Wrestlemania 29 (2013) - ★★★★

Every year the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) puts on a spectacular show with the years best 'superstars/wrestlers' fighting it out for championships. We all know that the matches are fixed, but that doesn't make it any less entertaining. I sat down and watched Wrestlemania 29 with a friend and found it highly entertaining and at times thrilling.

Howards End (1992) – ★★★★

Director: James Ivory
Writers: E.M. Forster (Novel), Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (Screenplay)
Stars: Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Anthony Hopkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Samuel West

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the movies, it is that classic novels make for some of the greatest films ever made. Stories such as Gone With the Wind and Sense and Sensibility were perfect because of the magnificent story and character developments throughout, as if it were a novel that you could read in a few hours. With Howards End, we get the same feeling. It’s not like watching a bunch of actors play characters in a movie. It’s like reading a novel, and the characters are all their own and completely natural. It’s a magnificent movie and one of the greatest adaptations from novel to film.

Happy Together, ‘Chun gwong cha sit’ (1997) – ★★★★

Director: Kar Wai Wong
Writer: Kar Wai Wong
Stars: Leslie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Chen Chang

Happy Together is a great film that has a story with substance. It’s like watching a documentary, where the subject is ‘the most dysfunctional Chinese same-sex couple in history.’ If you’ve ever seen the movie ‘Taxi Driver’ by Martin Scorsese, you’ll see that this movie has a similar atmosphere and darkness. The story isn’t beautiful, but in the end it felt like I’d seen something beautiful.

Vera Drake (2004) – ★★★½

Director: Mike Leigh
Writer: Mike Leigh
Stars: Imelda Staunton, Jim Broadbent, Richard Graham, Eddie Marsan, Alex Kelly, Daniel Mays

Vera Drake is one of the most depressing movies I’ve ever seen. It’s a story that stirs conflict in the conscience of anyone who is for or against abortion. What makes this movie good is the powerhouse performance by Imelda Staunton. In my whole life, I’ve never seen a character cry as much as Vera Drake… and she evoked more sympathy from me than almost any other I’ve seen.

Dumplings ‘Jiao zi’ (2004) – Zero Stars

Director: Fruit Chan
Writer: Pik Wah Li
Stars: Pauline Lau, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Bai Ling

I was flicking through channels to see if a movie was on and found ‘Dumplings’ on SBS. I love Hong Kong cinema, so I gave this movie a chance. If ever there was a movie that I’d erase from my memory, it would be this one. The further into the movie I got, the more unclean I felt. It has an evil vibe and is not in the least bit enjoyable. It’s one of the worst movies ever made.

Easy Virtue (1928) - ★★★

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Noel Coward (Screenplay), Eliot Stannard (Play)
Stars: Isabel Jeans, Robin Irvine, Franklin Dyall, Eric Bransby Williams, Violet Farebrother

Easy Virtue is one of Alfred Hitchcock's first films. It's an average silent movie, with average performances and good cinematography. The limitations of film-making at the time are shown here, yet it's interesting enough to keep you watching for more.

A Single Man (2009) – ★★★★½

Director: Tom Ford  |  Writers: Christopher Isherwood (novel), Tom Ford (Sceenplay)

Stars: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Goode, Jon Kortajarena

This is an absolutely beautiful and sensitive movie about depression, suicide, and love. If ever there was a movie that someone should see if they are thinking of committing suicide, it is A Single Man. It hits the nail on the head with the issue of depression, and passionately displays the story of a gay man whose lover died in a car accident. It is a near perfect movie, and certainly one of the most underrated of this decade.

Farewell My Concubine (1993) – ★★★★★

Director: Kaige Chen
Writers: Bik-Wa Lei, Pik Wah Li (Novel and Screenplay)
Stars: Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang, Li Gong, Zhi Yin, Hailong Zhao

Farewell my Concubine is undoubtedly one of the greatest movies ever made. It spans throughout 5 decades of chinese history, and follows one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever seen. It’s costumes are spectacular and the cinematography is brilliant. What makes this one of the greatest movies ever made is the acting. For me, there were no actors in this movie, only the characters. It is a class of acting that you seldom see in Western cinema. If you won’t watch the film on the heart-wrenching story alone, then watch it for one of the greatest performances of all time by Leslie Cheung.

This is the story of two men, Douzi (Leslie Cheung) and Shitou (Fengyi Zhang), who met as apprentices in the Peking Opera, and remained in contact for over 50 years. Both of them grew up to star in the opera ’Farewell My Concubine,’ where Douzi played the Concubine and Shitou played the King of Chu.

Over the years we see the era of the Warlords (1920s), the Japanese invasion (mid 1940s), the retaking of China by the nationalists (late 1940s), and then the communist era of Mao Zedong. This epic story spans all the way to 1977, and not once does the excitement or attachment to the story falter.

Leslie Cheung truly embodied this character and brought it to life. It was all in his eyes, every emotion that you could imagine. The anger, frustration, terror, love, and heartbreak all came across plainly on his face. There hasn’t been a performance that moved me this much in a long time. From losing the man he loves to overcoming an opium addiction, every single movement, word, and expression was perfect.

Li Gong also gave a breathtaking performance as a former prostitute and the wife of Shitou. Honestly, there is nothing this woman can’t do. She’s able to display such strength, and such fragility, all wrapped up into one character. Together, Gong and Cheung have brilliant chemistry as two ‘women’ who want the same man.

There is plenty of brutality in this film, mixed with plenty of tenderness. It’s not completely tragic, for there is a lot of hope in these characters. You cannot describe this film with a genre or a word. It’s more than a period drama, or a romance, or a tragedy.

These characters are interesting enough from a psychological perspective alone. If there’s one thing I love about Farewell My Concubine, it’s that it begs you to discuss it afterwards. You're left to connect the dots when it comes to motives, feelings, and symbolism.

I was thrilled from start to finish with this masterful film. It truly is one of the greatest movies ever made. Schindler’s List may have won Best Picture at the Academy Awards during the same year, but for me this is a film worthy of that title. There’s nothing I could fault about Farewell My Concubine. I recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in history and psychology

Sekaiichi Hatsukoi (2011) – ★★★★★

Director: Chiaki Kon

Written and Illustrated by: Shungiku Nakamura

Voices: Takashi Kondo, Katsuyuki Konishi, Yuuichi Nakamura, Hiroshi Kamiya

This is a fantastic show. If you love romance, then look no further than Sekaiichi Hatsukoi. I did not read the manga series, but I stumbled upon the show while looking for a new TV series to watch. From the very start, I was hooked.

Junjou Romantica ‘Pure Love’ (2008) – ★★★★½

Director: Chiaki Kon   |   Writers: Shungiku Nakamura

Voice Actors: Itou Kentaru, Nobutoshi Canna, Kazuhiko Inoue, Takahiro Sakurai

At first glance, Junjou Romantica seemed like a regular animated manga series. The further I delved into the stories, they grew much more beautiful with deep and powerful dialogue. It’s a pretty funny show, with unique characters and standard romance. Five episodes into this series, I knew I had found something special.