The Fabulous Looks of Tina Fey

8/14/2019 The Fabulous Looks of Tina Fey

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MONTE

NorwayWins 54th

Eurovision

Song

Contest

Inside

Movie

Reviews

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to Ownon DVD

Coming

Soon toTheaters:

TheFabulous

looks of

Tina Fey

www.mpictures.tumblr.com

Hollywoods

Bankable

Stars

$ FREE (US)

62ndAnnual Cannes Film Festival


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Founders Message

In life things happen so unexpected, and its so outof control. I find myself wanting to do more in mylifetime, but never being motivated enough to doit. It seems that when I want to get somethingdone it never happens the right way. But it allseems to change at the most unexpected times.When you least expect it!

As you all know I really enjoy writing and creatingthese newsletters, it inspires me to work harder atwhat I do so I can pursue whatever I desire. If I findmyself in a writers block, I listen to music, whichactually works wonders for me.

So, if getting inspired is something that you truly wish to do, then mysuggestion for you is to just open up your mind to things that you've never seenor done before. Go out into the world around you and see what you candiscover. It doesn't really matter what you find yourself doing. There's no use of

doing any of it unless you can find a way to get inspired by it.

I just find that things are so much better for you and your soul if you areinspired and motivated about what you do. Most importantly, it'll make yourjob or anything for that matter so much better. So if youre trying to getinspired by anything around youit can be as simple as listening to a song, oreven looking at a picture

Even though it may seem like a lot of work getting inspired it can help you in lifeand your career, or anything else that you wish to do. For me getting inspirationis nothing more than experiencing new things in life. It gives me the chance toshow the world what I really have to offer!

p.s. I would like to dedicate this newsletter to my mother, sisters, brother, step-father, nephews, Jose, and Julia for their hard work everyday and for being thepeople that inspire me.

- Javier Serrano, founder


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Editors Message

- julia wieczorek, editor-in-chief

I completely understand writers block and amalways looking for points of inspiration! I too listento music, read, watch movies and just observe

everyday life to find my inspiration. What Ivefound is that people inspire me the most, the littlethings people say when they are just beingthemselves, not thinking someone like me willremember and quote them later (or use them tobase a character in my novel)!

So, some of you spoke up, and I listened! Here are

some comments we received from last monthsissue:

I really enjoyed the 7 tips for success...great advice for anyone that has a passion

in life!James M.

this is great!Marty S.

I think that your advise on Goals and their achievement is excellent [and] I can

relate to. I absolutely enjoyedRoles That Got Away.Steve W.

I've been enjoying your newslettersSamantha S.

[I] like the Roles that Got Away.Angela C.

Please keep sending-in those comments and wonderful messages!!! We reallyappreciate them and you WILL be featured (unless you dont want to of course) inthe next issue! We also personally respond to each email we receive, as well as anyFacebook message or blog comment.*** Remember our new email is: [email protected]*** Blog: mpictures.tumblr.com

Happiness can be found in even the darkest of places, if one only remembers to turn on the light.Albus D.
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Exclusive photos - ->


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Norway wins its thirdEurovision Song Contest.

Alexander Rybak winningSong: Fairytale.


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Belgium's Hadisecaptures 4th Place

for Turkey with hersong: Crazy for You(Dum Tek Tek).


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Urban Symphonytakes 6th placefor Estonia inEurovision Song

Contest.Randajad


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Jade Ewen sung her way to

5th

place marking theUnited Kingdoms personalbest since 1997, when theycaptured first in theEurovision Song Contest.

Its My Time


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Lejsi Tola placed17th for Albania.

Noa and Mira Awad took16th place for Israel.

There Must Be Another Way

Carry Me In

Your Dreams


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Anastasiya Prikhodkowon the 11th placefor Russia, the hostednation for this yearsEurovision contest.

Mamo


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Romania sent TheBalkan GirlstoEurovision, wherethe song placed 19th.

Croatia glided theirway to 18th place.

Lijepa Tena


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The Land of the Fire:Azerbaijan won thirdplace for Always.

The biggest surpriseof the night went toYohannas Is It

True?placing 2nd.


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Soraya glittered her

way to 23rd place,tied second to last.

La Noche Es Para Mi


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Alex Swings andOscar Sings! Placed20th for Germanyin this yearsEurovision contest.

Miss Kiss Kiss Bang


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TinaFey

What you dont know about Tina Fey:

She is a five time Emmy Award Winner


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Tina Fey, whose full name is Elizabeth Stamatina Fey, is a well rounded entertainer. Born on May 8,1970, Fey is a writer and a comedian, as well as an actress. Born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, Feygraduated from the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Drama in 1992. She then moved to Chicago,and got a job at YMCA to supplement her night classes at The Second City, an improvisationalcomedy troupe. Nine months after, she was encouraged by her teacher to audition for the SecondCity Training Center, which she did, but failed. Some two months later, she tried again and this time,she was selected to join in the year-long program. This is a pivotal move on her part as she spent asignificant amount of years at the Second City in Chicago, the launching pad of many Saturday NightLive cast members.

It was also the same case for Fey. Thanks to encouragement from herfriend, Adam McKay, she made a submission to SNL and was accepted.She made history by being the first female writer on the show, ever,in 1999. She also made her screen debut during the 25th season in2000 on, Weekend Update with Jimmy Fallon. Her time on WeekendUpdate with Fallon was considered to be the best. She went on tobecome a regular cast member. Apart from her work on SNL, she also

found time to pen the screenplay to the popular 2004 teen flick, MeanGirls. The characters were based on Fey's own experiencewith real life mean girls from her high school, as well as the non-fictionbook, Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter SurviveCliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence byauthor Rosalind Wiseman.

Fey is also the creator and star of 30 Rock, a sitcom starring Alex Baldwin, Jane Krakowski and TinaFey herself. The show revolves around Fey's character, Liz Lemon, the head writer of "The Girly

Show", who must handle her arrogant new boss as well as an outrageous new star. The series haswon Fey an Outstanding Female Lead in a Comedy Series from the Gracie Allen Awards.In 2006, Fey was working on the script for Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill, based loosely on the story ofHasidic rock musician Vic Thrill. Also on the cards is the movie Baby Mama, Fey's collaboration withAmy Poehler, her ex- SNL cast mate. This time, she was not involved in the writing process, butstared as a single woman who hires a surrogate mother to have her baby while she pursues hercareer. On her personal front, Fey married Jeff Richmond, a composer for SNL, in 2001. The couplehad their first child, Alice Zenobia Richmond in 2005.

Writer:

Curly Oxide and Vic Thrill (2007)30 Rock (2006-2007)Saturday Night Live (1997-2006)Mean Girls (2004) (screenplay)The Colin Quinn Show (2002)Saturday Night Live: The Best of Molly Shannon (2001)Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary (1999) (TV)

Actress:Baby Mama (2008) as Kate

30 Rock (2006-present) as Liz LemonSaturday Night Live (2000-2006)Mean Girls (2004) as Ms. Norbury


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Coming Soon to Theaters . . ..


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My

Sisters

KeeperRelease date:

26 June 2009

Based on the award winning novel from best-selling author Jodi Piccoult,MY SISTERS KEEPER tells the story of Sara and Brian who live a peacefullife with their young son and daughter. But their family is rocked bysudden, heartbreaking news that forces them to make a difficult andunorthodox choice in order to save their baby girls life. The parentsdesperate decision raises both ethical and moral questions and rips awayat the foundation of their relationship. Their actions ultimately set off a

court case that threatens to tear the family apart, while revealingsurprising truths that challenge everyones perceptions of love andloyalty. From the director ofThe Notebook, MY SISTERS KEEPERstars Cameron Diaz (In Her Shoes, Charlies Angels, Theres SomethingAbout Mary), Jason Patric (In the Valley of Elah, Sleepers, The Lost Boys)and Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, The Departed, Glengarry Glen Ross) alongsideAbigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) and Sofia Vassilieva (Day Zero).


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The Hurt Locker

Release date:

26 June 2009

Director Kathryn Bigelow's first film in six years, THE HURT LOCKER follows threeAmerican soldiers (Jeremy Renner's cocky James, Anthony Mackie's pragmaticSanborn, and Brian Geraghty's jittery Owen) as they encounter a series ofperilous situations during the last few weeks of their tour in Iraq. The episodicstructure employed by screenwriter Mark Boal admittedly does take some gettingused to, as the film - which is essentially plot-less - consists primarily entirely ofstand-alone sequences detailing the central characters' various day-to-dayescapades. There's little doubt, however, that the almost unbearably suspenseful

nature of some of these scenes - one in which James must disarm an explosivestrapped to a reluctant suicide bomber - effectively ensures that one's interestrarely flags, although it's worth noting that the movie does start to run out ofsteam towards the end (with the inclusion of a fairly tedious nighttime missioncertainly not helping matters). That's an awfully minor complain for a war filmthat is otherwise uncommonly taut and uniformly well acted; in terms of thelatter, Renner delivers a breakthrough performance that's nothing short ofstunning in terms of its power and effectiveness (Mackie and Geraghty, along

with cameo players Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, and David Morse, are also quitegood).


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The 62nd edition started on 13

May and ended on 24 May, 2009.

Exclusive photos available. . .


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Isabelle Huppert

This year, the Cannes Film festival selected afemale president, the formidable French

actress Isabelle Huppert. It is worth pointingout that she is only the fourth woman in 62years to chair the jury that will decide thePalme d'Or, also known as, Best Picture of theyear..

asons why the Festivities de Cannes Jurors selected French actress as Madame President: "[Huppert] harate as one of the most accomplished actresses in the world today, even if she seems short of the passion

agony of her contemporary," David Thompson and "This is surely one of the greatest performances ofppert's already illustrious acting career, though it is one that is very hard to watch,"(1999, The Pianoacher) Stuart Jeffries.

hort history about Cannes: The Cannes Film Festival hasn't just produced six decades of fabulous films,t each year it has also created a unique and artistic representation of the world's most glamorous filmtival. The inaugural Cannes Film Festival was held in September 1939, but it was not held again until afte

orld War II. The event moved to April during the 1950s and the Palme d'Or prize was introduced in 1955.e festival established itself during the 1960s, and has since secured its status as the world's mostestigious.

ench translation:

tte anne, le Festival de cinma Cannes a choisi le prsident femelle, l'actrice franaise formidablebelle Huppert. Il vaut la peine de montrer qu'elle est seulement la quatrime femme dans 62 ans pour

sider le jury qui dcidera le Palme d'Or, aussi connu comme, la Meilleure Peinture de l'anne. xception de l'auteur Francoise Sagan, tous les Prsidents de Madame prcdents ont t des acteurs etus taient parmi les grandes beauts de leur temps.

isons pour lesquelles les jurs des festivits De Cannes ont choisi l'actrice franaise comme Madame lesident : [Huppert] doit valuer en tant qu'une des actrices les plus accomplies au monde aujourd'huime si elle semble short de la passion ou de l'agonie de son contemporain, Isabelle Adjani, - Davidompson et ceci est srement l'une des plus grandes excutions de la carrire temporaire dj illustreHuppert, bien qu'il soit une il est trs difficile d'observer que, (1999, le professeur de piano) - Stuartfries.

e histoire courte au sujet de Cannes : Le festival de film de Cannes n'a pas simplement produit sixcennies des films fabuleux, mais tous les ans il a galement cr une reprsentation unique et artistique

festival du film le plus fascinant du monde. Le festival inaugural de film de Cannes a t tenu enptembre 1939, mais on ne l'a pas tenu encore jusqu' aprs la deuxime guerre mondiale. L'vnementplac avril pendant les annes 50 et le prix de d'Or de Palme a t prsent en 1955. Le festival s'establi pendant les annes 60, et a depuis fix son statut comme monde le plus prestigieux.


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White Ribbon wins Palm d'Or at Cannes Film Festival!

The White Ribbon, a black and white parable about the rise of fascism inpre-war Germany from director Michael Haneke, has won the BestDirector at the Cannes Film Festival.

CANNES Winners:Top Five Major Prizes


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French actress Charlotte Gainsbourgposes with the Best Actress award shereceived for the filmAntichrist, at theawards ceremony.

rix d'interprtation fminine - Best Actress

Prix d'interprtation masculineBest Actor

Austrian soap star Christoph Waltzclinched the Cannes film festival's best

actor award Sunday for his role as amultilingual Nazi in Quentin Tarantino'sInglourious Basterds.

Waltz plays the smooth-talking villainof the flick, SS colonel Hans Landa,whose memorable one-liners had the

Cannes audience chortling throughoutthe film.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/slideshow/ALeqM5gFUBNkJ02LkDaacY-nYl6dbDfsmQD98CP22O0?index=0http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/slideshow/ALeqM5hS6-Jrpb3ZYBVUhwfQ224-urtVwQ?index=0


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Prix de la mise en scne - Best Director

Brillante Mendoza for Kinatay

Grand Prix- Grand Prize of the FestivalUN PROPHTE (A PROPHET)directed by Jacques AUDIARD


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Hollywoods Bankable Actors of 2009We're in a worldwide recession, but theater attendance is up in both the UK and the US alone. JamesBird, of the Cinema Exhibitors Association, representing 90% of UK cinemas, states: "When people are

feeling gloomy about the economy, the cinema offers good, value for money escapism."(Lucy Tobin,UK Cinemas Dodge Recession www.thisismoney.co.uk)

Theater attendance went up 40% in the crash of 1929, a phenomenon that's been repeated duringother downturns in the past 70 years. Hollywood magazine Variety last summer reported that againstthe odds, the box office was doing great. John Fithian of the National Assosiation of Theater Ownerscommented: "Though we don't wish hard times on anyone, the cinema business tends to do very wellduring challenging economic times."It seems that when money is tight, people are prepared to spendmoney on treats that provide escapism for a few hours. DVDs will always have their place forwatching old favorites or catching up on movies you missed, but for seeing a movie at its best youcan't beat the theater.

1. Will Smith $80 million 2. Johnny Depp $72 million3. Eddie Murphy $55 Million 4. Mike Myers $55 Million5. Leo DiCaprio $45 million 6. Bruce Willis $41 million7. Ben Stiller $ 40 million 8. Nicolas Cage $31 million9. Will Farrell $31 million 10. Adam Sandler $20 million
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://movies.popcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/adam_sandler.jpg&imgrefurl=http://movies.popcrunch.com/category/adam-sandler/&usg=__ZsDhxMMEWoFjVyTdG528VaG7A4c=&h=400&w=400&sz=35&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=LQlqg9U5BhWVpM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dadam%2Bsandler%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/imgs/all_about_photos/farrell_w_l.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.ew.com/ew/allabout/0,,20000144,00.html&usg=__1-rsvB7lJS1MR57gbBQpGBaNeXY=&h=320&w=240&sz=22&hl=en&start=11&um=1&tbnid=lFQdMFx52o0OkM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=89&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwill%2Bfarrell%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.askmen.com/galleries/men/nicolas-cage/pictures/nicolas-cage-picture-3.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.askmen.com/women/galleries/men/nicolas-cage/picture-3.html&usg=__R4STMXV6qhrqdlxAPbE9HhnCsAk=&h=490&w=376&sz=46&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=5cX1vVtxmTHTOM:&tbnh=130&tbnw=100&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dnicolas%2Bcage%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://iceicebabies.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/tn2_ben_stiller_3.jpg&imgrefurl=http://iceicebabies.com/2008/11/yes-ben-stiller-had-his-own-show/&usg=__Mhe74oRGsKqYDT7yy__xE9BZByE=&h=441&w=350&sz=15&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=5jDHHFVzDtp7hM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=101&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dben%2Bstiller%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.probush.com/bruce_willis.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.probush.com/patriot_list.htm&usg=__CkW1W4opr4vznSpl1jnBlUYi7yo=&h=530&w=475&sz=94&hl=en&start=9&um=1&tbnid=X8F6PijnJ4MrmM:&tbnh=132&tbnw=118&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbruce%2Bwillis%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thecinemasource.com/moviesdb/images/Leonardo_DiCaprio%2520-%25201%2520-%2520Blood_Diamond.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thecinemasource.com/v3/list/spotlights.php%3Fsearch%3DLeonardo%2BDiCaprio&usg=__zFlyXJOapLfl_R-nGDFpbRQ07BM=&h=451&w=300&sz=104&hl=en&start=16&um=1&tbnid=K_CK2l96C530zM:&tbnh=127&tbnw=84&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dleo%2Bdicaprio%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.thecinemasource.com/moviesdb/images/news/News%2520-%2520Mike_Myers%2520-%2520Walter_Mitty.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.thecinemasource.com/v3/list/news.php%3Ffilterkey%3DM&usg=__Dz3PSYUl0ePGumaCwPDu-IubM6E=&h=377&w=300&sz=105&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=1Tm7soJmowlO5M:&tbnh=122&tbnw=97&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmike%2Bmyers%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://blog.jacarandafm.com/breakfast/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/eddie_murphy.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blog.jacarandafm.com/breakfast/%3Fp%3D2350&usg=__aMgz0OwrwQtgX9cryd8EdpbHR6Y=&h=400&w=282&sz=28&hl=en&start=14&um=1&tbnid=7qYW4z4F2pId0M:&tbnh=124&tbnw=87&prev=/images%3Fq%3Deddie%2Bmurphy%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://popularbiographies.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/johnny_depp.jpg&imgrefurl=http://popularbiographies.wordpress.com/2008/06/06/johnny-depp-biography/&usg=__1YO0Nomx_mFHFwmAYp57Wx5Wca8=&h=640&w=453&sz=94&hl=en&start=4&um=1&tbnid=0MjtF0g7kd3lOM:&tbnh=137&tbnw=97&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djohnny%2Bdepp%26hl%3Den%26um%3D1http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.filmscorefocus.org/uploads/images/will-smith.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.filmscorefocus.org/&usg=__GvcdKbRgtEXXBSCw_JxEpqMtUuw=&h=400&w=300&sz=28&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=Go8mRm3G3vaO-M:&tbnh=124&tbnw=93&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwill%2Bsmith%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1


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Hollywoods Bankable Actresses of 2009

Sadly, Hollywood actors still earn higher wages than

actresses

1. Angelina Jolie $27.7 million 2. Nicole Kidman $26 million3. Julia Roberts $23 million 4. Reese Witherspoon $21 million5. Cameron Diaz $15.5 million 6. Jennifer Aniston $14 million7. Kate Hudson $10. million 8. Katherine Heigl 9.3 million

9. Anne Hathaway $8.1 million


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Movie

Reviews


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Ninas

Tragedies

A coming-of-age story about losing a loved one

Nadav (Aviv Elkabets), a 14-year-old Israeli boy, is desperately in love with his Aunt Nina (AyeletJuly Zurer,Angels & Demons), the beautiful younger sister of his recently divorced mother. He'sresigned to love her as Nina has recently married Haimon, her long-term boyfriend, who's asoldier in the Israeli military. When Haimon is killed in a terrorist attack outside Tel Aviv, Nina isdevastated for the loss of the husband, and Nadav is sent to live with her to offer comfort andcompany. He sees this as a chance to proclaim his love, all of which is documented very carefullyand graphically in his diary, which, he loses on the grounds of his school.

Writer/director Savi Gabizon's bright and insightful film might play as unseemly in less capablehands, particularly when involving the tragedy of losing a loved one to a terrorist attack. As Ninafinds herself attracted to a handsome and emotional photographer, Avinoam, whom she met onthe evening she was notified of Haimon's death, Nadav becomes jealous and withdraws, leavingNina much more alone. Nina becomes immersed in guilt for thinking of another man, and beginsto believe that she is seeing her late husband walking about the city naked and lurking at herbedroom window. Meanwhile, Nadav's very religious father falls ill and wants to reconcile withhis son, which confuses Nadav's emotions that much more.With the help of a number of striking performances, especially from the devastatingly beautiful

Zurer and the young Elkabets, this is a thoughtful and satisfying film of the sort Americanfilmmakers rarely achieve.


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Anastasia

The Infamous Story of Anna Anderson aka Anastasia

After being blacklisted (due to her desertion of husband Petter Lindstrom andtheir daughter Pia and subsequent affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini),Ingrid Bergman received her second Best Actress Oscar for her big comebackHollywood performance inAnastasia. Bergman plays the title role, an amnesiacrefugee chosen by scheming conman (Yul Brynner) as the woman (Anna Anderson)to be passed off as the last surviving daughter of Tsar Nicholas and Alexandra ofRussia. Up to a point, Anatole Litvak's picture blends skillfully mystery, romance,and melodrama Hollywood style. In Arthur Laurents' script, based on a popular

play by Marcelle Maurette and Guy Bolton, Russian exiles in Paris conspire topresent someone as Anastasia, the daughter of Czar Nicholas in order to collectthe 10 million pounds held in her name by the Bank of England.

General Bounine (Brynner) finds a destitute girl on the verge of suicide, takes herunder his care, and grooms her in all of Russian royal ways. In due process, in thisPygmalion-like saga, the more Bounine learns of her, the more he begins to believethat she is the real Anastasia. Mystery persists up until the end, when she is

presented to the Empress (poorly cast Helen Hayes), who will identify her as "true"heiress in a series of test and rituals.


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Persepolis

Marjane Satrapis Memior on the Islamic Revolution

translating her popular graphic novels to the screen, Marjane Satrapi, along with fellow comic bookiter Vincent Paronnaud, has brought her static images to vivid life, while keeping intact all the humor,thos and emotional honesty that graced the page. Satrapis memoir about growing up in Tehran duringe end of the Shahs regime, the Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq war and the rise of Islamicndamentalism, remains a great personal story, one that is leavened by Satrapis perceptive look at thetural and political forces that shaped it. Persepolis is a spectacular movie, an endless stream ofngent experiencesboth ordinary and calamitousthat made up Satrapis childhood. These events

e rendered in stark black and white images and punctuated with her sharply astute and self-awareservations, delivered in voice-over by French actress Chiara Mastroianni, whose dark vocal tones

eate a perfect funnel for Satrapis deliciously down-to-earth commentary.

rsepolis is an animated film, but even though there is not a live person in sight, its an extraordinaryual expression of the human condition. Satrapi describes her animation style as stylized realism,

here scenes are based in realism, but the images are design-orientedsometimes almost to the pointabstraction. But this is no distancing device; on the contrary, the stylized images end up heighteninge emotional impact of the story. For example, when a young man is shot to death during a policeackdown of a demonstration against the Shah, the blood seeps from the body in a pool of black ink thatvers the screen in darkness. By rendering her incredible story in these starkly expressive images,trapi not only adds intensity, but also strips the movie of cultural ornamentation, and the storycomes a universal one that we all can relate to, no matter what country we were born in.


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The Return

Fatherless Boys see the Return of their Fathering a teenager is not as easy as one remembers it when one is already wellvanced into adulthood. Its about not being a child anymore but not quite being an

ult yet: it is a bit of both worlds and yet a bit of neither. Vozvrashcheniye (Theturn), the debut of Russian filmmaker Andrei Zvyagintsev, is a beautifully filmedrable about just that niche: walking the thin line between the joys of an innocent lifea child and aspiring to be a grown-up but having to carry the responsibilities thatme with it.

ndrey (Vladimir Garin) and Ivan (Ivan Dobronravov) are two brothers that live witheir mother and grandmother in the Russian countryside. It is summer and they love

go out fishing and swimming. Andrey, the elder brother, teases Ivan with his fear ofights and calls him names as big brothers do. Ivan tries to stand up against him buthen they have to jump off a tower into the lake, his fear of heights is greater than hisar of being called names. He remains on top of the tower until his mother convincesm to come down.

e day after they are out playing again and return home in the afternoon to find a carrked in front of their house. It is their fathers, who has just returned. Andrey and

an cannot believe it. But who exactly has returned? They go and check on the manho is sleeping in their mothers bed and run off to compare him with a picture takenwelve years prior, when their father still lived with them. Could it be the same man?


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Ransom

One of Mel Gibsons High Profile FilmsGibson and Russo play Tom and Kate Mullen, he a successful airline magnate, she his glamorouswife. They have it all--a penthouse in New York, money up to their ears, and a young son, Sean. Alas,things fall apart when Sean is kidnapped and held for $2 million ransom, which Tom eventually

refuses to pay and instead offers as a bounty on the head of the kidnapper, much to the dismay ofKate and an FBI agent (Delroy Lindo) dealing with the case.

It is always a disappointment when the filmmakers have a good thing going then botch things upthrough carelessness. While the makers ofRansom don't botch the film, carelessness does lead tothe film's two major gaffes- the clear presence of boom microphones in two different scenes. This isespecially a shame, since both boom cameos take place during some key dramatic moments; in one,the drama and passion of a Gibson monologue is severely undermined by the boom. Instead ofistening intently to the speech and paying attention to the story, the audience at the press

screening could not help but roar with laughter.

An unwanted boom aside, Ransom is first-rate entertainment. Richard Price and Alexander Ignon'ssmart script wisely does not make Tom into a hero of impossible goodness; in fact, Tom is more thana little unsympathetic and morally ambiguous. His virtue and sanity is naturally called into questionwhen he offers the ransom as a bounty, but his values are even more questionable when we learnthat he paid a bribe to save his airline, yet won't pay for the safe return of his son. Gibson, in a fineperformance, does not sugarcoat anything and creates a complex, difficult character. We see andfeel his genuine love and concern for his son and can understand his desperation, but one cannothelp but think that he's going about the whole thing wrong, that maybe he's lost his mind.


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Ever After

Modern Version of the Famous Story: CinderellaDrew Barrymores got charm and sweetness in this fairytale film, Ever After. This timeshe plays Cinderella in a lovely update of the Grimm Brothers' tale. In fact, the storybegins with Cinderella's great great granddaughter (played by a regal Jeanne Moreau),who is a French royal; informing the Grimms that the folk tale they adapted wasactually based on a true story. She presents a true-life Cinderella without a carriagethat turns into a pumpkin. The glass slipper is merely a bejeweled shoe and the fairygodmother turns out to be Leonardo, the genius of Vinci, visiting France.

Cinderella's real name is Danielle. When she was 8, her dearly beloved father diedafter bringing his horrid new bride home. Once the loving father died, the stepmother,Rodmilla (Anjelica Huston), turned Danielle into a servant and focused on getting theking's son Henry (Dougray Scott) to marry one of her nasty daughters. As everyoneknows, the prince is destined to fall in love with Cinderella. But Cinderella is no merepretty face. When she meets Henry by chance, she lectures him on the unfairness ofindentured servitude and gets him to free a friend from bondage.


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The Third Man

An Iconic Film Noir thats Still Fresh for Hollywood

The perfect psychological film ever made? Orson Welles's Harry Lime steals the show in thisstunning film noir, The Third Man, set in the ruins of post-War Vienna, and featuring perhaps themost memorable chase sequence in cinema history. Holly Martins (Cotten) is a hack writerarriving in Vienna shortly after the end of WWII. He plans to meet up with his old friend, HarryLime, but discovers that he has recently been killed in a road accident. He is told a few home

truths about his old chum by a British Army officer (Howard) and from Lime's distraught girlfriend(Valli), and focuses his own energies on trying to discover the identity of the third man whohelped carry Lime's body from the street.

Eleven minutes was excised from the original US edit, supposedly to lessen the seedy tone. In factit's this creeping sense of corruption and moral ambiguity that makes the film so fascinating. Itwas producer Korda's idea to set the action in a divided Vienna, and, in the course of Greene'sresearch, he happened upon the city's thriving post-War trade in black-market penicillin, and theillicit use of the city's sewer network. The film's success was sealed by Welles's film-stealingextended cameo, the off-kilter, Oscar-winning photography of Krasker, and the instantly evocative

and unforgettable score by Anton Karas, who Reed discovered while scouting locations in Vienna.


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Richly satisfying serving of deep-dish Hollywood

storytelling,

- Todd McCarthy, Vanity

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a beautiful,compelling, and heartbreaking film by the acclaimed

director David Fincher. I must proclaim admirably that thefilms performances are exquisite and some of the visualeffects are astounding, which a majority of drama films lackin the effects department. The story begins withBenjamins birth in New Orleans in 1918 on the year thatmarked the end of World War I. After the sudden death ofhis wife during childbirth, Thomas Button abandons his sonimmediately on the steps of a nursing home because of hisdisfigurement. A worker at the nursing home, Queenie,

finds the abandoned baby and takes him in, even thoughher husband rejects the idea.

Benjamin does not die, which doctors had expected because of Benjamins rare condition,that causes him to suffer the effects of old age as an infant and child and appear to groyounger as he actually grows older. However, Benjamin does what every young boy doesthrough life: he grows up. Despite his condition, Queenie loves Benjamin as if he is her ownson, and why not? Queenie is the only person who loves and cares for Benjamin. Brad Pitt,Fincher's favorite leading man, having collaborated with him in numerous films like Se7enand Fight Club, is sensational as the title character, living up to his movie star and character

actor sensibilities. Though he has never won an Oscar, but I do imagine, the Academymembers will acknowledge his career sooner or later.

Pitt's performance is made possible by makeup and effects that place his aged face ontoother actors to portray Benjamin at different stages in his life. It's done so seamlessly that it'salmost startling when Benjamin has aged to the point where he is readily recognizable asPitt. Technical advancement allows the always luminous Cate Blanchett to portray Daisy froma young woman to her deathbed. As she lies in a hospital, Hurricane Katrina bearing down onNew Orleans, she has her daughter, Caroline (Julia Ormond), read to her from Benjamin's

diaryBenjamin and Daisy meet as children, and Daisy innately recognizes that Benjamin is not theold man he appears to be. They go their separate waysBenjamin to work on a tugboat thatgets recruited to join the U.S. Navy during World War II, and Daisy to follow her dream ofbecoming a professional dancerbut they eventually find their way back to each other.

With its decades-long story and somewhat passive protagonist, Benjamin Buttons closestcinematic relative is Forrest Gump (1994) which does not come as a surprise since EricRoth scripted both (Gump won him an Oscar). Button goes much deeper than Gump, though.Benjamin is not an idiot stumbling through history; he's a man quietly playing with the hand

he has been dealt, determined to make the best of it. Their physical ages meeting in themiddle, Benjamin and Daisy experience a few years of pure bliss together. Daisy dares tohope they can start a family; Benjamin knows he can never be the father a child needs.


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Tom Cruises role is Perfectly satisfactory, if

not electrifying, in the leading role,

- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Its difficult to examine Bryan Singers World War IIthriller Valkyrie without placing actor Tom Cruise,and the entire mechanism of the Hollywood starsystem, under the microscope. Originally conceivedas a lower budget, altogether smaller piece ofcinema, Cruises involvement changed many aspectsof the films development most pointedly itsbudget. In the final analysis, he sits rather awkwardly

in the film the glazed fruit on a savory dish, theattraction rather than the meal itself.

But theres a great feast to have here beyond the star. Singer (who made Superman Returns andX-Men 2) understands how to build the pace and maintain the dramatic tension of this story one that has an ending we must all know. He surrounds Cruise with the cream of Britains seniormale actors Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, and Terence Stamp and focuses thepiece as a racy thriller rather than probing the trickier political and psychological issues thatwould have perhaps exposed Cruises limitations as a performer. Its a great political war story,

brought beautifully if not a little self-consciously to the screen.

Cruise is Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, war hero and true believer in a noble Germany.Dismayed by Adolf Hitlers leadership and the obvious decline in Germanys fortunes against theAllies, he joins forces with Generals Olbricht (Bill Nighy) von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh) andFromm (Tom Wilkinson) in a political and military plot to assassinate the Fuhrer, dismantle theSS, and start negotiating to save Germany from total destruction. The story follows the delicatepolitical maneuvering that has to take place in order to get operation Valkyrie underway, andthen its aftermath, a tortuously short moment in time when no one involved was sure which

way history was to play out. In the heat of the operation a coup by any other name - a Germancommunications Sergeant comments to a superior officer that when this things over us bettermake sure were on the right side. This is the real drama of the piece both at the level of theindividuals involved with the lives of their families and selves at stake - and for the Germannation as a whole. Singer flirts with these moments and theyre the best written parts of thefilm, but he keeps moving on - building the tension and over-idealizing Von Staffenburg orperhaps the bankable star Tom Cruise - as noble but wooden hero.


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MONTE PICTURES

2009 Monte Pictures Newsletter. We acknowledge all photographs aresubject to their original owners. Monte Pictures was created to express,entertain and educate members of Monte the variety of film selectionsavailable. We do not sell our newsletters nor accept donations of any kind; weare neither a corporation nor non-profit organization. Questions or comments,please email your inquiries to: [email protected]

The Fabulous Looks of Tina Fey

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