WALK THE LINE

GENRE:  Biographical/ Drama/ Music
MADE:  2005
CAST:  Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Ginnifer Goodwin
DIRECTOR:  James Mangold
WRITER:  Johnny Cash, Gill Dennis, Patrick Carr, James Mangold

PLOT:  A biographical film on the life of Johnny Cash.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Dreamgirls, Ray, The Doors

SCORE:

GIRL, INTERRUPTED

GENRE:  Biographical/ Drama
MADE:  1999
CAST:  Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Whoopi Goldberg, Brittany Murphy
DIRECTOR:  James Mangold
WRITER:  Susanna Kaysen, James Mangold, Lisa Loomer, Anna Hamilton Phelan

PLOT:  A film based on Susanna Kaysen and her book about her 18 month visit to a mental hospital in the 60s, recounting the details of the colorful patients that became her friends.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, The Virgin Suicides, American Beauty

SCORE:

IDENTITY

GENRE:  Drama/ Mystery/ Psychological Thriller
MADE:  2003
CAST:  John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet
DIRECTOR:  James Mangold
WRITER:  Michael Cooney

PLOT:  During a rain storm one evening ten strangers become stranded at a Nevada Motel when the way out of town becomes flooded.  The night becomes a fight for their lives when they realize they are being killed one by one by someone amongst them.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Shutter Island, The Others, The Machinist

SCORE:

KNIGHT AND DAY

GENRE:  Action/ Comedy
MADE:  2010
CAST:  Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard
DIRECTOR:  James Mangold
WRITER:  Patrick O'Neill

PLOT:  007 and "Bridget Jones's Diary" give birth to an unlikely romance during the most unlikeliest of times, as they are targets for assassination in the midst of a war for a claim over a battery with the Feds and illegal arms dealers.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  The A-Team, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Charlie's Angels

SCORE:

NOTE:  I wasn't expecting much to begin with but was, I have to admit, slightly curious about the Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz team in this film, thought they were an unlikely pair and it just so happens that it showed in the film.  The characters were odd, there was no chemistry between the two actors, the comedic acting was.... eh...  Pure entertainment and not much else to it.