Gangs of New York

Plot by Flixster: Plot: In 1860's lower Manhattan, the Five Points section is a dark, teeming corner of the city known for vice and chaos. Into this frontier of lawlessness arrives the young Irish American, Amsterdam Vallon. Amsterdam is the orphaned son of the slain Priest Vallon--once chief warrior of the Dead Rabbits gang that rallied the Irish immigrants of the Five Points. After 16 years in a "House of Refuge," Amsterdam has returned to the Five Points to hunt down his father's killer. His target is William Cutting (aka "Bill the Butcher") who has since become the merciless new leader of the neighborhood and detests the newly arrived immigrants. Each year, on the anniversary of Priest Vallon's death, the victory is commemorated with a celebration--with invitations handed out by way of the Butcher himself. Amsterdam's plan is clear: to lie in wait and slay his father's killer. While waiting for that night, Amsterdam works his way deep into the Butcher's inner circle, a world of alternating honor and cruelty from which he can only hope to escape. But the closer he gets to Bill, the more he falls under his spell and becomes conflicted--playing the role of the man's surrogate son while keeping the true secret of his past in the shadows. At the same time, Amsterdam meets Jenny Everdeane, an enigmatic pickpocket whose fierce independence fascinates him. When details of her closely linked past with Bill the Butcher emerge, the relationship between the three intensifies. Amsterdam's fight for family honor, freedom and the woman he loves ultimately collides with a pivotal moment in New York and American history: the 1863 Civil War Draft Riots. This uprising, fueled by new Americans like Amsterdam, will have repercussions that will spread through the Five Points to the halls of Government and beyond, and reveal a tenacious spirit in the city that endures.

My take:
One of the scariest and most enigmatic villains I've ever seen: William Cutting aka Bill the Butcher played so convincingly by Daniel Day-Lewis. He killed the priest (Liam Neeson) who started an Irish uprising on his turf, and sixteen years later faces his son (Leonardo DiCaprio), who has conned his way into the Butcher's confidence, much like in The Departed. Still this is watchable mainly for the cruelty and unpredictability of the Butcher.

Shrek the Third

Plot from Flixster
Plot: When Shrek married Fiona, the last thing he had in mind was becoming the next King. But when Shrek's father-in-law, King Harold, suddenly croaks, that is exactly what he faces. Unless Shrek (with the help of his trusted companions Donkey and Puss In Boots) can find a suitable King for Far Far Away, the ogre could be stuck with the job. The most promising candidate, Fiona's cousin Artie, an underachieving Medieval high school slacker, proves to be more of a challenge than they bargained for.

My take
Just for making me laugh so loud when Donkey and Puss switched bodies. Priceless. Full of LOL moments, this one.

Being John Malkovich

Review from Movies.com

A rather hirsute John Cusack stars as a down-on-his-luck New York City street puppeteer who is forced by lack of prospects and income to take an entry-level job as a file clerk on the seven and a halfth floor of an office building. Seven and a halfth? That's odd, certainly, but not half as odd as the passageway he discovers behind a file drawer one day that leads directly into the brain of actor John Malkovich (played by none other). Puppet boy and a vampish co-worker (Catherine Keener) on whom he develops an obsessive crush decide that this startling and serendipitous discovery presents a rather unique money- making opportunity, so they take out an ad in the newspaper and start charging respondents hundreds of dollars for the chance to enjoy their Warhol-ian 15 minutes of fame courtesy of Mr. Malkovich. Matters begin to get ever more complicated as the puppeteer, his wife (played by a seriously glammed-down Cameron Diaz), the co-worker, and Malkovich play out a rather convoluted round robin of sexual attraction within the arena of the actor's consciousness.

My take

This truly genre-defying Spike Jonze experiment is so weird on so many counts. The idea of controlling someone's life by getting into his mind just raises so many existential and ethical issues. In this convoluted story though, we just realise the tragic lengths people will go to prolong a fantastical life, at the expense of their own.