Wednesday, February 24, 2010

The Invention of Lying

three out of ten

A good concept. A place where no one lies because it has not been invented yet. We follow a loser who learns how to lie and the results are what the movie is about. It sounds interesting but there were so many logic holes I could not properly enjoy it. An example is a 'funny' scene where the hero says he wants to withdraw $800 when he knows he only has $300. Because no one lies, the teller sees he only has $300 but presumes the machine must be broken and gives him $800. Huh? So no one makes mistakes or miscalculates in this world? It's not a lie if you make a mistake. There were other things that just didn't ring as they should have. Gervais did good with the Office, too bad he can't write or act in a funny movie.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Zombieland

four out of ten

It seems lots of people love this movie but I guess its just not my thing. The movie takes place at a time when everyone is a zombie save a few people and they are trying to survive and hopefully find a zombie-free place to live. It's a comedy-horror film and it just wasn't funny save for Bill Murray's cameo which was priceless, but he's Bill Murray- so there's that.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Up

nine out of ten

A beautiful animated film that is more than just a simple children's movie but a touching story of love and loss and living your dream. I found the film absolutely gorgeous in its colors and creativity and I think its one of my favorite animated movies of late!

17 Again

six out of ten

It's a lighthearted movie about a guy who becomes 17 again and could possibly redo the mistakes he thinks he made in his life. Instead he finds a different purpose behind this freak circumstance: helping his kids. It's a comedy and its silly but you should expect that going into it. For what it is, its fine.

Donkey in Lahore

nine out ten

This is a documentary I saw recently and found absolutely fascinating simply because its an unlikely concept: An Australian white goth guy falls in love with a traditional Pakistani girl in Pakistan. He converts. He marries her. Then they spend two years apart trying to get her sponsored. It's a very powerful documentary that is very realistic and shows how difficult a long distance relationship is, and the pressures and regret that the young Pakistani girl now feels to have married this man despite her brother's begging her not to. Overall just very real and very raw. Worth seeing.

Twilight

two out of ten

Oh boy. I know many people love Twilight and that's cool. I hated the book. I hated the movie. I did think the scenery was beautiful and there was a Pakistani flag in the cafeteria opening sequences which is kind of cool. Other than that, I couldn't stand it. Bella blinks a lot and the actress did a bad job, and the writing, well. . . just not for me.

Memento

eight out of ten

This is an older movie that I just saw again and I don't remember feeling as confused on the first watch as I did years later, watching it for the second time. I enjoyed the fast paced story telling but I did have to do some google searching for perspectives on it to fully understand exactly what happened. It's an older movie but worth watching if you haven't caught it.

Moon

nine out of ten

This movie is the type that leaves you thinking for days. A man is alone on the moon working for a corporation that mines a resource on the moon which provides energy back home on earth. He has a three year contract ending in two weeks and is looking forward to seeing his wife and young daughter. As the days get closer to going home he gets sicker and sicker and that is when the true story really begins. . .

I don't want to give away too much but this movie really was awesome. It's science fiction but the sort that you can foresee happening someday. I thought the movie was well acted and enjoyed it very much.

The Hurt Locker

nine out of ten

This is a movie about the current war in Iraq, set in 2004 about a unit that finds and diffuse bombs. They have less than a month to go before their tour ends. And we literally, follow them as they do their job. In particular there is one soldier, the one who actually diffuses the bombs and we see him take risks to do what he does with a strange pleasure that mystifies his colleagues. The movie almost felt like a documentary to me. Though its not the sort of movie I would normally watch, it gave an interesting perspective and had no real agenda that I could make out except to show a day in the life of a soldier.