Spare Time Lists

Harold and Maude (1971)

2011-04-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

I don’t like many old movies, because, just like in any part of life, they needed to evolve to get where they are today. In many old films, the acting is so poor and so overly done that it’s impossible not to cringe watching those movie stars trying to convince their audience (remember Gone with the Wind?). And, of course, the cinematography isn’t usually that good either given the fact that the techniques we have today weren’t invented or thought of yet. It’s foolish to call movies 'classics' just because they’re old or to dismiss a better presented idea from a new movie just because someone else thought of it in a film a few years back. We need improvement, evolution. That’s why sequels are sometimes better (e.g. The Departed). But films are much more than old or new and each one of these five categories is important in rating a movie:

- directing

- script

- cinematography and visuals

- plot and storyline

- characters and acting

Harold and Maude succeeds in all departments. It’s an original and funny story about friendship, love and about the strange connections that form between people. Harold (Bud Cort) is a misfit, a self-destructive teenager obsessed by death. Craving for his rich mother’s attention, he stages suicides hoping to trigger in her some real emotion towards him. Like that first time when she thought he was dead. Maude (Ruth Gordon) is a lively seventy-nine-year old woman and a terrible driver. They meet, they become friends, they fall in love. What’s beautiful about this film is that you don’t know where it’s going. The ending is interesting and will surely make you rethink the way you see life. Director Hal Ashby creates a terrific movie with timeless characters and theme, a lesson about valuing life and living it to the fullest. While writing this I can still hear Cat Stevens singing: “If you want to sing out, sing out, and if you want to be free, be free…”.
Amazon link: Harold and Maude.

Castaway on the Moon (2009)

2011-03-09T09:23:00.000-08:00

Castaway on the Moon (Kimssi pyoryugi) is a dream that anyone had at some point in their lives. The dream of living the perfect life.

     Miserable and depressed, Mr. Kim (Jeong Jae-yeong) decides to end it all by jumping off a bridge into the waters of the Han River. But his suicide attempt fails and he gets stuck on a small island with a view of the modern buildings of Seoul. Stranded in the heart of the civilization. At first he tries to escape and go back to the city, but his mistake soon becomes a possibility he always dreamed of. The desperate ‘Help’ message written in the sand soon becomes ‘Hello’. For the first time in his life Mr. Kim finds himself free. Free of worries, debt, pretentious girlfriends, demanding jobs. Ultimate freedom. He learns to survive and live a simple life in the middle of an unwary civilization, he grows his own food and he’s truly happy. And he finally finds a use for his gold credit card. “Ahh... I’m so bored... Nothing else like it. The perfect boredom.” he says at one point. And this is just the beginning. His life will soon interconnect with the one of a hikikomori girl with a passion for photography (Jeong Ryeo-won). Secluded in her room for years, living in extreme isolation by choice, Ms. Kim becomes fascinated by the peculiar stranger who is in many ways so alike her and who will change her life forever.
     The film alternates the laugh-out-loud moments with the serious / sad ones, but it never feels awkward and manages to beautifully convey its message.
     Creative and interesting, with a perfect acting, solid plot, fitting score and great camera work, Castaway on the Moon is one of those amazing experiences that reminds me why I love so much watching movies.
   You can find the dvd on Amazon.

South Korean Films

2011-02-24T06:58:00.000-08:00

South Korean cinema is one of my guilty pleasures. These guys are really good at making movies. No wonder Hollywood steals their ideas to make lousy remakes.

The way I see it, there are two major types of Korean movies.

One is Korean Romance that is often shy about showing physical contact (like a kiss) and usually follows a standard pattern: girl meets boy, they either hate each other’s guts (comedy) or get along well but melodramatic things happen (drama), they progressively fall in love = they live happily ever after or one of them dies and a lot of tears fall. Examples are many: A Millionaire's First Love, Too Beautiful To Lie, My Little Bride, My Tutor Friend, Please Teach Me English, April Snow, He Was Cool, Il Mare, My Sassy Girl, Windstruck, …ing, Innocent Steps, Maudy Thursday, Daddy-Long-Legs etc. Although these are good (or at least entertaining) they usually fail to convey an original message, ending up being too silly or too melodramatic (reactions are often greatly exaggerated). There are though some Korean Romance films that don’t let you guess the whole story from the first 5 minutes and are more than meets the eye: Oasis (amazing movie!), Christmas In Autumn, Happiness, A Moment To Remember, Bungee Jumping of Their Own, Marriage Is a Crazy Thing, Love Phobia, One Fine Spring Day, Lover’s Concerto, Peppermint Candy, I’m a Cyborg but that’s ok!, The Classic, Failan, Sad Movie.

The other category includes movies from other genres, more complex, no quite that predictable that don’t rely solely on romance. Kim Ki-duk (I talked about his films in a previous post), Chan-wook Park, Joon-ho Bong, Chang-dong Lee are just a few directors who excel at this type of movies. Examples include: Oldboy (probably the best known Korean movie), Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (better than Oldboy, imo), Lady Vengeance, The Chaser, A Bittersweet Life, Mother, Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War, Memories of Murder, A tale of Two Sisters, The Host, The King and the Clown, The Good, the Bad, the Weird, all Kim Ki-duk’s films.

Some may find Korean movies very wacky, I think that despite their often over-the-top acting they are a refreshing change from the Hollywood movies.

Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

2011-02-21T05:39:00.000-08:00

Apparently this is the most disturbing movies of all time. Sick! Disgusting! Horrifying! Or so they say. I think this film’s violence and gore are greatly overrated. In fact, I was more disgusted by that ugly kid in Gummo eating spaghetti with chocolate in a dirty bathtub than by any scene in Cannibal Holocaust.

   I watched this movie just because of its infamous content. The gore effects didn’t fool me for a second, the sound was poor (but this created a genuine feel, no wonder a few almost blind people thought this was a snuff film), some scenes were ridiculous and the music during some “disturbing” moments was both annoying and hilarious and it reminded me of a stupid video game I used to play when I was a kid. Not what I expected from the film that was supposed to scare the shit out of me, but I still enjoyed it. A lot. The only part that I found mildly disturbing was at the end when that douchebag’s penis was severed off, but he was an insane jerk so he deserved it. Oh, and the parts when that flat chested bitch appears naked. Now that’s disturbing! All my male friends have bigger boobs than she has and that’s not because they’re fat. I wouldn’t be surprised if I found out that she was once a man (I’m a woman, I have the right to bitch about other women).
   In the end, what bothered me the most was the reaction of some moronic meat-eating pussies who were offended because a bunch of animals were killed. I don’t get it, you fat fucks. Those animals weren’t killed just for shocking purposes, they were afterwards eaten. What are you trying to say? That it’s ok to kill pigs and cows and chickens, but it’s sick to kill a tortoise? Nobody seems to whine about the spider being crushed, but I guess the poor bastard deserved it for not being as cute as the monkey. And what about people who haunt for fun? Or dumbass people with no life who fish for fun? Great hobby to see fish suffocating, right? Fishing seems to me like quite a disturbing activity. I mean, I don’t know whether fish can feel pain or not. But I’m pretty sure the reason they struggle when they’re yanked from the water has nothing to do with being overwhelmed with joy. Yeah, I guess I’ve learned something today: there are animals that you kill and animals that you cuddle.
   Enjoy your steaks, you hypocrites. Oh, and if you’re a vegetarian you’re one step below me in the food chain and you deserve to be eaten (ok, calm down, just kidding!).
   If you're curious to see the most controversial and disturbing movie ever made, banned and censored in many countries, you can buy it from Amazon: Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

   Btw, I usually don’t find gore disturbing. For me, a truly disturbing and depressing movie is Mysterious Skin.

   Here's that kid from Gummo (I hope you have a strong stomach):

People Laughing In Movies

2011-02-17T02:41:00.000-08:00

Just some laughs. Enjoy!

Top 15 Spanish Language Movies

2010-10-27T01:56:00.000-07:00

      I love movies in Spanish. Partly because I greatly admire Pedro Almodovar and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (two of the greatest filmmakers of all time), but mostly because I know the language well enough to not have to rely on subtitles. Here are some of the best movies in Spanish:
     15. El laberinto del fauno (Pan's Labyrinth): I think this movie is overrated. Harsh reality + cute little girl + foreign film doesn't equal masterpiece. But I admit it's a very good movie though, with a powerful story. Not my favorite, but many people love it, so I decided to include it on the list.
     14. Voces inocentes (Innocent Voices): Tearjerker movie about a young boy's struggle to survive during the civil war in El Salvador.
     13. La misma luna (Under the Same Moon): After his grandmother's death, a 9 year old mexican boy travels to the United States in search of his mother (Kate del Castillo). It's a story about a child's love for his mother that won't leave you indifferent.
     12. La mala education (Bad Education): Directed by Pedro Almodovar and featuring Gael Garcia Bernal in drag. Well, for me this is a pretty good recommendation. A very good movie, but also very dark and depressing because of the subject: child abuse in a catholic boarding school.
     11. Km. 0 (Kilometer 0): The lives of 14 people of various ages and sexual preferences interconnect during a hot day of summer around Puerta del Sol (kilometer 0 of Madrid).
     10. Los amantes del Circulo Polar (The Lovers from the North Pole): A magical, intense and romantic story about love, destiny, coincidences. The less you know, the better.
       9. Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother): Manuela (Cecilia Roth) and her 17 year old son Esteban have a very close relationship and share everything with eachother except for one thing: Manuela conceals the identity of Esteban's father. After tragedy strikes, she escapes her current life by going to Barcelona where she hopes to find her former lover and her son's father. (Penelope Cruz appears in a supporting role)
       8. Lucia y el sexo (Sex and Lucia): I didn't know what to expect from this movie because of the title (attention grabber? porn?). Julio Menem's "Lucia y el sexo" isn't really about sex, although if this is the reason you want to watch it, you won't be entirely disappointed. The movie portrays, in a complex and sometimes confusing way, the relationship between Lorenzo (Tristan Ulloa) and Lucia (Paz Vega), the love for each other and the problems they face. Beautiful cinematography and very well acted.
       7. Carne tremula (Live Flesh): Strong, original, sensuous movie that I knew nothing about before seeing it except for the fact that it was directed by Pedro Almodovar. Enough for me to watch it. (featuring Javier Bardem, Francesca Neri, Liberto Rabal, Penelope Cruz)
     6. El callejon de los milagros (Midaq Alley): An engaging story about life, love, feelings, human connections. Salma Hayek is beautiful and convincing as usual. Based on the Nobel Prize Winner's novel, the movie won the Ariel (the Mexican Oscar) as best movie in 1995.
     5. Mar adentro (The Sea Inside): The real-life story of the Galician fisherman Ramon Sampedro (played by Javier Bardem), who, after a diving accident as a young man, was trapped in an immobile body and condemned to live the next 27 years in bed. He fought for three decades for his own right to die. Alejandro Amenábar is, without a doubt, one of the best contemporary directors.
       4. Amores Perros: A brutal puzzle consisting of three different stories connected by a tragic car accident. Dog fights, killers, unhappy characters dealing with life's harsh realities - all make an amazing debut of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Gael Garcia Bernal gives a strong performance, as always.
       3. Diarios de motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries): Based on the true story following Ernesto "Che" Guevara (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Alberto Granado (Rodrigo de la Serna) and their motorcycle road trip across South America in the 1950's. A road trip that showed Che Guevara his life's calling.
     2. Hable con ella (Talk to her): One of the most intense movie experiences I've ever had (thank you, Pedro Almodovar!), "Hable con ella" is about the friendship between two men and the way they cope with the fact that the women they love are in a coma.
       1. Y tu mama tambien (And Your Mother Too): Alfonso Cuaron creates an incredibly genuine story about sexual experimentation, friendship and reaching maturity. Julio (Gael García Bernal) and Tenoch (Diego Luna), two teenage best friends who mostly think about sex, meet an attractive Spanish woman, Luisa (Maribel Verdú), and they convince her to go on a road trip with them to a secret beach, "Boca del Cielo" (Heaven's Mouth). They begin a journey filled with adventure, self-discovery and sexual exploration, a trip that will change their lives forever. Some people say this film is immature and filled with too much gratuitous sex. But I had friends that acted and talked the way these characters act and talk. It might be immature and stupid, but this is reality. And "Y tu mama tambien" captures it very well.

Top 10 Movies About Drugs

2010-10-12T17:20:00.000-07:00

     I decided to include Leaving Las Vegas although it's about alcohol addiction. Also, although Taking Woodstock is not a great movie and drugs are not the main theme, I put it here because of the great LSD trip scene.
     - A Scanner Darkly: This movie is like nothing I've seen before - visually astonishing, with interesting dialogue, feeling like chaos, madness and despair. All in all, a great trip. (starring Keanu Reeves and Robert Downey Jr.)
   - Brick: The first time I saw this movie I was bored to death by it. But I gave it another try and I'm happy I did. Because it's a very unique and complex film noir, with powerful acting, solid dialogue and lots of questions that will keep you glued to the screen. (starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt)
     - Taking Woodstock: There are actors whose presence in a movie is enough to make me watch it. One of them is Emile Hirsch, the reason I decided to give Taking Woodstock a chance. Not a great film (not bad either), but worth watching because of the beautiful LSD trip scene considered by many authentic. I didn't try LSD, but even so I was fascinated by that sequence.
   - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro and lots of drugs make an amazing, fun to watch movie. A must see.
     - Half Nelson: A powerful story about existential struggle, emotional decline, addiction, human connections and hope. Ryan Gosling gives a startling performance as Dan Dunne, a young and unhappy teacher, tormented by anguish and despair, who befriends one of his students in an attempt to save himself from self-destruction.
     - The Basketball Diaries: A depressing, soul-shattering, anti-drugs movie. Leonardo DiCaprio is extremely convincing as a young drug addict and the scene near the end of the movie when he begs his mother for some money is so amazingly played that I could feel his despair and I hardly refrained myself from crying.

- Leaving Las Vegas: This excerpt from the book conveys the general feeling of the movie: "How many more nights and weird mornings can this terrible shit go on? How long can the body and the brain tolerate this doom-struck craziness? This grinding of teeth, this pouring of sweat, this pounding of blood in the temples...small blue veins gone amok in front of the ears, sixty and seventy hours with no sleep..."

     - Candy: Tells the story of a young poet, Dan (Heath Ledger), who falls in love with a painter, Candy (Abbie Cornish), and draws her into the world of heroin addiction. Very intense.
     - Trainspotting: With its memorable opening, the fantastic 'Choose life' monologue of Mark Renton (Ewan Mcgregor), Trainspotting is an incredible movie, an experience I will definitely repeat.
      - Requiem for a Dream: Without a doubt one of the most devastating, wrenching, brutally honest films I've ever seen. (starring Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Ellen Burstyn)

Hottest Male Actors

2010-10-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

Again, this doesn't tell anything about how good they are as actors. They are on this list because they're sexy.
In order: Emile Hirsch, Gael Garcia Bernal, Hayden Christensen, Ewan Mcgregor, Josh Hartnett, Ryan Reynolds, Jude Law, Ryan Phillippe, Michael Pitt, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Orlando Bloom, Zac Efron, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Zegers, Leonardo DiCaprio, Johnny Depp, Gaspard Ulliel

15 Hottest Actresses

2010-10-11T13:01:00.000-07:00

This doesn't tell anything about how good they are as actors. They are on this list because they're sexy.
In order: Jennifer Connelly, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Angelina Jolie, Zooey Deschanel, Charlize Theron, Jessica Alba, Liv Tyler, Keira Knightley, Natalie Portman, Kate Winslet, Megan Fox, Monica Bellucci, Scarlett Johansson, Catherine Zeta-Jones

Favorite Movie Quotes

2010-10-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

     - A few Good Men: "You can't handle the truth!" said by Col. Nathan R. Jessep
   - The Dark Knight: "Why so serious?" said by The Joker (Heath Ledger)
   - Con Air: "There's only two men I trust. One of 'em's me, and the other's not you" said by Cameron Poe (Nicholas Cage)
   - Buffalo '66: "We're the couple that doesn't touch one another. We like each other, we like each other a lot and we span time together." said by Billy Brown (Vincent Gallo)
     - Clerks: "Everybody that comes in here is way too uptight. This job would be great if it wasn't for the fucking customers." said by Randal Graves
     - The Sixth Sense: "I see dead people." said by the kid (Cole Sear)
     - Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "It's just a flesh wound." said by The Black Knight and "What are you gonna do? Bleed on me?" said by Arthur
     - Jerry Maguire: "Show me the money!" said by Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise)
   - Reservoir Dogs: "There's two ways you can go on this job: my way or the highway. Now what's it gonna be, Mr. Pink?" said by Joe (the whole choosing names scene is brilliant)
     - The Godfather Part II: "I know it was you Fredo.You broke my heart." said by Michael Corleone
   - Taxi Driver: "You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talking... you talking to me? Well I'm the only one here. Who the fuck do you think you're talking to?" said by Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro)
     - Trainspotting: "Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and matching luggage. Choose a three-piece suit on hire purchase in a range of fucking fabrics. Choose DIY and wondering who the fuck you are on Sunday morning. Choose sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing, spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing fucking junk food into your mouth. Choose rotting away at the end of it all, pissing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, fucked up brats you spawned to replace yourselves. Choose your future. Choose life... But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose somethin' else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin?" said by Mark Renton (Ewan Mcgregor)

     There are a lot more that I like (movie quotes, I mean). I will give just two more examples for which I couldn't find the video:
     - Vanilla Sky: "The little things, there's nothing bigger, is there?" said by David Aames (Tom Cruise)
     - Man on Wire (a fascinating documentary about Phillippe Petit, the man who walked on a tightrope between World Trade Center's twin towers): "To me, it's really... it's so simple, that life should be lived on the edge of life. You have to exercise rebellion: to refuse to tape yourself to rules, to refuse your own success, to refuse to repeat yourself, to see every day, every year, every idea as a true challenge - and then you are going to live your life on a tightrope." and "If I die, what a beautiful death! To die in the exercise of your passion."

Top Ten Kim Ki-duk Movies

2010-09-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

In a world where most "art-house" movies are pretentious meaningless garbage, Kim Ki-duk is one of the few directors whose films are pure art. I fell in love with him when I first saw the visually beautiful "Bin-jip" (3-Iron) and since then I've seen almost all of his work (except for The Coast Guard and Birdcage Inn). His movies are seductive, mesmerizing, intense, full of subtle symbols, using images rather than events to tell a story. The characters are trapped in their own impenetrable universe, they seem like soulless human shells and there's always a feeling of loneliness surrounding them. But even in silence, communication is present through images, sounds and body-language. It's fascinating to see how much one can express with virtually no words. The answers are always there, the secret is to look beyond symbols, to search beyond appearances. Kim Ki-duk shocks using extreme violence against both people and animals, showing cruelness and indifference, deepening the scars rather than healing them. Cold and numb, his characters are haunted by past traumas that justify their actions and danger is constantly present.

One of my favorites and certainly one of the best directors of all time.

In order: Dream (Bi-mong); Time (Shi gan); Samaritan Girl (Samaria); Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (Bom veoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom); The Isle (Seom); Crocodile (Ag-o); The Bow (Hwal); Breath (Soom); Bad Guy (Nabbeun namja); Bin-jip (3-Iron)

L.E.: I saw The Coast Guard and I liked it a lot, which confirms my conviction that Kim Ki-duk is incapable of making a bad movie. He never disappoints. If I were to remake this list, maybe I would leave Dream out and include The Coast Guard after The Isle (7th spot).

Top 20 Standout Movie Kisses

2010-09-15T06:05:00.000-07:00

This post may contain spoilers!

- Car Crash Kiss (Crash): Kiss form the end of David Cronenberg’s controversial and shocking film that deals with the bizarre fetish for car crashes. James Spader’s character makes love to his injured wife after deliberately causing an accident, whispering to her a deadly promise: “Maybe the next one, darling. Maybe the next one.”

- Human – Alien Kiss (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial): Gertie (Drew Barrymore) kisses E.T. on the nose before he leaves in his spaceship.

- Most Disgusting Kiss (Not Another Teen Movie): Wet, open-mouthed, spit-joining, tongue-massaging lesbian kiss between a beautiful young woman and a much older one. Mia Kirschner (Catherine Wyler) teaching a wrinkled orange-haired older lady named Sadie (Beverly Polcyn) how to kiss is the most disgusting scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie. To make matters worse, the sequence ends with Catherine saying "Now, have you ever eaten pussy before?"

- Child – Adult Kiss (Me and You and Everyone We Know): Controversial kiss between a young boy, Robby, and a middle-aged woman he met on the Internet.

- Upside-down Kiss (Spiderman): After being attacked by a gang in an alley and rescued, Mary-Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst) was kissed by costumed super-hero Peter Parker /Spider-Man (Tobey Maguire).

- Human – Ghost Kiss (Ghost): During a hilarious and ridiculous scene (like most of the movie) which is considered by many sensuous, recently-murdered ghost-spirit Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) kissed his lover Molly Jensen (Demi Moore) as he was seated behind her. The sequence continued with their love-making and kissing in their darkened apartment.

- Age-gap Kiss (The Reader): Kiss between an uneducated, 36 year old tram conductor Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet) and a 15 year old german teenager, Michael Berg (David Kross). They begin a passionate illicit summer affair that develops into a powerful heart wrenching story.

- Rough Kiss (Brokeback Mountain): Passionate and rough, the reunion kiss between cowboys Ennis (Heath Ledger) and Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) won a MTV Movie Award for 'Best Kiss' in 2006 and it’s considered one of the best kisses of all time.

- Son – Transsexual Father Kiss (Transamerica): Strange kiss between Felicity Huffman who plays the role of a man who is about to undergo surgery to become a woman and Kevin Zegers, his/her son in the movie.

- Tango Kiss (Frida): Sexy lesbian kiss in the biographical movie Frida.

- Father – Son Kiss (The Kid): Touching kiss that expresses paternal love.

- Passionate Kiss in the Rain (The Notebook): The love story between a rich girl, Allie (Rache McAdams), and a local mill worker, Noah (Ryan Gosling), will always be remembered because of the rain-soaked kiss that they shared after an idyllic afternoon. She learned for the first time that he had written her 365 love letters (one each day for a year) - although her domineering mother had intercepted them. Noah professed on the dock: "It wasn't over. It still isn't over!" and they passionately kissed. MTV ‘Best Kiss’ Award in 2005.

- ‘Dude’ Kiss / Most Funny Kiss (Dude, where’s my car?): Unexpected and extremely funny (Ashton Kutcher & Seann William Scott).

- Masked Kiss (V for Vendetta): A mysterious masked corruption fighter known as V uses terrorist tactics to fight the oppressive society. He rescues a young woman (Natalie Portman) from the secret police and they develop a strange unlikely relationship. In the dancing scene, she kisses his mask.

- “I’m flying” Kiss (Titanic): I think everyone is familiar with the kiss between Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) at the prow of the Titanic during a golden sunset.

- Bloody Kiss (The Dreamers): This is definitely a kiss that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. In a memorable scene (nicknamed the "blood-on-the-face" scene) from the director Bernardo Bertolucci's NC-17 rated film The Dreamers, Isabelle (Eva Green) made love to American cinema student Matthew (Michael Pitt) on her apartment's kitchen floor, while her twin brother Theo (Louis Garrel) fried eggs on the nearby gas stove; when they were finished, Theo touched Isabelle's thigh and brought up his fingers covered in blood - Matthew also took some of the blood from her broken hymen/vagina and smeared it onto her face as he ardently kissed her.

- The Kiss of Death (The Godfather Part II): During a New Year's Eve celebration in Cuba that ushered in 1959 in a fancy ball in the Presidential Palace, amidst cheering, embracing, and confetti, Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) whispered into traitorous brother Fredo's (John Cazale) ear as they grabbed each other: "There's a plane waiting for us to take us to Miami in an hour, all right? Don't make a big thing about it. (He forcefully grabbed him on both sides of the face and kissed him - Sicilian style. It was the kiss of death on his lips.) I know it was you, Fredo. You broke my heart. You broke my heart."

- Planet – Ape Kiss (Planet of the Apes): Human astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) kissed scientist-ape Zira (Kim Hunter), as they stood next to crashing waves on a beach: Taylor: "Doctor, I'd like to kiss you goodbye." Zira: "All right ... but you're so damned ugly!"

- Man – Corpse Kiss (The Shining): When investigating Room 237 in the Overlook Hotel, half-crazed caretaker Jack (Jack Nicholson) pushed open the half-closed bathroom door of the mysterious, green and orange room, where he saw a young, nude woman (Lia Beldam) bathing - she rose, slowly stepped from the tub and approached; when she stopped in the middle of the room, Jack started toward her - she seductively moved her hands up over his chest and around his neck; he embraced and kissed her, but when he looked over her shoulder at their embrace in the mirror behind her, he saw that her age had accelerated; she was metamorphosed into a demonic, necrophiliac lover - a wrinkled, partially-decomposed corpse.

- Spaghetti Kiss (Lady and the Tramp): Maybe the most memorable kiss of all time. Unrepeatable.

Bonus: I’m a cyborg, but that’s ok!: Kiss between a mentally ill girl who thinks she is a cyborg and the guy who falls for her.

Top 20 Most Overrated Movies of All Time

2010-09-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

     This kind of list will always cause disagreement. But keep in mind that this is a personal opinion and these movies aren't bad just because they are on this list. Even good movies can be overrated.
   - The Green Mile: I don't understand why this movie is so overrated. I know, it's a Stephen King story, the director is the same guy that made 'The Shawshank Redemption', it's a Oscar nominee and Tom Hanks (who is a pretty good actor) is in it, but let's face it: this is just an average movie. A quite infantile one that tries to trick its audience into believing that a long, mediocre, shallow, corny, magical tale is in fact a heartfelt, honest one.Oh, and that stupid mouse...
     - Braveheart: What I liked about this movie was the soundtrack. Aside from that, it's slow paced, full of cheap drama, the editing is poor and many scenes are so bad that they're funny.
     - Hotel Rwanda: A sensitive premise is not enough to make a good movie. Rwandan genocide is a dark reality, but this film doesn't go deeper than the surface. It just pretends to be meaningful and deep. For better similar movies try 'Sometimes in April' or 'Shake Hands with the Devil'.
     - Full Metal Jacket: The first half of the movie is brilliant, witty and it feels real and authentic. The second part though is laughable and it lacks any message, the characters are wooden, the action scenes seem artificial and the ending is unsatisfactory.
     - Grave of the Fireflies: A few bombs and a cute dying kid are not enough to call this movie a masterpiece. It's nothing heroic and admirable about a moron who chooses to be a lazy ass instead of fighting for his sisters' life.
     - In Bruges: A slow, pointless, pretentious movie with a few lame jokes and unbelievable characters.
     - Lost in Translation: Sometimes silence says more than words can express. Here, silence is 'nothing'. A boring and annoying 'nothing'.
     - Little Miss Sunshine: Tedious, unfunny, unimpressive.
     - Pan's Labyrinth: Again a case of powerful story, not that good cinematography. Harsh reality + cute little girl + foreign film doesn't equal masterpiece. But I admit it's a good movie though.
     - 2001: A Space Odyssey: I was bored to death by the slow long sequences of absolutely nothing. Agonizingly boring and slow-paced movie and yet, I find it somehow fascinating. Certainly over-hyped, but strangely mesmerizing.
     - Leon: Good movie, but kind of boring with an over the top story.
     - The Science of Sleep: Ridiculous, chaotic, painfully boring film.
     - The Sixth Sense: Maybe I would have liked this movie more if I hadn't figured out the big twist so soon. It's jaw-dropping how people don't realize what's happening not even when the kid says 'I see dead people.'
     - The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: This video from the movie Clerks 2 summarizes perfectly my feelings regarding the trilogy.

     - Magnolia: Pointless, forced, uninteresting, dreadful mess.
     - Wall-e: Tedious, clicheed, ridiculous, dumb. A must-miss.
     - Children of Men: Clumsy, amateuristic and absurd.
     - The Fountain: Pretentious boring pseudo-intellectual unsatisfying artsy film.
     - Downfall: I don't know, it might be interesting for people who don't know the history of those times. I thought it was boooring.
     - The Dark Knight: Too many subplots, overlong pseudo-intellectual movie, weak script with action that goes nowhere. Heath Ledger is ok, but not THAT good and this film is far from a masterpiece. In fact, I think Batman Begins was much better.

Top 100 Movies of All Time

2010-09-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

     It's hard to choose just 10 movies that I consider the best, so I made a 'top 100' list (in alphabetical order). But if I were to choose the best 10 movies from this list, I'd probably go with:
     - American History X (which is better than The Shawshank Redemption, imo)
     - Babel
     - Bin-jip (a really beautiful masterpiece)
     - Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
     - Fight Club
     - Into the Wild (I could relate to the main character)
     - Memento
     - Requiem for a Dream
     - Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (better than Oldboy, in my opinion)
     - The Pianist
     I think that The Shawshank Redemption is slightly overrated (but still a great movie) and The Departed is better than the original (Mou gaan dou, 2002). And I must add that Mysterious Skin is the only movie that made me feel physically and emotionally sick (ever!). I was a shell of a human being for days after I watched it.

     In order (alphabetically): 21 Grams, A Beautiful Mind, A Clockwork Orange, A Few Good Men, A Moment to Remember, Amelie (Le fabuleaux destin d'Amelie Poulain), American Beauty, American History X, Amores Perros, Artificial Intelligence, Babel, Back to the Future, Bad Guy, Batman, Battle Royale, Bin-jip (3-Iron), Blood Diamond, Boy A, Breath, Catch Me If You Can, Cinderella Man, City of God, Cloverfield, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Cube, Diarios de motocicleta (The Motorcycle Diaries), District 9, Dogville, Donnie Darko, Don't Move (Non ti muovere), Elephant, Equilibrium, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Fargo, Fight Club, Forrest Gump, Good Bye Lenin!, Good Will Hunting, Hable con ella (Talk to Her), Happiness, Head-On, House of Flying Daggers, I Am Sam, Into the Wild, La vita e bella (Life Is Beautiful), Lilya 4-ever, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Lost Highway, Manic, Match Point, Memento, Million Dollar Baby, Mulholland Dr, Mysterious Skin, Mystic River, Oldboy, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Pirates of the Caribbean, Primer Fear, Primer, Pulp Fiction, Rain Man, Requiem for a Dream, Reservoir Dogs, Run Lola Run, Saving Private Ryan, Schildler's List, Se7en, Shattered Glass, Sin City, Slumdog Millionaire, Stay, Storytelling, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Taxi Driver, The Big Lebowski, The Bow, The Butterfly Effect, The Chumscrubber, The Departed, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The Dreamers, The Heart Is Deceitful Of All Things, The Jacket, The Kid, The Machinist, The Matrix, The Pianist, The Prestige, The Reader, The Sea Inside, The Secret Life of Words, The Shawshank Redemption, The Truman Show, The Usual Suspects, There Will Be Blood, Trainspotting, Turtles can Fly, Y tu mama tambien, Zero Day

Top 12 TV Series

2010-09-11T05:13:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the TV series that I consider to be the best:
1. Dexter
2. House M.D.
3. The Big Bang Theory - extremely funny, I love Sheldon
4. Six Feet Under
5. South Park
6. Lost - I love Lost, but the last 2 seasons were terrible
7. Prison Break - the last season was disappointing
8. Glee
9. Angels in America - amazing, visually beautiful
10. The IT Crowd
11. Californication
12. Heroes

Lazy

2010-09-11T04:44:00.000-07:00

There's only one thing that I like more than traveling and that is watching movies. Because, you see, everything in nature has an opposite force: apples have gravity, darkness has light and Kanye West manners. Mine is effort. I'm the laziest person I know. When I don't travel, I like sitting on my ass all day, watching movies, listening to music or reading. Some say it's a waste of time, but time you enjoyed wasting is not wasted time. I'd write more, but I'm too lazy.