In this blend of the B movie classic The Blob (1958) and some Romero’s zombies film, a meteorite collides in a small town. Grant finds it, and is infected by a parasite worm, which installs in his brain and causes him a creepy transformation into a monster. Starla, his wife, and Bill, a policeman, will try to stop him and the plague of worms generated by the creature. Written by Alejandro Frias

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L.A. in the early 1930’s: racism, poverty, and disease color the Bunker Hill neighborhood where Arturo Bandini, a lover of men and beasts alike, has arrived from Colorado to write the great Los Angeles novel. After six months and down to his last nickel, he orders a cup of coffee, served by Camilla Lopez, beautiful, self-possessed, and Mexican. Arturo gets advice, encouragement, and an occasional check from H.L. Mencken, so he keeps writing and he keeps seeing Camilla. But, he’s mean to her for no apparent reason, so the relationship sputters. A housekeeper from back East suggests a way out of his jealously and fears. “Camilla Bandini”: is it in the cards? Written by {jhailey@hotmail.com}

Hilary Duff stars in this great film about a teen age girl who is very upset about her brother’s death in a car crash. Terri (Hilary Duff) has a love of singing and making up her own songs. Her brother (before his death) secretly submits a DVD of her singing to a musical contest down in L.A. Her father doesn’t want her to go, but secretly her mom lets her go and everything goes fine, except she has stage fright. She gets through her stage fright with the help of her new friend Jay. At the end of the contest everyone at the musical school have to perform something. And if they win, they win a scholarship along with it. Her dad finds out, comes down to L.A. and makes her go home! Will he let her stay? and will she win the contest? Viewers are on the edges of their seats to find out what happens… Written by Emily Moore

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Between “X2,” “Spider-Man 2,” and “Batman Begins” I was almost convinced that I’m a closet comic book movie fan. Then “Fantastic Four” came along and knocked some sense into me.

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The first rumblings from Touchstone Pictures over “The Alamo” centered around how authentic their 2004 cinematic version would be. Historians were used as technical advisors, insuring the accuracy of the events portrayed on screen. Unfortunately, while the filmmakers were worrying about getting the history right, they forgot they were making a movie that needed to flow narratively and work as entertainment for the masses.

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My Rant:

For my local media screening of “The Village,” an edict was issued from on high (meaning the studio, not our local PR firm) stating online and radio journalists were not allowed to see any of the advanced screenings of M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film until Thursday, July 29th (just half a dozen hours before it actually invaded theaters). Other media people were allowed to see it – TV, print, and so on – days earlier, but not online or radio critics. So what I’m wondering is, what makes a talking head on TV less likely to give away something from the plot than someone who works online or on the radio? What keeps local newspaper reporters from spoiling the story when an online or radio person can’t be trusted to keep the twists a secret? The answer: nothing. Nothing stops those smiling faces on TV from inadvertently blurting out a plot twist. They’ve done it before and you can bet they’ll do it again. Nothing stops a newspaper reporter from putting a line or two they shouldn’t into a review. I’ve read things that made me cringe where journalists have forgotten a plot point wasn’t known by the audience before the last 15 minutes of the movie. It happens all the time.

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In Sydney, Tracey Heart is a thirty-two years old manager of a video shop ex-addicted in heroin and clean for four years. She is trying to raise forty thousand dollars to buy a shop for computer games on the next door of the rental and become partner of her boss, but based on her negative records, the banks deny the loan. Tracey takes care of her junkie stepfather Lionel Dawson, unsuccessfully trying to make him quit his heroin habit. When her former boy-friend Jonny returns from Vancouver, Tracey’s mother Janelle fears a fall of Tracey, while she blames Jonny for the car accident where her son Ray lost one leg. When Ray and Jonny associate to Moss, the assistant of the retired criminal boss Bradley ‘The Jockey’ Thompson, in drug dealing, Tracey is convinced by Jonny to join them and raise the necessary money for her business along the weekend. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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On a scale of “Country Bears” to “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Haunted Mansion” looks as fabulous as “Pirates” but falls closer to “Country Bears” in overall effort. The production design looks great but there’s not much to the plot or even to the acting for that matter. Suffice it to say, when the three hitchhiking ghosts appear, you’ll be more than ready to join them in getting the heck out of Dodge.

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On a day like any other in the middle of the summer a nurse named Ana just wants to spend some time with her husband,Luis.But something goes horribly wrong when Luis is bitten and Ana has to run to keep from dying.She wrecks her car and is saved by a cop named Kenneth.They run into a small group of survivors consisting of Michael a TV salesmen,Andre a common thug,and Luda who happens to be Andre’s pregnant wife.But what happens when the dead find the mall and have a craving for possibly the only living people left in the world?All Hell breaks loose.A small group of survivors manages to get into the Mall with the others but some are bitten which starts a controversy.Should they be killed or not?And thats just the beginning.You cant forget about the gun salesman,Andy living across the street.But what really gets the most attention is how to get Andy food.Then Nicole takes off for her dog and is cornered by bitten Andy.So the gang sneaks over and stocks up on ammo before killing Andy and saving Nicole.Now the gang runs back to the Mall and leaves in two buses that they heavily armored.The movie ends as they kick off in a boat.The death toll for the group is amazing.Norma,Monica,Michael,CJ,Andy and many others.Will they survive or die?Maybe a sequel will tell. Written by Alex Sturdivant

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I’d been eagerly anticipating “Sin City” for months and you know how that normally winds up. When your expectations are so high, chances are very slim the final product will live up to its promise. But “Sin City” blew me away, easily surpassing anything I’d hoped for from the film. Wildly provocative and featuring one of the sexiest casts collected together in a feature film, Robert Rodriguez and “Sin City” creator/co-director Frank Miller have made a movie that feels retro yet is so fresh and new, it’s tough to actually take in everything in just one sitting.

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