Rendition

Rendition is about an Egyptian-born chemical engineer, Anwar El-Ibrahimi who suddenly became a suspect to a suicide bombing incident. From the point of view of everyone else, he simply disappeared from the airport which doesn’t make sense because the record has shown that he boarded the plane but he never landed. When the truth is, he was escorted to a room and after some interrogation he was taken to a secret location which is where the United State government brings all the suspected terrorists for ‘questioning’.

This movie’s adjective is quite simple actually. To tell us all about ‘Rendition’ which is a real thing. I personally think that this movie was inspired by the Maher Arar’s case, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen and a father of two whom has to endure almost a year of solitary confinement and torture in a prison in Syria. This is where the United States government took him after he was accused of being a member of the Al-Qaeda. They portrayed how desperate the government is after the 9/11 tragedy. Everyone is a suspect, especially when you’re an Arab and by the way, happens to work as a chemical engineer. That pretty much screamed ‘TERRORIST’ in their eyes. Never mind that he’s happily married to a beautiful American wife and have an adorable looking son. Whatever happens to the profile that said ‘bombers are loners’?

My point is, this movie did a spectacular job showing the ugly truth of these people’s paranoia and how it affects those innocent souls out there. Their ‘interrogation’ technique is nothing to be surprise about, although seeing it in the movie really broke my heart. The humiliation, fear of not knowing what is going to happen next, and the confusion... they showed it all. I could only imagine how scared one would be in that condition especially when they don’t even know why or what they did to deserve such treatment. Omar Metwally really did a wonderful job playing the Anwar El-Ibrahimi’s character.

And I must say, seeing Reese Witherspoon whom played the pregnant Isabella Fields El-Ibrahimi trying to locate her husband’s whereabout, she without a doubt managed to grab my sympathy on how helpless and desperate she was when every door is being shut to her face the minute she got to close.

I realized that this movie was slammed by a lot of people out there, saying that it’s being melodramatic and many more. But to me, I think that Rendition is a strong movie and very close to the real truth that most people prefer to deny about. And I applaud those who decided to produce this one no matter what their reasons may be. I know it’s easier to shut your eyes and turn the other way round and not caring, but just think for one second, what if it happens to the person you love? Could you choose to be as ignorant then?

I’m deeply impressed by this movie. A strong one and it certainly left an impact in me. 4 stars, guys!

Lions For Lambs

From the trailer, I thought Lions for Lambs is an action movie. But I couldn’t have been more wrong.

This movie is more like a propaganda talking about the war in the Middle East. They talked about it from every angle, well, almost every angle. They showed the government, the media, the troops and the American citizens’ point of views.

In Lions for Lambs, you can hear how the government tried to justify their act. And you can try to understand why some boys volunteered to be drafted. You can also see the media’s suspicions and their ignorant. And you can hear the American debate between a professor and his student about the war.

Lets see.. How do I write this review about being blatantly obvious about how much anti American government I am? I mean, when it comes to the middle east war issue. Forgive me, honestly, I never agree with the war on the first place and let just admit, we all know that this war is just a power struggle and greed for the oil. And I think it's pointless. It’s Vietnam all over again.

Anyway, maybe it’s just me, but the fact that the senator was played by Tom Cruise made me think that they also wanted to show how big of a joke the government is. And how desperate they are to get the now dimming supports and trusts from the American citizens. At least, that was the impression that they gave me.

Lions for lambs is pretty much a debate, not at all what I expected from the trailer. A debate between a senator and a reporter, and between a professor and his student. I was disappointed with how they ended the movie though, very abruptly, making me asking, “That’s it?” over and over again.

I give Lions for Lambs 2 stars out of 5.

Knocked Up

This is a gentle reminder about those party animals out there. One night stand could haunt your entire life. Having said that, let’s talk about the movie.

Obviously, Knocked Up is about Katherine Heigl playing Alison Scott got.. well, knocked up! And in this movie we get to see how it being knocked up affected her life and how she dealt with it. Ok, I would like to stop using the word ‘knocked up’ now.

The strength in this movie doesn’t lie in the story line. It’s in it comedy and humours. The storyline is average although they do have a good concept. And I liked the way they showed how men and women think about each other in a relationship. Not to mention that they showed it in a light and humorous way. And I kept laughing all the way till the end.

Katherine Heigl paired up with Seth Rogen seems like a ridiculous looking pair, right? It’s like beauty and the beast. I guess, it was kinda the whole point. But at the end of the day, they pulled it off and they do look like they compliment each other. Watch the movie, and then you’ll know what I mean.

If romantic movie isn’t your kind of thing, worry not, my friend. The jokes could overcome all the cheesiness in it. In fact, the jokes made the cheesy moments worth while. Word on the street is, people tend to compare this movie with the 40 year old virgin. I don’t really get why. Well, of course it was directed by the same person, still, these movies are entirely opposites. But for what it worth, I like this one better that the 40 year old virgin.

I had fun watching this movie however, it isn’t that memorable. I may laugh while watching it but it’s not one of those that kept you smiling after you walked out of the movie theatre. And because of that, I’m giving this movie 2.5 stars out of 5.

The Brave One

At the beginning, the movie started a bit slow. Trying to portray the main character, Erica Bain as happy, in love and set for life. Thinking that New York is home, a city with it goods and bad, but never horrifying. And then, one unfortunate night, being at the wrong place at the wrong time, Erica and her fiancé was attack by bunch of thugs. Erica survived but her fiancé did not. Living her, alone, scared, traumatized, and changed.

This is a movie about a normal citizen, affected by the ever growing crime that has been happening all around the world. She finally had enough, feeling that the authority isn’t doing enough and decided to take matter into her own hand.

I was a bit turned off by the slow start, but it picked itself up again about 30 minutes after that. Right after that, it shows how someone doesn’t simply recover from such heinous experience, but they change. They carry grudge, anger and bitterness inside them toward all ‘bad guys’.

I admire the way they convey the fact that Erica Bain was cynics toward the authority. And although she chooses the vigilante justice’s path, still, she’s haunted by her own conscience. Jodie Foster carried this character very well. The coldness in her eyes, the restlessness that she has to live with, it just suits her. Despite the snail pace in this movie, for what is worth, Jodie Foster’s performance made up for it.

I give this one 3 stars!