To compare Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds" to Pedro Almodóvar's new film, "Broken Embraces" may raise a few eyebrows. "Basterds," one hand, is a bloody, tense, World War II revisionist phantasmagoria, and "Embraces" is a touching, satiric melodrama which jumps back and forth between the mid-1990's and 2008. But on the other hand, both live in worlds where men and women are defined by cinema, one in which film is a living, breathing entity, and if necessary film can be used as a weapon.

This film is built off of duality, and mirror images. Opening with a credit sequence featuring the stand-ins for stars Penelope Cruz and Lluís Homar helping the behind the scenes crew ready a shot. Cruz and Homar step into frame, the stage is set, now the false image of reality is complete, and the film can begin.

Continue reading Broken Embraces Review: Revenge By Celluloid..

Before she was the first aviatrix, she started her life similar to everyone else; she was just a child with a dream. A dream to, someday, leave her hometown in Kansas and explore the wonders of the world. A dream to soar the skies, defy the impossible and live life to the fullest. This was the dream of Amelia Earhart.

The movie "Amelia" depicts the life of Earhart (Hilary Swank) who was the first woman pilot to capture the world's attention in the 1920's and 30's.

Continue reading Amelia Review: A Tribute To Amelia Earhart..

In the grand tradition of movies named after years, ("2001," "1941," "10,000 B.C.") comes Roland Emmerich's new piece of cinematic fluff, "2012." No where near the quality of disaster picture he was producing fifteen years ago, Emmerich has served up a half-baked, bloated, boilerplate picture that mines the deepest caves of cinema cliches, and tosses them up on screen in the most predictable succession. By the end of its ridiculously long run time I was no longer sure if "2012" referred to the year in which the film takes place, or the number of minutes I had been fettered to my seat.

Emmerich and co-writer Harald Kloser quickly glaze over the cause of the world destroying disaster. Whether it was the rare planetary alignment as Charlie Frost (Woody Harrelson playing a character not too far from his true self), the hippy conspiracy theorist says, or the massive solar flares, a plot device already used earlier this year in Alex Proyas' "Knowing," it is never clear. But whatever it is it ruins John Cusack's camping trip to Yellowstone with his kids. Then the world blows up, the everywhere floods, and the rich elite crowd onto massive submarine/cruise ships called "Arks."

Continue reading 2012 Review: Not A Bang, But A Whimper..

Since he forced his way onto the scene with the midnight movie cult smash "Donnie Darko" Richard Kelly has been a polarizing force in American Cinema. He brought a distinctly unique voice to Science Fiction, one that, for better of for worse, he expanded on with his follow up "Southland Tales." Though these two films shared similar philosophies about time travel and alternate dimensions their structures were wildly different. "Donnie Darko" was a neat little package that, when the amazingly ending was sprung upon the audience, all hijinks previous made sense. The opposite is true about "Southland Tales." That picture was almost an amoeba, virtually no structure, a hodge-podge of ideas and themes that was well aware of its own scatterbrained nature. Enter Kelly's latest feature, "The Box." It seems to want to be a self contained story with no loose ends, and at the same time an expansive head scratcher that leaves the audience digging for meaning. Unfortunately, much to its detriment, "The Box" falls somewhere in between.

Continue reading The Box Review: An Empty Box..

The Fourth Kind tells a frightening tale that on the surface appears to be real. In 2004, filmmaker Olatunde Osunsanmi was wrapping another project in North Carolina when he heard the story of Dr. Abigail Tyler. Abby, as most refered to her, had relocated from Nome, Alaska after a series of events took place that changed her forever. Osunsanmi's fasination with Abby grew after discovering that all of her claims were, in fact, heavily documented.

The story begins after the death of Abby's (played by Milla Jovovich) husband Will Tyler. Before his death, Will was doing an ongoing study on residents of Nome that seemed to be having disturbing sleeping patterns and a troubling lack of memory of events they were certain occured. After his death, Abby felt that she should continue Will's work as it would have been what he wanted.

Continue reading The Fourth Kind Review: Fact Or Fiction?..