finally last 3

it's the last 3 films @ the SIFF im going to catch this week, FINALLY! sorry, i know, i know i havent been blogging much except for talking about the films for the past few weeks! ok, it's coming to an end soon, just bear with me for a few more days!

so, the usuals... reviews of last week:

>> Millions: if suddenly a bag of 229,320 sterling pounds drops from the sky and lands right in front of me, i'll be elated!!! frens, u'll be lucky i tell u! the show was imaginative! kids will love it. halfway through, i began to realise that the director was perhaps trying to convey a message deeper than just any film that's being made out of a kid's imagination --- view of the world (when money comes into picture) between adults and children. u have to watch it to know. nice!
rating: 8.2 out of 10

>> The Land Has Eyes: harmony and peace.. i think that's the message from this film. "u will succeed if u work hard" -- this is what they tell us too. and ofcoz, the title of the film actually continues like this -- "the land has eyes and teeth, so it knows the truth" -- do bad, and karma will get to u. the thing i like about this film is the way it makes u leave the theatre with a positive outlook and giving u the strength and encouragement to face the challenges u encounter.
rating: 8.5 out of 10

>> Stray Dogs: the dog was super mega cute. but it's quite depressing to see how orphans live their lives and get by each day in poverty, hunger, parentless, with nothing to keep warm in afghanistan. they rummage garbage grounds and struggle for survival with no one to care for them. it's beautifully filmed, only that it stirred up the pathos of human kind; i didnt quite like the sad ending and therefore my rating is lower only bcoz of that.
rating: 7.5 out of 10

>> Butterfly: the way the leading actress fell in love with this woman she casually met at a supermarket was quite unconvincing. the ending was perhaps a bit weak too. nevertheless, i guess it does gives some strength and perhaps, hope too, for those who identify and relate themselves to the cast who acted in the film.
rating: 7.8 out of 10

>> Samaritan Girl: i didnt think the exploration of the themes on religion, suffering and absolution was cleverly done. in the end, it became a series of pointless struggle for everyone in the cast and finally, a stark ending that leaves u with a heavy heart and weights u down.
rating: 7 out of 10

so much of last week's. here're the final 3 im going to catch:

1) Wilby Wonderful (tues 26/4): a tale of an eccentric little community on Wilby island who are threatened by scandals that rock their world to the foundations. For a start, Duck MacDonald, the town's dyslexic sign painter, keeps interrupting the suicide attempts of depressed video store owner Dan. In a town full absorbing troubles, no one is prepared for the discovery of a body in the closet.

category: eccentric, absorbing, perhaps comedic plus a plot with some surprises
country: Canada
duration: 99min
year: 2004

2) Tokyo Noir (fri, 29/4): an omnibus of three short stories delving into the lives of contemporary Japanese women and their attitudes towards the sex industry. In the first story -- a woman (Takami Yoshimoto) with a repressed libido finds freedom of expression when she starts turning tricks. In the second -- Aimi Nakamura plays a popular sex worker in a Tokyo brothel, who is taken by surprise when her ex-boyfriend comes by to visit. In the last tale -- Aya Seki writes about her sexual experiences on a blog (wow, wats the in-thing about blogs nowadays?) and ends up befriending a lonely woman. Three tales of contemporary Japanese women living in Tokyo, the films are also a compendium of frequently unseen or unarticulated ideas of sexuality.

category: all on sexuality
country: Japan
duration: 127min
year: 2004

3) Tropical Malady (sat 30/4): tale of 2 guys who fell in love with each other -- one is a young soldier (Keng) and the other, a country boy (Tong). In the throes of love, they spent their days wiling away the time with gestures, articulations and rituals of infatuation until their world is intruded upon by word in the village of a creature in the jungle that was allegedly responsible for killing Tong’s mother’s livestock. the 2nd half of the story radically departs from the warmth and light of the first half, as the jungle itself comes to cosmically represent the tangle of their mutual love.

category: a lot of greens (like dense forest and jungle), homosexuality dominated
country: Thailand
duration: 118min
year: 2004