Memoirs of a geisha (2005)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0397535/
Director: Rob Marshall / Script: Robin Swicord, Arthur Golden (novel)
Runtime: 145min
Cast: Ziyi Zhang, Li Gong, Ken Watanabe
Genre: Drama / Romance


   This exceptional movie is based on Arthur Golden’s eponymous novel; it is an impressive epic about a fisherman’s daughter overcoming a set of hardships in order to become a successful geisha. Although the book was written by an American author, it provides puzzling details about the Japanese culture and the controversial lives of geishas. The movie is a faithful representation of these.

   The whole atmosphere is minutely recreated, alongside wonderful, breathtaking sceneries and a dramatic soundtrack. It is a portrait of exotic places, gestures, lifestyles and accent; the visual imagery being prominent, just like in the book. The whole movie is shaped by the delicacy, sensuality of the geishas parading in over 250 hand-tailored kimonos. However, it has received criticism, that Chinese actresses portrayed Japanese geishas, but personally, I haven’t even noticed it. What did surprise me, was having read that the leading actresses didn’t even know English at the time of the filming. The heroine is Sayuri, who with her unusual blue eyes has a special effect on men, but she loves only one man during her whole life: the man whom she meets as a mere child, and whose attention she struggles for by becoming a geisha. And the path of becoming a successful geisha is filled with intricacies and rather interesting stuff for Western mindsets. It sort of appeals to the emotions and the empathy of the viewer and also presents many interesting and unknown facts about a geisha’s life. It amazed and kind of filled me with regret that there has once been such a time when the simple glimpse of a woman’s wrist or the sight of the back of her neck could arouse interest in men. Good old times?

   I’m sure many of you have a preconceived idea about what a geisha is (some professional prostitute?). Well, be prepared to have that considerably altered after watching this movie. It’s rather slow-paced, even the dialogues are rather rugged, but I must say it is worth it!

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0441773/
Directors: Mark Osborne & John Stevenson / Script: Jonathan Aibel & Glenn Berger
Runtime: 92min
Cast: (voice) Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie
Genre: Animation / Comedy / Action
Tagline: Prepare for awesomeness

I was not prepared for awesomeness, I admit it; yet I still decided to watch this movie thinking it might be alright. I had prejudices, thought an animation involving martial arts or kung fu stuff can’t be that great. And how I was mistaken!

The movie features a story set in ancient China, the main character being a fat and clumsy panda named Po, who is a big fan of kung fu and is unexpectedly chosen to fulfill a prophecy. He is drawn into the world of kung fu, and Master Shifu gets the challenge of training him. Po ultimately becomes a hero by believing in himself.

This little animation flick, is simply hilarious. There are no dull, nonsense jokes cracked around here. Everything has a single purpose: to make you laugh. The characters are mostly cute, though I didn’t find the legendary “furious five” that impressive; Shifu and Po are delightful, also Oogway, whose character is finely created to the embodiment of an old, wise turtle. The 'voice-acting' is formidable, matches the characters and everything. The animation effects are splendid: rich colours, details and scenic shots of ancient China, which provides the background and story. This animation is not just plain funny, but also has a story, unlike some. It is very entertaining, even the action parts, especially because most of them are amusing. But what makes it truly funny, are the dialogues, together with the proper voice acting and the minutely created expressions of the animation figures. The soundtrack is in perfect harmony with the story; Chinese melodies adorn the movie. I also liked the fact that some wise sayings were asserted during the movie, mostly by Oogway. For example “One often meets his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it” or “There are no accidents.” These enunciations give a philosophical touch to the story, and provide with concise life lessons, if you choose to think about them. “There is no secret ingredient. To make something special, you just have to believe it’s special.”:)

The movie is kid-friendly without being childish. It kept me with a smile on my face from the beginning until the end. It was definitely way better than expected. Fun, fun, fun!

Get Him To The Greek (2010)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226229/
Written & directed by: Nicholas Stoller
Runtime: 109min
Cast: Jonah Hill, Russel Brand, Rose Byrne, Sean Combs
Genre: Comedy
Tagline: Aaron Green has 72 hours to get a Rock Star from London to L.A. Pray for him.

Huge appeal at your funny bone, face and belly muscles too. This juicy comedy, which introduces us into the world of ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’, is basically about a record company intern escorting a chaotic rock star to the destination of his next concert.

The plot is really not of much importance. The laughs are. Supposedly, it’s a spin-off from ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall’, fact of which there are a few subtle hints. The lucky ones may have seen Jonah Hill back in 2007 movie entitled ‘Superbad’, which surprise-surprise…was similar in its hilarity. This movie features as main characters 1. an eccentric rock star – a.k.a. Russell Brand who is irreplaceable in this role and 2. a sort of low-key, sympathetic little record company intern fittingly incarnated by Jonah Hill. And I guess I should definitely mention another ‘mind-fuckingly’ funny character too – an African-American with a badass attitude, dirty language and no line unaccompanied by laughter. P.Diddy is funny! Who knew? Some other thing: Russell Brand and co. have superb British accent, so under no, I repeat no circumstances watch any synchronized version of this movie; the waste would be too much. I don’t usually like movies with too much singing going on in them, but this movie displayed of hilarious song lyrics, so it didn’t bother me. A few times I got the feeling of ‘inside jokes’, due to some outside references, which you should best advised know, or you will probably miss a few jokes (ex. Air Jordans, Gossip girl, Kubrick, Quidditch). Anyhow, it’s not too bad if you do miss a few, there are countless others to compensate them.

Comic situations, comic lines, good performance and actors in fitting roles, so yeah, I have kind of been waiting for another comedy like this for quite some time. If you want a movie which requires little thinking but all the more laughing, and if a few gross-out scenes and vulgar language doesn’t revolt you, see this!

The Last Kiss (2006)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434139/
Director: Tony Goldwyn / Script: Paul Haggis &Gabriele Muccino
Runtime: 115min
Cast: Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, Casey Affleck, Rachel Bilson Genre: Drama / Romance
Tagline: We all make choices. What's yours?

This movie is a wonderful attempt to illustrate romantic relationships from every angle, emphasis being put on the problematic side of it. It focuses on the different stages of the relationship between Jenna and Michael, but also presents the relationships of the people surrounding them. Jenna and Michael are happy together, but an unplanned pregnancy leaves Michael thinking about the predictability of his life after marriage. Moreover, he meets Kim who represents new opportunities and lures him away from Jenna.

The film starts with presenting Jenna and Michael’s idyllic relationship, which puts a smile on anyone’s face. Michael’s life has turned out the way he has always imagined it and dreamed that it would, and still, he is confused. He fears that life won’t hold any more surprises because the whole rest of his life is pretty much planned out. He meets the cheeky and flirtatious Kim, who represents a totally different lifestyle which attracts Michael. Temptation can be anywhere. Although he has a smart and beautiful girlfriend, he will end up cheating on her, which will make him realize that he has made a mistake and after all he wants to spend the rest of his life with Jenna. And the whole cheating will also leave him with the guilt and the question: was it worth it? But of course, after Jenna finds out his affair, she doesn’t even want to see him again. The argument scene is executed perfectly; the whole shouting and crying is indeed expressive for the pain of heartbreak. For the whole time I sympathized with Jenna, because her reaction is exactly the reaction I would adopt in such a case, so it’s very truthful and realistic. I hated Kim, because in her I saw the type of girl who steals boyfriends. Ironically, the movie illustrates the reality of how guys believe kissing someone cannot even be considered cheating. Meanwhile, everyone else around them, Michael’s friends and Jenna’s parents, have their respective relationship problems. Michael does everything he can to win Jenna back; he even sleeps in front of her door not giving up on her; so in the end he’d deserve to be forgiven. “Isn’t the truth more important than anything else? Not if the truth is you slept with someone else.”

This movie was morally instructive, against cheating and lying. After cheating on someone the truth will always come to the surface and things will never be the same again. Choices determine our lives, so be careful what you opt for. The movie proved that the omnipresent temptations can lead far on the destructive path of infidelity. And also made me think about the fact that sometimes, you have to do something stupid to realize what really is important.

Exam (2009)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1258197/
Director: Stuart Hazeldine Script: Simon Garrity, Stuart Hazeldine
Runtime: 101min
Cast: Luke Mably, Colin Salmon, Nathalie Cox, Adar Beck Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Tagline: How far would you go to win the ultimate job?

Interested in an intriguing, mysterious and suspenseful psychological thriller? This one’s about an above ordinary competition for a job at a prestigious and powerful corporation shrouded in mystery. In eighty minutes, eight candidates have to find the correct answer for a seemingly inexistent question and prove their qualification for the job.

A single room provides the setting, where the exam takes place. The whole movie is like a game, a puzzle in need of solving; and there are few clues for the participants; everything is up to their cleverness to speculate. The details shown in the beginning, as the candidates are preparing for the exam, are not random images. The person of authority, called the Invigilator - impersonated by a tall black figure - is very convincing. Right in the beginning after he presents all the constraints and rules of the exam, you kind of get the idea that this is serious business. The words of the Invigilator are repeated in B&W flashbacks, whenever the case, which is a nice touch. But characters are faced with a problem, which is asked a lot during the movie: what is the question? They must decide whether to cooperate or confront each other. Do they work as a team, or is every man for himself? I also found it clever the fact that they did not reveal their names to each other; instead they devised names based on major racial divisions and other visual criteria. So, there is a lot of speculation and as a viewer you speculate together with the characters of the movie, which makes it a sort of brainstorming in trying to figure out what the cuss is actually required of them. Gradually, more and more facts and details are unveiled, but that doesn’t exactly simplify matters as you’d expect. Each candidate has a past, a secret agenda and a set of convictions. As they get to know more about each other, so does the viewer and so do matters get complicated and out of control. Out of the eight applicants, only one will prove fit for the job; all others will be disqualified. How and why? Watch and see.

The touch of science fiction at the end was clever and unlike I had expected they didn’t spoil the movie with some dull ending. Considering how low budget this film was, with unknown actors and all, I think it really managed to stand out. Want to sit on the edge of your seat and use your brain to solve a puzzle? Then this movie is what you are looking for; it maintains curiosity and suspense right up until the end.

Back to business

I've been away for exactly a year. But now I'm back, just as I've promised. There are too many movies to review... but I'm not giving up. I hope my readers will return, just as I have. And remember: feedback keeps me going! So..don't hesitate to express your opinion. Cheers!:)

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0396171/
Director: Tom Tykwer / Script: Andrew Birkin, Bernd Eichinger, Tom Tykwer
Runtime: 147min
Cast: Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Hurd-Wood
Genre: Drama / Thriller / Crime
Tagline: Enter an intoxicating world of passion, obsession and murder

The tagline is truly appropriate. It introduces us to the ‘fleeting realm of scent’, to the colourful and ‘intoxicating world of passion, obsession and murder’. Sacrifices have to be made in order to achieve the finest perfume of the world. How far would you go? Can you imagine a perfume so powerful, that it provokes an utter feeling of happiness, love and lust? It doesn’t matter if you can’t; the film will still be a feast for your senses.

The movie is based on Patrick Suskind’s exquisite novel, which has such a rich language as few I have read, being a ‘delicatessen’ for the reader. As superb a language is displayed in the book, as visual imagery in the movie. It is set in 18th century France; the era’s aesthetic being faithfully captured, presenting a colourful world, setting all our senses into motion. We have a narrator, like in fairy tales, who provides the fluidity of the story; the story of Grenouille, some kind of a genius born with an extraordinary sense of smell. The visual is so powerful, that you will almost be able to feel the thousands of smells; the stench and the fragrances alternating on the screen through the images. The extraordinary sense of smell, is an original idea from Suskind, and obviously very useful to a perfumer, which Grenouille is to become. His ‘talent’ of higher sense, is pretty inconceivable to us; but it kept my eyes glued to the screen, as Grenouille took in all the possible smells in the world surrounding him, and found pleasure in it. So much pleasure, that he didn’t need anything else. Interestingly, beautiful and yet untouched girls emanated the finest and most irresistible scent, which Grenouille was mesmerized by and wanted to preserve it, so that he may never had to live without it. His character is weird, but somehow fascinating too; my feelings towards him remained neutral throughout the movie; I found it hard to decide whether he was sympathetic or repulsive (probably because Ben Whishaw wasn’t utterly unattractive). Rachel Hurd-Wood is an excellent choice for an unusually exquisite beauty; it is of no wonder that Grenouille wanted to preserve her scent above anyone else’s; it’s like she was the main ingredient, without which his work would have been incomplete. Did he get to her?

Still asking why should you watch it? Because it is intriguing, mysterious, perverse and like nothing you’ve ever seen. As of 2006, you will be watching the most expensive German movie ever made. And let’s face it, there aren’t many movies featuring serial killers placed in the 18th century. And well, there should be more like this.