Sex and Lucia (2001) "Lucía y el sexo" (original title)

Various lives converge on an isolated island, all connected by an author whose novel has become inextricably entwined with his own life.

Director:Julio Medem

Writer:Julio Medem

Stars:Paz Vega, Tristán Ulloa, Najwa Nimri | See full cast and crew 

 

Storyline

Lucía is a young waitress in a restaurant in the centre of Madrid. After the loss of her long-time boyfriend, a writer, she seeks refuge on a quiet, secluded Mediterranean island. There, bathed in an atmosphere of fresh air and dazzling sun, Lucía begins to discover the dark corners of her past relationship, as if they were forbidden passages of a novel which the author now, from afar, allows her to read

 

User Reviews

 The earlier film by Julio Médem (Lovers of the Arctic Circle) is a prelude to the kind of cinematography that this Spanish film director/writer presents here. I have read most of the other comments, but they don't do justice to it, mainly because of the lack of understanding the original tongue of this film. The screenplay is excellent, full of metaphors and a rich use of very carefully chosen words. People who consider this film just an excuse for depicting sex scenes as the highlight of the movie are pretty much clueless. It is more than that, it is the complex storytelling that tangles the characters in this movie and the way that is told. Compelling and breath-taking. A must see.

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Unfaithful (2002)

A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.

Director:Adrian Lyne

Writers:Claude Chabrol (film "La Femme infidèle"), Alvin Sargent (screenplay), 1 more credit »

Stars:Richard Gere, Diane Lane, Olivier Martinez | See full cast and crew » 

 

Storyline

Connie Sumner has a loving husband, a beautiful home, and a wonderful son, but she wants more. When she's approached one day by a handsome stranger while trying to hail a taxi, she becomes obsessed with him and eventually starts an affair. But her selfish actions soon catch up with her..

 

User Reviews

 Whoever thought that director Adrian Lyne and star Richard Gere were finished needs to see this haunting and provocative film. Because this is a stunner that will put both back on the map - big time. For all their star power though, it is the female star Diane Lane who must take huge credit for making this such an effective movie.

I've always liked Lane as an actress from when she was a kid in Francis Ford Coppola films, but she rarely got the chance to 'carry' a film. Well, she not only 'carries' UNFAITHFUL, she delivers one of the most haunting and powerful performances I have seen from an actress. Think Julia Roberts in ERIN BROCKOVICH or Ellen Burstyn in REQUIEM FOR A DREAM and you get the picture. Stunning acting.

While the committed performances are what make a great movie greater, it is Adrian Lyne who has constructed such a wonderful and effective rhythm and style to UNFAITHFUL. This is not an art-film, but it is not a blockbuster either. It lays somewhere between the two and delivers on all fronts. I was totally glued to my seat from start to finish.

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Come Undone (2010)

One day at a colleague's going away party, Anna meets Domenico, a virile, slightly older chap who's married with two small kids. Passion's flames are rapidly kindled and result in steamy encounters.

Director:Silvio Soldini

Writers:Silvio Soldini (story), Doriana Leondeff (story), 3 more credits »

Stars:Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino, Teresa Saponangelo | See full cast and crew » 

 

Storyline

One day at a colleague's going away party, Anna meets Domenico, a virile, slightly older chap who's married with two small kids. Passion's flames are rapidly kindled and result in steamy encounters.

User Reviews

 Silvio Soldini is a very good director. At his best, he can give us touching, inspiring comedies like "Pane e Tulipani" or in-depth social studies like "Un'anima divisa in due".

Unfortunately this film seems to be stuck in the middle, and ultimately have no point. Well acted (Giuseppe Battiston is always a guarantee), interestingly filmed, too little edited. Yes, the editor could have left some more out of it.

The analysis of the Italian contemporary society (financial struggle, emptiness, fear of engagement) is quite precise, but gets lost in a never-ending (and repeating) lovers' story, everybody gets tired about. The audience tend to look forward the other characters, the whole support cast (the friends, the betrayed companions, the families), because these two really go back an forth, back and forth, back and forth...

Alba Rohrwacher doesn't seem to have enough to work on, in terms of creating a complete character. She's good, but seeing her driving around for a while doesn't take the story anywhere. Pierfrancesco Favino has a more interesting character, and Teresa Saponangelo has a standardized role (as a betrayed wife and mother of screaming children) that we've seen way to often (what a missed opportunity).

At the end of the 'World Première', here in Berlin, Silvio Soldini didn't really know what to say, except to thank for the polite applauses. That's the point: he has the craft, the skills, the production means and the crew to create something new and revealing. We still love you, but please wait for the inspiration, next time. A film can come out wrong like "Agata e la tempesta" and still be an enjoyable experience, but if there is nothing to say, better to pass on to the next project.

Also, please have the English subtitles redone. They were pretty bad. Don't cut corners and have them done better next time. Thanks!

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Intimacy (2001)

A failed London musician meets once a week with a woman for a series of intense sexual encounters to get away from the realities of life. But when he begins inquiring about her, it puts their relationship at risk.

Director:Patrice Chéreau

Writers:Hanif Kureishi (stories), Anne-Louise Trividic, 1 more credit »

Stars:Mark Rylance, Kerry Fox, Susannah Harker | See full cast and crew 

 

Storyline

Jay, a failed musician, walked out of his family and now earns a living as head bartender in a trendy London pub. Every Wednesday afternoon a woman comes to his house for graphic, almost wordless, sex. One day Jay follows her and finds out about the rest of her life (and that her name is Claire). This eventually disrupts their relationship.

 

User Reviews

 "Intimacy" tells of a divorced man and a married woman who have weekly loveless sex while each knows little of the other. The film explores the "why" of their peculiar relationship and follows the pair of protags to their inevitable conclusion. Whatever you know, think, or read about this film, it does break new ground as it pushes legitimate cinema one small measure toward its destiny by illuminating that dark corner of human behavior currently occupied only by pornography. Be prepared for graphic sex/nudity and some intensely personal scenes in a stark, austere, somewhat depressing but very courageous drama. Not for prudes, "Intimacy" will be most enjoyed by mature drama enthusiasts. (B)

 

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The Big Lebowski (1998)

"The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.

Directors:

 Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (uncredited)

Writers:

 Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Stars:

 Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore |See full cast and crew »

Storyline

When "The Dude" Lebowski is mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, two thugs urinate on his rug to coerce him into paying a debt he knows nothing about. While attempting to gain recompense for the ruined rug from his wealthy counterpart, he accepts a one-time job with high pay-off. He enlists the help of his bowling buddy, Walter, a gun-toting Jewish-convert with anger issues. Deception leads to more trouble, and it soon seems that everyone from porn empire tycoons to nihilists want something from The Dude.

User Reviews

The Coen brothers are up there with my very favorite filmmakers (Scorsese, Kubrick, Carpenter). I am very fond of their work. Throughout their irreverent career, they have explored different subjects and themes. Their best stories evolve from kidnapping schemes in films like "Raising Arizona " and "Fargo", one of my very favorites. I thought that film was fervently free. I was so ever wrong. It's as if the Coen Brothers have celebrated their complete breakthrough success (Academy Award winners), and now are willing to do whatever they please. "The Big Lebowski" is a film so meandering, so wonderfully novel, that I found myself missing the many other sporadic jokes as I was heaving from laughter. The film is basically about mistaken identity, eccentric characters, and a soiled rug. This film extols the bowler, the allies, even the pins. We experience an actual bowling ball POV, as the Dude (Jeff Bridges) hallucinates. This film has nihilists, feminists, millionares, paedophiles, drugged out hippies, underachieving students, incompetent criminals, pornographers and 'Nam veterans. This movie is open to anything , anything... Some people are turned off by absurd looniness, because it's so grandiosely different. Yet who couldn't chuckle, if not explode, when a bowler dressed in a tight purple suit licks a bowling ball's finger hole, and the camera pans down to reveal his name as Jesus! I will disclose no more, but urgently recommend you to traverse to your nearest video abode and rent this true escapists' feature. Abandon all solemn inhibitons, though! One can not keep a straight face whilst watching.

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The Girl Next Door (2004)

A teenager's dreams come true when a former porn star moves in next door and they fall in love.

Director:

 Luke Greenfield

Writers:

 David Wagner (story) (as David T. Wagner) ,Brent Goldberg (story), 3 more credits »

Stars:

 Emile Hirsch, Nicholas Downs, Elisha Cuthbert |See full cast and crew »

Storyline

18-year-old Matthew Kidman is a straight 'A' over-achiever who feels that he has never really lived life to the full. That is, until he meets 'the girl next door'. Danielle moves in next door, and Matthew thinks he's found the girl of his dreams. All is going well, until Matthew's sex-mad friend Eli reveals that Danielle is actually a ex-porn star. Matthew doesn't know how to take the news or how to treat Danielle, and things go from bad to worse when Danielle's former producer Kelly appears to take her back.

User Reviews

The Girl Next Door's tagline "Matt didn't see her coming...but all his friends have!" is very deceiving, because the movie is not like that at all. When you see this, you'll expect a raunchy, borderline porn movie, but what you get is a refreshing, adorable, and sweet love story with great performances from Emile Hirsch and Elisha Cuthbert.

Matthew Kidman (Emile Hirsch, The Emperor's Club, Lords of Dogtown) is not a geek by any means. He's your everyday nice guy who's never really 'lived'. He is the top student, the class president, and he's in charge of bringing a teenage super genius to the U.S.A. Everything is going fantastic, because he even gets accepted to Georgetown. Only problem is, he needs the money to get to the school, and this can only be paid by winning a scholarship. A few days before his speech on why he deserves the scholarship, Matt meets Danielle (Elisha Cuthbert, '24', Weezer's 'Perfect Situation video), a breathtakingly beautiful girl who (after a hilarious few scenes where they meet) he instantly falls for, and she falls for him.

For the first part of the movie, you see Danielle, the near unfairly sexy girl, push Matt to limits he hasn't gone to, such as running in the street naked, swimming in a stranger's pool, and skipping school. They're falling in love, and it's easy to see on screen, and it's adorable.

Just when it can't get any better for Matt, things take a turn for the worse. One of his best friends, Eli (the hilarious Chris Marquette), who is a massive porn addict, goes through his collection, and finds a tape...and who is the star? Danielle. Turns out, Danielle had just quit her job as a porn star and decided to turn over a new leaf. After a near tear-jerking scene, Danielle returns to her old career by contacting her old boss, a gritty and suave porn producer named Kelly (Tim Olyphant). It's at this point that Matt decides that he doesn't care about Danielle's past, and he's in love with her. He decides that he'll do anything to get her back, including taking on Kelly, the porn industry, and some very weird people.

After some events, the plot strays away from just Matt and Danielle, and thickens to become a real movie, not just a teen movie. The movie does an excellent job of keeping us interested, because just as the plot becomes serious, Eli and Matt's other friend, Klitz, add some very funny moments and ideas. Yes, the movie does sound like the classic Risky Business, but it does things that separate itself from that movie. The chemistry between Hirsch and Cuthbert is magical, and despite her gigantic sex appeal, the character of Danielle is so lovable for how sweet and caring she is to Matt. There are some great plot twists that keep you interested, not to mention hilarious in jokes and one liners, and not to mention a classic quote: "The juice was worth the squeeze". You'll understand. Tim Olyphant is great in a somewhat opposing role, and veteran actor James Remar makes a few appearances as a porn producing giant. The movie's ending is so great and funny that you can't help but enjoy, not to mention mysterious, keeping you hanging by a thread the whole way through.

Luke Greenfield has directed a movie that is so well liked and cherished, that I have never heard a bad thing against this film (I'm 17, and all my friends, guys and girls, loved it). I own it on DVD, and have watched it at least 10 times. I've finally gotten around to writing a review, because writing this has reminded me of how great this movie is. In a few one word sentences, The Girl Next Door is...fun. hilarious. sweet. lovable. classic. I recommend this movie to anyone from the ages of 13 to 30, because this is the age group it is intended for.

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Movie 43 (2013)

A series of interconnected short films follows a washed-up producer as he pitches insane story lines featuring some of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

Directors:

 Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, 11 more credits »

Writers:

 Rocky Russo, Jeremy Sosenko, 26 more credits »

Stars:

 Emma Stone, Stephen Merchant, Richard Gere |See full cast and crew »

Storyline

Ineffectual, 'has-been' film-maker (Dennis Quaid) swindles his way into an interview with a film executive (Greg Kinnear) in order to pitch an outrageous and controversial comedy manuscript. After pitching the first of his thirteen offbeat fables, the dejected artist forces the rest of his disjointed allegory on the executive at gunpoint. He tells stories of a woman on a blind date with a man who has testicles growing from his neck, in another a smitten woman offers her neck to her boyfriend to 'poop' on -as a sign of commitment and love. In yet another two parents take home-schooling to a whole new level of indecency, striving to give their isolated teenage son all the 'regular' torment and humiliation of puberty by bullying, peer-pressuring and even seducing him themselves. An off-beat, elephant-in-the-room type film.

User Reviews

After seeing the movie I just can't help but wonder why all those movie stars agreed doing this? Sitting through the entire movie made me feel very proud, afterward i felt really stupid.

The main plot was terrible. I'm not going to explain anything because I don't want people spending their money on this and frankly I couldn't pay attention anymore. The funny jokes you already saw in the preview and since you see them coming a mile away and the movie is an enormous buzz kill you won't even laugh. If you do decide to go to Movie 43, prepare to sit back, yawn, roll your eyes and if you're lucky you have to go to the bathroom twice. I encourage you to get drunk.

A special mention goes to Gerard Butler, who as a leprechaun does the best work of his career in a segment so stupid it makes you want to kick every leprechaun you will never see.

This was by far the worst movie I've seen in a while.

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