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Written by Ron B
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Saturday, 01 September 2007 |
 Birthday Girl - DVD cover | I watch anything with Nicole Kidman in it, so that is why I grabbed this DVD. She demonstrates her acting abilities really well, but it is not a great movie for a number of reasons - but the main one in my view is the unbelievability of the story. | John (Ben Chaplin) is bank worker who owns his own home in St Albans in England, but has been less successful with his love life - so he resorts to internet matchmaking. Nadia (Nicole Kidman) arrives, but unlike the promises, does not speak English. She tries to make up for that by communcating sexually. For me, one of the funniest scenes is when John goes through a performance assesment at the bank. Anyone who has done these things at work will smile here - unless it hits too close. As the story unfolds it turns from comedy to drama - but the weakness of the script and the direction lets it down. |  Brithday Girl - the stars |
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 01 September 2007 )
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Written by Ron B
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Thursday, 23 August 2007 |
 The Namesake DVD cover | The Namesake In the same way that an artist can use a series of simple strokes to sketch a complex work, this movies uses a sequence of unremarkable moments in a family's life to sketch a bigger picture of their relationships, tensions and hopes as they cling to some of their traditions while also accepting some inveitable changes of their "new world". | We start with with Ashoke (the father) as a student on a train in India reading Gogol - then it crashes. Next we see the arranged marriage to Ashima, the shift to New York, the birth of Gogol (aka Nikhil) and later his sister Sonia (who does not feature much). As Gogol grows he wants to change name and later discovers more about his father's choice of the name. The names drama relfects the bigger picture of the gap between two cultures. Gogol's first girlfriend is a rich blonde American (Max). Then the early sudden death of his father jolts him back to a closer ties with his Bengali heritage, a break with Max and then an unsuccessful marriage to a second generation Bengali beauty, Moushimi. It's a totally absorbing movie that I thoroughly enjoyed. This photo shows Gogl introducing his first girlfriend Maxine to his mother. A great bonus is the beauty of the Taj Mahal seen during a family visit when Gogol is just finishing high school. | |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 23 August 2007 )
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Written by Ron B
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Wednesday, 29 August 2007 |
 Life Support - Queen Latifah as Ana | Life Support is an HBO movie that portrays the life of Ana who we are told is still trudging around Brooklyn handing out condoms and AIDS literature. The style is like a documentary, and while the subject matter of AIDS and drug addiction is dark - this films manages to keep a balance and keep us drawn in. | Ana contracted AIDS when on drugs and at that time allowed here daughter to be raised by her mother. Now she is off the drugs and actively working for AIDS prevention. She and her daughter work together to try and find Amare (a gay junkie), and while Amare dies, mother and daughter are brought closer. The story line is quite simple but it works.
|  Life Support - remembrance balloons |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 29 August 2007 )
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Written by Ron B
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Sunday, 19 August 2007 |
 Being Julia DVD cover | Being JuliaWhen I selected this DVD I was thinking Jeremy Irons, and perhaps Somerset Maugham. But the real star is Annette Bening - and she was rewarded with a Golden Globe. | I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, where the West End theatre scene of 1938 London comes to life. We are constantly prompted to ask - is she acting or is this the "real" Julia. In the end when the "real" Julia has elaborate plans for revenge, it is conveyed through acting on stage.
|  Being Julia - Annette Denng and Shaun Evans |
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 19 August 2007 )
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Written by Ron B
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Tuesday, 28 August 2007 |
 DVD cover - The Treatment | Jake Singer is and English eacher at a Manhatten schoold for rich kids. He has recently lost one girlfriend and is seeing Dr Morales, the Freudian analyst who we meet during sessions and also when he intrudes into Jakes mind giving "advice". Jake meets Allegra, a wealthy mother of one of his students and a relationship with many complexities develops | We are reminded of Woody Allen movies, but the characters are no so neurotic and the difficulties for the relationship come from issues that seem more "real", like an interfering old father and the adoption difficulties with Allegra's daughter. I enjoyed Ian Holm as the analyst, and overall found the movie engrossing - albeit a little slow at times. | |
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