Pulp Fiction

With documentaries like Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Super Size Me making waves, I am wondering if there are more going around.

I have seen The Last Days, Columbine, The Living Sea and Winged Migration in the cinemas and I am very fascinated. They really change my perspective on documentaries.

But these kind of documentary films are very very hard to find in Singapore, even at major stores.

So, I check for more such award-winning documentary films at amazon.com and I was stuck surfing for more than two hours. In the end, my cart is so full that I practically had to shut down the computer to get over the impulse from clicking the 'Confirm Order' button.

Here are the documentary films in my cart... (see 3rd comment)

Videodrome - The First Season

Like a boy who likes to read and walks into a public library, I made a little vow to watch all the good movies at the DVD collection at library@esplanade.

In fact, I have started to fulfil this vow since the end of last year. Some of the movies I've seen so far:
Xi Yang Jing (Shadow Magic), Beaches, The Nutty Professor, The House of Mirth, Fried Green Tomatoes, The Apostle, Pollock, Teaching Mrs Tingle, Truly Madly Deeply, Grumpy Old Men, The Birds, Orange County, Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, *batteries not included, A Taste of Cherry, The Vanishing, Zhui Ai, Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, Galaxy Quest, M, Nosferatu, Babette's Feast, Baran, Love and Death on Long Island, Dick, La cage aux folles, Private Benjamin, Cactus Flower, Clockwise, Gandhi, For the Boys, Apt Pupil, Mother, Terms of Endearment, Central Station, Rat Race and Dancing at Lughnasa.

Read on for the reviews of my current loan.

Great Expectations

Alrighty, this will be my must-see list and my expected ratings.

Nothing beats the sheer joy in anticipation of a good movie. Well until they are proven otherwise.

For a start, ...

Favourites Movies in 2003, 25 Most Memorable Performances and Quotes

Top 20 FAVOURITE Movies
in 2003 ( in order of preference )


20 Good bye, Lenin! (in German)
19 The Good Girl
18 Chicago
17 Infernal Affairs II (in Mandarin)
16 Walking on Water
15 About Schmidt
14 Far From Heaven
13 Rabbit-proof Fence
12 Tasogare Seibei (in Japanese)
11 El hijo de la novia (Son of the Bride)(in Spanish)
10 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
9 Seabiscuit
8 15 (in Mandarin and Hokkien)
7 The School of Rock
6 The Magdalene Sisters
5 Cidade de Deus (City of God) (in Portuguese)
4 Bowling for Columbine
3 Together (in Mandarin)
2 Finding Nemo
1 The Emperor's Club

Click on 'comments' for 25 most memorable performances and 20 most memorable quotes.

Favourites Movies in 2002, 25 Most Memorable Performances and Quotes

Top 20 FAVOURITE Movies in 2002 ( in order of preference )

20. Unfaithful
19. Insomnia
18. Minority Report
17. Lantana (Australian Film Festival)
16. What Time Is It There?
15. Gangs of New York
14. Nirgendwo in Afrika (German Film Festival)
13. Infernal Affairs
12. Kaze no tani no Naushika (Goethe-Institut screening)
11. Shallow Hal
10. Panic Room
9. Double Vision
8. Ping Pong
7. Changing Lanes
6. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: The 20th Anniversary
5. My Sassy Girl
4. About a Boy
3. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2. Apocalypse Now Redux
1. One Hour Photo

Click on 'Comments' to view this year's 25 most memorable performances and 20 most memorable quotes.

Favourites Movies in 2001 and 25 Most Memorable Performances

20. Il Mare
19. Memento
18. La Salarie de la peur (Wages of Fear) (a screening by SFS)
17. Der Tunnel (opening film of German Film Festival 2001)
16. Tailor of Panama
15. The Others
14. Thirteen Days
13. Quills
12. A.I.
11. Requiem of a Dream
10. Traffic
9. Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain
8. Sugar & Spice
7. Battle Royale
6. Bridget Jones's Diary
5. Ikiru (screened at Japanese Film Festival)
4. Moulin Rogue
3. Joint Security Area
2. Rang-e khoda (Colour of Paradise) (screened at Asian Children's Film Festival)
1. Beijing Bicycle

Click on 'Comments' to see this year's 25 most memorable performances.

Confessions of a Film Enthusiast

This is my first day of my job. I love movies. This is an understatment. I know it is more than that. My relationship with movies is liken to a happy marriage that lasted for more than a decade. There is no blind over-the-top passion or stifling boredom.

It seems like it can still go a long way and I am just get better at handling the relationship. I know my expectations of the relationship, there is no 'we' here. I am going to watch all the good movies. Again this is an understatement. What I am trying to say is I admire and respect good movies and I see them as a piece of beautifully crafted artistic expression.

But what are good movies? Well, I am not so sure too. I think that is the magical part of the relationship. I like certain movies which not many people will like. Movies speak to individuals differently. Judging a film professionally is like seeing them as products with flaws.

There is always a limitation of expressions to attempt to explain why certain movies are better than others. The mood the movie induce, the entertainment values, the plot, the characters, the actors, the message, the lines, the director's vision and ambition etc etc You can explain possibly aspect by aspect and thus conclude it is a good movie. The most accurate judgment is when the credits start rolling, what is the grade that will roll up in your head.

A film Critic? Most likely not in a professional way. I am more than a movie goer, film freak etc. Many will see movies as an entertainment but to me, I am proud to say that my passion in movies actually made some of my friends and colleagues to respect the art form.

So this is end of my confessions and as they always say... "Let the show begin...."