Pedro Almodovar

CHICAGO – Almost as if he set out to defy critics who had started to think that the masterful Pedro Almodovar had lost a little bit of that psycho-sexual edge that made the first half of his career so unpredictable, the Oscar winner delivered “The Skin I Live In,” recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, and we all breathed a sigh of relief — Pedro hasn’t lost a damn thing. Highly underrated at the end of 2011, this was one of the best foreign films of 2011, featuring one of Antonio Banderas’ most spectacular performances in a film that goes from mystery to horror to something only Pedro could produce.

CHICAGO – Very few directors have known how to utilize a star more effectively than the way Pedro Almodovar has turned Penelope Cruz from a gorgeous face into one of our best working actresses. Just the two films she’s made recently with Pedro - “Volver” and the new-to-DVD “Broken Embraces” - would earn her that title. “Broken Embraces” may not be perfect Pedro but sub-par Almodovar is still required viewing for all cineasts.