Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo
For thousands of years, mankind has been examining nature as a way to learn more about our self, our purpose and our destiny.  The idea that everything in the world is somehow connected has inspired generations of Japanese philosophers, rulers and religious figures who look for answers in their quest  for the universal truths of mankind’s existence by looking at some of the smallest creatures on the planet: insects.  Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, even though it sounds like a B-Movie, examines Japanese culture and their fascination with insects, from the roles that these strange creatures have played in their ancient philosophies, to becoming modern day pets or collectors items.     The film primarily follows a bug catcher and several children, combining them with spectacular photography of... READ MORE >>>

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Let’s just get it out of the way – this is a movie aimed at thirteen year-old girls.  The heart of the movie is a plain teenager, a ripped werewolf, and a beautiful, sparkly vampire.  It is the makings of a ‘tween fantasy.  People don’t expect it to win an Oscar.  But The Twilight Saga:  Eclipse is easily the strongest film of the series to date.         Jacob and Edward are still pining over Bella, though she has made her choice in Edward.  But there are bigger fish to fry:  Victoria, lover of the deceased James, is building an army of newborn vampires to destroy Bella and the Cullen clan.  The director, David Slade (30 Days of Night), establishes a quick pace to use throughout... READ MORE >>>

The Last Airbender
The Last Airbender is based on a cartoon series called Avatar: The Last Airbender that ran on Nickelodeon from 2005-08. It was adapted and directed by M. Night Shymalan, who gave us one of the great supernatural thrillers of all time with The Sixth Sense and approached the superhero film with a uniquely literate and subtle touch in Unbreakable. In his first adaptation, Shyamalan seems intent on starting up a franchise of his own, but this one clearly scuttled out from under him somehow.    The Last Airbender is the story of Aang (Noah Ringer), the long-lost Avatar, a legendary figure who can manipulate or “bend” all four elements: fire, water, air and earth. This amounts to... READ MORE >>>

Love Ranch
Love Ranch is the movie that director Taylor Hackford probably should have made right after his breakthrough 1982 hit, An Officer and a Gentleman. The New-Auteur-driven Seventies Golden Age wasn’t yet a faded, dusty memory and a mature drama like Love Ranch – based on true events surrounding the first legal brothel in Nevada – could have actually found an audience. Now, though, Hackford’s occasionally rubbery and yet oddly compelling movie will be released unnoticed in a flurry of sequels, three-quels, remakes and general pap.     Which is a shame. Hackford directs his wife, Helen Mirren – The Queen, herself – as Grace Bontempo, the long-suffering, steely-hard woman behind Reno, Nevada’s self-made – and selfishly... READ MORE >>>

Have You Heard From Johannesburg?
Sometime around 1960, a middle aged white man declared that the “separate development” of the races in his country had been misunderstood. To him, it was simply a policy of “good neighborliness”. This sounds a lot like the “separate but equal” mantra of American racial segregationists, but the words were actually spoken by the late Hendrik Verwoerd, former Prime Minister of South Africa, a nation that for decades was rife with oppression, subjugation, and violence.     Anything but “good neighborliness”, South African apartheid is the subject of Connie Field’s new documentary, "Have You Heard From Johannesburg?".  In what will be looked to as a seminal work, Field ("Freedom On My Mind") takes you on a cinematic... READ MORE >>>