Welcome to the Sticks (Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis)

Directed by Danny Boon, starring Kad Merad and Boon himself. Holds the record for the highest first-week intake of a French movie in its home country and is allegedly the most successful French film in France.

Philippe Abrams tried to make his wife happy by requesting for a transfer to the Riviera. His request denied, he tried other ways to fool the inspector, whatever it took to earn him the transfer. Alas, his scam was uncovered and as opposed to the sunny Riviera, Abrams got transfered to the north, where everything seemed like hell. Leaving his wife and son behind, he moved to the north, eventually finding out that it was not hell after all.

Realized that Danny Boon was in Mon Meilleur Ami, a film that I liked verrrry much. I don't know about the whole most successful film thing, but for sure, I enjoyed it immensely. It's funny, it's entertaining, it's heart-warming. A feel-good movie that you can watch with family and friends. Been reading negative reviews about it, but trust me, if you're looking for a relaxing, feel-good movie, this is it. Don't mind the negative reviews.

7.5 / 10.

Twilight

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen), based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer. Starring Robert Pattinson (Harry Potter's Cedric Diggory) and Kristen Stewart (Panic Room, Into the Wild).

A love story between a teenage girl and a vampire. She fell in love with him, would do anything for him, even risk her life. The vampire boy was also in love with her and was constantly restraining himself from bleeding the girl dry. Enough said.

First of all the movie looked cheap. The young actors (aside from Stewart and Pattinson) looked kinda amateur-ish. It's just bad. The first few scenes were ridiculously cheap, complimented with music that didn't do the scenes any good. Aargh, just frustratingly cheap. Okay, cheapness aside, I think both lead actors did really well delivering some corny lines and were available to make them sound not too corny. The story was okay.. It felt like everything went too fast, but I can't exactly see another way than that, so that's okay too. It will definitely appeal to its market (fourteen year-old girls.. Twilight moms..) and it sure is a guilty pleasure for moviegoers. I personally think it's not explained enough why Edward was so in love with Bella. He just kept saying how much he wanted to bite Bella. WTF? However, Kristen and Pattinson's chemistry is just electric and such a pleasure to see. They were both the perfect actors for the roles, I really can't see other actors replacing them. They were just perfect for each other. Even though at first the movie felt really cheap, later it picked itself up and you'll be able to enjoy it. Well, overall.. it's a guilty pleasure. But the whole thing is worth watching because of the lead actors. Perfect match. If you're craving for some teenage romance with a twist, this sure is it.

Different set of cast (some), more subdued make up and less corny lines would probably be better. I think. Oh, and I am so grateful that Pattinson sings. Awesomeness. His "Never Think" and "Let Me Sign" are just.. awesome.

6.5 / 10.

I Just Didn't Do It (それでもボクはやってない)

Written and directed by Masayuki Suo (the man who brought us Shall We Dance?, the original one, of course. Not the bad, cheap, remade-by-Hollywood one) after his 11-year absence. Starring Ryo Kase (Letters from Iwo Jima), Koji Yakusho (Shall We Dance?, Babel), Asaka Seto and Fumiyo Kohinata (HERO). Japan's Official Submission to the Best Foreign Language Film Category of the 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008).

Twenty six year old Teppei Kaneko was falsely accused of molesting a high school girl on a train. He pleaded not guilty, which lead him to endless hearings on court. Was his innocence enough for vindication? Or would the invincible power of the state overrule everything?

Saw it because I loved Kase's performance in Letters from Iwo Jima and I really enjoyed Suo's 1994 Shall We Dance. The film was poignant, powerful, engaging, you really can't help but feel for Kaneko. You can feel his desperation, his anger, his disappointment.. Kase is a fine actor, he was able to carry the film by himself. Like most Japanese films, this one is slow-paced, with very minimum plot. That's why the lead actor's performance can be the key, and Kase nailed it. For two and a half hours, the scenes didn't run very far from court sessions, but we can really feel the character. He meant every word that came out of his mouth, and we're able to feel it. His facial expressions, everything. And the whole theme itself, about Japan's legal system, rings very true to me. I'm sure that this kind of thing doesn't only happen in Japan, but to many other countries as well. How the unchecked state power seems to be untouchable, invincible, thus fails to uphold justice. It's scary, it's unjust, but it's happening. I really loved the text shown before the film began that stated that it is better to let ten criminals free than to punish one innocent man.

It's kinda hard to translate languages and even though the English title is basically right, the Japanese title actually emphasizes a bit more on the "just" part. The emphasized use of "Soredemo" might be easier to understand when you actually see the film and pay attention to the line when Kaneko said it.

8.5 / 10.

Laskar Pelangi

Directed by Riri Riza (Gie, 3 Hari Untuk Selamanya), starring Cut Mini Theo, Slamet Rahardjo, Tora Sudiro, etc. Based on a book of the same title, written by Andrea Hirata.

Tells the story of ten poor children in Belitung, Indonesia, in the 70's who wanted to go to school. The ten of them were the only students in their rundown Elementary School, which only had two teachers and a headmaster. Their teacher Muslimah called them the Rainbow Squad (Laskar Pelangi) and they stayed together for years, enduring various obstacles along the way. Together having an unforgettable childhood.

Riri Riza always give well-made films. Although I can't say there's any of his films that I really love, this one is quite a wonderful work. It's well done, performances were great both by the senior actors and by the unknown local kids of Belitung. Kudos to the kids, they really were refreshing to watch. I think there are some subplots that could have been cut, they really didn't help the main plot at all and only made the film longer that it should be.. Other than that, this is a wonderful film. It touches your heart, it reaches you. It showed you spirit, hope, despair, innocence, happiness.. How life can be unfair to you.. All in a colourful, yet melancholy way. And yep, it's a true story. The writer of the book is actually the main character in the film. Also, I think we all agree that Riri Riza's films have great soundtracks. ;)

8 / 10.

Be Kind Rewind

Written and directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Science of Sleep), starring Mos Def, Jack Black, Danny Glover and Mia Farrow.

Mike was in charge of Mr. Fletcher's video rental store for a few days when his friend Jerry, whose brain was magnetized, unintentionally erased every video at the store. All the tapes became blank. Mike, not wanting to let Mr. Fletcher down, set on a mission to shoot every movie that is requested by a customer on his own, starring only himself and Jerry.

Very original, as expected from Michel Gondry. It's charming, quirky and funny at times but well, not exactly brilliant as Eternal Sunshine. When the characters began remaking the movies on their own I really felt.. WTF? I like the quirkiness of the film however it didn't quite capture me. I kinda expected more from it. Although I really like Mos Def here and I do love that the film somehow celebrates the spirit of film-making.. So yeah, it's quite fun but.. still lacking.

7 / 10.

Rescue Dawn

Directed by Werner Herzog (Grizzly Man), based on Herzog's documentary on the same subject, titled Little Dieter Needs to Fly. Starring the very dashing and amazing Christian Bale, Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies.

Based on the true story of Dieter Dengler, a German who later became a US citizen because he wanted to become a pilot. Dieter went on to become a pilot serving the army during the Vietnam War. His plane got shot when he was flying through Laos, which then later lead to his arrest as POW by the locals.. but Dieter was determined to escape.

Yep, the movie just made its way to the cinemas here in Jakarta, two years after its original premiere.. So I went to see it, curious about how skinny Christian Bale got, and the film turned out to be good. I wasn't really expecting anything because there was never much hype about the film itself, people were only talking about Bale's weight loss. But people, it was quite good! It was a good survival story.. Well I prefer The Pianist, but this one deserves your time too. Even though the film seems to be lacking the.. for want of a better word, x factor, I still think it's a very decent work. I'm actually not crazy about the performances, I don't know why. *shrugs* Maybe it's because of Jeremy Davies. I will always see him as Upham. I know it's probably harsh to dislike their performances, after all they've been through but dunno, that's how I feel. But yea, quite good.

7.5 / 10.

Vantage Point

Directed by Pete Travis (this is his silver screen debut), starring William Hurt, Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker and Matthew Fox.

The President of the US visited Spain for a summit. He was accompanied by two Secret Service agents, and one of them (Quaid) once took a bullet for him and this event was his comeback job. The film was told from eight different points of view, eight different people who were there during the event.

I liked the idea, the way it used eight different perspectives and although I can't say that it's good,it certainly was entertaining. Full of suspense and sure could keep you at the edge of your seat the whole time. It's an action movie so it's understandable that the characters weren't shown deep enough.. I liked William Hurt and Dennis Quaid's performances best. Matthew Fox was rather meh. The story was very brief and the performances weren't really rich, but it could absolutely keep you glued to the screen. Good action movie, very nice pick for a night out.

7 / 10.

Letters from Iwo Jima

Directed by the great Clint Eastwood, starring Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Ryo Kase, Tsuyoshi Ihara and Shidou Nakamura.

A companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers. Told the story of the battle of Iwo Jima, during the WWII. Contrary to Flags, this one is viewed from the Japanese's side. All the cast were Japanese and the language is also Japanese.

You thought Clint's golden days were during the Dollar series, but this certainly proved, again, that's he's still very much 'alive'. I really loved Million Dollar Baby and man, how I love Iwo Jima! It had so much soul, with stellar performances by the cast which was quite a surprise for me. I never had any doubt that Japan has many great actors and Ken Watanabe is, of course, great. But I was so surprised to see Kazunari Ninomiya and Tsuyoshi Ihara. I always saw them in more comical roles and now, they aced it. Especialy Kazunari Ninomiya. The only downside was that his looks didn't really suit the age of his character. But other than that, he delivered a great performance. The story isn't 100% true, parts of it are fictional, including the lead character (Ninomiya). And I really couldn't care less about the historical facts. I mean, if it's a great film, then it's a great film. It's not a documentary anyway. I liked Shimizu's (Ryo Kase) story the best. Brief, yet it got me. The cinematography was beautiful and I just loved the story and how humane each character was. Great film. Way better than Flags.

9 / 10.

The Darjeeling Limited

Directed by Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.. and somewhat a fashion icon), starring Adrien Brody (who I love love love), Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman. With cameos by Bill Murray and Natalie Portman.

Three brothers who had lost their father had not met or talked to each other for a year reunited when the oldest brother, Francis, got them together to embark on a spiritual journey across India.

Before the main feature, there's a short film (also there on the DVD) titled Hotel Chevalier, starring only Jason Schwartzman and Natalie Portman and the short film acted as a prologue to the film.
Well, this is actually the first Wes Anderson film that I properly watched. I watched The Royal Tenenbaums eons ago and at that time, I didn't really enjoy arthouse films as I immensely do now. And I do love this film! It's so colorful, so witty and charming. I love both the short film and the feature film. Enjoyed all the performances and lines.. Totally loved Adrien Brody. Adrien Brody needs to star in more good films. The randomness and craziness of the film just added more charm to it.

8.5 / 10.

27 Dresses

Directed by Anne Fletcher (um.. Step Up, anyone?), starring Katherine Heigl, James Marsden, Judy Greer and Edward Burns.

Jane Nichols enjoyed being a bridesmaid, always helping out and assisting the braid, making sure that she's going to have the most wonderful day of her life. Patiently waiting for her own special day to come, she was happy with her life and had been forever in love with her boss. Then her sister came to the picture and instantly stole the man of her dreams, while an unlikely journalist also came into her life.

Katherine Heigl is so pretty. So likeable. I love her! Well, it's a pretty decent romantic comedy.. not that original and some points of the story felt very common but still, an enjoyable movie. James Marsden is gorgeous but he has got to put on more weight. He's ridiculously skinny. I miss the James Marsden in The Notebook! An okay movie for a relaxed evening and quite good for the romantic comedy lovers. Judy Greer's character and jokes felt somehow.. recycled, but she steals scenes, that Judy.

7 / 10.

In the Valley of Elah

Directed by Paul Haggis (the man behind Crash, of course), starring Tommy Lee Jones, Charlize Theron and Susan Sarandon.

Hank Deerfield went looking for his son who, along with his friends of the same troop, just came back from Iraq. In the search of truth, an unexpected police detective joined and helped.

So underrated. The film was kinda unheard of but it was actually really good! I blame it on the poster. The poster did nothing for the film. The worst poster ever. The performances were wonderful (well, the main cast) and I really really liked Tommy Lee Jones' performance. The thing is I thought he had played similar roles for the last three films of him that I saw: The Tree Burials of Melquiades Estrada, No Country for Old Men and this film. Always played the all-American guy.. quiet.. sheriff.. similar stuff. But to my surprise, I really enjoyed this one and was so thrilled when he got nominated for an Oscar (even though it is the most annoying Oscars ever. No noms for Eddie Vedder and no Brad Renfro on the "In Memoriam" montage?! WTF?!) Okay, ahem, so yeah the film was really good, political and humane at the same time.. it was touching. Really enjoyed it. However, totally hated the fact that James Franco only got a stupid cameo. For fuckssakes James, get to work. Stop working on crappy movies.

8.5 / 10.

Jumper

Directed by Doug Liman, starring Hayden Christensen, Rachel Bilson, Jamie Bell and Samuel L. Jackson.

David Rice accidentally found out that he had the ability to transport himself anywhere, anytime. He innocently use the power into his own advantage and without realizing, got into a messy fight between Jumpers--those like him--and those who hunt and kill them.

Meh. It's one of those movies that makes you want to scream "WTF?!" when the end credits roll. It started okay, I guess, and it's always very nice to see Jamie Bell, but when you finished watching it, it kinda felt pointless. Hayden still can't act (okay, maybe he has improved about 1% since the Star Wars days) even though he did look pretty, and Kristen Stewart only got a stupid cameo! Man! The world needs more Kristen Stewart! I know the movie concept is pretty cool, but still, a cool concept of pretty people teleporting isn't good enough.

5.5 / 10. Would probably give a higher mark if the leading actor can be pretty AND also actually act.

P.S. I Love You

Directed by Richard LaGravenese (Freedom Writers, Paris Je T'aime - Pigalle, wrote The Bridges of Madison County), starring Gerard Butler, Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Yes! Denny Duquette!), Lisa Kudrow and Harry Connick Jr.

Holly and Gerry married at a very young age, and after ten years together, with the ups and downs of life, yet bonded with their strong love for each other, Gerry died. Holly was left broken and later discovered that his late husband already prepared, in his own way, messages for the beloved wife to be strong and gain her life back.

I am a girl. I love romantic movies. If a girl can't have romance in her life, she'll get it from the movies. And this is one hell of a romantic movie. I loved it. Sad, beautiful, romantic movie. I cried in the cinema, couldn't help it. Gerard is the man, I love that guy. And I know Hilary doesn't pick good movies consistently but I've loved her since Boys Don't Cry and will forever love her. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was charming as always. And the best thing about this movie is that it isn't 100% sad. It doesn't have tears for two hours. It's funny! It has some really funny moments and it balanced the movie well. I loved this movie!

8.5 / 10.

Atonement

Directed bt Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice, of course), starring my current fave Brits, Keira Knightley and the very charming James McAvoy.

Cecilia and her housekeeper's son, Robbie, were in love. But her younger sister Briony, who had a crush on Robbie, interfered and her childish jealousy and accusations lead Cecilia and Robbie's love to a devastating journey.

Devastating. Yeah. Keira and James got what they wanted. I felt absolutely devastated after I finished watching it but it is a very beautiful film. Keira and Joe Wright made a great team, huh? I love the performances by both leading actors and it's just one of those beautiful period movies, you know. Yet totally different.. darker and deeper, I guess. The famous sex scene is famous for a reason.. it differentiates good filmmaking and great filmmaking. Exquisite film. Serious film lovers should definitely see it.

9 / 10.

Into the Wild

Directed and written by the great Sean Penn, based on Jon Krakauer's book, starring the very wonderful Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone, Catherine Keener, Vince Vaughn, Hal Holbrook and Kirsten Stewart (who I love).

Into the Wild tells the true story of Christopher McCandless, who abandoned his family, education, identity and all his possessions to embark on an unplanned journey into the wilderness of Alaska, in search of freedom and a meaning of life.

Absolutely beautiful. I loved it. I think Emile gave a wonderful performance, he showed Chris' naiveness, depth and his free, rebelious soul. This film is way too underrated and AMPAS is being ridiculous by giving this film only two nominations (Best Supporting Actor and Best Editing.. WTF?!) especially by overlooking the soundtrack. Hello? If you can only pick one feature to award to the film, then it should be for Eddie Vedder! His music is absolutely wonderful and suited the film beautifully! I personally am still listening to and loving the album.. No Ceiling is a current favourite. So yeah, I loved this film, I think everyone did a great job and the story with Hal Holbrook's character is just one of the most heartbreaking stories I've ever seen. Sean and Emile really gave us something this time. I recommend everyone to see it.

9 / 10.