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This week's slate gathers together so many big name stars in one place you'd think it was Oscar night already.

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"Across The Hall"

A stripped-down neo-noir with a twist, this feature debut for filmmaker Alex Merkin began as a 2005 short (starring Adrian Grenier, which can be found online here). Grenier didn't return, but Mike Vogel takes his place as Julian, a young man who races to a seedy hotel where his best friend's wayward fiancée (Brittany Murphy) and another man have aroused the suspicions of his pal, who's holed up "across the hall" with a bottle of whiskey and a gun.

Opens in New York and Los Angeles.

"Armored"

Having garnered a great deal of attention with his grungy murder mystery debut "Kontroll," American-born Hungarian helmer Nimród Antal first made his mark in Hollywood...

Quickcard Review – Chicago International Film Festival Quickcard

Gigante

Directed by: Adrian Biniez

Cast: Hermando Camadule, Leonor Svarcas

Running Time: 1 hr 25 mins

Rating: Nr

Plot: A department store security guard has a crush on a janitor he monitors. But he can only watch her, not speak to her. Winner of the Gold Hugo at the New Directors Competition.

Who’S It For? A really cheap comparison for Gigante would be if Ronnie from Observe and Report spent an entire movie watching Brandi without ever talking to her. Anyone curious by a foreign, slightly less funny and equally nicely shot version of this should take a gander.

Overall

When it comes to wooing, some of us are not Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack, or even Tucker Max. Hell, even Michael Cera has got more game than most of us. In fact, a fair majority of us are probably like Gigante’s lovably awkward Jara.

Tina Mabry's "Mississippi Damned," an independent American production, won the Gold Hugo as the best film in the 2009 Chicago International Film Festival, and added Gold Plaques for best supporting actress (Jossie Thacker) and best screenplay (Mabry). It tells the harrowing story of three black children growing up in rural Mississippi in circumstances of violence and addiction. The film's trailer and an interview with Mabry are linked at the bottom.

Kylee Russell in "Mississippi Damned"

The win came over a crowed field of competitors from all over the world, many of them with much larger budgets. The other big winner at the Pump Room of the Ambassador East awards ceremony Saturday evening was by veteran master Marco Bellocchio of Italy, who won the Silver Hugo as best director for "Vincere," the story of Mussolini's younger brother. Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Filippo Timi won Silver Hugos as best actress and actor,...

With the addition of the following 26 titles (14 of which have been invited), the competition section is almost completed. You'll notice the kid with wings flick Ricky by Francois Ozon that we reported on earlier. Also having it's world premier is Mitchell Lichtenstein's (Teeth) newest film Happy Tears which sounds nothing it's predecessor (a genre piece) as it's a family drama.

You can check out the list after the break.

Competition (some out)

Cheri UK

By Stephen Frears (The Queen, Dangerous Liaisons)

With Michelle Pfeiffer, Kathy Bates, Rupert Friend, Felicity Jones

World premiere

Darbareye Elly (About Elly) Iran

By Asghar Farhadi (Fireworks Wednesday)

With Golshifteh Farahani, Taraneh Alidousti, Mani Haghighi

World premiere

Deutschland 09 Germany - Out of Competition

Compilation film by Fatih Akin, Tom Tykwer, Wolfgang Becker, Sylke Enders, Dominik Graf, Romuald Karmakar, Nicolette Krebitz, Isabelle Stever, Hans Steinbichler, Hans Weingartner, Christoph Hochhäusler, Dani Levy and Angela Schanelec

World...