Catch me If You can

First viewed the film on 10th February 2003 for the first time.
Have had read the novel twice in year 2002 and 2007.
One the 13th June 2010, I have watched it again for the forth time.
‘Till today,the impression never cease.. Do you concur?

Directed and produced by Steven Spielberg, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Frank William Abagnale Junior & Tom Hanks as FBI agent Carl Hanratty, released on December 25, 2002, ‘Catch Me if You Can’ is a comedy-drama film based on the life of Frank Abagnale. Set in the 1960’s the film chronicle the life of Frank, who before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars by posing as a Pan American World Airways pilot, dead-heading to many destinations in the cockpit jump seat, and he impersonated as a Georgia doctor (complete with a forged Harvard Medical School degree). Furthermore, he created a phony document of Harvard Law Transcript and then he legitimately passed his bar exam and masqueraded as a Louisiana attorney, which is awesomely impressive... His primary crime was cheque forgery, becoming so skilful that the FBI eventually turned to him for help in catching other cheque forgers.

Frank Abagnale is now one of the world’ most respected authorities, working with the FBI’s Financial Crime Unit on counterfeiting and secure documents, including check swindling, forgery and embezzlement. He has been a consultant, lectured and instructed hundreds of seminars worldwide and continues to offer his services for free to the FBI. Moreover, he has published several books, manuals and articles and has designed secure checks that are utilized by businesses worldwide

One of the factors that the film gets my attention is the setting. A near-flawless palette of period looks from the ‘50s and ‘60s times. The sequence of 'cat and mouse' chase between Frank Abagnale & Hanretty, also has succesfully created a lasting impression through its witty, clever scenarios, the humour that it contains and the mockery within. Especially the Soundtrack, which I still listen too for over 7 years, the collection and tone of music assembled dealt greatly with 1960’s pop culture. The fusion of several older generation songs with a similarly retro style of jazz in the underscore is obvious. John William’s composition for this particular film represents the perpetual chase. “The Float” is shifty with attractive rhythmic romp that is cyclical in its vibraphone and woodwind rhythms. It exhibits an excellent saxophone solo with ominous dramatic undertones.

Personally, I love “ Broken Home” the most, where the music volume has been reduced to melancholy solitude carried by a slow solo harp and lonely shadows of the solo sax and piano performances that graced the score's beginning. Perhaps, the whole OST has summarised a well-documented music album with indeed, a well genre-constrained score. The music simply never bores me. And it has been proven so strongly as I have listened to the soundtrack over and over again for more than 7 years.

Both reading the biography and watching the movie is inseparable. It would not be complete without doing both activities. Indeed, it has become one of my favourite movie to watch. While, the book itself is not to be missed, and if you decided not to read the book, you miss all the details.

Sources:
• Editorial Review, Filmtracks – Catch Me If You Can, written on 14th December 2002, revised on the 10th January 2009. Copyright © 2002-2010, Christian Clemmensen (Filmtracks Publications).
http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/catch_me.html

• Frank W. Abagnale, with Stan Redding , Catch Me If You Can – The True Story of a Real Fake, Bantam Book, USA 1980.

• Margaret A. McGurk, DiCaprio, Hanks have fun, so catch them if you can – The Cincinnati Enquirer, Friday, December 27,2002.
http://cincinnati.com/freetime/movies/mcgurk/122702_catchme.html

• Susan Goodwin & Becky Bradley, American Cultural History, Lone Star College – Kingwood.1960 – 1969.Copyright © 1999 [Kingwood College Library]
http://kclibrary.lonestar.edu/decade60.html

• The Wikipedia Encyclopedia. Catch Me If You Can.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_Me_If_You_Can

Revolutionary Road

Adapted from the revealing novel by Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road is an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning 2008 British-American drama film directed by Sam Mendes and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. 

Set in 1955, the film incisively portrays the disintegration of a relationship amongst the hopes and aspirations of Frank and April Wheeler, self-assured Connecticut suburbanites who see themselves as very different from their neighbours in the Revolutionary Hill Estates. Despite the depiction of the norm life of the suburban area which speaks strongly about the monotony of everyday existence, the film is lavishly dark. It is about the desperate struggles to find happiness in life which leads to entrapment and tragedy. 

From the start, I think the film has successfully proclaimed that, it is not an easy movie to watch. It isn’t the kind of movie that everyone will get or even want to get it. A respectable movie comment indicated that ‘this movie will tear out the heart of the people that have been in a relationship that has gone sour and were powerless to stop it,’ which I agree.

Also, the scene that carefully shown; all the men wearing almost in uniform with the hat and the fashion of that time is unforgettable, as it speaks strongly of the lifeless, the boredom and the hopelessness of no-alternative sort of life. Though it was seem as a family movie at first, with the fact that the protagonists have two children, it is a kind of irony that the children are almost seen as disappear in the scene. Unless you are prepared for a serious movie, this isn’t the type of film where you will be laughing or crying. Overall the movie is undeniably good, despite all the tension and perhaps, hints of depression in it.

Sources:
• http://www.revolutionaryroadmovie.com/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolutionary_Road_(film)
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0959337/

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' (drama film) 2008

The 2nd movie which I watched by myself and left without any regret. Probably one of the best movies that I have ever watched. It is indeed, special.

From the start, the well-usage of flashback captured my attention. I love the level of art direction, particularly scenes in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, that contains high level of details. Also, the presentation of historic scenes made me felt as if I were watching old movies. Moreover, I personally love the hints of art culture; Chopin’s Polonaise piano scene and the glamour and life of ballet dancers. Amongst those, the scenes of the sunrise and the silhouette dance left very strong impression.

The movie reminds me of how the facts of life are unavoidable, however, it values the time that each human temporarily has in this temporary world. At the same time, it also proclaim about how love transcends over time and conditions. It never fails. To sum up, it is a movie that allows me to smile, a movie that allows me to cry. It will be a movie that I will never forget.

The Great Debaters

"An unjust law is no law at all" ~ Augustine of Hippo (354-430).

Based on an article written about the Wiley College debate team by Tony Scherman for the 1997 Spring issue of American Legacy, “The Great Debaters” is the second film directed by Denzel Washington and produced by Oprah Winfrey’s company, Harpo Productions.

The film, based on the true story, chronicles the effort of the notable poet, social activist and educator Melvin B. Tolson (Washington), a volatile debate coach who uses his eloquence to shape a group of students from a modest black college in East Texas into an elite debate team with an equal footing with whites in the American South. Eventually, the Wiley team succeeds to the point of receiving the invitation to debate Harvard University’s championship team, where the issue of: Nonviolent civil disobedience versus the rule of law was vividly debated.

The movie also explores the social milieu of Texas during the Great Depression including not only the day-to-day insults and slights African American endured, but also a lynching. Segregation, prejudice, and racial discrimination are the major themes in the film, as well as the heights of the fight for the freedom rights. According to the New York Times movie review, “Its steadfast humanity, its literacy, its passionate belief in education, its faith that history teaches invaluable lessons and it’s strong, emotionally grounded performances: There are enough things to admire about The Great Debaters.” (Leading the Charge to Inspire the Underdogs, Stephen Holden, NY Times, December 25, 2007)

Engaging from the start, with many clever words usage and strong historical themes portrayed in the movie, it is movie not meant to entertain, but a movie where it draws the viewers to comprehend the reality and to inspire those who ‘do what they have to do in order to do what they want to do.’

Sources:
http://movies.nytimes.com/2007/12/25/movies/25deba.html
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427309/quotes
http://www.matchflick.com/flicks/17938
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Debaters

Il Mare (시월애)

A good companion for solitary moment at home, I watched this movie and has come to the conclusion that, I like it. Simple, soft, patience, and dreamy, the title, Il Mare, means 'The Sea' in Italian, and is the name of the seaside house which is the setting of the story. The Korean title, siworae is the Korean pronunciation of Hanja "時越愛," meaning "time-transcending love." Starring Jun Ji-hyun and Lee Jung-Jae, the story features two distinct timelines intertwined throughout the drama, with the only means of communication through a mysterious post box. I have watched the American version, The Lake House two years ago. Though the modern remade depicts better graphic, more beautiful setting and other advances, the original one is more inspiring, somehow. A story full of waiting and trust, with the time as the most important aspects between the protagonists' life. One of the most deep love stories that worth remembering, almost equal to my favorite movie, Turn Left, Turn Right ( 向左走·向右走)

Lady and the Tramp

Rightly one of the Disney's most celebrated classics, Lady and the Tramp is a 1955 animated feature film produced by Walt Disney. Based on Ward Greene's short story "Happy Dan, The Whistling Dog," this feature is the romantic adventure of a pedigreed Cocker Spaniel and a freedom-loving mongrel from the wrong side of the tracks, a romance between two dogs from different walks of life.

Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure is a direct-to-video animated film, produced in 2001 and released on February 27, 2001 by The Walt Disney Company as a sequel to their 1955 feature film Lady and the Tramp. The story centres around Lady and Tramp's puppy Scamp and his desire to become a "wild dog". Numerous elements of the film were borrowed from Lady and the Tramp. One notable reference includes Angel referring to Scamp's neighborhood as "Snob Hill", a phrase used by Tramp to describe the same place in the first film.

I watched Lady and the Tramp during my childhood and have always been regarded the movie as one of my favourites. The relations between two different worlds revolving around the main characters, the beautiful background design of the human world from the dog's perspective and the unforgettable spaghetti's scene have been an inspiration. Now I have understood well why
I always been liking bluish background, a night walk acroos the bridge and under the spotlight, as well as candle light dinner. It had been planted in my heart as a little girl more than 10 years ago.

The Lady and the Tramp II, which contains almost the same elements from its previous movie, emphasises more on the family theme, about a son longing for a freedom and it reminds me of the famous parable, the Prodigal Son. Watching the second one recently has been nostalgic.

 

August Rush

August Rush, a 2007 Academy Award-nominated drama directed by Kirsten Sheridan is one of the best movies that I have ever seen. The main character, Evan Taylor (Freddie Highmore), was an 11 year old prodigy who could just listen to anything and turned it into music. I myself would entitle him, 'The Modern Day Amadeus'.

There are two scenes that serve as hints of what the boy will become. The first one was the scene where he made the gesture of the conductor in a park. It is pretty obvious that this boy will be a virtuoso conductor sooner or later. The other one is the scene where he was playing the church organ. This grandiose scene depicts the boy to be ' an angel' or ' the chosen one'. Definitely he will be great. It is evident when he was brought to Julliard; he was honored to have his music, August Rhapsody, to be performed with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra with him himself as the conductor.

In my point of view, the movie introduces various aspects of music to the viewer. Evan's mother, a famous concert cellist named Lyla Novacek (Keri Russell) symbolizes the Classical, while his father, Louis Connely (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), an Irish guitarist and lead singer from a rock band, represents the popular. Their love story has been quite sentimental and melancholy, yet it is expected for musician couple. I like the juxtaposition of the music between the couple most. Other music that has been introduced includes jazz, R&B, Techno, country, gospel, blues, 20th century instrumental music, rap, et cetera. Basically, the representation of both high art and low art has been rather balance. 'Music is everywhere, if you care enough to listen' has been the central message of the show.

In a review by USA Today, Claudia Puig commented that "August Rush will not be for everyone, but it works if you surrender to its lilting and unabashedly sentimental tale of evocative music and visual poetry." The Hollywood Reporter reviewed the film positively, writing "the story is about musicians and how music connects people." (source: wikipedia)

Although the ending was a bit of a rush, overall I felt satisfied.
There were many times when I was driven into tears as I marveled through the story. A very big applause - Bravo!