Penelope

Director - Mark Palansky

Genre - Comedy/Fantasy/Romance

As fairy tales go, this isn't half bad. But then, fairy tales have a certain "been there, done before" curse which almost always takes away their appeal. Christina Ricci is a rich girl born with a pig's snout as a result of a witch's wrath. After numerous efforts to get her married off fail, James McAvoy turns up at the door unperturbed it seems by a life-sized, in the flesh version of Miss Piggy. Is McAvoy the dashing gentleman come to rescue our cute pork-pie or the big bad wolf who wants to blow her whole house down? Do you really need a bedtime story at your age? If the answer's yes then put on your pajamas and go bananas!

2.5 STARS!

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In The Mood For Love

Director - Wong Kar Wai

Genre - Drama/Romance

Wong Kar Wai has taken the plight of the rejected to the utmost extreme here. Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung play two lost souls abandoned by their respective spouses. They then find themselves confiding in each other, their bleedin' hearts laid bare in the grim, cavernous chasm of the unloved. Wong is a master in manipulating our emotions. Utilizing exquisitely compelling music, formidable performances and Doyle's ravishing cinematography, he has managed to tug at the pliant strings of our beating hearts. The period costumes and sets are first-rate, evoking a classy, unforgettable time.

5 STARS!

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YAM Issue 006

Check out our Peru friend Amy Wong's YAM Magazine (yetanothermagazine) Issue 006 October edition for her reviews on Inglorious Basterds, Mother and many more!

Brüno

Director - Larry Charles

Genre - Comedy

Comedy is actually very very hard to do. If you're Sacha Baron Cohen though, making people laugh appear to be what you were born to do in this world. Your god-given gift. We loved 'Borat' and had high hopes for this. Alas, lightning didn't strike twice and we ended up with some genuine laughs and some, not so. The fault lies in 'Brüno' being decidedly more staged than 'Borat' was. This is more of a film than 'Borat', with more scripted scenes and story arcs, which isn't necessary better. We feel robbed of the element of surprise here as it is more predictable than Cohen's last film. It feels like Cohen is channeling Adam Sandler with this. The fact that the whole film revolved mostly around gay jokes also didn't help. It gets really uncomfortable after awhile. Trust us.

2.5 STARS!

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Fight Club

Director - David Fincher

Genre - Crime/Drama/Thriller

Based on cult author Chuck Palahniuk's novel, this is a movie that will throw you violently out of your comfort zone and into a grungy, unhinged world. 'Matrix' was science fiction. This, horrifyingly, could actually happen in real life. Edward Norton and Brat Pitt both turned in edgy performances but it's Fincher who is the true star here, directing from a script that many directors might not even have the balls to attempt. Ballsy and rife with cynicism courtesy of Palahniuk's angst-ridden mind, this is a film which put Palahniuk's name on everyone's lips while firmly securing Fincher's place in the arena of cinema. Warning: may turn mild-mannered chaps into full blown terrorists or to a lesser extent, terribly fond of picking fights with close friends and people at work (the latter may only refer to us).

4 STARS!

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Che: Part 1 & 2

Director - Steven Soderbergh
Genre - Biography/Drama/History/War

At 4 & half hours, this film which gives you a fly on the wall account on the life of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara and the struggles of a revolution require patience to get through. You may go into this thinking, "Whoopee doo! I'm gonna help myself to some Pringles and feast my eyes on this epic!" You'd be dead wrong. This is in fact so anti-epic and anti-Hollywood it feels as though Soderbergh consciously turned the genre on its head. Whatever traits we envisioned Che should have is displayed on the screen. Selfless, steadfast in his believes and ingrained with a fearless outlook on mortality, Soderbergh's 'Che' is the perfect embodiment of a socialist icon. What makes this film uniquely Soderbergh though is how he never lets legend and myth overcome the representation of Guevara. Reminder: Do not go into this expecting big-assed explosions spiraling up the sky with Guevara's handsome mug out of harm's way smokin' a cigar as well as 40 bad guys. Made using the 'Bolivian Diary' written by Guevara himself as a guide, this is perhaps the most accurate and unadorned cinematic portrayal of a revolutionary hero.

3.5 STARS!

All about Che: Part 1 & 2

Mongol

Director - Sergei Bodrov

Genre - Biography/Drama/Romance/War

Aye Caramba! Genghis Khan as a lover? We hope we won't live long enough to see a romantic movie about Saddam Hussein. Shudder. In this epic-wannabe film, Genghis Khan is shown as a compassionate weakling who gets bullied and trashed about since young yet unbelievably is able to gather at whim warriors who are willing to die for him. As his army of men grow larger and his love for a wife who is bedded by half of Mongolia deepens, we are left wondering, have we missed anything? More importantly, have the filmmakers taken on a mountain and settled on a hill instead?

2 STARS!

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