Director Roland Emmerich is no stranger to big-screen battles. The difference is that up until this year those battles have been against aliens, huge climactic changes, or giant lizards named Godzilla. There's no question that he understands how to shoot epic confrontation. The question I had going in to Midway was, can he deliver a battle that wasn't fiction? After nearly tow and a half hours, the answer came back somewhat mixed. This isn't the first time that the Battle of Midway has been brought to the big screen. In the 1970's Charlton Heston gave us a film that was more renowned for the trendy Sensurround gimmick than it was for the drama that unfolded on the screen. Sensurround was a fancy name for huge subs that would shake the theater, and if you were lucky enough to be seeing the film at a theater with enough money to go all the way, you might have found yourself in a seat that was wired to shake, rattle, and roll. Today the chains call that Dolby. This Midway didn't lend itself to some William Castle hustle. It's all up on the screen. The film bears no relation to that earlier effort except for the legendary battle in the Pacific that turned the tide of the Pacific theater of World War II toward the Allies. The film actually shares more in common with the classic Tora Tora Tora in that we spend a good deal of screen time with the Japanese players in the battle. Not at all like the earlier gimmick film, this movie is intended to place you squarely in the middle of the action. If that's what you came to see, you are certainly in for an immersive experience only without the hot-wired seat.

The film doesn't start with the titular battle. In fact the term Midway might just as easily describe when that famous event would occur in the film as much as it describes the actual battle itself. The film begins in 1937 a full four years before Pearl Harbor. We get a sneak peek inside the Japanese hierarchy and the seeds of what we already know is to come have been planted. From there the film spends about 30-40 minutes on the actual attack on Pearl Harbor. From there we are treated to the Doolittle raids on Tokyo, which were our direct response to the attack. At this point the focus shifts to the intelligence department of the war where intercepted information is gathered and interpreted. That information is passed along to Charles Nimitz, played incredibly by Woody Harrelson, who has to decide what the enemy is up to and the best use of America's limited naval resources to counter that action. All of the big shots think the Japanese are planning one kind of attack, but Nimitz trusts the leader of one of the intelligence teams who believes the target is Midway, a collection of small islands important most notably as a fueling station between Japan and Hawaii. That intelligence officer is Ed Layton, played by Patrick Wilson. The film spends perhaps too much time with these two talking about the intelligence. We know it's Midway. Even if you didn't do quite so well in history class, it's the name of the film, for crying out loud. Instead of the quick mention, Nimitz and Layton spend too much time with: "Are you sure?". "Yes, I'm sure!" "Are you really sure?" "Yes, I'm really sure!" "Are you really, really sure?" and so on.

Taking a lot of liberties while giving a cinematic interpretation of a time in his life, Pedro Almodovar’s movie Pain & Glory is as expressive as Roma. His directing and screenwriting is by far some of the best I’ve seen by the famous director, and yes, there’s a spark of surprise in this one, as in every one of his films. Taking extra liberties, he even shocks his audience at one point. That said, if you are a fan of Almodovar’s films, then you will not want to miss the amazing performances that bring the man’s film to the big screen. The story follows Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas), a screenwriter and director who has had huge success with his film Sabor. He has not written another for some time, yet he’s still known by many for his work. Now living in semi-seclusion, we find him working on a new project while visiting the past in his mind. In flashback, we see his life at an early age (Asier Flores) and his inquisitiveness that led him to become a great director. His darker side includes taking a turn with drugs and a gay lover from the past.

Beautiful and endearing scenes featuring Penelope Cruz as his mother are sensational and memorable as she enjoys trips to the river to wash clothes and sing with the other women. As a mother, she’s loving yet strong when it comes to her only son.   The beauty and touching visual sensation she shows is a sample of what Almodovar is capable of drawing out in his actors, and Cruz is one of his prime examples. Cruz always gives her all to a film, and the camera loves her in this one as she shines.

By John Delia, Jr.

During the 1950’s, being a private investigator wasn’t always a safe and sure way to make a living. But it was a popular way to make some cash for returning soldiers or ex-police officers. During these times things were beginning to modernize, and the world was becoming more dependent on advancement in the skyline. With these changes, corruption and deceit became more evident, and private investigators became more popular. When Frank Minna’s (Bruce Willis) agency gets a chance to make some real money, things begin to get ugly fast. In his crew there is Lionel Essrog (Edward Norton), an orphan with Tourette's syndrome that Frank took under his wing when Lionel was 13; they have been friends ever since. Then there is Tony Vermonte (Bobby Cannavale), Gilbert Coney (Ethan Suplee), and Danny Fantl (Dallas Roberts). Frank has known these guys for many years and trusts them with helping to investigate the cases for his company.

"There's just more to it than picking the right color. It's the texture, the weight of the material. One wrong choice, it can destroy the look of the entire room."

Film rights can be a tricky and complicated issue. Sometimes these rights aren't quite clear and lead to popular titles never making it to the home video market, or at least suffering long delays as in the 1960's Batman television series situation. Often rights are held for certain periods of time and end up moving from holder to holder. That's been the case with the Terminator franchise. The result has been some sequels that pulled in different directions and failed to provide a nice linear history from film to film. Now those rights have reverted back to a favorable situation for the likes of James Cameron. The result is an attempt to get back to the original course of the first two films. Terminator: Dark Fate picks up from T2 and ignores any of the other films made since then. It's very much like the path taken by the new trilogy of Halloween films we got a taste of last year. There isn't any denying the fact that T2 was the best this franchise has had to offer. Something was always just a little bit off with the rest of the films. There's a texture to all of this that James Cameron has a unique eye for. And while he didn't direct this film, he created the story and produced the film. Like the new Halloween direction, this is also intended to be the first film in a new trilogy. The Terminator franchise appears to be back, and on track to please the legions of fans from the old to the new.