TCP Entry: Nell

In 1994, the movie "Nell" won the Best Actress award for Jodi Foster. In this week's TCP theme, it is all about movies which won Best Actress award. I remember watching this film in the movie house with my cousins. I think this movie came after another very good movie Schindler's List. 

Here is the plot of the movie based on Wikipedia:

"When stroke victim Violet Kellty dies in her home in the North Carolina forest, the town doctor, Jerry Lovell (Liam Neeson), finds a terrified young woman hiding in the rafters of the house. She speaks angrily and rapidly, but seems to have a language of her own. Looking at Violet's Bible, he finds a note asking whoever finds it to look after her daughter, Nell. The sheriff shows him a news clipping from which he surmises that Nell (Jodie Foster) is the dead woman’s daughter, conceived by a rapist.

Jerry seeks the help of Dr. Paula Olsen (Natasha Richardson), a researcher working with autistic children. Almost immediately Paula discovers that Nell's language is English, based partly on her mother's aphasic speech after a stroke. Jerry and Paula begin a grudging friendship, although he detests her coldly clinical, analytical tactics."

This is a must see movie and I suggest if you can find a copy of this film take time to watch it  and you will definitely be moved by the excellent acting prowess of Jodi Foster. There is no doubt she truly deserved the Best Actress award.

For other interesting and award winning movies, check out other TCP entries.

TCP Entry: A Beautiful Mind

Thanks to Google for the Photo

 This week's theme for TCP is all about Movies with Best Actor Award. There are so many good films that I like which won the Best Actor award. But my final choice is the movie "A Beautiful Mind" which won Russel Crowe another Best Actor award.

Here is the storyline of the movie as shown at IMDb:

"Biopic of the famed mathematician John Nash and his lifelong struggles with his mental health. Nash enrolled as a graduate student at Princeton in 1948 and almost immediately stood out as an odd duck. He devoted himself to finding something unique, a mathematical theorem that would be completely original. He kept to himself for the most part and while he went out for drinks with other students, he spends a lot of time with his roommate, Charles, who eventually becomes his best friend. John is soon a professor at MIT where he meets and eventually married a graduate student, Alicia. Over time however John begins to lose his grip on reality, eventually being institutionalized diagnosed with schizophrenia. As the depths of his imaginary world are revealed, Nash withdraws from society and it's not until the 1970s that he makes his first foray back into the world of academics, gradually returning to research and teaching. In 1994, John Nash was awarded the Nobel prize in Economics."

Russell Crowe was very effective in his portrayal John Nash, and if you have seen the movie; you would definitely feel his struggle in life. I had to shed tears in some part of the movie (I am such a cry-baby). I strongly recommend watching this film and see for yourself how great actor Russell Crowe is.

Check out other movies with Best Actor awards on other TCP Entries. I hope you could also visit me in my other home. Enjoy watching movies!

TCP Entry:TheTerminal

Wikipedia for the picture

The theme for this week's TCP is about Agape or Unconditional Love; for my entry it is another Tom Hanks movie entitled The Terminal. If it's a Tom Hanks movie then it must be a good one. Indeed he was able to portray very the part of easter immigrant named Novarski who was forced to stay inside the JFK Airport when war broke into his  country. All of a sudden he became a man without a country because of the war, US denied him of his entry. 

Here is the plot synopsis based on IMDB:

While Viktor Navorski is en route to the U.S. to fulfill a wish of his late father's, there is a coup in the Eastern European country in which he lives. When he lands at JFK, he learns that his country is no longer recognized by the U.S. so he cannot enter - and he can't go home either, because all planes to his country are canceled. While waiting in this limbo, Viktor takes up residence in JFK Terminal and learns another definition of home. 

During his stay at the airport,he met a lot of people who came to like him because he possess a very good heart. One very touching scene of the movie was when Novarski saw in TV the war that is happening in his country. He felt so helpless because he does not even know how to speak English. Yet despite the hardships he must undergo while staying at the airport he did not give up his dream of going to the US. He needs to get the autograph tenor saxophonist Benny Golson. His late father was a jazz enthusiast who had discovered the "Great Day in Harlem" photograph in a Hungarian newspaper in 1958, and vowed to get an autograph of all the 57 jazz musicians featured on the photograph.

For me it is one of those movies which showed unconditional love of a son to his dad. He is willing to undergo  struggles just to fulfill his father's dream.

TCP Entry: Reality Bites

This week's theme for TCP is about Friendship Love; and the first movie that comes to my mind regarding friendship is my all-time favorite "Reality Bites". This film was shown in the 90's era, the year of Generation X as it was known. It starred my favorite actress Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke plays the male lead actor; and it also starred Ben Stiller. This is the film that popularized the "My Sharona" song.

Here is the story line as summarized by IMDb:

"In this study of Generation X manners, Lelaina, the valedictorian of her college class, camcords her friends in a mock documentary of posteducation life. Troy is her best friend, a perpetually unemployed musical slacker. Vickie is a manager at the Gap who worries about the results of an AIDS test, while Sammy has problems grappling with his sexuality. When Lelaina meets Michael, an earnest video executive who takes her homemade video to his MTV-like station, she must decide what she values--the materialism of yuppie Michael or the philosophical musings of Troy"

The struggle of friends after earning their college diploma as they continue to search for the perfect employment opportunities. How these young people try to maintain their friendship despite the odds they face.

TCP: Yours,Mine,Ours

Google for the photo

 Since it's the  love month the TCP theme for this week is about Familial Love. It is the first kind of love that most of us have felt. There are several movies of this kind, but what I chose is the "Yours,Mine,Ours" as my TCP entry for this week's theme. I can somehow relate in this movie (lol!).

The movie plot is quite simple, it is about two widowed parents who fell in love with one another. The conflict arise when each parent have their set of kids; 10 kids for Mom and 8 kids for Dad. Their kids obviously are having a hard time to accept the situation. Although each set of kids hate the other, they came into a compromise to make a scheme to make the marriage end.

Just imagine how chaotic it would be if you have 18 kids under one roof. That could be a handful and can be quite difficult to handle. I have my own two kids and hubby has one, plus our own child; in total we have four kids and all of them are boys. When they get rowdy, it can be quite stressful!

TCP Entry: 2010 Movies

Google for the photo

Andy's toys came back to life once again, in the third (and final?) installment of the movie TOY STORY. I can't think of any other 2010 movies, because we rarely watch movies. We just could not miss this movie because we have seen the first two parts. Here is the gist of the story according to Wikipedia:

"Andy is now 17 years old and packing for college, and his toys who have not been played with in years feel forgotten and abandoned. Andy decides to take Woody with him to college and intends to store the other toys in the attic. By accident, Andy's mom throws the other toys away, making them think they are no longer wanted; they escape and decide to climb in a box to be donated to the Sunnyside Daycare. Woody, the only toy who saw what really happened, is forced to follow the others and tries to explain they were thrown out by mistake, but they refuse to listen." 


The toys adventure began and they met a lot of new toys and their new owner too. It was a heart-warming film and surely family would definitely enjoy watching it.

TCP Entry: Fast and the Furious Movies

Google for the photo

This week's theme for TCP is Surprisingly Nice!; I am not much of a fan regarding movies about cars. But since hubby love to watch such movie genre, I had no choice but to watch it. Few weeks ago, we had a  movie marathon of the Fast and the Furious movies (that is 1-4). Normally, I would dose off to sleep whenever I watch DVD movies; surprisingly I was wide awake until we have finished all four movies.

The movie was filled with excitement and thrill, I am sure it would somehow equate to the feelings of a person watching the  Monaco Grand Prix I am quite amazed and awed how men and even women can drive cars so fast and yet so smooth.

I like about the movie aside from the plot, are the beautiful and customized cars. I would wish to have one of my own; on second thought, I think I should learn how to drive first and get my driver's license. Pretty soon, the producers of the movie would come up with its 5th installment. I am looking forward to watching it too.

TCP Entry: Home Alone

This week's theme for TCP is about Family Christmas; I only have one movie in mind when it comes to family Christmas movie and that would be "Home Alone". I have seen almost all the Home Alone movies and it never failed to touch my heart.

Macaulay Caulkin was still very young then and I have to admit that he was a very cute and adorable kid. I think most Filipino families can relate to this movie because extended family is part of our culture. We celebrate important events such as Christmas with all the members of the family; it is a sort of reunion and that could really be very stressful most especially to kids.

thanks to google

Parents would learn a lot in this movie. Sometimes we take for granted our kids feelings towards certain situation because we thought we know what is right. We tend to overreact on their whining and punish them without really knowing how they feel.

For more family Christmas movies, visit other TCP entries.




Happy Holidays to everyone, have a Merry Christmas!

TCP Entry: Santa Claus Movie

I had a hard time deciding on what Santa  movie to post; because I haven't seen any except the movie Santa Clause. As I was checking the net for some photos of my chosen movie; I came across this very old Santa Claus movie entitled Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town. Although I have not seen the movie yet, but I would definitely try to download this movie so me and my kids can watch it. This was made before the 3D animated film came to life.

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town is a 1970 stop motion TV special and it used models carved from wood this is made by Rankin-Bass. The special was starred by Hollywood actor Fred Astaire who was the voice of S.D. Kluger and he was also the narrator of the stop motion special. The voice of Mickey Rooney was used for Santa Claus / Kris Kringle. The film tells us about the traditions that we have during Christmas and gives us the story of Santa Claus too.



Visit other TCP entries for more Santa Claus movies.

TCP Entry: Edward Scissorhands

Photo not mine thanks to IMDb

This week's theme for TCP is On Ice; the first movie that came into my mind was Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder's movie which is Edward Scissorhands. It was a movie about an Uncommon gentleman who fell in love with a teenage girl. The movie plot is simple yet very touching. It depicted that love goes beyond the physical appearance of the person. Although they did not have the chance to be together; in the latter part of the movie we can see Edward still doing ice sculpture of  Kim.

And Kim's unforgettable lines "You see, before he came down here, it never snowed. And afterwards, it did. If he weren't up there now... I don't think it would be snowing. Sometimes you can still catch me dancing in it"

If you have not seen this movie yet, I suggest that you watch. More TCP entries, just click the badge.
 

TCP Entry: Dreamworks Movie

Thanks Wikipedia for the photo

There are so many Dreamworks movies to choose from; I love all of their animated films and I can't decide which one to choose. Honestly, I am not aware that "The Tuxedo" is a film by Dreamworks. Me and hubby are fanatics of Jackie Chan. We have seen this movie a couple of times but never grew tired of watching it.

The plot is simple, Jackie Chan (Jim) is a taxi driver known for his notorious speed driving was hired to become a personal driver of a wealthy man. He became a spy by accident when he wore the special spy tuxedo of his boss and was paired with a genius named Delilah played by Jennifer Love Hewitt. And the adventure begins.

It is a very light action film in which Jackie Chan is very famous. It gave us a good laugh especially when he was doing his dance moves.

More Dreamworks movies, check out other TCP entries for this week

TCP Entry: Notting Hill

photo not mine thanks to Google.

For my TCP entry for this week is about this movie "Notting Hill". Can the famous film star in the world fall for just an ordinary guy?, Yes, because when it comes to love whatever your status in life when you fall in love, you would do anything and fight for it whatever it takes.

In this movie Hugh Grant is just a ordinary guy he's a owner of a bookstore while Julia Roberts is a film star. They met accidentally in the bookstore and eventually developed their friendship into a romantic relationship. This movie is romantic comedy and it showed how it is to fall in love.

It does not matter whatever people say about your relationship when you really love the person you will risk everything like Julia did; even it will change your life just to be with him or her. Love is like a cigarette it harms you with warning and before you know it, you cannot just simply remove it from your system.
Love is a sacrifice and it could be a big sacrifice for some people.

Enjoy other TCP entries just click on the badge.

TCP Entry: Schindler's List

photo courtesy of Wikipedia

For my TCP entry for this week's theme which is Steven Spielberg movies, I chose Schindler's List. It  is one of my all-time favorite film. The movie is about Oskar Schindler, a business man during the time of Holocaust and was able to save thousands of lives. The genius behind this controversial movie is no other than Steven Spielberg. What I like about this movie are the symbolism of things. The movie was done in black-and-white; except for the little girl wearing the red coat. According to Spielberg, the little girl in red coat represents those powerful countries during that time (America, Russia and England) who knew about the Holocaust yet chose not to do anything about it.

Watching this film made me realize how lucky I am to be living in this era; wherein freedom is given to every individual. Soon I would encourage my kids to see this film, to give them a glimpse or idea of how difficult it was to live during those times.

If you are a Steven Spielberg fanatic, you may want to check out other TCP entries for this week.

TCP Entry: Paranormal Activity

This is my third TCP Entry (#1 Robbin Williams movie; #2 Food theme movies) and I am glad to share with you my favorite horror flick. I am not really a fan of scary movies, but I was curious about this film that's why I watched this film over the internet. The story is about a couple who experienced paranormal activities at home. I am not really sure whether these are really raw footages of what transpired in their lives. It was scary because each day of their lives the climax of the event builds up; until they came to a point wherein death happen to one of the couple (I think it was the guy). Such tragic story for a happy couple who are trying to live normal lives. The girl ended in an asylum after the guy was killed.

photo not mine thanks to Google

Now, the movie Paranormal Activity 2 is being shown in theaters. I would like to watch it too; in order to see which one is better. For more TCP entries, click here.

TCP Entry: Ratatouille

" Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions about fine cooking is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize, only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere."; quote from Anton Ego the food critic in the movie Ratatouille.

photo not mine thanks to Google

This movie has become a favorite movie of my family. It showed how men and animals (Remy and Linguini) can work and live in harmony if they wanted to. Another moral lesson of this film is that, the good will always triumph over evil. See what happened to Chef Skinner, he was kicked out of the restaurant. 

I hope that everytime we watch a film, my kids will remember the lessons learned from it as well as the quality time we spent together.