Deceptive Kaleidoscopic Views & Sharp Morality Shards

The Ice Storm is one of the best films ever released. Ang Lee proved to be one of our great contemporary film directors and he sure did justice to Rick Moody's novel. In fact, most people who enjoyed both will tell you that, surprisingly, they prefer the film over the book. One of the main reasons (besides great directing and solid acting) is the unforgettable music of  its SoundTrack..

From the opening titles, Mychael Danna's hypnotic melodies take you effortlessly two generations back, in affluent yet creepy American Suburbia. Unfortunately, the opening titles theme is not included in this release (my only complain). I would have loved to be able to listen to it while driving without Paul's (Tobey Maguire) monologue on top but no luck.

The same is also true for a number of memorable instrumental pieces. In fact, Mychael Danna's pieces on this soundtrack are limited only to Tracks 1-3. The rest are songs from the era that make a small or greater appearance in the movie.

Nevertheless, Danna's composition and execution are so powerful that this soundtrack deserves a place in your life.

Indeed, "family is the void we emerge from. And the place we go to when we die". 

Everything in between is music.

Wanted? Honestly?

In one of the most memorable scenes of the movie, the hero (Gibson) smacks his double crossing "best friend" with a standard keyboard: certain keys come loose spelling, well "F.U.C.K.Y.O.U." in the air. In the opening sequence of the game they spell instead..."U.N.I.V.E.R.S.A.L". Freudian tangents aside, the game goes downhill from there.

The graphics of Wanted: Weapons of Fate are up to date, with realistic shadows and shiny surfaces. Moreover, I liked to be able, once more, to use bullet-time (of Max Payne fame). It is called "assassin time" here, but who are we kidding, right? Paired with a more or less working and visually impressive "curving the bullet", these are the highlights of the game.

Besides being short, Wanted suffers from both awkward and counter-intuitive controls and fickle commands. Crouching and moving from one cover the next gets old fast - especially since it is not always easy to go where you intend in one step. If I were to guess, I would bet on the PC version being a hasty port. I suspect that it would be more enjoyable with a gamepad but I refuse to use a gamepad for a PC game.

Overall, this is a game that will appeal mostly to fans of the movie. I myself bought it to experience ...curving the bullet first hand. That it delivered. But hardly anything more.

To be fair, when was the last time a based-on-a-movie game was above par? 

A Perfect Adaptation. A Wonderful Movie

It is very rare to watch a movie based on a favorite book and not be disappointed. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, however, is a rare exception as it is a perfect adaptation. Both the cast and the scenery was very close to the imagery the late Stieg Larsson created in my mind while I was reading his masterpiece. And the story follows the book plot with faithful reverence.

Having said that, even if one missed on the book this is a powerful and very entertaining movie on its own.

The movie is in Swedish (as it should) and if, like me, not fluent in the language, one has to use subtitles. I prefer this kind of translation to dubbing as I find it more respectful of the artists' original vision and craft. German and French (to to mention American) audiences, to name but a few, have been addicted to hearing their own language. This convenience, although it can work for most blockbusters, it rubs off all the subtle details that give rise to a masterpiece.

Noomi Rapace (of Prometheus fame) simply is Lisbeth Salander. The body-type, the attitude, the self-assured distrust towards the world. From the way she enters a room to the way she hits her computer keys she is possessed by Lisbeth's spirit.

In this first installment of The Millennium Trilogy Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and his investigation form the center of gravity. No matter, the moment Lisbeth enters a scene she steals it away simply because there hasn't been such an original character for a long time. Nobody wants to cross this version of Pipi Longstockings!

The story revolves around a locked-room/island mystery. An industrialist, Henrik Vanger, has life-long obsession with what really happened to his beloved niece, Harriet. Although the Vagner family has no..shortage of bad apples, the mystery resisted to 40 years of thorough investigation by both the police and numerous private investigators. Blomkvist is persuaded to give it one last try not only by the substantial paycheck but also by the promise to be able to clear his name, tricked and convicted into libel as he had been.

The Millennium Trilogy is Larsson's last gift to the world. And it starts with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. If, for some reason, you do not want to savor the books, this movie is strong and potent. It will stay with you for a very long time.

Little More Than A Glorified Propaganda B-Movie

Usually success is a combination of talent, hard work and luck. Then again, a movie like this gets the Best Picture Oscar and one can only wonder: did the members of the Academy vote FOR this movie or against James Cameron? Sure, his arrogance did not make things easy; then again, one should not underestimate envy and spite as human motivation.

Inaccuracies and obvious mistakes run rampant; the Saving Private Ryan -wannabe camera shakes you into nausea; the plot line is abandoned in the sand again and again and (what is worse) there is absolutely nothing waiting at the end. No catharsis, no message, no moral, no closure. Nothing.

Platoon defined the Vietnam war not only with its realism and its ability to paint all the shades of moral ambiguity but also because because it had the guts to send a clear political message. In dire contrast, The Hurt Locker offers only a deafening silence on all these aspects.

The movie presents this war, with some of the sacrifices and atrocities it entails, as inevitable and expected. Keep enlisting, keep fighting and keep dying for the corporations and the banks - but don't you dare speak your opinion on the matter. Its message is a cowardly "don't ask - and we are not going to tell you why either".

Because self-censorship is the worse kind of censorship, this is Hollywood at its worse.

A spineless pseudo-documentary masquerading as an art movie. A cowardly film trying to capitalize on the stories of brave men thrown into unwinnable war.

A film made by errand boys, sent by grocery clerks, to make sure the bill of blood is being paid in full. Again and again.

Pass. With extreme prejudice.

Go Ahead, Make His Day!

Did you ever dream being able to run inconsiderate drivers who are too lazy to signal their turns or lane changes off the road and onto the sidewalk? How about spiral-diving amongst a swarm of black-clad enemies and bullet-time picking them out one by one? How about doing the same while skydiving? Or shooting bullets from your bare hand by simply holding them to the fire?

Shoot 'Em Up is an action movie that manages to both make fun of the action genre hyperboles and, at the same time, deliver a string of explosive action sequences. Sure, the plot is not the most deep but it far from paper-thin and, anyway, these are 86min of your life you will be glad you spent having fun.

The Academy gave ...The Hurt Locker an Oscar and they passed over this movie!!? Shoot 'Em Up deserves an Oscar for just two unforgettable scenes: the packaging-line shootout in Mr Smith's lair and the unique shootout/sex ballet with Monica Bellucci. Now, throw in Paul Giammati's smart-ass one-liners and you have yourself a movie which is great fun to watch.

Giammati may try his hardest to be the usual scene-stealer yet Clive Owen is the one who really delivers this movie. I am sure when they watched this, the producers of the James Bond franchise were kicking themselves for going with...Daniel Craig.

Start your year on the right foot. Draw a line and go after anyone who crosses it.

Justice Served By The Underdogs

Amelie and The City of Lost Children belong to those films that, although, you find strange when you sit through it for the very first time, they stay with you forever. I find the director (Jean-Pierre Jeunet) to be Europe's answer to David Lynch - only a tad heavier on the regressive images and lighter on the subconscious horrors. So when he had another film out, I was not going to miss it. And, once more, I was glad I did. MicMacs (Micmacs à tire-larigot, as is the original title) is a sleeper gem of a film.

A bunch of eccentrics (each with his or hers own quirky character and unusual personal history) come together by life's caprice and end up undertaking an impossible task: try to take down the two largest arms manufacturers in the country. Ingenious ideas, impossible retro gadgets (handmade from salvaged materials), and an unwavering sense of justice. No sacrifice is too big if it means making the villains pay for their crimes.

The colors are soft and comforting; the imagery is mesmerizing; the music will take you back to a more naive age; and the story will make you laugh, cry and laugh again. All in all, great entertainment!

The Definition Of Epic

Inception's trailer on YouTube by now has almost 15 million views. And for good reason. The movie was absolutely unforgetable. The selected scenes have been beautifully edited. However, what makes that trailer irresistible is the music. Because this is one of the most epic pieces of music ever composed.

As numerous spoofs have already shown, practically anything (from walking down the street to making a sandwich) can be turned into an epic moment with this music.

Contrary to what most people think, though, this is not included in the Hans Zimmer movie soundtrack (which is exceptional in its own right). This was composed by Zack Hemsey and you can find it here.

Make sure not to leave it out of your life's soundtrack!