What the Film » DVD releases

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

what the film — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:39:27 +0000

‘4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days’ has been released on DVD and has been named the winner of BBC 4 World Cinema in 2009. The director of the movie is Cristi Puiu and the leading actress – Anamaria Marinca does a brilliant main character.

The story is simple, set on the background of communist Romania in 1987 (the hardest times under the regime). A pregnant student decides to have an illegal abortion after 4 months, 3 weeks and 2 days of hesitation. In order to have the abortion, her friend helps get the money for the intervention and also book a hotel room where to have the abortion. She is recommended a seedy man who does illegal abortions and in the end they find a room in a hotel and get there.

The film had two scenes rather hard to watch: the first is the scene when the seedy man is explaining what he will do and suggest safe actions if complications appear after the abortion.

The second hard scene to watch is when the aborted foetus is shown on the bathroom floor and the camera lingers for seconds over that failed being. The pro-lifers might not enjoy the movie but the film does not advocate abortion either. The opinion of the judges before awarding the BBC 4 prize was that the film offers an image of a society. Until 1990 abortion and contraceptive methods were forbidden in Romania but this did not stop the illegal and risky abortions done by non-medical people. It created a whole generation of unwanted children. This phenomenon (named as the biggest demographic experiment of the 20th century) is also described in a documentary called “The children of the Decree”.

Kung Fu Panda

what the film — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:20:33 +0000

In Kung Fu Panda, funny man Jack Black lends his voice to a big, tubby Panda named Po who works in a noodle restaurant owned by his father (which is a goose by the way) but dreams of becoming a Kung Fu master.

One fateful day, Master Oogway, the great and wise tortoise, predicted that the evil snow leopard Tai Lung would escape from prison and wreak havoc into the village. Master Shifu, the Kung Fu master, was alarmed and immediately sent his messenger to go to the prison. After Shifu heard the news, he instantly gathered the Furious Five; Tigress, Crane, Monkey, Viper and Mantis and announced to the whole valley that they will be choosing the Dragon Warrior which they believed was the only one who could defeat Tai Lung. When Po heard this news, he hurried up the steps going to the temple with great difficulty just so he can watch who among his heroes, the Furious Five, would be chosen. In a twist of hilarious fate, Po was the one chosen by Oogway to be the Dragon Warrior. Much to his delight, Po tried his very best to train but to no avail particularly since Shifu and the Furious Five wants him gone.

When Oogway passed away, Shifu had no other choice but to accept Po and train him. In the end, Po finally learned Kung Fu through food techniques and was victorious in defeating Tai Lung.

This movie had me laughing from start to finish and I definitely recommend it to anyone who needs a little perk me up.

Shrek 3 film review

Along Came Polly

cinema review — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 06:29:05 +0000

I am a big Jennifer Aniston fan and I love all her movies and shows. With all her movies, this is one of my favorites. Along Came Polly was released back in 2004 and it’s a romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller.

The title is perfect for this movie since Ben’s character Reuben had a terrible experience with his wife on their honeymoon when he saw her sleeping with their diving instructor. He then met Polly who was his school friend. They immediately felt a connection with each other although the two are the complete opposite of each other. Reuben is afraid to take risks and doesn’t like germs a lot while Polly is a waitress who is not ready to settle down and get married and lives with her blind ferret.

Reuben’s wife came back in the end and wanted to make amends but Reuben decided to take the risk and live a miserable life with Polly than go back to his unfaithful wife and live normally.

Eventually Polly and Reuben got married and went back to the same place where Reuben and his former wife had a honeymoon. There he met the guy that stole his wife. Instead of being mad, he thanked him because now he found the right woman for her. That part is one of my favorite really as it shows how this man really loves Polly that despite what he experienced in the past, he is thankful because it led him to her.

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Shrek 3 film review

cinema review — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:16:10 +0000

I am the type of person who prefers movies that doesn’t have bad villains on a killing spree. I prefer watching movies that makes me feel good and relaxed. After all, when I watch a movie it’s because I want to relax so how could I possibly relax when my blood is rising with every scene? It’s why I really love Shrek the movie. It’s one of my favorite movies and I’ve watched all 3 films! And, I didn’t just watch it one time I bet I’ve watched it over 10 times each! That’s how much I love this movie! I love Shrek and Fiona! I’m such a fan.

Shrek 3 is similar to Shrek and Shrek 2 where there are lots of singing and their own versions of the popular songs we are all familiar with. I love all the evil villains such as Captain Hook, the Wicked Queen, the Headless Horseman and even Pinocchio’s puppet master!

In this movie Fiona’s dad, the King died but before he died he told Fiona and Shrek that they are the next in line for the throne. Shrek was not happy with this and asked if there is another way to solve the issue and King Harold said that there is someone else in line, and that is Arthur, his nephew. Shrek was in a quest to find this Arthur and saw that he was a laughing stock in his school and was called a loser. Eventually though, Arthur became victorious with the fight against Prince Charming and he accepted the throne as the new king. Shrek and Fiona returned to their swamp and had 3 babies. Now, that’s what I call a happy ending.

Fireflies in the Garden

cinema review — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 01:40:13 +0000

A movie with Julia Roberts, Ryan Reynolds and many others. The story is like an autobiography that centers in the role of Ryan Reynold’s Michael Waechter. Michael is the son of Charles Waechter, who is an insecure man who does not know how to be a father to Michael. Michael was beaten up and emotionally tortured by his father. His mother tried to protect Michael but was not really able to protect him much. The story was set at the time when Julia’s character, Lisa, was going to her graduation. She died in a car accident and the graduation party turned to her wake. Michael recollected on his past during the event and you could really get drawn into the story as you feel pity for that little boy who was in need of love and acceptance from his father but never really got it.

The relationship between father and son was bruised and I can’t help but wonder why his sister, Ryne Waechter, seemed to have a good relationship with their father. Michael had a book that was about to be published and her aunt, Jane Lawrence, said it will reveal a secret. Up to the end of the story though, I am still dumbfounded as to what the book really had to say.

Perhaps it’s with what he experienced with his dad or maybe there is something more in it. The ending of the movie is just disappointing. He just went home… Nothing too special! Just when you think there’s a big reveal, you’d just be disappointed to learn that there really was none. I would still recommend this movie though.

Hellboy 2 a mix of fantasy and action

film reviewer — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:46:29 +0000

Hellboy 2 is a mix of suspense, fantasy, action and a little bit of a love story. If you like movies with superheroes then you better watch Hellboy 2 which is a sequel to the 2004 film entitled Hellboy. It’s not a boring movie at all and you wouldn’t want to miss a thing.

The movie’s plot is interesting. Hellboy was told a bedtime story when he was still young by his adoptive father about the fight between man and other magical creatures. They built a golden army for their King Balor but the golden army killed a lot of humans with no mercy so King Balor made a truce with the humans so there won’t be any more blood shed. Creatures would stay in the forests while men keep the cities. His son though was unhappy and left in exile.

The army was controlled by the magical crown and it was broken into 3 pieces. One piece is with the humans, while the 2 pieces are with the creatures.

The arrival of Prince Nuada, King Balor’s son, began the story where he vowed to destroy the humans by getting all of the 3 parts of the crown. Little did he know that one of the parts is with his beloved twin, Princess Nuala who he can not hurt because he will also get hurt. Princess Nuala was protected by the team of Hellboy but she later decided to kill herself just so her twin would also die.

Shrek 3 film review

Once – movie review

what the film — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:17:25 +0000

Once is an independent film shot in Ireland on a low budget. When a person hears those words they tend to think about indie films but in order to see just how low the budget for Once is you really need to watch the movie. There are scenes that are shot in such an amateurish way that it really does seem as though they were working with practically nothing in their budget.

In spite of those financial issues surrounding the release of the film, Once tells an interesting story of a man and a woman as they attempt to create a series of spontaneous songs that they then lay down into tracks over the course of a weekend of all nighters. It is a very nice story that makes you feel good to watch it and for that reason Once is definitely a good choice for a movie to watch if you want to have a warm feeling inside at the end of it.

When it comes right down to it, the story is really the only thing the movie has going for it. As previously mentioned the camera work is very low budget and the screenplay is not particularly impressive.

The performances by the actors are not really that impressive either, although they are neither bad nor good. Overall, the story carries the movie from start to finish as it reminds us all of that one dream we’d really love to carry through and what we would do if we had a week to make it come true.

5 best recent sitcoms

what the film — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:38:17 +0000

Now before I get attacked by a slew of condemnations and recommendations about The Golden Girls, or Faulty Towers and the such, let’s all remember that entertainment is subjective. It’s all a matter of taste. Especially when it comes to sitcoms, they are not high art, they are just there to entertain and numb your brain after a long day at work and a hot and sticky commute. So here are just some of the sitcoms I have enjoyed watching over the last few years.

I can clearly remember years ago, being up at 3am (I must have still been in university) and this show came on. I’d never heard of it before and it was apparently a rerun of the first episode that had been aired earlier that day. So it was a family sitting around a table having breakfast. Pretty normal, up until it was revealed that the father of the family was naked, reading a newspaper at the table, while the mother was shaving his back with a hair trimmer. So I came to fall in love with Malcolm In The Middle. I think it’s most winning point, apart from the fabulously chaotic sense of humour and the chaos theory narratives, has to be the fact that they have made misery funny, especially in latest episodes I’ve seen, where both the parents are now unemployed.

One night, quite a few years ago now, my brother called me into his room to see something hilarious. I stared at the screen for several minutes, afraid to laugh, scared that what I was watching was true, terrified that somewhere out there, this man is a real person. It was David Brent, series 1 episode 1 of The Office. Apart from picking up where Larry Sanders had left off all those years ago, this comedy of cringe became all the more enjoyable as it went on. And it reached its pinnacle for me when the relationship between Dawn and Tim is finally resolved. I cannot possibly say whether or not they get together at the end of the series, because there may be someone, in a cave presumably, that has not seen it yet, but what I can say is that I cried.

Arrested Development has the essence of the show’s humour right in its title. Puns seem to run through this sitcom so often, it is like reading a restoration comedy play or a Terry Pratchett comedy fantasy novel. Each of the characters is inspired and completely unsavable, except perhaps for the kids, which just makes us enjoy the adults’ suffering even more. As the plot takes one improbable twist after the other you cannot possibly guess where it is going.

King of the whole Larry Sanders, Extras, famous people playing themselves sitcom, has to be Curb Your Enthusiasm. Keeping the number of famous people on the show steady, and giving them a chance to actually develop as characters throughout the episodes, this Jewish comedy gem loves to play with political correctness and stereotypes and manages to do so with excellent style. You cannot possibly help but feel sorry for Larry David, playing himself, in situations that he has probably experienced, just as his character says he has done with Seinfeld.

Finally, and although I know most people will never agree with me, my favourite sitcom for the last few years and at the moment, has to be Scrubs. This is why I don’t want to get into a whole conversation about what is the best sitcom. I have friends who are directors and find it completely juvenile and stupid. But I love every second of every episode of the show. Dr. Cox’s insulting monologues, JD’s daydreams, the janitor’s revenge tactics, and of course all the falling over. It seems like an innocent style of comedy that was lost long before Friends ever came on the scene. And the final aspect of the show that makes it stand out so much to me, is the fact that it manages to draw comedy from the most dire of stories, while at the same time not going for cheap emotion. The characters grow from series 1 to series 7, their lives and problems change and they have to deal with it.

That’s just five off the top of my head. Having written this now, more instantly pop into my head like Green Wing, perhaps the most surreal and out there series ever, and Pushing Daisies which is a masterpiece as far as production design and cinematography is concerned, but I cannot keep going on forever or this post will turn into a book. There’s lots of top 5s or top 10s out there, so you can treat it like one of those if you like. All of these series are out there, either available to view online or to buy at Amazon or eBay or at a shop near you. Put an episode on and let it chase your troubles away.

Shane Meadows, Mr. Selfdestruct

what the film — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 18:50:09 +0000

My mother’s last birthday present to me was a box set. What can I say, the woman knows me well. Probably because I had been going on and on about Shane Meadows and This is England. So now I own a box set of his films called This is Shane Meadows and it includes all of his feature films as well as some wonderful bonus material.

Although Mr. Meadows’ films are all different stories, with nothing to connect them directly, there is an underlying theme to all of them, one that he explores over and over again, and has done incredibly well in This is England. It is the them of the self destructive male.

All of his films feature a male protagonist who is trying very hard to control himself. They try to teach and be in charge of their own behaviour and emotions. And yet in each one they lose that control with terrible results. The difference from other violent male leads is that Meadows accepts that these characters are flawed, they are not to be role models, even though in the context of the film they try to be. In the end, they cannot take their own advice and destroy themselves and the things they love around them.

Meadows’ two best points are his excellent directing of actors (and a bloody good casting director) and the emotional depth and development of his characters. He creates a British cinema that is very different to anything else coming out of the UK. It reminds me of 1970s films from the US when suddenly the studios let a pack of kids run wild, which resulted in Taxi Driver and Easy Rider, but his films are also much more European. In the simplicity of his film making there is intellect and care for his characters that ultimately affects and reaches the audience.

Overall this is an excellent box set, although the commentaries weren’t great. It is a well rounded way to get introduced to one of the best film directors working in the UK at the moment. The box set has been out for a while, so prices have dropped at most DVD websites and shops. Enjoy!