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V for Vendetta
James McTeigue
Title: V for Vendetta
Studio: Warner Home Video
Genre: Action & Adventure
Writer: Larry Wachowski
Duration: 132
Starring: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Rupert Graves, Stephen Rea, Stephen Fry
Summary: "Remember, remember the fifth of November," for on this day, in 2020, the minds of the masses shall be set free. So says code-name V (Hugo Weaving), a man on a mission to shake society out of its blank complacent stares in the film "V for Vendetta". His tactics, however, are a bit revolutionary, to say the least. The world in which V lives is very similar to Orwell's totalitarian dystopia in 1984: after years of various wars, England is now under "big brother" Chancellor Adam Sutler (played by John Hurt, who played Winston Smith in the movie "1984"), whose party uses force and fear to run the nation. After they gained power, minorities and political dissenters were rounded up and removed; artistic and unacceptable religious works were confiscated. Cameras and microphones are littered throughout the land, and the people are perpetually sedated through the governmentally controlled media. Taking inspiration from Guy Fawkes, the 17th century co-conspirator of a failed attempt to blow up Parliament on November 5, 1605, V dons a Fawkes mask and costume and sets off to wake the masses by destroying the symbols of their oppressors, literally and figuratively. At the beginning of his vendetta, V rescues Evey (Natalie Portman) from a group of police officers and has her live with him in his underworld lair. It is through their relationship where we learn how V became V, the extremities of the party's corruption, the problems of an oppressive government, V's revenge plot, and his philosophy on how to induce change.
Based on the popular graphic novel by Alan Moore, "V for Vendetta"'s screenplay was written by the Wachowski brothers (of "The Matrix" fame) and directed by their protégé, James McTeigue. Controversy and criticism followed the film since its inception, from the hyper-stylized use of anarchistic terrorism to overthrow a corrupt government and the blatant jabs at the current U.S. political arena, to graphic novel fans complaining about the reconstruction of Alan Moore's original vision (Moore himself has dismissed the film). Many are valid critiques and opinions, but there's no hiding the message the film is trying to express: Radical and drastic events often need to occur in order to shake people out of their state of indifference in order to bring about real change. Unfortunately, the movie only offers a means with no ends, and those looking for answers may find the film stylish, but a bit empty. "--Rob Bracco"

Beyond "Vendetta"
The graphic novel by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
More by Alan Moore
From Graphic Novel to Big Screen
More by Natalie Portman
More by Hugo Weaving
More by the Wachowski Brothers
Vacancy
Nimród Antal
Title: Vacancy
Studio: Sony Pictures
Genre: Horror
Writer: Mark L. Smith
Duration: 85 mins
Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Luke Wilson, Frank Whaley, Ethan Embry, Scott G. Anderson
Summary: A confined setting is a useful tool for thriller-makers, and "Vacancy" is definitely boxed in: a rundown motel way, way off the Interstate, the kind of place where unsuspecting movie characters go to get stabbed to death in the shower. If "Vacancy" doesn't quite live up to its Hitchcockian forbears, at least it provides 80 minutes of well-designed mayhem. You know somebody's paying attention just from the opening credits, a clever vortex with pounding music by Paul Haslinger. Then we meet unhappy couple Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale, driving along in the dark and forced to stay at the Pinewood Motel after a car breakdown. There's a night man (Frank Whaley, decadent) in the tradition of Dennis Weaver's "Touch of Evil" gargoyle, but the real mess of trouble is waiting in room number 4. Director Nimrod Antal, who scored a stylish international hit with the Hungarian thriller "Kontroll", squeezes maximum juice out of the Route 66 atmosphere of the motel, although the movie doesn't get under your skin the way "Kontroll" did. Wilson and Beckinsale are a little too marquee-namish for this kind of heavy-breathing work, and the script doesn't give them much to play with. But hey, it's not that kind of movie. Where it really belongs is on the top half of a drive-in double bill, or maybe as a nightmare-scenario TV movie from the Seventies. Either way, it works. --"Robert Horton"




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By the Director
Vacancy 2: The First Cut
Eric Bross
Title: Vacancy 2: The First Cut
Studio: Sony Pictures
Genre: Horror
Writer: Mark L. Smith
Duration: 86 mins
Starring: Agnes Bruckner, David Moscow, Scott G. Anderson, Arjay Smith, Trevor Wright
Summary: Experience the gruesome beginnings of Mr. Smith and his hotel of horrors in this terrifying prequel to Vacancy, starring Agnes Bruckner (Murder by Numbers). Suspecting only a night of hard beds and tacky décor, Caleb, his sexy new fiancée Jessica and his sarcastic best friend Tanner, check into the Meadow View Inn. They have no idea that it is not just another lonely motel, but a horrific trap where guests are brutally tortured and murdered while the sadistic maniac Mr. Smith and his greedy accomplices film the grisly slayings for profit. Caught in a deadly game or cat and mouse, the three young friends now must fight to survive.
Valentina's Tango
Rogelio Lobato
Title: Valentina's Tango
Studio: Mti Home Video
Genre: Thriller
Writer: Rogelio Lobato
Duration: 98 mins
Starring: Dianna Miranda, George Perez, Jack Rubio, Yelba Osorio, Jordi Caballero
Summary: Studio: Mti Productions Release Date: 05/27/2008 Run time: 98 minutes
Valentine
Jamie Blanks
Title: Valentine
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Writer: Tom Savage, Donna Powers
Duration: 96 mins
Awards: 1 win
Starring: Denise Richards, David Boreanaz, Marley Shelton, Jessica Capshaw, Jessica Cauffiel
Summary: Valentine's Day 1988: At the school dance, geeky Jeremy Melton bravely faces one rejection after the other when asking four popular girls to dance with him. A fifth girl, plump and insecure, agrees, but they end up making out under the bleachers. When a group of school bullies catches them, the girl claims that Jeremy attacked her. This causes them to strip off his clothes and beat him up in front of the entire school. Flash forward to 2001. We meet the five girls who were in that school gym: Kate, Paige, Shelly, Lily and the formerly plump Dorothy. They are all in their 20's now and trying to sort out their love lives, which is appropriate, since Valentine's Day is coming up. After a disastrous date with a loser, one of the girls, a pre-med student, is murdered by a Cherub-mask wearing killer who sent her a death threat in the form of a Valentine card prior to the attack. After the four remaining girls are reunited at her funeral, they all start receiving threatening cards and messages. At first they don't know who would want to hurt them, but eventually they figure that maybe Jeremy is responsible. Police records show that Jeremy has completely disappeared, so no one knows what he looks like. Could the formerly nerdish Jeremy have had plastic surgery and turned into one of the girls' handsome boyfriends? Who ever it is, the lone survivor has to put a stop to this spurned individual's murder spree before she, too, becomes a valentine to die for.
Valentine's Day (Historias de San Valentín)
Garry Marshall
Title: Valentine's Day (Historias de San Valentín)
Studio: Karz Entertainment
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Writer: Katherine Fugate, Katherine Fugate
Duration: 125
Starring: Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane
Summary: En "Valentine's Day" veremos cómo se cruzan varias historias durante el Día de San Valentín: una oficial del ejército (Julia Roberts) que abandona Iraq y que viaja hasta Los Ángeles en un vuelo en el que también va alguien con asuntos que resolver en un día como ese (Bradley Cooper); el dueño de una floristería (Ashton Kutcher) que le propone matrimonio a su chica (Jessica Alba) y que, sin embargo, se percata de que está enamorado de una amiga cercana (Jennifer Garner) cuyo novio está en realidad casado; una jubilada (Shirley MacLaine) que le desvela a su marido que mantuvo un largo romance con otra persona; una mujer (Anne Hathaway) que trabaja en la agencia de talentos más importante de la ciudad y que está saliendo con un empleado de una oficina de correos; y, finalmente, una desafortunada publicista (Jessica Biel) que no tiene con quién quedar el Día de San Valentín
Valkyrie
Bryan Singer
Title: Valkyrie
Studio: United Artists
Genre: History, Thriller, War
Writer: Christopher McQuarrie, Nathan Alexander
Duration: 121
Awards: 1 nomination
Starring: Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Carice van Houten
Summary: Cruise interpreta al coronel alemán Claus von Stauffenberg, un aristocrático oficial alemán que lideró el heroico intento de derrocar al régimen nazi y acabar con la guerra colocando una bomba en el bunker de Hitler en 1944. Gravemente herido en combate, el Coronel Claus von Stauffenberg vuelve de África para unirse a la resistencia alemana y ayuda a organizar la Operación Valkiria, el complejo plan para que un gobierno en la sombra reemplazara al de Hitler una vez que éste hubiera muerto. Pero el destino y las circunstancias conspiran para proyectar a Stauffenberg de uno de los muchos implicados en el complot a un papel central de doble filo. No sólo debe liderar el golpe y tomar el control del gobierno de su país... también debe matar al propio Hitler. (FILMAFFINITY)
Vampires
John Carpenter
Title: Vampires
Studio: Film Office
Genre: Action, Horror, Thriller
Writer: John Steakley, Don Jakoby
Duration: 108 mins
Awards: 3 wins & 4 nominations
Starring: James Woods, Daniel Baldwin, Sheryl Lee, Thomas Ian Griffith, Maximilian Schell
Summary: The church has long known that vampires exist. However, it is discovered that a group of vampires are searching for a powerful doom for mankind. The Vatican then secretly enlists a team of vampire-hunters, led by Jack Crow, to hunt down and destroy the vampires before they find the crucifix.
Vampires Suck (Una Loca Pelicula de Vampiros)
Jason Friedberg
Title: Vampires Suck (Una Loca Pelicula de Vampiros)
Studio: Regency Enterprises
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
Duration: 82
Starring: Jenn Proske, Matt Lanter, Diedrich Bader, Chris Riggi, Ken Jeong
Summary: 'Vampires Suck' es una comedia sobre la ansiedad adolescente. Becca es una adolescente no vampiro que se debate entre dos chicos. Antes de que pueda elegir, Becca debe sortear a su padre, quien avergüenza a su hija por tratarla como si fuera una niña. Mientras tanto, los amigos de Becca deberán lidiar con sus propios problemas amorosos, chocando todos ellos en el baile de graduación. Parodia de la creciente moda de las películas vampíricas, tomando "Crepúsculo" como eje. (FILMAFFINITY)
Van Helsing
Stephen Sommers
Title: Van Helsing
Studio: Universal Pictures
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Writer: Stephen Sommers
Duration: 132 mins
Awards: 2 wins & 13 nominations
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham, Shuler Hensley
Summary: Van Helsing is in the world to rid all evil, even if not everyone agrees with him. The Vatican send the monster hunter and his ally, Carl to Transylvania. They have been sent to this land to stop the powerful Count Dracula. Whilst, here they join forces with a Gypsy Princess called Anna Valerious, who is determined to end an ancient curse on her family, by destroying the vampire. They just don't know how!
Van Wilder Animal Party
Walt Becker
Title: Van Wilder Animal Party
Studio: Myriad Pictures
Genre: Comedy
Writer: Brent Goldberg, David Wagner
Duration: 92 mins
Awards: 2 nominations
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Tara Reid, Tim Matheson, Kal Penn, Teck Holmes
Summary: Van Wilder is a guy who has been at his college for seven years. He spends most of his time throwing parties and "fund raisers". When his father decides that it's time for tough love, he doesn't pay his tuition. So Van becomes a professional party thrower. At the same time, Gwen who writes for the college paper, is tasked with doing a story on him, but Van is too busy partying to do that. So she writes it using info from people who talk about him and writes an unflattering piece, which doesn't make him happy. He then dares her to see if she can get the true story but is more interested in trying to score with her, which is not easy because she has a boyfriend, who is a snob, and who is not too happy with the amount time she is spending with him. So he tries to get rid of him.
Van Wilder: Freshman Year
Harvey Glazer
Title: Van Wilder: Freshman Year
Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment
Genre: Comedy
Duration: 100
Starring: Van Wilder, Kaitlin Hays, Yu Dum Fok, College student, Restaurant Patron
Summary: Van Wilder está listo para las fiestas en la Universidad Coolidge. Para su desgracia todas las mujeres han hecho un voto de castidad que rige la escuela. Van comenzará un largo camino en esta hilarante comedia, para poder liberar a las mujeres del campus de la opresión sexual
Vanilla Sky
Cameron Crowe
Title: Vanilla Sky
Studio: Paramount
Genre: Drama
Writer: Mateo Gil
Duration: 136 mins
Starring: Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Kurt Russell, Jason Lee
Summary: "Vanilla Sky" reunites director Cameron Crowe ("Jerry Maguire") with über-playboy Tom Cruise, adds another sexy Cruz (Penélope) and Cameron Diaz for good measure, and delivers a wildly entertaining, bizarre venture into erotic science fiction. Adapted near exactly from Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 romantic thriller "Open Your Eyes", the film follows David Aames (Cruise) as he falls from his graceful Manhattan perch of inordinate wealth, good looks, and newfound love with Sofia (Cruz) because of severe facial disfigurement in a car accident caused by a suicidal ex-lover (Diaz). What at first promises to be a conventional allegory of redemption via true love is turned on its head as Cruise's character, reduced to wearing a latex mask and spurned by his friends, wins back his princess only after a miracle of plastic surgery restores his former beauty. A series of plot twists follows as waking life, technological advances, and nightmares flip-flop to dizzying effect and David ultimately comes face to face with his own mortality. Despite a final conceit to some vague morality, the appeal of the film is the wonderfully callous message conveyed by the rest of it (money and physical beauty equal happiness) through an unabashed vanity perfectly embodied by Cruise and Cruz. A delicious, decadent treat. "--Fionn Meade"
The Vanishing
George Sluizer
Title: The Vanishing
Studio: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
Genre: Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Writer: Tim Krabbé, Todd Graff
Duration: 109
Awards: 2 nominations
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Kiefer Sutherland, Nancy Travis, Sandra Bullock, Park Overall
Summary: Barney teaches chemisty, and is planning to abduct a woman. Despite methodical planning and countless trial runs he always manages to mess things up. Then Diane, who is traveling with her boyfriend Jeff, unwittingly makes herself an easy target. The story is mainly from Jeff's viewpoint, as he searches for Diane. Barney watches him.
Vanishing on 7th Street
Brad Anderson
Title: Vanishing on 7th Street
Genre: Terror, Thriller, Intriga
Writer: Brad Anderson, Anthony Jaswinski
Duration: 90 min.
Starring: John Leguizamo, Thandie Newton, Hayden Christensen, Taylor Groothuis, Jacob Latimore, Jordan Trovillion, Pamela Croydon
Summary: Vanishing on 7th Street cuenta como una misteriosa oscuridad llega a un pequeño pueblo. La gente comienza a desaparecer en ella y un grupo de supervivientes se refugia en una pequeña taberna sin saber lo qué sucede. Sin embargo, la oscuridad irá a por ellos uno por uno...
Vantage Point
Pete Travis
Title: Vantage Point
Studio: Sony Pictures
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Writer: Barry Levy
Duration: 90 mins
Awards: 1 win
Starring: Matthew Fox, Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, Bruce McGill, Édgar Ramírez
Summary: The President of the United States is in Salamanca, Spain, about to address the city in a public square. We see a plain-clothes cop, his girlfriend with another man, a mother and child, an American tourist with a video camera, and a Secret Service agent newly returned from medical leave. Shots ring out and the President falls; a few minutes later, we hear a distant explosion, then a bomb goes off in the square. Those minutes are retold, several times, emphasizing different characters' actions. Gradually, we discover who's behind the plot. Is the Secret Service one step ahead, or have the President's adversaries thought of everything?
Veer
Anil Sharma
Title: Veer
Studio: Eros International
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, Romance, War
Writer: Salman Khan, Shaktimaan
Duration: 155
Starring: Salman Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Jackie Shroff, Sohail Khan, Zarine Khan
Summary: Desde las páginas oscuras de la historia llega una leyenda de valentía, orgullo y amor conmovedor.A medida que Inglaterra coloniza la India convirtiendola en la India Británica usando una politica astuta de division, los reyes y nawabs caen en el engaño y confian su precioso reino a los extranjeros.Todos excepto los valientes Pindari, que prefieren la muerte a la deshonra y lucharán hasta su último aliento para salvar su tierra .. su madre.Entre los más valientes, los más duros, el más fuerte de los Pindari es Veer.Cuando Veer asume el poder , tiene que luchar contra la pérfidia del Rey de Madavgarh así como también contra la envidia en su propia tribu .Hay mucho en juego ..Está en juego su amor por la princesa Yashodhara, hija de su enemigo jurado, está en juego su sed de venganza para limpiar la deshonra de su padre .. Está en juego su existencia misma ..rugen los cañones, las espadas chocan en una batalla feroz, la montaña de muertos aumenta .. Pero cuando el polvo se asienta sobre la tierra empapada en sangre el valiente guerrero se destaca ampliamente por encima de todos,Veer una saga épica de la valentía y el drama, la traición y el amor
Vengeance
Johnnie To
Title: Vengeance
Studio: ARP Sélection
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller, Drama
Writer: Wai Ka Fai
Duration: 108
Awards: 3 nominations
Starring: Johnny Hallyday, Sylvie Testud, Anthony Wong Chau-Sang, Ka Tung Lam, Suet Lam
Summary: Cuando Costello, un antiguo asesino francés reconvertido en chef, se entera de que su hija y la familia han sido asesinadas, promete solemnemente vengar sus muertes. La búsqueda de los asesinos le lleva hasta Hong Kong, donde consigue a unos matones a sueldo locales para que le ayuden. Sin embargo, el mayor reto al que se enfrenta Costello es la lucha contra su progresiva pérdida de memoria, provocada por una bala alojada en su cabeza. ¿Será capaz de llevar a cabo su misión antes de que sea demasiado tarde? (FILMAFFINITY)
Venice Underground
Eric DelaBarre
Title: Venice Underground
Studio: Jeff Most Productions
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Writer: Eric DelaBarre
Duration: 119 mins
Starring: Randall Batinkoff, Mark Boone Junior, Francis Capra, James Duval, Edward Furlong
Summary: Selected by the DEA, a group of police cadets form a Narc unit to bust narcotic dealers along the Venice Beach Boardwalk. When a gang turf war leads to the death of one of the unit members, the team has 48 hours to solve the case or be suspended.
Venom
Jim Gillespie
Title: Venom
Studio: Dimension Films
Genre: Thriller, Horror
Writer: Flint Dille, John Zuur Platten
Duration: 85
Starring: Agnes Bruckner, Jonathan Jackson, Laura Ramsey, D.J. Cotrona, Rick Cramer
Summary: Eric and his Yankee teenage mates travel South by motorbike to a swampy backwater town in Louisiana, where Sean's father Ray lived, the local tow truck driver, who abandoned the then baby-boy and his mother. Ray recently died, while trying to rescue a voodoo witch and at her urging her trunk, which got opened and released the poisonous serpents possessed by the souls of truly evil sinners she trapped in them. Ray was bitten and penetrated as the car sunk, and shortly after it's dragged out rises as an 'undead' zombie, who murders without provocation and is immune to lethal weapons. He soon finds the teens' trace and proves his indiscriminately evil blood-thirst by charging his only offspring equally lethally. However they were warned by Eden's friend Cece, the witch's granddaughter, who explained the situation in her home and assures them when the zombie attacks it's safe thanks to a 'blessed' spell preventing evil from entering; alas the chain- and crowbar-waving undead finds a way round that: drag them out of it and make it fall apart. After the boys prove too brave and loyal for their own good, only Eden escapes alive, and the battle-site is moved to the tomb where the voodoo evil resides in a sarcophagus for their fight to the (un)death while she sort of learns enough voodoo by trial and error...
Venus
Roger Michell
Title: Venus
Studio: Free Range Films
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Writer: Hanif Kureishi
Duration: 94 mins
Awards: Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 16 nominations
Starring: Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips, Beatrice Savoretti, Philip Fox, Lolita Chakrabarti
Summary: Maurice and Ian are successful but aging actors, close friends whose conversation revolves around theatrical shop talk and the infirmities of septuagenarianism. Ian in particular is fearful that death is right around the corner, so he agrees to let his niece's daughter Jessie move in to his flat to care for him. Jessie, a provincial girl in her early twenties, turns out to be a nightmare for Ian, a hard-drinking, rude, and dismissive twerp. But Maurice sees something else in the girl, a potential for humanity which blossoms under his kindness and gentle guidance. Something else blossoms, for Maurice, as well: romantic love for a girl fifty years younger. Surprises follow, all around.
Vera Drake
Mike Leigh
Title: Vera Drake
Studio: Les Films Alain Sarde
Genre: Crime, Drama
Writer: Mike Leigh
Duration: 125
Awards: Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 33 wins & 28 nominations
Starring: Imelda Staunton, Richard Graham, Eddie Marsan, Anna Keaveney, Alex Kelly
Summary: Vera Drake is a selfless woman who is completely devoted to, and loved by, her working class family. She spends her days doting on them and caring for her sick neighbor and elderly mother. However, she also secretly visits women and helps them induce miscarriages for unwanted pregnancies. While the practice itself was illegal in 1950s England, Vera sees herself as simply helping women in need, and always does so with a smile and kind words of encouragement. When the authorities finally find her out, Vera's world and family life rapidly unravel.
Veronica Guerin
Joel Schumacher
Title: Veronica Guerin
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Writer: Carol Doyle, Carol Doyle
Duration: 98 mins
Awards: Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 13 nominations
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Gerard McSorley, Ciarán Hinds, Brenda Fricker, Don Wycherley
Summary: Based on a true story, this is about the Irish journalist Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett), a reporter for The Sunday Independent, who exposed some of Dublin's most powerful crime barons and drug lords in 1996. But later that year she was gunned down by assasins hired by the same criminal drug lords she exposed.
Veronika Decides to Die (Veronica decide morir)
Emily Young
Title: Veronika Decides to Die (Veronica decide morir)
Studio: Das Films
Genre: Drama
Writer: Paulo Coelho, Larry Gross
Duration: 103
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jonathan Tucker, Erika Christensen, Florencia Lozano, Rena Owen
Summary: Veronika (Sarah Michelle Gellar) es una joven de 28 años que aparentemente lo tiene todo: belleza, un buen trabajo y una vida confortable. Lo tiene todo menos lo más importante: las ganas de vivir... (FILMAFFINITY)
Very Bad Things
Peter Berg
Title: Very Bad Things
Studio: Universal Studios
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Writer: Peter Berg
Duration: 100 mins
Awards: 2 wins & 3 nominations
Starring: Jon Favreau, Leland Orser, Cameron Diaz, Christian Slater, Rob Brownstein
Summary: A group of friends head to Las Vegas for a bachelor party.. only things go wrong and a woman is killed. Soon, the bodies are piling up and the friends find themselves turning against one another as the coverup builds.
A Very Long Engagement
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Title: A Very Long Engagement
Studio: 2003 Productions
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance, War
Writer: Sébastien Japrisot, Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Duration: 133
Awards: Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 16 wins & 21 nominations
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Dominique Pinon, Chantal Neuwirth, André Dussollier
Summary: Five desperate French soldiers during The Battle of the Somme shoot themselves, either by accident or with purpose, in order to be invalidated back home. Having been "caught" a court-martial convenes and determines punishment to be banishment to No Man's Land with the objective of having the Germans finish them off. In the process of telling this tale each man's life is briefly explored along with their next of kin as Methilde, fiancée to one of the men, tries to determine the circumstances of her lover's death. This task is not made any easier for her due to a bout with polio as a child. Along the way she discovers the heights and depths of the human soul. From the commander who wantonly and secretly destroys the men's pardon, to the amazing lengths one condemned man's friend goes to in an effort to save at least some of them. This movie operates at many levels. A love story. A mystery. A testament to brutality of "The War to End All Wars" and most particularly the men, women, and children affected by this dark and disturbing time in world history. Technically the cinematography (by Bruno Delbonnel) is amazing. Many scenes will have you asking how that was shot. The use of color, the score, the authenticity of the costume, the portrayal by the actors, the effects, and the story itself all combined to make a delightful feast of sound and vision. Look for a long cameo of Jody Foster. Amazing! Jean-Peirre Jeunet is a master.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Woody Allen
Title: Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Studio: Mediapro
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Writer: Woody Allen
Duration: 96 mins
Awards: Nominated for Oscar. Another 13 wins & 26 nominations
Starring: Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Christopher Evan Welch
The Village
M. Night Shyamalan
Title: The Village
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
Duration: 108 mins
Awards: Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 9 nominations
Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Joaquin Phoenix, Adrien Brody, William Hurt, Sigourney Weaver
Summary: In a quiet, isolated village in olde Pennsylvania, there lies a pact between the people of the village and the creatures who reside in the surrounding woods: the townspeople do not enter the woods, and the creatures do not enter the village. The pact stays true for many years, but when Lucius Hunt seeks medical supplies from the towns beyond the wood, the pact is challenged. Animal carcasses, devoid of fur, begin to appear around the village, causing the council of elders to fear for the safety of the village, the pact, and so much more.
Virus
John Bruno
Title: Virus
Studio: Universal Studios
Genre: Action, Horror, Thriller, Sci-Fi
Writer: Chuck Pfarrer, Chuck Pfarrer
Duration: 100 mins
Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, William Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, Joanna Pacula, Marshall Bell
Summary: When a typhoon cripples their boat, the crew sails into the eye of the storm, where they discover a high-tech Russian communications and research vessel adrift. Only one Russian crew member is still alive, raving about "intelligent lightning." They soon discover that an alien life form has taken over the ship's computers and is churning out mechanical warriors. With their own boat destroyed, the crew must battle the creature as the ship reenters the storm.
The Visitation
Robby Henson
Title: The Visitation
Studio: Namesake Entertainment
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Writer: Brian Godawa, Frank Peretti
Duration: 99 mins
Starring: Martin Donovan, Edward Furlong, Kelly Lynch, Randy Travis, Richard Tyson
Summary: In Antioch, the former Father Travis Jordan lost his faith on God three years ago when his beloved wife was murdered and the criminals never found. Suddenly, miracles happen in the little town: the son of the newcomer and veterinary Morgan Elliot survives a car accident without a single scratch; Travis's dog Max revives after being buried; a paraplegic walks; a wounded woman and her father with brain tumor heal. In all the events, three men wearing black were seen, and then the unknown Brandon Nichols claims to be Jesus Christ. The local population worships Brandon, while Travis and Morgan feel that something is wrong and conduct an investigation, disclosing that evil has possessed the dwellers.
Volver
Pedro Almodóvar
Title: Volver
Genre: 2006: Cannes: Mejor guión, Mejor Actriz (para su reparto femenino). 2006: Nominada al Oscar mejor actriz (Penélope Cruz). 2006: Premios del Cine Europeo: Mejor director, mejor actriz (Cruz). 2006: 5 Premios Goya, incluyendo mejor película, director y actriz (Cruz). 14 nominaciones
Writer: Pedro Almodóvar
Duration: 122 min.
Starring: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Chus Lampreave, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo
Summary: Narra la historia de tres generaciones de mujeres: una abuela (Carmen Maura), sus hijas (Penélope Cruz y Lola Dueñas) y la nieta (Yohana Cobo) que se reencuentran en una humilde casa de la localidad de Almagro. Tres generaciones de mujeres que sobreviven al viento, al fuego, e incluso a la muerte, a base de bondad, atrevimiento y una vitalidad sin límites. (FILMAFFINITY)