[DVD] Hosaywood (2011)

Fans of local short films rejoice, as Jacen Tan of Hosaywood has finally gotten his collection of shorts compiled into a DVD by Objectifs, and released into the market already. Each short comes with a one page director notes about the respective films, and has a lot of his "Firsts" as well, such as his very First short film, his First sequel to an earlier work, and of course the highly anticipated First documentary attempt in his capture of the spirit of the Kallang Roar. Probably one of the earliest local filmmakers who had his short film go viral like an epidemic on the Internet before the YouTube days, one can only expect more from the indie filmmaker, whose music video RUDRA - Hymns from the Blazing Chariot was not included, but can be found online courtesy of the filmmaker's website at Hosaywood.com.

Here's a review of the various shorts and segments contained in the DVD release:

Tak Giu (Kick Ball) (14:54)
The first short film by Jacen Tan, this was made under "Hosay Studio", about a trio of football mad friends who have to search for an open field to hone their skills for an upcoming challenge one of them made to a rival. But this search prove to be futile given the many red tape they encounter, and chronicles their dogged determination in looking for a playable field, before having to contend with a pursuing policeman. While on the surface it may seem like a simple story, this short film had plenty of barb in its veiled criticism of the way things are run in country, and I'd like to think it could probably be credited for some loosening up of guidelines with regards to playing fields.

It's a nostalgic moment to relive this short film again after more than 6 years since it went viral on every conceivable download site before YouTube and BitTorrent were the Internet norm, and is testament to its mature narrative that is easily identifiable with by the masses, and entertainment value.

Tak Giu comes with a one page Director Notes and Bloopers and Outtakes (6:20) that demonstrated just how the cast and crew of four had to juggle their scenes in front of, and behind the camera.

Zo Peng (Go Army) (14:48)
A little more serious in nature minus the comedy that we know Jacen Tan is capable of, Zo Peng is a hypothetical scenario that reverses the gender of conscription, with the females being sent for National Service. This short chronicles the various issues and challenges with National Service, but delivered by an all female cast instead so the uniqueness is with the cast sounding convincing in their verbal handling of the various army lingo, in order to sound authentic. Those of us male servicemen at one point in time or another will find a number of comparisons that can be made, especially that with the newer generation whom every predecessor batch will find having it too easy.

Zo Peng comes with a one page Director Notes, Bloopers (1:28), 28 Behind the Scenes Photos and a one page Army Lingo Guide serving as a glossary to the terminology used in the film.

Zo Gang (Go Work) (8:55)
Taken from an earlier review.

From the writer-director who brought us the Internet cult hit Tak Giu, and Zo Peng, comes his latest short film Zo Gang, translated to mean "Go Work", which unlike most of the films in today's lineup, is a light-hearted comedy which will strike a chord in every aspiring creative person in the local movie or music industry. You can count on Jacen's brand on local humour to bring that smile to your face, and its breezy pace, coupled with nuggets of funny jabs, make this a definite crowd pleaser.

Zo Gang comes with a one page Director Notes, Bloopers and Outtakes (5:50) that show the hard work poured in to capture that perfect comic timing, 36 Behind the Scenes Photos and a Rehearsal Clip (1:05) showing Wesley Wong's outdoor night time practice of his monologue.

Zo Hee (Make Movie) (13:27)
Taken from an earlier review.

If you thought that Merlion Tan was a complainer in Jacen Tan's previous short Zo Gang, we start at where the previous short left off, and he now redeems himself by actually setting out to make his own film, and does so of course with plenty of Hosaywood brand of humour. Commissioned by The Substation as part of its Moving Images 10th Anniversary celebrations to capture the essence of indie filmmaking here in Singapore, while Zo Gang had included some hilarious generalizations about local film audiences toward home grown movies, and featured some cameo appearances by local musicians, look out for the filmmakers that Jacen had given a go in the sequel, Zo Hee (Make Movie), and the creation of a new character - I'd say there will be someone emerging from the screening who will utter those words/lines made famous in the short!

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

Zo Hee comes with a one page Director Notes, Bloopers and Outtakes (3:12) and 35 stills contained in the Behind the Scenes Photos section.

Kwa Giu (Watch Football) (28:07)
The highlight of the DVD since this short has never (as far as I know) been screened before anywhere else, until now, partly because of the reluctance of the National Stadium to be torn down until recently, being the venue of choice for other sporting events that postponed its eventual closure. Armed with three roving cameras, Jacen Tan and crew went around capturing the sights and sounds of what could have been the final game played between the football teams of Singapore and Thailand as finalists of the 2007 ASEAN Football Championship Final at the National Stadium.

From the pre-kick off happenings outside the stadiums with the selling of fan made merchandise and finger foods, to the vocal support of the Singapore Lions when the game is underway, with half time loo interludes and body refueling from the snack bar, right down to lights off, Jacen and Team captured them all, preserving what would be precious memories of how a single location became the melting pot for Singaporeans from all walks of life, there for the sole mission to support our football team (and having a field day while at it), complete with cheers, jeers, and rocking drum beats. It's as much a tribute to the National Stadium, as it is to the Singapore Football (Diehard) Fan.

A credible first attempt at a documentary, Kwa Giu is Jacen going full circle, bookending this DVD collection with a film about football, and an important one at that with its capture of what would seem a typical football outing at Kallang, letting the moving images weave the magic and spirit of local football support. Perhaps this magic will be back soon with the cross-Causeway participation in each other's football, bringing back the rivalry so sorely missed since the S-League's inception. Perhaps then the new Sports Hub with a stadium shaped much like a toilet bowl, can capture what has been missing from Kallang all these years.

Kwa Giu comes with a one page Director Notes, 28 Behind the Scenes Photos that documents the National Stadium as well as some shots of its demolition recently, and Outtakes (2:28) that contain footage from an earlier match (Singapore vs Malaysia, ASEAN Football Championship Semi-Finals) since that had potential to actually be the final match played at Kallang. You'd come to identify the same few die hard fans, as well as to see how to evade the Kallang Roar (never knew that)!


And if the extras contained within each short film are not enough, there's also the Very Extra Special Features section that features:

Jacen Tan Interviews Himself (8:52) which has the writer-director share his experiences from working across all his feature films that provides you that bit of insight into his creative process, an animated short clip called Balls! (0:25) and Hosay All Over the World (1:08) with this taken from an earlier review:

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

Hosaywood DVD is now available at Objectifs (56A Arab Street, Singapore 199753) for $16.50. Hosay lah!

Cowboys & Aliens

Strike a Pose

So what was the point about making Cowboys & Aliens besides the potential of raking in millions from the box office thanks to a mash up of the Western and Alien Invasion genres? Hardly anything other than to showcase some nifty special effects (though not groundbreaking in any fashion), and having director Jon Favreau show that he has more up his sleeves than Iron Man in making a big budgeted, B-graded summer popcorn entertainer. Other than that don't come to expect a lot from the plot which was pretty straight forward stuff, boosted by its ensemble cast who add plenty of star presence.

Many would be pumped by the combination of Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, both charismatic action men in their own right, each having a franchise, or franchises in Ford's case, under their belts. Putting them together in collaborative fashion seemed to make perfect sense, and many out there can fantasize about James Bond meeting Indiana Jones/Han Solo, but that's about it - it stays as fantasy as the two don't do too much when they get on screen together. Craig plays Jake Lonergan, a mysterious alpha-gunslinger who is blessed by the inability to get injured by adversary no matter what they throw at him, though for the most parts of the film he spent walking around without a firm identity, adding a simple mystery to the film as to his background, like a Western Jason Bourne.

Ford plays Woodrow Dolarhyde, an ex-Colonel turned rancher who owns the town, with a good for nothing son Percy (Paul Dano) who soon gets abducted, along with many others in town, when strange spaceships descend upon them, bombing everything in sight and abducting in classic alien movies, humans for various experiment. So the story's pretty much about a rag tag team being assembled together, which included Sam Rockwell as a peace loving bartender, Adam Beach as Woodrow's servant whose character adds much needed gravitas and drama to the film in addition to being the translator with the Native Americans, and Olivia Wilde as Ella Swenson, a gunslinger herself who is more than meets the eye.

To a certain degree having watched the film from start to end, the narrative ran pretty close to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, which dealt with a reluctant Indy having to rescue the village folks' children who are taken into slavery. Replace children with townfolks of all ages and aliens with the voodoo worshippers, and you have Cowboys & Aliens, written by so many writers adding their two cents worth to the story, it's pretty amazing how everything turned out making some sense, despite its average plot riddled with loopholes and cliches, with the most glaring happening in the final third of the film where characters can locate each other in a labyrinth with convenient ease.

For instance, some of the stuff that got to me was a gaping absence in the treatment of the alien fleet attacking the cowboys on horseback, which you get a glimpse of in the trailer, cleanly forgotten when the plot decides to track Jake and Ella in their two on one tussle with an alien combatant. Or how about the inconsistent numbers that make up the human warriors, with 30 thieving gangsters and a group of Native Americans falling in a massive assault, only for their numbers to stay rather consistent by the time the movie's done. If there's some alien ability here to respawn their adversary, tell me about it, otherwise this reeks of lazy continuity gaps, or with scripts being revised constantly, or editing room manipulation, everything got cobbled together haphazardly just to hope for the best from the messy end product.

But on the whole, as an action adventure trying to combine elements from two genres together, Cowboys & Aliens did the job it set out to do, so don't expect too much from it other than being yet another loud action blockbuster that you can't milk anything of value from.

Zookeeper

That's Him

Director Frank Coraci seemed to have dumbed down his filmography, bring responsible for comedies like The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy and Click, all starring Adam Sandler, to relative duds like Around the World in 80 Days, and somehow Zookeeper straddles closer to being much of a miss, though it follows the standard formulaic procedure of a romantic comedy where the guy tries ever so hard to woo that girl of his dreams, only that the girl, well, is seriously not worth it.

Kevin James once again plays a self deprecating role as Griffin Keyes the titular zookeeper, and opens the film with a disastrous proposal to his girlfriend Stephanie (Leslie Bibb) who rejects him outright because of his profession. How anyone can do that is beyond me, because it's not as if it's the first day of knowing that fella, but so it goes, and painted the picture of someone after wealth and status, which according to Griffin's soon to be married brother Dave (Nat Faxon) is something a woman like Stephanie would prefer. A job offer at his brother's exotic car showroom would mean Griffin leaving a job that is his calling, and the animals of the zoo have to plot to ensure Griffin stays to care for them.

And that meant an accidental revelation that they can all speak English, fluently, and possess a keen sense of humour, sort of, spending plenty of time bickering than to come up with concrete plans to help our protagonist, and even then, offer tips more suited for the animal world, which allows for some pretty awkward moments, though firmly kept in family friendly territory. In some ways it's similar to Night at the Museum, with the museum pieces coming alive at night, and in the same vein, the animals gather in town hall like fashion when the last patron and caretaker leave the premises to partake in some idle chatter.

Voiced by recognizable folks such as Nick Nolte as the emo Gorilla Bernie who might be more suited in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Adam Sandler as Donald the Monkey Sylvester Stallone as Joe the Lion who fantasizes about being king of the jungle, Cher as the Lioness, Jon Favreau and Faizon Lowe as a pair of Bears, and Maya Rudolph as Mollie the Girraffe, and a whole host of other voices, you'd come to expect that there would be at least some wisecracking animals to liven up the mood and add to the sporadic laughter caused from a rather tired narrative, but tough luck, there was too little of that.

Instead, what we got are the usual rote narrative development where Griffin painfully tries so hard to regain the affections of someone so undeserving and shallow, though some may argue it's natural selection like in the Animal Kingdom where the mate will choose from the strongest of her suitors, with Griffin being in competition with yet another braggart ex-boyfriend (Joe Rogan) of Stephanie's. In some ways it touches upon contemporary strategies usually involving another hot woman, and Griffin's choice to induce jealousy is that of his fellow zoo co-worker Kate (Rosario Dawson), whom you can stay 10 steps ahead to know how what should be role-playing, would turn out to be.

With an ensemble such as the underused Ken Jeong as Venom the reptile house zookeeper and Donnie Wahlberg as the token keeper with a sadistic streak, both of whom should have seen more screen time, Zookeeper is what you would label as an average family entertainer, playing it very safe just like how one would view a zoo exhibit, encased behind a rigid structure that provides plenty of the same, and no surprises.

[8th Singapore Short Cuts] 1st Session

Over the course of the next two weekends, the 8th edition of the Singapore Short Cuts will unspool a total of 19 short films by veteran and up and coming filmmakers, with animated genre making its inaugural bow in the series. Presented by The National Museum of Singapore Cinematheque and The Substation Moving Images, today's session is almost female director centric save for the final short, and kicks off with two short films from Tan Pin Pin.

The Impossibility of Knowing
From time to time I'd wonder what events might have transpired from the stories I heard about the place I am staying in, which used to be a swampy area, whether it could perhaps hold secrets and tales that are already now forgotten. Tan Pin Pin's latest documentary charts locations in Singapore that you've probably heard of from the high profile incidents put on showcase here, or would have some vague recollection from talking points.

With voiceover provided by Lim Kay Tong narrating the often tragic stories behind the landscapes being featured, from suicides to man made disasters to even the bizarre of an animal being knocked down when it ventured onto a busy expressway. Naturally we don't get to see enactments, but it's chilling with the visuals presenting what currently is, with nary a clue what had happened before, save for Lim's gravely voice reminding us all what once was.

Snow City
This one is a bit of a mixed bag. Some may deem it a little bit too random for its compilation of vignettes and scenes as diverse as shots in and around the Signature Building at Changi Business Park (oh hello!), Snow City at Jurong and one that captured construction workers hosing down trucks as they leave the mud filled worksite. There are polar bears even, captured in their enclosures swimming from end to end for an extended period of time, but my favourite of the lot, has got to be the opening ceremony of what I deem as one of the most perplexing road tunnels built at Fort Canning, which resulted in the demolition of the old National Library, and not to mention the reworking of the entire road network around the area that includes having buses make a 3-4 lane swing from one side of the road to the other. And oh, the irreverence of that opening ceremony with a walk through celebration just has got to be seen for the absurdity of it all.

Wake
One of two films from the students of NYU Tisch School of the Arts Asia in this year's edition of Short Cuts, one cannot deny the technical craftsmanship of those enrolled in the school, as this short film can attest to, being a product of director Atsuko Hirayamagi's first year project. With excellent art direction, cinematography and cast delivery, Wake’s premise is set against quite a morbid incident where a demolition site inspector on his rounds discovers some skeletal remains of a human body. Dealing with a story about family relations when the kin of the deceased appears and the theme of abandonment, someone this short didn’t connect with me as I had felt a certain appealing factor missing, although it is probably the most technically polished of the lot in today’s lineup.

Solitary Moon
As filmmaker Eva Tang puts it, this was an accidental film, having to combine stock footage taken in Shanghai some years ago combined with the music of Zai Kuning and Koichi Shimizu, and what came out is this aesthetically visual mood piece that I'm sure those who have or are still working in office buildings can attest to experiencing when gazing out of their cubicle windows of their workplace, and see something similar, albeit it being a little more mundane looking in real life, or worst, not even having the time to just look out once in a while.

Comfort
A school project turned excellent resonance about the hard work put in by countless of workers out there whose meaningful work make the country tick. Undergraduate Afiq Omar decided to embark on this three day shoot from what was a 3 week project, and when time was running out, sought out his father to assist in what would be a day in the life type of documentary film. But what got uncovered was a whole host of societal issues, ranging from having to encounter discourteous drivers on the roads, to personal ones such as the long hours put in to provide for the family, combined with light comedy thanks to the jovial and ultimately chatty nature of his dad the driver, and just how hard a father works to put food on the table, and not to mention the frequently unsaid little things parents do for their kids, from the chauffeuring to the late night suppers this film itself being a testament that encapsulates a parent's love, and pride when they know their best efforts have paid off.

Take a bow, SHA2811M!

Horrible Bosses

Here's How You Do It

I'm sure many of us have encountered bosses we'd love to hate, or worse, actually are demonstrating some of the mean traits on display in the movie as bosses ourselves. Horrible Bosses by Seth Gordon amplifies just about everything negative from people we report to, ranging from accusations, lies, and the passing the buck to right size the company, and delivered a roaring, laugh out loud comedy that employed everything from slapstick to the requisite toilet humour and though as simple and cliched as the story might be, scored on all its attempts thanks in part to the performance of its ensemble cast and their impeccable comic timing.

Michael Markowitz's story introduces us to the bullied protagonists of Nick Hendricks, a typical employee sucking everything his boss Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) throws at him due to the belief that only those who suck up get to rise the corporate ladder, finding out the hard way that his boss is actually one heck of a motivator in the most negative sense. Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) on the other hand has to fend off the countless of sexual harassment moments as the dentist's assistant to his dentist employer, played by the really smoking hot Jennifer Aniston as Dr Julia Harris, with a sexual appetite that's hard to placate. And rounding off the three buddies in distress is Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis), working in a family company whose boss Jack Pellit (Donald Sutherland) had passed away, leaving behind the top job for his son Bobby (Colin Farrell) to take over, where the crack head is absolutely clueless in the running of the company if not for the profits to milk from.

In one drunken stupor they hatch a hypothetical plan to bump off the thorns at their sides, only for their plans to be kickstarted into actual motion when the last straw broke the camel's back. The story shifts into high gear with the trio figuring out how best to carry out their threats and plans with minimal risks, and here's where the cameos by Ioan Gruffudd and Jamie Foxx as an ex-convict turned consultant breathed some bravado into the trio's plans.

If I were to compare the recent comedies involving a brethren of good friends to Horrible Bosses, I dare say Horrible Bosses had enough legs in it to best even The Hangover, even with its simpler, straightforward narrative. There are of course some similarities here such as relying on the chemistry of its protagonists to carry the film through from one set piece to the next, and the plenty of sexual innuendos thrown around, but it is exactly this camaraderie on display here by Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis in executing their shenanigans that gives this film its one up against the competition.

Interesting enough, the best roles here are those of the antagonistic Bosses even though they play caricatures. Kevin Spacey may just have recycled his role here from ones he had played in his earlier works, but I suppose watching Spacey recycle is but a guilt trip all over again. Collin Farrell almost does a Les Grossman clone here with his trash talking, hair thinning role, while Jennifer Aniston plays a very in your face femme fatale who spares no effort in pushing the boundaries of sexual harassment - though I'm pretty sure any hot blooded male would take up that challenge - and like Tom Cruise's effort in playing something totally different in Tropic Thunder, does the same here in portraying a character never seen before from her filmography, firmly smashing being typecast in this minor role. Somehow the best lines got reserved for these three characters, and they delivered them with aplomb.

Like Revenge of the Nerds, Horrible Bosses celebrates the little guy, where the bullied are hoping to seek some justice in their lives when forced to a corner, fighting back even when they don't know exactly how. Enough surprises are thrown along the way, and its simplicity is its key here in setting everything up without a careless loose end. Ultimately it's still a fantasy piece that we can all have a good time at, before those who really have horrible bosses wake up to reality post screening. Horrible Bosses gets my vote as one of the best comedies this year, and those who do have one or a few in real life have my sympathies. Highly recommended!

Womb

Gazing

At one point in the film there's a lingering shot of a snail, as if an obvious metaphor that Womb gestates ever so slowly in its story, covering decades of its characters' lives, and does so in such a bleak and loving fashion that it provides you breathing space that sets you thinking in each scene, akin to observing the quietest kid in class who turns out to be the most explosive. If you've read the synopsis by now you'd know this film deals with the issues associated with cloning, and finds kindred spirits with films such as Jonathan Glazer's Birth and especially Mark Romanek's Never Let Me Go.

Hungarian writer-director Benedek Fliegauf tackles his first English language film with Womb, exploring an intense underlying love story that's treated and shot with Zen minimalist principles against the hauntingly beautiful backdrop of Sylt and other equally amazing landscapes in and around Hamburg. Technical strengths in presenting this film cannot be ignored, such as how patiently quiet the narrative is with little dialogue, allow emotions to overwhelm on screen, with sound intricately designed around emotions of frustration, anger and fear. Simply put, this is one journey spanning lifetimes that you'd have to open your heart out to, checking that nagging thought process about the plausibleness of the story at the door, otherwise you'll find yourself deeply muddled given that this in essence is like a science fiction fantasy.

It's a story about attraction, and how inexplicable it can sometimes be, as if of a chemical nature that draws one's attention to another, and how we are thought to be wired up to be attracted to a certain type, profile, or genetic make up, with the latter of course playing a big role in this film since it involves the cloning of a human being, and the existential exploration of whether a clone can ever be the same as its original, or the degree it is so similar. It raises interesting arguments about that of nature versus nurture, since one's personality and values are catalyzed by the growing up process, and while one can be grown from a petri dish, events that shape one's character are external and cannot be controlled, somehow.

But Womb pushes that boundary a little bit further. What if it involves a surrogate mother, won't her 9 months pregnancy in carrying the foetus play a part, and like the film had shown, care had been taken to grow the subject in a fairly controlled environment. Rebecca (Eva Green) and Tommy (Matt Smith) are on the cusp of a budding romantic relationship, where their years apart since young didn't even seem to damper their strong emotions toward each other, only for a sudden road accident to cruelly snatch one away from the other. In what would be a controversial move, Rebecca enrolls to have herself impregnated and becoming the surrogate mother of Tommy's clone, for the selfish belief that in doing so will allow Tommy to live again, much to the disappointment and shock of Tommy's mother, who chose to depart rather than to see a mirror of her lost child in another human being, now brought up by another woman.

It's the ultimate possessive love story, where one can now boast of having being there right from the start of a lover's life, nurturing him from a toddler to a young adult, to the point where one last left off. In most love stories, the feel good factor post tragedy is to discover one expecting the child of a lover now deceased, but in Womb and to a degree of morbidity, it's now the expecting of the lover himself that raises plenty of alarm bells, especially when sexual attraction comes into play, and clearly with the ulterior motive and desire to want to somehow break through strong taboos when opportune, to continue where the lovers last left off. But with Tommy 2 hooking up with a new found girlfriend in Monica (Hannah Murray), with the last act dealing with this three-way relationship, with the audience firmly in the know of how conflicted Rebecca must have felt.

Here's where Eva Green shines in playing a hopeful teenager to a woman who's confused, jealous and probably with a tinge of being jilted, unable to say the truth which she had hidden so well for years. Fans of Dr Who will probably lap at the chance of watching their hero in Matt Smith play the Tommy role, being a youth cut down before his prime, then in his second role as the relatively immature teenager who has yet to know what's in store for him when unexpected events get set in motion.-

So what got the censors here hot and heavy and to charge this with the highest rating possible, outside of an outright ban, is how there's a pervasive feeling of sexual attraction that never goes away, when Tommy 2 starts to appear in Rebecca's life. Granted that a mother naturally shows unconditional love toward her child, this one has a very explicit hint of intent that provokes. Take up the challenge with this unconventional love story, and see if you'd squirm when you get past the amazing visuals to reach its controversial, and to some, shocking, core.

Womb opens 11 Aug exclusively at The Cathay & Cineleisure Orchard.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I'll Be Lord One Day

I have to admit I wasn't really that keen on this film given how the original series had started off very brightly, only for it to fizzle off as more films got added into the franchise. Then came Tim Burton with a remake of the first film, and now Rupert Wyatt's film in rebooting everything in what would be Hollywood's recent trend. But I was surprised at the final product being extremely well made with all important emotional cores to hook you into the storyline, making you feel for the characters - the primates that is - and to reflect upon the evilness and aggression of mankind, that you'll be left rooting for the apes once the second half of the film kicks into high gear.

Granted there are cinematic cliches here and plot conveniences used to move the narrative forward, but these are compensated by the charismatic presence of James Franco as the protagonist and culprit behind the spawning of a new intelligent primate race no thanks to his research, eagerness and carelessness in wanting to cure his father (John Lithgow, long time no see) of Alzheimer's. Breaking protocols in adopting his experimental subject christened Caesar and then experimenting on his own without safety nets, it's the desperation and the greed of corporations combined to give rise to what would be the baseline scenario on which further Ape films, if any, could build upon.

Watch out too for the plenty of easter eggs featured from the Ape mythos being incorporated into scenes here, and of course the very fluid and well done special effects from motion capture (Can Andy Serkis be officially recognized as the granddaddy who played the most roles using this technique) to the kinetic movement of the camera to make this one heck of a ride from start to finish. Nothing too fancy in the film, but it all worked. Highly recommended!

You can read my review of Rise of the Planet of the Apes at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

Ayumi Hamasaki's 3D Concerts

I suppose with 3D, concert films are now being produced in full force for fans around the world to experience performances of consistent intensity. Fans of Japanese megastar Ayumi Hamasaki can now experience the pop singer's latest concerts ARENA TOUR ~ NEXT LEVEL ~ and ROCK ‘N’ ROLL CIRCUS TOUR in 3D with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound soon at selected GV Cinemas.

Featuring Ayumi’s frequent change of grand costumes and epic performance of classic and modern megahits, the first full 3D digital concert ARENA TOUR ~ NEXT LEVEL ~ will be screened in GV Marina for J-Pop fans in August.

Following that, Ayumi’s second 3D concert, ROCK ‘N’ ROLL CIRCUS TOUR, will be screened in Singapore alongside with its Asian counterparts of Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan in September. The 3D concert movie documented all the emotional moments in the final 7 days performance of the tour filmed at Japan’s Yoyogi National Gymnasium in October 2010.

Fans are sure to be electrified and touched by Ayumi’s thrilling performance!

You can click here for more details on screening dates, ticketing discounts, the Fan Package, and of course to make your booking.

[DVD] My Blueberry Nights (2007)

Love in a Diner

I've got to admit one of the prime reasons why I picked this up was its availability in the bargain bin, and given that I was quite ambivalent about the film the first time round when I watched it in the cinemas some three years back, I thought I should give it another go. And to no surprise, I've begun to like this film a little more, noticing some aspects of the film that I've failed to initially, and certain emotional aspects of the story just screaming out.

Which I suppose the experience always ties in to the current state of mind and emotions one's in, especially with a Wong Kar Wai film that is constantly fluid, discovering new things with each viewing, and gaining different experiences out of it, just like how I had disliked In the Mood for Love the very first time I saw it, but instantly after an emotional shift, came to embrace it wholeheartedly. My Blueberry Nights is beginning to have that effect on me, with characters struggling to let go as well as finding a centre for reconciliation and a second chance.

You can read my earlier review of the film here.

The Code 1 DVD by The Weinstein Company Home Entertainment presents the film and its extras in an anamorphic widescreen format, with audio in Dolby Digital 5.1 and subtitles in English close captioned and Spanish. Scene selection is available over 23 chapters. The DVD autoplays with an anti smoking warning thetruth.org, trailers (2:41) for upcoming DVDs for The Deal and Berlin, and trailers (4:54) for films already available on DVD such as Breaking and Entering and The Great Debaters.

There are only two Special Features included in this edition of the DVD that are substantial, with the other two being the cursory Theatrical Trailer (2:07) and two Stills Galleries which contain photos in two broad categories - Location Scout Photos with 24 stills, and Production / Publicity Photos with no less than 60 shots. I've never understood why film stills are included in DVDs to begin with anyway.

Making My Blueberry Nights (15:53) is the standard behind the scenes look at the filmmaking process, with plenty of interviews with director Wong Kar Wai and his leading lady Norah Jones, and others like Natalie Portman and Jude Law as well, talking about their experiences in working in a Wong Kar Wai film. And for fans of the director, there's the Q&A with Director Wong Kar Wai (18:30) moderated by David Scwartz, Chief Curator, The Museum of the Moving Image, where you can hear first hand from the auteur how My Blueberry Nights got conceived, and especially about his creative process as well. Though nothing fans will probably not already know about, it's still a rare opportune to listen to the director in English.

[DVD] DC Showcase Original Shorts Collection (2010)

Shazam!

The DC Showcase of Animated Original Shorts contain no less than four original stories, and four other animated shorts taken from its established series as selected by Bruce Timm. The Code 1 DVD by Warner Home Video presents all the short stories in anamorphic widescreen format with the exception of some in the Special Features in full screen format, with audio in its English language track presented in Dolby Surround 5.1. Subtitles are available in English close captioned, French and Spanish.

Superman/Shazam!: Return of Black Adam is undoubtedly the highlight and the primary reason why I had chosen to pick up this DVD. The longest running of the lot, it gives an updated take on the origins of Captain Marvel, who is bestowed the powers of the gods by the wizard Shazam, and transforms the young orphan kid Billy Batson into Earth's Mightiest Hero, that is unless you're a Superman fan and will take some offense at that. The Last Son of Krypton also got conveniently put into the story since Clark Kent has set up an interview with Billy at Fawcett City, and the introduction of the main villain Black Adam forces a fast tracking of Billy Batson becoming Captain Marvel, as well as to set up a series of battles that allowed for the showcase of powers. It's strangely convenient of course that with such loud fisticuffs the city is actually devoid of people and casualties.

I really hope that one day we just might get to see a live action version of Captain Marvel, if of course Warner Bros is as ambitious and successful as Marvel/Disney in pushing out their comic book property to the big screen.

The Spectre adopts a detective noir format in having the detective Jim Corrigan investigate the killing of a Hollywood media mogul, complete with voiceover narration, a mysterious death, and a femme fatale to boot. It's presented in a stylistically deliberate less than pristine transfer with its fair share of pops, cackles and hiss, but don't let that detract you from the primary function of the showcase and that's to preview the powers of The Spectre, who plays on the minds of the guilty as well as to amp up its creepy factor that somehow went unnoticed.

Green Arrow turned out to be the most entertaining of the lot, since it features a hero without natural superpowers, except for a keen sense of marksmanship with his bow and an assortment of gadgetry arrows. Centered around an airport where Oliver Queen got more than he bargained for when spotting a familiar enemy and ended up protecting a young royalty from getting killed by her enemies, we're treated to wisecracking hero who does have his fair share of losses, as well as a surprise appearance by a certain character in its final stages which made this all the more memorable.

Jonah Hex probably contained the most recognized voices of the lot, with Thomas Jane playing the titular bounty hunter, and Linda Hamilton voicing Madame Lorraine, where the live action version that didn't make it to Singapore was played by Megan Fox. It's the simplest of all stories that introduces us to the seduce then kill modus operandi of the Madame, before Jonah Hex rides into town to demand the whereabouts of one of his bounties. Like the earlier shorts, it's primed to give a brief introduction to the characters and to present a showcase of their abilities, nothing more.

Al the main shorts in this DVD collection are produced and directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, with Warner Bros Animation adopting what I felt was creative and graphical qualities like the Japanese outfit Madhouse that I had at first mistaken for until the credits came rolling.

The Special Features here are yet another series of episodes from the established animated series that DC had already churned out, and included here are those picked by Bruce Timm, which includes:

Jonah Hex - Showdown from Batman: The Animated Series
I don't remember watching this episode before, but essentially it's a Jonah Hex vehicle being introduced to the Batman audience, since the animated series had developed its own loyal following, so it's not unthinkable that another minor character had exploited this opportunity to get himself a leg up in introductions. With Ras Al Ghul as the main villain and the cursory appearance of Batman and Robin to bookend this episode, this brings us back to the wild wild west with a twist at the end as well.

The Spectre - The Chill of the Night from Batman: The Brave and the Bold
I have to admit I haven't seen an episode from the animated Brave and the Bold series until now, and from what I gather, it's firmly set like the comic book series which puts the caped crusader into more mystical stories rather than the reality based ones he's usually in. And from the character designs it's aligned more to the Dick Sprang look, and not only Batman, but his more popular villains from his Rogues Gallery as well. Even the story seemed to be something lifted from an old Batman comic book I've read involving Batman's discovery of the identity of Joe Chill, his subsequent shocking revelation that I remembered leaping out from the comic book panels, and the convenient ending together with a blast from the past origin retelling once again. The Spectre doesn't do anything much here except for his wager with The Phantom Stranger, but this episode boasts of many, many well known casts from the Batman days of old including Adam West as Thomas Wayne, Julie Newmar as Martha Wayne, Mark Hamill as The Spectre and Kevin Conroy voicing The Phantom Stranger. Ah, nostalgia!

Green Arrow - Initiation from Justice League Unlimited
This is one version of Oliver Queen's reluctant join of the Justice League, feeling out of place amongst the big boys (and girls) who have super powers. But a hero always rise up to the occasion when needed, and in this case he gets cobbled together with Green Lantern (Jon Stewart version), Captain Atom and Supergirl in a case involving a rogue Asian state with unmistakable semblance to North Korea and a strong source of nuclear energy emanating from the unnamed country. As a story, it's nothing more than to showcase the Green Arrow's marksmanship and gymnastic ability, and of course the importance of working together as a team versus a collection of individuals. Nice reason too as to why Oliver Queen decided to stick around.

Shazam - Clash from Justice League Unlimited
Contrary to the main short that marquees this DVD collection, this episode from Justice League Unlimited retells how Captain Marvel first met Superman, or vice versa, and how because of their similarities in strength, speed and flying ability, gives Superman that inferior complexity and envy when Captain Marvel inadvertently steals his thunder, and the needless comparisons of course. It's not as cordial as the other tale in this collection, and the two gets to rip a Lex Luthor built city apart in their fisticuffs, which is the highlight naturally. But the frustrating thing about this short is that it's only one half, or one of a series, that leaves you at a cliffhanger because when there's Luthor, there's conspiracy, and what this standalone inclusion does is to whet you appetite to pick up a lot more DVDs, especially of the Justice League Unlimited. We'll see.

And the DVD rounds up with Batman: The Brave and the Bold Trailer (0:32) which curiously promotes Batman as "the greatest bad guy basher", seriously. If you're a fan of Batman and enjoy the frequent team ups he has with other DC Universe heroes, then this series (into its fourth season) should be something worth checking out, since it touts one new super partner per episode.

Watching this on a Sunday morning sure brings back some memories of yesteryears where I would be glued to the television for cartoons such as these!

Win Win

Feel The Angst!

Thomas McCarthy is fast becoming one of my favourite filmmakers, having wrote and directed The Visitor which I had enjoyed, and following that up with another powerful gem of a film here in Win Win, complete with wonderfully crafted characters, great performances all round, and a story that deals with how we deal with challenges placed in front of us, whether we lapse and opt for the short cut out, or in some cases, stick to our guns and do what's morally correct, keeping our integrity and reputation intact.

Paul Giamatti stars as Mike Flaherty, a decent family man and a community lawyer whose business isn't thriving, and is soon running into debt if the lack of meaningful work continues. And if life on the professional front isn't rosy enough, he's also a volunteer wrestling coach at the New Providence High School, but so far having no luck in coaching championship material from his boys, and have a hard time trying to buckle their losing trend in the season thus far. Perhaps only his family in wife Jackie (Amy Ryan) and kids keep him fairly sane, and of course best friend Terry (Bobby Cannavale) and assistant coach Stephen (Jeffrey Tambor).

But with work on the professional front heading nowhere, he signs up as guardian for his client Leo Poplar, a well to do senior citizen who's about to descent further into the stages of dementia, and as his attorney, decided to take up guardianship for an extra 1500 dollars per month as personal revenue, but snooking the judge in having to ultimately dump Leo into an elder care home. You can scream conflict of interest, and the lack of integrity now, because simply put, this is probably what Thomas McCarthy had in mind for us to think about when we bend the rules for personal benefit, which may seem like a good idea now, will come back to haunt us with deeper impact later on in life.

And everything seemed to work out pretty well too, especially when Leo's grandson Kyle (newcomer Alex Shaffer) enters the Flaherty's lives much to the objection of Jackie, but having to listen to his plight and see that this delinquent actually has a stout heart, and for Mike not to mention a one time wrestling MVP in his hands now, the cards are finally all coming into play now, if not for Kyle's mom and Leo's daughter Cindy (Melanie Lynskey) to suddenly appear and become the perennial spanner in the works, threatening to break up something good that's happening to all the characters, and especially Mike now that he has everything to lose, especially his integrity when the truth gets unravelled.

Thomas McCarthy had weaved a narrative that simply worked wonders, with very powerful characters crafted to be fleshed out by his actors, who all did an amazing job balancing the dramatic moments laced with the occasional humour throughout. Paul Giamatti excels in his role as the average Joe being caught in extraordinary circumstances and having to deal with them as best as he can, juggling different aspects and having to spin half truths. It's been a while since we last saw him not in a chopsocky over-the-top role. Bobby Cannavale instead took over the over the topness with his role as the none too serious best friend and confidante, while Alex Shaffer turned out to be the revelation here with his troubled teenager role blessed with a talent that threatens to be wasted should he not get his personal act together, sharing great chemistry opposite Giamatti in a foster father-son relationship.

It's a fantastic story about how we tend to cover up and do the things that we don't mean to if not for self-preservation, and a reminder that honesty is always the best policy here. Sometimes we may lapse and be given a second chance to make things right again, and that's when we have to strive to achieve that win-win outcome. This film gets my clear vote of confidence in being one of the best this year has to offer, and with an excellent soundtrack to boot, what's there not to like about it? Highly recommended!

[DVD] Missing Pieces (2011)

Contemplation

If anyone's complaining about how linear and verbatim stories on film can be these days, then I suppose one has got to dig a little deeper and trawl through indie films to discover edgier gems like Missing Pieces which is set to challenge one's usual viewing conventions, as it forces the casual viewer to pay attention, and work at filling in the gaps between scenes, and assembling the narrative which got presented in a non-linear, extremely juxtaposed fashion.

And there's a reason for this as well. Written and directed by Kenton Bartlett, it's probably the state of mind of David Lindale (Mark Boone Junior) who had survived a harrowing car crash, only to emerge from it much different a man than he once was, leading to the love of his life Delia (Melora Walters) making an ultimatum of her own to leave him, for good. Desperate to get her back, David jumps through hoops in coming up with strategies and seeking the advice of friends, but what was probably the strangest outcome of his actions, was the decision to kidnap two teenage strangers, and make them fall in love through a series of scenarios forced upon them.

The strengths of Missing Pieces is to never know what you're going to get with each scene popping up, since they're not played in a linear fashion, with Bartlett forcing you to assemble the jigsaw yourself, and in this manner, experiencing the frustration that David is probably going through, and yet enjoying the tender moments in the brush of first love, which I suspect David is trying to recreate so that he can somehow unlock that mental block in him to feel and love once again, rather than to perpetually be in a state of indifference. At least four narrative threads got intertwined, with David's determined pursuit of Delia despite flat out rejections from the latter, the lives of Daylen (Daniel Hassel) and Maggie (Taylor Engel) respectively, and their budding romantic tale brought about by David's actions, that makes this an engaging challenge to sit through.

And I suppose many will be able to identify with the budding love story given the many questions and developed desire to want to find out more about the other party, as well as the things people do to get and stay connected. These are tender moments that the actors Hassel and Engel make believable through their excellent performance and chemistry, as is the counterpoint and parallel that exist in the disintegration of a relationship amongst the older couple David and Delia, also identifiable with if you've lived through a stinging rejection where plans fall apart, with one half of an ex-couple spiralling toward loneliness, against the springing up and out against loneliness that both Daylen and Maggie have so far experienced, in a sort of dark, ironic twist.

Although made by self-taught filmmakers, the production values of this independent production looked more like a million dollars than the 80K spent, where costs were kept low due to effort put in kind. Cinematography by Jonathan Arturo deserves special mention with his capture of the beautiful landscapes and techniques utilized that provides a unique visual eye, and I especially loved the wide shots employed. Music by Richey Rynkowksi and an eclectic soundtrack also helped to accentuate the ups and downs of emotions felt through scenes in the film, being useful cues since some scenes do get dragged out a little especially when it dwelled on the back stories of Daylen and Maggie in an effort to provide a bigger scope that didn't fit quite into the main narrative once you've worked out its linearity.

Still, Missing Pieces at its essence is a powerful love story, where one got created through circumstances, and the other how the absence and rejection from love may make one mental, which provided this film its mysterious basis to craft the story on. If it's something fresh and original in treatment something you crave for in film, then perhaps this one may be that missing jigsaw piece that you've been searching for amongst this noisy summer blockbuster period. Recommended and it definitely deserves a larger audience!

The Region 1 DVD presents the film in a gorgeous anamorphic widescreen transfer with audio in 2.0 Dolby Digital Surround. No subtitles are available, and scene selection is available over 16 chapters.

Although an independent production, there are Special Features included in having a Feature Commentary by writer-director Kenton Bartlett providing an extremely detailed account on the filmmaking process so that other budding filmmakers can hopefully learn from his experience and especially his mistakes, being brutally honest about what worked, and what didn't in his debut feature film. The Making Of (30:31) is also a detailed extra containing plenty of behind the scenes look at the team's attempt at making this feature come to fruition.

Captain America: The First Avenger

American Beefcake

I have to admit I was a little apprehensive to see Joe Johnston's name attached to the Captain America film since he was responsible for flicks like the underwhelming Wolfman and Jurassic Park III, but my fears were unfounded since his treatment of Marvel's final film before assembling The Avengers, was more aligned in spirit to one of my favourite films set in the 40s, The Rocketeer, complete with set action thrills, slight comedy and enough visual effects to transport you to a vivid WWII era.

Essentially an origin story, this was exactly how I remembered reading the Captain America comic books when I was younger, mostly sticking around how the sickly Steve Rogers (a CG-ed Chris Evans) became the beefcake he was through a top secret military experiment, and his constant battles with his arch nemesis standing for all things Axis powered personified by the Red Skull, played to perfection by Hugo Weaving with a German accented voice as the Johann Schmidt version. At its heart it's a clear cut battle between good and evil, although in this Marvel augmented reality, Evil is aided by the powers of the Cosmic Cube and the megalomaniacal ambitions of Red Skull and his Hydra shock troops, threatening to conquer the globe unless someone can do something about it.

Hence the first act concentrated on the innate characteristic of Steve Rogers, a determined, never say die young chap from Brooklyn whose enlistment to the US Army has consistently been met with flat out rejections, until the scientist Dr Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) saw something in him that no one else does, and selects him as the first of intended many in the army's Super Soldier project, as headed by Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jomes). It's almost a master-protege relationship set up in their short scenes together, but made no less powerful with nice touches about what really mattered in a world that's embroiled in a massive war.

Since there's always nothing too definitive out there as far as origin stories go in the comics world, it's admirable how Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely's screenplay still managed to extract the essence of the character, of what made him tick as the beacon amongst the do gooders, and explored how events pushed the man into donning the less than camouflaged colours into combat. Allies like Howard Stark (now played by Dominic Cooper) whom we've seen in the expanded Marvel universe of films in Iron Man 2 as the military's main contractor, Bucky (Sebastian Stan) as Steve's best friend, and Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter the British agent and romantic love interest, all factored in to build Captain America's world, which if a sequel is made would be a challenge to try and set it in the 40s again since the events here were pretty much open and close.

Action wise, while Captain America essentially doesn't possess super powers per se, still is the epitome of physical fitness, and Joe Johnston compensates this with large, and I mean large action sequences, coupled with plenty of montage to show the Captain's campaign against evil. And I thought there was a conscious effort to tone down the "America"ness of a one man crusade, and assembled a rag tag group of United Nations typed mercenaries whose loyalty is to the Captain since he busted them out from near death. His trademark Vibranium shield worked out very nicely in the fights, choreographed just as how one would imagine the real Captain America do it, with the shield featuring heavily in all fights designed that it's more than a good looking prop. I'd even appreciated effort to include the original shield Cap America used, together with a more logical reason how he had to don a cheesy looking costume that doesn't make camouflage sense, worked into emerging as an icon to rally behind in the face of adversity.

Subtlety is one of the key strengths of the film, with Captain America's additional and lesser known abilities mentioned in passing but enough for fans to pick up, with numerous references in this film that's set up to reference the other Marvel films from Iron Man to Thor. While the romantic angle was severely limited, I thought the emotional resonance worked particularly well especially if you know how the Cap would eventually end up, in a way fixed by the mythos and unavoidable, being the romance that had potential and room to develop further.

Some may say that a superhero film gets defined by the villain, but this one clearly didn't let its villain upstage the heroic character, which is quite rare. Not that Hugo Weaving did a bad job with Red Skull, but there are little evil deeds the Skull had significantly embarked upon besides pulverizing his opponents with no remorse, and his constant banter with scientist Dr Amim Zola (Toby Jones) to show just how egoistical he could be. Hopefully we will get to see more of the Red Skull in future sequels of Captain America, since Chris Evans signed for a total of 6 appearances. Evans too while being involved in too many comic book films as compared to Ryan Reynolds, will probably be best remembered for his Captain America outing than for his less charismatic Johnny Storm in the Fantastic Four, and balanced both the drama and hard hitting action well, believable as the man you'd trust to rally the troops and lead them in the fight against evil.

Captain America: The First Avenger ranks up there amongst the comic book based movies done right even if the storyline comes up as somewhat expected given its necessity to focus on the hero's origins. This is undoubtedly highly recommended, and as always, don't leave before the end credits have rolled off, for the first look at Joss Whedon's The Avengers, and from the looks of it, it's going to be one heck of a ride, especially when mega egos come clashing up against one another. Summer 2012 can't come any sooner!

A Summer in Genoa / Genova

Sisters

In some ways A Summer in Genoa was fairly like Grace is Gone which starred John Cusack as a father who together with his two children have to figure out life after the death of his wife. Here, Colin Firth plays the role of dad, who decided to uproot his family of daughters Mary (Perla Haney-Jardine) and Kelly (Willa Holland) from Chicago to Genoa in order to start their lives anew, which gives rise to plenty of touristy moments as they settle down in a new environment and get to learn a little bit about the culture of the Italians before they assimilate right in, not that we get to learn a lot anyway.

Directed by Michael Winterbottom, this film presented what would be a one month snapshot of the lives of three characters each affected quite differently with the passing of a loved one. Made even more poignant is that one of them was directly responsible for the death in the family, in an opening scene that you are probably going to cringe with cinematic premonition that something untoward would happen, since there were plenty of visual and aural clues on how it would all eventually pan out. But the snapshot presented was really slight in nature, having its characters fall into stereotypes, while the narrative shifts gear into the morose and flatlines almost throughout its entire run time.

Colin Firth could play Joe with his eyes closed, being the dad whose new stint in a school brings him attention in the form of female students, as well as a friend from the past (Catherine Keener) who had helped him and his family in their initial settling down, providing that potential romantic interest that didn't develop much. The most Joe had to do is to appease youngest daughter Mary, the baby of the family, who suffers from constant nightmares about that fateful night with her mom.

Willa Holland as the teenage daughter Kelly expectedly falls into the rebellious phase as she lusts after the attention showered unto her from many hot blooded Italian men, with the usual flings you'd come to expect from a title like that. The only depth to her character comes from the very testy relationship formed with her younger sister, where in front of their father she plays the angel, but in his absence becomes the bully not pulling her weight in the discharge of her responsibilities.

Perla Haney-Jardine though probably was the star of the show, stealing the thunder from everyone with her performance that requires to showcase a range of emotions, and by and large her character here may have resembled the little kid in Millions who possessed a vivid imagination. Hope Davis enjoyed limited screen time in the film, but her scenes opposite Hope Davis were probably the best in the storyline that required to tread upon the supernatural, though more Casper than creepy, personifying how one grasps onto treasured memories with the reluctance to let go.

Don't expect any major breakthroughs or moments with deeper meanings, though it had one harrowing scene that reminded me of how horrible traffic in Italy could be, and their scooters that weave in and out of small lanes, where a map is probably useless since the streets have no signages. It certainly brought back some of my own wonderful experience in the country, that the most this film had done, is to rekindle that interest to go travelling and tour more Italian towns.

Singham

The Lion Roars

It's no secret I enjoy the slew of Hindi films out in the last year or so that feature tough, no nonsense cops as their lead protagonist, from Salman Khan's Chulbul Pandey in Dabangg that started the ball rolling, then Abhishek Bachchan as ACP Vishnu Kamath in Dum Maaro Dum, and now Ajay Devgn too getting into the act as the titular Bajirao Singham. Devgn's star has been shining quite brightly of late, with Raajneeti, Aakrosh and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai from last year that allowed him to flex his acting muscles, and here he goes completely brawny as the cop symbolizing the themes from the lion motif of courage and raw power - even the opening song and dance credits are designed around the lion's roar and paw.

Director Rohit Shetty teams with his preferred leading man Devgn to bring this remake of the Tamil film Singam which had starred Suriya, though in this version it's less of a mano a mano with the main villain Jaikant Shikre, where actor Prakash Raj reprised his villainous role as the chief gangster operating in Goa, whose links with politicians and the upper ranks of the police make him untouchable, so much so that he's responsible for the suicide of an honest officer whom he framed as he was getting too close for comfort in arresting him.

It's interesting to look at the narrative as how a lion got taken out of its den and put into unfamiliar surroundings, forcing it at times into a corner. But like all wild animals, this may result in the animal biting back with increased ferocity. Similar to Chulbul Pandey, Bajirao Singham is a small village cop who represents the law in his hometown through a combination of strength, wisdom and plenty of slow-motion swagger, preferring community policing, and solving the community's problems without smacking down the penal code on offenders. This of course elevates his standing in the village, which comes in useful when he has to summon the big time gangster Jaikant to the station for a conditional bail release.

In what he thought was a promotion for a job well done, Singham gets transferred to the city of Goa, before Jaikant lets loose that it's engineered through the greasing of palms, and now with Singham in Jaikant's town and reach, life becomes a living hell naturally. This toss up between hero and villain forms the bulk of the second half of the film in what would be a simple, straightforward story, made a lot enjoyable through its sheer entertainment value, with really deliberate, over the top action sequences that you'd chuckle at - you know, how one slap can leave a man flying through the air, or how there are many physics-defying moves that would make all would-be villains give up their life of crime when this long arm of the law reaches them. One of the more audacious stunts involves a car flipping through the air while our hero reaches in through the car window and yanking the driver out with one hand, before the car smashes through the ground. Take that, Hollywood!

But all work and no play makes Singham a dull boy as well. In a typical Masala offering, Singham has its fair share of moments away from the pursuit of hoodlums, or goons as the subtitles would have it, for precious romance with Kavya Bhosle (Kajal Aggarwal) and family time both his and hers, and romantic song and dance interludes that are inevitable. Check out the title tune though which is quite reminiscent of Dabangg's exalting song of fearlessness.

It's not all plain action oriented, as I would think some may find it controversial in Singham's unorthodox methods of fighting fire with fire when he discovers the rot in society is something quite beyond one man's ability to combat. I suppose tough cop stories will not go out of fashion from the Indian film industry anytime soon, for its tales of fighting against corruption in all strata and levels of society serving as an outlet in fantasy that can be eradicated completely with the enlistment of help from those who choose to stand up and be counted upon to do the right thing. This becomes that over-arching reminder in the film, despite Singham having to involve questionable methods (which can be easily classified as police brutality in certain countries) as well with the number of belt-whipping scenes, though in all earnestness, politicians such as the ones featured do deserve nothing more than a good smack on the buttocks.

Still, his is a film after all, which allows for our fantasies at having those evil at heart receive their just desserts swiftly and painfully, without too much fuss in going through a system corrupted by the rich and powerful. Singham firmly sets itself as one of my favourites of the year, and it's wishful thinking on my part if Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan can share the screen together once again after London Dreams, to feature two tough police characters in one crossover film. Now that would be a double dose of hard hitting action and no nonsense police action adventure, and villains everywhere better beware! Highly recommended!

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

All Set For A Road Trip

This is what buddy road trip movies are made of, and surprisingly it's helmed by a female director who managed to push all the right buttons at making this work. Zoya Akhtar, whose first film Luck By Chance I had enjoyed tremendously as it took a long and hard look into the workings of Bollywood, reunites her brother Farhan Akhtar and Hrithik Roshan, who together with Abhay Deol form the nucleus whose adventures across Spain we follow due to a pact that's set in motion should one of them was to get married, as part of an extended 3 weeks bachelor's party plan, they were to each choose an adventure sport for everyone to partake in.

Which brings us to plenty of bro-mantic moments as they bond over death-defying stunts, and through the conquering of their fears as a group. Not to mention that the road trip across Spain provides for multiple exotic locations in which this film got shot in. Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti's story also contains enough depth for each character to stand out, presenting skeletons in the closet each must exorcise through their journey of discovery, though deftly avoiding melodrama. What worked is of course the chemistry between the trio of actors as they navigate their joined quest being so natural in their banter, as well as their individual character's conflicts that makes this so engaging to sit through since the challenges in their way are things easy to identify with.

The culprit who had to put the plan in motion is Kabir (Deol), whose proposal to Natasha (Kalki Koechlin) forms the basis in which his friends have to join him in executing their pact. There's the happy-go-lucky copywriter Imran (Farhan Akhtar) who's also the resident joker of the group, as well as the dead serious Arjun (Roshan) the hotshot broker whose sole objective in life is to make money, lots of it. Naturally their friendship get tested early on due to the nature of being in close proximity most of the time, but once the misunderstandings got shelved and the wheels put in motion, there's hardly a wasted scene as subplots wrap themselves up very neatly in the narrative, involving one's quest to search for his long lost father, another's realization there's more to life than work if one were to stop and smell the perennial roses, and one having to confront his doubts and the compromise of one's happiness for the sake of others.

There's the action-adventure level this film delivered, spending considerable time in engaging the casts in their tasks of deep sea diving, sky diving, and one signature activity best kept under wraps for its surprise factor since it ties in very closely to an important plot point. Halfway though there's also the La Tomatina festival, introduced by Laila (Katrina Kaif) their diving instructor and would be romantic interest, as an unplanned detour involving the squishing of a massive amount of tomatoes - one wonders though if the timelines of all activities do gel together so nicely since there were at least two festivals almost back to back with each other.

Hrithik Roshan didn't have much luck at the box office last year with Guzaarish and Kites, but Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara will probably put his career back on track given the meatier role of the trio he got to handle. Farhan Akhtar should act more when he's not directing his own films, while Abhay Deol after this has established himself in my books as one of the character actors to look out for. With great scenic shots and an evergreen story about friendship, camaraderie and life affirming decision making, there's nothing not to like about this film that reminds us of the ties that bind. Highly recommended as it inspires one to come up with a similar pact for a road trip.

Twisted (撞鬼 / Zhuang Gui)

Not Again!

With Blood Ties being a serious thriller in tone, not many will know about writer-director Chai Yee Wei's funny bone which had been a hallmark of his short films, and this time with horror anthologies being popular vehicles for filmmakers to dabble in various aspects of the genre, Yee Wei tackles three distinct stories in his sophomore feature film, boasting a stellar regional cast in his stories that cover the spectrum of horror, comedy and a little bit of action to boot.

Told in a juxtaposed timeline with each segment being self contained, save for Mark Lee's drug dealer character popping up, and an Indian Father and Son team when you least expect, as they feature in all the stories to provide some comic relief. Smaller support caricatures also appear every now and then serving as opportunities for the director to dabble in gaudy humour complete with bawdy references, embedded in the stories to serve as sight gags in the same vein as how Hong Kong "mo-lei-tau" would treat them to milk some laughs irreverent to the plot.

Each of the three vignettes has its own star player where an ensemble cast got built around, and it's not difficult to see why. Mark Lee from Singapore with his characteristic screen swagger opens the first segment as a drug dealer having to collect his new zhng-ed Evo "Wiralution" vehicle, before a call from an ex-girlfriend (Candy Ice) resulted in a meetup that turned nasty, culminating in a deliberate crash along an empty stretch of road. At some point it does venture into Silent Hill territory with Mark's star power amped up to carry the film through its atmospheric build up, and without a doubt the highlights of this segment are its sound design and make up as it goes into overdrive with its extended Man versus Ghoul battle.

Linda Liao is undoubtedly the star of the second segment about a group of flight attendants out for some fun with colleagues played by Cavin Soh and Randall Tan up to no good through the spiking of their drinks. What was planned as a sexual romp turned out to be a series of mishaps with one dead body turning up after another. Perhaps the least ghoulish of the lot, this short enabled Yee wei to get his hands dirty dabbling with gore and close quartered action, though tame by Hollywood standards, with the liberal use of blood and the victim fighting tooth and nail for her life against a determined, though known, unintended killer. Plenty of quick edits were used to fast track the setup within an airplane and the nightclub to bring us to the story proper, and this probably didn't provide audiences with any vested interest in any character, especially the victims, which made this the weakest segment of the lot.

But Yee Wei saved the best for last, in a segment that gave rise to the movie's title. It's probably what's as close as one can get to a local remake of The Exorcist, though in more Oriental terms. We get introduced to an earlier familiar face in Alvin Wong playing the role of a medium who together with his assistant (Brendan Yuen) have scammed more folks than they can remember, until the medium decided to go honest with an opportunity provided by a mother (played by Hong Kong actress Zhu Mimi), whose daughter (Joey Leong, in danger of being typecast with her second role as a possessed woman in as many films directed by Yee Wei) is believed to be possessed what with her constant inexplicable violent behaviour, and fits.

This segment had a fair balance of Yee Wei's comedic and horror forte, with an engaging storyline to boot, boosted by the presence of wonderful performances from the cast, as well as their spot on comic timing. Make up made the pretty lass Joey Leong look more horrific than her first outing in Blood Ties, with strong technical aspects complementing a story that had much more than meets the eye, with some naughty innuendos slipped in for cheeky laughs as well. Alvin Wong is certainly the star here for his well written role, and his pairing with Brendan Yuen turned out to be a certain highlight for their chemistry on screen.

It is in this episode that Yee Wei brings about and draws upon references to the more Oriental ghoulish folklore, where in his debut feature explored that of the significance of the 7th day after someone's passing, and here the belief on the potency of blood from a black dog, as well as the convention of representing ghostly possession through being tip-toed (so that ghouls can slip under the soles of your feet).

From some of the production stills released on the Internet, they may suggest richer, more detailed plotting in the second segment especially with scenes set onboard the jetliner, as well as the hotel involving Benjamin Heng. The third segment, the longest, also probably had a more verbatim explanation to its back story and rationale behind the haunting, but I suppose in the interest of time some scenes would have to be unfortunately shortened. Still, as showreel of sorts, Twisted demonstrates Yee Wei's strengths in crafting spooky tales of different horror sub-genres complete with his comedic touches reminiscent of Hong Kong horror comedies of old, dealing with how karmic retribution works itself into the lives of the wicked.

Bridesmaids

Suit Us Up

Help! I may be losing my sense of humour, which I fear. While many have found The Hangover and its Part 2 really funny, somehow I'd hardly classify them as really being comedies of their respective years since there are padded moments that doesn't do the story any good, while at times having scenes which were really engineered and came across quite artificially. The same goes for Bridesmaids, widely touted to be the female version of that Todd Philips directed series, and in the same vein, suffered a similar fate in having the expected play out as they should, and nothing more.

Not that I'm expecting rocket science, but the story does indeed take a leaf out of The Hangover, borrowing its basic setting of an impending wedding, coupled with a celebrity finale that is as formulaic as how most wedding dinners here are conducted - you get the fanfare introduction of the appetizers, before a rather bland main course topped off by noodles or rice, followed by desserts before everyone forms a beeline for the doors.

Written by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, the latter /who also stars as the leading character Annie, this film could have been labelled as a singular rather than a plural entity, given varying degrees of screen time granted to the rest of the entourage. Annie is that neurotic woman who cannot seem to get her act together, being a flop in her confectionery business, a flop at her sales work, in total disarray for having entered into a f*ck buddy relationship with a rich playboy, and in arrears with her apartment rental. We only know that she's best friends forever with the bride to be Lillian (Maya Rudolph) and has been tasked as the maid of honour, which is where the whole film revolves around.

Not. Despite its wedding theme, there is only a handful of scenes related to the run up to a wedding, such as the fitting out for gowns in an expensive shop which provided some of the best scenes in the film, a bridal shower and of course the expected finale for a film like this. The rest of the scenes felt like glue, being there piece the disparate scenes together so that it can flow from joke to joke. On the jokes front, there's a good mix of verbal jousting and slapstick, which came complete with the obligatory toilet humour, and plenty of potty mouthed characters who think that swearing equates to funny. Obviously some worked while others tanked, with brilliant ideas all utilized in a single setting, leaving mediocre ones to prop up the rest, which was a pity.

The real crux of the film, one which actually made me appreciate and enjoy this a lot more, is its theme of the rich and poor divide given the presence of Helen (Rose Byrne) as the antagonist, being extremely loaded, and for reasons to be unveiled which had nothing to do with Lillian's wedding, if at all, having set up to be Annie's chief rival to be well received, and recognized as Lillian's BFF. It addresses how sometimes money can be used to buy emotions, affections, friendships and all things superficial, but when it comes to the crunch, nothing beats sincerity and a keen interest without having baggage such as ulterior motives. Sure there were a couple of engineered scenes to bring this up in not so subtle terms, but I guess when used in the context of weddings from the female perspective, meaningful things can be built without the need to always resort to material wealth, though of course the latter, together with personal connections, sometimes help, and that's the ugly truth.

Surprisingly the story was allowed to wander all over the place, to allow Annie to get involved romantically with a cop (Chris O'Dowd) naturally in contrast to her f*ck buddy, but also to provide some comic relief no matter how brief those moments actually became. I suppose no flick chick can entirely omit this aspect in a film with the absence of that proverbial Prince Charming type, so O'Dowd served the purpose complete with his Irish accent used to sound exotic and to provide a very small talking point in the film. A trip to Las Vegas got set up as well but for all the fanfare expectation, everything got centered around the airplane journey which was included in the trailer, and somehow overstayed its welcome.

If only the film had avenues to bring in the other bridesmaids, especially Ellie Kemper and Wendi McLendon-Covey into the picture, it would have been more inclusive since they won't fade away as unimportant, disposable caricatures. Even Melissa McCarthy had it lucky to have a jarring, comeback moment of sorts to engage the audience directly, being the equivalent of Zach Galifianakis in his turn in The Hangover though less annoying, to literally slap some sense to the protagonist and preach ideals and values to the audience out there. It's a pep talk alright about self confidence and self pity, mildly amusing though not contributing much to the story anyhow.

Still, the film lived up to its marketing billing of The Hangover equivalent for the female crowd, and it shows, despite venturing into gross out territory centered in and around a bridal shop, which personally contained the best moments of the film. Call me crass but at least my laughter was sustained in that setting alone, which bumps this film to Recommended status.

A Beautiful Life (不再让你孤单)

It Sure Is Beautiful

Can Andrew Lau, better known for his Infernal Affairs movies, cop dramas and action films, deliver an outright romantic movie? Sure, as A Beautiful Life shows, although riddled with enough genre cliches compensated by an amazing timeline for the narrative to develop, more than watching a couple develop in thier love for each other from a chance meeting until the standard happy ending - it's meant for the Chinese market after all, so I suppose it has to stay within the confines that all will be well no matter how bleak everything can become.

As far as romantic movies go, this one's pretty ambitious in its timeline and narrative development, that it is almost akin to watching the natural progression of a relationship that worked, although for a romantic film, you'd sort of figure a life threatening disease kicking in at some point in order to play up the main theme of sacrifice, a cornerstone for something unconditional. In a tale of two halves, it shows how one party demonstrates that level of care and concern for the other, before tables get turned in almost a reciprocal manner, though you might add that one of the two probably drew the shorter end of the stick.

Another Hong Kong-China co-production, A Beautiful Life follows the life of Li Peiru (Shu Qi in her umpteenth romantic role of her career), a real estate agent who's perpetually drunk, in a relationship with her married boss in the hopes that she can stay in Beijing and lead the life of a tai tai. Well not quite, since she's emotionally miserable almost all of the time. She chances upon Fang Zhendong (Liu Ye), an honest cop who's the immaculate do-gooder, all round Chinese hero of sorts who inevitably falls for the free spirited lass.

As subplots to beef up the narrative, there's the brotherly love between Zhendong and his autistic brother Zhencong (Tian Liang) where the latter is also engaged in his own romantic dalliances with the mute girl Xiaowan (Feng Danying), where this almost blissful couple is in stark contrast to the more testy one between Peiru and Zhendong. And when I mean testy, it's that perennial test of trust and leap of faith where Zhendong goes against the warnings of his blind confidante (played by Anthony Wong no less) when Zhendong coughs out hundreds of thousands of dollars to sponsor Peiru's dream of opening up her own shop.

Seriously, the movie really dragged on and the finale was something that failed to man up, opting for the cop out to sooth audience's expectations rather than to follow through with its own intent involving unfortunate demise. Perhaps it really played to the points of one not having to be afraid when being with the one you love, or if you were to want to read it a little deeper, it's a socio-political suck up made where China stands as big brother despite its flaws, looking after the rogue entities who embrace various frowned upon vices, only to be seen ever ready to embrace them back into the fold, and show them the route to eternal happiness as one big family.

What made this work though happened to be the incredible chemistry between Shu Qi and Liu Ye especially, playing stock characters with aplomb that made their romance believable. One of the scenes that stood out was an incredibly long, single take where the duo had to walk down an extended walkway, one being piss drunk while the other constantly being that pillar of support, engaging in honest conversation that I would have shuddered to think about the effort that went behind making this one take possible. Cinematography was also top notch in this film capturing the hustle and bustle of the city, in contrast against the more serene villages, though this should come as no surprise given the director's background.

The Chinese title for A Beautiful Life underwent a change from the literal translation of the English title, to the more oomph filled one that reads a vow not to let the other party be lonely. And in some ways it's a more fitting title given the way things progressed between the characters in their give and take, and ambitious melodrama in wanting to cover the different stages, progression and development in a couple's love life. And that with their family as well.

Wu Xia (武侠)

Tranquility

What's strongest in this film isn't the martial arts action sequence, or the much talked about Sichuan accent that versatile actor Takeshi Kaneshiro adopts in his role as a detective seeking to unearth the truth behind a peasant paper maker Liu Jun Xi played by Donnie Yen. Rather it's the art house sensibilities that director Peter Ho-Sun Chan fuses in the film that makes it a cut above the average martial arts movie, pretty much focused on characters, motivations, and plenty of drama about family and karma hidden behind an investigative narrative providing a more scientific approach to fantasy.

The opening shot establishes Peter Chan's intent to want to be different, with little nuances put into roles, and a painstakingly beautiful set design and art direction to introduce us to Liu and his family, with wife Ayu (Tang Wei) and two children, living quiet, almost anonymous lives until two robbers enter their village to rob a provision store, and Liu finding it hard not to lend a hand to a fellow villager in need. It's the classic top pugilist whose retirement plans of tranquility getting cut short no thanks to circumstances that spell trouble where trouble got attracted to them like bees to flowers, and for that innate chivalrous spirit to be unleashed, with expected consequences. Yes some quarters equate this to History of Violence, and to a certain extent, it undeniably does possess parallels.

Elevated to a folk hero in the village where praises get sung in his name, the detective Xu Bai Jiu (Kaneshiro) enters the scene for an autopsy and to examine the crime scene, only for his suspicion to be piqued that Liu may be more than meets the eye, perhaps even one of three most notorious wanted men he had been pursuing. Here's where the story shows off its flash of brilliance, with flawed characters providing added depth to characterization and story, keeping your interest level up as we discover how Xu's a little schizophrenic in his investigative approach, constantly communicating with his alter ego and we get to see some CG animated body internals sort of like the way Guy Ritchie treated his Sherlock Holmes, with dalliances to the question of is Liu or isn't Liu the powerful pugilist as Xu's investigations have made him out to be.

Takeshi Kaneshiro continues in similar vein with his Zhuge Liang character in having to form an uneasy camaraderie with his skilled counterpart, where in Red Cliff was with Tony Leung's Zhou Yu, here it's with Donnie Yen's Liu as investigations gets underway to try and coax something out of the latter. Yen has ample time producing some rarely seen acting chops thanks to a role that requires duality, and also showing he's no pushover when it comes to fighting in front of the camera, and taking on the directing responsibility to choreograph the action as well. And to balance the testosterone level of the movie, Tang Wei takes on the role of a demure wife who also bore some dark secrets from her past, but unfortunately this aspect remained largely vague and not as well explored, as is Kaneshiro's detective when he goes back to seek assistance from his estranged wife (Li Xiao Ran) in a one scene wonder/wander.

In a tale of two jarring halves suddenly remembering that it needed some cornerstone token villains, in come the legendary kung fu stars such as Wang Yu (the one armed swordsman being paid an obvious homage in this film), and Kara Hui who has seen a renewed lease in her career after an award winning turn on Ho Yuhang's film At the End of Daybreak. Both return to their martial arts roots which were hallmarks of their heydays, and it's really a pity how as villains they don't get much of a respect they deserve having to come back to the silver screen (especially for Wang Yu), portraying mean looking, ass kicking caricatures to give our heroes a run for their money.

Both were severely underutilized, but there is little doubt about their screen charisma when they finally appear to further the plot. Kara Hui was there solely for some of the set action pieces like a rooftop chase (not again), and between the two, it's of course Wang Yu who got the better deal portraying a Bane like brute, and I thought his heft with age provided plenty of gravitas and weight as the gangster chief who's not to be trifled with, providing the film a much needed climax and proceeding at breakneck speed toward the finale fight which pitted science against fantasy, in some ways how modern day mechanics trounced martial arts, though you get the idea employed here, the execution left much to be desired, since all it could elicit wasn't a sense of brilliance, but unintended comedy involving the much dreaded Deus Ex Machina, yet in some ways keeping in line with the notion of karmic retribution, albeit very literally.

Perhaps it was the weight of expectations that a movie titled Wu Xia would provide something more from an action front, and some may have gone to the extent to call this a redefinition of the martial arts genre through scientific methods and explanation. I thought that would really be stretching it, with big battles few and far between, the spotlight clearly centered on its story and characterization instead.