Side Effects

On Tuesday, March 26, 2013, I went to see the movie Side Effects, featuring Jude Law, Channing Tatum, Rooney Mara and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The movie starts off with Rooney Mara, who plays the character of Emily Taylor, dealing with depression after her husband, Martin Taylor (played by Channing Tatum) was arrested for insider trading.

After he is released from prison, Emily is dealing with depression and goes to see Dr. Jonathan Banks.  This all started when she got into a car and rammed it into a wall at full speed.  During her therapy sessions, she eventually got Dr. Banks to perscribe her Ablixa, an experimental drug for depression.

After she started taking Ablixa, she started experimental episodes of sleepwalking...  And this gets complicated when in her sleepwalking state, she kills her husband.

This eventually leads to an insanity plea-bargain for Emily, but the consequences are dire...  Dr. Banks' practice crumbles, he loses his client base and things fall apart...  And this is just the beginning of the iceberg.

What happens?  You'll have to watch the movie to find out.  I will say this, there was a twist in the movie that I did not see coming and it was a very well done twist.

Les Saveurs du Palais

On Tuesday, March 19, 2013, I went to see the movie Les Saveurs du Palais, featuring Catherine Frot and Arthur Dupont.

This movie is about Hortense Laborie, who is a celebrated chef living in the Perigord region.  She owns a farm where she grows her own vegetables and trains chefs in the art of home-styled French cuisine.

One day, she gets an invitation from the president of France to become his personal chef.  She accepts reluctantly, and is whisked off to the private kitchen.  However, things don't necessarily go the way she planned...

The way this movie is shot, the story of Hortense working as the President's personal chef is intertwined with her finishing a one-year assignment in a base in Antarctica.  There's also a bit of humour thrown in with an Australian film crew and news reporter trying to interview and find out more about her "previous life".

A nice heart-warming comedy.

Oz the Great and Powerful

On Tuesday, March 12, 2013, I went to see the movie Oz the Great and Powerful in IMAX 3D.  This movie features James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams.  Franco is Oz, the magician, Mila Kunis is Theodora, Michelle Williams is Glendora and Rachel Weisz is Evanora.

The premise of the story is that the king of Oz has been poisoned and the prophecy foretold that a great wizard named Oz would take the kingdom out from its dark days and into its former glory again.

I don't want to say too much here, because this story isn't really linked to the Wizard of Oz that we know.  I would say that this is the story that occurs before it occurs, kind of like a prequel.  It explains many things that we come to know from the story, Wizard of Oz.

Watch it...  You'll understand why I can't say much about the plot without giving it away!