Death Proof (2007) [* * * * *]

I usually hate Tarentino movies (like Kill Bill), but this one was a cliff-hanger that I loved inspite of the gore!

Stuntman Mike goes about in his 'deathproof' car - reinforced like stunt cars - and kills women on the road for kicks. He is merciless killing them.

He finally stalks one set of women (who are models and stuntwomen) and meets his match. He hunts and drives them to the ground. They turn around and follow him. That car chase is the best I've ever seen and the ending is unmatchable. (Yes, the women slaughter him.:)

I know now why guys think Tarentino is a feminist movie maker and in this instance I agree. The women do something that is really unusual to women - they're as unforgiving as men - and twice as vengeful, being women. Gawd, even I got a kick out of seeing them hunt him down! lol

World's Greatest Dad (2009) [* * * * *]

Most parents tolerate their children because they love them, even when they know their genes may have created an antisocial, misogynist pervert. But iparental love is distorting. I've always wondered if there are parents out there who realise how they live through their children by making up personalities for them.

In this thought-provoking film (a euphemism for tear-jerker:), Robin Williams is a failed writer trying to get published whose son is a pervert. The son dies by accident masturbating to porn using suffocation. The father writes a suicide note to protect his son from ridicule. The note becomes famous and the whole school become fans of the boy they once knew as a jerk. The father takes advantage of the popularity and continues to invent his son as a writer, someone worth knowing, and almost gets published before he breaks the bubble of stifling, reflected fame for normalcy.

I think its educational for parents who distort their children's image to make them more palatable for public consumption - for them to acknowledge their shame which makes them inventive and that only the truth can set them free. Can't say I loved the movie, but it was real to me.

Frost/Nixon (2008) [* * * * *]

Nixon is reviled as a failure by the US for what his administration did and every presidential scandal is post-fixed with 'gate' after the Watergate of his time. But what really angered the nation seems to be that he never apologized or explained himself ... until David Frost interviewed him. That historical interview, where you see the man, the genius that was Nixon, and his apology is what this movie is about. I ended up loving Nixon!:)

'Watergate' is a term used to describe political cover-up. The origin was a break-in at the Democratic office in the Watergate Complex to steal their candidate list. Nixon was away on holiday when it happened - though some say he was aware of it - but when he returned, his staff tried to pay off the perpetrators and unfortunately Nixon tried to protect his staff (which was the coverup). He couldn't see a good way out of the situation, and the congress went for the kill threatening impeachment. The snowballing mess ended when he resigned, the only american president to do so.

To me he came across as a wonderful man caught in a painful dilemma - loyalty, honour and responsibility shackled him to his fate. I know how people can gang up and the press can crucify an individual and that is what I believe happened to Nixon after watching the movie (and the original interview on youtube). David Frost with his genuine love of people brought out the human in Nixon, a proud, unreachable man, and made history.
[Keeping in mind that Nixon was responsible for the US napalming entire villages in southeast asia for a senseless war in Vietnam ....]

Unleashed (2005) [* * * * *]

I realise I must have grown bloodthirsty in my old age since I give a high rating to action flicks.:)

This is an interesting underdog film - a man, Jet Li, is trained to be a dog to fight and kill for his master and knows no other life. He begins to explore softer feelings through a chance meeting with a blind piano tuner, Morgan Freeman, and develops a passion for music which makes him look back and try to figure out his past.

This was interesting for several reasons: There's a very clearcut racial tone to the whole movie.
1 - The white men are the 'masters' - every colonized country in the world can identify with the cruelty of enslavement inflicted on them by the whites.
2 - The rescuing blind man is black - once again an eastern perspective of the black man as innocent, gentle, cultured and emotionally balanced. Very unlike the hollywood image of black = violent savagery.
3 - The idea of innocence and ignorance being manipulated. This seems to be a common theme of male-oriented movies and appeals to me very much, since it is very real. The real world rests its profits and excesses on the existence of those two virtues. Men, in this respect, see the world clearer than women.:)

The Social Network (2010) [* * * * *]

This is a movie I had such mixed feelings about that it changed me - I have to give it 5 stars.

The story is a fictionalized version of the creator of Facebook. I was intriqued, appalled and finally impressed by this very complicated human story. Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg, an antisocial undergrad computer geek, a social climber who loses his girlfriend and creates this site to prove himself.

Facebook's amazing success leads to lawsuits, charges of theft and losing his only friend. His isolation is very real and touching, yet you're pushed to disliking the cocky nerd. I loved it for the very human dilemma of isolation through net relationships and how suffering follows any success story. It transformed my indifferent use of Facebook because I quit it the very next day. lol!

The Expendables (2010) [* * * * *]

I'm going to take my time and review those movies that I liked separately - more to figure out what I liked and didn't like about them.:)

In The Expendables, I was wowed by the lineup - Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mickey Rourke, Dolf Lundgren and Jet Li ... all the hunks in one movie! Yum.
The story is simple - a guy movie - bunch of mercenaries who finally find a cause (woman in trouble) and turn into knights in shining armor.

Very entertaining except for how unhappy Jet Li looks in it. His role is minimal with a lot of anti-Asian jokes and he needs to be saved - I thought that was an unfairly western condescension towards all things eastern. Also the women are just props, but hey, that's what makes a 'guy-movie' - stereotypes - so we can live with it.:)

Legend of the Guardians (2010) [* * * * *]

Some really good animated feature films coming out of Australia. First The Rescuers Down Under now this lovely heroic tale.

Two owlets are playing outside their hollow when they're kidnapped, along with many other babies. The owlnapping owls indoctrinate the babies to their own values of purity and superiority (a la nazis). They plan to train them to take over the world.

The two brothers react differently - one stays and the other resists. He takes the punishment to protect another owlet and, with help, escapes to find the guardians.

Its been given a very poor rating by RT critics which is a mystery. One possible reason could be that european and british values and humour often escape american audiences. I remember how a few american friends didn't crack a smile reading Tintin and Asterix while the rest of us were in splits. The other might be the republican 'family values' theme of all disney movies which this questions - here two brothers are on opposite sides of a war because of their choices. The story doesn't go into too many whys, like Japanese movies, which tend to frustrate american critics.

Anyway, such a good watch for anyone.:)

Robin Hood (2010) [* * * * *]

I've seen so many Robin Hoods by now that you'd think I'd be sick of it, but apparently not.:)  This version is slightly different, and, I felt, more realistic (though most reviews say its historically inaccurate, but I'll get back to that). What I liked about it is that it made a believable story out of a myth, apparently after many years of rewriting the script. 

The myth of Robin Hood is that he had his own way of fighting tyrannical authority, that of King John (yes, the same one who was forced to give up the 'divine right of kings' in a Magna Carta 16 yrs later and form the modern English Parliment:). He robbed from the rich and gave to the poor, and hunted the king's sheriff and men in Sherwood Forest.

This is the story of how Robin Hood came to be - which is never talked about in the myth. Russell Crowe and Kate Blanchett, both not my favorite actors, did a fantastic job in this movie. Russell Crowe is, what I like to call, a man's man. He's very appealing to men, and therefore women like him, the way girls like popular guys in sports that they don't play. lol!

Robin in the movie is a lowly archer in King Richard the Lionheart's army, disgusted with the murderous crusade (The guilt of the West finally showing up in movies!). He chances upon an ambush after the king's death. He's sworn into returning a dying man's sword his father and the crown to England. The father asks Robin to take the dead son's name and masquerade as Miriam's husband to save their property. In time he begins to fight the exploitation of the village by church and king and return it to the people.

The historical inaccuracy is essential to the story, unfortunately. Robin Hood is supposed to have suggested outline of the Magna Carta in exchange for helping King John rid England of the imminent French attack. Later King John, true to his spiteful and jealous nature (historically true), goes back on his word and outlaws Robin (fiction).So, even though fact mixes with fiction (the Magna Carta has a different history dating years into the future) it is very well done.:)

I usually hate Ridley Scott movies for their pompousness (eg., Gladiator) but I liked this one. Robin is popular because he's a humble and deeply honest man with little regard for man-made laws before higher ones. This makes authorities dislike him which is just like in real life. So believable.

The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005) [* * * * *]

At a time when golf was only for gentleman, a working-class caddie called Francis Ouimet (the boy who carries the bag) goes on to win the US Open overcoming all odds - the jeers of the rich club members, the obstacles of class, his father's disapproval and the disbelief of the world.

Amazingly, he beats his idol, the world golfing champion, Harry Vardon. The only caddie he could find was a 10 yr old boy called Eddie Lowery and together they make history.

Very inspiring especially for children to see, since you see each of them struggling with their demons as they face the pressure of the game. And the plucky 10 yr old Eddie keeping his head as all others lose theirs!

God of Cookery (1997) [* * * * *]

I'm in love with Stephen Chow.:) There's something incredibly attractive about chinese features, especially one with laughing eyes, and coupled with a lean muscled body ... irresistable. What's more he's talented - writes, directs, acts in all his movies and the stories are creative and sensitive (like in Shaolin Soccer when he tastes a salty steamed bun by the girl he just rejected, he realises that the salt is from her tears - very touching moment. I've watched it a hundred times just to watch his eyes soften:).

This one is about an arrogant chef who loses his job to a plot and works with a street vendor to build up an empire again. There are gods that appear - very Indian themed movies.

I'll just mention another which is very indian (I watched it in chinese so didn't quite follow the nuances), the one called A Chinese Odyssey which has a bunch of gods and mortals interacting like the old tamil movies.:)

Despicable Me (2010) [* * * * *]

Again, Disney, and again, really good. When I first heard the name, I thought it would be a very average movie with very average humour. But it had a Saki-like quality which was fantastic - exploring how children accept the most unsavory characters without question and usually change them for the better. The reason most people grow mellow after having kids.

A villain adopts 3 orphans to get into his rivals home and finds himself enjoying their company more than being villainous. The adventures that follow, as he goes to steal the moon to be considered the criminal of the century, make them closer as a family.

Tangled (2010) [* * * * *]

This is the story of Rapunzel, one of my favorite scary fairy tales. As with all Disney productions, a very polished piece. The only really annoying thing about American movies is american flippancy that's crept into movies - the put-downs, the droll expressions - I don't think I liked it even as a child.

But seeing as they can't help apologizing for making naive, tender adventures for children, even out of the dark Hans Christian Anderson tales, one can appreciate Disney for not slacking on the work that goes into it.

There's the usual adorable pair of animal companions - a chameleon and a horse detective and an unusual take on why Rapunzel is locked in the tower. That's one more of the 'why's of childhood answered to my satisfaction.:)

The Chronicles of Narnia Trilogy [* * * * *]

It is rare that film-makers get to make trilogies in fantasy - there are few but they're brilliant - like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, X-men, Harry Potter, etc.

This is based on 7 books by C.S. Lewis, a friend and contemporary of J.R.R. Tolkien, to teach children christian values (yes, I almost hate it for that reason too- but atleast it is honest about a religious aim, unlike most stories:).

The first, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, introduces us to the 3 children displaced by war and sent to a distant uncle for protection. There they struggle to find themselves as a family when they come across a land called Narnia hidden in the back of a wardrobe. The whole adventure is a lesson to them to stick together as family, not to betray each other and to trust even in the littlest voice for truth as they try to save the world of Narnia from the Witch.

The second is about Prince Caspian which I found far more interesting. They return to Narnia after a thousand years to save it from destruction again. In the Voyage of the Dawn Treader only two of them return to learn a few lessons in courage and self-acceptance for imminent adulthood.

Paprika (2007)[* * * * *]

Japanese animation varies from the very traditional to very avant garde, and Santoshi Kon's Paprika falls in the latter category with a bang. An amazing adventure about dream analysis set inside dreams.

The first time I downloaded it, it was without english subs, and made no sense at all. When I got it with english subs, it blew my mind. This is the one time I've really regretted not being very good at languages - what a profound difference it made to be able to understand what was being said!

The DC mini is a new psychoanalytic tool to understand dreams and record them, to help people. But the machines get stolen and as more peoples dreams merge, reality begins to alter to become dreamlike. Paprika is the alter ego of a researcher who is trying to save the world from a crazed nightmare.

Anyone interested in pyschotherapy would find it a fascinating film. This is where sci fi breaks new ground for science and medicine by predicting possibilities.

The Last Airbender (2010) [* * * * *]

At last! I've been such a mad fan of the cartoon series, I'd been hunting for this movie all over the net. So well worth a watch for any fan!

The movie was thoroughly trashed by its critics, a lot of it justified, but from me it gets top-rating. I couldn't believe how real the special effects were! The story came to life for me in my mind like never before. I can imagine how thrilled kids would be to see this amazing spiritual, martial arts movie bringing their heroes to life. If only I was in the 5 to 13 age group again, it would change my life.:)

But, being older, I have developed judgement: Night Shyamalan made a huge mistake casting an all-white set for Aang, Katara and Sokka - that's one of the glaring drawbacks from the very beginning. The 'why' gnaws at you. I so looked forward to a dark-skinned Katara and a Tibetan Aang!!:( Besides that, the dialogue didn't have much zing for an adult and the music too sober for kids... the movie though fabulous in capturing the feel, seems to have a beat missing - oh well, no Oscar, so what.

It was wonderful to see so many Indians on screen (yay, we were the Fire Nation!) and Shyamalan promises more multiculturalism to follow. It is meant to be a trilogy, I hope they make them all.

The story is of an Avatar, a child trapped in ice for a 100 yrs, who wakes up to a world where Water, Earth and Air Nations are being enslaved by the Fire Nation. Its up to him to save it. Fabulous story!

Somewhere In Time [1980] (* * * * *)

This sci-fi is a different version of reincarnation, but interesting nonetheless for being a fine romance. Usually christian movie makers have a great resistance to the idea of being born again, so this is believable for their audiences.

A man goes back in time by just hypnotizing himself and meets the woman he loved 80 yrs before. Its been a long time since I saw a Christopher Reeves movie and Jane Seymour is lovely in it. Well worth watching for the psychic implications of time travel - they meet again as an old woman and a young man. I've always wondered at how love seems timeless and seems to stretch from one lifetime to another - this movie captures that seamless feeling with some of the 80s ideas on memory recall and time. Very nice.:)

Fantastic Voyage [1966](* * * * *)

Finally I find the original! So many movies, comics and present day medical nanoscience is based on this story of internal surgery by miniaturization. A cold war scientist has to be saved by brain surgery and a team of doctors and military personnel are sent into his body to do the job in a limited time. Fabulous introduction to the human body - should be shown in science classes everywhere.:)
Racquel Welch not being exploited by her miserable husband was a plus - she's acting, and very well, in this one.

Farewell, My Concubine (1993)[* * * * *]

I saw this multiaward winning classic for only one reason: because Jackie Chan had lived this from the time he was 7 - 17 yrs old. And survived the torture.

The movie is about the routine abuse of children in the Chinese Opera, often abandoned there by their parents. I found it unbearable to watch the 19-hour training days, corporeal punishments for tiny errors: daily beatings, being made to stand in the cold all night, hanging by the legs, tying up, sexual abuse, everything. I couldn't watch without forwarding it by leaps. Also it was a chinese version so I award all those stars for bringing to light the excrutiating details of child torture.

Children driven by ambitious men to achievement must be hell on earth, whether in gymnastics, drama, opera or music. However plastic their early learning ability, condemn it. The 'training' of animals for entertainment is supposed to be derived from this kind of child training, just as animal slavery today is just a replacement for human slavery in the past.

How Jackie (center) emerged from his hellish childhood to be one of the most likeable and easygoing actors, not twisted and cynical, is a mystery. In his autobiography he writes that he was beaten everyday even after 19 hours of training. All 7 surviving 'Little Fortunes' from his operatic troupe achieved fame with him. Today Jackie Chan is UNICEF's goodwill ambassador for children, his passion.

Sense and Sensibility (2008, BBC) [* * * * *]

I have had a fascination for Jane Austen and her stories, one of the finest writers of all time. I've lately been going through all the movies created based on them.

One of the reasons for my interest is the striking resemblance of her time (1700-1800s) to my own. The women are all concerned, and almost only concerned, with getting married despite having an education. Developing secret fascinations for unsuitable men in a period where arranged marriages are going out of fashion but parents don't approve of marrying for love either. And all marriage still depends on the woman's dowry, youth and looks, whether love or arranged, in a very male-dominated ideal.

300 years hasn't changed the situation yet. Indian mothers still find their boys 'suitable' connections. The boys go with the flow even though they dally with the idea of loving unsuitably, before and after they marry, leaving behind heartbroken girls who will grow into cynical, sensible women who find their support in women rather than men.

Sense and Sensibility is about 2 girls, one falls in love recklessly and doesn't hide her feelings only to be jilted by the passionate lover and the other more modest girl suffers in silence only to find she had chosen a better man for her affections. I consider this to be good sisterly advice to the girls of today..:)

Using your head is definitely to be preferred, and sense rules over sensibility for girls over 300 yrs!

The Velveteen Rabbit (2009) [* * * * *]

I was impressed by two things: the emotional appeal of this tale of a loving child, and that the child was ... male! Most traditional writers believe that emotions are gender-driven, and colour-coding kids into blue and pink at birth helps them know their place.:p

But I've always believed the male child is just as capable of loving and getting desperately attached to a soft toy, like a velveteen rabbit, just as the adult male can. If he wanted to.

In this movie, the child is held at a distance by his father in a very 'proper' society and deposited in the home of his very proper grandmother. Alone and adrift, the child searches an attic and discovers a stuffed rabbit. And when he hugs the rabbit, it comes alive, as does his imagination. He builds a magic world of adventure around the toys until he gets scarlet fever. The same imaginary world now becomes an escape from reality, and he falls into a coma.

Its the story of 3 generations bonding - him, his grandmother and his father - and how love makes everything real. [Spoiler: A happy ending. The rabbit becomes real in the end in an unforgettable metaphor .:]