City Of Life And Death 南京！南京！

Released Year: 2008
Directed by 陆川 Lu Chuan

Casted by:
刘烨 Liu Ye as 陸劍雄 Lu JiangXiong
高圆圆 Gao YuanYuan as 姜淑雲 Jiang ShuYun
范伟 Fan Wei as 唐天祥 Mr Tang
中泉英雄 Hideo Nakaizumi as 角川 Kadokawa
秦岚 Qin Lan as 唐周氏 Mrs Tang
江一燕 Jiang YiYan as 江香君 Xiao Jiang
宫本裕子 as 百合子 Yuriko
木幡龍 Ryu Kohata as 伊田修 Ida
劉斌 Liu Bin as 小豆子 Xiao DouZhi
John Paisely as John Rabe
Beverly Peckous as Minnie Vautrin
Story:

City of Life and Death takes place in 1937, shortly after the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Imperial Japanese Army has just captured the capital of the Republic of China, Nanking. What followed is now known as the Nanking Massacre, a period of several weeks wherein massive numbers of Chinese prisoners of war and civilians were killed.

After some KMT commanders of the National Revolutionary Army flee Nanking, a Chinese Nationalist KMT soldier, Lu Jianxiong and fellow soldier Zhao attempt to stop a fleeing group of troops from leaving the city, but as they exit the city gates, they are captured by Japanese Imperial troops that have surrounded the city.

As the Japanese search the city, a Japanese soldier named Masao Kadokawa and other troops are raided by Lu and a small unit of KMT regular and irregular soldiers who attack from building tops. However, they are eventually forced to surrender as more Japanese troops arrive. Lu is captured and all the soldiers are marched out to the beach to be killed in a mass execution. Afterwards, Zhao finds Lu dead, but also sees that Xiaodouzi, a young boy soldier, has survived. Both of them flee to the Nanking Safety Zone run Dr. John Rabe, a German business man and Nazi party member as well as other Westerners. In this safety zone, thousands of Chinese women, children, elderly men, and wounded soldiers seek refuge from the killing. The safety zone is forcefully entered several times by bands of Japanese soldiers intent on raping female refugees. Due to the repeated intrusions, the women are forced to cut their hair and dress like men in order to avoid being raped. Xiaojiang, an attractive prostitute refuses to do so saying that she needs to keep her hair in order to feed herself.

Meanwhile, Kadokawa develops feelings for a Japanese comfort woman named Yuriko, and struggles to come to terms with the omnipresent violence around him with his own conflicting impulses. Despite his feelings of alienation, Kadokawa brings Yuriko candy and gifts from Japan and vows to marry her after the war.

Mr. Tang, a longtime assistant to Rabe, and Ms. Jiang Shuyun, a young female teacher, manage the daily operation of the safety zone. Although in a privileged position, Mr. Tang is unable to protect his child daughter from being killed by a Japanese soldier, and his sister-in-law from being raped. When the Japanese commander Osamu Ida requires 100 female refuges to work as "comfort women", Dr. Rabe and Ms. Jiang tearfully make the announcement to the refugees. Xiaojiang and other attractive women volunteer to be comfort women.

Kadokawa meets Xiojiang and brings her rice but witnesses another soldier rape her as she lies almost lifeless. Later, many of the volunteer comfort women including Xiaojiang die due to the non-stop rape (non-fictional event which happened at Ginling College, Nanjing). Kadokawa feels further alienated when Ida shoots Mr. Tang's sister in-law May who has apparently lost her mind singing opera.

Dr. Rabe is ordered back to Germany because his activities with the safety zone are harming the relationship between Nazi Germany and Japan. As a personal assistant to Rabe, Tang and his wife are allowed to leave Nanjing with Rabe. Although Tang is about to leave, he changes his mind and stays in order to search for May. He trades places with an officer pretending to be Dr. Rabe's assistant which Ida allows despite knowing he is actually a soldier. Mrs. Tang's is revealed to be pregnant before saying goodbye. As soon as Mrs. Tang and Rabe leave, Ida orders Tang shot by firing squad.

The Japanese disband the safety zone and begin to hunt down any men that look like soldiers. The Japanese claim that soldiers should come forward promising work and pay and will not be executed. However, all males deemed to be soldiers are put in a truck to be executed. Zhao, the soldier who survived the initial mass execution, is physically checked along with his hands and is initially deemed to be a non-combatant, but is noticed by a Japanese soldier and gets put in the truck of men believed to be soldiers.

After a plea is made by the remaining Westerners, Ida allows family members to select one male to be saved. Ms. Jiang rescues one male by claiming that he is her husband and then returns for Zhao. She also tries to claims him as her husband along with Xiaodouzi pretending to be his son. Kadokawa looks straight at Ms. Jiang but does not reveal her ruse. However, another Japanese soldier points her out to Ida and has all three of them captured. Zhao is again taken away along with Xiaodouzi this time. Ms. Jiang, knowing that she may be raped to death asks Kadokawa to shoot her. He grants her wish and shoots her much to the other soldiers' surprise.

Afterwards, Kadokawa looks for Yuriko but finds out that she has died traveling with the Japanese troops who have left Nanking. He says the she was his wife at one point. Celebrating the conquest of Nanking, the Japanese perform a dance where Kadokawa reveals his emotional turmoil over what he has done and witnessed.

Zhao and Xiaodouzi are marched out of town by Kadokawa and another soldier. Zhao and Xiaodouzi are surprised when Kadokawa releases them. Kadokawa tells the other soldier that "Life is more difficult than death." As the other Japanese soldier walks away, Kadokawa weeps before shooting himself to escape from his guilt. Zhao and Xioadouzi walk away delighted to still be alive.

In the ending credits, it is revealed that Mrs. Tang lived to an old age as well as Commander Ida. Xiaodouzi is shown to still be alive today.

L² Scored: 7.5/10

L² Comment:

Awards winner in San Sebastian Film Festival 2009 in Spain, the director and actors are nominated in few other awards as well. Lu Chuan cleverly chose to film this movie in black and white which match the scenery, sadness of this movie.

By the way, this japanese hot stud Hideo Nakaizumi is definitely hot :)

Shaolin 新少林寺

Released Year: 2011
Directed by 陳木勝 Benny Chan

Casted by:
劉德華 Andy Lau as 侯傑 Jie
謝霆鋒 Nicholas Tse as 曹蛮 Man
成龍 Jackie Chan as 悟道 Dao
范冰冰 Fan BingBing as 颜夕 Yan
吳京 Wu Jing as 净能 Neng
释延能 Shi Yan Neng as 净空 Kong
Story:

Jie is a violence lieutenant who never let his rival survive and he is the head of Man, Man was trained to be as cool as Jie in war. Jie and Yan has a daughter, but their daughter was killed during a fight between Jie and his brotherhood. Jie managed to send his daughter to Shaolin temple but failed to save her life, Yan was frustrated and left Jie.

In Shaolin, Jie noted the truth of a living from Dao and decided to become a monk and stay in Shaolin temple. Though Jie had has a fight with Neng and other monks before, but everything become well when they realise that Jie has changed into a better person.

In the meanwhile, Man has took over Jie's place in the arm force and become more cruel than Jie. Man came to Shaolin temple and decided to catch Jie. Man also caught Yan and torture her in front of Jie. But while they are fighting each other, the caucasian came and attack the temple with bomb. The shaolin monks protect the citizen while Dao was told to lead them away. Man and Jie fight and in the end Jie died because he wanted to save Man.

Man realise the horror of war and decided to stop in the end.

L² Scored: 8.5/10

L² Comment:

A remake of the same shaolin film in 1982, this is definitely much more better. The bombing part and all others things are so real, even Andy, Nicholas and Jackie make a good show in this movie, bravo :)

Love Nicholas' style and the way he looks in the movie, so cool and so dangerous~ nice

The Tourist

Released Year: 2010
Directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Casted by:
Johnny Depp as Frank Tupelo/Alexander Pearce
Angelina Jolie as Elise Clifton-Ward
Paul Bettany as Inspector John Acheson
Timothy Dalton as Chief Inspector Jones
Story:

A woman named Elise is being trailed in Paris by French police working with Scotland Yard. At a cafe, she receives a letter from Alexander Pearce, a former lover, with explicit directions to board a train to Venice, Italy, pick out a man who resembles him and make the police believe that this man is Alexander Pearce. A mysterious stranger, not involved with the police, also seems to be watching Elise. Elise burns the letter and boards a train.

She takes a seat beside Frank, an American tourist reading a spy novel. Frank is instantly attracted to her. The train arrives in Venice, and they take a boat to the Hotel Danieli. At dinner, much to Frank's dismay, Elise admits to having feelings for another man, presumably Alexander Pearce. They share a kiss, witnessed by the men following her.

The next day, Frank awakens to find Elise gone. Men suddenly try to break into the hotel room. Frank barely escapes but is caught by the Italian police. A sympathetic detective listens to Frank's story that he does not know why these men are after him. He takes Frank from the jail and tells him that his story checks out, and that the men after him were Belarusians who have placed a prize on his head and who believe Frank to be someone else. The detective however then delivers Frank into the clutches of these same men, in order to collect the money they promised.

Elise appears suddenly to rescue Frank, fleeing on a boat. Elise finally tells Frank that all this is happening because she kissed him and made the police believe that he was Alexander Pearce. Frank learns that Pearce stole two billion from a gangster named Shaw and is wanted by the British Government for tax evasion. Stunned by the news, Frank says he still does not regret kissing Elise.

Elise apologizes for getting him involved at all and tricks Frank off the boat. Frank says he loves her. Elise goes to a government building. She turns out to be a secret agent for Britain. She sees her fellow British agent Acheson, who was among those following her in Paris. Elise was supposed to work undercover against Pearce but fell in love with him and had disappeared from her job until now. She tells Acheson that she is ready to help him find Pearce now because she wants to prevent anybody else from getting hurt.

Elise goes to a ball Pearce has invited her to attend, wearing a wire. She is handed a letter by the same mysterious stranger from Paris. The letter is from Pearce, saying where to meet him. As Elise turns to leave, Frank is standing in front of her. They dance. Elise leaves to find Pearce and agent Acheson's men apprehend Frank. They both watch on surveillance equipment as Elise walks into a trap set by the gangster Shaw. The gangster threatens to kill her unless she returns the money Pearce stole from him. Agent Acheson doesn't help his colleague Elise, confident that Pearce will show up to rescue her.

Elise reveals the safe's location but does not know its code. Frank watches in horror as Elise is threatened yet again. Seeing that Acheson won't help Elise, Frank picks the lock to his handcuffs and escapes to help her. Frank pretends to be Pearce. Elise begs him to stop or he will be killed. Frank, acting as Pearce, tells Shaw that he will get his money but only if Elise is first released and safe. As Frank pretends that he is about to open the safe, Elise mouths "I love you."

All of a sudden, Chief Inspector Jones gives the order for the police snipers to shoot Shaw and his men. Frank and Elise are unharmed. As the police survey the scene, agent Acheson can't believe that Pearce did not save Elise and Jones is furious with him for exposing her to danger. Jones then informs Elise that she has been terminated from the force. A police report informs them that Pearce has just been caught. As the room clears, Elise and Frank embrace. He asks her if she loves both him and Alexander Pearce. Elise answers yes. To spare her from this dilemma, Frank reveals that he is the real Alexander Pearce by entering the correct code for the safe. Pearce had gotten plastic surgery, so he could have a new life.

The arrested man believed to be Pearce explains to police that he was paid to pretend and that he is just a tourist. Elise and Frank/Pearce leave on a boat with the money, finally being able to be together. In the safe, police find a bankers check for the ₤744 million in back taxes Pearce owed the British government.

L² Scored: 7/10

L² Comment:

Florian is a Germany director who does not directed much, but this film is definitely a good try for him. Angelina is still hot as usual, but her acting is kinda so so in this film while Johnny Depp does not show much of his talent in this film as well.

A remake of a french film in 2005, The Tourist has achieve quite some nomination in a few academy awards but does not win any awards at this moment.

The Shining

Released Year: 1980
Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Casted by:
Jack Nicholson as Jack Torrance
Shelley Duvall as Wendy Torrance
Danny Lloyd as Danny Torrance
Scatman Crothers as Dick Hallorann
Story:

Jack Torrance arrives at the Overlook Hotel to interview for the open position of winter caretaker, with the aim of using the hotel's solitude to work on his writing. The hotel itself is built on the site of an Indian burial ground and becomes completely snowbound during the long winters. Manager Stuart Ullman warns him that a previous caretaker got cabin fever and killed his family and himself. Jack’s son, Danny, has ESP and has had a terrifying premonition about the hotel. Jack's wife, Wendy, tells a visiting doctor that Danny has an imaginary friend called Tony and that Jack had given up drinking because he had physically abused Danny after a binge.

The family arrives at the hotel on closing day and is given a tour. The elderly African-American chef Dick Hallorann surprises Danny by speaking to him telepathically and offering him some ice cream. He explains to Danny that he and his grandmother shared the gift, which he calls "shining." Danny asks if there is anything to be afraid of in the hotel, particularly Room 237. Hallorann tells Danny that the hotel itself has a "shine" to it along with many memories, not all of which are good. He tells Danny to stay out of room 237.

A month passes and Jack's writing project is going nowhere. Meanwhile, Danny and Wendy have fun and go in the hotel's hedge maze; Jack discovers a model of this maze, showing Wendy and Danny inside it, in one of the hotel lounges. Wendy is concerned about the phone lines being out due to the heavy snowfall and Danny has more frightening visions. As time passes, Jack becomes frustrated and slowly starts acting strangely, prone to violent outbursts. Danny’s curiosity about Room 237 finally gets the better of him when he sees the room has been opened. Later, Danny shows up injured and visibly traumatized, causing Wendy to think that Jack has been abusing Danny. Jack wanders into the hotel’s Gold Room where he meets a ghostly bartender named Lloyd who serves him bourbon on the rocks. Jack complains to the bartender about his relationship with Wendy. Afterward, Wendy shows up and informs him that Danny told her a "crazy woman in one of the rooms" was responsible for his injuries. Jack investigates Room 237 and has an encounter with the ghost of a dead woman there, but tells Wendy he saw nothing. Wendy and Jack argue about whether Danny should be removed from the hotel and Jack returns to the Gold Room, now filled with ghosts having a costume party. Here, he meets who he believes is the ghost of the previous caretaker, Grady, who tells Jack that he must "correct" his wife and child. Later, Jack sabotages the hotel's two-way radio and the snowcat, cutting off both communication with and access to the outside world.

Meanwhile, in Florida, Dick Hallorann gets a premonition that something is wrong at the hotel and takes a flight back to Colorado to investigate. Danny starts calling out "redrum" frantically and goes into a trance, now referring to himself as "Tony." Wendy discovers Jack's typewriter and that he has been typing endless pages of manuscript repeating "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" formatted in various styles. Horrified, she confronts Jack, but he threatens her before she knocks him unconscious with a baseball bat and locks him in a kitchen pantry. Jack converses through the door with Grady, who then unlocks the door, releasing him.

Danny has written "REDRUM" in lipstick on the door of Wendy’s bedroom. When Wendy sees this in a mirror, she sees that the letters spell out "MURDER". Jack, armed with a fire axe, then begins to chop through the door leading to his family's living quarters. Wendy frantically sends Danny out through the bathroom window, but cannot fit through it herself. Jack then starts chopping down the bathroom door with the axe and leers through the hole he has made, shouting "Here's Johnny!", but backs off after Wendy slashes his hand with a butcher knife. Hearing the engine of a snowcat Hallorann has borrowed to get up the mountain, Jack leaves the room and begins to wander about the hotel, ambushing and killing Hallorann with the axe in the lobby. Wendy escapes the bathroom and flees through the hotel, but encounters several ghosts along the way. Meanwhile, Jack pursues Danny into the hedge maze by following his footprints, but is misled when Danny manages to walk backwards in his own tracks and leaps behind a corner, covering his tracks with snow. Wendy and Danny escape in Hallorann's snowcat while Jack slowly freezes to death in the hedge maze.

In the final scene, the camera slowly zooms in on an old photograph taken at the hotel on July 4, 1921 as Midnight, the Stars, and You is played through the hallways. A smiling Jack Torrance is at the front of the crowd of revelers.

L² Scored: 9/10

L² Comment:

Love watching this film, it always spook me out... got a lot of goosebumps when i see it, maybe the movie's music is making the whole movie works :)

From the novel of Stephen Kings, but the writer doubt about the film and does not really love it that time but this movie is getting a bit hit in 1980. Shelley Duvall looks weird but kinda high fashion face :P Jack Nicholson in another hand is always one of my favorite actor. An epic movie which u should not miss in your lifetime...

Bring It On: Fight To The Finish

Released Year: 2009
Directed by Bille Woodruff

Casted by:
Christina Milian as Katalina "Lina" Cruz
Cody Longo as Evan Whitbourne
Holland Roden as Sky
Rachele Brooke Smith as Avery Whitbourne
Nikki SooHoo as Christina
Vanessa Born as Gloria
Gabrielle Dennis as Treyvonetta Brown
Meagan Holder as Kayla
Story:

Lina Cruz is a tough, sharp-witted Latina cheerleader from East L.A. who transfers to the posh, Malibu Vista high school after her widowed mother remarries a wealthy man. Lina not only finds herself a fish-out-of-water at her new high school, she also faces off against Avery, the snobbish and ultra-competitive all-star cheerleading captain who leads her own squad, 'The Jaguars' after the high school squad, the 'Sea Lions', didn't make her captain.

After Lina upsets Sky, her stepsister, she is forced to join the Sea Lions. She goes into the school stadium to check them out and finds Evan, her crush, practicing hoops. Lina impresses Evan, and the Sea Lions vote her captain. When Lina is captain, Gloria, her best friend from East L.A, is called to help her out.

After a team member from the Sea Lions quits, Lina calls her other best friend, Treyvonetta, to come and help her out. At the game, the Sea Lions go on and perform. A fall takes place. The Jaguars, led by Avery, are there and save them from their misery. Lina calls for back up and takes the Sea Lions to an impromptu flavour school to work on their movements. She later meets Evan waiting for her there, and Victor, Gloria's boyfriend, befriends him.

The next day, Lina comes up with the idea of the Sea Lions competing in the All Star Championship. After the team agrees to double up their practices, the Sea Lions are invited to a RDD party. Following Sea Lion practice, Gloria and Treyvonetta are expelled when Lina sneaks them in without approval. Lina refuses to go to the dance but is confronted by Sky. Evan takes Lina as his date to the party, where Gloria and Treyvonetta turn up. Lina and Avery proceed to have a dance off. Lina ends up winning the dance off, but Avery tells her that she doesn't belong in Malibu. Lina, angered, runs off the dance floor and outside, where Evan follows her. There she breaks up with Evan, sends for Gloria to take her back to East L.A, and quits being captain of the Sea Lions.

There, Lina is confronted by Gloria and Treyvonetta, so she stays at Malibu and becomes captain of the Sea Lions again. The next day at school, half of the Sea Lions squad quits because of Lina's routines and practices. Avery and Kayla approach Lina, Christina, and Sky to tell them that they are dreaming if they think they have a chance at winning the Spirit Championship.

Sky loses her temper and tells them to back off, otherwise a fight would start. Lina then goes on a field trip to East L.A, where Gloria has persuaded a gym to sponsor the Sea Lions and some of the members of East L.A as an All Star Squad. By combining the Sea Lions and East L.A, they become a dream team. The next day after practice, while Lina is at her locker talking with Sky and Christina, Evan kisses her. They get back together, and Lina and her team make it to the final round of the All Star Championship. The Malibu Dream Team wins the spirit championship, beating the Jaguars, Avery's team.

L² Scored: 6.5/10

L² Comment:

Watch this movie while i was traveling in Jogjakarta, Indonesia... from HBO...

The 4th movie from Bring It On series, its a smart move for the production team to look for Christina Milian as the main actress, she's sexy and hot, breath taking totally :) Love her moves and energetic in the movie, her body ~ whoosh ~ nice :) Gonna look for the DVD

The Beast Stalker 証人

Released Year: 2008
Directed by 林超賢 Dante Lim

Casted by:
謝霆鋒 Nicholas Tse as 唐飛 Fei
張家輝 Nick Cheung as 洪荊 Yan
廖啟智 Kai Zhi-Liu as 郭耀新 Xin
張靜初 Jing Chu-Zhang as 高敏 Min
苗圃 Miao Pu as 洪荊妻子Yan's wife
Story:

Fei & Xin were chasing after a car of burglaries and accidentally crashed into Yan and wife in another car, in the mean time, lawyer Min's twins daughter was kidnap while another loss her life. In the accident, Xin has become one leg disablement, Yan loss an eye while Yan's wife are paralyze.

Yan continue to work as criminal to earn more money to heal his wife. He got a new mission which is kidnap Min one and only daughter and threaten Min to let go of the gangster head in China. Min avoid making police report but Fei & Xin investigate and discover where Yan's house is... They broke in and found the paralyze wife at there while Yan and the daughter is gone.

Finally Fei able to find them and in a fight, Yan loss another eye of his while the girl was savely rescues...

L² Scored: 6/10

L² Comment:

Though Nick Cheung and Liu Kai Zhi both won the Best Actor and Best supporting actor in multiple academy awards, but i can't really feel how good they are in this film. Is it because that year their competitors are not strong enough? Or just luck perhaps?

But both Nick and Liu are definitely good actors, hope to see more of their movie soon...

Meet The Parents: Little Fockers

Released Year: 2010
Directed by Paul Weitz

Casted by:
Ben Stiller as Gaylord "Greg" Focker
Robert De Niro as Jack Tiberius Byrnes
Teri Polo as Pamela Focker
Owen Wilson as Kevin Rawley
Blythe Danner as Dina Byrnes
Jessica Alba as Andi Garcia
Dustin Hoffman as Bernard "Bernie" Focker
Barbra Streisand as Rosalind "Roz" Focker
Story:

Greg and his wife Pam, daughter of retired CIA agent Jack, have five-year-old twins, Henry and Samantha. Jack begins to experience significant health issues and appoints Greg to the new head of the family, the "Godfocker".

However, he starts to have doubts about his decision, because he thinks Greg has an affair with Andi Garcia, a sexy pharmaceutical-company representative with whom he sells the erectile dysfunction drug Sustengo. This is not true, the impression is due to coincidences and drunkenness of Andi. Jack even suggests to Pam that it might be better to divorce Greg and resume her relationship with Kevin Rawley, her former fiancé.

Greg and Pam are annoyed by this. In order to prove he can look after the family, Greg tries to get his children into a better school (although he almost blows the chance), build a new house (which has problems in the garden), and get his finances in order. Upon meeting Bob (Debbie's ex-husband), he tells Greg that he has never been happier after getting off "the hamster wheel" and that he was Jack's first choice to lead the family and gave him the name "The Bobfather", which makes him a little upset.

Jack and Greg eventually make up at the twins' birthday party after a fight, in which Jack suffers a heart attack and Greg saves his life. The film ends four months later on Christmas Day when Jack, Dina, Bernie, and Roz come to spend Christmas with Pam and Greg in their new house and Greg's parents tell them that they are moving to Chicago and are going to move two houses down from theirs. To this, Jack and Dina say they will move too, because they also want to be close to their grandchildren, to which Bernie and Roz are delighted about, although both Pam and Greg insist neither move.

During the credits, Jack watches a video of Greg on YouTube.

L² Scored: 8.5/10

L² Comment:

Oh lord, this is so funny... laugh so much in the cinema together with Julius :) Not really remember the 1st 2 movie of meet the parents, but this is so funny, especially the part when Stiller help De Niro to inject some medicine on his rock hard penis and saw by the little Focker :P

Jessica Alba is damn hot!!! She's look so flawless even though she has gave birth to her baby~ nice and hot... miao !!!

Season Of The Witch

Released Year: 2011
Directed by Dominic Sena

Casted by:
Nicolas Cage as Behmen
Ron Perlman as Felson
Claire Foy as Anna
Stephen Campbell Moore as Debelzaq
Robert Sheehan as Kay
Ulrich Thomsen as Eckhardt
Stephen Graham as Hagamar
Story:

Set in the 14th century, three women accused of witchcraft are hanged and then drowned by a priest. He performs rituals to prevent the witches from coming back from the dead, only for the third witch to gain a demonic appearance and hang the priest. Cutting to several years later during the Crusades, knights Behmen and Felson become disillusioned with the war upon seeing women and children being mercilessly slaughtered and return to England as deserters. They discover that the Black Plague has swept across the land and most people believe it to be from Hell. Upon entering a town, Behmen's sword shows his crest and they are identified as deserters and taken to Cardinal D'Ambroise who is infected with the plague.

The Cardinal asks the knights to escort an apparent witch to a monastery where the monks will decide whether or not she lives or dies, having been accused of causing the plague. The two knights agree, but under one condition, that she will be given a fair trial. The Cardinal agrees, and they set out accompanied by a priest Debelzaq, young man Kay, grieving knight Eckhardt whose family were killed by the plague, and swindler Hagamar who leads the way to the monastery. The witch, a young girl later identified as Anna, shows hatred towards Debelzaq and forms a bond with Behmen.

Shortly after setting off, the group camp for the night. Eckhardt volunteers to watch the witch for the 1st night after a while Debelzaq comes to relieve Eckhardt, but decides to stay and keep watch with him since he had trouble sleeping after the death of his family. Eckhardt talks about his daughter Mila who by resembled Anna. As Eckhardt leaves, Anna escapes after attacking Debelzaq from within her cage and flees to a nearby town. During the search for her, Eckhardt has visions of his dead daughter and is accidentally killed by Kay.

One man down, the group become less trusting of Anna including Behmen. The group manage to successfully cross a rickety rope bridge, Anna saving Kay from falling to his death by grabbing him with one hand. The group enter the dark forest called Wormwood, where Hagamar attempts to kill Anna so the group can go home, only to be stopped by the others. Anna appears to summon wolves, who chase the group and kill Hagamar cause he stood in her way. An enraged Behmen tries to kill Anna, but is stopped by Felson when the monastery is in sight.

Arriving at the monastery, the men find all of the monks have been killed by the plague but locate the Key of Solomon, an ancient book filled with holy rituals used to defeat evil. The men confront Anna, Debelzaq beginning to perform a ritual used on witches. However, Anna starts show her real form and reveals she has been deceiving them all along, melts her cage and reveals herself to be a male demon, using Anna as a vessel. The demon plots to destroy the last version of the book. That was why she killed Eckhardt and Hagmar because they stood in her way. The only reason she didn't resist when she heard she was coming to the monastery was to destroy the book and cover the world in darkness. The men prepare for battle, but find a room where dead monks are writing copies of the book. The demon appears, destroys the copies and possesses the monks' bodies to use as weapons.

During the fight, the demon kills Debelzaq by breaking his neck and then incinerates Felson. Behmen fights the demon and has Kay finish the ritual to destroy the demon, but is mortally wounded and dies shortly after, asking Kay to look after the freed Anna. After making graves for their fallen friends, Kay and Anna depart with the book in hand

L² Scored: 8/10

L² Comment:

Woah, though i'm not a fans of Nicolas Cage, but this is a really good movie :) Love the witches things. The whole movie has zero yawning moment, every moment is so exciting. Love the most on the part when the gang crossing an almost broken bridge, omg~ my heart simply beat so fast.

A good movie not to be miss :)

Psycho

Released Year: 1960
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Casted by:
Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates
Janet Leigh as Marion Crane
Vera Miles as Lila Crane
John Gavin as Sam Loomis
Martin Balsam as Det. Milton Arbogast
Story:

In need of money to marry her lover Sam Loomis, Marion Crane steals $40,000 from her employer and flees Phoenix by car. En route to Sam's California home, she parks along the road to sleep. A highway patrol officer awakens her and, suspicious of her agitated state, he begins to follow her. When she trades her car for another one at a dealership, he notes the new vehicle's details. Marion returns to the road but decides to spend the night at the Bates Motel rather than drive in a heavy storm.

Owner Norman Bates tells Marion he rarely has customers because of a new highway nearby and mentions he lives with his mother in the house overlooking the motel. He invites Marion to have supper with him. She overhears Norman arguing with his mother about his and Marion's sexual intentions, and during the meal she angers him by suggesting he institutionalize his mother. He admits he would like to do so but does not want to abandon her.

Marion resolves to return to Phoenix to return the money. As she undresses in her room, Norman watches through a peephole in his office wall. After calculating how she can repay the money she has spent, Marion flushes her notes down the toilet and begins to shower. An anonymous figure, presumably Norman's mother, enters the bathroom and stabs her to death. Finding the corpse, Norman is horrified by his mother's actions. He cleans the bathroom and places Marion's body, wrapped in the shower curtain, and all her possessions – including the money – in the trunk of her car and sinks it in a swamp.

Shortly afterward, Sam is contacted by both Marion's sister Lila and private detective Milton Arbogast, who has been hired by Marion's employer to find her and recover the money. Arbogast traces Marion to the motel and questions Norman, whose lies cause him to begin to stutter. He refuses to let Arbogast talk to his mother, claiming she is ill. Arbogast calls Lila to update her and tells her he will contact her again after hopefully questioning Norman's mother. Arbogast enters Norman's house and at the top of the stairs is attacked by a figure who slashes his face with a knife, pushes him down the stairs, then stabs him to death. Norman confronts his mother and urges her to hide in the cellar. She rejects the idea and orders him out of her room, but against her will Norman carries her to the cellar.

When Arbogast does not call Lila, she and Sam contact the local police. Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers is perplexed to learn Arbogast saw a woman in a window, since Norman's mother died ten years earlier. Posing as a married couple, Sam and Lila check into the motel and search Marion's room, where they find a scrap of paper with "$40,000" written on it. While Sam distracts Norman, Lila sneaks into the house to search for his mother. Sam suggests Norman killed Marion for the money so he could buy a new hotel. Realizing Lila is not around, Norman knocks Sam unconscious and rushes to the house. Lila sees him and hides in the cellar where she discovers the semi-preserved and hideously mummified body of Mrs. Bates. Wearing his mother's clothes and a wig, and carrying a knife, Norman enters and tries to attack Lila, who is rescued by Sam.

After Norman's arrest, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Fred Richmond tells Sam and Lila Mrs. Bates is living in Norman's psyche. After the death of Norman's father, the pair lived as if they were the only people in the world. When his mother found a lover, Norman murdered both of them. Consumed with guilt, he tried to "erase the crime" by bringing his mother to life in his mind. He stole her corpse and preserved the body. When he is "Mother", he acts, talks, and dresses as she would. Norman imagined his mother would be as jealous of a woman to whom he might be attracted just as he was of his mother's lover. His psychosis protects him from knowing about other crimes committed after his mother's death. The sheriff also mentions the unsolved disappearances of two other young girls.

In the final scene, Norman sits in a cell, his mind dominated by the Mother persona. In voiceover, she explains she plans to prove to the authorities she is incapable of violence by refusing to swat a fly that has landed on her hand. The final shot shows Marion's car being recovered from the swamp.

L² Scored: 7/10

L² Comment:

I love horror film, especially the Black & White period, it always give u the spookiness... don't u think so? Rated as one of the most horrifying film in the history, Psycho has won a few awards. But i find the beat is a bit slow and Janet Leigh is not really having a lot of scene coz she was killed in beginning half of the movie. And i found Anthony Perkins is kinda cute when he is young :)