Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer

Director: Martin Scorsese

Reasons to watch: One of the best you can ever get.

Reasons not to watch: Are you out of your freaking mind? WATCH IT!

Storyline: It is 1954 and U.S. Marshals Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) make their way to Ashcliffe Hospital housing the criminally insane in Shutter Island (one can say it is an equivalent to Alcatraz). As Daniels and his new partner try to solve the case of the disappearance of a particularly violent patient Rachel Solando, Daniels’ suspicion moves to a particular lighthouse and Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley), the chief physician at the penitentiary. As the Marshals dig their way into the case, they realize that there is some secret that connects all the patients and orderlies in the hospital.

Daniels who is already suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the death of his wife (Michelle Williams), has trouble keeping his cool and gets frustrated with insufficient answers from the hospital staff. With constant hallucinations about his time at Dachau in World War II that get intensified by a hurricane walloping the island, Daniels and Aule figure out that they immediately need to get out of the island but soon realize that making an exit is impossible. Shutter Island is a grotesque creation of mystery, that gives us an access into Scorsese’s expansive proficiency of film-making. Perfectly schemed and stirringly orchestrated,  Shutter Island is an ode to dementia by director Martin Scorsese.

Climax Handling: It just can’t get better because it plays with your mind. It takes a while before you can actually comprehend what is going on. Watching the movie for the second time will make the climax seem obvious right from the first scene onwards.

Points:

Dr. John Cawley: We don’t know how she got out of her room. It’s as if she evaporated, straight through the walls.

Rating: 8.5/10

Comments: Well, if you thought Shutter Island was going to be one hysterical train-wreck like most suspense thrillers with a stereotypical climax; think again! This is Scorsese we’re talking about. Don’t miss it!

Language:

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Cast: Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren

Director: Kevin Macdonald

Music: Alex Heffes

Reasons to watch: The element of surprise that hits you hard when you think you’ve got it all figured out.

Reasons not to watch: Unless you loathe Russell Crowe, you have every reason to watch it.

Storyline: Based on the similarly titled BBC mini-series, State of Play is a fictional thriller that instantly strikes a chord with the current times. Russell Crowe stars as Cal McCaffrey, a no-nonsense journalist employed at the Washington Globe. He puts himself on the line as he begins to investigate the death of Sonia Baker, the research assistant and love interest of his congressman friend Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck). Stephen’s political career takes a slump as the young woman’s death publicizes their affair. In order to help Stephen regain his political status, protect Stephen’s wife and to get a story up and running for the Washington Globe, Cal teams up with young inquisitive blogger Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) to solve the murder which he later on finds out is only a small piece in a conspiracy of much larger magnitude. Both timely and timeless, State of Play is a thriller that questions the existence and genuineness of newspapers and blogs that work in a vicious 24-hour cycle. It also addresses the functioning of private military organizations for whom war means an opportunity to make money.

Climax Handling: A shade implausible with minor errors that can very well be forgiven as the rest of the movie packs a punch.

Points: Money and power – a lethal combination.

Rating:8.5/10

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams, Mark Strong, Eddie Marsan

Director: Guy Ritchie

Music: Hans Zimmer

Reasons to watch: Racy entertainer that keeps your mind ticking.

Reasons not to watch: No particular reason as to why you shouldn’t watch this movie.

Storyline: The mystery involves a heinous and aristocratic Blackwood (Mark Strong) who schemes to take over the world. Well you might be wondering what sort of mystery exists in this plot — that is what puzzles me too. The plot is banausic and the script is desolate. But what works for  the movie is the set piece shifting of one fight to another — Especially the fight sequence featuring Downey in slow-mo is absolutely out of the world. The Tower Bridge set-up and the depiction of London of the yesteryears is commendable.

Robert Downey Jr. stars as the protagonist with Jude Law playing Dr. Watson, his faithful sidekick. This Sherlock Holmes is neither the ones you have already seen before in the early 70s nor is he a depiction of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s imagination. So far, about 75 actors have played this role, but none of this kind. Guy Ritchie gives a new dimension to the tight-lipped sleuth and Downey has done immensely well.  He’s demented, delineated, rustic and has a hoarse voice — something about this characterization reminded me about the dirty and decrepit sailors in Pirates of the Caribbean. Downey essays his role with a skittish humor and a devilish charm. Jude Law’s performance conforms to the customary portrayal of Dr. Watson.

The ‘bromance’ between Watson and Holmes is the best part of the film. Though Ritchie provides both these men with women interests, they are just diversions to prevent a development of homo-eroticism among viewers. The essence of the movie is the Holmes-Watson chemistry escalated by their boisterous and wacky arguments.

Climax Handling: The movie ends with a definite hint of a sequel which I think is very much necessary. This movie demands a sequel; hopefully a smarter one.

Points: A Sherlock Holmes movie is thoroughly enjoyable when  it centers around a mystery that truly leaves you perplexed, the suspense and the way Holmes solves it with his overwhelming dogmatic reasoning. This version of Sherlock Holmes does not have a plot that inclines itself to the strongest form of mystery but the movie is certainly entertaining for three reasons –

A. The stunt sequences.

B.  The star-cast that works wonders for the script.

C. Hans Zimmer’s music is as always effective.

Rating: 8/10

Comments: Don’t watch this movie expecting another Snatch from Guy Ritchie. This one is less classy, but yet the approach works.

Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi, Mystery, Thriller

Cast: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella

Director: Richard Kelly

Music: Win Butler, Regine Chassagne, and Owen Pallett of Canadian band Arcade Fire.

Reasons to watch: Only for Sci-fi maniacs and for people who like the show Deal Or No Deal!

Reasons not to watch: Offers nothing original.

Storyline: Based on a short story ‘Button, Button’ by Richard Matheson, The Box revives all the sci-fi cliches that were left untouched by directors for many years.

Norma Lewis (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) with their son Walter Lewis, make a normal suburban family. Until one morning, the door bell rings and Norma finds a box at the doorstep. The same evening Arlington Steward (Frank Langella), the person who delivered the box comes knocking on the Lewis’ residence with an offer. The scene is depicted like an eerie version of Deal or No Deal . They press the button, they get $1 million, but someone, somewhere in the world will DIE… someone whom they don’t know. With 24 hours to make a decision, after which the box will be collected and the offer would be made to someone else, Norma and Arthur find themselves in a moral dilemma that leaves them to face the true nature of humanity characterized by desire, greed and selfishness.

Climax Handling: Could have been better. The message is clear — Life is a vicious circle.

Points: The Box runs on the lines of The Day the Earth Stood Still. The latter was a high budget disappointment and the former turns out to be a low budget disaster!

Rating: 6/10

Comments: ‘No Deal’ Mr. Richard Kelly!

1. The Book of Eli

Director: Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes

Cast: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals

Release Date: January 15th 2010

Summary: Denzel Washington is a lone warrior who must fight to bring society the knowledge that could be the key to its redemption. Gary Oldman has been set to portray the autocrat of a small expedient town who’s determined to take possession of the book in Eli’s guarding.

2. Extraordinary Measures

Director: Tom Vaughan

Cast: Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser, Keri Russell, Courtney B. Vance

Release Date: January 22nd 2010

Summary: This is the story of a biotechnology executive and his wife, who hire a research scientist and defy all odds to pursue a cure for the life threatening Pompe disease in order to save the lives of their affected children.

3. I love you Phillip Morris

Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Cast: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro

Release Date: February 5th 2010

Summary: I love you Phillip Morris is a fact-based film about Steven Russell, a married father and also a convict in jail. The story is about his mad love for his male cell-mate, who eventually gets freed and Steven’s four time escapades from Texas prisons to meet his love.

4. The Wolfman

Director: Joe Johnston

Cast: Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Anthony Hopkins, Hugo Weaving, Geraldine Chaplin, Kiran Shah, Art Malik

Release Date: February 12th 2010

Summary: Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) is a haunted nobleman and the disappearance of his brother lures him into his family estate. Reunited with his resentful father (Anthony Hopkins), Talbot sets out in search of his brother’s whereabouts which leads him to realize his ghastly destiny. Inspired by a yesteryear horror classic, The Wolfman might just bring the classic definition of ‘haunting’ back.

5. Shutter Island

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer

Release Date: February 19th 2010

Summary: Easily the biggest and the most expected movie of 2010 – goes into the list of “unmissables”. Martin Scorsese gives life to Dennis Lehane’s psychic thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo in the lead. The two of them play U.S Marshals investigating the disappearance of a patient from Boston’s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital whose activities later on turn out to be unethical to illegal to downright sinister. As they turn the heat on their trail by amassing clues, they soon begin to lose trust on each other, their memories and their sanity.

6. Alice in Wonderland

Director: Tim Burton

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter

Release Date: March 5th 2010

Summary: An imaginary sequel to Lewis Caroll’s classic, Alice returns to Wonderland at 17. As she makes her way through, she realizes that the place has changed since her last visit. A change that she least expected — a sparely haunted, disordered and overrun Wonderland.

7. Green Zone

Director: Paul Greengrass

Cast: Matt Damon, Jason Isaacs, Greg Kinnear, Brendan Gleeson, Amy Ryan

Release Date: March 12th 2010

Summary: The successful duo that gave us two of the three roller coaster hits in The Bourne Series is back. Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass team up again for Green Zone which depicts the U.S led regime in Iraq. Matt Damon is a warrant officer who stumbles upon an elaborate cover-up by his own people as he goes in search of weapons of mass destruction believed to be hoarded in the Iraqi desert.

8. Clash of the Titans

Director: Louis Leterrier

Cast: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton

Release Date: March 26th 2010

Summary: Based on the 1981 film bearing the same name, Clash of the Titans is a story about the transcendental encounter over power between men and Gods. With the Gods fighting amongst themselves, darkness and destruction looms large which could very well destroy the world. Perseus (Sam Worthington) who is halfman-halfGod strives hard to save his family from Hades, the bloodthirsty and vindictive God of the underworld.

9. Ironman 2

Director: Jon Favreau

Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sam Rockwell, Don Cheadle

Release Date: May 7th 2010

Summary: Having disclosed his Iron Man identity to the public, Tony Stark the billionaire inventor is reluctant to share his scientific know-hows with the military. But, forces beyond his control hatch a devious plan against him.

10. Robin Hood

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Mark Strong, Russell Crowe, Kate Blanchett, Kevin Durand, Matthew Macfadyen

Release Date: May 14th 2010

Summary: The story of how an archer in the service of King Richard the Lionheart became to be known as Robin Hood, the famous archer and outlaw of English Folklore. Featuring historically accurate characters such as Sir William Marshall and grounded in reality (in a similar way to Gladiator), this is the making of the legend we have come to know him as now.

11. Shrek Forever After

Director: Mike Mitchell

Cast: Cameron Diaz, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Antonio Banderas, Julie Andrews, Justin Timberlake

Release Date: May 21st 2010

Summary: A sick and tired Shrek (Mike Myers) who seems to have lost his ‘ogre’ self, gets duped by Rumpelstiltskin who promises to restore Shrek’s ‘original’ self. This takes Shrek to an awry and perverse Far Far Away, where Rumpelstiltskin is the King and ogres are the hunted. Moreover, the most disorienting fact is that Shrek and Fiona have never met in that kingdom. So, Shrek begins to materialize his efforts by trying to restore the actual Far Far Away and regain his true love.

12. Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

Director: Mike Newell

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina

Release Date: May 28th 2010

Summary: Based on the popular video game, Prince of Persia is set in medieval Persia where a bold and daring prince joins hands with an emulous princess to find a time-manipulating dagger which is the only means of stopping an angry Grand Vizier who wishes to destroy the world by unleashing a huge sandstorm.

13. Sex and the City 2

Director: Michael Patrick King

Cast: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon

Release Date: May 28th 2010

Summary: It is an upcoming sequel to the 2008 movie, Sex and the City. The movie is in production stage right now and is slated for a May 2010 release. It comes with the tag-line “Carrie On” which is a sort of a pun in comparison to the “Get Carried Away” for the previous movie.

14. The A-Team

Director: Joe Carnahan

Cast: Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley, Quinton Jackson, Jessica Biel

Release Date: June 11th 2010

Summary: Having been framed for a crime that they never committed and now in the U.S military’s most wanted list, four Iraq War veterans look to clear their names with the U.S military. But yet, they are forced to go on a run. The movie is based on a 1980 classic action-comedy TV series that tickled the funny bone of an entire nation.

15. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Director: David Slade

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Billy Burke, Ashley Greene

Release Date: June 30th 2010

Summary: Victoria is still on the run and is out to avenge James’ death. With the previous movie New Moon just ending in a standstill, Eclispe may just answer all the questions that were left unanswered. Meanwhile Bella’s feelings for Jacob leave her torn apart in this love triangle.

16. The Last Airbender

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Cast: Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel

Release Date: July 2nd 2010

Summary: Based on a Nickelodeon TV series, The Last Airbender is about the dangerous journey of a hesitant young child who strives to bring unity in a war torn world where civilization exists as four mighty empires.

17. Inception

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard

Release Date: July 16th 2010

Summary: After giving us the biggest hit of 2008 in The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan returns with the story that is said to explore the architecture of the human mind. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a higher up executive who gets himself involved in a blackmailing scandal.

18. The Expendables

Director: Sylvester Stallone

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Eric Roberts

Release Date: August 13th 2010

Summary: “The Expendables” is a story that follows a team of mercenaries whose task is to infiltrate and overthrow a dictatorial regime in South America. With an impressive starcast, this movie has already set the verbal “hyperboles” rolling.

19. Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part One

Director: David Yates

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter

Release Date: November 19th 2010

Summary: With Dumbledore gone and darkness spreading, it is up to Harry, Ron and Hermione to find Voldemort’s remaining horcruxes and destroy his soul completely. In their quest for the horcruxes, they stumble upon the mystical three ‘Deathly Hallows’ which they will need to succeed in their endeavour.

20. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Director: Michael Apted

Cast: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, Gary Sweet

Release Date: December 10th 2010

Summary: Aboard The Dawn Treader, a wondrous Narnian ship captained by King Caspian; Edmund and Lucy along their irksome cousin Eustace Scrubb find themselves headed for the very edges of the world in a journey encountering dragons, slave traders and merefolk.

10. Siva Manasula Sakthi

Director: Rajesh

Cast: Jeeva, Anuya, Santhanam

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Points: This ‘hyped’ entertainer just managed to tickle the funny bone in patches and was worth a few laughs, but nothing more. Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja was a big hit.

9. Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu

Director: Susinthiran

Cast: Vishnu Vishal, Saranya Mohan, Kishore

Music: V. Selvaganesh

Points: With an entire cast of new-comers, director Susinthiran scored a hit. The individual characters rendered lasting performances. With a shocker of a climax, an excellent ensemble cast and script, Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu scored a match-point.

8. Yavarum Nalam

Director: Vikram Kumar

Cast: R. Madhavan, Neetu Chandra

Music: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy, Tubby, Parik

Points: For all those who associated Madhavan with mushy romance, Yavarum Nalam was a complete volte-face. With a strong performance oriented role, Madhavan was bang-up on the job. It turned out to be a big break for Vikram Kumar who made a killing out of this movie which was also released in Bollywood as 13B.

7. Peranmai

Director: S. P. Jananathan

Cast: Jayam Ravi, Roland Kickinger,Vasundra, Saranya, Varsha, Tanusika, Liyasree, Oorvasi

Music: Vidyasagar

Points: What makes director S. P. Jananathan chalk up such storylines? After a brilliant directorial debut in Ee, he comes up with this oddball movie. This movie, though it did not serve the interests of all types of audiences, will remain in the memories of all those who watched it because it’s essence is ‘hard work’. Right from the director to every individual member of the cast has toiled it out in the Deccan jungles. Brave effort — That’s why it is here.

6. Naan Kadavul

Director: Bala

Cast: Arya, Pooja

Music: Ilaiyaraaja

Points: Naan Kadavul continues Bala’s winning streak that began with Sethu. Having chosen a very ritzy and productive subject like he always does, Bala throws reality at your face that could make you feel restless with a sense of discomfort. The movie was certainly a landmark for both Arya and Pooja.

5. Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru

Director: Nandhini

Cast: Ajmal Ameer, Rupa Manjeri

Music: Mani Sharma

Points: Does it satisfy the premise of a contorted kidnapping plot? Yes, in a way. With two hours of senseless, schizophrenic laughter and smothered romance, this movie was a feel good entertainer that kept me wanting the movie to go on.

4. Pasanga

Director: Pandiraj

Cast: Vimal, Vega Tamotia, Kishore, Sriram

Music: James Vasanthan

Points: Pasanga is a masterpiece. Movies about children have always been a rare and neglected genre in Tamil cinema which is a commercialized tinsel town. The movie comes with a big heart and an important message. It is a must watch, because movies of this kind are a rarity and Pasanga comes in the line of movies like Veyil, Paruthi Veeran and Subramaniapuram that are changing the scene in Kollywood.

3. Eeram

Director: Arivazhagan

Cast: Aadhi, Nandha, Sindhu Menon, Saranya Mohan

Music: Thaman

Points: Rationalism, originality, vigor — Eeram scores in all these POVs. The best part is that it actually makes you cling to the edge of the seat most of the time. No mean feat, considering the limitations of mainstream Tamil cinema.

2. Unnaipol Oruvan

Director: Chakri Toleti

Cast: Kamal Haasan, Mohanlal, Ganesh Venkatraman, Anuja Iyer

Music: Shruthi Haasan

Points: Quintessentially Kamal! The starcast works wonders for the project. Unnaipol Oruvan surprises you and is a bizarrely fascinating movie. Though one can say that A Wednesday was definitely better in the ‘whole-movie’ aspect, the expectations in Tamil cinema are poles apart from Bollywood.

1. Nadodigal

Director: Samuthirakani

Cast: Sasikumar, Vijay Vasanth, Ananya,Bharani, Abhinaya

Music: Sundar C Babu

Points: Every character has lived under the skin of characterization in the movie. It is nowhere near Subramaniapuram in terms of intensity, but with a logical storyline and realistic depiction of relationships, it consumes you into it’s screenplay. Nadodigal is unquestionably not only the best tamil movie of 2009, but also one of the finest films Tamil cinema has ever produced.

Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Emily Mortimer

Director: Martin Scorsese

Official Site: http://www.shutterisland.com/

Click here to view the embedded video.

Capsule Look:

Easily the biggest and the most expected movie of 2010 – goes into the list of “unmissables”. Martin Scorsese gives life to Dennis Lehane’s psychic thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo in the lead. The two of them play U.S Marshals investigating the disappearance of a patient from Boston’s Shutter Island Ashecliffe Hospital whose activities later on turn out to be unethical to illegal to downright sinister. As they turn the heat on their trail by amassing clues, they soon begin to lose trust on each other, their memories and their sanity.

Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller

Cast: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat & their camcorder.

Director: Oren Peli

Reasons to watch: Promises to scare the shit out of you.

Reasons not to watch: NOT for the weak-hearted!

Storyline: A young American couple, Katie and Micah realize that there are strange things happening (aka paranormal activity) in their house at night when they are asleep/trying to get some sleep. This is a typical case of human beings’ inquisitive nature catching up with them – Micah decides to capture the paranormal activity engulfing his house on film by using a camcorder. This goes on as a routine and every following night just gets worse. They consult a psychic who tells them that leaving the house would only make the entity follow Katie and warns them not to ever communicate with the spirit/demon/shape or whatever it is. ‘Stupid’ Micah does just that by getting an Ouija board only to find a message from ‘Our ghost’ on it. Consequentially, one thing leads to another and Mr.Demonic Entity gets pissed that he decides to end it…… right away.

This ‘Found Footage’ movie by Oren Peli has turned out to be a huge grosser. The director makes effective use of loud thuds, squeaking doors and constant banging sounds to provide the audience with a totally different genre of horror like The Blair Witch Project and Quarantine.

Climax Handling: Pops up lots of questions in the mind. Oren Peli maintains the jittery mode with a subtle eeriness till the end which binds the audience with lots of expectation.

Points:

Micah: Come on Katie; let’s get the f@#k outta this house. NOW!!!
Katie: I don wanna go….I don wanna leave….Please stay with me….Just trust me….I don wanna go….I don wanna leave….We ll be ok. I think it’s better if we stay.
Micah: F@#kin…. I don know what the hell is goin on, but this is insane!F@#K!!! (Walks off)
Katie: (Gives a long good stare at the camera) I think we ll be ok now. (Keeps smiling)

Rating: 8.5/10

Comment: This fright flick messes with your head. The message is simple – NEVER mess with the supernatural.

Genre: Fiction, Abstract, Weird, Rotoscoped

Cast: Trevor Jack Brooks, Lorelei Linklater, Wiley Wiggins

Direction:Richard Linklater

Music: Glover Gill

Reasons to watch: Waking Life is a digitally enhanced live action rotoscoped film. It is a think-bag. And it has Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in small roles And Richard Linklater himself. And the film is T-y-p-i-c-a-l-l-y Linklater~!

Reasons not to: If you don’t understand it. If you get bored by recursive hellical ideologies.

Story: It starts with a young man going off to somewhere, doing something on his own, until he realizes he is dreaming. Whenever he thinks he has woken up, or as soon as he realizes he is dreaming, the situation and characters around him change. The scope changes. Everything is now new. The characters around him are discussing aspects of dreams, afterlife, relationships,existentialism, situationist politics, posthumanity and so many other things. The character discovers that he is not being able to wake up at all. These characters are telling him so many things… The young man eventually comes to realize the possibility that the reason he is unable to wake up is because he is dead. The film ends quite vaguely, typically Linklatered It’s a beauty to watch. The rotoscope works amazingly well for this script!

Climax Handling: There’s no climax as such.  All the other handlings are Awesome~!~!

Points:

Soap Opera Woman: Excuse me.
Wiley: Excuse me.
Soap Opera Woman: Hey. Could we do that again? I know we haven’t met, but I don’t want to be an ant. You know? I mean, it’s like we go through life with our antennas bouncing off one another, continously on ant autopilot, with nothing really human required of us. Stop. Go. Walk here. Drive there. All action basically for survival. All communication simply to keep this ant colony buzzing along in an efficient, polite manner. “Here’s your change.” “Paper or plastic?’ “Credit or debit?” “You want ketchup with that?” I don’t want a straw. I want real human moments. I want to see you. I want you to see me. I don’t want to give that up. I don’t want to be ant, you know?

Rating: 8.5/10

Comment: Again, one of those ‘perspective’ movies. Watch it to gain direction, perspective, or simply, a train of thought.

Language

Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Mystery

Cast: Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú

Direction: Guillermo del Toro

Music: Javier Navarrete. Very impactful. Will especially help you because you have to read what is being spoken. Beautiful score.

Reasons to watch: Academy award winning movie with awesome CGI graphics. And very terrifying.

Reasons not to: Subtitles

Storyline: A little girl, Ofelia in Fascist Spain. Her pregnant mother, and stepfather, Captain Vidal, who is ruthless and cold. Dark spanish woods. Her fairy tales. The cruelties of the general. His success in finishing off the Spanish Maquis guerillas. The little girl’s fairy tale turns real. She meets a fairy in the woods. She meets a faun. She is given some tasks by him. He tells her that she is actually the princess of a land left far, far behind. She can return when she proves she is worthy of being a princess. Her mother dies. The housekeeper, Mercedes takes care of her, but she is not allowed to. Ofelia runs away to her fairy land. She is demanded the blood of her infant brother. And only that will make her fairy tale come true. Will Ofelia be able to escape? Will this be a price she would pay?

Climax Handling: It is beautiful if you see the point. The point is hard to get in such extreme voilence. It could really have been more subtle and then extremely beautiful.

Points: 1. Extreme Violence.

2. Ofelia: Many, many years ago in a sad, faraway land, there was an enormous mountain made of rough, black stone. At sunset, on top of that mountain, a magic rose blossomed every night that made whoever plucked it immortal. But no one dared go near it because its thorns were full of poison. Men talked amongst themselves about their fear of death, and pain, but never about the promise of eternal life. And every day, the rose wilted, unable to bequeath its gift to anyone… forgotten and lost at the top of that cold, dark mountain, forever alone, until the end of time.

Rating: 7/10

Comment: Watch if you can bear to watch it. Very graphic.