Sliding Doors

12/4/2007 - Movie Chat room

Marathon - Film Review 

Marathon, 2002  "It's certainly a gem; a probable "underground" masterpiece." Dennis Schwartz

Psychological Drama - Amir Naderi's independent feature concludes the New York trilogy this gifted Iranian filmmaker began with "Manhattan by Numbers" (1992) and "A, B, C . . . Manhattan" (1997). His protagonist is Gretchen (Sara Paul), a young woman with a curious obsession: once each year, she goes on a personal marathon, in which she tries to complete as many crossword puzzles as possible during a 24-hour period while riding the underground trains. By performing this strange, private ritual (a tradition she has inherited from her mother) in the most public and chaotic of places, Gretchen seems to be waging her own private war against the meaningless din of urban existence. As absurd as her gesture may be, it is one way of imposing order on arbitrariness. Dave Kehr, The New York Times

*Mental note to add to my ‘films-I-must-watch’ list.

9/3/2007 - Falling Down - a Forum

Taglines:            Directed by  Produced by      Written by  Starring            Release date

A Tale of Urban Reality. The adventures of an ordinary man at war with the everyday world. Joel Schumacher Timothy Harris Arnold Kopelson Herschel Weingrod Ebbe Roe Smith Michael Douglas Robert Duvall Barbara Hershey Rachel Ticotin Frederic Forrest Tuesday Weld February 1993

11/1/2007 - (Some) Favourite films

The Lake House.  Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves

Plot Outline: A lonely doctor (Bullock) who once occupied an unusual lakeside home begins exchanging love letters with its former resident, a frustrated architect (Reeves). They must try to unravel the mystery behind their extraordinary romance before it's too late.

*Two out of three reviews give this a bad rap, (mostly due to an arty time-zone plot that the critiques feel that the film struggles with) but I absolutely adore it! I think they miss the point entirely. It delivers a heart-wrenching believable performance, genuine emotion, and an uncommonly romantic maturity.  A story of unexpected and unrequited love found only in the amorous connections of their minds; a rare intellectual and heart warming bond between souls, as is often more rare than amongst those that love and surround you physically. It could easily be a parable for any long distant relationships of today or growing generation of bloggers and msn junkies; exploring the need for intellectual intimacy, shared friendships, humour, love lost or found.

DOA: Dead or Alive   Jamie Pressly (Tina Armstrong), Holy Valance (Christie Allen). Plot Outline: The movie adaptation of the best selling video game series Dead or Alive. *Can't say I've seen the film yet. I received this vid clip in an email and I just love it!

What's Love Got To Do With It.   Angela Bassett, (Tina Turner), Laurence Fishburne (Ike Turner). Ike discovers Tina Turner. Vid clip from the film "What's love got to do with it".  Consists two scenes; the first preliminary to explain the 2nd - Classic!!!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SyP5dPHhI0  *One of my favourite lazy Sunday afternoon films.

Frida  Salma Hayek (Frida Kahlo), Alfred Molina (Diego Rivera)  Plot Outline: A biography of artist Frida Kahlo, who channelled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work. *Salma delivers a stunning performance, so much so you could not imagine anyone else playing the part.  I fell in love with both her story and this film depicting the artist Frida Kahlo; her passion, independence, art, her pleasure and pain  A truly unique film, and individual

Favourite Podcast:  ..scene from the Godfather films triology.... Blame.wav

Shakespeare in Love   Joseph Fiennes (Will Shakespeare), Gwyneth Paltrow (Viola De Lesseps), Geoffrey Rush (Philip Henslowe), Judi Dench (Queen Elizabeth).Plot Outline: A young Shakespeare, out of ideas and short of cash, meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays. *This film, spoken in much the same verse as Shakespeare had written, is delivered so successfully, (and I would imagine a rare feat in deed), that it is hardly noticeable.  One film I never get sick of watching repetitively, but then again, I have been dubbed by some as "Dreamy Dee".

Mr & Mrs Smith   Brad Pitt (John Smith), Angelina Jolie (Jane Smith) Plot Outline: A bored married couple are surprised to learn that they're both assassins hired by competing agencies to kill each other. *Ahhh... Passion personified! Absolute classic. Equality, passion, power, romance, intimacy, intelligence, seduction.  Its got the works!