A loose remake of 12 Angry Men (1957), set in a Russian school. 12 jurors are struggling to decide the fate of a Chechen teenager who allegedly killed his Russian stepfather. Stepfather took teenager to live with him to Moscow, during Chechnya war, in which teenager lost his parents. The jurors: a racist taxi-driver, a suspicious doctor, a vacillating TV producer, a Holocaust survivor, a flamboyant musician, a cemetery manager, and others represent the fragmented society of modern day Russia.A stray bird (a touch of New Age cinema) is flying above the jurors’ heads, alluding to tolerance.

Remember last year’s Oscars, when writer-director Nikita Mikhalkov’s thriller vied for the Foreign Language trophy against the unbeatable Counterfeiters? Hopefully word-of-mouth will keep 12 in theaters for a while, because neither the press nor the studio is paying the film much attention during the busy awards season. However! Russian film is still in the spotlight thanks to Admiral, and Mikhalkov’s developing a sequel to his Oscar-winning Burnt by the Sun. See you next year, Nikita?

Rated PG-13 for violent images, disturbing content, thematic material, brief sexual and drug references, and smoking.

Director: Nikita Mikhalkov
Stars: Sergei Makovetsky, Sergey Garmash, Apti Magamaev
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Release Date: 4 March 2009 (USA)
Genre: Crime | Drama | Thriller | War

Download and Share WE WILL NOT GO DOWN (Song for Gaza) Video | MP3

WE WILL NOT GO DOWN (Song for Gaza)
(Composed by Michael Heart)
Copyright 2009

A blinding flash of white light
Lit up the sky over Gaza tonight
People running for cover
Not knowing whether they’re dead or alive

They came with their tanks and their planes
With ravaging fiery flames
And nothing remains
Just a voice rising up in the smoky haze

We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

Women and children alike
Murdered and massacred night after night
While the so-called leaders of countries afar
Debated on who’s wrong or right

But their powerless words were in vain
And the bombs fell down like acid rain
But through the tears and the blood and the pain
You can still hear that voice through the smoky haze

We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight

In 1941, a group of Jewish brothers organize the largest armed rescue of Jews during the Holocaust. Three Jewish brothers escape from Nazi-occupied Poland into the Belarussian forest, where they join Russian resistance fighters and endeavor to build a village in order to protect themselves and others in danger.

Don’t call this one an awards-season has-been just because its December wide release date was nixed by a cost-cutting Paramount; Edward Zwick’s WWII drama is still buzzing (though the volume has been turned down) and has received an Oscar-qualifying run before its post-holiday push into the mainstream. However, the chance that Daniel Craig might be the first 007 to score an Oscar nod before his License to Kill has been revoked is looking increasingly faint. Still, his toughest competition may be co-stars Bell and Schreiber. As for the film itself, while a Best Picture nomination is unlikely, more importantly, it’s bringing to light a significant and often overlooked historical event.

Rated R for violence and language.

Director: Edward Zwick
Stars: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, George MacKay, Alexa Davalos
Studio: Paramount Vantage
Release Date: 16 January 2009 (USA)

One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images.

Uh-oh, the Academy has another Persepolis situation on their hands… Turns out Ari Folman’s surrealist animated war drama never had its mandatory one-week run in New York City this year (something that had to be in place by the end of last August), so it’s no kudos for Bashir, easily one of the best-received documentaries on the international film-festival circuit. Personally, while I think the rule is so old fashioned, I find it odd that the doc’s NYC-based distributor, Sony Pictures Classics, missed the bus here. The Joe Sacco set is up in arms!!

Rated R for some disturbing images of atrocities, strong violence, brief nudity and a scene of graphic sexual content.

Director: Ari Folman
Stars: Ari Folman, Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag, Dror Harazi, Yehezkel Lazarov
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics

At the height of WW2, a group of high-ranking German officers hatched a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, and seize power of the military command in order to end the war. The operation was codenamed “Valkyrie”, for the emergency plan that was meant to be used in case of a revolt against the Nazi government. This plan had been modified by the conspirators to ensure their success, but for various reasons the plot failed when finally carried out on 20 July 1944. The conspirators of the inner circle were shot after a kangaroo trial or sentenced to death soon after.

With each release-date change, our interest in Valkyrie only increases. Will it become known as the title that topples the reportedly dissolving United Artists partnership between Tom Cruise and longtime producing partner Paula Wagner, or will it mark the successful reunion of director Bryan Singer and Usual Suspects writer Christopher McQuarrie, who haven’t worked together since they made one another famous? If the players involved here ratchet up the Valkyrie’s action/thriller angle, we expect they will successfully combat everything working against this film: myriad production woes (including a late-stage shooting delay that caused the release date to be pushed back from the July 4th holiday), the public’s disinterest in T.C., said public’s recent indifference to war movies, holiday competition, etc. Still, the look is right and if this creative team reaches its zenith, this is exactly the sort of fare that will get adults into the multiplex during this season.

Rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language.

Director: Bryan Singer
Stars: Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Carice van Houten, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Thomas Kretschmann, Terence Stamp, Eddie Izzard, David Bamber, David Schofield
Studio: United Artists