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.