ABCs at the Movies: The Doubles Round!

[Fran]

From IMDb:

Greg and Dharma meets Annie Hall

Nice.

While not up to "Jessica Stein" (which remains one of the best NY romantic comedies ever) this is a smart, witty, and winsome romance.

With a wonderful supporting cast and real thought in the filming, this is definitely worth the viewing. Complaining that romantic movies are unrealistic is like complaining about the body count in action movies -- either it's your cup of tea or it's not. This, most definitely, is our cup of tea.

Abby and Ira are two unlikely soul mates -- she dippy and soulful, he neurotic and unsure; after one day they decide to marry....

Of course, you know they'll have problems, and yes, the families, the therapists et al. are there; but what separates this out from the herd is two things:  firstly, it has modern taste, the filming and shape and arc of the film are much better than most; and secondly, a host of great performances that neatly skewer the comedy.

[Ellemeno]

Original trailer (1:26)
[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vy_9ymBTFis[/youtube]

Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Starring:
Marlon Brando    ...   Mark Antony
James Mason    ...   Brutus
John Gielgud    ...   Cassius
Louis Calhern    ...   Julius Caesar
Edmond O'Brien    ...   Casca
Greer Garson    ...   Calpurnia
Deborah Kerr    ...   Portia

[MaineWriter]

"It's too darn hot...too darn hot..."



I know you guys like chests and butts (so do I) but you can't deny that Ann Miller has a fabulous pair of legs....

[Fran]

From IMDb:

John Sayles' ability to get you acquainted with his characters shines again in this study of a wife and mother who is coming to terms with her sexuality. Unlike the tawdry stories that focus solely on the sexual aspect of lesbian relationships, Sayles explores and reveals the complexity of discovering homosexual orientation -- what it means to Lianna as her sexuality emerges from repression and what it means to her and others that she chooses to live truthfully with it.

There are some very rare vignettes in this film that belie what it is like to discover the attractiveness of women for the first time. Sayles does such a masterful job at portraying this process of discovery -- it is joyful, playful, and exciting. These scenes remind me of Truffaut's "The Man Who Loved Women" (also badly remade in the USA, starring Burt Reynolds), but they seem to have a more natural depth and feel. Sayles' movies are typically populated with real characters, not posing movie stars. This film is true Sayles... so much is at stake for Lianna, and you are drawn into the aspects and dimensions of her life, the complexities and facets of the human sexual nature and of life in general, and what it means to come to terms with being gay.

[youtube=425,350]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRgAtMWvpgg[/youtube]
Time:  2:04

[oilgun]

[Meryl]

[MaineWriter]

[oilgun]

IMDB Plto Outline: Almodovar's first film of life in Madrid during the punk era and not one for the squeamish. He covers everything from drugs and sexual violence, to female masochism.

[Fran]

AKA La Reine Margot



From IMDb:

A bloody depiction of the lives of the Catholic Queen Margot and her Protestant husband Henri around the time of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre.

[memento]