Windstruck

Director - Kwak Jae-Young

Genre - Comedy/Crime/Drama/Romance

The Koreans release a multitude of manufactured, formulaic romance flicks into the world each year. Throw in a pretty face, some melancholic music and a story about two lost souls bound together by a shared passion for stamp collecting might just sell. This film by the director of 'My Sassy Girl' however belongs to a higher class of the heart-tuggin' genre. When a policewoman (the same adorable babe who starred in the movie mentioned above) falls for a guy cursed with bad luck, a tale of love that would last a thousand lifetimes begins to unravel.

4 STARS!

All about Windstruck

Dexter: Season 1 & 2

TV Series: Season 1 & 2
Genre - Crime/Drama/Mystery/Thriller

This exceptional series broke through the barricades of uninspired television like a blooming daffodil in the middle of a barren desert. Both a predatory creature and probably the most palpable superhero ever conceived, Dexter Morgan may be a serial murderer, but his kills are always validated by a need to rid the world of evil wrongdoers. Still, we're only just scraping the surface of what he truly is, as 'Dexter' may very well be the most complex character ever created for the small screen. Its writers have really done the medium proud, setting the bar so high it seems impossible to ever match.

5 STARS!

All about Dexter

The Other Boleyn Girl

Director - Justin Chadwick

Genre - Biography/Drama/History/Romance

Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman play two sisters vying for the attention of a very married King, starring Eric Bana. Sounds like a formula for a hot, sexy history lesson yes? Sadly, it remains a missed opportunity as the filmmakers have diluted the sensuous aspect of the story so much if felt like in comparison 'Dangerous Liaisons' was hardcore porn. A soap opera-ish tale is then served cold, taking sexy away instead of bringing it back. Our hope of catching the two nubile beauties in more intimate situations for the price of one film is completely crushed and we'll never forgive the director. Never.

2 STARS!

All about The Other Boleyn Girl

Stranger Than Fiction

Director - Marc Forster

Genre - Drama/Fantasy/Romance

The uniqueness and originality of the story is what comes through in this movie. Starring Will Ferrell in his most serious role to date, we are brought into the life of a man who learns that he is a character in a fictional novel. Ferrell's facial expressions as he discovers this is priceless. His quest to find out whether his life is being written as a tragedy or comedy is intriguing and it's Ferrell's charming portrayal that draws us in.

4 STARS!

All about Stranger Than Fiction

QT's Inglourious Basterds

What do you think of QT's Inglourious Basterds' new poster? Enjoy. The film is scheduled to be completed for release at the Cannes Film Festival in June 2009.

New Image of 'THIRST' (박쥐)

Park Chan-Wook has just wrapped up shooting his new “priest-turns-vampire” requiem 'THIRST' (박쥐) recently. The film will now go through several months of post-production before next year’s release. Here's the new image.

Street Kings

Director - David Ayer

Genre - Crime/Action/Thriller

David Ayer (writer of 'Training Day') decides to stay close to the ghetto streets which made his name. Interestingly, he has chosen Keanu Reeves to headline his baby here. Much have been bandied about regarding Reeves's acting. We personally feel Woody from 'Toy Story' is a better actor. Fortunately, Reeves holds steady here somewhat. His portrayal of a morally uncertain tough cop who investigates the gunning down of another cop is not great, but adequate. High-octane cop thriller with bullet-speed dialogue.

3.5 STARS!

All about Street Kings

Scarface

Director - Brian De Palma

Genre - Crime/Drama

"Say hello to my little friend!" This line and many more in this film are now iconic dialogues in world cinema. The distinction of being the baddest gangster who ever lived on screen arguably belongs to Tony Montana. Vile, extravagant and saturated in sex and drugs, this film fictitiously chronicling the rise of a Cuban drug dealer from insignificance is scintillating. Pacino's performance from the Cuban accent to his vulgar, savage personification will just slay you. Way before Bling culture was hot, Tony Montana was already living the life.

5 STARS!

All about Scarface

Audition (Ôdishon)

Director - Takashi Miike

Genre - Drama/Horror/Mystery/Thriller

This Takashi Miike film is notoriously known internationally for its violence. What makes it stand out from the onslaught of violent movies like 'Saw' or 'Hostel' though is the masterful direction. Carefully setting up this immensely suspenseful thriller with detailed pacing, Miike forces us to explore our deepest fears. The protagonists here are normal, everyday people like us who are triggered like landmines placed strategically in the film. A terrifying and unsettling excursion into madness.

5 STARS!

All about Audition (Ôdishon)

Happy Together

Director - Wong Kar Wai

Genre - Drama/Romance

Tony Leung and the late Leslie Cheung play a gay couple who love and hate in this beautifully made film. The script is just so authentically real and heartfelt you never feel that the actors are not committed to their roles. Even the love scenes are filmed as if we're witnessing something very private and intimate, which can be quite a turn off if you're homophobic. But if you get past that, you'll be surprisingly rewarded. The acting is pure class, soundtrack out of this world and cinematography by Christopher Doyle...scorching hot!

5 STARS!

All about Happy Together

Nobody Knows (Dare mo shiranai)

Director - Hirokazu Koreeda

Genre - Drama

Discarded by their heartless, pathologically irresponsible mother like last night's leftovers, a couple of kids have to make do with life's unforgiving truth. Led by the eldest sibling (Yuya Yagira - winner of Best Actor in Cannes 2004), they soon learn that the world is not one big playground. Yagira is without doubt the spotlighted treat here as his calm exterior movingly betray a seething rage waiting to eat away at the core of his brittle family structure. Showing a marked maturity for someone so young, he represents a symbolic window into a world where sometimes the light just refuses to shine.

4 STARS!

All about Nobody Knows (Dare mo shiranai)