OldBoy

Back in 2004 I started reading Joblo, which is a movie review site.  It's technically more than just reviews, but that's the primary reason I visited the site.  On occasion my thoughts on a movie would differ, but for the most part I agreed with much that he wrote.  One of the first sections on the site that caught my eye back then was the Top 10 Films list he made available every year.

In 2004 his #1 movie was OldBoy a Korean flick that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.  Something about reading his review really got me interested in trying to watch it as soon as possible.  Unfortunately it had yet to be released in the US, so getting my hands on a copy would not be easy.  I resolved to just give it time to make its way to the US and then snatch it up.

Years went by and I completely forgot about the movie.  It wasn't until I read Dragonystic's post about the movie that my interest was rekindled.  From there I started checking the local stores, but still didn't have any luck.  My sister-in-law was working at a local bookstore that bought and sold movies, so I asked her to be on the look out.  This past weekend, nearly 9 months later, she brought me the DVD with a smile on her face.  Apparently a dude had brought in a shit ton of books, dvd's and cd's to try and sell.  Thanks dude.

Last night I watched the movie and must admit it is great; I really, really enjoyed the entire movie.  I didn't come away with quite the emotion that Dragon did, but I understand why he did and can see the reasons why it could happen, especially depending on your emotions at the time of the viewing.  I was hooked from beginning to end, which makes for a great viewing in my mind.

Something about the villain, Woo Jin-Lee, hooked me in to the movie completely; not to mention the great acting by Dae-Su and pretty much every character from what I can recall.  

I definitely recommend giving this one a spin if you manage to find a copy.  I would imagine it is available on NetFlix for those with a membership.  One quick word of warning...DO NOT watch the movie using the American dubbed voices.  It 100% destroys the feel for the movie hearing American voices dubbed over the characters.  I watched the movie with subtitles first and then wanted to see how the dubbed version would be, so I fired it up at the end.  The dubbing takes a beautifully crafted, downright mesmerizing movie and turns it into a joke.  And I guarantee if we try and remake the movie completely for the American market, we'll fuck that up too.

I plan to cross post this at CineJax also, since I rarely post there anymore and this is technically a movie post.

Until next time, may the felt be with you. 

Horton Hears a Who!

Viewed: 03.22.08
Theater/DVD/Cable: Theater
Overall Review: 3.5 out of 5

Plot:
Horton the Elephant struggles to protect a microscopic community from his neighbors who refuse to believe it exists.

Memorable Quote:
"I wonder what ASAP means anyways. Maybe act swiftly awesome pachyderm. "

My Thoughts:
I love Dr. Seuss books very much indeed.
KajaKid loves them too and it's pretty much all I get to read.
So when we were staring at a long weekend with not much to do, the family decided to go see 'Horton Hears a Who!'.

We sat in the darkness, we sat there us three.
When the lights went out we all shrieked with glee.
We munched on our popcorn, we drank with a slurp.
Everyone jumped when I had a big burp.

OK, well enough of that then.

Horton is a great family movie. Jim Carrey and Steve Carell do a terrific job as the voices of Horton the elephant and the Mayor of Whoville. I guess it takes an animated character to tone down Carrey a bit. Or maybe it's just old age catching up with him.

The animation is fantastic in that it's just silly enough to be great 3D, but also make the Seuss characters shine. You really feel like the book comes to life. This is much better than previous live costume attempts like 'The Cat in the Hat' (which was so bad I never actually saw it) and another Carrey film 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'. Animation is the way to go in my opinion.

It's hard to take a short story and turn it into a full length feature, but aside from a couple of strange editing choices I think the film was just long enough. I can't really understand the Japanese Anime scene somewhere in the middle. It was so out of place and was pretty scary to a little kid. But the rest of the film was adorable and made everyone laugh at the right spots.

There aren't many choices when it come to G-rated films these days and when you want to take a 3-year old to the movies, Horton is a fantabulous choice. And it's fun for the adults in the family too.

Don't forget to check out the trailer in the player below.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Viewed: 03.20.08
Medium: Hulu
Overall Review: 3.5 out of 5

Plot:
The Brits and the French break bad in the middle of the ocean with Napoleon's boys sailing in a far superio ship. Not to be out done, the Brits get tricky with their old ship in hopes of taking down Le Boat De Resistance (okay that's not the real name of the French boat). Rum induced hilarity ensues (not really).

Memorable Quote:
"Do you want to call that raggedy-ass Napoleon your King?!"

My Thoughts:
First off, I want to mention how I watched this movie. I noted in a recent post over at TripJax that I've been getting into Hulu. Hulu is a place to watch free movies and tv shows without having to download anything or even sign-up for an account. The catch is you just have to watch a couple of short commercials spread out through the movie or show. Pretty f'ing cool if you ask me.

Moving on to the movie at hand. I have to say, I really enjoyed Master & Commander. I'm a sucker for movies that have that Epic feel. I also digs me a period piece where a little part of history is detailed in an exciting way. This movie hit on all cylinders factoring in those things.

I admit I don't think this was Russell Crowe's best showing, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. He and the actor who played the ships doctor worked well together and pretty much made the movie for me. I also enjoyed how authentic everything looked. Nothing ever felt contrived or out of place. Nothing ever blew me away or left me with my eyes wide open, but I enjoyed the movie for keeping me intrigued from start to finish.

Considering this movie is nearly 5 years old, you can probably get it pretty cheap if you decide you want to check it out. I saw it at Walmart for $5, but once I saw I could watch it for free, I figured I would just go that route. I love watching movies on my laptop as I'm completely focused and can hear every detail with my headphones on.

Remember, you can always watch the trailer via the embedded video player below. Enjoy!

Syriana

Viewed: 03.06.08
Medium: DVD on laptop
Overall Review: 3.5 out of 5

Plot:
A big US oil corp loses a major contract to a China corp, meanwhile a small US oil corp lands a deal with Kazakhstan. The big and small companies attempt a merger, but are investigated by the gubment prior to the deal going down. Stuff gets blown up, corruption rears its ugly head and hilarity ensues.

Memorable Quote:
"In this town you're innocent until you're investigated."

My Thoughts:
Okay strike that last part in the above Plot section about hilarity ensuing. This was a very serious movie that was much deeper than I expected. On at least three occasions I clicked back a few minutes to soak up a scene again and make sure I understood before moving on.

A quick thought about the production before I get to the goods. Sometimes I watch a movie and wonder how they could afford to make it. As I watched this film it came across as a pretty expensive one to make. Yet I don't recall it getting a ton of press or theater time. I bought the DVD last year when Walmart was selling it for $5.00 then immediately shelved it. I just don't get the feeling it made mad dollars overall, but who knows. I never really gave watching it much of a thought until recently. I'm glad I did.

I enjoyed the actors in their roles. Everyone seemed to somehow fit perfectly in their skin. The plot was interesting because it felt real to me. Oil is big business and, for many, it is life. The essence of this movie is that oil runs the world and there are so many players and actions behind the scene that most of us take for granted. This movie gives you a chance to experience this corrupt, cut-thoat business first hand.

The only drawback I could find was this flick is almost too deep. It goes in so many different directions it is hard to keep up. There were some characters that, after 2 hours of watching the movie, I still couldn't remember their name or completely understand their role.

If you can handle a serious movie about the corrupt big business of oil, then gives Syriana a spin. You can probably find it for $5 at your local Walmart. And don't forget to check out the movie trailer via the movie player below.

No Country for Old Men

Viewed: 02.28.08
Theater/DVD/Cable: Plane/Torrent
Overall Review: 4 out of 5

Plot:
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon some dead bodies, a stash of heroin and more than $2 million in cash near the Rio Grande.

Memorable Quote:
"What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?"

My Thoughts:
First of all, I want to welcome everyone back to CineJax. I am also going to introduce you to my latest way of watching movies - torrents. I find it much nicer to watch movies on flights on my 14" laptop than on the tiny plane screens.

Now that we got that out of the way, let's talk about this incredible film. Nominated for 8 academy awards and won a total of 4 including best director, best screenplay and best supporting actor. That last one I don't completely understand, because it seems that Javier Bardem's character was what the movie was about and he was the lead role. I guess I don't know my movies enough. The academy can wait.

The movie is truly terrific. It keeps you at the edge of your seat throughout and you just don't know who's going to die next and how. It is kind of gory and brutal, but done in a very good way. The writing is very good as is the acting by all the characters. I especially enjoy films with Tommy Lee Jones. Something about his voice, I think. Woody Harrelson has a great part as well. Josh Brolin plays a great role, but OMG - I think he either has the biggest head of any human alive or the smallest body attached to a gigantic head.

The true brilliance is Javier, though. First of all, you have to admire someone who was willing to live with that haircut for the duration of filming. I've seen people refer to it as the Snoopy Ears cut and someone even suggested that for his next role they need to give him an even worse do, just to mess with him. I would not mess with the guy after seeing this movie though. You just knew it was all going to go horribly wrong after he strangles the cop at the beginning of the movie.

So just to summarize, Best Motion Picture of the Year.