Monday, April 25, 2005

My Top Five Movies

#1 The Count of Monte Cristo
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO is Alexandre Dumas' classic story of an innocent man wrongly but deliberately imprisoned and his brilliant strategy for revenge against those who betrayed him. Dashing young sailor Edmond Dantes (JAMES CAVIEZEL) is a guileless and honest young man whose peaceful life and plans to marry the beautiful Mercedes (DAGMARA DOMINCZYK) are abruptly shattered when his best friend Fernand (GUY PEARCE), who wants Mercedes for himself, deceives him. He sets him up to be unlawfully sentenced to the infamous island prison of Chateau D'If. Edmond is trapped in this nightmare that lasts for thirteen years. Haunted by the baffling course his life has taken, over time everything he ever believed about right and wrong is abandoned and replaced by all-consuming thoughts of vengeance against those who betrayed him. With the help of an equally innocent fellow inmate (RICHARD HARRIS), Dantes plots and succeeds in his mission to escape from prison, whereupon he transforms himself into the mysterious and wealthy Count of Monte Cristo. With cunning ruthlessness, he cleverly insinuates himself into the French nobility and systematically destroys the men who manipulated and
enslaved him.

#2 Coyote Ugly

In COYOTE UGLY, an aspiring songwriter, Violet Sanford (Piper Perabo), leaves her small-town home and her supportive father (John Goodman) for New York City in hopes of starting a music career. But life in the big city is harder than she imagined. Feeling defeated, and unemployed, she hears about a job opening at a bar called Coyote Ugly, and persuades the bar owner, Lil (Mario Bello), to give her a chance among the bar's beautiful brigade of bartenders. When Violet arrives for work the bouncer tells her it's a quiet night, but when she goes inside the bar she is hit by a wall of throbbing music and howling men. Two women are atop the bar, pulling a customer back over it, pulling up his shirt, and pouring beer on his chest. Welcome to COYOTE UGLY. How will Violet deal with the bar? How will it deal with her? What of her songwriting plans? Inside this raucous, raunchy movie, coproduced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer (FLASHDANCE), is a sweet romance between Violet and Kevin (Adam Garcia), a refreshing escape from the chaos of the bar.

#3 The Passion of Christ
This film tells the story of the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus (Caviezel), on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem. This film's script is based upon several sources, including the diaries of St. Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) as collected in the book, "The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ", "The Mystical City of God" by St. Mary of Agreda, and the New Testament books of John, Luke, Mark and Matthew.

#4 Sleepless in Seattle
Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks) is a good father and a successful architect. But he's also a lonely widower. One night his precocious 8-year-old son Jonah calls a late-night radio talk show seeking a cure for his father's despondency. When Sam hesitantly takes the phone and discloses the story of his magic-filled marriage, he proves to be a deeply feeling and gentle man. His plight profoundly moves the program's sympathetic female listeners, and thousands of women write in offering to help him `recover' from his mournful insomnia. Recently betrothed Annie Reed (Meg Ryan) is one of the many listeners touched by Sam's story. To complicate matters, she's afraid her upcoming marriage promises stability and security but no excitement. Although Annie's supposed to be driving to her future in-laws' house for the holidays, she knows that she's already fallen in love with Sam and is on the road to destiny. Academy Award Nominations: Best (Original) Screenplay, Best Song ("A Wink and a Smile").

#5 Man On Fire
A wave of kidnappings has swept through Mexico, feeding a growing sense of panic among its wealthier citizens, especially parents. In one six-day period, there were twenty-four abductions, leading many to hire bodyguards for their children. Into this world enters John Creasy, a burned-out ex-CIA operative/assassin, who has given up on life. Creasy's friend Rayburn brings him to Mexico City to be a bodyguard to nine-year-old Pita Ramos, daughter of industrialist Samuel Ramos and his wife Lisa. Creasy is not interested in being a bodyguard, especially to a youngster, but for lack of something better to do, he accepts the assignment. Creasy barely tolerates the precocious child and her pestering questions about him and his life. But slowly, she chips away at his seemingly impenetrable exterior, his defenses drop, and he opens up to her. Creasy's new-found purpose in life is shattered when Pita is kidnapped. Despite being mortally wounded during the kidnapping, he vows to kill anyone involved in or profiting from the kidnapping. And no one can stop him.

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