Miracle At St. Anna

Miracle At St Anna [DVD] [2008]

What is it?

The 2008 American-Italian epic war film Miracle At St. Anna that was adapted by James McBride from his book Miracle At St. Anna and was directed by the director Spike Lee.

Miracle At St. Anna – Trailer

Miracle At St Anna Official Trailer(2008)

What is it about?

This is how Amazon describes this movie:

MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA tells the story of four soldiers caught behind enemy lines.

During their attempt to return to base, they befriend a traumatized young Italian boy and soon find themselves in a remote Tuscan village – with civilians who have never even seen other ethnicities before.

Strong relationships soon develop between those who would never have met in ordinary life, and who understand and help each other against the horror of war.

They know they need to learn to overcome cultural and language barriers and form an allegiance for the terrifying oncoming Nazi attack.

Directed by revered film-maker Spike Lee (DO THE RIGHT THING, MALCOLM X) featuring an all-star cast including John Turturro (THE BIG LEBOWSKI, O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?), Laz Alonso (AVATAR), John Leguizamo (ROMEO AND JULIET, MOULIN ROUGE), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (INCEPTION) and Kerry Washington (RAY, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND), MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA pulls at the heart-strings and has left audiences world-wide with long-lasting impressions.

Based on the novel by acclaimed writer James McBride, MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA centers on the famous Buffalo Soldiers -the 92nd Infantry Division, consisting of 15,000 African-American soldiers serving in Italy during the Second World War.

This is how Wikipedia describes this movie:

Miracle at St. Anna is a 2008 American–Italian epic war film directed by Spike Lee, and written by James McBride, based on McBride’s 2003 novel of the same name.

The film stars Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Pierfrancesco Favino and Valentina Cervi.

Set primarily in Italy during German-occupied Europe in World War II, the film tells the story of four Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd Infantry Division who seek refuge in a small Tuscan village, where they form a bond with the residents.

The story is presented as a flashback, as one survivor, Hector Negron (Alonso), reflects upon his experiences in a frame story set in the 1980s New York.

Several real-life events that occurred during the war, such as the Sant’Anna di Stazzema massacre, are re-enacted, placing Miracle at St. Anna within the genre of historical fiction.

Lee first learned of the novel in 2004 and approached McBride with the idea of a film adaptation.

In Europe, the film’s development attracted the attention of Italian film producers Roberto Cicutto and Luigi Musini, who helped finance the $45 million production.

A majority of the film was shot in Italy, on several locations affected by World War II. Other filming locations included New York, Louisiana, and The Bahamas. Frequent Lee collaborator Terence Blanchard composed the score, and the visual effects were created by Industrial Light & Magic.

The Science Of Sleep (La Science Des Rêves)

Source: Amazon

What is it?

The French 2006 surrealistic science fantasy comedy romance(?) film The Science Of Sleep (La Science Des Rêves) that was directed by the director Michel Gondry and stars Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Miou-Miou, and Alain Chabat.

The Catcher In The Rye

The Catcher in the Rye Mass Market Paperback – May 1, 1991

What is it?

The 1951 book The Catcher In The Rye by the author J.D. Salinger.

The Catcher in the Rye – Thug Notes Summary and Analysis

What is it about?

This is how Goodreads describe this book:

The hero-narrator of The Catcher in the Rye is an ancient child of sixteen, a native New Yorker named Holden Caulfield.

Through circumstances that tend to preclude adult, secondhand description, he leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days.

The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story.

Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it.

There are many voices in this novel: children’s voices, adult voices, underground voices-but Holden’s voice is the most eloquent of all.

Transcending his own vernacular, yet remaining marvelously faithful to it, he issues a perfectly articulated cry of mixed pain and pleasure.

However, like most lovers and clowns and poets of the higher orders, he keeps most of the pain to, and for, himself.

The pleasure he gives away, or sets aside, with all his heart.

It is there for the reader who can handle it to keep.

J.D. Salinger’s classic novel of teenage angst and rebellion was first published in 1951.

The novel was included on Time’s 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923.

It was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

It has been frequently challenged in the court for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality, and in the 1950s and 1960s it was the novel that every teenage boy wants to read.

When Animals Dream (Når Dyrene Drømmer)

Source: IMDb

What is it?

The 2014 Danish drama mystery horror film When Animals Dream (Når Dyrene Drømmer) that was directed by the director Jonas Alexander Arnby and stars the actor Lars Mikkelsen and the actress Sonia Suhl.

Kings (U.S. TV Series)

Kings – The Complete Series

What is it?

The 2009 NBC American drama television show Kings that was created by Michael Green and stars the actor Ian McShane.

NBC’s TV show “Kings” trailer feat. JARS OF CLAY’s song “Hero”

Click here to watch the entire Kings television show legally for free on NBC.com:

https://www.nbc.com/kings/episodes

What is it about?

This is how NBC describes this television show:

From executive producer Michael Green (NBC’s “Heroes”) comes a riveting new drama about a modern day monarchy.

“Kings” is a contemporary re-telling of the timeless tale of David and Goliath.

This series is an epic story of greed and power, war and romance, forbidden loves and secret alliances — and a young hero who rises to power in a modern-day kingdom.

King Silas Benjamin (Ian McShane, “Deadwood”) is the well-entrenched king of Gilboa, whose flag bears a divine butterfly symbol.

Gilboa has its capital in Shiloh, a clean new city that is unspoiled by time or litter.

Silas must deal with the tensions rising between Gilboa and neighboring nation Gath.

When several prisoners of war are taken, a young soldier, David Shepherd (Chris Egan, “Eragon”), defies orders and crosses enemy lines to save them.

Unknown to David, the soldier he saves is Jack Benjamin (Sebastian Stan, “The Covenant”), the son of the king.

From that day forth, David’s life will never be the same.

Susanna Thompson (“Once & Again”) plays Queen Rose Benjamin, a distant, yet supportive wife.

Allison Miller (“Lucy’s Piano”) stars as King Silas’ beautiful, intelligent and outspoken daughter, Michelle.

General Linus Abner (Wes Studi, “Comanche Moon,” “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”), Reverend Ephram Samuels (Eamonn Walker, “Oz”) and William Cross, Silas’ brother-in-law (Dylan Baker, “Spiderman 2”), try to influence King Silas.

From Universal Media Studios, “Kings” is executive-produced by Green, Erwin Stoff (“I Am Legend”) and Francis Lawrence (“I Am Legend”), who also directed the pilot.