Eat Pray Love

Summary: Julia Roberts plays a woman, Liz, who is struggling with her life and decides to divorce and change her life based on an interview with a medicine man in Bali. She wanders a bit, and ends up buying three one-way tickets to Italy, India, and Bali. Along the way, she tries to find a greater philosophy in her life through the people she meet and the circumstances she's put into.

Review: It was a bit too feminine for me at some parts, but I enjoyed the bigger message that excludes the cliche themes of love and why a woman needs a man. Julia Roberts does give a commanding performance and shows why she is more than just a big name at times and the supporting cast was decent. The thing that bothered me most was how there was a message that it's okay to engorge yourself with food like Liz does as it's part of the equation of EAT, pray, and love, and need to get bigger jeans, but still somehow have a slim figure like Liz.

Further Question/Philosophy/Theme: Does everyone need to struggle to find something in their life? Do you need to be spiritual to have a chance to find the path? The story seeks to make too much about this journey finding a relationship, maybe that is just a woman thing as a woman is biologically wired to have children and if that doesn't happen, it's something that really messes with her head. The story would have been better off from a philosophical point of view if the relationships weren't so entangled in the story, but a side track of finding yourself is much more important. "Dolce far niente," sweetness of doing nothing, is an interesting concept and maybe there is more to it despite its point of nothingness.

Power Rating (Out of 5) and Comments: 4 It was a very enjoyable movie once the crux of the adventures begin and I always enjoy watching exotic settings. It was a relatively long movie at 140 minutes, but it felt much shorter as the scenes really flow by despite the non-action tag of the film.

Favorite Quotes: "I remember an old catholic joke about a man who spent his whole life going to a church every day and prayed to the statue of a great saint begging "please, please, please, let me win the lottery." Finally the exasperated statue comes to life and looks down at the begging man and says "my son, please, please, please, buy a ticket." So now I get the joke, and I bought three tickets." - Liz

Luca Spaghetti (Giuseppe Gandini): "Americans. You work too hard, you get burned out. You come home and spend the whole weekend in your pajamas in front of the T.V."
Liz: "That's not far off, actually."
Luca Spaghetti: "But you don't know pleasure. You have to be told you've earned it. You see a commercial that says: 'It's Miller Time!' And you say, That's right, now I'm going to buy a six pack. And then drink the whole thing and wake up the next morning and you feel terrible. But an Italian doesn't need to be told. He walks by a sign that says: You deserve a break today. And he says, Yes, I know. That's why I'm planning on taking a break at noon to go over to your house and sleep...with your wife!"

"We call it "dolce far niente", the sweetness of doing nothing." - Giovanni

"You seem shorter in person that on the stage.
Really? I get that a lot.
It's unnerving when um a total stranger sees you more clearly than you see yourself. That is what I mean by saying you're short.

Awkward Silence

Are you hearing dolphins clapping now?"

Chameli

Summary: Chameli, is a prostitute played by Kareena Kapoor and meets a mysterious businessman, Aman played by Rahul Bose. The story unfolds as they get to know each other and their own personal problems. The setting is made possible by a rainstorm and the car of Aman breaks down stranding him in the corner of Chameli.

Review: The film was slow at times and the entire thing was a bit of a cliche. The laugh of Chameli was irritating at times, but she did play the role well.

Further Question/Philosophy/Theme: But there ought to be love. I'm not sure what that means, but that was apparently the philosophy of Chameli and how it brought a change to Aman.

Power Rating (Out of 5) and Comments: 2 I did enjoy the typical Bollywood elements of it, and a 22-23 year old Karena Kapoor in the movie reminded me of Aishwarya Rai so it wasn't a bad sight for the 2 hours.

Once Fallen

Summary: An inmate named Chance gets released and tries to run away from his past, but his past partners, a childhood friend and a crooked cop tries to bring him back in. His father is also the leader of the AB from the prison that he was recently arrested from. The movie flashes back to when the father brutally kills a neighbor with a possible good reason, and the son trying to not end up making the same choices his father did.

Review: Ed Harris who plays the father was excellent in the role, and Peter Weller who plays a shady character was decent as well. The rest of the cast was solid, but wasn't spectacular.

Further Question/Philosophy/Theme: The definition of insanity is doing something over and over again expecting different results. Can we really run away from who we are? Do we really have any choice in the choices we do make? Should our choices really define us when the results vary so much because of quantum mechanics. Rose, the aunt of the son, is blind and shows the importance in a cactus that she makes everyone touch despite the obvious results of being pricked and the bleeding that ensues. It brings back moments of reality and what our senses are.

Power Rating (Out of 5) and Comments: 3 The film was shot well, but the story wasn't that deep and it lacked depth. It was still a solid enjoyable watch, but lacked any great moments.

Love Aaj Kal

Summary: It's about a couple who are deeply in love played by Deepika Padukone and Saif Ali Khan. Their characters, Meera and Jai struggle with the geographical distance that divides them and the story is also shown a parallel from an earlier time period as told by an older man who is reminded of his own situation with the current one.

Review: I like the Bollywood film styles of mixing languages and the music behind them, but this movie really wasn't that deep. I love the small little details such as an old custom/ritual of "poking" an individual on the shoulders being reciprocated and then the poking on the cheeks(Om Shonti Om) and the drinks of both males of the timelines being black coffee and black tea.

Further Question/Philosophy/Theme:

Power Rating (Out of 5) and Comments: 2 I liked the initial story, but it just couldn't captivate my attention for the entire 2 hours.

I couldn't find a subtitled version, but the cinematography should give you a good sense.

The Romantics

Summary: Katie Holmes is the bridesmaid of her best friend played by Anna Paquin who just happens to not be over her past lover, and groom-to-be. The setting is a night before the wedding and how the friends deal with their relationships with the implication of them being so close that they often recycle dates and form "incestuous relationships."

Review: The cast was a compiliation of many mainstream names with Katie Holmes, Anna Paquin, Josh Duhamel, Dianna Agron, Adam Brody, and Malin Ackerman. They were all terrific in their supporting roles, although Dianna Agron's role was miniscule to the storyline as the younger sister of the bride. Katie Holmes was excellent in her role as the conflicted bridesmaid, but I can't say that I think her sex appeal doesn't add to any role. The music was well selected and the film was shot very well with the different lights that made the mood. The storyline was a bit cliche, but it was an enjoyable watch for the moments of awkwardness and O that shouldn't have happened.

Further Question/Philosophy/Theme: Why do girls love to get fucked by their best friend's man and rationalize? Is the man really that special or is the object of a want by another the source of the want. Is there such a thing as everlasting passionate love that can rival the thoughtful and sweet nature of caring?

Power Rating (Out of 5) and Comments: 3 It was a delightful short film that was well made, but the storyline did get old at times. It was kind of annoying at times with the I can't help myself because of our passionate love storyline, or maybe I've just never had that special feeling.

The People I've Slept With

Summary: Angela Yang, played by Karina Anna Cheung who was the lead female in the movie, Better Luck Tomorrow, is a woman with loose morals or the "morals of a man." She is very promiscuous and gets knocked up. She struggles to deal with her pregnancy/paternity issue after she meets the perfect guy. She tries her best to deal with her family and her gay best friend offers the best moral support he can.

Review: This film had some unrealistic plot holes at times, but it was light and had plenty of humorous moments. It was a fun watch despite some moments that were cliche, but it did offer some twists in the plot to keep the viewer amused. It was a script with plenty of funny dialogue.

Further Question/Philosophy/Theme: The theme of the movie is how sluts are just people too who really like sex. It doesn't really explore any of the attitudes towards sex too deeply, but just made jokes about it which was nice.

Power Rating (Out of 5) and Comments: 3 It was a short enjoyable watch, but there was a lack of a serious plot line or intellectual theme. It had plenty of light moments and are you serious humor.

Inception

Summary: A man is made an offer he can't refuse to produce an inception of an idea to his target rather than steal a target's deepest secrets in the vulnerable sleep state. In this dream world, the rules are allowed to be bent. This movie shares some semblance to the Matrix. The offer that the main character is offered, is to return home where we soon learn are plaguing his own subconscious and offers a formidable obstacle to completing the current task.

Review: The cast was loaded with a lot of big names headlined by Leonardo DiCaprio and had a strong foreign presence as well: Marion Cotillard, a French actress, Ken Watanabe, a Japanese actor, Tom Hardy and Michael Caine, British actors, and Cillian Murphy, an Irish actor. Ellen Page does a solid job too. The plot was complex and really makes the viewer think. It was difficult to follow at first, but when you start thinking about the rules, you can construct the reality that the director intended you to construct.

Further Question/Philosophy/Theme: What is reality? How dangerous is an idea?

Power Rating (Out of 5) and Comments: 4 Leonardo DiCaprio has really blossomed into a great actor through his selection of roles. In this movie, his talents weren't as showcased as in other past movies, but the plot and ideas of this movie are extremely intriguing. The visuals and soundtrack of this movie also deserve accolades. It was a well made movie and not one of those big budget flops that have only a lot of hype, but no substance.