Grown Ups

Male BFF

It's been some time since I consistently laughed that loud during a comedy; I will unabashedly say that despite its lukewarm performance at home, I had enjoyed this for the zaniness and the assembling of an ensemble of comedians who seem to be having a ball of a time in bringing this film to fruition. Written by Adam Sandler and Fred Wolf, director Dennis Dugan probably got it easy to bring them all working together since he's work with most of the marquee names in films like You Don't Mess With The Zohan, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and The Benchwarmers, and yes, I'd enjoyed those mentioned comedies too.

The gist of the story tells of a get together of best basketball friends at the time of their coach's death. Having not seen each other for so long, they decided to spend the Fourth of July weekend together with their respective families in their old hang out as an extension to their meetup, to relive the good old days. Naturally each brings their own set of issues to the table, but the film offers them up more for laughs, and a lot of focus going for Sandler's Lenny Feder in settling with his jet-setting wife Roxanne (Salma Hayek) and spoilt brat kids, because daddy is now some big shot Hollywood agent.

The film reminisces how life was like back at a time when technology was not so pervasive and prevalent, and a time when growing up meant getting together with other kids and have fun in the real world, not virtually through a computer or communication medium. It dwells on how technology has inevitably evolved our lifestyles and that of the next generation's, that they are missing out on the good old days in the building of character, resilience and experience. Children need to get out of their shells of comfort to live life, if that's what the message in the film is all about, and as adults, we should learn to hang loose from our hectic lifestyles once in a while, to chill with close friends whom we hold no secrets to.

But let's not kid ourselves, we're in this film to see the likes of, besides Sandler and Hayek, the other cast members of Kevin James who automatically assumes all jokes regarding physicality (and I suppose he's on his way to become a great physical comedy actor), Maria Bello being the mum who still breastfeeds her four year old kid, Chris Rock as the unappreciated house husband, Maya Rudolph as his very pregnant, alpha-female wife, David Spade as the only bachelor amongst the group of friends and whose acid tongue doesn't spare anyone from his barbs, Rob Schneider as the spiritual weirdo whose wife is of a granny's age, and Joyce Van Patten as that still-sexually active senior citizen.

Most of the best scenes come from the cast members getting together, either during the guy's hang out, or the ladies themselves, or when everyone gets together for meals or an evening wind down, that the good natured jabs and barbs come fast and furious. It seemed like their ad-libbing aplenty here, with each given a free role to outwit one another, that makes this comedy work wonders especially when everyone's delivering their punchlines with natural ease, building on the energy created by peers.

And that's not forgetting the zany situations they find themselves in, which of course are engineered for laughs, such as those at the water theme park, the diner, and the carnival. Almost every scene here pays off and don't overstay their welcome, knowing jolly well when to cut short any unfunny moments, and when to allow situations to run a little bit longer when everyone seemed to be on a roll.

It's a get together of friends and family that most of us can identify with, because if we have a bunch of close friends and it's time to get together, I suppose we're all up for similar shenanigans, or at least be up for some good natured ribbing amongst one another over food and drinks, and probably relive the old days by doing some of the things we do back then, that makes this film run parallel with our own realities. This one's a winner in my books, and I highly recommend it.

Like Sunshine After Rain

Fancy a Bite?

I've just about started reading Amir Muhamad's book on 120 Malay Movies, and as highlighted the Malay films from the era long gone intertwines closely with the relationship Singapore has with Malaysia, and I thought that it's also holding true in today's context of filmmaking. Be it the local independent film scene or the mass commercial films, the cross-Causeway cooperation and productions seem to be on the rise these days, with the latest being PCK The Movie, and other comedies ranging from Ah Long Pte Ltd to Love Matters, just to name a few. On the indie front, Kan Lume has also directed the modestly budgeted Female Games set in Malaysia and starring two good looking female leads, which is something of a similar strategy adopted in Jeffrey Chiang's Like Sunshine After Rain, shot in 2008.

Julie Hoi aka Julie Woon, the model-host from Malaysia (and one time race queen too), adorns the cover of this month's FHM Malaysia, and frankly from the movie poster, one could have gathered that this could be our equivalent of any Nia Vardalos film with the sunshine bright demeanour and the toothy grin (somehow the image of Vardalos comes to mind). However, the film is not a romantic comedy, and neither does Julie's character Jia Wei possess that sprightly character in her.

Instead, we learn from the start that she's an abused woman, and finally deciding that enough is enough, she packs up, and takes a bus to Taiping in an attempt to escape from her man. In Taiping, Perak, land of tranquil and natural beauty, she walks kilometers which in the meantime serves as a tourism video of some of the sights and sounds of the town, before deciding to settle at the simple Peking Hotel where her room comes without an attached bathroom, and through serendipity, work at The Piano Cafe, a charming place operated by Hui Jin (Cindy Chen) and her chef (Tony Wong), the people who will inevitably touch her life, and show her that life is not always doom and gloom, and that opportunities for happiness still exist in the world. If they can get her to move out of Peking Hotel first, where she continues to have nightmares (no, not a horror film) and jump at every telephone ring.

If I have the license to coin this term (and please let me know if it's coined before, or I will claim it as my creation), this film is the exact equivalent of a Bromance, which I now call Sismance (OK, laugh if you like, I'm getting this into Oxford). If Bromance means two male characters being chummy without veering toward homoeroticism and neither character being outwardly gay, then Sismance can be used to describe the relationship between Jia Wei and Hui Jin, who share a lot of time together doing chummy things like jogging, hiking, and visiting places of interest like a charcoal kiln, besides being touchy-feely at every first opportunity, arm in arm, head on shoulder, etc. They're perfectly straight mind you, and we learn that even Hui Jin was once as depressed as Jia Wei, only to have the mythical powers of The Piano Cafe change her outlook toward life, and she in turn now positively influencing Jia Wei.

I'd like to love this film, but I can't for the fact that one cannot hide behind being modestly budgeted to deliver a flimsy storyline delivered through arthouse pretense, and acting that is honestly, quite atrocious, resulting in some scenes, which are supposed to be emotional, becoming the unintentional comedy. Some models and beauty queens can act (offhand I think of India's), but others can't, and this is quite pronounced in this film. Between the two, Cindy Chen fared a little bit better, but unfortunately Julie Woon doesn't have the emotional range for the role, and through the narrative gets reduced to revealing plenty of thigh, and modelling for many bedroom scenes in nighttime casual sleepwear. There's also something about vocal narration in a film, that unless you have the voice for it and being able to emote through words, it normally backfires if the vocal chords turn out to be flat and disengaging to the narrative – reading from a script will normally be the culprit. For some reason, for a film with Mandarin, I'd always prefer it to be in this language over English, because of a certain degree of romanticism in the former, but that's just me.

There's also this scene with an inexplicable tree branch getting in the way of the shot, which Cindy Chen gets momentarily out of character in noticing its disturbing, distracting presence. That one took the cake, as the branch (a thick one by the way) crept from the left side of the frame. Some compromises will naturally be expected since a limited budget constrains certain technical aspects, and the quality of audio recording suffered. Being reliant on sponsorships also meant opportunities for product placement, and Spritzer comes up fairly frequently, even having Jia Wei caress its water bottles a little bit too incessantly at the Spritzer bar (yes, one exists).

But of course there are good points, and as an intended ode to Taiping, I felt the film did enough in featuring some of the famed landmarks and nuances, such as a fog-laden park scene, and plenty of varied landscapes. The film also becomes an accidental historical archive for some of the areas it shot in, with The Piano Cafe no longer existing, so this is a video record of what once was. The music used in the film is also quite inspiring, and the song performed by Melina William which shares the same title is comparable to a powerful ballad that unfortunately got milked ad nauseam.

The final act which involves Hui Jin's sister Hoon (Ang Pei-Chern) also failed to allow the film to reach its intended climax in showing the profound changes in Jia Wei's character, as Pei-Chern also delivered an unbelievable performance as the prodigal daughter who's back home too late. Perhaps the only character here who entertained is the apple-crunching chef, who brings the slightest of comedy with his wooden character holding a candle for Jia Wei. Tony Wong also chipped in to edit the film, which I felt for its budget, should still be able to justify a proper, stronger storyline and a more able cast to deliver it, rather than to rush through this throwing caution to the wind.

**

The World Premiere today should have deserved a better turn out, as no more than 15 persons were present in the 138 (thereabout) seater Sinema Old School hall. Producer-Writer-Director Jeffrey Chiang was in attendance for a short presentation and Q&A after the screening, so for those who missed it, here it is:


Part 1 of 2


Part 2 of 2

Like Sunshine After Rain is Sinema Old School's Fictional Friday programme in August. Click here to check the screening schedule.

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Ocean Heaven (海洋天堂 / Hai Yang Tian Tang)

Father and Son

The marketing for this film went into overdrive with its touting of this being action star Jet Li's first dramatic role. Unless you count his appearance in a non combative role in The Founding of a Republic and the various attempts to balance his action status with more dramatic acting chops such as Danny the Dog/Unleashed, then Ocean Heaven will be that maiden effort. Written and directed by Xue Xiao Lu, this modest effort is by no means small in ambition, having the likes of Jay Chou and Kwai Lun Mei lend their vocals to separate title tracks (with Kwai also starring in the film), as well as being lensed by the renowned Christopher Doyle.

Jet Li stars as Wang, a middle aged technician at Qingdao's Ocean World who discovers that his liver cancer is at its 4th stage, and a medical death sentence has been passed, giving him 3 to 4 months to live. His prime concern will be that of his autistic son Da Fu (Wen Zhang) because this means as the main caregiver, he has to find an able, trusted replacement, most likely an institution, but as any single parent can attest to, this effort is none too easy in the absence of direct family support, with places like mental institutions being totally out of place, and Da Fu being too old for an orphanage, and too young for a senior citizens' home. The film opens with a father-son suicide, only for the latter to inexplicably save the both of them, and bringing them back to the drawing board.

It's interesting to note (at least for me) that the Chinese language term for Autism is “Gu Du Zheng” which directly translates to a condition of loneliness. Through the film, Wang cannot shake off the fact that this figuratively applies to him, being alone in his care of his teenage son for many years since the passing of his wife, and not wanting to impose his troubles and issues on others, such as his neighbour and provision shop owner (Zhu Yuanyuan) who undoubtedly has affections for Wang himself. Wang is the classical stoic Chinese man who bottles up his troubles, seeking instead to source for solutions himself than to rely on the graces of others, although help does come from an understanding boss, as well as Da Fu's school principal.

Xue spends considerable screen time in outlining the father-son relationship, albeit that it's not quite the norm because communication almost always seem like a one way street. Wang, with his limited, time, wants to train Da Fu in performing simple tasks in looking after himself, from cooking to taking the public bus, and through many of these scenes, Xue has allowed for an awareness of autism to ring through without resorting to overreliance on melodrama to do so. Tasks are to be explained with extreme patience, and knowledge imparted through constant rote learning and praising. It's not easy, but as any parent, this unconditional love is something that's quite innate.

Both Jet Li and Wen Zhang share great chemistry, which helps make their individual performance credible. You'll for once feel as exasperated as Li since this time he cannot kung-fu kick his way out of challenges and troubles, and have to rely on perseverance and love to educate his son. You'll feel his pain, and share his pessimism and slim hopes that he'll be able to impart, delegate and leave behind enough for his son not only material wealth, but emotional stability as well, which comes in the form of a sea turtle motif, known for its longevity, Wen Zhang too has this child like quality in his portrayal of autism which endears, and is able to bring out the confusion, fear and anger when he is not understood by others.

The only peculiar performance here will be that of Kwai Lun Mei's Ling Ling, whose role is that of a clown who juggles. I can't place her role anywhere other than to solely beef up the star attraction to this film, because her role and the subplots involving her character all seem a little out of place and useless, and can be done without. Perhaps it is just there to balance that sense of bleak from Wang's point of view, since scenes between Ling Ling and Da Fu mostly hinges on play and friendship, providing that lift to the audience, unbeknownst to Wang, that his son is capable of making new, genuine friends, and that he need not worry that Da Fu will eventually be alone in this world after Wang's own passing.

I won't say this is a tearjerker, but there will be those who will inevitably be touched by Father's love, going by the amount of sniffles in the cinema hall. I suppose Jet Li's foray into a purely dramatic role is quite successful, although personally I can't wait to see him kick serious ass in The Expendables with an ensemble cast of action heroes where he belongs. But of course one can't go on forever in such a role. Maybe he too can adopt the Jackie Chan direction (I'm pretty sure they would have exchanged notes during their pairing in The Forbidden Kingdom) where a film role balancing drama and action is possible ala Chan's Little Big Soldier, or even following what Clint Eastwood is doing in going behind the camera to tell heartfelt stories.

Peepli Live

The Farm

Two nights ago Iwas participating in an online live chat with Aamir Khan (well, along with some 13000 others from around the world) who along with wife Kiran Rao, served as producers for Peepli Live, and as a parting remarked, had urged his fans to encourage their friends, especially those who have never watched an Indian film before, to give this a go, because this is not quite like the stereotypical films Indian cinema churns out with larger than life heroes romancing heroines in fantasy dream worlds.

And it's true, not that Indian cinema has always stuck with that unmistakable notion of how it presents itself, as over the years I've seen independent efforts that churn out hard-hitting stories that are minus the celebrities, but almost always have a message it wants to tell. Peepli Live departs from the usual 3 hours with interval, song and dance routines, to touch on a stark social issue in India – that of poverty and the lives of the rural folk, how inept the government is in lifting its people out of such a plight, and the role of the media that can sometimes get out of hand with less than responsible reporting. Which more mainstream films like Rann and Raajneeti would have also touched upon, but minus the heartfelt comedy that this satire brought along.

Written and directed by Anusha Rizvi in her feature film debut, one cannot escape from the fact that her journalistic background may have paved the way at the harsh yet comical criticism of the media in general, where reporters scramble to scoop and spin their own tales of rural life, and are relentless in their interviews with just about anyone who has an opinion on the issue at hand, that of the voluntary death of one of their own. They poke their noses everywhere, and when things turn dull, even resort to fabrication or plain making a mountain out of a molehill. I cannot deny that part of the fun here is watching how television crew and reporters eagerly camp out, in media circus like fashion, in a fictional state and village of Peepli. Just to get a chance at exclusivity with Naatha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) and brother Budhia (Raghubir Yadav) who seemed the smarter of the two.

These brotherly farmers open the film as we follow them to the city to seek a deferment in their bank loan, failing which the bank has decided to auction off their asset – their land. So an ominous note has rung out, since farmers without land means an automatic death sentence, especially when the land they live on not only provide sustenance, but that of a roof over their heads and that of the aged mother who's at odds with Naatha's wife, and children. They soon learn of an inexplicable government scheme whereby farmers who commit suicide get financial compensation, and soon decide that Naatha take up that offer. Overheard by a local newsman, this soon gets escalated, and the media descends onto the village to wait out and capture Naatha's death live.

Little do the brothers know, being so caught up in their plight of poverty, that their actions have repercussions on a bigger stage, one known as elections, and with politicians scrambling like mad to find an answer to this issue, because if anyone doesn't spin this properly, it'll translate to votes lost. And here Rizvi's subplot shines through again in her very pointed criticism of the way her government, and just about any other government, work, through the usual pointing of fingers between State and Federal lawmakers, and the half-baked schemes that they cook up that generally doesn't benefit anyone (other than looking good themselves), whether consciously knowing that it's a scam, or incompetently just aren't aware. Bootlickers and yes-men bureaucrats get shrewdly dealt with in the story as well.

In fact the slight comedy in the film worked wonders to sugar coat the hard hitting messages that Rizvi had intended to tackle, and frankly this may have dulled those messages a little, and ultimately leave one wondering if there's any genuine change that can be brought to tackle the problems at hand. Surely one cannot expect one film to change entire mindsets overnight, and at best, Peepli Live will leave one thinking about the issues, but unfortunately I suppose that's about where it'll stop at.

I'm not sure whether the usual audiences weaned on Bollywood fare may take to a film that's a social commentary on some of the biggest problems facing the country, since the enduring way of how cinema is presented provides pure escapism from common everyday problems, but Peepli Live should find its legs in the more patient, appreciative film festival circuit. Don't expect Aamir Khan to pop up at all in the film, but if you know how he works, then you'd know that his hand is probably in every aspect of this production.

Love in Disguise (恋爱通告 / Lian Ai Tong Gao)

Some Guys Have All The Luck

I reckon this to be more of a pissing contest amongst the contemporary crop of male singers from Greater China, and probably an in-thing to have oneself hyphenated with credentials that go beyond singer-songwriter, to include actor-writer-director. After all, Jay Chou has done it, so why not Wang Lee-Hom, since he too has gotten his feet wet and caught the acting bug with Lust, Caution and Little Big Soldier?

And it's no surprise too that Wang's directorial effort happens to be a story that deals with music, just like Chou's, where they play self-masturbatory type characters who are equally multi-talented with musical instruments, and can serenade a girl or two. And to make them look good as directors at the helm of their debut projects, why not go to Lee Pin Bing to lens the film as well, since the cinematographer has a slew of proven works ranging from the arty to the mass appeal films, and yes, both Secret and Love in Disguise looks great.

But then the storyline here is more of the usual cliche formula, which reads having the director/actor play a larger than life parody of himself in a leading role. Wang plays Du Ming-Han, or DMH as it's more hip to be known that way, a highly successful pop idol managed by the shrewd manager Joan (Joan Chen, Wang's co-star in Lust, Caution). En route to a party their limo-van knocks down a pretty gu-zheng playing lass Song Xiao Qing (Liu Yifei), and smitten by the aural orgasm she gives him when she teases with her instrument, DMH ropes in lead guitarist and henchman WZB (Chen Han Dian... seriously at this point I was waiting for CCB to turn up) to go undercover in disguise (hence the title) and enroll into the same Chinese orchestra school Xiao Qing is in, so that he can once again relive that orgasmic pleasure (talk about addiction)!

Which makes him see butterflies and stars, enough to inspire him to write a new song. But that's something for the final act. Instead, he has to grapple with snooty senior classical music students such as Mufan (Qiao Zhenyu) who lambasts manufactured pop idols like DMH, and worse, to know that the object of his desire/inspiration turns out to be infatuated with Mufan. Even then, DMH himself thinks Xiao Qing is just his aural soulmate meant to stimulate his senses, and nothing more, until the inevitable flying of sparks, where what's love gets to be quite messy in its revelation, before a climax that ended up with Song Qing being wet from head to toe. I kid you not.

As with all stories about disguises and secret identities, there is bound to be a scene where the two personas have to meet at a single venue, and it's no surprise that a rookie like Lee-Hom will opt for the same, having this scene played out purely for laughs. You may think I am making fun of his story, but fair enough, there were some nice touches from animation to comedy that the best were reserved to scenes where the director/actor goes into self-deprecating mode, showing he's not shy to laugh at himself, and the crazy world he lives in, where every move he makes is subject to scrutiny by his manager, fans and the media. Perhaps this film served as a pressure cooker release for him to let out some steam.

Liu Yifei on the other hand had scenes crafted for her to reprise her look and feel for the Little Dragon Girl role from television, and with films like The Forbidden Kingdom, this marks one of the first few forays she's taking to make the leap to the big screen. She may lack behind other contemporaries from the Mainland like Zhang Jingchu or Xu Jinglei, but I'm hedging my bets that she'll grow from strength to strength and we should see a more active filmography soon enough. Should anyone think of remaking A Chinese Ghost Story, she'll be an automatic shoo-in as Xiao Qian.

Love in Disguise isn't as bad as what others may have made it out to be the disaster it is not. Despite its formula, it still has enough to market itself as a romantic comedy suitable as a safe option for dating couples. And of course Wang Lee-Hom fans who should be making a beeline to support their idol's latest effort on celluloid both as an actor and more importantly, directing a film that's an exaggerated mirror of his idol lifestyle. Wonder if they see themselves amongst the faceless crowd that the singer don't really give two hoots about.

Aisha

Strike a Pose

Sonam Kapoor, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone burst onto the Bollywood scene just about the same time with one another in 2007, with the Kapoors (no relation here) starring in their first feature film together in Saawariya. We know how prolific Ranbir Kapoor has become with a successful 2009 and 2010 seeing him all serious in Raajneeti, while Deepika Padukone herself is fairing none too bad with a string of releases. This is not a tabloid so I'll stay hands off on the on-off romance between these two, but somehow Sonam Kapoor has got off the blocks rather slower than her peers, and seem to be making up for it just recently.

Thanks to dad Anil Kapoor and sister Rhea as producers, I suppose a project like this will only befit one of their own in taking on the starring role as the titular Aisha, or shall you say the Hindi version of Jane Austen's Emma, directed by Rajshree Ojha. Sonam Kapoor steps into the role as the romantic matchmaker wannabe who, as the idle daughter of a rich man in Delhi, takes it upon herself to be a Ms Fixit, especially when it comes to matters of the heart. Not hers of course, but that of her friends and family. With best friend Pinky (Ira Dubey), Aisha takes it upon herself to transform plain Jane Sheali (Amrita Puri) into an air-head femme fatale, and just about as confused as Aisha herself is.

I suppose if you know the story of Emma, then you'd know the story of Aisha as well, although it's more like Clueless starring Alicia Silverstone than Austen's literary epic for the more modern, upbeat feel to it. Amongst Sonam Kapoor's role, I actually disliked her portrayal of Aisha, who's more negative than a positive one, highlighting with some cliche humour on the fairer sex's indecisiveness when it comes to the matters of the heart, and seriously, creating more problems out of nothing than to actually address the issues at hand. The coy yet arrogant, cloy yet independent behaviour when in the midst of different parties just brings out the sheer hypocrisy of the character.

Which is not to say that Sonam Kapoor didn't do well with the role, but I felt her earlier roles were more challenging. If anything, she shows that she's quite the clotheshorse here with, I think, almost every scene seeing her decked out to the nines in designer togs, and carrying them off very well on her lithe frame. In some ways the film becomes an advertising feature for the various fashion houses and labels that Aisha endorses, and becomes like a huge product placement during one of the montage sequences.

Everything else that goes on in the film, sad to say, you wouldn't care too much about, because the rest of the supporting cast are quite the caricature, offering not much depth as they either pander around or loathe Aisha's presence as she sashays her way to manipulate the lives of others, only to see her plans backfire hard one by one onto herself. However, every spoilt brat deserves a break, and in comes the indecisive (as well) hero Arjun (Abhay Deol) who drapes a New York based colleague Aarti (Lisa Haydon) around, to invoke the natural bitchy comparison by any pretty lass when another prettier, more popular lass is in their midst. Meow.

There seems to be quite the disconnect with the characters as they all seem to be fairly loaded without doing anything substantial, most born with a silver spoon in their mouths, and watching them wild about their idle time attending weddings, parties, and the likes, just seems too surreal to be rooted in reality. But as a romantic comedy, this one had its eye candy cast galore to thank for to hold your attention as it plods its way (and thankfully for a Bollywood film, just slightly over 2 hours) to a finale which you know all's well that ends well, with all the messiness of relationship entanglements straightened out in no time. Strictly for those with Emma fetish and want to compare across all versions and variations.

[DVD] Frost/Nixon (2008)

Watch It

Frost/Nixon is a stage play by Peter Morgan, which is based on the series of televised interviews involving US President Richard Nixon and television presenter David Frost back in 1977. Ron Howard adapts from the stage version with Peter Morgan writing the screenplay, so there's this authenticity that comes along with it, and of course the principal titular characters of Frost and Nixon played by their stage incarnations Michael Sheen and Frank Langella.

This film though didn't manage to garner a theatrical release here, because distributors are probably of the opinion that nobody in Singapore would be interested to watch a dramatized piece of history involving an ex-President and a flamboyant presenter, but I suppose they had probably missed the point why this film was made, as Ron Howard had mentioned, bear some close resemblance to history repeating itself during the Bush Administration and the parallels of abuses of power. Even if not so, then Ron Howard should be pedigree enough since he had crafted an engaging and engrossing film based upon the successful Broadway run.

It's very much an examination into the two gladiators' minds, in their preparation and research before the big fight. And of course they don't go into it alone, each having assembled a team to prepare dossiers on the other, as well as the assembly of facts, figures and the pre-empting of what questions can be asked, and how best to deflect them or diffuse their intent and meaning. This we see expertly delivered by the Nixon camp led by Kevin Bacon's Chief of Staff Jack Brennan, in advice such as rambling to time-waste, much to the frustration of the Frost camp, with Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell and Rebecca Hall all providing top notch performances as real life characters.

Besides the obvious political jabs during the interviews, what's interesting is to note what goes on behind the making of a high risk show, without the confirmation of revenue streams since no networks want to touch it. You can imagine the immense pressure David Frost is under, and Michael Sheen performed admirably in this role, and frankly I think Sheen is fast becoming one of my favourite actors with his uncanny ability to embody each role that his plays with aplomb, with historical characters even being nothing impossible to tackle. His Frost has a very vulnerable side to it and Ron Howard dwells on this a lot, to bring us the challenges that he faced with the multiple roles he has to play, in addition to secure funding.

For Nixon, it's an opportunity to get himself back into popular spotlight and telling things from his perspective, which the general public is finding it difficult to accept, if at all. Ron Howard had to focus on the differences in personalities between the two men, and Frank Langella rings through a performance that is not a conscious impersonation, but close enough to be convinced it's Nixon on screen. That deep baritone voice also brings about a very stately persona, and like one of the characters quipped, brings about a certain sex appeal (!)

Frost/Nixon is a top notch film with top notch performances, with qualities that at times resemble a documentary especially with its interviews with the support characters about the entire episode. For interviewers wannabe, this is a film that you'll probably want to have a look at, in understanding the necessity in formulating a water-tight yet flexible strategy about wrestling and releasing control with the interviewee, the study of body languages, and the importance of the informalities and the back channels in communication which is crucial for the interviewer, or subject even, especially with how off the cuff remarks can just disarm the most prepared.

The Code 1 DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment comes presented in an anamorphic widescreen format, with audio available in either English, Spanish and French Dolby Digital 5.1, not that you'll really need surround sound to enjoy this engrossing film. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish and French, and scene selection is available over 20 chapters. The DVD autoplays in letterbox format, the following trailers (4:08) for Milk, Changeling, Flash of Genius, and curiously two ads that deals with anti-smoking and Focus Features.

The Bonus Features comes with a really informative full length Feature Commentary with Director Ron Howard which begins with how the film production came about, and plenty of talk about the cast and characters they portray, and a lot of revelation on what went on during production rather than just describing verbatim what happens on screen, with focus at times on the authenticity of the sets, as well as working with a modest budget. There are some lapses of silence at times though so that Howard can discuss the scene that just passed.

There are 7 Deleted Scenes (22:26) included, presented in letterbox format, but you know from Ron Howard's commentary that there were a lot more variations of various scenes that were shot but never made it. They are More Details Prior to Resignation Speech (2:15) which shows the preparation before that speech and how Nixon is not too comfortable with giving speeches on television and his perspiration issue, the entire Resignation Speech (2:29), a slightly longer introduction of David Frost in Frost over Australia! (1:28), the Nixon Farewell (3:50) where we see him sweat in the upper lip, the Nixon Farewell Video Version (3:50) which provided the POV as if it was recorded, Frost/Bentley Care Phone that consists of the conversation between David and John prior to their canteen discussion, and an Extended 1st Cut - Research Montage (4:14) which I thought was a lot of fun.

The Making of Frost/Nixon (22:57) is the standard behind the scenes feature that has the cast and crew talk about their respective roles and experiences, and has plenty of clips where the character's real life counterparts appear, and is logically split into sections such as Casting, Costumes and Production Design which takes a blast from the past look into the 70s.

The Real Interview (7:29) unfortunately doesn't, and rightly so, contain all the interview sessions because that warranted another DVD on its own (and they are already available). This segment is but an extension to the Making of, and contains comments from the cast and crew interspersed with clips from the real interview to make comparisons with.

The Nixon Library (6:23) rounds off the Bonus Features with a tour of the location and a talk with the people who have worked with Nixon and now managing the institution, which is the place to learn just about everything about the man during his time at the Oval office. Like every presidential library created, each contains wonderful archives of information about their respective president, and for any serious information buffs, I suppose this is a shrine of information to head toward. Heck, even I'm interested if I have the opportunity to go visit.

[DVD] Ip Man 2 (葉問2 : 宗師傳奇 / Yip Man 2: Chung Si Chuen Kei) (2010)

Contemplating The Next Film

My initial feel was that Ip Man 2 at best equalled the first film and not surpass it, and while my sentiments remain the same after watching it on DVD, I'd just have to say that the Cantonese version again excelled over the Mandarin one, just because I'm a stickler for things original, and a voice dubber, with all due respect to the occupation, just cannot replicate the original intended emotions and feelings verbally expressed by the actors themselves.

You can read my review of Ip Man 2 here, and of course my review of the first film and the DVD edition of the first film. You can also watch proceedings from the Hong Kong FilmART Press Conference here.

The 2-Disc Special Edition by Universe Digital Entertainment Limited comes Region Free, and I cannot stress enough how pristine the anamorphic widescreen transfer of the feature film is. For audio, you have the choice of either Cantonese DTS-ES 6.1 or the Dolby Digital EX 6.1, or the Mandarin Dolby Digital EX 6.1. The choice to watch this film in is naturally clear, because watching this in the cinemas here in the Mandarin track just doesn't cut it. For subtitles, you can choose between Traditional Chinese or English, and scene selection is available over 15 chapters.

The first disc is not without Special Features, which are all subtitled and presented in letterbox format. Of course with the second disc of features, the ones here are but a teaser of what's waiting for fans curious about the production process and behind the scenes look. There's a slew of trailers here, starting with Ip Man Trailer for the first film (1:16), Ip Man 2 Trailer (2:41) and the Ip Man 2 Teaser (0:52, misspelled as "Teasar" on the menu).

Two video logs are included, which is the Shooting Diary (3:06) for that quick behind the scenes look, and the Gala Premiere (3:01) which serves more like a montage for the Gala's photo call. Rounding off the extras in Disc One is a Photo Gallery consisting of 18 film stills.

Can You Handle This?

Disc Two is the dedicated Special Features Disc, presented in letterbox format with English and Traditional Chinese subtitles for all segments. Spoilers are abound in this disc, so watch the film proper first before embarking on the special features.

The Making of (17:38) contains the usual behind the scenes look at the making of the film, although the approach may be subtly unique in placing the more important elements of the film first, such as the focus on Ip Man's livelihood and family relations, before cast and crew get interviewed about things like the fight choreography. Most of the interviews here are obtained in the next section, which contains extensive interviews with the cast and crew.

Interviews with Director and Cast, like the DVD of the first film, features Wilson Yip (18:49) talking about the inspiration for making the film and his take on individual characters in the sequel, Sammo Hung (6:02) discussing his dual role in the film as action choreographer and actor as Master Hung, and the rest with Donnie Yen (3:40, and at the 3:17 mark is probably where some quarters took offense with Yen when taking his remarks out of context), Huang Xiao Ming (8:00), Xiong Dai Lin (3:13), Simon Yam (3:22), Fan Siu Wong (3:01), Kent Cheng (5:15), To Yue Hong (5:54) who had a bit part in the first film, and played Ip Man in The Legend is Born, Ashton Chen (3:17), Pierre Ngo (3:04), and Darren Shahlavi (3:14) as Twister, all talking about their experience in making Ip Man 2, their characters and that of working with their various co-stars. It's talking heads unfortunately, so you don't get to see any behind the scenes clips.

There are only three Deleted Scenes (9:07) included in this section. The first is SC29A which shows in one continuous take, the Kwun Chung Fish Market operations at night with Sammo's Master Hung collecting dues from stallholders, then flowing directly into his family abode which is within the market, leading to his family dinner scene in the film. SC36 shows Ip Man visiting Quan (Simon Yam) with a takeaway BBQ goose meal, and the conversation between two friends, despite the latter being delirious. And finally, the longest of the deleted scenes belong to SC43 which shows an arena fight between Twister and another Caucasian boxer BuBoBluster, before Master Hung's disciples demonstrating their moves in the same arena ring.

4 Big Scenes deals with the distinct art direction of four (or more) major sets to recreate the look and feel of 50s Hong Kong. The art director explains his inspiration and motivation against a backdrop of behind-the-scenes look at the respective locales, such as The Community (2:55) which consists of the Wushu Institute at a Rooftop, the Small Community around it, and Ip Man's Home, Kwun Chung Fish Market (2:20) which in the script was originally a fruit market, and being created in Shanghai, the Chinese Restaurant for Joss Stick Combat (2:27) which played host to one of the best fight scenes in the film where Donnie Yen's Ip Man and Sammo Hung's Master Hung first duke it out, and the Big and Small Arena (2:19) which looks at the arena created for the fights between the Chinese Grandmasters and Twister.

I'm not sure whether there'll be another Ip Man film, since Donnie Yen has categorically stated he won't be reprising the character, and that director Wilson Yip has mentioned that these two films back to back closes his Ip Man vision. Hopefully, the box office success may translate into another film being made, but in the meantime we'll probably just have to wait out for Wong Kar-wai's version to be released.

[DVD] Gallants (打擂台 / Da Lui Toi) (2010)

This was the film that made my trip to the 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival worthwhile, and I had rated it highly since then. It's always a fuzzy feeling when you sit through a film that has plenty of heart and sincerity, and what more coupled with mass entertainment value while not losing sight of its theme, reminding the youths of today that challenges are always everywhere, and if the older generation had tackled the same head on back then, so can one do so provided that there's determination and perseverance.

Like how it was explicitly mentioned, don't fight if you don't want to lose, but if you want to fight, then you must fight to win.

You can read my review here, as well as see the Stage Appearance and Q&A Session during its World Premiere in Hong Kong during the HK International Film Festival earlier this year.

The Region Free DVD by Kam & Ronson presents the film in gorgeously crisp anamorphic widescreen format, just the way as I watched it on the big screen. Audio is available in either Cantonese Dolby Digital EX or DTS Digital Surround ES, or Mandarin Dolby Digital, and Subtitles come in English, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese. Scene selection is available over 12 chapters.

The Special Features section contain the usual Trailer (1:50) presented in anamorphic widescreen format with subtitles, and a Gallery consisting of 16 stills in a thumbnailed gallery menu which is selectable, and the MV (4:12) of the Main Theme by MC Jin, presented in letterbox format which contains clips from the film, and a funny storyline with the three youthful actors Wong You Nam, JJ Jia and MC Jin getting beaten up by a masked martial artist before training and exacting revenge, which comes complete with exaggerated results from famous legendary martial arts moves played primarily for laughs.


The gem amongst the features is the Making Of (49:02) which runs almost 50 minutes, consisting of two distinct sections, the bulk of which is quite off-the-cuff, until the 36 minute mark where a more polished, colour-corrected version of the making of takes over to the end. Presented in letterbox format with subtitles, anyone curious about the behind the scenes process will definitely need to sit through this informative documentary, where we see how the film gets made, the inevitable real injuries inflicted since it's a martial arts action flick coupled with execution by more senior folks, and the usual interviews with every cast member who talk about their characters and experience in making the movie. In fact, you can sense the camaraderie all around where tips and pointers come from all angles, even from executive producer Andy Lau.

Learn about the inspiration about the film and how it actually evolved from one involving a band, through interviews with both directors Derek Kwok and Clement Cheng. Better yet, for the keen eyed you can even spot some scenes that were shot but didn't make it to the final cut, or made it but with a different flavour. Even this making of comes with a mix of action, drama and comedy, which comes courtesy of the behind the scenes look at how MC Jin records the song in the studio - pay attention to his songsheet!

For fans, this DVD is a must-have! And yes, it still remains my must-watch movie of the year. I cannot emphasize just how this has become a favourite film of mine this year!

The Last Airbender

The One

Having seen the movie, I'm actually quite disturbed by the numerous comments slamming it, from things like being racist (what gives?) to more spiteful ones that seem to enjoy jumping onto the bandwagon to discredit writer-director-producer M Night Shyamalan. I suppose he's suffering from the weight of the tremendous success his first feature film The Sixth Sense brought him, and everyone expects a continuous Midas touch, but having seen all his films, I am still of the opinion that he's a good storyteller, and have ventured beyond gimmicky reveal surprises to now tackle mass appeal entertainment, and showing that he's equally adapt to work on existing, established characters, versus creating his own thus far.

Not having seen the series in its animated form, I'm probably more ready than the purists and fanboys to accept Shyamalan's version (surely you cannot expect too much to be crammed into 107 minutes?), which in this film is but Book 1: Water, dealing with the discovery of Aang (Noah Ringer) who happens to be the last of his kind, an airbender. For those not in the know like I was, the opening scroll provides a quick update on what benders are – folks who possess the ability to manipulate their respective elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth, while only an Avatar, a chosen one if you will that is constantly reincarnated and rotated amongst the elements, will exist to ensure peace and harmony throughout the lands (almost tribe-like according to the elements as well). But the Avatar had disappeared for a century, so in the meantime the Fire Nation decides that it be best they begin to wage war to rule the world.

Which is not surprising, and probably what Shyamalan had wanted to say in his movie continuing from his take on the environment from The Happening. The story's kept extremely simple to follow, so that the target demographics of the fans – the kids – will find it easy to understand the underlying, explicit message that it is important for everyone to take care of Nature, and highlights man's tendency to disrespect Nature and all things sacred. There's an expected loss of morality when governance, in this case the Avatar, is missing, and there will be parties abound to exploit this gap in the meantime for personal power and glory. Good folk have to stand up and be counted against oppression, and quite appropriately, it's the Fire nation to go rogue since fire is an important element to spark off the industrial revolution, from there utilizing technology and militarizing it, as well as the very obvious pollution that goes hand in hand.

It's also no wonder that the Avatar, for all his powers, gets to learn a lesson about how he's there to keep the peace and not harbour intentions for revenge, since his own tribe is wiped out (hence his title as the last of his kind). Another important message and reminder to the kids in the audience that with great power means great responsibility (oops, wrong movie), and rightly so we don't see Aang unleashing his powers in bloodthirsty mode. Noah Ringer should be given credit for his charismatic take as the most powerful elemental-bending child in the world who still needs to undergo training and lessons to fulfill his destiny, and while he's not using his powers, he still has that very nifty staff to rely on, which expands into a hang glider. How cool is that?

The other hand to hand combat weapon that I thought was top notch was the boomerang-sword, which unfortunately only had a scene in which it was used and caught in the scene in full glory. Industrial Light and Magic continues to show why it's still one of the go-to effects houses with the flawlessly designed and delivered bending effects, and frankly what was seen in the trailer actually provided yet another reason enough to catch this on the big screen, with massive water and ice sheets, force-push abilities and even a glimpse at what the Earth-benders can do when they bandy together against a common adversary.

Supporting characters include the Southern Water tribe brother and sister team Sokka (Jackson Rathbone) and Katara (Nicola Peltz) who were responsible in chancing upon Aang, and Prince Zuko (Dev Patel of Slumdog Millionaire fame) and his uncle Iroh (Shaun Toub) being the antagonist here with quite a rich backstory that puts them at odds with the Fire Nation Lord Ozai (Cliff Curtis) which I suspect the subsequent films may see them turn into allies.

This was originally intended as the first part of a trilogy, and I hope that the rest get made because there's been too many false starts to the promise of fantasy franchises, from The Golden Compass to The Dark is Rising to name but two in reason years, where the box office returns were less than expected and hence the follow up films got canned. Sure the undeserving ones shouldn't have any more films made, but this film had a certain charm and quality to it, that I want to continue following Aang in his quest to become the Avatar. Highly recommended, if you have been waiting for a contemporary film franchise that's set to thrill, and surely I will be visiting the original source material if I have the time.

And oh yeah, if it's not shot in 3D, then don't bother watching it on 3D since conversions reeks of money making exploitation and desperation.

Curse of the Deserted (荒村公寓)

Reading

At first look, Curse of the Deserted may seem like an Inception knock off with its dream within a dream, story within a story sequences, where we follow the characters in waking up from their conceived notion of reality, only to find that there was wool firmly pulled over their eyes, and you'd have to pause and figure out whether they're in dreamland, or otherwise. This of course frustrates when it becomes a way to cop out from a sequence, and for a horror-thriller, doesn't really live up to its genre billing. Instead, it's a romance movie through and through.

Curse of the Deserted deals with relationships, and whether the love between a couple can muster enough sincerity and honesty to pass the test of time, and whether the silent vows to be with another person can withstand challenges along the way. That in essence is the story between Gene (Shawn Yue) the successful writer, and his cloying/annoying girlfriend Gigi Ouyang (Kitty Zhang), who made a pact with each other to talk about and revisit an old and strange village together, only for the former to use it as a premise to write a bestseller.

It tells the story of a ghoul called Rouge, which resides in the well of the titular village, where couples come to put their love to the test. If they were to fail, then legend has it that her spirit will possess whoever is the untruthful party. So 4 friends start to question Gene about the whereabouts of this village, and by stealing his manuscript, make their way there. Naturally things start to go bump in the night as these 2 couples have their own respective secrets. Gene also finds himself haunted by strange emails apparently signed off by Rouge.

And that's only one veneer of the perceived story here, and just about where things get remotely scary. When you thought this would be another run of the mill horror tale about revenge, the narrative throws multiple curve balls at you with its non linear, fragmented narrative, and tossed everything up in the air. It's like a poor man Inception, where it deals with realities or perceived ones, but here it does so and catches you offguard, rather than to let you in upfront, and to go along with the flow. Not that it's confusing, but the delivery as mentioned, frustrates since it obviously didn't know how to carry on with the story, and was desperately looking for an exit, the worst of all comes in the final moments.

You can tell that production values is mediocre at best, and seriously, threw away its premise in woeful manner. It had promise if it decided to stick to one single narrative, rather than to bite off more than it can chew with what it thought is an intelligent attempt to befuddle, and ended up insulting the intelligence of an audience. The throwaway sideshow characters such as a paranormal expert, the whiny bunch of friends, and Kitty Zhang's inexplicable cloying voice and antics, all serve up as a really scratchy effort.

Tekken

Eye Candy Fighters

I suppose the large numbers in the fan base of gamers makes it hard for movie studios to want to give up on making films based on whatever can be adapted, and the easiest of them all involve those arena fights type, from the likes of Mortal Kombat so many years ago, to the more recent efforts in Street Fighter Chun Li, and The King of Fighters. Naturally one will not expect much authenticity in casting having to follow the nationalities of the characters involved, and the stories usually don't make much sense, being set in unknown timelines in fictional places, and are almost always likely to be filled with cliches from generic action films.

The plot of Tekken is no different, although this one had a better effort in crafting a fictional world that is run by corporations after the crumble of governments, and the Iron Fist world tournament gets created for the corporations to pit their best fighters against once another in an arena, with cameras beaming the proceedings worldwide. Think of it like the Olympics or the World Cup, where problems in being oppressed get shelved aside for the cheering of gladiators, which of course are made up of handsome men with Olympian god-like bodies, and bosomy women whose looks can kill, to provide that fantasy realm set up that all is well, at least during the tournament.

This time round it's the corporation Tekken's turn to host the Iron Fist tournament, and it decided to choose its representative from an open call, where Jin Kazama (Jon Foo) defeats incumbent Marshall Law (Cung Le, who went up against Donnie Yen in Bodyguards and Assassins) quite unexpectedly. Of course Jin has his ulterior motive to do so, wanting to get close to Tekken head honcho Heihachi Mishima (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, who seems to be relegated into playing such roles, beginning with Mortal Kombat) to kill him to avenge the death of his mother (Tamlyn Tomita!). But Heihachi himself has enough on his plate to fend off a corporate takeover by his ambitious, impatient son Kazuya (Ian Anthony Dale), and the family tree gets complicated as the film later reveals.

As for the rest of the characters, let's just say that character development is always non-existent in such movies, and the pre-requisite here is to look hot when executing combat moves, and not act to save one's life. So the likes of Bryan Fury (Gary Daniels), Nina Williams (Candice Hillebrand), Anna Williams (Marian Zapico), Raven (Darrin Dewitt Henson), Yoshimitsu (Gary Ray Stearns), Hwoarang (Lee Hyun-kyoon) and so on are easy on the eye, but nothing else. Christie Monteiro (Kelly Overton) amps up that sex appeal for some romantic tango with Jin, enough never to serve as a distraction for his objective, but you'd feel that it's a cheap shot at providing some semblance of a pause in between the arena battles.

The fight sequences are a mixed bag. The choreographers had to craft distinct moves for each of the fighters, and this is nicely done. However, the way the film was shot and edited left much to be desired, opting to goo with the MTV styled quick cuts to try and put through that feeling of adrenaline pumping. Seriously, a fight scene no matter how nicely designed will get wasted by bad filming technique, and I urge anyone interested to do so to learn from the Hong Kong film Gallants, because they got it right. Fans will not leave being frustrated with style over substance, and will be happy with giving them those battles as they envisioned when they take over the console and control their favourite characters in the actual game. Then there's the usual cheap sci-fi look and feel of goon troopers fanning out in the field with their automatic weapons drawn, which you will wonder whether they pass their marksmanship tests.

Just two reminders here should you decide to watch this. Again the lower rating meant the censors will have their say in what to omit, hence given it's a violent fight show, the sex scenes got to give way. Also, don't leave the cinema hall just yet when the end credits start to roll, as the coda at the back reveals the true outcome of Heihachi Mishima, which in all likelihood be unable to influence whether a follow up film, or television series, will be made. Strictly for the gaming fans only who want to see how their familiar characters get translated to the big screen.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Mocked By Everyone

It took that long for Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, to make it to our shores, despite its winning the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and a slew of nominations at this year's Oscars where it won for Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. I suppose distributors here sometimes get the jitters whether the local audience will take to certain films, even award winning ones, because of subject matter and content, and if you'd remember, Frost/Nixon didn't get a theatrical release here, while Good Night and Good Luck also had its release not made it in time before the Oscar results. Well, better late than never.

Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) is an illiterate, obese teenage girl in Harlem pregnant with her second child. As if these burdens aren't enough, how about being subjected to mental torture, sexual and physical abuse every waking minute when she's at home with her mom Mary (Mo'Nique) and her unseen dad who cannot get his dirty hands off her? Watching this film is like careening down a railway track at night with the destination station not in sight, where everything that Precious encounters, is something so negative that it demeans her, and will just about break down every iota of strong will left.

So who can blame her if her only escape is to lapse into her daydreams, where she fantasizes about being popular, rich, wanted, beautiful, thin, white, and sometimes, one or more of what has been mentioned. That's her only break from her mundane miserable existence, that unless you have a heart of stone, you're surely going to feel for Precious, and wonder just when her breaking point will be reached before she walks out on her mother, played by Mo'Nique in very, very fine bitchy form. She well deserves her win at the Oscars, and I hope she isn't anything like that in real life! Just listening to her curse in rapid fire mode is enough to send some chilling jitters down your spine, and imagine that if someone (mom!) does exactly what Mary does in the film in dishing out a barrage of verbal garbage.

And speaking of those who do not resemble what they look like in real life, see if you can spot Lenny Kravitz as Nurse John, or better yet, Mariah Carey! Here Carey stars as Mrs Weiss, welfare worker who's relentless probing for Precious to cough up any iota of information of her abuse, and you can see how makeup and costuming played down her diva persona. Paula Patton though steals the show with her role as Ms Rain, the benefactor of sorts and teacher at the alternative school that Precious enrolled to, which makes her quite the likable, though cliched, inspirational school teacher amongst a rowdy class of women/girls who need plenty of help, both in their education as well as emotional stability.

Gabourey Sidibe too deserves a shout out as she tackled such a heavy, emotionally draining role as a rookie, and came through convincingly. The plus sized actress showed a vast emotional range as she had to display all the ups and downs (mostly downs though) that Precious experiences in life, and how through education and encouragement, slowly stand up for all the wrong that's done against her in a build up of inner strength. Living on welfare isn't easy, since you'd have to begin with telling a stranger all your woes before being able to live on the dole, and it is through these opening up sessions, plus a glimpse of a normal life while staying with Mrs Weiss, shows Precious other alternatives in life should she stand up and not be bullied, even when and especially worse coming from family.

Sometimes you wonder whether the writer Sapphire and director Lee Daniels are sadistic, in having craft a character whose constantly being abused, with no light at the end of the tunnel to get her out of her plight, which seems to get worst each time and every positive step made encounters a setback. While acknowledging that education still holds the golden key to escape from poverty and opens the doors of opportunity for gainful employment, it is not easy as waking up and deciding that something must be done. There must be resolve, determination, and sometimes a lot of nudging from external parties before inertia to improve one's life can be overcome.

Despite its relatively dark and heavy narrative, ultimately this film tells us that there is no difficulty too much to overcome, and there's always that glimmer of hope if we were to look out for it, and seek the right assistance to get there. No man, or woman, is an island.

The Joneses

Family Portrait

The Joneses review comes courtesy of MovieXclusive.com!

This is a film all salespeople should watch, because it hammers close to home, and contains some nuggets of techniques to impart. Playing out like a social satire on consumerism and advertising, and just about poking fun at everyone who's guilty of keeping up with the Joneses, in literal fashion here a family of four becomes the quintessential personification of just those successful people whom we all aspire to become, emulate, or just plain desire to excel over.

We're introduced to what seemed like the perfect household, where Steve (David Duchovny) spends his time mowing the lawn and playing golf and you wonder how and how much dough and bacon he brings home. Kate (Demi Moore) occupying her time with all things necessary to look hot and beautiful, Jenn (Amber Heard) being the beautiful teenage daughter who's the flower of the school, and Mick (Ben Hollingsworth) the geeky but popular boy whose toys and gadgets make him the go to guy. Recently moving into a new neighbourhood, the Jones family soon become the envy of their neighbours, with everyone lapping up what they drive, drink, wear and have. If you want to be with the cool crowd, then you need to well, keep up with the Joneses.

Until of course the facade is pulled back, and we realize that it's all about in-your-face yet sublime piece of advertising, where product placement both in the reel, and don't forget the real world, are pretty much featured everywhere, allowing you to make mental note to get that golf club, or that Audi sports car if you have the dough. It's about the selling of a concept lifestyle, and this form of getting the word out, through actual talking about, and sampling the product, is nothing but a real world kind of inception, with the planting of mindshare firmly in the minds of the masses.

As mentioned, it's a must for sales people to watch, as it dwells on relationships or the lack thereof, when we fervently pursue numbers that define the occupation, with revenues, sales and profits being the sole focus of existence. Will we trade relationship for that climb up the corporate ladder? Will we not team up with fellow colleagues to ensure we capitalize on each other's strengths? And why not also go all out with joint marketing efforts? It also pays off for looking physically attractive, because like it or not, a beautiful face with the right kind of networking contacts and connections, get plenty of doors opened.

There's plenty to like from this Derrick Borte film from a Randy T. Dinzler story, which examines the effect of consumerism on relationships between family members, neighbours and society in general, critiquing in a nice manner without adding insult to injury when we see shades of ourselves in one or more of the characters. There's plenty of sharp wit, cheeky winks and double meanings going around, that you can't help but to chuckle at, and with the characters, who exercise the mantra of not mixing business with personal, but soon find themselves, through their various character arc subplots, crossing the line with various consequences.

In similar vein with Thank You For Smoking, The Joneses had plenty going for it as you sit back and watch society's faults and woes on display, with a dash of comedy and a tinge of pathos thrown in. For the cynic in me I would have liked it if it had ended on a bleaker note given how society self-destructs when some of us spend beyond our means just to show off, but I guess again in times like these where most parts of the world are bouncing out of a recession, that glimmer of hope about the light at the end of the tunnel would likely be more welcome. Highly recommended, and I'll not hesitate to shortlist this film as one of the best of this year!

Salt

Incognito

It's Infernal Affairs at a national level, where instead of cops and robbers playing spy versus spy through the planting of moles in each other's operations, this one ups the ante with countries planting sleeper cells of spies in others, waiting for opportunities to strike when given the cue. It's something like The Manchurian Candidate (which starred Liev Schreiber too) as well, although here the operatives are fully aware of what they're in for. And it's not as far-fetched a plot as one would think, because as what had surfaced quite recently, there were after all, Russian spies who eat, breathe and live American in a typical neighbourhood, not drawing attention to themselves, and able to assimilate into society effortlessly.

The million dollar question here is really whether Angelina Jolie's Salt, is a hero, anti-hero or plain villain, in this action-espionage tale directed by Philip Noyce who at one time helmed some of the Jack Ryan movies starring Harrison Ford, so political intrigue, and spy stories are right up his alley. Also, writer Kurt Wimmer had given us stories such as Law Abiding Citizen, The Recruit, adapted Street Kings, and written-directed Equilibrium and Ultraviolet, so we'd know what we're in for with his better films balancing action and drama, while duds like Ultraviolet had its action sequences to thank to get us through a boring plot.

But thank goodness it is precisely that keeping us guessing, coupled with some nicely designed action sequences that made this film palatable. Tom Cruise was once attached to the project before he ran away, because well, this film featured a lot of running, which Tom has done to death so many times in his films. In comes Angelina Jolie and the story rewritten to accommodate a sex change, and yes, Jolie excels in her alpha-female, no-nonsense kick-butt role as a woman hunted by her colleagues when fingered by a Russian defector to be a Russian spy. And really with her being the marquee name, Salt relies very much on her charisma and indestructible best to engage the audience in her adventures involving assassination and new world order type of subplots.

Which will leave you guessing just where her allegiance is drawn, since we see her working undercover for the CIA as a field operative together with Schreiber's Ted Winter, and whom Chiwetel Ejiofor's Peabody of their counter-terrorism unit wants to reign in for questioning after that iota of suspicion was raised. That forms the crux of the film stringing together action sequence after action sequence, some just the plain ol fisticuffs, while others are quite unique such as the driving of a car via Tazer. Yes, you read that right. And one of my favourite scenes involved Salt at her acrobatic best at finishing off a rival at the finale, which is effective, but highly brutal.

The flashback that tells of the origins and motivation of these spies was quite intriguing, and makes you wonder if there's some truth to it, since one really needs to churn out assembly lines of operatives with rock solid allegiance so as to survive living in a new environment. Not all will make it, especially with being constantly bombarded on a daily basis by all things alien, and running the risk of Love coming into the picture, which the film suggests is a powerful emotion able to tame the wildest of hearts. And if you don't buy this concept at all, then you'll probably don't buy into this film.

I suppose if the film does well, there may be sequels or even a spin off television series since Noyce and Wimmer left things open-ended deliberately for room to develop Salt's world further, since there is enough room for continued plot twists that like Infernal Affairs shown, can possibly be bandied around at any timeline surrounding this one.

Phua Chu Kang The Movie

Don't Play Play

It's been a couple of years since we last saw Phua Chu Kang and his zany family on Singapore television, since he has since plied his trade up north in Malaysia with the television sitcom PCK Sdn Bhd. Given that the production has significant Malaysian involvement, it's no wonder that this film is set in Malaysia, so that the likes of his Singapore based brother Chu Beng and his family can be omitted from the storyline, with Ah Ma (Neo Swee Lin) travelling to KL instead to meet up with PCK (Gurmit Singh) and Rosie (Irene Ang) for more madcap adventures set in an old folks home where PCK's Ah Gong (Singh again) is staying.

While a distinctly Malaysian-Singaporean production with the context of jokes that will amuse only 12 year olds and cannot travel outside of this region, there's no denying the attempts that director Boris Boo had tried in adopting the Hong Kong comedic flavour of Mo Lei Tau here, although the deployment of tired jokes seen from other productions just seemed like a desperate homage. The narrative flows skit-like, and also the influence of Jack Neo's style of filmmaking - blatantly obvious product placement, the use of Hokkien swear words and almost always ending with "the moral of the story is...", does make this film seem like another shot in the dark at trying to replicate what is deemed as box office success within these parts.

PCK The Movie may appeal to local audiences just because of his absence from the local telly, but this absence certainly doesn't make the heart grow fonder, especially when it's only mildly funny (thanks to the Ah Kong character) and relies on many juvenile jokes that tried too hard to elicit laughter. There's seriously no brains in this one as it's filled with only play-play material, so save your money rather than to plonk it down as an excuse for the fervour of National Day to watch something local.

You can read my review of Phua Chu Kang The Movie at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (Män Som Hatar Kvinnor)

Stone Cold Emotions

For some inexplicable reason I had missed all the screenings at the 2009 Tokyo International Film Festival when this film had its run there. Thankfully it has made it to Singapore. Based upon the novel by the late Stieg Larsson, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is one of those films that is crafted superbly enough for Hollywood to take notice and want to toss it on the remake gravy train. Daniel Craig has been attached to star, and you will understand why David Fincher has been appointed director of the upcoming Hollywood version, because the mystery in this film is something right up Fincher's alley, and I felt cutting close to his Zodiac at times as well. But why settle for a remake when you can now watch the original?

Niels Arden Oplev directed a sprawling introduction to the world of the titular computer hacker known as Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace), as well as that of an investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, who's waiting to serve time for his supposedly libelous Millennium magazine article on an influential industrialist. We follow separate narrative threads that introduce both main characters and the challenges they face in their lives, one with a jail term looming, while the other having to surrender to the whims and fancies of her parole officer who's out to look for sexual favours in exchange for lenient reports.

But of course our spunky Lisbeth is more than that damsel in distress. Noomi Rapace gives her plenty of attitude as she takes charge of situations, never cowing away from fisticuffs should the need arise, and posseses enough mean streak in her by way of a grunge punk rock look to wonder why such inner high walls built to shield herself from the injustices that she had suffered. Michael Nygvist's Mikael also isn't our typical alpha-male, and is more the down to earth type of hero who relies on his wit, written word and networking abilities to see him through a paid assignment by a tycoon to track down his missing niece.

The narrative takes some time to warm up, and when it finally does, everything careens at full speed, with the investigators coming together to pool resources and smarts in solving a 40 year old mystery. The two and a half hours seemed to be compressed, with Oplev demonstrating a measured yet intense grip on how the proceedings of the story will unfold, with bit by bit revelations becoming the hook to draw you into the mystery. In some ways, the story may resemble in part to that of Murder of the Inugami Clan, where an extended family comes filled with relatively bizarre characters each hiding little secrets that threaten to explode, and each contributing a step closer to the truth.

While Oplev designs a mystery thriller, there are some tools of the trade used in horror films that get employed to great effect here as well, especially the build up of anticipation where the dynamic duo begin to get close to fishing out results, with nicely done interplay between light and shadow, and jump cuts even that worked to keep you at the edge of your seat. You'll find yourself inevitably attracted to the plight of the characters and will invest enough emotions that will root for, and desire that they emerge unscathed from an investigations that seem to scream Trouble and Danger.

There are the follow up Swedish films in Larsson's Millennium Trilogy, inclusive of this installment already released so far outside of Singapore, and hopefully we'll get to see the other two hit our shores soon enough. This one's left uncut, so all the nudity and graphic, gruesome stills were intact, in which the latter can be a little bit unsettling. But don't let that put you off from an engaging mystery, and finally you can watch something the world out there has been raving about! Recommended!


The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo premieres on 12 Aug 2010!

Berlin 36

Co-opetition

With Singapore hosting our first Olympics event, albeit the inaugural Youth Olympic Games, perhaps it is apt for us to reflect upon the importance of the values and spirit promoted by the Games toward the notion of Swifter, Higher, Stronger, because not always were the Games free from influence other than sports excellence and the triumph of human determination and to see how perseverance and training paid off.

Based on a true story and set in 1936 Berlin, where Germany is on the cusp of holding their first Olympic Games in the summer, Berlin 36 tells of how politics managed to get embroiled into sports, no thanks to Adolf Hitler sweeping into power some three years before, and taking the Games as a platform to further his party's propaganda, extending his prejudice and discrimination toward the Jews in not allowing them to compete under the German flag. This of course does not bode well for the United States, and to appease them in order to stave off a potential boycott by the US and her allies, the Germans had to pass off a show to rescind their decision for the Jews exclusion. This means that the world's best high jumper of the time, the German Jew Gretel Bergmann (Karoline Herfurth) had to be "persuaded" to return to the Fatherland for representation and competition.

This drama directed by Kasper Heidelbach not only tackles the issue of the kind of extreme discrimination and belief in the superiority of the Aryan race, but poses a more thought-provoking examination at the macro level issues as faced by Gretel in tackling and addressing prejudices from all angles, being the lone athlete in a training village, treated like an outcast by fellow citizens. She finds it near impossible to show love and pride in being able to represent her country that doesn't love her back, what more to earn honours for it? Like any authoritarian regime, they function on the basis of threats not only to self but family, and is able to shape outcomes as desired through silence, and misdirection.

And the worst was of course in hand-picking Marie Ketteler (Sebastian Urzendowsky) to become Gretel's chief rival both in training and the eventual competition, not that there was any intent anyway to allow Gretel to make it all the way to the Olympics proper. Marie is seemingly able to challenge Gretel one on one, which is quite expected should you read the synopsis or know the background of Marie's deep, dark secret. Like Gretel, Marie was also forced to be in the limelight to do as told, and deviations to the established plan was going to be frowned upon severely. What once began as a cold rivalry soon paves the way toward firm friendship, as both Gretel and Marie find themselves under the same circumstances of being played as puppets, and both harbour hopes of somehow being able to break away from the bonds that shackle them.

It is precisely the chemistry between the cast, especially the leads, that pull this film off, in providing an engaging and engrossing premise for their cooperation/competition. Production values for this historical story is kept high, and also provided room to boast some fantastically designed sets and effects used to recreate 1930s Germany, as well as the impressively recreated Stadium used for the Games featuring huge Zeppelins flying overhead. These money shots at the finale will put you smack in the middle of the propaganda festivities where important decisions will be made by the leading two athletes, and one can imagine just how the actual mood and feel would be like on the streets and at the venue.

I have a penchant for films about sports from the yesteryears, because when documented and portrayed accurately, allow the modern audience a glimpse into how the sport of today have evolved from time past. The high jump here is slightly different from the techniques and styles employed now, so that should pique your interest enough as one of the points to watch this film. There may be some quarters grumbling about how much the YOG budget is costing us, but let's not mix politics with this platform for our youths to have a go and competing with their peers representing the best from countries around the world.


Berlin 36 premieres at The Picturehouse this Thursday 5 Aug.

[DVD] Ghajini (2008)

Mean Machine

I thought before I embark on the DVD edition of 3 Idiots starring Aamir Khan, the Indian blockbuster of 2009, that I go back one year to revisit his success of 2008 Ghajini on the 2-disc Region Free special edition DVD by BIG Home Video. You can read my review of the film here.

Disc One contains the film proper, presented in a gorgeous anamorphic widescreen transfer that did the film justice, because with dark visual tones used in many scenes it didn't all become one big blob of a dark mess. Colours still remain as vibrant as I remembered watching it on the big screen, although my only gripe in the presentation will be the unfortunate watermarking that peppers the top right hand corner each time the narrative breaks into song and dance. Only the original Hindi language track is available, with subtitles in English only. The near 3 hour film is split into 24 chapters.

The only standard feature in any Bollywood DVD is the inclusion of the Songs section from the menu. Here, you can listen to Aye Bachchu (2:49), Behka (4:57), Latoo (1:55), Guzarish (5:13) and Kaise Mujhe (4:08) which were lifted directly from the film itself. Which means Latoo is the most fragmented of the lot since there were narrative breaks in the film, and it's a song that got cut off halfway. Don't expect the soundtrack version of the songs of course (noticeably Guzarish was somehow sped up in the movie), and the presentation on the DVD was done right with each track flipping back to the menu when it ended rather than (with other DVDs) just continuing on with the narrative feature at the point. No Play All button or feature here though.

Disc Two is the Special Features disc, and comes with a full load of extras for the film fan. Presented in letterbox format, there are no English subtitles available here, do you'll have to make do for the rare occasion when English isn't used in the sections here.

Ghajini in the Making contains plenty in the usual mold of the making-of documentary. Aamir's Workout Bible (18:20) chronicles how Aamir no pain no gain attitude toward sculpting his body meant hours training under a personal trainer, and we observe how over the period of a few months each time, both his fitness and physique begin to improve, with the muscles showing and defined very clearly under a strict regiment of sleep, diet and training as the fats disappear and the muscle mass gained. The result? Some wickedly executed 25 continuous pull ups captured on screen.

Ghajini Look deals with the look of the characters and the influence Aamir has on the masses given a change more achievable than spending months in the gym. Look n Style of Ghajini (5:05) talks to the various principal cast members as well as with costume designer Arjun Bhasin, while Aamir Khan Style (7:07) deals primarily with Aamir's hairstyle in the film which became all the rage amongst fans seeking to adopt that scarred hairstyle look.

Action Sequences consists of a video montage of the major fight scenes in the film, and a behind the scenes look at how they're designed and shot. There's the Gali FIght (3:49), Tap Fight (2:40), Aamir and the Cop Fight (3:10) and Climax Fight (2:06), with Aamir Khan being very involved together with the director and fight choreographer in crafting these scenes. However, with that many intense action sequences, there's also Aamir's Injury (5:12), two actually from muscle tears, which were caught on camera and inevitably delayed production as what's left were the more physical scenes.

For those who enjoyed the song and dance portions in the film, then this section on Songs in the Making is a must to watch, since it has plenty of behind the scenes look at how dances get crafted, the meaning behind the songs, and of course, interviews with lyricist Prasoon Joshi, choreographer Ahmed Khan, director of photography Ravi K Chandran, director A.R. Murigadoss, as well as Aamir himself (yep, he's very much involved in the production process!). No interviews from A.R. Rahman though, but you'll see him nonetheless in his element at work in his studio. Choose from Guzarish (6:25), Bekha (7:43), Kaise Mujhe (9:26, fast becoming my favourite from the movie instead of Guzarish) and Latoo (6:03), which was the last song to emerge as a surprise contribution from Rahman that got included.

And if everything else mentioned isn't enough, In the Making (22:37) talks about how the project came about, and dwells more on the production process, though some with clips already seen earlier. Memento was also mentioned as a reference by the director, and hey Aamir Khan admits on camera he doesn't understand that Christopher Nolan film!

The Deleted Scenes section is a bit peculiar, because I don't recall any of these scenes being removed from the final film, however the presentation in what I suspect being the earlier cuts here are subtly different from what made it to the final film. Colour correction isn't completed here as well, and you can see some wire work in some action scenes being deployed. There are 4 scenes included, presented in letterbox format without subtitles, 2 of them being entirely action sequences with First Revenge Killing (2:41) and The Final Revenge (7:30) which features a hallucination with Kalpana's appearance, while Meeting the Watchman (0:26) and Kalpana Scolded Again (0:25) were too short for me to notice any difference.

Rounding off the disc is the Now Available section which features 15 seconds of promotional spots for BIG Home Video in their marketing for films like The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Rock On!!, Singh is Kinng and Jodhaa Akbar. Comes with a play all function.