Random Places

First Impression: I was just browsing the Festival Cinema website one day to see what indie movies are worth watching and came upon a special Vancouver Sun hosted Sunday Morning screening for this movie. Free breakfast was a nice incentive too.

Afterthoughts: I think this is the first movie I’ve ever seen where most of the people in theatre ended up in tears and sniffles. The story of the boy, son of a Nazi officer, and his new friend, a Jewish boy living in concentration camp was certainly both endearing and tragic. I’m no expert in history so I don’t know how accurate the movie was (it was based on a fictional novel). I was fairly surprised at how lively and carefree (and ignorant) life was for the non-Jews in Germany, at least how it was portrayed in the beginning of the movie before the boy’s family had to move right smack next to a Jewish camp. I loved how the minor characters in the movie were well fleshed out, like the violent but probably secretly Jewish Nazi Jr. officer and the doctor-turned-potato peeling servant, which made the situation ever more conflicting. There were some reviews that said the movie proposed such an impossible premise that they couldn’t enjoy the film at all. However, I’m glad I was able to hear otherwise from other audiences who actually knew of people that lived through the dark period. The exact scenario was certainly a little far-fetched, but it was a great supposition with heartbreaking performance from the ensemble cast.

First Impression: It’s the first frakking BSG movie (on tv)! In addition to the big gap between season 3 and 4, there really was no reason to miss this at all. I did wonder whether to write a review on this however, as people who would actually read this review probably know about the show already, and they either refuses to watch or have already been hooked.

Afterthoughts: The movie was a bit of a let down, as it only visually presented what had already been implied about the painful event on Battlestar Pegasus. Plus that big hype about Admiral Cain being a lesbian? If it wasn’t for that Quizno commercial I would have missed the relationship entirely! Tricia Helfer was grossly underused in the film. I mean, hello? She’s Gina, shouldn’t she have more screen time? Plus the fact that a random Six just stepped on the Pegasus just to die and move the plot along didn’t make sense at all. Thanks for exposing your comrade Six. With the complainings done, let me just say that I really liked Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen’s performance. It’s hard to be the lead in a series you just walked into. And the chemistry with Katee Sackhoff! Okay, so maybe Katee can have chemistry with just about anything, including non-animated objects. Ronald D. Moore should have gone with that girl on girl pairing instead :p. Also, could Katee get any hotter?





Ahem…anyway, at least I got my BSG fix over the break.

First Impression: Drama + Brad Pitt. That was pretty much my only reason to rent this movie.

Afterthoughts: This movie reminded me of Crash as they’re both about the convergence of lives of these seemingly unrelated people, but fortunately Babel did it so much better. You can read my Crash review for why I thought it failed so epically. Babel shined because it was able to convey that helplessness and injustice through outstanding acting (a feat on its own considering the cross continent talents) instead of wordy explanations. If you enjoyed Crash, then I think you’d like this movie a lot (more).

First Impression: Oh no, another crap Chinese movie.

Afterthoughts: Okay, I guess my first impression was a little harsh, this was an alright movie. A little like Kingdom of Heaven but without the stupid backstory and equally stupid Orlando Bloom. But of course, the writer had to ruin the movie by adding cliche romantic plotline that ended up making Ge Li (the war strategist played by Cantopop singer Andy Lau) act out of character…unless they meant to say all great men fall at the hand of a woman and become more stupid despite whatever “wit” they possess.

First Impression: Hmm, I had no idea who Colin Firth was (blasphemy, eh?), found Renée Zellweger slightly disturbing, and Hugh Grant barely tolerable (due to his hair). But I heard it was funny.

Afterthoughts: Another romantic comedy that I thoroughly enjoys. They weren’t lying when they said it’s hilarious; this is British humour at its best. Bridget Jones is a slightly overweight lady who finds herself between the sly, sleazy but sexy boss, Daniel Cleaver (played by Grant), and haughty ex-neighbour Mark Darcy (played by Mr. Darcy…erm…Colin Firth). The film manages to be hilarious and sweet without being sappy and corny. Rent it to laugh your arse off.