The French have been producing amazing films for quite some time. Many people are blind to the existence of French films because, for many of us, our film entertainment radar is decisively fixed on whatever comes out of Hollywood. We are blind to foreign language movies that are produced by studios from other nations.

But interest in French films have been gradually growing, thanks to high profile English language films like the Jet Li film Kiss Of The Dragon, which was produced by Luc Besson, and the Jackie Chan action-comedy Rush Hour three, which were both shot mainly in France.

Nonetheless for those of you who need to get started on French films, either for entertainment or as a tool to learn a foreign language, here are three French films you must definitely watch.

Cyrano de Bergerac
This was one of the first French films I ever observed. I can remember viewing it in the early 90’s on video tape, 2 years after it hit the big screen. Cyrano de Bergerac is based on a 1897 play of the same name by Edmond Rostand. It was directed by Jean-Paul Rappeneau and has won multiple awards.

The film stars Gerard Depardieu and tells the tale about a man, Cyrano, who falls awfully in love with a lady, Roxane. Cyrano does not make known his like to the lovely lady as he is too bashful of his rather massive nose.

Roxane soon becomes infatuated with Cyrano’s help, Christian. However , Christian is shy and Cyrano finds a way to show his like to Roxane vicariously thru Christian.

Cyrano de Bergerac is a fabulous French film aside love and craving. It is very entertaining, although a tad foreseeable, and is a feast for the eyes.

Eight Femmes
Like Cyrano de Bergerac, Eight Femmes, or Eight Women, is also a multi prize-winning French film. Nevertheless Eight Femmes is a musical and it touches on a more impressive range of subject matter from unrequited love to sexuality.

The tale occurs in the 1950s at a mansion in the country. Just as everyone is preparing for Christmas, the master of the house is found with a dagger in his back. Things get difficult when the phone line is discovered to possess been cut and the car has been sabotaged. Along the way, strategies begin to be exposed as the eight girls in the house start accusing each other of the killing of the master of the house.

This motion picture is an enjoyable watch and it has also got a little twist close to the end. I particularly like the fight scene between Gaby and Pierrette. You’ll have to watch the film to see why.

La Reine Margot
If you’re searching for a bit of a French history lesson, La Reine Margot, or Queen Margot, will definitely oblige.

The tale occurs in 16th century France, right smack in heat of religious wars between Catholics and Protestants. The flick begins with Margot being married off to a protestant prince as a means to quell the spiritual warring groups. It is a loveless wedding and Margot falls for a nobleman as a consequence.

The film examines the peculiar relationships between the Queen and her children, the politics of that time and the Bartholomew’s Day Slaughter.

This French film is rather graphic but entertaining, even though it would help if you have knowledge on the subject of goings on of that period of time.

As far as entertaining foreign language pictures go, I am sure you may enjoy these three French films.

To sum up,

• Watching history based French films is a great way to learn the language also the colorful history of France
• There are loads of French films which are entertaining to watch
• Hollywood is not the only place which churns out quality movies

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Online movies have become a hugely popular pastime for many of us these days. If this is something that you have not tried for yourself yet, then you are really missing out. There is no way that you would ever get bored again because there is so much to choose from.

Another really great benefit of watching online movies is the fact that you can get involved with the online communities and then discuss these movies with others.

There are plenty of ways for you to enjoy online movies and below are a few suggestions to ensure you make the most of this opportunity.

When it comes to free online movie sites, most of these services are illegal. This is particularly true if they are offering the latest Hollywood blockbusters for free. If you want to watch the latest releases then there are a number of paid services. You would be advised to stick with websites that you pay for if you would rather avoid the risk of legal problems.

There are two choices for those who want to watch online movies; they can either be downloaded or streamed directly to a computer. There is no need to wait for movies to download if you just watch them online. However, there is also a drawback to this method and this is the fact that your movie will keep stopping and starting if your internet connection is interrupted in anyway. With downloading, you have to wait and you need to have room on your hard drive for these movies.

When it comes to online movies, there are a number of scams in operation. This is why it is best that you stick to the more reputable websites that have a good following.

We are privileged to be able to enjoy such a number of things because of the coming of the world wide web. We are capable of doing things such as shopping, sending electronic mails, looking for and finding information – and so much more besides. And one of the better things of all time to do though is being able to Watch Free Movies.

The idea of watching foreign language films may not appear like an ideal way to spend two hours. Many deem watching foreign language DVDs as one of the most dull things worth doing. Obviously, these folks have not seen foreign language films like El Mariachi or Amlie. The former is action filled while the second is an award winning comedy set in Paris. Amlie was so influential, the director of the hit TELEVISION series – Pushing Daisies – tried to recreate the same feel for the show.

Barrier
The main obstruction to watching a movie in a language you are not familiar with is naturally the unfamiliar language. However , this is not a serious obstacle thanks to subtitles and the ability to select languages with DVDs.

Entertaining And Educational
Watching foreign language DVDs can not only be entertaining, it can also turn into a learning experience. My kids picked up Mandarin by watching an hour a day of a Chinese TV series, five days every week when we lived in Asia for a couple of years. Naturally the series had English subtitles which were not as laughable as the ones you would generally see in cinemas. And it did help that our neighbors ‘ children spoke both Mandarin and English also , so practicing the new language was a regular affair.

Step By Step
Learning a new language by watching foreign language DVDs could be a bit challenging if you attempt to watch too many movies in different languages inside a brief period of time. My guidance for those who intend to pick up a new language by watching foreign movies is to begin with one language first. It is less confusing that way and it’s easier for your intelligence to stay focused when processing and recollecting new words.

After you find that you depend less on subtitles and you can easily understand the dialog without having to actively interpret it to your first language, then you can move on to a new language.

Audio and Subtitles
DVDs are good for watching foreign films because they contain audio and subtitles in numerous languages. Getting the same foreign language movies from different regions gives you the opportunity to learn a language or two from a different continent altogether.

As an example, a DVD from Europe may contain audio and subtitles in 1 or 2 EU languages while the same DVD title from The Far East would contain audio and subtitles in a number of Asian languages.

Here’s a little tip when using subtitles while watching foreign language films. If you’re watching a production in French, do not just use the English subtitles. Use the French subtitles as well . This way you will learn how certain words are spelled. Spelling of French words could be a little hard so using this system will help you a lot when reading and speaking a foreign language.

To summarise :

• Watching foreign films can be a great way to learn a new language
• Use subtitles to learn how words are spelled to help you learn to read in a different language
• Many foreign films are entertaining even with subtitles

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I’m not any kind of film expert, and until recent years I possibly only went to the cinema once or twice a year and sometimes watched a couple of films on television or DVD during the Christmas break. Hence I feel that I have a great deal of catching up to do since I’ve realised that I should fill in the blank areas in my cinematic knowledge. There are still some genres of films that totally hold no interest for me, but I have decided over the last few years to take the risk and see some films that I haven’t wanted to watch in the past.

My change of mind is partly down to a friend whose views I really trust. Too many people in days gone by have tried to convince me that I’ll completely love a film because they love it, and unfortunately that kind of recommendation doesn’t really cut the mustard with me. It’s also because I made the decision to try and collect all of the films made by my favourite actor, Johnny Depp, and by watching some of his work within genres which I don’t generally like much, I’ve been encouraged to view similar films and have really enjoyed most of them. My film viewing has also been improved by a recent Laser eye surgery operation which has cleared up a eyesight problem so that I can now view the screen properly without any blurred areas.

However, there are a number of films that I love, having watched them countless times. The Monty Python films absolutely fall into that category, and although I’d have to say that the funniest one is probably Life Of Brian, they are all equally entertaining and are completely the right thing to watch to cheer yourself up on a miserable day.

Another favourite, and possibly the only one of my favourite films that could be described as a ‘chick flick’ is Four Weddings And A Funeral, one of Hugh Grant’s more entertaining roles where he actually just plays himself, though I often wonder why a male lead who was obviously quite rich in the film insisted on fumbling with his glasses constantly instead of just investing in Laser eye surgery. I do believe though that the film is perfectly cast which is partly what made it so watchable, but I also enjoy it because I’ve been invited to far too many weddings over the years and can identify with so many of the things that take place at the various nuptials.

As a series of films, I genuinely don’t think you can beat Pirates Of The Caribbean, but I guess I may be a little biased as my favourite actor has a leading role in them. Captain Jack Sparrow really is a fantastic loveable rogue and I for one will be going to see the latest instalment of his adventures the minute it is showing at the local cinema. So bizarre to think that the whole idea of the films came from a theme park ride which has been a Disney favourite for decades and from memory, although it was great fun, it wasn’t massively sophisticated. I think I recall travelling in a boat through an unfolding pirate saga. I assume that the activities of the moving parts of the ride were triggered by the moving boats breaking a Laser eye beam or similar so that each boatload saw the same activity and the tale made sense. Although I’m told that since the success of the films they have enhanced the ride, so I could be remembering something that no longer exists!

Even though I’m not particularly a fan of Tom Hanks, one film that would absolutely make it into my Top Three is Apollo 13. I have seen this with a buddy who is a lot younger than me, and she didn’t really think much of it, so I have to guess that the most likely reason why I love it as much as I do is because I really do remember the events that it shows, can very much remember news bulletins about what had gone wrong and remember watching film of the astronauts after they had proved everyone wrong and returned safely back to earth. I’m not an emotional person and it’s very unusual for a film to get to me, but the scene when they are all hoping for radio contact from the craft after re-entry will often bring a tear to my eye (though now I can claim it’s because my eyes are more sensitive since undergoing the Laser eye treatment!).

But I think, in reality, my very favourite film ever would surely be Local Hero. Created with some fantastic Scottish scenery as the location, the story about the Texas oil negotiator detailed to go abroad to buy land to construct a refinery who ends up falling in love with the village could almost be interpreted as a modern day fairy tale. The thing I like most about the film is that it’s very hard to describe as a specific genre. There are scenes when it’s funny, quirky, thought provoking and socially aware. And then there are the questions that you never actually get an answer to and have to instruct your mind to come up with a suitable explanation. Who is Marina, the lady with the webbed feet? Is Mr Knox of Knox Oil & Gas really a distant relation of Ben’s? Or, as Mac himself queries in the film ‘Whose baby is it?’. With a soundtrack composed by Mark Knopfler which beautifully compliments what is going on, this is without doubt my Number One film choice.

While in college, Brad Pitt made a decision to pursue his dream of becoming an actor, this dream took him on a journey to leave the college and make his dreams come true. Shortly after settling in Los Angeles, he took up acting lessons, and ultimately received a small role on ‘Another World’, a television series. As a result of this modest part, the Brad Pitt films career would explode for more than 20 years. Click over here for more info on watch tv on computer.

As well as his appearance in various television series, sitcoms and dramas alike, The silver screen has featured in excess of forty Brad Pitt films to complement his acting career. Many of the Brad Pitt films in his earlier days
went largely unnoticed as opposed to his current hit movies. For instance, ‘Johnny Suede’, ‘A River Runs Through It’ and ‘Kalifornia’ from the early 1990s. It was not until his portrayal of Louis de Pointe du Lac in ‘Interview with the Vampire’ that he started to receive recognition. This film and subsequently the next three Brad Pitt films gave him a landslide of awards and nominations, not the least of which was a best supporting actor from the Golden Globes in ‘12 Monkeys’.

Brad Pitt films from 1996 until 2001’s ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ largely went unnoticed by the acting and performing community in regards to awards, nominations and box office receipts. His character in Oceans Eleven, Rusty Ryan, stimulated Brad’s career. Shortly thereafter he played Achilles in the hit movie, ‘Troy’, of which he was given the Teen Choice Award and a nomination for MTV’s Best Male Performance award, ‘Troy’ topped the box office at nearly half billion dollars. An amazing sum for Brad Pitt and so far the highest grossing film for which he was the lead actor.

Two Brad Pitt Films that failed to garner any awards or nominations since 2004 were, ‘Ocean’s Thirteen’ and ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’. However both of these films grossed over $100 million dollars in box office receipts. The most recent Brad Pitt film to collect a nomination was ‘The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button’, in total the film has received 5 nominations for Best Actor and Outstanding Performance by a Male actor from the Screen Actors Guild, the Academy Awards, BAFTA and the Golden Globes.You can acquire extra valuable info on tv on computer here.

Future Brad Pitt films include ‘The Tree of Life’ due to be released in late 2009 and ‘Inglourious Basterds’, a Quentin Tarantino production, where Brad plays an illiterate hillbilly from the mountains of Tennessee. Filming took place in Germany and France this past winter and the producers expect to premier it at the Cannes Film Festival.

This weekend I managed to make it to the cinema for the first time in a while. When we got there it was a toss up between Eagle Eye or Pride and Glory, both movies that I wanted to see. We went with the latter as it started sooner.

The movie has a pretty big all star cash with Edward Norton, Colin Farrell and John Voight all having major characters. The story revolves around Jimmy Egan (Farrell) a NYC Cop on the take with a bunch of fellow officers operating under the watch of his brother in law who is not fully kept in the loop. When 4 officers get slain in a shoot out Ray (Norton) is brought in to investigate after a while off the job.

I thought to myself about 40 minutes into the movie that things were moving a bit slower than I’d expected as I imagined a faster pace more action sort of movie. Although this wasn’t the case there were some great white knuckle and gasp out loud scenes and overall a real gritty movie. I don’t want to give anything in the story line away in the post but I enjoyed the movie even if it didn’t keep up with a movie such as The Departed.

But still a great movie, 3 out of 5.