2009.7.3 NOW PLAYING
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (12)Action, Sci-fi / 150 / English
Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), the lucky kid who discovered these alien robots in disguise in the first film, is heading off to college. Meanwhile, the Autobots have been made part of a testosterone-fueled elite U.S. military squad called NEST, which opens the film parachuting into Shanghai to fight Decepticons in a fantasy world where the projection of American military power knows no bounds. Soon, Megatron (Hugo Weaving) is back, bringing with him an even bigger baddie - The Fallen (Tony Todd), one of Optimus Prime’s great-great-great uncles. They’re after a key called the Matrix of Leadership that will let them destroy the sun.
When Sam accidentally touches a shard of the Allspark from the first film, it gives him crazy alien glyph nightmares.
He turns to a government agent-turned-conspiracy-theorist (John Turturro) to decipher his dreams, leading him straight to the Matrix key and the sun-destroying machine in the Egyptian Pyramids.
The Unknown Woman (18)
Mystery, Thriller / 119 / Italian
Irena (Xenia Rappoport), a young Ukrainian immigrant, is fixated on getting a housekeeping job at the home of an affluent Italian family, the Adachers. After befriending Gina (Piera Degli Esposti), the family maid of the Adachers, Irena finally succeeds in taking her place and becomes a nanny to Thea (Clara Dossena), the only child in the family. Irena develops a powerful bond with Thea, who suffers from a rare disease.
But Thea’s mother, Valeria (Claudia Gerini), begins to suspect something isn’t right about their devoted housekeeper, and it doesn’t seem like money is the reason behind Irena’s actions.
The movie was made by Giuseppe Tornatore, the Academy Award-winning director of “Cinema Paradiso.” It is his eighth collaboration with renowned composer Ennio Morricone.
The Pope’s Toilet (12)
Drama / 98 / Spanish
The small poverty-stricken village of Melo in Uruguay is in a tizzy over an upcoming visit by the pope, who will be accompanied by 50,000 assistants.
With so many guests expected to arrive, the townspeople anticipate making a fortune on sales of food and souvenirs, and they start working together to prepare.
Meanwhile, Beto (Cesar Troncoso) devises his own plan: He will build a toilet and charge for its use.
He works hard, hoping the money will enable him to pay for his electricity bills, a new radio for his daughter and a motorbike for himself. Beto’s plan feeds his hopes, motivating him to work even harder.
The movie was inspired by visits Pope John Paul II made to towns outside Italy, including Melo, in 1998.
Bandhobi (18)
Drama / 107 / Korean
Seventeen-year-old Min-seo (Bae Jin-hui) is always left alone. Her single mother is busy dating an incompetent boyfriend and her friends are preoccupied with private after-school classes.
Though cheeky and rebellious at times, Min-seo remains a strong, independent and self-sufficient character. She tries all sorts of part-time jobs to raise money for a summer session of an English language course.
One day, Min-seo gets into trouble after she is caught trying to take a wallet she finds. The wallet belongs to Karim (Mahbub Alam Pollob), a migrant worker from Bangladesh who speaks fluent Korean and is working to support his family back home.
Min-seo manages to dissuade him from reporting her to the police in return for helping him track down his former boss, who owes him one year’s pay. As the unlikely pair work together, they find themselves changing each other’s lives in unexpected ways.
Director Shin Dong-il made the film as a way to explore uncomfortable social issues, including illegal immigration and racism. The story is told through the friendship between the two main characters.
The film’s title, Bandhobi, means “female friend” in Bengali.
Yoshino’s Barber Shop (NR)
Comedy / 98 / Japanese
Everything in the seaside village of Kaminoe seems peaceful and normal, except for one thing: All the boys have bowl cuts.
But the winds of change blow through the town in the form of the new kid on the block, who breezes in from Tokyo with blond locks and a stylish hair cut.
Yoshiko (Masako Motai), the matron of the town’s barbershop that has bestowed the bowl cut on all of the boys, tries to make the new boy’s hair conform to the town style. But this proves a difficult task to accomplish when all of the boys start questioning the age-old tradition.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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