Mary Reilly - Released in 1996 - Starring Julia Roberts, John Malkovich, George Cole

Released in 1996, Mary Reilly is based on the novel of the same name by Valerie Martin. The book is also loosely based on and inspired by the Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. As in the novel, the movie follows the story of a simple house maid played by Julia Roberts, and her attraction and revulsion of her Master, Dr. Jekyll, played by John Malkovich. Directed by Stephen Frears and written by Christopher Hampton, the movie has brought back together the same team well known for the Oscar winning movie Dangerous Liaisons. The other actors in the movie include Glenn Close, George Cole, and Michael Gambon among others.
The movie begins with the blossoming friendship of Dr. Jekyll (John Malkovich) and his servant, Mary (Julia Roberts). But when Dr. Jekyll announces that he has hired an assistant, the entire house is abuzz with confusion and speculation. Days go by, and the staff, Mary included try to fathom the mystery of Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll’s new assistant. A little more Goth and sinister twists are added, when Mary is asked by Dr. Jekyll to deliver a letter to Mrs. Farraday at the whorehouse. She is to let a room for Mr. Hyde.
Mary like the rest of the staff is curious as to Mr. Hyde’s habits. And one day she follows him into Dr. Jekyll’s lab, where she sees him handing over a cheque for blood money. However, in an attempt to escape so as to go unnoticed she hides in the lab, only to find the exit locked. When Hyde discovers her he merely smiles at her and hands her the key.
The following day, when a hurt Dr. Jekyll sends her to Mrs. Farraday with yet another letter, Mrs Farraday is furious. She shows Mary the room she had let to Mr. Hyde. It is covered with blood everywhere including the ceiling. She returns to Dr. Jekyll with a blood stained handkerchief of his from Mrs. Farraday and a message from the madam demanding that Dr. Jekyll do whatever is necessary to cover up the matter.




Mary finally meets the enigmatic yet mysterious Mr. Hyde and realizes she is drawn to his passionate side. Jekyll asks Mary to go on an errand with Hyde, where they get talking and get to know each other. Hyde taunts her by telling her that Jekyll finds her very attractive. Over time they get to know each other.
One day Mrs. Farraday comes over to meet Jekyll and demands more money from him in order to continue maintaining her secret. The argument between the two continues and Mary who has overheard the conversation steers clear of it by heading to the garden to water the flowers. However, she notices the light in the lab go out. And when she goes to investigate, all she sees is a pool of blood on the lab table. However, she does not see Hyde who is hiding after having committed the murder of Mrs Farraday.
A little while later Mary receives news that her mother has passed away. And she heads out to make arrangements. However, she is grabbed by Hyde who was hiding in an alley after being chased by the police. When she returns to the house, she is questioned by the police in the matter of the death of Member of Parliament, Sir Carew, who incidentally also happened to be a school friend of Dr. Jekyll. She tells them nothing. But the police are suspicious especially with so many deaths surrounding Dr. Jekyll.
However, later Dr. Jekyll tells Mary she should not have covered for Hyde and that he is removing Hyde from his employment. But Mary is stunned to find Hyde the next morning in Jekyll’s bed, especially since he had been dismissed. She tries to raise an alarm, but is stopped by Hyde who then reveals that Jekyll and he is one and the same person. And that Jekyll turned into Hyde every time he would take a serum for his depression. In order to return to Dr. Jekyll, Hyde would inject himself with the antidote.
Hyde makes his advances on Mary wishing to make love to her. However, a very shocked and stunned Mary then demands to leave. She returns to the kitchen contemplating what to do next when Dr. Jekyll enters and demands that another assistant take a sample of the serum to the lab to have it analyzed and also to have certain changes made in it successfully. However, the assistant returns with no success on the matter. In the meantime, Mary decides to leave the establishment. She packs her things and on her way out decides to stop by the lab.
However, when she enters, she is attacked by Hyde. But he doesn’t kill her. Instead he injects himself with the antidote. She witnesses how Hyde transforms back into Dr. Jekyll. Jekyll tells her that Hyde had added a poison to the antidote, and dies in her arms. The last shot of the movie focuses on Jekyll the next morning, who though was dead, has transformed into Hyde and is awake and smiling.
The movie has a dark, gloomy feel to it. It draws it viewers to the gothic, frightening world which was captured in the writings of Valerie Martin. While it is loyal to the original, it is in many ways better than Robert Louis Stevenson’s version, mainly because it does not focus of Dr. Jekyll turning into some sort of “Wolfman”. Neither does it focus of theatrics. What it does successfully achieve is the belief of something evil, and one woman’s psychology of finding both good and evil in one man.
All the performances are restrained. Julia Roberts doesn’t have many dialogues but successfully portrays a woman who is naïve and innocent yet comes from a tormented past. John Malkovich portrays Hyde and Jekyll with not much difference excepting the presence and lack of facial hair as Jekyll and Hyde respectively. The sets are vast, magnificent yet overbearing all at once. But overall, Frears has successfully accomplished what he had set out to achieve, and that is trying to create a film which is visually appealing and free from stereotypical clichés of present day horror movies.

Full Frontal (Released in 2002) - Disappointing movie - Starring Catherine Keener, David Duchovny, Julia Roberts, Mary McCormack, Brad Pitt

Released in 2002, Full Frontal is a blurry and confusing depiction of Hollywood. Directed by Steven Soderbergh, the movie is far from what the audience expects. Trying to explain the lives of various Hollywood characters, the movie blurs the line between what is real and what is fiction, by having shot a movie in a movie! And if that didn’t get you confused enough the narration in the movie is nothing but ambiguous.
To muddle a complicated storyline further, the movie was shot in a record time of a month, that too on digital video with a Canon XL-1s. Starring Julia Roberts, Catherine Keener, Brad Pitt, David Duchovny, Mary McCormack and David Hyde Pierce, the film feels extremely amateurish. To the extent, that the actors’ professionalism seems to be it’s only saving grace.
A skilled director, known for his talents as a cinematographer, Steven Soderbergh has created a movie which resembles a piece of work submitted by a film school student. The digital camerawork, and utilization of only naturally available light sources, has given the movie a dull, dark and blotchy quality. The plot is a film inside another film, and added to this is a documentary about the “people” in the outside film.




The movie is about a journalist (played by Julia Roberts) who interviews the famous Blaire Underwood. Then there are Lee and Carl (played by Catherine Keener and David Hyde Pierce), who play a happily married couple. In some scenes Lee seems to be deranged and unstable, while in the next scene she seems to be having serious conversations with her sister - a masseuse, over lunch. Her sister Linda (played by McCormack) goes on to meet Gus (played by David Duchovny), a producer, who hires Linda for a massage, and is willing to pay her extra to help him relieve tension!
Linda seems to be in need of money, as she has to meet a guy who she met on the Internet. Meanwhile Carl gets fired from work and heads home to find that his dog has overdosed on hash brownies. The plot could not get more bizarre even if Soderbergh tried. It’s not only impossible but also impractical to try and sort out the scenes. Where some scenes are voice over narrations in a documentary, other scenes are dramatic works of fiction.
Most of the scenes look like improvisations done by the actors, with no sense of continuation. The scenes that are slightly enjoyable, like those of McCormack, are so because of the actor’s skills and not the director’s talents. The movie in a movie scenes are shot on glossy 35mm film. This only brings out the stark contrast between the scenes, and leaves the viewer yearning for more of the lush and glossy scenes in place of the digital ones.
It a huge lesson in humility, that a man with many a success to his name and immense directorial skills, has shot and directed such a huge let down. You leave the movie feeling not only confused, but glad that it is over.

America's Sweethearts (Released in 2001) - Starring Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal, John Cusack and Catherine Zeta-Jones

Directed by Joe Roth, America’s Sweetheart is a romantic comedy which feels like a recycled version of the 1952 hit – Singin’ in the Rain. The movie isn’t all bad, but since it has taken its inspiration from a classic, it falls short in comparison. Where Singin’ in the Rain was an effortless comedy, America’s Sweethearts lacks conviction and confidence. It side steps from cynicism and comedy, and attempts to give insights and truth.
With that said, one must applaud the acting skills of all the actors. Kiki and Gwen (played by Julia Roberts and Catherine Zita-Jones respectively) are shown to be sisters. Where Kiki is dumpy and overweight, Gwen is a Hollywood actress. Kiki has always played second fiddle to Gwen by being her assistant. The film is about movie publicist Lee Phillips (played by Billy Crystal) trying desperately to organize a press conference for a movie directed by the eccentric Hal Weidmann (played by Christopher Walker) who has refused to show Lee a single shot of the film, claiming he will do so directly at the Press Junket. The actors of this movie included Gwen and her now estranged partner Eddie.
With no idea what the movie is about, Lee sets out trying to reconcile Gwen and Eddie so that they attend the Junket and he can focus the conference on them rather than the movie. He tries to convince both to attend, which isn’t an easy task, considering the reason they hate each other is that Gwen was having an affair with Hector (played by Azaria) and Eddie has an emotional breakdown when he realizes this, thus landing himself in a “retreat”.




Finally when the two do agree to attend the Junket, what ensues is confusion and drama. Gwen forces Kiki to be the intermediary between herself and Eddie. Kiki is attracted to Eddie, and when Eddie sees how much weight Kiki has lost and how lovely she now looks, he takes to her. Eventually he realizes that it is Kiki and not Gwen who he has loved always.
Realizing this Lee tells Eddie to go ahead and tell Kiki, and end his relationship with Gwen. When Gwen finds out she tries to save her pride and career by manipulating Kiki and Eddie. However, Eddie sees through her behavior. Amidst all this, the mysterious movie directed by Weidmann is aired at the Junket and everyone realizes that the movie isn’t a movie but a reality film. In the film, Gwen is seen as a conniving manipulative selfish person who is having an affair with Hector. Eddie is the nice guy who starts getting paranoid about his wife.
Gwen is livid at this reality movie and tries to salvage what little pride she has left by announcing that she and Eddie are reconciling. However, Eddie stands up and declares his love for Kiki, who also stands up against her sister. The end is a bit feeble, with Eddie and Kiki leaving together after Kiki has been fired by Gwen, and Gwen trying to put up a brave front.
With a great star cast and amazing acting skills presented by each of them, where the story falls short is the storyline and screenplay which is all over the place. The end could and should have been rewritten. There are some amazing scenes. But they feel a little forced when you watch the movie as a whole.

Breakthrough (released in 1979) - Starring Richard Burton, Robert Mitchum and Rod Steiger

The film is a sequel to the 1977 Eastern Front war flick - Cross of Iron. Directed by Andrew V. McLaglen, the film has a new cast in reprise characters. May 1944, the German Forces are retreating from the Eastern Front. Although the two were depicted as having had differences in the Cross of Iron - Sgt. Rolf Steiner (played by Richard Burton) of the Wehrmacht (German High Command of the Army) once more teams up with the  ambitious and cut throat Captain Stransky (played by Helmut Griem) to blow up a railway tunnel thus cutting off the line of supply for the Russians. However, the presence of a Russian tank ensures that the attack is foiled, and Steiner’s squad returns to base, defeated. The Sergeant proceeds to Paris on a fourteen day furlough, to nurse battle wounds and rest his battle weary senses - it is cut short because the Allies have landed in Normandy.
His unit is transferred to a France, in the village of St.Bologne. Unknown to most of the Wehrmacht, there is a conspiracy to overthrow and assassinate The Führer, Adolf Hitler. This he is told by General Hoffman (played by Curd Jürgens), his divisional commander in the past, tells him so, sharing with him the disgruntlement and discontent of the officers and men in the Wehrmacht. Those familiar with the character of Steiner from Cross of Iron are aware that he is a principled ‘soldier’s soldier’- fighting for the Vaterland (Fatherland), he personally harbors no allegiance to The Führer, a good guy caught on the wrong side.
General Hoffman would have the lowly sergeant convey the plan to the Americans across enemy lines of the plan, and that they would like to surrender to them. The men across are Colonel Rogers (played by Robert Mitchum) and General Webster (played by Rod Steiger), who are willing to assist, however Stransky is the spanner in the works - how do they deal with him?




We know from history that the assassination plot went kaputt. All the co conspirators were rounded up and faced a firing squad, or were hung to death by the Gestapo (and this was done painfully, being hung on piano wire). As for General Hoffman, he committed suicide with a bullet to the head.
The Americans advance towards St.Bologne, as Stransky has the evil plan to blow up the village, irrespective of massive collateral damage.
The film received brickbats for not really living up to the stature of the prequel - in fact many critics questioned why there had to be a sequel in the first place? Richard Burton with a Irish-Germanic accent (if at all such, as this, exists) is awkward, and too old for the role - he looks jaded and uncomfortable (he died five years later). His character, that of the ‘good German’ is more a Hollywood creation than one based on real life. The General confiding in a man from the ranks is next to unimaginable, no matter how civil or laissez faire the army! Steiner walks around in perfectly clean uniform (and it isn’t even battle fatigues) through the combat front lines, his helmet sitting awkwardly on his head; an all in all disappointment, with hardly any worthwhile action against the Russians.

Action thriller - Gone in 60 seconds (released in 2000) (starring Nicholas Cage, Angelina Jolie and Robert Duvall)

"I didn't do it for the money. I did it for the cars." (Memphis)

Gone in 60 Seconds is somewhat loosely based on the 1974 film by the same name; the current movie was directed by Dominic Sena (Swordfish), was released in 2000, and stars Nicholas Cage, Angelina Jolie and Robert Duvall, among an ensemble cast.
Randall “Memphis” Raines (Nicholas Cage, The Rock, Con Air) is an ex-car thief, who is forced to go back to his thieving ways when the Brit crime czar threatens to kill his brother Kip, when he failed to deliver a consignment of stolen vehicles on time.
How to save his brother ? The condition is to steal 50 cars in 72 hours, with his former partners-in-crime Otto (Robert Duvall, who played roles in Godfather, Speed) and Sway (Angelina Jolie, most famous in Lara Croft and Salt).
Suspicions are fanned when LAPD detectives come to learn of Raines’ return- Memphis must get the cars to the Long Beach Docks. These fifty beauties range from the Aston Martin, the Dodge Viper, Ferrari, to the Pontiac, Lamborghini and Volvo, each of them are code named after girls - Bernadine (Jaguar XJ220), Pamela (Chevy Corvette), Sharon (Pontiac GTO) etc.




All goes according to plan, until Detective Castlebeck (Delroy Lindo) throws a spanner in the works and takes out three cars - not one to be deterred, Memphis steals three cars from the police parking lot in retaliation. The Achilles’ Heel is Eleanor, the 1967 Mustang – which Raines has tried to steal on many occasions prior and failed. A Hollywood style chase takes place, which ends with Memphis jumping the car over a jam.
Unfortunately, Memphis reaches 12 minutes late - which almost cost him his life and the Eleanor is ordered to be crushed. When LAPD learns of the actual reasons for Raines return to crime, Castlebeck teams up with him to kill Calitri -who falls to his death. Kip presents Memphis with the keys to an old Mustang, which he bought in exchange for his chopper, finally happy, with his criminal past behind him, Raine and Sway drive into ‘happily-ever-after’.
Despite the impressive cast, the film received mostly poor reviews, the real star of the movie though, was Eleanor, the Mustang - with its replica named Roneale (Eleanor spelt backwards). The movie promises turbo-charged, adrenaline pumping thrills, but delivers only high decibel hype - do consider watching it just for Jolie’s pout, since Cage’s mumbling tone and the alternating screeching of brakes makes for little that could be termed entertaining.
The plot seems jaded, and the rush one awaits at the prospect of fifty machines displaying such brazen horsepower-never really happens. Great cast, fifty awesome cars, and 118 minutes later - the movie is still lame and boring. Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced Days of Thunder, The Rock, Con Air etc, really lost the plot this time. Love your cars, maybe make a really nice movie with cars that tell the story , but do refrain from glorifying car theft, no matter how pressing the reasons are!

Movie: Pret A Porter or Ready To Wear (released in 1994) – Directed by Robert Altman

Pret A Porter is a movie which takes a satirical look at the chaotic fashion industry. It follows almost forty odd famous faces including top actors, designers, models and their supporting crew for the fashion show in Paris. Directed by Robert Altmann, it stars Lauren Bacall (Slim Chrysler), Kim Basinger (Kitty Potter), Linda Hunt (Regina Krumm), Sally Kellerman (Sissy Wanamaker), Sophia Loren (Isabella de la Fontaine), Marcello Mastroianni (Sergei), Stephen Rea (Milo O'Brannagan), Tim Robbins (Joe Flynn), Julia Roberts (Anne Eisenhower), Danny Aiello (Major Hamilton), Anouk Aimee (Simone Lowenthal), Jean-Pierre Cassel (Olivier de la Fontaine), Teri Garr (Louise Hamilton), Richard E. Grant (Cort Romney), Tracey Ullman (Nina Scant) and Forest Whitaker (Cy Bianco).
With these number of stars the film is like a all flavored cake which does not impart any taste. As far as I could identify there are three plots running through the film. The first being that of two American Journalists, Joe Flynn and Anne Eisenhower, who lose their luggage in the flight and are forced by circumstances to share a hotel room. So with no clothes on and twin beds there is much more happening than news mongering. Another happenings include Isabella De La Fontaine is a widow who has inherited a great fashion label and hardly misses her philandering husband.



He is more mourned by his mistress Simone Lowenthal. Sophia is followed by Sergei who is in-fact her one true love. Simone on the other hand tries hard to keep her company from being pirated away. Another group like Regina Krumm, Nina Scant and Sissy Wanamaker are all rival fashion Magazine editors trying to get ace photographer Milo O'Brannagan on their side. Milo specializes in baring the celebrities to their ineptitude self and catches many a socialite at their most vulnerable self.
So among these unconnected story lines each of which can be a film in itself, other characters weave in and out. This meandering of actors through the plots gives the viewer severe migraines. So you have the color blind socialite Slim Chrysler, cross dressing buyer Danny Hamilton and his wife along with a melange of real life designers, like Issay Miayake Gianfranco Ferre, and Sonia Rykiel and models looking equally flabbergasted as the others. The only saving grace is news reporter Kitty Porter who is a ditsy journalist who nails the industry with some sly one liners.
This movie could have been a scorching satire, but is reduced to a also ran as the vicious zing is missing. The all bared attack and the real realities of the obsequious and coquettish industry is not presented robbing the film of its meat. The screenplay brings confusing plots together to stitch a garment which neither fits nor floats. This ill fitting presentation deprives Pret a Porter the greatness it could have attained. The film also has lot of sex scenes and full frontal nudity during a catwalk scene. In fact being a film about Fashion there is nothing much to look forward to about fashion or models, even the clothes horses and the clothes featured are insipid and the fashion shows, a rip off from fashion TV. As the film mentions “it is all about looking good”, but this one advice the movie itself never takes. Nothing much to recommend as its confusing and boring.

A Simple twist of fate (released in 1994) - Starring Steve Martin and Alana Austin

This 1994 movie directed by Gilles Mackann is loosely based on the George Elliot Classic “Silas Marner”. Steve Martin turns script writer for this film which he also stars with Alana Austin.
Steve Martin stars as Micheal Mackann, a high school music teacher who is cheated upon by his wife. A heart broken Micheal retires to rural Virginia as a maker of finely crafted furniture. A sad and morose man Micheal lives life clutching his savings in the form of gold coins. Meanwhile this small ray of happiness is also taken away from him by Danny Newland, the wayward brother of politician John Newland. He crashes the car and steals Michaels gold coins to pay for the damage. Micheal is completely devastated and retreats in to solitude.
Soon the golden rays of goodness arrive in the the form of a blonde toddler who stumbles in to his house on a foggy morning. Her drug addict mother is found dead on the grounds and Micheal presents the baby to John Newland.



After seeing the mother's dead body, John understands that the baby is his, but he conceals the fact to protect his career. He undertakes the investigation and allows Micheal to adopt the toddler. Micheal christens her Mathilda, and with the help of April Simon raises the child who grows up in to a precocious teenager. Mean while Micheal is transformed in to a doting dad interested in community activities.
John Newland in the meantime along with his wife Nancy suffers miscarriages and yearns for a baby. He takes Mathilda under his wing. He even gives her riding lessons and gifts a pony of her own. Nancy also understands that Mathilda is his baby, gives her tacit consent. As time passes by John Newland feels the need for a child and confesses Mathilda's birth secret. Nancy urges him to seek custody of his daughter who has grown very close to Micheal.
As John Newland files the custody suit, Micheal is devastated and he resolves to fight for Matilda. The Newland lawyer insinuates unsavory incidents in Micheal's earlier marriage and also urges the judge to consider the financial implications about Mathilda's future. Considering Micheal's penury and the economic advantages for Mathilda even the judge is inclined towards the Newland's, in-spite of the girl's repeated cries for being with Micheal. Then the case blows wide open with the discovery of Danny Newland's body under a desilted tank. Danny's corpse is found clutching the bag of gold coins belonging to Micheal. This sudden riches equalizes Micheal's station in life with that of the Newland's. The Judge also implies the killing of Danny to be that of murder by the Newland's and gives Mathilda's custody to Micheal. Mathilda devoted to her adoptive father accepts her mother and visits her grave for redemption.
This movie was panned by majority of the critics who disliked a Victorian theme which had no relevance in the twentieth century. But the film proves to be a box office darling and had decent collections. Alana Austin was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture for her portrayal of twelve-year-old Mathilda. Her younger sister Alyssa was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress Under Ten in a Motion Picture for her portrayal of the character at the age of five.
The movie is not recommended as a must watch and sometimes Steve Martin disappoints with this sad acts. If one has limited choices then this movie can be seen.