Movie & TV Series

In the early 1970s, Nicholas Garrigan, a young semi-idealistic Scottish doctor, comes to Uganda to assist in a rural hospital. Once there, he soon meets up with the new President, Idi Amin, who promise a golden age for the African nation. Garrigan hits it off immediately with the rabid Scotland fan, who soon offers him a senior position in the national health department and becomes one of Amin's closest advisers. However as the years pass, Garrigan cannot help but notice Amin's increasingly erratic behavior that grows beyond a legitimate fear of assassination into a murderous insanity that is driving Uganda into bloody ruin. Realizing his dire situation with the lunatic leader unwilling to let him go home, Garrigan must make some crucial decisions that could mean his death if the despot finds out.

The Devil Wears Prada

The story tells the professional adventure of Andrea, whose greatest dream is to become a journalist. Andrea gets a job in the fashion industry through Runway magazine, the most famous of its type, to make ends meet. But Andrea won't develop her writing skills in the magazine, but her talents as the editor in chief's assistant, Miranda. The problem is that Miranda is a merciless, posh and cruel woman, making the experience a living hell for the girl. The environment in the place will be cold and extremely critical with the physical appearance. The girl will have to change her simple and plain style, for a more trendy and elegant one, in order to gain the acceptance of her ruthless boss and colleagues, specially Emily, her unpleasant workmate. Despite everything against Andrea in the office, she will consider the experience as a challenge, drastically changing her clothes and self-image, with the help of Nigel, the magazine's art director. Nevertheless, the job becomes extremely demanding, because of Miranda's tough work rhythm and nearly impossible tasks, leaving Andrea without a private life with her boyfriend, family and friends. Maybe the old Andrea has gone, now more preoccupied about her image and her future in the magazine.

Blood Diamond - Western Movie

Set against the backdrop of civil war and chaos in 1990's Sierra Leone, Blood Diamond is the story of Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) - a South African mercenary - and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) - a Mende fisherman. Both men are African, but their histories as different as any can be, until their fates become joined in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives. While in prison for smuggling, Archer learns that Solomon - who was taken from his family and forced to work in the diamond fields - has found and hidden the extraordinary rough stone. With the help of Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly), an American journalist whose idealism is tempered by a deepening connection with Archer, the two men embark on a trek through rebel territory, a journey that could save Solomon's family and give Archer the second chance he thought he would never have.

Marie Antoinette

Based on Antonia Fraser's book about the ill-fated Archduchess of Austria and later Queen of France, 'Marie Antoinette' tells the story of the most misunderstood and abused woman in history, from her birth in Imperial Austria to her later life in France.

The Illusionist - Western Movie

Director Neil Burger's screen adaptation of Steven Millhauser's short story 'Eisenheim the Illusionist'. Eisenheim (Edward Norton) is a magician in early 1900's Vienna, who falls in love with a woman well above his social standing. When she becomes engaged to a Crown Prince, Eisenheim uses his powers to free her and undermine the stability of the royal house of Vienna.

Flags of Our Fathers - Western Movie

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> F - Title >>

In February, 1945, one of the fiercest battles of the Pacific theater of World War II occurs on the tiny island of Iwo Jima. Thousands of Marines attack the stronghold maintained by thousands of Japanese, and the slaughter on both sides is horrific. Early in the battle, an American flag is raised atop the high point, Mount Suribachi, and a photograph of the raising becomes an American cause celebre. As a powerful inspiration to war-sick Americans, the photo becomes a symbol of the Allied cause. The three surviving flag raisers, Rene Gagnon, John Bradley, and Ira Hayes, are whisked back to civilization to help raise funds for the war effort. But the accolades for heroism heaped upon the three men are at odds with their own personal realizations that thousands of real heroes lie dead on Iwo Jima, and that their own contributions to the fight are only symbolic and not deserving of the singling out they are experiencing. Each of the three must come to terms with the honors, exploitation, and grief that they face simply for being in a photograph.

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> F - Title >>

Little Miss Sunshine - Western Movie

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> L - Title >>

Olive is a little girl with a dream: winning the Little Miss Sunshine contest. Her family wants her dream to come true, but they are so burdened with their own quirks, neuroses, and problems that they can barely make it through a day without some disaster befalling them. Olive's father Richard is a flop as a motivational speaker, and is barely on speaking terms with her mother. Her uncle Frank, a renowned Proust scholar, has attempted suicide following an unsuccessful romance with a male graduate student. Her brother Dwayne, a fanatical follower of Nietzsche, has taken a vow of silence, which allows him to escape somewhat from the family whose very presence torments him. And Olive's grandfather is a ne'er-do-well with a drug habit, but at least he enthusiastically coaches Olive in her contest talent routine. Circumstances conspire to put the entire family on the road together with the goal of getting Olive to the Little Miss Sunshine contest in far off California.

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> L - Title >>

An Inconvenient Truth - Western Movie

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> A - Title >>

Director Davis Guggenheim eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Mr. Gore's personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change. A longtime advocate for the environment, Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way. "Al Gore strips his presentations of politics, laying out the facts for the audience to draw their own conclusions in a charming, funny and engaging style, and by the end has everyone on the edge of their seats, gripped by his haunting message," said Guggenheim. An Inconvenient Truth is not a story of despair but rather a rallying cry to protect the one earth we all share. "It is now clear that we face a deepening global climate crisis that requires us to act boldly, quickly, and wisely," said Gore.

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> A - Title >>

The Departed - Western Movie

Years ago, a powerful Irish mafia figure placed a small selection of his youngest, brightest men into the Massachusetts Police Academy as cadets. Their purpose is to eventually rise within the prestigious ranks of the city's police department, to serve as the eyes and ears of their boss. While somewhere else, a young cadet was assigned with an equally dangerous task: infiltrate the Irish syndicate headed by the man sending in his own to the Boston Police. Now, one cadet is an up and coming police official with a torn allegiance to his job and to the criminal mastermind that put him there. While the other cadet is the trusted number two of that man, only finding his professional duties are becoming blurred with his current state. But new clues have lead to unfortunate discoveries, when both sides realize they're being watched by the enemy. It's now all just a matter of time before the men assigned to find out whose the infiltrator, could come to a bloody end when someone's identity may be revealed.

Monday, February 26, 2007

Charlotte's Web - Western Movie

Wilbur the pig is scared of the end of the season, because he knows that come that time, he will end up on the dinner table. He hatches a plan with Charlotte, a spider that lives in his pen, to ensure that this will never happen.

Will & Grace Season 6 - Western TV Series

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> W - Title >>

Will & Grace are best friends. Will is a gay lawyer and Grace is a straight interior designer. They both live in New York. Grace is engaged to a real jerk, but when that relationship falls apart, she moves in with Will. This is only supposed to be until Grace finds a place of her own, but she and Will end up with each other as permanent roommates. Also in the cast are Jack, Will's flamboyant gay friend and Karen, Graces' secretary/assistant who doesn't really need to work because she married money several times.

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> W - Title >>

Twin Peaks - The Second Season - Western TV Series

The body of a young girl (Laura Palmer) is washed up on a beach near the small Washington state town of Twin Peaks. FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper is called in to investigate her strange demise only to uncover a web of mystery that ultimately leads him deep into the heart of the surrounding woodland and his very own soul.

Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny - Western Movie

This is the story of a friendship that changes the course of rock history forever, of the fateful collision of minds between JB and KG that led to the creation of the precedent-shattering band Tenacious D, and of the two heroes' quest to find the fabled Guitar Pick Of Destiny...

Magnum P. I. - The Complete Sixth Season - Western TV Series

Thomas Magnum is employed on the Hawaiian estate of a wealthy absentee owner name Robin Masters. The estate is run by Jonathan Higgins who mostly tolerates Magnum's presence as head of security on the estate. Magnum is also a private detective whose cases frequently have a humorous overtone and always just enough danger.

The Holiday - Western Movie

Movie trailer editor, Amanda of Los Angeles, CA and journalist Iris of Surrey, England live five thousand miles apart and have never met, but are dealing with the same problem: men. Amanda having just broken up with her cheating boyfriend, Ethan and Iris having pined for her ex, Jasper, becoming engaged to the woman he left her for decide to take a vacation during Christmas. They come upon a website called home exchange and swap houses for two weeks both with a goal to forget their troubled love lives. But love ends up finding them anyways. Amanda starts a romance with Iris' older brother, Graham, a book editor and Iris starts a romance with a movie composer named Miles. With new found romance, both their lives change forever.

The Pursuit of Happyness - Western Movie

In 1981, Chris Gardner was a struggling salesman in little needed medical bone density scanners while his wife toiled in double shifts to support the family including their young son, Christopher. In the face of this difficult life, Chris has the desperate inspiration to try for a stockbroker internship where one in twenty has a chance of a lucrative full time career. Even when his wife leaves him because of this choice, Chris clings to this dream with his son even when the odds become more daunting by the day. Together, father and son struggle through homelessness, jail time, tax seizure and the overall punishing despair in a quest that would make Gardner a respected millionaire.

The Good Shepherd - Western Movie

Edward Wilson, the only witness to his father's suicide and member of the Skull and Bones Society while a student at Yale, is a morally upright young man who values honor and discretion, qualities that help him to be recruited for a career in the newly founded Office of Strategic Services (OSS, the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency). While working there, his ideals gradually turn to suspicion influenced by the Cold War paranoia present within the office. Eventually, he becomes an influential veteran operative, while his distrust of everyone around him increases to no end. His dedication to his work does not come without a price though, leading him to sacrifice his ideals and eventually his family.

Stranger Than Fiction - Western Movie

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> S - Title >>

Karen Effiel is an author writing her latest novel about an isolated man named Harold Crick. What she doesn't know is that her fictionalized character is real. The real Harold Crick is an IRS agent who has lived a dull existence and one day begins to hear Karen's voice as she narrates what she puts on paper to what Harold has and is doing. Because of this Harold enlists the help of a literary professor to find out what is happening and ends up changing things about his life including beginning a relationship with his IRS client, a government-hating bakery owner named Ana Pascal. Harold, however, finds trouble when he hears that Karen plans to kill him.

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> S - Title >>

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Peter Pan - Western Movie

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> P - Title >>

Adaptation of J. M. Barrie's story about a boy who never grew up. The three children of the Darling family receive a visit from Peter Pan, who takes them to Never Never Land where an ongoing war with the evil Pirate Captain Hook is taking place.

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> P - Title >>

Borat - Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - Western Movie

Kazakhstani TV personality Borat is dispatched to the United States to report on the "greatest country in the world." With a documentary crew in tow, Borat becomes more interested in locating and marrying Pamela Anderson than on his assignment.

The Prestige - Western Movie

Rival magicians in turn-of-the-century London battle each other for trade secrets. The rivalry is so intense that it turns them into murderers. The title refers to the product of a successful trick.

Babel - Western Movie

"In Gen. 11:9, the name of Babel is etymologized by association with the Hebrew verb balal, 'to confuse or confound'" (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/babel)..."Babel", through a series of misunderstandings, interweaves the unfortunate circumstances of a Moroccan, an American, a Mexican and a Japanese family. A Moroccan family acquires a rifle to protect their goats. An American woman, on a bus tour with her husband, is accidentally shot, which is in turn grossly exaggerated by the press who are quick to label the incident as a "terrorist attack". The same couple's children accompany their long-time caretaker to Mexico to attend her son's wedding, where upon re-entering the United States face problems. A Japanese widower confronts difficulties in communicating with his deaf teenage daughter whom simply craves human contact.

Casino Royale - Western Movie

Casino Royale introduces James Bond before he holds his license to kill. But Bond is no less dangerous, and with two professional assassinations in quick succession, he is elevated to '00' status. Bond's first 007 mission takes him to Uganda where he is to spy on a terrorist, Mollaka. Not everything goes to plan and Bond decides to investigate, independently of MI6, in order to track down the rest of the terrorist cell. Following a lead to the Bahamas, he encounters Dimitrios and his girlfriend, Solange. He learns that Dimitrios is involved with Le Chiffre, banker to the world's terrorist organizations. Secret Service intelligence reveals that Le Chiffre is planning to raise money in a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro at Le Casino Royale. MI6 assigns 007 to play against him, knowing that if Le Chiffre loses, it will destroy his organization. 'M' places Bond under the watchful eye of the beguiling Vesper Lynd. At first skeptical of what value Vesper can provide, Bond's interest in her deepens as they brave danger together and even torture at the hands of Le Chiffre. In Montenegro, Bond allies himself with Mathis MI6's local field agent, and Felix Leiter who is representing the interests of the CIA. The marathon game proceeds with dirty tricks and violence, raising the stakes beyond blood money and reaching a terrifying climax.

Friday, February 23, 2007

Metro ni Notte THX - Japanese Movie

Salesman Shinji (Tsutsumi Shinichi) is at the subway station on his normal daily commute when he receives words that his estranged father has been hospitalized. Shinji's strained relationship with his unscrupulous father goes back many years, and the news awakens some unhappy memories. At that moment, he sees a person resembling his brother, who passed away forty years ago, leaving the platform, and he hurriedly follows. When Shinji steps out of the station, he finds himself in 1964...

Based on Asada Jiro's bestselling novel, Metro ni Notte ("Riding on the Metro") plays with both fantasy and psychological elements, jumping constantly between past and present as the protagonist journeys through time. Director Shinohara Tetsuo (Heaven's Bookstore and Yokubo) uses the time-traveling premise to bring new layers to classic family drama themes of spite and reconciliation. Like the acclaimed Always - Sunset on Third Street, which Tsutsumi Shinichi also appeared in, Metro ni Notte gives viewers a nostalgic glimpse of days gone by, traveling through forty years of time as reflected in the life of Shinji's father, played by popular actor Osawa Takao (Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World). The film also co-stars Tokiwa Takako (The Mamiya Brothers) and Okamoto Aya (Moonlight Jellyfish).

Hula Girl - Japanese Movie

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> H - Title >>

From Shall We Dance? to Waterboys to Swing Girls, there's a special place in Japanese cinema for films about underdogs finding their groove. This time our zeroes-to-heroes discover hula dancing in 1960s Japan. Entertaining, dynamic, and bursting with energy, Hula Girl is also a good deal more than a simple youth pop flick. The film is based on the true story about one mining town's inventive decision to save itself through hula. The dated setting and conservative social background bring in extra layers of concerns and complications to the story, and director Lee Sang Il (Scrap Heaven) assuredly weaves the different elements into a coherent, compelling film. Hula Girl won over both critics and moviegoers alike, building a wide audience through strong word of mouth. The film was nominated in 11 categories at the 2007 Japanese Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Cinematography. In addition, actresses Matsuyuki Yasuko (Another Heaven), Aoi Yu (Hana and Alice), Sumiko Fuji, and Yamazaki Shizuyo all received acting nominations.

The sleepy mining town of Joban is slowly heading for the hills, so town leader Yoshimoto (Ittoku Kishibe) decides to start a Hawaiian Center amongst the coal mines to attract tourists. As a further gimmick, local girls will give hula performances. He hires dance teacher Madoka (Matsuyuki Yasuko) from Tokyo, and goes about recruiting dancers, but most of the girls balk when they realize hula involves hip shaking and mid-riff baring. The motley bunch that remains consists of sassy Kimiko (Aoi Yu), her star-struck friend Sanae (Tokunaga Eri), mousy Shoko (Ikezu Shoko), and big-boned Sayuri (Yamazaki Shizuyo). None of the girls can dance, Madoka isn't all that interested in teaching, and many of the townspeople are less than happy about this newfangled hula business. The whole idea seems destined for failure, but when Madoka sees the girls' fighting spirit, she becomes determined to teach them how to hula.

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> H - Title >>

Sugar & Spice Fumi Zekka

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> S - Title >>

Sawajiri Erika and Yagira Yuya represent the future of Japanese cinema. Since winning the Japan Academy Award's Best New Actor award for her role in Pacchigi!, Sawajiri has starred in a number of films, and emerged as one of the most popular young actresses in Japan. As for Yagira Yuya, though only 16 years old, he has already received world cinema's greatest accolade, becoming the Cannes Film Festival's youngest ever Best Actor winner in 2004 for his quietly arresting performance in Kore-eda Hirokazu's Nobody Knows. Lauded as his first go at an adult role, Sugar & Spice Fumi Zekka is both a coming-of-age film and a testament of Yagira's own coming of age as an actor.

Recently graduated from high school, 17-year-old Shiro (Yagira Yuya) decides to put off college and work at a gas station instead. Shy and introspective, Shiro understands he is at a turning point in his life, but is unsure of what lies ahead. Though his parents disapprove of his decision, he has the support of his flower-child grandmother (Natsuki Mari) who declares that a gas station is a romantic place for life's drifters. Surely enough, soon a new co-worker, college student Noriko (Sawajiri Erika), drifts into Shiro's life. He falls headfirst into a bittersweet first love that ushers him into the world of adulthood.

Based on a popular Amy Yamada novel, Sugar & Spice is director Nakae Isamu's sophomore feature. It has been five years since his last film, the beautifully shot Calmi Cuori Appassionati starring Kelly Chen and Takenouchi Yutaka. While Calmi Cuori Appassionati was set in Florence, Sugar & Spice takes the same lingering sentiments to simpler times and places. Set in a military base town on the outskirts of Tokyo, the film moves at an earnest, unhurried pace, capturing both the sugar and spice of first love and fleeting youth.

SELaplana >> Movie & TV Series >> S - Title>>

The Youth of Kamiya Etsuko - Japanese Movie

The late great Kuroki Kazuo's The Youth of Kamiyo Etsuko presents a stirring conclusion to four decades of filmmaking. Director Kuroki passed away in April 2006, months before the release of this critically acclaimed film. Continuing with the themes of Tomorrow, Utsukushii Natsu Kirishima, and Face of Jizo, The Youth of Kamiyo Etsuko delves into the lives of ordinary Japanese people during the closing days of WWII. Based on a play by Matsuda Masataka, the film is strong, simple, and austerely shot, eschewing bells and whistles for a direct, affecting story and realistic, raw emotions. Though wartime worries underlie the story, Kuroki also brings out the humor of banality and futility with an accomplished screenplay that is sentimental, yet surprisingly lighthearted. Stars Nagase Masatoshi (The Hidden Blade), Harada Tomoyo (Until the Lights Come Back), and Matsuoka Shunsuke (Black Kiss) deliver subtle, affecting performances, capturing the lives and perspectives of both ordinary people trying to cope and young soldiers fighting a war they can't win.

Having already lost her parents in an air raid, young Kamiya Etsuko (Harada Tomoyo) lives with her brother and his wife in the rural town of Kagoshima. Air force officers Nagayo (Nagase Masatoshi), whom Etsuko's brother wants to set her up with, and Akashi (Matsuoka Shunsuke), whom she has long admired, come to visit. Unexpectedly, Etsuko's brother is transferred to another town, leaving Etsuko alone to entertain her two visitors and conflicting feelings. Though she is attracted to Nagoya's earnest personality, Etsuko's heart remains with Akashi. But everything changes when Akashi volunteers for a suicide mission.

This edition comes with a Kuroki Kazuo retrospective and trailers.