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IFC Films just released a trailer for An Invisible Sign, the drama directed by Marilyn Agrelo, and based on the book by Aimee Bender. The film stars Jessica Alba, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina, Sophie Nyweide and Bailee Madison. Here is the plot synopsis:

Young Mona idolizes her father, a brilliant mathematician. When he suddenly demonstrates signs of mental illness, Mona begins to obsess about numbers, using them to interpret an unpredictable and threatening world. Now an adult (Jessica Alba), Mona’s old superstitions and compulsive behaviors continue to flourish, but a new job as an elementary school math teacher (a position she both relishes and dreads), may force her out of her protective shell. With imagination and humor, as well as a special sensitivity to the realities of mental illness, An Invisible Sign carries a magic all its own.

"An Invisible Sign" is the upcoming dramatic feature, directed by Marilyn Agrelo, starring Jessica Alba, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina, Sophie Nyweide and Bailee Madison, based on the novel by author Aimee Bender.

"...'Mona Gray' (Alba) turned to mathematics as a means of dealing with a devastating family illness. Years later, Mona teaches the subject, and does her best to help her students contend with their own personal crises..."

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "An Invisible Sign"...

Just in case you still needed another movie to make you feel guilty about things you didn’t do, here’s Mammoth, a film whose redeeming qualities are all but completely negated by the fact that it’s several years late to the hyperlink game (which people were already starting to turn on by the time that Babel came out). The premise is solid enough, the actors are trying their best, and writer-director Lukas Moodyson (this is his first English language film) clearly tried very hard to not make a bad film, but to a degree, that’s the problem. It’s hard to take on a narrative that spreads across two continents and several time zones, and then not take any further risks with the subject matter. As a result, you have a film that presumes to show everything, but instead says nothing, or at least doesn’t say...

Chicago – The relationship between American families and their foreign maids is a subject that has been tackled in a variety of previous indie pictures, from Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Babel” to Todd Solondz’s “Storytelling.” Yet in “Mammoth,” the English-language debut from Swedish-born filmmaker Lukas Moodysson, the material is dealt with in a refreshingly humanistic way, devoid of sensationalism (the story concludes with neither deportation nor asphyxiation).

Unlike an Oscar-winning social critique like “Crash,” which succinctly summarizes its overarching message in its opening line of dialogue, “Mammoth” dodges the opportunity to preach. Moodysson is confident enough as a storyteller to allow his characters to develop organically, without feeding them through the contrived machinery of a self-consciously moralistic plot. While his previous work, such as his stellar 2000 picture “Together,” blended comedy with pathos, this film delves into considerably darker waters, exploring the connection between globalization and alienation. A more fitting title may have been,...

By Christopher Stipp

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The Basketball Diaries - Blu-ray Review

I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t believe it but this is without question the best film Leonardo DiCaprio has ever done.

A story about the young life of Jim Carroll, the film is an abrasive, dark, evocative portrait that showcases DiCaprio as an actor that seamlessly blends into the background of a story that is nothing short of compelling. Now in Blu-ray this is a wonderful chance to revisit a movie that helped Leo be known as an actor to contend with but, I think, the real joy in re-watching this movie is its dealing with drug culture that wasn’t proselytizing in nature but exposed it for what it was.

There was...

Below we have the trailer and poster for Lukas Moodysson new drama “Mammoth“

Synopsis: “Mammoth” revolves around successful New York couple Leo (Gael García Bernal) and Ellen (Michelle Williams). Leo is the creator of a booming website, and has stumbled into a world of money and big decisions. Ellen is a dedicated emergency surgeon who devotes her long shifts to saving lives. Their 8-year old daughter Jackie (Sophie Nyweide) spends most of her time with her Filipino nanny Gloria (Marife Necesito), a situation that is making Ellen start to question her priorities. When Leo travels to Thailand on business, he unwittingly sets off a chain of events that will have dramatic consequences for everyone.

“Mammoth” is the first English-language film from acclaimed Swedish writer/director Lukas Moodysson (A Hole in My Heart, Together, Lilya 4-Ever).

Mammoth Poster

IFC Films will open “Mammoth” in Us on November 20, 2009.

Click here to view the embedded video.

• A little bit of fluff (Harald Zwart’s Pink Panther II), an Oscar hopeful (Stephen Daldry’s The Reader) and some prestige titles from master filmmakers who might have lost their touch and offerings from less-seasoned directors are among the world preems that have been announced in the Berlin Film Festival’s Competition and Out of Competition section). Some long-awaited films from the veterans in Sally Potter, Theo Angelopoulos and Chen Kaige (see pic) are being paired with filmmakers such as Moodysson, Bouchareb and Rebecca Miller. Along with Miller and Moodysson’s films, I’m looking forward to seeing Oren Moverman’s directorial debut – which will be soon a couple of weeks earlier at Sundance. Here is the complete ten list of films announced. The fest begins on the 5th of February. Alle Anderen Germanyby Maren Ade (The Forest for the Trees)with Birgit Minichmayr, Lars Eidinger, Hans-Jochen Wagner,

...

While we eagerly await more info (and trailers) for the films playing at Sundance (and hopefully news on where Cory McAbee's Stingray Sam is going), the first competition and out of competition titles have been announced for one of the other biggest fests on the planet, the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, and all I have to say is Wtf? Pink Panther II is playing out of competition?! Who's running this menagerie? They redid the entire program this year, so I hope they're still going to have the genre goods.

You can check out the real short list after the break or you can read the press release.

Alle Anderen Germany

by Maren Ade (The Forest for the Trees)

with Birgit Minichmayr, Lars Eidinger, Hans-Jochen Wagner, Nicole Marischka

World premiere

Rage Great Britain / USA

by Sally Potter (The Tango Lesson, Orlando)

with Dame Judi Dench, Jude Law, Dianne Wiest,...

"Mammoth" has just got its first trailer out. Previewing the relationship between Tom and his family before he goes on a business trip that changes his life, the trailer gives out the first look into the characters played by Gael Garcia Bernal and Michelle Williams. Aside from the relationship, it also displays the problems each of the main characters are dealing with.

This drama movie explores the connection between three people in three different places. It follows the story of Tom, his wife and their maid's family. Tom is a successful New York businessman who has to leave his wife and daughter for a business trip to Thailand. There, as he gets into a new cultural experience, he realizes he wants to change his life. Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, his wife struggles to spend time with their daughter.

Coming from the Swedish director/writer Lukas Moodysson,...