La La Land (2016)

I was interested in seeing this film because not only am I a sucker for a good musical, but I'll admit to being a big fan of Ryan Gosling as well as Emma Stone and I was intrigued to see what the director of Whiplash would do with a musical picture to make it fresh and unique. The premise of the story is that Stone is a young actress who has moved to LA to wait tables while auditioning to try and 'make it', while Gosling is a jazz purist  who plays the piano in bars to make a living and dreams of opening his own Jazz bar. Or to put it succinctly - "Two young artists meet and fall in love while chasing their dreams". The musical flows thematically from first love to heartbreak and every other emotion between, with great music throughout.

HACKSAW RIDGE (2016)

I am not a fan of Mel Gibson,but sure as hell he did make a good movies. Mel Gibson returns to the director's chair with this war epic based on the true life story of Private Desmond Doss, who served in the Army as a medic during the Battle of Okinawa during World War ll. He also happened to be a pacifist, someone unwilling to partake in violence due to his religious beliefs. There at the Battle of Okinawa, one of the bloodiest battles of WWII, Doss ended up saving the lives of many of his fellow soldiers resulting in him being the first conscientious objector in American history to be awarded the Medal of Honor.

Bridge of Spies (2015)

Bridge Of Spies is a historical drama film starring Tom Hanks, co-written by the Coen brothers, and directed by Steven Spielberg. Even though its subject matter of the Cold War is something I know very little about, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am now more interested than ever to learn more about it. I rank it among the best of Spielberg's most recent movies.

In a story based on true events, Hanks plays James Donovan (diverging somewhat from reality here) as an insurance lawyer dragged by his firm into defending Rudolf Abel, the accused Soviet spy played exquisitely by British stage acting legend Mark Rylance. Against this backdrop, the international blue touch paper is about to be lit by the shooting down over Russia of Gary Powers (Austin Stowell from "Whiplash") in his U-2 spy plane (sorry – "article"). Donovan becomes instrumental in unofficially negotiating on behalf of the US government the release of Powers in East Berlin. The deal is jeopardized by his boy-scout tendencies to also want to help another US captive Frederic Pryor (Will Rogers).

The End of the Tour

The End of The Tour was a beautifully done movie that will not be widely seen or even heard of. This movie doesn't have explosions, or side splitting humor, or sex, or anything that sells in Hollywood these days. What this movie does have is a well written plot with fantastic dialogue, a great story, wonderful performances, and thought provoking themes that make you ponder what is really important. The End of The Tour is about the five day interview between Rolling Stone reporter David Lipsky, and acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace (played by Jesse Eisenberg and Jason Segel). This five day interview took place right after the 1996 publication of Wallace's epic 1,000 page novel called Infinite Jest. An interview that would later turn out to be never published and not really heard about until Wallace's 2008 suicide.

This sounds like a very simple story, but it is much deeper than that. The End of the Tour not only shows the struggles that a writer can have, but it also has many different themes, particularly about jealousy, the sense of betrayal, and how much fame a person could have. All of these themes lead to some very heartbreaking moments, as well as the film talking about the culture that we live in. I don't want to say how, because I'm afraid that I might spoil scenes, for those who have yet to see this movie, but for movie that's nothing more than a conversation between 2 people, it really is consistently engaging, deep, and entertaining.

2015 TIFF Awards Winners

The Toronto International Film Festival has closed out its annual ten-day run with a star-studded awards brunch, which feiatured the announcement of the festival's various awards and prizes. Chief among them is the People's Choice Award, TIFF's most prestigious award and one chosen by audience members themselves (fans of the various films could log their vote either by depositing their ticket stubs in voting boxes available post-screening, or by using their individual ticket numbers to vote online).

Often viewed as a harbinger of awards season glory, the TIFF People's Choice Award winner has typically continued on to major Oscar attention. Since 2008, every single People's Choice Award winner, save for 2011 winner "Where Do We Go Now?," has been nominated for Best Picture. Of those titles, three -- including "Slumdog Millionaire," "The King's Speech" and "12 Years a Slave" -- have ultimately won the Oscar for Best Picture. Since TIFF's creation in 1976, five People's Choice Award winners have gone on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

2015 Cannes Film festival Winners

The 68th annual Cannes Film Festival is officially a wrap. At today's closing ceremony, the main competition jury, led by Joel and Ethan Coen, awarded the Palme d'Or to Jacques Audiard for his drama "Dheepan." "Son of Saul," the acclaimed Holocaust drama from first-time filmmaker Laszlo Nemes, won the Grand Prix (runner-up) award. Below find the full list of winners.

Ex-Machina (2015)

Directed by author and screenwriter, Alex Garland (who wrote "Sunshine" and "28 Days Later"), "Ex Machina" follows a computer programmer, Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), who was chosen to stay with an online tycoon, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac), for a week at his secluded house up in the mountains. There, Nathan shows Caleb what he has been working on and reveals Ava (Alicia Vikander), an robot capable of human emotions. Nathan then tasks Caleb to do a Turing test on Ava to evaluate her ability to exhibit intelligent and humanlike behavior. Through this test, Caleb soon discovers that Ava is a lot more human than he ever could have imagined, but may just be almost too human.

"Ex Machina" is not a movie. It's a story. It is the story of Boy Meets Android. It is the story of how truly insignificant humanity is. This movie didn't focus on what we think of, or even why we think of things. It focused on how. How do we, as humans, think of our own humanity? How do we function? Instinct, emotion, values, perfectionism, this movie makes the biggest attempt to not really give a certain sensation. It more tests the viewer. It presents you with this certain situation and sees how you interpret it without ever taking notes, acknowledging your feelings, without doing anything. It was phenomenal. The exact tone of the movie turns into the mood of the viewer. It's phenomenal. It felt like a really good college lecture. One that makes you learn without you even knowing.

Mad Max : Fury Road (2015)

Mad max is the most insane, yet perfectly executed movie I have ever seen.

Mad Max Fury Road is an add on to Goerge Millers Mad Max franchise. Goerge Miller also directed this film, and gave us one of the most insane, yet perfect movies...ever. The entire length of the film your eyes are glued to the screen, and your jaw is glued to the floor. The action sequences are brilliant, and over the top. This movie is practically all one action sequence. There isn't much plot, but there isn't a need for one. The action sequences are executed perfectly. The special affects were not only spectacular but also moving. Every angle, the atmosphere, the car chases, and then there is the storm. During a car chase a giant dust storm appears,and the action continues inside the storm. Lightning, explosions, and slow motion kills, make this one of the best scenes I have ever seen in a movie.

The Theory of Everything (2014)

Finally I've watched this movie, this is one of the movies I wanted to watch since the day the announced it. And the amazing Eddie Redmayne is here. The story of Stephen Hawking and his then wife Jane, apparently based on a book she wrote about it, which probability explains why there was not much science in the movie, not that I'm complaining, as it was a well played film about a difficult relationship.

he movie starts as the Cambridge student Stephen Hawking meets Jane, and although shy at first, eventually they both get close. Stephen soon learns about his illness and decides to shut Jane off from his life. But Jane insisted on him and stated her for him even though knowing the illness will progress and slowly take Stephen away from her. They get married soon after, and Stephen soon graduates his doctoral study, having more interest to cosmological physics. Jane stands by Stephen as the illness progresses, impairing his locomotion, balance, speech and even swallowing. They have two children and Stephen's work starts to gain spotlight. But little by little, Jane starts to loose her spirit, though she doesn't reveal it.

Eddie Redmayne plays Stephen Hawking brilliantly; delivering a performance that is, at times, so very delicate and at other times fueled with confidence. The wit characteristic of Hawking is presented perfectly and his disease, including the gradual loss of his ability to speak, is handled with respect. Not once is there a moment of overacting, and we are reminded that there is a fully functioning and genius mind within a debilitated body. Felicity Jones plays Jane Wilde beautifully, showing us the strong commitment and inevitable weariness faced by someone in her position.

Winter sleep (2014)

Winter sleep. Finally I’ve watched this movie, this movie won Palm d’Or awards at Cannes this year. Winter Sleep is a masterpiece by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, a film shining with literary eloquence and incisive social criticism.  Most of movie scenes happened inside village houses, a lot of talking between character. It tells a story, with an old actor turned into hotel owner, his young wife, other villager who are his tenants, different people have their own social character.

This is the kind of film where not much happens, but your jaw drops at every scene because Ceylan has filmed reality better than most of us live it. It is honestly quite scary. Most of our lives mutter on without us ever reflecting on it, properly anyway, because we don't really get the chance. However, when you watch Winter Sleep you can see a part of yourself in pretty much every character. You understand every person's actions in the film and there is no greater exemplification that, at least between the three main characters, the line of good and bad is ever so blurred. Everyone has their reasons, everyone has good intentions, but yet people just cannot get along harmoniously because they are naturally different.

Winter Sleep is a film that I respect massively, I probably have to say though, that I respect it more than what I actually enjoyed it. It's a huge, colossal film that nearly owns it's two hundred minutes, even if it was way too much for my numbing back and drained energy. It's a film that will surely only be appreciated by a small amount of people, Nuri Bilge Ceylan has gained in me a follower but I don't believe he will make many friendships with main audiences who will soon discard such a long, slowly paced Turkish drama. It is a challenging film that ultimately rewards its audience with some powerful images and palpable strain. The audience in the theater seemed to be in awe, me I was simply left satisfied and with a huge respect for the piece.

Hollywood Film Awards 2014 - Full Winners

You know awards season has started when there's already winners from awards show that is not anything MTV or Nickelodeon. And this was my first time watching Hollywood Film Awards, because it was the first time HFA aired on CBS. And i couldn't wait. 

So this is the full winners of that awards

Hollywood Film Award
Gone Girl
Hollywood Actor Award
Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game)
Hollywood Blockbuster Award
Guardians of the Galaxy
Hollywood Documentary Award
Mike Meyers (Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon)
Hollywood Actress Award
Julianne Moore (Still Alice)
Hollywood Career Achievement Award
Michael Keaton
Hollywood Animation Award
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (DreamWorks)
Hollywood Comedy Film Award
Chris Rock (Top Five)
New Hollywood Award
Jack O'Connell (Unbroken)
Hollywood Ensemble Award
Foxcatcher
Hollywood Director Award
Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game)
Hollywood Song Award
Janelle Monae ("What is Love," from Rio 2)
Hollywood Screenwriter Award
Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl)
Hollywood Breakout Performance Actor Award
Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)
Hollywood Breakthrough Director Award
Jean-Marc Vallee (Wild)
Hollywood Supporting Actress Award
Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game)
Hollywood Breakout Performance Actress Award
Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars)
Hollywood Supporting Actor Award
Robert Duvall (The Judge)

Interstellar - review (2014)

Wow, just wow. Nolan did it again. confusing science movie with big stars. Right off i should say I love Nolan. I adore most of his movies, and Interstellar is no exception. It is a marvelous piece of work whose visuals will be hard to forget. Even thought it's not in my top 3 Nolan's best film list (Momento, The Dark Knight and Inception still the best). But it's Nolan's movie, we will probably understand his mind after 123 years later

I was madly waiting for Interstellar's release. And finally I have watched it, twice. It was incredibly exciting. It was a delight. It was unforgettable. he once again, amazes us with work. The fiction is on point, i mean we can really understand it's fiction, without being smart. But's it's really amazing. Some critics don't like it. but me as movie goer, really like. i watched it for entertainment purpose. but BAm he confused me and forced to watch this movie again.

The plot is original. and it was really good. i love how the characters are growing.the movie is about that time when earth is dying.  it was thought-provoking. Many questions were raised. What would life on earth be like if our climate runs amok? What happens to government when we all have to live hand-to-mouth? Are "they" out there communicating with us? An yeah this movie makes Gravity looks a like a vegetable on sale.

And when people say Nolan can't do emotional scene, you are wrong dude. This movie had so many emotional scene, and the best relationship in this movie was the relationship between Copper and his daughter Murph.And once again Miss Chastain never fails us with his dramatic scene. And tell me something that McConaughey can;t do. Because he can do everything from comic to very serious man. That scene when He received a message from his son and how his son told him about everything and then he was being 23 years old was heartbreaking. the way he cried, Oh my god.

And I love how the didn't show us the take off scene, it's unnecessary, but tbh i really wanted to see that scene on this amazing camera. But lets be honest, It was not hat important. instead of doing the dramatic take off Nolan did a heartbreaking scene when Cooper left his family and his daughter cried so hard. This was very heart breaking scene. But i felt like he rushed it, like how Coop and Murph found NASA and then NASA told him a very heavy decision and how he rejected but then the next scene he was doing it and left his family behind.

Gone Girl - Review (2014)

it's been a quite week for me. with not much movies and I didn't have a chance to go online.  So finally I watched Gone Girl. I am a fan of David Fincher, so yeah I wished it would be good. 2014 has been kind of a shitty year (exceptions being Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men Days of Future Past, Guardians of the Galaxy). So this was my most anticipated film of the year, and I was really hoping it would be good

When I heard Ben Affleck would be Nick I didn't think it would be good. But now I can see it that he can actually be good without stealing the attention lol. Pike all the way. She is perfect. I have to be honest tho, for me this is the first time i have seen Rosamund Pike shining from the beginning to the end, she portrays her character beautifully , every scene she is in, it's just mindblowing, she absorbs you with her great acting. Mark my words on this one, if rosamund pike doesn't get an Oscar nom for this role, then something is wrong

Love the disenchantment of Fatale Femme(Amy, everyone!). Only does she live as true self and be happy(junk food jamming, jubilant jumping, low maintenance, vulgar behavior, etc.) when she gets away from: either the man who loves her (but never knows her, esp. true her) or the man she loves (yes, the husband she's framing, and believe it or not, they are well-suited for each other!!!) the most revealing scene would be the one in which Amy keeps eating ice cream?  while watching her husband's tricky performance on the TV interview, her rich suitor sitting besides runs his look between the girl and the husband, just like an outsider. She's so attentive and enchanted to her rival - the husband, who has unexpectedly grown up from a passive victim/loser to a devious, manipulative guy. She confesses afterwords that she loves him more when watching him on the screen putting her, by lying, into disadvantage within the game.

Oscar Prediction - Best Actor

this year is very crowded year for male movie as the lead.So, it's going to be hard. The best actor race sure is packed already: There's Michael Keaton, who is earning intense raves for his performance in "Birdman." There's Ralph Fiennes, whose work in "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is pretty universally beloved. There's Steve Carell and Channing Tatum, both from "Foxcatcher," which has been a big hit at both Cannes and Telluride.  There's Timothy Spall for "Mr. Turner," who won best actor at Cannes. There's Benedict Cumberbatch and Eddie Redmayne, both looking for first nominations for "The Imitation Game" and "The Theory of Everything," respectively.  And -- though it's probably more of an Indie Spirit deal -- there's Ellar Coltrane's 12 year effort in Richard Linklater's "Boyhood."

Safe Bets
1. Michael Keaton, "Birdman"
2. Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"
3. Eddie Redmayne, "Theory of Everything"

There's the other safe bet
4. Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"
5. Timothy Spall, "Mr. Turner"
6. Ralph Fiennes, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
7. Ben Affleck, "Gone Girl"
8. Bill Murray, "St. Vincent"
9. Jake Gyllenhaal, "Nightcrawler"

Haven't out yet
9. Joaquin Phoenix, "Inherent Vice"
10. Jack O'Connell, "Unbroken"
11. David Oyelowo, "Selma"
12. Brad Pitt, "Fury"
13. Oscar Isaac, "A Most Violent Year"
14. Christoph Waltz, "Big Eyes"
15. Matthew McConaughey, "Interstellar"

Dark Horses
17. Channing Tatum, "Foxcatcher"
18. Ellar Coltrane, "Boyhood"
19. Chadwick Boseman, "Get On Up"
20. Bill Hader, "The Skeleton Twins"

2015 Oscar Prediction - Best Director

After I made my random and "Sok Tau" Prediction about the best picture for next year Oscar Contender I'm going to make best Director release. because best picture won't happen with the director right? Here are my predictions for the Best Director prize at next year's Oscars, which could see previous nominees Paul Thomas Anderson, David Fincher, Mike Leigh, Rob Marshall, Bennett Miller, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Christopher Nolan factor into a race full of potential newbies. JC Chandor, Tim Burton, Richard Linklater (who looks like safest call at this point), James Marsh, Angelina Jolie, Wes Anderson have got Oscar love in other categories, but never here. All kind of shocking in a few cases, for sure...

But that all aside, who's in the lead? It's hard to tell given we haven't seen so many films, though even at this point it's hard to imagine Linklater and Iñárritu not factoring into this race, and all eyes are definitely on Jolie to become the first female nominee since Kathryn Bigelow won five years ago.

The Safe Bet
1. Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"
2. Alejandro González Iñárritu, "Birdman"

Hasn't released yet but they look strong
3. David Fincher, "Gone Girl"
4. Angelina Jolie, "Unbroken"
5. David Ayer, "Fury"
6. Christopher Nolan, "Interstellar"
7. Paul Thomas Anderson, "Inherent Vice"

Next on my list
8. Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"
9. Mike Leigh, "Mr. Turner"
10. Bennett Miller, "Foxcatcher"
11. James Marsh, "Theory of Everything"
12. Morten Tyldum, "The Imitation Game"

Sounds good
13. Ana DuVernay, "Selma"
14. JC Chandor, "A Most Violent Year"
15. Tim Burton, "Big Eyes"
16. Clint Eastwood, "American Sniper"
17. Rob Marshall, "Into The Woods"

Dark Horses
18. Damien Chazelle, "Whiplash"
19. Jean-Marc Vallée, "Wild"
20. Jon Stewart, "Rosewater"

TIFF Winners 2014

Yesterday the winners were announced. So far it looks  pretty good with the Imitation Games winning the Toronto People Choice award. TIFF is where audiences can see the best of last January’s Sundance film festival: imports include Infinitely Polar Bear with Mark Ruffalo; Whiplash, which won the U.S grand jury prize and audience award; and Lynn Shelton’s Laggies. This is also the first chance for many to catch Cannes film festival prize-winners Winter Sleep (Palme d’Or), Foxcatcher (best director for Bennett Miller), Leviathan (best screenplay), Maps to the Stars (by David Cronenberg; best actress for Julianne Moore), Mr. Turner (best actor for Timothy Spall) and the two films that tied for the jury prize, Mommy by Montreal’s Xavier Dolan and Goodbye to Language by Jean-Luc Godard.

The Imitation Game is the winner. A biopic starring Benedict Cumberbatch as an ingenious British codebreaker and computer-science pioneer Alan Turing has won the top prize at the Toronto International Film Festival. Director Morten Tyldum’s “The Imitation Game” claimed the coveted Grolsch People’s Choice Award at a Sunday morning brunch, held annually to mark the end of the 11-day movie marathon. The film, which also stars Oscar nominee Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode, beat out first runner-up “Learning to Drive” — a dramedy about the unlikely friendship between Patricia Clarkson’s newly separated book editor and her driving instructor, played by Ben Kingsley — and second runner-up “St. Vincent,” which stars Bill Murray as the cantankerous caretaker of a young boy. The crowd-pleasing “The Imitation Game,” however, simply proved too compelling in a tough-to-predict year in which there was no clear front-runner for the festival’s top award.

This is the full list winner.

2015 Oscar Prediction - Best Picture

From what I have watched from those reviews and festival. I have my own list of next year award season for best picture. It's still too early, but those film festival makes me excited. SO this is my prediction, I did the best Picture first. Because it;s the most important thing. Director next and the actors are next. I want to read more reviews. Beside, TIFF is going to be over today. Let's make the review about that first.

The Safe Bets (that have been released):
1. "Birdman" (Alejandro González Iñárritu)
2. "Boyhood" (Richard Linklater"
3. "The Imitation Game" (Morten Tyldum)
4. "Foxcatcher"(Bennett Miller)

Next on my list
5. "The Theory of Everything" (James Mars)
6. "Whiplash" (Damien Chazelle)
7. "Gone Girl (David Fincher)
8. "Wild" (Jean-Marc Vallee)
9. "Nightwrawler" (Dan Gilroy)