- Messages
- 6,174
View attachment 5397
Letters From Iwo Jima
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Clint Eastwood
Screenwriter: Iris Yamashita
Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shido Nakamura, Yuki Matsuzaki, Hiroshi Watanabe, Takumi Bando, Nobumasa Sakagami, Takashi Yamaguchi, Nae Yuuki
Genre: Action, Drama, War
Plot Summary: Sixty-one years ago, U.S. and Japanese armies met on Iwo Jima. Decades later, several hundred letters are unearthed from that stark island's soil. The letters give faces and voices to the men who fought there, as well as the extraordinary general who led them, Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe). With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of the island itself, Gen. Kuribayashi's unprecedented tactics transform what was predicted to be a quick and bloody defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat.
In an effort to explore an event that continues to resonate with both cultures, Clint Eastwood was haunted by the sense that making only one film, "Flags of Our Fathers," would be telling only half the story. With this unprecedented dual film project, shot back-to-back to be released in sequence, Eastwood seeks to reveal the battle of Iwo Jima--and, by implication, the war in the Pacific--as a clash not only of arms but of cultures.
View attachment 5398
Rocky Balboa
Studio: MGM
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Screenwriter: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Milo Ventimiglia, Tony Burton, James Francis Kelly III, Antonio Tarver, Geraldine Hughes
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: PG (for boxing violence and some language)
Plot Summary: The greatest underdog story of our time is back for one final round of the Academy Award-winning "Rocky" franchise, former heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa steps out of retirement and back into the ring, pitting himself against a new rival in a dramatically different era. After a virtual boxing match declares Rocky Balboa the victor over current champion Mason "The Line" Dixon, the legendary fighter's passion and spirit are reignited. But when his desire to fight in small, regional competitions is trumped by promoters calling for a rematch of the cyber-fight, Balboa must weigh the mental and physical risks of a high profile exhibition match against his need to be in the ring.
View attachment 5399
The Painted Veil
Studio: Warner Independent Pictures
Director: John Curran
Screenwriter: Ron Nyswaner
Starring: Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Toby Jones
Genre: Drama
Plot Summary: Based on the classic novel by W. Somerset Maugham, "The Painted Veil" is a love story set in the 1920s that tells the story of a young English couple, Walter, a middle class doctor and Kitty, an upper-class woman, who get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with someone else. When he uncovers her infidelity, in an act of vengeance, he accepts a job in a remote village in China ravaged by a deadly epidemic, and takes her along. Their journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them purpose in one of the most remote and beautiful places on earth.
The Case of the Grinning Cat
Studio: First Run/Icarus Films
Director: Chris Marker
Screenwriter: Not Available
Starring: Not Available
Genre: Documentary
Plot Summary: In his newest film, French documentarian and cinema-essayist Chris Marker reflects on French and international politics, art and culture at the start of the new millennium. In November 2001, the filmmaker became intrigued, as did many other Parisians, by the sudden appearance of alluring portraits of grinning yellow cats on buildings, Metro walls and other public surfaces. Marker's cinematic efforts to document the mysterious materializations of this charming feline throughout Paris are a recurring theme of "The Case of the Grinning Cat."
This engaging record of Marker's cinematic peregrinations throughout the city, visually energized by his free-association montage style, chronicles strikes, demonstrations, memorials, election campaigns, celebrity scandals, international political incidents, and a seemingly endless variety of political protests (against the Iraq War, against China's occupation of Tibet, against the government's ban on the wearing of Muslim headscarves). The personalized commentary running throughout "The Case of the Grinning Cat" offers the simultaneously learned and witty reflections of the filmmaker, now in his mid eighties, on both the contemporary and historical implications of these varied events and personalities.
The mysterious grinning yellow cats soon begin to appear amidst the banners and signs in some of the political demonstrations. Eventually, the creator of the grinning cats is revealed to be an art collective known as Mr. Cat, whose members are shown painting a massive representation of their mascot on the plaza before the Pompidou Center. The filmmaker's own famous cat caricature soon allies with Mr. Cat, as Marker speculates on the political possibilities of such a feline association.
Chris Marker concludes "The Case of the Grinning Cat" with thoughts on the vital importance of such expressions of imagination in our public lives, echoing the May '68 slogan that "La po'sie est dans la rue" ("Poetry is in the street").
No Restraint
Release Date: December 20, 2006 (NY)
Studio: IFC First Take
Director: Alison Chernick
Screenwriter: Not Available
Starring: Matthew Barney, Björk
Genre: Documentary
Plot Summary: How does artist Matthew Barney use 45,000 pounds of petroleum jelly, a factory whaling vessel, and traditional Japanese rituals to create his latest art project?
Barney plowed the waters off the coast of Nagasaki to film his massive endeavor, "Drawing Restraint 9." The documentary "Matthew Barney: No Restraint" journeys to Japan with Barney and his collaborator Björk, as the visual artist creates a "narrative sculpture" telling a fantastical love story of two characters that transform from land mammals into whales.
Letters From Iwo Jima
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Clint Eastwood
Screenwriter: Iris Yamashita
Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shido Nakamura, Yuki Matsuzaki, Hiroshi Watanabe, Takumi Bando, Nobumasa Sakagami, Takashi Yamaguchi, Nae Yuuki
Genre: Action, Drama, War
Plot Summary: Sixty-one years ago, U.S. and Japanese armies met on Iwo Jima. Decades later, several hundred letters are unearthed from that stark island's soil. The letters give faces and voices to the men who fought there, as well as the extraordinary general who led them, Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe). With little defense other than sheer will and the volcanic rock of the island itself, Gen. Kuribayashi's unprecedented tactics transform what was predicted to be a quick and bloody defeat into nearly 40 days of heroic and resourceful combat.
In an effort to explore an event that continues to resonate with both cultures, Clint Eastwood was haunted by the sense that making only one film, "Flags of Our Fathers," would be telling only half the story. With this unprecedented dual film project, shot back-to-back to be released in sequence, Eastwood seeks to reveal the battle of Iwo Jima--and, by implication, the war in the Pacific--as a clash not only of arms but of cultures.
View attachment 5398
Rocky Balboa
Studio: MGM
Director: Sylvester Stallone
Screenwriter: Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Milo Ventimiglia, Tony Burton, James Francis Kelly III, Antonio Tarver, Geraldine Hughes
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: PG (for boxing violence and some language)
Plot Summary: The greatest underdog story of our time is back for one final round of the Academy Award-winning "Rocky" franchise, former heavyweight champion Rocky Balboa steps out of retirement and back into the ring, pitting himself against a new rival in a dramatically different era. After a virtual boxing match declares Rocky Balboa the victor over current champion Mason "The Line" Dixon, the legendary fighter's passion and spirit are reignited. But when his desire to fight in small, regional competitions is trumped by promoters calling for a rematch of the cyber-fight, Balboa must weigh the mental and physical risks of a high profile exhibition match against his need to be in the ring.
View attachment 5399
The Painted Veil
Studio: Warner Independent Pictures
Director: John Curran
Screenwriter: Ron Nyswaner
Starring: Naomi Watts, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber, Toby Jones
Genre: Drama
Plot Summary: Based on the classic novel by W. Somerset Maugham, "The Painted Veil" is a love story set in the 1920s that tells the story of a young English couple, Walter, a middle class doctor and Kitty, an upper-class woman, who get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with someone else. When he uncovers her infidelity, in an act of vengeance, he accepts a job in a remote village in China ravaged by a deadly epidemic, and takes her along. Their journey brings meaning to their relationship and gives them purpose in one of the most remote and beautiful places on earth.
The Case of the Grinning Cat
Studio: First Run/Icarus Films
Director: Chris Marker
Screenwriter: Not Available
Starring: Not Available
Genre: Documentary
Plot Summary: In his newest film, French documentarian and cinema-essayist Chris Marker reflects on French and international politics, art and culture at the start of the new millennium. In November 2001, the filmmaker became intrigued, as did many other Parisians, by the sudden appearance of alluring portraits of grinning yellow cats on buildings, Metro walls and other public surfaces. Marker's cinematic efforts to document the mysterious materializations of this charming feline throughout Paris are a recurring theme of "The Case of the Grinning Cat."
This engaging record of Marker's cinematic peregrinations throughout the city, visually energized by his free-association montage style, chronicles strikes, demonstrations, memorials, election campaigns, celebrity scandals, international political incidents, and a seemingly endless variety of political protests (against the Iraq War, against China's occupation of Tibet, against the government's ban on the wearing of Muslim headscarves). The personalized commentary running throughout "The Case of the Grinning Cat" offers the simultaneously learned and witty reflections of the filmmaker, now in his mid eighties, on both the contemporary and historical implications of these varied events and personalities.
The mysterious grinning yellow cats soon begin to appear amidst the banners and signs in some of the political demonstrations. Eventually, the creator of the grinning cats is revealed to be an art collective known as Mr. Cat, whose members are shown painting a massive representation of their mascot on the plaza before the Pompidou Center. The filmmaker's own famous cat caricature soon allies with Mr. Cat, as Marker speculates on the political possibilities of such a feline association.
Chris Marker concludes "The Case of the Grinning Cat" with thoughts on the vital importance of such expressions of imagination in our public lives, echoing the May '68 slogan that "La po'sie est dans la rue" ("Poetry is in the street").
No Restraint
Release Date: December 20, 2006 (NY)
Studio: IFC First Take
Director: Alison Chernick
Screenwriter: Not Available
Starring: Matthew Barney, Björk
Genre: Documentary
Plot Summary: How does artist Matthew Barney use 45,000 pounds of petroleum jelly, a factory whaling vessel, and traditional Japanese rituals to create his latest art project?
Barney plowed the waters off the coast of Nagasaki to film his massive endeavor, "Drawing Restraint 9." The documentary "Matthew Barney: No Restraint" journeys to Japan with Barney and his collaborator Björk, as the visual artist creates a "narrative sculpture" telling a fantastical love story of two characters that transform from land mammals into whales.