Sunday, December 03, 2006

Mission Impossible 3


Mission Impossible 3 - "MI-III"

In Mission Impossible 3 (”MI-III”) Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt, an agent of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF). Ethan is an instructor; working no longer in the field. However, when his best student is captured by a ruthless arms dealer (Owen Davian), he decides to break out of retirement and go to the rescue once again.

I think this movie is packed with massive action scenes, really fateful to the Mission Impossible Series. Since Tom Cruise is one of the producers, he wants to go out with a bang. It’s loaded with all out action; so much action that it can be really quite unbelievable in some parts. I thought the plot was a little weak, however it is certainly better than “MI-2”.

I was very disappointed that Philip Seymour Hoffman (Owen Davian) had such a small role. He does have a couple of good scenes, but does not appear to be a main character. This movie is all about Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt).

The movie also has a lot of sceneries, since according to its plot, Ethan chases Owen all over the world, from Rome to Shanghai City, using high-tech and all sort of gadgets while protecting his secret identity from Julia, his fiancée (Michelle Monahagan).

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Monday, November 27, 2006

“A Clockwork Orange”: a film that everyone should see

“A Clockwork Orange” is a 1971 film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick based on Anthony Burgess’s novel.
In short, Stanley Kubrick’s film is about the dehumanization of people. In my view, it was the best film ever made by Kubrick and he has made many great masterpieces like “The Shining", “2001: A Space Odyssey”, and “Dr. Strangelove”.
This brilliant and satirical film happens in England in a near future and follows the life of a delinquent teenager named Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) whose obsessions are Beethoven and ultra-violence.
The main character and anti-hero Alex narrates most of the film and speaks in “Nadsat” language, a cross between English, Russian and Cockney rhyming slang. Alex is the leader of a small gang known as “Droogs” made up of Georgie (James Marcus), Dim (Warren Clarke), and Pete (Michael Tarn).
They entertain themselves by beating up a drunk homeless, by fighting against a rival gang, stealing an expensive car, and raping Mrs. Alexander (Adrienne Corri). On the next day, the gang steals Miss Weather’s house (Miriam Karlin). Accidentally, Alex murders her and tries to escape from the police but the gang betrays him and he goes to jail.
In jail he is offered the opportunity to undertake the Ludovico Treatment Technique, which is supposed to integrate him on society. After the treatment, Alex becomes a good member of society but turns himself into a Clockwork Orange, a man (Orange) whose actions are mechanical and lacking free will (Clockwork), unable to enjoy violence, sex, and his favorite music, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
Rejected by his family and pairs, Alex accidentally goes to Mr. Alexander’s house (Patrick Magee) who seeks revenge for his wife’s rape and death. Drugged and obliged to listen loudly to Beethoven, Alex throws himself through a window escaping death.
The film ends with the recuperation of Alex and with an offer for a political job proposed by the Minister of the Interior (Anthony Sharp) as a compensation for the failure of the treatment.
The music plays an important role in the film. The main character has the obsession of listening to Beethoven. In the rape of Mrs. Alexander, he sings “Singin’ in the Rain”. In short, most of the bad scenes in the film are accompanied by light or classical music.
To my mind, Malcolm McDowell should have been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor as he performed one of the best villains of the cinema ever.
The film was nominated for four Oscars but it didn’t win because it was rated X on account of its controversial scenes of sex and violence.
Besides that, I advise everyone to see this film. You’re going to love it…or perhaps hate it.

You can see more info about the film by surfing to:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066921/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Clockwork_Orange_%28film%29
http://www.hollywoodgothique.com/clockworkorange1971.html
http://www.filmsite.org/cloc.html

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Posted by Joana Carlos at 10:20 pm | | Comments

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Could you kill your best friend?

That’s the sentence that’ll echo in your mind during the whole movie.

In a not-so-distant future, Japan finds itself drowning in a wave of undisciplinary behavior. Students ditch classes, mock teachers and the concept of politeness is all but a long-gone ideal.

The solution? To establish the random and deadly law of Battle Royal.

In this pseudo-horror movie (which is more a teen gore action flick) the students are forced into unknown grounds and armed with anything - and only one is allowed to survive.

The main character, Shuya Nanahara, fills in the role of the sole pillar of non-violence, taking as his only goal to desperatly try and protect his best friend, Noriko Nakagawa.

The characters are fairly well played with each student possessing a very unique personality and with some overacting from the main characters. The villain and the protagonist are well characterized and their lines deliver powerful nuances to the clashes of their personalities.

The movie's soundtrack is an odd but perfect choice, introducing a peaceful and restoring mood to the killing frenzy of the movie. I have to take my hat off to the special effects team for the magnificent work. Every death, every drop of blood, every gorish scene is very unique.

In the end, the movie gives us a good kick on the head, a moral lesson which we have to figure out on this movie that we call life.

In my modest opinion, this movie is one of the best japanese movies I’ve ever seen.

If you are a student, a teacher or just a janitor, then this movie it’s just for you.

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Posted by André Pereira at 6:13 pm | | Comments