National Treasure

stars: nicolas cage, diane kruger

first thought. this was a disney movie?? but then, of course, it had some cheesy lines. and then nicolas cage. i haven't seen this guy for a while. maybe because i avoided him. diane kruger? just pretty. i never felt she portrayed the intelligent woman she was supposed to be. ack. don't focus on the characters.

putting that aside, this was a fun movie. outrageous plot, YES, but enjoyable. for me, it was also more of it being a nice follow-up to my recent reading of 'da vinci code' (journal entry to follow). all that supposed conspiracy, myths, mysteries, clue-solving, theories, and suspense (sort of). i'm a sucker for those.

spoiler alert ahead, though (and don't read this if you haven't watched it). just don't be misled by the title. because by no means is the national treasure being spoken of is THE national treasure of the US. the riches and wealth were originally hidden in solomon's temple (jerusalem), found by the templar knights who were initially looking for the holy grail. so that makes it the treasure of israel in the first place.

and for that matter, ANY material wealth or treasure doesn't not rightfully belong to its current owner. i for one have a trouble believing that first world countries got to where they are out of sheer hardwork. history pa lang, you could clearly see how most have just deceitfully outwitted (scammed if you will) other nations out of their own previous wealth and riches.

ironically, i'm in a first world country writing this. sigh.

Closer

stars: julia roberts, jude law, natalie portman, clive owen

definitely one of the most honest movies i've watched. ever. everything about it were real, the characters, the relationships. kudos to all 4 actors for playing such intense roles. heck, even the title itself is something to applaud. rather than resorting to using catchy gimicky phrases or lame one word names, it opts to convey its underlying irony.
on the surface, however, i was impressed with clive owen's acting. won't give away on what his role was, but he was intense. maybe because that was just what the character called for, but there's no doubt he delivered.
i have to admit i was also smitten with jude law. no, make that shaking-my-head-in-disbelief, biting-my-nails smitten with jude law. why? the man is simply gorgeous. oh, for sure he's a good actor; i saw him first in the "talented mr ripley" and he did quite well in that movie. but he didn't strike me so much then as he did with this one. really gorgeous. and i bet my ass he's charming too.
sienna miller sure is lucky. must have strong knees, too. small wonder she hasn't fainted.
anyway, must make it a note to watch "alfie", "i heart huckabees" and "sky captain and the world of tomorrow".

*reposted from CH's blog*