Films with: Kind, Richard

Bug's life

Cute and clever, "A Bug's Life" is a relatively straight retelling of Kurosawa's "The Seven Samurai," except of course that the characters are bugs! Idealistic young ant Flik is a sweet-natured dreamer and inventor. But his innovative thinking makes him an outcast when one of his inventions goes awry and destroys the food sacrifice that the colony makes annually to a gang of grasshopper hooligans led by the sinister Hopper. Disgraced, Flik is sent to look for "warrior bugs," mercenaries to fight them. What he finds--and hires--are a motley crew of circus bugs including a preening master-thespian mantis, a glamorous gypsy moth, a cranky ladybug, a dimwitted beetle, and sundry other dimwitted, craven troupers. The ant colony is inspired by the troupe and mobilizes, but when they discover that the "warriors" are just circus clowns they lose faith. In the end, of course, Flik and crew save the day and free the colony from the oppressive grasshoppers.

DVD 8906

Cars

Hotshot rookie race car Lightning McQueen is living life in the fast lane until he hits a detour on his way to the most important race of his life. Stranded in Radiator Springs, a forgotten town on old Route 66, he meets Sally, Mater, Doc Hudson, and a variety of quirky characters who help him discover that there's more to life than trophies and fame.

DVD 12380

Hereafter

This film peers at an intriguing question--is there an afterlife?--through the lens of George, Marie, and Marcus, who are each tortured in different ways by the thought of life after death. George Lonegan is psychic. It was once his career: he was "the man who can speak to the dead," with a high-traffic website, and a popular biography. But he fled that life, unable to cope with the emotional burden of his abilities. Marie Lelay is a French TV presenter coping with the intense emotions brought on by a near death experience in the 2004 tsunami in Thailand. She's written a book on the subject, which was greeted with derision by her colleagues. Marcus and Jason live in a London council estate, covering for their mother, who's a hopeless junkie. When Jason meets a sudden and tragic end, Marcus is set hopelessly adrift, and begins obsessively researching psychics and seers who can help him contact Jason on the other side.

DVD 8314

Obvious Child

Donna Stern is a Brooklyn comedian who gets heartlessly dumped by her two-timing boyfriend. While trying to drown her troubles at the stand-up comedy club, she has a drunken one night stand with a cute young professional named Max (who's not even remotely her type) and ends up pregnant. Donna has to do what is expected of a "responsible adult" just in time for the best/worst Valentine's Day of her life.

DVD 11421

Paper store

In this revenge tale about a former college student who writes essays for cash, the client who becomes her lover, and the professor who finds out, things turn ugly quick.

DVD 12852

Serious man

One ordinary man's quest to become a serious man. Physics professor Larry Gopnik can't believe his life, His wife is leaving him for his best friend, his unemployed brother won't move off the couch, someone is threatening his career, his kids are a mystery and his neighbor is tormenting him by sunbathing nude. Struggling to make sense of it all, Larry consults three different rabbis and their answers lead him on a twisted journey of faith, family, delinquent behavior, and mortality.

DVD 7278

Visitor /

Walter Vale is a widower who teaches economics at a Connecticut university. He lives alone and is no longer motivated by his work. In New York to present a paper at a conference, he goes to the apartment that he has not visited in some time, but has kept since his wife was alive, only to discover a young couple living there. Despite their great cultural differences, Walter befriends Tarek, a Syrian citizen and drummer, and gradually builds a friendship with Esi, his girlfriend from Senegal. One day, when returning from Central Park with Walter, Tarek is arrested for jumping a stuck subway turnstile, despite the fact that he had paid. The police discover he does not have legal papers and transfer him to an immigrant detention center in Queens. Feeling responsible for and connected to Tarek, Walter decides to stay in New York to help and support him. Not hearing from her son, Tarek's mother arrives from Michigan to find out why, and she and Walter support one another while they attempt to free Tarek.

DVD 5977