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Broken Embraces Movie Review: Spectrum of Love |
 Penelope Cruz starred in Pedro Almodovar's Volver and the two have collaborated once again in Broken Embraces, a drama about infidelity and redemption. This Spanish film is told from the perspective of Harry Caine, a blind writer, who is forced to deal with past pains 14 years earlier when he was directing what was to be his last film. Broken Embraces is a character-driven drama starring Lluís Homar,Blanco Portilla, José Luis Gómez, Rubén Ochandiano and Penélope Cruz. The film's narrative progression is a little confusing at first, but all the pieces eventually come together as each character's motivations are explored and alliances are made. Lluís Homar plays Harry, a blind writer formerly known as Mateo, a promising film director years earlier. Lena, his lead actress and muse played by Penélope Cruz, is his desire and the two enter into a torrid love affair behind the back of Lena's "partner", Ernesto (Gómez). Ernesto watches the two from a roving peephole intently as his son relays behind-the-scenes footage as part of his documentary. Broken Embraces has a similar story to Fellini's 8 1/2 with a focus on a director, a film and a muse. Which is quite interesting because Penélope Cruz recently starred...continued. |
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Inception Movie Review: Dark, Clinical and Majestic |
 When Christopher Nolan releases a movie the world stops and takes notice... The director started making films when he was just seven-years-old and 33 years down the line he's still doing what he loves with only several feature length films to date. A short filmography by Hollywood standards, but when you consider Stanley Kubrick only made 16 films in 5 decades it puts Nolan's career in perspective. Just like Kubrick, Nolan's films carry some serious weight, in substance and in return. Unlike Kubrick, Nolan's films have managed to bridge the great divide... conjoining the big budget allure of a traditional blockbuster with the finesse of an art house production. With such titles as Insomnia, Memento, The Prestige, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and now Inception under his belt it seems as though he can't go wrong with his dark surge of films that just seem to get better-and-better. Nolan's been attached to the new dawn of Batman in a scourge of films that literally tear previous efforts apart with a realistic depiction of superheroes. The comic book heroes of the '50s have gravitated from tongue-in-cheek fantasy to epic crime sagas in the hands of Nolan. His dark, titanic and revolutionary films have raised the bar when it comes to film-making in the genres of crime and fantasy. Inception is Nolan's first wholly original film since Following with a script that took 8 years to complete. The story follows Dom Cobb (DiCaprio), who...continued. |
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Now Showing This Week (30/07/10) |
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New cinema releases this week... Inception, The White Ribbon, Antichrist and Our Family Wedding.
 INCEPTION (2010)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller
Age Restriction: TBA
Inception is a Matrix-type psychological actioner by Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight. A first-rate cast of new generation actors led by Leonardo DiCaprio in an Ocean's Eleven scenario use technology to tap into other minds and steal their ideas. When they're tasked with interception, planting a thought in someone's mind that could impact the world's future, they're met with unexpected resistance in a do-or-die mission of epic proportions. Solid performances, breathtaking visual effects, a powerful soundtrack and crisp architectural lines and textures make this film a must-see... once, twice and possibly thrice.
 THE WHITE RIBBON (2009)
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Christian Friedel, Ernst Jacobi, Leonie Benesch
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Age Restriction: TBA
A small pre-WWI German village is plagued by several mysterious violent incidents, which fester a spirit of fear and suspicion in the community as the darker, repressed side of humanity begins to surface in Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon. This philosophical black-and-white mystery drama is a intriguing character study on the cycle of violence, taking a patriarchal and puratanical society and showing how warped values can corrupt humanity. Solid performances, inspired direction and a fascinating symbolic story on the roots of war make the 2 1/2 hour run time worth every minute.
 ANTICHRIST (2009)
Director: Lars von Trier
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg
Genre: Drama
Age Restriction: 18LVS
Antichrist is a deeply disturbing psychological drama and a grusome, explicit horror that grapples with the human condition. Death, sorrow, pain and depression are seldom exorcised to such an extent in cinema, which is exactly why Lars von Trier chose to bring this harrowing drama to life. This highly controversial film breaks every rule in the book, pushing the bounds of arthouse-horror and possessing a sense of dread and evil in every frame. The cinematography is hauntingly beautiful, aided by a pensive soundtrack making Antichrist a sheer vision of evil. Inhumane depravity has never been so poetic and horrific as Dafoe and Gainsbourg give their all in strong performances. Antichrist is not recommended for sensitive viewers.
 OUR FAMILY WEDDING (2009)
Director: Rick Famuyiwa
Starring: Forest Whitaker, America Ferrera, Carlos Mencia
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Age Restriction: PG
Our Family Wedding combines a frantic wedding situation, a culture-clash scenario and a family feud into a romantic comedy. Despite its name cast and premise's promise, the movie slips into a contrived, predictable, pointless and largely unfunny channel relying on racial stereotypes. The weak script fails to deliver on even the most obvious comedy moments with only one or two redeeming performances.
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Laugh-Lines: Make It Funny and Win! |
Provide a funny comment (caption, one-liner, dialogue) for this movie photo at SPL!NG on Facebook. The funniest (with most 'Likes') Laugh-Lines comment wins a R100 WantItAll e-voucher and will be published under this Coneheads image when the competition is over! Thought of something funny to add? Want to read what others are saying? Join in the fun...
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New Rental Releases This Week (26/07/10) |
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 New DVD rental releases at DVBee this week:
The Hurt Locker, Armored and Clash of the Titans!
 THE HURT LOCKER (2008)
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Guy Pearce
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Age Restriction: 16LV
Edge-of-your-seat, nail-biting tension is a constant in The Hurt Locker. Imagine the sniper scene from Full Metal Jacket was duplicated and re-imagined in several different war scenarios, add time bombs and you've got a match. Brilliant use of hand-held camera reality from Kathryn Bigelow, a powerful message about war and a great lead performance from Jeremy Renner... and it's no wonder this David was able to take down the mighty blockbuster, Avatar to win Best Picture. Full Review...
 ARMORED (2009)
Director: Nimrod Antal
Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Matt Dillon, Jean Reno
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Age Restriction: 13LV
Cash-in-transit heists have featured in The Italian Job, Heat, The Take and now in Armored, in which a team of security guards stage an inside job. While tense at times and backed by an ensemble of top actors, the film's setting becomes a little stagnant as the premise wears thin and sneaks into b-movie territory. Armored's prime actors aren't utilized enough, while a stronger lead and tighter direction could have made all the difference to this second-rate actioner.
 CLASH OF THE TITANS (2010)
Director: Louis Leterrier
Starring: Sam Worthington, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Age Restriction: 13V
Clash of the Titans is a remake of the 1981 original, featuring a solid cast, dazzling CGI and a tried-and-tested director. However, this is not a good hair day for Mount Olympus as Fiennes and Neeson play second fiddle to their beards and Avatar's Sam Worthington plays the lead as a vacuous, wooden take on Maximus. The special effects string together an unimaginative, lack-lustre mythology plot that's more than suitable for video games, but not feature-length entertainment. Full Review...
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Celeb ID #31: Tag this Celebrity! |
Be first to identify this celeb at SPL!NG on Facebook and win a R100 WantItAll voucher!
Trivia: A model of the year, national rollerskating champion and high school dropout. (IMDB)
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Inception Movie Preview and Trailer |
Memento, The Prestige, Batman Begins and Dark Knight director, Christopher Nolan has done it once again, proving that he is one of the finest directors Hollywood's ever known with his latest offering, Inception. This dark, heavy, original and surreal action mystery fantasy epic stars Leonardo DiCaprio, supported by Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe, Tom Berenger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Inception is comparable with The Matrix for its thought-provoking paradigm shift and revolutionary action cinematography, literally turning the world on its head.
The team heist plot has been seen before in films like Ocean's Eleven and The Inside Man, but not so vividly within the realm of thoughts and dreamscapes. The soundtrack is a dark opus to dreams, a powerful overture that carries Nolan's film forth like a tide. Inception is a fascinating film that warrants a second viewing and you'll be talking about it for days... definitely worth a watch. Catch the trailer (above) to get a glimpse into the wondrous world of Inception. The film is currently enjoying a box office run at #1 with early ratings ranking it at #3 on IMDB's Top 250. Inception will be released on 30 July, 2010 in South Africa.
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