Archive for December 2006
Miss Potter
December 25, 2006, 11:04 amBeatrix Potter has delighted generations of children with her books. But she kept her own private life locked carefully away. Oscar-winning star Renée Zellweger is now bringing her secret story to the screen in “Miss Potter,” the first film directed by Chris Noonan since his charming 1995 movie, “Babe.” It is set in the high summer days of late Victorian and Edwardian England, during which Beatrix develops her natural skills as artist and story-teller. When she finally publishes her debut book, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit,” she becomes a writing celebrity. It also leads to courtship and her first love with publisher Norman Warne, played by Ewan McGregor. Their relationship and his marriage proposal in July, 1905, was to change Beatrix’s life for ever.
It was a love which she could not announce - or even talk about. In high-society London, her parents had insisted she keep it from friends and neighbours. They considered her proposed wedding a mismatch. Warne, they said, was from ‘trade’ and demanded that she carefully reconsider their life together. Beatrix allowed herself to be persuaded to leave her fiancé and London. It was supposed to be a time for reflection and calm. But, instead, she faced tragedy and loneliness and returned, with a different outlook. She became a woman of strong views and independence. She also built up a farming dynasty in the Lake District - a dynasty over which she took charge long after her writing career virtually ended in 1913. It established her as a woman ahead of her time. Despite becoming the world’s most successful children’s writer and a wealthy landowner and prize-winning farmer, she never forgot her first love.
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(posted in the Reviews category)
The Flying Scotsman
December 25, 2006, 11:04 am“The Flying Scotsman” is a feature film based on the remarkable true story of Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree. In 1993, and as an unemployed amateur, Obree broke the world one-hour record on a bike of his own revolutionary design, which he constructed out of scrap metal and parts of a washing machine.
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(posted in the Reviews category)
Fast Track
December 25, 2006, 11:03 amTom Reilly (Zach Braff) is a bit of an underachiever when it comes to his career (or lack thereof), but his adoring wife Sofia (Amanda Peet), a formidable lawyer, has always been happy to act as the breadwinner. With the birth of their first child, Sofia decides she wants to be a stay-at-home mom so Tom needs to step up and take care of his growing family. Unfortunately he gets fired from his job in New York City and is forced to start working with his father-in-law (Charles Grodin) in Sofia’s hometown of Ohio. Tom soon clashes with his work colleagues, especially the outrageous Chip (Jason Bateman), who still carries a torch for Sofia from their high school days, and Sofia becomes increasingly uncomfortable staying home with their new baby. But in a comedy about doing the right thing for all the wrong reasons, the couple needs to get back to what they’re good at before their model family goes completely off track.
—<ADMINNICENAME> | no comments
(posted in the Reviews category)
The Good Shepherd
December 18, 2006, 6:34 pmThe tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man’s life in “The Good Shepherd,” an espionage drama starring Academy Award® winners Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie and Robert De Niro and directed by Robert De Niro.
Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) understands the value of secrecy-discretion and commitment to honor have been embedded in him since childhood. As an eager, optimistic student at Yale, he is recruited to join the secret society Skull and Bones, a brotherhood and breeding ground for future world leaders. Wilson’s acute mind, spotless reputation and sincere belief in American values render him a prime candidate for a career in intelligence, and he is soon recruited to work for the OSS (the precursor to the CIA) during WWII.
As one of the covert founders of the CIA, working in the heart of an organization where duplicity is required and nothing is taken at face value, Edward’s’ idealism is steadily eroded by a growing suspicious nature, reflective of a world settling into the long paranoia of the Cold War. As his methods are adopted as standard operating procedure, Wilson develops into one of the Agency’s veteran operatives, all the while combating his KGB counterpart. However, his steely dedication to his country comes at an ever-increasing price. Not even his wife Clover (Angelina Jolie) or his beloved son can divert Wilson from a path that will force him to sacrifice everything in pursuit of this job.
—<ADMINNICENAME> | no comments
(posted in the Reviews category)
Venus
December 18, 2006, 6:33 pm“Venus” focuses on a pair of veteran actors, Maurice and Ian, whose daily routine is disrupted by the arrival of Ian’s grandniece. O’Toole and Phillips play the grizzled thesps, and newcomer Whittaker plays the teen.
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(posted in the Reviews category)
Curse of the Golden Flower
December 18, 2006, 6:32 pmChina, Later Tang Dynasty, 10th Century.
On the eve of the Chong Yang Festival, golden flowers fill the Imperial Palace. The Emperor (Chow Yun Fat) returns unexpectedly with his second son, Prince Jai (Jay Chou). His pretext is to celebrate the holiday with his family, but given the chilled relations between the Emperor and the ailing Empress (Gong Li), this seems disingenuous.
For many years, the Empress and Crown Prince Wan (Liu Ye), her stepson, have had an illicit liaison. Feeling trapped, Prince Wan dreams of escaping the palace with his secret love Chan (Li Man), the Imperial Doctor’s daughter.
Meanwhile, Prince Jai, the faithful son, grows worried over the Empress’s health and her obsession with golden chrysanthemums. Could she be headed down an ominous path?
The Emperor harbors equally clandestine plans; the Imperial Doctor (Ni Dahong) is the only one privy to his machinations. When the Emperor senses a looming threat, he relocates the doctor’s family from the Palace to a remote area.
—<ADMINNICENAME> | no comments
(posted in the Reviews category)
Dreamgirls
December 11, 2006, 6:00 pmTwenty-five years after first bringing Broadway audiences to their feet, the Tony Award-winning musical sensation “Dreamgirls” comes to the big screen starring Academy Award® winner Jamie Foxx (”Ray”), Beyoncé Knowles (”Austin Powers in Goldmember”), Danny Glover (the “Lethal Weapon” franchise), newcomer Jennifer Hudson, Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose (Broadway’s “Caroline or Change”) and Eddie Murphy (”The Nutty Professor,” “Dr. Dolittle”).
Set in the turbulent early 1960s to mid-70s, “Dreamgirls” follows the rise of a trio of women—Effie (Jennifer Hudson), Deena (Beyoncé Knowles) and Lorrell (Anika Noni Rose)—who have formed a promising girl group called The Dreamettes. At a talent competition, they are discovered by an ambitious manager named Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Jamie Foxx), who offers them the opportunity of a lifetime: to become the back-up singers for headliner James “Thunder” Early (Eddie Murphy). Curtis gradually takes control of the girls’ look and sound, eventually giving them their own shot in the spotlight as The Dreams. That spotlight, however, begins to narrow in on Deena, finally pushing the less attractive Effie out altogether. Though the Dreams become a crossover phenomenon, they soon realize that the cost of fame and fortune may be higher than they ever imagined.
—<ADMINNICENAME> | no comments
(posted in the Reviews category)
Charlotte’s Web
December 11, 2006, 6:00 pmThe classic story of loyalty, trust, and sacrifice comes to life in this live-action adaptation. Fern (Dakota Fanning) is one of only two living beings who sees that Wilbur is a special animal as she raises him, the runt of the litter, into a terrific and radiant pig. As Wilbur moves into a new barn, he begins a second profound friendship with the most unlikely of creatures – a spider named Charlotte – and their bond inspires the animals around them to come together as a family. When the word gets out that Wilbur’s days are numbered, it seems that only a miracle will save his life. A determined Charlotte – who sees miracles in the ordinary – spins words into her web in an effort to convince the farmer that Wilbur is “some pig” and worth saving.
—<ADMINNICENAME> | no comments
(posted in the Reviews category)
Brooklyn Rules
December 11, 2006, 5:59 pmIn 1985 Brooklyn, three boyhood friends come of age on the streets where the violent have power. When one becomes enamored by the mafia lifestyle, all three friends are placed in grave danger as relationships and lives are threatened.
—<ADMINNICENAME> | no comments
(posted in the Reviews category)
Two Weeks
December 3, 2006, 5:31 pmIn this bittersweet comedy, four adult siblings gather at their dying mother’s house in North Carolina for what they expect to be a quick, last goodbye. Instead, they find themselves trapped– together — for two weeks.
—<ADMINNICENAME> | no comments
(posted in the Reviews category)
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