Roxanne's Movie Blog

I Heart Huckabees

2005-07-16T16:49:00.000+08:00

I Heart Huckabees (2004)

Starring: Albert Markovski, Jude Law, Naomi Watts, Mark Wahlberg, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin
Directed by: David O. Russell
Running Time: 1 hr. 45 min.
MPAA Rating: R for language and a sex scene.
Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Summary:

This existential comedy is about a married couple, the Jaffes (Hoffman, Tomlin), who work as detectives, helping people solve existential crises in their lives. For those not familiar with the philosophy-based term of "existential crisis", some examples of such a crises would be a "mid-life crisis", a "what am I doing with my life?" sort of hang up, "my life has been a mistake", "my whole life is a joke", etc. Their first client in this movie is Albert Markovski (Schwartzman), who is experiencing angst because of his position at Huckabee's, a popular chain of retail stores. Investigating his workplace, the Jaffes take on one of Albert's coworkers, Brad Stand (Law) as a client as well, which leads them to investigate his girlfriend, Dawn Campbell (Watts), who is the spokesmodel in the Huckabees TV commercials. Meanwhile, Albert teams up with an existential firefighter (Wahlberg) and a French radical (Huppert) out of frustration with the idea that the Jaffes are helping the very man who seems to be part of Albert's existential crisis.

Rating: (7/10)

Reviews:

Yahoo Movies

Eros

2005-07-16T16:25:00.000+08:00

Eros (2005)
에로스

Starring: Chen Chang, Li Gong, Robert Downey Jr.
Director: Kar-wai Wong, Steven Soderbergh, Michelangelo Antonioni
Genre: Romance, Drama
Runtime: 104mins
Distribution: Sponge
Language: Cantonese, English, Italian
Country: Hong Kong, United States, Italy

Summary:

"The Hand" by Wong Kar Wai

Cheongsam once again embodies the mood for love. "The Hand", widely acclaimed during the film's theatrical release, tells an erotic tale about a young tailor (Chang Chen) and a beautiful Hong Kong courtesan (Gong Li). Hands seems the only way to bridge the gap between love and desire...

"Equilibrium" by Steven Soderbergh

A peculiar and even perverse comedy about an advertising executive's (Robert Downey, Jr.) weird and erotic dream of a woman. Losing his equilibrium, he turns to his psychiatrist (Alan Arkin) who engages himself in all sorts of strange acts in the course of therapy...

"The Dangerous Thread of Things" by Michelangelo Antonioni

A middle-aged American man and his Italian wife enter a stalemate in their relationship. In the magnificent ruins and landscapes of Italy, he encounters a passionate Italian woman, but erotic desires means more than just physical intimacy...

Rating: (8/10)

Reviews:

Rotten Tomatoes

Casshern

2005-07-15T21:04:00.000+08:00

Casshern (2004)
캐샨

Starring: Yusuke Iseya, Kumiko Aso, Akira Terao
Director: Kazuaki Kiriya
Genre: Sci-fi, Action, Adventure, Drama
Runtime: 141mins
Production: Casshern Film Partners, Tatsunoko Productions, Shochiku Films
Distribution: Shochiku Films
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Summary:
Fashion photographer and music video director Kiriya Kazuaki's long awaited first film, set in a stunning retro-futuristic world, is a visual and philosophical tour de force. An updated version of an animated television series from Tatsunoko Pro made in the early 1970s, Casshern is a classic tale of good vs. evil. The film is set in the future, where the planet Earth has been divided between two opposing alliances. After a long and bitter war, the Greater Eastern Federation has triumphed over Europa and rules the Eurasian continent. However, the victory is a hollow one. The war has left the planet a wasteland, ravaged by chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, and its inhabitants are weak and susceptible to every pestilence and new disease that appears. With hope running out for the survival of the human race, a geneticist named Dr. Azuma proposes a neo-cell treatment through which he can rejuvenate the human body, and potentially save mankind. The success of his research is critical to him on a personal level as well, as his disease stricken wife Midori is growing weaker each day. One day, a freak bolt of lightning sends Azuma's neo-cell cloning experiment haywire, and an army of superhuman androids (Shinzo Ningen) are unleashed on the world. The military attacks and kills most of them, but some survive, taking Midori hostage and employing a robot army to wage war on the humans in an effort to wipe them off the face of the earth. As options run out, Tetsuya, Azuma's son who has been killed in fighting, is reborn through his father's neo-cell technology as the hero Casshern. Will he be able to save the world, or is it too late?

Ratings: (7/10)

Reviews:

Midnight Review

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

2005-07-15T17:37:00.000+08:00

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)

Starring: Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Deep Roy
Directed by: Tim Burton
Genres: Kids/Family, Musical/Performing Arts and Science Fiction/Fantasy
Running Time: 1 hr. 46 min.
Release Date: July 15th, 2005 (wide).
MPAA Rating: PG for quirky situations, action and mild language.
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Summary:
Acclaimed director Tim Burton brings his vividly imaginative style to the beloved Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, about eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka (Johnny Depp) and Charlie, a good-hearted boy from a poor family who lives in the shadow of Wonka's extraordinary factory. Long isolated from his own family, Wonka launches a worldwide contest to select an heir to his candy empire. Five lucky children, including Charlie, draw golden tickets from Wonka chocolate bars and win a guided tour of the legendary candy-making facility that no outsider has seen in 15 years. Dazzled by one amazing sight after another, Charlie is drawn into Wonka's fantastic world in this astonishing and enduring story.

Reviews:
Rotten Tomatoes

Malena

2005-07-15T16:53:00.000+08:00

Maléna (2000)

Starring: Monica Bellucci, Daniele Arena, Giovanna Litrico, Gianluca Guarrera, Michel Bramanti
Directed by: Giuseppe Tornatore
Genres: Art/Foreign and Romance
Running Time: 1 hr. 46 min.
Release Date: December 25, 2000 Limited.
MPAA Rating: R for sexuality/nudity, language and some violence.
Distributor: Miramax Films

Summary:
A young man's infatuation for a beautiful older woman blooms amidst the outbreak of World War II in this bittersweet comedy-drama from Italy. Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro) is a 13-year-old boy growing up in a small Sicilian community. Mussolini has risen to power and has declared war upon England and France, but Renato has other things on his mind -- mostly girls. While hanging out with his friends by the seashore, Renato spies Malèna (Monica Bellucci), the daughter of one of his schoolteachers, whose husband Nino (Gaetano Aronica) is fighting with Mussolini's army. Renato is immediately obsessed with Malèna and follows her like a lost puppy, spying on her whenever circumstances permit and imagining her as his co-star in elaborate erotic fantasies inspired by his favorite movies. Renato, however, is hardly the only man in town to be struck by Malèna's charms, and her beauty leads to resentment from the women of the community. Malèna's circumstances take a turn for the worst after her husband is reported to have died in combat, and she is forced to resort to prostitution to survive; she is brutally attacked by a pack of angry matrons and driven from town. Renato tries to keep track of her, and has some less than encouraging news to report when Nino turns out to be alive and finds his spouse is missing. Malèna was written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, best known for the art-house hit Nuovo Cinema Paradiso; Malèna was released in Europe at 106 minutes, while the American version was edited by ten minutes to tighten the pace and remove nudity and sexual material considered too strong for the U.S. marketplace.

Rating: (7/10)

Reviews:

Rotten Tomatoes

Nobody Knows

2005-07-14T19:09:00.000+08:00

Nobody Knows (2004)
아무도 모른다

Starring: Yagira Yuya, Terashima Susumu, Ayu Kitaura
Director: Hirokazu Kore-Eda
Genre: Drama
Runtime: 140mins
Language: Japanese
Country: Japan

Summary:

28th Japan Academy Prize Series series 2005 Cannes Film Festival Best Actor Prize The surprise winner at Cannes Film Festival this year, Nobody Knows' leading man (boy), the 14-year-old actor Yagira Yuuya defeated the likes of Tony Leung, Tom Hanks and Geoffrey Rush to win Best Actor Award, becoming the youngest winner in Cannes history. Since Cannes, Koreeda Hirokazu's film has been accepted into prestigious film festivals such as Toronto, London and Pusan, as well as receiving critical acclaim in cities where the film has opened commercially. While it might not have an all-star cast, stunning special effects or a huge budget, Nobody Knows proves that all a film needs to succeed is a good story and a production that is taken seriously! Nobody Knows tells of a family in Tokyo where four children live with their mother in a small apartment. All the children have different fathers, never been to school, and three are living in hiding from the landlord. One day, their mother decides to go away to look for her boyfriend, and leaves her eldest son Akira (Yagira Yuuya) a note and a little money to take care of his siblings in her temporary absence. But when the mother fails to return, the children are left to survive on their own, thus beginning their survival tale, one that nobody knows.

Reviews:

Shuqi

In The Mood For Love

2005-07-14T17:30:00.000+08:00

In the Mood for Love (2000)
화양연화

Starring: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Rebecca Pan
Director: Kar-Wai Wong
Genre: Drama, Romance
Runtime: 97mins
Production: Block 2 Pictures, Jet Tone Films
Distribution: USA Films, October Films
Language: Cantonese
Country: Hong Kong

Synopsis:

Hong Kong 1962, Chow Mo-Wan (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai), a journalist, rents a room from Mr. Koo. He will live there with his wife, a hotel receptionist. It's sheer coincidence that he moves in the same day that Su Lizhen (Maggie Cheung Man-Yuk) moves in next door, at Mrs Suen's place. Lizhen works as a secretary to Mr. Ho (Lai Chin), the boss of a shipping company. It's also a coincidence that both of them are moving in without help from their spouses. Chow's wife is working her shift at the hotel at the time of the move. Lizhen's husband, Mr Chan, is away on a business trip; he works for a Japanese company, and is often abroad. Despite having convivial and neighbourly landlords, Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan often find themselves alone and lonely in their respective rooms.
Neither of them ever finds out how it began, but Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan discover that their respective spouses are having an affair. The discovery shocks both of them. Chow, feeling hurt and wishing to understand how the affair happened, begins finding excuses to spend time with Mrs. Chan. They begin rehearsing what they will say to their spouses when they confront them with what they know. Then Mr. Chow invites Mrs. Chan to help him with a martial-arts series that he is writing for the newspaper. Their meetings are discreet, but people begin to notice. There seems no possibility that they, too, will drift into an affair. But Mrs. Chan's emotional reticence begins to haunt Mr. Chow and he finds his feelings changing. It's almost like being in love.
Four years later, as a Singapore-based reporter covering General De Gaulle's visit to Cambodia, Chow Mo-wan finds himself remembering an old story about a way of unburdening yourself of a secret you don't want anyone to know.

Rating: (9/10)

Reviews:
Senses Of Cinema

Hewo =D

2005-07-14T15:50:00.000+08:00

Hi! This would be my very first post on my very first blog. Friendster blog doesn't count coz I didn't really update it hehe. This blog would be a movie blog. Movies that I've seen, want to watch, and heard about would be posted here (but mostly those that I've seen). There will be all sorts of movies ranging from romances to dramas, from thrillers to comedies, from classics to experimentals . Hope you guys will like this blog =P. Comments and requests are welcome.