The Notebook - 2004

The Notebook is a 2004 romantic film directed by Nick Cassavetes, based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Sparks. The film stars Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams as a young couple who fall in love during the early 1940s in their country town of Seabrook. Their story is narrated from the present day by an elderly man played by James Garner, telling the tale to a fellow nursing home resident, played by Gena Rowlands. Allie and Noah break up, but immediately regret the decision. Allie's family leaves Seabrook the next day and Noah, devastated, writes her one letter every day for a year. Allie's mother intercepts and hides them. When Allie does not reply to the letters, Noah moves to Atlanta, Georgia. When Pearl Harbor is attacked, he enlists in the army for World War II while Allie attends college. While in college, Allie volunteers as a nurse's aide for wounded soldiers and meets the injured Lon Hammond, Jr. (James Marsden). He is handsome, charming, and from a wealthy family. Lon and Allie get engaged; meanwhile, Noah returns home. Noah's father tells him that he is selling out so that Noah can purchase the Windsor Plantation (the abandoned Antebellum house, which Noah had promised Allie he would restore for her). While visiting Charleston, South Carolina, Noah sees Allie in the street. He watches her and sees her kissing Lon. Noah restores the old house, believing that if he keeps his promise to her, Allie will come back. Once he is finished, he tries to sell it, but cannot bear to part with it. In the present, it is evident that the elderly woman is Allie and the storyteller is Noah. She does not recognize their children and family due to Alzheimer's disease.

District B13 - 2004

If you like action, then you will love this film.

Produced and co-written by acclaimed filmmaker Luc Besson, this stylized action thriller is set in Paris 2010, where the government has fenced off the city's ghettos, the most dangerous of which is District B13. Teaming up to infiltrate the lawless sector, an elite-unit cop and a reformed vigilante put their lives on the line in a gutsy attempt to retrieve a stolen nuke and thwart a terrorist attack by the city's most powerful gang.

In the scene where Leito (David Belle) is being chased near the beginning of the film, the way in which he does it in is in fact an activity called Parkour and was invented by Belle himself, influenced by his father Raymond Belle. There weren't any special effects (wirework, computer graphics...) used in 90% of the Parkour scenes.

The Five People You Meet In Heaven - 2004

The Five People You Meet in Heaven is a novel by Mitch Albom. It recounts the life and death of an old maintenance man named Eddie. After dying in an accident, Eddie finds himself in the five heavens of the five people he will meet in heaven, where he encounters five people who have significantly affected his life, whether he realized at the time or not. Mitch Albom dedicates the book to his uncle Edward Beitchman. He says that he wants people like his uncle who felt unimportant during their lives to realize how much they mattered and how they were loved.


The Five People You Meet in Heaven was published in 2003 by Hyperion, and remained on the New York Times Best Seller list for 95 weeks.


A made-for-TV film adaptation of the novel, starring Jon Voight as Eddie, was released in 2004. It's a great film that should not be missed.

De-Lovely - 2004

De-Lovely is a 2004 musical biopic directed by Irwin Winkler. The screenplay by Jay Cocks is based on the life and career of Cole Porter, from his first meeting with Linda Lee Thomas until his death. It is the second biopic about the composer, following Night and Day.


Although Porter was a passable singer at best, director Irwin Winkler cast Kevin Kline, winner of two Tony Awards and two Drama Desk Awards for his musical performances on Broadway, as the composer. He stayed in character by limiting his vocal range. Most of his singing was recorded live on the set, and the actor played the piano himself in the scenes where Porter plays.


According to Winkler's commentary on the DVD release of the film, he had considered numerous actresses for the role of Linda when Ashley Judd's agent advised him she was interested in the part. Winkler was certain her salary demand would exceed that allowed by the budget, but the actress was so anxious to portray Linda she was willing to lower her usual asking price. Judd is twenty years younger than Kline, although the composer's wife was eight years older than he. Filming locations included Chiswick House and Luton Hoo.