The Restless

Directed by Cho Dong-oh, starring Jung Woo-sung and Kim Tae-hee. (I have no idea what I just typed)

Yi-Gwak was suddenly thrown to the in-between world: a place between heaven and earth where the souls of the people who had just died rested for fourty-nine days before they were to be reborn on earth. There was when he met Yon-Hwa, one of the 'guards/warriors/whatever' of the in-between world, who looked exactly like Yi Gwak's dead lover, only this one had no memory at all.

It's bad. I mean, the story. Meh. Felt like fast-forwarding the whole thing. Lucky I saw it for free at the theatres ;p So, yeah, I didn't like the story, very boring. But OMG it is such a visual treat. It was stunningly beautiful. All the views, landscapes, lightnings, everything. So effing beautiful. It's like you can freeze every frame just so you could stare at the beautiful scene. But other than that, nothing special, really. The girl was crying 98% most of the time (1% giving a melancholy look, last 1% giving a sad smile), what's up with that? (the male leading actor was kinda cool, tho)

6 / 10. Because it was visually beautiful. If only Dororo has this kind of special effects or cinematography..

Dororo

Directed by Akihiko Shiota, based on the manga by the great Osamu Tezuka. First part of a trilogy, starring Tsumabuki Satoshi and Shibasaki Kou.

Hyakki-Maru was given as a sacrifice for the gods by his father, his body was cut into fourty-eight pieces. What little was left of him was thrown away to the river and then picked up by a sorcerer, who gave him new body parts. Years went by and the grown-up Hyakki-Maru went to hunt demons down, each giving him back his body part. And a street thief went tagging along..

It's Tsumabuki Satoshi!! The golden boy! Well, at least my golden boy. He's a very good actor, very good-looking, and he looks like the nicest guy on earth. And then there's Shibasaki Kou, who, honestly, kinda surprised me. Her performance was good in this film, very different. A little funny tho, to see her became this totally loud, crazy, tomboy street thief while Satoshi's character was really cool. I like the story, it's very manga-ish, very fun. But one huge, major problem for me: the special effects. I mean, COME ON. They really sucked! It's ridiculous! This is a Japanese film, for fuckssake, how come they had this very very BAD special effects? Jeez. So, yea, I have a huge problem with that. But other than that, it's a very interesting film, with pretty landscapes.. because it was shot in New Zealand. YES to New Zealand!

Because of the very eeew special effects.. 6 / 10.

The Bourne Ultimatum

Directed by United 93's Paul Greengrass, written by Tony Gilroy (who also wrote the first two). Still starring Matt Damon, Joan Allen and Julia Stiles. Also starring David Strathairn, In America's Paddy Considine, Albert Finney, Scott Glenn, and a lil' bit of Daniel Brühl (who is said to be the German Gael García Bernal).

Jason Bourne continued to trace his past, trying to figure out who he really was, with CIA trailing behind him, trying to kill him.

Won't be spoiling you with a better synopsis because you gotta see this film on your own. Because it rocks. I don't know how they did it, but this is a smart action movie which level of suspense stayed stable for the whole 111 minutes. Really kept you in your seats and a really good storyline! All three films are beautifully and smartly connected (so make sure you've seen the prequels first) and then, of course, Matt Damon is great. Come on, have you seen The Talented Mr.Ripley? This guy is great. So, yeah, The Bourne Trilogy rocks.

8.5 / 10.

Rush Hour 3

Still directed by Brett Ratner (X-Men: The Last Stand, Red Dragon, Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2). Starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Hiroyuki Sanada.

An attempt to assassinate the Chinese ambassador lead Lee and Carter to Shy Shen, a mysterious thing/person that nobody knows about. With some clues, they ended up in Paris, looking for the thing and also protecting the ambassador's only daughter.

I'm not gonna bother with the synopsis, so, sorry if it sucks. Because I hate the storyline. Very.. messy. Like they don't really care about it. And the thing about having a very Chinese man and a very black man for leading roles is that you're gonna faced with some very über-clichéd jokes.. Well, you know what I mean. Some are funny, of course, and I admit that I laughed out loud seeing one or two of Chris Tucker's scenes, but some are lame. The story was bleh. On a side note, wassup with Hiroyuki Sanada? He's like invading Hollywood. But he's good, so no complains there from me. I just hope he's still going to do Japanese films. Don't let the dollars blind you, Sanada-san! ;p And the best part of the whole movie? Roman Polanski's cameo. LOL. That was kinda cool. So, yea.. the movie is okay for laughs.. But nothing more, really.

4 / 10.

Ratatouille

Brought to you by the people who made The Incredibles, also directed by Brad Bird. Featuring the voices of Patton Oswalt, Ian Holm, Lou Romano, Peter O'Toole and Brad Garrett.

Remy was not an ordinary street rat--he appreciated gourmet food. One day he found out that his idol Gusteau, a famous chef and restauranteur, was dead. He then realized that he had actually been living in Paris--where the best food was made. With the help of his imaginary friend--Gusteau himself--he found himself in the kitchen of the great chef's once-famous restaurant. There was when he met Linguini, a helpless cleaning boy with no talent who was just trying to have and keep a job. The two of them then established a mutual relationship..

The artwork is gorgeous. All the views of Paris.. *.* Gorgeous, gorgeous. So breathtaking.. But you know what, I have a problem with Remy's voice. It just doesn't suit him. And there was a time while watching the movie that I felt man this movie is long. Nevertheless, a really well-made movie, super great artwork and for me personally it was so much fun to see a restaurant's kitchen worked during their peak hours. Even though I still prefer The Incredibles, this one is still a must-see.

8 / 10.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Directed by David Yates, still starring the same original cast.. Additions including Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge (the evil, evil woman) and Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange (also and evil, evil woman).

The Dark Lord's back. With the Ministry of Magic trying to deny and cover it, Harry was accused as a liar, a mad boy. But apparently Dumbledore was already a step ahead, gathering the old Order of the Phoenix, which consisted of veteran aurors whose purpose was to fight and destroy Voldemort and his allies. The Ministry did not stay quiet, they placed Dolores Umbridge at Hogwarts, and she instantly placed new rules and basically ruining Hogwarts. And Voldemort was trying to take what he couldn't take years ago..

I cannot explain how much I love the Harry Potter movies. I just LOVE the books and nothing can beat the excitement and hype that I feel when I'm waiting for the next HaPot (and LoTR. Aaahh the good ol' LoTR days.. how I miss them) movie to come out. And I gotta tell ya, this one is IT. It's THE BEST. It's Movie of the Year. It's.. just.. GREAT. Movie 1, 2, 3 are just the weakest, 4 is good and solid and this one is absolutely the best so far. So well-made, had a little indie touch and oh so dark. Although the acting could still be improved but hey, who cares for that little detail when you've got Ralph Fiennes, Gary Oldman and Jason Isaacs all in the same scene? I am SO becoming a Gary Oldman fan. The movie is quite different from the book, but I think changes are necessary for the movie to become 150-minute long and still connected, understandable and enjoyable. This one did it, man. Just so great. I cried reading the book and I cried watching the movie. Sorry, can't help it. So people, go see it. You have to. Everyone has to. By the way, what's the story of David Yates getting this job? He used to work on TV movies, TV series and all of a sudden, boom, 'Here, David, direct a Harry Potter movie.. In fact, two of them.'? But yea, kinda glad he did this one because he sure made it very dark and in the beginning of the movie, you won't feel like watching a HaPot movie. So indie. And apparently his (well, according to IMDb.com) trade mark is the use of hand-held camera, which you could see in the beginning of the movie. And how pretty is Emma Watson? Seriously. Okay okay, scherzi out.

Really tempted to give a 10, but.. Just can't, yet. Maybe when Daniel Radcliffe's acting got better, I would. But for now..
9.6 / 10.
Highest Rolled Reel score so far.

And please.. this time.. A.M.P.A.S., for your consideration.

Bushi no Ichibun

Directed by Twilight Samurai's Youji Yamada, starring Takuya Kimura and newcomer Rei Dan. The English title is Love and Honor, eventhough that's not really the literal meaning.

Shinnojo Mimura was stuck in a dead-end job, a food taster for the King. One day he tasted a sashimi but apparently the fish was out of its season, thus poisoned. He became blind and unable to continue his job. He counted on his wife and other people and became dependent, a thing he despised. On an advice of his aunt, his wife asked for a powerful samurai's help to maintain her husband's economy status, apparently with strings attached. Rumors started to fly around and Mimura was on the verge of losing his love.. and honor.

Do you know Takuya Kimura? I certainly hope you do because he is absolutely THE MAN. I don't care if anyone says that he's just another typical Japanese boyband member because he's not. He's a good actor. He has that kind of presence on screen.. a thing not every actor has. Especially a Japanese one that young. He rarely makes films (mostly works on TV series) and I'm so happy this one didn't disappoint. The story is very simple, no fancy samurai-fighting included, and Takuya's performance was very enjoyable. And Rei Dan suited her part well.. Hope to see her more often. The film is slow-paced, like most Japanese films, but this time it worked. The simplicity of it made it enjoyable. And it had a touching end that conluded the film perfectly.

8.5 / 10.

Die Hard 4.0

Directed by Len Wiseman (aka Kate Beckinsale's husband, aka the man behind 'Underworld'), starring the ever so great Bruce Willis, Justin Long, Timothy Olyphant, Cliff Curtis, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maggie Q.

John McClane (THE John McClane, ladies and gents) was asked to escort a young hacker to the DC. Turned out the young hacker helped (without even realizing it) a mad man's mission to perform 'fire sale', basically annihilating a whole country. That'd be the US.

John McClane is back, people! For those of you who have seen and loved the old Die Hard trilogy, well, needless to say, you have to see this one. For those of you who are new to it, don't worry, the storyline stood on its own.. The only negative thing is you most probably you won't be able to feel the excitement and giddiness (is that a word?) when Bruce delivered that ever so famous line once again. Anyway, this is an action movie, probably an uber-action movie, but I loved it! Man, it's John McClane! It's Bruce Willis! Some scenes were just painful (I mean, "Die already, man!") but all in all, it's Die Hard people, come on. For those not really into action movies, give it a chance. ;) Oh, one thing that really surprised me: Timothy Olyphant's face. So evil. God. SO evil.

8 / 10.

"Yippee Ki Yay motherfucker." (of course)

Shrek the Third

Directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui, story by Narnia's Andrew Adamson. Still featuring the voices of big players.. Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Justin Timberlake, Julie Andrews, Rupert Everett and John Cleese. (Cameos including Larry King and John Krasinski!)

Shrek's father-in-law fell sick and asked Shrek to replace him as the ruler of the kingdom of Far Far Away. Panicked and worried, Shrek went off with buddies Donkey and Pussy to find the only living heir to the throne (him aside, of course), planning to make him the king. Aside from that, Fiona also had a surprise for him that left him feeling very uneasy and burdened all throughout his journey. And let's not forget Prince Charming, who was trying to find and make his 'happily ever after' come true.

To be honest, I coudn't really remember the last two movies although I remember not liking the second one because it relied too much on the parodies. Well, this third installment was quite okay. Some scenes were plain hilarious! Although I still can't believe they're going to make five Shrek movies. I mean, wow. But okay, this one is funny, I like JT. Go see it if you need a little laugh.

7 / 10.

Transformers

Directed by the action blockbuster guru Michael Bay, starring (the quite 'it' boy of today) Shia LeBouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Jon Voight and Bernie Mac.

Some time long ago in a far-off planet called Cybetron, a war was erupted between the Autobots (lead by the wise Optimus Prime) and the Decepticons (lead by Megatron), both fighting over the control of Allspark, sort of like 'the one ring..' that could that could bring a great power. Turned out the box was buried in the northern part of Earth. Years later, teenager Sam Witwicky found his life and destiny linked to the great outer-space war between the robots.

Never saw the trailer and I didn't have high expectations because I don't really like action movies in the first place. But Oh. My. God. You've got to see this movie, people! Okay so its a 150 minute-long movie but who cares? This is all you need and more! Watching this movie made me realize how GREAT Hollywood's visual effects are now. I mean seriously, most of the scenes were so real! Didn't look like CGI at all! MAN! And the movie was damn hilarious. Shia was meant to be Sam.. He was really good and really suited the part. The whole movie is exciting, full of action and oh so great. Big robots turning into cars! Big robots fighting one another! MAN! Go see this movie! I saw it twice already! It's just so entertaining.

9 / 10.

"My car has been stolen! I'm in pursuit!"

Bridge to Terabithia

Directed by Hungarian Gabor Csupo, starring The Reaping's AnnaSophia Robb, Josh Hutcherson and Zooey Deschanel. From the people who brought you The Chronicles of Narnia.. (that's what the trailer said, right?)

Leslie Burke was a new girl in school, her family just moved to Josh's neighborhood. A little eccentric and tough, Leslie stood out from the other students. She liked to write fairytales and able to 'escape' her reality and immerse into her own imaginary world. Soon, Leslie and Josh became best friends. Everyday after school they would go to their 'place', in the woods near their home, and live in their imaginary 'kingdom', fighting weird animals that dared to threat their kingdom, Terabithia. All those things made them forget about the real world and only care about their imaginary life.

I thought it was gonna be Narnia, you know? With the whole special effects, grand battle scenes, kingdoms, etc. Turned out it was.. well.. far from that. Very little special effects, little story, little plot and my friend kept screaming "My Girl! This is absolutely My Girl!" which could be right. ;p The movie was slow-paced and to tell you the truth, I didn't really like it. The only good point is probably.. keep your mind wide open.

5 / 10.

SPOILERS
By the way, the poster? A trick. A lie. No such scene. And don't be fooled by the trailer.

3 Hari Untuk Selamanya

Directed by Riri Riza, starring Nicholas Saputra and Adinia Wirasti.

Yusuf and Ambar were two cousins, heading to Jogja on a road trip together, to attend Ambar's sister's wedding. Along the journey, they made some unplanned stops, met some different characters and in the end finding that the 3-day journey filled with sex, funny incidents and remote places, made them discover and learn more about life and ultimately, themselves.

Always good to see an Indonesian film with more sex, made it look 'brave'. (Although lately everybody's doing that, right?) Reviews said that this is a real, frank and blatant look of the young urban life of Jakarta's youth nowadays. Well, my life is so far away from the characters' so I can't say "Man, this is so real." or anything like that. But yeah, this film is very well-made, the acting was actually quite good enough, with jokes slipped in on the right scenes, but to tell you the truth, it felt too Y Tu Mamá También for me. Nevertheless, do see it. It surely was entertaining enouh for me. (Plus, Adinia Wirasti turned into this oh so sexy girl.. forget AADC.)

SPOILERS
The sex in the end was very Y Tu Mamá También, except this one had an incestuous twist. And then the meeting they had after that, all the awkwardness.. So Y Tu Mamá También. And then it ended. Y Tu Mamá También.

7 / 10. Because it reminded me too much of Y Tu Mamá También. (God, how many times did I type that thing?)

Jeux D'Enfants

A big hit in France back in 2003, directed by Yann Samuell (who apparently is releasing an English adaptation of the Korean movie My Sassy Girl), starring Guillaume Canet (aka Diane Kruger's ex-husband) and Marion Cotillard.

Julien and Sophie were best friends ever since they were kids, probably thanks to a game of dares they played. One would give the other a dare, and if it's accomplished, a tin can with a carousel picture painted on it would be passed, and he would, in turn, give the other a dare. On and on it went, until they were adults. This game that they played actually became bigger, and then it began dictating their lives.

Not gonna ramble on with the synopsis because it will give the whole thing away. Okay, so I just saw this film a few days ago and I absolutely loved it. What a charming film! A unique romantic comedy, with a twist. Guillaume Canet is hot (looked a lot like Patrick Dempsey, but hotter) and Marion was so so so pretty. They storyline was so interesting and upbeat, it charmed you. Even though the ending could leave you confused, but let's not bother that. This is still one great French film.

9 / 10.

"Cap ou pas cap?"

El Laberinto del Fauno

A big hit in various film festivals this year, won 3 Oscars (nominations include Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film). Directed by Mexican Guillermo del Toro (certainly put him on the map), starring Ivana Baquero, Sergi López and Y Tu Mamá También's Maribel Verdú.

Set in Spain, 1944, post-civil war, there were still rebels fighting against the fascist. One young girl, Ofelia, travelled to the country with her pregnant mother to meet and live with her stepfather, the cruel Captain Vidal. Ofelia, who always believed in fairy tales, then met a fairy, who lead her to a faun and then she discovered that she could actually be a princess in the underworld. But, to get back to that world, she had to do three tasks set by the faun. Meanwhile, the rebels in mountain are beginning to attack Captain Vidal.

I thought this was going to be a pretty happy film with great cinematography. But apparently it wasn't happy at all. Great cinematography (really got that mood, probably the strongest attraction of the film), yes, but not happy. There were gruesome deaths, eerie feelings and all the shizz. And even though the story is fairy-tale-like, it sure was a dark one. But all in all, good film with an interesting and original story. But despite all the rave reviews, I wasn't actually crazy about it, and not planning on seeing it for a second time.

7.5 / 10.

Ocean's 13

Still directed by Steven Soderbergh, still starring all the main cast except Julia Roberts, addition: Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin, Vincent Cassel made a cameo, Brad Pitt is still hot.

Reuben made the mistake of partnering with Willy Bank, who double-crossed him and left him with a heart attack. Then, Danny decided to help his friend get even with Bank, who just built a brand-new casino on the Las Vegas strip. Danny and his crew tried to sabotage the whole casino with crazy hi-tech gadgets so that when the top-notch, lie-detecting security of the hotel went down, the guests could win all their bets and thus, leaving Bank with a great great loss.

A thousand times better than the second one. Awesome, very entertaining, cool crazy gadgets, hot Brad Pitt.. I just loved it. Matt Damon was still funny, the storyline was good and the whole movie wasn't boring. I lovelove seeing Casey Affleck.. so funny. Even though the whole heist was oh so impossible, it's still freakin cool and entertaining and hey, that's what Hollywood is for. It felt like Danny wasn't given that big a part but it didn't matter. The movie was gooood! Typical Hollywood movie but gooood!

8 / 10.