Snippets:
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DVD: Proof of Life (2000). 135 min. w/ Russel Crowe, Meg Ryan. After an engineer is kidnapped by guerillas in Colombia, his wife hires a professional negotiator to release him. Great pics of landscapes. Story predictable and shallow. Acting mediocre. Overall rating 4 out of 10.
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Okra (botanical name: Hibiscus esculenta): vegetable, used ofter in Southern style cooking.
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DVD: Das Experiment (2000). 119 min. German w/ English subtitles. w/ Moritz Bleibtreu, Christian Berkel. Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel. Based on the infamous "Stanford Prison Experiment" conducted in 1971. Volunteers participate in a psychological experiment to 'play' a prisoner-guard situation. When things get out of hand, the real human nature is revealed. Terrific analysis of human behavior in a simple plot. Overall rating: 8 out of 10.
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Music: Jonah Smith (vocals, fender rhodes electric piano); jazz, pop; saw at 55Bar on 7/22/05; resemles a jazz version of Jamiroquai.
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Video: Stangers on a Train (1951). 101 min. B/W. w/ Farley Granger (Guy Haines), Ruth Roman (Anne Morton), Robert Walker (Bruno Anthony). Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Successful tennis player with wife and girlfriend meets lunatic stranger on a train who suggests the perfect crime: to swap murders. Highly advanced for its time, but a little too predictable for today. Overall rating: 5 out of 10.
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Music: Vanessa Williams; on the Green in New Haven, CT, on Saturday, July 30th, 2005
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DVD: Russian Ark (2002). 96 min. Russian w/ English subtitles. w/ Sergei Dontsov (as Sergei Dreiden) as The Stranger (The Marquis de Custine, an 18th century French diplomat, who wrote an account of his visit to Russia in 1839 entitled Empire of the Czar: A Journey Through Eternal Russia). Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov. Cinematography by Tilman Büttner. Filmed in a single continuous take, the camera follows the Stranger through the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and 300 years of Russian history. No real story, more a continuous flow of events. Needs to be approached with a quiet mind set and appreciation for the marvellous costumes, and the technical challenges of the film. DVD contains a version with comments by producer Jens Meurer. Overall rating: 6 out of 10.
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DVD: Heaven (2002). 96 min. Italian and English. w/ Cate Blanchett (Philippa), Giovanni Ribisi (Filippo). Directed by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). Screeplay by Krzysztof Kieslowski. Carabinieri falls in love with frustrated, depressed school teacher who attempted to assassinate a drug dealer. Story is rather unrealistic, but once you get the hang of it, it it's rather enjoyable because of its unconventionalism. Some great areal shots of Montepulciano. Blachett plays her brittle character well. Overall rating: 6 out of 10.
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