_**Artistic production with Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer, but uninteresting spy story**_ A few years before the fall of the Soviet Union, a boozy English publisher named Barley (Sean Connery) is sent a mysterious manuscript via a beautiful Russian editor named Katya (Michelle Pfeiffer), but it’s intercepted by British intelligence and Barley is coerced into going to Moscow & Leningrad to meet with Katya and the writer of the documents (Klaus Maria Brandauer), which contain technical data that calls into question the quality of the Soviet defense weaponry. Meanwhile both British and American agents (Roy Scheider, James Fox, et al.) surveil Barley’s activities. Based on John le Carre's novel, "The Russia House" (1990) is a spy drama/romance and NOT an action thriller in the mold of James Bond. Its considerable attributes include spectacular (and rare) on-location work in Russia (shot just a couple years before the fall of the USSR), Jerry Goldsmith's sumptuous jazzy score with Branford Marsalis playing soprano sax and, of course, the notable cast. The film is aesthetically pleasing and the love story is effective, especially its culmination, but the spy yarn didn’t interest me. This may because I didn’t utilize the subtitles and therefore missed a lot of the highly accented verbiage, which is a mistake when a movie is dialogue-driven, like this one. The depiction of intelligence work is presumably realistic (as opposed to 007), but static, boring, cynical and with little human decency. Next time I watch it I’ll be sure to use the subtitles. The film runs 2 hour, 3 minutes, and was shot in Moscow & Leningrad and points nearby; as well as Lisbon, Portugal (Barley’s flat); Bowen Island, British Columbia (American Intelligence 'safe house'); and London (book fair & jazz concert), as well as nearby Pinewood Studios. GRADE: C+/B-
On guard! Zhou Fei's sword is created by the essence of his parents: the mother is the blade and the scabbard is the father. Many years ago Zhou Fei's grandfather Li Zhengwei was poisoned to save Duan Jiuniang. The forty-eight fortresses were lost during a surprise attack by the False Emperor. Zhou Fei's mother, Li Jinrong - a young girl at the time - was fierce and reckless, and her sword skills were not yet accomplished. Having lost her family and her father, she went to Liang Shao's strategist Zhou Yitang to ask for help. When Liang Shao refused and Zhou Yitang was ambivalent, Li Jinrong went north alone, determined to assassinate the false emperor.
Movie Star Rating : 6 Read More
Liisa, a young nurse returns to a remote island where she has spent the summer leaves in her youth. She soon gets to know some of the regular residents on the island, Pekka and Paula. During the summer party the underlying tensions mount.
Movie Star Rating : 1 Read More
Movie inspired by life of saintly Elder Paisios (1924 1994) and other Orthodox monks. Severeal stories of young and old monk life. Sometimes funny, but all about true christian love.
Movie Star Rating : 9 Read More
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