walk the line (2005). directed by james mangold.

i like joaquin phoenix and reese witherspoon's singing in this movie. in fact i like it better than the original recording sang by johnny cash and june carter cash. cash's voice in the early 1950's was thin and quivering, unlike phoenix's deep baritone.  

good night, and good luck (2005). directed by george clooney.

excerpts from roger ebert's review:

Clooney's message is clear: Character assassination is wrong, McCarthy was a bully and a liar, and we must be vigilant when the emperor has no clothes and wraps himself in the flag. It was Dr. Johnson who said, "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel." That was more than 200 years ago. The movie quotes a more recent authority, Dwight Eisenhower, who is seen on TV defending the basic American right of habeas corpus. How many Americans know what habeas corpus means, or why people are still talking about it on TV?

limbo (1999), directed by john sayles.

Juneau is the only state capital with roads that lead nowhere. Every highway out of town ends in the wilderness. That serves as a metaphor for the characters in John Sayles' "Limbo," a movie about people whose lives are neither here nor there, but stuck in-between. It also helps explain the movie's surprising story structure, which doesn't obediently follow our expectations, but reflects the way a wilderness like Alaska can impose its own abrupt reality. (from roger ebert's review)

capitalism: a love story (2009). directed by micheal moore.

Capitalism: A Love Story examines the impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world). The film moves from Middle America, to the halls of power in Washington, to the global financial epicenter in Manhattan. With both humor and outrage, the film explores the question: What is the price that America pays for its love of capitalism? Families pay the price with their jobs, their homes and their savings. Moore goes into the homes of ordinary people whose lives have been turned upside down; and he goes looking for explanations in Washington, DC and elsewhere. What he finds are the all-too-familiar symptoms of a love affair gone astray: lies, abuse, betrayal...and 14,000 jobs being lost every day. Capitalism: A Love Story also presents what a more hopeful future could look like. Who are we and why do we behave the way that we do? (from imdb.com)

happy valentine's day, anyone?

(500) days of summer (2009), directed by marc webb.

"look, i know you think she was the one, but i don't. now, i think you're just remembering the good stuff. next time you look back, i, uh, i really think you should look again."

and that's why i don't keep in touch with exes.  i remember everything. pain in the ass. 

but...

"if tom had learned anything... it was that you can't ascribe great cosmic significance to a simple earthly event. coincidence, that's all anything ever is, nothing more than coincidence... tom had finally learned, there are no miracles. there's no such thing as fate, nothing is meant to be. he knew, he was sure of it now."

that there are miracles, just waiting to happen. and that's why all of us will keep trying, till the day we die.  

unbreakable (2000), directed by m. night shyamalan.

one of my favorite movies of all time. my favorite movie, number one.

peacock (2010). directed by micheal lander.

there are not a lot of good movies out there. there are good actors, men and women alike - but that doesn't necessarily translate into good movies. things that got screened to the cinema are big budget flicks with sexy women, pretty boys and lots of explosives - the more destructive it is, the better.

i missed watching quiet movies that do not aim to make a statement about anything. it is just a story about someone or something - it doesn't want to judge or save, it just wants to share - this is life out there.

and that's what i thought about peacock (2010). my sister said it was disturbing - despite it not being a horror movie. it was about a town's recluse - john skillpa and the discovery of a woman in his house. he is constantly afraid of people and it only made it worse when a train accidentally smashed into his backyard. the town people who had long been curious about him and his old house can not hide their enthusiasm for his life - it emerged that there is a woman living with him and they seemed not aware about each other's life.

watching this movie reminds me of the powerful story telling a good plot can bring. like the build up of pressure you feel when you watched the king (2005) and no country for old man (2007). cillian murphy played john skillpa which deserves accolade - the thing he does reminds me of the amount it takes for movies like the machinist (2004) and dead ringers (1988) possible to make - and that's what good actors produce - sheer acting brilliance.

it's a story about private madness - and it is out there, in flesh and blood.

alice in wonderland (2010). directed by tim burton.

managed to catch alice in wonderland (2010), i am not impressed. well i don't please easy especially when the story is all fun fare but no substance. where is the tim burton, the visionary, who made edward scissorhands (1990)?

nothing will change this - no story, then no amount of computer graphics can make up for the fact that there is no story to tell in the first place.

ps: i loved lewis carroll's alice in wonderland and through a looking glass. the books are so clever and full of tricks - where is all that in the movie?

kissing jessica stein (2001). directed by charles herman-wurmfeld.

Josh: You know Stein, why don't you cut yourself a break. It's obviously not the time to be meeting someone anyway.
Jessica: [sarcastically] Really? What? Not the season?
Josh: No. It's just because you're clearly not open to it.
Jessica: [laughs] Excuse me? I'm sorry. How would you know?
Josh: Well, I do have a little history to draw from. But even if I didn't, you've known Charles here for about an hour and in that time you've dismissed a panoply of men based on factors as reductive as a linguistic misstep, a different view from yours on going dutch, a kind reaction to your legendary lateness, and a genuine interest in yoga. You know, I think it was Anais Nin who said, "We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are."
[chuckles]
Josh: Generally I'm not much of a Nin fan, but I do feel that bit sums you up to a "T", Stein. So I don't think the problem's with these poor men, these freaks and morons, as you put it. I think the problem is with you.

i am pedantic too. i do not like people who can not spell or put words together properly. i know it is childish to screen people like that - but it is such a turn off to see bad spelling. there is a person that i know - when he sms-ed - he wrote "jew" instead of "je" or wrote "wak" instead of "awak". forgive me god, but i am forever like this and it is not asking too much for someone who can spell - i know it has no bearing on happiness either.

solaris (2002). directed by steven soderbergh.

Chris Kelvin: What does Solaris want from us?

Gibarian: Why do you think it has to want something? This is why you have to leave. If you keep thinking there's a solution, you'll die here.

Chris Kelvin: I can't leave her. I'll figure it out.

Gibarian: Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you? There are no answers, only choices.