Mr. Popcorn (mrpopcorn)

"Ernesto, I've just been with the man I love. I'm happier than I've ever been, because he loves me too. No need to spy on us anymore"

Harry Caine, a blind writer, reaches this moment in time when he has to heal his wounds from 14 years back. He was then still known by his real name, Mateo Blanco, and directing his last movie.

REVIEW
Almodóvar's direction in this film is full of passion, and his precise work is mostly noticed on the extraordinary performances from the cast.Penélope Cruz is truly amazing, and the same applies to Lluís Homar.José Luis Gómez and Blanca Portillo also bring perfect works.

I also enjoyed the references Almodóvar made to various classics of worldwide cinema very much.The references I am talking about are not only found on the story (which rounds on the world of cinema), but also on naughty moments which duplicate famous scenes from classic films (I recognized homages to directors Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles and Luis Buñuel).However, Broken Embraces is not only a "greatest hits".Those homages are perfectly integrated to the phenomenal screenplay, which has a lot of impact and intensity.

Broken Embraces is a true masterpiece, and it deserves a very enthusiastic recommendation, because this is one of those joys the seventh art brings to us on some occasions.I think this is Almodóvar's most mature and polished work to date, and I am very interested in seeing how his career will follow after this extraordinary film.

"Opposites attract."

A career bank robber breaks out of jail and shares a moment of mutual attraction with a US Marshall he has kidnapped.

REVIEW
No one has captured the brilliance of author Elmore Leonard onscreen as Steven Soderbergh did with Out of Sight. Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Frank understand Leonard's dark-comedic tone perfectly and use it to concoct a film that is in turn hilarious, thrilling and romantic--and not at all sappy-romantic, but cool-sexy-hot romantic. The cast is phenomenal. Soderbergh elicits a truly great performance out of Clooney and Jennifer Lopez really never has been better. The supporting cast really shines, with Ving Rhames, Catherine Keener, Don Cheadle, Albert Brooks (who is nearly unrecognisable for most of the film) and Luis Guzman all doing stellar work. Overall, a great comedic action-drama for adults. Tops in this genre. If possible, get it on DVD, where it looks fabulous.

"Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free." Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency. REVIEW It is very hard to think of something bad about this film.The direction is incredible, bringing about highly memorable performances, and a beautifully shot film. Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman are sensational, carrying this film on their shoulders as if it were the easiest job in the world - a tribute to them as this film must have been an incredibly demanding shoot - it is a long and emotional film. The development of their friendship is wonderful to watch, as is Andy's gradual assimilation into the prison society - however sad it may well be. Frank Darabont it seems was the ideal man to take the helm of this movie. Many films in this sort of genre can feel like they are missing something, as if there were sections left on the editing room floor - not this film, everything fits perfectly in to place. This leads to a very long film, (which could perhaps be its only criticism - be warned it is long - though the longer the better for me) but one which sucks you right into the prison world, and keeps you right there until the utterly stunning last shot of the film! Viewers should be warned that some scenes are of a disturbing nature, dealing with issues that may offend some people. However, this should not put you off seeing this film. It deals with the realities of prison, and in no way glorifies the goings on. What we must realise however, is that this film is not necessarily about the brutality of prison and the way prison society operates, it is about human connection and interaction, and the indomitable nature of the human spirit. By the last scene we should feel uplifted at what has been achieved - not only by the characters in the story however, but by the film makers!

"Where's Olive?" A family determined to get their young daughter into the finals of a beauty pageant take a cross-country trip in their VW bus. REVIEW Much of "Little Miss Sunshine" shouldn't work, yet almost all of it does. One of the best ensemble casts in recent memory delivers this outrageous material with a tremendous amount of heart and conviction and, as a result, a screenplay that threatens to stretch the bounds of credibility comes across as believable and achingly poignant. The characters are given such strong motivations for their actions that everything they do and say feels utterly plausible, even when the film itself threatens to teeter into Faulknerian Southern Gothic crossed with National Lampoon's "Vacation." The writers, director and cast stubbornly refuse to allow us any tidy character assessments. Therefore, we see the brittle and harsh side of Toni Collette's otherwise loving mom; the warm, charming and please-like-me vulnerability of Greg Kinnear's otherwise smarmy and nearly intolerable dad; the intellectual pompousness and snobbery that peeks its head through Steve Carell's otherwise emotionally wounded suicide case; and the affectionate patriarch lurking behind the otherwise gruff and offensive exterior of Alan Arkin's grandfather, whose greatest crime may be that he's too honest. "Little Miss Sunshine" hands over this motley cast of characters and lets us glory in their imperfections, and through doing so helps us feel better about our own. As the movie points out, perfection isn't possible, and the aggressive pressure in American culture to achieve it is only making people miserable about failing at something they never had a chance of succeeding at in the first place. The movie is so warm hearted though, that its ultimate lesson isn't a downer. At the end, this close-knit family realizes that they're proud to be ordinary, and dammit, so am I.