msanthropickat on xanga
tunes: Wu-Tang Clan - Reunited

Quote of the day: "What... it's too GIRLY for him?" - CJ on why Hung Tsi Kuan wouldn't learn Crane style kung fu in Executioners from Shaolin

A Tale of Two Sisters
Korean with English Subtitles

A highly recommended film that was set to screen as part of the Danger After Dark program, I was really anticipating this movie. First show sold out in advance and the second time it screened, it was a near sell-out. I managed to overhear some of the patrons' comments on the film and a lot of them weren't good, often comparing it to other films such as Kubrick's The Shining. So anyway, the movie...

The film starts off with the girls arriving at their fathers' house (a fairly nice one, too, I'd kill 2 cats and a lizard for that swingset) and there are some scenes of the two sisters bonding. I really liked the younger one, with the short hair. She was just so innocent looking (must've been the huge round eyes). The older sister and the stepmom really didn't get along and there were a lot of uncomfortable, strained scenes, such as dinner time (no I didn't remember what they were eating, unfortunately). Not to mention a lot of the typical evil stepmother bitch scenes.

The scene that really stand out in the movie, or was just so memorable because of the audience's reaction, was the one after the brother and his girlfriend/fiancee leave. The stepmother decides to check out what's under the kitchen cabinet. Which is always a fun thing to do because you just never know what you'd find there. Like M&Ms. Or an ice cream cake. Ice cream cakes are so yummy. Especially with crumbled up cookie things. Mmmm....

Good grief was the cinematography amazing. It is the Renuzit of all cinematography. I especially loved the scene in the flashback with the closet, and everyone all just turns toward the sound and is frozen. Fucking EXCELLENT!

Definitely see this film before the American remake hits the theaters! It is definitely worth your time. It's thrilling with a terrific story, great directing, and unbelievable cinematography. You know I gave this sucka an A+. If there was anything higher than an A, this movie deserves it. It's so good, it goes beyond A, and hits Z. Or it's so good that it ventures into numerical territory, in which it is #1.

msanthropickat on xanga
tunes: Massive Attack - Dissolved Girl

Quote of the day: SUGOI OVERLOAD!

Check it out yo, I updated this shizzle. Dude, lyke I am sooo down, u no. Anyway, I've been busy working the film festival, which is why I've rarely blogged. I should've blogged when CJ and I went to see Melt-Banana cuz it rocked the haus. We got to meet them, get autographs, and had a terrific view of Agata. They played Cell-Scape, which was really sugoi. I've seen a shitload of movies that I don't feel like reviewing right now. I should take a shower, I know that guy will yell at me for waking up the entire neighborhood (yeah, right... those loud motherfuckers!).

Spellbound: When I was in grade school, I was an avid speller. I just kicked serious ass in spelling bees and represented my schools in competitions and shit. People made fun of me and said I was the 'spelling bee champ'. Who cares, I can spell 'iceberg'. But not 'adjourn'. Sniff sniff. Oh yeah. The doc was good. Go check it out if you think geeks are hawt n speling rawks ur sox!

LOTR: ROTK: Fuck LOTR I am so sick of this shit. Eowyn did rawk, though with her 'gurlz rool!' role. Of course, the battle scenes were mad spanking hot monkey donut fun. I STARVED though. Damn 3 hour movies. Damn expensive fake butter popcorn at huge multiplex theaters!

The Return: Goddamnit, why didn't I review this after the movie? Tarkovsky deserves an essay on how sweet honey rabbit butterscotch raspberry jam cool this is. Well, he probably wouldn't like that I said all those shoujo shit before but... yeah. I could, like, totally identify with this movie, you know?! Well, at least with the bratty younger brother, Ivan, who was a prick. Well, the biggest prick out of the two. The whole atmosphere of this movie was just brilliant. If this movie had to be ice cream, it would be vanilla bean. Because vanilla bean is fucking awesome.

T3: RotM: YO ITZ AHNOLD N HEZ GOT LIKE GUNZ N SHIT N STUFFZ BLOWD UP N OMFG ITZ SOOO KEWL YO.

Today I learned: Yeeehay! The film festival is OVAHHH! Kyo is soo hawt.

Movies to Review: A Tale of Two Sisters, Azumi, Intermission, Goodbye Lenin!
Movies to See: Kitchen Stories, I'm Not Scared

msanthropickat on xanga
tunes: Dir en grey - Mr. Newsman

Quote of the day: "She should take off her corset and make him wear it..." - CJ on explaining a way Sue could've stopped Dr. Jerrod in House of Wax

Monsieur Ibrahim - French with English Subtitles
Viewed: Friday, April 2, 2004 @ Ritz 5

Pierre Boulanger is a cute kid. He doesn't sound 16, but he is (according to what he tells the hookers). The movie opens up with him going about his usual morning routine. A flashback is seen where his father is teaching him the value of saving funds, which he demonstrates with a piggy bank. Moses (Momo) later uses that money to pay a prostitute to take away his virginity. I happen to think that is pretty fucking cool. His dad is a mean prick with indigestion who makes him go to the Arab's to buy things. The "Arab" is Monsieur Ibrahim (we don't actually hear his name until later in the film) who befriends Momo and becomes a mentor since Momo's father is such an insensitive jerk.

The movie is very charming, despite the fact that there's a young boy who frequents streetwalkers. The biggest letdown was the end of the movie. Similar to Fulltime Killer, some movies just DO NOT have to have a complete ending. They don't necessarily have to be finalized like 'YES THIS IS THE END OF THE STORY'. Sometimes I'd rather contemplate possible endings rather than having one chosen for me. Actually, the whole 'let's go travel Europe' part never really appealed to me, although it wasn't terribly bad. I can understand the need to bond, two different generations, two different religions. It's good for Momo to see various parts of the world and learn more about cultures.

I give the movie a B+. It started off strong for the first hour and a half, then kinda wallowed around and lost steam. It's still a good movie and I'd recommend it. I'm curious about where Boulanger is headed after this. Sharif is a big star, he's in classic films like Dr. Zhivago (no, I haven't seen it) and in the more recent Hidalgo. The man who plays Momo's father is also in the Trilogy series, which played at the theater where I work. The last part of the trilogy tells more of his story, but unfortunately, I missed it.

Crimson Gold - Farsi with English Subtitles
Viewed: Wednesday, March 30, 2004 @ Ritz 5

The first 20 minutes are vital to the movie. Do not miss it if you are planning to see this film in a theater! Well, it's no longer in theaters here, anyway. So yeah, the movie, I was just following along, watching Hussein in his everyday routine. It wasn't bad, but if you hadn't seen the opening scenes, you'd probably just sit around wondering why the hell it's so important to the movie. The fact that he's a pizza delivery man. Woo.

I can't really give this movie a fair review since I missed a portion of it, but I heard it was really good. Yup.

Today I learned: Damnit, out of laundry detergent! Argh! I have to work 5 to close tonight, but that's okay because maybe I'll have time to watch some of Intermission. I've been meaning to change the layout to this site sometime, just haven't gotten around to doing so. It's easier to do it at work where I have Visual Studio .NET.

Movies to review: Spellbound, LOTR: ROTK, The Return, T3: RotM
Movies to see: Intermission, Jersey Girl, Goodbye Lenin!