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The Man with One Red Shoe

/ / Home Video, Theme Week
  • Title: The Man with One Red Shoe
  • IMDB: link

man-with-one-red-shoe-posterI have a confession to make; my favorite Tom Hanks movie isn’t Forrest Gump, Big, Philadelphia, Apollo 13, The Terminal, Splash, or Sleepless in Seattle.  My favorite Hanks film is 1985’s The Man with One Red Shoe.  Now, I’d never argue it’s his best movie, but for my money its sheer enjoyment value is off the charts. A great farce, fun suspense, Jim Belushi losing his mind, Carrie Fisher in a leopard print bikini, and an off-beat love story make this a great addition to anyone’s DVD collection.

Richard Drew (Tom Hanks) is a concert violinist who is sleeping with his best friend Morris’s (Jim Belushi) wife Paula (Carrie Fisher).  Richard leads a boring life of concerts and violin lessons. 

That’s all about to change as CIA director Ross (Charles Durning) sets up a trap to catch the illegal operations of a competing CIA boss Cooper (Dabney Coleman).  Ross plants a fake story about having a witness to Cooper’s activities and sends his top man Brown (Edward Herrmann) to pick a man at random realizing that Cooper will take a run at him and then they will have him. 

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Garden State

/ / Home Video, Theme Week
  • Title: Garden State
  • IMDB: link

garden-state-dvdGarden State is one of those films I missed in the theaters and hunted down on DVD after a number of people had recommended it to me. I’m so glad I did! Zach Braff’s first time as writer/director produces a truly great romantic comedy with a heart bigger than even an infinite abyss.

Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff) leaves his struggling acting career and returns home for the first time in nine years to attend his mother’s funeral.  Andrew is disconnected from his family, and life in general, through a variety of medications that create an overall malaise.  The death of his mother and his return home begin a series of events that allow Andrew to reexamine his life and start to live again.

On his return to New Jersey Andrew meets up with old friends Mark (Peter Sarsgaard) and Jesse (Armando Riesco) and has an unexpected encounter at the doctor’s office where he meets Sam (Natalie Portman). 

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I Don’t Know; It’s a Mystery

/ / Home Video, Theme Week
  • Title: Shakespeare in Love
  • IMDB: link

shakespeare-in-love-dvdJohn Madden gives us a new film version of Shakespeare by looking at the struggling playwright who has yet to become the great William Shakespeare.  The movie is centered around the love story between Will and Viola which will be his muse for writing “Romeo and Ethel the Pirate’s Daughter” er… I mean “Romeo and Juliet.”

Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) is a struggling playwright banished by his wife and child to London and tired of the constant attention and devotion garnered by renowned playwright Christopher Marlowe (Rupert Everett) which provides one of the films best running jokes.  With a little help from Marlowe and a the sight of his new muse the lady Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow who won the Oscar for Best Actress) Will begins to write what will become his great love story “Romeo and Juliet.”

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While You Were Sleeping

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  • Title: While You Were Sleeping
  • IMDb: link

while-you-were-sleeping-poster

Lucy Eleanor Moderatz (Sandra Bullock) lives alone with her cat, carries an empty passport around in her coat pocket, and works long hours as in a subway booth taking tokens from strangers.  One bright spot in her dreary existence is when Peter Callaghan (Peter Gallagher) walks by every morning even though they’ve never met. 

On Christmas morning he’s mugged and falls onto the tracks.  Lucy jumps on the tracks and saves his life and through a miscommunication at the hospital is believed to be Peter’s fiancé.  When Peter’s large family arrives to find him in a coma they thank Lucy for saving his life and immediately embrace her into the family.  The whole thing happens so fast Lucy doesn’t get a chance to tell them the truth and, after a few days with the family, doesn’t want to.

Aside from funny misunderstandings and odd coincidences the film is basically about relationships.  Lucy’s only confidant is her boss (Jerry Bernard) who Lucy tells the story to and is both amused and annoyed at her situation. 

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Get Over It

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  • Title: Get Over It
  • IMDB: link

Ah…teenage love and loss.  When Ben is dumped by his girlfriend he’ll do whatever it takes to win her back including signing up for the high school play – “Midsummer Nights Dream – The Musical” directed by Martin Short!  A funny teen comedy; think that’s an oxymoron?  Well think again…

Ever been dumped and are unwilling to let the other person go?  Get Over It tells the story of a guy who loses his girl and will do anything to get her back even making a complete jackass of himself by singing outside her window and joining the school play not even noticing that maybe the one helping him, his friend’s little sister, just might be a better match for him.

Berke Landers (Ben Foster) has just been dumped by his longtime girlfriend Allison (Melissa Sagemiller), which is followed by one of the best opening credit sequences in recent movie history.

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