**_One of the Best Medieval/British Isle flicks_** Remember the three such movies of 1995: "Braveheart," "Rob Roy" and "First Knight"? "Tristan + Isolde" is better than all of them or, at least, on par. It shares plot elements of "First Knight" with the king's trusted protégé playing around with his young wife, but "Tristan + Isolde" is just overall superior. James Franco plays the brooding Tristan, who has good reason to be sullen, except when he escapes into Isolde's arms in secret. Sophia Myles works well as the Irish princess, Isolde, who's given as a gift to the king of the Brits, Marke (Rufus Sewell). Also on hand is Marke's nephew, Melot (Henry Cavill), who's passed up by the king for Tristan; David O'Hara as the wicked Irish king, Donnchadh; and the ignoble Wictred (Mark Strong). These are all strong, memorable characters. Although there are some contrived plot elements, the story (based on the medieval romantic legend) is coherent and pretty compelling. Meanwhile the locations (Ireland) and cinematography are breathtaking. The score's good too. Yet this isn't just a film that's beautiful in appearance & sound, it's beautiful period, despite the brutal violence, bloodshed and betrayal. The general ambiance is similar to, say, "The Last of the Mohicans" (1992) and lacks the crude elements of "Rob Roy." Some complain that James Franco is too selfishly sullen as Tristan, but that's a big part of the story. Should he have played Tristan as elated that the one & only woman he's ever loved has become the king's wife, a gift from Ireland? The whole adulterous tangled web could have probably been avoided if either Tristan or Isolde simply told the truth about their relationship BEFORE Isolde married the king, but it's not always easy to do this, especially when you're so young and dumb. By "dumb" I don't mean stupid, but rather naive and lacking the life-skills that only come with age & experience. There's also a lot of good stuff to glean from the tragedy: Everyone wants someone to believe in them; never trust a proven scoundrel; humble confession, remorse & repentance; the natural desire for freedom and "true love," etc. Despite its early 2006 release date, it was shot over two years earlier in September-October, 2003. It runs 2 hours, 5 minutes, and was shot in west-central Ireland at Connemara, County Galway. Exterior shots were done in the Czech Republic at Pruhonice Park and Castle, Krivoklat and Prague. GRADE: A
In late 18th century Scotland, Annie Laurie and William Douglas love each other, but their clans are on opposite sides of the country's civil war. Their love is made immortal through the title song of this film.
An average family is thrust into the spotlight after the father commits a seemingly self-defense murder at his diner.
After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, his devious son takes power and demotes Maximus, one of Rome's most capable generals who Marcus preferred. Eventually, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and battle to the death against other men for the amusement of paying audiences.
Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they get married and start families of their own.
Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are led to an impetuous, physically-skilled, teenage nobleman's daughter, who is at a crossroads in her life.
In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into animals and sent off into The Woods.
September of 1944, a few days before Finland went out of the Second World War. A chained to a rock Finnish sniper-kamikadze Veikko managed to set himself free. Ivan, a captain of the Soviet Army, arrested by the Front Secret Police 'Smersh', has a narrow escape. They are soldiers of the two enemy armies. A Lapp woman Anni gives a shelter to both of them at her farm. For Anni they are not enemies, but just men.
101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.
During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, eleven Israeli athletes are taken hostage and murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. In retaliation, the Israeli government recruits a group of Mossad agents to track down and execute those responsible for the attack.