City of God

imdb page

I heard lots of good things about this movie, mainly for its realistic depiction of crime in the 'City of God', the name of a slum area in Rio de Janeiro.

I was a bit apprehensive, as I was afraid it would be too violent and disturbing to watch. But it didn't turn out as violent as I thought it was. Yes, lots of gang killings and violence takes place, but it doesn't revel in them unlike many of today's unimaginative and horrible torture movies that masquerade themselves under the horror category. City of God does its best to hide the graphic nature of the violence and only uses them to illustrate how dangerous and desperate the area is.

It is filled with many fascinating characters, each with his own storyline. I found myself believing that these were real people and not merely roles played in a movie. The main character is a gang druglord named Li'l Ze. We are introduced to him starting from when he was a little kid hanging out with a bunch of local thugs. At first, it is amusing to see how eager he is to try to fit in with the older guys and show that he will make a good gangster in the future. Then the film fast forwards to the point where he is all grown up and now quite a scary character capable of much violence filled with his desire to control the City of God.

The other main character is a young boy named Rocket, who somehow manages to avoid getting himself involved with the rampant crime and violence. He grows up to be a struggling newspaper errand boy, with a passion for photography. These two characters - Li'l Ze and Rocket frequently bump into each other at critical junctions, and their paths finally cross in the climactic final scene.

The sequencing of scenes are very nicely done and serves to advance the story in a captivating way. Through this method of storytelling, we are introduced to the secondary characters of the City of God - Benny, the popular gang leader and best friend and partner of Li'l Ze. Knockout Ned, the humble unassuming slum resident who is unwillingly drawn into the gang violence. We also get to know Rocket's love interest, Angelica, and Carrot, the rival drug lord to Li'l Ze's empire.

An interesting side note is how big the class differences are in Brazil. You've got the poorest of the poor living in the City of God slums, and we get a small glimpse of the other side in the newspaper scenes, where it seems like a very different country. The income gap between rich and poor is as wide as the differences between first and third world countries.

This was an entertaining and fascinating film to watch which I highly recommend.

Rating: 4/5 * * * *
Great characters and realistic story.

Inland Empire

I was looking forward to watching this on DVD as it has been almost six years since David Lynch's last movie, Mulholland Dr. Unfortunately, this movie turned out to be a total disappointment. It made no coherent sense, the video was not movie-quality, and honestly, I just got bored and ended up fast-forwarding the scenes after watching it for an hour and thirty minutes.

At almost three hours, this is a very long movie, with lots of nonsensical, dragging scenes. Unlike Mulholland Dr which at least had a plot premise, this thing made no sense whatsoever, and you get the feeling that Lynch just doesn't care. He went totally overboard with this one. He doesn't even try to make up a story.

There are scenes with people dressed up in rabbit suits, a dance number performed by teenaged hookers, a couple of dramatic scenes which end up being revealed as parts filmed for a movie when the director yells 'cut'.

The flimsy background story revolves around an actress played by Laura Dern, who was an affair with her male co-star. It is revealed that a polish curse exists for the script, resulting in dire consequences for the two main stars. Real scenes end up being movie scenes, with the place shifts abruptly to some polish locations with the actors speaking a different language. Dern is interviewed all of a sudden by some police investigator where she speaks in a southern accent and tells about how she performed some violent acts in the past. This thing makes no sense whatsoever.

Trust me, there really is nothing to see here.

Rating: 1/5 *
Waste of time and film.

perfume

This is one of the films featured in the recent 2007 french film festival in cebu which I missed. But I was able to acquire an english copy from a colleague.

The backdrop of this fascinating story in 18th century France, a decade and perhaps a couple of years before the American Revolution. City of Paris. There was this fish vendor who gave birth to an unwanted child. A boy.

Early on, there had been many attempts to dispose of him, but he proved lucky enough to survive. Growing up he was obviously different. He has an extra ordinary ability to smell. Distance is of no consequence. He can track anyone for miles, if he so chooses. He can break down any smell to its parts.

Naturally, he became an apprentice to a perfume maker. He was so overwhelmed by his sense of smell that when he became an adolescent. He made his first kill. An accident. A woman. Consumed, there began his journey. Perfume making has similarities to the composition of music. Each note blends. His goal was to preserve the smell of the woman.

My favorite scene in the movie is when the city elders were deliberating on their plan of action. One of them, who was a religious nut, suggested that the local bishop excommunicate the killer. As if this single act would at any degree prevent any more killings. This I think is a relevant social commentary about how people from the present day, solve their problems either by incantations or having incantations told for them by some authority. in this case, the holy mother church. Fortunately, the voice of reason was heard. A serial killer is out there and its going to take human wits to catch him.

This is the kind of movie which lingers long after it has ended. Morbid, sensual, and shameful.

Rating 4 out of 5
Disturbing.

fair play

this is the only film which i was able to catch at this year's french film festival. its about a team of people and their politics. there were 4 major characters. jean-claude the manipulator, charles the manager, alexandre the loser, and nicole the executive assistant.

alexandre, who appeared to lack confidence, was an easy target. hed be the subject of ridicule. or spite. and he seems to get blamed for everything. jean-claude tries to give him advice. like thinking out of the box to solve problems. or how it was important to have the guts and be willing to do anything to achieve a goal. even if it means stepping on other people's toes. charles who is the manager - mr perfect - mr know it all - the man that society looks up to. he puts alexander down too. his words cuts like steel. i can relate very well with alexandre. and then there is nicole who is also an easy target being at the bottom of the food chain so to speak. people act as if they wer perfect incapable of making mistakes. its all just an illusion. or that sometimes we play the victim card. so that the responsibility is out of our hands.

one day, there were all in a company sponsored outing. that could represent the real world. real life. where every person is for him/herself. an accident happens and they were all trapped. the title says it all. the accident overturns the table. and they all find themselves in an unfamiliar territory. top becomes bottom and vice versa. noone escapes except one. good acting. good story. and it's not hollywood - perfect!

rating: 4 out of 5
life is one big accident

Bubble

As many of you may know, I like my movies to be 'realistic'. I like having the sense that what I'm watching is actually happening, and that the characters are as believable as possible. Bubble is that type of movie.

As I was watching it, I felt like a distant observer to the private lives of three people who work in a doll factory in their small town and how they manage to go through their daily routine. The situation is very subtle and you can somehow sense what's going on without it being overstated. You get the sense of quiet desperation and desolation these people go through. Something happens that disrupts the delicate balance, causing a chain of events leading to a murder. But that's not the main point of the film, the story is merely a backdrop for illustrating how hopeless life can be when there are no other options. Something is very wrong here.

Bubble was shot with a very limited budget, which helps in setting the ambiance of the story. I liked the guitar strumming played at the start and in between scenes, it fit it perfectly. Plus, the ending credits with the weird music and still shots of the dolls were kind of scary. Very nicely done.

Rating: 4/5 * * * *
Very realistic.

Eyes Wide Shut

A warning, I have yet to meet anyone who actually liked this movie, which is interesting because this ranks as one of my all-time favorites.

Eyes Wide Shut was the last movie directed by Stanley Kubrick, and I believe he died before it was finished. It casts Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as a married couple having difficulties. I'll give a quick plot summary without revealing any spoilers. Wife (Kidman) admits to her doctor husband (Cruise) that she had previous thoughts about having an affair. The relative of a dying patient makes a house call late at night, prompting the doctor to make a late night visit. What follows next are some of the most bizarre scenes you will witness. There is a surprising admission, encounter with a prostitute, a cult, an orgy, and many others. You'll just have to watch it to believe.

I remember the first time I saw this movie, I thought I sensed a pattern. That something out of the ordinary with a bit of shock value will occur on every extended scene. These scenes are played very realistically which I love. The dialog is slow but interesting. Every character has quirky nuances that will make you believe they are real. The music pounds you like a heartbeat, and if you're like me, soon you will be totally immersed in this film. You will feel like a part of it, perhaps seeing the perverse city through Tom Cruise's character.

This movie also raises so many interesting questions and dilemmas. I was very tense and frightened during the cult/orgy part, as well as the final scene with the mask. But I remember my companions in the moviehouse not being affected, even quite bored with it, and I was curious as to why it seemed I was the only one so affected by this movie. I guess having a big imagination helps.

The main character starts out very innocently, not knowing much about the city he is in. Yet he gets to see the best and worst of human nature after venturing out on his own. There is no violence or gore in this film, but I found some of the scenes a bit disturbing because of the different ideas that were presented. It was disturbing in a good way, as I felt I had been exposed to something out of the ordinary.

I also learned that this movie was based on the novel 'Traumaville' by Arthur Schtizner which was translated to english under the title 'Rhapsody: A Dream Novel'. This is one book I've got to read after I fully recover from Eyes Wide Shut.

The big mystery for me is why many people hate this movie. With other unusual films, I can understand why it can be boring or uninteresting to watch for some. But this to me has real hollywood entertainment value. It can be disturbing or slow, but not boring I think. This is that rare movie that stays with you long after you watch it.

Rating: 5/5 * * * * *
A classic dark adventure which will make you think

Magnolia

At first glance, Magnolia appeared to be the type of movie I would enjoy.

Unconvential plot - check.
Weird story and characters - check.
Dark theme - check.

Then I watched the first hour. It wasn't good. But I said to myself, "let's give this a chance, it might get better."

So I watched the second hour. Still not good. This was looking like a disaster. By this time I had invested two hours of my life watching this film. What the heck, might as well finish it, after all, I had only one hour left to go. Maybe there will be some plot twist in the end, some big payoff, some mind-bending profound ending that will give me inspiration and insight in my lonely life.

I watched the third hour.

Then the frogs fell. The movie ended.

There was no payoff. There was no big twist. It was a total waste of time.

Sure, you had Tom Cruise in a minor role, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, William H. Macy, even Roehl's favorite Philip Seymour Hoffman. So this had to be good right?

There are so many bad things about this movie I don't know where to start.

Let's talk about the good things. Julianne Moore in the drug store scene where she freaks out. That's it. OK, maybe the scene where Cruise and Hoffman are in at the same time, but it was only good because I could joke that they were both in MI3.

This is a really bad movie. It is boring, pointless, melodramatic, nonsensical, and anticlimactic. And it is three hours long.

In fact, it's probably one of the worst movies ever made. And I really wanted to like it. Too bad.

Rating: 1/5 *
Sucks.

Primer

I just finished watching this on DVD. My head is spinning. My brain is working overtime, trying to figure out all the details. I've spent the last hour reading up on the imdb messageboards trying to make sense of the story.

Primer is a movie where time travel is used to brilliant effect. Two young engineers invent what appears to be a device that allows you to travel short distances to the past. It starts with a lengthy fictionalized scientific discussion on how the two guys actually create the machine. This part is told in a realistic manner that makes the premise of time travel actually plausible. What happens if it actually works?

The ability to go back in time, armed with full knowledge of what the present has in store, is a very powerful weapon. We see subtle changes in our two protagnists' behavior. They start out innocently, using future knowledge of stock prices to their financial benefit. But they end up doing more, seduced by the power of being able to know everything in advance. There are major plot twists near the end of the movie, at which point I completely lost track of what was going on. It becomes a complex puzzle, as layers upon layers of time travel adjustments and interactions between different iterations of past selves takes place. And it's a fun, bewildering ride.

You really need to pay attention while watching this film. The ending left me saying 'huh?' and it took me some time browsing the message boards, reading alternate user interpretations before I got a semblance of what actually happened near the end. If you like thinking and puzzle movies you will love this one. But if your idea of a good movie is to relax and watch the next car chase scene with explosions you will probably hate this one.

My personal interpretation: The focus of Primer concerns various time travel possibilities. How does this affect the parties who can control time. How does it deal with certain causality conflicts i.e. killing one's own grandfather, thus preventing your birth, etc. We are given a realistic interpretation of what could actually occur and a subtle commentary on how power and control affects the human psyche.

This movie was made on an extremely tight budget, reportedly just $7,000. Many of the scenes were shot in one take. And the two main actors end up telling the story of events that happened rather than us seeing the events ourselves. One major complaint I have is that a lot of the big points that would have made the story easier to understand were not emphasized to the viewer. So we are left with lots of small clues and left wondering whether they are significant or not. The movie could benefit by making some of the important parts easier to understand, with dialogue and timing organized to underline the key events. Because this was not done, I found myself having to watch the DVD more than once to get a better grasp of the story.

I'd like to see this movie remade with a bigger budget. With some of the scenes shown to the viewer as it occured rather than have it narrated by the actors. Perhaps tweak and revise the screenplay to dumb it down slightly and make it easily digestible in small doses rather than all at once. I can't wait for director Shane Carruth's next film.

All in all, a unique story. A brilliant geek movie that didn't get much mainstream attention.


Rating: 4/5 * * * *
What happens if it actually works?

Hotel Rwanda

this is another film about the genocide that happened in Rwanda. the hatred between the hutu majority and the tutsi minority. similar to the film parfois en avril (sometimes en april) which was earlier reviewed in this blog. while the latter is historical fiction, the previous is based on a true story.

the story revolves around the manager of mille collines (a thousands hills), his family, some hutu and tutsi refugees managing to survive the massacre of hutu extremists. its was less morbid than sometimes in april. or maybe ive become jaded.

the UN seems impotent to do make real changes. it took an estimated one million lives before they and the rest of the world intervened. because there wasnt any oil? because the problem involved blacks. africans? and that means they were good as dirt? i wish the UN could have done more that it should. my favorite scene was when the UN ordered all the white people out of rwanda abandoning all the africans behind.

Rating 3 of 5 ***
Humanity at its worst

Open Water

This was based on actual events that happened to a couple who were inadvertedly left behind in the middle of the ocean by their diving boat while they were on vacation. The story telling style was very realistic, it's like watching it as it was actually happening. This made it difficult for me to watch as I genuinely felt the fear and terror the couple were going through. It times I would forget this was a movie, and that these were actual footage being shown.

Very well made film. The fact that it was made on a low budget was impressive. The sharks were not glorified, unlike other movies such as Jaws where they are overly aggressive. What I liked the most is that the movie doesn't resort to cheap tricks such as startling the viewer or surprising them with loud sounds or sudden attacks. In the DVD the director shows some techniques on how he got the sharks to 'cooperate', just throw out chunks of meat at them, then join them in the water with a camera to shoot the footage. The guy obviously has a lot of guts.

There were times when I got annoyed with the couple. The woman engaged in a lot of passive-aggressive behavior, while the man was kind of a wuss. But I guess this just adds to the realism of the story, these are real people after all, not superheroes. It also reminded me of why I hate vacations where you have to go somewhere and end up getting more stressed and tired. The main characters talked about this several times while they were lost in the open water, and it just brought back unpleasant memories of going to resorts or beaches and going back home exhausted.

The result is I'm left with mixed feelings. This is a good, unique flick which accomplishes its goal of capturing feelings of terror and suspense. But it left me with a bad feeling because the characters were mildly irritating, and I was upset with their decision-making, plus the fact that I don't like shark movies in general (yes, I didn't like Jaws too).

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars * * *
Very realistic, well-made, and irritating at times.

Swimming Pool

This was advertised as a 'psychological thriller' and got a lot of good reviews from respected critics. It also seemed to be the type of film I might like so I got the DVD to see if it was any good.

The plot revolves a popular british mystery author who is sick and tired of writing the same formula over and over again. So she decides to go for a vacation at her publisher's house in France. Everything goes well until the publisher's sexually promiscuous daughter unexpectedly drops by, destroying her peace and quiet. Lots of weird stuff happens and there is a plot twist that takes place in the end.

Ludivine Sagnier is hot in this movie. She has several barechested scenes and a couple of simulated sex acts to break the monotony. Her character was the one who drove the story, and is the main selling point.

The ambience of the movie is very subdued and laid-back. To appreciate this, you have to relate to the mindset of the heroine, her sense of isolation and lack of inspiration. It is her feeling of desperation that leads her to escape familiar surroundings for a different kind of world.

I really wanted to like this, but alas it is just an ordinary film. Nothing really special takes place. Even the ending twist, I found underwhelming. The story and character development is quite limited. Nothing special.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars * *
She has nice breasts though.