Arthur and the Invisibles
First released in France, Luc Besson’s Arthur and the Invisibles is a touching computer animated adventure that makes up in look and in character for what it lacks in narrative originality. As a direct hybrid of Excalibur and A Bug’s Life, Arthur stars a heroic ten year-old, Arthur (Freddie Highmore), who draws a sword from a stone to fight a miniature battle in the garden before finding treasure valuable enough to save his grandfather’s farm from purchase by developers. Arthur’s grandfather, Archibald, having long ago discovered the miniscule world of Minimoys, garden gnome-like elves that lived in his yard, shrunk himself in order to hunt elusive rubies that were hidden in their evil Mecropolis, headed by Maltazard (David Bowie). Now Arthur must assist the benevolent Minimoy clan, ruled by The King (Robert De Niro) and Princess Selenia (Madonna), in challenging Maltazard for possession of the jewels. Shots taking the viewer down through grass blades into the microscopic, yet gigantic yard world readjust one’s sense of size, as do scenes, for example, in which a small, elven Arthur fights mosquitoes with catapulted tomatoes. Meanwhile, live action scenes of Arthur’s worried grandmother (Mia Farrow) provide respite from a completely computerized world. Bowie, as he did in Legend, steals the show, bringing to life his Darth Vader-like character who chose evil over good in a past adventure. Corny one-liners sometimes spoil the mood, but overall the film’s thematic blend of fantasy and environmentalism, like Princess Mononoke, will delight children with its positive message.
Until Death
Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in this bone-chilling, action-packed thriller as Anthony Lowe, a down-and-out detective who is addicted to heroine and whose day always seems to go from bad to worse. Lowe is coming off of a drug deal in which two officers were killed and the primary villain, the drugs, the money and the surveillance tapes are still at large. He is also dealing with his wife, who has just informed him that she is pregnant - but the child is not his. After a gunfight, Lowe comes very close to death and falls into a coma. While on the road to recovery, Lowe finds himself in a very personal battle to make amends with his kidnapped wife and to avenge his assailant once and for all.
Bordertown
A powerful story of life on the border between the United States and Mexico, Bordertown is based on the hundreds of women working in American-owned factories who have been brutally raped and murdered in Juarez, a city gripped by fear. The attacks have been covered up by the local authorities, and still continue today.
When editor of the Chicago Sentinel George Morgan (Sheen) sends ambitious reporter, Lauren Adrian (Lopez), to Juarez, Mexico to investigate the murders, what she finds is the story of a lifetime. Eva, a young woman who was raped and left for dead in the desert, is the only woman to survive an attack. Unable to go to the police for help, she turns to a local newspaper run by Diaz Alfonso (Banderas), former friend and colleague of Lauren s. Hiding Eva is incredibly dangerous, but Lauren knows that publishing her story is the only way to expose the truth behind the murders. She is determined to find Eva s attackers but soon finds herself immersed in a dangerous web of corruption that extends to both sides of the border.
The Last King of Scotland
As Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, Forest Whitaker gives “one of the greatest performances of modern movie history” (Wall Street Journal), one that the Associated Press calls “nothing short of Oscar(r) worthy.” This is Amin’s incredible story as seen through the eyes of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young Scotsman who becomes the volatile leader’s personal physician, due in part to Amin’s unexpected passion for Scottish culture — Amin even proclaims himself “The Last King of Scotland”. Seduced by Amin’s charisma and blinded by decadence, Garrigan’s dream life becomes a waking nightmare of betrayal and madness from which there is no escape. Inspired by real people and events, this gripping, suspenseful stunner is filled with performances you will never forget.
Freedom Writers
Though the “inspirational teacher” theme may feel done to death, Freedom Writers succeeds because it emphasizes the students as much as the teacher. Erin Gruwell (Hilary Swank, Million Dollar Baby, Boys Don’t Cry) comes to a southern California high school bubbling over with naive optimism, but quickly discovers that her unruly classroom isn’t easily won over by her good intentions. After a few floundering attempts to connect with her students, Gruwell gives them the assignment of keeping journals about their own lives–an assignment that the class bites into with relish, which eventually bonds them together and pushes racial rivalries aside. This plotline has been made before, sometimes well, sometimes poorly; Freedom Writers, by drawing heavily from the published journals of the students–and thanks to a (mostly) unheroic script, direction that emphasizes individual characters over stereotypes, and rigorous performances from the whole cast–makes the story seem fresh and genuine. Swank does solid work, but the standouts are April L. Hernandez as a girl whose gang wants her to lie and send an innocent boy to jail and Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) as a teacher who resents Gruwell’s offbeat success. Also featuring Patrick Dempsey (Grey’s Anatomy), Scott Glenn (The Right Stuff), and a plethora of strong young actors.
Fracture
Academy Award® winner Anthony Hopkins and Academy Award® nominee Ryan Gosling are brilliant in this “exceptionally suspenseful nail-biter” (Rex Reed) that’s so smart it “doesn’t let go, even after the final twist” (Gene Shalit, “Today”). Ted Crawford (Hopkins) brutally murders his wife and calmly waits for the police to arrest him. With the weapon and a signed confession in hand, Deputy D.A., Willy Beachum (Gosling), believes a conviction is a slam dunk; that is until the case completely unravels. Now, with little evidence, Beachum goes head to head with the cunning Mr. Crawford in a desperate search for the truth and the answer to one burning question: How is this guy getting away with murder?
