Prometheus

A group of humans and an android find themselves on a remote moon after discovery of a star map that promises to answer the human origin question. Predictably the crew find themselves treading murky waters and to their "surprise", alien creatures. The plot tries to go philosophical with Noomi Rapace's character's questions about faith and God interwoven in to the quest for the answer to human creation. However the prequel to the Alien franchise goes beyond its ken and tries to answer questions it has no business or need to ask. But the film is gorgeous to look at and that alone makes it worth a trip to the cinemas.

Rating: * *

In the Valley of Elah

Another thought provoking movie from Paul Haggis, the director of Crash. Just as Tommy Lee Jones (an ex-army investigator) & Susan Sarandon are recovering from the death of their first son, they learn about the disappearance of their younger son who has just returned from the war in Iraq. TLJ wades into the mystery as he suspects that things are not as simple as its made out to be - little realising what the truth would really be like. The writer/director has quite lofty intentions in helping viewers confront the truth of today's world. However just as in Crash, found the slickness of the output a bit jarring on the senses. Enjoyed it nevertheless - due to the steely performance of TLJ (& rest of the cast) possibly.

Rating: * * *