Mongolian Ping Pong: beauty of simplicity

Looking at these kids playing with the "magic pearl," you would probably wonder how their ancestors once conquered one third of the world and established the greatest empire in history.

This movie struck you with a component that is rarely appreciated in Hollywood films: simplicity. These Chinese filmmakers effortlessly prove that drama is not a required factor in a movie to touch the soft spot of your heart.

Above all, it does not romanticize the childhood. A child is not a tiny version of an adult, and hence adults can never quite capture the essense of childhood unless they let children lead the way in a story like this.

Piano Teacher: Against all Rules

Make sure that you are ready to witness the weirdest sex scene in the fim history. "Piano Teacher (La Pianista)" is a journey worth any risk for any bold moviegoer.

This is no doubt a love story, because love is the only theme for this movie. However, you may be shocked to see it if you are expecting romantic and joyful components in the name of love.

The protagonist (played by Isabella Huppert) is a seasoned musician who has had twisted conceptulization about love. She thought the only way to avoid pain and hurt is to take full control of a relationship. She refused to be seduced in order to be in charge of her new relationship with a young man, but eventually she still failed miserably.

You could decipher the story with gender issues, or you could simply look at this story with an angle of darkness and violence inherent of love. Isabella Huppert has done a tremendous job to portrait this archanely tragedic character. Ripping off the beautiful outfits of love, what else is left for us? For those suffering for love, you may find different messages and inspirations after seeing this movie.

Lord of the War

I watched "Lord of the War" twice before my vacation. It was definitely not because I was crazy about this movie. The story was both disturbing and appealing in that the story was not preaching about what is right and wrong. I guess the message conveyed from this movie is about "truth."

It is sometimes painful to see, hear, and even embrace the truth. Who can say out loud that legal weapons are less evil than illegal weapons? The lord of the war may not be limited to the tyrants Western media try to portrait. The evidence shows that the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (who are all nuclear powers) have joint the gang of warlords that export weapons to the third world for a long time.

In the end of "Lord of the War," the arm dealer (played by Nicholas Cage) was set free. I guess this pretty much depicts what is happening in the world. We can do nothing about it but to pray that we can live in our safe and naive place for the rest of our lives.

Into The West

The movie "Into the West" is a classical tear-jerker.
A dead mother's soul continued to protect her children. A man chose to exile after his beloved wife passed away. And, you’ve got a grandpa who could tell a mythical story symbolizing eternity.

The movie was set in Ireland, where you can easily feel melancholy without any knowledge about the story. However, the tension between Irish travelers vs. the modern society was depicted in a flat tone. The filmmakers did not bother to put more layers on either side of characters. Yes, you probably already guessed what I am going to say next.

Nevertheless, I still enjoy seeing this movie. It fairly coveys some romantic ideas about life and love, which may be impractical but precious in this cynical world.

So, you may still want to check out this lovely story, and then think about having a trip to Ireland someday as I did :)

Click the following picture to see the clip:

Iliad (Troy)- the best story of all times

Usually some brilliant indie movies are underrated underdawgs. However, some made-in-Hollywood movies with A-list actors can be underrated as well. Wolfgan Petersons' "TROY (2004)" is one of the examples.

I first read the story of "Iliad" when I was about 10 years old. It totally blew my mind away when I entered the world of the Trojan war where you could see the fights between Greek Gods, Godesses, superheroes and human beings. It was a breath-taking journey. The name of Achilles was like a tatoo on my childhood dream. A superhero who was a son of God Zeus and sea nymph Thetis -- how cool was that!



It's really risky to have Brad Pitt and the new heartthrob Orlando Boom in an epic film like "Troy." Beautiful actors are tricky assets in a movie project where the story is supposed to be the focus. Although it's painful to watch Orlando Boom saying his lines on the big screen, I am not denying Brad Pitt is a talented actor. However, Brad Pitt is not quite cut out for a legendary figure of ancient times. Fortunately, Eric Bana's performance was adorable and convincing.

Wolfgan Peterson removed the religious parts of the original story, and added more humanity to the movie. I think this is the right decision. The movie kept its decency in everything we look for in an epic film. However, this movie did not get as much attention as it deserved, partly because this is a story already being told millions of times; or maybe moviegoers are expecting to see a sandal-and-sword epic film passing the bar raised by "Gladiator."

The unforgettable fight between Achilles and Hector: