The Pensieve

Rating: ***.75

Just realised that my review of this film is long overdue! Been feeling a severe sense of blog inertia.

Sweeny Todd isn’t really a film, it’s like a macabre. Perhaps I’m using the wrong word to describe a different term. I mean to say it as a noun, it’s an art piece that makes macabre and gothic into something of a masterpiece. It doesn’t matter that the heinous crimes he committed were out of reason and illogical that he was not caught despite such blatant carelessness in his crimes. The only thing that mattered was the way the film was presented. It’s very Tim Burton, but no longer in his usual comic-book way like ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’. Johnny Depp is quite adept at portraying such a demonic character who masks his blood lust under the masquerade of ‘revenge’. Helena Bonham Carter however, looks no different in her gothic getup as Bellatrix (in Harry Potter), and her singing is well… not that pleasant either.

The film gets gory with all the digging of that sharp shiny razor into the necks of such unsuspecting clients. And at times, you really can’t predict whether it’s a shave his giving them or a ‘close shave’. It gets better when we see how they grind up all their victims and use them as their secret ingredient in Mrs Lovett’s special pies.

But best of all, I like the slogan - Never Forget, Never Forgive.

It just sounds so wonderfully and wickedly clever! haha…

Rating: ****/5

‘Atonement’, based on a novel by Ian McEwan, is the tragic story of how Briony Tallis, a thirteen-year-old with a runaway imagination ruins the lives of her sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and her lover, Robbie Turner when she accuses him of rape. Cecilia becomes estranged from her family as she insists on awaiting the return of Robbie, while Robbie is given a choice of prison vs the infantry. Meanwhile, Briony realises the horrifying ramifications of what she’d done as she grows up and spends most of her life doing penance as a nurse in the world war.

‘Atonement’ is her final act of kindness for the star-crossed lovers, Robbie dies of septicaemia a day before British troops returned to homeland while Cecilia dies in a railway bombing. She seeks not for forgiveness but to tell the truth and to give the couple a fairy tale ending, something she owed them.

The cinematography is remniscent of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ but it is unable to achieve the same level of beauty. The attempts at artistic flare with music accompanying the sound of type writing was a laudable effort if not for the atrocity of the situation it was used for - the fuelling of a fertile and farfetched imagination of the young Briony - I still cannot get over the mortification on her face over the four-letter coarse word used to describe a certain part of a woman’s anatomy. Heh. ‘The Hours’ by Stephen Daldry was a much more perfect production.

Overall, I would say it was really an awfully sad film, judging by the copious tears shed by fellow movie goer. Sigh. I have to admit I was a bit bored by Briony’s over-reaction and ridiculous over-acting at the start that I fell asleep, but I did cry a bit towards the end… Sob Sob. Overall, a worthwhile watch, and look out for the luscious green gown!!! Woot!

Genre: Historical fiction
Rating: ****/5

Cate Blanchett dazzles us once more as she reprises her role as Queen Elizabeth. In this sequel, her kingdom faces religious and political persecution from King Philip II (Spain) and the Catholics he claims he represents. Here we see how religion is used as a means of obtaining political power (and its accompanying riches of course).

Apart from her role as the virgin queen, Blanchett shows us how the queen is just as human as we are. From her coquettish stance with her ladies-in-waiting while boating, to the role of teacher to the poor Austrian prince who tries too hard, to the ultimate heartbreak as she finds out how he’s had an affair with her favourite lady-in-waiting, Bess (Abbie Cornish); yet again, we see her strength as she strives to protect her kingdom and people from the Spanish Armada. Most impressive is the scene where she is dressed entirely in white, standing at the cliffs facing the tempestuous seas tossing the Spanish Armada around as it goes up in flames (courtesy of Sir Raleigh (Clive Owen) and his brilliant strategy of using fireships). It looked as if she really had divine intervention!

Another really sad scene was the one where Elizabeth herself, constrained by her royal blood, cannot dance freely with Raleigh, and she gets Bess to dance with him, while she imagines herself to be in his arms…

Samantha Morton, starring as Mary Stuart, Elizabeth’s own cousin who secretly organises a rebellion in an atempt to ursurp the throne, but belatedly realises that she’d become a pawn for the Spanish (who wanted the throne for himself), gave us a beautiful scene of a woman’s whose lifetime dreams are shattered but faces the guillotine with such courage.

And if the acting fails to wow you, the set definitely will! Done up in all the majesty and opulence of a prosperous kingdom, combined with the lovely cinematographia, “Elizabeth - the Golden Age” is truly a worthwhile watch!

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Genre: Comedy
Rating: ***/5

It seems like there’s a trend towards films starring a strong man being bulldozered over by little people. Remember the Pacifier? Daddy Day Care? A whole host of other equally entertaining movies centered over the same theme… Nevertheless, these are good family entertainment and definitely something that qualifies as relaxation during my much needed break.

Madison Pettis plays the precocious sometimes too-smart-talking-for-her-own-good kiddo of 8, who goes in search of her Dad (Dwayne Johnson) and turns his life upside-down. Then there comes all the typical pranks and messes kids create and shows how the new Dad tries to integrate her into his life…

Later on it’s revealed that her Mum had actually passed away 6 months ago, and yea, though I know this is a movie where it’s all just acting, I can’t help wondering at how resilient young children can be when reacting to the death of their parent.

I was reading this book where a four-year-old loses both her parents, but then she apparently is able to gradually adjust to life with her new guardians. Hmm… Perhaps we’ve got to give this little munchkins more credit. Perhaps it’s us these meddlesome adults who think that all these little tiny people are unable to handle news such as the death of a parent. True, they’ve got to adjust, but somehow, I think that kids, with less well-developed emotional- um… (I don’t know how to put it), they might just prove to be more adept at handling such devastating information.

Hmm, something to chew over rite?

Genre: Dark comedy
Rating: ***.5/*****
Too often have we heard or made remarks about the British as having a ‘stiff upper lip’, or being such humourless people, but over here, their austere and dignified exterior makes the film all the more hilarious. A funeral is associated with black, austerity, sombreness and grief. But over here, it is delightfully peppered with incidents… Ranging from the mortifying scene where a future son-in-law accidentally gets ‘high’ on drugs and ends up climbing the roof naked, to the awful discovery that the dignified deceased had was gay and had an affair with a midget, the endearing Uncle Alfie and the obnoxious ex-ONS. It’s both mightily entertaining with a poignant touch, as the family unites in the face of various adversities. The central message of this film, as portrayed by the speech that David (?) makes as he is enraged by the chaos at the funeral – That everyone has their flaws and imperfections, but it only matters that one does his best and lives a good life.

Genre: Animation
Rating: ****.5 (one of the highest ever that I’ve given for animation films)

Ratatouille - a sort of French peasant dish during summer months. Made of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, garlic, herbs lightly sauteed in olive oil. Nowadays, it seems like they add eggplant too! YUM!

Anywayz… It was the HIGHLIGHT of my week ok, and the fact that I was meeting up with my friend. Sigh.

Had lunch at Corduory first though, the bratwurst blah blah blah, sauerkraut and mashed baked potatoes almost made my stomach flip. There were such huge sausages and so little potato. Actually I got the dish more for the potatoes rather than the bratwurst, and for once, these people were generous with the meat rather than the staple -_-

Ratatouille is about a rat with a wonderful sense of smell, who yearns to cook but knows too well that the kitchen is like a minefield for him. Linguini, is the bumbling son of reknowned ex-chef Gasteau, who is due to inherit the restaurant. However, he really can’t cook for nuts, and so he hides this Rat under his hat to give him instructions in order to churn out loads of gourmet cuisine. It’s ridiculous really, as the rat controls his actions by pulling on his hairs. -_-

It’s not really the storyline that makes Ratatouille such a great film, but the richness of colour and music, and the inspirational theme of looking forwards with courage and being true to oneself.

Genre: Animation, family

Rating: * miserable star for the good quotes…

It was really boring… First we were ‘entertained’ by a 10min clip on Mickey Mouse and his friends which I probably would have appreciated if I were seven or if I were so bored and having breakfast. (somehow, I don’t mind watching cartoons with breakfast, especially on those long-haul flights). Anyway, we fell asleep during the cartoon… and when the film finally started, I remembered zooming off to dopeyland somewhere along the way…

It was really tragic… It was an animation film trying to hard to be grown-up and to move us viewers to tears. It was about a kid who grew up in an orphanage, who is super keen with inventing stuff… No one wants to adopt him though, because of his eccentricities. One day, he meets Wilbur, who brings him ‘to the future’! There he finds a family that can accept him… blah blah and then there’s this evil bowler-hat wearing crook who tries to steal time machines, and tries to ruin the kid’s creations… It was just very boring… Shrek is almost 5 times better!

Anyway, the saving grace of the film was right at the end… this quote…

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we’re curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”

Keep moving forwards… And that’s what I have to do… I have to get over the past.

Rating: ****/5 (more of an average rating, ya I’d have given 3.5…)
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Synopsis
In the time of the German Democratic Republic (East Berlin), a scriptwriter, Dreyman (Sebastian Koch), and actress, Christa Marie Sieland (Martina Gedeck) are kept under surveillance by the Stasi (something like your KGB) for being suspected revolutionaries. Wiesler, a lonely man, further isolated due to the nature of his job and the oppression of the government, is the Stasi member in charge of the surveillance. But as he becomes closely acquainted with their every move, he decides against reporting their anti-government actions and secretly becomes their ally…

On the surface, this film may appear to be a showcase of how a political force ruthlessly strips her people of the freedom to speech and action, but I feel that it highlights a theme that has always been predominant in society - loneliness.

Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe) is obviously a lonesome character in this film. He is filmed in a classy home - alone, eating - alone, doing his surveillance work - alone, handling the investigation - alone, as a lecturer - separate from his students, and as an interrogator - alone. He doesn’t speak much, but his actions seem to show a yearning to belong somewhere and to have some meaning in life. This he found subconsciously with his clandestine input with the anti-GDRs. It is as if he wanted so much to be part of something that would hold more significance than the government that he was disillusioned with. At the end, when he sees the book ‘Sonata for a good man’ by Dreyman, dedicated to him, he smiles. A small yet precious smile.

For me, I thought it was a beautifully crafted film; choosing to centre on various human foibles instead of the atrocities of the war (a definite been-there, done-that). I loved the ending… Shortly after Christa-Marie betrays Dreyman, she returns home and takes another one of those solo baths where she attempts to wash away all the guilt. Not long later, the Stasi arrive to retrieve the evidence. Unknown to them, Wiesler had already removed it. When Christa-Marie is faced with the entire Stasi just trampling through their place, she rushes out to the street and is instantly run over by a truck. It’s kind of bittersweet sort of ending. “There’s really no other way to end it.” - a fan had raved after the movie.

Rating: ****/5

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I’ve always enjoyed Mr Bean’s antics, but at the same time also felt a sense of irritation by how self-centered and mean he could be at the expense of others. However, this film was unlike what I’d expected… It’s a heart-warming as well as light-hearted comedy, where for once, he doesn’t lay it on too thick.

Synopsis
Once again, starring Rowan Atkinson, Mr Bean wins a raffle for an all-paid expenses trip to Cannes and a camcorder… He embarks on this trip and surprisingly, despite his paltry French vocabulary chiefly consisting of a single word ‘oui’ and his mistaken understanding that ‘gracias’ meant ‘merci’, he reaches his destination and achieves more than just that in his journey there.

He meets a young boy who is journeying alone to Cannes to meet up with his Dad (who missed his train because of Mr Bean’s antics), an aspiring actress heading for the Cannes Film Festival and a myriad of other interesting events. Most notably, I loved the scene where he synched ‘O Mi Babbino Caro’… It was so sad yet so comical! But nothing beats clip no. 2 on that Mr Bean’s site… Go check it out… I really wish I could do this sometimes…

Rating: ***.5/*****
Genre: Romantic comedy
Check out the official site! (especially the music!)

Starring Hugh Grant, with his British charm turned full blast, and his pelvic thrusts ever so often being demonstrated on screen… He’s an instant charmer, acting as Alex Fletcher, a has-been musician in the once popular POP band. Now, he’s been hired by one of those BOA-like Hindi-cum-spiritual-cum-sexual pop singer to write a song within like a few days… He enlists the help of Sophie Fisher, endearingly played by Drew Barrymore (one of my personal faves) to write up the song. It’s a lovely little romantic comedy peppered with catchy songs. Both are able to sing pretty well too…

I really am going to keel over from fatigue soon, so I shall end this with a lovely quote from Sophie…

Music is like the passion and the sex… But lyrics, that’s when you get to know the person, you talk to them and you understand them…
(sorry couldn’t remember the exact words)

And the corniest quote ever, which I heard, only 3 people in the entire cinema caught on…

“I want to show you the roof! It’s upstairs!”
— Cora to Sophie, when Alex tries to drag Sophie home from the party…