Monthly Archives: July 2011

Ben-Hur (1959)

July 24, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by William Wyler, Judah Ben-Hur lives as a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1st century. Together with the new governor his old friend Messala arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions. At first they are happy to meet after a long time but their different politic views separate them. During the welcome parade a roof tile falls down from Judah’s house and injures the governor. Although Messala knows they are not guilty, he sends Judah to the galleys and throws his mother and sister into prison.

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W. (I) (2008)

July 24, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Oliver Stone, Biographical take on the life of George W. Bush, one of the most controversial president in USA history, chronicling from 1967 to his wild and carefree days in college, to his military service, to his governorship of Texas and oil businesses, leading to his 2000 candidacy for president, his first turbulent four years to his 2004 re-election campaign.

Jaws (1975)

July 20, 2011 1 Comment

Directed by Steven Spielberg, Martin Brody is the new police chief of Amity, an island resort town somewhere in New England. He has a wife named Ellen, and two sons named Michael and Sean. On a Summer morning, Brody is called to the beach, where the mangled body of Summer vacationer Chrissie Watkins has washed ashore. The medical examiner tells Brody that it could have been a shark that killed Watkins. Mayor Larry Vaughn, who is desperate to not lose the money that will be brought in by 4th of July tourists, wants Brody to say Watkins’s death was caused by a motorboat propeller instead of a shark, because the thought of a shark in Amity’s waters would drive tourists away from Amity. It looks like Vaughn is a mayor who puts money ahead of people’s lives. Shark expert Matt Hooper believes Watkins was killed by a shark.

Bride & Prejudice (2004)

July 19, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Gurinder Chadha, A Bollywood update of Jane Austen’s classic tale, in which Mrs. Bakshi is eager to find suitable husbands for her four unmarried daughters. When the rich single gentlemen Balraj and Darcy come to visit, the Bakshis have high hopes, though circumstance and boorish opinions threaten to get in the way of romance.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)

July 19, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by William Dieterle, King Louis XI is a wise and old king and Frollo is the Chief Justice. Frollo gazes on the gypsy girl, Esmeralda, in the church during Fool’s Day and sends Quasimoto to catch her. Quasimoto, with the girl, is captured by Phoebus, Captain of the Guards, who frees the girl. The courts sentence Quasimoto to be flogged, and the only one who will give him water while he is tied in the square is Esmeralda. Later, at a party of nobles, Esmeralda again meets both Frollo, who is bewitched by her, and Phoebus. When Phoebus is stabbed to death, Esmeralda is accused of the murder, convicted by the court and sentenced to hang. Clopin, King of the Beggars, Gringoire the Husband of Esmeralda, and Quasimoto, the bellringer.

To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)

July 19, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Beeban Kidron, After jointly winning a local drag queen pageant in New York City, Noxeema Jackson and Vida Boheme win the right and are given the round trip airfare to compete in the Drag Queen of America pageant in Hollywood, California. Noxeema sees herself as the next Dorothy Dandridge, who bucked the trend of most black American movie actresses of her time by never playing the slave house maid. Vida’s style reflects her past of growing up in upper class suburban Pennsylvania. One of their fellow New York contestants, Chi-Chi Rodriguez, is a straight-talking but naive and inexperienced drag queen. Seeing that Chi-Chi needs some drag queen confidence (despite her bravada), Vida and a reluctant Noxeema decide to cash in their plane tickets and buy an older model Cadillac convertible and drive to Hollywood with Chi-Chi. Their drive takes them through much of the country where alternate lifestyles are less tolerated.

Young Guns II (1990)

July 19, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Geoff Murphy, Billy “The Kid” and his gang is wanted by the law, and when “Doc” Scurlock and Chavez are captured, Billy has to save them. They escape and set south for Mexico. “Let’s hire a thief to catch one”, John S. Chisum said, so he paid Pat Garrett, one of Billy’s former partners, $1000 for the killing of William H. Bonney.

Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

July 14, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly,  In 1927, Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont are a famous on-screen romantic pair. Lina, however, mistakes the on-screen romance for real love. Don has worked hard to get where he is today, with his former partner Cosmo. When Don and Lina’s latest film is transformed into a musical, Don has the perfect voice for the songs. But Lina – well, even with the best efforts of a diction coach, they still decide to dub over her voice. Kathy Selden is brought in, an aspiring actress, and while she is working on the movie, Don falls in love with her.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)

July 14, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Joel Zwick, Toula Portokalos is 30, Greek, and works in her family’s restaurant, Dancing Zorba’s, in Chicago. All her father Gus wants is for her to get married to a nice Greek boy. But Toula is looking for more in life. Her mother convinces Gus to let her take some computer classes at college (making him think it’s his idea). With those classes under her belt, she then takes over her aunt’s travel agency (again making her father think it’s his idea). She meets Ian Miller, a high school English teacher, WASP, and dreamboat she had made a fool of herself over at the restaurant; they date secretly for a while before her family finds out. Her father is livid over her dating a non-Greek.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

July 12, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Sergio Leone, Epic story of a mysterious stranger with a harmonica who joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad. Story of a young woman, Mrs. McBain, who moves from New Orleans to frontier Utah, on the very edge of the American West. She arrives to find her new husband and family slaughtered, but by who? The prime suspect, coffee-lover Cheyenne, befriends her and offers to go after the real killer, assassin gang leader Frank, in her honor. He is accompanied by Harmonica on his quest to get even.

Fiddler on the Roof (1971)

July 12, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Norman Jewison, Film version of the stage musical, based on the stories of Sholom Aleichem. Tevye the Milkman is a Jewish peasant in pre-Revolutionary Russia, coping with the day-to-day problems of ‘shtetl’ life, his Jewish traditions, In pre-revolutionary Russia, a poor Jewish peasant must contend with marrying off his three daughters while antisemitic sentiment threatens his home.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

July 12, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Michael Bay, The interstellar war between the Autobots and Decepticons shifts into overdrive following the discovery of Sentinel Prime . Only a precious handful of officials in the government and military realize that the 1969 moon mission was the result of an event that threatened profound repercussions for the entire human race. When the Apollo 11 astronauts discover the wrecked remains of Sentinel Prime on the surface of our natural satellite, they bring him back to planet Earth. But Sentinel Prime wasn’t the only alien object on the moon, and when a malevolent new enemy makes its presence known, only the Autobots can save humankind from certain destruction.

Submit by Prime.

Walk the Line (2005)

July 12, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by James Mangold, While growing up in the Great Depression era, Johnny Cash takes an interest in music and eventually moves out of his Arkansas town to join the air force in Germany. While there, he buys his first guitar and writes his own music, and proposes to Vivian. When they got married, they settled in Tennessee and with a daughter, he supported the family by being a salesman. He discovers a man who can pursue his dreams and ends up getting a record with the boys. Shortly after that, he was on a short tour, promoting his songs, and meets the already famous and beautiful June Carter. Then as they get on the long-term tours with June, the boys, and Jerry Lee Lewis, they have this unspoken relationship that grows. But when June leaves the tour because of his behavior, he was a drug addict. His marriage was also falling apart.

Unforgiven (1992)

July 9, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Clint Eastwood, The town of Big Whisky is full of normal people trying to lead quiet lives. Cowboys try to make a living. Sheriff ‘Little Bill’ tries to build a house and keep a heavy-handed order. The town whores just try to get by.Then a couple of cowboys cut up a whore. Unsatisfied with Bill’s justice, the prostitutes put a bounty on the cowboys. The bounty attracts a young gun billing himself as ‘The Schofield Kid’, and aging killer William Munny. Munny reformed for his young wife, and has been raising crops and two children in peace. But his wife is gone. Farm life is hard. And Munny is no good at it. So he calls his old partner Ned, saddles his ornery nag, and rides off to kill one more time, blurring the lines between heroism and villainy, man and myth.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

July 8, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Steven Spielberg, Opening with the Allied invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, members of the 2nd Ranger Battalion under Cpt. Miller fight ashore to secure a beachhead. Amidst the fighting, two brothers are killed in action. Earlier in New Guinea, a third brother is KIA. Their mother, Mrs. Ryan, is to receive all three of the grave telegrams on the same day. The United States Army Chief of Staff, George C. Marshall, is given an opportunity to alleviate some of her grief when he learns of a fourth brother, Private James Ryan, and decides to send out 8 men to find him and bring him back home to his mother.

Aladdin (1992)

July 8, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, Aladdin is a street-urchin who lives in a large and busy town long ago with his faithful monkey friend Abu. When Princess Jasmine gets tired of being forced to remain in the palace that overlooks the city, she sneaks out to the marketplace, where she accidentally meets Aladdin. Under the orders of the evil Jafar (the sultan’s advisor), Aladdin is thrown in jail and becomes caught up in Jafar’s plot to rule the land with the aid of a mysterious lamp. Legend has it that only a person who is a “diamond in the rough” can retrieve the lamp from the Cave of Wonders. Aladdin might fight that description, but that’s not enough to marry the princess.

Thelma & Louise (1991)

July 6, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Ridley Scott, Thelma and Louise are accidental outlaws on a desperate flight across the Southwest after a tragic incident at a roadside bar. With a determined detective on their trail, a sweet-talking hitchhiker in their path and a string of crimes in their wake, their journey alternates between hilarious, high-speed thrill ride and empowering personal odyssey even as the law closes in.

1776 (1972)

July 6, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Peter H. Hunt, The film version of the Broadway musical, In the days leading up to July 4, 1776, Continental Congressmen John Adams and Benjamin Franklin coerce Thomas Jefferson into writing the Declaration of Independence as a delaying tactic as they try to persuade the American colonies to support a resolution on independence. As George Washington sends depressing messages describing one military disaster after another, the businessmen, landowners and slave holders in Congress all stand in the way of the Declaration, and a single “nay” vote will forever end the question of independence.

Ratatouille (2007)

July 4, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava, A rat named Remy dreams of becoming a great French chef despite his family’s wishes and the obvious problem of being a rat in a decidedly rodent-phobic profession. When fate places Remy in the sewers of Paris, he finds himself ideally situated beneath a restaurant made famous by his culinary hero, Auguste Gusteau. Despite the apparent dangers of being an unlikely – and certainly unwanted – visitor in the kitchen of a fine French restaurant, Remy’s passion for cooking soon sets into motion a hilarious and exciting rat race that turns the culinary world of Paris upside down.

X-Men: First Class (2011)

July 1, 2011 1 Comment

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-MEN.

Room in Rome (2010)

July 1, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Julio Medem, A hotel room in the center of Rome serves as the setting for two young and recently acquainted women to have a physical adventure that touches their very souls.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

July 1, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by George Roy Hill, Butch and Sundance are the two leaders of the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. Butch is all ideas, Sundance is all action and skill. The west is becoming civilized and when Butch and Sundance rob a train once too often, a special posse begins trailing them no matter where they run. Over rock, through towns, across rivers, the group is always just behind them. When they finally escape through sheer luck, Butch has another idea, “Let’s go to Bolivia”. Based on the exploits of the historical characters.

Pearl Harbor (2001)

July 1, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Michael Bay, On a sleepy Sunday morning in December as children played and families prayed, squadrons of Japanese war planes screamed across the skies of a Hawaiian paradise and launched a surprise attack on the U.S. armed forces at Pearl Harbor–the infamous day that jolted America from peaceful isolationism to total war and altered the course of world history. The story focuses on the life changing events surrounding December 7, 1941 and the war’s devastating impact on two daring young pilots–one from the U.S. Army Air Corps, the other from the British Royal Air Force–and a beautiful dedicated nurse, with whom both of them fall in love. It is a tale of catastrophic defeat, heroic victory, personal courage and overwhelming love set against a backdrop of wartime action.

Footloose (1984)

July 1, 2011 1 Comment

Directed by Herbert Ross, Classic tale of teen rebellion and repression features a delightful combination of dance choreography and realistic and touching performances. When teenager Ren and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small town in the West, he’s in for a real case of culture shock. Though he tries hard to fit in, the streetwise Ren can’t quite believe he’s living in a place where rock music and dancing are illegal. There is one small pleasure, however: Ariel, a troubled but lovely blonde with a jealous boyfriend. and a Bible-thumping minister, who is responsible for keeping the town dance-free. Ren and his classmates want to do away with this ordinance, especially since the senior prom is around the corner, but only Ren has the courage to initiate a battle to abolish the outmoded ban and revitalize the spirit of the repressed townspeople.

The Big Country (1958)

July 1, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by William Wyler,  A New Englander arrives in the Old West, where he becomes embroiled in a feud between two families over a valuable patch of land. Retired, wealthy sea Captain Jame McKay arrives in the vast expanse of the West to marry fiancée Pat Terrill. McKay is a man whose values and approach to life are a mystery to the ranchers and ranch foreman Steve Leech takes an immediate dislike to him. Pat is spoiled, selfish and controlled by her wealthy father, Major Henry Terrill. The Major is involved in a ruthless civil war, over watering rights for cattle, with a rough hewn clan led by Rufus Hannassey.

Hairspray (2007)

July 1, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Adam Shankman, Tracy Turnblad, an overweight teenager with all the right moves, is obsessed with the Corny Collins Show. Every day after school, she and her best friend Penny run home to watch the show and drool over the hot Link Larkin, much to Tracy’s mother Edna’s dismay. After one of the stars of the show leaves, Corny Collins holds auditions to see who will be the next person on the Corny Collins show. With all of the help of her friend Seaweed, Tracy makes it on the show, angering the evil dance queen Amber Von Tussle and her mother Velma. Tracy then decides that it’s not fair that the black kids can only dance on the Corny Collins Show once a month, and with the help of Seaweed, Link, Penny, Motormouth Maybelle, her father and Edna, she’s going to integrate the show.

Dead Man (1995)

July 1, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Jim Jarmusch, Dead Man is the story of a young man’s journey, both physically and spiritually, into very unfamiliar terrain. William Blake travels to the extreme western frontiers of America sometime in the 2nd half of the 19th century. Lost and badly wounded, he encounters a very odd, outcast Native American, named “Nobody,” who believes Blake is actually the dead English poet of the same name. The story, with Nobody’s help, leads William Blake through situations that are in turn comical and violent. Contrary to his nature, circumstances transform Blake into a hunted outlaw, a killer, and a man whose physical existence is slowly slipping away. Thrown into a world that is cruel and chaotic, his eyes are opened to the fragility that defines the realm of the living.

La Bamba (1987)

July 1, 2011 1 Comment

Directed by Luis Valdez, This is the true story Ritchie Valens a young rock & roll singer who tragically died in an aircrash at the age of 17. The film follows Ritchie from his days in Paicoma, California where he in and his family makes a meagre living working at plantations to his rise as a star. The film also focus on Richies friendship and rivalry with his older brother Bob and his relationship with Donna.

The Bone Collector (1999)

July 1, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Phillip Noyce, Lincoln Rhyme, a New York City detective specializing in forensics, was once the country’s leading criminologist. Following a near-fatal injury in the line of duty, Rhyme is left bed-bound, his arms and legs useless, and with little will to live. Feisty, street-smart policewoman Amelia Donaghy is only in her early twenties but already feels aged beyond her years. On the eve of being transferred to a desk job, her last call as a street cop leads her to a crime scene and the discovery of a gruesomely-mutilated corpse. After taking a look at the physical evidence file and the photos therein, Rhyme is intrigued with the case. On the first day of her new job, Rhyme has Amelia pulled against her wishes and reassigned to assist him on the case. An unlikely pairing at first, Donaghy must become Rhyme’s eyes, ears and legs, scouring horrific crime scenes for evidence as they race against the clock to prevent the next hideous act of this brutal killer.

Inside Man (2006)

July 1, 2011 Leave a comment

Directed by Spike Lee, From a cell, a man tells us he has planned the perfect bank robbery; he invites us to watch. An efficient gang enters a Manhattan bank, locks the doors, and takes hostages. They work deliberately, without haste. Detective Frazier is assigned to negotiate, but half his mind is occupied with the corruption charges he is facing. The bank’s president has something to protect in a safe deposit box, so he brings in Madaline, a high-power broker with a hidden agenda. With an army of police surrounding the bank, the thief, the cop, and the plutocrat’s fixer enter high-stakes negotiations. Why are the robbers asking for a plane, if they are so competent and they know they won’t get one?

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