More DVDs to pass the time since being internet-less for about 2 weeks now. And I'm still internet-less.From top to bottom, left to right in chronological order:
- Enchanted - Yes, I didn't watch it when it first came out. When every major lovey-dovey princess themed animated Disney movie is essentially compressed into this, it actually becomes so ludacris that it's actually funny. Not bad though the ending was kinda rushed. And that Idina Menzel didn't sing in the movie. Not happy.
- Enron - A documentary on how one of the biggest trading companies fell to its knees in 24 days after spending 15 years increasing their supposed assets from $10 billion to $65 billion due to very creative accounting. Even with this big event happening way before the financial crash of 2008 and bear in mind this happened in 2001, people still don't learn that greed kills everyone, including the person seeking it.
- Pulp Fiction - Having finally watched this movie, I now understand why this is such a cult classic movie. The lines and scenes are hilarious and something that should be remembered. There's a lot of big names here that I didn't expect. A few notable characters were Samuel L. Jackson and the small part that the director Quentin Tarantino played. Must watch although I have to warn that profanity is abundant and some rather questionable scenes.
- Departed - In short, I didn't like it. Took very long to build the momentum and the ending, like everyone said when it first came out, was "Huh??". Should have watched Infernal Affairs instead. Or maybe not.
- Ponyo - Didn't watch it when it came out in cinemas but it's still a nice story to watch. The animation this time felt a bit different than say Howl's Moving Castle especially the background. The background looks so textural, like it was coloured with colour pencils. Super like. I didn't watch the English dubbed version but there are so many high profile actors who lend their voices such as Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchette, Tina Fey and many more.
- New York, New York - This is where the famous song of the same title came from. Very long movie with the first 2+ hours being essentially watching a train wreck between two people who essentially brought the song into existence. Robert deNiro played well as a jerk and it's interesting to see a more normal looking Liza Minnelli, on-screen character wise.
- La Vita e Dolce (Life is Beautiful) - It's hard to infuse humour or light-heartedness into a movie that is about the Holocaust because of the great tragedy that surrounds the event. This movie however manages to do just that, not trying to sugar coat it but using humour to survive in such perilous times. The main actor Roberto Benigni looks a lot like a friend of mine from some angles and his character has the energy and humour of some of the older musical-movies. Great to watch.
- The Wizard of Oz - Finally, after so long, I watched it. First thing to note is how immense was the production of this movie back in its time. Financially it was such a big gamble with lots of money being poured in for the costumes and props etc. Sure you can see the string cables hanging in frame etc but that's not really the point (and not have the technology to do so then). It is really something to see the Judy Garland sing the iconic song Somewhere Over The Rainbow in all of its sepia look. Such a classic that it's one of those movies every American knows so well. The special features of the DVD are also worth a watch.
- Funny Face - Oh. My. Goodness. I love this! Super love this! If you think Audrey Hepburn is gorgeous in Breakfast at Tiffany's, you should so totally see her here. Fashion plays a big part in this musical and it really shows off her elegance. Awesome stuff! The music was great and loved every single one of them including the song of the same title. Swoon.
- An American In Paris - Same guy from Singing In The Rain, Gene Kelly, portrays a struggling painter in Paris having to find love and success in his work. Not bad though the final dance scene was quite draggy. It doesn't quite have the same on-screen chemistry with the rest of the actors as in Singing In The Rain which is a pity. One thing I do really like was their version of S'Wonderful S'Marvelous. A bit better than the version done in Funny Face. After seeing Singing In The Rain and this one, you can really tell the style of Gene Kelly's dance choreography.
- Mukhsin - Despite me being a huge fan of Yasmin Ahmad, I've not actually seen any of her films. Sad I know. Great story of a progressing friendship that has the potential to become something more but alas it was not meant to be. Along with other subtle problems that face the family, neighbours and even with each other. On the slow side, you should watch it. Also, this reminds me a lot of my childhood years although I didn't live in a relative kampung setting. Such as the game of galah panjang played by the children, a game that I used to play in primary school a lot.
- Days of Being Wild - Three seemingly separate stories intertwined into one film. An adopted son having problems in both his love life and with his adopted mother, his determination to find his biological mother and a cop turned sailor thinking about life and love. Another slow movie but it is always great to see Wong Kar Wai's story telling abilities.
- Paris, Je T'aime - 16 short stories film around the iconic city of Paris featuring quite a few famous people. Some are like "Huh??" and others are great. Worth a watch I think.
- The Scent of Green Papaya - The slowest of all the DVDs I watched with long scenes of continuous camera panning and tracking. There's also very little dialogue but it is enough to give you information on what is going on. It shows a lot of serenity and calmness of a servant girl in the midst of her master's family troubles as well as a nation wide problem in late '50s Vietnam. Hard to recommend especially those who find it hard to sit still and plow through a very slow movie but if you can, it's probably worth a watch.
- Four Lions - It is very easy to overthink this movie and be ever ready to rain condemnation on this movie as it touches on very sensitive topics like Islamic terrorism and the likes. At its basic level, it's basically Dumb and Dumber except the characters are Muslim. The stupidity of the characters as they plan their jihad attacks in London is hilarious, in the British humour sense which makes it so easy to criticise this as being intolerant to Islam. It is comedy at its heart but it's one of those where you have to take it with a pinch of salt. Watch at your own risk, this is a pretty divisive comedic film. You'll either love it or hate it.
One thing that I seemed to have noticed is that there are common themes in the DVDs that I have been watching. The guys are seriously persistent in chasing the girls, some in situations where I would never EVER do. The success of these guys on screen is a bit of a hit and miss, some got the girl and they lived happily ever after (presumably) or some end up in train wrecks. Of course not all of the DVDs have this theme but more than what I'd expect.
Which leads me to this question: How persistent should a guy be? A question of great importance for self-aware guys such as myself.
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