will smith mash-up and indie flick

in theatres:

seven pounds
written by: grant nieporte directed by: gabriele muccino
starring will smith and rosario dawson
hopefully you haven't heard any spoilers because the story unfolds in such a mysterious way. you are astute so you'll figure it out but enjoy the ride. it is worth it. will and rosario give top shelf performances: heart-wrenching and beautiful. go see it.



now on dvd:

hancock

writers: vincent ngo & vince gilligan
directed by: peter berg
starring will smith, jason bateman, and charlize theron
this is an action film with heart without being too heavy-handed and a little bit of a surprise thrown in. very cool. good flick to check out during these cold winter months.

independent circuit:

the first breath of tengan rei
written & directed by: junko kajino & ed koziarski
an intense independent film (still seeking distribution). filmed in okinawa and chicago, this drama takes the audience on an emotional journey as tengan rei returns to make right the past. erika oda (tengan rei) gives such a powerful performance. katori eason, as paris land, gives a strong showing too, but erika eclipses all of the actors. it's not a happy go-lucky film, but if it comes to your town, i recommend it.


feedback corner:
i like indie, drama, action, commercial fluff (yes i'm seeing bride wars this friday), dramedy, international - the whole gamut. the only genre i can't get into is horror. i like suspense/thriller (seven, silence of the lambs, etc.), just not horror... i hope that's good for you in terms of broad range of your likes and dislikes. a friend (p.t.) commented, "when do have time to watch these films that i haven't even heard of?" with the advent of downloads, on demand, tivo, and more, film is more accessible than ever before. (movies are a great past time during chicago's brutal winters :0) also being a member of genart (org that showcases film, fashion and art) helps and i have friends who have their pulse on what's going on (shout out to w.w., a.c., s.h."doctor-cito", r.a. love y'all!).

when you have time, please make comments (or send me private messages) so that i know what you think or tell me i'm smoking crack (just no foul language please) or give me recommendations. i love fresh perspective and new ideas. i found out today that chicago's libraries have a great dvd collection for perusing and you can reserve them online. gotta love free movies, especially in these tough economic times.

chloe out ; ) mwah!

slumdog millionaire

Directors: Danny Boylen and Loveleen Tandan (co-director: India)

Writers: Simon Beaufoy (screenplay) and Vikas Swarup (novel)

Who knew there was a Hindi version of "Who Wants to be A Millionaire?" At first I thought this was going to be a comedy. Although there are some very funny moments, it is also much more intense and complicated. It's also a drama and a love story. I knew peripherally about the Indian caste system, but I had no idea how bad it could be. The evolution of the story and how everything leads to Jamal Malik airing on the show is so well thought out and portrayed. Simply fantastic and sometimes brutal. The cast is amazing, especially the children. (For full list and more details please see imdb.com.) Go see this film!!!

quantum of solace

directed by marc foster
written by paul haggis, neal purvis, and robert wade
starring daniel craig (um hello! imdb.com if you don't know him) as james bond
olga kurylenko (max payne) as camille
mathieu almaric (diving bell & butterfly) as dominic greene
dame judi dench (too many to name) as M
gemma arterton (rock-n-rolla, which i still need to see) as fields

so my friends thought that there were too many chase scenes and not enough plot nor nearly enough half-naked daniel craig. and they said that they could see casino royale over and over, but would not watch quantum of solace again. although i agree that there weren't enough daniel craig body shots and there were some gaps in the plot, i really liked quantum of solace. it is more somber and subtle than casino royale or any of the bond films. there wasn't the usual amount of tongue-in-cheek bond humor and the bad guy (almaric) is more sinister because he is more conniving than brawny. i loved the parcours (free running thru urban obstacles - jumping from balcony to balcony) sequence and the scaffold fight and i didn't mind the many chase scenes, but i like me some action. oh and the opening scenes were filmed in italy!!! (shout out to my cousin who took me to siena and rome this summer) i also liked that olga's character, camille, was a very strong and smart woman. not all bond girls should be helpless damsels. fields wasn't necessarily helpless, but she succumbed to bond's charm and ultimately the curse of being in proximity of bond... i know that i wouldn't be able to resist bond, in the form of daniel craig, if he asked me to his hotel room. i'm just sayin'! overall marks: good solid action flick. if you want more "fun" bond, go back and see 'casino royale' or 'from russia with love' (sean connery) or any of your bond faves :0)

ciao for now!

nick & norah's infinite playlist

directed by peter sollett
screenplay by lorene scarfaria
novel by rachel cohn
starring: michael cera (nick), kat dennings (norah), ari graynor (caroline), alexis dziena (tris), aaron yoo (tom), rafi gavron (dev), jonathon b. wright (hunky sidekick whose name is diclosed late in the movie), jay baruchel (tal)

one night of "where's caroline & where's fluffy?" in the ny boroughs takes the characters on a journey of awkward and hilarious moments. michael cera is sweet, adorable and quirky as nick. i love his little crooked smile. norah (kat dennings) is great opposite nick - gorgeous, strong and sardonic. tris (alexis dziena) is such a bitch. nick & norah's infinite playlist is happy, endearing, hilarious and has some surprise gross-outs (you'll see). the audience (myself included) had many out-loud reactions - laughter, ohs, eeews and claps. i definitely recommend n&n's infinite playlist! i'm still smiling and i want to see the movie again. oh yeah, great soundtrack - duh! i just downloaded it.

chloe out 'til next time ;0p

towelhead a.k.a. nothing is private

towelhead (titled 'nothing is private' and changed back to 'towelhead' at sundance)
directed by alan ball
screenplay by alan ball
novel by alicia erian
actors: toni collette, aaron eckhart, summer bishil (pictured with producer anne carey; photo taken from genart.org), peter macdissi, maria bello

a thirteen year-old lebanese-american girl, jasira (played by summer bishil), struggles with her confusing and scary sexual awakening in the midst of an obsessive crush with an older man and being the daughter of an oppressive father. toni collette and maria bello give good performances, but aaron eckhart was the brave one to take on such a morally-reprehensible and complex character (the object of jasira's crush and ultimately something bad). peter macdissi gave a first rate performance as jasira's father. i recommend this film if you can handle difficult scenes and difficult subject material. although there some very disturbing and uncomfortable scenes in this film and some disjointed moments, there is humor and hope in the end to offset the darkness.

i saw this film in advanced screening hosted by genart where summer bishil and producer anne carey were in attendance to answer q&a. summer bishil was 18 when the movie was filming and is now 20. you would never know it when seeing her in the film. ms. bishil said that there was a closed set and aaron eckhart, the cast and crew were very protective and supportive while filming the difficult scenes. i asked if she had a difficult time after the movie wrapped because i felt uneasy and my heart felt heavy even though the film ends with hope. ms. bishil said that she went through a phase right after and cut her hair real short but over time was okay. i'm blabbling because i really enjoyed the whole experience despite the tough movie.

thanks for your indulgence. the next film review will be much lighter. ciao for now.

sisterhood 2

sisterhood of the traveling pants 2
directed by saanra hamri
screenplay by elizabeth chandler
novel by ann brashares
starring - amber tamblyn, alexis bledel, america ferreira, blake lively, blithe danner, leonardo nam, michael rady, shohreh aghdashloo, jesse williams, lucy hale

tibby (tamblyn), bridget (lively), lena (bledel) and carmen (ferreira) are great friends who struggle to keep up their friendship strong as college life and adult life pulls them in different directions. even if you didn't see the first 'sisterhood', this film stands on its own. (but go back and watch the first one anyway.) this is a great chick flick, complete with romance, hot guys (omg - williams is dreamy!), drama and laughter. oh and beautiful back drops of santorini to boot. what i liked were reflections of real female behavior: girls being catty and competitive, girls becoming self-actualized after some bumps and bruises to the ego, and girls being true to good friends when the chips are down. go see it. and yes, bring some kleenex.

sir ben kingsley times 2

i didn't plan it on purpose, but i saw 'transsiberian' one week (genart advanced screening) and 'elegy' the following week (cinema chicago - thanks ww!).

transsiberian
directed by brad anderson
written by brad anderson & will conroy
starring: emily mortimer, woody harrelson, kate mara, eduardo noriega and sir ben kingsley

an american couple (mortimer & harrelson) finds serious trouble when they meet two strangers (mara & noriega) with whom they share a cabin on a transsiberian rail from china to moscow. the story is a little forced and contrived. mortimer and noriega give the strongest performances. emily mortimer delivers intense emotions and actions. although well acted, the character was written in a way that is not truly believable - too inconsistent. sir ben kingsley's role was secondary, but he did portray one scary russian. the aerial views of the train were gorgeous, but you can wait for the dvd.


elegy
directed by isabel coixet
screenplay written by nicholas meyer
novel written by philip roth
starring: sir ben kingsley, penelope cruz, patricia clarkson, dennis hopper, peter saarsgard, deborah harry

elegy (noun) - 1. a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, esp. a funeral song or a lament for the dead. (definition copied from dictionary.com)

david kepesh (sir ben kingsley) finds his independent life rocked by his desire for consuela castillo (penelope cruz). kepesh struggles to finally "grow up" in his elder years. 'elegy' explores sex, friendship, love and aging masterfully. don't let the movie trailer fool you. the trailer makes the film almost 'light'. although there are humorous moments and great dialogue shared between kingsley and hopper, the film is deeper and somber at times. excellent performances by all actors, including supporting actors saarsgard, clarkson and harry. i definitely recommend 'elegy'.