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a dramatic retelling of the post-watergate television interviews between british talk-show host david frost and former president richard nixon - not too keen at first. i have heard of 'watergate' but have no idea what it was all about. i have never heard of nixon's successor or other US prez save some - and he's one of them. see, i knew richard nixon was 'famous' for a reason!
the way this movie was presented kept me glued on. it began with how the prez was forced to resigned by a 'liberal america'. a narrator always interests me to a movie and this movie has the actors playing 'real people' giving their testimony on what had ensued that leads up to the most famous, highest rating tv interview of all time.
david frost interviewing president nixon.
one scene showed the two teams hard at work - polishing their facts, acted out the possible responses from the other team and strategies their questions and answers - just like preparing for a debate or a trial.
when they arrived at the interview set, both parties looked set to battle. nixon's lawyers stared on before moving into their room, while frost's team reciprocate with a confident look. it was as if they arrived for a hearing at a court.
at another point, nixon's chief of staff (played by kevin bacon) comforted nixon during a shooting break during the interview as if he had just finished a boxing round with the tv show host frost.
a debate, a trial, a boxing match - a duel. "no-holds-barred".
if malaysia were to have this kind of one-on-one, just to make a politician admit his mistakes, or his wrong decisions that cost him the trust and faith of his rakyat, wonder which talk show host or newscaster would be able to twist and turn his ways in exchange for a humble apology?
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A was just a CIA analyst. A wrote a memoir. meanwhile D and E found A's memoir and thought that it's some CIA "s**t" so off to blackmail A. A didn't want to pay so D and E went to sell it to the russians. D went to A's house for some more CIA stuff but was shot dead by C who's sleeping with A's wife. C thought that D is a CIA agent out to get him. at the same time, C is also sleeping with E but E didn't know that C is involved with A's wife and has shot dead her friend, D. when E confided in C about her 'missing' friend D and that they're blackmailing A, C went paranoid, thinking E is in on it too!
it's all a big, comedic messy mayhem!
the conclusion of the story is the icing on the cake and the cherry on top of the whipped cream - you just gotta see it!
oh, please - just to see how freaking hillarious brad pitt is in his role. you have to love him in this one. bravo!
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do you ever think about death?
what if you knew you're gonna die, you finally reserve to the fact, dealt with it and was so prepared to go - and then you fell in love, and the only thing you want to do was live forever with this person you fell in love with?
this is the underlying conflict of seven pounds that touched me so much.
if you didn't know what the whole story is about, you might be lost in the first huge hours of the movie as you trying to figure out why this will smith character is going around meeting strangers who all have one thing in common - they're in need of an organ.
ok for those of you planning to watch it, do not read further as i might be spoiling the pleasure of crying your eyes out for the ending -
the most heart-breaking part was not when he donated his spleen. or during the tender moments he had with the girl he fell in love with. it was when he called his best friend before his final moments.
will smith: "dan....it's time. i love you." phone immediately switched off.
and his best friend breaks down. and cries uncontrolably.
there's nothing like the love shared between close friends. especially in the brink of death.
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it's a story about boys. like in a boarding school. they had teachers, exams, and was divided into tasks, even get expelled. they experienced encounters with the opposite sex, share stories and private jokes. the students - there were the obvious leaders, the i-don't-give-a-damn type, the scareddy cat, the nerd and the trouble-maker.
the only difference is - the students were all on a ship, or here, a schooner, during a summer school sailing trip. and instead of a principal, they have a captain whom they called 'skipper'.
it's based on a true story happening circa 1960's.
they learned valuable lessons in life - leadership, facing your fear, accepting responsibility and of course, a lesson in friendship. these analysed points were given by mr. khairul who was a boarding school kid himself. i'm sure it was a walk down memory lane watching the plight of these boys throughout this unforgetable experience. the early morning wake-up call, the not-so-tasty canteen food, the bullying, and the growing spirit of camaraderie.
the ending is a reminiscing of the end-scene from 'the dead poet society' - a father-figure changes the life of this group of young men, he faces adversary, fought against by his peers, seems to be defeated but the group of young men rise and offer him their utmost respect.
a white squall is a sudden, violent storm phenomena at sea - and from there you might guess what their biggest adventure and challenge was, that would change their lives forever.
*this is an old movie, so have fun spotting the young talents like ryan phillipe and scott wolf amongst the cast.
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alright. this is it with me and movies for the time being. i'm gonna hit the books now. my prrrrrrecious have been abandoned for quite some time now...
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