Serendipity 18

Movie Review: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Rating: ★★★★ 1/2 "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." Picture credits: Universal Pictures via forbes.com This screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is a drama that is one for the ages. The movie won Gregory Peck an Oscar for his brilliant and captivating performance as Atticus Finch, a Southern lawyer who defends a black man accused of rape during the Great Depression. The manner in which the movie depicts a time and place and above all a mood, makes it an enduring paragon of vintage cinema.  Set in a dusty Southern town, the plot revolves around the events following a white woman accusing a black man of rape. Despite the man's clear cut innocence, the outcome of the trial is such a foregone conclusion that no lawyer will step forward to defend him except the town's most distinguished citizen. His compassionate defence costs Atticus his r...

 Movie Review: War and Peace (1956) Rating: ⭑⭑⭑ 1/2 Picture Credits: film forum.org via Google Images This particular rendition of Leo Tolstoy's magnum opus is a must watch for all fans of history - it follows the intertwined fates of three aristocratic families during Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Russia in the War of 1812. The narrative broadly revolves around the lives and entanglements of the three main characters during this time -  Natasha Rostova (Audrey Hepburn), Pierre Bezukhov (Henry Fonda) and Prince Andrei Bolkonsky (Mel Ferrer).  Realised by Oscar-nominated director, King Vidor, the epic film is surely a feast for the eyes with its array of realistic and intricate costumes created by Marie De Matteis, which are very well-researched and congruous to the setting in which the movie takes place in. A fictionalised retelling of the events that forced Napoleon to throw in the towel in his conquest of Imperial Russia,...

Movie Review: High Society (1956) Rating: ★★★            Picture credits: Snap/Shuttershock via tatler.com This delightful comedy musical is most conspicuously an adaptation of 1940's The Philadelphia Story and a laudable one at that. The narrative revolves around socialite Tracy Lord as she struggles over her infatuation for three different men just before the day of her wedding, one of them being her ex-husband. Needless to say, the three men return her affections on account of her timeless beauty, charm and spontaneous wit - Tracy Lord being portrayed by the alluring and beguiling Grace Kelly herself. The film features a stellar performance from Bing Crosby as ex-husband C.K. Dexter Haven, with this particular film comprising some of his best vocal chops to date. The reporter who is supposed to chronicle Tracy's wedding to her second husband is played by none other than Ol' Blue Eyes himself. Frank Sinatra delivers a "swell" performan...

  La critique du film “Niagara” Le film qui s’appelle "Niagara" est un drame suspense. Le film s'agit de Rose Loomis, une femme qui possède la beauté divine, qui fait une aventure avec un homme et leurs conspirations contre la vie de son mari. Le film montre plusieurs scénarios de suspense qui vont vous sauter de vos chaises. Il donne le message que la vengeance ne fait jamais du mieux. Le film est tourné vraiment à la ville de Niagara au Canada et le décor du film est très romantique grâce aux cascades les plus grandes du monde. Marilyn Monroe, la jolie actrice très connue, joue le rôle de Rose Loomis, avec Joseph Cotten qui joue celui de son mari. Les deux ont bien joué leurs rôles lors du film et il y avait assez de costumes marquants portés par Mme Monroe. L'intrigue du film est un peu moins riche mais la charme de l'actrice et la beauté des scénarios remplissent le trou créé par l'histoire déficiente. Picture credits:  Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty ...