Step Into Liquid (2003)   Documentary 1 hr. 27 min. This documentary profiles surfers and surfing locations all over the world, including the monstrous waves of Oahu's North Shore, the Gulf shores of Texas (where waves are created by oil supertankers), the ice-cold waters of Ireland, Santa Cruz, Costa Rica, the Cortez Banks, Da Nang in Vietnam, the tiny waves of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin and the tropics of Rapa Nui. More important than the diverse and often spectacular locations and waves, however, are the wide range of surfers who are profiled, challenging the stereotypes about the surfing counterculture. MPAA Rating: Not Rated.

The Godfather (1972)  Drama and Crime/Gangster  Based on the best-selling novel by Mario Puzo (who co-wrote the screenplay with Director Francis Ford Coppola), THE GODFATHER is an epic tale of Mafia life in America during the 1940s and 1950s. Vito Corleone (Marion Brando) is the family patriarch balancing a love of his family with an ambitious criminal instinct.  At the wedding of the don's daughter, Connie (Talia Shire), youngest son Michael (Al Pacino), a decorated war veteran, is reunited with his family. After an assassination attempt leaves the Godfather too ill to run the family business, sons Michael and Sonny (James Caan), with the help of Consigliere Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), lead the Corleones into a vendetta-filled war with the other mob families. Violent revenge ensues as the family tries to change from its old criminal ways into legitimacy. Diane Keaton, in a stark departure from her usual comedic roles, plays Kay, the long-suffering wife of Michael Corleone. Brilliant casting, music, and storytelling help make THE GODFATHER a classic. MPAA Rating: R.

War Photographer (2002) Documentary War photographer James Nachtwey has been close enough for twenty years. Over this time, he hasn't missed a single war. And he probably has seen more suffering and dying than anyone else alive. For WAR PHOTOGRAPHER, recently nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Christian Frei followed Nachtwey for two years into the wars in Indonesia, Kosovo, Palestine. If we believe Hollywood pictures, war photographers are all hard-boiled and cynical old troopers. How can they think about 'exposure time' at the very moment of dread? But James Nachtwey is no rumbling swaggerer. He is an unobtrusive man, with grey hair and the deliberation of a professor of philosophy. A thoughtful, rather shy person—who many think of as the bravest and best war photographer ever. Many of his most powerful images are shown in the film. Most amazingly, in WAR PHOTOGRAPHER special video micro-cameras are attached to Nachtwey's photo-camera. We hear every breath of the photographer. We participate in the act of shooting war photos. And for the first time in the history of movies about photographers, this technique allows us the most intimate insight into the work of a concerned photojournalist. MPAA Rating: Not Rated.

The Weather Underground (2003)  Crime/Gangster and Documentary--This intensely captivating documentary from Directors Bill Siegel and Sam Green focuses on the radical political activist group the Weathermen, who organized in the 1960s to protest the Vietnam War. With roots in a group called Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Weathermen represented a small faction of political-minded protesters who believed that in order to avoid being marginalized and ignored by the U.S. government, they would need to take violent action. Speaking out with clear goals to intentionally inflict violence, their slogan was "Bring the War Home," indicating that they would mimic on the U.S.'s home turf the violence that U.S. troops were ordered to carry out in Vietnam. They organized bombings—sometimes botching their plans horribly and causing unintended casualties, acts that put them on the Most Wanted list of the FBI. In response, they split up and went underground, trying to avoid persecution while continuing to plan violent protests. While THE WEATHER UNDER­GROUND takes a fascinating look at this group, at its wildly daring tactics and philosophies, and at its dedication to making a change, the film also comments on the group's failures and its irresponsible methods. Some of the most revealing moments of the film come from other political activists, such as the Black Panthers, reflecting on the actions of the Weathermen and—in hindsight—looking at the group's practices with new perspective. MPM Rating: Not Rated.

Stone Reader (2003)   Documentary 2 hrs. 25 min. When filmmaker Mark Moskowitz discovered a great old out-of-print novel, he wondered why he had never heard of it. So, he set out to find out the story of the novel, and whatever became of its author.  MPAA Rating: PG-13 for brief strong language.

Hollywood/Bollywood (2003), Other English-language/Rest of the world, Comedy/Romance, cert 12A, 103 mins, Dir: Deepa Mehta  Summary: Canadian dot com millionaire Rahul Seth (Rahul Khanna) is being pressured by his Indian family to find a bride. In a bid to head them off at the pass, he employs an escort he believes is Spanish (Lisa Ray) to pose as his Indian fiancee. But is she really an Iberian girl or something altogether more sub-continental? [Guardian]

Power Trip (2003)  Documentary. Directed by Paul Devlin. (Not rated. 85 minutes. In English and Georgian with English subtitles). Before the U.S.S.R. collapsed, the citizens of Soviet Georgia never paid for electricity. Today, an American multinational, Applied Energy Services (AES), is regulating utilities for the capital city of Tbilisi, population 1.2 million, where the typical utility bill runs $24 and monthly incomes average $15 to $75.  New York documentarian Paul Devlin finds a city in chaos, with politicians lying, enraged people stealing power and AES employees gloating over creepy methods of scaring consumers into paying delinquent bills. It's a bleak picture, symbolized by the illegal wires and cables, frayed and stripped of insulation, that snake through the city's tenements.  (San Francisco Chronicle)

POWER TRIP (GEORGIA/USA, 2003, 78 MI N.) This documentary by Paul Devlm (SlamNation, The Eyes of St. Anthony) describes the efforts of AES, a US-based multinational power company, to run the power grid in Tblinski, the capital of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia. Although one might expect this to be a tale of corruption and American imperialism, more goes on here than simplistic preconceptions might suggest. AES seems to have more than just the bottom line at heart, and many of the Georgian journalists and citizens seem quite earnest in their pursuit of truth and fairness. Corrupt or, more often, inept politicians do play a role, as do Enron-shell-shocked AES shareholders. And when AES starts shutting off electricity from the 90 percent of its customers who don't pay the bills, customer service takes on a whole new meaning. Although the harsh realities of life and death in Georgia are never glossed over, a surprising dose of self-effacing humor and chattiness characterizes the participants in the documentary. When the man in charge refuses to grant an elderly Georgian a special exception, the old man quips back, "May God help you the way you helped me today." The film is highly engaging and pulls no punches. It should definitely be on your list.  The film is in English mostlv and in Georgian with English subtitles.

Quattro Noza (2003)   Title Note: The name of the character of Quattro, who gives the movie half its title, comes from the model of car he races: an Audi A4 Quattro.   Cast: Brihanna Hernandez (Noza), Robert Beaumont (Quattro), Victor Larios (Chato), Fabiola Barrios (Fabiola), Gary Brockette (Bob), Albert Hernandez (Kid Albert), Greg   Source: Director/screenwriter Joey Curtis reportedly based his script on the stories of his father (also a street racer, back in the 1960s), his own experiences as a street racer in the 1980s, and those of the 21st century race kids who are starring in the film.   Premise: Set in southern California, this film portrays the lives of young people who are part of the illegal street car racing scene (also portrayed in 2001's The Fast and the Furious), focusing on the romance between a white kid from the desert, Quattro, and a Mexican-American girl from Crenshaw, Noza. Genre: Action, Drama, Latino, Sports, Romance, Teen

The Girl from Paris [Une hirondelle a fait le printemps] (2001) France.  Anchored by an intelligent and incident-rich script by Carion and Eric Assous, The Girl from Paris builds character, making both leads believable, three-dimensional and sympathetic. Seigner (Dry Cleaning, Venus Beauty Institute, With a Friend Like Harry) portrays Sandrine's determination without it seeming obstinate; she's strong and knows what she wants, but there's an underlying vulnerability as well. When an old boyfriend drops in on her at the farm, she has taken on a healthy glow, indicative of her outdoor work and her inner contentment. He tells her she is beautiful--and indeed she is. Michel Serrault, a veteran of 100 films (The Swindle, La Cage Aux Folles) finds the right balance of gruff stubbornness, experienced wisdom, and lonely neediness. Both Adrien and Sandrine are changed by their shared experiences and the changes are rendered fully credible by the thoughtful screenplay as interpreted in subtle and expert performances. (Arthur Lazere [culturevulture.net])

Km. 0 - Kilometer Zero (2000) Spain.  As "Km. 0" unfolds, skipping blithely from comic to melodramatic vignettes and back again, it follows the classical structure of a Shakespearean forest comedy, sorting out the mismatched couples and finding appropriate mates (or at least appropriate friendships) for everyone involved. It is a potent fantasy that has worked for 400 years and continues to function well enough here, backed as it is by an attractive cast and picturesque locations.  Pedro Almodóvar, the inventor of the contemporary Spanish sex comedy ("Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown"), has moved on to a deeper mix of drama and comedy, as in his recent masterwork "Talk to Her." But there is still a market for the sort of sunny Iberian romps he pioneered, a gap that "Km. 0," which opens today in Manhattan, does its modest best to fill.  Directed by Juan Luis Iborra and Yolanda García SerranoIn Spanish, with English subtitles
Not rated, 105 minutes  [New York Times]

Robot Stories   Set in the near future, "Robot Stories" tells stories of human beings struggling to connect with each other in a world of mechanical office workers and robot babies. Featuring film stars Tamlyn Tomita ("The Joy Luck Club ," "Picture Bride") and Sab Shimono ("The Big Hit," "Jackie Chan Adventures") in four stories, the film explores love, death, family... and robots.

Dunsmore   (d. Peter Spirer, U.S., 88 mins)   Based on a gruesome, true story, Peter Spirer's film presents an intimate and often dark study of the characters and motivations of the rural Florida town of Dunsmore. Killed in a hurricane of bullets, Ronny Roy Pritcher is a man whom nobody likes and whom nobody mourns. Investigator Walter Taylor is sent by the Florida's Attorney General's office to assess whether the suspicious vigilante killing constitutes a breach of Pritcher's civil rights.

Buffalo Soldiers (2001)  Much of the dark comedy works; a scene with a couple of stoned soldiers in a tank taking out some gasoline pumps (and people) is amazingly funny. Phoenix’s appealing, low-key performance keeps the movie rolling along – we really love this charming scoundrel – but the film’s snowballing plot contrivances dull the satire. The coming together of the love story, Elwood’s rivalry with the sergeant, and a complicated, time-sensitive deal involving millions of dollars of stolen weapons, unrefined heroin and foreign drug traders doesn’t entirely gel. Still, the ultimate payoff works well. In the end, screenwriters Eric Axel Weiss, Nora Maccoby and Jordan – who based their story on a book by Robert O’Connor - tell a vivid contemporary American tale that hasn’t been told before.  Leslie Katz [culturevulture.net]

Garage Days (2002) Australia  Garage Days" is about an Australian rock band that's a little too old and a little too untalented to make the big time, but kids itself that stardom is on the way--maybe because the alternative is a boring job and no dreams. The movie is set in the Sydney suburb of Newtown, which is a little like Chicago's New Town or Rogers Park, a mixture of clubs, bars and (relatively) affordable housing. Sleeping in each others' beds and living in each others' pockets, the band members pick up a gig here or there, no thanks to a helpless manager. . . . The movie is not in any sense a musical featuring this band . . .  . The soundtrack has a lot of music, freely selected from pop hits old and new, but the running gag is that the band never gets to play, and so we never get to hear it. When we finally do, at a big annual rock concert, it provides a suitably affectionate ending for this whimsical and kind of lovable story.  [Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times]

Autumn Spring [Babi léto] (2001) Czech Republic.  Fanda (Vlastimil Brodsky), the incorrigibly irresponsible codger whose misbehavior in ''Autumn Spring'' is a canny strategy for warding off death, is one of those adorable but exasperating old folks who refuse to play by the rules or act their age. In this soothing comedy from Czechoslovakia, directed by Vladimir Michalek from a screenplay by Jiri Hubac, breaking the rules means racking up expensive restaurant bills, staging madcap pranks and impersonating others. ... This movie, loosely inspired by the life of its Czech star (''Closely Watched Trains'' and ''Jacob the Liar''), was written expressly for Mr. Brodsky, who became seriously ill soon after it was completed and committed suicide last April at 81. Ms. Zazvorkova, a leading Czech theater performer, was a close friend of Mr. Brodsky for 55 years, and the two lend the bond of a long-married couple a stirring emotional resonance. While her character spends most of the movie nagging her husband, Ms. Zazvorkova unfailingly projects the tenderness and devotion underneath that irritation. [New York Times]

In July [Im Juli] (2001) Germany. Awhimsical romantic comedy from Germany—yes, you read that right—"In July" is also a love letter to a benign and beguiling vision of Europe. The director, Fatih Akin, takes us on aragged journey from Hamburg to Istanbul, and though there are plenty of mishaps, the movie is ruled by the happy sense that nothing too terrible can happen.  The beautiful women who complicate Daniel's life have fairy-tale names — Melek, we learn, means angel in Turkish — and the movie's blend of sexiness and childishness can become a little exasperating. The ending, which you will see coming a few hundred miles away — well before Bucharest in other words — is as twee as anything in "Amélie," and also in its more modest, less hyperactive way, as charming. Mr. Akin pursues his happy, silly love story without embarrassment, and "In July" is ultimately more endearing than irritating.  Directed by Fatih Akin. In German, with English subtitles. Not rated, 100 minutes  [A. O. Scott]

In ''Zero Day,'' the teenage high school student Cal (Calvin Robertson) has a sarcastic mantra that he often utters: ''These are the best years of our lives.'' But the first time he says the phrase sets the tone for this drama directed by Ben Coccio. It is late at night, and Cal and his best friend, Andre (Andre Keuck), are planning an assault on their school. ''We are the army of two,'' they chant, flexing and posing for the camera.  Eric Harris, Dylan Klebold and their murderous attack on Columbine High School in 1999 are the basis of Mr. Coccio's loose, low-key film. The rambling course of the film--it is structured as a video diary, with segments from both Cal's and Andre's cameras--means that some sections take on more weight than others.  Most of the movie is compelling because of individual moments in each installment as the date of the attack grows near. What gives the movie its power is that even the most innocuous scenes in the boys' lives are shadowed by dread. [New York Times] 

My Father's Son --directed by Ben Van Hook and Eric Breitenbach--80 MINS, Color DOCUMENTARY  While rugged individualism is widely celebrated in the United States, ironically such respect is seldom accorded society's marginalized outsiders. In this moving documentary, Ben Van Hook and Eric Breitenbach paint an unusual portrait of one man's quest for personal freedom and its consequences, by following a resourceful, middle-aged scavenger who has chosen to live in the woods near downtown Orlando. MY FATHER'S SON presents a provocative reconsideration of contemporary values and of the concept of wilderness in modern America.

FLORIDA CITY --The story centers on a small-town police chief in the days before the 1941 sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. As the chief struggles with his own failings and tries to solve a murder, he uncovers a government plot to push the United States into World War II.  Dade City's role comes about halfway through the story. The alcoholic chief, played by actor Zen Gesner, reaches a turning point when he's pushed too far by surly locals. He stares into the mirror in a dingy restroom behind the station, and he realizes he must get control of himself and stand up for what is right.