The Door in the Floor

I recently saw the Door in the Floor, and really liked it! The film takes place over a period of one summer. A couple decides to separate just as a young student comes to work for the husband as an author's assistant. The couples two sons dies years before. They now live alone with their young daughter. Soon the student becomes a pawn for both the husband and wife.

Everyone in this film was absolutely amazing. Jon Foster plays the student and Kim Basinger plays the wife. They both did really well, but the two that I were most impressed by were Jeff Bridges and Elle Fanning. I have come to expect wonderful and powerful performances from Bridges, but I was really pleasantly surprised by Fanning's performance. I have seen her in many roles before, but this definitely seemed to be the most challenging. She handled the part very well.

I would definitely recommend this film. It is definitely a must-see!

What Rats Won't Do

I recently saw a film called What Rats Won't Do. The film came out in 1998 and is the original film that Laws of Attraction (2004) is based on. I did not like it nearly as much as Laws of Attraction, but it was still pretty good. The film follows Kate Beckenham (Natascha McElhone) and Jack Sullivan (James Frain). Kate is a barrister. She is engaged to Graham when she comes up against Jack in court. They are on opposing sides of the biggest case of their careers when the sparks begin to fly. 

The film is currently available for free on hulu, but it is not a must-see. If you want to see a good film, you should see Laws of Attraction.

Dream Cast Thursday! Beauty and the Beast

This week's Dream Cast Thursday is Beauty and the Beast. The very first version of the fairy tale was published in 1740 by Madame Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot. The most well-known version of the tale was published in 1786 by Jeanne-Marie le Prince de Beaumont. The original tale involves a wealthy merchand and his three daughters. Two of the sisters are selfish. Belle is the sweetest. He looses all of his wealth, and they all must live in a small farmhouse. One day the merchant goes to town and promises all of his daughters a gift. The two eldest ask for jewelry. Belle asks for a rose. The merchant becomes lost in a forest and eventually comes upon a castle. The owner leaves him food and drink. After resting and eating, the merchant leaves. As he is leaving, he sees a rose and picks it. The owner, a beast, becomes angry and imprisons him for stealing his most precious possession. The merchant explains the situation. The beast allows him to leave if the merchant will send his daughter in his place.  The beast treats Belle well and proposes to her each night. Each night she refuses and dreams of a handsome prince that also asks. She tells him that she loves him only as a friend. Belle becomes convinced that the prince is a prisoner in the castle. She becomes homesick. The beast allows her to return home only if she promises to return. Belle's sisters are jealous of all of the gifts that the beast has given Belle. Every time she is about to leave, they beg her to stay. When Belle finally returns, the beast is nearly dead. She weeps over him and tells him that she loves him. Her tears transform him into the handsome prince.

The first character that I recast was Belle. Before casting her, I considered two adaptations. In the Disney adaptation from 1991, she was played by Paige O'Hara. The second adaptation was the television series from 1987. In this adaptation, she was Catherine and was played by Linda Hamilton. For my adaptation, I recast Rose Byrne.

The second character that I recast was the Prince/Beast. He has been played by Robby Benson and Ron Perlman. For my adaptation, I recast Martin Henderson.

The third character that I recast was the father. He was originally played by Rex Everheart. For my adaptation, I recast Bob Newhart.

The last character that I recast was the Gaston character. He was originally played by Richard White. For my adaptation, I recast Jon Hamm.

So what do you all think? What adaptations have you seen, and which one is your favorite? Who would be in your adaptations?

Dream Cast Thursday! A Streetcar Named Desire

Sorry for the late posting. This week has been pretty hectic. This week's Dream Cast Thursday is A Streetcar Named Desire. The original play by Tennessee Williams was written in 1947. There have been many film adaptations (1951, 1984, 1995).

The original 1951 film kept the original Broadway cast (except for Jessica Tandy who was replaces by Vivien Leigh). I tried to look at all of them when making my choices.

The first character that I recast was Blanche DuBois. This was hard for me. In my mind, I have such a clear picture of who she is. She has been played by Vivien Leigh, Ann-Margret, and Jessica Lange. For my adaptation, I chose Julia Roberts.

The second character that I recast was Stanley Kowalski. He has been played by Marlon Brando, Treat Williams, and Alec Baldwin. For my adaptation, I cast Desmond Harrington.

The last character that I recast was Stella Kowalski. This was probably the easiest character of the three to cast. Once the other ones were chosen, she just seemed right. She has been played by Kim Hunter, Beverly D'Angelo, and Diane Lane. For my adaptation, I cast Rachel McAdams.

So what do you all think? Have you read or seen the play? What adaptations are your favorites? Who would be in yours?

Dream Cast Thursday! Fried Green Tomatoes

This week's Dream Cast Thursday is Fried Green Tomatoes.

This was a really hard film for me to recast. The original actors are SO present in my mind. It is really hard to see any other people in the roles. The first character that I recast was Ruth Jamison. She was originally played by Mary-Louise Parker. For my adaptation, I cast Kate Beckinsale. The next character that I cast was Idgie Threadgoode. She was originally played by Mary Stuart Masterson. For my adaptation, I cast Natalie Portman. The third character that I recast was Ninny Threadgoode. She was originally played by Jessica Tandy. For my adaptation, I cast Vanessa Redgrave. The last major character is Evelyn Couch. She was originally played by Kathy Bates. I considered this for a long while. For a little while, I considered Mary Kay Place, but I ended up just not being able to recast her. There was no one that I could think of that would do this character justice.

So what do you all think? Have you seen the original? Who would be in your remake?

Future Dream Cast Thursdays

Hello Everyone! I thought that it might be a good idea to let you all know about some of the Dream Cast Thursdays that will be coming up. Start thinking about your casts now. If there is any particular book, movie, television show, etc. that you would like me to recast in the future, please let me know in the comments.

Fried Green Tomatoes-Thursday, April 15

A Streetcar Named Desire-Thursday, April 22

Beauty and the Beast-Thursday, April 29

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof -Thursday, May 6

King Arthur-Thursday, May 13

Little Women-Thursday, May 20

Henry VIII-Thursday, May 27

Peter Pan-Thursday, June 3

Roman Holiday-Thursday, June 10

An Ideal Husband

The Importance of Being Earnest-Thursday, June 17

Jane Eyre

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall-Thursday, June 24

Bed and Sofa-Thursday, July 1

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane-Thursday, July 8

Suddenly Last Summer-Thursday, July 15

Gilda-Thursday, July 22

Bringing Up Baby-Thursday, July 29

Meet Me in St. Louis-Thursday, August 5

I hope that you are all as excited for these upcoming casts as I am. I am kind of starting to run out of ideas, so please leave some in the comments. Have a good weekend!

Women in Trouble

When I was working at the Chicago International Film Festival this past October, there were a lot of movies that looked really good, that I was sadly just unable to see. Women in Trouble was one of them. I am really happy that I finally got a chance to see it. It was written and directed by Sebastian Gutierrez and had a wonderful ensemble cast.

Several women (and one girl) in L.A. are hiding something from someone else, or discovering something hidden from them. Maxine (Sarah Clark), a therapist, discovers her husband (Simon Baker) cheating on her with the mother of Charlotte (Isabella Gutierrez), a 13-year old patient. Addy (the other women, Caitlin Keats) and her sister Doris (Connie Britton) have withheld from the girl the truth about her parentage. Holly (Adrianne Palicki), and adult film actor, isn't telling her friend Bambi (Emmanuelle Chriqui) how she feels about her, and another actor, Elektra (Carla Gugino), who discovers she's pregnant, hasn't told the baby's father (Josh Brolin) that she loves him. A stuck elevator, a car crash, mid-air turbulence, a flight attendant, a shotgun-wielding bartender, and her roommate, who's a masseuse, help the women communicate. 

This film is definitely a must-see!

The Greatest

I just saw the Greatest and really loved it! The film was written and directed by Shana Feste, and came out in the UK at the end of last year.

The film follows a couple, their son, and a young girl named Rose. Under normal circumstances the family would have nothing to do with this girl, but they find themselves thrown together. Allen and Grace have recently lost their eldest son. They along with their younger son, Ryan are attempting to cope. This is when Rose shows up. Although she barely knew their son, she was the last to see him and is now pregnant with his baby. She has no where to go and no family to turn to. This grieving family decides to take her in.

I enjoyed this film a lot more than I thought I would. This very easily could have become a cliche, but it didn't. This is not a sappy drama about healing and is not an inspirational melodrama. From beginning to end, the film just felt real.

Every performance was good. It really was an ensemble effort. Every characters rang true. Carey Mulligan and Johnny Simmons were really good, but I was especially impressed with Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon.

This is definitely a must-see film!

Dream Cast Thursday! The Touch Series

For this week's Dream Cast Thursday, I will be casting an adaptation of the Touch Series by Laurie Stolarz. Laurie Stolarz is one  of my favorite authors, and if you haven't read any of her books before, you should definitely check them out (see my review of Deadly Little Lies, the second book in the Touch Series).

The first two characters that I cast were Camelia and Kimmie. The books are centered on the life of Camelia. She is sixteen years old and has led a fairly normal life. That is, until she starts receiving mysterious phone calls and threatening notes. Kimmie is Camelia's confidant and best friend. She is sweet, but edgy. She is creative and is always there when Camelia needs her.

These characters were difficult for me to cast. I wanted to make sure to cast characters that not only fit the part, but would be able to work together. Camelia and Kimmie are best friends. This is something that needs to come across. I ended up casting Evan Rachel Wood as Camelia and Kristen Stewart as Kimmie.

The next characters that I cast were Adam, Wes and Ben. Adam is introduced in the second book. More than anything he wants to design buildings. He works at Knead with Camelia. He is sweet and is there for Camelia when she needs him, but is he really as perfect as he seems? Wes is the third link in Camelia and Kimmie's trio. Like Kimmie, he is sweet and is always there for Camelia. When ever she has a problem, he manages to put his two cents in. Sometimes his advice makes sense, and sometimes it doesn't, but his heart is always in the right place. Ben is introduced in the first book. He is a new guy at school. He is mysterious, and there are rumors that he killed his last girlfriend, but when Camelia begins receiving threatening messages, he may be the only one that can help.

These characters were easier for me to cast. Once I cast the girls, they sort of fell into place. I cast Kyle Schmid as Adam, Emile Hirsch as Wes, and Joseph Gordon Levitt as Ben.

So what do you all think? Have you read the series? Who would be in your adaptation?

Cracks

I just saw a very interesting drama called Cracks. It came out at the end of last year and was written by Jordan Scott, Caroline Ip, and Ben Court and directed by Jordan Scott. It was originally a novel by Sheila Kohler that came out in 2006.

The film is set at an elite, all girls boarding school in England in the 1930s. A new girl arrives at the school. When the attention of their favorite professor, Miss G, shifts to this new girl, the students become jealous and hurtful.

The film was visually stunning. The scenes when the girls go to the lake to swim and the scene when they stay up late for their midnight feast for St. Agnes are some of the most beautifully directed scenes that I have ever seen.

The cast was also wonderful. Eva Green and Juno Temple were especially wonderful. These roles were perfect for them. I have seen Juno Temple in many films now where she had been the "bad guy." This was the first time that I actually felt for her and felt that she was a sympathetic character. Sinead Cusack also did a really good job (although her role was not very large). This was the first film that I have ever seen Maria Valverde in, and she did a remarkable job. It would have been very easy for her to become a very cliche character, but this was not the case. Despite first impressions, I found myself really feeling for every single one of the characters.

This film is already out on dvd in England, but is available at a few places online. I recently saw a trailer at on the Apple trailer website, so I believe that it will be getting some kind of a release in that states (but I am not sure how wide of a release). I would definitely recommend this film. If you can find it somewhere, you should definitely watch it. It is really a must-see!

Glorious 39

I just saw another excellent film by Stephen Poliakoff (see my other reviews of Poliakoff films). It is called Glorious 39 and takes place in England, in the summer of '39. The film follows the Keyes family. The eldest sibling's name is Anne and her life begins to unravel as she stumbles upon a secret involving a movement in favor of making a deal with Hitler.

As with all Poliakoff films, it was very character driven, but this film was more than simply characters. In addition to wonderful performances, the film itself was absolutely stunning. Jeremy Northam, Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple, David Tennant, and Julie Christie all gave really good performances, but I was extemely impressed with Bill Nighy and especially Romola Garai. This was probably my absolute favorite performance of Garai's.

This film is DEFINITELY a must-see! I have already added it to my amazon wishlist, posted the trailer to facebook and recommended it to nearly everyone the I know!

The State Within

I recently saw a really good BBC drama called the State Within. The film follows the English Ambassador to Washington as he uncovers a web of deceit, conflicting interests, and diplomatic incidents. This is another of those times when watching a series where I was really happy that I started it during winter break. This was a real edge-of-your-seat thriller. I absolutely could not stop watching.

The series was written by Lizzie Mickery and Daniel Percival and directed by Michael Offer and Daniel Percival. Although the writing and directing was wonderful, this series would be nothing without the wonderful actors. Absolutely everyone did an amazing job. Eva Brithistle and Ben Daniels did really good jobs, but I was especially impressed with Jason Isaacs and Sharon Gless.

I would definitely recommend this series! It is definitely a must-see!

Inside Daisy Clover

I just saw Inside Daisy Clover and have to say that I did not really like it. It came out in 1965. For those of you who have not heard of it, the film follows a fifteen year old girl. She dreams of being a movie star, but when she finally gets her wish, things do not exactly go as planned.

The film was written by Robert Mulligan. The original novel that the film was based on and the screenplay were both written by Gavin Lambert.  I think that the real problem was the storyline. The film seemed really choppy. I also did not really identify with any of the characters. It was hard to root for anyone when I did not really get a sense of who they were. The actors all gave fairly adequate performances considering. I would really expect less from Robert Redford, Christopher Plummer, Natalie Wood, and Ruth Gordon.

I most likely would not recommend this film to anyone. It is not really a must-see!

State of Play

I'm not sure how many of you saw State of Play when it came out last year. I still haven't gotten a chance to see it, but a little while ago, I was able to see the BBC miniseries that it was based on. I am not sure how true this new adaptation stayed to the original. Having not seen the new version, I can only comment on the original.

The series takes place over six episodes. I cannot say much without giving away plot developments. The film follows the lives of several journalists and one member of Parliament and his family as they all uncover a huge story. It all begins one morning when two seemingly unrelated events occur. The MP's research assistant is killed on the London underground and that same morning a teenage drug dealer is shot.

The series was directed by David Yates and written by Paul Abbott. It is an extremely intense, edge-of-your-seat thriller. I found myself unable to stop watching from episode to episode. Luckily, I first saw this over winter break, and was able to completely stop everything else.

The ensemble cast in this film was AMAZING! Polly Walker, Marc Warren, James McAvoy, and Kelly Macdonald were all pretty good. I had seen all of them in other roles before, so I wasn't very surprised.  I was extremely impressed with David Morrissey and Bill Nighy. They constantly seem to raise the bar. This project was no different. The person that I was most impressed with was John Simm. He was especially good! I had previously only seen him as the Master. This was a completely different role for him. It was really interesting to see him develop this whole new character.

I would definitely recommend this film to anyone and cannot wait to see the remake! It really is a must-see!

Clash of the Titans

I just saw the Clash of the Titans and actually really liked it. I have been pretty hyped up about the remake ever since I hear that they were doing one (see the post that I wrote when I originally heard about the remake). I was always a huge fan of the original ever since I was little and was very pleases to see that they remained pretty true to it. Most of the major plot changes that were made were made for the better. The original film came out in 1981. Both films follow Perseus. He is the mortal son of Zeus and must embark on a quest in order to defeat the Kraken and to save Argos and Andromeda.

The main issue that I had with the remake was the lack of coverage of the other gods. A few gods and goddesses are briefly shown on Olympus, but Zeus and Hades are the only ones that get any real screen time. The original showed a lot more interaction between the gods and goddesses. That said, the characters that were shown were very interesting. This is a pretty simple story. Without the interesting characters, it would just be an action movie. No characters were shown very in-depth, but there was just enough to keep the audience involved and caring about what was happening. This was definitely not Liam Neeson or Ralph Fiennes best performances. Sam Worthington and Alexa Davalos were okay. I was really impressed with Gemma Arterton, Jason Flemyng, Mads Mikkelsen, Liam Cunningham, Hans Matheson, and Nicholas Hoult.

I would definitely recommend this film. It is definitely a must-see!

Dream Cast Thursday! Cinderella

This week's Dream Cast Thursday is Cinderella. I looked at several adaptations when considering my casting. I looked at Disney's Cinderella (1950), Faerie Tale Theatre's Cinderella (1985), Roger and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997), and Ever After (1998).

The first character that I cast was Cinderella. She has been played by Ilene Woods, Jennifer Beals, Brandy Norwood, and Drew Barrymore. For my adaptation, I cast an Australian actress named Abbie Cornish.

The second character that I recast was the Prince. He has been played by William Phipps, Matthew Broderick, Paolo Montalban, and Dougray Scott. For my adaptation, I cast an English actor named Charlie Hunnam.

The third character that I recast was the Fairy Godmother. This character has been played by Verna Felton, Whitney Houston, and Patrick Godfrey. For my adaptation, I cast an American actress named Jane Fond

The next characters that I recast were the evil stepsisters. They have been played by Rhoda Williams and Lucille Bliss and Megan Dodds and  Melanie Lynskey. For my adaptation, I recast Anna Maxwell Martin and Laura Pyper.

The last character that I recast was the Stepmother. She has been played by Eleanor Audley and Anjelica Huston. For my adaptation, I cast Susan Sarandon.

So what do you all think? What is your favorite Cinderella adaptation? Who would be in your remake?