THE HOAX

"THE HOAX"(2006/U.S.A)
Synopsis
Early in 1971, McGraw-Hill passes on Clifford Irving's new novel. He's desperate for money, so, against the backdrop of Nixon's reelection calculations, Irving claims he has Howard Hughes's cooperation to write Hughes's autobiography. With the help of friend Dick Suskind, Irving does research, lucks into a manuscript written by a long-time Hughes associate, and plays on corporate greed. He's quick-thinking and outrageously bold. Plus, he banks on Hughes's reluctance to enter the public eye. At the same time, he's trying to rebuild his marriage and deflect the allure of his one-time mistress, Nina Van Pallandt. Can he write a good book, take the money, and pull off the hoax?


Clifford's lie became larger gradually, and it was no longer to get onto the reclaim.
He was able to deceive people around him because of his knowledge of Hughes' background and he also tried to behave and think like Hughes for his success of writing an autobiography. His lies were going to be exposed several times, but he managed to avoid them. He had been involved in the world of his lies hence the inability to distinguish fiction from reality. He seemed like a mythomaniac.
But I thought he did not tell a lie at all. There were many facts in his book.
In addition, the issue of political contributions to President Nixon which was in the document Clifford got from an unknown person led to the Watergate scandal and so this scene had the ring of truth. Hughes wanted the downfall of Nixon, so that documents might have been Hughes' gimmick trap.
Clifford was going to deceive Hughes, but in fact he was deceived by Hughes. He might be a only chess piece for an execution of a large conspiracy involving politics.
Although this movie was based on the true story, I didn't know which part of the movie was true.
Anyway there were humor and thrill in this movie, so I enjoyed it very much.


My rating:★★★

THE ARTIST

"THE ARTIST"(2011/France)
Synopsis
Hollywood 1927. George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a silent movie superstar. The advent of the talkies will sound the death knell for his career and see him fall into oblivion. For young extra Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), it seems the sky's the limit - major movie stardom awaits. The Artist tells the story of their interlinked destinies.

This movie won an Academy Award Best Picture this year in Oscars.
At first I wondered why this movie won the said award, but after watching it, I have realized the reason.
Many of the recent movie have a complicated stories and make full use of a latest 3D technology.
"The Artist" is a silent film and the story is very simple, but I think these elements give a strong impression to the audience.
I also think that in a silent film or the classic film,  actors and the actresses appear to be more attractive when it is compare with a full-color movie,maybe because we can notice only their actions and body languages.We cant hear any dialogue so our attention is drawn to their action and physical appearances.
I think everything in this movie is so fresh to the audience.
There are two additional important things that I want to bring up about this movie.

First is that you can enjoy watching the costumes in Hollywood of the 1930s.
Second is that we can be surely entertained by the dog named Uggie as Jack,as one of the most imnportant characters in the film.

My rating :★★★

CARNAGE

"CARNAGE"(2011/France/Germany/Spain/Poland)
Synopsis
In Brooklyn Bridge Park, eleven year old Zachary Cowan strikes his eleven year old classmate Ethan Longstreet across the face with a stick after an argument. Among the more serious of Ethan's injuries is a permanently missing tooth and the possibility of a second tooth also being lost. Their respective parents learn of the altercation through Ethan's parents questioning him about his injuries. The Longstreet parents invite the Cowan parents to their Brooklyn apartment to deal with the incident in a civilized manner. They are: Penelope Longstreet, whose idea it was to invite the Cowans, she whose priorities in life include human rights and justice; Michael Longstreet, who tries to be as accommodating as possible to retain civility in any situation; Nancy Cowan, a nervous and emotionally stressed woman; and Alan Cowan, who is married more to his work as evidenced by the attachment he has to his cell phone and taking work calls at the most inopportune times.

Two pairs of the parents met to talk in a civilized manner. They tried to understand each other's situation, but to be honest, they thought that the incident was not their son's fault each other. 
At first, they talked gently, but they were distracted by other couple's thoughts and attitude gradually, and finally, they directed their anger to their own partner.
I know it happen very well. So that was why they could not succeeded in their ideal talk.
The highlight of the movie is a performance of  splendid actors. 
Especially Christoph Waltz who is acted as Alan Cowans, has a biting tongue and his acting is so funny!　He seems to be a typical American who has a high academic career. 
I could not stop myself from laughing aloud!
This movie is based on the play by French playwright Yasumina Reza.
It must be so fun if I can watch the story by live on the stage!

My rating: ★★★★

JOHN CARTER

"JOHN CARTER"(2012/U.S.A.)
Synopsis
John Carter, a Civil War veteran who in 1868 was trying to live a normal life, is "asked" by the Army to join. But he refuses so he is locked up. He escapes and is pursued. Eventually they run into some Indians and there's a gunfight. Carter seeks refuge in a cave. While there he encounters someone who is holding some kind of medallion. When Carter touches it, he finds himself in a place where he can leap incredible heights, among other things. He later encounters beings he has never seen before. Later he meets a woman who helps him to discover that he is on Mars. And he learns there's some kind of unrest going on.

The original novel of this movie is a masterpiece of Edgar Rice Burroughs  written 100 years ago.
His amazing novels had a big influence on George Lucas who directed "Star Wars" and James Cameron who directed "Avatar".
Some film companies and directors had been trying to make this movie "John Carter" for many years. But, they don't have any technique to realize the fantastic world of Burroughs' faithfully.
Lucas released  "Star Wars"  series and got many fans all over the world  before "John Carter" was made. Lucas might have an image of Burroughs' world in his own films.
So when I saw the"John Carter"movie,  I can see the image of "Star Wars"-like some characters,  a circumstance of hero's world, and a story itself of course.
 The audience was not able to find fresh discovery and impression by this movie.
I was disappointed by it because I liked the novel of Burroughs.

Burroughs had written "Barsoom series"  more than ten episodes. I really hope that his story will be filmed again, but accoding to Walt Disney films, "John Carter"  did not make it on the box office,  so I don't think that they will make the sequel soon.

And, I think if they will try to make a movie of this series again, they should make an animated version of "John Carter"  for children, because Walt Disney has been given children a dream with their inimitatable aminations!

My rating:　★★

PERFECT SENSE

"PERFECT SENSE"(2011/U.K.)
Synopsis
An odd epidemic appears across the globe: people suddenly lose one of their senses. At first, it's an outbreak of loss of smell. It's often presaged by a destructive temper tantrum. In this mix are a scientist and a chef - she's Susan, one of a team trying to understand the epidemic; he's Michael, charming and engaging. Susan and Michael begin a relationship in the middle of increasing chaos, as the loss of other senses plagues more people and as civil authorities try to maintain order. Susan's voice-over reflections provide insight. Is love possible in such a changed world? Can anything make perfect sense?

One day people lost their sense of smell by an unidentified virus. They panicked at one time however they still tried to manage to act in a normal circumstance.

When Michael and Susan were walking in the park,they saw a performer whose dance let them remember what was having sense of smell like..

The scene is the park was the most impressive for me because it showed how the sense smell is connected to our memory.

This  pandemic disease didn't stop and later on people lost also their sense of taste.

They refused to go to the restaurant because they couln't enjoy tasting delicious dish at all.

When we lose one of our senses,it seems that other senses become more sensitive.

In other words,we can lose one sense but at the same time other senses can become stronger.

In this movie, people lost their senses of smell, taste and hear.They felt extreme loneliness however they found out that people's warmth were more important.

At the end of the movie,people lost also their sense of sight and darkness was  starting to fill their surrounding.
I dont have a clear vision what would happen after the story, but I think inspite of losing every sense that each person has, they will still continue to hold on with their family's , partner's, and friend's warmth.

My rating:　★★★