Compare Original Sin to War of the Worlds

Late nineteenth century Cuba. Dawn. At the docks, Luis (Antonio Banderas) waits for his American mail-order bride. But, his wait seems to be in vain. Then, magically, she appears--Julia (Angelina Jolie). And, she is beautiful, unlike the woman whose picture she sent. But Luis had lied as well--he wrote that he was only a clerk in the coffee company that he actually owns. In spite of their deceptions, they marry immediately. They are blissfully happy, although Julia has her demons. She has nightmares, she ignores her sister's letters, and--mysteriously--won't open her trunk. Her sister sends an unnerving detective to check that she arrived. Still unsatisfied, her sister arrives herself. That's when Julia disappears with the money in Luis's bank accounts, instantaneously transforming Luis's dream into a nightmare. <br> <br> Scriptwriter/director Michael Cristofer explores sexual obsession and deception in ORIGINAL SIN. The sumptuous thriller, based on Cornell Woolrich's classic noir novel, has elegant, lu... Less

One cannot help but think of terrorist attacks while watching Stephen Spielberg's update of the classic sci-fi fantasy THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. While the H.G. Wells story dates back to 1898, and has inspired previous adaptations, this particular version feeds off its 21st century audience's fear of a terrorist-induced apocalypse. Even if the sight of tall buildings crumbling to the ground and crowds running fearfully away from their demise doesn't trigger post-9/11 paranoia, dialogue such as "Is it the terrorists?" will. <br> <br> Disgruntled, divorced father Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is struggling to connect with his estranged kids, who have been dropped off by their mother for the weekend, when a severe and unusual lightning storm leaves his New Jersey neighborhood powerless. Over the course of the next few hours, it becomes obvious that this was not a storm at all, but rather the first sign of a worldwide alien attack. Emerging from the ground in multi-legged tripod-like machines that have apparently be... Less