Splice: DREN

Official Site:www.splicethefilm.com
Director(s):Vincenzo Natali
Writer(s): Vincenzo Natali, Antoinette Terry Bryant
Producer(s): Steven Hoban

Starring:Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, Delphine Chanéac(IMDb). Rated R-104min.

Two very ambitious scientist secretly created a human/animal hybrid against the wishes of the corporation that was funding their research. In fear of being discovered, they later relocated to one of the scientist's childhood farm where they developed a bond with their creation while gaining an understanding of its behavior. The creature appeared human in many physiological and psychological aspects, but this entity was certainly not entirely human, granting her some amazing gifts. A marvelous creation indeed, but this marvel had one pernicious trait the scientist overlooked.

Splice features the issue of human/animal hybrids, which is currently heavily debated. In exploring the possible benefits and disadvantages of this phenomenon, the film ultimately concludes as a cautionary tale. In part, the reality of venturing into gene mixing across species is not as cautious, relatively speaking, and a preferable moral consensus faces multiple diplomatic hurdles, as noted in this article. What may attract people to these types of films is the prospect of seeing an entity that is extra-human in some facet; and this may stem from a deep desire many of us possess to get bitten by a "radio active spider" if you know what I mean. Human/animal hybrids are no longer a subject of narratives, they are a reality, a feet attributable to genetic engineering.

A decent pace, a disturbingly lovable and sexy creature, a storyline driven by a real life issue,what more could I ask for? Well, a more defined or exciting plot would of been nice. Also, the exciting scenes were concentrated in the end, perhaps due to budgetary constraints. Although Splice was not as exciting as I wanted it to be, one major credit to the film, was that it presented the possible challenges of parenting a relatively intelligent sentient human/animal hybrid; a concern for future generations. According to metacritic, the film received generally favorable reviews, and rottentomatoes granted the film 81 fresh tomatoes to 31 rotten ones. Not bad, I'll grade it a 75. Stay tuned movieporium.blogspot.com.

Sex and The City 2: Abudhabi do!

Official Site:www.sexandthecitymovie.com
Director(s):Michael Patrick King
Writer(s): Michael Patrick King, Candace Bushnell
Producer(s):Michael Patrick King, John P. Melfi, Sarah Jessica Parker, Darren Star

Starring:Sarah Jessica Parker, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall,Chris Noth, David Eigenberg, Evan Handler(IMDb).Rated-R, 146 min.

A middle eastern magnate was impressed with Samantha's public relations skills in the release of her former boyfriend's new movie; so he invited Samantha to an all expense paid trip to the Middle East. She would accept the offer only on the condition, her girls came along. So thanks to Samantha, the girls flew to Abudhabi. During their decadent excursion, through candid conversations, the girls confronted the issues that were an impediment to their emotional well being. While the excursion was not perfect, it was cathartic.

Glamor, luxury, and fashion are synonymous with Sex and The City, and this sequel retained those qualities quite nicely. Recognizing the plot in the midst of the decadence was difficult. The girls flew to Abudhabi to have fun, but not to find themselves; the trip was cathartic incidentally, but no intentionally. The plot did not get lost in the showcasing of the decadence, simply, a plot was not established clearly.

Decadence was aptly presented, but not in the absence of edification. Friendship, kindness, marital diplomacy, and the challenges of motherhood were entwined in the bling essence that the series is known for. Two commendable scenes in relation to friendship and the challenges of motherhood, Samantha passed up sex to hangout with her girls, and Charlotte and Miranda payed tribute to single working moms during a candid conversation. Finally on an unrelated issue in connection to preceding points, one could argue the writing criticized Middle Eastern mores of sexuality through Samantha's defiance. According to metacritic the film earned generally unfavorable reviews, and rottentomatoes granted the film 29 fresh tomatoes to 140 rotten ones thus far. Nothing spectacular, but entertaining and fun. I'll grade it a 78. Stay tuned movieporium.blogspot.com.

Prince Of Persia Sands of Time: Hansassins

Official Site: Prince of Persia Official Site
Director(s): Mike Newell

Writer(s): Boaz Yakin,Doug Miro

Producer(s): Jerry Bruckheimer

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Steve Toussaint,(IMDb).PG-13, 116min.

Impressed by Dastan's courage as a boy, King Sharaman adopted him into the royal family. Dastan grew up to be a beloved Prince of Persia until his uncle Nizam had other ideas about his place in the royal family. Nazim crafted a ploy to invade a supposed rival territory under the duplicitous accusation that they were selling weapons to Persia's adversaries. Although King Sharaman was against the invasion, the Persians seized the territory, and apprehended Tamina. After a major incident lead to the betrayal of Dastan, he fled Persia with Tamina, and the sacred knife. In the midst of developing a fondness for each other, with much quarrels, Dristan and Tamina became aware that the invasion was not about weapons.

It was exciting watching Dastan jump from roof top to roof top in addition to some of the clever maneuvers he performed while he was fighting. Delivering an adventure that included, awesome chase scenes, and a descent story, Prince of Persia did not disappoint as it lived up to hype. This was a satisfactory film. One element of the story seemed to make a political point. Namely the invasion. It could be argued, the writers were making a point about the invasion of Iraq. Furthermore, there was mention of secret government killings and their relation to taxes, which was presented with levity. Finally, my favorite political point was the ending of the movie itself, which advocated cooperation rather than conquest.

Very entertaining, but not extraordinary or unprecedented, Prince of Persia is worth seeing. According to metacritic the film received mixed or average reviews, and rottentomatoes granted the film 64 fresh tomatoes to 99 rotten ones thus far. A nice action flick, with great production, I'll grade it an 83. Stay tuned movieporium.blogspot.com.

Shrek The Final Chapter: Re-Donkey-lous

Dreamworks

Official Site:www.shrek.com
Director(s):Mike Mitchell
Writer(s):Josh Klausner, Darren Lemke
Producer(s):Teresa Cheng, Gina Shay,

Starring:Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Jon Hamm, John Cleese, Walt Dohrn, Lake Bell,(IMDb). PG-93 min.

Shrek has become a family-man, with a wife, and several green creatures which he calls his kids. Although Shrek appears to have a blissful life, emotionally, Shrek is not fulfilled. He misses the days when he was a reclusive menacing ogre, and people were actually afraid of him. Feeling that his life has become something akin to a tourist attraction, Shrek deeply yearns the life he had before rescuing Princess Fiona, and the opportunistic Rumpelstiltskin grants him that life for a day through a contractual obligation accompanied by dire consequences.

In contrast to the preceding films, Shrek: The Final Chapter, although satisfying, was not as funny. The humor in the previous films was more adult oriented; it was difficult to detect such humor in this latest and final release of the series. With the humor being more sanitized, or designed for a younger audience, the older fans of the series may have felt, this comedy was amusing in a sophomoric manner. Using the term sophomoric appears harsh, however it is not intended to be pejorative, but that, the humor seemed rather simplified.

The story was more satisfying than the humor. Indeed this was a beautiful story of loss, redemption, and appreciation. Over all the film had a good pace. All the major characters are as lovable as they have ever been. According to Metacritic, the filmed earned average or mixed reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com granted the film 65 fresh tomatoes to 56 rotten ones thus far. Definitely worth seeing, I'll grade it an 83. Stay tuned, movieporium.blogspot.com

The Secret In Their Eyes: Can't Seperate A Man From His Passion

Official Site: http://www.sonyclassics.com/thesecretintheireyes/
Director(s):Juan José Campanella
Writer(s): Eduardo Sacheri
Producer(s):Mariela Besuievski, Juan José Campanella, Carolina Urbieta.

Starring:Ricardo Darín, Guillermo Francella, Soledad Villamil, Jose Luis Gioia, Pablo Rago (Moviefone.com). Rated R-127 minutes.

A former official of Argentina's Justice Department, Benjamin Esposito was struggling to write a novel about a rape-homicide case from decades ago. As a frustrated Esposito labored to find the right words to write on his notepad, he could not help imagining the screams of the rape victim, which was the antithesis of the idealistic, soft, and poetic thoughts he tried to write. This case was special to Esposito; he simply could not shake off a brute intuition, that there was something more to this old case. Following his intuition, Esposito visited his former boss, Irene, and they talked about old times, and reminisced about the case. Revisiting the case as a novelist, Esposito ultimately discovers something shocking and unprecedented.

The Secret In Their Eyes, is the Academy Award winner for best foreign language film, marked by excellent character development, smart writing, and balance. Characters drive the film, but not to the extent that they are the focus feature of the film, because the investigation of the rape-homicide is also captivating, but so is the writing. The dialogue is cogent and aphoristic, and one could argue that there is truth in the saying, " can't separate a man from his passion". Excluding the investigation, other elements of the film did not dominate the main story or the plot, but they were present and resolved. For example, Esposito was in love with his boss, Irene; this aspect of the film was resolved, without overshadowing the investigation which was the center aspect. Overall, the pace of the film was just was right , there was no lag, and it was absolutely captivating. According to metacritic.com, the film received generally favorable reviews, and Rottentomatoes.com granted the film 66 fresh tomatoes to 6 rotten ones. This masterpiece is a 95. Stay tuned to Movieporium.