Month: July 2009

Hangover

I went to see “Hangover” yesterday. That’s actually one of the films that I was waiting to see. Firstly, because I am a fan of Todd Philips comedy films (particularly, “Old School” and “Road Trip”, both of which I have probably seen a gadzillion times by now). Secondly, because the trailer was funny and promising. And, thirdly, because it’s summer time and I am all for more entertainment.

My expectations were pretty high for this film, and they were all well met. It was hilarious. Interestingly, it was funny in a different way then I expected it, but it was very funny non-the-less. The comedy was evenly distributed across the film, with a bit of build-up effect towards the end. By which time my belly was hurting and my eyes were wet of laughter.

Highly recommended, with my rating of 5 stars. Just remember, that this one is not for kids. Everyone else should watch it.

Every Which Way But Loose

Clint Eastwood has been directing too many dramas recently, so I thought I’d dig out something from the years long gone, something where he acted one of his superman roles. “Every Which Way But Loose” is one of those films.

Now, I don’t have much to compare this film to, because it’s from the year 1978, and I was only born in 1978. But it has more packed into it than most of the action films I’ve seen during my childhood – fist fights, biker gangs, corrupt police, exotic animals, car chases, and a true friendship and a true love with a broken heart.

Of course, now this film looks way aged and most of the special effects cause no reaction but a smile. But if I saw this in the 80’s, I guess I’d be all over this film. And even in these modern days, I’ll give it a 4 stars rating. Not bad at all.

Changeling

I deliberately avoided going to the cinema to see “Changeling“. Why? Because, I probably knew too much about it and whatever I didn’t know, I assumed. What I knew was that this film was a drama about missing children, directed by one of the most dramatic directors ever – Clint Eastwood, and starring Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich. While I do appreciate drama, it’s had for me sometimes to take all the sadness in the film, especially when there is a beautiful woman who is sad.

With missing children somewhere in the story, I thought, it was almost guaranteed that Angelina Jolie would be sad for a significant chunk of the screen time. That’s hard to watch on its own. Multiply that by Clint Eastwood’s directing, and add to that John Malkovich, who is a sort of actor that can multiply anything happening on the screen ten-folds, and the result would be something so sad that it would border with depressing. That’s why I was trying to avoid this film a bit. But I knew that I’d watch it anyway. And so I did.

This film is a beautiful piece of art. It is an interesting, slowly unfolding, story. It’s an authentic look back at Los Angeles during 1920-1930’s. It’s an excellent cast, with some really talented actors. And its an excellent directorship.

It is a sad movie, yes. But not as sad as I thought it would be. It is in sad in a very sensible way. Plus, it gives a lot to think about. The film brings topics of family, humanity, social responsibility and bureaucracy.

Overall, highly recommended. My rating: 5 stars.

Résumé vs. Curriculum Vitae

While searching for a correct spelling of the word “résumé“, I ended up reading Wikipedia, where I found an interesting clarification of the difference between curriculum vitae (aka CV) and résumé:

A curriculum vitae (loosely translated as course of life) provides an overview of a person’s life and qualifications. It differs from a résumé in that it is appropriate for academic or medical careers and is far more comprehensive. A CV elaborates on education to a greater degree than a résumé. A résumé is tailor-made according to the post applied for. It is job-oriented and goal specific. One of the key characteristics of a proper résumé is conciseness.

Also, here is the bit on how to write it properly, from the same page:

Curriculum vitae is Latin meaning “course of life” and résumé is French meaning “summary”. In the business world, the word résumé, also spelled resumé and resume, is used in the United States and in English Canada. Curriculum vitae and “CV” are used in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and New Zealand in all contexts, with résumé having very little currency.

and

The term curriculum vitae means “course of life” in Latin. While it is appropriate to write either curriculum vitae or just vita, it is incorrect to use the phrase curriculum vita, the form vitae being the genitive of vita. The plural of curriculum vitae is curricula vitae.

Hmm.

Ice Age : Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Just came back from the cinema, where Maxim and I watched “Ice Age : Dawn of the Dinasours” – the third film of the series.

While we had good time and enjoyed it, there is nothing much I can say about this part – same good animation, some new characters and some old ones, A light story, a few good morales about family and friendship values. It’s a work of good quality, but without much of a spark to it. Recommended for family selection and kids.

Overall rating – 4 stars, good.