Drama, Movies

Cinderella Man

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I have confessed more than once that I don’t like boxing. This is the first movie in which boxing is not pointless trashing of human beings. The true-life story of Cinderella Man captures America during the great depression era and represents Hollywood at its best. The cinematography is superb: you feel like being in the image [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Crash

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Not since American Beauty has a Hollywood picture been so surprising. The film is set in LA and evokes a similar mood as Lost in Translation. The first half made me restless: “Dave Chapelle does a much better job composing racist dialogues for his show on Comedy Central. Is this all the film has to image [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Angels in America

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The word that arrived at my doorsteps about the HBO miniseries Angels in America was: fantastic. I knew Al Pacino and Meryl Streep were among the cast, but I had no idea what the miniseries was about.  This gave me a most pleasant of surprises watching the first of the six episodes. The teleplay was image [Read More]
Drama, Movies

The Manchurian Candidate

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I toyed with the idea of watching the remake of this 1962 film that came out last year with Denzel Washington in the lead. Having had bad experiences with remakes, I decided to see the original film instead. Frank Sinatra not only owned the rights to the film but also played a main role. The image [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Ray

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If Ray Charles had been a Hollywood rather than a music star, Ray would have cleaned up at this year’s Oscars. Instead, Clint Eastwood’s Million Dollar Baby and Martin Sorcese’s Aviator about Hollywood director and aviation pioneer Howard Hughes won five and four Oscars respectively. Ray is a labor of love and a much image [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Love’s a Bitch

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Love’s a Bitch (Amores Perros) received an Oscar Nomination for Best Foreign Film, rave reviews, and prizes at numerous festivals. The film did not resonate with me. I think as an observation about the human condition the film is wrong: yes, love can be a bitch, but it is not always a bitch image [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Hotel Rwanda

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The film highlights powerfully that in the European and American mind a black African life is worth less than a white life. A catastrophy that kills 500 Europeans is emotionally judged to be worse than the killing of 500,000 Africans. The latter event hardly makes the news. Don Cheadle stars in the true-life story of image [Read More]
Movies, Phantasy

The Incredibles

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Would Pixar Studios be able to put out another movie in the league of Finding Nemo? During the first hour I became skeptical but the second hour proved this film to be amazingly good as well. I am awed by the creativity of Pixar. How do these people continue to crank out one commercial and image [Read More]
Documentary, Movies

The Fog of War

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Robert McNamara was a cold warrior with a soft heart. He led the Pentagon under John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson until the disagreements between Johnson and McNamara over Vietnam became too large. This film is one long interview with McNamara. The subtitle of the documentary is “Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. image [Read More]
Drama, Movies

Melinda and Melinda

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Is it more accurate to see life as a comedy or a tragedy? This philosophical question gives Woody Allen the hook to explore the complications that arise when an old friend shows up at her friend’s dinner party with more than a little bit of baggage. I was intrigued enough to take another look at image [Read More]