The Twelve Days of Movies

USA, Roadside Attractions
Directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh
US release date June, 2009
Not yet available on DVD

Thirst

A Catholic priest becomes a vampire by accident while engaged in an act of great humility and personal sacrifice.  This unfortunate event launches the priest on an epic struggle with his thirst for blood, and for true love.  Shot with a delicious sense of the comedic, Thirst nonetheless contains serious reflection on what it might take to save one's soul.

South Korea, Focus Features
Directed by Chan-wook Park
US release date July, 2009
Available on DVD

Cold Souls

An actor by the name of Paul Giamatti (played by Paul Giamatti) is scheduled to open as Uncle Vanya, and is struggling with the role.  Spotting an ad for a company that extracts souls and places them in cold storage, Giamatti believes he has found the answer to his troubles and signs up.  This laugh-out-loud comedy explores what it might really be like to at last be relieved of our burdens, only to want them back.

USA, Journeyman Pictures
Directed by Sophie Barthes
US release date August, 2009
Not yet available on DVD

Ponyo

This affectionate animated feature, with vague resemblance to the fairy tale of The Little Mermaid, tells a story of what happens when the magical creatures of the ocean mingle with human beings on the land.  From legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki, Ponyo is a sweet and joyful celebration of lives illuminated by love.

Japan, Walt Disney Pictures/Studio Ghibli
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
US release date August, 2009
Not yet available on DVD

9

A rag doll named 9 awakens to a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by machines, and his survival seems unlikely until he meets a handful of other dolls and they begin to piece together their origins.  Through its stunning animation this brief feature film gently questions the relationship between technology and the soul.

USA, Focus Features
Directed by Shane Acker
US release date September 2009
Available on DVD 12/29/2009

A Serious Man

It's 1967, and physics professor Larry Gopnik is helplessly watching as his life unravels.  As the blows to his sense of normalcy come faster and harder, he gropes around for a way to make sense of it all, seeking the counsel of three rabbis and finding solace in his son's Bar Mitzvah.  While there may not be an answer to life's absurdity and despair, in A Serious Man the Coen brothers prove that it's all actually very, very funny.

USA, Focus Features
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
US release date October 2009
Not yet available on DVD

Antichrist

In a movie year of comedy, cautious optimism, and even hope, Antichrist stands out for its direct confrontation with the evils of humanity and the natural world.  Criticized for its scenes of intense sexual violence, Antichrist has been compared to A Clockwork Orange for the visceral and disturbing blows it delivers.  Indeed the violence of the religious imagery far surpasses 2004's The Passion of the Christ.

Denmark, IFC Films
Directed by Lars von Trier
US release date October 2009
Not yet available on DVD

A Christmas Carol

Motion-capture animation has progressed to dazzling new heights of achievement.  Scrooge is shrunken in his misery, Marley is desperate in his torment, the ghosts are in turn sympathetic and cruel, and the colors, depth, and creativity of the film reveal this familiar story as something fresh and new.  Audiences will delight in Dickens' central theme: that Christmas is the time when hopeful good news is announced to the world.