Amidst a gloomy batch of nominees – addressing themes such as lost love, sacrifice and coping with death – “Curfew” springs forth as a welcome jolt of energy to the live action shorts. The premise is fairly simple: a dejected young man gets a call from his estranged sister, asking that he look after his 9-year-old niece for a couple hours. What transpires is a droll, heartfelt and often tender story that explores forgiveness and discovering a renewed sense of purpose in one’s life.

Director Kief Davidson’s journey through Rwanda and Sudan was not only a filmmaking venture, but a life-or-death trek for eight Rwandan children afflicted with rheumatic heart disease. A firsthand look into their lives and the high-risk surgical procedures they must endure, “Open Heart” is a powerful documentary bringing much-needed attention to a disease that affects nearly 18 million people worldwide.

It's not really news that Arnold Schwarzenegger is back this year. Everybody else in Hollywood is, too, so why not the former California governor?

"Promised Land" offers an experience that's alternately amusing and frustrating, full of impassioned earnestness as well as saggy sections.

"Killing Them Softly" is a stylish and violent dark comedy about low-level gangsters and thugs, set squarely within the U.S. economic collapse of autumn 2008. In rather heavy-handed fashion, it suggests that the mob functions as a microcosm of American capitalism. Thankfully, Brad Pitt is there to keep it from going under.

The heralded holiday movie season is marked by big-budget extravaganzas, Oscar hopefuls and family films suitable for post-Thanksgiving or early Christmas viewing and for filling that luxuriously open week (for some lucky workers and students) before New Year’s Day.

Doctors and staff from Scottsdale Healthcare Shea Campus are going to Hollywood this weekend for a cause: to battle cancer with the stars.

On Aug. 25, Something Sweet will be celebrating its one-year anniversary in Ahwatukee and will offer a customer appreciation day. Something Sweet is locally owned by Tina Damon, who makes everything from scratch using as much local products as possible. Featured products are cannolis’ éclairs, napoleons, small desserts, custom cakes, cookies and sandwiches made on homemade bread. Something Sweet, 4025 E. Chandler Blvd., Suite 52, is in the Trader Joe’s plaza.

Where most film franchises undergo a downhill slope with every passing installment, the original “Bourne” trilogy was one of the rare series that only got better and better. “The Bourne Legacy” regrettably breaks this winning streak, being the least impressive of the series. That doesn’t mean the movie is a poor effort. This is indeed a very entertaining, well-made chapter of the “Bourne” story. After the fantastic “Bourne Ultimatum” though, it stepped a step down the ladder.

The fourth film in the Bourne franchise, "The Bourne Legacy," may seem heady and intentionally disorienting and hard to follow at first — until you realize it's really about drug addiction, and the lengths to which a junkie will go to get his fix.

Where most film franchises undergo a downhill slope with every passing installment, the original “Bourne” trilogy was one of the rare series that only got better and better. “The Bourne Legacy” regrettably breaks this winning streak, being the least impressive of the series. That doesn’t mean the movie is a poor effort. This is indeed a very entertaining, well-made chapter of the “Bourne” story. After the fantastic “Bourne Ultimatum” though, it step a step down the ladder.

Rowdy Roulette. Mt. Everett. The Regulators. The Coffin Draggers.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Comic-Con International, the four-day pop-culture celebration that takes over the San Diego Convention Center each summer, runs Thursday to Sunday. Here's a look at some of the hottest films, TV shows and video games expected at the sold-out 43rd annual convention:

Nothing could possibly satisfy the fervent expectation that has built for Ridley Scott's sorta-prequel to his genre-defining "Alien," but "Prometheus," the director's return to science fiction for the first time in 30 years, comes close.

In the summer of 1979, I stood in a long hot line to see what would become one of the most successful and influential science-fiction films of all time, the original "Alien," by director Ridley Scott and writer Dan O'Bannon. True to its title, this film was like nothing movie-goers had ever seen before and I still remember having the bejesus scared out of me by the original "Alien" face-hugger & chest-burster.

As Memorial Day is celebrated this weekend, it will hold different meanings for families across the nation and in the Grand Canyon State.

As superhero summers go, this one is truly super.

As superhero summers go, this one is truly super.

As superhero summers go, this one is truly super.

A large, fleeting flash of light that appeared in the darkened skies over the northwestern edge of metropolitan Phoenix remains a mystery.