Latest Bellwether Films: 4 July 2010
(L) Isabelle Funaro and (R) Michael Youn in 'Fatal'
Last Airbender, The - Hollywood sword & sorcery adventure fantasy
After a century frozen in ice, the last surviving Airbender (Noah Ringer) discovers he is the lone reincarnated Avatar with the potential to manipulate all four elements: air, water, earth and fire. But he only knows the ways of air. He joins forces with a young Waterbender (Nicola Peltz) and her brother (Jackson Rathbone) to learn about water and to prevent the Fire Nation from conquering the Water Nation while being hotly pursued by a banished Fire Prince (Dev Patel). Upshot: Dazzling 3D special effects provide the frosting for this simple myth-blended extranatural martial arts plotline based on the hugely successful Nickelodeon animated TV series. Satisfaction rating: BELOW AVERAGE - 25
Fatal - French entertainment goofball comedy
Heavy bling-bling hardcore rapper Fatal Bazooka (Michael Youn) is an overnight success, having sold 15 million CDs of his album. In keeping with his music, Fatal has led his fans to believe he grew up in the ghetto when, really, he’s from a village in the French Alps. But now with the sudden media attention, he’ll go to any lengths to hide his background. How can he remain “gangsta” when his real life parents are shepherds in Savoy? Satisfaction rating: ABOVE AVERAGE - 66
Outrage (アウトレイジ) - Japanese crime drama action
The chairman (Soichiro Kitamura - 北村総一朗) of Tokyo’s largest crime syndicate issues a stern warning to his yakuza lieutenant (Tomokazu Miura - 三浦友和) and right-hand man (Jun Kunimura - 國村隼) about getting too cozy with the leader (Renji Ishibashi - 石橋蓮司) of an unaffiliated gang. To prove loyalty, the lieutenant immediately orders the unaffiliated gang brought to heel. The lieutenant’s direct subordinate (Takeshi Kitano - 北野 武) and crew then set a trap that unleashes a brutal series Hatfield-and-McCoy-style ambushes, schemes, new alliances, stratagems, betrayals, counter-traps and more assassinations. Upshot: Despite a move toward a Wall Street corporate façade, in the criminal underworld, those who trust anything by guns and violence usually wind up dead. Selected for the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, but did not attract the same level of foreign press raves as previous yakuza films from director-star Takeski Kitano. Satisfaction rating: ABOVE AVERAGE - 66
Twilight 3: Eclipse - Hollywood folkloric fantasy romance
Seeking revenge for the demise of her lover, villainess vampire Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard) raises an army of powerful “newborn” vampires to send against graduating North Country high schooler Bella (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire boyfriend Edward (Robert Pattison). Bella quickly finds herself torn between her cool love for Edward and her hot-blooded attraction for native Indian buddy-turned-werewolf Jacob (Taylor Lautner) when the two young men join forces to protect Bella from the army of newborns. Upshot: With a better balance between action, fantasy and romance, the film gratifies confirmed fans of the series, but will not increase its already vast legions of devoted followers. Satisfaction rating: GOOD - 54
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World's Favorite Films 2010
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World's Favorite Foreign Language Films 2010
Aftershock (Chinese)
L'arnacoeur (French)
The Borrower Arietty (Japanese)
Ip Man 2 (Chinese)
Pokemon: Phanton Ruler Zoroark (Japanese)
Confessions (Japanese)
My Name Is Khan (Bollywood)
Nodame Cantabile 2 (Japanese)
Blood Brothers: Secret Reunion (Korean)
Doraemon: Mermaid Adventure (Japanese)
Raajneeti (Bollywood)
Little Big Soldier (Chinese)
La Rafle (French)
Les Aventures Extraordinaire d'Adele Blanc-Sec (French)
Io, loro e Lara (Italian)
Liar Game (Japanese)
Our Rossiya (Russian)
Moss (Korean)
71 - Into the Gunfire (Korean)
Housefull (Bollywood)
