Fatal Move (奪帥 / Duo Shuai)

The Censors Got Us!

Written and directed by Dennis Law, Fatal Move was originally conceived as the prequel/sequel to 2005's SPL, which had Donnie Yen and Simon Yam pit their skills on the side of the law against triad members played by Sammo Hung and Wu Jing. SPL had an interesting concept to begin with, but I guess with the ending as it was (a cop out in my opinion), a successful sequel with an interlocking storyline with the surviving characters would prove challenging. A prequel on the other hand might not be as engaging, as if we were to see the rise of Sammo's character to triad boss status, it would ring too much a bell with Infernal Affairs 2.

So Fatal Move offers a completely new storyline, albeit with most of the SPL main cast coming back for another go. Donnie Yen is absent (I'll see him in action later with The Empress and The Warriors), and Simon Yam crosses over the fence to star as the brother of Sammo's triad boss character Lin Ho Lung. However, Yam's Lin Ho Tung seems to be having a walk in the park (and in fact he really did!), as is Lin Ho Lung, because those itching to see some serious butt-kicking action by Sammo Hung, will have to wait until the last 10 minutes of the movie. There are plenty of Milkyway regulars here, with Lam Suet, Cheung Siu-Fai and Maggie Siu on hand to lend their heavyweight support to appeal to Westerners here who are familiar with their works, and Danny Lee returns after a long hiatus to play, what else, a cop yet again.

The storyline is nothing to wow over, and most times seemed to be running on a railway track, completely fixed and one-way, chugging along almost endlessly, without a destination in sight. Character motivations were unclear, and Tien Niu as Lung's wife Soso really let it all rip in a melodramatic monologue that contains a lot more story in her words than all the dialogue put together in the movie. It's about the self-destruction of a triad gang from internal strife from the greed of man, but its central theme was touched upon in a rather haphazard, messy manner that you'd wonder if the sub-plots were just bookends for the action sequences.

However, despite its title, Fatal Move is severely lacking in compelling action scenes. You have the tired car chases, and it seems that there was little effort in trying to milk what Wu Jing and Sammo Hung could do. They're martial arts exponents, but get to handle guns most of the time, and this does not exploit the skills they are trained with, which you can probably employ anyone to take over their place. Most of the fighting sequences were courtesy of Wu Jing, who's especially mean with his lopsided blue-dyed hairdo and an extremely sharp sword, but given no competent exponent character-wise to spar with him, it all boiled down to a one-sided affair. Seriously I'm a fan of his and I think it's about high time he takes over the starring role mantle for Chinese action movie stars, instead of getting bogged down playing side show villains.

What gets compensated for the uninspiring action sequences, was blood and gore done in CGI. I'm placing my bets that Herman Yau, as director of photography here, would have added some of his own pointers in this aspect, and the camera does linger on in some of the more violent and gory aspects, such as pumping continuous lead into a body, and various forms of decapitations involving limbs and fingers, right down to a castration. The much touted fight between Sammo Hung and Wu Jing was the main draw for me I have to admit, but if you were to put SPL and this side by side, Wu Jing vs Donnie Yen had a lot more intensity and slick moves compared to Wu Jing vs Sammo Hung.

But alas despite the M18 rating here, the movie was still subjected to multiple edits (originally rated R21 uncut, but no thanks of course to money-making distributors), and most of the gory bits couldn't escape the censor's scissors. What made it unforgivable, was that the much awaited duel too became victim, and for that, with the insipid storyline and relatively generic action, I would have to recommend that this be skipped at the cinemas, and rent the DVD if you're really interested.

Crows: Episode 0 (Kurôzu Zero)

Not Happy?

Directing a movie based on a manga isn't something new for Japanese auteur Takashi Miike, who also adapted the ultra-violent Ichi the Killer for the big screen. However, with Crows: Episode 0, gone are the extreme violence, though it still retains some flavour normally found in a typical action flick. Known for movies like Audition and Big Bang Love, Juvenile A, both which were released here, this is probably one of his more accessible films to date, even though it treads on familiar territory with elements of the yakuza.

Crows: Episode 0 is set in an all boys Japanese high school, where instead of having educational classes and courses, what gets put on screen (I haven't read the manga obviously) happens to be an ecosystem of triad society split into different turfs according to grade levels, classes and reputation. Unification of all levels in the school is a challenge, and new boy Genji Takaya (Shun Oguri) throws down the gauntlet on the first day to take down reigning school gangster Tamao Serizawa (Takayuki Yamada), which he finds impossible given that the latter's picked up by the police.

But of course there are unwritten rules to follow in order to engage the top, and he enlists the help of a two-bit average Yakuza hoodlum Ken Katagiri (Kyosuke Yabe) to help plot his path of success. For the most parts, the story is simple to follow, as we shadow Genji in his quest to conquer the high school class by class, through sheer brute force, gaining of respect, or simply just friendship established. As his reputation grows, so does his threat towards Serizawa, which sets up the inevitable climatic showdown where the rival gangs gotta settle who's gonna rule the school. As the saying goes, one mountain cannot hide 2 tigers.

You can't help it but Korea's Volcano High comes to mind for comparison. However, this is without the effects laden stylistic fight sequences where the exponents possess superhuman powers and abilities. Here, it's the good old fisticuffs without a lot of frills, though styled to make the characters seem to have super-strength, no thanks to the sound effects of course. The art direction is beautifully peppered with plenty of grafitti art, and your eyes would just automatically wander off to read just about every word that's spray painted out there. Oozing plenty of testosterone and machismo, there are still enough tender moments to make you cringe, bearing in mind that after all, these are pretty looking boys with mean and tough looking exteriors, but sometimes still softies at heart.

It's fight club in schools where black leather is the new uniform. If you're a fan of no holds barred street fighting with camaraderie elements thrown in, sprinkled with a dash of humour (from sight gags to the toilet variety), then Crows: Episode 0 would be right up your alley.

Wearing Green - 17 to 20 March 08

So begins a four day journey back to camp to flush out Mr Selamat... nah, not quite.

Needless to say being away means a temporary hiatus in updates on this site. So the earliest you'll see something will be on Good Friday (even then I may have made other plans!)

Of the movies to be released this week, and from those that I've already watched, I'll rank them in this order of recommendation:

1. SLAM
2. Vantage Point
3. The Orphanage

See you at the movies, soon!

Vantage Point

In the Line of Fire

First off, a warning. This film is not told in your standard narrative style of having the story told from start to end. I can't figure out why teenagers were chuckling at it, because it's one of the many ways to keep you in suspense as the details slowly get pieced together, with each part of the puzzle from the vantage point of 8 individuals being joined at one point or another, without which there wouldn't be any whodunnit element, and too many jump cuts from one POV to the other in one single timeline. So there's nothing really amusing about it.

That said, you would've gathered from the trailer that this is about an assassination attempt on the life of US President Ashton, played by William Hurt, and the pieces of evidence that different characters have depending on their points of view - innocent bystander, television crew, perpetrators and of course, the US Secret Service, led by Dennis Quaid's Thomas Barnes and Matthew Fox's Kent Taylor.

I've always maintained Dennis Quaid as your alternative to Harrison Ford, and here, he takes on a Clint Eastwood like role in being part of the President's detail who has taken a bullet for him, and is now back on active duty. But while he's given top billing in the movie, the movie's divided quite evenly amongst the rest of the cast, save for perhaps Sigourney Weaver as a television news producer. While each individual thread contributed to enriching the story as a whole, I thought that Forest Whitaker's POV was one of the weakest, and brings back memories of Cloverfield's designated cameraman role in wanting to capture the "moment" for all and sundry to see.

It also dwelled a bit on American arrogance, where if the movie is to be believed, then the Secret Service has quite a lot of clout to be blazing their guns opening fire amongst sections of crowds, so long as the big man is down - whatever it takes to bring in / take down those whom they believe are involved in the assassination. What I had wanted to see from the suggestion of the trailer was that car chase scene where Quaid's car got smashed from the side, and no doubt it's been a while since I've seen an exhilerating chase sequence from an action movie of late. Kudos to the stunt team here in having 2 mid-sized saloons weave through crowded streets of vehicles and people, and totally let it rip into utter mayhem.

One thing's for sure though, that the "bad guys" aren't always as dumb as we'd like them to be. Case in point already through recent incidents at home, and underestimating, lulling into complacency and predictability are three of the worst enemies any protective detail could succumb toward. Of course the screenwriters here have it all planned out to make everyone look smart, and at the end of the day, in crafting a hero out of the situation. But that's just movie-land. Recommended for action movie junkies to tide through the temporary dearth these days, and for that chase sequence which was worth every minute of it.

The Orphanage (El Orfanato)

Do You See What I See?

I thought that the Orphanage had employed just about every cliched premise out there in horrorland, where the first 5 minutes probably set up an inevitable series of events that you could have seen from 10 miles out. A creepy looking mansion which functions as an orphanage, children (who are popular characters in many horror movies), and the return to a place called home. To make things worse, the story took its time to unfold, with what I perceived as a nod toward Poltergeist and Dark Water combined.

However, you can't deny that The Orphanage was somewhat of a fresh breeze amongst recent horror releases. Sure I did not like the snail's pace, but I appreciate the technical details employed to craft mood and tension, without relying on the usual bag of tricks. So what you have are extremely atmospheric pieces, but don't go waiting out for cheap sound effects or sudden quick jumps to send thrills down your spine, or laughable attempts at that.

Belen Rueda plays Laura, an orphan from the Orphanage who returns to the same house many years later with husband Carlos (Fernando Cayo) and son Simon (Roger Princep) in tow. Standard horror movie rule #1 will say that things are expected to go bump in the night, and soon enough Simon starts to interact with what is brushed aside by his parents as imaginary friends borne out of his loneliness. Laura, during her childhood, got adopted and off she goes from her friends, and rule #2 will state that she'll soon find out what had happened to the rest, weaved together quite nicely when Simon starts to disappear.

I've come to casually notice that with horror movies, female protagonist are now standard fare. They will find inner strength to confront demons, believe the extraordinary and just never give up hope, whereas their male counterparts always seem whiny, disbelieving, and unsupportive. And that continues here as well. There are some nice touches here which I felt held up the plot development when it was going downhill, and that scene involving "ghostbusters" was certainly one of the best I've seen in a long while, where everything worked perfectly in providing crucial clues to further the story.

But don't go to The Orphanage expecting a lot. The story's rather cliche though cleverly multi-layered in its presentation. It has its moments in key scenes, and for a horror movie, it possesses technical merits in not wanting to be just another run off the mill production, but ultimately felt quite empty despite its very glossy veneer and its headline of having Guillermo del Toro's name attached to the project.

Secret Sunshine (Milyang)

Do You Believe?

Initially, I would have thought that Secret Sunshine had something critical to say of religion (and here being Christianity), and wondered if it would be something of a rant against the ills of blind faith, or the manipulative power of those who are supposedly holier than thou. Surprisingly, it was none of the sort and was largely non-judgemental, putting in place events as a matter of fact, and allowing the audience to draw their own judgement and conclusion.

And I can't help but to chuckle at the role of Song Kang-ho, a man who's taken a liking for widower Shin-ae (Jeong Do-yeon), and starts going to church when she does. The reasons for church going are many I suppose, either to find inner peace, to seek help, being afraid of eternal damnation in the fires of Hell, to reaffirm faith, or even things like wanting to get married in a church, or to skirt chase (I kid you not). But to each his own reasons for turning up in church every Sunday and participating in prayer groups for fellowship, what is indeed dangerous, is when the underlying ulterior motives, do not get satisfied, and that's when frustration sets in. Or when you discover how hypocritical man can be, portraying one face inside the house of God, and displaying yet another outside.

Shin-ae and her son Jun moves to the town of Miryang, which is the birthplace of her deceased husband. Wanting to start life anew, she opens up a piano shop to give lessons, though in discovering her new found freedom and in a moment's lack of good judgement, has another tragedy befall her. And that takes one hour to get to. Secret Sunshine really took its time to get to this point, where things then begin to get slightly more interesting with Shin-ae now taking to embracing religion to deal with and accept her current state, reveling in the comfort that religion, and fellow believers, can offer.

What began as crying out for sympathy turns into acceptance and belief that religion offers that silver bullet to solve the ills of all mankind, and sometimes you wonder if it's because of your personal myopic view of what the almighty is doing for you, that you begin to adopt a somewhat selfish opinion that everything's good going your way, and in Shin-ae's case, her magnanimous attitude in wanting to forgive others who had trespassed against her, forgetting something very fundamental that it the feeling can cut both ways too.

The last act is probably the most fun of the lot as it says plenty, where most of us can identify with - why me, and why not someone else, as we rage against our faith and start questioning, unfortunately, with no hard and fast answers available. It is then either we fall by the wayside, or continue with destructive deeds so rebelliously. But somehow the plug gets carefully pulled in Secret Sunshine so as not to offend, and what could have been an ugly character mouthpiece, got muted.

If you bite into the hype this movie is generating, then perhaps you'll realize only Jeong Do-yeon's excellent portrayal is worth mentioning, as she totally owns her role as the widow Shin-ae who is probably the most unluckiest person on Earth in having to deal with that many tragedies over a short period of time, and if you look at it carefully, most of which are of her own doing. Watching her transformation, is worth the ticket price, and despite having my personal favourite Korean actor Song Kang-ho in the movie, this is something he just breezed right through.

Step Up 2 the Streets

Crowded Streets

The opening just might inspire the return of the flashmobbers, a fad which picked up for a short time in Singapore (of which I did participate in one), and then faded into oblivion. From the get go, it seemed like a unique idea, until you realize it's all staged to gain street cred in this Youtube age, performed by "crew" members of reigning street dance champions 410.

But Step Up 2 retains much of the superficial facade of the original movie, with the setting in the same elite school, only with a different cohort. From what we've seen in the first movie, those snobby arty farty dance kids no longer hog the spotlight, as it is firmly on a group of misfits who are here to replace the loss of the previous two leads Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum, although the latter did land a guest appearance to cement the excuse for a sequel, as well as to pass on the troubled teen mantle to Andie (Briana Evigan).

Whatever troubles these teens have, it's all secondary to the purpose of making the movie. Sure, you have the outcast who don't look right and get prejudiced against, a typical younger brother trying to step out of the shadows of his more illustrious brother who's now school principal, and some might even deem it condescending to have an Asian character who speaks in a funny accent. Too many characters here and all of them turn out to be one-dimensional and cardboard. But all that camaraderie building aside, which is what is formulaic glue, the main draw is undoubtedly the street dancing moves.

I'd bet everyone in the audience, who are mostly teenagers into free form dance, will lap up all the moves that the cast put on display. And there are plenty of set pieces for one to gawk at. However, in my own personal un-dance-like opinion, the dancing here pales in comparison to the first. What made the first interesting to watch, is the fusion of two different schools of thought, and having them come together for an explosive finale which was worth the wait. Here, it's more improvisation, and even then, you can't help but notice the very individualistic styles that stand out on its own, never for a minute trying to blend in with the rest of the crew.

Coming together for the expected finale was also very staged and forced, and in no way given the story development, can they pull off something like that. Even so, instead of one coherent act, you get many disjointed short sequences being force fit together. Not very effective, or interesting to sit through unfortunately. So I am going to state that Step Up 2 the Streets is strictly meant for street dance fans, otherwise this makes the first movie look like a class act of its own.

4th Singapore Short Film Festival - Day One

Day One saw a packed auditorium at The Substation savouring short films like Eva Tang's Londres-London, Jelmar Hufen's For a Few Marbles More (in Dutch), Iranian film Cyanosis, and a quirky short with an eye candy cast about being played out with My Keys. But I guess the one I truly enjoyed (erm, well, in a warped way) is the uber-violent Kichiro by Kelvin Sng, which made its Singapore premiere. If you have a chance to catch it in any other screenings, please do! It's bloody, it's campy, you probably won't believe it's a Singapore short film!

Join me for Day Two where I'll be speaking about "Seeing Short", and my personal highlights from tomorrow's selection will include Stick Boy, Popped Collar and Tango Trois. See you there!

---
The Substation Moving Images presents
4th Singapore Short Film Festival
13 to 17 March 2008
7.30pm, The Substation Theatre

Tickets at $6 / $4 (concession) from gatecrash.com.sg or call 6222 5595. Group discounts available.
For more info, visit www.substation.org or call 6337 7535

Film Partner: the British Council, EM Media, UK Film Council
Supported by: Singapore Film Commission, Gatecrash


PROGRAMME

DAY 2: Fri 14 Mar, 100mins*
“Seeing Short” - Speaker: Stefan Shih / film reviewer / A Nutshell Review
Flicker/ Singapore / 2007 / 9 min / Aroozoo Wesley Leon
Stick Boy / Singapore / 2007 / 4 min / Putnam Trumbull
The Imaginary Girl / UK / 2007 / 10 min / Richard Porter
Fun Today / Israel / 2005 / 14 min / Hagar Ben-Asher
I Met A Real Streety Once / Australia / 2007 / 21 min / Caroline Ingvarsson
Circle / UK / 2007 / 9 min / Mehul Desal
Tango Trois / Australia / 2006 / 8 min / Gracie Otto
Popped Collar / Singapore / 2007 / 7 min / Robert Skinner

DAY 3: Sat 15 Mar, 100mins*
“Selling Short” - Speaker: Juan Foo / producer / Shooting Gallery Asia
Heroes / New Zealand / 2005 / 9 min / Julia Reynolds
Fruitful / Singapore / 2006 / 15 min / Pigeon+on
Cheerleader / USA / 2005 / 26 min / Kimberlee Bassford
Shadowline / UK / 2007 / 10 min / Dan Seagrave
Foreign Domestic Worker / Singapore / 2007 / 5 min / Eric Flanagan
Lady Margaret / UK / 2007 / 10 min / Deborah Haywood
Flying Saucey / USA / 2006 / 9 min / Marie Losier

DAY 4: Sun 16 Mar, 100mins*
“Sending Short” - Speaker: Yuni Hadi / programmer and manager / Objectifs and SIFF
Masters Of Ceremony / Singapore / 2007 / 13 min / Rich Ho
Ema Shel Shabat (A Shabbos Mother) / Israel / 2005 / 30 min / Inbar Namdar
Majidee / Malaysia / 2006 / 15 min / Azharr Rudin
Mai Fu (Ambush) / Taiwan / 2006 / 14 min / Koi Leong Tian
Over the Hill / UK / 2007 / 8 min / Peter Baynton

DAY 5: Mon 17 Mar, 100mins*
Prize Presentation: Voice Awards
The Island of Good Life / Portugal-India / 2007 / 25 min / Merces Tomaz Gomes
Goh Poh Seng / Canada / 2007 / 15 min / Almerinda Travassos
Anfaengerfehler (Beginner's Mistake) / Austria / 2007 / 3 min / Christian Horlesberger
For Memories / USA / 2006 / 14 min / Wing-Yee Wu
I Don't Know You / Singapore / 2006 / 4 min / Amanda Tan
Man With Camera / Singapore / 2007 / 22 min / Daphne Tan

*Ratings to be advised.

Horton Hears a Who!

I'm Not Looney!

I've got to make a mental note that movies that have trailers playing in the cinemas for the longest time, do not a boring movie make, even if the first half of the movie plays like the extended version of the trailer, telling us things we already know, spelling out the premise all over again.

Jim Carrey and Steve Carell unite on the big screen again after their short pairing up in Bruce Almighty, although this time they're animated as animals / creatures from Dr Seuss' fictional world, and don't share the same scene (split screens don't count). Jim Carrey voices Horton, an elephant who in moments where you least expect, spew lines of poetry as dialogue. We're introduced to his character from the onset, though his backstory isn't really fleshed out, except that there are those (like the Kangeroo) who hates all for what he stands for. And simply put, Horton exudes all qualities typical of what elephants are made out to be - excellent memory, frightened about the unknown, and trustworthiness.

These qualities are put to the test when he chances upon a speck on a clover. That speck turns out to be home for an ecosystem populated by Whos, minute creatures who seem to live very mundane, repetitive lives in their very own little paradise. Things start to go awry, especially with severe environmental changes, and despite the Mayor of Whoville (Carell) warning of the great unknown out there, like all predictors of impending doom, get ridiculed by the population. So begins the friendship between HOrton, trying to protect the world of his new found friend by relocating the speck to safe haven, and the Mayor, who must warn his disbelieving population about more dangers to come.

For a while it drags on, with childish banter between the two lead characters, and the plot by Horton haters to bring him down by destroying his toy of the moment, not acknowledging his mantra that a person's a person, no matter how small. They want proof, and they're not getting any, since the Whos are also laughing at the fact that there are bigger creatures out there, outside the realms of their known atmosphere. It's as if one's trying to convince a large group of atheist that there is a supreme being up there and he's up there watching our every move (ok, so Horton doesn't actually get to see them, but you get my drift).

But the struggling with existentialism, is what made Horton Hears a Who shine brightly, and made the ticket worthwhile. A pity we have to really wait out for it, but at least these tense moments came, better late than never, that really brought out enough drama and excitement that I never saw coming my way. Otherwise, the animation's pretty standard fare in 2D, and chock full of supporting characters (voiced by Seth Rogen, Carol Burnett, Dan Fogler, Isla Fisher, Amy Poehler and Jaime Pressly et al) just to ramp up the cute factor, without giving them much to do anyway, though I must admit the gorillas almost always crack me up (you should see what they can do with their bananas!)

Smart to debut this during the school holidays this week to catch hold of school going kids. Oh, and get yourself into the hall early as you'll get to see Ice Age's Scrat up to his antics to promote Ice Age 3, due on in Summer 2009 (yes, 2009!)

Slam (扣篮对决) (World Premiere)

Welcome to the Big League

I guess in movies with sports themes, it is never really much about the goal and the destination, but rather the journey the characters take in finding strengths amongst themselves, shore up weaknesses and collectively present and mount a challenge, that makes it compelling viewing. And it's little surprise that Slam fits into this mould and what resulted is a thoroughly enjoyable film on schoolyard pride, camaraderie and 3 on 3 basketball.

It is almost a no brainer to want to compare Slam with the other recent basketball movie effort from Asia, Kung Fu Dunk. While the target audience might be different with the latter appealing more to fans of Jay Chou, Slam has a more universal appeal and easily identifiable themes that don't pretend to be anything more than they are. There are many aspects in Slam that makes it a far more superior basketball / sports themed movie, and I'd probably incur the wrath of many fans if I were to state that the music here by Machi Entertainment outscores Jay Chou's rap on tofu (Swordsman Chou by the way) from the 3 point line (check out "Nothing is Impossible" to keep that adrenaline pumping, from the official website).

The relationships between the characters here also felt more down to earth, probably without the "star appeal" factor to take the attention away from the collective, with the relatively new protagonists given almost equal opportunity in a sport that emphasizes on teamwork, rather than the sole fixation in executing a particular move in the various permutations possible. In that respect, the moves here were sans Kung Fu and wire work stunts, keeping it very much grounded to reality, and of course, believable, while at the same time, entertaining with nifty executions. However, those who cannot tolerate MTV-styled quick edits might find something to gripe about here, but I thought those handheld shots employed fit the premise of the game, not the standard court games that you watch on television, but the quicker in pace 3 on 3 street game, giving it a feeling of raw energy somehow, especially coming from a team of youthful exuberance.

At its core, Slam contains a simple losers versus bullies storyline, and one between the haves and the have-nots. Mouth (Lin Xiao Fan) is your typical introverted kid who's having major troubles with his non performance in his schoolwork, while nursing a high school crush on the prettiest (and smartest too) girl in school Xiao Xiao (Zhao Wenqi). But his passion for the basketball game sees him train by walking around with weights attached to his legs, and shooting hoops with good friend Monkey (Zhang Yi Shan), whose cousin Jason (Andrew Chou aka Machi Di Di from the Taiwanese hip hop group Machi) completes the trio. And as you may have it, the one-dimensional bullies, led by Li Wei (Wang Wei) of "The Hawks", take every opportunity to stir trouble with our motley gang, inside and out of the basketball court.

Sound quite familiar? Yes it does, and in any self-respecting sports movie, there's a well made training montage to inspirational, beat-pumping music too. But what shines here are the earnest portrayals, and not for one minute I felt that the actors were trying too hard to act their roles, but were quite natural in fleshing out their respective characters, so much so that they endear and are likable enough for you to root for them all the way, and not only when the time came for it, like the big games. Needless to say with teenagers in the brew, parents too come into the picture, and there were some subtle reminders on developing the potential of a child, and that need not necessarily come from books alone. And furthermore, to do so by teaching them to combat self-doubt.

Succinctly put, Slam is a simple to follow story with excellent delivery that worked remarkably. It took a while for the main action to come to the foreground, but when it did, for casual / non-basketball players like myself, you'll probably find yourself wide-eyed at the level of energy exuded, and wanting to shoot some hoops with friends too, replicating the moves being an optional. Should Goal be used as an epitome of a good football movie, then Slam will be in my list as one for a good street basketball film. Highly recommended!

***


The World Premiere for Slam was held at GV Vivocity's GV Max, and the turnout was fantastic, with local celebrities gracing the occasion, and plenty of local basketballers in the school leagues being invited as well. After all, the protagonists are students themselves, and their struggles on the court can easily be identified with by the target audience!



I think nobody expected some really cool giveaways like jerseys hidden under the seats, or that autographed jersey that this fella got to walk away with!


And here's writer-director Jonathan Lim and producer Christian Lee (in red jacket) to introduce the movie!




More pictures from the Gala can be seen over here!

[DVD] Tequila (2003)

Bottoms Up

I suppose most folks in the 20s-30s will readily identify with the predicaments faced by the yuppies in Tequila. It tells of the friendship between a group of professionals and how after 3 years, events change the team dynamics, and things on the facade are not always what they seem. In fact, taking stock of your own personal friendships, you do realize that sometimes people do have to drift in and out as everyone's leading their personal lives, trying to attain their personal goals, but when you get together again, it's almost magical that everyone can go back to the point where you left off.

Unless of course, there are catalysts put in place to stir things up, and what more than those involving affairs of the heart? In Tequila's gang of four, we have Jimmy T as the lead narrator Jason telling the story of his group of friends - Mike (Jake Lam), the successful dot com businessman who seem to have everything going his way, including a beautiful wife Natasha (Christine Sham, whom I believe worked on Eric Khoo's Be With Me soundtrack), Noel (Holman Chin) who from the braggart becomes the henpecked husband after marriage, and Tien (David Ng), the awkward loner of the group who becomes a changed person upon return from an overseas stint.

The nightly talking-cock sessions these friends have over tequila shots are atypical of any male bonding session, and of the many nuggets thrown up, I was quite amused with the one that mentioned never to work for friends, or as a boss, to have friends working for you. Not that you can't, but you're sure to expect some form of unwritten chumminess get in the way of proper employee-employer relationships, especially when it comes to job non-performance.

A huge part of the movie though focuses on the degeneration of Mike's frame of mind, especially when we now realize that he's running into some serious trouble with his firm, and has this friend in the mold of Tyler Durden paying him irregular visits in unexpected places, coupled with his insensitiveness in handling revelations his friends tend to surprise him with. It's quite a dark and gritty looking film for the most parts, and hinges on the camaraderie on the quartet to carry the film through, but as a first film for writer-director Jonathan Lim, I thought that he had weaved together something quite unique, and definitely unexpected. For fun, you can count the number of times the characters pop tequilas or take a swig from the bottle!

Region free DVD comes in anamorphic widescreen presentation though the quality seemed to be rather grainy since it's shot from digital video. Audio is available in English Dolby Digital 5.1 or 2.0. No subtitles are available however, and scene selection is available over 9 chapters in this 80 minute movie. Only the teaser (0:45) and theatrical trailer (2:00) are available, no other extras packaged in. For those who are looking for it, HMV still has copies of it on sale for S$4.95.

Rule #1 (第一诫)

I See Ghosts Too

I'm sure some of you out there would conveniently associate Kelvin Tong's reputation with the dismal Men in White, forgetting that the writer-director had his success stories in his earlier works Eating Air and The Maid. You can tell clearly that I did not really enjoy MiW, nor his experimental Love Story, but with Rule #1, Kelvin Tong gets my vote of confidence henceforth, if he steers clear of bad comedy, and pretentious art house flicks.

What I do like about his movies, each one of them, is how he grips you right from the start. How it develops then on is a different tale, but his introductions are nothing short of mesmerizing. Here, he demolishes all preconceived notions you have when watching a movie, and warns you of sorts about the experience you're going to go through with Rule #1, that is, to throw all assumptions out of the window. In fact, the opening scenes were frantic and leaves you just enough to continue questioning in which direction the movie will propel itself forward.

And thankfully, it made all the right moves, despite momentarily lapses in succumbing to cheap scares that don't really add much value to the movie. Yes, we know how Kelvin crafts scenes that will send shivers down your spine until the crescendo (even Men in White's introduction had shades of this), and they all work here too, except that I thought that they were a little unnecessary except to anchor the movie in the land of the supernatural. It's central plot doesn't become clear until midway through the movie, and from then on it lunges to a higher plateau at breakneck speed, with the audience probably second and triple guessing themselves all the way to the finale, with flashbacks at times becoming a little too spelt out for good.

It's a smart move to have this movie made in Hong Kong, where he has able crew (Cinematographer Keung Kwok Man lensed the movie and made it look really edgy) and leads like Ekin Cheng and Shawn Yue to carry the movie through. Ekin plays the head honcho in the police force's Miscellaneous Affairs Department (MAD, heh), which handles the 2% of calls synonymous with the X-Files. His Inspector Wong's drunken antics and devil may care attitude seem to stem from his long serving years in MAD, but he survives day to day with his mantra Rule #1 - There is no such things as ghosts - which he imparts to team rookie Sergeant Lee (Shawn Yue), who slowly learns that the mantra and scientific explanations seem to run contrary to what Wong really knows. I thought Yue gave a tremendous performance in his role as the pained Lee in John Constantine garb, who in his second chance at life seemed to have opened his eyes to ghosts who walk on this earth. While scenes where the two male leads play off each other are limited, I particularly enjoyed the one where they staked out their prey, which had them banter on rather matter-of-factly at how they would approach the impending scenario, before their greatest fears come alive, and that rug from under our feet starts to stir.

Sure there are familiar shades from movies like Fallen and Suicide Club, and a lot of "waking up" moments, but they never did once mar my enjoyment of the movie as it went along. Rule #1 had enough suspenseful moments to thrill, and Kelvin Tong seemed very assured to be in familiar grounds of horror. Those expecting an all out fright-fest may be slightly disappointed as it turns on the supernatural spin a lot more than the boo-moments, and fans of Fiona Xie will find that their Mediacorp darling still got relegated to a flower vase role in a one-dimensional performance, despite this being her second movie outing (after One Leg Kicking). Here she plays the dutiful girlfriend to Sergeant Lee, and that's about it, being half-asleep most of the time (no, nothing sexy about that too).

Mark my words, Rule #1 is Kelvin Tong's best movie to date, and definitely very well executed, as good as or even better than any Asian thriller in recent memory. He has shown again that he can craft commercially viable movies with relatively original stories to tell. Note the release date on your calendar, and give it a go next week!

Perspectives Film Festival

Friends, it's going to be a busy March-Apr, with no less than 3 festivals lined up during the period, all featuring local feature films and shorts. Besides the Singapore Shorts Film Festival at the Substation, and the Singapore International Film Festival, there's also the Perspectives Film Festival, which is an an inaugural film festival jointly presented by NTU Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information and the National Museum of Singapore.

This 5-day long event will feature some of the first, classic films produced in Singapore, highlighting the glorious past of our local film history, bringing back fond memories and inspiring the next wave of Singapore’s media stars. The highlight of the festival will be the screening of Lion City, which is arguably the first Chinese-language film to be made in Singapore. The last time this movie was screened was back in 2005 during the Screen Singapore festival, and unfortunately I had missed the screening then. Opportunity presents itself again this time round!

Other films in the lineup include Seniman Bujang Lapok, a film made by P. Ramlee, Hussein Haniff's Hang Jebat, Salleh Ghani’s Tun Fatimah and B. N. Rao’s Sumpah Pontianak which I have watched and reviewed here back in 2005, and here's a picture of Pontianak star Maria Menado.

Another first for the classics mentioned, all films will come with Chinese subtitles, as the organizers - all full time students btw, in a course where students conceptualize, manage, fundraise, promote and run an actual ticketed film festival - try to reach out to the older Chinese population in Singapore who cannot read English subtitles. On the last night, the screening of Seniman Bujang Lapok will be Free and held outdoors too, to promote greater communal bonding and involvement, especially across generations.

What's the cost you say?
It's only S$7 per paid screening, and concession rates are available. All indoor screenings will be held at the National Museum of Singapore Gallery Theatre (one of my choice screening locations in Singapore).

For more details of the programme, and ticketing information, head on down to the Official Festival Website!

Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone (ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版:序)

I Spy a Mecha

While I knew a little about the Japanese anime Neon Genesis Evangelion through the reading of various fan sites dedicated to it, I've never actually sat down and watched an episode of the series. So when opportunity came by to experience the Rebuild of Evangelion, why not start the slate clean?

Rebuild of Evangelion is actually a tetralogy based on the original anime series by the same creative team, but it's not exactly a shot-by-shot rehash in that it does include some extra scenes, and I guess the objective is to allow the tetralogy to encapsulate what worked in the original, while at the same time to perhaps make it the more definitive telling of the story. Kind of like how comic books like to do the various reboots and tweaking of origins to suit the times.

We're introduced to Shinji Ikari, the teenage kid whose father Gendo is commander of an organization called NERV, which developed the Evangelion mechas to fight against alien Angels who invade Earth. To a layman like me, it's something like Ultraman battling monsters, except that are certain constraints here that make Evangelions interesting. Firstly, they are dependent on launch pads and are wired to NERV control, and what more, piloting these sophisticated mechas involves some bio-fusion between children, and the bots. Imagine having the fate of the world resting on the shoulders of a child, and what more, a rookie one in Shinji, who has to learn the ropes on the job. To complicate matters, he's the reluctant hero who whines a lot, is indecisive, and seems like he could lose it all anytime.

But that's exactly what makes Evangelion a joy to watch. The flawed heroes, compounded by the fact that with every increasingly powerful Angel to battle, the Evangelions seem to be more patched and repaired after each encounter, you'd wonder how long it could hold up before actually crumbling. The battle sequences here are nothing less than spectacular to watch, as we discover along with the heroes, just how best to defeat the vastly different Angels. Animation wise there's nothing to specially shout out about, as it's quite standard 2D fair with the usual attention to details.

Being the introductory movie, this film begins quite unconventionally in the thick of the action to grip your attention and never let up. As it moves along, it does drop hints of previous incidents, while introducing us to new characters along the way, expanding its mythos and universe. And in all intents, it does leave many doors opened for questioning, and it's almost definite that these would (hopefully) be answered in the subsequent films. Oh, and for action junkies, I give the thumbs up for the final battle in this movie - the creative team really do know how to make everything look really bleak!

For those who are new to the series, I quite sure this will serve as an excellent starting platform into the Evangelion universe. For those who have already been in the loop (and probably hated the series ending), this could be interesting for you to see what changes were made, and whether you will prefer the tetralogy instead.

10,000 B.C.

Die Puny Human!

I guess not everyone has the audacity like Mel Gibson in taking risks related to the language used in their movies, for artistic integrity reasons. Passion of the Christ and Apocalypto both did not have their characters spout English, and had subtitles for the audience to rely on instead. And for a movie based in the era that its title states - 10,000 years before the birth of Christ - I do not suppose for one instance that our ancestral forefathers back in those days speak simple English, if at all. Then again, this is entertainment for the masses we're talking about.

The main draw of 10,000 BC was of course the interaction of man and humongous, dangerous beasts of the time, and how through ingenuity in our natural ability to milk the Earth to make tools, mankind has ruled the Earth until now. But if like me you're expecting huge action pieces involving mammoths and sabre tooth tigers, what you get in their place are gentle elephants who go on a rampage no different from having computers plaster the correct bodykits over stampeding bulls, and a sabre tooth tiger count of ONE, and a pussy cat at that too.

In essence, 10,000 BC tells of so simple a story, you'll believe that back then even hunky guys have their work cut out when they're going after the girl of their dreams. It's basically boy chases girl across the vast mountains and plains of the known world, because he had chosen to honour integrity than to win her hand over a mistaken recognition of bravery. And naturally to make our hero D'leh (Steven Strait) regret this decision, his lady love Evolet (Camilla Belle) and his fellow villages get enslaved and marched to Egypt to build pyramids for the gods (OK, so I'm stretching that last statement). Villains are extremely weak, as they just have to look menacing without actually bringing across the feeling of immense threats that could be fatally carried out.

Before you say that it's a carbon copy of the plot in Mel's Apocalypto and many others ranging as far back as Stargate, while Apocalypto had a man trying to save his family, this one's more of a pursuit of individual interests. And through his quest, a hero within D'leh will arise in a sort of coming of age tale of a prophetic savior who will lead everybody to salvation and to the promised land. Yes, tales of The One cliche get plastered at every possible instance that you'll roll your eyes when the plot tries to throw some red herrings along the way in meek attempts to spice things up. And as each prophecy get explained, the more ridiculous it becomes, and when an ancient badly rendered drawing is shown carved against a rock in colour, you know that this is supposed to be one cartoony movie after all.

Throw in some pathos about a long lost father, sacred weapons, and even a memorable fight scene in a bamboo forest (I kid you not this time), you'll have enough material here to feel a sense of familiarity throughout the story, surviving on the novelty of having set some thousands of years ago. One thing you'll learn though, is that it pays being a gatherer and hunter with excellent javelin skills, and even Leonidas will have to kowtow to.

One Foot Off the Ground (Ji Quan Bu Ning / 鸡犬不宁)

Hello Chicken?

I didn't really know what to make of One Foot Off the Ground. As it twists and turns in and around its dizzying myriad of characters and the lives, it's easy to get lost, and those without patience would find themselves tempted to walk out of the cinema hall. The payload only gets delivered from the midway mark, as writer-director Chen Daming takes his time to set up each subplot, before developing them richly into satisfying conclusions.

The tale opens with an opera troupe performing its last act, because its director had lost their funding in an accident. As such, the troupe temporarily disbands, and we fast forward three months later, to be introduced to individual characters, their current lives and the little episodes that happen to them in order to spice the movie to feature length duration. And very early on, you start to wonder just where these stories are heading toward.

You have Ma San (Li Yixiang) and his participation in underground cock fights, whose wife is contemplating going to France to set up a Chinese restaurant. There's Sihai (Jin Hong) who doctors the dogs he sells to pass them off as another pedigree, and there's Liu Bing (Yao Lu) who runs a photo studio and develops the hots for a young model. These are just some of the lead characters, and there are plenty more supporting ones like the old master of the opera training school who's looking for a companion, and a sleazy film scout who calls himself F4.

And for a film without any recognizable big names, it relied heavily on the delivery of the cast to engage the audience with its earnest scenes, some which are comedic, and some others heavy on the drama. But for the most parts, it was the little moments that bring out little joys while sitting through it. There aren't any large scenes or sudden great leap forward plot development, and I was quite tickled with the plot element of a money bag making its rounds and adding confusion and suspicion on the characters that happen to stumble upon it.

If I could summarize this movie in a line, then it would be "nothing fancy, but it works".

This Time

Sometimes it's just the song that packs a punch in delivering the whammy in the movie, and for August Rush, amongst all the songs featured, this one strikes the chord closest to my heart. For you.



Artist: Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Song: This Time

Tonight the sky above
Reminds me of you, love
Walking through wintertime
Where the stars all shine
The angel on the stairs
Will tell you I was there
Under the front porch light
On a mystery night

I've been sitting watching life pass from the sidelines
Been waiting for a dream to seep in through my blinds
I wondered what might happen if I left this all behind
Would the wind be at my back? Could I get you off my mind
This time

The neon lights in bars
And headlights from the cars
Have started a symphony
Surrounding me
The things I left behind
Have melted in my mind
And now there's a purity
Inside of me

I've been sitting watching life pass from the sidelines
Been waiting for a dream to seep in through my blinds
I wondered what might happen if I left this all behind
Would the wind be at my back? Could I get you off my mind
This time

I've been sitting watching life pass from the sidelines
Been waiting for a dream to seep in through my blinds
I wondered what might happen if I left this all behind
Would the wind be at my back? Could I get you off my mind
This time

Sky of Love (恋空 / Koizora)

Very Serious

You can trust the Japanese romance stories to stick to almost the same formula each time, and yet still being able to draw the masses to their theatres for dishing out more of the same material. There'll be the melodramatic, over the top sob moments, together with love filled with various forms of tension ranging from competition to the usual blowing of hot and cold, my my, the list just goes on.

Soaring to #1 in the Japanese box office, Sky of Love is actually based on a cell phone novel, and given the proliferation of phones in Japan, there's a ready made audience from this fan base that would flock to the cinemas upon the movie's release of course. It's a high school romance story about a girl, Mika (Yui Aragaki) and her love with punkster Hiro (Haruma Miura), and what a story it is, with teenage sex, rape, pregnancy, and even a miscarriage! And I do confess that I did raise an eyebrow when these incidents come one after another, given that after all, aren't they (the characters) supposed to be underaged to begin with? Not being a prude here and having double standards (like in Juno's case), Sky of Love did load up the pity factor for the audience to feel sorry for the leads. Juno doesn't.

And what's a Japanese contemporary romance story without some form of disease come into play? That probably took the cake and anyone watching the movie could see it coming from a mile away, but we the audience still continue to lap it all up, together with those whispering of sweet nothings, promises to be around forever, etc, and little actions to tug at the heartstrings of loved ones (and the audience's as well). It felt highly manufactured, as if going through an assembly line to incorporate the usual elements when the time came for it, and the usage of cute, symbolic artifacts to represent tokens of love at various stages.

You cannot deny then the wonderful cinematography and whimsical music to put you in the right mood for love, though its 120 minute runtime seemed a tad too long in trying to probably incorporate every major plot development in the novel, what with the introduction of potential love rivals. Yui Aragaki and Haruma Miura with his dyed-white hair seem quite mature to be playing your high school sweethearts, but there's a certain saccharine sweet chemistry between them that would make them your instantly identifiable, and likable characters.

Like I mentioned, there are plenty to frown upon, perhaps even laugh at during the first 20 minutes or so, because of the implausibility of having the most wretched of events befall Mika, and before you begin to wonder why the adults (families on both ends) refuse to take proper action, and the total absence of authority figures to allow the children to take matters into their own hands. Then again, this is a romance movie, not a cop drama, so some suspension of belief is required. Strictly for those who require their regular dose of the usual J-romance chick flicks.

August Rush

Genius in Action

Freddie Highmore could be the current hot property as far as male child actors go, and Singapore has lined up two of his movies this week, with The Spiderwick Chronicles for the kiddie audience, and the more mature drama August Rush, which I thought was almost an Oliver Twist with music inclinations.

Highmore plays titular character August Rush, a stage name he and rogue guardian Wizard (a menacing Robin Williams) conjured when the latter realizes the music genius in the young boy who could be his ticket to instant riches. However, for August, his escape from the orphanage is to seek out his true biological parents, whom he believes earnestly is alive, and had to abandon him because of circumstances. Keri Russell plays cellist Lyla Novacek and Jonathan Rhys Meyers an indie rock star Louis Connelly, which more or less explains their offspring as a musical prodigy, able to pick up the essence of various sounds to distill the music in them, and could learn to play instruments by observation and by ear.

The story is told in two tracks, both of which will probably wring at your heart for the many missed chances and opportunities that would have made this a short film. But of course sentimental cruelty rules the day and everyone's kept apart for the most parts, while allowing you to jump with joy each time you are presented moments where the key leads get to interact with one another. The first track which is August Rush centric, as mentioned, is Oliver Twist, plain simple and obvious. Freddie Highmore alone is charismatic enough to hook, line and sinker your attention as he goes about his heartwarming quest to locate his folks, while at the same time his vulnerability allows him to be exploited since he's quite condescending.

The second part of the story I thought was the more touching part, with two lovers not being granted the opportunity to spend more than 1 night together, and must separate because of parental insistance that "it's for your own good", though probably the cynic in us could have said, it's the age of technology, and obviously Louis could have every chance to track her down, but just didn't. Well, that leaves room for the story to be told the way it is, doesn't it, and it's quite the standard romantic affair of having love lost, and love found. That one bit with Louis hesitating, I can jolly well identify with, as with the channelling of his energies to his more creative pursuits although still leaving room for some lamenting.

August Rush boasts and excellent soundtrack, some of which merged classical and rock ballads in an almost seemingly perfect fusion, which I can't help but to admire and were a real treat to sit through. Given a choice between the two Freddie Highmore movies, this one gets my vote of recommendation, hands down!

SLAM

Jay Chou's Kung Fu Dunk's not the only one this 2008 to come up with a basketball movie it seems. A Singaporean production house, Crimson Forest Films, had apparently gone to China to shoot a basketball movie centered around adolescent youths, and is slated for its world premiere later this month in Singapore.

Watch for it!

Click here for the official website.

Here's the (somewhat detailed) synopsis:

Our story begins on the last day of school during final exams in Beijing, China. Mouth, a shy insecure 15-year-old, and his best friend Monkey, an undersized energetic loudmouth, get ready for the start of summer break and transition into high school. The future is looking bright for Mouth, whose longtime crush, Xiao Xiao, the prettiest and smartest girl at school, has finally turned her attention to him.

The fun start to school break turns sour, when Monkey’s cousin, Jason, comes to Beijing for the summer. Jason gets the boys on the wrong side of Li Wei, the arrogant and cocky captain of the school basketball team. Since Mouth’s humble father, Lao Lin, works for Li Wei’s powerful and rich father, Mouth desperately tries to avoid any trouble. Nevertheless, Jason convinces the boys to take revenge. The boys score a minor victory, but Li Wei vows to make their lives a living hell.

Mouth’s life takes a turn for the worse during Monkey’s birthday party, when Li Wei and his friends humiliate Xiao Xiao. Angry and pushed over the edge, Mouth attacks Li Wei and ends up damaging public property and injuring Li Wei. The police show up along with both of their fathers. As a result, Lao Lin has to get a second job in order to pay for the damages caused by Mouth. Frustrated, Mouth gets into a fight with Xiao Xiao and breaks up with her.

To pay for the damages, Mouth, Monkey and Jason enter the annual 3-on-3 basketball tournament in hopes of winning the grand prize money. During the tournament, the team’s remarkable performance makes them the crowd’s favorites. They are even stealing the thunder away from Li Wei’s team, the defending champions.

The night before the semi-finals, Mouth’s father discovers that his son has failed his final exams. He lashes out, hitting his son in anger. The next day, Mouth plays horribly, causing a huge fight between him and Jason. Out of a fluke, they still manage to win a spot to the finals against none other than Li Wei’s team. Unable to settle their differences, do the boys have what it takes to overcome impossible odds?