The Movie Fanatic

10,000 Years of Disappointment

2008-03-11T15:08:00.005+08:00

The movie directed by Roland Emmerich had some serious flaws that made the two-hour "epic" feel like a 10,000 year long film put on a very slooooowwww motion.

For starters the movie that boasted Independence Day and Day After Tomorrow as the director's credit failed to get a casting director worth his salary. From the very beginning of the mammoth-ly disappointing film the viewers were assaulted by
the implausibility of a tribe of what looked like an American Indian people with an admixture of characters from the present-day United Nation.

There was a Middle Eastern tribal leader (who also looked like the New Zealander in Whale Rider) who was with an American Indian priestess, the protagonist was clearly Caucasian but his friend was Black Latin American. Some women of the tribe looked strikingly Malaysian and even Filipinos. And of course, the lady love of the film was of Hispanic-Asian descent. Go figure. We thought this movie was about a pre-historic tribe fighting to survive the glacial age and slave traders. Why should they be of mixed ancestry? At least Mel Gibson (of another hugely disappointing movie, Apocalypto) had the decency of putting characters who more or less resembled one another in physiognomy.

Then there is the problem of language: never mind that the movie was in English (although that one was also jarring to the ears), but do the tribesmen have to speak in different accents? Or speak fluently like a modern English speaker does? Whew!

Finally, the long-winded journey was really looooooooooooong. Though it was punctuated by some chase scenes (that awakened me and my friend in between our naps), the whole story seemed trite and shallow, a hyped spin to the old caveman epic that brought nothing new expect so so CGI animation.

And then the teeth! This was supposed to be before dental procedures were invented, why do they all have sparkling white teeth when sabre-tooth cats were still roaming around?

Oh, well one can argue that I'm missing the big picture by nitpicking on the nitty-gritty details.
But sometimes, you know, when you aim for the big thing, you ought to pay attention to the little ones as well.

Back to the Land Before Time guys! It's more satisfying.

Superman Returns

2006-07-03T11:26:00.000+08:00

Call me anti-Superman or anything but I can't say that this Brian Singer adaptation is great. I've seen it twice and appreciated the "divine" elements Singer highlighted in the film but still for me the movie lacked depth and warmth.

The Superman (Routh) did not strike me as a very interesting fellow. He was cold and distant (as if he were still in his planet Kryton) and terribly unemotional. Then there was the chemistry factor (or lack of) between him and Lois Lane. True there was a gap between his disappearance and Lois' being a mother and prospective wife to another man but aside from her nervous fidgeting of cigarettes there was no other indication that she still longed for her ex.

Another downside of the movie was its predeliction for dark scenes. As my brother Mike commented, "You can hardly distinguish him (Superman) from a bat flying." Kevin Spacey's Luthor was superbly portrayed by a criminally-cold megalomaniac but his role in the movie was centrally focused on just discovering the weakness of Superman. It did not in any way propelled the story.

Sorry guys, but I won't be seeing this movie the third time around.

X-Men 3: The Last Stand (2006)

2006-05-25T09:34:00.000+08:00

Wow! Some day all Marvel movies will be made this way.

So far this is the most awesome, fantastic, eye-popping and satisfying comics-to-movie adaptation of a Marvel series. The characters loom larger than life and have not been dwarfed by special effects. And the story too is something to rave about.

The Last Stand is the third and, fingers crossed, not the final episode of the X-men series. Not only is the third installment the most explosive, it is also the most heart-rending of all episodes as three major (am not telling who, you have to watch it and I mean in the big screen!) characters sacrifice their lives for the cause they are fighting.

To get rid of the mutant problem. The government has discovered a "cure" that would permanently alter the genetic make-up of the mutants and make them normal human beings. But the line between what's normal and what's not, who's the menace and the victim gets blurred as two opposing ideologies clash. The X-men find themselves in the middle of the turbulence: protecting the humans who hate and fear them and convincing the outcast mutants to co-exist peacefully with them.

Professor Xavier and his friend/nemesis Magneto once again marshall their armies in the hope of winning the battle to their sides. But along the way, great sacrifices were required and people who were fated to do so, paid dearly for it.

Bravo to the X-men 3 team!

X-man Fans: Don't leave the theater until after the credits have fully finished rolling.

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

2006-05-21T08:55:00.000+08:00

Yes. I'm back again after a hiatus of two and a half months. Contrary to what many believed that I had altogether stopped watching movies because of extreme frustration over the Oscars, I'm here--alive and well. Truth is, there had never been good movies after the Academy Awards season, except for one or two, so I temporarily stopped writing. But the gaga over MI3 and Da Vinci had me rushing back to my keyboard again.

For starters, here's my review of the "most highly-anticipated film of the year."

Well, well, well. The first question that might be of interest is: why was Ron Howard picked to direct this movie? He's a good actor and director no doubt, having starred in and made unforgettable movies like The Cocoon, Far and Away, Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind. But to create a suspense, action-filled mystery-thriller, one would expect that producers would bank on the credibility of the likes of John Woo, Brian Singer and others of the same league.

What resulted in the adaptation of Dan Brown's novel was, to quote a friend and fellow critic, a "National Geographic special on slow-mo." The movie relied heavily on the popularity (some say notoriety) of the book and forgot that the two media are of different genre, and therefore what works in the other might, and in this case, did not work on the other (the movie).

After Prof. Langdon (Hanks) and Sophie (Tautou) reached the Chateau Villette, where they were given a crash course on biblical hermenuetics, apocryphal writings and ecclessiology and the occult, and where the "biggest hoax in the history of mankind" was revealed, it was down, down hill all the way through the end. The movie kept on topping the revealed secret with surprising twists (which were never really surprising, anyway) to up the ante but it miserably failed to do so.

If the ho-hum reaction of the audience is enough an indicator of the interest of the audience (or its lack of), then Cannes critics have the reason to raise their eyebrows. At the end of the movie, one flabbergasted member of the audience exclaimed, "That's it?"

Dan Brown fans, consider yourselves warned.

I wonder what Mona Lisa was smiling about?

It's the Oscars! (Time to place your bets)

2006-03-02T22:15:00.000+08:00

(Mine goes to the red-lettered ones. )

BEST MOTION PICTURE
Brokeback Mountain
Capote
Crash
Good Night, and Good Luck
Munich

BEST ACTOR
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow
Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain
Joauqin Phoenix, Walk the Line
David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck

BEST ACTRESS
Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson Presents
Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
Keira Knightley, Pride & Prejudice
Charlize Theron, North Country
Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
George Clooney, Syriana
Matt Dillon, Crash
Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man
Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
William Hurt, A History of Violence

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, Junebug
Catherine Keener, Capote
Frances McDormand, North Country
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener
Michelle Williams, Brokeback Mountain

BEST DIRECTOR
George Clooney, Good Night & Good Luck
Paul Haggis, Crash
Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Bennett Miller, Capote
Steven Spielberg, Munich

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Larry McMurty and Diana Ossana, Brokeback Mountain
Dan Futterman, Capote
Jeffery Caine, The Constant Gardener
Josh Olson, A History of Violence
Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, Munich

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco, Crash
George Clooney and Grant Heslov,
Good Night and Good Luck
Woody Allen, Match Point
Noah Baumbach, The Squid and the Whale
Stephen Gaghan, Syriana

ANIMATED FEATURE
Howl’s Moving Castle
Time Burton’s Corpse Bride
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit

ART DIRECTION
Good Night and Good Luck
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Pride & Prejudice

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Batman Begins
Brokeback Mountain
Good Night, and Good Luck
Memoirs of a Geisha
The New World

COSTUMES
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Memoirs of a Geisha
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Pride & Prejudice
Walk the Line

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Darwin’s Nightmare
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
March of the Penguins
Murderball
Street Fight

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
The Death of Kevin Carter:
Casualty if the Bang Bang Club
God Sleeps in Rwanda
The Mushroom Club
A Note of Triumph:
The Golden Age of Norman Corwin

FILM EDITING
Cinderella Man
The Constant Gardener
Crash
Munich
Walk the Line

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Don’t Tell (Italy)
Joyeux Noel (France)
Paradise Now (Palestinian Authority)
Sophie Scholl - The Final Days (Germany)
Tsotsi (South Africa)

MAKE-UP
The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Cinderella Man
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

ORIGINAL SCORE
Gustavo Santaolalla, Brokeback Mountain
Alberto Iglesias, The Constant Gardener
John Williams, Memoirs of a Geisha
John Williams, Munich
Dario Marianelli, Pride & Prejudice

ORIGINAL SONG
“In the Deep,” from Crash
“It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” from Hustle & Flow
“Travelin’ Thru, ” from Transamerica

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Badgered
The Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation
The Mysterious Geographic Exporations of
Jasper Morello 9
One Man Band

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Ausreisser (The Runaway)
Cashback
The Last Farm
Our Time Is Up
Six Shooter

SOUND EDITING
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
War of the Worlds

SOUND MIXING
The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
King Kong
Memoirs of a Geisha
Walk the Line
War of the Worlds

VISUAL EFFECTS
The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
King Kong
War of the Worlds

Capote (2005)

2006-02-26T21:05:00.000+08:00

American literary giant Truman Capote gets a chance to show his more human side and his often misunderstood and derided personality in Bennett Miller's Capote. Chronicling the years following a brutal murder of a wealthy farming family in Kansas in 1959, Capote depicts the fictionist's non-fictional account of convicted multiple murderer Perry Edward Smith's troubled life. Without pandering on the melodrama, the movie at the same time paints the author's sensitivity, magnanimity and unique friendship with Perry.

Based largely on the best-selling and critically-acclaimed non-fiction novel In Cold Blood, which enevitably sealed for Capote the distinction of being one of the finest writers America has produced, the film is very careful not to parody Capote's speech defects and bohemian personality (and thinly veiled homosexual tendencies). Rather it is a moving portrait of someone who truly understands what it means to be abandoned and unwanted. In one scene, when Harper Lee (Catherine Keener), another literary giant and Capote's good friend, confronted Truman about the rumors circulating that he has fallen in love with Perry, Truman told her "It's as if Perry and I grew up in the same house. And one day he went out the back door and I went out the front."

Philip Seymour Hoffman who portrays Capote deserves the Oscar Nomination for best actor in lead role. We all know that he might lose the plum to Heath Ledger or David Straithairn but our respect for him as a talented actor in this film knows no bound. Catherine Keener and Chris Cooper are also commendable for their supporting roles.

One caveat though: Capote fails to connect with the audience, unlike what Dead Man Walking did when it elicited an agonizing sympathy for the killers (not that we should always do so, but that's the magic of cinema) with the outstanding performance of Sean Penn. The plot is mostly linear and is unable to prepare the viewers for a hightened emotional response because there isn't any to begin with. The film revolves around the hesitation of Perry to divulge what really happened on the night of the murders but when he finally did so, nothing further (in terms of sympathy) could be squeezed from the audience. It also has the tendency to drag especially in the middle and towards the end.

I admire the fluidity of Capote's writings but I guess the screenwriter was not able to capture that on paper so the director had trouble translating it to the silver screen. A regrettable act.

Fanatic Verdict: Watch it (only to see how good Hoffman is!).

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)

2006-02-24T08:06:00.000+08:00

Who is Melquiades Estrada? And where on earth is the place (between two hills , verdant pasture and flowing river) called Jimenez?

Ranch owner Pete Perkins (Tommy Lee Jones) had only two passions in life: horses and Freddy Fender songs. He was not a loner but when Melquiades Estrada (Julio Cesar Cedillo) came to his ranch one day, looking for water for his horse, Pete had instantly found a long-lost brother and a bosom friend. Melquiades was an illegal immigrant who crossed the Tex-Mex border to find himself a better job and opportunities for the family he left behind. "I'm just a cowboy," he told Pete when the latter asked him what kind of job he could do. And right there and then they had struck a friendship so unique and warm that the Brokeback Mountain cowboys would surely envy.

Through a series of flash backs, typical of Guillermo Arriaga writing (21 Grams), we learn of Melquiades' past, his dreams and his heart's deepest desire. This desire included being buried in his hometown and in his own place. Pete made a promise to him that he would see to it that his friend got his wish. When an ill-tempered, extremely loathe-able (I invented that term because it best describes him from scene one until just before the end) Border Patrol guard, Mike Norton (Barry Pepper), thought that he was being fired at, he pulled the trigger on Melquiades, instantly killing him.

What followed was a neat, poignant, darkly humorous and ironic story of how Melquiades had three burials. For a debut directing, Tommy Lee Jones did a wonderful job on Three Burials. For sure he would be snobbed by Academy Awards because critics are still euphoric over Brokeback. But then again, Cannes is there to take notice of Jones' masterful directing and acting. And if it's any consolation, Mel Gibson was not even nominated for best director and his opus Passion of the Christ thrown into the garbage bin. This is Hollywood, anything is possible!

The Fanatic Verdict: It wouldn't hurt to include this in your weekend viewing list!

Goal (2006)

2006-02-20T23:42:00.000+08:00

If you think this movie will be like The Mighty Ducks or Air Bud or any of those movies you've seen and have quite forgotten the plot (if there's any), then you will be happily disappointed. Goal!, starring Kuno Becker as the Mexican immigrant to the U.S. Santiago Munez, is not your type of a Hollywood predictable movie about a rising basketball or football star. First because it does not involve an underdog superhero out to steal the glory from a suppervillain team.

Goal is a simple story of a young man who dreams big and who happens to have a heart and two nimble feet to walk his way to success. The director, Danny Cannon, is so sympathetic with his main hero that he allows him to show his vulnerabilities and strengths. The audience can't help but feel for Santiago as he confronts people who don't believe in him and learn to trust others who can help him reach his full potential. The story is also a good testament to the young man's determination to get into a tough team despite the many odds lodged in his way.

The classic story of an unbelieving father is also in Goal!. But unlikemany Hollywood movies, Goal! does not pander on the melodrama. It does not paint Santiago as a faultless hero but as someone on the verge of maturity and someone just beginning to accept and realize that he can reach even his wildest dreams if he just believed in himself.

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)

2006-02-11T15:51:00.000+08:00

Rob Marshall has done some wonderful things to Arthur Golden's novel Memoirs of a Geisha. For starters he transformed the harrowing tale of a fishing village girl who became a celebrated geisha into a fine story of love in extremely difficult circumstances. The cinematography was stunning and the production design marvelous. And so was the musical score and editing (see "the blood in the river scene").

Chiyo (Suzuka Ohgo) and her sister were sold to a patroness in a whoring district in Japan. Acquiring beautiful pair of eyes, Chiyo was destined to become a geisha but her determination to run away back home with her sister ruined everything for her. She was stripped of the privilege to enter a geisha school and instead was made a slave in a geisha home.

One fateful day she met a kind man simply called the Chairman (Ken Watanabe), who was enamored of her eyes. The man gave her a handkerchief which she dearly kept close to her heart in fervent wish that they meet again someday. A senior geisha, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh), took notice of Chiyo's beauty and asked her patron that she study under her. Chiyo, now grown up (Zhang ZiYi), trained rigorously under Mameha's tutelage. Every day Chiyo, now called Sayuri, seemed a step closer to the man of her dreams but Mameha had other plans for her. When Sayurin told Mameha this, the latter replied that it was not for a geisha to choose whom to fall in love with, Sayuri was heartbroken.

Meanwhile, Hatsumomo (Gong Li), was doing everything she could to prevent Sayuri from becoming the top geisha. The Second World War broke out and Sayuri lost her chance to be with the Chairman. Then opportunity knocked again and an old time client, Nobu (Koji Yakusho), wanted her to return to her former profession. She only agreed because she wanted to continue her interrupted relationship with the Chairman.

The movie is a visual feast. The actors did their homework and flew high with flying colors. My only wish is that Rob Marshall could have made the love-angle between Sayuri and the Chairman more intense and two-sided. But that probably is understandable considering this is a memoir of the geisha and Marshall, I think, was avoiding a conflict of points-of-view. The ending was a bit on the corny side and abrupt. It looked like it was tacked on to explain some mysteries in the story. I'm sure someone who directed Chicago could have done better. I think the real challenge for him was to combine subtlely and grace into the main characters' dilemma without appearing too canned and formulaic.

The Fanatic Verdict: Watch it (at home).

Munich (2005)

2006-02-06T16:39:00.000+08:00

After being disproportionately "tamed" as Hector in Troy and grossly caricatured by Ang Lee in Hulk, Eric Bana came out a respectable actor in Spielberg's suspenseful drama Munich.

The world was shocked when 11 Israeli athletes were massacred at the Munich Olympics. 11 Palestinian were believed to be behind the killings. A secret Israeli squad, the Mossad, enlisted Avner (Eric Bana) to head a team of experts to track down and kill the killers. What initially started as a simple "mission" from above became a senseless carnage and proved to be a psychological torture on Avner and his men. Working incognito, Avner had to enter the dangerous world of international syndicates to ferret his suspects. His French informant, Louis (Mathieu Amalric), seemed to be working as a double agent and had put his mission in great peril. Even his boss, Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush), looked unbelievable. Nevertheless, Avner had to trust even some perceived enemies to accomplish his goal. But at what cost, the film Munich brilliantly and poignantly depicts.

Spielberg did an amazing feat in this movie. What I first thought would be an anti-Palestinian propaganda ended up indicting even the Jews. Spielberg was so unrelenting and utterly convinced that war, terrorism and vengeance are the three worst evil on earth and that the violence that we inflict on other people is violence done to us and to our own children.

Munich is a good example of a film that should be made a viewing requirement for all students and all people. Like what he did in Schindler's List, Spielberg, exposes the inhumanity and evil in people who think that they and only they have the Truth on their side. Noteworthy in the movie is how Spielberg did not spare even his fellow Jews who think that killing other people who kill/ed their own people is a justifiable act. Avner 's mother (Gila Almagor) was very proud of his son's "accomplishments" and was heaping praises on him as the long awaited avenger of the oppressed Israeli people. But Avner knew that killing was wrong and would not accept even his mother's justification.

The movie, while it shows the tender and compassionate side of the Israeli assassins, does not glorify nor justify their acts. And for this, Spielberg ought to get credit. Over-all I find the movie moving and immensely powerful.

The Fanatic Verdict: "Bravo Spielberg!"

Johnny Cash vs. Ray Charles

2006-02-04T00:40:00.000+08:00

I walked out of the theater, having this deja vu feeling, after watching Walk the Line. I had no problem with the fine acting delivered by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. My complaint had something to do with the uncanny similarity between this film and last year's Oscar contender for best picture Ray. In case you haven't seen Ray or Walk the Line or both (and you're planning to see either or both films), here are some points of comparison you might want to consider:

1) Johnny Cash wore black, Ray Charles was black.
2) Johnny's brother got killed in an accident (at the saw mill), Ray's brother drowned in a tub of water. Both had guilty feelings over the incident.
3) Johnny was a country/blues singer, Ray was a rhythm and blues/jazz singer. Both composed their own songs.
4) Johnny got hooked on drugs. And so was Ray. Both were busted but were later on freed.
5) Johnny had an affair with his back-up, Ray did too.
6) Johnny suffered depression (or a life of dissipation if you will), ditto with Ray.
7) Johnny ran bankrupt, (ah, can't remember what happened to Ray!) record company refused to hire him initially. Ray's company refused to renew his contract.
8) After a recession, both artists had succesful comebacks.
9) Both were cured of their addiction.
10) Both of them had distant fathers and strong mother's influence.
11) Both travelled on caravans during their music tour.

You get the point?

Fanatic Verdict: Ray Charles wins by a few meager points.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

2006-02-01T21:27:00.000+08:00

We got to admit it: Ang Lee fouled up in his ambitious adaptation of the marvel superhero Hulk into the big screen. A long boring story involving a raging green CGI-monster didn't real count as a good enough movie. And we thought that Lee had ran out of luck but redemption came sweet and swift to this Taiwan-born director. Now with another adaptation (this time of E. Annie Proulx's short-story) and directing trophies and a possible Oscar nod come March, Ang Lee is back in his elements.

With the same poignancy sans special effects that he gave us in Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon (nominated for Best Foreign Language Film) Lee delivers in Brokeback a very understated yet moving drama. Brokeback stars Heath Ledger as Ennis del Mar and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist; two cowboys whose unconventional and illicit love affair brings them together and tears their loved ones apart.

While stationed as hire hands to oversee sheep at Brokeback Mountain, jolly and noisome Jack befriended and drew close the silent and reserved Ennis. One bitterly cold night the two cowboys had a passionate encounter and they were forever change. Discovering that they have more than physical attraction between them and yet realizing that they can't live together , they decided to part ways. But four years of separation was simply too unbearable for either of them and soon they found themselves, having had wives and children of their own, helplessly in love with one another.

It all seemed like a simple love story. But this was in the 1960's. They were living in a tightly-knit Christian communities that never heard of gay relationships. And they were cowboys: the iconic image of the American male. With superb acting delivered by both actors (especially commendation goes to Ledger, though) and their able support (Anne Hathaway and Michelle Williams), Brokeback definitely restores Ang Lee reputation and hauls for the director loads of cash and numerous awards.

Filmed in Signal, Wyoming by the virtuouso cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (21 Grams, Amores Perros) who apparently did not know how to shoot a single ugly scene, Brokeback provides an Eden-like set for the "Adam and Eve" of the story. The background sets are too beautiful and serene that they are sometimes a distraction. However they are necessary to contrast the anguish and pains felt by the main characters as they struggled to express what they truly felt in a world that would not let them do so.

The verdict fanatic: For this film, and hopefully no more of Hulk-sy stuff, hats-off for Mr. Lee!

Man to Man (2005)

2006-01-29T21:36:00.000+08:00

Regis Wargnier's Man to Man movie continues the director's tradition of showing cultural complexes and conflicts between the East and the West (like he did in Indochine and East and West). In this movie starring Joseph Fiennes (as Dr. Dodd) and Kristin Scott Thomas (Madame Van nen Ende), the director combines his artistic talent and deep cultural sensitivity to come up with a believable, honest and harrowing portrayal of the Western man's (read: scientists) greed and arrogance.

Eager to prove their theory that the pygmies, Toko and Likola (Lomama Boseki and Cecile Bayiha), that they caught in the jungle of Central Africa, were the missing link between man and the apes, Dr. Dodd and two colleagues , Alex and Fraser (Iain Glen and Hugh Bonneville) started conducted experiments on them. While the latter two were thoroughly convinced of their "scientific" discovery, Dr. Dodd started entertaining doubts that the two creatures were no other than human beings.

Unwilling to expose Dr. Dodd's "crazy" sentiments over Toko and Likola, Alex and Fraser did drastic measures to prevent Dr. Dodd from presenting his own conclusions to the Royal Academy. Things turned nasty when Alex and Fraser learned that Likola was pregnant. They wanted to get her fetus aborted for further scientific experimentation. Toko, like a father and husband, tried to protect his family by hunting down Alex. He wounded the man but he himself fell to the wrath of the crowd who was only to willing to rid their city of "savages".

Man to Man, unlike what other critics painted it to be (as a movie not worth seeing), is a real gem and worthy of serious consideration and commendation. Though not necessarily great, the movie has some merits on it including the revisiting of some scientific dogmas perpetrated by a scientific community that would stop at nothing to gain fame and prestige. At once a commentary at how Western men view the rest of the world as the total Other and at the same time a moving film that shows that Science without regard to other people's faith and culture is in itself barbaric and savage. Wargnier's film soars high above the critics' complaint.

The fanatic verdict: Don't listen to the critics, see it yourself!

Why We Love Movies

2006-01-22T08:14:00.000+08:00

I have been thinking why people would bother going to a theater just to see a one-and-a-half-hour movie about something whose plot they more or less already know. What drives people to wait in long lines, anticipate for months and even buy tickets for the advanced screening of so and so films? And why do people watch the same movie/s again and again? There must be something to the entire ritual of watching movies other than entertainment or cathartic value they give to audiences. As for me, the following are the reasons why I go and watch movies and share my passion with other folks of similar interest:

1) Movies have their way of mirroring my deepest desires, my greatest fears, my most profound joys and gratitude of and for life. Oftentimes I see myself in the dilemma of one or two characters in the film. I understand how difficult choices are made and the painful but oftentimes liberating consequences they bring. It must have been difficult for Peter Parker of Spider Man to face his mission in life of defending other people when he could not even save his own uncle or for the Hobbit Frodo of The Lord of the Rings trilogy to take the heavy burden of bringing the cursed ring to Mount Doom.

2) Movies have a way of beautifully capturing the deepest of human emotions that probably no other medium of art can do. They speak directly to the heart by way of spoken words, images, vignettes, music or even in silence. Color Purple and Cinema Paradiso stand as two of the movies that have forever influenced my understanding of the value of friendship and the celebration of the human spirit.

3) Dialogues in the films I watch have inspired me to write some of my best poems and short-stories. I have often used my favorite lines from a movie I really like when giving seminars or training to young people. I have often used a metaphor or a parallel story with my own relationship to other people and to God and thus my prayer has been visually and aurally enhanced. I recall how I am Sam summarizes for me the passion of Jesus' love for his people and how A Beautiful Mind tells of a story of sacrifice or how Forrest Gump always reminds me that despite the cruelty and harshness of the world, people are still good deep within them.

4) Stories behind the actual filmmaking and the actors behind the movies fascinate me. I have often wondered what goes on in the minds of the geniuses of the cinema while they are creating their craft. What fear was Alfred Hitchcock fighting against in his movies? What wonder and awe captivated the heart of young George Lucas to create his epic sagas? What kind of world do Spielberg and Mel Gibson want their children to grow up in? Likewise, which of the films I watch reflect my own fears, apprehensions and hopes for the future? ( A Gattaca-like society, a Blade Runner world of androids, The Island of lost desires or Pleasantville of limited possibilities?)

5) Films are a living testament that no matter how movies are made they all point to the most basic of human needs: love, affection, mutual understanding, respect, acceptance, faith, hope. These are the stuff that movies are made of. In short movies are about life, its intricate mysteries, its ordinate attachments to things of this world and its aspirations towards the Divine. Movies are about you and me.

How about you? Why do you love the movies?

C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)

2006-01-15T21:30:00.000+08:00

If you've seen Berlin Film Fest winner Transamerica, you might want to see C.R.A.Z.Y. I promise you won't regret it. Although the title sounds a bit, well, crazy, the story is simply marvelous.

Set in the 1960's Quebec, C.R.A.Z.Y. chronicled the lives of the Beaulieus, a hip suburban family headed by a gruff and macho father.

Told mainly from the perspective of the fourth youngest son, Zachary, in a brood of five all-male children, the story depicts the era of uncertainty and growing up around booze, music and sex. Zachary used to be a favorite son of his father until the latter chanced upon him wearing dress and jewelry and "mothering" his youngest brother to sleep. This sad incident was to mar the beautiful father-son relationship of Zach and his dad.

Zach since then became someone else. Despite his healing powers (he could cure relatives of minor aches and pains just by thinking their names) and deeply Catholic upbringing, he had trouble reconciling benevolence of God with his "abnormality" (as his father called it). The fact that Zach was born exactly on Christmas day made matters worse for him because he was constantly bringing shame to his family.

A mystical journey to Jerusalem (the end of the earth) brought Zach to the realization of the use of his powers and his mission.

The film is full of love, understanding and compassion. The official site calls this movie "A love story between a father and a son. A mystical and whimsical fable on the human soul, beautiful, foolish and lyrical."
And I think I should not disagree!

Fanatic Verdict: Bring a Kleenex!

Transamerica (2005)

2006-01-13T23:18:00.000+08:00

Beautiful film, infinitely better than King Kong! (LOL - see previous post).

Once in a while a film of rare beauty and compassion comes around and captures our imagination and wins our admiration. Transamerica is such a movie. Executed with painstaking details on the inner character of a pre-operative transexual Stanley "Bree" Osbourne (Felicity Huffman) who discovers at the last minute that he has a son, Toby (Kevin Zegers), a coke-sniffing and 17 year old prostitute.

At a total loss at how to break the awkward news to his son that he is his real father, Bree decides to bail Toby out of a New York City jail and brings the former with him to L.A. On the way, the two seemingly different and contrasting personalities discover that they have much more in common than meets the eye.

Writer and Director Duncan Tucker deserves credit, a pat on the back and perhaps an Oscar nod for this sensitive and compassionate film. Fine acting. Simply great story.

Fanatic Verdict: Two thumbs up!!!

What Do You Mean When You Say that A Movie is "Great"?

2006-01-12T21:20:00.000+08:00

A lot of people had been frustrated when they heard or read from someone that this so and so movie was great only to find it full of rubbish. Some people compared one movie with another and said that the first was better than the second. And many people came into disagreement on which movie merited the term "great" as compared to only "good" precisely because paramaters or criteria of "greatness" and "goodness" had not been earlier on established.

How do I evaluate movies? What do I exactly mean when I say that a movie is "great" and "worth-watching"? For starters, I categorize films that I watch. Obviously you can't compare a Sci-Fi movie with a European drama. You can't make comparisons between a comedy and a horror flick. It's a no-no too to compare Asian epic movies with Hollywood westerns. But you can compare an original film and a re-make. You can compare a prequel to its sequel. You can say that this director is better than this in his execution of stunts or the build-up of plot and suspense. But you should never ever compare King Kong with Brokeback Mountain!

Aside from this, it helps me judge a film of its merits or lack of when I have clearly in mind what I am judging a film for. In George Lucas films, I look for techniques and special effects, not for acting. In the movies directed by Francois Ozon, I look for the psychological and existential drama behind the ordinariness of the story. Alfred Hitchcock is known for suspense but probably not for cinematography or editing (He did not even look at his cameras while filming or joined his film editor in the editing room!). Comedies are best judged by the number of times you knocked your socks off or you had stomach cramps but probably not for insight.

Now, films that manage to surpass your expectations--comedy that makes you cry, Fantasy Adventure that makes you really think hard about the meaning of life, horror that asks deep moral questions, action that reshapes your understanding of violence--chances are, these movies are great.

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

2006-01-08T16:27:00.000+08:00

C.S. Lewis' beloved masterpiece of all time comes alive in this Andrew Adamson remake. Starring four children of the Pevensie family, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy embark on an unforgettable journey towards believing not so much with their own eyes but with their hearts. WW II London has been devastated by bombing and air raids. To keep them out of harm's way, Mrs. Pevensie takes it upon herself to deliver her children to a recluse uncle in the country side.

Inside the Professor's mansion, the children, with the leading of the youngest and innocent but brave Lucy, enter the wardrobe and find themselves inside the magical land of Narnia where creatures have been long waiting for a prophecy to come true: that "two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve" would help Aslan win the battle against the wicked White Witch who rules Narnia. The Pevensie siblings have been drawn into a battle they did not expect but nonetheless joined to help win. Together they discover that there are forces within them stronger and certainly able to defeat evil all around.

With spectacular special effects, fine acting and able direction, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is sure to delight people of all ages.

Bring in some popcorn and soda and get ready for fun and adventure.

Ten Things I Hate at the Movies

2006-01-04T22:35:00.000+08:00

I'm taking a break from reviewing films. I'm reviewing instead the whole theater experience. Like many other movie enthusiasts I have pet peeves when it comes to watching movies in a theater. Some are quite insignificant while others are a major source of irritation for me and could destroy what would have been a great watching experience.

1) I hate freezing cinemas. I have this weird "sickness" of going to the bathroom whenever temperature suddenly drops two or more degrees down. I hate missing important lines and scenes especially the crucial ones where the protagonist delivers a quotable quote.

2) I hate oven-hot theaters. There is nothing like poor airconditioning system that can really annoy me when watching a highly anticipated film.

3) I hate people chattering loudly inside the moviehouse as if the whole theater was theirs. And I detest people who watched the film earlier, stayed for another screening only to tell what the next scene would be. Grrr!!!

4) I hate people who use their cellphones inside the theater. Then there are those who let their cells ring 15 to 20 seconds longer than necessary just to boast that they have a nice and catchy ring tune. And then those who speak on their phones as if the one they are speaking to was using a hearing aid. Somebody please ask the guard to shoo(t) these people! =)

5) I hate grimy seats and sticky floors.

6) I hate people who snore inside the theater.

7) I hate popcorn with too much or too little salt.

8) I hate drinks with too much ice on it that you can barely taste the liquid content.

9) I hate snobbish and bitchy ticket tellers. When I go to the moviehouse I want to be entertained and not annoyed by ill-mannered ticket booth attendants.

10) I hate dirty and stinky C.R.'s.

How about you?

Tales from the Enchanted Kingdom: Exodus (2005)

2006-01-01T02:03:00.000+08:00

Touted as the first Filipino film to have extensive use of CGI effects, Exodus stars Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. (yes he is currently a member of the Philippine senate! ) and his father ex-Senator Ramon Revilla Sr. (No wonder why these two didn't make enough laws to uplift the country from its economic woes!). Anyway, this movie which is partly produced by an amusement park company, the Enchanted Kingdom, was directed by the avant-garde director Erik Matti.

The plot of this movie is very simple that even if you go out of the moviehouse thirty times you would not miss anything. A certain barrio called Bantayan is plagued by shadowy men (literally and figuratively) who dresses up as carabaos and crawls even if they can walk upright. The leader of these poorly clad "monsters" is the Philippine RnB prince Jay-R (can't they find someone else?) who plays the role of Haring Bagulbol. This king of darkness prefers to bathe in , guess what, dirty water and has a fetish for oriental masks and flowing gowns.

Of course, the lead role with a forgettable name (thank God!) has to be assisted by four magical creatures. But from the recruitment part until the very last scene the movie moves on to a catatonic pace. The heroes travel around grasslands, forests and what looks like a soap factory that has been closed down. Though the movie has probably the most cinematic fight scenes in all Philippine fantasy movies, it fails miserably to excite the audience.

Here are the reasons why I think you should stay away from this movie:

1) It has no plot. Just watch the trailer and you already get the point of the film.
2) The production designer forgot that putting withered plants in the set does not really make it attractive.
3) The costume designer got confused whether Bong Revilla was playing a drag punk queen or Xena the warrior princess (what's with the bra and tiara anyway?).
4) The mascot of Enchanted Kingdom is so annoying and hard sells the amusement park where he resides.
5) It stars a senator who ought to be drafting laws for the country and an ex-senator whose only bill in Senate was the recognition of cockfighting as national sport.
6) It is endorsed by a senator, Franklin Drilon, who said on TV that you (as a Filipino) will feel proud to have seen this movie.

The Fanatic Verdict: Stay in your homes if you don't want to have your wallets ripped off.

The Family Stone (2005)

2005-12-23T00:18:00.000+08:00

Everybody hates her. And they show exactly what they feel.

The romantic dramedy The Family Stone is about a family befitting its family name. Stubborn, opinionated, strong individuals. These are what characterize members of the household that the uptight, obsessive compulsive Meredith Morton (Sarah Jessica Parker) meets during Christmas. She and boyfriend Everett (Dermott Mulroney) are set to announce their engagement but queer and quirky little things start happening around Meredith that family "gangs" up on her.

Most vocal of her vehement dislike for Meredith is Everett's youngest sister Amy (Rachel McAdams) whose sarcasm and meanness knows no equal. Then comes Everett's deaf brother Thad (Tyrone Giordano) who is in a relationship with a gay partner. Being conservative and orthodox, this doesn't sit well with Meredith and her parochial view on homosexual relationships and racial issues are challenged by the family. Even Everett's mom Sybil (Diane Keaton) does not hide her frustration with Meredith and there is no way she is giving her her mother's wedding ring as she has promised to Everett.

The only ally that Meredith has is Everett's playboy brother Ben (Luke Wilson) who shows real concern and compassion towards Meredith's uneasy situation. Things get more heated and emotional when Meredith asks her younger sister Julie (Claire Danes) to accompany her in the Stone home.

The movie manages to discuss sensitive issues on homosexuality, adoption in mixed-marriage, death of a family member, sex and infidelity with a candid verve and honesty. It does not pander on the melodrama or too easily give in to formulaic endings as many Hollywood movies are wont to. The values of deep respect, acceptance, asking for forgiveness and letting go make the movie truly enjoyable and satisfying to watch. This movie is perfect for this Christmas.

The fanatic verdict: go and watch it!!!

Deuce Bigelow: European Gigolo (2005)

2005-12-21T07:51:00.000+08:00

Irreverent. Rude. Sarcastic.

These may be the best terms to describe this sequel to the run-away hit Deuce Bigelow: Male Gigolo (1999). While the film mostly stayed in the formulaic plot of sexual mis-adventures with all sorts of women of different physical and psychological dysfunctions, the movie has inserted some pointed criticism against Western way of living.

The movie was a description, albeit a skewed one at that, of the two-pronged repercussion of civilization: progress and decadence. Amsterdam was pictured, for example, as a perfectly livable and hospitable city where almost anything banned in other cities is legal. Prostitution and sale of marijuana and hashhish are a common everyday fare. The city as T.J. (Eddie Griffin) said is like "Disneyland for college students" where the rich can waste away money and themselves.

Very noticeable in the movie was how the director's (or the writer's or producer's?) take on the U.S. imperialism and war-based economic policy. In one scene where Deuce (Rob Schneider) sported a loud American flag shirt, an anti- American shouted , "Fuck you American, you imperialistic dog!" but a plump European woman waved a tiny American flag while saying, "I love America, I love President Bush. Thank you for bringing democracy to Iraq. " The woman was hit in the head by a wooden shoe.

In another scene, Deuce was with the very beautiful but extremely obsessive compulsive woman, Eva (Hanna Verboom). A pathetically rude French guy kept pestering and abusing the two. Deuce told him, "In America we don't smoke in the Aquarium." The French retorted, "Oh yeah! Well, in Europe we don't unilaterally attack a country for its oil!" While the statement was clearly pointed to the Bush administration, the same could be said for European countries in its colonial days heydays.

That's the reason why when T.J. told Deuce that "black people all over the world will be forever grateful to the Dutch" for inventing chicken and waffles, the latter reminded him, "Did you know that the Dutch started the slave trade?" The movie also made a scathing remark on how Armsterdam has become "the new Sodom and Gomorrah." I don't know how the Dutch are taking the insult. Or if they care.

But perhaps the clearest merit of the film, although it was delivered as a tacked on preachy speech, was its sympathy for women. In the battle scene between Deuce and the jilted gigolo wannabe Gaspar Voorbosch (Jeroen Krabbe), which was projected on a giant screen outside the Man-Whore Union building, Deuce empathically lectured Gaspar that, contrary to what many men believed, women wanted more than sex. They want to be cared for, asked how their day was, told how beautiful they were inside despite their many physical limitations.

And Deuce was not simply sermonizing. He practiced what he preached. He brought the artificial leg of his wife to Europe as a sign of his loyalty to her. He was never mean to the women he dated. He even went to great lengths of bending down and accomodating Eva's 130 obsessive compulsive behaviors. In the end, his love for her, was able to "cure" some of her OC-ness.

That's what true love means, isn't it: curing each other's pain, healing each other's wound.

And did I tell you that the movie was funny too?

Why Kong is King

2005-12-17T08:35:00.000+08:00

Peter Jackson's three-hour long adaptation of King Kong was nothing short of epic. The gargantuan gorilla was given life and realistically-human personality capable of feeling love, fear, hatred and appreciation for beauty. The film, far from the reasonable fear of critics and fans, did not sacrifice artistic content of the story.

Jackson did not just create a monster who fell in love with a beautiful woman. What he did was cull from his imagination how a creature who knew violence as a way of life could be tamed into a gentle beast capable of using violence as the only means to save his loved one. In effect, Jackson did nothing more than project what human beings are capable of doing when their loved ones are threatened by harm.

Though the movie took exactly three hours to finish, there was not a single boring moment in the film. Every scene built up into the climax and sometimes even outdid previous scenes in eliciting horror, suspense and exhiliration among the audience. Noteworthy in the movie are the spectacular production design, the cutting edge effects that make Spielberg's Jurassic Park a movie for three year olds, the breath-taking cinematography and wonderful sound track and editing. And of course the battle between Kong and the hungry T-Rexes.

I would also like to mention the fine acting of Naomi Watts as Ann Darroway. I did not find Jack Black's portrayal of the mad movie director Carl Denham convincing though. Probably because I keep seeing him as the looney substitute teacher in School of Rock. I only had one wish, that Jackson could have picked a more attractive actor to play Jack Driscoll than the fresh from the grave Adrien Brody. But hey, if Ann could fall in love with a gorilla, why not with Adrien?

Top 12 Most Romantic Movies I Have Ever Seen

2005-12-13T08:53:00.000+08:00

(and would like to see again, and again, and again!!!)

I don't know about you, but as for me, I love romantic movies. Here are just a few of what I love.
Can you identify at least 8 of them? The first one is bonus.

Joyeux Noël

2005-12-10T22:50:00.000+08:00

(aka Merry Christmas)

Beguiling in its simplicity yet profoundly moving and honest in its portrayal of the human side of war, Joyeux Noël, is a movie that must be seen by people of all nations and faiths. Wars haves so ravaged us and have made us so cynical about the nature of men as killing machines that we sometimes tend to forget that soldiers, though they may belong to an enemy state, are humans too.

Set during the First World War somewhere between the borders of France and Germany, French, German and Scottish soldiers discovered for themselves the absurdity of war. In just one Christmas night of fellowship and truce they had learned more than they could in their lifetime: the meaning of brotherhood that binds all men and women. When the German tenor Nikolaus Sprink (Benno Fürmann) sang for his troops to lift their spirits up, little did he know that he would start a spontaneous reaction with the opposing camps.

As soon as the Scots heard his beautiful and heart-rending rendition of Silent Night, they joined him with their bagpipe instruments. A little later the French joined the fraternal exchange of singing and they crossed the no man's land to exchange their champagne with chocolates from their enemies. Captains of the three regiments declared the night a night of peace and soldiers of the three camps rejoiced and celebrated Christmas as if they were at home with their own brothers.

Filled with poignant scenes of the anxious and bitter separation of parents with their children, brothers with brothers and of lovers, Joyeux Noel managed not to pander on over-sentimentality. It has touches of light humor and beams with hope and optimism. Towards the end of Christmas night, Fr. Palmer (Gary Lewis) celebrated Mass for all of them. It was very moving to see and hear the battle-scarred and war-hardened soldiers forget their native languages and responded in Latin.

Equally noteworthy in the movie is Ana Sorensen's (Diane Krüger) portrayal of the faithful girlfriend to Sprink. Her haunting voice (I don't know it it is really hers) lent a chilling background to the already freezing temperature of the battlefield.

Joyeux Noël brings home the true message of Christmas: that we can see through the barriers of skin color, nationality and religion if we take to heart the meaning of being all sons and daughters of one God.

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros (2005)

2005-12-04T23:42:00.000+08:00

Just when everybody thinks that the Filipino Film is dead (or in a coma), once in a while a breath of genuis, passion and creativity comes to resurrect the moribund movie industry. In the recent years, quality films have been produced independently or by art-minded producers that have competed and won in international film festivals: a tribute to enduring legacy of Brocka and Bernal. Anino (Shadow), Mga Pusang Gala (Stray Cats), Ilusyon (Illusion) and The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros are just a random sampling of these artistic indies that have made names for the Philippines and earned the respect and admiration of international filmmakers and festival organizers.

And with the latter film's showing in various competition, the Filipino Filmmakers are once again given nod and notice. This could very well lead to more and more Filipinos (directors and producers alike) cashing in on local talents for inspiration. The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros is one of a kind in its time and its handling of the very sensitive issue on homosexuality in patriarchal and conservative Catholic Philippines.

Maxi, the lead role ably portrayed by Nathan Lopez, was not parodied and made an object of abjection and laughter in this film. Rather, the true personality, dreams and aspirations of the pre-pubescent male homosexual was allowed to emerge. Maxi was the youngest in a family of petty thugs and small-time fixers. His father, Paco, was respected in their community though he was known to be a criminal element. He loved his three sons (Boy, Bogs and Maxi) and was painted as a doting father especially to his youngest.

The two brothers protected their kid sibling as they would a very precious gem. They even went to the extent of mugging street thugs who tried to molest their brother. Meanwhile, Maxi's "blossoming" came when a rookie cop rescued him from his two assailants and an odd but intimate friendship developed between the two. However, when Victor's desire to be a good cop got into the way of the Oliveros' way of life, the real problem emerged and Maxi was put into a dilemma of siding with his family and being true for the love he felt for Victor.

In the end, Maxi's true "blossoming" happened when he stood for what he knew was right even though he had to sacrifice his personal love and affection. The film's strengths lie in the director's (Aureaus Solito's) able direction and the taut script and narration of the scriptwriter (Michiko Yamamoto of Magnifico). Commendable in the film is the flawless acting of the supporting actors (Soliman Cruz, Ping Medina and Neil Ryan Sese) and the believable portrayal of Maxi's character by Nathan Lopez and Victor's (JR Valentin) credible acting.

Wonderful soundtrack and the gritty and raw footages lend the film additional aesthetic appeal.
All in all, The Blossoming, is Filipino society, with all its color, pain, joys, ruin and redemption, captured in digital image.

Two thumbs up!!!

Original Title: "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros"
Country: Philippines
International Citations: Sundance, Singapore, Brussels and Montreal Film Festivals
Directed by: Aureaus Solito

King Kong (1933)

2005-12-01T22:14:00.000+08:00

Call me hopeless romantic or incurably nostalgic but King Kong (1933) was one of the few movies that had an enormous impact on me. I saw this movie when I was about eight and I remember going back home in tears. Why do they have to kill such a gentle and loving beast, I asked myself. They could have kept him in cage and he would not do any harm. I really thought the movie was for real!

And there goes a lesson for film directors. A story, no matter how ridiculously conceived, if allowed to touch the basic human emotions-- compassion, love, mercy--will triumph. And not only at the tills but in the hearts of people for generations to come. The plot of the original version is very simple. I might have forgotten the details but I vividly remember that there were a group of adventurers or explorers who ventured into a virgin island wrought with mystery. There, they (the men) brought a beautiful woman (Fay Wray), I don't know why they did that, and then the woman was kidnapped by tribesmen.

The beautiful woman was to be sacrificed to Kong (I don't know whose actor was inside his costume or if he was even recognized for playing the lead role) when her beau John (Bruce Cabot) and her friends rescued her and put Kong to sleep using a stun gun. Then they transported him to New York via a very large ship. They later presented Kong as the Eighth Wonder of the World to the public. He was instant celebrity. But at this time Fay was already falling, not in love but... in compassion with him. (Pardon the expression). And in turn, the Kong was also falling in love with her.

When Kong thought that the reporters (the paparazzi of the 30's) were mugging Ann, he escaped from his cage and tried to rescue his princess bride. Then we all know the famous Empire State Building scene which has been copied and parodied by a dozen movies. And of course, the massacre of the gentle giant by helicopters with machine guns. Sob.

Fantastic movie! I can't wait to see the re-make. I have one hope though: that Director Peter Jackson keeps the human/ape/humane story intact and not get overexcited with special effects. Do I hear you saying Godzilla?

This film was directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack.

Grrrrr!!!!!

Chicken Little (2005)

2005-11-29T22:30:00.000+08:00

When the world has gone too big, sometimes it helps to be 'little'.

Have you ever waken up to a day when nothing you ever did was right? Like totally screwing the tiny little ordinary things of everyday life? Now consider Chicken Little's woes. He has a father who was his school, nay, his town's athletic sensation during his school days. Chicken Little was not only born "teeny-weeny" but he also lacks the physical prowess his dad has and growing up in a small and closely-knit community of Oakey Oaks, doesn't help at all. He has become the butt of jokes of his classmates and friends ever since his fiasco with "a piece of sky has fallen" incident. And since then, he has not done any good deed to make his father proud of him.

To make the matters worse, Chicken Little has teamed up with a bunch of losers for friends. But whatever Chicken Little lacks in stature, he more than compensates for magnanimity of heart and dauntless courage. Eventhough his own father has given up on him, Chicken Little dreams big and hopes high, often against all odds and against all expectations.

A year after the humiliating experience of the waking the whole town to a "false" emergency case, Chicken Little resolves to make one day of his life just right and win back the town's respect and restore his father's belief in him. He was given that chance one day only to lose it again the next. But there is really no stopping this littlest but incurably optimist little fellow when he and his friends try to rescue their town, and the whole planet from planetary takeover of ferocious aliens.

A very touching scene in the film is the one involving a confrontation between Chicken Little and his father. It's amazing how a cartoon can make one cry and resonate with the reality that we need our loved ones to believe in us in order for us to do extraordinary things. This film restores our trust to that deep, intimate and divine love we feel towards people who make us BIG, especially when we feel very small.

Chicken Little: They say that having no closure can lead to molting, and? and I'm already small enough as it is and I don't think I can handle being bald!

Directed by Mark Dindal.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

2005-11-28T00:28:00.000+08:00

I broke two personal moviefanatic creeds I made a long time ago: 1) not to watch any horror movies again after I spent four sleepless nights over Sixth Sense and The Exorcist 2) and not to review horror films in this blog. My friends convinced me to watch this movie because it was not at all "scary." I have a terribly active imagination, especially at night, after watching a horror flick. I "see" things I don't see before. I guess late night horror radio program before I went to bed when I was six must have really paid off. OK, Cut the dramatics!

Scott Derrickson's The Exorcism of Emily Rose, is a controversial film. A Catholic website posted a prayer by one parishioner saying that the movie "is anti-Catholic and should not be watched by church-going people." Stories about the failed Exorcism circulated around the internet and some made it into the papers claiming facts about the incident. Whatever is the truth about Emily Rose, sure boosted the film's theatrical sales.

The plot is simple enough to follow: a devout Catholic college girl was attacked by what she called "evil spirit" when she was alone in her dormitory one night. Since then the devil or devils as we later learned has not left her in peace. Emily (Jennifer Carpenter) was described by people who knew her as sweet, happy and intelligent girl. She attended advance cathechism and was into ancient languages to help her understand the Bible better. She was the last person, everyone expected to have demonic possessions.

When the doctor's prescription proved inutile to remedy Emily's condition, her parish priest, Fr.Richard Moore (Tom Wilkinson) prescibed spiritual healing. Emily and her family consented to the ritual of exorcism but Emily died in the process. A charge of homicide out of negligence was pressed against Fr. Richard and a brilliant God-fearing Methodist lawyer (Campbell Scott) was called in to prosecute him. On the other side, an equally gifted but agnostic female lawyer was hired by the archdiocese to settle the case in the Catholic church's favor.

Atty. Erin Bruner (Laura Linney) was only interested in winning the case so she could climb a step higher up the corporate ladder. She had none to lose except, when extraordinary circumstances happen to her and her star witness, lose her unbelief. The trial becomes a test of faith versus the cold facts of science. Bruner saw a courtroom battle that could be won by razor-sharp logic and sweet-tongue persuasion, Fr. Richard saw a war between the forces of evil with the forces of good.

The scariest part of the movie is not in the film itself. It is in leaving the theater, when one is in one's own room and alone in one's own thoughts. And whether one believes in God or not, makes an awful lot of difference.

Rear Window (1954)

2005-11-23T08:29:00.000+08:00

Alfred Hitchcock's critically acclaimed and commercially successful thriller Rear Window defies singular categorization. It is at once a Film Noir, Black Comedy, Suspense and Drama. Starring the hunk of the fifties (who was I think in his fifties at that time, which makes him over a hundred by now!!!) James Stewart and the ever-alluring Grace Kelly. Stewart also starred in Vertigo and The Man who Shot Liberty Valance while Kelly lent her stellar presence in To Catch a Thief and Dial M for Murder.

This film makes an interesting specimen for Film students and those who have had indigestion of Hollywood special effects-driven films recently (me included!). For one, it is an allegory of the experience of cinema and the voyeuristic attraction of movies to cinephiles (you and me). The plot is deceptively simple: a wheelchair bound photojournalist, J. L. Jeffries, could not get out of his apartment and was reduced to watching his neighboors from his flat's rear window. He thought he witnessed a murder so he watched more closely.

Meanwhile his insurance firm nurse, Stella, told him to get a life and marry Lisa who was a perfect woman. But that was Jeffries problem, he found Lisa too perfect for his disorderly and unpredictable life. He did not want to complicate things. Until the suspicion of the murder brought them closer to one another in their desire to uncover the truth about the mysterious disappearance of Mrs. Thorwalds and the erratic behavior of Lars Thorwalds.

The film is a rare treat for a fifties film and the narrative is densely packed with suspense and intrigue. Hitchcock will not be called the Master of Suspense for nothing. But this films brings in more than entertainment value, it puts the classic question that artists and nationalists have struggled and debated to answer: is art for art's sake or is it a social institution as well? How do we differentiate commercial from art films? Who decides which is which?

For the meantime, while watching the movie, we are asked, was there really a murder? What is the role of the director, the actor, the cameramen and the audience in determining the action happening in the film? Can be we passive observers or active participants in the whole cinema experience? This film is available on DVD!

The Island (2005)

2005-11-07T12:46:00.000+08:00

If you were rich and famous wouldn't you want to live forever?

This was the central question that the movie directed by Michael Bay tried to answer.

The year was 2022 and Americans had perfected the technology of cloning. A multi-billion dollar corporation, Merrick Incorporated, was raking in a lot of profit after it had built an underground facility to clone humans and harvest their internal organs. The filthy rich and powerful people had availed of Merrick's promise of eternal life and the CEO, Merrick (Sean Bean) and his board of directors, were willing to deliver exactly that promise to them.

Under the Sector Four section, the clones were ignorant of the scheme. They were made to believe that a viral contamination wiped out the entire human population. Down below, they were safe from infection. They lived like zombies and automatons who ate, drank, played, worked, went to school but forbidden to get too close to one another. Under this set up everything seemed peaceful and orderly, except for people like Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor), who was bothered by frequent nightmares and irregularities in the facility.

People at the facility lived normal yet surreal lives. Theirs was a life of boring routine. So to keep their spirits up, a lottery was devised to "choose" "special" people to live and populate The Island, Earth's last remaining frontier. Lincoln's friend Jordan (Scarlett Johannson), was chosen to be onThe Island. However, Lincoln discovered the ruse and secret of Merrick and how people were disposed off after their organs were harvested. He convinced Jordan to escape from imminent death. Together the two, with the help of a mechanic, McCord (Steve Buscemi), planned to look for their sponsors and spill Merrick's dark secrets to the public.

Merrick on the other hand wanted Jordan to be back in the lab because her sponsor, the one who commissioned cloning her, needed Jordan's internal organs within 48 hours or she'll be forever in coma. Merrick hired the service of agent Laurent (Djimon Hounsou) to track Lincoln and Jordan down and to prevent disaster from happening.

What the two fugitives found at the real world was more shocking that what they had expected to find in the facility.

Verdict: Watch it and talk about it!

Flightplan (2005)

2005-11-01T16:58:00.000+08:00

Fasten your seatbelts. Put your trays in upright position. Turbulence ahead.

Jodie Foster reprises her role as woman/mother-in-distress in this Robert Schwenke film, Flightplan. With the same adrenaline-pumping, edge-of-your seat action thriller that she gave us in Panic Room, Jodie never fails to excite but also makes us empathize with the character she is playing. And in this movie, with taut story line and believable plot, Jodie brings us to a 37,000 ft high psycho-emotional thrill.

Kyle had just been through a traumatic episode. Her husband died of a freak accident, falling off a building in Germany. Kyle decided to bring their daughter Julia (Marlene Lawston) to New York so they can both recover from the tragedy and bury her husband. On board the 747 aircraft that Kyle designed something freaky happened: Julia went missing and nobody wanted to admit that she was on board.

The frantic search began. Passengers' manifesto was checked. Boarding passes examined. Every cabin and crook and cranny of the jumbo jet was inspected and every Tom, Dick and Harry questioned as to the possible whereabouts of Julia but no one knew where she was. Everybody, including the plane head pilot, Capt. Rich (Sean Bean) believed that Kyle was insane and was becoming dangerous to the 450 passengers on board so he ordered air marshall Carson (Peter Sarsgaard) to keep an eye on her.

Towards the end, Kyle was becoming convinced that she was hallucinating and that her daughter died a few days ago with her dad. However, a tiny but vital piece of the puzzle told Kyle that her daughter was still alive and she was going to find her at all cost. Kyle then understood that something very irregular and malicious was being played on her and she would not be taken in for a bumpy, turbulent ride.

Director and cast deserve full credit for this wonderful film. It's truly amazing how a very simple plot can give a fantastic story line. Jodie once again has proven how effective an actress she is.

Two thumbs up!!!

The Legend of Zorro (2005)

2005-10-30T18:41:00.000+08:00

When you are tired and the weather is not good, the traffic is bad and you're in a balmy mood, you can go lock yourself in your room or go out and watch a cheesy, romantic, swashbuckling family fun adventure. The choice is yours. As for myself I opted for the latter.

The plot: California wanted to join Old Abe's Union but some old gringoes did not want to lose their colony to a Federate Republic. A ballot-snatcher was sent to steal the votes and prevent Californians from achieving independence. The bell was tolled. Zorro came to the rescue. Zorro would have retired by that time but the call of heroism was too strong to resist.

He and wife Elena had an argument that ended in their divorce. Meanwhile an arrogant Spanish count, Armand, bought a huge tract of land to be converted into a "vineyard." Elena, who was three months separated from her beau, learned of the evil scheme of Armand and tried to learn as much as she could to stop it.

Don Alejandro dela Vega, the spurned husband, grew despondent every day. He even failed to rescue his friend Guillermo from bandits that raided the latter's home. Utterly dejected, he went to the church and confronted the Blessed Virgin. His prayer at the church is one of the most beautiful we can ever hear uttered by a superhero:

"I'm used to listening to my heart, but it's now speaking to me in darkness. Please grant me light and courage that I may learn what you want me to do. " (or something to that effect, can't find as of the moment the exact text but I vow I will!).

Meanwhile, the precocious and young trouble-maker Joaquin grew more and more distant from his dad, whom he believed was incapable of being a good father and husband to his mother. Between the call of duty and the role of being a family man, Zorro rode his ever faithful horse and rose to the occasion. What follows was an astonishing fight and love scenes that would surely delight people of all ages.

But personally, for me, the first Zorro (The Mask of Zorro), was better. Still this new Zorro kicked some butt.

Hephep! Hurray!

The Corpse Bride (2005)

2005-10-23T19:54:00.000+08:00

From the morbid imagination of Director Tim Burton comes another funny, touching, out-of-this-world story. The Corpse Bride is an amusing tale of Victor Van Dort (voice and facial features of Johnny Depp), the ever-shy, perpetually-clumsy and nervous-as-hell fiance of Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson), and a bride-in-waiting until death becomes her, Emily (Helena Bonham Carter).

The plot is simple enough for even dead people (oops! pardon the expression, didn't mean to be rude) to understand: one nouveau riche family (the Van Dorts) wants to marry off their only son, Victor to a royally-bankrupt, pretentious, scheming family's (the Everglots) daughter, Victoria, so the latter could pay off their debts and get out of famine's way. All would have been well had not the young Victor, because of his over-zealousness and excitement at seeing his beautiful bride for first time, committed terrible blunders during the wedding practice. Out of embarrassment, he ran away into the forest and there tried to correct the mistakes he had done by practicing the words he should have said at the rehearsal.

As fate would have it, as soon as he perfected the formula words and as soon as he slipped the wedding ring into what he thought was a twig, a voice said: "I do." A corpse dressed in wedding gown rose up and pursued him for a wedding kiss. Victor woke up in an abode of the dead. Everyone, including his new "wife", Emily, was happy except the poor Victor who desperately wanted to go back to the land of the living so he could marry Emily.

Meanwhile, the treacherous and cunning Count Barkis was hatching a plan to usurp Victoria from Victor. He presented himself to Victoria's parents as a rich and willing bachelor, ever-ready to marry Victoria and give her wealth beyond compare. Naturally, the greedy Everglots jumped at the idea. They arranged Victoria to wed the Count. Victor learned of Emily's sad story and Victoria's planned wedding to the Count. He devised a plan to go up once more by consummating his marriage with Emily on a church.

WARNING: SPOILER AT THE END!

The twist at the end of the story is (how shall I say it? ... heart-warming. Victor was willing to die for Emily (after all his heart is dead the moment Victoria marries Barkis). But true love, sacrifice and sweet vengeance step in to reunite real lovers and unmask the impostor and defiler of women. Barkis was the bethrothed of Emily who left her for dead after taking away with him her entire dowry.
Quotable Quotes:

Emily: I was a bride. My dreams were taken from me. But now - now I've stolen them from someone else. I love you, Victor, but you are not mine.
Barkis: Can a heart still break after it's stopped beating?

Cinderella Man (2005)

2005-10-06T16:32:00.000+08:00

I had a very low expectation of this film since I heard that critics gave it a low passing mark. So when I saw it last Sunday I was happy to prove the critics wrong (once more!). Ron Howard who produced The Missing and A Beautiful Mind (also starring Russel Crowe) directs this story of a Depression-era boxer James J. Braddock who made an astonishing come back from the dead victory over light heavy-weight champ Max Baer (Craig Bierko). Saddled by financial problems and a broken right fist, James was reduced to being a laborer at the docks earning a few dollars barely enough to keep his family from freezing to death inside their shabby apartment.

When an opportunity knocked, James let it enter and embraced it openly. His wife, the ever beautiful Mae (Renee Zellweger of Down with Love, Chicago and Cold Mountain) was against his profession fearing that one day, James would come home inside a coffin. She did not attend any of his fights and forbade her children from listening over radio broadcasts of their father's fight. So every time James would arrive home, the family was in a tensed suspense, anticipating his winning but also fearing his lost.

With the help of Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti of American Splendor and Sideways) James was able to regain his boxing license and his chance to prove to the world that the Bulldog of Oregon and the Champion of New Jersey, the pride of the Irish and American people was still delivering solid punches and great games.

On the more personal side, I like the movie because it teaches a lot of good values for the whole family. James for example asked his son Howard (Patrick Louis) to return the piece of meat he stole from the butcher's shop, even though the family had nothing to eat and would starve to death. Or his paternal selflessness and sacrifice when Rosemarie, her darling little girl asked for an extra piece of meatloaf and he pretended that he was too full to eat it. James returned (and added some more) the money he asked from charity on his first winning fight. He also risked his life for a friend who was in danger. As a family man, he showed that the most important thing, when confronted by many problems, was to stick together. And this he lived when his wife sent his children to her parents' home. James begged from his former bosses for a money to get them back.

Over all, Cinderella Man, is about a man whose love for his wife, children and friends make him a champion fighter in and out of the ring. It is a story of a man whose dreams, aspirations and heart are bigger than the world of sufferings he encounters in life.

Two raised gloves! A total knock-out!

Director: Ron Howard
Cast: Russel Crowe, Paul Giamatti, Renee Zellwegger

Billy Elliot

2005-10-02T08:30:00.000+08:00

Stephen Daldry's ambitious film Billy Elliot soars high with the critics and the movie-going public. Set in a mining town embroiled with labor dispute, Billy Elliot is a movie about doing what you really want to do and being what you really want to be despite the odds of being rejected and ostracized. Billy's father who works in a mining camp (Gary Lewis) wants his son to follow after his lead: be a boxer or football player. He disapproves of his elder son's activism and the last thing he wants to see is his younger son dancing, and dancing ballet!

But Billy (Jamie Bell) has the heart and talent to become a ballet sensation. With the aid of a lovelorn mid-life-ing but tough and determined ballet instructor (Julie Walters) Billy is out to prove the world and his dad that there is nothing wrong with following one's dream even if that dream takes you to a place where only a few appreciates and understands you. So Billy hangs his boxing gloves and exchanges them for a pair of ballet shoes and starts what will later be a lifelong love-affair with dancing.

Of interest in the movie is the background story of Billy's dead mother and the increasing isolation between Billy and his Dad, between the two brothers and between his Dad and his brother. Billy Elliot manages to be at once a heartfelt story without pandering on the melodrama, it is funny and at times poignant but in the end it is really a story of acceptance, forgiveness and the triumph of the human spirit to soar high above personal dilemmas.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Billy's father finally has recognized that his son is as normal as any other boy and that he is his son no matter what he chooses to be and to do. Father and son, playfully tease each other, laughing out loud until they fell on the grass and embrace one another.

Billy Elliot has recently been turned into a West End musical with composition by no less than Sir Elton John who also produced the musical.

Wonderful, entertaining and heart-warming!

Director: Stephen Daldry
Cast: Jamie Bell. Gary Lewis, Julie Walters
Released: 2000
Country: Britain

Kolya

2005-09-30T17:10:00.000+08:00

Louka (Zdenek Sverak), a fifty-something cellist who had nothing to be proud of in himself except his sexual virility and adventures with women, agreed to marry a Soviet immigrant for a fee. Initially hesistant of the arrangement, he relented when he saw that the woman was attractive enough to whet his insatiable appetite for younger women. But he was dismayed that his new "wife" ran off to Germany leaving her five-year old Russian son to his care. Kolya (Andrei Chalimon) did not know how to speak Czech nor he, Russian, so they were off into a confusing culture clash that exposed each other's vulnerability.

This film had the Communist Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia for its setting. When Louka did not accept the Soviets' proposal that he work for them, he was sacked from the prestigious Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and he ended up playing dirges at funerals. But this did not dampen his naughtiness and free-spirited, devil-may-care attitude towards life and its vicissitudes until Kolya came his way. Precocious, innocent, fragile and desperately needing love, Kolya somehow mirrored Louka's inner personality. Through Kolya, he learned to take care of a soul other than his own. And through him, Kolya learned the meaning of trust and hope.

Together, the "father-and-son" pair learned to love each other and teach each other that friendship between two perfect strangers (belonging to nations of opposing ideologies at that) was possible. Allegorically, the movie tells of Czech peoples "marriage" with the Soviet nation which brought about an initially unwanted "baby." And since what had been done, cannot be undone, the Czechs had to accept things and move on (but not simply an acceptance that is blind to the terrible and sometimes ugly lessons of the past) and start anew.

The repeated theme on Psalm 23, The Lord is My Shepherd, Christian symbolisms and images provided a clue that this was no ordinary film. Aside from people finding each other, it is about a God who constantly looks for us, finds us and takes us home especially when we have exiled ourselves too long and too far.

Excellent. Tugs at the heart and leaves lasting impression.

Trivia: The director and the main actor are real-life father and son.

Director: Jan Sverak
Cast: Zdenek Sverak, Andrei Chalimon, Libuse Sanfrankova, Ondrej Vetchy
Released: 1996
Country: Czech Republic

Le Papillon

2005-09-20T22:52:00.000+08:00

When you're tired and cranky and in a foul mood it's good to sit down and relax and watch a film like Le Papillon (The Butterfly). Films such as these, no matter how simple they may be, make you feel that, contrary to what you think, life is truly worth living.

An irritable, aging lepedeptorist (butterfly collector, that is) meets a precocious, inquisitive little girl and their lives are not the same again (Oh, I hate lines like that but it's true). Julien (Michel Serrault) is an avid butterfly collector who embarks on a yearly journey to catch the elusive Isabela butterfly that lives only for three days and three nights. Little does he know that her neighbor's daughter, Elsa (Claire Bouanich) hides inside his car to be with him.

Julien is torn between sending back the girl to her mom (Nade Dieu) (who has been amiss with her motherly duties to Elsa) and tagging her along in his three-day search for the butterfly. But Elsa is so clever that she is able to devise a plan to be with Julien. What happens along the way is an amusing story of how two people, so different from one another can help find each other escpecially if they themselves are looking for something in common.

Julien's past life is revealed and so is Elsa's present predicament. Then an accident prompts mother and Julien to face up things that for so long have frightened them. Sometimes, we keep looking for things from far away places only to find them eagerly waiting for us.

Truly a magical, magnificent metamorphic movie!

Quotable quotes:
On love that hangs by the thread, "If it's true love, it does not ask for proofs. Asking for proofs means there is no trust. If there is no trust, then there is no love." - Julien

"Why do we say we 'fell in love' and not 'rise in love'? My mother fell in love and got pregnant
at the same time." - Elsa

Director: Philippe Muyl
Cast: Michel Serrault, Claire Bouanich, Nade Dieu
Country: France
Released: 2004

Raise the Red Lantern

2005-09-19T22:24:00.000+08:00

Zhang Yimou's allegorical adaptation of Su Tong's Raise the Red Lantern has won critical and blockbuster acclaim. Set probably in the pre-Revolution China, it is a deceptively simple story of a fourth mistress of a wealthy Chinese who dares defy generations-old tradition of concubinage and unwritten familial codes. Songlian (Gong Li) becomes the fourth concubine of a nameless Master (his face is hidden from beginning until the end) when her father unexpectedly dies and she has to quit university schooling. Unable to support her family, her mother arranges her marriage.

From the very begining, we see Songlian as a defiant, rebelious and diffident woman. She does not take the marriage coach that is supposed to pick her up. She upsets rules in the household by making impossible demands on the Master. She concocts ideas to show the other three wives that is educated and will not bow to their caprice. She however finds the household antagonistic towards her. A maid, Yan 'er (Kong Lin), is assigned to attend to her who despises her and spits on her laundry. We later learn that she is jealous of her as she too wants to be a concubine herself.

If anything, Songlian hates competition. Even the third mistress' (He Caifei) machinations are no match to her stubborness and cunning. (To get the Master's favor, Songlian pretends that she is pregnant.) Only the second mistress (Cao Cuifen) seems to have developed a liking for her. But the latter's duplicity is revealed when Songlian sees a voodoo doll bearing her name, pricked with several needles, inside Yan'er's room. It is the second wife's doing and from then a bitter struggle between Songlian and her begins.

Other intrigue such as the illicit affair between the second mistress and the family physician, Doctor Hao, is revealed and ends disastrously. And the mystery of the locked rooftop room shakes Songlian no end.

This film was disapproved by the Chinese government because it dangerously paralleled the corruption in the mainland and its ruthless exposition of the powers that oppress people and make lives miserable for the citizens.

A beautifully haunting movie meant to be seen by everyone.

Director: Zhang Yimou (Ju Dou, To Live, The Long Road Home, House of Flying Daggers)
Cast: Gong Li, Kong Lin, Hei Caifei, Cao Cuifen
Country: China
Released: 1991

La Vita e Bella

2005-09-16T18:07:00.000+08:00

This very controversial tragicomedy by Roberto Benigni hit the U.S. and Europe like a lightning bolt. It infuriated the conservative Jewish community calling it "an insensitive portrayal of the Jewish concentration camps" by taking the Holocaust lightly and by "poking fun at the sufferings of the Jews." I even had a friend who actively campaigned not to watch it by posting internet reviews highly critical of the film.

Since criticisms came strong, I had to watch the film myself and see whether the allegations were true. I was grateful that I listened to my 'reel' instincts or I lost my chance of watching one of the most wonderful films of all time.

Guido (Roberto Benigni) was a happy-go-lucky Italian Jew who had only humour and belief in the power of imagination and of love up his sleeves when he courted the beautiful Dora (Nicolleta Braschi) who was currently engaged to a Fascist. But the power of love triumphed as Dora chose him over his fiance and together they started to build a family of their own.

But this was during Hitler's war and the Reich was determined to wipe out all the traces of Jewish blood on the face of the earth. Jews from Italy were deported to the German borders where they would remain inside the concentration camps. Dora insisted that there had been a mistake, that her family had been taken inside the death trains. But the German soldier said that there was no mistake: only Jews were to be taken. Her son, including. Unwilling to depart from her loved ones she made the ultimate sacrifice of shedding her racial identity and taking on a Jew's so she could be with them, until death. The second half of the film begun here with its muffled poignancy and suffering disguised and hidden from Guido's son, Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini) and revealed only to the viewers.

Equally unwilling to let Giosue experience the horrors of war and the inhumanity of life inside the concentration camp, Guido invented a game of make-believe where the price was not only freedom but a lifelong gratitude and love and affection.

Having seen the film at last, I can say that it deserved it's Oscar nod (Best Picture and Best Actor) but not it's unfounded accusations. Go out and rent a copy!!!

Director: Roberto Benigni
Cast: Roberto Benigni, Nicolleta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini
Country: Italy

Central Station

2005-09-14T19:42:00.000+08:00

Released in the same year we saw La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful) in 1998, some critics have argued that this Walter Salles film should have won the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film. I like both movies equally and can't decide as of the moment which one is really better.

Central Station comes to me as a type of film that quietly creeps into your system, invades you and leaves you...transformed. The director has a knack for making suffering a thing of beauty and tragedy a work of art. We see Dora (Fernanda Montenegro), the former teacher who mulcts money from illiterate people by writing letters for their loved ones. We are aghast to learn that she does not mail them but keeps them piled inside a cabinet. What kind of woman is she, we ask.

Then comes Josue (Vinicius de Oliveira), the innocent young boy whose father runs away from them. Desperate, his young and beautiful mother hires Dora's service, asking him to support the boy. It seems that 'Madame Misery' (the evil twin sister of Lady Luck) is sneering at them. Josue's mother is killed in a freak accident while crossing a street in Sao Paolo, leaving him a complete orphan.

As Fate would have it, Dora and Josue are united by this bizaare circumstance. Dora at first, has nothing to do with the boy. But the boy has nowhere to go to and she has "promised" that the letter would reach Josue's father. Dora takes him in and together they search for the missing father. What they find along the way is more than what they expect. This is a tale friendship found at an unlikely place between two unlikely people, a story of love that binds complete strangers and a living testament that hope springs eternal.

Trivia: The two main characters in Life is Beautiful are named Dora and Giosue. Coincidental?

Director: Walter Salles (Motorcycle Diaries, Dark Water)
Cast: Fernanda Montenegro, Vinicius de Oliveira, Othon Bastos,
Country: Brasil

El Crimen del Padre Amaro

2005-09-11T00:23:00.000+08:00

Based on the 1875 novel by Eca de Queiros, El Crimen del Padre Amaro reeks of scandals, intrigues and corruption in a predominantly Catholic Mexican Church. Bright, handsome, charismatic and newly ordained, Padre Amaro (Gabriel Garcia Bernal) was sent to a far flung village in Mexico to assist the aging curate Padre Benito (Sancho Gracia). On his way to the parish, the bus he was riding on was robbed by highwaymen, presaging a violent ending to the story.

When he arrived at the parish church, he was immediately captivated by the young and beautiful Amelia (Ana Maria Talancon) , a volunteer catechist. Padre Amaro was shocked to learn that the curate was keeping a mistress, Sanjuanera (Angelica Aragon), Amelia's mother, for a long time now. He also learned the the parish priest was building a big public hospital using laundered money from a local druglord. Meanwhile, a summons from the bishop brought Amaro to the city with a mission to bring back to the fold a rebel priest, Padre Natalio (Damian Alcazar), suspected of aiding communists.

While all these were happening, a passionate and forbidden love affair erupted between Amaro and the sixteen year-old Amelia. Things turned really nasty and uncontrollable when Amelia told Amaro that she was pregnant and when Amelia's erstwhile boyfriend who was a journalist learned about this and the above controversies.

A scathing criticism on the power that corrupts while it pretends to be at the service of the oppressed.

Outstanding performance from Bernal and Gracia. Fast-paced story. Chilling conclusion.

Directed by: Carlos Carrera
Cast: Gabriel Garcia Bernal, Ana Maria Talancon, Angelica Aragon, Damian Alcazar, Sancho Gracia
Released: 2002
Country: Mexico

Les Choristes

2005-09-10T17:25:00.000+08:00

Christophe Barratier's unassuming and heart-warming film Les Choristes is a remake of a 1945 classic, Le Cage aux Rossingols. Set in the post-war French provence, a retired teacher, Clement Mathieu (Gerard Jugnot) seeks his fortune in an infamously known reformatory school for orphaned boys, petty criminals and street urchins. From his first day of school he has encountered troubles from disturbed rascals and incorrigibles. The schoolmaster has known only one philosophy in life and he has zealously applied this to the young boys: Action = Reaction. Read: for every misdeed an equivalent corporal punishment is meted out.

But the kindly and genial new teacher, Monsieur Mathieu knows that there is only one way to reach out to these troubled children: through their hearts. So he arranges a class to teach them music and
choir singing. At first he meets strong resistance and pessimism from the school head and some members of the faculty. But soon his labors reap rewards when the Duchess visits the school one day and is enamored of the boys' angelic singing.
Through the gentleness of music, Monsieur Mathieu teaches the boys discipline, camaraderie and their purpose in life, that is, to make music and let it resound into their very hearts and the hearts of people around them. Told in the voice of Monsieur Mathieu's youngest pupil and adopted son Pepinot (Maxence Perrin, the adorable son of Jacques Perrin, Cinema Paradiso, Flight of the Innocents, Olivier! Olivier!) to his childhood friend and classmate Morhange (Bonnaire/Jacques Perrin) who is now a famous concert conductor, Les Choristes scores big in the hearts of the audience and critics alike. Comparable to Mr. Holland's Opus, Dead Poets' Society and Dangerous Minds, this film is a runaway best-seller.

Directed by: Christophe Barratier
Cast: Gerard Jugnot, Jean-Paul Bonnaire, Maxence Perrin, Jacques Perrin, Phillipe Du Janerand.

Big Fish

2005-09-09T12:38:00.000+08:00

"In telling the story of my father's life, it's impossible to separate fact from fiction, the man from the myth. The best I can do is to tell it the way he told me. It doesn't always make sense and most of it never happened... but that's what kind of story this is."

William Bloom (Ewan McGregor) grows up not knowing much about his father (Albert Finney). His mother Sandra (Jessica Lange), summons him to their old house where his father lays ill. On his father's deathbed, William asks his father to reveal his real self to him and not the fancy and tall tales he is wont to tell about his life. The father argues that some people tell stories as they are without complications but they are not as interesting as his stories.

So during the time that Ed Bloom is recounting his great exploits and adventures to his son, we also see a glimpse of man who has experienced defeats and many failings that he has to sugarcoat his tales. We hear for example how the young Ed was considered a man about town in during his college days, his legendary friendship with the town giant, his having discovered a secret community where people do not age, his friendship with a conjoined twin opera singers.

William considers these stories as a way his father used to hide his true identity. But little does he know that behind every lie lies the truth and every bit of a legend exists a reality larger than life.

Director Tim Burton (A Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) soars high in this fantastic tale of a man with great imagination for adventures and even a bigger heart to live them.

There are some fish that cannot be caught.

Director: Tim Burton
From the Novel by: Daniel Wallace
Adapted for the Screen by: John August
Cast: Ewan McGregor (Down with Love, Star Wars IV-VI, Moulin Rouge)
Albert Finney (Breakfast of the Champions, Erin Brokovich)
Jessica Lange (Blue Sky, Tootsie)
Helena Bonham Carter (Margaret's Museum, Fight Club)

Hotel Rwanda

2005-09-08T15:27:00.000+08:00

"When people ask me, good listeners, why do I hate all the Tutsi, I say, "Read our history." The Tutsi were collaborators for the Belgian colonists, they stole our Hutu land, they whipped us. Now they have come back, these Tutsi rebels. They are cockroaches. They are murderers."
- a Hutu radio announcer

This 2004 Oscar contender has Don Cheadle as its prime actor. Set in the 1994 Rwandan history of Tutsi genocide that left a million and a half dead, Hotel Rwanda is a raw portrayal of the violence that grips a nation still smarting from its colonial past. As hotel manager of the four-star Hotel Rwanda, Paul Russesabagina has made numerous and often helpful connections with the military and business circle. He knows the byways of illegal trade and can get around restrictions with bribe ranging from 10,000 franc Cuban cigars to expensive Champagne.

Inside, Paul is just an ordinary decent family-loving man who just wants to live his life. He is a Hutu who marries a Tutsi woman, the beautiful Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo), and has three children. When the Hutu rebellion erupted in 1994, Paul is confronted by a difficult decision: to save his own family and flee or save his countrymen including his "enemies" the Tutsis.

Called by critics as a modern-day Schindler, Paul takes in all the Tutsis he can cramp inside the abandoned Hotel Rwanda (Belgians and other nationalities are safely evacuated out of the country). Now, Paul has to use his intelligence, compassion and connections to buy the lives of the Tutsis from imminent death by the hands of the Hutus. All would have been fine had not an arrogant and treacherous Hutu concierge threatened to tip him off to the police if he sent the former away from the hotel.

Violence escalates when the Hutu renegades break into the UN peacekeeping forces and begin harassing and bombing the hotel to wipe out the littlest Tutsi hiding there. Even Paul's own relatives and family are threatened by Hutu militia and he is rendered powerless before them. His desperation mounts as he learns that even his former friends can't do anything to help him.

A tale of riveting suspense and harrowing drama. A film that everyone should see...

Written and Directed by: Terry George
Cast: Don Cheadle (Ocean's Eleven/Twelve). Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte

Whale Rider

2005-09-08T00:27:00.000+08:00

Pai (Keisha Castle-Hughes) is everything his grandfather Koro (Rawiri Paratane) despises for a grandchild. He considers her a jinx, having survived a difficult delivery which claimed the lives of her twin brother and her mother. Now that her grief-stricken father Porourangi (Cliff Curtis) leaves New Zealand for Europe to pursue his artistic vocation, Koro is even more devastated that no son of his would replace him as Chief.

Embittered and hard on everyone especially Pai, Koro seeks consolation in the knowledge that he can bequeath his title to other boys in the village. He begins training them in the ancient ways of the Maori, who are believed to be descendants of the Whale-God Paikea. When Pai interferes with the training by wanting to be one of Koro's pupils she earns the chastisement of Koro. Pai has no one to turn to but her grandmother Flowers (Vicky Haughton) who believes in her unique talent, intelligence and strong will.

Together they defy the old man Koro and strengthen each other's resolve to prove him wrong that to be a leader one must be male and chosen by the Chief.
themselvesOne day, when hordes of whales unexplainably beached and are unable to go back to the sea, they risk dying. Townspeople gathered together to dig around them and prevent them from being dehydrated but to no avail. Now it's Pai's turn to do the unimaginable, a sacrifice to prove that she too can become a leader her grandfather does not expect her to be.

With heart-rending scenes, haunting music and outstanding acting that earned for Keisha an Oscar nomination and other international awards, Whale Rider is sure to captivate one's heart and imagination. It is a triumphant story of redemption over expectation and rejection. It provides interesting insight into how we often see and regard women as the weaker sex. This movie will challenge the male stereotype and will make us believe that there is no greater power than love, bravery and determination whether you are male or female.

"Amazing pure poetry. Hauntingly beautiful!"

Director: Niki Caro
Released: 2003

Bring it On

2005-09-07T12:52:00.000+08:00

"Hey! We're sexy, we're cute, we're popular to boot!"

Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) is shocked to learn that her Alma Mater, the Rancho Carne High has been winning the national cheerleading championship for five straight years because the previous team captain steals the dance routines of East Compton Clovers, an inner-city public high school. She has to make the difficult decision of improvising and being original lest they don't make it to the finals.

Now they have to show to the Clovers that they too can make their original moves and still bring home the bacon. But can they do that a few days before the the try-outs?

This cheeky, cheesy film is about high school spirit, inter-school competition and bitchery set to the cadence of upbeat and hiphop music. Witty dialogues, students with attitude, smart confrontation and banter left and right make one reminisce his/her own high school life. The film also includes high-flying and hard-falling dance sequences that are sure to thrill the viewers.

I usually don't watch teen movies but this one is so funny and so fun to watch that I can't strike it off my list of fave films.

"May the best moves win!"

Directed by: Peyton Reed
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, Gabrielle Union, Jesse Bradford
Released: 2000

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring

2005-09-06T23:23:00.000+08:00

Released in 2003, this film was set in an isolated lake in the province of South Korea. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring follows the story of a novice Buddhist monk from his childhood until he becomes a master himself. With breath-taking panoramic view of the lake and its lush green trees and mountains the child monk (Jong-ho Kim) grows with the Old Monk (Yeoung-su Oh) and learns the principles of detachment, often in a very difficult and violent way.

The story aptly begins in Spring. The child monk is taught the path to Enlightenment involves attentiveness or awareness with what is good for the soul and what can destroy it. One day, out of childish prank, the boy ties a fish, a snake and a frog around pieces of rock. When the Old Monk learns of this, he decides to teach the boy a lesson. He counsels him that should any of the creatures die he should carry its death in his heart forever.

Summer comes and we find the child monk turned into a young adult monk ( Jae Kyeong-Seo). The floating monastery is visited by a mother-daughter pair with the mother (Jung Yung Kim) begging the Old Monk to find a cure for the young lady's malady. The young monk falls passionately in love with the young woman (Yeo jin Ha) that he decides to follow her to the city.

The heat of Summer begins when the young monk who is now a thirty-year old adult (Young-Min Kim) returns to the monastery. He is full of hate and violent and murderous temper. We learn that the woman he falls in love with leaves him for another man. A bloodied knife and two policemen suggest that a murder has been committed with the adult monk as prime suspect. He now is paying the karma of having killed two of the creatures he played with. The Old Monk asks him to practice a callygraphic sutra to empty himself of anger and violence before is he allowed to go with the policemen.

Winter sets in and the Adult monk (Ki duk Kim) returns and resolves to take his place in the monastery as its new Master. With the Old Monk dead, the Adult Monk prepares for his ultimate lessons in letting go and makes his body and spirit attune to higher awareness. A mysteriously-veiled lady arrives with a baby boy in her arms. She leaves the baby with the Adult Monk to be the new novice monk and the season repeats itself all over again.

This is a fascinating commentary on what life is all about: its rhythms, its ebb and tide, the passions and violences of being human and the price we have to pay when we become too attached to the material world. Created purposedly in a meditative pace with matching hypmotic music and steady shots to approximate a Buddhist way of life, this film has earned critical and popular success in France, Germany, the U.S., Australia and other countries.

Directed by: Ki duk Kim
Country: Korea

Seventh Voyage of Sinbad

2005-09-04T22:20:00.000+08:00

"From the land beyond Beyond, From the world past Hope and Fear, I bid you Genie, now appear!"

My earliest recollection and fascination of the moving pictures included this spectacular fantasy adventure The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad. My cousin and I might have watched this movie a hundred times in just one summer when I was seven or eight. Since then I never stopped adoring dragons and cyclops and genies and yes fighting skeletons (pre-dating Pirates of the Caribbean). Sure the monsters then looked like they had Parkinson's but hey we are talking about a 1958 film which I watched in the mid-80's.

I liked the story a lot. The daring rescue of the shrunken princess, the crossing of dangerous waters, the killing of a giant two-headed bird and the tricking of the cyclops. But I liked best the idea of a magical creature, the genie, who can grant your every wish. I wish I can bid him now and grant me a holiday in a deserted island with all my favorite films inside a treasure chest. DVD format please!!!

Director: Nathan Juran
Cast: Kerwin Matthews, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer, Torin Thatcher
Released: 1958

Prepare for an adventure!!!

The Fantastic Four

2005-09-04T09:07:00.000+08:00

Director Tim Story lives up to his surname in this blockbuster Hollywood superheroes flick as he tries to concentrate on the plot rather than the pyrotechnics that have been hounding U.S. movies of late. He tries to load the film with lots of human interest scenes depicting the dilemma a superhero faces when the one person you love turns to loathe and despise your physical appearance. Or the pressure to be famous (they're the only superheroes I know whose identity is public knowledge) without losing one's head.

Ben Grimm's (Michael Chiklis; The Shield) story is what propelled the film from becoming a formulaic Hollywood stunt. He turns into The Thing, a monstrous superhero with the strength of stopping dead on its track a rampaging ten-wheeler truck. However his hideous appearance causes his wife to fear him and she unceremoniously returns her wedding ring to him signifying her intention to leave him for good.

On the lighter side of the movie, Johnny Storm's (Chris Evans; The Perfect Score, Not Another Teen Movie) antics and wit make the audience laugh their heads off as he prides himself as The Human Torch capable of high-flying stunts and turning himself into a ball of fire. His carefree and adventurous attitude collide with his sister's sense for seriousness and responsibility in handling their newfound powers. The conflict smoothly slides into a sibling rivalry (at least in principle) reminding the audience that to be a superhero(ine) is not a walk in the park.

Meanwhile a love triangle between Mr. Fantastic Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd; Titanic, Great Expectations and Black Hawk Down) the Invisible Woman Sue Storm (Jessica Alba; Sin City, Dark Angel, Idle Hands) and the highly ambitious Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon; Nip/Tuck, Chasing) suddenly becomes too hot to handle as the latter blames Richards for masterminding his fall from grace and Storm for reneging on her "promise" to marry him. Dr. Doom unleashes his electromagnetic power and cunning intelligence against the nascent Fantastic Four as he takes down one by one people who caused his downfall annihilating the city and threatening the citizens with his awesome powers.
Will the Fantastic Four finally accept their destiny and stop him before he does much damage to anyone who crosses his path? You know the answer of course, but it's really worth watching it!

Awesome, action-packed family adventure!!!

"Fantastic!"

Directed by: Tim Story
Starring: Ioann Gruffud, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis and Julian McMahon).
Released: July 2005

Swimming Pool

2005-09-03T18:18:00.000+08:00

The only English language film of master filmmaker Francois Ozon. Swimming pool is a multi-layered mystery/realist film about two women, British Sandra Morton (Charlote Rampling) and French Julie (Ludivine Sagnier) who are worlds apart but united by a similar past and a grisly murder. Sandra is a mystery writer quite advance in age and has achieved respectable status in the literary and publishing circle. Bored with life and with her relationship with her publisher/lover John (Charles Dance) taking an unromantic turn, she decides to take John's offer to visit his summer house in the Lacoste provence of France so she could write whatever she wants.

Unbeknownst to her, John's daughter Julie also decides to live in the house. The two ladies are off with a bad start when Sandra mistakes Julie for a thief. She is dismayed to learn later on that Julie is staying for good and will not give her the peace of mind she needs to concentrate on her new novel. Things turn nastier when Julie brings home every night a different man with whom she engages with rough and wild sex. Shocking secrets are revealed when Julie accidentally kills Franck (Jean Marie Lamour) who excites Sandra's interest. Together the two women forge a pact not to reveal the murder and together they liberate themselves from their horrid past and traumatic experiences.

Stellar performances worthy of Oscar and Cannes nod by Rampling and Sagnier. Masterful story-telling and suspenseful plot. Intelligent, disturbing and riveting. A mystery wrapped in a mystery incapable of being exhausted by watching the movie alone. Hauntingly beautiful....

Director: Francois Ozon (See the Sea, Under the Sand, Summer Dress, Water Drops on Burning Rocks).
Cast: Charlotte Rampling, Ludivine Sagnier, Charles Dance, Jean-Marie Lamour
Released: January 2004

The New Police Story

2005-09-03T11:21:00.000+08:00

Inspector Chan (Jackie Chan) was the head of an elite police squad in Hong Kong. He led his team in raiding the hideout of Evil Joe and his Gang of Five, a group of filthy rich, high-flying, X-games aficionados who rob banks just for the thrill of it. When Chan's entire police team was wiped out by the notorious gang, he blamed himself for not saving any of them and he became a drunkard.

A young police officer (Nicolas Tse) convinces him to get back on the job and get even with the gang. Now, Chan has to get pass his arrogant chief to get back on the mission of tracking down the daredevil and cop-hating young adults. Together with the help of a female colleague, Sasa (Charlene Choi), they study and research the gang's tactics and style to bring them down.

Touted as Jackie Chan's best performance ever, as a dramatic actor, this film is heavy on the plot and the characterization without sacrificing the effects and the stunts that Jackie Chan's fans are looking for. The film has some clever twists that make it truly an enjoyable if not unforgettable action-drama movie.

Cast: Jackie Chan, Nicolas Tse, Daniel Wu, Charlie Young, Charlene Choi
Director: Benny Chan Muk Shing
Released: November 2004

See Jackie Chan cry and kick some butt!

Kill Bill

2005-08-30T21:01:00.000+08:00

Quentin Tarantino's (Pulp Fiction) take on the popular martial arts vengeance theme. A woman about to get married was attacked inside the church by a group hired by her former lover, killing her groom, all the guests and rendering her coma for several months. When she woke up the first thing she intended to do was to kill Bill and his team of assassins.

Gory, gruesome and extremely violent, this film caters to those who want fast-paced and stunning swordfights. Excellent use of music and fantastic animation, beautiful cinematography and cutting-edge editing technique makes this first installment a film to watch for.

Cast: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen and David Carradine
Director: Quentin Tarantino.
2003

Watch out this gal can kill!

Moulin Rouge

2005-08-30T07:58:00.000+08:00

'The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and be loved in return.'

Call it what you will: post-modern musical, bohemian pastiche, new age technoclassic, whatever. This movie is sure to knock you out of your stupor and make you...yes! fall in love again. With astonishing performances from Nicole "She Can Really Sing" Kidman (As the Sparkling Diamond Nadine) and Ewan "The Singing Obi Wan Kenobi" McGregor (As the Penniless Poet Christian), the Moulin Rouge has enough grit and glam to make you laugh and love and cry.

Wonderful remakes of Material Girl, Your Song, Lady Marmalade, Come What May and other songs plus artsy-fartsy turn-of-the-century special effects make this film something to dye to your hair for.

Voted in 2001 as the Best Hollywood Movie of the Year and earning for Kidman an acting trophy denied by the Oscars and for McGregor the same plum (and snobbery from the Academy Awards.)

Directed by: Baz Luhrmann (Strictly Ballroom, 1992 and Romeo+Juliet, 1996).

Sky High

2005-08-28T19:41:00.000+08:00

What are you gonna do? Your mom and dad are the two greatest superheroes the world has known and you're entering a prestigious highly-elite high school for the gifted and you find out that you have no superpowers whatsoever. Will Stronghold (Michael Angarano) is exactly in this tight spot when he enters the Sky High. Being the only son of Commander Stronghold (Kurt Russel) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston), expectations run high while the school bullies are watching his butt hoping he commits a blunder. Will gets entangled with Warren Peace (Steven Strait) a fire-throwing upperclassman whose dad was a supervillain that the Commander had imprisoned. Meanwhile his friendship with Layla (a plant-growing mutant) gets sour while he sorts out the best possible way to tell his parents that he is not a super like them. The Commander gets even more disheartened when he finds out that his son has been lumped together with the Sidekicks or Hero Support.

But as his name suggests, Will has more strength in his will than in his muscles and accepts his destiny. He teams up and befriends other school "losers" and together they take on a battle that makes them truly worth the name Superheroes (and Heroines!). Although this movie comes dangerously close to copy-catting the Hogwarts of Harry Potter and the cuteness of the Incredibles, it gets away with some touch of originality and human element in its plot. Acceptance of oneself, whether you are a super or not, is one of the redeeming values of this film. It's not the power that make you a super hero, its your attitude that does make you one, as Will didactically states in one scene.

All in all, this movie is fun to watch, especially during rainy days when you have nothing else to do.

Released: 2005.
Cast: Michael Angarano, Kurt Russel, Kelly Preston, Lynda Carter, Danielle Panabaker
Directed by: Mike Mitchell

Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl

2005-08-28T08:53:00.000+08:00

A swashbuckling action-packed fantasy adventure for the whole family to watch and enjoy. This film which was released by Disney Pictures in 2003 earned for Johnny Depp (Captain Jack Sparrow) an Oscar nomination for best performance by an actor. Set in the 17th century featuring pirates of the high seas cursed by a plague that makes them immortal and yet incapable of feeling anything or enjoying life's pleasure, this movie is sure to thrill people of ages from 1 to 101.

Supported by awesome performances of Orlando Bloom who played the true-blue pirate heir Will Hunter (The Lord of the Rings, Kingdom of Heaven) and Keira Knightly as the British femme fatale Elizabeth, Pirates soars with non-stop action and surprises. Geoffrey Rush (Shine) as the head of the brigand pirates (redundant?) who sailed the cursed ship the Black Pearl and Jonathan Pryce (Evita, Tomorrow Never Dies) complimented the act.

Amazing swordfights, stunts and eye-popping special effects make this movie an unforgettable experience to relive again and again.

Distributor: Disney Pictures
Released: 2003
Actors: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Joseph Pryce
Director: Gore Verbinski

out of five

Bring in the whole family!

Amelie

2005-08-26T16:53:00.000+08:00

Full Title: Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain
Country: France
Language: French with English subtitles
Date Released: 2001
Academy Award Nominations: 5
Director: Jean Pierre-Jeunet (Delicatessen and A Very Long Engagement)
Actors: Mattieu Kazovitz and Audrey Tatou (A Very Long Engagement, Pretty Little Hands, The Da Vinci Code)

Amelie is one-of-a-kind film that tugs at your heart while it makes you laugh. From the very first scene down to the last, Amelie promises to be a different kind of a foreign language film. The French, as you know, are very famous for their depressing and shocking films. This one will really make you laugh and without you noticing it, draw a few rivulets of tears from you.

It has a fantastic plot and very surprising twist and ending. Audrey Tatou is a rare gem with her dead-pan, in-your-face humor and believable acting finesse. Editing and musical score
together with the special effects will sweep you off your feet while the story will rock to wakefulness as it is fast-paced (unlike most French films, by the way), unconventional and masterful.

At the core of the story was the simple wish of the young woman Amelie to do something good to humanity (at all cost) and the sacrifices she was ready to face to make people realize that after all the misery and drudgery there is in the world, it is still, basically a beautiful life. Now compare this film to Gaspar Noe's nihilistic film In the Bowels of France, I Stand Alone and you know what I mean.

And to top it all, in this film, it's a happy ending. What more can you ask for?

out of five

The Shawshank Redemption

2005-08-25T20:37:00.000+08:00

I was still in high school when I saw this truly magnificent film. It's so mesmerizing that I have even memorized some of the lines spoken in the movie. With a haunting musical score and flawless narration by Morgan Freeman, this film was edged out of the Oscars only by Forrest Gump.

The Shawshank Redemption was an adaptation of Stephen King's novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. It chronicled the life story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins), a bank executive, who was wrongfully accused of murdering his wife and her lover. Serving almost two decades at the Shawshank facility for hardened criminals and outlaws, Andy earned the respect and admiration of his fellow inmates and his jailguards and even the ruthless warden by his incurably optimistic attitude towards life and his ominous silence and endurance of sufferings.

He made numerous friends, as well as enemies inside but his greatest contribution was "setting free" every man in Shawshank including their jailers. In a poignant scene in the movie, where Andy put a microphone on the phonograph, he earned a month's detention. Nevertheless, as Red (Morgan Freeman) put it:

"We never knew what those two Italian women were singing. But we all know, that for the brieftest of moment, everyman in Shawshank, was free."

And when Andy made his great escape from the prison, everyone felt happy but at the same time sad. Red said:

"Some birds are not meant to be kept because their feathers are too bright. Yet when they leave, something in you dies... Sometimes something's too painful that they cannot be expressed in words and that is why it makes our hearts ache."

Released in 1994.
Directed by: Frank Darabont.
Actors: Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman

Cinema Paradiso

2005-08-25T14:18:00.000+08:00

I've watched this film more than eight times and eight times I cried. This is truly cinema at its best: a celebration of human spirit, love, friendship and sacrifice. Two thumbs up for Giuseppe Tornatore and Philippe Noiret.

This movie chronicles the lives of two friends (the young Toto and the middle-aged Alfredo), their love for movies, their passion for making people happy and their sad and poignant love affairs.

The movie is full of wit and lyricism. It doubles as a social critique and a keen observer of human behavior. But the over all triumph of the movie is the raw depiction of the deepest human emotions when confronted by war and circumstances.

"Life is not like the movies," says Alfredo and he is correct because in this movie, movies themselves are Life.

out of five

You really have to watch this one!!!

Country: Italy/France
Released in 1988.
Cast: Philippe Noiret, Salvatore Cascio, Marco Leonardi, Jacques Perrin, Antonella Attili, Pupella Maggio, Agnese Nano, Leopoldo Trieste
Music: Ennio Moriconne
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

Children of Heaven

2005-08-25T08:11:00.000+08:00

A deceptively simple film about siblings Ali and Zarah who shared a pair of sneakers inorder not to burden their poor parents about buying them new shoes. Ali promised Zarah that he would win third place in an inter-school marathon contest so he could give to Zarah the consolation prize of a new pair of sneakers.

Meanwhile, the siblings found out who "stole" Zarah's shoes and they followed her to her home. They soon found out that she was poorer than they were sho they decided to let the matter go. When leaving school Zarah had to run fast to let Ali use his shoes in time for his own class.

The movie is full of snippets of bravery, self-sacrifice, generosity and magnanimity. Flawless imagery and fine acting give the film its added plum. And the fact that this film is from a non-Christian perspective makes it even more interesting.

Director: Majid Majidi
Actors: Amir Farokh Hashiman, Bahare Seddiqi
Country: Iran

out of five

A total knock-out!!!