Thistle-3

I was profoundly moved by I Am Not a Witch. Many members of the cast are in their first film feature, and all are stellar, especially Maggie Mulubwa, who plays Shula. Her face is so expressive. Director and writer, Rungano Nyoni, transported me to a place I'd never been. It's rural Zambia. It's modern day (I won't ever forget that the first time we see little Shula, she has a t-shirt that says #bootycall). Yet, it's a cultural phenomenon that I don't know much about, witch camps.

Despite the dire subject matter, there are comic moments. Many times that I wanted to laugh, though, I also wanted to cry, because the circumstances were ridiculous to me, and Shula is caught up in a world where she apparently has no control, no say in her own life. She's asked to resolve disputes, judge others, alter weather patterns, even be on display, when all she really wants is to be a 9 year old, go to school, be nurtured. In the end, we see parallels to other, more familiar, stories. It's haunting.

Cinematography by David Gallego and Art Direction by Malin Lindholm are perfection. The images will stay with you.

M Night Shyamalan has completed his biggest film-making challenge to date. Where most of his previous movies were quiet suspense tales, The Last Airbender is huge, with an epic story line that requires a ton of special effects and 3-D. The title character is Aang. He lives in a world where people are divided into tribes based on the elements of the earth: Fire, Water, Earth and Air. He is reported to be the last of his kind, found by some waterbender kids and hiding from firebenders, who threaten to take over the world. Maybe you've seen the cartoon. The Last Airbender is based on a series of books, and in this film, M Night tackles the first one, Water. The story is dense, with a lot of background. Some audiences might find that boring, but I was interested. All of the actors are gorgeous, the cinematography is fantastic, the effects are fun (I advise you to spring for the extra $ to see it in 3-D), the score is moving. Yep, there are parts that are a little slow, but it's an action picture with a grand story, and unlike, say, a Transformers 2, there are no gaps in storyline or character development scrapped for a loud, unnecessary explosion sequence. It flows, like water. And, I hope I get to see more. I give The Last Airbender a 7.5 out of 10.