Heartbreak Ridge (1986)

Aug 31, 2011 by Mr. Nau Clint Eastwood plays a gunnery sergeant sanctioned for insubordination and placed in charge of training a platoon of recon recruits. Eastwood’s character, Gunny Highway, is a hard-nosed leader and offers the actor multiple opportunities for masterful sneers, grumpy battle-hardened one-liners, and showing those kids who’s in charge. Grade: C+. […]

One Week (2008)

Aug 02, 2011 by Mr. Nau When Ben Tyler is diagnosed with Stage IV Cancer, he decides to buy a motorcycle and go on an epic journey across Canada, against the wishes of his fiancée. This beautiful, introspective independent drama is full of poignant moments, features a perfect cast, and tells a vast gorgeous adventure […]

I Need That Record (2008)

Jul 05, 2011 by Mr. Nau This low-budget documentary bemoans the demise of a large number of independent record stores in the face of increased music sales online. While the subject matter is interesting, this film doesn’t deliver any explanations or solutions, instead settling on a series of whining rants by store owners and employees. […]

Older Than America (2008)

Jun 17, 2011 by Mr. Nau A Native American woman has visions of repressed memories of her abusive treatment in a Catholic boarding school on her reservation. This gripping film touches on systematic cultural repression of Native people to try to get them to conform to an American persona at the cost of their own […]

8: The Mormon Proposition (2010)

Jun 03, 2011 by Mr. Nau This documentary examines the role of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and role in the funding, marketing, and passage of California’s Proposition 8. The producers of this documentary offer a scathing indictment of entrenched homophobia and ceaseless preaching to unjustly rescind marriage rights from committed […]

Hamburger Hill (1987)

May 21, 2011 by Mr. Nau This gritty Vietnam war picture depicts a group of soldiers in the 101st Airborne fighting in a fierced battle against North Vietnamese forces. The soldiers express their disillusionment with their part in the war, their feelings of betrayal by their superiors and the government, and the racial tension between […]

9 (2009)

May 04, 2011 by Mr. Nau A burlap robotic rag doll wakes up after a war between humanity and their machines, discovers the other members of his batch, and tries to evade menacing enemies that seek to destroy them. With beautiful animation and a heartfelt story, this adorable fantasy features wonderful acting by a talented […]

I’m Not There (2007)

Apr 17, 2011 by Mr. Nau The career of Bob Dylan is depicted in a number of short vignettes in this bio-pic in which he’s portrayed as a variety of archetypes. Cate Blanchett’s performance as Jude stole the show, but other portrayals by Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Christian Bale make this an unforgettable film. […]

Carriers (2009)

Apr 11, 2011 by Mr. Nau Two brothers, Danny and Brian, and their friends, Bobby and Kate, are heading across the American Southwest to flee a viral pandemic to try to find safe haven and prevent becoming infected by the deadly pathogen themselves. The gritty, dirty realism of this tense thriller make this an unexpected […]

Ever Since the World Ended (2001)

Apr 08, 2011 by Mr. Nau In this low-budget post-apocalyptic story told in documentary style, a plague has wiped out most of the population of the world and left San Francisco with a population of 186. The clunky acting, unfocused writing, and the grainy footage fails to lend the picture a sense of reality. Grade: […]

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