Movie Junction

I recently had the opportunity to review Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married Too?” (2010); the movie is a sequel to Perry’s earlier effort, “Why Did I Get Married?” (2007). Ideally, I should have watched the original followed by the sequel, but it was the other way round. After watching, “Why Did I Get Married?,” I can’t help think that the two movies are very much similar, even though the first movie offers background on the events leading up to the sequel. In fact, the two movies are so alike in their narrative structure that at one point, I could not figure out the differences between the original movie and its sequel. Well, that does not say much for either movie. Both the movies commence with a vacation trip to an exotic location. Taking a break for their busy lives, the four couples plan to spend their time in the snowy mountains of Colorado . Patricia (Janet Jackson) is on a book tour, trying to market her newly published book, “Why Did I Get Married?” She explains the purpo...

How many macho guys does the world need to save us from the bad guys?  Enter the world of “The Expendables,” and we have an elite group of seven mercenaries, each with his own expertise in combat. Of course, each mission they undertake becomes an exercise in machismo. Unlike a small group of girlfriends, who would go out on a shopping spree to entertain themselves, our heroes are exactly polar opposite; they play with guns, ride their long-handled Harleys, and undertake deadly missions. It is their idea of taking a pleasurable break from their normal lives. If this sounds interesting to you, then welcome to the big-boys club of “The Expendables.” “The Expendables” includes an action-driven cast in the form of Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Mickey Rourke, and Terry Crews. The presence of the star-studded action cast catapulted the film at the box office and resulted in a worldwide gross revenue of $261 million on a budget of $80 million,...

V for victory; V for visitors; V for visa--these are the words that come to mind after watching the first season of “V.” Following in a similar vein as the recently ended, critically acclaimed, “Battlestar Galactica,” “V” aims to resurrect its original franchise that aired in 1983. The new “V” series aired from November 2009 to May 2010, with the second season is scheduled to start in January 2011. As I have never watched the original “V” series, I didn’t know what to expect from the pilot episode. Set in the post-9/11 world, the opening episode takes us right into the center of the action. We are introduced to big alien spaceships circling above the major cities of the world. Of course, the first sign of alien ships invites panic from the people of earth worried of an impending doom awaiting them. But as things settle down, the mother alien ship broadcasts a message to all the important cities that their intent is to not destroy the earth; in fact, they bring a message of peace an...

If you thought Oshima´s "In the Realm of the Senses" was raw, explicit, sexually grotesque, and pornographic, wait until you see Lars von Trier´s "Antichrist." The opening black-and-white sequence shows characters of Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg making love with magnified shots of full penetration (porn stars were used). All of this happens in the first four minutes of the film, and while the love-making act itself does not shock you, the explicitness and urgency with which the director plays his cards just might. And this aspect becomes more evident in the final chapter. Throughout the film, Trier plays with this favorite palette format--that is black-and-white, but also switching back to the color format to depict dismay and disarray in the lives of the grieving couple. Even though the back-and-white imagery is gothic in nature, it reminds us of the director´s best efforts in the past, and more importantly, "Europa" (1991). Trier also pays t...

“You are an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect a bill.” --Col. Kurtz There is a startling pro-war sequence in the opening moments of “Apocalypse Now” (1979). In this scene, while waiting in Saigon Willard (Martin Sheen) is summoned to appear in front of high-ranking military officials. He is bewildered but stays sharp throughout the interrogation. As the officials explain why he is in the room, Willard is bombarded with a series of specific and pointed questions about his past assignments. Soon, he is introduced to General Corman, who describes the real purpose of Willard’s new deadly mission as well as the rational of the war in question. With no choice, Willard undertakes the mission and is instructed by an unnamed senior official to “terminate with extreme prejudice.” It is worth noting that Corman’s brief speech is the foundation on which the entire movie rests, and it sets the tone perfectly for things to follow. Not only is Corman’s conversation significant in the co...