I was serious when I said that I was going to catch up to my siblings regarding movies. I've decided to watch at least one movie a day, and the routine has been going well so far (except for getting tired red eyes). For the past few days, I've set aside two hours to watch movies my brother and I downloaded. I've already seen some of them but I decided to watch them again.
In celebration of finding the will, the time, and the effort to reach my goal of being a movie buff, I'm giving some very very very short reviews of the films I've seen since Saturday.
Don't expect any award-winning movies here! Most of the films in the list are not well known, because, well, my brother and I like to see the lesser known and less popular movies. We're also branching out to the movies of the east (Korean, Thai, and Japanese). My brother mainly looks out for the horror films while I go for action and comedy.
Baby and I (Korean; 2008)
Directed by Kim Jin-yeongStarring: Jang Geun-suk---> I'll go with comedy before going to the horror and action films.
Baby and I is a film that centers around a rebellious teenager who ends up caring for a baby dumped onto him while grocery shopping. The movie has its cute moments. It's a comedy so some unrealistic situations are excused. But, hey, if they were going to put some dubbing on the baby, they could've gone for a cute child's voice and not some old geezer's!
Alive (Japanese; 2002)
Directed by Ryuhei KitamuraStarring: Hideo Sakaki, Tak Sakaguchi---> I only liked the Matrix moment, where the protagonist killed off his enemies like Keanu Reeves did. Other than that, the movie was kind of boring. The dark setting added to the gloomy atmosphere and made the movie more glum and dragging. The concept of the movie was interesting, though; Two prisoners are being observed and one of them is chosen to be the host of an alien being called the "Isomer." The Isomer makes the host powerful (complete with martial arts chops and some sonic waves), using the host's urge to kill as an energy source or something.
Alone (Thai; 2007)
Directed by Banjong Pisanthanakun, Parkpoom WongpoomStarring: Marsha Wattanapanich---> This is a horror film about once conjoined twins, one dead and one living. The dead one haunts the live one because of what happened in the past. Hmmm.. what do I say about this movie? This movie actually won awards, and the lead actress did a good job portraying both good and evil twins. The flow of the story was also well laid out. To me, though, it was just another typical Asian horror film.
An American Haunting (2006)
Directed by Courtney SolomonStarring: Donald Sutherland, Sissy Spacek---> I was greatly disappointed with the movie. It didn't scare me, and the narration was irritating. It was said to be based on a true story but somehow, after all the horror films I've seen, this movie was not convincing.
The Covenant (2006)
Directed by Renny HarlinStarring: Steven Strait---> I've already watched this movie before, and I still like it, mainly becuase of the story and the magic stuff. I didn't like the girl but the rest of the cast were good enough for me. I'd have to say, though, that it'll just be on the level of a teen movie.
White Noise: The Light (2007)
Directed by Patrick LussierStarring: Nathan Fillon---> Now this is a great horror movie. It has the typical flow wherein the protagonist sees the ghostly visions and gets down to the bottom of the mystery at the end. It also involves "tria mera" and the Bible (I haven't been able to figure out how the word "tria mera" mathematically came to be yet).
Mirrors (2008)
Directed by Alexandre AjaStarring: Kiefer Sutherland---> I only had a problem with the latter part of the movie, where the spirit of the mirrors converged into the old nun and the nun became some sort of mutant. My sister and brother were wondering how that could be realistic, and I'm wondering the same thing. Ghosts and possessions are one thing, a mutant being with reptile-like abilities is another. But generally, it was a good movie.
Shoot 'Em Up (2007)
Directed by Michael DavisStarring: Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, Monica Bellucci---> I enjoyed this movie a lot. I've also watched this before so I wasn't surprised at all the gore and brutality. Some of the scenes and stunts are surely unrealistic. Still, it gave me great entertainment.
Street Kings (2008)
Directed by David AyerStarring: Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie---> I've wanted to watch this ever since I saw its trailer because of Keanu Reeves and Hugh Laurie. Turns out that, although Hugh Laurie's role was pivotal, he doesn't appear that much. There's also a crappy moment here --- spoiler --- Chris Evans dies. Well, a lot of them die. It's a dirty cop movie, after all. All I can say is that if you don't like dirty cop movies, then don't watch. It'll just be a bore. I just continued to watch till the end to know who the real bad guy in the movie was.
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................................... and more movies to come! :D
It's definitely a unique kind of movie promotion, especially with a Hollywood movie and with an A-lister in attendance. Best surprise of all was that the A-lister was Keanu Reeves, and for him to be in a panel made up entirely of scientists (with movie director Scott Derrickson) piqued my interest.
I can easily understand how Keanu Reeves would be so awkward in this situation. But I applaud the fact that he really came to the event. He said so little, and some were said jokingly and saracstically. Can't blame him, really. There were strange questions aired, like "Are you human?," to which Reeves replied, "If you cut me, do I not bleed?"
