Monday, October 31, 2005

The Mission (1986)


A visually stunning epic, THE MISSION recounts the true story of two men--a man of the sword (Robert De Niro) and a man of the cloth (Jeremy Irons)--both Jesuit missionaries who defied the colonial forces of mighty Spain and Portugal to save an Indian tribe from slavery in mid-18th-century South America. Mendoza (De Niro) is a slave trader and colonial imperialist who murdered his own brother (Aidan Quinn) and seeks penance for his sins by becomining a missionary at Father Gabriel's (Irons) mountaintop mission; Gabriel is a devout and idealistic man who extols nonviolence and peaceful interaction with the natives and colonialists. Despite their differences, the two men must unite to save the mission when Spain, Portugal, and the Catholic church begin negotiating their boundaries in the area--negotiations that will affect both the freedom of the natives and the well-being of the Jesuit missionaries who have set up safe havens for them. Director Roland Joffé's sweeping masterpiece is a haunting account of the unjust treatment of the Guarani Indians of South America and the men who fought desperately, in very different ways, to save them. The film features a mezmerizing musical score by Ennio Morricone that weaves a stunning combination of church choirs and native Indian panpipes into the lush images of the Brazilian rainforest.

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*SUPER好聽的電影配樂,其中這首最讚: Gabriel's Oboe~
*作曲家 Ennio Morricone 美妙的作品無數;馬友友也灌錄一張DVD,專門演奏其音樂~
*獲得7項金獎提名~

Sunday, October 30, 2005

Raising Helen (2004)


Directed by Garry Marshall, Raising Helen revolves around Helen Harris (Kate Hudson), whose successful fashion career and decadent Manhattan lifestyle are plenty in terms of keeping her occupied and content. Helen's days as a socialite are brought to a swift end, however, when she is informed not only of the death of her sister and brother-in-law, but of the decision to leave their three children in her care. Being one of New York's hippest matters little to 15-year-old Audrey (Hayden Panettiere), ten-year-old Kenny (Spencer Breslin), and five-year-old Sarah (Abigail Breslin), who would much rather have their parents back. Convinced she can raise the kids and maintain her already fast-paced schedule, Helen quickly finds herself burnt out and disheartened by her older sister's (Joan Cusack) lack of faith. Despite her already hectic schedule, however, Helen finds the time to develop a genuine affection for her new dependents, as well as an equally genuine attraction to Dan Parker (John Corbett), the kids' school principal and local pastor. Eventually, Helen realizes she can't balance the two lives, and is faced with a difficult decision: Does she live her old dreams or take a chance on a new one?

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*看不用動腦的電影蠻輕鬆的~
*phat crib >>> 很屌的屋子~
*It's not over till the fat lady swings.
*used cars = previsouly owned or prior-owned cars

Carlito's Way (1993)


Story about the Puerto Rican Mafia during the 1970s. An ex-con tries to retire from his life of crime but old ties seem to make it impossible.






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*由兩位影帝Al Pacino和Sean Penn合演的電影,會不好看?

*執導的Brian De Palma作品包括: The Untouchables (1987),還有Mission: Impossible (1996)...他和Al Pacino另外合作了Scarface (1983),下次就是要看這部啦~
*Sean Penn的造型蠻好笑的,捲捲的金髮~
*我想,這部電影想傳達的,除了不要犯法之外;就是人要懂的變通...時代在變,人心不古,堅持往往不一定會有好的結果...當生命受到威脅時,適時的改變,是絕對必要囉~
*刷牙突然想到,結尾時,在電扶梯的槍戰,與"鐵面無私"的拍攝手法很相似!

Saturday, October 29, 2005

Chinatown (1974)


"You may think you know what you're dealing with, but believe me, you don't," warns water baron Noah Cross (John Huston), when smooth cop-turned-private eye J.J. "Jake" Gittes (Jack Nicholson) starts nosing around Cross's water diversion scheme. That proves to be the ominous lesson of Chinatown, Roman Polanski's critically lauded 1974 revision of 1940s film noir detective movies. In 1930s Los Angeles, "matrimonial work" specialist Gittes is hired by Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) to tail her husband, Water Department engineer Hollis Mulwray (Darrell Zwerling). Gittes photographs him in the company of a young blonde and figures the case is closed, only to discover that the real Mrs. Mulwray had nothing to do with hiring Gittes in the first place. When Hollis turns up dead, Gittes decides to investigate further, encountering a shady old-age home, corrupt bureaucrats, angry orange farmers, and a nostril-slicing thug (Polanski) along the way. By the time he confronts Cross, Evelyn's father and Mulwray's former business partner, Jake thinks he knows everything, but an even more sordid truth awaits him. When circumstances force Jake to return to his old beat in Chinatown, he realizes just how impotent he is against the wealthy, depraved Cross. "Forget it, Jake," his old partner tells him. "It's Chinatown." Reworking the somber underpinnings of detective noir along more pessimistic lines, Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne convey a '70s-inflected critique of capitalist and bureaucratic malevolence in a carefully detailed period piece harkening back to the genre's roots in the 1930s and '40s. Gittes always has a smart comeback like Humphrey Bogart's Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe, but the corruption Gittes finds is too deep for one man to stop. Other noir revisions, such as Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (1973) and Arthur Penn's Night Moves (1975), also centered on the detective's inefficacy in an uncertain '70s world, but Chinatown's period sheen renders this dilemma at once contemporary and timeless, pointing to larger implications about the effects of corporate rapaciousness on individuals. Polanski and Towne clashed over Chinatown's ending; Polanski won the fight, but Towne won the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Chinatown was nominated for ten other Oscars, including Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costumes, and Score.

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*Chinatown是不是有更深刻的含義呢?大概是對於現實環境的無奈,才會有這麼一句經典台詞"Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown."(#74)
*這部片亦被形容成"希區考克"式的電影,還是懶得去查啥時希區考克式,不過,我想應該是結局有一個極大的"轉折",展現出極大的戲劇張力吧!

*Roman Polanski不算是多產的導演,Tess (1980)正是他所掌鏡的作品哦!在2002年終於以The Pianist奪得奧斯卡最佳導演,為其近60年的導演生涯,增添更耀人的風采~
*哈,不過唐人街我還是不覺得好看哩~但是...當年卻入圍11項奧斯卡,甚至拿下最佳原著劇本,Mein Gott~

Friday, October 28, 2005

The Life of Emile Zola (1937)


The second of Paul Muni's biographical films for Warner Bros., the Oscar-winning The Life of Emile Zola is by far the best, even allowing for the dramatic license taken with the material. When first we meet French novelist and essayist Zola, he is starving in a Parisian garret with his painter friend, Paul Cezanne. Each time Zola attempts to write "the truth," he is stymied by governmental censors. Still, he is able to achieve both fame and fortune with the publication of "Nana," an unardorned and best-selling tale of a prostitute (whom we can safely assume was not quite as likeable or attractive as Erin O'Brien-Moore, who plays the novel's "role model"). The lion's share of the film is devoted to Zola's attempts to clear the reputation of Army captain Alfred Dreyfus (Joseph Schildkraut), who has been framed on a charge of treason by his superiors and condemned to Devil's Island. Publishing his famous manifesto "J'accuse," Zola leaves himself wide open for public condemnation and criminal prosecution. Though he delivers a brilliant self-defense in court, Zola is found guilty. Forced to flee to England, he continues railing against the unjust, corrupt military establishment, eventually forcing a retrial and exoneration of Dreyfus. Alas, Zola is killed in a freak accident at home before he can meet the liberated Dreyfus. At his funeral, Emile Zola is eulogized by Anatole France (Morris Carnovsky), who refers to the fallen crusader as "a moment of the conscience of man." For various reasons -- some dramatic, some legal -- the actual facts of "L'affaire Dreyfus" are altered by the Norman Reilly Raine/Heinz Herald/Geza Herczeg screenplay. The fact that Dreyfus was railroaded because he was Jewish is obscured; in fact, except for a very brief visual reference, the word "Jew" is never mentioned. Only those villains whose names were a matter of public record (Major Dort, Major Esterhazy) are specifically identified. Others are referred to as the Chief of Staff, the Minister of War, etc. to avoid lawsuits from their descendants (remember that the events depicted in the film, most of which take place between 1894 and 1902, were still within living memory in 1937). As for Dreyfus himself, he was not freed and restored to rank in 1902, the year of Zola's death, but in 1906-after being found guilty again in an 1899 retrial (Dreyfus died in 1935, outliving everyone else involved in the case). These historical gaffes can be forgiven in the light of the film's overall message: that a single small, clear voice can fight City Hall. If for nothing else, The Life of Emile Zola deserves classic status due to Paul Muni's towering performance, most notably in the unforgettable summation scene: "By all that I have done for France, by my works -- by all that I have written, I swear to you that Dreyfus is innocent. May all that melt away -- may my name be forgotten, if Dreyfus is not innocent. He is innocent."

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*1937...阿祖級的電影;直接開始,片頭,演員介紹全部沒有,當然也是直接結束,連The End也不需要~
*獲得Oscar的8項提名~抱回最佳影片 / 最佳劇本 / 最佳男配角~
*應該要寫寫心得 (待續)

Thursday, October 27, 2005

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)


In writer-director Frank Darabont's THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover in the late 1940s. However, only Andy knows that he didn't commit the crimes. Sent to Shawshank Prison to do hard time, Andy--a taciturn banker in the outside world--has to learn to get by in the brutal, cutthroat confines of prison life. His quiet strength slowly earns the respect of his fellow inmates--most notably, Red (Morgan Freeman)--and even much of the prison staff. But Andy's seemingly stoic acceptance of his unjust imprisonment hides a fierce determination for freedom. This beautifully crafted movie features touching and sincere performances from the entire cast, with an uplifting message about humanity's indomitable spirit and the redemptive value of hope. Based on the novella RITA HAYWORTH AND SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION by Stephen King, Darabont's intriguing adaptation is easily one of the finest films of the 1990s.

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*由Morgan Freeman擔任貫串本片的旁白,讓人聽的很舒服且過癮~
*花了20年的時間...需有異常的耐性...而且20年來,查房都沒被發現...
*Andy Dufresne: The funny thing is - on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.
*Andy Dufresne: Get busy living, or get busy dying. 這句話值得玩味,尤其是夢想和現實衝突時,是否應該大膽地去追求夢想,抑或保守地"維持現狀";人生只有一次(老詞兒囉),是為了活出意義而忙碌,還是為了吐出最後一口氣的剎那而活...其實端看個人的選擇~
*Andy Dufresne: Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.
*片中播放的是Mozart的費加洛婚禮唷~
*這部電影跟The Green Mile(1999)的感覺好像,剛查了一下,發現原來是同一名導演,Frank Darabont...而且他也以這兩部電影,分別獲得當年度的最佳改編劇本提名~

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Iris (2001)


Based on a pair of memoirs by her husband John Bayley, this biographical portrait of writer Iris Murdoch stars both Judi Dench and Kate Winslet as the philosophical author at different stages of her life. When the young Iris (Winslet) meets fellow student Bayley (Hugh Bonneville) at Oxford, he's a naïve virgin easily flummoxed by her libertine spirit, arch personality, and obvious artistic talent. Decades later, little has changed as the couple (now played by Dench and Jim Broadbent) keeps house, with John doting on his more famous wife. When Iris begins experiencing forgetfulness and dementia, however, the ever-doltish but devoted John struggles with hopelessness and frustration to become her caretaker, as his wife's mind deteriorates from the ravages of Alzheimer's disease. Iris earned a slew of Supporting Actor awards for Broadbent, including recognition from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and National Board of Review.

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*本片是根據真實故事所拍攝, Jean Iris Murdoch(1919-1999)是哲學家兼作家...以她的小說聞名於世,探討倫理和性愛的主題居多~

Monday, October 24, 2005

Annie Hall (1977)


Often considered the crown jewel in a highly acclaimed and prolific film career, ANNIE HALL is Woody Allen's only film to have won the Academy Award for Best Picture. This recognition, however, is not what makes the film significant. ANNIE HALL marks the beginning of the second phase of Allen's career as a filmmaker, abandoning the slapstick of SLEEPER and BANANAS for more thoughtful comedies (and eventually dramas) that explored human relationships and psychology. Allen's capacity as a creative filmmaker had also grown with the film, as he utilized creative subtitles, split screens, and animation, as well as evincing a sophisticated understanding of the potential of editing and camera movement for comic effect--consider the cutaway to Allen's character Alvy Singer, as seen through the eyes of "Grammy Hall" during the dinner sequence, or shortly afterward the slow pan to Alvy in the passenger seat of a car driven by Annie's unhinged brother Duane. The film is a brutally honest assessment of the prospects of a relationship between two very different people. Allen's Alvy is (like the filmmaker himself) an introverted, neurotic intellectual and a complete mismatch for Diane Keaton's vivacious, flaky Annie Hall. Although the romance is undoubtedly the center of the film, it affords Allen the opportunity to contrast his beloved New York culture with that of the Midwest, where Annie comes from, and Los Angeles, which tempts Annie with the possibility of fame and success as a singer. The city of New York itself plays an important part for the first time in an Allen film, with a great deal of location shooting that serves to highlight the city's character and atmosphere. Finally, the many comedic cameos peppered through the film--from Truman Capote to Paul Simon to media theorist Marshall McLuhan--pay tribute to the deserved reputation that Allen had gained for himself.

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# 55 - La-dee-da, la-dee-da.
*1977年"澳屍卡"的最佳影片...不太好懂~
*Diane Keaton為當年之影后;Woody Allen為最佳導演~

Sunday, October 23, 2005

Casablanca (1942)


One of the most beloved American films, this captivating wartime adventure of romance and intrigue from director Michael Curtiz defies standard categorization. Simply put, it is the story of Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), a world-weary ex-freedom fighter who runs a nightclub in Casablanca during the early part of WWII. Despite pressure from the local authorities, notably the crafty Capt. Renault (Claude Rains), Rick's café has become a haven for refugees looking to purchase illicit letters of transit which will allow them to escape to America. One day, to Rick's great surprise, he is approached by the famed rebel Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) and his wife, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), Rick's true love who deserted him when the Nazis invaded Paris. She still wants Victor to escape to America, but now that she's renewed her love for Rick, she wants to stay behind in Casablanca. "You must do the thinking for both of us," she says to Rick. He does, and his plan brings the story to its satisfyingly logical, if not entirely happy, conclusion.

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*中文片名雖然是"北非諜影",不過,諜影的部份平鋪直敘,沒有錯綜複雜的虛實交戰...
*超愛這部電影,主要因為對白讚吧!
*在AFI所選出的100句經典台詞中,Casablanca可是最大贏家,獨佔6句呢~
#5 - Here's looking at you, kid. ( a drinking toast...永誌不忘)
#20 - Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
#28 - Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.' (這首抒情歌很好聽哦)
#32 - Round up the usual suspects.
#43 - We'll always have Paris.
#67 - Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine. (好饒舌)

*現在想看Humphrey Bogart獲得最佳男主角的作品: The African Queen (1951)
*Rick狠心的說出: I got job to do, too. Where I'm going, you can't follow. What I got to do, you can't be any part of.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

October Sky (1999)


In Coalwood, West Virginia, all the boys grow up to be coal miners and Homer Hickam has no reason to think he'll be any different. Too small to earn a football scholarship, Homer has no way out of his predetermined life -- until the soviet satellite Sputnik flies over the October sky and changes everything. It's 1957 and Homer's world just got a lot bigger. Though his father is mine superintendent and has no greater wish than to see his sons follow in his footsteps, Homer embarks on a mission to build and launch his own homemade rockets with the help of his loyal band of friends. Though their frequent mistakes nearly get them shut down, their successes inspire the whole town to believe that miracles can happen even in Coalwood, and there's nothing wrong with shooting for the stars.

Shark Tale (2004)


Oscar (Will Smith) is a fast-talking little fish who dreams big. But his big dreams land him in hot water when a great white lie turns him into an unlikely hero. At first, his fellow fish swallow Oscar's story hook, line and sinker and he is showered with fame and fortune. It's all going along swimmingly, until it starts to become clear that Oscar's tale about being the defender of the Reef is all wet. Oscar is finding out that being a hero comes at a Market Price when his lie threatens to make him the Catch of the Day. Now he has to tread water until he can get the scales to tip back in his favor again.

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*小魚分明就是Will Smith的化身嘛,除了配音外,動作,跳舞簡直一模一樣...另外,嘴唇設計成厚厚的,讓我聯想到"全民情聖"中,他腫起來的那個畫面....超爆笑的~
*鯊魚老大的臉上也有一顆痣...

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Psycho (1960)


In 1960, Alfred Hitchcock was already famous as the screen's master of suspense (and perhaps the best-known film director in the world) when he released Psycho and forever changed the shape and tone of the screen thriller. From its first scene, in which an unmarried couple balances pleasure and guilt in a lunchtime liaison in a cheap hotel (hardly a common moment in a major studio film in 1960), Psycho announced that it was taking the audience to places it had never been before, and on that score what followed would hardly disappoint. Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) is unhappy in her job at a Phoenix, Arizona real estate office and frustrated in her romance with hardware store manager Sam Loomis (John Gavin). One afternoon, Marion is given $40,000 in cash to be deposited in the bank. Minutes later, impulse has taken over and Marion takes off with the cash, hoping to leave Phoenix for good and start a new life with her purloined nest egg. 36 hours later, paranoia and exhaustion have started to set in, and Marion decides to stop for the night at the Bates Motel, where nervous but personable innkeeper Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) cheerfully mentions that she's the first guest in weeks, before he regales her with curious stories about his mother. There's hardly a film fan alive who doesn't know what happens next, but while the shower scene is justifiably the film's most famous sequence, there are dozens of memorable bits throughout this film. The first of a handful of sequels followed in 1983, while Gus Van Sant's controversial remake, starring Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche, appeared in 1998.

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No. 1的恐怖片唷~
#56 - A boy's best friend is his mother.
*沒想到這部還有續集...還續到第3集呢~

Monday, October 17, 2005

Braveheart (1995)


Mel Gibson directs and stars in this Academy Award-winning epic based on the life of legendary thirteenth century Scottish hero William Wallace. Returning to his homeland following the death of an heirless king, Wallace (Mel Gibson) finds the political landscape precarious. Edward the Longshanks, King of England (Patrick McGoohan), has captured Scotland's throne and threatens the freedom of all Scottish people, as tyrannical policies instituted by the English plague the Scots. Initially, Wallace is content to stand by the wayside, yearning for the simple life of building a home and raising a family. However, when the woman he loves (Catherine McCormack) suffers a cruel fate at the hands of English soldiers, Wallace takes a stand against the new rule. With his fierce patriotism and determination, he gathers an amateur but passionately rebellious army. Although this makeshift force may be outnumbered by the English troops, their desperation and love for their land surpass any military maneuvers, as evidenced in the film's breathtaking battle sequences.

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*Freedom~
*終於完整看一遍囉~

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)


Woody Allen combined the best parts of his earlier films in creating HANNAH AND HER SISTERS, his 1986 masterwork about the changing relationships among three sisters living in New York City. Hannah (Mia Farrow) has put her acting career aside in order to take care of her family with second husband Elliot (Michael Caine in an Oscar-winning performance). Elliot has fallen in love with Hannah's sister Lee (Barbara Hershey), who herself is feeling suffocated by her cynical, mean-spirited loner of a lover, played with great intensity by Ingmar Bergman regular Max von Sydow. Meanwhile, third sister Holly (Oscar winnner Dianne Wiest) is struggling to find her own voice, working as a caterer while she tries to get her own acting career going. And in the middle of everything is Mickey (Woody Allen at his most neurotic), a television writer who is divorced from Hannah, has dated Holly, and, when he suspects he might have a brain tumor, decides to reevaluate his life and his faith in God.

HANNAH AND HER SISTERS is Allen's most fully realized, optimistic adult comedy. He won a well-deserved Oscar for his marvelous screenplay, filled with his trademark sharp, witty dialogue, his undying passion for New York (its culture, architecture, music, romance), and some of his most well developed characters. The cast is extraordinary, the music illuminating, the settings magnificent. Taking place over the course of a few Thanksgivings, Allen's insightful, wonderful film is a thoroughly enjoyable mature look at the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of family life.

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*搭配了許多好聽的古典音樂~
*贏得三項Academy: 原著劇本 / 男配角 / 女配角~

Sea of Love (1989)


Sea of Love is a sexy, atmospheric thriller, very much in the style of Alfred Hitchcock, with involving characters, steamy love scenes, and surprising plot twists. Frank Keller (Al Pacino), is a lonely, tired, disillusioned, police detective, who has a problem with alcohol. Frank is investigating a serial killer, whom he believes finds victims by using personal ads in magazines, killing them while playing the old record "Sea of Love." In a scene both amusing and touching, Frank and his partner, Sherman (John Goodman) --aided by Frank's father (William Hickey in a lovely cameo) place a personal ad, hoping to lure the killer. Helen Cruger (Ellen Barkin), a tough, sexy single mother answers the ad and begins an affair with Frank, despite the fact that she is one of the prime suspects in the case. The suspense builds as Frank, though deeply drawn to Helen, becomes more and more suspicious of her. In a splendidly crafted script from Richard Price, the plot is compelling, with plenty of action, terrific authentic dialogue and superb characterization. Ellen Barkin gives a marvelous performance as an independent, sensual and intriguing femme fatale; John Goodman is excellent as Sherman, giving a likable, shrewd, and subtly comic performance; and Pacino, in perhaps his best performance since Dog Day Afternoon, plays Frank as a man on the edge, reckless and self-destructive, lost and alone. Frank falls in love with Helen, in spite of himself, because of his loneliness and need. Pacino's skill in showing the vulnerability and neediness of Frank explains the somewhat implausible actions of his character in continuing their affair despite the mounting evidence against Helen. Harold Becker directs with great flair, bringing the story believability, without lapsing into false sentimentality.

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*步調好慢~
*希區考克式的電影? 沒感覺,要把Psycho (1960)看過才有概念吧!

The Untouchables (1987)


Kevin Costner is idealistic federal agent Eliot Ness, whose assignment to clean up Prohibition-era Chicago leads to violence and manly questions about upholding the law. Initially powerless to stop the flow of booze into the city (the police force is corrupt and everyone in town seems to be on the mob's payroll), Ness finds guidance from an older streetwise cop (Sean Connery, who won an Academy Award for this role) who convinces him he'll need to break some rules if he wants to bring down head mobster Al Capone (Robert De Niro). Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith play Ness's other recruits, who together must stand tall against a city full of assassins. Director Brian De Palma (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE) packs the film with violence and creative camera movements while David Mamet's intelligent script capably dodges cliché at every turn. There's a real sense of what's at stake for these characters on a personal level, which contrasts nicely with the futility inherent in enforcing Prohibition in the first place. The film is based on the autobiographical book by Ness (cowritten with Oscar Fraley) and the 1959-63 TV series; Ennio Morricone (THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY) composed the uninhibitedly bombastic score.

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*星光雲集的一部電影哦~
*Robert De Niro演的大亨...蠻欠揍~
*史恩.康那萊杯杯以此片拿下第一座"澳屍卡"~ (男配角)
*Baseball Theory: A man stands alone at the plate. This is the time for what? For individual achievement. There he stands alone. But in the field, what? Part of a team. Looks, throws, catches, hustles. Part of one big team. Bat himself the live-long day, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and so on. If his team don't field...what is he? You follow me? No one. Sunny day, the stands are full of fans. What does he have to say? I'm going out there for myself. But...I get nowhere unless the team wins.

Sunday, October 16, 2005

Charade (1963)

Regina Lambert returns to Paris from a ski holiday in Switzerland to find that her husband has been murdered. She is later told by CIA agent Hamilton Bartholemew that Charles Lambert was one of five men who stole $250,000 in gold from the U.S. government during World War II, and the government wants it back. The money was not found among his possessions, and Regina can shed no light on its whereabouts. Later that day she is visited by Peter Joshua, whom she had met briefly while on holiday. When her husband's former partners in crime, who were double-crossed by Charles, start calling her looking for the money, Peter offers to help find it. Thus begins an elaborate charade in which nothing is what it seems to be.

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*Tagline: It's a guessing game of mirth and mystery!
*被好萊塢絢麗奪目的畫面 和嘆為觀止的特效寵壞的我,欣賞這部年紀比我大上一輪多的謎中謎,剛開始的幾分鐘,確實讓我有格格不入的距離感。但是,緊湊的劇情很快地把我的情緒捉牢,令我迫不及待的想要知道接下來的發展。畢竟一部好的電影,畫面或是特效的重要性是遠遠比不上劇情的。
*在這部電影中,二十五萬美金究竟落在何處,沒有人知道,缺乏實際證據的情形下,每位間諜必須絞盡腦汁取得情報,因此軟情報是本片的基本架構。此外,影片中的間諜跟老師上課所介 紹,歸類於寫實派【東山再起的間諜】一書中的間諜,在辦案和愛情上的際遇各不相同。寫實派的間諜 - 利馬斯感覺起來是一絲不苟、擇善固執的愛國鬥士。不幸地,他接近愚忠的愛國精神,反而被其祖國所利用,辦案的過程,不僅困難重重,甚至組員都無一倖存;和圖書館員的愛情,苦楚似乎更勝於甜美。謎中謎的葛蘭特查案的手法就比利馬斯高明許多,全片中最危險的橋段,算是在屋頂上的搏鬥,不過,他還是順利地擺平對手。在辦案之餘,葛蘭特也樂於跟赫本培養感情,當然他如此做是為了從赫本身上取得更多的情報,我覺得葛蘭特在知道赫本其實不知情後,反而產生了保護她的念頭。綜合辦案和愛情兩點的不同,謎中謎應該是屬於浪漫派的範疇。
*在謎中謎之前,我看了另 一部間諜電影 - 阿拉伯的勞倫斯。隨著勞倫斯在沙漠待得時間越久,他的角色反而從間諜變成替阿拉伯世界發聲的人物。嚴格來說,勞倫斯的轉變是為了他的私利 - 著眼於更多人福祉的私利。謎中謎的葛蘭特也為了他的私利 - 和赫本發展更進一步的感情而做改變。相較於寫實派的悲情,浪漫的間諜更吸引我,利馬斯的故事對想 藉著看電影放鬆的我來講,實在是過於沈重。