Latest Bellwether Films: 18 July 2010

John Cusack and Li Gong as WW2 spies in love in 'Shanghai'

Inception - Hollywood speculative-present suspense science-fiction

On a commission from a powerful Japanese industrialist (Ken Watanabe - 渡辺謙), a cutting-edge master of the subconscious (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his team of specialists (including Ellen Page and Joseph Gordon-Levitt) must invade the dreams of a competitor’s (Pete Postlethwaite) heir (Cillian Murphy) to plant an overwhelming hypnotic idea. Once inconspicuously inside their subject’s dreams, the team confronts a dangerous enemy with the power to predict their every move and to render them permanently trapped in mental limbo: their team leader’s deceased wife (Marion Cotillard). Upshot: An imaginative thriller with WOW-ified visual effects. The story demands constant attention to traverse, but is well worth the journey. Satisfaction rating: EXCELLENT- 91

Lone Scalpel, A (孤高のメス) - Japanese medical true-to-life drama

JAPAN, 1989. After losing his mother at an early age to a misdiagnosis, the new Chief of Surgery (Shinichi Tsutsumi) at City Hospital dedicated himself to a medical career, even studying abroad at the University of Pittsburgh where he became familiar with organ transplantation. Now the city mayor (Akira Emoto) has been admitted to his ER in critical condition. To save his VIP patient, the Chief must decide whether to violate antiquated medical laws by performing Japan’s first-ever liver transplant from a brain-dead donor … knowing that he will be charged with murder should the operation fail. Upshot: Based on the novel by Toshihiko Ohgane, MD. Satisfaction rating: EXCELLENT - 84

Man with a Vendetta (파괴된 사나이, aka A Broken Man) - Korean crime thriller suspense

The 5-year-old daughter (So-Hyun Kim - 김소현) of a devout minister (Myeong-min Kim - 김명민) is kidnapped… 8 YEARS LATER… The minister has lost his faith in God. His wife (Joo-Mi Park - 박주미) has been hospitalized owing to her exhaustive unending search for their daughter. Then out of the blue, a mysterious psychopath calling himself “Rudolph” (Gi-joon Eom - 엄기준) contacts the minister and demands a ransom for his daughter. Realizing that his daughter is still alive, the minister chooses instead to use all of his resources to rescue the girl in a breathtaking race against time. Upshot: Ransom, Korean-style. Satisfaction rating: ABOVE AVERAGE - 73

Pokémon: Phantom Ruler Zoroark (劇場版ポケットモンスター／ダイヤモンド＆パール　幻影の覇者ゾロアーク) - Japanese magical action animation

Celebi time-travels back to Crown City from 20 years in the future to prevent Pokémon Raikou, Entei and Suicune from becoming embroiled in a battle with Satoshi, Takeshi and Hikari at the annual Pokémon Baccer World Cup that might spell disaster for the entire city. Satisfaction rating: ABOVE AVERAGE - 74

**Railways (RAILWAYS 49歳で電車の運転士になった男の物語) - Japanese business melodramatic drama**

TOKYO, PRESENT DAY. Promised a seat on the Board, a late-40s corporate executive (Kiichi Nakai - 中井貴一) at Keiyo Electric must orchestrate the closing of a manufacturing plant run by a dear old friend (Kenichi Endo - 遠藤憲一) as part of an belt-tightening plan. Meanwhile his wife (Reiko Takashima - 高島礼子) and university-aged daughter (Yuika Motokariya - 本仮屋ユイカ) nag him about spending too much time at his stressful job away from the family. Soon after, upon learning that his friend has been killed in an automobile accident, he chucks his high-pressure job to fulfill his boyhood dream of becoming a streetcar engineer on the Ichibata Electric Railway. Upshot: A superb example of Japan’s long cinematic tradition of dramatized corporate infomercials. Satisfaction rating: EXCELLENT - 82

Shanghai (諜海風雲) - Indiewood period espionage romance suspense

Shanghai, 1941. Four Months prior to the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor. Posing as a journalist, an American spy (John Cusack) returns to Shanghai from Berlin to investigate the murder of his best friend (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and the sudden disappearance of his friend’s girlfriend (Rinko Kikuchi - 菊地凛子). His friend had been investigating the connection between a local triad leader (Yun-Fat Chow - 周润发), a Japanese intelligence officer (Ken Watanabe - 渡辺謙) and a German agent (Franka Potente). While gradually uncovering larger secrets involving Nazi Germany, the unexpected movement of Japanese battleships and US intelligence, the American spy soon finds himself falling in love with the triad leader’s seductive wife (Li Gong - 巩俐) whom the Japanese suspect also may be a spy. Upshot: Casablanca in China. Satisfaction rating: ABOVE AVERAGE - 62

Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The - Hollywood magical adventure fantasy

Having finally located master sorcerer Merlin’s biological heir-apparent after more than a millennium of looking, Merlin’s loyal disciple (Nicolas Cage) attempts to train the disbelieving college nerd (Jay Baruchel) - who’s more interested in pursuing a pretty coed (Teresa Palmer) - in the ways of magic and science. Meanwhile, a recently-escaped rogue disciple (Alfred Molina) works furiously to free a sinister witch (Alice Krige) to take over the world. Only the ill-prepared incompetent apprentice possesses the untapped power to oppose them. Upshot: Harry Potter at NYU … a fantastic CGI-laden family-appropriate flick that enchants the teenage boy of any age. The story, however, does not add anything particularly innovative to the magical mythos already found in the wizarding world of the Harry Potter series. Satisfaction rating: GOOD - 57

World's Favorite Films 2010

World's Favorite Foreign Language Films 2010

Aftershock (Chinese)

L'arnacoeur (French)

The Borrower Arietty (Japanese)

Ip Man 2 (Chinese)

Pokemon: Phanton Ruler Zoroark (Japanese)

Confessions (Japanese)

My Name Is Khan (Bollywood)

Nodame Cantabile 2 (Japanese)

Blood Brothers: Secret Reunion (Korean)

Doraemon: Mermaid Adventure (Japanese)

Raajneeti (Bollywood)

Little Big Soldier (Chinese)

La Rafle (French)

Les Aventures Extraordinaire d'Adele Blanc-Sec (French)

Io, loro e Lara (Italian)

Liar Game (Japanese)

Our Rossiya (Russian)

Moss (Korean)

71 - Into the Gunfire (Korean)

Housefull (Bollywood)