Cast:

Reese Witherspoon … Marlena Rosenbluth
Robert Pattinson … Jacob
Christoph Waltz … August
Paul Schneider … Charlie
Jim Norton … Camel
Hal Holbrook … Old Jacob Jankowski
Mark Povinelli … Kinko / Walter
Richard Brake … Grady
Stephen Taylor … Wade (as Stephen Monroe Taylor)
Ken Foree … Earl
Scott MacDonald … Blackie

Sara Gruen’s bestselling novel comes to glossy life in this period romance.

A sparkle-free Robert Pattinson plays Jacob Jankowski, who studies veterinary medicine during the Great Depression. After a family tragedy, he loses everything, including the chance to graduate from prestigious Cornell, so he hops a train, where he finds himself part of the struggling Benzini Brothers Circus.

Ringleader August (Christoph Waltz, echoing his Oscar-winning Inglourious Basterds performance) has doubts about the softhearted lad, but a fellow Pole smoothes the way, and Jacob becomes the company vet, which leads him to platinum-blond equestrian Marlena (Reese Witherspoon), August’s wife.

The two make eyes at each other, but an affair would surely end badly, so they concentrate on their work. When Marlena’s prize steed falls ill, August purchases an elephant, hoping Rosie will turn their fortunes around, and enlists Jacob to train her. Unfortunately, she’s slow to respond to commands until Jankowski unlocks her secret–and after August has beaten the poor thing into submission. After that, things start to look up until Jacob steals a kiss from his dream girl.

As in The Notebook, the film it most closely resembles, an elderly version of the central character (Hal Holbrook, touching) narrates in the present day (screenwriter Richard LaGravenese also adapted The Bridges of Madison County). He tells an interesting tale, so it’s too bad the leads strike so few sparks. For those who find big-top classics like Nightmare Alley too dark, however, Francis Lawrence’s feel-better variant may be just the ticket.

If you like this movie, you'll also like:

1. Little Miss Sunshine
2. Twilight
3. Natural Born Killers

Cast:

Ben Burtt … WALL·E / M-O (voice)
Elissa Knight … EVE (voice)
Jeff Garlin … Captain (voice)
Fred Willard … Shelby Forthright, BnL CEO (voice)
MacInTalk … AUTO (voice)
John Ratzenberger … John (voice)
Kathy Najimy … Mary (voice)
Sigourney Weaver … Ship’s Computer (voice)

In a distant, but not so unrealistic future, where mankind has abandoned earth because it has become covered with trash from products sold by the powerful multi-national Buy N Large corporation, WALL-E, a garbage collecting robot has been left to clean up the mess. Mesmerized with trinkets of Earth’s history and show tunes, WALL-E is alone on Earth except for a sprightly pet cockroach. One day, Eve, a sleek (and dangerous) reconnaissance robot, is sent to Earth to find proof that life is once again sustainable. WALL-E falls in love with Eve. WALL-E rescues Eve from a dust storm and shows her a living plant he found amongst the rubble. Consistent with her “directive” Eve takes the plant and automatically enters a deactivated state except for a blinking green beacon. WALL-E, doesn’t understand what has happened to his new friend, but true to his love, he protects her from wind, rain, and lightning, even as she is unresponsive. One day a massive ship comes to reclaim Eve, but WALL-E, out of love or loneliness hitches a ride on the outside of the ship to rescue Eve. The ship arrives back at a large space cruise ship, which is carrying all of the humans who evacuated Earth 700 years earlier. The people of Earth ride around this space resort on hovering chairs which give them a constant feed of TV and video chatting. They drink all of their meals through a straw out of laziness and/or bone loss, and are all so fat that they can barely move. When the auto-pilot computer, acting on hastily given instructions sent many centuries before, tries to prevent the people of Earth from returning, by stealing the plant, WALL-E, Eve, the portly captain, and a band of broken robots stage a mutiny.

If you like this movie, you'll also like:

1. Kung Fu Panda
2. A Bug’s Life
3. Bolt 3D

Cast:

Joaquin Phoenix as John R. Cash
Reese Witherspoon as June Carter
Ginnifer Goodwin as Vivian Cash
Robert Patrick as Ray Cash
Dallas Roberts as Sam Phillips
Dan John Miller as Luther Perkins
Larry Bagby as Marshall Grant

A chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash’s life, from his early days on an Arkansas cotton farm to his rise to fame with Sun Records in Memphis, where he recorded alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.

Trivia:

Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon performed all of the songs themselves, without being dubbed. They also learned to play their instruments (guitar and auto-harp, respectively) from scratch.

Johnny Cash chose Joaquin Phoenix to play him in the film on the basis of his performance in the movie Gladiator (2000). June Carter Cash also reportedly chose Reese Witherspoon for her role in the film.

June Carter Cash died before production began on the film, so Reese Witherspoon’s research included looking through Carter’s closet for inspiration.

Awards:

Oscar
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role – Reese Witherspoon (won)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role – Joaquin Phoenix (nominated)

Golden Globe Awards
Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (won)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy – Joaquin Phoenix (won)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy – Reese Witherspoon (won)

Grammy Awards
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media – Joaquin Phoenix, T-Bone Burnett
(won)

If you like this movie, you'll also like:

1. Water for Elephants
2. Pleasantville
3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Cast:

Jet Li as General Pang Qingyun (as Lianjie Li)
Andy Lau as Zhao Er-Hu (as Dehua Liu)
Takeshi Kaneshiro as Zhang Wen-Xiang (as Wu Jincheng)
Jinglei Xu as Lian

It’s a heroic tale of three blood brothers and their struggle in the midst of war and political upheaval. It is based on “The Assassination of Ma,” a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) story about the killing of general Ma Xinyi. The story was filmed by Zhang Che in 1973 as The Blood Brothers.

If you like this movie, you'll also like:

1. Brothers
2. Band of Brothers (TV miniseries)
3. TMNT: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Cast:

Michael Beck as Swan
James Remar as Ajax
Dorsey Wright as Cleon
Brian Tyler as Snow
David Harris as Cochise
Tom McKitterick as Cowboy
Marcelino Sánchez as Rembrandt
Terry Michos as Vermin

A gang called The Warriors are framed for killing a gang leader trying to unite all the gangs in the area. With other gangs gunning for them they must get back to the home turf of Coney Island… Alive.

If you like this movie, you'll also like:

1. Troy: Director’s Cut
2. Dark City Director’s Cut
3. Hostel: Director’s Cut

Cast:
Narrator (English version): Philippe Labro
Narrator (voice): Jacques Perrin

Imagine flying alongside thousands of birds as they make there way across the continent, their wings so close you could almost reach out and touch them. This is the magic of the documentary Winged Migration; this film follows many different species of birds as they make their annual pilgrimage to escape winter.

This simple premise has produced a film that is a joy to watch, the beautiful scenery – seen from so high above the earth – will take your breath away. During the film you will follow several different species including storks and pelicans – the camera is right there with the birds the whole way. Amazingly there was no CGI used in the filming of the birds, when you see the birds in flight you are getting the unvarnished truth.

The biggest problem for the producers of this film (Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats and Jacques Perrin) was being able to get so close to the birds, they solved it by raising the birds from hatchlings and got them acclimatised to the equipment being so present in their lives. The result is the most awe-inspiring images of birds in flight you will ever see.

The technical challenge went even further with the need for an extraordinary amount of footage before finding the perfect moment; it was common for two months of location shooting to be edited down to 1 minute of film time.

This film is clearly a labour of love and the amount of work and dedication needed to create such a beautiful piece of cinema is evident. It was recognized by others as well, there was strong critical acclaim for the film and a Best Documentary Feature nomination from the Academy of Motion Pictures (the Oscars).

Seeing this film is a true cinematic experience.

Connie: Catherine Keener
Max: Max Records
Connie’s boyfriend: Mark Ruffalo
KW (voice): Lauren Ambrose
Carol (voice): James Gandolfini
Judith (voice): Catherine O’Hara
Ira (voice): Forest Whitaker

In 1963 Maurice Sendak wrote a 10 line children’s book that has delighted children and adults ever since. One thing you can be sure of, it’s not easy to turn a child’s imaginary world into a workable film. This team rose to the challenge and came up with a novel mix of real life and animation to carry the film through.

The film is the story of Max, played by the delightful Max Records, it is about a boy who is disobedient and is sent to his room without dinner. For those of us still able to remember that far back we can perhaps recall that being sent to your room was not necessarily the worst thing that could happen. With imagination and the desire to leave the every-day (especially if that included a step-father you weren’t fond of) a child on his own in his bedroom could keep himself entertained for hours.

M ax takes us on a journey into a land with many wild and magical animals who are in desperate need of a king. The ask Max to take the job and our hero learns that having all the power doesn’t necessarily mean getting things your own way, or even getting all the answers right.

The film itself is beautifully put together. The folding together of live action and animation is handled well and you are able to suspend disbelief and go on this adventure with Max. Spike Jonze directs, his previous work includes Being John Malkovich, and he is up to the task here. He has a gentle touch that is important with this story. The overall effect is of being drawn into this boy’s imagination.

If you like this movie, you'll also like:

1. Into The Wild
2. Planet 51
3. 9

Cast:

Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson: Mickey Rourke
Cassidy: Marisa Tomei
Stephanie: Evan Rachel Wood
Lenny: Mark Margolis
Wayne: Todd Barry
Nick Volpe: Wass Stevens
Scott Brumberg: Judah Friedlander
The Ayatollah: Ernest Miller

A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.

If you like this movie, you'll also like:

1. The Change Up
2. The Muppets (2011)
3. Arthur Christmas

Cast:
Ann Darrow: Naomi Watts
Carl Denham: Jack Black
Jack Driscoll: Adrien Brody
Captain Englehorn: Thomas Kretschmann
Preston: Colin Hanks
Kong / Lumpy: Andy Serkis
Hayes: Evan Parke
Jimmy: Jamie Bell

Finding new and interesting ways to meet girls is a driving force in the lives of John and Jeremy (played by Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn respectively). They have been given a series of rules to help them find willing girls; the basic outline is to attend weddings, meet girls who are driven mad with wedding fever (and some champagne) and score a one night stand. The film follows our two heroes as they successfully manage to crash wedding after wedding; they not only crash the parties but often become the hit of the evening.

The film follows John and Jeremy as they crash the wedding of the daughter of a very important government official. As hoped they manage to find two girls but unfortunately they disobey their own rules and become romantically attached. The girls each have their own complications (one even has an existing boyfriend of dubious quality) and the boys can’t seem to decide how to solve the issue. Take the plunge and have a grown-up relationship or move on and continue crashing weddings?

The film is fun and light and both Wilson and Vaughn bring their comedic skills to the fore. They are well matched here, they play off each other nicely and there is no clearly dominant comedian. The supporting players, including Will Ferrell as the guru of wedding crashing, are excellent. The plot moves along quickly and the climax of the film is both funny and touching. It’s nice to see these two playing buddies because it comes across that they really are friends and they are the kind of guys you would want to hang out with. The chemistry between the two leads is what makes the movie so watchable.

If you like this movie, you'll also like:

1. Mr. & Mrs. Smith
2. Corpse Bride
3. Babes In Toyland – 1986

Cast:
Ray Ferrier: Tom Cruise
Rachel Ferrier: Dakota Fanning
Mary Ann: Miranda Otto
Robbie: Justin Chatwin
Harlan Ogilvy: Tim Robbins
Vincent: Rick Gonzalez

This classic H.G. Wells tale is still a compelling piece of drama. The story is of an invasion by an alien species, they arrive with lasers blazing killing anyone they find and destroying any buildings that get in their way. The aliens don’t speak, and never interact with humans except to kill them. Later we find out that they have a gruesome use for human blood and tissue. If you like sci-fi stories you’re going to love this film.

This version has been directed by Steven Spielberg who is superb with these sweeping panoramas as well as stories of human drama played against otherworldly enemies. The threatening sky and the gathering storm are well rendered here; it is critical to the story to have this setting, the ordinary Spielberg suburb that is going to be irrevocable changed (in this case flattened).

The main character is the unremarkable everyday joe six pack, played by Tom Cruise. It is clear why he is one of the hottest stars today, he brings a sense of urgency and panic while still staying on top of the the story and making it real for the audience. His daughter is played by the brilliant Dakota Fanning, it has been a long time since we have had a young actress as able as her and it’s a pleasure to watch her in this drama.

The original radio play of this story (broadcast coast-to-coast in 1938 by Orson Wells) managed to terrify people and caused a nationwide panic. This film is realistic enough that you can be forgiven for wanting to make a run for it when the alien pods start shooting. The use of special effects is judicious and adds to the film without being a distraction. Overall this is an excellent remake of an American classic.

If you like this movie, you'll also like:

1. Where the Wild Things Are
2. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith
3. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial