Kites

Started to read reviews but stopped as more or less talk about what I imagined while watching the movie. Yes, I imagined that regular Bollywood circuit countries audiences will not like (if not hate) the film, while not regular Bollywood circuit countries audiences will like this movie and seems I was right. Why? For starters this is NOT your normal Bollywood film even when has the same story structure (everything is good in the beginning, in the middle things get bad, to finish with a happy ending or a terrible finale), has many songs, some dances, actors speaking Hindi perform in their particular way, and -of course- the leading man cries.

Before I go on let me tell you that I'm sure that I watched the international version which probably was not shown in India as has way too many kisses and even one scene with the main actors making love. So with this said, I say: this is the BEST Bollywood/Hollywood film I've seen up to date! Still has room for improvement but this action/western/romance/drama/tragedy film has little to envy any Hollywood similar story and style movie.

Alright, I don't say this is 'great cinema', but for entertainment purposes is quite entertaining and... Strange! Is like a roller-coaster of many styles that keep your eyes glued to the screen following the not-so-predictable story (thanks to great editing that moves back and forward in time) now with action a la Hollywood, now with scenarios and narrative a la Hollywood western, now with sugary romance a la Mexican soap opera, now with drama a la Bollywood and now with tragedy a la Greek ... and they do most styles not once but several times during the 130 minutes. On top the film is in Hindi, English and Spanish plus not all characters speak the same language to communicate and the 'icing on the cake' the story is set in Las Vegas!

Okay I'll admit it, I liked the movie more than I ever imagined in my wildest dreams plus the two leads very handsome Hrithik Roshan (Jay) and diva Barbara Mori (Natasha/Linda) are absolutely eye-candy! LOL!

Tells the story of a low-life Jay -or J- (Roshan) making his living in Vegas marrying woman to help them get the green card and doing odd jobs until he finds riches when he meets a very wealthy girl, whose father and brother are casino owners and -obviously- Mafiosi. At the brother engagement party J finds that the soon bride-to-be is none other than the only woman he married that touched him, so things get a lot complicated when Natasha (Mori) shows him that he also deeply touched her. I'm telling the basics but the excellent thing is that the story is not told correlative or -if you wish- in order and I left out a lot to not spoil too much the movie.

As expected by now, yes I do recommend the film as a very strange but good Bollywood/Hollywood movie like no other you have seen before; obviously for pure entertainment purposes or to kill some time in a -very- different way. Plus if you enjoy watching American dancing movies or shows, you have to see the excellent dances in this film that are only at the very beginning.

The only not-so-good thing about this movie is that recently I watched a film with a similar story that unfortunately I didn't reviewed and totally forgot the name. But was a Mexican movie.

Have to say this, up-to-date this is the best Barbara Mori film I've watched, but does not mean much as her previous films are really terrible.

Enjoy!

Watch trailer @ Movie On Companion

63rd Locarno Film Festival Award Winners

Just a few minutes ago winners were announced and here they are as published in the official fest site.

Golden Leopard: Han Jia (Winter Vacation), Li Hong qi, China (Watch film excerpt @ Storyteller facebook wall, link in first column)

Special Jury Prize: Morgen, Marian Crisan, Romania, France and Hungary

Best Director: Denis Côté for Curling, Canada

Leopard for Best Actress: Jasna Duric in Beli Beli Svet (White White World), Oleg Novkovic, Serbia, Germany and Sweden
Leopard for Best Actor: Emmanuel Bilodeau in Curling, Denis Cote, Canada

Filmmakers of the Present

Golden Leopard: Paraboles (The Art of Speaking), Emmanuelle Demoris, France (documentary)
Special CineCinema Jury Prize: Foreign Parts, Verena Paravel and JP Sniadecki, USA and France
Special Mention: Ivory Tower, Adam Traynor Canada and Frace

Best First Film: Foreign Parts, Verena Paravel and JP Sniadecki, USA and France
Special Mention: Aardvark, Kitao Sakurai, USA and Argentina

FIPRESCI Award: Han Jia (Winter Vacation), Li Hong qi, China
Special Mention: Karamay, Xu Xin, China

Ecumenical Jury Award: Morgen, Marian Crisan, Romania, France and Hungary
Arte & Essai CICAE: Beli Beli Svet (White White World), Oleg Novkovic, Serbia, Germany and Sweden
FICC/IFFS Award: Morgen, Marian Crisan, Romania, France and Hungary

Variety Piazza Grande Award: Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale, Jalmari Helander, Finland, Norway, France and Sweden.

Audience Award: The Human Resources Manager, Eran Riklis, Israel, Germany and France

Settimana della Critica Award: Reindeer Spotting - Escape from Santaland, Joonas Neuvonen, Finland
Special Mentions
Blood Calls You, Linda Thorgen, Sweden
The Furious Force of Rhymes, Joshua Litle, France and USA

To check other awards and the short film winners please go here.

BMC MOVIE OF THE WEEK: THE HOUSE OF THE DEVIL

The House of the Devil (2009)

• 
• 

• Jocelin Donahue,
• Greta Gerwig,
• Tom Noonan

A coed struggling to pay her rent ends up taking the wrong part-time job in writer-director Ti West's old-school 1980s-set horror flick, The House of the Devil. Samantha (Jocelin Donahue) is a sweet-natured and retiring young woman, unlike her rambunctious, loud, and self-assured best buddy, Megan (mumblecore stalwart Greta Gerwig). After moving into a new apartment, Samantha is desperate for a way to make a few more bucks. When Mr. Ulman (Tom Noonan) comes on campus looking for a babysitter, Samantha jumps at the opportunity. Once she convinces Megan to give her a ride to the creepy old Ulman house, Samantha learns that the job is not quite what was advertised. Ulman and his wife (Mary Woronov) don't even have a child. He tells Samantha that she just has to stay in the house with his elderly mother-in-law while he and the missus go out to celebrate the lunar eclipse. When she balks at the change of plans, he offers her more money. As the night goes on, it becomes clear that Samantha is a much bigger part of the Ulmans' plans for the evening than she would ever want to be. West established his genre credentials with low-budget cult favorites The Roost (which also starred Noonan) and Trigger Man. The House of the Devil also stars A.J. Bowen and Dee Wallace. The movie had its world premiere in the Midnight section of the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. – All Movie Guide

54% liked it

R, 1 hr. 33 min.

Director: Ti West

 

August 8, 2010: Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

Not too long ago, I made mention that “if I had to pick my top five horror movies of 2009, House Of The Devil would definitely make the cut.” Here’s why.

For my money, this is one of the best realizations of Alfred Hitchcock’s “bomb theory” ever put to film. “A bomb is underneath the table and the public knows it” Hitchcock explained, “probably because they have seen the anarchist place it there. The public is aware the bomb is going to explode at one o'clock and there is a clock in the decor. The public can see that it is a quarter to one… The audience is longing to warn the characters on the screen: "You shouldn't be talking about such trivial matters. There is a bomb beneath you and it is about to explode!" For Hitchcock, building tension involves the audience in a film more than sudden shocks.

The first 80 minutes of The House Of The Devil is almost entirely ticking bomb. Along with the title (oh, what a giveaway), the movie begins with the words, “During the 1980s over 70% of American adults believed in the existence of abusive Satanic Cults.” So, in the first ten seconds you see the bomb planted, you know exactly what the main character has in store for her. You just don’t know when. And you wait and you wait while she walks around her college, goes to the titular house, watches TV, orders a pizza, explores all the rooms, looks out the windows. Honestly, if you prefer quick cuts and jump scares in your horror movies, then you’ll likely find this film excruciatingly dull. But if you enjoy suspense, lots and lots and lots and lots of… well, you get the idea. If you like that, then this is THE movie for you.

And really, as Christians, waiting for a big payoff should be no problem. Every reading this week has something to do with patiently biding our time until God delivers on His promises. “However, there are very different ways of waiting.” Pope Benedict XVI reminds us. “If time is not filled by a present gifted with meaning, the waiting runs the risk of becoming unbearable; if something is expected, but at this moment there is nothing, namely, if the present is empty, every instant that passes seems exaggeratedly long, and the waiting is transformed into a weight that is too heavy because the future is totally uncertain. When, instead, time is gifted with meaning and we perceive in every instant something specific and valuable, then the joy of waiting makes the present more precious.” Christian waiting is active, not passive. We don’t sit on our butts until God pops in with a big musical cue and shouts BOO. Instead, we constantly work on our salvation with fear and trembling and with a growing sensation that something big is coming. It’s coming. We just don’t know when.

New Trailer For AVATAR: SPECIAL EDITION!!

Here's the new official trailer for AVATAR: SPECIAL EDITION coming out in 3D theaters August 27 (only 2 weeks away)!

Remember this re-release includes NINE extra minutes of pure CG action! More Pandora creatures too - like the Sturmbeast and the Stingbat. Hear more about it in my recent conversation with James Cameron.

So hold tight guys - the new footage is almost here. Can't wait to relive Pandora once again in a new way!

Be sure to watch the trailer in HD!!

Jon M. Chu Directing Justin Bieber's New 3D Feature Film

Not totally a surprise and quite frankly a good selection for the upcoming 3D feature film for Justin Bieber. STEP UP 3D's director Jon M. Chu has been selected to direct the much talked about Bieber biopic (however short it is) about how he has arrived at the place he is in today.

Bieber's August 31 concert in NYC will be shot in 3D for inclusion in the movie which will also include behind the scenes footage (which I am assuming was shot in 2D and will need to be converted). Knowing Chu however, he will want to shoot as much as possible in native 3D.



I have seen STEP UP 3D and it certainly shows you that it was shot in native 3D - there are no layering effects and Chu used backgrounds and the environment very effectively in some shots to bring out the beauty of 3D. Sure, parts were a bit cheesy as I am sure the Bieber movie will be but overall the 3D was nicely done.

I am feeling a bit better now about the whole project. Chu can bring the right combination to light for a successful film. I will try to keep an open mind for it. I will try very HARD.

Bangkok Dangerous

Just Wright

As a few days ago Queen Latifah was in the news (with some very "old news") and since had some time to watch a film decided to give a try to her latest as -for entertainment purposes- I have enjoyed some of her romantic comedies. Unfortunately this is not the case with this film even when there is good chemistry between Latifah and Common but the story not only is too predictable but the ride becomes boring with many not so credible situations that annoy you for being so much out of reality and you get to think "how on earth Latifah didn't changed the dialogue and narrative".

Story tells about Leslie Wright, 35-years-old, single, heavy basketball fan, and physical therapist that cares too much for others and not much for herself, until she meets Scott, the star basketball player; but he falls for Leslie's best friend... until he realizes that she's not the love of his life, is Leslie. Gosh, sounds so silly and honestly, the story is kind of silly.

But watched the complete movie just because I do enjoy her screen presence and definitively if you enjoy her you have to watch the film that she totally saves by just being there.

Sigh.

Watch trailer @ Movie On Companion