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- 29/January/2007 [4:52 PM] -- The Last King of Scotland
Forest Whitaker delivers a violently commanding performance as the brutal Ugandan president Idi Amin. The Last King of Scotland is adapted from a novel by Giles Foden and tells the story of Amin’s horrific reign through the eyes of a some-what fictional character, Nick Garrigan (James McAvoy), a young doctor who has traveled from Scotland hoping to do some good with his medical talents. He befriends two married doctors in a small village; he begins to fall for Sarah (Gillian Anderson), despite the fact that she is a married woman. After a car accident Nick is asked to help treat the president’s wounds and Nick’s out spoken behavior impresses Amin who then asks Nick to become his personal physician. Nick agrees for personal and professional reasons and is immediately intoxicated by his new found importance and life of luxury, until he begins to see the mayhem the president is inflicting upon the people, then realizing he could share the same fate he tries to make a desperate escape out of Uganda. This is a powerful story, compelling and intriguing; however there is a lull in the middle of the movie where I feel it tended to drag a bit. James McAvoy is truly outstanding and completely captivating and I feel should have also been nominated for his performance as Nicolas. Director Kevin MacDonald who is acclaimed as a documentary filmmaker is able to succeed at depicting the same sort of feel for this movie as well, which I believe made it very unique and riveting. The Last King of Scotland is not available in MoPix so some parts may be a little hard to follow; some of it is very visual but can be filled in with the help of a friend. It is an exceptional story that is definitely worth seeing.
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(Twentieth Century Fox)
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Starring: Forest Whitaker, James McAvoy and Gillian Anderson
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Rated: R
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Running Time: 2hours 3 mins
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This film is currently not available in MoPix
Posted in [Drama Reviews, Action Film Reviews]
- 29/January/2007 [4:24 PM] -- Catch and Release
Catch and Release is a romantic dramady that pales in comparison to some of the great romances, but is able to hold its own mainly due to the remarkable cast of actors. Jennifer Garner plays Gray a woman dealing with the sudden death of her fiancé Grady just days before their wedding finding comfort only in the company of her friends, the cheerful and comedic Sam (Kevin Smith), the very responsible tree-hugger Dennis (Sam Jaeger) and Grady’s irresponsible childhood friend Fritz (Timothy Olyphant). As secrets begin to emerge about Grady, like he has a child in another state she knew nothing about, she begins to see new sides of the man she thought she knew and also experiences a awakening in herself. With the help of her friends and the mother of Grady’s child (Juliette Lewis), she begins to pick up the pieces of her life and even finds love again with the last man she ever expected to fall for. Catch and Release has a very lovely moral and is well penned by Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich). Jennifer Garner is a powerful leading lady and completely lights up the screen, Kevin Smith is at his best, Timothy Olyphant is charming and Juliette Lewis marvelously embraces a brilliant character. Although Catch and Release is a good movie it had potential to be really great but I think there was a case of an underdeveloped plot line here, it needed something more. Definitely entertaining, but I would wait for the DVD, it’s a perfect cozy stay at home and curl up on the couch kind of movie. It is not available in MoPix but if you decide to see it in the theatre I don’t think it is needed, there is plenty of dialogue to get you through easily and enjoyably!
- (Columbia)
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Starring: Jennifer Garner, Timothy Olyphant, Sam Jaeger, Kevin Smith and Juliette Lewis
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Rated: PG-13
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Running Time: 124 mins
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This film is currently not available in MoPix
1/2
Posted in [Drama Reviews, Comedy Reviews]
- 26/January/2007 [4:38 PM] -- Valentine’s Day
With Valentine’s Day approaching I thought I would write an article on some of my favorite romance movies of all time that will fit whatever mood you happen to be in on February 14nth! Films you can share with your true love or films you can loose yourself in if you hate the dreaded day of gushy love notes and heart shaped candy. I will offer to you the best light hearted romantic comedies, the heart breaking dramas and the frightful tales of love gone wrong.
I must of course start out with what is by far my favorite movie of all time, Breakfast At Tiffany’s based on the well loved novel by Truman Capote Breakfast At Tiffany’s is a love story about Holly Golightly an eccentric and spirited call girl who feels that she is incapable of falling in love until Paul moves into her building. This film is timeless, made in 1961 it stars the luminous Audrey Hepburn as Miss. Golightly and the charming George Peppard as Paul. It offers laughs and tender moments that are both enchanting as well as fun to watch.
The 80’s brought us many romantic comedies such as Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Happy Together and Say Anything. However, I would like to talk about a silly and enjoyable film called Can’t Buy Me Love starring McDreamy himself Mr. Patrick Dempsey. This is a wonderful light-hearted movie that brings me to laughter every time I see it!
Next on my list is You’ve Got Mail made in 1998 and starring the queen of romance herself Meg Ryan and her comedic partner in crime Tom Hanks. “I turn on my computer, I wait impatiently as it boots up. I go on line, and my breath catches in my chest until I hear three little words: You’ve got mail.” You’ve Got Mail is based on the classic film The Shop Around the Corner and is a story of pen-pal romance that has been updated for modern day and internet age. Tom Hanks plays the owner of a large bookstore chain called Fox Books and falls in love,online, with Meg Ryan the owner of a struggling bookstore that his company is threatening to put out of business. This movie is truly enchanting, perfect to curl up with a blanket and cup of hot chocolate with.
Another romantic comedy set on the delightful streets of New York is Serendipity a story about fate and how sometimes following your heart is the only way to find true love. Serendipity stars the lovely Kate Beckensale and the always enjoyable John Cusak as two soul mates destined to meet no matter how great the odds. Made in 2001 and set in New York which is always a remarkably romantic backdrop Serendipity has much to offer with a entertaining script and a great supporting cast which includes Jeremy Piven, Molly Shannon and Eugene Levy. You will fall in love with this film and will want to watch it again and again.
Moving on to dramas now there are the obvious choices that I know most of you have probably seen so I wont waste time with such films as Titanic, Pearl Harbor, and Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo & Juliet. You know you should have seen those already! Instead I will focus on some of my favorites that you may not have seen yet.
I will begin with a classic called Hanover Street starring Harrison Ford and Lesley-Ann Down made in 1979 and set in my favorite city in the world London, England. David (Harrison Ford) a WWII American bomber pilot who meets and falls in love with a beautiful married nurse (Lesley-Ann Down) during a London air raid. David is shot down behind enemy lines while taking a British agent to France. Faced with danger David realizes that the British agent is his lover’s husband. It is a well-penned, heart-wrenching love story.
The next film I’m going to talk about I can’t tell you how many times I have seen it, it was simply genius in every way. 1995’s Before Sunrise is about two people who meet each other on a train headed to Vienna and the entire film takes place over the course of one day. Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is a self-involved American, and Celine (Julie Delpy) is a beautiful French student who is headed back to Paris. After spending time getting to know each other in the lounge car, Jesse takes the plunge and asks Celine to spend the day with him in Vienna, since his plane doesn’t leave for the US until the next morning. She spontaneously agrees and the couple spends the next 24 hours walking the gorgeous streets of Vienna, becoming even closer as they share stories from their pasts and hopes for their futures. The script is so well written it gives the characters’ bond time to develop more deeply and much more genuinely than in other films of this genre. Hawke and Delpy’s amazing chemistry combined with a lovely background produce a romance that is genuine and lasting.
Another film that I love to watch over and over even though it makes me cry every time is Sweet November it stars Charizie Theron and Keanu Reeves and is the story of a very experimental love affair. Sara (Theron) is a free-spirited woman who runs across the uptight, career driven Nelson (Reeves) and offers to let him be her “November” and stay in her house with her for a month while she teaches him to become more unstructured and how to enjoy life to the fullest. As Sara begins to change his life Nelson finds the things he is missing in his world and begins to fall in love with her but he finds Sara has secrets of her own. Sweet November is touching, emotional and sincere; the acting is top notch and it has marvelous dialogue! Grab your sweetheart and a box of tissue for this one.
The last romantic drama I will recommend is The Notebook, a story of second chances, growing old, and love endured. It stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as a young couple who fall in love but are from completely different social and financial backgrounds. It’s based on the best-selling novel by Nicholas Sparks and is a perfect adaptation of a love that transcends time. The Notebook is poetic and epic, the perfect end to a romantic evening.
Okay so some of you are reading this and rolling your eyes because these types of films are just not your cup of tea or because you are in an Adam Sandler Love Stinks kind of place. Well then let me offer up a few alternatives to the sappy romance with a few tales of love gone wrong, hair-raising, horror movie fun! First things first, the year is 1960 and the filmmaker is Alfred Hitchcock, the movie is Psycho, immortal for its contribution to the horror movie genre. Anthony Perkins haunting depiction of lonely motel keeper Norman Bates will never be forgotten in the cinema world. When Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), a gorgeous blonde with lots of money checks in for the night Bates domineering mother isn’t too happy, she hates loose woman, thus begins this classic tale of desire and terror. Complete with the infamous shower scene it is the perfect film to escape your everyday troubles with!
In the year 2000 a small film came out in theatres by the name of Quills starring Kate Winslet, Geoffrey Rush and Joaquin Phoenix this talented cast blended with a remarkable story made for, in my opinion, one of the best movies of that year. Quills is a gothic tale of virtue and vice, twisted love, shocking erotica, censorship and imagination. It is not for the faint of heart and will leave you feeling uneasy for a few days after watching it. It is a heavy film with deep meaning and shocking conclusions.
If you feel you would like a lighter approach to your evening let me suggest a very campy horror film that is worth its weight in cheese. Valentine came out in 2001 starring Denise Richards, Katherine Heigl and David Boreanez it is one of those horror films that is so bad it’s good and has a fitting premise that centers on this Valentine’s Day theme. Creepy cards, eerie scenarios and plastic surgery! Come on a cheesy horror film doesn’t get better then this, have a laugh on me!
If you haven’t had enough of the silly comedy horror then try one of my all time favorites Shaun of the Dead is a hilarious British comedy/horror film that follows Shaun through his mundane life in London. Followed closely by his immature friend Ed, Shaun unfavorable ways cause a break-up between him and his girlfriend Liz but before he can get her back he realizes the town is being taking over by a horde of zombies. Shaun must now rescue his friends and family and bring them to the only safe place he knows, the local pub of course! Shaun of the Dead is hilarious guaranteed to have you rolling on your floor with laughter. So pop a bag of popcorn, pop a beer and enjoy!
I hope this article has helped you find your perfect Valentine’s Day movie. So happy heart day to you or happy love stinks day! Either way I hope I was of some assistance!
Posted in [Commentary]
- 25/January/2007 [3:32 PM] -- The Hitcher
One thing you really should know about me is that I am a horror movie junkie! I go to see as many horror films as I possibly can, there are some good ones and there are some really awful ones and then there are the down right campy horror films that really are only good for a laugh and should have been deemed comedies in pre-production. The truly great ones are hard to come by, recently I saw The Decent which was one of the best horror movies I have seen in quite some time. I also recently saw Pulse, which was, well, one of the worst I had ever seen. So this genre is pretty hit and miss and most people either love horror movies or hate them. I love them and can appreciate the good and the bad and take them for what they are. That being said, I must say I wasn’t expecting a great horror movie when I walked into The Hitcher, for one it’s a remake and we all know how those usually turn out (check out new version of Night of the Living Dead 3D… just terrible), however, I must say I was very impressed. It is director Dave Meyers first feature film, he is a music video director, but he made it seem like he has been directing these types of movies all his life, and an added bonus to him being a respected music man is an awesome soundtrack to fit a perfectly updated adaptation of a classic horror movie. Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings) plays Ryder, the hitcher, a very disturbed individual that Grace (Sophia Bush) and Jim (Zachary Knighton) nearly run down on the road and feel compelled to help him out completely unaware that he is a serial killer. Their encounters with Ryder continue to intensify and as the story plays on Grace and Jim are faced with one life and death situation after another and are even being framed for the murders and pursued by the police. The Hitcher is also skillfully updated for modern day and not once did I think the characters acted irrationally, which always brings to mind for me the famous quote from Scream “ I hate horror movies, there is always some big breasted girl running up the stairs when she should be going out the front door, it’s insulting”. The Hitcher has it all, talented actors, a well-written script and fantastic directing, set with the gorgeous back drop of the New Mexico mountains. Unfortunately it is not available in MoPix and I do believe some description would be very helpful for the visually impaired here. There is another company called the National Captioning Institute that is also starting to do descriptive narrative for the visually impaired, I have not been able to find a list of films that they provide the service for but it is definitely something to look into, if not try and take a sighted friend who can fill you in on all the gory details, well so to speak! Enjoy!
Posted in [Scary, Scary Reviews]
- 12/January/2007 [5:35 PM] -- Blood Diamond
Leave it to Leonardo DiCaprio to a movie that is as equally entertaining as it is morally impactful. Blood Diamond is a story set in the chaos and misery of the civil war that covered 1990’s Sierra Leone. It focuses on Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio), an ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe, and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou), a Mende fisherman with a wife and four children. Solomon has been taken from his family and home by the rebels and forced to work the diamond fields when he finds a very rare, very large pink diamond and he decides to hide it even knowing it may cost him his life because he also knows it may be his only means to save his life and the lives of his family. Archer who has spent his life trading diamonds for armed weapons hears of Solomon’s diamond while serving time in prison with him. He will do whatever it takes to get the diamond from Solomon because it will be a payoff that will get him out of his brutal life of corruption. Then enters Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an American Journalist working to uncover the truth behind conflict diamonds and wanting to expose the diamond industries leaders. She knows Archer can do this for her, but Archer may find he needs Maddy more then she needs him. This becomes a game of push and shove Archer needs Maddy’s name to get him from place to place unseen, Maddy needs Archer for her story, Archer needs Solomon to help him recover the diamond and Solomon needs Archer to help him rescue is son from the rebels who brainwashing him into a child solider. This movie is extraordinary, director Edward Zwick has out done himself this time. It is a moving and emotional work of art that also holds an incredibly powerful political statement. Leonardo DiCaprio gives the performance of his career. Every time I think he has reached his peak he takes it one step further. He is nominated for a Golden Globe (against himself in The Departed I might add). The Golden Globes air Monday night, I truly hope he walks away with the Globe; it was the best male performance this year as far as I am concerned. Djimon Hounsou is exquisite and Jennifer Connelly is lovely and powerful. Blood Diamond is offered in MoPix and I do strongly recommend it since there is a lot going on and a lot of action you won’t want to miss a second of this film. Superb.
Please visit: http://www.conflictfreediamonds.org/
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(Warner Bros.)
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Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly, Michael Sheen, Arnold Vosloo, David Harewood, Basil Wallace and introducing Kagiso Kuyp Dia
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Rated: R
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Running Time:
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This Film is currently available in MoPix
Posted in [Drama Reviews, Action Film Reviews]
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