The Cloning, The Crusades, and the Tropical Malady

The Island (1/27/06)
Michael Bay

WARNING: MILD SPOILER ALERT!
I didn’t have a problem that the second half of the movie turned into a mindless action flick. The first half, which has gotten much praise from the critics for raising a moral question about cloning, was just there as an excuse for the special-effect extravaganza and well done action scenes. “The Island” seemed to be inspired to some degree by “The Matrix” and its sequels from the screenplay to the special-effect showcasing in the highway and high-rise chase scenes. 3 stars

Kingdom of Heaven (1/28/06)
Ridley Scott

It would have helped if my knowledge on the Crusades wasn’t so poor. As it turned out, it simply was about a bunch of crazy mofos killing each other in the name of religions. There are several ways you can direct this movie, make it into a deep religious film or make it a drama/action flick. Ridley Scott chose the later and did an excellent job in directing the spectacular battle scenes which didn’t have a feel of simulated video game like “Gladiator”. 3 stars

Tropical Malady (1/29/06)
Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Here’s a strong contender for the worst film of 2006. The first half of this film is pure cinema in that it goes about its story telling business without being distracted by the usual camera tricks, unnecessary dialogues, or misleading soundtracks. The relationship between the lovers was gradual, uncomplicated, and gentle. Yet, we sensed that there was something terribly wrong and dangerous lurking in the background. We knew this from the opening scene where a unit of soldiers posted for pictures in front of a dead body before carrying it away.

Then the movie made its turn for the worst when it decided to go beyond what it can (and should) do into the territory of experimented cinema. In about an hour period of the second half, the movie has managed to make almost no progress in the storytelling department.

Was there an underlined connection between hunting the shape-shifting beast in the second half and courting his lover in the fist half? Perhaps; I don’t know and I don’t really care. “Tropical Malady” had potential to become a great movie but bravely and foolishly decided to push the envelope and failed miserably. 1 ½ stars.

Note: Obviously, the critics disagreed with me. “Tropical Malady” won the Jury Prize (Cannes), Special Jury Prize (Indianapolis), and Critics Award (São Paulo).

Birth: The Concept of Reincarnation

There are so many angles we can talk about the movie “Birth” that I don’t even know where to begin. Everybody who has seen the film would agree that the most critical point is the question of whether Sean, played by young Cameron Bright, is who he says he is.

Though the movie seems to be leading us toward the confirmation of reincarnation, it still reluctant to provide us with the absolute conclusion because to come to the absolute conclusion, one has to be an expert in the concept of reincarnation and I don’t think that the film wants to claim that responsibility.

But by not being absolute about it, the movie leaves us with so many possibilities to speculate. Some will dislike how the movie is played out and some will overlook the uncertainty and have fun trying to figure out the movie and come up with their own conclusion.

Personally, I think it’s the film’s weakness for not being brave enough to be absolute. I couldn’t help but thought about how brilliant “Birth” could be if it were in the hand of M. Night Shyamalan, who has left us without a doubt as to what really happened in his masterful work, “The Sixth Sense”. 2 ½ stars.

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Syriana (12/26/05)
Stephen Gaghan

“Syriana” is a political film that achieves greatness of “Traffic” and “Crash” but on a higher level and the story is told in a more complex manner. It’s not that big of a surprise to see the connection consider that Stephen Gaghan also did the screenplay for “Traffic”. Its main theme is about the U.S. oil dependency and that raises the question of whether oil is a U.S. national security interest. It also makes me think about the role of the U.S. in the internal affairs of other countries. Great film and one of the best I’ve seen in a long while. 4 stars.

The Cat’s Meow (12/30/05)
Peter Bogdanovich

Regardless of whether the series of unfortunate events on the boat had actually taken place or not, The Cat’s Meow is quite an entertaining film. The fact that the plot is based on the real life Hollywood celebrities (including Charlie Chaplin and William Randolph Hearst) just adds to the smooth telling story. 3 stars.

Christmas Vacation (1/1/06)
Jeremiah S. Chechik

I liked Clark Griswold much better than I liked Ferris Bueller so I’ll give Christmas Vacation an unenthusiastic 2 ½ stars.

Brokeback Mountain (1/2/06)
Ang Lee

Watching “Brokeback Mountain” is like reading a good book in which the story takes its sweet time to tell the story. It has no shocking moments or big revelations. Its focus is to portray the characters in a subtle way so that the audiences get to know the character in details and hopefully, leading them to understand the movie as a whole. A couple things that really stood out to me while watching the movie were Heath Ledger’s excellent performance (those who’ve seen “Monster’s Ball” shouldn’t be surprised) and the beautiful shots of the landscape and big blue sky (shot in Calgary, Fort Macleod, and La Mesilla). Ang Lee has range. 3 ½ stars.

Assault on Precinct 13 (1/2/06)
Jean-François Richet

Despite the fact that I liked “Assault on Precinct 13” enough to recommend it, I thought it was a waste of the talented casts which include Maria Bello, Gabriel Byrne, Ethan Hawke, and Laurance Fishburne. In short, it’s a good mindless (but decent in production and details) entertainment, which provides a good break from the heavy dramas and/or thought-provoking films. 3 stars.

Sox Pride (1/3/06)
Major League Baseball

How could you not like fundamental baseball? The White Sox lack big stars, strikeout pitchers, or big hitters (nobody hit over .300) but they more than made up for it with strong pitching, timely hitting, and solid defense. “Sox Pride” is the overview and highlights of the team success in 2005. A must have for the Southsiders and a great gift for Cubs fans and sportswriters everywhere. 3 stars.

Kissing Jessica Stein (1/4/06)
Charles Herman-Wurmfeld

There are a lot of sexual activities going on in “Kissing Jessica Stein”. The movie is, after all, R rated (for sexual content and language). But not all of the activities are sexual acts. As a matter of fact, most of them portray the characters discussing sex, lesbianism, and relationships. The dialogues are well written and true to the characters (who are smart, funny, and witty people). I was impressed to learn that the screen was co-written and co-produced by the two leading characters, Jennifer Westfeldt (Jessica) and Heather Juergensen (Helen). Though, the movie doesn’t go into heavy part of the same sex relationships, it touches on whether homosexuality is a choice or not. And by the end, the movie subtly provides us the answer. The soundtrack is lovely and is a big part of the film in making the movie gentle and undemanding. It’s an excellent compilation of many great female singers such as Blossom Dearie, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Billie Holiday. 3 ½ stars.

Sin City (1/5/06)
Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino

If you understand and appreciate the violence in “Kill Bill”, you will like “Sin City”. In addition, the movie transports the audience into the brutal world of comic books where the heroes can sustain brutal beatings and gun shot wounds, where the bad guys are some ugly psychopaths, who corrupt, steal your women and eat your children, and where the heroines are equipped with J-Lo’s booty and Pamela Anderson’s fake boobies.

The movie didn’t start well when I was distracted by the hero performing as a narrator, talking over the scenes as supposed to let the audience follow the story themselves. Then I got used to it and started to enjoy its visual, actions, and styles. 3 ½ stars.

Note: Somebody’s going to get hurt if I hear another comparison between garbage like “Wolf Creek” to a classic (yes, you read it right) such as “Kill Bill” or “Sin City”. We’re not talking about the kind of violence where innocent people being tortured while begging for their lives here.