Jonestown

There are things for one reason or another that where left out of my history book and I have no freaking clue why this was one of them. Go ahead and short change the Korean War but are you seriously going to tell me that over 900 Americans killed themselves in a crazy cult and its all but forgotten 30 years later? This movie is more than a trip its a total mind blower and one of the most disturbing things I have ever had the displeasure to witness. The quality of the film is fine but I will never unhear Jim Jones leading his people to their death, never. A few day before this I watched The Cove and had a similar reaction. The world just got way too real for me. For now I will now retreat into the safe world of Clamp's Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle until I recover. Also I am aware that unhear is not a word.

In the Mood for Love

Everyone loves a good romance and no one makes them better than Kar Wai Wong.In the Mood for Love is what I consider to be his masterpiece. This movie is like a gentle caress to the senses, Maggie Cheung in my opinion is the most beautiful woman in film history and no one can captures her timeless beauty like Kar Wai Wong. Everything about this movie is sexy, never vulgar or risqué but always driven by strong sexual undertones,even the soundtrack is sexy. I also want to add how much I love Tony Leung Chiu Wai the man is a fabulous actor who can do anything from action star to romantic heart throb and its always a top notch performance.

9/10

Similar films: 2046, 3-Iron

Free documentaries are the best kind of documentaries and who the heck is Margaret Thatcher?

So I have been obsessed with commies lately, I always have been but my interest only peaks once or twice a year. While digging around on Google Video I found more dirty red goodness than my little heart could handle. From that moment on my sleep cycle has been in chaos I've been up until around 4am watching all things Cold War related. During the last few days I have managed to find some gems like 1983: The Brink of Destruction, The Cu Chi Tunnels and the three part series The Trap. 1983 is a charming little film about the relations between east and west how close we came to ending the world during Able Archer 83. Its pretty engaging and at times a little scary but I think we all owe a little thanks to Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov for making one of the better decisions in history.
The Cu Chi tunnels is an incredible documentary about the thousands of Vietnamese soldiers who lived in fought in elaborate tunnel systems. Its only one of two documentaries I have seen from the Vietnamese point of view and its intense, really really intense.
Now I'm not sure exactly where The Trap is going but the first episode is about the psychology of the Cold War and the advent of game theory. Its a little hard to watch at times especially when it gets into British politics and Margaret Thatcher who until this point I thought was a Muppet. That aside the segments on game theory were fascinating and I plan on taking some time to learn more about it.

Go search Google Video for free documentaries on just about any topic its way better than tv.

Full Metal Alchemist

I have been a big fan of this series for years but I finally sat down and watched this 51 episode epic front to back and I have to say this is hands down the best anime series ever. There are so many stand out achievements here, the story, the quality of the animation and music to name the most obvious. What really got me though was the characters. So many Shonen anime stick to the same tired formula of one dimension characters and villains raising their power levels just to beat the hell out of each other only to repeat over and over again until people stop buying their product. FMA is different. Its characters are not perfect, good guys and villains die alike and most importantly there is an internal logic that the story ad hears to (99% of the time anyway). This series is an emotional roller coaster, every time our heroes get a break they are thrown into another even more nightmarish situation and its impossible to look away. This is one of if not the best works of fiction of our time just give it a chance and you will be hooked. Get you Netflix ques ready because at 51 episodes on 13 dvds this series will consume you in the best way possible.

Cherry Blossoms

Ask and you shall receive. I really needed a good movie and what I got was a masterpiece. I cried twice. Cherry Blossoms feels like a hybrid of Tokyo Story and Lost In Translation but still manages to find its own identity. The cinematography is simply stunning as both German and Japanese locations are perfectly captured in a dream like state. Actor Elmar Wepper is remarkable, he won 4 awards for his role and its one of the most moving performances I have ever seen in film. This is drama at its best.

10/10

Losing streak

I have muscled through so much crap this last week its not even funny. Each movie seems to be worst than the last but hopefully this weeks offerings will be better.

Pic related, its my face while watching 3 crappy Cantonese movies in a row.