THE COLLECTOR
2 out of 5 stars

another movie to add into the torture-porn sub categorization of the horror movie genre! this one was a dud in some sense, but extra points for good cinematography! ;)



arkin (josh stewart…AKA the movie star that hooks up with courtney cox on dirt) is your average window and door repairman. little do his marks know that he’s a jewelry thief in disguise! he cases one particular home inhabitated by michael chase, a jewelry broker, and has intel on a rare diamond stored in his vault. so, arkin decides to break into the house one night, but then realizes someone has already brutually tortured michael and his wife, their little girl hannah is missing, and that this someone is known as “the collector” who likes to keep one particular person in a big red box. (very sadistic…) this collector has also set up traps ALL OVER the house i.e. open bear traps all over the dining room; the fish-hook laundry room; the acidic floor in another daughter’s room; even pins sticking out of the ear piece if someone were to pick up a phone! this guy has thought of EVERYTHING… there’s no way out. well, arkin decides to put that to the test…


my favorite parts of this movie are the traps, just like in the saw movies. they’re simple yet well thought-out. the parts i hated was the storyline and lack there of. who is the collector, and why does he collect people? why did he target the chase family? what is the meaning of the collection? NONE of these questions are addressed, and so this movie becomes another dud. it’s quite unfortunate because it had the potential of becoming something creepy/scary AND good… the cinematography is actually quite good, as the film shows different perspectives of arkin’s POV as well as the collector’s POV and sometimes both by showing an angle shot from the roof’s POV! (something rarely done)

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE
4 out of 5 stars

i absolutely LOVED the girl with the dragon tattoo due to the mystery element and thrilling nature of the film, but this one sort of fell short to me… there’s still the over-arching mystery, but it’s all about uncovering lisbeth’s past and the person setting her up for a triple murder homicide! :0


it’s a juicy story, but like i said: it’s not as good as the first film. anyway, this film starts out with lisbeth vacationing in the caribbean and basically where we left off with the first book/film. she heads back to homeland sweden, where she hacks into mikael blomkvist’s computer again to see what kind of story he’s working on. turns out he’s working with a young journalist by the name of dag svensson on a human sex trafficking case… dag had been busy collecting evidence and confronting the johns who use this prostitution ring, and it’s interesting that most of the clientele of this ring are high-ranking swedish govt officials. but then, dag and his GF mia are murdered in their apt with the gun that was owned by nils bjurman, lisbeth’s court-appointed guardian. (remember him from the first movie?) it looks REALLY bad for lisbeth when forensic evidence shows that her fingerprints are found on the murder weapon… it looks even WORSE when nils bjurman is found dead in his apt too… thus, another mystery to solve for mikael (who believes lisbeth is innocent) and lisbeth (who is desperate to finding out the truth)!

i think the mystery in the first film was much more complex and well-told than this second film because it was a true mystery. the mystery in this one is more about uncovering lisbeth’s past, and i felt like it was somewhat predictable… (still well-told nonetheless) lisbeth is such a complex character with such a badass exterior…watch the scene where she beats up two ruthless bikers in the swedish countryside! it’s even awesome yet disturbing that @ the age of 12, she threw a fire bomb at her rapist dad for assaulting her mother… bad-ass, indeed!

p.s. can’t wait to find out what happens next in girl who kicked the hornet’s nest! ;)

PEACOCK
2 out of 5 stars

hmm… i’m wondering if it wasn’t that obvious that john and emma were the same person? (or cillian murphy in drag) this “psychological thriller” wasn’t that thrilling, and didn’t do us justice explaining why john skillpa (the main character) was the way he was… i expected better with an all-star cast! :/


from the very get-go, you are introduced to john skillpa, a quiet/shy bank clerk living in the small nebraska town of peacock. every morning, “emma” (his alter-ego and “wife”) does his house chores, cooks his breakfast of bacon + toast + fried eggs, leaves him notes around the house with reminders, and even leaves dinner for him in the fridge for when he comes home. the thing with multiple personality disorder is that john has no recollection that emma has done all this… in fact, he seems to have no recollection of emma’s behavior/actions that get him into hot water when the mayor wants to do a public rally in his backyard, thus exposing his secret. he gets into even more hot water, when maggie (ellen page), a waitress/hooker from his past, begins to ask for money to support their son and herself. hint: maggie ends up being the missing link between john and his abusive mother… (i’ll leave it @ that…)

i have to hand it to cillian murphy, who does a great playing both roles of john and emma. both personalities are polar-opposites, and he does a good job balancing both roles. ellen page, on the other hand, should just stick with the awkward coming-of-age comedies because i think her dramatic roles aren’t dramatic enough… like i said, it’s not really psychologically thrilling enough because the movie already tells you john’s secret from the very start, nor does it expose layers of the story like a REAL psycho thriller would. i think it’s a good premise but a little bit too linear in terms of plot for my tastes…

CHLOE
1 out of 5 stars

idk… anyone who is married to julianne moore and decides to cheat on her is stupid and also BLIND! she’s so gorgeous… thus, the whole premise of this movie baffles me. :P



so, the question becomes…who is chloe? well, she’s a call girl who roams swanky hotel restaurants and hotel bars for her next “client”, and she catches the eye of julianne moore’s character, dr. catherine stewart, who suspects her husband (the GREAT liam neeson) of cheating on her. we should put a big emphasis on “she thinks” he’s cheating because she finds a picture of david and one of his music students on his iphone with the message “thanks for a great time last night”. that and the fact that he purposefully missed his flight from NYC to do so. suspicious minds, n’-est-ce pas? thus, this leads to catherine hiring chloe to seduce david, and the results are ehh…


nothing really happens in this movie, esp. since they marketed it like chloe was going to be another young glenn close in fatal attraction or something. she’s NOT. it’s more in the style of that affair movie unfaithful with richard gere and diane lane, esp. the cinematography and the beautiful contemporary home featured in this. the problem with this one is not as dramatic nor sexually tense as unfaithful. plus, unfaithful had hott french actor olivier martinez! (halle berry’s new boo) i was expecting a lot more from veteran actors julianne moore and liam neeson, but this one just went limp... :/

SAW VI
2 out of 5 stars


ya know... i wouldn't have expected anything less, esp. since it is a SAW movie afterall. you've got the gore, the flashbacks, and even CRAZIER traps for all of jigsaw's victims in his 6th movie about determining those who live or die. you know we're getting close to HALLOWEEN when you've got to watch a SAW movie! :P


truth be told: i skipped over the 5th one, but then again, i don't think i missed much since the saw movies have a tendency of flashing back to the previous or even referring to the 3rd or 4th saw movie. however...to recap: saw VI starts out with the crushing death of agent strahm and the continuing legacy of det. hoffman, who is now the NEW jigsaw and thus carrying out his work. det. hoffman thinks he can get away with it all, except that 2 FBI agents are re-investigating the jigsaw murders, esp. when they find 2 predatory lenders forced to cut off their flesh in order to prevent screwbolts from drilling holes into their skulls. it's pretty nasty whether you cut off a limb or suffer with screwbolts in your skull, but hey...this is SAW we are talking about. we also learn that det. hoffman has had some help. jill kramer AKA jigsaw's wife is his "accomplice", and of course, she's got a plan up her sleeve... comeon! it wouldn't be a SAW movie w/o one! ;)

a lot of the motive-related questions are asked, and the game of william easton AKA the senior VP of a major health care provider really gets the test of his LIFE. he has to go through a series of tests determining who lives and dies, or... his limbs get blown off by these time-bombs strapped to his arms and ankles. now, the SAW franchise has had some CRAZY/really disgusting traps created, but i have to say madd props to the creatives on the death-go-round, the rib-crunching breathing apparatus, and of course, bringing back the signature jigsaw reverse bear trap head apparatus! now, if i can keep myself from not hurling my dinner due to the graphic nature of the death effects... :P

TAE GUK GI: THE BROTHERHOOD OF WAR
4 out of 5 stars

a tremendously LONG film about the korean war! also, a tremendously BLOODY and horrific outlook on the horrors of wartime as well as the psychological aspects of how the motherland got torn apart by the ideals of democracy and communism. it’s no documentary obviously, but the storyline is well written and the acting is quite great! ;)



the year is 1950, and the korean war has just broken out… take an ordinary korean family operating a small noodle house and shoe-shining, and plunge the boys right into the battlefield. older bro jin-tae (the great/hott actor jang dong-gun) shoe-shines for a living to pay for his young bro’s education. of course, younger bro jin-seok (won bin) reluctantly “enlists”. (ehh…it’s more of a “you have to come fight with us now” sort of sitch) jin-tae feels like he has to protect his lil’ bro, so he too “enlists.” it’s a no-win situation, and pretty soon, bullets are flying, body parts are being blown up, blood is gushing everywhere, and the commies keep on coming. the movie is a visual representation of the korean war, but this movie’s focus is more on the brotherhood/bond between two brothers, and i think the overall message is how CRAZY the ideals of government/power can make even the best of brothers into sworn enemies…


i think the best aspect of this film is the storyline, esp. the beginning where it starts out with an elder jin-seok reflecting on his past, triggered by a phone call from the korean war excavation unit from the south korean govt. the excavation unit thinks that they found the remains of a sgt. lee jin-seok, and of course, elder jin-seok knows that in his heart that it’s his brother who died trying to save him on the battlefield. it’s all incredibly moving and very sad. (my eyes are still puffy from crying them out…) also, the music featured on the soundtrack is incredibly GOOD. not sure who the composer was, but it’s very beautiful and appropriate for a movie of this nature. GREAT film, and i understand why it won so many awards at an intl film festival in 2004!


p.s. this year marks the 60th anniversary of the korean war, and all i can say is THANK YOU to all those who fought in the name of democracy and R.I.P. to those who died in the name of democracy…

COCO CHANEL & IGOR STRAVINSKY
4 out of 5 stars

such a BEAUTIFUL film about the relationship/love affair between fashion designer coco chanel and russian composer igor stravinsky! with this film, i don’t think i liked it so much for the acting per se, but more for the costume design (chanel’s outfits…LOVE!) as well as coco’s beautiful countryside villa, where most of the film takes place… ;)



it all starts out BRILLIANTLY with the disastrous opening debut of igor stravinsky’s “rite of spring” in paris 1913. all classical and non-classical musicians know that this particular debut won the award of “shit-hitting-the-fan” moment of the 20th century due to the fact that the dissonance of the music and bizarre choreography of said piece caused a major RIOT. (i wish i was kidding, but i’m not…) people are yelling obscenities, throwing things at the dancers, all the while, coco chanel is sitting calmly in her theatre seat, moved by the music. she really was a woman ahead of her time, certainly… fast forward to seven years, and coco and igor meet again at an after party. she allows him to stay at her countryside villa outside of paris, and he and the rest of the stravinsky clan move in. god knows what chanel was thinking at the time, but her good deed turns into a love affair with the composer, and you probably can guess the rest… ;)


this version of chanel was quite different from the one portrayed by audrey tatou in coco before chanel. this version was the sophisticated, bitchy, perfectionist chanel that makes her a fashion designer by default. with a cigarette always hanging from her mouth, chanel thinks she’s just as an artist as stravinsky. she even admits that in a scene, where she claims she doesn’t make sketches beforehand, just like stravinsky plays what comes to him first on the piano. famed danish actor mads mikkelsen (we know him as the teary-eyed villain in casino royale) plays the famous composer, and does a brilliant job portraying the cool yet complicated musical figure as well as mastering 2 languages (he speaks in both russian and french) in 1 film! (impressive…) i think my only gripe is the mere fact that this is all FICTION. the story is based on a 2002 book written by a british poet , but who’s to say we can’t use our imagination and wonder what would have happen between such great figures in both fashion and musical culture? ;)

HARRY BROWN
3 out of 5 stars

this was an interesting movie on how british gang violence is escalating in certain "slums" of london. it's also interesting to see how an ordinary person can transform into a vigilante overnight esp. if he's got the right training and personality to make those pay for their crimes... :)


the GREAT michael caine stars in this violent british thriller about an ordinary citizen of one of london's ghetto apartment complexes AKA the estate. harry brown is just an ordinary man, living an ordinary life. he wakes up, makes himself a cup of hot tea, eats a breakfast of jam + toast, and then visits his dying wife in the hospital. in the afternoons, he plays chess with his best friend len attwell in the pub near his apartment complex. problems arrise when harry's "ordinary" life gets disrupted by the death of his wife and beloved kath (very poignant scene- made me cry...) as well as the gruesome murder of his best friend by the local teenage gang. harry doesn't take the news of len's murder very easily, and decides he's going to kill each and every one of the lil' bastards. this, of course, triggers the attention of the police, esp. the attention of detective inspector alice frampton (a subdued/tired looking emily mortiimer) and her colleague detective sergeant terry hicock, who suspect that harry is behind the deaths of the local gang members. fortunately for harry, no one seems to think an old geezer like him would do such a thing... i mean, the guy is in his 70s and has emphesema! but my good chaps, are you in for a surprise... ;)

michael caine is AWESOME in this, as he is in every movie he's in. i guess my only gripe is that the beginnings are really slow and the editing really bothered me because there were times where the film jumped around between scenes too much... (?) the dialogue could have been written better, and the cat-and-mouse interplay between the police figures and harry could have been written better too. (where's the fun in them suspecting harry from the start?) i guess i just felt that this could have been better in terms of dialogue & plot due to the fact that you had 2 GREAT actors, caine and emily mortimer, in this "thriller"... plus, the low budget/indie feel didn't quite fit either. it's not a bad movie per se, but then again...not great either...

SUCK
2 out of 5 stars

the canadians take a shot @ the emerging horror comedy genre, and this is what they come with... a rock n' roll vampire band!


i didn't know this was meant to be funny, so i'm glad i was laughing @ all the right moments! horror comedies are starting to become more and more popular, and i was right to assume this would be a lot like jennifer's body. essentially, the plot is quite simple. lead singer/lifetime loser joey wants to be famous, and make a name for himself and his band. one night, after playing their gig in montreal, jennifer (the band's bassist) gets hypnotized by a creepy 300 year old vampire named queeny and gets the bite of immortality from him. pretty soon, the other members in the band also want the bite of immortality, and joey is faced with the choice of: rockstar vampire or mediocre musician? do i have to tell ya what his choice is, or is it not that obvious? :P

the movie is almost like one long music video, or i guess i should say a string of music vids rolled into one. the soundtrack is actually quite good, and there are even rocker cameos that make great scenes i.e. iggy pop as the band's producer, moby as the horny lead singer of the secretaries of steak, henry rollins as some asshole DJ, and my fave...alice cooper as an evil vampire bartender. malcolm mcdowell (we film kids all know him from kubrick's clockwork orange) stars as the eddie van helsing. (don't you just love that name?) it's overall very strange and done low budget style, but hey... this is rock n' roll! it's meant to be dirty and bizarre... i'd say...i would recommend this one to those who want a laugh and some good ROCK soundtrack music esp. with all that vampire teenage crap out there... ;)

REPO MEN
3 out of 5 stars

remy: "at the end, a job is not just a job, is who you are, and if wanna change who you are, you have to change what you do..."


NICE quote from remy (AKA jude law) who stars as a repo man in this futuristic world where artificial organs can easily be purchased as those buying a car. remy lives a plain lifestyle with a wife and kid, and he even likes his job. (even if it is as gruesome as it sounds) it's just too bad when he is in need of an artificial heart when his defibrilator unit malfunctions on the job, causing him to go into cardiac arrest. it sucks even MORE when his wife leaves him after his partner jake (forrest whitaker) decides he wants to play repo man during remy's cookout. (really awful...) what's funny about this story of repo-ing organs is that as easy as one can put an artificial organ in someone's body, it's just as easy to take it out. the tables sure turn on remy when he can't pay up on his artificial heart, and he ends up running from the very people he worked for...

originally i would rate this a 2 star movie b/c it's just OK. it's entertaining b/c it's sci-fi, but at the same time, i felt like it could have done better. plus, i'm not sure if the casting was done well either... i just felt like they needed someone bolder for the role of remy and someone crazier for the role of jake. both jude and forrest are a bit subdued, IMO... plus, you begin to wonder... why won't ppl just do the monthly installments and pay for their organs monthly i.e. a car payment? or better yet, don't get an artifical organ esp. if you can't pay for one! a part of me wonders if this is suppose to be a satirical story? a cautionary tale on credit? however, this movie earned an extra star with a little plot twist @ the very end. you'll see that all ends "well"... ;)