Gilmore Girls - Series Finale (2007)

I am a huge Gilmore Girls fan, but I was very disappointed with the series finale. There had been on-going negotiations with the cast for another, perhaps shortened, season, but the main two characters declined. The episode taped was taped to be either a season finale or a series finale. It would've been fine for a season finale, but it did not do justice to a series finale, and I am quite upset about it!

First of all, I am upset at the way things ended between Rory and Logan. They had a very strong relationship, but she turned down his marriage proposal because she likes uncertainty...? Who does that?? She still could've had her uncertainty about her future career while married to Logan. Then he didn't even make an appearance in the last episode.

Luke and Lorelei kissed in the finale, after Lorelei came to learn that Luke went through much effort to put together a going away party for Rory. What the hell is a kiss? For a couple such as them, who had been engaged previously and were supposed to have gotten married, a kiss is meaningless and doesn't mean anything, in my opinion. It's no guarantee that they will end up together.

But the ending scene was sweet, seeing Lorelei and Rory in Luke's cafe at 5 am pestering him about what to eat for breakfast. I would've liked at least a shortened season to have seen Luke and Lorelei get married, only then would I have been satisfied with the series ending.

Stars Hollow will be missed!

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Saw this lovely film opening night while wearing my Pirates of the Caribbean shirt, Thursday May 24, 2007. For reasons which I will delve into, I suppose I'd have to say I did not like it as much as the first two. But it's still a must-see for any Pirates fan!

Spoiler Alert

There seemed to be too much going on for one film, for example, the Calypso and Davy Jones story, which I feel wasn't adequately addressed and wasn't that necessary. There was a LOT of loyalty-switching, for reasons which were at times a bit unclear. Davy Jones' Locker was unexplained in the film. Jack Sparrow's first appearance in the film was not in the usual way... And it was a bit disappointing to not see the other major pirates in any of the fighting scenes after the meeting of the pirates. And of course, the ending was not a complete, final ending. But this could be due to reasons of there perhaps being a 4th Pirates of the Caribbean film! So I sincerely hope there is a 4th, or else I am not satisfied with the ending! The film was humorous, as expected. But I feel Jack Sparrow's character was a bit diluted in this film. But I still love him!

Putting aside the above issues, it was still fun to watch and I still highly recommend it for all Pirates fan! :) I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Night at the Museum (2006)

I just had to see this movie because I love museums, and ever since I was little, it's been my dream to be trapped in a museum, and better yet, to have everything come to life!

If you liked "Jumanji," starring Robin Williams, then you will like "Night at the Museum," starring Ben Stiller and Robin Williams. As an adult, I'd have to say it wasn't too funny for me. There were a few parts here and there that I chuckled at, but other than that, it was just fun to watch, but not entirely funny. It just seems as though the writers tried too hard to make it funny.

But I'm still still glad I saw it. It was a heartwarming movie about a father who just wants to make his son proud. And in scenes where Larry (Ben Stiller) is doing something or talking to someone, it was just fun to see the other characters of the museum who came to life doing their own thing in the background. It was just amusing.

I'd rate this movie a 3.5 out of 5! :)

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

An absolutely hilarious film that makes an important statement about children's beauty pagents. The father, Richard, played by Greg Kinear, is a motivational speaker who speaks about what one needs to be a winner, but his own family has issues with this. The son has taken a vow of silence until he is admitted to the air force. The uncle, Frank, played by Steve Carell, an ex-professor and the leading scholar on Proust, is a Gay man who is clinically depressed and has failed at committing suicide. Richard's father is a very blunt man who says exactly what he is thinking and is Olive's beauty pagent coach. And the daughter, little Olive, has one dream--to win a beauty pagent. So they pack up and go on a road trip to help the daughter achieve this dream. During this dysfunctional family's road trip, many things happen along the way that shows just how dysfunctional this family is, but at other times they do bond and come together.

The most important message, I think, was how seriously messed up it is to put little girls in beauty pagents that make them appear older than their ages, in which they wear makeup that makes them appear to be little hookers (pardon the language). It's quite disgusting and sad really.

Little Miss Sunshine is a dark comedy, but one that everyone should watch. It's the funniest movie I've seen in such a long, long time. Definitely rate this a 5 out of 5 stars for getting across an important message in such a dark and humorous way.

The Fountain (2006)

The synopsis can be found here: The Fountain. It was visually the most beautiful movie I've seen. As stated in the synopsis, this movie takes place in 3 time periods: 16th century Spain, present day, and in the future 26th century. The same character is trying to find the Tree of Life (the fountain) and understand the meaning of life and death, while trying to save his wife from death. The Mayans believed that "Death is the road to awe." The Mayans were also believed to have the most accurate calendar! While watching the movie, I couldn't help but think about Islam, and the belief that death is not the end of it all, but also the beginning of a new life. This movie will make one think a lot about life and death. I really enjoyed this movie! And the best part, I think, was the soundtrack, which I bought. I absolutely loved the music and it went so well with the beautiful images in the movie. The three time periods are so well intertwined together. But reading the synposis will greatly help, and I would recommend one reads it before watching the movie, otherwise you might be a tad bit confused. I rate the movie a 5 out of 5! :)

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2005)

It should first be noted that this movie is NOT a documentary. So if you are under the impression that a man actually went to "the Muslim World" to actually find out what makes Muslims laugh, you are wrong!

This movie has a "plot" which sucks terribly. No one should waste their time watching this movie. I feel quite awful having to say this, as the main actor, Albert Brooks (the voice of Nemo's father in "Nemo"), seems like a nice enough guy...

But this movie just sucked (and that's an understatement). It wasn't funny (had maybe a total of 3 semi-funny one-liner jokes), it dragged on and on, and the ending was just so incredibly lame.

Definitely a 1 out of 5 stars. Sorry Albert!

The Boondock Saints (1999)

This has got to be one of the coolest movies I have ever seen--The Boondock Saints, directed by Troy Duffy! It's about these two Irish twins who take the law into their own hands.

The following is the MacManus Family Prayer, which they recite before killing someone:

And shepherds we shall be, For thee, my lord, for thee. Power hath descended forth from thy hand, That our feet may swiftly carry out thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to thee, And teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine Patri, et Filii, et Spiritu Sancti.

The following is a quote from towards the end of the movie, which is one of my favourite parts:

Now you will receive us. We do not ask for your poor, or your hungry. We do not want your tired and sick. It is your corrupt we claim; it is your evil that will be sought by us. With every breath we shall hunt them down. Each day we will spill their blood 'til it rains down from the skies. Do not kill, do not rape, do not steal - these are principles which every man of every faith can embrace. These are not polite suggestions. These are codes of behavior and those of you that ignore them will pay the dearest cost. There are varying degrees of evil - we urge you lesser forms of filth not to push the bounds and cross over into true corruption, into our domain. For if you do, one day you will look behind you and you will see we three, and on that day you will reap it, and we will send you to whatever god you wish.... And shepherds we shall be, for Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, so that our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. And we shall flow a river forth to Thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In nomine Patri, et Filii, et Spiritu Sancti.

I seriously don't want to spoil the plot for anyone, but just the way it's set up is so great and different from other movies. The acting is great, and there are lots of funny parts! Especially the conversation about the rope between Connor and Murphy!

Gotta thank CI for recommending this movie (it's his all time favourite). For anyone who loved the movie "V for Vendetta," you'll definitely love The Boondock Saints without a doubt. It's definitely one of my favourite movies now. I rate it a 5 out of 5 stars (despite the one unnecessary scene!).

The Confessions of Max Tivoli

Written by Andrew Sean Greer. If books could be described as "delicious," then that is how I would describe The Confessions of Max Tivoli.

Born with the physical appearance of an elderly man, Max grows older mentally like any child, but his body appears to age backward, growing younger every year. And yet, his physical curse proves to be a blessing, allowing him to try to win the heart of the same woman three times as at each successive encounter she fails to recognize him, taking him for a stranger, so giving max another chance at love.

The story takes place at the turn of the 20th century in San Francisco. The setting alone for this novel makes it worth reading. While reading, you are not reading a boring memoir, but the confessions of a man who led a life like no other. Sometimes you will feel sorry for him, embarrassed for him, and sometimes even angry at him. Max has the companionship of Hughie, who is there with him from his childhood until the time Max is an adult with the appearance of a child and Hughie then takes the role of his father. One can only hope to have a true friend like Hughie. While we may not have the same medical condition as Max, we can certainly relate to his emotions of wanting to be loved, especially be the one we love. His novel begins with the following:

We are each the love of someone's life.

Whether this is true or not, I don't know. But I know one thing, the novel is poetic, and at the end, I was thirsty for more. My favourite line: All of a sudden, life was a gorgeous broken glass.

As reviews for this novel state, it will leave you feeling "younger and wiser." You will learn lessons of love, life, and friendship.

Spoiler Alert:
The ending is quite tragic. It will leave you with that empy feeling in the pit of your stomach. But I believe that is what makes a novel great.

Definitely a 5 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend this book. And I have yet to find a novel such as this, one that I was unable to put down after having started reading it. Enjoy!

Only You (1994)

"Only You" is about a young woman, Faith (Marisa Tomei), who believes her soul mate is Damon Bradley. The name Damon Bradley was spelled out on a Ouija Board and a fortune teller had repeated the name to her when she was younger. She is engaged to a man, but then goes on a wild goose chase in Italy in search of Damon Bradley. There, she meets Peter (Robert Downey Jr.), who pretends to be Damon Bradley, but later admits he is not, but has fallen in love with Faith (and she's fallen in love with him), and he helps her in her search for her soul mate.

Spoiler Alert.

When she is disappointed to not have found Damon Bradley, she is about to board a plane back to the US when she hears on the announcements that Damon Bradley is wanted at the information desk of the airport. She rushes to see him and finds Peter there, and together they finally see who the real Damon Bradley is (a man neither had ever met before). Faith realises she loves Peter, and you have your happy ending.

I thought it was a sweet story and a bit suspenseful, as you are always wanting to find out who this Damon Bradley really is and whether Faith would give up love for some silly belief of hers that she gave up her engagement for even. And of course it takes place in Italy, which automatically adds a star or two to the movie. Marisa Tomei was perfect for the role. She was sweet and innocent in this movie, with strong belief in her fairy tale. It's not a movie that will leave you thinking deeply about life, but it is a feel good movie. And if you don't enjoy it for the plot, you'll love it for the scenes of Italy.

4 out of 5 stars.

Weeds (Showtime)

So I'm getting Showtime free for 9 months or so! One of the series on Showtime is "Weeds."

Weeds is about this suburban widow, Nancy, who sells weed to make money to support herself and her two sons. Much better than "Desperate Housewives." The characters on the show are dark and hilarious. I especially love Doug and Andy, two druggies on the show. Doug is a CPA and Andy (Nancy's brother-in-law) just mooches off of Nancy. The show takes place in the town of Agrestic (what a weird name for a town).

The show has many weird and funny characters. Celia is the head of the PTA, has cancer, and went to extreme lengths to make her young daughter lose weight. She substituted her daughter's candybars with laxative bars, and the poor girl ended up not making it to the restroom in time in school. Eekola. Andy, Nancy's brother-in-law, is going to Hebrew school to become a Rabbi to avoid going to Iraq to fight (he believes the war on Iraq to be immoral). He had enlisted in the army to begin with to impress a girl. And now he refuses to fight for oil (go Andy!).

Weeds has really great dialogue. It covers manyyy issues, and usually puts in a few political comments here and there. "Weeds" is very addictive! I don't know what I'll do when my Showtime subscription ends! Probably just rent it once it comes out on dvd. It's seriously one of the funniest shows on tv right now!

I give the show a 4 out of 5 stars! (Minus 1 for all the R-rated crap that I don't care to see). Ya'll don't wanna miss this show. It's seriously that good!

Amelie (2001)

Amelie. This is a unique French film, which I happened to rent after seeing it listed as a favourite on many people's favourite movie lists.

It's about this mousey girl, Amelie, who vows to do good for other people if she can: Find the owner of a little box of treasures that was hidden in her apartment long ago by a boy, now a grown man, and make him smile by returning that box to him.

She also falls in love with this man who hangs around photo booths in subway/train stations, and she sends him on a little adventure to find her.

The positives of this movie:

The dialogues. It's quirky and imaginative. It talks about everyday events/things in a way that makes it seem extra special, and it makes you realise how you overlook the quirks of people you care about and the quirks of life. The cinematography. The angles and colours of each scene keep you engaged. The story itself is amusing and heart-warming.

The negatives:

The absolutely unncessary sex and strip club scenes. Once again, a little charmer of a film with unncessary crap, that otherwise would've been a perfect film and enjoyable for the entire family.

Amelie reminded me a lot of myself. She wants to do good for others and make them smile. Yet, she herself is shy and reserved, without many friends. But she has a really good heart and wants to be loved. She is quirky in a cute, adorable way.

I absolutely love what she does for her father. The travelling gnome. I wonder if this is where Travelocity got the idea from?

I rate it a 4 out of 5 stars. (Minus 1 for the added crap.)

People Will Talk (1951)

(Due to boredom, I am reviewing movies I have seen before, which are coming to mind now.)

People Will Talk is about an arrogant yet charming doctor who falls in love with a pregnant woman and marries her to save her honour. Sweet. Yet, I felt the "love" was underdeveloped in the story. This made the movie seem quite unrealistic to me. How many charming, good looking doctors would marry a woman, hardly knowing or loving her, to save her honour? Yet, in the movie, he was supposedly in love with her. But the love story wasn't built up all that well.

There was another story line going on as well. But it really comes to culmination in one scene of the movie towards the end. It would have been nice if it had been spread evenly throughout the movie. So until that one scene, you really aren't too sure of what is going on exactly.

My favourite scene in the movie is when the doctor and two of his friends are playing with their train set, and they get into an argument due to timings of the train releases. Was quite funny. Grown educated men acting like little children.

Still, I shall give this film the benefit of the doubt. It was released in 1951, and it is a sweet little story that is refreshing to watch today. A little charmer amonst all the crap that Hollywood produces. So based on this, I would definitely recommend it. Although unrealistic, leaves me hopeful that there might be some decent men out there, somewhere. Well, one can dream. :)

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Crash

This is an excellent movie about racism and prejudices that exist in today's world. The lives of several people intertwine in LA, California in this film, showing the implications of racism, and how it can come to haunt you at a later time. It's quite touching. Brought many tears to my eyes. Everyone really must watch this movie.

Spoiler Alert!

The saddest scenes, for me, were the following (brought many tears to my eyes):

When the woman gets into a car accident, and the man who sexually harrassed her is trying to pull her out, yet she is too afraid to be helped by him. When the Persian man shot the child (luckily there was no bullet). And when the white police officer shot the young black man.

The only complaint I have about this movie is the sex-scene, which was entirely unncessary. But you know Hollywood--sex sells.

Definitely a 5 out of 5 stars.

Grey's Anatomy--Season 2 Finale

I am eagerly awaiting the 3rd season of Grey's Anatomy. It's quickly become one of my favourite shows. ER is too dramatic and has been running for too long, they are out of fresh ideas. Scrubs is mostly just comedy, no drama. Haven't seen House. But Grey's Anatomy has a great balance of drama and comedy, medicine and life.

Spoiler Alert!

The finale of season 2 was quite good. I was absolutely shocked at Meredith and Dr. Shepard. I really do not like Meredith's character at all. What is her character anyway? Karev is the goodlooking arrogant one. Izzie is the one who gets emotionally involved with her patients and truly cares for them. Christina is the extremely competative one. George is the nice guy that gets walked over. Who is Meredith? I feel she doesn't really have a strong character. Unless you wanna call her the whore of the show. But I'd like to hope there is more to her than just that.

I was extremely disappointed to see Meredith and Dr. Shepard hook up in the hospital. She was dating a nice vet, while he has his wife. I was very disappointed in Christina for abandoning Dr. Burke in his time of need.

I really like Izzie's character. She reminds me of myself quite a bit. What she did was a bit unethical, yes. And it could've cost Denny his life. But she did it all out of love. I think she can and should be forgiven. I was glad she finally said yes to Denny's proposal. He's such a charmer. Man, wouldn't I love a guy like that! But incredibly sad at the end when Denny died. Made me cry!

I was happy to see Karev take care of Izzie after Denny died. That was awfully sweet of him. Karev has a heart afterall.

Liked the season finale. The prom bit was quite funny. And in the end when Izzie was all dressed up, after having tried on so many dresses, only to arrive to see Denny dead, was quite sad and romantic, to see her with her pretty pink dress crying while laying next to him!

Can't wait until season three. But I am quite disappointed that the show centers around Meredith, the character I like least. Unless they give her character more substance, they should make the show center around another character. Although it is pretty balanced out as it is, I suppose.

Definitely rate Grey's Anatomy Season Two a 5 out of 5 stars!

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Definitely a must see! A great sequal to *The Curse of the Black Pearl* !!

As expected, Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp gave a stellar performance. Especially Johnny Depp. The way he walks, talks, his facial expressions, everything is just great!

The movie was incredibly funny with many great action scenes. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I can't wait until the next movie is released.

The ending leaves you hanging, wanting to know what will happen next. But although it's "incomplete," you will still feel there was some closure in this sequal. The plot moves along very nicely and you are left satiated just enough at the end, but still thirsty for more.

Spoiler Alert!

I was a bit shocked at the end when William Turner (Orlando Bloom) decided to help bring back Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), even after Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) had kissed him! I guess we'll have to wait and see why. William Turner deserves better than that (i.e., me)!!

I absolutely loved when William Turner and other crew members of the Black Pearl were stuck in those hanging cages and were swinging back and forth, and also the scene when William Turner, Jack Sparrow and the other guy whose name I can't remember were all fighting for the key. That was great.

Definitely 5 out of 5 stars!

Closer

I saw the movie Closer this weekend. Starring Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. This movie is very R-rated and I personally wouldn't watch it again. It's about infidelity. There were huge time gaps in the film. For example, you'd see one scene, then the next scene would be 1 year later. Left out a lot of parts, so much left for us to figure out on our own. There were some really humourous parts, but dark humour.

I wonder, is this how messed up people really are? All the film did for me was reaffirm that men are scum. Some women, too. But mostly men. Spoiler Alert! A man (Jude Law) had an affair with a married woman (Julia Roberts). Well, finally Julia's character gets her husband to sign the divorce papers, but only after sleeping with him one more time. Jude Law's character finds out she slept with her husband to get the divorce papers signed, and this drives him absolutely mad. How incredibly messed up is that? So hypocritical the characters were. In the end, Julia gets back with her husband.

One thing I was confused about was Natalie Portman's character. She uses an alias while living in London. But when Clive Owen's character asks her what her real name is (in a strip club), she tells him. Yet, she never told her boyfriend (Jude Law).

I really didn't see a point to this movie. The only "point" I could see was that people are messed up. What else? We know that already. I think pervish people will thoroughly enjoy this movie. Non-pervish people can enjoy it as well, to see how pervish and stupid people can be! I wonder how realistic this movie is. Is this how people who have affairs really behave? Well, I hope I never find that out for myself!

I'd rate this movie a 2.5 out of 5.

Project Runway--Episode 4

On the last episode, Keith was kicked off the show for possessing pattern books in his room, which is against the rules. He claims to have never used them. And I don't believe any of the room mates (other contestants on the show) ever saw him use them either. So I think a stern warning would've done well. Although Keith did break the rules a few other times as well. But it was sad to see him leave like that, especially when he was the leader of the team for the particular project in this episode and his team was one of the two finalists for winning the project. Sad, indeed.

Angela actually won the challenge. This lady seriously has 9 lives. How she managed not to get kicked off the last two times is beyond me. I think the judges have made too many errors and given her too many chances. And the only reason she won this last time, I believe, was because of the two team members she chose to work with. If it hadn't been for them, her outfit would have been as hideous as the last few dresses she had designed!

So far, I loved the "Designers Best Friend" challenge, where the designers each had a dog and had to design an outfit for the model which complemented the dog and told a story. It was cute! The dogs were especially adorable. Especially Laura's dog. Also, I was sad to see Malan go. He didn't deserve to be kicked off...