"Darling, I Don't Know How to Tell You This, but Theres a Chinese Family in Our Bathroom"

I spent 4 weeks of this summer in China; its a 14 hour flight between New York and China- there was a lot of time to watch movies. I flew Continental, I must say, they have quite a nice collection of films that you can choose from.

To China:

-Always/Sunset on Third Street (Japanese): I liked this movie, it wasn't great though. I was mainly interested in it because it was the first film that popped up on the screen when I selected the genre of "World Cinema" on the touch-screen. I couldn't tell if it was meant to be a drama or a comedy, or both. I basically just didn't get it- but there were sweet moments.

(6.5/10)

-Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World (Japanese): Arguably the most melodramatic film I've ever seen. It is cliche in the way that it is also amazing. Let me explain a little more: it is a story of a man who is still very much attached, painfully so to his first love from high school. The movie follows him as he travels back to his hometown in pursuit of his fiance, yet his trip brings back his suppressed feelings and memories of his relationship/romance with "Aki" during high school (the time changes from the past to the present.) Crying Out contains every feature of a melodrama that can possibly be fit into a book/manga/film (due to the popularity of the book there have been various spin offs); there is young love, Japan, Australia, and cancer. I don't want to give too much away...

After watching this movie I sat in my cramped seat tearing up- not exactly a great first impression of me considering I was on the plane with 13 others whom I would spend the next 4 weeks with!

(9/10)

While in China:

-Bring it On: In It to Win It: There really isn't much to say about this movie. We were staying at a hotel which had HBO and this was the film was on... Many of my peers had seen this movie many times before, and loved it because, well, its part of the Bring it On franchise- they had failed to noticed what I pointed out to them, which is (sarcastically) "Clearly this is a quality film, I mean its a modern Westside Story, the team names are the 'Jets' and the 'Sharks'." Of course, it was horrible and disgusted the entire male part of our audience and a few of the rest of us!

(2/10)

-Lover's Prayer: This was intriging for two reasons: 1. it was on the only program on in English at 11 o'clock, 2. Kirsten Dunst. This costume drama appears to have not had a very high budget, but needless, I enjoyed the regency era drama and the fact that they were speaking English. I didn't finish it because I pressed a button on the remote control which messed up the television.

(5/10)

-Bicentennial Man: I had actually never seen this film before. It was super cute, a kind of futuristic, tacky, children's version of Forrest Gump.

(7.75/10)

-Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: I don't really want to elaborate on my feelings on this one. This is due to my severe disappointment. The Half-Blood Prince is one of my favorites of the Harry Potter book series. The fact that the film did not do it an ounce of justice was irksome. The movie wasn't focused, it touched on the important and major themes of the story, yes, but at the cost of not highlighting them enough. The interesting part about my viewing of this movie was that it was my first day in Shanghai (my 2nd trip there though.) We saw the movie at the cineplex in a huge mall near the Bund. In China, as well as other places there are assigned seats at the cinema. In the particular theatre I was in the seats were actually quite nice and comfortable...

(5.5/10)

Return Flight from China:

-Wild Child: Starring Emma Roberts, this film was released in the UK in 2008. It was a chick flick- but I did love it. It was pretty predictable- a spoiled, seemingly horrible California teenage girl who is a "wild child" gets sent to an English boarding school, there she creates an enemy, begins to fancy a good looking guy and drama ensues with a sweet, happy ending. You should see it.

(8.5/10)

-Boys Over Flowers/Boys Before Flowers: The Movie (Japanese): I first read about this one on Avistaz a few months ago, low and behold, there it was on the movie list on the aeroplane! I was quite excited, especially when I realized that it starred one of the members of the Japanese boy band, Arashi which rose to popularity in 1999. I love them. I liked this movie- it was a little too long, but that may have something to do with the fact that I was cramped in my little seat with a head ache and little desire to sit on the plane for another 7 hours. I didn't find this movie particularly special. It was decent. The plot, for me, was a little lacking: the engagement between two young people (one of whom is very wealthy and in the public eye the other who is just a "commoner") which is put to the test to see how compatible they really are for each other. To fully understand this I think you need to know the story of the F4 and the popular series (there is a Japanese version and a Korean one), both of which I have never seen.

(7/10)

-Hannah Montana the Movie: I'm not actually going to waste words or energy typing about this one.

(7.75/10)

-Rab Ne Bana di Jodi/A Match Made By God (Hindi): I am not expert in anything, including the world of Bollywood. I had been in a very strange mood and thought that a Bollywood film would cheer me up. This is my favorite Bollywood film ever. It's sweet, funny, and moving, not to mention the music and dancing is so much fun. According to what I just read on Wikipedia, it was very popular and is one of the highest earning Bollywood films. It showed me that if someone really loves you they should display it by making a city say it in lights (this will make sense if you watch the movie.)

(9.5/10)

-Millions: I didn't finish watching this movie. I was feeling sick and tired. It was cute though.

(6.75/10)

I write this while listening to the soundtrack from (500) Days of Summer which I saw on Monday night, hence, the title quote is from said film.