Tetro (USA/Italy/Spain/Argentina, 2009)

Release Date (Poland): 3rd September 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 14th May 2009
Runtime: 127′
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Cast: Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich, Maribel Verdú
Production House: American Zoetrope, BIM Distribuzione, Instituto Nacional de Cine y Artes Audiovisuales (INCAA), Tornasol Films, Zoetropa
Plot: (from imdb)

Bennie travels to Buenos Aires to find his long-missing older brother, a once-promising writer who is now a remnant of his former self. Bennie’s discovery of his brother’s near-finished play might hold the answer to understanding their shared past and renewing their bond.

Trailer

General Feelings
Mainly, I just like the trailer ;) Although, the fact that it’s a well known director helps I suppose. And I loved Maribel Verdú in Y Tu Mama Tambien, so another opportunity to see her is a good thing *grin*

Shortbus (USA, 2006)

Release Date (Poland): 17th September 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 20th May 2006
Runtime: 101′
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Production House: THINKFilm, Fortissimo Films, Q Television, Process Productions
Plot: (from imdb)

A group of New Yorkers get caught up in their romantic-sexual milieu converge at an underground salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.

Trailer

General Feelings
Couldn’t make my mind up about this one… This contains unsimulated sex (which is perhaps why it took so long to make it to Poland), but apparently the sex scenes are very much part of the action and have lots of good dialogue. It sounds like an interesting experiment - a film about relationships without censoring anything. But I have rather mixed feelings about it.
What finally convinced me to spot this at +1 was the dialogue, which appeals to my stupid sense of humour:

- Was that the first time someone sang the National Anthem into your ass?
- No

And another quote:

- Are you a top or a bottom?
- I beg your pardon?
- I mean in real life.
- This is real life.
- Let me put it this way: do you think we should get out of Iraq?

Matka Teresa od kotów (Poland, 2010)

Release Date (Poland): 17th September 2010
Runtime: 95′
Director: Pawel Sala
Production House: Rozwój Film Production, Syrena Films
Plot: Based on a real event, in which two boys (12 and 22 years old) murdered their own mother.

Trailer

General Feelings
This film has been much talked about in Poland. Apparently, the decision not to award it with anything at the festival in Gdynia (the most important national film festival) was very controversial. Many thought it should have received the main prize.
In fact, unlike most of the other Polish films shown in Gdynia, the film has been noticed internationally - Maciej Kościukiewicz and Filip Garbacz won the Best Actor award at the Karlovy Vary film festival for their performances as the two brothers.
So I’d quite like to check it out and see what all this controversy is about :)

Io sono l’amore (Italy, 2009)

Release Date (Poland): 24th September 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 5th September 2009
Runtime: 120′
Director: Luca Guadagnino
Cast: Tilda Swinton,
Production House: First Sun, Mikado Film
Plot: (from imdb)

A tragic love story set at the turn of the millennium in Milan. The film follows the fall of the haute bourgeoisie due to the forces of passion and unconditional love.

Trailer

General Feelings
Normally, I’d have little interest in a film like this. But this one has aroused my curiosity because the idea of having Tilda Swinton performing a part in Italian is bizarre to me. Apparently, she learnt both Italian and Russian specifically for this film.
But also, this film has had the most amazing reviews.

The Last Airbender (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 3rd September
This one’s actually fast becoming more of a -1 :] There’s exactly one reason why I’d like to see it and his name is Dev Patel. I’m curious what he’ll be like post-Slumdog and this part is particularly interesting to me as it has a slightly villainous vibe to it.
However, chances that I’ll actually go see it are getting smaller by the minute. The film has some of the worst reviews ever, the trailer looks horrid and Shyamalan has been doing flop after flop recently. Even the special effects (which should be the main asset of a film like this) look horrible. So Dev Patel is literally my only reason to see it, everything else screams no. And considering it’s been dubbed for the Polish market and I won’t even get to hear his voice, it probably doesn’t make any sense to see it.

Moon (UK, 2010)
Release Date: 3rd September
Ordinarily this would be a strong +1, maybe even +2. It’s a small British film which has won loads of awards. It sounds sort of claustrophobic (which is an atmosphere I love portrayed on film). And I’ve just generally heard loads of good stuff about it. However, it stars Sam Rockwell :] Not only that, but apparently he’s on the screen practically non-stop - it’s almost a one person cast. And to make matters worse, the character’s sanity is questionable, which is what I hate Sam Rockwell doing the most (IMO he fails at portraying any kind of vulnerability).
So all in all, this sounds like a film that will be very frustrating for me (I already hate what I’ve seen of Rockwell on the trailer). Kin’s seen it and has confirmed this view of the matter and we have a very similar view of Rockwell, so ugh… I wish Dev Patel and Sam Rockwell had exchanged parts ;-P This would make spotting films much simpler ;)

Micmacs (France, 2009)
Release Date: 10th September
It looks beautifully shot, Jean-Pierre Jeunet is a very interesting director and on top of that I loved Yolande Moreau in Seraphine. And yet… there’s something about it that makes me think “same old, same old” and ultimately puts me off a bit.

Resident Evil: Afterlife (UK/Germany/USA, 2010)
Release Date: 10th September
The trailer looks spectacular - the cinematography and the special effects are really, really beautiful. Apparently, they used the same technology as Avatar did. Also, I rather like Milla Jovovich. However, that’s where the good stuff ends ;) In terms of plot and characters, it doesn’t seem like it has much and I’m not one to enjoy pure action.
It’s a shame though, cause on the visual side I’ve rarely seen something that would attract me quite this much. I get a huge kick out of watching the grey, empty landscapes on the trailer - they’re fantastic!

Na Putu (Bosnia and Herzegovina/Austria/Germany/Croatia, 2009)
Release Date: 10th September
I’ve seen the director’s previous (award-winning) film, Grbavica and I rather liked it. But not enough to particularly want to follow her career. This one interests me because it deals with Islam and how somebody can suddenly end up practising a much more extreme version of it. Plus, one doesn’t often talk about Islam in the context of Bosnia.
But I suppose I’m more curious about the issues in the film than the film itself, which is why this hasn’t made +1.

Ne te retourne pas (France/Italy/Luxembourg/Belgium, 2009)
Release Date: 17th September
This I’m curious about because it stars Sophie Marceau and Monica Bellucci. They play the same character, so it’s kind of intriguing. But what puts me off is that it sounds like precisely the kind of French film I won’t like :]

Karate Kid (USA/China, 2010)
Release Date: 24th September
This one looks amusing (I like Jackie Chan’s sense of humour ;)) if I was in the mood for something a bit more commercial. But as it’s been dubbed for the Polish market, I probably won’t want to see it.

Wild Target (UK/France, 2010)

Release Date (Poland): unknown
Release Date (worldwide): 18th June 2010
Runtime: 98′
Director: Jonathan Lynn
Cast: Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt, Rupert Grint, Rupert Everett, Martin Freeman, Gregor Fisher
Production House: Magic Light Pictures, CinemaNX, Isle of Man Film, Entertainment Film Distributors, Matador Pictures, Cinema Four, Regent Capital
Plot: (from imdb)

A hitman tries to retire but a beautiful thief may change his plans.

Scene from the Film

Excitement Level: +2 (Excited)

General Feelings
The only reason I’m excited is Rupert Grint. Otherwise it looks kind of boring actually. The trailer put me off in fact (although Rupert Grint does look funny on it). I prefer the scene I embedded, but even there I only like it because of Rupert really :] On the bright side, he does look good on all the footage, so that’s a good enough reason for me to firmly resolve on seeing it ;)

Rise of the Apes (USA, 2011)

Release Date (Poland): unknown, but summer 2011 sounds like a likely bet
Release Date (worldwide): 24th June 2011
Runtime: unknown
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Cast: James Franco, Tom Felton, Brian Cox, Freida Pinto, John Lithgow, Andy Serkis
Production House: Chernin Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
Plot: (from imdb)

An origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man’s own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

Trailer
No video available yet. They’re not even in post-production.

Excitement levels: +3 (Very excited!)

General Feelings
I have a lot of scepticism about this film, but it doesn’t stop me from being very excited also ;) It has a somewhat unusual cast, which could mean a lot of things. Maybe they didn’t have the money to get bigger names and so they got smaller names with faithful fan bases. Or (and this is what I’m hoping for *grin*), it’s actually an interesting script and the cast was chosen for their acting abilities (all of these names have gotten some very good reviews for past roles).
Another film in the Planet of the Apes series seems like a rather lame idea, but as much as I was disappointed with Tim Burton’s remake, I love the original novel by Pierre Boulle (which IMO is much better than any of the films so far, although I have a soft spot for the original 60s Charlton Heston movie). A prequel means a lot less talking apes, which I find more digestible (the ape costumes always look a bit silly IMO). Plus, they’re not using ape costumes, but CGI this time, which I think is kind of interesting. All in all, depending on how they play it out, it certainly could be good.
One of the reasons the novel resonates with me so strongly is that there’s such a strong element of human pride and arrogance in it. It’s humiliating for the human race to come back to Earth in the future and find that humans are now slaves to apes. But at the same time there’s an odd sort of justice in it as well. So for me that premise has always pressed strong emotional buttons. The films usually shied away from that aspect of it with the exception of the first 1960s one (although IMO it didn’t go as far as the book). I don’t know if this one’s going to, but it might :) Perhaps it’s wishful thinking on my part, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.
Quite apart from this, I’m obviously very excited to see Tom Felton do something big budget post-Potter (he’s actually the only of the young Potter actors to be attached to a Hollywood project at this point in time). Sounds like this is going to be a small part and apparently, he’s playing somebody pretty nasty and convinced of his own superiority again. Not that I mind seeing him doing more villain roles *grin* It’s just that this one doesn’t sound too far from Draco in essentials, but we shall see. If it is a different kind of villain then it could be very interesting :) And I suppose it’ll be a bit different anyway cause I imagine he’s going to have an American accent.
Last, but not least, I’m really looking forward to seeing Freida Pinto. Haven’t seen her since Slumdog and she seems to be choosing some pretty interesting sounding projects, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I can use her as quality assurance that this film’s plot is good *grin*

Edited To Add: Amazingly enough, I’ve found a Polish release date and it’s the same as the worldwide one. I guess this really is a proper blockbuster then!

Attitude Magazine has been busy as well though, interviewing Tom Felton. I definitely like the gay magazine interviews, the questions are better ;) But I still don’t get why Felton gets the fan fiction questions and Radcliffe does not lol

{FILM DIARY}
Note: Please refer to this post for more details and links to other Due South reviews.

"Due South" (Canada/USA, 1994)

Finished Viewing: June 2010
Rating: +2 (Adored It)

Video

Episodes:
- 9: The Edge
Fraser and Ray team up with a Mexican secret service agent to protect international dignitaries at an upcoming NAFTA convention.
- 10: Starman
Pathological liar Ian McDonald claims his fiancée has been abducted by aliens.
- 11: We Are the Eggmen
The Canadian government gets sued for damages caused when Fraser tries to stop a truck full of eggs from falling into a trench.
- 12: Some Like It Red
Fraser disguises himself as a woman to go undercover as a teacher in a Catholic girls’ school.
- 13: White Men Can’t Jump To Conclusions
Ray and Fraser believe a black teenager involved in a gang shooting is covering for somebody else.
- 14: All The Queen’s Horses
A train full of singing mounties gets captured by terrorists.
- 15: Body Language
Ray and Fraser track down a female stripper after she gives Fraser a tip about a big crime.
- 16: The Duel
Charles Carver is released on parole and orchestrates a very personal sort of revenge on Ray, who put him into prison in the first place.
- 17: Red, White or Blue
Continuation of episode 14. The terrorists are brought to court, but not before they’ve taken Fraser and Ray hostage.
- 18: Flashback
Fraser suffers from amnesia.

Memorable Moments:
- Fraser’s nightmares about “losing his edge”
In episode 9, Fraser makes some crucial mistakes. He is then told that perhaps he is getting old and “losing his edge”. The thought stays with him and we get treated to a series of nightmares in which he is sort of dominated by three kids (I loved how Diefenbaker has an equivalent one about a little puppy taking his place). I thought it was one of the weirdest ideas of the second series.
- Thatcher ordering Fraser’s uniform off
She has good reason to do so, but as she doesn’t explain herself, the scene is very spicy ;)
- Fraser and Buck Frobisher talk through the toilet (video)
Just some very odd toilet humour *grin*
- “Ray, get in the closet!” (2.15) (video)
Not the first time that Ray and Fraser find themselves in a closet together, but it’s a great scene :)
- Mexican poncho (2.17)
Ray and Fraser find themselves in a courtroom under a Mexican poncho. It’s a very weird scene, both very funny and rather dramatic.

General Comments:
This is where Due South got very weird *grin* In the second half of season two, they started taking bigger risks and generally experimenting. The results were mixed IMO, but very interesting.
The humour got gradually more and more nonsensical and absurd (once Paul Gross started writing for Due South, even I didn’t quite get some of the jokes ;)). Some episodes were pushed into total farce.
The drama and melodrama was already quite strange I suppose, but IMO there were moments when they reached new heights ;) Notably, one of the strangest ideas IMO are Fraser’s nightmares about ageing and therefore “losing his edge” (ep.9). They didn’t execute it that well IMO, but the idea is bizarre and if they had found the right sort of style for it, it could have been very effective and “artsy”.

• Apparently, we’re going to be treated to a shot of Daniel Radcliffe in female lingerie ;) The 7 Potters sequence is the first time I’ve been looking forward to a special effect sequence in a Potter film (6 people transform themselves to look like Harry, so that the Death Eaters don’t know which one of them to chase), but it never occurred to me that it would include Daniel Radcliffe in a bra *grin* (when the six characters transform into Harry, they’re still wearing their own clothes and have to change into Harry’s). I was expecting some skin show and something slightly awkward when they’d all start changing clothes in front of each other - it’s a very funny moment in the book as well. But Fleur’s lacey bra totally exceeds what I imagined they’d do ;)
• All the reviews say that the scene in which Bellatrix is torturing Hermione is very harsh. I remember some time back Emma Watson was asked what scene in the 7th film she was most looking forward to and she said being tortured by Helena Bonham-Carter ;) So I guess that worked out well *grin* It was always going to be an uncomfortable scene, but it sounds rather harsher than what one would expect from a Hollywood family film. So again something I didn’t quite expect. I’m glad they are taking a harsher route on these things though. That’s how this film should be IMO.
• It’s interesting to hear the comments on the scene between Snape and Voldemort - apparently they’re great together. I’m very happy to hear that, as I find them very exciting together in the books as well. It’s not until the 7th book that we finally got them together in a scene, but it was worth the wait!
  Quite apart from the characters though, Alan Rickman and Ralph Fiennes are quite a duo. Two guys famous for playing villains with very domineering screen presences, playing just that alongside each other. AFAIK it’s the first time they’ve shared screen together, so I’m really looking forward to that! *grin*
• The Harry/Hermione kissing vision goes further than I would have expected. One of the reviews says they’re topless, er what? lol I’m going to assume that means just Harry or that at most we get a bit of Hermione’s back. Another review says “skimpy clothing”, so even if they’re not topless it still goes further than I would have expected :] They’re both silver whispy smoke in the vision, so I’m going to assume it’s not graphic. But er really - topless? lol I thought this was supposed to be a family film *grin*
• Ron’s fallout with Harry sounds really good. I mean it has been sounding really good for ages now. And the little bit they showed us of their fight on one of the trailers looks great too. But what I’m really glad to hear is that the tension between them has a good and long build up. So yay! I’m really looking forward to angsty and jealous Rupert Grint *grin*
• They actually managed to sneak in an unobtrusive comedic reference to Twilight and the rivalry between Potter and Twilight fans *grin*
• Ending part one with Voldemort breaking into Dumbledore’s grave sounds great to me. I can see how that would work.

On the negative side of things, while Yates does like to try some edgy things, he also makes sure to pull off the conventional Hollywood heroics and all of that *sigh* So there’s already one thing I’m anticipating not to like:

• Hedwig’s death is going to be way more sentimental than in the books. As in she actually tries to save Harry from Death Eaters and so on and dies in the act. She’s an owl for goodness sake! Maybe I’ll feel differently after I see the scene, but honestly… I tend to like most of Rowling’s deaths precisely because they’re usually freak accidents that could have been avoided rather than heroic sacrifices.
  And how typically Hollywoodish to make Hedwig’s appearance around Harry the clue as to which of the Harries is the real one *roll eyes* The beauty of the book is that it’s because he casts “Expelliarmus” - the only spell in those circumstances (they’re up in the air), which guarantees his attacker will not be in mortal danger. Everyone else is casting whatever gives them better chances of survival. I never got why Hollywood likes their heroes to use the same methods as their villains :-/ I suppose that’s not entirely the case with Harry anyway, but that was one of the most defining moments for me grrrrr….

Internet auctions
One of my goals at this time is to dejunk my room (not the most important one, but it is on the list of my 10 goals for the year). And as I’m also in a state of money shortage at the moment (and feeling very lucky that I have extremely understanding parents in that regard), I decided I’d try to sell off most of my CDs. Considering I only really listen to them when there’s a lot of noise outside (for example building work around or in our house), it seems idiotic to have around 90 of them, so I’m attempting to cut down. My music tastes have changed quite a bit since I was in my teens anyway and I haven’t bought much more recently, so most of the sorting wasn’t even that challenging. In the end I ended up putting over 60 of the CDs up for auction.
The process of selling the CDs on-line has been quite interesting. I’ve never done it before and I’ve rarely made bids for stuff either. So here are some observations:

• Most of the bidding happens literally during the last minute of the auction. So it’s best if the auction finishes in the evening, so that everyone who wants to bid at the last minute can do so. Auctions which finished in the middle of the day were less popular, even if many people were watching them.
• Classical music is actually easier to sell than pop, rock and that sort of thing. Almost all of my classical music was sold to somebody, but a lot of my pop/rock stuff was not. I thought it would be the other way round, but there you go! Oddly enough, my most watched auction was the complete works of Wacław z Szamotuł. So obscure classical music is clearly the way to go!
• It’s best to set the prices low. I think many of my things would not have been sold if I had set the price high. And as I sold a lot of items I amassed quite a lot of money anyway. The asking price for most of my CDs was around 5-9zł, but I should get almost 500zł for all that I sold.
• CD collectors (as they were the people buying most of my stuff) are a weird and very detail-orientated bunch ;) I got lots of questions like - if you look at the CD in direct light are there any minuscule scratches on it? Also, I was surprised to find that Wojciech Kilar’s “The Portrait of the Lady” soundtrack was so much in demand. Auction started at 9zł and finished at over 40zł. Apparently it’s a collector’s item and I had no idea…
• Photos are important. They can be very bad quality, but if you don’t have one, the item is unlikely to be bought.
• And finally - wrapping the stuff and sending it all out is a huge pain :]

All in all this seems to be a good method of getting rid of stuff, so once I have some time I’m going to try selling off some more things too!

Business Networking
I’ve started my own business a while back, but I’ve not been doing well with it because of stupid inhibitions and fears. It’s been rather interesting actually and even though it’s going badly I’ve not regretted it. I’ve learnt a lot about myself from the experience. I think I’ve finally worked through some of my issues, so hopefully once I’m done with my September exams I’ll be able to get the business going properly!
And on that note, I did my first business networking session on Wednesday. It was a sort of lecture about how to get big clients, which included a short session of networking also. It was rather weird - basically you’re in a crowded room and you walk up to people and ask them what they do and exchange business cards. I’ve always thought of myself as a rather socially impaired person, so I found it very bizarre that I actually enjoyed it! :) It’s made me realize very clearly where my social problems actually are and that I do have social strengths too. I actually have just three main problems:

• I hate clubbing, any sort of parties which involve people getting drunk and I don’t like “going out for a beer”. The problem is those are the most popular ways in which people socialize! :-/
• After a period of socializing, I need some quality time alone. Otherwise I get very tense, tired and grumpy (which is not a good mood for further socializing ;)).
• I’m not good with and have no patience for small talk. In the words of wikipedia:
  

  Small talk is conversation for its own sake, or “…comments on what is perfectly obvious.”

  In other words, as long as I see a purpose to the conversation (there’s an actual exchange of information going on), then I’m happy. I suppose I’m not the worst person in the world in this regard (I have met people who are even worse than me at small talk ;)), but on the whole, small talk just isn’t my thing.

The business networking session did not fall under any of these points, so even though it was a pretty heavy form of socializing (I met over 20 new people in less than 30min.) and even though I initialized most of the conversations, I was absolutely fine and enjoying myself! How weird is that?
And another thing - there were a lot of cool people around, the kind I like the energy of. It’s nice to be amongst people who are so positive and who are really taking life in their own hands. I loved the general vibe. And I actually met two women, who I really really connected with. I hope I get to see them again. I might have a good business opportunity with one of them, which would be absolutely awesome cause she was fab :) So fingers crossed that that comes through. Odd how that sort of connection can happen in less than 5 minutes, but it can.
In fact I’ve started wondering whether I shouldn’t have a go at speed dating ;) I always thought that meeting so many people in so little time was not my thing, but obviously I stand corrected :]

New Blog
And finally, I suppose the other thing that’s been on my mind a lot of late is the new version of my blog. I’m still a long way from finishing it, but just to prove I am working on it, here are two screenshots of what I’ve got so far (I’ve spent most of my time on the spam-filtering system, so there’s not that much to show, but still :)). Click on the thumbnails to see them properly:

New Blog - Main Page

New Blog - Entry Page

The sidebar will come later, once I get some of the less basic features in.

Secondly, I’m going to play around with the idea of including all upcoming films in a given month. We’ll see how that goes down.

+1

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans (USA, 2009)
Release date: 13th August
Nicolas Cage’s presence in a film is usually enough to put me off completely (and it almost did ;-P), but there’s something about the trailer that really intrigues me (it’s probably the iguanas ;)). I haven’t seen Cage since the 90s, so I suppose it’s time to give him another chance (in fact he’s gotten great reviews for this).
The film is directed by Werner Herzog and oddly enough I’ve never seen any of his films, so it’s high time to change that. I’ve not seen either Val Kilmer or Fairuza Balk for ages, so I’m rather looking forward to that also.
Finally, there’s just something about the plot that attracts me. It sounds like it’s a repeatedly used plot idea that’s been turned upside down (I’m not sure if that description makes any sense, but that’s the best way I can describe the vibes I’m getting ;-P). All in all too many intriguing factors to ignore, so grudgingly, despite the scepticism Nicolas Cage makes me feel, I’m expecting to see it this month ;)

+0.5

Shekarchi (Iran/Germany, 2010)
Release Date: 6th August
Looks very stylish on the trailer. I’m not keen on the plot or much else though.

Step Up 3-D (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 6th August
Fully expect it to be horrible and boring, but am mildly interested because I like watching good dancing sequences in films and the ones in this one look very cool.

Despicable Me (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 20th August
Comedic super villains are my kind of thing. I’m not keen on it being animated, but the trailer does look very funny.

Hierro (Spain, 2009)
Release Date: 20th August
The trailer looks beautiful - very stylish and the cinematography is stunning. But it doesn’t have the best of reviews (very predictable plot apparently) and the plot doesn’t attract me.

Salt (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 27th August
Am curious about seeing Daniel Olbrychski (a famous Polish actor) as a Russian spy in an American movie, even though he annoys the hell out of me ;-P (he actually looks pretty good on the trailer) And I’ve still never seen Angelina Jolie in anything which is just weird ;) But I’m not convinced these two factors are enough for me to really want to see it…

0

Projekt dziecko, czyli ojciec potrzebny od zaraz (Poland, 2010)
Release Date: 6th August
Standard Polish comedy. Looks a little less horrible than most of them, but still rather unappealing.

Gentlemen Broncos (USA, 2009)
Release Date: 13th August
Probably not my type of comedy.

Grown Ups (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 13th August
Salma Hayek, Chris Rock and Maria Bello would usually spark my interest up enough to be curious, but the trailer just isn’t appealing enough to me…

L’Arnacoeur (France/Monaco, 2010)
Release Date: 13th August
Looks mildly funny, but I don’t have much of an inclination for French movies - would have to be more intrigued by it to consider it.

When You’re Strange (USA, 2009)
Release Date: 13th August
Would probably have to be a fan of The Doors to be interested in a documentary about them.

The Expendables (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 20th August
The scene on the trailer with Arnold, Bruce and Sylvester looks awesome ;) But otherwise the combination of war film, action film and lots of macho men and explosions does not appeal to me ;-P

The Switch (USA, 2010)
Release Date: 20th August
The little kid looks very funny, but otherwise it just seems to be a standard romcom.

Die Buddenbrooks (Germany, 2008)
Release Date: 20th August
A German period film… Not sure what to think really, but am not attracted to seeing it.

L’Enfer d’Henri-Georges Clouzot (France, 2009)
Release Date: 20th August
A documentary about a film Clouzot had to abandon after suffering a heart attack. Nothing much attracts me to it. It has good reviews though.

Io, Don Giovanni (Italy/Spain, 2009)
Release Date: 27th August
Italian costume drama by Carlos Saura. Hasn’t sparked my interest.

-1

Paintball (Spain, 2009)
Release Date: 6th August
Looks like a standard horror film - not my thing.

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (USA/Australia, 2010)
Release Date: 13th August
Not only does it look very lame, but the reviews are horrible (imdb has an average rating of 2.2 - ouch!). And I never quite get into animated films the way I do into live action ones, so it seems like there’s very little purpose in me seeing this.

The Descent: Part 2 (UK, 2009)
Release Date: 13th August
Another horror film that doesn’t interest me in the slightest.

Święty interes (Poland, 2010)
Release Date: 27th August
A Polish comedy that I have no interest in watching.

N/A

Citizen Kane (USA, 1941)
Release Date: 27th August
Already seen this one. Liked it, but don’t feel the need to see it on the big screen. Have a VHS tape of it somewhere at home anyway :)

Avatar (USA/UK, 2009)
Release Date: 27th August
Looks like they’re re-releasing for whatever reason. Seen it in 3D already and enjoyed it, but once was enough as far as I’m concerned!

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The Criteria

• By “moral quest” I mean that the hero has very strong moral beliefs and convictions and they try to apply them regardless of the inconveniences this may cause. For example, they might protect somebody they hate if they feel that is the right thing to do in the circumstances.
• It’s supposed to be a list of rather archetypal kind of heroes i.e. pure, “white”, perfect, occupies free time by saving damsels in distress… that sort of thing.
• Only heroes that are very earnest about their “moral quests” make this list. They really have to mean what they say and do.
• While these sorts of heroes do tend to have a certain innocence about themselves, Forrest Gump type heroes don’t make the cut. The characters on this list should understand and choose their moral quests rather than stumble into them by accident.

Generally, I suppose I’m more into villains and flawed heroes than I am into archetypal heroes, but heroes with moral quests are the exception to the rule - I really, really love them *misty eyes* One of the awesomest things about them are the moral conflicts they get themselves into - I really enjoy watching the melodrama that ensues *grin*
Unfortunately, they’re very rare and very difficult to pull off. Most often what we get in commercial movies are heroes fighting for their own survival or taking revenge for something. And in the relatively rare cases when the hero is fighting “for the greater good”, the greater good tends to mean “get rid of the bad guys by any means possible”.
On a side not, I can’t think of even one heroine that would fit my criteria. It’s only heroes *sigh*

The reason I fell in love with Arthurian legends is this precisely - I have never come across another story which has so many moral quest kind of heroes. Heck, they even go on a moral quest literally speaking - that is exactly what the quest for the Holy Grail is!
Sadly, when the legends get translated to screen, the whole moral quest part of the story is usually removed or performed disearnestly. This is literally the only character in the many Arthurian films I’ve seen that qualifies onto the list.

I don’t like the film much - IMO it hasn’t aged well. However, as a character and performance Rodrigo is magnificent *grin* The integrity of the character is second to none and the emotional conflicts in the story are amazing.
Like Arthurian legends, it’s based on a medieval romance. That really was the best era for those kinds of heroes *sigh*

I never even realized this until I started writing this list, but Fraser is basically a modern day knight *grin* He believes in much the same values and has many of the same behaviours. He even goes on quests… sort of. It’s just that it’s not dragons and stuff, his quests are a little more modern ;) I suppose this explains why I’ve always taken so strongly to him *grin*
On a side note, I have mixed feelings about whether the third season of Due South (1997-1999) would have qualified. Some of the time in the third series, the character is a bit too farcical to be earnest thereby not making my criteria. He easily qualifies on the merit of the first two seasons though.

"Due South" (Canada/USA, 1994)

Viewed: Late May & Early June 2010
Rating: +3 (All-time favourite)

Video

Episodes:
- 14: The Man Who Knew Too Little
Fraser has to safely escort Ian McDonald, a key murder case witness and a pathological liar, to Canada.
- 15: The Wild Bunch
Diefenbaker is to be exterminated after biting a man.
- 16: The Blue Line
Fraser and Ray try to protect Fraser’s childhood friend, Mark, now a famous hockey player. Fraser finds that fame has changed Mark.
- 17: The Deal
Fraser and Ray investigate the robbery of a church poor-box. During the investigation Ray has to face Frank Zuko, a mobster who Ray first came across when he was still a kid at school.
- 18: An Invitation to Romance
Fraser is forced to follow a woman around town after she mistakenly receives an envelope that was meant for somebody else. Her jealous fiancé intervenes.
- 19: Heaven and Earth
Fraser and Ray try to track down a homeless man with psychic visions. Ray worries that Fraser slept with his sister.
- 20: Victoria’s Secret (1)
Victoria is the only woman Fraser ever loved and he was the one that arrested her. Now Victoria is out of prison and their paths cross again.
- 21: Victoria’s Secret (2)
Continuation of the story from episode 20.
- 22: Letting Go
Fraser recovers emotionally and physically after the events of episode 20 and 21.
- 1: North
The cabin of Fraser’s father burnt down in one of the previous episodes. Fraser and Ray fly to Canada to rebuild it, but an escaped convict crashes their plane in the middle of the forest.
- 2: The Vault
Ray and Fraser get locked into a bank vault during a robbery. Fraser’s new boss, Meg Thatcher, absolutely detests him.
- 3: The Witness
Ray loses his temper with a judge after a key witness in a case he investigated changes her statement in court. The judge has Ray arrested for contempt charges.
- 4: Bird in the Hand
Gerard, the murderer of Fraser’s father escapes prison. Having known Gerard all his life, Fraser is asked for any information that might help recapture the man.
- 5: The Promise
A pickpocket steals a brooch belonging to Fraser’s new boss. Fraser promises to retrieve it.
- 6: The Mask
Fraser tries to recover two Aboriginal masks after they are stolen from a Chicago museum.
- 7: Juliet Is Bleeding
Detective Louey Gardino dies in a car bomb meant for Ray. Frank Zuko is suspected since Ray has been flirting with Zuko’s sister.
- 8: One Good Man
Fraser asks reporter Mackenzie King for help, when his building’s new landlord raises the rent and evicts all the tenants.

Memorable Moments:
- Ray being forced to blow up his car
IMO this was actually a way more personal and difficult thing for him than falling in love in episode 11 ;)
- Fraser having to deal with his wolf being exterminated
I think this is the first time in the series when Fraser gets really emotional (in his own restrained way of course, but still ;-P).
- Ray facing up to Frank Zuko
Ray often appears to be the weaker of the two of them. But this is a scene in which he finally faces up to somebody, man to man, with absolutely no backup from Fraser whatsoever and it’s beautiful *grin*
- Fraser ending up in a honey moon hotel with a woman and then following that with a ride inside the garbage can of a garbage truck (video - the bit with Ray)
That whole sequence is brilliant. But perhaps my favourite is when Ray discusses the matter with Diefenbaker - where would Fraser end up with a beautiful woman?
- Ray confronting Fraser about whether or not he slept with his sister
Ray confronting Fraser about anything is always fun, but this is a particularly involving subject ;)
- The whole relationship between Fraser and Victoria and how Ray fits into it
I find it difficult to pick a particular moment, but I suppose there are two that stand in my mind more than others. The first is when Ray tells Victoria that if she hurts Fraser he’ll kill her. The second is when Victoria manipulates Fraser into playing along with her plan by threatening to hurt Ray. But actually, the whole relationship between Fraser and Victoria is great. She’s a femme fatale and Fraser really works well in that sort of relationship.
- Fraser announcing he’s blind (video)
I find that scene so funny and yet it has an extra edge to it too.
- Ray carrying Fraser (who is blind and paralysed waist down) through the forest while the two of them sing (video)
To me it’s one of the funniest scenes of the series, it’s beautiful *grin*
- Fraser trying to steal candy
Another really hilarious one :)
- The ghost of Fraser’s dad trying to talk him into killing Gerard (video embedded above)
A really funny, but very emotional scene.
- Fraser talking about feelings to unnerve FBI agents
The whole “Bird in the Hand” episode is very extreme on both the funny and emotional side of things. This scene is the epitome of that. Fraser and Ray have been overpowered. Fraser tries to divert everybody’s attention to get the upper hand and so he starts talking about his feelings towards Gerard, his father’s best friend and murderer. It’s completely earnest and yet the whole situation is hilarious - the agents and Gerard really are unnerved and with good reason lol
- The whole police station hating Fraser’s guts for helping Frank Zuko
It’s intense, enough said :] Fraser’s relationship with Ray suffers considerably too.
- Fraser losing his temper with the new landlord’s attempts to get everybody out of the building
Seeing Fraser angry is even weirder than seeing him on the verge of tears. He even picks up an axe in fury (though what ensues is more of a fist fight). But it works and totally makes sense in the context.

General Comments:
At this point Ray and Fraser’s adventures get much more personal. Though the comedy is still very firmly in place, drama and melodrama start getting a lot more prominence. Ray and Fraser’s friendship gets tried and tested. The conflicts between them get more serious, but at the same time the strength of their friendship really starts coming through.
The characters get fleshed out more as well. Fraser was always written as someone who is very restrained about his feelings. So they started playing with that more, putting him into situations where he’s a lot more emotionally vulnerable and where exercising his usual restraint is much more difficult. I also loved that Ray, for all his insensitivity at times, understands this part of Fraser. He knows that just because Fraser isn’t showing his feelings, doesn’t mean he’s not in some sort of emotional turmoil.
We get a slightly different angle on Ray as well. His limits and boundaries are pushed. We see how far he’d go in keeping his friends and family from harm. His vengeful side is explored more too.
The beginning of the second season marks the introduction of a new character - Fraser’s new supervisor, Meg Thatcher, who absolutely hates him and bosses him around in a very domineering kind of fashion (to which Fraser submits without question of course). I absolutely loved the relationship - it’s very spicy and it’s a relationship dynamic that is very rarely represented on film. Usually, a domineering woman is either a villain or a rival to a male character, but what goes on between Thatcher and Fraser is neither.

Films about North Korea are very hard to come by. The challenge for documentary filmmakers is huge - getting into North Korea is one thing, but getting out safely with uncensored film material is another. Perhaps ironically, feature films about North Korea are even scarcer.

Any list of films about North Korea would be incomplete without this one. It was one of the first documentary films ever made about North Korea by a foreign director.
Andrzej Fidyk got into North Korea easily because Poland was itself a communist regime at the time. He got out easily too as he shot no forbidden material and hid nothing from the censors. In fact, he didn’t even use a narrator in the film. There is a Polish voice-over, but it’s only purpose is to translate what the North Koreans he filmed were saying.
The film is just shot after shot of North Koreans praising their country and their leader. What the censors didn’t get was the irony and sarcasm with which Fidyk put it all together. It watches like a Monty Python film. You sort of feel bad for laughing, but it really is hilarious. And in actuality, it tells you more about the regime than you could find out in any other way.

Almost twenty years later Fidyk gets approached by a Norwegian human rights organization. Would he like to tackle the topic of North Korea again? Poland is now a democratic country and part of the EU. North Korea hates Fidyk’s ass for getting away with his previous film and he is basically a persona non grata. And the subject matter is even more difficult - the documentary is to be about North Korea’s concentration camps, a topic very rarely even written about, let alone put on film.
Fidyk wonders how this can be accomplished. The point is not just to make it, but to get it seen and the subject feels much too heavy to be appealing to a broader audience. Finally, he finds the solution in the title of his previous film - “defilada” means “parade”. North Korea stages the most spectacular and amazing parades in the world. So Fidyk sets out to find a director of such spectacles amongst the many North Korean refugees in South Korea. Upon finding such a man, he talks him into making a stage musical (a very popular art form in South Korea) about North Korean concentration camps and involve North Korean concentration camp survivors in the production. And now Fidyk’s stage is set - the documentary will simply detail the process of making the musical.
The result of this was a very beautiful documentary that was shown at many major documentary film festivals and a stage musical that toured not only South Korea, but the USA also.

Simon and Jacob, two Danish-Korean comedians, travel to North Korea with their manager on a cultural exchange. It’s an attempt to laugh at the regime in front of their very noses (and they actually pull it off - as Defilada proved, North Koreans seem to have no sense of irony and sarcasm).
But the real reason that makes this film special is Jacob and his handicap - he’s spastic and this has very far-reaching consequences for the film.
Firstly, the censors don’t understand what he’s saying. Their translators can translate the gist of normal Danish into Korean, but not spastic Danish (even Danes have problems understanding Jacob until they get used to his manner of speaking). This means that Jacob is totally free to express his mind at all times. As he’s naturally very honest and out-spoken it makes for some very interesting scenes!
Secondly, if Jacob had been born in North Korea, he would have probably been killed at birth. Handicapped people are very unusual in North Korea and it’s very interesting to see how North Koreans treat him. The relationship between him and Mrs Pak, their minder, is particularly weird. Jacob seems exasperated by her motherly attentions at first (she takes an instant and honest liking to him), but they do develop a sort of bond.
Jacob is very much the heart of the film. Some of the most poignant comments about the regime are made by him.

Special Mentions:
I’ve watched quite a few films about North Korea over the years, but the three I’ve listed are the only ones I would whole-heartedly recommend. There is, however, one more film I’d like to make mention of…

• The Schoolgirl’s Diary (North Korea, 2006)
  This was one of the biggest box office hits ever in North Korea, apparently. It’s also one of very few North Korean films that made it out of the country (it didn’t get very far, mind you - just far enough that if you’re really interested in seeing a film from North Korea, you might be able to find it somewhere with huge difficulty).
  If you’ve ever seen any Soviet propaganda films then you’ll have a good idea of what the film is like (North Korea is one of very few countries that still uses socialist realism principles in art). But while Soviet cinema had some fantastic filmmakers and film schools, North Korea does not appear to. Cinematically the film is pretty boring.
  The story is that of a girl, who is angry with her father. He’s a scientist and he works so hard that he neglects the family. Yet for all his work, he has no results to show - they live in greater poverty than most families, his work receives no praise and he’s never at home with them. They don’t see him for weeks, sometimes even months. Of course in the end he succeeds, the girl realizes she was wrong and the moral of the story is that hard work pays off.
  I mention this film for one reason only - it’s a very rare opportunity to see a North Korean feature film. Otherwise, it is not worth viewing IMO.
  Edited to Add: See the trailer here.

Eyes Wide Open (Israel/Germany/France, 2009)

Release Date (Poland): 2nd July 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 20th May 2009
Runtime: 91′
Director: Haim Tabakman
Production House: Arte, Das Kleine Fernsehspiel (ZDF), Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, Israel Film Fund, Keshet Broadcasting, Pimpa Film Productions, Riva Filmproduktion, Totally
Plot: (from imdb)

A married, Orthodox Jewish father of four falls in love with a twenty two year old male student.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
The theme of the film might be more interesting than the film itself.

The excited part of me thinks that…
It did well at last year’s Cannes festival apparently and the premise really does sound unusual.

Inception (USA/UK, 2010)

Release Date (Poland): 30th July 2010
Release Date (worldwide): 13th July 2010
Runtime: 148′
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Pete Postlethwaite, Michael Caine
Production House: Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Syncopy
Plot: (from imdb)

In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a single idea within one’s mind can be the most dangerous weapon or the most valuable asset.

Trailer
There are a couple of trailers out there and all of them look cool, but my favourite is this one.

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
It could be just another Hollywood special effects kind of film… though I kind of doubt it.

The excited part of me thinks that…
It has an absolutely awesome cast. The premise and trailers look pretty exciting too.

The interesting thing is that it has a very clear narrative structure in trailer terms and only at the end, when the music picks up, does it go into the fast-paced cutting Hollywood trailer thing. Ok, maybe not that many people find this interesting, I do though ;-P Generally speaking, Harry Potter trailers tend to go for very fast-paced editing all the way through, so this is unusual (and rather refreshing *grin*).
The whole “come to die” scene is looking great. Love the moment when Harry closes his eyes and all, it’s creepy. Though the make-up on Harry is a bit over the top IMO ;-P

• It features only male nudity
  I was struggling with coming up with female nude scenes I particularly enjoyed (the list I linked to had some good sounding ones, but I haven’t seen any of those unfortunately). But since there are loads of lists which say they are “best nude scene lists” rather than “best female nude scene lists” and yet they only feature ladies, I decided I may as well turn the tables ;-P
• It includes nude scenes with no actual nudity
  That might sound like no fun, but hey, I like those too ;-P I’ve seen plenty of scenes with frontal nudity that haven’t done much for me, but I’ve also enjoyed plenty of scenes where the character is supposedly nude, but the camera is careful not to show it. Which is probably why compiling this list felt so unnatural to me :] I mean, don’t get me wrong - I do like to ogle a naked man and there are plenty of full frontals on this list also (and in three cases I even moan that the scenes should have been full frontals ;)). But in the end, I get a bigger kick out of the context of a nude scene than I do from the nudity itself. Which is why, even though I complain that certain scenes aren’t full frontals, I’ve put them on this list anyway.
• The list is slightly tongue in cheek
  Reading through most of the lists I found, I felt they took themselves way too seriously :]

You don’t often get scenes in which men pull down their pants to show off they don’t have any genitals, so I figured this one was particularly list-worthy ;)

The sad thing about this scene is… that it doesn’t exist ;) But even though it doesn’t, it’s probably the most controversial nude scene we’ve had in Hollywood in the last few years ;) Summit Entertainment had to release official statements saying that there is, in fact, no nude scene, but there were still doubts about it until the movie finally released.
Personally, I think Bower’s idea was brilliant (check out the two clips for more info on what the scene was supposed to have entailed). I’m sure that if the scene had existed I would have loved it ;)

I mention Trainspotting because as far as I remember (though it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it), it has a scene where not only is he naked, but he’s wearing a condom. Can’t think of any other film I’ve seen that had a frontal with a condom, so thought it was worth some particular attention ;)
Young Adam because it’s one of the most absurdly controversial full frontals I’ve ever heard of. The US distributor removed the scene even though the context of the scene is extremely innocent (he’s in bed with a woman, it’s morning, they’re waking up and she gets him out of bed by taking all the covers for herself). Ewan made his distaste at the censorship very loudly known.
It’s been a very long time since I’ve seen The Pillow Book, but I don’t think I’d exaggerate much if I said that he’s naked almost as much as he’s clothed in the movie ;)

It’s two attractive Japanese men in a very homoerotic and aesthetically-orientated film and the scene is beautifully awkward *grin*

As far as I’m concerned, this one is cinematic history ;) However, as the title of the film is “The Full Monty”, I think a short frontal shot would have been in order ;-P Still thought the scene was list-worthy though :)

Ok ok, I’m bending my rules a bit - the drag scene is sort of female nudity, but as it’s a man doing it I think it’s still fully acceptable on this list ;-P Unfortunately, the excerpt doesn’t show the full beauty of Gael’s “naked female body” (personally, I loved the pubes *grin*), but I think you get the idea.
Even though Gael has far more nudity in Y Tu Mama Tambien for example, his La Mala Educacion scenes stand out in my mind more. He’s basically a male femme fatale in the film and both those scenes are extremely seductive - it’s not just what he does but how he does, how he’s filmed and how he’s made up.

Haven’t seen this for ages and can’t find a clip, but it must have been hilarious cause otherwise I never would have remembered this scene existed and would not have been tempted to put it here despite having such a vague memory of it ;)
Wikiquote has the following quote from the scene:

William: [sees a naked man on the road] Oi sir, what are you doing?
Chaucer: Uh… trudging. You know, trudging? [pause] To trudge: the slow, weary, depressing yet determined walk of a man who has nothing left in life except the impulse to simply soldier on.
William: Uhhh… were you robbed?
Chaucer: [laughs] Funny really, yes, but at the same time a huge resounding no. It’s more of an… involuntary vow of poverty… really.

Imagine Heath Ledger as William and Paul Bettany as Chaucer and you will probably understand the appeal this scene has for me ;) I suppose the other reason it resonates with me so strongly is that this is the way the film introduces Geoffrey Chaucer and it feels like blasphemy ;)

This one really should have been a full frontal. Bill Condon (the director) has even admitted that he intended for there to be a full frontal shot in the scene. There was gossip that the reason they didn’t go for it was that some of the suits freaked out - at the time Brendan Fraser was the star of George of the Jungle and they didn’t want somebody who was in a kids’ film doing frontal nudity.
I can’t quite explain why the lack of nudity in this bothers me so much. I suppose it just looks silly with them trying to hide him with the towel all the time when he’s actually supposed to be naked (his “nudity” lasts quite a bit, otherwise it would be easier to shoot him without it appearing quite that silly).
The scene makes it here anyway because I love the intensity of it. It’s very melodramatic, ends with one of them sobbing and the homoerotic tension is so clear through it all *grin*

I was very disappointed to hear that Alec Baldwin used a body double ;-P And also this is the third time I’m going to complain that it should have been a full frontal ;) There is no way that the only thing that appeared on the computer screen was his belly when he was in that position ;-P They should have gone with showing his genitals - it would have been even funnier. Though it was hilarious anyway.

The reason for this one is obvious - how often do you get to ogle a blue cock? *grin* It’s also the first and only time I’ve seen a superhero’s penis, which I think is cool in itself ;)

The nudity that always gets mentioned in the context of The Piano is Harvey Keitel (an American actor over 50 doing a full frontal is almost unheard of!). But I always liked Sam Neill’s nude scene better ;) I suppose it’s because it’s so awkward and embarrassing for his character. Plus there’s so much sexual and emotional tension in the air.

Eastwick has a couple of great scenes (like this one) in which Darryl insists on being naked for no logical reason and I adore all of them (it’s the total randomness and silliness of them that is so great), but the couch one is my favourite *grin* What cracks me up so much about this one is the position he’s sleeping in *grin*
I suppose the scene would have been a tad bit more amusing if they did not have to abide by the rules of American television (the objects in the way look so silly ;-P), but I actually don’t mind it as much as with the other three I complained about.

This is another one of the homoerotic tension ones. But it’s different than the others I’ve mentioned cause it’s very sweet and actually sort of funny. But there’s a lot going on emotionally as well.

Apparently, they debated whether to keep the penis shot in this or not (especially as the penis was not quite flaccid ;-P), but the audience reaction during the test screening convinced them it was a keeper ;) It is a really funny shot - the timing of it, Jason Mewes’ whole expression… it’s perfect *grin*

I debated whether to put this one down, but I figured that since I listed a scene that doesn’t exist and therefore I haven’t actually seen it, I can also list a scene that does exist, but that I haven’t actually seen ;)
Apparently, this one’s legendary and it certainly does sound awesome *grin*

Ok ok, I know I said no female nudity, but then, just as I thought I’d finally finished my list, I remembered this one and I couldn’t not list it :] I just couldn’t… I haven’t seen it in a long while, but I remember it was one of the weirdest, creepiest and most beautiful sequences about the female body that I’ve ever seen.

Green Zone (France/USA/Spain/UK, 2010)

Seen: Saturday, 5th June 2010 (cinema)
Runtime: 115′
Director: Paul Greengrass
Cast: Yigal Naor, Matt Damon, Amy Ryan, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Khalid Abdalla, Jason Isaacs
Production House: Universal Pictures, Studio Canal, Relativity Media, Working Title Films, Antena 3 Films

Video
See a clip from the film here.

Rating: +1 (Loved It)

Themes: Conspiracy, Army, CIA, War on Terror, Iraq, WMD

Plot: Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller is frustrated with the intelligence his unit is getting - every time they arrive at a site there are no signs of WMDs. He starts asking questions about where his superiors are getting their intelligence on Iraqi WMDs from.

Driven By:
- Action/Plot
This is very much a film that relies on its intrigue. It’s beautifully paced.
- Issues
It’s quite a political film. The question of why the US went to war in Iraq drives the story.

Style: Handheld camera, very fast-paced editing.

Memorable Moments:
- Miller’s confrontations with “Freddy”, his translator
The film is packed with confrontations - there are military ones, but also plain and simple arguments between people. I found many of them interesting, but I particularly loved the arguments between Miller and Freddy. In one of the confrontations Freddy shouts something along the lines of “Don’t you think I want to see my country free a thousand times more than you do?”. Ironically, I think it’s the first time I’ve seen an American film portray an Iraqi who badly wants his country’s independence :]
- Miller getting frustrated with not finding WMDs
I liked how Matt Damon played the frustration - it was very real and easy to relate to.
- Al Rawi’s scenes
Al Rawi is yet another example of how Iraqis are generally not portrayed in Hollywood. He’s a completely different character to Freddy. I loved his calmness and clear-headedness. There’s something quite majestic about him, which gives a very different flavour to the confrontations with him.

General Comments:
While Green Zone and The Bourne Ultimatum share their editor, they have different cinematographers, which accounts for the difference in style. Green Zone isn’t quite as adventurous as The Bourne Ultimatum was - no long lenses and awkward angles. But it’s beautifully paced. Christopher Rouse (the editor) has an absolutely wonderful sense of rhythm and I want to see more of his work *grin* I still don’t get how he can get away with shots that short and have me like it. The way he does it… it just works.
In terms of the plot I loved that there were bad Americans and good Americans, bad Iraqis and good Iraqis and that the whole reality of the film is so complex. One could even argue there are about three different wars going on in the film - the American army against Iraqi insurgents, a political war between two camps of Americans and, perhaps the most difficult one to understand and yet the one that proves most pivotal, the conflict between the Iraqis themselves.
And then there’s Al Rawi. Even though he was part of Saddam’s regime, you can easily understand the argument that he might be a better man to rule the country at this time, while at the same time feeling Freddy’s disgust at the very suggestion. It’s a very multi-layered reality and yet very well explained.

Oh, and before I begin listing - I found a site, which is dedicated solely to film villains. I thought the way they assign points for different aspects of being evil was rather amusing ;)

Rahul Mehra is a stalker, but his love for the heroine is completely genuine. It’s a chilling villain and an obsessive lover all in one and this is the combination that made the audience fall in love with Shahrukh - Darr was one of his first hit films.
Apparently, when this was first shown in Indian cinemas, the audience booed the hero during one of the final hero-villain confrontations - they wanted the villain to get the girl *grin* “I love you K…k….k….kiran” remains a classic line in Indian cinema even now (apparently SRK still gets some of his fans saying it to him).

Elektra King is a female villain in the “sex can be a powerful weapon” kind of vein. I haven’t seen the film in ages, so I don’t remember her that well. What I do remember though is that I loved Sophie Marceau in the role - she’s magnetic :) The final confrontation between her and James Bond is quite something.

I haven’t seen this for ages (probably since 1998, which would make me about 14 when I last watched it). I remember that at the time Bruce Willis made a huge impression on me. There’s something extremely human about his whole on-screen persona, which made it so much more chilling to see him cold-bloodedly murder his victims. I’ve no idea if I’d still react the same way now though, which is why The Jackal is not on my main list.

I think many people would find Olivier’s “crazy dentist” villain in Marathon Man (1976) a lot more worthy of such a list, but I never got into that one ;-P I love his performance in this, however, and IMO it’s a pretty unique villain. For one thing, it’s probably Hollywood’s first ever attempt at sneaking in a bisexual character into a very mainstream movie (an unsuccessful one - the studio cut the scene).
In the end I suppose the reason this villain doesn’t make my main list is that the studio butchered him too much. Some things about Crassus were much too subtly hinted as censorship was a bigger issue at that time. I suppose Alan Rickman’s Sheriff of Nottingham would not have made my list either if I had watched the film in its original cinematic version (the cut scenes of satanic rituals and such were later reinstated for the DVD release). In the case of Crassus, even after reinstating the scene in which he makes a pass at his male slave, a lot of things in the dialogue and in the way certain scenes are shot are just too butchered to really get Crassus’s whole essence through *sigh*

I’m not sure how much I can say about this part without it being a spoiler. Anyway, it’s a very interesting performance by Tony Curtis and it’s completely against his image. Not sure if I’m right to label his character as a villain, but I can’t tell you why I have my doubts without spoiling stuff :] Suffice to say that it’s more of an art house film than a mainstream one.

Another sexy lady that uses sex as her weapon against men. In fact she goes as far as to sexually assault the hero of the film. Priyanka is hilariously evil in this, it’s a great performance.

Brother Peter Lavin is the supervisor of a Catholic orphanage and he happens to be sexually attracted to little boys. This is another role that I don’t know how I would react to now, but I remember being awed by the performance when I saw it in my teens. I suspect its rightful place is in my main list, but as I’m not sure how I’d feel about it now, I’m keeping it here.
I’m wondering if “villain” is really the label I should be putting on the character. The film is a drama piece rather than a hero versus villain kind of thing. But then considering what he does during the film, I find it difficult not to put that label onto him, so I’m staying with it :] He’s a complex character though. From what I remember he is monogamous, which is actually a bigger strain on the 10 year old boy than if he distributed “his affections” more freely like most of the other brothers in the orphanage. It’s a very chilling film and a very unpleasant character, but it’s also a very honest and daring portrayal.

Another paedophile role - Sean Nokes is a guard in a detention centre. Though he shares his sexual inclinations with Brother Lavin, he’s a much nastier piece of work. He gets a kick out of not just the sex, but the act of torture and humiliation.
I wanted to mention the role because Kevin Bacon puts in a great performance, he really makes you hate him. In fact I remember that when the heroes of the film get their revenge, it was unsatisfactory. It was too quick, too simple and he never got confronted properly on an emotional level. The reason it doesn’t make the main list is that the character itself is very simple and just not particularly interesting.

This is the only SRK villain that I don’t root for! Or rather I do at the beginning of the film, but after a while I can’t take what he does anymore and I switch to rooting for the heroine :]
IMO this is the darkest villain SRK ever played. Generally speaking, SRK either plays villains which are so evil they’re comical or villains that have very human motivation for what they’re doing. This part is neither, it’s truly dark. Also, it’s probably the only time you get to see SRK beating up a woman black and blue. When I saw that scene in the cinema people were literally gasping and averting their eyes. He really goes whole hog on that and seeing one of the world’s biggest romantic heroes in a scene like that is quite something I tell you :] (to put it into Hollywood terms - it’s kind of like watching Hugh Grant hitting and kicking a woman until she’s all bruised and bleeding).

I’m not sure he really is a villain, perhaps antihero would be a better way to describe him. He doesn’t exactly have any sort of hero to fight with, but then a quick google search shows I’m not the only one to label him that way, so all is well :]
Anyway, Christian Bale is truly sick and chilling in this and it’s not every day that you get to see a villain who runs around naked with a chainsaw ;)

Another of the rare female villains that isn’t a “fairytale witch” or a “sex is a weapon” kind of character. Domyoji Kaede is the head of the biggest corporation in Japan and is an “iron woman” in regards to both her employees and her son.
Every appearance of the character is announced by a specific musical theme and by the end of the series every time I heard it I was like “oh no, what now?” ;)

Another of the I don’t remember the film well enough cases. I just remember I loved Joaquin Phoenix in this and I’m sure there’s a reason he makes many best villain lists ;)
On a side note - Commodus is probably the only villain on either of my lists that is into incest…

People like to watch villains for different reasons (if they like to at all, that is, some people just aren’t predisposed to enjoy villains in that way). Personally, I love watching film villains because they don’t have conventional boundaries to what they can think, feel and do. So when an actor portrays a villain, they tend to have more freedom. What they do has to make sense within the story, but beyond that there are practically no rules to how a villain should feel or what they should think. And then, of course, they have the freedom to be nasty ;) They can say and think the most perverse things with practically no consequences to themselves because everyone knows it’s not real! And there’s another benefit - villains, by their very nature, are supposed to pose some sort of threat to the hero and “being threatening” usually means that memorable villains have very strong and intense screen presences, which I always find fun to see.

Anyway, my list is below. The order is completely random.

Don is one of those boundlessly evil action movie villains, but one ends up sort of rooting for him anyway (unless one doesn’t, in which case the film loses a lot of its appeal ;-P). This is evil at its most glamorous and most cool ;)
Shahrukh clearly has a great time being this evil - it’s so obvious he’s having fun that one kind of ends up joining in with him *grin*

Darryl Van Horne is some sort of supernatural force of evil, but unfortunately they cancelled the show before we got a full idea of the extent of his evilness *sigh* He’s certainly the lewdest character on my list, however. He hits on most of the women he meets in the most obnoxious possible manner (including randomly taking his clothes off) and Paul Gross clearly had a lot of fun with that *grin*
He can be deceptively sweet and even vulnerable, but it’s extremely hard to make out how much of it is deception and how much of it is honest. It’s a lot of fun watching Paul Gross juggle all of that.

This is the most vulnerable villain on my list. He’s 16 years old and about to commit his first murder (using magic, but that’s beside the point ;-P). He’s fiercely proud to have been entrusted with such a task, but as he gets closer to completing it, it becomes apparent that he might not have the guts to actually go through with it.
By Tom Felton’s own admission Draco Malfoy is a blond, Nazi mini-Hitler (in wizarding terms), but he has a conscience and he’s scared shitless by what he’s about to do. And that’s really why this particular performance is so much fun to watch. It’s very angsty, intense and has so many different levels. And Tom Felton is bloody awesome.

I suppose this is not the Alan Rickman villain that most people would choose, but Judge Turpin sure works for me ;-P At first glance he seems like just another perverse villain with no conscience, but on occasion he slips… says just that little bit too much.
It’s that slight sense of doubt and vulnerability in Judge Turpin that does it for me. He may be perverse, but he has doubts about himself and even some guilty feelings. I love how Alan Rickman plays that out - it’s very subtle, but it’s constantly there. And anyway, who doesn’t love a singing villain? ;) (obviously I must have a thing for singing villains cause there are about three singing ones on this list ;-P)

Probably the most universally acknowledged villain on my list. I loved how they wrote the Joker as a terrorist. Coupled with the intensity and humour of Heath Ledger’s performance it’s special.

Yet another 16 year old villain, but this one is far from vulnerable. When we meet Tom Riddle the first time, he seems nothing more than a polite, public school boy. There is a peculiar sort of restraint about him, but until the finale that is all that clues us in on how dark he actually is.
I loved how Christian Coulson played it out. This is evil at its purest and yet it’s so beautifully and believably hidden. One rarely sees portrayals like that - characters which are so utterly and completely evil and yet so subtle about it. In fact, Coulson was the only of the four or so Voldemorts we’ve had who took that approach. He’s also by far my favourite.

Frollo is the only animated character on my list. I’ve seen many people on-line declare him the best ever Disney villain and I totally agree.
I think the reason I respond to him so much (apart from Tony Jay’s voice which is amazing) is the whole Catholic aspect of him and how he explains away his hypocrisy and sin (and most importantly - he sings ;)).

Dolores Umbridge has the distinction of being the only female villain on my list. I find that most female villains fall into two groups - fairytale witches or very attractive ladies that use sex as one of their weapons. Dolores Umbridge is neither *grin*
She’s an obnoxious woman that never wears anything but pink, decorates her office in kitten patterns and makes teenage boys write lines in their own blood. Imelda Staunton is absolutely brilliant - hilarious, but very chilling.

Alan Rickman is the only actor, who made my list twice, which seems kind of appropriate as it’s a villain list and all. The Sheriff of Nottingham is a very hammy and vaudeville kind of villain, but he seems quite universally acknowledged as one of those villains that completely upstage the hero.
I think for me it’s largely the humour of it that does it. Alan Rickman has a very sarcastic and ironic sense of humour and this part is right up his sleeve in that sense. But also, he really plays it full on. I had a giggling fit when I listened to one of the interviews he gave at the time. He was totally denying that the Sheriff of Nottingham is a villain. In his eyes the character was just a man who has certain goals in life and tries to follow them through. Robin Hood thinks that wrong, but that’s Robin Hood’s problem ;) This generally seems to be the approach that Alan Rickman takes when he plays “villains” and I think that’s a large reason he works so well in them. In his mind the acts he’s committing on screen are only evil if the character thinks they are. While Judge Turpin might have had doubts about some of his actions, the Sheriff of Nottingham had none whatsoever despite arguably going much further - and that’s what’s so much fun about this part *grin*

They use many of the same shots on both teasers, but the new one is somewhat more interesting :)
The scraps of feedback that have come through from a super secret maximum-security test screening were all pretty much unanimous in that Harry and Ron’s argument is one of the most striking moments in the film. We’ve got a small clip of it on this new teaser and while I’m not sure what I think based on such a short clip, I kind of see why it’s generating so much excitement *grin* It’s definitely looking very intense and it’s a very different Ron. I mean we did see a bit of angry Ron in the fourth film, but this is angry Ron on a whole new level *grin*

"Due South" (Canada/USA, 1994)

Viewed: late May 2010 and early June 2010
Rating: +1 (Loved It)

Video

Episodes:
- 7: Chicago Holiday: Part 1
Ray investigates the death of a prominent figure of the underworld, while Fraser has to watch over a very reluctant daughter of a Canadian diplomat.
- 8: Chicago Holiday: Part 2
Continuation of the story from episode 7.
- 9: A Cop, a Mountie, and a Baby
Ray and Fraser find a baby in Ray’s car.
- 10: Gift of the Wheelman
A gang of bank robbing Santas are double-crossed by one of their own. Fraser and Ray try to solve the case.
- 11: You Must Remember This
Ray falls in love at first sight with a woman who ran him over. Ray tries to track her down while solving a big criminal case she might be involved in.
- 12: A Hawk and a Handsaw
Fraser admits himself into an asylum to find the answers to a murder case.
- 13: An Eye for an Eye
Fraser encourages the elderly to form a neighbourhood watch after a series of muggings on older people in the area. One of the old men tries to seek justice in his own way.

Memorable Moments:
- Fraser in a BDSM club
Just having him in such an establishment was hilarious *grin*
- Ray’s and Fraser’s dead fathers appear
The 10th episode marks the start of the two of them having visions of their dead fathers giving them silly advice.
- Fraser telling psychiatric doctors how he ended up in Chicago
He tells them truthfully what happened and they are immediately convinced of his insanity *grin* It’s a beautiful scene (and yes, Fraser really was chased by “men in white” in the pilot episode lol).

General Comments:
Gradually, as the series evolved, they started turning the tables - it was no longer Ray who always ended up as the butt of the joke. It turned out that making Fraser look ridiculous and having Ray snark at him worked just as well if not better, so the dynamic between them changed. Fraser lost some of his conventionality as a hero and was being mocked a lot more, Ray stopped being just a standard sidekick and at times his cynical approach to crime turned out to be a much more practical one. The dynamic between them became that of partners rather than hero and sidekick. It helped also that by this time Paul Gross and David Marciano had developed a beautiful chemistry and familiarity with each other.
The two of them began playing the quirks of their characters more earnestly, which made some of the comic situations absurder. The writers had already started going in the same direction and so the scenarios became progressively absurder as well. Finally, in episode 10 they introduced the concept of Fraser and Ray having visions of their dead fathers giving them impractical advice. To me that was the moment when Due South really started establishing its style. I don’t think any other detective series of the time would have gone with a scenario that was quite that far out there. I remember an episode of MacGyver where MacGyver was helping Merlin and King Arthur, but he hit himself in the head beforehand and the whole thing was a dream :] Due South never tried to explain why Fraser and Ray would talk to thin air and see their dead fathers there. This was just established as part of the convention and for me that’s the attitude that made Due South completely unlike any other series.
It’s also around this time that Paul Gross’s approach to playing Fraser changed. The pilot episode had Fraser as a strong, even slightly macho hero. Some of that vibe changed by episode one, but it was still there, just covered up by the comedy. Eventually, Paul Gross did away with it entirely and fully embraced everything that made Fraser awkward, uncomfortable, vulnerable or just plain ridiculous. IMO this was great as I found Fraser a bit stiff in the early episodes and with that change he really came to life.

"Due South" (Canada/USA, 1994)

Viewed: late May 2010 & early June 2010
Rating: +1 (Loved It)

Video

Episodes:
- 0: Pilot
Fraser comes to Chicago to make sure the murderer of his father is found and convicted.
- 1: Free Willy
Fraser convinces Ray to help him save a 12-year-old purse snatcher from being unjustly charged with a bank robbery.
- 2: Diefenbaker’s Day Off
Fraser tries to help 6-year-old Lucy who is worried about her father’s strange injuries. Journalist Mackenzie King suspects Fraser is part of a large insurance scam. Diefenbaker roams the streets without a license.
- 3: Manhunt
Buck Frobisher, a close friend of Fraser’s father, goes missing one week before his retirement.
- 4: They Eat Horses, Don’t They?
Fraser realizes that the meat in a local supermarket is actually horse meat and enlists Ray’s help to solve the case.
- 5: Pizzas and Promises
Fraser and Ray go undercover as used cars salesmen to find out who stole the car of a pizza boy on parole.
- 6: Chinatown
Ray and Fraser solve a kidnapping case in Chinatown.

Memorable Moments:
- Fraser doing guard duty at the Canadian consulate
I love the concept of Fraser standing there without being able to move. It makes for some great humoristic situations throughout the series.
- Fraser gets shot in the hat (video)
The conversation between Ray and Fraser is priceless :)
- Lieutenant Welsh’s sarcasm
Welsh amuses me almost every time he comes on screen. He’s so real (I can easily imagine a boss being like that) and yet so funny.
- Ray in the shower
Ray takes a shower while Fraser’s in the bathroom talking to him and Ray’s whole family keep interrupting. I loved that scene *grin*
- Ray and Fraser get found in the closet (video)
Elaine finds Ray and Fraser in the closet - how much better can it get? ;)

General Comments:
It’s interesting to watch the early episodes now. I’m surprised at how conventional the initial concept was. It wasn’t until later that they started mixing things up and making the whole thing feel insane which is when I fell in love with it *grin*
Initially, it seemed like Due South was meant to be just another police detective series, but with a Canadian twist. The pilot episode is very cliché - Fraser is the pure hero taking revenge for his father’s death (although perhaps a little less violently than would usually be the convention), while Ray Vecchio is the sidekick that brings in most of the comic relief. I tend to associate Due South with its particular brand of humour, but the pilot doesn’t even feature that. The jokes in the pilot are few and far between and the few comedic repartees between Ray and Fraser are very conventional.
After the pilot it gets much better - they started introducing some of the absurd humour that I associate Due South with (as well as using more humour in general), but they were still playing safe. The comedic dynamic between Fraser and Ray remains relatively conventional and crude. Fraser, for the most part, is still the classic and pure hero, although he does have some amusing quirks. And Ray is the comic relief, his character doesn’t really get explored on any other level.

"Due South" (Canada/USA, 1994-1996)

Runtime: around 45′ per episode
Creator: Paul Haggis
Cast: Paul Gross, David Marciano, Beau Starr, Catherine Bruhier, Tony Craig, Daniel Kash, Gordon Pinsent, Camilla Scott, Ramona Milano
Production House: Alliance Atlantis Communications, Baton Broadcasting Incorporated (BBS), CBS Productions, CTV Television Network, Paul Haggis Productions

Themes: Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Police, Crime, Chicago, Canada, Wolf

Plot: The adventures of Constable Benton Fraser (an upright Canadian mountie), Detective Ray Vecchio (a cynical American policeman) and Fraser’s wolf Diefenbaker as they fight crime in Chicago.

Style: It’s the standard 90s TV kind of thing, nothing quirky.

Driven By:
- Characters
Like with most serials - if you don’t get into the characters then you’re unlikely to get hooked.

General Comments:
“Due South” is a series I used to love when I was in my teens and now that I’m watching it once again, I’m finding I still do. I have loads of nostalgic feelings for it, but also it was actually a damn good series *grin*
As it’s a very long serial which evolved a lot over time, I figured the review would make more sense if it was broken up into a couple of posts. I originally intended to break it up by season, but I’ve ended up with a division that looks completely random :] The season with “the new Ray” will be reviewed as something completely separate, as there are some very major differences even in basic info (imdb also lists them separately as two different serials).
I’ll be applying different ratings in the different reviews rather than giving one rating for the whole series. This might seem a bit counter-intuitive, but giving one rating to 30-40h of something that was shot over a period of years and kept evolving, wouldn’t have carried much information anyway.

Review List:
I’ll be editing in the links as I watch the series and write the reviews. I’m not entirely sure where I’m going to make the split in some cases as I haven’t watched all the episodes yet. And take my divisions with a pinch of salt - the series evolved gradually, so it’s impossible to pinpoint exactly in which episode general tendencies changed.

1. Season One: ep. 0-6
2. Season One: ep. 7-13
3. Season One: ep 14-22 and Season Two: ep. 1-8
4. Season Two: ep. 9-18

Also, I found some good spoofs. One is a spoof of H2O (a two part production for HBO which starred and was also written by Paul Gross). But there is also a beautiful Due South spoof *grin*

What totally gets me, though, is that I’ve stopped looking for Paul Gross content with gay innuendo, but I keep coming across it anyway! The Due South spoof thing is mild, but how about the end of this interview ;)
You know, I’m surprised (and disappointed ;-P) he’s not done any gay roles yet AFAIK (he has done films with gay themes, but nobody seems to want to actually cast him as gay - what a shame ;-P).