GUN SHY

GENRE:  Crime/ Comedy/ Romance
MADE:  2000
CAST:  Liam Neeson, Sandra Bullock, Oliver Platt
DIRECTOR:  Eric Blakeney
WRITER:  Eric Blakeney

PLOT:  An undercover DEA agent has one last assignment and a case of uncontrollable bowels, which leads him to group therapy, love, friendship and happiness... on his own terms.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Snatch, The Whole Nine Yards, Miss Congeniality

SCORE:

BATMAN BEGINS

GENRE:  Action/ Crime/ Drama
MADE:  2005
CAST:  Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman
DIRECTOR:  Christopher Nolan
WRITER:  Bob Kane, David S. Goyer, Christopher Nolan

PLOT:  The remake of Batman, Bruce Wayne lives with the memory of his parents' violence death in Gothan City, many years later still living in Gotham City that is continuously growing in crime, Bruce Wayne decides to fight the crime himself his way.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises, Batman, Batman Returns

SCORE:

STAR WARS: EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE

GENRE:  Action/ Adventure/ Fantasy
MADE:  1999
CAST:  Ewan McGregor, Liam Neeson, Natalie Portman
DIRECTOR:  George Lucas
WRITER:  George Lucas

PLOT:  A prequel to Star Wars IV, V & VI, The Phantom Menace uncovers the story of Anakin Skywalker's childhood later to be known as Darth Vader.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Star Wars: Episode II Attack Of The Clones, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge Of The Sith, Spider-man, Red Dragon

SCORE:

LOVE ACTUALLY

GENRE:  Comedy/ Drama/ Romance
MADE:  2003
CAST:  Hugh Grant, Martine McCutcheon, Liam Neeson
DIRECTOR:  Richard Curtis
WRITER:  Richard Curtis

PLOT:  Following the relationship and lives of eight couples focusing on the subject of love.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Bridget Jones's Diary, About A Boy, Sliding Doors, Notting Hill

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.

THE A-TEAM

GENRE:  Action/Comedy
MADE:  2010
CAST:  Liam Neeson, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copely, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
DIRECTOR:  Joe Carnahan
WRITER:  Joe Carnahan, Brian Bloom, Skip Woods

PLOT:  In this funny action film four American soldiers (The A-Team) are set up and so take on a mission in order to set things straight.

PARALLEL UNIVERSE:  Smokin Aces, The Boondock Saints, Bad Boys

SCORE:

NOTE:  Like many others I grew up watching the television show.  I have to admit that I was a bit skeptical when I heard that a film was in production.  However, my experience watching the film was a great one!  There were a couple of explanations regarding a few of the characters and why they are the way they are, this kept my interest in the film.  The characters were superbly cast and the film was funny, really very funny and kept to the true nature of the action-packed show, it was very enjoyable.