KILLER ELITE EXPOSES BRITAIN’S ROLE IN OMANBUT MOSTLY IN CREDITS In 1980, a sheik in Oman (played by Rodney Afif) holds Hunter (played by Robert De Niro) hostage until Danny Bryce (played by Jason Statham) arrives to accept a $6 million contract to assassinate British Special Forces personnel who killed his three sons during the […]

THE ROAD TO FREEDOM IS PAVED WITH CAMBODIAN BLOOD Dedicated to courageous war correspondents and victims of the Khmer Rouge, The Road to Freedom begins slowly, with cinematography of rural Cambodia as credits roll. In approximately 1974, a Khmer gentleman, Lim Po (played by Nhem Sokun) approaches a bearded European, Francias (played by Tom Proctor),

IN TIME TRIES TO MAKE A STORY OUT OF A CLEVER PLOT The premise of In Time, directed by Andrew Niccol, is that money could be abolished and replaced by minutes of one’s life expectancy. Today, the affluent live much longer than those below the poverty line, but the film’s science fiction premise is that

THE RUM DIARY FINALLY GETS AROUND TO EXTOL EXPOSÉ JOURNALISM Dedicated in final titles to a fictional crusading New York journalist, The Rum Diary portrays a Paul Kemp (played by Johnny Depp) as an alcoholic unpublished novelist who arrives in Puerto Rico to work on a failing newspaper in 1960. Based on a semiautobiographical story

MARGIN CALL FINDS NEW VICTIMS IN THE 2008 ECONOMIC MELTDOWN, BUT ARE THEY REALLY? The 2008 economic downturn has many victims—foreclosed homeowners, students and credit card holders unable to make exorbitant interest payments, unemployed government and industrial workers. Margin Call, directed by J. C. Chandor, asks us to feel sorry for Wall Street underlings. When

BEWARETHE IDES OF MARCH The crucial Ohio presidential preferential primary has heated up for two candidates, presumably in 2004. Mike Morris (played by the film’s director, George Clooney) and Senator Pullman (played by Michael Mantell) are running neck and neck. While the candidates are making speeches, their campaign managers are trying to clinch the race

1911, A CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY FOR CHINA, IS A PROPAGANDA OPPORTUNITY With Jackie Chan as Huang Xing, a military commander of China’s nationalist revolution, and Joan Chen as the Dowager Empress in prominent roles, how could 1911 not receive accolades? Released in Hollywood three days before the “lucky day” of 10/10, there should be every reason

THERE’S NO ABDUCTION IN ABDUCTION UNLESS YOUR EYES & EARS ARE HIJACKED FOR AN HOUR OR SO Why Abduction? Easy: So Taylor Lautner, who plays Nathan, he can show off his body, good looks, and his martial arts skill to build a cult following. The film first establishes Nathan as a shy 18-year-old who has

WILL OBAMACARE SAVE US FROM MEDICAL SCIENCE FICTION MALPRACTICE? Have you had you flu shots lately? Well, you probably will after seeing Contagion, which was released while ads for flu shots have become omnipresent. The film begins with a caption “Day 2,” as Beth Emhoff (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) gets off a plane at the

Medical science fiction, however, can go seriously awry. That’s the theme of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Rupert Wyatt. Medical scientist Will Rodman (played by James Franco) is trying to develop a cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, which afflicts his father, Charles (played by John Lithgow). Before human trials, as usual, serums