“You are in the presence of angels.”

After recently reviewing Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, it only seems fitting that I am returning to you in order to give you the scoop about the most recent installment of the franchise. It is in fact an installment into the franchise, as it exists in the same universe as the television series, as well as the two films that starred Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu. However, in this installment, the Townsend Agency has gone global with agents (called angels) operating in several international cities, each with their own Bosley (a title that serves as a rank in the organization). For the purposes of this film, we are focused on Sabina Wilson, played by Kristen Stewart (Twilight), Jane Kano, played by Ella Balinska (Midsomer Murders), and Elena Houghlin, played by Naomi Scott (live-action Aladdin). Rounding out the cast are Patrick Stewart, Djimon Hounsou, and Elizabeth Banks, who also serves as the film’s director.

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.