Nipples

The story is about how a beer commercial model ended up marrying her fan who still supported her after her topless photos leaked out in a magazine. Her husband had viewed her as his idol and had a fear of seeing her nipples as it contradicted his idea of a perfect woman.

Interesting look at the problems that a fan-idol couple could face! The film also gave an insight into how the model agency worked. Liked the cute motorcycle ridden by the protagonist as it was made more personable with a voice control speed limit warning system!

Link

Dragonball Evolution

The story is adapted from a Japanese comic of the same title. Goku, a kungfu expert, is on a quest for a set of dragon balls that will enable a dragon to grant him a wish to stop a powerful alien from destroying the earth. He met several colorful characters along the way.

Thought the actress who played Chi Chi looked quite cute! The alien's female personal assistant looked scary! A little disappointed that they toned down Master Roshi's character by quite a bit!

Internet Movie Database Link

Le Bonheur

The story is about the consequences after a married man had an affair with a girl who worked at the post office. The title means happiness and the film examines what this means.

Liked the nice classical music by Mozart and the simple but well told story! The lines were witty and I liked how the social issues were brought out in a satiric way! Thought it would be even more appropriate if this was shown during International Women's Day instead.

Internet Movie Database Link

Watchmen

The story is about how a group of retired masked superheroes got in touch with each other again after one of them, the Comedian, died mysteriously. Dr Manhattan, Ozymandias and Silk Spectre II worked for the US military to create a new energy source. They were informed of the Comedian's death by Rorschach who also contacted Moloch and Nite Owl II.

Liked the series of flashbacks that introduced both the Comedian and Dr Manhattan! The special effects and fight sequences were well choreographed too! Felt that the story could have been condensed further though. The ending caught me by surprise and I was a little bit confused as to who exactly was the bad guy.

Internet Movie Database Link

The Exterminating Angel

The story is about what happened when a group of rich people were mysteriously trapped in a house for a few days after a dinner reception.

Great ensemble piece! Liked the dynamics of the human interaction both inside and outside the house! Nice special effect for the dream sequences! The bear looked quite cute but I pity the group of sheep!

Internet Movie Database Link

Departures

The story is about how a young married cellist returned to his hometown with his family when he became unemployed and trained to be a funeral professional.

Nice interesting story that is both funny and sad at the same time! Liked the beautiful cello music and the pretty Ryoko Hirosue! Great performance by Masahiro Motoki who looked convincing as both a cellist and a funeral professional!

Internet Movie Database Link

He's Just Not That Into You

The story is about the misconceptions about dating and the subtle differences between men and women in terms of attitude and behavior.

Pretty interesting although I wished I haven't seen the trailer prior to this! Some scenes were not as funny the second time round. Liked the semi-documentary style where they interviewed people on the streets about their opinions on dating and marriage in general.

Internet Movie Database Link

Shadows

The story is about how three black siblings in United States during the late fifties faced discrimination and how they tried to blend in with the crowd.

Thought the ending scene of "Simon of the Desert" is pretty similar to the opening scene of this film! Liked the scenes that featured the sudden realizations of Leila and Tony at different junctures of the film!

Internet Movie Database Link

Simon of the Desert

The story is about how a religious man spent his life on top of a column praying and giving advice to people while dealing with the devil's temptation at the same time.

Realized that I watched the film on the director's birth anniversary after I watched the accompanying documentary. Liked the director's funny sense of humor and the various incarnation of the devil! Think she looked the nicest as the little girl in sailor's costume! A pity that there wasn't a proper ending due to a lack of budget.

Internet Movie Database Link

The Wrestler

The story is about the life of a well regarded middle aged wrestler, Randy the Ram, who was famous twenty years ago. As his physical condition deteriorates, he tried to find fulfillment in other aspects of his life like doing a regular job, finding a partner and mending ties with his daughter.

Went to see the film as I loved "PI" and "Requiem for a Dream" by the same director! Great performance by Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei! Liked the unlikely friendship between them and the peek behind-the-scenes on how the wrestling community worked! Felt quite sad for Randy who tried hard to gain acceptance but somehow seemed to bang his head against the wall.

Internet Movie Database Link

What On Earth Have I Done Wrong?

The story is about the process of making a mockumentary about the Taiwanese current affairs and how the director manages his personal life at the same time.

Liked the family drama on the relationship between the director and his partner as well as between him and his mother! The interviews on the topic of happiness were interesting and the ending was well crafted!

Internet Movie Database Link

Loto Sex

The story is about how a wife helped her husband cure his compulsion to gambling on lotto tickets through very unorthodox ways. She invented a domestic version of the game where the husband can only get intimate with her only when he won a prize!

Liked the interesting idea and the depiction of the couple's relationship! They grew from ignorant newly weds to become a more matured and understanding couple in the end! Realised that there is a whole series of similarly themed films by FullMotion label similar to what Balzac did in "La Comedie humaine". Would love to catch other films in the series if I have the chance!

Link

The Reader

The story is about how an encounter with a German woman, Hanna, affected a young man's life. He read to her story books and had an affair with her for one summer. They lost contact after that and the young man discovered Hanna's dark secret years later.

Great acting by Kate Winslet who acted as Hanna and I thought young Julia looked very cute in her two ponytails!

Internet Movie Database Link

Rachel Getting Married

The story is about how a woman called Rachel organized her own wedding day with the help of her family members. Her sister, Kym, took a few days off from the rehabilitation center to attend her wedding.

Liked the simple storyline and the dynamics of the family relationships! Loved the exciting dishwasher competition and the explosive face off between mother and daughter towards the end! Have only seen the lead actress, Anne Hathaway, in "Brokeback Mountain" as well as this film and I thought she is a pretty good actress!

Internet Movie Database Link

This Land Is Mine

This is a propaganda film made during World War II by a French director about life in a small town governed by German soldiers. One person started a small resistance movement and it had a great impact on a timid middle-aged school teacher.

Interesting story and I was quite impressed with the middle-aged school teacher's speech in court! The two female leads looked quite pretty too!

Internet Movie Database Link

Milk

This is a biography of Harvey Milk, a businessman-turned-politician who started the gay movement in the 70s.

Liked the old news clips that were informative! Thought it would be interesting if Milk had a one-to-one battle with his nemesis, Anita Bryant, instead of the other guy! Didn't really understand the politics portion of the show especially the character of Dan White.

Internet Movie Database Link

Women of the Night

This is about how women became prostitutes in post-war Japan told through the stories of a widow, her sister and her friend.

Interesting plot! Thought this might be a pre-cursor to "Life of Oharu" filmed four years later with the same lead actress, Tanaka Kinuyo, with a similar theme. Didn't really understand why she did not choose to stay in the women's home as it offered food and shelter with a lot of pros and very little cons.

Internet Movie Database Link

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

This is a kids adaptation of the mermaid fairytale about how a small fish with magical powers fell in love with a five year old boy and wanted to become human after he scooped her up from the sea.

Liked the nice storyline, the cute fish/girl and the catchy soundtrack at the end of the film!

Internet Movie Database Link

Osaka Elegy

The story is about Ayako's fall in society when she accepted her boss's indecent proposal in order to raise money to save her father.

This film is part of the Criterion Eclipse Series 13 boxset also named as Kenji Mizoguchi's "Fallen Women". The other titles are "Sisters of the Gion", "Women of the Night" and "Streets of Shame".

Liked the nice storyline that explained Ayako's actions due to her circumstances! Thought she celebrated a little bit too soon towards the end though.

Internet Movie Database Link

Hearts and Minds

This is a documentary about how the Americans got involved in the Vietnam War and its impact on both countries.

Liked the interviews with the people from the different sides and the newsreel clips! Gained a better understanding of this historic event after watching the film.

Internet Movie Database Link