U TURN

GENRE:  Crime/ Drama/ Thriller
MADE:  1997
CAST:  Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Billy Bob Thornton
DIRECTOR:  Oliver Stone
WRITER:  John Ridley

PLOT:  When Bobby Cooper's car fails on him in a small town in the Southwest he becomes involved with a the beautiful Grace and her husband.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  True Romance, 21 Grams, Wild at Heart

SCORE:

BROKEDOWN PALACE

GENRE:  Drama/ Mystery/ Thriller
MADE:  1999
CAST:  Claire Danes, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Pullman
DIRECTOR:  Jonathan Kaplan
WRITER:  Adam Fields, David Arata

PLOT:  Alice and Darlene have just graduated high-school and are best-friend forever, everything was perfect until they took a trip to Thailand and were arrested for smuggling drugs.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Midnight Express, Primal Fear, Shawshank Redemption

SCORE:

LITTLE WOMEN

GENRE:  Drama/ Family/ Romance
MADE:  1994
CAST:  Susan Sarandon, Winona Ryder, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes, Christian Bale
DIRECTOR:  Gillian Armstrong
WRITER:  Louisa May Alcott, Robin Swicord

PLOT:  The story of Mrs. March and her four daughters.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Gone With The Wind, Jane Eyre, Mermaids

SCORE:

ROMEO + JULIET

GENRE:  Remake/ Drama/ Romance
MADE:  1996
CAST:  Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Sorvino
DIRECTOR:  Baz Luhrmann
WRITER:  William Shakespeare, Craig Pearce, Baz Luhrmann

PLOT:  A modern day version of "Romeo And Juliet" with original script.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Shakespeare In Love, Titus, Gladiator

ACTING:

NOTES:  Remember how in high-school they would make you read Shakespeare's "Romeo And Juliet" and you were, quite frankly, a little bored?  Baz Lurhmann's modern day take on this play jazzes things up with gun fights instead of sword fights, he opts to keep the original script word for word but an urban setting with hot young actors and a bangin' soundtrack makes a big difference.