.: ShaolinTiger - Kung-Fu Geekery :.

A thriller that centers on Isabella El-Ibrahimi, the American wife of Egyptian-born chemical engineer Anwar El-Ibrahimi, who disappears on a flight from South Africa to Washington. Isabella desperately tries to track her husband down, while a CIA analyst at a secret detention facility outside the U.S. is forced to question his assignment as he becomes party to the man's unorthodox interrogation.

There seems to have been a spate of politically driven movies especially regarding the middle-east conflict and similar matters. It's to be expected I guess with the current climate, it is after all what is on peoples' minds.

Movies such as Babel, Syriana and even Constant Gardener come to mind as they all deal with conflicts.

Extraordinary rendition and irregular rendition are terms used to describe the apprehension and extrajudicial transfer of a person from one state to another and the term 'torture by proxy' is used by some critics to describe situations in which the U.S. has purportedly transferred suspected terrorists to countries known to employ harsh interrogation techniques that may rise to the level of torture. SOURCE

Scary eh? Basically you can be taken from anywhere to anywhere without ANYONE knowing about it.

Rendition tells a story, some may say an almost real story of an Egyptian man seized by the US government for no apparent reason..his case is very similar to the real life case of Khalid El-Masri who went through a similar experience due to one different letter (Al-Masri vs El-Masri).

The characters are strong, especially Omar Metwally as El-Ibrahimi, you can almost feel what he's going through.

Supporting are Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal.

The movie does make you think, is it ever right to torture another human being? Is what the US considers anti-terrorist action fair and just?

Do human rights matter when it comes to saving thousands of lives?

These are questioned that may be raised in your mind when watching this movie, to me that's a good sign..it means it's provocative and it touches on some fairly sensitive points.

The flow is good and the camera work is absolutely stunning, it's beautifully filmed. The soundtrack goes along with the movie well.

The only flaws I would say are the lack in character development of Mrs El-Ibrahimi and the agent played by Gyllenhaal. You never really get to understand these characters or find out who they are.

Even so it's worth a watch, I give it a strong 7/10.

As a serial killer terrifies the San Francisco Bay Area and taunts police with his ciphers and letters, investigators in four jurisdictions search for the murderer. The case will become an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues.

This is a movie that quite a few people have been talking about, many have mentioned it's well worth a watch. It wasn't hyped that much over here, but it did catch my eye, especially seen as though it had a decent cast and was based on a true story. It should be interesting at the very least.

It turns out it was better than expected, it's stormed straight into the top 250 at IMDB at #244 with a score of 8.0/10! Very rarely do movies get above 7.8 or so, I expect it will drop a little as time passes though and it's position will stabilize.

It's a very well made movie and although it's long at around 2.5 hours, it doesn't feel long. It holds the suspense, pace and interest all the way through. The direction and character buildings are excellent.

Both Robert Downey Jr. and Jake Gyllenhaal play their somewhat obsessive characters very well.

I've been a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal since I saw Jarhead and before that Donnie Darko, I can't say he's disappointed me since then.

It's a very well put together movie, which leaves you guessing as to who is who, what's the motive, what is happening and how it's going to end.

The inter-relationships and changing situations of various characters make it very interesting.

It's definitely worth a watch, sorry to rate another movie highly....but there's been a crop of great movies lately, all of which have entered the IMDB coveted top 250, which says something right? Even though I feel IMDB is a little over-rated nowdays.

Flixster is an excellent Web 2.0 alternative built with a social networking aspect...anyway that's off topic.

Go watch Zodiac, it's worth it.

I give it a fascinating 8.5/10.

Early one morning in Signal, Wyoming, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist meet while lining up for employment with local rancher Joe Aguirre. The world which Ennis and Jack have been born into is, at once, changing rapidly and yet scarcely evolving. Both young men seem certain of their set places in the heartland--obtaining steady work, marrying, and raising a family--and yet they hunger for something beyond..

I know I'm a bit late to the brokeback party, but I was away when the movie came out, and I never managed to get hold of it and sit down and watch it until now..

How often do you see a Western Romantic Drama? Yeah..like never, especially one featuring homosexuals, that's what makes this film so unique.

The movie is based on the E. Annie Proulx story about a forbidden and secretive relationship between two cowboys and their lives over the years and scores a very high 7.9 at IMDB.

I can see why Ang Lee won an Oscar for the direction, it is beautifully directed, some of the shots are like perfectly framed photographs, and some really stay in your memory.

The scenes with the mountains were beautiful.

As for the acting, Jake Gyllenhaal did very well, he conveyed the emotion and irrational nature of his character very well. Heath Ledger played quite a solemn character, Ennis Del Mar, so he didn't have quite so much acting to do, but he worked the character very well, showing his life trapped in a marriage of convenience, his quietness was very strong and somehow his solemn attitude amplified his emotions. It was really quite amazing acting by both of them.

Showing his fear of being openly gay, due to what he witnessed as a young child, Jack Twist being more open, but in the end paying for that.

The caution paid off in the end.

It was quite an emotional movie, the direction standing out more than anything else. The score was good and both Michelle Williams and Ann Hathaway put in a brilliant perfomances as troubled wifes, who saw what no wifes should ever have to see.

Really it is a film about love, but it's something new, something brave and most importantly of all, something difference.

Not the same old formulaic crap we see month in month out.

If you haven't watched it, I'd definately recommend it.

A strong 8/10.

Jarhead (the self-imposed moniker of the Marines) follows "Swoff" (Gyllenhaal), a third-generation enlistee, from a sobering stint in boot camp to active duty, sporting a sniper's rifle and a hundred-pound ruck on his back through Middle East deserts with no cover from intolerable heat or from Iraqi soldiers, always potentially just over the next horizon. Swoff and his fellow Marines sustain themselves with sardonic humanity and wicked comedy on blazing desert fields in a country they don't understand against an enemy they can't see for a cause they don't fully fathom

Ah no time to do the last Cambodia post today, will do it tonight or tomorrow I guess.

Jarhead is a very good film, I've heard a bit about it, and I've been wanting to watch it for a while, afterall Jake Gyllenhaal seems to be the new in thing.

I see this film as something like the Full-metal Jacket of our generation (Yah I love that movie too). It isn't narrow in its viewpoint, it's doesn't display things in a negative manner (like Born on the 4th of July) and it doesn't glorify war. It has a balanced view, showing both the good and the bad. The camaraderie and the loneliness.

It's most definately not a explosion ridden blood fest or action war movie, the warfare in the movie is minimal, if you want that go and watch Black Hawk Down or Saving Private Ryan. It's a movie about the social aspects, it can go from loud and racous to quiet and poignant.

It is based on a true story, the story of Anthony Swofford during operation Desert Shield which later turned into operation Desert Storm. Gyllenhaal plays the part to perfection. Foxx also puts in a sterling performance as the cool calm war veteran and staff sgt.

The cinematography is breathtaking, especially the scenes of the burning oilfields when it's literally raining oil.

The whole thing is just well conceived, beautifully filmed, well adapted and very well acted.

Definately worth a watch.

I did see adverts for it in Malaysia, but it seems to have been pulled as it's not being shown at the moment. It turns out there were some great movies in 2005, with this and Crash.

I'd give it a great 8.5/10