archive: december 2005

now on dvd:
kinsey - liam neeson, laura linney, peter scarsborough
(love him, but not sure that's his last name. you
know how my memory is going...) and chris o'donnell
very interesting. makes you think. hmm. liam gives
a great performance as professor kinsey, aka "prok" as
does laura linney. both are extremely believable as
quirky, nerdy, and sexual beings. there is some
graphic display of genitalia and more than suggestive
sex scenes. however, it plays well in this movie. if
we are to believe that they were true to the real
story, then kinsey was very ground breaking in his
research, influence of bringing light to the
misconceptions about sex and about how far he really
took sexual experimentation. worth renting even if
just to satisfy your curiosity.

bewitched - will ferrell and nicole kidman
you can skip it. too cutesy and predictable.

i don't know if i've mentioned 'crash' in a previous
issue. rent 'crash' if you haven't seen it yet. very
intense and extremely well woven story about racial
tensions in l.a. someone also mentioned an oldie,
'grand canyon' - also great, but slower in its telling
and pace. 'crash' moves better, but i do recommend
both.


now in theatres:
memoirs of a geisha - zhang ziyi, michelle yeoh, ken
watanabe
beautifully filmed and well acted. not a happy film;
it is a drama folks. the story is very engaging and
gives a glimpse of the toll women had to pay when they
were made geishas. i did not read 'memoirs of a
geisha'. i had heard it acted by b.d. wong as a book
on tape. very different to actually hear a woman's
voice narrate in the movie. i don't remember enough
detail to tell you if the movie is true to the book.
i do remember enough to feel that the book, rather the
book on tape, was a little grittier. that might just
be because on the big screen, the characters were
portrayed by such beautiful actors and that the
scenery and all the nuances were made bigger. i am
curious too as to why there were two chinese actresses
playing the lead roles instead of japanese actresses.
then again, i see why they chose zhang ziyi and
michelle yeoh. they are veterans to big epics and not
bad to look at either and let's not forget dreamy ken
watanabe. it is his silent strength and demeanor that
draw you in. mm mm. where was i? anyway, memoirs of
a geisha is worth the price of admission.

that's all folks. wishing you and yours a wonderful
new year's! may 2006 be good to you.