Winners of the 81st Academy Awards

Here are the winners for some of the key awards in the recent 81st Academy Awards

Best Motion Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role: Sean Penn for Milk
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role: Kate Winslet for The Reader
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role: Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Best Achievement in Directing: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
Best Original Song: Slumdog Millionaire: A.R. Rahman, Gulzar ("Jai Ho")
Best Animated Film: WALL·E

A good movie for Valentine's Day

"Nights In Rodanthe" is one of those romantic little movies that are aimed at touching your heartstrings. Seeing that the movie is based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, you can probably tell what the story is about. Yes Nicholas Sparks is the same guy who wrote "Message In A Bottle", "The Notebook", "A Walk To Remember".


Anyway, this is not a movie to shout about. It's just a simple movie to watch while cuddling with your partner on the couch. If you're a guy, this is the movie that would make her cry on your shoulder.

The story is about how Richard Gere and Diane Lane met in a deserted beach house while a storm is brewing outside. While trapped inside the house, both of them falls in love. But like all Nicholas Spark stories, tragedy happens. Telling you anymore would spoil the story.

One great thing about the movie is the beautiful scenery and cinematography. The beach house which is central to the movie looks fantastic. And not to mention great acting by the two leads. Gere and Lane have perfect chemistry and they can still captivate the audience after all these years.


My only complain is that the movie tend to focus too much on the romance between Gere and Lane, and too little on what happens afterwards. The flashback at the end of the movie was too quick.

All in all this will not break any box office, but definitely worth watching on Valentine's Day tomorrow.

Review: Punisher: Warzone

If you are looking for lots of gore and violence, this is the movie to see. "Punisher: War Zone" has lots of over-the-top action which sometimes make it unintentionally funny.

This movie is sort of a sequel to the 2004 movie which starred Thomas Jane as the The Punisher. In the 2004 movie, Frank Castle's entire family was murdered and goes on to take revenge on the mob family who did it. In this movie, Ray Stevenson takes over the lead. And he's still being as vengeful as ever.

In the opening sequence, Punisher infiltrates a local mob dinner, and during the course of the massacre, he hideously disfigures gangster Billy Russoti. Rusotti re-surface as Jigsaw seeking revenge on Castle.

The story wasn't bad at all. But I felt that the Punisher was being portrayed too much as a mindless, violent, un-emotional killing machine. At least in the 2004 movie, the background of the character was shown to us and we sympathize with him. And give me a break with the Jigsaw character. Was he trying too hard to be like The Joker?

Overall this is just a cheesy B-movie action flick. I give it 5 out of 10 stars.

Man Shot For Talking in Cinema

Have you ever been annoyed when people start talking to each other or answering the handphone in cinemas?

Sat December 27, 2008 (CNN) - A man angry that a family was talking during a movie threw popcorn at the son and then shot the father in the arm, according to police in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

James Joseph Cialella, 29, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons violations, a police report said.

Cialella told the family sitting in front of him in the theater on Christmas Day to be quiet, police said.

An argument ensued while others at the Riverview Movie Theatre watched "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

Cialella then approached the family from the left side of the aisle and shot the father, who was not identified, as he was standing between Cialella and his family, according to the police report.

The victim was taken to Jefferson Hospital with a gunshot wound to his left arm, police said.

Cialella was carrying a Kel-Tec .380-caliber handgun clipped inside his sweatpants, police said. He was arrested and taken into custody.