300 Trailer

Probably the best trailer of all time!

Who Knew Kumar Could Be So Serious

Last week, I went to the premiere of "The Namesake" at the MFA with my Asian American Literature class. It ended up being sold out, so lucky for me that I had a ticket reserved way before hand. Go me!
"The Namesake" is all about family values and traditions. Gogol Ganguli (Kal Penn) is a typical American boy with a not so typical name. His classmates often make fun of him because he shares his name with an author who was pretty much insane, but also a genius. Of course there is a deeper meaning to his name, which his father gave to him. Eventually he wants to change his name, and does, going by Nick. However, once he finds out the real meaning and how important it is to his father, he wishes he never took it so for granted.
"The Namesake" has a great cast that consists of Kal Penn, Irfan Khan, Tabu and Zuleikha Robinson. Khan and Tabu have amazing chemistry on screen, as do Penn and Robinson. The cinematography and costume design were also very beautiful.
"The Namesake" reminds me a lot of "Bend It Like Beckham," another film about finding the balance between family acceptance and social acceptance. I can't give away too much of the plot for fear of ruining the movie for those who might see it, but it was definitely a great movie and the actors definitely make it. With their touching performances I felt so attached to them, crying when they were sad and laughing when things got culturally awkward. Definitely a movie worth seeing.

Grade: B+

New Spider-man 3 Trailer

This is the first trailer in which Venom appears. Plus additional sneak peeks as well. Looks amazing! Can't wait until May 4th.

Spring Break Report

Last week was my lovely little one week Spring Break. No I did not go to the Bahamas, Florida or anywhere really interesting. I went home to Long Island where I live and brought a friend from school home with me to brighten up my break. He had never been to New York before, so of course I had to give him the grand tour of my hometown and take him into the city. He's from Maine so basically he thought Boston was big city living, but when he came into Port Authority bus station I brought him over to Time Square and he was pretty shocked at how larger than life New York City really is. Another day I brought him back into the city, we attempted to go and see the Statue of Liberty, which I haven't been to since I was about nine years old, but it ended up being closed, so we just looked from afar. We also saw Wall street, the Trinity Church, the WTC site, Times Square again and we even saw the big bull, which you can see in the movie "Hitch." We also saw "Breach," which I've already reviewed on here. Movies are always a fun time for me.
Then after my friend left, I spent a lot of time with my family, going out to dinner and into the city where both of my parents work. Then I saw my cousin, who's a student at NYU, perform in a play, which was "Macbeth." It was done on a small stage and was semi-interactive, so it was a totally new and interesting experience. I really liked it, despite the fact that it was a good 80 degrees in there.
All in all I had a pretty good spring break.

Zodiac Trailer

Zodiac: Your Dead Wrong If You Don't Like It

So I realized that trying to find someone to go to the movies with me on a Monday night is an extreme challenge. However, I did eventually find two girls to go with me to see the eerie crime thriller Zodiac. Of course these are the kind of girls that you don’t want to see a scary movie with. Not because they’re not fun, or cool, but because they start getting freaked out during the previews, which in turn freaks you out. So when the actual film begins, you’re already paranoid that someone in the row behind you is going to attack you during the movie…despite the 25 other people in the theatre with you. But you never know.
Zodiac is about the infamous serial killer, the Zodiac, who terrorized California with his creepy codes and unexpected murders throughout the 60s and 70s. It is a case that has never been closed, so obviously if you know anything about the Zodiac, you know that in this film there’s not going to be that usual pay off at the end where the bad guy gets caught and is made to pay for his crimes. Instead, Zodiac does something better, it stays true to the case, keeping you on edge throughout the film, and it even makes you laugh a good deal. The amount of factual information that Zodiac drudges up is amazing. For someone like me who is often fascinated with unsolved cases and conspiracy theories, I was astonished, because I had read up on the case in the past and halfway through the movie I was learning new stuff. The one draw back of Zodiac is that it is a very slow moving movie, but like All the Presidents Men, if you have the patience the pay off is well worth it in the end.
Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Robert Graysmith, a cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle who becomes obsessed with finding out who the Zodiac really is. Gyllenhaal is brilliant in Zodiac. His character is awkward and his fellow co-workers refer to him as “retard” behind his back. He is the main character as well as the comic relief to this film. One of the girls I went to the movie with was scared to see Zodiac because it would be too terrifying, but of course I convinced her to go. But in this film, I laughed way more than I cringed. Possibly disappointing to big horror film fans, but very valuable to the film because it kept the viewer involved in the slow moving plot. Robert Downey Jr., as Paul Avery, a cocky reporter for the Chronicle, is also another comical character. In my opinion this is probably Downey’s best work yet, which could be because his character becomes a raging alcoholic for a good portion of the film, but he is still wonderful, and paired with Gyllenhaal, they make an amazing duo with which Zodiac could not do without. Mark Ruffalo also does a great job as Inspector David Toschi, who is determined to bring the Zodiac to justice.
Hands down, this is the best picture so far this year. It was everything a good film should be and more. After the film, when you discuss what you thought about the film with your friends (basically when everyone gets a chance to play the film critic), I mentioned how it was a bit slow, but because I’m patient I loved it. My friend said, “I have about a five second attention span and I was able to pay attention to it the whole time.” Zodiac is that good!

Grade: A

Pre-Screening of The Namesake at MFA

Recently, through my Asian-American Literature class, I found out that on Tuesday, March 13th at the MFA, there was going to be a pre-screening of Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Namesake." For those of you who do not know what a pre-screening is, it is when you are able to see a film before it is released for the public. Pretty cool right? The only other pre-screening I've ever been to was "Josie and the Pussycats" because my mom worked for Revlon and they happened to use a lot of their products in the film...so lucky me! I was 13, it was exciting. But back to "The Namesake."
"The Namesake" is about an American-born boy, Gogol (played by Kal Penn, who you know as Kumar from "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle") who tries to reconcile with his parents' traditional lifestyle and expectations while trying to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers as well.
Tickets are available today, Monday, March 12th at the Asian American Center at 109 Hemenway. But if you have not already nabbed a ticket to this by the end of today, the only way to see it would be to go early and wait on stand by. The film starts promptly at 7pm, and five minutes before, open seats will become available to those who come on stand by. Good luck!

Breach

Based on the true story of the greatest security breach in United States history, Ryan Phillippe and Chris Cooper star in Breach. Breach is the kind of film you see rarely now a days...not because it is a fantastic film, or an original story, or even great acting, but because it's just an entertaining film. Breach doesn't overstep its limits, not too outrageous with tons of action (like all the Jack Ryan films) and not too long and drawn out (like Lord of the Rings), it just IS, and being that average spy film works.
Breach is about the true story of Robert Hanssen(Chris Cooper), an FBI agent, who was providing the Soviet Union with U.S. secrets for a period of about 15 years. When the FBI discovers this, they hire Eric O'Neill(Ryan Phillippe), an up-and-coming FBI agent, to be Hanssen's personal assistant, and of course to keep a close watch on everything he does in order to build a case against him. Hanssen is very religious, extremely forward, and paranoid, often testing his peers to prove their loyalty, while O'Neill is an overachiever and more personable. O'Neill uses these traits to get closer to Hanssen, gaining his trust while snooping around his office looking for the incriminating evidence that he needs. Breach is a spy film that examines the relationship between two very different men, instead of giving us another overdone action film. Cooper, who's always on point, is creepier than ever in Breach, with his OCD habits, sexual perversions and paranoia. Phillippe also does his job in a role where he could have easily overacted. I'm not giving out any Oscars here, both men just did a great job.
Overall, Breach was one of the best movies so far this year. It had me cringing every time O'Neill almost got caught and rooting for him every time he got closer to bringing Hanssen down. With all the over the top films that come out today, and all of the directors that are looking to have their own Lord of the Rings-like trilogy, I wish more movies of this kind would take their place. Big isn't always better!

Grade: B+