Gone, baby, gone, 2007

Gone, Baby, Gone, 2007
Director: Ben Affleck
Cast: Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton



Stage: Home TV selection


Gone in short: When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detective freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons - they're not cops and they know the tough Boston neighborhood in which they all live. As the case progresses, Kenzie and Gennaro face drug dealers, gangs and pedophiles. When they are about to solve their case, they are faced with a moral dilemma that could tear them apart.


Preps: I have seen this at the movies already and I liked it a lot. A good drama, thriller, if you like. Morgan Freeman is one reason to see this. 


Reality: I believe movies about serious kidnapping of a child or a teenager and police chasing this or detectives, are always a promise to success. However this isn't enough. I am just claiming that as in romantic comedies, when you have a cute couple, the movie has a better chance to succeed than if you have a really ugly cast - the same thing here. The story can do the trick. Now, we know a lot of stories on this topic. What makes winners really win and what obstacle haven't losers thought of?

We have several hot shots in the oven. Firstly, Ben Affleck, one of his first directing acts. Luckily we only have him on the director's seat and not in the cast. Noone (ok, I give this to Clint Eastwood and some others) can't do both. Secondly, cast. Morgan Freeman, to start with. He makes these investigations and everything obscene in the movies as if you had a big godfather looking down to us and giving us fatherly advice when we are lost.

Two really young detectives, a couple, is on a quest and takes us through the background of the story, to the mortal endings and really filthy people that they scratch from beneath the surface. The aim in my opinion is only one, to really make the audience relate to the story and wish their children would never fall in the hands of such villains. I believe Affleck emphasizes this to the point where you are really appalled by everything that can happen to this four year old Amanda, i.e. to your kid. And where you are on the field with the detectives, trying to figure what happened and where is the young lady.

Normally I wouldn't expect such a connection between private detectives and police. I buy it in this case.
The music covers the fearsome parts of the piece and is carefully chosen. The scenario is well driven, some dialogues are a bit clumsy, but all in all, I am eating it from the beginning from the end like my favourite cheese from the plate.


My personal rating: 8,0 ( a strong piece on kidnapping. Morgan Freeman on godfather role. Action, thriller. Worth seeing and thinking about).


Gone, Baby, Gone on IMDB

Gone

Gone, 2007
Director: Ringan Ledwidge
Cast: Shaun Evans, Scott Mechlowitz, Yvonne Strahovski


Stage: Home TV selection, a Saturday night


Gone in short:A contemporary psychological thriller in which a young British couple travelling through the Australian outback become involved with a mysterious and charismatic American whose motive for imposing his friendship upon them becomes increasingly suspect and sinister.


Preps: Well, I have nothing better to do, hence I try to see what's on the TV menu for tonight. Let's check this out..


Reality: I am highly dissappointed. The description is thriller, even a psychological one? They must be kidding. I have never seen such a dissappointing piece, I mean at least in a long time. The story doesn't interact with me, I am not at all into the piece. I am waiting for my meal to get cooked in the mean time. I get myself a beer to easily pass by.. and nothing happens.
The two that are travelling are naive and stupid. Are all australian people so stupid? If not, this movie is making a terrible commercial for them. It depicts them more stupid as most of the living creatures. Plus, being naive isn't so stupid as being unintelligent and make crazy shit. Like these people. Therefore I presume this is a piece by someone that had more time and money in the world than normal, maybe a desire to shoot a piece and then made fool of himself making this one and driving it into the world.
I despise it, don't want to see it anymore.. it is driving me crazy.. so .. delete.
Don't waste your time. It doesn't have anything inside. Really.


My personal rating: 0 (bljah. Can't believe I really lasted almost 45 minutes.


Gone on IMDB

National Treasure: Book Of Secrets, 2007

National Treasure: Book Of Secrets, 2007
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Cast: Nicholas Cage, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha


Stage: Home TV selection, Saturday evening


National treasure in short: While Ben Gates is presenting new information about John Wilkes Booth and the 18 pages missing from Booth's diary, a man by the name of Mitch Wilkinson stands up and presents a missing page of John Wilkes Booth's diary. Thomas Gates, Ben's great-grandfather, is mentioned on the page. It shows that Ben's great-grandfather was a co-conspirator in Abraham Lincoln's murder. When doing more research, the conspiracy takes Ben, Abigail Chase, and Riley Poole to Buckingham Palace (which they break into). They discover a plank that has early Native American writing on it. The plank has only one symbol that Patrick Gates can identify. The symbol is Cibola (see-bowl-uh) meaning the City of Gold. In order to define the rest the have to go to Ben's mother, Patrick's divorced wife. After 32 years it brings back old arguments.


Preps: I have seen this once already. Not really something remarkable, but maybe worth another seeing and reviewing.


Reality: Yep, I am right. Nothing remarkable. A nice adventure, something to brighten up your afternoon. No special effects, some historical travelling through the american history. I need to confess I never thought Nicholas Cage to be a very persuasive leading action hero, neither did he convince me in this perticular piece.
Furthermore, they teamed him up with Diane Kruger, who we saw dazzle in Troy (in 2004), here she is yet another blonde face we soon forget, without any perticular points I can give her for the cast. The same goes for all other action figures in the piece.

There is something worth mentioning, though. This is one of more fun-driving treasure hunts. It takes you through familiar places, known people, american history. In some ways, it's the juvenile version of The Da Vinci Code. Of course, the latter is of bigger proportion and has made a bit more homework. In terms of belief, the Da Vinci Code is superior in comparison with the National Treasure. But National Treasure is still a good copy of The Code from 2006. It will take you to the president's chamber and make you think about all the national secrets every nation keeps dear in a hidden place noone dares to taste. In this sense you will be stumbled with numerous events and occasions (coincidences) that occur in the piece and drive you to think about conspiracy theory, etc. Plus, they will also (similar to Da Vinci Code), make you go through your closets and wardrobe closets, looking for the secret pocket and secret map. And drive a bit of adventure you forgot since being adult, in your veins.

A good Sunday entertainment. Since our local TV decided this is the crown jewel of a Saturday night, I don't recommend it in that way.


My personal rating: 5,0 (watchable adventure, will ease your mind :) and make you curious about US history and its treasures).


National Treasure on IMDB

The Jane Austen Book Club, 2007

The Jane Austen Book Club, 2007
Director: Robin Swicord
Cast: Kathy Baker, Hugh Dancy, Amy Brenneman


Stage: home theatre


The piece in short: Explores Austen's adage that general incivility is at love's essence. Sylvia's husband dumps her for another woman, so Bernadette and Jocelyn organize a book club to distract her. They recruit Sylvia's daughter Allegra; Prudie, a young teacher whose marriage may be on the rocks; and Grigg, a sci-fi fan who joins out of attraction to Jocelyn. The six read and discuss one Austen novel per month. Jocelyn tries to interest Grigg in Sylvia; Allegra falls in love with a woman she meets skydiving; Prudie contemplates an affair with a student; Sylvia's ex keeps popping up. In the discussions, characters reveal themselves in their comments. By the end, are truths universally acknowledged?

Preps: I have heard this piece is splendid and need to check it out for myself. The cast seems amazing. And I like Austen and movies made from scripts that base upon her work. Let's dig this a bit deeper.


Reality: The marriage is as strong as its weakest partner. One of many sayings in this piece that cannot leave you cold. The setting is brilliant, the story is very real. Revolves around real life and real situations you can sit into quite easily. The marriages that break and finding true reasons why this is so, how did it happen. To have a book club can be only a thing in US, I don't suppose they are so popular in Europe. Nevertheless, I am inspired by these strong women that are trying to find a special way and find a mutual interest in the Jane Austen's work. Also, finding guys that are willing to participate, seems a bit awkward, but turns out funny. Draws my interest and in some sense makes this movie a bit more believable and not so much put into yet another village surroundings, where women besides their household activities, don't have much to do, so they chat in a book's club.

I love the dialogues and I love the energy of the cast. I seem to know most of them from some television shows and I like seeing them again in this setting that is just a bit upgraded from the TV setting I am familiar.
It's a lovely family movie, or should /dare I say, chick movie. I suppose most of female population would really enjoy looking at this. And finding out there definitely are men around that read something more than Finance's headlines, Times new roman and car ads. And that they are able to speak about this. This is not really common, therefore not really so believable.

Nevertheless, they seem to fit into this women's environment like a pie on a plate. Maybe the whole movie could be treated as a positive commercial for reading books, because this present time seems to revolve around other media and books seem to be forgotten. Well, not in all circles. The piece implies that true romance could happen in a perfect environment like in the smell of old books in an antique shop or in a library :) Which is perfect antipod for every media movement we are facing in this weird time, where noone seems to have time for anything.


My personal rating: 7,0 (a truly remarkable piece, for relaxation and dreaming aways - for girls. With some fine quotes for sure)

No reservations, 2007

No reservations, 2007
Director: Scott Hicks
Cast: Catherine Zeta Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin



Stage: Home theatre

No reservations in short: A master chef, Kate, lives her life like she runs the kitchen at upscale 22 Bleecker Restaurant in Manhattan--with a no-nonsense intensity that both captivates and intimidates everyone around her. With breathtaking precision, she powers through each hectic shift, coordinating hundreds of meals, preparing delicate sauces, seasoning and simmering each dish to absolute perfection.

Preps: Mmmm, none in perticular. Zeta as chef? Need to see this urgently. Always wanted to be one. Chef, that is.


Reality: Hm. The world of chef is a tuff one. I wanted to (and I still do) have a restaurant. I have always wanted to have one. Always drull with movies where they cook. One of my best ones is Julie and Julia. Or see maybe also The soul kitchen. Superb. Anyhow, wherever parsley is being cut and beef or chicken is put on stew or on butter, here I am. I am bought.

In this case, a cute romantic rival story between two chefs, mixed alltogether within a family drama. Taking care of a small child or being a chef? A hard decision. Meeting your spouse inbetween? well, would love to see this turn out happily. Because you need to decide at some point what to do. OK, if you are a high flyer and are in the middle of the lauch of your career, and you get a new kid - that's a problem. Or a challenge, put it as you want it. The kid hates your guts, you are in the middle of mourning for your relative and his kid doesn't want you to play the mother. This is the world of Zeta Jones right when she believes she's on the breakthrough of her career. A good plot story and an interesting follow through in what is she going to do.

Spiced with exotic cooking, filled with taste and lust. For a soul that likes to cook the way I do, a beautiful piece to see. Nothing in perticular amazing about the cast, the scenery, dialogues. But I enjoyed the romantic dwelling in the kitchen and it definitely made me hungry. A piece I will love to see again, although I don't find it any more than average.


My personal rating: 5,0 (Zeta goes into this macho feminine chef pose I adore. And she cooks in the totally male world, and owns him. On the other side, it's pretty clear. A good career or a strong family. Never both at the same time.
No reservations on IMDB

The Bucket List, 2007

The Bucket List, 2007
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Jack Nicholson




Stage: Home theatre
The Bucket List in short: Corporate billionaire Edward Cole and working class mechanic Carter Chambers have nothing in common except for their terminal illnesses. While sharing a hospital room together, they decide to leave it and do all the things they have ever wanted to do before they die according to their bucket list. In the process, both of them heal each other, become unlikely friends, and ultimately find the joy in life.



Preps: I have seen this once or twice, a good piece. Nicholson is the reason to make me watch it again. The same goes for Freeman. Nothing but energy could be deriving from these two.



Reality: Now, what is the thing you will do if you think or believe you only have six months to go? I have created some philosophical dilemmas prior to this post regarding several movies that play with the philosophy. The idea is strong and will make you think about how you indulge your everyday life and if you get out of it more than you give into it.

Where would you go, what would you do? The two newly fresh friends make a journey beyond the imagination. Every person in this world would go into something like this. The images are fascinating, the imagination goes wild when watching. But. Yes, there's always a but. You need loads of money to make this true. Billions of people can just remain dreaming about it. Therefore, beside giving crazy ideas about how you can invest into free time and the wonders of the world you can see.. well, it's definitely stunning. But all in all.. the idea, the thin red line of the movie as I see it, is make every day count.

The movie is filled with fresh, ironic approach, the true gift of Nicholson. Freeman ads somehow divine approach to coping with things and voila.. you have a perfectly watchable and pleasant piece. No sudden expectations, solid humour and a short trip around the world that will make you want to take it at once.



My personal rating: 7,0 ( a good piece that will make you rethink the way you lead your normal life. Needless to say, you don't need to wait for the deadly disease to make every day count).


The Bucket List on IMDB

Dark Matter, 2007

Dark Matter, 2007
Director: Shi-Zheng Chen
Cast: Meryl Streep, Ye Liu, Peng Chi


Stage: Home theatre, TV selection of a random Wednesday evening

Dark Matter in short: Liu Xing is a scholarship boy from China, newly arrived in Salt Lake City, a graduate student in cosmology, in Utah to study in Professor Reiser's prestigious program. Back in China, Liu Xing's parents are proud of him, and he dedicates himself to fulfilling their hopes. All the graduate students in the program work on projects that extend and further Reiser's model of the origins of the universe. Liu Xing does well until his own theories move him away from Reiser's. Will Reiser and the department recognize Liu Xing's brilliance? Can the young man's benefactor, Joanna Silver, intercede?


Preps: None in perticular, as I don't know the movie, nor the cast. I might be surprised in positive way, as normalwise, the selection on Wednesday suits my taste.


Reality: The movie strikes with a true and ironic story of a young person wanting to suceed - based on his previous region or location, he comes from, also something inspiring. There are a lot of asian students arriving in EU or USA educational institutions, willing to work harder, try longer, dedicate all of their time in order to achieve the education and in the end, being much more grateful than most of local students. In Asia, education is something that is worth as much as being a millionaire. I also believe, the charma or dare I say, the mindset is completely different as oppose to european or US standard. Therefore, in the end, the students tend to be much more successful just because of this mindset. Normally, they would have a sponsor - in this piece, briliantly cast of Meryl Streep, naive and supportive, as I would see them without knowing any in person - but they often strike me as optimists, following an inner reason to support students from other cultures. In this case, she dedicates her life to Chinese students for the simple fact that she likes and is inspired by China in general.

The movie exposes another problem all students are facing - failure to admit that the scholar or student exceeded his tutor. This happens all the time and in some sense doesn't stimulate science at all, it does have the antieffect. In this piece the student cannot understand, how he came from the top position in tutor's or menthor's mind to the last. The brilliance, through which Liu gets to his ideas and to his discovery that he pursues, is absolutely unique. For ordinary people (with normal ways of interaction, thinking, etc, the process of creating unique and breathtaking ideas is simply something you cannot dare to imagine. In the movie, it reveals, that the breathtaking ideas in some cases can be driven by a simple every day task like cooking.
The main dissappointment, deriving from unability to at least listen to Liu (from his menthor) and furthermore, not confirming the thesis for Ph.D, is devastating to the student, it makes him fall down on his knees, not knowing what to do, lying to the parents that have a "famous son" on the other side of the world. On one hand, the escape from normal asian life that he tries to avoid or surpress, on the other hand, the unability to make the menthor listen and praise another science discovery.
The downfall unikely shows how a person can be destroyed externally and also internally, burying his soul over a thing he cannot bring out in the open. Dark Matter in this sense appears obscure and ununderstandable to the viewer, absolutely something too profound to understand. But you get the sense it must be something too scientific to handle for a normal human being.


My personal rating: 6,0 (a classic "wannabe this person" movie, but only in the first part. The second part of the movie will break your heart).

Dark matter on IMDB

The Number 23, 2007

The Number 23, 2007
Director: Joel Schumacher
Cast: Jim Carey, Virginia Madsen, Logan Lerman



The Number in short: Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him. As his obsession increases, more and more similarities seem to arise.

Stage: Home Theatre

Preps: none whatsoever. I got this as a recommendation from a friend to be one of the best roles Carey ever played. Surprisingly, I never heard of the piece, but I do care about good recommendations. Therefore, it came to its turn on one of the evenings.


Reality: This is one of the perfect settings in different layers the viewer has to discover while watching the movie. The genuine story about Sparrow getting a present for his birthday and revealing a deeper meaning in a book he reads in an instant - followed by obsession with number 23 is in the spare time overrun by the next level (the true happening in the book, being depicted in the movie). The character from the book is Sparrow himself and discovering the secret behind number 23 (and everything that this number is connected with) reveals the horrifying truth about his past and the murder he commited - but has no recollection in his memory about the event.

Philosophically put, the obsession with numbers goes way in the past (greeks, romans, illuminati secrets, etc), the mania about number 23 is well known also as 23 enigma (see more here on wiki). The numerological significance often plays with people's mind, making them believe what cannot really be proven from science's point of view.

In this movie, the number 23 is simply the riddle to resolve the location of a murdered woman - however to know this, your mind will work really hard as it is amazing, how Sparrow uses his charm to make you buy the idea and on the other hand you cannot buy the fact it could be all just coincidental - the stage, the book, the present, etc.

The different levels, put into the movie, the methaphorical characters, described in the book and the way Sparrow forces them into his life - living the life of his Avatar (e.g. the guy from the past he cannot remember anymore) - it will catch your attention and make you believe one thing, whereas the truth lies somewhere else. Before you know it, the movie is over and the brain cells just cannot stop working. This is definitely one of Jim Carey's masterpieces and a good recommendation also to non-fans. See him in a serious and very adult role :)


My personal rating: 8,5 (twists and curls in the movie will make your brain cells work all the way making different layers in the movie to work and to reveal the true story. An inspiring piece!)

Number 23 on IMDB

Number 23's official site