Midnight in Paris

Entering the Twilight Zone

I have to confess I've only picked up on Woody Allen's work faithfully from Match Point onwards, just about the time he was getting out of his New York comfort zone and putting his stories into his European sojourn, except that distributors here didn't quite buy into meeting a tall dark stranger. But no fret since Midnight in Paris captures everything superficially wonderful about the city of lights, in an opening montage that brings us to almost every piece of tourist attraction on offer, before deep diving into one of the best Woody Allen offerings in recent years.

It's a romantic comedy of sorts, the kind that Allen excels in creating, and we join the couple Inez (Rachel McAdams) and Gil played by Owen WIlson, the latter whose writer character would have been played by Wooden Allen himself being Woody Allen in a film once upon a time, talky and full of wit. In Paris on the graces of Inez's parents John (Kurt Fuller) and Helen (Mimi Kennedy), what would have been an awesome period of time spent in the romantic city was quickly ruined by the arrival of Inez's friends Paul (Michael Sheen) and Carol (Nina Arianda), especially since it's so obvious that Inez holds a candle to Paul's intellect, at the expense of almost always putting down Gil, who feels threatened by the presence of another man in her life, one who seem to be able to capture the imagination and attention of his girlfriend.

Departing from the group who decided to go dancing, Gil's drunken trek around the streets of Paris at night inexplicably led him to the 20s, where he encounters many literary and artistic greats, such as F Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston) and Zelda Fitzgerald (Alison Pill), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) and in multiple midnight strolls waiting for that antiqued car to come pick him up, other personalities which give rise to plenty of casting cameos, such as Josephine Baker (Sonia Rolland), Juan Belmonte (Daniel Lundh), Gertrude Stein (Kathy Bates) whom he had read his draft manuscript for his next novel, Salvador Dali (Adrien Brody), Pablo Picasso (Marcial Di Fonzo Bo) and his muse of the moment, the lovely Adriana (Marion Cotillard), with whom Gil forms a strong bond with, and in a way puts him off course from his own girlfriend.

It's quite clear that this is a tale about chances, and of people who don't know they are currently unhappy with their love lives, and are seeking an outlet of some sorts for emotional release. It's about people who subconsciously can't stand their present and want to escape from it, and what more than to enter a period of nostalgia, and fantasize about being one amongst our idols and heroes. In this case, cracks between Gil and Inez are quite pronounced, with the mounting tension and suspicion brought on by the presence of Paul, especially when comparisons begin and the crystal clarity in their differences in temperament and character, which if not for Gil's success in his career raking both fame and fortune, would have been doomed from the start, if it ever took off in the first place. Gil enters this zone of bliss to be amongst those he aspires to be one day. And with Adriana, a romantic rendezvous each night proves to be quite a pull factor.

Owen Wilson becomes almost like a Woody Allen avatar in the way his mannerisms in the film pick up from the usual characters that Allen plays, while yet possessing enough of the Wilson persona's cheekiness, especially in the final third of the film where he discovers Adriana's journal in the present day, and looked for clues as to how a potential relationship between him and her could have developed. Marion Cottilard of course scores as the damsel who's tired of the kind of treatment from men like Picasso and even Hemingway, and like Paul, epitomizes that similar down and out feeling that creates similar zones into which to escape to, bringing together some fantastic, science fiction like moments in this story that will thrill any writer or avid reader when the ensemble cast take on roles of famous people from the past.

Allen's truly back to form here with a story that's brilliantly written, with fine dialogue and structure, and bringing out the best of mimicry from his cast of many, starting from having Owen Wilson talk and walk very much like his persona, if not himself, being the central mouthpiece in this film. And look out for Carla Bruni too in quite a major supporting role as the Museum Guide to whom Gil goes to for a little help with some French translation. Highly recommended!

It's Milla Jovovich!

Active on Twitter, I thought I would respond to Milla Jovovich's tweet calling for anyone to ask her questions since she had time in between a long drive to the new Resident Evil movie set, and being "on n off" to do just that.

So in between having to restart her phone and the reading and responding to hundreds, if not thousands of tweet requests and questions, lo and behold I got a reply! And even though as I found out later that she's been asked this question before, and had shown pics and videos of those weapons in her earlier tweets.

Sweet!

And if you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet, follow Milla Jovovich on Twitter just to keep tabs on all the interesting stuff that's happening on the Resident Evil set right now. 14 September 2012 can't come soon enough!

[Encore Screening] Ignore All Detour Signs

Let's Rock This Joint Once More

One of the earliest, if not THE earliest Singapore film to be sold out at this year's Singapore International Film Festival, I had so much fun during that world premiere screening, and the rest of the audience as well, that an encore screening was organized and scheduled at Sinema Old School this evening, again with the filmmakers Helmi Ali and Razin Ramzi, and the band members of I Am David Sparkle - Amran Khamis, Djohan Johari, Farizwan Fajari and Zahir Sanosi - in attendance.

I had said I had "Seen possibly THE best film of SIFF SG Panorama" before, and after watching it for the second time, I'm even more affirmative in sticking to my guns, with the documentary film introducing the band to a new batch of audience tonight, and I can safely say to a new set of admirers as well by the time the end credits rolled by with the band in top form on screen performing their closing set during the launch of their sophomore album Swords.

You can click here to read my review of the film, and here for the Q&A session conducted right after the World Premiere screening during SIFF2011. Otherwise, this was tonight's post-screening Q&A proceedings:


Part 1 of 3


Part 2 of 3


Part 3 of 3

Whatever you do and wherever you are, if you do know that IADS - the movie Ignore All Detour Signs, and/or the band I Am David Sparkle; they share same initials if you're not already aware - is coming to town or being featured in a gig or screening, drop whatever you have scheduled and make a beeline to get tickets. You'll not regret it.


RELATED LINKS
- Ignore All Detour Signs Official Movie Website
- Facebook Page

Band's:
- Facebook http://www.facebook.com/iamdavidsparkle
- Twitter http://www.twitter.com/davidsparkle
- Youtube http://www.youtube.com/iamdavidsparkle
- Website http://www.iamdavidsparkle.com
- MySpace http://www.myspace.com/iamdavidsparkle

- KittyWu Records http://www.kittywurecords.com

Fairytales (童话 / Tong Hua)

Who You Calling Girlie?

Despite being meant for children, there's a fair amount of horror in fairytales, with Evil that has to exist to be battled by Good, which almost always come out triumphant, but not before a bruising fight. In Kelvin Sng's Fairytales, the princes and princesses – children - of today's society face that question head on whether to obey the rules put forth by authorities, be it the teachers or their parents, or to be seduced by the constant lure of comradeship, and the quick path to some form of material wealth. Like children let loose into the paradise of Eden, which in this case the trio of Jason (Royston Ong), Amanda (Siona Wu-Murphy) and Guna (Yogendra Santhiran) are enticed by the devilish owner, friendly, charismatic and all round nice guy at first of course, operating the LAN game shop aptly called Promise LAN, which is in truth a front for a whole slew of clandestine activities such as movie piracy and loansharking, as well as being the hunting ground for a shady modelling agency.

Granted that films involving troubled youths are nothing new in Singapore's film landscape, with movies such as Eating Air, I Not Stupid and its sequel, and The Days all touching in and around similar themes, and continues to be a keen reflection of today's reality where we're always focused on grades, results, paper, and material wealth. There's a short interlude that took off midway with the ubiquitous taxi-driver character, a given in local films, to talk about rising costs of living and how it impacts everyone save the filthy rich here, and how foreigners (of the well heeled variety) are in constant praise of how glossy everything on the surface looks. It's an interesting theme to explore but I guess this probably served as a teaser to Kelvin's next film, hopefully a feature length one after two mid-length movies, with The Gang being more of a showreel containing the more interesting scenes in what would be a feature length film concept.

Being an educator himself in the past, I suppose it's Kelvin's way how art decides to take the bull known as the educational system by the horns, and present stories more often than not being heard around tables to recount experiences by family and friends. In this case the youths all come from dysfunctional families, such as Jason who's a studious latchkey child with good grades, but without the attention given by busy parents whose focus is on their careers, the constant nagging of Guna's who measure the kid solely on his grades and not for the person he is, and Amanda's constant changing of boyfriend like her underwear, coming from broken home, with the mother (Leena Salim) who doesn't bat an eyelid to move onto new husbands so long as they're wealthier than the previous.

These are the deep undertones and issues Kelvin Sng brought up in his medium length feature, boldly entrusting his cast of relative newcomers to the big screen with portraying kids they know exist, and trying to give them more than one-dimension as characters, which the runtime didn't work in its favour. The narrative moves at a breezy pace, constantly shuffling from scene to scene with the story developing in very much expected turns, with cameo appearances by industry veterans and stars such as Chen Shu Cheng as a coffeeshop uncle dispensing last minute advice, and Maia Lee doing a complete turnaround as a geeky looking, and very frustrated teacher both in class where she commands little respect, and from the pressures of juggling the needs of her own household.

Perhaps the more poignant scenes come at the end – I dig the one at the dining table - where we usually tend to wake up from our dreams and ideas and desperately try to make good a situation that is already spilled milk, in dire straits. The film turns it around and looks pointedly at the parents, who always have that primary role to play in shaping their children's principles and values, but negligence, and wrong focus and priority in their lives, only serve as stark reminders to viewers being parents themselves, not to wait until it's too late to do something they know needed their attention on. It's a film that deals with and is about choices presented, where there's almost always a light at the end of a tunnel of a wrong turn, but only available to those who decide to become and stay engaged early on. Recommended!

Dream House

Oh The Horror!

For those in tune with tabloid fodder, this is the film that brought Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz together, and this closeness got translated on screen as they play husband and wife with two beautiful children who have uprooted themselves from the bustle of the city and settled for a quiet suburban area. From the poster alone you may think you're in a for one heck of a creepy supernatural horror film given the creepy looking kids blending in with the wallpaper of the titular house, but this was one great misnomer, coupled with the fact that director Jim Sheridan and his leading cast have boycotted what was the final cut of the film when it was wrestled from the director's control, so as with all troubled productions, the final film bore the brunt of that falling out, and it tells.

If you are really keen to watch the movie anyhow, then do yourself a favour and skip the trailer. You have to, because this poorly made trailer committed two grave mistakes in imagining things not in the film such as its relentless focus and edit in making one think it's a horror film complete with boo scares at every turn, and worse, revealed a crucial plot point of the story, which made it extremely plodding for those waiting for that particular reveal to show itself so that the film can then continue on for them. Granted there were a little bit more twists and turns in store for the final act, though now they become an exercise of futility just waiting to happen, and didn't come off as much of a surprise anyway since the bulk of the game was already out of the bag.

Daniel Craig plays Will Atenton, an aspiring writer who leaves his day job in order to relocate with his family to spend more quality time with them, as well as to work on his greatest novel. And what more can a man ask for with a perfect wife Libby (Rachel Weisz), perfect children Trish and Dee Dee (Taylor Geare and Claire Geare respectively) and a perfect, beautiful house to live in. And the narrative really took a lot of pain to paint this picture of the perfect life, that is until a shadowy figure started appearing in the front lawn, with inexplicable situations like a car trying to run Will down starting to increase in number and frequency, leaving Will no choice but to do a little bit of personal sleuthing that led to the discovery of just who he really was, with the narrative then switching gears to discover whether Will was insane, or wrongly accused.

Like many shows that featured spirits in them, Dream House follows the mold of having a whodunnit mystery placed into its story, for the viewer to be actively engaged during the sifting through of red herrings, and the protagonist either having to encounter spirits that inevitably assist him in his quest for truth, or impede him by scaring everyone away. Or at least that was the intent and the potential. What happened was a sad state of affairs with a very ordinary narrative void of any scares promised, and came off as more of a mystery, not even a thriller, that took its time to unfold. And with the small number of characters, you'll be able to guess in a jiffy just who the guilty party is. You can probably see shades of Jim Sheridan's intent for a montage of sequences that probably got included by way of being already shot, but alas, that vision he had was not to be.

Which is a pity, since this film boasted a strong cast of Craig, Weisz and severely underutilized actors in Elias Koteas who had so much promise to be so much more menacing, and in Naomi Campbell who stars as Will's neighbour who seemed to be ever so interested in Will's state of affairs and may hold they key to the secret he is looking for. Ultimately it is not that bad a film, if one can consider a pretty average fare with ruined twists done in by its own promotional reel, which held so much prospect in being a psychological mind-bender under a proper director's hands, rather than to become a by product of what could have been no thanks to politicking.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Small Foot Fetish

There are a few reasons why I decided to watch Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, and for starters it's an international film directed by Wayne Wang for a story set in both Old and Modern day China, with leads from Taiwan, Korea and Australia speaking in two languages and playing two characters from different timelines, exploring a strong friendship that existed and was sustained through secret letter exchange like penpals. While production values are strong in recreating an era already bygone, and not painting modern day Shanghai in too romantic overtones, the film somehow lacked a certain punch to really ring home its emotions, resulting in a rather featherweight film that turned out to be average despite its production arsenal.

Which is a pity since it's directed by Wayne Wang, based upon the novel by Lisa Lee, which tells of the friendship between Nina (Li Bingbing) and her good friend Sophia (Gianna Jun) who have both drifted apart, from their firm friendship forged since their teenage years, by the time we meet them in modern day Shanghai, with the former scheduled to go to New York to head a bank branch courtesy of an opportunity given by her CEO (Russell Wong), and the latter scheduled to go down south to Australia to follow her boyfriend Arthur (Hugh Jackman), a pub owner operating a chain in China. An accident befalls Sophia and in her state of unconsciousness, Nina begins to read up on Sophia's titular work, which is in a way is based on her ancestor, and in uncanny terms also seemed to mirror the relationship of Nina and Sophia.

So we flash back to 19th century China, where girls of various classes are subjected to bound feet - an excruciating process to keep one's feet under 3 inches in length, a symbol of female perfection that involves the crushing of bones and blister formation no thanks to tight cloth binding all toes tightly into the foot, and in a way force a very dainty sashay each time the woman has to walk, assisted most of the time. The so-called Three Inch Golden Lotus foot is much sought after by noblemen with foot fetishes, which means an automatic ticket out of poverty, a passport to a good life, but not always. Snow Flower (Gianna Jun again) and Lily (Li Bingbing in her second role) are born to different families of opposite fortunes, and being brought up by a matchmaker who made them "laotong", or a sworn sister equivalent, we see their different fortunes when they get matchmade off to different husbands, with Lily having the advantage for bearing the perfect feet.

It's a story about the women of the times, these strong, sisterhood bonds and their secret communication with each other through secret messages written in the Xu Nu script, which involves rhyming couplets, and are thought to girls who are brought up under this system, where they will have a sister and companion for life. In the olden days this seemed more like a lifelong support system where the girls would frequently visit each other and be each other's confidante, and the significance of these bonds were to be replicated by the modern girls of Nina and Sophia. On one hand the modern girls' take on this seemed to be more of a one-upmanship against the other in who loves (with slight lesbian undertones) who more, only for them to realize that it's about being in for the long haul, and that living up to those laotong vows isn't easy, with intentions easily misinterpreted, especially when it's deemed one party is taking pity on the other, be it work opportunities, romance or material wealth.

Wayne Wang lays the narrative out in a very flat structure, almost linear too despite the jumps back in time, since the events occurring in parallels between the two timelines cannot be more pronounced, akin to a story within a story within a story in its plot development. While it had the promise of exploring the ritual of feet binding, this is unfortunately not that film, with that behaviour being little more than a plot device rather than a potent plot point examining that ritual in more detail. And it does seem that the actresses were most of the time finding themselves balancing in extremely high heels to give the illusion of bound feet through their wobbly walk, and sometimes you may catch a moment or two when a heel gets spotted.

But what seemed more of a challenge, was the requirement to speak two languages. Li Bingbing was the best amongst the rest, being equally comfortable in English as she is in Mandarin. The decision to cast Gianna Jun is a mystery, since her character requires her to speak in English, which she does OK in, but Mandarin? Only the simple phrases were fine, but the out-of-sync mouth movement when lines of dialogue got more complex only seemed to irritate when someone else dubbed over her lines which I'm not surprised is spoken in English, or Korean even. Hugh Jackman too wanted to get into the act, and found himself singing an English version of a Chinese song, before belting it out in Mandarin himself, which got worst by each line of lyrics, but you do have to give the man full marks for effort, and not being embarrassed in severely butchering the language.

Still, this is a Wayne Wang film, and that should warrant a watch even if the story is quite ordinary and didn't do a deep dive, but boasting a cast that you'll probably won't see being combined in the same film anytime again soon.

The Thing

Burn Baby Burn

You have to salute the filmmakers for not falling into the trend and bucking the norm of taking something from the past, and remaking it. It's a no brainer to adapt from an idea and film from the past, and provide an updated spin of what we've already seen, from A Nightmare on Elm Street to Friday the 13th to just almost any horror film you can think of, save a few untouchable classics. So the next best thing, and a gutsy move by writer Eric Heisserer and director Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., is to expand a John Carpenter universe, adding their take on what could have happened prior to the events of the 1982 film The Thing, making this film of the same name a prequel that can be put side by side for an extended The Thing film, keeping even the Universal logo of the 80s during the opening reel, and ending with a direct lead into the next film.

To a certain degree, watching this if you have already watched the earlier film, is like witnessing an investigative drama unfold with its plot development having to steer itself into what has already been established as canon by John Carpenter, with certain characters and creatures having to bite the dust in a certain way at a certain place to ensure consistency and continuity. This meant that the filmmakers have had their hands tied with regards to the amount of creative license they can play with without making the Carpenter film seem out of place, or worst, not fit into what would be in the future. It had its own set of characters led by female Paleontologist Kate Llyod, played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, in what would be a typical tough as cookie female warrior forced by circumstances to do battle with an alien life-form hell bent on cannibalizing identities before devouring and grotesquely fusing with its earthly host.

Creature design wise it would not have been something not already seen before, with an amalgamation of effects that borrowed from films like the Alien franchise, with bursting bodies and limbs complete with nasty tentacles that rip into humans to puncture and bleed, although at times from certain angles and shots the monsters do look like oversized vaginas with nasty teeth. But creepiness plays a major factor here especially when you realize any human when being fed upon, is actually consciously aware of being so, coupled with another major theme of human distrust exploited by the alien to the highest order, since it can adopt a look and feel of anyone, thereby causing suspicion amongst the human ranks, and deep rooted fears that one's friend, partner and neighbour can turn out to be more than meets the eye.

Ultimately in its eagerness to set the tone and explore a lot more in the John Carpenter universe, it did go a tad overboard with its science fiction component rather than to stay rooted to its monster film genre, going into where Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull did as well that made it the single biggest flaw in the entire franchise. Here it was rather unnecessary if not to show off what the special effects team can do, which it already did through the myriad of creatures that come to attack the sanity of the human survivors fighting to weed out all alien life-form with guns and flame throwers. Now to pick up the DVD of the original John Carpenter film and continue where this film had last left off.

You can read my review of The Thing at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

Hosaywood DVD Launch

Hosaywood DVD launch: Meet the Filmmaker
Oct 18, Tue, 730pm
Books Actually, 9 Yong Siak Street, Tiong Bahru, S16864

Named as one of Singapore’s most exciting young filmmakers by The Straits Times Life!, Jacen Tan’s collection of short films like Tak Giu (Kick Ball), Zo Gang (Go Work) and Kwa Giu (Watch Football) have gained a cult following due to its Singaporean context. Meet Jacen and also pick up a copy of his DVD at this meet-the-filmmaker session!

You can read my review of the DVD here!

You Are the Apple of My Eye (那些年，我们一起追的女孩 / Na Xie Nian, Wo Men Yi Qi Zhui De Nu Hai)

Everything I Do, I Do It For You

Going by statistics, I'm probably at the halfway point of my lifespan, and looking at the shortlist of my favourite films of this year, a pattern can be spotted with the tremendous enjoyment of films that focuses on a period of time of first love and youth, with that look back at nostalgia and pondering upon a lot of what ifs, and not to sound like a desperado, especially with the lack of a functional romantic life through a combination of choice as well as rued chances. Simply put, the one who got away is so pronounced in this film that it'll bring a tear in your eye if you have experienced something similar at any point in your life.

Based upon the story by Taiwanese writer-now-turned-director Giddens, whose autobiographical novel was adapted by himself into this film version, You Are the Apple of My Eye had successfully reached out and grabbed me by the throat with its many identifiable, similar moments mirroring personal experiences, at a time where school and education played a big part, and what more with co-ed schools, having friends and facing competition in going after the girl of our dreams then, who almost always turns out to be the popular school flower. Sad but true facts of life, and with game theory, anyone would have been better off with the friends of the object of our affection such as Hu Chia-Wei (Wan Wan) who turned out really well despite her less than stellar looks and knowledge (though things always change in the future for the better, like fine wine), rather than the primary, unattainable target herself, whose bookish behaviour came off very prim and proper with an unrelenting focus on school results.

But Fate always possess a hand at springing up surprises, and in Gidden's chief protagonist Ko Ching-Teng (Ko Chen-Tung) who of course is his avatar in the film, this comes in the form of the popular schoolgirl Shen Jia-Yi (Michelle Chan from Hear Me) who inexplicably takes a strong liking for someone she initially detests for being too childish, but an episode of standing up for her became a catalyst for a budding relationship to grow, stemming from the desire to help Ching-Teng improve his grades, as well as the implicit result of having a studying companion to spur her on, friendly competition and a protector of sorts in her late nights spent in school. Then there is the keen competition from Ching-Teng's own clique of likeable, though one-dimensional buddies, from the nerd Boner (Yen Sheng-Yu), the obligatory fatty A-Ho (Steven Hao), the bragger (Owodog) and the weirdo Groin (Tsai Chang-Hsien) with his repertoire of strange tricks up his sleeves, who each have their own way at courtship, to varying degrees of failure, trying as hard as they can to try and win her affections.

Broadly split into three areas in a young adult's life with the time spent in school between two friends who share an unwritten and unsaid declaration of their mutual affection, to post high school graduation into higher learning and the long distance put between them as the test of their relationship, and the period of the present, Giddens firmly helmed all aspects of the film and orchestrated a flowing and slick ensemble, successfully merging many different genres together, from wacky comedy to romance, and having the natural flair to pull off some of the most absurd (though not far fetched in real life) of situations especially those involving body parts and those containing plenty of innuendos to bring out the laughs (seriously, the soap bar is not an urban myth it seems), and at times presenting them for the keen eyed viewer whose eyes wander to the background of a scene, and being rewarded with sight gags.

Since the narrative unravels itself during the 90s, those like me who grew up during the era will find a lot of strong nostalgia from the production design right down to a walk down memory lane given a backdrop of historical events, or in a period of time where the mobile phone hardly has the proliferation and pervasiveness of today. Those long, snaking queues of people waiting for a payphone, bring back fond memories in really sweating it out to want to speak to a loved one until being goaded to let go or when the coins run out, and of course with advancement in phone technology being able to butt in just to hear a loved one at the end of the line post-disaster, is nothing more than comforting, though only when there is adequate signal strength.

Being a Taiwanese film, language plays a key role here especially when Hokkien gets into play, with the very colourful, familiar swear words used that will undoubtedly provide a certain kick to movie audiences here. The rich use of the language also helps to flavour the film especially with the very authentic, natural lines of dialogue, making the characters believable. Also, the rating for the film at NC16 is something of an indication of a loosening up of classification perhaps, where once sustained use of vulgarities, male on male lip locks regardless of context, and the many scenes of sex and masturbation (stylized for comedy) will likely get nothing less than an M18, but I suppose given the context of the film's setting dealing with hot blooded male characters, as well as the film being so well received in its home country, that it will be silly to try and artificially restrict its pool of audience from enjoying what is essentially a simple, yet effect story being translated for the big screen.

In some ways Giddeon's film is like Ah Niu's directorial debut effort Ice Kacang Puppy Love which is also a story about first love and peppered with quirky characters, but if the story comes from a sincere heart recounting one's own experience despite a very universal theme, I truly believe everyone's first love story will be something worth recounting given its bittersweet moments, and the lessons to be learn from it. You Are the Apple of My Eye will warm your heart and wring it with regret at the same time especially if you're able to identify with the story. It made me ponder over my own similar What If scenario, in the way parallel universes worked itself into the story, and its reconciliatory tone was something cutting very close to home, of how people change, and when we look back we're probably seeing very different persons from that point in time, when compared with who we are today.

Highly recommended and it goes into my shortlist as one of the best this year has to offer. Whatever you do, do not miss this when it bows into theatres starting November! And stay right through during the end credits for a coda, and right to the end for an outtake.

Update 12 October 2011: I came across this quote before that I remember and which I thought was very poignant and apt since it fit so well into this film - "if I say I'm sorry, it means I value our relationship more than my ego" - Pride sometimes get in the way of common sense and sincerity, and if it does, I'm pretty sure one can kiss goodbye to any relationship, and torpedo all goodwill built up.

[Visions of the East: Asia through French Eyes] The 317th Platoon (La 317ème Section)

Smoke While You Can

The National Museum of Singapore Cinematheque continues in its provision of specially curated film programme with a special focus of Asia being seen through French cinema, with screenings and talks being organized around the theme, which you can find out more about at their website here. The 317th Platoon piqued my interest for being a war film made by filmmakers who have actually walked the talk and experiencing the conflict themselves, and you can just about trust director Pierre Schoendoerffer and renowned French cinematographer Raoul Coutard to bring about a film of cinematic quality even when dealing with what I deem as a taboo subject for French filmmakers, since the era of the French-Vietnam war in the 50s is something rarely seen put on film, with this being an exception, and a stunning one at that.

And with screenings at the Cinematheque you can just about trust the programmers to hunt down the perfect version of the film to be put on screen, this being the restored film by La Cinematheque francaise and by StudioCanal in collaboration with The Franco-American Cultural Fund, cleaned up from its pops, cackles and whistles to bring about an exceptionally beautiful presentation that does justice to Coutard's cinematography, one that is restored with the assistance of the filmmakers themselves, in a process detailed at the beginning before the opening credits. Filmed in Cambodia with help extended by Prince Norodom Sihanouk, it brings about one of the best war stories ever told in the extended Vietnam War from the French point of view, which is rare in itself, and sucker punches its peers, especially those done by Hollywood, set around the same era.

Told in a day by day account, we follow the titular platoon who got ordered to abandon their fortified position in order to retreat southwards, but little do they know that once out of their comfort zone, they're plunged right into warfare with the enemy Vietminh soldiers hot on their heels, turning into a cat and mouse pursuit of trying to gain the upperhand against the enemy rather than to constantly be on the run. It's the time where the winds of change in Indochina see the Viet Minh soldiers relentlessly pushing the French troops from their soil, even urging their brothers on the side of the French to mutiny and betray their Caucasian commanders, who are headed by quite the inept military commander lacking savvies of warfare.

Its portrayal of war is something that only those who have gone through warfare or at least some basic military training will be able to ascertain how accurate things got portrayed, from the fullpack inspection (which uncovered a tied up piglet!) to how commanders aren't sometimes the most experienced or smart on the battlefield, with the warrant officers, specialists and men, in this case, the locals, being shown to have more courage, loyalty and all round shrewdness in fighting an non-fightable war given being grossly outnumbered to begin with. Many situations put on screen undoubtedly come from the director Pierre Schoendoerffer having witnessed how it's conducted and having their fair share of experiences on the battlefield, and this helped to translate authenticity to the movie despite having to shoot in very harsh environments.

In black and white which contributed to its very stark, gritty and no nonsense imagery to war and its horrors, The 317th Platoon also takes a look at warfare itself and how it impacts the most immediate soldiers who have to partake in it, following orders to a T in order to survive as a group. Quintessential war film themes like courage and camaraderie also feature prominently, with Coutard's cinematography putting the audience into the thick of the action as if one of the troops listening to orders, and executing combat movement with the rest.

If you'd think Oliver Stone's Platoon, Brian De Palma's Casualties of War and Randall Wallace's We Were Soldiers are some of the best about the Vietnam War put on film, then you surely must get your hands on this to have a go at what would be a presentation outside of Hollywood, and a Franch one at that which served as the pre-cursor of events to everything else aforementioned. Recommended!

[Call for Entries] 3rd Singapore Short Film Awards 2012‏

Singapore Short Film Awards 2012
Presented by The Substation, Co-organised by Objectifs

The 3rd Singapore Short Film Awards is back! We are now accepting entries for the 2012 Singapore Short Film Awards. The deadline for submissions is Friday 4 November 2011. If you have made a short film, no longer than 30 minutes, in 2010/2011, but screened publicly only in 2011, we want to see it. It may be in the running for the Singapore Short Film Awards 2012! For more details, visit: www.substation.org/ssfa-entries-2012/

Love, In Between (두여자 / Du Yeoja)

Having Fun With the Enemy

This is like the non-violent Fatal Attraction where while Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, the woman here decided to see it as a chance for liberation from what would seem like a perfect marriage, giving that up for the single life all over again. But curiosity has a thing for the cat, and like a sucker for punishment, her inquisition gets the better of her and through a series of calculated moves, sets herself up, and the people around her, for plenty of disappointment.

Shin Eun-Kyung of My Wife is a Gangster fame decided to bare all in his film where her So-Young discovers that her husband, architectural professor Yun Ji-Seok (Jeong Jun-Ho) is having an affair with his post-grad student Su-Ji (Shim Yi-Young), in what would be his rationale of being unable to leave one for the other because he has got so much love to give. In what would be an accidental meeting between So-Young and Su-Ji no thanks to the former getting too close to the latter during her tailing, an elaborate plot gets cooked up where So-Young adopts a different name and identity, to get close to and befriends Su-Ji in order to find out more about how much of a cad is her husband, what kind of a woman is Su Ji that her husband would have fallen for and cheated on her, and ultimately, trying to curb that sneak peek into other people's lives that could've been hers.

What would come out of this instead would be So-Young's own descent into a life involving a younger lover in Jae Hee (Kwon Sung-Min), as well as striking up a firm friendship with Su-Ji since the younger girl really took on the close relations and become a close confidante, and unknown to Su-Ji she's really getting too close to the enemy in letting her know her most innermost thoughts and desires. For So-Young it became a roller coaster emotional ride that on one hand wants to seek revenge against the woman who had ruined her matrimony, and on the other sympathizing that the poor girl doesn't even suspect a thing, and like her, are really in love with probably the wrong chap, since if he can cheat on one, he definitely has the propensity to do it again.

It's an exploration of the choices one makes when put in a situation that stabs through the heart, and Shin Eun-Kyung portrays this dilemma and contradiction really well, becoming the highlight of the film. Director Jeong Yun-Su serves up some eroticism as well which in essence could have been done without, if not only to spice up the plot through a show of skin that would rake in a lot of interest otherwise it will probably fall on the wayside given its rather straightforward plot about an established marriage that had turned sour, and the things people do to cope, whether rational or otherwise. There's also the usual plot convenience in making Su-Ji really oblivious to the none too subtle ways that So-Young behaves in, although this got explained away pretty quickly through a reveal later on involving mistaken (just as well) identities and photography.

In fact, that's what the premise is hinging onto, requiring a fair bit of stretching one's imagination, questions such as knowing thy enemy way in advance so that one knows who one is up against, and the implausibility of Su-Ji knowing her lover is a married man, yet in her own exploits to find out more about the other woman failed to bear fruit, only for So-Young to come knocking on her door adopting a different identity, and the two instead of going all catty and clawing each other, became fast and firm friends, perhaps each innately feels the pain of the other in having to go through a relationship with someone who takes them for granted and is unfaithful. Some guys have all the luck indeed.

Dolphin Tale

Winter Herself

Top of my mind was how Winter the dolphin, which this film is inspired by and telling the story of its remarkable rehabilitation at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, had to act as herself and go through what would be a traumatic incident involving a crab net being entangled around her body, which caused the lack of blood circulation at its tail and its eventual amputation. It's no fun for a human actor to go through that especially if to tell his own story involving the loss of a limb, and I suppose for an animal it's no fun as well. Which is why there's a growing concern about the welfare of dolphins that's gaining momentum post The Cove, and seriously with the animal's natural smile you may think that everything's A-OK.

But I digress. If anything, Dolphin Tale serves up a counter point for aquariums to exist, if not for human intervention to rescue the dolphin when it was being beached, then to rehabilitate and the pooling of available resources to think out of the box and provide a solution to what would be life threatening since it involves the using of existing body structures to adapt for the absence of the crucial tail, but in doing so will result in permanent damage leading to death due to its unnatural movement. Enough scenes like these to tug at your heartstrings, especially since Winter the dolphin, like any other dolphin, comes across as intelligent, playful, and blessed with that adorable look that will delight any kid who's here to watch this film, which ironically will translate to increased demands for dolphin aquariums.

Directed by Charles Martin Smith who has experience in directing another animal-kid buddy show in Air Bud, Dolphin Tale is extremely family friendly with its themes of courage and family ties, with nary a swear word uttered and plenty of feel good moments inserted. In some ways it is the true life story about Winter the Dolphin that inspires and gives strength to those who are at the crossroads of denial and acceptance, especially with a limb loss. To say it's not easy to cope is an understatement, but as far as rehabilitation goes, it's no wonder how the dolphin was able to show others that life still goes on, and allowed a little bit of advanced research to go into prosthetics making.

As much as we learn from animals, they learn from us humans too, and for the fortunate few who could get into close proximity to rub off some of the positive aspects and optimism into life. It's a story here about the Haskett and the Nelson family, with each side facing a loss of a family member, and how through Winter they bond in most unexpected ways. Nathan Gamble plays Sawyer, an introverted boy who would grow to get out of his shell thanks to his finding of Winter and the zeal to want to make her better, now under the care of Dr Clay Haskett (Harry Connick Jr) and his young daughter Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff). And the cast of Ashley Judd who plays Nathan's mom, Kris Kristofferson as Hazel's granddad, and Morgan Freeman as Dr Cameron McCarthy who got roped in by Sawyer to assist pro-bono in applying his expertise in prosthetics to design something for the dolphin, all add in the star factor of the film, although it is the kid actors who adequately carry the weight of this film on their shoulders.

While the film doesn't throw up any surprises since the trailer would have shown the outcome, and if you were to do research you would chance upon the website of Winter the Dolphin and of Clearwater Marine Aquarium, it still worked plenty of wonders in knowing just where to reach out within you and amplify some heartwarming emotions. Stay tuned during the end credits to witness the actual video footage of the amazing rescue and rehabilitation of Winter.

The Sorcerer and the White Snake (白蛇傳說之法海 / Bai Se Chuan Shuo Zhi Fa Hai)

Seduction of the Monk

It's not just Hollywood that's looking at fabled legends to adapt from, or to remake/reboot films from the past. Cinema in the Chinese territories are doing so as well, revisiting material that will probably benefit in having CG effects to spruce up storytelling. Tony Ching Siu-Tung directs this update of a film that chronicles the romance of a White Snake spirit and a mortal man, which of course is forbidden by lore, and a monk who goes between them. Tony is no stranger to martial arts fantasy films with a few already under his belt, such as notable flicks like Swordsman III and the Chinese Ghost Story series, which coincidentally also got remade by Wilson Yip recently, so we're in good hands for what would be a broad based special effects extravaganza that unfortunately had its hokey moments.

Those familiar with the White Snake fable will find some broad elements that resemble that tale being told here, such as Madam White Snake Su Su (Eva Huang) who with her sister Qing Qing the Green Snake (Charlene Choi) chanced upon the poor though honest herb collector and aspiring healer/physician wannabe Xu Xian (Raymond Lam). In summary here, she rescues him, and they fall in love and got married after what would be a whirlwind romance, with the man none the wiser that his wife is a snake demon, though a benevolent one whose only objective is to be with the man of her dreams. And as proof, she sacrifices her centuries old inner strength to help him make medicine on the sly to save a plague stricken town.

Cue Jet Li who plays the demon buster Reverend Fa Hai, who together with his assistant Neng Ren (Wen Zhang) form a team to rid the earth of any wandering spirits and demons, banishing them to what would be the equivalent of a phantom zone through a mirror stored in a pagoda. The opening scene of the film sets the expectation of what this duo is capable of, with Fa Hai naturally being the more experienced and highly skilled catcher, versus his more bumbling protege in here for tragic comedy, in a big bang special effects extravaganza as they go up against Vivian Hsu's cameo appearance as a demon decked in flowing red robes. Soon enough Neng Ren will form yet a smaller romantic subplot with Qing Qing, while Fa Hai could be looked on as the true nemesis in the film for his adamant stubbornness in wanting to break up Xu Xian and Su Su, and destroy the latter for yet another feather in the cap for a job well done.

Curiously, this version of the Madam White Snake story seemed to want to adapt the Disney formula, where you'd have smaller animal sidekicks that talk pop up now and then to try and lighten the mood, or play pivotal roles for the protagonists. Voiced by Miriam Yeung, Lam Suet and Chapman To, their characters do seem to have lines lost in translation, and may have been dubbed over in Mandarin, which if true is very much a pity, and a case against dubbing. And true to Disney's formula as well is the general lack of blood in its action, which reportedly had Jet Li do more kung fu poses than he would have imagined necessary, but the romantic core of the film definitely took a backseat when the filmmakers decided to focus on martial arts and special effects to wow an audience.

Which isn't a bad thing when you extrapolate its message to talk about how an older generation dead set and stubborn in their ways sometimes fail to allow what they're prejudiced about to continue with their knowledge. It isn't enough to not meddle in other's affairs, but it's necessary to eradicate something from even existing, which is exactly what Fa Hai did during his initial big fight with Su Su that ended with a warning that if he should see her again the gloves would be off, and the next thing you know he's assembled his disciples to go snake hunting in an ambush of her home.

On the effects front, it's time to sit up and take notice what the Asian effects company are finally able to pull off since the days of terrible rendering seen in True Legend. Entire landscapes get designed on computer, though at times still not as refined, but definitely a step up from years back. While certain shots were unfortunate rip-offs from films such as 2012 with its massive floodwaters overwhelming huge mountains, there were others that more than made up for its lack of originality, and the bamboo forest, which all self respecting martial arts film must feature, had an interesting spin thanks to effects bringing to life something I've yet to see involving fox spirits and bamboo shoot hideouts and seduction.

And if copying is a form of flattery, then whatever Zack Snyder did in 300 with its stylistic fights, have been done to death in other films and this one as well, with its slow motion, spin around being prominently over used, that I would have given up an arm for a straight fight between the exponents, which couldn't be possible since Jet Li's the only bona fide martial artist, with the rest being posers with heavy reliance on wire work. Even the climatic battle between Fa Hai and two snakes looked very much like D-War's and Endhiran's, with effects making the sparring session look very much epic.

I would have liked a stronger story that provided more focus between Madam White Snake and Xu Xian, but that is something to be found in predecessor films. This one clearly is focused on Fa Hai the monk himself (with the Chinese subtitle obviously meaning so), and is about his enlightenment on love, an emotion he's oblivious to given his career path. And not to forget as a calling card for the numerous effects companies.

What's Your Number?

Your Profile Pic Sucks!

I wonder if any girl out there really do sneak off from the bed to the bathroom to freshen up, before their partner wakes up to see them in a state sans hair all over the place, morning breath and probably a drool hanging off somewhere. At least it's something that's worth putting on film, in both Bridesmaids and What's Your Number, where the protagonist does just that to impress I suppose. Maybe everyone does it and it's life's greatest secret that I'm oblivious to.

While Bridesmaids was a sleeper hit with a cast of relative unknowns on the big screen, What's Your Number is that typical romantic comedy where you can safely bet your entire fortune on the nice little outcome of an ending, and just about how girl meets boy and they fall in love inevitably in the shortest time span possible where the stars align for everything magical to happen. What's probably unique here is that the lead characters are both promiscuous, with Anna Faris' Ally sleeping with at least 19 men in her life so far, and finding that her lack of a love life and with random lovers every now and then going way over the national average of 10.5, the magic figure an average American woman dates before finally settling down. Fearful of being labelled a slut after a straw poll conducted with her soon-to-be-married sister Daisy (Ari Graynor) and friends, she's taking a vow of celibacy and is determined to make the next person she sleeps with, her husband.

Chris Evans' Colin is her next door neighbour whom she enlists her from in tracking down her exes, since there could be someone from her past who would have made it good, and better yet, doing so doesn't increase her number of men she slept with, which provides plenty of comical flashbacks providing Anna Faris an opportunity to ham it up, together with a select group of supporting characters, some of whom are completely different from the time she once knew them, while others will make you wonder just what she saw in them, ranging from support acts by the likes of Martin Freeman, Andy Samberg, Anthony Mackie and even Zachary Quinto amongst others. Ally strikes a win-win deal with Colin, centered around being able to hideout at her apartment so that he doesn't have to deal in the aftermath of his one night stands, making a clean exit and sending a signal to his flings it's all over. Talk about a mutually beneficial relationship that you know will head somewhere between the two.

And if the film works, which it does, it boils down to two words. Anna Faris. She's building a career based upon ditzy characters, and frankly she's finding a knack at hitting on all the right places and delivering punchlines without missing a beat, and having what it takes to take on physical, slapstick comedy without looking too dorky, nor embarrassed with the need to dabble in toilet humour. It's watching a quintessential comedian going through her repertoire of tricks that on one hand you've seen most before, yet still eagerly anticipating more from the performer to deliver her routine once more. Evans was wonderful as her co-star and the strip-basketball date was something that could raise temperatures, allowing the actor to continuously show off in this film his Captain America buffed up physique that will either make you drool at, or look on with envy.

For all the glossy fashion rags teaching women how to lead their lives, perhaps this movie says it best with the aged old message of happiness being able to be oneself, instead of living up to expectations set by others, be it friends or family, and to find someone who will accept you for who you are, and not what you have to try to be. Which is very frequent in Ally's life as the various man-hunt episodes reveal, where she has to learn to cook, speak with an accent, and so on. And it's true how miserable one will be in the long run, despite short termed bliss, if one can call it as that.

I was half expecting a wicked twist to happen at the final act since there's an elusive Jake Adams (Dave Annable) that Ally is desperately looking for which Colin constantly runs into zilch in his findings, and what played out was pretty straightforward, and careful as well since it took some pains to explicitly address a plot loophole that you'll forgive it for since that will spell some anti-climatic finale. But as I said, what held the movie together is Anna Faris as the one woman tour de force playing to her strengths in a typical stereotyped role, and the very easy on screen chemistry shared with Chris Evans. Definitely a date-movie any couple can consider.

Shark Night

Yummy

The best part of this film is actually post end-credits, where a music video of a rap song comes on with most of the cast hamming it up and performing very out of character, singing about the story, their characters and their demise, with clips from the film and that of behind the scenes during production. So don't leave the hall just yet because this comes on right at the end, which trumps the film proper since Shark Night was taking itself way too seriously.

Directed by David R. Ellis who was at the helm of films such as Snakes on a Plane and The Final Destination, you would have thought a film like Shark Night will be in safe hands, but alas the story by Will Hayes and Jesse Studenberg found itself desperate in trying not to repeat the usual formula that so many shark films have found itself stuck in given the aftermath of Jaws. And it's not easy, so much so that in this story we have sharks, and not just one single species but a variety of them, existing in a salt water lake, and takes on some torture porn proportions, if not for Ellis' obsession in thinking that a film that has water and sharks, must feature plenty of tight buttock in bikini bottom shots prominently to please its intended target audience.

As the story goes we have a group of seven students who decide to spend a relaxing weekend in one of their friend's lake house, if only for a bad wakeboarding episode to spark off a series of incidents and raising their awareness that the waters in the lake isn't safe to be in given the presence of extremely stealthy characters. Ellis junks the idea of showing the fin in the horizon, an art perfected in Jaws and overutilized by anyone involved in a shark film production to try and ramp up suspense. Here, any buildup gets thrown out the window, opting for very direct, in your face chomping of limbs. There's a money shot involved which I have to admit is very well done on film involving a flying shark, although this could be something that exists only in the movies.

Don't expect any power-acting from any of the cast members, led by Sara Paxton playing her namesake and the rest playing the usual caricatures - the male himbo, the female slut, an athlete, the nerd and so on, or plot development that has depth that goes beyond the usual numbers being made into fodder, with the introduction of a sheriff and two additional good for nothing hoodlums. As with most monster movies, the central plot involved staying alive and getting out of the danger area, and it's nothing different in Shark Night as well, with events transpiring over the course of 24 hours, with an introductory kill thrown in for good measure.

Special effects wise, perhaps I did not view this in 3D as its intended format that the entire film lacked depth and looked way flatter than any other normal 2D film. The sharks looked horribly CG-ed and unrefined in the final product on film, and I thought this kind of shoddy work would have been more forgivable if this was a direct-to-video title rather than something meant to be projected on a large screen. Ideas were clearly running dry as well with each kill over relying on shots that featured water from a jacuzzi, with the fateful human victim thrashing around and underwater shots of sharks exercising their razor sharp teeth.

Shark films are really a dime a dozen and it's indeed a challenge to come up with something truly different and worthwhile of one's time. Unfortunately Shark Night isn't the messiah, although I suspect one will get a lot more from it if it's viewed in gimmicky 3D, since there were plenty of shots with the sharks leaping toward the screen, jaws wide open and primed for some major chomping.

Real Steel

Keep It Down

I wonder if robotics will advance to a stage where in the near future, boxing as a sport will be more gladiatorial and violent, with robots taking the place of human combatants in the ring allowing for fancier finishing moves since no blood nor guts get spilled, other than wires and motor oil. That's the future proposed in Real Steel, where an industry of mainstream, competitive games have room to spawn its own underground and a more kid friendly funfair version, with once famous robots and their owners/trainers/engineers from the big leagues can retire to and make a living off past reputations.

Real Steel is a science fiction fantasy piece that imagines a world in future where all that is possible, where humans take control of giant robots to do battle on their behalf in the boxing ring. But those looking for robot fight after robot fight might be better off with watching the Transformers trilogy from start to end, since you only get a handful of robot battles, with the bulk being montaged away in the midsection and the final fight even, which leaves behind an aftertaste of being short changed on the entertainment front, since we're like the spectators on screen, ready to see some hard hitting action from the get go.

Instead this film takes on a more human dimension, which is rather formulaic if you strip away the robot and machine component. Hugh Jackman plays Charlie Kenton, an ex-boxer turned robot gladiator who travels from arena to arena with his machine to fight the odd match for money, with little luck since his limited funding means a pile of debt and little else to spruce up his robot with any upgrades. To compound the problem, he gets to hook up with his 11 year old son Max (Dakota Goyo) he never knew, and forms a testy relationship fueled by stubbornness from both parties, which you know will turn for the better with their discovery of Atom, a sparse sparring robot they found in a junkyard.

It plays on the human themes of courage and never giving up when in pursuit of something, which of course gets translated via Atom in its many fights in the ring, designed to take plenty of hits, yet always having something extra within itself to stand up and continuing doing what it's meant to do. Through the inanimate object both father and son start to bond - Max being the convenient kid tinkerer of parts fueled by his belief and idealism, and Charlie bringing experience in fighting to the table, both becoming partners as they take on whatever gigs that come their way, until an outburst by Max meant a shot at the world title against the incumbent champion Zeus, funded by what seemed to be Russian money and Japanese expertise, a plot development you'll see coming very expectedly.

Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo share a wonderful chemistry together that worked wonders for the film, and especially Dakota for his ability to come off quite naturally without being in awe of his more illustrious co-star. Jackman continues to build his filmography with appealing, alpha-male type characters that never cease to put a wrong foot in, having the honour of being trained by the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard to prepare for his role as a boxer. Evangeline Lily plays Charlie's girlfriend and the daughter of Charlie's trainer in his days of being a boxer, and Anthony Mackie was severely under-utilized as a bout organizer and punter. Subplots involving a custody battle, and gangsters to whom Charlie owed money to were quite unnecessary, if not to pause the film a little to fill in the space between the robot fights.

The designs of the robots were definitely the highlight of the film, with names mirroring the ability the robots possess, and the animatronics were top notch naturally, with motion capture employed to detail the bouts. Plenty of thought went into the mechanics of the machines, from wireless control panels to components unique to each robot thanks to cannibalizing of others. Unique to Atom is its shadowing ability, since its built as a sparring bot, heavy set to allow for plenty of punishment, and like a sparring partner can mirror one's exact movements, which presents an angle of argument that machines that have that human touch, is probably blessed with the best of both worlds. I won't be surprised if Atom will get inducted into the annals of great cinematic robots one day for its endearing exploits in Real Steel.

Artificial intelligence versus human intelligence, awareness and experience is something that recurs in each of the featured battles, and in the real world, this challenge is something that continues to intrigue researchers to one day play God and create something that can mimic our human mind and decision making close enough. From defeating world champions in chess and Jeopardy participants, no doubt the computer on board can defeat a human opponent, but as far as I'm aware this competitive advantage has not reached a more physical arena, at least not yet to the level as shown in this film, but it will be intriguing if one day we do get there.

A glaring plot point I cannot reconcile will involve the super-robot Zeus which was touted to be the best of breed with being autonomous in learning from mistakes and from its opponents in real time. Alas we don't see much of those, if at all, in the film taking effect, which makes it a severe system flaw in failure of execution, or the usual marketing talk in building up hype, which is common in the real world. Which serves to explain that while machines can perform rote functions perfectly, humans will still always have the upperhand with creativity and innovativeness almost always worked into our solutions.

But don't let that detract you from this entertaining crowd pleaser coming from director Shawn Levy who knows a thing or two about crafting broad based films that appeal, even if it does follow a repackaged formula - tell me if you don't see similarities with Sylvester Stallone's Over The Top (one of my favourite Stallone films) about a father and son, and in the competitive arena of arm wrestling - exploiting the popularity of robots in film in recent years.

One Day

Free as a Bird

Based upon the book by David Nicholls who also wrote the screenplay for the film, One Day belongs to the class of romantic films that relies on a gimmick to carry it through and provided that unique proposition that made it stand out. And it doesn't hurt when you have two incredibly attractive leads in Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess playing lovers turned friends turned lovers when they hit it off not quite in the right note given the introductory intent of a one night stand, turning instead into a firm friendship of close to two decades.

But as the viewer we only get to see how they come together, or attempt to get together with varying degrees of success, every 15th of July, where we get to witness them grow up a little, develop their characters through their personal values and principles, tune in to their dreams and fears, and root for them to be together, even if they don't realize it themselves, or take too darn long to do so. Circumstances dictate how much time they get to spend with each other during what would be a close coincidence to always interact on the same day each year like an unplanned anniversary. And to see each of them drift off with other incompatible partner just made you wince and ponder over your own relationships, where we can sometimes become oblivious to what's actually right in front of us.

Those of us who have grown up through the 90s will find a lot of kick in the production design and art direction that stay incredibly true to the era, coupled with a soundtrack that took some of the best and identifiable songs of the time to provide that nostalgic blast from the past.

You can read my review of One Day at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

Lan Kwai Fong (喜愛夜蒲)

Where's The Party Tonight?

It's like the local equivalent of Boat Quay, Clarke Quay or Mohammad Sultan Road in its heyday, a film set against famous watering hole backdrops, that if a local equivalent was to be made there will be no short of locales, only for the filmmaker to decide where exactly to set it for maximum iconic mileage, and to spin some stories that encompasses the spirit of the location. I have been to Lan Kwai Fong some years back with a group of friends, but the funny thing is we never really found the place at first, walking around in circles trying to figure it out pre-GPS days, before suddenly realizing we're actually smack in the middle of it. Which made me realize that if you're not part of the crowd, that stretch of road may seem like any other, and quite unremarkable.

My personal opinion that is. I suppose if you're never really part of something, you'll never really figure out its appeal. I'm not a party goer and find not much joy in having to hang out with a bunch of friends trying to be trendy, to see and be seen with the cool cat club, talking a lot but saying nothing, drinking for the sake of getting alcohol into the system - chugging down copious amounts of liquor will make my liver frown, and probably hope for some hook up to take place that will either lead back to someone's home, or the ubiquitous toilet. I never believed in finding anyone significant in a pub, nor become firm friends with party revelers, at least not off the cuff with the help of social lubricants.

That, in essence, is this film. Written by Mark Wu and directed by Wilson Chin, it does seem the two are creating their fantasies here since there's nothing too profound in its underlying message should there be one to begin with. If it's the filmmakers' intent to show how superficial and vacuous lives in a pub is, then this film will be a great success, since it's noisy and scattered, like someone suffering from ADD without focus nor giving much depth to anything. Everything's on the surface, with revelers portrayed as very one-dimensional, either there to look for booty, to feel or be felt up, to drink plenty and be entertained, or some characters are there quite reluctantly just to keep an eye on somebody else.

There are reputations to keep and uphold, and reputations that go down the drain once exposed for the fraud they are. This accounts for its fairly adult rating with the very good looking, ensemble cast in various states of undress, the female of the species being more so in a skin flick. I suppose the poster with the cast in all sorts of lingerie will form the pull factor for anyone without a clue what this film is about, to give it a go, coupled with the name of the famous street in Hong Kong. It begins in noisy fashion set inside a pub run by Jacky (Jason Chan, who looks like a deadringer for a younger Donnie Yen with plenty of eyeliner), who has his bunch of regular patrons ranging from a reformed triad chief, to a liquor salesman Steven (Zo), to new thrill seekers such as a group of stewardesses on a night's out to paint the town red, one out to hook up with rich men in order to be showered with gifts, and her friend Jennifer (Shiga Lin) whose blossoming love life with Steven forms the fluffy romantic anchor of the narrative.

Other subplots also bloat the narrative, with the village/pub bicycle who's a regular at the venue only to be tapped up for quickies, and seriously what transpired in her fairy tale ending is something which I think only exists in films (see, I really don't belong to this crowd), and that of a Chuck and Larry type character who's idea of being gay is to be thought of as safe. Naturally the policemen were not put under good light, painted as party poopers who come in droves, turn on the lights, and have everyone's identities checked, thrash talking and being thrash talked to.

The film can be thought of as pieces of disparate short films being put together with makeshift scenes to combine characters from different threads in one setting and glue them all up, but effectively many aspects of the film get repeated like you're in the house enjoying its trance offering that you're never able to strike up anything deeper in meaning or with the characters. Do we care for them? Not quite, as they're adults who knowingly get into what they were looking for to begin with, and the troubles that come their way are nothing unexpected, and quite rote for a film narrative to cover them that it becomes almost tele-movie like in substance.

It's a trip down memory lane with all the outdoor shots of Lan Kwai Fong, that has induced me to make another trip to the street during my next Hong Kong trip sometime in future. Maybe not to be seen, but definitely to see what I had probably missed the first time round.

Colombiana

Have Gun Will Blast A Hole

I've mentioned more than once that the Luc Besson founded Europa Corp of films are churning out quality action thrillers like how Milkyway in the East have been doing of late, and with its offerings like Taken, From Paris with Love, and 22 Bullets, I was looking forward to Colombiana, especially since it has a female protagonist to begin with so there's a good break from the usual machismo, and it's set in the USA rather than the usual European jet-setting locations. But the film, written by Robert Mark Kamen and Luc Besson himself, and directed by Olivier Megaton who helmed Transporter 3, was a little bit lacklustre in its final product, which is most unfortunate.

The fault was at its core story, where a young girl escaped sure death thanks to her parent's tips and training, and is off from Colombia on her own wits and ability to live a new life in the USA under the auspices of a trusted family aide (Cliff Curtis). There she grows up, receives an education, forces her guardian to perfect her foundational skills in assassination, and is off to perform hit jobs to supplement the family income. During her hits she conjures up calling cards in arrogance in order to lure her enemies out, but as they say, if you play with fire, you'll get burnt, and fire burns without discrimination. Which of course led to the expected big bang finale.

Wait a minute, couldn't Cataleya (Zoe Saldana) use the resources at her disposal to track down her enemies, and then finish them all off in one fell swoop since she's quite the bad ass we've come to see through the various establishing scenes, such as a very elaborate jailhouse hit job that saw her slink around like a Catwoman to showcase both her stealth and physicality? The only excuse I can cook up on behalf of the filmmakers is that she needed to carry out hit jobs in order to make loads of money, to afford her all the wonderful toys from nasty vehicles to weapons of all shape and sizes that it will put many cinematic action heroes to shame. Otherwise, it simply made no sense to expose herself, and in that also to have a romantic relationship she knows will lead to nowhere for the secrets she's hiding, only to use her partner for sex, and put herself out there under her enemy's radar when she should have lied low and hit them with the element of complete surprise.

In any case, if you're to take the story at face value, then Zoe Saldana does make an attractive, effective action heroine which is rare these days since there are less than a handful who can balance graceful poise with the physical demands of a role like this one. It's a return to La Femme Nikita for Besson and perhaps having to dabble with a make-believe grown up Mathilda that never got made (and hopefully not too), except that this film got let down by weak plot development, criminal even when it cannot make much sense even if you're stretching believability a little for an action flick, despite the usual premise set up as motivation for its protagonist in a typical tale of vengeance of the highest order. There are excesses in the storyline that just screams at you, when you realize logic would mean having to jump right into the final act, because it can and does make sense.

The villains are shadowy goons without personality nor posing any real menace, except for their modus operandi which is to eradicate one's family, presenting very little real and present danger, and many goons, some 20+ of them being compressed into a black and white montage, being nothing other than fodder for Cataleya to empty lead into. While Saldana definitely put in a lot of work to become believable as the slinky assassin, somehow she got upstaged by Amandla Stenberg who played the younger kid version of the same character, having an entire, impressive escape scene in the first act being the highlight of this film that will give Hanna a run for her money, in my opinion. It would have been the huge fight in the toilet with Jordi Molia who plays the muscleman Marco, if not for the artificial speeding up of the moment to cheapen the effort put in.

I guess coming up with a lemon is part and parcel for a production house, where everything cannot possibly end up turning into gold. Then there's The Lady which is fast proving to become a darling at festivals and expected to score at upcoming awards, so perhaps it's of a different nature for Besson now to put aside heroines who do battle with guns, for those who do so with their minds to win over hearts. And that's clearly not what Colombiana is delivering.