Sunday, November 25, 2007

Enchanted

EnchantedDirected by Kevin Lima, written by Billy Kelly (Blast from the Past), starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey (aka McDreamy), James Marsden, Timothy Spall, Idina Menzel and Susan Sarandon.

It all started with the animated Giselle who had always dreamed of meeting her Prince Charming, and then came Prince Edward, just the one she had always hoped for. They decided to get married the next day, but Prince Edward's stepmother wouldn't let her throne be taken away that easily. She tried to get rid of Giselle and before she knew it, Giselle was thrown into a strange world.. the real world.

Pretty fun. Something different, I guess. Amy Adams and James Marsden were great with their over-the-top, melodramatic performances, as their characters were the 'fantasy' ones and then balanced with Patrick Dempsey's 'real-life' performance. For you guys who just want some light fantasy comedy, this should be an okay pick. I personally quite enjoyed it and Patrick Dempsey was.. dreamy. Btw, what's with James Marsden always playing the third party?

7 / 10.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Beowulf

BeowulfDirected by Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Cast Away, The Polar Express), featuring Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Wright Penn, Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich.

King Hrothgar and his town had been under a curse for a long time. A monster called Grendel was always barging in whenever there was a party and started devouring the people. Then, from the sea came Beowulf, a brave warrior who promised King Hrothgar that he'd kill the monster, Grendel.

For people not in the know, this is an animated movie. I first thought the actors performed as usual and then it's digitalized but apparently this is made as an animated feature from the start. I kinda liked it, eventho people around me kept giving bad reviews. It's written by Neil Gaiman (who, again, can do no wrong) and Roger Avary and I think they did quite a great job making a movie out of the classic poem. At first I thought, why animated? But after seeing it, with all the nakedness and craziness, I think it's smart to make it animated. The story was very.. such a.. fantasy. Like a legend. Just like it should be. Oh, even if you don't like this movie, take a look at the bright side: now you know the story of one of the most well-known classical works ever done.

8 / 10.

Stardust

StardustDirected by Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake), based on the novel by the great Neil Gaiman, starring Claire Danes, Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Strong (who sometimes looked like Stuart Townsend) and sort-of-newcomer Charlie Cox. Cameos by Peter O'Toole, Ricky Gervais, Rupert Everett, etc.

A naive young bloke trying to win the love of the girl of his dreams, a witch seeking for immortality, a prince eager to win the throne to his kingdom--all lead to one.. star.

I loved it. I mean, LOVED it. I am a huge fan of Neil Gaiman (eventho I haven't read this one) and he.. can do no wrong. I had waited for this movie to show in the cinemas here for the longest time. Three months after its release in the US, it finally came, and it didn't disappoint. How I loved this movie. Everything about it was so entertaining, funny and upbeat. I love Claire Danes and Charlie Cox? He became this absolute hottie after the first half of the movie. The story was oh so great, so original, so Neil. I'm just crazy about this movie.. and having Ricky Gervais do a cameo is brilliant. And DeNiro was just hilarious.

9 / 10.

Something to download..:
Take That - Rule the World (the song during the end credits)

Butterfly on a Wheel

Butterfly on a WheelDirected by Mike Barker, starring Gerard Butler, Maria Bello and Pierce Brosnan.

Abby and Neil Randall were living a perfect life with their one daughter until a stranger came into their life and started to take control of everything, shattering their family, in just one day.

Saw it because of Gerard Butler.. Hm.. Nothing to say, really. I mean, it's a thriller. A pretty good one, I guess. But the thing is I already knew about what it was all about since the beginning so the ending wasn't much of a surprise to me. But maybe it'd work for ppl who hadn't known the main plot.

7 / 10.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Lust, Caution

Se, JieDirected by Ang Lee, based on the novel by Eileen Chang, starring Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Wang Lee Hom and newcomer Wei Tang.

Set in Shanghai and Hong Kong during the WWII, Kuang was a college student with 'patriotic' intentions, planning to kill Yee--a politician who worked for the Japanese, thus a 'traitor' in Kuang's eyes--and to do that, he gathered a group of fellow students. In that group was Wong, whose role was as an espionage and got dragged into the whole thing deeper and deeper.

Well, loved it. The rave reviews weren't for nothing. I loved the pace, loved the whole oldies feeling (costumes.. *.*), and Wei Tang did such a great job. You could really feel the characters--Tony Leung is and will always be great--and I think the story ran very smoothly. And the score.. Alexandre Desplat (The Painted Veil, The Queen) did his job so well. You might think that the sex scenes are just there, but somehow they could probably help you understand more about the characters' developments. All in all, a beautiful and exquisite film.

9 / 10.