It is definitely one of the best for 2009.

Again, brace yourselves.

1. Carriers – Great movie. Focuses on how humanity tightens their grip on lives for survival.
2. Dancer in the Dark – Been curious about this movie for quite some time now and I am so glad I got this. I was blown away by Bjorn’s performance. Be warned though, it is really depressing. Had to stop and recuperate after watching this.
3. Entre Les Mur (The Class) – An interesting glimpse on the lives of the teacher and his students inside the classroom. It feels low-key but I got hooked and enjoyed it. Got a few French vocabulary words from it also; win-win.
4. Food, Inc. – A documentary about the harsh truth on the United States’ massive food production. If I were living there, I’d never eat nor touch all the things I saw on this film. It’s like a horror “An Inconvenient Truth” but about food.
5. Grace – Not the scream-out-loud type of horror about a mother’s strong bond of love for her child.
6. Humpday – Funny film on how far male bonding can go.
7. Hunger – One of the most powerful political/prison film I’ve ever seen. I had the urge to read more about the history that fueled the movie after watching it. Best scenes were the lengthy conversation with the priest and the lead’s slow journey to death from hunger.
8. Il y a Longtemps Que Je T’aime (I’ve Loved You So Long) – Incredible performance from Kristin Scott Thomas. You can definitely feel her pain as she struggles to have a life after prison. Her eyes alone said the most powerful lines on the film. Yep, “eyes” and “lines”?! Crazy talk, I know. It is that good.
9. Ink – Great sci-fi indie film. This is the first sci-fi indie I’ve seen and it is always the story and not the flashy CGI that makes a great movie. Nice phase also.
10. Oldboy – A Korean film that shows the measures of how far some people would do just to have revenge. Amazing! Highly recommended film. Found out that this is part of a trilogy, still looking of the other two.
11. Paper Heart – Quirky and funny film that blurs the borders if it is a real documentary or just a plain script based movie (well, I was confused). This had a life on its own and its nice to see it grow into something. I think this movie belongs to the “alternative” sort of stuff.
12. Phobia (4bia) – Horror movie from Thailand with 4 different stories from 4 of the best directors of the genre. A lot of cheap scares but it is pretty good.
13. Pontypool – An interesting new take on the thriller/horror genre. It was really suspenseful, inventive and funny at times.
14. Sunshine Cleaning – Watch this for the two ladies, Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. They’re quite a tandem here.
15. The Devil’s Rejects – A sequel to the most horrifying movie I’ve seen my entire life, House of 1000 Corpses, though may not be as gruesome as the first, it is still enough to make you cringe.
16. The Echo – Hollywood remake of the movie “Sigaw” with the same director. I thought this would be better but it wasn’t. Directing the same movie twice would mean that he could correct some of the misses from the first. But that was not the case, he even manages to create more holes (and it’s not the one seen on the movie).
17. The Young Victoria – Period drama about the life of the longest ruling queen on history, Queen Victoria. It was lush and beautiful. Most noticeable performance for me was not of Emily Blunt’s but of Rupert Friend as Prince Albert; he was really good. And maybe this is where Kensington lock got its name. Watch if you’re curious on what I’m talking about.
18. Thirst – The Koreans also jumped on the vampire bandwagon, but unlike the pioneer, this movie is far better. FYI: This is the second Chan-wook Park movie on this list, first was Oldboy. He’s one of my favorites now.
19. Tokyo Sonata – Pitch perfect slice-of-life domestic drama from our friends from the land of the rising sun. I freaking love this movie. Highly recommended.
20. World’s Greatest Dad – Smart dark comedy that fits Robin Williams like a glove. He should only make these kinds of movie, it’s very tiring seeing him on laugh-out-loud flicks.

Oh the tags. The horror! LOL

Watching it with the original Japanese audio, you would really feel the pain, suffering, determination and hope in all of the characters. I recommend watching it with English subs and not English audio for it may ruin the experience. I’ve heard the English audio and it is not that good. Enveloped in a tear jerking score and emotion grabbing main theme, this made it to be one of the most depressing animated movies I’ve ever seen. Watch the trailer for a sneak peek of this beautiful film.

I highly recommend this especially to all anime lovers out there and lovers of love itself. (OK Onat, the review is done, snap out of it! )

And lastly, it is the speed of a falling cherry blossom petal, the title, that is.

Its darker, more mature, and better storytelling. Looking back on the last 5, we are all poorly served compared to this one IMHO. Story was quite loyal to the book with some changes here and there but the essence was there; the final battle approaches. Phasing was great, not rushed at all. I’ll admit I almost lost it on one scene but what they showed there on the darkest hour at Hogwarts was I suppose a true classic piece of movie-making magic. It was so moving and marvelous. Hehe I apologize if you were wondering what the heck I am talking about, I don’t spoil movies. Just go and watch it.

I like the ending contrary to the voice of the majority. And well, if you read all the books, you won’t be throwing hissy fits on it. It is the perfect movie before ending Harry Potter’s battle against evil.

Highly recommended, and even more so if watched on IMAX.

The IMAX Experience.
It is indeed the only way to see movies. The picture quality was so sharp and crisp compared to ordinary projection movie houses. I love the contrast of the pictures. As for the 3D, I was able to see some of its 3D-ness but not to the fullest due to my left eye. But full, partial or no 3D at all, IMAX is still heaps beyond picture quality.

And the sound; it was an audiogasm (if such a word exists). There is nothing better than a fully surround sound system which made the experience better. The different layers of sound were just amazing. And I prefer watching movies loud, and at IMAX, it really is that loud that it gave me that “in your face” feeling which I really love.

I am so sold on their fliers now: see more, hear more and feel more. Our local movie house now is downgraded to a cheap ass low quality theater, but I still have no choice. Watching movies on the big screen will never be the same again. IMAX virgin no more.

The movie did look it was made for IMAX and because of that, most CG stuff do float in front. Not 3D but more like a bad composition with live action shots. It looks carnoonish, looks cheap. Sound was kind of overdone, most of the score was insignificant. Story was the most stupid, the first one was better than this.

A lot of what the movie have were unnecessary. It is definitely a potboiler. Sucky sucky potboiler. blah!

Ladies and gents, brace yourselves for an avalanche.

1. 10 MPH – US cross-country on a Segway. Great documentary.
2. American Teen – Another documentary about American high school teens.
3. Baby Mama
4. Bolt
5. The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
6. Dark Knight
7. Departures (Okuribito) – Great movie from Japan. Highly Recommended.
8. Half Nelson – Good drama.
9. Happy Go Lucky – This will lighten up anyone who watches this. Great lead performance also.
10. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
11. House Bunny – Funny.
12. Kung Fu Panda
13. La Vie En Rose – Amazing performance by Marion Cotillard. Great classic french music all throughout the movie.
14. Lars and The Real Girl – This one is good. Wow, this is the second Ryan Gosling movie on this list. Do you know the other one?
15. The Last House on the Left – Nice remake. Brutal.
16. The Legend of 1900 – A Giuseppe Tornatore movie with an Ennio Morricone score, need I say more?
17. Loner (Hikikomori) – Korean horror, so-so.
18. Meet Dave
19. Miss March – Crazy crazy. LOL
20. Nick And Nora’s Infinite Playlist – Sweet and predictable.
21. Paris, Je T’aime – A movie with 22 directors in all, each have about 6 minutes or so per segment; each one different from the other with only one underlying theme, love. It was concluded wonderfully with the last segment, my favorite of all. It’s perfect.
22. Pineapple Express
23. Ploning – Beautiful yet predictable. IMHO, the Philippines could have had a bigger chance on the Oscars with Caregiver.
24. Rachel Getting Married – Anne Hathaway was amazing on this movie.
25. Terminator Salvation – Who would have thought McG did this?! LOL Well made, OK plot.
26. Trainspotting – Early Danny Boyle. Great movie!
27. The Unborn
28. The Uninvited – Predictable.
29. Yes Man

I linked only a few, only the not-so-mainstream ones for those who are unfamiliar.

Phew! That was a lot! Now on with their tags. LOL

I think this is three things: a window to the most stunningly beautiful places in the world, the most brutal depiction of exploitation  and resource exhaustion man had brought to it and that emerging light within all this darkness. A lighted match may make the darkness seem darker but it still illuminates. There is hope.

Beautifully narrated with great phasing, so endearing and yearning for the viewers attention. And with probably the best score on a documentary I have ever heard. Outstanding aerial photography. This movie knew the formula and was flawlessly executed.

This is amazing. It’s on Youtube until June 14, but you can easy save it in HD format with a little help. I highly recommend you watch it.

This is a BLTN-entry.

Found out about this on WOWOW while they were showing a trailer for the upcoming movie Goemon of the same director. After a quick googling, here it is. And I’m pretty sure Goemon would be awesome also but Casshern is a must see for now. Goemon opens on May 1 in Japan.

You’ll need a clean pair of undies after watching this movie. LOL

One iffy, far too much blue shots, I’m just saying. Other than that, it was very entertaining. Didn’t even mind the length, it was worth the time.