FilmFlashes.com Blog

  A baritoned narrator chronicles 500 days in the life of aspiring architect, current day greeting card writer, Tom Hanson (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and the object of his affection, Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel).

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Michelle Pfeiffer radiates as the classy prostitute who takes up with the son (Rupert Friend) of one of her collegues (Kathy Bates); not without consequences.

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Adult children (Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, and Jeremie Renier) dwell upon the disbursement of their deceased mother’s artwork, heirlooms, and the country home in french writer/director, Olivier Assayas’ contemplative composition.
 

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An easygoing real estate agent (Paul Rudd) feels compelled to find a best friend when his fiancee (Rashida Jones) notices that he doesn’t have any male friends to fill the role of “best man” at their upcoming wedding.  What could have been sappy, turns out to be sweet and sassy thanks to the characters’ charisma and [...]

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Swedish filmmaker, Jan Troell delivers an emotional portrait (based upon Troell’s wife’s relative) of a 1900’s Swedish, working class woman (Maria Heiskanen).  With the mentoring of a local photographer (Jesper Christensen) she discovers her gift for capturing beauty and calm amidst the social unrest, abusive behavior by her husband (Mikael Persbrandt), poverty, and child-rearing that engulf her.

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Kate Winslet and Leonardo DeCaprio play passionate against  volatile, as a Connecticut couple raising two young children in the mid 1950’s, frustrated by their entrappment in suberbia.  Sam Mendes (Winslet’s husband) directs the reunited stars (from the 1997 film ”Titanic”) in Justin Haythe’s adaptation of the 1961 novel by Richard Yates.
 
 

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Young Lily Owens (Dakota Fanning) escapes from her widowed father’s (Paul Bettany) South Carolina peach farm with her housekeeper (Jennifer Hudson) in tow, and makes a beeline across the state where she believes her mother had a connection.  They find lodging with the Boatwright sisters (Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys, & Sophie Okonedo), whose revelations and [...]

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Prolific, British writer/director, Mike Leigh explores the half-full/half-empty take on life with eternally upbeat, Poppy (Sally Hawkins).  Poppy is bent on making lemonade out of lemons; whether it’s a confrontation with a dour store clerk, an uptight driving instructor (Eddie Marsan), or a fiery flamenco teacher (Karina Fernandez).  Guaranteed to lift your spirits, or [...]

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Wayne Wang directs this highly introspective film about a suburban dwelling Chinese woman (Feihong Yu) whose father (Henry O) travels all the way from Beijing and winds up visiting more with local vendors, neighbors, and an Iranian woman (Vida Ghahremani) in the local park.
Please share your opinion regarding Film Flashes movie review of A Thousand [...]

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Lavish costuming is the focus of this historical rendition of the marriages, mistresses, and machinations of 18th century English Royalty. Georgiana, the Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley) gains popularity and political clout despite her husband’s (Ralph Fiennes) malice and open affair with her friend (Hayley Atwell). A brief brush up on English [...]

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Lust and greed invade two southern families like termites on a backyard lumber stack, in the latest Tyler Perry preachy production. Alfre Woodard and Kathy Bates are the two charismatic matriarchs who strive to get their adult children and connected spouses to behave (Sanaa Lathan, Rockmond Dunbar, Taraji P. Henson, Tyler Perry, Cole [...]

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Diane English’s Sex and the City caliber remake of Cukor’s 1939 classic, is not a total let-down, courtesy of comedy veterans, Candice Bergen, Bette Midler, and Cloris Leachman. Forced dialogue and fake camaraderie are the hallmarks of this chatty female film featuring Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, Eva [...]

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Four fast friends (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon) coming into their 40’s deal with matters of love, marriage, and fidelity in the course of numerous wardrobe changes. Fans of the TV show love it.
Please share your opinion regarding Film Flashes movie review of Sex In The City.

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Nazneen (Tannishtha Chatterjee), a young Bangladeshi woman, longs for her village and lost youth, when she is uprooted to London’s East End and an arranged marriage to an older man (Satish Kaushik). When the requisite hot guy (Christopher Simpson) appears on the scene peddling piece work to the local home seamstresses, a new world opens [...]

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A stuck-in-a-rut economics professor (Richard Jenkins) finds his inner drum beat when he befriends two young immigrants (Haaz Sleiman and Danai Jekesai Gurira) in Manhattan.
Please share your opinion regarding Film Flashes movie review of The Visitor.

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Kate Holbrook, (Tina Fey ) is a single, no-boyfriend-in-sight, VP of a natural food chain, who decides to use a surrogate (Amy Poehler) to have a baby. And while the two stars provide plenty of laughs, writer/director, Michael McCullers was sharp enough to expand the comical lines to other characters (including [...]

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 Swiss born director, Marcel Langenegger draws out a lackluster script about a dull accountant (Ewan McGregor) whose night life picks up when he meets a flashy egocentric (Hugh Jackman) at the firm he is auditing. Despite the quality male leads and steamy sexual scenes (including Michelle Williams), this convoluted drama only accelerates in the fourth [...]

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Sibling rivalry escalates when both Boleyn girls (Scarlett Johansson & Natalie Portman) have their eyes on King Henry (Eric Bana). While the historical perspecitive is minimized, center stage is taken by the brilliant costuming and character studies; manipulative father (Mark Rylance) powerless mother (Kristen Scott Thomas), plotting uncle (David Morrissey). More than enough [...]

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While the look and feel is set in the 40’s, the psychology is timeless: one never knows what the person next to you is thinking, whether it be a stranger, friend, or spouse. Harry (Chris Cooper) thinks there is only one way to save his wife (Patricia Clarkson) from total depression [...]

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A middle-aged, unemployed governess (Frances McDormand) seizes a job “opportunity” with a glamorous performer (Amy Adams) who has two, too many boyfriends (Lee Pace, Tom Payne, Mark Strong). The proper Miss Pettigrew jumps out of character to assist her new found friend/employer and in the process delights audiences with this late [...]

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Writer/director, Stefan Ruzouwitzky masterfully crafts Adolf Burger’s book for the big screen in the Austrian Oscar winner. Ruzouwitzky avoids stereotypes in his portrayal of a group of Jews assigned to an elite division in Sachsenhausen to produce bankable English pound notes to finance the failing German war effort. Karl Markovics, [...]

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Lebanese director, Nadine Labaki also stars in this Beirut version of “Barber Shop” focusing on the personal problems challenging a group of women who work or patronize her salon.
Please share your opinion regarding Film Flashes movie review of Caramel .

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A delightfully dark, fast moving comedy features Colin Farrell as a London-based hit man whose first job backfires and forces him into picturesque Belgian pergatory (figuratively). While Farrell gravitates to the underbelly of this quaint landscape, his mentor/accomplice (Brendan Gleeson) prefers to play the tourist in a setting where neither controls their [...]

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Loretta Devine is the idealistic matriarch who thinks it’s going to be all hugs and kisses when her brood gathers for the Holidays in this not so jovial, Christmas pic. With Delroy Lindo, Regina King, Mekhi Phifer, Idris Elba, Sharon Leal, et. al., keeping it real, filmmaker Preston A. Whitmore II’s family [...]

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While the poetic style of Khaled Hosseini’s novel doesn’t translate to the screenplay, we are truly touched by the two young Afghan boys (Zekeria Ebrahimi and Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada) whose relationship is the basis of this bio/drama.
Please share your opinion regarding Film Flashes movie review of The Kite Runner .

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A dad (Ryan Reynolds) on the verge of divorce humors his precocious daughter (Abigail Breslin) with the story of how he met her mother … with a slight twist. He changes all the names and a few facts and leaves us all guessing until the end who winds up with whom. [...]

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Katherine Heigl loves to help and participate in the weddings of friends and family, until her sister asks her to help plan her wedding to the man that Heigl has fallen for. It’s a cute enough romantic comedy as long as you don’t know too much in advance and expectations are elementary.
Please [...]

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Filmmaker Susanne Bier cooks up a Danish treat featuring awesome talent, splendid cinematography, and superb storytelling. Jacob (Mads Mikkelsen, known to U.S. audiences in Casino Royale), must return to Denmark from India as a condition of receipt of a substantial donation to the orphanage he runs. As the mysterious philanthropist (Rolf Lassgǻrd) and his devoted [...]

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