The Film Wall » 2000-2003

Brat 2 (2000)

user51 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:13:25 +0000

In this sequel to the 1997 comedy The Brat (a major hit in its native Russia), Chechen war veteran-turned-gangster Danila (Sergei Bodrov, Jr.) meets up with a few of his Army buddies while appearing on a TV chat show about the conflict. One of Danila’s pals mentions that his brother, who has moved to the United States and is enjoying a career as a hockey player, is having a cash-flow problem, and wants to know if Danila can help him. Danila promises to see what he can do, but when he gets back to his friend, Danila discovers he’s been killed under mysterious circumstances. Convinced something fishy is going on, Danila and his brother Victor (Victor Sukhorukov) head to Chicago to find his friend’s brother in hopes of finding out the truth; however, they quickly make a mess of things.

Bear With Me (2000)

user51 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:09:27 +0000

Eleven-year-old Emily (Kaitlyn Burke) is an environmental activist in training, having saved a bear cub wounded by poachers and nursed it back to health . When Emily’s 16-year-old sister Melissa (Kimberley Warnat) — another would-be environmentalist — and her high school pal Daniel (Kristian Ayre) go to the woods to document evidence of a shady millionaire’s (Alan Thicke) clear-cutting operation, Emily follows her and promptly gets washed away down a fast-flowing woodland river. Soon everyone is looking for the lost girl, including Melissa and Scott (Eric Johnson), a hunky slice of logger beefcake. With only the trusty bear cub — now grown into a 700-pound adult named Masha — as her guide, Emily struggles to make it out of the woods alive

Best of Film Noir (2000)

user51 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 13:03:23 +0000

Film oir is a style that continues to affect the look of films to this day. The Best of Film Noir offers trailers for many classic films that employed the signature stark oir look, as well as interviews with many of the performers and filmmakers who had a hand in shaping these classic movies

Best Actress (2000)

user51 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:58:41 +0000

E! Entertainment’s debut original TV production is an over-the-top depiction of Hollywood decadence and desperation. Five down-and-out women vie for a major award. The five include a drugged-out indie queen; a plumy British actress with a womanizing director for a husband; a porn star looking for a legit turn; an African-American chanteuse whose career is on the skids; and a lipstick lesbian with a wily publicist. The plot twists when a body turns up and all five are suspects.

Building Big with David Macaulay: Tunnels (2000)

user51 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:43:31 +0000

David Macaulay, the renowned author/ illustrator of The Way Things Work, has a knack for demystifying mechanical structures by explaining the engineering, physics, and human ingenuity that have gone into their design — although in sum, his explanations usually make the man-made world seem ever more curious and phenomenal. In WGBH Boston’s Building Big series, Macaulay visits the world’s great architectural structures to tell their stories and the stories of the men who built them; in this program he explores Boston’s “Big Dig” project, explains how the first underwater automobile tunnel was built, and profiles the radical engineer who changed London’s underground. He showcases the powerful machines that made construction of the Chunnel possible, and serves as guide through the tunnels beneath ancient Rome. The video also includes a mini tunnel-building activity.

The Beach Boys: Endless Harmony – The Beach Boys Story (2000)

user51 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:38:47 +0000

The Beach Boys changed the shape of rock & roll in the 1960s, first with their initial string of hit singles (which combined catchy tunes, clever lyrics about cars and girls, and the group’s superb vocal harmonies) and later with the groundbreaking concept album Pet Sounds (where Brian Wilson’s gifts as a songwriter, producer, and arranger reached their full flower). While a version of the group remains active to this day, off stage the Beach Boys were touched by scandal, tragedy, and internal discord, and this documentary (first aired on the VH1 cable television network) examines the peaks and valleys of the group’s personal and professional fortunes. The Beach Boys: Endless Harmony features footage of the group performing most of their biggest hits, as well as unreleased versions of “California Girls,” “Sloop John B.”, “God Only Knows”, and “Heroes and Villains”; the DVD edition features additional performances not included in the broadcast or VHS editions, as well as special 5.1 Surround Sound remixes of seven songs, including “California Girls”, “God Only Knows,” “Surf’s Up,” and “Sail On Sailor.”

Bedazzled (2000)

user51 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:34:58 +0000

David Macaulay, the renowned author/ illustrator of -The Way Things Work, has a knack for demystifying mechanical structures by explaining the engineering, physics, and human ingenuity that have gone into their design — although in sum, his explanations usually make the man-made world seem ever more curious and phenomenal. In WGBH Boston’s Building Big series, Macaulay visits the world’s great architectural structures to tell their stories and the stories of the men who built them; in this program he discusses early “skyscrapers” created by powerful Italian families, introduces rare footage of the building of the Empire State Building, explains how flaws in the Citicorp Center in New York produced a near-disaster, and profiles the career of Gustave Eiffel — the bridge builder and eventual designer of what may be the most recognizable structure on earth. The video includes a mini skyscraper-building activity.

Bob, Verushka, and the Pursuit of Happiness (2000)

user51 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:30:32 +0000

American independent filmmaker Roger Stigliano directs the low-budget omantic comedy Bob, Verushka & the Pursuit of Happiness, originally shot on 16 mm. Bob Friends (played by co-writer Michael Waite) is a thirtysomething salesman who works two jobs and lives with his sister. He has a dream of opening a fast food restaurant for kids selling only pink and blue food. When his boss (Evan R. Press) tells him to spend a few days with the company’s top seller, Stephanie (Gheree O’Bannon), he accidentally gets involved with an eccentric con woman named Verushka (Yelena Danova) instead. She implicates Bob in her daffy get-rich-quick schemes, usually on the wrong side of the law. By the time he figures it all out, he’s fallen for her charms.

Building Big with David Macaulay: Dams (2000)

user51 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:26:11 +0000

David Macaulay, the renowned author/ illustrator of The Way Things Work, has a knack for demystifying mechanical structures by explaining the engineering, physics, and human ingenuity that have gone into their design — although in sum, his explanations usually make the man-made world seem ever more curious and phenomenal. In WGBH Boston’s Building Big series, Macaulay visits the world’s great architectural structures to tell their stories and the stories of the men who built them; here he discusses Frank “Hurry Up” Crowe — the merciless chief engineer of the Hoover Dam, the effect of the Aswan Dam on Nubian society, and the cause of the Johnstown Flood of 1889 — a disaster that produced 2200 casualties. The video also includes a mini dam-making activity.

Building Big with David Macaulay: Domes (2000)

user51 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:22:10 +0000

David Macaulay, the renowned author/ illustrator of The Way Things Work, has a knack for demystifying mechanical structures by explaining the engineering, physics, and human ingenuity that have gone into their design — although in sum, his explanations usually make the man-made world seem ever more curious and phenomenal. In WGBH Boston’s Building Big series, Macaulay visits the world’s great architectural structures to tell their stories and the stories of the men who built them; here he discusses the unique design of the Hagia Sophia’s dome, uses archival photos to literally reconstruct the Capitol Dome in Washington, DC, explains how (and why) a circus tycoon decided to build the Houston Astrodome, and explores the geodesic dome design of Buckminster Fuller. The video includes a mini dome-building exercise.

Bunny (2000)

user51 — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 12:18:46 +0000

Premiering at the 2000 ~Los Angeles Independent Film Festival, Bunny offers a look at an Eastern European couple’s difficult introduction to American culture. Arriving in an anonymous U.S. city, Nik (Edyk Dratver) and Luda (Petra Tikalova) are taken in by Luda’s brusque Aunt Elise (Elizabeth Liebel). As they attempt to find work, Nik and Luda meet with a slew of xenophobic rejection until finally they land jobs as part of an experimental public works project. The project requires the couple to dress up in pink bunny costumes and offer anonymous, understated moral support to the city’s denizens. While Nik, who was a lawyer back home, is disgusted by his new job, Luda revels in it, and their marriage soon enters a territory as rocky as their assimilation

Trolösa(2000)

anand — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:04:08 +0000

Marianne is a theatre actress married to an orchestra conductor, Markus. She becomes involved in an affair with their director friend, David, which leads to a painful divorce and battle for custody of their daughter, Isabelle. Although all of them are merely fictional characters created by Bergman, their experiences become very real and traumatic for him.

Tully(2000)

anand — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:02:59 +0000

Tully Coates, Jr., with his good looks and chiseled body, is the local heartthrob, and while he has a new girlfriend virtually every night, he’s incapable of getting close to anyone. His younger brother Earl, the shy and sensitive type, frequents the local revival house. The only common bond between these disparate siblings is Ella Smalley, an intelligent and even-tempered young woman who returns to their Nebraska hometown to intern at a local veterinarian’s clinic. Meanwhile, their father, Tully, Sr., a rancher who gets by with the help of his two sons, carries a brooding sadness, a hint of past wounds too long in healing. The family dynamic is changed forever when several secrets surface.

Turn It Up(2000)

anand — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:02:14 +0000

Trying to bootstrap his way out of Brooklyn’s mean streets is Diamond, a rap musician. With his long-time pal Gage acting as his manager, he’s trying to lay down a demo tape with cut-rate studio time. To pay the bills, he and Gage run drugs for “Mr. B.” Inside a week, Diamond’s beloved mother dies suddenly, his father appears after an absence of 12 years and wants a relationship, and his girlfriend Kia tells him she’s pregnant, asking him if he’s ready to be a father. Gage steals $100,000 in a multiple-felony robbery so that Diamond can record a full album, not knowing it’s Mr. B’s money he’s taken. B wants his money, Diamond wants his music, Tia wants an answer.

Two Brothers(2000)

anand — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:01:38 +0000

Two brothers, one straight one gay, move in together after the death of their mother. They attempt to reconnect while the younger attempts to explore his sexuality in the “big city”.