What makes men cry?

Entertainment Weekly asked its males readers to admit which movies made them cry, here are what the most popular results revealed:

§ The Shawshank Redemption
§ Armageddon
§ Chick Flicks (Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias)
§ Field of Dreams
§ Dog Movies (Old Yeller, My Dog Skip)
§ Good Will Hunting
§ Brian’s Song
§ Big Fish
§ Backdraft
§ Hoosiers
§ Hotel Rwanda
§ Saving Private Ryan

I myself have cried at some of these movies but I have my own list. Some I admit are silly but I will provide a reason for each selection. These movies have this way of just turning me into a blubbering mess. Which ones make the waterworks go out of control for you?

1) Schindler’s List –I watched this movie twice and it affected me so heavily, that I just can’t bring myself to watch it again. It basically puts my heart in a blender and pulverizes it.
2) Terms of Endearment – that scene where Shirley Maclaine realizes her daughter has died is heart wrenching. This movie taps into that love/hate relationship we daughters all have with our mothers.
3) A.I. – this might seem like a strange choice but it’s not, especially if you’re a mother. It taps into that motherly instinct inside most women and just rips it out. Again, one of these movies I watched once and can’t watch again.
4) Cocoon – makes me think of my grandparents and how sad it is to get old and watch everyone around you dying.
5) The Passion of the Christ – awful, awful experience. I literally ached inside while watching this movie from the deep pain I felt.
6) Forrest Gump – He loses the two most important women in his life back to back. The part where he asks if his son is smart or stupid like him – major tearjerker!
7) Hotel Rwanda – I’m with the men on this one. Absolutely heart-breaking.
8) Splash – Now, I know this sounds like a crazy choice but let me just say, this movie is one of my childhood favorites and yet it still affects me to this day. I guess it’s the whole concept of love seeing past physical differences and overcoming obstacles to be together.
9) Bambi and Dumbo – Two scenes kill me in these Disney favorites: when Bambi’s mother gets shot to death by a hunter and when Dumbo is being swayed gently in his mother’s trunk who’s behind bars at the circus.
10) Beaches – Any woman will tell you that this is the ultimate tearjerker of all time. When you combine the themes friendship and terminal illness, you have got a bonafide cry-fest on your hands.

Source: Entertainment Weekly http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20015186,00.html

Deconstructing Michael

What if Michael Moore got a taste of his own medicine and the camera was turned on him? What if information leaked out that the film that put him on the map, “Roger and Me”, was actually a deception? That’s what this documentary is all about. Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine were admirers of Michael Moore. They appreciated what he did for documentary films in general and wanted to sit him down and pick his brain for a while. But, that was not as easy as they thought. He dodged their attempts at an interview in very much the same way people dodge Moore when asked sensitive questions. The documentary “Manufacturing Dissent” focuses on Moore’s background and the tactics that made him so famous. One big surprise was unveiled while doing research for the film. Roger Smith, the former chairman of GM and the evasive subject of the film “Roger and Me”, did actually speak with Moore but the interview was conveniently withheld from the final cut of the film and never talked about. That was the whole premise of the film and it turns out it was staged.

Also, when they tried to interview him, they were constantly rejected and when they tried to sit at his speech for 'Fahrenheit 9/11’, they were kicked out by Moore’s crew. The premiere of the film on Saturday in Toronto was very peaceful and went smoothly, without any protests or heckles from fans of Moore. Still, after all the trouble this documentarian husband/wife team went through, they still feel that Michael Moore has done an indelible service to documentary filmmakers everywhere. He made documentaries interesting and popular and nowadays, they are very profitable at the box office. Just look at Fahrenheit 9/11 and An Inconvenient Truth.

Source: CNN - http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/13/film.manufacturing.dissent.ap/index.html

Grindhouse!

I am so excited for this! I am a huge Tarantino and Rodriguez fan. Love their style and their vision. This latest concoction is a tribute to grind house exploitation B-horror movies from the 70’s and 80’s. It’s a double feature movie called Death Proof/Planet Terror. The advertisement for this movie is so brilliant. I would have loved to design something along these lines. It has the look of an old 1970’s horror movie poster, a la Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It features zombies and a hot Rose McGowan with a gun for a leg. Can you get any cooler than that? It’s set to open April 6th and I will be first in line for this.

In "Death Proof," a psycho named Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) stalks and kills beautiful women with his car. In "Planet Terror," a small-town sheriffs' department has to deal with an outbreak of murderous, infected people called "sickos." A gun-legged stripper named Cherry (Rose McGowan) and her martial arts-wielding boyfriend (Freddy Rodriguez) take on the zombie army.

Source: Internet Movie Database

Official Website: http://www.grindhousemovie.net/

Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462322/trailers-screenplay-E31837-10-2

Passport To the Land of Almodovar

You know full well when you’re watching a Pedro Almodovar movie. His style is quite unique and dark – something I like to call “Dark Art”. His main characters are typically junkies, murderers, prostitutes, transvestites and predatory priests. The stories are always complex and intertwined with one another. They are as engaging as any reality show on television today. Except, you grow to care about these people and their acting is so raw and real, you’d think you were watching a documentary.

"Viva Pedro: The Almodovar Collection" contains eight of his best films. His focus in many of his films is women. He loves to showcase their independence and their depth. The female characters are usually a lot more developed than his male characters and you become invested in them much more. What you can gather from Almodovar as a director by way of his films, aside from his true genius, is his devotion to an actor who he loves and respects because he uses many of the same people such as Carmen Maura, Marisa Paredes, Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas.

I discovered Almodovar’s work when I rented “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown”. What I discovered was sheer genius. The story was so complex and interesting, I just could not divert my attention for even a moment. He is one of the greatest storytellers working today and his portrayal of women is always so impressive. This is a man who you can tell respects women and holds them to a very high regard. Volver is his latest masterpiece. Of course, I rushed to the nearest theater to catch it and it was wonderful. It was an Almodovar staple, with all the elements of his greatest movies. He stands as one of my favorite filmmakers. I happen to own this DVD collection and I think it’s brilliant. Rent “Women on the Verge…..” and you can’t help but enter into a love affair with this amazing director the way I did.

Source: Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/25/AR2007012500711.html

Official Website: http://www.clubcultura.com/clubcine/clubcineastas/almodovar/eng/homeeng.htm

Pan's Labyrinth

It’s very hard to imagine a fairy tale with the Spanish civil war as a backdrop. But Pan’s Labyrinth has the elements of the typical fairy tale: tragedy, a villain, a princess and magic. The princess in this murky fairytale is named Ofelia. She is a little girl who suffers silently. She suffers for her ailing mother who is in the final stages of a difficult pregnancy and confined to an abusive marriage with a tyrant, the villain in this story. He is a callous and evil general who wields his power over innocent people and kills them unnecessarily. Throughout the movie, you see Ofelia escape from the horrors around her into this secret world where she is ruler of a fantasyland with fairies and fawns. The movie is hard to watch at times because of the violence but one can’t help but be touched by her bravery and imagination. It seems strange to describe the movie as beautiful. The imagery is gray and repulsive and the plot is tragic and depressing. But, if you look deeper into the meaning behind it, you will find that it actually has a somewhat happy ending and beauty does lie in the darkest of places.

I am always so appreciative of movies that break the mold and bring about a concept, visually and psychologically, that has never been explored before. A fairy tale unlike any you have ever seen before - dark, enchanting and thought-provoking. It is the kind of movie that you could sit around for hours probing and exploring its many layers. The acting is beautifully done, especially by Ivana Baquero, the wonderfully talented little girl who plays Ofelia with such sincerity and intensity. She has the soul of an old woman but yet still retains the wonder of a child in those eyes. This should be at the top of the list for future rentals or purchases. del Toro is one of those hidden treasures in the abundant pool of immensely talented and original directors who I feel don't get the accolades and attention they so rightfully deserve. He has a vision so unusual and intriguing that you cannot help but become awestruck.

Source: Film Focus UK - http://www.filmfocus.co.uk/review.asp?ReviewID=20717

Official Site: http://www.panslabyrinth.com/

Oscars Recap

The 79th Academy Awards ended with a bang and with a few whimpers which came from watching a number of favorites get taken down during the ceremony — Alan Arkin instead of Eddie Murphy for Best Supporting Actor; the wonderful sounds of Happy Feet for Best Animated Feature instead of the screeching tires of Pixar's Cars; Melissa Etheridge's ''I Need to Wake Up'' putting three nominated songs from Dreamgirls to sleep. Expected winners came through at the end with wins for Helen Mirren (The Queen), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), and Martin Scorsese (The Departed). Then, the unpredictability returned mildly with The Departed winning Best Picture in a race that had no clear favorite. The Departed led the night with four total awards. Other multiple winners included Pan's Labyrinth with three, and Little Miss Sunshine, Dreamgirls, and An Inconvenient Truth, each with two.

For the most part, I was pretty happy with the Oscar results. I was ecstatic when JHud won - if you have seen Dreamgirls and were mesmerized by her solo performance of "And I'm Not Going" as I was, then you know she deserved to take that statuette home. I got goosebumps watching that woman sing her heart out. As a fan of Little Miss Sunshine, I was very pleased to see it take home Best Original Screenplay but as an even bigger fan of Pan's Labryinth, I wanted to see that movie sweep the Oscars. Although it took home 3 awards, it didn't get Best Foreign Film or Original Screenplay. Scorcese deserved an Oscar finally but the Departed was not his best. The Departed was more hype than anything else. I was expecting to be completely captured and affected by this film and I wasn't. To me, it was a poor man's Goodfellas. No surprise for Mirren and Whitaker. Those performances were in another league altogether. Big shocker for Eddie Murphy not getting the award. Usually, if you win the Golden Globe and all the other acting awards, you're pretty much guaranteed the Oscar. But, that's what makes us come back for more when it comes to this show - the unpredictability.

Source: Entertainment Weekly - http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20007870_20007899_20013353,00.html

Rent It!

Little Miss Sunshine

I’m sure you can think of countless names of TV shows and movies that have a dysfunctional family as the central characters. Little Miss Sunshine is a heaping bowl of dysfunction sprinkled with great actors and an amazing script. The story hits the funny bone but tugs at the heartstrings as well. This movie was the ultimate underdog success story, to say the least. It was a little movie that very few people knew about with little known actors and it wound up making a killing at the box office and even taking home Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Alan Arkin.

The story centers on a family who takes a road trip in a VW bus to give their precocious little daughter the chance to compete in the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. The family is rounded out by mom Sheryl (the domineering matriarch who keeps the family together), dad Richard (the passive underachiever who basically lets his wife take the reins), daughter Olive (a very determined and spunky girl who seems wise beyond her years), son Dwayne (a typical passive-aggressive teenager struggling with fitting in) and the grandfather (the sarcastic, quick-witted comic relief). The cast also includes the gay brother, Uncle Frank, who’s struggling with depression, a botched suicide attempt and a broken heart. This gang of misfits confine themselves to this rickety, yellow bus and spend their time arguing and getting themselves out of the most hilarious and unbelievable situations you could imagine, all the while trying to make it in time for the pageant.

I saw the movie because of sheer curiosity but I didn’t expect much out of it. It truly surprised me. I just enjoyed the way the story progressed and how each character went through a major change by the end of the film. I appreciated the simple nature of the movie – no complex story line, no gratuitous violence or sex, no big box office stars to sell the movie. The most notable face was Steve Carrell but when he did this movie, he was relatively unknown. If anyone has heard the buzz about the movie, the final scene is priceless. I can’t reveal anymore than that but just to see these 30 minutes of the film is completely worth it. And all I’ll sign off with is you will never see a faulty car horn and the song Superfreak quite the same way again.

It’s worth it to rent this little gem of a movie.

View the trailer:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449059/trailers-screenplay-E30806-10-2

Official Site: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/littlemisssunshine/

Source: Internet Movie Database, Fox Searchlight Films