After getting back to Texas from fighting in Iraq, Brandon King tries to put everything behind him and start over with his life. But just when he is about to, the military orders him back in. He either has to go back into Iraq, go to jail or leave the country. This choice questions everything he stands for and King refuses to go back.
The Cast
The Trailer
Worth the Popcorn?
War, it's probably to men what romances are to women. There are millions of stories to tell. But therefore it's also difficult to get to something unique, without turning into something laughable. Stop-Loss seems to have the right ingredient though. A proper mix of substance and entertainment. A critique, without forgetting the importance of a story. With the director of Boys Don't Cry and actors Ryan Phillippe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, this is most likely the future of Hollywood at work. Or is it the present?
Somewhere in the desert, Llewelyn stumbles upon a horrible bloodbath. Checking out the scene, he finds both parts of the deal. A truck full of drugs and a bag full of money. While he thinks everyone is (about to be) dead, he takes the money, well knowing this could mark his own death.
The Cast
The Trailer
Worth the Popcorn?
Although this isn't a work of incredible depth, it is a work of great craftsmanship. Of course it's directed by the Coen brothers, so they have twice the manpower. But a daring atmosphere, great pace, beautiful scenery and a very crazy Javier Bardem, makes this one puppy not to leave in the kennel.
What's the most impressive is the tension. I think it will be a while before people can watch another movie with Bardem without having hesitation to trust him. A big winner for the Oscars? You just can't stop what's coming..
Henry Roth is a real ladies man and has been breaking the hearts of the female tourists of Hawaii for quite a while. One day he meets Lucy at a local cafe. She seems different than the girls he usually dates and she lives on the island. He decides to ask her out on a date. Everything went perfect and they even spend the night together. But the next morning Henry is in for an unpleasant surprise. Lucy doesn’t remember anything and starts freaking out.
The Cast
The Trailer
Worth the Popcorn?
While Henry has to win Lucy over every day, since she is suffering from a short-term memory loss, he has to come up with a new idea each day to introduce himself to her. This makes the movie quite different than other romantic comedies and creates some fun moments. I have to admit, after a while this progress starts to become a bit repetitive, but still the movie has a lot of funny parts. It is really nice to see that the end of the movie isn’t an average happy ending. They found a solution, but did not magically change Lucy’s situation.
Driving to their new house, Chihiro and her parents stop by an interesting old road. After inspecting it for a while, they suddenly find an open-air restaurant in some sort of town. But except for the food, it is totally deserted. Hungry as they are, Chihiro’s parents can’t wait to dig in and start eating all the delicious meals. Chihiro is not so sure they can be eating all of this and wanders off.
When trying to get back to her parents after a while, she finds them turned into dirty eating pigs. And as the night falls, the place is filling up with strange gods and spirits. In her first steps to breaking the spell on her parents, Chihiro has to start working in a bathhouse nearby. But the gods and spirits turn out to be the regular guests over there too.
The Cast
The Trailer
Worth the Popcorn?
Spirited Away is one of the first adult anime features I've seen and well, I can't say anything has topped it yet. It is set in such an extraordinary world, with such beauty and wisdom. With all these fun, unusual and evil characters and brought with all sorts of layers. With Chihiro you first feel totally lost in this strange town, but as it goes you adept to this amazing place you got yourself into. An epic experience, which well deserves its Oscar. And as with every of these great experiences, you come out just a little different than before.
