My Favorite Movies

Absolutely amazing movie, don't know whether I'd still want to be a filmmaker were it not for this movie. It features some great acting by everybody involved, but Mink Sik just shines as Oh Dae Su. Quite frankly the best foreign movie I've seen and that's saying a lot

Last month I said that Wall-E was probably the best movie of the summer so far (I also said that it was among one of the best movies of the year). This is by FAR the best movie of the summer (sorry Wall-E) and one of the best movies of the year. I'll even go as far to say it's one of the best movies to come out in a couple of years. To put it into perspective...the imdb.com site has the top 250 movies of all time as voted by the users. The number one movie of all time (according to the users) is The Dark Knight with an average score of 9.5 and it's an even more amazing feat considering that the #2 movie on that list is The Godfather 2 (who had a stranglehold on that #1 spot for years before The Dark Knight). This film improves on almost every flaw that plagued Batman Begins, the main flaw being that you didn't really know who the 'real' villain was until 2 hours in the film so Batman Begins didn't have the traditional structure of a hero vs. a villain. This movie fixes all of that with the inclusion of the Joker, and to an extent, Harvey Dent. The writing, the cinematography, the action, the acting, etc...again everything that was flawed about Batman Begins was fixed here and Batman Begins was an EXCELLENT film so there really wasn't a lot to fix. Christian Bale does a great job as usual, I liked how he felt more comfortable as Bruce Wayne and he added a depth to the character that was not seen in previous Batman films. I love how Bruce struggles with the fact that Harvey Dent is the hero that Gotham deserves and that Batman is not up to Harvey's standard of heroism. That internal conflict within Bruce was one of the best things about the film. Maggie Gyllenhaal, while she did a much better job than Katie Holmes, wasn't used that much and I felt that a lot more could have been done with her character. Aaron Eckhart was excellent as Harvey Dent/Two-Face. I, originally, was worried about the Two Face character because you already had the Joker who was going to be the main villain of the film, but by hook or by crook this character was excellent and his turn into Two Face was written with such expertise it's not even funny. The end of the movie was left open as there's the possibility of the return of Two Face in a future Batman film (if there are any planned). Now onto the performance that everyone is talking about. Heath Ledger as the Joker, my god he was amazing as the joker. His character was so twisted, disturbing and sick that everytime the Joker is on screen you're instantly drawn to him and his charisma. My aunt made the comment that Heath Ledger's accent as the joker was trying to be TOO much like Jack Nicholson's joker and while I can see the comparison I say that if Heath had used his normal voice for the role, the darkly comedic style of the Joker would have been lost so. While there's room for comparison betwen the two Jokers they're still two very different versions of the same character...Jack's was cartoony, Heath's was more realistically gritty and disturbing. I, personally, enjoyed Heath's joker more cause his delivery and the sheer insanity he added to the joker is amazing and he's definitely the main reason a lot of people are gonna see this movie, and I really can't blame them as Heath was seriously one of the best villains of the decade. Again the end of the film left a lot of questions unanswered for the joker character as he never really died nor did he have a final battle with Batman. I personally think that the joker character should be left off of the sequel, and give people time to get used to the idea of someone else other than Heath playing the joker (due to unfortunate circumstances). The Dark Knight is proof that you don't need to sacrifice the story in order for it to be entertaining (Transformers I'm looking at you), which is why I hate the Transformers even more so now than I did last year, well technically I don't hate it as it had some entertaining parts what I hate about it is that it represents everything that's wrong about summer movies. Stories are sacrificed for entertainment and films like Wall-E and The Dark Knight do a perfect job of combing both great stories and great entertainment. I'm sure that's the reason why there'll be some people who hate this movie, because it's not mindless Michael Bay entertainment. This film is the measuring stick for future superhero movies to follow. I seriously recommend this movie to everyone, I really cannot say good things about it. I'm getting the 2 disc special edition dvd DAY ONE godamnit!!!!

This movie is, obviously as seen from the poster, a commentary and spoof on Hitler's tyrannical rule over Germany. I had the pleasure of watching this film 5 or 6 years ago (when I was 12 or something). I was watching it during the morning waiting for the schoolbus to arrive and the schoolbus never DID arrive, so I stayed home. Whoever it was that was driving the schoolbus I thank you. All I remember was me laughing so loud I actually had tears of laughter. So, after 6 years or so after originally seeing the film I bought Chaplin's Collection from WB and eagerly watched this film for the second time. I laughed as much, if not more, than when I watched it originally. This film is just a comedy masterpiece. There's a laugh almost every minute of this film and it's over two hours long. And that's not including the great speech (which can still be applied today) it's an emotional speech and Chaplin wrote a better speech than most presidents of the U.S have given ever since. Amazing movie, I absolutely loved it and you should too cause comedy now is not as good as this is.

Hmmm, I don't really seem to have a lot of words to say about Pulp Fiction, well I do but it's not anything you haven't heard before. This movie has it all: the dialogue, which is probably the best dialogue in any movie I've seen, the violence, the originality, the unique way in which it was shot. And what makes it better is that even after 10 years this movie still is amazingly better than 75% of the movies released this year. That's what makes a truly great film into a classic. Why else would we still be talking about this movie today? I'm sure there are films from 1994 that were acclaimed as much as, maybe even more, than Pulp Fiction. But nobody remembers most of them. Pulp Fiction is remembered cause it gave a much needed shake up to movies and its impact on movies is still felt today. Hence why Pulp Fiction will probably go down as one of the greatest films of the 90s and maybe even probably one of the greatest movies ever.

I thought this was a perfect example of a masterpiece and an example as to why Stanley Kubrick is probably one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. In some weird disturbing way, this film had a comical sense to it. Sure the things they did were disturbing and even more so doing it to Ludwig Van, but in a way it was still darkly comical. The subject matter of this movie is still somewhat disturbing even 35 years now from its original release. I would have liked to see more interaction between Alex and his comrades, but it was mostly Alex's story, which I really didn't mind cause Malcom McDowell played his part perfectly so I didn't mind seeing him being broken down as a human being. I thought the movie portrayed the fall of a man really well. You could feel the world crumbling all around Alex. This sort of film doesn't appeal to everyone so if you don't like senseless rape and violence you're better off watching She's the man or something. For those of you who do watch it get ready to see one of Kubrick's many masterpieces. Highly recommended.

So here it is, the final entry in the absolutely fantastic trilogy of vengeance. Quite frankly as has been said by many people, there isn't a better possible way for the trilogy to go out. This movie has almost every actor from the previous two movies and I was geeking out every time any of them, especially when Wo Jin Lee (the villain from Oldboy) showed up, I was literally orgasming my pants. Yes I'm a geek for him cause I thought he was fantastic in Oldboy. Shame is most of the actors, apart from Min Sik Choi (Oh Dae Su in Oldboy), they only got cameos. Even Kang Ho Song, who I think is a fantastic actor (just watch Memories of Murder for proof, he's the life of that movie). Anyway that's my only complain, the misuage of some very great actors. Other than that this movie has everything going for it: its look is beautiful and even better that the look of Oldboy, it has fantastic acting, it has laugh out loud moments, it has moments that'll make you cringe. One thing that I like about Park Chan is his creative way in shooting angles. His angles are very unique. He should also be commended for his great work in all three movies. You can see in each movie how much he's grown filmmaking wise. In fact in some sense he's very underrated cause the all the hype surr

Fucking amazing movie. It's as near a perfect movie as you're gonna see this decade. Well it might not be NEAR perfect but it still is an amazing film that shouldn't be missed at any cost. First of all the direction. OMG the direction. I absolutely loved this film's look: bleak, depressing, war-torn. I also loved the "you-are-there" feel of the movie, sort of felt like a documentary you'd see on the History Channel or something. The effects for this movie were also great, everything looked genuine. Sometimes I wondered whether all the explosions were for real and if most of the actors were alive. One complaint though, the fire effects and the gunshots looked great but sometimes the baby looks fake which is contradictory in a sense cause the baby should be the most realistic looking of all the effects (if indeed some scenes of the baby were CG) and also how the ending sort of came out of nowhere, but that doesn't substract anything from this film. Possibly my favorite film I've seen this year, which isn't saying much seeing as we're two weeks into the year but it'll probably remain one of my favorites for the rest of the year. HIIIIIGHLY recommended.

Wow, just wow. This movie I, originally, saw when I was about 11 or 12 and I only saw a few minutes, because it was deemed not viewable by my silly mother. Well, recently, I've been in a movie buying binge, so I started looking for this movie. And I did find it and it was incredibly cheap (only 10 bucks) and I, of course, jumped at the opportunity and I bought. Well I saw this movie recently and quite frankly I'm amazed how a movie this good hasn't been recognized on a commercial level. This movie deals with the life of Derek Vinyard, a skinhead, and how prison changes his outlook on life and his skinhead mentality. Derek has a brother who just does whatever Derek tells him. Derek murdered a two black men and only got 3 years in prison just because Danny (his brother) didn't testify in court. When Derek gets out he tries to get Dannny to change his way, and in the end Derek's story of what happened to him in prison got to Danny and he changed his ways. In the end, the ending is not happy and I felt that it was the right ending cause it couldn't have been done any other way and been as successful. Ok now onto Edward Norton's performance. This is probably

Takashi Miike's remake of tThe Quiet Family is close to the original's plot that there is a nice little family living in an inn and they get no customers. Once the family start getting customers, they all suffer death. That's where the similarities end, from then on the movie goes on its own path of black comedy. In this version another family member was added, that being grandpa. One thing about grandpa, he's the best character and has the funniest lines/moments. This movie is a musical, and that made me reluctant in buying the film, in the end though I was extremely satisfied by this film. The musical numbers are cheesy but I know they were supposed to be cheesy. And that's probably to sell the fact that in real life people just don't break into song when something terrible happens (ie: Rent). One complaint, the musical number with the mother and the father of the family just seemed to drag on a lot and it could have been cut down at least a minute or so. Other than that I can find nothing to complain about about this wonderful little movie. Definit

This film is freaking amazing. It's a very moving film as it captures Christopher's life and how he impacted the people he met on his journey. Just go watch it, no words can do this film justice.

Absolutely fantastic film. Probably the best comic book/graphic novel of this year, I haven't seen Superman Returns and I'm not that interested actually. But this movie is just fantastic. This is not like you're typical graphic novel/comic book movies, it features a much more realistic storyline and the future is not that blown out of proportion, it looks like it looks now. I also loved the character V, he's probably one of the best character in any movie in a long time. He's an enthralling character and Hugo Weaving (while never actually seeing his face) plays V perfectly. Natalie Portman plays her character perfectly. All the actors were perfect in their parts. It also helps that the dialogue they have is smartly written. The plot for this movie is also fantastic and is perfectly executed. Overall this movie is just fantastic. In my opinon this is t he best film of 2006. Hiiiiiighly recommended.

This film is pretty much perfect. The characters are very endearing and likeable. The animation is beautiful and its attention to detail is fantastic, they manage to draw you in to the images on the screen, and that's hard to do in the age CG movies where (except for Pixar movies) it's just shallow animation with no story to back it up. This story literally wrote itself, seeing as it's based on a book. I can't really compare between the book and the film but I know I absolutely loved this film. It's also, in my opinion, the only movie that HAS to have a happy ending or else it wouldn't work. Like I said this film is pretty perfect and EVERYONE should watch it.

*Spoiler warning* Many things make this movie great. It's greatly written and executed to perfection. The story is a bit plain and simple and you've seen it all before but this movie succeeds where many others that try a similar plot fail. First of all if you're going to make a revenge movie, I feel that the actor who's chosen to play the one having revenge, well he or she should have that psychotic look to them. They should also have a human side to them, to show that despite it all they were normal once. Hence why Kill Bill Vol. 1 and 2, Oldboy, and this movie are so great. Paddy's character showed his human side in the end of the film, realizing that he was only going to hurt more people the longer he was alive. All the actors were great. I was certainly surprised to see the main "bad guy" die so early on in the film. I didn't see it coming. My only complaint is that the film could have been longer so we could have known more about Richard's background. But Paddy was fantastic as Richard so it's only a minor complaint

Just thinking about this movie makes me laugh (and in good ways). Cause I remember all the many funny scenes this movie had. This is Chaplin at his best, I doubt you'll find a Chaplin movie in which you'll laugh as much (well other than The Great Dictator) as you'll have in this little gem of a movie. It features many classic Chaplin moments including at the restaurant where he's asked to perform and sings an entire song, in gibberish, but you know what's happening in the song seeing how he manages to explain the entire song with his hands, his movements, and his facial expressions. It also features a little action scene from our Little Tramp (yes...action...in a Chaplin film). I cannot complain about nothing in this movie. This movie is still head and shoulders better than this trash we call comedy (well most of them anyway) today. Amazing movie, you really should go out of your way to watch it.

This movie is wonderful. It is probably the most underrated of all Chaplin films. It portrays the rise and fall (mostly the fall and his attempts to rise to the top) of a clown. Well this is certainly one of the most depressing and sadder movies I've seen. In this movie he helps a former dancer overcome her depression by teaching her that life is great and not a thing to be wasted. Calvero gets to the dancer and she falls in love with him. In the end Claire Bloom's character overcomes her fear of dancing and performs on stage and Calvero passes away after a performance that gave him a heart attack. He dies watching Claire Bloom's character perform on stage :(.
This movie is wonderfully acted by Chaplin and Claire for that matter. You can sense that their is a love between the two of them, but Calvero's love differs from Claire's love. This movie is also famous for featuring two comedy greats on film for the first (and only) time ever. This sequence is great and will be a treat for anyone who enjoys Chaplin and Buster Keaton. This movie features many moments but it's mostly a serious and sad movie. I get the feeling that while this may not have been Chaplin's last movie, I feel it was his swan song

This movie is definitely not for everyone, some of you might even find it boring, but most people never really seem to appreciate movies as they are. Many people who saw this film (after Oldboy) were expecting another Oldboy. And if you were one of those then chances are you didn't like this movie. I still think this movie is great and the only thing is that people seem to want (again) another Oldboy and what they need to realize is that this film and Oldboy are completely different films while still dealing with the theme of vengeance. What can I say about Kang Ho Song that i haven't already said. To put it simply he's an amazing actor. And the actor who plays Ryu is great as well, even though he has absolutely no lines whatsoever. He made me believe he was actually a deaf-mute (maybe he is but it's doubtful). Again this film revolves around the theme of vengeance and the end is tragic and fitting for this type of movie. Seeing as all the stuff that happens, a happy ending wouldn't have fit the dark tone of the story. This film shows Park's beautiful filmmaking and his genius for creating complex stories and characters. This movie is recommended only if you appreciate films. If you're looking for another Oldboy then, quite frankly all I can say is, fuck off.

This movie is amazing and it certainly is Park Chan Wook's most underrated film. With all eyes being on the Trilogy of Vengeance, this movie tends to be overlooked and shoved aside in favor of Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and Lady Vengeance. This film tells the story of the impossible friendship between 4 men of South Korea and North Korea. As most of you know these countries hate each other with North Korean being communist and South being an ally of the U.S. This film doesn't have Park's usual directing style but I really don't have a problem since the directing style fits the tone of the movie. The acting by everybody is great but Kang Ho Song just is amazing in his role and I believe that he has the ability to make the best of even a shitty role (which I don't think he's had yet). The ending of the movie, as with most of Park's film, is very tragic and sad. The story in and of itself is very unique and it also has many funny moments along with many serious moments. One complaint though, the Korean actress and all the other military guys shouldn't have spoken in english (I know it was written that way) but it sometimes makes the movie hard to understand. Other than that I really have no complaints about this wonderful film that is required viewing if you consider yourself to be a fan of Park's work.

As I said in my J.S.A review Kang Ho Song has the ability to steal any movie and this film is no exception. He is wonderfully funny when he has to be funny and when he has to be serious he is dead on. He is just an amazing actor. This movie is beautifully directed and scripted wonderfully. The first hour of the movie contains the funnier moments then the second hour sets up the more serious part of the movie and their failed attempts to catch the killer. Sadly they never caught the killer (that I know of). In short this movie is wonderful. And you should see it right this instant.

How can a movie be this cute (the first half of the film) yet end up to be so incredibly tragic in the end? Great movie that even anyone who doesn't like Animes (like me) will love. I thought it was an amazing movie, certainly the best anime film I've seen :P. This movie is very emotional and after watching this movie, you don't feel depressed and sad for a even a few seconds, then you sir (or madam) have no heart. I certainly felt very sad for what happened to these two kids and knowing from the beginning that they were both dead, made it even harder to watch. Overall this movie is beautiful and it's one of the best films I've seen. Again even if you don't enjoy anime films this little movie will find its way into your heart (as cheesy as it sounds).

Holy crap, this film is seriously amazing. It's currently tied as my favorite musical of all time (tied with The Happiness of the Katakuris). What's not to like..it's Johnny Depp and Tim Burton collaboration about a serial killer barber AND it's a musical (not in the conventional sense) so it's a killer (no pun intended) combo. Johnny Depp is his usual excellent, as is Helena Bonham Carter, as is the rest of the cast. Even if you don't like musicals (which I'm not fan of myself) this move is bound to entertain EVERYONE. This film is a masterpiece...oh and props to Tim Burton for excellent directing.