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27 Dresses

Yes people, I did see a wide release comedy. JUNO's second show for the night would have meant that I would need to walk home from the metro at two in the morning which was not happening and PERSEPOLIS was sold out. So, I walked six blocks in the cold...yeah, I do dumb stuff like that sometimes and went to see the only film, in my opinion that was worthy of my time.

27 DRESSES stars Katherine Heigl (Grey's Anatomy, Knocked Up), Ed Burns (The Groomsmen, 15 Minutes, Sabing Private Ryan, One Missed Call) and James Marsden (X-Men, Enchanted, Hairspray) with Heigl as Jane, a young woman who has been a bridesmaid 27 times, Burns as her boss with whom she is in love and Marsden as Doyle a columnist for the New York Journal whose focus is the wedding circuit where he bumps into Jane and becomes intrigued by her character and this role she has played for so long; the perfect bridesmaid.

I will apologise to myself for having subjected myself to something that would have probably carried more weight for me if I had taken my time to watch it free on Lifetime TV. It is definitely a chick flick, if you are such a chick who wears pink, and secretly plans to run her future household like something out of the repressive fifties where women dressed pretty and frilly and read Barbara Cartland. The reason I did not sleep off in the movie was that the money I spent on the ticket was hard to come by and thus, I was going to make sure I missed nothing.

However, I am in love with James Marsden. That is why I was so happy to see Jean Grey die in X-Men II. Thus I rested all my hopes on the moments when he was on screen. Burns was the typical Burns: you know he can act. He has done it before but is not necessarily shining in this flick, maybe because he did not have that many lines....

There were some amusing parts to the film. Heigl is always lovely to regard. The lady who played her sister however, kept me wondering why her head moved so much in the film. With every sentence, I thought she was trying to draw squibbles in the air with her neck. Also, some of the conversations were not as natural as they could have been.

Still, you might want to see it. It will be a neutral selection if no consensus can be reached when you and your girlfriends get to the cinema and your original choice is sold out or not showing. Ladies, please don't force your boyfriends to go see it. You might not like what they will force you to go see when it is their turn.

27 Dresses was okay.

Silence on the set.....

HEATHCLIFF ANDREW LEDGER

1979- 2008

China in the House

CONFESSION OF PAIN

So, I was really stressed out yesterday after the man at Geek Squad told me that it would cost me nearly half the price of a new laptop to fix my old faithful. As I trudged depressed through the mall, I stumbled upon one of those kiosks that one finds in malls that sells Asian movies. I have seen them in every mall I have been to in the DC/MD/VA area and the rumour is that they are owned by the same guy. Well, after dropping $50.00 for four movies, I am sure the owner is doing very well for him self.

Any ways, walked away with four additions to my Asian film collection and sat down to watch the first of them yesterday. Title: Confesion of Pain. Starring Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Xu Jinglei, Shu Qi, and Takeshi Kaneshiro (from left to right). Okay, here goes. I selected this movie solely because of Tony Leung. I fell in love with this man after seing Zhang Yimou's Hero

and I have not stopped loving him. I saved and went to see Ang Lee's Lust Caution

even though I was on my last dollar just because he was in it (post for another day).

So, my grade for the film: C+.

I was not too impressed. I had to put the story together myself to comprehend it and I felt his talent was wasted. He looked good but loving him was not enough to sustain the movie and I was left wishing I could return the DVD for a refund.

Synopsis: Lau (Tony Leung) is a high ranking police detective (think the junior brother of the CIA, china style) and his friend Bong (Takeshi) works on his team. Lau's father inlaw is murdered and horribly too for what is initially believed to be a robbery gone bad carried out by junkies who were found dead. Lau's wife Wei (Xu Jinglei) believes is being stalked and by her father's real killer, which would mean that the case is much deeper than what the police and her husband says it is. She solicits the help of Bong to crack the case as Bong has left the force and is now battling alcoholism after his girlfriend commits suicide over her lover whom she is pregnant for. You know from the beginning who really commited the crime, what we don't know is why.

At the end, all is revealed and the killers exit is well done.

The movies's strong moments were very good and its weak moments were very weak. See it..... when it comes out on cable.

Happy New Year

Welcome to the new year. It's so nice to see all your beautiful and somewhat bewildered faces when you discover this blog( for those that do not know that I manage three blogs)

I watched THROUGH THE FIRE last night, a film produced by Chuks Etolue of NigerAmerica Pictures. I was a bit skeptical to watch it because I had loaned it to friend and she had all but bashed the thing to the ground. Having seen the movie and knowing that she is from Barbados, I will say that I am sorry that she is upset because her country has no film industry of their own.



What grade will I give the film? Ans: B+. It was well written, well shot and most of the actors did well. The voice over of the narrator did not do it for me, the constant flash backs were kind of exhausting even if they were sharply done and some of the cast would have been better off with their natural accents.

Nonetheless, the Nigerian based cast headlined by Patience Ozonkwo were on point with Ozonkwo in her typical role of the mother-in-law from hell. The film also had an above average selection of US based actors, most of whom I am sure are friends and not actors but who did quite an impressive job of delivering on their roles.

The story was simple: a couple who have lost two kids at birth, transplant themselves under family opposition to their continued union to the United States with the hopes that access to better medical care will save the current pregnancy the wife is carrying. When they get there, things are not what they seem and the family has to make some tough decisions as they fight to keep their status, dignity and child. KPOM!!!
I understood the story, I commiserated with the characters and sat with the same amount of trepidation and hopelessness that they portrayed.

The soundtrack: Something I always focus on, was well put together and simple. There was no off key singer, with irritatingly descriptive lyrics sung in a wannabe-foreign, heavily Igbo accented voice. They got it right for suspense, tragedy and dramatic scenes. Was well done.

Wardrobe: Well put together. No one was not dressing in contradiction to their personality and body type. Although the black mesh shirt that the character Koffi wore in the final scenes is a no-no.

I would recommend that you go see it.

Also, I watched a couple of films by Oodua Afrik Films, a Yoruba film production company that is headlined by Ogogo. I am of the opinion that one day, I will hand a huge sum of money over and tell Taiwo Hassan (Ogogo) that he should just go ahead and make whatever he wants to make. I have been in his corner since Owo Blow and he has shown no indications that he wants me to leave so that is a producer that I will say, pay some attention to.

I like the simplicity of his stories. No one is sitting under some banana tree somewhere and fanning a shrine's fire to cause calamity. Most of his stories are about simple action and reaction. KPOM!!! Me, I likey very very much.

I saw Eni Akoko (First Person) and Ire Nwami Nitemi/ The Gold Digger ( I do not agree with the English title but hey, no be me get am for film). Two good films I tell you.


And I bought, started and finished Half Of a Yellow Sun. It was well written but I was not as spellbound as I had been with Purple Hibiscus. Something seemed forced about the story, in my opinion but it was still superbly written and worthy of all the accolades it had received. It was an OK read.

So, here is to a new year of bigger and better productions in TV, film and literature.