Monday, March 22, 2010

Shall We Dance.



John Clark is a man with a wonderful job, a charming wife and a loving family, who nevertheless feels that something is missing as he makes his way every day through the city. Each evening on his commute home, John sees a beautiful woman, staring with a lost expression through the window of a dance studio. Haunted by her gaze, John impulsively jumps off the train one night, and signs up for dance lessons, hoping to meet her. At first, it seems like a mistake.

His teacher turns out to be not Paulina, but the older Miss Mitzi, and John proves just as clumsy as his equally clueless classmates on the dance-floor. Even worse, when he does meet Paulina, she icily tells John she hopes he has come to the studio to seriously study dance and not to look for a date.

But, as his lessons continue, John falls in love with dancing. Keeping his new obsession from his family and co-workers, John feverishly trains for Chicago's biggest dance competition. His friendship with Paulina blossoms, as his enthusiasm rekindles her own lost passion for dance. But the more time John spends away from home, the more his wife becomes suspicious. With his secret about to be revealed, John will have to do some fancy footwork to keep his dream going and realize what it is he really yearns for.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Please Vote for me 2007



A class of third graders at Evergreen Primary School in Wuhan, China have been asked to elect a class monitor. The teachers Traditionally pick a student. The class monitor holds a powerful position, helping to control the students, keeping them on task and dealing out punishment to those who disobey. The teacher has chosen three candidates, Luo Lei, the current class monitor, Cheng Cheng, and Xu Xiaofei. Each candidate is asked to choose two assistants to help with his or her campaign.

To prove that they are right for the position of the all monitor. Each of the candidates must perform in three events. First is a talent show, where each candidate plays an instrument or sings a song. Second is a debate, in which the candidates bring up personal qualifications of their opponent.And finally, each candidate must give a speech, an opportunity to appeal directly to classmates and ask for their votes.

Each candidate is coached at home by his or her parents. Each one of the candidates are pushed and supported to memorize and continue the duties as required. Each child feels pressured and scared because of all the attention and work of the election. Tears were most likely present through out the movie.

CAST:
Luo Lei
Cheng Cheng
Xu Xiaofei
Staff members and students of Evergreen Primary School in Wuhan, China

Betrayal (1983)



Betrayal is Harold Pinter's film adaptation of his semi-autobiographical 1978 play Betrayal. The 1983 film was produced by Sam Spiegel and directed by David Jones. It was critically well received, praised notably by New York Times film critic Vincent Canby and by Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert.

Pinter based the documentry on the clandestine extramarital affair in which he engaged for seven years, from 1962 to 1969, with television presenter Joan Bakewell, who was married to the producer and director Michael Bakewell, while Pinter was married to actress Vivien Merchant.

The storyline of Betrayal follows significant moments in the seven-year extramarital affair of art gallery owner Emma (Patricia Hodge) with literary agent Jerry (Jeremy Irons), the best friend of her husband Robert (Ben Kingsley), a London publisher. With titles such as "Two years earlier" and "Three years earlier," nine sequences are shown in reverse chronological order with Emma and Jerry meeting for the first time at the conclusion of the film.

In his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert writes:
“ The absolutely brilliant thing about Betrayal is that it is a love story told backward. There is a lot in this movie that is wonderful -- the performances, the screenplay by Harold Pinter -- but what makes it all work is the structure... The Betrayal structure strips away all artifice. It shows, heartlessly, that the very capacity for love itself is sometimes based on betraying not only other loved ones, but even ourselves."

CAST:

Jeremy Irons ... Jerry
Ben Kingsley ... Robert
Patricia Hodge ... Emma
Avril Elgar ... Mrs. Banks
Ray Marioni ... Waiter
Caspar Norman ... Sam
Chloe Billington... Charlotte Age 5
Hannah Davies ... Charlotte Age 9
Michael König ... Ned Age 2
Alexander McIntosh... Ned Age 5

Gran Torino



In Michigan,a grumpy widower named Walt Kowalski is a Korean War veteran. He is very prejudice and makes many dderogatory comments and jokes. He just lost his beloved wife Dorothy. He is one of the last Caucasian Americans in his neighborhood and does not have good relationship with his sons and their families When an Asian family moved next door a boy named Thao Vang Lor is being bothered by his cousin Smokie to join his Hmong gang. Thoa then is assigned to steal the Gran Torino of Walt as part of his initiation in the gang.

However, he is surprised by the old man and his traditional family feels ashamed with the incident. Later Walt saves Thao first and his sister Sue Lor from gangs and he has the gratitude of his next door neighbors and the neighborhood. On the day of his birthday, Walt is invited by Sue to join her family reunion and he begins a relationship with his neighbors, helping Thao to get a job.

However, he realizes that the Hmong gang disturbs the neighborhood and after an attack of the gang, Walt decides to take action in this matter emotionally and realizes that he cares about his Asian neighbors. Walt always seems to come to the rescue. No matter where Sue and Thoa are at. While Sue was on a "date", she and her date are ambushed by a group of males that are verbally harassing them and walt comes to the rescue with a gun in his hand.

CAST:

Clint Eastwood ... Walt Kowalski
Christopher Carley... Father Janovich
Bee Vang ... Thao Vang Lor
Ahney Her ... Sue Lor
Brian Haley ... Mitch Kowalski
Geraldine Hughes ... Karen Kowalsk
Dreama Walker ... Ashley Kowalski
Brian Howe ... Steve Kowalski
John Carroll Lynch ... Barber Martin
William Hill ... Tim Kennedy
Brooke Chia Thao ... Vu
Chee Thao ... Grandma
Choua Kue ... Youa
Scott Eastwood ... Trey (as Scott Reeves)
Xia Soua Chang ... Kor Khue

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Like Stars On Earth



Ishaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate; colors, fish, dogs and kites are just not important in the world of adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks and neatness. And Ishaan just cannot seem to get anything right in class.

When he gets into far more trouble than his parents can handle, he is packed off to a boarding school to be disciplined. Things are no different at his new school, and Ishaan has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family.

One day a new art teacher came into the boarding school, Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan), who helps the students in a energetic way. He also works at a mentally disabked day care center. He breaks all the rules of how things are done by asking them to think, dream and imagine, and all the children respond with enthusiasm, all except Ishaan. Nikumbh soon realizes that Ishaan is very unhappy, and he sets out to discover that Ishaan has delexia. With time, patience and care, he ultimately helps Ishaan find himself.

CAST:
Darsheel Safary ... Ishaan Awasthi
Aamir Khan ... Ram Shankar Nikumbh
Tanay Chheda ... Rajan Damodaran
Sachet Engineer ... Yohan Awasthi
Tisca Chopra ... Maya Awasthi
Vipin Sharma ... Nandkishore Awasthi

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Chak De India!



Kabir Khan lives a middle-class lifestyle along with his widowed mom in Delhi, India, and is the Captain of the Indian men's hockey team. He fails to score at the last tournament resulting in Pakistan winning the World Cup amidst allegations that he was more inclined toward his opponents due to his religion. Kabir and his mom move away and virtually disappear for seven years. Thereafter Kabir surfaces to be a Coach for the women's hockey team, consisting of 16 players from all over India, some of who do not communicate well. Kabir's disciplinarian style ends up offending the players, lead by the militant Bindia Naik, who decide not to participate unless he resigns amidst allegations that he is having an affair with soon to-be married Vidya Sharma, who he appoints as the new Captain. Things change after a brawl with eve-teasers at the local McDonald's, the girls accept Kabir, however, the Chair of the Indian Women Hockey Association, Tripathi, decides to pull out of the World Cup but decides to give them a shot after Kabir challenges the men's team. The women lose by a goal but their performance compels the Association to revise their decision and dispatch them to Melbourne, Australia. In the very first match against six-time winning team of Australia, the Indian team lose 7-0 to, but manage to struggle back to the semi-finals after defeating Great Britain, Argentina, and Korea. On the eve of the final match Kabir will meet secretly with two rival players, Preety Sabharwal (who is engaged to be married to Cricket Team Captain, Abhimanyu Singh), and Komal Chautala, and during this meeting he will tell them that two of his hockey players will be playing for the Australians.

CASTS:
Shahrukh Khan ... Kabir Khan
Vidya Malvade ... Vidya Sharma
Tanya Abrol ... Balbir Kaur
Chitrashi Rawat ... Komal Chautala
Arya Menon ... Gul Iqbal
Seema Azmi ... Rani Dispotta
Nisha Nair ... Soimoi Kerketa
Sandia Furtado ... Nethra Reddy
Masochon V. Zimik... Molly Zimik
Kimi Laldawla ... Mary Ralte
Shilpa Shukla ... Bindia Naik
Shubhi Mehta ... Gunjun Lakhani
Anaitha Nair ... Aliya Bose
Sagarika Ghatge ... Preety Sabharwal
Kimberly Miranda... Rachna Prasad