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.