In a place far, far away, illegal genetic experiment #626 is detected: Ruthless scientist Dr. Jumba Jookiba has created a strong, intelligent, nearly indestructible and aggressive being with only one known weakness: The high density of his body makes it impossible for the experiment to swim in water. The scientist is sentenced to jail by the Grand Council of the Galactic Federation. The experiment is supposed to be transported to a prison asteroid, yet manages to escape Captain Gantu, who was supposed to deliver him there. With a stolen police cruiser (the red one), the destructive being races towards a little and already doomed planet: Earth. Stranded on Hawaii, experiment #626 can’t actually do much harm: water all around, no big cities and two well-equipped representatives of the Galactic Federation already following close behind to catch him again. But Dr. Jookiba and the Earth expert Pleakley never could have guessed that earth girl Lilo adopts the experiment as dog, gives him the name Stitch and actually causes an emotional development in the little beast. Her dysfunctional family, consisting only of Lilo and her sister Nani, is about to be ripped apart by social worker Cobra Bubbles. Stitch as the new family member brings quite some action into all their lifes, and after a while, not even Pleakley and Dr. Jookiba can recognize their former target. But how shall they bring the news of failure to the Grand Councilwoman without being punished? Written by Julian Reischl {julianreischl@mac.com}

(more…)

A group of British students enbark on summoning spirits on a Ouija board after a night of clubbing. But someone breaks the link before they have finished and now a demon is trapped in their world and the only way to banish it, is for all the people who summoned it to die. Written by Pete, England

(more…)

Sauron’s forces increase. His allies grow. The Ringwraiths return in an even more frightening form. Saruman’s army of Uruk Hai is ready to launch an assault against Aragorn and the people of Rohan. Yet, the Fellowship is broken and Boromir is dead. For the little hope that is left, Frodo and Sam march on into Mordor, unprotected. A number of new allies join with Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Pippin and Merry. And they must defend Rohan and attack Isengard. Yet, while all this is going on, Sauron’s troops mass toward the City of Gondor, for the War of the Ring is about to begin. Written by Yuandi Li

(more…)

A sweet-natured Italian waiter named Pistachio Disguisey at his father Fabbrizio’s restaurant, who happens to be a member of a family with supernatural skills of disguise. But moments later the patriarch of the Disguisey family is kidnapped Fabbrizio’s former arch-enemy, Devlin Bowman, a criminal mastermind in an attempt to steal the world’s most precious treasures from around the world. And it’s up to Pistachio to track down Bowman and save his family before Bowman kills them! Written by Anthony Pereyra (hypersonic91@yahoo.com)

(more…)

The men in black are back, looking smooth and fending off another attack by renegade aliens. The first “Men in Black” had to devote a good portion of the film to setting up the premise of a secret agency that monitors aliens on Earth - and then convincing Will Smith’s character to buy into it. “Men in Black II” has the advantage of being able to jump headfirst into the ‘imaginary’ agency’s workings. Along with those stylish guys in dark suits and dark glasses, the Worm Guys are back and so is that pugnacious pug, Frank, with an even more prominent role than in the 1997 film.

(more…)

“Minority Report” is a little romance and a little comedy mixed up with a whole lot of souped-up action and death-defying stunts. Did it work? I’m still thinking about it. I left the screening thinking I liked the film, and alternately convinced I didn’t. The strange thing is, I told a fellow journalist there’s no way the film would be a middle of the road-er; you’d either love it or hate it. And yet, I loved it - the incredibly stunning futuristic scenery, the action sequences that leap off the screen, and the shockingly brutal Spielbergian vision of the world in the not too distant future - and I disliked it (hate’s way too strong of a word) - the storylines that led to unbelievable conclusions and the fact that it’s supposedly set only 50 years in the future.

(more…)

“Moonlight Mile” is a surprisingly honest film that doesn’t take the easy route as it explores how a loved one’s sudden violent death affects the surviving family members and friends. The crisp dialogue exposes a family with all its foibles and idiosyncrasies laid bare, bringing to the screen truly genuine characters (including another Oscar-worthy performance by Susan Sarandon) and creating a fictional family worthy of an audience’s empathy.

(more…)

In the romantic comedy “Mr. Deeds,” Adam Sandler returns to the sweet, goofy ‘every man’ type of role that’s his bread and butter, steering clear from any reference to the generally disliked, “Little Nicky.” Surrounding himself with a wickedly funny supporting cast, including scene-stealers John Turturro and Steve Buscemi, Sandler’s Longfellow Deeds is a guy we can relate to, a guy faced with tough choices who stumbles a little while just trying to keep it all in perspective.

(more…)

Richard Haywood, a Californian high school’s coolest kid, secretly teams up with another rich kid in his class, brilliant nerd Justin ‘Bonaparte’ Pendleton, whose erudition, specially in forensic matters, allows them to plan elaborately perfect murders, just for the kick, for which they set up Richard’s marijuana supplier, their school’s janitor Ray Feathers, as a psychotic serial killer. The case is assigned to detectives Cassie ‘the hyena’ Mayweather, who carries a sequoia-size chip on the shoulder from her previous life, and her brilliant new partner, Sam Kennedy, who just transferred from the vice squad; they can work together very well, and even fit romantically, but fall out over different professional attitudes towards the investigation, which Captain Rod Cody and her understandably vindictive abused ex, Assistant D.A. Al Swanson, soon ban her from when she disobeys instructions and hand to him. When the plotting boys both dig class-mate Lisa Mills, their unnatural bond comes under stress- will it break, allowing the hard-pressed police to bring them down? Written by KGF Vissers

(more…)

“My Big Fat Greek Wedding” is a jubilant mix of laughter, longing, forgiveness, sacrifice, commitment and, above all, balancing family obligations against true love. Throw in a gregarious group of Greeks and you’ve got the makings of a fun -but fluffy- 1 1/2 hour escapist film.

(more…)