The Diving Bell and the Butterfly / Le scaphandre et le papillon (2007) Director: Julian Schnabel With: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner and Marie-Josée Croze The true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye isn’t paralyzed. IMDB top 250 #202 IMDB Page Personal rating: 4/5 (This is a very emotional movie. You can’t help but sympathize with the main character although I found myself calling him an a*****e once in a while. It makes you think what would you do in a situation like this and appreciate the little things around us. Extremely powerful!)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly / Le scaphandre et le papillon (2007)

Director: Julian Schnabel

With: Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner and Marie-Josée Croze

The true story of Elle editor Jean-Dominique Bauby who suffers a stroke and has to live with an almost totally paralyzed body; only his left eye isn’t paralyzed.

IMDB top 250 #202

IMDB Page

Personal rating: 4/5 (This is a very emotional movie. You can’t help but sympathize with the main character although I found myself calling him an a*****e once in a while. It makes you think what would you do in a situation like this and appreciate the little things around us. Extremely powerful!)

7 months ago
Gone with the Wind (1939) Director: Victor Fleming With: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh and Thomas Mitchell American classic in which a manipulative woman and a roguish man carry on a turbulent love affair in the American south during the Civil War and Reconstruction. IMDB Top 250 #154 IMDB Page Personal rating: 4/5 (This movie rode me through a roller coaster of emotions. I both loved and hated Scarlet O’Hara, I giggled with Rhett Butler’s charm and suffered with him when *SPOILER ALERT* his daughter died. It’s a story about struggle and survival and although I expected to be bored, it was the complete opposite.)

Gone with the Wind (1939)

Director: Victor Fleming

With: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh and Thomas Mitchell

American classic in which a manipulative woman and a roguish man carry on a turbulent love affair in the American south during the Civil War and Reconstruction.

IMDB Top 250 #154

IMDB Page

Personal rating: 4/5 (This movie rode me through a roller coaster of emotions. I both loved and hated Scarlet O’Hara, I giggled with Rhett Butler’s charm and suffered with him when *SPOILER ALERT* his daughter died. It’s a story about struggle and survival and although I expected to be bored, it was the complete opposite.)

8 months ago
Gomorra (2008) Director: Matteo Garrone With: Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Abruzzese and Toni Servillo An inside look at Italy’s modern-day crime families. IMDB page Personal rating: 2.5/5 (After hearing a lot about this movie, and the book that it’s based on, I had high expectations for it. But it was mostly disappointing. It had some interesting stories and I really connected with a couple of characters and rooted for them - Don Ciro and Pasquale - but I was expecting to be on the edge of my seat and it didn’t happen.)

Gomorra (2008)

Director: Matteo Garrone

With: Gianfelice Imparato, Salvatore Abruzzese and Toni Servillo

An inside look at Italy’s modern-day crime families.

IMDB page

Personal rating: 2.5/5 (After hearing a lot about this movie, and the book that it’s based on, I had high expectations for it. But it was mostly disappointing. It had some interesting stories and I really connected with a couple of characters and rooted for them - Don Ciro and Pasquale - but I was expecting to be on the edge of my seat and it didn’t happen.)

8 months ago
Downfall (2004) Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel With: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara and Ulrich Matthes Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator’s final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII. IMDB Top 250 #94 IMDB Page Personal rating: 4.5/5 (I watched this movie today because I found it on TV while I was zapping, and I think that I didn’t fully enjoy it as I normally would because, due to the subject and the fact that it portrays an unusual, more tense side of the story, you have to go for it with a certain mindset that I didn’t had at the time. Rambling apart, the quality of these actors performance is unbelievable. It made me feel scared and repulsed, as if I was watching a documentary.)

Downfall (2004)

Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel

With: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara and Ulrich Matthes

Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator’s final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.

IMDB Top 250 #94

IMDB Page

Personal rating: 4.5/5 (I watched this movie today because I found it on TV while I was zapping, and I think that I didn’t fully enjoy it as I normally would because, due to the subject and the fact that it portrays an unusual, more tense side of the story, you have to go for it with a certain mindset that I didn’t had at the time. Rambling apart, the quality of these actors performance is unbelievable. It made me feel scared and repulsed, as if I was watching a documentary.)

9 months ago
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Directors: Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan With: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto and Saurabh Shukla A Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” He is arrested under suspicion of cheating, and while being interrogated, events from his life history are shown which explain why he knows the answers. IMDB Top 250 #133 IMDB Page Personal rating: 4/5 (First of all, I need to talk about the soundtrack. It’s AMAZING! A.R. Rahman is a musical genius. Now to the story… It is hard to believe that this kid had such luck that all the questions were related to facts of his life and therefore he knew the answers. But this is a movie, so, who cares? I love the story, the scenery and curiously the 2 characters I loved the most were the show host - portrayed by Anil Kapoor - and the older version of Salim - by Madhur Mittal.)

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Directors: Danny Boyle and Loveleen Tandan

With: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto and Saurabh Shukla

A Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” He is arrested under suspicion of cheating, and while being interrogated, events from his life history are shown which explain why he knows the answers.

IMDB Top 250 #133

IMDB Page

Personal rating: 4/5 (First of all, I need to talk about the soundtrack. It’s AMAZING! A.R. Rahman is a musical genius. Now to the story… It is hard to believe that this kid had such luck that all the questions were related to facts of his life and therefore he knew the answers. But this is a movie, so, who cares? I love the story, the scenery and curiously the 2 characters I loved the most were the show host - portrayed by Anil Kapoor - and the older version of Salim - by Madhur Mittal.)

10 months ago
A trip to the moon (1902) Director: George Méliès With: George Méliès, Victor André and Bleuette Bernon A group of astronomers go on an expedition to the moon. IMDB Page Personal rating: 3.5/5 (I’m rating this movie having in mind that it was made over 100 years ago. It’s only 11 minutes long - you can actually find it on YouTube - but I find very imaginative for a time where a trip to the moon was so far away of becoming a reality. Very funny and cute.)

A trip to the moon (1902)

Director: George Méliès

With: George Méliès, Victor André and Bleuette Bernon

A group of astronomers go on an expedition to the moon.

IMDB Page

Personal rating: 3.5/5 (I’m rating this movie having in mind that it was made over 100 years ago. It’s only 11 minutes long - you can actually find it on YouTube - but I find very imaginative for a time where a trip to the moon was so far away of becoming a reality. Very funny and cute.)

10 months ago