A Time To Kill

A Time to Kill added to See the Movie Read the Book Directory under Classic Drama & Documentary.

Based on the novel "A Time to Kill" by John Grisham, this is a racially charged drama about a young Southern attorney (Matthew McConaughey) who defends a black father (Samuel L. Jackson) after he kills two men who raped his young daughter. Sandra Bullock plays the passionate law student who serves as McConaughey's legal aide.

"Grisham certainly can set up a good story, but his endings, as is the case with this movie, are disappointing."
~ The Films of the Nineties 

Movie: A Time to Kill
A Time to Kill by John Grisham
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Classic Dramas and Documentaries

Titanic Town

Titanic Town added to See the Movie Read the Book Directory under Dramas and Documentaries.

Based on the book "Titanic Town" by Mary Costello.

This is the story of a Belfast housewife who takes up the peace cause, which causes her family trouble with IRA sympathizers.

"(Julie) Walters and her family live in a Catholic neighborhood of a West Belfast town famous as the place where the Titanic was built. She's a feisty housewife who tries to become a peacemaker."

~ The Films of the Nineties 

Movie: Titanic Town
Titanic Town by Mary Costello
See the Movie Read the Book Directory
Dramas and Documentaries
Classic Dramas and Documentaries

This Boy's Life

This Boy's Life added to See the Movie Read the Book Directory under Dramas & Documentaries.

Based on the book "This Boy's Life: A Memoir" by Tobias Wolff.

"in an acting triumph for the three leads, troubled teen (Leonardo) DiCaprio hopes for a better life when his mother (Ellen) Barkin marries (Robert) DeNiro. They move to a small town in Washington where DeNiro browbeats and physically thrashes the lad. This intriguing character study is a true story based on writer Tobias Wolff's autobiography."

~ The Films of the Nineties 

Movie: This Boy's Life
This Boy's Life: A Memoir by Tobias Wolff
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Dramas and Documentaries
Classic Dramas and Documentaries

Flawed But Still Powerful: Les Misérables

"[Director Tom] Hooper and his production team decided the cast members should sing the songs live, as opposed to adding them later in a state-of-the-art recording studio. That decision certainly adds urgency to the visuals, but it very much works against [Russell] Crowe, who pales in comparison to the multi-talented [High] Jackman and seems more frustrated than evil in his screen time as the blindly brutal enforcer Javert.

"Hooper also starts the $61 million film with a digitally created dock scene with shockingly fake backgrounds.

"In a stage setting, Les Miserables quickly energizes viewers as we’re close to the action and feel part of the young rebels gathering to fight back against the monarchy. The screen version robs viewers of the thrill of watching the actors create stage magic." [phillyburbs]

~ "Les Miserables adaptation still powerful"

by Lou Gaul

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
Movie: Les Misérables
Dramas and Documentaries
Classic Dramas and Documentaries

She

She added to See the Movie Read the Book Directory under Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror

In this 1935 adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's classic adventure novel, producer Merian C. Cooper (best known for directing King Kong) changed the setting from Africa to the Arctic.

A group of explorers, led by a dashing Randolph Scott, sets out in search of the legendary "flame of life," a mysterious force that bestows immortality like the fountain of youth. Their perilous journey takes them to the heart of a remote glacier where they are taken captive by the beautiful but impossibly cruel She, played by Helen Gahagan.

A colorized version of the 1935 film was released on DVD in 2008 that includes previously unseen deleted scenes.

Movie: She
She by Henry Rider Haggard
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Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror
Classic Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror

One Soul, Many Worlds: Cloud Atlas

"Cloud Atlas is all over the place, intentionally. It follows six completely different stories, in genres from science fiction to crime thriller to romance. As with the novel, there are six movies within the movie, set in the past and the future.

(David) Mitchell thought his novel would never make it to the screen: the size of the cast it would take. It doesn't cost a writer a dime to add a character, but it can cost a filmmaker a lot to add an actor to a cast. The Wachowskis (Lana and Andrew Wachowski) got around the problem by having actors play as many as six completely different roles. Tom Hanks, Halle Berry and Hugh Grant, among others, are transformed to the point of being unrecognizable through Hollywood makeup and costume magic.

By casting it this way, Mitchell believes, the filmmakers also made it easier for viewers to understand his concept, of one soul moving through the many different worlds.." [npr]

~ When 'Unfilmable' Books Make Memorable Movies

by Elizabeth Blair

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Movie: Cloud Atlas
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Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror

Missing Morgan Freeman: Alex Cross

"Morgan Freeman played Alex Cross in the first two adaptations of this series, Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, but he declined a third. Instead, the role goes to Tyler Perry, a younger actor who is enormously successful within the US and largely unknown beyond its borders... Tyler Perry disappoints in the title role...
This adaptation betrays both Patterson's original novel and the spirit of the two earlier films. The original plot has been put through a Hollywood meat grinder." [BrisbaneTimes]

~ It's just not the same without Freeman

by Paul Byrnes

Cross by James Patterson
Movie: Alex Cross

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Dramas and Documentaries

Classic Dramas and Documentaries

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