Rushmore (1998)

Star Rating: 2
Length of Film: 93 minutes
Director: Wes Anderson
Cast: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox, Mason Gamble, Sara Tanaka, Stephen McCole, Connie Nielsen, Luke Wilson, Dipak Pallana, Andrew Wilson, Marietta Marich, Ronnie McCawley, & Keith McCawley








This movie is so strange, but not in a good way. It's a movie about a 15 year old student, Max Fisher in a private school who focuses more on extra curricular activites than his actual school work. Max lies to everyone at the school saying he father is a neurosurgeon, even though he's just a barber. While at the library, he was looking at this book, where someone had written a quote in the book, he found out that it was written by a 1st grade teacher, Rosemary Cross. The two became friends and he innocently started having a crush on her.

After a speech, Max became enthralled with millionaire Herman J. Blume. Herman a married man, started hanging out with the two, and started having feelings for each other. Max, told Herman's wife, and he moved into a hotel room. Max stole a hotel uniform, and Rushmore's Bee Keepers and let it loose in his room. They do these childish back and forth pranks to win over this woman's heart, even though NEITHER of them should have or deserve her.

The synopsis of the book says, "this slow, turn-of-the screwball comedy is Murray's finest hour, allowing him at last to be profound, wounded, and funny, all at the same time". I disagree. He did not steal the show, and truthfully the character is worthless and not a role that I would want play, as an actor. I have no idea why this movie is in this book, and I'm actually quite disappointed. Don't see it...it's not worth an hour and a half.

The African Queen (1951)

Star Rating: 4
Length of Film: 105 minutes
Director: John Huston
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morely, Peter Bull, Theodore Bikel, Walter Gotell, Peter Swanwick, & Richard Marner
Oscar: Humphrey Bogart (actor)
Oscar Nominations: John Huston (director), James Agee, John Huston (screenplay), Katharine Hepburn (actress)









The African Queen is based off of the 1935 novel written by C.S. Forester. It's based in Africa (obviously) where missionary Rose (Katharine Hepburn) and Reverend Samuel Sayer (Robert Morely) were working with an African tribe when World War 1 broke out. Charlie (Humphrey Bogart) delivers the mail and supplies to the tribes, and decided to rescue the damself in distress to take refuge on his boat, Rose agreed after Reverend Sayer died.


In the beginning, Rose wanted nothing to do with Charlie. It was pouring outside, Rose was covered under a tarp. Charlie woke up, soaking wet and went in her space, and she freaked out. She later apologized and let him be under the tarp, out of the rain. She even gave him, her umbrella. She was a stuck up Christian and thought Charlie should have the same virtues as her. One of the biggest disagreement was his drinking. She dumped his gin into the river.



After experiencing her first white water experience, she let her hair down and started loosening up. She even let Charlie call her "Rosie". They saw a group of hippopotamus' and Charlie imitated a hippo. It was the first moment, where sparks were flying.

The Germans who attacked the African village has a gunboat, the Queen Louisa, that patrols a lake downriver. The boat is perfectly located where no British boats can come and counter-attack. Rose comes up with an idea to convert the Queen into a torpedo boat, and sink the Louisa boat themselves! It was a brillant plan, but they did not expect the queen to travel in the mud and reeds. The only way to get through the channel is to pull the boat by hand. Which caused Charlie to have leeches covered all over his body. Rose happily grabbed salt and helped removed the leeches.

Two individuals, from separate backgrounds couldn't deny their love anymore. They fell in love with each other, worked side by side, and successfully filled the Queen with explosives to help their home country, England.

Setting up the torpedos, they did not put in thought the impact the torpedos weight would put on the Queen, and the boat started filling up with water, and the boat sank. Charlie and Rose got separated in the water and Charlie was captured by the captain of the Louisa. I

 will tell you this...at the end of the movie, two nooses were involved, explosions, and "I Do's".

Watch the movie...it's great!

La Vie En Rose (2007)

Star Rating: 2
Lenghth of Film: 140 minutes
Director: Olivier Dahan
Cast: Marion Cotillard, Sylvia Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner, Jean-Paul Rouve, Gerard Depardieu
Oscars: Marion Cotillard (actress), Jan Archibald & Didier Lavergne (makeup)
Oscar Nomination: Marit Allen (costume designer)








This movie depicts the life of the famous French singer, Edith Piaf. Not knowing any of her music, or knowing she was famous, the movie didn't mean anything to me. It is in French, so you have to watch the movies in subtitles. I appreciate this movie, for all its hard work. If I knew French history, and seen pictures of the real Edith, I would have appreciated the movie much more. This movie made me think of Whitney Houston. I would watch this movie portral of Whitney, because I know her music, and seen her life spiraling down through the media, I would want to see the movie portraying her life. I have to think the same for the people of France, and also the people from the era that Edith Piaf was from.

Edith's mother was a street singer, who was taken away by her father who was a circus performer. Her father took her to live with his mother, who was a madame who owned a whorehouse. The ladies became very attached, as did Edith. Her father came back, and ripped her away from her new family.

Edith was found by a music manager, as she was singing on the streets and became a star!Edith falls in love with a married boxer, and when she sent for him to visit her, he died in a plane crash. When she finds out he died, it is a powerful scene and I am glad that Marion Cotillard won the oscar. It was moving! Goosebumps...very powerful.  

The real Edith Piaf

Marion Cotillard

I am also glad that makeup artists won an Oscar, because Marion Cotillard is gorgeous and they truly did transform her into looking like Edith Piaf, and a great job in the transformation of her last years, as a drug addict, and just the crippling decline in her health.

Marion Cotillard winning Oscar for Best Actress

If you're interested in hearing the vocals of the real Edith Piaf, and Marion Cotillard, here are 2 youtube videos.


Edith Piaf "Non, je ne regrette rien"

Marion Cotillard singing "Non Je Ne Regrette Rien"

Dangerous Liaisons (1988)

Star Rating: 4
Length of Film: 119 minutes
Director: Stephen Frears
Cast: Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Swoosie Kurtz, Keanu Reeves, Mildred Natwick, Uma Thurman, Peter Capaldi, Joe Sheridan, Valerie Gogan, Lauren Benson, Joanna Pavlis
Oscars: Christopher Hampton (screenplay), Stuart Craig, Gerard James (art direction), & James Acheson (costume)
Oscar Nominations: Norma Hayman, Hank Moonjean (best picture), Glenn Close (actress), Michelle Pfeiffer (actress in a supporting role), George Fenton (costume).

Dangerous Liaison's is based off the critically acclaimed novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Choderlos de Lacios. There have been multiple movies and miniseries based off this novel. The most famous that comes to my mind is Cruel Intentions.



Marquise de Merteuil- Glenn Close
Vicomte de Valmont- John Malkovich
Madame de Tourvel- Michelle Pfeiffer
Cecile- Uma Thurman
Chevalier Danceny- Keanu Reeves

Dangerous Liaison's starts out with servants taking care of Marquise de Merteuil, dressing her and waiting on her hand and foot.

Marquise de Merteuil & Valmont have this sexual tension, but Marquise has been making him wait and torturing him. Marquise seems very upstanding, and virtuous, but she's a manipulator,egotistical, and flat out mean! Marquise made a deal with Valmont that if he seduced the virginal Cecile with proof (through written letters) . You might ask why Marquise would want Valmont to seduce Cecile? Well...Cecile is being arranged to marry Marquise's former lover. So she wants to get revenge of him, and have his new bride not be a virgin. HA! So devious! Valmont was unsure whether or not he should go along with this plan, because he has his own plan to seduce the married Madame de Tourvel, but changes his mind knowing that the reward, Marquise, would be worth it.

Valmont is sleazy and very clever when seducing Madame de Tourvel. He went to a small village, and gave money to the poor.Yet Madame was warned about Valmont and his "ways" with women. Valmont tried everything. "I love you, I adore you. Please help me." He leaned to kiss Madame on the cheek, and she pulled away. She was not going to fall for his tricks, so she thought...

Cecile is played by Uma Thurman, the virginal young girl. She falls in love with Chevalier Danceny, a musician, and her teacher, who's not in the same class, and so they will never marry. They pass love letters back and forth to each other, hoping that one day they'll be able to be together.  

Valmont uses Cecile's love for Danceny to get his foot in the door (or her pants, ha!)  with Cecile to fulfill his conquest. He gives Cecile a fake copy of her bedroom key that her mother keeps in her room. Valmont tells her to switch the keys so he could hand deliver Danceny's love letters. Naive Cecile, thinks that Valmont is actually trying to help her. He sneaks into her bedroom, startles Cecile and tells him he'll leave if he kisses him. He pushes for more, but nothing happened.

Marquise was called by her cousin (Cecile's mom) to help get Cecile out of this funk. Marquise tells Cecile to allow Valmont to continue "instructing" Cecile. "As long as you take a few elementary precautions, you can do it or not, with as many men as you like, as aften as you like, in as many different ways as you like".

This yellow dress is my favorite outfit from the movie

Valmont begins instructing Cecile so she can "impress" her future husband and also her lover, Danceny. Valmont also instructs Cecile to write a very spicy love letter to Danceny, a letter she writes on the naked body of Valmont. (You get to see Uma Thurman's boob)

Madame de Tourvel finally gives in and confesses her love to Valmont and they spend a beautiful night together. Something happens to womanizer Valmont that he's not expecting...he falls in love with Madame. Marquise and Valmont meet up and he demands that he gets to spend the night with her...TONIGHT. She weasels herself out of it and tells him that she wants him to break it off with Madame, THEN they'll have their night, if he doesn't agree, she'll ruin his reputation.


Watch the movie. You'll be pleasantly surprised to see what happens to our 5 main characters, but you're gonna have to watch it, because I'm not going to tell you. The ending, right before the credits, is my favorite. Marquise is so raw and delicate, a side of her we don't see at all throughout the movie. I believe THAT moment, is why she was nominated for best actress.

Favorite Quotes:

"If I want a man, I have him"

"It's beyond my control"

"I wanted you before we'd ever met. My self-esteem demanded it. Then when you began to pursue me, I wanted you so badly"