Yes or No 2: Come Back to Me (2012) Thailand

A lesbian triangular love story.

Romance

Original title: 

Rak Mai Rak Ya Kak Loei (Thai)

Review: 

I saw 'Yes or No' couple of years ago and liked it very much. I never thought there will be a second installment but they did one. So here it is, called 'Yes or No: Come back to me', pretty nice sequel though.

This story follows up from where the first movie ended. After the graduation, the young lesbian couple goes different ways to achieve their dream. But still they love each others, the only thing kept them apart were the time and distance. They talk to each other everyday through phone, it is the only way to keep in touch other than visiting in holidays. Then comes the problem when a third character enters into the frame which seriously affects this young lesbian couple's relationship.

Well, pretty much intense and easy to predict the story like you already know it. But our concern is how they are going to end the story, what solution fits perfect for it. The story had really a nice ending, yeah I liked it the way it happened. Except that, the movie characters also deliver some interesting and proverb lines related to love. Especially there's one about caterpillar comparing it to the triangular love. Not only the dialogues the chicks are also the hot and sexy.

If you are already saw the first and liked a lot then you will like it as well but a little less than that. You know there are many lesbian movies in the world and only fewer are cuter like this one which are not given its main preferences to bedroom scenes. So that makes a family friendly lesbian movie only if they are not against gay concept. Youngsters especially teenage girls would definitely like this duology.

Similar movies:

Yes or No, Water Lilies, Jack & Diane

Suitable for:

Tween, Teen, Adult, All

Final verdict:

Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent

• Tween: From age between 7 to 12
• Teen: From age between 13 to 19
• Adult: From age above 20
• Ignore: Not worth watching
• Bad: Not good but watchable
• Average: 50-50, choice is always yours
• Good: great certainly not masterpiece
• Excellent: A must see, Masterpiece

The Driver (1978) Hollywood

The movie talks less but shows more.

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

"He's the best getaway man in the business... and the deadliest."

"To break the driver... the cop was willing to break the law."
"He'll get you away faster than anything else on wheels."
"A game... A challenge... A chase to the death!."

Review:
The story opens with a robbery in a casino and soon after the car chase begins between cops and the robbers. It reminds us like the game we played 'nfs most wanted' which was long lost for around 15 minutes. As it was a 70s movie those car stunts were stunning. As like the beginning 15 minutes last 15 minutes too had similar car stunts, so it opens and ends like a bang!

There's an arrogant cop who challenges the driver to catch him red hand in next robbery. So the story turns from robbery concept to a game... a challenge... a chase to the death between the driver and the detective. Now its between them and other characters surrounded them.

The weirdest was the movie characters had no names, the wheelman is called 'the driver', the cop is called 'the detective', money launderer is called 'the player' and one who help from outside is called 'the connection'. Sorta it was referred like saying in the background voice to a narrate the tale.

The movie looked fine to me but thought it should have been little more better. Well written script except 'the detectives' portion. As he was a tough he should have got more or equal scope to 'the driver' and that is where the movie was a bit held back. Other than that it was a quite awesome movie like the Ryan Gosling movie 'Drive'. After 38 years later still those car stunts were breathtaking compared to today's stunts which strongly depend on CGI.

Quite nicely created characters, the detective role was kinda diversion to what happens within the robbers. So it was a good movie to be watched once. Like I said those two car chases were mind blowing, particularly those two makes us worth for a watch without any regrets especially if you are a fan of those stuffs. Definitely this movie deserves to be remade with a couple of changes to suit present era.

Similar movies:

Drive, Faster, Transporter, Hit and Run

Suitable for:

Tween, Teen, Adult, All

Final verdict:

Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent

• Tween: From age between 7 to 12
• Teen: From age between 13 to 19
• Adult: From age above 20
• Ignore: Not worth watching
• Bad: Not good but watchable
• Average: 50-50, choice is always yours
• Good: great certainly not masterpiece
• Excellent: A must see, Masterpiece

The End (2012) Spain

A rare pre-apocalyptic adventure-drama not yours usual action-thriller

Adventure | Drama | Mystery | Science Fiction

Original title:

Fin (Spanish)

Review:
Okay the movie begins with an old friends gang meets together after the several years of gap in a mountain cabin. They talk and remember the old days they spent together, seems they still have something for each other until that strange night. As they are now far from the human density, they are unable to contact the rest of the world to ask help from the weird situation happening around them. So the journey begins with these old friends in search of safe place near.

Yeah the movie was too soft for apocalypse theme, more like a drama which suit all age groups. There were no strong graphics, everything was simple as some family drama with few thrilling scenes now and them comes to put us on the edge of the seat. I think I liked the director's approach on presenting it in an unusual way and avoiding building collapse, landslides and all the disaster that represents in the pre-apocalyptic process.

The movie had a minimal cast with around 9 except opening few minutes which shot in the city. Suspenseful story but fails to reveal itself at any stage of its story penetration which might annoy the audience to dump it into underrated category. It will be a nice adventure-drama if you are not expecting something like '2012' or similar movie. As it was adapted from a novel it looked we are reading it while watching. Kinda more suitable for family audience except one nude scene from beginning of the story.

There was nothing any special compared to modern apocalypse movies but it was pure artistic with avoided violence even in the deaths of the movie characters. That makes even children can be allowed to watch it if they are interested in this movie. Overall it was not worse like everyone says, some people disappointed because they expected high-end stunts and graphics which were lacking in this story. So keep your expectations low and remember you are watching sci-fi drama not action thriller.

Similar movies:

The Quiet Earth, The Road, Book of Eli, The Divide, Take Shelter

Suitable for:

Tween, Teen, Adult, All

Final verdict:

Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent

• Tween: From age between 7 to 12
• Teen: From age between 13 to 19
• Adult: From age above 20
• Ignore: Not worth watching
• Bad: Not good but watchable
• Average: 50-50, choice is always yours
• Good: great certainly not masterpiece
• Excellent: A must see, Masterpiece

4 Minutes (2006) Germany

Hands are very important to a musician and it is not safe in prison

Drama | Music

Original title:

Vier Minuten (German)

Tagline:

"The next German film sensation after 'The Lives of Others'."

Review:
'Four minutes' is a 2006 German movie about a young woman prisoner Jenny and her old piano teacher Kruger. While the music class part by part the past stories of these women reveal to us. The flashback reveals that this prison used to be a hospital where the old piano teacher worked and her affair with another nurse. And another flashback about Jenny and her difficulty earlier life she went through. As a talented, Jenny is also the rough and tough with her inmates. Like all the prison story here too there be a trouble giving enemy and a tough warden who always eye on her. Their's target is Jenny, to stop her from taking lessons and entering the competition.

Jenny was a musical prodigy and her initial portions of the story were portrayed as she's sorta some rebellion. There were many scenes I just don't get it like the security provided for Jenny during she was taken for the contest on the outside. And I don't know why the story had some racism remarks on Afro-european music in a couple of scenes and it never explained anywhere later. I guess those days are like that especially in Nazi Germany.

Still I felt both the two main characters were not explained well especially Jenny's past were mostly told as a story than what we are expected to see as the actual one. In Kruger case it was different it showed the main portions of her flashbacks to match it with preset of her. The last four minutes of the movie are what represents the title before the credit rolls up. That was a grand finale for a movie with a story line this. The end scene was kinda good like the movies 'Sound of Noise' and 'August Rush'.

Similar movies:

Harmony, Birdman of Alcatraz, The Visitor, Brokedown Palace

Suitable for:

Tween, Teen, Adult, All

Final verdict:

Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent

• Tween: From age between 7 to 12
• Teen: From age between 13 to 19
• Adult: From age above 20
• Ignore: Not worth watching
• Bad: Not good but watchable
• Average: 50-50, choice is always yours
• Good: great certainly not masterpiece
• Excellent: A must see, Masterpiece

Birdman of Alcatraz (1962) Hollywood

Achieving something big in one's small world.

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

"Now the World will know the story of the most defiant man alive!"

"Inside the rock called Alcatraz they tried to chain a volcano they called 'The Bird Man'."

Review:

The name Alcatraz is pretty much known to everyone especially those who watch Hollywood movies and television series. 'Birdman of Alcatraz' is the story of the Robert Stroud which begins in 1912 who is being transferred from an Alaskan prison facility to Leavenworth correction facility with other prisoners. To spend his 12 year term in prison which given him for a murder he committed. The movie won't tell us the story before the sentence but everything after till he leave the Alcatraz.

Stroud is a tough guy who listens to no one and loves his mother a lot. He won't leave who teases his mother when his mother was not allowed to see him he commits an another crime which adds extra more years to his sentence. Now he got to spend his whole life behind the bars. One day he rescues a lost baby bird and soon after he becomes an expert on birds which leads him to find the cure for the bird diseases. When a man becomes at his best there will always be an enemy to oppose it, well here the warden Harvey stand against him with a reason behind. He could not take it what Stroud becoming, so there comes his transfer to another maximum security prison, Alcatraz.

This might be a story of a convict but it was lovable and inspiring about what he does during the sentence. I love animals, of  course it includes birds as well. After the 2nd millennium the man came too far from the actual world he used to share with other species. The man invented and discovered many stuffs that helped the human world to run smoothly such as automobiles, cure for the diseases, giant buildings and the fancy lifestyle. But this man, Stroud built a bridge to connect us from animal (bird) kingdom. He studied about birds' behaviour and discovered the cure for the bird diseases during the time science becoming modern.

Well I got some doubts about this story. When Stroud was in Leavenworth facility he had permission to have birds in his cell so he raised hundreds of canaries during his stay. But after he transferred to Alcatraz the permission was denied due to new rules initiation throughout the country in all the prison facilities. So that is what I wonder how the name 'Birdman of Alcatraz' came. Is it because he had birds and studied about it while he was in Leavenworth or because he spent his most of day in Alcatraz which was also called birds island. I don't know much about this man other than this movie. It looked kinda coincident to me, after he got the name 'Brdman' in Leavenworth he flew like a bird to the birds island (Alcatraz).

This movie was nominated for the four academy awards during 1963 OSCAR ceremony. There were already fighting for trophies within other top nominees so this movie did not get any. I felt this movie deserved some appreciation but experts say it had few flaws and inaccuracy in the story that mean largely fictional. I really don't know how much it borrowed the original story of Robert Stroud or from a book but I liked this movie a lot. It delivers the message about to do or discover something new or find ourselves our strength. Most of the great biographies I know are not from the real criminals so this story tells us from the different perspective. There are few bad stuffs from Strouds' life to forget and many good stuffs to learn from it. There are many movies about prison theme this movie was a little different to those. You can have it to enjoy or to know the real Robert Stroud, left up to you but I say go for it with a thumbs' up.

Similar movies:

Papillon, Escape from Alcatraz, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile

Suitable for:

Tween, Teen, Adult, All

Final verdict:

Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent

• Tween: From age between 7 to 12
• Teen: From age between 13 to 19
• Adult: From age above 20
• Ignore: Not worth watching
• Bad: Not good but watchable
• Average: 50-50, choice is always yours
• Good: great certainly not masterpiece
• Excellent: A must see, Masterpiece

Posters of the month (Volume 3)

These posters are not official posters but designed by me. Hope you all like it.

     

                        We Bought a Zoo (2011)                  Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2010)         

     

The Descendants (2010)                                         Carnage (2011)     

     

    The Vow (2011)                                                   The Vow (2011)     

     

               42 (2013)                                                     21 & Over (2013)       

3096 Days (2013) Germany | Austria

About a girl who feared the most to take chances but overcame and did it.

Crime | Drama

Original Title:

3096 Tage (German)

Review:
The movie based on the true story of Austrian woman Natascha Kampusch. At the age of ten she was abducted by an unemployed young man called Wolfgang Priklopil and kept her in a secret cellar for the 8 long years. Warning, this movie is not suitable for everyone because the movie had many disturbing, nude scenes. It was harsh true but raw for a movie and I am happy they made this.

It's easy to find the errors on the technical aspect and the flaws of the movie but when you think of it from the girl's perspective it is totally shocking and long incident that everyone never dreamt about. So there's no point in pointing the mistakes because you are not watching it for an entertainingt but to know the bitter truth, right? Natascha Kampusch was a normal young Austrian girl, she did not try any heroic endeavoring during her captivity but her bravery attempt at the end of the movie made her free from the slavery. As you see the title you will come to know almost everything about the movie even the end twist as well not complicated as one you think but when you watch the movie it tells the way it really happened.

As a kidnapper, Wolfgang Priklopil was a smarter and sharper enough. He read the girl's character and behaviour perfectly, he tried to give her freedom within the border he marked and also tortured her to make believe she's in his command. But his overconfident led him to the disaster from his perspective. In the end, good always wins over evil.

Antonia Campbell-Hughes was excellent as Natascha Kampusch and so the little version of her. I heard that she lost lots of weight for the role, I guess it's her best performance till now from those I have seen.

Remember you won't watch it for enjoy the moment, it was those movies like 'Trade' and 'Garden of the Night' that will remind you about the real pervert co-existed in our society. As per me it is a must see movie but you should keep it in your mind like I said it was a little disturbing for its adult contents.

Similar movies:

Trade, Taken, Gardens of the Night, Graceland

Suitable for:

Tween, Teen, Adult, All

Final verdict:

Ignore, Bad, Average, Good, Excellent

• Tween: From age between 7 to 12
• Teen: From age between 13 to 19
• Adult: From age above 20
• Ignore: Not worth watching
• Bad: Not good but watchable
• Average: 50-50, choice is always yours
• Good: great certainly not masterpiece
• Excellent: A must see, Masterpiece