STIGMATA
A priest from the Vatican is sent to Sao Paulo, Brazil to investigate the appearance of the face of the Virgin Mary on the side of a building.
While there he hears of a statue of the Virgin Mary bleeding tears in a small town outside of the city.
Meanwhile, a young woman in the U.S. begins to show signs of stigmata, the wounds of Christ.
The priest from the Vatican links up with her and cares for her as she is increasingly afflicted by the stigmata.
Her ranting and raving finally begins to make sense to the priest who starts to question what his religion has stood for for the last 1900 years.
Frankie Paige (Patricia Arquette) is a hip 20-something New Yorker who faces a nasty wake-up call when she gets randomly attacked by an unseen force, puncturing her wrists.
While the hospital calls it a suicide attempt, the Vatican thinks she may be showing signs of stigmata and sends a priest (Gabriel Byrne) to investigate.
This is one of the more clever "religious horror" films that I've seen.
Using a young atheist girl as the recipient of stigmata is an original and intriguing concept.
The various violent scenes where the fabulously stylish Arquette is attacked are gory and horrific, but so gorgeously shot that you cannot take your eyes away.
Unfortunately, there are too many boring scenes of babbling priests.
There was a bit of controversy when this was released because it hypothesizes about some very horrific skeletons in the closet of the Catholic church.
Recommended for fans of religious and stylish horror. My Rating: 8/10
DRIVE ME CRAZY
Nicole (Melissa Joan Hart) and Chase (Adrian Grenier) are neighbors but are from two very different worlds.
Despite their differences their love lives have a common theme.
Their most recent plans for love have fallen through putting them both in a desperate state to fix them.
Both Nicole and Chase conspire to pretend to find a romantic interest in each other, with the hopes of attracting the "ones who got away" from them.
Leading up to the big school dance, Chase and Nicole find that their scam worked out better than they had planned.
Well, the plotline was predictable, however, Drive me Crazy is a highly entertaining teenage romp. The dialogue is witty, the theme is good-spirited, and, as in every teen movie, the soundtrack is great.
The film has its flaws, however, particularly in Melissa Joan Hart, one of the worst actresses of our time. Thanks to her, an almost entirely likeable character is ruined. Her cute lines are recited flatly, and she adds no wit or life to the film. However, I was very impressed with the actor portraying Nicole's project, Adrian Grenier. His looks and intelligent delivery make the entire film worth seeing.
Overall, a cute and cheery romance that does not feature the head cheerleader nor the lowest of the low geek- it presents it's characters and story line in a fun, believable way, and it'll leave you loving every minute of it.
THE BEACH
Garland's novel centers on a young nicotine-addicted traveler named Richard, an avid pop-culture buff with a particular love for video games and Vietnam War movies.
While at a hotel in Bangkok, he finds a map left by his strange, whacked-out neighbor, who just committed suicide.
The map supposedly leads to a legendary island paradise where some other wayward souls have settled.
Danny Boyle did an exquisite job on this film.
When I first learned that it was indeed a Danny Boyle film I was a bit disappointed that it didn't have any of his "original" cast members... the people that he always works with.
When I learned that Robert Carlyle was in this, I was ecstatic.
This film has so many wonderful points, I can't list them all.
I'm just going to say that "enjoy your dinner Richard" was a classic cinematic moment.
A great thing about this film is that it's a wonderful representation of a microcosm of todays society. It shows that no matter how hard you try to escape all the wrongs in life, and all of your daily annoyances, they'll still be there no matter where you escape to.
This film doesn't go from beginning to end. It circles. There is no ending because their lives didn't end. Truly a supreme film.
It is what one should expect from a man like Danny Boyle.
Leonardo DiCaprio gives another amazing performance. It takes a wonderful actor to be able to portray an emotion such as insanity just with his eyes, and he did so wonderfully!