It's a Boy Girl Thing

Actually a Canada/UK production, directed by Little Black Book's Nick Hurran, starring Kevin Zegers.

Nell is your smart, cute girl hoping to get into Yale. While Woody is your gorgeous, dumb, football-playing jock. Actually next door neighbors, they mock and fight with each other the whole time. One day they were arguing in front of an ancient Aztec statue and woke up the next morning in each others' bodies. And then, of course, they tried to ruin each others' lives. But after a while, they still hadn't switched back to their original bodies and they started to help each other and feelings grew.

I still cannot believe people are still making this kind of movies. You know, body-switching and stuff. I mean, seriously. The first movie with this theme that I saw was 1996's Wish Upon a Star and after that, it got old. Okay, so I watched this one because of Kevin Zegers, who is OH SO HOT, but keep making crappy movies. (Except Transamerica, of course.. and Air Bud!) But oddly, I kinda enjoyed the whole movie. I don't know whether it's because of Kevin Zegers or whatever, but yeah, it's quite enjoyable. The story is typical and predictable, of course, but still kinda sweet and funny. Aaanyway, go watch it if you're a fan of Zegers. The guy sure is gorgeous.

5 / 10.

Hot Fuzz

A British comedy with crime, mystery, murders and a lot of blood. Didn't recognize most of the main actors but there were some cameos by Bill Nighy and Martin Freeman.

Nicholas Angel was the best cop London had, with an arrest record 400% higher than any other cop in the force (or, the service). Being so good, he made everyone else looked bad, so he was transferred to the country. When he got there, mysterious deaths started to happen and he was determined to get to the bottom of it all. But the thing is, nobody wanted to listen to him and everyone just see all the deaths as accidents. The only person that trusted him was Danny, the son of the local Police Chief. A big fan of action movies, Danny was dying for a hot pursuit and shootings just like he saw in Bay Boys II and Point Break.

I thought this was a real comedy and didn't expect some gruesome deaths. But it was still very funny and very entertaining and some scenes were plain hilarious. Not exactly a work of art, but yeah, do watch it if you have time. Afterall, it got a very high rating on IMDb.com.

SPOILERS
The scene where they paid 'homage' to Point Break was SO hilarious. Danny finally got his dramatic scene he always wanted.

6 / 10.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

The last of the franchise, still starring all the main cast with a few additions such as Chow Yun Fat and Keith Richards (cameo).

Davy Jones' heart was in the hands of Lord Beckett, and they made an agreement to wipe all the other pirates. Jack, along with Barbossa, summoned the Brethren Court--all other pirates from around the globe, and decided to fight against Davy Jones.

The movie is 168 minute-long, but not really boring because it's full of action, far more than the first and second ones. Johnny Depp was perfect, as usual. Jack Sparrow is SO alive and it was fun to see Keith Richards, who's actually Depp's inspirations for Jack's character. Stunning visual effects and solid performances from all the cast made the movie very enjoyable. The only negative thing was that I had a hard time following the story, and spent most of the time thinking instead of enjoying. The second one was far funnier, and this one darker. It certainly didn't feel Disney-like. I really don't know whether I love it or not (I know everyone else loved it) mainly because.. I don't get the story 100% and um, the ending.

SPOILERS
Okay, about the ending. Everyone's ending was fine except for Will and Elizabeth's. I just expected a very happy one, you know? But I guess you can't hope for a Disney happy ending all the time. Okay, my fault.

Umh.. 7.5 / 10. Certainly an exciting ride.

28 Weeks Later

A sequel to 2002's 28 Days Later.. and directed by Spanish Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, starring Jeremy Renner, Rose Byrne and Harold Perrineau. Danny Boyle didn't direct it and Alex Garland didn't write it but they stayed as producers.

After the whole London is destroyed because of the rage virus, the US helped, sending armies to clear the city from all that are infected, trying to restore the city to its natural state and the refugees were coming home, rehabitating the city. The story focused on one family, where the father ran away from the infected, leaving his wife behind. Their children, who were not in London at that time were safe and were returning home to meet their father again. Apparently, the city was not as safe as everyone thought and wiping the virus for good might be too hard to be done.

At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to see this because no Danny Boyle, no Alex Garland, no Cillian Murphy and who the hell is this Juan Carlos? Besides, I'm not exactly a real zombie/horror junkie. But yeah, eventually I went to see it with my best friend and thank God we did. It was so GOOD. I didn't expect it at all. I thought it was gonna be trash compared to the prequel but actually, it's quite as good. A hundred minutes went away so quickly because you are just absorbed into the whole thing. It was scary, exciting, thrilling, with a great score that really got you into the mood. And I gotta say, they have the best kind of zombies. Psycho, killing-with-pressing-the-eyeballs, in-a-trance kind of zombies. The coolest ever. Aaaand Rose Byrne is so damn pretty. Seriously pretty. I'm loving this girl.

8.5 / 10

Arang (Ghost Revenge)

A Korean horror story, featuring a ghost with long, black hair, yada yada, the usual deal. Starring Lee Dong Wook and Song Yun Ah.

So an e-mail has been sent to four childhood best friends, telling them about this salt house. One by one, those four men died unnatural and brutal deaths. Detective So-young was assigned to the case and she was paired with an amateur newbie, Hyun-ki. The deeper they learned about the case, the more secrets they discovered and maybe, Hyun-ki had a bigger role in this whole thing more that we thought.

Umh.. I didn't even want to review this at first because HATE long-haired-ghost/horror movies. I do. And the only reason I saw this movie was to see Lee Dong Wook, who I love, and because I was in the only cinema showing this movie with my best friend so yeah, we thought--why not? Well, gotta be honest, I hate it. It's so typical and cliché and even though there's a quite unexpected (well, at least for me) twist in the end, it still didn't make any amends.

I don't even want to rate it.

The Painted Veil

Directed by John Curran, starring my #1 actor Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber, and Anthony Wong. Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Ed Norton was producer, so was Naomi Watts.

Set in the 1920, Walter Fane (Norton) was a silent bacteriologist, married to Kitty (Watts) who was a selfish, spoilt girl from the upper-class. Tortured by their loveless marriage, Kitty was attracted to the smooth Charlie Townsend (Schreiber, Watts' real-live lover) who gave her promises that he couldn't keep. Disappointed, Kitty decided to go with Walter to China, where he was going to do a research on the cholera epidemic that was happening there. As they both spent time in a foreign place, their relationship developed, with a beautiful, remote Chinese village as a background, great cinematography and great score. (featured pianist Lang Lang)

Okay, so, this film is starred by the greatestactorofourgenerationever, Edward Norton. As a hugehuge fan, I admit that The Illusionist kinda disapponted me. It felt like he wasn't there most of the time in that film. But this film made up all the disappointments I had. I love Ed in this film. He came off loving, silent and intelligent but at the same time, cruel and cold (kinda reminded me of Ralph Fiennes). I love him. The story was also very very good.. You thought it was Unfaithful, but it was SO not. Absolutely so much more. Both Norton and Watts gave an incredible performance. This film sure deserved a far better marketing and distribution. Go find the DVD and watch it!

9 / 10.

Spider-Man 3

Of course, Spider-Man.. Still directed by Sam Raimi and still had the usual cast and some additions such as Topher Grace (who I lovelove), Bryce Dallas Howard and Thomas Haden Church.

So, our hero was having a good time, finally finding the balance between work, study and romance. NY even gave him a key to the city. But, as Peter's life was getting better and better, MJ's was going the opposite way. Peter, swooned by all the attention that he was getting, was not being senstive and supportive enough to MJ and they grew apart. Then, a suspicious black substance turned Peter into his bad alter ego. Stronger, yet meaner. He was in awe with it and before you knew it, he changed into somebody else. New opponents also came up, Venom (Topher Grace), who was originally Eddie Brock Jr., a photographer trying to work in The Daily Bugle, whose life Peter ruined. There's also The Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church), who apparently was Uncle Ben's reall killer and last, of course, Harry Osborn. How will Spidey face all this? And how about his relationship with MJ?

Remember in the second movie, there was this scene where Peter had just decided that he wasn't going to be Spiderman anymore and he was happy and the song 'Rain Drops Keep Falling on my Head' was playing in the background? Well, in this third film there's also that kind of scene but in this case, it wasn't happy!Peter, it was emo!Peter. Gothic, emo Peter. He looked so damn dorky, you just gotta love him! I mean, imagine Tobey with emo make-up dancing on the street, swinging his hips. Hahahaha.. Gotta love this man. The film's SFX was great, of course, although I didn't really like the Sandman thing. But the battle between Spidey and Goblin was GREAT. Story-wise, it's not really WOW and I have to admit, I hatehate the ending. I mean, this is the last film, at least end it with a bang, man! *sigh* But aaanyways, go see it for entertainment. Seeing Peter Parker being a bad boy was worth my time and money. Aaaand how could you not love James Franco? The guy is seriously hot and charming and a good actor, I can't believe he keeps starring in mediocre movies. I really like the character J. Jonah Jameson (The Daily Bugle's boss), for some reasons.. he just stole the scene, man. And Bruce Campbell's cameo as a maître d’ was priceless.

7.5 / 10.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley

Directed by Ken Loach, starring the great great great Cillian Murphy and Padraic Delaney.

Set in Ireland, in the 1920s, this film tells the story of the early IRA, Ireland trying to get independent, the British invasion, and how two brothers fight for their land's freedom, only in the end they found themselves walking different paths, forced to face and oppose each other.

GO SEE IT!!! Seriously, this film made me fall in love with Cillian Murphy. I first saw him in 28 Days Later and I cannot believe how stupid I was not to see his works after that. This film just proves how good he is. The story is good (and educational), some parts were very heartbraking and oh my God how good is Cillian Murphy? You could just feel him. Seeing the relationship between Damien (Murphy) and Teddy (Delaney) fell apart was just heartbraking. Well, at least I cried. This film won the Palme D'or at last year's Cannes Film Festival and got a 10-minute (yes, ten) standing ovation from the audience. So you know what to expect. Now, GO SEE IT!

Off Youtube..:
Interview with Cillian on BBC's Talking Movies, June 6, 2006

9 / 10.

Paris, Je T'aime

I guess everyone knows about this film. So it's directed by twenty directors, starring dozens of well-known actors. Surely a one-of-a-kind film.

Features eighteen different stories about love, all set in, of course, Paris.

Since it'll be too long if I have to summarize every transition (and I'm not sure I remember every single one), I would just say to be honest, it's not as good as I expected. But, I still enjoyed it a lot. Especially Wes Craven's "Place des Fêtes", Tom Tykwer's "Faubourg Saint-Denis" (Natalie is so pretty and I love Tom Tykwer because of Heaven), Isabel Coixet's "Bastille" (I didn't realize the man playing the husband was actually Javier Cámara). Umh.. on a side note, I hate the fact that the "Le Marais" part starring Gaspard Ulliel didn't have a conclusion. DAMN. And some stories are just plain bleh.

8 / 10.

Because I Said So

A romantic comedy starring Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly, The Prestige) and Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls). Directed by 40 Days and 40 Nights' Michael Lehmann.

Widow Daphne Wilder (Keaton) tried to find the right man for her unmarried daughter, Milly (Moore). Milly's two sisters were already happily married and she was the only who was still trying to find Mr. Right. Afraid that her daughter was going to make a wrong decision, Daphne placed an ad on the internet, searching for her daughter's future husband. A man named Jason came along, a handsome and settled architect, just the perfect man for Milly. But there's also Johnny (played by the oh-so-hot Gabriel Macht), an inevitably charming musician who was also attracted to Milly.

First and foremost, I love Diane Keaton. Whether it's Annie Hall, The Godfather or Something's Gotta Give, she's always beautiful and charming. So, I think this is a pretty okay romantic comedy. For me, lately there hasn't been any WOW romantic comedy.. except The Holiday, maybe. The center of this movie is the relationship between Daphne and Milly, sprinkled with bits of comedy and hot men. All in all, yeah you can go see it if you haven't gor anything else to do. It sure isn't bad. It's quite entertaining and Mandy Moore's hair is to die for.

For a romantic comedy? 7 / 10.

Dans Paris

Dans Paris (Inside Paris). Starring Romain Duris, who is really good.. I'm beginning to like this guy. I saw this film during the local French Cinema Festival here in Jakarta and out of the nine films that I saw, only three 'got my heart'.. and this is one of them.

Paul (Romain Duris) moved to the countryside to live with Anna and her daughter, but later on they separated. Lost, suicidal and depressed, Paul went back to Paris to live with his father and his younger brother Jonathan, who was funny, very alive and full of spirit. In the beginning of the film Jonathan was begging Paul (who was locking himself up in Jonathan's room) to come out and go to some place (couldn't remember the name, sorry) with him. And during his trip (which he said was just going to take thrity minutes) a lot of funny incidents happened and Paul's flashback stories with Anna was shown.

IMDb stated the film is 93 minutes long but when I saw it, it was only an hour or so.. I don't know what's wrong. Aaaaanyway, I love this film. Very fresh, off-beat and entertaining. Jonathan's character was very loveable and I love the father the most. He obviously cared a lot about his children (he's divorced already) and had a close relationship with them, especially Jonathan who had always lived with him. It was funny to see their interactions with each other. The film felt vert short, but entertaining and touching in its own ways.. Especially the very heartwarming ending.

9 / 10.

Hannibal Rising

Okay, the fourth installment of the Hannibal Lecter.. 'saga'. Still based on Thomas Harris' novel.

This one is set before Red Dragon, the beginning of everything. The story began in Lithuania, when Hannibal was still a little boy. Apparently he had a younger sister named Mischa. That was during World War II and then after all the members of his family died a tragic death in front of his eyes, we followed his growth. He moved to Paris and lived with his widowed aunt, Lady Murasaki (Gong Li). And then we see him growing into the Dr. Lecter that we all know.

Watched it because.. 1)the hotness that is Gaspard Ulliel, 2)because it's Dr.Lecter, people, 3)already seen Silence of the Lambs and Red Dragon. Yeah, actually not a really big fan of the whole psycho thing that Dr.Lecter always does. And the story of this film is also kinda so-so and predictable. Nevertheless, Gaspard did a pretty good job in portraying the young Dr.Lecter. Pulled off the psychotic smirk. He hadn't got many lines but still did a quite good job.

Some pictures.. just because he's hot. (credit goes to gaspardulliel.net)


Umh.. probably 6 / 10.

"'The very scent of her takes away the smell of the camp.' Do you compose verse, Inspector, and keep it under your pillow?"