24 August 2005, late at night
Last time I was at HMV, I picked up the 80’s classic Fast Times at Ridgemont High. At first glance, the film looks to be some generic 80’s teen flick, but once you start watching it you realize it is much more. The film has a stellar cast. The film is probably most famous for the scene in which Phoebe Cates steps out of the pool wearing a red bikini. Jennifer Jason Leigh gives an amazing performance in the film, playing a 15 year old growing up a bit to fast. The film captures the idiocy of high school perfectly. Cameron Crowe, who wrote the screenplay, apparently went undercover in a high school to do research for a book that would become this movie. This is one of those films everyone should see.
Reviews of Fast Times at Ridgemont High at Rotten Tomatoes.
[1] Movies
24 August 2005, the wee hours
I liked March of the Penguins. I’m a fan of documentaries, and this was a very cool documentary. The film basically follows the mating ritual of the Emperor Penguin. After watching the film, I have a new found respect for penguins. The film is very picturesque. The cameramen did a great job on the film, and some of the shots are absolutely gorgeous. Morgan Freeman narrates the film, which adds a serious amount of melodrama to the movie. The film is funny, and at times surprising touching. This is an interesting movie for sure, one I’d recommend people see.
The March of the Penguins web site.
[4] Movies
21 August 2005, evening time
Joint Security Area is a Korean film set in the demilitarized zone that separates North and South Korea. I had expected the movie to be an action film, but it is infact a bit of a mystery. A South Korean soldier escapes from the North Korean side of the demilitarized zone, killing two soldiers and wounding a third in the process. At the start we don’t know why he was there, or what the true circumstances of the situation are. The film is quite good; I liked it a lot. The very last shot is excellent. Overall the film is a bit melancholy. I think it is well worth watching.
Reviews of Joint Security Area at Rotten Tomatoes.
Movies
17 August 2005, lunch time
Broken Flowers is the latest film to star Bill Murray as a confused older man. I love Bill Murray; I hope he keeps doing these subdue sorts of roles. The film follows a man, Don Johnston, as he attempts to track down the women who sent him an anonymous letter saying he had a long lost son. Being a Don Juan of sorts, there are several women that could have sent the letter. Jeffrey Wright plays Winston, Don Johnston’s next door neighbor who is also a wannabe detective, and he is hilarious. Each of the actresses gives a good performance, each playing a women confronting a past flame. They all react differently to his return, some more welcoming than others. The movie ends somewhat abruptly, which some people may not like. Personally, I think the whole movie works well. This is something you should go see.
An article on Broken Flowers in Salon.
Movies
1 August 2005, late evening
Dave lent me Bottle Rocket, the only Wes Anderson film I had yet to see. Bottle Rocket was Anderson’s first film, and was also the acting debut of both the Wilson brothers. The movie is very good. The film basically is about a bunch of incompetent thieves. I particularly enjoyed the side story between Luke Wilson and the cleaning lady Inez. Bottle Rocket has all the style of a Wes Anderson film, albeit unpolished. The movie is quite good, and I recommend you watch it.
Probably the official Bottle Rocket web site.
[1] Movies
1 August 2005, late evening
Suspect Zero was a pretty unremarkable film. Not particularly good, but at the same time not particularly bad. It was a very bland film. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it for the most part. Ben Kingsly plays a man who was trained by the FBI as a ‘remote viewer’, someone who can see what is happening somewhere far away. He witnesses one too many serial killers killing people and goes crazy. The film follows two FBI agents trying to track him down. The film is kind of spooky. If you are stuck for something to rent, this might be worth checking out.
The official Suspect Zero web site.
Movies
17 July 2005, early evening
My mom was a half hour in to Morning Ragga when I walked in to the living room. She had already seen the movie before. I asked her if the movie was good, and she replied, “yes,” so I asked if we could watch it from the beginning, which we did. She was wrong; the movie isn’t all that good, though it isn’t all that bad either. Morning Ragga is about a boy starting an Indian-Fusion band. The story is fairly non-standard in terms of Indian movies—there is no love triangle, bad guys, song and dance numbers, or any of the other stereotypical things one expects to find in an Indian film. The movie is almost entirely in English, which was a bit strange, but not off-putting. I thought the cinematography was quite nice. If you want to watch some Indian cinema that is off the beaten path, this is a film one might want to check out.
Read reviews of Morning Raga at Rotten Tomatoes
[1] Movies
9 July 2005, early evening
You can get digital cable for free for one month from Rogers right now. My mom, who wanted to watch Tamil movies, decided to take Rogers up on their offer. I spent this morning watching the Documentary Channel, which is also part of the package. I watched SPIT: Squeegee Punks in Traffic, a film about the lives of squeegee kids in Toronto. We learn about their lives through a squeegee kid, Roach, who films his day to day life, as well as being filmed himself. You see almost every aspect of these street kids lives, which is for the most part not that pleasant. (Living on the streets is an easy way to be exposed to lots of drug use and violence.) It was an interesting film that is well worth watching.
The official Squeegee Kids in Traffic web site.
[1] Movies
9 July 2005, early evening
The Fantastic Four wasn’t a fantastic film, but it was reasonably good. The movie follows four people who get super powers after being exposed to cosmic rays. The takes some liberties with the story from the comic book, but is probably pretty close to what the more recent versions of the story have been. I enjoyed the film. Of course, I’ll watch any comic book movie, so you can take that with a grain of salt.
Reviews of The Fantastic Four at Rotten Tomatoes.
[1] Movies
6 July 2005, terribly early in the morning
I finally saw Memento. What a great film. Guy Pearce stars as a man who is trying to track down the person that raped and killed his wife. The catch is, he can’t remember anything a few minutes after it happens. The film basically has two stories, one going backwards in time, the other going forwards in time. You’d be surprised how intriguing a movie can be when you know how the story ends. The actual ending of Memento is really incredible. I didn’t expect it to twist as much as it did. This is definitely a must see film.
The official Memento web site.
[6] Movies
5 July 2005, the wee hours
I had the day off today, and used it to do what I like to do best: watch a movie. I had seen Finding Neverland before, but wanted to see it again. Ahilan has said this is his favourite film of 2004. I’m not sure what my favourite film from last year is, but I can say this one was very good. I love the way this movie was filmed. Characters are constantly moving between the real world and the imaginary world, and the transitions are sometimes quite subtle. The acting is great all around. I can’t recommend this film enough.
My favourite scene in the film is shot while the following portion of the play Peter Pan is being shown:
“I can’t help you, Wendy. Hook wounded me. I can neither fly nor swim.”
“Do you mean we shall both be drowned?”
“Look how the water is rising.”
They put their hands over their eyes to shut out the sight. They thought they would soon be no more. As they sat thus something brushed against Peter as light as a kiss, and stayed there, as if saying timidly, “Can I be of any use?”
It was the tail of a kite, which Michael had made some days before. It had torn itself out of his hand and floated away.
“Michael’s kite,” Peter said without interest, but next moment he had seized the tail, and was pulling the kite toward him.
“It lifted Michael off the ground,” he cried; “why should it not carry you?”
“Both of us!”
“It can’t lift two; Michael and Curly tried.”
“Let us draw lots,” Wendy said bravely.
“And you a lady; never.” Already he had tied the tail round her. She clung to him; she refused to go without him; but with a “Good-bye, Wendy,” he pushed her from the rock; and in a few minutes she was borne out of his sight. Peter was alone on the lagoon.
The rock was very small now; soon it would be submerged. Pale rays of light tiptoed across the waters; and by and by there was to be heard a sound at once the most musical and the most melancholy in the world: the mermaids calling to the moon.
Peter was not quite like other boys; but he was afraid at last. A tremour ran through him, like a shudder passing over the sea; but on the sea one shudder follows another till there are hundreds of them, and Peter felt just the one. Next moment he was standing erect on the rock again, with that smile on his face and a drum beating within him. It was saying, “To die will be an awfully big adventure.”
The official Finding Neverland web site.
[3] Movies
5 July 2005, the wee hours
I woke up Sunday morning with nothing to do and a stack of DVDs. I had been meaning to see In Good Company for quite some time, but no one I knew ever wanted to rent it. I watched it by myself, and thought it was quite nice. The movie is a comedy about an older man who is demoted when his company gets bought by some huge mega-corp; his replacement is a boy half his age. Dennis Quaid plays the old man, and Topher Grace plays the young man; they were pretty hilarious together. The film is charming at times. Topher Grace’s character is thoroughly pitiable; he’s kind of like a lost puppy dog, you just feel bad for him throughout the whole film. The movie takes a look at what it means to be happy. The atypical ending was a nice touch.
The official In Good Company web site.
[3] Movies
5 July 2005, the wee hours
After watching Peter Pan, Ahilan and I wanted to go buy Finding Neverland. I had seen the film already, but was half asleep and wanted to watch it again properly. We went to Blockbuster and ended up leaving with a handful of used DVDs. When Mezan and Prasanna showed up at my house Saturday night, we watched one of those films: Collateral. Collateral was a wicked film. The movie follows a contract killer and a taxi cab driver for one night as the killer makes his hits. Tom Cruise and Jamie Fox both do amazing jobs acting in this film. Everything about the movie is basically perfect. The action sequences are really well done. The dialog is superb. The movie really impressed me. If you haven’t watched the film, you really should. Michael Mann is quite the film maker.
The official Collateral web site.
[1] Movies
5 July 2005, the wee hours
Ahilan and I were bored Saturday. We decided to watch Peter Pan after looking through Krishna’s DVDs for something to watch. I had already seen this latest incarnation of Peter Pan with Shima back when it was out in the cinemas. I enjoyed the film and thought watching it again might be nice. I assume I don’t need to go in to the plot of the movie. I thought the film makers did a great job of bringing the movie to life. With modern day special effects, the fantastic elements of the story really come to life. I thought all the children did a great job playing their parts to boot. Olivia Williams plays the John, Michael, and Wendy’s mother, and she was looking as charming as ever. (Also, Ahilan brought to my attention something I missed the first time I watched the film: Captain Hook and the children’s Father are both played by the same actor. I thought this strange till I read that this was quite common.) I thought the film was quite good—as children’s movies go anyway.
The official Peter Pan web site
Movies
4 July 2005, late at night
Very few movies remind me of high school more than the Young and Dangerous series. The first three movies in the series are much better than the films that would follow. The third film, which I watched with Shima and her brother on Friday, chronicles a turf war between the Hung Hing society, and the Tung Sing society. Tung Sing make appearances through out the series as a sort of generic evil triad. Hung Hing are the ‘good’ triad. I’m not quite sure how they make money, since they refuse to sell drugs and do anything else societies frown upon. The film is a classic. If you haven’t seen it, you haven’t gotten a real taste for HK cinema.
A review of Young and Dangerous 3.
[1] Movies
2 July 2005, the wee hours
Shima wanted to watched Bewitched today. When we arrived at the cinema, it had already begun, and the next show wouldn’t start for quite some time. So, we watched my film choice, which was War of the Worlds. I haven’t read the book, so I don’t know how far it strays from the novel. I thought the films plot was good enough anyway. The special effects are great. I feel like playing Half-Life 2 after watching the movie; there is something similar about the aliens in the movie and the aliens in the game. The film is very fast paced, and the action basically starts right away. I think the film is worth checking out—Shima disagrees.
The official War of the Worlds web site
[5] Movies
29 June 2005, early evening
Deepa Metha’s Water is set to open the Toronto International Film Festival this year. I’ve always wanted to watch her two other films, Fire and Earth, but have never had the chance. Fire is about lesbianism, Earth is about the partition of India and the violence that followed. Fire was particularly controversial when it came out. Now in India, when controversial films are released, it is not uncommon to see people on the streets torching cinemas. This was the case with Fire, and will probably be the case with Water, assuming it is ever shown in India. Mehta began filming Water in India, but constant harassment by various Hindu Nationalist groups forced her to film the movie elsewhere. What country did she feel would be suitable, yet safer for herself and her crew? Well, Metha finished filming Water in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka!
[1] Movies | Interesting Links
25 June 2005, terribly early in the morning
Angelina Jolie is gorgeous. Also, Mr. and Mrs. Smith was a really good movie, much better than I had expected. The action sequences are really well done, and the movie is quite funny to boot. It would have been a cool movie to watch not knowing anything about it. Anyway, back to my main point: Angelina Jolie is the hotness.
The official Mr. and Mrs. Smith web site
[1] Movies
19 June 2005, early morning
Batman Begins was an amazing movie. The film is basically the origin story for Batman. The movie traces the path Bruce Wayne takes from being just some angry dude, to becoming Batman. I’m not sure what liberties they’ve taken with the origin as outlined in the comic books, but the story they present in the film is quite good. The casting was excellent. All the characters were well suited for their roles. I really liked Cillian Murphy of 28 Days Later fame playing the role of the Scarecrow. Christian Bale makes a really good Batman, and a great Bruce Wayne. I actually think it might be the best in the series, even surpassing the first film by Tim Burton. Regardless, watching this film will help you forget all the crap that followed the two Burton movies.
The official Batman Begins web site.
[5] Movies
13 June 2005, early afternoon
That Thing You Do is an enjoyable period piece—the period being the early sixties. The film follows the fast rise and fall of a fictional band called The Wonders. I guess the film is meant to showcase the lives of all the bands that wanted to be the Beatles, but didn’t quite make it. It isn’t a tragedy mind you; everyone gets their happy ending. Tom Hanks wrote and directed the film. I think he did a good job. Though the movie isn’t as meaningful as it could be, I think he does a really good job capturing the spirit of the period. (Well, as far as I can tell, being 25 and all.) Liv Tyler is one of the stars of the film, and is looking hot.
Reviews of That Thing You Do at Rotten Tomatoes
Movies
13 June 2005, early afternoon
I watched Hitch with my brothers over the weekend. Will Smith plays a fellow who helps less-than-suave dudes meet the women they are infatuated with—men looking for ‘true love’. For example, Will Smith turns down the request for help from a sleazy wall street type looking to score with some random chick. Eva Mendez plays the love interest in the film, and is looking hot. Kevin James is funny as usual, playing a hopeless but charming accountant trying to hook up with one of his glamorous clients. The movie is very much a romantic comedy, there were plenty of sappy moments, but for the most part the film is pretty funny. It’s nothing profound, but is a funny enough film.
The official Hitch web site
[2] Movies
23 May 2005, early evening
After watching the Old Boy trailer, I was expecting a film that would be a bit like Payback, but in Korean. Old Boy is a revenge film, but it has more in common with a Greek tragedy than your typical revenge film. Oh Dae-Su, the films protagonist, has been released in to the world after being locked up for 15 years. He has 5 days to figure out why he was imprisoned. I don’t want to say anything else about the film, because anything I say would ruin the movie. This is one film you should definitely watch without reading reviews or critiques or anything else. The man who plays Oh Dae-Su, Min-sik Choi, did an amazing job. He’s very impressive, a strong actor. The film has some great visuals. The fight sequences are done really well. Old Boy is a very unique film, and is definitely worth checking out.
The official Old Boy web site. (Don’t read the synopsis.)
[1] Movies
20 May 2005, late afternoon
Rushmore is one of my favourite films. If you haven’t seen it before you really should. It was directed by Wes Anderson, who went on to do The Royal Tenenbaums and The Life Aquatic. Like both those films, Rushmore is a comedy with dramatic elements to it. The humour is quite subtle, though I think this is much more the case in Anderson’s later films. The story is about a young student Max Fischer’s crush on his Teacher Rosemary Cross and friendship with Herman Blume. Jason Schwartzmam, Bill Murry, and Olivia Williams are all excellent in the film. I think Anderson is an amazing director. The visual style of the film is excellent. Owen Wilson and Anderson wrote a great script together. I can’t recommend this film enough. It may well be Anderson’s best film.
Reviews of Rushmore at Rotten Tomatoes
[4] Movies
19 May 2005, terribly early in the morning
Star Wars III was everything I had hoped for and more. I’ll write more in the morning.
Update: I wanted to watch Star Wars III opening night. I didn’t know there were midnight showings till I read it on Ahilan’s site Wednesday (yesterday) morning. I should have known there would be shows that night; this has been the case for all the other films. My friend Howard was the only one willing to watch it so we both headed off to a theatre out in the boonies. (Woodbridge to be exact.) We arrived at the cinema at 10:30 or so. I wasn’t sure if we could get tickets that late; this was Star Wars after all. Thankfully, going out to the middle of nowhere paid off. There was no line up for tickets, and more so, the theatre was basically empty. We had perfect seats for the film.
An hour and a half later, the movie begins. Lucas has really redeemed himself. The plastic, artificial, look of the first few films is gone (in my opinion). The special effects are amazing. It really feels like Lucas pushed his people to the very limits of what can be done on the big screen. The movie opens with a space fight which looks stunning. The light saber fights, the computer animated characters, the sets, basically everything looks great. This is what I had expected in all the other films. I thought the special effects in Star War II were good, but nothing exceptional. This movie really impressed me in this regard. It is very hard in this day and age to really dazzle people with spectacular special effects, since they have become such common place now. However, I think Lucas will succeed in really impressing people with the visuals of this film.
The movie does suffer from some bad dialog at times; though nothing as horrific as what was witnessed in Episode II. Other than this, the plot is pretty good. All the loose ends are neatly tied up. The movies conclusion basically paves the way for the earlier films. As has been said in reviews I’ve read, the film is pretty gruesome at times. The way they explain how Darth Vader ends up the way he is, all mangled and robotic, was awesome. Palpatine taking control of everything is explained well.
So, yeah, it was good. It feels really good to be able to say, “watch this film.”
Reviews of Star Wars III at Rotten Tomatoes.
[17] Movies
18 May 2005, terribly early in the morning
I actually didn’t know what Crash was about before I saw it today. Judging from the trailer, I figured it was some sort of crazy-intense film. (I was right about that.) Crash is about racism. The film presents the subject in all its ugliness. Crash is filled with an array of interesting characters, each effecting one an others lives. I liked the film a lot. It’s easy for a film about racism to be trite, preachy, or melodramatic; Crash was none of these things. The acting was top notch. The film features a stellar cast. You’ll recognize most everyone from other films and television appearances. Even Ludacris did a good job providing some comic-relief in a very serious film. Shima would be happy to know the film also featured an Iranian family. (The mother was played by Marina Sirtis of Star Trek fame.) Crash was really good, and definitely worth watching. (I should note that you get to see Jennifer Esposito from Spin City naked, which was awesome.)
Reviews of Crash at Rotten Tomatoes
[7] Movies
