BABEL

GENRE:  Drama
MADE:  2006
CAST:  Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Gael Garcia Bernal
DIRECTOR:  Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
WRITER:  Guillermo Arriaga, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

PLOT:  Four different families with their own difficulties and tragedies converge to complete one story.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Mammoth, 21 Grams, Amores Perros, Magnolia

SCORE:

NOTES ON A SCANDAL

GENRE:  Drama/ Thriller
MADE:  2006
CAST:  Cate Blanchett, Judi Dench, Andrew Simpson
DIRECTOR:  Richard Eyre
WRITER:  Patrick Marber, Zoe Heller

PLOT:  Barbara Covett an older high-school teacher meets the beautiful new art teacher, Sheba Hart, whom she has found a friend in plus more until she finds that Sheba is having an affair with one of her 15 year old students.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  The Door In The Floor, The Graduate, The Lives Of Others

SCORE:

HANNA

GENRE:  Action/ Crime
MADE:  2011
CAST:  Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana
DIRECTOR:  Joe Wright
WRITER:  Seth Lochhead, David Farr

PLOT:  Hanna, a young genetically superior girl is hunted.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Resident Evil: Extinction, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Pt.1, Knight And Day

SCORE:

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON

GENRE:  Drama/ Fantasy/ Mystery
MADE:  2008
CAST:  Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton
DIRECTOR:  David Fincher
WRITER:  Eric Roth, Robin Swicord, F. Scott Fitzgerald

PLOT:  The life of a man who is born old and dies young.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Forest Gump, Jack, What's Eating Gilbert Grape

SCORE:

THESPIAN OF THE WEEK: Cate Blanchett

Name:  Catherine Elise Blanchett

AKA:  Cate Blachett

Date of birth:  May 14, 1969

From:  Melbourne, Australia

Specialty:  Actress, Theater director

3 Blanchett Films To Watch:

Notes On A Scandal

Drama

Robin Hood

Action/ Advenure/ Romance

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Historical drama/ Biographical/ Romance

ROBIN HOOD

GENRE:  Action/ Adventure/ Drama
MADE:  2010
CAST:  Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett
DIRECTOR:  Ridley Scott
WRITER:  Brian Helgeland, Ethan Reiff, Cyrus Voris

PLOT:  Set in 13th century England, this is the story of how Robin Hood came to be Robin Hood.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Gladiator, 300, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King

SCORE:

PONYO

GENRE:  Japanese animation
MADE:  2008
CAST:  Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Tina Fey, Noah Cyrus
DIRECTOR:  Hayao Miyazaki
WRITER:  Hayao Miyazaki

PLOT:  When a young boy rescues a goldfish trapped in a jar in his small home town in a Japanese fishing village, the weather takes a turn for the worse.  Magical things begin to happen as the goldfish is the daughter of a powerful wizard and sea goddess.  Sosuke and Ponyo, the goldfish go on an unexpected journey saving the world by restoring the balance and making Ponyo's wish to be human come true.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Howl's Moving Castle, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro

SCORE:

NOTE:  Another of Miyazaki's animations that I absolutely love.  The animation, of course, is unique and beautiful to look at and of course the story is nothing less than great.  Touches lightly on environmental awareness regarding pollution in our oceans but not to the extent that it is annoying.  I thought the film was great and is a must watch for kids and adults too.