Imran H. Khan

Philip Anthony Hopkins was bon on December 31, 1937 in Wales, UK. Influenced by the one and only Richard Burton he decided to study at College of Music and Drama and graduated in 1957. By 1965 he had moved to London and joined the National Theatre, alongside Laurence Olivier, who could see the talent in Hopkins. In two years time, he made his first film for television, "A Flea in Her Ear". After 40 long and illustrious years, Sir Anthony Hopkins stars in the latest New Line Cinema's latest Crime movie Fracture.

When Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) discovers that his beautiful younger wife, Jennifer, is having an affair, he plans the perfect murder. Among the cops arriving at the crime scene is hostage negotiator Detective Rob Nunally, the only officer permitted to enter the house. Crawford readily admits to the negotiator that he shot his wife, now lying in a pool of blood. On careful inspection, Nunally quickly realises that the dead women is none other than his lover, whose true identity he never knew. The plot thickens when the apparent "dead body" starts to move. As the story moves into the court house, a young hot shot assistant district attorney comes into the picture to take on Crawford's case. As the eternal powers of good and evil battle it out on the main stage, the actors must soon learn that a "fracture" can be found in the most seemingly perfect façade.

Being a huge fan of Sir Anthony Hopkins, I feel nothing but anticipation for this movie to hit Dhaka's DVD hubs. And whose skin would not tingle after having watched The Silence of the Lambs (1991) which bagged Hopkins the Oscar for the Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1992. As I was going through his list of Nominations and achievements, I got to learn a lot of awards which I had never come across such as the "Western Heritage Awards", "Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards", "Sant Jordi Awards", "Evening Standard British Film Awards", not to mention the usual "Emmy Awards" and "Golden Globes", all of which he has won at least once in his career.

Moving on to the actress genre, I must say that Kate Beckinsale is one name that has tickled my fancy since the release of Underworld in 2003. Selene the slender, 5 foot 8 vampire in black has much more than just a cross and garlic up her sleeves. I leave her details for another day. The latest movie I saw Kathryn Bailey Beckinsale star in was Click (2006) next to Adam Sandler. Her other hits Underworld: Evolution (2006), Van Helsing (2004) and Serendipity (2001) are definitely among honorable mentions. In Vacancy, Beckinsale's latest escapade takes place alongside the flaky Luke Wilson. They find themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere when their car breaks down, when they chance upon a motel with only a TV to entertain them. The couple is in for the shock of their lives when they realise that the horror flick that they are watching on the tube, appear to have been filmed in the very same room that they now occupy. They soon realise that they are the targets of numerous hidden cameras now recording their every move. They soon flee, desperate to escape before they too become playback action into the motel's eerie horror collection.

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