Memoirs of a Geisha

A movie that reveals what a geisha is all about. Before watching this movie, I didn't have much of a clue on what a geisha was. I actually thought they were just prostitutes at that time in history. But after watching the film, I have a better understanding of what a geisha really is. It was strange seeing the actors and actresses speak english. In my opinion, they should've had them all speak Japanese and with english subtitles. What was even more weird was the fact that there were Chinese actors who had a chinese accent speaking english. I just couldn't get past the fact that Zhang Ziyi and Michelle Yeoh were supposed to be Japanese. But if you could get past that, you'll see a beautifully cinematographed movie that reveals to us what the geisha life is about. Not only that, we see a romance story that was pretty effective. I found the movie moving at an interesting but slow pace until Zhang Ziyi becomes a geisha. 8/10

Elizabethtown

If you're a fan of Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst, you'll probably enjoy this movie. Weren't they rumoured to have started dating each other during the filming of this movie? I could see the chemistry between the two. Anyways, the plot deals with a young man who has just been the cause of the biggest failure of all time of a corporate company. This failure is said to be of mythical proportions. But before ending his life, he meets a stewardess that changes his life. This all happens during his dad's actual end of life. A kind of quirky movie, kind of slow moving, but still good enough to hold some interest. By the way, it has a great soundtrack. 7/10

Must Love Dogs

A romantic comedy starring John Cusack and Diane Lane. A typical romantic comedy. It goes through all the cliches, plot twists, etc. that a romantic comedy goes through on the way towards the end. There was a blase performance from John Cusack who swore that he wouldn't be doing any more of these types of movies after "Serendipity". Don't get me wrong, if you're a big fan of these types of movies, you won't be disappointed with this one. I'll have to admit, it does achieve what it is supposed to achieve, that is to illicit emotions, and for me, it worked...the only criticism was that it has been done before and the movie evolved in a pretty low-key slow pace until the credits started to roll. 7/10

The Aristocrats

I had always been interested in watching this movie ever since the trailers were shown in the theaters. I always kept wondering what this joke that the comedians tell each other consisted of. After watching the documentary, I finally found out. I was expecting more humour and laughs out of this one. The punchline isn't even that funny. It's the way that the joke is told that makes this joke work or not work. Every comedian has their own style and way of telling the joke adding their own identity to it. I won't say anything about the joke either to keep you all in suspense. You'd have to see it yourself to find out. But even if you miss watching this movie, it isn't that big of a deal. 7/10

40 Year Old Virgin

After all the hoopla concerning this movie, I watched it and it didn't live up to my expectations of it. Sure, it's a funny movie but I've seen funnier movies. The storyline isn't one of the strongest ones that I've seen in a movie but I didn't expect it to have a strong one, after all, it is a comedy. There was one scene in the movie which made me want to cringe and couldn't bare to watch, concerning hot wax and hair. The plot was actually kind of predictable as well. If you're looking for mindless entertainment, and that's what people usually look for, in a comedy, you'll get a snicker here and there and probably will be entertained. 7/10

The Myth

This is a Jackie Chan movie so if you're looking for his signature moves with comedic action, then you've found it in this movie. Unfortunately, that's all there was to this movie. I wished that there would've been more innovative action because if you've seen a Jackie Chan movie, you've seen most of his stunts and moves in this movie. The good thing is that you don't have to re-watch one of his older movies to see his stunts. I especially like 2 action sequences. One when there is fighting on a conveyer belt and the other one when he is fighting Indian guards at a temple. Is this enough to justify watching this movie? I'm not sure. The storyline could've contained more to be desired as well. Jackie Chan has these dreams about being an emporor and the movie switches back to modern day when he wakes up. Soon, everything is blurred, and you don't know what is real and what is not. Despite these criticisms, this is a wonderfully and colourfully cinematographed movie. You can't go wrong watching this movie if you're a Jackie Chan fan. 8/10