• Super Size Me
• United States
• English
• Documentary
• 2004
• 

This movie documentary should be required viewing for all people.

Fast food and the growing problem of obesity is becoming more and more apparent and this documentary shows it. Morgan Spurlock, writer, director and actor in this film, started his crazy experiment: go on a strict McDonald’s diet for 30 days and check, measure and observe everything. Before he starts, he’s given a clean bill of health from three doctors he has consulted. A dietitian also advises him.

In the next four weeks, he has noted his progress, or shall I say, descent into an unhealthy lifestyle as he kept track of his weight, his cholesterol, fat and other relevant health statistics. There even came a point that, feeling sickly, his doctors strongly advised that he stop his experiment due to the alarming data that they have measured.  

Super Size Me is not only a documentary on how Morgan did his experiment, but it provides important insight on how big fastfood companies manipulate the entire nation and system for their own profit to the detriment of many people’s health. With inputs and interviews of health experts from various fields, it should make viewers realize that fastfood is really harmful.

• Carlos Saura
• Argentina
• Spanish
• Drama, Musical
• 1998
• 

I wished I had a bigger screen so that I can enjoy this better. This is one dance movie that you would want to watch over and over again.

Carlos Saura’s Tango is just spectacular: the lighting, the interwoven drama, the set and most of all, the tango is something that will mesmerize you with beautiful music, movements, footwork and sensuality. After seeing it, you would just want to stand up and dance or, if you don’t know how, would make you want to learn it.

Much of the movie takes place inside the studio as the group is rehearsing for a major production. While the love story is more of a sidelight, you won’t be disappointed with the dance numbers. This is what I like with a Carlos Saura film, he has this great respect for the dance form and treats it deftly. It’s one production number that keeps you glued with wonderful play of lights, silhouettes and good dancers.

• After the Wedding
• Susanne Bier
• Denmark
• Danish
• Drama
• 2006
• 

Efter brylluppet (After the Wedding) is one big soap opera but a beautiful and complex one that is just engrossing. At first, you would think that it’s just a simple story with a simple ending but as the film progress, coincidences happen and the story starts to unravel as different layers are peeled one by one. It’s the past catching up with the present and the different characters involved, whether they like it or not, must face their lots.

Bier deftly handles the material and oftentimes closes in on the actors providing a more intimate portrayal. The cast themselves are brilliant and convincing, emotional but not to the point of being too melodramatic. This movie is a wonderful film on human relationships, hope and second chances.

• Confusion of Genders
• Ilan Duran Cohen
• France
• French
• Comedy, Romance
• 2000
• 

An indecisive 40 year old bisexual lawyer, Alain, makes a juggling act of romance as he dabbles with different men and women: breaking up with his girlfriend, living in with his ex-girlfriends younger brother old enough to be his son, proposing to marry her female boss for convenience, falling in love with his imprisoned male client facing a life term as well as his girlfriend, and finally, just before the film ends, got attracted to the young and handsome male nurse at the hospital.

Not only is this a confusion of genders, but the many players in Alain’s heart can become confusing as well as they vie for his attention and his indecision at handling the different situations can sometimes be infuriating. While this might be an interesting story, it’s not well developed as more important matters like companionship, love and marriage are briefly taken up. More bodies are bared but not too much on the soul.

• Catherine Hardwicke
• United States
• English
• Thriller, Romance
• 2008
• 

Twilight is one film that can gross big through a huge reader fan base and how advertising can drum up curiosity even if it’s not that good. A vampire movie only tenuously connected to the original that tries to update it to the current generation with pale faced “vegetarian” vampires who glitter in the sun, homey and inviting.

Forget those coffins or wooden stakes, crosses and what have you. All that matters is how a high school girl is so deeply in love with her vampire classmate who sees her more than a snack but someone who will complete his life too. Starry eyed teenage girls would more likely believe this stuff.

• Marc Forster
• United Kingdom
• English
• Action, Drama
• 2008
• 

Quantum of Solace picks up from where Casino Royale left off. And what a thrilling car chase scene in the ancient town of Siena in Italy opens the movie that sort of brings back the viewer into the action. Like the first installment, a parkour style scramble, this time, on the tile roofs and old buildings follows.

This latest 007 offering is a bit dark, pessimistic and just full of action after action sans the gadgets and tinges of sex that we’ve become accostumed prior to Casino. Here, Bond is full of rage, angry, seeking revenge that it all seems to spill over the screen and defying his superiors. Of course, the peripatetic hero gets to fly off to many continents and countries only to be finally stuck in the deserts of Bolivia battling it out with a villain hiding behind an environmentalist’s mask.

The last two Bond version is grittier compared to the previous films. It’s fresher, more down to earth but just too serious. As for this one, I think they spent more time with the action sequences than making the story more engrossing. Casino Royale was better.

• Gary Hustwit
• United Kingdom
• English
• Documentary
• 2007
• 

A documentary on the world’s most familiar typeface, Helvetica, looks at this ubiquitous but not always known font that can be seen almost anywhere from brochures, posters, store windows, road signages and brand names, to cite a few. It explores its beginnings in 1957, its acceptance by the world because of its neutral and clean strokes, the rebellion of designers against this typeface and its adaptability and longevity to its future.

It has exciting commentaries, reflections and interviews on many noted typeface designers both young and old as well as a look of the different design movements in the 50s to modern times. This film should be a must see for graphic designers that pays homage to this common typeface.

• Martin Campbell
• United Kingdom
• English
• Action
• 2006
• 

After 21 officially accepted James Bond movies, this 2006 version, derived from the first book by Ian Fleming, can be said as a reboot of the franchise. Don’t expect a gadget happy, cutesy and just virile hero in a formulaic film, but a gritty, action packed, intelligent and, surprisingly, a beautifully crafted film. This not only updated the 007 agent to the new generation but showed the beginnings of Bond who just earned his 007 license. From a bungling newbie to one who learned his lesson not only on who to trust but also on affairs of the heart, you will understand why the man treats his women the way we see in most of the series. This is also the longest film in the franchise ever and not to be confused with the 1967 version of the same title.

Daniel Craig as the 007 agent just perfectly portrayed the character that has never been seen again after Sean Connery’s portrayal. With a wonderfully good supporting cast and an equally skillfull director, Casino Royale can be considered as one of the best Bond movies ever filmed.

• Sam Mendes
• United States
• English
• Drama
• 2005
• 

A euphemism for the US marines, Jarhead is not your typical war movie. While it is about the war in Iraq, specifically the first Gulf war, just don’t expect to see intense fighting, suicide bombers, too much blood and the usual milieu. Instead, one learns that, really, being stationed there, if there’s just no action, its just darn boring.

This was especially true for this unit who never encountered enemy fire during their sting. Countless hours, days, weeks, and even months of waiting, trying to be sane, worrying about wives and girlfriends screwing the just too friendly neighbor or buddy; enduring the scorching sun in the desert and tolerating the inanities of your superiors and fellow soldiers. It is dealing with paranoia, anxiety, frustrations and madness that it is not too farfetched to think that the war is not really between these Americans and insurgents, but within the soldier themselves. After they’ve gone through all of this, it just comes to an unexpected stop. The war ends, everybody is cheering and celebrating and one reflects, what is in store for me when I get back?

• Ang Lee
• United States
• English
• Drama
• 2005
• 

Its more than just a high altitude fuck, as Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) said it. One of the controversial films that has tongues wagging and critics raving. But it’s a beautiful but tragic movie with great cinematography (stunning landscapes), music (by Gustavo Santaolalla who won for best musical score in the Oscars) and directing (Ang Lee bagged the coveted Best Director Award). A love story that developed between two sheep herders in the upper elevations of Brokeback Mountain, it explores the often suppressed emotions, yearnings, problems and sometimes, tragedies that happen in unconventional romantic relationships. A casting coup with superb performances and great directing.