The Duchess

A story of a woman's struggle against her inner self. Georgiana Cavendish is a woman in constant search of love. And when she found it, it was short lived coz she opted to sacrifice for the sake of her children and the man he truly loved. Her story is bittersweet. Sweet coz she have adorable kids yet bitter in the sense that she still longs for love until her death. Despite being adored by everyone, she is referred to as 'loved by entire England, except her husband'.

The Duchess is based on the life of Georgiana Spencer who became Grorgina Cavendish, the Duchess of Devonshire. Married at a young age of 17 to the older Duke of Devonshire, who was blatantly unfaithful. She is spirited and adored by the public for her beauty and charisma. She became a fashion icon, a doting mother, a shrewd political operator and loved by the common people. But her marriage is a disappointment. She is defined by her duty to produce a male heir and the Duke's philandering attitude.

At first, she was insensitive to the infidelity if her husband but came a point that she caught her husband and best friend, Bess (Lady Elizabeth Foster) having a lifelong affair. Despite her anger, it ended up as the three of them living together in one household since her husband threatened to take away her children if she insists that Bess should go. She explores her attraction to Earl Charles Grey, with whom she socialized and to whom she was attracted before marriage, and finds that the attraction is mutual. Earl Grey is the future Prime Minister. She brings the situation to a head by proposing a 'deal' to the Duke : she will not object to his continuing to have Bess live with them, if he will not object to her engaging in an affair with Grey. The Duke, not surprisingly, rejects the proposal, pointing our that he does not make 'deals', and that all of the power in the situation belongs to him. He upbraids Georgiana for failing in the two things that he demands of her: bearing him a male heir and remaining loyal to him. She is outraged by his attitude and refusal to break of his affair and flees him. He chases her down and rapes her.

After the rape, Georgiana appears alcohol induced at her social gatherings until it is learned that she is pregnant. She delivers a boy. Having done her "duty," Georgiana goes to Bath, where she finally consummates her passion for Grey. They live blissfully in Bath until the Duke arrives unexpectedly. He accuses of her of being indiscreet and demands that she drop Grey and return with him to Devonshire. He warns her that, if she does not, both she and Grey will be cut off entirely from their wealth and positions in society, Grey will lose his political position, and she will never see her children again. After the Duke leaves, Georgiana races back to Devonshire, realizing that she cannot live without her children.

Bess and her children are still at Devonshire. Georgiana informs Bess and the Duke that she is pregnant with Grey's child. At the Duke's command, she moves to the countryside to await the birth. She delivers another girl, Eliza, and immediately is forced to give the baby up to Grey's family. Georgina returns home and her husband took her to a party where Grey is sure to attend. Grey and Georgiana discussed where she has been the past year but did not mention anything about their child. Grey told Georgiana that he is soon to be engaged so they part in humble goodbyes.

Heartbroken, she returns to Devonshire, where she continues her social circle, but with none of the vivacity and verve for which she was known before. She remains with her husband, Bess, and her children, with secret visits to her daughter until her death. After her death, the Duke marries Bess with Georgiana's blessing. Grey goes on to become Prime Minister.

Cast

• Keira Knightley as Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
• Ralph Fiennes as William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire
• Hayley Atwell as Lady Elizabeth 'Bess' Foster
• Charlotte Rampling as Countess Spencer, wife to Earl Spencer
• Dominic Cooper as Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

A very dark story of a person who's in search of his own odor, ironically, in search for his own identity. It tells us that too much of something is bad enough. But my heart is torn into two - my sympathy goes out to him but i can't empathize with his madness. The story itself is unpredictable. Grenouille's ending is unpredictable. I never thought his life would easily end that way. The entire film is superb. I'll give 6 stars out of 5.

Grenouille (French for "frog") is an unwanted Parisian orphan who, having little personal scent, is rejected by others because they are disturbed by his lack of odor. He has an extraordinary power to discern odours, and comes to loathe the scent of other people. He becomes apprenticed to a tanner at the age of eight, and after work explores the city. One day he smells a divine scent and follows it, and is shocked to find that the source of this beautiful scent is a young woman. He kills her to get a better smell of her scent, but after death the scent ceases. He dedicates his life to preserve this perfect scent.

In his quest to isolate and preserve scents, he becomes apprenticed to a great perfumier, Baldini, and proves a talented pupil, making Baldini the most popular perfumier in Paris. But Baldini cannot teach him how to isolate the scent of glass and iron. He falls ill with small pox but, on discovering that techniques other than distillation can be used to preserve such odours, he miraculously recovers and resolves to journey to the city of Grasse to further his quest.

On his way to Grasse, Grenouille becomes so disgusted by the scent of humanity that he spends seven years in a cave on top of the Massif Central. One day he wakes with a start from a nightmare of being suffocated by his own body odour, and realises with a shock that he has no personal scent at all.

Grenouille journeys to Montpelier where an amateur scientist, the Marquis de La Taillade-Espinasse, uses Grenouille to test his thesis of the "so-called fluidium letale". The Marquis combines a treatment of decontamination and revitalization for Grenouille, and subsequently, Grenouille looks like a clean gentleman for the first time in his life. Grenouille in turn tricks his way into the laboratory of a famous perfumier. There he creates a body odour for himself from ingredients including "cat shit," "cheese," and "vinegar", whereupon he is accepted by society.

Moving to Grasse, Grenouille once again becomes intoxicated by the scent of a young woman, Laure. He decides that she is not quite mature and resolves to kill her in two years time. Meanwhile he embarks on a career of serial murder of beautiful virgins to form a base for the scent he will make from Laure, while at the same time refining his powers until he can preserve any smell.

Eventually, Laure's father pieces together the pattern of murders and realises that Laure is to be the next victim. He flees with Laure but Grenouille pursues them and kills Laure, capturing her scent.

He is eventually apprehended and sentenced to death, but on the day of his execution the intoxicating scent of Laure combined with the backdrop essences of the twenty-four virgins he murdered, overwhelms all present, and instead of an execution the whole town becomes a massive orgy.

Grenouille is pardoned for his crimes, and Laure's father even wants to adopt him. But the experience of the power has dissatisfied Grenouille, because he is not loved for himself, but for the perfume which he created. He realises that he had always found gratification 'in hatred, in hating and being hated', not love. He decides to return to Paris upon finding that the satisfaction that he initially felt has transformed itself into hatred and disgust.

In Paris, Grenouille approaches a group of low-life people (thieves, murderers, whores, etc), who do not notice him approaching. He deliberately douses himself with the perfume he created, while among the group. Overcome with desire, they tear him to pieces and devour the remains. They feel slightly disgusted having just eaten a human being, but they feel overwhelmed with happiness. They are "uncommonly proud. For the first time they had done something out of Love." - "Love" is deliberately capitalized which is open to interpretation.

Actors
Ben Whishaw	Jean-Baptiste Grenouille
Dustin Hoffman	Giuseppe Baldini
Alan Rickman	Antoine Richis
Rachel Hurd-Wood	Laura Richis
Corinna Harfouch	Madame Arnulfi
John Hurt	Narrator
Karoline Herfurth	The Plum Girl

Original Sin

My all time favorite story of love, passion, betrayal and finding true love amidst the betrayal (watched this movie more than 10x already!).. This is a love story that knows no bounds. Amidst Luis' discovery of Julia's betrayal and dark past, he still loved, accepted and protected Julia to the point of losing his life. The story teaches us that love isn't blind, it's just unfathomable and sees beyond reason..

Luis Vargas (Antonio Banderas), a wealthy Cuban businessman who seeks out an American wife, believes Americans represent the future, and that his own countrymen - and women - are mired in the past and their traditions. After months of corresponding with Julia Russell (Angelina Jolie), the day comes when she sails to his country to be his bride. Julia departs from the ship, looking nothing like the photos she's sent prior to her voyage. Julia explains she wants more than a man who is interested in a pretty face, and that's why she's been deceptive - substituting a plain-looking woman in place of her own picture. Luis also admits to deception; he's been misleading her into believing he's a poor working man, instead of the rich owner of a coffee company.

Luis and Julia wed within hours of her setting foot in Cuba. Passion and lust lie just below the surface as the two begin to discover each other over the next few days. Luis falls passionately in love with his new bride and expresses it physically (which is a famous sex scene between the two celebrities). But, while Julia seems to be fighting inner demons, she is holding herself back from too deep an emotional involvement.

Meanwhile, Julia's sister Emily has been trying to contact her sister, justifiably worried about her after such a long trip to a strange land. Luis forces Julia to write back, fearing that if Julia continues to ignore Emily's letters, Emily will assume something terrible has befallen her sister and might send the authorities to check on her welfare. Holding off as long as possible, Julia finally pens a letter to her sister, setting into motion the execution of Julia's hidden agenda.

In order to assure that his wife has everything she wants, Luis adds Julia to his business and personal bank accounts, giving her free rein to spend as she pleases. Luis discovers Julia has run off with nearly all of his fortune, and then teams up with a detective, Walter Downs (Thomas Jane). Walter reveals to Luis he believes Julia to be an impostor and the intended wife to be dead by her hand, and that she may be working with someone. The two set out together looking for the thief and possible murderer.

Luis finds Julia and discovers she is actually working with Walter and she tells him a story of the two Americans teaming up for the scam. He believes she loves him and lies to Walter, but when confronted by him a fight breaks out and Luis shoots Walter. Julia, hardly bothered by the events, tells Luis to leave and buy train tickets and while he is gone we discover Walter loaded the gun with blanks. Julia appears to love Luis but Walter has too much control over her so she continues to work for him as Luis and her run off to live in secret with the supposedly dead Walter on their tail.

The two find a reasonable house and Luis throws away his promising future and opens himself to a living a life like hers, one filled with cheating and deception. One night Luis follows Julia and discovers Walter is alive and the two are still working together and she is going to poison her husband that very night. He returns home and waits for her, and when she arrives reveals he knows of her continuing deception and the plan, confesses his love for her once more and swallows the poisoned drink. Julia panics, flees with the dying Luis with Walter close behind. The married couple run into him at a train station; Walter is furious that Julia has betrayed him. While Walter holds a knife to her throat, Luis shoots him knocking him down, and Julia takes the gun shooting him one more time, killing him. She staggers away with her dying husband leaning on her.

The past and present finally meet as we hear the conclusion of Julia's story and she asks the priest to pray with her. The next morning the guards come to her cell to find the priest in her clothing.

In Morocco, a beautiful woman enters a room in which a card game is taking place. As she walks around the table occupied by gamblers, she thanks the men for allowing her to watch. Luis is one of the men, and while Julia signals him about the other players' cards, he begins to tell the other occupants about a story of a woman and his deep love for her.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0218922/synopsis

Cast

Actor	Role
Antonio Banderas	Luis Vargas
Angelina Jolie	Julia Russell
Thomas Jane	Walter Downs
Jack Thompson	Alan Jordan
Gregory Itzin	Colonel Worth
James Haven	Faust, on Stage

The Phantom of the Opera

set in late 19th century Paris, the musicale is a combination of romance, horror, mystery and tragedy... a story about selfish love, unconditional love, mysterious love, unreasonable love, forbidden love... everlasting love... this movie is heartwarming, heart wrenching and heartbreaking... it has a 'haunting' music that could send shivers to your soul... explains why love is unfathomable.. why love breaks all bounds.. why love is life and death..

the movie is a story of sacrificial love... christine sacrificed her love for raoul.. while erik sacrificed his love for christine. i could still feel the same pain as erik felt when he let go of christine. i came to realize that letting go doesn't mean that you gave up the fight, it is just a matter of accepting the fact that there are things in life that are simply cannot be.. with opera music from Andrew Lloyd Webber and all out performances by gerard butler, patrick wilson and emmy rossum, it will surely send Cupid's arrow straight to your heart of stone...