A woman who wants to send her eight year-old son to a private school decides to go into business with her unreliable sister in order to earn more money. They form a company doing biohazard removal and crime scene clean up.
A pretty clear, yet endearing story of womanhood, motherhood and the strive to be make something happen. Always cuteness Amy Adams and Emily Blunt does a great double team of comedy and bickering while establishing two different personalities caught in a relatable situation. Arkin does what he does best: being a smart and stubborn grandpa and it shouldn't change either way. The rest of the supporting cast did well especially Spevack, being the key character of the whole conundrum. It is a nice portrayal of a low class family, kinda like Little Miss Sunshine, except less depressing and less heartwarming.
Vicky and Cristina, two young American tourists, spend a summer in Spain and meet a flamboyant artist and his beautiful, but insane, ex-wife. Vicky is straight-laced and about to be married. Cristina is a sexually adventurous free spirit. When they all become amorously entangled, both comedic and ha... (read more) Vicky and Cristina, two young American tourists, spend a summer in Spain and meet a flamboyant artist and his beautiful, but insane, ex-wife. Vicky is straight-laced and about to be married. Cristina is a sexually adventurous free spirit. When they all become amorously entangled, both comedic and harrowing results ensue.
Not really the wittiest of Woody Allen's work, but still in line with his theme of the observation of multiple dysfunctional characters. Woody Allen really does make the city in film its own character like what he did to New York. This time setting in Barcelona, conjuring up the salsa hot sexy wild and crazy love among these characters. Everyone has their own taste, so I would say that I just don't see Javier Bardem has that romantic chiseled talented man that'll sweep women off their feet. Maybe I still see him as that psycho killer from No Country for Old Men. But Penelope Cruz really does shine as the eternally-sexy, but crazy woman. It is a theme of Woody Allen to combine the people and the setting as characters important to the narrative. Its funny and really sexy, a solid from Woody Allen.
Explorer Rick O'Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the frigid Himalayas. Rick is joined in this all-new adventure by son Alex, wife Evelyn and her brother, Jonathan. And this time, the O'Connells must stop a mummy awoken ... (read more) Explorer Rick O'Connell to combat the resurrected Han Emperor in an epic that races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the frigid Himalayas. Rick is joined in this all-new adventure by son Alex, wife Evelyn and her brother, Jonathan. And this time, the O'Connells must stop a mummy awoken from a 2,000-year-old curse who threatens to plunge the world into his merciless, unending service.
The Mummy team are back fight... more mummies. People are so busy fighting vampires and zombies, there's at least a small section fighting mummies. But what started out alright, ended up flat and silly. Only Fraser and Hannah are back from the first two movies with Bello replacing Weitz and joined by a cast of Hong Kong superstars including martial arts legend Jet Li. As far as a "Mummy" story, its the most absurd and convoluted of the series, the one that includes kung-fu snow yetis. What promised an all-out battle climax turned into such a CG mess that became so rather short and rushed. Even for a huge fan of Jet Li like me, you'll feel disappointed. Overall its a terrible, but not too god awful.
This is a story of boy meets girl, begins the wry, probing narrator of 500 DAYS OF SUMMER, and with that the film takes off at breakneck speed into a funny, true to life and unique dissection of the unruly and unpredictable year-and-a-half of one young man's no-holds-barred love affair.
This is a very unique story about love, but it ain't, by all means, a love story. Every man felt or will be feeling this feeling once in their lives, including me - pain, torn, misery and the constant questioning of "why did she do this to me?". And wouldn't this be a great vehicle for a wonderful love story?
Told in a typical movie-hipster fashion, the film literally goes through the 500 days of Tom and Summer's relationship as the narrative shuffles and pick randomly certain days of the film's storytelling, starting at day 290 (halfway) at the point their break-up. Cleverly the title cards compares the first and the second halves of the times things are great and thing not so great, giving out handy hints about the flaws of their relationship.
You gotta give credit for the movie to have the audience give a damn about the main characters, even if its gonna divide up the genders. Whether the girls view Joseph's character, Tom as an immature and emo baby or the guys (mostly) view Summer as an robotic, shallow, distant, heartless... woman. Even if the narrative is actually controlled by Tom and is viewed in his perspective, it would be nice if we see a little of Summer so we could understand more of her. I don't know if that was the intention of the filmmaker to make her mysterious or a cold-hearted... girl. But we clearly see a great character development of Tom as he journeys through the rough time and becoming a much better person. For Summer, I'm not so sure. Joseph Gordon-Levitt keeps reminding us he's the hottest new rising star in the film industry now as he is becoming more comfortable in mature roles. Zooey Deschanel is also great as the enigmatic and quirky Summer.
The music are composed of many indie and hipster tracks and the film is shot like one too. And I have to praise the film for creating and satirizing film sequences, from the musical dance sequence to the absurd French New Wave. It is a film not best to watch with your date, but appropriate to watch after a break up.
In 1977, Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into public office in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay rights; he forged coalitions across the political spectrum. From senior citizens to union workers, Harvey Milk changed the very nature of what it means to be a fighter for human rights and became, before his untimely death in 1978, a hero for all Americans. Sean Penn stars as Harvey Milk under the direction of Gus Van Sant in Milk, filmed on location in San Francisco from an original screenplay by Dustin Lance Black, and produced by Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen
Sean Penn is such an exceptional actor and gives an inspiring and masterful performance of openly-gay politician, Harvey Milk. The film provides a subtle, but confronting tale of a man who decides not to be closeted and to fight for the rights of his kind. Supporting cast members like James Franco and Emile Hirsch challenges themselves in a very different role from any other roles they have done and pulled off very well. Its a very straightforward acceptance lesson with a nice look at the life of Harvey Milk.
Its that time of the month where I give my Top Ten on ANYTHING!
Lets have fun with this one. Inspired by another blog entry I read, I decided to come up with my own top ten list of my favorite songs from the formally number 4. best folk band in New Zealand, The Flight of the Conchords. Who really knew these guys are gonna be big from geek culture to TV phenomenon? Their music may be witty and funny enough to be popular, but its their TV series, broadcast by HBO, that shot them into worldwide fame. Its one thing to have a brilliantly written show, but mix it with brilliantly written songs and music videos and you have genius. And if it weren't for the TV series, I wouldn't have gotten to know about the band and wouldn't have gotten to love them as much as I do now. They have done two seasons and who knows if they decide to make a third.
There are 2 different versions of their songs, live and studio-recorded. So I will be focusing on the studio-recorded and series-broadcast version since they're made "professionally".
Lets get on it shall we?
10. FRODO, DON'T WEAR THE RING
First thing, the show mentions/references mega-hit movie series The Lord of the Rings because... thats only thing the entire world associates to New Zealand. And what better way to give tribute by having a combination of folk, metal and rap and having all the show's characters do impersonations of LOTR's key characters and moments?
9. CAROL BROWN
This is from the episode that was directed by autuer filmmaker Michel Gondry and you can clearly see why it so. Conchords really needed Gondry's and they are a perfect match. While being cute and amusing, it does give a good play on ex-girlfriends singing as a choir about the worthlessness of Jermaine. Its spot on that he kept telling them to shut up.
8. I'M NOT CRYING
The pilot episode of the show had three songs and each of them succeeds tremendously in illustrating the type of show the audience are in for. This last song shows that kind of wackiness and awesomeness this tiny duo from New Zealand are capable of as they'll cover all kinds of music genres from romance ballads, techno to a depressing emotional. That subtle and awkward humor are presented so well from the whispering "i'm making a lasagna.... for one" to the belching high-note finale.
7. FASHION IS DANGER
This is one of Conchord's best blend of freaky and cool. Leading from the funny hair-gel scene to the face posing that can rival Zoolander, they are having so much fun when they are parodying or at least living the 80s. It is as if you are watching a wild and out-of-place music video that came from the 80s. Conchords does also provides handy model tips for posing like demonstrating how to pose like a swan.
6. LEGGY BLONDE
When Murray actually got up and sing for the first time, we all came in our pants with excitement. Murray may be the most favorite character in the show for a good 85% of the entire fans and it made him so much awesome. Murray is the manager for the band and he enlisted their help to send a love song to his office crush, a tech-support whom he dubbed "Leggy Blonde". The only piece of lyrics Murray contribute to the song writing were "I had a budgie, but it died" and "I like pie". Plus it is a nice add for Jermaine to add a thong song.
5. BOWIES
Bowies... in... space... how could not have an awesome concept like that? Aside from Jermaine's great impersonation of David Bowie from all three eras, this song and music video goes down and get freaky just like Bowie. Its genius that their questions to Bowie's freakiness are one good lead to another such as "leading their jumper" or "asking if the space cold makes his nipples go pointy". They place many references of Bowie in nice and clever spots in the song and the video is just, well, freaky.
4. ROBOTS
The next song in the pilot that established the Conchord's hilarity and wittiness. Promising the audiences an epic robot apocalypse in the distance future of the year 2000 (the robots rised up in the late 90s). Its not all bad for the robot uprising since there are no more unethical treatment of the elephants and that are two kinds of dances: the robot and the robo-boogie. They also rock out with a binary solo filled with zeros and ones. Unfortunately the show didn't extend out the full song and the complete version can only be heard live or on the studio album. So I present you the album version instead.
3. HIPHOPOPOTAMUS VS. RHYMENOCEROS
Other than Eminem, Conchords proved to everyone that white New Zealanders can rap while sporting cool-ass rap names. Each of them rap about who they are like Rymenoceros raps about how he was raised a rapper and rhino and Hiphopopotamus raps how his lyrics are bottomless........ahem... They ask you not to diss them and be very constructive with your feedback. And like they say, there ain't no party like yo nanna's tea party.
2. WE'RE BOTH IN LOVE WITH A SEXY LADY
While its awesome that Kristin Wigg was on to have the Conchords to fight over her, this is a very smart and funny take on Usher and R Kelly's song, Same Girl. Although I perfer this over Usher and R Kelly's. The lyrics proved to be fast yet very clever and witty to parody over the obviousness and obliviousness that they both are in love with the same sexy lady. Especially they fight if her name was Barbera or Brah Brah. But hey, they are accepting to her condition of having a sexy lazy eye.
1. THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL (IN THE ROOM)
Imagine this. Imagine you don't know about Flight of the Conchords. Imagine you don't know any of their songs or heard of them. And then you decide to check out their TV show. You starting the pilot, getting to know their characters and the humor for a while. And suddenly this came on.
That is what it was like for me. The first song from the pilot and it already fully established what the show is about. And I immediately fell in love with it. Its awkward and witty lyrics that tries to woo the most beautiful girl in the entire room, which depends on the street, cements the character's personality and description and the setting of the show. Its a perfect parody of a love ballad by Prince that I would gladly sing to my girlfriend. She can spend part of her time modeling for me, while keeping her normal job.
I was 9 years old when I first saw Toy Story. I was 13 when I saw Toy Story 2. I'll be 23 by the time I get to see Toy Story 3. The fact that the Toy Story universe shares the same time-line as ours, that Andy grew up the same as us makes this franchise even more special. This is the series that started a revolution of animated films as Toy Story was the first ever computer-generated animated film and put Pixar on the map of the film industry. And after 10 years of Pixar's even more sophisticated and maturing creations from The Incredibles to Wall-E, it would be about time to check on what the toys are up to. I may have grown up, but its never too old to check on Woody and Buzz.
The trailer begins with a nostalgic taste ala watching an old VHS tape of little Andy delightfully playing with his toys. Pixar is well-known to strike up emotions as a beautiful song by Randy Newman plays over the montage of Andy playing while growing up. The hard impact is when it shows Andy now in his 20s and is getting ready for college. And man, how he's grown up. Woody and Buzz had stated that they'll be ready when Andy reaches that time and now that time is closing by. Personally I would just bring the toys to college along, but what will Andy do to this favorite toys... well we find out he dumps them at the local pre-school and that dynamic has shifted when the little tots starts torturing the toys. Kinda like Sid in the first movie. The toys won't stand for such treatment and so they plan to break out. And thats all we know from this point. This is probably the first theatrical trailer and will be learning more about the story from the next clips and trailers. It ends with Buzz gets damaged and was reset into spanish mode. This part was worrying for me as it may retain the same subplot from the earlier two movies where Buzz thinks he's an actual space ranger. Hopefully that gag will be short.
Of course I'm gonna see this, just based on two simple factors. One - its Pixar and you should be trusting Pixar long ago. Has Pixar ever fail on you before (and Cars wasn't that bad)? Two - its Toy Story. I always choose this franchise over Shrek's. Shrek may have laughs, but Toy Story has heart. And it doesn't feel like an overused cash cow. I'll be like an 9 year old kid when I get to see this latest installment.
An elite military unit comprised of special operatives known as G.I. Joe, operating out of The Pit, takes on an evil organization led by a notorious arms dealer.
Well.... that wasn't bad as I thought it would be. It still sucks, but it didn't turned out to be much of a stinkhole as Transformers 2 would be.
The story is still as short and stupid for such a proposed big movie and the CG is still horrible looking just like Hasbro's movie companion. But it is straight-forward and safe-viewing as you won't be dealing the type of d*uchebaggery Michael Bay puts in his films. You'll be looking at some pretty decent and colorful performances from the cast such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt being all evil and crazy. There are many many stupid and illogical moments and plotholes, but the distractions, unlike Transformers 2, are actually nice to look at and it can be forgiven for that. And the action sequences are actually pretty well. So in a way, yes! G.I Joe is WAY better than the sh*tty Transformers movies. I wouldn't want to see it again, but if someone puts a gun to my head to choose out of the two, I'll choose the lesser of two evils.
So for the people of G.I. Joe, I'm sorry that I have been bad-mouthing you ever since I saw the first teaser.
A successful real estate agent, who upon getting engaged to the woman of his dreams, Zooey, discovers, to his dismay and chagrin, that he has no male friend close enough to serve as his Best Man. Peter immediately sets out to rectify the situation, embarking on a series of bizarre and awkward "man-d... (read more) A successful real estate agent, who upon getting engaged to the woman of his dreams, Zooey, discovers, to his dismay and chagrin, that he has no male friend close enough to serve as his Best Man. Peter immediately sets out to rectify the situation, embarking on a series of bizarre and awkward "man-dates," before meeting Sydney Fife, a charming, opinionated man with whom he instantly bonds. But, the closer the two men get, the more Peter's relationship with Zooey suffers, ultimately forcing him to choose between his fiancee and his new found "bro," in a story that comically explores what it truly means to be a friend.
It is your typical romantic comedy with first dates, blossoming relationships and the separation and reunion. But this time, its guy love. Between two guys. You come across the usual gang from the school of Apatow such as Segel and Rudd, coming off from last year's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall". As with rom-com, it can be predictable and follows along the formula, but the concept is done very cleverly and carefully as if it is satirizing the rom-com genre and it can be forgiven. Usually with Apatow films, it is much geared with the male demographic, but for this one, this is very female friendly. And for once, we don't get to see Jason Segel's junk!
A young girl walks through a secret door in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life - only much better. But when her adventure turns dangerous, and her counterfeit parents (including Other Mother) try to ke... (read more) A young girl walks through a secret door in her new home and discovers an alternate version of her life. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life - only much better. But when her adventure turns dangerous, and her counterfeit parents (including Other Mother) try to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to get back home - and save her family.
This is a scary bedtime story both kids and adults will enjoy. And told through the magical arts of stop-motion animation. We rarely see this kind of animation nowadays with CG movies dominating the animation genre. The creative mind behind "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "James And The Giant Peach" brought a very wonderful and very creepy tale that will undoubtedly give you goosebumps. Although the cast will need to be getting used to and the pacing can test audiences, its the creepiness and darkness that brings you such glee and delight. And you will be amaze how much blood, sweat and tears are put into these complex and wonderful animation sequences that you'll see how stop-motion is so magical. It is best to watch while tucked in bed and pulling up your blankets.
After Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, a group of survivors led by John Connor struggles to keep the machines from finishing the job.
You know I have come to expecting hating this latest chapter in the Terminator series. Especially when you have a director with a stupid name who is responsible for those stupid Charlie's Angels films (I still hate them now and will always hate them), will be reigning the latest in one of the most beloved sci-fi/action series. But in the end, I would be very dishonest if I tell you I didn't enjoy this film.
It is still not mind-blowing as the always perfect Terminator 2, but it does bring a little something new to the series while retaining a good old action movie. One problem is that everyone may want to focus on top-billing Christian Bale playing John Connor when the story really centers around Sam Worthington's character, Marcus Wright. And his big surprise would have such a good effect on the film if it hadn't been revealed from the beginning of the film's promotion. But it is kind of a downer that we don't get enough of John Connor as this new entry should be his chronicle in his fight against the machines. But Marcus is a good addition to the Terminator series. The action sequences have a good mix of real-war battle atmosphere with those old school action style so reminiscent of the Terminator series. The cast were ranged from bland to average with Worthington giving the best performance. And it is very appreciative that the film focuses on the story rather than the spectacles of CG or explosion.
This new addition to the Terminator series ranks higher than Terminator 3 and should be checked out by the fans.
When a meteorite from outer space hits a young girl and turns her into a giant monster, she is taken to a secret government compound where she meets a ragtag group of monsters also rounded up over the years
It is made what it made out to be in the first place - a fun, harmless kids animated movie. Dreamworks are at times a hit and miss, but they know how to entertain the audience... or know how to keep them occupied.
The character designs for the human are ok, balancing more towards realistic than cartoonish. The designs for the monsters are indeed clever, using references and inspirations from 1950s B monster movies like The Fly and The Blob. And 1950s B monster movie references you will be see everywhere in this film. While the random current references are on the low, the monster references are not splatter over the place and are placed cleverly and discreetly. The plot is pretty much simple and straightforward and the voice acting provide A-list talents like Seth Rogan and Will Arnett. Though Witherspoon is the weakest of the cast, not really giving enough spark for her role. The action sequences are fun, but somehow tamed and uncreative.
Kids will like this and adults will have no problem watching this.
'Munich' recounts the dramatic story of the secret Israeli squad assigned to track down and assassinate 11 Palestinians believed to have planned the 1972 Munich massacre -- and the personal toll this mission of revenge takes on the team and the man who leads it.
Been wanting to see this for a long time, but haven't got around to. But now I finally did.
Steven Spielberg isn't just doing big budget blockbuster, but also does little art projects. Many important themes are brought in this little gem such as revenge, paranoia and honor, especially focusing on the big concept of "eye for an eye". As the squad of Jew assassins pick off the terrorist members one by one, you observe on how their actions have take a toll on each other, their minds and their loyalty. Who they trust can be untrustworthy. When will it end.
Eric Bana blends seemlessly as Jew asskicker, Avner with Daniel Craig at his side. The espionage/assassination sequences are well done and bring up great tension and suspense. At close to three hours, it is a stretch for the audience. Very recommended.
