Mo hup leung juk - Butterfly Lovers

Mo hup leung juk - Butterfly Lovers
Hong Kong (2008)
Starring:  Charlene Choi, Chun Wu, Ge Hu

Butterfly Lovers itself as a movie didn't really "wow" me on many levels.  The story however is altogether something else.  This movie is based on a story that is almost 2000 years old and is a traditional folktale in China.  Liang Zhu as the tale is often referred to, in honor of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, is a love story that has truly transcended history to bring us a tale of two lovers who are bound by a love so strong heaven itself cast them to live upon the earth and never truly realize that which they sought after most.  It is a fascinating story and may be older then it's Hindi counterpart Heer Ranjha and certainly older then our western Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.  When comparing the similarities of the major characters in these stories the parallels are quite amazing.  It makes me wonder if such stories spread and with a change of characters and local were brought back to life and made famous again in a foreign land, or if the stories have absolutely no connection and from arbitrary chance one story was believed to have happened while something very similar was dreamed up with no influence passing either way.

The main actress and the director in this movie both get slammed in popular reviews citing she is not believable in her role.  There are a few moments where I felt the same way, but there's a few good giggles, a couple decent martial arts scenes, an evil villain fighting to possess a heart that is not destined to be his, and then of course the story that makes butterfly lovers of Butterfly Lovers.  I enjoyed the movie and the history lesson I received while trying to bring you the background on it.  I enjoyed it.  If you're looking for a romantic martial arts flick, I will stand behind this one.

Quote:  Butterflies should be a pair, one left behind will be lonely.  So wait for me.

Mulan

Hua Mulan
China (2009)
Starring:  Wei Zhao, Jaycee Chan, and Rongguang Yu
Awards:  Golden Deer (Changchun Film Festival 2010), Shanghai Film Critics Award (Shanghai Film Critics Awards 2010)

Mulan is another epic.  Epic in story, history, deeds, and the filming.  When I first watched this movie it reminded me of Joan of Arc.  It wasn't till a little later that I discovered Hua Mulan is a true historical Chinese figure dating roughly back to 300AD.

Hua Mulan, a woman who couldn't bear to see her aged father be called to battle sacrificed herself and went to fight for him.  Women of course weren't allowed in battle so she disguised herself as a man and took her father's place.  Legend has it that she fought for 12 years under his name.  A noble tale of sacrifice and honor.

I 100% enjoyed this movie.

Guru

Guru aka Gurukant
India (2007)
Starring:  Mithun Chakraborty, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai

Guru is a movie that has sat in my collection for months, once again I should have watched it sooner.

This movie is about a villager who left his family and went to Turkey to work at a young age.  His father never accepted that he would become anything.  When he was to receive a promotion he saw little sense in continuing to work for someone else while remaining poor and quit working to go back home and follow a dream.  From that point forward the story unfolds.  Unlike many Bollywood movies that go on and on and on while playing out the plot with nothing new being introduced, Guru was constantly brining new issues or causes into the movie all the way through.  Also unlike many Bollywood movies, Guru is not a sappy love story all the way through; granted the love story does play a main part in the movie, but it is not the focus.  There are a few cute dance scenes which of course I love just because they involve the beautiful Aishwarya Rai.

This movie was about overcoming obstacles.  It depicted how much having the right person at your side can make all of the difference while enforcing that without determination you will never reach your goals.

All in all I have to say I really enjoyed this movie.  Partially because of the messages the movie contains and partially because of it's uniqueness as a Bollywood flick.

Quote:  If you're with me I can beat the whole world.
              If law can be made in a day, it can be changed in a day.
              Think big, think ahead, and think fast.

Listen to Your Heart

Listen to Your Heart
USA
2010
Starring;  Alexia Rasmussen, Kent Moran, and Cybill Sheperd

The movie concept of a deaf person and a musician falling in love seems to be a recurring theme, though fewer and further between most of today's theme recurrences.  This one was done fairly well, but mostly because of the deep love and life lessons that it presents.  Listen to Your Heart was an awesome movie that was well worth it's time.  It's a good drama, love, life, loss, and inspirationally eye opening movie.  It seems like the budget might have been a little low, but then that makes part of a movie.  

Danny and Ariana meet at the restaurant where Danny, the struggling musician, works.  Though he captured Ariana's attention he does not at all impress her mother.  Where they end up is another place altogether.  Falling deeply in love is where this story begins.  Living through some of life's hard trials and tragedies is the journey that Listen to Your Heart takes the viewers on.

All in all I was anticipating a sappy love story and it proved to be so much more then that; sure there is a sappy love story, but there is also the beauty and inspiration of a love painted tragedy and a story that will make us all think about enjoying the time that we have.  Danny and Ariana are amazing characters for so many reasons. I really enjoyed this movie; I'll warn you though it could possibly have you both laughing and crying.

Quote:  What's one thing you could always use more of?  "Love" -Danny

Aladin

Aladin
India - Bollywood
2009
Starring:  Ritesh Deshmukh, Jaqueline Fernandes, Amitabh Bachchan, and Sanjay Dutt

I can not express how insanely happy it made me to find this movie.  There are just certain stories that always capture my interest, Aladin and the Genie have been one of them for almost 30 years.

The story has little new to it, but it comes from close to the land of the original tale and so from that perspective it is new enough.  This story begins with Aladin hiding from his heritage.  Through a strange twist of fate he ends up with the magical lamp and from it summons Genius.  Aladin can not conceive of three wishes and is prodded by Genius who is eager to get the three wishes over with and go about his way.

This movie has the comedy, the love story, the Bollywood dance, a cultural overlay, magic, carnies, a genie, and some interesting visual effects.  Oh, there is this funny song that you have to hear.  There's a Genie rap in the movie that cracks me up, I wish I understood the Hindi part - but, that might take some of the humor away.  All in all I was happy to see the movie and at just over two hours the time was much better for this story then the typical near 3 hour epics that Bollywood produces.

Quote:

Veer

Veer
India (Bollywood)
2010
Starring:  Salman Khan, Zarine Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, and Jackie Shroff

As the poster says, it Veer is the epic love story of a warrior. The movie boasts some decent sweeping visual scenes as well as a multicultural tale.  Veer is a story of honor, betrayal, and love against the backdrop of a historically epic time in India.

Veer is a Pindari warrior whose father and tribe are betrayed by the British and Madhavgarh's King.  Fate one day brings Veer and his warriors to rob a train that will change the course of history for the Pindari.

Veer has extremely mixed reviews on all fronts, still I thoroughly enjoyed it.  Some say the final scenes aren't necessary, but I find some cosmic peace in the ending; others say the battles were unnecessary, I'm not sure how else one would portray this warrior without them; and still others yet say it was cheesy, every Bollywood romance has a huge element of that.  All in all I'd watch it again.  I hope Netflix soon brings it to the USA masses, I'd like to see Zarine Khan boosted into stardom and this first movie of hers referenced as one of her greats in years to come.

Quote: This story belongs to fearless the Pindari whose saga of bravery was not considered as a part of history by the British. But, they could not stop them from becoming a legend.

"What is the Greatest Thing for a Pindari?" - "Courage"
"And greater than courage?" - "Promise"
"And greater than a promise?" . . .

Faana

Fanaa
India (Bollywood)
2006
Starring:  Aamir Khan, Kajol, Tabu, and Rishi Kapoor

You know how most Bollywood movies have an intermission because they are so long?  The second part of this movie was nothing like the first, it was truly like a second movie.  There aren't many times that I am caught off guard by the turn of events in a movie, usually I find movies predictable... this one was all but predictable.  From drama, to romance, to action, and some adventure this movie evokes many different sentiments.  The cinematography in the movie is absolutely stunning full of amazing sweeping views of gorgeous countrysides and scenery and Delhi as well.  The music is interesting in this movie.  A portion of the same tune is used in about 90% of the musical sequences.  How it changed to fit the different songs is through the whole movie and was still recognizable is unique.  The brave attempts at poetry through the whole first half was cool also; I'm quite sure this would have been a more enjoyable experience if I could understand the native audio - poetry always looses some of its constructive points in translation.

Zooni, a young blind woman who's lived a sheltered life.  She leaves the most important thing in her life, her family, and travels to Dehli in a grand adventure with her father's reluctant permission.  Through most of the movie she is recounting quotes of her father's wisdom, which I found quite enjoyable and personally reminded me of someone I used to know.   Rehan, "God's greatest gift" in his own words, is a tourguide.  Destiny brings them together and what follows if the story of a lifetime.  The path of their relationship takes the most unforeseen twists as Zooni makes a decision to undergo a corrective surgery to restore her sight.  Fanaa is quite cheesy in an enjoyable way through the first half.

Seeing a Bollywood movie with a blind woman as the leading character was interesting to me.  Kajol did a great job in keeping her eyes from reacting to visual stimuli during filming.

In all if you're a fan of Bollywood I have to recommend this movie it wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't bad either.  It's a awesome love story and has the wft? factor going through quite a bit of it.  I'm glad I gave it the chance.

Quote:  The choice isn't between good and evil.  That's easy.  The real choices of life are choosing between the lesser of two evils, or the greater of two goods.

Saawariya

Saawariya
India (Bollywood)
2007
Starring:  Ranbir Kapoor, Soman Kapoor, and Salman Khan

Saawariya didn't contain anything new for me, but it was still a beautiful movie. The movie was a cross between Pretty Woman and Moulan Rogue, with a little more innocence then either; not saying it directly pulls from the plots, but the Sawwariya reminds me of both.  With that said the scenes are absolutely beautiful; the filming mirrors that statement as well.  They did a great job creating romantic mysticism with dimly lit foggy scenes.  The town itself reminds me of Venice in general appearance and feel, but has a vibrant look to it in the dark that I don't recall of Venice; all of that with a traditional Indian overlay and some custom neon and coloring to finish it off.  If for nothing else then the sheer romanticism created by the sets alone I would watch this movie again.  The scenery in short is poetic.

The acting was good.  Sonam like many Bollywood actresses is just absolutely gorgeous and plays her part well.  Ranbir allso put on a stellar performance.  One of them a hopeless drifter who sings his way through bars and the other a woman awaiting a love who promised to come back to her the following Eid; they meet on a bridge and the stars can tell the rest of the story.  Together they made a movie that reminds you when love is hopeless life will go on.

I did have to take and download a different subtitle file then the one that came on the DVD and play the movie through an alternate viewer that would let me force overlay subtitles.  The one that came with the movie didn't seem to match the spoken dialog; seemed like a lot more talking was going on then I was reading.  With a different subtitle file I got a much better translation I think and translations of the songs (which are half the reason why I watch Bollywood movies anyway).  If anyone else finds they have the same ailment and need help with the subs let me know, it's a simple process.

Het Leven Uit Een Dag - Life in One Day

Het Leven Uit Een Dag - Life in One Day
Netherlands
2009
Starring:  Matthijs van de Sande Bakhuyzen, Lois de Jong, and Tygo Gernandt
Awards:  Nominated for Best Cinematography at Camerimage and for the Dutch Film Critics Award at the Netherlands Film Festival

Life in One Day is a unique movie.  At first I thought that it might have followed the storyline of a movie called Wristcutters, though it did show a small resemblance the movie was far from what I anticipated.

This independent film from the Netherlands explores love and relationships through experiences that take place in two parallel worlds.  One world is nearly the same as the other with a couple major differences; if one were to pick at some of the possibilities of the "alternate" world there are some fundamental issues that could be addressed, but the fact of the matter is that movies are a vehicle, a image if you will, from someone's mind as it imagines the possibilities and impossibilities in life and creates stories.  Het Leven Uit Een Dag is no exception.  This movie started out a little twisted, but surprised me as it continued.  The plot flows smoothly throughout the movie.  I am most positive I would thoroughly enjoy the movie in its native language.

The plot is that of two lovers who desire the impossible and strive towards it; this impossible being eternal love.  The story flows along this line all the way through.  There is quite a bit of eroticism, nudity, and sex through the movie - go Europeans.  How can one have an eternal love without considering sex and nudity in the relationship?  Through the exploration of life and satisfaction this movie journeys through situations ironically humorous and sad at the same time.

Het Leven Uit Een Dag, Life in One Day, was worth seeing once.  I enjoyed the movie enough that I came back and finished watching it; dread the movies that I can not do that with.

Quote:  In the world where I was born, life lasts one day.   One day in which you experience everything only once.

Soon to come

I have unfortunately been lax in my reviews, however I have not been so in watching the movies. Soon to come (next few days) will be reviews of Cargo, Zeitgeist, Het Leven Uit Een Dat, Strigoi, Action Replay, Ip Man 2 & 3, Black Death, Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame.... amongst a couple of others. Check back soon ;)

Joong-cheon - The Restless

Joong-cheon - The Restless
South Korea
2006
Starring:  Jun-ho Heo, Woo-sung Jung, and Kwang-il Kim

The Restless presents life and death in a distinctly unique fashion.  From hoards of demons, legendary swordsmen, ethereal guardians, legions of the dead, and of course one beautiful love this movie moves through the life and afterlife with stunning visual sequences.

This movie is listed as a horror in virtually every database, but it's certainly not what I as a westerner consider a horror.  The movie has elements of adventure, action, fantasy, and romance.  All the ingredients I need to sit down and try to dedicate a couple of hours to something.

Joong-cheon  is also full of visually stunning sequences.  It was nomiated for the Most Visually Stunning movie in the 2007 Asian Film Festival and it won the Best Art Direction award in the Grand Bell Awards.  It contained some very well choreographed fight scenes too.  The Restless is a unique journey through this world and the afterlife.  For fans of the fantasy martial arts genre I recommend this movie.  There are some parts that I had to shake my head at, but all in all this is a pretty cool movie.

Veer-Zaara

A

Veer-Zaara
2004
India
Starring:  Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta, and Rani Mukherjee

This review is biased, mostly because I fell in love with both Bollywood and Preity watching this movie.  In my mind no greater love story has ever been written.  The depiction of honor, beauty, and valor in Veer-Zaara is epic by any standard.  So much did this film move my heart I could write pages on how this movie made me feel, but that would require spoilers :)    This movie was the first Bollywood movie I had ever watched and has eternally earned the spot of the number Bollywood movie ever; I know someone will argue that.  The culture displayed through this movie was quite interesting as well.  This movie depicts in subtle ways the multiple cultures that exist through northern India and Pakistan.

Veer, a pilot in the Indian army, and Zaara, a gorgeous woman from Pakistan, crossed paths in the strangest way as she was fulfilling a promise made to her beloved grandmother.  The most beautiful love that could never have formed began.  The rest is all in the movie.  The love story in this movie is the foundation for one of the most beautiful struggles I have ever seen.  If I could I'd name constellations after this couple.

I recommend this movie 100% and to those who don't like it, well don't watch it twice :)

The most amazing love story that has ever been conceived is right here in:  Veer-Zaara

Quote:  "Give me this, one day from your life.....I know a day is very precious to you.   But, I promise that you'll never forget this day."

Maghadeera

Magadheera (2009)  Telugu  Starring:  Ram Charan Teja, Kajal Agarwal and Dev Gill

I saw this title around many times before I decided to watch it; I enjoy Bollywood movies for many reasons, the epic stories, the culture, and the dance.  Magadheera has the same storyline of your typical Bollywood flick.  Two lovers who face difficult odds in making their relationship work is central to the main premise of the movie. This movie does a wonderful job moving from the past to the present and developing the history as it tells the story of these lovers.  The visuals from the past are stunning in composition and a good portion of the present in the movie provides for a chuckle.  The love story in this I really personally enjoyed, it allows for the romantic dreamer of cosmic love to dream.  Magadheera also has some good action in it.  There's a fight scene that is not to be missed!  The dance scenes are fairly entertaining also.

Bhairava (Ram Charan Teja) displays a grand sense of honor in his actions throughout this movie.  Mitra (Kajal Agarwal) is as beautiful and I think plays her part wonderfully.  Retrospectively this movie is among my favorite Bollywood movies.  It rivals almost anything the great Khans have done.  Sure there are a couple parts that I thought were purely silly, but the story itself was one of the best stories of love and honor I have ever seen or heard of.

For any lover of Bollywood or Indian cinema this movie is a spectacular must see.  Months after I watched it, this is still one of my all time favorite movies and love stories.