Redline

Million Dollar Smoke

You cannot deny that we have an affinity for speed. That's why movies like Fast and the Furious, Dhoom, Rempit get made to play to the satisfaction of audiences, especially local ones. We live on a tiny island, and I cannot fathom why, for the relative efficiency of the public transportation system, most of us want to get into debt by owning a set of wheels which come with 100% tax when they reach our shores, and the myriad of taxes and bills to pay when operating one. Not only that, the high end sports cars were once quipped by a prominent politician up north that they will never reach fourth gear, lest they reach the sea.

And these movies are relatively easy to make. Hot wheels and hot chicks always go down well together in targetting the required demographic. For once, those plunging necklines exposing uncanny buxoms and short skirts accentuating legs two meters long, can't compete with the attention given to those beautiful curves that exotic cars possess in movies such as these. Of course there are amongst us (ahem) those that go for the sexists portrayal of women as mere sexual objects (otherwise explain why motor shows come with truckloads of models, and movies such as these cannot do without a leggy model in a frame), however, they don't warrant the kind of collective orgasmic sighs whenever the four wheelers come on screen, even when they do exactly nothing and have their gears into Park. The guy sitting beside me, I swear he wet his pants everytime his dream car(s) appear, and creamed his pants even more when he hears those growling engine moans.

So there we have it, the fan boys who turned up in droves just to watch which of the latest cool cars get featured in the movie. With the Fast and the Furious franchise, the Japanese models like the Evos and the Skylines take centerstage, as does the GT. Here, the Ford GT takes on an incredibly droolworthy facade modification, that even I'm impressed, alongside the latest models like the Ferrari Enzos, Porshe Carerra GTs, Koenigsegg CCXs, and every car out there that has wings for doors. But seriously, my heart goes out to the cars each time they're mercilessly wrecked just for entertainment. I mean, this are perfectly fine, high performance models that are at the apex of motoring, but yet because whoever financed the movie had millions to blow, they do so because they can,

There's no story in Redline, just excuses to put together a movie full of beauties (the cars that is) that can rip down the tarmac in probably the most boring fashion possible, and with the usual shots of pedals (always the accelerator, mind you, tapping the brake pedal is tantamount to blasphemy, and earn you no respect), steering wheels, gear shifts (always shifting up and not down), all these while having the actors make pretend that they're the baddest asses with an engine, snarling and giving each other dirty looks. Not a very tall order for an actor, and that's why we get the most woeful performances ever, with lines that seem to be written by elementary school kids.

The heroine (yes, it made a statement that girls can drive) Natasha (a very plasticky looking Nadia Bjorlin) is one of those million dollar finds - a girl with model looks who don't mind getting down on fours and immersed in oil, who has racing pedigree within her, and performs with a rock band singing songs with lyrics that are just plain laughable (every line had to do with cars, and when singing about love, just had to string those innuendos like shifting gear shafts, lubricants and going for rides). Introduced against her wishes to illegal racing by a gangsta called Infamous (Eddie Griffin), she gets drawn into family squabbles involving a Leo DiCaprio lookalike Iraq war veteran, and some sleazy lecherous looking rich uncle. Everything else, well like I said, just serves as an excuse for the movie to go from race to race.

And it's almost always the same, as there's very limited to what you can do to heighten tension between race cars, especially when you know the race is rigged (for narrative reasons) and can see the race outcome a mile away from the finishing line. While Fast and Furious had quite charismatic actors, and I will put my head on the chopping block by naming Paul Walker, Sun Kang, and of course, the star it created - Vin Diesel, Redline had none, just pretty faces with lots of air unfortunately. It looks like a TV movie in its treatment from the get go, with a very insipid opening sequence where it's one man, one car, and a 105 minutes race against time to get to Vegas.

If not for the cars, then this movie seriously is a piece of junk, with bad acting, bad lines and bad action. Strictly for the car fans, or those who like their movies with countless of bevy beauties who pimp their bodies without any speaking lines.

[Internet Domain] The Last Man on Earth

Promo Poster

While the rest of the world get to watch Will Smith being the last man on Earth in his latest movie I Am Legend, for some strange reason we'll only have the picture premiere in Singapore on Christmas, when again the rest of the world will watch Aliens and Predators duking it out on 25th Dec. Talk about the incredible lag given this time and age of internet piracy.

Anyway to ease the artificial pain and longing to watch Smith do that talk with Wilson, I decided to go to the Internet Archive to watch it on public domain, although it turned out only to be a full frame version. But beggars can't be choosers now, can we? If you choose not to be spoiled with what's gonna happen to Will Smith, then please for heaven's sake skip my blog review for Last Man on Earth, since it's more or less the same stuff in the movie, especially so when Last Man shows almost all in the first 10 minutes.

Based on Richard Matheson's 1954 science fiction novel I Am Legend, The Last Man on Earth is the first movie to be based on the novel, followed by The Omega Man starring Charlston Heston, and then the recent Will Smith vehicle. The 1964 movie had set the movie in 1968, a few years after the discovery of a strange illness that originated from Europe, and since it's airborne, had spread throughout the rest of the world. Sounds like a possible scenario for the avian influenza pandemic if it does break out. However this one doesn't transmit the deadly flu, but infects humans with vampirism, needing to sleep in the day because of the UV sun rays, and can't stand their own sight in mirrors, nor bear with garlic stench.

In fact, it's not exactly like the vampires that we're familiar with, but had this Zombie like characteristics in being burly, slow, and not too intelligent. George A Romero's zombies definitely took a leaf here, and was extremely loosely adapted from. Given their behaviour, they are deemed low threat by Dr Robert Morgan (Vincent Price), who managed to hold them off in his fortified home, with the main door only secured by a wooden bolt going across it.

If I were the last man on earth, I'd probably die of boredom, or go incredibly insane over the routine that one has to go through, in this context and scenario. Here, we see Robert go through a cyclical routine of sending out transmissions on his radio to listen out for any fellow survivors, before going out for supplies, and fabricating stakes as weapons to fend off enemies. It's quite interesting here as he plays the role of both hunter and the hunted, depending on which part of the 12 hour cycle he's in, actively seeking out the vampires in their sleep, before holing himself in when they perform the same.

Given it's a relatively old movie, the narrative structure is a fairly simple flashback sequence midway in the film, where we learn of how he became stuck in his predicament. There's the problem, the routine, and then how it came to be, before settling on the resolution. Things start to get interesting only somewhere at the hour mark with the appearance of the dog, and a mysterious girl who may hold the catalyst to him seeking a potential cure for humankind.

One has got to take the technicalities into consideration, as the movie had been made more than 40 years ago. You don't expect very snazzy make up or special effects, but still the story managed to engage because it doesn't allow much time for wasteful dalliances and unnecessary subplots. It's as straightforward as it can get, and Price did an excellent job, essentially carrying the movie for the most parts, interacting with only himself.

Nonetheless, I would expect I Am Legend the Will Smith movie, going by the trailers, to be an update on the technical portion of it, but let's see if the storyline is similarly presented in as straightforward a fashion, or got to, and hopefully not, be too twisty and turning, biting off more than it can chew in its bid to go one up and impress. Crossing my fingers already.

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Hello We're Back and Bickering

If I may be able to conjure up conspiracy theories of my own, then I will attempt to hypothesis how National Treasure came about to debut on the big screen, based on opportunities which presented itself at the right time. First, the popularity of Dan Brown's controversial The Da Vinci Code, which was made into a movie of its own, but took a tad too long in doing so. Topping the bestseller charts around the world, it made Hollywood execs sit up and realize that wild goose chases and solving riddles and clues do make an interesting, workable formula. Coupled by the fact that the Indiana Jones trilogy (at the time) probably will not have another sequel see the light of day, then the onus is on crafting a tale based on controversies, with Indy Jones tendencies, and chances are a new winner will be born.

Hence, National Treasure in the year end of 2004, which made a decent dent in the box office, starring Nicolas Cage as an Indy like clone Benjamin Gates, embroiled in a mystery of the Templar's treasure, with sidekick Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) as the tech wizard necessary to assist him, while at the same time romancing Abigail Chase (Diane Kruger), who joins his band of treasure seekers against her wishes. The Indy references don't just stop here, they extend to having a Henry Jones resemblance in Jon Voight as dad Patrick Gates. If you were to deck Cage in a fedora, whip and gun, the references will be just too blatant.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. The important question is, is the sequel Book of Secrets as good as, or can be accredited with the rare accolade of being better than the original? Well, in all honesty it's still an entertaining ride, as this time we go around the world (OK, so perhaps just Paris and London), versus the original story being US-centric. However, like the first installment, the material, clues and riddles are still quite US history heavy, so if you're well versed with certain characters (brought to life early in the movie) or events (thanks to paying attention during history lessons), then yes, Book of Secrets will give you an additional boost in being able to identify with it. Otherwise, don't fret, as the casual movie goer with popcorn in hand will definitely not feel lost.

The narrative and plot still feel a little staged and rigged for convenience (and run time of course), as one event will inevitably lead to the next and to the inevitable ending (like how CSI solves crime within 45 minutes sans ads), but they're still a lot of fun watching how the characters go through the motion in believing that they're onto something really big. While the first had a lot of puzzles to solve, which kept some of us guessing and playing along as well, this time round the number of riddles have been reduced significantly, and signs of Mission: Impossible creeping in as our band of treasure hunters seek to perform the impossible, pertaining to levels of security guarding their mark.

In an excuse to make the sequel, we have Ben and Patrick Gates reuniting to clear the good name of their ancestor, who's recently accused of being a co-conspirator, or even mastermind, behind the assassination of US President Abramham Lincoln. And of course, help comes in the form of Abigail, who's now estranged from Ben, trusty tech sidekick with the complementary witty lines Riley (and his red Ferarri), and now joined by Ben's mom Emily Appleton, played by Helen Mirren, who's in the movie to contrast her relationship with Patrick to that between Ben and Abigail.

However, we're not really interested in whimsical attempts to add depth to characters, are we? Sure they have their issues with one another, and with Ed Harris' Mitch Wilkinson being the token and very bland bad guy wanting to make his mark on history, the focus more often than not is to shift to the next big stunt / chase sequence. Like the first movie, one of the highlights touted in the trailer involves the art of balancing, which unfortunately, was already done in the first movie. Don't you just hate repeated stunts? And toward the end, I can't help but to compare it to Jackie Chan's The Myth, which in itself was somewhat of a treasure-hunter movie, involving the elixir of life (We're still stuck with gold here though).

And add to that Harvey Keitel's FBI agent Sadusky, the office of the most powerful man in the world, and teases from the Book of Secrets, we've got ourselves a handful being squeezed within 2 hours. Not to forget Nicolas Cage's absolutely horrendous haircut, the final verdict is that it's a fairly decent year end blockbuster which primed itself for yet another sequel, courtesy of page 47 of the titular book, if the box office numbers prove favourable.

The Darjeeling Limited

We Can Make This Work!

A pity that the short Hotel Chevalier wasn't shown prior to the movie (which you can probably find online if you do some hard looking), as it added depth and probably sympathy towards Jason Schwartzman's Jack Whitman, one of the three Whitman brothers who form an unlikely bond during their spiritual journey on board the Darjeeling Limited. Not to mention that Natalie Portman was actually nude in the movie (but no, you don't get to see anything raunchy).

Wes Anderson brings us a kooky tale of 3 brothers, each with their respective emotional baggage, trying to rekindle their brotherly bonds in a railroad trip in India, and with that comes plenty of colours and a wonderful Indian inspired soundtrack to boot. What makes it a top draw is the bantering between Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman, coupled with some very stunning visuals to complement both the comedic aspects, as well as when the film decides to go all emo and heavy on the dramatic. Put this on your must-watch list when it hits the screen during the new year week of 2008.

To read my review of The Darjeeling Limited at movieXclusive.com, click on the logo below:

The Savages

Calm Before the Storm

Have you ever wondered what you will do when a surviving parent suddenly re-enters your life, in demanding some time from you because of illness? Yes while it's easy to pay lip service and say you'll take care of him/her out of filial piety, how many of us can honestly say, "No worries, I know exactly what to do", and not even consider an option of the old folks' home?

Sometimes I do wonder (*looks around if parents are peering over shoulder*) if old folks home do seem like a good alternative, given that there is after all, someone to provide some basic care giving while you're out there busy with your day job, before taking over the care giving after 9-5. I think not many of us can afford to, in this era of ever increasing cost, to put everything down, and live on savings, just to provide that level of first line care, and to just "be there". Certainly questions to ponder about, and I'm not sure why, I've been pondering upon issues like these for some time already, since it's almost inevitable.

The Savages is a timely movie which succinctly puts my thoughts on the pros and cons together nicely, through the taking of sides with either Laura Linney's character, or that played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. Both give world class performances, which makes The Savages a delight to sit through despite the heavy message, and one that rings so close to home in time to come. Due out in Jan next year, bookmark this movie in your calendar, and make it a point to watch when it's released, if not for the message, then watch it for the performances.

To read my review of The Savages at movieXclusive.com, click on the logo below:

[DVD] Bride & Prejudice (2004)

Don't Be So Picky

Come to think of it, I have yet to watch Aishwarya Rai in a movie role other than an English speaking one. So far, she had starred in Mistress of Spices, Provoked, and The Last Legion, all of which didn't really make an impact at the local box office. And Bride and Prejudice marks her first starring role in English. I am likely to soon check out her works in the Bollywood movies, probably starting with Dhoom 2 (yes I know, don't reel your eyes).

Directed by Gurinder Chadha, who brought us the movie Bend it Like Beckham (and probably handed Keira Knightley a recognizable lead role), and now combines Bollywood movie sensibilities with the literary classic Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and surprisingly, the story still worked wonders, despite a shift in cultures and era, now set in Amritsar, India, before going to London, England, and Los Angeles, USA.

The basic storyline and skeletal structure are still the same as per Austen's novel, but now the clash of cultures provide an additional angle for the story to dwell upon, with brief commentary on the caste, and system of reputation, having Mrs Monoama Bakshi (Nadira Babbar) on the prowl for eligible bachelors (read: Rich is the only criteria) to marry off her daughters to. And of course, the headstrong one is now played by Aishwarya Rai, whose Lalita is the equivalent of Austen's Elizabeth, and eligible bachelor William Darcy now played by Martin Henderson, who probably isn't one of the strongest Darcy out there unfortunately.

Observations like pandering toward all things west as good, and dreams of instant emigration often get shot down, in no part due to rebuttal from Lalita, who exudes all things pro-India, and come to think about it, it's quite true as a universal theme if you discount the country in question, addressing the attitudes of migrants who forget their roots. But one of them who epitomizes such negative qualities happen to be Mr Kohli (Nitin Ganatra), who brings on a very comedic quality and just cracks me up. besides the very insane statement made by Darcy about the Bollywood dance steps, involving screwing a lightbulb and petting a dog!

And what's a Bollywood movie without those music and dance sequences! However, I thought some of the songs done in English just did not work, as if the lyrics are somewhat forced to fit into the rhythm and groovy beats of Indian music. But the magic of the mass dances still managed to come through, though some were really weird with spoofs involving Baywatch type lifeguards and church choirs. What gives?

All in all, still a decent romance movie, though am not sure if Austen purists would like to see that literary classic take a Bollywood turn. But those who enjoy Bollywood movies, might potentially see the promise of some other classics take on this twist (for the better?) too.

The Code 3 DVD by Alliance Entertainment, for a movie encompassing the Bollywood spirit, comes in a disappointing letterbox edition. While the transfer is without any visible flaw, I cannot imagine why it decided to have the feature film in less than an anamorphic widescreen format, which surprisingly, all the special features are.

Scene selection is available over 16 chapters, and while the list of extras might seem somewhat substantial, the total duration is no more than 10 minutes! The special features include the main featurette (3:32) which features the director and cast talking about the movie in a short making of, a Behind the Scenes in UK (4:30) which had the bulk of it in the wedding scene in the beginning, and in India (0:42) which has only Aashanti shaking her booty. The trailer (2:04) rounds up the dismal features section.

No Wife No Life

[DVD] Layer Cake (2004)

I Will Be Bond Soon!

Layer Cake was the film touted to have had convinced the 007 producers that Daniel Craig had what it took to take over the mantle of the franchise from Pierce Brosnan. At first ridiculed for his "blonde-ness", we all know now through hindsight what Craig had done to invigorate a flagging franchise. I think there were enough Bond like moments in this film, such as the way he first wielded a pistol (in fact thinking he was indeed James Bond), his erm, rippling upper body muscles (which were toned further for Bond, given how we know the world's premier open-secret spy likes to shed his clothes as he gallivants with the ladies), and that steely resolve in his eyes, never mind that he gets physically whacked for the most parts in the story.

Daniel Craig plays a nameless drug dealer, who for all intents and purposes, is called XXXX (1 extra X than xXx). He's a businessman whose trade and goods are illegal, and is one job away from calling it a day. In some parts, the introduction of his character is like Hong Kong movie Protege combined with the effects of Fight Club (check out the FCUK product placement - you will not believe they were actually ok with that). He explains his modus operandi and methodology in his approach to the business, and being at the top of the game, he soon finds himself caught in a bad web of intrigue which seems to slowly pigeonhole him into bad corners, with increasing stakes that may include his life.

Getting rid of one million ecstasy pills isn't as easy as a stroll in the park, even for a seasoned industry veteran, and XXXX soon finds himself involved with East Europeans from whom the goods were ripped off from, their hired gun, betrayal from associates, and basically, murphy's law. And here's where it's fun - watching him squirm and wriggle his way out of situations, not in a panicky, cowardly way, but in a coldly calculated manner as he puts his master scheme together, leaving you guessing until the very last moments.

For that, the credit has to go to JJ Connolly, who wrote the story and the screenplay. It's a complex story, made up of layers which builds upon one another, and then slowly broken down into its individual portions again. What I liked about the treatment of the story, was how first-time director Matthew Vaughn (who would go on to helm Stardust earlier this year) didn't treat his audience like idiots, in seeing the non necessity to explain everything on screen. Through narrative style and editing, it allows even the laziest of us to join the dots and make the necessary connections ourselves.

Having produced Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and Snatch, both of which were directed by Guy Ritchie (who was rumoured to be slated to direct this), you can't help but feel that Matthew Vaughn had probably subconsciously influenced by Ritchie in the stylistic techniques used in Layer Cake, with the slick edits and transitions, and even the con games and the sleight of hands that pepper the storyline. And what more, they are all gangster movies too.

But if you're a fan of the genre, then Layer Cake deserves a watch, for its witty (and oft vulgarity laden) dialogue, and especially if you're one who likes to root for the underdog as he struggles to stay afloat when all round seems to be closing in, until it all becomes clear exactly how much well executed cunning would come to be useful in situations like these. Great ensemble cast too, with the likes of Michael Gambon and Sienna Miller.

The Code 3 DVD by Sony Pictures Classics comes in anamorphic widescreen presentation, which seemed a little soft all round, but nonetheless a flawless transfer. Audio comes in English Dolby Digital 5.1 or French Dolby Digital Surround. Subtitles are available in English, Chinese, French, Korean and Thai, and scene selection is available over 19 chapters.

For a one-disc edition, the Special Features are surprisingly loaded with stuff. You have the Director and Writer's Commentary which has to be listened to as you peer into the technicalities, difficulties, and various other informative nuggets that Matthew Vaughn and JJ Connolly dish out from the production process, and listen out for differences between the book and the film.

There are a total of 14 Deleted Scenes and 2 Alternate Endings, which thankfully comes with a play all option, and optional Director's and Writer's commentary to explain the rationale behind why these scenes were dropped. In no particular order in this listing (so that you can't guess the chronological sequence of events), they are Lunch at Jimmy's (0:49), Where is My Prisoner? (3:15), On the Rooftop (0:30), Duke at the Cafe (1:24), Fishing (2:42), Meeting at Gene's (2:14), Charlotte (1:59), XXXX in Bed with the Gun (0:50), How to Find Charlotte (1:34), On the Staircase (0:30), Setting Up the Meeting (1:38), Guarding the Goods (0:52), Sidney and Sam (1:14) and Tiptoes has been Calling (0:24).

And a good thing that the ending in the feature film was left as it is, which was secretly shot without Sony's knowledge, as they had preferred Driving Away (0:37). The other alternate ending, Sidney (0:48) felt a little clunky and suffering from indecision on how and when to end the movie. So all's good in the final product.

Storyboard Comparisons has 2 sets for you to do a side-by-side comparison with, but because one of the titles contain a spoiler, I will choose not to list it. With a total combined runtime of just over 4 minutes, you can use the "Angle" button to alternate bringing up the actual feature and the storyboard itself to the foreground. Pretty neat to see how symbols on storyboards are used to describe succinctly how the shot is to be composed and developed.

Featurettes contain 2 clips. One is a Q&A (29:02) with director Matthew Vaughn and actor Daniel Craig at the National Film Theatre in London in September 2004, after a screening, where Vaughn talks most of the time, covering a range of subjects from his transition from producer to director, about the gangster genre, and working with a relatively small budget yet want to show the scale and layers of London. It's still quite amazing how they got FCUK to say yes to those unflattering product placement shots, but there's a major spoiler in one of the questions asked, so watch the feature film first.

The other is a very short Making of Layer Cake which runs slightly less than 6 minutes, containing interviews with the director and various cast members, with limited behind the scenes look. There's a play all option available for both featurettes.

Poster Explorations contain 24 of them! But alas, all are almost thumbnail sized which prevents you from viewing them up close and personal, and some differ from others in only colour schemes.

Wrapping up the extra features is a set of Trailers for Stephen Chow's Kung Fu Hustle (1:38) which also autostarts when the DVD is popped into the player, Snatch (1:58) by Guy Ritchie, who was supposed to direct Layer Cake, and comedian David Chappelle: For What It's Worth (1:22). Too bad there wasn't the trailer for Layer Cake included, as they were quire irreverent to the actual movie, as intended by Matthew Vaughn.

In the Valley of Elah

Read Parenting for Dummies

I'm not sure why many had loathed Paul Haggis' relatively recent meteoric rise. I had enjoyed most, if not all of his works that I have seen thus far, with his collaboration with Clint Eastwood nabbing Million Dollar Baby a best picture Oscar in 2005, and his own Crash, which was my movie of the year 2005, winning the same award in 2006. I guess with such success, the naysayers will usually be out in full force to make their voices heard, and I thought it's quite sad to have what I deem as stirring work so oft put down because of green eyed monsters.

Paul Haggis continues his run with co-writing and producing In the Valley of Elah. The valley is said to be the spot where biblical boy David met Goliath and defeated him with a sling shot, where other warriors had fallen before. And we all know what happened to David thereafter, with his growing popularity, and assassination attempt on him as well. In some ways, the movie tells of something in parallel, and alongside the many movies on the Iraq War, with the likes of Lions for Lambs, The Kingdom and Rendition, each focusing on different aspects of the same pie. In Elah, it takes quite a different turn. While inspired by true events, that bit of it comes from the experience and standing orders that the soldiers receive in convoy driving within a warzone. The story itself is set in a time with its players back from their active tour of duty, and is an surprisingly quiet and contemplative investigative drama rather than a ra-ra mouthpiece on the morality of war.

Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron, both award winning actors in their own right, play the lead roles, and did a great job fleshing out their characters. We haven't seen Tommy Lee Jones on the big screen here for a while, so his presence is a major plus point, catching the thespian in action. He plays Hank Deerfield, an ex-army sergeant who is as hard noses as he is meticulous and disciplined. I guess after years of service in a uniformed group, you can't deny that some of the habits, good and bad, stick to you after discharge. His Hank is one experienced ginger, whose son Michael was discovered AWOL and missing, and he takes it upon himself as any good, responsible parent would, in trying to find out what exactly transpired. In doing so, he would have to rely on his cunning and wit to outsmart the system, and soon realizes that this is no longer the army that he belonged to anymore, with honor and integrity already thrown out of the window.

I suppose when one thinks of Charlize Theron, you can't help but remember her as a very blonde and very beautiful model. I won't be surprised that when she wants to be taken seriously in her roles, she either changes her hair style, color, or just tries to make herself fugly (remember Monster?), in order to fight against preconceived notions that she's just another beautiful face. Like her role in North Country, her Detective Emily Sanders also has to do battle with prejudice, discrimination and the glass ceiling, all these while being a single parent, and assisting Hank in cutting through layers of cover ups, and the determination of red herrings as the cop who requested to be assigned the case.

The chemistry between the two, who start off quite cooly, begin to heat up when they realize that their strength combined would prove to be an asset. Moreover, Hank required somebody on the system to be working it, while the other slowly opened up to the fact that she is here to assist a parent in seeking answers. For many scenes, you can't help but to think through - how would a parent react, or what would parents feel, each time they get confronted with certain pain that has befallen their child, who in their eyes will always be small and vulnerable. Parents sometimes do not know what their kid is up to, especially if the latter so decides to keep it under tight wraps, though whatever the case, they are always angels to the eyes of their parents. A parent's love knows no bounds, and you can see how such genuine concern gets exuded from Tommy Lee Jones' eyes. Partnering him in this aspect is Susan Sarandon in a supporting role as Hank's wife Joan, who has as powerful a scene she shared with Lee Jones in this regard, the stoic courage in the face of the inevitable.

If you're one who's game for investigative army dramas like Courage Under Fire (Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan), The General's Daughter (John Travolta and Madeleine Stowe) and even Basic (John Travolta again, and Connie Nielsen) as I am, then it is without a doubt you will add In the Valley of Elah into your list of mentionables. The slow unravelling of a whodunnit, following the investigator in their seeking of the truth, always bode well with me. And as such, while Haggis this time doesn't overwhelm with too many subplots and focused on the depth of the lead characters so wonderfully fleshed out by Lee Jones and Theron, this one's a winner. Can't wait for Tommy Lee Jones again in the Coen Brother's No Country for Old Men too!

[I Want See] The Dark Knight

Can't Find Me Bats? Or Do You Need Another Clue?!
Like Finding A Damn Needle In A Haystack!

OK, this one is a no brainer. In the last 24-48 hours, two new posters have surfaced online, and a new "Why So Serious" teaser meant for the cinema poster boards with the Joker vandalizing it with a smile. Not putting that one here cos the version online is taken off a camera and reflected the photographer on it, but you can perform google magic to look for it.

Anyway, those in the USofA now watching Will Smith's I Am Legend, will find a new trailer attached to the print. And one of those lucky fellas decided to use mobile phone technology to bootleg the trailer for the rest of the world to see. Bless You! But still, we haven't seen anything yet from those watching I Am Legend on the IMAX, as the first 6 minutes of the Dark Knight, was featured as well. Aargh!

You're Taking Too Long, Bats! HAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHHAHA!!
$%%$#@^%^%$#&^#$!!!

The trailer proper will be making its way to the official Dark Knight site soon, as early as next week. Those who can't wait would have already clicked on it below (I'll probably replace it with a proper looking one when the time comes). With the countless of viral marketing sites, this Dark Knight is quite difficult to keep track of, not because of the lack of information, but it's just the damn hell too much!



What rocks in the new trailer:
1. The spoken lines! "Why so serious?!" and "Let's put a smile on that face!"
2. Perhaps we get to see Bruce Wayne's Penthouse atop WayneTech, where he sets up an alternate "cave".
3. Heath Ledger does a bone chilling laughter!!!!
4. Move over Bat-tank, here comes the Bat-missile!

What doesn't rock in the new trailer:
1. Please tell me no, the Joker does not get relegated to a maniacal knife wielding sicko who creates permanent smiles on his victims by cutting them. Bring on the smilex! Finesse, please!
2. Enough of those Bat-shots on boring rooftops?
3. I Believe in Harvey Dent, so where is he? I believe Dent will be kept firmly under wraps until showtime.

I'm so creaming I have to wear my T-Shirt again!

[DVD] Monrak Transistor (2001)

The Blue Blouse

My favourite Thai director is Wisit Sasanatieng, who has brought us movies like Tales of the Black Tiger, The Unseeable, and Citizen Dog, which ranks highly on my list of must-watchs. Then there is his good friend (they work in the same company) Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, who has made waves with his award winning arthouse films, but in an attempt to familiarize with Pen-Ek's works at the time, his Invisible Waves gave me a rude shock. In wanting to get another opinion of his works, I'm not sure when his latest movie Ploy will make its debut here, so I'm forced to dig into his past filmography, and found Monrak Transistor.

And guess what? I am liking it! I find it now quite peculiar that the styles used in both films are vastly different. With one, I hated it to the core for its ambiguity which I equate to plain laziness, but on the other, I liked this one for the simpleness in the story it told, perhaps due to some bias that I somehow liked the romance this story had, which reminded me of Citizen Dog. While Monrak Transistor was out chronologically first, I could see shades of Citizen Dog in it - the star crossed lovers, the colours (though not in a Sasanatieng sort of manner), the journey of misadventures when the hero goes from village to the big city, and of course, the very hummable music, here being a track called "Never" (I'm guessing).

The tragedy that unfolds on the star crossed lovers Pan (Supakorn Kitsuwon) and Sadaw (Siriyakorn Pukkavesh) is nothing short of Fate being so cruel, to keep them apart and to throw adversary and obstacles into their reconciliation. Pan is the village folk singer who dreams of being renowned one day, though when Love comes knocking, some aspirations do get to be put on hold as he chases after Sadaw, in many a sweet scene such as the early one at the funfair. Eventually he marries Sadaw, and as a wedding gift, provides his wife with a transistor radio (hence the title). As the narrator puts it, if the movie were to end here, it would make a decent short film.

But there's when Pan discovers he is Fortune's fool, as the first obstacle comes in the form of an army conscription. And from that point on, everything goes downhill for Pan (and not the movie) as his separation from Sadaw makes him do silly things, and lead to many misadventures, involving, just to put some down as a flavour, his accidental AWOL from army, being exploited by the boss of a performing company, thrust into a labouring community, and getting into a short lived life of crime because of the wrong company he mixes with.

The journey is peppered with a multitude of songs, and split into chapters that makes the entire narrative resemble a radio programme. But there are always unanswered questions, like why it didn't occur to Pan to continue writing to his wife to assure her of his whereabouts, or why Sadaw didn't take it upon herself to look up Pan in the first place. There are a number of why-didn'ts, but do not let that mar your enjoyment of this bittersweet tale of the follies of men, and the seeking of redemption. The ending just makes you cry, or perhaps I'm being too sentimental? Talk about giving up hope after fruitless years of longing and waiting. Supakorn Kitsuwon and Siriyakorn Pukkavesh are extremely easy on the eyes, and make believable lovers, with both displaying an air of strength and filled with naivety, at different points in time in their relationship.

So has my opinion on Pen-Ek changed? Definitely, but I suppose straightforward narrative stories like this one is something that he's not been making of late, if I read the signs correctly. Nonetheless, I'm interested to see some more of his earlier works like Fun Bar Karaoke and 6ixtynin9. Oh, and while Citizen Dog had Pen-Ek providing the narration, Monrak Transistor had Wisit's Tale of the Black Tiger featured prominently in an outdoor theatre scene, watch for it!

P.S. for those interested to know about Wisit Sasanatieng's latest work, click on this link to find out more about Red Eagle, starring Ananda Everingham! I can't wait!

The Code 3 DVD from Mega Star Video Distribution (Hong Kong) is scant on the extras, sadly. For a movie with nice musical numbers, the menus are surprisingly quiet, with no animations nor songs to complement it. Visual transfer is a bit soft, but nonetheless flawless in anamorphic widescreen presentation, and audio only in the original Thai language presented in Dolby Digital 2.0. Subtitles are available in English, traditional and simplified Chinese.

If these can be counted as extras, then you have scene selection available over 12 chapters, The Story which is a two page English and Traditional Chinese synopsis of the storyline, the Trailer (2:05) comes with spoiler unfortunately, so make sure you watch the movie first, a one page Casts and Credits listing, and text instructions on how to set up the Anamorphic format in the DVD Player!

The Warlords (投名狀 / Tau Ming Chong)

Blood Brothers

纳投名状
结兄弟谊
死生相托
吉凶相救
福祸相依
患难相依
外人乱我兄弟者
视投名状，必杀之！
兄弟乱我兄弟者
视投名状，必杀之！

从此
兄弟的命就是命
其他的
皆可杀！

Two's a company and three's a crowd. In movieland, that is almost always true, with no black and white, but with shades of grey instead. Of late, period or martial chivalry movies either look aesthetically beautiful like Zhang Yimou's trilogy of Hero, House of Flying Daggers and Curse of the Golden Flower, or opt for the grittier, more down to earth look with plenty of dirt and grime like Battle of Wits. Director Peter Chan's The Warlords follows the latter with its strained colors and muck on everyone's face, in parallel of the grey that befalls everyone in this tale of a trio's struggles with the System, and amongst themselves.

Those who are familiar with stories featuring similar themes like brotherly bonds, blood brothers and the likes, will find that The Warlords, when striped away to its core, conforms to the same. But what Peter Chan did, and I thought succeeded, was to fuse really hard core battle action sequences with character driven drama, and having the stellar leads of Andy Lau, Jet Li and Takeshi Kaneshiro play something quite unlike their usual onscreen personae, well, except maybe Kaneshiro. Publicity talk has been rife of Jet Li's unbelievable pay package taking up almost 40% of the production cost, but if that was true, I'd guess it must've been a reward to take on something risky (to a screen idol that is), and as it turned out, it could instead be a career defining role for Li, who doesn't get as much opportunity to show off those slick martial arts moves, no doubt in part wanting to stick the movie as close to reality as possible (bye, shawdowless kick!)

Li opens the movie as a disgraced General Pang, who was betrayed and only survived a massacre of his troops by the cowardly act of playing dead (Yes! Jet Li, playing a coward, pretending to be dead! Told you!) In his quest to survive incognito, he chances upon a bandit Zhang Wu-Yang, played by Kaneshiro, who acknowledges General Ma's fighting prowess, and recruits him to the gang of Lau's Zhao Er-Hu. However, the bandit life is not for a man of war, who sees the poor bandit village getting their arses kicked when soldiers of a rival court raid them, and thus finds the catalyst to encourage the bandit men to draw salary and food, by joining the army. Suspicious and needing assurance of the General, the trio of Pang, Zhang and Zhao sign a blood oath, and thus the blood brothers are born - one a charismatic leader, one a general looking to reclaim his honour, and one in every bonding, the earnest and faithful follower.

As the story unfolds, you begin to see how de-facto leaders always feel threatened by young upstarts, both in the politics within the small band of brothers, and in the bigger picture with the court officials. With individuals, there's almost always a clash of ideals, with many methods available in achieving common objectives, and one man's insatiable ambition will put the others at risk in Machiavellian terms. Finding themselves stronger in unity, repeated success on the battlefield start to change folks and reveal true intentions. Even the rule of law established becomes subject to interpretation based on the moment's convenience, and core principles like honour and gentlemen's agreement get tossed out of the window. As innermost desires are revealed, you'll begin to see how seriously or not, the blood oath is being treated by each individual, especially when one finds the other being externally threatened, or betrayal of temptation in the highest order courtesy of female lead Xu Jinglei's Lian as the token flower amongst the thorns.

However, the story bore strength in its presentation of key moments where you'll be called upon to question and even judge the characters, their decisions, and at times, forced to choose sides. You may be convinced by one argument, yet understand the necessity of why something else was done instead. And I'd think you'll probably won't stick to one side for the most parts, and such bringing out the shades of grey that you'll experience for yourself, if you happen to be in the shoes of the trio's foot soldiers. Naivety is truly unkind, and sometimes one is just a pawn in situations far beyond one's grasp, and you can see how this rings true for almost every character here.

While it is easy to dwell on the battle sequences and make this one heck of an action romp in the veins of 300 (ok, so this one had its "108 heroes" moment in a nod towards probable upcoming Water Margin movies), which it did look to suspiciously tread along the same vein, I thought the filmmakers here were smart to know when to show gore, with the decapitations, piercings and the likes, to knowing when to retract such in your face moments for maximum effect. In the hands of a lesser director, perhaps a key brutal scene will mean to show the obvious full frontal, but in showing you something else instead, with focus on individual reactions and the reactions of compatriots at one point in time, I thought it achieved a more powerful effect, with the audience I'm with tonight completed dumbfounded and silent throughout the scene.

A remake of sorts of Shaw Brothers' Ci Ma some 35 years ago (directed by Chang Cheh and starring David Chiang, Ti Lung and Chen Kuan Tai in the lead roles), Peter Chan has brought to us a worthy Chinese epic movie with lavish production values, and one deserving of being called a magnificent effort. And yes, this deserves a watch in seeing who's actually playing who, and with a stellar cast to boot, I don't see why not. Highly recommended!

Alvin and the Chipmunks

So Cute!

"Alvin, Simon, Theodore! Dood, dood, doodoodoodood! Dood, dood, doodoodoodood!"

Or at least that's how the theme song of the cartoon series sounded like, dug out from my subconscious. For those, like me, who have grown up in the 80s watching television cartoons like Mask, Transformers, He-Man, there are those which are less action based, such as Peanuts, and of course, Alvin and the Chipmunks, featuring the trio of Alvin, the de-facto ringleader, Simon the smart one (hence the cliche glasses) and the greedy Theodore.

With cartoons from the past being remade into feature length movies, such as Scooby Doo and Garfield, yielding mixed box office results, what about these 3? To begin with, this is not quite like the cartoon series, in that the chipmunks are sized correctly, as with the other adaptations (no more handgun transforming to 50 foot robot), and curiously enough, they didn't need their body length clothes to hide their modesty, just a top coloured in the right way will do. And for Alvin, all is forgiven when the filmmakers finally remembered he sported a cap. Having effects wizardry helped to in bringing to life the trio of chipmunks, down to the last furry detail such as their hairdo.

Those of us who have grown up with the series, will find multiple shades of storylines adapted from the cartoons all meshed into one here. It's a reworked origin story of sorts, so as to bring in a new legion of followers who haven't seen the series on television. Created by Ross Bagdasarian Sr almost 50 years ago, to have the characters translate to the big screen, bode well for its longevity, at least from the reaction I got from the kids, they are in love with the singing trio with all the clapping and the dancing along the aisle (yes!) each time they perform in their high pitched voices. I too was tempted to applaud, but that would be too geeky-like for those moments I became a kid again.

Jason Lee stars as Dave Seville, the "father" of our singing sensation, who finds it a little difficult in trying to warm up to the notion of being family with animals. Having started off the wrong foot, it provided ample opportunity for that iconic scream "Aaaalviiiiinnnnnnn!!!", as he finds himself out of a career and with 3 extra mouths to feed. But as rehashed scenes and storyline goes, the Chipmunks soon prove to be taking the USA by storm with their brand of oh-so-cute voices and slick dance moves, that they become superstars in their own right.

You'll know the drill from here, as dodgy music label producer Ian (David Cross) tries to undermine Dave to pry the cash-cows (heh) from the latter using despicable tactics, giving rise to being the sole adversary with the evil corporation type who's out to exploit and milk the chipmunks for what they're worth. Being a family friendly film, the theme of belonging and err, blood running thicker than water and profits, ring through, though I thought to toddlers, that might not actually matter, but to the parents bringing them to the theatre, then it's a reminder that children do appreciate being loved and having that pat on the back.

Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler and Jesse McCartney provided the voices for our lovable chipmunks Alvin, Simon and Theodore respectively, though that didn't really matter in the final end product given that their voices had to be sped up to achieve that chipmunk effect. In fact, you and I could also be reading the lines, and applying the same technique to become chipmunks ourselves. And amongst the three, I dare say Theodore will win new fans in the very manja way it got portrayed. A key scene from the trailer had been reworked, so don't be surprised if you see that deviation - though for once, I thought the trailer version was better and closer to character.

Like the movie says, "they're talking chipmunks!" so I feel that given the holiday season, and the tie-in with the movie to the season of good tidings, it may actually bode well for the film. There may be nothing truly new in the antics of the chipmunks, but they will probably still charm your socks off. So before you roll your eyes at yet another talking-animal film, give this one a chance, and I'm quite certain you'll be tapping your feet at the right moments too!

So hit it again, Alvin, Simon, Theodore! And watch those plush merchandise fly off the shelves in time for X'mas! Stay tuned during the end credit roll which showcased some of the album art from their musical albums of the past.

Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Take It, It's Yours!

Dustin Hoffman doesn't really quite marquee a movie now, doesn't he? I still remember one of his earlier classics as The Graduate which still remains one of my favourite films ("Do you want me to seduce you?"), and his award winners like Rain Man, Tootsie, Kramer vs Kramer, or even commercial movies like Hero, Hook and Sphere. Lately though I felt he's relegated to support status and bit roles within ensembles, and even though he's the titular character of Edward Magorium, his screen time is still limited, mirroring Magorium's passing of the baton to Natalie Portman's Molly Mahoney the store manager.

Written and directed by Zach Helm, who wrote the strangely surreal Stranger Than Fiction, I'd come to expect that while Mr. Magorium's Wonderful Emporium is like a nicer, friendlier version of The Little Shop of Horrors, it still in essence retains a modern fairy tale like narrative, with chapters unfolding between episodic scenes. The emporium is a magical toy store where toys come alive, like in other movies like Jumanji, Small Soldiers or even Toy Story, but no talking toys please, that'll stretch it a little too much.

But the fantastical element here belongs to Hoffman's Magorium himself. While we know he's capable of feats, after all, the toy shop and its toys are alive, but the background of the character is deliberately left a little vague, only letting it on that he had lived way, way past retirement, and has decided to expire. In looks, he's like a cross between Albert Einstein with his frizzy hair, and an aging Willy Wonka in his Chocolate Factory, welcoming children everyday to make his place their playground, speaks with a lisp, and is an avid shoe-wearer. In character, cross Hoffman's mannerisms in Rain Man and comedic angle in Meet the Fockers, and you have Magorium.

So what of Portman? Her Molly is a piano child prodigy who got stuck, and finds herself working for Magorium in the magical shop. What she's lacking is the belief in herself, and one of Magorium's intention through implicit training is to impart some lessons in self-belief. Which means throwing her into the deep end of the pool, and therein this changing of the guard. Molly can whine, protest, and soon finds herself with enormous shoes to fill, but has her hands full in trying to convince a skeptic, Henry (Jason Bateman) the accountant brought in to do the books and company valuation, that the store is alive.

Basically, it's a story about friendship, with new ties that bind, when old ties fade away, the never ending cycle of knowing new folk, while others sometimes unfortunately slip behind. The focus is strongly affixed to this theme, while those enticed by the technicolor and expected a visual effects extravaganza as seen in the trailers, will be slightly disappointed. Sure, the effects were necessary to bring the Emporium to life, but not seen as primary, and definitely nothing truly groundbreaking.

It's also suitable for those who grew up with lots of toys and spend time in make pretend and even talking to them, well, this movie is definitely for you. Sit tight during the end credits too, as the production crew get described in really child like terms, and is education for those who do not know what those technical terms normally mean. Sit through to the end, and get yourself rewarded with a small scene as well.

[DVD] Aftermath: Unanswered Questions From 9/11 (2003)

Questions

Produced by the folks from Guerrilla News Network (GNN), this short documentary will find its place with the X-philes out there, who obviously will not take whatever "official" commission reports there are on the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and instead chose to ask questions as to whether the powers that be actually knew such an attack was impending, but let it happen anyway so as to further their respective political and military agenda.

It's almost akin to Why We Fight in the materials it presents and touches upon, and looks at the baseline conspiracy theories for the US to create a presence in the Mid-East, needing a huge tragedy to bolster public opinion for its drive and justification, which ultimately seeks to secure oil from where it is in abundance, and replenish the coffers of oil companies (well, we know who in the White House has ties to).

Director Stephen Marshall cuts to the chase and asks quite pointedly, 11 questions pertaining to the controversy with how the Bush Administration handled supposedly, the pre-attack information it had obtained, right up to its aftermath in the issues such as the surrendering of civil liberties in the name of the PATRIOT act, which to some, contravenes the foundations of the US Constitution. In other words, it's like the usual "internal security act" in these parts of the world which they frown upon, but have a variant of it in existence, except to call it by another name ("Patriot" does sound pretty positive, doesn't it?) The 11 interviewees, each an expert in their own field area/subject, lend some new insights into how things had gone wrong, but which could have been avoided if warning signs were heeded and standard operating procedures were adhered to, but were not, and in fact, resulting in totally opposite results.

In any case, after watching the recent barrage of films criticizing the US Foreign Policy like in Rendition, Lions for Lambs, The Kingdom and going further, Syriana and the Michael Moore documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, Aftermath is like a very brief addition (only approx 30 minutes in length) to the growing dissatisfaction felt by those unwilling to accept things at face value. In fact, what it encourages instead is not to take even their word at face value, but to question and look up the facts and figures yourself, and then to reach a conclusion of your own. Conspiracy or not, what do you think?

The region free DVD by the Disinformation Company (heh) comes in a letterbox format. The extras include only additional interview footage (34:17) which expands on the narrow focus in the documentary proper, and it's rather interesting to listen to the other co-related issues that the interviewees bring up. The other extra is a Live Panel discussion (48:34) with interviewees Michael Ruppert, Peter Dale Scott and Riva Enteen, after the movie was screened on 21 Apr 03 to a full house at Herbst Theatre in San Francisco. Missing from the disc, although the DVD touted it to be there, are 2 bonus news videos.

[World Cinema Series] Killer of Sheep

Boo Hoo

Charles Burnett's debut feature film Killer of Sheep didn't work for me. Perhaps it's because the lack of knowledge on the socio-economic climate of the time made this movie seem a little alien. Or perhaps I didn't grasp the many subtexts that the movie presented, in exploring the lives of the working class African Americans who seem to be a little too far from the American Dream which most of us are familiar with. Or maybe it showed too much of the drudgery of routine in the life of the poor, that frankly, nothing much happens, not because it's by choice, but because of the lack of resource to do something about it, to break out of the circle. In not having the all too standard narrative structure, I thought the incidents played out, like life itself, in nuggets of episodes happening simultaneously, which shifted attention quite frequently on issues that it might have wanted to touch upon.

It sets the spotlight on Stan (Henry G. Sanders) and his family, as we look at their lives almost voyeuristically, as if peering at everything there is to be seen in their household, neighbourhood, and the people they interact with. In fact, we start off smack (pardon the pun) in the middle of parents disciplining their kids, before watching the kids themselves journey into their wonderland engrossed in the game they're playing.

From then on, it became a sort of every ingredient being thrown into the broth. We get to know Stan having to work at a slaughterhouse, but yet tempted by the neighbourhood liquor store owner to help her out. We know Stan doesn't make much, but he puts food on the table. We also suspect that Stan could be a revered ex-boy-in-the-hood who gets called upon by unsavory folks for a hit job. And he seems a little jaded with life, carrying this perpetual frown. But I felt that each of these (and more) interactions presented itself as is, without offering the lazy me any answers, leaving them quite frankly, open to interpretation and reading deeper into it for meaning. Like a friend of mine who likes to call himself the aggressive movie watcher, rather than to passively be fed by the obvious going around.

But it's not as dry as it sounds, with some patches of humour thrown in, but I'm quite unsure whether these were deliberate, or just part of the audience's amusement having to watch those scenes in question some 30 years later. The soundtrack filled with songs such as those by Louis Armstrong and Paul Robeson is a joy though, one which directly led to this movie's lack of screening because it didn't clear those rights.

Maybe, if opportunity presents itself again, I'll give Killer of Sheep another go. And in the meantime, I'll be reading up on the Watts Riots to bring myself up to speed with relevant material probably required to enjoy this movie a lot more, and in some proper context.

***

This evening's guest to present the movie is Matt Myers, a producer as well as the current Associate Chair at NTU Tisch School of the Arts Asia. He shared that Killer of Sheep was made some 7 years after the Watts Riots, and was shot during weekends over the course of one year. It's actually Burnett's thesis film, and cost about $10K to make. It was made with non professional actors, and had won the 1981 Critics Prize at the Berlinale Forum of New Cinema. In 1990 the US Library of Congress declared it a national treasure and inducted it into the National Film Registry, being one amongst the first fifty to be given this honour.

It was recently restored to 35mm, but the version screened today was from Digi-beta. But no matter, the Q&A/discussion session after the screening was a blast, given the myriad of viewpoints that peppered throughout the session, no less contributed by students from the Tisch School, some of them who could be renowned filmmakers in their own right, in time to come.

And before I end off, the World Cinema Series is a programme of the National Museum Cinémathèque and co-presented by the Singapore Film Society, and is a monthly screening of works by the boldest and most inventive auteurs in the history of cinema. This series charts both the significant and less discovered territories of cinema - from the early silent era to underground films, and new wave film movements around the world, by some of the greatest mavericks and artists of film. The Series will continue in 2008, with Radio On being the first in the lineup in the second Tuesday of January. Watch for it!

[VCD] The Bodyguard 2 (2007)

Every Secret Agent Has His Day

I actually wanted to hunt down the first Bodyguard movie by Thai writer-director-actor-comedian Petchtai Wonkamiao, whom many of you would know he's a regular in the many Tony Jaa movies. However, there wasn't a need to do so as I discovered that this follow up movie is actually a prequel, so all's fine and dandy.

I still reckon that Thai action movies (or at least those I've seen to date) resemble productions from Hong Kong in the late 70s and 80s, in that the formula always includes comedy, cartoony action (guns that never run out of bullets, poor marksmanship of the villains, warehouse settings with plenty of empty crates and boxes to crash into, etc) and the preference for fisticuffs to guns when the "boss" for that scene appears. But thanks to Wonkamiao's slapstick wit (some insanely funny dialogue there) and numerous spoofs (the John Woo one being my favourite), this breezy movie turned out to be light entertainment for a rainy weekend stuck at home.

To read my review of The Bodyguard 2 at movieXclusive.com, click on the logo below:

[DVD] Why We Fight (2005)

The Clone Wars

When the World Trade Center in New York came down, it is almost natural that revenge is on the minds of the families of the unfortunate victims, to seek justice and to dish punishment out to the perpetrators. But what happens if under the guise of justice, it becomes a catalyst to spearhead some other hidden agenda by the powers that be, of getting a foothold and a more permanent military presence in the Middle East?

While American forces (with the assistance of the Northern Alliance) entered Afghanistan to flush out the Taliban and the Al Qaeda as a direct response to 9/11, most folks scratched their heads when a flimsy link to Iraq was made, and I remember staying up late (in this part of the world) to watch then US Secretary of State Colin Powell present "compelling evidence" that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and it is in US interest to strike pre-emptively. Well, we know what happened after that and the state that Iraq is in now, but Eugene Jarecki's documentary presented evidence, in a quick recap of Mid-East history of US involvement, that in fact Saddam's inventory had been provided for by none other than the US herself, with Donald Rumsfeld the broker.

Talk about putting her foreign policy in bad light. Why We Fight punches through and asks many questions on that policy, whether it is leaning towards a new modern day imperialism, projected throughout the world through the strength of the American military might. No doubt being the sole superpower as of now, the US had probably taken upon herself to be the World's Policeman, but these lofty ideals of spreading truth, justice and freedom could be easily manipulated by those in power. As the adage goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

And the warning came as early as when former US President Dwight D Eisenhower (who himself was a decorated general leading the Allied Forces in WWII) was about to leave office after his 2nd term. He had warned of the military-industrial complex, if left unchecked by an active citizenry, will bring about what had already come true in modern history.

The business of war is never straightforward, and it becomes more complex when the political-corporate-military unholy triangle, continues to feed off each other in mutual benefit, but at what cost? As the documentary The Corporation had pointed out, the power welded by corporations are nothing to be scoffed at, and naturally to the multi-billion dollar defense industry, war is big bucks - the more guns and bullets they sell, the larger the revenue and profits, and to spur buying, the threat of the bogeyman must continue to exist, and there must come a point in time when stock must be expended. Like Lt Col Tall (Nick Nolte) in Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line, war to a career soldier means opportunity for personal glory and promotion. And Corporations are smart to employ plenty in multiple states for a war machinery, so that any cut in demand will result in job losses, something that politicians would try to avoid if they need votes to sustain their presence in ivory towers.

There was a time when the answer to Why We Fight was simply for Freedom, but nowadays, even that simple answer seems to be shrouded with uncertainty. This documentary is highly recommended and is a must-watch, especially since it presented its arguments, and warning, in a very succinct manner, taking multiple viewpoints from those who had been in and out of the system. No wonder that it won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.

The Code 1 by Sony Pictures Classics is presented in anamorphic widescreen format, and audio in Dolby Digital 5.1 English. No subtitles are available in English though, and only in French, Spanish and Portuguese. Although it is one disc, a number of special features were packed into it, starting with the theatrical trailer (1:55), and a filmmaker commentary with Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson.

Extra Scenes that couldn't make it to the main narrative were included in this section, with a look at Eisenhower's rise in Ike's Evolution (9:51) containing interviews with his descendants, The Missing "C" (4:40), multiple clips off Frank Capra's original Why We Fight series of propaganda clips (5:15), an examination into the fallacy of precision bomb accuracy in The Dangerous Illusion of Precision Guidance (5:41), and a look at What You Can Do (4:34).

Some of the characters seen in the documentary are covered in a little more depth in a separate Characters section, with Wilton Remembers Jason (1:17) where Wilton commemorates the memory of his son Jason with a street sign rather than with a bomb to be dropped on Iraq, William and the YO (Youth Oriented) TV, the kid who signs up with the military (5:18), Karen's Story (3:16) telling how she can no longer betray her conscience and quit the Pentagon, Frankin "Chuck" Spinney (2:14) and Chalmers' Evolution (1:43).

To wrap the special features, we hear more from director-writer Eugene Jarecki, with his Audience Q&A covering questions such as What Do You Hope To Achieve (2:20), Doesn't America Need Defense (3:22), How Did You Meet Wilton (2:24) and What Do High School Kids Think (5:17), which had an interesting answer from the audience when asked what they would do should a Draft be issued. Two TV appearances in The Daily Show with John Stewart (7:04) and Charlie Rose (9:00) offers a more in depth discussion with the director.

[The Substation Moving Images 10th Anniversary Celebrations] Premiere of Zo Hee and Girl In Red Sarong

To celebrate its 10th Anniversary, MI is throwing a big party, so it's one long weekend of film fun, with screenings, talks and even a Movie Paraphernalia Market, from 7th to 10th December (Fri-Mon), all around The Substation premises. And in the tradition of the programme, most admissions are either free, or by donation/pay as you wish.


LtoR: Kristin Saw (Programming Manager of Moving Images), Jeremy Sing, "Girl in Red Sarong", and Jacen Tan

To start off the festivities, two local short films had their premiere this evening, with the respective directors in attendance. Girl in Red Sarong by Jeremy Sing seemed to resemble Charlie Chaplin movies, although it did break the sound barrier with some minimal dialogue. It chronicles a day in the life of the titular character, in an unmistakable kebaya which seemed to be taken off the uniform of a seasoned Singapore Girl, running away from her landlady, and landing herself into (mis)adventures. The soundtrack was pretty nice, even though the narrative felt like it ran out of steam toward the last few scenes.
***
If you thought that Merlion Tan was a complainer in Jacen Tan's previous short Zo Gang, we start at where the previous short left off, and he now redeems himself by actually setting out to make his own film, and does so of course with plenty of Hosaywood brand of humour. Commissioned by The Substation as part of its Moving Images 10th Anniversary celebrations to capture the essence of indie filmmaking here in Singapore, while Zo Gang had included some hilarious generalizations about local film audiences toward home grown movies, and featured some cameo appearances by local musicians, look out for the filmmakers that Jacen had given a go in the sequel, Zo Hee (Make Movie), and the creation of a new character - I'd say there will be someone emerging from the screening who will utter those words/lines made famous in the short!

Though relatively longer in duration, there were some scenes which somehow tangent slightly from the main narrative, but this is forgiven given the necessary Substation moments that the short seeks to pay a little homage to, and for some of the Moving Images programme (like First Cut) to be "advertised" rather quickly. For those who are not familiar with the programme, Zo Hee will serve to quickly bring them up to speed. And nothing really beats watching this short at the Guiness Theatre as things go full circle, making it a great companion piece to Zo Gang.

While it's not an open secret that Jacen's shorts have been making waves overseas and being programmed in festivals, there was like a 2-3 minute clip of a compilation of jubilant folks from around the world, whom I thought had enjoyed Jacen's works, and celebrated by exclaiming on camera "Ho-Say, Lah!". Hosaywood is more than best in Singapore, JB and Batam, and have fans now hailing from almost every continent in the world. If that is not Ho-Say enough, then I don't know what is! Someone fund him to make feature film, can?

If you would like to watch Zo Hee, Zo Gang, and a host of other short films that had one time or another been projected on the Substation Guiness Theatre screen, do come by this weekend to The SUbstation for various film events, screenings, and a flea market too! For sure I know that my friends from movieXclusive.com will be giving away some free movie memorabilia, and for Hosaywood fans, look out for the Hosaywood booth too! Never too late to snag that T-shirt!

BTW, Zo Gang is now online, and you can view it through links at Hosaywood.

See you at The Substation! You can click on the event logo above, or hit this link for details on events and their specific timings. Those of you on Facebook (I know you are) can click on this event link to set yourself a reminder, and to invite your friends along.

Twitch-O-Meter: Stefan’s MEGA-ToM! (Twitch-O-Meter turns 50, part six)

Just to share that while I've been contributing to Twitch, this actually marks my very first contribution to the regular column known as Twitch-O-Meter, and I thought it would be fun to share with the rest of the readers 5 Singapore directors and their upcoming works for 2008 - the Twitch-O-Meter is in its 50th edition, and mine's Part 6 of a 9 parter MEGA-ToM!

I've included here the writeup, but you should definitely pop by the actual page for some proper formatting, and the inclusion of pictures. Have fun and seriously, I can't wait to watch the films mentioned!

So in no particular order, here they are:

1. Royston Tan
His latest movie this year, 881, which touched on the local subculture of “Getai” (song stage) was a blockbuster, raking in more than S$3.5 dollars in box office receipts, propelling him into the rare ranks of Singaporean filmmakers whose movies had crossed the million dollar mark.
Known for more arthouse and edgy fares in his older works like 15 and 4:30, Royston’s next project is going to be the biographical telling of the life of Rose Chan, a stripper who lived in the 50s in Singapore/Malaysia. More song and raunchy dance routines perhaps? Only time will tell.

2. Eric Khoo
Eric’s been doing a lot more producing than directing, with the last feature film he directed being Be With Me which opened the 2005 Cannes Film Festival Director’s Fortnight. He’s credited with putting Singapore back on the cinematic map with his works like Mee Pok Man and 12 Storeys.
Having used Mandarin and its dialects, and an almost silent movie in Be With Me, his next movie will take on another linguistic turn and having it made in Tamil, entitled My Magic, about the father-son relationship between a magician and his son.

3. Tan Pin Pin
Tan Pin Pin’s documentaries so far have struck a chord with local audiences, playing to sell out crowds in a one theatre limited run.
Her latest, Invisible City, will be screened at Berlinale Forum Section next year, so those of you who will be there, do check it out and find yourself discovering a little bit more of our island city from the past.

4. Jack Neo
Arguably the most commercial movie producer-writer-director in the last 10 years, his movies have consistently crossed the million dollar mark in box office receipts, with his uncanny knack in tackling heartland issues and infusing inoffensive socio-political commentary into the narrative of his films. His recent setting up of a film studio, Neo Studios, show his rather shrewd business acumen, and ambition in making inroads to the Chinese market, paving the way for local films to bigger markets and opportunities.
His next movie, at this time of writing, is likely to go head-to-head with Stephen Chow’s highly anticipated CJ7 over the 2008 Lunar New Year period (in Feb) here in Singapore, and it remains to be seen whether his seemingly “My Wife is a Gangster” styled movie (titled Ah Long Ltd) starring Fann Wong (his leading lady from Just Follow Law), can go one on one with aliens from outer space, and who will flinch first.

5. Kelvin Tong
He made one well received horror movie The Maid, which earned him an entry into the elusive “Million Dollar” directors group here, but followed that up with the pretty dismal effort Men In White, a horror-comedy which wasn’t really frightening, nor funny, even though it tried.
His next movie, Rule #1, is currently under post-production, a supernatural thriller starring Ekin Cheng and Shawn Yue, shot in Hong Kong, and due for release in March 2008.


Cross Posted at Twitch

The Kite Runner

You Be My Wingman

This is a powerful story about friendship and redemption, set against the historical backdrop of Afghanistan, in its pre-Soviet invasion days, the invasion, and post-invasion where it became controlled by the Talibans. It's multi-faceted and layered, with micro and macro views of the backdrop of events, and of its characters, centrally two friends of different class and social standing, Amir and his boy servant Hassan, and then the father-son relationship in Amir and his father Rahim Kahn as migrants in American society.

The Taliban scenes were close to reports that you've probably read with regards to the atrocities they committed, and I thought director Marc Foster did a good job in not romanticizing or condemning it with cheap swipes. And the kite flying / battle scenes were really exhilarating to watch! But ultimately, the emo-scenes as truths are uncovered, all in the name of face saving, and the destruction of reputation, makes The Kite Runner a very powerful movie, enough to contend for my year end list of best movies of the year.

To read my review of The Kite Runner at movieXclusive.com, click on the logo below: