Showing posts with label 8/10. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 8/10. Show all posts

Monday, January 10, 2011

The Town

eight out of ten

There is a town, Charlestown, in Boston where the most bank robbers are from. Its a trade passed down from father to son. This is how we begin this movie about friends who are bank robbers, who have always been so as their forefathers before them. We witness a bank heist where the wild card robber kidnaps a girl takes her around the city and drops her off at the beach. Later when the robbers discover she is from the same area they are from and getting interrogated by the FBI, the wild card wants to off her with Ben Affleck's character determined to find another solution, falling in love with her along the way. This is a good film that keeps you watching, but **minor spoiler alert** the ending sequences kind of fell into oh jeez this is too cheesy territory for me to give it a full ten. Still, worth a watch!

The Road

eight out of ten

A haunting film based on the novel by the same name about a post-apocalyptic world where a lone man and his son travel south in the hope of finding 'other good people' and simply surviving. It is a well done, well acted movie and perhaps I should give it a perfect ten since there is nothing technically wrong with it in any way- but it truly drove terror into my heart. The way they had to survive- the fear- the anarchy- the ending. . . definitely a good movie but not for the faint of heart, especially when you have children of your own.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Inception

I realize that getting to the movies will be an increasingly challenging activity post-baby so I am quite psyched that I managed to steal some time away to catch the latest Leonardo movie, Inception!

This is a movie about dreams. Leo is a dream thief. He breaks into people's dreams and steals information. He is approached to undertake a new assignment: Don't steal, implant an idea in someone's head.

I think I expected way more out of this movie so initially when I walked out of the movie theater I was a little disappointed. I thought it was going to explore the meaning of our dreams, etc. The narrative is mostly expository and I miss the emotional punch to the gut that I got in Shutter Island, but once I realized that I was expecting too much and this is just a typical heist movie with a sci fi twist, and when I look at it like that- its sheer brilliance [though perhaps a teensy bit too long]. I want to watch it again with my lowered expectations and see how I find it then.

Sunday, May 02, 2010

Precious

eight out of ten

This is a movie about a young girl named Precious, who at 16 already has two children, both fathered by her own father who raped her since she was three years old. She lives with her cruel mother in a tough neighborhood and is merely struggling to survive. This is one heck of a powerful movie and some scenes are strong, not for the faint of heart. In any case its a good insight into a life that at least I have never lived and could not fathom. Movies like this help me better understand other people and for that this movie must be watched.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

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.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Avatar

nine out of ten

Many years into the future America is trying to extract precious resources from a faraway planet of Navi's who regard the resources as spiritual treasure. America doesn't care and they have a team of scientists seeking to understand the elements of this planet and the military and private corporations set on exploiting these very elements.

I saw this on IMAX 3-D and I found it a very enjoyable experience though the movie is a touch long. The movie is a very obvious political allegory to what happened to the Native Americans and the current "war on terror" that is going on. It's heavy handed but I still liked it. It really brought home to me how much the Native Americans went through. Outside of the story, the special effects and graphics were beautiful.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

The Wrestler

eight out of ten

This was a great movie about an aging wrestler who does not have the success of Hulk Hogan. This wrestler was famous in his own right. He still gets recognized on the street. He still wrestles in smaller venues trying to make a living, but he is a broken man. This movie was very deep. It was a reflection on growing older and how this changes things. About opportunities lost, that we deeply regret, but somehow continue to act in ways that deepen this regret. Very thought provoking.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Changeling

Angelina did a good job in this haunting movie based on a true story about a woman who lost her son and was given a child not hers and forced to pretend it was indeed her lost son. The movie is a bit too long, perhaps in need of some editing, but the story was still very good and I recommend it!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Pineapple Express

This is not the sort of film I thought I'd really enjoy, but it was hilarious. The main character gets caught up with his drug dealer in a misunderstanding with the biggest drug dealer in town and they are now running for their lives. It's so funny, we watched it twice!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The Dark Knight

Well written. Well acted. Both beautiful and tragic in the same breath.

Things I loved: Christian Bale because he's just super awesome in so many many ways. Heath Ledger rocked it as the Joker, he left me terrified. The cinematography was amazing, the action sequences mesmerized me, and Michael Cain... how much does he rock?

Things I loved not so much: ***warning- spoilers**

They didn't do a good job showing Dent's transformation from DA to Two-Faced. I felt the transition was too quick as opposed to in the comic version where they allude to Dent feeling jealous of Batman and having evil tendencies in his heart of darkness.

Maggie Gyllenhaal might be better than Katie Holmes as Rachel but still, neither character really felt like they should've been the love object for two of the most eligible bachelors in town. Plus, I just felt the acting wasn't *that* great. I also feel that when she died, Batman's reaction was a little iffy.

The ending wasn't really one. Sure Joker is caught, but he's still there.... you know he'll escape. I wanted more closure.

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Dan in Real Life

eight out of ten

This is a film about a widower with three girls and his struggle to raise them and possibly find love. Dan is an advice columnist but this aspect of his life is not focused on. The focus of the film is on a long weekend visit to Dan's parents for what seems like Thanksgiving with all the children coming home for one of those family scenes of heartwarming football games and giggles that just makes you feel all warm and mushy. While visiting his parents he goes to a bookstore and meets a beautiful woman with whom he shares one of those life changing conversations where he feels like this woman might be "the one"... unfortunately when he returns home he realizes this woman is dating his brother. That's the premise of the story and we watch how these different themes unfold. I thought it was a great film though I could have done without the Soundtrack. Never have I been that distracted by a soundtrack, truly horrendous, but otherwise a good film.

A mighty heart

eight out of ten

This is a film based on the true life story of Daniel Pearl and his wife's search for him in Pakistan after his disappearance. Jolie does an amazing job in this film showing a range of emotions and acting abilities I did not know she was capable of. The one thing I was curious about was the long periods of scenes where only Urdu was spoken. Sure, I understood it, but most people would not and I felt that some of those Urdu scenes were necessary to understand what was happening. But still, it was a good movie and I was pleasantly surprised by that.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Eastern Promises

eight out of ten

Viggo and Naomi Watts did a great job acting and in part this movie is great because they did a great job. This is a movie about the Russian Mafia and a midwife whose life somehow accidentally falls into their orbit. I like this movie very much because it plays on one of my favorite genres (gangster movies) but its different from the rest with its own twists and plot line. I also like that its 100 minutes. It keeps the movie moving without boring you. One of the cons of this movie is the excessive violence. If you watch it, brace yourself or like me, look away.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Thank You For Smoking

eight out of ten

This movies follows a cigarette lobbyist as he sets out to counter the negative media coverage on the side effects to smoking. Its a satirical comedy and its GOOD. It wasn't moralistic as i thought it would be (and I saw from the deleted scenes that it almost did become a moralistic flick but all of those scenes were cut thankfully). I think with any of the execs having a moral bone develop would have been unrealistic. The way they kept it, absurd leaving ones eyes gaping with shock at some of the things said and done... thats the way to help you remember this movie and perhaps think about it for some time after.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Blades of Glory

Eight out of ten

Dumb comedies meant to be dumb are usually not my cup of tea but this movie was funny! It follows two has been rival ice skaters banned from competing in the solo category of the olympics who are brought together to compete in the couples tournament. There's love, there's evil, there's inner battles overcome. And (surprise surprise) they learn to appreciate each other and be the best they can be. The conclusion is obvious, but the journey is hilarious.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Casino Royale

I'm not a huge bond fan, and normally avoid those types of movies. Meaningless car chases, special effects.. *yawn*. BUT- the reviews and trailers for Casino Royale made me want to watch this particular Bond film. I knew it would be inherently meaningless but it seemed thoroughly fun enough to make up for that. Its true, the movie was great. Great stunts and special effects, gorgeous actors, and wonderful cars. Its what a Bond movie is all about. But what I really liked about this movie as compared to other Bond films is that the women are not treated like simply pieces of meat, okay- maybe a little, but- this time the characters develop a romance and her role is a bit more complex than being a pretty girl to look at on the screen.

My boiled down summary: If you like Bond flicks, you'll LOVE Casino Royale. If you don't like Bond flicks, you'll probably still enjoy Casino Royale if you go in with the attitude that it will be fun and exciting from start to finish!

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Babel

eight out of ten

If you've seen Crash then this movie is best described as an "international Crash" See how two wealthy Americans, A Morrocan shephard and his family, a Japanese tycoon and his deaf daughter, and an illegal Mexican nanny are all more connected than even they realize.

The movie follows all the stories and each one is inspiring and each story for the most part is well told and well acted. The issue I had with the film is that though all interconnected the Japanese theme was not as closely connected as the others were. The oversexualized Japanese girl and hr scenes made the movie no longer a movie I could recommend to anyone and everyone, but now a movie that I must caution contains extreme full frontal nudity. And is not brief nudity. So be warned about that. Infact if that story line was not there at all this was a ten out of ten movie for me.

I just loved the story and its message. About how it showed that we are all one people. How there is goodness in everybody and how sometimes the choices that we seem to not understand are sometimes incomprehensible to the people themselves but more are usually still well meaning and well intentioned.

It addressed stereotypes against Muslims and against Mexicans. And it showed a different view point. A view point I am aware of but many Americans are not.

I've read some negative reviews who say this movie beats you over the head. I dont think it does. I think people are angry aout the message because it shows people in a humane manner who the media wants us to see as one dimensional beings. But no one is one dimensional.

This movie explores this brilliantly.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Water

eight point five out of ten

*** warning: spoilers****

I liked the concept of Water and its storyline. I liked its subtlety, its almost "a day in the life of" feel. The story follows a child bride, 7 years old, whose husband dies before she even meets him. She is sent off to a convent for widows where she is to spend the rest of her days in it. The actors were not necessarily particularly gripping save the widow Shakuntula who was the one widow who actually tried to create change. Upon researching the film I learned that the entire cast was recast from the original one because of the amount of time it took between riots over the film in India.

1) My family on my dad's side has been Muslim for about 600 years. That means before that we were most likely Hindu. That means that there is view likely an insensate of MINE who lived like this. Or threw herself upon the flames and died with her spouse. It was weird to watch it because it was a perspective that I guess papal whose family was in the revolutionary war and see such movies might feel a sense of "I can relate it" I could sort of relate to this. I wondered if someone who came before me, suffered in this way. It made it seem more real.

2) The subjugation of women and using religion as the means to do so she has no way to fight back lest she face the scorn of society is horrific and it upsets me off that this still occurs to this day. One main reason they did this according the movie was they did this so the woman would not factor in when the property disputes arose.

3) The little girl broke my heart. Such a beautiful little girl. And her life ruined. You look at those really old women. And you think. They were once chlorine and they grew old living here.

4) The prostitution was shocking. I could never imagine a convent for widows who are shunned from society to be a simultaneous brothel as well. I found it SOHO heartbreaking that one of the men who bought these women JUSTIFIED IT saying that it is a privilege for them to get to sleep with a brahaman caste man.

5) DID the little girl end up going to the home of narayan's father????? IS HE WHO RAPED HER? How could you rape a child? It broke my heart.

6) I am doing my term paper for my international human rights class on bride burning in India and one of the topics I'm discussing is child marriages. The reason child marriages are so common is b/c in India you have to pay the man a dowry of a sum of money an goods to marry your daughter. The younger the girl and the oilier the man, the less the dowry that needs to given. That is why there Ares many child brides. This practice has got to be stopped.

Anyways those are my thoughts on the movie. It was quite powerful. Very depressing. I can't belie it ages on to this day.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Match Point

eight out of ten

This is not your typical Woody Allen movie. And thankfully Woody Allen does not star in it. A former tennis pro who now trains the rich and spoiled befriends a wealthy student who takes him in as his own. His sister takes a liking to the tennis pro and he takes a liking for his friends fiancee. The movie takes off from there. If you want a suspenseful movie that keeps you at the edge of your seat this is your movie. Its an unexpected thriller you just cannot predict. I loved it and enjoyed each twist and turn. Upon retrospect though the reason I give it eight out of ten is I wish he did more to develop the characters and their motives and reasons for doing what they do. But still- its a good movie. And it makes you think.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Munich

eight out of ten

I resisted watching this movie because I knew it would be powerful and emotional and much too relevant to today's current middle east issue between Lebanon/Palestine/Israel. Well I believe that for this very reason it is so important to watch it. You may not agree with the viewpoint of the movie but its still an important film to watch to understand the perspective of both parties involved. Some say that the film is terribly biased. I believe the movie is perhaps biased in support of a state of Israel but as far as Israel's steps to react to the violence and their own acts of violence I feel the movie is extremely even handed and touches upon a lot of moral gray areas. Many criticize the film for not being completley accurate. For example, the death squad killers of Israel are shown to have a conscious when its argued by most experts that they were not particularly troubled by the murders they committed, instead they felt pride because they were doing what they did for their country. Okay, even if this is true, the effect of this guilty conscious helps create a starting point to debate and discuss the issues in the middle east. Most Americans are sadly unaware of the problems and have one sided views of the issue. This movie seeks to show both sides of the debate and wants to start a dialogue on what we think. For that purpose, this movie is extremely effective.

There is a particularly poignant scene in the film where Aver (the Israeli death squad guy) and Ali ( A Palestinian liberation army leader) have a candid conversation unaware of the other's religious convictions or views. Whats interesting is both discuss their home. Both discuss that they are willing do die defending their home. Both are talking about the same peice of land.

Powerful quotes in the movie stated about an event long ago but eerily speak about issues today:

Every civilization finds it necessary to negotiate compromises of its own values.

Forget peace for now. We have to show them we're strong <-- and this one is the most powerful of them all because I actually heard this same phrase from the movie depicting decades ago, used by an Israeli spokesperson to a news correspondent Monday morning. *sigh* There is no peace at the end of this.