After more than four years, The Random Films is moving to a new home. The rebranded, restructured and refashioned blog will have new features such as First Peeks (trailers of upcoming movies) and TV Series (reviews of favorite television shows). Hope you support the new blog just the same. Please visit:MOVIEcracy
The world is not a perfect place to live. For in every
corner, there are lurking menaces. Even in places where supposedly there is
safety, danger is silently waiting. In this 2003 Swedish drama film, Evil (Swedish: Ondskan) takes us into the life of fifteen-year old Erik Ponti and
the evils he faces both in his home and in his school.
The movie is set in 1950s Sweden. Erik (portrayed by Andreas
Wilson) is expelled from his school because of fighting. His mother sends him
to a prestigious boarding school in the hope that Erik turns a new leaf, as
well as for him to escape the beating of his sadistic stepfather. But Erik soon
learns that behind the mask of prestige, the school hides a different form of
evil, something more subtle and grimmer. From being the bully of his previous school,
Erik has now become the prey.
August Rush is a 2007 drama film starring Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Robin Williams, and child wonder Freddie Highmore. It is directed by Kirsten Sheridan and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Plot. The first few minutes of the movie is set in 1995. Lyla Novacek is a cellist from a well-known family. Louis Connelly is the lead singer of a struggling band called The Connelly Brothers. The two have a chance meeting during a party and eventually sleep together to the music of a harmonica. Lyla returns to Chicago and finds out that she is now pregnant with Louis’s son. Her father is enraged about it, and when she runs into the street after an argument with him, she is struck by a car. Unknown to her, she gives birth prematurely and her father immediately put her son up for adoption. Meanwhile, Louis continues to wait for Lyla in New York, and later gives up when she does not appear.
Eleven years later, the child Evan is living in an orphanage. He has the ability to hear music. One day, after a social worker named Richard gives him his card, he runs away to New York to find his family.
Louis now lives in San Francisco and is due to New York to perform with his old band whom he had previously left behind. On the other hand, Lyla lives in Chicago and has long since she gave up music. On her father’s deathbed, she learns what her father has done. The dying man also confesses that the child is somewhere in New York.
Freedom Writers is a 2007 drama film based on the book The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them by teacher Erin Gruwell who wrote the story based on Woodrow Wilson Classical High School in Long Beach, California. It stars Hilary Swank, Scott Glenn, Imelda Staunton, Patrick Dempsey, and many others. It is directed by Richard LaGravenese and released by Paramount Pictures.
Plot. The movie is set in 1994-1995. Erin Gruwell (played by Swank) leaves her hometown, Newport Beach, to teach at Woodrow Wilson High School. She is excited and expectant, as the school is formerly well-performing and now has put an integration plan in place. To her dismay, she is assigned to a class of “at-risk” and “untouchables” high school students. They group themselves according to their races and most frequently break out and fight, forcing others to stop attending class. Not only does Erin find difficulty in her students, but also from her department head who refuses to let her teach with books as the students would only damage and lose them. Instead, she is told to focus on training them discipline and obedience.
One night, some of her students get into trouble. A Hispanic girl named Eva and her friend, a Cambodian refugee named Sindy, witness a shooting which incidentally kills Sindy’s boyfriend. It is Eva’s boyfriend who does the shooting. As a witness, Eva must testify at court, but she intends to falsify the crime to guard “her own kind”.
Y Tu Mama Tambien (Spanish: “And You Mama Too”) is a 2001 Mexican coming-of-age drama film. It stars Mexican actors Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal and Spanish actress Maribel Verdu. It is directed by Alfonso Cuaron and co-written with his brother Carlos. It is internationally distributed by 20th Century Fox.
Plot. The movie tells about the story of two teenage boys who take a road trip with a married woman in her late twenties. The boys are Julio, who comes from a leftist middle-class family, and Tenoch whose father is a high-ranking political official. The woman is Luisa, the Spanish wife of Tenoch’s cousin.
The movie begins with scenes of the two boy having sex with their girlfriends who would leave on a trip to Italy. Later, the boys are invited in a wedding where they meet and talk with the sexy and beautiful Luisa. To impress her, they invent a secluded beach called “Heaven’s Mouth” and invite her to discover the place with them. Luisa declines at first, but after her husband confides on the phone that he has cheated her, she decides to join them.
The three then sets off for the beach, though the boys are not really sure where to find it. The three spend the time traveling through poor, rural Mexico and talking about their relationships and sexual experiences.
On a worn-out motel, Luisa telephones his husband and leaves a goodbye message on his answering machine. Tenoch goes to her room looking for shampoo but is instead seduced by her. Enthusiastically, he makes love with her. Julio discovers this and retaliates by revealing that he had sex with Tenoch’s girlfriend. On the next day, Luisa evens the score by having sex with Julio. Tenoch is also angered by this and tells Julio that he had sex with his girl.
By chance, they find an isolated beach and decide to enjoy and relax there, under the company of a local family. That evening, the three drink and joke excessively. Several revelations are disclosed and the boys discover that they frequently had sex with the same women. “Y tu mama tambien,” Julio says to Tenoch.
The three dances sensually and then go to their room. They begin to undress and are about to engage in a threesome when Luisa kneels and simultaneously takes both of them in her mouth. The boys then grasp and kiss each other passionately.
The next morning, Luisa rises early, leaving the boys to wake up together, naked. They immediately turn away from each other, and quietly and eagerly leave home. Luisa chooses to stay behind with an alibi to explore the nearby coves.
It is narrated that Julio and Tenoch both break up with their girlfriends after that, start to date other girls, and stop seeing each other. The final scene shows a chance encounter by the two young men a year later, in 2000. Awkwardly, they have a cup of coffee and catch up on each other’s lives and news of their friends. Tenoch informs Julio that Luisa died of cancer a month after their trip, and that she knew she was ill the whole time they were together. With an excuse, Tenoch leaves and the two friends never see each other again.
Commentary.Y Tu Mama Tambien appears to be shallow and simplistic because it tells only of a road trip of three people. Yet, the simple trip has become the transformation of two boys from childhood to manhood, and their rediscovery of themselves. With Luisa’s erotic teasing, the boys learn the essence of love and sex as both are obsessed only with their size and orgasm. Though they had sex in the end of their trip, the movie does not reveal if their gays or not. It was a heated scene and their overwhelming desires drove them perform an embarrassing yet pleasurable act. It was a kind of “crime of passion” that forever changes how they look at sex, love and life. For the woman, the road trip is her own trip to freedom and solitude. Through the boys, she learns the fragility and happiness of life.
The movie parallels with Mexican life. The trip takes us into the roads of Mexico and its common people, their poor and basic lives, and how such simplicity transcends into contentment and peace.
Y Tu Mama Tambien is an adult and mature film. There are countless moments of sex and nudity (with the most private parts exposed). There are so much tension, sex, and adventure in the movie and then suddenly ends. It is not dull, it is fluid and dynamic, and the plot builds up into a shocking climax. For those weak at heart (and eyes), it is certainly not for them.
Reception. The film is a huge critical success with 91% of critics gave a positive rating at Rotten Tomatoes. At Metacritic, it received an average score of 88 out of 100.
The film also received numerous awards and nominations, including a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globe Award. Moreover, it was named as one of the best film created by many magazines, including Empire magazine, Entertainment Weekly, and New York Times.
Rating: Four and a half stars for this movie. This is one of the best films of this kind that I have seen. However, there is just too much nudity that may not be necessary. See what others have to say about "Y Tu Mama Tambien."
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is a 2010 fantasy-adventure film based loosely on The Lightning Thief, the first novel in the Percy Jackson & The Olympians series by Rick Riordan. Logan Lerman played the major role as Percy Jackson, Brandon T. Jackson as Grover Underwood (a satyr), and Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth Chase (daughter of Athena), with appearances of great Hollywood stars like Kevin McKidd as Poseidon, Sean Bean as Zeus, Pierce Brosnan as Chiron, and Uma Thurman as Medusa. It was directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It was released to theaters on February 12, 2010 with much success.
Plot. The movie begins with a scene on top of the Empire State Building where Olympian gods Zeus and Poseidon meet. Zeus reveals that his mater lightning bolt has been stolen and that Poseidon’s demigod son Percy Jackson is accused of the stealth. Poseidon reminds him that Percy is unaware of his true identity. However, Zeus insists that the lightning bolt be returned before the next summer solstice, and if not, war will be waged.
Percy Jackson is a seventeen-year-old teenager who has the ability to stay underwater for a long time. While on a school trip to a local museum, Percy is chased by a Fury and is only saved by his bestfriend Grover and Latin teacher Mr. Brunner. Despite Percy’s confusion, Mr. Brunner has Grover take him and his mother Sally out to Camp Half-Blood. However, they are attacked by a minotaur who appears to kill Sally since she is unable to enter the camp. Percy fights and kills the minotaur, and then faints from shock.
Three days later, Percy wakes up in the camp and soon learns that he is the son of Poseidon. He also discovers the true identity of his bestfriend and Mr. Brunner. In the camp, he learns combat skills and meets and befriends Annabeth Chase and Luke Castellan, son of Hermes. During a team exercise, Hades appears and reveals that Sally is with him in the Underworld and he will return her safely if Percy hands over the lightning bolt. Despite orders not to go, Percy plans to go to the Underworld, joined by Grover and Annabeth. They visit Luke who gives them an old shield, a pair of winged sneakers, and a map where three of Persephone’s pearl are found which they can use to escape the Underworld.
Over the next days, the trio heads to great adventures as they look for the pearls and fight other mythical figures like Medusa, Hydra, and the Lotus-Eaters. After having possession of the pearls, they meet Hades and his wife Persephone in the Underworld. After a fight, Hades finds the bold hidden inside the shield, revealing that Luke is actually the lightning thief. However, Persephone knocks out Hades with the bolt to avoid spending eternity with him, and hands the bolt to Percy. Since there are only three pearls, Grover chooses to stay behind with Persephone.
Percy, Annabeth and Sally are teleported to the Empire State Building. Luke attacks them and tells that he wants to destroy Mount Olympus so that the demigods can become the new rulers of the gods. Percy fights hard with Luke, and after defeating him, he returns the bolt to Zeus. Percy is forgiven and is allowed to speak briefly with Poseidon.
In the end, Percy and Annabeth returns to the camp and is reunited with Grover.
Commentary. Before I had seen the movie, I was not attracted to it since fantasy films are not my type of movies. It strikes me as another Harry-Potter-like production which is not my liking. A student recommended it to me, and incidentally, I was able to watch it on Cable some time later.
Bravo! I find it really exciting and wonderful. It is not as original as Harry Potter but it is as refreshing and creative. The concept of integrating ancient mythology to contemporary world is brilliant, as learning a part of this classic literature becomes fun and thrilling. The familiar characters are twisted that they seem so real, especially Medusa and Hades who appears like a rock star. Being a viewer, it made me wish to be a demigod as well. LOL!
The movie takes on a fast pace, avoiding being dry, dull and uninteresting. It has a very clear plot that there are no loose ends in its story line. With regards to its special effects, I can only be amazed and gaped. For me, this is a good movie overall.
Reception. There are mixed reviews for the movie. In Metacritic, it received an average score of 47 out of 100, while 50% of reviews in Rotten Tomatoes were positive.
Actor Logan Lerman received nominations from 2010 MTV Movie Awards, Teen Choice Awards, and 37th Saturn Awards for his portrayal of Percy Jackson.
Rating: Four half stars for this movie.This is a movie with great storyline but it only succeeds in being entertaining. Hope it had more depth.
In the field of animation, Disney undisputedly pioneers and still continues to dominate despite the proliferation of competitions. And when we say Disney, some notable cartoon characters pop into our heads, like Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald and Daisy Duck, and Pluto. Aside from these original creations, Disney has produced great versions of many well-loved classic fairy tales. It has created faces for many such characters, and whenever we say their names, we immediately perceive their Disney images. Perhaps, the names that are truly very popular and unforgettable are Aurora, Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel, and Belle. Well, let us relive the magic of these five princesses well-loved and adored by young and old alike.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The film is created in 1937 by Walt Disney and is based on the German fairy tale “Snow White” by Brothers Grimm. It was the first full-length animated film produced, the first produced in full colors, and the first to be produced by Walt Disney.
It begins with Snow White running away from her wicked step-mother who tries to kill her. She hides in the woods and later meets and lives with a group of dwarves. Having learned that Snow White is still alive, her step-mother disguises as an old woman selling apples and visits Snow White when the dwarves are out. Snow White does not know that the apples are poisoned. So when she takes a bite of the apple, she falls down and sleeps. And only with the kiss of true love will she wake up and live again.
The movie was well-received back in 1937 and the year after. It opened with a standing ovation by its star-studded audience, including Charlie Chaplin, Shirley Temple, and Judy Garland. It even appeared in the cover of Times Magazine. It was named as “the most successful film of all time” in 1939. More recently, it was the only animated film included in the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest American films of all time by 2007.
Cinderella. Twelfth in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series, Cinderella opened in 1950 and became a great commercial success. It is based on Charles Perrault’s fairy tale entitled “Cendrillon”. The movie is about a girl who through her misfortunes has somehow found the one true love.
After the death of her father, Cinderella has been ordered around by her wicked step-mother and step-sisters. She does all the house chores – washing the dishes, cleaning the whole house, doing the laundry, and even mending. Then one day, the King invited all eligible maidens to a ball so that the Prince can find the appropriate girl. Her step-mother prevented Cinderella from attending the party, but despite it all, a fairy godmother arrives and saves the day for Cinderella. But there is one glitch – she must be home before midnight for the magic shall expire. Fortunately, she manages to be back before twelve, after a long dance with the Prince, and after she runs away and leaves behind her one glass shoe. Will she see her Prince Charming again?
There must have been real magic with Cinderella. This was Disney’s second huge hit, after Snow White and the Seven Dwarves which was produced more than a decade earlier. Accordingly, the film saved Disney studio from closing down for it was already heavily in debt. It enabled Disney to carry on creating more films, establish his own distribution company, and enter television production. Moreover, the film received numerous awards and nominations, including three from Academy. In 2008, the American Film Institute acknowledged Cinderella as the 9th greatest film in the animation genre.
Sleeping Beauty. Created in 1959, Sleeping Beauty is about a beautiful princess who can only be awakened with a kiss by her Prince Charming from a very long sleep. It is based on the fairy tale “La Belle au bois dormant” by Charles Perrault.
In this story, a newly born baby, Princess Aurora, is cursed by a wicked witch – that on her 16th birthday, Aurora would prick her finger and die. But some good fairies manage to lessen the curse. Despite their precautions, the wicked witch catches up with Aurora. On her 16th birthday, the wicked witch successfully harbors an evil plan. When Aurora pricks her finger, she falls into a deep sleep, and so do the whole kingdom. And the only way to bring her back to life is with the kiss of true love. Does she get the kiss and wake up?
Amazingly, Sleeping Beauty did not rest only on commercial and entertainment value. In 1960, the music for the film has been nominated for the Academy and Grammy Awards. In 1980, it was awarded the Best Musical Entertainment by the Young Artist Award.
In 2010, Disney began producing a live-action adaptation of the animated film. It will feature Nikki Reed as Beauty and Gregg Sulkin as Prince Corvon. Tentatively, the release date would be June 2012.
The Little Mermaid. I suppose whenever we hear the movie’s title, we imagine the beautiful mermaid with large sparkling eyes dancing to the beat of “Under the Sea” by her friend Sebastian the crab…
Released in 1989, the movie is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Little Mermaid.” It is about the quest of a little mermaid named Ariel to be a human. Ever since she was a child, Ariel has been curious about the world above the ocean, wanting to see how humans live. One day, she comes across a handsome prince who has been shipwrecked. After that, she eagerly dreams of becoming a human so she can be together with her prince. Until one day, she discovers the solution and goes to see the sorcerer Ursula. But everything has not gone exactly as she had planned and bargained with Ursula. So what has been the price of Ariel’s desire to be a human?
The Little Mermaid is the 28th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and commercially one of the most successful. It has brought back life to the art of animated films after several such films became critical or commercial failures in the 1980s. In Rotten Tomatoes, the film received 90% approval rating. The success of the movie lies in its lush colors and effects, excellent musical scoring and mixing, and its overall appeal to general audience, specifically the young ones. It gathered numerous awards and nominations from different bodies, including the Academy and Golden Globes Awards.
Beauty and the Beast. Based on Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont’s fairy tale “La Belle et la Bête,” the animated film was released in 1991 by Walt Disney Pictures. It tells the love story of a mean Beast and his beautiful prisoner Belle…
When her Dad was captured and imprisoned by a beast, Belle is left with no choice but to offer herself in his place. The Beast agrees to this bargain. Consequently, Belle learns that the Beast was actually a prince who was cursed long ago for his selfishness by an old woman. Belle feels compassion for him and comes to care for him despite his pretense of meanness. Little did she know that to become a prince again, the Beast must love Belle and win her love in return.
Beauty and the Beast is the thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics. It is one of the most-awarded and most critically-praised animated films by Disney. It is the first of the only three animated films to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture (the others are Disney-Pixar’s 2009 film Up and 2010 film Toy Story 3). It lost the award to the critically-acclaimed thriller “The Silence of the Lambs”. But in the Golden Globes, it won the Best Motion Picture for Musical or Comedy. The theme song for the movie, “Beauty and the Beast”, is well-recognized as well as it won several awards including those in Grammy. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie an approval rating of 94%. In 2008, the American Film Institute named the film as the 7th best animated film.
Another great movie to exemplify what International Women’s Month is about is this 2004 Spanish film about women being used as drug carriers from Colombia to the USA.
Maria Full of Grace is a 2004 joint Colombian-American film and is the feature debut of writer and director Joshua Marston. The title is taken from the Roman Catholic “Hail Mary” prayer and somehow misleads viewer into expecting a movie with a religious theme. But the movie is far from being one for it is highly political, dealing with drug smuggling across country borders. The “grace” in the title is also very symbolic. It can refer to Mary, the Catholic figure, which is a reflection of the spirituality of the Colombian people. Secondly, “grace” is a slang term for the drug “heroin”. And lastly, it can also be the name of a baby.
The movie chronicles the drug smuggling activity in Colombia and features the lives of some drug mules. It starts with Maria Alvarez, a 17-year old Colombian girl, resigning her work as a rose de-thorner in a local flower plantation.
She does so despite the disapproval of her hard-up family. Worse, Maria finds out that she is pregnant with a man she is not sure she loves. On her way to Bogota to find a new job, Maria meets a stranger and is later offered a position as a drug mule. Desperate, she accepts the dangerous job. After much practice, Maria swallows 62 wrapped pellets of cocaine and flies to New York City. On the plane, she sees her best friend Blanca who she discovers as a drug mule too. She spots another familiar person, plus more, and realizes they are deployed all at once to ensure delivery of large drug quantity. And when the plane lands at the US airport, customs pick up Maria and interrogate her as she is being suspected as mule. Her pregnancy saves Maria from being X-rayed. But the problems are only getting more complicated. A fellow mule is captured... A drug pellet apparently ruptures inside the stomach of another mule which has caused her death... Afraid, Maria and friend Blanca escapes the traffickers and runs around the USA. They run around carrying several pellets of illegal drug. What must they do? Report to the police and face the charges? Or go back to the traffickers and accomplish their mission?
The movie is really disturbing as it deals with a very delicate social issue – drug smuggling. I was reminded of the film after watching on TV the news about three Filipinos bound to face death sentence after being charged as drug mules in China. It is a very sad news as they are going to be executed anytime soon (I guess this week), and this unfortunate event puts another strain on Philippines-China relationship (after the bloody hostage-taking of Chinese nationals in the Philippines last year).
Well, the movie clearly depicts the process of transporting the drug and using women as mules. The term “mule” in animals refers to beast of burden used by man to transport large loads without complaint. In the drug world, the term means essentially the same thing, denoting someone who is forced to carry the product into other countries. And the movie has detailed the activity – from getting mules to do the job, the packaging of the drug in rubber packs, the swallowing of the pellets, up to the actual flight of the mules.
The film also explores the desperation and motives on three particular mules. Maria, the lead character, was miserable and desperate to find a better life for her unborn child. Her friend, Blanca was tempted with the money she expected to receive from the job. And the third is Lucy who simply wanted to be reunited with her long-lost sister in New York. They were ordinary women lured into doing a very dangerous work. The characters seem so real and believable.
Catalino Sandino Moreno, who played Maria, did a stunning performance in the movie. Her innocence and naivety put more shock factor to the movie. It made me thought how such a pretty and angelic girl be involved in drug smuggling. And to think that a girl like her swallowed tens of drugs pellets! No wonder, her performance in the movie earned her several awards and nominations. She was named Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival and was nominated for Best Actress for the 77th Academy Awards.
The film has likewise gathered numerous nominations and awards. In Rotten Tomatoes, it garnered a rating of 97%. In the blockbuster, the movie also did so well. Truly, “Maria Full of Grace” is one the most essential films of 2004.
Another great film that exemplifies what International Women’s Month is all about is this 2007 comedy-drama film about teenage pregnancy.
Juno is directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody who based it on many of her own high school experiences. It stars Ellen Page who played the title role. The film was shot only from February to March 2007, but has been very well received by both audience and critics.
The movie is about Juno MacGuff, a sixteen-year-old high-schooler who discovers she is pregnant with a child fathered by her friend and long-time admirer, Paulie Bleeker. Juno intends to abort the child in the beginning, but later changes her mind and resolves to find adoptive parents for her child. She meets the Loring couple – Mark and Vanessa, who live comfortably in their expensive house. To evaluate the parents and to establish connection between them and her child, Juno frequently visits the Lorings. But the simple visits have unpredicted consequences… The flaws in the Loring relationship slowly deepen… Mark Loring falls for Juno… Paulie Bleeker becomes distant from her… While Juno watches the Loring marriage falls apart, Juno struggles to confront her own problems. In the end when her baby is finally born, Juno’s life takes a full circle. After all, there is a choice… and hope.
Juno has multi-layered themes wrapped in light comedy. It is like eating a waffle with a cheesy hotdog filling – it is fluffy and sweet outside, but flavory and tasteful inside. Accordingly, Juno crosses boundaries with several themes. It depicts pro-life because instead of aborting her child, Juno finds suitable parents for the baby. It can also be about pro-choice for Juno, at her age of sixteen, decides for herself despite conflicting options. And finally, the movie also celebrates the triumph of feminism. A confident and intelligent girl is able to rise up after an unplanned happening. For in real life, it would be hard for a teenager to undergo such ordeal. The shame, the guilt, the responsibility, and the physical stress are just few of the hardships a pregnant teenager must bear. One will really look up to someone who can stand up for herself and for what she chooses. It is good that the movie does not portray a girl who really resorts to abortion, early marriage, or even suicide.
On the other hand, the “idea of hope after an unplanned pregnancy” has a negative effect. In some way, the movie seems to glamorize teenage pregnancy and promote unsafe teenage sex. It partly violates conservative values. Time magazine has even coined the term “Juno Effect” when 17 students under sixteen years old at a particular high school became pregnant in 2008.
Juno is very well accepted by critics. It gathered 93% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. The movie ranked 463 in Empire Magazine’s 2008 list of The 5000 Greatest Movies of All Time, and Juno MacGruff landed to 56th on the magazine’s list of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time. It also appeared on the top ten lists of the best films of 2007 in various magazines, including 1st in Chicago Sun-Times, 4th in New York Post, 6th in USA Today, 7th in Los Angeles Times, and 10th in The New York Times.
The movie also received numerous awards and nominations including the Academy and Golden Globe Awards. It was awarded as best comedy or film by Critic’s Choice Award, Satellite Awards, Rome Film Festival, and The National Movie Awards. Ellen Page’s performance is also highly-praised, making her won several best actress awards.
In the box office, the movie also topped the lists. It was the highest-grossing of the five Best Picture nominees for the 80th Academy Awards. Even the soundtracks for the film were very well received.
Truly, Juno has become a contemporary icon in the movie world.
Let us look back at this 2003 Persian film “Osama” by Siddiq Barmak. The movie was an international co-production between Afghanistan, the Netherlands, Japan, Ireland, and Iran. It was shot entirely in Kabul, Afghanistan from June 2002 to March 2003, and it was the first to do so since 1996 when the Taliban regime banned the production of all films. The movie’s title may strike as something relevant to Osama bin Laden, but it is entirely different and there is no further similarity to bin Laden.
The film is about an Afghan girl who disguises herself as a boy in order to support her family. It starts when a 12-year old girl and her mother lose their jobs when the Taliban close the hospital where they work. During that time, Taliban have prohibited women to leave their houses without any male “legal companion”. With their father and uncle dead from being killed in the civil wars, the family has nowhere to turn to and the child is then convinced to disguise herself as a boy named ‘Osama’ and soon works in local chai tea shop. Later, the Taliban take local boys, including Osama, from their homes and train them as soldiers. As the school teaches the boys about fighting and ablutions, Osama finds herself in a dangerous predicament. She continues her disguise… until a sign of womanhood shows on her. It is unpredictable. It is undeniable. And it is heart-breaking as the heroine faces an unexpected ending…
The movie is one of the first films I watch that deal with subject matters uncommon to mainstream movies. It is set during the Taliban regime and the movie opens with women protestors being arrested and abused by soldiers. It is very shocking and sad, and viewers will be drawn right at the beginning. It partly chronicles the lives of Afghan women and seeing the discrimination, cruelty and helplessness these women suffer can evoke certain anger to such society.
The movie is sad from beginning to end. Though the heroine escaped death in the end, her freedom is not a “real freedom” at all. The substitute of death has been a miserable life for her. It is truly sad, for she has remained to be the weak and scared girl…
The movie’s plot may sound like another “Mulan” story. However, “Osama”, for me, does not serve to entertain. It educates people about what was life like in Afghanistan during that troubled time. It opens the eyes of everyone to the fact that in some parts of the world, women remain powerless. It is not an adventure movie or a fairy tale. It is real life. It is so natural and true. And hence, the film has effectively conveyed its message.
Accordingly, all the actors in the movie are amateurs found by the director on the streets of Kabul. Yet, they were all able to deliver very well and had given justice to the characters. Marina Golbahari, the lead actress, was highly-recognized by award-winning bodies, earning her several nominations and awards, including “Best Actress” in the 2004 Cinemanila International Film Festival and “Best Young Actor Award” in the 2003 Molodist International Film Festival. She was truly believable and moving. In the movie, she has been a beautiful girl and a handsome boy as well.
The film itself is also very well-received, gaining a rating of 96% out of 100 reviews in the Rotten Tomatoes. It is a multi-awarded film, including Junior Award in the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, and Best Foreign Language Film for the 2004 Golden Globe Awards.
The film has not really reached local cinemas in the different parts of the world. Despite its unpopularity in the general audience, “Osama” is truly a modern masterpiece.
Nicholas Sparks is one of my favorite contemporary authors of romance novels. Who says guys don’t like love stories? And who says they can’t write them as well? LOL! Nathaniel Hawthorne, Shakespeare, Robert James Waller, and him are simply few of the best. Sparks’ novels, for me, are way better than those of Danielle Steel, Judith McNaught, Belva Plain, and the others. He has very realistic, believable and empathizing approach to his stories, unlike the others who spin great fairy tales. Click here to read full article on "Nicholas Sparks' Films".
“My Sister’s Keeper” is a 2009 American drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes and stars Cameron Diaz, Alec Baldwin, Sofia Vassilieva, , and teen actress Abigail Breslin (who also starred in Signs, Little Miss Sunshine, Nim’s Island, and Zombieland). It is a Hollywood adaptation of Jodi Picoult’s novel of the same name.
The movie is a story of a family living through a tough time, as one child is facing death from a disease while the younger sister is suing her parents. Conceived by means of in vitro fertilization, Anna Fitzgerald was born to be a genetic match for her older sister, Kate, who suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia. This way, Anna can be a source of healthy stem cells for her sister and she has always cooperated. When Kate turns 15, she goes into renal failure and Anna realizes she would have to donate her kidney. Anna objects to this and sues her parents for medical emancipation and the rights to her own body. The conflicts ignited and the family was torn. In the end, as fate dictates, Kate dies; and ironically, the family becomes whole again.
I think the movie is a wonderful version of the novel. It has a good material and a great cast. For someone growing up in a culture where family ties are very strong, this movie is relevant, fresh and touching. The movie as well has something to teach about life, about giving respect and love, and about valuing the people and things around us. There are some dull moments, as the movie is frequently interlaced with memories and flashbacks of every character. But it truly has a good ending – moving and satisfying.
The movie received mixed reviews. It has 47% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and 51% at Metacritic.
“The Invisible” was released 2007 but I was not able to catch it in the local cinemas. I am not even sure if it was shown here. LOL! Well, my sister had a downloaded copy of the movie so I just watched it in my computer. I don’t really love the movie but it is very unforgettable and worth mentioning. It has a very beautiful concept, a beautiful cast, and a beautiful beginning and middle, but a terrible ending. One of the worst endings I have seen in a movie. Better read its plot…..
High school senior Nick Powell plans to skip his graduation and fly to London for a writing program. He is a top performer in school and cares deeply for creative writing. Nick's best friend, Pete Egan, confides in him that he is bullied by Annie Newton, a troubled teen. Nick attempts to step in on one such occasion, only for it to escalate into a physical confrontation.
Later in the day, Nick tells Pete about his plans to leave for London, and they share a bittersweet goodbye. The same evening, Annie impulsively decides to rob a jewelry store. Marcus, her boyfriend, reprimands her, and later tries to take the jewels for himself, but Annie keeps them. Believing Annie to be out of control, Marcus tips off the cops. Annie is arrested and assumes that Pete is responsible.
She later attempts to beat a confession out of Pete. When Annie doesn't believe his innocence, Pete reluctantly gives up Nick's name, thinking that Nick will be on a plane to London already. He does not know that Nick changed his mind at the last minute and decided not to go to London. Annie and her crew find Nick walking home from a party. They run him off the road and beat him mercilessly. Annie goes too far, and believes she killed Nick. They dump his body in a nearby sewer.
The next morning Nick goes to school to find that no one can see or hear him. He returns to his home to find his mother making a missing person report with the police. After a while, Nick thinks that maybe he may be alive but unconscious. As Nick comes to realize that he's having an out-of-body experience, he attempts to reach out to Annie and Pete in a desperate bid to save his life.
Marcus decides to get involved, so he kidnaps Pete and forces him to lead him to Nick's body so they can move it together to another location. He then conspires to kill Annie and arranges to meet with her. Annie calls Pete to the meeting place also, who is under surveillance by the police. As Annie flees from both Marcus and the police, Nick yells at her and for the first time she responds back.
The two cannot hold a conversation, and Annie cannot see Nick, but she hears some of his voice in her head. From this association, Annie begins to feel the effects of her actions on her conscience. She returns to the woods to find Nick's body, only to see that it has been moved. She confronts Pete, and then Marcus trying to learn the location of the body. Marcus tells her, but shoots her in the back as she leaves. She shoots Marcus in return, then calls the police to tell them where to find Nick. Nick is saved just in time, but Annie succumbs to her wound after visiting him in the hospital.
The movie has a beautiful idea – about how someone, through an out-of-the-body experience, resolves the near-murder cruelty done upon him. It is very new for me, something really refreshing. It has fast pace and very exciting, moving you through scenes with anticipation and thrill. Like I said, the movie started so good until near the end. The ending really sucks, just impossible and unbelievable, overly dramatic, and is not really redeeming at all. Well, the girl who almost did the murder died a heroine. I don’t think her death is necessary; it would have been better if they were reconciled properly.
“The Invisible” is actually a remake of the Swedish film, “Den Osynlige”. Accordingly, the original movie is somewhat different since the girl did not die there, instead, she turned herself in after an apology and confession. I haven’t seen that version yet; I am still looking for a download. I suppose this is one of the many instances when a remake does not possess the charm and magic of the original.
As expected, the movie received mostly negative reviews. It sold well in its first week but dropped tremendously in the second. However, I still find the movie very entertaining.
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