Aviator (2004)

This biographical film depicts the life of Howard Hughes, who is a successful filmmaker, creating numerous controversial films, and legendary aviator, accomplishing several world air-speed records throughout his lifetime. In addition, he is known to be one of the wealthiest men in the world.

Howard’s filmmaking career begins to prosper rapidly, receiving an Academy Award for his film Two Arabian Knights, which is the first time a comedy picture won the Best Director Award. Several of his high-budget films are Hell’s Angel, Scarface, and The Outlaw, which are large box-office success and claim to be highly controversial.

Being an icon in the 20th century, Howard Hughes has magnetized countless glamorous divas in Hollywood such as Billie Dove, Bette Davis, Ava Gardner, Olivia de Havilland, Katharine Hepburn, and Gene Tierney. But only one truly captures his heart. His relationship with Katharine Hepburn was well depicted in the film, which was adeptly portrayed by Cate Blanchett.

As an iconic industrialist and an aircraft enthusiast, Howard purchases the Transcontinental and Western Air, later known as the Trans World Airlines (TWA). He tests flies the H-1 Racer and sets a speed of 352mph, travels around the world in 91 hours also surpassing the previous record by nearly 4 days, and was also in the disastrous crash of the XF-11, sustaining numerous injuries such as a crushed collarbone and chest, 24 fractured ribs, one inflated lung, shifting the heart to the right side of the chest cavity, and several 3rd degree burns after his plane plummeted in several houses in Beverly Hills. Hughes was extremely lucky to survive after that near-fatal accident.

However, nothing could derail his vision. Howard Hughes, the most influential man in aviation history, is greatly known for building the H-1 Hercules, also known as the "Spruce Goose," is the largest, heaviest plane with the longest wingspan ever assembled in the world. This magnificent aircraft is currently in the Evergreen Aviation Museum in Oregon. However, this record was later exceeded by the Antonov 225 because, although the H-1 Hercules is still taller and wider, it is short and only covered a distance of 1 mile with Howard as the pilot while the An-225 has been flown farther distances and at a higher altitude.

After seeing such an outstanding film, Aviator definitely earned its 5 Oscars for Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Editing, and Supporting Actress. Leonardo did a superb job and is perfectly casted for the role. Martin Scorsese, as always, is a brilliant director and the cinematography is sensational.

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

A Beautiful Mind is a memorable biographical film that has won 4 well-deserved Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Writer.

John Nash, portrayed convincingly by Russell Crowe, is an intellectual math prodigy who could solve the most mind-numbing problems that would bewilder even the greatest mathematicians and is a promising student at Princeton University. For his thesis paper, John is attempting to develop a truly original idea, resulting in a brilliant theory on mathematical economics.

Near the beginning, he admits that he is “better at numbers than people.” However, his unexpected roommate, Charles, is ultimately his best friend. Though he has several other influential acquaintances.

5 years later, he becomes a professor at MIT where John writes a complex problem on the board during calculus and challenges his students to solve it, stating that it would take the average student their whole lives to solve it and some would take a few months. However, no one was able to solve the complex problem, not even one of his most intellectual students, Alicia Larde, portrayed by Jennifer Connelly, whom he married later on.

One day, John meets William Parcher, a Department of Defense Agent who is represented by Ed Harris, and is asked to the Pentagon to decipher an intricate encryption. He remarkably solves it mentally, astounding the other code-breakers, which led him to being pursued by a black car and ever since then John became paranoid and behaves erratically. Alicia is under tremendous stress after realizing her husband is suffering from a mental disorder called schizophrenia. An interlude of hallucinations and delusional state of mind was enough to subject their marriage on a brink.

Eventually, John discovers that William Parcher and his best friend Charles never existed and they are all fragments of his distorted mind. Now, it is nearly impossible to determine who is real and who is a product of his delusional mind.

This film does an excellent job in depicting the brilliant and delusional life of John Nash, who is known for numerous significant discoveries such as the Nash Equilibrium and the game theory, earning him a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science in 1996. In addition, it is truly inspirational and heartwarming watching John’s triumph over his lifelong battle against himself. “Nash. Who's winning - you, or you?”


Check out this equation just for fun!

Ck Embedding Theorem
If M= m-dimensional Riemannian manifold, then there is a number, n (n=m2 + 5m + 3)
Every point p of M, the derivative (dfp) is a linear map from the tangent space (TpM)
(u,v) = dfp(u) X dfp(v)
Partial Differential Equation (PDE)

A Gum's Life (2009) - Festivals

A Gum's Life (2009)

"A Gum's Life" has been screened in several Film Festivals:

2011 15th Annual North American All Youth Film and Education Day
2011 Soul 4 Reel Film Festival

2011 Los Angeles Student Media Festival
2010 Won The Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Prize Best Child Produced Film 27th Annual Chicago International Children's Film Festival
2010 Winner at International Student Media Festival in Anaheim
2010 Los Angeles Film Festival
2010 Reel Teens Film Festival in New York
2010 Sidewalk Moving Pictures Film Festival in Alabama
2010 Santa Cruz Film Festival California
2010 Cine Youth Film Festival in Chicago
2010 Made by Kids: ICA International Children's Film Festival Boston
2010 Newport Beach Film Festival California
2010 10th Annual deadCENTER Film Festival in Oklahoma
2010 Won the Audience Award at Screen Film Festival California
2010 NFFTY 2010 in Seattle
2010 ViewFinders International Film Festival for Youth in Canada
2009 Marlborough Film Festival California

"A Gum's Life" incorporates claymation, which is the process of altering the position of the clay characters after each frame.

Claymation is complex but as soon as we got the hang of it, we were cruising on our way to post. It is advantageous that nearly half of the film is animation and the other half takes place in the classroom.

In my opinion, the most time consuming part in filming this movie, is animating the characters' eyes. Between each frame, we had to change the position of the gums' pupils as well as carefully placing a thin piece of pink clay to make it seem as if they are blinking. The blue pupils were just a little bigger than the period at the end of this sentence. It took steady hands to stick each pupil on each of the gums' eyes. By the end of production, there were numerous blue pupils lying on the bottom of the pack of gum that were accidentally dropped during animation.

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La Vie En Rose (2007)

La Vie En Rose, meaning “Life in Pink," is an inspirational film portraying the life of the prodigal Edith Piaf, characterized by Marion Cotillard. Edith Piaf is known as a legendary French singer who captures the hearts of millions with her golden voice and dazzles them with her exceptional classic songs like the famous La Vie En Rose, which is her signature song.

Her life was no fairy tale filled with glamour and happy endings but rather an array of adversities starting in her early childhood. Daughter of an alcoholic mother and father who is fighting for his country in the World War 1, Edith spends most of her melancholy childhood with her grandmother until the end of the war. Her musical talent begins to develop and serves as her only means of survival by singing on the street.

It was several years later when Edith is discovered by a nightclub owner and introduced to a talented songwriter named, Raymond Asso, who gives her a glimpse of what tomorrow will be if she learns to be more expressive with her songs and learns to overcome her stage fright. A life after that is a beginning of a new hope.

One night while performing in New York, she meets Marcel, who is a French boxer, and becomes emotionally involved. It was like a whirlwind relationship that develops and ends so fast leaving Edith mourning over her great loss after Marcel’s plane crashed.

As if her life lacks more excitement, she suffers from a disabilitating arthritis causing her too much pain. Despite of all the misfortunes that miserably plunged into her path since childhood, she has learned to be resilient, and has survived by holding close to her true passion, her music. Each time she performs, she delivers a performance of a lifetime that was well depicted in the beginning of the movie where she fainted right at the stage.

After watching this movie, I was mesmerized by the dynamic performance of Marion Cotillard, who was perfectly casted for the role. I knew then that Cate Blanchett has a serious competition for the Oscar as best actress. Performing the life of Edith Piaf was overwhelmingly challenging.

Queen Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007)

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) is a compelling historical film, starring Cate Blanchett as the legendary Queen Elizabeth I of England, and won a well-deserved Academy Award for Best Costume. It is a controversial film because of its melodramatic influence over a more realistic epic film of a great ruler which was the height of the reigning feminist in history, the Elizabethan era. She might have been a female ruler donned in an ornate gown yet had the heart and mind of a powerful man.

The film takes place in the late 1,500’s while England is under the rule of Queen Elizabeth I. The historical plot revolves between the fierce rivalry of two powerful countries, England and Spain. King Philip II of Spain wants to rule England and builds Armada to invade it and become its ruler. Later, he orchestrates a plot with Jesuit group to assassinate Elizabeth, known as the “Babington Plot,” implicating Mary Stuart as the Queen of Scots, for conspiring the act which leads to her arrest and later an execution for high treason.

Elizabeth is known to remain a Virgin Queen but as the Queen of England she perceives herself as married to her kingdom. However, there are dramatic twists in this epic film showing the attraction between Elizabeth and Sir Walter Raleigh, an explorer returning from the New World played by Clive Owen. But her love for Raleigh ends when she discovers that he is discretely married to her favorite lady-in-waiting, Bess. Their intimacy provokes opposition and, outraged, Elizabeth banishes Bess from court and imprisons Raleigh in the Tower of London. She later forgives them and releases Raleigh to join the attack on the Spanish Armada ships, resulting victorious. Defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588 is considered to be one of the greatest triumphs in the annals of England.

The acting is absolutely superfluous and Cate Blanchett should have won that Academy Award for Best Actress. Also, the spectacular cinematography and Elizabeth’s ornate costume and white painted face, which is seemingly imbued throughout her skin representing an iconographic image of a powerful queen, successfully transport the audience into the scenes.

A controversy arose due to inaccurate historical facts that were altered due to the artistic vision of director, Shekhar Kapur. Cate Blanchett said, “It’s terrifying that we are growing up with this very illiterate bunch of children, who are somehow being taught that film is fact, when in fact it’s invention. Hopefully though an historical film will inspire people to go and read about the history. But in the end it is a work of history and selection.”

Dances with Wolves (1990)

Dances with Wolves, starring Kevin Costner, won 7 Academy Awards in 1990, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Music, Best Sound, and Best Writing. It was also directed and produced by Kevin Costner himself.

This 1990 epic film depicts the story of Union Army Officer First Lieutenant John Dunbar, who embarks on a journey to the American Frontier to find a military post. Upon arriving at the post, Dunbar has anticipated more soldiers to join him. After several weeks of solitude, Dunbar finds it peculiar that no other soldiers has joined him and documents it in his journal. Unfortunately, Dunbar's assignment to the post remained unknown due to the death of the major, who was in charge of his mission. Dunbar later encounters the Sioux tribe and gains their respect and has been welcomed into their tribe as a member known as Dances with Wolves.

As a result of this movie, Kevin Costner was considered an honorary member of the Sioux tribe. In addition, the Library of Congress has chosen Dances with Wolves for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in the year 2007. This movie is highly acclaimed for its humanistic portrayal of American Indians. The casts’ performances are exceptional thanks to Costner’s directions and the cinematography is utterly prodigious. Another outstanding factor in this engrossing film is the soundtrack, earning John Barry an Academy Award for Best Music. Despite its duration of about 3 hrs, Dances with Wolves keeps the audience engaged throughout the film. This movie grossed $184 million without ever having to reach #1 on the box-office charts and is the highest grossed western movie of all time.

Catch Me If You Can (2002)

In my opinion, Catch Me If You Can, starring Leonardo DiCarprio and Tom Hanks, has one of the most exceptional plots. The script is based on a true story about Frank Abagnale, a young con artist on the run. Frank, whose character is acted out by Leonardo, runs away after his parents separated and attempts to retrieve all the money that was lost.

However, he chooses an illegal path. He produces fraudulent checks, impersonates a pilot, doctor, and attorney, and travels around the world trying to evade a determined FBI agent named Carl, who is portrayed by Tom. Despite his effort to avoid the FBI, Carl finally catches him in France and he is being extradited and given a long prison sentence.

One day, Carl visits him in jail asking his help to identify an unsolved case of fraudulent checks and is impressed by his expertise, which prompted him to offer a job to work for FBI. Frank accepts it since it was his only way out though he misses the thrill of his old life.

According to the scrolling text at the end of the film, Frank gets married and has three children and he and Carl become close friends even to this day. Believe it or not, Frank actually invented the most unforgeable checks being used until today. He also caught many of the most elusive money forgers.

Steven Spielberg, as usual, did a phenomenal job in directing. Leonardo delivers an astounding performance as the deceitful and charming young con artist. Hopefully, he will win an Oscar soon. I believe he is one of the best actors in Hollywood who hasn't won an Oscar yet. Tom Hanks also did an equally spectacular performance as the FBI agent who finally outsmarted the intelligent fraudster. The movie is filled with endless humor and keeps you hooked to the story the whole two hours. It is unbelievable how clever Frank Abagnale is, being 19 years old when he stole millions of dollars.

The Illusionist (2006)

The Illusionist has a plot that is invigoratingly clever, downright ingenious, and endlessly twisted. Eisenheim, a professional illusionist, was searching for a volunteer among the swarming crowd in the massive theater to help him perform his magic. He was joined at the middle of the stage by Sophie, the fiancee of Crown Prince Leopold. It is revealed that Eisenheim and Sophie had a past relationship; this time, Eisenheim is determined to pursue her no matter what the consequences are.

I have seen this movie 5 times and I have never gotten tired of it. The masterful tricks that fascinate me most are the orange tree and the ghost trick. The script is brilliant and Edward Norton did a marvelous job. I love how the lighting equipment used in this film causes everything to be illuminated and gives it a film look that shows details and hues of old and romantic feeling to match the period where the story takes place. The montage at the end is intellectual and gives you a chance to piece it all together and solve the mystery.

Trailer

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Trailer

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is definitely my favorite western movie. There is no doubt about it. Although the only thing western about it is that it takes place in the West. Other than western, this movie is a mix of romance, comedy, action, and drama.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid are the most well known bank-robbers around the area. They are highly wanted for numerous robberies resulting in the shutting down of many banks. For many years, these two partners have been elusive until one day, when a posse persistently pursues them. After hours of trying to evade the posse, they reach a dead end at the canyon. However, they finally lose track of the group when they decide to jump off the cliff and into the river below even though Sundance could not swim. As soon as they reach Etta’s house, they realize that the posse will not give up until Butch and Sundance are dead. Desperate to escape, they decide to leave the country, taking Etta along.

What really made this movie stand out is the well-written script. The plot may be common and simple but the actors and the way the story was delivered made the movie unique and entertaining. There weren’t any slow or boring scenes that I could recall and the movie had many humorous and romantic scenes to create a well-rounded story.

Several people thought the choice of music was horrendous. I thought it was perfect for the story because the story takes place a long time ago and if they used modern music it would be wrong. I thought Burt Bacharach did a fantastic job.

Here are several of my favorite parts:

It was hilarious when they were trying to rob a bank in Bolivia but they didn’t know how to speak Spanish. When Sundance said that he didn’t know the language in Bolivia, Butch said not to worry because he knew how to speak Spanish. However, Sundance found out that Butch was lying. In this scene, Butch is the one trying to give orders in Spanish during the robbery but he couldn’t remember his lines. So, he took out a paper that listed all the common phrases used during a bank robbery. What is so funny is that Sundance is the one who actually remembers the common phrases and he is the one who didn’t know how to speak Spanish.

Butch Cassidy: Manos a... Manos, um... Manos arriba!
Sundance Kid: They got 'em up! Skip on down.
Butch Cassidy: Arriba!
Sundance Kid: Skip on down!
Butch Cassidy: Todos ustedes "arrismense" a la pared.
Sundance Kid: They're against the wall already!
Butch Cassidy: Donde... Ah, you're so damn smart, you read it!

Another funny part is near the beginning when they were robbing a train. They were trying to steal money inside a safe but the owner of the train refused to give them the combination. They decided to use dynamite to open the safe.
As Butch is walking away from the train after setting up the dynamite, he says, “Well that ought to do it.”

Seconds later, the whole train is blown up into smithereens.
As they stare at the remainders of the train and the dollar bills flying in the sky, Sundance Kid says, “Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?”

This part is when Butch and Sundance were trying to escape from the posse and were trying to figure out who their pursuers were.

Sundance Kid: You remember the time you and me and Etta went to Denver one summer for a vacation?
Butch Cassidy: I'm glad you brought that up, Kid. That's an important topic, considering our situation.
Sundance Kid: The night we went gambling, you remember?
Butch Cassidy: We had dinner at the hotel. Etta had roast beef and I had chicken, and if I can remember what you had, I'll die a happy man.

Here is another section somewhere in the beginning.

Sundance Kid: Well, I think I'll get saddled up and go looking for a woman.
Butch Cassidy: Good hunting.
Sundance Kid: Shouldn't take more than a couple of days. I'm not picky. As long as she's smart, pretty, and sweet, and gentle, and tender, and refined, and lovely, and carefree..

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

I have to say that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) is one of the greatest, unique drama movies that I have seen.

It was an unforgettable night to Queenie and her husband when they find an infant on their porch. However, what stunned them most was the inexplicable phenomenon of an octogenarian baby. Despite the fact, Queenie decides to take care of the baby and named him Benjamin Button.

Benjamin was told that he would not live long but he proved them wrong. Although, at the age of 17, he discovered something unusual. His life cycle is extraordinarily reversed. One day, he meets a young girl named Daisy and they become childhood friends. Throughout the years, Benjamin becomes younger and younger while Daisy as well as the rest of the people around him grow older.

Although this is a very long movie that runs for two and a half hours, my eyes never left the screen. The script is brilliantly written and the transitions are smooth. I believe that Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are perfectly casted. What is most remarkable in this movie is the visual effects. It is amazing how convincingly young Brad Pitt appeared in the movie. The ending of the movie was very touching how Daisy's and Benjamin's relationship progressed. Although the story was unrealistic, it shows the creativity of the writer and is definitely original.

Forrest Gump (1994)

Forrest Gump, starring Tom Hanks, is a well-rounded movie that was released in theaters in 1994. It is an ultimate combination of comedy, drama, romance, war, and action and earned Tom Hanks an Oscar as best actor. Although it is 2 hours and 30 minutes long, the film captures the audiences' attention and the next thing you know, you're watching the end credits.

Most of the movie takes place on a bench where Forrest tells the story of his life to several strangers who happen to sit next to him. Forrest Gump is an unintelligent boy who meets Jenny, the love of his life, on the first day of school on the bus. from that day until the end of college, they were very close friends. While narrating the story, Forrest mentions twice that "Jenny and I were like peas and carrots." However, throughout the story, the two are being separated several times such as when Jenny leaves to San Francisco and Forrest becomes a soldier in the Vietnam war but no matter what, they always find a way to reunite. During his lifetime, Forrest Gump has been present in many historical events and has made many friends along the way such as Lt. Dan Taylor and Bubba.

There are many memorable quotes in the movie. Some of my favorite are:
"My momma told me that life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
"Jenny and I were like peas and carrots."
"Stupid is as stupid does."
"That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run. So I ran to the end of the road. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd run to the end of town. And when I got there, I thought maybe I'd just run across Greenbow County. And I figured, since I run this far, maybe I'd just run across the great state of Alabama. And that's what I did. I ran clear across Alabama. For no particular reason I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean. And when I got there, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going. When I got to another ocean, I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going."

Another great thing about this movie is the soundtracks. There is almost a different song for every single scene! The selections are also well done and they go perfectly with the movie. I also loved how they put Forrest in past videos of John Lennon, President Nixon, and President Kennedy!