A Nutshell Review

I Need a Body Rub

Crank: High Voltage is the ultimate guilt trip for an action junkie. Just to state for the record that I had parked my brains at the door and totally enjoyed the very first Crank film when many had condemned it because of its WTF ending, but I thought it did serve its purpose since there were plenty of implausible situations our hero Chev Chelios, played by one of my favourite contemporary action stars, Jason Statham, got put through. Implausibility seems to be the buzzword here as well, being consciously mentioned very early on in a direct continuation from where we left off in its predecessor, 3 months after Chelios ran amok in the city.

Basically the writers-directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor had crafted a totally wicked exploitation film in this follow up to Crank, that it single-handedly put the recent Tarantino-Rodriguez Grindhouse movies to shame. They have shifted into higher gear from the first film and went absolutely nuts with the visuals, employing a whole range of tricks and fads just to pump the adrenaline, or electrically charge the camera into one mad rush. Sure it's dizzying for some and certainly not everyone will come to appreciate the madness and the fun that probably went behind the scenes in this action-comedy.

Yes comedy, in the most politically-incorrect manner as possible, some of which may be cheap potshots that stem primarily too from the languages and insults employed. As mentioned this is wicked exploitation at its contemporary finest, with plenty, and I mean plenty of gratuitous nudity, violence, sex, cursings, and gore, with Chev Chelios at either end of dishing out rude punishment, or be at the receiving end of some himself. He's indestructible as we learn from Crank, and Crank 2 continues to play on this, with his heart now ripped out for a triad boss (played by the late David Carradine in thick disguise) and replaced by an artificial one with enough charge so that a secondary operation (involving his wiener) could be performed.

So begins a mad chase for what belongs to him, and being in contacts with old mates like underground doctor Miles (Dwight Yoakam) and his main squeeze Eve Lydon (Amy Smart) who once again strips down and gets it going with Chev in full view of the public. Expect a lot more zaniness thanks to a whole host of one dimensional characters thrown into the thick of things, either as mindless hoodlums to add to the body count, or thrash-talking clingy whores played by Bai Ling who was so unbelievably bad, complete with repetitive moves and near incomprehensible diction, that she was good just for laughs.

For those who think this is offensive, then steer clear. The movie never for a single moment took itself seriously, so neither should you. And the fact that it had some illogical scenes, such as those Ultraman-Godzilla type scene just thrown in out of the blue and so random, reinforces the crazy factor in Crank 2. And the finale no holds barred whack fest by who's who and who's not (trust me, you won't bother too much) left me in stitches just because of the countless exploitative moments the filmmakers have paid their homage to.

Oh, don't head out the doors once the credits start rolling, as there are some incredibly hilarious out-takes which are strategically inserted throughout the end credits roll. Will there be another Crank movie? I'm not sure, but if there is, then I need no open invitation because I'm so there already!

Juice Up!

High School Couples

Love is in the air. While the muggle world and the world of magic are under siege from the forces of evil, I guess there's always time for our growing teenagers to be frustrated more by the affairs of the heart, rather than be troubled with whether the fate of the world is within your control to steer from collapse, unless of course you're Harry Potter, the Chosen One.

The sixth movie and installment of the lucrative J. K. Rowling brainchild, I initially had my reservations about the last film being split into two just because it directly translates, going by the immense box office response, into billions, but the story has now matured immensely into something darker and more sinister. Gone are the more innocent childhood days of matriculation into Hogwarts, looking forward to school to learn new skills and somehow being caught up with the looming of Voldermort's resurrection of sorts, but now as seniors, that premise becomes closer and all the more life threatening as events in the last few films had demonstrated.

The film leapt directly into the thick of things, so for those like me who are not too familiar with the books, then you may find yourself lost from the start. But I guess that'll leave you engaged up front in guessing, being part of the tension building and fun, so fret not, as everything will be unravelled in good time thanks to the excellent narrative presentation by director David Yates, and of course, the strength of J.K. Rowling's source material. As with the past films, a little bit about Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and the earlier generation of magicians get slowly peeled away as the film progressed, and continues to bait you hook line and sinker as you immerse yourself thoroughly in wanting to find out more.

As already mentioned, since the first Harry Potter movie we've literally accompanied our child wizards from their younger days, through to puberty and now into teenagers with raging hormones, and this particular installment had a good bulk of it dealing with boy-girl relationship pangs, with love triangles such as the Ron Weasley-Hermione Granger-Lavender Brown (Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and Jessie Cave respectively), or a developing one between Harry and Ron's sister Ginny (Bonnie Wright). Needless to say there are countless of other supporting characters all eager to snag a date with some of the characters mentioned, or have desires to do so through love potions even!

It's a whole range of emotions on display here, where infatuations, unrequited love, betrayal, envy and jealousy all rolled in at certain points, and truly the actors here deserve full credit for their very matured performances, especially in a heartbreaking one where Harry and Hermione find themselves in the same boat, and then realizing that affairs of the heart aren't always that easy to learn nor to master like their classroom lessons and practical tests.

On the larger scale of things, we see less cutesy elements that were the hallmark of the first few films, as this episode sets the gears of Voldermort's sinister plan into motion. Everything in this film is draped in perpetual black or darkened greys, with less than a handful of daylight scenes in it. Besides dabbling with various romances, there's this sense of urgency raging throughout the pacey narrative, which has tension, action, romance, adventure and comedy effectively fused to entertain an audience.

New characters get introduced such as new Potions Professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent) who has a hidden and mysterious link to the young Voldermort, and so do the old ones like the various school going children, and villains from fellow peer Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) who's planning something as instructed for the dark lord, to the Death Eaters like Fenir Greyback (Dave Legeno) and Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter) whom Harry has a personal vendetta against. Events such as Quiddich too return to the big screen after a long awaited hiatus, although this time round it was certainly a Ron Weasley show.

The special effects again prove to be a wow-factor. Some set action sequences were crafted independently from the book to provide a more menacing edge to the story and to allow the characters to engage in more magical fights, but also served to up the excitement when it mattered. For the last hour it became more like a Harry Potter and Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) partnership as they embark on a quest which resembled very much like Dragonball's, so much so that his best friends Ron and Hermione get sidelined and parked aside for quite a fair bit (the former didn't even have a speaking line at the ending scene of the film even!) but again Dumbledore demonstrated his prowess, just like he did in The Order of the Phoenix, and the visuals were nothing less than stellar and so beautiful to look at - an impressive rage of an all-round fire which also nodded in the direction of The Ten Commandments, rumoured to have taken about 8 months to render.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince joins Star Trek as my choice of bona-fide blockbusters this Summer season. If anyone had doubted whether David Yates is the right choice for helming the franchise until its two-parter movies adapted from the final book, then his second foray here would leave you quite impressed. I'm already stoked about the things to come, so much so that, haven't not read the books proper, I had went to spoil myself silly. And yes, with so much happening in time to come, from where this film ended and trailed off, 2 films would hopefully do justice to the seeds of development already sown here.

Bring them on!

Friends and Foes

"The female of the species is more deadly than the male" - Space

Kan Lume continues to push the boundaries involving relatively taboo themes that Singapore narrative films have traditionally steered clear from. While one may seem to think offhand that this film centers around lesbianism, this film is anything but solely that, though obviously it's an easy selling point, but presented here in this pared down version is still a keen observation into the psyche of females, which you'll hear or experience yourself from time to time with regards to girls checking other girls out, in a competitive sort of fashion.

Evelyn Maria Ng stars as Alex, who opens the film with a video confessional, introducing herself and basically setting the stage, talking (or complaining!) about all things Singapore, and the want of venturing overseas for opportunities because the perennial grass on the other side is always greener. Hence her road trip with Sandy (Shen Qiaoyun), an acquaintance whom we only get to know more about along the way to Malaysia. The stage is set for two aspiring model wannabes to meet up with a casting director (Dean Kuan) across the Causeway. Alarm bells would ring by now if you have followed the synopsis of the film, but the end result is anything else but that.

The relationship between the two girls began quite cordially, where they seem all sugar and spice and all things nice. I guess as friendships go in a trip, we tend to make concessions, have fun, and basically have a good time. The first act before they meet with their professional sugar daddy (I say this because of the promises and potential of opening doors that a casting director can bring) consists of plenty of niceties, and all the foundation upon which a strong friendship can be formed. Even a trip to a fortune teller ends up with executing together the advice of packing all their troubles in an old kit bag, and getting rid of it.

However, I'll be extremely curious to know what the original cut would have looked like, because a key development in their friendship got pushed to the epilogue in a sort of a flashback and reminiscent of better days, especially when we see the events that happened upon return, with a tinge of domestic violence being quite painful to watch. If I may indulge, I would have thought having the scenes included proper, rather than relying on the trailer to fill in the blanks, would have resulted in a more emotional punch between the two female protagonists, as they turn against each other, one subtly and one none too subtle. Thing of it as watching the proper and complete Ang Lee vision of Lust, Caution, versus the castrated one which we also got to hit the screens here. Different emotional impact, period.


That aside, the film still works to a certain degree, thanks to both actresses being really daring and fleshing out their competitive characters really well, even though their physical relation really got subdued. If you could put that aside, the film continues to explore that more competitive nature of the female psyche, especially when you have two attractive girls vying for similar opportunities, all it takes is a little casual (and of course deliberately damaging) remark thrown in by the casting director's assistant, and suspicion soon brews into contempt, as every little action is perceived differently and blown way out of proportion. Like an M&M, they become friends on the outside, foes on the inside, trading little gossips, laughter at the other, saying belittling mean things behind the backs, and the likes.

And if you could not believe that the closeness of the characters didn't complicate matters, well, I share the same sentiments. The characters' sexuality isn't clear from the start, which I felt the full version would have, as mentioned, really socked in the emotional impact. It could have the potential of an additional dimension of severe jealousy, when one party decided to forgo their relationship just to advance in her career, and also that sense of betrayal having felt by the other, translating to rage that becomes a back-street brawl (which was awesome by the way). This version didn't really bring that out too well, as it became one brawl without the emotional component, just at a professional one.

Not to say that the guys here get forgotten as well, though they don't get put under so good a light. We get to peek into the guys' discussion in a bonding session over beer, which reveals their strategy and motives that I thought was simple brilliance, exploiting weaknesses for personal gains through the sharing of tips like how punters do. Fish Chaar also gets a small scene that highlights the possessive nature of a relationship such as that seen in Closer, and may make you shake your head at how he couldn't keep his temper in check, though in a situation presented, it's extremely difficult to keep a cool and level head.

Technically, this was Kan Lume doing almost everything himself in an intimate shoot under tight schedules. Natural lighting was opted and there was a conscious overexposure of images as if to center your focus on the characters and not care very much of the wider world, which the characters seem to exhibit in their bold relationship, and the nonchalance of the consequences of their actions. To avoid being too dark and gloomy, a light hearted, breezy bossa nova soundtrack was selected to accompany our experience in viewing the latest feature film from one of our boldest filmmakers in Singapore.

The original cut of the film meant for the Singapore International Film Festival was 78 minutes long, before it got withdrawn because it was passed R21 with cuts and therefore conflicting with the SIFF policy that they only screen uncut films. The version that Sinema Old School is screening will be only 70 minutes long, so if you do the math you know that you're only watching about 90% of what was. Going by the scenes in the trailer which you can watch online, the bolder, more explicit scenes between the characters obviously got the axe, but don't let that detract you from the themes that the film sought to explore.

As for film censorship issues, well I guess it's suffice to say we're still stuck at an age where screen violence is more tolerated than characters mouthing off, or sexuality, in that order of decreasing tolerance.

Related Links
One of the leads in the film, Shen Qiaoyun, is also a prominent blogger who goes by the moniker Sheylara, and she documented a very detailed Makng-Of the film Female Games over a series of blog posts which you can access here, giving you a look at what went on behind the scenes:

God is a Woman (Working Title)
Getting Ready
Day One
Day Two
Day Three (Oh yeah the cat fight is as real as it can get!)
Day Four
Off The Set

[World Premiere Screening with Cast Q&A] - Sinema Old School 22 July 2009 8pm - Detailsand for other timings, find out here.

To create that sense of realism, tension and excitement even, the fad nowadays is for filmmakers to employ the use of the nausea-inducing shaky cam. For the multiple, independent video journalists in Burma documenting instances of oppression and suppression, crying for the attention of the outside world, it's not a technique used for vanity or stylistic reasons, but one stemming from sheer necessity. One can imagine if one is caught with a video camera recording street arrests and such, where the penalty would likely be endless interrogation, to put it mildly, and probably being conveniently forgotten.

“Joshua” and his crew from DVB – Democratic Voice of Burma – a group of clandestine journalists operating from within Burma, had plenty of footage that they manage to smuggle out of the country, either through online means, or trusted couriers, where news networks had used to tell of the plight of street protesters in September 2007. Utilizing small consumer cameras hidden in bags and whisked in and out for clips lasting seconds, you can feel that real sense of danger that these folks go through just to get actual ground conditions to the outside world.

Director Anders Østergaard had assembled various clips from that fateful event where the monks took to the streets, which for days an unexpected non-response from the military government provided that spark of optimism that change was coming. For those familiar with the aftermath from that affair, watching this on hindsight made one feel a little saddened even, because we know what would be coming up next. With some moments re-enacted and spliced together with actual footages, Burma VJ became a riveting documentary where the draw is having to become a witness to what's happening on the ground being in stark contrast to official state media's interpretation, and perhaps to think about how an event as this one shouldn't be allowed to just fade away.

And the footages are nothing short of amazing, astounding, and shocking even. There was a progression of sorts technically, probably stemming from collective courage of the masses where temporal point-and-shoot strategies gave way to lengthy unflinching recordings. From the journalists' first hand accounts as seen through their viewfinders, we take to the streets with them in a “people power” movement, even going right up to the villa where Aung San Suu Kyi was held under house arrest, appearing to greet the monks. We also get a sense of how the military's strength in numbers were called upon to cordon off areas and provided a standoff with their weapons locked and loaded, and executions at point blank were all caught on camera, from grainy digital zooming of lens watching from afar.

In some ways, the film progressed as per how the movement gained momentum, in a slow brew of relatively smaller demonstrations to a frenetic charge toward large masses, before night time raids and arrests of the protesting monks led to a systematic fizzling of drive and ultimate dispersal, and the flight for cover, as the DVB journalists had to lay low following crackdown by the secret police. For the superstitious as the military junta is touted to be, there's a quick mention of Typhoon Nargis too, which I recall when it struck had many tongues wagging that it was a celestial response to what was done to the monks, here in a scene that I've never seen, a lifeless body floating on a river with a cracked skull.

Burma VJ is an powerful documentary centering on the human spirit of hope and moral courage, and I do urge anyone who has the chance to watch this, to give it a go.

*****

All The Way From Copenhagen - Director Anders Østergaard!

Just as how technology was used to overcome the primary challenge of getting the word out on the ground conditions during the crackdown in Burma, technology was also used effectively to bridge tonight's audience with Burma VJ's director Anders Østergaard in Copenhagen, where the post screening Q&A was conducted over Skype in a video chat.

A long ovation concluded the 30 minute dialogue session, and here are some excerpts from tonight's session, moderated by Gavin Low. (I do apologize for the less than stellar audio in the clips, save for the last one)


Courage


Current State of DVB


Remuneration and Royalties


Distribution and Screenings

As revealed by Anders, the DVD of the film should be out sometime in October this year, so for those interested, do keep a lookout for it!

Related Links
- Official Movie Website
- Movie Blog

Bubble Trouble

While this could be seen as an animated film targeted at kids, given the rather cute character designs of the alien species, the Terrians, the central dilemma here was squarely aimed at the adults, in presenting compelling arguments for what the alien and human characters are fighting for, and drawing you out to root for one or the other.

We know how destructive the human race is, and the film takes on this environmental message as well that we're on target to strip our planet of its resources and ultimately killing it, thus pushing our descendants into the far depths of space in looking for an alternative planet to take over, meanwhile living in an artificial space station that's about to fall apart.

As for the aliens, you're likely be drawn by their peace loving and docile ways, already isolated in their propensity for warfare, but that doesn't mean that they'll take colonization, or total annihilation, lying down. We're constantly, throughout the film, made to think about how if push comes to shove, which side will we be on, and whether a win-win situation could result. To add to the complexity, there's a war-mongering general ready to do what it takes to ensure that the human race succeeds, thus firing the first salvo of aggression.

However, the more adult like moments gave way in the last act for the filmmakers to show off their animation techniques, opting for an Independence Day-like big-bang action sequence where you throw just about everything onto the screen. If dog-fights in outer space are your cup of tea, then this film would not disappoint when you finally get there. Otherwise you'd wonder why so much screen time got devoted to cliched set action pieces which don't fully exploit its 3D qualities, and opted to put aside its relative mature and engaging premise.

Then again, this animated feature may have tried to find common ground between adults and kids, and so to a certain degree, a compromise mid-way point had to be sought. Nonetheless Battle for Terra still boasts of a relatively strong storyline (despite some reservations about its initial dabbling into religion), coupled with some clean and detailed animation, and a stellar voice cast to boot, with the likes of Luke Wilson, Danny Glover, Mark Hamill, Chris Evans, Justin Long, Amanda Peet, Dennis Quaid, Brian Cox and Evan Rachel Wood in the lead role as Terrian alien Mala.

You can read my review of Battle For Terra at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

The final part of the Samurai Trilogy, Duel at Ganryu Island outlines the transition of Takezo (Toshiro Mifune) from an undefeated and famous samurai with 60 odd matches of victory under his belt, to a semi-retirement lifestyle where he chooses to live a life of a humble farmer, before being tossed back into the game by envious enemy in waiting, Kojiro Sasaki (Koji Tsuruta). This installment contrasts the two different leading men in greater detail, where one gives up the meaningless pursuit of fame and glory, while the other in his chase of the same, knows he must rid his road block in order for a genuine claim to fame.

I thought it was interesting as it was also a contrast between real life experience and the real deal, versus one who learns from books. Takezo’s fame and fortune comes from the countless of duels he had overcome, and each dispatching of an opponent builds upon his reputation. For Kojiro’s case, here’s one lesser known samurai, no doubt skilled as we learn from Part 2 in his attainment of a certificate from a top school, but knows no fame like Takezo’s. While he is competent, many such as the Shogun still seeks out the tried and tested for his troops’ training, preferring very much someone who has shown mettle from his battle scars, versus a textbook warrior. Hence Kojiro’s envy just grows to a level of a glory seeker where he takes a step forward, and issues a duel challenge. Kojiro’s evilness becomes more pronounced here, in the way he kills just to lure our hero out.

We continue to see the mellowing changes to Takezo, in a very restraint introduction in a fight sequence no less, and quite unlike his younger, brash self, there’s a very different, almost Zen approach to various situations, though still no pushover if the situation calls for his drawing of the sword. His skills have grown considerably, and in a key scene we see him gaining admiration without physical violence, and earns a disciple in the process. In this installment, an episode with the Lord Shogun’s teacher puts him off totally, where he learns of there being no glory in dead men, that he turns toward a higher calling, to help poor villages in need of protection against bandits, in a sort of Seven Samurai way. Hence his turning back to a dream of being a farmer, and with his estranged lover Otsu (Kaoru Yachigusa) joining him in an attempt for reconciliation, Takezo has his hands full with their brand of restrained emotional love getting a little more airtime, though at least it results in closure from the open-endedness in the second film.

There are still a number of shortcomings of course, and it stemmed from the introduction of characters in the final arc of the story, such as Kojiro’s lover Omitsu (Michiko Saga), who serves little purpose than to pepper the trilogy with yet another weak woman character (though of course, quite in line with the times), and for her and her family to serve some pride in having Kojiro as a relative-to-be after his appointment by the Shogun. Little is seen beyond the demonstration of class, and for conversational pieces with Kojiro to highlight his inner desire and turmoil. Takezo’s childhood friend Matahachi (Sachio Sakai) also gets conveniently forgotten here, despite my feeling that he could have played a larger role in the lead up to the finale. But he’s relegated to a support character, undeserving of a proper sending off.

The most startling development belonged to Akemi (Mariko Okada), the tragic character whose unrequited love gives her new found strength to do something quite despicable in the series. As the adage goes, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and although the character becomes somewhat negative in her outlook, with vengeance and jealous rage clouding her mind, it’s a far cry from the helpless, innocent lass that she started out as, no thanks to a shameful episode from the past that pushed her somewhat over the edge of desperation, especially when her dreams and hopes get dashed, being a character cornered.

While some would like to argue that the best fights are to be found in the second film of the series, I thought the ultimate one, happened to be here (saving the best for last of course), where 2 top pugilist arrange to meet in a death match, each understood that the other stands in their way to claim top honours. And the steady progression made by Takezo can be demonstrated none other than his carefully crafted weapon while en route to the fabled Ganryu island, where he takes a wooden oar and shapes it into his final weapon of choice.

I thought this had plenty of significance in pugilistic stories of the East. Famed swordsman usually has precious swords in their possession, and one of the best in Chinese author Louis Cha’s folklore is - whose name I literally translate - “Lonely, Seeking Defeat”, a top pugilist who nickname spells out his frustration at being alone at the top, and without an opponent of his equal to spar with. Amongst the weapons that he has at the time of death include a humongous iron sword, and a humble wooden one. I suppose the latter will be one’s weapon of choice just because one has no need of weapons that could maim or kill. Only a confident exponent would choose to utilize a weapon from that material against an opponent with a conventional weapon, and Takezo through this simple aspect, has shown supreme assuredness over Kojiro Sasaki’s long katana “Clothes Rod”, and his famed move, the “Swallow’s Tail”.

Then again this final battle may irk some awaiting a big showdown. The two exponents spend more time running up and down the beachhead, and posing opposite each other. A battle of the minds, if you will, rather than seeking out to carelessly hack and slash. There’s a very measured response in the way they thrust and parry, and when it gets repeated, it did look like a chess game, where moves are made after long consideration, as if the battle got played out in the minds, before execution toward the end culminated in a whiplash frenzy of moves to determine the victor. It takes a little patience, but it most certainly pays off.

So what’s my verdict of the Samurai Trilogy? It’s a lot better than expected despite the transfer showing the age of the film. It moves at snail's pace no doubt, but has a couple of highly intense, though at times short, fight sequences that are still capable of wowing a modern audience. At its core, a solid story about a legend's life from zero to hero, and a transformation within himself in order to pursue a higher calling.

The Region Free DVD by Criterion is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio with monoaural sound in Japanese and English subtitles. Visual transfer, like the other films', is not pristine unfortunately, and comes with the usual noise. Scene selection is available over 38 chapters and there are no extras other than a 3:21 theatrical trailer.

Being the middle film of a trilogy, Duel at Ichijoji Temple thankfully came with a lot more battle sequences than the first film, and had more finesse in its swordplay since our legendary heroic character Takezo (Toshiro Mifune) is now a skilled swordsman, but yet to put into practice many aspects of Bushido, and often criticized in the manner in which he finishes off his opponents because of his innate brute strength and force.

But I guess when you're top dog, criticism comes part and parcel, and in his warrior pilgrimage in discovery of skill and self, we see how he further develops, though at time I felt that the story utilized a cheat sheet just like the first film, where priest Takuan (Kuroemon Onoe) locked him in a castle with plenty of books. Here, while Takezo is in hiding, he spends plenty of time indoors under the patronage of Lady Yoshino (Michiyo Kogure), a courtesan who would inculcate some compassion into the gruff man's life - while he looks refined on the outside, his ambition and reputation continue to earn him no favours, especially since he had issued a challenge to the Yoshioka School.

As a middle film, it expanded the mythology, and further developed the characters who made teasing appearances in the first one. For instance, the young man who was smitten by Akemi (Mariko Okada) turns out to be none other than the leader of the Yoshioka School, Seijuro Yoshioka (Akihiro Hirata), who in a fit of envy began to violate Akemi, taking his ineptness onto a helpless girl. Such are incidents that make the character a little revolting, and the members of his school showcased to be nothing more than mere bullies to the townsfolk, as well as constantly sucking up to Seijuro by shielding his incompetence from the real world.

The villains in this installment turn out to be more formidable than the thugs and brigands that Takezo had to deal with earlier. In fact, the first duel was a battle with an opponent using a chain-and-sickle, in compensation for the lack of a swordfight as a climax in the first film. Unfortunately I found this to be mildly exciting, as the full screen presentation only allowed for that fatal blow to be delivered off screen. The middle duel with Denshichiro Yoshioka was also somewhat of a let down given the buildup, because it only allowed a brief clashing of the weapons, before director Hiroshi Inagaki decided to cut away to a song! It felt like a little short-change, though the result of the match was made known indirectly later.

And the expansion of the characters here only made the story richer. Familiar faces like Takezo's lover Otsu (Kaoru Tachigusa) returns to pine a lot more for him after 3 years of waiting, while her ex-fiance Matahachi (Sachio Sakai) degenerates worse in character, into a good for nothing liar and a cheat, married to Akemi's scheming mom Oko (Mitsuko Mito). We also get introduced to sword polisher Hanomi (Ko Mihashi) who's supposed to play an influential role in swaying Takezo's mindset, though the narrative here didn't allow too much of that on screen, deflecting it towards Lady Yoshino, for yet another romantic entanglement, where the female characters are all weak in their knees in Takezo's manly presence.

But the most important character introduced in the film would be Kojiro Sasaki (Koji Tsuruta), the eventual nemesis of Takezo's, but you've got to wait until the next film to see them do battle. Here, Kojiro's like the predator, slowly studying and stalking his prey. We know little of his background, apart from his certification of swordsmanship, and his cool, collected demeanour as opposed to Takezo's brash emotions, so that already sets him up to be mile apart as a strong adversary in time to come. So far he has played things in quite a gentlemanly way, refusing to take cheap shortcuts, patiently and probably egoistically waiting for Takezo to attain more skills, before bringing down a powerful opponent.

Again the technical aspects of this DVD presentation left much to be desired, especially in the night or dawn battle scenes. It's not digitally remastered, so these scenes become really dark and marred the enjoyment of many outdoor fights, especially the titular one where Takezo goes up against 80 opponents, and learns for a start that evading battle may not be so bad an option, especially when one is severely outnumbered due to a sickening, dishonourable scheme to turn tables. I would have wished for a better presentation so that it would not detract your attention to pops and cackles, or unintentional hues to come and stain the picture quality.

Duel at Ichijoji Temple ended just like how it began, with Takezo continuing his journey to seek bushido-enlightenment. It wrapped up some of the life journeys and lessons learnt by the protagonist in this episode, and sets it all up for the climax to be in the last installment of the trilogy.

The Region Free DVD by Criterion is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio with monoaural sound in Japanese and English subtitles. Visual transfer, like the first film's, is not pristine and comes with the usual noise. Scene selection is available over 34 chapters, and there are no extras other than a 3:45 theatrical trailer.

I've finally gotten down to the first in the trilogy of films based on a story that has been touted as the Japanese's equivalent of Gone with the Wind. The Samurai Trilogy, directed by Hiroshi Inagaki, is based on the novel by Eiji Yoshikawa, which tells of the story of the famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi, and an intriguing character who has authored The Book of Five Rings which you can read more about here.

What more, the titular character is played by the legendary Toshiro Mifune, and that itself is a major treat and a draw for more contemporary audiences. Sadly to say, as with most first films in a series, this one sets out to establish the baseline character of Mushashi, or Takezo as he's better known in his early days, an orphan brought up by relatives and who possesses great strength, but is brash and ill-disciplined. Together with his best friend Honiden Matahachi (Rentaro Mikuni), who had to leave behind his fiance Otsu (Kaoru Yachigusa), they sign up for war in the hopes of being samurai warriors at the end of battle, only to discover they're fighting on the losing end, and become fugitives.

What transpires later involves their flight from the dark, a couple of seduction scenes by a mother-daughter pair of grave-diggers whose fancies for Takezo gets turned toward Honiden, therein splitting the two best friends up, and Takezo being persecuted by his village folk for deserting his best friend since he returned to the village as the sole survivor. But the shrewd monk Takuan (Kuroemon Onoe) sees a diamond in the rough in Takezo, and therefore sets him up to fall under his tutelage, while at the same time Takezo has to decide for himself how to deal with some new found love in Otsu.

There's romance, there's battle scenes, there's the obligatory hero who's still unsure of his destiny. By the time the film ends, it leaves you with a lot of subplots still hanging in the air, but I'm crossing my fingers that all these will be addressed in the next two installments.

It's a mid 50s film, so fight scenes aren't that polished to perfection. Instead we see Takezo's rather rough and unfanciful swordplay, in part being the gruff character that he is, knowing no finesse in the art of a duel, and also being a foil for realism, where enemies get cut down ruthlessly without wasting time. Technically one should pass over some of the shortcomings such as abrupt camera angle changes, cuts and edits, and it's indeed a pity that the film is not presented in a widescreen format, which would have been quite a spectacle given the vast landscapes that the film was shot in.

Perhaps another indication of how dated this period drama is, is in the treatment of the women characters. I guess given socio-inequality then, the women folk are seen to be terribly in need of a manly figure to be head of their household, and more than willing to be submissive, and obedient, just so to be at the side of their men. It's a far cry from today's world really, where women are far from the weaker sex they are portrayed in the film. Sure a key female character here is as conniving can be, and future installments (I've taken a look at the cast list) seem to demonstrate that there's still more to it all than meets the eye.

In short, Samurai I has set the stage, transforming Takezo from nobody, to a ready warrior yet to be tested in the real world. As he sets out for some reality based education, it would prove all the more interesting as he is likely to chance upon old friends and foes, and this time, being skilled and more refined in his ways, would prove to be engaging material for the subsequent films to deal with. Already those two film titles have "Duels" in them, so they should fill for a climatic finale battle each, given the obvious lack of a crescendo this one turned out to be.

The Region Free DVD by Criterion is presented in its original 1.33:1 aspect raio with monoaural sound in Japanese and English subtitles. Visual transfer however is not pristine and some obvious pops and cackles were visible. Scene selection is available over 34 chapters, and there are no extras other than a 2:50 theatrical trailer.

Trust Me

The main attraction of this story is not of the violent politicking between the British and the IRA, where you see how either side become both the oppressed and the oppressor with their imposition of rules and regulations executed sometimes on a whim. This film doesn't seek out to preach the truth and has from the start stated that it had taken plenty of liberties with the story, inspired by the true story of an undercover agent's role in the IRA, being a trusted source and informant to the British, until he was played out as a political pawn and had to forever be on the run. Welcome to the world of clandestine operations, where the only rule of the game is to survive.

It takes a lot to go undercover and work as a mole. This duality is already very keenly spelled out in films such as Infernal Affairs (OK, so this is a very referenced film, but one to me that had raised the bar up so high), where one can be seduced by sheer power, or corruption of morality that one's supposed to be guarded against. It's no fun having to play act all the time, constantly looking over your shoulder at every turn, and practically living in fear that you'll be discovered due to carelessness, and be dished out punishment with unimaginable pain as just desserts.

Fifty Dead Men Walking refers to the number of persons that were saved from one man's diligent work as an undercover, without whom they would be sitting ducks to assassination attempts. In being timely to surface credible information to thwart would-be incidents, you're always be put in a position where your identity will be compromised, since the number of “moles”eliminated with each unsuccessful operation, will narrow the shortlist down to a few suspects. For Martin McGartland (Jim Sturgess), a wayward youth in Belfast who doesn't take sides, he becomes the perfect cover for British Intelligence officer Fergus (Ben Kingsley), who has to convince the former of his value to the cause, the British and not the Irish one that is.

So it's not just the usual Spy versus Spy where the source Martin becomes a hero overnight, but the film traces the long and arduous road of his rise into the inner echelons, while feeding off from the support of his handler Fergus to occasionally bail him out of tight situations. It's very much based on the themes of trust and betrayal. For Martin, with every step of trust that he gains from the IRA head honchos, it's also a proportional step of betrayal that's at his disposal, with each disclosure of operational plans and targets to Fergus. And trust is not easy between him and Fergus as well, and both of them knows it very clearly that either has the power within them, at any time, to call off this understanding of truce between both men, and betray the other.

It's a film that dwells on these themes successfully, and both Sturgess and Kingsley bring their characters quite alive by their electrifying portrayals of men trying to do the right thing, to make their worlds a better place to live in and save the lives of innocents on both sides. Besides being just plain handler and source, their professional relationship grows from the testing phase where negotiated chips sometimes don't get fulfilled, to a father-son one as they realize that they only have each other to depend on, as the big picture politics start to get in the way and threaten their solid partnership. Both actors feed off this great chemistry between them to bring out common elation with each successful stint, and fear when things start to go awry.

And with success breeds contempt, which puts the last 20 minutes of the film into a gripping but eventually emotional finale, that roads paved with good intentions more often than not, lead to Hell, or in McGartland's case, an everlasting personal torture. As with all clandestine operations, a pawn who grows too successful will garner unwanted attention from those who are morally corrupt, and basically there's no such thing as a thank you note of gratitude, only instances of how useful one can be constantly. When you outlive your usefulness, expect to be tossed out like the rest of the thrash.

What sagged the film was the attempt to provide more dimension to Martin McGartland through his romantic life, in the form of live-in girlfriend Lara (Natalie Press) and a Mata Hari-type temptress and boss Grace (Rose McGowan), both of which became somewhat of a distraction to the flow of the narrative, especially the needless un-seductive moves of the latter. Otherwise, Ben Kingsley and Jim Sturgess' performances should draw you into the film, as would the themes and premise of the film.

Say Your Prayers

"Based on a true story". I've now begun to take things with a pinch of salt, because those five words more often than not just tries to give a horror film some street cred, trying to deflect some knuckles of familiarity by claiming that it's something experienced versus something dreamt up. I have one of my own too (that happened to someone else), which is based on a creepy mirror bought from Thailand being hung in a room, and thereafter a child continuously claiming that she sees a man standing by the window licking an ice cream every night. while the mom didn't and couldn't see anything, she got freaked out nonetheless. This stopped when the mirror got covered up and locked in a cupboard.

But there you go, a premise of a horror film in itself, involving a home, a parent, a kid and a (benign) ghostly apparition. The Haunting in Connecticut follows those like Amityville Horror, Psycho, Poltegeist and the likes, even shades of The Shining too if you please. It's centered upon a house which is dirt cheap in rent, but only because of the things that go bump in the night, given its dark and ugly past which Sara Campbell (Virginia Madsen) decides to take no heed of, in order to house their family close to the hospital where cancer-stricken son Matt (Kyle Gallner) has to undergo frequent therapy.

For starters, the film has a relatively strong introduction, where once you got by the rather creepy opening credits, you're introduced to the family proper. After all, it's a story about a family's ordeal (remember those 5 words?) with the supernatural, which initially got you suspecting whether it's all in Matt's hallucinating mind since he's under some strong medication, and of all places decide to make the basement into his room, complete with the set from Hostel with macabre tools complementing the decor.

But what I like about the film, is how it plays up on beliefs, such as children being able to see and somewhat interact with their "invisible friends", or for those at the brink of death given an ability to see extra things within their field of vision, since they're only a stone's throw away to the other side. In fact, this aspect plays up a lot more as the film goes on, since the potential exorcist, Reverend Popescu (Elias Koteas) happens to be Matt's fellow patient, and serves as consultant to piece together the teenager's findings of newspaper clippings, photographs, and well-preserved body parts.

Like all decent horror films, this one comes with the requisite backstory which provides the rationale why the place has additional inhabitants, suffice to say that it's a reminder never to tempt fate or play with fire, and to pick your choice of homes carefully, never one that used to be a mortuary for example. But while the family angle was off the blocks in a strong start, it whimpered toward the end by bringing in a wasteful tangent dealing with Peter Campbell's (Martin Donovan) inability to handle mounting debt pressures that his family now find themselves in.

Technically, the film scored an ace, utilizing a full repetoire of sudden movements and appearances, extreme close ups, smoke and mirrors, banging doors and flashing lights to great effect. While these may not be something that's not already cliched, and in truth being innovative and original is getting extremely tough, these tried and tested moments still worked somehow under Peter Cornwell's direction in building anticipation, just waiting for something expected to happen became part of the fun.

The Haunting in Connecticut is yet another creepy house story that's fortunately still slightly above average, where the fun factor would come with watching this with a full house of squemish teenagers who would scream at just anything that moves.

For those who have not yet experienced HERE - don't miss out on Singapore's unique feature film entry to the Directors' Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival 2009, by filmmaker and visual artist Ho Tzu Nyen! Come experience this singular cinematographic adventure!

My review can be found here.

Screening times (tickets available from Wednesday evening, 1 July)

Thursday 2/7 - 9.30pm
Friday 3/7 - 7pm
Saturday 4/7 - 4.30pm
Sunday 5/7 - 4.30pm
Monday 6/7 - 7.30pm
Tuesday 7/7 - 7.30pm
Wednesday 8/7 - 9.30pm

With New Sessions Added!
Saturday 11/7 - 3.20pm
Sunday 12/7 - 3.20pm
Monday 13/7 - 9.40pm

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What reviewers from all over the world have to say about HERE

"HERE... relentlessly forms, destroys and reforms, a different species among local films"
***1/2
- Eista Lee, zbNOW (translation)

"one of the most memorable features to have appeared recently on the local movie scene"
***1/2
- Yong Shu Hoong, my paper

"ranks among the best and most expressive films yet to come out of Singapore"
- Mathias Ortmann, sinema.sg

" a breath of fresh air"
- Tan Heng Hau, Moviexclusive.com

"a deep reflection on cinema and on human nature"
- Bruno Carmelo, Nisimazine.

"A triumph for a first-time director"
- Amanda de Guzman, The Business Times

"a beautiful aesthetic"
- l'Humanité

"a strange sensorial experience"
- DVDRAMA

"a highly sophisticated visual language and inventive montage, the story intrigues, captivates"
- les Fiches du cinéma

"an entry point into the singular artistic universe of the filmmaker"
- www.evene.fr

TICKETING DETAILS

I. Tickets available at
- The Cathay box office, 2 Handy Road, level 5
- www.cathay.com.sg (from 1 July 2009)

2. Discounts:
- 12% discount on tickets purchased at box-office only with UOB Visa card.

3. About the film
www.herethefilm.com


Tzu Nyen’s short films have competed in important festivals such as the 30th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and the 53rd and 54th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. His 2006 video, "The Bohemian Rhapsody Project" received a Special Mention at the 5th Vienna Independent Short Film Festival and the Grand Jury Prize at the 4th Pris de Courts International Short Film Festival in Paris. As a visual artist, Tzu Nyen has presented his works at numerous significant international exhibitions such as the 26th Sao Paulo Biennale (2004), the 3rd Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale (2005) and the 1st Singapore Biennale (2006). In 2008, he conceptualised, wrote and co-directed "The King Lear Project", a co-commission by the KunstenFestivaldesArts in Brussels and The Singapore Arts Festival. For the recent Singapore Arts Festivals 2009, he collaborated with Singaporean band The Observatory for the performance "Invisible Room". HERE is his first feature film.

Warrior King and Princess

I've finally got down to viewing Asoka in its entirety, given that my closest shave was when it screened on television some years back, but I got interrupted with an extremely long phone call, which left me with only 10 minutes into the start, and the last 10. Yes, I knew how it ended, but who's satisfied without getting at the meat? Moreover, the complaints that surrounded the film also intrigued me, as it really seemed that the dramatic license taken to interpret a BC-era story had met with plenty of objections for not being historically accurate.

Given India's rich history, there isn't a lack of stories involving kings of the past, such as that portrayed in Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodhaa Akbar. Asoka took on similar romantic proportions, in that at its core it has a love story to tell, rather than one focused on waging war throughout the lands, although this was touched upon in the latter half of the film, stemming from a death of his heart, and the embracing of a rage against the known world.

The first half introduces us to the star-crossed lovers, and the usual boy-meets-and-woos formula. Asoka (Shah Rukh Khan), being the favourite son of the Magahda empire, is in line for the throne, to the detest of his brothers. Rather than allow the family to disintegrate into chaos, his mum sends him away in exile to his objection, but his love for his mom meant obedience, and he journeys into rival kingdom of Kalinga incognito as a commoner. That of course still doesn't stop his brothers, especially the next in line Susima (Ajit Kumar) from continuous plotting his eradication.

Then there's Kareena Kapoor (credited as Karriena Kapoor, in her first pair up with SRK and looking more voluptuous than her skinnier self now) as Kaurwaki, the princess who together with the king-in-waiting Prince Aryan (Sooraj Balaji) and their trusted general Bheema (Rahul Dev) are in hiding because of a plot from someone in the democratic senate out to murder them to take over the throne. So you have set up a Romeo & Juliet circumstance, where descendants of the royal households fall in love, and also have to deal with the rubbish politics back home which bays for their blood.

The film paints a very emotional Asoka that Shah Rukh Khan excelled in bringing out, especially when three women in his life played an important part in his life-changing decisions, such as his mom's involvement for him to see the outside world, Kaurwaki in being his first true, and unattainable love that he yearns and pines for, and his eventual wife Devi (Hrishitaa Bhatt), a Buddhist who would be instrumental in his embracing of the religion after coming to his senses in the aftermath of his most brutal war waged just because of his insatiable appetite for more territory, though of course done in the name of uniting India.

But with romance out of the way, SRK also showed off the result of his training in the numerous swordfights he gets put into. The designers here had made his calling card, a "demonic" sword that has a bloodlust, resemble a little like He-Man's power sword, but without mythical influences of course. The other weapon that he wields, which is the more impressive of the two, is a double-bladed bendy-sword, which functions more closely as a whip. Nasty piece of equipment that, though Kareena herself do have set action sequences dedicated to her and showed she's no pushover too.

While the story shows how Asoka transforms through the stages, the middle section surprisingly was the best part, as it was the bridge between the two distinct halves which straddles the romance and the warrior aspects. Here Santosh Sivan and Saket Chaudhary's screenplay takes on liberties into bridging the two together, and it's quite engaging, with that sense of dramatic irony always omnipresent, and Fate having a field day with the characters involved, providing a catalyst for that inevitable charge toward change. It's somewhat predictable of course, but presents that sense of impending doom and gloom that the narrative turns towards.

For a film made in 2001, the editing here did seem a little jarring, but further research explained that this was inherent to the version of the DVD viewed, which included a very obvious missing Interval title-card, which splits the film into two given the industry's run time for films. The song sequences of the movies now try not to have spatial and time warps and transportations, and for a film back then, it's still a technique (if you will) used to put the romancing characters in far out locales and situations. I'm not complaining, since my favourite song of the film has this incredible dance sequence between King Khan and Kareena (choreographed by Farah Khan) beautifully filmed against some surreal, haunting backdrops.

I suppose if anyone wanted to know a bit more of the warrior king, then this wiki link would be something you want to look at. Otherwise, I feel that this interpretation for the screen would also suffice, though stopping short at what Asoka is more renowned for, the propagation of Buddhist teachings across asia, and his emblem, the Chakra, emblazoned on the Indian flag of today.

The Region Free DVD by First Look Pictures Home Entertainment and is presented in anamorphic widescreen format. Unfortunately the picture quality isn't pristine and looked more like a conversion from a VHS format, with noticeable pops, cackles, hisses and line scratches. Audio is presented in your choice of Dolby Stereo or Surround in its original Hindi language track, with selectable subtitles in either English or Malay. Scene selection is available over 12 chapters.

The Special Features include a Trailer (1:31) presented in letterbox format, and a Filmographies section which is actually individual pieces of one page of text biographies for Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Rahul Dev, Hrishitaa Bhatt, Suraj Balaji and director Santosh Sivan.

As always, a staple in a Bollywood DVD is a Song Selection section, and the ones here jumps you straight into the point of the film where the song is featured. Too bad you gotta use the Menu button on your remote to get you back to this sub-menu. Asoka offers a total of 5 songs - San Sanana, Aa Tayar Hoja, O Re Kaanchi, Raat Ka Nasha, and my favourite of the film - the slow ballad Roshni Se, where the visuals resemble Shah Rukh and Kareena going through some classical dance moves. A pity about the subtitles though, as they all disappear halfway.

Two Making Of documentaries are included here, presented in a mix of letterbox and 4x3 Full Frame formats. The Making of Asoka (21:06) is the standard behind the scenes look, though it doesn't contain a lot of production clips, instead more film clips were interspersed between interviews with cast and crew. It starts from how the film was conceptualized, and goes through each of the technical aspects of the film from art direction to music.

The Making of Asoka: The Big Fight (20:58) focuses on the climatic Kalinga War, which is one of the unique selling points of the movie. Again the usual interviews with the director, cast and action director Shyam Kaushal, with a lot more behind the scenes clips her which gives you a peek at the staggering amount of logistics, equipment, animals and planning to stage this all under 4 days. Listen to SRK too as he talks about hair extensions getting in the way, the sword fights, heavy costumes, and his love for animals in making this sand and sandals epic.

Sharing is Caring

I think Ice Age has already established a strong franchise, and if it sticks to its own narrative formula, it should still find some legs to carry on the laughs with more movies to come, since the character base keeps on expanding, and unless the box office receipts tells the filmmakers otherwise. Like the adage goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

As always, the film opens with the adventures of Scrat from what you would already have seen from the trailer, where he encounters Scratte and has to decide which to give up, a potential relationship with a lover who sometimes prove to be manipulating his feelings, or that perennial piece of acorn that is always just as elusive. That'll bring you to the opening credits, before you're introduced to the all too familiar characters in Manny (Ray Romano) and Ellie (Queen Latifah) the Mammoths, Sid (John Leguizamo), Eddie (Josh Peck) and Crash (Seann WIlliam Scott) the possums, and Diego (Denis Leary) the sabre-tooth tiger, that rag-tag team of a makeshift herd who have stuck together through thick and thin, ready for one more adventure.

The story's somewhat scattered this time round, with each character being pre-occupied with their respective concerns. Many and Ellie having to face some jitters with the looming expectations in being new parents, and in so this threatens the dynamics of their herd, with the aging Diego having his morale low due to his physical deterioration and decision to leave the herd, and Sid being a little more idiotic than before, this time adopting some three baby dinosaurs as his own kids.

And because this surrogate parent role was especially not welcomed by the baby dinosaurs parent, which turns out to be of the T-Rex species, Sid's failure to give them back meant they all had to be forcefully taken to the dino's natural habitat, in a lost world still filled with lush greenery and plenty of other roaming prehistoric, and supposedly extinct creatures. In other words, with the action taking place in this part of the world, the title "Ice Age" did somewhat seem like a misnomer, as gone are the usual white, snow covered environment, that made way for thick forests and undergrowth.

Which somewhat took the polish off the film, and I felt that both the characterization and the plot and subplots suffered. The usual themes which has been beaten to death in the earlier films, like trust, sacrifice and friendship get repeated again here, and the first half of the film really looked tired despite the 3D enhancement that I've opted for, with only depth of field, and as far as I can tell, no specific set action sequence to milk the potential of a 3D presentation. The story became bogged down with trying to handle too many different character motivations at the same time that it only managed to give each some cursory attention.

Thankfully the slack was picked up in time for quite an exciting finale. This was in fact like a culmination of what the new character, voiced by Simon Pegg, could do, as Buck the possum which had gone bonkers. The filmmakers here seemed totally satisfied with allowing Buck to steal the show, and stole the film it did, with his Jack Sparrow-like swagger for that sense of adventure, coupled with an unsound mind, a fearless and gung-ho attitude, and plenty of wonderfully crafted dialogues and comedic instances. Comedy, a staple in the Ice Age movies, seemed to be stuck at a low with the usual name-dropping references to pop culture that Buck actually arrived at the right time to save the day.

What could be a problem was of course the lack of a strong antagonist to shake things up a little. In the first installment we got the sabre-tooth tigers, and the second being a fight against the nature's wrath. This one had a tough cookie dinosaur in a T-Rex, but seriously, do we need another Rex as a bad character? Otherwise the "villains" just pop up whenever the situation calls for it, or became a sort of an enigma before finally appearing for some 2-3 minutes worth of screen-time. This made the film lose that sense of urgency in developing its narrative, and looked for the most parts that it was just coasting along, waiting for something major to happen.

Given the way it bade farewell, I think there is still enough fuel for a couple more Ice Age movies, but the next time, I'm hoping for a lot more focus, a lot more genuine comedy, and for the animation to remain as flawless as it currently already is, if not better. Amongst the three, my least liked, story-wise, but it surely had the most memorable character of the lot in Buck.

Don't Hurt Me

I suppose I'm just hungry for an engaging tale about corporate espionage, given an occupational interest in the subject, and most times the stories usually find an easy way out in their scenarios that it all seems a little far fetched, or implausibly weak in execution because sometimes simple and effective counter-measures exist in the real world that having to see it on screen means an insult to the audience's intelligence to a certain degree.

In recent times Tony Gilroy had written and directed the excellent Michael Clayton, a tale about a corporate hatchet and fix-it man, and wrote the engaging thriller State of Play released a few weeks back. He continues his run with Duplicity, and delivers the payload in satisfying fashion, but only if you're paying careful attention to its proceedings, thanks to his rather detailed treatment of the subject, plenty of twists and turns to muddle the waters, and a non-linear narrative that will make you work hard for the result. In a way it puts you in the middle of the operations, where one conglomerate goes after his rival's impending secret in order to scoop its thunder, while also saving money on R&D by copying yet to be patented formula. It's never easy trying to assemble facts or carry out an espionage operation, and watching this film would make you feel the same sense of frustration when you're racing against time and not getting clear answers.

Clive Owen and Julia Roberts reunite for the big screen after their turn as a couple in Mike Nichols' Closer, where infidelity destroyed their relationship. Here, as ex-covert agents Ray Koval (Owen) and Claire Stenwick (Roberts), they too are faced with a predicament, especially when their personal and professional lives clash, and the occupational hazards dealing with trust, even toward each other. Having met in a function in Dubai in 2003, the couple hit off on the wrong note, where Claire inadvertently causes Ray's career to be put on the line when he ditched his professionalism for a little booty time, but a makeup rendezvous in Rome a few years later, made them both realize they were better off paired together, and hatched a plan to leave their respective agencies to head toward private enterprise where the money is.

Part of the fun here is how it also becomes a battle of the sexes, coupled with intense trust issues, that you just wouldn't know who's playing who, and who's being sincere and genuine. For the most parts, it does seem that Claire always seem to be a leg or two up (pardon the intentional pun) against Ray, though the latter sometimes managed to hold his own, but just barely. In a game of who blinks first, I guess the guys make it a point to give some chance to the ladies. Roberts and Owen seem to be having a field day too with their roles here, and this made it all the more fun to watch them go at each other, with every chance meeting being a test of their resolve to have their carefully planned mission carried out, while faced with couple issues, such as things like open and frank discussions.

What I particularly enjoyed about the film, is how the issue of trust also extended beyond the couple, and into their respective intelligence gathering, and counter-intelligence teams. Being on both sides of rival conglomerates, each have their own modus operandi, though the team for the company headed by Paul Giammati's arrogant and conniving Richard Garsik seem to be unapologetic with using whatever arsenal of methods at their disposal in order to get the job done. Suffice to say that the human link is always the weakest and easiest to be exploited, and I won't be surprised if tactics shown here do happen, that of being friendly in order to take advantage of lonely souls who open up to companionship, temporal or otherwise, in the fishing of information or unauthorized entry.

For those who are expecting a romance story, then sorry this is the wrong show. Romance is not the real deal here, but a carefully planned corporate espionage adventure this is instead, and one which kept my interest piqued through its wits and smartness, going into the shortlist for one of the best I've seen thus far.

War of the Roses

Akshay Kumar must have felt that 2009 thus far was harsh on him. While I had enjoyed his earlier offerings of the year with the Hollywood-funded kungfu extravaganza Chandni Chowk to China, and his Nicolas Cage-like role in a thriller film like 8x10 Tasveer, critics have generally panned both of those films. Unfortunately I think he had lost me on this one, which was a film of two halves, the first which I enjoyed, but it became quite a drag to plough through after the interval.

Kambakkht Ishq is a film supposedly about the battle of the sexes, with Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor flying the flag for their respective gender. Their characters are both single-mindedly focused on their career, and marriage to them is an outdated institution. For Akshay's Viraj Shergill, he's a stuntman earning his keeps in Hollywood, and gets introduced through, what else, an action sequence. We learn that he's also quite the chauvanist and the womanizer, and his introduction, together with brother Lucky (Aftab Shivdasani), seemed to have taken a leaf out of Matthew McConaughey's Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, where he tries to rationalize with his brother not to get through with his matrimony with Kamini (Amrita Arora). In fact, Viraj as a smooth-talking ladies man, seemed like an amalgamation of all the recent McConaughey film characters.

At the same wedding, Kareena's Simrita Rai proves to be quite the ultra-feminist, and believes that man chase skirts for one objective only. Her views on stuntmen, being merely poor substitutes for the real thing, seemed to have plenty of potential at being explored further. But instead what we got was a rather meek attempt at discrediting those who work their butts off to bring out the best in action sequences, and the film seemed a little unapologetic at those sweeping statements. Simrita too was made to look like a Jeckyll and Hyde character, balancing modelling with medical school, where she needed the former assignments to pay for the latter's fees as a surgeon-in-waiting, which was already a first step in implausibility, adding to that a situation that was highly impossible involving surgery and misplaced personal artifacts, but probably brought on the best laughs when delivered by Akshay Kumar.

Then again this is supposed to be a comedy and not taken seriously. For the most parts prior the interval, there were enough moments crafted to tickle your funny bones. The song and dance sequences too were high energy, comedic, and needless to say Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor share some great on-screen chemistry together (the other collaboration I saw them in was Tashan). Akshay proves again that he has great comic timing and the initial song and dance sequences brought out some mischievious play when he tries to rag Kareena's Simrita, which unfortunately gave way to romantic melodrama in the second half where the narrative decided to turn it into a mediocre romantic film where Viraj does a sudden about turn in letting his heart rule over his other head, totally forgetting the challenge he was set out to perform.

Akshay excelled in what he does best as well, and that's the high octane, energetic role as a stuntman. While the film had managed to garner some street cred for it being filmed in Hollywood, for the most parts the large scale action sequences which Akshay was plonked into, turned out to be nothing more than the various set action sequences that are on offer when you tour the Universal Studios theme park. I guess that's one way of ensuring that the bottom line is being watched, but I felt it probably would have made it easier on the Viraj character if he was more of a performing stuntman in a theme park, rather than an actual action body double for some of the finest in Hollywood.

Sabir Khan, who had a hand in directing and co-writing the screenplay with Ishita Moitra, could have kept the narrative tight, and to have junked some really unnecessary characters like Simrita's friends and extended family, who just bloat the screentime, and probably were included to offer one counterpoint of advice. A swindler in LA who ended up spending a lot of time at the hospital talking about lawsuits was also a time-waster, being remotely funny and more of an irritant and again, unnecessary. I guess Khan has to re-evaluate necessity of characters in the next film he does, while keeping an eye on the pacing, and shifts in narrative from first half mostly passable comedic moments, to a second half filled with melodramatic, tired romances. While this is possibly a Bollywood invading Hollywood type of film, it should have gone a lot more beyond shooting on location.

Then again, that provided a reason for Hollywood stars to make special guests appearances largely by playing themselves in this film, such as Brandon Routh being the buddy of Viraj, Sylvester Stallone the idol that Viraj looks up to, and Denise Richards, well, being the temptress who becomes the competition for Viraj's affections. While it proved to be a novelty, with the crowd going wild each time they appeared, it was quite a wait for the latter two stars to appear, after the interval no less. Additional glamour came in the form of canned red-carpet images, so that the likes of Brangelina, and Tom cruise could sneak an uncredited appearance.

Kambakkht Ishq could have been engaging throughout, and it's a pity that the narrative decided to tangent off its set path of predictability into implausibility in double quick time. On hindsight now, the trailer was cut with the most interesting parts, and should have really stuck to a more focused battle of the sexes tale. Watch it for the first half, and you can skip everything else after the interval, unless you must watch those Stallone scenes. Oh yes, and nothing beats watching this with fans who will wolf-whistle, clap, cheer and jeer at the characters at every step or misstep that they make. I guess watching this with a highly responsive crowd also helped to make it a little bit more bearable during the downturns.

In recent times, I guess we're all too familiar with the bad press that North Korea is getting, especially in its nuclear weapons programme. One of the last hardlined communist states left in the world, we often wonder what goes on behind that iron curtain, in its reclusive behaviour that have spawned many questions with little forthcoming answers. And documentaries which offer a sneak peek into what goes on behind that veil of secrecy, would also be cast a doubtful eye whether the filmmakers were gagged from painting a more subjective angle.

Naturally, getting permission to shoot within North Korea isn't easy, and Daniel Gordon and his crew spent more than 3 years obtaining that nod, and for the fact that they were allowed unprecedented bandwidth to capture what they needed for their movie (and I guess the good job they did with this, opened another door for their other North Korean documentary titled A State of Mind). For those interested in the landscape of the state beyond the much publicized mass displays and sabre-rattling military parades, this film offers a wonderful montage of life in the country, with plenty of everyday scenes fused into one sequence that was, in my opinion, too short, as it left you wanting more.

But let's get back to the subject matter, and that's the exploration of what happened to the North Korean football team of 1966, who were very much written off by pundits all over despite their hard work at overcoming Australia in the qualifiers, which stemmed very much from a history left unlearned, just like how the Western forces underestimated the drive and will to win of the Imperial Japanese forces in WWII. The filmmakers had tracked down almost all the surviving members of that team of 66, and one just cannot believe that they're hardly the straight-laced, serious folks that one would expect anyone to become after living under a hard regime all their lives.

The film straddles between the present and the past, allowing each man to recount their moment of glory on a world stage. Everyone had a sense of humour, and this shows during their interviews, being extremely free with their words and candid in their responses, quite contrary to what one would expect, with minders probably being close by nodding in approval at what was mentioned, but it's not the case. In many ways, Dan Gordon's film will open up many eyes, that politics aside, they too are human beings with the same hopes and dreams, with experience to share, and the desire to do so with fellow friends, no matter what political system they live under. And you can't help but to chuckle at how confused these guys were when they finally made that leap into democracies during their tour of duty, which on one hand they're pretty focused on their mission, and on the other in awe at the frenzy happening around them.

This film can also be deemed as a football film in a certain sense, since it had archived a slice of qualifying action for that sole Oceania-Africa-Asian spot in the World Cup finals of 16 teams then. The 1966 World Cup will always be remembered for a few things, and for football fans, this film presents and showcases some of those aspects, in a year where England hoisted its only World Cup trophy to date, and on home soil too. For those who are familiar with footballing legends, then this film offered us a glimpse of the 1965 minted European footballer of the year, and top scorer of the tournament in Portugal's Eusebio. You'll also bear witness to how the rules of the sport had evolved, as back then substitutes were not allowed.

But like most sports too, there's always this deep affinity with the underdogs, and the North Korean team, being the representative of Oceania, Africa and Asia, had its work cut out for them. And probably their success in making up for their lack of technical skills with fitness, speed and energy to chase down every ball, though lacking accuracy up front to make it count for something. Their “Chollima” mindset and swelling of pride not to let their fatherland down, that never-say-die attitude, could have also endeared the team to many fans in Britain, especially the Middlesbrough folks who have adopted the team as their own. And the never-ending debate on teamwork versus individual flair cannot be more keenly defined when witnessing how through teamwork the North Koreans have overcome opponents, though thanks to the Portuguese's Eusebio he had single handedly, through conscious body-language., turned the tide in a riveting match that the filmmakers had managed to condense into a tense finish.

The film also tries to insert statements whenever it can on how the role of sports can be used to promote harmony and goodwill, in building bridges and strengthening ties, and cutting through politics and the sore memories of war, between those who were fighting on opposite sides a decade ago. But I guess the true value here is that peek behind the iron curtain, and for footballing fans, an extremely well made documentary that brings a blast from the past in one of the World Cup's defining moments.

Protection

It's been a relatively long wait for the sequel to 20th Century Boys, and a word of warning to those who intend to catch The Last Hope. Either you have to be a thorough fan boy of the first film to have a photographic memory of what developed, or you'd have just recently watched it on DVD, in order to be able to dive right into this film's proceedings. Being a fan of the manga series probably wouldn't help as much since the story would depart from the established mythos, and it's sad to say there isn't so much of a recap of key events and characters from the first film. You have been warned, and newbies better stay away.

Otherwise, save for the film starting off with a flashback scene into the 70s, the film is set some 15 years after the climax of its predecessor, where the group of friends are now termed terrorists, and "Friend" is the recognized saviour of the world, having become leader of Japan, and well-respected leader to the world. After all, history is written by the victor, and "Friend" has ensured that the students in school are inculcated into his version of the truth.

Kanna Endo (Airi Taira), the niece of Kenji Endo (who doesn't feature in this installment), takes over the mantle as The Chosen One. Just what she's chosen for is quite vague, other than her lineage and what could be deemed as super-powers in her fighting ability, which doesn't get exploited much, leaving a lot of room for interpretation just what her value is to the plot. She suffers from weak characterization, and got bogged down with protecting two transsexuals, searching for her mom, infiltrating "Friend"'s cult camp, and learning some back-story of her uncle and his friends.

The other characters of course were the older versions of some of Kenji's gang, from Occho (Etsushi Toyokawa) to Yukiji (Takako Tokiwa), lending again some bewildered moments as they get caught up trying to learn of "Friend"'s identity, and his next scheme. Unfortunately, the narrative's played out in rather straightforward fashion, and before the mid-way mark is reached, you'll expect what that would just be, thanks to a careless slip where you see the initial seeds of the plan being worked on, since the childhood days. There's also a New Book of Prophecy, and rather than come up with some earth-shattering self-fulfilling prophecies like the first installment, it has, wait for it... one prophecy to develop in the whole 2.5 hours.

New characters were also introduced, and here's yet another negative point that the film chalked up effortlessly. Many of the new faces just turn up with little background, and you've to swallow it as is. Some are added for (poor) comedic effect, like Kanna's klutzy schoolmate Kyoko Koizumi (Haruka Kinami) and honest, bullied cop Detective Chono (Naohito Fujiki), but a lot of characters were just there for the numbers, such as the Thai and Chinese mafioso, and well-connected priest Father Nitani (Naomasa Rokudaira). I guess we would only know their extent of relevance come the third film, if they do get an opportunity to show something worth their salt.

The only plus point which does get tired after a while, is how fanatical any cult follower can be, in complete obedience to their appointed leader. In this film "Friend"'s aims to cement his reputation, and has his own inner circle of members inducted through specially designed camps. One can just laugh at the proceedings, and especially at the camp leaders in their extremely artificial show of sincerity toward all new recruits whom they want to win over. It's quite scary how uniform they all behave, and their conformity to one another just seem all the more fake especially when someone breaks ranks, and doesn't exhibit approved behaviour.

20th Century Boys 2 suffered from your classic middle-movie syndrome, being sandwiched as part of a planned trilogy. Not every middle film can stand alone and make sense without too much reference to its predecessor, and I guess the acid test is whether a new viewer would be able to watch this film as the starting point. The fact is it can't, and with the expectation that this film will definitely come without a real ending, it probably will just frustrate you until the third and final chapter come rolling along. So all you can do for this one, is to sit back after the end credits roll for the trailer of the final film, and trust me, that short clip is equally baffling as this film.

I only hope that this series would be worthwhile investing time in when seen as a whole trilogy.

Triangle

If someone attractive were to flash at you, say in the form of Ali Larter, I guess our eyes will be peeled to what lies under. However, under the hands of director Steve Shill, the minute that happened, you're likely to reel against that awful looking lingerie, complete with granny styled undies. And that's probably the reaction you're gonna get throughout this film, which tried its hand to build suspense, tension and terror when an infatuated girl allows her fantasies to run amok, wrecking the resolve of big time executive Derek (Idris Elba) and his wife Sharon (Beyonce Knowles).

But this is not a Fatal Attraction, because the lust somehow got consummated offscreen, and to much rejection by Derek against the advances of Larter's Lisa, an attractive femme fatale who recently got a temp(tress) job at his firm. I guess they say money, fame and power attracts, so Lisa goes for the kill almost instantly, picking up plenty of intimate tips from his personal assistant with a loose mouth.

The film showed some flashes (pardon the pun) of potential, such as the notion of what goes around coming around to haunt you and provide that tinge of insecurity, but largely wasted by a very verbatim pacing which insisted on showing and developing a lot of back story to build up the attraction between the characters of Lisa and Derek, but this ultimately gave way no thanks to a lot of lull moments. I felt that Shrill could have tightened the narrative up a little, rather than let many scenes just drag on.

Beyonce for once doesn't sing in the film she stars in, but that didn't provide for any breakthrough in performance, as she drew the shortest end of the stick where characterization is concerned. Her Sharon scores an about turn, though some may appreciate it for that bit of unintentional humour, where she becomes this thrash-talking bitch who shows the office slut who's the boss and just who wears the pants in the house. Her confrontation with Lisa would on one hand allow you to enjoy some serious cat-fights, and on the other just make you shake your head in disbelief. Beyonce, given her goody-image, does lapse into being Beyonce at a crucial moment, and I guess this is for the sake of some damage control after the hilarious and ridiculous finale.

Obsessed tried to be smart, but in the end succumbed to just being quite juvenile in its presentation, with a below average story that couldn't really end off with a bang, but with a whimper.

You can read my review of Obsessed at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

Bound Together

From Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World to Sky of Love, it's almost a given to have a local release of the hottest Japanese teenage romance movie in Singapore. After all, it seemed like the Koreans have fizzled out, while the Japanese are still going on strong in this genre as far as local box office releases are of any indication. Given novels that are churned out and translated for the big screen, there's no lack of new genre material, and with up-and-coming stars waiting in the wings, there's no better way to get them acquainted with audiences through films that paint a saccharine sweet picture of Love.

There are plenty of cliché moments that one would expect from a Japanese romance, and Threads of Destiny is no different, having its title already telling you that Fate is a major player in allowing development of characters and the plot to stick to a formula that manipulates your emotions, from seething with anger, to reaching out for that tissue. Someone once told me that there's no need to have characters explicitly declare their love for each other, as a more subtle, restrained approach that the Japanese ones take, will work more wonders. That's so true of a film like this one.

One would be surprised that the film is actually a “middle section” sandwiched between its television series starring the same cast, picking up from, and trailing off for the TV series to continue, but fret not as the film is quite standalone. I particularly marvelled at the way novelist Mei's internet tale had planted a very simple back story for her characters to build from. In many ways, it's very much superior as a gimmick than local romantic film The Leap Years ever could be, basing it on an event that took place on a leap year, and director Shosuke Murakami's deft handling of flashbacks on that premise that worked wonders, before leaving it to the coda at the end to finally provide a detailed, and full account. The pace was remarkably lightning fast, and yet being able to jam pack the narrative with plenty of dramatic incidents to move the story forward in an engaging manner, being cautionary on harmful drug use, and the nature of a violent relationship, one which will draw some surprises and anger at the same time.

Schools are a hotbed for relationships to develop, and Fate will always have a field day with its messing around with a whole of characters in forming triangles and rectangles. Centering around the affections between Atsushi Nishino (Junpei Mizobata) and Mei Takemiya (Nao Minamisawa) and their group of middle school friends, it soon becomes a web of messy emotions that led to heartbreak, misunderstandings and perceived backstabbing, before one of them is ordered to be out of the equation for the greater good. Just what this is would be saved for a revelation later on, but the narrative will have the star crossed lovers spend considerable their screen time apart from each other, if only for you to root for them to be together as their personal lives begin to spiral a little out of control.

Then again, the notion of true love is not always requiring to be together all the time, allowing room for a budding romance to grow, and is an important lesson that everyone who's in a relationship will attest to, and learn to manage as well. It'll also leave you wondering about things like pining for someone, promises of everlasting love/protection or to go with the next best alternative just because time had presented that bit of convenience. As the saying goes, what's yours will be yours, and destiny has its hand in ensuring that. A little bit contrived (and something I don't really believe in) but that's the mantra you have to buy into. Incidents presented here aren't too far fetched though, dealing with topics such as drug abuse and domestic violence issues, the latter seemingly running parallel to the recent Chris Brown-Rihanna bust up, pat right down to the defense of that act of violence.

One can be thankful that there's no clichéd, staple illness to spoil the works here, though the ending might prove a little unsatisfying given the way it had built up, and the cliffhanger that you're left in. Recommended? Certainly, especially after the trailer had been cut quite haphazardly and unappealing. And given the nature the film is designed, I'm more than curious to follow up on the television series to see what happens next in the lives of Atushi and Mei.

Gang of Four

I'm quite the sucker for films with con jobs, or about con-men going about designing elaborate ruses to rip off their mark, and then riding off into the sunset with their ill gotten gains. Films such as Confidence starring Ed Burns (and also Rachel Weisz) and Matchstick Men with Nicolas Cage and Sam Rockwell never fail to entertain me each time I watch them, and I'd want to add The Brothers Bloom to that list as well.

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, whose only film credit so far is the excellent Brick, with The Brothers Bloom he proves that he's not a one hit hack job, and continues to showcase his very creative, visual eye for beautiful images, and possession of a very keen storytelling sense in elevating a story about 2 con-men into fairy tale proportions.

Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody play the titular brothers Stephen and Bloom, who together with mute-by-choice Japanese sidekick Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi) who’s anything but quiet, take on the world as confidence tricksters, milking the rich for some of their spare change by entering their lives, setting up the game plan, executing it to a tee, then disappearing, more often than not with Death roped in so that they could get away scot free. The prologue is most memorable and stylishly presented, setting the stage in which these two orphan boys would eventually find their calling in the world, and shape their characters.

And characters are what you must credit Johnson with, creating two brothers who are as different as the left and ride lobe of the brain. In Stephen he has crated the mastermind, the brains behind the multi-step con game each so succinctly written as one-liners that they are also used as inter-titles to logically slice the film into chapters. To Stephen, the end will justify any means, and he's quite the stone cold one with genuine affections only for his brother Bloom, looking out for him as they defend themselves from the harsh realities of the world.

In Stephen's con stories does Bloom come alive, being the intimately emphatic actor and becoming the catalyst for the duo’s grand scheme of things. Adrien Brody brings about a lot of sensitivity to the role, being the timid of the brothers, yearning to live a richer, more fulfilling life than one which is based on deceit and always a puppet of his brother’s script, manipulated to such an extent that calls for betrayal of trust, and an incident from childhood that forever haunts his memory (that introductory sequence is incredibly sassy too). Undoubtedly it leaves them both with plenty of money, but materialism cannot satisfy the itch for a more meaningful life, and thus his contemplation of quitting, to Stephen’s despair.

The excellent character pieces also extend to the main wildcard in the story, that of Rachel Weisz's Penelope, a rich heiress stuck in her own four walls, spending time collecting hobbies and an innate array of skills, with no plans for the future and just living for the moment. In both Penelope and Bloom, they find an instant connection, being hermits in a cave, and now with each other, finding it all the more worthwhile to emerge from their shells. This story is also of their tale of growing up together and finding common connection, between themselves and the world. It also becomes a romantic movie for a little while, with Penelope’s infectious enthusiasm being rubbed off and onto Bloom, that bit of optimism dousing out the negativity constantly felt by the latter, and get you in the mood to cheer both of them on as well.

One cannot review the film without making mention the production values. Eastern Europe provided much of the picturesque backdrop on which the story got told, jet-setting from one locale to another, while the costumes and suits used in the film, primarily in black and/or white, were simply gorgeously designed, that you'd do a double take at how pretty they look (or is it because the stars have the charisma to carry them off).

The Brothers Bloom is an aesthetically gorgeous movie, and one that shouldn’t be missed for its wonderful cast and tightly woven and witty storyline. In fact I enjoyed it so much, that it ranks amongst my favourites of the year. A pity that it’s only screening at one hall in Singapore, so make it a point to experience a film that’s wildly exceptional from the current crop of stale summer blockbusters.