Beowulf

Surely You Want To Poke Me Somewhere Else?

Robert Zemeckis had directed a handful of movies which I have enjoyed over the years, with what I thought to be one of the best trilogies out there with Back to the Future (the Power of Love anyone?), and a couple of Tom Hanks movies like Forrest Gump and Cast Away, and teaming with Hanks to make The Polar Express, where Zemeckis ventures into the territory of motion capture animation. He continues that effort with Beowulf, a take on the legendary warrior now given the spin by writers Neil Gaiman (whose Stardust is still playing in theatres) and Roger Avary.

As the story goes, King Hrothgar's (Anthony Hopkins) Danish kingdom is under constant threat from a butt-ugly creature called Grendel (voiced by Crispin Glover, which I swear you'll find it hard to make out what it's actually saying), who hates the kingdom's merry making, and plays party pooper by massacring the King's men. So when all hope is lost, Hrothgar sends word out that worldly rewards be bestowed upon anyone who can rid his Kingdom of the demon. Enter Beowulf (Ray Winstone), a medieval Constantine and his band of merry Vikings, who volunteer their service. Think of it as Leonidas and his 300 men (here it's only 14), a group of professional soldier of fortune whose aim in life is to seek out adventure, and to gloriously die in battles.

But there's a little bit of mystery added to why Grendel has such affinity to mass destruction, and soon Beowulf learns exactly why temptation is hard to resist, especially if it comes in the form of a naked Angelina Jolie as Grendel's Mother, oozing sex, strange accent and dripping wet, a hybrid of the world's sexiest woman, and a lizard (thank goodness it's just that slinky tail), an object of lustful desire. In fact, the leads have a penchant of getting naked, and Beowulf's habit of stripping and showing off his well buffed body, has the filmmakers employ somewhat unintentionally comedic moments to utilize objects in the scene to preserve his modesty (think Austin Powers style), and I most certainly am curious if successfully slaying demons will give him a hard on, ha!

It visits the theme of the greed of man, whether you're willing to compromise, lie and boast about false achievements (hang your head, all those of you who artificially spruce up your work resume) in order to gain recognition, fame, fortune and the likes. And of course, what you do echoes in eternity (OK, so I borrowed that from somewhere else), and the sins of the father will come back to haunt you, naturally. There are those who can be trusted, but sleeping with the enemy is just asking for it. But this movie isn't titled Beowulf for nothing, and given his exploits in this movie, with actually only 2 major action sequence involving the titular character, I suppose a Beowulf action figure will sell like hot cakes. One thing's for sure though, this movie puts Eragon's monster lizard to shame, even though the latter had more of such flying creatures, but this one's the one that has "menacing" written all over its wings.

The animation here is top notch, and flawless, especially when projected on a 4K Digital theatre hall, where I viewed Beowulf in. Audiences here no longer have an IMAX cinema with 3D, and I would have loved to watch this movie in that format instead, given the number of identified moments that would have gotten the 3D treatment. But still, a digital projection at that 4K level of detail, is close to excellence par none. I do not know how much more can it be bumped up before our eyes can tell the difference no longer. Every image is so sharp, that some might complain it loses the warmth that film gives you. And I for one always thought that animation in motion capture format, is somewhat "cheating", where the actors already provide you the template to add on fanciful colors and make believe environments, leaving very little detail for the animator to fill. Still, the film is in the running for nomination in next year's Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, and while I expect nomination to be a shoo-in, stiff competition is abound to actually win it.

However, I thought this Beowulf might find it hard pressed for second helpings, and there aren't many Jolie-less scenes or action sequences that make this truly memorable after the end credits roll. Worth a watch for an out-and-out action flick in the vein of 300, but offers very little else. Even the supposed love entanglements with Wealthow (Robin Wright Penn) and Ursula (Alison Lohman) fell through without some devotion of screentime, and the fast forwarding in the middle of the movie, doesn't help a lot too.

[World Cinema Series] A Touch of Zen (俠女 / Xia Nü)

The General and the Lady

It's not everyday you get to see the classics on the big screen, projected from 35mm film. Being a fan of the martial arts genre since young, I have been following new releases fairly faithfully, and getting my hands on as many of such movies that were made by the truckloads in the 70s and early 80s. The National Museum Cinematheque's World Cinema Series this year brings to us King Hu's masterpiece A Touch of Zen, and I would not miss this opportunity for the world to watch it together with a full house.

Stephen Teo, who had written a well-researched book entitled King "Hu's A Touch of Zen" on the making of the movie and an in-depth analysis of it, was present to share his thoughts on director King Hu and the movie A Touch of Zen, having seen the film on 35mm for the 5th time today. However, the print that was obtained from the Taiwanese Film Archive could have been better. While Part 1 (yes, it was in two parts, with a total run time of 187 minutes) was fairly unblemished save for the expected scratches, pops and cackles that appear occasionally due to the age of the print, Part 2 could have been in better condition, given that the crucial battle scene in an abandoned fort was shot in the dark given the night time raid, couple of missing frames which thankfully didn't jar the affected scene much, and a number of colour issues. The difference was felt immediately, as the famed bamboo battle scene was at the tail end of Part 1, and Part 2 recapped it in its entirety (note that Part 2 was theatrically released separately, hence the supposed need to jog the audience's memory as to where they were left off), so immediate comparisons on print quality was inevitable.

However, that still didn't mar my enjoyment of this classic, which won the Cannes Film Festival 1975 Technical Grand Prize Award. Stephen also shared that when the movie was first released (in two parts), they were box office flops, despite its high production values, and riding on the success of King Hu's previous movies Come Drink With Me and Dragon Inn, which also featured some of its stars here. Curiously, the movies so far being featured in the World Cinema Series like Youssef Chahine's Cairo Station and Shohei Imamura's The Profound Desire of the Gods were box office flops at their time of initial release, only being critically appreciated much later.

The movie is paced deliberately slow, but never boring you to bits. King Hu had tremendous say in the movie, and the camera spends much time lingering around, especially in the beginning of the film, to showcase the scale of the sets being designed based on inputs no less by Hu himself. In fact, the first line of dialogue doesn't even get uttered until about 10 minutes into the movie! It encompasses many universal themes, covering political intrigue, history, ghosts and spirits, battle strategies, and of course, Zen, in what I thought it rather forced its way into the narrative. Based on a short story by Pu Song Ling in his Liao Zhai anthology, the original story, which Stephen Teo added into his book as an appendix, is worth reading to see how it served as a basis on which King Hu had expanded from, and will no doubt raise some eyebrows with its homoerotic undertones, especially during its time. But of course, A Touch of Zen has nothing of those, and naturally junked the spiritual elements (save for the supposedly ghostly encounters early in the movie, and used as a key strategic piece later) for something more concrete.

The Chinese title is (俠女 / Xia Nü), but she doesn't appear until about 30 minutes into the movie. A Touch of Zen perhaps provided an early precursor to Louis Cha's Guo Jing and Huang Rong in one of my favourite stories Legend of the Condor Heroes, the former skilled in martial arts but rather dim witted, while the latter not as skilled in fighting, but possesses a brilliant mind. Here, the roles are reversed, and we have a poor scholar Ku Shen Chai (Shih Chun), skilled in the arts, but a rather contended, filial man who's constantly pressured by his aged mother to either find a wife, or go for the Imperial Examinations to become a court official (with fame and fortune come expected with the post), or better yet, do both. His idol is master strategist Zhuge Liang (we see a scene later where he mimics the image of Zhuge with his headgear and fan), and little does his know that his knowledge of strategies would be called upon when he volunteers his services to assist in the Xia Nü, Yang Hui-Ching's (Hsu Feng) quest for revenge, which again is a frequent theme in martial chilvary movies.

The Xia Nü Yang Hui-Ching is an alpha-female, and almost all the time, unsmiling (yet still remaining quite mesmerizing with her transfixed gaze that can shoot daggers). Fueled by the singular thought of revenge, everthing else gets cast aside, and her relationship with the scholar was one that I thought of as quite pathetic yet sad, not given much time for anything deeper to be developed between the two, and mechanically put, out of obligation. Her character's very much focused on the task at hand, with nary any inkling of typical conformance to female norms of the time, which makes her a fascinating character. Her sudden appearance in the neighbourhood, together with a host of other new characters appearing in town, from court officials, soldiers, and doctors, raises the scholar's curiosity that something is amiss, paving the way for the audience's concurrent discovery of everything that unfolds toward the latter half of Part 1.

Given the multitude of side characters here, I thought General Shi (Bai Ying) is probably the meatier of the lot, and provided plenty of comparisons between the male scholarly character, and himself, a man of war. And it is almost hardly an open secret that he does have some bits of affection toward Yang Hui-Ching, having sprinted her away from her adversaries, providing bodyguarding duties in her flight from plight, and later we realize, trying to seek a new life together away from "jiang hu", which of course, the theme says to always come with a price. He gets plenty of screen time as well, and fits our stereotypical view of how a male hero in a martial chilvary story should behave - skilled and with tremendous courage.

And what's a good martial chilvary movie if it doesn't have exciting fight sequences? For that, A Touch of Zen has its set pieces withstand the test of time. What I thought admirable was that it didn't go overboard with its fantastical elements, such as "Qing Gong" (light ability, which allows the practioner to make superhuman leaps and bounds), well, at least not until the very end where King Hu felt the need now or never to inject the Zen elements. But that's more storyline rather than action. Here, while we do see the martial artists jump up and down, the trampoline effect was indeed quite well done, technically as well as aesthetically, and doesn't go overboard like say, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon does with its running on roofs, walls, on water and on bamboo leaves. Nice to look at, but sometimes I do admit, to be bordering on the ridiculous for those who don't buy into the genre for precisely these reasons.

Speaking of bamboo forest, perhaps this was the one big location and sequence that was paid homage to in movies like Crouching and House of Flying Daggers, now bumped up with the increased number of fighters, and more stylized camera shots of arrows. Opera has its influences in the movie, in almost every aspect like the unmistakable soundtrack, and especially acting and gestures - those wide-eyed, eyeball movements (again I'd like to add that Yang Hui-Ching'S eyeballs were, erm, sexy?) and extreme facial closeups. But like Stephen pointed out, the climatic battle movements, the two-person combo-movement going for the kill, was a direct reference and technique used in opera.

And I cannot rave any more on the fighting sequences. It's a combination of swordplay and fisticuffs (some will say you have reached an ultimate level if you can battle unarmed against armed opponents), and shot in such fluid motion, even though certain sequences were sped up. However, fight sequences these days rely a little too much of computer trickery, or wire work, or bad camera angles (too close to the action) or panning too fast that you don't get to see a thing. Here, the angles are just right, and the pacing too will put you at the edge of your seat as you see the characters duke it out. The swordplay too reminded me of samurai techniques somewhat, with delivery being slow and measured, making each stroke count for the maximum rather than slashing through thin air without much purpose. A Touch of Zen also reaffirmed that Shaolin Kungfu remains the undisputed #1, with the late Roy Chiao's monk Hui Yuan being no pushover when he comes to the table talking of peace.

But I thought that the film was not without its flaws. As Stephen mentioned, King Hu thought for long about how to end the movie, and I felt it did seem that the theme of Zen was somewhat forced through in the last act of the movie. Not that I'm complaining because we get treated to more swordsplay, but it brought the film to an entirely different plane altogether, and will likely leave its audience baffled or spend much time debating what it actually meant, given its open ended finale.

I'm tempted to get the DVD for this, but of the two legitimate versions out there, a Code 1 US version and a Code 2 UK one, both unfortunately are letterboxed (non-anamorphic), and based on feedback, the visual transfer is far from pristine. I guess while I wait out for some anniversary digitally remastered edition to be released (hopefully), my advice to readers out there, is to pick up Stephen's book either from the publisher Hong Kong University Press or from the library, and to give it a read, whether you have or have not watched the movie. While it contains specific scene discussions and detailed break downs, trust me, you'll still be marvelling at the actual work when you feast your eyes on the movie. I know I did!

[DVD] The Corporation (2003)

Buy Buy Buy

Corporations are everywhere, providing goods and services that we consume day in day out. We've heard a lot of things about corporations, about their governance, social responsibility, environmental protection or lack thereof, in the news, and it's so part of every day life, can a documentary highlight its evils and stoke the flames in a call to action to make corporations more accountable for their very existence?

The Corporation is a very compelling look at corporations, about how they come about in a free market, subscribing to mantras such as "in devastation there is opportunity", the levels of protections they have managed to obtain to protect themselves against various liabilities since they are after all, legal entities with rights, and how through their doing of business, actually have plenty more opportunity costs incurred that goes against the benefit of mankind. Of course first and foremost, their objective is to maximize profits for their stockholders (Economics 101), and it becomes a tussle between stockholders, and the wider, more encompassing stakeholders, which include their workers, consumers, customers and the community.

I thought it was interesting enough for the film to have profiled the corporation to be akin to that of a psychopath, and provided enough believable evidence to support their claims. It's a very slickly done documentary, with professionally designed animation, effective talking heads dishing out enough soundbites to make you go "Hmm...", and plenty of distinctly different visuals (presentation charts, cartoon clips, news reels etc) to keep you engaged throughout its 145 minutes, which you do not feel at all. It tackles a wide range of topics about the corporation, some arguing for it, most arguing against it. It doesn't set out to explain its stand through shock tactics, but do so with very well-measured delivery and logical arguments with a call to action.

But while the filmmakers agree that you cannot expect change overnight, what little things you can do, such as exerting democratic authority over corporations by voting with your dollars, do ultimately go a long way. There are success stories incorporated here, mostly with the help of protests by civil rights groups (is that why they're deemed dangerous here, since they can become catalyst for radical changes?). And the interviewees that were assembled, are what you can call a world class power team.

Words don't do justice to this documentary. You just got to watch it, and let the barrage of arguments sink in. You might agree with most of the arguments, but wonder how the world would inconceivably be a better place without the corporation-created wants and perceived needs to add spice to our mundane lives. Oh, and the digital female voice narrating portions of the documentary, is oh so sexy!

The region free DVD from Zeitgeist Video comes in 2 discs, with the main documentary film in anamorphic widescreen. Audio comes in either English Dolby Surround or English Descriptive Video. Subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish. The menus are slickly animated and well done, and given that it's a long documentary, it's logically segmented into 24 chapters in its scene selection menu. 2 Commentary Tracks are available, one by the producer-directors-editor Mark Achbar and Jennfer Abbott, while the other track is by writer Joel Bakan.

Disc One Extras

The Q's and A's (27:11) contains 8 questions fielded on the making of the documentary, and the answers are taken from various interview panels at film festivals, interviews and talk shows. They do add an additional layer of understanding, especially on why the filmmakers did the movie, and what message they wanted to convey, since it is rather obvious you cannot eradicate corporations or their perceived "evilness" completely. Thank goodness too for the Play All option available. Audio quality in this section is mixed, inherent from the source of where the clips were obtained from.

There are 8 Deleted Scenes included, running a total of 16:45. Some contains one or two scenes dropped off from the final product, while others are actually stand alone sections which somewhat couldn't fit nicely into its already long runtime. The section on Competitive Intelligence is my favourite here, and must have been a pity to have been left out, and keep your eyes peeled for a possible pre-cursor to Michael Moore's SiCKO from clips taken from his talkshow An Awful Truth. Comes with a Play All option as well.

The Majority Report Interview with Joel Bakan the writer (39:15), is a radio talk show hosted by Janeane Garofalo (yes, that Janeane). It contains further discussions on the comparisons of the profile of a corporation with that of a psychopath, and how the structure of a corporation presents very interesting arguments on liability, especially when rights are violated. Broken again into logical pauses (for commercial breaks), by the time you sit through this, you realize that it managed to summarize the entire documentary into 40 minutes with Joel explaining pertinent issues in more depth, though of course minus the interesting visuals and talking heads.

Katherine Dodds on Grassroots Marketing (6:55) is a short look at how the movie reaches out to the audience and getting the buzz out there, through activists, its website, forums, and talks a bit about the logo design, the one with the man with an angel's halo and the devil's tail.

Rounding off the extras in Disc One are The Corporation Trailer (1:53) and the trailer of another documentary called Manufacturing Consent (2:36), and a nod to the filmmakers in its DVD Credits.

Disc Two Extras

Now this disc is the real gem. It contains a nifty searchable menu organized according to topics or interviewees. Naturally when making a documentary, there will be plenty of bits and pieces that have to be truncated to fit, and you wonder just what the interviewee had said in full. This section contains over 5 hours of additional footage where you can zoom in to topics of interest, or listen again to the interview subjects explaining their views in perspective and context. Makes a very interesting encyclopedia of knowledge on the subject examined too.

And when you have time or are clamouring for more information, click here to access the official website, now into version 2.0!

Periphery Strikes Back / Animation Nation 2007

Some public service announcements on upcoming film events...

The Periphery Strikes Back
A programme of the National Museum Cinémathèque
19 – 20 November 2007
7.30pm
Gallery Theatre
$8 (students enjoy a 20% concession)

The Periphery Strikes Back is the National Museum’s 120th Anniversary film programme which highlights the relationship between colonialism and the formation of museums. The programme also examines the different ways which the East and West view and influence each other through the medium of film.

This selection includes The Island of Demons (1933) by Friedrich Dalsheim, Viktor von Plessen and Walter Spies – a classic film which reinforced the early representation of Balinese culture by the West, and the powerful Indonesia Calling (1946) by Joris Ivens – one of the earliest anti-colonialist documentaries ever made.

Rounding off the programme is the inventive, magical and politically incisive Perfumed Nightmare (1978) by Filipino filmmaker Kidlat Tahimik – a semi-autobiographical film on his awakening to the American cultural colonialism and his subsequent reaction.

Monday 19 Nov, 7.30 pm
The Island of Demons
Dir: Friedrich Dalsheim
1933 / Germany / 74 min


Indonesia Calling
Dir: Joris Ivens
1946 / Australia / 22 min
(Total duration: 96 min)


Tuesday 20 Nov, 7.30 pm
Perfumed Nightmare
Dir: Kidlat Tahimik
1978 / Philippines / 91 min / 16 mm / PG


Ticketing
Please book tickets online at
www.nationalmuseum.sg (go to Online
Booking Page) or at the Visitor Services Counter at the National Museum of Singapore.

*****

I've had a great time during the Animation Festival last year, and was amazed by the programming coup by screening Paprika, Renaissance, and their invite of Bill Plympton to grace the occasion.

This year, watch out for TekkonKinkreet, and documentaries The Pixar Story and Moebius Redux!

And in spirit of this festival, I shall let the following pictures do the talking, so click on them for details of the event!

December Boys

Weave Your Magic

The buzz for December Boys surely points to how Daniel Radcliffe will fare sans cloak, glasses and lightning bolt scar on his forehead, to star in a movie that's totally out of the Harry Potter franchise. Gone are the fantastical elements and scores of ready, adoring fans, and in comes a serious dramatic piece about the coming of age, growing up, and raging hormones. Wait, Harry Potter is about that too doesn't it, although it stretches over 7 movies?

But Radcliffe comes through unscathed, and it's not before long that you'd forget that here's Harry Potter. While possibly the biggest recognizable name on the cast list, it wasn't a walkover performance as everyone else had raised their act and not allow a young starlet usurp the strength of the movie. Based on a novel by Michael Noonan, December Boys tells the story of 4 orphans, all being born in the month of December, who were sent packing to a seaside village for a vacation, by virtue that it's a reward sent to the orphanage, and what better (lazier?) way to select the lucky few, than the ones celebrating their birthdays the same month.

So we have Maps (Radcliffe), Misty (Lee Cormie), Sparks (Christian Byers) and Spit (James Fraser) sent on a journey that will test their close friendship, and as usual, each will come face to face with their individual challenge that will forever change their lives. Gee, I sound like a generic trailer, but trust me, although the premise might sound cliche, December Boys hinges very heavily on the delivery of the child actors for its success. While the spotlight might be on Radcliffe and Cormie, Byers and Fraser each have their own charm, but are restrained by the frequency of their characters' on-screen appearance. The landscape of Kangeroo Island adds vast scale to this relatively small movie, opening our eyes to natural geographical wonders, becoming a character in itself, with its inhabitants mere players on its grounds.

While it's not Stand By Me, there's the usual basis that lurks around begging for comparisons. And worse, the story here allows for each of them to try and go one leg up on the other, as they learn that one of the purposes they are there at the village, was to allow for one of them to be selected for adoption. Hence the competition amongst the boys as they vie for attention, putting on their best behaviour, most contrary to what their actual characters are like. Each child however, have an episode directed around him, to similarly allow the audience to pick their preferred sub plots, involving a giant fish, a misunderstood motorcycle stuntman, dealing with mortality issues when their surrogate guardian has to battle disease, and of course, saving the best for last and for Radcliffe, first love, in the form of a young lolita Lucy (Teresa Palmer).

Soon, their hot blooded young boy antics and rebellious streaks give way to a tone of seriousness, and there's where the movie adds its poignant gravitas. December Boys might not seem much from the get go, but with each passing minute, it adds layers upon layers to build its repetoire and stand up against the scrutiny of mediocrity. By the time the final scene rolls by, even though it doesn't show much and does so mostly through narration, I thought the ending was perfect, with a tinge of regret, happiness, sorrow, and a show of solidarity all rolled into one.

Factory Girl

I'm a Superstar!

It took me that long to finally watch Factory Girl, a story which tells of a wealthy party girl, a poor little rich kid's trials and tribulations, her parties and the friends she keeps, her influences and vices ranging from hard drinking to drug taking. No, it's not about Paris Hilton (you can wager some money that one will be out in future), but probably a precursor to her, a woman called Edie Sedgwick, who lived and died hard and fast. It's not the first time where we have rich young girls choosing a totally different career path for herself, the other in recent memory being Domino Harvey, played by Keira Knightley in Domino.

Sienna Miller has an uncanny facial resemblance to the real Edie Sedgwick, and hence an almost automatic choice in taking on the character. This movie brings us on a journey of her very short life, having passed away before reaching 30 years of age. We see the wrong choices she makes in life, her clueless attitude in coasting along with her drug addiction and decadent celebrity lifestyle, having been brought about Superstardom by the famous Andy Warhol (an almost unrecognizable Guy Pearce) through his casting her in his avant garde movies, and constant media praising.

The factory in Factory Girl refers to Andy Warhol's studio, a warehouse where he lets his creativity run free. Akin to Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion if I may say, where you see plenty of leeches doing what they do best, and that's to kiss Warhol's rear. In some ways, Factory Girl examines how Warhol has a huge impact to Sedgwick's life, her being his muse, and frequently seen and photographed together. But the portrayal here makes him look very much a pompous prick who has problems with his own sexuality, though adopting a very protective attitude towards his exploited creations, nary sharing his wealth with his posse, who are probably satisfied with licking up the crumbs that get fallen off the table.

But the more peculiar bit of casting and characterization, is that of Hayden Christensen's "Musician", an amalgamation of boyfriends that Sedgwick has, but implicitly, and quite obviously through the make up and costumes, that Bob Dylan's the one being referred to here. While we see how the clash of egos between Warhol and Musician comes to drastically affect Sedgwick's life, the movie didn't evoke any sense of pity on Sedgwick, and more often than not, makes us feel that she deserves whatever punishment that Life is dishing out to her.

The presentation styles adopted in this movie by George Hickenlooper were pretty mixed, constantly shifting visual techniques from documentary styled interviews, to the incorporation of remade avant garde movies, from colour to black and white. While the focus is supposed to be on Edie Sedgwick given the title, in reality, Andy Warhol as a character gets to share just about as much spotlight, probably because he's the more famous of the two, and Guy Pearce looks like a carbon copy of the real deal, taking a leaf out of Philip Seymour Hoffman's playing of Truman Capote, only with an increased amount of meanness.

When the end credits rolled, interviews with real friends and relatives tell us a little bit more on Edie, but I felt it was too little too late, that the movie itself squandered this opportunity to tell a more compelling narration of her life. Instead, those interested in more would probably hit Wikipedia and do some reading up on Andy Warhol, and Edie Sedgwick.

Doraemon: The Movie (Doraemon: Nobita No Kyôryû)

Hail The Gang's All Here

You can count on the Japanese to design a character that appeals to all demographics. If Hello Kitty and the Sanrio gang are deemed to girly, and the Ultraman/Power Rangers/Masked Rider et al deemed to manly, then Doraemon is just the perfect creation to appeal to boys and girls. A futuristic cat with more than a bagful of fantastic gadgets springing out from his pouch, my first brush with the character was through the animated television series, and later through translated comics. I still remember vividly the Doraemon gigantic soft toy (comes without the cotton wool/sponge insert, and you have to DIY) was the #1 toy that NS boys bring back from overseas during my time.

And while there have been Doraemon movies released over a period of time, this one marks the very first that makes it to the cinemas here if I recall correctly, no doubt boosted by reasonable box office numbers from recent anime movies like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Brave Story and Paprika. Watching this Doraemon movie is like taking a nostalgia trip down memory lane to meet up with familiar friends, only that the friends have been frozen in time and didn't age at all - they're still very much the school going children when we left off, with rich brat Suneo, fatty Gian, the token rose amongst the thorns Shizuka, the braggart Nobita who always shoots from the hip, but is extremely lucky to have a faithful companion that we too would love to have, Doraemon.

A typical television episode would have Nobita running into trouble, and coaxing Doraemon to bail him out, more often than not featuring one of the countless gadgets that get introduced one episode at a time. However, this is unlike the series, that we don't have an all new, all powerful gadget to encompass the entire movie, but we have a series of familiar ones such as the time machine (through the drawer), the stick-on helicopter head gear, and the shrinking ray gun. The movie doesn't delay any moment in getting things kick started, again relying on Nobita's loose tongue to get himself into trouble again, this time bragging that he could find a complete fossil to show off to his friends.

As luck would have it, he finds a fossilized egg, and uses a Doraemon gadget to bring to life a dinosaur, hence the Japanese title, and the cute creature you see adorning the posters. While not spoiling the plot for you, it's akin to a Jurassic Park episode, with our friends helping to keep the creature alive, and through the process learn about friendship, perseverance and sacrifice.

What I liked about this movie was the 2D animation. While 3D animation can be detailed and crystal clear without parallel if done right, this was a refreshing treat for the eyes as we go back to basics, to the old school style of animation, so much so that it is a breath of fresh air. And while art matters, story weighs in a lot more, so I'm glad to say that it possesses the little things in the television episodes that endears it to audiences, this time magnified for a feature length film. It's not a 90 minute film mind you, but a close to 2 hours one, but given its length, there are portions which could have been shortened of course, and I thought it really tried very hard to get some tears out of the tear ducts. Thank goodness for the well placed humour throughout the movie!

Given the school holidays just around the corner, and for young adults who reminisce growing up with the futuristic robot cat, I can't recommend Doraemon enough. An age old classic character that would appeal to all fans old or new. Oh, pity that the language in this movie is dubbed over in Mandarin. I suppose that's to allow for kiddies who can't read proper English or Mandarin yet to follow the proceedings. Would have loved it if it was in the original Japanese language track.

Saawariya

Such Pain!

I had actually asked two friends separately to come along with me to watch this movie, but twice I got rejected. I asked why, and got no reason simply other than the curt "not interested". I guess Hindi movies still get stuck in the old "dancing around the coconut tree" mindset, and trying as hard as I can, my persuasive powers fail me. But that of course can never deter me from watching the movie, and I've not regretted an iota for spending a good 142 minutes on Saawariya (Beloved).

Hindi movies, at least to me, from the limited number I've seen on the big screen, can be summed up in a word - spectacular. Perhaps this coming so from someone who have not been made ambivalent by the numerous offerings that Bollywood churns out. Saawariya is interesting though, as it has Hollywood funding, and the quality shines through with a bigger budget to play around with. It has all elements to make it entertaining, telling a solid love story, with song, dance, and of course plenty of drama. And to those who loathe Hindi movies for their characters breaking suddenly to song and dance (I don't know why this irks people though), and with extras appearing out of the blue to join in a dance or two, I can say you'll definitely enjoy this one, as it's a musical to begin with, and has every right naturally to do so.

Saawariya is a beautiful but bittersweet fairy tale love story, telling of the affection the characters have for their beloved, even though their beloved doesn't love them back. I find it lovely, though some may think I'm crazy, but it touches on the reality of that emotion called love, that in all its cruelty, could make a person go insane with all the unhealthy pining and infatuation. The gods sometimes inflict such pain on us because they can, and something unattainable always come with the appeal of a challenge, as we try to prove the stars wrong in denying us what we think is best. But in all honesty from personal experience, one of the worst things that can happen to anyone who thinks they're in love, is the one sidedness of it all, and the cold harsh reality that comes with it. We yearn for that thin shred of acknowledgement that there was at the very least some form of affection felt, in our at times desperate need to feel loved and wanted, and still today, I do not understand why in the quest for unconditional love, the hurdles that stand in our way dishes out very painful lessons.

Raj (Ranbir Kapoor) is a minstrel, who with his charms, glib tongue, beautiful singing voice (yes I know it's someone else's), and light feet, puts happiness into the lives of the down and the trodden. He rides into town with nothing but a guitar on his back and plenty of happiness to give, and finds friendship with the working girls in the red light district, in particular, a feisty woman called Gulabji (Bollywood queen Rani Mukherjee). However, this happy man will soon find himself tested to the limits, and be put through a series of tests which will either break him, or through the experience, emerge with bruises but putting into practice what he preaches. We will see him fall from grace, with actions that we will probably frown upon, but as a man madly in love, who will fault him when he revels in the darker side of the emotion, when jealousy envelopes his being?

The object of his wild affection, is a beautifully aloof lady called Sakina (Sonam Kapoor in her debut feature), a willowy figure he meets one night on a bridge, sobbing in the rain. Captivated by her beauty, he pursues her endlessly, but with great irony, we realise that she too is pining for someone, not Raj, but an Imam (played by Salman Khan, a departure from his bad boy persona), himself a mysterious figure that calls for a year's devotion from Sakina, their love so fleeting, yet so binding, and now choices are presented to both Raj and Sakina. Him, to try and prise her away from her somewhat imaginary beloved, or to provide her the pillar of strength and encouragement in waiting. Her, to forgo something vowed verbally, and to give herself and Raj a chance. This tussle makes it compelling on all fronts, with a token sub plot thrown in with Gulabji too providing a more level-headed approach to unattainable love.

Saawariya unfolds in 4 days, and it plays and feels exactly like a staged musical with a fixed number of purpose built indoor sets that look like a cross between those in Moulin Rouge and Perhaps Love, and with lovely choreographed dances, a wonderful palette of colours, gorgeous costumes and wonderful music and songs, that it is extremely difficult not to fall in love with. The excellent art direction makes this one beautiful movie to sit through, with a combination of animated graphics to add scale to the backdrop. Technically, it's hard to find any fault with it, and I can't help but admire the all roundedness that Bollywood actors have to be, with singing / lip syncing, dancing and acting all rolled into a typical day at work.

While there are a mixture of religions portrayed in the movie, I thought that it painted a perfect picture of tolerance and harmony, having culminate on the "Eid" festival, that the only evil that came out was a by product of green originated from man's emotion of love. We get the usual adage that if you love someone you have to let the person go, to seek out happiness that you can never provide by being together. "You're but a friend" is probably one of the dreaded sentence to hear coming from a loved one, and it always hurts.

There are many love stories presented in Saawariya, though some not as well developed as they should. Some characters have an air of mystery to them that never gets fully explained, like the Imam, and of Gulabji's motivation and hurt. The last third of the movie felt somewhat rushed to try and close all the plots that it opened, and I wouldn't mind if it had taken its time instead. Its take-away - the most important lesson to learn is as what Raj preaches, that in a boxing ring with Unhappiness, the best one can do each time we're clobbered, is to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves, and proceed to try and hit back. It is precisely of these ups and downs, that makes life Life.

I so like this movie, that it's going to be one of the contenders in my top 10 movies of this year. Amongst the array of song, the one where Gulabji encourages Raj (titled Chhabeela) gets my vote. And it's cheeky at times too, with the Brief Nudity rating given for its very brief ass shot when Raj actually flashes himself at an open window. But in any case, Saawariya still makes an excellent date movie to bring your beloved to, and be bowled over by what it means to be Spectacular on the silver screen.

***

I'm not sure why, but after watching the movie, I thought of this song called Desire, voiced by Deepak Chopra and Demi Moore...

Desire - Deepak Chopra featuring Demi Moore


A lover knows only humility,
He has no choice.
He steals into your alley at night,
He has no choice.
He longs to kiss every lock of your hair, Don't fret..,
He has no choice.
In his frenzied love for you,
He longs to break the chains of his imprisonment,
He has no choice.

A lover asked his beloved,
Do you love yourself more than you love me?
Beloved replied,
I have died to myself and I live for you.
I've disappeared from myself and my attributes,
I am present only for you
I've forgotten all my learnings,
But from knowing you I've become a scholar.
I've lost all my strength,
But from your power I am able.
I love myself...I love you.
I love you...I love myself.

I am your lover, come to my side,
I will open the gate to your love.
Come settle with me,
Let us be neighbors to the stars.
You have been hiding so long,
Endlessly drifting in the sea of my love.
Even so, you have always been connected to me.
Concealed, revealed,
In the unknown, in the un-manifest.
I am life itself.

You have been a prisoner of a little pond,
I am the ocean and its turbulent flood.
Come merge with me,
Leave this world of ignorance.
Be with me..,
I will open the gate to your love.
I desire you more than food or drink
My body, my senses, my mind,
Hunger for your taste
I can sense your presence in my heart
Although you belong to all the world
I wait with silent passion for one gesture, One glance from you...

Buried Alive

I've got this in the mail this morning, and the following is taken from the synopsis on the website

Buried Alive centers around a handful of 20-somethings, each unwillingly encased in a custom-made coffin. Trapped in this underground world that is ruled by a maniacal antagonist, the group must discover the connections between themselves; the reasons for their abductions; and, with luck, an escape from the nightmare. Aiding the group above ground are two sleuths, siblings Melanie and Travis, each with a secret stake tied to the victims' fates. The detectives--and the viewers of BURIED ALIVE--can piece together information gleaned from found footage and online diaries hidden on the Web, in the ultimate race against time to unravel the mystery and discover the locations of the buried coffins before time runs out. This innovative daily series will feature a new two-minute episode premiering each morning at 10:00 AM EST--so check daily for new clues.

Buried Alive is a daily web-series about 6 twenty-somethings who are kidnapped and buried alive by an enigmatic figure. Over the next six weeks, this media player will automatically update with a new episode every day, as well as exclusive clues to help you solve questions like: Who are the victims? Why were they kidnapped? Will they survive?

Locally, we had Becoming Royston which adopted something similar, with regards to web movie content being released on the internet over a period of time. Wonder if this would eventually be a precursor to a feature length film?

[DVD] The Thin Red Line (1998)

Chao Keng

It took 20 years for Terrence Malick to return to the cinema with The Thin Red Line, and if I recalled correctly, the audiences here were spoilt that same year by another much hyped about war movie, Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, which delivered to action junkies some of the more in your face type of action with plenty of violence and gore, coupled with dismembered limbs flying all over the place. By the time Malick's movie was released, war movie fans here had already been spoilt by Spielberg's offering, and have already given respect to Tom Hank's Captain John Miller, so much to say that Malick's movie, without the fast cutting action sequences that the Private possessed, was boring.

Personally, I'd like to set the record straight. If Private Ryan is akin to fast-food, delivering what is expected of a war movie without much frills, with its realistic war violence, then The Thin Red Line is like a fine restaurant cuisine that deserves to be savored and appreciated slowly. Not to say that it is slow paced, but for a war movie, it is exquisitely filmed, and captures real human emotions, good and bad, from both sides of the battleground, not just having Matt Damon looking afraid. And to anyone debunking the action sequences here as being less than stellar, they do not know what they're talking about. Granted that there are only 3 major action pieces, and the wait of almost an hour to get a shot fired, it was well worth the wait, but remember that action here takes a backseat.

For anyone who has been in the armed forces, I'd like to think that we can easily identify with any of the perspectives that were presented here by the ensemble cast. And when I say ensemble, I mean it with a capital E. One of the plus points for the marketing folks of this film to go ballistic with, is the wealth of talent at Malick's disposal - Adrien Brody, James Caviezel, Ben Chapin, John Cusack, Nick Nolte, Woody Harrelson, Elias Koteas, and folks like George Clooney and John Travolta who were obviously there for cameo star power. Some were filmed but dropped off, like Tom Cruise, Martin Sheen, Viggo Mortensen etc, and I hope one day we do see that ultimate extended originally conceived cut of this movie.

What make this film a triumph, was its characterization of the folks caught up in war. Not everyone allows for adrenaline to take over and becomes a Rambo overnight. More often than not, even with weapon at hand, we are afraid. Afraid of death, of the necessity to tote the line and follow dumb orders (we know how stupid sometimes officers can get), and the constant lingering thoughts of loved ones when you're out in that field. Yes, even though I, and many other local males, have never been at war (and hope not to be), training exercises and operations do allow for such experiences (hey, we are dealing with real equipment, and if safety isn't followed, then at the extreme, death would come knocking).

While many films have been made about the European theatre of war, very few good ones have been made on the Pacific theatre, and The Thin Red Line is set in the Battle of Guadalcanal, were a group of American infantrymen get ordered to take a hill and an airstrip on that island, to secure bragging and landing rights for their fighter jets, so as to achieve air superiority over a 1000 mile radius. It is the build up to their initial attack, that we learn a bit about our characters, and you can treat them like the buddies in your platoon - the one who goes AWOL, the one with a wife/girlfriend, the officer looking for his days of glory at all costs, and the one looked down for being soft. What I liked about Malick's presentation, was through the use of narration in between dialogues, it tells a lot more on the background of the character, and allows us to read into their thoughts, hypocritical or otherwise. And it doesn't shy away from the negative aspects, and what I found amusing, was how corrupt the process of awards can be.

The Thin Red Line is one excellent movie which looks at the mindlessness and insanity of war. And for action junkies, it doesn't roll over from providing some of the most intense war action sequences, with soldiers attempting a full scale frontal assault charging up an enemy occupied hill, but my favourite would be where it captures perfectly in fluid motion, total confusion and utter mayhem unleashed when two sides meet in a village, where you can either follow the lead character on the camera's foreground, or focus on the wildly active background.

The Code 3 DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment comes in anamorphic widescreen, which is about the only way to enjoy this masterpiece. There are no audio options available, so thank goodness it's in 5.1. Subtitles, being Code 3, are available in English, Cantonese, Korean, Mandarin and Thai, and scene selection offers 31 chapters for you to zoom into the best bits of this 170 minute movie.

There are only 2 special features here. One is the theatrical trailer (2:53), which made it look like a straight forward action movie, probably cut in a way to draw in the crowds. The other feature is the collection of Melanesian songs from the CD "Melanesian Choirs: The Blessed Islands - Chants from The Thin Red Line". 11 tracks offered, with a combined runtime of 23 minutes. No titles for the tracks though, so you'll have to rely on memory which chant belongs to which track. The breakdown: 1 (1:23), 2 (1:16), 3 (2:15), 4 (0:28), 5 (1:27), 6 (3:39), 7 (2:34), 8 (2:17), 9 (1:25), 10 (3:17), 11 (3:01)

Anna & Anna

Soulless

Earlier this year, there was a casting call for extras to be in Anna & Anna, with the presence of lead actress Karena Lam, and looking at the film, it would have involved being night club revelers in a darkened pub watching local band Ronin perform. This Singapore-Shanghai co-production, written and directed by Aubrey Lam, is surprisingly full of arthouse sensibilities, but with all the wrong reasons in doing so, making this less than 90 minute film feel like a plodding dinosaur, hinging on the acting prowess of Karena Lam and Lu Yi (Jasmine Women, Seven Swords).

Karena plays Anna & Anna, and may I add, & Anna once more. Anna One is an executive with an extreme love for blue eye shadows. A Singaporean sent by her manager (played by TV actor Huang Shi Nan) to Shanghai for work, she finds this an opportunity to rid herself of her wimpy boyfriend, Billy (Tender, whose name befits the character), a band member whose long hair betrays his effeminate nature. Here's an alpha-female in a power suit, but inside, she's still nursing a longing for her old flame Ouyang (Lu Yi).

Anna Two happens to be an artist, with a chic short pageboy hairdo (ok, this is to differentiate between the Annas), and surprisingly, is hooked up with Lu Yi's Ouyang. Questions are abound as to timeline, and whether they are the one and the same, or different people who just happen to share the same pretty face. Anna Two's no alpha-female though, and seems to be one who's emotionally tormented by Ouyang, and so begins, the incessant questions of identity that begged to be answered.

The narrative started off promisingly with such possibilities of exploring into doppelgangers, identities, and especially on love, whether we will tend to gravitate towards people of similar characteristics, or in more shallow terms, physical looks (hey, remember the Vaughn-Aniston vehicle The Break Up, and the ending for that?). It set up interesting standoffs such as who's the original, and who's the substitute for the heart, which will probably make for some unconventional romantic story drawing from life experiences. But alas, the movie lost its plot halfway in becoming too schizophrenic for its own good, especially when Karena's Anna One decided to chop her locks off, and the film had to rely on technicalities to cue the audience. What it degenerated to was failure to capitalize on its prince and pauper moments, and became was a woeful reflection of self-pity by all characters, and this without unnecessary meandering through timelines.

Which was actually guilty in trying to introduce and sustain the backstory, and hence my interpretation of the hypothetical Anna Three, which I felt was there just to extrapolate the running time to qualify this as a feature film. Shave away the unnecessary extras and half-baked ideas, and this would have been watchable at the very least. However the actual end result we get is a soulless film with soulless characters that we don't give a hoot about.

Bee Movie

Flap Those Wings!

Let's see, we have A Bug's Life, then Antz, then the insect animated films gave way to a host of animal talkies, including dancing and singing penguins, cows with confused genetic makeup, zoo animals thinking they're better off in the wild, and chef rats, amongst an array of hits and misses, recycling the same old tactics and game plan to snare the movie going audience.

Wise-cracking animals, check. Pop culture references, check. CG animation that resembles the real world, check. Celebrity voices, let's see, we have Jerry Seinfeld, Renee Zellweger, Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Chris Rock, Larry King, Ray Liotta, Sting, Barry Levinson, Kathy Bates, and even Oprah Winfrey. But we all know by now that you can throw in the craziest antics, stuff the movie with recognizable voices, but Pixar has taught the lesson that it always boils down to the strength of the story. And this is what Bee Movie is severely lacking.

Not that it didn't try, but it went tangential to what it probably had intended, and it spawned into a big bag unmanageable hydra. Jerry Seinfeld is Barry Benson, a bee who refuses to conform to the laws of nature to having become stuck in a one-role job for the rest of his life. Before committing himself to menial tasks in the honey making process, he decides to venture out with the cool pollen collectors and see the outside world. And in the process, comes into direct contact with Vanessa Bloome the florist (voiced by Zellweger). Oh, did I also mention that bees speak English? It's just that they adhere to Commandment Number One that they shut their traps so that we won't know they understand us. Yeah right.

So if you'd believe that, you'd believe anything that the movie throws at you. It becomes a courtroom drama with the usual lawyer jokes thrown in. It becomes an anti-worker exploitation movie, to stand up for the little ones, with reminders that small things matter in the whole scheme of things. It becomes a documentary on the laws of nature and the environmental / ecological equilibrium that has to be maintained. And the ultimate out of place scene involves a bloody jumbo jet in the sky in homage to the Airplane spoofs. Yes, while I know Bee Movie pays its homage to B-movies, you'd probably still wonder what the scriptwriters had in the coffee.

But given its multiple personality and indecision to focus on something that it can chew, the graphics here are still no less than stunning. The bees in flight, with the mashing of the black and yellow, is pure poetry in motion, blending well with various backgrounds, be it the city skyline, or the green lungs with colourful flowers dotting the landscape. It's extremely fluid with attention paid to the details, and would be worth every penny should there be an IMAX version of this portion of the movie. Such scenes warrant the price of an admission ticket, but alas, more could have probably been done to save the movie.

Bee Movie is again targeted at kids, although chances are they'll miss the many adult jokes and references so come fast and furious (some of which just fall flat unfortunately). And having a lack of "cute" characters, might dent its appeal, and narrow merchandising opportunities. Better luck next time Jerry!

Lions for Lambs

Show Me The Money! Yes or No?!

Lions for Lambs is Tom Cruise's first movie for his United Artists after being given the boot from Paramount Pictures. And instead of putting himself in yet another one man show, he combines forces and shares the spotlight with a stellar cast comprising Robert Redford, who also takes on directing duties, and Meryl Streep, in a story that touches on quite realistically on current affairs, based on scribe's Matthew Michael Carnahan's take on the entire political situation in the USofA currently, with special focus put into its war on terror.

While Tom Cruise's recent antics might have irked some and taken off some of the shine off his star power, I can't help but be mesmerized by his take as the toothy grinning like a cheshire cat, cock-sure character of a Republican senator, who's on the party's good books, and billed as the next big personality that will probably take the White House one day. I have to admit that I had actually looked forward to him delivering that all famous "Yes or No" line from the trailers, though "Whatever it takes" may well be immortalized amongst his other more legendary one liners like "You could be mine" (Top Gun), "Show me the money!" and "You complete me" (Jerry Maguire) and "I want the truth!" (A Few Good Men).

War on Terror movies are proving to be popular subjects in the tail end of 2007, especially when USA is sabre-rattling Iran. We have already seen Rendition, and coming up is The Kingdom. And Lions for Lambs couldn't be any more current when Cruise's Senator Jasper Irving shows off his new tactical strategy against the guerrilla enemies, with words so carefully crafted and chosen by a brain nurtured and educated from Ivy League education, relating them to Streep's Janine Roth, a journalist who has been granted a one hour one-on-one session interview, with so much conviction, appeal and charisma, you're more than likely to fall for his charms, if not for Roth to bring him down to earth with reflections from the past.

Told in separate segments, each taking a look microscopically at the issue, but each when put together forms a bigger picture putting you in a Deus Ex Machina position, I thought the best segment belonged to Cruise-Streep, where they debate on politics, and media responsibility, with keen dialogue between the two parties filled with thrusting and parrying of various push and pull factors. There are many opportunities through this segment for you to nod in agreement with either side, but some might deem this as toting the middle ground, lacking in courage to take a stand on a side. But therein lies the problem, that there is hardly any clear cut right or wrong, that everything's based on information and intelligence. And the media can be manipulated, or be manipulative in telling select or fabricating truths.

The other segment deals with Robert Redford's Professor Stephen Malley counselling a promising student who seemed to have been slacking off in class, and in need of some serious waking up. Perhaps this segment is squarely targeted at our disengaged youths, whom many would have likened to drift toward partying and idling, rather than be diligent and hardworking to earn their keep and prove their worth. The conversation here turned quite philosophical, though not as engaging as the rapid fire and sly exchange that Cruise-Streep scenes offered.

Redford's segment is also very intricately connected to that of his ex-students, Ernest Rodriguez (Michael Pena) and Arian Finch (Derek Luke), who are now Marines serving in Afghanistan, strong in their beliefs that they can make a difference to the world they live in. You can't help but think back to Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, where he interviewed senators (like Cruise's character) who just talk the talk, leaving the little, weaker folk, to walk their talk instead, volunteering and signing up for active duty, for that carrot dangling at the end of their tour, IF they survive and get to obtain it at all. As we see from the news every other day about US soldier casualty numbers mounting in two theatres of war, they are but a statistic, and this segment offers a much micro look at the lives of these soldiers, that they too hold hopes and dreams of a better life, once they fulfill their part to their belief to be contributing to a better, peaceful world. Action junkies would probably be amongst the audience because of this segment, which looked remotely like Behind Enemy Lines and Courage Under Fire put together, the action scenes only that is.

This is a thinking man's movie, and those seeking high drama or intensive action from whatever little teases the trailers suggest, would be disappointed. What this movie is, is an examination of current geo-political situation of the US foreign policy, and its take on social issues, how it affects everyone from the high echelons of government, to the disconnected boy in the street who's focused on more selfish ideals. It is a mirror looking at US society as a whole, in their thinking of themselves as the moral police of the world (because of the belief they can, and therefore should), but on a bigger scale, this is a reflection of any society where people might seek that call to action, but just how many will take the easier route by blowing hot air, and how many would take the plunge and actually do something about issues they care passionately about.

Definitely not to be missed, even though it somehow rings a bit hollow in the end, as reel life takes on the real, but only if you want it to, thereby ending the way it ended, which was pitch perfect.

[DVD] Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005)

So Much Hate

Nobody loves an uncaring giant, one which is blessed to be in a position of power and fortune, but doing nothing to help the community, especially the little guy, and instead, ramps up its exploitation tactics. While we don't have a WalMart here, probably because of the demise of another American retailer K-Mart some years back, this film puts into perspective the model of the business - the low cost of goods that they provide in their stores everyday, and highlights the actual, full, and opportunity cost involved that don't get seen by the average consumer.

This is an anti-WalMart movie out and out. While it contains funny parodies of actual WalMart commercials and you might look at it as being mean, and at times think this is nothing more than a smear and slime campaign on the company, by the time you come to the end, it will set you pondering deeply about opportunity costs, and how important it is for giant corporations to adopt a giving back to the community attitude, and to do so with sincerity.

Without a doubt, WalMart is the largest retailer in the USofA, with the Walton family being amongst the richest in the world with their billions of assets and worth. However, how they make that kind of money, is by offering low prices to compete on volume, but at the same time, the documentarians uncovered very drastic corporate practices towards its workers. Things like overtime and outright exploitation of workers and their work conditions, the lack of health benefits and having the cheek to get their employees to go to the state for aid, thus utilizing public funds for something that should be taken of by the corporation. The problems these workers face in the aspect of health goes along the lines of argument provided in Michael Moore's SiCKO.

Unethical processes get revealed through interviews with ex-employees, such as changing payrolls and cheating on overtime, and various discriminatory practices, especially those against women and African Americans. The best bit belongs to the fact that being a private enterprise, they still get subsidies from the state when they set up their gigantic stores. Strange isn't it?

But perhaps the most heart-wrenchinig of all is the destruction of aged old mom and pop shops which provide excellent value to its customers, genuinely growing with the community they are set in, and actually having miles better benefits to the employees working under them. And when WalMart gets set up in the same community, inevitably these independent entities close in the face of extreme competition because of WalMarts obvious economies of scale, but at a price unseen, with the lack of concern for the community and the environment.

The narrative presents various viewpoints and perspectives from miscellaneous stakeholders, even venturing abroad to China and Bangladesh to interview sweat shop employees and you'd find the conditions they're offered quite appalling. There are so many stories which highlight problems that you're just flabbergasted at the inaction a corporation of such stature would choose to ignore, and giving safety and security of their customers a slap in the face.

The presentation style contains standard documentary styled news clips and talking heads, but what I found was quite interesting, was how it resorted to taking video clips of their CEO exalting the virtues of the company in employee meetings and speeches given, and then immediately ripping it apart through its branching into a particular perspective to back up the rebuttal.

But while this is not a campaign to force and hope for the eventual demise of the company. Rather, it's a call to action by the various stakeholders for the retail behemoth to examine itself carefully, to look at its processes and to determine the many areas where things can be improved, particularly the issue of employee welfare. I suppose nobody likes it when they feel they are being exploited and are given extremely poor terms and conditions, and have no share in the billions of profits being declared by their employer every year.

This Code 0 DVD of WalMart: The High Cost of Low Price is presented in anamorphic widescreen, though the segments containing the corporate video and speeches by WalMart CEO are relatively blocky, given it is blown out of proportion in the aspect ration. Subtitles are available in Spanish and in French, and scene selection is split into 18 chapters. A director's commentary is also available.

Amongst the Special Features are:
Highlights of: The High Cost of Low Price (23:15) is the short, summarized version of the feature documentary, which runs at 21 minutes after director-producer Robert Greenwald introduces the segment under 2:15.

The Making of : The High Cost of Low Price (16:35) is a look behind the scenes at how the documentary was made, and how different it was from its initial vision by Robert Greenwald, who also presents this segment. The filmmakers spent 5 months to do highly intensive research, as well as to get the word out to different stakeholders in getting them to talk of their experiences on camera, most of the time having being thought of as moles for WalMart corporation because of an innate paranoia that current employees adopt, which is understandable. We get to see how the idea was conceptualized, and how the search started, evolved, and developed into the stories presented in the documentary.

Canada (6:17) and England (3:52) shows the extent of WalMart's global reach outside of the USofA. Canada comes with optional French subtitles, and showed that it's not always doom and gloom for WalMart employees. Here, the workers are shown celebrating the departure of WalMart as the corporation frowned upon its unionized workforce, with the workers celebrating and proud to have caused the store to close as they are fed up with poor conditions. And they do so quite cheekily too, as the last scene demonstrates. But the England segment showed that not all are as successful in halting the juggernaut, and I thought this segment was partially developed, with only the small stall keepers protesting their lot, without showing any resolution.

Our Moral Voices (2:47) is quite peculiar, containing clips of speeches made by various religious leaders spreading the word on the evils of the company (Hmm....), while Don't Mourn, Take Action (8:11) gathers the views and perspectives from the various anti-WalMart civil groups out there, and gives them airtime to share their passion in stalling further development of the supermarket chain.

Actual Wal*Mart Commercials (NOT!) contains a bunch of hilarious WalMart spoof ads which must be seen to be believed, though I think that some of them used for promoting the movie does spoil it a little. Containing a bunch of ads grouped as "Betty Johnson", "Bob and Wendy", and "Jose", thank goodness there's a Play All option for you to run through everything in one sitting (5:37) without the need to view them from submenus. Laurie Levitt shares her experience too in the making of these spoofs, in a documentary titled Spoof Makers (7:47), which includes some behind the scenes clips in the making of these faux pas commercials.

[German Film Festival] Cutting Edge (Die Aufschneider)

We're Crazy
The reason why I chose to watch Cutting Edge during the German Festival was simple, and that's to savour comedy from a different country, and I thought having one in a hospital setting will be perfect for an evening of laughs. Hospitals are always thought as serious places where the sick find some avenue for recovery under expert medical care, but surely it'll run riot when the doctors and nurses are a madcap lot?

But Cutting Edge is not your usual slapstick, physical comedy that provides laugh a minute scenes. In fact, the first minute will have dispelled any notion of the direction the movie will take, and that's the usual "I think I left something inside the patient" joke getting over and done with. It relied much more on wit, chemistry between characters, and had a lot more brewing in the background providing the laughs because of cruel irony. So what we have instead is a slew of comedy of errors, some which hit the mark, while others happen to fall flat because what we expected were delivered to a T.

The story centres on the rivalry between two neighbouring hospitals, the casually run Oakwood, and the state-of-the-art, professional outfit St George. Budget cuts mean that one of the hospitals has got to close down, and it is up to the two hospitals to show their best side to health inspectors who are there to audit their processes. Oakwood's top doctors Steffen Wesemann and Klaus Kunze (Carsten Strauch and Rainer Ewerrien respectively, who co-wrote the story, with the former taking up directorial duties as well) provide much of the comedy here as the lead characters who are tasked to brainstorm for innovative ideas to save their careers, only to discover that they're spending more time instead trying to salvage an accidental side-splitting incident involving a transplanted liver.

Throw in shady undertable deals brewing within St George, and the unethical practice of having an ex-flame Dr Christiane Tietz (Nina Kronjäger) trying to extract sensitive confidential information, you'll know our duo will have their hands full. And in such pairings, you just can't avoid the usual gay jokes abound which played out to the best of laughs amongst the audience, and madcap business process experts with suspect credentials all added to the brew.

Cutting Edge has an air of predictability, and could have gone even crazier with its antics. But alas the comedy ends once the end credits blooper reel finishes, and nothing funny lingers after that when you try hard to reminisce just what make you laugh until tears started to flow. One or two genuinely funny scenes, while the rest are the usual textbook regurgitated comedic scenes.

Hello Nurses!

[Press Conference] Ekin Cheng - The Legend of Huo Yuan Jia

Ekin Cheng was in town yesterday to promote his new television series The Legend of Huo Yuanjia, where he plays the titular character, and his co-star from the Young and Dangerous movies Jordan Chan starring as Huo's disciple Chen Zhen (made famous by Bruce Lee of course).

Some might argue that Ekin's star might have dimmed in recent years from his lack of movie roles (1 a year, with Divergence in 2005, Heavenly Mission in 2006, Forest of Death in 2007 and a role in the upcoming local movie Rule #1 directed by Kelvin Tong), but this is one guy who's quite personable, and as my friend John quipped, one of his best interview subjects, which I agree. You know, there are those who regurgitate canned and prepared scripts, and there are those who are honest in their answers and the interview becomes one friendly conversation. Ekin falls into the latter.

And would you believe he's in his 40s already?! In person he looks no older than me!

Demonstrating the Shadowless Punch

To read the movieXclusive.com team effort at bringing to you the best bits from the press conference and the one-on-one interview thereafter, click on the logo below:

[Asian Festival of First Films] Nomination Night

The 3rd edition of the Asian Festival of First Films (AFFF) nominee list is out. Unfortunately, this time round there's only 1 movie flying the Singapore Flag, at that's Ng Khee Jin's documentary Feet Unbound, which made its Asian premiere at this year's Singapore International Film Festival.

However, while the production crew is made up of Singaporeans, the movie gets billed as an Australian entry in the AFFF. Sad but true, perhaps because Khee Jin is based in Australia? But one film I would definitely be interested to catch, will be Khabul Express, whose theatrical release earlier I had missed.

To read my coverage at movieXclusive.com on the proceedings of the 3rd AFFF Nomination Night couple of days ago, click on the logo below:

Sugar & Spice: Fûmi Zekka

Love Hurts

Girls are made of sugar and spice and all things nice, but of course there are those laced with wasabi that will hit you when you least expect it to. Based on the novel by Eimi Yamada, Sugar & Spice is not your conventional romantic drama, not that it's because it's not the usual boy-meets-girl-they-hook-up-boy-loses-girl-boy-tries-to-win-girl-back kind of movie, but because it takes a long hard look at a certain condition, and that's the rebound.

And perhaps many would have disliked the movie because it touches that raw nerve, either you're the perpetrator, or the victim of. There are limited amount of fan favourite saccharine sweet moments, and instead, lessons dished out were plentiful, which does get try as it tends to nag. Obviously, the movie is hinging on the star appeal of the teenage lovers, Shiro (Yuya Yagira, who won a Best Actor award from Cannes with his portrayal in Nobody Knows), and hot model-actress-musician Erika Sawajiri as Noriko, and therefore perhaps paid little attention to the pacing, which turned out to be erratic, and treading on the route to arthouse styled contemplation, longing and scenes of regret.

Shiro is a student at the crossroads of his life - whether to enroll in cram school to prepare for higher education, or to follow a small step towards his dream of working with cars. He opts for the latter, and finds himself as a pump attendant at a gas station. Noriko becomes the new apprentice at the station, and needless to say, Shiro gets smitten by the newcomer. But the catch here is that this is Shiro's first stab at a relationship, and while he is brought up to be nice, girls hate wimps, don't they? And Noriko's no angel either, having just been out of a rocky relationship with a relatively richer guy, and now having to be stuck with Shiro. Every step of the way, you wonder if she's on the rebound, and just grabbing at whoever is conveniently available at the time. Indecisiveness abound, but more often than not, cold hard logic prevails and it boils down to practicality, and materialism.

The story finds itself spending quality time with an examination of first love, and the pain that it usually brings, especially when one finds oneself drawing the stick with the shorter end. It's heartbreaking, but the story encourages one to learn from mistakes, and to move on, though it presented this thought quite clumsily. The scene stealer here belongs to Mari Natsuki as the free loving, hippy grandma of Shiro, who drives a hot rod of a vehicle and has a toy boy to boot (for a 70 year old!). She dispenses advice to both parties, and drawing on her past experiences to do so, teaching her grandson to know when to be a gentleman, and when the time's come to be tough.

It serves as a reminder to all those out there who still nurses a broken heart, to cherish those (previous) memories, but not to ditch the forest for the tree. While the proceedings seem more bleak throughout, the light at the end of the tunnel provided much needed hope to lift the movie from its dark tones. And the soundtrack just puts a smile to my face too. Here are two of the best featured:

Oasis - Hey Lyla!

Calling all the stars to fall
And catch the silver sunlight in your hands
Come for me and set me free
Lift me up and take me where I stand

She believes in everything
And everyone and you and yours and mine
I've waited for a thousand years
For you to come and blow me out my mind

Hey, Lyla!
The stars are about to fall
So what d'you say, Lyla?
The world around us makes me feel so small, Lyla!
If you can't hear me call then I can't say, Lyla!
Heaven'll help you catch me if I fall lyla!

She's the queen of all I've seen
And every song and city far and near
Heaven help my mademoiselle,
She rings the bell for all the world to hear

Hey, Lyla!
The stars are about to fall
So what d'you say, Lyla?
The world around us makes me feel so small, Lyla!
If you can't hear me call then I can't say, Lyla!
Heaven'll help you catch me if I fall lyla!

Hey, Lyla!

Yaz - Only You

looking from a window above, it's like a story of love
can you hear me
came back only yesterday
i'm moving further away
want you near me

all i needed was the love you gave
all i needed for another day
and all i ever knew
only you

sometimes when i think of her name when it's only a game
and i need you
listen to the words that you say it's getting harder to stay
when i see you

all i needed was the love you gave
all i needed for another day
and all i ever knew
only you

this is going to take a long time and i wonder what's mine
can't take no more
wonder if you'll understand it's just the touch of your hand
behind a closed door

all i needed was the love you gave
all i needed for another day
and all i ever knew
only you

[German Film Festival] Love Under the Sign of the Dragon (Eine Liebe im Zeichen des Drachen)

Thanks for the Party. You Can Now Remove My Sarong

Wong Li-lin has been on our television screens as far back as the days when the Pyramid Game was on the air, and then she burst into more prominence on television with the locally produced Triple Nine cop drama series co-starring James Lye and Lim Yu-beng. Fast forward to recent years, the only cinematical outing I've heard she'd starred in was a yet to be released film called The Leap Years. And out of the blue during the German festival, the credits of Love Under the Sign of the Dragon (what a clunky title) had her billed as one of the leads. Naturally my interest was piqued, and I bought a ticket for it given the support for a co-produced movie by Oak3 and MDA.

But alas, this is the kind of movie that makes one roll the eyes and wonder just exactly what were the merits that were in this movie that was worth making. It's woefully disappointing, and I'm not sure if Li-lin and those involved would be proud of to list in their filmography. Filled with countless cliches that brings to mind very severe, crippled misconceptions, stereotypes and ideals that a typical ill-informed Westerner would have of our country. As always, it will play like a Singapore Tourism Board video with moments that you'd find straight out of their corporate video.

And for convenience, everybody speaks in German, and while I know our society is multi-lingual, cultural, etc, this is stretching it a bit too far - we have aunties and uncles from street stallholders to business executives so fluent with the language, you wonder if German was indeed our mother tongue. What made it worse, you can tell the characters were speaking in their native tongue, so I'm not sure why the need to have dubbers do voice overs. What's wrong with letting the natural language go through, and supporting it via subtitles?

Don't let me get to the story, which reeks of a cheap television soap opera. A bio-tech firm sends its trusted lieutenant Alexander (Erol Sander, doesn't this remind you of HK movies of old?) to Singapore to work on a deal, thereby junking his plan of marrying the daughter of his CEO, Anna (Denise Zich). In Singapore, he looks forward to a good time banging LiLin (starring you know who. Pure laziness, just pure laziness), an illegal immigrant sniffed out by Anna's brother Philipp (Steffen Wink), recruited to be Alexander's PA, to seduce him and obtain the company's secrets. So what it boils down to is bad romance drama, zero chemistry, everyone behaving like robots and going through the motions. You can tell that the Asians in this flick wonder just what the heck they're doing here, like Ezann Lee a hospital employee, Zhu Houren as a corrupt cop who got forgotten, and Cheng Pei Pei (yes, that Pei Pei) here just standing around.

This movie is deeply disturbing. It is steeped in cultural stereotypes, with Europeans living in large colonial houses (get over it, it's not pre-Independence), with chauffeurs dressed up in Kato-styled garb, and given Singapore is located in Asia, it must come with plenty of dragons, people with plasticky smiles permanently plastered on their faces. If you're a Chinese you must own a medicine shop and be illegal immigrants, and must fall head over heels for Westerners at the bat of an eyelid, typical of someone's brush and experience with a Sarong Party Girl. The other races here have token appearances, again boiling down to stereotypes. Showing signs of laziness and the ridiculous, is to state that Singapore has rice paddies, and conveniently avoid the location when the characters are en route, with a car breakdown. Hello? You might as well say Fort Knox is here!

Bottom line, don't waste your time. It's utter rubbish from all fronts from acting to storyline. What an embarrassing effort, and to have the cheek to be featured in a film festival, located in Singapore as well. You can con others overseas, but never anyone who is living here, or who has visited our country. You know the movie's terribly bad when the audience, made up of locals and Westerners, are laughing at the absurdity of it all. Respecting the material means not featuring the Singapore Skyline from an office window, at such an angle that puts the office block right smack in the middle of the Singapore River itself.

Making locally produced Channel 8 telemovies look like Palme d'Or winners, I'm not sure why MDA supported this at all.

Saw IV

Robotic Hairdresser

For fans of the Saw trilogy, you'd thought that the end of the third installment had wrapped up the franchise quite neatly, and there's absolutely no way another movie can be made except to go backwards in time with prequels. Well, surprise surprise, director Darren Lynn Bousman brings forth the fourth movie of the franchise, and so long as it continues to churn profits, you can bet your last dollar this isn't the last you see of the Saw movies. To be cautious, here's a little spoiler warning for you if you decide to read further. And one reminder, please refresh your memory of the earlier Saw movies, especially Parts II and III, before you go for 4.

This is the beginning of a new franchise so to speak, with the obvious signs that it has attempted to be all encompassing, being a little timid to boldly create something fresh with a new direction, as it had to still fall back on Jigsaw to provide some stability first. And from the get go, Saw IV never lets up on the blood, starting the movie with plenty of plasma, and scenes directly reminding me of Unrest, with an autopsy being performed on our favourite cinematic serial killer. But things are always not quite they seem, especially when the signature tune gets played.

As I mentioned, Saw IV goes for a two-pronged approach. One, to continue exactly where it left off from Part III, and thereby reintroducing us to characters and their demise from the earlier installment, and the constant mystery of just who exactly was the mantle passed on to, given this becoming a plot point left dangling. Two, given the relative successful creation of the enigmatic Jigsaw, now comes the time to fill up on the meat to his background story that we get a glimpse into from the past movies. In parts, this was like an origin story, about who he is, what he does, which circumstances occurred and drove him over the edge, and what actually provided that spark to his devilish creations and philosophy of twisted chance.

I had mixed feelings for this movie, as I would for almost all movies caught in the middle of different methodologies and approaches. What I liked, was this origin portion, although it was played out sporadically, and left you clamouring for more. We even get to see Jigsaw's earliest designs, which were quite primitive but no less effective, and his pioneer victim, thus appreciating how complex the later traps have evolved, but yet keeping to his mantra and modus operandi, an immensely important part which distinguishes this villain from others. What I didn't appreciate, and this was in part due to the earlier movies with recurring and surviving characters, was that they all get lumped together here in too big a life-and-death game boiling down on coincidence and plenty of sheer luck. It was a necessary evil though involving so many characters, to keep you constantly guessing until the last minute, and to close up all the gaps that the earlier movies posed, so as to set the stage and move the franchise forward, probably in a different way in Saw V.

You will be confused if you haven't seen the earlier films. This film is not standalone, and is very much integral to all the earlier stories. If you go into this fresh, you will not know who's who, and what's what, and will definitely be confused and not appreciate anything beyond the bloody creative traps. For those who have seen the earlier movies (Part II in 2005, Part III in 2006) you might have forgotten certain details, but fret not, just pay healthy attention to the dialogue, and keep your eyes peeled during the flashbacks, and you should do just fine.

Saw has come a long way from being just a cleverly played out movie in one critical locale with just 2 players duking it out, and with the ditching of the iconic grimy toilet for Saw IV, it's an indication that it wants to shed itself of past inhibitions. While the key figure might have met his demise, he had already set in motion his ideas and philosophy that have its fair share of supporters, and the concept will outlast the man himself. What Saw had spawned was a series of torture porn movies (Turistas, Hostel franchise, Wolf Creek, the list goes on), but what makes it truly memorable, is how easily its ideology gets transplanted to other wannabes, and as a sign of it reaching legendary and cult status, its momentous theme song is one of a kind.

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