movie
Andrea Arnold's adaptation of Bronte's classic Wuthering Heights is coming in a great movie
By GalaTView staff
Photo Courtesy
From British filmmaker Andrea Arnold, Wuthering Heights is an epic love story spanning childhood well into the young adult years, the film follows Heathcliff (in Arnold’s version, a black boy), who is taken in by a Yorkshire farmer, Earnshaw. Living in Earnshaw’s home on the windswept moors, Heathcliff develops a passionate relationship with the farmer’s teenage daughter, Cathy, inspiring the envy and mistrust of his son, Hindley. When Earnshaw passes away, the now-grown characters must finally confront the intense feelings and rivalries that have built up throughout their years together.
Under all the characters’ moods, for those pictures of the passions that he may desire to sketch for our public benefit this movie is really exhilarating in many aspects. For instance, there are facts such as racial discrimination, rather than that of class is the key factor in Arnold’s story, with Heathcliff portrayed as black of African descent. However, love with savage romance is the main ingredient in this story. It is highly recommended for those who love tragedy, romance and pain in love!
A sister might be a good mother
By GalaTView Staff
Photo: Courtesy
Precocious 12-year-old Simon lives with his wild and irresponsible older sister in a small apartment below a luxurious ski resort nestled in the Swiss Alps. Each day, Simon ascends the lofty mountain above, pilfering ski equipment from the rich and selling it to get by. Left unsupervised, his newfound criminal enterprise and growing attachment to the seasonal workers and guests sends his precarious relationship with his sister spiraling out of control.
A stunning meditation on secrets, lies and moral obligation, Ursula Meier’s compassionate character study of a boy forced to grow up too fast is a movie for the ages. the surface over the 97 minute running time and they are the kind of secret hopes and desires that could – and probably do – change both character lives forever. Simon lives in the valley with his flighty, immature elder sister (Léa Seydoux), struggling to make ends meet. But in the winter he becomes a mountain kid and, disguised as a youthful ski bum, steals whatever comes to hand. All the life responsibilities are on him and a whole society ignores him so this is part of our reality that we should not ignore and this movie deserves two thumbs up!
The Awakening
Redaction: Galatview
Photos courtesy
Set in London in 1921, Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall), author of the popular book “Seeing Through Ghosts,” has devoted her career to exposing claims of the supernatural as nothing but hoaxes. Haunted by the recent death of her fiancé, she is approached by Robert Mallory (Dominic West) to investigate the recent death of a student at the all-boys boarding school where he teaches. When students at the school report sightings of the young boy’s ghost, she decides to take on the case.
There are some nicely creepy moments, full of intriguing dead ends and plausible accounts. there were some very well done spine tingling moments and scares but then the plot became rather silly and lacking in credibility and the acting was good throughout.
The Awakening’s greatest strength is that it centres on an extremely confident female character, who seems remarkably liberated and independent for the time. Music makes you to be afraid of many facts during the development story, the old graveyard and ruined church used for the story’s setting and the feeling of doomed young love is pretty much a winner whatever way you look at it. Elena is really great!
“Beloved” comes with many deep and true spiritual messages
By GalaTView staff
Foto Courtesy
Beloved is a dense, complex, hard story that will first touch and then break your heart. Catherine Deneuve and Chiara Mastroianni play mother and daughter (as they are in real life) in a French soap opera of love. In the freewheeling Paris of the ‘60s, young Madeleine (Ludivine Sagnier)—who has gone from selling shoes to sleeping with men for money—falls for a handsome Czech doctor, Jaromil (Rasha Bukvic), who she soon marries and joins in Prague. A baby daughter is born, but Jaromil’s infidelities and the arrival of Russian tanks in Prague lead Madeleine back to France—though the love between them still burns. Thirty years later in London, we follow Madeleine’s daughter, Vera (Chiara Mastroianni), who has fallen in love with a musician (American actor Paul Schneider) who is incapable of devoting himself to her, while her ex (Honoré regular Louis Garrel) still pines for her. Meanwhile in Paris, a re-married Madeleine (Catherine Deneuve) has rekindled her love affair with Jaromil (director Milos Forman, in a rare acting role). Frequent Honoré collaborator Alex Beaupain (LOVE SONGS, DANS PARIS) composed the emotional, César-nominated score for this light-hearted but ultimately moving exploration of the changing nature of relationships. This was the latest film from French writer-director Christophe Honoré (LOVE SONGS, DANS PARIS).
A simple tale in “The Hidden Blade”
By Jenny Alvarez
Photo Courtesy
From director Yamada Yoji (The Twilight Samurai) comes The Hidden Blade (a.k.a. Kakushi Ken Oni no Tsume) is the epic tale of a samurai raised to respect tradition and a demanding moral code. After a political coup fails he is ordered to prove his innocence by finding and killing a former friend, samurai and brilliant swordsman. He secretly enlists the help of their former master who entrusted him with the secret of The Hidden Blade. Now he must choose between duty and honor.
Definitely, is a Yamada’s delicate drama with swordplay with the mythic ideal of the samurai culture so in the main characters with their personalities reflect bravery and loyalty in themes of evolution and change and how it affected the traditional Japanese lifestyle while also learning new military strategies, particularly the mastery of Western artillery, during the mid-19th Century. Munezo (Masatoshi Nagase) also has a personal complication. He is secretly in love–so secretly, he may not even admit it to himself–with his family’s maid, the sweet and beautiful country girl, Kie (Takako Matsu). His passion leads him to rescue her from a loveless marriage after she leaves his household; the samurai even shocks propriety by carrying away the low-caste young woman on his back. The cast is impressive Masatoshi Nagase, Takako Matsu and Hidetaka Yoshioka are the most talented actors in this genre. Many takes are full of action so this movie is one of those that are worth watching so you can get it on June 19th in DVD and blu-ray with Japanese: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, Cantonese: Dolby Digital 2.0 with subtitles in Mandarin (Traditional), English and Spanish.
Everyone has a different gift in “Crooked Arrows”
By Jenny Alvarez
Photo Courtesy
A mixed-blood Native American, Joe Logan, eager to modernize his reservation, must first prove himself to his father, the traditionalist Tribal Chairman, by rediscovering his spirit. He is tasked with coaching the reservation’s high school lacrosse team which competes against the better equipped and better trained players of the elite Prep School League. Joe inspires the Native American boys and teaches them the true meaning of tribal pride. Ignited by their heritage and believing in their new-found potential, coach and team climb an uphill battle to the state championship finals against their privileged prep school rivals.
Obviously is a movie with a predictable plot, but it works because the action sequences are engaging enough for novices to the sport and authentic enough to satisfy the true believers. Kids and teens will learn about Native American culture, including the fact that Native Americans invented lacrosse especially where the Native American heritage is examined in modern times. In general terms, is a family-friendly entertainment and the filmmakers had the good sense to cast real lacrosse players.
Directed by Steve Rash (American Pie Presents Band Camp), Crooked Arrows stars Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) and Gil Birmingham (Twilight). The film was produced by J. Todd Harris (The Kids Are All Right), Mitchell Peck (Priest), and Adam Leff (The Last Action Hero). In addition, the movie features top lacrosse players from around the country, including a team » It is open in limited release on June 1st in NY and LA.
Real people in real situations in Where Do We Go Now?
By GalaTView Staff
Photos Courtesy
Set in a remote village where the church and the mosque stand side by side, Where Do We Go Now? follows the antics of the town’s women to keep their blowhard men from starting a religious war. Women heartsick over sons, husbands and fathers lost to previous flare-ups unite to distract their men with clever ruses, from faking a miracle to hiring a troop of Ukrainian strippers.
Many sons, fathers, and husbands died, and now the women are despondent having buried their loved ones. In an effort to quell the tensions that are beginning to rise, the town’s female population bands together to not just outsmart the men, but – better yet – to keep the peace between the religions. They distract the men with creative ruses – everything from faking a miracle (one of the funniest scenes in the film) to hiring a troupe of cute Ukrainian belly dancers. This movie also includes racial, religious and political tensions well treated especially with humourous and loving ladies have proved to be the true heroines of this hard-hitting film.
Where Do We Go Now? opens in limited release on May 11.
A movie full of dreams in I Wish
Review by Jenny Alvarez
Photos courtesy
Koichi (Koki Maeda) a twelve-year-old boy lives with his mother and retired grandparents in Kagoshima, in the southern region of Kyushu, Japan. His younger brother Ryunosuke (Koki’s real-life brother Ohshiro Maeda) lives with their father in Hakata, northern Kyushu. The brothers have been separated by their parents’ divorce and Koichi’s only wish is for his family to be reunited. When he learns that a new bullet train line will soon open, linking the two towns, he starts to believe that a miracle will take place the moment these new trains first pass each other at top speed. With help from the adults around him, Koichi sets out on a journey with a group of friends, each hoping to witness a miracle that will improve their difficult lives.
A delightful tale of childhood desires and imaginative adventures, I wish will open on May 11 in Los Angeles, with a national rollout to follow. Faces show up in supporting roles as adults, including Jo Odagiri as the deadbeat father and a struggling musician and Hiroshi Abe as a strict teacher.
This movie gives the story a timeless, dreamlike quality and illustrates life as it is. Some landscape shots featuring the live volcano next to Kagoshima are particularly breathtaking. But some of the scenes seemed as though the cuts were put together very sloppily. In fact, if any wish gets preferential treatment, it’s that of Koichi’s friend Makoto, who quietly mourns and accepts the devastation of mortality during the adventure. It’s about family in a changing society full of life, heart, and funny little details about daily existence. Two thumbs up!
Lady Gaga and the "White Devil"
Lady Gaga revealed in an interview that her past drug use was due to loneliness. She admitted that at 19-years-old she had mental and emotional problems. “I would go back to my apartment every day and I would just sit there. It was quiet and it was lonely. It was still,” said Gaga. “It was just my piano and myself. I had a television and I would leave it on all the time just to feel like somebody was hanging out with me.” This lead to cocaine use and dependency on the drug. “It was like the drug was my friend. I never did it with other people,” she said. “It’s such a terrible way to fill that void, because it just adds to that void, because it’s not real.” Lady Gaga had an epiphany and realized that the “white devil” was destroying her. She then decided to focus on her music.
"Think Like a Man" Beats Hunger Games
“Think Like a Man” took the thunder from the “Hunger Games” and made a debut of $33 million this weekend. The film is based on Steve harvey’s book “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man” and was directed by Tim Story, who also directed “Fantastic Four”. The film also received positive reviews from critics and was produced with a budget of 13 million. The film focused on targeting African American audiences, instead it received a wider range of viewers. 60% of the viewers were females, let’s hope they walked out the theater thinking like a man.
