BRIGHT STAR
4 out of 5 stars

it is SO refreshing to actually see a movie that articulates love as this lyrical, beautiful, natural thing, rather than the usual lust-driven, typical boy wants girl, hollywood bullshit we are fed every year around valentine’s day/the month of february… (i am happy to say that I’m ending the month of february with this one—don’t expect me to review a romance themed movie any time soon. jina lee needs a break!)



so, where does the beauty come from, you ask? where should i start? the lush English countryside scenery? the beautiful dresses worn/designed by fanny brawne? or simply…john keats’ poetry? well, i’ll start from the beginning… this movie focuses on the three year relationship between romantic poet john keats and his muse, fanny brawne. john keats moves in next-door to the brawne family at wentworth place, with his friend, charles brown, and the two of them meet in a salon style discussion about…poetry. as we know from history, john keats ultimately dies from tuberculosis at age 25, which makes it even more heartbreaking… however, australian filmmaker jane campion (director of the piano and portrait of a lady) gives us a glimpse of how wooing a lady and a love affair based on words in letters, not sex, is done by a true romantic. (no pun intended! i swear…) take for instance, a very poignant scene where john and fanny recite each verse of his poem, bright star, by candlelight, the night before he leaves for italy: (it would be the last time she sees him alive…)


Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art--


Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night


And watching, with eternal lids apart,


Like nature's patient, sleepless Eremite,


The moving waters at their priestlike task


Of pure ablution round earth's human shores,


Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask


Of snow upon the mountains and the moors--


No--yet still stedfast, still unchangeable,


Pillow'd upon my fair love's ripening breast,


To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,


Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,


Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,


And so live ever--or else swoon to death.


watch it and weep… i know i did, and i know if you don’t, YOU HAVE NO SOUL!!! (kidding, of course…) and, if you’re not into the whole idea of romance, just watch for the witty back-and-forth between arrogant/condescending charles brown and the equally arrogant/strong-willed fanny… ;)

PUBLIC ENEMIES
4 out of 5 stars

“we’re having too good a time today. we ain’t thinking about tomorrow.” – john dillinger


and…that’s exactly how he lived his life in this biopic of the most wanted man/public enemy #1 in 1930s america. don’t be fooled, this notorious bank robber of the ‘30s is one sexy, charming, witty bastard, who is almost a public hero to the people of the great depression. (he even gives back your money!) a true “robin hood” who also has a “lady miriam” by the name of billie, played by the beautiful marion cotillard. dillinger might be PE#1, but baby face nelson (crazy motherfucker!) and pretty boy floyd (his scene is short but significant) make the list on the FBI’s most wanted list, and simultaneously hunted by special agent melvin purvis, who will stop at nothing to capture these criminals. best line from purvis was that he needed special help to capture dillinger, and apparently texans are the best at that! however, the overall IRONY of it all is that he happened to be right in front of their noses… (i.e. the scene where he just strolls into the chicago police dept then asks for a score to a baseball game to the cops—quite hilarious!) of course, my favorite scene is when after he and an inmate bust out of an indiana jail, he starts singing “get along, little doggies, get along, get along” to his hostages… :P


with that said, the dialogue/screenplay is highly well written, not to mention the acting! both christian bale and johnny depp are method actors, and they truly sink their teeth into the roles they are assigned. (had a blast reading up on all the little factoids on IMDB.com last night i.e. johnny wore the same pants as dillinger in the final scene, and apparently a perfect fit!) it’s so hard to believe that most of the script actually came from true dialogue collected by testimonies, interviews, depositions at dillinger’s trial, etc. of course, I highly enjoyed this one because it had two of my favorite actors playing protagonist/antagonist, so it was very fun to see them go head to head. i’m also a big fan of michael mann, who directed HEAT, and LOVED the use of color filtering to enhance color in certain scenes. (i.e. the miami scene with the warm, orange/yellow tones)


dillinger may go down in history as PE#1, but at least he’ll be remembered for saying this:


purvis: what keeps you up at night, mr. dillinger?
dillinger: coffee.


LOL ;)

SHUTTER ISLAND
5 out of 5 stars

now, how should one describe martin scorsese's latest crime thriller? mind-blowing? psychotically awesome? edge-of-your-seat anxiety that causes you to bite your nails like a nervous little girl? how about all of the above!



this one is definitely one of those movies you have got to see twice...because it will just make you. (hell, i would even see it a third time!) there’s the creepiness and the mystery that will CONSUME you upon entering this 1950s setting. leonardo dicaprio delivers an electrifying performance as u.s. marshal teddy daniels, who is tasked with finding missing prisoner err...i mean patient, rachel solando, on this remote island...shutter island, that is. upon arriving on a dark and stormy night, teddy asks if she's considered dangerous, and the delightful yet creepy ben kingsley (whom i just adore!) replies "you could say that" in such a matter-of-fact tone, that you don’t even realize that this is afterall a prison facility for the criminally insane. we see that teddy is a complicated fellow, as he deals with the recent loss of his wife, the horrors he witnessed at dachau (the other auschwitz) and his determination to find the pyromaniac who killed his wife AND who may still be on the island... however, as teddy begins to ask questions around ashcliffe (that’s the name of the place), he begins to unfold something bigger... something he may not be able to face, as a very nasty hurricane approaches the island. perhaps WWII post-traumatic stress disorder? perhaps a conspiracy that may have to do with brainwashing the prisoners? or…perhaps it’s all in his head? i’ll let you see this one, and you tell me…


is it just me, or does the plot essentially remind you of that movie identity? (some of you may know it-- john cusack, amanda peet, and ray liotta were in it. came out around the early 2000’s, i believe…) i actually think this one is better though, and let me tell you why. the story is a bit more cohesive, and cinematographically, martin scorsese is behind the camera. enough said. the creepiest scene is when teddy is talking to his friend george about the island’s “secret” in ward C, trying to get a glimpse of him one lighted match at a time… (EVEN CREEPIER were teddy’s dreams!) ultimately, this movie shows us that psychiatry and the way the human mind deals with traumatic experiences can be quite unsettling... what lengths human beings will go to unravel the mysteries of the mind?


there’s some truth to the fact that the island is a place that won’t let you go EVER, even as rachel solando says:


“you’ll never leave this island.”


after 2 and a half hours on it, i shudder even at the thought… ;)

JULIE & JULIA

4 out of 5 stars

upon watching this movie, i had cravings for three things: bruschetta (love the scene where julie’s husband is just devouring the tomato and fried bread awesomeness), chocolate cake (also love the scene where julie’s husband just stuffs it in his face), and beef bourguignon. (the fabulous and famous beef stew/trademark dish of the late julia child) I would say that this was one of the best food-related movies I’ve seen in a while, since chocolat and ratatouille. (SERIOUSLY!)

it all starts with just a simple american couple living in paris for the first time, and their names were paul and julia child. paul was working for the american embassy, and julia… well, she just needed something to do. so, why not take cooking lessons? she is in FRANCE, afterall! LOL the best scene is when paul asks her what she truly likes to do, and her answer is EAT! thus, the julia child we know today is born… (funny how one of the first phrases she learns from paul is “bon appétit”)


flash forward to circa 2002-2003, where a bored, underappreciated government secretary by the name of julie powell has a revelation that she can tackle all 524 recipes in Julia child’s master cookbook in 365 days. (and write a blog about it! this prompted by jealousy of one of her writer friends) it will be an experiment of whether she can complete her task in time, and also an experiment of whether her sanity will remain in tack… well, not before long, do we see her melt-down many times, especially when she’s trying to make the aspics (in case you didn’t know- it’s like a beef jello… i know, eww…), stuffing an actual chicken, and killing live/fresh lobsters, of course! that’s also the part where she starts to get on your nerves because ultimately, this blog of her’s becomes more about her than the adventure of going through the recipes, themselves. her tantrums and fights with her husband leave a very stale taste in your mouth. honestly, I thought it would have been better if they just did a movie on julia… JUST julia… should i REALLY care about some whinny bitch whose trying to prove to the world that she can cook?


the best parts of this movie (in my humble opinion), is watching the relationships of both julie and julia’s. paul child (played by the brilliant stanley tucci) is darling, and julie’s husband eric is just as sweet/level-headed. both are extremely supportive of their wives in their endeavors (julie- her goal; julia- her cookbook), and of course, and this is my favorite line:


paul: “julia, you are the butter to my bread, and the breath to my life.”
(later echoed by julie to her husband)


aww… ;)