Memento - An inventive and original story in which the director, Christopher Nolan, uses a cool trick to put the audience into the amnesiatic mind of our protaganist. By telling the story backwards, we are only aware of where we are, but have no idea of how we got there.
A Beautiful Mind - The telling story of John Nash, a genius mathmatician from Princeton whose claim to fame is his Mind, but it is also his downfall. The enigmatic tale however is shadowed by the touching relationship he develops with Alicia, who compliments the beautiful mind with her beautiful heart.
Amelie - A quaint story of a dreamer who affects the lives of many. Amelie is a shy girl who believes that her good deeds will bring out the good in everybody. A cute little movie in which I caught myself smiling from scene to scene. A real feel good movie.
Lord of the Rings - The classic story of Middle earth - hobbits, elves, demons, etc. An epic fantasy that is so visually stunning that I got immersed in the beauty of the movie. It is pretty amazing how imagination was made reality.
Moulin Rouge - This is the kind of movie you either like or hate, and I liked it. It does start off badly though. It starts off at a dizzying pace and it is a musical. It also starts off as a moronic comedy, but once you get used to the singing, the story falls into place and becomes a nice drama between two lovers and that's when the movie takes off. People can easily be shyed away by the forcing of modern songs (especially the crude "Lady Marmalade" that was way over-rated) but it is a good movie with good performances all around.
Ghost World - A movie that tries to show that being mainstream can be so artificial yet being ordinary can be so lonely. Thora Birch is so funny as a girl who spends all her time laughing at everyone and trying hard not to fit in that she finds herself in her own little ghost world. Funny and quirky. (Joy Bisco's in this movie - so I gots to like it.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch - A rock opera that is very moving and funny at the same time. Lots of music in this one, and it's all good music. No cheesy pop ish, our lead character -Hedwig - makes sure that only quality rock music is heard. Every song has deep meaning in the story also, no filler material. It is about a transexual and it's life and that may scare people away. It does draw lots of comparisons to Rocky Horror, but I did not like that movie, whereas, I loved this movie.
The Debut - Now this may not be any kind of groundbreaking movie, in fact, it's a pretty unoriginal script; however, this movie had to go through a lot of shit to be made. The obstacles that director Geye Cayajon had to go through to show a simple movie with Filipinos in it was ridiculous and it does show the amount of predudice is in Hollywood. It is a nice little movie about filipinos and their values in which I can relate and I have to give everyone involved in this film the props they deserve because it's the props that they earned. It's about to open in San Diego and Washington D.C. So check it out when it opens in your area. (Here's the DEBUT FAN site.)
Shiri - An action packed Asian flick that actually has a pretty decent story (rare for asian action flicks, kind of like pornos, you're watching for the action, not the plot).. It's the kind of Asian Flick that would make John Woo proud. It's a Korean movie and the basis of the movie is about the "cold war" between North and South Korea. There's a terrorist group from the North that breeds killing machines to send to the South to spread mass destruction. I'm quite surprised they released this movie in the U.S. in the wake of the Sept. 11 events. It is eerie the way they plan attacks and the similarity to current events. Anyway, the main protagonists are these two CIA type guys trying to stop the terrorists before they attack. There's a forced love story in here also, but it has enough action and gun fights to keep the movie going. There are also a few really cartoonish scenes (makes you say "yeah right, whatever") but if you can accept those scenes then the movie is a real delight. A good popcorn flick that even has an amazing shootout in a place I don't think I've ever seen in an action movie. For you Hong Kong action fans this ones for you.
Panic Room - This was an edge-of-your-seat kind of movie that was fun, exciting and surprisingly funny. The premise is simple, Jodie Foster and her kid move into this new brownstone and it get broken into by some criminals. They seek refuge in the conveniently built Panic Room. The criminals want to get in, Jodie Foster wants them out and the result is a battle of wits. There are several instances of comedy which created an unlikely similarity from another hollywood blockbuster - "Home Alone".
There were many holes in the plot that make the audience wonder "Why not do this?" or "Why can't they just....?". But the overall pace and excitement of the movie can make me overlook that. Simple movie, not too much thinking involved, an overall enjoyable 2 hours.
Monster's Ball - A controversial movie based on a small redneck town, probably racially divided once but is slowly moving forward. This movie was loaded with stars and they all had standout performances - Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thornton, Sean "P-Diddy" Combs, Mos Def, Heath Ledger.
At times disturbing, the movie focuses on racial issues as we are watching Billy Bob & Halle at a crucial moments in their lives. There is a really graphic scene involving Halle Berry that caught me off guard and I've heard that this movie was on the verge of a NC-17 rating. It's a real emotional flick that I liked but really heavy hearted and not for everyone. Lots of emotional moments to make even me cringe.
1. Mullholland Drive
2. Memento
3. A Beautiful Mind
4. Amelie
5. Lord of the Rings
6. Moulin Rouge
7. Monster's Ball
8. Ghost World
9. Hedwig & the Angry Inch
10. The Debut
Fandango - I use this to check out times at theatresand see what's showing, but you can buy tickets here too.
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2. Almost Famous
3. Traffic
4. Wonder Boys
5. Dancer in the Dark
6. Requiem for a Dream
7. The Contender
8. Best in Show
9. Billy Elliot
10. Yi Yi