Videodrome - Season Four
In the previous season, I still remember fondly these movies ...
Down With Love; Shutter; Nuts; Cellular; Conspiracy; THX 1138; The Celluloid Closet; My Teacher, Mr Kim; Assault On Precinct 13; Cyrano De Bergerac, The Firemen's Ball (Horí, Má Panenko), All About Eve and It Happened One Night.
Not many, I know. Hopefully, this will not repeat in this season.
(previously created on 14/11/05)
Screening on Saturday, January 28, 2006
100 Comments:
4 LITTLE GIRLS (1997)
viewed on 10/11/05 (Thurs)
When I saw this on the shelf at the esplanade dvd library, I gasped for air. Another borrower was taken aback by my big reaction. This is one of the many documentaries I want to buy at amazon.com, together with many other documentaries. Now, I can see it, at no extra cost.
4 LITTLE GIRLS is an Oscar-nominated documentary made by Spike Lee, whose movies are nothing short of controversy pertaining to the racial issues.
In 1961, a crime from hell robbed the lives of four innocent black girls and shook the nation up. A Klansman even told a black minister that he did not believe "they" would go this far. Not only did an explosion kill the four girls, it happened, of all places, in the basement of a church on a Sunday morning!
There are a few quick shots of the dead bodies of the girls in the morgue. Spike Lee, in his interview, said in this interview that he was hesitate to show the horrifying images but did it anyway to reveal how hideous the crime was. One of the girls even had a slab of cement embedded in her head. At the funeral, it was passed to a relative and years later, when the mother was more emotionally stable, it was finally handed to her. We catch a glimpse of the cement and spots of blood can still be seen...
The documentary made of many interviews of the family members of the four girls. Many appeared to be composed but most broke down infront of the camera. One old lady said she tried so hard to put the past behind her that she had forgotten some of the things that happened but the pain was always very vivid.
There are also interviews of other people in the community who gave us an idea who were the racist white leaders, like the police commissioner Bull Connor, who spat on one of the interviewees when he was a kid, and Governor George Wallace, who in Spike Lee's interview held a black man's hand and desperately stated he had a black man as his best friend now.
There are also mentions of how the blacks were treated unfairly. A black girl was denied of a sandwich because she was black. Another mother painfully recounted how hurt she was to tell her kids not to play at a fountain because of his skin colour.
Before I end, I have a confession to make. I felt the documentary was a tad disappointing. I expected something more powerful and I thought Spike Lee could do better. But while writing this review, I came to realise that even though I am disppointed that the emotional impact was not as great as I thought it would be, it is nevertheless, a very important documentary.
By the way, that year another documentary called THE LONG WAY HOME took home the award. Spike Lee spitefully griped that it was because it was produced by a rabbi. What is the link? ...
Rating: A-
Monday, November 14, 2005 11:46:00 PM
MISS CONGENIALITY 2: ARMED AND FABULOUS (2005)
viewed on 11/11/05 (Fri)
Loved the part one. Sandra Bullock is very likeable and she still is in this sequel. Thankfully for her, this comedy is not a bomb afterall.
Some of the lines are darn funny, especially the bickering scenes between Regina King and Sandra Bullock. If only the comedy is as funny. The plot doesn't quite make sense, even though we know we cannot expect too much from a comedy like this.
If I am the producer, I will still make another sequel but I will insist to bring back Regina King. Anybody listening?
Rating: C+
Monday, November 14, 2005 11:58:00 PM
THE VERDICT (1982)
viewed on 13/11/05 (Sun)
Another redemption story of an underdog. Oscar loves stuff like this and that explains the nomination for Best Picture. How else will I explain this slow-moving courtroom drama can sneak into the year's best five?
Given a bit more commercialisation, it will surely be a box-office hit. But Sidney Lumet chooses to downplay alot of the dramatic scenes. And I believe for a first time, the final victory doesn't come with a big crowd at the door applauding and flashlights going off. Just a few polite handshakes.
To really keep a lid on the dramatics, the dialogue is always very soft and I believe, without the aid of the subtitles, I will not be able to follow some of the crucial developments, like the sequence on how Paul Newman's attorney is able to track down an important witness.
I know it is supposed to be an art movie but I really hope the sense of urgency is stronger and I ache for some really dramatic courtroom scenes. Lawyers yelling and witnesses breaking down. Those sort of things.
Rating: B-
Tuesday, November 15, 2005 9:15:00 AM
DIVORCE AMERICAN STYLE (1967) and DIVORCE ITALIAN STYLE (Divorzio all'italiana) (1961)
viewed on 13/11/05 (Sun) and 15/11/05 (Tues)
Found these two titles on the shelf at the DVD library. Sounds cute to review the two movies together.
First thing first. The two movies are not related. Both are comedies and of course parodies of divorces.
DIVORCE AMERICAN STYLE is a family comedy which could be directed by Chris Columbus (notice how I see him as the best person for family comedies). The married couple squabbles over the smallest details and there is a hilarious silent sequence of the fuming couple going through their routine before sleep time in pitch-perfect coordination.
The word 'divorce' never comes to their mind at all. That is until when the wife calls for some advice and the word pops up. Somehow, the taboo word seems to take a life of its own. It appears more and more often in their conversations and suddenly they are doing it for real.
They go separate ways and each have their own misadventure. The husband runs into a man who matchmakes his ex-wife with any available man so that he can evade alimony. The wife dates another man who, one day, brings her to his ex-wife's place and introduces to her step-children from his marriages of his and his ex-wife who has a boyfriend with children from his own previous marriage. It is a classic seuqence, spoofing the divorce scene in America.
Now, there is a series of comic twists which, if I elaborate, will both take a long and spoil the fun.
Ah, now I can think of another subtle similarity between the two movies.
DIVORCE ITALIAN STYLE also has a series of comic twists to keep the viewer want to find out more and more. The premise is this. An Italian man falls in love with his cousin who just moves in with her family. But alas, he is married and the thing is divorce is disallowed in Italian culture. The only plot that he can conjure thqt goes like this. He has to catch his wife in a moment of infidelity, shoots the man, goes to jail and, according to the law, he will be freed after three years. Only then, he can be a free man to marry his cousin.
Much of the hilarity comes from how the man tries to get any man to fall in love with his ugly wife. He makes her wear scantily and walks her around but no man is the least hoodwinked by her. When it seems like it is impossible for him to find a man who will like his wife, he comes to know about a childhood friend of hers who is head over heels over her. He supposedly brings this man to paint his house and creates opportunities for them to be caught in the heat of the moment. And then ... wait. If I go on, again, I will spoil the fun and this blog entry will be the longest ever.
Let's say the endings of both comedies bring out the irony in divorces. There is no 'happily-ever-afters'. Divorces are never easy. Everything seems destined to go in circles. Shudder. Interesting. A marriage is a dark comedy and a divorce is a darker one.
Rating: A- (for both movies)
Monday, November 21, 2005 12:54:00 AM
THE SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS (2005)
viewed on 16/11/05 (Wed)
I remembered last year, during the share-a-book session with the school, a female colleague of mine shared this book. I was thinking. Ha! Another one of those 'girly' books chokeful of silly fantasies and mawkishness.
Still, I did not give this movie a miss. Besides the point that this movie never makes it to the screens here, I am also a closet fan of all-woman melodrama. Don't ask me why.
Well, anyway, turns out that the main story is not what I have perceived. Surprisingly, it has depth and maturity, given that the female protagonists are teenagers.
Yes. It is one of those stories about the summer that changes everything. Ha! So old school. Sexual awakening, self-discovery, growing-up angst and coming-of-age. Blah blah blah.
Before that, I have to explain the setup. The four girls are good friends since birth. They are all very different, in terms of looks and personalities. Strangely, they share an inseparable bond. They are about to go separate ways during one summer vacation and they chance upon a pair of jeans which fit all of them.
Well. Like what most girls will do. They create a sisterhood around the jeans and make rules. Each of them will take turns to wear it for a week, believing that something magical will happen to them when they wear the jeans. It is very obvious by then that the book is written by a female writer and will most definitely strike a chord with female teenagers.
Back to what really amaze me. The four individual stories may look mundane on the surface but the issues they deal with underneath it show alot of emotional depth.
Carmen is a chubby girl who goes visiting her father and is shocked to see that he is happy with a new more 'presentable' family. Naturally, she feels jealous and resents his father. But it is really her low self-esteem that is eating her. She believes her father is ashamed of her and she blames herself too for being unpretty.
Bridget is a sporty girl who goes to a soccer camp and falls in love with a dashing coach. The rule says no hanky-panky between a player and the coach but Lena goes all out to seduce him and eventually succeeds in making him succumb to her advances. But she later realises that the fling is more like a means to escape her overwhelming grief of her deceased mother. She needs to live dangerously to get over it but it haunts her no matter what.
Lena is luckier. She falls in love with a teen Greek god and losing her virginity seems to be the most romantic thing to do. Once, she is shy, even about her body, but now, she is free-spirited. The relationship is however strongly opposed by her grandparents because of a feud they had with the boy's grandparents donkey years ago. Well, actually, Lena's overprotective grandparents just do not want to lose her like how they have lost her mother.
Lastly, Tibby is a grouchy girl who works at a supermarket. She doesn't go anywhere like the other girls. She aspires to be a documentarian and mets an equally tough-talking younger girl called Bailey who volunteers to be her assistant, much to Tibby's dismay actually. Turns out that Bailey has cancer and her days are numbered. Bailey's positive attitude touches Tibby's heart and also for once the fearless Tibby has to confront her fear of seeing someone dying.
The acting is incredible. I am not surprised that one or two of them will become big names in the near future. More shocking is the director is a male who seems to be very sensitive to the affairs of the hearts of the girls. Each girl is given a acting moment that will make them proud at the Oscars. Not yet, of course, but give them time to bloom.
By the way, they are America Ferrera, Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn.
Rating: A-
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 1:17:00 AM
THE SEARCHERS (1956)
viewed on 17/11/05 (Thurs)
Sure, it is one long tiring search.
Like the protagonists searching for a missing girl for years in the wilderness, I feel like collapsing in exasperation too.
I am usually very kind towards old movies but I have to say, it is one of those boring old movies.
The story deviates very seriously. What with the wedding fight anyway? And the sequence with the Indian wife.
Legendary John Ford directed this and legendary John Wayne is the leading man. I am sure this is not their best work.
Entertainment Weekly ranks this movie #38 as one of the greatest movie moments in the last century.
"Probing the dark side of frontier pluck, director John Ford won acclaim for this tale of a revenge-obsessed loner (John Wayne) out to rescue his niece, who's been kidnapped by Comanche Indians. Over the decades, it became a touchstone for such filmmakers as Martin Scorsese and George Lucas (it's all over ''Star Wars''). "
Totally lost me really.
Rating: D
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 1:31:00 AM
THE PATRIOT (2000)
viewed on 18/11/05 (Fri)
With GODZILLA's Roland Emmerich at helm, do not blame me for being unfeeling towards the movie.
Every old trick in the book is used to manipulate your emotions. Shamelessly.
It is a beautifully lensed movie no less, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography.
But really, it is Mel Gibson's vain project. Somehow, it reminds me of Jackie Chan's THE MYTH.
Rating: C
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 1:36:00 AM
SHARK TALE (2004)
viewed on 19/11/05 (Sat)
I thoroughly enjoy this animated feature.
The blindingly vibrant colours and the tongue-in-the-cheek imagination. Nevermind, the story feels very familiar. It is top-notch entertainment.
Two thumbs up to Martin Scorcese for gamely takes up the job of voicing a puffer fish.
Also a thumb-up to the tribute to the retro pop culture.
For a funkier alternative to FINDING NEMO, SHARK TALE is a good catch.
Rating: B+
Tuesday, November 22, 2005 1:52:00 AM
THE CHINA SYNDROME (1979)
viewed on 19/11/05 (Sat)
THE CHINA SYNDROME is a reminder that movies are sometimes made to raise societal concern and that they have a responsibility to educate the audience too. At one level, it is about disgusting corporations milking profits at the expense of the commoners' safety but at another level, it teaches moral courage. Reporters will be pleased to know that the film puts aggressive journalism in a very good light.
The plot involves a news reporter (Jane Fonda), a cameraman (Michael Douglas) and a nuclear plant shift supervisor (Jack Lemmon) questioning and investigating the safety of a nuclear plant and their mammoth bid to convince the authorities to shut it down before a nuclear disaster ensues.
Even if the anti-nuclear message is now a bit outdated, it is a great example of an entertaining, thoughtful and intense thriller from the yesteryear. At no expense of any music. Surely a feat we do not see very often.
An interesting trivia. A real disaster happened at the nuclear power plant at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island just 13 days after the movie opened. Talking about eerie timing.
Rating: A-
Friday, December 02, 2005 1:03:00 AM
CONSTANTINE (2005)
viewed on 20/11/05 (Sun)
An angel who unleashes the son of Satan. A Lucifer with a sense of humour and in a way, saves the world. Catholics will be turning and tossing in discomfort because mentions of suicides will go straight to hell are ubiquitous.
But when I know that the fantasy horror is based on a comic book called "Hellblazer", I forgive the sacrilegiousness. Somehow comic books still give me the impression that it is not serious literature so some extent of poetic licence is fine.
The reasons I like about CONSTANTINE is the same I like for SIN CITY. The morbid and yet mystical imagination. The hard-boiled dialogue. The uncelebrated heroes who are always lonely and nasty with an attitude. The colourful characters and of course the vividly graphic visuals.
CONSTANTINE is MATRIX meets THE EXORCIST. Like how I feel after watching SIN CITY, I appreciate better of such comic books.
Rating: B+
Friday, December 02, 2005 2:54:00 PM
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
viewed on 21/11/05 (Mon)
I pinned very high hopes on this movie. It received multiple Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Director and winning Best Screenplay, Music, Song and Cinematography.
I have to say it is a disappointment.
There are basically two main parts to it. The first introduces us to the two titular characters and then climaxes in a train robbery and the song sequence of Oscar-winning "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head".
The second is all about the two outlaws running away from a posse that is employed by the boss who owns the train they rob. And it goes really slow from then on. Dull to sum it up.
Recently, when I watched THE CHINA SYNDROME, the sparse soundtrack fits the intensity of the thriller but here the sparse soundtrack makes the glacial pace feel even slower. There are alot of quiet moments of people riding horseback against the backdrop of the picturesque Western wilderness. Hardly, any action.
Interestingly, in the making-of, the director, George Roy Hill, exasperatedly says he has put up his best in this movie and if the audience still doesn't like it, he does not know what to do already. Well, the audiences and Oscars sure love the movie but not me and I am pleasant to know that Uncle Roger Ebert feels the same way too.
Rating: C
Friday, December 02, 2005 3:15:00 PM
COYOTE UGLY (2000)
viewed on 26/11/05 (Sat)
This could be the very movie that inspired bar-top dancing, created a hoo-ha and finally approved to show that Singapore is not an uptight country afterall. But the bar-top stunts are definitely a no-no in Singapore context. Playing with fire and water? It happens only in the movie.
The COYOTE UGLY poster shows an ensemble of hot babes but it is really a story of one of them only. Piper Perabo is boring as the movie heroine. A big-eyed girl with a bigger smile whom I suspect draws alot of inspiration from Julia Roberts' movie. Her character's indecisiveness is as aggravating as her 'cute' performance.
Mario Bello seems uncomfortable playing a tough female boss. Her performance of late is more promising.
What I really want to see more of is the other 'coyotes'. They seem to be much more interesting.
Tyra Banks is absolutely sexy. You should see her all girly cute in the interviews. She bears a uncanny resemblance of Keira Knightley too.
Another 'coyote', Izabella Miko, bears a resemblance of AMERICAN BEAUTY's Mena Suvari. A sexpot with a doll face.
Bridget Moynahan is another one. She is the 'coyote' with anger management problems, complete with a devil-may-care kick-ass attitude.
COYOTE UGLY strives to tell a story of a struggling songwriter lost in a big city but truth to be told, I care less about her than the other more interesting 'coyotes'.
Strangely, I find myself comparing this to GLITTER and like the latter more.
Rating: C+
Saturday, December 03, 2005 1:32:00 AM
MADAGASCAR (2005)
viewed on 27/11/05 (Sun)
It is a pity that given the ensemble of voice talents and lovable cute characters, MADAGSCAR has a weak story that seems to cater to audiences below 12 because they will most probably be distracted by the animation.
It is neither here or there.
For more mature audience, they will find it childish. For children, they will not understand some of the in-jokes and references.
There are, however, some memorable bits. The discovery of Sacha Baron Cohen (aka Ali G) who voices Julien, the king of the lemurs. He is easily the funniest character and his "I Like To Move It, Move It" is side-splitting.
Rating: C+
Saturday, December 03, 2005 9:44:00 AM
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984)
viewed on 27/11/05 (Sun)
There is something scarier than Freddy Krueger. Heather Langenkamp's horrible acting. That could be what Freddy is after afterall.
This, being Wes Craven's earliest movie, smacks of dim wit. I find myself paying more attention to the 'obiang' 80s fashion sense. Something scarier too.
I remembered how terrified I was when I saw this trailer in the cinema when I was very small. I should have known I have grown up since then. Well, that is one childhood scar that will go away.
Rating: D
Saturday, December 03, 2005 10:05:00 AM
VALENTINE (2001)
viewed on 30/11/05 (Wed)
Hot on the heels of the success of SCREAM, this teenage slasher horror cannot deny its aspiration to be another smart whodunit.
It almost accomplished that. It sets up very riveting suspense until the last reel. The twist is ridiculous and ambigious. Watch it again and you will find the loopholes as gaping as the mouths of the hot young actresses when they scream.
Rating: C-
Saturday, December 03, 2005 10:10:00 AM
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956)
viewed on 2/12/05 (Fri)
I am beginning to doubt Alfred Hitchcock as a film maestro. Could he be overrated?
I used to believe that I love his works but now I think only some are truly great while others are just less than what many claim to be.
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is somewhere in between. It is not great but neither it is forgettable. It is a standard thriller and according to today's standards, it is merely serivceable.
Sure, there are a few memorable moments. The concert that crescendoes into an assassination attempt is one of them. And I would have to say Doris Day, to me, by far the most credible dramatic actresss in a Hitchcockian movie.
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is actually a remake of Hitchcock's own film back in 1934. He remade this movie because he owed Paramount one picture. In the making-of, he exclaimed that the earlier version was made by an amateur but the latter version a professional. No doubt about that.
Also, Alfred Hitchcock did not want any song in the movie but Paramount Pictures insisted because Doris Day was a very accomplished singer and she should sing in the movie. Well, as it turns out "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)" won an Oscar. It actually plays a pivtol role in the plot.
Rating: B
Saturday, December 03, 2005 11:32:00 PM
CONTROL ROOM (2004)
viewed on 4/12/05 (Sun)
Like 4 LITTLE GIRLS, I would like to believe that my list of recommended documentary films I sent to library@esplanade is the reason I found this on its self.
CONTROL ROOM is an Oscar-nominated documentary and it is rather different from the many documentaries I have seen. It is shot with no frills and presents directly as what it is shot with a home videocam. The result is a very candid and honest film. It is hard not to draw comparisons with Michael Moore and I find myself more readily to accept many of the opinions shared by the documentary.
CONTROL ROOM is about the coverage of the Iraqi war by a reputable Arab satellite news channel called Al Jazeera. There are four main interviewees representing the news station. There is the sardonic senior producer, Samir Khader; the rotund and cheerful Al Jazeera correspondent, Hassan Ibrahim; the young pretty producer Deema Khatib and an emotionally-charged translator. Not to be biased, the documentary also includes interviews from two Americans, one is working for CNN and other is Lt. Josh Rushing who is a media representative of the US Marines. Or should I say ‘was’? Upon the release of the film, he was instructed not to give any comment on it and he bravely ended his 14-year career with the Marines.
The US authorities condemned the news channel, calling it “Osama bin Laden’s mouthpiece” and “willing to lie to the world to make their case." But when a so-called American analyst called up to attack the US policies immaturely, Samir Khader dismissed him as just crazy.
In actual fact, there are many instances we have to believe that the US Army is the evil one. They killed three news correspondents, one of which worked for Al Jazeera, in an air strike and claimed that it was an accident but there were no military premises in the vicinity. A solemn teary news conference ensued. So much of liberating Iraq? Where is Bush’s promise not to hit civilian areas? There are many news reels showing the commoners crying for their dead loved ones and cursing Bush for bombing their homes. They hate Saddam Hussein but they do not think the Americans are here to help them either. There is a hilarious recount of a group of children filmed chanting using Bush’s name and being interpreted by the Americans as singing praises of Bush but actually they were cursing him in the Iraqi language.
Remember the news footage of when a small convoy of Iraqi people who toppled the statue of Saddam Hussein? It was believed to be staged by the US Army. The people at Al Jazeera noticed that how some of them did not even speak with a Baghdad accent and still carried a very old Iraqi flag.
We also see another instance when a spokesman announced the US military had made a deck of cards, with the faces of the Iraqi’s most wanted on them, to be distributed to the troops. When the news journalists asked to see it, the US military spokesman simply refused and the childish reaction prompted them to question the existence of the cards and of course the integrity of the words from the US military.
There is common trait in all the main interviewees in the documentary, be it they come from the Al Jazeera or the other side. They all hate wars and disappointed that the Iraqi war brought on more misery and did not deliver the promise of “freeing the Iraqi people”. These are merely good simple folks who get caught in the middle of a dubious war.
Rating: A-
Tuesday, December 06, 2005 2:26:00 PM
AMERICA’S SWEETHEARTS (2001)
viewed on 4/12/05 (Sun)
Billy Crystal may be the most popular host at the Oscars ceremonies but his script is nowhere close to his hosting talents.
This is a very bad case of art imitating life. The comedy goes on reasonably well until Julia Roberts' character decides to become a prima donna herself. By the way, I hate her Julia Roberts moments in this one. The innocent teary eyes and self-pity are disgusting to watch.
But save the worst for last. The comedy's coda could easily be the worst Hollywood film ending. It is outrageously far-fetched.
I pity Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci and Christopher Walken who have to put up with this nonsense. They are respectable actors and one can see they are trying very hard not to look ridiculous.
Directed by Joe Roth whose CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS is also horrendous. Once bitten, twice shy. I should have learnt.
Set. I am going to stay away from movies by Billy Crystal and Joe Roth. They think they are funny. Ha! My dog is funnier and he doesn't have to try so hard.
Rating: F
Tuesday, December 06, 2005 2:39:00 PM
THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (1952)
viewed on 5/12/05 (Mon)
Who is Lana Turner? She is billed even before Kirk Douglas and in the DVD, there is also a long tribute to her. A check with imdb.com reveals that she is no more than a gossip magnet. She has numerous love affairs, some illegitmate and some developed into marriages. She is not really a stunner though. The "beautiful" in the movie title refers to her.
But the story is not as shallow. It is not really about Kirk Douglas' "the bad" and "the beautiful". By the way, Kirk Douglas is more dashing than his son in his prime years.
Though the story is largely a morality tale, it also reveals how Hollywood functions as a dream factory. Three characters (a director, an actress and a writer) will take turns to tell their rags-to-riches stories involving a very driven producer played by Kirk Douglas.
This reminds of AMERICA'S SWEETHEART. Argh. Later, coincidentally, a film I saw after this was also about Hollywood. It is called BARTON FINK and the treatment is another entirely different one.
For this classic, the treatment is stagey and linear. Nevertheless, the drama is very riveting. How a perfectionistic and gutsy producer sees talents in the three down-and-out protégés, takes up enormous risks and goes to all lengths imaginable to groom them to be larger than life, and then also unwittingly betrays them all in the end.
Ain't that sounds like a first-rate melodrama?
Rating: A-
Tuesday, December 06, 2005 11:11:00 PM
BARTON FINK (1991)
viewed on 5/12/05 (Mon)
BARTON FINK holds a record at the Cannes. It is the only one film that clinched all three major awards - Best Director, Best Actor (John Turturro) and the Golden Palm, unanimously! Now the jury of the Cannes is never known to be so generous. Preceding this, it is a one-movie-one-prize policy.
Sorry. BARTON FINK doesn't really impress me. It is a very quirky dark comedy. The visual style is exquisite and yet, morbid. These are the trademarks of the Coen brothers' movies. Never like their FARGO too.
To seek to find a conclusion for this movie is ... futile. It is one of those movies that the director will say, "Well, I leave it to the audience to interpret."
Nah. I move on.
Rating: C-
Tuesday, December 06, 2005 11:34:00 PM
GARDEN STATE (2004)
viewed on 6/12/05 (Tues)
The nerdy chicken who yells "the sky is falling" in CHICKEN LITTLE. That's the director of this indie. He looks nowhere near Chicken Little and definitely not as cute or as slow-witted as him.
His name is Zach Braff and this is his directorial debut. It is said that the script, which he wrote in colleage, is semi-autographical and he handpicks the songs.
The songs click immediately with me, prompting me to buy the soundtrack. Just imagine slight variations of Coldplay. Some are slightly upbeat but mostly heart-breakingly melancholic.
That phrase also best describes this indie. It is another homecoming coming-of-age drama but this tale steers clear of any soap opera.
It is angst-ridden and moody but always sensitive to the subject matter of perplexing and often self-destructive adolescent years.
The film blooms with many quirky, ironical and humorous moments. Sometimes romantic too. There too many memorable ones to be mentioned here. My favourite has to go to a brief scene of Zach Braff's character being made to wear a shirt that totally blends in with the wallpaper, creating an illusion he is shrouded by a pall of garden leaves.
I thought "garden state" refers to false serene after-effect of anti-depression drugs but it actually refers to New Jersey where the story takes place.
Sure. GARDEN STATE may not be a leisure walk in the park but it is life-affirming and refreshing anyway.
Rating: B+
Wednesday, December 07, 2005 9:19:00 AM
THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (2004)
viewed on 6/12/05 (Tues)
Oh. How tedious to sit through this movie adaptation of the Bard's work.
I am not a literature student. I don't appreciate William Shakespearean dialogue and hence any of his literary greatness.
But I am a movie buff and my guts tell me that the story is plain, boring and digressive. Yes, there is bold talk of anti-Semitism, homoeroticism (there are two brief kissing scenes) and a mildly stirring prosecution of a Jewish money-lender (played by Al Pacino in a satisfactory-only performance). Nope. He is not the titular merchant. It refers to the Jeremy Irons' character which is remotely important.
Most of time, I drift through the movie like how I will browse a picture book.
Rating: D
Wednesday, December 07, 2005 11:15:00 AM
12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
viewed on 7/12/05 (Wed)
Starting to follow the TV series, CSI lately. 12 ANGRY MEN intrigues me just like how I am fixated on CSI.
A young boy is charged for murdering his own father. The eye-witnesses' reports support the allegation, or so it seems? As one juror reminds the rest of the jury who are dead sure that the boy is guilty.
As they debate, sometimes bursting into angry shouts and sometimes analysizing the case patiently, the obvious becomes cloudy and one by one the jury ends up convinced that there are indeed enough doubts to believe the boy may not be guilty afterall.
Even though Henry Fonda is the leading man here, there is enough room for the other 11 actors to play, at one point of the other, a pivtol role as the plot progresses.
It is challenging directing a drama involving a big cast like this and furthermore, 99% of the action takes place only in a room!I just got drawn deeper and deeper into the story. So much so that I stayed up till 3 am plus just to finish the movie.
Rating: A
Saturday, December 10, 2005 5:15:00 PM
THE HUSTLER (1961) and THE COLOR OF MONEY (1986)
viewed on 7/12/05 (Wed) and 9/12/05 (Fri) respectively
Paul Newman is the only actor who is nominated twice for Best Actor playing the same character and won for the latter movie. He plays a pool shark called Fast Eddie. Paul Newman who had never touched a cue before had to learn and master the skill for THE HUSTLER. In THE COLOR OF MONEY, it appears that he has not lost his touch after 25 years.
Though THE COLOR OF MONEY is a sequel to THE HUSTLER, the two films are actually very different. I can find one subtle similarity. Both films refuse to tell their stories in a conventional manner. I find the emotional undertones too profound for me to grasp. The same goes to the life philosophies the two films preach from the game. Like, as mentioned in THE HUSTLER, one must have the 'character' to be the greatest pool player and both movies define what 'character' truly is. I don't get it really.
I admit I liked THE COLOR OF MONEY initially. Martin Scorsese's flashy camerawork is used deftly to make playing pool so cool. Not to mention, it is refreshing to see a chubbier younger baby-faced Tom Cruise, still so wet behind his ears.
Paul Newman is one of my most favourite actors. I believe in real life, he is as good as the unpretentious hero he has played so well and so effortlessly. THE COLOR OF MONEY may have given him an Oscar but I believe it is not one of the movies he will be most likely be remembered for.
Rating: C+ and B respectively
Saturday, December 17, 2005 10:21:00 PM
ROPE (1948)
viewed on 11/12/05 (Sun)
In my review of THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, I expressed my doubts about Alfred Hitchcock. Could he overrated? I wondered.
ROPE is not as well-known as a Hitchcock movie but definitely, I say, one of his greatest movies.
Filming has to be the most absolutely gruelling process. The whole movie has only nine takes and it is all shot in only one set. It is not surprising to know the story is adapted from a play and Alfred Hitchcock wanted to shoot the movie like a play. So we follow the camera as it moves around the set. There are so many continuous shots and that calls for perfect coordination and numerous rehearsals.
This is Alfred Hitchcock's first colour film and back then, the camera for filming in colour was as huge as half a door. The movie trivia states that the walls had to be moved on rollers to facilitate the movement of the camera. Cables were also all over the place that actors had to risk tripping over them. Props also had to be moved by stagehands very swiftly off-camera and very very quietly.
The filming process is a breakthrough and there is another thing that is also much talked-about. It is possibly the first mainstream film to portray homosexuals as murderers. Of course, homosexuality was such a taboo subject that it was always referred to 'it'. The screenwriter, in his interview, is amazed that everyone avoided the topic completely in their discussion of the movie. It is no wonder that I have not heard of ROPE until I saw THE CELLULOID CLOSET, a documentary about the portrayal of homosexuals in Hollywood movies.
No, I have not forgotten about the story which is as spellbinding as it is nail-biting. The movie is based on a play which is inspired by a 1924 trial of two 19-year-old University of Chicago students. The theory at the central of the story is Nietzsche's superman theory – the idea that certain individuals are above the laws and morals of society and hence, as the two partners in crime interpreted, superior beings can execute their inferior counterparts.
They believe murder can be an art so they audaciously hold a party at the scene of crime, inviting the parents of the victim and serving food from the chest that contains the body.
It is an experiment that brings to no good end for the two murderers but Alfred Hitchcock's bold experiment in this movie goes on to show that he is a maestro afterall.
Rating: A
Saturday, December 17, 2005 11:03:00 PM
MARTY (1955)
viewed on 11/12/05 (Sun)
In the first fifteen minutes of the movie, I love it already. This is the story of my life!
A man named Marty, in his thirties, wants to find a girl to settle down but alas, he thinks he is fat and ugly. It doesn't help that he is living with his mother who constantly nags at him to get married because all his younger siblings are.
In one heartbreaking scene, Marty's customer asks rudely, "Why aren't you married? What's the matter with you?"
Marty finally meets a girl named Clara at a social dance. She goes there with another guy but halfway, he runs away to court his prettier ex-girlfriend.
They click immediately and Marty is invited to her place for coffee. Unable to control his uge, he throws himself on Clara and wants to kiss her. Clara refuses and Marty flies into a rage.
Now, this is when I lost all interest in the movie.
Marty is not a hero. He doesn't deserve any sympathy. He is no different from his other shallow friends.
Marty's friends hate Clara for being plain and so does Marty's mother. So, Marty avoids Clara. Now, doesn't Marty seem to have no backbone at all? And a movie about him as an underdog hero?
In the last scene, Marty finally plucks up enough courage to go against everyone's wishes and calls Clara. Then, the movie ends like Marty has scored a victory. Huh? For goodness sake, the movie is as shallow as Marty!
It is most befuddling to know that this movie is the only movie in history to win both the prestigous the Best Picture Oscar and the Cannes Palme d'Or.
I don't get it! I really don't. Is it really just me?
Rating: F
Saturday, December 17, 2005 11:32:00 PM
THE KING OF COMEDY (1983)
viewed on 13/12/05 (Tues)
This is my favoutire Marin Scorsese movie.
Robert De Niro has a breakthrough performance, playing a pathetic desperate loser in life who wants to show the world that he is the future king of comedy. But really, he is no more than a really talented comedian overlooked in the sea of wannabes.
The story reminds one of TAXI DRIVER. A man who is insane enough to go all the way out to prove his point and at all costs.
There is nothing really funny about THE KING OF COMEDY. Totally heartbreaking, even in the scene when the self-proclaimed king of comedy, prior to his arrest, watches his stand-up comedy on TV and finally proves that indeed he can bring the house down.
The movie has a happy ending though. But one wonders, if the character doesn't take the most uncommon ploy to kidnap a celebrity in exchange for an appearance in his show, will he still be in oblivion? Is this an ingenious move or an act of a mad man?
I say THE KING OF COMEDY has to be the best satire on the entertainment scene.
Rating: A
Saturday, December 17, 2005 11:51:00 PM
MASH (1970)
viewed on 14/12/05 (Wed)
MASH is a movie which I do not really like while watching it until I see the making-of documentary.
Yes, there are some parts which are outright hilarious but like many Robert Altman movies, the ending feels too sudden. Also, as usual, the story doesn't make up much of anything. More like vignettes of encounters of an ensemble of characters. To tell the truth, I am not particularly a fan of Robert Altman.
However, from the making-of featurettes, as I know more about the background of the movie, my early disapproval is mashed. Pun intended.
First of all, the dark and anti-establishment humour in the script frightened many directors. Robert Altman says he was, like, the 16th person approached to direct this.
Definitely very anti-establishment. The setting is a mobile army surgical hospital aka MASH. There are scenes of field surgeons operating on the patients in a very casual manner and flirting with married nurses. The studio bigwigs also objected a 'bloody' sequence in the operation room. Also, this is the first movie that a character says the f-word.
Not that the f-word is in the script. In fact, Robert Altman encourages so much improv acting that the screenplay writer, Ring Lardner Jr., was very offended to know that his script was altered so liberally. The irony is he went on to win an Oscar.
MASH pushes the envelope in a very conservative era. An era when the world was grappling with real issues of the Vietnam war and MASH is a comedy set on the front lines of the Korean War.
It was a good thing that when MASH was being made, the studio paid more attention to two other more serious war movies, TORA! TORA! TORA! and PATTON. Robert Altman also made sure that his movie didn't go over the budget to attract the studio's attention. He ended up shooting the movie 1 million under the budget.
I have always admired movies made against the odds. It could be this reason that this movie is my favourite Robert Altman movie. Also the funniest, what with its colourful oddball characters.
Rating: B+
Sunday, December 18, 2005 2:13:00 PM
DOMINION: PREQUEL TO THE EXORCIST (2005)
viewed on 15/12/05 (Thurs)
Director Paul Schrader wants to make the prequel a psychological thriller. This doesn't sit well with the studio which subsequently fired him and hired Renny Harlin. The script was re-written and the movie re-shot. When Renny Harlin's version didn't do well critically and commerically, Paul Schrader's version was finally given the greenlight to complete.
Sadly, his version is not even close to being great to the original movie. I have not seen Renny Harlin's version but I believe it won't be as good as this one. Well, as far as what I gather from the reviews so far.
The prequel is perfunctory. It is just a well-made Hollywoodised B-grade movie. THE EXORCIST is a very disturbing cult horror and it is sad to know that its predecessor is such a whiner.
Rating: C
Sunday, December 18, 2005 2:14:00 PM
KATE & LEOPOLD (2001)
viewed on 16/12/05 (Fri)
To me the concept of time-travelling in movies is always silly. The better time-travelling movies should be THE TERMINATOR movies and The BACK TO THE FUTURE trilogy. These are sci-fi movies so we buy the idea pretty well.
KATE & LEOPOLD is not and when I cannot buy the theory of a time portal, I am turned off.
Now, you can tell me it is a fantasy romance so anything can happen and so please be less critical.
I can if the story is well-told. But that is not the case in KATE & LEOPOLD. It is so run-of-the-mill and so saccharine that many a time, I find myself pressing the fastforward button to get ahead of the story.
KATE & LEOPOLD is unoriginal and uninspired. Remake it with a lesser known cast and show it as an afternoon matinee; and I am sure it will still be passable as that kind of mundane TV entertainment.
Rating: D-
Sunday, December 18, 2005 2:14:00 PM
FLY ME TO POLARIS (1999)
viewed on 17/12/05 (Sat)
I have heard some good things about this movie. Supposedly, the ending is very touching. Yes but only to diehard romantics.
If I dislike the unoriginal story of KATE & LEOPOLD, FLY ME TO POLARIS is a few rungs lower.
A shameless rip-off of GHOST. Richie Ren is a major turn-off, acting cute. Cecilia Cheung is almost a turn-off too except that she can really cry in the show.
Surprisingly, there is one scene which I think is rather well done. When Eric Tsang's character realises that Richie Ren's character has returned from the dead, he resorts to talking with double meaning to advise Richie Ren to let go of the past and return to his realm.
For anyone who has seen more touching romances, for example from Japan and Korea, FLY ME TO POLARIS is unbearable to watch.
Rating: D-
Sunday, December 18, 2005 2:23:00 PM
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
viewed on 19/11/05 (Mon)
It is undeniable that Steven Spielberg is really in love with UFOs. I say his neon-lit resplendent opulent spaceships are superior to other movie spaceships, even when compared to his own WAR OF THE WORLDS, INDEPENDENCE DAY and even the STAR WARS movies. And mind you, back then the special effects team did not have the luxury of using computers to actualise any wild imagination.
In fact, Steven Spielberg said many times in his interview, which seem to be recorded on the set of SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, that only models, matte paintings, puppets and very large sets were used to create the magic. But the final product is still as good, even if going by today's standard.
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS doesn't really contain a human drama. The UFOs are the stars of the show. The characters, like Steven Spielberg, are totally mesmerised by the visitors from outer space.
In that era when the we-are-not-alone debate was thriving, CLOSE ENCOUNTERS is an aggregation of the discussions and even offers a very hopeful outcome. The hideous little green men could jolly well be receiving you with open arms and invite you for a tour in their mothership.
Rating: B+
Tuesday, December 20, 2005 9:00:00 AM
THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938)
viewed on 20/12/05 (Tues)
This evergreen classic is in the same prestigous realm of movies such as WIZARD OF OZ. Filmed in Technicolour, the colours are simply glorious, resplendent and stunning. Mind you, this is made in 1938, before WWII.
In the DVD edition, loaded with special features, about five film historians are invited to recount the magnificence of the movie. Made with 2 million dollars (not a small sum at all back in 1938), it was the most expensive movie ever made. You can tell simply from the lush gigantic sets.
The movie was a tremendous success, even when it was re-released a decade later. It is not difficult to guess why. The adventures of men in green tights stealing from the rich and fighting oppressors is a great escapade for the common folks like us. Stories of Robin Hood are never out-dated.
As for myself, THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD entertains me but not as tremendously as I would expect. WIZARD OF OZ is another example. They are evergreen classics which are must-sees for any serious movie buff. But somehow I just cannot relate to them. Strictly no offence and disrespect intended.
Rating: B
Thursday, December 22, 2005 4:18:00 PM
TOPSY-TURVY (1999)
viewed on 23/12/05 (Fri)
This British import should be aptly titled arty-farty instead. Come to think about it, topsy-turvy is apt too if we are talking about the plot. There is absolutely no plot at all but just tiresome sequences after sequences of theatre people either rehearsing a play or uttering nothingness in perfect English and a dash of French. Andy Serkis has a minor role and who knows he is now the most bankable actor in the cast after literally bringing KING KONG to life.
I have a very rude shock when a check at rottentomatoes.com reveals a 86% freshness rate! The movie also garnered four Oscar noms and winning two for make-up and costume design. I agree with the costume award but for make-up? Most saddening is Uncle Roger gives this movie four stars and many reviewers hailed it as entertaining.
Entertaining? Running at two and a half hours long, it is almost a test of patience and sanity for me.
I cannot understand Mike Leigh's NAKED and I find his weeper SECRETS & LIES a bit too mild. I like his CAREER GIRLS even though I have forgotten the story but a quick check at my database tells me that I gave the movie an A-.
My stomach is feeling topsy-turvy now. And because I saw this movie over my dinner, I blame my indigestion bout on this movie.
Rating: F
Friday, December 23, 2005 10:21:00 PM
BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ (1962)
viewed on 24/12/05 (Sat)
Before this, I saw TOPSY-TURVY. Running at almost the same length but while I find TOPSY-TURVY dreadfully long, I find this black-and-white classic too short.
It is a compelling story of Robert Stroud. He was a real-life convict who spent more than 50 years in solitary imprisonment. When he is prepared to waste his life in anguish behind bars, he finds salvation and a sense of purpose when he nurses a sick bird to good health. There is a scene when he wants the bird to fly away but it doesn't want to. How ironical. A jailbird raising a bird and it has the freedom to go anywhere but wants to remain in the cell.
His episode prompts many inmates to start keeping birds in their cells to ward off boredom and when they get tired of them, they pass on to Robert Stroud. Soon, his cell becomes a small aviary. Well, this doesn't happen so smoothly, he has to fight against the rigid prison system to keep his birds. Along the way, he made two lifelong friends, one is another inmate who stays in his neighbouring cell and the other is his prison guard.
Robert Stroud used to be hot-headed and cold but keeping the birds helps Robert Stroud to be a better man. In fact, he has all the time in the world to read about birds that he experiments and finally develops a cure for septic fever that is commonly found in canaries. He even publishes a book on it and starts a lucrative business, with the help of his mother and wife. Impressive contribution to the society who spends half of his life in jail and doesn't have much education.
The movie also recounts his relationship with his mother and his wife. His wife is one of his admirers and actually marries him to save his birds from being taken away by the law. So sad that they never consummate their marriage and when they become old, Robert Stroud decides it is best for her to look for another man.
I saw Burt Lancaster in FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. A handsome hunky actor but I do not think highly of his performance back then. He shows that he is more than a pretty boy in BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ. His fine performance earned him an Oscar nomination that year.
BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ doesn't have a satisfying ending. This is not a complaint. I want to know what happens when he is transferred from Alcatraz to Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield where he says that for once, he can walk out of his room freely, with no guards stopping him.
BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ should be a great movie to show to all prisoners. There is a sequence that retells the infamous unsuccessful escape of two prisoners in Block D at Alcatraz. Before one of the prisoners dies from a gunshot, he says to Robert Stroud that he doesn't want to waste his life doing time. Robert Stroud looks on but simply cannot explain that his imprisonment is most probably the best thing that happens to him.
Rating: A-
Sunday, December 25, 2005 8:07:00 PM
JAMES DEAN (2001) (TV)
viewed on 25/12/05 (Sun)
I remember vaguely that someone commented that James Franco in SPIDER-MAN looks uncannily like James Dean. Fact is James Franco made this telemovie before SPIDER-MAN. Well, looks resembling James Dean is one thing but can a relatively newcomer play the screen legend? James Franco has a Golden Globe award to prove that.
It is hard to tell whether James Franco over-acted in some of the scenes because James Dean's acting in those days can be very stagey and over-the-top. But who wasn't back then?
Nevertheless, James Dean himself is undeniably a screen legend. Even though he has only three movies but he was nominated for an Oscar for two of them! He died at the peak of his career in a car accident.
His short life is still a riveting story worth telling. It is nice of the director to claim near the end of the movie that while most of the autobiographical telemovie is based on facts, there are parts which are speculated to their best knowledge. I guess they are referring to the family secret between James Dean and his estranged father.
It is also mainly the rejection from his father that made James Dean an angry sad young man and part of his exasperation spilled over into the characters he played. He is electrigying in EAST OF EDEN but I am yet to see GIANT and REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE.
For all movie buffs, it is almost obligatory to know the story of James Dean and JAMES DEAN is a good reference.
Was there a similar movie made on Marilyn Monroe? Turns out, there is and it is also made in 2001. But from imdb.com, it is not as well-received as JAMES DEAN because it is accused of fabrication.
Rating: B+
Sunday, January 08, 2006 8:56:00 AM
CABARET (1972)
viewed on 26/12/05 (Mon)
The catchy musical numbers, the loud makeup and costumes and even louder characters are what made CABARET so captivating to me. It is my idea of MOULIN ROUGE meets CHICAGO. CHICAGO is written by Bob Fosse who also directs this musical.
Liza Minnelli's "Cabaret" sums up the movie best. The era in 1930s Berlin is a melting pot of liberalising vices, confusion of sexuality and out-and-out entertainment.
The movie however ends with a sad note. It was also when the story ends that a rise of Nazi power is hinted. How ironical that an age of decadent freewheeling lifestyle is about to be overpowered by one of the darkest ages in history.
Rating: B+
Sunday, January 08, 2006 9:26:00 PM
THE FOG OF WAR: ELEVEN LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF ROBERT S. MCNAMARA (2003)
viewed on 28/12/05 (Wed)
Watching this Oscar best documentary winner is akin to listening to a professor addressing a very dry topic. With all respect, as much as I respect learned elders and adore documentaries, I find the documentary subject and his topics a thousand miles away from me.
This is not for the usual mass audience but surely a hit for American senior citizens who witnessed the cornerstones of American history.
For a young Singaporean man who didn't major in History or likes the least about history lessons, this documentary is one difficult lesson for me to follow. Like what my students will say,"So 'cheam'. Catch no ball lah."
Rating: C
Sunday, January 08, 2006 9:33:00 PM
MY DOG SKIP (2000)
viewed on 30/12/05 (Fri)
I have a dog and his name is Brownie. I watched this movie while playing with my dog. To give this movie a distinction is undeniably an act of bias. The movie speaks to me like how I can understand my dog's needs through his array of expressions and body posture.
Well. The bottomline is it is indeed a nice story. You know how the story will develop. A lonely boy gets a dog that not only becomes his faithful companion but also his tutor in life.
Hackneyed it may be but it is very affecting to me. Plus Brownie had this very contended look as I was rubbing his tummy.
Rating: A-
Sunday, January 08, 2006 9:49:00 PM
ALL THE KING’S MEN (1949)
viewed on 2/1/06 (Mon)
There is a remake of this 1949 Best Picture. Releasing very soon and stars A-list actors like Sean Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Anthony Hopkins.
It could be made more than half a century ago but the subject matter of corruption eating away humility is still as relevant, if not more so than ever, in today's politics.
ALL THE KING'S MEN reminds me of ALL ABOUT EVE. The central character enters with a nice personality but turns ugly as the story progresses. Both are melodramas but absolutely fabulously absorbing.
Rating: A-
Sunday, January 08, 2006 10:04:00 PM
ANNIE (1982)
viewed on 5/1/06 (Thurs)
When I was very young, I lived near an English-speaking snobbish family. I remembered vividly their two daughters telling us that they saw the musical and sang "Tomorrow" to mock at our ignorance.
ANNIE reminds me of that rather melancholic childhood episode. Now that I have seen it and from a point of view of a movie buff, ANNIE is really no big deal. (Ha! Am I being childish here?)
ANNIE has some very nice musical numbers but given the overacting and some really misplaced numbers, it is close to being called an all-time farce.
To talk like about ANNIE is not to dismiss the songs and the endearing performance of Aileen Quinn whom I have learned from imdb.com that instead of pursuing bigger fame after the musical's huge success, she chose to continue to her education, even earning a B.A. with honours and having mastered Spanish and Japanese.
I say skip the movie, go straight for the soundtrack and I recommend "It's The Hard-Knock Life", "Maybe" and of course the ever so marvellous "Tomorrow"!
Rating: B-
Sunday, January 08, 2006 10:24:00 PM
ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
viewed on 8/1/06 (Sun)
I have always imagined this multiple Oscar winner to be a very heavy-going movie. Not quite. It is a rather accessbile redemption tale of of a gangster. That gangster is played by Oscar winner Marlon Brando and interestingly, his biographer told us in the featurette that he had always felt insecure about his acting while filming this and a producer's blunt comments actually hurt him very deeply.
The movie works mainly because Marlon Brando's performance is simply gripping. It also surprises me that during the era when stagey acting is a norm, many performances here are considered very 'natural'.
In fact, way back then, Marlon Brando was already experimenting with improvisation. There is a much talked-about scene inside a car which was reminisced very fondly by many who believe that scene is very emotionally-charged and yet completely under no direction. The actors, Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger, improvised most of the dialogue and reactions, drawing strength from each other.
By the way, this movie boosts 2 Oscar-winning performances and 3 other Oscar-nominated performances.
If you have to ask me, ON THE WATERFRONT is a very well-acted melodrama. In my humble opinion, it is not a great and important classic. Simply a showcase of powerhouse performances, especially from Marlon Brando.
Rating: B+
Monday, January 09, 2006 11:14:00 PM
CAMP (2000)
viewed on 8/1/06 (Sun)
Most definitely inspired by RENT. Even though I have not seen the musical or the movie, I have a very strong hunch that it is.
The people can really sing. Really really well. Notice that I dare not use the term 'actors'. It's because they are such horrible actors. I mean really horrible acting. A sure-winner of Razzie award for worst ensemble acting.
The characters' various life stories are as hackneyed as those in the afternoon dramas like 'Days of Our Lives'.
I wonder why they do not come together to make an album instead. If they think that by making a movie and flaunting their singing talents can get them noticed, the plan unfortunately backfires.
Most probably, people may buy the soundtrack but their career in acting is considered doomed and sealed. A quick check at their filmographies at imdb.com confirmed my worst fear.
Rating: D
Monday, January 09, 2006 11:30:00 PM
UNSTRUNG HEROES (1995)
viewed on 5/2/06 (Sun)
It is a fact that Diane Keaton is one great actress but few will know, like Jodie Foster, she directed a couple of movies too.
The inevitable question will be. Can she really direct?
That is without a doubt, she sure can.
Her UNSTRUNG HEROES reminds me of MARVIN'S ROOM, a movie which earned her one of her many acting Oscar nominations.
UNSTRUNG HEROES tugs at your heartstrings without trying too hard even though as predictable as any dying-of-cancer tearjerker. The players are well-cast and bring out a wonderfully touching ensemble acting.
Playing the young protagonist witnessing his mother's slow death and running away from home, Nathan Watt is one hell of talented child actor. The film works laregely because of his enduring performance.
This could be Andie MacDowell's best performance thus far. Her dying mom is feisty and her last look at her husband in the scene before she walks to die in the living room is bittersweet and devastating.
I hope Diane Keaton will direct again. Her HANGING UP in 2000 is both a box-office and critical flop but Diane Keaton reveal good directing potential in UNSTRUNG HEROES.
Rating: B+
Saturday, February 18, 2006 9:40:00 PM
NORMA RAE (1979)
viewed on 21/3/06 (Mon)
Was at Teachers' Network library and came across this title which is not availabe anywhere else for loan. I hit jackpot. Given it was the Oscars season, it would be good to see an Oscar-winning peformance from Sally Field.
There are many reasons why Sally Field would be a lovable winner that year. It was a role that many passed including Jane Fonda and Marsha Mason, who were also running for Best Actress that year.
Sally Field was known for her comedic talents, playing The Flying Nun and other cutie-pie characters. The studio was against the casting but director Martin Ritt stood by his choice.
Sally Field gives a raw powerful performance as a single parent fighting to unionise her factory workers, against all odds.
Her famous scene would be the one when she stood on a table, holding up the cardboard with the word "union" written on it. She did not shout a word but as she continues to hold the cardboard, more and more machines are shut down by her colleagues until the factory is completely quiet. That is a very memorable scene.
Rating: B+
Friday, March 24, 2006 10:59:00 PM
THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977)
viewed on 2/4/06 (Sun)
Neil Simon has a couple of plays that are adapted into movies. I do not like BAREFOOT IN THE PARK. CALIFORNIA SUITE is painfully unfunny. The major pitfall is the movies must have retained most of the original stage dialogue which sounds utterly stagey, hence awkward, on the big screen.
THE GOODBYE GIRL begins something like that but midway, the dialogue
begins to form a charismatic charm, much like Richard Dreyfuss' character. He is loud, dramatic, over-the-top but still comes across in the end as vulnerable, sweet, charming and spontaneously funny.
The whole movie revolves around only three main characters and their chemistry is so good that I don't yearn for another character in their story.
We have seen tons of romantic comedies of two people squabbling through the story, only to fall in love in the end. ONE FINE DAY is one fine example, FRENCH KISS is another, YOU'VE GOT MAIL is another etc. THE GOODBYE GIRL joins the likeable club of these romantic comedies.
When Richard Dreyfuss won Best Actor at the Oscars, he was the youngest ever actor to win that award. Did he really deserve it? His performance is wonderful but it is not that great to make a high point in the Oscars history. Marsha Mason playing a struggling single mother, dancer and the luckless 'goodbye girl' deserves honorable mention too.
Still, it doesn't deny the fact the THE GOODBYE GIRL brings on so much cosiness and romantic hope that I embrace the story and its characters. Oh yes, not to forget that ever-so-endearing song of the same title. David Gates' rendition always melts hearts.
Rating: B+
Sunday, April 02, 2006 10:42:00 PM
MY BLUE HEAVEN (1990)
viewed on 5/4/06 (Wed)
This could jolly well be the blueprint for any director who wants to make a modestly successful comedy.
A mobster under the witness protection scheme but always looking out for some reckless adventures and petty crimes.
An FBI agent who is so uptight and as straight as an arrow. His wife left him because he has a system for everything, including the way he eats his pancakes.
A policewoman who is caught between the mobster and the policeman. She wants to nail down the mobster but the FBI agent is always in her way. She herself has problems in her marriage and now a single mother. She is even stiffer than the agent, with no sense of humour.
Their triangular relation will bring good eventually to one another. They are each other's relief (comic or not) in their lives of misery and self-pity.
The performances are not over-the-top, given that all three actors were seen in more erratic roles.
I bet Joan Cusack, Steve Martin and Rick Moranis may have even forgotten about this little-seen comedy they made years ago.
For someone looking for some decent fun, this should not disappoint. Anything more that, it does not measure up.
By the way, why the title?!
Rating: B-
Thursday, April 06, 2006 9:42:00 AM
WALL STREET (1987)
viewed on 15/4/06 (Sat)
Another gem I found in the DVD collection at the Teachers' Network library.
Those familiar with Oliver Stone's repertoire will find WALL STREET much inferior to his other films.
It is so tame that it can fade into oblivion as yet another greed-is-evil melodrama. The story is as straight-forward as it can be. Oliver Stone made the award-winning PLATOON right before WALL STREET. Hearing so much of PLATOON's violence, it makes me wonder why WALL STREET should reduce to a pulp.
Michael Douglas' performance is flashy but an Oscar award? I have to say this though. His "greed is good" speech is the best part of the movie. That could have single-handedly nailed him the Best Actor award. Now, watching his other movies, it seems he has been playing Gordon Gekko in various degrees.
Charlie Sheen, young and up-and-coming, is all chubby and wet-behind-the-ears. His performance is earnest. Hard to imagine that years later, he will turn all goofy for the HOT SHOTS movies.
I bet the 80s could easily be the worst fashion culture ever. The duper big hairdos. Shoulder pads. Thick eyeshadows.
The Wall Streets players look better dressed.
Rating: B-
Sunday, April 30, 2006 6:37:00 AM
CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS
viewed on 17/4/06 (Mon)
Like after watching many other documentaries, for me to write a review is very very mind-boggling.
There will be many parts that made an impact on me. There will be many thoughts that will race in my mind. Not a moment is dull. A good documentary film like this one deserves lengthy discussions and especially this one.
In fact, the cinema operators complained that many audience stayed behind after the movie to discuss about it. That affected their business.
What a controversy! If CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS is to be made into a movie, ... Nah. I do not think it is a better choice. The documentary contains such precious interviews of the subjects talking about their troubled past. None said with a straight face and without a tear. Also, reenacting some of the disturbing scenes will be run afoul of the censorship board.
What is the central subject matter? By saying so little, I bet I have aroused enough curiosity to draw you in deeper and deeper. Just like when I was watching this.
The documentary film opens with an unsuspectingly blissful portrayal of a upper-class family who really enjoy making home videos. The envious bliss slowly dissolves as we are introduced bit by bit to the horrors in the family closet.
The skeletons just keep falling out. One after the other. The carefully-designed editing is efficient in making us understand what the interviewees went through. Pure hell.
The father of the family was caught for possessing child pornograhic materials.
He was accused of sodomising young boys in his computer class. Dozens of them and for many years.
He had an accomplice. His youngest son named Jesse.
Both claimed innocence and pleaded not guilty. The other two sons, their uncle and even The family psychiatrist believed they are innocent. Not the mother ...
She said in her interview that her husband was raised by a mother who often brought back men and had sex on the bed, while the children were still in bed. She even claimed that her husband and his younger brother already experimented sex when they were young.
The accusations were denied by the uncle. But in the coda, we know that he is gay and has a gay partner.
The law authorities firmly believes that the father and the son are guilty. The judge was so disturbed by the nature and the number of charges that she said in her interview that the Friedman case is the most haunting in her career.
Who can argue with the law? The family lawyer saw this as a losing case and at one point, advised the father to plead guilty so that his son would stand a higher chance of a lighter sentence. The father pleaded guilty and for the first time. He was sentenced to imprisonment and during a visit by the lawyer, he was shell-shocked to hear that the father felt very 'excited' when the next table had a small boy jumping in her mother's lap.
The father did possess child pornography and, going by the recount of that incident, did he really do it?
So, is he guilty then?
The victims of the alleged rape are all young adults when interviewed. Some claimed they did not see anything amiss but some were dead sure they were raped. One even claimed the the father and son played a game called 'leap frog' where they sodomised the boys, in their push-up positions, jumping from one to another.
I find it very hard to believe. I agreed with the sons. No one complained? All left the class undistured and unshocked, and never breathed a word to their parents when they came to fetch them? And for so many years?
So are thee father and son guilty? Everyone with the law says 'yes' and the family says 'no'. Well, except the mother. If all agreed to be interviewed, then it must suggests that they all have nothing to hide. Unless they are expert liars, they will not so firm in their statements and remain consistent throughout too.
One thing for sure. Someone is not telling the truth. It could somebody is telling the truth but sometimes and not always. Half-truths? Maybe. Some interviewees could have a clouded memory, given the trauma they went through.
I can go on and on and on, like the people who refused the cinema until they could convince one another of the real truth. Even if they can come to consensus, the evidence they give could spark off another round of arguement.
I am not a fan of sequels and sequels of documentatries is unheard of. However, I would really like to see what all the interviewees will say many years later. Will they spill the beans and let the truth come to light? Or will they continue to tell their side of the story. Maybe the truth they know is not the truth. That is why they are so certain in their interviews.
Again. Here I go. The truth? It can be so elusive and mysterious. And the pursuit of it can only lead to nowhere but a spiral of frustration and more knots.
Rating: A
Sunday, April 30, 2006 7:45:00 AM
THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
viewed on 29/4/06 (Sat)
It is not easy to find this DVD. Was browsing the catalog at hollywoodclicks.com and came across this title.
Also know that the title theme of the movie is a melodiously haunting one. I remember hearing that, many years back when I was very little, on a children's show that teaches appreciation of plasticine art and sketches. A recent chat with a colleague told me the theme is called 'Cavatina'.
Although it is without a doubt an anti-war movie, it is unlike many others.
For one, the scenes of Vietnam war take up only like an hour of the 3-hour movie length. Even that, the horrors of war is not portrayal by bloody execution and mad chaos. The prisoners of war are made to play Russian roulette while the Vietnamese captives place bets on them to see who will die first.
The Russian roulette sequences are very realistic. I cannot help but to feel that the sequences are meant to accentuate the idea of the foolish and suicidal Vietnam war.
Central to the story, it is band of brothers who are also colleagues. The first hour shows nothing but their merry-making as one of them gets married before they are enlisted. The next day, they go deer-hunting (hence the title) and their favourite pastime takes a melacholic turn when Robert De Niro's character looks into the lifeless eyes of a dead deer.
As mentioned, the movie is three hours long. The first third shows their the good old days before the Vietnam war. The second third, though the shortest of the three, shows how the sick-in-the-stomach treatment of the prisoners of war only torments and paralyses them to being paranoid and loony.
The last third shows how their lives are forever damaged by the war. Whether they are dead or alive, returned or not, their closed ones are as badly emotionally wounded.
It is very interesting to see Robert De Niro and Christopher Walken in their younger days. Both were so slim and fit-looking. Robert De Niro even reminds me of Matthew Fox in LOST and Christopher Walken reminds me of a young James Spade.
Them plus Meryl Streep were nominated for Oscars that year and guess who won? Christopher Walken. To achieve the hollow look at the climatic Russian roulette scene, he ate only rice and bananas for three days.
As I said earlier, THE DEER HUNTER is an unusual anti-war movie because it achieves so much emotional impact without going through the expected storytelling routine. We see so little of the action of the Vietnam war itself and yet the we can feel palpably the damning devastation it falls upon on the ones who go to war and their loved ones they left behind.
Rating: A-
Saturday, May 06, 2006 7:46:00 PM
THE WAY OF THE GUN (2000)
viewed on 1/5/06 (Mon)
The way I see it, director-writer Christopher McQuarrie should carve a career of its own. His crime movies should go on par with the great ones by Quentin Taratino. THE USUAL SUSPECTS is written by Christopher McQuarrie and he won an Oscar for that.
THE WAY OF THE GUN is not another shoot-'em-up action flick. Every character plays a pivotal role, including any seemingly small role. The twisty storyline may be too complicated to follow. Some of the crucial lines are even said offscreen (like how Ryan Phillippe and Benicio Del Toro learn about the surrogate mother who got paid hansomely for carrying the child of a rich man) and if subtitles are not provided, I will be even more lost. Come to think about, his twisty stories are comparable to the wonderfully delusive crime stories of David Mamet, who wrote HEIST and THE SPANISH PRISONER.
The final scenes are an apparent tribute to BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID. It is no wonder a check at the imdb.com reveals that the two protagonists are named after the real last names of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
I hope Christopher McQuarrie will be making more movies because he has what it takes to make an action flick with a brain. After a hiatus of 7 years, he will be teaming with THE USUAL SUSPECTS' Bryan Singer to remake LOGAN'S RUN. Their first collaboration since THE USUAL SUSPECTS. It should be a bash.
Rating: B+
Saturday, May 06, 2006 8:13:00 PM
REBECCA (1940)
viewed on 5/5/06 (Fri)
Alfred Hitchcock's only picture to win the Oscar for Best Picture. A love story with Hitchcockian twists from mid-way onwards.
Compared to Hitchcock's other more famous masterpieces, REBECCA is alot less complex but most beauitfully lensed.
It is also one of the movies mentioned in THE CELLULOID CLOSET, a documentary that traces gay undertones in the movie history. Judith Anderson plays a housekeeper who is suggested to have an infatuation with the titular mistress of the house. Back in 1940, this must be a breakthrough. Alfred Hitchcock's other movie, ROPE, is the other movie mentioned in the documentary.
While I enjoy tremendously ROPE for its clever plot, I feel distanced watching REBECCA. It is a good movie but not as great as I would expect from Alfred Hitchcock. Being one of his earliest works, I guess I am just having too high an expectation.
Rating: B+
Saturday, May 06, 2006 9:48:00 PM
TOUCH OF EVIL (1958)
viewed on 6/5/06 (Sat)
This DVD has a record. The most number of times I borrowed but couldn't finish it before the due date. Reason is there are always more than two copies available in the esplanade library. Obviously, not a very popular choice.
TOUCH OF EVIL is directed by Orson Welles whose CITIZEN KANE was voted #1 film of all time by the American Film Institute in 1998. Caught CITIZEN KANE at a special screening and indeed it is a compelling movie.
TOUCH OF EVIL maintains the ingenious cameraworks. The opening sequence is one brilliant example. It is reported that there were so many retakes throughout the night shoot that first light of dawn can be seen in the last take.
Story-wise, TOUCH OF EVIL does not appeal to me as much as CITIZEN KANE. TOUCH OF EVIL is more political, implying the long-standing tension between Americans and Mexicans.
The DVD version is a version not screened before. The studios fired Orson Welles upon completion of the filming and edited the movie themselves. Orson Welles saw the final cut and wrote a 58-page memo on how he would edit the movie himself vision. Charlton Heston, the star of the movie, had the memo and based on that, Orson Welles' wish finally came to full circle in 1998.
I always have a soft spot for movies made under difficult circumstances. TOUCH OF EVIL may not be the most fondly remembered classics, but Orson Welles deserves our respect.
Rating: B+
Saturday, May 06, 2006 10:17:00 PM
ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953)
viewed on 13/5/06 (Sat)
There are many firsts for this classics.
To my surprise, this is Audrey Hepburn's first movie and she won an Oscar for her film debut! Before the movie came out, Gregory Peck was so impressed by Audrey Hepburn's bona fide performance that he insisted her name to be put alongside his above the movie title. He also boldy claimed that she would win an Oscar, which of course, she did.
It is also a first for Gregory Peck to take on a role in comedy. He was always in some serious movies and he was itching to do a comedy. He jumped at the chance even though he was not the first choice.
Also a first for the director, William Wyler, to direct a comedy after a series of heavy-handed film projects. He was not the first choice too. Frank Capra was supposed to direct but he bowed out after knowing the script came from a Hollywood-blacklisted Dalton Trumbo.
In the documentary, we know that Dalton Trumbo was a supporter of Coummunism and he was doing time when he wrote the script, and many others, to support his family. This was only made known many years after his death and in the re-release of the movie, his name was reinstated in the credits. It buffles me that a jailbird can write such a lovable romance.
Even though the romance was set in Rome, director had always wanted to treat the movie as an experimental film and he shot in black-and-white instead. He did not want the colours to distract the audience from the story.
A very well-written story instead. It is simply written but it goes down as one of Hollywood's most endearing classics. Wholesome. Bittersweet. It gives you a warm fuzzy feeling and brightens up your day. What a holiday.
Rating: A-
Monday, May 29, 2006 10:44:00 AM
FIELD OF DREAMS (1989)
viewed on 15/5/06 (Mon)
One of the best baseball movies ever made? It must be an American who said that.
I am not a fan of baseball but I do know movies and this is not a great movie.
I mean Oscar-nominated for Best Picture and Director? Get out of here.
A farmer builds a baseball field in his corn farm and ghosts of baseball legends came alive to play. It is absurd as it sounds.
Totally manipulative to wring tears from you. The Oscar-winning music score is the main culprit.
The performances are earnest but the story reeks of schmaltz.
And I thought this movie will change my mind about Kevin Costner. Too bad, I will be avoiding his movies. Still.
Rating: D
Monday, May 29, 2006 10:51:00 AM
MR. & MRS. BRIDGE (1990)
viewed on 20/5/06 (Sat)
I look for a good story in movies.
MR. & MRS. BRIDGE doesn't offer much of a story. It serves more like an acting showcase. One that any serious actor would love to be part of it.
The characters leave much room for the actors to flaunt their acting abilities.
Mrs. Bridge (played by Oscar nominee Joanne Woodward) is a falsely happy homemaker who may or may not know she is stifling in a family that takes her for granted. Mr. Bridge (played by Paul Newman) is the frigid husband who shuts his doors to the two women who love him, including his secretary. There are hints though that he may have some kind of infatuation for his eldest daughter.
His eldest daughter (played by the understated Kyra Sedgwick) is a carefree promiscious s girl, dreaming of becoming rich and famous. She is a rebel who seems determined to be out of line in a respectable family.
Robert Sean Leonard plays the youngest son who fights off his mother's love like some disease and refuses to hug his own mother openly. He is a fine actor but has disappeared altogether. His last better-known movie is DRIVEN in 2001.
Directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, MR. & MRS. BRIDGE is very pleasing to the eyes. Their more famous collaborations would be Oscar favourites like REMAINS OF THE DAY, HOWARDS END, A ROOM WITH A VIEW. Their latest movie shown here is LE DIVORCE. Apparently, no one even remembers it.
Rating: C+
Monday, May 29, 2006 11:00:00 PM
LOVE ON A DIET (2001)
viewed on 28/5/06 (Sun)
Maybe I did not expect this love comedy to be anything more than slapstick. Maybe Sammi Cheng and Andy Lau have so much chemistry that their peformances touch me. At one point, I was about to cry watching this.
Sammi Cheng and Andy Lau don some really heavy prosthetics makeup to play two fatsoes. They look adorable in their puffy suits but I think it is also their endearing performances that make the characters so likeable too.
It is rather politically incorrect to portray fat people as gluttons who cannot stop feasting but then again, at the end, it sends a universal message that love knows boundaries and it is the inner beauty that triumphs in the end.
Sammi Cheng's character is so depressed after her departure with her Japanese boyfriend that she uses food to drown her sorrow. Before long, she has put on so much weight that she won't dare to face her boyfriend and he can not recognise her too. To look slim and pretty again, she enlists help from a fellow fatso (conveniently named Fatso) to lose weight. Pitying her plight, he goes all out to help her. I mean all the way. To help her pay for the expenses to lose weight, he moonlights as a street wrestler, making money as a punching bag for frustrated strangers.
And Andy Lau is brilliant in evoking pity for playing a man who loves a woman so much, he exhausts all effort to make her wish come true, even if that means she will leave him for another man.
Sammi Cheng's best scene is the one in the editing room is touching too. She realises what true love is, bows and apologises profusely before leaving her handsome boyfriend for a fatty.
Of course, the love comedy works best when the actors look so darn good after losing all the "fats". It really inspires me. Okay, just for a while. And I am fast becoming a fan of Sammi Cheng.
Rating: B+
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 11:49:00 AM
ABSENCE OF MALICE (1981)
viewed on 29/5/06 (Mon)
"Absence of malice" is briefly explained in the movie as a legal term that roughly means ... Nah, I do not think I will get it right anyway. And I do not care too.
It is a movie that is most likely be able to pass off as some forgettable afternoon matinee.
Paul Newman and Sally Field put up their usual-best performances. The story is as linear and dull as a ruler. Though there are touches on moral issues in journalism, there is absence of many other ingredients to make the movie work.
The players are trying their best to flesh out their mediocre characters but the story is nothing but mediocre. A forgettable movie. It doesn't take an absent-minded viewer to forget all about it at the end of the day.
Rating: D
Tuesday, May 30, 2006 1:33:00 PM
MANHUNTER (1986)
viewed on 31/5/06 (Wed)
Many may not know that this is an adaptation of Thomas Harris' novel, "Red Dragon" and it is a prequel to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS.
But then again, many may not remember that there is a remake by Brett Ratner of the same title. And many may not know Michael Mann directed this original one.
Also, many may not know that the lead is played by none other than William L. Petersen from CSI. And I bet he nailed the CSI role with this movie.
MANHUNTER could be a better movie when compared to RED DRAGON. I said "could" because I cannot remember much of RED DRAGON. It is that forgettable.
The infamous red dragon tattoo was omitted in MANHUNTER. After many screen tests, Michael Mann decided not to include it afterall. In the DVD featurette, we get to see snapshots of the tattoo. The tattoo appears in RED DRAGON though.
MANHUNTER is good because the story plays out like an extended version of CSI. Michael Mann doesn't need to do much to tell a compelling cat-and-mouse crime drama.
And when it comes to Hannibal Lecktor (spelt like this only in this movie), I prefer Anthony Hopkins anytime. Brian Cox is the original Hannibal but he pales in comparison with Sir Anthony Hopkin's spine-chilling Oscar-winning performance.
Totally loathe the over-the-top cheesy soundtrack. Hee. I wish Hannibal will have the composer's liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.
Rating: B-
Friday, June 02, 2006 4:32:00 PM
SOUND OF COLORS (2003)
viewed on 31/5/06 (Wed)
Love the Enya-esque soundtrack. Full stop. That is all I like about this movie.
From the making-of documentary, I believe the original source of Jimmy Liao's illustrations is abstract in nature and the screenwriter has to fill in the gap.
They should fire whoever came up with the hackneyed subplots. SOUND OF COLORS is a derivative romantic comedy that rambles like a derailed train.
Miriam Yeung and Tony Leung are a pair of pleasant-looking onscreen couple, much like Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng. Taiwanese arthouse darling Chang Chen and China-born Dong Jie are the other pretty couple.
Too bad, even their charisma cannot add colours to this blander than bland movie.
Rating: D
Friday, June 02, 2006 4:54:00 PM
VICTOR / VICTORIA (1982)
viewed on 3/6/06 (Sat)
Joining the ranks of gleeful gender-blending comedies like SOME LIKE IT HOT and TOOTSIE, VICTOR / VICTORIA is entertaining from start to end, even though it runs more than two hours.
The lines are witty and clever. The talk on homosexuality is rife and this being a mainstream movie made in the still conservative early 80s. I admire its guts already.
The plot reminds me of TOOTSIE. A underappreciated singer (Julie Andrews) decides to go incognito when she fails to get a job. She disguises as a drag queen and becomes famous overnight. A woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman. Ha! You can see how hilarious the comedy can be.
But, it is not a silly slapstick burlesque that disrespects drag queens and gays. It is clean wholesome fun put together by respectable thespians like Julie Andews herself.
Then there is Robert Preston who plays her showy gay manager. James Garner, looking like Burt Reynolds' twin, plays an alpha-male who is smitten by Julie Andrews, in drag or not.
Of course, not forgetting all the showstopping broadway numbers.
It is gay, gay and gay.
Rating: B+
Wednesday, June 07, 2006 1:27:00 AM
LOGAN'S RUN (1976)
viewed on 5/6/06 (Mon)
James McTeigue, the director of this year's V FOR VENDETTA, will be remaking this old movie in 2007.
I am just wondering how he is going to reinvent the material which is either badly written or badly adapted.
I am surprised that it was Oscar-nominated when it should be a big contender at the Razzies.
One thing for sure. The acting deserves it. Such chessy lines and stiff acting.
The sequence in the Love Shop serves no purpose, except to show some flesh. You get a rather pretty good idea how porn should look like in the 70s. Shockingly, this movie is not censored and the female lead has a scene she is stripped naked, exposing her bosom.
Unless you are excited by that, the rest of the movie is as flat as tomboy's bosom. Pun intended.
The special effects are such an eyesore. A special achievement in special effects award at the Oscars? No wonder, they were blown away by STARS WARS which came out in the following year. The sets are ambitiously big but look more like high school play props made with a bigger budget.
Is it a wise choice to remake LOGAN'S RUN?
While usually a remake fairs worse than the original, I have full confidence that the remake of LOGAN'S RUN will surpass its predecessor. If it doesn't. My, that will be a major major embarrassment.
Rating: D
Wednesday, June 07, 2006 1:51:00 AM
MISSISSIPPI BURNING (1988)
viewed on 6/6/06 (Tues)
It is said the movie is based on/inspired by an actual incident of three missing civil rights workers. Many movies have been made to educate us not to judge someone by its skin colour and racism is evil.
I expect MISSISSIPPI BURNING to stir my souls but it does so only mildly. There are moments I felt a lump in my throat though. At a point, it feels like a white men's drama since we did not really get to see from the point of view of the blacks.
Still, MISSISSIPPI BURNING is a more than passable movie. It has an important message to say and it asks questions even racists cannot understand? What made they hate another race so much enough to kill?
For one, the lines are well-written and the story is lean, straight-to-the-point and hence impactful. The pace is tight too.
Frances McDormand received her first Oscar nomination for playing a submissive wife of a racist husband. From some angles, the young Frances McDormand looks like Scarlett Johansson.
The cast did a great job and the Gospel soundtrack is very effectively affecting.
MISSISSIPPI BURNING was one of the major Oscar contenders but strangely, it received only one and for cinematography? And no nomination for the screenplay?
Rating: A-
Saturday, June 10, 2006 10:00:00 PM
THE ODD COUPLE (1968)
viewed on 8/6/06 (Thurs)
Never really a fan of Neil Simon's plays. So far BAREFOOT IN THE PARK and CALIFORNIA SUITE fail to impress me. THE GOODBYE GIRL is not bad but I think I like THE ODD COUPLE best.
The leading duo - Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon, effortlessly play the funny characters with pitch-perfect timing and the right amout of hilarity.
The lines are witty and hilarious. Well, Neil Simon's plays are all like that but THE ODD COUPLE hits all the right buttons.
Plus, I suspect the homosexual undertones made it funnier. Two divorced men stay in an apartment. One is a gay swinging bachelor, unkempt, unhygenic and uncultured. The other literally cleans up after him like his wife. He cooks for him, serves his friends with food, cleans his house and gets angry when he comes home late.
THE ODD COUPLE tickles from start to end. A thoroughly enjoyable comedy.
Rating: B+
Saturday, June 10, 2006 10:17:00 PM
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (2004)
viewed on 11/6/06 (Sun)
You know what they say about Jack of all trades.
Joel Schumacher's repetoire includes the blockbuster superhero flops, BATMAN FOREVER and BATMAN & ROBIN. He supposedly drove the Batman franchaise to the ground. BATMAN BEGINS is made partially to revive the franchaise.
His other works include the John Grishman's thriller A TIME TO KILL, romantic tearjerker DYING YOUNG, suspense thrillers PHONE BOOTH and FLATLINERS, arthouse indie human drama VERONICA GUERIN and war drama TIGERLAND. Diversity is good but that says he is either a director who is keen to try any genre or simply still finding his niche. Let's face it. He is not that respectable a director.
So you can see why I shelved THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA when it was screening here and then conveniently forgot about it.
A Hollywood remake is always suspected of bastardising the original material. A musical? Joel has not done that before. Can he carry this huge well-reputable project? The movie's three Oscar nominations say something about its critical success. That is why I rented it afterall. Merely out of curiosity.
And ... my. Was I blown away.
The posh sets, the luminously grand costumes, the very talented young cast and of course, Andrew Lloyd Webber's breath-taking musical numbers. "Angel of Music", "All I Ask of You", "The Phantom of the Opera" and "Masquerade" are such melodious songs.
I have not seen any version of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA but I have grown feelings for the movie version already. And very defensive over it.
I am pleasantly surprised by the great performances of the relatively unknown young cast. Joel Schumacher made a good decision to cast fresh young actors to give the age-old tale a refreshing twist.
Andrew Lloyd Webber insisted the actors to sing their parts. And they did more than just a marvellous job. Except for Minnie Driver, all the principal actors have some background in singing in a musical or opera. And Emmy Rossum, who plays Christine, was merely 16 years old! More surprising is she and Gerald Butler (the Phantom) had not seen the musical before! After clinching the lead role, Emmy Rossum then bought the soundtrack to the musical! And so much passion in their singing. That same passion probably helps them alot in their acting
And Minnie Driver. Oh, she is the real-life 'phantom'. Her transformation is astonishing. How in the hell she manages to be so svelte? She cannot be the fat girl in GOOD WILL HUNTING. I wonder if Matt Damon regrets breaking up with her.
All in all, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA moves me deeply. This has to be one of Joel Schumacher's far and few hits and possiblly the best THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA.
Rating: A-
Saturday, June 17, 2006 9:21:00 PM
HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN (1952)
viewed on 11/6/06 (Sun)
The brilliantly resplendent palette reminds one of THE WIZARD OF OZ.
The musical numbers are forgettable though.
I thought this is an autobiographical film of the greatest story teller.
It is interesting to see his inspirations for his world-famous fables.
When he is locked up in jail for a day, he entertains a girl with his thumb wrapped in a piece of cloth and hence the story of THUMBELINA is contrived. His story of THE UGLY DUCKLING is made up to make a less-than-cute-looking boy smile. The boy's father later gives Hans Christian Andersen an opportunity to write children stories in his paper and make him a huge success as a writer.
Most importantly, THE LITTLE MERMAID is inspired by his one-side love affair with a married ballerina. He is like the character of the little mermaid who gives her all for the one she loves but is not reciprocated. With a broken heart, he goes back to his humble hamlet where he continues to entertain crowds of children with a funny story of an emperor and his new clothes and many more.
All along I was misled to believe I am watching the true story of Hans Christian Andersen. A check at imdb.com says it is all fabricated.
I am disappointed to know that but it does not mean that the movie is not endearing and touching. It is a classic. Much like Hans Christian Andersen's tales.
Rating: B+
Saturday, June 17, 2006 10:08:00 PM
SOMEWHERE IN TIME (1980)
viewed on 12/6/06 (Mon)
The tuneful signature theme song still melts hearts. Fans will be angry to know that the John Barry's score was snubbed by Oscars.
SOMEWHERE IN TIME's plot sounds laughable. A man travels back in time to meet a ravishingly beautiful woman in a very old portrait and falls in love with her. Alas, they, after all, belong to two different times. They can't possibly go against time and physics. The man comes back to the present and eventually dies of a broken heart. This cannot be any cornier.
Strange enough, the movie is rather affecting. It is so romantic that you are a big mean cynic to dismiss this cult classic.
In the making-of, the cast and director reveal the movie was badly received by critics. The box office takings were also dismal.
Things turn sunnier when it was out in video rental stores. It gradually gained good word of mouth. A fan club was even created to worship the movie! The fans admitted in their interviews that they did not openly declare their fondness for the movie for fear they would be ridiculed.
The movie's popularity continued to grow so big that years later, a special seminar was organised and the director and all the stars came.
It is not hard to see why critics sneer at the movie while romantic hardcores embrace it.
SOMEWHERE IN TIME tells a ridiculous love story but it hits all the right notes as a romantic drama.
Firstly, the extremely good-looking leads. Christopher Reeves, fresh from his success as SUPERMAN, turns in a commendable performance. He was no flash in pan and he was a serious actor. It is really heartbreaking to see him
being interviewed in his wheelchair. He could jolly well join the ranks of Robert Redford and Harrison Ford and still making movies.
Jane Seymour was totally smashingly stunning as a classic beauty. An interesting trivia. All the actresses who went for the audition were asked if they were in love. Jane Seymour was the only who said no and she got the coveted role.
I like SOMEWHERE IN TIME because it made me believe the love story. Yes, including the part Christopher Reeves hypnotises himself to go back in time and he dying of a broken heart. If you observe closely, there are other parts which efficiently tug at your heartstrings. There is a reason why the portrait captures such a blissful smile. She was looking at her lover.
SOMEWHERE IN TIME will not be forgotten. Somewhere in time, someone will see this and fall in love with it. Even more so when it is so unfortunately little-seen.
Rating: A-
Saturday, June 17, 2006 11:08:00 PM
SOUTH PACIFIC (1958)
viewed on 16/6/06 (Fri)
I really wonder why SOUTH PACIFIC is so big.
The musical numbers are so bland and forced. Sometimes they pop up in most unexpected moments in the movie. Musical numbers are supposed to enhance the story development. I was tempted to hit the fast forward button when they start to sing.
The story is mainly about two pairs of star-crossed lovers from very different backgrounds and set against the backdrop of the backdrop of the sunny South Pacific islands during World War II.
The scenery is awe-inspiring. Simply gorgeous. It will make you want to rush to Hawaii. The cinematgrapher also cleverly uses different colour filters to create various romantic hues in the same scene. Strangely, it missed Oscar Best Cinematography but bagged the Best Sound award.
SOUTH PACIFIC is definitely an overstated Richard Rodgers' and Oscar Hammerstein II's musical. And I wanna wash it out of my hair anytime.
Rating: D
Saturday, June 17, 2006 11:37:00 PM
INNER SENSES (2002)
viewed on 22/6/06 (Thurs)
This is Leslie Cheung's last movie before he killed himself. Rumour has it that he was possessed while making this ghost movie. There is a scene when Leslie's character attempts to jump off a building. Talking about spookiness.
Alas. This swansong of Leslie is far from being a classic.
Though it has some rather insightful nuggets of pyschological theories, the rest of the movie hardly warrants any real scares. Truth be told, some parts are so hackneyed, they turn out to be hilarious.
But the really scary part is Hong Kong horror movies used to rule the day but these days, they pale in comparison with its Korean, Japanese and Thai counterparts.
Rating: D-
Monday, June 26, 2006 10:59:00 PM
THE EYE 2 (2004) & THE EYE 10 (2005)
viewed on 23/6/06 (Fri)
Shu Qi shines in the darker sequel to THE EYE. If Angelica Lee can win a Best Actress award for THE EYE, so can Shu Qi. In fact, I think she is a better actress. Surprisingly, Shu Qi impresses me in a horror movie.
The scary tactics do not work so well in THE EYE 2. Most probably, the storyline is weaker.
The Pang brothers said in the interview that the THE EYE trilogy includes re-enacting familiar Asian horror tales and that is why it strike a chord with the Asian audiences.
In the THE EYE 10, the Pang brothers tell all the remaining famous 8 methods to see ... you know what. Why 8? Well, THE EYE and THE EYE 2 would have covered the 2 already. Geddit?
THE EYE 10 is lame. A joke in the trilogy. Ironically, THE EYE 10 also includes a very popular horror tale with a funny twist. Once you hear it again, it is not funny anymore.
THE EYE 10 has none of the seriousness of its predecessors. It wants to be funny but it ain't. It wants to be serious and melancholic at certain moments but they fall flat.
THE EYE 10 doesn't seem to be directed by the Pang brothers but some lousy copycats. That is the really scary part.
Guess the horror of all horrors is Asia will hardly have directors that produce consistently good products.
Rating: C+ & F respectively
Saturday, July 08, 2006 12:38:00 AM
BUTTERFIELD 8 (1960)
viewed on 28/6/06 (Wed)
Elizabeth Taylor won her first Best Actress Oscar. Ironically, she hated doing this movie. She had to complete this film under her old contract with a lower salary before she could move on to do the mega-epic CLEOPATRA.
If she was really not happy filming this movie, it sure could not tell from her moving performance. She played an escort, once wilful and coquettish, finding true love in her client. Alas, he is married and a close encounter with his wife pricked her conscience. She chooses to leave him but he chides her for toying with his feelings. She cannot tell him the truth of her silent departure and only death can free her from the misery.
How melodramatic. It is not surprisingly that it is adapted from a novel.
Nevertheless, it deserves to be a classic in the film category of love tragedies. Well-acted and well-written.
Rating: B
Sunday, July 09, 2006 5:26:00 PM
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
viewed on 3/7/06 (Mon)
When a character appeared with hooks as hands, I had a shock. This cannot be a camera trick or special effects, this being made in 1946. Is the actor really an amputee?
Harold Russell is the name of the actor. His film debut. He lost both his arms in WWII. Here, he played a war veteran returning home. It is the courage of playing a character, whose emotional scars most likely mirror his own, that won him an Academy Award that year for Best Supporting Actor and an Honorary award for "bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance in The Best Years of Our Lives."
This honorable mention should go the movie itself too.
Clocking the running time close to three hourse, THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES never feels long.
It depicts the three lives of three war veterans coming back to their families that can seem strangely very detached from them.
Homer Parrish (played by Harold Russell) is not only crippled but also in the heart. He is paranoid and wallows in self-pity. But fortunately his family and girlfriend are very supportive and encouraging. While they are coming to terms with Homer's hooks, they are also getting him to come to terms with his new life.
Fred Derry (Dana Andrews) is not so fortunate. Being away for too time during the war had not only made him lose his previous job, stuck in a lousy job as perfume salesman but also wreck his marriage. His wife has grown unfaithful and walks out on him. Luckily, he finds love and redemption in the daughter of his fellow war veteran, Al Stephenson.
Stephenson is luckier. He is offered his previous job as a banker. His family also loves him as dearly as before. But as everything in his life starts to fall into pieces, he also finds it hard to reconcile with the reality that the long-waited bliss is finally not a dream anymore.
THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES must be referring to the trio's coming-of-age years after WWII. It is tremendously positive and hopeful. We need to learn from the characters who move on after a going through dark chapter in their lives. Afterall, there are always loved ones who may not share our scars but suffer to see us in misery. The war may be a blessing in disguise. New love is found, new hope is formed and new faith is built.
Rating: B+
Monday, July 17, 2006 10:33:00 PM
PLAZA SUITE (1971)
viewed on 4/7/06 (Tues)
Walter Matthau must have hell of a good time playing three different characters in this yet-another film version of Neil Simon's play.
But it is the supporting actresses who really bring down the house.
In the first act, Maureen Stapleton plays a desperate housewife trying to salvage a loveless marriage, with much begging and self-deprecating humour.
In the second, Barbara Harris plays a hopelessly vulnerable ex-flame of Matthau's flirtatious Hollywood producer, succumbing to his acts of seduction and resisting herself from committing adultery.
In the last and final act, Lee Grant is fun to watch, playing a mother having a nervous breakdown when her daughter refuses to marry and her husband is pouring blame on her.
PLAZA SUITE has an innovative concept. All three acts happen in the same suite with Walter Matthau as the recurring actor.
PLAZA SUITE will draw comparison with another Neil Simon's CALIFORNIA SUITE. PLAZA SUITE is a better movie, though I still think Neil Simon's plays should remain on the stage. The adaptations just feel way too stagey.
Rating: C-
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 2:58:00 AM
THE CHAMP (1931)
viewed on 5/7/06 (Wed)
For those growing up watching the Cantonese tearjerkers, THE CHAMP must have felt very familiar.
A down-and-out ex-world heavyweight champion, Andy,(played by Oscar winner Wallace Beery) is trying to make ends meet to provide for his young yet sensible son, Dink (played a wonderfully endearing child actor Jackie Cooper).
Then Dink runs into his long lost mother who wants to him to live with her and her affluent new husband.
It is a hard and cruel decision for Andy to make. To let Dink have a better life or to have him and yet suffer with him? The parting scene at the jailhouse is most heart rendering.
A tearjerker like this will not seem to hit homerun without a tragedy in the coda.
Manipulative? Hell yes. Do I mind being manipulated? Not a bit. This Oscar winner is a champ as a utterly moving melodrama.
Rating: A-
Sunday, July 23, 2006 12:42:00 AM
PEEPING TOM (1960)
viewed on 7/7/06 (Fri)
PEEPING TOM costs the career of Michael Powell who is more remembered fondly for Oscar pictures like THE RED SHOES and BLACK NARCISSUS.
It was deemed so perverted that the guests did not even look at him and the cast at the end of the first screening. Film critics everywhere slammed the movie, calling it distasteful.
Michael Powell moved out of the England shortly after the fiasco.
Could the generation back then did not have the guts to accept PEEPING TOM? It is now considered widely as a movie ahead of its time.
Which camp do I belong to?
I do not consider myself conservative but a story of man obsessed with filming horrified looks of women on the verge of being murdered sounds a tad too creepy for me. And the weapon is a pointed tripod stand? Gee... it makes the ice pick in BASIC INSTINCT look much sexier. To make things worse, the explanation for the protagonist's perverted obsession is not convincing at all.
His father deliberately scared him when he was a child to document his reactions to fear?
In one of the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, 25 movies were singled out for the controversies they stirred up when released. One reader lamented that PEEPING TOM was excluded. Could it be because the story is weak and ludicrous and the acting is cheesy, and nobody cares about a B-grade sex thriller anyway?
Rating: D+
Sunday, July 23, 2006 1:19:00 AM
THE LADYKILLERS (1955)
viewed on 9/7/06 (Sun)
It is the original before the remake starring Tom Hanks. His performance is widely praised but few compliment the movie. It is only inevitable that both movies will be compared by critics and it is evident in the reviews that, given Tom Hanks' star power, the orginal is a better charmer.
Though bad reviews stop me from seeing the remake, from the trailer and given it is Tom Hanks, I believe his performance should be more fun to watch. Alec Guinness plays his character in the original.
I guessed THE LADYKILLERS works mainly because it is a non-Hollywood British product. Their sense of humour is rather different actually. It is dark. This is not a spoiler but in the end, the gang of crooks will be bumped off one by one. There is even a subplot of planning to kill the old hapless lady who gullibly believes they are musicians.
THE LADYKILLERS is not as loud, exaggerated and fast-paced as its Hollywood counterparts. It takes its time to roll out the barrels of laughter. The dark comedy earned itself an Oscar nomination that year for Best Screenplay.
THE LADYKILLERS guarantees satisfying entertainment, proving again, charms of a small dainty British comedy is very much irresitible.
Rating: B+
Sunday, July 23, 2006 8:25:00 AM
JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS (2001)
viewed on 16/7/06 (Sun)
A satire on teenage pop music industry and the exploitation on their relentless pusuit of fads. Hidden commerical messages in popular bubblegum songs? That is rather brilliant.
I kind of like the part satirising boybands, like Backstreet Boys, and their simple-minded teenage female fans.
Too bad, JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS is also a satire made mainly with teenagers in mind. It will sit well with them but for a more mature audience, it will be more like a farce.
Rating: B-
Saturday, July 29, 2006 1:04:00 AM
THE BODY (2001)
viewed on 18/7/06 (Tues)
Before THE DA VINCI CODE, there is THE BODY. A small-budgeted indie that revolves around the discovery of the titular remains of, possibly, ... the Jesus Christ.
While THE DA VINCI CODE disturbs many, THE BODY escaped the "crucifixion". It could be it is not a big Hollywood blockbuster and starring big names. Or it could be a final revelation in the final scene allows the film to sidestep all the spears about to head its way?
The controversies raised by both films are similar. Is our faith in a religion shaken if we discover the God we know is afterall all human? Aren't His teachings, doings, dreams and extraordinary sacrifices enough for us to hail him as a man above all men?
A character in THE BODY says, "God has no place in politics." Therein lies the irony. Religion and politics are very much the same thing. Both have tremendous effects on its followers. Certain amount of brainwashing is taking place. If religion and politics can build faith, so can they destroy faith too; sometimes even with a single discovery that threatens to bring the foundation down to its knees.
As we seek the scientific truth, isn't it equally, or more, important to seek the spiritual truth? Religion is a set of beliefs and it exists because of human emotional needs. It is not built on whether God is human or not.
THE DA VINCI CODE and THE BODY raised very thought-provoking questions. They either strengthens your faith in Christianity or question it. Many see both movies as blasphemous. But ironically, they actually put our beliefs to the ultimate test? The wise ones will be enlightened and their faith reinforced, but the blind followers will be easily bought over.
Rating: A-
Saturday, July 29, 2006 2:05:00 AM
老莫的第二个春天 (1984)
viewed on 22/7/06 (Sat)
Have always know this is widely regarded as one of the finest movies from the Republic of China. It won the Golden Horse Best Picture during the awards' better years.
It is a love drama between an old retired soldier, Lao Mo, and his very young pretty wife from the mountains. Lao Mo is old enough to be her father.
Their marriage might as well have ended up tragic. Lao Mo has an army buddy who married a young vainpot and she has been cheating openly behind his back.
Lao Mo's marriage can hardly be any better. Lao Mo marries for the sake of company and she, for the sake of money. Things are not looking any brighter when a young fit delivery man enters their life and expresses love interest in the young wife.
A tragedy seems inevitable.
But the movie teaches us that a good marriage, regardless of the generation gap, works if we have faith in each other and a good Samaritan heart.
Though both are not any happily married to begin with, the trials and tribulations only make them realise the goodness in each other and a near-impossible romance blossoms.
There are no spectacular scenes in the movie. No over-the-top acting and no sweeping music and no eye-pleasing cinematography. It is a slow-burning arthouse gem. A story so delicately told and so bittesweet yet ever so hopeful.
Rating: A
Monday, August 07, 2006 11:06:00 PM
棋王 (1991)
viewed on 28/7/06 (Fri)
This could easily be one of the worst films from the legendary Tsui Hark whose later works prove to be much much better than this pretentious sloppy work.
Tony Leung Kar Fai shines as an eccentric chess genius. His story is narrated in the flashbacks of the male protagonist who knows of the titular king when he was little.
Many years later, he would have run into a yet another chess genius. This time round, it is a child prodigy who seems to be able to read minds and tells fortune.
But fate is jealous of their talents and has its own cruel arrangements in store for such godly genuises.
Yim Ho was the original director but he left the project due to creative differences. Tsui Hark was given the dirty job to finish up the movie. The rough edges are very glaring. Except for Tony, the acting is very amateurish. The plot is far-fetched and not worth much of our empathy.
It is not good enough to be labelled artisitic and definitely a box-office bomb.
Sad. A pity end to a movie with an epic title.
Rating: C-
Monday, August 07, 2006 11:22:00 PM
ART OF SEDUCTION (2005)
viewed on 30/7/06 (Sun)
Nothing artful about this movie.
Not I am picking on it. Yes. It is supposed to be a comedy but the story has no head nor tail.
Reminds of those slipshod inferior nonsensical comedies Hong Kong used to churn out.
It is hardly funny and unoriginal.
Rating: D
Monday, August 07, 2006 11:26:00 PM
THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
viewed on 3/8/06 (Thurs)
It is impossible to put down this reverently wholesome family entertainment.
Running slightly more than two and a half hours, this evergreen classic doesn't feel a bit long.
The songs are what made the movie so well-liked. I believe many will bring back fond memories of their childhood. For me, I will always remember learning "Do-Re-Mi" and "Edelweiss" when I was in primary school. I think we were made to do a song-and-dance concert item with "Do-Re-Mi", with display cards and all.
Julie Andrews is a blast and stars like her are a rare species these days. She is as wholesome as the nun she played. She reminds one of Audrey Hepburn. Both belong to a category of untouchable role models for actresses.
The young Christopher Plummer reminds one of Matthew McConaughey. If there is ever going to be a remake, which God forbids, Matthew McConaughey should stand a good chance.
To my surprise, THE SOUND OF MUSIC is almost every bit based on a true story of a nun marrying into a big family called the von Trapps and turning the family choir into a sensation. In the making-of documentary, members of the family reminisce the glorious past. Before the movie and the musical, which the movie is based on, the family was already very well-known, they became even more famous when the movie became really huge.
While the movie seems all so fluffy and gay, Julie Andrews griped that the opening scene was a very difficult scene to shoot. A helicopter was used to capture the scene but everytime when it flew near Julie Andrews, she practically was leveled to the ground by its draft. She had to dig her heels in the ground to prevent her from falling flat on the face.
One interviewee said in the making-of that THE SOUND OF MUSIC seemed to be blessed from start to finish. It did not run into any major glitches and everything about the movie seemed to have a happy ending.
I wonder how many movies made these days can claim that. Could THE SOUND OF MUSIC be a gift from God to us? I sure hope so but one thing for sure is it is always a gift to all ages. Now and forever.
Rating: A
Monday, August 14, 2006 12:07:00 AM
"THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE"
THE BATTLE OVER CITIZEN KANE (1996)
viewed on 17/6/06 (Sat)
American Film Institute named CITIZEN KANE as the #1 in their list of 100 Greatest American Movies. I remembered watching this many years back and was struck by the very moving ending and of course, Orson Welles' imaginative and avant-garde shooting style. It was a movie way ahead of its times. It is fiery with passion.
This documentary will shed more light on the legendary Orson Welles who, by the way, the first person to be Oscar-nominated for producing, directing and acting. The movie was CITIZEN KANE.
A check with imdb.com will reveal that after CITIZEN KANE, Orson Welles did not have a glorious film legacy, as many will expect from a genius. His TOUCH OF EVIL is provocative but no more to the little-known side.
There is really a sad story to that. Orson Welles shot to fame at a very tender age of 24. His radioshow THE WAR OF THE WORLDS was a huge success. In one episode, his narration was so ‘real’ that radio audience was made to believe that they were really under the attack of aliens. It created such a hoo-ha that he later had to clarify publicly that it was all only a radioshow. Only that, Orson Welles actually wanted his audience to believe they were under the attack of aliens.
Before this, Orson Welles also directed Voodoo Macbeth. It was a play that many claimed as a landmark in American theatre because Orson Welles, with so little stage experience and using a largely amateurish African-American cast, actually managed to produce a play that won the critics over.
Hollywood beckoned and Orson Welles was offered a contract many could only dream of. He was given a lot of autonomy over the movies he made. After an initial project fell apart, Orson Welles came across a thinly disguised script about William Randolph Hearst.
William Randolph Hearst was an old newspaper mogul who had his fair share of amazing success stories. He sensationalized his news to make his paper sell like hot cakes. He was even suspected of cooking up his own stories to boost the sales. William Randolph Hearst was not a celebrity like Orson Welles but he was a very big shot. He later even threatened to buy CITIZEN KANE at any astronomical cost so that he could destroy it once and for all.
Why the hatred? Apparently, CITIZEN KANE is more than a fictional character. It did not take long for the public to realise that CITIIZEN KANE was the untold story of William Randolph Hearst. An egoistic wet-behind-the-ear youngster taking on a veteran player? It was an ego trip gone awry.
CITIZEN KANE had too many innuendos about the private life of William Randolph Hearst, especially about his kept lover who was also an actress. To the horror of many, what he called her private parts was uttered in the movie. Rosebud.
Imagine the inevitable showdown between the two giants. William Randolph Hearst swore to destroy Orson Welles and at any cost. FBI was even involved to investigate Orson Welles. In the end, as fate had it, both ended up losers in their tremendous ego war. In an interview, an old and wiser Orson Welles said indirectly in his interview that he regretted making CITIZEN KANE, the movie that shot him to fame but also killed his career after that.
After the scandal, William Randolph Hearst also came to no good end.
CITIZEN KANE is no doubt one hell of the excellent movies ever made in film history. An epitome of art imitating life imitating art. CITIZEN KANE is a great dramatic picture but the scandal revolving it was no less a one hell of a drama itself.
Rating: A
Monday, September 18, 2006 11:56:00 PM
怨女 (1998)
viewed on 7/8/06 (Mon)
An adaptation of Eileen Chang's novel. Like her other novels, feminism is the trademark.
Here, a young woman, from a humble background, is forced to marry a rich but sickly and blind wealthy man. To survive the power struggle and oppression in a wealthy household, she learns to scheme, manipulate and cheat to stay alive in a dog-eat-dog world.
Once a vulnerable damsel, she toughens up and becomes a mean, domineering oppressor herself. She may survive her ill fate but thinking back, she realises she loses more than what she has imagined. She is still as lonely and unhappy as before.
The movie reminds me that it can be an excellent character study for Chinese literature, a subject which I used to take.
Given a more adroit director and a more in-depth exploration of the characters, it could really be a very moving picture.
Rating: B
Thursday, September 21, 2006 10:32:00 PM
ERASERHEAD (1977)
viewed on 10/8/06 (Thurs)
To this day, David Lynch refuses to reveal what his film debut is all about. My best guess is he doesn’t have a clue himself.
The imagery is shocking and disturbing and revolting.
Telling a story is not always his strength. The shock factor is always his signature. David Lynch’s style is very similar to another shock master, David Cronenberg. But Cronenberg’s movies are less philosophical and more approaching.
I bet the world’s greatest shirnks cannot decipher in unison what the hell is going on.
By the way, in case anyone is wondering, there IS an eraserhead in the movie. Literally.
Rating: F
Monday, October 02, 2006 10:10:00 PM
THE MAID (2005)
viewed on 28/8/06 (Mon)
My movie buddy, Alan, is an avid horror fan. He recommended THE MAID to me when it was screening last year. Not as horror movie but as a good pyschological drama. The scares are chicken feed to him (not really to a chicken like me) but he is pleased that the story is not all rubbish and has a clever twist too.
True indeed. I never expected the twist and a rather clever one too. Of course, if you have seen THE SIXTH SENSE, you will know where is Kelvin Tong's source of inspiration.
This doesn't mean that Kelvin Tong is merely a copycat. His film is not sloppy. Amateurish at times but his sincerity is palpable. He wants to make THE MAID work.
I have never been a fan of Kelvin Tong, ever since his days as a mediocre movie critic with the Straits Times. His film debut EATING AIR is gone like the wind and no one seems to remember.
THE MAID marks a new promising beginning for Kelvin Tong. After Eric Khoo, Jack Neo and Royston Tan, there is always room for another new kid on the block.
Rating: B-
Monday, October 02, 2006 10:38:00 PM
FLIGHTPLAN (2005)
viewed on 1/9/06 (Fri)
FLIGHTPLAN offers a very good premise of a suspense thriller. How can a girl go missing in a flying plane and cannot be found anywhere? How come no one sees her? Could the mother be imagining things? Anyway, her husband just passed away and she needs medication for her troubled mind. Also her girl's name is not even on the passengers list. She is mentally ill? Very very likely. Plus, there is a fax sent to the crew that says that the girl is never on the plane simply because her dead body is still in a hospital...
FLIGHTPLAN leaves me holding on to the edge of my seat all the way ... only to let my great expectations take a nasty nosedive into a turbulence of illogicalilty. The loopholes are as big as the black hole.
What a waste of a great premise of a suspense thriller.
Rating: C+
Tuesday, October 03, 2006 11:29:00 PM
家在台北 (1970)
viewed on 4/9/06 (Mon)
This is one of the many movie classics from Treasure Island (aka Taiwan) acquired recently by library@esplanade.
Oh mine! How boyishly handsome Ke Junxiong looked back then and Gui Yah-Leh looked so adolescent. Was she in her puberty years? And I marvel how singers used to scream their lungs out.
Nothing is subtle about HOME SWEET HOME either. It tells three homecoming stories and it is obvious, they are selling one idea. No matter how green the grass is on the other side, home is still the best place to be in. In this case, Taipei and uncannily, the greener other side is America.
A married couple returns from US of A from their studies and finds Taipei is the ideal place to settle down afterall. The man's sister thinks otherwise. She dreams of going to America and at any cost, including marrying a playboy who promises a ticket to America. Her story is a reflection of the blind faith the youths had of anything Western.
Another story is about a divorcee returning home after her failed marriage in America. She catches up with her old flame, hoping to rekindle a relationship she abandons years back because she too dreams of marrying a rich man and lives in America. When she cannot win back her old lover's heart, she plans to move back to America. She changes her mind though in the last minute because Taipei is ultimately her home. She made a mistake in moving to America and she should not make the same mistake again.
The last story is about Ke Junxiong's character returning from America to settle a divorce with his long-suffering wife, played by Gui Yah-Leh. He has gone overseas to study and achieves academic success. Little does his family know that, he secretly marries an American woman and has a son. His main purpose of the trip is not to return to his wife for good but to divorce her. When his intention is revealed, his parents and brother fly into a rage but his wife is gracious enough to let him go since he no longer loves her. Touched, he has a change of heart and follows his conscience.
Wholesome and educational, HOME SWEET HOME is easily one of the finest movies from Taiwan. It should be a national treasure for its noblest morals. Preachy at times but nevertheless a very touching and sincere, patriotic evergreen classic.
Rating: A
Thursday, October 05, 2006 11:47:00 PM
父子关系 (1986)
viewed on 6/9/06 (Wed)
I heard about this movie back in my secondary school days. Love this song called “张三的歌” by 李寿全. It is one of those slow-burning sleeper hit that was going around because of its good word-of-mouth. Came to know that this song is from this movie.
THE TWO OF US is kind of the Taiwanese version of KRAMER VS. KRAMER, as rightly pointed out by someone in the movie.
The father has just lost both his company and job and then his wife. He is stuck in a pile of debts and divorce paperwork with his bratty son.
To start life anew, they move to the countryside. Things do not get any better. Frustrating that he still cannot get a job, the father drinks all the time, leaving his son to fend for himself. At one point, loansharks come a knocing and find that he has been eating junk food for days. They pity him and even give him money to buy proper food.
One stormy night, the father returns home drunk and wet. In a very sad and funny scene, he is seen using a hairdryer to dry his father. The son develops a fever as a result of taking care of his father through the night. Touched by his son's sensible acts, he decides to pull up his socks and determines to make things better for the two of them.
THE TWO OF US is slow-burning sleeper hit. Viewers should be very familiar with the father-and-son coming-of-age story but it still manages to tug at our heartstrings. It has this homely and unpretentious charm coming onto you and you shall feel bad for disliking it.
Rating: A-
Saturday, October 14, 2006 12:50:00 AM
ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER (1999)
Viewed on 10/9/06 (Sun)
This could be the prequel of MUNICH.
ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER details the events of that fateful day in 1972 September. We know more about the Israeli athletes and their family members, the Palestinian terrorists, the incompetency of police, inside news from journalists who covered the event etc. And even one survivng terrorist was tracked down to give a very exclusive interview.
The documentary is structured in a way like a thriller. If Steven Spielberg has modelled his MUNICH after this documentary, it could jolly well be a very successful action thriller.
There were so many things that went horribly wrong as if the tragedy was destined to be the worst of its kind. The security was not tight at all at the Olympics Village. In fact, security guards were told not to carry any weapon. When the hostage was taking place, despite the world protesting, they did not discontinue the games.
The Germans did not have a properly trained anti-terrorist squad to tackle the situation. An ambush plan was even aborted seconds before the terrorists arrived at the airport because the squad members did not think they were ready to take the terrorists down. Damn. Fearing Germany would face more incidents of terrorism, they secretly released the captured terrorists and passing it off as a hijack. The surviving terrorist confirmed this sickening conspiracy in his interview.
ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER leaves you sitting at the edge and it is very gripping from start to finish. The turn of events were so absurd and even we know how the tradegy would unfold, you will never imagine so many other dire factors actually 'aided' the terrorists.
MUNICH and ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER though center around the same theme but I believe if ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER is to be make into a feature film, it should be a hit and equally Oscar-worthy.
Rating: A
Thursday, October 19, 2006 9:48:00 PM
3个好人 (2005)
Viewed on 21/9/06 (Thurs)
In Jack Neo's interview, he revealed that he had a hard time looking for sponsors because they did not want their products to be associated with the convicts. What an irony! With tears in his eyes, he said he was then determined to give justice to repentant ex-convicts with his movie.
ONE MORE CHANCE started off as a comedy. Dirty jokes, gay jokes, Hokkien shrew language et. al.
But as we get to know the characters better, they each has their own sad story to tell. Their life after prison is not as good as they thought as their shameful past keeps catching up with them. As Mark Lee's character exclaims in exasperation, "I am sentenced to three years of imprisonment but the society sentenced give me to a lifetime one."
Mark Lee worked hard to be taken seriously as a drama actor. His performance is funny, touching and very earnest. But, it is Henry Thia who stole the show. His breakdown scene before his dying mother was totally heartbreaking.
ONE MORE CHANCE is not a fantastic movie. It has many flaws and corny to the core. But. We cannot dismiss Jack Neo's effort in telling a story from the heart. His actors are equally sincere. From the NG scenes, they looked so apologetic when they fumbled over their lines.
Jack Neo is no Eric Khoo or Royston Tan who had won movie accolades but Jack Neo won our hearts.
Rating: B
Thursday, October 19, 2006 10:21:00 PM
SURVIVING CHRISTMAS (2004)
Viewed on 23/9/06 (Sat)
What an utter waste of talents!
Ben Affleck, James Gandolfini and Catherine O'Hara tried their best not to let this unfunny and very corny Christmas comedy crash and burn.
SURVIVNG CHRISTMAS is not exactly the best choice for anyone who wants to survive Christmas with a good movie.
Damn. There should have a warning label on the DVD.
Rating: C-
Thursday, October 19, 2006 10:26:00 PM
REBERL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
viewed on 1/10/06 (Sun)
Given that this movie was made more than half a decade ago, I was rather surprised that it was not at all a very easy movie to follow.
There were times I had to review the scene to catch what the characters meant by saying what they say. There were also undertones that a character could be gay and likes James Dean's character.
James Dean is not bad an actor himself, given he was already very huge back then with his brooding good looks. They have said it before and I will say it again. It is a pity he was gone too soon and too young. In REBEL, he plays a rebel who desperately hopes his father will be strong enough a father figure he can look up to.
Oscar-nominee Natalie Wood plays another so-called rebel who yearns for her cold father's affection. When she kisses him, her father slaps her and asks her to "grow up"!
Another Oscar-nominee, Sal Mineo, plays a lonely rich kids who finds thrills in shooting at puppies. When he finally finds two true friends, his happiness ends abruptly in a misfire.
Nicholas Ray, the director and writer, says in his black-and-white interview that he got his inspiration from the newspaper. Like in real life, a tragic ending is inevitable to make us sit up and realise how misunderstood the rebels are.
REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE is a fine classic, mainly because of James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo play their characters with so much compassion. From the movie's trivia, it is just so sad to know that the three actors died a tragic death.
Rating: B+
Friday, October 27, 2006 12:02:00 AM
LOVE STORY (1970)
viewed on 14/10/06 (Sat)
Who can be blamed for expecting a schmaltzy tearjerker? Just look at the simple title.
But LOVE STORY is not just another romance movie. It doesn't beg for your sympathy or your tears. And strange as it may sound, there is quite a fair bit of profanity and blasphemy from the girl. The girl swears a lot and in one scene, she even denounces her faith in church and God. A minor character in the movie even quips that she is "Foul Mouth Angelface". Ha!
The boy, however, on the other hand, appears to be on the softer side. He cries too easily.
I like movies that refuse to be stereotyped. LOVE STORY is one of them. Uncle Roger mentioned in his review that LOVE STORY, the novel, is "so revoltingly coy" whereas LOVE STORY, has a tougher personality.
There is no romantic courtship in LOVE STORY. And when the girl contracts cancer, she doesn't break down and cry. There is even no teary parting scene at the deathbed.
LOVE STORY wins my heart because it doesn't throw itself on me. In fact, apparently, LOVE STORY wants to steer away from any melodrama and make the lovers and their love story as real as possible. Now, who says love stories are always lovey-dovey.
Rating: B+
Sunday, October 29, 2006 11:11:00 PM
HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986)
viewed on 14/10/2006 (Sat)
Woody Allen's script was apparently so great that it was almost nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Duh?
HANNAH AND HER SISTERS is bittersweet and sometimes, even very funny but ... I cannot reckon the greatness in the movie. Too overrated?
I do not enjoy HANNAH as much as like ... BULLETS OVER BROADWAY, MIGHTY APHRODITE, ANNIE HALL and RADIO DAYS.
If incestuous lust is comedy to Woody Allen, then isn't that too overboard? FYI. He divorced Mia Farrow to marry their adopted daughter, Soon-Yi Previn. Warped. Very warped.
Rating: B-
Sunday, October 29, 2006 11:29:00 PM
PLACES IN THE HEART (1984)
viewed on 21/10/2006 (Sat)
Sally Field won her second Oscar for this movie and, from imdb, her acceptance speech had been misquoted all these years. She was not the arrogant winner we thought she was.
But. After seeing NORMA RAE (her first Oscar win) and PLACES, I have to ask, "Why the second Oscar? She plays the same genre of character in both movies." And the places of the heart refer to ... what?
While Sally Field's peformance in PLACES is commedable and PLACES is not a bad movie, they are not really Oscar material.
Another feministic tale. It tells how Sally Field's widow struggles to make ends meet when her husband is killed by a nigger boy by mistake. And the subplot of Ed Harris' extramartial affair is so out of place.
I do like John Malkovich in this one. He is one of the actors I know he is great but somehow just don't like him.
And I like the closing scene too in the church. The ghosts of Sally Field's husband and the boy who killed him sit in peace, attending mass with Sally Field and her family.
Rating: B
Saturday, November 04, 2006 8:11:00 AM
MY FAVORITE YEAR (1982)
viewed on 21/10/2006 (Sat)
It is the main character was based on Mel Brooks, while Alan Swann, played by Oscar nominee Peter O'Toole, was based on Errol Flynn. The movie is largely believed to be a recollection of Mel Brooks' unforgettable stint working for Error Flynn in his younger days.
No wonder the fighting sequences in one of Alan Swann's movies look like a rip-off from THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD.
Peter O'Toole stands out as the only actor in the cast who says his wisecracking one-liners without sounding like he is trying hard to be funny. The rest of cast tries to be hard to be smart and funny.
Along, with his performance in this one, Peter O'Toole was nominated 7 times but win none. He was given an Honorary Oscar in 2003 though for his contribtuion in the movie industry. Is Oscars trying to say, "You are good but we are sorry we cannot give you an Oscar for acting." ?
Rating: C+
Saturday, November 04, 2006 10:17:00 PM
WAR AND PEACE (1956)
viewed on 29/10/2006 (Sun)
Running at 208 min, watching WAR AND PEACE can be as daunting as reading Leo Tolstoy's tome.
Some books when adapted loyally into movies is a wise move, I believe I am afraid this is not the case with WAR AND PEACE. Too many characters and too many subplots. It really eats into precious time to flesh out the main characters in the love triangle. Audrey Hepburn plays Natasha Rostov, the object of affection of two men, Pierre Bezukhov (played by Henry Fonda) and Prince Andrey Bolkonsky (played by Mel Ferrer).
Some old movies are long because they are too talky. WAR AND PEACE is not talky but so heavily plotted, you wonder if an editor was employed in the first place.
Ironically, for a such a grand and lush production, so little of the film was remembered.
Rating: C+
Sunday, November 26, 2006 10:29:00 PM
LORD OF THE FLIES (1963)
viewed on 5/11/06 (Sun)
Never really quite know why the book is called "LORD OF THE FLIES". From the movie, the flies seem to refer to the flies buzzing around a pig's head which was supposed to feed the "beast". Am I right?
Willaim Golding's book is a very dark morbid tale of a class of English schoolboys turning into barbaric savages and small time murderers. An apt analogy of the dog-eat-dog world of grown-ups. All the power struggle. Survival of the fittest.
I enjoy the movie greatly not because it is well-made. I have not read the book and I find the story very unsettling. Boys ending up killing one another? Mine. It was, like, written in the conservative era of 1954.
Could LORD OF THE FLIES have inspired the subplot of mysterious jungle beasts in LOST? Or even that Japanese movie, BATTLE ROYALE?
Rating: B
Sunday, November 26, 2006 10:30:00 PM
CLEOPATRA (1963)
viewed on 26/11/2006 (Sun)
The all-time flop? CLEOPATRA remains the infamous movie that almost sank Twentieth Century Fox. As a matter of fact, all money was poured into the production that the studio was making no other movies, besides this one.
From the beginning, the production was deemed jinxed. Elizabeth Taylor was so sick that she was almost died in her hotel room. Rumours were going around that she passed away. Due to her bad health, sets already built in London had to be torn down and rebuilt in Rome. The sets were so grand that at one point of time, the country actually ran out of construction materials!
The production blues did not just end there. There were so much to be told that the behind-the-scenes documentary is 2 hours long! I have not mentioned CLEOPATRA was meant to be 6 hours long and it almost destroyed the director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's interest in making movies. Liz Taylor also had a torrid affair with Richard Burton, flirting on the set and off.
CLEOPATRA opened with instant success. the reviews were not fantastic but it was a box-office hit. The fashion world was heavily influenced by the makeup and the costumes, whose designer won an Oscar.
Liz Taylor aspires awe with her numerous numerous resplendent costumes. Mine, she has a change of costumes in every scene! But that is only a distraction to her Razzie-worthy performance.
CLEOPATRA went on to clinch 4 Oscars, including Art Direction, Visual Effects and Cinematography. The movie looks amazingly grand that it is hard to believe that it was made under great financial difficulties.
Despite all the good appearances, CLEOPATRA doesn't deliver a good story. It is a history lesson way too long and pompous. Running for 4 hours, it is butt-numbing! I have learnt more about the Cleopatra, Marc Anthony and Julius Caesar and how her beauty single-handedly robbed the world of two great men, but strangely after 4 hours, I do not feel for any of them.
Rating: B-
Sunday, November 26, 2006 10:31:00 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home