Kerenblog

Seriously, I had no idea about what EDGE OF TOMORROW is all about and if it�s worth watching or not. Then I did some googling and found that, well, it�s perhaps one of the good summer movies to watch (like, Variety writes �...Edge of Tomorrow [...] is not an action movie first and foremost, but rather a cheeky little puzzle picture in expensive-looking blockbuster drag.� to which I replied, �Okay.�). read more �

No more �This is Sparta!!!�, no more kicking into that deep pit. 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE changes the focus of the before-century heroic legend into a more common war story that simply happens to take place in Greece. We�re no longer talking about the Spartans. We�re no longer talking much about the history itself. And even no longer Zack Snyder directing (director Noam Murro helmed the project since Snyder was busy with MAN OF STEEL ). Instead, everything turns into continuous battles that suddenly feature a female villain so convincingly and so sharply performed by Eva Green . read more �

Why should a film about porn addiction shows a lot of footage from real porn videos? The first ten minutes of �Don Jon� , Joseph Gordon-Levitt �s directorial and screenwriting debut, is half porn for both real porn clips inserted and many of his half naked body (and while he showed so many of his bare chest, we won�t see any of Scarlett Johansson �s bare breasts, LOL). Dynamic, interesting, young, but weakly written, �Don Jon� is too proud of being a study of a porn addict. read more �

Why live when you can rule? The freshest, Sundance-entry coming-of-age �The Kings of Summer� by director Jordan Vogt-Roberts and writer Chris Galletta is kinda reminding me of Wes Anderson �s �Moonrise Kingdom� or Rob Reiner �s �Stand By Me� , except that we are having three teenage boys looking for freedom. It was a sweet escape, both for them and for the viewers, and however shallow and superficial the plan turns out to be, it�s still a journey of fun to get through for one and a half hour of duration. read more �

Currently we have �World War Z� and �Monsters University� newly coming to our local cinema but I haven�t watched them. Poor me. LOL. Anyway, in my spare time I often browsed for some one-shoot entertainments in the internet. I mean, yeah, short films! I always love short films because there are times when I don�t have enough time to watch full-length films, or I�m just too lazy to do it. So all I had to do is opening either Youtube or Vimeo , and searching for short films. read more �

There�s a lot of love for �Amour� in the Oscar last February, although in the end it only won one out of several nominations it gained. Like what I wrote in this post , I guess the warmth of love of this French-language Austrian film didn�t last long. I, honestly, don�t really like this film�although it is undoubtedly a qualified representation of modern cinema. This is the first chance for me to watch any of Michael Haneke �s works and, well, I can say that I need more time to adapt with his style before starting to know him via �Amour�. read more �

This is Park Chan-wook �s debut film in Hollywood. The most popular film from this South Korean director, �Oldboy� , is one of my favorites. However, I can say that compared to �Oldboy� or any other Park�s films, �Stoker� is much tamer. No blood, not even thrills. Supported by great performances from actors like Mia Wasikowska , Matthew Goode , and Nicole Kidman , is it fair to conclude that �Stoker� is not as interesting as �Oldboy�? read more �

Honestly, I'm not a sci-fi movie lovers. I have less experience about this genre. Some reviews said that the less you see any other sci-fi movies previously, the better "Oblivion" will be. It means that I, who don't watch sci-fi movies a lot, should have been thrilled and amused by "Oblivion". Technically, I appreciate this movie, but by story and characters, I'd rather say that this is just an okay film. But, before I continue writing, I wanna ask this thing straight: have you seen Duncan Jones' "Moon" ? In fact, I have. read more �

The sky was blue, the sun shone brightly, and I didn�t expect that that day is a good day to hardly die. Haha, what am I saying. The truth is, I barely picked anything to watch just after I stepped into a cinema. But, there it goes: I guessed it was a good day to watch �A Good Day to Die Hard� . Really, action movie was never gonna be my first choice, and mixed reviews for this 5th sequel of �Die Hard� franchise, which was nearly decreasing by quality recently, gave me a feeling that I was just gonna spend my money watching crap movies. But, still, I expect that at least, I got a so-called guilty pleasure watching �A Good Day to Die Hard�. Was it that bad? read more �

The idea of this post came when I was writing my previous post, 7 short movies about love. I snapped into this cool website, http://shortoftheweek.com , a website that focuses to gather and review short movies. So, here it is. There are five shorts competing for this year�s Oscar in category �Best Short Film (Animated)�; they are �Adam & Dog�, �Fresh Guacamole�, �Head over Heels�, �Maggie Simpsons in �The Longest Daycare��, and �Paperman�. I�m trying to review each of them from my point of view, and because I�m reviewing short movies, I�m trying to write as short as I can. read more �

I�ve never known that this movie was previously rated NC-17, before finally re-rated R in exchange to some cuts on inappropriate scenes. Maybe, if I�d known it before, I wouldn�t have watched in cinemas (lol). Also, I have never known that �Killer Joe� was directed by William Friedkin , an Oscar-winning director for the legendary horror �The Exorcist� . The thing is, this black-comedy would have been more entertaining if these inappropriate scenes were clearly shown on its screening in cinemas. Well, I think I�m gonna write another post about that. read more �

Hansel and Gretel were two little children. They were left by their father in the woods because of their stepmother�s evil plan. In the wood, Hansel and Gretel found a house made out of candies. An old woman opened the door for them and asked them to come in. Later they found out that the old woman was a wicked witch, who then put Hansel into jail and forced Gretel to be a slave. But the witch didn�t know how smart the siblings were: they tricked the witch, burnt her, brought all her treasures to home, and then lived happily ever after. Oops, although both share the same leading roles, unfortunately �Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters� is far less exhilarating than the aforementioned fanciful fairy tale and, of course, not addressed to under-aged viewers. read more �

Even the title is very young. �10 Things I Hate About You� is so teenager and light, could just be another kind of rom-com, and so cheerful that it is needless to frown or scowl to watch this flick. This is the kind of movie you could enjoy with your friends (or, especially, with your girl/boyfriend) and a bowl of popcorn and a glass of soda in your spare time. �10 Things I Hate About You� is actually a modern-day adaptation of classic play by William Shakespeare , �The Taming of the Shrew� (and you can see some references and clues about it in the movie), but, regardless of that, it is just an easy movie. read more �

One of the reasons I eagerly want to watch a movie is to see good acting. I'm intrigued to see how the actors and actresses of a movie did a great transformation into somebody else or, particularly, a real-life person. That's why I listed "Hitchcock" in the last year's watchlist. I see Anthony Hopkins physically transformed into a guy known as a legendary director as well as the Master of Suspense , Alfred Hitchcock , and taking an outlook of behind-the-scene of his masterpiece, "Psycho" , as a premise may become a guarantee that "Hitchcock" is a movie that you just can't miss. But did it even help? read more �

It�s another black comedy. �Carnage� was adapted from the play �Le Dieu du Carnage� or �God of Carnage� by Yasmina Reza , a French playwright. After having a great success in France, the play was re-produced for Broadway in 2009, gaining Reza a Tony Award for Best Play . Then, Roman Polanski co-wrote and directed it for big screen under an international co-production of France, Germany, Spain, and Poland. It is shot in France, not USA, due to Polanski�s legal conviction in USA . It is also shot in real time without breaks . read more �

Kathryn Bigelow has broken the record by being the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director in Academy Awards 2009 , with her film, �The Hurt Locker� , who also brought an Oscar for Best Picture. While �The Hurt Locker� talks about the activity of US elite soldiers in Iraq, �Zero Dark Thirty� �her newest film�still talks slightly the same topic. Although she lost her chance to win her second Best Director accolade after the Academy surprisingly snubbed her from the nominations, but �Zero Dark Thirty� still gets its chance to win Best Picture. What makes �Zero Dark Thirty� so promising? read more �