i haven't written about movies in a while 'cuz i've been a busy bee lately so i took some time writing about them again to warn err i mean share which movies are worth watching..
DARAH (Golden Village, 2009 Indonesian)
plot:
Two newlyweds Adjie and Astrid, along with three of their best mates decide to have an interstate road trip as a last attempt to reconcile Adjie with his estranged younger sister Ladya. Their drive is, however, cut abruptly when they run into Maya, a strange girl who wanders aimlessly out of nowhere into their path. Maya introduces Adjie and friends to her courteous blue-blooded mother, Darah, an ageless enigma of a woman. Darah insists that they should stay for a feast. This is when the night turns into a crimson-hell for them where one by one, they are slaughtered. Everybody will bleed and the dark of night has never looked so red.
what's my take on the movie? well, the movie was interesting at first because Darah speaks in monotone and it's really weird that she looks as if she's the same age as her daughter Maya. second, her hair was obviously a piece of wig attached to her head which made me feel that i am really watching a 'movie.' third, the movie was not able to establish a lot of things. i can't help but get distracted with darah's oh so fake hairstyle because anything that doesn't look real will definitely give the movie that fake feeling. you see, costumes and over-all production matters to me and that will cover everything from hairstyle down to the lighting, location, how the casts were dressed/styled and what not. i did not like Maya's acting as she was obviously just 'acting' on most part. you know when you watch a really good actor, they don't care how ugly they will look onscreen and act the part no matter what, which i found the the actress lacked so much. the movie was ok due to the non-stop adrenaline rush. the endless chasing and all. i will still recommend people to see the movie nonetheless BUT don't expect much :)
case #39 (2010)
i was surprised to see bridget jones diary star Renée Zellweger top billed this flick as i was used seeing her on mostly feel good movies.
plot:
Prompted to rescue ten-year-old Lillith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) from her parents after allegations of abuse suggest that the child is not safe in her own home, kind-hearted social worker Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) discovers to her horror that the situation is far deadlier than she ever suspected.
i liked the movie because it was a suspense thriller (although it was tagged as horror for some reason). Lillith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) was a damn good child star as i've seen her in many hollywood flicks and her acting has always been believable and brilliant to the point that you want to pull her hair and despise her for disguising as an innocent & sweet little girl yet a really pain in the ass one. i think this flick has some similarities with movies such as the orphan and hide & seek because of the plot.
charlie st. cloud (2010)
zach efron
plot:
Charlie St. Cloud is a 2010 romantic drama film based on Ben Sherwood's best-selling novel, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud published in 2004 by Bantam Books. The film is directed by Burr Steers and stars Zac Efron and Amanda Crew. The story is of Charlie St. Cloud's choice between keeping a promise he made to his brother, who died in a car accident, or going after the girl he loves.
again, what's my take on the movie? it's really tragic.
charlie blamed himself for the death of his younger brother sam and since then all his future dreams died as well. he optedto live a lonely life working for the cemetery so he could see his brother's ghost or let's just say he created this illusion that he's able to speak and play baseball with his demised sibling. things just changed when he finally accepted that he can no longer turn back the time and let his brother come to life again. after the acceptance, charlie realized he's no longer able to see his brother simply because he learned to live life again and finally let sam cross over.
the movie made sense since it's just facing one fact about life that we fear the most --death. it's also about moving on as dwelling in the past won't help although it won't hurt neither to look back, learn from it and move on afterwards. it may not be easy but there's a need to do so as it's such a mistake to let all your dreams die as well because someone you love died. watching the movie is like reading chicken soup for the soul.
eat, pray, love (2010)
a book adaptation.
plot:
At 32 years old, Elizabeth Gilbert (Julia Roberts) was educated, had a home, a husband, and a successful career as a writer. However, she was unhappy in her marriage and often spent the night crying on her bathroom floor. After separating from her husband and initiating a divorce, which he contested, she embarked on a rebound relationship which continued for some time but did not work out, leaving her devastated and alone.
Afterwards, while writing an article on yoga vacations in Bali, Gilbert met a ninth-generation medicine man who told her she would one day come back and study with him. After finalizing her difficult divorce, Gilbert spent the next year traveling around the world. The trip was paid for in advance with a book deal from the publisher. She spent four months in Italy, eating and enjoying life ("Eat"). She spent four months in India, finding her spirituality ("Pray"). She ended the year in Bali, Indonesia, looking for "balance" of the two and found love ("Love") in the form of a dashing Brazilian factory owner.
the flick was pretty lengthy which is somewhat expected as it's another book adaptation. that's how movie version of books usually end up, either they shrink the whole plot in the movie and miss out on most parts or it'll end up really lengthy because of the worry that significant parts might be omitted. the movie was about a woman's journey and soul searching. the main character then embarked on a journey to faraway countries to find herself. it's a very inspiring movie.
Fan Kao (My Ex, 2009, Thai Ghost/ Horror)
another thai horror flick.
plot:
Ken is a heartthrob actor who has a bad boy reputation of loving beautiful girls and dumping them when he finds a new girl. His complicated relationship always leads to many gossips. When Ken's wedding is announced, the public curiously take more focuses on him and his life never be the same again. Soon, Ken is convinced that he is threatened by his fanclub and paparazzi. But when the threats getting more deadly, Ken begins to realize that an envious ghost of one of his ex-girlfriend never wants to let him go.
the movie was ok. i wasn't really thrilled considering it's horror. i was bored to be honest because it wasn't any typical thai horror movie about urban legends and stuff.
plot:
Two newlyweds Adjie and Astrid, along with three of their best mates decide to have an interstate road trip as a last attempt to reconcile Adjie with his estranged younger sister Ladya. Their drive is, however, cut abruptly when they run into Maya, a strange girl who wanders aimlessly out of nowhere into their path. Maya introduces Adjie and friends to her courteous blue-blooded mother, Darah, an ageless enigma of a woman. Darah insists that they should stay for a feast. This is when the night turns into a crimson-hell for them where one by one, they are slaughtered. Everybody will bleed and the dark of night has never looked so red.
what's my take on the movie? well, the movie was interesting at first because Darah speaks in monotone and it's really weird that she looks as if she's the same age as her daughter Maya. second, her hair was obviously a piece of wig attached to her head which made me feel that i am really watching a 'movie.' third, the movie was not able to establish a lot of things. i can't help but get distracted with darah's oh so fake hairstyle because anything that doesn't look real will definitely give the movie that fake feeling. you see, costumes and over-all production matters to me and that will cover everything from hairstyle down to the lighting, location, how the casts were dressed/styled and what not. i did not like Maya's acting as she was obviously just 'acting' on most part. you know when you watch a really good actor, they don't care how ugly they will look onscreen and act the part no matter what, which i found the the actress lacked so much. the movie was ok due to the non-stop adrenaline rush. the endless chasing and all. i will still recommend people to see the movie nonetheless BUT don't expect much :)
+_+
case #39 (2010)
i was surprised to see bridget jones diary star Renée Zellweger top billed this flick as i was used seeing her on mostly feel good movies.
plot:
Prompted to rescue ten-year-old Lillith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) from her parents after allegations of abuse suggest that the child is not safe in her own home, kind-hearted social worker Emily Jenkins (Renée Zellweger) discovers to her horror that the situation is far deadlier than she ever suspected.
i liked the movie because it was a suspense thriller (although it was tagged as horror for some reason). Lillith Sullivan (Jodelle Ferland) was a damn good child star as i've seen her in many hollywood flicks and her acting has always been believable and brilliant to the point that you want to pull her hair and despise her for disguising as an innocent & sweet little girl yet a really pain in the ass one. i think this flick has some similarities with movies such as the orphan and hide & seek because of the plot.
+_+
charlie st. cloud (2010)zach efron
plot:
Charlie St. Cloud is a 2010 romantic drama film based on Ben Sherwood's best-selling novel, The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud published in 2004 by Bantam Books. The film is directed by Burr Steers and stars Zac Efron and Amanda Crew. The story is of Charlie St. Cloud's choice between keeping a promise he made to his brother, who died in a car accident, or going after the girl he loves.
again, what's my take on the movie? it's really tragic.
charlie blamed himself for the death of his younger brother sam and since then all his future dreams died as well. he optedto live a lonely life working for the cemetery so he could see his brother's ghost or let's just say he created this illusion that he's able to speak and play baseball with his demised sibling. things just changed when he finally accepted that he can no longer turn back the time and let his brother come to life again. after the acceptance, charlie realized he's no longer able to see his brother simply because he learned to live life again and finally let sam cross over.
the movie made sense since it's just facing one fact about life that we fear the most --death. it's also about moving on as dwelling in the past won't help although it won't hurt neither to look back, learn from it and move on afterwards. it may not be easy but there's a need to do so as it's such a mistake to let all your dreams die as well because someone you love died. watching the movie is like reading chicken soup for the soul.
+_+
eat, pray, love (2010)
a book adaptation.
plot:
At 32 years old, Elizabeth Gilbert (Julia Roberts) was educated, had a home, a husband, and a successful career as a writer. However, she was unhappy in her marriage and often spent the night crying on her bathroom floor. After separating from her husband and initiating a divorce, which he contested, she embarked on a rebound relationship which continued for some time but did not work out, leaving her devastated and alone.
Afterwards, while writing an article on yoga vacations in Bali, Gilbert met a ninth-generation medicine man who told her she would one day come back and study with him. After finalizing her difficult divorce, Gilbert spent the next year traveling around the world. The trip was paid for in advance with a book deal from the publisher. She spent four months in Italy, eating and enjoying life ("Eat"). She spent four months in India, finding her spirituality ("Pray"). She ended the year in Bali, Indonesia, looking for "balance" of the two and found love ("Love") in the form of a dashing Brazilian factory owner.
the flick was pretty lengthy which is somewhat expected as it's another book adaptation. that's how movie version of books usually end up, either they shrink the whole plot in the movie and miss out on most parts or it'll end up really lengthy because of the worry that significant parts might be omitted. the movie was about a woman's journey and soul searching. the main character then embarked on a journey to faraway countries to find herself. it's a very inspiring movie.
+_+
Fan Kao (My Ex, 2009, Thai Ghost/ Horror)
another thai horror flick.
plot:
Ken is a heartthrob actor who has a bad boy reputation of loving beautiful girls and dumping them when he finds a new girl. His complicated relationship always leads to many gossips. When Ken's wedding is announced, the public curiously take more focuses on him and his life never be the same again. Soon, Ken is convinced that he is threatened by his fanclub and paparazzi. But when the threats getting more deadly, Ken begins to realize that an envious ghost of one of his ex-girlfriend never wants to let him go.
the movie was ok. i wasn't really thrilled considering it's horror. i was bored to be honest because it wasn't any typical thai horror movie about urban legends and stuff.
