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Captain Corelli's Mandolin, a review by Rich

gorgeous hike across Kafalonia...



In keeping with Hollywood's time-honored tradition of turning celebrated novels into cinematic spectacles, director John Madden brings Louis de Berniere's acclaimed 1994 work, 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin', to life. Set on the Greek island of Cephalonia in 1940, the film tells the story of the beautiful Pelagia (Penelope Cruz), who lives with her father, Dr. Iannis (John Hurt) and is engaged to local fisherman, Mandras (Christian Bale). When Mandras leaves the island to fight for his country against the approaching German army, Pelagia is left behind to worry and wait for a letter, which never arrives. In the meantime, the Italian army occupies Cephalonia, and Pelagia and Dr. Iannis receive a new visitor into their home. Captain Antonio Corelli (Nicolas Cage), a romantic opera lover with a passion for playing the mandolin, annoys Pelagia with his free-spirited personality, but it is this charm that eventually wins her heart. Soon, the two are head-over-heels in love only for Mandras to return.

Contrary to my reluctance and hesitation in what I thought would be a soppy romance, I was pleasantly surprised by the action, plot culture, acting and the scenic backdrop which makes you ache to be back on a Greek Island with azure skies and crystal blue seas. Nicolas Cage, John Hurt (as always) and David Morrissey are all impressive. 7/10

(From Around the World in 80 DVD's on January 25th, 2008)

Chungking Express, a review by Antares

The Town (2010) 4/5 - Definitely no sophomore jinx for Affleck. While the story doesn't quite grab you as well as Gone, Baby Gone, it has enough action to keep you on the edge of your seat. What I really liked about the film was the realistic way the characters were portrayed, as opposed to the caricatures that were present in Scorcese's The Departed. This is how you do Boston accents correctly, please take note Hollywood for any further ventures.

(1984) 3/5 - This is my third Miyazaki film and while he is extremely creative in his ideas, his movies just don't do it for me. I've never been a fan of Anime, so maybe that's the reason. But what I found with this film was that it started out great and faltered at the end. This was the same feeling I had with the other two films I watched by Miyazaki previously, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.

Chungking Express (1994) 3/5 - Of the threee films I watched this weekend, this was the saddest realization for me. I had heard such good things about this film and after seeing his more famous film I'm in the Mood for Love, I was ready for the same exhilaration I felt for that film. But sadly, this film is no where near the quality of his later film. This is a film that is desperately trying to be unique, artsy and hip. Only for brief moments does it gel completely, but unfortunately, those moments are few and far between. One thing it did show me was where Jean-Pierre Jeunet got the inspiration for Amelie. I'll re-visit it again in the future, hopefully a second viewing will change my mind.

(From Antares' Short Summations on March 28th, 2011)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

13. Happy Anniversary
Original Air Date: 2/6/2001
Angel and the Host search for a physicist they fear will cause the end of the world---and who unknowingly has help from two apocalypse-lovin' Lubber demons.

Guest Stars:
Brigid Brannagh
Matt Champagne
Darby Stanchfield
Mike Hagerty

My Thoughts:
This is really just an average filler episode. really. It does little to advance the main storyline of the season. Unfortunately I couldn't get myself to care about the characters in this one. Just a nothing special episode.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 8th, 2010)