Requiem for a Dream (R) 8.0

Requiem for a Dream (2000): The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island individuals are shattered when their addictions become stronger. (8.5)

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writers: Hubert Selby Jr. (book/screenplay, Darren Aronofsky (screenplay)
Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly and Marlon Wayans

Each character's dream is being murdered systematically by the drugs as we watch. The situation increasingly becoming more and more disturbed yet one does not wanting to look away. A wonderfully filmed, directed and put-together as a final "cut" movie. The requiem, for me, is the symphony of the action of drug abuse. A well thought-out and nice quick-cut sequence that captures the essence of storyline. Talking about it is just not sufficient; you must see this movie! My Rating: 8.0

Inside Job (PG-13) 8.0

Inside Job (2010): Takes a closer look at what brought about the financial meltdown. (8.2)

Director: Charles Ferguson
Writers: Charles Ferguson, Chad Beck and Adam Bolt
Stars: Matt Damon, William Ackman and Daniel Alpert

This documentary does a very good job of explaining how it all happened, what the derivatives and the CDOs are, and of showing us who the crooks were. It does use charts and graphs, as well as text on the screen, which I liked. It is a bit better (in the documentary style) than the boring PBS shows (;-)) and if you are not mad way before the halfway point (at them money grubbing greedy bourgeois capitalist pigs) then you haven't being paying attention. [It is amazing how the same people who fail time and again at managing multi-million dollar corporations are given second and third chances to screw up more of the economy. Elliot Spitzer says at one point that the difference between the financial institutions and the tech companies is that the tech giants actually make stuff. heh!] Matt Damon's narration is pretty good. My Rating: 8.0

Cherry Blossoms (R) 7.0

Cherry Blossoms (2008) Kirschblüten - Hanami (original title): When Trudi learns that her husband Rudi is dangerously ill, she suggests visiting their children in Berlin without telling him the truth. (7.5)

Director: Doris Dörrie
Stars: Elmar Wepper, Hannelore Elsner and Aya Irizuki
Languages: German|English (w/ English subtitles)

The story appeals to pretty much every person, I suppose, since we don't truly know the other people in our families since they give up something of themselves for the greater good of the family. Then, there is the generation gap. (If I say more, it will come a spoiler and I'm glad I didn't read more than the first sentence in the description before watching this movie. An unexpected event in the middle twists the whole story.) Nicely told with the German family and Japanese backdrops; an interesting mix. My Rating: 7.0

Powder (PG-13) 6.5

Powder (1995): A young bald albino boy with unique powers shakes up the rural community he lives in. (6.2)

Director: Victor Salva
Writer: Victor Salva
Stars: Mary Steenburgen, Sean Patrick Flanery and Lance Henriksen

The story mixes a bit of sci-fi with the rejection story of someone who doesn't fit-in because he's different. Yes, it is interesting in the sense you want to find out what would happen, but we've seen stories in this theme. Dude, you got powers, use 'em. What a let down, in that sense. Jeff Goldblum with them big eyes, meh, the wrong cast there, but otherwise, good acting. My Rating: 6.5

The Last Word (R) 6.5

The Last Word (I) (2008): A man (Bentley) who makes his living composing other people's suicide notes enters into a romance with the sister (Ryder) of a recent client. (6.3)

Director: Geoffrey Haley
Writer: Geoffrey Haley
Stars: Wes Bentley, Winona Ryder and Ray Romano

From the description, you'd think this is a rather morbid story. However, it isn't. At times it is quite funny. And, this is one of those stories where you know the train wreck is coming, but you don't know when, and you can't look away either. This nice little story gave me the idea of replicating the guy's profession and being a client myself; but that's just too much work. My Rating: 6.5

The War Game (R) 7.0

The War Game (1965): The War Game is a fictional, worst-case-scenario docu-drama about nuclear war and its aftermath in and around a typical English city. Although it won an Oscar for Best Documentary, it is fiction. (8.1)

Director: Peter Watkins
Writer: Peter Watkins
Stars: Michael Aspel and Peter Graham

The whole movie is a mock documentary. It is a docu-drama in the sense that it tells, in that typical English documentary style, the story of "this is what would happen if several small nuclear bombs were to be dropped in various places in England." At several points in the movie it points out that "this actually happened" either in Japan or at various WWII stages in Germany, so it isn't all fiction. Towards the end of the movie, it imagines, with the development of the bomb in several other countries, that by 1980 the scenarios would have already taken place. Well, it is 2012 and we are still here, so something good must have taken place (ie: disarmament talks) to prevent a nuclear war. But with India and Pakistan acquiring the bomb, Iran and North Korea attempting to develop it, and the break-up of the Soviet Union, things are at a much more precarious situation as far as the nuclear weapons are concerned. Yet, we as a society don't seem to be as much worried about the consequences as the mid 20th century populace was. This docu-drama is an eye opener. My Rating: 7.0

Mad Detective (R) 7.5

Mad Detective (2007) San taam (original title): A rookie cop teams up with a former detective with a supernatural gift to hunt down a serial killer. (7.3)

Directors: Johnnie To, Ka-Fai Wai
Writers: Ka-Fai Wai, Kin-Yee Au
Stars: Ching Wan Lau, Andy On, Ka Tung Lam, Kelly Lin
Language: Cantonese (w/ English subtitles)

A different kind of a cop story; a unique way of cops investigating their own. Early on, I realized that what I thought was going on wasn't quite correct and sat back and enjoyed the movie rather than trying to second guess where it is headed. Acting is superb. Yes, the ending is quite confusing and, I think, quite deliberately so. My Rating: 7.5

The Oxford Murders (R) 7.5

The Oxford Murders (2008): At Oxford University, a professor and a grad student work together to try and stop a potential series of murders seemingly linked by mathematical symbols. (6.1)

Director: Álex de la Iglesia
Writers: Álex de la Iglesia (screenplay), Guillermo Martinez (novel)
Stars: Elijah Wood, John Hurt and Leonor Watling

This is a thinking man's murder mystery. Okay, so some of the math references aren't quite right (ie: pi is not the golden ratio) but the story is unique. Initially it makes everyone a suspect. The writers (at least for the screenplay) were not prepared to follow all the suspects. The final twists are nice. (It is interesting that that main character claims "Philosophy is dead" ... Stephen Hawking claims the same in The Grand Design talking about math and physics.) While the story is not in the same league as those of classic who-done-it ones, the acting is great and I enjoyed the movie. My Rating: 7.5

Snow Flower (PG-13) 7.5

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (2011): A story set in 19th century China and centered on the lifelong friendship between two girls who develop their own secret code as a way to contend with the rigid cultural norms imposed on women. (5.6)

Director: Wayne Wang
Writers: Angela Workman (screenplay), Ronald Bass (screenplay), Lisa See (novel)
Stars: Bingbing Li, Gianna Jun and Vivian Wu

I haven't read Lisa See's novel this movie is based on, and I don't know if the contemporary parallels is from the novel or if it is unique to the movie. I liked the fact that the movie had those contemporary characters showing the cultural norms of today's China as well as the 19th century rituals. The cinematography is brilliant. The use of contrasting colors, the styles and costumes is well done. The acting in the "English" scenes by the contemporary characters is a bit stiff ... they could have used the mixed language of Mandarin/English (the business class do speak a mixed language switching back and forth mid-sentence between Mandarin and English in big cities like Shanghai and Beijing, don't they?) to better illustrate the mix of cultures in today's westernized cities. I'm sure the book is better at getting to the root of what is meant by "laotong" sisters but I got the gist of it from the movie. My Rating: 7.5

Dolores Claiborne (R) 7.5

Dolores Claiborne (1995): A big-city reporter travels to the small town where her mother has been arrested for the murder of an elderly woman that she works for as a maid. (7.3)

Director: Taylor Hackford
Writers: Stephen King (book), Tony Gilroy (screenplay)
Stars: Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Christopher Plummer

Wonderful story, great performances by the three main characters (specially so by Kathy Bates), and that quite nice scenery of New England combine to make this movie a real treat. Yes, it is a mother-daughter movie, but it is a lot more than that. My Rating: 7.5

Oldboy (R) 8.0

Oldboy (2003) Oldeuboi (original title): After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in 5 days. (8.4)

Director: Chan-wook Park
Stars: Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu and Hye-jeong Kang
Language: Korean (w/ English subtitles)

The script/story has more twists than a pretzel. If I say more, I will spoil it for anyone wishing to see the movie later. It is beautiful, violent, repulsive, heart wrenching, etc. all at the same time. If the movie makes you think about the story, the cinematography, acting, direction, etc many hours after seeing it as well as while watching it, then it has substance (IMHO). This movie does have that. My Rating: 8.0

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (PG) 7.0

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010): Master sorcerer Balthazar Blake recruits a seemingly everyday guy in his mission to defend New York City from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath. (6.2)

Director: Jon Turteltaub
Stars: Nicolas Cage, Jay Baruchel and Alfred Molina

An interesting mix of Merlin myth and contemporary NY scenes. Nicolas Cage is getting to know the abandoned NY underground tunnels way too well in his movies. {smirk} The story isn't all that strong, but the acting wasn't half bad and the special effects were pretty good. I like the fact that Nicolas Cage does movies that the entire family can enjoy and he gives 100%. Just because of that, I'm bumping my score up a bit. Yeah, predictable ending and such, but still, as a family movie, I enjoyed it a lot. My Rating: 7.0

The Air I Breathe (R) 6.0

The Air I Breathe (2007): A drama based on an ancient Chinese proverb that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones: happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love. A businessman bets his life on a horse race; a gangster sees the future; a pop star falls prey to a crime boss; a doctor must save the love of his life. (7.0)

Director: Jieho Lee
Writers: Jieho Lee, Bob DeRosa
Stars: Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Andy Garcia

Okay, so the writer/director wanted to tell us stories with the four emotions and then tie them together. Tying the stories together with characters popping up here and there is not an original concept. The four emotions aren't unusual concepts either. If you want to connect with the audience, then pick stories that are ordinary and commonplace; something the audience can relate to. Don't pick non-ordinary (they aren't "extra-ordinary" by any means) ones, and if they are not fantastical, the storytelling falls flat. That's what I felt with the four stories here; flat. There are millions of people on earth going through these four emotions every day and their stories, told with right connections to the heart, would have been a lot better, IMHO. My Rating: 6.0

Revolver (R) 6.0

Revolver (I) (2005): Gambler Jake Green enters into a game with potentially deadly consequences. (6.3)

Director: Guy Ritchie
Writers: Luc Besson (adaptation), Guy Ritchie
Stars: Jason Statham, Ray Liotta and Vincent Pastore

This is supposed to be black comedy, but the humor is few and far between. It is a story about con men and head-games, but the director tries to pull the ultimate con of playing head games with audience by not really telling the story. I enjoyed the movie almost til the end then sort of got all confused about that it is they are trying to tell me. Acting was pretty good and the action goes along nicely like in other Guy Ritchie movies. My Rating: 6.0

The Burning Plain (R) 6.5

The Burning Plain (2008): A drama with a two-tiered storyline concerning a mother and daughter who try to form a bond after the young woman's difficult childhood. (6.7)

Director: Guillermo Arriaga
Writer: Guillermo Arriaga
Stars: Charlize Theron, Kim Basinger, Jennifer Lawrence

A good story of a woman's childhood coming back to haunt her. It begins as several unconnected story segments but eventually come back to fit into places like a nice puzzle. The casting is perfect. I have a feeling that Jennifer Lawrence will be perfect for strong lead female characters. I liked the story and the way it was told, sort of like burning a candle at both ends. (Yeah, "burning" has many meanings in this movie.) My Rating: 6.5

Memoirs of a Geisha (PG-13) 7.5

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005): Nitta Sayuri reveals how she transcended her fishing-village roots and became one of Japan's most celebrated geisha. (7.1)

Director: Rob Marshall
Writers: Robin Swicord (screenplay), Arthur Golden (book)
Stars: Ziyi Zhang, Ken Watanabe, Michelle Yeoh, Li Gong

A good movie is simple; it tells a good story with beautiful moving pictures and nice sounds. This is one of those good movies. A great, moving story, well presented period sets and costumes and above all very good acting. Li Gong plays the villain part to perfection. (She's born to play strong women. It is interesting that Ziyi Zhang's character replaces that of Li Gong and in real life Ziyi (sort of) replaced Li in Zhang Yimou's movies.) The only thing is that I wish I'd been able to select the Japanese dialog with English subtitles. The conversation in English just doesn't sound right for this period movie set in 40's Japan. "The heart dies a slow death; shedding each hope like leaves; until one day there are none. No hope. Nothing remains." My Rating: 7.5

Man Who Wasn't There (R) 7.5

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001): A laconic, chain-smoking barber blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong. (7.7)

Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen (uncredited)
Writers: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand and Michael Badalucco

This movie, shot in black and white in the "film noir" style, is a great tribute to the 40s and 50s era movies. Still, it is a bit different from that style in the sense that there's no detective or a private eye; and the protagonist, who is also the narrator, is the main player in pretty much all of it. The casting for the various roles is perfect, specially that of Billy Bob Thornton. There is humor and comedy sprinkled at places, but not too much, and rightfully so since this isn't a comedy but (I think) is a tribute/mimic of that golden era of film noir. My Rating: 7.5

Lost in Beijing (R) 7.0

Lost in Beijing (2007) Ping guo (original title): A look at modern-day life in China's capital centered on a ménage-a-quatre involving a young woman, her boss, her husband and her boss's wife. (6.8)

Director: Yu Li
Writers: Yu Li, Li Fang
Stars: Tony Leung Ka Fai, Bingbing Fan and Dawei Tong
Language: Mandarin (w/ English subtitles)

Heh, finally, a contemporary story from Mainland China. Wow, starts out with a little too much R rated stuff, but towards the end the movie turns to a really strong emotionally grappling story. At the beginning the characters don't take the situation all that seriously ... which is a bit too weird considering what happens in the story isn't all that ordinary. I don't about you, but I'd go nuts if I were any one of those people. I would be lose my mind for several months, at least. But if you accept the big premise of the story, then it is an emotionally draining story. I also liked the fact that it had quite a bit of ordinary contemporary scenes from Beijing. My Rating: 7.0

Archie's Final Project (R) 7.5

Archie's Final Project (2009) My Suicide (original title): A teen coming-of-age romantic dramedy about a media-obsessed geek and the most beautiful and twisted girl in school. (6.7)

Director: David Lee Miller
Stars: Gabriel Sunday, David Carradine and Mariel Hemingway

This is an independent film done to perfection while thoroughly understanding today's high school teen culture. While the story is about a group of high-schoolers, it transcends that age group as the theme applies to many other situations. This is not yet another high-school movie. The filming (cinematography, editing, etc.) is quite unique, sometimes borrowing from others, sometimes parodying, and using the technical capabilities of the media to the fullest. That said, the dialog (or the monologue, at times) itself is the most important part of this movie, and it is spot on. My Rating: 7.5

The Perfect Host (R) 7.0

The Perfect Host (2010): A criminal on the run cons his way into the wrong dinner party where the host is anything but ordinary. (6.7)

Director: Nick Tomnay
Writers: Nick Tomnay, Krishna Jones
Stars: David Hyde Pierce, Clayne Crawford and Nathaniel Parker

This movie has several unexpected twists. It is suspenseful thriller and a black comedy. I didn't read too much about it as I stumbled across it on Netflix. If you plan to watch, don't read about it as it will spoil the whole thing. David Hyde Pierce is superb. Just a few main actors, but they carry the whole thing so well. My Rating: 7.0

In the Mood for Love (PG) 8.0

In the Mood for Love (2000) Fa yeung nin wa (original title): A man and a woman move in to neighboring Hong Kong apartments and form a bond when they both suspect their spouses of extra-marital activities. (8.1)

Director: Kar Wai Wong
Writer: Kar Wai Wong
Stars: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung and Ping Lam Siu
Language: Cantonese (w/ English subtitles)

This is said to be the second of the informal trilogy by the director. The other two are Days of Being Wild and 2046. I followed the 3, 1 and 2 sequence, but since they are not related--story-wise--I didn't miss anything from it. However, I certainly noticed the thematic, cinematographic, and acting patterns. All three tug at the emotion sides but with varying degrees and varying storylines. This is a beautiful movie with a nice story, great camera work from Christopher Doyle, great acting, etc. And, great "hour-glass" figures, oh my. My Rating: 8.0

The Civil War (TV-G) 9.0

The Civil War (TV mini-series 1990): This highly acclaimed mini series traces the course of the U.S. Civil War from the abolitionist movement through all the major battles to the death of President Lincoln and the beginnings of Reconstruction. The story is mostly told in the words of the participants themselves, through their diaries, letters, and Visuals are usually still photographs and illustrations of the time, and the soundtrack is likewise made up of war-era tunes played on period instruments. (9.5)

Director: Ken Burns
Narrator: David McCullough
Stars: Sam Waterston, Jason Robards, Morgan Freeman, Garrison Keillor, Arthur Miller

This is an epic documentary series that's taken longer to make--five years--than the actual civil war itself. 9 episodes; lots of famous actors to give voices to key figures. It uses lots of period photographs (such as they were during 1861-1865 time; made on glass plates, fuzzy and blurry) intermixed with beautiful scenery shots from today. Even though I've been a US citizen for 20+ years, I still view the US history, specially the civil war time as an outsider looking at someone else's family squabble. I'd read a couple of Lincoln biographies, some material on the civil war, yet I learned a lot from this series. The numbers alone are staggering. The historian Shelby Foote says in the 9th episode: "Before the war it was said as 'United states are' ... after the war it was always 'United States is' ... sums up what the war accomplished. It made us an 'is'." From this point on, I'd always think of Robert E. Lee whenever someone asserts states rights ... just imagine what would have happened had Lee agreed to command the Union army instead of going with his state, Virginia. It took me 9 nights to watch all the episodes, but I think I will watch it again. I highly recommend this documentary series. My Rating: 9.0