one of those screen gems that i’ve always meant to watch but never got around to actually see is the Oscar-nominated (for Best Picture, 2006) The Queen, which was deftly directed by stephen frears.

boasting of a topnotch cast — helen mirren (whose superlative portrayal of queen elizabeth has earned her a basketful of acting honors in 2006), michael sheen (spot on as tony blair), james cromwell, helen mccrory, etc. — and a tightly woven story based on a chain of events that followed princess diana’s tragic death in 1997, The Queen is basically one of those small films whose global success far exceeded everyone’s expectations.

one of the reasons why i held off for as long as i could was that i wanted to see The Queen with ‘fresh’ eyes; i didn’t want to be steamrolled into agreeing with what everybody has been saying. and, by george, it’s actually good as advertised. while The Queen is not strictly accurate, it hits enough notes to be thoroughly engaging and convincing.

and helen mirren? she absolutely owned that role (and the oscar, too, along with a few other awards). at times, it is pretty easy to forget that you are watching an excellent thespian at work and not the british queen herself. and yes, michael sheen was awesome too.

rating: *****
and yes, you can bet i’m going to watch it again in the near future.

a slew of new movies are about to descend upon us. there are quite a few of them that i’d like to watch, so i’m making up a random list here.

1. Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

this big, lumbering film has been on everyone’s mind these days — its promo ads are everywhere! it looks like it’s going to be another blockbuster for michael bay. Revenge of the Fallen has already premiered in several cities worldwide, and its supposed to hit the theaters on june 24th. so watch out.

cast: shia lebouf, megan fox, josh duhamel, tyrese gibson, jon voight, and those awesome robots.

2. Sherlock Holmes
this latest film adaptation of the life and times of that incomparable detective is megged by guy ritchie (madonna’s ex) and will be shown in december, although in our case it will probably be moved to january because of the MFF. *sigh*

cast: robert downey, jude law, rachel mcAdams
my favorite line:
holmes: madam, behind this pillow is the key to my release [this cracked me up]

3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
the sixth installment of this hugely successful franchise will be shown around july. i’m no longer as excited as i used to be but i guess i’ll end up watching this film, too.

cast: daniel radcliffe, emma watson, rupert grint, michael gambon, jim broadbent, etc.

4. The Proposal
here’s another rom-com flick from sandra bullock. the proposal has already opened in the US and australia, but it will probably make its bow here in a couple of weeks.

cast: sandra bullock, ryan reynolds, mary steenburgen, craig t. nelson.

5. Bruno
sacha cohen baron is at it again. the man otherwise known as borat is taking another stab at tickling our bones (or raising some people’s blood pressure) with his insanely outrageous antics, this time as a flamboyant gay character. hmmm…

now, if Bruno is anything like Borat, i suppose we can expect some fireworks to ensue. another interesting point that begs to be said is how easily and convincingly baron cohen can slip into various characters that he has made famous (ali g., borat, bruno), and yet look so completely different and ‘toned down’ in real life.
cast: sacha baron cohen, alice evans

6. Year One
i’ll probably get lynched for including Year One on this list, but since jack black has always been something of a magnet for my wayward attention anyway — there’s just no accounting for taste, i guess — i’ll just get on with it and hope for the best heheheh. (but i’m putting on some protective gear just in case.)

if you like your comedy to be a bit on the tasteful, subtle side, it’s a safe bet you’re not gonna like this movie. as one might expect, Year One has received a thorough beating from critics. not that it’s going to alter my plans though.

cast: jack black, michael cera, hank azaria, oliver platt

as i was browsing through a pile of 2008 Olympics vid clips over at youtube, i stumbled into this funny spliced reel.

sure it’s irreverent. maybe a tad insensitive? okay, so it reeks of juvenile absurdity. but it sure made me laugh. i wonder how long it will take till they can make a film rip-off out of this one (a la Scary Movie).

here’s an amusing case of mistaken identity.

BBC’s Steve Parry, who recently went to Tiananmen Square carrying a cardboard cutout of michael phelps, got a bit of a shock when an admiring throng of chinese strollers mistook him for the famous swimmer and began snapping his picture and following him.

despite his strenuous denials that he wasn’t michael phelps (see video), Parry — a British swimmer who won a bronze medal in the 200m butterfly in the 2004 Athens Olympics — had a hard time shaking off his “fans”.

he really doesn’t look like michael, but i guess his height and build, longish face, short hair and prominent ears all add up to the impression that he is…?