Review: Apocalypto

Mel Gibson’s next display violent gore takes us to the jungles of Mexico for an exciting chase movie about why the savage Mayan people deserved to be conquered and wiped out. Apocalypto follows Jaguar Paw (aka Country Mouse), a member of one Mayan tribe, whose small ideal village is conquered by a more aggressive tribe (aka … Read more

Review: Fire, Earth, and Water

In American films about a person rising above poverty, hardships are often shown as exceptions to life in America. In many Indian films, it is not startling to be poor or to be in the thrall of 2,000-year-old customs. It’s just life and these matters are taken for granted. The story goes from there. In … Read more

Still shot from Wicker Man.

Review: The Wicker Man (2006)

I don’t know what director Neil LaBute was going for with a remake of the 1973 British cult classic The Wicker Man, but it went very, very wrong. In LaBute’s remake, traffic cop Edward Malus (Nicolas Cage) is lured to Summersisle, an island off the coast of Washington state. His former fiancee, Willow Woodward, has … Read more