NOTHING IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE HUMAN SPIRIT. I remember being safe at home in my parents’ house that Christmas holiday in 2004 when several tsunamis that had been triggered by a huge earthquake in the Indian Ocean killed over 230,000 people in 14 countries. Since many of the victims were tourists, the disaster affected … Continue reading The Impossible: Swept Away
DO SOME TIME WITH THE ONE YOU LOVE. After a car crash, Steven Russell (Jim Carrey) tells his wife that he’s gay, leaves her and turns into a con man in order to support his new lavish lifestyle; during a prison stint, he falls in love with Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor). On the surface this … Continue reading I Love You Phillip Morris
This is what love feels like. The buzz surrounding this film on its premiere related to Christopher Plummer’s performance as an elderly man coming out to his son. That is undeniably an inspiring part of the film, but it’s not what touched me the most. A lot of people who’ve seen this film likely … Continue reading Beginners: Waiting for the Lion
WHEN YOU’RE IN THIS WORLD, NO ONE IS WHO THEY SEEM, AND EVERYONE IS PLAYING THE GAME. Wide-eyed accountant Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor) strikes up a friendship with a charismatic attorney (Hugh Jackman) who introduces him to an exclusive sex club. Note to the filmmakers: It’s one thing to establish a premise where a naive … Continue reading Deception
When the Yemeni Sheikh wants to introduce salmon fishing in his country, Britain’s leading fisheries expert (Ewan McGregor) is hired to take on the challenge… even though he doesn’t believe in the project at all. Paul Torday’s novel, which is based on real events, has often been described as “original”, which is hardly a word one … Continue reading Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
VISIONARY. LOVER. DREAMER. FIGHTER. LEGEND. ICON. The story of how Amelia Earhart fell in love with flying airplanes at a time when it was not only dangerous but also a man’s job gets the traditional Hollywood treatment by director Mira Nair. We follow the groundbreaking aviator as she accomplishes herself in the sky and challenges … Continue reading Amelia
A COMEDY FOR ANYONE WHO’S EVER BEEN IN DANGER… OF FALLING IN LOVE. Robert Lewis (Ewan McGregor) loses his job as a janitor and kidnaps the boss’s daughter (Cameron Diaz); two fallen angels (Holly Hunter, Delroy Lindo) try to make them fall in love. Director Danny Boyle followed his superior Shallow Grave (1994) and Trainspotting (1996) with something entirely different, … Continue reading A Life Less Ordinary
For Roman Polanski, the journey of The Ghost Writer ended in prison. After being arrested by Swiss authorities in September 2009, the filmmaker faced extradition to the U.S. on a 33-year-old conviction of unlawful sex with a minor. Not a person who gives up easily, Polanski spent his time in jail both fighting the extradition … Continue reading The Ghost Writer: Assisting Blair/Polanski
FINDING YOUR OWN VOICE CAN BE MAGIC. When talent scout Ray Say (Michael Caine) hears how a reclusive young woman called Little Voice (Jane Horrocks) is able to imitate the singing voices of stars like Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe to uncanny effect, he sees a chance to finally make money. Horrocks honed her performance … Continue reading Little Voice
THEY HAVE COME FOR THEIR REVENGE. As the Pope dies and the College of Cardinals gathers to elect his successor, the mysterious Illuminati society seems hellbent on destroying the Vatican, and symbologist Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) becomes involved in the crisis. The sequel to The Da Vinci Code (2006) moves a little faster and has impressive action sequences; … Continue reading Angels & Demons
EVERY GENERATION HAS A LEGEND. EVERY JOURNEY HAS A FIRST STEP. EVERY SAGA HAS A BEGINNING. According to Merriam Webster, the word “anticipation” means among other things “pleasurable expectation”. They might as well have included an image of the poster for this film, the fourth in the Star Wars series, the first in chronological order. George Lucas … Continue reading Star Wars Episode I: Vader’s Boyhood Years
AN ADVENTURE AS BIG AS LIFE ITSELF? Tall tales are a natural part of the South and the leading character in director Tim Burton’s fantastical film has made his whole life a tall tale. While his son (Billy Crudup) bitterly tries to make the dying father (Albert Finney) tell something believable about his life, … Continue reading Big Fish
THE LIFE OF BEATRIX POTTER IS THE MOST ENCHANTING TALE OF ALL. In 1901, Beatrix Potter (Renée Zellweger) finally finds a publisher willing to print “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”; her relationship with the firm’s inexperienced representative (Ewan McGregor) grows into something deeper. The man who brought us Babe (1995) returns for a story that … Continue reading Miss Potter
