RICKY

RICKY (France)

The Story:
Based on a short story by Rose Tremain. Katie (Alexandra Lamy) is a single mom and factory worker who lives on a council estate in the Seine-et-Marne region, just east of Paris with her 7-year-old daughter Lisa (Melusine Mayance).Every day, she drives her daughter to school on her scooter, puts in a shift at the factory, picks up the girl again, and goes home.

Things are set to change when Katie falls for Spanish co-worker, Paco (Sergi Lopez), Lisa resents the new man coming into their life, and that sense of resentment is increased when Katie realizes she is pregnant.

The baby Ricky (Arthur Peyret), is particularly fractious and difficult at first.

Once Katie returns to work, Paco works night shifts and looks after the child in the day time. After noticing bruises on the baby’s back, near his shoulder blades, Katie accuses Paco of abusing him while she has been working. He is so hurt by this, he decides to leave the relationship.

The bruises worsen and turn into lumps. Then some growths that look like featherless chicken wings begin to protrude. One day the child is missing from his crib and Katie and Lisa eventually see that somehow he has made his way on top of a wardrobe.

It becomes apparent that the child is developing wings. Not the white wings of an angel, but proper birdlike wings. He can actually fly.

On a trip to the supermarket one day. The boy flies up to the ceiling lights. The secret is out. The media descend on Katie and Lisa’s home, and Paco returns to try to build a family again.

Starring:
Alexandra Lamy, Sergi Lopez, Melusine Mayance, Arthur Peyret, Andre Wilms, Jean-Claude Bolle-Reddat

Directed By:
Francois Ozon

Release:
2009

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ROCKET SCIENCE

The Story:

Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson) is a smart and perceptive high-schooler -- but thanks to his bullying brother (Vincent Piazza) and a debilitating stutter, he's paralyzed by neuroses and panic attacks. His father recently left his mother. His mother then shacked up with a judge (Steve Park) with a horrifying sense of humor. And Hal gets terrible advice from everyone -- including a school counselor (Maury Ginsberg) with the barest understanding of speech pathology who advises Hal to "go back to where you were before you tried to exceed expectations."

But Hal's real journey into hell begins when he joins the Plainsboro High debate team because of a woman. Specifically, he joins the team because of Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick), a master debater.

After a humiliating defeat at the previous year’s state championship, where her whiz partner, the slick-tongued Ben Wekselbaum (Nicholas D’Agosto), came to the realization as he was closing in on the title, that the whole thing was a pointless charade. Suddenly stopping mid-sentence, he effectively gave the trophy to the opposing school. Ginny becomes desperate to reclaim her superiority, and back on the bus convinces Hal of his potential when she says “deformed people” are always the best. “It must be their deep source of anger.”

Completely infatuated, Hal falls for Ginny and her rifling speech patterns. He looks up to her as nature’s perfect creation, and decides to make a move, but Ginny is seemingly not prepared to get so close, and in response leaves the team for a rival school.On top of this, Hal’s home life is shit. Lacking the support of a father (or mother) figure and being forced to fend for himself, he manages to survive on his own

Not willing to give in so easily, he goes in search of the legend. Wekselbaum, now living alone, is found working happily at a cleaners in the slums of Trenton, N.J., and it is here that Hal plans to stage a comeback to prove his worth—but to whom?

Starring:
Reece Daniel Thompson, Anna Kendrick, Nicholas DiAgosto, Vincent Piazza, Margo Martindale, Steve Park, Maury Ginsberg.

Directed By:

Jeffrey Blitz

Release:

2007

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NOTHING LIKE THE HOLIDAYS

The Story:
It’s Christmastime and the far-flung members of the Rodriguez family are converging at their parents’ home in Chicago to celebrate the season and rejoice in their youngest brother’s safe return from combat overseas. For Jesse (Freddy Rodriguez), coming home has rekindled feelings for an old flame, although she can’t seem to forgive him for leaving. His older sister Roxanna, a struggling actress, has been chasing her Hollywood dreams for years with little to show for it. And much to the dismay of their mother Anna (Elizabeth Peña), eldest brother Mauricio (John Leguizamo) brings home a high-powered executive wife (Debra Messing) who would rather raise capital than a child. In the course of one eventful week, traditions will be celebrated, secrets revealed and major life decisions made. It all begins when Anna announces to her children she is divorcing their father Eduardo (Alfred Molina).

Starring:
Freddy Rodriguez, John Leguizamo, Debra Messing, Alfred Molina, Elizabeth Peña and Vanessa Ferlito.

Directed By:
Alfredo De Villa.

Releaese:
2008

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