Salma Hayek

Ask the Dust
$29.98
I love both Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek as actors/performers, which was why I got the movie in the first place, and I was not disappointed by either performance.

Salma is a woman who is exquisitely beautiful and is an excellent artist. This movie, like the few others I have seen of her, she is a bit type-cast, but works very well with that, I think. There must be scripts out there who can stretch her performance abilities to the limit and I as a fan hope that will soon come about.

Colin was a surprise for me. I have, since the first movie I watched of him, thought him to be a very good actor/artist - most of his movies (that I've watched) have been action-packed, hard-hitting, yet here he portrayed an inexperienced debonair young man, and pulled it off beautifully. To me, he was real convincing in the role he portrayed, and he has a beautiful voice, so listening to the narration throughout the movie was easy on the ear. The length of the film did not bother me at all (just under two hours.)

It is a lovely story, and for me, it was well-played, and the characters were well filled by the actors who portrayed them, even Donald Sutherland. Being a romantic at heart and watching movies and reading books that are romance based, I usually prefer those with the fairytale, happy ending, no matter how unrealistic, so was sad about the ending of this movie, but it seems to fit the story very well.

Great actors such as Sutherland do not always have to be the star of the show to make an impact, and Donald Sutherland is one of those who has such a range and scope of talent, every role I have seen him in, he has fitted himself to the character, like a glove. So as Hellfrick, he is a good fit in this movie.

The dialog was interesting and gave me a few good giggles, got tears in my eyes, and made me squirm with embarrassment for the characters at times. With the conflict between Arturo and Camilla, the dialog was just fine, and the narration was well played by Colin Farrell.

Film-Fest DVD - Issue 2 - Cannes
$14.95
This review refers to "Film-Fest" Issue 2(DVD)....This issue of "Film-Fest" goes behind the scenes of two Independent Film Festivals. First stop, the big one... Cannes, 1998, and then on to the 5th annual Los Angeles Independent Film Festival. In the span of about 2 hours and 10 minutes, you'll see some insightful interviews with new and established filmmakers,7 creative and entertaining shorts by young up and coming directors, travel the grounds,listen in on candid conversations of the celebs, and even see some trailers for new films that were coming out at the time("Dogma" and "The Virgin "Suicides" included).Interviews include directors John Sayles, Alex Winter(who you know from Bill and Ted), and Mark Osborne who's excellent animated short "More" is included among the features. Spike Lee, Ron Howard and Irene Jacob also add their views on the world of cinema. The shorts are fabulous and they include the above mentioned "More", an animated award winner, that has a lot to say in just a few minutes,"Falcone", a very dark and disturbing film exploring loyalties, a very short but clever "Devil Doll",and two that will leave you smiling "Express Isle to Glory" and "The Mischievious Ravi".The shorts run from a very clever 1 minute, to an entertaining 12 minutes, and director commentary is included as well.Salma Hayek is featured on the cover, and if you were thinking of purchasing this in hopes of spending some time with her, she only appears very briefly in a publicity stunt that caused some chaos. But the interviews and chats, the short films, and a peek at what goes on at these fests, for those that love indies or are interested in filmmaking, make this DVD well worth the view.The DVD itself is great. A very nice picture and sound. There is one short in French but has subtitles. However there are no subtitles for the rest for those who may need them. It has a nice menu. You can just push play and watch it straight through(sometimes there are little anecdotes from the celebs between selections), or you can go straight to the catagory you are interested in and view exactly what you want. For instance if you just want to see the John Sayles interviews, you can go to interviews and then John Sayles. There is an insert that has descriptions of the shorts included.Oh and by the way, just like any 'magazine', there are a couple of ads(even these are entertaining), but you can always fast foward through them.These "Film-Fest" video magazines are becoming collector's items. They are hard to find and are usually high priced. If you are interested in these, you may want to put them on your wish list or in your cart and watch the sellers for a reasonable price(about what you would pay normally for a DVD). I found 5 of them so far that way.Recommended for lovers of innovative filmmaking and for those who misplaced their tickets to the fest....enjoy..Laurie

Salma Hayek 24X36 Poster - Very Hot - New! - Buy Me! #03
$45.99
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Frida
$14.99
A wonderful movie about a famed relationship between opposites who were simply meant for each other. If it were a book I'd be writing that I couldn't put it down. The visual treat was just as delicious as the dialogue and the music, not to mention the historical aspect. I was entranced by it all as the movie whisked me away to an earlier time in a place foreign yet familiar.

The love story of Frida and Diego was masterly played by the two main characters. Each was definitely the strength that inspired the other in their art. My only critique of the movie was in having to hear the non-Spanish language cast attempt a Spanish accent when speaking English. Short of using mostly all Spanish actors perhaps this was unavoidable. The accents sounded okay until you heard those of Frida (played by Salma Hayek) or Antonio Banderas's character or any of the native Spanish speaking actors/actresses. It was like tasting honey in your first cup of tea, then having someone add a sugar substitute like sweet and low in your second cup. You still had a sweetness in your brew but the natural sweetener was noticeably missing.

Frida Kahlo, a free thinking woman in love with a free loving man. A must movie for women and men who wonder why they stay in relationships after hurting one another so cruelly. It begs the question, what will you give up for love?