Category: Cinema

Last night I watched Bruce Almighty again, this time in English, and God what a difference there was.
When i first saw this movie last year in French, i thought it was funny, but yesterday it was so so much funnier and cooler.
I just love the part when Bruce is making a fool out of Evan (the news anchor) during the news bulletin.

I hate watching movies in a language other than their original one because so much is lost in translation, especially the little bits and pieces that make all the difference.
For example, you’d have a side-splitting hilarious movie in English, and then you watch it in French and it’s just a mediocre movie which is sometimes not even funny at all.
Biggest example for me is Dumb & Dumber which got me rolling on the floor in laughter when i saw it in English, but was rather boring in French.

Something else that is lost in translation is the movie title itself, and it really gets on my nerves.
French translated movie titles for example are so bad and sometimes even plain stupid. And to make it even worse sometimes they’ve got nothing to do with the movie’s original title or subject.
What is even weirder is that sometimes they don’t really translate the title, they just make up another English title for it, I just don’t get the point in that.

I’ll try to put together a list of badly translated movie titles to post here soon and you’ll see what I mean.

What the hell is it with Apple computers and hollywood movies ?
I’ve nearly never seen a pc in a movie, it’s always an Apple machine or laptop.

Is there some sort of deal between Apple and the studios ?
Or is it that all these producers and directors have a weird big mad love for Apple stuff ?
Or is it just based on the looks and the fact that Apple computers look more stylish ?

If anyone has an answer, please let me know, it’s been bugging me for ages, and it bugs me even more with every movie i see that has a computer in it.

Last night i watched Basic, a movie i had read about online and which critics bashed.
So, i started the movie not expecting much really, although i usually like John Travolta’s movies.

By the end of the movie, i thought the movie was quite good, although i understand why some people must have not liked it.

You know those movies where you think you’ve got everything all figured out and then it comes up with a twist ?
People usually love movies like that, but what if the person who wrote the movie is a bit over-obsessed with the idea of twisting the story ?
What if the movie goes like this:
Story –> Twist –> Twist to the twist –> Twist to the 2nd twist –> Twist to the 3rd twist –> Twist to 4th twist …etc. –> Twist to the final twist.
Well that’s what this movie does, and basically after the first few twists, i guess some people will just lose interest and let it go, especially that the initial story isn’t that strong to start with.

Anyway, being in a lazy sunday night mood, i didn’t think the movie was that bad, and i quite enjoyed it.

I’d give it a 7/10.

The main movie i saw this past weekend was Frida, a biography of mexican artist Frida Kahlo, who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work.

The movie was pretty good, especially the acting, photography and visual style of the movie.

I’ve always liked real life stories, they have this certain feeling of truth in them, which makes them more interesting for me to see.

This story was an interesting one, although i didn’t relate to it, but i liked the historical background it introduced.

All in all, i give this movie 7/10.

PS: The movie contains quite a number of nudity and sex scenes, so Salma Hayek fans should definitely see it, looool…

IMDB have released a list of the Top 250 movies as voted by the users.

It’s a really cool list.
I’ve seen a lot of these movies and agree that they are among the best movies ever made, although i might not fully agree on the order they’re in.
For example, i’d rank Godfather II higher than Godfather I, and the Lord Of The Rings trilogy would certainly top my list.

Anyway, i’ll be trying to see some of the other movies that i don’t know yet if i can get my hands on them, some of the stuff dates back to the 1920’s.

Well, this weekend, i got to see 2 movies only, and they were: Mal

Now, that was WOOOOW !
One of the greatest movies of all time.

Last night, i finally got to cool my itching desire to watch The Return Of The King, and well, it was awesome to say the least.
It’s a great end to the trilogy, and most probably the best of the three movie, although it’s a bit hard to compare, they’re all perfect.

The battles were great as usual, the effects dazzling, the actors amazing, the landscapes breathtaking and everything all so grand.

Although it was longer than your average movie, it didn’t lose my attention for one second, and i was connected and excited throughout it all.

I hear the Extended DVD version will be even longer, running at 4h:50m.
I hope i can get my hands on those extended DVD versions of the trilogy. I think i could actually sit through them all non-stop 🙂
Don’t believe me ? Just send them over and i’ll prove it 😛

Anyway, to end it all, i would just like to say that anyone who hasn’t watched these 3 epic movies has missed 3 of the best experiences cinema has ever offered.

So, yesterday, we went to downtown Tunis to check out if we still could get tickets to this one-man-show for New Year’s Eve, and as we were there, we found out this Egyptian movie called Sahar El Layaly was debuting in one of the cinemas and that some of the stars of the movie would be there. So, we thought we’d go for it and check the movie out.

The movie was great. I really enjoyed it.
The actors in this movie did a great job and were very good. The 8 main stars were: Sherif Mounir, Mona Zaki, Hanan Tork, Ahmad Hilmi, Gihan Fadel, Fathy Abdel Wahab, Ola Ghanem and Khaled Abol Naga.

The story is about 4 couples (married & non-married) and the problems they face, with each couple’s problem handling an important issue in today’s society.
The movie is quite free and doesn’t put any limits or taboos on how to discuss the issue at hand showing french kisses, sex and a shower scene. Stuff that you wouldn’t usually find in Arabic movies.
Some people say it’s provocative, but i think it’s all necessary to shed light on the issues and to accurately mirror the reality.
There’s also some comedy thrown in mainly by Sherif Mounir and Ahmad Hilmi, who are both great comedians.

I find it very interesting how Egyptian cinema is going through a make-over with this new generation of actors, directors, screenwriters and producers. A lot of great movies have been coming out lately that can actually compete at an international level.

Sherif Mounir, Ola Ghanem and Khaled Abol Naga were there at the opening, and we managed to get autographs by Sherif Mounir. So that’s cool.

This weekend, i rented Chicago, the movie.
I’ve been wanting to watch this movie for a long time now, and i even rented it a few months ago, but never got to watch it. A number of people i know didn’t like the movie, so that kind of pushed it a bit down my priority list.

Anyway, i finally got to see it. And well, i saw it, not once, not twice but 5 times over this weekend. In short, i loved it.

The acting is great, the music is beautiful, the singing is amazing, and the performances are so marvellous. It’s just one of the best movies i’ve ever seen.

I loved the way conversations and story lines were introduced through songs. It kind of reminded me a bit of Moulin Rouge’s style, but this pushes it even further.

Ren

Other movies i rented and saw this weekend are:

Bad Boys II:
This is as much fun as the first one, and with a soundtrack which is as good or even better.
Martin Lawrence and Will Smith are great together and so funny.
I watched the movie twice and wouldn’t mind seeing it again.

The Italian Job:
I just love this type of movies. Heists are one of my movie fetishes 😛
So, basically any movie from this genre is a must see for me.
This one was done pretty well, and i really liked it. Not too complicated or as fancy as other heist movies i’ve seen, but pretty good anyways.
I also like the cast that worked in this movie.

I started watching Solaris too, but haven’t finished it yet. First impression though is that it’s a bit stretched out and getting a bit boring.