285 reviews from Goddess

Come Early Morning
"Come early morning" is about a woman that is tired of her drinking habits, sleeping around and her relationship with her family. The movie was not cohesive enough to deliver a comprehensible plot. The movie was all over the place; never explaining the relationships between the different characters (which remained vague at best), nor the process of growth for Ashley Judd's character, it was merely implied. The movie that it does not know where to go. Although Judd's performance was good, the rest of the movie did not provide a vehicle where that performance could shine through. Actually, the movie was so vague about pretty much everything that the viewer could not really and truly understand what is going on between the different characters. The movie is also very sad and depressing. Skip it unless you are an Ashley Judd fan.

Cursed
Cursed is not even slightly scary. This movie is about 2 siblings that are looking for the werewolf that bit them. The movie is full of CGIs that look like the came straight out of Scooby Doo (the movie). It's just bad, not even a bit entertaining. This is not the kind of movie I expect from Wes Craven. Scooby Doo was scarier than this.

Graveyard
"Graveyard" (2 stars) was pretty awful. 24 hours store employees on night shift suddenly realize that they have joined the rank of the undead. They then try to figure out how this happened. The plot doesn't even make sense; the acting, even for a low budget short film, is pretty awful. They don't even try. Now, apart from this pretty awful short film, the extras are excellent. The extras include a short film called "Living with the dead" which is really good. It even has better acting and a better story. It is about a guy who finds a dead guy (one of the living dead) in his apartment one morning and what ensues thereafter. This was pretty darn good. The extras also include a movie titled "Film # 3" which would have been at least interesting if it had been a bit longer and had attempted to create the semblance of a story. The only thing interesting about this DVD is "Living with the dead" (3.5 stars) which is really good.

Lexx: Series 1
Weird indeed, but so much fun. Lexx was once of those shows, a guilty pleasure, to watch late at night. When I first saw this show many years ago, all I could think was: What the heck?! I mean, here was a mismatched crew if we can call it that! The captain is a simple security guard who has no idea of what he is doing and is a coward. Zev (or Xev after another actress took over in Season 2) is a sex slave (without the slave part of the programming) and member of the crew. There is also Kai, an undead assassin who has no emotions, and a robot head who has the programming for a sex slave and is in love with Zev. They all travel on the Lexx, a living and powerful spaceship that can destroy planets and looks like a big dragonfly. The show is full of sexual innuendo, stupidity and a few jokes. The first season is good but the show declines after season 2.

Corazón Salvaje
This was such a good story, it stakes place in Mexico, early 1900s. Juan del Diablo (Eduardo Palomo), a man with a dubious character and a pirate, has a fling with Aimee (Ana Colchero), the daughter of a count. But, she marries Andres (Ariel Lopez Padilla), Juan's brother and the man her sister loves. Juan then marries Monica (Edith Gonzalez), through a confusion of sorts. The telenovela revolves around the resulting relationship between Juan and Monica and the way they endure through Aimee's schemes, Andres' jealousy, violence and natural disasters. Let me start by saying the this is one of the best telenovelas I have seen. The actors gave excellent performances. Ana Colchero was amazing in this telenovela. I liked her character, even through all her devious and evil schemes. Was I the only one still rooting for her? The acting of all the characters was truly excellent. The story was not only interesting, but also very engaging and emotional. When it first aired, I could not miss a single episode of this telenovela. This is a must see. But, this DVD offers a version that is too abridged to offer a true or at least partial picture of the story. Watch this only if you have seen the entire telenovela (which you can watch fully on YouTube). Don't watch it if you are watching it for the first time.

The Bucket List
This movie brought tears to my eyes. It was wonderfully performed by the one and only Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. The story is about two men, Edward, a rich businessman, and Carter, a mechanic. Both men have cancer and are roommates in the hospital. Thinking they will die, they go on a trip around the world trying to fulfill Carter's (Freeman) bucket list: A list of things to do before you kick the bucket (aka die). Throughout the movie, the men deal with their fears, families and foster a great friendship. The movie has a great message and a good story. It is honestly a fantastic movie to see.

I'm Not There
"I'm not there" is simply brilliant and creative. This biopic portrays the many reinventions of Bob Dylan. He is first portrayed an 11 year old black boy named Woody who is full of ideals and hopes (and lies as well); his life is a made-up tale that is quickly uncovered personifying Dylan's stories about himself when he first started. He is then portrayed by Christian Bale as a born-again singer (Christian Bale). Ben Wishaw plays a poet who is being interrogated by unseen authorities as to why he has stop protesting. He is also a sort of narrator to this movie. Heath Ledger plays the actor Jack Rollins who struggles with fame and maintaining his family. Cate Blanchett plays the despondent, drugged out Jude that is unwilling to answer any questions of journalists. He is later portrayed by Richard Gere as an outlaw, living in anonymity. Each character personifies a part of, a stage of Dylan's life. My favorite parts of this movie were Cate Blanchett's and Winshaw's interpretations of their characters. They were thoroughly portrayed and provided a very revealing take on the movie. This is a film that I really enjoyed.

Slacker Uprising
"Slacker Uprising" is a very good and revealing documentary. It documents Michael Moore's 2004 Tour to get the "slackers" to register and vote. He travels to college campuses giving speeches, giving away slacker necessities (clean underwear and ramen noodles) and getting people to register. Across the country, he goes to the key states, along with a number of famous guests (R.E.M., Eddie Vedder, Tom Morello, Viggo Mortensen, etc.). As he goes along this Tour of the country he encounters strong opposition, especially in the conservative states. As businessmen try to bribe student government with money to ban Michael Moore from college campuses (Free Speech anyone?!), and some actually succeed in banning him (in California of all places), Moore goes on trying to reach out to students. This is probably the least biased of Moore's documentary and shows his trip throughout the country as he gathers supporters for the Kerry campaign. This is a very interesting documentary released as the 2008 Election nears, maybe merely for effect. But, maybe also to raise some consciousness about a citizen's right and duty to vote, which ultimately, Moore's main message.

Fringe: Season 1
Maybe the ads set up the bar too high. Maybe calling it the new X-Files was too high a standard to meet and indeed, Fringe did not meet my high expectations. I guess I was expecting too much since the show was created by J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias, Felicity) because I was disappointed by this show. An FBI agent, Olivia Dunham, along with Dr. Walter Bishop (who is crazy) and his son, Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson) investigate strange occurrences, called Fringe science, that reside on the extremes of science (reanimation and such). These occurrences are part of a bigger thing called The Pattern. The show is a mix between The X-files and one of the many cop shows (CSI or any other), completing it with the now old idea of the monster-of-the-week. The characters do not seem to have that interesting of a story to tell nor with interesting enough personalities to carry the show. The actual interaction between the characters is dry and forced. I understand that shows stumble in the beginning trying to find their niche, especially in the Pilot episode, but this show is trying to do and say too much at the same time. The second or third episode weren't that better. The show is too much of the same old thing. On a particular episode, "The Arrival", I was rather disappointed by the blatant copying of a Doctor Who episode "Midnight". It was scene by scene the same on the part where a man reads someone's mind. What is this show doing?! Copying the greatest shows and making it their own, admittedly, without much success.

Lipstick Jungle: Season 2
Season 1 of Lipstick Jungle (7 episodes) was great. It was exciting, interesting and had great storylines. Season 2 starts just as good. Last season, the three friends experienced problems in their relationships, careers and their own friendships. By the season finale Nico and Wendy finally patched things up and friends supported Nico in a difficult situation. Episode 8 changes the path the friends will take. It was a great episode and a great start for the second season. (Although, I would have liked Nico's situation to have lasted a few more episodes). As the season progresses, friends face problems in their work and personal lives. This season also has three great additions to the cast: Mary Tyler Moore, Carlos Ponce and Rosie Perez.

Privileged: Season 1
Privileged is a show that is neither fresh nor interesting enough to put a new spin on the same old situations. Joanna Garcia (Cheyenne on "Reba") plays a quirky recent college grad Megan. She wants to be a serious journalist, yet she is working at a tabloid magazine. After being fired from the tabloid, she becomes the live-in tutor to two rich girls (Rose and Sage), granddaughters of Laurel Limoges, a cosmetics businesswoman. Megan has to deal with these bratty, spoiled and somewhat annoying girls that can neither heed instructions or cease having vapid and uninteresting personalities. There are some romances going around, that are pretty uninteresting too, and Megan's estranged sister to add problems to her life. The show is not that interesting although it has some funny quirky moments. I really liked Joanna Garcia's character (Cheyenne) on "Reba" and her character on this show shares some of the similar quirkiness (just a little smarter). It is indeed sad that the show itself is not enjoyable enough to justify watching it just for Joanna Garcia's character.

Bones: Season 1
Bones is a show that succeeds, and succeeds incredibly, because of its characters. The range and depth of this show's characters is not only well developed, it is continuous and makes us keep watching. We see the characters learn, evolve and change. Season 1 establishes the working relationship between Seeley Booth and Temperance "Bones" Brennan. He is an FBI agent and she is a forensic anthropologist working for the Jeffersonian. Their partnership is not only unique, it is … show would Booth put it?... Symbiotic. These two complement each other perfectly, each learning from the other and learning through their interactions. Booth is the jock, charming, intuitive guy and Bones is the rational, assertive, and yet, socially awkward brilliant scientist. The rest of the team is composed of Jack Hodgins (the bug guy), Zack Eddy (Bones' assistant) and Angela Montenegro (Brennan's best friend). Their working and social interactions are back makes this show great.

Lipstick Jungle: Season 1
Lipstick Jungle is the show that we have been missing to fill the hole left by Sex & the City. Although not as racy, it is still quite sexy and highly addictive. Nico Rieally (Kim Raver) is the editor of Bonfire Magazine, Wendy Healy (Brooke Shields) is the head of a movie studio and Victoria Ford (Lindsay Price) is a fashion designer. They are all amongst the top 50 most powerful women. Nico is perfectly and compellingly portrayed by Kim Raver. Her character is so flawlessly played that she comes across as completely believable and she is able to engage us in her story. Nico is successful editor in a very competitive industry, she most be vigilant and aggressive in the work place to keep her job. But, she is not as successful in her marriage and soon starts an affair with 25 year old Kirby. Wendy tries to manage work and home life and stay at home dad, Shane (who is pretty much perfect). Victoria is a whiny, all over the place fashion designer who is dating a millionaire and trying to keep her business afloat. This character is a bit to flimsy to be taken seriously and her portrayal gives us nothing new. I wouldn't miss her. Regardless, this is one addictive show. Each episode tests and strengthens the friendship of these 3 women and gives one entertaining show.

The Closer: Season 4
Kyra Sedqwick is not only interesting, but slightly annoying (in a good way) in her role as Brenda Leigh Johnson. In one scene she can give us a performance full of drama lightened by the quirkiness of her character. Season 4 of The Closer was excellent. It was full of change and of very good and well written episodes. The team came under fire from the press for what is and what is not called Priority Homicide. This leads to a major restructuring of the squad and a very interesting turn of events thanks to Brenda's quick thinking. The squad had to deal with their own problems: interpersonal relationships (Daniels and Gabriel) and one of them has to deal the loss of a loved one. Brenda's parents came for an episode and put Brenda and Fritz' relationship in the limelight. Just when are they going to get married?! Brenda and Fritz also had to deal with moving to a new (temporary) place and with their relationship. The episodes of the closer were excellent coming to a rather explosive and great season finale.

In Plain Sight: Season 1
Half an hour into the series I was bored out of my mind. The premise of the show revolves around 2 U.S. Marshalls that work for the Witness Protection Program. The dialogue is forced, the voiceover is annoying, the domestic squabbles are comedic at best. Marshall Mann has zero personality. Bobby D (Todd Williams) is probably the best and only good thing in this show.

Bones: Season 3
I didn't think it possible that another TV show would create another relationship with so much chemistry as the one Mulder and Scully shared. This is the kind of relationship where two people are perfect together in every single way, they fight for each other, the save each other and you know, deep down, that they belong together. Oh, and the sexual tension is so obvious everyone knows about it! And even though you live for the glances, for the touch of the hand, for a single kiss (The Santa in the Slush), you are still hesitant to see them romantically together. You don’t want to mess up a perfect thing. Season 3 sees a lot of changes, the Gormogon storyline; Brennan's father, Max, finally goes to trial, Both and Brennan go through some very interesting psych therapy, Jack and Angela look to find the name of her husband and the team experiences loss. Although short (15 episodes), the season was quite good, with tons of surprises, chaos, and plenty interesting cases. Great season. This season really delves into the Booth and Brennan relationship starting with Brennan's antagonistic feelings against Booth and her reluctance to go into the field or work with him directly. This is all a result of the events of Season 2. Things gets solved and their relationship is fixed; just in time to solve the next case. This is a great crime-solving duo that works great together.

Do Not Disturb: Season 1
"Do not disturb" is completely unfunny, uninteresting and unitellingent. It is extremely predictable, the jokes are old, used up and just not funny. I give this show 6 episodes, just because the "star power" (the litle it has) may actually make it last that long. There is not much to say about this show. 1. It is just not worth it. 2. The actual plot is not clear 3. Who cares? UPDATE: 9/26/2008 Well, the show was canceled after 3 episodes. I guess I overestimated the show, which I still don't know what it was really about...

Burn After Reading
Solid acting, excellent potential in the storyline but somehow, it just wasn't right. It needed something something along the lines of Guy Ritchie maybe. This movie reminded me of "Snatch", "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" or the earlier Coen movies (Fargo). This movie started out too slowly, bringing in the actual catalyst of the movie halfway through. Osborne Cox (Malkovich) is a CIA agent who has just been fired, his wife is having an affair, divorcing him and oh people think he has a drinking problem, they may be right. Linda (McDormand) wants to get plastic surgery and needs money. So, she and Chad (Brad Pitt), too idiotic figures and gym trainers, decide to blackmail Cox, bad idea. This sets up a chain of events that ends up in disaster and a lot of funny moments. Brad Pitt was hilarious playing very active, go-getter, empty-brain Chad but, I can't help but wonder that his character may have been better served by someone 20 years younger. The character, although perfectly played, just didn't see right. Clooney was perfect in this movie; playing the odd screwball perfectly (reminiscent of "Oh Brother where art thou?"). He played his character with such perfection that it had me believing every scene he was in. J.K. Simmons was hilarious in his role. This was probably one of the funniest and best performances of the movie. This is a funny movie, I thoroughly enjoyed it and laughed a lot.

Boy Eats Girl
I was expecting a B or C or Z movie…but, dare I say it…this is actually good. First, the type of zombie: the first zombie is a voodoo zombie but, that soon turns into infected-by-bite zombies. Plot: Boy likes girl, boy mistakenly thinks girl is hooking up with another boy and boy becomes all frustrated and dies by a freak kind-of-death. Mom revives boy in voodoo ritual and boy becomes a zombie. But, this guy still has his mental faculties intact; a new kind of zombie indeed. Can he resist enough to not eat the girl he likes? The movie is good because it is entertaining. Plus, it has lots of top grade impressive gore (involving heavy machinery!) and has a decent storyline. Let me mention this again, this gore would make Dario Argento proud. The one bad thing about this movie is that the "teenagers" are more around their mid-twenties and look it, and there are quite a few loose ends that are never tied up and there should have been way more zombies. Regardless, pretty good zombie/zombie-spoof movie. And by the way, the teenager's mom looks an awful lot like Sarah Palin…3 1/2 stars.

Jeff Dunham: Spark of Insanity
Jeff Dunham is a funny funy funny ventriloquist. His puppets are truly ingenious and refreshing. Achmed The Dead Terrorist and Walter are probably his best acts. Not so much with Jose Jalapeño, who I find falls flat and is a bit boring. Melvin the Superhero is ok, not the best but, still has some memorable jokes. A pretty darn good stand up act.

Kevin James: Sweat the Small Stuff
Kevin James is truly funny. This is a very good stand-up act. My favorite part is what I like to call "Ode to a woman picking a greeting card". Barely any words are spoken, and it was all hilarious. The act does fall flat at times, the water-skiing part was not the best. But, the cheap underwear, greeting cards and little things to bring up after a date: they were all hilarious.

Lust, Caution
"Lust, Caution" is a magnificent film by Ang Lee. Bearing no resemblance to his previous films in themes used or in its direction, save for the amazing and beautiful scenes, this movie, as others by Lee, does what it intended to do: it explores characters as they are shaped by the idea, by the emotion and by the revolution love entails. Wang Jiazhi is a young student during World War II Shanghai. She joins a student group that plans to assassinate a high ranking official by the name of Mr. Yee. Wang, who becomes a spy, must change her identity, become Yee's lover and sacrifice many things to accomplish her objective. What she did not expect were her feelings for Yee. As each character explores the repercussions of their decisions, as well as the path where their actions have taken them, we, as viewers, see quite the treatise on the basic and complicated thing called love. The characters are savagely shaken to confront their innermost desires, their lusts, their emotions; they are displayed brutally in this film, as their actions and reactions are scrutinized and studied in this film. It is brilliant. It feels slow at first, but what we do not realize is that Lee is in fact building a bomb. As the tension builds, the inevitable comes to be and the characters face up to their own realization, we are simply in awe, at the edge of our seats, unable to breathe or blink, waiting for the end. The film is beautifully shot and definitely worth seeing.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
"Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" is nothing short of fantastic. It is funny, smart, brilliant, thoughtful, and altogether great. The performances by Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katherine Hepburn were phenomenal. I especially liked the performances by Hepburn and Tracy as their characters were confronted by their own unconscious racism and discrimination when they though they were extremely liberal. This couple raised a daughter, Joanna, to be extremely liberal and to believe in the equality of the races. But, it is still a shock to them when their daughter brings home a black man, Dr. Prentiss, as the man she wants to marry. This family must then confront the schemes and ideas they had of themselves and of their views. The couple, played by Sidney Poitier and Katherine Houghton, must also face the criticism of his parent, who is also against this biracial engagement, and also the housekeeper, a black woman, who also is against them. The movie is brilliant in that it challenges not only the characters, but ourselves, about our so-called liberalism, and it does it in a very funny way. In retrospect, I can only imagine what this movie meant for its time; but, let us not forget what it still does and how the thematic of this film is still applicable to this day,

Serial Experiements Lain
“Lain” is one of those anime series that surpasses your expectations, leaves you speechless, confused and completely engrossed in the storyline. Lain is a teenager who gets an e-mail from a classmate that committed suicide. She tells her that she is alive, that she left the flesh and lives at The Wired. This starts Lain’s quest to find out the truth about The Wired, an enormous computer network, like the Internet, but it is actually a reality apart from the physical world. Lain starts to find out the truth about The Wired and sees her life change in the process. This is an amazing series that deals with philosophy, identity, culture, reality, computers, and the ever-changing culture and way of life of people due to technology. It is truly one of the deepest and most amazing series I have ever seen. This is one to watch.

Be Kind Rewind
What a bad bad movie. I couldn't wait for the movie to end. The acting was atrocious at best, the dialogue …was there even a script? I could almost swear they ad-libbed most of the film. The movie is about these two guys that re-record famous movies with them as the main characters because the tapes at the video store were erased due to a magnetic charge. And everyone likes their versions. Cameos by Sigourney Weaver nor a performance by Danny Glover (horrible performance) could safe this movie. The entire thing was less than par. Jack Black was insufferable during the entire movie. This is possibly his worst performance. It was not even funny. If I had not been stuck in an airplane at the time, I would have turned it off.

She Spies: Season 2
What happened to the show? They started taking themselves too seriously and the show suffered. Whereas the first season was funny, ridiculous, out there and completely hilarious…this one is ..blah? Most of the humor is gone, and so are the crazy situations that the girls found themselves in, and all the great stupid dialogue. All that made it good. It tried to be more Alias and less Charlies Angels. Charlies Angels is better to spoof. And there is no more Jack!

Untitled X-Files Sequel
I am a fan, I would have been happy with 2 hours worth of Mulder & Scully doing absolutely nothing, as long as they were back. But, we have been given a lot more! Chris Carter has given us a thriller and a pretty good one at that. The film follows the FBI in their search for a missing agent. They are aided by a man, a priest of questionable morals, who has visions. Mulder & Scully, now a surgeon (since when?!), are brought in to help the investigation. If Mulder helps, all will be forgiven (a bit of a stretch since he was charged by the military for murder after all). Our favorite couple discovers a sinister plan that will make you cringe. Amanda Peet, whose character could have been better used, is the FBI Agent that brings Mulder in. Skinner makes an appearance! The movie was sinister, evil and just plain wrong. It was great! Anderson and Duchovny: there is nothing bad we can say about their portrayals…they own these characters; they created them, and made them memorable. Excellent direction, with amazing long shots and beautiful photography. The great music score was done by Mark Snow, who else would have been better for this?! X-philes (fans): oh, this will be fun, sunflower seeds, "I want to believe" poster, pencils in the ceiling and a lot of Mulder & Scully talk. Priceless. Did you see Carter in the scene at the hospital, sitting down? X-shippers, you will be happy. Mulder & Scully, what has happened will be answered and then some. For the non-fan: it was very easy to understand, there is not that much mythology, just some references here and there that are not necessary for the understanding of the plot. The movie is very good. It talks about morality, persistence and beliefs. The movie, as the entire the X-Files series did, challenges both Mulder and Scully in their beliefs along the way of solving a sinister crime. There are tons of plot holes and far fetched things though. Yes, there have been better episodes. But still, a great addition to The X-Files.

Mirada de Mujer
There are no words, truly, that can convey the monumental and reverberating impact this telenovela has had in Latin America. This telenovela came out in 1997 and dealt with issues mostly considered taboo in Latin America. The story is about Maria Ines, perfectly played by Angelica Aragon, a woman in her 50s who comes from a respectable and wealthy family. She has a husband and three children. Her world comes tumbling down when her husband leaves her for someone younger, her children's lives are in chaos, and her best friends, Paulina and Rosario, have problems of their own. Enter Alejandro, (Ari Telch) a young (30s) and refreshing journalist that shows Maria what it is to love and feel again. He challenges her in ways she was never challenged before and she struggles with the expectations of her family, society and her mother (Mama Elena) who is the symbol of all that is proper and what society deems the woman should be and do. It was an amazing and deeply emotional love story. The telenovela deals with many issues: AIDS, drugs, marriage, rape, adultery, age differences in relationships, sex, etc. The telenovela was quite revolutionary for Latin America. It succeeds because the performances were of such a high caliber never to be seen again. Mostly using theater actors, the characters draw you in and involve you in their lives. All this said, it is a crime that they only offer a 300 minute version (the telenovela showed for months!). Many key scenes are missing, the story seems lacking and the development of the relationships is not well relayed. Watching this you will never really understand the deep connections between all of these characters, never really care for them. Watch it if you must or if you have already seen the full version.

Desperate Housewives: Season 4
In season 4 of DH we see the show going back to the basics, to the thing that made fans love DH: the friendships. The friendships of Lynette, Susan, Bree and Gabrielle, as well as each individual character, were tested over and over again and they endured. It was this quality of enduring friendship amongst women that makes this show so good. Season 3 dealt with each women independently, barely interacting with the other friends and thus we lost that which made the show worthwhile, their interactions. Season 4 takes another route and shows the women provide each other a strong support system. Lynette relies on her friends and family to go through cancer, Bree deals with faking a pregnancy, Susan must deal with her marriage with Mike and Gabrielle must decide between Carlos and Victor. We also see the introduction of another character, Katherine Mayfair (and of course, her many secrets which deserve to be a character all of their own). She was such an excellent character that I instantly liked her, secrets and all. Katherine was a former resident of Wisteria Lane and a friend of Susan’s. She has a ton of secrets and a way to challenge each and everyone of our Wisteria Lane ladies. Tornadoes, blackmail (tons of blackmail), ex-husbands, drugs, maniacs, and tons of humor. This is one of the best DH seasons to date.

Grey's Anatomy: Season 4
In season 3 everything fell apart. Everything that could go wrong did. The George/Callie/Izzie problem erupted. Meredith and Derek had issues of commitment and the aftermath of Meredith’s near-death experience. Burktina never happened. Like I said, everything that could go wrong did. Season 3 was about breaking the characters, exploring them and making all the mistakes. Season 4 is about mending and fixing those mistakes. The season started painfully slow; the characters seemed stuck. Try as they might, they were unable and unwilling to change. Then it happened: they started to look beyond themselves and their problems and started to evolve, grow and mature. The first half of the season (pre-Writer's Strike) was slow and all consuming within itself; it refused to be bothered with the world around it. It brought in a lot of change, but none of the characters were equipped or willing to deal with it. Cristina refused to confront her non-wedding, Meredith refused to face her issues or accept her “new” sister. The first half of the season was horrible, stale, and unable to foster change. Then the strike happened. The creative juices must have been at their peak because the last 5 eps were pure brilliance. The characters finally exploded into full blooded beings and were finally in route to who they are supposed to become. Finally, a testament to what Grey's is supposed to be: great, emotional and captivating. The beginning of the change started with the arrival of Addison. She came, Zen-like, and reminded everyone of who they are supposed to be and what they are supposed to be doing, all the meanwhile getting stressed herself. The show became magnificent. My blasé viewing of the show ended and I FINALLY became engaged once more. The second half was so good that it made Season 3 and every other crappy episode worth it because we finally got to see our characters grow. Whereas Season 3 was the breaking apart of everything, Season 4 was the mending and evolution of Grey's.

The Dark Knight
"The Dark Knight" is a movie so good you cannot stop admiring the intensity, action and simply formidable greatness of it. It is, without a doubt, the best Batman movie to date. Do you know that scene in the last Superman movie when Superman stops a bullet with his eye? And how impressed and excited you felt at that scene? Well, this Batman maintained that level of intensity and excitement throughout the entire film. Every scene, every twist, every single thing that happened was perfectly timed and performed to deliver us a truly exciting and well made film. In this movie, Batman must deal with the Joker who is terrorizing Gotham city. Heath Ledger steals this movie from Batman because his performance is so good, so truly evil and let's face it, fun as well, that the movie simply belonged to him. Aaron Eckhart was really good as Harvey Dent and Michael Cane is a great Alfred. Basically, the entire cast was really good, perfectly chosen. The action scenes and the direction in this movie was flawless. Every scene delivered more and more action, more excitement and more darkness. This is a truly dark Batman, Batman becomes what Gotham needs it to be: Not its hero, but its guardian. I simply cannot stop saying that this movie was phenomenal, and neither will you.

Picture This!
Picture This! Is basically fluff, exactly what I was expecting. Teen romantic comedies have gone downhill since the days of "10 things I hate about you". But then again, this is a made for TV movie so expect exactly such. The movie stars Ashley Tisdale Mandy, as a nice and smart, middle social class girl who has a crush on the hot and rich guy in school, who by the way is also perfect and has won every single medal in every single sport. He is Prince Charming. He finally notices her and invites her to his party as his date. But, Mandy is grounded and, thanks to her new video phone (tons of product placement in this movie), her dad is keeping tabs on her every half hour. Mandy must race against the clock and get in all sorts of implausible situations to go to the party and fool her overbearing father that she is studying at a friend's house. Between ruined clothes, allergies, towed cars, and a battle of the bands, Mandy has her work cut out for her. But, still to top it all up, the evil rich and popular girl is out to get her. The movie is funny because it has so many implausible situations that you just have to go with it. The movie also shows the influence of technology and media in the current culture. Nice use of gadgets. Now, I must get that phone (the true main character of this movie!).

Nine Queens
Nine Queens is a pretty good Argentinean movie full of cons and twists that you are never really sure who is cunning who. Two con men partner to carry out a con that will get them a lot of money: selling a counterfeit copy of the Nine Queens Stamps. Along the way to carry their con they have to deal with conning each other, staying sharp, theft of the nine queens, people that want money to stay quiet and a sister that a bit bitter about an inheritance she was supposed to get and never received. Too bad they really need her help to carry out the con. The movie keeps you interested in what is going on and very concentrated trying to figure out who is cunning who. The movie has tons of twists, turns and cons that keep on coming to the very end.

Saving Grace: Season 1
Saving Grace is the show I love to hate. The main character, Grace Hanadarko, a cop, is a completely unlikable character with very few redeeming qualities. She is in a down-spiral into self destruction and she does everything in her power to hasten it. She is very promiscuous and uses sex and alcohol to escape her inner demons. Sex, adultery, alcohol and violence, that is Grace's life. She is a good cop though and, although a bit violent on the job and an affair with her married partner, she has an interesting sense of justice and a desire to get the criminals. One night, while drunk driving, Grace hits a man and in a moment of desperation asks God for help. Well, God answers in the form of Earl, her own Guardian Angel, her last chance at redemption. Well, Earl is far from the traditional angel with wings, he is a scruffy looking, tobacco-spitting, and rather sketchy looking angel. He tells Grace she is headed straight to hell and that this is her last chance. Earl provides Grace with guidance and clues to something that she has to figure out (the big reveal of the season). Through Earl and the rest of the cast, we delve into the inner psyche and past of Grace, a deeply troubled and scarred woman that has suffered through many things including the death of her sister (Oklahoma bombings). Grace's self destruction is even more interesting when we learn that her brother is a priest, her sister is a perfectionist and a bit OCD stay at home mom and her best friend (San Giacomo) is the voice of reason in more ways than one and offers unconditional support. The way all these characters are contrasted against Grace provides a very interesting view of Grace herself. Although I dislike the show and I dislike Grace, one must admire the multi-layered and complex character that Holly Hunter plays perfectly. Truly, her acting skills shine through and although I hate the show, I can't help but watch. Just like those reality TV shows that you can’t help but watch.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
I was really looking forward to Hellboy II. The movie had really funny and memorable scenes and yet, regrettably, the movie fell into the very well known category of crappy sequels. The movie is about, well DUH, Hellboy, this time fighting Prince Nuada and the Golden Army. The movie is a mix from Lord of the Rings, a bit of Star Wars and even a bit of Neverending story. It seemed like a collage of all these movies. But, this movie falls short of anyone of these previously mentioned films. First of all, the entire beginning could have been dispensed with. The animation in this part and the entire scene was Pathetic? Embarrassing? And a poor attempt at setting the storyline. The special effects, the acting, and just about everything about this first scene was downright awful. But then we move to this incredibly amazing scene where Prince Nuada showing us how damn good he was. While this movie excelled in development of the storylines, characters and plot line, it just seemed to fail in some basic parts, such as not making the viewer be embarrassed for watching this. Can we cut the end scene too? Please? Nevertheless, Hellboy had some truly excellent fight scenes. My only complaint was that they seemed to occur to fast and out of focus such that the viewer would be unable to truly grasp the fight scene. The movie was very funny. There was a very funny beer scene that is a must see. Selma Blair was pretty great in this movie. Her character had great dialogue and scenes. Still, the movie failed in its execution. I felt I was watching a mismatched collage of a bunch of recent and important films. Throughout the movie I felt more emphatic towards Prince Nuada. I rooted for him to win all the way to the end. His story and cause were very compelling (although yes, wrong, taking over the world is a big no no). Visually, the movie was beautiful and stimulating.

Kiki's Delivery Service
Kiki's Delivery Service is a very good and cute movie for all ages. The animation and voice talent is very good (watched it in Japanese, but the English translation is pretty good as well). The movie is about Kiki, a witch in training, who moves away from home in order to train. She reaches a pretty big city where she meets people that help her throughout the movie and also sets up a delivery service. Kiki deals with the challenges of the delivery service, making friends and dealing with her magic. The movie was really cute, but I found the ending too abrupt. Overall, it was good.

Torchwood: Season 2
Season 2 of Torchwood was a definite step-up from the first season. The show is better written and organized. The first season was a bit too messy in terms of ending and putting together the episodes. The episodes and stories make more sense and a clear and consistent mythology has emerged. Many questions have been answered and even more have come about. The show also makes more tie-ins with Doctor Who. The first season was all over the place, stretching and sending each character into a million and one places. They were testing the waters and finding out who each character was and how far he or she would go. Now, the show has found its soul (corny!). Each episode of this season was darker and edgier as each explored an aspect of each of the characters and the interactions between them. Each character is more consitently written and the show itself shows more consistency. We learn more about the creation of Torchwood and how Jack came to be where he is now. We also get Freema Agyeman reprising her role of Martha Jones for a 3-episode arch. She is such a good character! The show is definitely better, definitely worth watching.

Torchwood: Season 1
Edgier, sexier and more action packed than Doctor Who (still, no comparison!). Torchwood is a pretty darn good show. This show is a blend between The X-Files (Jack and Gwen have been referred to as Mulder and Scully many times) and Stargate. The show is about Torchwood, an organization created by Queen Victoria when she first encountered The Doctor back in the day, to protect Queen and Country. Each episode is in the format of "monster of the week" where Torchwood 3 (this group's Torchwood) must deal with the monster and their personal lives. Whilst engaged in the chase and danger, the show weaves in and out of each of the characters lives exploring their past and present. The show is successful because of the exploration of each character. It delves deeply into their psyches fleshing out their strengths, flaws and intentions. After watching this, you feel like you really know the characters. The first season deals with Gwen, a police constable, stumbling upon Torchwood and later joining the team, which is comprised of Toshiko (techno wiz), Owen (doctor), Jack (the leader) and Ianto (he makes coffee and looks good in a suit). The first season introducers use to the team, the rift and many many aliens.

Hancock
"Hancock" is a very funny movie about a slacker and drunk superhero who is disliked by the public because he causes more damage than good. Ray, a PR guy sees the good in Hancock and decides to help him. Whilst cleaning his image, Hancock discovers a few things. The movie is really funny. It made me laugh quite a lot. But, this movie did not know what it wanted its atmosphere to be as it shifted from the dramatic to the hilarious. The movie itself was funny and entertaining, but the story and plot of the movie was poorly written. The "attempt" at a back story made no sense, nor did they try to explain it further. The relations between the characters, while well portrayed, seemed to have something missing. This movie would have been better had we had some concrete, or at least some, back-story which to refer to. The special effects were rather great, engaging and interesting. This movie is more like 3.5 stars than 3 but not yet a 4.

Get Smart
"Get Smart" is pretty darn funny. I have not seen the show this is based on and thus I had no biases nor expectations. The movie was very funny and entertaining. Maxwell Smart (Steve Carrell) works for CONTROL, a secret US spy agency. KAOS has stolen uranium and the identities of CONTROL's spies so it is up to Max and Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway) to stop KAOS. On the way they have to deal with their enemies and Agent 99's hesitance as to working with Smart, who has no field experience. The movie has excellent action sequences; honestly, I was impressed by Agent 99's fight sequences. Since I have never seen the show, I was not expecting anything. I did not expect Smart to be good at what he did! The movie has great dialogue and great humor, I was laughing out loud quite a bit. The villains in this movie were not that intimidating, important nor the center in this movie; they were just another plot devise for the main plotline: Max and Agent 99's relationship. Carrell and Hathaway are great in their back and forth dialogue, the references to James Bond are great and so are the action sequences. I don't know if the pairing between Carrell and Hathaway was the best (reminds me of Entrapment's Zeta-Jones and Connery), but at least they pulled it off quite well. This is a great movie to watch.

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
This documentary is as biased as they come. Its one and only purpose is to paint Wal-mart as the devil. With zero objectivity, they guide the viewer into learning about the evils of Wal-Mart; and evil they may be but, a little objectivity may have been good. The documentary does raise some interesting things that the general public may not know (I learned quite a few things). The documentary is a bit too long and boring, but interesting nonetheless.

Kinsey: American Experience
Kinsey is quite an interesting and well made documentary. It tells Kinsey's life and work in a succinct and well explained manner. The documentary includes interviews with Kinsey's daughters, co-workers, colleagues and other people associated with his life and work. The documentary is excellently done and accurately and objectively describes Kinsey's life and work. The documentary also does an excellent job at putting everything in context of the time and culture at the time of Kinsey's work. It also takes into account the lasting effect of Kinsey's work.

Sex and the City: The Movie
SATC is just a really long episode of the season, and it was great! I went into the movie expecting to see another episode, and was not disappointed. The girls, Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte have continued on with their lives, albeit some changes have happened, and they still question their happiness and what they want in life. All of the girls are encountering a problem with which they must deal in their lives. From problems with each other to problems with their significant others. This movie has it all, anything a SATC fan would want. Sex, nudity, clothes, shoes and great dialogue. The movie is a most for every SATC fan, you will love it. It is full of laughs and cries and gorgeous dresses and shoes (the most important part of course). This movie was one big, monumental fashion show. Heck, they even go to a fashion show at one point. Steve outdid himself and he was as adorable a ever (how can you really hate him!?). I just wish we would have seen more of Harry and Mr. Big and all the other men. My favorite part (without ruining the plot) if when they are talking about happiness and they say that it is not possible to be always happy. Charlotte promptly volunteers that she is always happy, well, not all of the time, she is not happy all of the day! Dear Charlotte, she has all that she wants, and by the end, the girls get to a place, where they finally living their lives.

Hell House
This documentary is boring and extremely depressing. I was falling asleep through 2/3 of it. I had been looking forward to this documentary because the description sounded interesting. The subject itself, the idea itself, was fascinating: Hell House where they showcase real life tragedies instead of ghosts and goblins, all in the spirit of religion?! Why not? I was really to launch my liberal idealistic arguments into a fight with this movie. But, instead, I almost fell asleep and my liberal values went to sleep also. The documentary is completely unbiased, it simply lays out these people's project and how they come about it (with excessive detail). There documentary does not try to steer you into any direction, which I appreciate, but the excessive detail as to pre-production was too boring. The documentary showed everything from the building of the hell house to auditions (Yay! I am the suicide girl, or I am the abortion girl! ….Sickening) to the through process behind it all. But, finally we get to the end, which was very interesting. In my own personal opinion, this is a bit wrong. They are carrying out an ultra conservative message from being gay is evil and you will get AIDS, or if you go to a rave, take drugs and get raped, it is all your fault. The liberal in me was a bit upset that they would present a situation in which a young girl, who was raped by her father, and other people at a rave, and obviously not in her right state of mind, will go to hell because she committed suicide. The documentary will make you think, even if you have to suit through the very boring first half.

7 Mujeres, 1 Homosexual y Carlos
Poor Carlos, honestly, he has it tough. He just got his girlfriend pregnant, marries her and is about to be a father. He is also starting a new job, and of course, his father in law hates him. Oh, did I forget to mention that a woman in his office (Ninel Conde) is literally throwing herself at him. The movie is good, not earth shattering, but entertaining enough. Carlos, who keeps hearing from friends and co-workers that everyman gets 7 women and a homosexual (just in case), has to deal with deciding whether he is happy, morals and whether to remain faithful. His wife is just a spoiled brat! She has to deal with the fact that she cannot live in the same style as she lived with her parents. Ninel Conde is good as the co-worker just throwing herself at Carlos. The movie attempts to have a deep message but it somehow feels very superficial.

Sundance Shorts 2008: Drama: Soft
My heart skipped a beat while watching this. I found myself glued to the monitor and grasping the keyboard. It was nerve racking, explosive and just about excellent. The UK short film, 14 minutes long, is about the reactions of father and son when taunted and attacked by a bunch of thugs. At the beginning of the short the kid is attacked by the thugs. The repercussion and the reactions to this are very thought provoking and interesting. The father, who is averse to fighting, must decide how to act in front of his son and also how to step up to the role and defend him. In the end, we are all left in a state of excitement and mixed feelings. The short film was very well acted and shot. It is great.

The Second Line
The drop that tipped the glass, the last straw, the boiling point…this is what this short film is about. Two men, Katrina survivors, who live in FEMA trailers, live a desperate and precarious life. With no work and little or no money, they take a job gutting the house of another survivor. Things start to go wrong for one of the men since he wakes up: he is robbed, cant get a car, his honesty is not rewarded in a just way, etc. Things are not working out for him and one proves to be too much. This is an interesting story about how much we can take, about desperation, and survival. Very good story, very acted.

Untitled #1 (From the Series Earth People 2507)
(Goddess scratches her head, ponders, her face shows a confused look, she goes to the website at the end of the credits, looks around and finally and her mind asks only one question: and the purpose is….?) Well, that was…interesting and odd. This experimental film stars a poodle, Fufu, with fake plastic horns as a buffalo. The film inquires as to the most important question in all of the world: how do buffalo see the world? I dont really know what to think here. The film merely takes the buffalos point of view so we see buffalo, or rather Fufu with fake horns, prancing around the country field, with delusions of grandeur (head on Mount Rushmore) and with altered vision of humanity. Watch it if you have 4 minutes to spare, and watch through the credits. The one and only good part of this was when they presented Fufu.

Nikamowin
This short film (11 mins) is a sort of a poem in Cree about the Cree language and language in general. Just like a poem is uses poetic devices to relay is message and meaning; the filmmaker uses alliteration, assonance and visual imagery for effect and to accentuate its meaning. The repetition gets a bit tiring though and the message imparted could have been relayed in half the time. The visual stroll through beautiful imagery becomes more intense and rapid as the film progresses leading to a cacophony of images, sound and language. The purpose of this film is to bring to the forefront its theme about the preservation of language, the linguistic, emotional and cultural importance of language. Although the film gets tiring when you see it, it leaves quite the lasting impression and you will find yourself thinking about its message.

I Have Seen the Future
This is just like a music video. This short, (5 mins) is about a father and son playing tennis, at the tennis court 3 kids taunt them, make fun of them and generally bother them in that unique way childish show off teenagers have. The son, who is an adult, sing a song reflecting on what is happening. The song is I have seen the future and it is basically saying, been there, done that, grow up kids. The short film is entertaining, although not groundbreaking. At the beginning I found it boring but it later grows on you. The song are basically reflections of the son about how he was as a kid, how times have changed and the rationale behind the kids show off attitude. Entertaining enough for 5 minutes.

Lloyd Neck
Interesting short with ok acting and a lot of potential that is never truly realized. Taylor is a teenage boy dealing and understanding his sexuality. Alex is Taylors sister, a very wise young girl that understands things beyond her years and even better than her brother. She is intuitive and knows her brother far better than he knows himself. Jesse is Taylors friend, a gay teenager. Now, NF has this summary that is a bit far off: there is no uncomfortable triangle here and Alex merely has a tiny crush on Jesse. The film is actually about the interactions between these three individuals. All three go to Lloyd Neck so that Jesse, a photographer, can take pictures. Yes, the sister tags along but she is merely a buffer for Taylor, she serves as his safety zone. This is an interesting story but the end is inconclusive and unsatisfying.

Ask the Insects
This short film (8 mins) is a series of proposals in philosophy, merely the statements, as the narrator fails to either discuss, explain, or more adequately present the idea. The philosophical statements are followed or accompanied with the study of images and the exploration of ideas, known only to the filmmaker, through these images and animations. The filmmaker uses sound, images, animation and narration to present a series of treatises in different areas such as: being, death, book burning, being different, etc. Yet, these ideas are presented in a way that is not only hard to follow, but incomplete as well, leaving the viewer annoyed, wanting and bothered at what he or she has just seen. The short film has no real plot, no real meaning, no real purpose besides that of stating what the filmmaker wanted to say. So, in the end, following the lead of the filmmaker, imaging this short film, a bad one, should we burn it? A bad film does no harm to anyone. Let me digress in this point, those watching it since we have incurred in a loss of time.

Pariah
Pariah (25 mins) is simply great. This short film not only had an interesting story, in just 25 minutes it managed to draw me in completely. I was immersed and vested in the resolution of this wonderful short film. The film is a very compelling story about a girl, coming to terms with being a lesbian, hiding the truth from her family, while expressing who she really is with her friends. With her friends she dresses like a tomboy and is out as a lesbian; with her parents she dresses and acts completely different. The film shows how the pressures and expectations of both sides and leading a double life are pulling at her and how she tries to deal with them. I cannot say it enough, this film is absolutely great, I want more! A sequel perhaps? Please?! The acting is really good and emotional. This is a must see short film, really worth the mere 25 minutes that you will spend watching and the other 25 minutes just thinking about it.

Number One
This is an interesting study of images and sensory stimulation. It is 10 minutes long and uses a series of images, given an aqueous effect with an interesting product. The images are alluring and soothing. The filmmaker juxtaposes images of nature with those of human bodies and of modern civilization. Interesting, great camera work, and interesting visual images. As a side note, at the end, the dark images kept reminding me of the alien in Predator!

The Substitute
Il Supplente (17 mins) is a very funny short film from Italy. It is hilarious and I was laughing out loud. The short film starts depicting high school life and proceeds to a class room where there is a substitute teacher. But, this teacher is very different and wacky. Hilarity ensues and pretty soon all the students are in a frenzy. The lead character is great in his performance and very funny indeed. Watch out for the ending, it is really great.

Mean Creek
"Mean Creek" is one of those movies that you draws you in little by little and leaves a lasting impression. The movie is about moral choices, about peer pressure and making mistakes. A group of teenagers invite a kid for a boat ride. Unbeknownst to him, they have actually made a plan to teach him a lesson for beating up Sam, the brother of one of the older guys. But, as the day progresses they decide to cancel the plan, they don't want to do it anymore. SPOILER. When something goes horribly wrong, the teenagers must deal with the realization of what they have done, whether to assume responsibility or succumb to peer pressure and the easy way out. END SPOILER. This is a really great movie with amazing performances by such a young cast.

Shortbus
This movie is simply phenomenal. The movie is about human relations with oneself, each other and about sex. The movie attempts to de-mystify and de-eroticize sex in such a splendid and matter of fact way that it succeeds, and while doing so manages to make a great film. "Shortbus" is about several characters. Sofia is a sex therapist who has never had an orgasm, James is a gay man in a great relationship but suffering from depression and Severin is a dominatrix who is unable to have a meaningful relationship with anyone. Along with other minor and major characters, these people interact with each other, changing for the better or the worse each other's lives and sex lives. This movie is so amazingly touching and moving that I found myself completely absorbed by the characters and their stories. I was completely immersed in their compelling and interesting stories, being the joy and sadness along them. The movie, which has mostly first time or little known actors is frankly, simply brilliant. Although the movie is about sex, depicts real un-simulated sex and sex is the main topic, it actually is about something else, something deeper: it is about human relationships. As another reviewer mentioned, this movie will not be enjoyed by those at issue with sex on movies or gay scenes; but, everyone else, this is a great great and, let me say it again, great movie.

Lie with Me
To be honest, I am not really sure what to think about this movie. The characters are so damaged, so confused and unsure of their feelings, desires, actions and of what they want that, as a viewer, we are not only confused, we are unsure as to whether we want these characters to be together or as far as possible from each other. The movie is about Leila, a happily unattached girl in her 20s who enjoys sex without any deeper emotions or commitment. It is not that Helena fear commitment, it is just that it appears as if she has not experienced it. She goes through her days enjoying casual sex until David, another quite messed up guy with abandonment issues, comes along. Now, a woman that cannot commit and a man with abandonment issues make up a rather difficult couple. The movie goes along showing their weird relationship. Their meetings, as well as their experiences all seem rather fleeting and trying to grab on to "the moment" that, for this movie, is simply not there. They start a relationship based on very little and become quite attached and involved in a relationship that neither is ready for. As I mentioned before, I am not sure what to really think about this movie, nor am I sure if I liked it. I felt rather conflicting thoughts and feelings about it and about the resolution I would have wanted to see. I think it all hinged on the characters, they are neither likable or unlikable, they just are. In conclusion, the movie is ok, it produces rather conflicting emotions in the viewer and a lot to think about.

Grave of the Fireflies
This is one of the most depressing and magnificent movies I have ever seen. The movie is about a boy and his sister around the time of the WWII Japan. Seita, a teenager, must take care of himself and his 4 year old sister, Setsuko. The must deal with bombings, hunger, taking care of themselves and surviving. The storytelling in this anime is emotionally charged, interesting and ….there are no words to describe how good it is. Although it is very sad, and had me in tears, this is a very good anime.

MirrorMask
This beautiful movie that has the magnificent quality of looking like a dream and a graphic novel at the same time. It also looks a bit like a mix between The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (the remake) and "The Cell" in style. Neil Gaiman has created an amazing story, but the filmmaker, photography people, costume and set designers, CGI and all those involved in the creative process have created a movie and a world that is amazing and beautiful to watch. The complexity and the greatness of this great world make it alluring and enticing, on in which you would get lost in an attempt to solve a great mystery. The story? Oh yes, there is one. But honestly, I was happy enough just looking at the movie. The movie is about Helena and the world which she has created through her drawings. One night the border between the real and the created world are crossed and Helena is trapped. To return to her world and wake up the Queen of Light she must find the charm. The movie is full of symbolism and discusses the idea of duality: good and evil, light and dark, dream world and real world. In fact, the dream world is quite the allegory for the real world. Touching on doubles, dreams and even a bit of psychology, this film is great. The cinematography, the story and the look of the movie were all excellent.

Fahrenheit 451
"Fahrenheit 451" would be an ok movie if it was not based on such a good book. The movie, based on a book by Ray Stanbury with the same name, is about a world in which reading is not permitted, books are all banned, people are engulfed by their TVs (not that far-fetched anymore huh?!) and firemen start fires. Montag is a fireman and has been living the life he is expected to life, carrying out the job he is expected to perform and conforming nicely to a society that controls, bans and censors. His life is turned upside down when he meets Clarisse and he is compelled to read a book. The book deals with conformity, television and the complete absorption into technology. The movie also shows, although not as well as the book, the damage this has done to human relationships. The movie is ok but it is missing two vital parts: Faber and the mechanic dog. You are better off reading the book.

August 15th
August 15 is simply infuriating, frustrating and unnerving. The film appeals to the very sense of right, or morality and calls for action. The 21 minutes long short film is about a young couple who travels by bus through rural China. A couple of thieves hijack the bus and it all goes downhill from there. The film explores indifference, inaction, selfishness, cowardice and the basic idea of providing help to those in need. A film has rarely unnerved me so much, yet the people in this bus seemed unnerved by the actions occurring around them. By the end of this film you will be shouting for action, and I was. You will also ask yourself what you would do in that situation. Ugh, the scenes in this film still make me mad and that is a good thing. An important fact from this film is that it was based on actual events, so it is not that the filmmaker is imagining a story about the deterioration of human morality. This is a very good short film that should be watched by everyone. It is revealing and insightful. There are no innocent bystanders in this film, save one brave soul.

Cherries
Cherries is an insightful and interesting short. The short film, 15 minutes long, is about a group of students in an all male highschool, that have been called to train in the event that they are needed for the current war. They explain that they had hoped the war to be over already but it hasnt and coupled with heavy casualties, they have decided to train all 16 and 17 year olds in the events that they are needed. As another reviewer mentioned, the film is not about politics or the war itself, but about the reactions of these teenagers. In the beginning his professor and a man who appears to be his superior discuss the program and that it may be the best thing to happen to these kids who have become selfish, arrogant and basically unwilling to see the world outside of themselves. The film then follows the students reactions, the way they lash out, or accept what is happening or lash out at the usual racial tensions. The short film is pretty good and interesting. It was predictable though. Still, it is an interesting experiment in a time where there are still talks about the draft.

The Machinist
"The Machinist" is a movie that is so enthralled and impressed with itself that it refuses to let go of its convoluted story. Trevor, a man who has not slept in 1 year, is both physically and mentally suffering from the aforementioned sleep depravation. His work, personal life, body and mind suffer from his insomnia, if we can call it that. Strange things begin to happen, he sees people unseen by anyone else and the viewer, along with Trevor, is taken along in this psychological thriller with more twists and turns than a python asphyxiating its prey. And that is exactly how you feel, asphyxiated and unwilling to follow the convoluted story line. The movie is unwilling to let go and becomes more entrenched in itself pulling more and more twists from the void that is this man's life. I did not like this movie, but I did like Bale's performance. It was excellent, and to see the extent to which he had starved himself for this role, makes the movie all the more exceptional and gut wrenching. I usually like Aitana Sanchez Gijon, but in this movie, the dialogue between Bale and her character was pretty bad and this is not one of her best performances. The movie ends with one heck of a twist, I am still not sure if it is worth sitting through the entire movie.

Zombie
Lucio Fulci's "Zombi" is a pretty good movie, except for that stupid shark scene. Honestly, shark versus zombie?! And the zombie has coordinated attacks?! Ugh. The movie is about a woman who teams up with a reporter to find out what happened to her father after his boat shows up empty (with a nasty surprise inside). They head out to Matool where the island is about to be overrun by zombies. This movie has voodoo zombies which is always an interesting option to the usual. The film has some pretty nasty (and good) horror scenes. The eye gouging scene has made this movie famous. The movie was slow at first but it picked up during the middle. Except for that shark scene, it was pretty good. It is very gory.

Diary of the Dead
Alas! Romero is back! Leaving behind the Blockbuster feel of "Land of the Dead", Romero has gone back to the simplicity of "Night of the Living Dead" and he did it well. I have been looking forward to this movie, but with apprehension; was it going to be a sell out like "Land of the Dead"? No, it is the opposite. Romero uses great actors, but relatively new to the movie scene, for this movie which makes the movie fresh and seem more original. The cinematography was a breath of fresh air, as it allowed us to follow these characters in somewhat "real time", without the edited feel to all of it. The movie goes back to when it all began and tells the story through a group of film students in the initial stages of the zombie outbreak. The gore in the film is top-notch and splendid. The defibrillator scene is especially good. Romero also brilliantly explains why zombies are slow, why they don't run: their knees would give out. Take that running, wall jumping and climbing zombies! Let Romero show you how it's done! This movie is nothing short of great, Romero uses a fresh take to cinematography in his movies, new faces, and a very good script. The result is a really good movie that deals, in Romero fashion, with the current issues of society: war, immigration, distrust in the military, chaos, the "not knowing", 9/11 and many more. Dawn of the Dead is the best of Romero's movies. It shows a maturity in dealing with the issues that rivals the simiplicity of "Night of the Living Dead". "Diary of the Dead" is a mix between the two. It goes back the simiplicity of NotLD but deals with the issues much like "Dawn of the Dead". Listen for Stephen King, Simon Pegg and Guillermo Del Toro as the voiceovers of the news. If you are a Romero fan, you will love this movie because it is simple and simply great. If you are not, you may appreciate it for what it is, a zombie movie with great scenes.

Conversations with Other Women
"Conversations with other women" was a really good movie. Although some may find the split screen annoying, I found it very interesting and insightful. The entirety of your movie is almost all in real time, and the addition of the split screen gives us an interesting look into the many layers of this relationship, as well as of their past. The movie is about a man and a woman at a wedding; they start talking and it is obvious there is something more between them. As the movie takes us through their interactions and glimpses of the past, we get to know these two rather complicated individuals. Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter are truly fantastic in their portrayal of these two interesting, yet very normal individuals. In fact, they may very well just be your run-of-the-mill people at a wedding. They have made these characters very interesting and to top it all off is the witty and very entertaining dialogue. This movie is completely character driven and completely worth watching.

La Mujer de Mi Hermano
This is one of the best Latin American movies I have seen. Yes, it is a bit too telenovela-like; but, it is good. Barbara Mori plays a woman in a miserable marriage. Her husband is emotionally distant, never really wants to have sex with her and is hiding a secret. She looks for a bit of love and fun in her husband's brother, who only wants to have fun and live the irresponsible, no-strings-attached lifestyle. Add to all of this all the cultural and morality issues present in Latin American society and you have a great exploration of a society that although progressing in economy, culturally, technologically, still has to deal with the deep-rooted and long-held moral beliefs. The movie has all the emotional and dramatic whirlwind of a telenovela but will all the good acting these fine actors have to offer. What comes out is a very engaging and interesting film and is definitely worth watching.

Dead Men Walking
Bad, very bad. This made for TV movie goes from bad to worse. The only redeeming part of this movie, and truly, the only good part, is the first 2 minutes of the movie. The rest goes downhill. A woman from the CDC, a prisoner and some guards try to escape zombies when they break out in a maximum security prison. The summary says elite guards; there is nothing elite about any of them. Nothing at all. First off, these are super infectious zombies. Infection spreads quite rapidly through any bodily fluid, even sweat. Mayhem is the rule of the movie. Everyone is eating each other, everyone is spitting out blood and yet the guards seem to be either in denial or in stupid land. When someone is throwing up blood you don't let them stay in blood splattered clothes, you don't make them stand in line, you don't make them be in the common room when you have been told this is highly contagious. You take them to the infirmary or put them in quarantine. Yet, these guards seemed unable to recognize this obvious situation. Instead, they behaved like dumb idiots and provided even dumber bits of dialogue in their macho-puffing and "I am a guard and my word is law" stupidity. They deserved to be eaten! Prisoners are getting attacked and eaten alive and yet one guard has to be given the order to shoot for him to take any action. Zombies were literally killing and eating other prisoners and the guard was cowardly hiding behind a table like a wimp. Geez. The dialogue is pretty pathetic. The CDC woman launched into an "I won't leave you Tommy!" to a guy she had just met an hour earlier and who has been bitten by a zombie. Woman! Wake up and see the zombies all around you! And run! The movie seemed to be edited by amateurs, as some scenes were split and glued back together and then made to last forever. The director thought that by adding punk rock music we'd be able to forget that this movie is horrible. But now, let us not forget the horrible disaster that this is.

El Dia Que Me Amen
I have never cared so little about any movie character as for this movie. The characters were poorly developed thus limiting our understanding of their actions. Their story is sweet yes, but uninteresting. Two childhood friends, both with their own problems, try to help each other, somewhat unbelievably fall in love and try to move forward. Joaquin has depression, yet this is so poorly illustrated that he kindles barely any empathy from the viewer. Mara, well, she just needs to grow up. Honestly, it is not that good. i gave it three stars because it was entertaining for a while but it left no lasting effect.

Not Another Teen Movie
"Not another teen movie" is just that - another teen movie. There are about 5 actually funny parts in the entire movie and the rest is fluff. The movie tried too much and tried to parody too many movies at the same time as staying in the plot of "She's All That". This movie is only good for pointing out which movie it is parodying. The cast was pretty good though and they tried to deliver a funny movie, but it just was too much thrown in the same melting pot.

Maybe Baby
Somewhat good comedy/drama, with the drama part being unable to deliver, about a couple trying to conceive. Hugh Laurie is really good playing the husband Sam. He is funny, entertaining, and delivers on all his comedy scenes. The husband decides to write a script about the couple's ordeal of going through the process of conceiving. Joely Richardson is…well, delivering lines. Her acting felt more like she was reading lines rather than acting. Anyways, her character has to deal with the temptation of being with another man and also the process of trying to conceive. The movie was somewhat entertaining until my roommate asked me: "If this is a comedy, why are you not laughing?". Why indeed? The movie is actually not that funny with exception of Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson playing a very funny new age character.

Move Me
Much longer than it needs to be, this short film is about a son that is preparing to leave town. He moves out of his apartment and spent his last day in town with his father, an emotionally distant man who actually does try to express to his son that he is going to miss him, in his own way. The father is actually the breakthrough character in this short film as he expresses his concern for his son in his own way. His efforts do not go unnoticed by his son and the end is rather moving. Still, the short film was boring, and it is only 17 minutes long. It could have been shorter and still delivered the same message. In conclusion, the short film is a bit boring but it gets better in the end.

House of the Dead 2: All Guts, No Glory
Much better than the first "House of the Dead". This movie proves sequels can be better than the original, even if it isn't that good. I mean, it could NOT get worse than the first one. Contains all the requisite gore and blood of a zombie movie, has a plot and the acting is not horrid. For a TV movie this is a pretty ok effort. Somewhat following what happened in the first movie, a team of special forces (for killing zombies) infiltrates a college campus believed to be ground zero for the zombie virus. Their mission is to obtain a blood sample from patient zero in order to create an antidote. The film explains how the first one ties in to the current story and we even get one of the characters from the first movie (who had allegedly died, guess not). Emmanuelle Vaugier seemed to have created a new acting method: the tired acting. Somehow she always appeared bored and tired, in every scene. Victoria Pratt is always a nice addition to every sci-fi movie and her acting was better than all the other actors. The movie presented situations that proved to defy logic: from being surrounded by zombies and not getting a single scratch, to zombies being electrocuted, yet will not die by a shot in the heart, and finally, the end (without giving it away) honestly, how does one survive? Still, the movie was entertaining, better than a lot of zombie movies out there. I wouldn't mind watching it again.

Mother Superior
Nice effort by Alex Mack and Diana Montero. This short film is about the incidence of meth in Utah. The statistics are a bit off, but the sotries make up for it. Some were compelling and some were not. The short film would at times delve deep into the persons story and we would learn information about how a daughter introduced her mother and 9 year old brother to meth. Other times, the stories seemed to be disregarded and tossed aside. I think the conversations between the two filmmakers in the beginning were unnecessary. They seemed rehearsed and out of sync with the entire short film. The short was still very interesting and informative (with those stats that were off by a bit). For those of you that hate going to the dentist, there is a pretty horrific and impacting scene about a woman who has lost most of her teeth to crystal meth and is getting them rebuilt. This scene is worse than any horror movie, public service announcement, or dont do drugs campaign. Just because of that scene, I will never try crystal meth.

Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior
Wendy Wu is a pretty good TV Disney movie. The movie is about Wendy Wu, a Chinese American popular high school teenager. Her world changed when a Chinese Monk, Shen, comes to her and tells her she is the reincarnation of a powerful line of Yin female warriors and that she is destined to fight an evil spirit, Yan-Lo. Wendy Wu has to deal with getting a better grade in History, becoming the homecoming queen, reluctant training to be a Yin Warrior and also having Ya-Lo constantly possess people and attack her. All in the day of the average highschooler. Wendy Wu is a fun film for the family, especially the tweens. It is fun, exciting (tons of martial arts) and even has some info about Chinese history and culture. I enjoyed the movie and the younger audience will enjoy it a lot more.

House of the Dead
Downright laughable. I have never laughed so much at a zombie movie. From zombies that seem out of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" with their tree jumping abilities, to swimming zombies, to the director's use of video game like approach to shooting the movie, to the really really really bad accents. The movie is about a group of friends that go to a rave in an island by the name of 'Isla de la Muerte' (Island of Death). There, they encounter zombies, tons of zombies and start dropping one by one. As I mentioned the director used a video game like approach, with images from the arcade game "House of the Dead" and whenever someone dies the screen revolves around the character and becomes red. The director also uses this revolving camera motion for the action and shooting scenes. The soundtrack is pretty good (befitting of a rave), at least much better than the movie itself. The director uses a lot of slow motion techniques to show the bullets firing and some action sequences. There are a lot of cliches in the movie: from "there must be a scientific explanation", a member of the group wearing the requisite goofy outfit with 'Matrix-like' moves, stupidity, and of course the zombies. The people got tough fast, as soon as they were given weapons and instantly learned how to use them. "Movie Rapid Learning Technique": All for the sake of some action! I mean, these people are fighting like pros. And swords, let's not forget the swords or the machetes! The movie also has 'Matrix-like scenes' downright to ripping off the moves. Throw in some old Spanish legend, some old newly found forgotten books and you have yourself what should be a sci-fi movie of the week. If you must watch it, watch it for the funny action sequence about an hour into the movie. It's like 'House of the Dead', 'The Matrix' and 'Soul Calibur' (or any similar fighting video game) all rolled into one. I really like the arcade game and played it growing up. Some things are meant to stay video games.

Light Work I
This short film was interesting but, I did not like it that much. It was ok for an experimental film in which the filmmaker plays with images and with the film itself. The short film is a series of images in film treated with chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Interesting for fans of experimental films.

The Pornographer
I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. The movie is about a lonely man who works as a paralegal. He is addicted to porn and thinking he can do better, he starts making his own porn films. He is a highly idealistic and naïve and become rapidly disappointed with the porn film industry and what is expected of him. The porn industry proves to be a unscrupulous, tough and immoral place for him. He tries to follow along to achieve his dream of making porn films. But, soon his failed dream, his work and what he must do to someone he does not want to hurt catches up to him. The film is very well made and surprising little nudity in the film. The director focused on the story and not on nudity or sex, which is what makes the film work. Had the director focused on sex, the story would have become secondary. I highly recommend this film.

Ginger
Ginger is a spy movie with lots of sex, drugs and scandal. Sorry, no alcohol. People are raped, killed, castrated and have lots of sex. Heck, why not? Ginger, our heroine, was raised as an upper-middle class girl turned a spy. She infiltrates a group that deals in drugs, sex and blackmail. The acting was bad, but, what were you expecting?! Bad but, you know, so bad its good. But, honestly, the group leader, did he have to exist?! Rex, the leader of the group looks like a cult leader into S&M and HORRIBLE at acting. And I mean, horrible. He is probably one of the worst actors ever. Ever! The movie was entertaining nevertheless, and the fight scenes were laughable. Honestly, I can take Ginger with my hand tied behind my back! And somehow, she *almost* always won. The fight scenes were really badly choreographed and downright silly. In conclusion, this 70s movie was funny. Can anyone be that uncoordinated while dancing? Honestly, that was not sexy. Sorry guys, that was NOT sexy. But, the film was somewhat entertaining.

The Abductors
After watching the second installment, The abductors of the Ginger series I am tempted to go back to Ginger and lower the rating from 2 to one stars. This movie is far superior to the first, much better in all aspects. It is rare indeed when a sequel is better than the original, but hey, it happens. This film is better acted, better choreographed, has better villains and better everything! Its even sexier. Ginger, our spy extraordinaire, is back at it again. She has to find the goods on a sorta prostitution ring (where they sell...mistresses). This movie brings back Jason, her boss who has the hots for her, and introduces a female agent, Carter. Cheri Caffaro (Ginger) was so much better that it makes me think she took extra acting classes. Even the actor playing Jason is better. The case is more relaxed, more fun and entertaining. Now, this is now a better B movie. Ginger remains as much as a sadistic tease as ever and then she dances. Whats up with the obligatory dance in this movies? It doesnt work when you have no coordination and cant dance! Anyways, this is a much better film than the first one. A step well above. Interestingly enough, the violence is toned done. So much that I don't think this really belongs in the exploitation genre anymore. Oh yeah, and lots of sex scenes, so not for the easily offended, fundamentalist, children, or the weak of heart.

ZA: Zombies Anonymous
I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. The first half of the film and the last 15 minutes were absolutely excellent. In between those two times, the movie got lost in itself and its attempt to make an action sequence. The movie is about Angela and her life after…well…dying. Angela is killed at the hands of her abusive boyfriend and must deal with the fact that she is "mortally challenged" (aka a zombie). She attends support groups (kinda AA but ZA) to try to comprehend her new life and deal with the new discriminations she is facing. Reminiscent of an era where lynching was the norm, this movie manages to confront social issues and intolerance perfectly. Bypassers seem to ignore what is happening and continue with their daily lives. Angela also has to deal with the temptation for human flesh, her stalker ex-boyfriend and intolerance groups (very KKK) that have banded together to torture and kill zombies. Now, the zombies in this movie are still conscious, have feelings, thoughts, etc and work just about the same as any other person, except for the fact that they are supposed to be dead. So, it is pretty hard to watch what the living "humans" do to the zombies. Having watched this type of treatment during the original "Night of the Living Dead", the action took on a new dimension because you could see that these functioning human beings had feelings and were in pain. The cinematography is pretty good and the storyline is excellent. The only problem with this movie lies in the part where it attempts to make an action sequence near the end. Said action sequence fails miserably.

How Much Do You Love Me?
This movie didn't know what it wanted to be, a romantic comedy, or a gangster movie perhaps? Maybe it just wanted to emulate theater and opera. The thing is, it just didn't work. The movie, and the characters, were all over the place. The story is very "Pretty Woman" with a twist. An office clerk tells a prostitute, Daniela (Bellucci), that he just won the lottery and he will pay her each month for living with him. Throw into the mix that he apparently has a weak heart, Daniela's pimp, curious friends and the possibility of love. Monica Bellucci is, as always, splendid, yet even she looked bored in this film. She was horribly mismatched with Bernard Campan and even Depardieu delivered inferior work. The problem is that the characters were underdeveloped and all over the place in their emotions, their stories and their desires. In fact, the viewer is at an equal disadvantage; we do not know what is going on, and it's not even funny! The dialogue is dry and melodramatic and soon turns into an ode to Bellucci's character ("she is a nuclear bomb" "she is a beautiful woman", etc.). I understand that Bellucci is God's gift to men, but this movie's dialogue was more like an ode written by the director for Bellucci. Yet, with all the beauty and stellar acting, not even Bellucci can save this disastrous movie. This movie started out a bit film noir, then became a romantic comedy, then a gagster movie and then theater, throwing a bit of alternate states/frames of mind at the end. Not cohesive, main characters failed at chemistry and the movie is too into itself to let the viewer in. The 3 stars? All for Bellucci and for her alone.

The Bionic Woman: Vol. 1
As a fan of the original Bionic Woman, I am appalled by the liberties taken by the writers in this show. First of all, they have completely altered the story of Jamie Summers, the original Bionic Woman. The story presented in the series is COMPLETELY different. I don't undertand why they didn't just change her name. Second, the acting of Michelle Ryan is not the best. Still, I do think she is doing the best she can with what she has been given. But, she displays no emotion, barely any tears when crying. Her face looked completely emotionless when her fiance died or when she was at his funeral. The show just doesn't deal with her emotions. They have concentrated so much in the action and the lines that they have forgotten an important part of television, facial expressions and body language. The younger sister seems to be the only one displaying an emotional range in the show. The show is not that cohesive. They do not explain certain things. Why was the sister sentenced(?) or prohibited from using computers? The show just doesn't tie in things together. The show has a very nice visual style (hence my rating of 2 stars) and I think it has some potential, but a lot of things have to be fixed. These facilities, very low budget by the way, where she trains have really bad security and look like a basement. They should vamp up these settings and make them more hi-tech. The plotlines and the writing should deal more with how Jamie feels about all of this. She took everything so matter of fact (except for the initial screaming after her operation). Someone needs to wake her up and say "Woman, you are Bionic! React!" I would also like to know how she knows all these fighting techniques. Was some computer implanted into her head? I mean, she did not train for that long! In conclusion, the show has a lot of things that need fixing. And the first thing should be for Michelle Ryan to start showing some emotion and act better.

Der Ostwind
This is a really good animated short film about a WWI German pilot who was one of the best German pilots. He fears a purposeless life as no one is his equal, until he is challenged by an American pilot who is better than him. The film is about honor and challenge. This is an amazing short, the animation is excellent and the story is both interesting and compelling. The action and flying sequence were phenomenal; they easily rival big budget action movies because, although simple and short, they were majestic and perfectly coordinated. You became vested in the story and the action just made it so much better.

Kyle XY: Season 2
The second season of Kyle XY is better than the first. It intelligently builds on the drama, the intrigue and secrets of the first season and adds more teen angst, better action and more questions! The second season centers on how the Traegers deal with the newfound knowledge about who Kyle is and how the family bonds together to protect him, accept him and love him as another family member. The entire family storyline and issues are very "7th Heaven" and very well played out. The show explores the bonds and loyalty between family members. The show also rebelled in its teen angst taking it to another (and much better) level. I honestly could watch an entire show on just Lori and Declan, one of the most interesting characters in the show. She is soulful, angsty, wise at times and completely "teen confused" (my new term about the realities of adolescence and high school). The show resolves some questions for the viewer but manages to raise a few dozen more, such as: what is Latnoch (sp?) exactly? I mean, really, what is it? Tom Foss is one of the best characters that is just not seen enough. What makes Kyle XY a good show is not Kyle himself (or its portrayer Matt Dallas for that matter), it's the supporting cast. They are the ones carrying the show. Josh and Andy are the best and cutest in the show. They give these teenagers one great storyline and they made it pretty darn interesting. Kyle XY is a good show, and the second season was pretty darn good. Not great, but good.

El Cantante
"El Cantante" is a good movie but it is not a great movie. It is interesting and pretty well acted. But, it is not convincing in the least. For anyone that knows even a smidget of information about the life of Hector Lavoe, you may find yourself disappointed by the movie. Not because of the overdone-artist-with -a-drug addiction kind of movie, but because it does not seem convincing. The entire time I was watching I did not relate this movie to Hector Lavoe. It just didn't fit. Jennifer Lopez did a really good job with her role, (especially in all the tragic scenes) but her character could not decide what to do with herself. This created a lot of fragmentation in the movie. The fragmentation is furthered because the movie attempts to unload a lot of information in the 106 minutes it plays and the viewer feels overloaded and incomplete. You feel you are getting a half-assed story about a great singer and his personal life, yet you are confused as to all these people that are coming in and out of his life. We all know Marc Anthony can seen (or at least you should) but damn, is he good at singing Hector Lavoe songs. Watch the movie just for that! He nails his mannerisms, his songs, his everything. It is a pity that this movie proved to be so fragmented as to make it irrelevant.

Baby Boom
Baby Boom has to be considered a classic film of the 80s by now. It's like what "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club" was for teens. Diane Keaton's character, a high powered executive consultant, gets an inheritance from the cousin: a baby! Although she wants to give the baby up for adoption (baby not in her plans), she grows to love the child and moves to the country to have a new life. She encounters interesting characters, love and humor. This is a great portrayal by Diane Keaton and makes me think of "Annie Hall". She is neurotic, funny and completely psychotic, just how Diane Keaton can play it. This character s like the precursor for her movie with Jack Nicholson, "Something's Gotta give". This is a really good movie, full of laughs and good-hearted humor.

Dance with Me
Latin heartthrob Chayanne can sing. Chayanne can dance. Chayanne can teach Ricky Martin a thing or two about moving the hips. But, Chayanne cannot act very well. Vanessa Williams basically has to carry the movie because Chayanne, when he is not dancing…does very little for the film. But, when Chayanne is dancing all the bets are off. The passion in the dance sequences is palpable, the dancing is amazing and darn…it looks like fun! The film's plot has been done in many many other films. So, it is not only predictable, it is downright scene by scene a what every dance movie til then and since then has done. But, don't watch it for the predictable plot. The strengths of this movie lies in the dancing…because it is Latin hot! Trust me, I am Latin ;-)

Point of No Return
Like everyone else said, yes, it is no Nikita (French film). But, it is a pretty darn good movie. I was first introduced to the entire Nikita world through this movie and I loved it then and love it now. Bridget Fonda is excellent as the American Nikita (aka Maggie); she is a bit stronger and less confused than the French one and also uniquely different. Although American Nikita does not have that mysterious, interestingly vulnerable but intensely strong quality as the French Nikita, this film manages to pack a great heroine (of sorts, she is an assassin after all) with a great action movie and makes it one good film. Fonda is just great at playing the ex-druggie - now hitwoman Maggie, she is mesmerizing and phenomenal. An excellent Nikita. So, just watch both, and then watch the series, cause it just gets better.

Peggy Sue Got Married
"Peggy Sue Got Married" is a classic. It is a great, funny and cute film. Who would have thought that Coppola could produce something as good as this and do it successfully. Peggy Sue is going to her high school reunion. She hits her head and revisits her high school days. Peggy Sue has a choice, travel the once traveled path (get pregnant young and end in a broken marriage) or take the alternate route. Will she follow her heart or her head? Will she rediscover love? This is a great film. Kathleen Turner is great in it as the too- mature- for- her- age- because- she- has- already- lived- it-teenager and Nicholas Cage is great at playing the brainless, funny and just about confused teenager and adult. This is one of the only Nicholas Cage movies I like. The film is succeeds because it has great character development and a very well carried out storyline. It is a movie that is good to this day.

The Orphanage
Excellent Spanish gothic film by first time director Juan Antonia Bayona that feels like and Edgar Allan Poe poem. Along the lines of "The Devil's Backbone", and "The Others", this Spanish film proves to be a great haunting movie. Creepy in all the right places. Suspense builds throughout the movie at a perfect pace; this is basically the perfect formula film. First off, the acting is phenomenal. Every single actor, especially Belen Rueda, delivers an exquisite performance that comes off naturally. The film itself is the perfect formula for a horror movie. But herein lays one of the few flaws of this film: it is too formulaic. If you have seen as many horror/suspense movies as I have, you will be able to predict what happens in this film to a T. A bit predicable to the horror fan, the movie still manages to deliver great suspenseful scenes that made pause and become absorbed in the film. There were some scenes that should have been edited out, but the film had a great pacing, building the suspense on each and every scene. The movie had great pacing and great horror moments that left you wanting to see more. The cinematography and direction are the best aspects of this movie and what gives it that great feeling of suspense throughout. The storyline itself was pretty good, but left many things unexplained. I think that many aspects were inconclusive and unfinished. Still, the film is really good and it is one to watch. And the twist...you won't see it coming.

Cubs
A British kid looks to be initiated into an inner city gang. He must then participate in the hunt for a fox. This is an interesting short and a new and interesting take into gang initiations. The hunting images recalled to our memories scenes from British period films and the great hunts carried out then. The short seemed to have a message a one point and then managed to lose it in the short 9 minutes of duration. It is an unfinished short and should have made some sort of point, but didnt. The only thing accomplished was a really well performed hunting scene and nothing else. The acting is really good. An ok short that felt unfinished. 9 minutes long.

Mostly Martha
"Mostly Martha" is an endearing film about a chef, out of touch with her emotions, who has to take care of her orphaned niece, deal with the death of her sister, her issues with control and the new chef in her kitchen. This is a great movie: enjoyable, funny at times and enchanting. The soundtrack is excellent and the food presented makes your mouth water. Hmmmm...This movie is the precursor for "No Reservations" with Catherine Zeta Jones. Although the movies are basically the same (same scenes, same expressions, with some changes of course), "Mostly Martha" is far superior to "No reservations". Mostly Martha is more endearing, more heart felt and you grow to care more about the characters. While "No Reservations" is better edited and more funny, "Mostly Martha" is more interesting, better done, better performed and more caring about its own characters. Whereas the character of Kate in "No Reservations" was more comedic and cartoonish, Martha is more real. If you want funny, watch "No Reservations"; if you want a great movie with a bit of comedy, watch "Mostly Martha".

Knight Rider
For a TV movie, it was eh ok. For a Knight Rider movie, it was a complete disappointment! The story was a disappointment, the acting merely ok and everything else something to skip. The car did look cool and it has pretty good special effects and great upgrades (the changing of the car!). But the story got lost in the car itself, the writers seemed to think that the story did not matter, left too many loose ends (even if this becomes a show, they should have at least explained some things better). I was a big fan of the original Knight Rider, but not so much of this one. The main character does not have enough charisma to carry the movie/show. The only good thing about this is the treat for Knight Rider fans at the end!

Maldeamores
This is an excellent Puerto Rican film produced by Benicio del Toro. The film is wrongly translated; it should be "Lovesickness". I saw this movie at the theater in Puerto Rico and it was great. It is a comedy filled with heartfelt and endearing moments. It is funny, entertaining and a bit schizophrenic, all in one. All perfectly combined. The movie tells three separate stories that depict the oddball, slightly psychotic and emotional side of love. A woman deals with the unfaithfulness of her husband (and with who) the day her grandmother dies; and her son starts to experience a teen crush. An old divorced couple meets up again after years when she helps him out by allowing him to live at their home. But, what about her other, newer ex-husband who also lives there? This is a hysterical account about jealousy at all stages in live. A man hijacks a bus because he wants to marry the driver, will she want to? Granted, she doesn't even know who he is. The stories are both original and typical in that they happen to everyone and yet they are so uniquely experienced. The film is funny and honestly, really good. The only fault I found in this movie is that it is too short and there is not that much character development (it leaves a lot to the imagination). But, it is a really good effort by the Puerto Rican actors. I enjoyed it very much, and laughed quite a bit.

Ghost Voyage
It was bad in the beginning, it progressed to awful, suddenly, it became interesting and then it let me down. The Sci-Fi movie of the week had an interesting concept: strangers awake in a haunted cargo ship and must figure a way to get out; but, there is more to the story. An it could have been a good story, if they had taken all of five minutes to give it some cohesion, to background and an explanation. So many things