RacsO Decade in Review: #51 In the City of Sylvia

In the City of Sylvia
Directed by Jose Luis Guerin
2007/2008

This movie could easily be dismissed as lazy storytelling, I somewhat agree, but it has a main story that it builds on and it need not have multiple story lines to work, and I think that is where the charm of the movie lies.  "In the City of Sylvia" follows a stalker-ish guy as he looks for Sylvia, a woman she met before and now she is looking for her desperately.  Devoid of much dialogue, like "Samson and Delilah" methinks that the movie would still have worked magically with or without dialogue.  Looking for a woman never looked this beautiful.

RacsO Decade in Review: #52 Tropical Malady

Tropical Malady
Directed by Apichatphong Weerasethakul
2005

I have nothing but undying love to everything that Apichatpong Weerasethankul has made in the past decade.  "Tropical Malady" is somewhat a little deviation from what he normally does, it is a perfect mix of oddity, culture, romanticism in it and he concocted what could be placed beside the works of David Lynch.  But he is in a whole new league of his own, and he seems to be the only one doing this kinds of films.  It was a beautiful mystery, endearing, hypnotic and downright masterful.

RacsO Decade in Review: #53 Amores Perros

Amores Perros
Directed by Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu
2000/2001

This is one of the films that awaken me to global cinema, because back then I was just so fixated in Hollywood films.  I saw this one in 2004, I bought the DVD and I was just so amazed with it.  The grand storytelling, many stories intertwined into one, formed one cohesive whole, but all stories stands firmly on their own.  Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu is still in his prime (not that he really lost it) in this movie.  The movie felt so fresh and gritty and it was stunning to behold.  This also is the movie that I think launched Gael Garcia Bernal into major stardom.

RacsO Decade in Review: #54 Platform

Platform
Directed by Jia Zhangke

2000

This movie, amidst the long running time felt like a meditation of sorts for me.  There was something hidden on the movie that you can easily relate to our lives if you grasp where the movie was taking us.  Many filmmakers nowadays copy or follow the style that Jia Zhangke seems to be really famous for, but many fail but Zhangke just does it with ease, with mastery.  We are all standing in the platform, waiting.

RacsO Decade in Review: #55 Birth

Birth
Directed by Jonathan Glazer
2004

The more I see this movie, and the more I think about it, and the more I gaze on Nicole Kidman, the more I think that this is her best performance to date (Moulin Rouge! is my favorite work from her) plus it got me also thinking that she should have all actress trophies that year.  That long opera scene alone is worthy of a nod, and the whole manic, depressed, desperate character that she created truly is a work a bona fide master.  The movie, amidst a rather odd and unconventional story, worked quite well.  It lingered in my head for the years that came.

RacsO Decade in Review: #56 Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Directed by John Cameron Mitchell

2001

John Cameron Mitchell has proven his artistry and mastery in filmmaking this decade with two stellar movies (the other we will get to later).  "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" is one of those rare, beautiful and masterfully made indie budgeted musicals of the decade.  Not only was the movie an addition to the comeback of the musicals, but it also was a reminder of the wonderful breakthrough work, behind and in front of the camera, by John Cameron Mitchell. 

P.S. The songs, I still play everyday.

ABS CBN Likes Killing Coco Martin

I don't know if any of you guys, who, like me, is following Coco Martin's career.  He has a steady career in television, he is a prime talent of ABS-CBN,  I think (and he should be).  But I just could not get why his character always end up dying at the end of the series.

First there was his hit TV show, "Tayong Dalawa".  I do not watch this, but I sometimes see episodes of it in buses.  I saw the last episode, he died.  His next show "Kung Tayo's Magkakalayo", another show that I do not watch (because I generally don't watch Philippine primetime TV shows), in the end, he died also.  Then his latest TV show, the "Glee" wannabe "1dols", in the end, he died yet again. 

Not only in TV shows, even in his movie "Noy", SPOILER!  He also died in the end. 

I do not know why his characters always end up dying, maybe he just is good at dying or playing dead.  It is becoming a trend already.  I don't get it.  I am really not complaining, I am happy that his career is in an all time high.  But really?  He can do more than what is currently being given to him.  If people could just go see his Indie works and see the stretch and versatility that he has, they will be amazed.

I honestly don't know why I am ranting. Hehehe.  I guess I will just be waiting to see if he dies again in his next TV series.

A Promise...

I will finish the decade in review this coming week.

(or I could extend to the following week)

Because I plan to go back to 2010, the current.  I have been seeing lotsa great movies lately.  Fresh from my mind is "The Social Network", which I want to watch again.  Also comes into my mind is "The Town" not a par the previous film but it was entertaining nonetheless.  Here are some random thoughts from the movies that I have seen from this year.

• Jennifer Lawrence was superb and give a great breakthrough performance in "Winter's Bone".  The movie though was not that great.
• "I Am Love" really is a movie to love.
• Jacki Weaver was freakishly scary and perfect in "Animal Kingdom", a movie that I think ranks very high on the year's bests so far.
• Andrew Garfield was best in show in "The Social Network".  Eisenberg and Timberlake were superb as well, but for me it was Garfield who was tops.
• The score of "The Social Network" is absolutely addicting.
• "Please Give" was hella funny, but it did not quite took off.  Catherine Keener, Ann Guilbert and Rebecca Hall were all aces.
• Speaking of Rebecca Hall, methinks she was also best in show in "The Town", but that said, John Hamm and Jeremy Renner were both great as well.
• Also had fun watching "Soul Kitchen"...
• Did not had as much fun in "Despicable Me"...
• "Monsters" dragged but it was interesting enough...
• I want to watch "The Social Network" again....

Favorites so far (movies that pops in my head and since that I did not do any half year aughts...)

• Animal Kingdom
• Applaus
• Cameroon Love Letter
• Dogtooth
• I Am Love
• Muli
• Raging Sun, Raging Sky
• Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
• The Social Network

... I may be forgetting some movies....

Favorite Performances

• Anne Marie Duff (Nowhere Boy)
• Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
• Rebecca Hall (Please Give, The Town)
• Andrew Garfield (The Social Network)
• Joseph Gordon Levitt (Inception)
• Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone)
• Sid Lucero (Muli)
• Coco Martin (Noy)
• Paprika Steen (Applaus)
• Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)
• Olivia Williams (Ghost Writer)

I may be forgetting some important names....

RacsO Decade in Review: #57 Wall-E

Wall-E
Directed by Andrew Stanton
2008

I still believe with all my heart that "Wall-E" is the best Pixar movie to date (even if you include "Toy Story 3" in the list).  The first two thirds of the movie was pure magic and visual poetry and I just can't stop saying "perfect".  The last third of the movie kinda turned me off, but I just got turned off because the first two thirds were really that perfect.

RacsO Decade in Review: #58 Russian Ark

Russian Ark

Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov
2002

As you guys may have all known by now, I am addicted to the Elizabethan era, or costume drama/comedy.  So seeing "Russian Ark", a movie that falls into that category, is more than a treat.  Not only was "Russian Ark" beautifully an expertly made, it kinda deviated from the norms, giving the genre a whole new flavor.  Art incarnate.  Not mentioning also the fact that it was it was shot with only just one take.

RacsO Decade in Review: #59 Tambolista

Tambolista (Drumbeat)

Directed by Adolf Alix Jr.
2007

"Tambolista" may be tad different from Alix's works but it stands out to me as one of his greats.  It showcases superb trio lead performances from Coco Martin, Jiro Manio and the best in show Sid Lucero.  The storytelling, though it kinda reminded me a little of "21 Grams" was spot on for the story of three individuals, it made the movie, all the more effective, by maintaining the pace, and makes us curious what is going to happen next.

RacsO Decade in Review: #60 Ponyo

Ponyo
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
2009

If there was one movie last year that made me reminisce my childhood so much, it was "Ponyo".  I am just in awe as to how to Hayao Miyazaki beautifully and magically captured the essence of what it was like to be a child or young.  It was a different take on the story of "The Little Mermaid", it was intriguing, beautiful, magical and highly imaginative.  Truly a fish to remember.

RacsO Decade in Review: #61 Next Attraction

Next Attraction
Directed by Raya Martin
2008

I am very envious of Raya Martin's works, and this is one of his works that I am extremely envious about.  "Next Attraction" follows a crew of filmmakers making a movie plus the resulting short film that they made.  Smart, innovative and truly awesome.  I want to eat his brains.

RacsO Decade in Review: #62 L'Enfant

L'Enfant
Directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
2005

I think that it is safe to say that the Dardenne brothers seem to be master of socio-dramas, and "L'Enfant" is one of their best works to date.  Watching the movie felt like I was watching someone taking a video of real life young parents.  We watch them as they make their mistakes, and we watch them as their make their decisions.  Suddenly the Dardenne brothers brought us to the place where the movie is and we are a part of the film.

RacsO Decade in Review: #63 Blissfully Yours

Blissfully Yours
Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2004

Apichatpong Weerasethakul has been really consistent this year, making one great movie after another (not to mention his short films).  "Blissfully Yours" ranks high in his personal bests.  This Thai love affair story is a one of a kind, but and odd movie to sit through.  It took its time, it was not story dependent, instead, going through the movie, the pay off was the experience, which is kind of really rewarding.

RacsO Decade in Review: #64 Melancholia

Melancholia
Directed by Lav Diaz

2008

Melancholy in its bleakest hours and bleakest sense was captured and put to screen masterfully by Filipino auteur Lav Diaz.  It was a hard pill to swallow, not because of the nine hours running time, but watching "Melancholia" made me sad and question myself.  Only Lav Diaz could get away with capturing super long scenes and still evoke beauty and depth.

RacsO Decade in Review: #65 Late Marriage

Late Marriage
Directed by Dover Koshashvili
2002

Bitingly comic, startlingly real, original and really one of a kind.  This movie boasts with a great ensemble performance, all of them working together as one, there were standouts, but it is wonderful to see all of the cast performances that are great.  But what really sets this movie apart is that it is expertly written and observed.  You would feel for the characters, especially the protagonist, and the sort of, love of his life.  "Late Marriage" is an underseen and undervalued gem, that people should go out to see. 

RacsO Decade in Review: #66 Werckmeister Harmonies

Werckmeister Harmonies
Directed by Bela Tarr
2000

Quite frankly, back when I first saw this, I don't know what the hell the movie was about and where it was taking me.  But I remember being intrigued by it.  When I saw it again, I loved every minute of it, and the repeat viewing was quite rewarding.

RacsO Decade in Review: #67 Mother

Mother
Directed by Bong Joon Ho
2009

The more I think about this movie, the more that I am loving it, I love it already, but now, writing about it makes me love it more.  Also, the more I think about it, the more that I think that Kim Hye Ja deserves the best actress trophy more than any actresses that year (but then again, the "Lola" grandmothers....).

RacsO Decade in Review: #68 Mysterious Skin

Mysterious Skin
Directed by Greg Araki

2005

Many said that the source material is unfilm-able but Greg Araki stepped up to the challenge and created what could be his personal best work to date.  Joseph Gordon Levitt got my attention after seeing his superb work from this movie.  Brady Corbet was great as well. 

RacsO Decade in Review: #69 Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino

Ebolusyon ng Isang Pamilyang Pilipino (Evolution of a Filipino Family)
Directed by Lav Diaz
2004

There are only a few directors out there that could make a 10 hour movie or longer but could still make the movie going experience worthwhile.  That is almost half a day, you could have done other things.  But what Lav Diaz is making is always an event and should be given time.  "Evolution of a Filipino Family" never dulls down, it holds you to your seat from start to finish, and despite the really long running time, you end up wanting more.

RacsO Decade in Review: #70 Dogville

Dogville
Directed by Lars von Trier

2004

If your heart did not raise during and after seeing "Dogville", then you are made of stone.  "Dogville" is a pulse raising, heart wrenching Lars von Trier drama that will surely shatter every sympathetic bone in your body.  Unique, devastating and a pitch perfect performance from Nicole Kidman, not only her but also from Paul Bettany and Patricia Clarkson.

RacsO Decade in Review: #71 Reprise

Reprise
Directed by Joachim Trier
2008

Watching "Reprise" reminds me of "Jules et Jim" a movie that I also dearly love.  This story of two young competitive friends pumped up with words.  We watch them fulfill their dreams as they go about their lives.  It was crisp, very well paced and edited, it was extremely entertaining and memorable.

RacsO Decade in Review: #72 Best of Youth

Best of Youth
Directed by Marco Tullio Giordana
2005

This is one of those few movies that are very long yet you don't mind at all.  Engrossing, epic filmmaking.  Soapy at times, but that is passable, they are all compensated with grand and solid all throughout storytelling.