Movie Reviews

Lemon Tree

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on

The Hendersonville Film Society will show Lemon Tree at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 10, in the Smoky Mountain Theater at Lake Pointe Landing Retirement Community (behind Epic Cinemas), 333 Thompson St., Hendersonville.

Farewell

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on

The Story: The story of the espionage efforts that helped bring about the fall of the Soviet government. The Lowdown: A truly compelling -- yet largely character-driven -- spy film that's as stylish and suspenseful as it is thoughtful.

Animal Kingdom

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on

The Story: A family in the business of crime -- of various kinds -- tangles with the police after one of their members is killed by corrupt cops. The Lowdown: Grim study of a family where crime and the life that goes with it is the norm. Often very effective, but with a pace that…

The Social Network

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on

The Story: The rise and rise -- with lawsuit side dishes -- of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. The Lowdown: Extremely entertaining, slickly made and emotionally awkward, The Social Network moves along at such a rapid pace and with such precise dialogue that it's hard to tell if the movie is actually an important statement or…

Chain Letter

Reviewed by Justin Souther on

The Story: A group of teens are terrorized by a muscle-bound madman who murders those who don't forward his chain letters. The Lowdown: A hackneyed, incoherent attempt at horror that takes everything awful about the last decade of horror films and squeezes it all into 90 minutes of bad movie.

Case 39

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on

The Story: A social worker takes in an abused child only to find that the child is something other than she seems. The Lowdown: A fairly effective entry in the demon-child subgenre, with better-than-average performances. Nothing special, but entertaining.

Let Me In

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on

The Story: A neglected and picked-on boy makes friends with the new girl in his apartment building -- who, it turns out, is actually a vampire. The Lowdown: This supremely efficient copy of Let the Right One In suffers by comparison with the original, but will likely play well to the uninitiated.

Cairo Time

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on

The Story: An American woman comes to Cairo to meet her husband, who is delayed by his job, and finds herself attracted to the man he sent to meet her. The Lowdown: A deliberately paced middle-age romance in a romantic setting that is made more romantic by its restraint and the precision of its lead…

You Again

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on

The Story: When a young woman learns her brother is marrying her archenemy from high school, she sets out to stop the marriage. The Lowdown: A pair of well-matched pros (Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis) aren't enough to compensate for the flat-footed comedy on display in this slightly unpleasant movie.

Bran Nue Dae

Reviewed by Ken Hanke on

The Story: A young Aborigine boy runs away from his training to become a priest -- in order to find his way home and back to the girl he loves. The Lowdown: A slightly peculiar, but generally likable little musical with loads of color, a lot of charm and the good sense to keep it…