Daisy Maduro (mvieaddict)

Elena Unrated

Russian director and screenwriter Andrei Zvyagintsev film, Elena, was the story about Elena, a former nurse who married a wealthy man Vladimir, but their marriage became cold due to money problems.Elena's unemployed son Sergey and his wife, who lives nearby, needs financial support, Elena asks her husband to help them. Vladimir is not willing to help her son and when he makes his daughter Katya his sole heiress, their relationship turns cold.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close PG-13

Director Stephen Daldry took what could have been a fantastic idea and flushed it down the toilet in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) was a 9 year autistic boy who liked to spend time with his father, a role for Tom Hanks. However, he was lost during the 9/11 attacks, Oskar found a mysterious key inside an envelope with the name Black on it and set quest to find the lock for it. One would think that the rest of the film would be all about Oskar's journey and the people he met along the way but unfortunately it was not. Instead, the story delivered a poor portrayal of autism and dealing with tragedy. Both of these plot points could have been a great story if Oskar could have delivered it, and either no one in the supporting did anything to help here. Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks and Max Von Sydow gave flat performances.There were a few emotional moments and the twist at the end was clever but by that point everything about the film has become uninteresting, annoying and cheesy.

The Color of Paradise PG

The acting was incredible and I don't recall seeing a child who is as fine actor as the boy who played Mohammed, and not for a moment did his acting ever get in the way of the story. I have not been to Iran but I could have never imagine that this place is so beautiful. The Color of Paradise takes viewers on a journey of faith,love and creates a masterpiece of emotion that is so beautiful in its simplicity and elegance it touches one's heart. I cried almost the whole movie. The movie does not preach and there is no need to; its richness lies in its ability to portray simple elements of nature. In places where Hollywood would have inserted blasting soundtracks, this movie simply lets nature echo in the background. Another masterpiece by Majid Majidi. I liked Children of Heaven but this one was way better in my point of view. The acting is superb. It's natural, these are no Hollywood-stars and it's refreshing to see that. The cinematography, just like in other films from Iran, is breath-taking. I am still speechless.

Okuribito (Departures) PG-13

Departures is a beautiful and touching film about life and death. The film started with a little humor that had me amused in first hour, then I was slowly drawn into the story that turned to be a very touching and deeply film. The acting in this film was magnificent. Motoki Masahiro's performance was specially amazing, funny at times, but then he played the serious and professional scenes very convincingly. The narration was wonderful, it really sets the mood and tone of the following scenes. Yamazaki Tsutomu was also excellent as the lead character mentor. The film had incredibly nice flow and very well-directed. The music in this film played a huge role, expressing the lead character's feelings and harmonized with every scene. It was simply beautiful. No wonder Oscar winning film this year.