Zodiac (R) 7.5

Zodiac (I) (2007): A San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac killer. (7.8)

Director: David Fincher
Writers: James Vanderbilt (screenplay), Robert Graysmith (book)
Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Ruffalo

We (okay, most people who see this movie) know that the ending is inconclusive. Yet, the movie is a roller-coaster of a journey that is nice to see. It makes you understand the 60s/70s detective work and also gives you a peek at the newspaper business. The acting, the camera work, etc are wonderful. I was in Los Angeles when Richard Ramirez was running amok and then again in Washington DC when the sniper was picking people off at random, so I have an idea of how quickly a serial killer can paralyze an entire community. It is a testament to the power of the story-telling that without much to go on in the Zodiac case, this movie is still captivating. Nicely done. My Rating: 7.5

Franklyn (R) 6.5

Franklyn (2008): The film is a split narrative set simultaneously in contemporary London and in a future metropolis ruled by religious fervor. (6.1)

Director: Gerald McMorrow
Writer: Gerald McMorrow
Stars: Ryan Phillippe, Sam Riley and Bernard Hill

The story about events in parallel worlds, but nothing much is revealed to the audience until almost three quarters of the way through. By that time, you are kind of tired of trying to understand what's going on. The visuals are quite good, specially that of the Meanwhile City (or whatever it is called). After watching the whole movie, I'm still not sure who's who and what happened where. It is billed as a Sci-Fi, but I don't think it qualifies as such. Just because someone's imagination runs wild doesn't mean that the hallucinations are worthy of the label "Sci-Fi." I might watch this again sometime, just so that I understand what's going on from the beginning, but my initial reaction is ... "um, what!" My Rating: 6.5

Infernal Affairs 3 (PG-13) 7.0

Infernal Affairs: End Inferno 3 (2003) Mou gaan dou III: Jung gik mou gaan (original title): Months after the events of the original film, Ming suspects a police superintendent as being a new mole for the triads, while years earlier, Yan embarks on his first mission. (6.9)

Directors: Wai-keung Lau, Alan Mak
Writers: Alan Mak, Felix Chong
Stars: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Andy Lau, Leon Lai, Kelly Chen
Languages: Cantonese|English

I didn't realize that this was the continuation of the original movie. Plus, I still haven't watched the part II, and it has been a while since I watched the first one. So, it was a bit confusing trying to remember who's who and where the stated and perceived loyalties lie. I think, I need to watch the three movies back-to-back to really understand what's going on. It is a convoluted storyline, made more complicated by the fact that this installment shows events out of sequence and what people think may have happened as actual scenes. The acting and the cinematography were great. My Rating: 7.0

Super 8 (PG-13) 6.0

Super 8 (2011): During the summer of 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town. (7.2)

Director: J.J. Abrams
Writer: J.J. Abrams
Stars: Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka and Kyle Chandler

Um, yeah, like most reviewers have mentioned, I expected more from the JJ Abrams+Spielberg combo and the marketing machine; but I should have known better. This is just a tribute movie with parts from ET, Goonies, Jaws, etc thrown in together. The original concept of accidentally recording something on film, while not unique, intriguing; and they should have stuck with that + a simple story rather than bringing in alien crash landings, monsters, etc. Special effects don't make a movie. The most important part is the story. The kid actors are good. They deserved a better storyline. My Rating: 6.0

Day Zero (R) 6.5

Day Zero (2007): The military draft is back. Three best friends are drafted and given 30 days to report for duty. In that time they're forced to confront everything they believe about courage, duty, love, friendship and honor. (5.9)

Director: Bryan Gunnar Cole
Writer: Robert Malkani
Stars: Elijah Wood, Chris Klein and Jon Bernthal

The premise of the movie, the draft being back, is not that far fetched. The story goes on to look at, or rather glance at, the questions like pulling strings to get out of the draft, one's own doubts about serving in the military, how friendships, romances and marriage come into the process, etc. IMHO, such questions probed in the movie were not asked loud enough or the various points of view were not expressed boldly enough. It could have been more solid, more controversial and more thought provoking. It is the failure of the intelligent conversation among the characters. That said, the three main characters try to tackle the issue in various ways and the story did interest me very much. I'd give higher marks than most reviewers. My Rating: 6.5

Barking Dogs Never Bite (PG-13) 7.5

Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) Flandersui gae (original title): An idle part-time college lecturer is annoyed by the yapping sound of a nearby dog. He decides to take drastic action. (7.0)

Director: Joon-ho Bong
Writers: Joon-ho Bong, Ji-ho Song, and Derek Son Tae-woong
Stars: Doona Bae, Sung-jae Lee and Hie-bong Byeon
Language: Korean (w/ English subtitles)

A dark comedy woven around the silly interactions between humans and dogs in the current Korean society. The story is laugh out loud hilarious at times. (Yeah, it transcends the on-screen Korean language, even though the translations feel like kind of short.) The story doesn't try to be cute or sentimental. The characters don't try to "do the right thing" and that shows the respect towards the intelligence of the audience. At the end we find out that the whole movie itself is a good look at the behavior of the human animal. A well-written and well directed movie. I liked it a lot. My Rating: 7.5

Howl's Moving Castle (PG) 8.0

Howl's Moving Castle (2004) Hauru no ugoku shiro (original title): When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking home. (8.1)

Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writers: Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay), Diana Wynne Jones (novel)
Stars: Chieko Baishô, Takuya Kimura and Tatsuya Gashûin (Japanese)
Stars: Jean Simmons, Christian Bale, Lauren Bacall (English)

This is a Studio Ghibli movie by Hayao Miyazaki. I don't need to say anything more. It is a beautiful, magical, anime film. This is the second time I'd seen it ... A movie I'd watch many more times. My Rating: 8.0

The War Zone (R) 7.0

The War Zone (1999): An alienated teenager, saddened that he has moved away from London, must find a way to deal with a dark family secret. (7.4)

Director: Tim Roth
Writers: Alexander Stuart (novel), Alexander Stuart (screenplay)
Stars: Ray Winstone, Lara Belmont and Freddie Cunliffe

I can't really talk about it without giving out spoilers, so this will be short. The subject matter of the story is horrific. The acting is great. However, IMHO, a little bit more discretion should have been applied in the camera angles; ie what's shown vs. what's left for the imagination. The second problem I have with is that I can't understand half the dialog because they (with that English accent) mumble a lot. Yeah, it is a good movie, but not exactly enjoyable. My Rating: 7.0

Scent of Green Papaya (PG) 7.5

The Scent of Green Papaya (1993) Mùi du du xanh (original title): A little girl, Mui, went to a house as a new servant. The mother still mourns the death of her daughter, who would have been Mui's age. In her mind she treated Mui as her daughter. (7.2)

Director: Anh Hung Tran
Writer: Anh Hung Tran
Stars: Tran Nu Yên-Khê, Man San Lu and Thi Loc Truong
Language: Vietnamese (w/ English subtitles)

The movie is a loosely flowing story about a servant girl growing up in a 50's Vietnamese family. There is not much to the main storyline, but there are quite a lot of interesting branches. The use of colors, the tropical plants, the period architecture, etc is wonderful. The cinematography captures not only the everyday beauty of the slow, ordinary life but the emotions of the main characters as well (w/o a whole lot of dialog). The tropical plants, the animals and insects brought me back the memories of my childhood. The storyline, somehow reminds me of this quote ... "until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword" ... even though the idea of live-in servants is commonplace in that part of the world and it is never as severe as the Southern slavery, ... My Rating: 7.5

Jellyfish (PG-13) 7.0

Jellyfish (2007) Original title: Meduzot: Meduzot (the Hebrew word for Jellyfish) tells the story of three very different Israeli women living in Tel Aviv whose intersecting stories weave an unlikely portrait of modern Israeli life. (7.0)

Directors: Shira Geffen, Etgar Keret
Writer: Shira Geffen
Stars: Sarah Adler, Nikol Leidman and Gera Sandler
Languages: Hebrew|English (w/ English subtitles)

For those of us who hear of Israel only in the context of Middle East political crises, this movie provides a glimpse of the trials and tribulations of ordinary lives. The poem, repeated twice towards the end of the movie, about Jellyfish is quite poignant and ties the various stories together. Very well written and directed. My Rating: 7.0