Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Synopsis: War is a scary thing, especially if you know that you're gonna die and that there is no way around it. You know what is scarier? When everyone in your unit and army expects you to die that they think that dying is the right thing to do. That's the setting in 1944 on a isolated island in Japan, Iwo Jima. Saigo is a reluctant soldier drafted into service, pulled away from his wife and his unborn child. On the island is where the Japanese Empire will make its last stand against the Americans. The problem is that by this time, most of Japan's naval fleet has been destroyed along with air support leaving Iwo Jima cut off from outside help. So you think that best thing to do for them is to surrender but that's not the way their new commander, Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) rolls. He is hardcore country first and his conviction is every soldier will die defending the mother land because that's the country's conviction. They are always one and the same, or are they?

Should You Watch It? Wow... that's really all there is to say about it really. From the get go, you know this movie is tragic. Damn you Clint Eastwood haha. Freakin' five minutes into the film you wanna cry and it just keeps coming with the beautiful characters, mesmerizing action sequences mixed in with perfect dialogue and the music ugh! it's non stop and unrelenting drama which jerks at your heart strings until the very end. This film finally takes a look at the other side of the war and really brings humanity of warfare into a new light.

Things to Watch Out For: Ken Watanabe. I swear this guy has played every role a Japanese actor can play. Whenever you get a Japanese lead nowadays, his name is probably the first on the list, and again he's masterful. The cast is all Japanese, hardcore style. Which is a pleasent surprise because Hollywood usually uses American Japanese actors, and their Japanese isn't really authentic but it's hardcore this time. And the setting from what I can tell, is authentic as well. Everything is just beautiful down to the smallest detail.

Things You Don't Expect: Just how sad it is. LIke we've all watched war movies and learned how brutal it is. We've seen pretty much soldiers getting blown up in every which way. And even though this movie, structure wise, resembles Saving Private Ryan it uses far less action and more dialogue and character development to really focus the audience in on a small group of characters. Telling this story through flashbacks is another interesting choice and a brilliant one by the writer, Paul Haggis and Iris Yamashita.

Edit: It has been brought to my attention that this movie was filmed in Iceland. Thanks Keither for the heads up!

Final Comments:
Story: 9.0 (Tadamichi Kuribayashi: book, Iris Yamashita & Paul Haggis: screenplay and story)
Direction: 9.5 (Clint Eastwood)
Acting: 8.5
Cinematography: 9.0 (Tom Stern)
Music/Sound: 9.2 (Kyle Eastwood & Michael Stevens)

Final Score: 9.2

Ninth Gate, The (1999)

Synopsis: Rare books are something quite special in Dean Corso's (Johnny Depp) world. He goes around ripping people off and pretty much is the devil in terms of telling people how much things are actually worth. But he is the best! The story begins when he's asked by a very wealthy client to authenticate a book, The Ninth Gate. It is rumored that this book is written by the devil himself and that if you chant the book and solve the puzzle, the prince of darkness will appear! Corso doesn't really believe in this crap but he knows his books and he knows money. So he takes the job sending him to europe to investigate the other two remaining copies of this book. What he finds is more than what he bargained for when he becomes the target of the devil.

Should You Watch It? This movie started out with so much potential. Dean Corso was the perfect anti-hero in many ways. He's the person in society that we all hate, but all want to see change for the better. The set up was clever as well as the direction early on, but once Corso got into Europe things begin to fall apart, story wise. By the end of the film you're really confused because there are just so many inconsistancies and loose ends that doesn't seem to have anything to do with anything. The real frustrating part of it all is that this story would have made a lot more sense if they just took these parts out. It wouldn't have taken away anything from the film but... the point is, the story was too convoluted and it wasn't very satisfying.

Things to Watch Out For: Of course, if you're gonna have a movie about the devil, then there will be biblical references through out. They aren't that important and the ones which are, they give special attention to so you won't miss it. I would have liked to see a better arc for Dean Corso and Johnny does his best to bring it out but it's something you will have to mull over to really get.

Things You Don't Expecct: The ending is expected but it's not satisfying. That's partly because of all the loose ends that weren't tied up, like I mentioned above but another part of it is that there really seems to be no antagonist in this film. Well, there is, but it doesn't seem to threaten Corso more than it threatens the book making the ending anti-climatic.

Final Comments:
Story: 5.4
Direction: 8.0 (Roman Polanski)
Acting: 6.8
Cinematography: 6.0
Music/Sound: 7.5

Final Score: 6.5

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

Synopsis: John McClane, Bruce Willis has been removed from action for a while but he shakes the rust off quickly when the shit hits the fan and it does in the first couple of minutes. Some dude with too much time on his hands decides to destroy the United States' through hacking it! Him, along with his ridiculously hot ninja sidekick, Mia (Maggie Q), break into every level of the American security infrastructure and wreak havoc. It's now up to McClane to protect the only person capable of stopping these hacks, while waging war against an opponent who is light years ahead of him in terms of intelligence and technological savvy. But hey! there is one things those internet terrorist sonnovabitches don't have and that's the will to do whatever it takes to be THAT guy whom everyone calls a hero.

Should You Watch It? Let me break it down for you. If you are a guy read the following. If you are a girl then please skip to the bottom where it says "GIRL". So guys, this movie consists of high computer technology, explosion, gunfight, acrobatic gunfight, explosion, gunfight, traffic collisions, explosions, gunfight, car fight, explosion, car chase, explosion, F35 blowing the hell outta stuff, more explosions, gunfight.
GIRL. Okay ladies. If you watch this movie with a guy, and insist on watching it, he will be indebted to you.

Things to Watch Out For: Besides everything I've just listed, there is quite an interesting story here, sorta. Or as interesting as this film is gonna get. Justin Long plays Mattew Ferril, the hacker that McClane has to protect. Ferril goes through the biggest arc and his comic relief bits are hilarious! They're not big jokes but in the context they're freakin hilarious. You really shouldn't be expecting anything less from him anyways.

Things You Don't Expect: I did not expect Maggie Q to be in this film. And seriously, why does every Asian person, especially girls, know kung fu? I don't know one asian girl, or guy for that matter that knows kung fu! But whatever, when she straps on the ass kickin' boots and skin tight FBI uniform, you forget everything haha.

Final Comments:
Story: 7.0
Direction: 9.0 (Len Wiseman)
Acting: 8.8
Cinematography: 10.0 (Simon Duggan)
Music/Sound: 6.5

Final Score: 8.6

Partition (2006)

Synopsis: I'm sure that this modern day Romeo and Juliett story has been done in this context many times in Indian cinema. But this is the first time that it has come to the West and it's about time. Jimi Mistry plays Gian Singh a Sikh ex solider who is now a farmer in 1947 after India was split into India for Sikhs and Pakistan for Mulisms. Kristen Kreuk plays a Muslim girl, Naseem Khan, on her way with her family across India into Pakistan. Well, there are a lot of bitterness between the countries and a lot of religious crusades. The Muslim group gets attacked by Sikh ex soliders and Neseem gets separated from her family. But don't worry! It's Gian to the rescue and rescue her he does. He does such a good job rescuing her that she eventually falls in love with him. You guys know the story of acceptance and tolerance mixed in with racism and prejudice. Tale as old as time only this song doesn't rhyme.

Should You Watch It? I don't know how she does it. How can Kristen Kreuk stay so hot like all the time! I know there's make up and whatever but seriously! She's practically in mud for the whole first half of the movie but still so ridiculous. Okay, so that covers the male audience. For you ladies out there who read my reviews, and I know there aren't many, this story has the classic love struggle. It shows that love defies all, even death. If you're brown, then you'll appreciate this movie even more cause it has all the storylines of a India film without the ridiculous singing and the six hour sit.

Things to Watch Out For: What? No singing? "How can it be a brown movie without singing?" you might ask. Well, Friends, I'll tell you how. Vic Sarin added in a whole bunch of cultural stuff to get the stories through the tough second act. And it sorta worked. The relationship between Gian and Neseem is pretty standard but what's interesting is the relationship Gian has with Margaret Stilwell. There is an interesting dynamic there that wasn't fully explored but nonetheless, interesting.

Things You Don't Expect: Like I mentioned above, the relationship between Margaret Stilwell (Neve Campbell) and Gian could have been awesome to add tension. See, it's clear that Margaret has feelings for Gian, it was set up pretty early. But Gian loves Neseem but needs Margaret's help to her to into Pakistan. So you see, if they played on the emotions a bit more, then Margaret would have to make that choice of whether to help Neseem or not. Be the bigger man, or woman that is, or fall into the trap of love! Okay, that might be a bit over the top, but it totally could have worked, but oh well. Next time.

Final Comments:
Story: 6.8 (Patricia Finn & Vic Sarin)
Direction: 7.2 (Vic Sarin)
Acting: 7.8
Cinematography: 8.0
Music/Sound: 8.5

Final Score: 7.4

Breach (2007)

Synopsis: True stories are always fun because, well, they're true. That means that it might actually happen in real life although "true" is a very slippery word in the film industry. So with that out of the way, this is the "true" story of Robert Hanssen. An FBI agent who infiltrated and sold billions of dollars worth of information to the Soviet Union causing damages beyond numbers. This movie is one big sting operation led by a rookie SG officer, Eric O'Neil. His job is to monitor everything Hanssen does and report back to the FBI. This is really his story about chasing a dream only to realize that in life, there are more important things than career advancements. Sometimes, all one needs in life is a good family, and something to pray for.

Should You Watch It? If you ever wondered what a FBI sting operation is like then you might wanna watch this movie. But no way is a real life sting operation as exciting as this movie. Which is pretty sad because this movie, frankly, is not very exciting. They over dramatized this hardcore but even then, the pace was way too slow. But you know what, it's not a thriller or mystery. It's partly a character study of the young hot shot rookie trying to prove himself only to realize that there are more to life than what he had originally thought.

Things to Watch Out For: Two men on a boat is the painting that is hung in Hanssen's office. And this pretty much sums up the relationship between Hanssen and O'Neil. O'Neil is sent to spy on Hanssen but inevitably allows himself to be mentored by Hanssen and in the end, is taught why Hanssen did it. The motive sets up the major debate of the film as to whether or not government agencies in the United States are really working to protect and serve the country, or if they are just playing the game and doing it for the money.

Things You Don't Expect: I was pretty disappointed with how static the main character was. Yes, he realizes the importance of family and stuff but seriously, there was no resolution with his relationship with Hanssen. Or it wasn't strong enough. Moreover, there was not enough emphasis on how this job, like any other job, can destroy someone's personal life. They could have used other characters to show the premise, but they didn't.

Final Comments:
Story: 6.5 (Adam Mazer & Wiliam Rotko)
Direction: 7.0 (Billy Ray)
Acting: 7.8
Cinematography: 7.0
Music/Sound: 6.2

Final Score: 7.0

Evil Dead 2 (1987)

Synopsis: So after the first night in the cabin from hell, Bruce Campbell as Ash, is back for more. In fact, at first it seems that he comes back to the same cabin with a new girl. This doesn't make much sense, but after they get owned again, the last scene of the sequence is exactly the same scene they ended the first movie on. So I was pretty confused. But I just figured that he was there all along and didn't leave, which would make sense for a sequel. Anyways, so Ash is there, and the family of the professor that was in the cabin decides to go check it out. They meet Ash there while he's fending off the demons with his chain saw. Violence and hiliarity insues.

Should You Watch It? This is truely a master piece in terms of gore and horror for its time and really sets the bar for future horror filim makers. But should you watch it now that it's been 20 years removed? Well, I guess the only reason you would watch this film is to see where modern horror cinema gets its inspiration. Everything about this movie is nuts and crazy, and ultra violent. The blood this time comes in gallons instead of pints and redder than ever.

Things to Watch Out For: Other than the really weird storyline, this movie is just like the first installment but with even more mayhem. This is a prequel to the much heralded The Army of Darkness which finishes the triolgy. I have not seen The Army of Darkness myself, but I heard great things and this movie definitely leads into it brilliantly. But yeah, nothing really to watch out for except the gore, but you already know that from the first one.

Things You Don't Expect: This movie continues to find new ways to shock the living hell outta people. I mean, a chain saw to the head is pretty great, but I mean, when you attach it to your body and own some ass, that's really pushing the envelope. Even today, with movies like Hostel and stuff, they just can't quite seem to get to that next level like Evil Dead.

Final Comments:
Story: Fail
Direction: 8.0 (Sam Raimi)
Acting: 7.5
Cinematography: 8.8
Music/Sound: 7.0

Final Score: 6.8

Mel Gibson's Apocalypto (2006)

Synopsis: The Mayan civilization has been characterized as the most tragic extinction of a people in history. And yeah, it's pretty grim. But this story doesn't follow a Mayan like I thought it did. Instead, it follows Jaguar Paw, some dude in the forrest tribe. His village gets plundered and his friends and family captured. They're dragged through the forrest and across mountains where they are sold as slaves to the Mayans. So now the question is what do Mayans do with these slaves? They got enough man power as it is. So they're probably like, "You know what, since we're having such a tough time getting by you know, with technology and foreign invasion, let's kill these slaves as sacrifices for our god, and maybe he'll spare us." But not Jaguar Paw. Oh no! he's intense. They'll have to chase him down if they want his heart.

Should You Watch It? This movie is 100% grim. Crap man, I couldn't believe the stuff that they were showing. I mean, it wasn't so much gore as you might see in a horror film but everything was very... authentic. But among all the heart eating, testical pulling, brain bashing fun, there is a very deep moral story woven into the frantic action. This movie, in a sense, has it all. In fact, it might have too much for some people's liking.

Things to Watch Out For: This movie has some pretty tight writing. Everything that's introduced gets paid off in the end, so pay attention from the get go. The environment plays a big part in the movie, and Mel Gibson really brings the jungle to life. And yeah, if you're not a gore fan, or a fan of graphic violence and well, heart eating, then you might wanna get a blanket ready.

Things You Don't Expect: The music is expected to be awesome and it is. The mood fit for an extinction of a civilization. The only problem with the production was during the beginning sequence, the quality film slipped a bit. I don't know if they just couldn't use proper cameras in jungles or what? But it felt like a documentry at times. But, the problem is fixed quickly and the rest of the movie feels like a master piece.

Final Comments:
Story: 8.8 (Mel Gibson & Farhad Safinia)
Direction: 8.5 (Mel Gibson)
Acting: 7.8
Cinematography: 8.0
Music/Sound: 8.6

Final Score: 8.4

Invincible (2006)

Synopsis: Every child has that dream. That dream of one day playing in the bigs. Most kids don't get to live that dream but no matter how old they are, that dream will always live in them. Well, this story is about the true tale of Vince Papale who got to live that dream when everything in his life and the city he loved, Philidelphia, was going to shit. In 1976, the Philidelphia Eagles football team held open try outs, and well, Vince Papale went from a zero bartender to a hero in his city, not only uplifting his friends, but the neighborhood out of depression.

Should You Watch It? Well, it's a Disney film. So, I mean, everything is pretty expected and formulaic. Now, that's not neccessarily a bad thing. I mean, it's formulaic for a reason: people like it. And hell, this movie was really entertaining and made me feel good about myself! It made me feel like I can go out there and make something of myself no matter how old I am or how crappy things are.

Things to Watch Out For: No matter how hard Mark Wahlburg tries, he doesn't seem to be able to play anyone but himself. But I guess, that's what people want to see. I mean, he did dedicate his book to his penis. So, anyone with that much personality is worth watching. Elizabeth Banks is back in a new role as well, and yeah she's still pretty hot. The only real actor in this movie is Greg Kinnear, showing once again his versatility.

Things You Don't Expect: Disney usually has pretty good writers and everything they do is pretty solid. But this movie had a couple of plot holes that kinda took away from the story. It was nothing to do with the main story line but when the film finished, it felt imcomplete, tsk tsk.

Final Comments:
Story: 6.0 (Brad Gann)
Direction:6.5 (Ericson Core)
Acting: 7.2
Cinematography: 7.5
Music/Sound: 7.0

Final Score: 6.6

Notes on a Scandal (2006)

Synopsis: There is nothing like a good scandal to start off the weekend movie review fest. And what a scandal it is! Cate Blanchett plays Sheba Hart who's the new arts teacher at St. Georges's High School. She's lost and lonely so she confides in an old spinster teacher lady, Barbara Covett (Judi Dench). Things are all peachy until Sheba sleeps with a 15 year-old student. Wow, what a mistake because she gets caught by none other than her friend and confidant, Barbara. But you see, Barbara is a lonely lonely woman and instead of telling the authorities about a crime, she decides to use it as handcuffs to force Sheba to be her friend. Oh the drama!

Should You Watch It? Dramas are pretty notorious for being slow and dragging in the dialogue. But this movie went by pretty fast! I guess it was because it was so entertaining. The movie isn't really about the scandal but more about Barbara's parasitical personality. Such an interesting character study when compared to Sheba who's running away from her dying marriage. This dynamic is able to push the movie into a new level thus making the scandal complimentry to a multi-dimensional film as opposed to making it the crux.

Things to Watch Out For: Like I mentioned above, this movie isn't really about the scandal but about how everybody wants to be with somebody. The fear of loniness make us do a lot of crazy things. Also, the relationship between Sheba and her husband, Richard (Bill Nighy) is important as well because it works as a motive for Sheba to start the affair and to confide in Barbara.

Things You Don't Expect: Judi Dench is wow in this film. There is no other way to explain her performance. I mean, everyone else in the film is pretty standard and it's all around good acting. But omg. The slow, subtle deterioration of Barbara's mental state as a result of her vampiric personality was brilliantly acted. Of course, props has to go to the direciton and the writer, but the acting really brings it out. If you're still scratching your head about who she is, she plays M in the James Bond films.

Final Comments:
Story: 8.5 (Zoe Heller [Novel], Patrick Marber [Screen])
Direction: 7.9 (Richard Eyre)
Acting: 8.8
Cinematography: 6.8
Music/Sound: 6.0

Final Score: 8.0

American Graffiti (1973)

Synopsis: Curt and Steve are high school grads one day removed from going to college. Going on the adventure that they've been working towards for as long as they can remember. The only problem is that Curt doesn't wanna go anymore! Steve tries to convince him at the beginning of the night but he's quickly swarmed with problems with his girl, Laurie (Curt's sister). But wait up! Curt and Steve aren't the only ones finished high school and confused about their lives. Terry the Toad, their geeky, third wheeling friend, has a problem of his own: girls! Steve gives Terry his car for Terry to take car of when Steve's at college. So what does Terry do? He decides to go cruising for chicks! Then there's John Milner. He graduate so many years ago and he just hasn't grown up. Instead, he's achieved the town's ace dragster and is out lookin' for a new challenge along with an unlikey passenger. That's when Bob Falfa (Harrison Ford) comes in. This ensemble cast is set up for one crazy night surely to go down in history as just another ordinary night for most, but for these guys, it will be the night of their lives!

Should You Watch It? This story has four, maybe even five, real solid stories all woven into one. Sure, it's not as tight as Little Miss Sunshine but hey! it's a bit different in that the characters are all off doing their own thing and only interact with each other sporadically through out the film. This movie is pretty light hearted with plenty of humour if you get 70's humour but at the same time, it has a great premise, a classic coming of age story.

Things to Watch Out For: Although it's not a major problem for this movie, these ensemble casts are sometimes a bit tricky to keep track of everyone's story and where exactly they are all the time if they aren't together. In order to solve this problem, you either have to have a great memory, or just look for the scenes in front of the roller skating cafe. This place works as a break room sorta and it keep people up to date on all the activiites except for Milner.

Things You Don't Expect: The music in this movie is pretty great. At first you might think that it will date it and really make it seem cheesy, but all the songs they used are classics! I found myself singing along several times. Ba-ba- ba, ba-barbaran!

Final Comments:
Story: 8.8
Direction: 7.5 (George Lucas)
Acting: 6.7
Cinematography: 8.5
Music/Sound: 9.2

Final Score: 8.2

Ocean's 13 (2007)

Synopsis: Well, Danny Ocean is back along with his gang +1 to settle the score against Willy Bank (Al Pacino) who double crossed Reuben, Danny's mentor, on a casino deal. Now Danny must use everything he's learned in the past two movies to rig Black Jack, Roulette, Craps, and Slots in Bank's new casino thus forcing him out of the board. They have to do all of this while escaping the scrutinization of GRECO, the most advanced artificial intelligence security system known to man. But hey, it should be a piece of cake with that many stars.

Should You Watch It? Now, I know what you're probably thinking. That the second was such a big disappointment that you don't wanna waste your money/time on another installment. But let me tell you, they made this movie with a purpose and that was to end things on a positive note and overall, they accomplished it. The story line is nicely thought out and there are not any plot holes unless you forget some beats. Of course this movie features all of our loveable stars and the exclusion of Julia Roberts is something that I am all for.

Things to Watch Out For: From a viewing point of view, it's important to remember everything you see from the very beginning or else you'll be scratching your head at the end. This isn't very easy to do this time around because each game they rig feels like a separate story line at times. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if most people need a couple times to fully get this film. I know I do! Because the cast has been together for so long and worked intimately, they really have become comfortable with each other and there are many jests and pokes at their real lives. Quite entertaining if you catch them.

Things You Don't Expect: The twist at the end isn't as pronouced as before. It's not as clever as 11 but it's not as manufactured as 12. You really don't have to look out for it cause you won't be able to find it for one thing, but it doesn't play an important role in the A plot. The camera and direction is a very interesting choice. They did a throw back to the old school TV crime shows like Hawaii Five-O which I don't mind.

Final Comments:
Story: 7.8
Direction: 7.2 (Steven Soderbergh)
Acting: 8.8
Cinematography: 8.0
Music/Sound: 7.0

Final Score: 7.5

ชัตเตอร์ กดติดวิญญาณ (Shutter) (2004)

Synopsis: Thun and his girlfriend, Jane, are coming home from their best friend's wedding. Everything is peachy until they nail a girl on the street. Thun convinces Jane to keep driving. Big mistake. The girl comes back to haunt them through pictures at first but progresses to own not only them, but their friends in their dreams and eventually being everywhere. Now Thun, and Jane must find out why this girl is haunting them/ But the more they dig, the dirtier they get as they discover this girl's haunted past has many more connections to them they would have ever thought.

Should You Watch It? Shutter... shiver is more like it. This movie scared the hell outta me. Fine, I know I scare easily but still! This movie is really well done and shows how far international cinema has come along in the last decade. The scares in this movie are pretty standard but what makes them work is the strong character development of not only Jane and Thun but of the ghost as well. Her story is tragic and it really makes us love her as a antagonist. If you're a horror buff then you should definitely give this film a look. The only negative part of this movie is that Thai sounds so gay haha. I'm sorry. I'm not being racist or anything but God! it's annoying.

Things to Watch Out For: This film is pretty low budget like most of the horror movies in Asia. Not everyone has the budget of 28 Weeks Later. As a result, the movie has to make up for it by having a real solid story line, which this movie has. And this movie has really strong acting by Ananda Everingham who plays Thun and Natthaweeranuch Thongmee who plays Jane. These two are two young actors with a lot of potential. Watch out for their performance. They do a good job in not overacting their parts which is a challenge in a horror film.

Things You Don't Expect: The reveal at the mid point of the movie really caught me off guard. You think that this movie has only one layer but it doesn't. And just when you think it can't get any more complicated, it does! The story line is very similar to The Ring in that we begin to understand why the ghost is haunting our heroes and we begin to sympathize with the anatongist, making it tragic for the audience when the film is over when either the hero or the antagonist is defeated.

Final Comments:
Story: 8.0
Direction: 6.5 (Banjong Pisanthanakun and Sopon Sukdapisit)
Acting: 8.4
Cinematography: 7.5
Music/Sound: 7.6

Final Score: 7.9

The Evil Dead (1981)

Synopsis: A group of friends go off on a weekend away in a cabin where they discover a book of the dead. Well, what do they do? they decide to read it. But that's okay if you read it if you don't read it out loud. But what do they do? they play the recording which raises the dead and possesses them into these monsters until morning. Now Ash (Bruce Campbell) must kill off his demon possessed friends and survive until morning or join them in eternal hell.

Should You Watch This? I've heard a lot about this movie. I mean, this was Sam Raimi's break out film. So I guess I was a bit disappointed. I mean, sure it's a horror movie so the plot isn't going to be that strong but at first they were like, "we have to survive until morning" and you think that would be the way things end but it doesn't end like that, which is weird. But I guess that's alright. For 1981, the gore is pretty intense in this film. Sometimes, it's a bit off the wall but I guess that's what they're going for. So if you like gore every where, then this movie is the movie for you haha.

Things to Watch Out For: Bruce Campbell is pretty great in this film. He plays the part of the hero pretty well. At least well for a horror film. His supporting cast isn't that strong but hey! they're just cannon fodder as some would put it. This film pushes things pretty far in terms of special effects and even nudity for 1981. They even have a semi-rape scene in there that's pretty... interesting.

Things You Don't Expect: I didn't expect this movie to be brilliant which it isn't. But I did expect it to be more creative and use better sound. The camera was... not to my liking either. I don't know if this was a stylistic choice or a low budget thing but it just didn't work in my opinion. But back to the music... What the hell haha. Very disappointing. I mean, there are just so many things you can cover up with gore. But you know what, they filmed this all in one location so props for that. It's amazing what they did with the budget they had.

Final Comments:
Story: 5.5
Direction: 7.8
Acting: 7.5
Cinematography: Fail
Music/Sound: Fail

Final Score: 5.5

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Synopsis: Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is wrongly accused of murdering his cheating wife and her lover. He's sentenced to two life sentences to be served in Shawshank prison. Once there, he meets "Red" (Morgan Freeman) and his crew. For the next, god knows how many years, Andy and Red form a friendship that carries them through their sentence and give them, well, redemption. This story seems quite simple but in actuality, it's very deep and shows how decency prevails in the grimmest of places and the bleakest of circumstances.

Should You Watch It? This movie is pretty great hence the 9.2 rating on IMDB haha. This movie isn't quite as good as that 9.2 might indicate but it's pretty close. This movie is pretty straight up drama and it's longgggg. I mean long as in almost Lord of the Rings long. Even though it is long, the story doesn't drag very much, only in a few places, and by the end of it, you really felt like you've watched two movies in one. Some people might think that this movie is just about Andy and his struggle within prison and his belief in hope conquers all. But really, it's about Red and his change from wanting to stay in prison cause he's afraid of living to gaining that hope of being able to survive in the real world and convincing himself that life is worth fighting for. Hell, that decency is worth fighting for.

Things to Watch Out For: This movie has one of the most clever twists I've seen in a while. It's very cleverly executed and the seeds are planted throughout the whollleeee movie. It's almost Six Sense worthy. You don't really have to watch out for it if you don't want to because they play the seeds back to you in the end when it's revealed but it might be a fun little side activity for some viewers.

Things You Don't Expect: I don't know, prison always seemed like a more violent place to me and sure Andy got it pretty bad in the beginning and it's not a major logic issue but I would have liked to see a bit more violence. It just seemed like when the movie was halfway over, everyone just started being friendly with each other. If Andy wasn't going to get beaten down cause he's a veteren, well, at least own some of the newer fish to keep it real haha. Oh well, not a big deal but it woulda given this movie a bit more grit and bit more contrast with the theme.

Final Comments:
Story: 9.5
Direction: 7.6
Acting: 8.8
Cinematography: 7.0
Music/Sound: 7.5

Final Score: 8.9

Das Leben Der Anderen (The Lives of Others) (2006)

Synopsis: Everyone knows what the Cold War is. Hell, even if you didn't care about anything historic you've probably heard of the Berlin Wall. After the Second World War, there was a split in Germany between the United Nations occupied zones and the Soviet Union zones. Berlin was hence split into these zones as well into West Berlin and East Berlin. This story takes place in jolly East Berlin. The hero is Hauptmann Gerd Wiesler who is a captain of the STASI (state security). His job is to listen to people's secrets. Well, he gets assigned to a poet, Gerog Dreyman, who is being suspected of writing secrets about the East and sending them to the West. Wiesler is a hard ass and he'll do everything he can for socialism. That is until he becomes infactuated with Dreyman's girl friend, Christa-Maria Sieland. Now, the captain is torn between his state duties and his love for this strange woman which makes him question his integrity and the integrity of the state he swore to serve.

Should You Watch It? This film blows the hell outta The Departed and it shows how gay the Oscars really are. This still won best foreign film but it should have won best film cause this film was definitely the cream of the crop in 2006. Not only does this film tell the story from the point of the view of an anti-hero, it does well in shedding light onto the lives of officers during this time and debates the question: Is there a difference between loyality and blind faith? it asks this question well below the surface of a very captivating and tragic love triangle. I'm afraid if I go on I'll ruin it so I'm just going to stop and tell you loyal readers to watch it. Unless, you have a problem with German or reading subtitles.

Things to Watch Out For: This film is great because of the dialogue or maybe it was just because of the subtitles haha. This film is all about the things they don't say and how people avoid their problems and ultimately their lives. Wiesler is the most dynamic and tragic hero I've seen since, well, Hamlet I guess. He's so interesting in that he seems to do nothing through out the movie, but his arc is in his mind and beliefs. This seems impossible to show on screen but the writer/director does a brilliant job in showing this to us by showing us what's missing in Wiesler life and eventually his work. Oh, and the actress who plays Christa (Martina Gedeck) is pretty hot.

Things You Don't Expect: The acting is just amazing! It's unbelievable. I don't know if it's just these actors or if German acting school is just that much better than North America! I'm not saying I had the notion that German theatre is not good, I just never knew anything about German actors so I was surprised at how little recognition they recieve. Having said all that stuff about Wiesler's character, I still would have liked to see more of his story, but that's minor. Oh yeah! the ending! Ugh! Absolutely beautiful.

Final Comments:
Story: 9.0
Direction: 8.2 (Florian Henckle von Donnersmarck)
Acting: 9.5
Cinematography: 7.5
Music/Sound: 8.8

Final Score: 9.1

Network (1976)

Synopsis: It's called show business and the business is making money, duh! In the world of Network, all that matters is ratings, audience share, and whether or not you have the hit show. Things are great when the ratings are up but when the ratings are down, that's when all hell breaks loose. That's the state UBS is in when the story begins. It's so bad that the retiring anchorman, Howard Beale, announces to the public that he's going to commit public suicide. What started out as a prank, quickly snowballs into the world's first reality TV show when Beale becomes imbued with God's words and becomes a angry prophet. This show takes UBS on a roller coster of success and drags everyone involved through the highs of heaven and the bottomless hell.

Should You Watch It? This movie is truely revolutionary for its time. Not only did it predict what TV would become, it predicted what TV would do to the people. This is told directly through a very tight storyline filled with conspiracy, backstabbing, romance, and broken friendships. On the other hand, there is a lot of talking and I mean a lot. There are some major ranting and raving that boarders on preaching. No, screw it, it is preaching! So if you hate church, you might hate this.

Things to Watch Out For: There are a lot of subplots and individual stories that goes on in this movie. Even though the movie is about Howard Beale, it really isn't about him at all. What's more interesting is Max Schumacher and his destructive relationship with Diana Chrstensen as a direct result of television's influence. Other minor storylines include Frank Hackett which is a personification of the corruption TV brings.

Things You Don't Expect: Just the overall briliance of this movie for 1976. Through out the movie, I was shocked at the things that this movie accomplished. If you're a fan of the medium at all, go check it out and enjoy the over the top acting; it's great.

Final Comments:
Story: 10
Direction: 7.0 (Sidney Lumet)
Acting: 8.8
Cinematography: 6.8
Music/Sound: 6.5

Final Score: 8.5

Heathers (1989)

Synopsis: High school is a shitty place, especially if you're not popular and even more so when you are. Heather Chandler, Heather Duke, and Heather McNamara are the three most popular girls in school. They control everything including Veronica Sawyer (Winoa Ryder). They pull pranks on the weak and terrorize everyone that's unpopular. Well, Veronica has had enough of their shit and she's gonna do something about it. She combine forces with Jason Dean (Christian Slater) to teach Heather Chandler a lesson. But what started out as a prank turns ugly when they end up killing Heather Chandler throwing Veronica on a path of vigiliante justice making her the very thing that she set out to destroy.

Should You Watch It? If you've seen Mean Girls then this is the movie which inspired it. Although Mean Girls is a satire as well, it's more of a comedy with a very satisfactory ending. This movie, not so much. Heathers is grimm all the way through and some people might not be able to find the humour behind the madness. But if you're feeling a bit dark and a bit mischievous then this movie is definitely for you.

Things to Watch Out For: Having not watched a lot of 80s movies before, I never knew what kinda actress Winoa Ryder really was. But after watching this movie, I can tell why people had such high expectations for her. She plays the part of a confused adolescent well and although Christian Slater is like a million years old, he passes on believable as a teenagers. The croquette game which the movie begins with is a symbol of their struggle for power within the school and it does well in capturing the psychological decay of Veronica.

Things You Don't Expect: I actually like Christian Slater in this movie. Oh and the music; I thought I was going to have major problems listening to that synthesizer crap they had in the 80s but it wasn't that bad.

Final Comments:
Story: 8.5
Direction: 6.0
Acting: 7.2
Cinematography: 5.8
Music/Sound: 5.0

Final Score: 6.8

Tale of Two Sisters (장화, 홍련) (2003)

Synopsis: Su Mi and her sister Su Yeon return home from an insitution only to find their hated step mother there. The tension starts building immediately. To add problems to the equation, the house is haunted due to a tragic past. Su Mi's mind begins to deteriorate when she suspects her step mother of beating her sister Su Yeon. What's even more frustrating is Su Mi's father's failure to act during this crisis, forcing Su Mi to take matters into her own hands resulting in a bloody confrontation where the winners are the losers and the losers don't exist.

Should You Watch It? This movie is straight up Asian horror. Now you see horror and think immediately a lot of a gore. Well, there are none. Well maybe there are a lot of scares. Hmmm, not really. So what does this movie have? This movie has a lot of weird and trippy scenes which plays around with your mind by reaching into your brain and swirling it around. By the end of this movie your nerves will be completely shot, but this horror movie, unlike many others, has a very satisfying story which will make going through hell worth the trip.

Things to Watch Out For: If you think I'm going to warn you about the scare scenes then no way! This movie is Korean if you haven't figured it out yet, so there will be subtitles, but that shouldn't be a big deal. A big reason why this movie is so brilliant is because of the cinematography and the direction. Every shot is a work of art. The setting is so simple yet so lush. This combined with clever uses of flash cuts and dissolve cuts really gives the audience a good sense of time which is important for the audience to get this movie.

Things You Don't Expect: You know how in American Horror films, the music kinda warns you what's going to happen. You know, that really eerie music that fries your nerves. Do you know what's scarier than that? Having no music. That's right. The choice of doing certain scare scenes completely in silence is genius! You have no idea what's going to happen and I truely understand what it means when people say "silence is deafening."

Final Comments:
Story: 8.0
Direction: 9.6 (Ji-Woon Kim) (김지운)
Acting: 8.9
Cinematography: 9.8
Music/Sound: 9.5

Final Score: 9.3

Severance (2006)

Synopsis: Palisade is a defense weapons manufacturer. Their Easten European division decides to go to some country side resort for a team building weekend. Their bus gets derailed and the gang finds themselves caught in a rebel camp who just happens to hate Palisade employees and they have gone out of their way to create a death traps around the forrest to kill anyone with a orange badge that crosses their turf.

Should You Watch It? It can be argued that this movie has it all. But on the other hand, it's fair to say that this movie is missing a bit of everything. This movie is essentially in two halves. The first half is straight up horror with a bit of comedy mixed it. The style is very much Hostel and The Hills Have Eyes. It also takes a lot of subtle influences from Sixth Sense. This creates a very attractive product until it gets to the half way point. The movie then changes from a horror flick to a action/comedy. This part is pretty interesitng not only because it is so different from the first half but because it's actually really funny. Could have used a better last set piece in the end and a more drawn out ending but it was pretty tight for 1.5 hours.

Things to Watch Out For: It's a horror movie and a comedy. Sometimes it's confusing which one it is first, but one thing it does through out is make references to other horror/action movies. It does this with action, dialogue, and even music! It's all very nicely integrated and it isn't there if you don't want it to be. But if you take the time, the reward is well worth it.

Things You Don't Expect: I guess the biggest shocker other than the split in genre is that this movie is pretty dark. I never thought I would laugh at some of things I laughed at. It made me feel dirty inside but in a good way... sorta. Oh and also the music! It was just really different than other horror movies. The flowery-bouncy motif is through out during the movie and it does well in contrasting the usual dark content. Very interesting style choice.

Final Comments:
Story: 5.5
Direction: 7.8 (Christopher Smith)
Acting: 6.8
Cinematography: 7.5
Music/Sound: 8.6

Final Score: 7.0

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Synopsis: Jack's dead. Or is he? His crew doesn't think so because they go to the world's end to Davy Jones' Locker to get him back. Why? Because the East India Trading Company is being a bitch under Beckett. They're such bitches that they decided to use Davy Jones' heart to control the seas and destroy Piracy once in for all. So the breatherns of piracy decided to get together and make one last stand. That's the main plot of it anyways. But this movie is at least 10 layers deep. Enough to give you a head ache with all the backstabbing and alliance switching that goes on. But that's all in the daily life of a pirate. So drink up me hardy yo' ho!

Should You Watch It? If you have seen the first two then you will automatically see this one. It's a given. If you haven't seen the first two then you probably haven't seen them because of choice either because your bs friends lied to you and said they weren't good or perhaps you have a phobia of pirates. Either way, it's either a yes or no and most of the people will say yes so I won't waste time convincing you.

Things to Watch Out For: This movie is crazy! And I mean that in the best way possible. This movie is so action packed and filled with so much drama it will make your head spin. It's hard to keep focused with so much going on at the same time and continuous. The comic relief isn't enough to keep you on a even keel this time. So prepare yourself, or just bring some rum.

Things You Don't Expect: Chow Yun-Fat is a helluva pirate! He plays a hardcore Chinese pirate and they did it pretty authentic. They changed the music score a bit too much for my liking but it still did its job. And this movie, seeing how it was the end of three great movies, wasn't really emotional. I really thought it would have a more emotional kick in the end but oh well... it was still a satisfying ending to say the least.

Final Comments:
Story: 7.5
Direction: 8.5 (Gore Verbinski)
Acting: 7.0
Cinematography: 9.8
Music/Sound: 7.8

Final Score: 8.4

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)

Synopsis: Captain Jack is back! Actually he was back for a while and actually he's been back for two movies at the time I'm writing this, but I just got around to watching it again (for the second time in two weeks) for reasons I'll explain later. There really isn't very much to say about the story and stuff. Basically, it's revealed that Jack made a deal with Davy Jones. Jones brings back the Pearl for Jack and Jack gives Jones his soul after being captain for 13 years. Well, time's up and it's time to pay the piper. On the other hand, Will and Elizabeth are set to get married at long last until they get arrested for helping Jack escape in the last movie. So now they have to hunt down Jack and help each other escape from Jones, the royal navy, and some bad ass squid monster. Let the fun begin!

Should You Watch It? There are so many reasons to watch this movie. Not only does it have Johnny Depp and a bunch of other stars but come on! A movie based on a roller coaster! That's all you really need to know. Oh yeah, did I mention Johnny Depp is in it?

Things to Watch Out For: The usual is back again, but just bigger and better. There are plenty of sword fights, crazy stunts invovling jumping on, around, and through various objects. There are plenty of laughs companied by oohs and ahhs. And ummm I guess that's it. But seriously, it's a movie with pirates so come on!

Things You Don't Expect: I can't really think of any other way to persuade you to watch this movie. Because if you seen the first one, and you want to watch the third one then you pretty much have to watch this one. If that doesn't do it for you then there's a undead monkey in there that gets shot about 10 times. Great family fun!

Final Comments:
Story: 7.8
Direction: 8.2 (Gore Verbinski)
Acting: 9.0
Cinematography: 9.2
Music/Sound: 8.5

Final Score: 8.7

Knocked Up (2007)

Synopsis: Ben Stone is a loveable party animal who enjoys smoking up and hitting it up in the clubs. He doesn't have a job nor does he want a job! All he does in addition to what's mentioned above is run a website that tells people which movies celebrities get naked in. Alison Scott is a hard working entertainment news director. She's hot, she's dedicated on keeping it tight and her determination has paid off in a raise! Starting Monday she will be on stage interviewing the stars! So pretty much, these two hook up randomly at a club when they're totally wasted and that begins a roller coaster journey of 9 months filled with enough ups and downs fitting of a porno.

Should You Watch This Movie? This movie is fucking hilarious. Sorry for the language but that is really the only way to describe it. Seth Rogen is the new Steve Carell and I'm not saying Steve Carell has lost it but this guy is just unbelievably funny. Katherine Heigl is not as funny but she's hot as hell. It makes me wanna watch Grey's Anatomy hardcore! She's the contrast in this film and she plays opposites with Seth Rogan to perfection. I can definitely see her as the next up coming star. But what makes this movie over the top funny is the supporting cast. Not only do you have about four members of The Office making appearances but you also have Paul Rudd whom you might remember from Friends when he played Pheobe's love interest, Mike. But yeah, he's awesome.

Things to Watch Out For: This story is pretty basic and the theme is a simple "it doesn't matter if you're perfect as long as you're perfect for each other" kinda deal and it's not that evident unless you really look for it. But really, the banter back and forth is sometimes pretty fast paced and you need to stay on your toes to get it all, but even if you miss a few jokes, there will be plenty of them to keep you entertained.

Things You Don't Expect: This film is pretty graphic. I really... I was really surprised. And I'm not going to tell you anything more specific, but there will be times when you will cringe haha. I was disappointed with the music or maybe I was just too caught up in everything else to notice. But whatever, that's so minor and petty haha I'm sorry.

Final Comments:
Story: 6.8
Direction: 9.0 (Judd Apatow)
Acting: 9.6
Cinematography: 7.0
Music/Sound: 6.5

Final Score: 8.8

Punch-Drunk Love (2006)

Synopsis: Barry Egen (Adam Sandler) is a nice guy. He owns a small business and is pretty good with people. The only problem is that he's afraid of everyone including himself! His seven sisters all own him in a way or another and he just can't seem to reach out of his shell. Because of his oppressed past, he bursts out from time to time scaring people away and scares himself from meeting other people. Eveything changes when he calls up a fake sex hot line which then threatens him for his money. At the same time, he falls in love with Lena Leonard (Emily Watson) who is quite mysterious herself. Having the strength of love, Barry must confront his fears of people and unleash his powers deep within him.

Should You Watch It? This is a really quirky film. A lot of people would hate it because it's pretty slow and it can be argued that nothing really ever happens. It's advertised like a romantic comedy and according to the premise it is, but the movie realy plays out like a light black comedy. The music is very interesting and it does spin the movie in a different way but to me, the bouncy neo-serial music took away from the story and really made sequences hard to watch. But then it has Adam Sandler in it so it's pretty good by default.

Things to Watch Out For: This film is pretty much driven by Barry and it's about his arc. So pay close attention to his little physical twitches and the way he says stuff. Very interesting but subtle. There are a couple of real nice scenes and angles in the grocery store which is a contrast to the usual bland settings this film takes place in.

Things You Don't Expect: Other than the fact that Adam Sandler doesn't do a lot of screaming in this movie, there really isn't anything extra ordinary. Again the music takes a bit of time to get used to, but right away you know what kinda film it is and you should expect everything to be a bit off.

Final Comments:
Story: 6.0
Direction: 6.5
Acting: 8.5
Cinematography: 7.5
Music/Sound: Fail