"Nobody said it. This time it's all me. Life isn't like in the movies. Life... is much harder."

Nuovo cinema Paradiso

1988; Italy; 155 min.

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

Screenplay: Vanna Paoli, Giuseppe Tornatore

Music: Ennio Morricone

Cast:

Maria Di Vita (Younger) - Antonella Attili

Spaccafico - Enza Cannavale

Anna - Isa Danieli

Usher - Leo Gullotta

Salvatore 'Toto' Di Vita (Teenager) - Marco Leonardi

Maria Di Vita (Older) - Pupella Maggio

Elena Mendola - Agnese Nano

Father Adelfio - Leopoldo Trieste

Salvatore 'Toto' Di Vita (Child) - Salvatore Cascio

Blacksmith - Tano Cimarosa

Village Idiot - Nicola Di Pinto

Lia - Roberta Lena

Peppino's Father - Nino Terzo

Salvatore 'Toto' Di Vita (Adult) - Jacques Perrin

Alfredo - Philippe Noiret

I absolutely love this film! Although I didn't see the end yet, I do feel that I can give a valid opinion about it. (I need to see the end of this film ASAP!) This is definitely one of my favorite films ever. I was hooked from the very first day we watched this in class. The film was so incredibly charming and enchanting. I really just can't praise this film enough! I guess I'll use this blog post to talk about what aspects of this film that I loved...

• Casting: All of the three Salvatores were so brilliantly selected. The young Salvatore was absolutely adorable. The teenage Salvatore was gorgeous. The older Salvatore's appearance was indicative of a full life. I guess I mean that the older Salvatore seemed to have experience a lot in his life - he was somewhat hardened by war and troubles. Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) was just fantastic in his role. The film chemistry between all of the characters was just plain outstanding.
• Plot: If I didn't reiterate it enough already, I thought that this film was just brilliant. The plot was unique and extremely enjoyable. I loved the non-linear structure and the way that the plot went back and forth between the present and the past. The love story was captivating. The scene with Elena (Agnese Nano) and Toto kissing in the rain was particularly amazing. I also loved the part where Alfredo moves the film from inside to outside the square. The music that is played during that sequence along with the film itself just made my jaw drop.
• Cinematography: Some of the shots of Italy were just breathtaking. I was completely in awe. This film makes me want to pack up and move to Italy.

I think I've already expressed enough about this film. I highly recommend it to anyone and plan to buy it soon and watch it many times!

iRate: 5/5 films

Trailer: Click here!

"Doctors... Lawyers... never get past 60 thousand rupees. He's won 10 million."

Slumdog Millionaire

2009; UK; 120 min.

Director: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan

Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy, Vikas Swarup

Music: various artists

Cast:

Jamal Malik - Dev Patel

Prem Kumar - Anil Kapoor

Sergeant Srinivas - Saurabh Shukla

Director - Rajendranath Zutshi

Vision Mixer - Jeneva Talwar

Latika - Freida Pinto

Police Inspector - Irrfan Khan

Youngest Salim - Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail

Youngest Jamal - Ayush Mahesh Khedekar

I had heard amazing things about "Slumdog Millionaire." I think that whenever you go into a film with high expectations, it's hard to come out of the film absolutely loving it (case and point, "Casablanca"...). I really did enjoy "Slumdog Millionaire," but I didn't think that it was the best film I've ever seen in my life. I went to go see the film with two other film students, and we had a lot of fun talking about it afterwards and thinking about it from a film perspective. "Slumdog Millionaire" is the non-linear story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) and his rise from the slums. Eventually, Jamal ends up on his country's version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" and that's where the story begins. He is being questioned by the police and is being tortured because no one can believe that Jamal could have achieved what he did on the show without cheating. As the audience is taken through the show, we learn how Jamal knows the answers to all of the questions. We flashback to his traumatic childhood and the rest of his life. I cannot comprehend people who have called this a feel-good film. As one of my friends said after watching it, "This makes me feel horrible about myself." And it does. Jamal's childhood is absolutely brutal and upsetting. The story does have a sort of decent resolution for Jamal. The film ends with the credits and a Bollywood-style music video, which I thought was inappropriate at the time. I did enjoy the little video though. 

I definitely overlooked the costumes and sets while I was watching this film. Everything looked so real that I just disregarded it (I don't know if that makes sense...). It's hard to imagine all of the work that went into those aspects of the film. Everything looked absolutely effortless and smooth. The scenery and costumes were so perfect for the film. The cinematography was great. The film was filled with canted angles. It was actually ridiculous how many there were. Considering the fact that canted angles are supposed to show characters in distress, the shots were apropos to the plot. The soundtrack to the film was pretty good. I was a little taken aback when "Paper Planes," by M.I.A., started playing in the background. My fellow filmers and I all started laughing in confusion. The lyrics of the song did somewhat apply to the events in the film. It was just shocking to see such a commercial, mainstream song about drugs being played while two little boys were begging and riding on trains.

I really did enjoy this film a lot. When you step back and consider all of the factors that went into this film in particular, it's amazing how smooth this film looks. I love the plot about the game show and the structure of the film. In psychology, we learned about something called group polarization. (I know this doesn't directly relate to my blog but I had to post it.) Group polarization is when your opinions are further enhanced when discussing an issue and sharing like opinions with a group of people. I think that what happened while writing this post was a bit of blog polarization. While at the beginning of this film I was somewhat enthusiastic about "Slumdog Millionaire," now I'm sort of like, "Wow! This was actually amazing!" The idea of blog polarization is my contribution to the blogging world, I guess... So on that note, I would definitely recommend "Slumdog Millionaire," but be warned, this is not a feel good film (unless you're the sadistic type and enjoy seeing people being blinded and beaten...)!

iRate: 4.5/5 answers (Oh, blog polarization!)

Trailer: Click here!

"Winner, winner, chicken dinner!"

21 

2008; USA; 123 min.

Director: Robert Luketic

Screenplay: Peter Steinfeld, Allan Loeb, Ben Mezrich

Music: David Sardy

Cast:

Ben Campbell - Jim Sturgess

Prof. Micky Rosa - Kevin Spacey

Jill Taylor - Kate Bosworth

Choi - Aaron Yoo

Kianna - Liza Lapira

Jimmy Fisher - Jacob Pitts

Cole Williams - Laurence Fishburne

Terry - Jack McGee

Miles Connoly - Josh Gad

"21" is the true story of five students from MIT who count cards playing blackjack. When Prof. Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey) encounters Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) in his math class, he quickly realizes that Ben is extremely smart. Ben is a hardworking student who wants to go to Harvard Med upon graduation from MIT. The only problem is that he doesn't have the money to afford the $300,000 tuition. His only chance for affording Harvard Med is a prestigious scholarship. Even though Ben has an extremely impressive academic record (1530 on his SATs, 4.0 GPA from MIT, 44 on his MCATs...), so do the other applicants for the scholarship. Ben needs something that will "jump off of the page" and "dazzle" the interviewer. There's nothing in Ben's life that really stands out, so when Professor Micky Rosa offers Ben the chance to join his underground blackjack team, Ben jumps at the chance. The team teaches Ben how to count cards - he catches on quickly enough to be designated as their team's captain. On the weekends, Ben and the team go to Vegas with Micky to play the system and make hundreds of thousands of dollars. The plot gets quite interesting when it seems like someone in the casino is beginning to catch onto Ben and the team.

I was extremely impressed with the camerawork in the film. I thought that some of it was reminiscent of Gus Van Sant's. The shots were precise and the high speed chases were filmed beautifully. The film actually reminded me a lot of "Good Will Hunting" - it's probably because it deals with MIT and Boston, though. I absolutely loved this film! I think it's a great story and the cast is wonderful. This had to definitely be one of my favorites! I would highly recommend this film to anyone - it's a truly fun film to watch!

iRate: 5/5 chips

Trailer: Click here!

"If memories could be canned, would they also have expiry dates? If so, I hope they last for centuries."

Chungking Express

1994; Hong Kong; 98 min.

Director: Kar Wai Wong

Screenplay: Kar Wai Wong

Music: Faye Wong, The Mamas and the Papas, Dennis Brown, Dinah Washington, Michael Galasso

Cast:

Woman in blonde wig - Brigitte Lin

Cop 663 - Tony Leung Chiu Wai

Faye - Faye Wong

He Zhiwu, Cop 223 - Takeshi Kaneshiro

Air Hostess - Valerie Chow

Manager of 'Midnight Express' - Chen Jinquan

Richard - Lee-na Kwan

Man - Zhiming Huang

The 2nd May - Liang Zhen

Man - Songshen Zuo

"Chungking Express" is an absolutely beautiful and amazing film. "Chungking Express" is the story of two cops and their romantic lives rolled into one. First, we encounter the woman in the blonde wig (Brigitte Lin) and her relationship with Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro). In a fast-paced segment of drug dealing, high speed chases, and shootings, the audience begins to wonder what exactly the woman in the blonde wig does. just as the audience starts to question that mystery, we are shifted over to another cop romance (cromance?) involving Faye (Faye Wong) and Cop 663 (Tony Leung Chiu Wai). The rest of the film follows the romance between Faye and Cop 663, leaving the audience to wonder what happened to the first part of the story, and what its significance is to the film.  

I love some of the ideas that were brought up in the film. A good film is one that makes you think, and this film definitely did. One idea that I liked was how you can pass by so many people every day without knowing what an impact they could possibly have on your life. I think that idea is just so profound and probably quite true. It's amazing to think of all of the people's paths that you cross and when you may or may not meet them again. On a daily basis, you could have bumped into the person you're going to marry or brushed past your future best friend. I think that by calling the cops in the film by numbers, the director is achieving the same effect. Those cops could be anyone. The numbers add to the anonymity of the characters. Another idea that I liked in the film was the concept of expiration dates. Cop 663 brings this idea up relating to pineapple and his ex-girlfriend, May. I love when Cop 663 talks about if love has an expiration date. In contrast to this idea of expiration dates, there's an idea expressed in this film that time moves on. Your choice is either to move with it and progress or live in the past. But also, is time a constant cycle? While the audience switches stories, we're still dealing with two cops. In the end, (SPOILER ALERT) Faye becomes a flight attendant, just like May was. Aside from the similar professions, a common theme of romance links the two stories together. I think that many elements of this film are very romantic, and even scenes that are fairly graphic are tastefully filmed.

Both the music and the cinematography in this film add to the plot to truly make it amazing. I love the song, "California Dreamin'," and had that leitmotif stuck in my head for the time after I watched the film. The cinematography in this film is absolutely outstanding. I love all of the camera effects that Wong uses. His camerawork is truly innovative and unlike anything that I have seen before. Wong uses many canted angles often, which are usually used by directors as a method to show conflict, as well as many other techniques. Below are some frames that I found particularly amazing:

One method that the director uses is a blurred shot or freeze frame. These help to add to the idea that time goes by even if you are caught up in your own world.

This scene is one of the ones that is shot in a very sophisticated, tasteful manner. For example, this scene uses symbols instead of bluntly showing you what happens between the two.

The director uses reflections many times to show characters in the film. The reflections add another dimension to the character and help the audience to literally see them from another perspective.

I think that it's necessary to go back and re-watch this film. I have a feeling that you could understand more of the plot if you do so. Some of the plot is still somewhat confusing for me - I plan on re-watching "Chungking Express." I may have never come across this film in my career as a film viewer, but I'm glad that I did - this film exceeded my expectations. I would highly recommend this film - it's amazing!

iRate: 5/5 airplanes

Trailer: Click here!

"Well, I got her number. How do you like them apples?"

Good Will Hunting
1997; USA; 126 min.

Director: Gus Van Sant
Screenplay: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck
Music: various artists

Cast:
Sean Maguire - Robin Williams
Will Hunting - Matt Damon
Chuckie Sullivan - Ben Affleck
Professor Gerald Lambeau - Stellan Skarsgard
Skylar - Minnie Driver

I was pleasantly surprised with our second student choice film, "Good Will Hunting." The plot was really smart and the screenplay itself was quite interesting. The plot begins as the viewer meets Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a janitor at MIT who hangs around drinking and smoking with a group of his buddies, including Chuckie Sullivan (Ben Affleck). One night, they meet Skylar (Minnie Driver) at a bar. At the bar, which happens to be populated with MIT students, another guy (an MIT student) is trying to pick up Skylar. Chuckie is also trying to do so, but the MIT student is showing off with his intellect. Will comes along and completely calls the MIT student out on his fake knowledge (he has simply regurgitated a textbook), impressing Skylar. Will catches the interest of Professor Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) when he solves an impossible math problem on the board. Will's journey continues as he works with the Professor, as he is taught by Maguire (Robin Williams), a psychologist, and as he falls in love with Skylar.

One interesting thing about the film is that the ending is not exactly 100% clear. As blogger Film Lover (http://tributetofilm.blogspot.com/) commented (in an amazing throwback to AP English 11-3), there were many "dramatic possibilites" to the ending of the film. A big shout-out is in order for blogger 7thpeerwatcher (http://7thpeerwatcher.blogspot.com/) for nominating the film. I would definitely recommend this film, and I'll probably end up watching it again!

iRate: 4.5/5 apples
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z02M3NRtkAA

"Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time."

Casablanca

1942; USA; 102 min.

Director: Michael Curtiz

Screenplay: Murray Burnett, Joan Alison, Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch, Casey Robinson

Music: Max Steiner

Cast:

Rick Blaine - Humphrey Bogart

Ilsa Lund - Ingrid Bergman

Victor Laszlow - Paul Henreid

Captain Renault - Claude Rains

Major Strasser - Conrad Veidt

Signor Ferrari - Sydney Greenstreet

Ugarte - Peter Lorre

I was extremely excited to watch "Casablanca" because of its famous reputation as a classic film. It was one of those movies that I have been meaning to watch for the longest time, but have not had a chance to. I think I definitely had high expectations for this film. This being said, I wasn't overly impressed with the film. I thought I would absolutely love "Casablanca," and this was not the case. I didn't really get into the political aspect of it. That was not interesting to me at all. I'm really just not into politics, I guess. I did like the "old time cinema" feel to the film, which was probably due to the fact that this is a 1942 film. 

The American Film Institute (AFI) ranked this the number one romance of all time. I beg to differ. The romance aspect of the film was alright. Maybe I'm just a fan of the modern day romantic comedy, but this doesn't exactly compare to my favorite romance films. Sure, some parts of the film were extremely romantic. But I was extremely disappointed when Rick (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) (SPOILER ALERT) didn't end up together. How could that happen? Why would a writer make that choice? How could an actor go along with that? There's no real closure, in my opinion, in the film. Sure, Ilsa gets to stay with Laszlow (Paul Henreid), a man that she doesn't really love. And Rick? Well, he gets a friendship with Captain Renault (Claude Rains). So Rick gets to live his life alone, but no worries, he has a new best friend. Ilsa gets to live her life with someone, probably yearning for the person that she truly loves [Rick] for the rest of her life. As you can see, I wasn't exactly happy with the ending.

One part of the film that I did like was the music. I really enjoyed the song, "As Time Goes By." The lyrics were very appropriate to the plot. I find this stanza particularly apropos to the idea of the film...

It's still the same old story

A fight for love and glory

A case of do or die.

The world will always welcome lovers

As time goes by.

So I think that the reason that I was critical of the film was because my expectations for it. I'm sure that if I watch it again, I'll enjoy it more. I will give it another try in the future. I really do love romance films. I consider myself an expert (well, maybe not exactly an expert, but well-rounded in the field) in romantic comedies. This film just didn't do it for me. If you do like 1940s politics, and romance (with a bad ending), I would recommend "Casablanca."

iRate: 2/5 visas

Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi3749445913/

"What makes you think we're getting diplomas?"

High School Musical: Senior Year

2008; USA; 112 min.

Director: Kenny Ortega

Screenplay: Peter Barsocchini

Music: Various Artists

Cast:

Troy Bolton - Zac Efron

Gabriella Montez - Vanessa Anne Hudgens

Sharpay Evans - Ashley Tisdale

Ryan Evans - Lucas Grabeel

Chad Danforth - Corbin Bleu

Taylor McKessie - Monique Colman

Let the record show that I was dragged to High School Musical 3. While I have seen the other HSMs (hey, I babysit - I need to stay in the loop!), this was the first one that I actually paid to sit through. The theater dynamic consisted of a bunch of elementary to middle school year old children, mostly girls. There were the few older high school groups, disgruntled brothers, and parents. It was amusing to watch the response of the crowd to the movie. In one scene, Troy Bolton (Zac Efron) is shown without his shirt on. As soon as he took his shirt off, a chorus of screams erupted from the mouths of the younger girls. I found this absolutely hilarious! The shrieks when Troy and Gabriella (Vanessa Anne Hudgens) shared an innocent G-rated kiss was another funny theater moment. So, about the film - it actually exceeded my low expectations. While the plot was corny at times and predictable, some of the scenes were actually good and some of the songs were quite enjoyable. I was surprised to find that a couple of scenes contained cinematic elements! What I did like a lot about the movie is that it was about senior year. The film was very sentimental for me because of that, and I did like "High School Musical 3," even though I'm a bit ashamed to admit it! :-) 

iRate: 3.5/5 diplomas

Trailer: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/highschoolmusical3/