MrGKB ...although one can easily spot visual cues to the original, "Fragments" suffers from far too much similarity to prior films like "Crash," "Magnolia," and "Powder Blue." Essentially, we follow the altered lives of a number of survivors of a random act of violence until a full account of that act has been revealed in bits and pieces. The ensemble is commendably effective, with especially notable performances from Forest "Panic Room" Whitaker and Kate "Underworld" Beckinsale, the score by Marcelo "The Words" Zarvos is effectively melancholic, and Eric Alan "Copland" Edwards' camera-work is far better than other scribes on this site are willing to allow. Director Rowan "Farscape" Woods does what he can with Rory Freirich's script from his own novel, but the sketchiness of the characters makes them harder to latch onto than most, at least from what I gather on this site and others. I didn't have as much of a problem with that, and in fact sat through the entire film without breaking for a cigarette, which is fairly unusual for me, so I know that all in all something right was done, and I bumped my rating a notch over what I would have otherwise given it. If you're into watching actors do their thing without a lot of fanfare and whofoorah, I say go for it.

Wuchak 2008's "Fragments," aka "Winged Creatures," was not released in theaters and, after seeing it, I can see why. This is a poignant drama that balances the beauty, mystery, mundaneness and horror of the human existence in the manner of "Snow Angels" (2007), "Grand Canyon" (1991) and "Crash" (2004). Unfortunately, it's not nearly as effective.THE PLOT: After a random killing spree at a diner five of the survivors deal with survivor guilt and post-traumatic stress.The movie had great potential but somehow the story fragments don't quite come together into a satisfying whole (sorry). The first bad sign for me was the unconvincing acting immediately following the killing spree by Josh Hutcherson (Jimmy) and Forest Whitaker (Charlie). Thankfully, after that, everyone rises to the challenge. But this leaves a bad first impression. From there, the story become marginally engrossing as we observe the five different story lines, which somewhat interconnect.Like the three films mentioned above, "Fragments" is a study of human nature and the human experience. Attempting to cope, each of the five characters responds to their trauma in a generally destructive way. The five story lines can be summed up as such:*** SPOILER ALERT!!! ***1.) Charlie gambles everything away and physically abuses himself directly (alcohol) and indirectly (failing to pay his debts). 2.) Carla (Kate Beckinsale) neglects her baby while seeking physical intimacy. 3.) Anne (Dakota Fanning) becomes hyper-religious to cover up a lie. 4.) Jimmy clams up, shutting others out, and ultimately arms himself. 5.) Doctor Lareby (Guy Pearce) alternately poisons and saves his wife.*** END SPOILER ***I appreciate the fact that the film shoots for depth and, despite the raw reality of each storyline, there's a tangible air of reverence and spirituality. Of course, any film that reaches for depth and partially fails will be accused of pretentiousness, and so it is with "Fragments."Yes, it's plainly flawed, but if you appreciate psychologically driven films you might want to give this one a look.GRADE: C+

perkypops Although there are many films on serious subjects the techniques used are many and various. Here we have a script which places a group of people in a diner in peril of a gunman. By restricting our field of vision the film allows us to either imagine all that happened on trust, or allow our instinct to take us where the story teller wants us to go. There are many deft cinematic touches along the way coaxing us to understand how the many 'victims' of the opening crime scene, which is slowly revealed as the film progresses, cope with the trauma of closeness to death.How we understand the trauma and the coping of the victims is left very much to each watching individual and for that I salute the production team. We are not encouraged to feel sympathy or empathy or pity or any other emotion. The film is as cold as the blood in the opening murder scene. And yet strangely this is not a hard film to watch perhaps because of the constant cutting between the various people involved. Yes there are moments when we may feel a little awkward but they seem accidental rather than deliberate.The acting is excellent throughout. I would like to have given this film a high score because the actors deserve it, but it always falls short of the pivotal axiom that humans are unpredictable even when being predictable. At least it takes its subject seriously and for that it is to be admired.And so I award it six out of ten.

TxMike First I am a bit upset with the way this movie is marketed. I saw it on DVD, called "Fragments", but had trouble finding it on the IMDb, because it is called "Winged Creatures." Why, I wonder?? On the positive, it has a really good cast and each one of them does a superb job. I will single out two.Kate Beckinsale is almost unrecognizable as Carla Davenport who takes orders and serves food at this L.A. area diner. She is blonde, and perhaps too stereotypical plays a slightly dimwitted person with a southern accent, I guess what is expected of the type that works in a diner. But given those faults she does it well, playing a lonely young lady with a small child and a hope that the dashing young doctor will be her knight.Dakota Fanning is Anne Hagen, who after the tragedy, the shooting in the diner, turns to religion and prayer, even though she had not been a church goer.The senseless shooting (well, I suppose all shootings are senseless) has a profound impact on those who were there that morning, which left several dead, including the shooter who turned the gun on himself. We only see a little bit of it in the opening scenes, but as the movie develops we see more and more of what actually happened, in a sort of flashback form.But when the "big payoff" came near the end, I was disappointed. Is that what all the build-up was about? I felt cheated. I was waiting for something with more depth, more profound, but didn't get it.I enjoyed it for the acting, and the interesting story, but overall it is just a "hit and miss" movie.MAJOR SPOILERS: One man (Whitaker) was already terminally ill with cancer, the shooting incident and a comment at the hospital about being "lucky" sent him off gambling, with some success. The young boy (Hutcherson) became silent, he would not speak to anyone, while the girl (Fanning) was very outspoken about the power of prayer. Her dad was one of those killed. But the very last scenes made it clear her dad was not a hero as she had claimed, but actually sat there and peed in his pants right before he was killed. She had told the boy to never say a word about it. For me all that was a bogus way to tie everything up.