City of God

Amazing. Captivating. It ranks up there as high as Children of Men. It has multiple storylines, funky angles, and multidimensional characters. And it never becomes too serious, and yet never too clever. It keeps people guessing what's going on next. 

I love how the storylines tend to shift. It shifts fluidly. The narrator is amazing. He is a character as well, and he guides you from one scene to the next, filling in the gaps while keeping you moving. Everything is tied up in the end. 

I can't describe how amazing this movie is. 

Dexter Season 1

Episodes 1 to 4

I'm going to judge these episodes in chunks. Frankly, I don't remember much about each of them individually. But the overall premise is intriguing. It does scatter some tidbits about the Code that Dexter abhors to. 

I can't really think of anything I like from this show, except that it's interesting. I guess the voice overs that Dexter has. He talks about how he never has feelings, and how he has to fake it. These little memory notes happen during the course of it, and it's very well done. I guess what it does is never take everything too seriously - serious enough but not serious that it becomes a drama. 

Godfather Part 2

Maybe because I wasn't really paying attention - but I don't think this was that great of a movie. We watch as Michael is slowly losing his grip on who he previously was and now becoming the Don. He starts thinking sharper, and he has his enemies killed. He is aware with how the world works, predicting the cuban revolution and avoiding prison from the US Senate. 

Throughout the film, there are flashbacks of Vito and his life, and how he rose to become the Don. It sort of mimics how Michael became the Don in the first movie. Part 2 was made as if it was a reverse of Part 1, only just as good. 

Born rich

A documentary by a rich kid about rich kids. It surprised me that many of them look like us - not flaunting their richness beyond a level. There were the standard pricks - ones who know their rich and use it. But a few were down to earth. They were amazed at how rich they are, unaware of their own wealth until a certain age. Many just try to find meaning to their life. 

Others are forced to work for their wealth by pursuing something - anything. Many were rich from their grandfathers, and they don't date outside their social circle because they fear that they will be judged harshly.

The Machinist

A really horrible title. Stars Christian Bale. It deals with insomnia and tries to create that Momento effect by having a serious twist ending. It would largely fragmented, but does so intentionally to have the viewer know how it feels during insomnia. Apparently, a lot of the major characters (except the prostitute) are figments - and he killed the boy.

But my main issue is with the character Ivan. What IS Ivan? Why Ivan? Every other character is related to that 'incident', where he does a hit and run. But Ivan?

American Psycho

I'm a little confused by the film. I do like the insanity role that he plays. The regiment that he does on a daily basis can contribute to his psychotic-ness. He randomly blurts messages of his insanity, but that doesn't stop people from how they react to him. 

He has a scene where he describes his regiment, showcasing his attention to detail. Besides the overacting on some scenes - such as stabbing the homeless, there were some good parts. How he goes on to lecture about the beauty of Whitney Houston and Phil Collins while he watches 2 hired prostitutes make love to each other. 

The kicker was the detective played by Williem Dafoe. I was always wondering if he knew, because he let lose some very key clues that taunted Bateman. The second encounter with Bateman, he randomly pulls out a CD - music that Bateman would listen to. I wonder if he pulled it out just to taunt him with it, as if to say, "I know." The detective never lets off too much information. I like his character.

2010 : Odyssey Two

It did a lot more explaining than the first one, but it did a little too much explaining. The height of the movie came with determining if Hal will protect his own survival rather than that of the scientists. 

I like how they slipped the war between Russia and America into it. It was pretty thick though - as it came about every 5 minutes. Maybe it was thick for me, but if it was more diverse when it came to describing the conflict, rather than how Russia has a blockade of the islands, it would be more believable. 

The scene where the afraid russian woman goes up to the cabin of the protagonist because she's afraid, and they both hold each other for comfort was good. The question where Sal asks, "Will I dream?" and the scientist had a answer was cool. That same question is asked by Hal, and he didn't have one anymore.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010:_Odyssey_Two