The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

Quirky movie about the misadventures of Steve Zissou, an oceanographer played by Bill Murray, and his crew of misfits. I like Bill Murray and blindly go where he goes. As a behind-the-scenes documentary parody of Jacques Cousteau, it's fairly silly as Team Zissou embarks on an expedition to find the mythical Jaguar Shark which swallowed Zissou's long-time friend on a previous dive.

I liked it if only for the music, which was fantastic and must surely be the big secret behind this film. Directed by Wes Anderson, nearly the entire soundtrack featured David Bowie cover songs performed in Portuguese on acoustic guitar by Seu Jorge. Otherwise, there's not much noteworthy about this flick.

Constantine (2005)

Directed by Francis Lawrence, this supernatural mystery didn't offer much. Loosely tied together, the movie depicts Keanu Reeves as a supernatural version of Neo, his famous character from the Matrix movies, who roams the Earth searching for evil spirits in a kind of personal purgatory wherein he serves as a mediator between Heaven and Hell.

Aside from Keanu's lines, which were generally mumbled and unclear, the movie wasn't a complete loss. I did like the actress who played the angel Gabriel, Tilda Swinton, as well as the actor who played Lucifer, Peter Stormare, who both gave their roles a unique spin on traditional expectations for those biblical characters.

Sin City (2005)

Fantastic, hard-boiled, comic book movie that is sheer wild ride from start to finish. Directed by Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller, with special guest director (whatever that means) Quentin Tarantino, the film is pure Hollywood cheese and I loved every slick minute of it!

Not a movie for your kids, full of lots of violent goodness, blood, guns and impossible super-hero possibility to knock your socks off, the film follows three tough-guy stories through the crime-laden streets of Sin City, a fictitious city where vigilante law rules the streets. Filmed almost entirely in B & W, the plentiful and cool special effects, unusual characters and creative filming made it seem as if I had stepped into a comic book. Almost exactly what I want when I watch a movie.

Twenty Thirty Forty (2004)

A Taiwanese film about three women, one in her twenties, one in her thirties and one in her forties at three different waypoints in their lives. Directed by Sylvia Chang, the movie is stylish and creatively filmed. I particularly liked the use of mirrors. They are so commonly used in movies, but rarely used well. The stories are tied together through the women's pursuit of love or meaningful relationships, largely disappointing: the 20-something as she begins to discover the world, on her own for the first time; the 30-something, a working woman juggling her relationships and her fast-paced lifestyle; the 40-something, a married woman managing her own business and discovers her husband's infidelity.

It was a little strange to see how Westernized Taiwanese people have become, if the movie can be taken as an accurate representation of the people. Most of the people addressed each other by using Western names, and their language was infused with many English expressions and words. Quite different than life on mainland China, especially Beijing, where I almost never hear English mixed with Chinese.

The Mystic Masseur – V. S. Naipaul

Enjoyable, humorous story about the remarkable life of a man, Ganesh, who lived in Trinidad and became one of its most famous inhabitants. Much of his success seems to occur haphazardly, although Ganesh continually pursues his dreams, which may be one secret of his or anyone's success, and eventually achieves what he desires.

Initially, driven by his curious passion for reading and a threat that he would one day write a book, Ganesh attempts to enter the working world as a masseur, following in the footsteps of his deceased father. As the years pass, his threat about writing a book seems to become just one of his silly utterances. Once, when challenged by his wife, he says:

A man may turn over half a library to make one book.

Unsuccessful as a masseur on an island overrun with them, he begins to market himself, along with the publication of his first book, 101 Questions and Answers on the Hindu Religion, as a mystic. His success is unprecedented and, as his fame as a mystic grows, he continues to write books with less difficulty and greater vision. Ganesh continues to meet success in all of his endeavors which finally lead him to embrace a larger political role.

Bad Education – La Mala Educación (2004)

A film by Spanish director Pedro Almadóvar that was quite enjoyable. I can't recall whether or not I'd seen any other movies by this director, but I will look for more in the future. All of the scenes were very colorful and it was a beautiful movie to view. An inappropriate movie for kids due to a large dose of adult content, it is based on the director's youth.

Two men, former classmates as boys, are reunited after 20 years apart and the mystery begins. One man has become a film director, Ignacio, and the other man, Enrique, is an aspiring actor who returns to Ignacio in pursuit of a job. Enrique has a script in his possession and, as Ignacio is in a lull between projects and looking for new material, he decides to attempt the project. There is a feeling of uncertainty right from the start as Ignacio doesn't completely recognize his old friend. At first, I thought it was simply a typical story about sexual misconduct in the Catholic Church, but as the movie develops, there is a unique surprise.