Author:   Ken Hanke

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The Class

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A year with the class of a teacher at an impoverished school with a rough crop of multicultural students. The Lowdown: A surprisingly entertaining variation on the well-worn "teacher with unwilling students" drama, set apart and made fresh by an almost complete lack of sentimentality and comfortable bromides.

Carmen

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Hendersonville Film Society will show Carmen at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 5, 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 in…

Monsters vs. Aliens

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A group of retro monsters from an earlier era are called upon to save the Earth from an alien invasion. The Lowdown: A consistently -- if mildly -- amusing, creative animated take on '50s sci-fi that works well enough without being particularly distinctive.

Wendy and Lucy

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A woman heading to a new life in Alaska with her dog runs into trouble along the way. The Lowdown: A rather dreary, depressing look at a woman’s search for a new life. Well made for what it is, but whether or not that makes it artistically or dramatically viable is another matter.

Duplicity

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A pair of former secret agents join forces and apply their particular fortes to the corporate world in order to make a big haul. The Lowdown: Witty and stylish, Duplicity scores more than it misses, and benefits from the chemistry of its stars.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Hendersonville Film Society will show Perfume: The Story of a Murderer at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 29, 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…

Knowing

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: A series of random numbers from 1959 turn out to catalog all the disasters of the ensuing 50 years, and may just hold the key to the future. The Lowdown: A beautifully made apocalyptic thriller that's undone by a screenplay that becomes increasingly ridiculous.

Che Part Two

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: An account of Che Guevara's attempts to start a revolution in Bolivia. The Lowdown: A huge comedown from Part One of Steven Soderbergh's epic Che biopic. Interesting for Benicio Del Toro's performance, but ultimately rather tedious.

The Last House on the Left

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: When a family discovers the stranded travelers they've given shelter are responsible for the rape and attempted murder of their daughter, they take their revenge. The Lowdown: An ugly, rather dull rehash of a film that was no great shakes to begin with. It's slicker, but not an improvement.

Che Part One

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: Historical drama covering the 1950's invasion of Cuba by rebel forces led by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. The Lowdown: A satisfying, sometimes extraordinary film that's well worth watching, even if it skirts the downside of its subject.

Miss March

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Story: After four years in a coma, a young man and his pea-brained friend set out to find the former's old girlfriend, who is now a Playboy centerfold model. The Lowdown: If anything worse comes out this year, I say we march on Hollywood with pitchforks and torches.

Night of the Hunter

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on
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The Hendersonville Film Society will show Night of the Hunter at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 22, 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…