Rama's Screen

The rom-com version of Crash has arrived! Director Garry Marshall who brought us Pretty Woman and The Princess Diaries compiles… Read the rest of this entry »

DEAR JOHN is the sweet, heartbreaking, romantic drama of the year. Where love is put to the test through separation, war, and the touch choices we make. It’s safe to say that this movie is this decade’s The Notebook. DEAR JOHN is quite possibly… Read the rest of this entry »

Whoa! This is a great movie. It’s not cinematic, it’s not a mindblowing popcorn thriller flick or a heavy provocative drama that will floor you, it’s not an Oscar worthy piece of work either, no VFX or elaborate set design but this is a must-see for every teen out there struggling with confidence, relationship, and frustrations about life… Read the rest of this entry »

EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES is an inspiring drama that’s more than just about a father’s mission to save his children. With typical performances from Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser, the ‘business & medicine vs. pride & politics’ story does live up to the title when often times… Read the rest of this entry »

WONDERFUL WORLD is simply wonderful. It’s a little great movie with a story that may be familiar but it has its own heart, laugh, tears, and melody. Matthew Broderick’s self-pity performance as a has-been musician may not be as powerful as Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart but Broderick brings his own calming yet irritating senses to his character. In a world where… Read the rest of this entry »

Director Terry Gilliam has done it again. Let yourself be carried away in the universe that Gilliam has created for us behind the mirror where your fears and fantasies come to life in a thousand peculiar forms. THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS is magical, hypnotic, and dazzling. Heath Ledger’s final performance… Read the rest of this entry »

My goodness, I never took Colin Firth for a great actor until A SINGLE MAN came along. There are 2 winners in this film, Firth’s towering performance and Edward Grau’s masterful cinematography. American fashion Designer turned director Tom Ford has crafted a much calmer, more hypnotic Brokeback Mountain of his own with this heartbreaking adaptation.

Set in Los Angeles in 1962, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis, “A Single Man” is the story of George Falconer, a 52 year old British college professor (Colin Firth) who is struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). George dwells on the past and cannot see his future as we follow him through a single day, where a series of events and encounters, ultimately leads him to decide if there is a meaning to life after Jim. George is consoled by his closest friend Charley (Julianne Moore), a 48 year old beauty who is wrestling with her own questions about the future. A young student of George’s, Kenny (Nicholas Hoult), who is coming to terms with his true nature, stalks George as he feels in him a kindred spirit. “A Single Man” is a romantic tale of love interrupted, the isolation that is an inherent part of the human condition, and ultimately the importance of the seemingly smaller moments in life.

The shots taken for this film are absolutely incredible and I don’t necessarily mean it breathtaking as it is about giving a sense of solitude and beauty and art. A SINGLE MAN successfully captures the loss of a loved one unlike anything that has been stereotyped on the big screen before because not only does it deal with a lover’s death but in the case of Julianne Moore’s character, it also deals with her losing and not being able to reclaim the only man she’s ever had eyes for.

I can’t say enough, A SINGLE MAN is Colin Firth’s finest hour. This is his Raging Bull and The Wrestler at the same time, the once in a lifetime achievement that deserves recognition. Firth is daring and comical, he’s emotional, fierce and vulnerable. The Brit thesp has found his gem. As George, he tries to live a day with the thought of maybe, just maybe he can go through it one last time before he pulls the trigger, not even Charley’s attempt can convince him otherwise, not even the idea of a possible new lover can convince him otherwise. I see this movie as an excellent character study, how a man finds it hard to get back from such a loss, how it takes a while for any of us to get over that one significant other, how a replacement doesn’t come that easy, especially when the story is set in a time when such a lifestyle may have been looked down upon.
A SINGLE MAN is going to go down as one of the most under-appreciated films ever made, starring one of the most appreciated, well-deserved performances you’ll ever see.

* Place the cursor on the image below to check my grade for this film

Pedro Almodovar has complete confidence in his go-to girl Penelope Cruz who’s absolutely radiant and captivating in BROKEN EMBRACES, a drama of love, jealousy, rage, that digs up the past as part of the healing process. The story is… Read the rest of this entry »

Lie for Italian! NINE is sexy, elaborate, and ravishing. Just as Marty Scorsese is a master of gangster flicks, Rob Marshall lives and breathes musical, NINE is just another evidence that this is what he does best. Daniel Day-Lewis is… Read the rest of this entry »

To say that CRAZY HEART is like The Wrestler is not an overstatement, in fact, this drama by director Scott Cooper is in so many ways much like Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler. The character, the themes, but this one has music and… Read the rest of this entry »