Eternality

As online film critic James Berardinelli puts it, Before Sunset is "one of those exceedingly rare instances in which the motivation for a sequel is creative, not financial." There, he summarizes in a single, meaningful statement the value this Richard Linklater film has for viewers sophisticated enough to appreciate the artistry of its concept. The sequel to the critically acclaimed Before Sunrise (1995), the aptly- titled Before Sunset may not have the allure and magic of the first film, but it still manages to be fresh in its own unique way.

In Before Sunset, the characters Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy) meet by chance at a Paris bookstore where the former is holding a book-signing session with the press. They take a spontaneous walk down the streets of Paris, enjoy coffee at a café, and take a boat ride before Jesse has to take a flight back home. Unlike in the first film in which they spent an entire day and night together, both characters have only about an hour now to interact and catch up after nine whole years not knowing whether they would meet again.

Before Sunset's story unfolds in real-time. The film's runtime is literally the amount of time that they have together. With the beautiful, and at times, historical backdrop of Paris in the background, we follow the two characters in a number of long takes as we are brought up to speed on the major events that have occurred in their lives for the last decade. While Jesse looks scruffier and Celine more aged, their chemistry with each other remains undeniably strong, though this is characterized by natural awkwardness in the first half-hour.

As shown from their screen writing credit, Hawke and Delpy have apparently worked very closely with Linklater on the crafting of their characters and dialogue. Their naturalistic acting punctuated by moments of improvisation gives the film a-slice-of-reality feeling that remains true to the essence of the director's conceptual vision. Youthful, starry-eyed love as explored in the first film now makes way for themes about responsibility, commitment, marriage, and regrets. In a way, Before Sunset is more pessimistic in outlook, not only seen through the world-weary eyes of its two leads, but its constraint of time also limits the possibility of a second chance at love with "the one that got away".

There is a quite potent scene in a car that sees Celine angrily airing her grievances at Jesse, who appears taken aback by her uncharacteristic behavior. It shows that while innately we stay roughly the same, we do change with time, often with a more mature but more cynical lens to view things. Shot at a leisurely pace with dialogue that admittedly does not engage as much as in the first film, Before Sunset is still a quite remarkable document of two highly identifiable characters at the crossroads of their lives, pondering what could have been if circumstances had unfolded differently for them.

If Linklater considers to do another sequel in the next couple of years, it would be more welcomed than not. Otherwise, this two-part filmed romance is enough food for thought for a good night's contemplation of the meaning of love, and all the complexities and subtleties that come with it.

GRADE: B+ (8/10 or 3.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

Beowulf (pronounced as "bay-wolf") can be described as a colossal disappointment. One of the most anticipated movies of 2007, and nearly three years in the making, Beowulf is all-hype but with little, if any, positive end product. Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis who gave us memorable pictures such as Forrest Gump, Contact, and Back To The Future seeks to build upon the technical success of The Polar Express but ends up with a punctured tyre.

Unlike digital CGI, hand-drawn, or stop-motion animation, Zemeckis and his team of talented animators have pioneered a cutting-edge technique that's able to capture photo-realistically an actor's facial expressions and body movements in animated form. In a way, Beowulf makes cinematic history for being the first feature film to be entirely created using the above-mentioned technique.

The animation is truly stunning and visually captivating. There's a jarring problem though - the eyes of the characters often seem to 'stare into space' rather than effectuating eye contact with one another; it's the main reason there's low chemistry among the characters, and also why we feel the presence of a vacuum between viewer and character. Nevertheless, Beowulf has the potential to be nominated for Academy Awards for best visual effects, sound, and sound editing categories though. It's unlikely to win any with Zack Snyder's 300 in the hat as well.

So what really caused the downfall of Beowulf? The filmmakers have simply ignored the very basic fundamental of making a great movie - the screenplay! No great film can survive with a weak script (no matter how impressive the effects are, or how well the director and cast have collaborated). Beowulf's screenplay is as shallow as a fifth-grader's essay. To compound the misery, it's poorly edited with numerous scenes (especially during quieter moments) showing an obvious lack in pacing.

Beowulf's failure could have been prevented. Alas, the filmmakers are too short-sighted to notice its major shortcomings. For all the slash and burn, plus the wonders of modern movie magic, Beowulf isn't the cinematic knockout that I have hoped for. Watching Beowulf was more of a chore than a pleasure. And if I may add: Zemeckis, work harder on those soulless eyes please!

GRADE: C- (5.5/10 or 2.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

13 Assassins, a Golden Lion nominee at Venice, is a sumptuously photographed film that is excellently set-up by the filmmakers, features an action-packed second half whose intensity rivals that of the climatic hospital sequence in John Woo's shoot-'em-up masterpiece Hard Boiled (1992), and ends on a slightly ambiguous note that unfortunately feels a tad too surreal for a film that is anything but. Directed by Takashi Miike, the infamous director of insanely violent films such as Dead or Alive (1999), Audition (2000), and Ichi the Killer (2001), 13 Assassins is surprisingly tame in comparison, though I must say the decision not to make this a gore fest is spot on.

The premise is as simple as it can be: Lord Naritsugu (Goro Inagaki) is the evil younger brother of the current Shogun who enjoys torturing and killing women and children to satisfy his weird desire for violence and lust. A group of samurais, led by Shinzaemon (Koji Yakusho), is hired to assassinate him before he ascends politically to the top and declares war on peaceful clans. The mission is extremely tough because Lord Naritsugu is protected by hundreds of men and a master samurai called Hanbei (Masachika Ichimura), who trained with Shinzaemon when they were apprentices, adding a layer of intrigue.

The villainous nature of Lord Naritsugu is depicted very well. Early scenes show his cruelty, in particular a vile scene that sees him shoot arrows at a family that is tied up, including a small boy. There is also a very disturbing scene featuring a nude woman with all her limbs severed, with a character explaining how she is used as a sexual plaything. The soulless eyes of actor Inagaki and his lack of emotion towards human suffering are very effective in building a strong sense of hatred for his character.

In comparison, there is no one strong protagonist, though Shinzaemon comes close. Like Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954), the samurais in Miike's film are collectively portrayed as both battle-hardened tacticians with skills to outwit any foe and overly enthusiastic warriors who know the meaning of sacrifice. But unlike Kurosawa's masterpiece, each samurai's personality in 13 Assassins, with the exception of Shinzaemon, is developed only minimally and enough for the function of plot. Very predictably, there is the requisite sword duel in the climax, which gives us a relatively quiet moment of calm in what is a loud and chaotic second hour that while relentlessly entertaining, may be a trifle too overwhelming for some.

In a nutshell, 13 Assassins is guilty pleasure for seekers of violent action who are patient enough to wait for its execution. This Miike film is well-directed and should provide an interesting alternative to the loud fanfare of Hollywood summer blockbusters.

GRADE: B+ (8/10 or 3.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

This is surprisingly, and unexpectedly a bore. This French thriller not only packs no punch, it has almost negligible suspense, except for a couple of scenes which are just mildly suspenseful. Less than ninety minutes, 13 Tzameti may be one of the slowest ninety I've ever spent my life on. The film takes way too long to get viewers into the mood, in fact it becomes alive only after passing the halfway mark.

While the 'Russian Roulette' theme is significantly disturbing, the violence is not as shocking as I thought it would be. It's intelligently shot in black-and-white (a rare sight these days), but I wonder how much better the film would have fared from a cleverer, and unpredictable script. The cast shows little chemistry, and most of them are sleeping pills personified. But they are not to be blamed, the badly-written screenplay offers no room for the actors to work their talents. In a nutshell, 13 Tzameti is a thriller that neither thrills, nor provides even an averagely satisfying motion picture experience.

GRADE: C- (5.5/10 or 2.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com]

All rights reserved.

This light-hearted, no frills comedy directed by Ho Wi Ding is above average at best, and is nowhere near as memorable as some of the low budget independent works from Taiwan such as Au Revoir Taipei (2010) by Arvin Chen. The plot tells of two Filipino labour workers working in the same factory in Taipei. They are Dado (Bayani Agbayani) and Manuel (Jeffrey Quizon). They find a brand-new red couch left alone by a quarrelling local couple and decide to bring it back to the rooftop of their dormitory where they could enjoy cold beer and contemplate the night sky.

As a comedy, Ho's film does provide a few laughs, with the best comedic scene going to the one that shows Dado explaining to Manuel about the need to shrink Taipei 101. Interlaced with moments of subtle drama, Pinoy Sunday shows promise as a "slice of life" kind of film. Unfortunately, much of the drama seems staged, and appears to function in a way that does not feel integral to plot advancement. On hindsight, it feels more of a "road movie" driven not by circumstance, but by coincidence.

While there is a clear motivation by the leads to bring that aforementioned couch back, that motivation is not backed up by an ideal loftier than materialistic desires. This is due in part to the character development of the two leads, which is lacking despite the effort by the screenwriters to include romantic subplots to caricaturize Dado and Manuel as polar opposites when it comes to interpreting love and passion. The link between their romantic exploits and their arduous journey at hand does not seem to be well-established, and even feels mutually exclusive at times.

Judging from the film's ending, it is quite obvious that Ho wants to paint the picture that reality exists and it sucks. Life is a struggle and being "outsiders" in a city that is understandably xenophobic does not help the cause. I had the opportunity to catch Ho's award-winning shorts Respire (2005) and Summer Afternoon (2008), both of which were quite admirable from a technical standpoint. But for Pinoy Sunday, I am less than impressed. While it is not dull, it does not feel at all cinematic, and would appear more at home on a Sunday afternoon matinée in a television broadcast than a theater near you.

GRADE: C+ (6.5/10 or 3 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

Planet Of The Apes is a science-fiction adventure that doesn't need light saber battles, flying spacecrafts, or aliens to keep viewers entertained. In fact, there's nothing significantly sci-fi other than that it's set thousands of years into the future on an isolated planet.

Created by the writer who gave us The Bridge On The River Kwai, Planet Of The Apes is an exploration of the existence of intellectual beings other than Man. Why it's an eye-opener is because there's no other film (which I've seen) that directly shows the inferiority of Man over another species that we know. We have seen films that emphasize Nature's superiority over man in disaster flicks, but this is clearly something uniquely different.

Director Franklin J. Schaffner loves making films that pit Man against the harsh physical environment (e.g. the hostile jungle in Papillon, the hot battlefields in Patton). Now in Planet Of The Apes, we see barren, isolated landscapes similar (but not equaled) to Lawrence Of Arabia.

Cinematography-wise, it's as beautiful as it's stark. Moreover, famous composer Jerry Goldsmith's striking yet strange score helps to accentuate the primeval mood of the place. Charlton Heston's performance is a balanced mixture of boldness and vulnerability, though not as great as what he had achieved in Ben-Hur.

The most notable aspect of Planet Of The Apes is the costume design, and the makeup effects by John Chambers (who won an honorary Oscar for his pioneering work here). It's incredibly realistic, to the extent that the talking apes become humanistic, and have personalities attached to them, rather than just being shallow talking apes.

The chilling climax somewhat compensates for the average screenplay, and the plain script. There have been several sequels, and a remake by Tim Burton over the decades; but unfortunately they don't even work half as well as the original, becoming diluted and commercialized respectively. The mystery and thrill of the original still remains, and is undoubtedly one of the more fascinating films to grace the screens in the late 1960s.

GRADE: A- (8.5/10 or 4 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

One of the great directors who have made the effortless change from European cinema to the glamour of Hollywood, Milos Forman has two Best Directing Oscars to show for his achievement in two extraordinary films whose fame would forever be indebted to the highly-respected filmmaker from Czechoslovakia – Amadeus (1984) and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest. The latter stars Jack Nicholson in an Oscar-winning performance playing Randall McMurphy, a lazy troublemaker who has a history of violence and now fakes insanity that allows him to be committed to a local mental institution.

Randall's arrival shakes things up in the mental institution. He makes friends with a deaf and mute American-Indian called Chief Bromden (Will Sampson) and establishes a love-hate relationship with Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher), the institution's dictatorial head nurse. Always up to mischief, Randall's rebellious nature sees him heavily involved in a series of situations leading up to the film's shatteringly powerful climax that is not only emotional wrenching, but oddly inspirational as well. With an exceptional supporting cast of "mental patients" played by talented character actors such as Danny DeVito and Brad Dourif, Forman's film is a tour de force in ensemble acting.

Both a brilliant behavioral comedy and an intricate drama, Cuckoo's Nest blends strong character interplay with moments of side-splitting situational humor such as the iconic scene of Randall playing foolishly with the water cooler. The sequence that still takes my breath away no matter how many times I see it is the one that starts with Charley Cheswick (Sydney Lassick) pleading Nurse Ratched to return his cigarettes and ends in utter chaos involving nearly everyone in the madhouse. Although the film pokes fun at the unfortunate lives of shackled mental patients, by the end of the film, Forman's sensitive direction would have allowed us to observe the dehumanizing effects of institutionalization.

Cuckoo's Nest explores themes of morality, humanity and friendship through its anti-hero and villain. Randall who yearns for freedom in the institution wages physical and psychological warfare with Nurse Ratched, who is hell-bent in enforcing strict rules and regulations. Some would argue that the head nurse is just doing her job, but by the film's climax, she turns into one of American cinema's coldest and most cruel villains. While the film is shot from the point-of-view of Chief, Randall remains to be our anti-hero and our rallying point against oppressive authority. Yet, we occasionally feel that the ruckus he creates borders on lunacy, to the point that it might be difficult to defend his actions.

Therein lies the brilliance of Forman's film – the development of a complex protagonist and antagonist whose roles interchange depending on the circumstance. There is no clear case of black or white in this film, which makes it an experience to savor even on its umpteen viewing. Cuckoo's Nest is a must-watch for all cinephiles and is most certainly one of the great American films of the seventies. Highly recommended.

GRADE: A+ (9.5/10 or 5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

Only Yesterday is one of the great animated films to come out of the early nineties. Studio Ghibli stalwarts Hayao Miyazaki (who serves as producer for this film) and director Isao Takahata combine to deliver an immensely heartwarming film about memories of the past.

Only Yesterday (also known as Memories of Yesterday) is essentially a Takahata film because it deals with nostalgia. Takahata is a realist filmmaker whose Grave of the Fireflies (1988) remains to be one of the most heartbreaking films ever made. He is a director who values the past and uses it as a construct to further our understanding of one's identity and more importantly, one's inner feelings which could be difficult to translate into words because of abstraction.

Miyazaki, on the other hand, is a conjurer of fantasy, whose films such as Princess Mononoke (1997) and Spirited Away (2001) bring our wildest imaginations to life. It appears to be that Miyazaki is the more popular (read: more appealing) and acclaimed filmmaker of the two, but Takahata's films are powerful explorations of social issues which can enlighten us in ways we probably would not have felt before.

Only Yesterday centers on an unmarried woman who lives in Tokyo. Her name is Taeko, and she is lonely and unhappy. She recollects of her time when she was a child when during the holidays she would visit the countryside for bathhouses to relax in. The film becomes a partial flashback of her memory. She remembers key moments in her life – her conservative father's refusal to allow her to act, embarrassing episodes of infatuation and discussion about 'periods' with her classmates, her incapability to understand mathematical fractions – and reflects on their influences toward the indescribable emptiness she is feeling in her life now.

Taeko decides to move to the countryside for a while. Over there, she discovers answers to her identity, and eventually finds meaning in her life. Takahata's microscopic observation of the nuances of his culture's social fabric allows his screenplay to connect emotionally to his audience. A scene features Taeko's family at the dinner table admiring a fruit (i.e. pineapple) they have bought but have not seen before. Anticipating an exotic food experience, they take several optimistic bites, but all except Taeko are left disappointed with its bland taste.

In another sequence (arguably the film's most exquisite), Taeko, who is on her way home after school, meets the boy who has a crush on her along a side street. Both are delicately painted against the shimmering horizon. Moments of awkward silence are interrupted by stammered bursts of one-word verbal exchanges. Takahata films this with child-like innocence and captures the emotion of "first love" so vividly that it would be hard not to smile with a blush.

Takahata's broad, watercolor-esque drawings differ from the intricacy of Miyazaki's finely-detailed ones. But both share similar aesthetic merits and have become the Studio Ghibli style of Orientalized hand-drawn animation. Only Yesterday concludes with one of the most understated but emotionally overwhelming endings ever – a five minute end title sequence which brings the story to a poignant close through the use of silent visuals accompanied by a stirring song sung in Japanese. A recommended viewing for all.

GRADE: A (9/10 or 4.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

Greenberg is not a film for everyone. Especially if you are a Ben Stiller fan. Nominated for the Golden Bear (Berlin), Greenberg stars Stiller in his most and probably only serious role to date. Apparently, there is a likelihood that uninformed fans of the popular Hollywood comedian would jump into a theater screening Greenberg and find themselves utterly disappointed that the film is not quite funny, and if it is, it is funny in a serious kind of way. A note of interest, this could be the only time when a Stiller film does not command a full attendance at a local screen near you.

Stiller is Roger Greenberg, a man in his late thirties with lots of time at his disposal and no obligations to work commitments whatsoever. His brother is on a holiday with his own family at Vietnam and requires him to take care of his house for a couple of weeks. It is known that Roger has some mental problems but they are not serious enough to be a liability. The other lead character is Florence Marr (Greta Gerwig). She is Roger's brother's assistant who is tasked to "help out with the chores and grocery shopping". In an idealistic scenario, they meet and fall in love with each other and presumably live happily ever after.

But Noah Baumbach (the Oscar-nominated writer-director of The Squid and the Whale (2005)) takes a longer route to build up that ideal. Greenberg is a quiet film about an introverted man with psychological insecurities trying to lead a life of worth after setbacks in the past caused him to lose track of his life and perhaps even his identity. Both lead characters like each other, and in a moment of spontaneous sexual urge, Roger performs cunnilingus on Florence but stops short of intercourse.

Even then, there is a sense of awkwardness in their unusual relationship because Roger is unable to express love towards Florence. As a result, Florence takes it as face value that he just needs a temporary companion and does not see a long-term future for both of them. Stiller's performance is decent, but it is Gerwig's that is far more praiseworthy. She is a new talent to take note. It is to their (and Baumbach's) credit that the "romantic tension" between the leads is excellently sustained throughout, right up to the last scene.

The problem with Greenberg is that it feels too laidback, and may I say, even lethargic to a certain extent. There are moments when the film occasionally straddles over the line of boredom. Despite the good performances, the leads are quite difficult to identify with. Hence, we are unable to share a common bond with them. They might be fulfilled emotionally at the end, but we are not. And even if we are, is there any significance? Greenberg sets itself as a passive character study of Roger Greenberg. It's worth taking a look, but only if nothing else interests you at that very moment.

GRADE: C+ (6.5/10 or 3 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

Another week, another superhero movie to catch on the big screen. This time it's green, but it is not huge and not by Marvel Comics. Truth be told, not many people know of Green Lantern, unless you are someone who feels that life is not worth living for if one doesn't know these super- cool guys. If it is reassuring, I am not one of these fanatics. Thus, watching Green Lantern for me is more of an exploratory experience than something I would be giddily excited about. Though I suspect die-hard fans won't be bobbling up and down in their seats either when the end credits roll.

Green Lantern, for all of its conceptual creativity, is still a relatively weak genre film. And with the blockbuster gale in our midst, this film will not blow audiences away, but be blown away to Oa instead. Oa, as you will see, is a distant planet far away from Earth where Ryan Reynolds' character Hal Jordan, to his incredulous disbelief, will fly there to undergo training to be part of the Green Lanterns, an intergalactic peacekeeping force of sorts whose superpower comes not only from the green ring they wear but from their willpower.

Directed by Martin Campbell, who famously rebooted the James Bond franchise with Daniel Craig in Casino Royale (2006), Green Lantern however is not always a joy to watch. It is still fairly entertaining and for a first installment in a planned trilogy, the setup and storytelling is at least straightforward and clear. The chemistry between Hal and Carol (Blake Lively), who is his colleague at the Air Force and his romantic partner, is cheesy but minimal, though attempts at humor fall flat more often than not.

The film's biggest flaw is in its treatment of its villains, of which there are two. The first one is Hector Hammond, who is played by a sneering Peter Sarsgaard. He seems to transform into the evil cousin of the Elephant Man too late into the film. Thus, his presence is more perfunctory to the plot than someone we truly fear. The other villain called Parallax, a huge octopus-like monster alien that is almost as huge as the alien spaceship in Independence Day (1996), is considerably more menacing. It comes from outer space and it feeds on fear, and gives the film's climax the requisite epicness it needs.

Green Lantern's visual effects is fantastical and at times cartoonish looking, which somewhat fits with the general campy experience that we get from the film. I must say that the superpowers of Green Lantern are quite eye-opening with the use of mind and will power instead of sheer physical strength or high-tech weaponry. Pity he has to constantly remind himself to recharge his ring with a portable green lantern. It must suck to go about saving the world knowing you have to do that every morning.

If you are still in two minds whether to catch this, I say wait for the DVD release. Or just read the comics, I bet they are much better.

GRADE: C+ (6.5/10 or 3 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

Barney's Version is not an autobiographical film about the conspicuous purple singing dinosaur that has, over the last couple of decades, invaded the television screens of children around the world. Instead, it is a film account of a fictional character called Barney Panofsky, an overweight, charming jerk of a guy who is married thrice, works in a TV station, and basically leads a life of few ups and many downs. He is played by the brilliant character actor Paul Giamatti (Sideways, 2004; Cinderella Man, 2005) who effortlessly absorbs the odd qualities of his character and play them to close perfection.

Based on the novel by Mordecai Richler but heavily condensed to fit into a two-hour plus runtime, Barney's Version is part comedy, part bittersweet drama about the things we treasure in our lives – friends, family, and the need to love and forgive. Directed by Richard J. Lewis (who is more prominent in television), the film is mostly a humor-filled exploration of life's mundane events, but with Barney in the house, it is never the same, and things often go awry. While it starts out cheerful and occasionally whimsical, the film slowly reveals a more melancholic touch as it enters the second hour.

Much of the comedy is milked from the deadpan but sometimes fiercely exaggerated acting of Giamatti. He is supported by a scene-stealing performance by Dustin Hoffman, who plays his screen dad. While at times crude and vulgar, Barney's Version remains an accessible film to watch. While there are some problems with pacing towards the end, and the relationship between Barney and his third wife, Miriam (Rosamund Pike) seems too idealized to be believable, Lewis' film remains at the very least, consistently engaging, though this is due more in part to Giamatti's excellent performance than anything else.

Barney's Version is not necessarily appealing to the masses, not only because it is a fictional story told as if it is a true story that not many would bother to care about, but also it is a film that seems to be oddly marketed to a small invisible crowd. While in my opinion the film experience is satisfactory at the most basic of levels, Barney's Version is still a picture for curious cinephiles who want something different from conventional fare, but at the same time want something relatively congruous to their tastes. What's with the Oscar nomination for Best Makeup anyway? That still baffles me.

GRADE: B- (7/10 or 3 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

Widely regarded as Luchino Visconti's finest achievement as a film director, The Leopard (also known as II Gattopardo) quite rightly deserves the critical acclaim it has accrued since its release in 1963. A period piece set in the mid-1800s Sicily where political and social upheavals were threatening to overwhelm the established aristocratic order, The Leopard accounts for the tumultuous events that foreshadow the decline of aristocracy in Italy. At three hours in length, the film is distinctively broken into three parts, with the final act most unforgettable.

The film unfolds from the perspective of Prince Don Fabrizio Salina (Burt Lancaster), a man who with his mannerism and speech exemplifies the ideals that aristocrats seek. Yet he remains uniquely pragmatic, understanding the fact that his caste would one day lose their power and influence. He knows that day is nearing, bringing his entire family to a safer location in search for peace and security. The first part of the film introduces us to its numerous characters. After which, they transit to a new place that would not only become the setting for the second act, but also marking the first appearance of arguably the silver screen's most beautiful woman – Claudia Cardinale.

Cardinale plays Angelica, the daughter of a local mayor who is about to be married to Prince Salina's nephew. The moment she appears on screen, there is no reason not to let out a soft gasp. She steals the screen with her breathtaking beauty, transfixing us every second she is on. Visconti tempts us by using Cardinale sparingly in the second act, but he fully unveils her beauty in a glorious white wedding gown in the last act – a grandeur party only for the very, very rich that makes up the film's last hour.

This is where Visconti is admired greatly for his direction. With economical editing and a moving camera, the whole act immerses us, for better or worse, into the lives of these people as they have sumptuous dinner, dress in elaborate costumes, and dance with partners in waltzes. Such is the extraordinary opulence that it remains a wonder how Visconti managed to convince his financial backers to cough up enough dough to not only pay for the expensive props and lights, but also the hundreds of extras and their elaborate costumes.

There are several moments of lengthy dialogue in The Leopard that may bore viewers, but most of the film remains oddly humorous, especially of the relationship between Prince Salina and Father Pirrone (Romolo Valli), a bubbly priest who lives with his family. Nino Rota's lush, strings-heavy score fades in and out like a soft, gentle wind, accompanying the primarily bright cinematography by Giuseppe Rotunno. While I rate Kubrick's Barry Lyndon (1975) as the pinnacle of the epic costume drama genre, The Leopard is still a magnificent effort from one of Italy's great directors.

GRADE: A- (8.5/10 or 4 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

One of the most anticipated films of the summer, at least from a sci-fi geek's perspective, Super 8 is a mixture of all things good and bad about Hollywood filmmaking. With a strong team working behind the camera including Steven Spielberg as producer, Super 8 is technically stunning for a US$50 million blockbuster. However, it is the essential matter of plot and character that ruins the film in ways that we do not come to expect from a J.J. Abrams' film. As evident in Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Star Trek (2009), Abrams can direct an action picture. Unfortunately, he does not seem to write as well as he directs.

In Super 8, the basic premise goes like this: Some school kids including lead protagonist Joe (Joel Courtney) use their Super 8 camera to shoot a zombie short for a local film festival. When shooting outdoors one night in a deserted train stop, a train zooms past before colliding head-on with a vehicle, leaving the kids to scurry for their lives amidst explosions and flying metal in the film's first and most satisfying action set-piece. The mystery of the train wreck slowly reveals itself to be something more sinister, and it is up to the boys and a girl, Alice (Elle Fanning), to find the answers.

A tribute of sorts to Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), while referencing his other works such as E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982), War of the Worlds (2005), and even Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Super 8 is like seeing, and I quote Roger Ebert, "a lost early Spielberg classic". Well, at least for the first hour that is. The setup of the plot is excellent with specific attention going to the production design, which evokes a fairly strong mood associated with 1970s suburbia. The cinematography and editing are praiseworthy too. Like I said earlier, this film is technically flawless.

But the problem with Abrams' film lies past the halfway mark. Plot becomes unrealistic as situations unfold not with logic but with convenience. A plot device involving a vibrating cube is not explained thoroughly. Worse, Joe and Alice's fathers are not developed well enough such that the respective father-child relationships appear to be less emotionally potent than expected. While sometimes Spielberg is accused of overindulging in sentimentality, at least his films are realistically depicted and his characters strongly motivated. For Abrams, the characters in Super 8 may be far from paper-thin, but there are flaws in the way they react to change.

The visual effects are amazing to look at though. Unfortunately, the climax is short-lived instead of the lengthy spectacular extravaganza it should have aspired to. Speaking of which, Super 8 could have done with an additional 15-20 minutes because the final act seems awkwardly paced, as if there is a mad rush to complete the film. Super 8 may have its flaws, but it is still generally quite an entertaining picture. While I will fall short of praising Abrams for his work here, I still think it is a decent tribute to the wide-eyed wonderment of 1970s sci-fi cinema. But if you look into my eyes, I am clearly only half hypnotized.

GRADE: B (7.5/10 or 3.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

Sunset Boulevard is one of the world's most beloved films. Often in just about every critic's personal top twenty films, this Billy Wilder masterpiece sets the benchmark for a movie that depicts things many aren't privileged to witness behind the sunny facade of Hollywood. Nominated for eleven Oscars but only bagging three for art direction, music and screenplay, Sunset Boulevard deserved better in what was a competitive year for movies, with Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve winning six out of fourteen nominations.

Sunset Boulevard is easily Billy Wilder's most impressive entry in his illustrious resume. It was also the motion picture that was responsible for the furore surrounding its release. The film was seen as a scathing attack towards Hollywood and its playmakers, because its depiction of America's entertainment jewel was nothing like what many were deceived into thinking in the 1950s - bright, glorious, and immortal.

Accurate and methodical, Sunset Boulevard dissects what's wrong with Hollywood through a fictional but highly original flashback story of a screenwriter whom never made it into the big time. The performance of the film indisputably goes to Gloria Swanson whose character Norma Desmond is perhaps one of the most laudable and complex screen villains ever written. Swanson's distinct facial features (especially her eyes) give a sense of mysticism and disquiet appeal, while her haunting voice is almost hallucinatory, possessing anyone who interacts with her.

Unlucky Joe Gillis played by William Holden may be overshadowed by Swanson but his honest display as her love interest is underrated. The other star performer is Eric von Stroheim who plays a butler with a dark and difficult past. His often expressionless scenes dictate a solemn and sympathetic aura well-suited to his character. The black-and-white film stock is a perfect representation of 1950s film noir. The distinct cinematography work complements Billy Wilder's direction, which is further enhanced by richly textured set decors.

The last scene is one of the most emotionally perplexed ever - highly analytical viewers will rave about how the scene initiates a whole array of feelings in them, and is a perfect conclusion to a great film. Just like Michael Curtiz's Casablanca, Sunset Boulevard gets better with each subsequent viewing. Billy Wilder has gotten away with murder, fabricating a bold, daring picture that shoots arrows at the Dream Factory. An everlasting classic!

GRADE: A+ (10/10 or 5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

La Strada or The Road as it is literally translated is the winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Feature in 1954. Directed by the late Federico Fellini, a world cinema great whose body of work includes influential films such as 8½ (1963) and Amarcord (1973), La Strada is perhaps his most accessible feature. It is well-loved by Fellini diehards because of its simplistic filmmaking though it remains to be one of the director's lesser efforts.

Often described as 'a magnificent ringmaster', the Italian filmmaker loves to re-imagine the circus in cinema. His characters are like clowns in an act; they are sometimes innocent, at other times mischievous. Fellini calls La Strada "the complete catalogue of my entire mythological world". While that is slightly exaggerating, there is no doubt that the film most resembles an intimate circus performance, an environment whose oddball characters feel at ease playing their roles as entertainers.

Starring Anthony Quinn as Zampano The Strongman, Giulietta Masina as Gelsomina, and Richard Basehart as The Fool, La Strada is a comically tragic film that focuses on the plight of the waif and retarded Gelsomina. She is sold to the grumpy and short-fused Zampano by her poor mother, riding on an old, rusty bike trailer as she follows him around Italy as his assistant in his shows. They meet The Fool in their journey, a man who loves to flirt with danger either walking the tightrope or agitating Zampano in a series of verbal and physical pranks.

Fellini uses the distinctive, expressive face of Masina to marvelous effect whose gestures are a reminiscent of Chaplin. Although not very smart, Masina's character appears to have a cheerful persona. Unfortunately, she does not feel loved by Zampano (who likes Gelsomina but is incapable of expressing love), often cutting a lonely figure, and tries to seek solace in The Fool as well as through her role as a performer. As a result of Zampano's actions, La Strada becomes a wrenching tale of unfulfilled emotions and unredeemable regrets.

Fellini's fourth feature is one of the first few films to move away from the Italian postwar neo-realism depicted in films such as The Bicycle Thieves (1948) and Umberto D (1952). Told in a mostly fabulist style, La Strada is accompanied by great music by the legendary Nino Rota (The Godfather), a frequent collaborator with Fellini. Not only does the film feature outstanding screen performances, it gives viewers significant insights to the flaws of the human character. La Strada is also the film that launched Fellini's international career whose future works often revisit similar themes.

GRADE: B+ (8/10 or 3.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

There is so much critical acclaim for La Dolce Vita that I feel the pressure to give this a high rating. Unfortunately, I think this "Fellini masterpiece" is severely overrated. While there is much to admire in this film that gave birth to the word "paparazzi" from a character named Paparazzo, a news photographer who with a camera in arm scurries here and there like a rat in a maze trying to get a money shot, I feel that it lacks the emotional depth of some of Fellini's great works.

La Dolce Vita, which means "the sweet life", remains a visually admirable film of an excellent standard, but I was not quite satisfied with the experience. There is not one moment when I cared for the lead character, Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni), a journalist who dreams of being a serious writer but is sucked into the decadent lifestyle of 1960s Rome, chasing celebrities and seeking aristocratic acceptance. He has a domesticated fiancée whom he does not love. Instead, he goes around sleeping with beautiful, high-status women.

Running at an epic length of nearly three hours, La Dolce Vita follows Marcello for seven days and nights as he meets various people in all corners of Rome. In the film's most iconic scene, Marcello is seduced by Sylvia (Anita Ekberg), an American celebrity actress, under the stunning backdrop of the Trevi fountain. Fellini, whose many films ooze style and energy, was also a creator of flamboyant images, which when accompanied by the music of one of his most frequent collaborators, Nino Rota, represented some of the most magical moments in Italian cinema.

But while La Dolce Vita is certainly a stylish film with quite impressive, and at times panoramic, black-and-white cinematography, it somewhat lacks in terms of energy and drive. Much of the film after the Trevi fountain scene goes a bit downhill and appears lackluster. Thankfully, the film is punctuated by a beautiful yet off-key scene shot away from urban decadence of an innocent country girl interacting with Marcello who is trying to type a novel.

The themes of celebrity worship, and the obsession with limelight are recurring threads of thought in Fellini's film. He is clever not to indulge in verbal moralizing via narration or through one of his characters, but instead let the visuals speak for themselves. Two powerful scenes come to mind: One, a scene of a woman being photographed by paparazzi and enjoying the spontaneous limelight oblivious to the fact that something tragic has happened. Another is a peculiar, almost surrealistic sequence of drunken crazymaking that nearly results in an orgy, with the dehumanization of women as sex toys.

La Dolce Vita is not always a pleasure to watch. Of course, many would strongly beg to differ. But its long-winded nature does not go down too well with me. What still keeps this "Fellini masterpiece" alive as one of the key works of post neo-realist Italian cinema is the seductive allure of Ekberg, and the capturing of a past that seems light years away, yet its themes appear remarkably more relevant now than it was half a century ago. While a second viewing might change my mind about this film, I am not quite tempted to try.

GRADE: B- (7/10 or 3 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

Another year, another superhero origin film. Seven years ago, it was Sam Raimi's Spiderman. Four years ago, it was Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. Last year it was Jon Favreau's Iron Man. Now add X-Men Origins: Wolverine to the fray. The director is Gavin Hood, the Oscar-winning director of Tsoti (2005), a powerful South African drama centering on a hoodlum's search for redemption under an oppressive society and amidst the crushing weight of poverty. With his newest project, he tackles a new and different face to filmmaking, a switch from independent cinema to mainstream commercialism.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine stars Hugh Jackman as John Logan a.k.a Wolverine for the fourth time after Bryan Singer's two excellent features and a disappointing Brett Ratner sequel. I do not rate the Australian very highly as an actor as he has a limit to his acting range. However, he very much nails his character here in a display of ferocious power and boundless energy. In addition, Jackman has a very strong supporting actor in Liev Schreiber, who plays Victor Creed a.k.a Sabretooth (Logan's close ally-turned-nemesis) with equal badass-ness. In recent years, Schreiber (Defiance, The Painted Veil) has established himself to be an excellent screen presence in numerous multi-faceted roles that are at the very least compelling.

There is some controversy over who actually helmed the action sequences. Richard Donner (Superman, Lethal Weapon), one the film's executive producers says that he has a hand in many of them. But Hood dismisses this since he is credited as the director of the film. Whatever the issue, it is not important because the film features solid action and generally entertains for the bulk of its length as a result of rapid pacing and some remarkable visual effects. An example is a standout sequence following Wolverine's narrow escape from a barn in a retro motorcycle, having his hands or metallic claws full dealing with enemy Hummers and a chopper with loads of ammunition.

There are flaws to the narrative; there is a sense of predictability as to how situations will evolve and how the fates of some characters will ensue. As a consolation for fans, not all is resolved at the end of the film and this leaves room for a sequel or another X-Men origin movie. X- Men Origins: Wolverine defies low expectations and critical disdain and will reward viewers who expect nothing less than an action spectacle. Those who demand more on their plates will leave the theaters with not as wide a smile as the rest.

GRADE: B- (7/10 or 3 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

all rights reserved.

The X-Men films have seen Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, 1995), the Oscar-winning Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, 2005), and even Brett Ratner (Rush Hour trilogy, 1998, 2001, 2007) taking on the directorial roles. Now put Matthew Vaughn onto that list. Fresh from the success of Kick-Ass (2010), Vaughn delivers again a blockbuster that effortlessly blends brawn and brains in a motion picture that not only entertains, but provides this summer with a title that is worth remembering. With four quite excellent features to his credit, Vaughn is now surely one of the few aces working in Hollywood.

In the universe of X-Men, Vaughn's film is a prequel to all the other films, though it could also be classified as a reboot (or preboot to a reboot?) of a franchise most well-known for Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. He does make a funny cameo here, but Vaughn's intention is to show that X- Men is more than just the man with metal claws. In X-Men: First Class, the popular characters are now played by a new set of actors, with James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender leading the way with their portrayals of Charles Xavier (or Professor X) and Erik Lehnsherr (or Magneto).

The film shows how their characters come into light, and how they evolved into who we know they are today. A large supporting cast is headed by Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence, who plays blue shapeshifter Mystique. Set in the early 1960s when America faced the threat of the Cuban Missile Crisis by the Soviets, First Class chronicles literally the formation of the first batch of X-Men recruits as they battle evil mutants (led by Kevin Bacon's Sebastian Shaw) hell-bent on starting World War III.

First Class takes a while to pick up as back stories are told with some detail, but when it does eventually speeds up after about thirty minutes, it becomes tremendously engaging. The film is well-edited, especially a "recruit training" sequence midway through that not only makes effective use of alternating split-screens that pump up the adrenaline, but provides a key emotional moment between Charles and Erik that would have far-reaching consequences. The action sequences are visually engrossing, but more importantly, they are directed with clarity so that we know what is happening.

Although I feel that Vaughn's film is slightly overrated, I still think it is a pretty decent superhero film. It comes with several flaws though, most notable of which is the lack of character development and motivation of the supporting mutant characters. At a considerable "long" runtime of about 135 minutes, I thought there should have been ample time to address this. Another problem is that the setting is a tad too sleek and futuristic for a film set in the 1960s, such that when John F. Kennedy's black-and-white televised speech comes onto the screen, it seems jarring to the eye.

While it is too much of a stretch to call First Class a great superhero film, it remains to be one of the better efforts in recent years. With Fassbender finally anchoring a lead role in a major Hollywood film, it is a good opportunity to see how talented the German-Irish actor really is. With news that there could be two sequels to this, I am all for that to happen as long as Vaughn continues to write and direct, with Singer producing.

GRADE: B+ (8/10 or 3.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

By the time the end credits of Before Sunrise roll off the screen, we would be left enthralled and absorbed by one of the great romance-dramas of the nineties. Written and directed by Richard Linklater, the Texas- born filmmaker who rose to prominence in the independent cinema circuit with films such as Slacker (1991) and Dazed and Confused (1993), Before Sunrise is his third feature film and a prequel to Before Sunset (2004), released nearly a decade later with the same actors reprising their unforgettable roles as Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy).

Employing a narrative approach that has since become his trademark, Linklater sets a number of his films over the course of a single day. In Before Sunrise, he sets it in Vienna, where youngsters Jesse and Celine meet by chance on a train. Jesse is a hip and cool American who has to take a flight home the next morning, while Celine is a beautiful French woman who is starting classes next week back in France. Jesse asks Celine to accompany him until he takes his morning flight. Celine, who is pleasantly surprised by his spontaneous invitation, joins him as they explore the sights of Vienna and meet strange but friendly people.

The entire film is literally just two persons staring and talking to each other but Linklater's poignant and perceptive script provide the film with a heightened sense of realism. The characters talk about everything from reincarnation to their first sexual feelings while playing verbal games with each other. The camera never leaves them, as if there is a voyeur observing them. The naturalistic acting and Linklater's occasional use of long takes give us that feeling of watching events unfolding in real-time. Coupled with the postcard backdrop of Vienna, it is like an ode to the spirit of romance that ironically is so often lacking in films about romance.

We sense the characters' attraction to each other, and this is communicated to us in the most subtle of ways. In perhaps the film's most memorable scene, the couple nervously tries to avoid eye contact in an awkward situation listening to a record in a booth. In another scene in a moving tram, Jesse tries to secretly brush off a lock of hair from Celine, but when she looks up, he puts his hand away. Such is Linklater's observant eye and keen understanding of human nonverbal interaction that it is a joy to watch all these details at play.

The bittersweet ending brings tears, but it is not as devastating as Lean's Brief Encounter (1945), which covers similar ground. Jesse and Celine have already regarded their departure from each other as inevitable. Even though we wish to see them spend another day, another week, or month together, or heck, even get married, we know that may not be the best for them in the long-term. This emotional polarization of our feelings is deftly handled by Linklater, whose free-spirited film remains resonant to a whole generation of Gen X youths looking for love. This is a must-watch!

GRADE: A (9/10 or 4.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

Michel Gondry's fabulous new film takes 'parody movies' to another level, just as he took romantic comedies to dizzying heights in Eternal Sunshine And The Spotless Mind (the film that propelled him to stardom). Gondry is one of Hollywood's most bankable independent filmmakers, whose pictures are more often noted for its mind-bending story lines than any other aspects. Be Kind Rewind is not the gem Eternal Sunshine was, but it entertains and satisfies just as much.

Scary Movie popularized 'parody movies'. Unfortunately, it also gave rise to appalling sequels and silly rip-offs such as Epic Movie and Meet The Spartans. Be Kind Rewind could have fallen into the same Venus flytrap, but hey it's a Gondry picture, so that's a low possibility. In fact, it redefines how a 'parody movie' should be shot. Spoofing films from Kubrick's mind-blowing 2001: A Space Odyssey to Bertolucci's erotic Last Tango In Paris to Robocop, Ghostbusters, and The Lion King amongst many others, Be Kind Rewind pokes fun into these movies, drawing huge roars of laughter from viewers; Gondry knows how to balance between humor and at the same time, he does well in not devaluating the spoofed films.

Jack Black and Mos Def play the film's two leading roles. Black plays the 'funny guy' role to excellence, but he's able to exude a respectable degree of seriousness in most of the emotional sequences. Def gives a restrained but quite an effective performance throughout. Somehow both of them are pinned down by an aged Danny Glover whose display is warm and subtle. The ending sequence reminds of Cinema Paradiso, and is a tribute to the love and art of movie-making.

Be Kind Rewind is tailored to appeal to teenagers, with Jack Black as the crowd-pulling factor. However, how many teens have seen 2001: A Space Odyssey or Driving Miss Daisy, and have realized the significance of the humor involved? A minority I guess. Genuine film lovers will love Gondry's latest flick, but although it pleases, Be Kind Rewind will never be truly appreciated by people without a vast knowledge of film.

GRADE: B+ (8/10 or 3.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

The first major film of 2008 happens to be the most debatable. You either like it or loathe it. Few will choose to sit on the fence. Yes, I give it an 8/10, pretty high by my strict standards, but nevertheless very justified. As a critic points out, Cloverfield is to monster movies what The Blair Witch Project is to horror. Possibly only the second film to emulate the marketing and filming techniques of The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield's success in drawing mass appeal from everywhere lies from the word-of-mouth rather than relying wholesale on creative posters or spectacular trailers.

The 'camcorder' technique or what I term as the 'camera on a trampoline (COAT)' technique has been used sparsely in many films, even as recent as The Bourne Ultimatum. Apart from The Blair Witch Project, it has never been used to compose a full feature-length film before. Forget about Godzilla, or The Host, or a whole bunch of monster flicks you can find at your nearest DVD rental store, Cloverfield is probably the most uniquely assembled film of that genre ever. It kicks you in the butt, and pulls you by the neck, dragging you into an experience that cinema rarely offers - witnessing a monster attack in New York through the lens of a video cam.

How I must emphasize that Cloverfield fulfills that precisely. There's no introduction, no ending, no clear explanation on the monster's origin or its demise, and there's bad scripting, editing, and directing - all the characteristics of a tape from a camcorder. What the heck is Cloverfield? Is it even a movie? Why should I put up with something that makes me feel dizzy for ninety minutes? If you did ask such questions, then you weren't mentally prepared for the picture.

I have to admit though there are a couple of major flaws. If it's a tape recording, then why is the sound and sound editing (which should be nominated for Oscars) so clear and undistorted? And why is there no dust or soot smearing some part of the lens? Ignoring these flaws mean that Cloverfield is not as realistic as it should have been. But it's a compromise which most viewers will agree. After all, a movie has to be of a certain respectable quality.

Cloverfield is a sensation, a movie event that's ought to be experienced (regardless of how it affects the viewer). Yes, it's risky business. The filmmakers dare to try something unorthodox even if it means theater walkouts, viewers' condemnations, and even possible box-office failure. Cloverfield is an important film because it's deviative rather than derivative. To some of us, it's a gem. For the rest, it's an unforgiving, I-feel-like-puking exercise in visual disorientation.

GRADE: B+ (8/10 or 3.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

Two years before Ridley Scott scared the wits out of moviegoers with the claustrophobic Alien (1979), a young Steven Spielberg had already thought of outer space. He gave us benevolent aliens instead. While Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Alien are undeniably great films about that nagging possibility of life in the faraway corners of our universe, both represent very clearly two extreme ends of the spectrum between good and evil.

Close Encounters was made at a time when science-fiction cinema was godly. The late 1970s/early 1980s was the golden period for science- fiction that saw the likes of top-quality films such as Star Wars (1977), Alien, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982), and Blade Runner (1982) being worshipped on the pedestal for cinematic brilliance. Fresh from the box-office and critical success of Jaws (1975), Spielberg pushed the boundaries of sci-fi storytelling with a bold and visionary film that continues to weave its magic on moviegoers more than thirty years on.

Richard Dreyfuss stars as Roy Neary, an out-of-sorts father whose encounter with UFOs one night causes him to become inexplicably drawn to a certain image that he tries to make sense of. Ignoring his frustrated family, he builds an entire sculpture that looks like a huge rock mountain out of mud, soil, and brick right in his home. That whole sequence is a splendid example of a set-piece that is not only absurdly hilarious, but also acts as a midpoint "bridge" between the film's establishing first half and the free-spirited second half.

Spielberg intentionally paces the film more slowly than your typical Hollywood blockbuster, taking time to create a strong sense of mystery of the unknown. There is misdirection in certain scenes that suggest that the aliens could be malevolent. The long setup creates suspense and builds to a high level of anticipation. When we eventually get to the climax, we sense something truly special is about to happen. John Williams' unforgettable score is integral to the success of this setup as he plays with variations of the famous five-note leitmotif that would burst into a full orchestral piece in the climax.

The majestic finale is awe-inspiring, and a feast for the eyes and ears. Through the use of models, clever use of lighting, and framing of shots, Spielberg conjures up a climatic set-piece that remains one of the best in the history of Hollywood cinema. On hindsight, with Close Encounters, Spielberg has fashioned what seems like a "prelude" to his most famous film E.T. While E.T. is undeniably an emotional roller coaster ride of the highest order, Close Encounters is a more sensory one that emphasizes on pure visual spectacle. Even then, the film is remarkably thought-provoking. It is simply too difficult not to admire this Spielberg masterpiece.

GRADE: A+ (9.5/10 or 5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

Terrence Malick's Days Of Heaven is a remarkable film achievement though it is mostly for its stunning, Oscar-winning cinematography by Nestor Almendros. Malick is one of cinema's "quietest" filmmakers, directing only four films in the last four decades - Badlands (1973), Days Of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998) and The New World (2005). Of all his films thus far (discounting his latest Tree of Life (2011)), Days Of Heaven is probably the best representation of Malick's unique filmmaking style – the use of nature as an important backdrop that serves the function of thematically or metaphorically parallelizing with the film's plot.

Days Of Heaven is almost like a film reel of poetic images one after another, capturing the lives of immigrants as they travel to rural Texas by train to farm and harvest crops. The film is narrated by a young girl called Linda, who appears on screen only sporadically. She is an orphan, leading a nomadic life while observing human nature and interaction. At the heart of Days Of Heaven is a triangular love story involving two men played by Richard Gere and Sam Shepard, and a woman played by Brooke Adams.

The performances given by the main cast are not as good as expected; the emotions are muted and somewhat lacking in intensity, though they somehow fit with Malick's unobtrusive, almost meditative style. Even though it is fictional, Days of Heaven could have been mistaken for a poetic period piece "documentary" about the struggles of farmers and peasants as they work long backbreaking hours with almost nonexistent pay. The slow and solemn music by Ennio Morricone gives the film a melancholic, nostalgic touch, describing an era that is lost forever to mankind, but aptly recaptured on film by the hands of a master filmmaker at the top of his game.

This is the rare occasion when cinematography singularly overwhelms every aspect of a film. Everything else plays second fiddle, though on repeated viewings, Linda's narration becomes more meaningful and deep. There is a notable sequence two-thirds into the film – the locust attack – a natural phenomenon captured with admirable technique and is a mesmerizing blend of sight and sound. Days Of Heaven may be lacking in terms of storytelling and acting, but the quality of its visuals has been rarely surpassed. This understated but contemplative Malick effort remains to be arguably the most beautifully shot film in the history of cinema.

GRADE: B+ (8/10 or 3.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

What's there not to like about a fat panda demonstrating his prowess in the art of kung fu fighting? Po (Jack Black) returns in the second installment of the much loved Dreamworks' Animation hit Kung Fu Panda (2008), once again teaming up with his fellow band of warriors to try to defeat a villain, Lord Shen (Gary Oldman), who harbors the evil dream of conquering China with his latest invention – a cannonball weapon. Very much adhering to the action-comedy formula laid down by its prequel, Kung Fu Panda 2 is a blast to watch on the big screen.

Directed by newcomer Jennifer Yuh, Kung Fu Panda 2 impresses with its attention to cultural detail. The computer-generated visuals give a distinctive Oriental feel and many of the majestic architecture bear striking resemblances to that of Miyazaki's Spirited Away (2001), though they are not as magical or poetic as the hand-drawn quality of the latter. Yuh's direction is excellent for someone embarking on her debut feature. The film never lacks energy and vigor, and packs quite a lot of action into ninety minutes, though it could be said that there is a slight overdose of action scenes, which sometimes can be chaotic to follow.

Unlike sequels that see no growth in the development of their lead characters, Kung Fu Panda 2 tackles Po's backstory through a commanding use of intermittent flashbacks that are depicted using interesting "paper-cut style" animation. This provides ample development to Po's character and gives us a strong reason to empathize with him. Surprisingly, the filmmakers handle the emotional nuances of Po's early years very well, with an especially touching scene involving his mother abandoning him in a wooden crate of fruits and vegetables while hunting wolves presumably lead her to her death.

Kung Fu Panda 2 references popular culture, though not as explicitly as some of Pixar's films like Toy Story (1995) or Finding Nemo (2003). Most notable ones include a reference to Jackie Chan (who voices one of the characters here) movies involving trying to avoid signs on top of a moving vehicle, and a Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) reference that sees Po "coming back up" on a rotating wheel ala Schwarzenegger. While not as fun and carefree as the first installment, Kung Fu Panda 2 still packs a solid punch. I do look forward to the certainty of a part three, which will most likely involve an emotional paternal struggle over Po.

GRADE: B+ (8/10 or 3.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.

From Susanne Bier, one of Denmark's top woman directors, In a Better World comes with the honour of securing both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language film. Shot in Denmark and Kenya, the film explores themes of vengeance, hate, and loneliness as writer Anders Thomas Jensen (Brothers, 2004; After the Wedding, 2006) delivers a sensitive screenplay that probes us to think about the nature of conflict and Man's capacity for violence. Together with Bier's assured direction, In a Better World is a well-conceived drama, though it is not exactly a top tier foreign language film.

The film follows a Swedish doctor called Anton (Mikael Persbrandt) who works in a Sudanese refugee camp in Africa, but occasionally travels back to a small, quiet town in Denmark where his family live. His son, Elias (Markus Rygaard), befriends a new boy at school called Christian (William Johnk Nielsen) who protects Elias from a sadistic bully. One day, Anton tries to stop a playground fight over a swing by two boys, one of them his younger son, but gets physically bullied instead by the father of the other boy. Christian is disturbed by Anton's refusal to react and begins a plan to destroy Anton's "bully".

Though the film is bookended with sequences showing Anton in Sudan, I don't think there is a lead character. In fact, Bier's film does not need one at all. The lack of a clear-cut protagonist allows the plot to accommodate the stories of Anton, Elias, and Christian in a neatly interwoven series of interactions without the pressure of conforming to the development of a specific character. The acting is not particularly noteworthy, but as a whole, the ensemble cast achieves a sense of collective coherence that comes from their characters being visibly motivated by causal circumstances.

The film questions the motivation for violence. When someone hits you, do you hit back? Or do you choose to take a pacifist approach and ignore your tormentor instead? But what if that person hits you harder the next time? Who wins in such a scenario? Bier parallels the effects of ethnic violence in Sudan with Christian's motivation to blow up a van belonging to Anton's "bully", bringing to light the fact that as long as there is hatred, the cycle of violence will never stop.

There are a few scenes steeped in irony: innocent and carefree African kids in the refugee camp happily chase after a truck ferrying aid workers, unbeknown of the violence that their people are suffering every day under the hands of a cruel warlord. Contrast this with the serene, peaceful life in a Danish town, in which its inhabitants are unaware that a pre-teen is about to commit a potentially devastating terrorist act. In a Better World does not leave any loose ends untouched, with the filmmakers opting for an upbeat ending that completes the film. It does not seek greatness, but it is still a film that should be worth your time.

GRADE: B (7.5/10 or 3.5 stars)

www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com

All rights reserved.