A Series of Short Films

The web with its video sharing capabilities now throw up countless of short films out there that anyone with an internet connection can partake in a guilty pleasure scouring the net for some of the best. Perhaps the following may pique your interest enough to want to catch them on your own!

Over Coffee

Leave That To Me
Hands up anyone who has gone through some lengths to get a cup of coffee for a beautiful girl. I'm sure we have our similar moments, and in 15 minutes, this short film by Sean Meehan covered plenty of ground, from character introductions, to the goal in mind, followed by the challenges that stand in the way, and finishing it all off with slight comedy.

The writing here is breezy though it could have done without some subplots such as a fellow co-worker who's a potential challenger for the affections of the secretary Carla (Jocelyn DeBoer). Picking up an opportunity to become the knight in shining armour for his damsel in distress, Andrew (Erik Potempka) volunteers to get their boss' morning cuppa on her behalf, since I suppose anyone would lend a helping hand to their infatuation, which in Carla's case, is quite able to manipulate people through her good looks, even if she knows it or not.

But some of the best scenes come from Andrew's quest at the coffeeshop, where Murphy's Law decided to throw a spanner and mess everything up for him, from having others take his coffee to a very rigid counter staff. I suppose we all have our run ins with these at one point in time or another, and certainly can identify with his dilemma and frustrations. However this film is not sulky in mood, and is actually fun and light hearted to remind us all on the crazy little things we do for love, or rather, to impress someone before picking up the courage to leap into the next step.

You can watch Over Coffee here, or visit the Official Movie Webpage.

Just About Famous

Elvis Is In The Building
A short film documentary, see if you can identify the stars that are featured, or are they? From Elvis to Britney, two former US Presidents, talk show host Oprah Winfrey to comedian Robin Williams, impersonators have a field day when they gather under one roof at the Sunburst Convention in Orlando, Florida, and I suppose anyone around the vicinity will do a double take!

Containing very candid opinion pieces through interviews with these just about famous stars, directors Jason Kovacsev and Matt Mamula brings up up close to these mini-celebrities in their own right as they share what's it like to almost always be mistaken for their famous bona fide counterparts given their looks, although some in my opinion would have let the cat out of the bag should they open their mouths and kill the illusion. For those curious about celebrity impersonators, this brilliant short film is something to watch out for as it does its festival rounds, and you'd certainly wish there was more to it in a feature film rather than a short. Leaves you begging for more most definitely, and let's see if you can spot all the celebrities being impersonated here!

You can take a look at the trailer from the official movie website here

Smoke / Dym

I won't pretend to know what this film by Polish director Grzegorz Cisiecki is about, but his Dym (Polish for Smoke) is a surreal piece of cinema sans dialogue, preferring that you soak up its eerie atmosphere complemented by a creepy soundtrack and filled with thick imagery to interpret it as you will, since it's sans any active, ongoing narrative. It's an extremely moody, atmospheric piece that employs plenty of art house sensibilities, fusing dreams, imagination and the juxtaposing of characters and their perspectives very fluidly. Fans of Kubrick or Lynch may find this right up your alley, with some not so subtle homage scenes identified.

As the synopsis stated and I thought aptly warned, this is for those who dare venture into being a captive of surrealistic madness, and you can have a look at Dym here.

Worm

Stressed Out
Written and directed by Richard Powell, Worm is a film that's spot on about the meanness that we're actually all capable of, those innermost private thoughts that we indulge in, and one can imagine sometimes how high fantasy is just a thread close to becoming reality if we act on the imagined impulses that grow louder by the minute.

At the center of the story is the high school teacher Geoffrey Dodd (Robert Nolan) who on the outside is your mild mannered educator, but who can read the true intent of what anyone is thinking about. We listen in on his thought process, which is nothing short of being mean-spirited about every individual in his school, be it fellow teachers or his class of students, standing on a moral high ground and condemning all and sundry before him as lesser mortals. I'm sure I will be freaked out to know if any of my past teachers harbour similar degrading thoughts about her class and my peers.

Robert Nolan aces this hypocritical role of pretense and portraying to the contrary of what he's thinking, and brings out this dilemma and struggle with his inner voice really well. While the introductory scenes may be of dark humour and you may just crack up at some of his politically incorrect insults thrown around in his head, it develops so creepily that you'll find yourself losing that smile in the face of such a negative state of mind. Like a cocked gun ready to be triggered by any small incident that got on his nerves, we listen in to his thoughts and we discover he's indeed a sick, sick man who needs urgent psychiatric help, pronto!

Powell's story builds this day to day episode of Dodd's life into a crescendo which leaves you on the edge of your seat whether Dodd will explode into a violent rage, or not, and I thought the suspenseful build up was excellent. You wonder if Dodd's behaviour is cyclic in nature, and for what he's been demonstrating, is quite the tough nut to discover that he harbours such disturbing bottled thoughts inside, and probably for all the grave misdemeanours teachers abroad and even local that we read about, it asks the question whether we know what's going on inside their heads, about their mental state of mind before they can get to shape the young minds under their charge.

You can check out the movie's website here.

[DVD] Spy Hard (1996)

Oh My!

If the names Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer don't ring a bell, perhaps their directorial efforts for films such as Vampires Suck, Disaster Movie, Meet the Spartans, Epic Movie and Date Movie may be more familiar with just how consistently bad they were, following a rote formula of making fun of genre film franchises that somehow wasn't really funny, with more misses than hits with their gags. That formula also states to chalk up a long list of impersonators and to lampoon everything that's pop culture at the moment, and to string a series of bad gags to make up what's essentially some semblance of a story, not.

But it wasn't all that bad to begin with. Early in their career they're responsible for writing the Scary Movie franchise, and made their debut with writing Spy Hard, a film that starred the late Leslie Nielsen, and I suppose back then there was enough budget for the filmmakers to hire bona fide stars such as Ray Charles, Hulk Hogan, the male model Fabio, Mr T and even the late Pat Morita of Karate Kid's Mr Miyagi fame, before the flops spell out the hiring of impersonators (no offense to the profession) since I would believe the stars wouldn't want to go touch these productions with a ten foot pole given a regressing track record.

I've always associated Leslie Nielsen with his better known Naked Gun series, and while his brand of comedy had gone beyond detective Frank Drebin, somehow Nielsen is quite the enigma, and becomes a character in his own right no matter what role he gets to play. Cue the signature blank stares, the innuendos and the physical slapstick comedy that he's perfected, that you'll know you're in for a hoot no matter how bad the story is. Here his Agent WD-40 aka Dick Steele (OK, so here's the cat out of the bag for friends who wonder why "Dick Steel" was a handle I used - dropping the last "e" in Steele for more "bite" during my online gaming days) is the quintessential spoof-Bond, with mysterious charisma and suave to win over the femme fatales, and gets the job done with questionable, unorthodox methods.

Yes, I suppose one of the easiest way to spoof a film or a franchise is to set the sights on James Bond. After all, we have Johnny English and Austin Powers to come after this, so there's plenty of room actually for more of such wannabes who have their equivalent of a theme song, here performed in hilarious fashion and easily one of the best sequences here with a Weird Al Yankovic contribution full of inane lyrics, and keep a close eye on those gyrating silhouettes!

Like all "comedic" films by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer to follow this, Spy Hard is the precursor to their idea that comedy stems from poking fun at the box office successes of the time, and in the mid 90s, we get spoofs here from films such as Jan de Bont's Speed, Spielberg's Jurassic Park, Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, Cameron's True Lies, Wolfgang Petersen's In the Line of Fire and even Sister Act which allowed for some nuns with guns moments. While it's part of the fun spotting, or rather identify all the blatant spoof attempts, this soon wears out their welcome and like their follow up films, it seems that lessons aren't learnt from spoof fatigue. Simply put the story here dwells on Agent WD-40 stopping his arch nemesis General Rancor (Andy Griffith, or TV's Matlock), but its relentless buffoonery didn't quite survive past the halfway mark where jokes consistently fell flat and were unfunny.

Still, the best thing about the film is to watch Leslie Nielsen at his element with yet another Nielsen-isque performance, and for fans around the world, he will definitely be missed as one of the unlikeliest comedians of our generation. Rest in peace, and thank you for the memories.

The Region 1 DVD by Hollywood Pictures Home Entertainment is presented in letterbox format, with audio available in the English and French languages, and closed captioning in English for the hearing impaired. Scene selection is over 17 chapters.

Bonus Materials is very scant, with a Theatrical Trailer (1:52), Additional Titiles which are static ads for Holy Man, Gross Pointe Blank and The Waterboy, and a Production Featurette (4:16) which is a quick behind the scenes look.

TRON: Legacy

Tech Games

I suppose getting burnt with a less than stellar box office return meant TRON had to wait some 28 years before Disney finally green lit a sequel to finally plough its way to the big screen, in attendance of no less than 3 Comic-Cons to pique and gauge fanboy interest. Way ahead of its time and featuring some rather cutting edge digital effects for a film in those days, TRON had survived and was never forgotten, thanks to its cult status, and undoubtedly in the course of its longevity had fans such as first time feature director Joseph Kosinski, who's also developing yet another Disney live action film The Black Hole, one of my favourite science fiction films when I was a kid.

With no less than four scribes pitching in to tune up a story, influences seemed to be a mesh of identifiable contemporary science fiction films, which I suppose helped to make it easier for audiences to swallow and adapt to without being seen as catering for too geeky a crowd (*nix is the digital environment of choice here), nor requiring too much from a fan perspective being bogged down with insider details and alienating the curious film goer who got wind from the hyped out marketing efforts. There's a fairly coherent storyline here that would appeal across the spectrum, striking a fair balance between drama and action, although action junkies would have preferred for set action sequences given the investment in souping up and introducing a number of vehicles other than the light cycle.

Certain scenes stood out either as homage or influenced pieces, and perhaps you may disagree with me, but the nightclub scene with Gem the Siren (Beau Garrett) bringing our new protagonist Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges returns to once again play two roles, that of Kevin Flynn the founder of Encom and his digital creation / avatar Clu) to meet Castor (played by Michael Sheen with flamboyant spunk) an information broker in the undergrounds of the digital Grid world, seems to have contained a whiff out of The Matrix Revolutions, with Persephone and Merovingian. But of course the Wachowskis didn't have Daft Punk to turn the tables, and parallels between the Matrix and the Grid cannot be more prominent given entities within are programs, with the ones gone rogue instilled with a desire to cross over to the real world.

Then there's something unmistakably Star Wars about it too, with the designs of attack space crafts zipping through the night sky, and clearly one of the many gorgeous costumes here can't seem to hold a candle to what looked like an awesome robe, simple as it is, but striking nonetheless. Or how about something which reminds one of Gotham City's caped crusader, with the Tumbler inspired getaway vehicle with large inflatable tyres played out in a scene right out of Tim Burton's first Batman movie with the long road back to the secret hideout within which to seek out answers to questions left silent en route.

So I may be stretching it, but there will be certain degrees of familiarity you'll find in some moments of the story, but I assure you the crux of it is a film that has deeper pathos, dealing with man's relentless pursuit for perfection and utopia, and the desire to play god if given a chance. Creations made in the image of is quite pronounced in a scene that stood out almost like Michelangelo's Creation of Adam, although here it's interpreted in the digital realm. Humans aren't perfect, so our creations in all likelihood will inherit some of our flaws, no matter if they happen to be digital and following certain fixed patterns and constructs. It's what being human is all about with our imperfection. The dramatic elements here between Father and Son is the film's strength to provide that emotional anchor and attachment making this a digital affair with plenty of soul, and the chemistry shared between Jeff Bridges and Garrett Hedlund make them quite the father and son pair up, with shades of how revered the former is within his own created realm, and the tremendous power that he still holds even if in exile.

Olivia Wilde provides for the token fashionista who is ever ready to flex her battle prowess with skills in various weapons - a lethal combination of The Matrix's Trinity equipped with Star Wars blades - and vehicles, whose background is given a superficial twist which seeks to expand the TRON universe a little bit more with miracle phenomenon being a natural occurrence once a perfect equilibrium is achieved. Fans will get to learn and understand this expanded universe a lot more as explanations get dished out in due course, even one that deals with the time in between the first and second films, of Kevin Flynn's obsession with his latest playground that his creation ultimately took over, turning it into an arena with its own brand of gladiatorial fights for entertainment. But there's enough material introduced without being overwhelming for the new Grid entrant, and opens up a lot more avenues for future storytellers.

Even for those days, I wasn't one of those who got instantly impressed by the effects of the time, but then again that's what made TRON stand out based on its uniqueness in look. It was way ahead with combining live action with computer generated graphics, and in the same fashion, the filmmakers here had done an admirable job prepping this film up for 3D. 3D may be the latest Hollywood fad that got people jumping onto its bandwagon, but just as how computer graphics has to be inherent in the first TRON movie, the updates of the franchise has to keep up with the times, and in true reel mimicking real life, The Grid pops up in more than 2 dimensions, starting with the light cycle wars that include an additional dimension to consider, which makes for some thrilling action, both on or under the ground and in the air, rather than just becoming a mere special effect.

But I have to admit my personal hook line and sinker to watch this film, is the soundtrack by Daft Punk. It stands out most definitely throughout the film, and provided additional lift. It's a character in itself without which the film wouldn't be half as exciting or watchable, with rousing themes to stoke your expectations with its pomp. Their musical contribution and its importance cannot be more than overstated, and is a critical ingredient to why I had enjoyed this film so much to put it as a late consideration into one of the best this year has to offer.

[TV] Love in a Cab (等一等爱情)

So Who's Taking the Limo?

My friend shared this viral video about two girls fighting over a guy publicly in a cafe, when one of the girls happened to catch her boyfriend two-timing her red handed. A heated argument ensues with the people around unperturbed. Whether or not this Hong Kong based clip was staged or otherwise, there's some truth in what's being said about relationships being dependent on Timing, and it is this concept that anchors Han Yew Kwang's romance drama Love in a Cab for Channel U's series of telemovies this month.


It's All About Time-ing Ah!

I haven't started to take a look at this year's worth of Singapore films in a roundup yet, but I suppose 2010 could be Han Yew Kwang's year with the firing of a double salvo with feature films on different platforms targeted at different audiences with differing tastes, with the eccentric indie comedy When Hainan Meets Teochew currently touring the local art house cinema circuit, and Love in a Cab making its debut on television. He is also currently hard at work with putting on the final touches to Perfect Rivals, his studio film for the next Lunar New Year (out next month), all these projects [Update 25 Dec 10 > with the exception of Perfect Rivals] under the belt of the production company 18g Pictures Pte Ltd, with longtime producer Lau Chee Nien.

As I've mentioned before, 18g is fast shaping into the alternative of more mainstream comedic fare currently offered by another established grouping in Singapore, and now featuring its the own stable of regulars like Catherine Sng, Johnny Ng, Alaric Tay and Marilyn Lee, amongst other recognizable faces in the film community who pop up in cameos here and there. I suppose and hope that with genuine competition for eyeballs it'll help lift the comedy offerings here from basic slapstick, to something a little bit more sophisticated. But I digress.

Love in a Cab, as a telemovie, has to have a broad based appeal so that one won't feel the urge to hit the button on the remote for other competing content from various channels during prime time (although the incessant but expected commercial breaks did entice me to do just that). A stark departure from When Hainan Meets Teochew, Han's film here is boosted by the presence of two eye candy television stars in Joanne Peh and Julian Hee, who play Marine Crescent neighbours who learn of each other's existence through the aftermath hangover of their respective night's out, and bickering over a taxi cab whose driver (played by Lee Chau Min. another 18g regular) decided to send them both home together lest they waste her valuable time.

Like The War of the Roses, the bickering couple then go on a decade long budding friendship/relationship that begins with animosity before slowly making way for love to enter their hearts in a narrative that's pretty straightforward and expected. After all this is a mainstream romantic drama with a tinge of comedy, and I suppose Han decided to play it straight and easy. Narratively the film gets split into sections with each marking key moments and events in that year, and in some ways, served like a summarized historical lesson into the 2000 to 2010 years with World Cups, man made disasters, and even the SARS pandemic influencing the ways the characters interact. You'll probably start to look back into your own decade that flew by, and wonder at that point what you could possibly be doing in your own historical context.

This romantic drama is whimsical in treatment, and some of the finer moments involve the use of animation from the opening credits and intertitles which serve up the cute / kitsch factor. Touches of some Han Yew Kwang signature can be found in two key scenes, which involves a four-way telephone conversation between the characters which is primed specifically for comedy, and of course the shifting of camera perspectives between opposite sides of a mahjong table, reminiscent of that in the hotel room in 18 Grams of Love, though here a little less extended. While the old woman (Catherine Sng) subplot was expected to develop in the way it does, what wasn't expected was the morbidity involved (in a romantic film no less!), and in trying to make a point, didn't really have to make it so verbatim, again reaching out to masses without ambiguity in interpretation.

There are no lack of films out there, be it local short films or foreign ones such as Luc Besson's Taxi, or The Longest Night in Shanghai starring Vicky Zhao as some of my favourites which has the vehicle as a plot device. While I'm not quite the big fan of local television and its stars, I thought both Joanne Peh and Julian Hee put up credible performances as a wishy-washy indecisive couple who couldn't see The One standing in front of them (as love stories go), although the finale stretched it a little longer than welcome. Still, for those interested, I hope that there may be a DVD release so that you can watch this uninterrupted by commercials, which robbed the film of its pacing.


Related Links
- Like Love in a Cab on Facebook.


Update 16 Dec 2010
Apparently you can now watch the entire film (legally at that too!) without pesky commercial interruptions online! Tune in to this link at xinmsn, just make sure you got sufficient bandwidth for streaming (otherwise you'll now get bogged by pesky buffering!)

[DVD] The 300 Spartans (1962)

Zack Snyder's 300 based on Frank Miller's graphic novel may perhaps be the interpretation that's etched on the modern moviegoer's mind, with its slow motion, stylized battle sequences leaping out from the panels of the comic, and plenty of wailing WWE style with Gerard Butler leading the charge as King Leonidas of Sparta, his troops severely outnumbered against the mighty Persian army in the Battle of Thermopylae, but morale running high nonetheless for being able to fulfill a warrior's calling of an honourable death on the battlefield while defending their homeland from foreign invaders.

Naturally the 1962 film version directed by Rudolph Mate will be dated, but the spirit and scheme of things remain on the agenda, with the story given a more holistic coverage of the same battle with its sea component mentioned, a pity that it wasn't filmed. In my opinion when I look back with nostalgia, Swords and Sandals epics in the 60s were always about grandeur with its scale and countless number of extras suited up with equipment and logistics to portray an era long past, without resorting to modern day trickery with computer programs to make up the numbers. Logistics, I can imagine, could be quite the nightmare.

For a tale that's been told since 480 BC, you can bet that interpretations will defer depending on the source, and if compared with 300, there are some aspects here in the story that held more potential. For instance, it would have been great if the sea battles made it to the film, and Leonidas (Richard Egan) conducted a daring raid of the Persian camp with a handful of merry men, which made them go on the offensive instead of just depending the narrow pass at Thermopylae, for a reason none other than to spread chaos and panic, and also to buy the Greeks time to set up their defences.

More importantly, this film doesn't over romanticize the Spartan warriors. Yes they are great in their fighting prowess and their fearsome reputation is legendary, but The 300 Spartans take time off to dwell on the need for unity amongst the squabbling Greek contingents, where unity is strength should everyone stand up and be counted when faced with a collective aggressor. Superstition and religion also played a key role in the methods of the Spartans, as with the key turning point of their betrayal which turned the tides for them. Battle sequences aren't as stylized, and some of the strategies were quite weakly executed to have imagined the Persian army led by Xerxes (David Farrar) himself, also beefed up with his Invincibles troops, couldn't outfight the Spartans since almost all fights are close quartered melees.

Dialogue is slanted 60s styled, so don't expect pompous lines screamed across the screen by any character wanting to rouse their troops. Even Richard Egan's Leonidas wears an optimistic smile now and then, and seemed relatively more friendly than the Gerard Butler version who looks like a murderous butcher eager to shove his spear into the rear of his enemies. For all the lean and meanness of Butler's very toned and muscular Leonidas and his Spartan troops, the lack of physique gets camouflaged here through the use of battle armour, and while 300 was essentially a King Leonidas story, this one somehow had a romantic subplot spun between the characters of Ellas (Diane Baker) and Phylon (Barry Coe), with the former persuading her beau to abandon duty for romance and the quieter life. From some angles it seemed more Phylon-focused given the number of subplots, development and scenes involving this character instead.

Still for those who prefer a break from the flashy, exaggerated treatment gladiator style of Snyder's 300, this version may be the more accurate account given its mention and time devoted to the sea component and other Greek troops joining the Spartans, and also without making Xerxes look androgynous. But if you're more of an action junkie, then stick to Snyder's stylized version as the battle sequences here couldn't withstand the test of time compared to what's on offer by filmmakers today.

The Region 1 DVD by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is presented in an anamorphic widescreen format with audio options in English stereo, and English and Spanish mono. Subtitles are available in English and Spanish, with scene selection over 32 chapters.

Nothing notable amongst the Special Features, which consists of Fox Flix, a collection of trailers of more swords and sandals epic films such as Cleopatra (4:38), Demetrius and The Gladiators (3:12) and The Robe (2:04) all presented in Letterbox format. As the saying goes, they no longer make them as they used to when you watch these previews. Three The 300 Spartans TV Spots running 1:03, 0:23 and 0:13 presented in full screen black and white format remind you of the era of television those days sans colour, and rounding the features off are the Theatrical Trailer (2:37) and the Spanish Trailer (2:35) in the Spanish language.

Let Me In

Youthful Supernatural Lovers

When Hollywood runs out of ideas, it turns to what's hot in world cinema, and picks up a film or two to adapt from and/or be remade. It could be a Martin Scorsese film based upon a Hong Kong crime action thriller, or of late, Swedish cinema being the hunting ground of choice with David Fincher's upcoming and much hyped about adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and here, Matt Reeves translating one of the more inventive and evocative vampire films in recent history with Tomas Alfredson film based on John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel Let The Right One In, an almost shot for shot, scene for scene remake that makes you wonder why the effort to go through this adaptation process when a recent original already exists, and one that made it to the cinema halls in Singapore as well.

Granted, Hollywood does come knocking with a larger budget to begin with, but here it managed to avoid the risk of attempting something totally flashy but useless for the story, I felt Reeves had remained on the side of caution in not wanting to branch off too much from what's already established and canon, and like Gus Van Sant in his remake of Hitchcock's Psycho, preferred to have recreated scenes as they are with no major departures or surprises, which to any audience already familiar with the Swedish version, may not find anything narratively more that Reeves' film has to offer. As it turned out Let Me In still had a longer runtime, but captured and retained all essence of the earlier film, with some budget going toward recreating the 80s era it was set in, and heightening the usual creepy elements to brand this a horror film, with the requisite gory elements that somehow when unintentionally but hilariously (to me at least) overboard, when it came to discover the what if that explains its title when permission to enter a home is not granted.

Matt Reeves burst onto the scene with his found-footage film Cloverfield which featured some crazy handheld camera techniques and angles crucial to the narrative, and here trades all that to jump into the other end of the spectrum in opting for the still camera that's a staple in any art house cinema. Unlike the usual Hollywood bastardized version of films that contain plenty of verbatim explanation and incessant talk to idiot-proof it for anyone to follow what's going on, this film has significant moments of silence to ramp up its atmospherics, with so much being said through so little, that you may mistake this for being anything but churned out from Hollywood. Attention was paid to detail, especially in populating the art direction with 80s era motifs, and elements,

And for those who have seen the Swedish original, perhaps one of the prime reasons is to compare whether the leads of Kodi Smit-McPhee as Owen and Chloe Grace Moretz as Abby measure up to the original pair of Kare Hedebrant as Oskar and Lina Leandersson as Eli. It's needless to say this comparison will always exist, and personally I felt it was a mission accomplished as they both did a tremendous job in being equally on par without letting the weight of pressure eat into the performances. Their beautiful chemistry made the primary love story here believable, moving, and one which you will root for, nevermind the alarm bells ringing that it's something quite unnatural, and in some ways, the corruption of innocence. There are plenty of subtext still contained in the film from the way character relationships especially that between Abby and her “Father” (played by Richard Jenkins) and even the ambiguity of their sexual orientation but if there's a flaw in this remake, then it is here that it didn't measure up to the way the Swedish original had dangled and tackled this deviation from the novel.

Kodi Smit-McPhee was spot on in his interpretation of Owen/Oskar, being vulnerable when it calls for it, when he's bully fodder, or when the feeling of isolation just overwhelms from discovering the truth about his new squeeze and a mom who gradually finds solace from the bottle to numb the pain of an impending divorce, his false bravado in role play reversal of standing up against his physical and mental tormentors, and the child like innocence he fills the screen with when he plays Romeo to a Juliet that can never inhibit the same waking hours as him. Chloe Moretz saw her stock rise with her profanity-spewing Hit Girl in Kick-Ass, and here she's in a totally muted role as the 12 year old, more of less, young girl who's more than meets the eye. Moretz brought out her apprehension of being discovered and found out, her helplessness at the sight of plasma, and the start of yet another budding romance, although she was quite unmistakably replaced by a CG equivalent for her character's most violent action scenes, an effect that drew unnecessary attention to itself, whether be it scaling walls, or pouncing on the pack of her prey and making a rag doll out of them.

To someone who has seen the Hollywood version first, you may be in awe with Matt Reeves' film, and may embrace his vision of the story. But take heed that the Swedish one came first, and you'll do yourself a favour by checking that out as well, since it's already available on DVD. For those who swear by Let The Right One In, I'd still encourage you to watch this for the actors' performances, as they step into roles that you hold dear to and are familiar with, showing that a strong story is essentially necessary, followed by a solid casting to bring the characters to life, no matter how many remakes (though it may be pointless after this effort) come by in future. Recommended!

My Soul to Take

Whose is It?

It's been some 5 years since Wes Craven directed Red Eye, and more than 10 years since his last writing-directing duties with New Nightmare. Responsible for creating iconic horror franchises such as A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, I suppose it'll take a while to shake off the rust coming out of inactivity, and it shows in his latest offering My Soul to Take, at best a mediocre affair to come out from the mind of the horror meister. As the saying goes, form is temporary and class is permanent, so hopefully he'll be back in his class when he brings to us the next installment of the Scream franchise.

The starting was jarring to say the least, but I felt it showcased its potential to shake things up with a very literal take at a split personality disorder, revealing a mild mannered family man to be a town's serial killer who just wouldn't die, and his near invincibility (really designed to make you jump, and brings to mind an exhaustive never-say-die attitude) and mysterious disappearance set tongues wagging and elevating his cult status into an urban legend. At that faithful hour where he vanished from the cops, seven children are born in the town, who celebrate their collective birthdays with a ritual to shoo the boogie-man away.

But when one by one they start to die, something seems to suggest revenge is in the air and the limit's reached from their constant buffoonery as we follow the viewpoint from Bug (Max Thieriot), with twists and red herring openly thrown about. The film wastes its interesting premise and set up, providing very rote plot development that is as close to convenient as can be. It's yet another guess-who's-the-reincarnated-villain with illogical loopholes abound, where Craven prefers to disorientate the viewer with plenty of jump cuts and quick editing to reflect the state of mind of the characters in question.

In the USofA this was screened in the 3D version, and frankly it spelt of yet another run of the mill jumping on the bandwagon attempt with post-production conversion, but the question is conversion of what. There is absolutely nothing here in the film that warranted a pop into your eye visual, and frankly this reeks since it was never designed with 3D in mind. With its bad box office returns, hopefully, and sorry to Craven, that this be another expensive lesson to the studios who make such poor, desperate decisions.

While you may be eager to run out the cinema hall when the end credits roll, probably the best bit of the movie happens then where you can gawk at 2 sets of storyboard panels of major scenes running on opposite sides of the screen.

Twist, Shout and Laugh!

The Local Captain Iron Man?

Known for his outrageously comical short films like My Blue Heaven and Lau Sai (Diarrhea) and his debut feature film Blood Ties (還魂) released in cinemas last October, Chai Yee-Wei's sophomore film currently with a working title Twisted (撞鬼) has just recently wrapped. As touched upon during my previous interview with the writer-director, it's not quite the surprise that he's found a project to exercise that funny bone of his in a supernatural comedic feature, with a pan-Asian ensemble cast from Singapore with Mark Lee (李国煌) and Randall Tan, Hong Kong's Zhu Mi Mi (朱咪咪), Taiwan's Linda Liao (廖佩伶) and his leading lady from Blood Ties, Joey Leong (梁祖仪) from Malaysia.

Continuing the recent trend of local directors whose films are being co-funded by production companies in Malaysia, Twisted is backed by Clover Films Pte Ltd and Way OnNet Group Pte Ltd from Singapore and from Malaysia by Primeworks Studios Sdn Bhd, PMP Entertainment Sdn Bhd, Passion Entertainment Sdn Bhd, and mm2 Entertainment Sdn Bhd.

As the synopsis goes,

The movie revolves around a soft-drugs dealer who banged up a young girl, a pair of con men who wants to turn over a new leaf, and 4 cabin crews whose lives were turned upside down over a fateful night of drugs and booze. This is a story of individuals whose fates intertwine and paths clash due to a series of twisted events. A funny and twisted tale of fate and coincidence is shaped based on the cause and effect of their actions.

It's anyone's guess which of the roles will be played by the mentioned cast members, but let's wait to see how the multiple narrative threads spun out from the creatively wicked mind of Chai's will play out once we get a whiff of a teaser trailer of sorts in the coming months.

Twisted will be distributed by Clover Films in Singapore and has been scheduled for release in mid-2011.

Ah Girl, Then You Must Tell Your Friends to Watch, OK?

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey

Jungle Training

Based upon the book Do and Die: The Chittagong Uprising 1930-34 by Manini Chatterjee, director Ashutosh Gowariker tackles the true story of the Indian revolutionary Masterda Surjya Sen, the Chittagong Armoury Raid and its aftermath. It's an ambitious period piece which isn't out of Gowariker's league, having done sprawling epics like Jodhaa Akbar and nationalistic ones such as Swades and Lagaan, the latter which is also somewhat of an Indian versus English battle of wills, albeit on a makeshift cricket game in the finale.

The intermission of this nearly three hour film serves as an automatic marker at how Gowariker planned the narrative, the first half being the introduction, characterization and planning stage that we get to witness going behind any schemes of this nature of an armed struggle, where the definition of whether one is a terrorist or freedom fighter, is naturally decided in context by the victor in history. A lot of time goes into establishing the character of Masterda Surya Sen, played by Abhishek Bachchan as the school teacher who indoctrinates his class, and other followers of his exploits, into the need to drive the British out and to attain freedom for India, starting with Chittagong (present day located in Bangladesh).

In some ways this film has shed some light that those who persist in armed struggles, never really changed the essence of their modus operandi much. It starts off with a charismatic leader and his ideology, a band of faithful followers, and a mass recruitment of those who have faced the wrong end of oppression, eager to join the cause to exact some form of revenge, now elevated to a greater struggle for something way above the petty personal objectives. We observe how resources get assembled, from the raising of funds through whatever means possible, even if it means in kind instead of cash.

Target surveillance becomes the must do as well in order to prepare for that strategic attacks, and from what we can learn from history, simultaneous attacks on key targets isn't something that's conceived in the new era, but has been used a long time back, with the revolutionaries keeping in mind the importance of timing, and to hit places controlling communications, weapons depot, and of course the places where the foreigners congregate. There's this sense of chill when watching the film, because these are lessons obviously not learnt, and it's about time we wise up to see that the jungle too serves as an attractive training ground away from prying eyes and ears either to train on weapon handling, or to assemble explosives.

But for the gripping set up, the second half turned out to be somewhat of a letdown, and I do not mean what had actually happened in history, which of course cannot be changed lest this film becomes a farce. There were enough elements here that made it the action packed second half it was meant to be, with the firing of weapons and the proverbial Murphy paying the revolutionaries a visit and really screwing up their plans. All these translated to edge of your seat excitement worthy of any thriller, and we see how the execution of the plan turn the perpetrators from hunters into prey.

A lot of things got muted in the movie, which is something not quite typical of an Ashutosh Gowariker film. Known for the opulence and grandeur of his productions, this one seemed a little bit toned down and stripped down to reflect the state of the revolutionaries, being required to work with bare minimum resources, and with faulty intelligence as well, being caught off guard in their plans, especially the more critical factors in ammunition and prisoners / hostages. It's quite back to basics for Gowariker, whom I felt if given the allowance for a longer runtime like almost all his previous works, could have told a more complete and robust story.

Abishek Bachchan performed credibly as the legendary historical character, although the storyline, in having a number of notable revolutionaries to focus on, tended to dilute the importance of his character, and hence an opportunity for him to shine. Deepika Padukone plays Kalpana Dutta, also another historical character, and the much talked about scene is of her character playing badminton in her introduction was relatively short to begin with. The actress continues to be paired opposite big name counterparts, but is able to hold her own without being awed. There's some romantic tension between the two lead characters here, though it served more as a distraction and soon got canned before it even had the chance to start.

As it stands, most of the last act turned out to be quite rushed, with fairly little being given to characterization, opting instead for quick resolution often through action sequences which do get tired after a while. Englishmen all play the token bad guys, and we don't see a lot as to how nasty they actually are, as compared to the oppression dished out by those portrayed in Lagaan. The courtroom drama also seemed to be cursory rather than to provide for a platform, and lacked the usual legalese oomph to have made an impact to an audience, having everything seem a little bit routine, well, even if it may be true in real life. Music by Sohail Sen, who had worked on the previous Gowariker film What's Your Rashee, is commendable, especially its rousing themes that will get to grow on you.

This is Ashutosh Gowariker's equivalent of Braveheart or any other freedom fighters' struggle to gain freedom for their motherland, but we could all have benefitted from a little bit more of walking around inside Masterda Surjya Sen and going deeper into his beliefs and motivation. While it's still an epic scale and its presentation of the opening credits mimics that of epic greats, it somehow didn't manage to live up to its potential that we know Gowariker is capable of, and this is coming from a fan.

Hello Stranger (กวน มึน โฮ / Kuan Meun Ho)

Sarang Hae Yo

Those of us outside Thailand will regard the Thai film production company GTH with some of the best horror films to have come out of the Kingdom in recent years, and introducing a promising crop of young filmmakers under its fold to which audiences round the world have associated with Shutter, and the two 4bia films. Banjong Pisanthanakun, one half of the famed dynamic duo who brought us Shutter, now switches from horror to romantic comedy with Hello Stranger, and with Bangkok Traffic (Love) Story already under GTH's belt, one wonders if this is another genre that they're branching out since horror and romance are quite the crowd pleasers in Asia.

Strangely enough, this Thai romantic comedy is set in South Korea, a country which like Japan has their own fair share of genre films rolling off their assembly line. Perhaps it's a nod in their direction, and a knock on their doors that Thailand can produce an equally entertaining film that in my opinion can challenge some of their best, and that of Hollywood's as well. Needless to say the significance of setting it in South Korea, which has its romantic drama serials to thank for in boosting its tourism arrivals as its pop culture made waves throughout Asia, and the story here by Chantawit Thanasewee rides on that phenomenon, having the female lead (Nuengtida Sopon) as an equally inspired tourist that wriggles her way from her possessive manic boyfriend to make her solo fangirl trip to visit places made famous by the dramas.

I had visited Korea before the K-craze ruled supreme and having that re-look into the sights and sounds of Korea from a touristy perspective again was a treat. I'm sure there are many out there who have visited Korea thanks to being influenced by its dramas, and will probably find it easy to identify with the intentions of the female lead, going ga-ga over statues of stars, and having to eat and drink in the exact same places featured in films. A chance encounter, which is a cliched staple for a romantic film to work, sees her bump into Chantavit Dhanasevi's lovelorn guy, who goes on a package tour after being dumped by his girlfriend, and through a series of errors, sees himself stuck with the fangirl.

I suppose one will never turn away a countryman in a foreign land who seems lost and doesn't speak the language nor English to get by, so the pair hook up for travels, but make a pact not to tell each other their names, which would suppose to get them to be brutally honest with each other. But you can bet your last dollar that with one just being dumped, and the other having to escape from the clutches of a possessive boyfriend, this new found freedom and opportunity, will lead to hearts set to flutter, but not before the story gets to put them through the paces necessary for chemistry to build, and for the characters to click. There's the obligatory outing where they discover more about themselves, a wedding to go to, counseling sessions to open up their hearts, and that proverbial spanner in the works to toss everything up and to test the strength of their new found friend/relation-ship.

Banjong Pisanthanakun seems comfortable in handling the genre, tackling mushy romance with comedy with aplomb, and you'll soon find yourself laughing along and at their antics. Given its run time of just over two hours, there are numerous sequences designed to cheer the duo on as we the audience find that they make quite the couple, but for them to constantly deny that absolute truth. The director also found plenty of opportunity to lampoon the Korean phenomenon on tourism and romantic films, and therein lies plenty of comedic irony in the story. The production stuck to safe parameters to deliver a romantic comedy within expectations, though of course given Pisanthanakun's first foray into the genre, he might have wanted to play it a little safe.

Unless you're Han Yew Kwang wanting to experiment with an unromantic film like in his When Hainan Meets Teochew, chances are the leads in any romantic flick tend to be extremely good looking. Newcomer Nuengtida Sopon plays her extremely likable character of optimistic nature with great comic timing and it'll be interesting to note how her film career will branch off from this. Chantavit Dhanasevi's character though calls for a lot more range as he begins as quite the sulker, before love transforms his demeanour from negative to positive, then followed by a pretty lovelorn turn into the wishy-washy, which is a big no-no. Both leads share a comfortable chemistry that made this believable without turning you off with too much cliched and kitsch moments that will make your hair stand on ends. Instead you'll find this episode rather believable, though detractors will moan at the finale, which I agree tend to be a tad too dragged out, and interpretation will depend on the kind of mood you're in when you watch the film.

Thailand has shown that it has no lack of talent to tackle romantic leading roles, and I wonder how long it will take for Singapore to come out with something uniquely identifiable as our own, as past efforts don't really seem to be burning up the local box office like how the foreign films do. I'd recommend this film for the K-culture and romantic buffs most definitely.

[DVD] A Mighty Heart (2007)

Staying Strong

A Mighty Heart joins the growing list of films here that distributors developed cold feet about, with the promotional materials like posters and trailers already running, but we ultimately never got to see it on the big screen. I'm not sure why, given that biographies usually make their rounds here, but I can speculate it's perhaps the late Daniel Pearl wasn't a celebrity in the strictest sense to begin with, and Angelina Jolie is treated more of an cinematic action heroine this side of the world, than the more serious actress that she's acclaimed to be.

Director Michael Winterbottom follows up his documentary The Road to Guantanamo with yet another film that tackles today's hot button topic of terrorism, and that of hostage taking in hotbeds like Pakistan, where you would have already heard and read about the kidnapping of journalist Daniel Pearl (Dan Futterman) by extremists and the much publicized and condemned beheading by his captors. Shockwaves reverberated round the civilized world for this cruel act of barbarity, and there's good and common sense that this film didn't stain itself through featuring that clip because there just wasn't any merit to do so.

As a film, A Mighty Heart chronicles the timeline leading to Pearl's capture, and the aftermath in the round the clock search operations that the local police conducted, as seen through and experienced by his wife Mariane (Angelina Jollie), also a journalist and was at home with friends waiting for his return from an interview with a known terror hardman. From the get go we share her anxiety and fear even though watching this film is in retrospect, but Jolie did a remarkable job in portraying the character of strength and level-headedness, always filled with hope that her husband would be returned to her intact.

Leading the wild goose chase to establish all the dots and to connect them, is the CID chief Captain (Irrfan Khan), and through their investigations we see the meandering, quizzical nature of the web of intrigue spun by terrorists in their use of aliases and stolen identities, which makes a lockdown on who to look for all the more difficult. We see how policing in a country often portrayed as the equivalent of the wild west by Western media all the more pronounced, and tactics like threats and intimidation become staple tools of the trade, highlighting the utter chaos in the investigative police drama moments of the film.

Needless to say the highlight A Mighty Heart are the performances of both Angelina Jolie and Irrfan Khan. In Jolie's case, she puts on an accent, and portrays the stoic wife with great aplomb. Based on Mariane Pearl's book, Jolie reminded us that she has more to her than the action caricature she can play with her eyes closed, and we see her strength not only in mimicry (since some scenes are lifted from actual TV interviews), but also in the wide dramatic spectrum as the beacon of hope who has to remain strong amidst the confusion, irrationality and mayhem, to just being human when the light on the candle got snuffed out.

Irrfan Khan has seen his stock grow in Hollywood with Slumdog Millionaire, and I suppose the biggest news to date is his starring in the upcoming summer blockbuster which cannot be anymore larger than that of the reboot of the Spiderman franchise. It's a big departure of course than to always star as a policeman in a Hollywood film, and as one of my favourite character actors, I strongly encourage anyone to check out his filmography coming out from Indian cinema.

Michael Winterbottom's film puts us in the thick of the action with the filming style adopted, and this is as close as we would ever get to being right there and then when an historical event unfolded, with flashbacks to provide us the strong feeling of romance and love between a wife and husband in a hope that they will be reunited. WIth an excellent soundtrack to accompany what's a one way street to a known revelation, this film doesn't seek to exploit the event, but contributes yet another angle of victims in this wider war on terror and the need to stay strong despite adversary.

The Region 1 DVD from Paramount Home Entertainment autoplays with trailers (8:50) of Margot at the Wedding, Arctic Tale, Stardust and The Kite Runner, presented in a letterbox format. The main feature film is in presented in a widescreen anamorphic widescreen format with audio in English 5.1, or French and Spanish 2.0. Subtitles are available in English, French and Spanish, with scene selection over 13 chapters.

Special Features include A Journey of Passion: The Making of A Mighty Heart (30:01) which is the standard making of feature containing interviews with the director and the leading cast members discussing the characters they play, as well as some behind the scenes clips and some technical aspects like filming techniques discussed. Committee to Protect Journalists (8:40) introduces us to the committee and the origins of the organization, whose mission is to speak out when journalists anywhere in the world face persecution, and touches upon the evolving nature of a journalist's work and the protection they should get and be extended to. The Public Service Announcement - Pearl Foundation with Christiane Amanpour (2:08) explains the Pearl Foundation which was set up, and this gets played just before the main feature as well. Finally, the Previews (11:19) section includes the Year of the Dog, and everything else that is programmed to autoplay when you pop in the disc.

[DVD] The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)

Here to Deliver

The story of Joan of Arc has been told many times on film, about the peasant girl of France who had claimed Divine visions, leading the French army at its weakest to claim some victories over the English in the tumultuous 15th Century period between the two countries, up until her betrayal and capture, culminating in her burning at the stake after being accused of heresy. Luc Besson's The Messenger covers this entire period in his Joan of Arc biography, coming straight off the success of The Fifth Element and casting leading lady Milla Juvovich from that sci-fi film in the titular role here.

There are many descriptions used to describe Joan of Arc, and some include witch which her enemies frequently use, lunatic for her less than rational ways especially on the battlefield, saviour for freeing the French people under English rule, warrior for those who have fought beside her, and leader in showing the light of way through her prophesied visions, to which even the Dauphin and future King of France Charles VII (John Malkovich) may have even felt threatened, with no less than the Yolnde of Aragon (Faye Dunaway) stoking the flames of suspicion, especially when Joan chalks up victory after victory and plenty of heart and mindshare from the people.

The Messenger, written by Andrew Birkin and Luc Besson, paints first and foremost the character of Joan as a normal little girl who got corrupted by the ugly nature of war when forced to witness the sacrifice of her sister Catherine, and here their story continues to tussle on two spectrums, whether Joan is the mentioned chosen one, or whether she is actually hell bent on revenge against the English, which explains her dogged pursuit of writing to the Dauphin and pleading to be given an army with which to wage war against the enemies of France. The film spends considerable time in establishing and debating this element, right down to an intrusive virginity check, before launching her into battle that any war movie fan will probably find interest in.

I can imagine the kind of flak that Besson probably got with his film actually exploring all angles whether Joan of Arc could have been delusional rather than prophetic. After all she did get canonized as a Saint by The Vatican, albeit some 500 years later, so surely that's a strong statement put forth to make legitimate her visions which she's claimed has guided her in her actions in the interest of France. Then again the many men of faith portrayed here are cast in relatively bad light, open to manipulation by those in power to see that their motives are met, and frankly made bad judgement calls. But hey, this probably wasn't the first time anyway, especially with the distancing and absolving of guilt, and of passing the buck.

The most interesting scenes here, for a viewer today, aren't really the big battle sequences, which for its time was subtly shot in a way that almost puts you side by side with the armies who had followed Joan into battle, smack right inside the chaos rather than to be witnessing it from afar. The scenes which grab your attention are those in the third act during the trials of Joan, which are purportedly based on actual transcripts, which of course raises the authenticity of this film in portraying the life of a legend. Dustin Hoffman provides a limited supporting role here as Joan's Conscience, that challenges just about everything she puts forth in support of her arguments, and does so with proof using what's been seen, and therefore putting doubt and questions into our mind, and including that of Joan's herself too. The counter-arguments of selective memory and seeing what you want to see, cannot be more pronounced here.

While Milla Juvovich has recently made more of a name for herself with tentpoles such as the Resident Evil franchise, The Messenger provided her with opportunities in exercising her lesser seen dramatic side, where we can feel her internal struggles when faced with doubt, or even the more crazed side dogged with the belief that she's doing things as ordained by heaven. Her charisma worked wonders here as you will probably agree how that comes into play as well when lifting morale of weary soldiers, putting forth convincing arguments to persuade the laying down of arms by opponents, and of course the rebellious nature of speaking up against her oppressors in court.

In what I think is one of her best roles thus far, Milla Juvovich shines in this Luc Besson film that's tailor made for her with a fine balance between action and drama. This film is that fairly complete account of the life of Joan of Arc, with some definite moments thrown in that's open to plenty of discussions especially on her state of mind, or whether messengers like that could have happened, or only psychologically stemming from the mind.

The Region 1 DVD by Columbia Tri-Star Home Entertainment of the International Version of the film comes presented in a relatively pristine anamorphic widescreen transfer, with audio available in either the English 2-Channel Dolby Surround or 5.1 Dolby Digital. Subtitles and closed captioning are available in English only, with scene selection over 28 chapters.

Special Features is quite scant on this one disc edition. Presented in letterbox format, The Messenger: "The Search for the real Joan of Arc" HBO First Look" (23:53) is as close to a making of documentary as it can get, with plenty of behind the scenes clips. Hosted by Milla Jovovich herself, there's enough interviews with costumers, armourers and even Eric Serra the music composer to share nuggets of information through the production process, and summarizes the narrative of the film from beginning to end. Luc Besson the co-writer and director though, is suspiciously missing.

Other than that, there's an option to select the Isolated Music Score On/Off, which allows you to watch the film in its entirety with only Eric Serra's composed music, but you'd have to bear with periods of silence in the film when it doesn't come on. I will suggest if you want to listen to the movie music, to go get the soundtrack instead. The Talent Files section is just a text based summary in point form, and a filmography of Luc Besson, Milla Juvovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman, which you can scroll through from start to end but offer little value from what you can already find out from IMDb.com. And rounding the features up are a selection of Theatrical Trailers of The Messenger (2:32) and its Teaser trailer (1:25), Run Lola Run (1:30), Orlando (0:46) and the other Luc Besson film The Professional (2:31).

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 3D

Royals Ahoy!

It sure took quite a while for the Chronicles of Narnia series of fantasy books to make that leap onto the big screen, and we're still not sure whether there will be another made, though signs are pointing in that direction, so all it depends is the box office response for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Already Disney had developed cold feet with its expectations of Prince Caspian not being met, which led to its decision not to co-produce or co-finance any more Narnia films. But all's not lost just yet with Fox taking its place, and entering the fray with Walden Media.

Voyage continues the good work done by director Andrew Adamson who redeemed himself with the second film of the series, before turning the director's chair over to Michael Apted. Sure it may have once held onto its potential of being the next big film franchise after Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series, which is getting all the fanfare for its march towards the final film, but I suppose it sort of crumbled under the weight of pressure and expectation, especially when the The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe didn't break new ground both in effects and story telling, leading to an average effort which could have been a lot more. Prince Caspian proved otherwise, and my hopes for the franchise returned.

With Voyage of the Dawn Treader, it's an adventure in the high seas with half of the Pervensie children Edmund and Lucy, played by Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley reprising their roles respectively, being summoned back to Narnia to join Caspian (Ben Barnes), now King, to do battle against what would seem to be slave traders in the business of wheeling and dealing with Narnians, and to uncover the mysterious disappearance of those who have been sacrificed to great evil brought about by a green mist. That forms the gist of the premise to allow for some exploratory sailing to unchartered waters and what could be the ends of the world to Azlan's country, but first there's this plan to unite 7 enchanted swords belonging to 7 lords who have also set out on a similar quest, so that all evil that's threatening Narnia and its citizens could be dispelled.

The Christian allegories in this film cannot be more pronounced, and leading the charge toward this is the introduction of the Pevensie cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter), a disbeliever of all things airy fairy and Narnia, and no prizes guessing who gets converted into a firm believer by the time the end credits roll. Will Poulter must be given credit for portraying the spoilt brat designed to make you really hate him for the first hour, before he undergoes a trial of damnation and ultimately, redemption. We're all too familiar with the characters of the Pervensies, where Edmund still harbours deep rooted resentment at always having to be playing second fiddle, and Lucy experiencing the growing up pains of a teenage girl who yearns to be as beautiful as her sister, if not the fairest of the land. And Caspian, being the de facto leader, has to grapple with his lack of confidence.

And the allegories really got hammered home by the time Azlan came into the picture, majestically voiced by Liam Neeson to provide that Almighty sounding voice that resonates. There's no qualm that the pearly gates were reached, and what could be Heaven was blocked from view by a very well done Red Sea parting homage that you can't take your eyes off. The discussions during this epilogue of sorts reminded you once again of a higher being always around to protect and watch over, and who is known by more than one name in different realms, lest you forget during the many secular adventures earlier on.

Battle sequences are never too intense as compared to the previous installments with large scaled fight sequences, although the best in this film was definitely kept for last, and had its fair share of intensity that may make children squirm. But the rest do tread along acceptable limits for its targeted audience, and in some ways is that refreshing pause after being numbed to too much blood, gore and dismemberment that come to pepper gladiatorial battles as seen in equivalent movies. I thought there was a moment of hilarity in its nod to the direction of Ghostbusters with regards to the creation of the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man, where the heroes have to do battle with a giant being just because one of them couldn't keep their mind blank.

3D wise, this was one of the very weak efforts that is almost on par with that hack job that is known as Clash of the Titans. Seriously nothing in this film was designed to exploit the intended 3D gimmickry, so why bother other than for the film to try and rake in bigger numbers at the box office. Having its strategy here which is growing more prevalent - of opening a film in 3D format only followed by the 2D version a week later, means you're likely to fork out good money if you intend to catch the film in its opening weekend, but not get rewarded for doing that at all with a lacklustre experience gained. My advice? Stick to the 2D version of the film, because it looks brighter and better, as far as the trailer goes, and I swear each time I remove my 3D glasses, you can almost watch the film without a need to put them back on because the 3D application didn't blur out much of the screen at all, which says a lot of the effort poured into the film to enhance the depth of field. not.

Time will soon tell whether The Silver Chair will get made, since we have bade fare thee well to the Pervensie children (Susan and Peter did make cameos here) and they have outgrown what's permitted for visitors to come over, and to rest the remainder of the franchise on Eustace Scrubb instead. Still, the Voyage made by the Dawn Treader provided adventure expected from the Narnia books, albeit a little bit disjointed through the standalone episodes encountered by the explorers in their island escapades, and never quite lived up to the excitement felt in the Prince Caspian installment.

[DVD] Owning Mahowny (2003)

How Much Can You Lose Today?

I suppose if anyone locally wants a cautionary tale about the ills of obsessive and compulsive gambling, they can look no further than Owning Mahowny, which is based on the true story of Canadian Brian Molony, who had embezzled more than 10 million dollars from the bank he works for, to fund his primary vice. It's a modest little film with functional production values that go straight to the point, where you can tell that director Richard Kwietniowski probably didn't have plenty of cash to splurge on recreating glitzy sets, but that actually is very much with the psyche of the character played by Philip Seymour Hoffman.

We have our fair share of white collar criminals from clerks to the top of the food chain such as the chief financial officer of a major local brewery whose addiction and crime committed was fairly similar to the one portrayed here, with the use of privileged position to get credit, or manipulate something out of nothing from the abuse of procedural loopholes and basic level trust, and being treated like the whales that casinos roll out the red carpet for. Up until this day we have fraud cases from charities to government linked companies, so it goes to show that there are still those out there who aren't savvy to these crooks, or just plain complacent about it, adopting the "it can't happen here" attitude.

Hoffman plays Dan Mahowny, a frugal man who lives modestly despite his recent promotion at a bank he works in, and being the representative behind large customer accounts. There's one thing that his employer doesn't know, and that's his gambling habit, which grows into a problem and an obsession while they recognize him as a whiz. We observe how he graduates from small time gambling on sports scores, finding himself owing money to the gambling joint operated by small timer Frank Perlin (Maury Chaykin), before mounting debts forces Dan to try to bail himself out through the bank's loopholes, and the abuse of his trusted position in the organization to get credit extended to phantom accounts he creates. His non threatening demeanour also allows for gaining the trust of auditors even, the kind whom you want to slap around for not doing their job thoroughly and conscientiously.

In any case, through fraudulent means of obtaining hard cash, Dan fuels a growing problem, and graduates into making weekend trips across the border to Atlantic City, where he can gamble almost incognito until his spending, and losing, habit catches the attention of the casino's manager Victor Foss (John Hurt) and herein lies the other half of the fun watching this film, that of the strategies employed by casinos to hook their whales, and to ensure their continued return through whatever means possible. Accommodation gets upgraded, on the house food and drinks, and even women become part of the heady game to ensure the long term patronage of their best customer.

When I was in Vegas, a driver once told me that it's an illusion to think that you can win big at the casinos. All you have to do is to look at the size of the hotels and overheads it has to cover, and you'd know whether you'd have a remote chance of winning. If everyone can do it all the time, the shop might as well close, rather than to rake in record profits. It's a mathematical game where in the long run, the house is bound to win statistically, so to anyone seemingly winning at the tables, statistics is on the casino's side to win, so long as they employ strategies to keep you around through whatever means possible. And some of these are portrayed in the film, others which you can find out should you step into one.

The direction and story in Owning Mahowny is quite textbook, where the protagonist finds himself losing his girlfriend (Minnie Driver) and his soul to an addiction he refuses to admit. Bigger lies have to be told to cover past lies, and the cover ups just mount as one gets bolder in committing offense after offense to cover the previous losses with plans becoming more daring, and needless to say, riskier. In some ways the sparse decor in some scenes serve to put our attention on the characters themselves, and here Philip Seymour Hoffman shines outright in his portrayal of a troubled man in very nuanced fashion, making him very believable as someone with problems he has no idea how to solve and get out of.

It's not always the glitz and the glamour, which are really short lived and rolled out so long as you have the cash to splurge. Otherwise it's the harsh realities of life that set back in. I'm recommending this film to anyone who knows someone with a gambling problem, or are interested to see just how easy it sometimes is to get away with fraudulent activities within companies with lax processes or auditors (you have to admit their job isn't easy to fish out tracks which are likely covered up, unlike in a film for dramatic purposes), and a lack of proper checks and balances executed by a more competent team. The problems and issues here are still real and relevant up until today, in different countries.

The Region 1 DVD by Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment is presented in an anamorphic widescreen transfer with audio in English Dolby Digital 5.1, with scene selection available over 28 chapters and English Closed Captioning. No extras are found on this DVD edition except for Trailers for Love Lize (2:24), Masked and Anonymous (2:25), Owning Mahowny (2:06) and Punch-Drunk Love (2:33) which are presented in an anamorphic widescreen format.

FOREVER《我愛你愛你愛你》Double World Premiere Today!

So Will It Be Egypt or Indonesia For You?

In case you're not already aware, today marks the first Singapore film - Wee Li Lin's Forever - to receive a double world premiere at two prestigious film festivals, that of the Cairo International Film Festival, which is one of the FIAPF accredited A festivals, and closer to home, the Jakarta International Film Festival, one of the most renowned in our South East Asian region which managed to pull through its financial challenges to organize its 12th edition.

Forever is a Mandarin-language film shot on location in Singapore . The main cast includes Taiwanese actor Mo Tzu Yi, Singapore award-winning theatre actress Joanna Dong and newcomer Sarah Ng Li-Wen.

The writer-director will be at Jakarta with Art Director Charles Lim, while producer Silvia Wong will be at Cairo. The Jakarta screening will take place at 730pm Jakarta time, while that in Cairo will be for press at 330pm Cairo time with the general screening on 4 Dec Saturday at 7pm. Hopefully we'll get to read some reactions about the film soon!

For local audiences, we'll have to wait until March 2011 before we can lay our eyes on it, but in the meantime, why not visit the movie's Facebook Page to keep abreast of any updates coming from the filmmakers and production team?

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The Haunted House Project (Pyega / 폐가)

The formula is simple. Find an abandoned location, and if it comes with a built in horror premise, use it. Otherwise, one can always make something up, and through documentary styled interviews, hire enough convincing actors to play make believe and give arresting, spooky accounts. Then adopt the latest fad of shooting in the first person complete with quesy-cam technique, exploiting light and shadow, with sudden bursts of movement and sound. Voila, a horror film of today's standards.

Singapore has already contributed to this subgenre with Haunted Changi, and it's no surprise that the formula is resonating throughout the world, that now we get to see the Korean equivalent with The Haunted House Project. We follow a documentary crew of three - the producer, soundwoman and cameraman - who are making a film featuring 3 paranormal hobbyists in their maiden trip to this food factory where the owner and his family got mysteriously killed no thanks in part to the owner's infidelity. We spend some time sitting through interview segments where the controversy gets a different spin by almost everyone on camera, and frankly, we get the idea, though the filmmakers want to hammer this point through.

Beginning ominously like a typical Found Footage film with disclaimers and archival recordings abound, so begins our look at the events that had unfolded which contributed to the disappearance of the team of 6. An abandoned place normally gives up some creepy vibes since the weather has brow-beaten the entire facade, and decay sets in to everything within, where litter gets strewn everywhere, and I have to admit, if this is not a real location, then the art direction gets full marks for making the entire outdoor set spooky from the onset.

With paranormal enthusiasts as some of the characters, the fun comes with observing how they believe in their tools of the trade, and gamely explain and "star" in the documentary made about them and of the location, with little moments reserved for monkeying around. There's nothing much to the story as we the audience are here to witness anything spooky that got captured in their video reel, and again, credit has got to be given for holding everyone's attention span throughout the 83 minutes, especially the build up into a crescendo of a finale where everything got mashed together rapidly and in succession, leaving one with no room to panic or to breathe.

Those who get motion sickness easy may find the cinematography here a little of a torture since it moves all over the place, and gets interspersed with plenty of cheaply done, in-your-face momentary shots of some "ghoul", and scratchy visuals to signify the presence of something supernatural. At least the filmmakers are kind enough to cue you in when something is about to happen, and thereby adding to the tensed environment. Technical loopholes such as the inclusion of a polished sountrack also bewildered and marred what could have been a credible stab toward authenticity. Don't expect great acting here, but the cast did reasonably well as scream kings and queens trying to escape the inevitable. As the saying goes, don't tempt Fate, and be careful what you wish for.

The Haunted House Project works according to formula, so don't expect anything groundbreaking coming out of it.

Skyline

Resistance is Futile

District 9 probably rejuvenated the science fiction subgenre of an alien presence / invasion on Earth all over again, with no less than three films lined up close to one another that tackle just that - Skyline being the first, then Monsters followed by World Invasion: Battle LA, where the latter had caused the Brothers Strause's Hydraulx effects company probable woes since there is what's deemed to be conflicting interest in The Social Network sense. That aside, Skyline demonstrates that an independently funded film is still feasible, with the usual merits and expected demerits that come with an effects laden movie, but certainly not one that deserved the kind of backlash that it got.

The Brothers Strause Colin and Greg, responsible for AvP Requiem, bring their visual effects wizardry and know-how to making a film that's skewed toward being just that - a special effects extravaganza. How else can you explain the 10 million dollar effects cost against everything else that was budgeted for 0.5 million. Granted that this film was made on the cheap in Hollywood terms, the look and feel was polished, and there can be no qualms about its effects quality, but the story by Joshua Cordes and Liam O'Donnell let it down somewhat.

Unlike District 9, Skyline didn't have anything new to add to the genre, deciding to repeatedly give audiences what we have already seen in a number of genre films, putting them altogether into a single film, be it the Matrix-like sentinels, large spaceships bursting out of the cloudy sky, War of the Worlds like tension between nasty aliens and humans silently hoping everything will turn out fine, with shadows of Transformers, the harvesting of humans for some dastardly alien plan, an Independence Day equivalent of an all out air strike against the aliens albeit with updated weaponry and planes, or even a human-alien hybrid of sorts that opens up the film for a franchise to happen. You're begging for one original thought that the filmmakers could come up with, and you'll find it really tough to get one.

What it did successfully translate however, is how everything was doomed from the start, and gradually we get to realize it's no way out for all the characters, since every conceivable plan that they, and we, come up with, get closed, and closed good. The protagonists are stuck in a penthouse condominium, and escape outside into what's essentially the alien ships vacuum cleaning the entire city of LA of people doesn't sound like a good idea, with the bigger world out there at large, zero communications and a zilch mass media, means questions are constantly raised, with no clear answers.

This fear factor was what I thought the Brothers had successfully translated on screen instead, and frankly will be something quite close to what you or I will do when we panic, and let fear creep in. After all, aliens of all shapes and sizes, flying or on the ground, forcefully ensures every single human being in their sights get sucked into their bodies in the most unsavoury of terms. Think of it as reverse birth, where humans get sucked into what's essentially looks like an alien vagina with plenty of goo, mucus and muck, sometimes with the aid of tentacles shaped like umbilical cords. Bickering is common, with no alpha males stepping up to lead the way because, well, everyone gets picked off one by one.

Characters were expectedly cardboard, although the story did take some unnecessary and uninteresting pains to give us a little bit of a background of those whom we follow. Alas, somehow there's a profound lack of interest in the rich and famous, who stay in swanky apartments and drive cars with the prancing horse logo. There isn't the blue collar, hard worker to root for, and seriously, a bunch of rich pansies don't quite cut it for a film like this where it's about survival of the fittest aided by street smarts. Then again, it does go to show rich or poor, we bite the dust in the same manner when faced with common danger threatening our lives, that Death (by way of Aliens or otherwise) evens the playing field. The premise - you're stuck in a building where all else outside, and soon inside turns into Ground Zero, what will you do?

And also, I suppose films that trumpet the American military might will get the kind of support it does back home, with films like Independence Day and even Transformers 1 and 2, which made it seem like an advertisement for the US Military. Here the military response seems muted and had taken a backseat (well, the budget could be a prime reason), but for what it can muster with the drones and warplanes, one nuke, and a couple of gung-ho boots on ground heli-dropped to nearby rooftops, it isn't the all out war that many perhaps have wanted to see the US forces driving the unwelcome guests away.

With a more original idea and story development to boot, perhaps Skyline could have lived up to its promises and matched the quality of effects put on screen. There's a deliberate void of verbatim answers here, with the filmmakers preferring to keep some cards close to their chest, such as an origin of sorts, or explanation why things occur the way they did, since we're observing from the third person point of view, and the narrative hardly following anyone who has got an idea or a remote clue on what's exactly happening. It's a setup for a follow up film, especially the ending montage, so let's let's hope the area of storytelling gets shored up to develop and add to its mythos.

Confessions (Kokuhaku / 告白)

The Schemer

It's the kind of feeling all over again that makes it a delight to relive moments of a film that's just so steeped with brilliance. It's dark and it's disturbing, a psychological thriller to rival some of the best out there, tackling themes of poetic justice and revenge that's coolly served in perfect tones of subversion, grabbing you by the scruff of your neck with its extended hook from the start and lasting some thirty minutes, before things kick into full gear for a chilling, violent ride that's unflinching in its violence, laced with strong characters filled with perverted motivations all round.

Written and directed by Tetsuya Nakashima and based upon the novel by Kanae Minato, the story's extremely hypnotic and sprawls points of views from multiple characters, each weaved intrinsically with one another and all being uncannily hypnotic in its stylish execution. The hook wraps up everything you'd come to expect from a great thriller, and that riveting introductory classroom scene alone is worth the price of an admission ticket many times over, orchestrating its sound contrast design to perfection where it seems a teacher is unable to control her class, and is nonchalantly attempting to do so until a bombshell is dropped to elicit an automatic silence, and fear.

Takako Matsue (of The Hidden Blade and Villon's Wife fame) plays a schoolteacher whose young daughter was murdered by students identified in her class. Rather than challenging the judge's verdict and knowing jolly well that a juvenile is protected by the law against capital punishment, the plan she devices is so devious that it turns the class upside down turning classmates against the guilty, and yet still hitting them where it hurts most, slowly observing and scheming any exploited weaknesses. Probably the best strategy anyone can adopt when dealing with unspeakable evil, and it is this execution of her plan that forms the remainder of the film told from different perspectives in confessional style (hence the title), where a deeper character study gets presented, while smartly fusing social observations about the restlessness of today's misguided teenagers in wanting recognition and being one up against their peers.

Mothers seem to come into play, and the film provokes thought into this aspect of human nature that's so universal. A mother loses her child, another maintains her protective blindness fending provocative charges against her son, while yet another proudly obsesses with wanting the best from her kid that it becomes detrimental to his development. One knows about the power of Mother's Love and the extent they will go to protect their brood, and here the school teacher's severe loss becomes the catalyst for revenge best served cold, while also becoming pawns in a plan best unraveled when you watch the film.

Nakashima's assured direction keeps you glued to every gorgeous frame thanks to its beautiful cinematography and shots that make it picture perfect, supported by an excellent soundtrack to bolster the dark mood created visually, and I just fell in love with the plenty of slow motion used which brings a sense of calming rhythm that betrays the dark undertones that were constantly brewing in the narrative. There doesn't seem to be a wasted frame or scene in the film, each moving the narrative forward in an engaging manner, keeping you guessing what's the next curve ball to be thrown, and silently rooting for justice in whatever form to be meted out, and on the other hand cannot help but to check yourself since they're kids to begin with, albeit guilty ones whom the teacher chooses a punishment that will resonate deeply throughout their lives, which is obviously a very long road ahead.

The predominant cast of teenagers also performed their roles admirably since one can imagine the kind of thought process they have to go through to play characters who are basically mentally unsound for doing what they did, and frankly these aren't things that are far fetched given notable crimes committed by juveniles here too. The violence can be unsettling here for those with weak stomachs, not so much whether there's plenty of gore put on screen, but psychologically when you're made to crawl under the perpetrators' skins seeing things from their viewpoints.

Confessions lives up to every critical acclaim garnered thus far, and I too love this film enough to put it firmly in my shortlist as the best film of the year, where all the technical elements that make up filmmaking gelled perfectly together with excellent performances all round. A movie gorgeously filmed that justifies why I go to the movies. A definite recommendation!