I just want to give a little update since I haven’t posted on the blog for a week. I have been hard at work with my Top 100 Movies of the Decade which should be coming up sometime this weekend. More importantly, I want to wish everyone a happy new year!
Archive for December, 2009
Movie Review: Sherlock Holmes (2009)
Some “purists”, who should probably re-read Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, will complain that the movie is not true to Sherlock Holmes’ essence. However, it is made clear in the written stories that he is a martial art expert and an avid boxer (“The Adventure Of The Empty House”). Why would a man who often puts himself in danger not come into some physical confrontation at one point or another and you know… use his fighting skills?
Movie Review: (500) Days of Summer (2009)
(500) Days of Summer, directed by first-timer Marc Webb, begins with a voice-over warning the audience: “It’s a story of boy meets girl but you should know up front: This is not a love story”. Reminiscent of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Memento, the movie has a clever and witty non-linear screenplay which depicts the romance like a collection of memories from our main character’s point of view. How he met the girl, the infatuation, the deflation and how they break up.
Movie Review: Cache (2005)
Cache (US: Hidden) is a critically acclaimed mystery thriller directed by Austrian director Michael Haneke and starring French actors Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche. Georges Laurent (Auteuil) is a successful TV host of a book-club type show while his wife Anne (Binoche) works for a book publisher. They have a 12-yr old son and seemingly happily live in a cozy book-lined upscale apartment.
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009)
Shawn Levy’s Night at the Museum was a relatively charming comedy with a clever and potentially fascinating premise: Museum exhibits coming to life at night when no one is looking. However, the novelty of the concept is now gone and with Battle of the Smithsonian, Levy gives us a numbing and unoriginal sequel which is only intermittently entertaining at best, and certainly quite bland overall.
Sherlock Holmes Poll
I was discussing box office prospects for Avatar and Sherlock Holmes earlier with a friend and he said he didn’t expect Sherlock Holmes to do well at the box office. Given the fact that it has the hugely popular Robert Downey Jr, that the movie is receiving fairly favorable early reviews, and is more of [...]
Movie Review: Avatar (2009)
A technologically advanced civilization shows up in a previously virgin place full of highly desirable resources but the native and “primitive” population is sitting right on top of it and is unwilling to move. Naturally, this native population lives in harmony with nature while the new comers destroy everything in sight with no regards. One of the young newcomers falls in love with the native princess and has to straddle the line between two colliding worlds. In case you are wondering, this is not a review of Pocahontas or Dance with the Wolves but James Cameron’s new movie Avatar.
Movie Review: Public Enemies (2009)
Michael Mann is one of my favorite directors of all-time as you can see in my favorite movies list. His latest movie, Public Enemies stars two powerhouses in Johnny Depp and Christian Bale in a gangster movie set in the 1930′s. Depp plays John Dillinger, a notorious bank robber who lives openly in Chicago with little fear of being apprehended and is deeply in love with Billie Frechette (Marion Cottilard).
Movie Review: The Hangover (2009)
The Hangover, directed by Todd Phillips, has a very simple premise: Four guys head to Las Vegas for a raunchy bachelor party as Doug (Justin Bartha) is about to get married in a couple days. You have Phil (Bradley Cooper), a married schoolteacher, Stu (Ed Helms), a dentist who has been dating a slightly paranoiac woman (Rachael Harris) for three years, and Alan (Zach Galifianakis), Doug’s socially awkward future brother-in-law. Trouble suddenly arise when Phil, Stu, and Alan wake up in the morning with no recollection whatsoever of what happened the night before.
