My Favorite Movies

Paradoxes might turn some off, but Ah-nuld don't care. He's a menace. Great movie. A classic.

One of the greatest movies ever made. Although I've never read any Carver stories, this film makes me want to. Altman is a master of setting up characters that make them realistic. Epic in length, unfolds like a book, huge ensemble of actors/actresses that deliver, and great stories. Despite its length, it leaves me wanting more. Great, great movie. Highly recommended for any movie freak.

The best film of 2010

Black Swan is part horror, part drama, part coming-of-age, part inspirational, part just plain trippy... how's that for a ballerina arthouse drama? On the surface, it's a story about a young girl getting the big part in the stage rendition of the "Swan Lake" and her psychosis of trying to perfect her routine, half of which she has down but the "black swan" part remains stressful and unfulfilling even though she has the moves memorized but not the spirit and thus can't quite evoke what is needed from the part. Accompanied by an overbearing smothering mother doesn't help matters much which seemingly kinda treads into Norman Bates territory; the film even takes a few notes from psychological masters like Polanski (Repulsion, anyone?) and David Lynch.

Tales of overcoming the odds and triumphing in the end are so played out they've become a cliche and are best suited to a lame TV special... but Aronofsky makes this struggle more nightmarish than the rudimentary success story in which wishful desires dilutes with our ballerina's reality that soon we've all become so warped by this "insanity" (for lack of a better word) we don't know what is what, nor the most important of all: why. But we go along for a ride when innocence begins to lose its appeal all for the sake of achieving perfection.

For a good portion of the film, I'll admit the characters, including our leading lady Nina played by Natalie Portman, were annoying as fuck. It's a showcase of extreme bi-polarism from the cast that it nearly drove me nuts, yet Nina was meek and played this innocent-like daze that she's so scared of stepping out of her boundaries while trying her damndest to push herself physically as well as psychologically. For the bi-polarism, are people's moods always just shades of black and white? Nina's perception is radically altered by extenuating circumstances, from overcontrolling mum to bitchy ballerinas to sexual repression, that her world is viewed heavily divided and thus the audience sees it as is; Nina treads on the fine line between innocence and that dark threshold we were always told growing up was bad (even the insignificant mundane of things) that she sees everything as extreme polar opposites, but when it comes to sex or even simple crushing, immediate repression. Her dreams become nightmares because she tries so hard to keep good and bad apart that it just easily shatters in her face when she confronts them. She's a full-grown adult with the innocence of a child.

As the film wrapped up, the audiences minds are fucked over and over again that we've become lost in this chaos and are hastily trying to unravel the mysteries of the film and the events prior to the finale. I'm not sure how well my interpretations hold up (there are many one can infer), but as soon as I began to see the way things may appear and not appear to be, there's much to discover in this little gem. On the technical levels, I'll agree with a critic who derided the film for being more like a cheesy B-movie, singling out some of the acting and special effects. But I'll take cheesy B-movies over arthouse films anyday. The effects were alright but not the bulk of the film, and the acting *kinda* makes sense as the film progresses and reaches its epic finale.

As Nina's transformation took underway, both literal and metaphorical, that one sequence was the most haunting, beautiful, and fucking badass moment I've seen in a film in a LONG time. Rarely has such a sequence gave me chills, a sense of awe and fascination, and made me think, "Holy shit, that was fucking awesome!" that I just wanted to stand up and yell "Fuck yeah!" while clapping wildly. You'd think I'd save such a praise for like an action flick or something... nah, it had to be a tale about an innocent, perturbed ballerina. I swear that one scene alone would rank up there with my top ten favorite movie scenes... maybe top five even. Oh, and I think that scene alone shows that Natalie Portman is an amazing actress. She fucking owned that scene. Fuck! I wanna watch this film again just for that scene... oh, and just so I'm not sending the wrong message, the scene in question is not, I repeat, not the now infamous lesbo scene with her and Mila Kunis (which was hot, I'll admit).

By all means, go watch Black Swan. It's trippy and may not make sense, so a second viewing may be warranted, and may be unintentionally cheesy but goddammit it will fuck with your mind (moreso than Inception), and goddammit it will remain in your thoughts long after the film is over. And truth be told, this is one film you'll definitely wanna watch in theaters with a good sound system.

So bad it's good. A cheesy cult movie full of some bad acting, crazy script, good looking girls, and sub-par music that I still find enjoyable despite a voice-over ending that makes no sense (only added so the movie could be released). Odd that this was written by critic Roger Ebert. Crazy ass movie, bad movie, BUT... I luffs it all sick. ^_^

How come Borders gets exclusive rights to sell this movie? Snobby bastitches cheating the average filmgoer out of watching a potentially brilliant and thought-provoking film.
>:(

Well, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days isn't for everybody. Many could argue that it's a slow-paced film taking a simple subject and stretching it out unnecessarily. In a nutshell, it's a film about a woman Otilia (Anamaria Marinca) helping her clueless roomie Gabita (Laura Vasiliu) go through an illegal abortion over the course of one day. On a grand scale, it's a film about people making hasty or desperate decisions under communist rule. Someone remarked that it's also a film about consequences of actions; the actions aren't shown explicitly on-screen, but we do see the aftermath, most of which tend to show discomfort, trauma, or degradation. Otilia is the sole character that carries this huge amount of weight on her back that she always considers the alternative of what may happen. She's willing to compromise her life or even goals just to help her friend, although by the end I'm not sure if she'd dare remain a friend/roommate to Gabita.

It may appear that Anamaria Marinca has very little to work with, but considering how much her character went through, she pulls off that victimization and inner-struggle very well. Quite certainly one of the best, if not, the best, showcase of acting this decade has seen yet. Let's not dismiss Laura Vasiliu, who pulls off that inane helpless role that'd make you wanna strangle her character if given the chance. Vlad Ivanov is the vicious Mr. Bebe who performs the procedure... vicious fucker, he is, 'nuff said. And lastly, there's Otilia's boyfriend Adi, played by Alexandru Potocean, who is always insistent and thinking too much of himself; always the problem of relationships.

Anyway, the film's events are shown as absolute, so many viewers could offer differing interpretations. Many scenes continue for quite a lengthy period without any cuts or camera movement, but the director captures fixated moments to provoke a certain feeling each character may feel. Raw and gritty, and what's more is that there's no soundtrack to boot. Everything is driven by silence, dialogue, or movement. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is more than just a film about abortions nor taking any sides on the issue. It's a film about how choices can be unpleasant, but it does lead to revealing something about you, or those around you.

Courage, honor, respect. Rarely would a film grasp and detail these themes (and then some) perfectly. If there's a great film one shoud seek, check out Seven Samurai. Action, drama, and humour. Its three-plus hour length zooms by fast as we become engulfed into the characters' lives and the society they reside in. Discouraging ending, but never tacky for one moment because that's the way it is. If ye liked "spaghetti westerns" or westerns in general, Seven Samurai is that, and then more... definately a must-see for any movie freak/geek. Truly one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. Easily top five worthy, for me at least.

Perhaps Disney's best film to date. The animation is great (bring back 2-D animation!!), the story is a simple and sweet fairy tale, and the music is some of the best I've heard in a Disney film (especially the opening song); insanely catchy that even Mr. Burns spoofed "Be Our Guest" with his "See My Vest." Voice acting is great (shows how studios shouldn't rely on a-list actors every single time). Belle is my personal favourite Disney princess (cuz she loves to read!). This is one of my all-time favorite movies. In fact, it's in my top ten. Effing great movie. :p Weird how, as a lil' kid, I didn't like the film, but now, I luffs it all sick. ^_^

The OG of the modern American crime genre...

So is Citizen Kane really a great film, or is it just a bag full of camera tricks? Y'know, Children of Men could one day be viewed as a bag full of camera tricks. The cinematography in this film were... actually pretty cool, although calls attention to itself at times, but nonetheless, I was impressed. "Deep focus" might not be so appealing nowadays, yet it made for a beautifully shot film, like still photography come to life; I say that because B&W tends to make the scenes look flat, as you might've noticed or heard about (not just with this film, or any movie), which tends to be a drawback in some cases. But being the B&W photographer myself, I say this with praise.

Now the story itself. Despite being told in a series of flashbacks and being a very simple narrative overall (finding out what Kane meant by "Rosebud"), it touched upon real-world themes. Make allusions to corrupt politicians, William Randolph Hearst, yellow journalism, they're tried and cliche, but just one of many allusions this film generates. My favorite is the references to puzzles, from the way the film was edited (haha, not as puzzling as 21 Grams, mind you), to Susan Alexander Kane (wife #2) constantly playing with game puzzles to fight boredom (or ponder some things), culminating to the constructs of life, from searching to always feeling incomplete. For any character, to any living person, our lives are always like this. Y'know, just the real movie about the dark side of the American dream, more than just the simple "money can't buy everything" schtick. Different allusions are present throughout making way for numerous interpretations (the things relating to childhood are good ones, too), and it's quite a feat Welles managed to squeeze 'em all in without being weighed down or convoluted or even cliché. And as many times as the film's ending was ruined before I ever watched the entire film, it still came as a shock.

Kane (Welles) is a tragic figure, but I didn't necessarily care for the guy, truth be told. None of the characters I really cared for. Everyone was too smug, and despite my qualms, their acting was great and all (can I even make such a statement?), even if some of the supporting cast tend to overact, but hey, it was the '40s -- contemporary, oh-so-serious acting has yet to arrive. But Orson Welles is the man, especially in one of his final moments when Kane is trashing Susan's room.

Is Citizen Kane a classic? Surprisingly yes. Not just because of the usual "safe zones" viewers and critics tend to lay low in, but because how real the film is, and how timeless it actually turned out to be. And for a relatively simple story, Citizen Kane brings a lot more than meets the eye. Sure, it could be boring, but long after my first viewing attempt that resulted in an early nap, I gotta say, this film exceeded expectations and I can see why it's ahead of The Godfather on the AFI scale.

Top ten worthy? Maybe, maybe not... we'll see in the coming days. But I can say: Citizen Kane is most certainly one of the greatest movies ever made. If you're a fan of Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood as I'm sure most of you are, I dunno what's stopping you from watching Citizen Kane. Watch it again if ye must. ^_^