12 Images from The Code with Morgan Freeman, Antonio Banderas
June 24, 2009 by Jane Boursaw
I just posted a little tidbit about Antonio Banderas doing nude scenes as he turns 50 years old, so I thought I’d post a few stills from "The Code" (said movie in which he strips down).
Also known as "Thick as Thieves," "The Code" bypassed theaters and went straight to DVD yesterday. The story follows a veteran thief, Keith Ripley (Morgan Freeman), who recruits a younger crook, Gabriel Martin (Antonio Banderas), to help him pull one final job so he can repay his debt to the Russian mob. But what Ripley doesn’t know is that the younger crook is actually a Miami cop working with the NYPD to bring him to justice.
Gabriel gets involved in a romance with Ripley’s goddaughter, Alexandra (Radha Mitchell). When they get around to pulling the final job, a Russian mobster kidnaps the goddaughter and demands two Faberge eggs stolen in return.
Directed by Mimi Leder (a veteran filmmaker whose credits go back to "China Beach" and "Hill Street Blues"), "The Code" is rated R for sexuality, language and some nudity. With Freeman and Banderas, it sounds like a lovely game of cat-and-mouse shenanigans. Buy it on DVD or Blu-ray.
More pics after the jump…
Film Gecko Five: Top Bird Movies
May 16, 2009 by Jane Boursaw
My friend, Rachel Dickinson, has a wonderful new book out called "Falconer on the Edge: A Man, His Birds, and the Vanishing Landscape of the American West." Check it out on Amazon.com.
The book tells the story of falconer Steve Chindgren, as well as the fascinating subculture of falconry and the people who participate in it. Rachel also goes into the forces that threaten this ancient sport: mining, gas industries, and agriculture.
Of course, all this has me thinking of movies about birds. Here are five that spring to mind. Tell me YOUR favorite bird movies in the comments below.
1. The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2003). This award-winning documentary features Mark Bittner, the self appointed caretaker of San Francisco’s flock of wild Cherry-Headed Conures. It tells the story of his journey to preserve the flock and its home. Buy it on Amazon.
