the reader (2008). directed by stephen daldry.

the reader, as in someone who reads. not the reader (2008). i didn't find the movie like-able at all. pretentious and boring, at best.

kate winslet shouldn't have won just for taking her clothes off.

sherlock holmes (2009). directed by guy ritchie.

i managed to catch sherlock holmes (2009) today and mr. downey was a joy to watch, that i think he risks turning into johnny depp or jack nicholson in his ability to swallow the screen. that's not a bad thing on its own if the story is about one person alone, but not when you have other characters vying for attention too.

i am a big fan of sir arthur conan doyle's sherlock holmes. definitely one of the books that contributed to my nearsightedness apart from william shakespeare's tragedies. yes, i am a romantic for hamlet and king lear. going back to guy ritchie's holmes, this is not a tribute. merely character adaptation. whilst downey brought his own brand of holmes, which is the antithesis of doyle's holmes; the story has a mass appeal effect to it. it's not strong enough. it's downey's talent that he can be comical without trying, and he is fantastic with expressions which made him quite a stand out. but holmes, would take a lot more than that.

ritchie is aiming for entertainment, not a faithful adaptation. nevertheless, my opinions are eerily similar as this one, taken from imdb.com

Has "Busted Franchise" Written All Over It, 15 December 2009

As a long time Sherlock Holmes fan,I really wanted to say something good about this one, but I really can't. Guy {Madonna's ex} Ritchie modern take on the classic Conan-Doyle stories seems to have been made for a contemporary audience who has no clue {get it?}-on who Holmes is. Downey totally fails as Holmes in a character who is too modern-and possibly too ambigiously gay for the role-not that there's anything wrong with that. Law is just alright as Watson and he does try to bring some comic relief to the character. The story has Holmes trying to stop a plot to destroy London. There are the usual CGI scenes, but for some reason most of them are pretty well done and do manage to capture the essence of what London probably looked like at that time. Even though it is a good looking and well produced movie, it is predictable from start to finish, even though some interesting diversions are placed to add some momentum to the story line. Obviously looking for a new franchise, the producers of this should hope that the Baker St. boys are a hit at the box office. Movie itself is fairly likable, but it just falls flat on what it has to deliver. That's the trouble with Holmes when new stories are written to cater to contemporary tastes. Perhaps if an original Conan-Doyle story was used, this would have turned out better. Where are Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce when you need them?

at best, i give this movie a C.

requiem for a dream (2000), trainspotting (1996), stardust (2007) & frozen river (2008)

haven't done movie reviews for a while now like i haven't been writing a lot using a pen. i don't sense any urgency in going to the movies, i find the shows unexceptionally banal.

requiem for a dream (2000). directed by darren aronofsky. 

i watched requiem for a dream (2000) 3 years ago and i don't think i could watch it for the second time. not because it was badly done, rather because it was exceptionally done. like it is saying straight up to your face, "you do this, you will get this kinda shit coming to you, i kid you not". it hit me hard. so was another drug movie by danny boyle, the fame director of slumdog millionaire (2008). trainspotting (1996) is a must watch too, i especially can not forget the scene whereby a baby was dead because she was left unfed for days as all the adults in the house were too stoned to noticed.

trainspotting (1996). directed by danny boyle. 

i don't get that kind of impact anymore when i see the movies aired these days. yesterday i caught stardust (2007) on 412 and i thought, despite the rich allegories what does it want to tell me exactly? so what is robert de niro never played a gay cross-dresser up until now? or am i the one missing the point of post-modernism, that there's no need for meaning in anything?

stardust (2007). directed by matthew vaughn. 

i am just wondering.

frozen river (2008). directed by courtney hunt. 

having said all that, all one needs to do is to dig deeper though the heap of crap being shoved at one's face by the mighty force of commercialism. i watched frozen river (2008) and liked it. nobody acted in this movie, and that's how it should be otherwise it would have been fake and i wouldn't believe it. because if there is any truth in life, we will do anything to survive.

hitch (2005). directed by andy tennant.

my house was stripped bare of its appliances that makes it a home, today. we moved to another house. not necessarily better, though it has its advantages. i like this home that i first bought. the second has a different feel to it. my parents loved it with the garden spread out.

or may be it is just separation anxiety.

i caught Hitch (2005) for i don't know how many times. i think the third perhaps. i don't like chick flicks as a rule but i can stand will smith better than jennifer aniston.

though this bit is almost always true...

Does it ever occur to you that maybe someone might like to have a plan because they are nervous?

They are not sure that they could just walk up to you and you'd respond if they said: "I like you."

That sounds good to me. True, you can't tell them you like them.

I tried that. It didn't go well. I've crashed and burned on that.

That is what you did, and I did like you!

it's not ironic at all that life and art imitate each other on a daily basis. goethe said this for a good reason, that every form correctly seen is beautiful.

one flew over the cuckoo's nest (1975). directed by milos forman.

i am no facebook addict. nevertheless i like the template, i like simple templates like that. so long it's not all black like you are mourning for something.

my brother puts on One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and it is true that jack nicholson has this beautiful voice like flowing olive oil. it was an assembled cast of soon-to-be-greats like danny de vito and robert duvall.

my brother is religious when it comes to movies. it's a serious business to choose what you watch.

of nicholson's character:

McMurphy is an apparently unquenchable optimist, refusing to succumb to the defeated spirit of all the other patients. His livewire antics, inspiring the patients are generally uplifting, and when his indomitable spirit is finally broken, we really feel for him and his fellow patients. Nicholson conveys the essence of McMurphy to perfection, demonstrating his excellent understanding and interpretation of the character. When McMurphy announces that he is going to lift a huge stone fountain and hurl it through the window to escape, the other patients are so caught up in his intoxicating spirit of freedom that they honestly believe he can do it, despite the fact it would be impossible for a man much stronger than him. When McMurphy finally discovers that despite his best efforts, he cannot lift the fountain, he is so openly crushed that we can't help but feel for him. Beneath the frequent profanities and livewire antics, there are real human emotions, which come across as truly touching.

the point is, you can't break me.

something great to watch, because it makes you think. not twilight or new moon, sorry.

district 9 (2009). directed by neill blomkamp.

district 9 (2009) has a jacksonian feel when it comes to head shots and splitting arms and alien cannibalism. of the scifi movies i was forced to watch this year, i must say this is at least 30% better than terminator salvation (2009).

that's a compliment.

the proposal (2009). directed by anne fletcher.

last week i caught the proposal (2009) on request of a friend. proving once again that romantic comedy is really, really hard to do well.

the soloist (2009). directed by joe wright.

the soloist (2009) confirmed the truth about mental illness; that you can't FIX people. especially when they are mentally ill. you can't fix them medications, with motivations, even good intentions won't work. may be all you can do is be there as a friend. 

as experienced by steve lopez: (writing his newspaper article) "I can tell you that by witnessing Mr. Ayer's courage, his humility, his faith in the power of his art - I've learned the dignity of being loyal to something you believe in ... believing without question that it will carry you home!"

another movie with a raw take on mental illness, watch spider (2002)

mystic river (2003). directed by clint eastwood.

 

one of my favourite movies, mystic river (2003); watched it countless times but i didn't review it. it's poetry. subtexts don't get anymore richer than this. modern nightmare is fashioned by distrust and suspicions amongst friends and families; important people like your wives who just can't believe, let alone understand. lives destroyed in a blink of an eye followed by the lingering aftermath that swallowed everyone around. we are all in it, together. in the car, spending the rest of their lives justifying. the desperation of loss that drove people to madness for closure, if only one can place the blame on someone so that it all made sense. it didn't. you just continue living and take it. incomplete lives as trivial as unfinished words on a slab of wet cement.

Sean Devine: So Jimmy, when was the last time you saw Dave?
Jimmy Markum: The last time I saw Dave...
Sean Devine: Yeah, Dave Boyle.
Jimmy Markum: Dave Boyle...
Sean Devine: Yeah Jimmy, Dave Boyle.
Jimmy Markum: That was twenty-five years ago, going up this street, in the back of that car.

clint eastwood's cinematic best.

all the king's men (2006). directed by steven zaillian.

Adam Stanton: What is my weakness?
Jack Burden: You can't look at something that's broke without having to fix it.
Adam Stanton: Why is that a weakness? WHY IS THAT A WEAKNESS?
Jack Burden: It makes you do things you don't wanna do.

from all the king's men (2006)

all the king's men (2006), directed by steven zaillian. knocked up (2007), directed by judd apatow. public enemies (2009), directed by micheal mann.

i haven't done movie reviews from some time now, reflecting that i haven't been spending quality time with the box or the movie screen. caught some in action, though.

those which are worth talking about:

 all the king's men (2006). directed by steven zaillian.

power changes people. even those with good intentions. so how does one shields oneself from corruption due to power? be ethical, have great integrity. now, who's up for that?

i normally can not watch jude law without feeling a slight tinge of annoyance. however, he did a good job being jack burden, the reporter who thought he could just be an observer but couldn't stay away from the political and personal drama that unfolded due to his involvement with willie stark. 

knocked up (2007). directed by judd apatow.

judd apatow, sad men who got lucky because they are nice people. or nice people who got lucky? i like his vaguely homo humour. and the fact that grown up relationships can be retarded. 

 public enemies (2009). directed by micheal mann.

a note to micheal mann, say no to dv. especially when the theme is the 1930's. even you can't beat yourself in heat (1995). should have casted viggo mortensen or someone equally less famous, not johnny depp. he swallowed the movie. it's beautiful but soulless; empty. i wished it had better scripts. it saddens me that miami vice (2006) has greater intensity than this movie. but history has a habit of repeating itself, as much as i dismissed mann's latest effort, this movie might just win an oscar like the departed (2006), a poor remake (to me) of infernal affairs (2002). there's no accounting for taste, eh?

terminator salvation (2009). directed by McG

i have never watched a terminator movie in my life. yesterday all records were broken and i caught terminator salvation (2009) with a friend at pavilion kl. i felt the movie was done in a hurry, because there was not enough character development, the material was thin and it needed better editing.

may be i was missing the point of all terminator movies, the action. it's not short at all in that department.

the brothers bloom (2008). directed by rian johnson.

totally in love with the brothers bloom (2009)
watched it the second time and thinks it was even better than the first time round
loved the soundtrack
loved the old school romance
how else one gotta see rachel weisz gets so turned on with thunderstorms?
loved the fact that you can not pin which era, just because everybody was dressed like it's the 1940's and yet there were yellow Lamborghinis crashing around.

movie magic sans pyrotechnics. i like. even though roger ebert hates it.

the brothers bloom (2008). directed by rian johnson.

i like the brothers bloom (2008) though both my sister and baby brother called it "sakai". just the kind of movie i have been looking out, and not only because i have a peculiar fondness for mark ruffalo (read: i have a thing for ordinary, ugly men. hallelujah!). to describe this movie the justice it deserves one needs technical flair and colours, but this review from imdb said it best:

The Brothers Bloom is told in a storybook fashion with bright colors and in-focus frames. Johnson jam-packs each composition with detail upon detail, never shying away from having an important plot point occur in the background, behind a conversation or action by our leads at the forefront. Most times they are jokes, lending some levity to the situation, one that becomes ever more dark as the charade goes along; unexpectedly dark, yet perfectly so. His use of humor infuses a heart into the proceedings and a true bond and relationship between Stephen and Bloom, two men that learn to hate each other at the end of a job, but always come to the others help when needed at the start. You must be diligent to the environment surrounding our actors, as it is just as much playing a role as they, helping a truly bold and intricate story be disguised as a simple one. Very slight on first appearance, it is the fact that it's so well told that makes it seem simpler than it really is. Without any bloated superfluities or weakly handled tangents, this tightly woven tapestry lives on its own at a breakneck speed, culminating with a spectacular final twist, an end that had been building up right from the start in that bourgeois playground during the boys' foster home placement. The Brothers Bloom look out for each other and never let the other down, no matter what damage it may cause to themselves. In the end, they do it all for their brother, anything they can to make the other's life a success.

i corrupt all cops (2009). directed by wong jing.

as a rule, i like hong kong movies. but not i corrupt all cops (2009). ambitious, but lacking clear focus, i am not even sure if it knows what it wants to tell because it has too many material in hand but dunno what to do with them. ah, disappointed is the word.

even my 13 year old brother said it sucked. it must be true if a child said so.

night at the museum: battle of the smithsonian (2009). directed by shawn levy.

i watched Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) and did not feel inspired at all. i am amazed at the museum, someday if i had the chance to go to DC, smithsonian would be one of my top destinations. the building has more personality than everybody put together in that movie. poor people.

romulus, my father (2007). directed by richard roxburgh.

 
a review of romulus, my father (2007)

My wife and I watched this excellent movie several hours ago in Fremantle and we both share similar feelings about this engrossing yet difficult film. My comment is in no way meant to demean anything about the film, rather it is simply a sign-post to direct some people to other films because it is a difficult movie to watch; it fleshes in segments of people's lives that, as a rule, are not brought to light--they remain closeted and spoken of in muted voices when they are spoken of at all.

In my opinion, Australian movies are a massively unique sub-species of what could generally be tagged "art-house" movies--movies that are drawn in colours that do not reflect anything remotely from Hollywood. These movies have certain characteristics: they are most obviously short on dialogue; the Australian landscape is so strong that it becomes another principle character in the film; there is not even a hint of "glitz"; the script is as close to reality as any viewer would likely want to get and the cinematography is bold, using close-ups and strong contrasts to accentuate the on-screen drama. Romulous, My Father had all of these elements and they were masterfully blended into an unforgettable movie.

The script was based on the memoirs of the boy who dominates the movie. Eric Bana, the father, takes top billing but the son is equal to Bana's brilliant portrayal. Diane and I talked on the way home today that we knew adults who were that boy. We did not know these families when the friends were small but we know the elements that combined to mirror the script we just watched on the screen. Change a few scenes here and there and it is all so similar. Australia is the story we saw today many times repeated.

I would recommend this film to Australians because it is the story of our neighbors or workmates and I would recommend it to people from the world over as a quintessential Australian film as well as an insight into who we are.

love the quiet way of the movie. and you thought you had it hard.

doubt (2008), directed by john patrick shanley. burn after reading (2008), directed by ethan and joel coen.

doubt (2008) is a gem. amazing cast, great performance, heavy but that's what it takes.

BUT

burn after reading (2008) is something else altogether. i am stressed out when i watched this. the world is either full of stupid people or the flow of events that got them where they are is randomly stupid. is that justified? i don't know. but it's not hilarious to me.

he's just not that into you (2009). directed by ken kwapis.

after watching he's just not that into you (2009) i must say i find the whole experience exhausting. it is infantile and the characters were barely scratching the surface. ah well, chick flicks, an adaptation of a sex and the city episode no less, it's shallow of me to expect a shakespearian proportion out of it. or may be real life is full of people like that, and having to watch the spill over on screen is just plain painful.

he's just not into you (2009). directed by ken kwapis.

it's red hot. so many people out there are watching and queuing for the ticket that i didnt manage to secure one yesterday, other than the rm40 premier ticket which i think is too much. when i read these reviews in the star He's Just Not That Into You and Dial L for loser, i think it echoed what i have in my mind all along. that perhaps, why this is such a phenomenon when in actual fact it is pretty obvious, is that too many women are desperate and too many men are perasan (damned is there an english word for that? bahasa melayu is cool!). a culture of egoists? a unique combo indeed. personally i find the premise degrading women and not respectful at all. but yeah we are in the age of being able to laugh at ourselves on our own expense, so why the hell not.

this bit from the star highlights the difference of today's women on the screen to their strategist heroines of the 40's:

Oh, how I miss the screwball heroines of 1930s’ and 1940s’ romantic comedies. Sure, their priority was to marry their man, but boy, did they do it with style. There was none of this neurotic whinging and self-doubting.

Take socialite Susan Vance (as played by Katharine Hepburn) in Bringing up Baby. After setting her designs on palaeontologist Dr David Huxlex (Cary Grant), she unleashes her pet leopard Baby in a far-fetched courtship scheme. Then there is successful designer Marilla Brown (Lauren Bacall) in Designing Woman, who puts off marriage until she finds the right man. And after tying the knot, she fights to be her own woman.

What about Schatze Page, Loco Dempsey and Pola Debevoise (Bacall, Betty Grable and Marilyn Monroe respectively) in How to Marry a Millionaire, who dream of snaring millionaire husbands? Instead of going to the bookshop (or the movies), they come up with a plan, complete with a penthouse and luxurious lifestyle.

Despite their ambiguous sexual politics, these classic movies showed respect for their female leads.

Today’s women can learn more from these heroines, who are witty, ambitious and more of a match for their male counterparts than the characterless female in many current movies. Most of all, they take us on a fun ride in their battle of the sexes.

It’s no wonder that Judd Apatow and his merry men of comedy are ruling the box-office with male-oriented romantic comedies like Knocked Up, Superbad and Pineapple Express. They at least know how to have fun, if at women’s expense.

and what happened to making it on our own terms? perhaps this could refresh the essence of individuality that is the ultimate weapon for all women out there.

I’m selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes. I’m out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.” - Marilyn Monroe

thanks marilyn.

ps: for those who don't know malay very well, perasan can be translated as "self conscious, conceited, vain, full of one self"

columbus day (2008). directed by charles burmeister.

this is the kind of movie that i like. it is thoughtful, well paced and full of witty conversations. it is about a man who tries to fix his life at the oddest moment, constantly on the phone with his estranged wife and daughter, his buyer, his sex addicted gf in the midst of pulling a drug deal, in a middle of broad day light on columbus day. far fetched? may be so. but it goes to show you should never give up a chance to make amends while you still have the time to do so.

shinjuku incident (san suk si gin (original title)) (2009). directed by tung-shing yee.

it has been sometime since i last watched a chinese movie on the big screen. the last one had daniel woo in it too, darn he was tall. one can not imagine jackie chan being the head honcho of a crime organization, well he did in this film about the influx of migrants from china to japan back in the 90s. asian cinema has a certain aura of romance when it comes to crime flicks which differs significantly from their western counterpart. the hand to mouth existence of the migrants, followed by their descent into crime and involvement with the japanese yakuza, overnight success and the sudden downfall happened all too fast. they can still work on character development, certain shots was good though like the flood of stones thrown outside the building which shattered virtually everything, even someone's head.

crime does pay, according to this movie, only for a while. oh, i just noticed that japanese men can be pretty hot.

the reader (2008). directed by stephen daldry.

i guess i cant fathom people half the time, especially when they are so angular like hanna schmitz in the reader (2008). though this might give a hint, or the point to it:

We don't know. We think we do but we don't. We make decisions or sometimes decisions are made for us but we think we've made them. Then suddenly, there we are. We can't be certain how we got there or where we will be when everything settles but we do know that we are alive. Some experiences are life altering and we can run from them or embrace them. Staying to see them through though can bring incredible bliss but also tormented turmoil. We just never know. One such experience was had by a young Michael Berg (David Kross) and is chronicled in Stephen Daldry's THE READER. How could he know that when he pulled into an alley to be sick that he would meet the woman who would shape his entire life? How could he know that getting close to her would pull him the furthest he's ever been from himself?

taken (2008). directed by pierre morel.

if only i were as big as liam neeson, i would beat the hell out of the 2 couples who endlessly talked in the cinema as if i am squatting in their living room at their mercy for letting me watch the movie. to my credit, i told them off, both of them, but these people are beyond civilisation that they continued their chatter soon after.

taken (2008) was good though. i loved the wierd brand of family loyalty a la luc besson, whose earlier movie leon (1994) was of the same theme.

when kim said, you came for me, may be it's good to listen to the old man once in a while, if not most of the time. or may be the love of a father, when it is not as rare as we think it is, is just as precious, tender and unparalleled.

the history boys (2006). directed by nicholas hytner.

the history boys (2006) is rife with homosexual overtones. high school, young boys with raging hormones and teachers who cant keep their hands to themselves. never mind, i get it. but this is worth the endurance:

Mrs. Lintott: Can you, for a moment, imagine how depressing it is to teach five centuries of masculine ineptitude? History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. What is history? History is women following behind with the bucket.

confessions of a shopaholic (2009). directed by p. j. hogan

i give Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) a C. there's some good jokes here and there but i am not an appreciator of chick flicks so it's just ok. however, the complete opposite of rebecca bloomwood is someone very dear to me, who is in the form of my sister. whenever we go shopping, she would be knitting her forehead and eye brows that lines will form on her skin. in one breath she will go, aku dapat bezakan apa dia keperluan dan apa dia kehendak.

i snickered, kedekut!

when i related the little incident to my dad, he laughed like crazy.

my sister, the accountant.

talentime (2008). directed by yasmin ahmad.

as a rule i dont watch malay movies at the cinema. i am a fluent malay speaker and yet i often do not understand what a malay movie is about. i often got lost along the way because the characters are not interesting, the story is dull and silly and the direction sucked. and its always the same faces and half of them cant act. anyway, i managed to broke the rule last friday and gave talentime (2008) a shot. i am not a yasmin ahmad's fan by the way. i know she has this indie thing going but it's too basic for me. however this movie showed a huge improvement on her part as a director, and i like that the story is tightly edited and flowed smoothly, something that malay movies could never muster.

this one works in many levels. when the light shuts down one by one, you know despite anything, life goes on. life is full of sadness, but they are not defeated by it. because they have love in their hearts that crowns over something as cancerous as prejudice. i hope we all have that, somewhere in our hearts.

lakeview terrace (2008). directed neil labute.

the word is disappointing. the execution of this film is lazy at best, it's just too predictable that my shoulders became tired after watching it dragged ass for 2 hours. i shouldn't have gotten my hopes up too high from someone who made the wicker man (2006)

still want to have a go at it? lakeview terrace (2008) left too little to be desired.

changeling (2008). directed by clint eastwood.

changeling (n.) - a child secretly exchanged for another in infancy.

and mr. eastwood does it again. he is the epitome of old vintage wine, he just keeps getting better as he aged. bravo!

i don't know how to say it any better than this, hence i shall quote from

Changeling (film)

"The incident was related to the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, a kidnapping and murder case uncovered in 1928. Changeling explores themes such as feminine disempowerment and corruption in political hierarchies."

something to think about, and as relevant as ever, as we celebrate the International Women's Day on March 8th.

marley & me (2008). directed by david frankel.

self is decidedly heartless. do not find marley & me (2008) funny at all, or moving even. may be the whole movie experience was ruined by sitting beside a person who laughs like a hyeana every 5 seconds. or a couple who decided to talk about their dog instead. may be self has no bond with animals and do not find them an interesting subject matter. the sheer dislike for aniston perhaps? heck, may be. it's not very enjoyable.

John Grogan: A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.

except for that quote. now not many people deserves that.

wanted (2008). directed by timur bekmambetov.

this is what happens when timur bekmambetov of day watch (2006) fame comes to hollywood. need serious, serious suspension of disbelief. if it wasn't for jolie it probably fell apart like the windows-breaking-in-millions scene.

the set pieces are good though, great action sequences with fancy camera work; that must be credited to bekmambetov. acting wise, well, try not to fall asleep. then again nobody would have watched it if the casts are say, a bunch of unknown russians. replace that with hollywood-ers.

don't know if it has in mind to be something like fight club (1999), may be just a glossy version of it and that's all.

Wesley: [to audience] What the fuck have you done lately?

don't think he meant it when he said that.

i'm talking about wanted (2008) by the way.

shoot 'em up (2007). directed by micheal davis.

immediately liked shoot ém up (2007). non stop action from the minute it started till the very end, and astro had to cut it down by 45 minutes because there's alot of close shoot up scenes that resulted in an insane amount of blood being spilled, unnecessarily too. however, the casts are great. paul giamatti, clive owen and monica belluci were all over the top but that's what the movie is about. it's fun, fast and requires suspension of disbelief for at least 1 hour which means you don't have to think anything for 60 golden minutes.

imagine that. and it's great to hear that baritone voice of owen and see sexy women like belluci. great stupid one liners too:

Mr. Hertz: Do you know why a gun is better than a wife?
Man Who Rides Shotgun: Dunno.
Mr. Hertz: You can put a silencer on a gun.

the notorious betty page (2005), directed by mary harron & copying beethoven (2006), directed by agnieszka holland.

i wouldnt call myself a tv addict. i hardly watch it. i go out to work too early in the morning and come home exhausted like a train wreck. thus i savour every bit of pleasure from having any free time doing absolutely meaningless things. and tv is one of them. and sometimes the things shown on telly, can be interesting to write about.

1. the notorious betty page (2005). directed by mary harron.

i managed to catch it like the last 15 minutes. however i was taken with the righteous attitudes of the 50's. page was famous as the first bondage model in the era where what constitutes pornography could now be easily be found, say, in GQ managize or anything equally mainstream. well i came across it a few years ago and still didnt find it appealing or that shocking for that matter. what is more interesting was page's view on the whole thing, quoted from an interview:

I never thought it was shameful. I felt normal. It's just that it was much better than pounding a typewriter eight hours a day, which gets monotonous.

sourced from wikipedia

page as a model in a budding porn industry of the 50's was iconic; the film was excellent in its technicality and history. you would expect more sting from a film like this, but no, it is tame and too thin in its story telling, as if it is not significant to be told. mary harron of american psycho (2000) fame directed this film, i too was surprised at how short the material became in her hands.

2. copying beethoven (2006). directed by agnieszka holland.

beethoven was larger than life as a person. so to be beethoven resembles a burden, not a task. i didnt know ed harris had a beethoven project. i mean, ed harris, of all persons, someone who tends to be larger than life in the movies than what is required; this beethoven thing is going to be a double dose. the story was a fictional account of the two last years of the great composer's life and of his relationship with a budding female amateur composer, anna holtz. this beethoven guy, suffice to say, wasnt easy to live with. he purposely made life difficult for others. he was deaf before the age of 30 and it tortured him as a composer. thank goodness there was not channel e back then else it would have driven him mad. another movie based on him called immortal beloved (1994) in which gary oldman starred as beethoven, suggested the same mental state beethoven might have had towards the end of his life. that he became mellowed, felt he understood the tortures he had to bear throughout his life as a price to his talents. that he wouldnt achieved greatness if not for all that.

he was an annoying neighbour. he showered in the middle of the room and water runs directly to the floor below.

breaking and entering (2006). directed by anthony minghella.

1. UM should really put up bigger signboards. i cant read them small letters while driving because they are too small to see.

2. to avoid lazy eye syndrome one should paste the good eye with tissues or something and force the weak eye to learn to see again. i learned this from an eye specialist, mind you.

3. an interesting meeting with an ustaz in ijok. he went to libya and his wife was in sumatera. he was chuckling when he said he only saw his wife right before akad nikah. his wife quipped, if it's meant to be, akan berjumpalah di kawah.

 

4. sunday concert

j. haydn - symphony in d #93

- very clean and crisp, something modern musicians hate and dismissed them as boring. but i find it cute and cheerful, especially movements 3 and 4. for that reason too i will always take mozart as my hero.

k. szymanowski - symphony #4 op. 60 "sinfonia concertante"

- with 6 double basses you really can bring down the house. or invite hurricane katrina.

w. lutoslawski - symphony #3

- the conductor kevin field warned the audience that the music was going to sound strange. indeed it was. at times i thought i heard pontianaks wailing. it was like he was trying out each instrument and push it. it has far too many rests for a symphony. i was trying to look out for harmony and couldnt place where it was.

5. breaking and entering (2006)

anyone with any self respect shouldn't have to watch jude law acting. nowadays movies are all about unhappiness, it cant be that obvious can it? are we that unhappy that we have to see unhappy people on tv? with regards to jude law, which is why i like closer (2004) where he got bitch-slapped big time by clive owen.

6. ukm could really use something to change that attitude. i waited for an hour at the science and technology dept only to be chased away by the most masam muka kerani who was annoyed when i asked whom could i see for the petroelum geology course. the guy, or rather, professor, wasn't even there. and i forgot this country is malaysia, so when someone isnt it, then nobody else in the world can help me out. i strolled for a reason when i saw the notice board, there were only 5 masters students for petroleum geology. no wonder.

appaloosa (2008). directed by ed harris.

 
Everett Hitch: Life has a way of making the foreseeable that which never happens... and the unforeseeable that which your life becomes.

--

Allison French: Aren't either of you afraid?
Virgil Cole: Afraid?
Allison French: That you might get killed.
Virgil Cole: Oh, I don't know, Allie. Guess I don't think about it so much.
Allison French: Well, I'm afraid. But I'm afraid all the time.
Virgil Cole: Of what?
Allison French: Everything.
Virgil Cole: Like what? Hmm?
Allison French: Like being alone. Like being with the wrong man. Not having any money, a place to live.
Virgil Cole: I'll look out for you.
Allison French: For how long?
Virgil Cole: For as long as you need.

from appaloosa (2008)

onegin (1999). directed by martha feinnes.

Tatyana Larina: Oh God. It hurts.
Evgeny Onegin: Why does it hurt?
Tatyana Larina: Because you are too late. Yes, you are too late Evgeny.

from onegin (1999)

schindler's list (1993). directed by steven spielberg.

Amon Goeth: I would like so much to reach out to you and touch you in your loneliness. What would it be like, I wonder? What would be wrong with that? I realize that you are not a person in the strictest sense of the word, but, um, maybe you're right about that too. Maybe what's wrong, it's not us, it's this... I mean, when they compare you to vermin, to rodents and to lice. I just, uh, you make a good point. You make a very good point. Is this the face of a rat? Are these the eyes of a rat? "Hath not a Jew eyes?" I feel for you Helen.

[leaning forward to kiss her]

Amon Goeth: No, I don't think so. You Jewish bitch, you nearly talked me into it, didn't you?

from Schindler's List (1993)

notes: the victim has become the master and forgot what it was once like.

the english patient (1996). directed by anthony minghella.

"I wanted to meet the man who could write a long paper with so few adjectives."
"Well, a thing is still a thing no matter what you place in front of it. Big car, slow car chauffeur-driven car. Broken car. It's still a car."
"Not much use, though."
"Love?"
"Romantic love, platonic love, filial love. Quite different things, surely."
"Uxoriousness. That's my favourite kind of love. Excessive love of one's wife."
"Now there you have me."

from the english patient (1996)

quiz show (1994). directed by robert redford.

Tagline: Fifty million people watched, but no one saw a thing. 

i have been wanting to watch this movie years ago but couldnt lay my hands on the dvd anywhere. it was on hbo yesterday afternoon and i was transfixed. directed by robert redford, it was a tale of a rigged nbc show that fed answers to its contestants in order to keep the ratings high. if only we have that kind of legal system here, i wonder...

there will be blood (2007) directed by paul thomas anderson. death proof (2007) directed by quentin tarantino.

There Will Be Blood (2007)

tagline: when ambition meets faith.

indeed. a tribute to the oilmen of the 20th century who scoured the land for oil, men who learned about drilling, derrick and drainage by mistakes they had to do and lives paid on it. men who are engineers before the word engineers was invented. men who are focused because they are lonely. men who love but do not know how to show it. men who hurt others because they themselves are in pain. daniel day lewis (1.87 m) is in a class of his own.

great cinematic experience. kudos to paul thomas anderson (dir).

Death Proof (2007)

directed by quentin tarantino (1.85 m), it is only fair to expect some sort of comedy from this road bully movie gone wrong. you dont want to go around terrorising people on the road after watching this one, i assure you.