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Opens In Korea. Feb.22, 2007 How I saw it. DVD Screener. Box Office in USA. $18,320,965 (USA) (17 December 2006) Plot. Tragedy strikes a married couple on vacation in the Moroccan desert, touching off an interlocking story involving six different families. The Oscar nominations for this film were for Best Film, (2) Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Achievement in Directing,Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and a few others. The film also received (7) 2007 Golden Globe nominations and the film also won 4 Cannes Film Awards. The film is in English, Arabic, and Spanish, so please watch it with the subtitles. Well the buzz here is definitely that we have a very different film in this one. The film takes place in the USA, Morocco, Mexico and Japan and it all revolves around one gun. HEAVY SPOLIER ALERT! We are introduced to a couple that you see that are in trouble, Richard (Brad Pitt) and Susan (Cate Blanchett) we soon find out that they have recently lost a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Then you are introduced to a family from Morocco that has purchased a gun to protect their lambs from the jackals. The trader tells the family that the gun can hit a target 3km away. The brothers decide to test the trader’s story and they try and shoot at a huge bus that they see in the distance. The older brother shoot and he feels that he misses, and then the younger brother tries and he feels that he also has missed but after a few moments, he sees the bus come to a complete stop. It is soon reported that an American was shot while in Morocco and the US State department blames it on terrorist and the government of Morocco blames it on one lone act and not the work of terrorist. We then see the parents 2 children being taken to Mexico for their maids’ son’s wedding. Next we are shown a Japanese business man, who while in Morocco, gave the gun to the trader as a thank you gift for helping him with his hunt. We are then told about his mute-deaf daughter, who witnessed her mother killing herself. END SPOLIER How they tied this film all together was very interesting, as I stated earlier, it was all over one gun. The film is directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu, if the name sounds familiar, he was also the director of the film “21 Grams”. In this one he has a very different story to tall and when it’s over, you may be left with a feeling that you have gone on a very different trip with him. The film jumps between, Mexico, Morocco and Japan throughout this film. If this bothers you then you might want to pass on this one. If you are looking for a very different film to see, then please see this one or rent the DVD when you get the chance. This review was short and a little vague due to, if i talk about it, I will give spoilers for the film and the film is best seen without any spoilers. Grade A : Yussef : I killed the American, I was the only one who shot at you. They did nothing... nothing. Kill me, but save my brother, he did nothing... nothing. Save my brother... he did nothing.

Hello Pusanweb. My name is Mike McStay. I do the movie reviews for Socius in Daejeon, South Korea. I have been in Korea since January 2005. I am presently employed at Woosong University in Daejeon. I have been a life long fan of the big screen and I have no problem watching a movie with subtitles. I am a huge fan of Japanese films and military films. Now to tell you my idea about movies and where I come from. I am from Texas,USA. I am a huge Republican and an US Army Vet. I was stationed here in Korea during 1990-1991 in Camp Carroll, Korea. I will always tell you the truth with my reviews reasons why you should or should not see the film. I will tell you what I thought about the film and why i either liked it or hated it. I will review movies that are shown here in Korea. Please let me know what you think and do you like my review or am I crazy because I liked it. My first review for Pusanweb is my 2006 End of the year, "Best and worst films of 2006." I hope that you like it. This is the 2nd annual “The Best Films of the year” list. Just as last year, I will have , “The Worst films of the year”,” The Surprises of the year”,” The disappointments of the year” and the final category, I call “WTF” In which I ask why were these films made in the first place. For last year’s list please check on this link Last Years reviews And it’s about half way down. Now for what’s different from this year to last year’s end of the year list. 1. PIFF . You will see these letters on a few of the reviews. These films played at the 11th Pusan International Film Festival. Because I saw these films listed in the preview book, I went out and watched a few more films from around the world that I usually do. 2. Because of the above watching, my list includes films from the USA, Mexico, Japan, Korea, England, Romania, Algeria, Greece, China, Spain, Turkey and Russia. I really tried to watch allot of varied films for this list. I wanted it to be a true representation of the various members of the expat community in Korea by selecting films from all over the world and not just English speaking films. 3. For surprises and disappointments of the year list, I did put films that I liked in the disappointments and films that I hated in the surprise part of the review. I felt that this would be a more honest look at the list. 4. I will give all IMDB links for the movies, so in case you see a film that sounds interesting to you and you might want to watch it one day, this will give you allot of information on the film. Also please remember these reviews will have spoilers all throughout so please be careful. I will also give links to my longer review of the movie. 5. Last but not least, I have named the award that I will give out to the top selections. I will call the award , “The Flynnie.” Well my first name is Flynn and it just sounded better than ,”I do movie reviews and one day I might mail you a funny looking Korean award.” 2006 was an interesting year for films; we saw terrorism from up high and underground. We saw the return of an American Icon in Rocky. We heard the words, “WE ARE MARSHALL” and we saw a town heal. We got to see, “The Battle of Iwo Jima” from both sides of the combatants. We saw ghosts and Death Notes also this year, but most of all we will always remember why the fifth of November is for gunpowder, treason and plots. Each list will have my top 20 and I will start with number 20 and work my way to #1. Now here are my selections for the Best Films for the Year 2006. 20.The Curse of the Golden Flower The only reason I wanted to see it was because one of my favorite actors, Yun-Fat Chow, was in this film. I was quite pleased with this film and I had no idea what was ever going to happen next in this film. When it was over I had to re-watch the last 15 minutes just to make sure that I caught all of it. Please see it when you get the chance. It opens in Korea in late Jan 2007. 19.Over the Hedge My Review Talk about a huge gamble that paid off. This cartoon was not in the majority of newspapers so when it came out allot of people had to be reminded that this is a daily comic strip in newspapers. I loved the casting of William Shatner as Ozzie and the film works because R.J. (Bruce Willis) was so believable as a raccoon with an idea to show the wildlife “Suburbs”. 18.The Prestige My Review Now this had 3 great actors (Michael Caine, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale) all competing for the best magic trick and along the journey you are reminded why David Bowie can act with the best of them. The ending asks you was it really worth all of this pain and revenge that each man unleashed upon each other. 17.Days of Glory or Indigenes (PIFF) What a war story this one will tell you. It talks about men from North Africa who fight for their so-called motherland against Nazi Germany. It tells of the racist policies that France had for those that they called “Indigenes”. Please see it when you can and watch the entire film. 16. 12:08 East of Bucharest (PIFF) This is one of the 2 films that I saw at this years Pusan Festival. I picked the film because it just sounded interesting. I was so glad that I selected this one. The film basically ask did a revolution happen in our Romanian town in 1989 and if it did how? The film will get a release, mid-2007 in the USA. Watch this small film if you can and you will not be disappointed. 15.Volver Imagine if you can, if you had the chance to come back as a ghost and help fix all of the wrongs that you had done in your life, would you? The film is getting serious Oscar buzz for Penelope Cruz role as the lowly dinner owner who soon has allot of her own problems in the film. The film should be released on DVD in January here in Korea. A great film about death and what a family really is, at the end of the day. 14. Pirates of the Caribbean 2 My Review This was everything a summer blockbuster should be. It had a great story, great plot and a very unusual villain. When the film was over, I could not believe that I would have to wait until next year to see the final act of this trilogy. 13.The Holiday My Review Now this one was a huge surprise for me when I saw it. I had no idea that I would like it so much. Law and Diaz sold the film and Winslet and Black stoled the film. It should be a welcome addition to your annual Christmas movie viewing. 12.We Are Marshall I knew what the film was going to be about but I sure what not ready for it. When you see the towns reaction to the accident it will just make you feel numb. Matthew McConaughey, to me, finally took that huge next step from becoming a so-called actor to becoming a great one. Please watch the film for Matthew Fox’s portrayal of Red Dawson. He made this into Red’s story and it was a good one to tell. 11.Notes on a Scandal Now this one was a huge surprise and I felt like I should not have been watching this film due to its subject matter. I’m still not sure I completely understand what I was watching but it needs to be seen. Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett give outstanding performances here and might catch some Oscar talk within the next few months. 10.Death Note My Review The only reason I saw this film was because I was able to see a preview of this movie on YouTube and it just looked interesting. Give Japanese actor Tatsuya Fujiwara credit here, after Battle Royale I did not think that he could ever come close to that performance again. Part 2 arrives in Korea in January 2007. 9.Cars My Review Now being an American racing fan I had huge reservations about this film. Pixar pulled it off and gave us a story that we can show our grandchildren one day. A well developed film, in which Owen Wilson gave us his best work of the year as the voice of Lighting McQueen. 8.The Departed My Review When I first heard that Martin Scorsese was going to remake “Infernal Affairs” I had some reservations about it. I was going to see the original but I waited until after I saw “The Departed.” The film can stand alone from the original. It was so nice to see Jack as a villain once again. 7.Half Nelson The only reason that I saw this film was because friends of mines blogs made comments about this film and since I have always recommended films for them. I figured that I would listen to them. This is not a normal film, it’s a low budget film that takes you on a teacher’s journey and makes his students a little different because of it. I love the scene when he realized that all he has been taught could be wrong. It would not surprise me to see major award nominations for Ryan Gosling for his acting in this film. 6.The Queen My Review The film takes a look at the Queen of England and her response to the Death of Lady Diana Spencer. Helen Mirren has already won a few awards for her role at the Queen and it would not surprise me if she adds an Oscar for this one. 5.Rocky Balboa My Review I had heard reports of entire theaters shaking because the audience was so into this film. After seeing this film, I can understand why. What you see is one man who has one shot left and he takes it. Please go along with the ride. 4.United 93 My Review I will watch this film one more time, when I can get the DVD and I will watch the special features when the actors meet the families of those left behind. Then I doubt, I will ever watch it again. It is not because it is that bad, it’s because the film is that good. I was crying when I saw this at the theaters and I could not stop myself for a while. I don’t know if I can go on that ride again. (A few days after writing this I was able to watch the DVD and I was crying when the families met the actors, who played there loved ones.) 3.V for Vendetta My Review The first time I saw this film was at the Yongsan IMAX and it sure did not disappoint me. What a plot and what fine actors you had to pull this one off. Now if I am going to catch hell for this year’s list here it is. The winners of this year’s “Flynnie’s” are 1-2 Tie. Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. My Review Flags of Our Fathers Letters From Iwo Jima These 2 films were directed by Clint Eastwood and it shows, “The Battle of Iwo Jima” from both sides. “Flags of our Fathers” shows what happened to the men who raised the US flag on Iwo Jima. “Letters From Iwo Jima”, shows how the Japanese soldiers fought to the bitter end against the US invaders. Flags Opens in Korea Feb. 2007 They show war from both sides and they both ask, “What is a hero?” I have no idea if we will ever see the Japanese part of this film here in Korea. I just cannot imagine a Japanese Army film ever playing here in Korea. They only reason I was able to see “Letters” was a very bad cam DVD from Japan. I kept wondering, will we ever see these 2 films edited into one long one? It would be an interesting idea.

Now we have looked at the best films of the year, Next are the worst films of 2006. 20. Barnyard The "male" cows having udders really set the tone for this film. It just kept getting worse and worse. When the film was finally over, whatever humor this film hoped for just was never there. It opens up in Korea, Jan 2007. 19.Little Man I have no idea what the Wayan's brothers were trying to do on this film but it just fails on every part of this film. No plot no real story and just bad acting killed this comedy for me. 18.Miami Vice My Review I love the 1980’s TV show and I hated the movie. The remake was bad from the word go and it collapses because of trying everything and ended up being a whole bag of nothing. 17.Ultraviolet Well to be honest I still am not sure about this film, I just could not believe that I actually wasted 88 minutes on this film. I kept hoping that it would get better but alas, it never does. 16.Black Christmas Why was this film remade? I hated the original and I hated this one also. It was not even a bad slasher flick. It was just a bad remake of a bad film. 15.The Pink Panther My Review I used to watch the original films with Peter Sellers and laugh while seeing Seller’s get him out of one crazy story at a time. When I saw this film, it was just so sad to see how this franchise and Steve Martin had fallen. This was the first film of his that I did not laugh allot at. 14.The Omen (2006) My Review The only reason I could ever see this film being made was, its release date on 6/6/06 (666). Funny pun but the film stunk. Due to bad casting and a bad remake it just never became a god film. 13. Soul Kicking (PIFF) I could not even find this film listed on IMDB. Its title in Greece is “I psihi sto stoma" For every good film you see at a film festival, you also see a very bad one and this one was just horrible. The plot and story made no logical scenes at all and by the end of it, I wanted to find the persons who selected this film for the festival and hit them with a brick! 12. TIE Pledge This and Bottoms Up Now what list would be complete without Paris Hilton on it? She made 2 films this year and they both were so bad that they went into 1 -2 theaters then straight to video. Please pass on these 2 and save what few brain cells you have if you actually think that she can act in anything besides a night-vision adult film. 11.Employee of the Month What a bad idea for a film and what a bad plot for this film, Jessica Simpson was hoping for a minor comeback with this film after her divorce but all that was left after it was this film. The horror..the horror.. 10.Just My Luck My Review When I was watching this, I kept thinking, “There has to be more to this than what I am actually seeing.” Sad to say, no that was it. This film could be the start of a career killer for Lindsay Lohan. If this is what coming next in her films, then please do us all a favor and stay home and do not make any more movies. 9.Date Movie From ripping off every recent hot film of TV show, the film itself becomes a joke and never gives you anything original. I kept thinking, “Ok, they stoled this from here and this from MTV. In the end that all that was stolen from you, the time and $ to watch this. 8.Material Girls Maybe I am the wrong target group for this movie. The film offered nothing original and just trying to watch the 2 Duff sisters try and act in this film was just too much. I have no idea why it was made but hopefully I will never have to see it again. 7.Phat Girlz I was so hoping that the recommendation I received for this film was correct. Sad to say, it wasn’t. I still have no idea what the film was trying to express and as a comedy it failed because I did not laugh, I did cry because I knew that I would never see the money I paid for this film ever again. 6. Tim Allen in 2006. Zoom/The Shaggy D.A/Santa Clause 3 Zoom The Shaggy D.A Santa Clause 3 You know it’s a bad year when you release 3 films and they are all clunkers. There was not an original idea in any of these 3 films and this year does look good for Mr. Allen with “Wild Hogs” and “in the Pink” Is there a film that Mr. Allen will not turn down? 5.Crossover Well this one sure sounded good on paper but when it time to put up or shut up, it died a very quick box office death. Underground basketball with rap songs and no plot does not make for a good movie watching night. 4. Valley of the Wolves. Iraq I have no idea where to even start on this one. Needless to say the organ selling doctor part played by Gary Busey sure did not win any respect from me on this one. I saw it and I never want to see it again. 3.Hanbando IMDB Link Like the #4 film, when nationalism goes wrong, we are often left with really bad films. I saw this film and I just flat out could not believe the plot. To say, “Let’s attack Japan” and then have the Japanese Navy moving without any air cover was just too much. The plot had so many holes in it; it just failed on every level. It was a high-budget turd. 2.Basic Instinct 2 This film was so way over the top, in the first 5 minutes you have kinky sex, death and a bad car crash. Then the film really starts to get bad. I just could not believe that this film was actually this bad. When the film was over, I just sat in the theater and wondered, “What in the hell was this Crap” WHAT IS REALLY SAD THAT THIS FILM IS ONLY THE SECOND WORST FILM I SAW THIS YEAR. Now for the 2006 “Flynnie” for the worst film of the year, the winner is………… 1. Edison my review Who does not belong in this group (Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, LL Cool J or Justin Timberlake)? If you said Justin you are correct and you have the main idea why this film fails so badly. I just could not believe that a film with 2 great actors and Oscar winners in Freeman and Spacey could actually be this bad. It had a bad plot, bad acting a script so full of bad sub plots that nothing worked on this film. My question is who in the heck said that Justin Timberlake could act? His acting was just so bad in this film that it deserved the straight to DVD route it received in the USA. I went to CGV to see if my DVD screener was possible an error disc but after seeing it on the big screen, I knew that it was not the disk that was flawed but the actual movie itself.

Now this part of the review is what I like to call “The Surprises of 2006” a lot of these films came out of nowhere to be huge Indy hits or huge box office hits. Now there are some films on this list that I did not like but I decided to look at the whole picture and give you a realistic look at the top 20 surprises of 2006. 20.Little Miss Sunshine I really had no interest in seeing the film until I saw that it would be playing in Korea. I watched it and it’s just a little film that told a very funny story. Greg Kinnear and Steve Carell do a wonderful job with this film. 19. The Wind That Shakes The Barley (PIFF) With a last name of McStay and being able to trace it back to Belfast, Ireland. I was quite interested in seeing this film. It tells about Ireland becoming a nation and the civil war that followed it. It has a real sad ending. 18.Dreamgirls This is the type of film that needs to been seen on a huge screen or with friends in a DVD room. The Oscar buzz is for Eddie Murphy and Jennifer Hudson for their excellent work in this film. Eddie nails this role and reminds me why I have always liked him as an actor. 17.Farce of the Penguins I had the opportunity to see this one and I was laughing throughout the entire movie. It is a mocumentary about “The March of the Penguins” but in this film we get Samuel L. Jackson as the narrator and the comedy starts from there. 16.Hollywoodland To be honest I have usually liked Ben Affleck as an actor, so when I heard that he was going to be playing George Reeves in this film, it took me a little by surprise. He was going to play the man, who played “Superman” in the 1950’s TV Show. It has won Ben a Volpi Cup for best actor at the Venice Film Festival and a Golden Globe Nomination. It really covers no new ground but still a nice film. 15.Eight Below Well every now and then I do like the “Lassie” formula in movies and this one worked for me. I really liked Paul Walkers’ role in this film. See it with the little ones. The kids will like this film more than the adults ever will. 14.Apocalypto Once again Mel Gibson gives us a look at another era and time and tells a very interesting story about one man’s survival for him and his family. We will never know how the negative publicity this year hurt this film. Please give this film 1 look and I think that you might actually like it. 13.Glory Road As a child, I grew up in El Paso, Texas, where the majority of this film takes place at. So when, I lived there, I would always hear the story of the 1965-66 Miners and how they started 5 black players and won the NCAA Basketball championship. I was happy to see the film and I was finally able to see the story that I had heard since my childhood, on the big screen. 12. The 9th Company (PIFF) I am listing this as a 2006 film for 2 reasons, 1. It was shown at the PIFF this year and 2. It is Russia’s official Oscar Nomination for, “Best Foreign Film of the Year.” My Russian film history had only included the silent “The Battleship Potemkin’ but after seeing this one, it has made me want to see more films from Russia this year. 11.The City of Violence (PIFF) My Review When I first saw the preview for this film, it looked like a bad Tarantino rip-off, but something inside me told me to give this film a chance, and I am so glad that I did. This film had a great story and a great plot and one very messed-up ending. Rent it when you get the chance. 10.The Pursuit of Happyness My Review Now with Will Smith either I love the film (Hitch, ID4) or I have really hated it (Ali, Bagger Vance) this one falls into the class that I loved it. It told a story how a man who only had his son managed to become a stock broker. 9.Happy Feet My Review Now to be honest, this film just left me very flat. It looks like I am in the minority on this one. Parents have stated to me that their children loved the music and all of the penguins. See it in English when you can. 8. The Last King of Scotland My Review Once again, another film that I flat out did not like, and once again people who saw this are telling me that I am wrong. The huge Oscar Buzz is for Forrest Whitaker for his portrayal of Idi Amin. 7.Baruto No Gakuen It was a little Japanese film that I saw when I had to get my E-2 visa. It tells about how German P.O.W.’s were treated by Japan at the outbreak of WW1. It told a good story and it had a great plot. 6.Babel My Review I had heard that this was a small, good film. I had no idea that it was also a great film. What a story it told and, sad to say, I believed it. What a plot from start to the absolute finish. 5.Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan My Review I REALLY HATED THIS FILM WHEN I DID THE ABOVE REVIEW FOR IT. I then took a look at the numbers and how many people laughed at this film. It has a small budget and made a huge return for 20th Century Fox. Either you will hate this film or you are going to LOL when it finally arrives in Korea in 2007. 4.Night at the Museum My Review Now this was the surprise pick for me but Ben Stiller’s last staring films in the USA have done very well. I listed this film near the top because of what this film has done in the limited foreign markets so far. In South Korea (At time of writing) has broken 4 million tickets sold and is now the all time USA comedy here in Korea. It seems to be translating well in varied markets. 3.Casino Royale My Review Now this was going to be either a huge hit or a major disaster. It happens when a new James Bond is selected. I had my doubt about the new Bond, Daniel Craig, but after seeing it, they made the right choice. 2.The Devil Wears Prada. I did not like the film but that sure did not stop allot of people from seeing it this summer and around the world. It just seemed to connect with allot of different people for allot of different reasons. Now this leaves me with a huge problem, I have 2 films left and I flat out could not decide which the bigger surprise of the year was for me. So the “Flynnie” for the Surprise film of the year 2006 goes to. 1.Tie. The Host and Pan’s Labyrinth PIFF for “The Host”) The Host Pan’s Labyrinth (The Host review) In a way both films talk about freedom and to beware of outside influences in your country. The Host has set the Korean Box office record this year with over 13 million tickets sold and was shown at an all time record 640 screens here in Korea. They both also tell a huge story of love and what will due to protect it. They both tell of what a family actually is. Please see both of these fine films when you get the chance.