REVIEW: Prospero’s Books [1991]

“And yet I needs must curse” I have a hard enough time with William Shakespeare when the characters onscreen are speaking his words with relevant visual cues to cut through the iambic pentameter and present the stories for my eyes. Don’t ask me to comprehend anything while reading his plays because my mind is constantly at a loss as to what the words mean. Laugh if you will or empathize with my similar plight to your own, but that’s my struggle with the Bard despite loving most of his works…

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REVIEW: The Hundred-Foot Journey [2014]

“You cook to make ghosts” With Chocolat and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen under his belt, The Hundred-Foot Journey isn’t anything approaching new territory for director Lasse Hallström. But if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, right? Honestly, if he can continue making feel good tales like this—bona fide crowd-pleasers—we should all be happy since it keeps him busy and away from the allure of helming a hat trick of Nicholas Sparks adaptations. There may be no surprises in this cinematic version of a novel Oprah Winfrey selected as part…

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REVIEW: La fille du RER [The Girl on the Train] [2009]

“Once a liar, always a liar” Split into two halves, titled Circumstances and Consequences, the French film La fille du RER [The Girl on the Train] tells the based on a true story tale of a girl wanting simply to be loved. Young Jeanne and her mother are inseparable, carrying on their lives to their hearts’ content. Louise stays at home babysitting others’ children while her daughter rollerblades around the city, headphones blaring music as a soundtrack to her life. Needing to find a job in order to sustain her…

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