Surfing has something similar to a good addictive game, no matter how many waves you've caught, you always want to try to catch another one, and another, and another.....so you keep going until you're absolutely exhausted. It is very physically demanding, but the time goes by really quickly, especially when you have beautiful curling waves like the ones at Muriwai yesterday.
Read more...I watched a stream of movies recently, and I thought it'll be fun to write down my impressions of them.
Taken
A rather enjoyable fast paced thriller. Knowing how bad the situation is with human trafficking in Europe, it is very emotionally satisfying to see those bad guys got beat up mercilessly by Liam Neeson.
The fast paced plot kept me entertained all the time, but it did feel a bit contrived at certain points. I don't find it to be too big of a deal as it didn't take away enjoyments from watching the movie.
The final act of the movie though, is slightly dissatisfying because of its predictability, it would've been better if they throw in a twist or surprise somewhere.
Ratings:
First Act (Setup) 10/10
Second Act (Confrontation) 9/10
Thrid Act (Resolution) 7/10
Satisfactions from seeing Liam Neeson beat up the human traffickers: 11/10
Eastern Promises
Another story with human trafficking as a backdrop.
I did not find Viggo Mortensen's performance in Lord of the Rings to be anything special, but wow, he was absolutely brilliant in this film. He played the character so convincingly that I did not recognize him at first. Calm and magnetic, it feels a bit like watching a Russian version of Don Vito Corleone in the making, it's hard to take your eyes off him.
Oh ye, and the story was good too, it is one of the few movies that I wished could be longer.
Rating: 9/10
The Kite Runner
Loved it. The phrase "For you, a thousand times over!" appeared twice in the film, and both times it sent chills up my spine. Beautiful would be a good word to describe this movie. I enjoyed it so much that I watched it again with the director & the author's commentaries on.
Rating: 9/10
Holy Smoke
The first half of the movie was excellent. Interesting and engaging, it raised questions about spirituality, which is my favourite kind of questions, so the plot really grabbed my attention.
However, half way through the movie, the direction changed in a weird way. The motive for this turn was unconvincing, and, in my opinion, the movie just went downhill from there.
It has excellent cinematography though, I took lots of screenshots from this movie for personal references.
Ratings:
First half: 5 Stars out of 5
Second half: 2 Stars out of 5
Mongol
I thought the beginning of the movie was pretty good, then it slowed down and became somewhat sluggish. The depiction of Ghengis Khan's family life was a bit of a drag, yet the story about how he united different tribes was skipped and only described by texts on screen.
About the final battle between Ghengis Khan & his blood brother...sigh...he won it because it started to thunder and all the enemy soldiers were so scared that threw down their weapons???
What the @#$%%.....? Head shaking...
But I have to say overall this is not a bad movie, the visual direction was perfect, the sceneries were breathtaking, and the battles were exciting and spectacular. If you don't know much about Ghengis Khan and is not as fussy about historical accuracies as me, chances are that you'll enjoy the film.
Rating: 3 Stars out of 5
Requim For a Dream
A bit preachy. I know the danger of addiction, and I know some people may find values in a story like this, good for them. But I just don't enjoy seeing a movie about things going from bad to worse and then it ends. There's nothing really philosophical about it, just a big old "if you made the wrong choice, you'll mess up your life" message.
Rating: A small frowning face.
The Savages
Reminded me of The Barbarian Invasions, a typical festival-style film, the subject matter is something that I can't really relate to.
So I don't really have much to comment about this film.
No Ratings.
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