Nuovo cinema Paradiso
This blog title is the Italian name for CINEMA PARADISO. I will always be like the little boy in the projectionist room. Wide-eyed and awe-inspired.
It is magical feeling I have for movies since I was a toddler. My dad has a big part to play.
Going to the movies may not be akin to going to a paradise (you must not count those bad movies) but it is akin to meeting my one true love.
It is always a different woman each time. The tough kick-ass action adventure tomboys, the lovey-dovey romance cupcakes, the serious Amazon epic queens, the foreign language-speaking exotic mademoiselle, the hair-raising scary horror chicks, the funny blondes, the indie debutantes.
First the buzz, then the posters, the trailers and finally the reviews. There is one more thing left to do! Date her for real... I mean watch the movie for real!
Screening on Sunday, July 11, 2004
100 Comments:
MEAN GIRLS
viewed on 10/7/04 (Sat)
Ok. I have to confess. I am very skeptical about this movie. I did not even bother to put that on my must-see list. I mean I have seen Clueless, Sugar & Spice, Never Been Kissed etc. Can this new member of the genre reinvent itself? Well... but it turns out to be very good. I mean I really go in feeling not so excited but then later I was actually glued to the story. The story is not entirely refreshing but it is very smart and funny and honest. Above all, I like that it is actually rather 'educational' to those stuck girls who think they are pretty so everyone else is dumb.
Rating: A-
Sunday, July 11, 2004 1:39:00 AM
I found that scene where Regina told Gretchen off ("Stop trying to make 'fetch' happen! It's not gonna happen!") both funny and sad...
Sunday, July 11, 2004 3:15:00 AM
I am not over Mean Girls yet! Haaa... Trading my favourite scenes.
1. Cady breaking up the tiara and gives a piece to everyone. It is original and meaningful.
2. Regina writes in her Burn Book and we think she is venting out, but in fact, she has a ruin plan in mind to bring Cady down.
3. Many references to jungles in Africa, mirroring the survival of the fittest and the irony we do behave like animals at times. The girlfight is the ultimate manifestation and it proves that they do fight like angry wild animals.
4. The 'workshop' sequence in the school hall almost becomes cringingly corny but the confidence fall part saves the day. Phew. I learn a thing or two. Maybe I can use it sometime to resolve conflicts.
Like the girls would say, I am so not over the film. It is that fetch!
Sunday, July 11, 2004 8:37:00 AM
SPIDER-MAN 2
viewed on 11/7/04 (Sun)
Ok, I need to confess again. Well this is the weekend of nice surprises. I am not really that keen to see Spidey 2. I mean Spidey 1 is kind of disappointing to me. Action movie? Not my usual cup of tea. Comic hero? I don't even read comics. For the hype and the buzz. Reviews say this movie has depth and really make Spiderman seems more 'human', you know like common people. That's not really helping either. I know X-men 1 is about social outcasts, Batman has a childhood scar to overcome and Superman has kryptonite to fear. But Spidey has rent to pay, a job to keep, homework to rush, a granny to take care of and can't keep his girl. Ok, it is not really that new but the movie is relentlessly in painting Spidey as an ordinary man crushing under these stress that I begin to think superheroes are the ones who need to see the shrink most urgently.
Think that really says alot of us in real life. Responsibility. To Spiderman is saving the world and don't we have the responsibility to pay the bills, hold our jobs together, running on household errands. Not that we like to but simply we have the ability to do it and we need to play our roles as required. Along the way, there will be sacrifices. Our social life will be miserable, you don't have time to yourself, whatever you do there is a little voice that wants you to be considerate to others. Now , compare that to Spiderman. He has to save whoever, I mean everyone, who is in danger and you can begin to imagine the sacrifices he has to make. You'll soon get a pretty good idea this movie is trying to say. Heroes have problems, we know that. Heros can't reveal true identities, we know that too. But hardly a superhero movie that comes along to tell you that superheros have a responsibility that cannot escape 'cos only they have supernatural powers and they jolly well learn to cope with sacrifices and do a good job in saving the world.
As you can see I like Spiderman 2 very much. It really is a very good example that an entertaining blockbuster can be more than just big cast, big SFX, big names, big action etc. I think that is why superhero comic books are hot 'cos they promise more than just imagination. There should be similiar messages or a thing or two we can take away.
I really hope Spiderman 2 will inspire more action movies to develop more than what is already so good in the special effects department. X-Men 2 and the Batman & Robin movies are good examples that forsaking the 'drama' component and focus entirely on the SFX is not really a wise move.
Am I looking forward to Spidey 3. Well... not really. But I am always already to embrace it if it can really surprise me.
Rating: A-
Expected Rating: B+
Sunday, July 11, 2004 6:48:00 PM
SUPER SIZE ME
viewed on 19/7/04 (Mon)
Ok. I think I got an overdose of the reviews and reports of this movie. I expected every shocking result of that Mac experiment the director took on. I don't really find the movie that shockingly revealing. Blame it on the enthusiastic reviews? Ok ok I will 'rewind' my mindset and imagine what I will think before reading any review?
Right, here it is.
Rating: B+
Saturday, July 24, 2004 9:55:00 PM
OSAMA
viewed on 21/7/04 (Wed)
After the show, a female lady behind me commented on the film," So depressing!" She meant it not really as a compliment.
My sentiments exactly. It is too depressing to watch. It reveals shocking fact that women in the Taliban era are treated in the most possibly worst way and all in the name of respect for women?!
The title character has to disguise as boy, later named Osama, so that she can work and earn money for her family. You see, women in the Taliban era cannot be seen without a male escorting. In short if there is no men in the house, which is the case in the story, you cannot step out of your house even if it means starving to death.
The girl's true identity is eventually exposed and she will be stoned to death. There is even a sequence to demonstrate that. The accused will be wrapped from head to toe and pushed into a hole. Men will then walk up to her and throw stones at her until she dies.
An old man 'saves' her by volunteering to marry her. Upon reaching his home, it is shown that he already has many wives, all with their children locked up in rooms. As the wives start to prepare the girl for the marriage, they take turns to tell her, all crying their hearts out, how they are forced into marrying the old man. There is also a scene, the old man shows her a string of locks and asks her to choose which one to lock her up. She cries and the old man thinking she is not happy with the collection, takes out his favourite lock - a beautiful gigantic lock.
The feeling I had was like watching a horror movie. Totally disgusted. The wails of the girl make you feel even more uneasy and depressed.
Rating: B+
Expected Rating: A-
Saturday, July 24, 2004 10:14:00 PM
HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS
viewed on 24/7/04 (Sat)
Some audience sniggered at the dialogue and when Zhang Ziyi's character 'refuses to die', they laughed even harder. They must have seen that embarassing HERO. Like me, we waited in keen anticipation only to be bitterly disappointed. HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS in that same genre apparently will make us more 'wary' of this movie.
Well I was very skeptical but the first half of the movie is indeed impressive. Those who laughed at the seemingly corny lines may not realise that there is indeed some wit in them. I am pleasantly pleased already.
There are some other similarities. The 'rain' of bamboo sticks and arrows remind me of that silly scene of Maggie Cheung 'sweeping away' arrows like a mad woman in HERO. In this movie, the effects are not out of place and truly awe-inspiring. And when I think the fight on the bamboo canopy in CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON cannot be topped. The fight in the bamboo forest in this movie breaks new grounds.
Ok, all things went well until we are told it is in fact a love story with many many twists. I have no complaints about the twists. They keep the story riveting. The twist in the ending is indeed very touching. But I really wish Zhang Yimou will STOP making movies like this. I really miss those days when he made movies so endearing like RAISE THE RED LANTERN, THE STORY OF QIUJU, TO LIVE, NOT ONE LESS etc.
Please Mr Zhang, you don't have to follow in that Mr Lee's footsteps. You are one sensational genius yourself.
Rating: B
Expected Rating: B
Saturday, July 24, 2004 10:31:00 PM
Like it's a foregone fact that *no other* Asian - or Hollywood, for that matter - horror movie is ever going to top Hideo Nakata's "Ringu", any 'wuxia' wannabe trying to outdo Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" will find the feat a near-insurmountable one.
That said, I bet Li Mubai from "CTHD" can beat both Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro's characters from "House Of Flying Daggers" in a swordfight with his eyes closed!
Saturday, July 24, 2004 11:46:00 PM
THE RETURN
viewed on 25/7/04 (Sun)
I can't really make out what the movie is trying to say. There are many unanswered questions. Is it a thriller about a scary father with questionable parenting skills? A study of two brothers' different emotional complexity when their absent father appears 12 years later? Not only that. There is no mention why the father made the trip with his two sons. What is in the case in the chest the father dug up? What is about the island? I am told in one synopsis that the island lies a secret that links to the father's past. What is it?
The cinematography is great. The child actors are good. The setup of the story can do much more. A pity. I hate movies that promise so much but fail to deliver.
Rating: C
Expected Rating: B+
Sunday, July 25, 2004 7:13:00 PM
THE VILLAGE
viewed on 7/8/04 (Sat)
Have to be very very careful not to give away any spoilers. Don't don't give away the ending. I mean it is so so so head-spinning that no one wants to be the first party pooper.
I say this is the best way to counter-attack piracy. Draws the audience back into the theatres and guarantee them that they will be given a big secret to keep from the rest of the town.
All I can say are loopholes are inevitable and the story a little far-fetched but I have to take my hat off M. Night Shyamalan. He is comparable to Alfred Hitchcock and Wes Craven. Maestros of suspense.
Yup, no more comments from me. And I think film critics should be as brief too. With audience getting smarter, they cannot afford to say too much.
Rating: B+
Expected Rating: B+
Sunday, August 08, 2004 10:59:00 AM
Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom
viewed on 9/8/04 (Mon)
The film's only accomplishment is the breathtaking cinematography, capturing beautiful moments of a floating temple in a lake through the four seasons. Sadly the sole credit I will give to the film. The life story of a monk tries hard to be pro-Buddhism but fails miserably. Showing the monk making love with a female sick girl is not helping either. In fact to talk seriously about the story or the performance or anything else is silly. The director of photography claims all the credits.
Rating: C
Expected Rating; B-
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 1:02:00 AM
AILEEN: LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER
viewed on 9/8/04 (Mon)
After seeing Charlize Theron's performance in MONSTER and this documentary film, I am even more convinced that she should be the one and only winner. Many may know she won because she sacrificed so much to play an ugly serial killer but not many know that her performance was in fact Aileen Wurnos came back to life.
While the movie focuses on her lesbian relationship with her lover. This documentaty reveals alot alot more about Aileen Wurnos. In fact, her lover made only a rather brief appearance.
There are many disturbing facts revealed in this documentary.
Firstly, the police officials, Aileen Wurnos' close friends and her biological mother tried to sell her story to Hollywood and the media for a huge sum and she didn't get a single cent. In fact, when her lover tried to con her into confessing her murders on a taped conversation (as portrayed in the movie), she was already negotiating deals with Hollywood!
Secondly, in one shocking interview, Aileen herself confessed that she did not kill the men in the name of self-defence! Remember in the movie, her first victim, the man who brutally assaulted her and threw Aileen on a killing spree? We see an account by Aileen herself in the court. It was captured in the director's first documentary about ten years ago. Now, in the second one, she told the director it was all bluff! The director told her the testimonial was very convincing and Aileen was slightly proud of it. In that interview, she said she wanted to come clean before being executed. Her honesty is really moving but is she telling the whole truth? Later, she denied all she said and told the director she indeed killed in self-defence!
Thirdly, Aileen was religious. She talked of coming clean by telling the whole truth before joining Christ. She read the bible in the jail. She even revealed one of her ambitions is to be a missionary, besides a fire department gal and a police woman.
Fourthly, she came from a very decent and straight family. Her father wouldn't swear in the house and even wouldn't take off his shirt when working on the lawn. Her mother (we were told later it was her stepmother) would make her have a bar of soap in her mouth if she swore. Very unfortunately, she was raped by a very old pedophile in the neighbourhood and gave birth at the age of 13. Her mother later died and her father blamed it on Aileen. Partly because she brought shame to the family. She was thrown out of the house and she had to live in the woods during winter. As she recounted all these, there was not a single tear in her eyes. All we saw was anger. The director asked Aileen to tell him her happiest moment in her life. Aileen gave a smirk and began cursing the world.
Fifthly, before she was executed she made it very clear to everyone that she wanted to reveal the corruption of the cops and the system. When the director asked her how she felt when her biological mother wanted him to apologise on her behalf, she cursed briefly and was eager again to gripe about the corruption of cops. How the cops knew from the start it was her but just wanted her to keep killing so that it would be high-profile case and they could sell the story to the media. How she knew the cops were watching her killing those men all these while but covered up everything. How the prison guards tried to torment her using sonic waves. The director said it was obvious that Aileen had some mental problems but they conducted a test and simply declared her to be mentally sound. That sealed her fate.
Lastly, as aptly put across by a newscaster, when Aileen was executed, who was happier? The families of the victims or ... Aileen herself. She many a time told the director that she wanted to be executed fast. Living in the prisons for more than a decade waiting to be executed was like living in hell. She even half-jokingly said that she viewed her execution as going onto a mother ship, like in Star Trek, and be exported to another planet. She was so tired of living that death was the only way.
The documentaty is deeply unsettling. It is obvious that the documentary is not very professionally done like many highly-acclaimed ones but it is nonetheless extremely sincere, honest, sad and disturbing.
Rating: A
Expected Rating: B+
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 1:59:00 AM
TOUCHING THE VOID (2003)
viewed on 10/8/04 (Tues)
It is a documentary made of the interviews of two mountaineers who survived a very very perilous journey down this west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985 and the very realistic reenactment. Sorry, folks, I can't really relate to it. I don't know why. Maybe it is very similar to those life-assuring stories about overcoming impossible circumstances, like the ones we read in Readers' Digest. Maybe, I am not into mountaineering at all. The narration is very captivating, one of them even had tears in his eyes as he described the unbearable sense of abandonment in the cold wilderness. The reenactment is also very realistic. Did they do it with special effects? Did it in a studio? On location? Can't be, given the incredibly harsh climate and terrain! Well, at the end of the day, it still comes back to the same point. It is not I brush aside all the effort put in to tell a story of enormous willpower, but I just can't relate to it... fine?
Rating: B-
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 10:34:00 PM
COFFEE AND CIGARETTES
viewed on 13/8/04 (Fri)
The concept is original. 11 short segments of skit revolving conversations over coffee and cigarettes. I like most the one with Cate Blanchett playing a dual role, as the sophiscated Cate Blanchett and her white-trash cousin. It goes on to show how good the actress can be. I can hardly recognise the two very different characters are in fact played by the same person. I am not alone. As the credits rolled, a guy in the audience exclaimed, "Oh! It is the same actress!"
I also like the one with Alfred Molina and Steve Coogan. Steve Coogan is a rather good comedian, playing a movie actor who initially looks down on the humble Alfred Molina until he know Alfred knows Spike Jonze. Yup, they play themselves.
Ok, this is when I will gripe about the show. The concept is orginial and allow me to add that the performances are also great. But, the script is very short of brilliant wit. What a perfect waste of a good movie concept. It wants to be Quentin Tarantino-esque but churns out clueless nothings instead. The dialogue goes nowhere. Funny? At times, but it amounts to nothing really. Mr Tarantino is still the master at things like that.
Rating: C+
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 10:55:00 PM
COLLATERAL
viewed on 14/8/04 (Sat)
The storyline sounds boring. A one-night road trip of two guys? How much drama can you pack in? I was rather doubtful. But I go ahead since it is made by Michael Mann and stars Tom Cruise.
I always find Mr Cruise is a very hardworking actor. His commitment to his profession is evident. He is really good in the show. Not that he plays a bad guy but he comes across convincingly as a seeming cold-blooded killer with some humanity. Jamie Foxx is surprisingly very good, almost stealing the show just by playing a good guy. I can imagine Denzel Washington playing his role but Jamie is just as fine.
What I like most about the movie is that I believe it is shot using a handycam. But the film is processed so professionally that it ends up looking neither like a home video nor what we usually see in a movie. It gives a rather refreshing visual experience.
The script is cleverly written, posing many thought-provoking questions. Is it pathetic if we hold to a dream that takes years and years to fulfill? Is it worth going against your conscience to earn some big bucks? How much courage a cab driver needs to like a lawyer and go all out for her? Is there a difference between a killer and a war or a massacre? And what really a man's death amount to in a city void of feelings?
Expected Rating: B+
Rating: B+
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 11:16:00 PM
SPELLBOUND
viewed on 15/8/04 (Sun)
The documentary starts off by showing us slices of daily lives of 8 kids going for the national spelling bee championship. Heard from a colleage who stayed in USA for a while that there is really such an annual affair, which received quite alot of coverage each year.
Yes, goes witout saying, the 8 kids are very nerdy. Some of them confessed they simply love to spell. One of them like to use bombastic words. Are they happy kids? Not quite. Some of them have to bear the teasing of other kids. One has to hide his intelligence because in his state one big sign spelt 'champ' as 'chapm'. There is one kid whose father who came to USA illegally years ago and hardly speaks a word of English. Yet she can spell very big words. There is one Afro-American girl who comes from a working class single-parent family. There are some who have tremendous support and coaching by their parents. There are two Indian kids who see the scholarship, given as the first prize, a window of opportunities which they will hardly get in their native country.
The documentary is shot in the way we may or may not know one of them will be the winner. I do not know whether the director has a sixth sense or what. He interviewed the 8 of them before the championship and there are many many kids in the finals! How will he know one of his subjects will be the winner? Sheer luck or what?
I like the documentary being very engaging and gives some insight to child geniuses and their innocence and unforseen pressure. I will recommend this to adults, especially parents and teachers. We all hope we can have one child like that. Smart, hardworking and yet gracious at accepting failure.
Rating: B+
Tuesday, August 17, 2004 11:41:00 PM
FAHRENHEIT 9/11
viewed on 17/8/04 (Tues)
I left the theatre with a very heavy heart. I feel pity for the Americans and thank goodness, I don't live in a country run by a very incompetent, money-grabbing, two-faced, pretentious and insincere president. I like the opening of the film of Al Gore winning the election.
Ok, when I watched SUPERSIZE ME, the facts presented in the documentary are not new to me. I read them before the show so they did not take me by surprise. I was even lamenting that reading the reviews spoilt my viewing pleasure. Now, for this documentary, I read even more about it before I watch it. Still, what I see on the big screen never fails to surprise, shock and move me. You may have read it all, heard it all but it is rather different seeing it for yourself.
I have to admit that I am trying hard not to be bought over by Michael Moore completely. There are accusations that he presented his facts unfairly. I think it is inevitable. Anything that is edited will have some degree of bias. Now they may be griping about the minor details but those who read the papers and follow the news, what we discuss at the coffeeshop and over luch breaks is not far from what Michael Moore and the Americans see in George Bush. It takes only a courageous man like Michael Moore to make it more public.
I believe Michael Moore, unlike his cheeky and humorous self in BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, is dead serious in exposing all the uncensored ugly side of George Bush. He is relentless and shows utter hatred for him. There is one particular scene which everyone will bring up. The expression George Bush had when he was told of the 9/11 tragedy in a school classroom, in the middle of a reading activity. You read and heard about his candid response to the news but nothing prepares me for what I am going to see. He was shown showing a blank expression and you can see fear, devastation and utter loss in his eyes. It has a very haunting effect.
I think if I am an American, the documentary will be very close to my heart and I would have given a A+. I just think it is not fair to give it the highest honour when I am not capable of knowing the ultimate truth. Like what Moore quoted Orson Welles in the documentary, there is no winner in a war. I must not be impulsive to declare Moore as a winner too.
Expected Rating: A-
Rating: A
Wednesday, August 18, 2004 12:10:00 AM
Do not believe everything Michael Moore says or 'shows' you. They may not all be true. If they were, the President would be impeached by now.
Moore is as shrewd a person as Bush is. Take everything with a pinch of salt. View the film as what it is - a piece of entertainment.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004 2:43:00 AM
THE NOTEBOOK
viewed on 18/8/04 (Wed)
The only reason I am watching this is the director is Nick Cassavetes. Not a director of many movies but the critics' darling.
I am not at all prepared for the movie. Read the tagline, 'Behind every great love is a great story.' How very persuasive...
... I cried several times during the movie. How could I? The story plotline is nowhere close to original. Boy meets girl in summer. Had great fun. Alas. The girl is from a rich family with snobbish parents and the boy is poor. Girl's mother forces her to leave the boy. The boy writes to her but her big evil mother keeps all the letters away from her. The girl meets and likes another good man but deep down inside she still loves the boy. The boy went to the war to forget the past but deep down inside he still loves the girl. They finally meet up and rekindle their relationship. They relive the happy days again and promise not to part again. But when things are looking up, big evil mother appears again to dash all hopes. Yawn. Sorry if I sounded very cynical but, hey, that is the storyline.
We all know the material is either going to be passable tearjearker or a corny tearjerker. And by the way tearjerker is not really a compliment.
Nick just has a way to tell the age-old story with so much elegance and heartbreaking poignancy that you must be a jerk not to be moved by the age-old tale all over again. It's like a spell casted. The very cynical side of me is telling me it is just a love story but the sensual side of me is sobbing away.
The performaces are first-rate. That bitch from MEAN GIRLS playing a loverlorn damsel? Just when I really thought she is a bitch in real life. Well I cried with that 'bitch'.
Now, I also notice something. We are told that veteran actors play the younger leads in their old age. But Nick seems to pretend that we do not know. Yeah. Hullo, some of us actually read the reviews before we come here. What is the mystery for? I guess he expected that and he is only teasing us. He has saved a few surprises at the end. At one point, I thought the ending is the fade-in after when James Garner's Noah is looking at the old photos, thinking all is lost again. Nope, the movie goes on. I was fearing a tagged-on forced ending. Nope, Nick gives us a happy ending that is both satisfying and very moving. Now who says a love story with a tragic ending will touch audience more than one with a happy ending?
Maybe I didn't have high expectations for this movie. Maybe I was in the right mood for romantic stuff. But I simply love this movie. It is not out to make you cry but make you believe love conquers all, and it can be anything.
Rating: A-
Thursday, August 19, 2004 1:00:00 AM
THE MOTHER
viewed on 1/9/04 (Wed)
I was trying to get over this very disturbing movie. It shows sex scenes of a 60-something old woman making love with a 30-something hunk. The scenes are explicit and very uncomfortable to watch. Please don't try to brush it all off by telling me it is all about the naked needs of the characters.
I think while there is rating of films to bar children of certain age to watch 'unhealthy' movies, there should some warning for senior citizens watching this one. I am afraid they may be encouraged to try casual sex with younger lads. The sexual frustration bottled up for too long can be very destructive once released.
I like many aspects of the movie. I like the first half of the movie alot. I like the 'bright' cinematography, the excellent acting, the fluid directing and sensitive portrayals of the dysfunctional characters.
I just cannot stomach the sex scenes and some of the unsolved questions. Did the hunk do it with the mother out of lust or money? Did she do it out of loneliness after the death of her husband? Or she just wants to relive the time she had an affair many many years back but had no courage to pursue further? Do they click on an intellectual level or on a sexual one? Why the suicide attempt and then the punch? Why the ending shows a happier mother leaving her house?
Rating: B-
Friday, September 03, 2004 9:32:00 PM
OPEN WATER
viewed on 7/9/04 (Tues)
Watching this movie is very unnerving for me. I am afraid of deep water, the sea, the sharks, the sense of abandonment and death. I can see why this movie will work on many people. Now I think this is aided alot by the fact that a digital camera is used to give the 'home-video' feeling. True,initially the quality slightly puts me off. But, because of that particular 'home-video' feeling, I find myself believing in whatever I see. JAWS scared me because it is big and fierce but in this movie, the sight of a small shark fin can make my knees go weak already.
There is a particular scene the camera moves slightly beneath the sea surface and we see many sharks swimming around. The chill just runs down my spine. It is not a jump scene or a gruesome sight, just sharks swimming!
There are other things which make this seemingly innocent 'home-video' a truly scary movie. Besides the you-are-there feeling, I really admire how efforlessly the director builds up the suspense and the realistic drama around two people floating in the sea for more than one hour into the movie.
The suspense doesn't build up to a climax that will shock and shake you and then the end credits roll. The spine-chilling feeling comes and goes like the tide and when the death of the couple finally comes, it is quitely shocking and sad.
Now, many will compare this to BLAIR WITCH PROJECT and I think this is a much superior film. How can someone dutifully films everything even on the run from a mysterious forest demon? I buy OPEN WATER easily. After watching the movie, I was still bugged by the dismal quality of a home-video. But now when I think of it, the chill still lingers. I have no choice but to admit this is THE truly spine-chilling movie of all times. And it is not even a horror movie.
Rating: A-
Expected Rating: B+
Wednesday, September 08, 2004 6:22:00 PM
CINEMANIA
viewed on 9/9/04 (Thurs)
I felt very uneasy watching this documentary. Even as I sneered at some of the things the film buffs did and said, I was cautioning myself never to reach that very pathetic state.
One film buff will bring along a bag whenever he goes to the movies, like the one you will carry around when you bring a baby out. In his bag, he shows us he has sweaters, cold tablets (for the cold air-conditioning) and vitamin pills (he will not have time to eat).
Eating. Yes, another film buff even goes to the extent to cut off vegetables and fruits in his diet because they will make them go the the toilet more often during the movies. He is also the one that if you eat in the cinema, he will throw your food out. He is also the one who owns a cellphone so that he can call the booth if the movie doesn't play well. In this way, he will not miss any part of the movie and yet things can be fixed.
There is Roberta. She is the only female and the weirdest too. Outrageously weird. She will go around to collect flyers and schedules of any kind of movies. And she will pack like five copies each into her plastic bag. By the way, every film buff here carries a plastic bag. She attacks a female usher once because she tore her ticket stub. She was barred from entering the cinema at the museum. In trying to bluff the staff, she put on a wig and thick makeup and when she was exposed she was utterly shocked that they could see through her disguise. Now, this is told in the interview with the usher. She added that Roberta must have learnt this from some movie and simple-mindedly thinks that it would work. She was exposed, she just couldn't relate back to reality. More to come. Take a look at her apartment. She collects any movie memorabilia, including LAST ACTION HERO and JURASSIC PARK drink cups. You can see no light at all in her apartment because every space available, and I mean every space, is packed with memorabilia.
I realise that if I go on, I am telling you the whole movie. Every minute, I would see or hear something so laughably appalling that throughout the movie I watched on with absolute disgusted awe. My jaws just dropped, literally.
I have mixed feelings for these people. We share undeniably the common interest and we all both crazy over movies. I can feel that when they talk about movies. But on the other hand, I do not want to be linked to them. I surely do not want to turn out to be one of them. Now I am not saying this with a guffaw but somehow with some worry.
I never feel very proud to tell others I like going to the movies. The first thing that comes to their minds is a nerdy escapist. I love movies but I want a life too. The documentary is not badly done really. The subjects are very captivating themselves. I dislike them and I know it is not fair but the rating is more for them.
Rating: C
Expected Rating: B
Saturday, September 11, 2004 3:41:00 PM
LES CHORISTES
viewed on 11/9/04 (Sat)
I am biased towards movies that 'speak' to me. I don't care, I am not professional anyway. Hee ...
I am not hoping too much for this movie. Before this, there are MONA LISA SMILE, SCHOOL OF ROCK, DEAD POETS SOCIETY, DANGEROUS MINDS, THE EMPEROR'S CLUB etc etc. But wait... lo and behold. I want to shout it out. I love it, l love it, I LOVE IT! I can't wait to recommend this movie to my colleagues. Send them an email! Tell them on Monday. I was telling myself.
I can relate very well to this movie. Some classes are so notorious that the noise made before you see the class seems more like a war-cry. All of them against only you! They are despised by the school. They know that and you will be surprised, they are sad to know that. In response, they rebel. There are surely times when you are faced with a blatantly rude student who rip apart your ideals and beliefs and step on them. If your self-discipline is not in check, the immediate reaction is a slap across the cocky face. They have nothing to lose. They know the rules and punishment, maybe even better than you. They will not stoop to lick your boots but on the contrary they know where to push the buttons and watch you go insane. How to win their hearts back? Learn from this movie. For a start, play along and don't things so seriously. Learn to be nice but firm. Don't take every mischief as a challenge to your well-guarded authority and ... your ego. I can't say I master it but these hard-learned lessons I remember over the years.
There is a very touching episode. The most notorious boy in the class happens to be a singing talent. The teacher encourages him and grooms him. One day, sensing that the teacher likes his mother, he throws ink on him, disappointing deeply both his mother and teacher. The teacher understands the boy so there is no corporal punishment or a reprimand. He just simply one day tells him that his voice is good but not indispensable in the choir. On the day when the choir sings to an important guest, he stands at one side looking angry and jealous. The guest asks about him and the teacher explains that he is a special case. In the middle of the performance, the teacher signals to him to sing his solo part. The 'special case' sings most beautifully because he sings with pride and ... immense gratitude. Later, with the help from the teacher, he gets a scholarship in a reputable music school and becomes, what we know at the opening of the movie, an orchestra conductor.
The movie is too short. I did not want it to end so soon. I want to know more about what happen next to the characters whom I grow to love so much. Well, I guess I have to let it be. Like the teacher, it is simply a humble and since labour of love. I have a feeling it doesn't even think highly of itself. I love this movie even more.
Rating: A+
Expected Rating: B+
Sunday, September 12, 2004 12:43:00 AM
Sur mes lèvres (2001)
viewed on 14/9/04
I was feeling frustrated watching this. The main plot and the subplots did not seem to promise a neat closure. I was about to give up on this psycho-sexual thriller when in the final 15 minutes or so, everything just fell into place. It has a satisfactory wrap-up. Nothing really feels forced. It turns to be a rather smart heist film.
I can see the potential of turning this into a Hollywood box office hit.
Rating: B
Expected Rating: B
Tuesday, September 14, 2004 11:45:00 PM
IMELDA
viewed on 19/9/04 (Sun)
We heard so much about her shoe collection. It is always mentioned with indication to her greed, corruption and vanity. All built upon her poor people. One interviewee, Imelda's cousin, bashfully said that she found it strange that media talked so much about her big shoe collection when every other rich woman owned many many shoes too, including herself. True. One shopping ad even cheekily said there was a little Imelda in all of us. Imelda herself is pleased to know that. Even the security guard at the Imelda's shoe 'museum' wanted to try on the shoes when no one was watching. It is indeed not a big issue. The documentary surprisingly mentions rather little about her collection too. There is more to this woman. Many many more.
The documentary came with a very short notice. Strangely screened for two days only. Being a miser, I wanted to watch it on a weekday but thinking, the screening could be an one-off thing, I parted almost ten dollars to see this controversial film. I did not have high hopes. Well, it is made by a fellow Filipino is one thing.
How wrong I am. The quality is nothing short of Michael Moore's standard. In fact, it is so well made that I think that anti-Bush documentary seems a tad inferior.
I am thinking. Maybe George W. Bush would be given a fairer trial should Ramona S. Diaz, the director of this documentary, make Fahrenheit 9/11. I would also like to imagine Michael Moore making a documentary on Imelda...
There is a big difference between these two documentaries. While Michael Moore keeps putting his ideas and theory about Bush into your head, Ramona S. Diaz really tries to see Imelda from a very impartial point of view. Never once, a comment is made by her. She simply uses her interviewees to give an insight to what Imelda is really like. Why some hate her so much while others adore her like a superstar and even a saviour.
There are moments when I can see that Ramona S. Diaz seems to suggest she doesn't like Imelda. For example, she intercuts scenes of Imelda's servants airing her most elaborated dresses with scenes of common people living in slums. There is also scene when Imelda shows off her very funny and even pathetically twisted philosphies on peace and universal harmony. It is rather obvious that the presentation is mocking Imelda, even saying subtly that she is either a nut case or a simpleton. One priest interviewed said Imelda talked to him non-stop, he emphasized that, for four hours. I wonder how the other presidents felt when Imelda was addressing them.
I seriously believe that Imelda wants to help her country and her people. She actively met so many people. Saddam Hussien, Ronald Reagan, Deng Xiao Ping, even the Pope etc etc. She wanted to change the image of her country. But in her own idealistic ways, which revolve around essentially beauty, the Arts and grandness. She is so engrossed in her endeavours that she fails to realise she is doing more harm instead, that her ideas come with good intentions but not practicality, that she has made so many people hate her so much. Why is this so? There is a comment made by Imelda's cousin which I think it brings the downfall of Imelda. She said if only Imelda had people around her who are truthful. She was surrounded by people who were too eager to please her. There is even one interviewee who said that Imelda could have been told that the money and treasures she was given were her entitlement. It never occured to her as embezzlement and corruption.
Towards the end, there are a couple of quiet moments which somehow show the director's sympathy for Imelda. After watching the movie, you will likely come up with two conclusions. Either she is a very good actress in making herself look like a victim or an extremely dreamy 'tai-tai' who truly wants to serve her country. I go by my gut feeling. I choose the latter.
Rating: A
Expected Rating: B
Wednesday, September 22, 2004 12:22:00 AM
THE TERMINAL
viewed on 4/10/04 (Sun)
I don't think Steven Spielberg is good with comedies. This is easily one of my least favourites, together with AMISTAD. I even like AI and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN. I think the problem is Steven Spielberg is so renowed as a wonderful director that any mediocre from him is considered as something bad.
I catch myself yawning, figeting alot and even daydreaming during the show. Thinking of a reason, I think I should not say Steven is not good at comedies. Some scenes can make me laugh because it tickles me like many Hollywood comedies will. Like the part Tom Hanks keeps going back with a light green form to fish for information about a girl over the counter so that he can be fed with food from a guy who likes her. Like the part the Indian cleaner with a habit of watching people slipping because they always ignore the warning sign posts. These parts are funny but not original.
The feel-good bit comes in more 'unnatural'. What with the episode of the medicine for the goats? I find the romantic subplot of the food guy and the counter girl is redundant. I also find the romance between Tom Hanks and Catherine not convincing enough. The part when they throw their beepers out is very corny. I bet even Catherine feels awkward too.
Yup. I don't like the movie. Many will hate me for saying this but I think it can be a much better movie if it is directed by, like Chris Columbus or Jon Turteltaub or Ivan Reitman.
Expected Rating: A-
Rating: B-
Sunday, October 03, 2004 8:25:00 PM
OLDBOY
viewed on 5/10/04 (Tues)
Like THE VILLAGE, divulging too much of the plot will spoil the fun of watching this movie. Wait. To say 'spoil the fun' is not really appropriate. I can use that phrase on THE VILLAGE but for OLDBOY, it is more than that. You can tell your friends about the many twists but they need to watch it to know what you are talking about.
It is KILL BILL with many twists and nasty surprises. It only not strives to keep you at the edge of the seat with a very very intriguing story and along the way it also attempts to make your stomach sick with violent scenes and perverted revelations.
There are many similarities to KILL BILL but Quentin Tarantino chooses this as his favourite at the Cannes. He has many reasons to realise that there are also many differences between the two. The revenge tale and the violence are the only common things. Other than that, the stylish directing style is different and the stories want to achieve different objectives. This one wants to take us by surprises till the very end.
The plot is rather impossible and even more so for the ending. Still I like this movie. It pushes the envelope in many ways, including the cameraworks. The opening scene sets the story going already. The fade-ins used in the narration are unique. The long shot of the main character fighting off a gang with a hammer is so real I wonder how they get it made without really hurting anyone. Not to mention the countless rehearsals to get it right.
Ok. Just a very small spoiler (which can hardly qualified as one really), the title itself should be changed to keep the whole mystery fully intact.
Expected Rating: B
Rating: B
Tuesday, October 05, 2004 11:18:00 PM
LES FILS (THE SON)
viewed on 10/10/04 (Sun)
I read Uncle Ebert's review before deciding to watch this. 4 stars. He said the movie even taught him a few things. He even wrote this, "If you find you cannot respond to it, that is the degree to which you have room to grow."
I didn't pay much attention to the review. Movies with such praises from Uncle Ebert cannot go every wrong. Whatever Uncle Ebert highly recommended I will watch. But I have to say this. For the first time I totally disagree with his review. I even caught myself saying 'bullshit' as I read the review again immediately after the movie.
The story has so much room to develop into a gripping drama or a character study. You see the main plot is a man accepts a boy as his carpentry apprentice even though he knows he kills his son five years ago. The boy doesn't know his master's relationship to the boy he killed. He is finally told of the secret and then a few minutes later the movie ends! What happens before this? Most of the times, long long shots of the man spending alot of time with the boy and observing him, like some gay pedophile.
I admit I cannot respond to this movie and think I am not as bad as what Uncle Ebert says I will be. I follow my heart and slap this movie with a ...
Rating: D
Expected Rating: B+
Monday, October 11, 2004 12:29:00 AM
DE TWEELING (TWIN SISTERS)
viewed on 11/10/04 (Mon)
This is this year's Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Film.
It has all the trappings of what Oscar will like to see. An epic that spans over decades following the tumultuous relationship of two twin sisters separated by force when young, united by chance and again separated by war and different political standings. Meticulous in details and a well-acted drama.
Does it reach me? Not quite la.
Rating: B-
Expected Rating: B+
Saturday, October 23, 2004 1:00:00 AM
EVIL (ONDSKAN)
viewed on 12/10/04 (Tues)
After the show, a few audience clapped, including myself.
I can relate very well to the movie. Anyone will. Who wasn't at one point of time a victim of a bully? In school, at our working places etc.
I am not shameful to admit that I was bullied at my working place. Sometimes over small matters but lately these bullies are too much. And I hit back. I wear my vengeance as my badge of honour. It is interesting to see how a growl can actually make them step away from your boundaries.
Ok, personal matters aside. Let's go back to the movie.
For most of the parts, we see the hero being bullied, at home and at school. It keeps me riveted to the story as the extend of the bullying becomes more and more absurd. There is one part the bullies even throw a bucket of faeces into the room of the hero.
We feel for the hero immediately. He cannot fight back as that will guarantee an expulsion from school and that will break his promise to his mother. Yet he is that sort who can hit back at the bullies effortlessly but he has to hold back his anger and his punches.
We know the ending actually. The hero, the underdog, will emerge as the winner in the end. He shows me that there is always a smarter way to hit back at your bullies in a big way. To use violence and force to hit back is going to tell them we are as bad as them.
Rating: A+
Expected Rating: B+
Sunday, October 24, 2004 3:07:00 PM
SEPET
viewed on 12/10/04 (Tues)
Sepet in Malay means single eyelid. A Malaysia-made inter-racial romance that everyone is saying it is so sweet? Must-see.
Not bad. I think if Jack Neo is to make a love story, it will be something like SEPET.
It kind of enlightens me on a few things about Malay girls. Apparently, it is all right for them to fall in love with Chinese guys. All this while, I thought it is a taboo. Ok, no wonder my Malay female colleague can openly 'flirt' with me. Also apparently, Malay girls can hold hands with guys openly. Interesting.
To say you don't like this movie is like telling a baby she is not cute. It is not really well made. There are many rough edges. The tragic ending seems too sudden. Not to mention the spookiness. Strange. The change of the tone towards the end is what I don't really like.
Sorry, I don't really like the Malay female lead too. A bit pretentious. Ok hold your daggers but ... she put up a very heartwrenching performance in the car scene. Her mother equally good. It is so obvious they are both moved by the story.
Ok, the good things. The supporting cast is good. The family of the Malay lead is superb. I would like to see more of them. So likeable.
Like Jack Neo, the director tries to assert some opinions on racial issues, like Malays are always seen as lazy and Chinese are always deem ugly with their single eyelids. Not bad. In what I see as a more conservative country than Singapore, I am glad to hear such open and frank remarks. Nothing to worry about. In the true spirit of racial harmony, such cheeky remarks are harmless.
The local flavour is very strong and it is unmistakably made in Malaysia. I really hope to see more films coming from our neighbour.
Now, I am thinking if Jack Neo is to attempt a similar love story set in Singapore, will I go and see? Maybe not. I have kind of given up hope on local productions. I hope Malaysia can do better.
Rating: B
Expected Rating: B+
Sunday, October 24, 2004 7:42:00 PM
THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (Diarios De Motocicleta)
viewed on 13/10/04 (Wed)
I could not keep my eyes open while watching this movie. Too tired after work. Maybe. I was blaming myself for not watching this on a less tiring day. But then again I may be wrong. It is so 'un-happening' that it bores me. I can't really see how the journey actually made such a great impact in the Che Guevara that he will eventually lead the Cuban Revolution. I recently bought a documentary film on the leader. I think it should shed some light on what the leader is really like. Maybe I need to know more about him to appreciate this movie.
Rating: D
Expected Rating: B+
Sunday, October 24, 2004 7:51:00 PM
2046
viewed on 16/10/04 (Sat)
Wow lao, talk what cock. I see finish the whole show but dunno what the hell it is all about. I see got Tony Leung on the poster and I thought must be not bad la. Infernal Affairs lagi good man. Then got that Zhang Ziyi, that hot babe bathing in the woods in House of Flying Daggers. Hot la. Then got Faye Wong wor. Wow another cool chick. Wow piang this kind of combi cannot go wrong la.
Who the hell is the director huh? Wong Kar-wai? Wow piang he got some mental problems is it? My grandmother direct can even be better than this. What train go to 2046 and then forget painful memories. I think only primary school kids will write such rubbish.
Then the story got no head and no tail. Totally catch no ball. Suddenly got Zhang Ziyi then suddenly Faye Wong then suddenly Carina Lau. One more thing. I Ah Beng also can spot the mistake. Early on say Carina Lau die already what then how come can come back to life again. Wow piang and I thought I very stupid one.
My girlfriend, Ah Lian, say such movies go there and see beauty only. Like real lor. I think you spend so much time make those nice nice scenes then don't make the movie lor. The story is crap. To me beautiful crap and ugly crap are all crap. High class crap and low class crap, I choose low class crap ok.
This show reminds me of my ex-girlfriend Penelope Chong. She think she speaks ang moh very good and always wear branded clothes and so slim, people sure see her as high class. Wow piang but she talks rubbish all the time one. No class act got class. What the ...
Rating: F
Expected Rating: C
Sunday, October 24, 2004 8:04:00 PM
OPEN YOUR EYES(Abre los ojos)
viewed on 19/10/04 (Tues)
It reminds me of GUS VAN SANT's PSYCHO. VANILLA SKY is actually a scene-for-scene remake of this original Spanish movie. While many like Alfred Hitchcock's PYSCHO and so many others hate the GUS VAN SANT's version, I believe many will not like both OPEN YOUR EYES and VANILLA SKY. All the while, I believe the Hollywood remake doesn't do justice to the original but if a story is bad, it is bad.
Rating: C
Expected Rating: B-
Sunday, October 24, 2004 8:13:00 PM
THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL
viewed on 20/10/04 (Wed)
Watching this docudrama has a kind of calming effect. Everything happens so placidly. There is no hurry at all to tell the story and even at a screensaver mode, you will not miss much and still appreciate it.
Yes there is a crisis. A mother camel refuses her new colt her milk and hence the family has to send the eldest son and his chubby younger brother to town to ... look for musician. The second last scene is the musician playing the music somehow coaxing the mother camel to feed her colt. It works and the mother camel appears to be crying hence the title. The last scene is the family celebrating the occasion as if the camel is very much a part of the family.
I admit I do not really jump out of my seat and applaud for the movie but I have to say it is really an eye-opening experience to see such a truly docudrama when documentary and drama weaves together so seamlessly.
Rating: B+
Expected Rating: B
Sunday, October 24, 2004 10:37:00 PM
LILJA 4-EVER
viewed on 22/10/04 (Fri)
This comes as a pleasant surprise. It is the closing film of Women in Film film festival. A gala charity screening, meaning you pay like a few hundred dollars for the movie. Well how I end up watching this? Of couse, I won't be so generous but some are. They bought the tickets but decided not to turn up so they gave up their tickets. They passed to SFS to distribute to its members FOC.
It is indeed icing on a nice cake. The movie turns out to be a very powerful cautionary tale about teen prostitution. How poverty can drive a teenager girl down the road of self-destruction. Lilja's story is somewhat similar to some of the news we read in the papers.
Lilja's mother abandons her to seek a new life with a new love. She writes in her letter to the Social Welfare Department that Lilja is always an unwanted child and she refuses to be her guardian anymore. Lilja hears all this without much expression. She has gone through enough suffering, emotionally and physically. She can easily go into the sex trade but she seems to hope for a better tomorrow with her mother.
Lilja burns up her mother's photograph and picks up her first client. She gets lots of money and goes to a minimart to buy alot of things. In an early scene, the cashier looks down on her for not able to pay for even a packet of orange juice. This time she proudly displays the dollar notes and pays like a rich kid. That scene makes me very happy. We know the money does not 'clean' but she has been so miserable that you just wish her to be once truly proud of herself.
She meets a rich handsome boyfriend and thinks that finally good days are nearing. We all know it is a trap from the way the boyfriend looks at her. We just have to wait helplessly to see what ill fate will come upon this poor child. She is sold to Sweden as a teen prostitute. She is locked up in an apartment. She is first raped by the pimp and then forces to have sex with his clients. There is a very disturbing montage of men making love from her point of view. She tries to run away but gets beaten up. Death seems to be the only way out. Even if she is rescued by some police or kind soul, she is so broken it is hard to see her continue to live her life in a normal way.
Yes, the ending shows her sporting a pair of wings like an angel. She ends her life by jumping off a bridge after escaping from her pimp.
The movie moves me alot. It saddens me but opens my eyes to the awareness of teen prostitution, the worst kind of all. And paedophiles are the worst kind of sex offenders. I hope this movie will be released from general screening to reach out to more people.
Rating: A-
Sunday, October 24, 2004 11:10:00 PM
MARIA FULL OF GRACE
viewed on 26/10/04 (Tues)
The social commentary is similar to Lilja 4-ever on last Friday. It is about child prostitution and this one is about female 'mules', meaning smuggling drugs by swallowing the drug pellets.
There is a scene when the lead character accidentally allows two pellets to slip out of her body and she has to wash them clean before swallowing them back in. Another 'mule' has one of the pellets burst in her body and she eventually dies. Her body is brutally cut up and dumped away.
I like the movie. It is made with noble intention of letting us know the extremes people from very poor countries can go to get a better life. The urge to earn more money, most of the times for the sake of their families, can even drive them to do something that insane.
But do I really like it very much? Sadly no. I cannot really explain. The feminism touch and the feel-good ending. It is quite apparent that it is made with a wider audience appeal in mind. Maybe Hollywood tailor-made. Now compare this to Lilja 4-ever, I admire the latter's courage and angst.
Rating: B+
Expected Rating: B
Friday, October 29, 2004 10:38:00 PM
SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW
viewed on 26/10/04 (Tues)
I can say that no other movie can claim to be an eye-candy before this one. It is so beautiful and I am not at all surprised that the Oscars will go ga-ga over the cinematography and art direction. Every frame is so picture perfect and you have to see for yourself to really know that that is only an understatement.
I am very distracted by the visual extravaganza that I cannot really follow the plot and the dialogue. It is truly truly awe-inspiring. I bet Steven Spielberg or George Lucas must be hopping mad that they did not think of shooting a movie in this manner. Well it is said that George Lucas will shoot this latest Stars Wars episode in the same fashion but really who cares.
The story is all cock and bull. It is just an excuse for the SFX and CGI departments to really flaunt what they can do. The actors know too well that they play second fiddle to this sci-fi eye candy, although Angeline Jolie looks and sounds yummy. It is quite obvious that they do not act, they just pose, especially Gwyneth Paltrow.
Rating: B+
Expected Rating: B
Friday, October 29, 2004 10:49:00 PM
HOW I KILL MY FATHER (Comment j'ai tué mon père)
viewed on 29/10/04 (Fri)
Might as well be called HOW I KILL MY AUDIENCE WITH BOREDOM.
It is confirmed. The most boring films come from France. They have a very weird idea on how to tell a story. Tell it as if you are drunk.
The story doesn't make sense. Is the father dead or alive all this while? Is the son dead too? Who cares this is a spolier. By the time you realise that in the movie. congratulate yourself first for staying awake.
Look, I do not even bother to tell you the story and why I do not like it. 'Irresponsible' filmmaking infuriates me most. Don't give me the crap that the story is deep and needs a wise audience to appreciate. Ya ya ya...
Rating: F
Expected Rating: B
Friday, October 29, 2004 10:57:00 PM
THE DOOR IN THE FLOOR
viewed on 2/11/04 (Tues)
It started off really rather well. The good acting, the placid mood and a promise of a good story ... until like at midpoint when the story starts having so many knots left unravelled till the end. Why did Kim Basinger leave so sudden? What about that awkward comic timing of Jeff Bridges running away from a very mad Mimi Rogers? Comic relief? Bad taste. What is the significance of the door in the floor? A secret door to unspeakable secrets? A door that keeps bad memories away?
Rating: C
Expected Rating: B
Saturday, November 06, 2004 12:21:00 AM
BEFORE SUNSET
viewed on 3/11/2004 (Wed)
I cannot remember whether I like BEFORE SUNRISE. I just remember it is about two people talking talking talking. I think I liked it because it is unique.
Am I anticipating this sequel keenly? Nah. I hate sequels. They are made to make more money and most of the times the sequels are uncalled for. Well not for this sequel. First of all, BEFORE SUNRISE is not really a hit. There is no ulterior motive to cash on part 1. The lapse of time (9 years) does provide a very good reason for us to examine and compare the changes in two people. They are married now and older and more mature. Happy? Not really, but wiser and more down to earth. Just like all of us, we will be like them given 9 years to experience life fuller.
What they talk about really find a resonance in me! The idea of growing older and having lesser problems because we are wiser not to think too much. I like so many parts of their dialogue. Some of it confirm what I believe in, like I choose not to believe in one single religion, while some enlighten me, like the line - "Memories is a good thing if you don't have to deal with the past."
I so wanted to buy the VCD so that I can jot down all these words of wisdom and I will use them as life lessons. I went to imdb.com to find the quotes but they are so limited. I hope more will come in. Maybe can even buy the script.
I like the way the movie ends. There will be those who dislike the ending. They may say it is too abrupt. They may even say it is the director's hint at making part 3. No, no. no. Pay attention to the mood creating by the music playing in the background. It sets a perfect tone to end a story without the conventional hugs, kisses and those forlorn looks at departures. The mood is perfect. It is like sending off two characters into our memories. We will miss them the more.
Will they be together afterall? I think not so. Like in real life, Hollywood happy endings are hard to come by and also nobody is certain how their story will really eventually end? Things just happen and end and then they come back again.
Rating: A+
Saturday, November 06, 2004 12:51:00 AM
CLEAN
viewed on 3/11/04 (Wed)
Maggie Cheung may not the best Asian actress but she is surely one very very hardworking actress. Just look at her in this movie. Her acting is good but what stands out is her French! I may not be a very judge but she speaks French fluently! I am amazed but she speaks the language like it is her mother tongue. She also speaks English and Cantonese. Her singing is bad but still very emotive.
The story and directing is so-so. Some subplots are not that important. This is the Maggie Cheung's show. It is all about her and only her. This is not really a bad thing and I am not complaining. Somehow judging the show is as good as judging Maggie herself. And I am impressed by her and moved by her performance, not really as the character she plays but her sheer diligence.
Rating: B
Expected Rating: C
Sunday, November 07, 2004 12:11:00 AM
Indeed, her singing is nothing short of atrocious. LOL.
Sunday, November 07, 2004 1:25:00 AM
MONSIEUR N.
viewed on 6/11/04 (Sat)
The last years of Napoleon's life were spent on this deserted island. He lived in this big house but the whole island was really his prison.
The movie suggests that Napoleon did not really die on the island but he escaped the island with no less a brilliant plan as well calculated as his strategies at war. The movie tells the story straight until like the last fifteen minutes when that suggestion really becomes possible, explained with a series of flashbacks, much like THE SIXTH SENSE.
Do I like the movie? Ok lah, quite forgettable if you have to ask me. It is more like a historical thriller. I expected some serious history lessons instead. Worth catching? Surely. It is a good exercise of mystery, thriller, breathtaking sceneries and great performances. Two of the actors alternate their speaking languages between French and English ever so effortlessly.
Rating: B
Expected Rating: B
Monday, November 08, 2004 9:46:00 PM
DE-LOVELY
viewed on 9/11/04 (Tues)
I beg your pardon. I don't know who is Cole Porter but I think I recognise his music here and there. Very catchy and gay songs. Yup. A gay, not even a bisexual, but ironically his one and only love is a woman. Linda. It is indeed their love story.
There are many things in this movie which may it work like a charm. Cole Porter's music is easy to fall in love. The soundtrack should be a best seller with support from Diana Krall, Robbie Williams, Natalie Cole etc.
The art direction and set decoration are stunningly beautiful just like Ms Judd. She is such a beautiful and great actress that she deserves at least an Oscar nom. This could be her year! Please give her an Oscar nom.
Kevin Kline too! He is already very good and in this role, he has a couple of breakthrroughs. Not that he kisses a man, he did that in IN & OUT, but he portrayed Cole Porter's dual sexuality and personalities with such dexterity. He sings and plays the piano too.
Given the big stars, the grand looks of the sets and a biopic of a very much-respected musician, the film surprisingly is not ambitious to be Oscar-friendly. It is sincere in telling the touching relationship of Linda and Cole. The struggles and sacrifices they have to go through in their marriage. Linda has to bear with the fact that her husband is sleeping around with other men. But she loves his talents and so she loves him as a whole and doesn't want to change him. Cole in turn is touched by Linda when she pulls him through rough times in his career and of course the dreadful accident that has his legs crushed by a horse. When she dies eventually, Cole is as good as a living corpse.
The ending is very sad. Cole is back at the piano from the first scene and Linda appears to sit with him while he plays and sings. Just like the good old days.
Some people in the cinema applauded when the final scene faded out. The warmth from Cole Porter's songs and the bittersweet romance still linger on...
Rating: A-
Expected Rating: B
Wednesday, November 10, 2004 1:30:00 AM
THE INCREDIBLES
viewed on 13/11/2004 (Sat)
This is my first midnight show since ... gee, I don't even know when.
Watched it at GV Marina and quite a letdown, the crowd was not that big and for shows like this, the more the merrier!
The Incredibles, after FINDING NEMO, never lets us down again. It is impossible to dislike this movie. The characters are so cute! I like Edna Mode who is voiced by the director himself. I like Dash, he is the kind of son I will like to have, active and cheeky.
There are some parts very very funny. The ElastiGirl gets caught with the closing doors and she has to stretch and stretch herself. Whenever Edna Mode appears, I will smile alot. She has very short legs and when she walks, her legs will move very fast. Haaa... like my dog, Brownie. There is a part when she explains why having a cape is dangerous as we see how some superheroes are killed when their cape gets caught in this and that.
Ok, some of the things I want to bitcH about. First of all, I am not convinced by the turn of events when all superheroes are banned from using their super powers and have to resume identities as common people.
Also, I find that the cartoon should take itself less seriously and have more more fun. Ok, the villian can be funnier and the killing machines less scary. Maybe I need to change my mindset. Animated films need room to grow up too but still I hope too see more of films like Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc. An action-packed cartoon is still kind of like killing the child in me. I want to giggle silly like a schoolboy again.
Well is that going to mar my impression of the movie? Nah, I can still live with my gripes. I enjoy it! It has some thought-provoking parts on the plight of under-appreciated superheroes.
Will it win Oscar for animation? I sure hope too. Like I said about FINDING NEMO, a nomination is a lock so the question is will it win? I bet it will!
Rating: B+
Expected Rating: A
Saturday, November 13, 2004 11:37:00 PM
Is it better than "Shrek 2"? Which do you prefer win the Oscar?
Sunday, November 14, 2004 11:44:00 AM
Sorry have not been checking my blog. Shrek 2 is very funny but Incredibles is better, plus even kids under 5 can enjoy. Also Shrek won before so think chances are slim too.
Tuesday, November 30, 2004 8:18:00 AM
IMMORTEL
viewed on 25/11/04 (Thurs)
It is the other motion picutre made in the fashion of SKY CAPTAIN. The visuals are awesome. There are animated characters interacting with real actors. Very unique but I do not see why animate charactors who are basically human beings too. There are also other things which I do not understand. The whole cock and bull story. I use that phrase when I reviewed SKY CAPTAIN but I meant it really literally in this case. Another example of getting carried away in the SFX department and conveniently forget all about the story.
The movie is based on the same-titled comics by the director. Maybe he should stick to comics and improve on his storytelling too.
Rating: D
Tuesday, November 30, 2004 4:42:00 PM
TORREMOLINOS 73
viewed on 25/11/04 (Thurs)
A couple, in finanical difficulties, is conned into making their own 'educational' sex videos. You can imagine the laughs milked from this story idea. At first, of course they are awkward then they enjoy making the videos so much that they come up with their scenarios. He dresses up as a boorish delivery man and she a slutty nurse.
Then the comedy takes a about-turn. The husband aspires to be an arty film director and starts to take his movies too seriously. The wife wants babies and when she knows that her husband's sperm cannot make it, she has herself impregnated ... when she is performing her next sex act in a porn video!
This gets offensively obsence. Disturbing too. Why cannot they just let the laughs roll on and give it a happy ending?
Rating: C+
Tuesday, November 30, 2004 10:53:00 PM
THE SEA INSIDE (Mar adentro)
viewed on 29/11/04 (Mon)
Javier Bardem's performance has to be the Charlize Theron performance of the year. Ok, I said the same for Jamie Foxx in RAY but Javier can top that transformation.
First we see he is almost bald of old age and I was shocked to see him age so much within just a few years. Then we see Javier with a mane of dark hair in a flashback. Wait so he is not bald really. Then it must be very very top-notch makeup! And that paralysed body? It looks so real so it cannot be the work of makeup or SFX. Well even if all these are prostheses, we cannot and must not deny Javier is an exceptional good actor. Mind you, he played the gay Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas in BEFORE NIGHT FALLS and earn an Oscar nom. A feat for a foreign actor and why did that Roberto win for LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL? Javier deserves his second nomination next year.
The movie is directed by Alejandro Amenabar whose previous movies are THE OTHERS and OPEN YOUR EYES. Here, his latest outing has none of the spookiness and head-turning twists. It has a very sensitively written script about euthanasia. It explored very deep into a man named Ramon who fights for his right to end his life after being paralysed, and bedridden for 28 years, resulted from a freak accident. His family members all want him to live despite the huge burden he has imposed on them. There are also three other women - a lawyer, a single mother and a nurse - whose lives he has affected greatly. The movie is about all of them, how they cope with a man who wants to die so bad that he begs anyone in sight to kill him, how they feel pity for a man with so much humour, wit and intelligence and above all how to make him feel happy for himself.
I am afraid I may not appreciate the movie fully because it is profound to me and I think there is more to it which I cannot comprehend. I feel inadequate to judge this movie. Somehow I think I need to experience more in life to understand the complex emotions of Ramon. And to think that Alejandro Amenabar is just one year older than me.
Rating: B+
Wednesday, December 01, 2004 1:20:00 PM
BLOOD AND BONES
viewed on 1/12/04 (Wed)
BLOOD AND BONES is a very unsettling movie about domestic violence. It is uneasy to sit through the movie and at times I just wish the family tragedy will just end fast. At 140 mins, it is painful and very unbearable to watch. Such is the trauma brought on by this movie.
It opens with the violent father, played by Takeshi Kitano, comes home late at night and rapes his wife, giving birth to the film narrator.
I want to tell you the story from head to toe but it is almost impossible and probably does not make much sense to those who have not seen it. Let's just say the story spans over many many decades and it is filled with so many sad characters. Each of them made miserable by the father who by calling him evil is overlooking his own unspoken misery.
I once said that I love mass tragedies but this movie is really too much for me to handle. I pity the women in the story alot. They are raped, slapped, punched and kicked, all by their very own husbands. I think Asian families, compared to the western families, suffer more from domestic violence as we somehow have a stronger bonds within our family. Why? As the movie aptly titled, flesh and blood. We cannot break free from the shackles of our family because we are tied down by our moral obligations.
The ensemble cast is brilliant and so many of them have award-winning calibre. Takeshi Kitano's performance is said to be his career best. Equally captivating is the actress who plays a mistress who becomes a vegatable after removing a brain tumour. She has a rather small role but she has to totally 'disfigure' herself by shaving her head bald. You have to see it for yourself to understand my awe. The actresses who play the long suffering mother and daughter also put up a very powerful performance.
Something funny happens during the screening. For several sex scenes, the private parts of the actors are conspicuously blocked out by a blob of dark shadow. Is it the work of local censors? Doubt so since there is a spokesman who mentions before the screening that this version is the one shown in Japan and in festivals. By the way, the movie is opening here but the verison is the other international version. How lucky I am. Oh, you will be shocked if I tell you the director's previous movie was screened here. It is called QUILL! Yap, two very different movies.
Rating: A
Expected Rating: B-
Thursday, December 02, 2004 1:38:00 AM
LOOK AT ME
viewed on 5/12/04 (Sun)
I have something going on between French movies and me. This is the 2nd French movie which I love to fail this year. Don't give me the crap that it is too intelligent for just anyone to appreciate. I have the whole theatre to stand by me.
A comedy of errors? Then why I heard only a few very forced laughs. A man in front of me was laughing out loud at the slightly funnier lines but he stopped being so supportive after an hour into the movie. I heard someone tousling something rather loudly at the back row but no one hushed him. A few were so bored that they fidgeted alot in their seats. Me? I pretended I was sleeping and snoring lightly. Nobody looked at with disapproval.
See, I am not alone.
Rating: F
Sunday, December 05, 2004 7:56:00 PM
CASSHERN
viewed on 5/12/04 (Sun)
I have to admit for the first half of the movie, I liked it more than SKY CAPTAIN (and surely much much better than that stupid IMMORTAL). The combat scenes are very unique, shot really in manga style.
The story is cock and bull again. It is a phrase I used on all the three films that have practically every background digitally created. It was really going somewhere and I was even to dish out my distinction tag... until the very confusing twist in the ending.
The message in the movie has good intentions but so ... done-to-death. Still a rather eye-opening viewing experience.
Rating: B-
Sunday, December 05, 2004 10:26:00 PM
ALEXANDER
viewed on 12/12/04 (Sun)
Watched this last Sunday, nine days ago. I am just curious how long I can put my plan off to write a review for this movie.
A few of my friends said it is boring. Agree, in fact, TROY is less sleep-inducing. You know some movies are good but boring but I dare say ALEXANDER is a bold attempt at making an epic, with fantastic production values, but fails to tell us who the king really is.
Ok, probably the biggest 'discovery' is the great king was a homosexual who loved his buddy, bedded his male servant and maybe even an incestuous love affair with his mother. How twisted! And a few ladies may be whispering that while they are dosing off, there is a scene that you can catch a glimpse of Irish hunk Colin Farrell's bare behind and ... his nuts. "Oh really? Damn, how I wish I wasn't sleeping. I hope I did not miss much."
So far, I am yet to come across someone who likes ALEXANDER. Looks like nobody can stay awake to like it.
Well, I survived the movie (I don't like to dose off watching a movie because it is a waste of my money) and still I do not like it as much as Oliver Stone's other movies. I love best his JFK.
Still, there are some redeeming parts. First, I would say Oliver Stone is sincere in telling the story of ALEXANDER and he attempts to delve into his troubled short-lived existence. I especially like the last one hour. The elephant battle scene is awesome and Alexander's death scene is beautifully shot. Anthony Hopkin's monolgue near the ending is rather revealing, making us pity the early demise of a king who dares to achieve, even at the expense of his death.
If not for the last one hour, the movie is packed with big and twisty dialogue that had me scratching my head. Most of the times, I see alot of people very angry with one another. The performances are over-the-top but never bad. Angelina Jolie is so beautiful and sexy that she becomes a major distraction. Val Kilmer tries his best to play his role, one which is not really in his repertoire. Anthony Hopkins is simply competent but not good. Rosario Dawson bares more than her acting capabilities. Colin has flaws but largely carries the demanding role well. With his movie, his stardom will shine on but I am more interested in his other talked-about movie called A HOME AT THE END OF THE WORLD, which I think should be banned in Singapore because of its bisexual theme.
So, with bits and pieces of good things about ALEXANDER, I can say I don't like it but I won't hate it too. Yup, I still stand by anyone who says it is boring.
Rating: B
Tuesday, December 21, 2004 10:29:00 PM
KUNG FU HUSTLE
viewed on 23/12/04 (Thurs)
Dear Mr Stephen Chow,
Hullo. I am Ah Beng from Singapore. I live in Sengkang with a dog and my hobbies are watching movies, listening to songs and sufing the net.
Aiya, I long time never letter liao la. So I cut the crap and tell you how I feel after watching KFH, Ok?
Bro, (hope you don't mind, I really respect you now), I like your KFH very much, you know? Two words, damn good!
I don't know how to say la but many parts very good la.
A, bro. I got one thing I must say hor. You better not get angry huh. All in the past liao la. I dun like your mo lei tau movies. Funny la but kinda damn stupid. My friend said your Shaolin Soccer very good but I not interested la. Then I watch it in Taiwan and I like it so much. Funny la but also very, what you call, heartwarming la. Nice leh. So when your KFH coming, I excited liao. Saw the trailer, not bad leh, I laugh loudly. The story also cute leh. You want to be bad guy in this town of losers. You want to bully them but actually they all know to fight one. Haaa...
I go see because I like Shaolin Soccer and I got a good feeling for KFH lor. I just want to enjoy a good comedy la. But wow piang. Actually KFH is more than a good comedy lor. It is also very heartwarming la. Then some parts actually very touching. Many parts are funny la but the kind of funny is a bit different lor. Not just some stupid things la but got some sense in it.
I don't know how to say properly la but I try ok.
Ok, the first part got people die and I think, wow, a bit scary leh. Not your style. Your movies got people die until so sad meh. I tell myself hor, wow, not bad, you change style. Then I know you want to be serious this time but still keep your style.
You come out as a funny loser. Haaa... still like the part you want to bully the village people but all of them maciam can fight one, like that aunty, the muscular ah pek and little boy.
Some parts can make me feel angry, like the axe gang bully the village people. Too much la. Then got good people help beat the axe gang until all cannot stand up. Wow. Shiok! Feel good man. I want to cheer man but pai seh la.
I notice something also. The music you use very familiar. I think you want to respect the old kungfu shows so you use their music, right? I like. Actually some parts you also recycle one la from the old movies. Like the bad guy always go bully people and we liao very angry. Got heroes that can fight very well but they want to keep low profile so never want to let people. Then got one loser who wants to be hero but ends up like a clown. Then wow those people got powers one also from the old kungfu shows lor. Got can play the guitar thing and kill people one, can shout until people go deaf one, got one can catch bullets one and can never die one and got ru lai shen zhang! Haaa... outdated la but your version still very very stylo lor.
I can also see there is a message in your movie. Justice will always prevail (new word I learn one). Evil cannot beat good. Nothing new la but still make people want to stand up and cheer out loud!
Your love story about that lollipop very touching too. I almost cry, you know. I mean also outdated la but your version still very sad. The girl damn chio man. Called Huang Sheng Yi. From China one? Wow lao, I think next year must call my parents bring me to China.
I think got alot of people sure say your movie copycat but I don't think so la. You are trying to pay respect to the old kungfu shows. You know like renovate la. Something old but you make it something new. Aiya, I don't know how to say. You know what I mean right. Makeover! Yes like makeover lor. The special effects are very very good. Exaggerated la but, like what someone says, capture the imagination of the kungfu fans. Cheam right? :)
You also supposedly use people from the old kungfu movies time. That is how I also know you want to pay respect to them. All got high profiles last time one. Like the landlord, his wife, the beast and the tailor. Well done!
Bro! You did a good job. Not only you let other people laugh and have a good time, you also want to bring back the spirit of old kungfu shows. Not only the ang moh will know more about our culture, you also let our generation appreciate our roots and heritage.
Bro, I salute you! I put your movie the best show la. Very give you face liao. Make sure your next movie must maintain high standard, ok? If not I ka cha you. Hee... just joking la.
Your fan
Adrian Tan Ah Beng :P
Rating: A+
Friday, December 24, 2004 12:15:00 AM
Expected Rating: A- (pai seh, forget) :B
Friday, December 24, 2004 12:31:00 AM
I think Asian movies are really taking their stand this year. I can think of at least five really exceptional Asian films that were screened this year alone - "Kung Fu Hustle" included.
Friday, December 24, 2004 10:27:00 PM
NOBODY KNOWS
viewed on 25/12/2004 (Sat)
While I waited a long time to write a review for ALEXANDER because I dread doing it, it is not the case for this Japanese movie.
Watched this last Xmas but I just do not want to just write a few lines for this movie, being the last show in 2004, earned a spot in my top 20 favourite movie list.
The first hour is excruciatingly slow. I was feeling so disappointed. A weepie but the kids in the show seem rather happy-go-lucky. True, they have to live in a small apartment with their mother away for work for long hours. They cannot go out to play because the mother did not tell the landlord that she has 'smuggled' three more of her children into the apartment. The kids are sensible and they get along so well. The older brother (the boy in the poster and this year's Cannes Best Actor) takes care of all his siblings well. He cooks and washes for everyone. The siblings are so cute and cheeky. Wait. Wait ... wait... A tearjerker? Sorry. This is a boring home video! The only tears I would have would be tears of boredom. I can feel the packed theatre feeling very restless. Nothing is happening. No music. Not much of dialogue.
I was cursing and swearing. Damn these long movies. 140 plus minutes. Can't they spare a thought for us? Can someone fast forward the movie? Please....
Just when I was giving hope and slouched lower and lower in my seat, something is slowly happening. Finally.
Ok for a start, the mother doesn't return for a week. This happens before for a few days but the mother returns after that. Seems like they are going to be abandoned. But the mother is so nice so sweet to them. How can it be? True. She writes a letter back to ask the oldest brother to take care of everyone. He tries to call her working place and her new home but to no avail. Well the kids do not cry. They seem hopeful and continue to live life as if waiting for Mum to return.
The oldest brother holds everything together very well, buying food, cleaning up the house and taking care of his siblings etc. Until, one day, he gives it all up and starts to bring in some boys to play computer games. He stops cleaning up the house and slowly we see his siblings and him getting dirtier. The house is also going through a slow transition. They do not make their beds when they wake up anymore. Then we see the notices to cut off all electricity and water on the table. They have to get free charity food from a store and get water from a nearby park to drink and bathe. They even have to rely help from a schoolgirl friend who gets paid for accompanying dirty old men at karaoke sessions.
All these very unfortunate events unfold again slowly in the second hour of the film. The film never once uses swelling music or melodramatic scenes to move you. You see the changes in the siblings and their living conditions slowly. You think back the long first hour of their blissful existence and you will feel your tears welling up already. Gone are thsose nice days and these kids are slowly reducing to a sorry state to another. Still, they look as if things aren't really that bad and their mother will return soon to claim them back. You don't even see the kids cry alot. They smile and play alot still. This is the ingenious part. We feel even sorrier for the kids when they do not even know they have lost so much.
Then, a death came upon them. The luggage bag used in the beginning of the film becomes the coffin. This loops back to the start of the film when we see the oldest brother transporting it to somewhere on a train.
They cried? Just a little. At this point, we already know the kids are not going to be hopeful anymore. They accepted their cruel fate and brave on the difficulties ahead with somehow an unspoken determination to see one another through.
The ending. The remaining living siblings and the kind schoolgirl walks into the horizon. The youngest boy of the family looks back and the movie ends.
When the audience left the cinema, the atmosphere is akin to finish attending a funeral. Everyone looked sombre. It should not be my imagination. It is devastatingly depressing. It is one of those brilliant tearjerkers which can affect you so much without doing alot.
You may not fully understand what I say. Just go and see it and I think you will know what I mean.
Rating: A-
Monday, January 10, 2005 12:11:00 AM
KINSEY
viewed on 19/1/05 (Wed)
My first movie in 2005. It also holds a personal record - the only movie I watch in a single month.
That aside, I am very disturbed by KINSEY. I know what the film is all about and I am ready to be blown away by its frankness. Not quite. I still cannot get over the scene of Chris O'Donnell making love to a very old lady in the name of science. Or the black and white sequences of what we will think as wife-swapping and mass orgy. Or Laura Linney agreeing to have sex with her husband's research buddy. Or the scene when Liam Neeson and Peter Sarsgaard share a very violent kiss. Or a sex-crazy man describing him having sex with anything, be it animals or young boys.
I have only one question: Is it all necessary? I mean aren't the sex surveys suffice?
It is surprisingly to feel very disturbed when there is hardly any disturbing scene. Now compare this to IRREVERSIBLE which remains to be my most disturbing movie ever.
Alfred Kinsey is a man who is quiet and steadfastly passionate about his research. He will just do about anything to find out more. If his research is about something less objectionable, he will be hailed as one of the greatest scientists ever. Too bad he wanted to talk about just sex. He faced so so so much pressure and criticism that his story becomes a story of true grit and courage.
How far you will go in the name of science? How strong will you be if they call you all sorts of names, especially when you did nothing wrong? How much you are willingly to let go? Social life? Relatives and family? Your marriage?
Liam Neeson put up a very pitch-perfect performance. I watched this movie before the Oscar noms were announced. I am very certain his Oscar nom is a lock and I am still very bitter that he is not nominated! He should win.
Though I am disturbed by this movie, KINSEY is more than just the controversy the sex researcher stirred. If John Nash in A BEAUTIFUL MIND is much celebrated, Alfred Kinsey should be given a bigger spotlight.
Rating: A-
Expected Rating: A
Thursday, February 10, 2005 8:48:00 PM
HOTEL RWANDA
viewed on 2/2/05 (Wed)
I want HOTEL RWANDA to show me more gore and more of the massacre. Not that I am a sick sadist but I am not affected by this movie. I think the visuals shocks are not absent to allow me to be more emotionally involved.
When sometimes less means more, I would like to see 'more' in this film.
It is a sincere movie nevertheless.
Don Cheadle is a marvellous actor. His African accent is perfect and his hard work all these years deserve some decent recognition. I am very glad that he is nominated. He should be ranked alongside Denzel and Morgan Freeman.
Rating: B
Expected Rating: A
Thursday, February 10, 2005 8:57:00 PM
THE MACHINIST
viewed on 5/2/05 (Sat)
In a year with more than a couple of Charlize Theron-esque about-turn performances, Christian Bale's is one of them. Jamie Foxx in RAY and Javier Bardem in THE SEA INSIDE are the others.
Yes, it is nothing new to see actors slimming down for a role but if I say Christian Bale reduces his weight so much that he looks like Gollum, do you still think it is no big deal?
For this performance alone, he will catapult to the ranks of Oscar-worthy actors one of these days.
It is just too bad that the story is nothing much to scream out loud. It has a big twist in the ending. It is M. Night Shyamalan meets THE FIGHT CLUB. As a good movie-goer, I do not want to say much. Let's just say it will be a movie that our Traffic Police will be very proud of.
Rating: C+
Thursday, February 10, 2005 9:10:00 PM
THE AVIATOR
viewed on 6/2/05 (Sun)
Oh how I wish this movie will be a big sore loser at the Oscars, just like GANGS OF NEW YORK.
Okay to be fair, I want only Leonardo (I also wish Jamie Foxx to win), Marty and Cate Blanchett to win. The actors did a very fine job and Marty should win finally though I must add AVIATOR is so not-his-best-work, even worse than his films from his heyday.
It reminds me so much of ALEXANDER. Over-long, hardworking actors, emotionally detached and pompous.
Rating: B (same as ALEXANDER's, to be fair)
Expected Rating: C
Thursday, February 10, 2005 9:31:00 PM
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT
viewed on 13/2/05 (Sun)
I have a confession to make. Before the show, I was deadbeat. But. I did not sleep for a second during the very long show. It feels long.
I don't like this love movie! You have to pardon my high expectations. The day before, I was reading its raving reviews. I was totally excited to be enthralled. Well, you can say there will always be a gap between the reviews and the movie itself but I didn't see such a big gap coming.
The main story plotline promises a very moving romance. A girl with a limp goes on a seemingly hopeless search for her fiancée who is believed by most is already dead.
I begin scratching my head already when I am mysteriously introduced to a whole army of characters! With all the facial hair, uniform and mud, I have great difficulties recognising who is who. The film tries to help us to recollect but there are really alot. I am trying my very best to follow but I can't keep up.
That was when I begin to dislike the movie. I am not saying this because I am too dumb to follow the story but I do not see the need to have such a big cast and keeps going on and on on unnecessary subplots.
Watching this is like trying to join the dots to get a picture. But the dots keep popping up. More and more. I think I am slow and also because I was dead tired from lack of sleep. But how do you explain the need for the subplot of Jodie Foster's character falling in love with her husband's comrade? That is the biggest evidence that the plot goes really off the tangent.
There is a soldier who escorts the fiancée to a no man's land. There is a red glove. The exchange of name tags. Why?! I don't think we are told the reason. The kind-hearted cook. The prostitute going on a killing spree after knowing her husband dies from a miscarriage of justice. The pardon which should save the condemned soldiers. Back to Jodie Foster's character. Her husband has an argument with his army buddy. Over a girl, we are told, but no more details. There are also a pair of German boots and then a mix-up in the identity. Then there is a soldier called Notre Dame who misses the roll-call but sees the fiancée gets shot down by a war plane. And why is he craving initials on a tree in the middle of a war zone?! Then the fiancée's mother appears from nowhere.
Arrggghhh... What madness! The visuals are stunning but my head is throbbing with pain. It is as if my head is being bombarded by those bullets.
Should I tell you the ending? As Uncle Roger already leaks out the secret, I think I should not be too secretive too. Well, they meet in the end but then again you can also say they didn't strictly unite afterall. The point is it is not important. The ending, which is supposed to be the climax, is surprisingly short.
By then, you should be congratulating yourself for not having a concussion. For me, I would love to give 100 bucks to whoever can retell me the story in detail.
Rating: D
Monday, February 14, 2005 12:30:00 AM
CLOSER
viewed on 19/2/05 (Sat)
From the poster with that line-up of pretty faces (ok, Clive Owen is only hunky dory-pretty), you think it is a definitely a good choice for a weekend date movie.
I was sitting next to a couple, holding arms and all, and after watching the show, I feel sorry for them for watching this movie. It, surely to a certain extent, has ruined their date.
CLOSER is an anti-date movie. I would say it is worst of its kind. It is meant to be a compliment.
It shows love and sex can be used to hurt your loved ones. And you will be surprised that no sex scenes and nudity are involved. Yet, I got a feeling like I have watched porn or some RA show. I conjure up images of Julia Roberts and Jude Law having sex and Clive Owen and Natalie Portman having sex. While in the movie, we see them share nothing more than just a kiss and an embrace. We never see them in bed or undress each other or that sort of things. Ok, somehow, after saying all that, I think I will use the characters' names instead.
Maybe before that a brief intro. for the four main and only characters.
CLOSER has two pairs of romantic couples. Anna is played by Julia Roberts and she is married to Clive Owen's Larry. Anna has an affair with Jude Law's Dan who is married to Alice played by Natalie Portman.
What we get is details of them having sex. Larry forces Anna to feed him with details, to a point she admits Dan 'shoots' in her face. The image of having sperm all over Anna's face flashed across my mind. It is very disturbing. She may have lied to make Larry go mad but I believe she did just that. I also believe she also let Dan have sex with her from behind on a small couch. And she had oral sex with him. Anna also says that Dan 'tastes' better than Larry. Very very heavy.
That is a very uncomfortable scene to sit through. I bet Clive Owen's performance in that very scene won many critics over, including the Oscars.
In another scene, Larry also tells Dan that he had sex with Alice all night long. Knowing he is a man who loves details in sex, again I can image all sorts of things they could have done together in bed. Even more so knowing Alice is a stripper and in an earlier scene she teases and strips relentlessly for him alone in a private room.
The entire cast can be casted in any romantic drama. They are dream couples in the looks department. I can believe not many pretty-looking actors will rush to the audition. To accept a part in this movie shows courage. So, I salute Ms Julia Roberts who gamely took on the part of Anna and gave, what I think, her best performance. Like one film critic says, we see Julia Roberts as an actress in this movie and not Julia Roberts the star. It is interesting to know Cate Blanchett was the original choice but she got pregnant before filming began.
If you see this movie's trailer, you will see that it doesn't tell you much. And I feel even after watching the movie, I still think there is more to it. I believe this time round, if I pay more attention to some of the details and join up more dots, I will get a fuller picture and love the story even more. Oh, please read the reviews by Uncle Roger and James Berardinelli. Both of them give their interpretation of the movie and theirs give you a better idea of how intriguing the spouse-swapping sadistic game can be.
Again, CLOSER is such an anti-date movie.
Rating: A-
Sunday, March 06, 2005 6:06:00 AM
RAY
viewed on 20/2/05 (Sun)
I can imagine the movie falling part if Ray Charles is played by a less competent actor than Jamie Foxx. Even if you have seen him in ANY GIVEN SUNDAY and COLLATERAL, nothing quite prepares you for his Oscar-worthy performance. His performance is so pitch-perfect that there isn't a single doubt he will not win Best Actor at the Oscars. Entertainment Weekly asked one confidential actor who he voted for and he said Jamie Foxx's performance was mere imitation. I was so worried Jamie Foxx will not win.
But fret not, Mr Foxx did win and his win is so well-deserving that many may be blinded by the fact that they are seeing another black actor named Best Actor. The colour taboo is broken forever. Frankly speaking, it is only gossip columns who will make such a big hoo-hah over how underappreciated black actors can be.
Really, again, without Jamie Foxx, I will not see how the mundane directing can give Taylor Hackford a nomination and how the feels-like-made-for-TV movie can even get 6 nominations.
Yes, we will get alot of information on how Ray Charles and his music career. Yes, we will know despite appearing so gentlemanly, he was once a serial womaniser and a drug addict. Besides being very good in his music, he is nothing more than a lousy husband, father and lover. His mama could be proud of him in his music career but never of his personal life. By the way, the mama is played by a very very promising newcomer called Sharon Warren.
I keep relating this movie to another made-for-TV movie INTRODUCING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE starring Halle Berry who also gives a powerhouse performance. Both star an Oscar-winning black actor and both are biopics. Both inform you alot about the legendary entertainers but never really quite let you see the their emotional core. A documentary will do even better.
Comparing to KINSEY, an overlooked biopic at the Oscars, this one feels a bit inferior.
But again, it is all about Mr Jamie Foxx. Now we can use the term, "the Jamie-Foxx performance" besides "the Charlize-Theron performance".
Rating: B
Sunday, March 06, 2005 6:41:00 AM
THE WOODSMAN
viewed on 21/2/2005 (Mon)
Heard Kevin Bacon's performance is very good. Also the taboo subject matter is very intriguing. How do you make a movie about a ... pedophile?
By the way, heard that is the worst kind of sexual offences. I agree. Kids? Sexual abuse? How sick and low can that go?
Well, if you watch this movie, you will not hate Kevin Bacon's character. He is a pedophile you have your heart going out for him.
Walter is fresh out of jail and he restrains himself from going near little girls like a little boy refrains from going near his favourite toys. He controls his urges and he looks at them not with lust but a sad longing.
The film attempts to explain the cause and links it to his closeness to his younger sister. She is all grown up and surprisingly her husband, the brother-in-law keeps in touch with Walter. There is a very intense scene when the quiet Walter asks if his brother-in-law has sexual contact with his own daughter. The brother-in-law lurges forward and tells him that he does not have the disease. Much like homosexuality bug?
There is also a scene in which we know how Walter will ask his sister to sit on his lap and 'molests' her. Walter has a lover now, a grown-up, whom he knows at his working place and she gives Walter a lot of support, just by accepting and loving him.
Still, Walter faces alot of pressure from his colleagues when his past is dug up by a nosy secretary. There is also a cop who keeps breathing down his neck and in one scene the cop expresses his hatred for people like Walter.
Walter finally breaks down and gets on a bus to follow a girl. She wears a red coat with a hood, much like the Little Red Riding Hood. The woodsman, the film title, as explained by the cop is apparently the forgotten character in that story who cuts open the stomach of the big bad wolf and saves Little Red Riding Hood.
Walter talks to the little girl and finally pops the question. "Do you want to sit on my lap?" He seems to be begging. He has come a long way. Succumbing to the pressure and the rejection, you will feel for him when he asks the question. It leaves with him with no other choice. It is not entirely his fault he is going back to his vice.
Now here comes the turning point. This is not a spoiler. The little girl apparently is a victim of child sexual abuse. Her father asks the same question before and he did things to her she feels uncomfortable with. Walter hears and cries. Weeping for her as she could have fallen prey to yet another pedophile. The little girl asks back in tears, "Do you want me to sit on your lap?" She says she will if Walter wants her to. Walter shakes his head. This is his salvation and his ultimate remedy.
It could be his chance but he walks away from it. It could be his downfall but it turns into a heartwrenching victory over the evil.
Walter is the woodsman afterall. He has been spying on a gay pedophile and in a fit of anger, he beats him up. That is a powerful scene. If you watch closely, there are two flashes of Walter's face being hit. Walter hitting Walter.
The gay pedophile dies of over loss of blood. The cop knows Walter is the culprit but chooses to let him walk. It is his way of accepting Walter and thanking him. Walter is the woodsman.
Now, a small detail which I do not get it. Most likely, never explained in the movie. What does the red ball mean? Is it an invitation to the evil thoughts or something else?
Never mind really. It is a very powerful drama already.
Rating: A-
Tuesday, March 08, 2005 12:13:00 AM
FINDING NEVERLAND
viewed on 23/2/05 (Wed)
Read an article in the Straits Times a few days back about J.M. Barrie's tendency towards pedophilia. Surprisingly, Lewis Carrol too.
In FINDING NEVERLAND, there is a small talk about J.M. Barrie's closeness to a widow and her four sons spark off some scandalous rumours. But that is all.
I think the film is not interested in going into the sexuality of J.M. Barrie. Some cynics may see that it is being unjust to the facts because there is so much rave talk about him molesting the boys. Here, J. M. Barrie is being portrayed as a man who doesn't want to grow up. It make sense actually as Peter Pan is about a boy who cannot grow up.
There is a Peter among the four boys. Surprisingly, he is the one most mature, even more than J.M. Barrie himself. At the party after the successful play's premiere, an audience sees Peter and exclaims, "So this is Peter Pan." Peter points at J.M. Barrie and says, "He is Peter Pan." That scene wraps up the whole idea of the movie. It is about a playwright who doesn't want to grow up and gets his inspiration from a boy who wants to grow up.
Oh. Peter is played by Freddie Highmore who gives such a moving performance that almost overshadows Depp's and Winslet's. He looks like Warren Beatty from some angles. I believe his very heartbreaking performance in the last scene even melts the harshest of critics. Of course, Winslet's death scene is also very touching.
Another actor who is overlooked is Radha Mitchell. She plays Barrie's wife, Mary. From the reviews, I get an idea that she is a bad person but I think she is the one who is being neglected by Barrie. In their marriage, she hurts the most, while Barrie has a whale of his time. I sympathsize with her.
I have very high expectations for FINDING NEVERLAND. I am not saying I am disappointed but I am surprised how non-epic the movie is. It is a small beautifully-made drama. Surprisingly too that it is not all about J.M. Barrie but also about Kate Winslet's strong-minded widow, her four sons, her domineering mother and Barrie's sad neglected wife.
For making me cry so hard, the movie deserves an ...
Rating: A-
Wednesday, March 09, 2005 10:45:00 PM
SIDEWAYS
viewed on 26/2/05 (Sun)
I love ELECTION and ABOUT SCHMIDT. I even love the little-seen CITIZEN RUTH. Hence, when I know SIDEWAYS is getting raving reviews, I am not the least surprised. It is due time Alexander Payne to be given a deserving recognition.
Alas, I find myself trying to tickle myself laughing while watching SIDEWAYS. There were hardly any laughter among the crowd too. Mind you, we were watching a comedy. Ok, we can always argue that a comedy does not necessary mean we must laugh all the time but ... I say SIDEWAYS has such an ordinary storyline and unfunny lines that it feels very very long.
The coming-of-age story is nothing too spectacular. Unlike ABOUT SCHMIDT, I think I feel more for Jack Nicholson's retired working man. The actors who gave supposedly fabulous performances are flat to me. Yes, Paul Giamatti has come a long way but I do not find his performance impressive. Thomas Hayden Church is also not impressive and yes, he has also come along way too but an Oscar nomination? The only actress who is praiseworthy is Virginia Madsen. Her monologue on wine-making alone deserves an Oscar nomination and true enough they use that scene at the Oscars ceremony. Sandra Oh is the only player who has no talk of an Oscar nomination. I think she did fine and talking about Asian actors invading Hollywood, she is among the real first.
SIDEWAYS is the weakest among Alexander Payne's four movies. Easily.
Rating: C-
Wednesday, March 09, 2005 11:15:00 PM
MILLION DOLLAR BABY
viewed on 2/3/05 (Wed)
Ok, in the reviews by Uncle Roger and James Berardinelli, they are very secretive of the last 45 minutes of the movie. A very unfortunate tragedy happens and a difficult decision has to be made.
I am going to spill the beans. It is not a spoiler. Okay here we go. Hilary Swank's Maggie, a boxer, falls on a stool in one of her climatic boxing matches and becomes paralysed. She cannot fight anymore and worse still her leg has to sawed off because it is badly infected. She makes a very shocking but understandable request to Clint Eastwood's Frankie, her trainer. She wants him to end her life.
There is a very heartwrenching scene when Maggie tells Frankie that it is not a life wasted. She has fulfilled her dream and has seen the most glorious days of her life. She may have died young but she has seen it all. She has no regrets.
Maggie is a waitress who wants to pick up boxing to get out of her boring life waiting at tables. She is talented and very determined but Frankie dislikes training girls. Her determination touches Frankie and agrees to train her. Then she keeps winning and winning. It feels like Rocky, minus the corny uplifting theme tune. Then a tragedy comes and it is only then we see that Maggie is truly a fighter. She fights to get out of poverty and fights to hold on to her now meaningless existence. Finally, she even fights to end her life. When Frankie refuses to help her die, she chews off her tongue.
MILLION DOLLAR BABY may not be as glamourous as THE AVIATOR. In fact, MDB seems to adore shadows and badly lit places. However, MDB is one little gem with rough edges and a very unassuming confidence. It feels strange that it is nominated as Best Pic and stranger that it actually won.
I just do not want THE AVIATOR to win Best Pic but knowing it is lost to a much more deserving movie is just icing on the cake.
Rating: A-
Friday, March 18, 2005 12:47:00 AM
LEMONY SNICKET'S A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS
veiwed on 15/3/05 (Tues)
And add this movie too. I find myself unamused by the movie.
What went wrong? I don't really know. I mean the storyline is interesting. A trio of orphans runs into a series of unfortunate and hilarious and spooky misadventures. The closing scene about the very very late letter sent by their parents is moving.
Jim Carrey is at his usual best though I find his performance restrained compared to his other madcap comedies. And the kids are fine too.
So why I still find myself unamused? Let's see. It is an overall feeling that the movie is uninspired. The lines are uninteresting. The pace should be tighter because it feels long for a short movie. The characters are uninspired and it feels like they have wondered off from Tim Burton movies, Harry Potter books and the Addams family. Even the art direction and cinematography are uninspired to anyone who is familiar with the abovementioned spooky-fun family entertainment films.
Rating: C+
Friday, March 18, 2005 1:03:00 PM
IN GOOD COMPANY
viewed on 16/3/05 (Wed)
It is a disappointment. I would say it is even worse than American Pie (and American Pie 2), given that the same director gave us that very funny sex teen comedy and later a surprsinglyly moving ABOUT A BOY.
This comedy has fairly good grounds to be another good movie. There is a rich smart yuppie who may replace an older man for the highest post in a company but his personal life is so empty he has to organise Sunday meetings and tag along to someone else's family dinner.
Then there is an older man played by Dennis Quaid. He may have to make do with being the second man after a boss half his age but he has a perfect family life. His wife is expecting a third child and his daughter going to NYU. On top of that, he is deemed as a capable and humane big brother to many other colleagues.
Yes, there is also talk of how absurd fast-growing corporations can be. Replacing people like moving a pencil on the table. The unpredictability of the dog-eat-dog working world is scary. Retrenchment can happen to anyone with any post. Promotion can be equally swift too.
Then there is also an important scene when Dennis Quaid defies a dreamy leader and tells him not to forget that workers are human beings afterall.
But. None of these goes anywhere. Throw in a half-hearted romance between Scarlett Johansson and Topher Grace to make things worse.
In all, I find the movie wants to say something about this and that but never hit the nail on the head. It is akin to attending just another meeting with no clear agenda.
Rating: C
Sunday, March 27, 2005 10:48:00 PM
But you have to agree the 'synergy' speech given by Teddy K was really hilarious, no? :P
Monday, March 28, 2005 12:16:00 AM
THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON
viewed on 23/4/05 (Sat)
If you've seen this movie, answer me this question. Why is president Richard Nixon always on TV? I have a reason to assassinate him. Irritating over-exposure and hogging airtime. It may be a small observation but it takes away alot of credibility of the story. At least to me.
What really inspired him to kill the leader of the country and what really makes him blame the leader for all his mishaps? Yes, I think I remember hearing Sean Penn's character saying that he hates the system in the country and Richard Nixon represents it. Killing him is fixing things right. Huh?
Ok, I think I am harping for too long on something too trivial. Or is it too trivial? I should be talking about Sean Penn's marvellous performance. Yes. He is indeed a great actor. His character is so uncertain of himself and easily bullied by others, you just wish that the angry violent man in MYSTIC RIVER will jump out of his skin. Feel sorry for him being pushed around like that.
I see this movie as a small forgettable movie. It doesn't say much really strong and the inspiration is obviously from TAXI DRIVER. Now, that is a movie I would love to watch. Uncut.
Rating: C
Thursday, April 28, 2005 10:26:00 PM
THE HIDDEN BLADE
viewed on 29/4/05 (Sat)
I wonder why Yoji Yamada made this movie? While THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI impresses me with its lyrical flow and elegance of story-telling, I am kind of disappointed to see that THE HIDDEN BLADE has the same style plus almost the same story outline.
Both are essentially about the plight of foresaken samurais. Both talk about their pride and the honour they have to keep even though their heydays are way gone. Both has the main male leads facing the dilemma to kill and loving a long-suffering girl they cannot marry.
THE TWILIGHT SAMURAI and THE HIDDEN BLADE are like twins. If I like former, I do not see why I do not like the latter. Hence the same grade? Well, let's just say I do not like the feeling of seeing double. That should explain the grade is a notch lower than its predecessor.
Rating: B+
Saturday, April 30, 2005 9:53:00 PM
THE INTERPRETER
viewed on 4/5/05 (Wed)
Film critic James Berardinelli said in his review that this is not the usual direct-to-late-night-cable B-movie fare. I think it is close to being that, given the lame and absurd story closure. It is all not what it seems to be? I cannot tell you the ending but it is just something along that line.
Uncle Roger would like us to imagine Angela Bassett in Nicole Kidman's role. I would like to imagine two less famous actors to play the lead roles. It will not make a difference to the story. The characters are complex but they do not call for two Oscar winners to play them. There are scenes which showcase their excellent acting calibe but again they do not make a difference to the story.
Then what is wrong with the story? I cannot really pinpoint but it reminds me so much of those John Grisham novel film adaptations. An innocent person discovers a big conspiracy and his/her life is in danger, there is a good Samaritan who will help him/her, a labyrinth of characters will walk into the picture, who are either friends or foes or simply just a harmless suspect, the eventual truth can be so larger-than-life that it is not what our protagonists can handle etc etc.
While Uncle Roger imagines Angela Bassett playing the female lead, I would like to imagine John Grishman fine-tuning the story. Because at the end of the day, it does feel like another direct-to-late-night-cable B-movie fare.
Rating: B-
Friday, May 20, 2005 11:21:00 PM
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
viewed on 5/5/05 (Thurs)
Whether I am pro-Christian or not, pro-Muslim or not, or simply a free thinker, will not make me appreciate this movie in a religious way. Ridley Scott may say he is using his period epic to bridge our differences in religions. Really?
Then why I remember the battle scenes clearer than the film message? The battle scenes are indeed impressive, even comparable to the ones in LOTR. It is clearly that is what Ridlet Scott wants to showcase. He never really serious in retelling the history lesson.
I despise Ridley Scott for using religion controversy as a publicity stunt. Come to think about, he did that for BLACK HAWK DOWN too. I do not like THE GLADIATOR but at least it doesn't go as low as KINGDOM OF HEAVEN to generate box office buzz.
Rating: B-
Friday, May 20, 2005 11:32:00 PM
MILLIONS
viewed on 9/5/05 (Mon)
I am ready to dish out my A to this movie, after reading many of its raving reviews. I am not really disappoint but not really satisfy with this movie too.
I like the imagination of Danny Boyle. It reminds me of TRAINSPOTTING. Strange, surreal, funny and dark.
Why I cannot embrace this movie? I like most of the parts of the movie. In fact, I think for a simple story, the script is very well-written with its brilliant wit and smart plot twists. I just cannot stomach the feel-good ending. The scene of the mother coming back should be deleted. Like the kids really miss their mum so much they wish she will return as a miracle? And what with the water-playing scene in Africa?
Rating: B+
Friday, May 20, 2005 11:44:00 PM
STARS WARS: EPISODE III - THE REVENGE OF THE SITH
viewed on 20/5/05 (Fri)
I am not looking forward to see this. Never a STAR WARS fan. I embrace good stories and the family drama saga in STAR WARS is almost laughable. ("I am your father" "No....") The SFX is great but I, again, embrace good stories. The battles, the wars, the politics,... oh man, even a child can spot the loopholes and even a professor cannot follow the twisty plot.
Anyway, I think George Lucas is more concerned to tell the good old Western story of good versus evil. The first three episodes chart the rise of Darth Vader, giving up the Jedi way to join the Dark Side. And after watching this third episode, I feel so much for the character. I think that is a success worth celebrating. George Lucas is afterall an emotive storyteller.
I would like to say Hayden Christensen is a good actor but I think I like his performance because I feel for Darth Vader. How can a chubby cute boy transforms into the most evil villian in the galaxy and one of the memorable screen villians in the cinema? As corny as it sounds, I like the arrangement why Anakin Skywalker turns to the dark side. Yes, for a trivial reason like love but still effectively touching. He wants to save his wife from dying but instead his straying to the Dark Side 'kills' her instead. Now that "No...." is heartbreaking.
George Lucas could have made sequels of the STAR WARS movies but I think it is a good move to make the prequels instead. It is more challenging and definitely more rewarding. After watching this final chapter, it makes me want to re-watch the old STAR WARS movies.
Nope. I am still not a STAR WARS fan. They are packed with self-importance and I would say they are even guilty of self-indulgent. Yes, I still will respect STAR WARS nevertheless. How a small low-budget ground-breaking 1977 movie becomes so larger than life?
Saying STAR WARS is a cinematic icon is an understatement. It creates a colourful fantasy world that it feels like it has a life of its own.
Thank you George Lucas for making the STAR WARS movies. We will always miss them and they will always have a place in our cinematic history, even in a time far far away from now.
Expected Rating: C
Rating: B+
Saturday, May 21, 2005 12:28:00 AM
BONJOUR MONSIEUR SHLOMI
viewed on 22/5/05 (Sun)
I am a sucker for foreign films and this one comes all the way from Israel. The reviews are promising from all around. Do I like it? Well, so-so. I appreciate it more knowing it is a directorial debut.
The Hollywood influence is rather obvious. Part SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER - the titular hero wants to break free from his dysfunctional family. Part GOOD WILL HUNTING - the hero is a Maths genius ... and about the part he is also a good cook is from such movies, advocating the healing power of food, like CHOCOLAT, EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN etc. I don't see how that part fits into the story though.
That it is unpolished is understandable. Some lines are very hilarious. I just don't fancy the rather haphazard storytelling. Some subplots do not come to a neat conclusion. It makes the movie feel long.
Rating: B-
Tuesday, May 24, 2005 11:16:00 PM
INSIDE DEEP THROAT
viewed on 24/5/05 (Tues)
When I first saw the title, I vaguely remember DEEP THROAT is a porn movie. I didn't know it is a movie that was actually screened in the cinemas and created an avalanche that will shape many things in American history, including the porn industry, the challenge with censorship, a nation's sexual awakening, the juridical system, the VCR industry etc.
DEEP THROAT was made by a former hairdresser who found out that, from his daily conversation with his customers, most women were sexually dissatisfied. While most porn movies portray men as the ones going around for sex, DEEP THROAT has a feministic touch with the female lead seeking men to satisfy the clitoris in her mouth. Did the movie invent the term 'deep throat'? Of course. It opens up a new chapter in kamasutra!
DEEP THROAT became a never-before-seen phenomenon. What started as a dirty skin flick garner so much public curiosity that it was played to full houses around the clock. The police stepped in. The FBI stepped in. The government stepped in. They went all the way out to prosecute the movie. Though there was involvement of the mob but from the documentary it was suggested that they really wanted to prosecute everyone involved in the movie, including the projectionist.
The director, Gerard Damiano, is not some dirty slimy old man. From his interviews, you can tell he is sensible, civilised and level-headed. He knew what he was doing back then. He sees himself as an indie filmmaker seeking a breakthrough and most probably wanted to do what most avant garde directors will do - push the envelope and challenge his audience.
The male lead,Harry Reems, had a first in American history. He was the first actor to be sent to jail for starring in a movie. He even gained sympathy from Jack Nicholson and Warren Beatty, seen in his company. He eventually did not serve the jail term because president Nixon resigned and the sentence was overthrown. He gained fame but not glory. He was called up to play a role in GREASE but he was rejected by the studios. After the scandal, he was doomed never to go mainstream. He continued his porn career and became a substance abuser. He had since become sober and now having a career as a realtor.
The female lead, Linda Lovelace, is the biggest casualty. Before the movie, she was already abused by her possessive husband. She became huge and very famous but even her best friend said watching DEEP THROAT was like seeing her loved one died. She didn't go on with her porn career and she eventually married and became a housewife. She even wrote a book about her guilt in making DEEP THROAT and backlashing the very own movie which made her famous. Her change of heart didn't gain much sympathy. In a talk show, she was asked rather blunt questions and doubts were raised. In a bizzare turn of events, she even became part of the feministic revolution to condemn all porn movies. Yet more surprising is unable to cope with her life, she returned to the porn business, posing nude for magazines at the age of 51. She died in a traffic accident in 1992.
I can go on and on about this documentary. It tells so much and so much more. It is very insightful. The presentation is affectingly high-spirited. The development of the events are absolutely compelling. Never once, I feel like looking at my watch.
Sometimes I wonder if documentary films will replace those heavily dramatized biopics. I am sure both have their merits but I will always support documentaries. Strangely, as much as we want to dramatize events, true stories can be as interesting as fiction, sometimes even more so.
Rating: A
Wednesday, May 25, 2005 12:12:00 AM
EROS
viewed on 27/5/05 (Fri)
EROS is appallingly disastrous! Though the three directors are respectable, I have a feeling it is a showcase of how great directors can be go down to such humiliating lowest point of their career. I even doubt the three shorts really come from the directors as claimed.
Wong Kar Wai's THE HAND stands out easily as the best of the trio but really, it is because the other two are so horrible beyond words. His segment is more than just erotic. It is soft porn with two scenes of Gong Li's prostitute jerking off Chang Chen's tailor. Wong's THE HAND tells a sad tale of the tailor's unconditional unrequited love for his beloved customer, even when she has fallen from grace. The cinematography never disappoints and compared to the delirious 2046, it is an improvement. At some points, it is even comparable to IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE.
Then comes Steven Soderbergh's EQUILIBRIUM. A very very weird and unfunny story of a shrink doing his monkey business of spying and throwing paper planes out of the window, while attending to a patient. At one point, I lost track of what the patient is saying and frankly, it doesn't matter at all. It is merely nonsense, like the various shots of paper planes flying out of the window. Huh?
The worst is yet to come! Michelangelo Antonioni's THE DANGEROUS THREAD OF THINGS. I remember nothing much of it, except two women dancing naked on the beach and one of them even had a masturbation scene! I feel like throwing up. Not that I don't appreciate women but the unbashful nudity in a plotless story only adds on to the nausea.
EROS means the god of love or something like that but the last two segments have absolutely nothing got to do with love! Seeing them dancing naked and babbling about them do not count!
Rating: D (taking note that THE HAND has a B rating and the other two F)
Saturday, June 04, 2005 2:13:00 AM
DOWNFALL
viewed on 5/6/05 (Sun)
Watching the film, I soon realise it is not really all about the downfall of Hilter, but of Germany in WWII. It tells how in the last days of Hilter, his henchmen, his devoted followers and even himself have become disillusioned and confused, living in self-denial that they are losing the war. There is a horrible sequence when a mother poisons all her children because she doesn't want them to live in a world not led by the Fuhrer.
DOWNFALL reminds me of a documentary which I saw some time back. It is called TRIUMPH OF THE WILL. A propaganda film made by the Nazi Party, showing the heyday of Adolf Hilter and his Third Reich. DOWNFALL will serve as an irony to that film.
Playing an older and plumper Hilter is Bruno Ganz. He is perfect in his performance, mimicking Hilter's mannerism. Many may disagree to humanise Hilter. Bruno Ganz's Hilter may not have much compassion too. He believes if his countrymen cannot defend themselves, they deserve to die. But I think it is only right to protray Hilter as a mere human being, combating fear, paranoia, betrayal and even capable of showing concern to the females around him - his mistress and personal secretaries.
DOWNFALL opens with a narration by Traudl Junge, Hilter's personal secretary at that time. She also wrote a book about her close encounters with Hilter and this movie is based on that book. I wonder why the film doesn't choose to be made into a documentary film since the main source of the story is still alive. Then maybe there is nothing much else to show since the Germans burned away all the important documents and evidence before the Russians captured them.
Thus, DOWNFALL is an important film because it is a reliable testimony to the downfall of the century's most evil and all-too-powerful man.
Rating: A-
Tuesday, June 14, 2005 3:39:00 PM
BATMAN BEGINS
viewed on 15/6/05 (Wed)
BATMAN RETURNS remains as my favourite Batman movie. The transformation of Catwoman is fabulously sensational. Penguin is a piteous villian, abandoned shortly after birth because of his deformity. The villians steal the whole show. In fact, come to think about, the villians always do. Comparatively, the villians here are forgettable. I cannot remember being excited seeing Val Kilmer, Michael Keaton or George Clooney (self-acclaimed worst Batman ever) playing Batman.
I am however happy to see a young and very promising actor playing Batman. The new Batman movie is going to delve deep into the emotional trauma of Batman, with alot more detail and more depth. For once, Batman owns the show. But that is not necessarily good news.
BATMAN BEGINS really really wants to shake off our expectation of a tpical superhero movie. It wants to be a psychological drama. It wants to be gritty but becomes very heavy-handed instead. The clumsy dialogue reminds me of those in STAR WARS. It wants to be serious but becomes very stiff instead.
It wants to be smart and elusive in story-telling but becomes frustratingly ambigious and very messy instead. What makes Liam Neeson's character chooses Bruce Wayne to be his student? What really drives Bruce Wayne to commit crimes and has to be sent to jail? Why is there a long lapse of time to try the murder of his parents? And who kills him outside the court? Is there a better reason for Scarecrow (Cillian Murphy) to kill Rachel (Kaite Holmes in a very bad performance)? Why not scare her right away but needs help instead from the city mob? And then why will Rachel's boss who is a lawyer goes to inspect some cargo? And what is in the cargo? It is mentioned it is from Singapore. Is it Batman's stuff (read below) and then why is he killed? Why will Scarecrow wants to burn an apartment which has his smuggled drugs? Whose apartment is it anyway? Why would a Tibetan (or something like that) league wants to come down from the cold mountains to destroy Gotham City, just because it is a bad city? My, they must be damn busy destroying many many many places.
Ok, you may think I am missing the gist of the movie. It is all about the transformation of Bruce Wayne to Batman. He chooses bats to be his symbol because he wants to face his own fear and in his fear, he will inner strength. If he can face his own fear, he fears nothing. Cute idea. And unlike many superheroes who come with super powers, this poor Batman has to invent weaponry, make his own mask with materials from Singapore (!) and design his own costume. Batman has issues. He has fear and he is all human, just like us. Sorry but I find the transformation of Catwoman speaks bigger volume.
BATMAN BEGINS is well-intentioned but it is a disappointment anyway. A sloppy story really irks me. BATMAN BEGINS still fails to let me see why I should feel for Batman. I feel more for the teenage Spider-man who has to strggle with issues of responsibilities and powers.
Rating: B-
Thursday, June 16, 2005 12:16:00 AM
THE YEAR OF YAO
viewed on 21/6/05 (Tues)
For my love of documentary films, I am keen to see this one about the basketball sensation, Yao Ming.
It is entertaining to see but just a so-so piece of work. Yao Ming is not really such an interesting subject (or what the documentary has perceived him to be). He is not the first to make it big outside China. Think Gong Li and Zhang Yimou. Think Faye Wong. I remember I was not at all surprised when a few years back, I read that an American basketball team has imported a 'giant' from China. Besides, China has always performed very well in almost every single sport.
Being not really outstanding as a film subject is not Yao Ming's shortcoming. I mean this is just him. This is his strength. He is 'cool' in a boy-next-door way. He will never have a nervous breakdown and given the enormous pressure and expectations from the whole of Chinese population and his team, he takes it all very well. His passion for basketball is all but everything to him. The dazzle, rumble and all that fuss don't seem to bother him at all as long as he is playing basketball. In fact, Yao Ming says his parents just want him to go to university and hence never trains him to be a professional from young, even though his father used to represent China in basketball.
His parents, both ex-sportsmen, are very supportive. They take care of him in their American house while he pursues his career. Yao Ming has so many good people surrounding him, giving him support and all. His interpreter is one of them. His team players like him. His coach likes him. Of course, his fans and admirers which include Adam Sandler, Coco Lee and Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs. He is affable and very easily likeable. He smiles shyly when he is praised and even when he is Shaquille O'Neal mocks him, he smiles and comments politely that it is just him exercising his freedom of speech.
THE YEAR OF YAO has a weak impact as a documentary film but it definitely makes me more aware of Yao Ming, his story of success and his humble personality. Speaking of which, I just went to his official website - yaoming.net
Rating: B
Expected Rating: B
Wednesday, June 22, 2005 11:32:00 PM
BE WITH YOU
viewed on 24/6/05 (Fri)
To many hardcore romantics, I am sorry but I hate this romantic drama. The twist is silly. I think it is a waste of time sitting through the movie only to be cheated with such a lame twist. My eyes were not wet with tears. The story might be dreamed up by someone who has seen one too many times THE GHOST, THE SIXTH SENSE and RASHOMON.
Rating: D
Saturday, July 02, 2005 1:21:00 AM
KONTROLL
viewed on 25/6/05 (Sat)
The film opens with a personnel from the Hungarian underground train station declaring that their ticket inspectors are never close to what the film portrays and they are happy to cooperate with the director in filming the movie at their premises.
Truly, the movie is praiseworthy. Its visuals are avant-garde, the editing is slick and the characters look like they saw PULP FICTION too. The adrenaline rush indeed drives this fantasy thriller on.
The plot consists of one too many a subplot. One is a romance between of a ticket inspector and a female passenger who wears a bear costume for work. There is also a mysterious killer who has a liking for pushing people into the tracks of an approaching train. There is a deadly running competition before the last train. There are two rival groups of ticket inspectors. There is also a punk who takes pride in evading inspection and plays a cat-and-mouse game with the ticket inspectors. It is simply overplotted. It doesn't help that the ending doesn't tie everything up properly too.
If you are looking for a cool-looking movie, KONTROLL will not disappoint. If you are like me who wants to join the dots, it is much about nothing.
Expected rating: B+
Rating: C
Saturday, July 16, 2005 9:37:00 PM
IN MY FATHER'S DEN
Viewed on 25/6/05 (Sat)
Think of watching the movie like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. You need to have the patience to collect all the pieces and the emotional payoff is worth it.
The first half of the movie goes like this. An award-winning war photographer comes back to his hometown for his father's funeral. He meets his ex-girlfriend who has a daughter who may or not be his own flesh and blood. He hangs out alot with this girl, especially in the titular hideout, until one day, the girl goes missing and he becomes a prime suspect.
The second half is trying to figure out the mystery. Why does she disappear so suddenly? If she is died, who killed her and why?Here are some clues: voyeuristic pictures of the girl, an atlas, a tattoo, an air ticket, the father's will and the suicide of the mother many years ago.
The family sercet in the coda is shocking and definitely very disturbing. What's more, I came to realise that every character in the movie plays a part, in way or the other, in the tragedy.
Rating: B+
Saturday, July 16, 2005 9:49:00 PM
THE UPSIDE OF ANGER
viewed on 28/6/05 (Tues)
I have to say first that I like Joan Allen's works. She is a great actress and definitely deserves an Oscar to her name someday. But I hate this movie. It is said that the director, who has always admired Joan Allen, tailor-made this movie for her. So. You will see Joan Allen still has beautiful hair when she is drunk. She also never fails to wear something tight or sexy when she is depressed. Her performance cries out for an Oscar.
I don't mind the added bonus of seeing Joan Allen all beautiful in every sad scene provided it comes with a story I can see a point in it. So what is it all about? What is the fuss about her relationships with them and a twilight romance with Kevin Costner? She is always angry and dissatisfied with them all the time like a petty silky terrier (read: the b-word) Even I feel like ending her life myself.
The beautiful daughters distracted me though. My favourite? The icy cool Evan Rachel Wood. The one who falls for a gay. Ha. What a waste.
Rating: C-
Saturday, July 16, 2005 10:11:00 PM
WAR OF THE WORLDS
viewed on 2/7/05 (Sat)
There is a sequence when the aliens zapped the terrified running human beings into ashes. There is no background music and just horrific imageries of end of the world. It is effective.
There is also one sequence involving the camera revolving a fast-moving car. It is a great creative SFX shot.
And when you say, you have seen it all, Steven Spielberg can still surprise you with his mind-blowing SFX effects.
Well. I have to say the not the very good parts. It is strange to say that while Steven Spielberg is an amazing entertainer, he is not a very accomplished storyteller. When it comes to handling supposedly heart-rending scenes, he can reduce them to schmaltzy.
There are scenes which I suspect Steven Spielberg wants to wring some strong emotions in us but I am totally unaffected. I care more for the special effects instead. I catch no ball in the Tim Robbins sequence too. What is the function of the character? Is there really a need for Tom Cruise to murder the poor madman?
Tom Cruise runs alot. Dakota Fanning screams and cries alot. The aliens kill alot and many people run alot. I will blame the movie less if it doesn't promise a storyline of a father learning family values while on run from the aliens. If it is a little silly B-grade kill-them-all sci fi horror movie, I will like it more.
For those who have not read the original novel or the movie, the ending is that 'dumb'. Well, for making such a forgettable movie, I might as well blame it on Mr Steven Spielberg too.
Rating: B
Wednesday, August 03, 2005 9:31:00 PM
SIN CITY
9/7/05 (Sat)
I am not a comic book fan, let alone graphic comic novels. I am not supportive of gory violence in movies. But I have a thing for ensemble acting and stunning cinematography. I also like the characters to be a bit dark and twisted. Yes. Good dialogue too and of course outstanding imagination on the part of the narrative. SIN CITY can give me all these. It is a bull's eye.
But I do not feel like it that much immediately. It is a rather perturbing experience for me. The overuse of voiceover. The very dark intertwining plots. The nightmarish visuals. The hideous-looking heroes and villians and ultra-sexy dangerous vixens. Walking out of the theatre, I was kind of glad to see more light.
I think I still have to respect this movie because it is so original and visionary, it deserves a genre all to itself. I also gain new respect for graphic comic books because sometimes behind the gore and disturbing images, lie a well-told captivating story too.
Rating: B+
Tuesday, August 09, 2005 12:39:00 AM
FANTASTIC FOUR
viewed on 10/7/05 (Sun)
It is a serviceable piece of entertainment. Like what Alan nicely puts it, it does all what a summer movie needs to and nothing much else. You will be pleasantly entertained but will most likely forget about it after a few weeks. Not many people will talk about it like how they talked about, like STARS WARS, SPIDERMAN 2 etc. It is as straight as an arrow and as one-dimensional as the billboards.
After seeing X-MEN, FANTASTIC FOUR looks lame. They are mutated but they do not have the interestingly complex personality as the X-MEN do. They do not see their powers as a blessing nor they see them as a curse.
Routinely, there will be a villian and routinely, the four superheroes will combine their powers together to annihilate him. Routinely, they vow to serve the city and the world and keep all dangers at bay. And routinely, there is a hint of a sequel. Yawn.
Rating: B
Tuesday, August 09, 2005 12:52:00 AM
CRASH
viewed on 18/7/05 (Mon)
Racism is always a taboo subject matter but in this movie, it is what it is all about. Told in the style of SHORT CUTS and MAGNOLIA, it examines lives of people affected by their xenophobia, racist views, fear and anger as they cross one another's paths.
The ensemble acting is great, boasting very praiseworthy performances. Special mentions go to Thandie Newton, as a black woman who was molested by a white policeman, Matt Dillon as the policeman (and if you think he is only a has-been, check out his performance in this one) and Brenda Fraser who is convincing as a very serious actor after appearing in so many comedies (you will almost forget he is George of the Jungle). But nothing beats the performance of Sandra Bullock. She plays the mean snobbish wife of Brenda Fraser. Again, you may forget this is the same actress who is our Miss Congeniality.
Given a huge cast and the complex interweaving stories, CRASH did not crash and burn at all. The characters and their stories have a purpose. Although the movie is very sombre, it is also hopeful. All the characters, in one way or the way, find a closure to their fear and anger.
Expected rating: A-
Rating: B+
Sunday, August 21, 2005 6:21:00 PM
MYSTERIOUS SKIN
viewed on 24/7/05 (Sun)
I know the movie has something got to do with alien abduction. From the trailer, there is a shot of two boys locking their lips very briefly. Little did I expect the movie to have a gay theme. The portrayal of the sex scenes are so daring that I again would like to applaud Singapore for taking a small step in opening itself up a bit more.
Having said that, the movie is very disturbing on another level. To the general public, the gay sex scenes can be very difficult to sit through. There is even a rape scene and a scene that suggests fisting! But this movie is not made to shock you with a bold gay statement.
It is much much more than that. I seriously think that most would have heard of the main storyline by now. It is slowly getting very good word of mouth. But, I think I will just keep mum of it. You will be totally devastated if you, like me, had no idea what the story is about, other than it is related to alien abduction.
A totally very unsettling viewing experience for me.
Rating: A-
Expected rating: B
Sunday, August 21, 2005 6:34:00 PM
THE WAYWARD CLOUD
viewed on 1/8/05 (Mon)
Tsai Ming Liang once said if he had problems finding finances for his movies, he will turn to pornography. Is he kidding himself? THE WAYWARD CLOUD is already a little teeny weeny step away from porn. And it has to be bad porn because the characters look so brooding.
Do I like THE WAYWARD CLOUD? I have to say I always like the Tsai Ming Ling's wordless portrayal of lone meaningless existence in a bustling city. I always admire how he can shoot a film and convey so much with merely a few lines of dialogue. Sometimes even less than ten. I think there is only one line of dialogue ("Did you see my key? Did you see my key?") in this one.
I like VIVE L'AMOUR and I even place WHAT TIME IS IT THERE? in my top 20 most favourite movies of the year. But I find this movie too 'porn' for my taste. I find it needlessly vulgar. A cum shot. An oral scene and mind you, you can even see the dyed pubic hair. Oh my god, did she really do it? A japanese porn star having fun with a bottle and finds that the cap is lost somewhere inside there. There is even a close up of a man's buttocks. These scenes do not make up much significance. I think the oral scene is an expression of unspoken love. Weird but I think I am not too far off the director's idea.
The musical numbers though look funny at first soon grow too tired and pointless. I really pity these once popular evergreen classics have to exist in such an indecent movie. Again, I cannot find any significance of using the numbers.
This movie is too wayward for my taste. The only good thing is if you are too tired, you can still watch this one. Because the shots are so long and quiet, you may doze off and wake up to find yourself still staring at the same scene.
Rating: D-
Expected Rating: B
Tuesday, August 23, 2005 8:32:00 PM
Hahah...that was a hilarious review. Makes me wanna watch the movie simply out of curiosity :-P
Tuesday, August 23, 2005 10:54:00 PM
CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY
viewed on 7/8/05 (Sun)
I do not really enjoy this latest offering from Tim Burton. Why?
I cannot really pinpoint. Is it a tad too warped for my taste? I think so but I like SLEEPY HOLLOW, ED WOOD, EDWARDS SICSSORHANDS, BETTLEJUICE and even MARS ATTACKS!, which many do not like it.
Maybe I think it is a children's movie so I expect something not too dark. But the film is not really that dark too. Maybe I find the 'elimination process' of the children a bit too long and tired. Maybe I did not read the book and hence missed the gist of the story. Maybe I expected too much and maybe Tim Burton has lost his touch.
I really do not know.
Damn, maybe I just do not like chocolate...
Rating: B
Expected Rating: B+
Sunday, August 28, 2005 10:49:00 PM
RED EYE
viewed on 28/8/05 (Sun)
It is not a spoiler to tell you that the title refers to the name of plane the main bulk of the story takes place. If you have to ask me, why the title? But then again, SCREAM is a rather mediocre title too but I love SCREAM 1 and 2.
Do I like RED EYE? I have to say I expected more. Mind you, this is the guy who constantly plays your mind in the SCREAM trilogy, studies the slasher horror genre like a professor and elevates it to a respectable level.
Maybe I should walk out of the shadow of the SCREAM trilogy and see RED EYE as a film outside that genre. Wes Craven is trying his hands at other kinds of suspense thriller. I say that is a good movie, given that MUSIC OF THE HEART is a rather lame attempt at making a serious drama.
Still, as a space-confined suspense thriller, it pales in comparison with other predecessors like PANIC ROOM, AIR FORCE ONE and REAR WINDOW. It is serviceable and the loopholes can be quite gapping. Is it really necessary to go to such an extent to change a room?
Rachel McAdams is believable as a frightened woman making the best use of the situation to wriggle out of the predicament. She is going to be seen more than just another doll after her performances in MEAN GIRLS, THE NOTEBOOK and RED EYE. I should see Cillian Murphy playing more sinister roles and joining ranks of Anthony Hopkins, Jack Nicholson who has played memorable villains.
As for Wes Craven, I heard he is planning to make SCREAM 4. I say Mr Craven, press on with your resolution to always try something different. Do not go back to your comfort zone. The SCREAM trilogy will go down as one of the better trilogies, not to mention one of the best slasher movies ever. SCREAM 4 may spoil it all.
Rating: B
Saturday, September 03, 2005 10:33:00 PM
LA MARCHE DE L'EMPEREUE (MARCH OF THE PENGUINS)
viewed on 7/9/05 (Wed)
For a start, the title is badly translated. Marche means journey and not simply march. This French documentary is dubbed into three other languages. In American version, it is narrated by Morgan Freeman. There are also the Chinese and Japanese versions.
The narration can be very distracting. I cannot really get used to it. IThe language in the subtitles can be rather flowery. I soon begin to appreciate the narration. Initially I frowned at the idea of using a female and male narrator. It adds on the chore of reading the small subtitles. But when the penguins part, I see the purpose. The male voiceover will narrate the parts about the male penguins and the female, the female penguins. Yes. when the chicks are hatched, there is a child narrating their parts too. Now, I wonder how Morgan Freeman will do all that but then again should I doubt the capability of an Oscar winner?
I think the songs are unnecessary though I have to say they are rather nice. It has a style of a milder Bjork.
By the way, I set my year-end exam papers entirely on the emperor penguins, the cloze passages and the comprehension. I was reading the passage, which I ripped from this Time for Kids website, and I was so mesmerised by it. I had fun setting the papers.
Do you know that the penguins are the only animals that choose to breed in the harsh winters of Antarctica?
When they arrive, they glide on their tummies on the ice to move faster. Heee... As the females outnumber the males, the poor females have to compete with one another to find a mate. Lucky guys but poor ladies.
Once they have mated, the females have to hand over the egg to the males to hatch. If she is not careful, the egg will break and the embryo will be frozen. Then the whole journey to Antarctica is wasted. There is no second chance to mate again.
The males will sit on the egg to keep it warm. They will also use their legs to keep the eggs in place. The action is both very funny and endearing. After that, the females will go back into the sea to fish for the chick, leaving the males to look after the egg for three long months.
The poor fathers will then have to brave the cold ice storms. They crowd together to keep each other warm. All this time, they have to make sure the egg is safe. There is a scene when a few penguins got blown down by the cold wind. It looks like they are little short bottles toppling down. Very funny. As they cannot go fish, they will be hungry, very hungry, until the females return.
The females do not have an easy life too in the ocean, having a whale of a good time filling their empty stomachs silly. They are attacked by seals. I have not seen the adorable seals so vicious and scary before. There is a very sad scene when the seal snarls a penguin seconds before she flies out of the surface. The narrator sadly says that two lives are gone because the chick will never have anything to eat.
Back to the male penguins. When the chicks are hatched, they cannot be left in the cold. In fact, the winter is so cold that once a chick leaves the father, it will be frozen to death.
When the female penguins do return safely, the males will stagger in hunger to the open sea to fish. The narrator says some may not make it in time to fish and dies of hunger on the way! Before that, the mother and father will enjoy a few moments of closeness before they are separated again.
The female penguins, after taking over from the males, will continue to keep the chick under them to prevent them from being frozen to death. When the chicks can finally leave the mothers, the chicks will wander around and even play with the other baby penguins, piling on top of one another. They look so adorable. A clever merchant should seize the opportunity to come up stuffed toys of baby penguins.
Now their babyhood can be very short-lived. The baby penguins can die anytime. There will be storms and if the chicks get caught in the storm, they will freeze to death. Then there are also birds, which look like a cross between a dodo and a duck, which will attack the poor baby penguins and eat them alive.
When a baby penguin dies, the mothers will be so lost and mad with grief that she will start to steal chicks from other mothers.
Still, there is a happy ending to some families. The fathers will return and finally the family is whole again. It is a very touching scene when the parents warm up to each other and the baby penguin chirping happily at their feet.
When the winter is finally over, the parents will leave the chicks to fend on their own. Then they too will leave Antarctica and swim into the open sea.
A year later, they will return to start the whole breeding cycle again.
I think it really takes alot alot of courage and patience to make this documentary. Imagine yourself sitting in the cold, filming the penguins. Then you have to go under the sea to film them. I say please give the team an Oscar.
Glad to know that this little touching documentary is stirring up quite a bit storm here and overseas. People are flocking to see it.
In the credits, the team even dedicated the documentary to all parens. How sweet! I bless this documentary and I hope Oscar will too.
Rating: A-
Expected Rating: A-
Thursday, September 08, 2005 11:20:00 PM
BE WITH ME
viewed on 11/9/05 (Sun)
While some many people are so proud that BE WITH ME earned a standing ovation at the hard-to-please Cannes Film Festival, I condemn this movie as a shame to our local film industry.
It is the one of the most pretentious films I have ever seen.
It is a shame that the true motivational story of Theresa Chan serves as merely a backgroud to three so-called very touching love stories. Oh gosh. Her life of achievements is simply reduces to lines and lines of subtitles! What respect you say that is?
The three interwining love stories are not really love stories. I tell you. I can do better. I can do better than Eric Khoo? Yes. I would very much like to challenge him to tell a touching love story.
The lesbian segment is so ... well ... let's say it is meant just to create buzz. A publicity stunt at its lowest point. The ending is so ... well ... let's say my students can think of a better ending.
The beauty-and-the-beast segment is basically about lust. You call stalking a woman romantic?
Then there is a mildly touching story of an old man mourning a lost love. Yes, there is a twist to make the story a bit melancholic but a hint that there is a twilight romance between him and Theresa Chan is so ... huh?!
After watching this movie, I told my movie companion, Alan, that the future of local film industry is now in the hands of ... Jack Neo. He smiled and could not agree more.
Rating: F
Expected Rating: B
Friday, October 14, 2005 11:17:00 PM
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