Shapeshifter has a group of people trapped in a jail with a man who can turn from human to beast at will. Poor acting, terrible dialogue, dumb editing, sub-par effects. Avoid.
Rescue Dawn pairs Christian Bale ("The Dark Knight") with Steve Zahn ("Strange Wilderness"). It was like a little party just for me. Writer/director Werner Herzog ("Encounters at the End of the World") helms a narrative film based on his own documentary Little Dieter Needs to Fly, the story of a guy who wants to fly so badly, he joins the Air Force only to be shot down over Laos and taken prisoner, during his first mission. In the camp, he meets several men who have been there for years, and he tries to organize them in an escape. The really cool thing about this film is that Bale plays upbeat and quirky, and Zahn plays serious. Plus the compelling story and horrors of POW life. The lush jungle shots. A little cheesy at the end, but, all in all, very good.
Written and directed by Pedro Almodovar ("Volver"), The Flower of My Secret, follows the emotional life of a writer, Marisa Paredes ("Ana's Way"), as she deals wit her crumbling marriage, a new love interest and an aging mother. The colors and music are gorgeous. I felt Paredes' pain, even when I didn't care for her that much. It's beautiful, humorous and mesmerizing.
I don't have much experience in the martial arts genre, but Enter the Dragon seems to have influenced everything I have seen. Bruce Lee ("Game of Death") stars as an undercover agent infiltrating a martial arts contest on a private island owned by a crime lord. It's dubbed, so sometimes the voices are ridiculous. But the fighting is awesome. The story is a bit cheesy, and there are definite James Bond moments, but I see why this is considered a classic. And why Lee is revered.
I've heard alot of people say that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is ruining their childhood. I am not in that camp. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent watching Harrison Ford ("Firewall") chase the bad guys, be reunited with Karen Allen ("When Will I Be Loved") and discover he has a son (Shia LaBeouf, "Transformers"). The effects were mostly good, and though there were some cheese moments, a good time was had by both me and my mom.