No Regret (2006) - ★★★★

Director: Hee-il Leesong
Writer: Hee-il Leesong
Stars: Nam-gil Kim, Young-hoon Lee, Seung-kil Jeong

Hailed by many as the 'first LGBT film of South Korea,' No Regret is an amateur, or 'raw' story of a young homosexual man that wants nothing more than to find a way out of his lower class life. It's very well made, although it was clearly shot on a small budget. The acting is fantastic, the cinematography is outstanding, and the music is soothing and beautiful. Some of the sequences are truly masterful, and its long running time just flies by quickly. Its shortcomings mainly deal with the coldness of the main character, who is pretty hard to connect with. I could understand his actions, motives, and feel sorry for his situations, but I could never truly like him. That doesn't make this a bad movie, because it's FAR from a bad film. It's a great film with such an important subject, making it a worthwhile watch for anyone interested in LGBT or Korean cinema.

Blades of Blood (2010) - ★★★½

Director: Joon-Ik Lee
Writers: Seok-Hwan Choi, Cheol-Hyeon Jo, Oh Seung-Hyeon
Stars: Jeong-min Hwang, Seung-won Cha, Ji-hye Han, Seong-hyeon Baek, Chang-wan Kim

Blades of Blood is simply a really good action movie. It doesn't delve right into Korean history, or give us anything substantial to learn from. It gives us entertaining characters, a riveting story, some great sword-fighting scenes, and beautiful cinematography. It's not a film to go out of your way to see, but it's definitely a movie worth seeing. It's the very first South Korean action movie I've ever seen (I don't count Oldboy), and it was a perfect introduction to their action-film industry for me. Its greatest moments are from Jeong-min Hwang, who played a blind man/masterful swordsman with a wicked sense of humour.

Gravity (2013) - ★★★★½

Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Writers: Alfonso Cuaron, Jonas Cuaron
Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris, Paul Sharma

Gravity is the first film from 2013 that has captured my total love and adoration. Deep down, I'd be so happy for this film to win Best Picture at the upcoming Academy Awards. It's one of the most visually stunning films I've ever seen (it makes my Top 10 easily). It was so thrilling, the tissue I held in my hand throughout the movie ended up melting because of the sweat! My fists were clenched, my heart was beating fast, and man did my emotions go on a wild ride during the sensational outer-space experience. The drought of masterpieces is over in 2013! It makes me so glad to say that! As much as I loved this film, it does have its cheesy flaws. But like I always say, it's the emotional journey the movie takes you on that really counts, and man, this movie really took me on a memorable journey.

No.6 (2011) - ★★★★★

No. 6 is the most mature, beautiful shounen-ai anime I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot of them. Its animation and storyline is unmatched by any other anime of its kind (or Yaoi anime for that matter). On top of that, the characters are beautifully developed and easy to fall in love with. I was absolutely hooked after the first episode, and ended up watching every other episode in a row (that's about 4 and a half hours worth of episodes). I guess I just loved everything about No. 6. The theme songs that played in the opening and ending credits, the hilarity, the romance, the music... it just thrilled me. You'd be hard-pressed to find another yaoi/shounen-ai anime that's of a better quality than this. I think it's the best anime of its kind, the cream of the crop. Put it this way. As I was nearing the end of the series, I started to feel anxiety because I'd never see a new episode again. Now that's what I call a powerful show!

2013 Proves to be a Disappointing Year so far...

I know there are some good 'Summer Blockbusters,' but they're not my cup of tea. They're for the masses, but they don't really capture my adoration. I'm always out and about, looking for a great drama to watch, or a beautiful romance, or a disturbing crime/murder film, or a tear-jerking true story. We've had our fair share of special effects filled, mind-numbing action movies this year. I'm just sitting here, waiting for something interesting to go and see. Sure, there have been some great movies this year. Upstream Color, Mud, Stoker, and Fruitvale Station have proved to be outstanding and memorable additions to the world of cinema. BUT... they're just not masterpieces to me. None of them made me god "WOW!" Or feel truly passionate about cinema again. Last year there were a number of films that ignited my passion for cinema... but this year has so far been a bust.

What I'm trying to say is, this year just hasn't been as good as last year. Things will most likely improve as awards season comes around, but the industry has left me feeling gutted at the lack of great cinema it's been producing so far.

Lady in a Cage (1964) - ★★★★

Director: Walter Grauman
Writer: Luther Davis
Stars: Olivia de Havilland, James Caan, Ann Sothern, Jeff Corey, Jennifer Billingsley, Rafael Campos, William Swan

Lady in a Cage is such an exhilarating movie! Olivia de Havilland is one of my all time favourite actresses, and her performance in this film is up there with her very best work (Oscar worthy stuff). It has a wildly interesting concept, fantastic supporting performances, masterful cinematography, and heaps of suspense. What more could you ask for really? It's like watching a Hitchcock film, but it's refreshingly different. There's a more modern, defiant edge to Lady in a Cage. It drops in some social commentary through hinting of the degradation of society's youth, the absurdity of people paying taxes to feed criminals, and there's even a homosexual character (well, I assume he was a homo). That's pretty big for the 1960s. It does this without sounding too preachy, because we're mainly focused on its tale of survival. The whole way through my heart was beating fast, hoping that our protagonist would make it out alive. That's why this is such a great film.

Millennium Actress (2001) - ★★★★★

Director: Satoshi Kon
Writers: Satoshi Kon, Sadayuki Murai

Millennium Actress is a masterful film that's in a league of its own. Have you ever seen a movie so beautiful that the images and music alone can make you cry? I've only seen one or two movies that have ever done that to me, and this film has just been added to that list. It's one of the only movies that has ever rendered me helpless to control my emotions. I was overwhelmingly happy with the magnificent story, stunning imagery, and beautiful music, yet I was overwhelmingly sad at the heart-wrenching moments that took place from start to finish. I literally cried for the last 3 minutes of the film, non-stop. Then after that, I couldn't stop crying for another 20 minutes. I didn't cry because it was in any way a tragic film, nor was it one of the most heartbreaking stories I've ever seen... I cried because of how beautiful this film was altogether. I have to say, it's one of the most memorable movie-going experiences I've ever been through. It made the emotions pour out of me as strong as they ever have. After the first viewing, I already know that Millennium Actress is one of my all time favourite movies. Heck, it's one of the greatest movies ever made.

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) - ★★★★

Director: Lewis Milestone
Writers: Robert Rossen (Screenplay), John Patrick (Story), Robert Riskin
Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott, Kirk Douglas, Judith Anderson, Roman Bohnen, Janis Wilson, Darryl Hickman

I think Barbara Stanwyck is possibly the coolest actress that has ever graced the silver screen. She has played some pretty detestable women over the years, which has made me love her more than almost any other actress. In The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, we get to see some of the best acting she's ever done. Not only that, we also get to see the screen debut of Kirk Douglas, one of the coolest actors that ever lived. On top of all this, we get to see Van Heflin play one of his coolest roles. Most importantly, this is the film that showed me the tremendous talent of Lizabeth Scott, a fairly unknown actress that has all the beauty of Bacall and Garbo. These four brilliant actors and the engrossing story make this a film that leaves you wondering what's going to happen next.

Mud (2013) - ★★★★½

Director: Jeff Nichols
Writer: Jeff Nichols
Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Reece Witherspoon, Sam Shepard, Ray McKinnon, Sarah Paulson, Michael Shannon, Jon Don Baker, Paul Sparks, Bonnie Sturdivant

Mud is easily one of the best films of 2013. The performances, the cinematography, the music, and the story all really captivated me. I was enthralled with the performances by McConaughey, Witherspoon, and of course, the two young boys played by Tye Sheridan and Jacob Lofland. It has a real authenticity to it, just a natural charm that beautifully presents a not-so-beautiful world. I love the way it displays pretty common surroundings, but tells the story in such an enthralling way that it becomes a truly entrancing world. I'm finding it really difficult to articulate exactly what I love about this film. All I can say is that it's so good, I'm at a loss for words.

Blue Jasmine (2013) - ★★★★

Director: Woody Allen
Writer: Woody Allen
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins, Bobby Cannavale, Peter Sarsgaard, Alec Baldwin, Andrew Dice Clay, Louis C.K.

Blue Jasmine is essentially your simple, entertaining Woody Allen film. What separates this from his huge repertoire of comedies is the outstanding performance by Cate Blanchett, and the not so light-hearted story within. I think he goes out of his way to create unlikable characters, yet I almost always find myself rooting for them to succeed. It was a bit slow to start, but once the ball got rolling, I found it to be a wickedly entertaining drama. There's no doubt in my mind that Blanchett will receive an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for Blue Jasmine, but it may very well be nominated for Best Screenplay and Supporting Actress too. The whole film just gels well, and for once, I didn't find Allen's film to be irritating in the least. It's one of his more solid, entertaining films. He's lucky Blanchett signed on to play Jasmine, because she truly makes it a memorable experience.