Movie Reviews atbp

Mein Herz Brennt (My Heart Burns) by Rammstein

2007-10-12T04:50:00.000-07:00

English Lyrics Translated from German

Mein Herz Brennt

Now, dear children, pay attention
I am the voice from the pillow
I have brought you something
I ripped it from my chest

With this heart I have the power
to blackmail the eyelids
I sing until the day awakes
a bright light on the heavens
my heart burns

They come to you in the night
demons, ghosts, black fairies
they creep out of the cellar shaft
and will look under your bedding

Now, dear children, pay attention
I am the voice from the pillow
I have brought you something
a bright light on the heavens
my heart burns

They come to you in the night
and steal your small hot tears
they wait until the moon awakes
and put them in my cold veins

Now, dear children, pay attention
I am the voice from the pillow
I sing until the day awakes
a bright light on the heavens
my heart burns

My heart burns

2007 Shortlist so far: Major Categories

2007-10-07T03:03:00.000-07:00

Two months to go, before I wrap up the year's best of the best, here is my own shortlist of the possible 2007 contenders this year for the main categories (8 per each in random order):

This list does not include eligible films that I will be seeing in October and November which are the last film entries of 2007... Possible upsets can still happen anyway...

BEST PICTURE

Joint Security Area (Korea)
Children of Men (UK)
The Letters from Iwo Jima (USA)
I'm a Cyborg But It's OK (Korea)
Salvador Puig Antich (Spain)
Volver (Spain)
The Lives of Others (Germany)
Lilja 4-Ever (Sweden)

Last Year's Choice: Pan's Labyrinth
My Personal Choice as of Today: It is actually between the futuristic drama "Children of Men", the flawless spy drama "The Lives of Others" and the very depressing tale of human trafficking "Lilja 4-Ever"... But I have to say LILJA 4-EVER is way ahead...

BEST DIRECTOR

Jean-Pierre Dardenne (The Child)
Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men)
Clint Eastwood (Letters from Iwo Jima)
Park Chan-Wook (I'm a Cyborg But It's OK and JSA)
Pedro Almodovar (Volver)
Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others)
Sarah Polley (Away from Her)
Lukas Moodysson (Lilja 4-Ever)

Last Year's Choice: Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth)
My Personal Choice as of Today: Two names, Park Chan-Wook and Lukas Moodysson... Chan-Wook of JSA is a personal favorite and Moodysson has just made a shocking masterpiece with Lilja 4-Ever...

BEST ACTOR

Jo In Sung (A Dirty Carnival)
Jeremie Renier (The Child)
Cho Seung Woo (Marathon)
Ken Watanabe (The Letters from Iwo Jima)
Daniel Bruhl (Salvador Puig Antich)
Ulrich Muhe (The Lives of Others)
Gordon Pinsent (Away from Her)
Romain Duris (The Beat that my Heart Skipped)

Last Year's Choice: Daniel Bruhl (The Edukators)
My Personal Choice as of Today: Daniel Bruhl, the basis is more subjective I guess... Ulrich Muhe has to be more objective... Cho Seung Woo is a very safe and sure choice on the other hand...

BEST ACTRESS

Gwyneth Paltrow (Proof)
Deborah Francois (The Child)
Kim Mi-suk (Marathon)
Im Soo Jung (I'm a Cyborg But It's OK)
Penalope Cruz (Volver)
Martina Gedeck (The Lives of Others)
Julie Christie (Away from Her)
Oksana Akinshina (Lilja 4-Ever)

Last Year's Choice: Lee Young Ae (Sympathy for Lady Vengeance)
My Personal Choice as of Today: Penalope Cruz and Julie Christie are both very excellent... But there is Oksana Akinshina as the 16 year old Lilja who just blew me away...

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Jake Gyllenhaal (Proof)
Anthony Hopkins (Proof)
Song Kang Ho (JSA)
Brad Pitt (Babel)
Leonardo Sbaliglia (Salvador Puig Antich)
Ulrich Tukur (The Lives of Others)
Djimon Honsou (Blood Diamond)
Artyom Bogucharsky (Lilja 4-Ever)

Last Year's Choice: Freddy Highmore (Finding Neverland)
My Personal Choice as of Today: Artyom Bogucharsky from his very moving role in Lilja 4-Ever

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Lisa Ray (Water)
Cate Blanchett (Babel)
Rinko Kikuchi (Babel)
Carmen Maura (Volver)
Lola Duenas (Volver)
Blanca Portillo (Volver)
Jennifer Conelly (Blood Diamond)
Olympia Dukakis (Away from Her)

Last Year's Choice: Kate Winslet (Finding Neverland)
My Personal Choice as of Today: Too many acting heavyweights, from Lisa Ray to Blanchett to Maura and Portillo... All of them has almost the same magnitudes but Blanca Portillo as a cancer patient in Volver stays longer and more vivid in my mind...

BEST SCREENPLAY

Marathon
Letters from Iwo Jima
An Inconvenient Truth
Salvador Puig Antich
Volver
The Lives of Others
Away from Her
Lilja 4-Ever

Last Year's Choice: The Edukators by Katharina Geld and Hans Weingarner
My Personal Choice as of Today: Lilja 4-Ever by Lukas Moodysson... which could end up in a possible clean sweep by the Swedish film...

BEST ENSEMBLE

Proof
Babel
Letters from Iwo Jima
Volver
The Lives of Others
Blood Diamond
Away from Her
Lilja 4-Ever

Last Year's Choice: The Edukators (Daniel Bruhl, Julia Jentsch, Stipe Erceg, Burghart Klaussner)
My Personal Choice as of Today: The women of Volver (Penalope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Duenas and Blanca Portillo)

September Movie of the Month: LILJA 4-EVER (Spoiler ahead!)

2007-09-30T03:00:00.000-07:00

September has given me 3 great films, one is a very touching Canadian drama about Alzhemer's desease which will surely give Julie Christie an Oscar nomination (mark my word!) and will sky rocket to the 2007's critics top ten list... The other one is the critically acclaim French noir thriller about a young man (Romain Duris) who is caught between his miserable gangster life and his fascinating passion for music. If I have seen these two films in the other months, they have strong chances to be on the top of my lists... But the best of September I should say is the very compelling Swedish drama LILJA 4-EVER.

This must be one of the 5 most depressing films I've seen in my entire life... It has related issues to Hillary Swank's film "Boy's Don't Cry" but this has to be more realistic and even harder to watch. The title of the film sounded to be innocent, full of hope until eternity, at least to a mind of a 16 year old girl.

Lilja is a typical girl in the Soviet Union, she was very happy when she learned that she is going to the US because her mother got married again. What she did not know is that her mother decided to abandon her permanently. As the story progresses, she lost everything, people, relatives, money and the only one on her side is a boy who is frequently beaten by his father... In order to avoid hunger, she was driven to engage in prostitution. This exploitation continued when his boyfriend sold him to a human trafficker in Sweden. And then she learned that all her prayer's to God and Angel's are useless, where her easy way out is simply death.

Lilja 4-Ever closeness to reality is extremely chilling... Actress Oksana Akinshina who played Lilja is undeaniably excellent and convincing. I can't forget the scenes where Lilja is very very happy when she first bought more than two items in the department store and never thinking that her money will run short and just buy everything that she likes. And also when she first had her airplane trip to Sweden and she was very excited to look at her food on a business class service... These made my movie viewing much more painful, she is just a girl who wants to be with her mother, to be at school and to never feel hungry again when the night comes...

But after she became a victim of human sex trafficking, her emotional core and her will to fight were completely destroyed and the only thought that lingers is the paradise that will give to her by death. THe film is so good but cruel to show how innocence, hope and prayers can be destroyed by the sad reality in this world... Lilja has no other choice, she is just a teenager who is trapped in a hell which is literally our world.

In the end of the film, Lilja is completely forgotten, no physical traces have left after her tough decision... but there is only one I guess, she carved her name on a piece of wood and all that is written is: LILJA 4-EVER.

Celebrity Profiles

2007-09-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

I am bored... I just want to post the pictures of my favorite celebrities:

Daniel Brühl (German Actor: Good Bye Lenin!, The Edukators, Merry Christmas, Ladies in Lavender, Salvador)

Alexandra Maria Lara (Romanian Actress: Downfall, Youth Without Youth)

Audrey Tautou (French Actress: Amelie, Da Vinci Code, A Very Long Engagement)

I guess this is just the part one... Till the day I get idle again...

Television Devolution...

2007-08-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

Book is a medium for WRITERS...
Stage is a medium for ACTORS...
Film is a medium for DIRECTORS... and
Television is a medium for PRODUCERS...

Which one is the nearest to artistic expression and which one is not? I guess TELEVISION gets more and more corrupted exponentially everyday as we turn on our TV sets. Being influenced mainly by the producers, television has a natural inclination towards propaganda and money making. I can count on my fingers the number of TV shows which are made with sincerity and sheer quality.

It is sad to say that the local TV market is stucked in the mediocre to D shows which fools the people on the real concept of reality. Speaking of non-fiction shows, reality TV series try to be as accurate as possible but in the end, people acting in these projects are more unreal than actors playing in the primetime soap operas.

Now we go to soap operas, people are forced to watch (because we can't see good alternatives) several plots manipulated by actors playing characters who dies, go on plastic surgery because he/she can't play anymore because of other projects in the pipeline. Start and end dates in the timelines are also changed because of the sudden fluctuations in the rating and continuous endorsements of products while watching in the middle of the show (why not remove the commercials?). We also have characters who meet each other in absurd circumstances, why? because the writers have already lost creativity on how to fuse frictions between their characters... They only have the same plots recycled over and over again and nothing changes except for the set of typecasts actors.

Not only on local shows, American shows cling on constipated (as Nette said it) actors and writers who can't think without sex, violence, scandals, visual effects on the contents of their materials.

Hmmm... I don't know how to end this but I call this devolution on the worldwide level... Television takes advantage on people so much and like what said in my favorite film "The Edukators", people are like zombies in the front of the boob tubes for more than several long hours...

And the AUGUST film of the month is...

2007-08-26T07:27:00.000-07:00

Pathfinder - Seeing this film reminds me a lot of 300's photography... The historical backdraft of the plot which is suppose to be interesting turned out to be one sided. (C+)

Ouija - All aspect of a good horror film is there, blood, twist, a lady with a long black hair but the film falls short on logic... (B)

Recycle - Danny and Oxide Pang, the directors of the very scary film The Eye changed their style a bit and created a very imaginative sci-fi/horror flick that reveals a very touching philosophy and a pro-life commentary. (B+)

Sunshine - I am always fascinated on what is next in Danny Boyle's films. Unfortunately, his recent films like Trainspotting, 28 Days Later and Millions are far better than this movie which tries to capture the same stigma of the Kubrick's masterpice 2001: The Space Odessey. (B)

The Bourne Ultimatum - The greatest merits of this film is its skillful film editing and heart pounding original score which will surely be rewarded by the AMPAS voters with nominations. But honestly, I am still convinced that this film is somehow plotless? (B+)

1408 - The last film of the month that I've seen... Surprisingly Mikael Håfström made me happy again after seeing his previous movies like Evil and Derailed... I greatly commend the editing and the haunting cinematography of this film... (B+)

MOVIE OF THE MONTH August - This is tough because all of the films I've seen this month have their own significant shortcomings and none of them can be considered flawless... But I think, August belongs to Hong Kong's very imaginative surreal entry RECYCLE...

The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) * * * * *

2007-07-18T22:19:00.001-07:00

"If I keep listening to it, I won't finish the revolution."-Lenin, regarding Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata (as recounted in "The Lives Of Others").

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is how to make an authentic contemporary dramatic thriller…

The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen) won the Academy award trophy for Best Foreign Language Film and the European Film Academy award for Best Picture this year. Visually enthralling, poetic, well acted and very well written, The Lives of Others, the third German film to ever win an Oscar is one of the best film of this decade so far.

Today, Germany’s filmmaking status is on its renaissance… it has been almost 40 years since we had the global influence of famous German directors such as Fassbinder, Stanley Kubrick and Fritz Lang, now a lot of new filmmakers are embarking on a series of international hits including this pre Berlin Wall suspense thriller movie.

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's movie debut focuses on the horrifying, sometimes unintentionally funny system of observation in the former East Germany. In the early 1980s, the successful dramatist Georg Dreyman and his longtime companion Christa-Maria Sieland, a popular actress, are big intellectual stars in the socialist state, although they secretly don't always think loyal to the party line. One day, the Minister of Culture becomes interested in Christa, so the secret service agent Wiesler is instructed to observe and sound out the couple, but their life fascinates him more and more...

Wiesler (played magnificently by Best Actor winner Ulrich Muhe) together with his tech team installed devices so that he can monitor the entire conversation takes place on their residence day and night. But as the story progresses, Wiesler seems to be not faithfully committed to the communist party after all… and this constitutes to several surprising and unexpected events in the story.

The Lives of Others is one of the best thrillers of the contemporary cinema along with Park Chan Wook’s “Oldboy”. Sadly, few Filipinos can see it and as usual, soon the masses must endure a Hollywood version again…

Latest Reviews: 7/14/2007

2007-07-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

VOLVER * * * *

For the last few months, I’ve seen 2 of the most nominated films in the Spanish Academy Awards, Pan’s Labyrinth and Salvador which are different but both excellent films. Adding to this list is Spain’s Best Picture winner Volver which gives Penalope Cruz a shot for a Best Actress nomination in the Oscars.

Being Spain’s most popular and talented director, Don Pedro Almodovar always captures the taste of the critics and audiences with his works. All About My Mother, Talk To Her and Bad Education are all above average films from Spain. Volver is a very touching dark comedy about a ghost of a dead mother who comes back to the world in order to fulfill her unfinished business with her daughters.

The heart of the film is Penalope Cruz in the lead and Carmen Maura in the supporting role. Penalope portrayed a troubled and yet caring mother who caught in the middle of an accidental murder of his husband because of an attempted rape of her daughter. Like mother like daughter? As we go along with the story, facts and series of inconvenient truths will be revealed as we see how our lead characters suffered from unhappy marriages. Carmen Maura on the other hand is superb as the mother and grandmother who just wanted to ask for her daughter’s forgiveness for their family’s misfortunes.

Overall, the film succeeded because of the excellent cast, script and precise direction. Volver, as compared to Goya nominated films Salvador and Pan’s Labyrinth is also a true European gem, very powerful in storytelling and for giving an emotional roller coaster ride to the international audience.

SALVADOR PUIG ANTICH * * * *

1974 is a very crucial year in Spain. A turning point where Franco's dictatorship is on the brink of its downfall and this is because of a young man who changed Spain's destiny into a much better future.

Salvador Puig Antich is a militant, bank robber who opposes dictatorship and fascism. On one of his bank robbing attempts, he accidentally killed one of the policemen and he was the last man sentenced to death by guillotine.

I’ve waited for this film for so long (but I won’t be bias). Salvador stars my favorite actor Daniel Bruhl who happens to be German but can speak in 4 languages fluently (German, Spanish, French, English) and Leonor Watling from the international critics favorite Hable Con Ella. The first act of the film is quite boring because it can’t handle the bits of pieces of scenes altogether. It consists of several flashbacks from Salvador’s memory as he confesses his ideals to his defense lawyer.

The second act of the film is way better than the first act. The second act showed the last 12 hours in the life of Salvador Puig Antich as he struggles on his fear of losing his life. The last scenes are very agonizing and touching. First, Salvador’s facial expression when he is about to be separated from his sisters is very remarkable (he is about to cry several times but managed to prevent his tears flowing from his eyes). Second, his reaction of mixed sadness, anger and regret can be seen when he first saw his deathbed and got an idea of what “garrote de vil” is all about.

I guess this is one of the greatest commentaries about the death penalty because the last minutes of the film showed how he exactly died from being strangulated (until his neck broke) slowly and slowly until life is taken away from him.

Overall, the film is saved by the second part which made the movie very emotional and a tear jerking one. After watching this film, against or not against the death penalty, you will think twice about your stand on this subject matter.

TRANSFORMERS * * *

I usually hate Michael Bay's films, most are really shallow and cheesy like Pearl Harbor. But Transformers is good. That is all I can say, although not flawless in many ways, well spent budget in this cool and nostalgic film.(for the 80's babies at least!)

FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS * *

Mystic River, Million Dollar Baby, The Letters from Iwo Jima are recent Clint Eastwood films which can be say as flawless and beautifully directed masterpieces. Well, this is not true for Flags of our Fathers...

Clint Eastwood's attempt to give synergy to his uninspiring cast is very evident althroughout the film. The three main characters (including Jesse Bradford and Ryan Philippe) are by far, the greatest disappointments in the film. Their roles is very overwhelming to them that they can't play them well... We can't see the connection between these three people and the reckless editing have already lost us a lot of times. Anyway, from the beginning, the script and storyline are very limited and shallow... In the end, a script which has nothing good to offer will just leave all its audience cold and unsatisfied.

I'M A CYBORG BUT THAT'S OK * * * *

Park Chan Wook is perhaps my favorite director of all time along with Steven Spielberg for giving us strings of A list movies like Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, Oldboy, JSA and now, this funny and quirky film... Despite of being influenced by existentialism once again, this romantic comedy Korean film is very different from his previous works because commonly, Chan Wook reveals strong themes and commentary on his films. But on Cyborg, he just played along with his cast and materials on continuous scenes of quirky imaginations and surrealism as we see the pains and joy of our two lead characters inside a mental hospital (with their inmates). One believes that he can steal people's traits and one who believes that she is a cyborg... The film leaves us the question... What is the purpose of our existence? Do we get closer to our purposes in life by sticking more to the truth and rationality OR is it love a better catalyst in providing the significance of our existence?

Candidates for my 2006 Best Film...

2006-11-13T21:25:00.000-08:00

Okay, so far I have narrowed down my shortlist to only 7 films, but this is not yet final, I have to wait for November 30th and see if there will be other great films which are coming in the next 2 1/2 weeks before my own deadline...

Last year, I chose TaeGukgi as the years best and I completely snubbed Donnie Darko and Oldboy which better stayed with me as very good films up to now.

In random order:

KING KONG Is it really my taste to absorb a monster movie?
THE EDUKATORS The anti-globalization film is a wake up call for me but should I allow another indie again?
SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE Last years Best Film slot was owned by Korea, and the next big thing about this film is Park Chan Wook who directed Oldboy, but in a very stiff competition...
UNITED 93 Amazing WOW! Very strong and well crafted, but should I join the bandwagon?
FINDING NEVERLAND Decent family film, very touching, I respect the film so much but I am no fan of Peter Pan
HOTEL RWANDA Well acted, good story, nice drama! But I almost forget about this
FATELESS Fantastic and very different but another Holocaust drama again?

October Movie of the Month

2006-10-30T01:28:00.000-08:00

I have seen so many films this October and I find "The Sound of Thunder" very interesting. Although hammered by most of the critics, I like the philosophy of the film which disproves the effective interaction between different species from different time or dimension. I remember Stephen King's Langolier which is by the way, a better treat.

Before I forgot, it is not my October movie of the month. It is actually between two very political films from the west. The Constant Gardener is a well crafted movie, the editing and the direction from the "CIty of God" director is again very impressive. The film is about the constant threat posed by the first world countries to the poorer ones. It seems that it is a very tiring theme but the way the director integrates the issue down to the personal dilemna of the characters is agonizing but beautiful...

However, the recepient of the 2006 Palme d'Or in Cannes "The Wind That Shakes The Barley", by Ken Loach is my October favorite. Although not that perfectly crafted, it is by far stronger in theme and performances. Cillian Murphy is more than superb and I don't have any doubt that he is one of my favorite actors. THe last scene in the film is really remarkable and the movie really showed the heart, reason and human conditions of todays Irish Republican Army (IRA). Ken Loach piece is very timely and everyone in the movie are appropriately casted...

Next Month, I'll try to catch some Cinemanila Film Entries and I hope Spanish films like Volver, Salvador (Puig Antich) and Pans Labyrinth are all present there...

Back to Back Tagalog Films...

2006-08-09T02:15:00.000-07:00

Sukob (The Wedding Curse)

I don't know what to say... I like it, in the way that I almost had a heart attack on the very scary scenes, it is very provoking, entertaining and it is really made for the sake of the audience.

On the other hand, the weakness of the film is the script or narrative structure. It is breaking and neglecting its own logic. And one thing, after the movie, the scary thought doesn't really stays with you... (B-)

Masahista (The Masseur)

It has a very high degree of realism and eroticism but the acting is horrible. I don't like the way it was edited, confusing and amateurish... But definitely, the film is a sign of hope for Filipino films to excel in the international festival circuits... (B-)

Suicide...

2006-08-03T22:43:00.000-07:00

It is very creepy and scary that someone from our neighbor committed suicide last night because of his incurable disease and he can't stand it any longer...

In our street right now, rumors, speculation and condemnation spread out, that even if he is a good man, he can't go to heaven because he committed suicide.

Well, I don't like the idea that the INSTITUTION have taught us, I mean, you cannot generalize everything. Humans are humans and we are subjected to different cirumstances. Honestly, I somehow admired that man because he gave himself dignity for the way he wanted to end up his life. At least he made a choice, most people in their death beds do not even realize how to make a good choice or how to exercise their freedom deliberately...

Yeah, I know what's in your mind... we make choices everyday but, choosing what brand of shoes we want to wear or choosing what model of phones we desire to buy... Are those what we call freedom? Or is it more like something has already told us to do it even before making choices...

I am just saying these cause I discovered that freedom itself is sometimes superficial... Just like you, I just want to know when is the time that I'm really deciding for myself or not...

Random Thoughts…

2006-07-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

Oh my God, feels like I’m dying? No… Feels like I’m leaving? Not exactly… It is just the bench days are over and this is the last 8 hours. I don’t know what to write, I have so many things in my mind that I want to post because I’ll be quite busy again… OK… just a rundown of random thoughts…

***

My brother is going home at last after 2 months from Australia. I am very excited to see what are the changes brought to him by the land down under… Haha, cause we are the couch potato guys, we have never left home not until after college. He had his chance to move away. How about me? When?

***

I am so sad because my team Germany lost in the World Cup semifinals. Now, I hardly care whether it’s France or Italy. But I believe it is going to be France because they already made a miracle by almost getting eliminated in the knock out phase and by beating Brazil in the quarterfinals match. So, I am expecting to see some Blue, White, Red colored flags waving around on Sunday or I’ll be wrong.

***

Speaking of the World Cup, my favorite actor Daniel Brühl watched the quarterfinal game of Germany against Argentina and takes some time with his fans. Wanna have some proof that I’m one of his full blooded fan? I am the current co-admin of his semi-official German/Polish website.

***

I hate to be pessimistic but I think I belong to these types of thinkers these days… Why? Because I interpret everything as anti-depressants. Things like I enjoy watching very good and meaningful films because I prefer this artificial world rather than the world where I really belong and things like I have to write on this blog over and over again because I have the impression that people that I already knew are so tired on listening with my thoughts. I hope that the negativity in my head will change soon…

***

Wow, I just realized that I never cried or shed some tears for a year! For whatever reason, am I too happy? Too stable? Too ordinary? Too insensitive? I really don’t know, but in a way, I’m setting a new record for myself!

Last Days...

2006-07-06T00:38:00.000-07:00

Gosh, On Monday, my bench days are over... Back to work, and this time, my first try on functional designs. It is always hard for me talaga if I'm in a transition. Like from tambay to being busy, being busy to tambay, in the brink of waking up from a dream, the length I consumed in order to accept my mistakes and to surrender my pride, and even ang pagtitiis na antayin ang miryenda pagkatapos ng lunch... Ay ano ba yun...

JUNE MOVIE OF THE MONTH (ONDSKAN)

I have seen six to ten films only this June and emerging from the stiff competition of being the best and most polished film of June is the Oscar Nominated Swedish Film Ondskan aka EVIL.

Erik (Andreas Wilson) lives his whole life fighting and when he was expelled because of his actions, he was sent on a boarding school where the existing culture and policy in the school challenged Eriks belief about violence. He started to realize where evil exists in its deepest and purest form and that evil is not just the violence itself, but something living from within.

Evil is not the usual type of film being nominated by an Academy Award because of its violent content and storyline. But due its well written script and impressive cinematic shots, the Academy was well impressed by how it was presented. Partly political, Evil is a simple and yet well told story showing why is it very hard to destroy the lurking corruptions and evil in the contemporary society. (8 out of 10).

Superman Returns (June 30, 2006)

2006-07-02T21:24:00.000-07:00

At last! I have already seen the most anticipated movie of the summer... Superman Returns is currently kicking some serious ass in the box office, but after the movie, it left me a little bit cold...

I have to mention first my good experiences with the film. Once again, Hollywood shows where they really good at; stunning visual effects, precise sound mixing and sound editing. The only great competition of this movie this year when it comes to the visuals and sounds is the Peter Jackson film King Kong which is very good in all aspects. Kevin Spacey and Parker Posey supporting performances as couple gave the best acting scenes in the film, burrying the leads efforts in the movie...

Honestly, I didn't expect so much that is why I'm not so affected by the anti-climactic third act conclusion of the film... Superman started with a very interesting premise but as the end of 2 and a half hours approaches, it doesn't hold interest anymore. I quite felt that it is overly long and there is no balance between the exposure of Clark Kent and Superman as the film prioritized the heroic side of our protagonist. As the ending approaches, everything is predictable and the hospital bed ridden scene is too much to take. Not to mention, the female lead Kate Bosworth as Lois is horrible in her role, she just can't make connection with his charming but irresponsible male lead and eventually cannot make connection with her audience. Brandon Routh on the other hand gave a weak performance as Superman, but I'm not saying that he is a bad actor, he just lacks more intensity on internalizing his character. I just hope Brandon is not another Orlando Bloom in the making who is very lucky in every good movies he participated but gives the same predictable, typecast and weak performances in his scenes.

Superman Returns is not that bad, it will just be more interesting if Director Bryan Singer controls his cast better and edit out unnessary scenes in the near ending. But overall, Superman Returns is still a celebration of an iconic superhero legend who will not die out in every pages of our imagination... (6 out of 10)

How about my all time favorites?

2006-06-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

CINEMATOGRAPHY - It is known as the discipline of making lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for the cinema. Ranging from Amelie, 28 Days Later, Hero, Titanic or Spring, Summer, Fall Winter and Spring…, one film is my all time favorite for this category, AMERICAN BEAUTY created a poignant, wicked and surreal version of the truth that flows in the mainstream society being dictated by constant globalization and technological craze. The red background constantly on the screen effectively symbolizes the life force and the voice of our sexuality.

ORIGINAL SCORE - Film score is the background music in a film, generally specially written for the film and often used to heighten emotions provoked by the imagery on the screen or by the dialogue. Through this, Amelie, Cinema Paradiso, Malena or Run Lola Run suited the definition but still, TITANIC’s film score immortalized the overused tale of first love. The film score being comparable to Gone With the Wind or Dr. Zhivago is so mesmerizing, touching and deeply affecting.

PRODUCTION DESIGN - Production design is a term used in the movie industry to refer to the overall look of a film. Tae Guk Gi, Good Bye Lenin!, The Schindler’s List and Far From Heaven are all my favorites but AMELIE created a dreamy, enticing and attractive picture of the real life wild Paris. The quirky, fun and impressionistic elements in the set contributed a lot as to why our main Protagonist appreciates every simple pleasure in life. The world may be so complex and dangerous as it may seem, but if you look at it in a different positive angle… we have something like the world of AMELIE…

FILM EDITING - Also called montage, is the connecting of one or more shots together in a sequence. The City of God, Run Lola Run, The Matrix and American Beauty are all perfectly edited but THE SCHINDLER’S LIST astoundingly accomplished better. The result, an accurate and detailed storytelling that will definitely last for the next 100 years or more. THE SCHINDLER’S LIST cared for every beginning and ending of all the transitions of its scenes in order to deliver a heart wrenching tale of the holocaust.

ACTING ENSEMBLE - An ensemble cast is a cast in which the principal performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance in a dramatic production. Good Bye Lenin!, American Beauty, The Schindler’s List, 21 Grams have all top caliber magnificent casting but THE HOURS performances about the lives of three women gave the most remarkable impact to me. Because of the fantastic Nicole Kidman up to Meryll Streep, Julianne Moore, Stephen Dilane and Ed Harris, THE HOURS became so compelling, memorable and gripping drama.

SCREENPLAY - Screenwriting refers to the art and craft of writing screenplays. Without a good script, there will be cold performances and bland directing, thus, a really bad film. Amelie, Good Bye Lenin!, The Schindler’s List, The Hours, In America and Cinema Paradiso are all well written films but AMERICAN BEAUTY gave the most impressive written material by tackling the sarcastic, sad, social dark family issues, but enlightening revelations that surround the metropolis everyday. “It is so hard to stay mad when there’s so much beauty in the world.” is a classic liner from the film.

ANIMATED FILM - Animation is the optical illusion of motion created by the consecutive display of images of static elements. How can big complicated grown-ups appreciate the optical illusions with such kiddy and unrealistic subject matters? I guess it is the heart and the strength of the colorful moving characters in every pictures… Toy Story Part 1 and 2, Land Before Time and Monsters Inc. made me think of my childhood but FINDING NEMO explores the childlike faith in my adulthood. It makes me believe how love, magic and color constituted to enjoy life much better.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM - Foreign Films are movies which have a non-English language (at least 90% of the native language) screenplay directly written for the screen. Dealing with foreign films let you explore the different styles in filmmaking from different regions in the world, apart from the stereotypical Hollywood references. Amelie, Cinema Paradiso, Life is Beautiful, Run Lola Run, The Edukators and Tae Guk Gi are all memorable foreign films for me, but the very touching German classic GOOD BYE LENIN! made me realize that an excellent heartfelt human drama can be intelligently funny and wicked at the same time.

Acting is the work of an actor, a person in theatre, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS - Naomi Watts in 21 Grams, Annette Bening in American Beauty and Audrey Tautou in Amelie are all my favorite performances by an actress but NICOLE KIDMAN in THE HOURS just captured my heart and whole sympathy for her demented Virginia Woolfe character. I usually hate it when somebody automatically win an award because he/she played a lunatic or his/her character suffered a lot because of a loss of a loved one but Nicole is by far, an exemption to this rule. Her character ‘Virginia’ spoke clearly how is it to live by your choice and to lead ones life by her/his own free will.

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR - Kevin Spacey in American Beauty, Roberto Benigni in Life is Beautiful and Tom Hanks in Castaway are all my favorite male performances but I choose the simple Berliner role of DANIEL BRüHL as Alex in GOOD BYE LENIN! I really like his emotional charming personality and the way he communicates with his eyes and facial expressions on how much love and lies he is willing to give for his dying mother. Daniel did not need a forceful heavy scene in the film to project his love, hopes and frustrations about his life, but through his simple modest and brave character, we laugh and cry with him at the same time.

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION - Generally, a film director is the one controlling the film's artistic and dramatic aspects. Sam Mendes in American Beauty, Peter Jackson in The Lord of the Rings, Jean Pierre Jeunet in Amelie and Wolfgang Becker in Good Bye Lenin! are all first rate directors for creating their own masterpieces. But STEVEN SPIELBERG'S THE SCHINDLER’S LIST is a classic film that deserves to be compared to the works of all time top directors such as Victor Fleming, Fritz Lang, Stanley Kubrick and Alfred Hitchcock. Spielberg’s versatility on his artistic views and rich symbolisms made the images realistic and haunting.

MOTION PICTURE - The overall recognition in all aspects of a film constitutes the whole picture. American Beauty, Amelie, The Schindler’s List, The Hours and Life is Beautiful are all great productions. From the script, direction, acting then up to the editing phase, these films have all succeeded. But above all, one film challenged the current trends of mainstream movies. The European box office hit GOOD BYE LENIN! is my all time favorite picture. It is a comedy which revealed the complexity of life amid the weightlessness of freedom, enticement of westernization, and the burden of abrupt change. Set against the historic collapse of the Berlin Wall, the movie pleasantly integrates comedy of situation, irony of fate, and the quarreling alliance between reality and the heart's decree, hence picturing a fundamental tale of being. This is so far the best family drama I have seen and made me realize how human is to surrender to lies and deceit in order to save someone you love from inevitable extinction.

The World is Their Playground in "Love Me if You Dare" (Jeux d'enfants)

2006-06-04T23:19:00.000-07:00

I love this film. It's light, dreamy, and colorful. The movie does not ask you to take it seriously, but simply to watch as Julien and Sophie play with the elements of conventional life. We see Julien and Sophie's games becoming more and more elaborate as they grow up, affecting other lives even. And when they do, you understand at most levels that they do not mean to hurt other people. They just play as the game is supposed to be played.

It is fantasy in that it lets you suspend realism for a moment, and dwell on the things we take for granted many times- laughter, romance, and childlike innocence. This movie made me smile, and I have no need to question motivations etc. It would be absurd to questions things that are meant to be left alone in their wonder.
Plus, the soundtrack is very lovable, “La Vie en Rose” in different beats and versions? Oh it is just so romantic. I’ll never ever forget the magic of this film…

The Best of the First Half of 2006 (Dec. 1, 2005 - May 31, 2006)

2006-05-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

10. RECONSTRUCTION by Christoffer Boe (Denmark) – Reconstruction is just like a jigsaw puzzle that Director Christoffer Boe constructed in his mind; random, sophisticated and achingly beautiful.

10. NO REGRETS by Benjamin Quabeck (Germany) – At first, it is a common story of happiness and frustrations brought by first love, but in the end, Quabeck’s crazy cinematogphy and clever editing give so much style and flavor with his well written script.

9. CRASH by Paul Haggis (USA) – Despite of being preachy at times, Crash is a well acted feature with seamless editing that secures its dynamic and intense human drama. Crash is at the same time, commentary about the current assimilated form of racism in the continental America.

8. THE WHITE SOUND by Hans Weingartner (Germany) – The White Sound is a lot better than A Beautiful Mind. The film showed a very realistic vision of how someone is suffering from schizophrenia and how love ones is terribly affected by such disease.

7. SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS by Brad Silberling (USA) – Silberling’s film is FUN, FUN and FUN. Amazing production design, costumes and visual effects, this dark comedy is a family film with a big and caring heart.

6. CHRONICLES OF NARNIA by Andrew Adamson (UK) – Not just for the kids but also for everyone who’s losing faith, hope and goodness in their hearts. Narnia is more than just a fantasy film, it is a metaphor.

5. KING KONG by Peter Jackson (USA) – Peter Jackson is a true landscape master. Better than the original 1933 version, Jackson recreated the old New York City in chaos dealing with an in love monster! King Kong is a true classic.

4. SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE by Park Chan Wook (South Korea) – The third and final installment of Park’s revenge trilogy is a humorous, occasionally comical and dark at the same time, the film has successfully shown the nakedness of human emotion to the reality of anger and vengeance.

3. HOTEL RWANDA by Terry George (USA) – The context of the film involved politics, culture, family, religion, race, and many other questions of ethics. It told the WHOLE story from all perspectives and made you see the HUMANITY.

2. FATELESS by Lajos Koltai (Hungary) – Fateless’ different insight about the holocaust made it so touching and sad without succumbing to over sentimentality. It is a classic which continuously reminds us that how dark, painful and difficult life can be; there is something like an unavoidable trap along our way which is similar to happiness.

1. THE EDUKATORS by Hans Weingartner (Germany) – The Edukators is a brave, original, ultimately award winning feature that takes a look on the lives of three political activists. Being the only German film in Cannes for the last 10 years, this funny, intelligent and clever film jolts the current system that creates the demarcation line between the rich and the poor.

FATELESS and the Truth Behind It...

2006-05-29T23:29:00.000-07:00

FATELESS is one of the best Holocausts film ever made showing how adolescence can suddenly be interrupted by war. In contrast with other World War II classics like The Schindler’s List and The Pianist, FATELESS did not focus on the gruesome images and unnecessary pains of war, but rather the film showed another dimension of the universal truth by which most people fails to see and realize.

Gyorgy is fourteen, a boy who gradually understand that life and survival is not that easy in the kind of world he is currently living. “And then I understand the simple secret of our universe, I can be killed, anywhere and anytime.” ironically said by the boy when he was in Auswitz and a series of bombing occurred in towns nearby. We can feel the depressing mode of the film because of the characters will to survive hunger, cold weather, humiliation and death but it never instill too much horror because it did not show how the defenseless Jews are massacred by the Nazis or how they suffered inside the gas chambers. As the days go by in the camps, despite of being scared of what might happened, it seemed that he is rather bewildered by the war, he has no time to mourn and all that he can think of is how to survive.

When the boy returned to his home in Hungary, he missed the brotherhood and the simple life inside the concentration camp, where you can easily appreciate what it is like to be happy.

FATELESS is not just a Holocaust masterpiece but it is a testament of truth, the truth that no matter how random, dark and hard life can be, happiness, just like the air we breath will find its way out from a suffocating enclosure to give us life. FATELESS is not for everyone, it is not a typical movie that you’ll always expect that something is going to happen but it is a film with a lot of symbolisms between its scenes. FATELESS shows how turmoil, pain and hopelessness can suddenly give happiness its sweetest flavor.

My Top Ten Movies of the First Half of 2006 (December 2005 - May 2006)
1. THE EDUKATORS by Hans Weingartner (Germany)
2. FATELESS by Lajos Koltai (Hungary)
3. HOTEL RWANDA by Terry George (USA)
4. SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE by Park Chan Wook (South Korea)
5. KING KONG by Peter Jackson (USA)
6. CHRONICLES OF NARNIA by Andrew Adamson (UK)
7. SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS by Brad Silberling (USA)
8. THE WHITE SOUND by Hans Weingartner (Germany)
9. CRASH by Paul Haggis (USA)
10.NO REGRETS by Benjamin Quabeck (Germany)
10.RECONSTRUCTION by Christoffer Boe (Denmark)

The Edukators (screenplay by Hans Weingartner)

2006-02-01T22:14:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since I’ve encountered a very sensible and strong screenplay. This year, The Edukators which happens to be the German Film Critics Best Film is my early favorite for 2006. Here are some of its great and amazing points:

This is a conversation of Jan (Daniel Bruhl), a young idealist and Hardenberg (Burghart Klaussner), a rich corporate capitalist and their individual ideas on how the world works…

Hardenberg: We live in a democracy, I don’t have to justify why I own certain things, I paid for them.

Jan: Wrong, we live in a capitalist dictatorship; you stole everything you possess… It’s the basic rule of the system, suck others dry, it stops them from reacting.

Hardenberg: That’s not true, sure things need improvement. Environmental protection, raising producer prices, but the system won’t change. The nature of man is to be better than others, in every group, a leader emerges quickly. Plus, more people are happy when buying something new.

Jan: Happy? Think they are happy Hardenberg? Look around, get out of the company car, walk on the street. Anyone look happy or more like of a scared animal. Look into their living rooms, all glued to the TV, listening to chic zombies, speaking of a happiness long gone. Drive around town, you’ll see all the filth, the overcrowding, the masses in the department store. Up and down like robots in the escalator, nobody knows anybody. They think that happiness is an inch away, but it is unreachable because you stole it. That’s how it is, you know perfectly well. But I have news for you executive, the system is overheated. We’re just the forerunners; your time is almost over. Swim in your shit technology but the others are full of rage. The rage of children living in slums, watching American action films, that’s one part let’s see. Mental illness is rising; serial killers, shattered souls, senseless violence. You can’t sedate them with game shows and shopping. The antidepressants won’t work forever either. The people have had enough of your shit system.

Hardenberg: I admit some of what you say is true, but I am the wrong scapegoat. I play the games but I didn’t make the rules.

Jan: It is not who invented the gun, but who pulls the trigger.

The Edukators: A Rebellious Tale of Idealism and Generational Contradiction

2006-01-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

Jan, Peter and Jule are living out their rebellious youth. They are united by their passion to change the state of the world. Jan and Peter become The Edukators, mysterious perpetrators who non-violently warn the local rich their "days of plenty are numbered." Complications follow when vulnerable Jule ends up falling for both young men. Reckless choices result in danger. An operation gone wrong and what was never intended to be a kidnapping brings the three young idealists face-to-face with the values of the generation in power.

Hans Weingartner has made a tale of younger people who cannot accept the life that has been created for them (or conversely, that they’ve created for themselves). As a result this film looks at the issues of what has brought them to their present state, what they think they need to do about it and what are the consequences of doing something about it.

Jan (Daniel Bruhl) and Peter (Stipe Erceg) are two friends who share an apartment and break into people’s homes. They aren’t burglars however. They simply rearrange the furniture and leave a cryptic message that says ‘Your days of plenty are numbered.’ The hope is that this will get rich people to think a little more about what they have; to actually have a conscience about the fact that as they live it up, others are living in squalor. Things get complicated when Peter goes on a trip and he asks Jan to help his girlfriend Jule (Julia Jentsch) clean up her apartment from which she is being evicted. They start talking, growing closer and it is apparent that something is going to happen with them. Jule tells Jan about an accident she was in that has put her $100,000 euros in debt to wealthy business man. After talking more, Jan tells Jule about what he and Peter do and that they call themselves The Edukators

The cast of the movie was phenomenal. European actors are usually pretty solid, but in a movie with such a tiny cast, that is so dialogue heavy and it can’t rely on different locations because it mainly takes place in a log cabin, the actor’s performances are doubly impressive. At first I didn’t know how to take the character of Jan. I was sure that in some ways he was loose cannon and would ultimately be everyone’s undoing. Daniel Bruhl plays him with such a subtle tenderness, that by the end of the movie, you realize that he is the most sensible out of everyone. He is quiet yet when he talks he has big things to say. His actions are very deliberate and you always get the sense that if the situation is left up to him then everything is going to turn out just fine.

As Jule (Julia Jentsch) never plays this character as the love torn woman who can’t decide which man is best for her. You get the sense that her mind is made up and overall she just seems to be a better fit with Jan. I loved that when you saw her as a waitress, she wasn’t catty with any of the customers. She seems to be idealistic, radical but also quite aware that she does have a job to do and that that job will give her at least some money to survive.

Ultimately, I think The Edukators makes very valid points about the world and where it’s heading. People are getting tired of the constant media barrage, the medicines that take care of your problems and the way we have to work like dogs it seems without ever getting ahead. I think that overall The Edukators is a film that really has something to say. I hope it can find a large audience and I hope that younger people who would really get something from this film will be open-minded enough to give it a chance. It’s funny, in this day and age it seems like people need to know something is good before they try it. Something tells me it would be easier if rather then read reviews or council other people’s opinions, they just took a chance and believed in their own judgment. Such is the underlying themes of a movie like The Edukators.

Awards:

German Film Critics Circle Award - Best Picture, Best Actress (Julia Jentsch)
European Film Academy Awards - Best Actor Nominee (Daniel Bruhl)
Cannes Film Festival - Best Picture Nominee
German Film Awards - Best Picture (Silver), Best Supporting Actor (Burghart Klaussner), Best Director Nominee (Hans Weingartner)
Bavarian Film Awards - Best Young Actress (Julia Jentsch)

I'm Dreaming of Home

2005-12-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

“I’m Dreaming of Home” is the movie soundtrack of the recently Golden Globe nominated film Merry Christmas. In the Christmas Truce of 1914, when the French, German and English soldier spent the Christmas Eve together, without any hesitation about each others hostility, in the film, they sang this very touching and nostalgic song while they are waiting on the very day, Jesus Christ was born.

I’m Dreaming of Home

I hear the mountain birds,
The sound of rivers singing,
A song I’ve often heard,
It flows through me now,
So clear and so loud,
I stand where I am,
And forever, I’m dreaming of home
I feel so alone, I’m dreaming of home.

It’s carried in the air,
The breeze of early morning,
I see the land so fair,
My heart opens wide,
There’s sadness inside,
I stand where I am,
And forever, I’m dreaming of home
I feel so alone, I’m dreaming of home.

This is no foreign sky,
I see no foreign light,
But far away am I,
From some peaceful land,
I’m longing to stand,
A hand in my hand,
… forever I’m dreaming of home,
I feel so alone, I’m dreaming of home.

My 2005 Top 30 List (out of 124 films)

2005-12-07T01:16:00.000-08:00

Here are my Top 30 films for 2005. I have seen 124 compared to 166 motion pictures last year. The coverage period of my evaluation is from December 1, 2004 - November 30, 2005 which I follow every year.

I have also posted in the right side, the results of my best encounter with movies per category. Our very own "The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros" is not eligible since I have just seen it last December 8, 2005, but it is an excellent film, I hope and I pray that it will bring home the Audience Award from the Sundance Film Festival. I had a hard time weighing the merits of these films since it's very difficult to mix objectivity and subjectivity, but here they are. I hope you'll have some time to see these films too...

30. Dancer in the Dark (Denmark)
29. Girl With A Pearl Earring (UK)
28. House of Sand and Fog (USA)
27. Motorcycle Diaries (Argentina)
26. Saw (USA)
25. Ladies in Lavender (UK)
24. My Sassy Girl (Korea)
23. A Moment to Remember (Korea)
22. Kung Fu Hustle (Hong Kong)
21. Primer (USA)
20. Maria Full of Grace (Colombia)
19. Napola (Germany)
18. Millions (UK)
17. The Sea Inside (Spain)
16. Donnie Darko (USA)
15. The Classic (Korea)
14. Downfall (Germany)
13. Million Dollar Baby (USA)
12. Sideways (USA)
11. Vera Drake (UK)
10. A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT (France)
09. BEFORE SUNSET (USA)
08. SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER AND SPRING... (Korea)
07. LOVE IN THOUGHTS (Germany)
06. MANDERLAY (Denmark)
05. 3-IRON (Korea)
04. OLDBOY (Korea)
03. MERRY CHRISTMAS (France)
02. RUN LOLA RUN (Germany)
01. TAEGUKGI (Korea)

Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noel)

2005-11-30T20:56:00.000-08:00

“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility”.

Joyeux Noel (aka Merry Christmas), a heartwarming film set in the World War 1 trenches is a €19M joint production of France, Germany and the UK with star studded talented cast of Diane Krüger, Daniel Brühl, Brenno Fürmann, Guillame Canet, Garry Lewis and Danny Boon.

Merry Christmas is a very poignant film surrounded by beautiful Christmas carols and well written storyline. It is like the heartbreaking moments of Saving Private Ryan plus the uplifting energy of Love Actually combined together in a single package.

Christmas Eve of 1914, the English, French and Germans celebrated the Christmas Eve together in the war trenches singing, drinking and sharing their pictures from home. The film’s opening credit is pretty impressive; it begins with children of different nationalities talking about their understanding of war. Things like why they should get rid of one another to ease the danger and make this world a better place to live in, but the question is, do we really have defined or particular enemies?

In Merry Christmas, unbelievable but true, they have extended the fraternization for three more days to bury the victims of war in both sides. I found a very moving scene in the film where the officials are talking about Christmas, the day when Christ was born is the very same day when they are burying their comrades. In the end of the film, I have my teary eyes when they are all going back to war and forget about their so called “crime of fraternization” and then they sang the song “I’m Dreaming of Home”. History has kept this truth for years because on that time, they believed that it is a crime of disobedience and disloyalty for their countries. But I guess it is damn better to be loyal to the human race in general right? In one of the last scenes, an English bishop is telling the soldiers that the World War I is a crusade, a battle between good and evil, the English and French being the savior and the Germans are the evil ones. Well, I know it is pretty controversial but I never believe in the literal meaning of the word ‘Crusade’, the crusade that they are talking about that there are certain definite groups of people that would assume the word good and bad is just absurd.

Looking at Joyeux Noel, the most outstanding aspect of the film is probably the strong direction from Christian Carion, he is a very emotional director who can effectively show human reaction to the absurdity and hostility of war. The cast is also very powerful not only because of their acting skills (we know that already) but it features box office hit makers such as Diane Kruger. But the best performances from the movie came from Daniel Bruhl (not because I’m a fan), Guillame Canet (France’ answer to Tom Cruise) and Danny Boon, the one who played the role of the priest. The film score is fantastic, it features old recognizable Christmas carols and I just love the song I’m Dreaming of Home, it is so touching and nostalgic. This movie is definitely one of the best five movies of 2005.

Last night, there are just three people watching the last full show. But despite of this, I realized one thing, if it’s always Christmas everyday, may be those millions of people did not loose their lives in the series of senseless wars…

10 Best Performances by an Actor in the year 2005...

2005-11-14T22:21:00.000-08:00

I am posting these 10 names because the year is almost over... The list of eligible actors for this year is based on their films shown from December 1, 2004 - November 15, 2005...

In random order:

Javier Bardem (The Sea Inside) – Javier as a quadriplegic in the Spanish film Mar Adentro is a very accurate portrayal of bravery, sadness, regret and most of all, dignity.

Jang Donggun (Taegukgi) – Obviously, he is the only Asian in the list. Donggun, in the next few years can be the Best Korean movie star that we have.

Gael Garcia Bernal (Motorcycle Diaries) – Gael’s portrayal of Che Guevarra makes the subject matter more intriguing, controversial and fashionable?

Daniel Brühl (Love in Thoughts) – Forget that he is my favorite actor in the world; his poetic, dark, possessive and twisted character in the film is the reason why he is hovering in the list.

August Diehl (Love in Thoughts) – He is my favorite fag in the recent years. August as Gunther is always crazy, jealous, drugged, good friend but extremely dangerous.

Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby) – Clint is the reason why I can’t recognize Hillary Swank as the Best Actress of the Year; he simply got more of my attention…

Bruno Ganz (Downfall) – He is Adolf Hitler and Hitler is an iconic figure in the world history. Because of Bruno’s demented, realistic gesture of his character in the film, I hate him even more…

Paul Giamatti (Sideways) – I can see bitterness in his face. Paul’s character is so complex but he let us know the hardship, pain and humor of his journey. He is simply one of this year’s best!

Ethan Hawke (Before Sunset) – Ethan’s pragmatic persona as a man who always maintains his heart under the power of his mind is really impressive.

Ben Kingsley (House of Sand and Fog) – No wonder why he is here, I have never seen a rough performance of Ben even in the space thriller film “Species”.

Cream of the Crop: Based on the performance, I can already associate the year 2005 to three names: Javier Bardem, Bruno Ganz and Paul Giamatti but till now, I still can’t decide on who is the best… I’ll just post it on early December!!!

2005 European Film Academy Awards

2005-11-06T21:09:00.000-08:00

Another year has passed, out of more than 400 competing films in Europe annually, here comes the nominations in my favorite award giving body (major categories):

EUROPEAN FILM 2005
Brothers directed by Susanne Bier (Denmark/UK/Sweden/Norway)
Hidden (Cache) directed by Michael Haneke (France/Austria/Ger/Italy)
Don't Come Knocking directed by Wim Wenders (Germany)
The Child (L'Enfant) directed by Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne (Belgium/France)
My Summer Of Love directed by Pawel Pawlikowski (UK)
Sophie Scholl directed by Marc Rothemund (Germany)

EUROPEAN DIRECTOR 2005
Susanne Bier for Brothers
Roberto Faenza for Come into the Light (Alla Luce Del Sole)
Michael Haneke for Hidden (Cache)
Alex de la Iglesia for Crimen Ferpecto
Pawel Pawlikowski for My Summer Of Love
Cristi Puiu for The Death of Mr Lazarescu
Wim Wenders for Don't Come Knocking

EUROPEAN ACTRESS 2005
Juliette Binoche for Hidden (Cache)
Sandra Ceccarelli for The Life I Want (La Vita Che Vorrei)
Julia Jentsch for Sophie Scholl
Connie Nielsen for Brothers
Natalie Press for My Summer Of Love
Audrey Tautou for A Very Long Engagement

EUROPEAN ACTOR 2005
Daniel Auteuil for Hidden (Cache)
Romain Duris for The Beat That My Heart Skipped
Henry Hubchen for Go for Zucker!
Ulrich Matthes for The Ninth Day
Jeremie Renier for The Child
Ulrich Thomsen for Brothers

EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER 2005
Hany Abu-Assad & Bero Beyer for Paradise Now
Mark O'Halloran for Adam And Paul
Michael Haneke for Hidden
Anders Thomas Jensen for Adam's Apples and Brothers
Dani Levy and Holger Franke for Go for Zucker!
Cristi Puiu and Razvan Radulescu for The Death of Mr Lazarescu

In the Best Film category, I am keeping my eye on the two festival circuits favorites that will probably dominate the awards night...

Caché
Disturbing, Stunning, Daring and Dark… Georges and Anne is a happily married middle class couple who both work in the arts. The balance of their lives is suddenly disturbed when they begin to receive video cassettes seemingly surveying the exterior of their home. Anne is quite dismissive of the tape but immediately Georges believes there is a sinister element to the tape. Soon they receive more tapes and disturbing drawings. As Georges fears for the safety of his family he suddenly has to confront his past and allow his wife to learn the hidden secrets of his past.

Brothers
Brødre / Brothers has two interwoven story lines: one about the relationship between two brothers, the other about the difference between comfortable Western civilizations sending out soldiers to various missions and the actual war zones. These stories mirror each other and both brothers change roles during the movie: One starts in prison, the other ends up there; one is a family man; the other takes over this role after his brother's death.

Here are the past Best Picture winners in the European Film Academy Awards:
2004: Head-On (Germany)
2003: Good Bye Lenin! (Germany)
2002: Talk To Her (Spain)
2001: Amelie (France)
2000: Dancer in the Dark (Denmark)
1999: All About My Mother (Spain)
1998: Life is Beautiful (Italy)

Downfall (Germany)

2005-11-01T22:07:00.000-08:00

“Be ruthless. Life doesn't forgive weakness. This so-called humanity is religious drivel. Compassion is an eternal sin. To feel compassion for the weak is a betrayal of nature. The strong can only triumph if the weak are exterminated. Being loyal to this law, I've never had compassion. I've always been ruthless when faced with internal opposition from other races. That's the only way to deal with it.” – Adolf Hitler in Downfall.

When Adolf Hitler is delivering this line in the movie, I can’t help it but to feel so scared about the extent on how human beings can turn into an animal, corrupted by their powers and for being a prisoner of their demented reasons. Downfall, the film that was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film last year is a very cruel, dark and yet a very realistic portrayal of the last days of Adolf Hitler on his barracks, following the victory of the Allied forces to end the reign of terror in Europe.

Downfall, based on a book that was written by Hitler’s secretary on his bunker is a very controversial piece for giving answers for so many questions that were known to be buried together with the million lives claimed by the war. In this film, we can see Hitler’s compulsive, mad, and intelligent and sometimes naïve decisions before the Germans finally succumbed to the Allied. I won’t spoil the ending but it is definitely hard to perceive the images showed in the silver screen, thus the film is very successful in showing the adverse and demonic effects of war to the human beings in general.

“After the death of National Socialism, there will be no future to Germany and to the rest of the world”. This statement has just moved me into conclusion without offending the Aryan people, how arrogant can they be? I wonder why they want to give up even their children’s future because they firmly believe that once the National Socialism has ended, life and society has no meaning and the people have not considered their great plans for the human race.

Bruno Ganz, the actor who played Hitler, is excellent in portraying the role; I was really convinced and scared by his angry and manipulative character. The production design, cinematography and the rest of the technical aspects of the film are all brilliant. The script is clearly very sharp, intriguing and also well written.

During the production phase of this film, I thought that movie will be a piece of trash because of showing too much speculations and prejudices, but after 2 ½ hours of watching, I know why Downfall has been hailed by the critics around the world as one of the best WW2 epics ever made.

My Favorite International Stars...

2005-10-24T23:48:00.000-07:00

When it comes to actors and actresses, I am very faithful on following the careers of my favorite stars. I am like crazy finding the DVD copies of their movies, and even taking part for their Best Actor or Best Actress campaigns in the Internet… Here are my favorites and I'll write something about them...

Actress:

Audrey Tautou as Mathilde in 'A Very Long Engagement'

3) Kate Winslet - Elegance, beauty and extraordinary talent, Kate is a certified future Oscar winner. Her performances in Titanic, Quills and Iris made her a true star, but my favorite performance of Kate is on Michel Gondry twisted romantic comedy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Her passion to musical and stage acting serve to be her backbone in her very interesting career, plus it is undeniable that she is really hot…

2) Nicole Kidman – Nicole may just be the greatest actress of our new generation following the footsteps of Katherine Hepburn, Julie Andrews and Elizabeth Taylor, all she need is time… Giving an excellent string of performances from Moulin Rouge, The Hours, Cold Mountain and Dogville, she has already attained what is almost impossible for an ordinary actress. Nicole’s best performance in The Hours is considered to be one of the best ever performances recognized by the Academy. In all of these achievements, I just hope she’ll find good luck in marriage.

1) Audrey Tautou – She got my attention for the first time in the French film Amelie. For me, French hottie Audrey is the most charming actress in the world for giving a different touch of performance in her films especially in ‘Amelie’ and in the World War I epic film ‘A Very Long Engagement’. She is very busy right now filming the American movie Da Vinci Code with Tom Hanks, I just hope she won’t be exploited by Hollywood taking stupid roles in stupid movies. I like her to be doing more films in Europe because I’m after the quality of her works and not about the number of zeros in her paycheck. Well, in few years time, more and more people will recognize her and they will think the same like me that she is the reincarnation of Audrey Hepburn (Breakfast At Tyffany’s).

Actors:

Daniel Brühl as Alex in 'Good Bye Lenin!' (with Katrin Sass as the mother)

3) Gael Garcia Bernal – He stars in Mexico’s most critically acclaimed films namely Amores Perros, El Crimen de Padre Amaro and Y tu Mama Tambien. Recently, he participated in other international films like The Motorcycle Diaries and Bad Education. As an actor, he is consistently giving above average performances in all his movies. I admire him because few actors are really serious on taking good roles over big income and fame, despite of this, he continuously becoming more popular.

2) Jude Law – I really wanted him to be the next James Bond. Jude is a kind of actor who can show an excellent performance in a mainstream film. My favorite performance of Jude is on Cold Mountain, together with Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger, they have a good chemistry together as an acting ensemble. Just like any good actors, he never looses grip on choosing good projects and good money. His role in AI and Alfie are both pretty surprising to me because of a different Jude in the silver screen. I just hope he chooses another project with Nicole Kidman!

1) Daniel Brühl – Currently the most popular actor in the European mainland, this good looking German Spanish actor seems to be a very talented one (for being able to speak in English, Spanish, French and German; for being a lead singer of a band; and mostly, for winning an armload of Best Actor Awards for his film ‘Good Bye Lenin!’ and ‘The Edukators’). Critics often compare him to Gael Garcia Bernal because both young actors are in the race of becoming the Best International Actor outside the US and the UK. By far, he is my most favorite actor because of his flexibility on playing roles with heavy and light themes. His sensitive role as an overprotective son in Good Bye Lenin! and his angry anti-capitalist persona in The Edukators are really contrasting in nature but he is consistently giving German Cinema a reason to go worldwide.

2005 Spotlight Corner: (Possible yearend contention)

Best Acting Ensemble:

House of Sand and Fog (Jennifer Connely, Ben Kingsley)
Ladies in Lavender (Maggie Smith, Judy Dench, Daniel Brühl)
Love in Thoughts (Daniel Brühl, August Diehl, Anna Maria Mühe)
Million Dollar Baby (Hillary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman)
Sideways (Paul Giamatti, Thomas Hayden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh)
Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War (Won Bin, Jang Donggun, Lee Eunjoo)

Spoiler: Amazing list but Love in Thoughts and Sideways are ahead… Well, eventually it’s going to be SIDEWAYS…

Manderlay: Making Fun of Black and White

2005-09-09T00:33:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, I was able to catch the last day of screening of the Danish film Manderlay in the Cinemanila Film Festival, the second installment of the Lars Von Trier’s trilogy which covers the same theme; USA: The Land of Opportunity, but actually, the theme is a mockery…

Again, the film was made the same way as Dogville but without Nicole Kidman. That is why the first part is still better, by having a better performance by the cast and more impressive manipulation of the camera. After watching for almost two hours, I can say that this film is perhaps the most provoking, intriguing, controversial masterpieces ever made. It talks about the black slavery in the little town of Manderlay, but at the same time, it sparks a commentary about the US campaign of democracy in Iraq which is very cynical.

The story began when Grace arrived in Manderlay (1933) and she saw that slavery is still being implemented in the town even though it was already abolished for more than five decades. Then our self-proclaimed hero insisted to stay in the town and set the blacks free, so her gangster father gave Grace some of his armed men to stay with her. Grace said to the people of Manderlay that these armed men are just for maintaining peace if something bad happens in the quiet little town (see what I mean about the US Arm forces). On her days in Manderlay, she taught the black people on how to practice democracy. They had a series of meetings regarding the ownership of the lands and the properties but it seems that these people are not interested for this change. It is very evident here that Trier is trying to tease America for their mission on Iraq and pointing out that how can you teach democracy to someone who does not even know what democracy is.

In the end, she discovered that Wilhelm, the leader of the slaves is the one who devised the method of psychological division of the black people in Manderlay based on their behaviors. They are divided by their masters according to this scheme and accepted the system because the minority knew that they will not be honored by the white people of America and they cannot fully enjoy the freedom of free-enterprise world so they decided to become slaves for the rest of their lifetime. As we can see, Trier hits on both black and white. He insisted that the white people has the power to set free the minority from slavery, but in the bottomline, still very apparent from today, the blacks are technically free but the concept and perception of slavery has just transformed. The blacks on the other hand were referred in the film as lazy individuals who withdrew themselves from enjoying freedom for not escaping from the hands of their masters.

It is very clear that Grace is the picture of the modern America, she imagines herself as the hero, as the savior who can provide anything to the hungry world, and perhaps she is drowned by her own vanity. She always presents herself as a gift to others; America invades other cultures without even knowing what kind of people they are dealing with. It is always Idealism vs. Pragmatism. Grace represents an idealist mind who wants to make a change by her own way without even realizing other external circumstances and the Blacks represent pragmatic minds for practically giving up to the system.

Manderlay is one of the most intelligent films I’ve ever seen in years, despite of knowing the fact that it is very offensive to the American people, it is a true gem in the history of cinema, and certainly this is perhaps the best and most creative movie of the year. (A)

Excellent Films in August...

2005-08-16T21:44:00.000-07:00

Million Dollar Baby (US)

Million Dollar Baby has great characters, but it doesn't glorify them. It has a wonderful story, but it never tries to impress you. The photography, score and direction is superb, but never distracting. What this movie is, if I have to call it something, is passion. Passion for film-making, passion for storytelling, passion for its characters, passion for its actors, and passion for its story and the means at which it will go to tell it. Amazing.

The score was poignant, thoughtful, and enduring. The screenplay was stunning, the words these characters said to each other, the story, the plot, the list goes on and on. Do not come into this film and expect not to be moved in any way. The film touches you, stays with you, and makes you think of the own decisions you have made in your life and how you've dealt with the consequences.

Million Dollar Baby is hands down one of the THE BEST films of 2005, bar non. See this extraordinary film and prepare to be moved by it's emotional story about overcoming adversity, and fighting with all your heart for what you want in your life. A

Love in Thoughts (Die Liebe in Gedanken, Germany)

Three words would best describe this movie - incredibly beautiful drama! And although the director might've made a better use of the camera, this doesn't spoil the whole movie at all, for it has some very good actors and a brilliant story to boast with.

The most promising young actors of contemporary German cinema - Daniel Brühl (as Paul), August Diehl (as Günther) and Anna Marie Mühe (as Hilde) - all make wonderful performances and tell the story of extremely tangled relationships, where love and happiness, pain and rage twist and turn their lives.

I am not surprised why August Diehl (23) and Daniel Brühl (Good bye Lenin!/No Regrets) have won their respective German Academy Award Best Actor trophy with Daniel winning the awards for two consecutive years. They have this unique kind of chemistry in the screen which has created the right melancholic tone as the theme of the film suggests.

Some viewers might find the paste rather slow, but I think that this is the only way to really get close to the characters and understand their motives. In conclusion, I wouldn't recommend this extremely poetic movie to everyone, but only to those lovers of the European cinema, who would appreciate something very deep, sophisticated and demanding. A

Bad Education (La Mala Educacion, Spain)

It is a very good film, although not as absolutely great as "Todo sobre my madre" and "Hable con ella"... Maybe because "Mala education" is sadder and darker than the previous Almodòvar films, the theme (the child abuse during college years) is disturbing and depressing, of course.

In this film the gay element -which exists in all the Almodòvar's movies- comes back, stronger than in his last films. But above all there's the child rape problem, this is one of the most delicate themes the Spanish director has ever talked about. And naturally "Mala educacion" is one of his most tragic films. Whereas in the previous movies Almodòvar always let a place for hope, with this film it's not the case. That's why it is a very difficult tale to watch.

Cinematography is excellent, the music as well (with many recalls to the Sixties songs). Actors are also very good. For Gael Garcia Bernal (we saw him recently in "Motorcycle diaries") this is another solid effort. He portrays Ignacio, he enters the Almodòvar world with all the ambiguity required.

Despite of having all male cast, Almodovar was able to supply a twisted and believable chronicle of lust, love and crime. B+

Just after the 100th film...

2005-07-11T01:57:00.000-07:00

I have passed the benchmark of 100; 100 films that I've seen for the year 2005. Last years set of films is definitely better, American films continue to sink and suffer from mediocrity, placing so much of their money in the visual effects and big Hollywood stars, plus the year 2006 will be flooded by remakes, films from South Korea like My Sassy Girl, Il Mare, The Phone and Oldboy will be copied (haaayyy). Sideways, Primer and Before Sunset saved the American films for the first 6 months of my movie viewing.

Thank God, South Korean films definitely got my attention this year, both on the entertainment and the artistic side of filmmaking. I have to admit that most of their works is melodramatic, I guess that's what they are, but they are not dumb and cheesy in doing this genre. European films however are always consistent, always maintaining the balance between the style, content and elegance.

These are the last films I've seen in July:

Madagascar (US) - I enjoyed the first half hour, but the film suffers from predictability and lack of excitement. FAIL

Das Experiment (Germany) - Good thriller, reminds me a little of Silence of the Lambs, very original and dynamic. PASS

Shutter (Thailand) - Very scary but ocassionally funny, overall; good movie... PASS

The Forgotten (US) - Creepy enough but it suffers from predictability. Watch the trailer and you know what will happen in the first hour of the film... FAIL

2046 (Hong Kong) - The critics like this film a lot, they say its visually beautiful and nearly poetic... but I don't buy it... FAIL

Premonition (Japan) - One of the worst film of the year, I really regret watching it because of a free pass... FAIL

Sideways...

2005-07-03T22:19:00.000-07:00

“I do like to think about the life of wine, how it's a living thing. I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing, how the sun was shining that summer or if it rained... what the weather was like. I think about all those people who tended and picked the grapes, and if it's an old wine, how many of them must be dead by now. I love how wine continues to evolve, how every time I open a bottle it's going to taste different than if I had opened it on any other day. Because a bottle of wine is actually alive -- it's constantly evolving and gaining complexity. That is, until it peaks -- like your '61 -- and begins its steady, inevitable decline. And it tastes so fucking good.”- Maya to Miles in Sideways

I was caught by surprise by this magnificent poignant comedy, again directed by the very inventive and talented director Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt). I have no idea on what is wine or wine tasting in general is all about but giving the sense of its metaphor in real life made it so affecting, humorous and eventually eternal.

Sideways strong point is primarily its moving and intelligent screenplay written by Alexander Payne and co writer Jim Taylor. His funny, sad and wild insight about human beings ups and downs will definitely give a delightful experience to the audience. Probably more humorous compared to his previous works, Sideways, indeed tackled the same central idea as About Schmidt, (identity crisis of middle aged men and their quest to find personal stability and happiness).

The performances are also excellent especially the good chemistry between Miles (Paul Giamatti) and Jack (Thomas Haden Church). I would say that Paul was definitely robbed by an Oscar nomination last February but I’m not so surprised about AMPAS making a lot of big mistakes when the award season comes. Sandra Oh and Virginia Madsen are very strong in the supporting roles that they have completed a powerful acting ensemble for an indie film.

This Oscar winning film is a favorite of more than 200 critics in the US and became one of the top grossing indie films of all time. Beyond the simplicity and charm of this film, it will take you the bittersweet and crazy moments in life.

Movie of the Month for June:

SPRING, SUMMER, FALL, WINTER and SPRING... - Korea's top director Kim Kiduk has made a silent, subtle, beautifully shot film showing the basic pillars and ideals of Buddhism, or should I call this mini-masterpiece Buddhism 101. Four seasons, four periods in every human life, is a continous cycle of life and death... Rich in symbolisms and landscape images, the movie has provided the audience an air to breath, a room for meditation and contemplation. (A)

Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith

2005-05-30T02:16:00.000-07:00

Thumbs Up:

Sharp sound mixing/editing
Well polished visual effects
Good choreography
Nice and clever editing
Amazing art direction…

In other words: Good Technicals

Thumbs down:

Stinky screenplay
Horrible acting
Lacks dramatic power
Weak direction

In other words: The central plot and characterization is hollow…

Verdict: Better than the first two installments but far from being a great movie...
B+ (83/100)

Movie of the Month for May:

DANCER IN THE DARK - Palme d'Or 2000 Award Winning Film by Lars Von Trier is the best movie I've seen this Month. This brutal twisted musical stars Bjork and her powerful performance about a foreigners fate in the United States of America. This shocking masterpiece follows the trend of Trier's love of industrial film noir as his main genre for his works (Dogville, Europa!). A (94/100)

Stars, Stars and Stars

2005-05-18T00:29:00.000-07:00

To think of God as the Maker of all living and non-living entities in the universe seems to be easy to believe, but when the left side of my brain dominates the right side, I always think that we came from a certain thing that can be quantified, indeed to be exact, I used to think that we came from the stars.

Stars in the universe are being born then after million of years, they’ll die, and causes a big explosion in the quietness of space. Then simple elements and substances that have guts to stay in the vacuum will be the basis of all life in a planet.

True?, true… science never lies, it is just to desperate. Sometimes I am feeling weird about myself because how come can I appreciate art, romanticize and store these random memories inside my head, do the stars have something to do with it?

When we dwell too much in science, the more we feel so insignificant, worthless as species in the planet because what is 2000 years compared to 65 Million Years? If I won in the lottery or just die tomorrow, does it make any difference? If there will be World War III for the next 30 years and billion of people perished, what is that compared to the time when reptiles ruled the Earth? I don’t blame Voltaire for saying the phrases, “If God really does not exist, it is necessary to invent one…”, not because of our artfulness, but it is for the part of our body that cannot be quantified.

Choice and destiny, I want to believe that there is choice. In one of the films that I’ve watched, it is said that the future can be altered if you have already seen what will happen next, if you can only interfere inside that channel. How about in God’s perspective? Do we know his channel?

That is the reason why I don’t want to complicate things about the stars anymore. It will just make me worthless. I just want to look at it at night and pretend that there is nothing beyond the sky, it just goes on and on, and we all play our games beneath it…

2005's Best So far...

2005-04-25T23:48:00.000-07:00

My Choice for Best Films (Jan-Apr 2005)

3 Iron (Korea) - Perhaps, the most original, distinctive film made so far. Kim Ki-duk is excellent in directing this Golden Lion award winning movie.

A Very Long Engagement (France) - One of the most charming film of the year and also one of the best war commentary of 2005.

Before Sunset (USA) - Giving the best screenplay of 2005, currently this is the best American film of the year.

Oldboy (Korea) - Park Chan Wok Cannes Film Festival award winning film is one of the best contemporary twisted thriller in this decade.

Run Lola Run (Germany) - Ten or Twenty years from now, Tom Tykwer's thrilling techno movie will linger around to stay...

Tae Guk Gi (Korea) - The Best Film of the Year so far, this war epic film is one of the strongest holocaust melodrama I've ever seen since The Schindler's List...

Addicted to Memories in Bali...

2005-04-22T01:54:00.000-07:00

Now, I have a reason to go home early and catch this Koreanovela. I am very happy about this series because it breaks the monotony and stereotypical performances of Korean entertainers when it comes to soap operas.

The plot of the movie is a little bit dark, contains a risky use of strong language accompanied by strong performances by the cast. I won't spoil the ending but the whole journey of the four protagonists is all about love, jealousy, anger, corruption, and bitterness, subject matters which are the exact opposite of the mainstream feel good mellow dramas. The characterization is impressive since they portray it well despite of complex situations, there is no black and white, the circumstances encountered by the characters are in a complete shades of gray, allowing them to express their human conditions.

It is really nice to see something like this in the Philippine Primetime Television...

Recommended Movies:

Kung Fu Hustle- Well Done!!!
Primer- There is something great about this sci-fi flick with a production budget of only $7,000.00.
Ladies in Lavender- Nice to see the two great dames of British cinema, Judy Dench and Maggie Smith
Motorcycle Diaries- Fantastic Script, Che Guevarra amazed me.

Zentropa, one of the best films of all time…

2005-03-13T17:59:00.000-08:00

Zentropa or Europa, a 1991 film directed by the forever controversial and twisted Danish filmmaker Lars Von Trier showed a complete disregard for mainstream movies, it throws out the rule book and finally spit on it… The result, creating a mind bending and hallucinogenic industrial film-noir pastiche that references sources as diverse as Hitchcock, objectively, one of best films ever crafted…

The plot is threadbare, but never less than interesting, as Jean Marc Barr's bookish American goes back to Germany in the wake of World War II, to discover his roots and lend a hand in the rebuilding of the country. Barr's character, Leopold Kessler, is brazenly idealistic... peering out from behind his spectacles with wide eyes as he bravely suffers ridicule from all around him. Amongst this central narrative device we have the usual film-noir conventions... shadowy businessmen, the femme-fatal etc. However, the film always comes back to von Trier's central preoccupation. If we have learned anything from the director's work, it is the ultimate image of the idealist being brought slowly to their knees and eventually destroyed. In both Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the Dark, von Trier concludes that those who live in false hope will sooner or later be smashed by a manipulative and un-loving system.

Shot in a sort of, off black and white - meaning that the images have been given a blue tint, with deeply rich shadows - and framed in cinemascope, Europa twists and turns with one jaw-dropping set piece after another. A simple assassination sequence is drawn out using forced perspectives, colour juxtaposition and rear-screen-projection to dizzying effect, and the way that the camera cranes and tracks, constantly offering us layer upon layer of visual symbolism is truly amazing.

Here we have he a vision of Europe in decline, with Germany attempting to claw they're selves out of the ashes and regain power as an important society. Some have criticized Barr's character for not being heroic enough, missing the point of the film entirely. Kessler isn't supposed to be the hero, he a patsy to the audience, a puppet. He's an American going back to a country that his own military helped destroy, he represents arrogant idealism, pointing out Germany's own weaknesses and posturing to gain acceptance. This is a much bleaker film once we start dealing with sub-text, as the scene that prefigures Max Hartman's funeral will attest. This is a stirring and imaginative film dealing with themes such as deception, manipulation and eventual corruption.

Needless to say the film employs dream-logic, unfolding subjectively and expressionistically from the central character's point of view. This is a film that will linger long in your psyche, as the closing moments leave the audience adrift at sea, as lost and alone as Kessler... as Von Sydow observes in the narration; "we want to wake up, to leave behind the images of Europa... but it is not possible". (A)

I just need to have a blog...

2005-03-04T00:44:00.000-08:00

Actually I don't have any bloggable events for the day but I would like to take the advantage of posting this crap since next Monday, I have my new GAP project. I am not saying farewell to my blog but next week, I will be very busy with this new project.

Another thing, I am very happy and excited because it's Friday, the highest point of my week... It's all downhill from here...

I have some sort of thoughts in my mind, it's a little bit weird but it's always happening....

How is it possible to feel nostalgia for places and moments I never knew?

Is this because I dwell too much in my dreams that is more honest than my reality?

Stairway to Heaven Soundtrack...

2005-02-28T17:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, here are the soundtracks na kinababaliwan ng lahat na Stairway to Heaven. Actually, sobrang unrealistic and melodramatic ng series na ito but still, pinapanood pa rin nating mga Pinoy... We love entertainment more than anything else I guess!

Bogoshipda

Pag-ibig Ko'y Pansinin

Enjoy!!!

Review Corner:

Untold Scandal (Korea) - Very open minded but the problem with this material is instead of being a serious plot driven film, sex became a comical joke with bland characters... (B-)

Shall We Dance? (US) - Fantastic entertainment, I love to see J Lo dancing, she's more free as a dancer rather than being an actress (B+)

Vera Drake (UK) - I've never seen such true and impressive performance from an actress since Naomi Watts (21 Grams) last March of 2004. Imelda Staunton astoundingly portrayed an image of a modern woman who doesn't want to give up the voice of her consiousness... One of the biggest welcome of 2005 and one of the best British movies of the year... (A-)

The Uninvited (Korea) - I am amaze by how horror flicks from Asia show the immaturity of bland American horror productions. The film is beautifully shot and very creepy although it suffers from weak storytelling and plot... (B)

2046 (Hong Kong) - Okay, I am not done with this Cannes film but it is very evident that this is one of Wong Kar Wai's wild impressionistic work written in a very poetic and intelligent manner, once again he fused the past, present and future ala "In the Mood for Love" (... to be continued, honestly the first 40 minutes is pretty boring)

Final Oscar Predictions...

2005-02-23T17:37:00.000-08:00

Final Oscar Predictions:

Last year, I have predicted all of the winners in the major categories (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supp. Actor, Supp. Actress, Original Screenplay, Adapted Screenplay)… Now it is different, this is the most unpredictable Oscar season for the past years especially for Picture and Director Categories.

Most of the national film critics predicted that Million Dollar Baby will be this year’s winner since early reports say that AMPAS voters selected this movie as their choice.
But can Million Dollar Baby win the trophy by solely taking home the Directors Guild of America (DGA) award? No movie ever won the Best Picture without taking at least 3 or 4 major guild awards. The LOTR: Return of the King won 12 guilds just like American Beauty (ACE, ADG, BAFTA, BFCA, CDG, DGA, GG, NYFCC, OFCS, PGA, SAG, VES), Chicago won 8 and A Beautiful Mind won 5. Million Dollar Baby as Best Picture doesn’t make any sense or else this is one of the weirdest Oscar year.

Best Picture: The Aviator, winner of 5 guilds and makes more sense (BAFTA, GG, ACE, PGA, Cinema Audio Society)
*Best Director: Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby
*Best Actor: Jamie Fox, Ray
*Best Actress: Hillary Swank, Million Dollar Baby
Best Supporting Actor: Clive Owen, Closer
*Best Supporting Actress: Cate Blanchett, The Aviator
*Best Original Screenplay: Charlie Kaufman, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
*Best Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Sideways
*Best Animated Film: The Incredibles
Best Art Direction: Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Best Cinematography: A Very Long Engagement
Best Costume Design: Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
*Best Documentary: Born into Brothels
*Best Editing: The Aviator
*Best Foreign Language Film: The Sea Inside (Spain)
Best Makeup: Passion of the Christ
*Best Original Score: Finding Neverland
Best Original Song: Shrek 2, Accidentally in Love
Best Sound Editing: Spiderman 2
Best Sound Mixing: The Aviator
*Best Visual Effects: Spiderman 2

The Aviator: Possible 4 out of 11 Oscar nominations in the Awards Night…

* Tama ang hinala ko hehe (12 out of 21), not bad pero last year 18 out of 21 e

Likes and dislikes...

2005-02-20T22:19:00.000-08:00

There are certain details in my everyday life that are not worth writing, may be because they are too obvious, habitual, weird and distinct as my identity. But now I'm writing them down; my simple pleasures and annoyance in life...

Likes

I love to see someone almost made it to the elevator but eventually he/she didn’t make it. The same applies to the LRT Train sliding doors.

I love the smell of newly printed newspaper in the morning and of course, the smell of the gasoline in the Shell or Petron stations.

I like to remove the tag price sticker of a newly bought item without tearing it apart.

I enjoy playing with a bubble wrap.

I like to place my hands beneath the big container of rice grains.

I like removing both ends of sitaw (I don’t know the English term for this vegetable) and see the long fiber strands removed from it.

I am always carried away by a bigger sister little brother relationship in a TV melodrama.

I like the feeling of hardened glue in my fingers.

I like to see the clouds of creamer in my coffee when it begins to sink in the water.

Dislikes

I hate to see someone looking when I’m writing my signature.

I don’t like to see parents being humiliated by other people in front of their children.

I hate peeing next to someone in the restroom.

I hate it when the bomb explodes right at the back of the lead actor in an action movie.

Follow up; I hate it when the protagonist has diffused the bomb with only 1 or 2 seconds left.

I hate overhearing the word 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust'.

Review corner

Phantom of the Opera - Ok at last, I've seen another musical after the 2002 Oscar winner Chicago. Surprise, it earned nods in the Golden Globe and Academy Awards which is quite surprising. This film, sad to say has been overrated by film critics may be because it is very seldom for a certain year that Hollywood produces musicals.

Phantom of the Opera is entertaining enough to satisfy both fans of stage and film around the globe although it is overly long and failed to transform stage elements into film medium well. The timing, beat and charm are not that convincing compared to the other musicals like Moulin Rouge, Chicago and Evita. The non- stop series of musical numbers have prevented the plot and character development of the movie.

It is wrong to say that this film sucks. Phantom of the Opera is far from being a bad material and far from being a great one. The art direction and the costumes are still impressive and not to mention, Emmy Rossum gave a decent performance. Phantom of the Opera is a Hollywood film which rides along with the greatness of the legendary story of love, devotion and madness. (B)

Epekto ng pagiging bench

2005-02-17T00:36:00.000-08:00

(3:40 PM, AIM Transcript real-time conversation)

plmknight: roll off na ba tayo bukas
CLBalisnomo: sana
CLBalisnomo signed on at 12:52:18 PM.
plmknight: liberate yourself from desire and you'll find that you already have everything you need
CLBalisnomo: heheh thanks
plmknight: oks
plmknight: what, do you think of this, I think it's naive but it has sense: "Hope in reality is the worst of all evils, because it prolongs the torments of man.-Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche "
plmknight: funny naman tong sabi ni Socrates; "By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher."
CLBalisnomo: hahaha kze
CLBalisnomo: u'll gain more realization
plmknight: hahanap at hahanap ka ng reasons sa mga piss off na nangyari
CLBalisnomo: as u liv wd d person
plmknight: haha
CLBalisnomo: hahaha exactly
CLBalisnomo: kelangan mong i-psyche un sarili mo dba
CLBalisnomo: hahaha
CLBalisnomo: sino ba mas maraming alam sa mundo? dba un mas maraming experience at problemang napagdaanan hehehe
plmknight: oo nga, grabe magkakaugnay yung mga quotes
plmknight: oo tama
CLBalisnomo: honga
plmknight: "It's OK to want things as long as you don't get pissed off if you don't get 'em. Right? Life's hard. It's supposed to be. If we didn't suffer, we wouldn't learn a thing, you know?" --Before sunset
plmknight: yan ang sagot dun
CLBalisnomo: sasabihin ko plng dpat na un mga quotes parang related hahaha
CLBalisnomo: ehh un na nga eh.. it's impossible not to get pissed if u like that something
CLBalisnomo: kaya tayo napipiss kze we worked for it and un HOPED for it
plmknight: oo cynic ba yung statement?? haha
CLBalisnomo: hahahah cno ba nagsabi nyan?
plmknight: kill hope kung ganun!!!!!!!!! hahhaha
plmknight: si jesse
CLBalisnomo: kala ko un girl eh
CLBalisnomo: hehehe
plmknight: kita naman sa character niya yung pagtatakip palagi e
CLBalisnomo: ahh yeah
CLBalisnomo: well dun sa last portion ng statement
CLBalisnomo: again jinustify nya
plmknight: oo
CLBalisnomo: dba
plmknight: marami siyang contradictions
plmknight: and the more yung contradictions sa ating statements, naiipon yung sakit nun... hhehe
CLBalisnomo: hahahaha
CLBalisnomo: kze isa yan sa sakit ng tao
CLBalisnomo: nde natin alam ang gusto natin
CLBalisnomo: lahat gusto ijustify
CLBalisnomo: dont u get the feeling na mas madalas malungkot?
plmknight: oo habang tumatanda lalo na
plmknight: buti pa nung bata
CLBalisnomo: dba
plmknight: oo
CLBalisnomo: it's because dumadami un desires d kaya?
plmknight: oo? I love your theory
plmknight: we feel really alive when w want something more than just basic survival needs
CLBalisnomo: hehehe
CLBalisnomo: malay mo roland sa tok nating to..we will be able to come up with somthing dat cud batlle ol our barbarians , sadness etc. without having to shoot down our hopes n desires
CLBalisnomo: si mike nagbbasa
CLBalisnomo: isara mo

---END---

What is truly wanted?

2005-02-15T21:04:00.000-08:00

Taken from the independent sci-fi movie 'Primer':

What is essential?

Air, food, water, shelter, safety... Done.

What is wanted?

Friends, wife, child, home... Done.

What is truly wanted?

Money? Done.
Power? Done.
Knowledge? Done.
Reputation? Done.
Time? Done.
Control? Done.
Justice? Done.
Wonder? Done.
Praise? Done.
Clarity? Done.
Freedom? Done.
Faith? Done.
God? Done.

Again, what is truly wanted?

TO REPAIR IT ALL...

Barbarian Invasions... (mini-essay)

2005-02-14T17:32:00.000-08:00

“Intelligence is not an individual trait; it is national, collective and intermittent…”

I’ve been thinking about this theory for months now. I’ve encountered this quote from the movie Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasion Barbares), a French-Canadian film which tackles about the different things that invade our lives, it can be physical, meta-physical or simply a principle, state of mind or thought.

Yeah, this is true especially in a subjective point of view. Plato, Aristotle, Socrates were at least present for almost the same centuries (470-320 BC), and intelligence was there. For this period in the Greek History, literature and the whole civilization has reached the height of its artistic influence.

How about us the Filipinos, have we kept our intelligence alive for years, decades or centuries? Hmmm, when the Spanish colonialism finally succumbed to the Americans, we had our brains intact, that’s why we fought and set ourselves free. But when Uncle Sam ruled, we are dumb after losing it for decades up to the Marcos Regime. Thank God, our intelligence came back and brought us into our rightful places when EDSA revolution happened, but how about now. Yup, we still have intelligence but we are continuously abusing, polluting our borrowed and even our own principles. I hope we never lose it especially now when we most need it…

Ooh, forget it, those are just theories…
----
Talking about the Barbarian Invasions, currently, what are my personal barbarians?

1. Food, food and food. I might have hypertension again and surprise, it could be diabetes…
2. GT Tower, oops, I mean an earthquake, I am in the 26th floor of this building and I don’t want to get sandwiched…
3. Bus… just last night, 3 buses just exploded, and it can be the LRT… if only I can avoid these modes of transportations.
4. My family, neighbors, officemates, former classmates… sometimes they say undesirable things but they don’t mean it!!!
5. Philosophical thoughts… at high school, call me an idealist, classicist and pragmatist. But now I am a realist, expressionist, sensual socialist and glad to hear from the world of Marxist-Leninist (where goes my romanticism?).
6. Myself, sometimes I don’t know what I fu@#ing want… Things are not the way I wanted to be…
7. Tsunami, typhoons, asteroids, air bourne virus, war, capitalism, materialism, skepticism, all kinds of -ism, hehe...

Hehe, but I want to imitate the Great Wall of China within me, they have managed to secure the purity of their race and culture for centuries; I want to keep the Barbarians outside my perimeter, driving undesirable things away or if not, I have to learn how to co-exist with them but keeping my own interest in mind. This is the only way to protect my little permeable life and soul intact together.

Yi Yi (Taiwan) and Delicatessen (France) (2/12/05 VCD)

2005-02-13T04:16:00.000-08:00

Yi Yi
Yi Yi, a film which gave Edward Yang his Best Director award in the 2000 Cannes film festival is a kind of movie that is nice to see with a cup of coffee together with a friend.
This Cannes movie is more of a soap opera rather than a feature length film. The characterization is complex but intelligently developed towards the end of the film. Yi yi, is all about family relationships, its highlights, up and downs. Marriage, temptation, infidelity, insecurity, death and most of all love, this film has came up with its own sweetness because of its dialogue and actors. Although the pacing is pretty slow, you’ll ride along and be one of them. Sitting in my room for almost 3 hours of watching this Taiwanese film, it is a poignant journey of bittersweet relationships in life. (B+)

Delicatessen
Delicatessen, a movie won numerous awards (French Cesar) is one of the first films directed by Jean Pierre Jeunet and yet, the most experimental one… Like Amelie and A Very Long Engagement, Jeunet introduced the elements of sex and violence in a painted fantasy or surreal world. The movie touched sensitive issues such as the aspects of morality in our present sociological conditions. The attempt is pretty brave and creative but the film suffers from ambiguity on what is the real implication it wants to convey to the audience. Jeunet used both extremes of childish fantasy storytelling accompanied with some music and humor up to the most unexpected scenes of hostility and cynicism.
Jeunet once again engaged us into his world of dream, and the ordinary day of glowing sunlight (duh), this is no Amelie in giving charm and enchantment to the audience. (B-)

Run Lola Run (02/10/2005 VCD)

2005-02-10T18:04:00.000-08:00

Run Lola Run: Another certified German Hit!!!

Lola Rennt is a major critical and commercial hit around the globe after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last 1999. I've been 6 years late since this film amazed the indie/foreign market in Germany, Europe and even the United States, plus this is the film that gave Franka Potente (Bourne Identity/Supremacy) her road to stardom and credibility as an international star.

In the opening credits of the film, I know that this one will be different, director Tom Tykwer has envisioned a modernized art of filmmaking. Run Lola Run has a clever magnificent film editing, cinematography and a very strong storyline. The film is surrounded by what if, it showed us that in answering our own questions, it will definitely give us the answer but this answer will lead us to the same question over and over again. The backdraft of this film is divided into 3 outcomes, each is limited to 20 minutes of decision making, each events will cause a drastic change (domino effect) to the lives of people around them. Lola Rennt has the same context with The Butterfly Effect but the plot is stronger and more remarkable. For me, the best aspect of this film is the embedded techno-musical score. It is just so perfect, appropriate in creating an intense, full of energy atmosphere especially when our lead character Lola is on her way of running and choosing her destiny.

Oh my, what is it with German Films?

Along with Good Bye Lenin!, Run Lola Run is a true German classic, witty, intelligent and dynamic... (A)

My Oscar Predictions...

2005-02-09T18:56:00.000-08:00

It's been a year since LOTR: Return of the King made a very predictable awards season last year because it swept every award giving bodies and guilds as major precursors in the Academy Awards.

Best Picture:
This is one of the weakest year for best picture nominees... just like the 1989 set of nominees, but anyway, because of politics and big stars, Howard Hughes autobiography will definitely get it...

Who will win: The Aviator
Who should win: Sideways, come on, give chance to the indie market...

Best Director:
I am still confuse on who would it be... but since the Directors Guild of America and the Golden Globes decided, yeah ok...

Who will win: Clint Eastwood, Million Dollar Baby
Who should win: Martin Scorsese, The Aviator - My God, he's been around for 3 decades and NO OSCARS???

Best Actor:
Who else, is there any competition?

Who will win: Jamie Fox, Ray
Who should win: Jamie Fox, Ray

Best Actress:
Once again, it is Bening and Swank collision after the 1999 battle but Swank is getting a lot of buzz for the second time but I still hope for a miracle...

Who will win: Hillary Swank, Million Dollar Baby
Who should win: Kate Winslet, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or
Catalina Sandino Moreno, Maria Full of Grace

Best Supporting Actor:
Oh God I have no idea, it's a three way battle... the critics love Thomas Hayden Church, the Hollywood Foreign Press loves Clive Owen and the Screen Actor likes Morgan Freeman...

Who will win: Clive Owen, Closer
Who should win: well i really don't care but, Thomas Hayden Church of Sideways

Best Supporting Actress:
Once again, the critics love Virginia Marsden, the Hollywood Foreign Press loves Natalie Portman and the Screen Actor likes Cate Blanchett...

Who will win: Cate Blanchett, The Aviator, come on give it to her, because she was robbed by Gwyneth Paltrow last 1998 awards...
Who should win: Cate Blanchett, The Aviator

Best Original Screenplay:
This category is predictable but Vera Drake is a real Darkhorse...

Who will win: Charlie Kaufman, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Who should win: Charlie Kaufman, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Wow, what else but this years sleeper hit ala Lost in Translation...

Who will win: Alexander Payne, Sideways
Who should win: Alexander Payne, Sideways

Best Foreign Language Film:
My favorite category even though the Oscars are dumb jurors in this category, let us put it this way, we have a frontrunner which is The Sea Inside from Spain, but watch out for The Chorus of France, it is a certified audience charmer... and take note of our darkhorse, The Downfall of Germany, Hitler has a lot of appeal from the critics but in a controversial manner....

Who will win: The Sea Inside, Spain
Who should win: The Sea Inside, Spain (14 Spanish Goyas, record breaking in Spain!!!)

That's all!!!

Azumi (2/9/2005 DVD)

2005-02-09T16:20:00.000-08:00

Azumi is definitely a major treat for male audiences...
I don't think that this movie is a good epic, but it is definitely worth watching because of Azumi. From the start of the film, the ensemble is flat, character development is pretty slow. The protagonist cannot support the dramatic and emotional power needed by the film. The plot lacks strength in showing the socio-political condition of the society on that time especially the power struggle or Tokugawa era. Unlike Twilight Samurai and Zatoichi, this film didn't give emphasis on the very colorful japanese History.

The production design is very good as well as the gory scenes because of the impressive make-up although there are certain moments when the film uses sloppy CGI images to execute heavy fight scenes. I have also learned to set aside my rationality for a while because this movie contains cartoon logic instead of a very realistic or surreal images.

This film contains many flaws as far as the detail is concern but still, this is a good source of entertainment especially for all male audiences out there... (C+)

Korean Telenovela: Hay palaging may amnesia...

2005-02-09T01:04:00.000-08:00

Sobra, I am currently watching Stairway to Heaven and Save the last Dance ba yun, parehong may amnesia, well well well, kahit naman noong nauso ang mga Mexican soap opera puro amnesia na rin, kasi mas magiging madali ang lahat.

Una, ang hirap kaya sa writer na pahabain ang story kapag di mo nilagyan ng amnesia, habang mataas ang rating, meron pa yan pero kapag mababa na, makakaalala na yan kung sa local soaps. Pero ok din naman di ba, tutok pa rin tayo sa TV kahit na ganun.

Pangalawa, mas maganda kasing lagyan ng friction ang mga characters kung hindi na gigive away ang lahat ng information ng plot, yung tipong unti unting natutuklasan ang mga sikreto at hindi super biglaan.

Pangatlo, daan kasi yan para makapag-introduce ng bagong character sa koreanovela, bagong memory, bagong experience, bagong raket at definitely bagong love interest...

At siyempre, dahil yan ang hanap ng masa bukod sa mahirap na inapi at biglang yumaman, siyempre samahan mo pa ng amnesia, mega Box office na yan hehe...

Recently reviewed films (2/9/2005)

2005-02-08T23:55:00.000-08:00

The Grey Zone (B-)
Mixed to Negative, a little bit exaggerated and lacks fundamental details
Infernal Affairs 2 (B)
Mixed, not as good as the first installment
Infernal Affairs 3 (B-)
Mixed to Negative, weak story line but still favorable
The White Dragon (C)
Negative, stupid backdraft and acting
Oldboy (A)
Very Positive, something new, inventive and important
Love is a Many Stupid Thing (B-)
Mixed to Negative, almost good but not quite
Men Suddenly in Black (B-)
Mixed, it has certain moments of funny scenes
A Clockwork Orange (B+)
Mixed to Positive, Stanley Kubrick is the master but a little bit moronic?
Carandiru (B+)
Positive, very timely and important
Windstruck (B)
Mixed, good, this is OK
Existenz (B-)
Mixed to Negative, Nice idea but weak storyline
Sleepover (C-)
Very Negative, one of the worst teeny movie of the year
Jersey Girl (C+)
Mixed to Negative, tries to be a crowd pleaser but it' not...

OK, Its hard for me to review this films one by one, so here they are, I'll just pick feature films, perhaps the good ones...

Good Bye Lenin! (My Best Picture of 2004)

2005-02-08T18:09:00.000-08:00

2004 is my craziest movie year so far... I have seen all 166 of them from my collections, cinema houses, and video city rental stores. It is funny that I picked a German Comedy to be my favorite last year. The premise is pretty inventive:

Capitalism + Communism = Comedy --> Just like the Rip Van Winkle story, watch it and you'll see...

GOOD BYE LENIN! is a comedy of a bittersweet kind. It showed the complexity of life amid the weightlessness of freedom, enticement of westernization, and the burden of abrupt change. Set against the historic collapse of the Berlin Wall, the movie pleasantly integrates comedy of situation, irony of fate, and the quarreling alliance between reality and the heart's decree, hence picturing a fundamental tale of being. Famed German caliber of production, affecting cinematography, soundtrack, and leading/supporting performances all chip in to the reaching of tender moments of connection between wordless language and feeling, the visual and sensory, love and life. Indeed, one of the most remarkable contributions in the European artistic cinema, a beautiful and heartwarming movie… (A+)

My Top Ten List for 2004 looks like this:

1. Good Bye Lenin! (Germany)
2. In America (US)
3. LOTR: Return of the King (US)
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (US)
5. Dogville (Denmark)
6. About Scmidht (US)
7. Barbarian Invasions (Canada)
8. Cold Mountain (US)
9. 21 Grams (US/Mexico)
10. Nicholas Nickleby (UK)

3-Iron (Bin-Jip) (2/7/2005 DVD)

2005-02-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

3-Iron won the Silver Lion and the Little Golden Lion award for Kim Ki-Duk in the recently concluded Venice International Film Festival. Now, I know why this Korean Film is creating too much hype and it is a darkhorse for my 2005 Top Ten List...

I am suprised about the greatness of this film because I'm just expecting an ordinary eastern arthouse material. I found this movie very entertaining in such a way that it delivers such gentle, silent, subtle performances from its actors. The lead actor Jae Hee didn't speak althroughout the film. The film is beautifully shot showing a fresh insight of a true oriental filmmaking. The direction of Kim Ki-duk is excellent in maintaining the spirit and mood of the film, although it is ocassionally funny and quirky. The premise of the movie is quite simple, but Kim Ki-duk pulled off his artfulness in order to come up with a very philosopical, metaphorical and surreal depiction of a young mans desire to cheat and eventually mix dream into reality in order to acquire the answer to his longingness for love...

I'm not quite sure if this film will be noticed by the Western audiences, I mean the North Americans because the Europeans did... but what is important is that this film has something to show about the influence of eastern philosophy and spirituality... (A)

A Very Long Engagement (2/6/2005 SM Manila)

2005-02-08T17:00:00.000-08:00

I've read an article saying that in this film, "Amelie goes to War". In some degree, it is correct. A Very Long Engagement is an epic like the "English Patient" which tackles the same classic theme about the absurdity of war and undying love. Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a very talented director where he can easily paint different colors, impressionistic expressions to his works, we have seen that in Amelie. A typical story of a boy meets girl turns out to be a French classic...

In the beginning of the film, Jeunet used his random narrations once again and his quirky sense of humor to introduce our main characters. There are practically green jokes and some intelligent humors all around. In this semi-detective/dramatic story, we have seen the horror of killings and mass murders. The strong anti-war message of this film produced a conflict to the humor posed by the plot. I knew some humor-driven movie such as No Mans Land (Bosnia) which is actually a dark comedy, and Life is Beautiful (Italy), a bittersweet classic. In A Very Long Engagement, it is hard to justify the implication of the central story in terms of its humor...
Anyway, it is negligible, the movie has a breathtaking scenematic landscape for its production design, and amazing cinematography. French actress Audrey Tautou is very good in controlling her emotions to avoid being overly melodramatic. The script is well written and the ensemble is a credible one.

Overall, the film is very successful in giving its anti-war message theme which can easily resonate to different audiences around the world. A Very Long Engagement may not achieve the greatness and "classic" status of Amelie but still, it is one of the biggest welcome movie of the year... (A)