Seen on 30-10-2009
In London a midwife who has saved the just born baby walks into a formidable Russian mafia whose chief turns out to be the father of the orphaned baby and therefore makes every wily effort to wipe out the evidence as well as the baby. The midwife's efforts are supported by an undercover secret who works for the mafia chief. This is full of nail-biting suspense.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Secrets of Undercover Wife**
Seen on 26-10-2009
This is about a wife's spy work to save her husband falsely implicated in an embezzlement case by his company. It's interesting.
This is about a wife's spy work to save her husband falsely implicated in an embezzlement case by his company. It's interesting.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Dear Frankie (2004)***
Seen on 8-10-2009 - Star Movies
Cast: EmilyMortimer (Single Mother), Jack McElhone (Frankie, the boy), Gerard Butler (Hired father)
Dir. : Shona Auerbach
IMDB Summary:
"Nine-year-old Frankie and his single mum Lizzie have been on the move ever since Frankie can remember, most recently arriving in a seaside Scottish town. Wanting to protect her deaf son from the truth that they've run away from his father, Lizzie has invented a story that he is away at sea on the HMS Accra. Every few weeks, Lizzie writes Frankie a make-believe letter from his father, telling of his adventures in exotic lands. As Frankie tracks the ship's progress around the globe, he discovers that it is due to dock in his hometown. With the real HMS Accra arriving in only a fortnight, Lizzie must choose between telling Frankie the truth or finding the perfect stranger to play Frankie's father for just one day..."
Cast: EmilyMortimer (Single Mother), Jack McElhone (Frankie, the boy), Gerard Butler (Hired father)
Dir. : Shona Auerbach
IMDB Summary:
"Nine-year-old Frankie and his single mum Lizzie have been on the move ever since Frankie can remember, most recently arriving in a seaside Scottish town. Wanting to protect her deaf son from the truth that they've run away from his father, Lizzie has invented a story that he is away at sea on the HMS Accra. Every few weeks, Lizzie writes Frankie a make-believe letter from his father, telling of his adventures in exotic lands. As Frankie tracks the ship's progress around the globe, he discovers that it is due to dock in his hometown. With the real HMS Accra arriving in only a fortnight, Lizzie must choose between telling Frankie the truth or finding the perfect stranger to play Frankie's father for just one day..."
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Judicial Indiscretion (2007)***+
Seen on 7-10-2009 - HBO
Cast: Anne Archer (Monica Barrett)
Dir. : George Mendeluk
An exciting movie about a woman, nominated to the position of Superme Court justice by the President, falls a prey to political intrigue to discredit her by implicating in a scandalously cheap sexual involvement. The manner in which she extricates herself from all this and comes out a winner is the stuff of this thrilling drama.
Cast: Anne Archer (Monica Barrett)
Dir. : George Mendeluk
An exciting movie about a woman, nominated to the position of Superme Court justice by the President, falls a prey to political intrigue to discredit her by implicating in a scandalously cheap sexual involvement. The manner in which she extricates herself from all this and comes out a winner is the stuff of this thrilling drama.
Stolen Summer (2002)****
Seen on 6-10-2009 - Star Movies
Cast: Mike Weinberg (Danny), Adiel Stein (Pete)
Dir. : Pete Jones
This starts off as a simple inter-faith dialogue, about to become simplistic and risks pushing forward in a naive vein but surprises us by suddenly plumbing unforeseen depths of human involvement both at the level of innocence of children and at adult level. The script handles the theme with great dexterity. Simply put the movie is appeals to us at a visceral level.
IMDB Summary:
"Pete, an eight-year-old Catholic boy growing up in the suburbs of Chicago in the mid-1970s, attends Catholic school, where as classes let out for the summer, he's admonished by a nun to follow the path of the Lord, and not that of the Devil. Perhaps taking this message a bit too seriously, Pete decides it's his goal for the summer to help someone get into heaven; having been told that Catholicism is the only sure path to the kingdom of the Lord, Pete decides to convert a Jew to Catholicism in order to improve their standing in the afterlife. Hoping to find a likely candidate, Pete begins visiting a nearby synagogue, where he gets to know Rabbi Jacobson, who responds to Pete's barrage of questions with good humor. Pete also makes friends with the Rabbi's son, Danny, who is about the same age; when he learns that Danny is seriously ill, he decides Danny would be an excellent choice for conversion. When the priest at Pete's church informs Pete that all will be tested before they pass the Pearly Gates, he sets up a mini-decathlon and puts Danny in training as he attempts to reshape his spiritual thinking. Pete's parents aren't sure just what to make of Pete's new summer project, and as they become acquainted with Rabbi Jacobson, they share their perspectives on the unexpected trials of parenting."
Cast: Mike Weinberg (Danny), Adiel Stein (Pete)
Dir. : Pete Jones
This starts off as a simple inter-faith dialogue, about to become simplistic and risks pushing forward in a naive vein but surprises us by suddenly plumbing unforeseen depths of human involvement both at the level of innocence of children and at adult level. The script handles the theme with great dexterity. Simply put the movie is appeals to us at a visceral level.
IMDB Summary:
"Pete, an eight-year-old Catholic boy growing up in the suburbs of Chicago in the mid-1970s, attends Catholic school, where as classes let out for the summer, he's admonished by a nun to follow the path of the Lord, and not that of the Devil. Perhaps taking this message a bit too seriously, Pete decides it's his goal for the summer to help someone get into heaven; having been told that Catholicism is the only sure path to the kingdom of the Lord, Pete decides to convert a Jew to Catholicism in order to improve their standing in the afterlife. Hoping to find a likely candidate, Pete begins visiting a nearby synagogue, where he gets to know Rabbi Jacobson, who responds to Pete's barrage of questions with good humor. Pete also makes friends with the Rabbi's son, Danny, who is about the same age; when he learns that Danny is seriously ill, he decides Danny would be an excellent choice for conversion. When the priest at Pete's church informs Pete that all will be tested before they pass the Pearly Gates, he sets up a mini-decathlon and puts Danny in training as he attempts to reshape his spiritual thinking. Pete's parents aren't sure just what to make of Pete's new summer project, and as they become acquainted with Rabbi Jacobson, they share their perspectives on the unexpected trials of parenting."
The Score (2001)***
Seen on 5-10-2009 - HBO
Cast: Robert De Niro (Nick), Edward Norton (Jack), Marlon Brando (Max)
Dir. :Frank Oz
Nick is planning to bid goodbye to his life of a thief to live off his ill-begotten wealth peacefully. However, his handler, Max puts him up to one last heist and he, aided and persuaded by Jack (an insider to the place where the heist is planned), accepts the otherwise impossible job. The job is to steal an invaluable antique piece, a scepter, now lying hidden in the high security Custom House in Montreal. Jack provides the maps, layout, duplicate keys of the locker, intricate alarm systems, cctv, etc of the custom house, but, as it turns out at the end, has his own agenda of stealing it from Nick once he secures it. However, Nick is smarter and manages to get away with the original of the antique leaving Jack behind for getting caught.
This is a suspenseful and enjoyable film.
Cast: Robert De Niro (Nick), Edward Norton (Jack), Marlon Brando (Max)
Dir. :Frank Oz
Nick is planning to bid goodbye to his life of a thief to live off his ill-begotten wealth peacefully. However, his handler, Max puts him up to one last heist and he, aided and persuaded by Jack (an insider to the place where the heist is planned), accepts the otherwise impossible job. The job is to steal an invaluable antique piece, a scepter, now lying hidden in the high security Custom House in Montreal. Jack provides the maps, layout, duplicate keys of the locker, intricate alarm systems, cctv, etc of the custom house, but, as it turns out at the end, has his own agenda of stealing it from Nick once he secures it. However, Nick is smarter and manages to get away with the original of the antique leaving Jack behind for getting caught.
This is a suspenseful and enjoyable film.
The Castle (1997)***+
Seen on 5-10-2009 - Star Movies
Cast: Michael Caton (Darryl Kerrington)
Dir. : Rob Sitch
Australians too have come with some good movies!! This particular seems to have won 2 awards and quite a few nominations.
This is one man's valiant fight against a multi-billion dollar company which tried to grab his land along with the happy home he has so assiduously built over years. The fact that a common ordinary man challenges an impossibly powerful company aligned with the local government is impressive in itself.
This reminded me of my 20-year long struggle--on a minor scale though-- to retain the family plot against the land grabbers in the neighborhood. Although my brothers have joined in the struggle at a later stage, had it not been for my bold initiative, we would have lost this piece of valuable land.
Cast: Michael Caton (Darryl Kerrington)
Dir. : Rob Sitch
Australians too have come with some good movies!! This particular seems to have won 2 awards and quite a few nominations.
This is one man's valiant fight against a multi-billion dollar company which tried to grab his land along with the happy home he has so assiduously built over years. The fact that a common ordinary man challenges an impossibly powerful company aligned with the local government is impressive in itself.
This reminded me of my 20-year long struggle--on a minor scale though-- to retain the family plot against the land grabbers in the neighborhood. Although my brothers have joined in the struggle at a later stage, had it not been for my bold initiative, we would have lost this piece of valuable land.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Stop-Loss (2008)***
Seen on 3-10-2009 - Sony Pix
Cast: Ryan Phillippe (Brandon King), Mellissa George
Dir. :Kimberly Pierce
IMDB Summary:
"Decorated Iraq war hero Sgt. Brandon King makes a celebrated return to his small Texas hometown following his tour of duty. He tries to resume the life he left behind. Then, against Brandon's will, the Army orders him back to duty in Iraq, which upends his world. The conflict tests everything he believes in: the bond of family, the loyalty of friendship, the limits of love and the value of honor."
Cast: Ryan Phillippe (Brandon King), Mellissa George
Dir. :Kimberly Pierce
IMDB Summary:
"Decorated Iraq war hero Sgt. Brandon King makes a celebrated return to his small Texas hometown following his tour of duty. He tries to resume the life he left behind. Then, against Brandon's will, the Army orders him back to duty in Iraq, which upends his world. The conflict tests everything he believes in: the bond of family, the loyalty of friendship, the limits of love and the value of honor."
Friday, October 2, 2009
Stranger than fiction (2006)***
Seen on 1-10-2009 - Sony Pix
Cast: Harold Crick, IRS agent (Will Farrell, IRS agent), Ana Pascal, Crick's girlfriend (Maggie Gallenhaal), Karen Eiffel (Emma Thomson), Penny Escher (Queen Latifah)
Dir. : Marc Foster ("Monster's Ball", "Finding Neverland" fame)
IMDB Summary:
"Everybody knows that your life is a story. But what if a story was your life? Harold Crick is your average IRS agent: monotonous, boring, and repetitive. But one day this all changes when Harold begins to hear an author inside his head narrating his life. The narrator it is extraordinarily accurate, and Harold recognizes the voice as an esteemed author he saw on TV. But when the narration reveals that he is going to die, Harold must find the author of the story, and ultimately his life, to convince her to change the ending of the story before it is too late."
My comment:
Crick is a character out of Eiffel's story and the fictional and the real intersect here. Strange experiment this! However, the problem for the author is whether to give a tragic ending to her story by killing her character just when he was beginning to find happiness in his otherwise monotonous life. Strangely enough, Crick seeks her out and pleads with her and the author saves him by giving an unexpected twist to the fatal accident in which the character was supposed to have died in the earlier version of the story; something she had not done in any of her earlier books.
The Professor of English (played by Dustin Hoffman), whose help Crick seeks when he comes to know that he will soon be put to death, tries to convince him that he has to die or else there can't be a great book. Crick also pleads with the author herself. Later at one point, interestingly enough, her character Crick even resigns to die if that makes her book a great one even though he doesn't want to die. However the author takes the unusual step--unusual for her because all her books ended in death--of saving him by giving a new twist to the story's predictable ending.
One wonders what, after all, is the point of all this. Was the filmmaker trying to underscore the artbitrariness of human destiny?
Cast: Harold Crick, IRS agent (Will Farrell, IRS agent), Ana Pascal, Crick's girlfriend (Maggie Gallenhaal), Karen Eiffel (Emma Thomson), Penny Escher (Queen Latifah)
Dir. : Marc Foster ("Monster's Ball", "Finding Neverland" fame)
IMDB Summary:
"Everybody knows that your life is a story. But what if a story was your life? Harold Crick is your average IRS agent: monotonous, boring, and repetitive. But one day this all changes when Harold begins to hear an author inside his head narrating his life. The narrator it is extraordinarily accurate, and Harold recognizes the voice as an esteemed author he saw on TV. But when the narration reveals that he is going to die, Harold must find the author of the story, and ultimately his life, to convince her to change the ending of the story before it is too late."
My comment:
Crick is a character out of Eiffel's story and the fictional and the real intersect here. Strange experiment this! However, the problem for the author is whether to give a tragic ending to her story by killing her character just when he was beginning to find happiness in his otherwise monotonous life. Strangely enough, Crick seeks her out and pleads with her and the author saves him by giving an unexpected twist to the fatal accident in which the character was supposed to have died in the earlier version of the story; something she had not done in any of her earlier books.
The Professor of English (played by Dustin Hoffman), whose help Crick seeks when he comes to know that he will soon be put to death, tries to convince him that he has to die or else there can't be a great book. Crick also pleads with the author herself. Later at one point, interestingly enough, her character Crick even resigns to die if that makes her book a great one even though he doesn't want to die. However the author takes the unusual step--unusual for her because all her books ended in death--of saving him by giving a new twist to the story's predictable ending.
One wonders what, after all, is the point of all this. Was the filmmaker trying to underscore the artbitrariness of human destiny?
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