James What is the effect on a small US town when an ordinary-looking guy goes into a diner and shoots several people at random before doing himself in? Maybe this is not an issue that's much occupied your mind?Or maybe you don't want to know at all?In Rowan Woods's "Winged Creatures" a rather close look at such events - also set in a wider context - is taken, and it's giving the impression of being thoughtful and clever to the point where we watchers out here feel we're on tenterhooks waiting for some really big truth about these situations to come out. In a way, there is a truth at the end of the effort we put in, but it's not really a big one...On the way to that conclusion we get performances as good as we might expect from Forest Whitaker, Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning and others.Ultimately, this film is well-done, and most especially so when it touches upon the random nature of this kind of thing. For some not-entirely-clear reason, it also features a relatively tangential (and somewhat unpleasant) Guy Pearce-Embeth Davidtz storyline (the latter playing a Brit for no very obvious reason), and - also for some reason - the film seems to slightly downplay the seriousness of what is going on there. This is a little bit of an enigma, but does certainly add yet another psychological dimension.While Whitaker's character annoys to the point where sympathy for his (genuine) plight is a bit muted, youthful actors Fanning and Josh Hutcherson do a particularly good job.Why would you watch this? Because very sadly such things do happen, and it leads to more of a disintegration in the community than one may even imagine (and one certainly can imagine a bit of it). But the effects are diverse and outward spreading like ripples in a pond, and probably we owe it those affected by such events in real life, and to ourselves, to think on what that means at least a little.For 100 minutes anyway,

Tss5078 Most films that are split into separate parts and tell a story in pieces, come together at the end. All the characters converge, culminating in a terrific ending, but Fragments was different, in that all the characters were together in the opening sequence, and then the film splits into individual stories. The story is centered around a group of people in a diner, when a shooter comes in an opens fire. Following the shooting, we see how each person reacts and how their lives are changed by what happened. It sounds like a very good story and that's exactly why I rented it, however the reverse order of the film makes it somewhat anti-climatic. All the interesting stuff happens in the beginning of the film and what follows, just gets slower, stranger, and somewhat less interesting. The film really doesn't have a single person that you can put the label of star on, but as far as performances go, Forrest Whitaker easily gives the strongest one. Whitaker does almost exclusively independent films and is always overlooked because of it, but this man can honestly play any role and in my eyes is among the elite in Hollywood. On the reverse side, Dakota Fanning's character almost completely destroys this film. After what happened, this little girl finds God and starts preaching to the masses. I'm all for anything that gives people hope and makes their lives better, but when anyone, even a character in a movie, starts preaching to anyone who will listen, it gets very old, very quickly. Fragments is not a bad film, just an unusual one. With the story they had, following the traditional format would have been impossible, but that doesn't mean that this was the way to go. What started out as a terrific film, quickly turned into something that was nearly unwatchable.

Desertman84 Fragments is a crime film directed by Rowan Woods.It stars Kate Beckinsale, Dakota Fanning, Josh Hutcherson, Guy Pearce, Forest Whitaker, Jennifer Hudson, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Embeth Davidtz.The screenplay is an adaptation of Roy Freirich's novel Winged Creatures.While in a restaurant, Carla Davenport, the restaurant cashier; Charlie Archenault, a driving-school teacher; Bruce Laraby, an emergency room physician; Annie Hagen, her father, and her best friend, Jimmy Jasperson suddenly hear gun shots. Annie, her father, and Jimmy retreat under a table as a suicidal gunman shoots several people and then himself. The story shows the aftermath as these six traumatized people struggle to regain their trust in the ordinary world.The film is quite literally fragmented. Too much story and too little about each character.But nevertheless,it was a well acted ensemble piece that I think you should see for its entertainment value alone.It was a well-directed tense drama with a terrific cast, it is an old-fashioned, no-nonsense film with no special effects that relies on acting and script.

Chrysanthepop I love ensemble movies with intertwined plots. I thoroughly enjoyed 'Crash' (even though it was heavily flawed), really liked 'Babel' and 'The Hours', 'Happy Endings' and 'Magnolia' are among my favourites. Even though 'Winged Creatures' (a.k.a. 'Fragments') does not reach the level of the aforementioned movies, it was an interesting watch (better than 'Powder Blue'). The link between the characters' lives is shown in the very first sequence and the stories follow thereafter.'Winged Creatures' is a very subtle film. This is both a strength and weakness. There are certain actions that the characters commit the reason of which is understood by the end. However, some of them seem a little too far-fetched and hard to believe. For example, why is Laraby checking up the side-effects of medicines on the Internet when he's an accomplished doctors? Even for someone who's affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (a key theme in the movie), this is a little too out there. It would have been more convincing if the story was more developed and the viewer was allowed to see Laraby's inner struggle. Guy Pearce does a good job. In a small role, Embth Davidtz makes her presence felt.The Kate Beckinsale track is quite well-handled. There's a sequence in the film where one can register the disappointment on her face after she was about to answer the reporters' questions when they immediately switch to the family of the dead guy who just walked out of the hospital. This hints Carla's struggle for attention which leads to her promiscuous behaviour and to a form of Munchausen's syndrome such that she deliberately starves her child for the doctor's attention. Beckinsale delivers a first rate performance.Jimmy and Anne were two teenagers who were witnesses of the shootout in which Anne's father was murdered. Here there is an uneven balance between drama and subtlety. I found Anne's sudden religious devotion and Jimmy taking the gun to the crime scene (to threaten Anne?) hardly believable and her mother is the typical mom while Jimmy's father is the typical dad who hates shrinks. Jackie Earle Haley and Jeanne Tripplehorn are strictly okay. Dakota Fanning is wooden except in the final scene where she plays by the formula. Troy Garrity is good but the real star here is Josh Hutcherson who draws the viewer with Jimmy's restraint and mental anguish.Charlie's storyline is poorly presented. I found the gambling scenes to be repetitive. The scenes of his daughter and the detective could have easily been left out. The prostitute scene was a cliché that has been repeated since 'Leaving Las Vegas'. Forest Whitaker is alright. Jennifer Hudson is forgettable. Marshall Allman shines.After the shooting sequence, 'Winged Creatures' initially moves at a sluggish pace. At times , it feels too fragmented because of lack of story development. The execution is pretty ordinary, if anything. The cinematography is flat. The soundtrack is far from outstanding. The film could have used some more editing. Give then plusses and minusses, it is a movie at least worth a one-time watch.