Cloverfield

Wow! It's been a while since the last time I posted any review. Forgive me, friends. Things have been a bit hectic this past years, I almost don't have time to sit down and write anymore. Good things, though. Happy things :)

Don't get me wrong. I do watch movies. But not as often I would like to. To tell you the truth, I moved to a place where they don't even have a cinema. *Gasp! Yep, believe it, people. The nearest one is 1 and half hour drive. Anyway, I'm a bit rusty. I just thought I want to continue updating my reviews again but there are so many movies that has been released since my last post! Where do I start?

I guess I'll start with one movie from back from the year 2008, from our own and only director, JJ Abrams, Cloverfield. I have to admit, I worship this guy. I think it's safe to say that no one can come up with a super suspense teaser like this guy. He's evil that way, isn't he? Just to refresh our memories, let me show you the trailer that got most of us waiting for a year just to watch this movie. That's another evil thing about him. On the trailer, never a date. Just the year of when the movie's going to come out.

By the way, JJ have a gift when it comes to movies about monsters, aliens, crazy scientist from the 14th century.. you know, unexplainable stuff like those. He's simply a genius when it comes to portraying morbid and scary things. I could only imagine how the inside of his brain looks like. The guy is sick, in a good way. Which shows in this movie. When watching it, plenty of time my reaction was pretty much the same like that guy was when the head of the statue of liberty fell in the middle of the road.. "oh my god! oh my god! oh my god!"

Another thing about JJ is, he loves.. I mean, really really really loves doing a reverse story-telling kind of movie. You know, like, the minute the movie start the whole city is burning then they will proceed to.. "24 hours earlier". It works when he does it. It makes us curious, managing us to stay in our seat, enduring the whole 90 minutes of shaky and spinning picture. Which reminds me that, that's the only minus in this movie, I suppose. The eye sore of it I would call it, or the blair-witch-project like. But then, if you think of it, the minus point is also what makes the movie so believable. You're able to connect with those characters and can almost feel the terror that they were experiencing. Which is exactly the reason I went, "oh my god! oh my god! oh my god!"

Long story short, although I was in a desperate need for a pair of sunglasses and some aspirin afterwards, it was all well worth the money and the torture. I had the chance to discuss the movie with some friends and most of them pretty much have the same opinion. Which is, as pissed as they were at the way the story were told (through the shaky and bad skills of recording a video) it was an awesome movie. Folks, I think Cloverfield deserves a 4 stars. Well done yet again, JJ!

American Gangster

Before this movie got out, I never even heard about Frank Lucas. Honestly, I never thought that a black guy could become so efficient in crime. Most of them are too busy shooting at each other just because they live in a different street name. Can’t seem to kill people for a proper reason let alone running an organized crime. So, when I saw the American Gangster movie trailer, I was so surprise. I thought, “For real? A black mafia?”

But then when you hear the word mafia the things that come to mind will be the Italians or the Russians, right? I suppose, that’s why the word ‘gangster’ is more appropriate for Frank Lucas and this movie. A super cool gangster, I might add. And this is what the movie is about, a black guy name Frank Lucas, the American Gangster.

I liked the way this movie showed how Frank Lucas changed his life from being a driver to a very successful dope supplier. They showed us what kind of man Frank Lucas is and what he did in order to be on top. How he doesn’t take any bullshit from anybody and how strict he is. The best part is when he stressed the importance of dressing right and not to be too showy so that people won’t start to raise an eyebrow and wonder who you are. That’s just the best advice there is!

American Gangster is a cool movie and did a great job teleporting the audiences to the 70’s. Plus, from this movie you could almost see how the real Frank Lucas is especially when he’s mad or when he started with that “My man…” tone. The thing is, he’s like a lose cannon. One minute he’s all warm and loving, and another minute he turns to be this cold blooded soul that no one would ever dare to mess with. My point is Denzel Washington without a doubt conquered his character very well.

So, if you’re looking for the Harlem version of Godfather, this is it. Hundred percent quality gangster movie showing you the rise and fall of a powerful mob leader. Lots of bribery, dirty cops, dopes, shooting and… ah yes, nude chicks! Therefore, my man… I give American Gangster 4 stars out of 5.

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!