Das Boot - The Directors Cut (1981) R - 5 Stars

I've got to say this is one looooong ass movie but also one of the best submarine war epics I've ever seen and well worth the time spent watching. The acting is outstanding and it's great to hear the German dialect, with subtitles easy to read. You really get to experience what it's like being in the tight quarters of a submarine and your mission is war. Based on the true story of a World War II photographer Lothar-Guenther Buchheim, from the images he captured during the grooling days waiting for war. "Sometimes you're the prey and sometimes you're the hunter." One of those movies you have to see at least once and go for the directors cut.

Some of the actors include:
Capt.-Lt. Henrich Lehmann-Willenbrock - Der Alte - (Jürgen Prochnow)
Lt. Werner - Correspondent (Herbert Grönemeyer)
Chief Engineer Fritz Grade - Der Leitende-Der LI (Klaus Wennemann)
1st Lieutenant - Number One-1WO (Hubertus Bengsch)

Awards include:
1982 Bavarian Film Awards - Best Director - Wolfgang Petersen
1982 Bavarian Film Awards - Best Cinematography - Jost Vocano
1982 Munich Film Festival - Best Young Actor - Heinz Hoenig

Bavaria Film, Radiant Film GmbH, Süddeutscher Rundfunk (SDR)
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Writers: Wolfgang Petersen, Dean Riesner
Producers: Edward R. Pressman, Günter Rohrbach, John W. Hyde

I viewed 4/14

The Stoning of Soraya M. (2008) R - 5 Stars

This movie disgusted me and made me very angry. Long before 9/11, I was actively involved in spreading information regarding conditions the woman of Afghanistan endure with their suppressed conditions. Not able to be seen in public without another family member present, not able to get a decent education, treated like worthless commodities to the superior male population and face stoning if they disobey. I was really naive to the fact it's still happening in other countries around the world. This Iranian story is sub titled but don't let that stop you as it's a must see. The incredible true story of Soraya M., wife, mother of 4, niece, friend and neighbor, who was ruthlessly stoned to death for adultery based upon a lie her husband started to get rid of her. In a country where women will always be considered guilty while men are always presumed innocent, women have very few resources to defend and protect themselves.

The story...

Soraya M (Mozhan Marnò), is an Iranian woman with 4 young children, 2 boys and 2 girls. She is married to Ali (Navid Negahban), who acknowledges his sons but ignores his daughters. Soraya has withheld sex from her husband, and bares many bruises across her body to his lawful right to take from her. Now, Ali is no longer interested in her since a young 14 year old has caught his eye. He wants to marry this new girl soon with the blessings and assets of her wealthy and powerful father.

Ali refuses to pay wages to Soraya and she will not give him a divorce without it. A neighbor, Hashem (Parviz Sayyad), has just lost his wife and can not manage taking care of his young autistic son on his own. The village council suggest Soraya take a job with Hashem in exchange for wages to help feed and shelter her daughters. Soraya's outspoken aunt Zahra (Shohreh Aghdashloo), does what she can to comfort Soraya and help her keep her head held high. She begins to smile again as she feels useful as a caretaker. But Ali's assets will not allow him to return Soraya's dowry as custom dictates in a divorce, so instead he plans another way to get out of the marriage. He has dirt on Mullah (Ali Pourtash), and threatens to expose him if he does not follow through on Ali's accusations of infidelity. Ali also threatens Hashem to go along with his story or his son will end up in as an orphan in a mental institution. When Ebrahim (David Diaan), the mayor is told, he holds a fast tribunal to determine Soraya's guilt. It is determined she must be put to death by public stoning, in one hour, for the disgrace she has brought to the village. She is buried waist deep with her hands tied behind her back. Even the male children are allowed to witness and participate with Ali throwing the first stone which brings blood as her sons follow suit. Soraya's body is not allowed to be buried and the women take it next to the river to rest. The very next morning, Freidoune Sahebjam (James Caviezel), a journalist is diving by when his car breaks down. He must spend the day in this small village while his car is repaired. Zahra bravely contacts him in order to get her message out for the world to hear.

I want to pick up a boulder and smash it into Ali's skull so I guess that means Navid Negahban did an excellent job at convincing me he's a monster. Shohreh Aghdashloo, Zahra, is fantastic in telling the story. Unbelievable performances, see this fantastic movie, not for the squeamish, as it is a very realistic violent portrayal of a woman wrongly accused and stoned to death. This is the 21st century and it looks like we're back in the uncivilized stone age, no pun intended. Get as outraged as I did and do something about it. Please visit the web site http://www.thestoning.com/flash.php#/involved/ and do your part. I wouldn't last 5 seconds in a country like this. A movie you will never be able to erase from your mind.

Roadside Attractions, Mpower Pictures, Lionsgate
Director: Cyrus Nowrasteh
Writers: Cyrus Nowrasteh, Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh
Producers: Stephen McEveety, John Shepherd

I viewed 1/11

Avatar (2009) PG13 - 5 Stars

In honor of Earth Day, I am reposting a perfect movie for the occasion. Also because I saw it again last weekend and today it goes on sale to the general public, "us." I actually talked my boyfriend into going to see the "little blue men movie," so he could experience the films greatness in 3D. I think he changed his opinion of the movie after viewing it.

The only word I can think of to describe this film is In-Fuc*ing-Credible!!! I guess I haven't gotten out much to a movie theater lately to realize how far technology has taken us in 3-D. Awesome, truly awesome as the entire movie clings all around you. Even down to the smallest details of a spark or ash seeming falling into your hands. Visually stunning, I swear they looked inside my head and produced my magical places I go to in my head, and made them even better!! The seed pods look like jelly fish one of my extreme favorites. And the story is amazing too, as it reaches out and touches every sense of your being. I hope everyone walks away with it's powerful message. We can't continue to destroy all the natural beauty on this planet or any other planer or drive any type of life form to extinction for the sake of any mineral or ore.

I had a hard time catching my breathe and cried at the sad ending and I don't think I have ever been as entertained by a movie before. Bravo, James Cameron, Bravo. Everything you can want in a movie and more. Yes it was long, almost too long, but an Academy Award Winner hands down.

On the planet of Pandorra lies an extremely valuable ore that a mega corporation is trying to mine. The problems are, the air on this planet is not breathable to humans, the creatures will hunt you down and eat you and if they don't, the Na'vi, hunters of an indigenous tribe, will. Too disturbing and violent for young children to understand.

Ex war veteran Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), is wheel chair bound and offered the job of replacing his slain twin brother on the planet for a specific mission. The goal is to become an avatar on the planet and gain trust with it's people in order to relocate them from this precious commodity before the colonel goes in and takes it for himself. The tirck is to make avatars with DNA made from the humans so they can breathe the air and infiltrate the "enemy" for the purpose of production.

A story to detailed to spell out in a review as I would never do it justice, it's just that good and a must see for yourself. Excellent casting also starring, Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore), Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), Trudy Chacon (Michelle Rodriguez), Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore), and so many more. If you see no other movies in your lifetime, you must see this one.

Nominated for 9 Oscar's, Awards include:

2009 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Director
2009 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Picture - Drama
2010 - Academy Award Winner - Best Visual Effects
2010 - Academy Award Winner - Best Cinematography
2010 - Academy Award Winner - Best Art Direction

Lightstorm Entertainment, 20th Century Fox
Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Producers: Jon Landau, James Cameron

I viewed 2/10, 4/10

Avatar (2009) PG13 - 1,000,000 Stars

The only word I can think of to describe this film is In-Fuc*ing-Credible!!! I guess I haven't gotten out much to a movie theater lately to realize how far technology has taken us in 3-D. Awesome, truly awesome as the entire movie clings all around you. Even down to the smallest details of a spark or ash seeming falling into your hands. Visually stunning, I swear they looked inside my head and produced my magical places I go to in my head, and made them even better!! The seed pods look like jelly fish one of my extreme favorites. And the story is amazing too, as it reaches out and touches every sense of your being. I hope everyone walks away with it's powerful message. We can't continue to destroy all the natural beauty on this planet or any other planer or drive any type of life form to extinction for the sake of any mineral or ore.

I had a hard time catching my breathe and cried at the sad ending and I don't think I have ever been as entertained by a movie before. Bravo, James Cameron, Bravo. Everything you can want in a movie and more. Yes it was long, almost too long, but an Academy Award Winner hands down.

On the planet of Pandorra lies an extremely valuable ore that a mega corporation is trying to mine. The problems are, the air on this planet is not breathable to humans, the creatures will hunt you down and eat you and if they don't, the Na'vi, hunters of an indigenous tribe, will. Too disturbing and violent for young children to understand.

Ex war veteran Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), is wheel chair bound and offered the job of replacing his slain twin brother on the planet for a specific mission. The goal is to become an avatar on the planet and gain trust with it's people in order to relocate them from this precious commodity before the colonel goes in and takes it for himself. The tirck is to make avatars with DNA made from the humans so they can breathe the air and infiltrate the "enemy" for the purpose of production.

A story to detailed to spell out in a review as I would never do it justice, it's just that good and a must see for yourself. Excellent casting also starring, Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore), Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), Col. Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), Trudy Chacon (Michelle Rodriguez), Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore), and so many more. If you see no other movies in your lifetime, you must see this one.

Nominated for 9 Oscar's, Awards include:

2009 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Director
2009 - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Picture - Drama
2010 - Academy Award Winner - Best Visual Effects
2010 - Academy Award Winner - Best Cinematography
2010 - Academy Award Winner - Best Art Direction



Lightstorm Entertainment, 20th Century Fox
Director: James Cameron
Writer: James Cameron
Producers: Jon Landau, James Cameron

I viewed 2/10

Rosewood (1997) R - 5 Stars

Based on the true story of events taking place in Rosewood, Florida in the 1920's. I really liked this movie though I have to admit, I gave it an extra 1/2 star rating because it's based on a true story and I absolutely love Don Cheadle in these types of movies. The idea that one white woman's lie can cause the murder of an entire black community, is appalling. It's one of those movies that should be mandatory in humanities classes. It embarrasses me as a Caucasian woman to see how ignorant some of these white people were, reacting by enraged hatred of their racial tension. Everyone is outstanding in their role its a shame not to be able to mention them all.

When a stranger, Mann (Ving Rhames), rides into town, he causes a lot of people to take note. Mann is interested in buying property across the street from John Wright's (Jon Voight), store. Wright is one of the only white men in Rosewood and he makes a good living from his store serving the people of his community.

Sylvester (Don Cheadle), is the music teacher of the town and along with Scrappie (Elise Neal), they teach and keep the children in line. But life suddenly takes a turn for the worse when a white woman, who has been sleeping around on her husband, unjustly accuses a black man of raping her. Being too embarrassed to admit that her lover beat her senseless, she instead announces to Sheriff Walker, (Michael Rooker), that a black man came into her home, raped and beat her up. This causes a uproar of built up hatred against the black community by the opposing white men who literally wipe the town off the map, murdering, lynching and burning it down. It will be Mann and John Wright who guide the children and rest of the town to safety but not before more than half the community is killed.

Warner Bros. Pictures International
Director: John Singleton
Writer: Gregory Poirier
Producer: Jon Peters

I viewed 10/09

A Raisin in the Sun (2008) NR - 5 Stars

OMG what a fantastic version of the epic classic by Lorraine Hansbury's. Academy award performances by all in this made for television movie, featuring some of the original Broadway cast. I bought it used for a Christmas present for one of my relatives and decided to take a sneak preview before I gave it. Well sorry cousin Bob, it's now in my collection of great movies.

It's the 1950's and an African American family huddled together under one roof in Chicago, has lost the pillar of the family, Walter Lee senior. As his widow Lena Younger (Phylicia Rashad) eagerly awaits the $10,000.00 insurance check, the family dreams of finding a better way to get ahead in life.

Walter Lee Jr. (Sean "P. Diddy" Combs), wants to take the money and invest in a liquor store that he's learned other brothers have risen to the top from. He's a dreamer and can't stand one more day of working as a chauffeur for an over pompous white man. He hears of a deal to invest in the store in order to end his families woes of poverty. His wife Ruth (Audra McDonald), works from the home as a servant doing laundry for a white family. Free spirited Beneatha (Sanaa Lathan), is Walter's sister also living under the roof, and she strives for more by attending school to become a doctor. She's confident that her mother Ruth will save some of the inheritance money for her college fund. Beneatha seems to have the best chance to make in out in the big world and is being pursued by two different men, George Murchison (Sean Patrick Thomas), the rich but extremely superficial snappy dresser and classmate Joseph Asagai (David Oyelowo) who allows her to explore her inner child while teaching her about Africa.

Walter Jr's obsession of his investment dreams is taking it's tole on the family where Ruth now has thoughts of aborting her recently found out pregnancy. The two move farther apart from each other as Walter feels he has nothing else to live for without his dreams. As Lena can see what pain her son is going through, she entrusts part of the money with him to make a partial investment, while putting the other half away for his sister's fund. Instead, Walter looses all the money getting foolishly swindled, severely hurting his mother. But at least Lena had done one good thing with part of the money. She bought the family a new home in the better part of town smack dab in the middle of an extremely white and prejudice neighborhood.

Mr. Linder (John Stamos) is on the committee to encourage the family to sell their home and move somewhere else where they would be more suited. In other words, away from the whites. The family now dealing with their savings gone, a new pregnancy and a college fund giving away, must find the courage to rise up and take what's rightfully theirs.

Sony Pictures, Storyline Entertainment
Director: Kenny Leon
Writer: Paris Qualles
Producer: John M. Eckert

I viewed 12/08

Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) PG - 5 Stars

I decided to go on a little Star Wars journey so I could stay "up" on where Luke and his gang go from here. Over a week, I watched 4 of these movies sine they are all suppose to tie in and complete the story.

When this original Star Wars first came out in 1977, there was nothing like it on the movie scene. I think that's what made it such a great movie too. Special effects unlike movies had known before, which gave you the feeling of time travel and fighting "evil" for the sake of "good". Of course, the original seems to always be the best and in this case, it's no exception with timeless remarks like "May the force be with you . It could also be, the older I get (and living reality) perhaps the less impressed with the story line I've become. I did also liked The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Return of the Jedi (1983) and I'm just not sure what sort of time frame they fit into the trilogy. Each movie can be watched on it's own and still be enjoyable.

A long time ago, in a galaxy, far far away, Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) the rebel leader of her planet is being held by the evil Empire and its enforcer Darth Vader (David Prowse). Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), along with the droids C3PO and R2D2 are sent on a mission to rescue her. We are introduced to the great characters that have surpassed time also including Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness).

Princess Leia sends a message to Obi-Wan Kenobi asking for help. When Ben rescues Luke from the sand people, he tells him his father was a great Jedi. He also explains "the force" to him and how it captures and surrounds everyone. He tells how he must help free Princess Leia and follow in the footsteps of his father becoming the next great Jeti warrior.

Awards include:

1977 - Star Wars - Los Angeles Film Critics Association - Best Music Score
1977 - Star Wars - Los Angeles Film Critics Association - Best Picture
1998 - Star Wars - American Film Institute - 100 Greatest American Movies

Lucasfilm Ltd.
Director: George Lucas
Writers: Ben Burtt, George Lucas
Producer: Gary Kurtz

I watched 9/07

Saw (2004) R - 5 Stars

OMG what a GREAT MOVIE! Again showing my sick mind I absolutely loved the first Saw movie. My favorite movies are the ones you can't guess the ending to, and this one I surely did not. Plus it's a great mind game. Danny Glover is awesome and another one of my favorite actors. I don't want to tell too much about the movie because it's better if you just watch and live it for yourself. This is the only version of the 4 Saw's made so far that is worthy.

Adam (Leigh Whannell) and Dr. Lawrence (Cary Elwes) wake up to find themselves chained to some rusty pipes in a hell hole of a chamber. Between them is a dead body lying in a pool of blood holding a gun. Neither of the men can figure out why or how they came to be trapped here but with a certain set of clues, they both find small microcassette tapes and the dead guy has the player. Once they struggle to get the player, the tapes start to explain the "game" has been set before them. Dr. Lawrence needs to kill Adam in eight hours in order to save his family.

In the outside world, Detective David Tapp (Danny Glover) is becoming obsessed with finding the person responsible for some gastly self induced murders that have been surfacing. Will he be able to find the person responsible in time?

Lions Gate Films
Director: James Wan
Writer: Leigh Whannell
Producers: Mark Burg, Oren Koules, Gregg Hoffman

I viewed 10/05

Coach Carter (2005) PG13 - 5 Stars

Absolutely great movie. I don't give out many 5 stars but this movie gets the highest for sure. Based on the true story of basketball coach Ken Carter from Richmond, CA. and how he made such a difference in young men's lives. His team, the Richmond High Oilers, was just about ready to start their play off season being undefeated. Coach Carter made headlines when he benched his whole team for doing poorly with their grades.

Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) used to play on the basketball team at Richmond High. Years later he returns to the school to be the basketball coach. His team is not doing very good and the boys tough attitudes about each other and what they think is important in life. Carter tries to get the boys to believe in themselves and earn some self respect for each other. What the team doesn't expect is Coach locking them out of the gym to play in their undefeated season. The parents become enraged and try to get rid of Coach but the boys come around and realize what he is trying to teach them and the rise to the occasion.

Paramount Pictures
Director: Thomas Carter
Writers: John Gatins, Mark Schwahn
Producers: David Gale, David Gale, Mike Tollin

I viewed 3/07