Be Kind Rewind (2008) For some inexplicable reason, Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) refuses to upgrade his video rental store to DVDs and continues to rent exclusively VHS tapes. When Mr. Fletcher goes out-of-town, he leaves Mike (Mos Def) in charge, and local weirdo Jerry (Jack Back) magnetizes himself erasing every tape in the store. Mr.… Continue reading Be kind to the women
Tag: Adaptations
The thief from karama lives in the castle in the sky
Karama Has No Walls (2013) This film, chronicling the 2011 Yemeni Revolution, is an interesting, insider account of the uprising, but too short for viewers to invest in the story it tells. Castle in the Sky (1986) Princess Sheeta is the surviving member of a royal line from an ancient civilization and unknowingly possesses the… Continue reading The thief from karama lives in the castle in the sky
Out of the south pacific, into the fifth estate
Out of the Furnace (2013) Russell Blaze (Christian Bale) goes to prison after he kills a little boy in a drunken accident. When he’s released, his dad has died, and his girlfriend, Lena Taylor (Zoe Saldana) is now in a relationship with the city police chief Wesley Barnes (Forest Whittaker). Russell’s brother, Rodney Blaze (Casey… Continue reading Out of the south pacific, into the fifth estate
My diary of the poster I made about my trip to Italy
About Schmidt (2002) After Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) retires, he misses the routine and purpose of work, but his successor makes it clear he doesn’t need him or his advice. When Warren’s wife of almost fifty years dies, he discovers she had a brief affair with one of their best friends. They had grown apart,… Continue reading My diary of the poster I made about my trip to Italy
The drunken fox is afraid
Drunken Master II (1994) Won Fei-Hung (Jackie Chan) hides ginseng in the suitcase of an employee of the British consulate to avoid paying taxes. This innocent act backfires and Hung is inexplicably involved in a crazy conspiracy to steal a valuable Chinese antique. Chan’s genius was a merger of eastern and western entertainment traditions, combining Chinese… Continue reading The drunken fox is afraid
Children in America
Children of Men (2006) It’s 2027, and, for unexplained reasons, mankind has been infertile for almost twenty years. Theo Faron (Clive Owen) is an activist turned bureaucrat whose marriage disintegrated after his son died in a flu pandemic. His ex-wife, Julian Taylor (Julianne Moore), is a leader of The Fishes, a militant group fighting for the… Continue reading Children in America
A happy, close household
Closer (2004) Dan Woolf (Jude Law) meets Alice Ayres (Natalie Portman) when she’s hit by a car and they become a couple. A year later, he meets photographer, Anna Cameron (Julia Roberts) and pursues her, while continuing his relationship with Alice. After Anna tries to end their relationship, Dan tricks a man he meets in a cybersex… Continue reading A happy, close household
A violent biography
A History of Violence (2005) When one of the waitresses working for Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen) is threatened, Tom kills her attackers and becomes a local celebrity. This attention brings Carl Fogarty (Ed Harris) to town, convinced Tom is Joey Cusack, a former associate in the Irish Mob. The truth of Tom’s past threatens to destroy… Continue reading A violent biography
She wore Prada to meet Cinderella in the north country
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), a graduate of Northwestern’s journalism school, takes a job as a personal assistant for Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the notoriously difficult chief editor of a famed fashion magazine. The demanding job challenges her professionally and personally. Hathaway is at her best as the plucky underdog; Stanley… Continue reading She wore Prada to meet Cinderella in the north country
A sexy, single lady and Tony Curtis
Sex and the Single Girl (1964) Scandal magazine writer Bob Weston (Tony Curtis) wants to write an article about Helen Brown (Natalie Wood), the writer of a new relationship advice book. When she refuses the interview, he uses a different name to gain access to her, but this ruse leads to complications when Bob and… Continue reading A sexy, single lady and Tony Curtis