Broken Embraces

“Broken Embraces” was written and directed by Pedro Almodovar whose genius takes us through the film ably abetted by the superb acting and interpretations of Penelope Cruz. As she did in Volver, Ms. Cruz exemplifies great depth and expanse as an actress who gets better as she gets older and, like rare wine, is a treasure. This complicated and involved story takes us through the highs and lows of life and, as the title suggests, shows us how the characters deal with revenge, love, hate, jealousy and all the other human emotions. Mr. Almodovar accomplishes what is so rare these days, an ability to write, direct and even edit one’s own work in an objective and satisfying manner. I give this film 3 stars and suggest that its 127 minutes of viewing will be time worth spending.

Invictus

“Invictus”, produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, stars Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. With a screenplay written by Anthony Peckham based on the book by John Carlin, this is a film that deserves being seen for no other reason than its historical significance as it relates the efforts of Nelson Mandela following his election in 1990 to unite the blacks and whites in the country of South Africa. Gaining its title from the poem by William Edward Henley, the film unites sports and politics into an involved melodrama. The only difficulty in this otherwise interesting and exciting film is that the actors, speaking Afrikaner or heavy accents based on it, need English titles to better understand what is being said. I give this film 3 stars for both its value as a vehicle of pure entertainment and, also, for its educational and historical value as well.

Avatar

">“Avatar” was written and directed by James Cameron, self-acclaimed “King of the World”, who also directed “Titanic” and other epic action films. The hype that preceded this film made it difficult to be objective in its analysis since it had a $300,000,000 cost, a ten years in the making label and breakthrough 3D and other notable technology. So, with all of that in mind I went to see this film with the highest of expectations and hopes for an exciting 2 hours and 40 minutes of extraordinary viewing pleasure. Unfortunately my anticipations far exceeded the reality. This is a nice film, not a great film, and, as most would agree, a very long film. The “how many times I looked at my watch” test was at least 3 and my shifting seat positions while awaiting the hoped for ending was numerous as well. There is no question that the special effects and 3D (with glasses) adds to the viewing experience but it also adds to the price ($3.50 extra for viewing in 3D). This of course helps in the computation of the general gross revenue by at least 33 1/3%. The dialogue is not very sophisticated and could almost be mistaken for a script from a poor grade B movie. This is basically a western except that the wild west is the planet Pandora and the Indians replaced by dthe orb’s native inhabitants. Other than that, the plot, the clichés and the mundane and trite script are the same as an oater out of the Republic Studios inventory. For all its pre-distribution date publicity, the film is a let down and earns, from my point of view at least , 2 and ½ stars with the special effects giving it that amount on the rating scale. The “king” has left the throne.