It's been a long time since I have updated my blog. Somehow just don't have that motivation log on and write something. Or perhaps I don't really have time to think about things to write. Watched a few good movies lately on DVD but don't think I'll be writing full-length reviews on them anytime.

Nevetheless, my 2 cents worth on the 3 movies I recenty rented:

The Darjeeling Limited


We pray that there'll be more movies like this out there other than movies like Snakes on the Plane. You mean people even watch that??

Excellent movie from Wes Anderson. While no where near to the surprises and innovativeness of The Royal Tenenbaums , which I love, this movie still retains his magic touch. A very moving story as well, with an excellent cast comprising of Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman (who was one of the co-writers) and many other familiar regulars of a Wes Anderson movie. His take on the sights of India was beautiful as well. What more can I say?

Rating: 4.5 over 5

Love in the Time of Cholera


Cariña darling, the prosthetics on my face is cracking up. How about yours?

Speaking of 'magic', watching this movie had the amazing ability to sap away all the magic that the novel contained. For me, this is really the first time I watched something that almost completely destroyed the beauty of the original novel. Fermina Daza became a mere caricature of a character, and Florentino Ariza turned into a wimpy, sexually-overcharged jerk. Now, picture all of that with some really hideous make-up. What happened to those pasisonate, ill-fated characters I visualized in the book??? What happened to the epic-ness of the book? Extremely disappointing. Avoid this movie like the cholera plague (pun intended).

Rating: 1.5 over 5 (extra 0.5 for trying)

Martian Child


"Earth's gravity is too weak. Mars is constantly pulling me back."

I was worried that this would become too much like K-PAX but Martian Child managed to stand on its on. It's not an epic, neither is it as sappy as a Hallmark-like movie. It's a simple, real and moving human drama about a sciene-fiction writer who adopts a child who thinks he's from Mars. It's about the coping mechanisms the human mind creates in the face of adversity. David (John Cusack) decides to go ahead with the adoption of a child after the death of his wife as part of his healing process. The child, Dennis, created this Martian identity of himself after going through abandonment and emotianal abuse to protect himself from further harm. One of the most touching parts of the movie is when we see how both David and Dennis are struggling to cope with each other's personal loss, while desperately trying to build a new life together from the ones that have been shattered.

Whilst some parts of the movie seem forced, like that unneccessarily dramatic scene towards the end, the movie on the whole was nicely done with little fuss. It's movies like these that keep Hollywood sane. If only more people appreciated these kinds of movies rather than worshipping action-packed, senseless-killing, big-budget, epic movies. John Cusack as a new father was surprisingly convincing and very natural (now I'm really looking forward to Grace is Gone), though I do feel that the child, played by Bobby Coleman could have more room for improvement. But hey, the little guy's only 7 years old and he'll have have many more years in the acting business to hone his skills.

Rating: 3.5 over 5