New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

[Ketaru]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

I really should spend my time on our project at work. But my motor mouth neighbor (the guy who giggles like a Twilight schoolgirl) is being more annoying than usual. So...thought I'd take time away from my work a second...

(500) Days of Summer- In this thoroughly frugal year where I've rarely gone to the movies and instead opted to buy DVDs, I've listed a lot of non-English movies in this thread. But here is one that I keep reading glowing reviews for and anticipated on DVD for a while, almost regretting not seeing it in theaters.

(500) Days of Summer is an (un)romantic comedy about Tom Hensen, a greeting card writer who believes that he will never truly be happy until he met "the One". His boss has a new assistant, the distant, pragmatic Summer Finn. The story begins with Tom Hensen at his friend's house breaking dishes, moping after being dumped by Summer. His friends ask Tom to tell them what happened and the movie follows the course of Tom and Summer's failed relationship in a non-linear manner. When the movie is recounting the early days of Tom and Summer, there is a nagging suspicion that it is being told through rose colored glass.

The non-linear storytelling could've been used as little more than a cheap gimmick. Instead, it used to compare and contrast scenes of exhilaration and the bliss of being in love with later times of disillusionment and resentment. There are a lot of inventive and creative touches in the movie, including a cameo of a certain famous actor from his bygone days. Since the audience knows, from the onset, that Tom and Summer are not going to work out, it's kind of interesting to watch the main character look for all the insignificant details why he and Summer are perfect for each other while the audience looks for all the damning evidence that he's just wasting his time.

[TheGrandMom]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

AVATAR

Well I finally went to see this movie and, if I had brought my meds with me, I would have walked back out to the ticket booth and bought another ticket for the next showing. I've been to Pandora and I DON'T WANT TO FUCKING LEAVE....EVER! Anyone thats ever watched the trailers pretty much knows the story of the movie and for some people thats the reason why they don't want to go see it. Been there, done that type of attitude.....and I was one of those people. But my son talked me into seeing it this evening and I owe him BIG TIME!

If you are the type of person that loves fantasy settings, dragons (yes I know they aren't actually dragons in the movie), and role playing then this movie is ABSOLUTELY for you. You will get sucked into the world of Pandora and live every moment of the characters in it. That is what this movie does so very well.

The story is pretty much what you expect but you become so attached to the characters that you just don't care. You live the story with them and the ride is absolutely brilliant. The graphics are awesome but if you own a current gen system and play games, you've already seen some really fine CG. Its how seamless the transition is along with the beauty that draws you in and makes you feel as if you are there. This is NOT Final Fantasy Spirits Within or Resident Evil Degeneration AT ALL....this IS how its supposed to be done.

I was planning when I was going to go back and see it again on the ride home. I'll probably wear the Blu-Ray movie out. This movie is in my all time top 5 list of the greatest movies. God, its a GLORIOUS time to be a geek!


Theatre: A+++++++ (if you are a fantasy geek) and probably a B+ for you're average joe

Rental: If you are a fantasy geek, GET YOUR ASS OUT THERE AND BUY IT! If you're an average joe, GET YOUR ASS OUT THERE AND RENT IT. (Once its out for rental that is! )

[Ketaru]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

Phobia 2 (5phrang)- After approximately 4 months of waiting, Phobia 2, the Thai horror anthology consisting of 5 short, diverse horror stories has been released with English subtitles. I just received my DVD in the mail yesterday. So far, I've only made time to view 3 or the 5, but so far I'm happy with what I've seen.

"Novice"- Young Pey is sent to hide in a Buddhist temple in the jungles after causing a car crash when he threw a rock at the windshield of a passing driver. While staying at the temple, the monks try to convince him to live by their precepts, but Pey is too rebellious to obey. But even in this secluded place, Pey is not safe from karma's retribution...

"Backpackers"- Three of my previous movie recommendations were directed by Songyos Sugmakanan with lead actor Charlie Trairat. I looked forward to Phobia 2 because they once again collaborate on this zombie thriller.

A young Japanese couple is vacationing in Thailand and they hitchhike for a ride to Bangkok. A pair of dodgy truck drivers pick them up. The old driver is secretly smuggling illegal immigrants in the back of the truck. When he discovers that his human cargo is dead, the old man's teenage sidekick reveals he was smuggling his own contraband, a drug that he forced the illegal immigrants to act as drug mules for. The drug has a side effect on the dead...

"In The End"- The spiritual descendant to 4bia's "In The Middle", even starring the same 4 actors, now acting as the film crew to a sequel to Alone. Actress/Singer Marsha Wattanapanich portrays herself as the film's lead role. An actress named Kate portrays the long-haired, vengeful, female ghost. When Kate falls ill and is taken to the hospital, it seems shooting must be put on hold. Kate then returns to the set and all is well. That is until one of the film crew calls from the hospital to inform the others that Kate had been pronounced dead...

So far, of the 3 I've seen, my order of preference is "In The End" then "Novice" then "Backpackers". "In the End" is once again a Horror-Comedy with a lot of references to typical Asian horror cliches, but also pokes fun at sequels and even the fact that Phobia 2 is a sequel to 4bia. "Backpackers" nods to many zombie thrillers before it and, because of its short story format, doesn't wear out its welcome. "Novice", unlike the other 2, is partly drama and the most serious of the 3. The two short stories I haven't seen yet are "Ward" and "Salvage".

Phobia 2 at MovieXclusive (Region 3, PAL format)

[Ketaru]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

I've been looking into what kind of film industry is in India, the famed "Bollywood" as it's called by fans. Actually, I had a movie I wanted to see called Like Stars on Earth, but ultimately, it was too expensive for my liking (I really, really should subscribe to Netflix. Got a Free Trial offer in the mail today). On reading about the film industry in India, I came across an article called "The Bollywood Conundrum". A quoted individual states:

"You don't get a Chinese film released in Britain every week. People only see the very best Chinese films, so have this misconception that they're better. But if you ask them what their favourite Chinese film is, they'll probably name Crouching Tiger, which is seven or eight years old now."

Boy, do I think that statement is wrong! The only movies that reach western audiences are usually critic approved with arthouse sensibility. Now, I'm not against such movies that try to engage you on a more intellectual level than emotional level. I did, after all, like God Man Dog. But this movie...

Three Times- Three Times is a critically acclaimed film consisting of 3 short stories, each taking place during different time periods in Taiwan. The first story takes place in 1966, the second in 1911, and the third in 2005. Each story features the same actors playing the same couple, showcasing the peculiarities and influences that culture of different time periods has on the formation of romantic relationships.

The 1966 segment follows May and Chen. May is a hostess in a billiard room. She meets Chen, who promises to write to her while he is serving in the army. After returning from the army, Chen finds that May has changed jobs and is working in another city. He tries to follow her trail to find her.

...And after that, the film could not hold my interest. The most noticeable gimmick about the 1911 segment is that it is filmed in a sort of silent film format, where the audience sees lip flapping, then the screen cuts to text. Only background music is present with no sound effects. One wonders why it isn't in black and white, to cap it off.

The tragic thing about it is that this is the sort of film that not-speaking audiences are likely to be exposed to because film critics are often the gatekeepers to non-English films since other industries don't have the money to advertise abroad. Normally I agree with the critics as they (the good ones anyway) review arthouse and mainstream alike. But in this particular case, I just can't agree with them. Three Times gets good reviews, but it is just the sort of movie that most audiences just won't enjoy. It is a bore. I wished it would engage me at least a little bit emotionally, rather than meander seemingly pointlessly from scene to scene; there are only so many times we can get bored of watching May fix that pool table.

Three Times is a bore. It is an arthouse film that, quite frankly, doesn't have anything particularly important to say. It is available in Region 1 with English subtitles. But every other film I've recommended so far in this thread has been with English subtitles. Don't let Three Times be the one you see. You will want your money back by the 4th time May is organizing those billiard balls.

[Ketaru]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

Taiwan is known for making arthouse movies. Even their commercial films often feature arthouse sensibilities. One of the reasons for this might be that, because of the country's small size, Taiwan does not actually have a film "industry" in the way that other other countries such as the Unites States, France, India, or Hong Kong are known for having.

One such movie that rides the line between commercial and arthouse is Tom Shu-yu Lin's Winds of September, ostensibly an semi-autobiographical account of what adolescence was like in the 1990s, before the internet, widespread cellphone use, and the explosion of reality TV.

Winds of September- The backdrop of Winds of September is the transition from 1996 to 1997, during a famous baseball scandal in Taiwan. Read Scandal #2 for more information. The movie follows 9 high school students. Seven of them are a close knit group of friends, and 2 are girls that get caught up in the trouble in their lives.

As a whole, the 7: Yen, Tang, Hsing, Bo-Chu, Chao, Han, and Sheng, are known as a group of troublemakers. They cut class together, they smoke together, they drink together, they throw food at the headmaster's car together, they go skinny dipping in a closed pool together, they ride motorbikes with no licenses together, and they cover for each others' bad behavior. Events to happen however slowly start to reveal the jealousies, selfishness, and internal conflicts within individual members, culminating in a motorbike accident.

Disillusionment is the theme of Winds of September, with the rising tensions between the friends mirroring the slowly surfaced 1997 baseball scandal where wins and losses were rigged for the sake of betting pools. The movie is unsentimentally nostalgic and, despite its subject matter, refreshingly non-judgmental. The ending gives only vague senses of redemption, but no absolution of any sort. Only people who made some bad decisions moving on to the next stage of their lives.

Winds of September at YesAsia.com (Region Free NTSC, Mandarin, Chinese/English subtitles)

[Ketaru]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

The online film journalist that I look to for information about Thai movies, Wisekwai's Thai Film Journal, recently posted his list of what he considered the most influential Thai films of the decade. I would argue that Fan Chan, a movie I recommended earlier in the thread, should be on the list. It was the movie that got 3 studios together to form GMM Tai Hub, now one of the most prominent movie studios in the industry, to make a blockbuster out of what should have been a box office flop- a drama about children. Still, Wisekwai later mentioned that Fan Chan fell just short of the list and that it is still an influential movie.

One of the movies Wisekwai did include in his list is the original Thai Shutter because it was the first Thai film to see an English language remake, after the success of movies like Ringu and The Grudge: Ju-On. The American Shutter was received...poorly.

Shutter (The Original)- Shutter begins with a couple returning home from a party with friends. Not paying attention to the road, Tun, a professional photographer, and Jane, his girlfriend, hit a lady on the street. Rather than check to see if she is Ok, Tun urges Jane to drive off before they are caught. The accident seems to go unnoticed and unreported and life seems to go on for the two. But strange, ghastly images begin appearing in Tun's photos and he begins to experience strange pains in his neck. Jane starts noticing that the photos are trying to tell her something and she begins to try and determine just what the apparition wishes to say. And Tun's friends mysteriously begin committing suicide.

Although I hate the concept of Asian horror remakes- they could have just shown the original- Shutter is a pretty formulaic movie that is hard to defend on its own merits. It frightened me and was genuinely chilling throughout. And it does have a few clever moments. I especially liked the use of the fear of the number 4 (in many languages, the word for "4" often sounds like the word for "death"). But it does its job and that's about it, with very little innovation. They're all there: the long-haired vengeful female ghost, shrieking violins signaling impending doom, the ghost in the photo cliche that Shutter is practically built upon, and a moral story at its core. Some of the scares are so obligatory that they're predictable.

That's not to say Shutter is a bad movie. It will keep you suspenseful and on edge for its hour and a half. But it probably won't make too many viewers' "Favorite Movies" list.

Shutter on Amazon.com (Region 1, Thai, English/Spanish subtitles)

[DakAttack]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

Lovely Bones: good movie, but didn't leave me with a good feeling. There's no closure. A lot of it didn't really make any sense, either.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

Finished watching Terminator Salvation.

I think people were expecting just a bit too much out of this one. It drew upon a lot of similar themes to the last two movies, it just didn't take a lot of time to wax philosophical about the human condition and if machines can be human, too. You know, because there were robots out there trying to kill them and stuff.

The true protagonist of the story also had a rather different way about handling things, but I think that was also a good decision. Way I see it, this was sort of a sequel set-up as well. People were probably expecting the movie to be about John Conner's grand moment of destiny, see him send Kyle Reese back in time to save his own ass and all that, but this one dared to go against that expectation, much like T3 before it.

People really are punch drunk on needing closure and happy little endings to make them feel good. Guy gets the girl, apocalypse averted and all that. That's just not what this franchise was supposed to be about. Yeah, the future isn't written, but that doesn't mean you can stop all of it by dropping a T-800 and a microchip into a vat of molten metal.

Plus, post-apoc movies and games are the coolest ones.

[Ketaru]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

A little while back, I described the movie Three Times in less-than-glowing terms and recommended against watching it. When I talk about movies I've seen, I refrain from adding any sort of grade or score to it because tastes vary. Instead, I'd rather just describe it and my own reaction to it, and hope people can make their own decision about whether or not it is worth their time.

As I mentioned in the Off-Topic thread, I recently subscribed to Netflix. Here is my first rental from Netflix. It's a movie that I've always wanted to see, but never wanted to buy.

Syndromes and a Century- Syndromes and a Century is a movie that takes place at 2 different times at 2 different locations, but both start off running the same course. They both begin with a physician, Dr. Toey, interviewing another physician, Dr. Nohng. The interview has seemingly little to do with working in healthcare; Toey asks Nohng about things like his handedness, his favorite shapes, and his favorite colors.

The first half of the film follows Dr. Toey's day as she confronts a man who has expressed romantic interest in her. It takes place 40 years ago in a rural clinic. A side story involves a country music singing dentist and his patient, a Buddhist monk who gave up a dream of becoming a DJ.

The second half of the film starts off in a similar way, only now it follows Dr. Nohng and takes place in a hospital in present-day Bangkok. His day involves meeting in the hospital basement with a few other doctors to have a few whiskeys and a discussion about karma and reincarnation with a patient who has mild brain damage.

The movie is a lot like Three Times. Acting is extremely understated. Music is almost never used as BGM. And every scene seems to be framed as if they were going to be subjects of a landscape. Camera movement is almost nonexistent. But Syndromes and a Century has a quality that I can't quite explain, but I know Three Times lacks. It is actually interesting to try and interpret what I am watching on screen. What is possibly more interesting than the movie though is the attention that Syndromes and a Century gets for bringing to light a lot of the cultural censorship that goes on in the film industry.

Syndromes and a Century (Region 1, Thai, English subtitles)

[TheGrandMom]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

The Book of Eli

I love Denzel and so does hubby so we usually go see all of his movies. Lately though, its been hit and miss on quality. I definitely could have saved some money if I'd just rented this one.

I did enjoy it but I would have enjoyed it just as much if I had watched it at home. If you watch the trailers for the movie, you've pretty much seen the movie. The plot is predictable. I have to say that the acting was pretty top notch though. Thats what made it enjoyable to watch. Also the depiction of the world after an apocalypse was well done. It wasn't over the top like most movies do. All in all, it was enjoyable but predictable. It wasn't a waste of my time but, considering how much it costs to see a movie nowadays, it was a waste of a lot of money.

Theatre rating: C-

Rental rating: C+

[Mezlo]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

TGM, that makes me sad. I was really looking forward to seeing it...

[Durahansolo]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

considering how much it costs to see a movie nowadays, it was a waste of a lot of money.

Wow, TGM you just killed both of my parents since they both really liked it. I liked it as well, but I need to see it a second time to check into a few things that I didn't catch until after the movie was over.

I remember when I first saw the trailers for it and youtube comments said that it was the "Fallout Movie" lol which the landscapes outside and inside really did remind me of Fallout.

Book of Eli SPLRZ

My mom said that what she got from the movie is that "If God gives you a task to do then as long as you do it he will protect you." Was Eli really blind? I don't think he was totally blind, cmon he looked at the MP3 player LOL. If anything I think he was blinded by the nuclear fallout, and then his vision partially returned when he found the book. My mom said that when she saw it the second time, she tried to pay close attention to his eyes to see if he could actually see and she said that his eyes didn't get glazed over blindness until the very end of the movie. So IDK I need to watch it a second time to see if he was blind or not lol.

Lastly I almost bought a pair of those sunglasses that he had on, and I still might do it.

Oakley Inmates

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[Feba]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

Wow, TGM you just killed both of my parents

This is why I enjoy sleep deprivation. For a food twenty seconds I thought you meant this literally.

I was slightly confused, but unsurprised.

[Ketaru]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

Been watching a couple of Taiwanese films lately like God Man Dog and Winds of September. Every time I see another one, I'm more under the (likely false) assumption that Taipei is probably a really dreamy place to live in the world. Every one of their movies seems to paint a picture of a clean, urban haven where there is always a pleasant Summer breeze.

Blue Gate Crossing- Lin Yuzhen and Meng Kerou are high school best friends. Kerou would do anything for Yuzhen, including speak on her behalf to a guy Yuzhen has always admired from afar, Zhang Shihao of the school's swimming team. One night, Yuzhen coerces Kerou into introducing Shihao to her. Shihao however believes that Kerou made up Yuzhen and that it is really Kerou who is interested in him, leading him to pursue Kerou. She is unable to respond to Shihao's advances though; there is the distinct possibility that she is a lesbian who secretly loves her best friend, Yuzhen.

Let me be quick to get out of the way that Lin Yuzhen is a character the figures into the story, but in reality, the movie isn't really about her. After some exposition, the movie is focused squarely on the complicated non-relationship between Shihao and Kerou. I'm afraid the synopsis might have one think that this is along the lines of a John Hughes coming-of-age movie. But it's actually a rather quiet movie; even background music is rather sparse. Dialogue is also often secondary to body language conveying ideas. Blue Gate Crossing begins as a sort of typical teenage love story, but shifts gears later on as Shihao and Kerou discuss uncertainties about the future of what sort of adults they will become when they grow up; Kerou is frustrated by societal expectations of her to be heterosexual and Shihao wonders if he will ever do anything significant with his life.

Blue Gate Crossing (Region 1, NTSC, Mandarin language, ridiculously large hard-burned English subtitles)

[Mezlo]

Re: New Movie Reviews **NO SPOILERS**

Book of Eli could've been soooooo much better... It was a let down...