Fantastic Voyage (1966) Working in the Soviet Union, scientist Jan Benes has discovered how to miniaturize items permanently. He escapes to the west to share this information, but an attempted assassination causes a blood clot in his brain and leaves him comatose. A submarine containing several scientists is shrunk to a micrometer and placed inside… Continue reading Garrincha went on a fantastic voyage to the stars; it ended in a massacre
Tag: Sports films
She wore Prada to meet Cinderella in the north country
The Devil Wears Prada (2006) Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway), a graduate of Northwestern’s journalism school, takes a job as a personal assistant for Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), the notoriously difficult chief editor of a famed fashion magazine. The demanding job challenges her professionally and personally. Hathaway is at her best as the plucky underdog; Stanley… Continue reading She wore Prada to meet Cinderella in the north country
Decoding basketball and soccer stories while racing around the world looking for the love of your life
Decoding Deepak (2012) Deepak Chopra has made a fortune as a spiritual advisor to the rich and famous. This film directed by his son, Gotham Chopra, follows Deepak as he goes through Blackberry withdrawal while visiting monks in India, obsesses over his next book, meets with the powerful in corporate boardrooms, and works on a spiritual video game. In a rare… Continue reading Decoding basketball and soccer stories while racing around the world looking for the love of your life
The greatest chariot race
Ali (2001) Michael Mann’s films are focused on individuals struggling with identity issues. In Manhunter (1986), Will Graham is torn between his safe, normal life and the world of the psychotic serial killers he chases. In Last of the Mohicans (1992), Hawkeye must choose between the society he grew up in and the Native American culture he comes… Continue reading The greatest chariot race
Taxes, water, and fashion statements
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001) During the middle of a severe drought, one 19th century Indian village asks the local British magistrate for relief from the annual land tax (lagaan). Somehow, this request turns into a wager: if the villagers defeat the magistrate’s cricket team, their land tax is cancelled for three… Continue reading Taxes, water, and fashion statements
The Baron, the warriors, and a big fan
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) An elderly man claiming to be the Baron von Münchausen interrupts a play supposedly based on his life to point out its many inaccuracies and correct the record. When the Angel of Death comes to collect Münchausen, he escapes in a hot air balloon made from women’s underwear. The… Continue reading The Baron, the warriors, and a big fan