by Natasha Tynes | Aug 15, 2005 | Film
One of the first things you need to locate when you move into a new neighborhood — or a new country for that matter — is the nearest movie theatre. Following this rule, we scanned our neighborhood Sunday evening and managed to find a fairly close Regal Cinema. The movie of choice was The Skeleton Key and it was actually not bad for a horror movie. The twist at the end was quite unexpected and the overall plot was not the usual cheesiness you would expect from a horror movie. I would give it 7/10. All in all, I don’t regret letting go of the 12 dollars we spent on our two matinee tickets.
After the movie we made our way to a newly discovered goldmine: IKEA. We were quite pleased to find such a mammoth store less than 10 miles from where we live. We purchased a few items, mostly kitchen utensils, wandering about until we were kicked out at close. So in a nutshell, one can deduce one thing from this post: We like our neighborhood.
by Natasha Tynes | Jul 24, 2005 | Film
Last night we finally watched the English movie Dirty Pretty Things. We had it laying around for a while but never got around to watching it for some reason. Maybe it was because we were not worried about late fees thanks to the Blockbuster online rental program.
Anyway, I thought this BBC production starring Audrey Tautou from Amelie was very enjoyable with a powerful message. It follows the plight of illegal immigrants in London. It tackles the myriad of problems they face and explores a number of people that exploit them along their way. The star of the movie — in my humble opinion — was Chiwetel Ejiofor, who so powerfully played the character of Okwe, an illegal Nigerian immigrant doctor working in London as a hotel receptionist and taxi driver. As for Tautou, she shined as usual. Three thumbs up! I give it 8/10
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 30, 2005 | Film
I just finished watching Ameen Matalqas‘ two Jordanian short movies and they were both a delight. Suffi Suffi (in Arabic) was hilarious and even made me homesick. Crossroads (with English subtitles) was very well made but ended on a sad note. It is worth mentioning that Crossroads was written and co-produced by our friend and Jordanian blogger Lina. Excellent work, Lina. And the editing was done by yet another Jordanian blogger Laith . Are not they just great? The best thing about watching these two movies — for me at least — was hearing the Ammanite accent and seeing beautiful scenes in Jabal Amman. Ah Jordan, I miss you.
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 30, 2005 | Film
Last night we watched Omar Naim’s The Final Cut
and I have to say it was pretty intriguing. The first reason I picked up this movie
was because the director is Jordanian-born, the second: because it was highly recommended by Laith. I was not
disappointed. It was very enjoyable.
The movie’s forte is its script, which was also written by
this young first time feature film director. It discusses the idea of storing then replaying people’s
memories after they are dead so they can be shared and cherished by their loved ones. The star of the movie was Robin Williams who performed brilliantly, as expected. But I
guess the most impressive thing about the movie, as a whole, was the director
himself, who at only 27 managed to direct such a powerful film with a cast of high-powered, talented actors like Robins, Mira Sorvino and James Caviezel.
Truly, a very good movie that’s worth both your time and money. 8/10
by Natasha Tynes | Jun 12, 2005 | Film
I just realized that I haven’t blogged about movies in along time. The reason for that, of course, is the fact that we have been traveling for over a month now. However, during that period we managed to squeeze in three movies that all proved surprisingly good.
The first was Maria Full of Grace (Maria llena de gracia): We watched this movie in Leicester Square, London while we were visiting my friend Pilar. That night we all left the movie theater deeply touched by this tragic story about drug trafficking in Columbia. The movie is a bit of a downer but sheds some light on the poverty and desperation young women face in Columbia. The acting was superb, especially that of Catalina Sandino Moreno who played Maria so wonderfully — a performance that merited her an Oscar nomination. It was simply a great movie; three thumbs up.
Cinderella Man: Based on the true story of American boxer Jimmy Braddock, this movie is a must-see. It is an inspirational story about overcoming tremendous odds and pursuing one’s passion. Russell Crowe did a magnificent job as usual and played the character so wonderfully. I’m starting to believe that Russell Crowe is one of the greatest actors of our time. Would anyone object?
Mr. and Mrs. Smith: It is a fun comedic drama about the married life of two professional assassins. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie offer up two amusing roles that keep you entertained for the duration of the movie. One thing of note: the chemistry between these two actors was very potent. I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up together; that’s been her history with on-screen partners. In my humble opinion, Jolie is the most beautiful woman on earth. Ending up with Pitt and eventually having children, these two should produce a fine end product.
Still on the topic of movies, the other day I watched parts of a 1994 movie, Assault at West Point, that my husband took part in as both an extra and production assistant. I thought it was the coolest thing ever to see my husband sitting in a courtroom acting with the legendary Samuel Jackson, as Sam gave another memorable performance.
by Natasha Tynes | May 7, 2005 | Film, Jordan, my nation
We went to see the movie Kingdom of Heaven last night at Century Cinema and were very surprised to find how packed the theater was. In order to find available seats for an 8:00pm screening, we had to buy the tickets at around 1:00pm. Apparently, Friday night is becoming movie night in Jordan. Anyway, the movie itself was well made, with superb cinematography and fine acting, although I’m not sure how accurate it was historically. Orlando Bloom’s performance was surprisingly top-notch. He really was the star of the film.
Kingdom of Heaven, which details a story of battles between crusaders and Arab Muslims over Jerusalem, was also well made in the sense that the spoken Arabic was actually accurate for a change. Unlike some other Hollywood productions, which used Iranian actors (or even a Maori native of New Zealand), indigenous Arab actors played the designated parts here.
Since I’m Jordanian and naturally biased towards my country, I couldn’t help but notice how many times the Jordanian city of Karak was mentioned in this movie. Even a whole scene took place inside the Karak castle. Personally, I think Jordan’s Ministry of Tourism should do something to promote the castle and city of Karak following the movie’s release. [Here’s a photo tour]
I’m quite sure Karak will become a name familiar to many after this flick’s run. My suggestion to the ministry of tourism: For crying out loud, market Karak as a tourist destination. Hollywood did their part (for once), now it is time to do yours.
One of the first things you need to locate when you move into a new neighborhood — or a new country for that matter — is the nearest movie theatre. Following this rule, we scanned our neighborhood Sunday evening and managed to find a fairly close Regal Cinema. The movie of choice was The Skeleton Key and it was actually not bad for a horror movie. The twist at the end was quite unexpected and the overall plot was not the usual cheesiness you would expect from a horror movie. I would give it 7/10. All in all, I don’t regret letting go of the 12 dollars we spent on our two matinee tickets. 
Last night we finally watched the English movie 
Last night we watched Omar Naim’s 
I just realized that I haven’t blogged about movies in along time. The reason for that, of course, is the fact that we have been traveling for over a month now. However, during that period we managed to squeeze in three movies that all proved surprisingly good.