Category: Movies

I am going to divide this post into two, in the first half I will talk about Cinemagic’s weekly movie screenings and in the second about Oldboy.

Last time I posted about Cinemagic was a year ago and a lot of you might not know about them. They are a local organization that focuses on helping and establishing local film makers in the region. They have courses, trainings, connections, everything that’s film related. One of the things they also try and do is increase the public’s interest in the beauty and art of the moving image and one of the ways they go about doing this is holding movie screenings every week. They hold these screenings in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG. Anyone can go and watch a screening for free and they even provide snacks and refreshments.

Now the best part about all of this is the type of movies they play. They don’t play any of the mainstream stuff which Cinescape plays, instead they share a lot of small indie and foreign movies. This week they will be screening one of my favorite foreign movies called Oldboy which I reviewed here back in 2005. It’s a Korean movie about a guy who got locked up in a studio apartment for 15 years by some unknown assailants. Then one day, he gets released and decides to seek revenge and find out who locked him up and why. Its a violent movie which never gets boring and has a really messed up ending.

So if you’re interested, they’re screening this movie on Thursday March 19 at 7PM. I find out about their movies via a weekly newsletter and I have no idea how you could sign up to it but they do have a website which I believe is updated weekly and you can visit it by clicking [Here]

Update: Here is a link to their facebook group. [Link]

I am watching Bloodsport at the moment (old Van Damme movie) when I spotted a character that’s supposed to be an Arab called Sadiq Hossein. He looks like a tanned Asian and through out the movie no matter what he is wearing or doing he always has the gutra on his head. Its too funny.

Just got back from watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It was toooo long and verrrrrry boring. Maybe if it was an hour shorter, MAYBE it would have been interesting but it just dragged and dragged. On my way out I overheard a group of girls talk about how much they loved the movie and I guess thats how it got an 8.3 out of 10 on IMDB, its a chick flick!

On a positive note before the movie started I watched the trailer for Watchmen, now THATS going to be one helluva movie! [Link]

Flooded McDonald’s is a film work by Superflex in which a convincing life-size replica of the interior of a McDonald’s burger bar, without any customers or staff present, gradually floods with water. Furniture is lifted up by the water, trays of food and drinks start to float around, electrics short circuit and eventually the space becomes completely submerged.

Yeah I know it sounds like a strange idea for a movie but thats what makes it interesting. Here is the link to the official site of the movie. [Link]

I found this video on YouTube, its a short amateur movie that was shot in Kuwait back in 1992 by a guy called Ali. If you consider the fact that this movie was shot and edited by a teenager in the early 90s without a computer, its actually pretty cool.. in a geeky way. [YouTube]

For some reason I now feel like watching The Dirt Bike Kid

Definitely by far one of the best movies I’ve watched in a very very long time. Just when I was starting to think movies were getting boring and dull comes along something so different and colorful.

Here is the movie summary taken from IMDB:

The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show’s questions. Each chapter of Jamal’s increasingly layered story reveals where he learned the answers to the show’s seemingly impossible quizzes. But one question remains a mystery: what is this young man with no apparent desire for riches really doing on the game show? When the new day dawns and Jamal returns to answer the final question, the Inspector and sixty million viewers are about to find out. At the heart of its storytelling lies the question of how anyone comes to know the things they know about life and love.

Here is a link to the trailer [Link]
And finally here is a link to the official website [Link]

This is a new and lavish limited edition book with tons of pictures from behind the scenes of the movie Godfather. The book is limited to 1000 copies and they are all signed. Problem is it costs KD190! [Amazon Link]

Here is a link with information about the book. [Link]

This remake of the 1950’s classic by the same name looks like its going to be one hell of a movie although I am really fed up of Keanu Reeves. Like come on who can still stand his Matrix voice and look?? On the other hand Jennifer Connelly still looks as hot as ever. [Trailer]

The new Star Trek is looking incredible. I can’t wait till it get’s released. Here is the link, the new trailer is called Trailer 2. [Link]

Found this short film on YouTube, skip to the second minute since thats when the movie actually starts. The clip above is [Part 1], here is the link to [Part 2] and [Part 3]. Kinda makes me want to film my own B-rated horror with a cheesy title like Escape from Salmiya or The Shawerma Zombie. Anyone want to help me with the script?

In the comments of the previous Blockbuster post someone mentioned a Kuwaiti movie called “One More Chance” that is going to get released soon in Kuwait. So I did a quick Google and found the trailer for it on the blog Buzberry. It looks like its going to be a really funny movie. I think they’ve spoofed movies like Get Smart (which I watched a few days back and really liked), The Matrix and James Bond. The production quality and acting seems like complete crap but I guess that helps making it a comedy. Check out the trailer above. [YouTube]

How come we don’t have a proper DVD and videogame rental store? I doubt it’s because of censorship because there are a ton of movies that don’t need or have anything to be censored. The last barely decent rental place I remember was The Video Club and that wasn’t anything close to a Blockbuster in the States or Canada. We’ve never had a proper rental place in Kuwait. It’s really strange.

Monthy Python fans will appreciate this. One of the funniest scenes in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the scene with the black knight. Now Computer Gear is selling a black knight doll featuring tear-off and stick-on arms and legs and also shouts out famous quotes like “Tis nothing but a scratch” or the famous “I’ll bite your legs off!”. It’s only $30 which isn’t too bad. [Link]

If you’ve been living in a cave all your life and never watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail here is the YouTube video of the famous black knight scene. [YouTube]

Lately I’ve been in the mood to watch a lot of old stuff. Currently I’m watching the old tv show called Newhart which I vaguely remember watching when I was a kid. For some reason I find the show very comforting to watch.

There are also a bunch of classics I’ve still haven’t watched which figured I’d get out of the way while I am at it:
Dr. Strangelove
Grease
Paths of Glory
Rain Man
Spartacus
Trading Places

I think whats pushed me to start watching old movies is the lack of decent movies nowadays. Nothing I’m watching is turning out to be anything extraordinary. Where is the Apocalypse Now of today? Thats what we’re missing.

Check out the promo Channel 4 did for their Kubrick season. [Link]

If you don’t know who Kubrick is or if you haven’t watched The Shining, ignore this post.