Naveen Andrews (TV’s ‘Lost’) stars in this satirical
coming-of-age tale as Karim, a half-English, half-Indian
teenager who struggles to find his own identity while growing
into adulthood in 1970s London. Adapted by Hanif Kureishi from
his Whitbread Award-winning novel, this BAFTA-winning miniseries
also stars Brenda Blethyn (Secrets & Lies) as Karim’s loving
mother, Margaret.
This TV series (2 discs) takes place in the Thatcher-Beatles era and may be a bit dated for you (bell-bottoms anyone ?) This is the last of the films by Hanif Kureishi that I will watch. His writings always ring true and the story is interesting and well-acted. It could stand some editing. There is a surprising amount of explicit sex. NOT FOR CHILDREN. I felt I had to put this film in the “weird” category only because you really have to want to watch an Indian in anti-colored England find himself. For my money, the best of all the Hanif Kureishi films was “My Beautiful Laundrette”.
Anne Reid plays May, a suburban grandmother whose husband
dies unexpectedly while visiting their children in London.
When May goes there to tend to the tragic matter, she
begins to lose her grip on her identity, stripped of her
wifely duties and lost in the bustle of a world so foreign
to her. But then she meets Darren, a young man who’s
bedding her daughter, and her life takes a turn for the
complicated and the unexpected.
The New York Times magazine ran an article on Hanif Kureishi a London Indian who was awarded the Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his writing. The article suggested some of his films of which “The Mother” is the first.
I felt I had to rate this movie “Unusual and definitely not for everyone” and DEFINITELY not for children. The movie is sexually explicit. The widow loses her grip and does some embarrassing things (definite “cringe” value). I would be interested to see how severely you judge this woman if you watch the film. Wife Kathy watched the film and thought it was disturbing. I consider it a real find.
Set in a small, idyllic Oregon community, veteran director Robert Benton’s (Kramer vs. Kramer) charming ensemble drama features different lives intersecting at a coffee shop as they explore the depths of love and loss, joy and pain, and everything in between. Based on the popular Charles Baxter novel, this touching tale stars Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Selma Blair, Radha Mitchell and Billy Burke.
“Feast of Love” (2007) is fairly close to the book of the same name. Finally, a “date” movie that Kathy and I could watch together. Kathy thought the movie was better than the book. This B-movie has LOTS of nudity and sex. Many threads get resolved more or less happily at the end. Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear do a nice job.
When a mysterious loner named Mr. Smith (Clive Owen, Children of Men) delivers a woman’s baby during an intense shoot-out, he inadvertently lands himself at odds with the ruthless Mr. Hertz (Paul Giamatti). Aided by the enigmatic DQ (Monica Bellucci), Mr. Smith is tasked with protecting the newborn from Hertz and his henchmen. Written and directed by Michael Davis, this bullet-riddled action thriller also stars Ramona Pringle and Chris Jericho.
“Antonio, you can’t be serious !!!” I make no apologies for having enjoyed thoroughly the wonderful escape offered by this violent, funny, outrageous, vulgar movie. This is a movie made for Clive Owen. And Paul Giamatti makes a great villain. Jackie Chan is quite an athlete and all the things he does are real. In “Shoot ‘Em Up”, on the other hand, nothing that Clive Owen does could possibly be real. During the movie he never misses a shot and kills possibly a hundred men. But the shooting sequences are works of cinematic art. The dialog and moments of sex are down and dirty. I loved this movie. But then, I LOVE TRASH !
Love, sex and deception rule the day in this psychological drama from director Ray Lawrence. Detective Leon Zat (Anthony LaPaglia) dives headlong into a missing-persons investigation just as he’s grappling with guilt about his extramarital affair. His case crisscrosses the lives of four couples, all of which have secrets — including Leon’s wife, Sonja (Kerry Armstrong), and her secret psychiatrist, Dr. Sommers (Barbara Hershey).
“1001 Films To See Before You Die” points out that this film is very Australian in tone and deed. In fact the actors are Australian. It was the first time we had ever seen Anthony LaPaglia (now appearing in the TV series “Without a Trace”) who is at the center of the film. He was born in Adelaid, South Australia.
The film is a “Crash” film, meaning that many plot threads interweave just as “lantana” is an Australian creeper bush with flowers on top but a mass of sharp, nasty branches underneath.
One detail that I always remember is that LaPaglia has stolen a tape recording of one of his wife’s psychiatry sessions in which the therapist asks her if she loves her husband. He is so guilty about having an affair that he cannot bring himself to listen to the answer. You will have to see the film to hear the answer.
In three interwoven vignettes, Traffic offers disturbing snapshots of America’s drug war. Drug czar Michael Douglas sees his life turned upside down when the drug problem hits home, while Tijuana cop Benicio Del Toro tries to keep his hands clean — and stay alive. Meanwhile, Drug Enforcement Agency operatives arrest a major dealer, forcing his wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones) to take over the family business.
Recommended both by “1001 Films to See Before You Die” and “NY Times 1000 Best”, this film is in the “Crash” tradition of many separate interrelated plot threads. As such, the film can be confusing.
Besides violence (e.g. torture) there is much ugliness (e.g. The U.S. drug czar finally tracks down his cocaine-addicted daughter as she is prostituting herself to an old man in order to get drug money). Another main theme is governmental corruption. This film, which won 4 oscars, is not an easy watch.
Gifted British filmmaker Stephen Frears brings to the screen the troubled life of bold 1960s writer Joe Orton (Gary Oldman) in this portrait of an obsessive, controlling coupling set against history. Orton’s infamous relationship with his tempestuous lover, Kenneth Halliwell (Alfred Molina), fueled but also eventually destroyed Orton — literally and figuratively — at a time when the world didn’t at all embrace or understand homosexuality.
