(500) Days Of Summer (2009)

At a glance:
Offbeat, dreamy and soundtrack-charged while amazingly maintainin a healthy distance from the dreaded teen genre we've come to loathe, this movie is a success story of sorts. Firstly, it walloped the sixth Harry Potter movie on a per-theatre basis when it went on limited release in the U.S. back in July. Then, there's multi-talented Zooey Deschanel (pic) who recently tied the knot (somethin her character found very difficult to do in the movie). Seems like everythin surroundin this gem of a date movie simple oozes positivity, down to the blue-centric colour palette used in the movie to bring out Deschanel's eyes! Told out of order with title cards to denote which days out of the titular 500 did the lovers do what, (500) Days Of Summer takes us through a serendipitous romance that is not so much witty as it is silly - but the winsome pairin of Deschanel with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (pic) as a suitor is at once disarmin and completely engagin. The male character Tom goes through courtship hell with his crush Summer, as we watch them through 95 clumsy but meaningful minutes of shower sex, Ikea shoppin and Brit pop discussions. There's even a delightful Bollywood-style musical sequence like what Toby Maguire did in Spider-Man 3.
Bad news on the doorstep:
Some elements took some shine away from the experience - plenty of tame humour and extended periods of pointless inactivity that could've been omitted. The assurin narrator who started us off on the story doesn't return to send us off on a happy endin either.
Reminds me of:
Walkin around Ikea with a male friend of mine after watchin Serendipity at 1 Utama. Gay.
Watch out for:
If you're watchin this in Malaysia, the word "penis" is cut from the park rendezvous, in case you're wonderin what that whole scene was about.
Most memorable line:
Aha! To protect you, I can't say.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
Four stars. A strong finish. Prevailin social sentiments on contemporary romance elevate the movie from inoffensive to memorable. Some may wish there were 500 more of them days.

Edmond (2005)

Mena Suvari, the essential whore.
Always with directions to the closest ATM.

At a glance:
Somewhat a more twisted revisit of Michael Douglas in Falling Down (1993), this time its all about gettin laid and nobody does a less convincin job that the character actor William H. Macy (pic) in his role as a look-what-you-made-me-do Edmond Burke. Chronicled in the course of one long night, our fumblin anti-hero leaves his wife abruptly and goes downtown on a mission to wet his wick but the bizarre and surreal soon drives him to murder, although you don't really think it's anyone's fault. Seems like that's the message - an ordinary middle-class man carryin his white man burden to Trouble Town.

William H Macy talks money with Bai Ling.

Bad news on the doorstep:
It's just a little short of bein a thinkin man's horror movie. Meanin, it's for film students.
Reminds me of:
American Psycho (2000) and those Lynch movies. William H. Macy's bedroom scenes still bring back the horrors of havin caught a glimpse of his unsightly knob in The Cooler (2003). Not a pleasant experience.
Watch out for:
Mena Suvari (pic) as a whore, Bai Ling as a stripper and Julia Stiles as a waitress whom Edmond takes home.
Most memorable line:
William H. Macy goes "that's too much" every time he hears the price for a score. It's an amusin refrain because his character has principles, just like the protagonists in Herman Yau movies.
Amacam joker, berapa bintang lu mau kasi?
If I do get it, which I think I do, then it's gotta be ★★ stars because there's gotta be a neater and cleaner way to present this. If I don't get it, it's ★★★★ alright!