Nuovo cinema Paradiso 3
Previously on Nuovo cinema Paradiso 2, the A-list movies are ...
Cinderella Man, Joyeux Noël (Merry Christmas), King Kong, Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Memoirs of a Geisha, Jarhead, Transamerica, Munich, The Da Vinci Code, Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, Cars, Superman Returns, Little Miss Sunshine, An Inconvenient Truth, The Prestige, The Nativity Story, Blood Diamond, The Queen, Pan's Labyrinth, Bobby, Notes on a Scandal, Letters from Iwo Jima, Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others), Bushi no ichibun (Love and Honour), Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids, Hot Fuzz, Hairspray and Sicko
Screening on Saturday, December 15, 2007
10 Comments:
LUST, CAUTION
viewed on 11/11/07 (Sunday)
What takes me so long to write a review of LUST, CAUTION is simply because I want to give my best shot to reflect on this highly emotionally complex drama.
I have always liked Ang Lee's movies. From PUSHING HANDS, THE WEDDING BANQUET to CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, Ang Lee has a knack of telling absorbing stories with characters equally fascinating.
Of course, LUST, CAUTION will quickly remind us of the very explicit sex scenes. My first thought was, "Is it really necessary to be so explicit? Or is it a gimmick to draw audience to see the movie?"
Well, I have to say the sex scenes can be a bit unnecessarily explicit but if you keep running the question in your mind, you are bound to understand why the sex scenes have to be ... impactful.
A female colleague of mine once wrote a very lengthy reflection of the movie. She explained beautifully why the explicit sex scenes are totally necessary. Indeed, they tell so much about the two main characters. It is through their acrobatic acts in bed that we learn Mr. Yee's (played by Tony Leung) vulnerability and cruelty at work and Wang Jiazhi's (played by newcomer Tang Wei) unwavering focus on her mission to infiltrate Mr. Yee's mind.
The lust-filled affair turns serious when both characters truly fall for each other. This is not just another story about sleeping with the enemy only to fall in love with the enemy. The emotional depths run way deep and it takes several viewings to interpret what Ang Lee wants to say at so many levels. It is no wonder that Ang Lee almost broke down filming the movie, especially the 11-day shooting of the bed scenes.
LUST, CAUTION has to be Ang Lee's most daring movie. I applaud his effort to keep pushing himself.
Expected Rating: B
Rating: A-
Friday, October 10, 2008 5:39:00 AM
NANKING
viewed on 9/12/07 (Sunday)
The Rape of Nanking is a very disturbing chapter in WWII. Finally a documentary made on the war tragedy and many will see this as a very important film. It has to be and hence high expectation is inevitable.
I am, for one, would love to love this film but I have to say the presentation style is not something I very much prefer. It feels very strange to have actors "pretending" to be the key ang-moh historical figures during the historic event. I would rather have a narrator telling us more.
And I say we should have more of the interviews with the surviving Chinese victims. Their stories are so heartwrenching that a female audience broke down and walked out of the cinema.
There are also interviews with veteran Japanese soldiers who told us that many were pressurised by their comrades to rape. At one point, when the Japanese soldiers ran out of girls to rape, they raped young boys.
NANKING is not a documentary competent enough to retell The Massacre of Nanking. The mammoth task has to be put in more able hands. I sincerely hope there will be another similar documentary made in the future that really do a better job.
Rating: B
Friday, October 10, 2008 5:58:00 AM
IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH
viewed on 23/12/07 (Sunday)
This is Paul Haggis' follow-up of Oscar-winning CRASH. It is not an ensemble movie and it is apparently a less ambitious movie. But nevertheless, the emotional impact is as unforgettably deep.
Tommy Lee Jones gives a very riveting performance as a father who goes on lengthy search for the truth of his son's AWOL, with some devastating results.
IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH is presented as a drama revolving around a mystery, much like in the style of GONE BABY GONE and MYSTIC RIVER. And nope, they do not come from the same author. While the latter two are adapted from novels by Dennis Lehane, IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH is an original story written by Paul Haggis himself and Mark Boal.
Though it appears as a story of a father looking for his missing son, it is actually a movie with an anti-war message. It is not a movie with a sermon.
IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, the title comes the scene when Tommy Lee Jones tells a bedtime story about the Biblical struggle between David and Goliath and how David, with his moral courage, defeats the monster. Yes, at some level, IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH is also about a father's courage. His courage to confront what he suspects is a conspiracy; his courage to search for the truth, no matter how bad it can hurt and his courage to turn his back against his country even he has loved his country dearly before.
Expected Rating: B
Rating: A-
Sunday, October 12, 2008 12:17:00 AM
ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE
viewed on 27/12/07 (Thursday)
It is really puzzling why the critics dismiss the movie so much.
It is splendid to look at, very well-acted and it has enough action and melodrama to be qualified as a box-office blockbuster. Even the battle sequences at sea are one of its kind and never-before-seen.
Cate Blanchett, in yet another Oscar-nominated performance playing the same role, is the ultimate thespian queen but Samatha Morton almost steals the show as the scheming Queen of Scots.
I vow to stand by the queen before others who badmouth the movie.
Expected Rating: B
Rating: B+
Monday, October 13, 2008 12:50:00 AM
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
viewed on 29/12/2007 (Sat)
If ABBA has a musical inspired by their songs, then the legendary the Beatles should deserve the same treatment too.
Different from MAMMA MIA!, the songs of the Beatles are very differently arranged and reinterpreted. A lesbian girl sings "I Wanna Hold Your Hand". Can you imagine that?
Musically inspiring, the visuals in the musical are equally captivating and mesmerising. This is nothing surprising since it comes from Julie Taymor who gave us TITUS and FRIDA.
I am quite disturbed that some viewers and critics call the movie a disaster and messy.
The movie has a queer charm to it. The storytelling style is more of a freewheeling one. It is detached from reality and very dream-like. I guess that is very much to the spirit of the Beatles' songs, free-spirited, hippieish, bittersweet and a little poignant.
ACROSS THE UNIVERSE may not be a crowd pleaser like MAMMA MIA! but it is an extravagant musical journey.
Expected Rating: B+
Rating: A-
Saturday, October 18, 2008 12:16:00 AM
MICHAEL CLAYTON
viewed on 30/12/2007 (Sun)
I dislike MICHAEL CLAYTON instantly. It is painfully slow and seriously, I do not know what is the big fuss over such a boring movie.
Now, now, let me get it clear. I am a serious movie buff and I have seen many good movies. Some movies are darn good even though the pace is glacial. Some may even call these movies boring but I am never one of them. I can stand the so-called boring movies and appreciate them.
But, MICHAEL CLAYTON is really trying my patience.
MICHAEL CLAYTON is plain boring. There, I say it. Sue me if you can.
Expected Rating: C
Rating: C-
Saturday, October 18, 2008 12:20:00 AM
EASTERN PROMISES
viewed on 31/12/07 (Mon)
EASTERN PROMISES reminds me of MYSTIC RIVER where a mystery death leads to shocking secrets of a troubled family. Both deal with the dark realm of human nature.
Being directed by David Cronenberg, do not expect a tearjerker though. He is the shock master who directed THE FLY, NAKED LUNCH and THE DEAD RINGERS. Here in EASTERN PROMISES, he has a stark naked Viggo Mortensen wrestling in a bloody death fight in a bathouse. You want to see it but you also do not want to see it.
After A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE, David Cronenberg seems to like the softer side of him. While his previous movies come with mostly head-scratching plots, this time round, it is a straight-forward telling of a crime thriller with a heart.
If you ask me, I still miss his shockfest.
Expected Rating: B-
Rating: B+
Saturday, October 18, 2008 12:46:00 AM
THE SAVAGES
viewed on 25/1/08 (Fri)
THE SAVAGES is about a pair of estranged siblings being thrown together to deal with their differences when their mentally ailing father needs some attention.
This quickly reminds me MARVIN'S ROOM and HANGING UP. And I am sure other movie fans can think of other movies with a similar plot.
I am saying this not really as a compliment. The idea of the plot is so done-to-death, I am wondering aloud why this is made in the first place.
True, THE SAVAGES is well-received by the critics. Laura Linney (Oscar-nominated for her role) and Philip Seymour Hoffman are very fine actors. The critics love Tamara Jenkins' (also director of the movie) script too.
But, I find it rather slow and plain. Uninspired even.
Expected Rating: B+
Rating: B
Tuesday, October 21, 2008 11:54:00 PM
AMERICAN GANGSTER
viewed on 26/1/08 (Sat)
The Oscar buzz came very early for this movie but the heat frizzled out towards the end of the race. It garnered only 2 Oscar nominations.
I am not really feeling sorry for Oscar's oversight of AMERICAN GANGSTER. It is afterall not a great movie. Even Denzel Washington looks a little odd playing the titular lead role. He lacks the punch.
Russell Crowe on the hand is more impressive as the cop determined to bring Washington's character down.
AMERICAN GANGSTER is about two smart and great men from two opposing sides of the law. Each is very good at what they do and hate each other's guts. Though one has to lose in the end, it doesn't mean they will respect each other less. It is an intriguing premise but feels very familiar too.
I guess it is just too bad that AMERICAN GANGSTER has to live in the shadows of other greater gangster movies. It becomes weak in comparison.
Expected Rating: B
Rating: B-
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 10:47:00 PM
ATONEMENT
viewed on 26/1/08 (Sat)
A very beautifully lensed period movie and to think about the movie again now, many stunning scenes came to mind.
There was this extremely long shot at a war-torn beach. And then there is the flooding of the London tunnel and a body of a woman is seen floating like a body risen in the air.
Of course, this movie is more than just an ensemble of beautiful shots. It has a beautiful soul and a heartbreaking story. It is about a lie of a little girl that doomed the lives of the three protagonists.
The closing scene of Vanessa Redgrave, playing the little girl who's now an old woman, is most heartwrenching. A woman has to live her entire life in bottomless regret and never found redemption.
Being a small beautiful movie and directed by Joe Wright (only his second movie), ATONEMENT ran the Oscar race the longest, from the early days of Oscar buzz to seeing itself being one of the big players at the Oscars. AMERICAN GANGSTER and CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR had since lost steam.
Expected Rating: B+
Rating: B+
Saturday, November 08, 2008 5:01:00 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home