Category Archives: drama

“Cruel Intentions” Witherspoon, Phillipe and Gellar

based on a book, drama, re-release, romance, , ,

Written and directed by Roger Kumble, Cruel Intentions arrived in the theaters in 1999. The movie played in the theaters again to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Now, there is a Cruel Intentions series set to stream on Amazon.

Let’s savor the award-winning movie first and foremost.

Based on a novel by Choderlos de Laclos, the story follows Kathryn, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sebastian, played by Ryan Phillippe. It’s summer break, and Kathryn is dumped by her beau, Court Reynolds, played by Charlie O’Connell, for the innocent Cecile, played by Selma Blair.

Desperate to get even, Kathryn challenges Sebastian to ruin Cecile by taking her virginity and turning her into a tramp. The intent is to humiliate the Court by presenting him to Cecile, who is damaged goods.

Until now, Sebastian feels he has been with all the girls in New York City. He is bored with it all. Though this is too easy a conquest for him, he agrees to it.

He sets his sights on a greater challenge—the new headmaster’s daughter, Annette, played by Reese Witherspoon, who wrote an article in a magazine about how she intends to stay pure until she marries her boyfriend.

Sebastian bets Kathryn that he can seduce the chaste and pristine Annette before school begins in the fall. Kathryn thinks this exploit is impossible and agrees to the wager. As the stakes stand, if Sebastian succeeds, Kathryn must give him a night of unrestrained divine pleasure. A fantasy he’s dreamt about and wanted since their parents got married. If he fails, he must relinquish his 1956 Jaguar to Kathryn and suffer the shame of defeat.

The movie won several awards, including several MTV Movie Awards and one Teen Choice Award. Witherspoon also won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award (remember those?) for Favorite Supporting Actress in a Drama/Romance.

“Mia and the White Lion,” Heartfelt Story

adventure, children movies, drama, family movies, kid movies, , , ,

Directed by Gilles de Maistre, Mia and the White Lion follows ten-year-old Mia, played by Daniah De Villiers. Her life is turned upside down when her family decides to leave London to manage a lion farm in Africa. The movie is filmed in South Africa with gorgeous landscapes and expansive views.

When a beautiful white lion, Charlie, is born, Mia finds happiness again and develops a special bond with the growing cub. During this time the movie was shot throughout three years. The young stars De Villiers and Ryan Mac Lennan, who plays Mia’s brother, could bond and develop genuine relationships with the lions and other animals in the film.

When Charlie reaches three, Mia’s life is rocked once again as she uncovers an upsetting secret hidden by her father, played by Langley Kirkwood. Distraught that Charlie could be in danger, Mia decides to rescue him. The two friends set out on an incredible journey across the South African savanna, searching for a sanctuary where Charlie can live out his life in freedom.

The movie also stars Mélanie Laurent as Mia’s mother.

Prune de Maistre and William Davies co-write the screenplay. Davies is known for writing How To Train Your Dragon and Puss in Boots. The movie is based on Maistre’s original idea, and this is her first produced screenplay.

This is a heartfelt movie, and the trailer embarrassingly brought tears to my eyes. I am a pushover for sentimental films about animals.

“Poms” Trailer, Posters & Clips

comedy, drama, , , , ,

Directed by Zara Hayes, the movie stars some old favorites in Poms and follows Martha, played by Diane Keaton. She moved into a retirement community and met some quirky mature ladies. It’s okay. They are quirky and old, which is the point of the movie. Another excellent message in the film is to live your dreams because it is never too late.

The movie is an uplifting comedy where Martha starts a cheerleading squad with her fellow residents, Sheryl, played by Jacki Weaver, and Olive, played by Pam Grier. And Alice, played by Rhea Perlman. They soon enroll in a cheerleading competition, which is way too young for them, but they still compete and prove themselves young at heart.

Hayes originated the story, and Shane Atkinson wrote the screenplay. Atkinson is known for his work on Penny Dreadful, which he also directed.

The rest of the cast includes Celia Weston, Phyllis Somerville, Charli Tahan, Alisha Boe, and Bruce McGill.

The second poster says, “It’s never too late to chase a dream.”

The three movie clips are cute and show the storyline and humor of the movie. Keaton is so good in these clips.

Keaton is so good in this movie. She leads a great cast of women in their golden years. My favorite of the two clips is “Audition.”

“Dragged Across Concrete” Trailer & Poster

action, drama, suspense, , , , , , , ,

Written and directed by S. Craig Zahler, Dragged Across Concrete follows two police officers, played by Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn, who find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arm tactics leaks to the media.

With little money and no options, the embittered policemen descend into the criminal underworld. Waiting in the shadows, they find more than they bargained for or anticipated.

Zahler is best known for his 2015 film Bone Tomahawk, an Independent Spirit
Award-nominated picture starring Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, and Richard Jenkins.

Zahler wanted to make a movie like Prince of the City and Taxi Driver, “These two flawed, but decorated officers are ostracized for their behavior and soon find themselves reconsidering their moral codes. They are neither innocent good guys nor amoral bad guys, but human beings who do both commendable and dubious things: these two cops have no easy choices if they want to provide for their loved ones.” explains Zahler.

The movie also stars Don Johnson, Tory Kittles, Michael Jai White, Jennifer Carpenter, Laurie Holden, Fred Melamed, and Thomas Kretschmann. White is known for playing roles that require martial art moves. He has several black belts and works out on the film sets while shooting the movies.

The movie appears to have many levels of suspense. I am looking forward to seeing Gibson and Vaughn work together in this movie. Both are talented, and each one uses a different approach to achieving their characters.

“Rocketman” Poster, Elton and Taron Duet, Clips, Trailers & Featurettes

biography, drama, fantasy, music, , , ,
Notice the poster says “based on a true fantasy.”

Riding on the heels of Queen’s bio-pic, Bohemian Rhapsody, Dexter Fletcher takes on another British icon, Elton John, played by Taron Egerton. Rocketman is promoted as an epic musical fantasy about the incredible human story of Elton John’s breakthrough years.

Following the fantastical journey of morphing from the icon from a shy piano prodigy Reginald Dwight into international superstar Elton John. The studio is calling it an inspirational story with plenty of Elton John’s most beloved songs and performed by Egerton. You might recall Egerton dazzling us with his great archery skills in the recent Robin Hood.

The movie brings us to the familiar story of how a small-town boy became one of the most iconic figures in pop culture. The movie includes stars Jamie Bell as Elton’s longtime lyricist and writing partner Bernie Taupin, Richard Madden as Elton’s first manager, John Reid, and Bryce Dallas Howard as Elton’s mother Sheila Farebrother.

Take a look at the movie trailers and see if it suits your fancy. The first one is brief, and the second one offers more details about movie. The featurette talks about Egerton’s singing. He sounds like Elton John for real.

First trailer released .
Second trailer has more of the fantasy aspect of the story.
It’s amazing how much Egerton sounds like Elton John.

The next featurette is about the costumes. Costumes are all about Elton John.

The following clips tell us more about the movie and the life of Elton John. He definitely had his highs and his lows. Bryce Dallas Howard as his mother is smooth and flamboyant as his mother would be. She looks like she is having fun playing this role.

A poignant moment in music history is when Elton and Taron sing together in front of a huge audience at an Elton John’s concert. A magical moment for all of us, this clip compels me to see the movie.

The featurette is about the song Elton John’s lyrists Bernie Taupin wrote for the movie called “Love Me Again.” Egerton does vocals with John and John comments of Egerton’s vocal skills.

“High Life” Trailer and Poster

drama, science fiction, suspense, thriller, , , ,

Co-written and directed by Claire Denis, High Life premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival with strong, positive reviews. The movie is about a group of young people who space travel through a black hole because they are prisoners.

The story unfolds beyond the solar system with the criminals who accepting the mission in space to become the subjects of a human reproduction experiment. They find themselves in the most unimaginable situation after a storm of cosmic rays hit the ship.

It dawns on them they are not returning or it appears so. Very little freedom is available as they wait out their sentence. Despetion and experiments are doled out as the criminals come to terms on how to brutally rebel against the system.

Monte, played by Robert Pattinson, views life as a prisoner differently because he has a baby daughter. He needs to be responsible even though something is looming just out of reach.

A narcissistic jailkeeper, played by Juliette Binoche, brings the emotions to the surface as the prisoners are compelled to respond to her underhanded control.

The cinematography, shared by both Yorick Le Saux and Tomasz Naumiuk, received praises for capturing the space, stars, and nebulae. Denis is a French director, whose style is admired by her peers. “It is important to show how people are feeling, even when they are brutal.”

Jean-Pol Fargeau contributed to the screenplay and worked with Denis in other movies such as 35 Shots of Rum and Beau Travail. Geoff Cox also contributed but it is the first he’s worked with Denis and Fargeau with one other writing credit.

The movie nabbed some nominations and won three awards including Indiewire Critics’ Poll Best Films Opening in 2019.

“Cliffs of Freedom” Trailers, Sizzle Reel & Movie Clips

adventure, drama, historical, , , , ,

Co-written and directed by Van Ling, Cliffs of Freedom is an epic story during the Greek War for Independence against the Ottoman Empire in 1821. Within the story is a turbulent romance between a young Greek village girl and a conflicted Turkish officer.

Twenty-year-old Anna Christina, played by Tania Raymonde, is smitten by Colonel Tariq, played by Jan Uddin, a rising star in the Turkish army. He doubts his fellow citizens’ brutal methods of governing the Greeks. He spared the life of Anna on a cliff-top when she was a child.

The romance that follows years later is tragic for her family and village. Joining the forces and swearing revenge against the Turks, Anna joins the Greek rebellion and unintentionally becomes the symbol of the Greek resistance movement. She inspires her fellow citizens and attracts the wrath of the Turks. They placed a bounty on her head.

She thought she had left her feelings for Tarig behind. She faces the man who still loves her and wants to keep her safe but now carries the burden of capturing her. Their encounters and skirmishes inevitably lead to a tragic confrontation during a pivotal battle between the Greeks and Turks. It changes the course of history.

The movie also stars Raza Jaffrey, Patti LuPone, Christopher Plummer and Billy Zane.

The Sizzle Reel shows a special screening of the movie. We meet the director, the actors, and those who know about this time in history.

“After” Trailer, Clips, Posters & Interview with Todd

based on a book, drama, romance, , , ,

Bad boys are sexy, but be careful.

Tessa, played by Josephine Langford and directed by Jenny Gage, Anna Todd’s best-selling novel After comes to the silver screen in this soft-porn movie.

After the novel became a publishing sensation on the social storytelling platform Wattpad. As a movie, the visceral and inner thoughts might be hard to convey. The story follows Tessa, a good girl, a dedicated student, and a dutiful daughter.

She is also a loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart. When she enters her first semester in college with only positive and grand ideas for her future, her cocoon world opens up when she meets the dark and mysterious Hardin Scott, played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin.

Tessa is drawn to Hardin as a magnetic, brooding rebel who makes her question all she thought she knew about herself and what she wants out of life.

If you haven’t read the book, you can tell by the movie trailer that Hardin is a dark and tragic character – a naughty boy. The story makes going to college a whole new way of getting an education.

Do you recognize Hero Fiennes Tiffin? He played another bad boy in a top-rated franchise—the young Tom Riddle in the 6th Harry Potter movie.

The young-adult romance stars Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals, and Selma Blair.
Shane Paul McGhie has a decent role and is starring with Taraji P. Henson in What Men Want.

It looks like Gage worked her way up in the film industry as a production assistant to a documentarian, and now her directorial debut with After.

The five movie clips are the story, and one has a theme song. Enjoy them while they last.

After is the first movie, and there are others you’ll find on Amazon.

I include an interview with the author of the online and celebrated book. I don’t understand all the sites or terminology she uses to describe how the book After became an Internet sensation. Anna Todd seems low-key and calm about her success in bringing Tessa and Hardin together.

“The Hummingbird Project” Trailer, Clips & Poster

drama, suspense, , , ,

Written and directed by Kim Nguyen, The Hummingbird Project focuses on the ruthless drive in making billions of dollars in the digital world.

The story follows two cousins from New York. Vincent, played by Jesse Eisenberg, and Anton, played by Alexander Skarsgard, are trying to be game changers in the high-stakes game of High-Frequency Trading, which is computer-controlled trading with high-volume in a very short timespan. Winnings are measured in milliseconds.

The cousin’s dream is to build a straight fiber-optic cable line between Kansas and New Jersey, making them millions. But nothing is as easy as it seems on paper because of the cousin’s unforeseen stumbling blocks.

Anton is the brains, Vincent is the hustler, and together they push each other and everyone around them to the breaking point with their foolish and impractical adventure.

Constantly riding their backs and pushing them their old boss Eva Torres, played by Salma Hayek. She is a powerful, intoxicating and manipulative trader and she stops at nothing to come between them and beat them at their own game.

Nguyen is best known for writing and directing War Witch, which follows a child soldier coerced into a civil war in Africa and is claimed to be a witch. 

Watch the movie trailer and feel the silliness and intensity of the movie.

Skarsgard is so good to watch on film. He takes on the role and becomes that person using nuances of tone and unspoken expressions. He stars in The Aftermath playing a German after WW II when his country is rebuilding. He is great in that role as well playing against Kiera Knightley.

The following clips tell the story in a roundabout way. The script movies along at a nice pace and the actors eat it up. The clip where he tells her what he is trying to achieve explains the reason for the title of the movie.

“Yesterday” Trailers, Interviews, Featurettes & Poster

comedy, drama, music, , , , ,

Directed by Danny Boyle, Yesterday follows Jack Malik, played by Himesh Patel, who is the only guy who remembers the Beatles songs. He turns the world on its ear because he plays The Beatle songs and everyone thinks he wrote them.

The Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming are available. The movie is worth seeing because it is unique and entertaining.

Boyle is an Oscar winner for the popular movie Slumdog Millionaire. He also directed the first Trainspotting movie. Together with Richard Curtis, screenwriter of Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually and Notting Hill, comes a rock-n-roll comedy about music, dreams, friendship, and the long and winding road that leads to the love of your life. 

Jack is a struggling singer-songwriter in a tiny English seaside town whose dreams of fame are rapidly fading, despite the fierce devotion and support of his childhood best friend, Ellie, played by Lily James. After experiencing a totally off the wall bicycle accident during a mysterious global blackout, Jack wakes up to discover that The Beatles have never existed … and he finds himself with a very complicated problem.

Everyone says he wrote the songs by The Beatles. He can’t believe how fast he becomes super-famous. Performing songs by the greatest band in history to a world that has never heard them, and with a little help from his steel-hearted American agent, Debra, played by Kate McKinnon.

But as his star rises, he risks losing Ellie — the one person who always believed in him. With the door between his old life and his new closing, Jack will need to get back to where he once belonged and prove that all you need is love. 

Yesterday looks like a great movie. Teaming up Boyle and Curtis is a dynamite formula that just might draw a large box office and give the both of them accolades they deserve.

The interview with Richard Curtis and Ed Sheeran is spectacular. Curtis is one of the best romantic-comedy writers ever. It is so good to see him in this interview.

The featurette show the whole spectrum of the movie. It looks like so much fun to watch.

The next four clips takes on the whirlwind trip of what happens when everyone except Jack remembers The Beatles. Cute, funny, and irrestiable is the best way to describe this movie.

The movie featurette is so much fun to watch because you get to see how Himesh prepared himself to sing The Beatles’ songs.

The final trailer arrived on the streets and it looks amazing. The problem is the trailer tells us the story but we have to see the movie to know what happens at the end. That will be the toughest – the third act. Richard Curtis writes endearing third acts with the story truly ending. Meaning no cliffhangers or open-ended finalises where the audience decides what happens.

The featurette shows us how Curtis and Boyle worked together to make an ideal romantic/comedy movie.