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

Newsies

I liked it. It had Christian Bale. One part I really like was how the protagonist was trying to assemble various parties to unite and defeat a common foe. But while he was at it, he had his own foe to deal with. He managed to gather support. But they hit a roadblock when Brooklyn didn't want to support them without knowing if his heart truly is in it. During a fight, Brooklyn enters the fray.

They gain some traction, but more roadblocks are set. The foe starts surgical strikes and picking away at the crowd. The protagonist loses a big supporter, and his own demons are catching up with him. Finally, the foe convinces the protagonist to ally himself with him, hoping to break the crowd. The foe turns to the protagonist's own greed to lure him. But the crowd is too strong, and can work without him.

The protagonist finally reverts sides again, joining the crowd, and showing the foe that they will not be stopped. They overcome.

9 Things I hate about you

Something I really like was that the first protagonist needed the badass to win the princess. But in order to do that, he used the goon to hire the badass, for which the badass was needed to overcome the obstacle. But apparently, the goon wanted the princess as well. The protagonist, along with his sidekick, used both of them to get what they want. That I thought was genius. 

But it was interesting that the story shifted from the protagonist trying to win the princess to the badass overcoming the obstacle. 

But outside of typecasts - the drunken table dance was pretty awesome. Also, the musical number by the badass was great. 

I like this movie. The goon was a typical dickhead, and it didn't have to rely too much on overused flat characters. It did have some unpredictable moments - semi-unpredictable, but it was great that this movie didn't go down the route of many other horrible teen movies.

Finding Nemo

Like all pixar movies, this one flows. Nothing is in this movie without reason. This is a chase genre movie, where the main characters are chasing to reach the end. 

Doreen is a huge comic relief. The way the story plays up how protective Marlin is was great. I think overall, it's more of a character driven story - as each situation is more about the characters and how they react. 

I love the lightfish scene, where they're both warmly attached to the light in the dark. They realize it's a fish, and they have to use that fish to help them read a scuba mask. 

I just love the little things Doreen can do - and how sad is that she really can't remember things. 

Annie Hall

I'm watching it in 2 sitting, because the second half is still loading. I want to capture any ideas I may have had from it. 

First Half - 

It moves very quick pace. Even the first time I watched it, it moved at such a pace that I was amazed. The introduction I really like. I may want to use that. Just the overall sequence of events was pretty well made. It doesn't feel jagged or out of place - it just flows. I should write down when each cut was made. 

He does a few 'breaking the fourth wall' moments, which is pretty interesting. Some kind of lame - but it adds another dimension where they can talk more about their relationship. Also, the continuing theme of him thinking 'Annie isn't smart enough', which is echoed heavily. 

Second Half - 

I forgot to mention that they jump into the past at times. I'm not sure if it's significant jumps - maybe just to grab a joke here and there. The ending was sad when you think about it - but it wasn't trying to be dramatic sad. More sad when he wrote about it in a play, with the exact same lines - and comments about it. 

I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry

I thought it was a brainless funny movie - even if it was rated worse movie and given 14% at Rotten Tomatoes. Sadly, reading the reviews, I agree that it's just preaching to the choir and using outdated jokes. The little boy was pretty annoying, and the singing in the fireman shower was a little weird (but strangely funny.) The cliches are the inspiring speech used to reclaim the firemen's trust.

I like the snippet where Adam gets a bracelet from that doctor girl. And he tells her in the end of the movie that he still keeps it. He asks her does she still keep hers. She shows her arms, and there's nothing there. But then she surprises him by lifting her leg up, and it's right there. I always like that.

Godfather Part 1

I am amazed at the speed of the movie. There are moments where everything slows to a halt, with scenes like Michael walking through Italy, talking to the italian father for his daughter's hand, and Vito playing with his grandson. (which is pacing) Then there are moments where key pieces of dialog tell people exactly how much time has past. (I've been back for over a year already) Possibly 10 years go by in this movie. 

The story itself is very tangled, but it is expected. Villians comes and go, people die. I really don't know what I really learned from this movie. 

American History X

It had a captivating beginning. One where it captures the elements of the middle - a cold open, and then comes back to it. This beginning has you somewhat rooting for evil Norton. But as the story continues, it dramatifies his character as he does evil things with flashbacks. But during the present, Norton has changed and doesn't want any part of the life he once had. He confronts his demons and deals with it, causing a fight with his brother.

Through cuts of present times and Norton's past, it is revealed Norton's notoriousness. Finally, it brings back the scene from the beginning, and how he excuted murder. It does a long segment about his prison time, before returning to the present again. At that point, his brother understands where he's coming from. 

What I really like is just the overall flow of the story. Things went smoothly and a very well made story was created. I also like how they used flashbacks - a technique I want to steal. 

Magnolia

Even though I was paying half-attention, it was just mesmorizing to watch. Something about this movie kept me wanting to know what happens next. And the story isn't overly dramatic or trying to suck people in - it's people living like they live. Every character is going through a day in their life, but it's interesting. It's really interesting. 

The intro is pretty amazing. The story about things that happen really help set the tone. 

What I also like was these semi-random scenes that add to the plot. Such as the beginning with sex, or the scene with Phillip Seymour Hoffman staring at the screen with his mouth open. It also has little mysteries like why that guy wanted braces. It didn't have super-punchy dialog like Tarentino's movies, but it had incidents that were just cool. 

At the end, frogs fall out of the sky. This random moment causes everybody to re-evaluate their life. How fuckin' neat.

2001 : A space Odysessy

I watched it in 2 sittings.

The scenes with HAL was pretty mesmorizing. I was reading how there's a stark contrast between the conversational HAL against the astronauts who spoke pretty mechanical. The death scene of the 2nd astronaut was pretty fast, one that it took a moment to realize his death. And you can kind of see the sacrifice that the protagonist had to make to get back into the shuttle, as he launches his partner off into the depths of space.

The overall short stories into a entire movie was hit and miss. The ape scene, the scenes with Hal, and the scene where the astronauts discover the Monolith were pretty amazing. Possibly Earthboundish.

Toy Story

I was watching it and thinking about the little bits that flowed with each scene. Just like Toy Story 2, the overall story is tight. The semi-ending involving Sid was kind of lame though, as he didn't really create much of a threat without using typical stereotypes of fear.

The chase scene near the end was really dramatic. Just as you think that one thing would work, it doesn't. The racecar who gets thrown out, only for the other toys to think Woody has lost his mind again, is used as a device. The match that Sid puts in Woody's pocket, the rocket tied onto Buzz's back - then you think the rocket will bring them back.

There's a lot of good things in this movie that I wish I wrote it after I watched it. I would like to watch it again to pull out excellent points.

But for now, the excellent ending. Don't stretch it too far - but create enough suspense to believe that the end is so close, just not close enough. And this is all done without a major villian.