CinemaFunk

The unconventional and unconditional love of a mother.

Mother is one of many films that have trumped Hollywood in providing original stories to audiences. With a dark, ethereal aura that sprinkles dark comedy gracefully over the film's crime drama plot, this film is a gem that should be promoted alongside the bulk of South Korea's best cinematic exports.

Mother begins with Mother (and will be referred to as Mother) (Kim Hye-ja) dancing in a field, as if there is not a minute kilogram of weight on her shoulders. The next scene we see the same Mother chopping spices, finding her song, Do-joon (Won Bin) being almost run over, and runs to his rescue, yet he is fine, unharmed, slightly embarrassed by her coddling.

Do-joon is a shy, easily manipulated, and somewhat handicapped young twenty-something who has become the prime suspect in the death of a young high school girl. He is tricked into signing a confession and at most, may find himself serving time in a hospital for mentally-ill. Do-joon's Mother refuses to believe that her child could ever perform such an at and chooses to find the killer herself.

The importance of The Runaways is lost in this film.

The Runaways begins with Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) dreaming of being a Bowie-like clone and Joan Jett bluntly (Kristen Stewart) approaches record producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) to help assist her in forming an all-female rock group. As Currie joins the band to complete the formation and with a little help from Fowley, the group is finely polished into a marketable gimmick.

After paying their dues locally, the band begins to tour, and later find themselves touring Japan. As with all rags-to-riches rock 'n roll stories, drug addiction, jealousy, and business create enough tension to tear the band apart.

There was obviously something very important about The Runaways, particularly during the time in which they arose to fame, yet this film captures none of that. The only link between the band and their importance as cultural figures was within the dialogue of Fowley—who is the only one who understands how to push the gimmick to glory. Director and scriptwriter Floria Sigismondi took the typical rock 'n roll story and instead of showing the true cultural changes that the band had induced into popular music.

Ain't 'fraid of no ghost.

It rare for a major motion picture to be released while the director remains in custody; this custody may have added to the political strife that is featured in The Ghost Writer. This Roman Polanski 2010 political thriller is a first for the troubled director, yet features many of the traditional Polanski signatures that have made him a major figure in cinema for six decades.

An unnamed protagonist (will be referred to as Ghost) (Ewan McGregor) is hired to pick up where the previous ghost writer left of on former British Prime Minister Adam Lang's (Pierce Brosnan) memoirs. The previous ghost writer was found dead and washed ashore. Ghost is invited to a secure home where he continues to work on the memoirs with the Minster's assistant, (Kim Cattrall) and his wife (Olivia Williams).

News of rumors about Langs's illegal activities regarding suspected terrorists creates a stir among peace protesters and prevents Lang from returning to the UK. Ghost begins to find clues left by the previous ghost writer that point towards many of the secret allegations that have surrounded Lang.

Charmingly Comedic

The heist gone wrong story is timeless. Even more timeless is The Lavender Hill Mob. A British comedy directed by Charles Crichton (A Fish Called Wanda), the The Lavender Hill Mob has a slow, early plot points that take on appreciated value as the films moves along, particularly with the ending.

Mr. Holland (Alec Guinness) has been directing gold bullion deliveries for over 20 years and has become a fixture at his London bank. His neurotic work habits develop a keen eye on the details of how the gold in formed into bars and to safely deliver gold ingots each day.

Mr. Holland meets Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway) who owns a foundry. When Mr. Holland realizes that the steps involved in making Pendlebury's Eiffel Tower souvenirs is exactly the same as to make gold ingots the two concoct a plan to steal and smuggle the gold in a hilarious and charming heist that almost goes right.