Sunday, January 31, 2010

Ashes and Snow

I had the privilege of visiting Gregory Colbert's Parisian studio this weekend and fell in love with his magnificent, oversize, sepia images of people and children interacting, sitting, dancing, or swimming with Asian elephants, eagles, manatees, cheetahs, whales and more.  I had seen his 2005 exhibit, "Ashes and Snow", in New York City and still have one of its posters hanging above my bed.  I wanted to watch the film of the same name in its entirety and was spellbound.

For those who are not familiar with Gregory Colbert, he is a Canadian born photographer and film-maker, who traveled on expeditions to India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and many more to document the incredible interactions between humans and animals.  He exposes his work only in immense "nomadic" structures.  Ashes and Snow attracted over 10 million visitors in NYC, Santa Monica, Tokyo and Mexico City, making it the most attended exhibition by a living artist in history. Colbert's Nomadic Museum continues its global journey indefinitely and has no final destination. 

The movie, narrated by Laurence Fishburne, is stunning to say the very least.  It is angelic, gentle and mesmerizing.  Mostly silent, a simple, enchanting music plays in the background.  From time to time a poem is read, telling the fictional tale of a husband writing 365 letters to his wife.  The poems themselves are wonderful and divine, perfectly fitting into this symphony of sights and sounds and of absolute harmony between living beings.  There are scenes of utmost beauty and precision that sent me into a dream-like state.

I highly recommend this film to anyone who is interested in art, photography or cinematography or simply to anybody who loves animals and wants to see something truly beautiful and unique.  It can also be left on in the background and be watched over and over again for the striking, almost sacred allure of its images.

Gregory's next appointment is with the penguins and icebergs of Antarctica and I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us.

My rating: 8.5
Fabio's: 6
Total score: 14.5

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Zombieland


Must I state that this was a Fabio request or is it obvious? ;)

A movie with the word zombie in its title is not something I would normally watch, but in a relationship one must make compromises and after Bright Star, I owed him one. I must admit that Zombieland was quite funny at times and although not in my usual genre, I did laugh more than once.

A brief plot summary: The world has been devastated and is inhabited only by blood-loving zombies. There are few "normal" people left. Woody Harrelson plays a tough, streetwise cowboy who drives a huge 4x4 and enjoys killing zombies and eating Twinkies. He picks up Columbus, played by Jesse Eisenberg (who I confused with the actor from Juno thus losing a costly bet for a sushi dinner) and the two form an awkward friendship or rather coexistence. In order not to get too friendly Woody says that he doesn't want to exchange names, only where they're from- therefore Columbus and Tallahassee.

They decide to journey together, Columbus trying to survive- in fact he has a rather funny list of survival tips that are interspersed throughout the film with immediate examples of what happens if you don't follow the rules- and Tallahassee searching for Twinkies. Along the way they encounter and are repeatedly conned by two sisters, one of whom is played by Abigail Breslin from Little Miss Sunshine and more recently, My Sister's Keeper. They go by the names Wichita and Little Rock.

The ultimate funniest scene is towards the middle and takes place in a Beverly Hills mansion with a surprise appearance from an actor who apparently isn't supposed to be named. I will not spoil the fun but just say that these 15 minutes or so are very funny and were by far my favorite part of the movie. That and a scene where Columbus' hot neighbor comes over and he thinks she likes him only to discover she is a zombie too and is there to savagely murder him. I realize it sounds quite juvenile but the scene was very amusing.

The rest of the killing zombie and action parts were a bit too obvious and disgusting for my taste but as Fabio said, this horror comedy cannot be taken literally. If done so, Zombieland can be an enjoyable, albeit peculiar, adventure.

My rating: 4.5
Fabio's: 8.5
Total score: 13

To my followers and readers: I am leaving to Paris for a long weekend so there will be no more movie watching or reviews for the next couple of days. Thank you for your continued or new loyalty!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Bright Star


Bright Star, written and directed by Jane Campion, was unfortunately a bit of a let down for me. I was expecting a slow moving, historical movie about an English poet and his untimely death but I hoped that the story would be more riveting, more moving. I thought The Piano by Campion was a much stronger film and am slightly disappointed by her latest drama.

The film is based on the romance between 19th century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, which was cut short by Keats' death from tuberculosis at age 25. Abbie Cornish is excellent as Fanny, making us feel her profound love and terrible ensuing sadness which know no bounds. Ben Whishaw, a relatively unknown actor, is also superb, perfectly embodying the physically frail, emotionally fragile, wondrous poet that was John Keats, so full of tender emotion.

There is much witty humor between Fanny and John's friend and fellow poet, Charles Brown, another excellent portrayal. He derides her constantly, making fun of her penchant for fashion and sewing and of her feigned interest (according to him) in poetry. He considers her a flirt and nothing more and tries to keep her as far away from John as possible, telling her they need time for their "musing" and must not be disturbed. To which she replies "Is that what us common people call thinking?".

Their love story is tragic- Fanny and John cannot marry because John does not have any income but they fall madly in love nonetheless. Fanny is his life, his inspiration and his hope during his illness. It is very sad that Keats dies almost unrecognized, poor and indebted, knowing that he then went on to become one of the most beloved and celebrated of Romantic poets.

Fanny lives with her family at home and since it is impossible for her to get more involved with John I found it hard to grasp the depth of their passion to the extent that Campion wants us to feel it. The first love they are exploring is beautiful and pure, but also immature at times.

There are undeniably beautiful excerpts in the exchanges between Fanny and John, such as this one, my favorite: "I almost wish we were butterflies, and lived but three summer days. Three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain." Fanny goes on to collect live butterflies in her room, which flutter about but end up littering the floor with their dead corpses, perhaps a symbol of this impossible love. Or "A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Its loveliness increases. It will never pass into nothingness." During the ending credits, "Ode to a Nightingale" is read and makes one watch till the very last one scrolls by.

The costumes are lovely; the film is definitely beautiful, well directed and wonderfully acted. However, how to put this in the most mild, most polite, English way possible: Fabio and I were both, at times, slightly, just a little bit, only a touch, bored and were expecting a teeny, weeny bit more.

My rating: 6
Fabio's: 6
Total score: 12

Monday, January 18, 2010

Sherlock Holmes


Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes is a fast-paced, edgy adaptation (to put it mildly) of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's late 19th century creation. I have learned that Detective Holmes was apparently not too dissimilar to the way he is portrayed here and that previous films actually passed over this side of him.

Sherlock was in fact an avid boxer and a martial artist, had little personal hygiene, did sleep on the floor, drugged himself and his dog constantly, insulted Watson, played practical jokes on his housekeeper, and was generally quite an offensive character. He was also however a master of disguise; a genius of logic and deduction with an incredible memory and case solving ability. It is during his relationship and close friendship with Dr. Watson that he became a more "respectable" member of society.

Jude Law plays Dr. Watson wonderfully, with understated charm and ease, and most importantly lets the light shine on Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock, giving him the true spotlight. Every pore of Downey's permeates this role and it's obvious he's loving every second of it. His brooding, tough, superior, energetic and cunning Sherlock is what makes the movie entertaining in my opinion. He is one of few actors who has gotten better looking with time and age and in many scenes is reminiscent of a younger Al Pacino in Scarface. The Golden Globe that was just awarded to him is richly deserved. On the other hand, Rachel McAdams was a bit disappointing and doesn't add much to the film.

I liked the well written interplay and complicity between Sherlock and Watson. However, the plot of trying to find Lord Blackwood who has risen from the dead and operates a secret society was way too far fetched for my taste. I thought the action scenes were too long and although I liked the dark, moody, filthy London that was conveyed, the special effects looked fake. I felt like I was watching an awful Dan Brown movie at times with all the symbols, secret rituals and black magic of the sect.

Guy Ritchie has delivered a unique movie by sticking to his genre of a testosterone driven, male charged environment where one wouldn't necessarily expect it and for that he should be applauded. There is a great fight scene in which Sherlock envisions and dissects the violent play by play of what will happen to his unsuspecting opponent in slow motion in his head, then Ritchie shows it to us unfolding in real speed. The movie is unconventional but I felt that a lot of the scenes dragged on, especially towards the end. RDJ's performance was enthralling but I strongly preferred the fast repartees to the fast chases.

My rating: 4
Fabio's: 4
Total score: 8

Avatar


Avatar. This is a title that will remain recognized and remembered for a long time to come. Tens of millions of people have already seen the movie and it is on track to become the highest grossing of all time. Congratulations to James Cameron for following his dream. After years of work (Cameron didn't write or direct anything meaningful since Titanic in 1997) and hundreds of millions of dollars spent, audiences- thankfully- are spellbound.

The movie, set in 2154, begins with a narration by Sam Worthington and shows his character, Jake Sully, a paraplegic marine, taking his deceased twin brother's place in the Avatar program, a secret mission designed to infiltrate the world of the Na'vi, a colony of blue creatures who live on the distant moon Pandora. The exploration and exploitation of Pandora is crucial to the humans as the Na'vi tribe is living on top of an enormous amount of extremely precious, and expensive, ore.

Jake is not trained for this mission but since he is a genetic match to his brother, is sent anyway. His wayward actions get him into trouble relatively fast, especially since on Pandora, with his new Avatar body, he is able to run and use his legs which on Earth are paralyzed. As he is experimenting with his newfound freedom he meets the beautiful Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana, a Na'vi huntress who shows him around and introduces him to the rest of the tribe as well as their culture, language and habits. As I'm sure you can imagine, a love story ensues and Jake's loyalty shifts rather quickly from his own race to that of the blue Na'vi's.

Pandora is magical. The jungle is lush and rich, teeming with life. Sights, sounds, and smells abound. There is an understanding between the people and the land, a harmony, a balance which is not exploited for profit as it is on Earth. Trees, plants, animals and the Na'vi coexist in peace and utmost respect. Trees are considered to have souls and nothing can be harmed, touched or disturbed. Each and every life, be it human, animal or plant is valued equally. This is no doubt alluring to us all, as we watch our own planet suffer from the ravages of our growth and absorb the great damages of our years of neglect.

Sigourney Weaver plays a tough talking scientist, unlikeable at first (she is even shown smoking cigarettes which has caused great controversy) but her true character unfolds and is revealed throughout the movie. She has a purpose and a mission, fighting against the capitalist exploiters from Earth who are trying to ruin Pandora and expel or kill the Na'vi peoples. Stunningly beautiful moments (some of my favorites were the spectacular scenes with the flying dragons) are mixed in with scenes of utmost destruction and devastation that leave you extremely saddened and horrified at what we are capable of. I have read that some theatergoers are leaving the movie with serious depression issues, wanting to leave our world to live on a planet like Pandora.

The story is simple, perhaps too simple, and themes like these have already been seen, but the movie is enchanting and the technical achievements and cinematography outstanding. The special effects are hard to put in words, they must be seen and experienced in 3D. This movie deserves a lot of the praise it is getting and is therefore a must-see. Personally I'm happy I saw it and although I wouldn't see it twice, can recognize its triumph. If it is seen as such it will be an enjoyable experience and it will be understandable why Cameron waited so long to come up with his next billion dollar blockbuster.

My rating: 7
Fabio's: 6.5
Total Score: 13.5

Sunday, January 17, 2010

A Serious Man


A Serious Man, the Coen Brothers' latest film- not to be confused with A Single Man or with Solitary Man, also coming out this season- is a dark comedy set in the 1960's centering on Larry Gopnik, a mathematics and physics professor trying to cope with his rapidly deteriorating life. To say that things are falling apart is an understatement.

His wife decides to leave him and during an intervention with Larry and her new lover (the "serious man" from the title no less), explains to him that it would be best if he moved into a motel although she admits he has done nothing wrong. In addition, he has trouble at work with a Korean student who is trying to bribe him, looming financial woes, a brother who has moved in with the family and gets into major legal trouble, a son who seems like all he enjoys is smoking pot and only calls him to fix the TV or radio, and a daughter who just wants to go to clubs and wash her hair.

Larry is plagued by existential issues of wondering why all of this is happening to him and seeks help from three different rabbis. Why is "Hashem" (God) doing this to him? He is a good man. Why does Hashem think he deserves this? Larry is tormented. He is a smart man but clearly nothing is working out for him in life. He turns to Judaism for solutions and answers but finds no solace.

Larry's troubles are morbidly humorous and definitely bizarre as one would expect from the Coens. The opening scene of the movie is probably the weirdest of all- a prologue entirely in Yiddish shows a husband and wife arguing over whether their evening visitor is a man or an evil spirit, or "Dybbuk!!!" (you have to see it to understand). Throughout the film there are many scenes showing Jewish traditions and rituals, most are portrayed with irony and showcase a lot of neuroticism. One can imagine that the Coens lived through some of these moments themselves and that this is in more ways than one autobiographical, a return to the roots.

Although the movie raises some interesting philosophical and theological issues, I enjoyed it a lot less than Burn After Reading which I thought was laugh out loud funny, or No Country for Old Men whose extremely impressive acting, haunting score and uniqueness are no match to Serious Man. This movie has its fair share of absurd, amusing, off beat and tragic moments but it failed to captivate me. There is also no closure at the end which bothered Fabio more than it did me. I think it meant that life simply goes on but unfortunately I wasn't interested enough to really dwell on it.

My rating: 7
Fabio's: 6
Total score: 13

Saturday, January 16, 2010

The Road


You have to know if you are preparing to see The Road to expect a very, very, very (did I already say very?) dark and bleak film. If you have read Cormac McCarthy's book of the same name you will already know to expect this but I prefer to warn nevertheless.

The Road (the book) was actually the first present Fabio ever gave me. I invited him over for dinner and he brought me a copy of it. Strange gift but let's try not to analyze it too much... I of course read it, eager to find some clues as to why he gave it to me. I did not find any, but instead read a stirring, eloquent, and magnificent tale of a father and a son, alone in the world after an untold apocalyptic event wipes out all of civilization as we know it.

Viggo Mortensen stars in this film and as usual gives himself 100% in his deep, rapt and physical portrayal of a desperately in love father who will do anything to protect his boy. The new world is littered with "bad guys" who will pillage, rape, torture and kill anything and anybody they find. There is no more light in this world, no more color, no more animals, no more normal people. Nobody can be trusted and one must keep moving on to survive. Viggo and his son are trying to reach the shore where they hope to find what they are looking for- life.

The art direction of the film is superb, portraying this desolate and grim world as I had imagined it from the book- gray, harsh, burned, austere and cold. Charlize Theron makes a few appearances as the boy's mother but only brief, as she gave up on this so called "life" and on a survival which she deemed futile.

There are scenes of great sadness, fear, and tragedy, but also of love and of hope. That is an outstanding feat to accomplish and this film does it in a very understated way. I would recommend to anyone to read the book (it's not very long) before seeing the movie in order to better understand it and gain more depth from the experience. While not as strong and gripping as the book, this is an excellent attempt at putting it on the screen and it will nonetheless terrify, overcome and impress you.

And why did Fabio give me a copy of The Road? Perhaps he could see into the future and wanted to tell me that he will be a really good dad to our yet to be born, and at the time yet to be conceived, son. I already know that he is right about that, but hopefully neither us nor him will ever know a world as sad as this one.

My rating: 6.5
Fabio's: 5.5
Total score: 12

Amreeka


Didn't post anything for a few days as we went to the Dr and found out we are having a boy!!!!! Very unexpected so we spent the last few days trying to find boys names! Coincidentally, the next two movies deal with the relationships first between a mother and her son, next between father and son.

First, I will review Amreeka, a movie I had read about a few months ago and was eager to see. I was pleasantly surprised as was Fabio at the realism of this film, the depth of the characters and the relevance and importance of the themes that are explored.

The movie tells the tale of a single mother named Muna and her teenage son Fadi, who, tired of the oppression in occupied Palestine (road blocks, constant checks), seize an opportunity to move in with Muna's sister and her husband in the United States.

Dreaming of a better life, they are however bitterly disappointed. Muna, who previously worked in a bank, can only obtain a job flipping burgers at White Castle, a fact that she hides from her entire family. Her sister drops her off every day in front of a bank where Muna pretends to work. Her shame in her job is great yet her pride is too high to borrow money from somebody. She lives to provide a good life and education for her son and her extreme care and gentleness are very touching and endearing.

The film follows Muna and Fadi's hardships and difficulties and one wonders if they will be able to happily assimilate. Some anti-Arab sentiment is revealed throughout the film and this is a struggle for Muna as she fled her homeland in order to escape persecution only to find it again. Without trying to give too much away, the movie does end on a positive note.

The acting is really superb. The entire cast does very well but Muna shines, and her sister stands out particularly as well. You really feel for what is happening and for the lives of the members of this family. This is a beautiful film that will stay with you. As the poster says, it's a journey with a lot of heart.

My rating: 7.5
Fabio: 7
Total: 14.5

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

New Moon

I don't even know where to begin for this review as I was so extremely disappointed by New Moon, the latest Twilight chapter. I saw the first episode of the Saga recently because everywhere I turned there was an article or pictures of Robert Pattinson and I wanted to see what all the hype was about. I enjoyed it, thought it was original and saw how it could appeal to a younger generation. I wasn't hooked and didn't necessarily feel the "twilight mania" but nevertheless wanted to see what would happen next and decided to watch the second installment. I even had some slight anticipation, and Fabio had lots (but shhhh that's a secret).

What an enormous letdown for both of us. Instead of building off of some of the tension and interesting elements of the first film, the sequel's plot is quasi non existent and the acting has managed to get worse. You hardly see Edward (Robert Pattinson), Bella's vampire love, as he leaves her early on in the film. He decides it is best for Bella if he and his family move out of Forks to spare her the danger of their presence. Bella is heartbroken and goes through a major teenage lovesick depression. The film then focuses on her childhood Indian friend Jacob Black in whom she tries to find comfort while still longing for Edward. But without wanting to give too much away, Jacob has some pretty bizarre secrets of his own...

The special effects are decent, the wolves quite cool, but the action sequences seem fake, there are no explanations for anything, no character development. The movie jumps from one scene to the next, particularly at the end, and I don't have other words and will not sugarcoat it- this movie is stupid. I was hoping to feel some love and passion between Bella and Edward and the result was zero.

This movie is a big, huge flop. Let's hope the next one is better and that people will still want to see it after this vampire and wolf wreck.

My rating: 2/10
Fabio's: 2/10
Total score: 4/20

Monday, January 11, 2010

The Boys Are Back


Ok, yes, I admit it and anyone who knows me can guess that what first attracted me to this movie was........ Clive Owen. However, I was impressed to see that this was a serious film and actually sounded very good from initial feedback. Clive Owen departs from more banal roles in recent thrillers such as The International or Duplicity to play a grieving widow and father of two. His intensity and naturalness are earning him lots of praise and talk of a first Oscar nomination.

Owen's character loses his wife to cancer very early on in the film and is faced with the task of raising their particularly rambunctious child on his own. To add to this, another son from his previous marriage comes from the UK to Australia to live with him and the boy.

Clive inhabits his role with ease, playing an understanding and tolerant father who lets his boys engage in unconventional activities (presumably to make up for their lack of a mother) but who can also become suddenly impatient and irritable under stress, taking some questionable decisions.

There are lots of sympathetic father/son scenes as well as endearing moments between the two half brothers. However it pains me to write that the movie failed to truly grip me or Fabio and merely coasts along, like a beautiful Australian landscape. An enjoyable film- touching but not moving, nice but not memorable.

My rating: 7/10
Fabio: 6/10
Total Score: 13/20

Friday, January 8, 2010

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?


Watched this film last night at Fabio's request, he had heard of it and I have to say I hadn't and know why. Although the title makes it sound like it will be interesting and it is directed and written by Morgan Spurlock from Super Size Me which was a very engaging, original film, Where in the World is neither of those.

It follows Morgan as he travels to the Middle East in search of- you guessed it- Osama Bin Laden. The movie takes you through many interviews with locals in Egypt, Israel, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and more. He asks them about their feelings towards America, and of course whether they know where OBL (as he calls him) is. None of these interviews yield any substantial, insightful or noteworthy remarks. The movie simply drags on and Morgan's mock quest seems pointless even for us to watch.

The movie is overly gimmicky and my impression was that it tried much too hard to do something that had already been done before. Certain parts reminded me of Bill Maher's Religulous which I thorougly enjoyed and actually saw 3 times. Similarly, Spurlock inserts some comedic elements into his scenes, a few of which I have to admit are funny. For instance he shows a page in Osama's diary which reads: 1. Clean Cave (this one is crossed out and done), 2. Kill all Infidels etc.; and on another page "I hate America", "I am bored today". This was the only moment where I actually laughed.

The big difference is that Religulous posed real questions and was much more historical, analytical and instructive. If you're looking for a film where the director already has his answers before he sets upon his search, Fahrenheit 9/11 or Capitalism: A Love Story (which I will be reviewing soon) are much stronger candidates. Fabio said "it is like a bad Michael Moore" and that pretty much sums it up.

My rating: 3/10
Fabio's: 5/10
Total: 8/20

Thursday, January 7, 2010

The Hurt Locker


The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, is getting fantastic critical reviews, some even calling it the best movie of last year. It has no famous actors (except for a very brief apparition by Ralph Fiennes) which is not to say that the acting is not strong.

The theme is the war in Iraq and it is a very realistic portrayal of the interactions between three soldiers stationed there as part of an elite bomb squad unit. There is lots of tension when they are dismantling bombs, especially during the opening scene which is by far the most dramatic. The remaining time disappointed me.

Unfortunately I was hoping for more from this film and instead found it tedious, slow and repetitive. I was dozing off and had a hard time getting involved and caring much about what was going to happen. The movie lacked plot and did not draw me in sufficiently.

It was very well directed from a technical standpoint and was a unique film in this regard, filmed in documentary style. But it is definitely a slow moving, war film and I hate to stereotype but probably more of a guy's movie. In fact you do not see a woman for 2 hours. I would not recommend this to any of my female friends; men might appreciate it more.

However, although Hurt Locker reminded Fabio of his time in the army, and he happens to be reading a book about the war in Iraq, he was also bored and said that in the same genre he much preferred Jarhead.
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My rating: 3/10
Fabio: 6/10
Total: 9/20

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Up in the Air


We watched Up in the Air yesterday, by director Jason Reitman (of Thank You for Smoking and Juno fame) with George Clooney and two great female actresses- Vera Farmiga playing George's love interest and Anna Kendrick as his overly zealous co-worker. It was nice to get to know these two new faces. I had not seen Vera in a film before though she looked familiar and you might recognize Anna from the Twilight Saga where she plays Jessica, Bella's friend.

The movie is a very fast paced, excellently written, quite dark comedy centering around Clooney's character and his job which is firing people whose bosses "don't have the balls to sack their own employees". The actors playing the "firees" are real life people who have been terminated, adding a certain poignancy to their candid interviews. There are some excellent one-liners that come of these which George delivers perfectly "try not to take this personally", "review this packet, I am sure you will find a lot of helpful information in it" etc. These scenes make for some extremely memorable moments and George excels in the cynical but casual portrayal of his character, delivering each line with a super size heaping of charm.

Vera is fantastic as his female counterpart and quasi clone of him, but I was most impressed with Anna and thought she did a terrific job maintaining her seriousness and composure during many of the firing scenes and hilarious interactions with George. One favorite of mine was when he forces her to change suitcases at the airport and to carry on instead of checking in- something he learned saves him about a week of time each year. While his luggage is always extremely neatly packed, each type of clothing having its own compartment, hers is overflowing with loose items and even a pillow. George proceeds to throw out half of her belongings as he tries to initiate her to his road warrior ways. He imparts some more wisdom when he tells her to always stand in line behind Asians, as they are quick and efficient. A pleasant relationship grows between them and it is nice to watch his character melt just a little bit.

Some of the banter between him and Vera is very funny but at times feels over scripted and not quite real, such as when they are comparing their elite status cards at their first meeting. I thought this was a bit overdone but entertaining nonetheless.

There is a lot of American Airlines and Hilton promotion but in counterpart Reitman got to shoot a lot of airport, airplane and hotel scenery for free. That's a pretty smart decision in these economic times so once you know that, the blatant placement doesn't get too much in the way.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable film, speaking very much to today's mood and spirit, easy to watch, with many laugh out loud moments. What could me more fun and humourous than to watch a company thriving on the misfortune of others. Things don't end so well for George's character Ryan Bingham however, as the holes and lack of performance in his own life are exposed throughout his journeys- no significant other, no children, weak ties with his family and worst of all, no place to call home.

Fabio and I both definitely recommend this film and give it a whopping 9/10!

First blog- introduction

Hi, my name is Paulina and I hope that you will enjoy reading my movie reviews! Here is a little bit about who I am and why I started this blog.

I recently moved to Switzerland where I live in a tiny village inhabited by more cows than people... Considering I lived my whole life between Paris and New York City you can see how that could be a bit problematic. On the flip side, I have a great fiance, the best dog in the world (a yellow lab named Chloe) and I am pregnant. I couldn't ask for anything more- well, besides less cows and cow smells.

To fill up some free time I have been watching A LOT of movies- at least one a day. I keep track of them and of those that I want to see so I figured it wouldn't hurt to post some reviews to spare people the pain of watching some really bad ones and to encourage you to see the great ones!
I will try to post one review daily. I watch most of the movies with my husband to be, Fabio, so sometimes I will give his opinion too although we are usually quite in sync with our taste. If not, it will make for some fun discussions!

We will use a 1-10 ranking system, 1 being very, very bad, 5 being mediocre and 10 being the absolute best movie in the world. Hopefully we will have a lot of those!

I wish you all fun reading this, lots of pleasure viewing the films and a very happy new year!

Paulina, reporting from snowy but sunny Switzerland