp Arriwak start dying in horrible accidents as somebody is determined to turn this summer into a vacation to dismember...

Languages: English, Spanish, French,

Comments: The rules are set. The game is on.

Summary: Four best friends, desperate to improve their social status, enter into an all-night scavenger hunt against the popular clique in their school.

Summary: A moving drama about the deep familial bond that develops between a 30-year-old man and his young niece after the girl's mother suddenly leaves town. Forced out of her home after her boyfriend is arrested, Joleen Reedy needs a place to stay with her 11-year-old daughter, Tara. She turns for help to her younger brother, James--a simple and overly trusting man who doesn't hesitate to welcome them into his modest rental apartment.

Almost as soon as she moves in, however, Joleen hits the road with another man. Utterly ill-equipped to be the sole guardian of an adolescent girl, James does his best to make his distraught niece happy. But before long, things spin out of control: he loses his road crew job and Tara is put into foster care. Additionally, old wounds from his emotionally abusive and sometimes violent father begin to reopen as James is forced to re-examine his life.

That's when James makes a fateful decision that will bring his life full circle and force him to face his demons. He takes off with Tara and the pair assumes new identities as father and daughter. What starts out as a ploy to evade authorities takes on a deeper significance as James strives to become the dad Tara never had, and for the first time finds a true purpose in life.

Summary: In a satire on family values that tends to pass off human cruelty as amusing, this story about an odd family of five children, a father, grandmother, and neighbor is not particularly laugh-provoking. When the mother of this "tribe" of five children leaves for good, their inept father is not sure how to keep the family clothed and fed, and without the help of his neighbor Simone (Josiane Balasko), he would be nowhere. She is attracted to him but eventually gives up on the relationship. Meanwhile, the father grabs his brood and they take off for Paris in search of the wife (after abandoning the body of the grandmother in a hospital corridor because they cannot pay for her funeral). Simone accidentally ends up on the same train to Paris, and out of generosity she puts the family up in her brother's apartment. Actually, her brother is now her sister because he had a sex change. The family records a song together that makes it to the top of the charts, and for good measure they win the lottery. With this change in fortunes, even Simone's relationship to the family may be affected -- especially since a respect for the integrity of women or the ability of men to run a household is never an issue in this nonsensical mish-mash.

Summary:

Comments: SHE'S MY DAUGHTER AND I'LL DO WHAT I LIKE!

Summary: Al Shaw's life revolves around motor racing and his back country junkyard, the "Smash Palace". His French wife, Jacqui, doesn't appreciate the lack of attention due to Al's obsession with cars. When Al finds her in the arms of another man, he takes his daughter, Georgie and heads for the bush, desperately hoping to hold on to the only family he has left.

Summary: How do you hold your own at a party you went to with completely wrong expectations? If it turns out to be a party crammed with stylishly dressed adults, instead of the American fancy dress party your brother talked about? Sanne and Clarissa experience it. Sanne works in a supermarket as a cashier. One day, she meets a helpful guy at the checkout. She briefly watches him walk off. At night, Sanne and her friend Clarissa go to a party in town. On arrival, they appear to be by far the youngest and dressed completely inappropriately. Nevertheless, Sanne joins in with the crowd, unlike Clarissa. When they go to a snack bar after the party, they run into the boy that Sanne met earlier that day in the supermarket. Sanne instantly forgets the party altogether.

Languages: English

Comments: One mother must fight back to prove her innocence or lose her children.

Summary: When Jen Bradley allowed her childhood friend, Carrie Dixon--a professional photographer--to take some snapshots of her two beautiful daughters, Jen never expected to be sitting in a courtroom defending herself against accusations of child pornography and abuse. Based on a true story.

Languages: English, Dolby Digital 5.1; French, Dolby Digital 5.1; Russian, Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary:

Languages: English

Summary: Gerda sets out on a magical journey to find her best friend, Kay who has been taken by the Snow Queen.

Comments: The beloved fairy tale that will awaken your dreams.

Summary: Dame Diana Rigg (TV's "The Avengers") and Billy Barty ("Willow") star in this feature-length, live-action, musical version of the classic fairy tale.

Languages: English,

Summary: Snow White's mother dies during childbirth, leaving baby Snow and father John for dead on an icy field, who then receives a visit from one of Satan's representatives, granting him three wishes.

Summary: The first four episodes together is also a movie. Epsiode 1-4 It's 1944 and a hard time for Tom. A plane crashes. Tom decides to try to find the pilot with the help of Snuf. When he does they become friends, but the Germans are right on their tails. Will they make it back home without getting caught? Epsiode 5-8 The Flying Volkert seems to be back and leaving signs. With the help of Snuf, Tom decides to find out who the Flying Volkert really is. Will he succeed?

Summary: His parents having been killed in the Nazi bombing raid on Rotterdam, a young man named Tom goes to live with this aunt and uncle on a remote Friesland farm and forms a warm bond with a friendly German shepherd named Snuf. Later, as Tom and Snuf work together to keep Tom's Jewish girlfriend Mirjam safely hidden from the Nazis, the young adventurer assists the Canadians in liberating his village.

Summary: Sophie, a young girl, finds anonymous letters in her mail posing philosophical questions. She starts a correspondence with the mysterious pen-pal and uses what she learns to unravel the mystery of another girl, Hilde, whose mail also keeps arriving in Sophie's mail box.

Summary: Because of his special gift in identifying objects by the sounds they make, a blind young boy is employed as a string instrument tuner in a small village in Tajikistan. He may be blind but that does not mean he cannot see. On his way to work, he could tell the quality of the bread the young girls along the streets are peddling by simply touching their ware. His world is made more colorful and quaint because of his sensitivity to his surroundings. The only problem is that he is easily "tempted" by street musicians' performances and arrives late at work.