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Rails & Ties
rating:3.5

Rails & Ties

2007Runtime:0 minutes
When a mother commits suicide by parking her car on the train tracks, an unlikely bond forms between her son, Davey (Miles Heizer) -- who's wracked with guilt -- and the tormented engineer (Kevin Bacon) who was driving the train that fateful day. Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden co-stars as the engineer's wife in this poignant drama, which marks the directorial debut of Alison Eastwood (Clint's daughter).

Directed by:

  • Alison Eastwood
  • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    Streetwalkin'
    rating:3.5

    Streetwalkin'

    1985Runtime:0 minutes
    This gritty drama follows the downward spiral of Cookie, a runaway who ends up as a hooker in New York City. When things get violent, Cookie tries to flee again, but her enraged pimp will stop at nothing to keep her under his thumb.

    Directed by:

  • Joan Freeman
  • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    Amreeka
    rating:3.5

    Amreeka

    2009Runtime:0 minutes
    Eager to provide a better future for her son, Fadi (Melkar Muallem), divorcée Muna Farah (Nisreen Faour) leaves her Palestinian homeland and takes up residence in rural Illinois -- just in time to encounter the domestic repercussions of America's disastrous war in Iraq. Now, the duo must reinvent their lives with some help from Muna's sister, Raghda (Hiam Abbass), and brother-in-law, Nabeel (Yussuf Abu-Warda). Cherien Dabis writes and directs.

    Directed by:

  • Cherien Dabis
  • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    Split Ends
    rating:3.5

    Split Ends

    2009Runtime:0 minutes
    To save her successful hair salon and protect her quaint town from overdevelopment, Scottish-born small business owner Lizzie (Corinna May) enthusiastically joins forces with her loyal stylists, local citizens and a charming antique dealer (Richard Bekins). Inspired by events from writer Elizabeth Christensen's life, this cute romantic comedy also stars Vincent Pastore, Lawton Paseka and Peter McRobbie.

    Directed by:

  • Dorothy Lyman
  • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    Sunshine Cleaning
    rating:3.5

    Sunshine Cleaning

    2008Runtime:0 minutes
    Financially on shaky ground yet determined to send her son to a top private school, Rose Lorkowski (Amy Adams) teams up with her unreliable sister, Norah (Emily Blunt), to start a new company that specializes in biohazard removal and crime scene cleanup. Tired of doing all of the work for other people, whether in her job cleaning homes or in her failed relationships, Rose is finally ready to use her entrepreneurial spirit to tidy up her own life.

    Directed by:

  • Christine Jeffs
  • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    Monster
    rating:3.5

    Monster

    2003Runtime:0 minutes
    Charlize Theron took home the Best Actress Oscar for her electrifying performance as Aileen Wuornos, an emotionally scarred highway hooker who shoots a sadistic trick who rapes her and ultimately becomes America's first female serial killer. The film, based on a true story, centers more on the surrounding circumstances than on the murders. Christina Ricci co-stars as Aileen's self-centered lesbian lover, Selby Wall.

    Directed by:

  • Patty Jenkins
  • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    The Favor
    rating:3.5

    The Favor

    2006Runtime:0 minutes
    The humdrum life of a middle-aged New Jersey photographer named Lawrence (Frank Wood) is thrown for a loop when his on-again, off-again girlfriend dies unexpectedly and he decides to take in her troubled 16-year-old son, Johnny (Ryan Donowho). The directorial debut from filmmaker Eva S. Aridjis, this touching dramedy features supporting performances from Aldo Perez, Isidra Vega and Jesse Kelly.

    Directed by:

  • Eva Aridjis
  • rating:3.5 3.5 Average Rating

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    Real Women Have Curves
    rating:3.4

    Real Women Have Curves

    2002Runtime:0 minutes
    America Ferrera shines in a star-making performance as Ana, a Mexican-American teenager who's struggling to break free from her mother's old-world expectations, in this coming-of-age drama set in East Los Angeles. Ana wants to attend college so she can better herself, but she's needed in her sister's sewing sweatshop, where women labor to make dresses that are then sold for many times what the shop is paid to make them.

    Directed by:

  • Patricia Cardoso
  • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    But I'm a Cheerleader
    rating:3.4

    But I'm a Cheerleader

    1999Runtime:0 minutes
    In this hilarious satire, Megan Bloomfield (Natasha Lyonne) lives a "normal" teen life as a cheerleader dating the captain of the football team. But her parents and friends suspect Megan is gay because of "clues," such as her distaste for kissing her boyfriend. Shipped off to True Directions -- a camp designed to shove her back in the closet -- Bloomfield meets tomboy Graham Eaton (Clea DuVall), who helps her recognize her sexual orientation.

    Directed by:

  • Jamie Babbit
  • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    All I Wanna Do
    rating:3.4

    All I Wanna Do

    1998Runtime:0 minutes
    It's 1963, and budget constraints are forcing Miss Godard's School for Girls to merge with a nearby boy's boarding school. This alarms student Verena (Kirsten Dunst) and her friends, who launch a strike to preserve their academy's all-girl tradition. Their defiance angers straight-arrow Abby (Rachael Leigh Cook) and causes headaches for sympathetic teacher Miss McVane (Lynn Redgrave). Gaby Hoffmann and Heather Matarazzo co-star.

    Directed by:

  • Sarah Kernochan
  • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Love and Mary
    rating:3.4

    Love and Mary

    2007Runtime:0 minutes
    After a bad review imperils her upscale bake shop, Mary plans to take her fiancé, Brent, back to Texas, with the hope of scoring some cash from the engagement party. But an outbreak of hives forces Mary to take Brent's jailbird twin, Jake, instead.

    Directed by:

  • Elizabeth Harrison
  • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Desert Hearts
    rating:3.4

    Desert Hearts

    1985Runtime:0 minutes
    Uptight literature professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) heads to Reno, Nev., in 1959 for a quickie divorce. While staying with Frances Parker (Audra Lindley) at her ranch to establish residency, Bell meets Parker's adopted daughter (Patricia Charbonneau), a casino worker 10 years her junior. Bell finds herself increasingly drawn to the open and self-assured lesbian, and their developing intimacy releases buried emotions Bell has never explored.

    Directed by:

  • Donna Deitch
  • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Fish Tank
    rating:3.4

    Fish Tank

    2009Runtime:0 minutes
    The life of hot-tempered teen outcast Mia (Katie Jarvis) takes an unexpected turn when her mother, Joanne (Kierston Wareing), brings home a handsome and mysterious boyfriend named Connor (Michael Fassbender), who pledges to bring sweeping positive changes to the household. British writer-director Andrea Arnold's sophomore feature won Best British Film at the 2010 BAFTAs.

    Directed by:

  • Andrea Arnold
  • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Jesus' Son
    rating:3.4

    Jesus' Son

    1999Runtime:0 minutes
    Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, director Alison Maclean's reflective drama follows FH (Billy Crudup), a well-meaning drug addict who stumbles backward into redemption. When his longtime love (Samantha Morton) leaves, FH follows her but meets and falls for the older Mira (Holly Hunter). Amid his life's wreckage, a near-fatal car crash and a chance to save a child's life force FH to examine his existence and its meaning.

    Directed by:

  • Alison MacLean
  • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    The Sensei
    rating:3.4

    The Sensei

    2008Runtime:0 minutes
    After punks at school hand him a savage beating, gay teen McClain Evans (Michael O'Laskey II) secretly begins martial arts training with Karen O'Neil (director Diana Lee Inosanto), a woman who has her own axe to grind with the narrow-minded rural community. But as Evans learns to stand up to prejudice and hate, the boy and his sensei unleash a firestorm of controversy in their small Colorado town. Louis Mandylor co-stars in this drama.

    Directed by:

  • Diana Lee Inosanto
  • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Strangers in Good Company
    rating:3.4

    Strangers in Good Company

    1990Runtime:0 minutes
    When a bus filled with eight elderly women breaks down in the wilderness, the group of strangers is stranded at a deserted farmhouse with only their wits, their memories and eventually some roasted frogs' legs to sustain them. For several days, the women share their life stories and intimate thoughts. Director Cynthia Scott directs these nonprofessional actors delivering largely improvised dialogue to heartwarming effect.

    Directed by:

  • Cynthia Scott
  • rating:3.4 3.4 Average Rating

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    Now and Then
    rating:3.8

    Now and Then

    1995Runtime:0 minutes
    Waxing nostalgic about the bittersweet passage from childhood to puberty in this tender coming-of-age tale, four childhood girlfriends -- Teeny, Chrissy, Samantha and Roberta -- recall the magical summer of 1970. During their walk down memory lane, they reconcile experiences with boys, secrets, bullies and more. Lesli Linka Glatter directs; Gaby Hoffmann, Ashleigh Aston Moore, Cloris Leachman, Thora Birch and Christina Ricci co-star.

    Directed by:

  • Lesli Linka Glatter
  • rating:3.8 3.8 Average Rating

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    Now and Then (1995)
    A heartwarming movie about four childhood girlfriends who, in adulthood reunion, relive their experience of the life-changing summer of 1970, including a mystery death, divorce, standing up to the boys, first kiss, and the meaning of true friendship. Each explores her unique identity amidst family and friends. Beautifully directed by Lesli Linka Glatter.
    - Frances   
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    frances 'at' femaledirectors.com