Tag Archives: movies

New Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Trailer

Is it just me or does this movie keep looking better and better, if that’s even possible?

It’s my #1 most anticipated movie of the year and I’m sure Christopher Nolan won’t disappoint me at all.

33 Days – A Lebanese Movie About The July 2006 War Banned At ABC Mall

Picture from the Facebook page: Stop Cultural Terrorism in Lebanon

Just as we talk about the bans and transgressions that happen with what some people refer to as “pro-Israel” entities, we cannot talk about being fair until we point out similar bans that happen on the other side.

ABC Mall’s management banned Grand Cinemas from showing 33 Days, a new Lebanese movie, starring Carmen Lebbos and Bassem Maghnieh as well as Youssef el Khal. 33 Days, which is a Lebanese-Iranian production about a Hezbollah mission to release Lebanese prisoners in Israeli prisoners during the July 2006 war.

Legally, the owners of ABC Mall have the right to allow or disallow movies from being screened at Grand Cinemas. However one cannot but wonder why they decided to ban this movie from being screened?

The movie’s producer said he does not know if it’s for a political reason. I cannot but think of political reasons for the ban, in which case shame on ABC Mall’s management for not respecting the basic freedom rights. You’re against Hezbollah? Fine. So banning a movie that talks about something Hezbollah makes you feel better? Does it make you feel like you did something worthwhile?

The only thing ABC’s management did with banning 33 Days is to make a fool out of themselves for being xenophobic inside their own country.

If there’s anything ABC’s management should have considered, apart from every logical reason that might come to person’s mind, is that you have more than 1000 Lebanese who died in the July 2006 war (You can read a story of one of the war’s victims here). Most of those 1000 people were innocent people whose only fault was being at the wrong place at the wrong time. We may not agree with their politics, but the least we can do is not ridicule their memory by banning a movie about the cause that led to their death.

What’s sad is that news about Lara Fabian being banned from coming to Lebanon spread like wildfire across the cyberspace. News about the movie’s ban did nothing.

The movie is being screened at other Grand Cinemas theaters in Lebanon.

American Reunion – Movie Review

Almost 10 years after the last American Pie movie, the original cast is back for their high school reunion, 13 years after graduating – and all the characters have grown up.

Jim Levenstein (Jason Biggs) & Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) are still married and are now parents to a two year old boy. Their sex life, however, is in a rut and they’re trying to rekindle their romance.

Oz (Chris Klein) is now a hotshot famous sports anchor, dating a model who’s too out there for his taste. And he hasn’t gotten over his first love Heather (Mena Suvari).

Kevin Myers (Thomas Ian Nicholas) is now a work-from-home architect, married to a woman named Ellie. At the reunion, he’ll be tormented by feelings for his first love Vicky (Tara Reid).

Finch (Eddie Kay Thomas) is supposedly a man going on worldwide adventures – from Europe to South America, via Dubai and China.

On the other hand, Steven Stiffler (Seann William Scott) hasn’t done much growing up in the past 13 years. Stifmeister is still as is.

As the original characters go back to East Great Falls, they’re struck by how things have changed, and somehow how so much is still the same. The kid Jim used to babysit is now a young flirtatious woman trying to find the right man to lose her virginity to. The jocks are still jerks. In a way things are very similar to how they were – there’s one catch: they have grown up.

The opening scene sets the tone. American Reunion is hilarious. Yes, it’s cheap comedy. Yes, it uses sex to make you laugh. Yes, it’s inappropriate at times. But you just can’t stop laughing during that movie. Call it lame, call it useless, call it a silly relaunching of a franchise, it still does what American Pie does best: deliver a raunchy comedy.

The best thing about American Reunion is that it doesn’t straddle the lines of sentimentality as some franchises tend to do after a long absence. Instead, it keeps going at you with the same formula that made the first three movies successful: sex jokes, raunchy attitudes, lude behavior, nudity, awkward parent-son conversations. It is formulaic in a way, but no one expected it to be otherwise. Some of the jokes may have been done before, such as Jim’s masturbating scenes and talks with his father that divulge way too much information – you know such scenes are coming but you can’t help but laughing when they do.

How I Met Your Mother fans will be happy with a cameo appearance by Neil Patrick Harris. Fans of the “Stiffler’s mom” storyline won’t be disappointed as well, as Jennifer Coolidge makes an appearance. Many secondary characters are also given their own moments to keep you entertained.

People change, priorities get reshuffled, relationships get rearranged – but American Reunion sets to show that true friendship stays. And for one weekend, those friends will say “the hell with growing up” and have the time of their life, one last time. If you’re a fan of the first three movies, then American Reunion is definitely for you. Even if you haven’t watched any of the first American Pie movies, you won’t go into this not getting what it’s about. The characters that were desperately trying to lose their virginity 13 years ago have come a long way, and yet in a way have gone nowhere at all. This is one reunion worth attending.

7/10

Mirror Mirror – Movie Review

2012 can definitely be considered as the year of Snow White. The story has two movies coming out this year, one of which is Mirror Mirror, and a TV series, Once Upon a Time, by the creators of Lost no less.

This adaptation of the infamous fairytale strives to balance comedy with drama – it seeks out light-hearted moments and intersperses them among the storyline’s darker elements, giving a rather refreshing approach to the story we all know.

The movie starts with the Evil Queen (Julia Roberts) telling what she calls her story of which the little girl, whose skin is white as snow and hair dark as night and so called that pompous obnoxious name, Snow White, is of little importance. As Snow White grew and her father, the king, realized he was unable to teach her everything she needed to know, he decided to remarry. The king was bewitched by the dazzling beauty and charm of a woman – the Evil Queen compliments herself plenty – and marries her. But a dark magic sweeps the land and the king is forced to go save his kingdom, never to be seen or heard from again.

As Snow White grows, the Evil Queen tries to keep her at bay, safely tucked away at the castle. But the Evil Queen knows that there will come a time when Snow must do what snow does best and Snow must fall.

Julia Roberts is riveting as the Evil Queen. Even though the movie is not really her story, she manages to make it all about her and she pulls it off remarkably. Whenever she’s on screen, she dominates – be it with her charm or uncanny ability to fool you with an innocent looking smile. Julia is a major contributor to Mirror Mirror‘s two faces. She can be hilarious at times and  downright chilling at others. In fact, the moment the credits started rolling, the people I was watching the movie with were positively surprised that Julia Roberts had it in her to portray an evil role. Even the comic relief moments she introduces here and there are of evil nature. For the doubters about Roberts’ ability to portray the Evil Queen, you will be impressed.

The rest of the cast, even Snow White (Lilly Collins), do very well with the characters they’re given. Those that are asked for seriousness are serious and those from whom comedy is required are often hilarious. Acting-wise, Mirror Mirror is simply charming and fun to watch, especially with the interactions of Snow White with the Dwarves or the Evil Queen with her minion.

The interesting thing about Mirror Mirror is that it doesn’t go along the typical Snow White storyline we’ve all known. The whole poisoned apple storyline is downplayed, the Evil Queen doesn’t want to kill Snow White because of her ethereal beauty but because she got active in the affairs of the kingdom. The band of dwarves, usually thought as kind, happy or grumpy or sleepy or whatever their names are, are not like that at all in Mirror Mirror – they are a band of thieves who pry on unsuspecting strangers passing along their path. These little detours from the fairytale we’ve all memorized are what keep Mirror Mirror an interesting movie to watch.

Mirror Mirror is a fun and entertaining movie, be it with its plentiful humor, Julia Roberts’ sarcasm, Lilly Collins’ innocence or Prince Alcott’s (Armie Hammer) facial expressions. As the title implies, the movie has two sides: one is comedy, the other is a fairytale and both work really well together. The happy ending doesn’t feel forced on it, the movie builds to it – what it doesn’t build to, however, is that Indian dance scene it concludes with. But even that ridiculously out of place ending sequence cannot derail what is a strong movie from being bogged down. Even Game of Thrones fans will be surprised by a brief appearance of the series’ most prominent characters and that’s always a good thing.

7.5/10

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close – Movie Review

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is the story Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn), a young American boy who lost his father Thomas (Tom Hanks) in the 9/11 attacks. Trying to cope with the passing of his father, Oskar, who happens to be a very inquisitive boy, tries to make sense of the world. Feeling disconnected with his mother Linda (Sandra Bullock), Oskar sets on a quest across New York City to find one last clue that his father might have left him in a blue vase, which he finds among a stach of things he collected of his father, including his father’s last phone messages on an answering machine he never shared with his mother. The last “hint” is one involving a key and the last name Black, to which he will spring up one last quest involving 472 people with the last name Black in NYC, hoping he’d find the lock which fit the key.

As the movie opens, Oskar, who’s implied to have Asperger’s, says: “If the sun were to blow up, we would still have light and warmth for eight minutes; I feel like my eight minutes with my father are running out.” Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is Oskar’s quest to cling to those eight minutes as long as he could.

Many have called this movie trite and over-indulgent. I disagree. My main problem with Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close was not the subject matter, which you cannot but appreciate, but it was that the main character, Oskar, is more often than not grating, making it difficult for many to relate to his struggles especially when at a moment he snaps at his mother, telling her he wishes it was her in that tower instead, simply because she couldn’t explain why his father had died. It might be how the character was written but Oskar isn’t likeable at most of the movie’s run. There are moments, though, when he’s at his most vulnerable that his child-self shines through. It is then that you appreciate the performance by Thomas Horn, who does a good job, despite his character’s flaws.

Sandra Bullock is great and saddening as the mother trying to protect her son while receiving his bashing for things out of her control. She provides much realism to the movie. Tom Hanks, in the little screen time he gets, embodies the role of the caring dad trying to break his son out of his shell and into the world through little quests in search of ordinary things sparsed throughout New York City, requiring his son to interact with people.

While on his quest, Oskar will cross paths with an old mute man renting at his grandmother’s place. This old man (Max Von Sydow), whose name is never revealed, will help Oskar on his quest by helping him rise above his fear of ordinary things such as trains and shabby-looking bridges. In doing so, Max Von Sydow gives a great performance without uttering a single word.

In a way, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is not really about 9/11 as it is about coping with death. It focuses less on the American tragedy of a country and more on the tragedy of the Schell family. Its main shortcoming is in the fact that with trying to aim for universality, it comes off short from hitting the mark within its niche. Some of the movie’s sequences seem forced. Some are even out of context and irrelevant to the overall flow. In a way the whole sequence with the old man could be removed without affecting the storyline one bit. The movie is not seamless. It feels rickety at points. And that’s a shame because it could have been so much more.

6/10