Slumdog Millionaire. Not bad at all.

Revolutionary Road.

Mendes is back at his depressing sub-urban family breakdown thing again, and while Revolutionary Road might not compare favorably to his breakthrough American Beauty, it still is a movie of great merit that demands at least a viewing; a chronicle of shattered dreams and "hopeless emptiness".

Of course, if you don't like melodrama this is one movie you will not enjoy sitting through. Lots of shouting, crying, cheating, screaming and what have you. Yet somehow the movie does not rely solely on theatrics and it is the simple moments that stand out the most. Although I have to say, DiCaprio and Winslet sure can argue with each other quite well.

The Wrestler -

It's sad to see Darren Aranofsky, after taking so much flak for The Fountain (which was a great movie but alas too convoluted for many) returning to a relatively safe venture. But safe does not equal boring nor does it equal dissapointing. The Wrestler delivers.

Mickey Rourke plays the lead character superbly, naturally and flawlessly. It is his performance that defines this movie. And ironically, this movie could very well be an allegory of his career as an actor. Here, he returns for one last hurrah.

The story follows him as as a wrestler in the twilight of his career. He is a man alone, desperately trying to establish a relationship with his estranged daughter with the help of a stripper. Nothing new here, and it's a shame that we see such expired devices retreaded in an otherwise compelling story. Regardless, it works, and we have such standouts as the wrestling scenes which are truly executed brilliantly; gruesome and painful to watch despite knowing that it's all acting.

Haha I know. My brothers were absolutely confused as to what was going on. As for me, I read the book, so I basically had the idea. Although Kubrick being Kubrick, you never know what he really means in 2001. Still I watched the movie and knew, somehow, that this movie was great.

Agreed, G.I. Joe certainly reminded me of a Saturday morning cartoon, which I certainly enjoyed.

No, they edited it together seamlessly to make it look like it was all one take. Still, one of the great movie sequences, I think.

Not going to make a new topic just to preach this, but The Cove is the best documentary film of 2009. Go watch it. Now.

This post has been edited by lycaphim: Jan 13 2010, 09:46 PM

Eh, kind of on hold. I've only posting on my main blog btw.



Well, coming from a white-collar background I resonated with it quite well. As for Hurt Locker, I strongly suspect it's an American thing, I mean with their involvement in Iraq and all, so the context for us is not quite the same.

In the Loop - one of the funniest political comedy/satires in recent times. But you have to keep up with the dialogue and constant references to current affairs. Not for the out of touch.

Rewatched the Hurt Locker too; though I am still not impressed.

Avatar is most likely Best Picture bait now.

Also, shameless blog-whoring, but here's my top ten for 2009.

The Secret In Their Eyes. Won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. Is it? Not sure. Still felt that A Prophet and The White Ribbon were stronger, but we'll see how it ages.

A crime thriller plus romance. It's actually has quite a relaxing pace. Plot is ludicrous at times, but it has probably one of the best, thoughtful endings I have seen.

Don't let your imagination get ahead of you.

The Hurt Locker spoke to a lot of Americans (and other people in general, but we non-Americans don't quite get it because our soldiers are not fighting in Iraq), for its strong yet subtle message about the Iraq war, and probably because critics were looking for a decent Iraq movie after a string of so-so flicks. But that's my opinion.