27 May 2004, early evening
National Security was the last film Martin Lawrence made, which follows his adventures as a security guard. The film co-stars Steve Zahn, who plays a sort of angry white man foil for Lawrence’s character. National Security is hilarious. I don’t think it’s as good as Martin Lawrence’s best film, Blue Streak, but it is damn entertaining. If you like Martin Lawrence, you’ll probably like this movie.
25 May 2004, mid-afternoon
I found Runaway Jury, another John Grisham book turned movie, to be quite good. The film is all about how important US trails are bought through the Jury selection process. The film is pretty original I would say, well except for the fact Dustin Hoffman plays your typical southern, bumbling-but-bright lawyer, with the heart of gold, ala Adicus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird (which is a book I highly recommend). The film is entertaining, and I recommend you watch it.
25 May 2004, mid-afternoon
Alright, I have to admit the above line was never said in the movie I watched last night, Torque. The film is a motorcycle flick, belonging to the same genre of film as the Fast and the Furious—I’m not sure what that genre is. Most of the movie borders on ridiculous. There is a Goth, evil biker chick, in the movie that is sexy-delicious. If you have absolutely nothing better to watch, I guess this would be something to see.
23 May 2004, early evening
I woke up in the early afternoon today. Coming downstairs to eat lunch, I find Ahilan just about ready to watch Ocean’s 11. I’ve seen the film a million times before. I sat and watched the beginning with him while eating my lunch, and couldn’t pull myself away once the film got rolling.
For those of you who don’t know, Ocean’s 11 is a really well done heist movie. The film has a wicked cast, slick plot, and just about anything else you would want in a movie. My only gripe with the film is the love story that seems a bit tacked on, but even that is done fairly well. I can’t imagine anyone who’s reading this who hasn’t seen the movie, but just incase you haven’t, go watch it. The film is damn good.
19 May 2004, mid-afternoon
I watched Attack of the Clones again recently with Mezan. I remember when it came out I told everyone I thought it was better then Spiderman. I think I would still have to stand by that. I might have a bias towards a film that features plenty of juicy Bounty Hunter action. Also, it does reveal a lot more about how shit went down before the next three Star Wars films. I only wish George Lucas would hand over his script to someone talented, who would then rewrite the crap he spits out. Also, I wish he would sit his ass down somewhere on his ranch, and let someone talented direct the movies as well. I don’t know when it happened, but at some time during the past 20 years or so, he became a giant hack.
If you haven’t seen Star Wars II then this exchange sums it up nicely (taken from an edited script of the movie):
NATALIE PORTMAN
Don’t look at me like that.HAYDEN CHRISTENSEN
Why not?NATALIE PORTMAN
Because it could get you arrested
anywhere else, you fucking creep.
Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t include my favourite line in the film:
As they fight, SAMUEL L. MOTHERFUCKING JACKSON comes in
and puts a lightsaber to TEMUERA’S neck. He glares at
CHRISTOPHER LEE.SAMUEL L. MOTHERFUCKING JACKSON
Normally, both of you would be dead
as fucking fried chicken by now, but
since I’m in a transitional period,
I don’t want to kill either one of
your asses.
18 May 2004, early morning
After watching In America, Mezan showed up at my house. We went for dinner, and then rented Jackie Brown. Steph showed up and the three of us watched the film. I’ve now seen every single Quentin Tarintino film. I would say this was probably the weakest of them all, but that really isn’t a knock to the movie. The film is quite entertaining and funny. The plot is pretty solid, the dialogue is good, and the acting is great. The film is probably worth your time watching, though it is damn long, running in at around 2 1/2 hours.
18 May 2004, early morning
I watched In America today with Steph. It is a very beautiful film, and I highly recommend it. In America follows the lives of a poor Irish family who have moved to New York to make a new life for themselves after the death of their youngest son. The story is very moving, and the acting is really superb. Do yourself a favour and watch the movie.
15 May 2004, late evening
Prasanna and I watched Read or Die yesterday. Read or Die is an anime television series in Japan, Prasanna and I watched the 3 episode miniseries that started it off. The plot was truly bizarre. The lead character is Yumiko Readman, a girl who has the power to control paper. She is part of an elite military organization of librarians. Her first mission is to recover some rare books that were stolen from the Library of Congress by a clone of some ancient samurai. Seriously. Prasanna and I enjoyed the show, probably because it was so bizarre. The animation is pretty good to boot.
13 May 2004, terribly early in the morning
Matchstick Men was an interesting film. The movie was quite nice, albeit a bit sad I thought. The film is about the relationship Nicholas Cage’s character develops with his estranged daughter, played by Alison Lohman. Cage plays a conman with some serious issues. Cage and Lohman do excellent jobs acting in the movie, which makes the film quite enjoyable to watch. I recomend you go see it.
9 May 2004, terribly early in the morning
Van Helsing wasn’t good, it wasn’t bad, it was just one of those movies you watch that leaves no real impression on you whatsoever. The plot was a bit stupid, and the acting wasn’t so hot either. What it did have going for it was sexy, but annoying, vampire women, and Kate Beckinsale, who is omega hot.
8 May 2004, terribly early in the morning
Hellboy has restored my faith in comic book movies. The film is great. The story is well done, and the characters in the movie are pretty interesting. The Nazi assassin in the film is one of the more stylish bad guys I’ve seen in a while. Also, the film features Rasputin — lover of the Russian queen — so how can it be bad. I recommend the film, its fun to watch.
4 May 2004, terribly early in the morning
I watched The Pianist tonight with Mezan. The film follows the life of the Polish pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman, as he attempt to survive life as a Jew in Warsaw during WWII. The film is depressingly realistic. The acting by Adrien Brody is top notch. I thought the film was excellent. All the oscars the film won were well deserved. I highly recommend the movie.
3 May 2004, early morning
Man on Fire was a good movie. Mezan thought there was too much flash with the way it was filmed, but I would disagree. The story is great, and the acting is also quite good. As revenge films go, this one is top notch.
We watched the film at AMC. Steph’s car was broken into while we were in the theatre. The joys of living in Scarborough?
30 April 2004, the wee hours
I watched “China Strike Force: last night with Mezan. The film features the very sexy Norika Fujiwara, who is a whole other kind of hot. So, the film is worth watching just to see her. What makes the film really appealing though is how bad it is. The film is bizarre because its set in China, but everyone is speaking English with different accents. The soundtrack features some strange songs, including some really bad rap music from Coolio. The acting is pretty atrocious, from all parties involved, but Mark Dacascos and Coolio in particular. The movie is that special kind of HK Action film you just have to see.
26 April 2004, evening time
I watched Punisher on saturday night. I make it a point to go see all the comic book movies hollywood has been churning out recently, if only to make sure that they don’t stop making them. Punisher was horrible. For a film about getting revenge, there really wasn’t much violence going on. There was the occasional arrow through the neck and knife through the mouth, but not enough to redeem the film. The lady John Travolta’s character was married to was sexy, in a sexy old lady sort of way, which was one high light of the film.
24 April 2004, terribly early in the morning
The Rundown was quite entertaining. A funny film I must say. Highlights include: Rosario Dawson, who is omega hot, The Rock fighting pygmies, and Christopher Walken giving a monologue on the Tooth Fairy.
18 April 2004, mid-afternoon
Went out to see Kill Bill, Vol 2 last night. The film was quite entertaining, which is what I was expecting. If you liked the first one, there is no reason to think you wouldn’t like the second. The scenes where Umma Thurman is training under her Kung-Fu master are hilarious.
5 April 2004, terribly early in the morning
I watched Taking Lives last night with Shima, Gary and Liz. I thought the film was done well. The movie is a thriller about a serial killer that assumes the identities of the people he kills. Shima found it scary, as did Liz. You get to see Angelina Jolie naked in the film, which was a bonus. The film is set in Montreal, which was also cool.
10 March 2004, early afternoon
I saw the Fog of War at the Princess last night. The film is a documentary about Robert MacNamara, and the things he did in his public life. The film is segmented into 11 sections, each section corresponds to a lesson MacNamara has learnt in his old age. The man is incredibly interesting to hear, and quite well spoken. Much of the films content seems all the more relevant considering what is happening in the US right now. I wholeheartedly recommend the film.
5 March 2004, terribly early in the morning
I just got back from seeing The Passion of the Christ. I thought the film was good.
Charges the film are violent are not unfounded. The film is very realistic, to the point of being very gruesome at many points. The film is about the last 12 hours of Christ’s life, so I have to wonder what people were expecting. Especially since Mel Gibson movies are usually quite bloody.
Charges that the film is anti-Semitic are unfounded in my opinion. The film definitely casts the Jewish high-priests in a bad light. (The Roman leaders are more reflective about what is happening. However, I am quite sure that in the New Testament it is the Jewish priests out for blood, not the Romans. They do let the murderer free over Christ after-all.) Now, while the Jewish Priests are being portrayed in a bad light, there are still some priests that realize that what is going on is a travesty, and will have no part in condemning Christ. Similarly, the streets are filled with Jews who are upset at what is going on. There are plenty of Jewish characters that sympathize with the plight of Jesus in the film. I’m not sure if the portrayal of the high-priests is accurate or not. Perhaps they were equally as reflective in the Bible. (Something I’ll have to look into.) My point is that anyone watching the film and thinking the Jews killed Christ, probably thought as much before they started watching the movie.
I recommend the film. It is interesting to watch.
3 March 2004, terribly early in the morning
Just got back from wathcing Monster. The film was quite good. I really have nothing to say you haven’t heard before I’m sure. She looks totally different, the film is really disturbing, blah, blah, blah. If you want to see something a little bit different, I’d go check it out.
9 February 2004, terribly early in the morning
Today Shima and I watched two documentaries. The first, which I had seen before, Startup.com, was a film about the rise and fall of a dot-com startup. The second was Helen’s War, a documentary about the current work of anti-war activist Helen Caldicott. Both films are quite good.
This week there are lots of interesting documentaries being shown on CBC Newsworld, and I recomend you check them out. Rough Cuts usually shows some great stuff.
4 February 2004, terribly early in the morning
Just got back from watching 21 Grams with Steph, Gary and Ju-lian. The film is excellent. Gary and Ju-lian found it long, though I didn’t notice so much. I recommend the film whole heartedly. I won’t say anymore, lest I give away something.
31 January 2004, early evening
The trailer is out for the next Kill Bill film. Frankly, the trailer sucks, but that isn’t saying much. I am quite sure this movie will be very excellent. I can’t wait to watch it.
Comment [3] Interesting Links | Movies
30 January 2004, terribly early in the morning
Finished watching Better Luck Tomorrow just now. I was impressed with the film, though it really didn’t live up to all the hype. The ending was pretty dark, and quite unexpected, which I thought was quite good. My favourite character in the film was Han. You should check the film out if you want to see a movie that features asians as the lead protagonists.
