Immoral Affairs

Last night I decided to watch a Japanese movie. I just wanted to be immersed for a few hours in Japan and their great culture. I selected Immoral Affairs which was not that good but was entertaining.

Immoral Affairs follows Mayako (Kaho Minami) who has easy job and a comfortable living, but she is sexually frustrated because her husband has no interest in her. To relieve her boredom Mayako starts having affairs to fill the void in her life. When she grows tired of her first lover she finds another who excites and stimulates her. Ultimately, she falls in love with this guy, but is this what she really wants? Rather than divulging the answer I will just say that this a film that blends romance, comedy and drama in a superb manner. Not only is Kaho Minami quite beautiful and sexy but she is very talented as well. 

All Good Things 

All Good Things has a stellar cast, including Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst, and Frank Langella. As a result the acting is great, but I did not like the story. It is based on a true story, a murder mystery, that begins in the 1970s and continues to the present. So, what is the story?

Ryan Gosling plays David Marks, who meets Katie McCarthy (Kirsten Dunst) in 1971; Katie comes from a middle-class background, while David comes from a wealthy family that owns segments of midtown Manhatten. The two fall madly in love and are married soon after, but their relationship deteriorates over the next decade. David becomes abusive toward Katie, and they eventually end up living in separate houses as Katie studies at medical school while David works in New York City under his dad's company. In 1982, Katie vanishes without a trace. Fast-forward to 2000, and David is living under the identity of a woman in Texas; the deaths of friend/publisher Deborah Lehrman and the gruesome murder of elderly Malvern Bump reignite interest in Katie's 18-year-old disappearance. They all have one thing in common: David Marks.

Even though I did not like the story I did enjoy seeing fabulous actors at the peaks of their careers. I only recommend this movie if you like this type of murder mysteries. 

360

When I saw the cast of 360 I was intrigued. It stars Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Ben Foster, and Anthony Hopkins. It also has an interesting title, 360, the number of degrees in a circle.

360 is all about circles--the circle of life; circles of deceit; the circles in which people move; the circular nature of actions and consequence… all conveyed by way of a circular narrative.

360 connects most of its characters through sexual interactions, whether it's illegal prostitution or adulterous affairs, but what is interesting is how the characters respond to any of the given situations. It's a film that deals in this world of sin, and the characters react in many different ways.

360 begins when the sisters Anna (Gabriela Marcinkova) and Mirka (Lucia Siposová) travel from the Bratislava to Vienna to meet up  with photographer and pimp Rocco (Johannes Krisch). On the next day, she goes to a restaurant to meet the married British businessman Michael Daly (Jude Law) but he meets with acquaintances and does not contact Blanca. Soon he is blackmailed by the guy that forces Michael to close a business with him.

The movie then moves to Paris where a Muslim follows a married woman and then he goes to his psychoanalyst and tells that he is infatuated. Later the woman, named Valentina (Dinara Drukarova) tells to her husband Sergei (Vladimir Vdovichenkov) that she wants to divorce him since she loves her boss. 

This is just 45 degrees of the circle. Throughout, one character leads to another. This makes it a very interesting movie, but not a great one. I rank it about average for such a good cast. I recommend this movie if you are looking for something different.

My Zinc Bed

Last night I was checking out the movies on HBO GO that I have not seen and I came across My Zinc Bed, an HBO movie that was made in association with the BBC. I watched it because I was in the mood for a serious drama. My Zinc Bed stars Uma Thurman, Jonathan Pryce, and Paddy Considine. So, what is the story?

Paul Peplow (Considine), a recovering alcoholic poet/journalist, is sent to interview the billionaire, Victor Quinn (Pryce), who presides over a media company named Flotilla. Quinn, who has obviously learned about Paul's problem, tries to interest the younger man into having a drink with his lunch, but Paul refuses. Quinn is curious about what the poet has gotten out of his treatment with A.A. The conversation does not lead into something a newspaper might like to publish, but Paul, evidently, interests Quinn otherwise, when he offers him a job in his firm.

As Paul begins to work for Quinn, he meets Victor's much younger, and beautiful wife, Elsa (Thurman), a woman that the much older Quinn met at a bar while she was drunk. Paul and Elsa have a spirited discussion and they end up in a passionate moment as it seems they are attracted to one another. This is the background that provides the framework for the main intense storyline.

My Zinc Bed is a decent movie if you are looking for movie that focuses on alcohol addiction. I recommend My Zinc Bed.

Head in the Clouds

Wow! Head in the Clouds is an almost perfect movie for me. How can I go wrong when I can see a historical-fiction movie staring two of the most beautiful and talented Hollywood actresses, Charlize Theron and Penelope Cruz. 

The title, Head in the Clouds, is not obvious until you see the movie. I presume it is taken from the statement 'Head in the clouds, Feet on the ground.' This describes the lead character Gilda (Theron) who seems to float above the reality of the turbulent world in 1933. Instead her life focus is on paramours, expensive clothes, and 'dangerous liaisons' with a varied assortment of men, all the while keeping a firm stance on the needs of her strangely disjointed life. For example, the opening of the film finds Gilda in need of shelter from a night's fling with a Cambridge don.  She knocks on a random door in the dorm and meets the poor struggling Irish student Guy (Stuart Townsend). Thus.beginning a lasting affair that coasts through the entire story.

Guy eventually follows Gilda to Paris where she is a photographer living with her gallerist, but also living with her lesbian lover Mia (Penelope Cruz). Gilda, Guy, and Mia become a threesome and live happily until the impact of the rise of fascism in Spain (Mia's home) separates this ménage a trois. Idealistic Guy and compassionate Mia travel to Spain. While Guy fights against Franco and Mia nurses soldiers, Gilda is left behind in Paris and ultimately has to deal with the Nazi invasion. How these three weather the war and resolve their varied degrees of complicity provides the film's finale.

I strongly recommend this beautiful and well acted movie.

Preludium

I was enticed to see a Danish movie with a name that I do not understand, Preludium. It is a strange movie with a strange name.  Another weird thing about this movie is they produced this filmed in one take in real time in an urban area of Copenhagen. What is the story?

Preludium follows the struggles of five mixed-up characters during a Copenhagen holiday when cars continually honk their horns in celebration. It starts with a hypnosis session by the spiritual guru and sex addict, Lars. The second character Ruth is introduced when she interrupts the hypnosis session. She is looking for her beloved Milovan who she has been searching for him for two years. Lars is attracted to Ruth and is eager to help her. The fourth character is Lar's wife Eva who is fed up with his lies and infidelities. She has plans to leave Denmark and move to Rio. Finally, we meet the absolutely crazy Lukas who is the second violin in an orchestra. He wants to be first violin; thus, he batters the first violinist Casper. 

Essentially Preludium allows us to peak at the lives of these flawed characters as the walk and run through the city while interacting with each other. I will tell you that this is one of those movies that is not bad and not good. I have no recommendation.

Wonderful Town

Wonderful Town is the first Thai movie that I have seen. I like trying new things, but I knew that it would be difficult to understand without understanding Thai culture. I have been close to Thailand in Northern Malaysia, but they are very different places. Wonderful Town is one of the slowest movies that I have ever seen and its ending is unexpected and not understandable without a lot of thought. With that being said, I think that Wonderful Town is a good movie. What is the plotline?

It is the story of reformed drunk musician, Ton (Supphaisit Kansen) from the Bangkok, who is now an architect working in Southern Thailand to restore a hotel destroyed by the tsunami. He stays at a small local inn run by a woman, Na (Anchalee Saisootorn), who is the young matriarch of a family fractured by the tsunami.

The love story between Ton and Na progress very slowly, as most do in real life. Ton likes Na right away and his overtures to her are thoughtful and easy going. She slowly warms up to him, told by her wearing more colorful and stylish clothes. Her brother, Wit (Dul Yaambunying), notes the change in Na.

The devastation of the tsunami is shown in matter of fact moments. The destruction of hotels, homes, and families is just shown without elaboration. Na cares for her nephew and the hotel alone; partly because of the tsunami and partly because her brother, Wit , is a low level gangster.

I dare not tell you anything more. If you can tolerate the slow pace of this film, you will see the beauty of Southern Thailand and learn some things about the people who survived the tsunami as part of a beautiful puzzling movie. 

Side Effects

Last night I wanted to see something different from what I have been recently watching, and I decided to see Side Effects starring  Rooney Mara, Channing Tatum, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Jude Law. Side Effects is an intense, suspenseful, Hitchcock-like thriller that revolves around the use of prescription psychiatric drugs, but it also deals with psychology, law, insecurity, social stigma, corporate greed, and obsession. What more could you ask for in a film?

Mara stars as Emily Taylor, a young woman who is reunited with her husband, Martin (Tatum), after being released from prison. But Emily has trouble adjusting to Martin's presence in her life, and she quickly sinks into a deep depression, and attempts to commit suicide by driving her car into a wall. She survives the crash.

As Emily's assigned psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) contemplates sending Emily to a mental hospital, but Emily pushes for a series of one-on-one sessions with Dr. Banks instead, and he agrees. With the help of various medications, Emily slowly recovers from her depression, and her relationship with Martin improves. Emily enjoys her newfound happiness, and Martin is looking for a way to "get back in the game." But Emily's erratic behavior worries Dr. Banks and Martin. As she prepares for dinner one night, Emily murders Martin with a butcher knife during a sleepwalking episode that is a side effect from one of her prescription drugs. Emily's former psychiatrist, Dr. Victoria Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones) lends a helping hand by revealing crucial information about her former patient that could save Emily from a lifelong imprisonment.

I will say no more. This is a good movie that I highly recommend.

2 Days in New York

The other night I was looking for a comedy to watch before my cataract surgery. I picked a good one--2 Days in New York staring one of my favorites Julie Delpy and Chris Rock. This movie is a sequel to 2 Days in Paris. 

2 Days in New York begins with Marion (Delpy) telling the audience, via a simplistic fairytale-like voice-over narration and a crude puppet theater, that she and Jack, her boyfriend in the previous movie, had split up, but not before Jack fathered her son. Marion is now back in New York and living with a radio talk show host named Mingus (Rock), who has a young daughter from a previous marriage. Marion and Mingus have successfully formed a blended family and, by all appearances, are quite content.

Things start coming apart when Marion's family arrives from France for a two-day vacation. There's her goofy father, Jeannot (Delpy's real life father, Albert), a new widower who tried unsuccessfully to smuggle a series of salamis into the country under his clothing. And then there's her sister, Rose (Alexia Landeau), who does whatever she can to be a rival and an annoyance.  Rose also turns out to be a sex maniac who has brought her current boyfriend Manu, who was once the lover of Marion.

You do not need too much of an imagination that this mix of characters is perfect for a romantic comedy. I recommend this funny film.

Lucía y el Sexo (Sex and Lucia)

I have recently been fortunate in my selection of exceptional movies, and Lucía y el Sexo is a rare masterpiece for many reasons. Most movies are like novels with linear and sometimes nonlinear plots. Lucía y el Sexo is more like a poem where you must find the story from your own experiences and knowledge. Where do I begin and how can I give a synopsis of this poetic film? Well, I will give it a try but it is doomed to fail.

The film revolves around the relationship between Lucia and Lorenzo. Lucia is a young and beautiful waitress, and Lorenzo is a struggling and emotional novelist. Lucia is an avid fan of Lorenzo, and boldly states this when she comes across him at a restaurant after stalking him for a period of time. The two embark in a tumultuous and erotically passionate relationship. The mystical plot then progresses in a nonlinear fashion, interweaving characters in the past and present. It seems that Lorenzo's novel of fiction plays an important role in the film, introducing both themes that confuse reality with fiction. The flow of the film can, at times, be difficult to follow, due mostly to the ambiguity of Lorenzo's literary work.

You do not meet Lucia and Lorenzo in the beginning of the film.  The film begins six years before their meeting. You see a beautifully filmed one-night stand between Lorenzo and a woman called Elena. They consummate this under a full moon while swimming in the sea on his birthday. Although the viewer is unsure of the relationship between Lorenzo and Elena, we later learn she bears his daughter who she names Luna, the moon. Lorenzo unknowingly meets his daughter and subsequently witnesses her death in a freak accident. 

What I describe is just a bare outline of this movie, but, I think you can see that creation is central to the movie. Lorenzo is creating a novel and he created a daughter, Luna. Also falling into holes, like Alice in Wonderland, is an important part of understanding this movie. You will just have to see the masterpiece film Lucía y el Sexo and come to your own conclusions.