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The Lake House, a review by Tom

The Lake House (2006/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (United States) Director: Alejandro Agresti Writing: David Auburn (Screenwriter) Length: 98 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: English, French, Spanish

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Stars:
Keanu Reeves as Alex Wyler
Sandra Bullock as Kate Forster
Christopher Plummer as Simon Wyler
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Henry Wyler
Willeke Van Ammelrooy as Kate's Mother

Plot:
Dr. Kate Forster has finally found romance. Trouble is, it's a long-distance relationship. She's in downtown Chicago. He's in a remote lakeside suburb. And there's more: She's in 2006. He's in 2004.

Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock team for the first time since Speed for this heart-lifting story of a love that transcends time. It begins when Kate moves out of her visually stunning lake house and leaves a note for the next tenant, architect Alex Wyler. They begin a correspondence and soon come to realize they are meant for each other...and that, somehow, they live two years apart. Can they ever meet? What would happen if they tried? Magical and emotionally rich, The Lake House is a love story for 2004, for 2006, for all times.

Awards:
Won:

Teen Choice Awards (2006)

Movies - Choice Liplock (Sandra Bullock, Keanu Reeves)

Nominated:

Teen Choice Awards (2006)

Movies - Choice Chick Flick

Extras:

• Closed Captioned
• Deleted Scenes
• Outtakes
• Scene Access
• Trailers

In my opinion one of the few cases where the remake has been executed well and does not have to hide behind the original. And now seeing it again after watching the original, I still think the ending of "The Lake House" is better. Peter, I can also recommend it to you. You are correct, Keanu Reeves is not a good drama actor and he is the weak point here acting-wise but not that bad, to avoid this movie altogether. As compensation we have Sandra Bullock :Smiley:

Rating:

(From Tom's Time-Travel Movie Reviews on January 26th, 2008)

Hairspray (2007), a review by James

Title: Hairspray
Year: 2007
Director: Adam Shankman
Rating: PG
Length: 117 Min.
Media Type: Blu-ray
Video: Widescreen 2.35:1
Audio: English: DTS HD, English: DTS HD
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
John Travolta
Michelle Pfeiffer
Christopher Walken
Amanda Bynes
James Marsden

Plot:
It's 1962, and change is in the air in Baltimore. Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart, has only one passion--to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, "The Corny Collins Show" and is transformed overnight from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can the trendsetting Tracy win the heart of teen-dream Link Larkin and stand up for what she believes in, despite the program's scheming stage manager? All she needs is her best friend Penny, a toe- tappin' beat - and a little HAIRSPRAY!

Extras:
Featurettes


I barely remember seeing the John Waters version with Ricki Lake. My daughter saw a touring production of the stage version. She loved it and knowing my love of musicals, she urged me to see it first on stage and then on film. I never did.

Then it played on an airplane I was on but the screens were so terrible. Each mini-screen was affected by a different color saturation. Mine was green. The movie looked fun, but I couldn't appreciate it under those circumstances.

I grabbed the Blu-ray version on my way to the cashier when I purchased my Blu-ray player. Watching it today was one of the best eye and ear candy experiences I've ever had with a musical.

It's so well cast. Each actor is so perfect for their role. I really can't single anyone out since they were all terrific. The music is catchy. I found myself humming "Good Morning Baltimore" afterwards. The story caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting more than just breezy songs in a '60s setting. But it has a great message about tolerance.

The Hi-Def version is eye-popping. Just fabulous. The 2-disc set is packed with extras.

Welcome to the '60s...oh, oh, oh....

10 on the cellophane scale. If only the scale went to 11. 



(From The Viewage of James aka m.cellophane on January 7th, 2008)

The IT Crowd: Version 3.0 - (mini) marathon, a review by Tom

04. The Speech (2008-12-12)
Writer: Graham Linehan (Writer)
Director: Graham Linehan
Cast: Chris O'Dowd (Roy), Richard Ayoade (Moss), Katherine Parkinson (Jen), Matt Berry (Douglas), Lucy Montgomery (April), Tom Binns (Nolan)

This episode was a lot of fun again. The guys giving Jen the "internet" for a speech

Rating:

(From The IT Crowd: Version 3.0 - (mini) marathon on July 31st, 2009)