Watch Sideways (2004) Online

R, 2 hr. 3 min.
Drama, Romance, Comedy
Directed By: Alexander Payne
Written By: Jim Taylor, Alexander Payne
In Theaters: Sep 13, 2004 Wide



Sideways (2004)Directed by Alexander Payne, Sideways follows Miles (Paul Giamatti), who is distressed about his lack of success as a novelist, and Jack (Thomas Haden Church), an equally unsuccessful actor with a rapidly approaching wedding.

In a last-ditch effort to sow their wild oats, Jack and Miles take off on a final road trip to California's wine country the week prior to Jack's wedding. Both men have goals for the vacation -- Miles wants to turn Jack on to the art of wine tasting, while Jack is concerned with exploiting his last days as a bachelor -- but when the two men come across two fascinating women (Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh), the duo is forced to examine their morality, and if maturity isn't such a depressing prospect -- at least, for one of them. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

 7.6

Sideways (2004)

Watch Howard Zinn - You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train (2004) Online

Howard Zinn - You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train (2004)Directed by Deb Ellis and Denis Mueller, Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train offers a retrospective on the life and times of Howard Zinn. Activist, best-selling author, and historian, Zinn is considered the catalyst for some of the most notable progressive movements of the past 60 years.

Noam Chomsky, who claims that Zinn "changed the consciousness of a generation," is featured in several interviews, along with Marian Wright Edelman, Alice Walker, Tom Hayden, Daniel Ellsberg, and Zinn himself. The documentary also features rare archival footage. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Unrated, 1 hr. 18 min.
Documentary, Special Interest
Directed By: Deb Ellis , Denis Mueller
In Theaters: Jul 23, 2004 Wide

 7.4

Howard Zinn - You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train (2004)

Wantch The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till (2004) Online

PG-13, 1 hr. 10 min.
Documentary, Special Interest
Directed By: Keith Beauchamp
In Theaters: Oct 14, 2005 Limited


The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till (2004)In 1955, Emmett Louis Till was a 14-year-old African-American from Chicago who traveled to Money, MS, to visit his relatives. Till came home several months later in a box; Till had supposedly whistled at a white woman, and 14 white men, angered by the young man's perceived arrogance, beat him senseless, shot him to death, and dumped his body in the Tallahatchie River, weighing it down with an engine from a cotton gin.

Emmett's mother, Mamie Till, was a fearless woman determined to see that justice was done (she had an open casket at Emmett's funeral and allowed Jet magazine to publish a photo of his badly mutilated body so others could see the full extent of the crime), but convicting white men on charges of lynching a black teenager in the Deep South in the 1950s was all but impossible, and the two charged with Emmett's death, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, were found not guilty by a jury who deliberated for so short a period they stopped for a cold drink to stretch the wait to an hour. Only a few months later, Bryant and Milam admitted they had committed the crime to a reporter from Look magazine, knowing they were protected from further prosecution under double jeopardy statutes.

The other 12 men involved in the crime were not charged. Almost 50 years later, filmmaker Keith Beauchamp traveled to Mississippi to investigate the surviving characters in this heinous crime, and The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till combines newsreel footage shot during the investigation of the murder in 1955 with present-day interviews, including Till's cousins, who watched helplessly as he was dragged away by an angry mob; Till's uncle, who identified the guilty men in court; friends and co-workers of the men who committed the crimes (five of whom were still alive when the film was completed), and Mamie Till. In 2005, in part because of evidence uncovered by the filmmakers, the Emmett Till case was reopened in Mississippi. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

 7.1

The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till (2004)

Watch Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2004) Online

R, 1 hr. 50 min.
Documentary, Special Interest
Directed By: Alex Gibney
Written By: Peter Elkind, Alex Gibney, Bethany McLean
In Theaters: Apr 29, 2005 Limited



Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2004)Alex Gibney, who wrote and produced Eugene Jarecki's The Trials of Henry Kissinger, examines the rise and fall of an infamous corporate juggernaut in Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, which he wrote and directed.

The film, based on the book by Fortune Magazine reporters Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind, opens with a reenactment of the suicide of Enron executive Cliff Baxter, then travels back in time, describing Enron chairman Kenneth Lay's humble beginnings as the son of a preacher, his ascent in the corporate world as an "apostle of deregulation," his fortuitous friendship with the Bush family, and the development of his business strategies in natural gas futures. The film points out that the culture of financial malfeasance at Enron was evident as far back as 1987, when Lay apparently encouraged the outrageous risk taking and profit skimming of two oil traders in Enron's Valhalla office because they were bringing a lot of money into the company. But it wasn't until eventual CEO Jeff Skilling arrived at Enron that the company's "aggressive accounting" philosophy truly took hold.

The Smartest Guys in the Room explores the lengths to which the company went in order to appear incredibly profitable. Their win-at-all-costs strategy included suborning financial analysts with huge contracts for their firms, hiding debts by essentially having the company loan money to itself, and using California's deregulation of the electricity market to manipulate the state's energy supply. Gibney's film reveals how Lay, Skilling, and other execs managed to keep their riches, while thousands of lower-level employees saw their loyalty repaid with the loss of their jobs and their retirement funds. The filmmaker posits the Enron scandal not as an anomaly, but as a natural outgrowth of free-market capitalism. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

 7.7

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2004)

Watch The Incredibles (2004) Online

PG, 1 hr. 55 min.
Animation, Kids & Family, Comedy
Directed By: Brad Bird
Written By: Brad Bird
In Theaters: Nov 5, 2004 Wide


The Incredibles (2004)Directed by Brad Bird, The Incredibles revolves around former high-profile superhero Bob Parr (aka Mr. Incredible), who has not-so-successfully settled into suburban life along with his wife and kids under the watchful eye of the Superhero Protection Program. A far cry from the "glory days" during which "supers" were a welcome addition to society, the Parrs' living situation was brought on after a series of superhero-related lawsuits forced them into hiding. When not trying to fight small-time crime undercover with fellow former superhero Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), Parr (voice by Craig T. Nelson) is muddling through the corporate world as a paunchy, emotionally unsatisfied insurance claims adjuster.

His family is like any other with some notable exceptions -- his daughter has the uncanny ability to become invisible and create impenetrable force fields at will; his son, Dash, can run at incredible speeds; his wife, Helen (Holly Hunter), is known in super circles as Elastigirl, one of the most respected (and pliable) superwomen of her time. Just when it looks as if things can't get any worse for Bob, he gets a summons to show up at a remote island to receive instructions for a highly classified assignment, which he promptly accepts. Thrust back into the world of fighting crime, the Incredible family is back in familiar territory -- saving the world from Syndrome, a jilted former fan of Mr. Incredible. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

 8.0

The Incredibles (2004)

Watch Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) (2004) Online

G, 1 hr. 35 min.
Drama, Romance, Musical & Performing Arts, Art House & International
Directed By: Jacques Demy
Written By: Jacques Demy
In Theaters: Feb 13, 2004 Limited


Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) (2004)Jacques Demy's 1964 masterpiece is a pop-art opera, or, to borrow the director's own description, a film in song. This simple romantic tragedy begins in 1957. Guy Foucher (Nino Castelnuovo), a 20-year-old French auto mechanic, has fallen in love with 17-year-old Geneviève Emery (a luminous Catherine Deneuve), an employee in her widowed mother's chic but financially embattled umbrella shop. On the evening before Guy is to leave for a two-year tour of combat in Algeria, he and Geneviève make love.

She becomes pregnant and must choose between waiting for Guy's return or accepting an offer of marriage from a wealthy diamond merchant (Marc Michel, reprising his role from Demy's masterful debut, Lola). A completely sung movie, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is closest in form to a cinematic opera. Composer Michel Legrand composed the score, modeling it around the patterns of everyday conversation. Umbrellas was re-released in 1997. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

 7.7

Les Parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) (2004)

Watch Moolaadé (2004) Online

Moolaadé (2004)Pioneering Senegalese filmmaker Ousmane Sembene directed this controversial drama which deals in part with the barbaric practice of female genital mutilation (generally involving removal of the clitoris and temporary closure of the vagina), which is still practiced in a number of African nations in the name of "purification." Six girls who are scheduled to undergo the traditional purification ceremony escape, and four make their way to the home of Colle Ardo Gallo Sy (Fatoumata Coulibaly), a wife and mother who is sympathetic to their dilemma. Colle casts a "moolaade" spell, which will bring harm to anyone who attempts to hurt those under Colle's care. Colle finds few supporters in a village where tradition is sacred and change is regarded with great suspicion; the men who rule the tribe and the women who conduct the purification rituals both make their displeasure clear, but none can persuade Colle to vanquish the spell, which the others are obligated to respect. Meanwhile, Colle's daughter Amsatou (Salimata Traore) is facing a dilemma of her own. Amsatou has fallen in love with a young man who will one day inherit leadership of the tribe; a man who straddles traditional and modern life, he shuttles between an office job in Paris and the village of his birth.

But, while he cares for Amsatou, her mother spared her from the purification ritual, and now she's uncertain if he will be willing to violate centuries of tribal tradition and wed a woman who is unclean in the eyes of his family. Moolaadé was awarded the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Unrated, 2 hr.
Art House & International, Drama
Directed By: Ousmane Sembene
Written By: Ousmane Sembene
In Theaters: Oct 15, 2004 Limited

 7.5

Moolaadé (2004)

Watch Twist of Faith (2004) Online

Unrated, 1 hr. 27 min.
Documentary, Faith & Spirituality, Special Interest
Directed By: Kirby Dick
In Theaters: Aug 20, 2004 Wide


Twist of Faith (2004)A man must reconcile his religion with a need for justice and closure in this documentary. Tony Comes was a firefighter living in Toledo, OH, with his wife and children. While Comes was a solid family man and had the respect of his fellow firemen, he was hiding a secret that had been haunting him for almost 20 years -- when he was 14 years old, Comes was sexually abused by a Catholic priest, an event that left him with emotional scars that were slow to heal. In 2002, as stories of child sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic clergy were appearing in newspapers across the country, Comes decided it was time to take action.

Comes met with the bishop in his parish and told him of the incident, but he soon discovered that he was not being told the truth about what was being done to prevent the priest from molesting other children. Seeing little alternative and concerned about the safety of others, Comes filed a lawsuit against the parish.

Twist of Faith is a documentary that follows Comes as he deals with his inner turmoil and the often uncharitable reactions of others as he attempts to bring his abuser to justice, while maintaining his sincere faith in God and his loyalty to the Catholic Church. Produced for the premium cable network HBO, Twist of Faith was nominated for Best Documentary Feature honors at the 2005 Academy Awards. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

 7.3

Twist of Faith (2004)

Watch Take Out (2004) Online

Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.
Art House & International, Drama
Directed By: Sean Baker , Shih-Ching Tsou
In Theaters: Jan 18, 2004 Wide


Take Out (2004)Sean Baker and Shih-Ching Tsou make their feature debut as writer/directors with the documentary-style DV drama Take Out. Korean-American actor Charles Jang stars as Ming Ding, a Chinese illegal immigrant struggling to make ends meet working as a deliveryman at a take-out restaurant. His day begins when he is rousted, beaten, and threatened with more violence by two men over an 800-dollar debt, which he incurred because he felt obligated to send some money back to his wife and child in China. Ming scrapes together what he can.

His co-worker, Young (Jeng-Hua Yu), lends him some money, and offers to forgo his deliveries for the day so Ming can make more cash. The film follows the stoic Ming, who speaks little English, over the course of the day as he interacts with the cooks and restaurant manager (Wang-Thye Lee, an actual employee of the restaurant where Take Out was filmed), and races in the rain on a multitude of deliveries on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, interacting with a broad spectrum of New Yorkers.

The filmmakers made Take Out on an extremely low budget, even by indie standards, using the Internet to find their cast, and shooting at the restaurant during business hours with a skeleton crew. Take Out was shown at the 2004 New York Asian American Film Festival and at the 2004 Nashville Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

 6.5

Take Out (2004)

Watch Live-in Maid (Cama adentro) (2004) Online

Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Drama, Art House & International, Comedy
Directed By: Jorge Gaggero
Written By: Jorge Gaggero
In Theaters: Jul 18, 2007 Limited


Live-in Maid (Cama adentro) (2004)A once-wealthy Buenos Aires socialite who has fallen on hard times finds the roles between herself and her longtime live-in maid suddenly reversed in director Jorge Gaggero's class-conscious drama. Mrs. Beba is a 58-year-old woman whose days as a well-to-do socialite have long since passed, and Dora is the 51-year-old housekeeper who has been Mrs. Beba's live-in housekeeper for 35 years. As a successive cycle of personal and financial crises force Mrs.

Beba to sell door-to-door beauty products as a way of making ends meet, she finds it increasingly difficult to pay her employee in a timely manner. Since Dora has been using her money to construct a house in a shantytown on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, this naturally poses something of a problem. It's been six months since Dora has received her last paycheck, and her patience has finally run out. Yet, despite the fact that class differences continually come into play between the pair, there is no denying the bond that has formed between them over the course of their three decades together.

When Mrs. Beba finally produces enough money to pay Dora's debt and offer a six-month salary advancement, Dora decides to finally strike out on her own despite her employer's objections. Later, after Dora moves into her new home with her weekend boyfriend, Miguel, Mrs. Beba's energy and telephone services are turned off for lack of payment. By the time summer arrives, Mrs. Beba must sell off her apartment just to stay out of debt. Remembering that her old employee has a new home, the now-homeless Mrs. Beba kindly offers to give her furniture to Dora. But Dora can't turn away an old friend in need, and before they know it, Dora and Mrs. Beba are living together once again. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

 7.1

Live-in Maid (Cama adentro) (2004)