What’s Playing

Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. At first he thinks he's hit the jackpot-fame and fortune are his for the taking. That all changes, however, when he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry-Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) is one of Princeton's elite team of admissions officers. She has the job of helping to choose which of the college's more than 26,000 yearly applicants, all of whom believe they deserve a place in the Princeton pantheon, are going to get in.

John Pressman (Paul Rudd), a teacher at a woodsy alternative New Hampshire high school called New Quest, is Portia's opposite: a do-gooding globe-trotter who believes in the kind of excellence that can't always be measured by grades or ''official'' achievement. He's pushing one of his students for admission to Princeton; the kid, Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), is a prodigy with a troubled background, and John and Portia begin to tussle over his future from the moment they meet. John thinks that Jeremiah may be Portia's son, and the battle, as far as it goes, is lively. 

Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. At first he thinks he's hit the jackpot-fame and fortune are his for the taking. That all changes, however, when he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry-Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) is one of Princeton's elite team of admissions officers. She has the job of helping to choose which of the college's more than 26,000 yearly applicants, all of whom believe they deserve a place in the Princeton pantheon, are going to get in.

John Pressman (Paul Rudd), a teacher at a woodsy alternative New Hampshire high school called New Quest, is Portia's opposite: a do-gooding globe-trotter who believes in the kind of excellence that can't always be measured by grades or ''official'' achievement. He's pushing one of his students for admission to Princeton; the kid, Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), is a prodigy with a troubled background, and John and Portia begin to tussle over his future from the moment they meet. John thinks that Jeremiah may be Portia's son, and the battle, as far as it goes, is lively. 

Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. At first he thinks he's hit the jackpot-fame and fortune are his for the taking. That all changes, however, when he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry-Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) is one of Princeton's elite team of admissions officers. She has the job of helping to choose which of the college's more than 26,000 yearly applicants, all of whom believe they deserve a place in the Princeton pantheon, are going to get in.

John Pressman (Paul Rudd), a teacher at a woodsy alternative New Hampshire high school called New Quest, is Portia's opposite: a do-gooding globe-trotter who believes in the kind of excellence that can't always be measured by grades or ''official'' achievement. He's pushing one of his students for admission to Princeton; the kid, Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), is a prodigy with a troubled background, and John and Portia begin to tussle over his future from the moment they meet. John thinks that Jeremiah may be Portia's son, and the battle, as far as it goes, is lively. 

Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz. At first he thinks he's hit the jackpot-fame and fortune are his for the taking. That all changes, however, when he meets three witches, Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing the Land of Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity-and even a bit of wizardry-Oscar transforms himself not only into the great and powerful Wizard of Oz but into a better man as well.

Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) is one of Princeton's elite team of admissions officers. She has the job of helping to choose which of the college's more than 26,000 yearly applicants, all of whom believe they deserve a place in the Princeton pantheon, are going to get in.

John Pressman (Paul Rudd), a teacher at a woodsy alternative New Hampshire high school called New Quest, is Portia's opposite: a do-gooding globe-trotter who believes in the kind of excellence that can't always be measured by grades or ''official'' achievement. He's pushing one of his students for admission to Princeton; the kid, Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), is a prodigy with a troubled background, and John and Portia begin to tussle over his future from the moment they meet. John thinks that Jeremiah may be Portia's son, and the battle, as far as it goes, is lively. 

Join us to view the animations, music videos and short films of Grade 10 - 12 students in media arts/film courses.

Rooney Mara stars as Emily, a loyal wife whose husband is (a) about to get out of prison after serving four years for insider trading and (b) played by Channing Tatum. You'd think things would be looking up for Emily, but she's plagued by anxiety and, after impulsively driving her car into a brick wall, ends up in therapy with Dr. Banks (Jude Law). After trying several of the usual antidepressants, Emily ends up on a brand-new medication called Ablixa, which turns out to have tragically consequential (you guessed it) side effects.

Of course, at least a couple of facts in the preceding paragraph turn out not to be true. The screenplay by Scott Z. Burns serves up plenty of twists over the last half of the film, all of them genuinely surprising in the moment but in retrospect decipherable. Soderbergh directs with subtlety, placing clues delicately but firmly along the way; he never cheats by revealing something the audience didn't have a chance to suspect on its own.

Portia Nathan (Tina Fey) is one of Princeton's elite team of admissions officers. She has the job of helping to choose which of the college's more than 26,000 yearly applicants, all of whom believe they deserve a place in the Princeton pantheon, are going to get in.

John Pressman (Paul Rudd), a teacher at a woodsy alternative New Hampshire high school called New Quest, is Portia's opposite: a do-gooding globe-trotter who believes in the kind of excellence that can't always be measured by grades or ''official'' achievement. He's pushing one of his students for admission to Princeton; the kid, Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), is a prodigy with a troubled background, and John and Portia begin to tussle over his future from the moment they meet. John thinks that Jeremiah may be Portia's son, and the battle, as far as it goes, is lively. 

THE REP reveals that the passion for a cinematic experience is still alive. The question is, will a greater audience recognize their cultural value before it’s too late?

The film follows the lives of three uber film geeks during the first year of operations of a single-screen repertory cinema. Dubbed ‘The Underground Cinema’ by its gang of misfits, Alex, Charlie and Nigel will stop at nothing to see their theatre succeed. In the face of strong competition from big box theatres, local cinematheques and home video, it’s a constant struggle to stay afloat. Throw in 12-hour workdays, having no semblance of a personal life and all the normal stresses of working day in/day out with the same people… things couldn’t be much more of an uphill battle.

THE REP also takes a broader look at the world of repertory cinema in North America. Currently being devalued by studios, corporate theatres and patrons themselves, movies have become less of an experience and more of an activity. Watching a film is something you just do to pass the time, rather than the event and spectacle they once were. Repertory cinema is an ever-shrinking but ever-passionate world of film lovers trying to keep the experience of cinema alive.

The film features interviews with theatres such as Film Forum in NYC, The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, The New Beverly Cinema in L.A., The Hollywood Theatre in Portland, The Bijou Art Cinemas in Eugene and Blue Sunshine in Montreal. It also features celebrity commentary from Kevin Smith, John Waters, Atom Egoyan, George A. Romero and many more.

Rooney Mara stars as Emily, a loyal wife whose husband is (a) about to get out of prison after serving four years for insider trading and (b) played by Channing Tatum. You'd think things would be looking up for Emily, but she's plagued by anxiety and, after impulsively driving her car into a brick wall, ends up in therapy with Dr. Banks (Jude Law). After trying several of the usual antidepressants, Emily ends up on a brand-new medication called Ablixa, which turns out to have tragically consequential (you guessed it) side effects.

Of course, at least a couple of facts in the preceding paragraph turn out not to be true. The screenplay by Scott Z. Burns serves up plenty of twists over the last half of the film, all of them genuinely surprising in the moment but in retrospect decipherable. Soderbergh directs with subtlety, placing clues delicately but firmly along the way; he never cheats by revealing something the audience didn't have a chance to suspect on its own.

The films of Stanley Kubrick loom like a monolith over the modern history of cinema. In this four-part series, Grid and Cinema Scope film critic Adam Nayman will  conduct in-depth lectures on four of Kubrick's late masterpieces -- 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968), THE SHINING (1980), FULL METAL JACKET (1987) and EYES WIDE SHUT (1999) -- and examine them in terms of their visual style and thematic content. Each lecture features clips from the movies themselves and will be followed by a question-and-answer period.

Adam Nayman is a film critic for The Grid, The Globe and Mail and Metro and a contributing editor to Cinema Scope. He has written articles on cinema for The Walrus, Saturday Night, The Village Voice, The LA Weekly, Elle Canada and Montage and he lectures on documentary film for Ryerson University. His first book, a critical monograph on Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls, will be published by ECW Press in spring 2014.

THE REP reveals that the passion for a cinematic experience is still alive. The question is, will a greater audience recognize their cultural value before it’s too late?

The film follows the lives of three uber film geeks during the first year of operations of a single-screen repertory cinema. Dubbed ‘The Underground Cinema’ by its gang of misfits, Alex, Charlie and Nigel will stop at nothing to see their theatre succeed. In the face of strong competition from big box theatres, local cinematheques and home video, it’s a constant struggle to stay afloat. Throw in 12-hour workdays, having no semblance of a personal life and all the normal stresses of working day in/day out with the same people… things couldn’t be much more of an uphill battle.

THE REP also takes a broader look at the world of repertory cinema in North America. Currently being devalued by studios, corporate theatres and patrons themselves, movies have become less of an experience and more of an activity. Watching a film is something you just do to pass the time, rather than the event and spectacle they once were. Repertory cinema is an ever-shrinking but ever-passionate world of film lovers trying to keep the experience of cinema alive.

The film features interviews with theatres such as Film Forum in NYC, The Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, The New Beverly Cinema in L.A., The Hollywood Theatre in Portland, The Bijou Art Cinemas in Eugene and Blue Sunshine in Montreal. It also features celebrity commentary from Kevin Smith, John Waters, Atom Egoyan, George A. Romero and many more.

Set in 1962 London during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the story follows the tenderhearted Ginger (Elle Fanning), who lives with her thwarted-artist mother (Christina Hendricks) and her lefty academic father, Roland (Alessandro Nivola). She spends her days at pacifist marches with her wild best friend, Rosa (Alice Englert), and an older American activist (Annette Bening). Soon the BBC is reporting that the bomb may be dropped any day, and it feels like the end of the world to both girls. But then, when you're in high school, it always does. And you get the sense that even if the Cold War had never happened, Ginger and Rosa would find another cause to get worked up about. Still, Potter has enough compassion for these girls to imply that their lives might really be just as dramatic as they think. In dreamy, color-drenched scenes that look like they're turning into memories right before your eyes, Potter portrays their friendship as a great love-in-wartime romance.

With spring break just around the corner, Faith (Selena Gomez), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Brit (Ashley Benson) and Cotty (Rachel Korine) have managed to save a total of only $325, well short of the funds needed for a week's worth of hotel stays and beer-bonging. Desperation is the mother of felony, as the girls demonstrate when they rob the local chicken shack, smashing up the joint with hammers while pointing water guns at employees and customers.

Boom! St. Petersburg time.

For the first 40 minutes or so, "Spring Breakers" is thick with style and light on plot, as the girls tool around town on rented scooters, indulge in all manner of chemically altered behavior and spent quiet sunsets with their arms draped around one another, talking about how they'll never forget the awesome awesomeness of this moment. 
But then they're arrested, cuffed, jailed and have to appear in court — never even having the opportunity to throw on a cover-up. Even when appearing before the judge, the girls are in their neon-colored bikinis.

That's when "Spring Breakers" takes a hardcore right turn. The girls are bailed out by "Alien" (real name Allen), a gangster rapper about 10 percent rapper and 90 percent gangster.

"Spring Breakers" challenges us to think about the hedonistic hell that of that annual ritual, as it segues from party film to insane crime story. It's self-indulgent, it's funny, it's dark, and it's always provocative. 

The 14th annual Doors Open presented by Great Gulf offers residents and visitors an opportunity to take a peek behind the doors of nearly 150 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings across the city on Saturday May 25 and Sunday May 26, 2013. 

Come visit this 100 year old cinema and get behind the scenes!

A new 35 mm restoration of Rear Window is as good a reason as any to rerelease Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 masterpiece of voyeurism. Images of L.B. ''Jeff'' Jefferies (James Stewart), the wheelchair-bound news photographer who escapes the boredom of a broken leg and the demands for intimacy by a marriage-minded girlfriend (Grace Kelly) by spying on his neighbors, may already feel warmly familiar. But visual details -- the newly vibrant bloodred intensity of the sunset, the striking Nile green of Miss Lonelyheart's dress, the bandbox freshness of Kelly's costumes by Edith Head -- give the movie a sharpness that underscores the whole subtext of moviegoers as voyeurs, too.

''We've become a race of Peeping Toms,'' says the shut-in's extremely practical nurse, Stella (Thelma Ritter, her every line a chili pepper of stinging wisdom), as she tries to straighten out Jeff's priorities as crisply as she slaps on liniment during a rubdown: Be yourself, dig the one who digs you, quit sitting in the dark conjecturing about other people's private lives and overanalyzing your own. As you sit in the dark watching a debrided Rear Window (restored by Robert A. Harris and James C. Katz, who also revivified Vertigo and Lawrence of Arabia), these stark suggestions and implications come through with flying colors. 

Set in 1962 London during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the story follows the tenderhearted Ginger (Elle Fanning), who lives with her thwarted-artist mother (Christina Hendricks) and her lefty academic father, Roland (Alessandro Nivola). She spends her days at pacifist marches with her wild best friend, Rosa (Alice Englert), and an older American activist (Annette Bening). Soon the BBC is reporting that the bomb may be dropped any day, and it feels like the end of the world to both girls. But then, when you're in high school, it always does. And you get the sense that even if the Cold War had never happened, Ginger and Rosa would find another cause to get worked up about. Still, Potter has enough compassion for these girls to imply that their lives might really be just as dramatic as they think. In dreamy, color-drenched scenes that look like they're turning into memories right before your eyes, Potter portrays their friendship as a great love-in-wartime romance.

With spring break just around the corner, Faith (Selena Gomez), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Brit (Ashley Benson) and Cotty (Rachel Korine) have managed to save a total of only $325, well short of the funds needed for a week's worth of hotel stays and beer-bonging. Desperation is the mother of felony, as the girls demonstrate when they rob the local chicken shack, smashing up the joint with hammers while pointing water guns at employees and customers.

Boom! St. Petersburg time.

For the first 40 minutes or so, "Spring Breakers" is thick with style and light on plot, as the girls tool around town on rented scooters, indulge in all manner of chemically altered behavior and spent quiet sunsets with their arms draped around one another, talking about how they'll never forget the awesome awesomeness of this moment. 
But then they're arrested, cuffed, jailed and have to appear in court — never even having the opportunity to throw on a cover-up. Even when appearing before the judge, the girls are in their neon-colored bikinis.

That's when "Spring Breakers" takes a hardcore right turn. The girls are bailed out by "Alien" (real name Allen), a gangster rapper about 10 percent rapper and 90 percent gangster.

"Spring Breakers" challenges us to think about the hedonistic hell that of that annual ritual, as it segues from party film to insane crime story. It's self-indulgent, it's funny, it's dark, and it's always provocative. 

The 14th annual Doors Open presented by Great Gulf offers residents and visitors an opportunity to take a peek behind the doors of nearly 150 architecturally, historically, culturally and socially significant buildings across the city on Saturday May 25 and Sunday May 26, 2013. 

Come visit this 100 year old cinema and get behind the scenes!

Silent Sundays gets a sprinkle of fairy dust with an adaptation of one of the most beloved children’s stories of all time! Join us on May 26th as Peter Pan whisks the Darling children off to Never-Never Land – where along with the Lost Boys they learn to fly, swim with mermaids, rescue Princess Tiger Lily, and torment the nefarious Captain Hook.

Lost for decades, and consequently rarely seen, the 1924 version of Peter Pan is one of the most visually spectacular films of the era and a wonderful introduction to silent film for a younger audience. 

Featuring live piano accompaniment by William O'Meara. 

Silent Sundays is curated by media archivist Alicia Fletcher and journalist Eric Veillette.

Set in 1962 London during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the story follows the tenderhearted Ginger (Elle Fanning), who lives with her thwarted-artist mother (Christina Hendricks) and her lefty academic father, Roland (Alessandro Nivola). She spends her days at pacifist marches with her wild best friend, Rosa (Alice Englert), and an older American activist (Annette Bening). Soon the BBC is reporting that the bomb may be dropped any day, and it feels like the end of the world to both girls. But then, when you're in high school, it always does. And you get the sense that even if the Cold War had never happened, Ginger and Rosa would find another cause to get worked up about. Still, Potter has enough compassion for these girls to imply that their lives might really be just as dramatic as they think. In dreamy, color-drenched scenes that look like they're turning into memories right before your eyes, Potter portrays their friendship as a great love-in-wartime romance.

With spring break just around the corner, Faith (Selena Gomez), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Brit (Ashley Benson) and Cotty (Rachel Korine) have managed to save a total of only $325, well short of the funds needed for a week's worth of hotel stays and beer-bonging. Desperation is the mother of felony, as the girls demonstrate when they rob the local chicken shack, smashing up the joint with hammers while pointing water guns at employees and customers.

Boom! St. Petersburg time.

For the first 40 minutes or so, "Spring Breakers" is thick with style and light on plot, as the girls tool around town on rented scooters, indulge in all manner of chemically altered behavior and spent quiet sunsets with their arms draped around one another, talking about how they'll never forget the awesome awesomeness of this moment. 
But then they're arrested, cuffed, jailed and have to appear in court — never even having the opportunity to throw on a cover-up. Even when appearing before the judge, the girls are in their neon-colored bikinis.

That's when "Spring Breakers" takes a hardcore right turn. The girls are bailed out by "Alien" (real name Allen), a gangster rapper about 10 percent rapper and 90 percent gangster.

"Spring Breakers" challenges us to think about the hedonistic hell that of that annual ritual, as it segues from party film to insane crime story. It's self-indulgent, it's funny, it's dark, and it's always provocative. 

The World premiere of the final few episodes of the multi-award winning web series Clutch. Additionally, the best of the web series community will be on hand to showcase their trailers. This is a great chance to meet Toronto's top online creators in person! This screening is suitable for ages 14 and up. You can find current episodes of Clutch online at clutchseries.com.  PWYC.

With spring break just around the corner, Faith (Selena Gomez), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Brit (Ashley Benson) and Cotty (Rachel Korine) have managed to save a total of only $325, well short of the funds needed for a week's worth of hotel stays and beer-bonging. Desperation is the mother of felony, as the girls demonstrate when they rob the local chicken shack, smashing up the joint with hammers while pointing water guns at employees and customers.

Boom! St. Petersburg time.

For the first 40 minutes or so, "Spring Breakers" is thick with style and light on plot, as the girls tool around town on rented scooters, indulge in all manner of chemically altered behavior and spent quiet sunsets with their arms draped around one another, talking about how they'll never forget the awesome awesomeness of this moment. 
But then they're arrested, cuffed, jailed and have to appear in court — never even having the opportunity to throw on a cover-up. Even when appearing before the judge, the girls are in their neon-colored bikinis.

That's when "Spring Breakers" takes a hardcore right turn. The girls are bailed out by "Alien" (real name Allen), a gangster rapper about 10 percent rapper and 90 percent gangster.

"Spring Breakers" challenges us to think about the hedonistic hell that of that annual ritual, as it segues from party film to insane crime story. It's self-indulgent, it's funny, it's dark, and it's always provocative. 

When people ask her "How does it feel to be a rock icon?" Patti Smith says she "always thinks of Mount Rushmore." Steven Sebring's directorial debut takes a lyrical, stream-of-consciousness approach that is exactly right in his affecting portrait of the "rock-and-roll Joan of Arc." She can bring a crowd of devotees to its feet chanting "Glor-i-a!" as effectively as she can share her pain over the early death of her husband, Fred Smith, her brother, her close friend Robert Mapplethorpe, and other artists she admires. Everyone knows that Patti Smith's music, poetry, and politics are fearless, funny, raw, and original. But this film also captures her physical presence--her gamine beauty and charming, self-effacing style--that will take you by surprise and leave you deeply moved.

Dream of Life to be introduced by photography curator from the AGO, Sophie Hackett

When Shane Carruth came out of nowhere to win the 2004 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance with his exceptionally frugal brainteaser Primer, the story of its making got ahead of its significant accomplishment. Carruth has returned nine years later with Upstream Color, an intensely beautiful and enigmatic puzzle picture, it’s clear that Primer wasn’t some bolt from the blue, but the embryonic beginnings of a major filmmaker. Working with a larger budget—though very little all the same—Carruth has the means to expand another dense, sophisticated conceit into quasi-experimental marvel, as visually arresting as Primer (Carruth's first film) was limited by necessity. The two films share in common an absolute faith in audiences to follow their curlicues of logic—Carruth even ends scenes a few seconds before another director would, trusting viewers to get the idea—and an eerie, destabilizing mood, as reality itself gets radically reconfigured. 

To describe the plot of Upstream Color is an exercise in comical futility, but here goes:Amy Seimetz stars as an effects artist who’s abducted and implanted with a bioengineered grub that holds her in a hypnotic trance. By the time she recovers—via some sort of pig-related resuscitation process engineered by Andrew Sensenig (see: comical futility)—Seimetz has no memory of what happened, but she’s mysteriously drawn to a young, disgraced trader (Carruth) who seems to have gone through a similar experience. The two share an intimate relationship, spiked by mutual fear and paranoia, and their memories and identities start to muddy and converge inexplicably.

Set in 1962 London during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the story follows the tenderhearted Ginger (Elle Fanning), who lives with her thwarted-artist mother (Christina Hendricks) and her lefty academic father, Roland (Alessandro Nivola). She spends her days at pacifist marches with her wild best friend, Rosa (Alice Englert), and an older American activist (Annette Bening). Soon the BBC is reporting that the bomb may be dropped any day, and it feels like the end of the world to both girls. But then, when you're in high school, it always does. And you get the sense that even if the Cold War had never happened, Ginger and Rosa would find another cause to get worked up about. Still, Potter has enough compassion for these girls to imply that their lives might really be just as dramatic as they think. In dreamy, color-drenched scenes that look like they're turning into memories right before your eyes, Potter portrays their friendship as a great love-in-wartime romance.

When Shane Carruth came out of nowhere to win the 2004 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance with his exceptionally frugal brainteaser Primer, the story of its making got ahead of its significant accomplishment. Carruth has returned nine years later with Upstream Color, an intensely beautiful and enigmatic puzzle picture, it’s clear that Primer wasn’t some bolt from the blue, but the embryonic beginnings of a major filmmaker. Working with a larger budget—though very little all the same—Carruth has the means to expand another dense, sophisticated conceit into quasi-experimental marvel, as visually arresting as Primer (Carruth's first film) was limited by necessity. The two films share in common an absolute faith in audiences to follow their curlicues of logic—Carruth even ends scenes a few seconds before another director would, trusting viewers to get the idea—and an eerie, destabilizing mood, as reality itself gets radically reconfigured. 

To describe the plot of Upstream Color is an exercise in comical futility, but here goes:Amy Seimetz stars as an effects artist who’s abducted and implanted with a bioengineered grub that holds her in a hypnotic trance. By the time she recovers—via some sort of pig-related resuscitation process engineered by Andrew Sensenig (see: comical futility)—Seimetz has no memory of what happened, but she’s mysteriously drawn to a young, disgraced trader (Carruth) who seems to have gone through a similar experience. The two share an intimate relationship, spiked by mutual fear and paranoia, and their memories and identities start to muddy and converge inexplicably.

With spring break just around the corner, Faith (Selena Gomez), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Brit (Ashley Benson) and Cotty (Rachel Korine) have managed to save a total of only $325, well short of the funds needed for a week's worth of hotel stays and beer-bonging. Desperation is the mother of felony, as the girls demonstrate when they rob the local chicken shack, smashing up the joint with hammers while pointing water guns at employees and customers.

Boom! St. Petersburg time.

For the first 40 minutes or so, "Spring Breakers" is thick with style and light on plot, as the girls tool around town on rented scooters, indulge in all manner of chemically altered behavior and spent quiet sunsets with their arms draped around one another, talking about how they'll never forget the awesome awesomeness of this moment. 
But then they're arrested, cuffed, jailed and have to appear in court — never even having the opportunity to throw on a cover-up. Even when appearing before the judge, the girls are in their neon-colored bikinis.

That's when "Spring Breakers" takes a hardcore right turn. The girls are bailed out by "Alien" (real name Allen), a gangster rapper about 10 percent rapper and 90 percent gangster.

"Spring Breakers" challenges us to think about the hedonistic hell that of that annual ritual, as it segues from party film to insane crime story. It's self-indulgent, it's funny, it's dark, and it's always provocative. 

The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community.

But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis.

The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin America, from countries where they feared for their lives if they were to speak out, we watch them organize, fight back, and demand answers.

When Shane Carruth came out of nowhere to win the 2004 Grand Jury Prize at Sundance with his exceptionally frugal brainteaser Primer, the story of its making got ahead of its significant accomplishment. Carruth has returned nine years later with Upstream Color, an intensely beautiful and enigmatic puzzle picture, it’s clear that Primer wasn’t some bolt from the blue, but the embryonic beginnings of a major filmmaker. Working with a larger budget—though very little all the same—Carruth has the means to expand another dense, sophisticated conceit into quasi-experimental marvel, as visually arresting as Primer (Carruth's first film) was limited by necessity. The two films share in common an absolute faith in audiences to follow their curlicues of logic—Carruth even ends scenes a few seconds before another director would, trusting viewers to get the idea—and an eerie, destabilizing mood, as reality itself gets radically reconfigured. 

To describe the plot of Upstream Color is an exercise in comical futility, but here goes:Amy Seimetz stars as an effects artist who’s abducted and implanted with a bioengineered grub that holds her in a hypnotic trance. By the time she recovers—via some sort of pig-related resuscitation process engineered by Andrew Sensenig (see: comical futility)—Seimetz has no memory of what happened, but she’s mysteriously drawn to a young, disgraced trader (Carruth) who seems to have gone through a similar experience. The two share an intimate relationship, spiked by mutual fear and paranoia, and their memories and identities start to muddy and converge inexplicably.