The Black Dahlia

Everyone Falls For Esquire's Sexiest Woman Alive

There are a couple of reasons why I wanted to watch The Black Dahlia. First, the trailer was slick, and the strangely hypnotic song used in the trailer, Dirge - by Death in Vegas, actually had this enthralling sublime message which to me was "watch this". Next, it's a police noir set in the 40s Hollywood. Movies set during that era and at that location appeal to me too, as will Hollywoodland. And last but not least, it stars Scarlett Johansson, sexiest woman alive if Esquire Magazine is to be believed (and I actually agree).

However, The Black Dahlia, opening movie for this year's 63rd Venice Film Festival, was anything like what the trailer suggested in terms of the story. While the trailer made it look like a major investigative piece into the horrific murder of an actress, and the cops being made to run circles to get the culprit, that portion of the movie, though integral to the whole scheme of things and is the core, actually becomes secondary, and the whole movie was moving in and around everything else, until put right towards the end.

There are many subplots shooting from everywhere involving families, real estates, hoodlums, lust, greed, corruption, and even boxing (!) which steal your attention away from the crux, and with the hydra of unsolved mysteries just building up with no end in sight, it just becomes increasing frustrating as the movie progresses with all these unanswered questions and disparate scenes, until they all come together toward the end. It really calls for one's patience and undivided attention to watch this.

But is it all worthwhile? Yes, but the ride's excruciatingly painful, with the payout probably just barely adequate for some. The sets and costumes were wonderful, and being set in post WWII Los Angeles, The Black Dahlia is loosely based on James Ellroy's book, which is turn is based on the true story of the murder of an aspiring actress called Elizabeth Short. Two detectives partners, Leland Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) and Dwight Bleichert (Josh Harnett), nicknamed Fire and Ice (in an incredibly long introductory scene involving boxing) find themselves involved in a murder case involving a mutilated body of a woman. While Blanchard becomes obsessed with solving the murder, Bleichert finds himself drawn towards a mystery woman encountered during investigations, a certain Madeleine Linscott (Academy Award winner Hilary Swank), and also towards Blanchard's girl Kay Lake, played by Scarlett Johansson.

I'm not about to explain or touch on the dozen or so sub plots and characters involved in the story. However, Johansson's screen time is severely limited, so fans will probably have to get their fix in the other movies showing in town, with the modern day Scoop, or the upcoming The Prestige set in Victorian England. The 40s Hollywood setting here allows opportunity for Johansson to be illuminated onscreen in soft focus, and she does look like a star from the yesteryears, with that hairdo adopted.

I last seen Aaron Eckhart in Thank You for Smoking, and I thought it was a decent role he took on here as the slowing-degenerating-into-unpredictability cop of a partner to have. Clearly the lead belonged to Josh Harnett, whom I thought did a voiceover in Sin City as well as Lucky Number SLevin. I won't be surprised if he corners that voice over / dubbing role, as his voice does give that soothing quality to make you sit up and listen to what he has to say.

It's quite understandable that this movie will warrant some low ratings, given its at times shoddy delivery leaving much wanting. I actually thought director Brian De Palma could do better, given that he's helmed classics like The Untouchables, Scarface and Mission: Impossible (which I liked), though there are the duds like Femme Fatale and The Bonfire of the Vanities which he conjured as well. There was one scene though which I thought was fairly neat, like his one-continuous camera-motion in Snake Eyes, replicated here with a sequence involving an introductory house visit.

While The Black Dahlia is faulted for Brian De Palma's delivery, it tells a compelling enough story, with unflinching violence and uncut sexual situations involving lesbianism and suggested incest, in an unedited M18 rating. Just remember to be patient for the payoff at the end, and lookout for KD Lang!

The Guardian

My Hell and High Water Comeback

There are many, many films out there about various uniformed folk. The police and fire department probably get represented a fair bit in movies, ranging from heroic stories, to tragedies, and some even featuring them in bad light. In my opinion, first movies should always be sort of a tribute story to the boys and girls in uniform, before adding some flavour in subsequent films with more sophisticated stories that can even venture into putting some characters in negative light. Think Backdraft, where you have the good and the bad apples from the fire department. Though on the other hand, first movies can also be hampered by this approach to the storyline, for its emphasis on the introduction of the profession's job scope, in keeping things stuck to a formula, and by having characters no less than heroic.

I've always been intrigued by the sea-faring stories my old man tells me, since he's travelled around the world almost half his lifetime, working in the shipping industry. As a toddler, I was too young to recall some of these incidents when I accompanied him on these trips. Plenty of these stories involve the US Coast Guard, and old photographs captured some of these moments. Perhaps if I have the time, I'll scan some of them and put it online. I recall his account of one such incident where they had to respond to an SOS call, and had coordinated with the Coast Guard already at the incident site. The hearing of the rotors, and the sighting of the unique red-white distinct looking Jayhawk helicopters are definite relief for those in distress in the sea of complete darkness, and the multiple flares released do truly light up the sea, as if it was day.

The Guardian, taking on the formulaic approach as a first film featuring the US Coast Guard in recent times, definitely comes with a tinge of familiarity in storyline. The Japanese has already had their tribute to their equivalent of the uniformed group in the Umizaru series (its second movie being shown here as well), and if you combine that with Hollywood's Top Gun (itself a heroic tribute movie of sorts to the US Navy Pilots), you have this movie. In fact, the beginning and end structure is almost similar, with Kodiak, Alaska bookending the movie like what the Indian Ocean did for Top Gun, and both scenes being actual on-the-job action sequences. Having most of its scenes in a training school, and recognizable Top-Gun-ish moments, may make some wince of deja vu, but as I already mentioned, it's formula.

This movie's focus is on the US Coast Guard, in particular, a select group of highly trained men and women who are the Rescue Swimmers, the folks who actually take the dive from the choppers into the ocean, to approach ships in distress to coordinate the rescue missions. It's a daily risk to their lives, but their mission, their calling, is in putting the lives of others ahead of theirs. Naturally, being the best amongst the best, does make one appear to be cocky. Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) is a highly decorated and dedicated rescue swimmer, having set records and being the stuff of legends with his rescue exploits. However, records are nothing, and the job is not to break records but is actually towards the noble cause of saving lives. This, is what rookie Jake Fischer (Ashton Kutcher) has to learn, if he is to survive the course, now being taught by Randall.

Naturally, the saying of one mountain's inability to house two tigers ring true, as both men, for personal reasons, rub each other the wrong way. The stern instructor versus the proud rookie, with the former having to see a lot of qualities in the latter, with the potential to exceed his expectations, if nurtured the right way. Randall's unorthodox training methods also raises eyebrows, but to his detractors, his methods are to bridge classroom theories and safe practical sessions, with the real thing. Having to learn from the best in the business always is difficult, and underscores the differences in personalities between Randall and Fischer, one already the best, the other wanting to be, and beat the best. However, both men soon find out that they have a lot more in common, in their seeking of redemption.

The movie's well paced, with action, romance, noisy training sessions and quiet moments achieving a rare balance of screen time. Again sticking to formula, having relationships that don't really work out, are hallmarks of partners who cannot endure their partner's long absence given the innate preference to answer the never-ending call of duty. Sela Ward and Melissa Sagemiller play the romantic interests Helen Randall and Emily Thomas, adding some female presence to a movie full of testosterone set in water. The soundtrack is also top notch, with Bryan Adams, yet again contributing a song - Never Let Go, to a Costner movie.

I've been a Kevin Costner fan since young, having first watched him in the cowboy movie Silverado. I sat through 3 of his three hour long movies in the theatres - his multi-award winning Dances With Wolves, Oliver Stone's JFK, and Lawrence Kasdan's Wyatt Earp. I've enjoyed his action movies like Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, and even the classic The Untouchables. This movie will mark his attempt to return as a leading man, given softer appearances in Rumor Has It and The Upside of Anger. Ashton Kutcher might be better known for his mad antics in the television series Punk'd, but here, he ditches madcap humour for some serious drama as a Ray-Ban Cruise clone, the record breaking rookie from high school. My first Kutcher movie happened to be The Butterfly Effect, and I thought he brought some of the edginess from that role over here.

Despite being a formula movie, I'd recommend it for being one of those rare heroic movies that come out from Hollywood, paying tribute to the uniformed group it's based on. Stay tuned during the end credits for some breathtakingly beautiful scenic helicopter fly-by scenes and historical photographs of the advent of the US Coast Guard, played along to songs from the soundtrack. "Run Me In The Dirt" is fast becoming one of my favourite tunes.

"So Others May Live"

Death Note (Desu Nôto)

Time To Die...

Absolute power corrupts absolutely, so goes the saying.

What happens if you have the power to bring about death to any individual with just the mighty stroke of the pen? How would you use your new found ability? Would you decide to inflict capital punishment and take away lives of criminals, convicted, suspected or otherwise? Would you be the grim reaper, transfixed in your own branding of right and wrong, backed by the power of mortality?

Based on a popular Japanese manga written by Takeshi Obata, Death Note tells the story of the god of death, bored with life, making available his Death Note(book) to the human world. Picked up by aspiring lawyer Light (Tatsuya Fujiwara), he soon finds that the rules written in both English (yes) and Kanji on the inside front cover, actually work - whosoever has his name written inside the book, will meet death via a heart attack. That's just scratching the surface, as Light continues to experiment with the capabilities of the book, as well as to internalize all the rules to call upon some serious manipulation of the rules to work to his advantage.

Why does the book operate with that set of rules, well, that's something you have to accept at face value if you want to enjoy the movie. Starting off with the deaths of criminals as Light experiments, soon the authorities take notice of these mysterious deaths, and launch a nationwide dragnet to hunt down the perpetrator. Foreign help is also called in, and L (Ken'ichi Matsuyama), an unseen and only heard police investigator, gets roped in.

It's a battle of wits as Light tries to keep his Kira persona (given by the press) alive while avoiding being caught by an ever zealous L, as both boys (yes, boys) engage and challenge each other. One to continue utilizing the notebook in more creative ways, while the other trying his best to second guess, and to see through guises and red herrings. Things become more interesting when family ties are involved, and relationships get put to the test in an interesting run up to the final scene. I thought Light's character development was crucial to the movie, and Fujiwara brought that through his role quite effortlessly with his impish looks.

The god of death, a frequent companion of Light, master of the book and actually is the voice of rational thought, is totally CG rendered, which allows for its supernatural movement to be as natural as possible. However, the design does resemble Brian Bolland's Joker with its patsy white face and permanent teeth showing grin, except for its extremely huge spanned wings, and punk like hairdo.

Death Note succeeds in making you sit up on the edge of your seat for the most parts - it does have certain slow moments in the movie which plods the pace down a tad too much. While it presents differing views on capital punishment, the movie itself doesn't suggest which is right or wrong, but is almost adamant in bringing forth the notion of the corruption of power. I haven't read the original manga to do a comparison, but as a movie in itself, it works, given its relatively high production values.

Part 2 is already signed, sealed and soon to be delivered. I can't wait to see how the movie takes off from where it ended. Intriguing, interesting and entertaining stuff!

American Dreamz

And Your Idol Is...

American Dreamz looked destined to not make a debut on the big screen, but directly onto the local DVD/VCD racks, until the recent opening of GV VivoCity allowed for it to be screened exclusively there. After all, they got 15 screens to fill. And I thought why not catch it on the big screen instead?

At first glance, it truly looked like the big screen adapted version of the wildly popular reality tv series American Idol, with a similar "singing talent" competition featured throughout the movie, sharing the same title. Writer-Director Paul Weitz had actually weaved a cunning parody and satire about the modern day US politics, domestic and foreign affairs all rolled into one. The obsession with reality shows, the ignorance of the most powerful man in the world, the determination of those wanting to wreck havoc in truth, justice and the American way.

There are plenty of spot-who moments in the movie, with characters veiled so lightly with reference to their real life counterparts. Hugh Grant's American Dreamz head honcho Martin Tweed is Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul combined, with a not too subtle jab at the latter's alleged romance with one of the Idol's contestants. Dennis Quaid stars as US President Staton, who just won the re-election, and is absolutely clueless on everything outside his daily presidential briefs. At certain angles, he does look like Bush, and is religious, and has his strings pulled by his Chief of Staff, played by Willem Dafoe, who in actual fact, is a dead ringer for US Vice President Dick Cheney with his receding white hairline, and being the puppeteer.

There are multiple arcs in the movie, with views from the Oval office, from Mandy Moore's conniving, scheming, win-all-at-all-costs manipulator Sally Kendoo, and even the war on terrorism gets featured here. Sam Golzari stars as Omer Obeidi, a blundering terrorist in training in Afghanistan, sent to the US to lie low until activated by a sleeper cell. With a stroke of (mis)fortune, Omer gets selected to appear in American Dreamz, and sets in motion plans by his brothers-in-arms waiting to make a strike on the Americans. The US army is not spared too, albeit featured briefly.

While the movie certainly does take the mickey out of American Idol and current affairs, it does have a serious, encouraging message to put forth. In the movie, there are many characters who are doing things that others want, and not doing something they truly want for themselves. The President not being able to spend his time the way he wants to, Omer being coerced by obligation to the brothers of his faith to martyr himself just as he tasted and got into the swing of things which are "decadent", and Tweed being led by fame and money to continue a wildly popular show he now loathed.

There are a number of supporting acts from other comedies in this movie, like Jennifer Coolidge (the infamous Stifler's Mom in American Pie), Chris Klein (the Keanu Reeves clone, also an American Pie alumni) in the role of a lovelorn Iraqi War veteran, the Riza family, as well as John Cho from Harold and Kumar.

So if you have the time, and not willing to fork out cash for a disc you may not want to keep, then give this a watch on the big screen, currently only showing at GV Vivocity.

I've been Omerized!

[French Film Fest] They Came Back (Les Revenants)

Walking Wounded

The horror... the horror!

No, the movie's nothing frightening, but in fact, it bored me to tears. You can literally take a piss, go to the snack bar, have a smoke, and return to the theatre, missing absolutely nothing. Half the time I was wondering whether something remotely interesting will crop up midway to quicken the pace, but I was dead wrong. The movie is meant to be painfully and excruciatingly slow, for it to bring forth its philosophy about life and death, and its abstract ideas about existentialism.

The big question presented, though it is hardly ever gonna come true anyway, is how will society react if the dead suddenly became alive again? The issues that are posed, from housing to employment to health care and even human rights (!), are those that are any government's nightmare. The movie begins with stoned elderly folks walking, and walking, and walking some more when the opening credits rolled, until it is said that the dead are walking the earth, and are quickly scrambled to makeshift holding areas while awaiting the relatives to come claim them, and for everyone else to try and make sense of this phenomenon.

Perhaps Heaven is getting crowded, or Hell has frozen over, that the departed need to return to the land of the living. They do not crave the blood of man, but rather, are finding ways to integrate back into society. Herein lies the opportunity for philosophy that is unappreciated by myself. There are different viewpoints presented via various characters, but all that is worth recalling, is that the dead are not pleased to be alive, and those alive are absolutely clueless as to what to do next. Bottom line is, let sleeping dogs lie.

One thing's for sure, I don't really like abstract zombies. Give me those that crave for flesh and blood anytime!

The Departed

Spy Vs Spy

The big question on the minds of those who have seen the original Hong Kong movie is whether this Hollywood remake is worth watching. I'd say hell yeah, down to your last dollar, weekend price or otherwise.

Infernal Affairs (2002) earned its place in recent Asian movie history for reenergizing the cop thriller genre. Directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, the movie had a one of a kind storyline about mole vs mole in the underworld and the police, and starred heavyweights Andy Lau and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai in the lead roles, with support by recognized character actors Anthony Wong, and Eric Tsang, with the appeal of Gen-X/Y actors in Edison Chen and Shawn Yue.

After opening to rave reviews and becoming a trilogy, the rumour mill was out and about with Hollywood wanting to do a remake, starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, whom to my personal speculation, would have just been as riveting with either actors taking on either role. It's a kind of Face/Off situation where the distinction between good-bad guys gets blurred.

Essentially, with any spectacular, gripping story, you can have it done and made countless of times, and each version should all come out great given that the source - the story - is the same. However, it is always easy to screw up and not meet expectations, and herein likes the innate pressure that the cast and crew must have felt, taking on something that works, and making it their own.

In Martin Scorsese's The Departed, the director teams up once again with Leonardo DiCaprio, after two consecutive collaborations in Gangs of New York and The Aviator. Here, DiCaprio takes on Tony Leung's role as the police mole in the underworld, headed by Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson). As Billy Costigan, the biggest challenge is always to be on the positive side of an unsteady gangland boss, and maintaining some form of sanity while dealing with an identity crisis. Matt Damon is Colin Sullivan, in a role modelled after Andy Lau's, as the gang member inside the police force, feeding information to Costello. He finds himself living the good life. and contemplates the risk in having throw it all away should he get caught. And the cat and mouse game begins as both moles try to outwit, outplay and outlast each other, knowing that any revelation of their true identities will be totally disastrous, each trying to flush the other guy out.

The acting's all round superb from both leads, with a stellar ensemble featuring recognizable faces in Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin. It's a welcome return for Nicholson back in the bad guy role after his recent attempts at comedies. I thought each instance where Wahlberg came on is a hoot, as his character, Dignam, comes with a dirty mouth which shoots off the cuff. In fact, Anthony Wong's character had to be split into two, shared between Sheen and Wahlberg (which I think is a nod to Wong's ability, given two persons required to fill his shoes). Newcomer Vera Farmiga took on Kelly Chen's role as the psychiatrist and Sammi Cheng's role combined into one, doing away with probably an additional unnecessary character which the original featured. There are other minor changes along the way (no remake can be an exact copy of another), but none too drastic, keeping intact the integrity of the premise, key scenes, and plot elements and devices.

Clocking in at almost two and a half hours, an hour longer than the original, you will not feel its length, even as the movie took its time to establish the story and its characters. The dialogue is a major draw with some memorable lines, and if you've watched the original, your mind is constantly racing to draw parallels, but in most times, you'll find it equally engaging and as exciting, as if you're coming across the story for the very first time. Of course the pivotal ending, which was marred with the original having two of them to pander to being politically correct, is one such scene which actually helps to build anticipation as to how Scorsese would have to conclude. It's that sense of familiarity, yet a sense of something new. With some scenes being extended in duration, it helped build a certain depth for the characters as well, which does wonders for the movie.

But what I felt lacked in this remake, was that personal link between the two moles, of a "what-if" scenario between the two before they faced off each other. Here, they are adversaries all the way, but the original provided a sort of hint, that if these two were on the same side of the law, they could have been the best of friends. Also, in the first mole versus mole match up, while in an attempt to be different from the original, it unfortunately lacked the intensity that Infernal Affairs had, but just for this particular scene.

If you're wondering if The Departed is as good as Infernal Affairs, I'd say it is a worthy remake, except for that cheesy last shot before the end credits rolled. Some folks are already screaming Oscars.

But remember, Asian Cinema produced this gem first!

P.S even though rated M18 locally, there were noticeable cuts in the movie, especially in dialogues.

Silk (Gui Si)

Ghostbusters!

Two reasons why I watched this. First, I've been recommended this film by a friend. Secondly, it starred Barbie Hsu - with a name like that, why shouldn't I want to watch this? Ok, so I know she starred in the Taiwanese pop-drama television series Meteor Garden, and am just curious to see her in yet another horror movie. And since I'm in post-birthday celebrations, I also learnt she's a day older than me.

Ok, so I'm digressing. Silk is a horror movie, and quite a decent one at that. Although it uses the all too familiar ghostly boy character, this boy, unlike recent predecessor seen in Dorm, is very much creepier and deadlier. He's the star ghoul, and exhibits a strange behavioural pattern of staying in a particular room and speaking to himself, or so it is thought.

A team of modern day paranormal investigators cum scientists, led by Japanese Hashimoto (Yosuke Eguchi), recruits a police hotshot with special powers of lip reading, sharp shooting, and that peculiar sixth sense, Ye Qi-Dong (Chang Chen), to unravel the mystery of the boy. However, Hashimoto has an ulterior motive into his research, which has spawned an anti-gravity device called the Menger Sponge, that can be used to entrap spirits, and in liquid spray form, allows the user to see the paranormal.

The movie relies on some hokey physics theories to bring across some ideas and its premise. It tries to explain the phenomenon of spirits and ghosts and how they come about, using some scientific explanation that they are forms of energy. Watch this movie to see if you agree to the conditions presented to turn someone into a spirit that roams the earth, rather than to dissipate into nothingness upon death. But don't get me wrong, it does make for some interesting story development (hey it's fiction/science fiction anyway).

At its core, this movie dwells on themes of existence, family, and again the human emotions of love and hate. I thought Chang Chen did well in the role of the officer who, despite his super abilities, still find it difficult to grapple with new inexplicable experiences, and at the same time, the critical illness of his beloved mother, and trying to maintain a relationship of sorts. The rest of the cast did ok, but in my opinion, noted more for their eye candy presence.

There are truly genuine scary moments in this movie, which was seriously lacking in recent horror releases. Although most are much ado about nothing, or relied on the usual tricks up the horror sleeve with smart manipulation of editing and music, it did provide what I thought was an explanation on how offerings to spirits are possibly handled, through the use of well placed and polished special effects.

In summary, what works for Silk is its semblance of a decent story, and the ending which was satisfactory, given its at times hilarious build up during the tense final (what's up with all these Ringu homages, made plain ridiculous and full of cheese) and unexpected twist of a logical flaw. It's also touching and sad at times, and for those who are of softer hearts, it might bring about some tears.

Do take note though, with its PG rating locally, much of the gore were censored out, in really ugly means. Very jarring to the entire flow of the movie.

The Almost Weekly Wednesday Midnight Bulletin #3

The build up to next week's exciting multiple movie releases starts now, and you have almost 6 movies to choose from, ranging from wicked gore to the remake of Infernal Affairs.

Flick of the Week
Severance gets my vote for flick of the week. It's a slasher kind of thriller that is just wickedly funny - you can't decide whether to laugh or cry at the characters' predicament.

BLOCKBUSTER
Martin Scorsese has been garnering critical praise for his remade version of Hong Kong's Infernal Affairs - The Departed. With a stellar ensemble cast consisting of now frequent collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio (Aviator, Gangs of New York), Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin, can anyone not detect the amount of testosterone on screen?

Acquired Tastes
Two recommendations, from the horror genre we've got the mandarin movie Silk, and for those who can't get enough of Will Farrell and his need for speed, check out Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby for some shake and bake humour on the NASCAR circuit.

If you've still got extra time and have yet to visit GV Vivocity, then you might want to check out the cinema's exclusive screenings of Hustle and Flow, which won this year's Oscar for Best Song, and American Dreamz. Coincidentally, both movies are already available on DVD.

[French Film Fest] Days of Glory (Indigènes)

Band of Brothers

So you've done a great piece of work, and are awaiting your just rewards. Somehow along the way, someone else, by colour, creed, or connections, get all the recognition that you're due credit for. You feel frustrated, but you think of your rice bowl, and decide to grit your teeth and bear it, calling it just another day, secretly longing for a time where you are empowered to do something about it.

In the liberation of France during WWII, North African men were recruited and enlisted in the French army in the fight against the Nazis. Why do they do it? One reason is to escape poverty, and the holding on to the glimmer of hope that they can be accepted, when the war is over, as equals based on their fight for the "motherland". These soldiers, mujahedeens, fought hard, often being in the frontline, but always overlooked when it comes to recognition of basic military welfare and promotions, not that these rewards will cost an arm or a leg, nor are the fighters so hard up for them. All they're asking for was fair treatment, but all they got was discrimination.

Yes, and that is the pain. WWII movies are aplenty, but Days of Glory offered a unique look at the battles by a group of men, for what they deem their motherland and will defend with their blood, and what more, for a land of people who do not see them as equals. Loving someone who does not love you back, sounds familiar? And it's not just love, but sworn allegiance to protect at all costs.

The movie is well paced and straddled moments of action and quiet contemplation with aplomb. Credit must go to the ensemble cast of actors who play the warriors of North Africa, as they battle both the enemies on French soil, as well as enemies of men's heart. They grapple with trying to remain rational in their reason(s) to do what they're doing.

At times, watching this movie made me think about the recent flurry of mails to the press about foreign talent and the issue of citizenship, about NS obligations and whether PRs will flee at the first signs of trouble, or stand shoulder to shoulder with citizens (also, who are those who will flee?) in defending our land. What are the issues of contention, discrimination against, or general presumptions about foreigners here?

Those expecting all out battle scenes might be disappointed. In truth the movie's never about the glorification of gore, violence and war - most scenes aren't really blood splattering to draw in the crowds. Instead, if you'd prefer moments where you can think out loud about the issues presented, then this is for you. However, the final battle would please action fans, as it is well choreographed and executed, and you feel both the pain and victory from a bunch of tightly knit soldiers trying their very best to defend a small town, in a samurai-seven-ish sort of way, also reminiscent of Saving Private Ryan's somehow.

If you've missed this during the French Film Festival, don't fret. I believe this movie is also slated for general release. Keep a look out for it!

[DVD] Stay (2005)

Stay With Me

If you've enjoyed movies like The Machinist, then you'll probably enjoy a movie like Stay. It's one of those well-designed mystery suspense thrillers that leave you guessing for the most parts until its revelation, where things begin to fall nicely into place after bewildering your mind as the movie progressed and strange, unexplainable things start to happen.

Ewan McGregor plays psychiatrist Dr. Sam Foster, who takes over a case from fellow psychiatrist friend Beth. He inherited a patient named Henry Letham (Ryan Gosling) who's on the road to self destruction and to end his life by commiting suicide to ape his favourite artist, and telling Sam when he's going to do it. Exactly what his motivation is, becomes Sam's obsession and a race against time to prevent it from happening.

What strikes you in its presentation from the onset is the ultra-slick editing used for transitional scenes. It's extremely fluid and blends together disparate scenes so perfectly. But despite looking good, the film got bogged down by its narrative in wanting to dwell unnecessarily on the romantic aspect between Sam and his girlfriend Lila, played by Naomi Watts, who seemed a bit too pedestrian in her role as a pained-supportive flower vase type character.

Upping the ante on the creepiness, the soundtrack is an eclectic mix of dark sounding tunes, and again I do agree with the use of Massive Attack's Angel to highlight the general mood of strangely calming state of confusion. Director Marc Forster (Monster's Ball, Finding Neverland) and writer David Benioff (who wrote the screenplay for 25th Hour) managed to throw some red herrings and caught me offguard a couple of times as I was made comfortably smug at what I thought were plenty of deja vu moments, but not quite.

I was waiting for the end-all-explain-all finale, but it didn't treat its audience as silly folks and didn't resort to spelling out everything in verbatim. Every strange thing that you spotted had a reason behind it, and they all come together in a satisfying resolution. Even the title has a meaning when you reached this point.

Code 1 DVD contains both the fullscreen and widescreen versions of the movie. The special features however, are split into each side. The fullscreen side consisted of the trailer and The Music of Stay featurette, lasting 8mins 10s recounting how the unique sounds and score for the movie were made.

On the widescreen side, it contains a featurette called "Departing Visions" (7mins), which is a documentary of "experiencers" - people who had gone through near death experiences, sharing what they felt and went through. Pretty creepy stuff, hearing them out.

**Mild Spoilers Ahead**

The bulk of the special features belongs to the scene specific commentary, divided into two sections. The first had a series of 5 clips with commentary provided by the director Marc Forster and actor Ryan Gosling. You gotta crank up the volume and peel your ears though as Gosling almost always mumbles his comments. The clips are

1. Sam and Henry Meet (3mins 50s), touching on the breaking of the 180 degree rule.
2. Strip Club (2mins 15s), touching on style.
3. I Met Your Mother Last Night (5mins), which talked about the special camera which could spin on its axis, used for a shot in this clip.
4. Henry Heals Leon (3mins 36s), talking about Bob Hoskins.
5. The Last Memory Before You Die (8mins 20s), which recounted Ryan Gosling being the cameraman shooting the scene from his character's point of view.

The other section of the commentary was provided by director Marc Forster, editor Matt Chesse, second unit director Kevin Tod Haug and director of cinematography Roberto Schaefer. They provided some in depth discussions on how the look of the film was achieved, and shared quite a bit on the technicalities, in 7 extended clips:

1. The Opening (11mins), talking about the morphings and the transitions
2. Nothing Makes Sense (4mins 7s), touching on mini-morphs and the number of takes stacked on top of one another.
3. The End (11mins, 7s)
4. The Spiral Staircase (12mins), which was shot in the Church of St John the Divine, which dragged on until the Henry Heals Leon scene, and provided an interesting interpretation of the Last Memory scene.
5. Club Meds (5mins 11s)
6. The Noodle Scene (16mins 24s), their intense night of production - 15 hours straight
7. The Columns (9mins 5s), which actually provided an insight as to why Dr Sam Forster's pants are always a cut above the ankle.

I didn't expect the above to last that long, as the filmmakers just ratted on continuously, allowing one scene to run to the next and the next, while eager to share some insights as to how certain shots were created, or what decisions were made to come up with it.

[DVD] Toy Story 2 (1999)

You Got A Friend In Me!

There are few sequels that can equal or even surpass its original, and for an animated feature, perhaps Toy Story 2 is the first of its kind that didn't end up going direct to video. I'm unsure why I hadn't caught this in the theatres, given that I've thoroughly enjoyed the first Toy Story. I've taken 7 years to finally watch this gem, and of course, to include myself into the legions of Pixar fans out there who have watched every single animated feature they produced.

Toy Story 2 remains the only sequel that Pixar put out, though I'm rooting for The Incredibles to make another appearance on the silver screen. Bringing back its stellar voice cast like Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, and favourite characters that have endeared themselves to us, I'm thrilled that there is so much more story that can be told of our favourite toys in Andy's room.

What worked, at least for me, is that the story and characters appealed to the child inside. I own quite a number of toys as a kid, and yes, I outgrew them, although most of them are still stored in boxes somewhere around the house. Perhaps some of them are small collector's item in their own right, and as a child I did wonder if the toys do come alive to wreck havoc around the room before they retire in time and clean up before I wake up.

Of course toys do not come to life (or do they?) but here in this sequel, the exploration of the friendship theme takes on a different dimension when Woody finds himself with other toys from the same collection as he is - a cowgirl Jessie, his trusty steed Bullseye, and a prospecting character known as Stinky Pete. The dilemma he faces is whether to cast aside his constant fear of Andy abandoning him for good, and opt for life with his new found family in some museum somewhere, where he'll be appreciated for many moons to come, or to return with Buzz and his friends for the life he has grown so accustomed to.

The adaptation to change, loyalty, abandonment, friendship - a lot of themes for a children's movie, but that again is the appeal of Toy Story, that it can be viewed at different levels, for a child who can enjoy the animation and the story at one level, and for adults to reminisce and enjoy it on another. By deftly handling the different themes, and appealing to different segments of audiences with the same movie, Pixar exhibited exactly why they're top dogs in this field.

As always, the music and animation are excellent, and given that I'm watching this now and found it enjoyable, I think they have a film that can stand the test of time. I hear of rumours of a third Toy Story movie, and if that were true, I'd say bring it on!

Viewed this from the Code 1 DVD 2-Disc Special Edition by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, and the first disc contains the movie proper, a trailer to Cars, as well as a short introductory clip by director John Lasseter (about 1min 30s long). The feature film comes complete with an all new Dolby 5.1 Surround EX or the DTS 5.1 Surround Sound ES, so take your pick. No bonus features on the first disc.

The second disc is the bonus disc, containing a tremendous load of extras:

The Toy Box: A section consisting of Outtakes (5mins 27s), Who's the Coolest Toy featurette (3mins 19s) with cast interviews on their opinions of their favourite Toy Story toy, a music medley by Riders in the Sky consisting of Woody's Roundup, Jessie the Yodelling Cowgirl and You've Got a Friend in Me (3mins 11s), and some faux pas autographed pictures (45s). There's also a quiz like game to determine which Toy Story character you are (I'm a Buzz Lightyear!), through an interactive MCQ, and a pretty useless Japanese segment called "Ponkickies".

There are only 2 deleted scenes included after an introduction (47s) - Godzilla Rex (1min 28s) and Crossing the Road (1min 56s), and the Making of Toy Story 2 Featurette (8mins 10s).

Topping it off is a series of behind the scenes look into the making of the movie, consisting of plenty of sub menus and categories, with a profile on director John Lasseter (3mins 6s), and the cast of characters (3mins 30s). You'll also get to check out the designs of the characters - including galleries and 3D turnarounds (17mins), designs of sets - including galleries and 3D tours (11mins) and the design of colours in a gallery (4mins 30s).

There are also sub sections on Story (7mins 8s) - consisting of the story pitch of Woody's Nightmare sequence and the story sketch on Jessie's Song, a Production section (17mins 19s) on things like animation tests, special effects and the making of Woody's Roundup, a section on Music and Sound (14mins 8s) on the making of the songs and containing the Woody's Roundup music video, and Publicity materials (8mins 32s) with character interviews, trailers, TV spots and posters.

A lot of material there for anyone to get acquainted with the making of a masterpiece.

[DVD] NANA (2005)

DVD Cover

My curiosity was piqued when I saw many of the DVDs on sale at various shops recently, so was actually wondering what the movie's all about, until I chanced upon a copy (Special Edition too) at the Esplanade Library. In giving it a shot, I'm pleasantly surprised, at the story it told, as well as the eye-candy available of course.

It contains an extremely strong story of friendship, of love and the falling out of, adapted from a popular Japanese manga of the same name, by Ai Yazawa. You might liken it to Feel 100%, as it touches on life, romantic love, and friends. This is the story with a theme primarily centered on Fate, of how two strangers sharing the same name Nana, be the same age, come to meet one night on a train to Tokyo for their own personal reasons, and how they grow to be best friends. The two girls can be so different from each other, one being a kawaii (cute) bimbo, while the other is a rock chick (which I thought was in the mould of Garbage's Shirley Manson) with her own rock band called Black Stones.

While the narrative is forward moving for Nana Komatsu (Aoi Miyazaki), in following her objective to be in Tokyo with her boyfriend Shoji (Yuuta Hiraoka), Nana Osaki (Mika Nakashima, a real life singer) is in the city to try and achieve her big break for the band. However, flashbacks and the slow revelation of Osaki's backstory too revealed a romantic tangle she had with an ex-band member Ren Honjou (Ryuhei Matsuda), who now plays for a successful outfit called TRAPNEST.

It's an account of the two Nana's romantic relationships with the guys in their lives, and how they encourage and support each other through turbulent times during the relationships. While Nana Osaki may be kawaii, her clingy puppy dog attitude may put some guys off, who might prefer the more confident Nana Osaki. But pride too is an obstacle, as I know from personal experience how two very ambitious persons can stumble unwittingly, and perhaps reluctantly sacrifice love for personal career.

Before you dismiss this as a chick flick, I'd like to say I would think otherwise. It may look like one, but it's tremendously well made, with a well paced narrative. Perhaps having the manga serve as a source provided for richer characterization of the leads. The two actresses who play both Nanas too couldn't contrast each other perfectly, and all in all, it's a very pleasing, despite the down moments in the story, movie to watch.

By the way, the sequel has already been filmed, and is pending a year end release. I don't suppose we'll get the opportunity to see it in the theatres here, so will have to cross my fingers for a quick DVD release.

Nana Meets NANA

This Code 3 DVD Special Edition by Panorama Entertainment comes with 2 discs. The first contains the movie and a full length commentary by director Kentaro Otami as well as the two lead actresses Mika Nakashima and Aio Miyazaki. Listening to them during the commentary, they revealed which shots were kept close to the manga source, and which had to be changed for reasons ranging from aesthetics to form. No worries though, as the commentary comes with subtitles as well, in both English (though there were some grammar/tense issues with "shotted") and Chinese. Audio comes in a Dolby Digital 5.1, which allows for a truly rock-concert like atmosphere during scenes when the bands perform.

The second disc is the feature disc, consisting of

- Making of NANA,(33mins 25s), follows the production from the 15-16 Jan 05 when filming began, including the director and cast interviews, as well as deleted scenes (filmed but not used in the movie)
- Premiere Screening in Japan, 7 July (for obvious reasons) 2005 (3mins 10s), in Rippongi, with the director and major casts sharing their thoughts on the movie and of the characters they play.
- Stage Appearance in Japan, 3 Sep 2005, (3mins 55s) with the director and major casts sharing their thoughts of the movie again.
- Asia Premiere in Hong Kong, on 2 Oct 2005 (4mins), with a press conference attended by director Kentaro Otani, Mika Nakashima and Ryuhei Matsuda, and the attendance at the premiere screening complete with a cosplay contest.
- Four theatrical trailers, without subtitles (Runtimes of 1min 48s, 30s, 20s, 34s)
- Four TV Spots, without subtitles (Runtimes of 17s, 17s, 30s, 17s)

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Shake and Bake, Baby!

At one glance, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (what a mouthful) is surely the live-action version of this summer's Cars, with its setting in NASCAR racing, the drive (pardon the pun) to be number one on the race track, and its storyline in finding out what truly matters in life besides the race (oops, another pun) to the top.

Will Ferrell plays the title character Ricky Bobby, born in the backseat of his speed demon father's racer. A stroke of luck sees him transformed from pit stop crew to the #1 driver in NASCAR, living life from a philosophy imparted from his dad, that if you ain't first, you're last. Fame and wealth come rolling in, until one day a French F1 driver, Jean Girrard (Sacha Baron Cohen) arrives on the race circuit scene and threatens to take over the top dog spot.

The movie is split into equal portions between Ricky Bobby's meteoric rise to fame, which allowed for plenty of laughs, while the latter half is filled with relatively slower moments in regaining confidence after a Days of Thunder-ish event. One scene which truly cracked me up is the one in the hospital - it came out from out of the blue, and tickled me so hard that tears just rolled uncontrollably. The other scene which was as interesting, was one over the dinner table, although it did feel a little stretched out and could be shortened for pacing's sake. But despite the number of sight gags, and witty lines, the jokes here felt a little unevenly spread, which also meant that some of them did fall flat or get repetitive.

What lifted the movie is the support from the secondary casts, with John C Reilly playing Ricky Bobby's wingman and best friend Cal, Michael Clarke Duncan as the race / pit stop manager, and the kids who played Ricky's sons, who surprisingly got the best of the crude one liners, and actually had some form of character development. Sacha Baron Cohen, of Ali G and Borat fame, hams it up with his fake thick French accent and mannerisms - a pity that he doesn't get more screen time as the prime villain.

There are some cuts in the movie given that its PG rating here - censored out were the gay bits, and gay kissing, which jarred the movie though it wasn't missed. What surprised me when watching this movie right after You, Me and Dupree, was the similarities in themes, characters and scenes. We have the same issues with the best friend, a main character who doesn't appreciate nor is contended with what he has, taking things for granted, the father character playing a significant role, as well as "Career Day".

Stay tuned right up until after the end credits roll for a small scene, which also had similarities to You, Me and Dupree's, in having a book feature in the scene.

You, Me and Dupree

We've Got To Show Some Together-Ness!

If the saying Two's a Company and Three's a Crowd is anything to go along with, then the third person in a sacrificial team up here, is unfortunately Kate Hudson. Sure, the movie is about how the newlywed Peterson couple, Carl and Molly (Matt Dillon and Hudson) invited trouble into their lives when Carl's best friend Randy Dupree (Owen Wilson) "temporarily" lives with them, it's precisely her role as the frustrated wife turned sympathizer who gets less screen time, less development of sorts, and as a comedy, less of the laughs.

I'm unsure if comedies of such nature tend to like to take the dramatic route halfway, as even supposedly laugh-out-loud offerings like Talladega Nights (in another review) seem to like to venture into drama to say, hey, I've got a message here that I'd like to share, so that you can take something home with you when the lights come on. It's not rocket science, but a pretty apt reminder about achieving that perennial work life balance (come to think of it, if your wife looks anything like Kate Hudson, would you not choose to go home early everyday?)

The laughs stem from what you've already seen in the trailers, as with all (un)invited guests who stay at your castle, it's one thing being best of buds with someone, but a totally different ballgame when personal space is encroached upon and living habits clash. The comedy is focused just on the systematic destruction of the matrimonial home, in the figurative sense as well.

The characters of Dupree and Carl personify the conflicts of the modern day man in society today - that of the focused professional at work, delivering his best to bring home a larger share of the bacon, and that of the man who's at home to help out most of the time, which of course for a slacker (debatable here) like Dupree, it's a piece of cake. I'm sure most folks will identify with the never ending tussle for one's time to divide it amongst family, work and friends, in some order of priority.

It's been some time since Matt Dillon played a leading man role in a movie to hit the screens here, and I thought he's one of the most understated character actor out there who deserves more attention. Kate Hudson didn't have much to do, except perhaps to start that real life romantic rumour with co-star and one of the producers of the movie, Owen Wilson. Comedy has always been a staple in Owen's filmography, but here his character turned out to be plain annoying rather than fun loving. Even Michael Douglas' supporting role as a Gordon Gekko clone failed to break the lacklustre performance of the threesome.

Truth be told, You, Me and Dupree has very little genuinely funny moments, and it's stuck in the middle of trying to find ways to be funny, and wanting to include some serious message on family and friendship. The pace sags midway as it dallies its time in drama, leading to a plain run up to an ending which lacks the inspiration it aims to achieve.

Stay until after the end credits for a cameo appearance by a prominent sports personality mentioned during the story. And yes, eagle-eyed viewers who noticed that familiar Little Miss Sunshine yellow volkswagon van in a car park scene, it's rumoured the same one as both movies were in production at around the same time.

Severance

I can't recall in recent times a slasher movie that made me both want to wince at the gore, but yet laugh out loud at the same time. Perhaps The Host fit the bill, but that monster movie is in a league of its own.

No monsters in Severance, but enough blood and violence to keep fans of the genre happy. I think the British are having a mighty fine time in making these sort of movies, and the differentiating factor here is the creepy atmosphere it managed to build (horror shows of late can learn a trick or two), but yet snappy enough at certain portions to make you laugh, not because the movie's deliberately comical.

You can click at the movieXclusive logo below to read my review:

GV VivoCity - A Sneak Peek

Singapore's largest cinema to date, GV VivoCity, with 15 screens, is set to open this Saturday, 7 Oct 06, with a free preview to the public from 1230pm onwards, to have a look at its facilities.

Gold Glass Dedicated Entrance

Dedicated Lounge Area

There're 3 Gold Class theatres with its own lounge area, complete with wine and rich food (the brownie's excellent I tell you). For those who can afford it, it's probably the best halls in the house. The seats are plush and comfy, and able to recline flat horizontally, or whatever angle that suits your fancy. You'll also be able to summon your food and drinks through the call-button, think of it like watching a movie on board a flight, only that the screen's much larger.

Gold Class Interior
The Reclining Plush Seat

Cine Europa and its Tables

To rival Cathay's Picturehouse, Cinema Europa (Hall 12) distinguishes itself from the other halls with its green coloured seats, wider arm rests, and side table to put your drinks and food. Yes, food and drinks ARE allowed into the hall, unlike Picturehouse's unpopular house rules. Even though the seats are not made by world class designers, it's comfortable enough, unlike the weird ones at Picturehouse. I suspect that both won't be screening the same movie, so it doesn't matter whether one chain will steal business from the other. Anyway it's a pity that Cinema Europa's premiere movie is Scoop, which you can watch from any other ordinary theatre hall/chain.

Largest In The House

As its largest hall in the house, GV Max is widely touted as having one of the widest screens in Asia. True to its word, every seat in the house is a good seat. I've tested the front row, and the corner seats right in front as well, and because they're stadium styled and curved, you don't have to crane your neck, or shift your body for that comfortable viewing angle.

Screen is 11m away from Front Row

It's designed such that there is really no need to shift your bum. When seated in front at the centre aisle front row seats, the screen envelopes your entire peripheral vision comfortably, though I still wouldn't recommend watching an action movie too up close. So even if there are tickets available at the front row only, you might still want to take them. But take note this design only applies to GV Max.

GV Max Foyer

Look out Grand Cathay and Lido 1, your rival has arrived! And what's more, GV VivoCity has so much more room at its foyer and lobby, air-conditioned so that you need not suffer from standing out there in the open, under the haze, that it's almost perfect for those Gala Premieres. I think it's kinda cheeky too to adopt the "Staircase" which Cathay ditched for its Handy Road flagship, and incorporate it into its own design at VivoCity.

The Staircase
Level 1 Foyer

The other halls, though designed with stadium seating, still have that craning of the neck requirement if you sit too close to the front. But the major major plus point, is the legroom. For tall people like me, this is heaven. No more cramped up legs! You can even cross your legs and slouch, and there's still enough legroom left for those sitting beside you to pass by. And this doesn't give any excuses for the person at the back to repeatedly kick your seat, one of the pet peeves in cinema-going.

Heavenly Legroom!
Glorious Legroom

During the preview we had countless of ultra-friendly staff smiling and greeting you, and even opening up doors for you. Guess customer attentiveness is also one of the differentiators that GV VivoCity is trying to rival Cathay's.

Friendly Staff Everywhere

You can click at the movieXclusive logo below to have a taste of the events lineup until the end of the year


To have a sneak peek into the cinema, watch this clip aye?

The Almost Weekly Wednesday Midnight Bulletin #2

It's a relatively quiet week this, probably the calm before the storm of releases over the next two, with directors Woody Allen and Oliver Stone squaring off with each other at the local box office.

Flick of the Week
The second consecutive movie filmed in London by Woody Allen, and staring his latest muse, Esquire Magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive Scarlett Johansson, Scoop is an engaging and humourous murder-mystery. Co-starring Hugh Jackman, it's actually Woody Allen who stole the show as small time magician Splendini. Should appeal to the masses, give it a shot!

BLOCKBUSTER
I hate to qualify World Trade Center as a "blockbuster", but given the marketing muscle, it's difficult not to as it's touted like one. Forget about conspiracy theories, this Oliver Stone film is devoid of them. Also, this isn't a Titanic, so it's a no frills and also no view on most of what you've already seen on television. The focus here instead is on 2 men stuck in a rubble, and how their wives and family cope with the lack of information.

Fans of Nicolas Cage will probably flock to see this one, after being denied Lord of War and The Weather Man on the big screen.

The Date Movie
It's actually a tie with Scoop, between Scarlett Johansson and Hugh Jackman, but the threesome of Matt Dillon, Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson will take the crown for The Date Movie this week for You, Me and Dupree. After suffering countless times of having its release date postponed, one wonders if audience interest managed to be sustained.

Acquired Tastes
The Picturehouse will premiere a Chinese movie titled Little Red Flowers, after weeks of having The Beat That My Heart Skipped probably playing for the longest time since it's re-opening. With competition coming up in GV's Cinema Europa theatre hall at Vivocity, it's gonna be keen competition for the art house dollar!

The Almost Weekly Wednesday Midnight Bulletin (C) 2006
Published at A Nutshell Review
http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com

Citizen Dog - The Second Viewing

I first watched Citizen Dog last month during the ASEAN Film Festival, and fell in love with it, for its story about a country bumpkin leading a simple unambitious life, working in the city of Bangkok and finding every day an opportunity to learn and adapt, and falling for a goal-oriented city girl. You can read my earlier review here.

But what's so true, is the opening intertitle, its underlying theme, and the experience of it in a recent incident - that you'll never find something if you persistently look for it; let it come to you instead.

my heart was empty
until your love came in
and showed my eyes the light
beside me there was no one
until your compassion
inspired me to keep fighting - ...Before, Modern Dog

I'm still humming the theme song titled "...Before" until this day, as it's highly addictive. I take public transport, and you have no idea how the tune just automatically hums along in your mind as you recall certain scenes from the movie. There're also a number of variations to it too as used in the movie, and the one as performed by a band as the end credits rolled seemed to add a tinge of rock flavour.

Mahasamut Boonyaruk, the lead actor who plays our hero Pod, was in the (Picture)house today to grace the occasion of this one-time special screening, at the invitation of Objectifs as part of the Panasonic-MDA Digital Film Fiesta. The director Wisit Sasanatieng was supposed to be in attendance as well, but couldn't make it, so Khun Mahasamut had to double up in answering some questions on behalf of the director. Not that he's never done this before as we were told, frequently attending festivals abroad for this crowd-pleasing movie.

When he was introduced by Yuni Hadi of Objectifs before the movie began, I thought Khun Mahasamut was a little bit shy and as clueless as his character Pod, or perhaps he was in character, being the first trip to Singapore turning out to be an eye opener for him (he didn't realize that English is so widely-used here, which serves him well, rather than to rely on finger pointing which he did in Japan). His one-word "speech" - "Enjoy!" before the screening turned out to be an understatement - I'm quite sure many in the audience today had enjoyed the movie tremendously.

Khun Mahasamut shared a few nuggets of information from the movie, and I shall list some of them down here in point form, to be best of my memory:

Yuni Hadi and Mahasamut Boonyaruk

1. The film is adapted from a novel written by Wisit's wife, which in turn was based on Wisit's idea about wanting to write something about Bangkok and life in the city. So when the book was released, Wisit revisited the material and adapted it into Citizen Dog.

2. His favourite 3 Thai directors are Wisit, Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and he hopes to work with the latter two in projects if given the opportunity.

3. He's actually a musician rather than a professional actor, although he starred in some commercials and modelled before. His next movie is a Thai Horror movie.

4. Someone recommended him to audition for the role of Pod, which he did, and the rest, as they say, is history.



5. Citizen Dog actually was a commercial flop in Thailand - it appeared and disappeared in the local screens in less than one week. The movie is travelling well in the film festival circuit though.

6. The band of blind musicians playing the theme song at the end credits is a real life blind band - they roam the streets of Bangkok and play where there's a crowd. [Seems like I must keep an eye out for them the next time I'm there]

7. Wisit wrote some of the songs, as did Khun Mahasamut.

8. Wisit directs commercials for a living, working in an advertising firm. His colleague in the same firm is Pen-Ek and their desks are side-by-side (not sure if Khun Mahasamut meant this tongue-in-cheek)



9. Wisit is extremely quiet in person, and for the role of Pod, he actually directed Khun Mahasamut by showing him what he wanted, i.e. playing the role himself.

10. The plastic bottle mountain was actually made, though in a much smaller scale, and with the assistance of special effects and the good ol' blue screen. It's hollow beneath the surface.

I did my wai and greeted Khun Mahasamut, before launching into a series of short discussions on how I liked his performance in the movie, and whether the DVD is already out. He explained that the Thai DVD is available, but lacked subtitles, though he thinks that given the relative success of the movie in Europe, he wouldn't be surprised that a version with English subtitles will be available soon enough.



Khun Mahasamut did ask a rhetorical question during the group Q&A, but I'm surprised nobody picked it up and mentioned it to him. He thought I was a filmmaker, and asked if I would be able to recommend a local movie to him. Immediately I thought of Singapore Dreaming, a movie which I enjoyed, so why not share it with him? I explained that if he wanted to sample a slice of issues that we deal with here, he might want to check out the movie, which is of course still showing (though with limited screenings) in local cinemas, and won an award for scriptwriting at the San Sebastian Film Festival. How's that to plug the movie for you, Colin? :-)

Anyway as with all good, the night has got to end, but first, not without a quick photo opportunity with the actor playing one of my favourite screen characters Pod, in one of my favourite movies, Citizen Dog!

Mahasamut and I

[VCD] Rabun (2003)

While awaiting the premiere of Mukhsin here, it's by incredible luck that I've managed to locate the Rabun VCD, and have the opportunity to watch writer-director Yasmin Ahmad's first feature length movie, after having enjoyed Sepet and Gubra so much, with the former still my personal #1 favourite movie.

The story is clearly an ode to Yasmin's parents, as the focus is squarely on the on screen version of Pak Atan (M Rajoli) and Mak Inom (Kartina Aziz). It's a simple heartfelt story on the elderly folks as they journey out from the city to the village, where life is perceived to be easier, the neighbours nicer, and the environment just less complicated. But a series of events force them to rethink these assumptions, especially after interactions with Yem and his stepmother.

What raised some eyebrows as personified by the Yasin character, is the observation of how love is professed amongst Pak and Mak. I don't see any qualms about them showering together, or tickling each other, but these are a flavour of some of the scenes in Sepet which got cut. Perhaps, like Yasin, some folks do take a while to get used to these lovey-dovey elements being portrayed, if one adopts a more conservative stand and freak out in knowing their elderly parents still make love.

The cinematic style used in Rabun is clearly not the usual, with dialogue said without being seen, with the camera rarely moving, plenty of static shots or just the absence of close ups at times, preferring to film the scene from afar. As in Yasmin's later movies, Rabun is filled with an excellent soundtrack of music from everywhere, and I like that psychedelic sounding Thai music used, as well as the song used for the opening credits.

In the world that Yasmin weaved in her movies, although the names of the characters are the same (Orked's family), the movies feel related to one another, but not in the most direct of ways. You could force Rabun to be positioned much after the sequence of events in Gubra, but then again it somehow doesn't seem quite right. However, because the source and inspiration is the same, the characteristics of Pak and Mak do come across in similar fashion, no matter which movies, but as of now, I still prefer the Harith-Iskander-Ida-Nerina pairing. Look out for familiar faces playing different roles in Rabun and Gubra too!

Being Yasmin's first movie, I would like to think of Rabun as being the melting pot of ideas. Like how the character of Elvis (played by Malaysian director Ho Yuhang), a Chinese guy explaining his fear of marrying a Muslim girl (inter-racial romance in Sepet), certain touching dialogue making their way to the later films, said by the same characters, or a precursor to certain events that are played out in more detail (Pak's illness in Gubra). For some reason I can't hold my enthusiasm when I saw Pak and Mak riding on a bicycle, a scene which we'll see with the young Mukhsin and Orked.

And yes, I've finally seen the kuching berak! :-D

P.S. I'm still not quite satisfied with watching this once, will probably watch it again soon enough. And I lament that I'm probably missing quite a bit as certain lengthy dialogue were summarized in the English subtitles. I also suspect that there is more beneath the surface because it's hard to believe it's so deceptively simple, but I just can't articulate it properly after one viewing.

Wah Lau Eh! Singapore Dreaming Won at San Sebastian!

In case you're not aware, Singapore Dreaming WON an award at the 54th San Sebastian Film Festival!

Woo Yen Yen and Colin Goh picked up the Montblanc New Screenwriters Award!

Playing to total sell out crowds in its 4 screenings at San Sebastian some more you know? To find out more about the festival proceedings, you can click onto their blog.

Congratulations to the cast and crew of Singapore Dreaming in this win! This augers well for our budding movie scene!

And yes, it's still playing in local theatres, so if you haven't watched it yet, GO!

Click here to read my review.
Click here to read my second review.
Click here to read an interview with the directors Woo Yen Yen and Colin Goh, or here to access the interview directly.

Teaser


Trailer