Hollywood Biography Drama Movie The Last Station 2010 Cast and Crew Cast: James McAvoy ,Christopher Plummer ,Paul Giamatti, Helen Mirren ..... And More Director: Michael Hoffman Producer: Bonnie Arnold, Chris Curling, Jens Meurer Music Director: Sergei Yevtushenko Release Date:15 Jan 2010 Genre:Biography Drama Language:English Distributor:Sony Pictures Classics
The Story:
The Last Station is a German biographical film about Leo Tolstoy, based on a 1990 biographical novel of the same name by Jay Parini. The Countess Sofya (Mirren), wife and muse to Leo Tolstoy (Plummer), uses every trick of seduction on her husband's loyal disciple (McAvoy), whom she believes was the person responsible for Tolstoy signing a new will that leaves his work and property to the Russian people.
Synopsis:
The final year of Russian Socialist writer Leo Tolstoy comes to the screen with Christopher Plummer in the lead role and Helen Mirren portraying his wife, Sofia. Paul Giamatti, James McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff co-star in the Warner Bros. production, directed by Michael Hoffman from the novel by Jay Parini.
The Last Station Hollywood Movie Reviews: Circa 1910, Lev Tolstoy was the most renowned writer and thinker in Russia. The man was so worshipped that he spawned his own political and philosophical movement – Tolstoyanism – that won over scores of fanatically devoted adherents who followed Tolstoy in rejecting notions of private property, condemning sexual intercourse, and embracing what can be described as an idiosyncratic form of communism, with a somewhat creepy religious bent. "I don't believe that Tolstoy is Christ," says one particularly revolting character in The Last Station, a fictionalized chronicle of Tolstoy's last days. "Christ is Christ. But I believe that he is a prophet." I've read enough Tolstoy to know that the guy was essentially a crackpot. The main problem with The Last Station is that the movie – which wants badly to portray the man as sympathetic – spends most of its running time madly equivocating on this score. Certainly its depiction of his politics does Tolstoy no favors: his worldview appears as illogical and fanatical as it apparently was in real life. At the urging of his advisors, the man robs his wife of 48 years of the rights to his bestsellers, which he is convinced "belong to the people." When asked why his family shouldn't profit from what is, after all, his work, he says that if peasants had money, they wouldn't spend it on footservants – to which his wife, Countess Sofia Andreevna Tolstoya, reasonably replies that they would probably spend it on liquor.
The movie's solution to this is to suggest that Tolstoy himself – played by an Ian McKellen-esque Christopher Plummer – himself wasn't any sort of True Believer, but rather just a genial, eccentric old codger whose well-intentioned (if admittedly radical) politics were transformed into a cult-like phenomenon by his crazy acolytes, led by one Valentin Chertkov (Paul Giamatti). Indeed, Tolstoy readily tosses away his professed celibacy ("I say a lot of things," he shrugs) to carouse with Sofia Andreevna (Helen Mirren), which includes letting out an enthusiastic "cock-a-doodle-doo." And though he responds with a luddite scoff when one of his friends gifts him a newfangled phonograph, he promptly comes around once the phonograph starts playing some opera he likes. Indeed, in the eyes of The Last Station, Tolstoy was a sort of harmless proto-hippie, standing for little more than peace and love, man, with a dose of freedom and social justice thrown in for good measure. And whatever the historical merits of that position, it isn't terribly interesting. Why tackle a subject as legendary as Tolstoy if you're just going to turn him into a doddering coot? Tolstoy actually isn't The Last Station's protagonist; that would be Valentin Bulgakov (James McAvoy), a comically enthusiastic Tolstoyan who arrives at the leader's estate to act as his personal secretary – but really as a spy for Chertkov, who worries about the bad influence exerted by the decidedly non-believing Sofia Andreevna. Instead, Bulgakov finds himself sympathetic to Sofia Andreeva, while still worshipping Tolstoy and "the movement." And he shacks up with a fellow Tolstoyan who has a tendency to flout the strict rules of their colony – like the no-sex rule – 'cuz it's not about rules, don't you know. It's about love. Bulgakov is too frustratingly non-committal to ground the film, which really has no center. Sofia Andreevna, whom The Last Station wants not just to admire but to lionize, spends a lot of time in full-on hysterics, and while it is sort of magnificent to watch Helen Mirren really swing away at a role, all the screaming soon becomes ridiculous. Aside from Chertkov, who's quickly established as the villain of the piece, the other supporting characters sort of float in and out of the movie aimlessly. There's not a lot to latch onto. The film, frankly, is a bit of a bore. The Last Station's strong suit is its emphasis on the relative unimportance of abstract causes. Tolstoy, and his wife, and his kids, may have believed – truly, deeply believed – and number of things about social justice, property, religion, et cetera. In the end, these heady ideals didn't much matter. What mattered to Tolstoy were the people to whom he clung and with whom he chose to spend his life. This comes through well in the movie's strong conclusion, but by then it's too little too late. The Last Station appeared to reduce much of the audience here to tears, but at best I could take it or leave it. For the most part, it is frustrating, and disappointingly gutless.
Hollywood Drama Movie Extraordinary Measures 2010 Cast And Crew
Starring:Harrison Ford,Brendan Fraser, Keri Russell,Jared Harris,Patrick Bauchau Directed by:Tom Vaughan Genres:Drama Distributor:CBS Films MPAA Rating:PG for thematic material, language and a mild suggestive moment. Theatrical Release:Friday, January 22, 2010 (Wide) Extraordinary Measures Flim SYNOPSIS:
From his working class roots, John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) has finally begun to taste success in corporate America. Supported by his beautiful wife Aileen (Keri Russell) and their three children, John is on the fast track. But just as his career is taking off, Crowley walks away from it all when his two youngest children, Megan and Patrick, are diagnosed with a fatal disease. With Aileen by his side, harnessing all of his skill and determination, Crowley teams up with a brilliant, but unappreciated and unconventional scientist, Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford). Together they form a bio-tech company focused on developing a life-saving drug. One driven to prove himself and his theories, the other by a chance to save his children, this unlikely alliance eventually develops into mutual respect as they battle the medical and business establishments in a fight against the system – and time. But, at the last minute, when it appears that a solution has been found, the relationship between the two men faces a final test - the outcome of which will affect the fate of John's children.
Extraordinary Measures Flim Reviews: Brendan Fraser plays John Crowley, an executive at pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers. He and wife Aileen (Keri Russell) have three young children, two of whom suffer from a genetic malady known as Pompe. A form of muscular dystrophy, Pompe causes enlargement of internal organs and the deterioration of motor skills. Most children with Pompe do not live past age 9. The movie begins with wheelchair-bound Megan Crowley celebrating her eighth birthday. For the doting dad, time is ticking away. Crowley’s personal research on the disease points him to Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford), a research scientist who shows some promise for a potential therapy with his theory regarding an enzyme. But Stonehill is working in the biochemistry department of the University of Nebraska, and he lacks the budget and lab facilities to create a drug suitable for clinical trials. Stonehill also lacks interpersonal skills, playing hard-rockin’ oldies at top volume in his lab rather than speaking to others, and ignoring most people when not angrily behaving like a prima donna scientist.The Crowleys raise funds for a Pompe Foundation and use the money to go into business with Stonehill, financing a private lab in the middle of Nebraska. Rushed for time to prepare for clinical trials, their start-up venture is soon bought out by a big pharmaceutical company in Seattle, where Stonehill’s style irritates the other research teams at the lab, and Crowley — now a vice president, thanks to the buyout — runs afoul of a by-the-book executive (Jared Harris) who thinks Crowley incapable of objectivity given the failing health of his own kids. If Extraordinary Measures was a Hallmark Hall Of Fame production on TV, it would probably garner Emmy nominations. The supporting cast includes numerous television series veterans: Keri Russell (Felicity), Patrick Bauchau (The Pretender), Alan Ruck (Spin City), David Clennon (Ghost Whisperer), and Courtney B. Vance (FlashForward). One of the few points of amusement about this movie is listening to Jared Harris attempt an American accent, especially after a season of playing British executive Lane Pryce on Mad Men. The story has no real dramatic punch. The script is disjointed and lacks focus; it often feels like each scene is about to take the story in a different direction, then the location changes or the story jumps forward in time, and the previous scenes and storylines don’t seem to matter anymore. Any message they’re trying to deliver about the heartlessness of drug companies is hopelessly muddled. Perhaps too much was left on the cutting room floor; that would account for actors like Bauchau and Ruck relegated to one scene each, and E.T. star Dee Wallace getting only a couple of lines and about 30 seconds of screen time as a barmaid, despite all their names being listed in the opening credits.The title is overblown given the content — there’s nothing extraordinary about this movie at all. Furthermore, casting movie stars in the two lead roles gives this story a larger scale than it deserves. Fraser is believably earnest in his role as the determined father; he’s a talented actor given the right material (Gods And Monsters, for example), and he tries his best here. However, Harrison Ford sleepwalks through his part. Whether it’s because he gave up top billing for the first time in a quarter-century, or he’s content to rest on his audience drawing power from years past, Ford looks and acts like he’s just stepped off his Montana ranch and can’t wait to get back to it. He gives a lazy performance, and it’s sad because we’ve seen him dominate the screen in films like Witness and The Mosquito Coast. But those films were decades ago, and any real effort these day seems to be reserved for the latest Indiana Jones project.The target demographic for Extraordinary Measures obviously skews toward middle-aged mothers. The ladies will weep and have their heartstrings tugged by the adorable sick kids and their healthy, caring brother. They’ll smile and laugh at the brief and artificial moments of humor. They’ll empathize with the teary-eyed mother, regardless of how shallow and underwritten her role is. They’ll fantasize about having hunky Brendan Fraser as their devoted husband, and having aging, once-hunky Harrison Ford as their rugged lover. If you don’t fit that target audience, then sitting through this movie without yawning — or leaving — may be difficult.
Cast: Nisreen Faour, Melkar Muallem, Hiam Abbass, Alia Shawkat, Jenna Kawar, Selena Haddad, Yussuf Abu-Warda, Joseph Ziegler, Andrew Sannie, Daniel Boiteau, Brodie Sanderson, Aaron Hughes And Many Others, Director:Cherien Dabis Producers::Cherien Dabis, Paul Barkin, George Khleifi, Christina Piovesan, Greg Keever, Alicia Sams, Zain Al-Sabah, Elizabeth Jarvis Distributor: Look Now! Production: First Generation Films, Alcina Pictures, Buffalo Gal Pictures, Levantine Entertainment, Eagle Vision Media Group Writer: Cherien Dabis Script:Cherien Dabis Camera:Tobias Datum Release date: 17.12.2009 (German part) Run Time: 92min Land (year):Canada, USA (2009) Genre:Drama
Amreeka English Film Plot:
A drama centered on an immigrant single mother and her teenage son in small town Illinois.Watch online Movie Trailer free Amreeka Hollywood film.The film Directed by Cherien Dabis .
Left by her husband and barely surviving the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, a Palestinian leaves the country with her adolescent son to start a new life with her sister in small-town Illinois. Once there, daily reality sets in and integration proves to be more difficult that expected, especially since the confused local population sees her as the enemy, somehow connected to Iraq and the attacks of 9/11. This moving tragicomedy was the winner of the FIPRESCI Prize during the Director's Fortnight at Cannes.
Amreeka Hollywood Movie Review :
This story follows a Middle-Eastern woman as she struggles living in an military-occupied West Bank. When she receives notice that she has been chosen in a lottery for a U.S. Green Card, she has to make the decision whether or not to uproot herself and her son for greener pastures. After making the decision to go, leaving her mother and brother behind, she realizes that life in Amreeka (America) is not all that she had dreamed it would be. Facing prejudice everywhere she turns, she makes other hard choices in trying to support her family...the son she brought to America with her and the relatives that she is staying with in the Midwest who are facing prejudice and struggling to make ends meet. In the end, this film reminds the viewer of the importance of family and the sacrifices we make for those we love. Amreeka (the Arabic word for America) is a humorous and warm-hearted first feature from Cherien Dabis that follows a Palestinian woman, Muna (Nisreen Faour) and her sixteen-year-old son, Fadi (Melkar Muallem) from the checkpoints of the West Bank to the checkmates of racial animosity in a small town in Illinois near Chicago. Set in 2003 at the start of the Iraq War, Muna leaves Bethlehem because she desires a better life for her son and can no longer put up with overbearing Israeli police, the harangues of her elderly mother, and reminders of her philandering ex-husband. The opening sequence in which Muna is ecstatic about receiving her Green Card in the mail and says tearful goodbyes to her family on her way to America joyously captures the closeness of family and their caring for each other in a lighthearted manner. Unfortunately in the rest of the film things do not go as well for the young family. They have to deal with numerous incidents of overt and covert racism including bullying at school as they try to adjust to a new home and a new country. Things start off badly when Muna and Fadi are harassed for three hours at the airport by Israeli customs and a tin box filled with cookies and all of their savings are handed over by Fadi to customs officials.
Paul Giamatti, James McAvoy and Anne-Marie Duff co-star in the Warner Bros. production, directed by Michael Hoffman from the novel by Jay Parini.
