My Favorite Movies

Review coming soon

HOLY SHIT! I'm completely blown away! All the great things you've heard about The Dark Knight from every single last detail are simply true. Everything about it, the acting, the direction, the writing, the soundtrack, the action sequences, are all simply mind-blowing.

This being one of my highest anticipated films of 2008 it without a doubt has definitely exceeded all my expectations. After nearly three years of waiting oh how satisfied I am and still shaking from that intense and epic experience. I mean the long 2 1/2 hour duration felt like nothing and went amazingly fast. There were simply no boring parts. Just when you think the film is about to become slow the action sequences keep on coming. Always bigger and improved from the previous one. It will literally keep you on the edge of your seats, breathing heavily and jaws dropping on how unbelievably awesome they are.

Furthermore, Heath Ledger's performance, the oscar worthy act everyone is talking about are all so very true. The Joker is terrifying, yet sometimes funny and steals almost every scene he's in. A particularly favourite scene of mine where the Joker gives his "Why so serious!" speech about how he gets the scars on his face are simply amazing to watch and gives you the chills. Its Ledger's control of voice and movements which defines the character. He can be extremely effective and frightening at one moment and completely funny in the next (the scene where the Joker dresses up as a nurse comes to mind). Whenever he's not in the scene you want his presence back immediately. His performance is truly the film's legacy. Everyone else although all at the top of their games are no match to Ledger. However, I can say that Aaron Eckhart's portrayal as Harvey Dent/Two Face does come very close to stealing the show. Without giving anything away, I'm happy to say that you do get to see him in Two Face form a fair bit in the film.

Now be warned, I know this may look like a mainstream comic book movie and all, but you can't simply zone out, in order to experience the movie to the fullest extent, you have to pay close attention to all its plot details. Besides the plot threads which may be difficult to follow at times, from the beginning to end, The Dark Knight is just a fun ride. You'll see what I mean when you have your own experience.

THE BEST BATMAN OF THE ENTIRE SERIES AND THE BEST FILM OF 2008 SO FAR!

Review coming soon

Never so deeply has a film made me so emotionally touched before. I mean seriously, this must be one of the most saddest and heartbreaking films I have ever seen.

Truly astonishing and a masterpiece which must be seen!

I have always been interested in how the Porn industry operated and this film basically gives us an insight to all that. Boogie Nights is seriously some fascinating stuff combined with some drama and action, it makes an almost flawless film.

The film concentrates on its main protagonist, Eddie Adams AKA Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) who from working as a dishwasher at a nightclub gets discovered by famous porn director, Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds). From there on, Dirk Diggler works his way up to the top, becoming the greatest porn star the industry has ever seen.

Now this was my very first Paul Thomas Anderson film ever, and ever since I gained my love for his films, I decided to re-watch this for a second time. And what do you know, I enjoyed it even more.

Full review coming soon

Gavin Hood's Oscar winning foreign picture is a very powerful film about redemption, poverty, violence and loss. Throughout this film, I was simply amazed but mainly by its brilliant performances from the cast, especially from Presley Chweneyagae who portrays Tsotsi.

The film tells the story of Tsotsi, a small time Soweto thug who steals in order to make a living. However, his life is turned around when he accidentally kidnaps a baby.

Although, at times it was a bit difficult to watch Tsotsi, thanks to Chweneyagae's brilliant performance, a frightening individual, is later on understood and accepted by the audience. Not only that, the use of soundtrack and most importantly, the strong plot made it more emotionally grabbing.

The only major letdown was that I wished the storytelling was done a bit better. I felt that the flashbacks of Tsotsi's past experiences and why he became the man he is, were rushed and a little clumsy.

Still, Hood handles his material so well that a conclusion which could have been corny and sentimental is instead bittersweet, both painful and realistic.

One of the films you must check out! You will not regret it.

"The Fountain" tells the story of three different time periods from 15th century Spain and Mayan Mexico where a conquistador named Tomas (Hugh Jackman) searches out the Tree of Life for Queen Isabel (Rachel Weisz), to present day where a medical researcher, Tom Creo (Jackman) is working on a cure for the cancer that is killing his wife Izzi (Weisz) and finally to the future where Tom (Jackman) on a bubble ship is flying across the galaxy hoping to regenerate the Tree of Life in the heart of the star.



I do agree with alot of people that this film was confusing as hell just like you were when reading the plot above but somehow i enjoyed every minute of it. This was complex but i reckon it was just a simple story about love and death told in a very difficult way.



Darren Afronofsky's direction is simply fascinating and this is in the same league as his first two films "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream".



The acting here is also just spectacular. Jackman's portrayal of the three different characters is undoubtedly one of his best performances to date. And the lovely Rachel Weisz plays her role with great intelligence and compassion.



Almost every scene were eye refreshing, beautiful and refreshing. Also with the brilliant performances by its two leading stars it makes the film even more worthwhile.



Highly recommended!

This film tells of the leading up to and the aftermath of a tragic event involving three people - a wife (Naomi Watts), an ex con (Benicio Del Toro) and a heart transplant patient (Sean Penn).



Man, this was sad and breathtaking. The director, Alejandro González Iñárritu is truly an artist as well as a genius with his unique technique of storytelling. His way of storytelling was not confusing at all and turned out to be an excellent and enjoyable plot. The cast's performance were just brilliant and definitely oscar worthy as they are all at their best here.



Overall, it was just as good as Alejandro Iñárritu's 'Babel'. A must-see!

When I first watched this, I hated it thinking it was very gay, like you usually do when your young. But as I rewatched it many years later as well as having to study it for english at school, it has since become a truly amazing film that I continuously enjoy to watch over and over again.

"Billy Elliot" simply tells the story of Billy's (Jamie Bell) transition into the new world from being a miner's son to pursuing his dreams of becoming a professional ballet dancer. During this transition he faces many barriers he must overcome set out by his society, especially in relation to gender roles.

Like I previously explained before, I didn't really like this film or enjoy it either as I thought it was for "poofs". Well, that is what the point of this film is all about, spreading the message that ballet dancing is for anyone no matter what the gender, whether it be for boys or girls. Billy here has to fight for his dreams and the stereotypes set against him (ballet is usually for girls not for boys, and all male dancers are poofs).

However, what makes this film so special is that Stephen Daldry, the director, tells the story with such skills, avoiding the regular dancing film clichés - disability, illness.etc - to create a tale with complete originality. Just the story itself, is truly inspiring moving and emotional with many simple but incredibly power scenes. One scene in particular, where Billy's father, Jackie talks to Tony (Billy's elder brother) about giving Billy a chance to get out of the harsh life of mining, which is both very powerful and emotional.

Now to the performances, let me firstly say that the acting are all oscar-worthy here. Especially, Jamie Bell, who in my opinion does one of the best child performances ever put on screen. His performance as well as his dance sequences are so genuine and bright that we can easily understand the expressions he's going through and makes the audience root for him at every turn. Another brilliant performance is by Julie Walters, who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. I'm not sure if she should've won but she does quite an amazing job here as Mrs Wilkinson, Billy's dance teacher, definitely her best role in years.

Also, the five other important supporting characters - cross dressing Michael (Stuart Wells), Debbie (Nicola Blackwell), Grandma (Jean Heywood), Billy's father Jackie (Gary Lewis) and elder brother Tony (Jamie Draven) are excellent, their characters perfectly suitable for each of them in some special way. I still thought that Gary Lewis should've at least been nominated for an oscar for best supporting actor. He portrays the father perfectly with such realism, even with the great cast he shines in every scene.

The beautiful soundtrack is another high point of this film. It is a perfect match with the film playing a combination of classical (including a nice reference of Swan Lake) and 80s music which makes you want to sing or dance along to.

Overall, I have absolutely no problems with this film as everything from the acting, film-making, to soundtrack is so well put together which makes this one of the best British films of all time as well as one of my favourites.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Review coming soon

Review coming soon

Review coming soon

In Bruges is a very pleasant surprise. With a brilliant cast, a clever and funny script (with so many memorable quotes), its a must-see for all those fans of the crime/comedy genre. The violence is gruesome yet awesome and the dialogues are just hilariously funny. I guarantee that you will be surprisingly shocked in how good this film really is. A rare gem indeed.

Full review coming soon

A stunning piece of work from the wonders of Pixar! A true one-of-a-kind.

The Coens are back to familiar turf with what they do best, a hysterical film about well...all sorts of things.

It's quirky and a whole lot of fun.

Definitely one of their best comedies since, The Big Lebowski as well as 2008.

Full review coming soon

Now I have always been a fan and supporter of Korean cinema, but recently the majority of their films have been simply bad, with only a few being widely appreciated by Korean and worldwide audiences alike. Luckily, I am happy to say that Chu gyeog ja (The Chaser) is one of those better films. This little South Korean thriller is also known to be the film that was heavily applauded and praised by critics at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival. Believe it! It will seriously keep you on the edge of your seats.

Its no surprise that William Monahan, the screenwriter of The Departed is being hired by Warner Bros. to write for the remake. Sigh.

Full review coming soon

Review coming soon

Review coming soon

"The Bourne Ultimatum" is a fast-paced action thriller at its best. Director Paul Greengrass has once again achieved to make another entertaining film and may just be the best one of the entire Bourne trilogy.

In this third or final chapter, Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is back, but this time is looking for all the answers to his mysterious past life. I was praying that this film wouldn't stuff up and thankfully it didn't. Greengrass managed to keep it entertaining throughout the whole duration. The use of Greengrass's handheld filming style was highly effective as it made the film feel more authentic as well as getting us, the audience more involved in the action. By saying this i might also mention that the action sequences were top notch and very realistic.

The audience feels for Jason Bourne and we hope he gets the answers and the freedom from his past. This is helped as Damon plays the role with great control and intelligence, managing to be convincing and magnetic while saying almost nothing. His great performance never locks the audience out. The supporting cast also does a brilliant job such as David Strathhairn, Joan Allen and Julia Stiles. We either like them or really hate them depending on whether their the good guys or the bad guys.

The third instalment is a fine conclusion to a very fine trilogy. It is in everyway better than the first or even the second with amazing and authentic action sequences and a very good plot. Bourne fans will not be disappointed.

Highly recommended!

Review coming soon

Review coming soon

Review coming soon