Elizabeth
In search of one Cate Blanchett’s great performances, I rented the historical drama Elizabeth. Blanchett received an Oscar nomination for the role but lost out to Gweneth Paltrow who played the object of William Shakespeare’s desire in Shakespeare in Love. I suspect that Paltrow won not because she was more in love than Elizabeth. 
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[Read More] Steve Martin’s Seventy-two Virgins
The father of the bride reflects in the New Yorker (Jan 29, 2007) on his imaginary encounters with 72 virgins.
Virgin No. 1: Yuck.
Virgin No. 2: Ick.
Virgin No. 3: Ew.
Virgin No. 4: Ow.
Virgin No. 5: Do you like cats? I have fourteen!
Virgin No. 6: I
Letters from Iwo Jima
War movies fall into three categories. Government-funded propaganda that is designed to rally the civilian population, summer action movies that hope to thrill youngsters with exhilarating battle scenes in which good in the end triumphs over evil, and finally critical films that want to undermine the very premise that war is something anyone should desire. 
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[Read More] The Police Reunites for the First Tour in 24 Years
Good news for all Police fans. Sting has finally become nostalgic and agreed to going on tour with his old band members from the Police, Steward Copeland and Andy Steward. He used the answer the question whether he could ever imagine going on reunion tour with The Police. “This would be good cause 
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[Read More] Great Books of Quotations
Louis Menand reviews two recent books of quotations in the New Yorker. After reading his fun review, I really want these two books for my library. Anyone forgot my birthday?
Sherlock Holmes never said “Elementary, my dear Watson.” Neither Ingrid Bergman nor anyone else in “Casablanca” says “Play it again, Sam”; Leo Durocher did not say 
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[Read More] Notes on a Scandal
Don’t! Stop! Don’t! Stop! Don’t… Don’t stop! I thought that Notes on a Scandal was a film about one of these notorious conservative British politicians caught up in a sex scandal. Wrong! The scandal involves people from a very different social group. Not knowing anything about the plot made the film all the 
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[Read More] Marriages aren’t made for heaven
Curious news from the marriage front courtesy of Samantha Brett.
MARRIED folk, hold on to your wedding rings! Those marriage vows we once happily
exchanged are in deep trouble. “For richer or poorer” has reached the end of its run, permanence has taken a back seat and the phrase “till death us do part” has 
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[Read More] The Last King of Scotland
If I could decide the Oscars all by myself, the King (Forest Whitaker) and the Queen (Helen Mirren) would receive the 2007 Oscars for best actor. The two roles could not be more different. But Whitaker and Mirren individually deliver one of the best performances in the history of cinema portraying a real human 
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[Read More] Little Children
Sarah (Kate Winslet) and Brad (Patrick Wilson) meet on a playground in a suburb of Boston just as their marriage is entering a difficult period. They feel an immediate attraction. Little Children chronicles how people who are stuck in a staid, lifeless marriage struggle when they develop extra-marital romantic feelings, unexpectedly standing before a temptation 
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