Turtle: The Incredible Journey (2011)

Gwang's rating: 8.8 / 10.0


She only knows to keep swim... to stay in her course.


Hi everyone, welcome back!
About 10 minutes ago, I just finished watching the greatness of the nature we always take for granted. I know it may not be a kind of a movie you would pick right away from Redbox or Netflix, I certainly enjoyed it therefore I will try to broaden your cinematic safety zone.

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'Turtle: The Incredible Journey' documents the loggerhead turtle's life from the birth to the reproduction. This documentary movie not only narrates the incredible journey of a turtle, but also guides us to explore the hidden beauty of the sea-creatures and the ocean. Unlike the Hollywood movies, this movie creates a sentimental and awe inspiring atmosphere throughout the movie. The uniqueness of this movie is definitely its chronological plot that inspires people to think about the meaning of our life. As the loggerhead turtle starts a journey, she knows where to go by instinct. Though she faces lots of difficulty on the way, she overcomes and moves on. Somebody could say the loggerhead turtle doesn't mean anything; however, her bold journey left me a question at the end of the movie:

'What is the ultimate goal in your life? Are you ready to sacrifice yourself to earn it?'

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Last, the harmonic combination between the beautiful scene and the orchestra assists the life of the turtle to be more interesting and dynamic. Without the orchestra this movie wouldn't be as appealing as it is now. Its sounding reminds me of Black Swan (2010) in which the orchestra describes the delicate changes of moods and emotions of characters. Addition to that, I like the way the producer illustrates how the turtle becomes stronger by facing those difficulties. I dare to say it is better than many of the Hollywood action movie (I couldn't breathe when the baby turtle try to escape from a vicious crab).

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Overall, this movie is definitely worth watching it. You will journey with a cute turtle throughout the wide ocean. You will be overwhelmed by the courage and determination of the turtle in the movie. It will inspire you, and challenge you. Could be a great movie to watch with family or by yourself!
Have fun with the loggerhead!

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Syriana (2005)

Gwang's rating: 8.1 / 10.0

Hey Guys! How are you?

It's been a week and I can't wait to share another movie with you guys! Since I haven't gotten any chance to watch a movie during the week, I would like to share the movie I watched over Christmas break. Don't worry, my memory is as clear as a glass of water.



By the way, starting from this one, I decided not to go over the story of the movie unless it is necessary. Since you can find a story line from other online resources, I would rather spend my time on observe the theme of the movies and spend more on finding the interpretation of the movie than tell you the story.

Syriana (2005) was one of the political movie that I have watched in my life. Let's not count the movies of Tom Cruise, Matt Damon, or other Hollywood stars. I know George Clooney is a Hollywood star too, but this movie is something different from other CIA movies and FBI movies. First time I read the title of the movie, I thought the story line was going to be the CIA versus a group of terrorists from Middle East but I was totally wrong. It was the U.S. corporation versus Pakistan presumably.

This movie accuses the United States for being a king of the world. I assume you already know the behaviors of some infamous U.S. corporations,You will still be amazed how the United States appoints the king of the countries in Middle East, and control all the information and geography of other countries. This movie visualizes the behind story of all the global issues in which the United States is always involved indirectly. The movie meets the sad-ending (sorry for the spoiling!)but it is so powerful to be ended like that.

George Clooney played both a main character and an outsider. No doubt on his performance. And I hate to tell you but Matt Damon was in the movie too! It was a great combination! However, because of the nature of the movie they weren't major parts of it. The movie was so big and enormous that I didn't pay attention to the individual actors.
 

If you are going to watch this movie. Go for it. But I would like to warn you that the first half of the movie is quite boring to be honest. However, it is necessary to be like that in order to build the story up. I enjoyed it and I have no doubt you would enjoy it!
 

The Departed (2006)

Gwang's rating: 8.8 / 10.0

Here we go "The Departed"! I feel guilty because this is the second review of Leonardo DiCaprio's movie already(and there are only three reviews so far).  BUT! I thought it was worth discussing this movie for your own benefit. AND! Matt Damon is in this movie as well! What a great movie it was even before I watched it. Some people say 'Don't judge a book by its cover,' but I think sometimes you should when choosing movies.

I love the choices of the movies that Mr. DiCaprio films. His movies always makes me think while watching the movie, and after the movie is over; his choices are not like a typical Hollywood movies that makes you feel guilty after watching them. Anyway, here we go The Departed.

The Departed was a spy movie but not like James Bond 007 series. Two undercover men from opposite sides play their role within the Massachusetts State Police and the Irish Mafia. Billy (Leonardo DiCaprio), a undercover cop, tried to be a police but his family record didn't let him be an elite police officer instead be an undercover cop. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), a undercover from the mafia, works for his boss, Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), who runs the Irish Mafia. As the story goes on, each sides sense the existence of rats in their groups and gets wild to find out the identities of those rats.

Billy (Leonardo DiCaprio, left) and Colin (Matt Damon, right)

From the Titanic to the Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio has never failed to portrait the character that directors wanted him to; and this movie wasn't the exception. Being an intelligent guy with a good morality, Billy suffers throughout the whole movie with a fear of getting caught, and an uncertainty of his future. The movie gets cathartic whenever he escapes from all the traps and questions from Frank Costello with his witty responses and high intelligence. He was a good example that shown how a life would be so much better if I were smart.

 Billy is being asked to answer the questions by Frank Costello

While our good guy, Billy, was getting all the nasty jobs done, Colin was sitting in the police department building and had a cup of coffee. By showing the contradiction in their life, the movie illustrated the irony of our society. Matt Damon certainly portrayed Colin's personality well throughout the movie. And the movie gets so interesting when they knew the existence of each other without knowing who they are.

The fantastic team play made by those actors created one of the best movie in my personal list. If you like a high-pace, thriller movie, this is movie is just for you. I didn't give 10 /10 rate only because of the language used in the movie (I guarantee that you will hear four letter word least hundred times). BUT! The language is what makes this movie so good to describe the emergency of the story.

Go and watch! Have fun!

True Grit (2010)

Gwang Lee's rating : 7.2 / 10.0

I hear you're a man of true grit.- Mattie Ross speaks to Rooster Cogburn


A U.S. Marshal helps out a smart young to avenge for her father's death. That's a basic story line of this movie. I heard that it is based on the novel but I haven't gotten a chance to read the book, so this review is just about the movie. No judgement upon how well it reflected the novel.

First of all, I couldn't resist not watching this movie, since Matt Damon was in the movie. It could be TMI, but I watch almost every single movie of him. Yet, he has never disappointed me. You must be a spy from North Korea if you haven't heard of Bourne Identity. Therefore, I had a big expectation on this movie, too. Too much.

We love western style movies. A real man riding a horse to the endless horizon where the sun sets at. In that perspective, True Grit, somehow, satisfied me. True Grit released me into a vast field of Western, and it displayed some classic sceneries and costumes from the nineteenth centuries.

I just love how the people dressed up in the nineteenth centuries

However, I was disappointed at the lack of vivid personalities of characters. I think Mattie Ross was supposed to be a girl who was eager and bloodthirsty to find out a man who killed her father; however, she was illustrated as just a young girl who was extremely intelligent. Her intelligence was quite a distracting point throughout the movie. However, I give an applause for the effort of a young actress. 

Mattie Ross seeks for avenger of her father's death

Then, LaBoeuf, a Texan officer, disappointed me again (I say it was the first time Matt Damon disappointed me). Until the end of the movie, I couldn't figure out the importance of LaBoeuf in the movie. He was illustrated as a man who consistently quit in conflicts instead of trying to solve the problem. Consider LaBoeuf was shown as a determined, brave officer, his character was dramatically changed throughout the movie. However, I could see Matt Damon has worked hard to visualize the personality of LaBoeuf. It was just too hard and vague

Officer LaBoeuf (Matt Damon)

However, Rooster Cogburn, saved this movie and all the staff from making less money than they invested. Thanks to Jeff Bridges for his effort! Rooster Cogburn, a U.S. Marshal, was a main assistant for Mattie's avenger and he cared after Mattie throughout the movie; and this image appealed some different aspect of Mr. Cogburn in this movie. Though his external personality was a man who was careless and cold-heart, Jeff Bridges displayed Rooster's internal personality, such as his carefulness, thoughtfulness, so well throughout the movie. 

Overall, there was a disappointment in the personalities of characters, and the ending was creepy as well.  However, I do not discourage you from watching this movie. It certainly is a classic movie, and you will find some sentimental moments between the scenes. I would call it for a family movie over break, but not a good movie for a dating! Enjoy!