Movie: Traffic (2001)

From director Steven Soderbergh comes this magnificent movie, with stellar camera work and an outstanding cast. This movie and 'Erin Brokovich' would earn Soderbergh two nominations in 2001. The cast includes Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro,Catherine Zeta Jones,Dennis Quaid, Salma Hayek, Benjamin Bratt and more!
Traffic is filmed more like a documentary than a Hollywood flick. However, it is fast paced and extremely entertaining. There are a trio of concurrent plots that make up the movie.The common theme is drugs.

One is a drug Czar, Senator (Douglas) who is fighting the war on Mexican Drug lords. Privately, he is fighting a war at home, trying to save his daughter from her addiction.
Another plot involves a Drug Kingpin(Steven Bauer) behind bars and his determined wife (Zeta Jones) who is on a crusade to bring him home.The third plot involves a Mexican cop(Del Toro) who is caught in the crossfire between corrupt officials on both sides of the border.

Traffic is powerful and a slam dunk. It exposes the humanity of all its characters and how drug trafficking influences each of them. It deserved nothing less than an Academy award.But well..Tough luck. This movie is a must see!

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Movie: War of the Roses(1989)

Do you have ant doubts about getting married? Are you unsure if he or she is the ONE?
Then this is the movie for you.
Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner star in this classic black comedy. They are a couple, happily married for almost two decdes. Or so thinks Michael's character. One day he has a heart attack. She never visits him. Why? She was afraid... She was afraid,that she felt glad. And so they games begin. Husband and wife begin the battles. The war is for the house they share. She, simply because she wants the house and will stop at nothing to get it. He, because he is still in love with her and can use the house as an excuse to hold on to the hope of getting her back.
The whole story is a flash back told by a lawyer(Danny DeVito) to a man who has come to him looking to divorse his wife. My favorite line in the movie is from Danny to his 'client-to-be',

'When a man who makes $500 an hour gives you half an hour of his time, you better listen.'
Go ahead and watch this one.

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Movie: A Perfect Murder(1998)

I've always wondered why Michael Douglas does not play the anti-hero more often. The tough looks, the gruff voice, the powerful personality make him an ideal candidate for a James Bond villian.

He does play the role almost to perfection in this movie, a tribute/remake of Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder. It has already been remade a few times before.
This is the classic tale of betrayal and revenge.

An older man(Douglas) and a younger woman(Gwyneth Paltrow) are trapped in a failing marriage. They are held together only by her inheritance which both of them want.
She has an affair with a younger man( Viggo Mortensen of 'Lord of the rings' fame.)
He find out and hires a hitman to kill her. The hitman is none other than his wife's lover.
This is a thriller which has a few surprizes not in the original movie:
My favorite line in the movie: Douglas to Paltrow, 'That's not happiness to see me, is it?'

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