Categories: 03 Rating, Rating 1, Rating 2, Rating 3, Rating 4, Rating 5

Twilight Samurai

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The Twilight Samurai (buy from Amazon)

Type: Drama, Japan 2002

Director:Yoji Yamada

My rating: 4

Key actors/actresses:
Hiroyuki Sanada .... Seibei Iguchi
Rie Miyazawa .... Tomoe Iinuma
Nenji Kobayashi .... Choubei Kusaka
Ren Osugi .... Toyotarou Kouda
Mitsuru Fukikoshi .... Michinojo Iinuma

Posted by Dominic
Story:
Seibei Iguchi is a low-rank Samurai who suffers poverty as he spends all his money for the family,include a bed-bound wife who is sick, 2 daughters and an old mother. Wife died out of illness and put the family further in debt, but they are happy as a family. Tomoe is Seibei's long time love and childhood friend, Tomoe was just divorced from an abusive husband.Just Tomoe and Seibei may start to develop some special relationship, Seibei decided that Tomoe will suffer too much if she follows him. Until one day, Seibei's brilliant sword skill was discovered and he was sent to deal with a very strong enermy, facing a live or death situation, Seibei confessed to Tomoe that he really loves her...

My review:
The second movie that I watched directed by Yoji Yamada, simply excellent, well directed and well acted. Aduience can feel for the characteres in the movie and the sword fight was very impactful and so was the numerous scenes with Seibei and Tomoe.

Nathalie

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Nathalie (buy from Amazon)

Type: Drama, France 2003

Director: Anne Fontaine

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Fanny Ardant .... Catherine
Emmanuelle B?art .... Nathalie/Marl?ne
G?rard Depardieu .... Bernard

Posted by Dominic
Story:
A woman is suspious of her husband being the type of men that cheat on their wifes. She went as far as hiring a show-girl to seduce her husband and to report back to her everything that they did. Would the husband fall for it?

My review:
Is my partner faithful? Do people often ask themselves such question? How will one know for sure? Do we need to test our partner to find out? What if we don't like the outcome?

Resurrection

Type: Drama SciFi, Japan 200x

Director:TBD

My rating: 3
Buy it now:
Key actors/actresses:

Posted by Dominic
Story:
In a small Japanese village, some dead people begin to return to life, some were dead for years and some died only very recently. Why is this happening? And what does that mean? What is the impact of their living friends and relatives? A young man who was from this village was being sent to investigate, something most unexpected awaits...

My review:
Interesting film, I particularly like the message. Knowing and understanding death allows us to comprehend and appreciate the meaning of living.

The Closet

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The Closet (buy from Amazon)

Type: Comedy, France 2001

Director:Francis Veber

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Daniel Auteuil .... Fran?ois Pignon
G?rard Depardieu .... F?lix Santini
Thierry Lhermitte .... Guillaume
Mich?le Laroque .... Mlle Bertrand

Posted by Dominic
Story:
Fran?ois works in a condom factory as an accountant and he knows he is about to get fired and his family life is in a mess, his ex-wife and son wouldn't talk to him at all. Just when he is going to end his life, his neighbour suggests to him that he should pretend to be gay and they will send some gay pictures of Fran?ois to his boss with a note saying that if he gets fired, it will be discrimination and the gay community will protest. So his job is now safe, but what happens next is something totally unexpected ...

My review:
Very funny comedy, highly entertaining. Great acting too. It is also interesting to see three great actors to play such soft comedian role, different from their usual masculine roles like cops.

La Boum

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La Boum / La Boum 2 (3 DVD Box Set) [Non-US Format, PAL, Region 2, Import] (buy from Amazon)

Type: Drama, France 1980

Director:Claude Pinoteau

My rating: 3
Key actors/actresses:
Claude Brasseur .... Fran?ois Beretton
Brigitte Fossey .... Fran?oise Beretton
Sophie Marceau .... Vic Beretton
Denise Grey .... Poupette
Jean-Michel Dupuis .... ?tienne

Posted by Dominic
Story:
Vic is a 13 years old girl who becomes curious about boys. While her parents are so busy with their professional lives, they hardly have time to give Vic advice on romance. Also her parents are going through their own relationship crisis. Fortunately, she has a very liberal grandma on her side who is telling her all about boys!!!

My review:
This is Sophie Marceau's first movie and what a wonderful actress she has become and still going strong. La Boum is such a well known movie in France that everyone of this generation knows the sound of this movie by heart! The word La Boum refers to the type of drinks party teenages held in their house or flat and when soft music is played during the movie, you are expected to kiss someone! Thus very appropriate name for this movie which is trying to look at romance from a young teenager's view.

La Boum 2

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La Boum 2 (buy from Amazon)

Type: Drama, France 1982

Director:Claude Pinoteau

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Claude Brasseur .... Fran?ois Beretton
Brigitte Fossey .... Fran?oise Beretton
Sophie Marceau .... Vic Beretton
Lambert Wilson .... F?lix Mar?chal
Pierre Cosso .... Philippe Berthier
Alexandre Sterling .... Mathieu

Story:
Vic is now 16 years old, though she has a boyfriend, she is still very clueless about boys but even more curious. Grandma comes to the rescue again for giving her advice. Being older, she also pushes her parents' tolerence to the limit. In the meantime, her parents have also new set of relationship problem of their own...

My review:
This is the sequel to La Boum and as Vic grows older, a new set of teenagers' problem occur. La Boum 2 is also well known to the French generation of the 1970s, 1980s. It is a fun and entertaining movie with a simple story, just like the first movie. Watch out for the next one L'etudiante where Sophie Marceau plays a graduate student, love relationship problem continues...
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l'Etudiante

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L' ?tudiante (buy from Amazon)
Type: Drama, France 1988

Director: Claude Pinoteau

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Sophie Marceau .... Valentine
Vincent Lindon .... Edward
?lisabeth Vitali .... Celine
Jean-Claude Leguay .... Charly
Elena Pompei .... Patricia

Story:
Valentine is a studying to be a teacher, and she is about to focus on her final exams that is going to take place in 3 months time. She encounters a musician during skiing and just when she thinks after a one-night encounter, she can put him behind at least for 3 months, until after exmas. She is wrong, they couldn't stop seeing each other, but the relationship isn't always pleasent, they argue and cause pain to each other just like any relationship...

My review:
This film is often viewed as the sequel to La Boum 1 and 2 where Sophie Marceau played a 13 and 16 year-old girl and her encounters with boys! Now her role has matureed and is now a grown lady. These 3 movies are must-watches for many French people of this generation and the music used in the movies are all very familiar to them.

The relationship described in the movie is fairly realistic, I think Valentine is a very high maintanence character, not very fun to be with!

All about my mother

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All About My Mother (buy from Amazon)

Type: Drama, Spain 1999

Director:Pedro Almod髒ar

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Cecilia Roth .... Manuela
Marisa Paredes .... Huma Rojo
Candela Pe馻 .... Nina

Story:
Also known as Todo sobre mi madre.
A single mother in Madrid sees her only son die on his 17th birthday as he runs to seek an actress's autograph. She goes to Barcelona to find the lad's father, a transvestite named Lola who does not know he has a child. First she finds her friend, Agrado, also a transvestite; through him she meets Rosa, a young nun bound for El Salvador, and by happenstance, becomes the personal assistant of Huma Rojo, the actress her son admired. She helps Huma manage Nina, the co-star and Huma's lover, and she becomes Rosa's caretaker during a dicey pregnancy. With echoes of Lorca, "All About Eve," and "Streetcar Named Desire," the mothers (and fathers and actors) live out grief, love, and friendship.

My review:
The director is known for making bizare movies and this one is supposed to be a milder piece of his works. It features unusual characters that we don't normally encounter, in this case a transvestite Lola who doesn't know he has a son. Lola also seduces a nun. Are this events so extraordinary that we shout "shocking!"? Or are we too ignorant or even turn a blind eye on things that actually happen everyday on earth? Just imagine in a place where famine is a daily phenomena, than having food is extraordinary then. What about clean drinking water? What about political freedom? Bizare or not, normal or unusual, it's all a matter of prospective.

The Last Samurai

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The Last Samurai (Widescreen Edition) (buy from Amazon)

Type: Drama, USA 2003
Director:Edward Zwick

My rating: 4
Key actors/actresses:
Ken Watanabe .... Katsumoto
Tom Cruise .... Nathan Algren
William Atherton .... Winchester Rep
Chad Lindberg .... Winchester Rep Assistant
Ray Godshall Sr. .... Convention Hall Attendee
Billy Connolly .... Zebulon Gant
Tony Goldwyn .... Colonel Bagley
Masato Harada .... Omura

Story:
The Tagline of the movie:In the face on an enemy, in the Heart of One Man, Lies the Soul of a Warrior.

Nathan Algren, a US veteran captain who once fought the Indians, deserted by the war on his own land has agreed to go to Japan to train the Emperor's army to fight a civil war against the last of Japan's samurais. "Samurai" represents a certain honour and duty to the country. Nathan soon finds himself being captured by the enemy led by Katsumoto that he is supposed to fight against and he learns from Katsumoto what it means to be a samurai.

My review:
A good portion of the movie was filmed at Himeji of Japan, a beautiful city, a world heritage, I was there for a vacation during the cherry blossom season, just like how they show it in the movie. I talked to my Japanese friends and they too like this movie very much. It is not easy that Hollywood makes a movie of a foreign country and the people of the country can actually agree with. All in all, Tom Cruis and Ken Watanabe's performance was great. And the storyline conveys the spirit of the samurai, "to serve" and it always stresses the importance of "die with honour". The movie is very entertaining with a few big fighting scenes.

Inochi

Type: Drama, Japan 2002

Director:Tetsuo Shinohara

My rating: 3

Key actors/actresses:
Makiko Esumi .... Miri Yu
Etsushi Toyokawa .... Yutaka Higashi
Toshio Kakei .... Kamata

Story:
Based on a best-selling autobiography.
Miri was unexpectedly pregnant through an affair with a married man with whom she had just broken up. Having made the difficult decision to keep the baby, she reunited with an old friend (her ex-boyfriend), Yutaka who was suffering from terminal cancer and was struggling to stay alive. Miri gave birth to a health boy, and Yutaka has developed a deep fatherly relationship with the baby boy. Through facing life and death everyday, Miri and Yutaka learn the deeper meaning of life.

My review:
A rather heavy movie that attempt to offer some views on life and death. Life is a miracle and should be treasured.

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