Author:   Ken Hanke

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Cherry Blossoms

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: When his wife suddenly dies, a terminally ill man (who doesn't know he's dying) tries to honor her dream of going to Japan. The Lowdown: An exquisitely detailed story about the transitory nature of life, love and beauty.

The Informers

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A series of intercut stories about the vapid hedonism of the 1980s. The Lowdown: Too unrelentingly grim to function as entertainment and too full of unlikeable characters to generate any sympathy, The Informers, while interesting, is just too bleak for its own good.

Crank: High Voltage

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: The presumably dead Chev Chelios proves to be very much alive, but with an artificial heart that constantly needs recharging. He races to retrieve his real one. The Lowdown: Explosive bad taste, nonstop violence, foul language and scads of cinematic high jinks conspire to make for an outrageous moviegoing experience -- assuming you…

The Lodger

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Lodger at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 26, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community, 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville. (From Asheville, take I-26 to U.S. 64 West, turn right at the third light onto Thompson Street. Follow to the Lake Point Landing entrance and park…

The Iron Horse

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Hendersonville Film Society will show The Iron Horse at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 19, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community, 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville. (From Asheville, take I-26 to U.S. 64 West, turn right at the third light onto Thompson Street. Follow to the Lake Point Landing entrance and…

Hannah Montana: The Movie

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: Pop-star Hannah Montana/Miley Stewart is taken back home for a two-week stint to keep her from "going Hollywood." The Lowdown: Overly cheerful pap about the values of rural life wrapped around a pop-star fantasy aimed at young, impressionable girls.

The Great Buck Howard

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A law-school dropout takes a job as road manager for a minor celebrity on the touring circuit. The Lowdown: A thoroughly enjoyable comedy/drama based on the filmmaker's own experiences. John Malkovich is terrific in the title role and the rest of the cast doesn't let him down.

Sunshine Cleaning

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A pair of sisters go into business for themselves cleaning up crime scenes. The Lowdown: Though marketed as a quirky black comedy, Sunshine Cleaning is actually much more: a warm, human and pretty wonderful character piece, with two brilliant actresses and a strong supporting cast.

C Me Dance

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A young dancer suffering from leukemia finds she has the power to bring people to Jesus, thereby incurring the displeasure of the Devil. The Lowdown: If there is any redeeming value to this movie -- apart from unintended laughs -- it eluded me.