Good Night and Good Luck (George Clooney, 2005)

(as posted June 9, 2006; pinoydvd.com)

Clooney has proven himself worthy to be sitting on the director’s chair as this film tackles a really significant issue in American History. Sen. McCarthy accused several people involved in Communism and was violent but successful in his attainment of influence and power. Edward Murrows (Strathairn), on the other hand, a big shot newscaster in CBS network studied carefully on how to bring down the politician with its atrocities in the country. McCarthy had been victimizing people by not giving due process and distorting the true meaning of democracy among Americans.

Factual and very full in depicting how this certain event in American history took place, every inch of the plot is well researched as real-life footages and acting intertwined that presented a close to reality experience. Some of the actual people in the CBS newsroom during those moments, as well as Ed Murrow’s son, were there to assist this portrayal of the event.

More so, Clooney used black and white to put more drama into its characters, showing each and every single emotion of the cast to the scenes, and ultimately not to be distracted by the tools of modern film making. Without a doubt it deserves to be nominated in the Oscars for Best Picture, as well as other nominations (such as cinematography) in its attempt to give us an intelligent and quality film. The suspense was brushed through out the story as this group of media men tried to reveal the ultimate truth for the entire nation.

Zodiac Director's Cut (David Fincher, 2006)

This for me remains David Fincher's best film to date. Fincher effectively presents us his intelligence and artistry through infusing film and reality in the darkest and enigmatic manner as possible. The film is very comparable to Spielberg's Munich, as Fincher has never been like this profound in his films.

The events took place in the late sixties/early seventies in the San Francisco Bay Area, as Fincher guides us to this rollercoaster ride of mystery, deception, and obsession in search of the real identity of the Zodiac killer. He also pinpoints the tone of that era by focussing on the fascade and the backdrop mood of the film in a very dismal way of presenting it. He practically overlooked the violences executed by the Zodiac yet never misses to disappoint the viewers by highlighting only the significant slayings like the second murder in Vallejo.

Through interesting characters led by the roles of Jake Gylenhaal (Robert Graysmith), Robert Downey Jr. (Paul Avery), and Mark Ruffalo (Inspector David Toschi), performances are indeed top-notch leaving its viewers tightly seated from beginning 'til end together with an intricately well-crafted script. The plot chiefly touches on the human obsession of both serial killer (as he craves for attention to the public especially to the affected locales), and the people figuring out who the real Zodiac is or if the killer really does exists? The film ultimately ends by justifying the circumstances that caused the inevitable loss to identify the killer --- mainly due to the lack of hard evidence. Each of the lead characters however, had their own accomplishments and self-fulfilling finale.

Moreover, I enjoyed how the "Dirty Harry movie scene" was inserted in the script to identify timeline and reference. Never a dull moment throughout the entire 168 mins with the presence of humor in the dialogue delivered by Gylenhaal and the "ever-stylish" Robert Downey Jr. Ultimately, a very impressive technique used by Fincher on how to manipulate and influence the viewers to be obsessed also with the search and how he wants our feelings to be captivated through his film.

Talisman's looking forward to the Clashing of the Titans in 2010

Liam Neeson will be in Clash of the Titans next year, as well as big guy Sam Worthington of Terminator Salvation will be Perseus in this ensemble-cast remake. Laurence Olivier and Harry Hamlin led the cast in the 1981 all time classic movie. Take note, Lawrence Kasdan (Wyatt Earp)will be penning or one of the writers i mean of the film, which is his main specialty by the way remember Raiders of the Lost Ark?--- All of which will be just the tip of the iceberg.

Louis Leterrier (Incredible Hulk and Transporter 2) will be directing.

Sam Worthington in action (pics courtesy from Empireonline.com):

Watch the new trailer: (courtesy of aintitcool.com)

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/43026

Movie Posters:

Transformers 2 trailer in HD

It'll be a wild ride this June when Transformers 2 will be due out soon in theaters.

View the HD trailer in YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_Veo0G2qfY

Enjoy and Cheers!

Forever Strong

There have been hundreds of sports movies made in the past few decades that are consistently conveying the messages of morality and hard work. Forever Strong, however, after officially declaring it as a flop from the box office, made me think about its true message and essence for its viewers. I mean, this is not the director's first film, they have a pretty good line up for a cast, and the family themes applied in a sports backdrop is kinda cool to start with.

This true-to-life indie film is indeed clean for the new generation audience yet never fails to deliver its themes about family, loyalty and respect, and defining what we truly earn from hard labor and determination.

After several attempts in his directorial career to be at the limelight, Ryan Little (director Saints and Soldiers) still fails to be uniquely different with his talents and maintains mediocrity in his style. However, the themes are well instilled in the story that makes it sensible from start to finish, i guess others will find it somehow cornyish in a way. May I also add specifically that the father and son aspect of the movie is nicely portrayed by Faris and Donahue with mildly similar impact with the film October Sky (Jake Gyllenhaal, 1999).

The very heat of the game is good (actually rough since it's Rugby), the acting is definitely a bit over than the passing grade, but what matters is to still have these type of movies that simply provides basic lessons about learning the hard way, manners, and again RESPECT. Strong is a recommended film for the young audience and the Mana/spirit of good prevails evil is spread all over the almost 2 hour film.