8/6/2009
Mystery at the North-South Korean border reveals more than you'd expect.
Chan-wook Park's initial endeavor in filmmaking shows that the talented man hit the ground running. Joint Security Area, often referred to as JSA, is the jointly guarded area along the border between North and South Korea. Lying along the demilitarized zone, this border is the most hotly guarded...
5/18/2009
Quirky romantic film a gem
Although most people would select Eternal Sunshine on the Spotless Mind as Michel Gondry's best film, I would choose The Science of Sleep as my favorite. It is a romantic comedy of awkward proportions, but its quirkier nature makes it all the more endearing.
5/18/2009
This film lives or dies in the eye of the beholder
Eye of the Beholder is such a strange movie that it kind of forces you to watch it. Beginning as a James Bond copycat, it slowly morphs into an obsessive stalker’s infatuation with a murderous woman.
5/18/2009
Beautiful film a stark contrast
Perfume is a film with an odd contrast. It is a stylishly lush film about an abhorrent topic. Beautifully filmed, "Perfume" is a treat for the eyes. It is rich in color, style and clarity. Yet, the tale it spins is anything but.
5/18/2009
The perils of drugs in a future setting
A Scanner Darkly is a strange film. Based on one of Philip K. Dick’s novels, it is also one of the most loyal to its original source material, certainly more than part of the reason for its strangeness. While this has hardly been the case for films based on his stories in the past, leading to good...
5/18/2009
A modern noir set in high school.
Rian Johnson’s first endeavor as a director is an impressive one. Johnson, who also doubles as the film’s writer, uses Brick’s minuscule budget of less than $500,000 in a big way, creating a really great modern noir.
Joseph Gordon Levitt plays Brendan Frye, a high school student whose ex-girlfriend...
5/17/2009
Ritchie's finest film
Guy Ritchie's first film remains his best. While his follow-up, "Snatch" certainly has the starpower to back it up, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" remains the finest of all his films.
5/17/2009
Tom Cruise's best film?
"The Last Samurai" came at the peak of Tom Cruise's career, when he was starring in some of my favorite movies, films like "Minority Report" and "Vanilla Sky". It was also at this stage of his career that people started talking about Tom Cruise the actor and not Tom Cruise the movie star. This was...
5/17/2009
Sci-fi action film doesn
"Outlander" was finished in 2007 but has been sitting on the shelves no thanks to distributors The Weinstein Company. Now, officially released on DVD, you can see why the Weinsteins were a little iffy on its release. While by no means a horrendous film, "Outlander" barely plies into new territory,...
5/10/2009
This reboot is an epic space adventure
Even though I'm no trekkie, I was still excited for the reimagining of Star Trek. It has a notable director in J.J. Abrams, a great cast, and a massive budget. The question was whether this lagging franchise could be reinvigorated. The answer is a resounding yes.
