One of the worst movies ever made I think.
Not one of the worst apocalypse movies, but one of the worst movies of all kind.
Reviews
47 Reviews
Remember Us
(2018)
A wonderful scenario, perfectly played and directed!
4 August 2019
The relationship between a father living in a remote coastal town and his son with a superb career in Istanbul, a wild metropolitan city including the loved ones around them is told with a powerful drama which makes you both cry & laugh simultaneously. One of the best movies of Cagan Irmak in my opinion.
The Crown
(2016–2023)
A Truly Masterpiece! Royal as it must be!
15 November 2016
The Crown is almost one of the best period movies ( or better say, series of movies ) ever made. It defines the quality of historic period film making with every aspect. The casting is superior, the cinematography is outstanding, the thoughtfully written script just fixes you to the chair and you cannot stop yourself for several hours to watch it through. I personally watched it all twice to digest all the details prepared for the audience. I must admit The Crown easily made me a Netflix fan & a paid member after a quick glimpse at the trailer. A fortune is spent but worth every penny. Thanks to the producers, the amazing directors and the wonderful cast.
Monty Python Live (Mostly)
(2014)
They've done it again, & I hope they'll do it again...
16 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
The Monty Pythons are a myth. Not because they're funny, but because they introduced a totally new concept to the audience. And for the last 45 years they've never been forgotten as their last appearance showed to the entire World.
The O2 event is totally a success, and so is the movie/concert/show whatever you call it recorded and distributed.
Some people would suggest that all the jokes and scenes are the copies of the old ones, but they aren't. They've always been different, and say no more, may be we like to watch them over and over again just because they're all brilliant.
This is not only a comedy show, but also a concert in which you'll find all the extraordinary songs & melodies they've put together in all those years.
They call themselves as old farts, but who do you reckon calling themselves old farts after all those years ? They're the living proof of men WHO always feel as a child, act as a child but in the contrary gave you a deductive brief idea of things going around you.
Thanks for the effort of all the amazing team behind and Long Live Monty Pythons !
The O2 event is totally a success, and so is the movie/concert/show whatever you call it recorded and distributed.
Some people would suggest that all the jokes and scenes are the copies of the old ones, but they aren't. They've always been different, and say no more, may be we like to watch them over and over again just because they're all brilliant.
This is not only a comedy show, but also a concert in which you'll find all the extraordinary songs & melodies they've put together in all those years.
They call themselves as old farts, but who do you reckon calling themselves old farts after all those years ? They're the living proof of men WHO always feel as a child, act as a child but in the contrary gave you a deductive brief idea of things going around you.
Thanks for the effort of all the amazing team behind and Long Live Monty Pythons !
Life of Pi
(2012)
A Magestic Journey inside a Dream
17 February 2013
This is perhaps one of the most spectacular movies of 2012, in every aspect. Best of Ang Lee up today... Cinema is the dream factory of the human mind and he did a marvelous job with adding a meaning to it.
Forget all about the special effects you've ever seen in a movie, this one dazzles you in every scene... It is an effort to reach the unreachable, but it's there right in front of your eyes.
So aesthetic that some scenes including the credits are each a wonderful painting themselves...
I won't bother to tell the story, or what "The Story of Pi" is trying to tell you, but if you watch it, you'll see that you're awakened from a colorful dream of your life.
I wish I'll hear the words : "And the Oscar goes to the Story of Pi and Ang Lee..." Thanks to all who've contributed this movie, the cast, the producers, the technical team, the cinematographers and perhaps to Ang Lee...
Forget all about the special effects you've ever seen in a movie, this one dazzles you in every scene... It is an effort to reach the unreachable, but it's there right in front of your eyes.
So aesthetic that some scenes including the credits are each a wonderful painting themselves...
I won't bother to tell the story, or what "The Story of Pi" is trying to tell you, but if you watch it, you'll see that you're awakened from a colorful dream of your life.
I wish I'll hear the words : "And the Oscar goes to the Story of Pi and Ang Lee..." Thanks to all who've contributed this movie, the cast, the producers, the technical team, the cinematographers and perhaps to Ang Lee...
One of the most touching episodes !
16 October 2012
Law & Order season 14 episode 11 is perhaps on of the most touching episodes I've watched in all the series... Homeless people are actually not a mystery but a cancer grown in the society which everyone ignores even to realize there's such a thing. The last words of the episode "We're moving him from one jungle to another." is what describes best what we, people deal with the problems. We put them away, away from us. Is there a way to prevent this ? Perhaps there is ! But nobody even cares, and that's where everything goes wrong. The society ( whatever & wherever & whenever ) must learn how to share. That's what must be. It reminds me Gandi's reply to some reporter who asked him what he thinks about the Western Civilization : "It would be appreciated !"
Conquest 1453
(2012)
The amazing story of the Conquest of Istanbul ( Constantinople )...
4 August 2012
This was the most expensive production for the Turkish Cinema yet, USD 17M, an amount which is almost nothing compared to the great productions of the US cinema. But I don't see ( and I'm sure you won't see if you watch it yourself ) too much difference compared to the ones produced over USD 100M. That means this is really a very good, effective and intelligent production, thanks to the production team. It is almost impossible to make a historic film with a totally objective view, depending who's eye you see through, but some movies almost succeed to do it ( or at least make you believe it tells the truth ). This one's near to that, and I hope everyone will be satisfied with the result. Faith Sultan Mehmet, the Conquerer was one of the youngest and well educated sultans of the Ottoman State, a brave one as well as an intelligent and ambitious sultan that made the impossible, possible. The movie takes it from the very beginning and ends with the conquer. Yet it also tells the true structure of the Ottoman Empire, giving freedom of religion & belief to all people it covers under its wings. He is the sultan who even gave his consent for an Italian painter to make his own portrait which seems pretty surprising considering the rules of Islam. The Ottoman Empire is not a Turkish Empire, but an Empire that embraced all nations & blood inside its borders. You can say it was the USA of their era. The movie doesn't reflect that as it must, but you know it is a Turkish movie. The content of the film is what all you expect from a historic movie, majestic & violent war scenes as well as plots & some love. But the transitions are just right and the tempo never makes you loose your concentration. As a result, this is a beautiful movie which will both entertain & inform you on an advanced level. Bravo Faruk Aksoy... You've already got your reward with the record number of spectators and a really profitable job.
My Grandfather's People
(2011)
A humanist approach to people migrated from their origins...
23 April 2012
"Dedemin Insanlari" ( My Grandpa's People ) is a very successful drama on the people who were forced to migrate from their own lands, as well as a touch to a certain historic period & a town in the western Turkey.
It has always been a drama to hear the stories of both the Greek people & the Turkish people who were forced to leave their origins at the end of the First World War. Millions of them. The Turks who migrated to Turkey were always recognized as Greeks, as well as the Greeks who migrated to Greece were recognized as Turks.
The movie is all around a family whose grandpa is migrated from Crete, and the town they live in. There's always a hope for the grandpa to visit his origins, but he actually doesn't want to, and leave his memories as they are.
You'll also feel the same contradiction in another movie called "A Touch of Spice" from Tassos Boulmetis, but in a different time & place. But both have the same drama buried inside.
Çagan Irmak is one of the most powerful directors of Turkish cinema. There's a resemblance to his family's history too. He's written a very effective scenario with a few twists from the original story, but at the end it is the real story.
The movie had a significant amount of spectators and was shown for weeks, now the DVD gives you the opportunity to watch it all over again.
As Çagan Irmak reminds in the DVD extras, the players are in a perfect harmony that it will be right to justify them as a single "player". Çetin Tekindor, in his third movie with Çagan Irmak is wonderful in every aspect, as he worked really hard and a long time for the preparation. All other players just fits in.
If you've missed "Dedemin Insanlari" on the screen, I suggest the DVD is a wonderful opportunity to watch it over & over again.
It has always been a drama to hear the stories of both the Greek people & the Turkish people who were forced to leave their origins at the end of the First World War. Millions of them. The Turks who migrated to Turkey were always recognized as Greeks, as well as the Greeks who migrated to Greece were recognized as Turks.
The movie is all around a family whose grandpa is migrated from Crete, and the town they live in. There's always a hope for the grandpa to visit his origins, but he actually doesn't want to, and leave his memories as they are.
You'll also feel the same contradiction in another movie called "A Touch of Spice" from Tassos Boulmetis, but in a different time & place. But both have the same drama buried inside.
Çagan Irmak is one of the most powerful directors of Turkish cinema. There's a resemblance to his family's history too. He's written a very effective scenario with a few twists from the original story, but at the end it is the real story.
The movie had a significant amount of spectators and was shown for weeks, now the DVD gives you the opportunity to watch it all over again.
As Çagan Irmak reminds in the DVD extras, the players are in a perfect harmony that it will be right to justify them as a single "player". Çetin Tekindor, in his third movie with Çagan Irmak is wonderful in every aspect, as he worked really hard and a long time for the preparation. All other players just fits in.
If you've missed "Dedemin Insanlari" on the screen, I suggest the DVD is a wonderful opportunity to watch it over & over again.
Labyrinth
(2011)
A fine action drama based on a realistic fiction on terror.
5 April 2012
I missed the movie in the theaters, but finally bought a DVD since I know Tolga Örnek is one of the best directors in Turkey with quite remarkable documentaries as Hittites & Gallipoli on the last decade. He also directed Devrim Arabalari ( Cars of the Revolution ) which told the sad story of the first Turkish made automobile in 1961. The movie is much better than many action & drama movies on terrorism, especially fundamentalist terrorism which began emerging with the 9/11 events. The story covers many aspects of the life of the Turkish counter- terrorist teams & the intelligence missions as well as their relations with the western colleagues. Even there's a slight story of love between two members which already seems to end in a dramatic way. Meltem Cumbul, who is a very talented actress, plays a part as an officer in the team named Reyhan. She wears a totally different character leaving all her beauty aside. Timuçin Esen ( Fikret ) is in the leading role, but he plays without ups & downs, with some vengeance & passion. The special effects are quite well done regarding the low budget, also the soundtrack done by Cavit Ergun, Can Gox & Erdem Tarabus gets a credit. The continuity of the movie is just as it must be, not boring, but not going too fast that'll make you miss some points. Well done Tolga Örnek... Another success in my opinion...
A Separation
(2011)
A real life drama
24 October 2011
"A Separation" is a real life drama on the concept of the "family" , "responsibilities" and the "people". No matter where it took place, the movie touches everything in life that we even don't dare to talk about. The scenario is quite a gem that doesn't let you go anywhere, heart & soul.
The story is about a man & a woman who're on the edge of separation, having only a girl aged 11 and the man's father with Alzheimer, a pregnant poor woman that tries to take care of him for money & her jobless husband.
Things that are already on the edge of a breakdown gets worse with a few more unlucky issues and gets even worse for all.
It is the people's behaviour on the consequences that makes you think all about it.
Just watch it, no need for any other words....
But be prepared on the decision of the 11 year old daughter...
The story is about a man & a woman who're on the edge of separation, having only a girl aged 11 and the man's father with Alzheimer, a pregnant poor woman that tries to take care of him for money & her jobless husband.
Things that are already on the edge of a breakdown gets worse with a few more unlucky issues and gets even worse for all.
It is the people's behaviour on the consequences that makes you think all about it.
Just watch it, no need for any other words....
But be prepared on the decision of the 11 year old daughter...
Majority
(2010)
The depressing culture phenomenon...
20 February 2011
Çogunluk ( Majority ) is one of the movies that bring out the depressing cultural phenomenon which resides mostly the developing countries' cultures, as well as the majorities of the metropolitan western cities.
Though the movie tells about a boy,( a grown up one ) with a dominant father and an unhappy mother, it surely can be considered as a whole nightmare no one would like to participate in. The transition from the eastern cultures to a western one with no effort and morals is told perfectly.
Seren Yüce is a successful director with a smooth story telling and using acts and spaces to get into your mind. Settar Tanriogen and Nihal G. Koldas fits as the father & the mother so that you cannot even think they act. On the other hand Bartu Küçükçaglayan as the boy needs some more experience to bring out the anger of a late teenager, but still does fine.
The sets, cars, houses, the talks, the ideas are what the majority really live in. You cannot turn your back to the reality, and "Çogunluk" tells you how the majority suffers from the transition.
Though the movie tells about a boy,( a grown up one ) with a dominant father and an unhappy mother, it surely can be considered as a whole nightmare no one would like to participate in. The transition from the eastern cultures to a western one with no effort and morals is told perfectly.
Seren Yüce is a successful director with a smooth story telling and using acts and spaces to get into your mind. Settar Tanriogen and Nihal G. Koldas fits as the father & the mother so that you cannot even think they act. On the other hand Bartu Küçükçaglayan as the boy needs some more experience to bring out the anger of a late teenager, but still does fine.
The sets, cars, houses, the talks, the ideas are what the majority really live in. You cannot turn your back to the reality, and "Çogunluk" tells you how the majority suffers from the transition.
Love Likes Coincidences
(2011)
Love likes Coincidences, may be not that many but that's just how it is best described...
11 February 2011
I watched the movie "Ask Tesadüfleri Sever" - "Love Likes Coincidences" tonight the 11th of February 2011, and loved it by all means... In a movie, if you don't believe in a few coincidences, it is one thing, but in this movie, the story telling is a musical coincidences symphony in which two parallel lives, a love and the people circling around are successfully portrayed.
Ömer Faruk Sorak is a powerful director who makes the spectator find a place for him/herself a place in the story. He just finds the tempo and lets the river flow... Mehmet Günsür & Belçim Bilgin as the two main characters just fit in too... Especially Mehmet Günsür with his performance and charisma gives the movie the energy it needs. I'd like to congratulate Gökçe Doruk Erten as the director of casting too.. Since the movie covers a story of two people from their ages 7-10 up to end of 20's it is actually difficult to cast a continuum and that was done superb. In many successful American movies you sometimes get shocked by the casting of characters by different actors in such a long and evoluting piece of time.
Also an Oscar goes to Ipek Sorak who has created a perfect symphony of coincidences that lead to a touching love with her concept & story.
Thanks for all the efforts, I can say "Ask Tesadüfleri Sever" is the best Turkish movie I've watched for the last few years.
Ömer Faruk Sorak is a powerful director who makes the spectator find a place for him/herself a place in the story. He just finds the tempo and lets the river flow... Mehmet Günsür & Belçim Bilgin as the two main characters just fit in too... Especially Mehmet Günsür with his performance and charisma gives the movie the energy it needs. I'd like to congratulate Gökçe Doruk Erten as the director of casting too.. Since the movie covers a story of two people from their ages 7-10 up to end of 20's it is actually difficult to cast a continuum and that was done superb. In many successful American movies you sometimes get shocked by the casting of characters by different actors in such a long and evoluting piece of time.
Also an Oscar goes to Ipek Sorak who has created a perfect symphony of coincidences that lead to a touching love with her concept & story.
Thanks for all the efforts, I can say "Ask Tesadüfleri Sever" is the best Turkish movie I've watched for the last few years.
Airline Disaster
(2010 Video)
One of the worst movies I've ever watched in my life :(
30 January 2011
Too bad... Nothing in the movie seems real. The special effects are perhaps made up on an old home computer :) I cannot imagine how people invest money on such a crap... A total waste of time to watch it ( I even couldn't resist to push my FF button on many scenes ). Actors of the movie tried their best I presume. But without a proper story, what can be done ? I've watched many low budget films in my life, and according to my experience, an action movie without proper sources never makes it. But for all movie enthusiasts, especially for all special effect fans, I advise to watch it carefully. "This is how special effects must not be." and that's a lesson.
Anadolu'nun Kayip Sarkilari
(2008)
An Audiovisual Marvel of the Cradle of Civilizations, Anatolia
6 June 2010
A supreme work of audiovisual presentation of the lost cultures of Anatolia, captured on 8 years of hard work. Nothing can impress you more than the original sounds, people, instruments & visual scenery. More than a documentary, a musical, a movie, a tale, a dream which your tears will run that they'll be lost in time within the universal pop-culture. Nezih Ünen did a remarkable work of art that you will regret to miss. Recorded in 5.1 Dolby Digital with creative editing and presented in various colorful scenery from the Anatolian landscapes, villages and of the people. That's not the Turks you'll only find in it, it is universal and covers many cultures, religions, languages and all kinds of richness that you'll enjoy watching all over again...
Jolly Life
(2009)
Not a comedy at all...
21 February 2010
Rather a drama than a comedy, that touches the unsolvable question of poor people especially caught up between the western culture & what is left of the pieces of eastern culture as well. Life is always hard on the illiterate people immigrated to a metropolis from their villages where there seems no hope of survival at all. The movie seems like a light comedy around cunning little people, but though they feel the reality in themselves still try to live the day with some impossible dreams. Yilmaz Erdogan as both the director and the main guy in the movie seems to intent a sequel for his movies Vizontele & Vizontele Tugba but this time the place is the "big apple" Istanbul. Both Yilmaz Erdogan & as his wife Büsra Pekin are wonderfully natural. The corrupted culture of the outskirts of a city, people who have nothing but an ignorant courage and still the pride outlines the story. The tempo never gets dull, the cinematography seems smooth, a hard to recall soundtrack and a fine team of actors of the BKM which is still a powerful resource for both the theatre and the Turkish cinema. It is not a surprise that the movie couldn't get as much as attention as the cult comedy Recep Ivedik sequels which are almost absurd and worth nothing compared to Neseli Hayat. Thanks to Yilmaz Erdogan. Thanks BKM. Someday there'll be a "Slumdog Millionaire" in the Turkish cinema too, not far away...
Alone
(2008)
The Perfect Love Story
26 December 2008
Irmak with his magic wand to make every spectator cry in the end of a movie is on the job again. A perfect movie of love and emotions as well as the colorful backgrounds takes you in. Melis Birkan & Cemal Hunal performs perfectly with their hearts and soles. Two young symphatetic stars with both smiles & tears. Well done... The movie almost takes place in one of the most colorful districts of Istanbul, the city of dreams and contrasts. The story is a warm & intimate relation between two young people with different professions & attitudes, as well as about a man who's destiny is always being alone in a crowd. Not much to say, just watch it, it is worth for the drops falling on your cheeks.
In the Valley of Elah
(2007)
One of the best movies that tell what war is !
9 March 2008
I've seen many anti-war movies, but yet this one goes beyonds borders and almost without showing the war, tells all about the naked truth. What we did ? That must be the question to be asked for. And the best reply is this movie I presume. Dedicated to the children, the children of Iraq as well as the children of USA or any country who puts her children to war ! About 1.000.000 people died in Iraq, as well as thousands of US soldiers. For what ? Are the children sent to Iraq are the same when they come back ? With the extraordinary cast and play by Tommy Lee Jones & Charlize Theron ( Susan Sarandon takes a small part but also really deals with it ) and the dramatic music Mark Isham put in, Paul Haggis captured a rhythm & rhyme no one would dare. This movie is much much better than "No Country For Old Man" and that makes me really wonder how the Oscars are dealt.
Now you can imagine how great a poem is "Imagine" & how great a poet is "John Lennon" back in 1960's.
Now you can imagine how great a poem is "Imagine" & how great a poet is "John Lennon" back in 1960's.
Cenneti Beklerken
(2006)
A masterpiece from Dervis Zaim
20 January 2008
Dervis Zaim unlike many Turkish directors has yet only four movies made, which all four are totally different projects, but this one "Cenneti Beklerken" ( Waiting for Heaven ) is a masterpiece in every description.
The movie tells about a fictional story in the 17th century Ottoman Empire which emphasizes the conflicts between the eastern & western cultures as well as the naive situations of the empire.
Since drawing pictures are almost prohibited in the Muslim tradition and only simplistic figurative miniatures are permitted to describe the events of the era, the main character Eflatun struggles in between having a western origin but an Ottoman education and the hard realities of life.
The long term studied story & scenario also written by Dervis Zaim reflects to the silver screen with a beautiful graphic work combining the story & the scenes. The art work is supported by mirror reflections of flashbacks and a totally carefully captured historical background.
The casting is superb where you cannot imagine they're fictional characters but the original elements of the story. The oriental taste of soundtrack is also something you'll enjoy.
Almost a four-five years' work is simply put into a screen for your joy & sorrow without any hesitation.
I hope the movie gets a remarkable attention of cinema lovers and I'm sure it'll be a classic for the next generations.
Thanks, Dervis Zaim...
The movie tells about a fictional story in the 17th century Ottoman Empire which emphasizes the conflicts between the eastern & western cultures as well as the naive situations of the empire.
Since drawing pictures are almost prohibited in the Muslim tradition and only simplistic figurative miniatures are permitted to describe the events of the era, the main character Eflatun struggles in between having a western origin but an Ottoman education and the hard realities of life.
The long term studied story & scenario also written by Dervis Zaim reflects to the silver screen with a beautiful graphic work combining the story & the scenes. The art work is supported by mirror reflections of flashbacks and a totally carefully captured historical background.
The casting is superb where you cannot imagine they're fictional characters but the original elements of the story. The oriental taste of soundtrack is also something you'll enjoy.
Almost a four-five years' work is simply put into a screen for your joy & sorrow without any hesitation.
I hope the movie gets a remarkable attention of cinema lovers and I'm sure it'll be a classic for the next generations.
Thanks, Dervis Zaim...
Oh, Belinda
(1986)
One Outstanding Scenario of 1980's
19 January 2008
Aaah Belinda is one of the many movies produced in the fruitful years of 1980's, with a low budget, not totally & precisely worked on, but still a remarkable one distinguished from the others in the era.
The scenario ( and the story ) depends on an original idea, what if our lives change in a second to a totally different one in which we find everything we hate to do. That's not only a bad dream, it is truly a different life and it seems you get used to it. Müjde Ar plays one of her finest characters with some vague silliness.
Atif Yilmaz is a master in Turkish cinema, but always struggled with the enormous low budgets and pretty short time the productions are realized. He tried to overcome this situation casting the best actors & actresses and always keeping in mind the scenario is the main element of a movie, that's what keeps the spectators in their seats.
The original negatives of the movie must have been lost, so a very bad copy is transfered to a DVD for future generations, and that's a pity too...
The scenario ( and the story ) depends on an original idea, what if our lives change in a second to a totally different one in which we find everything we hate to do. That's not only a bad dream, it is truly a different life and it seems you get used to it. Müjde Ar plays one of her finest characters with some vague silliness.
Atif Yilmaz is a master in Turkish cinema, but always struggled with the enormous low budgets and pretty short time the productions are realized. He tried to overcome this situation casting the best actors & actresses and always keeping in mind the scenario is the main element of a movie, that's what keeps the spectators in their seats.
The original negatives of the movie must have been lost, so a very bad copy is transfered to a DVD for future generations, and that's a pity too...
One of this year's BEST !
10 January 2008
An outstanding movie, a drama, a comedy & action as well as a touch to the dramatic social problems of our world are all packed in a movie. Sydney Lumet, not yet receiving an Oscar ( but nominated several times ) this time is on the edge too. I don't think they will grant him one with this movie, but actually they must. It would be much better to honor him with a movie like this rather than a lifetime appreciation award since he's been "online" since 1957.
The cast is also superb, every main character just fits in and does a premium job, so you can watch the movie in a breath, guess the end, but never actually be sure.
Philip Seymour Hoffman is at his best, so is his father Albert Finney. Ethan Hawke is totally in a different role which will break hearts of many girls, Marisa Tomei is a brave one on some scenes too.
A clever story always takes a credit if it is somehow different than the classic scenarios, and works fine in everybody's mind.
My last words will be about the reality the movie presents. It is dramatic, but yes, in the 21st century, people are totally addicted to money and nothing else in the so called "developed world countries". People are unhappy, are all in a struggle and doesn't even live a moment of their lives in taste. Will this be over ? Watch it & you'll see.
The cast is also superb, every main character just fits in and does a premium job, so you can watch the movie in a breath, guess the end, but never actually be sure.
Philip Seymour Hoffman is at his best, so is his father Albert Finney. Ethan Hawke is totally in a different role which will break hearts of many girls, Marisa Tomei is a brave one on some scenes too.
A clever story always takes a credit if it is somehow different than the classic scenarios, and works fine in everybody's mind.
My last words will be about the reality the movie presents. It is dramatic, but yes, in the 21st century, people are totally addicted to money and nothing else in the so called "developed world countries". People are unhappy, are all in a struggle and doesn't even live a moment of their lives in taste. Will this be over ? Watch it & you'll see.
Sicko
(2007)
Great, even greater than Fahrenheit 911
5 July 2007
US citizens must thank this incredible fellow Michael Moore !!! As long as the situation of Health Care in my country, Turkey, is almost parallel to US Health Care, I thought I was watching our version of it :) Sad ! And somebody or better somemorebodies must recognize the situation and take action accordingly. What is happening to US, the dreamland of the world ? This is not even a politic issue, this is a disaster ! Thanks to Michael Moore for making me stuck to my comfortable chair and watch a movie with my open eyes to feel uncomfortable ! Watch it ! This will be the winner of "the best documentary" in Oscar 2008, unless the private health companies sponsor otherwise :)
Death of a President
(2006)
Extraordinary ! A Futuristic Documentary of the USA today...
25 April 2007
I watched the movie on a DVD, and I was greatly surprised with the dramatic presumed-real footage. This isn't about President Bush, this isn't even about any assassination at all. This is a "picture" of USA today in case of any major events in politics. You might quite make yourself believe all the things told in the movie took place & you're watching a documentary sometime after the event. The documentary puts forward how "fragile" is USA today. Against all the measures of precaution, still USA believes her president can be killed like the ones before, and still no one can find a clue who did it, why & how.
I think this movie must be evaluated as a documentary, and not as a feature movie at all.
Thanks to all in the production, direction and casting teams, you've done a good job.
I think this movie must be evaluated as a documentary, and not as a feature movie at all.
Thanks to all in the production, direction and casting teams, you've done a good job.
A Touch of Spice
(2003)
the spice tell the truth...
6 April 2007
A wonderful movie that perfectly tells about the drama of Greek-Turkish relations, which two nations are "one" as people and apart-ed by "politics". The same extra-ordinary cousin, the spice and warm-hearted people forced to be away from each other in time with the eager politicians still trying to preserve the distance.
Very good cinematography, colors & shots mixed with a beautiful music and people on a historic number of decades which gets your eyes wet.
I would prefer all the conversations to be in their original languages and no English allowed though.
One more movie on one of the most beautiful cities of the world, Istanbul, and with two of the greatest neighbors in heart, Greek and Turkish people.
Very good cinematography, colors & shots mixed with a beautiful music and people on a historic number of decades which gets your eyes wet.
I would prefer all the conversations to be in their original languages and no English allowed though.
One more movie on one of the most beautiful cities of the world, Istanbul, and with two of the greatest neighbors in heart, Greek and Turkish people.
A Prairie Home Companion
(2006)
Last movie of Robert Altman, and a good one...
21 November 2006
Rest in peace Robert, you've done a lot and did it well...
CNN Reports November 21st 2006: Director Robert Altman dead at 81 LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Robert Altman, the caustic and irreverent satirist behind "M-A-S-H," "Nashville" and "The Player" who made a career out of bucking Hollywood management and story conventions, died at a Los Angeles Hospital, his production company said Tuesday. He was 81.
The director died Monday night, Joshua Astrachan, a producer at Altman's Sandcastle 5 Productions in New York City, told The Associated Press.
The cause of death wasn't disclosed. A news release was expected later in the day, Astrachan said.
A five-time Academy Award nominee for best director, most recently for 2001's "Gosford Park," he finally won a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2006.
"No other filmmaker has gotten a better shake than I have," Altman said while accepting the award. "I'm very fortunate in my career. I've never had to direct a film I didn't choose or develop. My love for film-making has given me an entree to the world and to the human condition." Altman had one of the most distinctive styles among modern filmmakers. He often employed huge ensemble casts, encouraged improvisation and overlapping dialogue and filmed scenes in long tracking shots that would flit from character to character.
Perpetually in and out of favor with audiences and critics, Altman worked ceaselessly since his anti-war black comedy "M-A-S-H" established his reputation in 1970, but he would go for years at a time directing obscure movies before roaring back with a hit.
In May, Altman brought out "A Prairie Home Companion," with Garrison Keillor starring as the announcer of a folksy musical show -- with the same name as Keillor's own long-running show -- about to be shut down by new owners. Among those in the cast were Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Kline, Woody Harrelson and Tommy Lee Jones.
"This film is about death," Altman said at a May 3 news conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, also attended by Keillor and many of the movie's stars.
He often took on Hollywood genres with a revisionist's eye, de-romanticizing the Western hero in 1971's "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" and 1976's "Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson," the film-noir gumshoe in 1973's "The Long Goodbye" and outlaw gangsters in "Thieves Like Us." "M-A-S-H" was Altman's first big success after years of directing television, commercials, industrial films and generally unremarkable feature films. The film starring Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould was set during the Korean War but was Altman's thinly veiled attack on U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
"That was my intention entirely. If you look at that film, there's no mention of what war it is," Altman said in an Associated Press interview in 2001, adding that the studio made him put a disclaimer at the beginning to identify the setting as Korea.
"Our mandate was bad taste. If anybody had a joke in the worst taste, it had a better chance of getting into the film, because nothing was in worse taste than that war itself," Altman said.
The film spawned the long-running TV sitcom starring Alan Alda, a show Altman would refer to with distaste as "that series." Unlike the social message of the film, the series was prompted by greed, Altman said.
"They made millions and millions of dollars by bringing an Asian war into Americans' homes every Sunday night," Altman said in 2001. "I thought that was the worst taste." Altman never minced words about reproaching Hollywood. After the September 11 attacks, he said Hollywood served as a source of inspiration for the terrorists by making violent action movies that amounted to training films for such attacks.
"Nobody would have thought to commit an atrocity like that unless they'd seen it in a movie," Altman said.
Altman was written off repeatedly by the Hollywood establishment, and his reputation for arrogance and hard drinking -- a habit he eventually gave up -- hindered his efforts to raise money for his idiosyncratic films.
While critical of studio executives, Altman held actors in the highest esteem. He joked that on "Gosford Park," he was there mainly to turn the lights on and off for the performers.
The respect was mutual. Top-name actors would clamor for even bit parts in his films. Altman generally worked on shoestring budgets, yet he continually landed marquee performers who signed on for a fraction of their normal salaries.
Born February 20, 1925, Altman hung out in his teen years at the jazz clubs of Kansas City, Missouri, where his father was an insurance salesman.
Altman was a bomber pilot in World War II and studied engineering at the University of Missouri in Columbia before taking a job making industrial films in Kansas City. He moved into feature films with "The Delinquents" in 1957, then worked largely in television through the mid 1960s, directing episodes of such series as "Bonanza" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Altman and his wife, Kathryn, had two sons, Robert and Matthew, and he had a daughter, Christine, and two other sons, Michael and Stephen, from two previous marriages.
When he received his honorary Oscar in 2006, Altman revealed he had a heart transplant a decade earlier.
"I didn't make a big secret out of it, but I thought nobody would hire me again," he said after the ceremony. "You know, there's such a stigma about heart transplants, and there's a lot of us out there."
CNN Reports November 21st 2006: Director Robert Altman dead at 81 LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Robert Altman, the caustic and irreverent satirist behind "M-A-S-H," "Nashville" and "The Player" who made a career out of bucking Hollywood management and story conventions, died at a Los Angeles Hospital, his production company said Tuesday. He was 81.
The director died Monday night, Joshua Astrachan, a producer at Altman's Sandcastle 5 Productions in New York City, told The Associated Press.
The cause of death wasn't disclosed. A news release was expected later in the day, Astrachan said.
A five-time Academy Award nominee for best director, most recently for 2001's "Gosford Park," he finally won a lifetime achievement Oscar in 2006.
"No other filmmaker has gotten a better shake than I have," Altman said while accepting the award. "I'm very fortunate in my career. I've never had to direct a film I didn't choose or develop. My love for film-making has given me an entree to the world and to the human condition." Altman had one of the most distinctive styles among modern filmmakers. He often employed huge ensemble casts, encouraged improvisation and overlapping dialogue and filmed scenes in long tracking shots that would flit from character to character.
Perpetually in and out of favor with audiences and critics, Altman worked ceaselessly since his anti-war black comedy "M-A-S-H" established his reputation in 1970, but he would go for years at a time directing obscure movies before roaring back with a hit.
In May, Altman brought out "A Prairie Home Companion," with Garrison Keillor starring as the announcer of a folksy musical show -- with the same name as Keillor's own long-running show -- about to be shut down by new owners. Among those in the cast were Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Kline, Woody Harrelson and Tommy Lee Jones.
"This film is about death," Altman said at a May 3 news conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, also attended by Keillor and many of the movie's stars.
He often took on Hollywood genres with a revisionist's eye, de-romanticizing the Western hero in 1971's "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" and 1976's "Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson," the film-noir gumshoe in 1973's "The Long Goodbye" and outlaw gangsters in "Thieves Like Us." "M-A-S-H" was Altman's first big success after years of directing television, commercials, industrial films and generally unremarkable feature films. The film starring Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould was set during the Korean War but was Altman's thinly veiled attack on U.S. involvement in Vietnam.
"That was my intention entirely. If you look at that film, there's no mention of what war it is," Altman said in an Associated Press interview in 2001, adding that the studio made him put a disclaimer at the beginning to identify the setting as Korea.
"Our mandate was bad taste. If anybody had a joke in the worst taste, it had a better chance of getting into the film, because nothing was in worse taste than that war itself," Altman said.
The film spawned the long-running TV sitcom starring Alan Alda, a show Altman would refer to with distaste as "that series." Unlike the social message of the film, the series was prompted by greed, Altman said.
"They made millions and millions of dollars by bringing an Asian war into Americans' homes every Sunday night," Altman said in 2001. "I thought that was the worst taste." Altman never minced words about reproaching Hollywood. After the September 11 attacks, he said Hollywood served as a source of inspiration for the terrorists by making violent action movies that amounted to training films for such attacks.
"Nobody would have thought to commit an atrocity like that unless they'd seen it in a movie," Altman said.
Altman was written off repeatedly by the Hollywood establishment, and his reputation for arrogance and hard drinking -- a habit he eventually gave up -- hindered his efforts to raise money for his idiosyncratic films.
While critical of studio executives, Altman held actors in the highest esteem. He joked that on "Gosford Park," he was there mainly to turn the lights on and off for the performers.
The respect was mutual. Top-name actors would clamor for even bit parts in his films. Altman generally worked on shoestring budgets, yet he continually landed marquee performers who signed on for a fraction of their normal salaries.
Born February 20, 1925, Altman hung out in his teen years at the jazz clubs of Kansas City, Missouri, where his father was an insurance salesman.
Altman was a bomber pilot in World War II and studied engineering at the University of Missouri in Columbia before taking a job making industrial films in Kansas City. He moved into feature films with "The Delinquents" in 1957, then worked largely in television through the mid 1960s, directing episodes of such series as "Bonanza" and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents." Altman and his wife, Kathryn, had two sons, Robert and Matthew, and he had a daughter, Christine, and two other sons, Michael and Stephen, from two previous marriages.
When he received his honorary Oscar in 2006, Altman revealed he had a heart transplant a decade earlier.
"I didn't make a big secret out of it, but I thought nobody would hire me again," he said after the ceremony. "You know, there's such a stigma about heart transplants, and there's a lot of us out there."
The Queen
(2006)
A real acting from Helen Mirren...
19 November 2006
Very humanistic angle of look to the 1997 events and what they brought to the Royal Family. Helen Mirren is at her best as Queeen Elizabeth, so are almost all the cast as well as Stephen Frear with his wonderful work, with no exaggeration and a perfect continuity. After watching the movie, I hope everyone will be more respectful to Her Majesty with a royal appearance.
James Cromwell is one of the best castings as Prince Philip and does his job well without a show off. Michael Sheen is perhaps a lighter side of Tony Blair, or pretends to be, Alex Jennings without any resemblance to Prince Charles also does it with all gestures and talk.
This is truly a movie of Queen Elizabeth, or better to say Helen Mirren who's marvelous both with her resemblance and act.
People still wondering why there's still monarchy in England must watch the movie carefully, and learn. Dignity and royalness are not virtues to be learned, but are there for centuries.
Well done Stephen Frear on such a documentary / movie that takes you in and does not let you out till the end.
James Cromwell is one of the best castings as Prince Philip and does his job well without a show off. Michael Sheen is perhaps a lighter side of Tony Blair, or pretends to be, Alex Jennings without any resemblance to Prince Charles also does it with all gestures and talk.
This is truly a movie of Queen Elizabeth, or better to say Helen Mirren who's marvelous both with her resemblance and act.
People still wondering why there's still monarchy in England must watch the movie carefully, and learn. Dignity and royalness are not virtues to be learned, but are there for centuries.
Well done Stephen Frear on such a documentary / movie that takes you in and does not let you out till the end.
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