11-11-11

What Do You Believe In?

One cannot help but to poke at its glaring loopholes, such as the demons in the film that were more posers than can actually scare the living daylights out of anyone - the audience or the characters in the film. Director Darren Lynn Bousman, who had cut his teeth in a few movies of the Saw franchise, has to realize that subtlety isn't one of his strengths, and for a film like 11-11-11 that relies on the build up of suspense and anticipation, this one falls flat most of the times, with its jump scares being more funny than effectively scary.

But maybe this is not meant to be a horror film, but a cautionary tale about the potential falsehoods of religion or its interpretation, of how some can really be wolves in sheeps clothing. It made some very compelling arguments and statements since it involved the different idealogies between two key characters in brothers Joseph (Timothy Gibbs) and Samuel (Michael Landes), one already having denounced religion, while the other a preacher, each presenting their side of the argument. But its execution and delivery had let down its intent and potential, and the narrative by director Bousman was beating about the bush most of the time, trying to expand what would essentially be short film material with scenes that don't mean much other than to add red herrings to the plot.

Being set in the Spanish city of Barcelona, it had tried to be stylish with is Euro-chic look and strained palette of colours, but had its production values to thank for with its bad makeup and cheap costumes getting in the way of proper ghoulish designs, with demons being nothing more than men in rubber masks and cutting cheap cloth for "bat-wings". Character development, not that one will expect any, is firmly zilch, with almost every actor speaking their lines without much conviction, nor trying to be convincing.

One can see the promise of the film when it pared down its unnecessary excess fat and got down to basics, but unfortunately 11-11-11 became nothing more than a sad gimmick and a hack attempt at creating sometihng mysterious around the date that comes about once a century. That had no relation whatsoever with the main storyline, being a plot device and element of convenience instead.

You can read my review of 11-11-11 at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

Tatsuya Fujiwara in Singapore 10th-13th November

Fans of Tatsuya Fujiwara, listen up! The Japanese star will be making his first trip to Singapore from 10th -13th November 2011. You will be able to meet him on 11th November, as he is set to embark on a flurry of publicity activities in Singapore, to promote his upcoming movie, KAIJI 2 : THE ULTIMATE GAMBLER <赌博默示录 2>.

Tatsuya Fujiwara and his entourage will arrive in town by Singapore Airlines (SQ633) on Thursday, 10th November at 6.20am. He will kick start his series of activities for the movie the next day with a press conference at The Fullerton Hotel from 2pm.

In the evening at 6.30pm, Tatsuya Fujiwara will make his first public appearance at a promotional event at Nex. At the mall's event plaza, he will meet local fans and present prizes to the winners of KAIJI 2 contest, where contestants will pit their skills in E-card and stand to win cash and attractive prizes.

At 8.30pm, Tatsuya Fujiwara will grace the red carpet at the Singapore Gala Premiere of KAIJI 2, to be held at The Cathay. The Singapore Gala Premiere is the first screening in Asia outside Japan.

Local fans of Tatsuya Fujiwara & KAIJI can now get their chance to attend KAIJI 2 Gala Premiere in Singapore. The tickets for the Gala Premiere on 11 November, 9.30pm will be available for online purchase from 3rd November 2011, through Encore Film's KAIJI 2 official website: www.encorefilms.com/kaiji2. Each ticket will be priced at S$50 and it comes with a movie poster and KAIJI 1 DVD. For more queries, please call 6742 5810.

Tatsuya Fujiwara and his entourage will leave Singapore on 13th November 2011, 3.20pm by Singapore Airlines (SQ633).

About the movie KAIJI 2
The much-anticipated sequel to the hit movie, KAIJI, is about to hit theaters. KAIJI 2 is a feature film adaptation of arguably the most popular episode “The Greed Swamp” from the original comic book series. Surviving one death-defying game after another, Kaiji Ito (Tatsuya Fujiwara) manages to erase all of his debts, but finds himself once again choking under a new mountain of debt. Eager for another shot at turning his fortunes around for good, Kaiji earns a chance to take on a monster pachinko machine with a billion yen payout a beast of a machine dubbed “The Swamp”. Under the tight control of the illegal casino’s ruthless manager, Seiya Ichijo (Yusuke Iseya), the machine is 100 percent unbeatable. What’s more, a dark and telling secret exists between Ichijo and Kaiji...

KAIJI 2 opens in theatres on 17th November 2011 and is co-distributed by Encore Films and Cathay-Keris Films.

Official movie website: www.encorefilms.com/kaiji2

You can read my review of the first KAIJI movie here.

CREATE Film Festival

CREATE Film Festival – Launch of Singapore’s First Social Cinema
Engineering seen through short films by local directors

At this very moment, students all over Singapore are accessing the nation’s first-ever social cinema. They can choose seats and book tickets for themselves and friends for free through a virtual box office. In the cinema hall, no one will shush them, no one will tell them to silence their mobile phone. In fact, they’re encouraged to chat with friends as the short films are screened. Unlike YouTube, the home online viewing experience is no longer a lonely one.

The CREATE Film Festival – brainchild of OgilvyOne Singapore and the Singapore Economic Development Board, in collaboration with the Creators of Tomorrow (group of young and enthusiastic engineers, entrepreneurs, designers and independent thinkers) – presents three films made by local filmmakers, telling unexpected stories about engineering in Singapore:

“Hi I’m An Engineer”
Directed by Melvyn Lim, Executive Creative Director of OgilvyOne Singapore, it looks at an engineer’s first-time speed dating session where he encounters unexpected responses and hilarious situations.

“Flight”
By acclaimed director, Boo Junfeng who co-directed “Lucky 7” and “Sandcastle”, it tells the heartfelt story of a young man pursuing his love to build planes despite parental objections.

“Building Dreams”
By up and coming local director, Anthony Chen who directed “Ah Ma” and “Haze”, it features what every kid dreams of – a documentary on someone who plays games for a living.

What’s a film festival without goodies? Prizes include weekly draws for iPad 2, as well as free movie tickets and vouchers from Garrett Popcorn, H&M, Frolick and Ben & Jerry’s.

Join us at the CREATE Film Festival here: www.createtomorrow.com.sg/filmfest

[DVD] Tomboys (2009)

Written and directed by Nathan Hill, this Australian movie is a throwback to the good old grindhouse movies, where language, violence and gore are part and parcel of the entire package, and Tomboys go to great lengths in keeping to that look and feel, keeping the visuals grainy, the camerawork shaky, and who can not miss those huge character titles that come on to introduce each of the leading ladies, the titular tomboys, who have gathered in a barn to execute (pardon the pun) their dastardly plan.

But of course to the group of five, it is nothing more than to exact revenge for the cruel sexual assaults caused by their tormentor, now masked and bound and strung up within a barn, ready to be met with his just desserts. It's trouble five times over with vengeance on the mind of these ladies, especially that of the unofficial ringleader Kat (Candice Day) who masterminded the kidnap and having her posse of female chums gathered to witness and partake in the exercising of their inner demons brought forth by the serial rapist of their town.

You may think this is a simple open and shut case, with a plain narrative that details the many torturous techniques that the girls want to put the serial rapist under, given the deliberate shot of many types of tools available to inflict punishment, and a fridge stocked with cold beer while at it. But here's where Nathan Hill had a lot more hidden up his sleeves. The story tosses up many twists, turns and surprises along the way, which provides opportunity for all of the actresses to showcase their acting chops, since the events that unfold mostly through talk, will call upon shifting loyalties and dynamics within the group.

While everyone's supposed to work toward a common goal, having these unplanned events thanks to Murphy and other emotional baggage that the girls kept hidden from one another, takes a toil on their supposedly chumminess at the beginning of the film. It dwells upon one's threshold of "justice", in just how much is enough, and in a group there will always be the risk takers always wanting to push boundaries, and those who prefer to stay within their comfort zones, especially when the time calls for covering up of their tracks, and internal bickering and betrayals. Having to witness this played out to perfection, is one of the highlights of the film.

Set in just one locale, the modestly budgeted Tomboys belong to the genre of films that sets its own challenge of engaging an audience without the luxury of transcending space, and the tight narrative helped the convincing performances of its cast members, helped to make this one heck of a morality tale, with the grindhouse gimmick being the icing on the cake.

Sector 7 ( 7광구 / 7 Kwang Gu)

Let's Get That Monster

Touted as one of the first 3D monster movie coming out of Korea that was a box office sensation, Sector 7 hits all the sweet spots as far as playing up the hunter-prey formula of monster versus helpless humans, but did it take a long time in getting there, weighted down by a pretty lengthy first act that served as an introduction to all the characters involved, and dwelling a bit more into their respective formulaic caricatures before unleashing hell onboard an oil rig crew that doesn't have the luck when it comes to looking for and digging for black gold.

Ha Ji-Won plays Cha Hae-Joon, the lone female oil rig miner besides the other female crew in doctor Hyun-Jung (Cha Ye-Ryeon), in what would be a testosterone filled occupation out in the rough seas. The team seems to be hitting dead ends continuously, and are ordered to cease operations only for Ahn Jung-Man (Ahn Sung-Ki) to return to the rig, and whose intentions will be made clear as the film progresses. But with the skeleton crew left behind, they find what they're looking for, and with that success managed to find time to engage in some shenanigans such as motorbike racing on the rig platform, and trading of war stories through the comparison of scars earned through their tough jobs. It is here of course that we learn of their broad values and principles, which will come useful once the monster gets unleashed.

It isn't the first time that the Koreans have dabbled in monster films, having the very acclaimed The Host and others like Chaw making it to the country's filmography. Sector 7 proves to be a worthy addition to that list, with director Kim Ji-Hun knowing what it takes to keep up the suspense and to build anticipation, and utilizing the best of lighting and camera angles to take the narrative forward, even though one may have to shrug at the story by Yun Je-Gyun which is riddled with the usual formulaic cliches. Characters turn into caricatures and remain wafer thin, and you know just about everyone is fair game to being chomped by the monster, especially those who display negative traits that you will root for karma to make its full circle, even if it means having the narrative go through the necessary convenience.

Themes such as camaraderie and courage are a given, as are minor subplots involving friendships and romance in the middle of the rig south of Jeju Island. Once this film decided to become a monster flick from the halfway mark, it essentially became a Ha Ji-Won vehicle, with the actress having come a long way since her Sex is Zero time, to the tough as nails cookie character who dishes out as good as she receives, aping to reach the ranks of the Ripleys and the Connors through her acrobatic stunts, quick wit and keen sense of survival. That benchmark unfortunately was a little bit hard to reach.

The creature design is certainly one of the best things about the film, with the filmmakers never shy to always want to keep it under wraps or shadows. With such a beautiful beast created, the last thing you want to do is to hide it, so from the onset we get to see what the threat looks like, with its razor like fangs and wicked whip-like tongue, as well as armoured skin making it all quite impervious to just about everything everyone throws at it, from shotgun projectiles to harpoons, yet susceptible to melee weapons such as the good ol' axe. What aced the design was the creature's inherent combustible nature, adding much needed gravitas to plot development and requisite rationale why and how things developed the way they were, as well as being responsible for some of the more aesthetically shot action sequences complete with slow-mo techniques to bring out sheer awe.

But ultimately while Sector 7 can be a guilty pleasure as far as monster flicks go with the hunter very much in control and threatening different prey along the way, it never quite reached the heights it had the potential to. If only it had a less cliche development, added a lot more varied scenes in which fodder got dispatched, and made characters whom we actually care a lot more for, then this would have been something more memorable indeed.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn in IMAX 3D

Buddies

Regular trips to the bookstore when I was 10 had introduced me to the world Herge created with his jetsetting baby faced reporter Tintin and his faithful canine companion Snowy, and I was hooked enough to slowly but surely, get all the stories ever created, sharing them through the book club with my primary school class on the joys of these adventures. And I probably can gauge how well received those stories were, being read and re-read again countless of times by many, that they were expectedly returned in less than pristine condition. I still have those books and from time to time turn to them for timeless adventures that only Herge knows how to craft, building a world of likeable characters and a universe in which they operate in.

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson now translate this for the big screen. There have been other adaptations, animated ones that I've seen before as a kid that took place on Black Island and on the moon even, so to go down that animated route wouldn't be to introduce the stories to a whole new 3D generation. Making it live action would mean to discover a new cast who would demand a lot for the number of potential sequels that can be made in their likeness. So the best alternative is to marry both worlds and have it animated, but voiced and moving as if they would in the real world through motion capture, and what had been delivered is nothing less than a flawless piece of moving art that had leapt out of the pages of a book, and onto the silver screen. An IMAX 3D one at that, and I seriously urge everyone who has the intent to watch this to do so in this format that does justice to the tremendous amount of work and effort to finally kickstart what could be a lucrative franchise.

Those who are purists may want to steer clear of this, but I suppose having it adapted by Steven Mofatt, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish meant an amalgamation of known Tintin adventures, but given that modern day sensibilities in terms of narrative development and action sequences shot, yet having Spielberg's astuteness in keeping things true to the spirit of the books. With recognizable highlights from The Crab with the Golden Claws, Red Rackham's Treasure and of course The Secret of the Unicorn, the scribes have fused together a very fluid action adventure that moves at breakneck speed, never wasting any frame with Spielberg showing he still has what it takes for something family friendly while upping the ante through his works, redeeming himself from his last attempt being the terrible Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull that he had unceremoniously diverted blame of its prime weakness to George Lucas. Here, he got that smooth flowing narrative, allowing him to focus on how best to bring across the screen adaptation for a family friendly audience.

And Tintin fans will be delighted with Jamie Bell's voicing of Tintin, and Andy Serkis playing the role of Captain Thunering Typhoons Haddock, being essentially what's envisaged of that role of the drunken sailor. Bit characters like Thomson and Thompson (Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, excellent naturally choices I must add) the bumbling Interpol cops, Nestor the butler (Enn Reitel) and the Milanese Nightingale Bianca Castafiore (Kim Stengel) all make appearances even though some did not feature in the original tale, such as Senorita Castafiore who possesses a quality that worked so well in the diabolical scheme concocted here, with Daniel Craig taking on the role of the scheming Ivanovich Sakharine. Only Professsor Calculus is left, who is primed for the next film if it flows logically as a follow up film, and thank heavens nobody in the right mind decided to follow recent trends in making animals talk, so Snowy behaves very much like a dog, and in my opinion almost always steals everyone's thunder through its antics, providing just cause to peel your eyes away from the main proceedings, and following him anywhere that he roams on screen.

From the opening credits to little nuggets of easter eggs scattered for fans to spot, such as the first look at Tintin's home where we see articles from other well known adventures such as The Broken Ear and King Ottokar's Sceptre, one suspects the larger adventures from the books such as Destination Moon may be primed for future film installments should this one prove successful. Peter Jackson takes over the sequel and I'm waiting with bated breaths for that one, before the third movie in which both Spielberg and Jackson will share directing responsibilities, and if they are anything like this one, I'm signing up already. And do head to your local bookstores as well if your interest is keen to pick up those books again, because a whole new generation will be introduced to the film, and one can bet that their interests will be piqued right after this wonderful film treatment. It's always a joy with adaptations done right, and this is clearly something highly recommended!

Warrior

Jab

Enough of Boxing films already. Warrior brings us to the world of Mixed Martial Arts, which has been around for years, but never really making it to a notable big screen interpretation save for the Hong Kong film Flashpoint starring Donnie Yen taking down a string of bandits led by Collin Chou in the film's climatic finale. Perhaps its more contemporary slant meant a little less understanding of the art to effectively bring it to the cinemas, but Gavin O'Connor's film will open doors for MMA to work, and work well.

Structurally it adopts from the many boxing films already out there where you know that bouts alone do not make a meaningful, moving film, without that degree of humanity and adversity, especially if coming from within family. providing avenues for some deep rooted family estranged ties to be addressed along the way. The story by O'Connor and Cliff Dorfman recognizes this key point, and stripped away of its violence, it's this emotional tussle the characters have to face up to that's more daunting than beefy opponents in the ring, providing Warrior its very crucial heart that keeps the film alive and pumping from the get go.

Tom Hardy bulks up for this role and his next as Bane in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises, and plays Tommy Conlon, a mean badass of a soldier who had deserted his comrades and made his way to his father's home, whom we learn is a no good drunk during Tommy's formative years, and hence comes the resentment. Needing a place to crash and then grudgingly engaging his dad's help to train him for an upcoming MMA tournament, Tom Hardy owned this role in providing that gruff exterior who has to make compromises in his life, and basically living with the enemy and with a closet full of skeletons that threaten to burst open as his profile becomes larger and more prominent given the public tournament.

Then there's his brother Brendan (Joel Edgerton), a physics teacher and once MMA exponent whose soaring bills to pay to sustain a family led him to go back to moonlighting in underground bouts, much to the chagrin of his wife Tess (Jennifer Morrison), which is understandable since getting injured or killed, regardless of his assurances, would leave the family very much exposed and weakened. But one's paymaster is always extremely cautious about having employees moonlight on the side, and a choice has to be made whether to drop his interest totally, or decide to go serious with it especially with a five million dollar carrot dangling at the end of a large tournament known as Sparta, where winner takes all and each brother having their own reasons to have a crack at it.

So you pretty much know how this is set up for the final act, but trust me the journey, and not the destination, is what Warrior excelled in, with wonderful powerhouse performances put in by Hardy, Edgerton and Nick Nolte, who plays their father now in his twilight years and hoping very much for his sons' forgiveness. This three way relations form the emotional crux of the film without which Warrior would have limped. With Hardy's and Nolte's middle act focused much on their training montage, Edgerton's character development piece was the more uplifting of the lot, and setting up the underdog role quite brilliantly as you'd soon find yourself rooting for him not to have his livelihood and lifestyle destroyed, putting himself forward for a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The fight scenes during the Sparta tournament are what made this film stand out as far as action is concerned, providing that no holds barred front row seats as exponents slug it out in brutal fashion, each scheming, grappling, punching and kicking their way to an opponent's submission, or knock out. There are a lot of gladiatorial sport films out there, but Warrior had designed and crafted sequences that don't employ too much bullshit techniques used to cover up the lack of true ability. It is as convincing as it gets here, and you're bound to reel and feel for the fighters.

But for all of its bite in the action sequences, Warrior makes a fantastic balance between the need to thrill, and having a soul through its more dramatic moments, thanks to the very well written roles that the various cast members managed to deliver. Highly recommended, and going into my shortlist as one of the best the year has to offer.

Star Watching Dog (星守る犬 / Hoshi Mamoru Inu)

Doggie Love

Based on a manga, Star Watching Dog despite its title, poster and trailer, is not quite your typical film with a story revolving around our canine friends, and because they are our best friends, there are countless of such films made, usually entrenched in saccharine sweet melodrama where the hallmarks of a dog's loyalty get put on display, until in recent years Hollywood's movie magic decided to make them talk like humans, in films that you would be better off missing. Star Watching Dog goes back to basics, but in its eagerness to move away from formula, crafted a film centered around the human characters, who sadly isn't half as interesting as Happy, one of two dogs prominently featured in the movie.

There are two story arcs in this film, although one of them is little more than a sideshow distraction set up only to provide the picturesque looking sunflower filled field and to create an emotional hole in the heart of lead character Kyousuke Okutsu (Tetsuji Tamayama), a civil servant who grew up with a dog which he had carelessly mistreated, and to this day still bears the emotional scars of his cruel act. The main arc involves the discovery of an abandoned van in the middle of nowhere, and the skeletal remains of a man and his dog. This discovery landed on the lap of Kyousuke who is tasked to do the necessary since there are no identification papers found anywhere, except for a series of receipts, which Kyousuke gladly took up to track down the story of whoever it was, and was especially piqued by the dog, now buried in a nearby makeshift grave, which decided not to leave its master's remains until its own demise.

So begins a road trip of sorts for Kyousuke as we journey together from point to point, starting with a spa hotel, to a provision shop, followed by an antique shop, on a ferry to the island of Hokkaido and finally to a beachfront hotel. Along the way Kyousuke picks up Yuki Kawamura (Umika Kawashima), a runaway who decided to come along for the ride. This makes the entire narrative very episodic in nature, with each pitstop contributing to the backstory of the main arc involving the unidentified man (Toshiyuki Nishida) and his Akita dog Happy (the Akita you will know since it's a breed made famous by Hachiko) told in flashbacks, which involves very little of the usual dog antics and tricks used by filmmakers to pad their films, but focused a lot more on Toshiyuki Nishida's elderly man character instead, with the man being obviously sick, and running out of cash, plodding to its inevitable end.

But here's where the filmmakers took out their cheat sheet after they have exhausted a lot of scenes with the very obvious message that kids don't make good pet owners, as they are in it for a pet so long as the latter stays cute, and will outlive their welcome once the animals grow up, since they will be other distractions in life while growing up. We don't necessarily learn a lot about the elderly man and his dog Happy during the flashbacks, and neither does the characters of Kyousuke and Yuki serve any further function once their quest brings them full circle to where they had started, so the filmmakers had to pad the film with an extended epilogue that explained and showed, from the very beginning, with the elderly man's relationship with Happy, going through a series of milestone events from the Lehmann Brothers debacle, and the breaking up of the man's family through his own indifference, making him one really sad soul with nobody to turn to except for his dog as they go on a one-way trip with a medical sentence in tow, with no money, no friends and no family but each other.

This is the segment that makes it your typical canine film and frankly was a lot more interesting than everything else that went by earlier, since they were little more than teases for the real thing, as we learn just why and what this dog did what it did, although it can be said that this epilogue section was anything but canonical since nobody can actually verify what was said and done, if the narrative technique following Kyousuke was used. So I thought this was entirely necessary, otherwise the entire film would have felt really empty. There's little character development in the story since the characters are all on their respective road trips in different timelines with little time devoted to allow audiences to learn more of their characters behind what's being played out on screen.

Like the dolphin blessed with a happy looking face, Happy the Akita dog also possesses similar features that will appeal to just about any kid in the theatre to want to get one, but I really hope its message will sink into parents not to succumb to impulse and then having a go at abandoning a being that has nothing but absolute loyalty for you. As far as films about canines go, this one settles in just about average, saved very much by the last, unfortunately draggy, 30 minutes.

Drive

I Am The Driver

I have to admit I haven't been much of a Ryan Gosling fan, but two back to back movies of his hitting the theatres simultaneously here have changed my mind, both being very different films that Gosling nailed his leading characters to a T. With The Ides of March, his character was a cocksure schemer who had to compromise his morals and principles to stay ahead of the game, and in Drive, he plays the archetypal strong, silent and man of few words type, hiding a more explosive self deep within, ready to be released at the shortest of notices.

There are many films of late that has that fast car component, from The Fast & The Furious and Transporter franchises, to Faster with Dwayne Johnson as a tough guy and Nicholas Cage as an undead in Drive Angry. Drive is a different take altogether, more Transporter in the way Gosling's stunt car Driver operates with his rules for any side, clandestine jobs he undertakes, being the best of the best in what he does, although less flashy and sans fancy martial arts moves and packing a default gun. But that doesn't make his character any meeker than he looks, with a violent pent up nature well hidden from his gentle, hardworking demeanour, ready to unleash hell on his unsuspecting opponents.

If you haven't heard of director Nicolas Winding Refn, perhaps it is time to sit up and take notice, especially since the director's works have not hit the local screens until now, with films like the Pusher franchise, and Bronson being critically acclaimed. He brought about both style and substance in what would be a rather moody film, with characters speaking less and showing a lot more through their nuances and acting, which Gosling aces and made his driver character all the more appealing. The opening heist scene will set the tone on what you the viewer will come to expect, totally going off in a different tangent from what the usual cookie cutter scene will be - noisy and almost always complete with reckless crashes, for what would be an extremely smart and stealthy getaway relying on street smarts, logic and plenty of driving know-how. In other words, a thinking man's film that's filled with plenty of emotions later on.

Based on a book by James Sallis and adapted for the screen by Hossein Amini, who was also responsible for films like Shanghai and Killshot, the story has the Driver getting caught up with the affairs of his married neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son Benicio (Kaden Leos), with a promising romance rudely interrupted with Irene's husband, an ex-convict, being threatened by gangsters to get involved in the robbing of a pawnshop. Things of course don't go as planned and the Driver takes it upon himself to protect the innocent people he is in love with from any potential harm, even if it means sacrificing relationships he holds dearly and a budding hope of carving out a career in car racing.

What made this film such a stand out from its genre peers, is how Refn crafted a film based on extremely gorgeous cinematography and having to say a lot more with less. I'm absolutely taken in by how beautiful every shot looked, coupled with an excellent soulful soundtrack that fit perfectly into the film, as well as the heartfelt performances by Gosling and Mulligan, even if the latter is somewhat reduced to a damsel in distress. There were many scenes that stood out so well you'd want to freeze frame those moments to adore its play with light and shadow, and credit goes to cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel for having every shot in picturesque fashion.

Then there's the explosive turn from the midway point which threw all the hope the characters had built up out of the window, and where the violence got amplified. From the silent nature that the Driver had exuded so far, it gave way to careening violence and gore when he goes on a one man protective rampage to want to make things right again, with villains being forced to a corner, and essentially having both sides show hand just how extreme each side can get when it boiled down to self-preservation, with everyone sent down a spiral of never ending violence with all to lose. Here Gosling shines in his one man army role without being over the top, with his intense gaze mesmerizing all on screen and always threatening to go over the edge, which he does with loved ones under threat.

It's an extremely romantic story at heart as well as a film based on technical brilliance punctuated with well delivered performances from its cast, with Refn at the top of his game making you feel for and getting involved with the characters and plot. An excellent film all round and one that will go into my shortlist as one of the best this year. Highly recommended!

The Ides of March

Who Do You Trust?

George Clooney for President? If his persona as Governor Mike Morris in the first half The Ides of March is anything to go by - an excellent orator blessed with natural charisma and a dedicated and talented campaign team, it's no surprise to find people throwing their weight behind him. But this is not the one man one vote system we have here, but the US democracy system involving electoral divisions, which may baffle some of us not familiar with it, but even if so, this film will not alienate you, but draw you into its proceedings about how the greed of man influences one's desperate cling for self-preservation, and pride.

It's pacey and punchy, and is what everything about what a political thriller does best, in making it easy to identify with its broad themes for the man on the street involving morals, principles, integrity, trust and power, having likely tradeoffs between characters all trying to gain the upper hand, because the pot of gold at the end of this dark tunneling journey is the Oval Office of the White House, where the person you back, if you're right, takes on the hot seat as Commander in Chief, your job is more or less secured for at least four years, with an option for another four.

It's very pronounced in today's context with the American elections due another 48 months, and this serves as a sneak peek set in the context of a crucial party nomination run off centered about the decider in the state of Ohio, where Senator Thompson (Jeffrey Wright) is being wooed by opposing nominees Morris (Clooney) and Senator Pullman (Michael Mantell) for the Democratic nomination. Running their respective campaigns are seasoned veterans Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Tom Duffy (Paul Giamatti) in opposing camps, with Ryan Gosling as Stephen Meyers, a young, promising media savvy hotshot supporting Morris because of belief in the message and values the latter demonstrates, and is seen as a tremendous asset by both sides of the camp.

So begins the cajoling for news, quotes, insights from opponents each trying to feel and strategize against the other, and from not-so-innocent bystanders like the press (Marisa Tomei) eager for scoops as the campaign heats up, feeding on information and leaks with threats that can make or break anyone in print. Information is currency, and knowledge is power in this game, and we're thrown into the thick of the action from the onset, primarily charting how events unfold and Meyers' wheeling and dealings, cajoling, half-deals under the table and behind the scenes, all starting from a single phone call for a meeting from Duffy to call upon Meyers which translates to a flatter, that catalyzes into a measured, political chess game.

It's about Meyers' pride that will lead to a seduction, turning one against his own beliefs and value system, allowing us to witness how easy it is for anyone to blackmail or be blackmailed, about who's playing who, and how everything isn't as simple as it seems in the race for power. The last film I've seen that involves political campaigning was in Definitely, Maybe, a romantic comedy, but The Ides of March is more State of Play in its intensity and gripping narrative, based upon the play Farragut North by Beau Willimon, that made this film truly stand out under Clooney's astute direction. If you're dreading a film with plenty of dialogue, trust me in this film the lines are like honey as you marvel at brilliant conversations laced with plenty of in-betweens.

I am not that big a fan of Ryan Gosling, but his powerhouse performance here has changed my mind. While Clooney may be the biggest name on the marquee, this is clearly a Gosling vintage performance as the ambitious young man who thinks the world of himself, until as the Chinese saying goes, the old ginger is always hotter, meaning his lack of experience and savviness in some areas exposes his shortcomings, but as already recognized by his more veteran peers, his character of Meyers possesses the undercurrents and potential of becoming a major player and game changer, it's only a matter of time before he wises up. Gosling portrays this transformation with tremendous intensity, swinging from one end of the inexperienced campaigner who got blindsided, sacrificed, and caught offguard, to making the best of the situation with cold, calculated moves of his own. This is the movie, and Gosling made it his own.

But that's not to discount what his co-stars have brought to the table. Flanked by powerhouses in Philip Seymour Hoffman as his mentor of sorts (in a relationship that bears all the hallmarks of Star Wars' Obi-wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker somehow), and Paul Giamatti as the equivalent on the opposite camp, Marisa Tomei also held her own in her bit role as the New York Times reporter more like a double agent, making deals with either side to further her career, and Evan Rachel Wood balances the testosterone levels to star as, well, yet another seductive temptress, a young intern working at Morris' camp who holds a very crucial secret that can make and break the nominees.

With beautiful cinematography and an excellent soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat, I enjoy it best when Clooney goes behind the camera for politically charged dramas, and besides the blip in Leatherheads, perhaps this genre is indeed his forte as he charms his way on screen, while creating something sleek and sexy behind the scenes. Definitely a must-watch political thriller, and one of the top, top films of the year!

Tower Heist

Check Out That Babe Across The Street

I have to admit the top attraction in this Brett Ratner film is the pairing of Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy, two top drawer comedians with the latter probably having seen better days. Still, the trailer would have sold you that there's never enough of Murphy's trash talking, except that the best bits were already found within that preview clip, and the rest of Murphy's limited screen time never really made any further impact as far as tickling the funny bone is concerned.

Bankers and white collared criminals seem to be under the spotlight these days, with Johnnie To's Life Without Principle taking square aim at unscrupulous schemes banks employ to get that extra buck from the less than financially savvy, or in Margin Call, opening in theatres at the end of the year here, deals with folks in an investment bank during the brink of the financial crisis. In Tower Heist, the crux and the rationale for a group of ex-staff breaking and entering a high security Tower (Trump Tower standing in as a set) lie with its owner Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), who had just about swindled all of their pension amounts, given that as employees, what better than to entrust one's savings to someone who's known to be a hotshot in Wall Street?

Perhaps it is this blind faith, and probably basic human greed in continuously wanting more, that these ordinary Joes and Janes become victims of fraud. I would suppose the plotting in Adam Cooper, Bill Collage and Ted Griffin's story would probably have stemmed from a reaction to the recent debacles involving white collared criminals with the intent to swindle, and it can't hit closer to home than in recent years, highlighting at times the injustice served since men like Shaw command a network of high net worth and influential individuals, that it becomes almost like an old boys club in the way threats are made by those with power and the currency to wield that power, of the rich versus the working class.

And the working class got represented at the top of their food chain by Ben Stiller's building manager Josh Kovacs, who is just about the best manager there is, with structured rules set up to serve their well heeled customers and tenants in the building, with nothing left to chance and everything served up to perfection. From Lester the doorman (Stephen Henderson) to Odessa the chambermaid (Gabourey Sidibe) and new hire Enrique the elevator attendant (Michael Pena), Kovacs is that manager who would stand up for his workers, and take responsibility to account for what's essentially wrong, and has the moral courage to set things right, nevermind at personal cost. And this can be seen at the more compassionate level at which he handles tough situations, such as being given the dirty task to evict a tenant (Matthew Broderick),

But when it's time to get even on behalf of the honest folks against the dishonest owner, at costs of even breaking the law, here's when the film switches gears when Eddie Murphy's Slide, a minor felon, enters the picture, taking up the task to train robber wannabes made up of a rag tag crew into a real outfit, having the best surveillance there could be given ex-staff who knows everything about the building and its tenants inside out, with added complexity of having the police around since Shaw is put under house arrest. If one is expecting the usual heist movie formula, don't, since those elements get touched upon early, with shifting loyalties thrown in to sweeten the mix. Eddie Murphy is at his funniest in a long while, and it's a tad pity his role becomes rather anonymous during the last third of the film.

While there were some story elements that were half baked, like the unlikely romance between Kovacs and Tea Leoni's FBI agent Claire Denham which went nowhere, and huge plot elements that require that suspension of disbelief - even the film copped out by not having to detail how certain things got done to avoid copycats in real life - that made everything a tad too convenient. The centerpiece action sequence of sorts involves an extended, elaborate stunt through the use of elevators, but that in itself raises some questions with implausible answers with regards to weight, and just about how anyone, a team even, could have done what they did in that short a period of time.

But who cares? It worked on the very basics of its premise, and had it covered on the entertainment front. It could have been funnier if it had allowed Murphy to be unleashed without holding him back, and given him a lot more screen time to do what he does best. The Stiller-Murphy axis just wasn't allowed time or bandwidth to fulfill its comical potential.

[DVD Short] The Three Sisters (三朵花) (2011)

As the adage goes, blood is ultimately thicker than water. Bickering amongst siblings is a given, but you do know at the end of the day that relations will always triumph beneath the caustic jibes and the sarcasm.

A number of things worked for producer-writer-director Leon Cheo's latest short film The Three Sisters, the first being the casting of the titular trio in Liow Shi Suen, Lok Mng Chue and Daisy Yeo where you find a peacemaker, someone who treads the middle ground, caught up in between two of her bickering siblings, each equipped with sharp tongues and always wanting to have the last word. They are having a sisters night out for an evening at the Cantonese Opera, a dying trade in Singapore, and the cast also did their dual roles with aplomb, playing another three sisters, in the same age order, for the stage production, in what would be reel life imitating reel art, and vice versa.

How this will turn out is everyone's guess, since they create a scene from the get go when they get together at the theatre foyer, and annoy themselves and other patrons as the night wore on. Relationship issues are what's most often touched upon in their lives, as well as the lives of the characters on stage, and while it may cover an entire spectrum of emotions from longing, unrequitedness and being stuck in something seemingly loveless, these are touched upon lightly without being overly preachy or nostalgic as the sisters reminisce about the good ol' bygone era of outdoor live entertainment. The Three Sisters also kept the best for last, providing a satisfying sucker punch in its final act to wrap everything up really nicely from the minute a cab arrives to pick the sisters up.

One of the earliest films to be produced here through crowd sourcing, The Three Sisters boasts handsome production values despite a relative shoe-string budget of about S$5K (or at least that was the amount crowd-sourced), and has a simple story to tell that's easy on the themes it wanted to dwell upon. Family themed films may be Leon Cheo's forte, so it'll be worthwhile and interesting to see where he turns his sights to next for his next film project.

A friend had lent me this DVD for viewing, and I'd say if you can get your hands on one, do give it a shot!

The independently produced Region Free DVD presents the film in anamorphic widescreen and in the original Cantonese language track with English subtitles only. Extras packed into this release include Production Stills consisting of 21 stills that plays over 1:14, and 81 Behind the Scenes Stills over 5:02. There is also an inclusion of a Deleted Scene (0:54) shot at Esplanade Bridge, which was left out of the final film probably because it may be deemed too early to brandish Chekov's gun.

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[DVD] Delhi Belly (2011)

Kuah Simi?

It's loud, it's obnoxious, and it's really very rude. That's what made Delhi Belly so much fun as a crime caper of a film that's unseen coming out from Bollywood, until now. It's a lot more fun watching this the second time round, and if you do watch this film, make sure it's the Hinglish audio option selected, which in itself adds a separate dimension of comedy that comes across as natural since it's accented the way it is, something like Singlish being the actual lingua franca despite what the authorities say and discourage its use.

You can read my review of Delhi Belly here.

The Region Free DVD by Excel Home Entertainment presents the film in a pristine anamorphic widescreen transfer, with audio in its original Hinglish (English + Hindi) Dolby Digital 2.0 or 5.1, and a pure Hindi version in 5.1. Subtitles are available only for the feature film in English and Arabic, with scene selection over 18 Chapters.

The Special Features appears quite scant, broadly categorized into Theatrical Trailers and Music Video and Songs. The Theatrical Trailers and TV Spots are presented in anamorphic widescreen transfers, with First Look (1:09), Trailer (2:16), Aamir Khan Dialogue Promo (1:09), and Dialogue Promo 1, 2 and 3 (0:38 each) with a Play All option.

Music Videos and Songs unfortunately doesn't come with subtitles, and are presented in a letterbox format, with all the actors staying in character as they lip sync to songs heard in the film, complete with film clips and a Play All option. There's Bhaag D.J. Bose, Aandhi Aayi (3:15) which is a contemporary rock number as compared to the use of more traditional Indian musical instruments in Nakkaddwaley Disco, Udhaarwaley Disco (3:02). Other songs include Switty Switty (2:56), Bedardi Raja (3:15) and Delhi Belly Medley (3:09) putting everything together. Ja Chaudail (2:43) is as seen and lifted directly from the film, as is the iconic I Hate You (Like I Love You) (3:00) from the end credits, with Aamir Khan in a cameo hamming it up as Disco Fighter complete with incredibly tight clothes, ridiculous hairdo and continuous thrusting and gyrating of his pelvis. Plenty of fun in this music video compared to the rest!

Are You Ready to Dance with the Dragon?

Following the success of its Lunar New Year movie It's A Great Great World directed by Kelvin Tong, MediaCorp Raintree Pictures is now swinging into motion to have yet another Lunar New Year film slated for the lucrative period in 2012. Teaming up with Kelvin Tong again, who is taking up screenplay responsibilities with Marcus Chin, it's no surprise that this film, which will go into production in November, features a story that has the Lunar New Year of the Dragon and various related motif prominently featured.

The synopsis goes:

Dragon is a mystical creature and revered by the Chinese; as one of the 12 Chinese Zodiac, the Year of the Dragon represents prosperity. Dance Dance Dragon《龙众舞》 tells the story of Mother Loong who desires to have a grandchild. However, none of her three children have plans for any children. Things change for the Loongs on the first day of the 2012 Year of the Dragon when a newborn boy is found on their doorstep!

Budgeted at 1.2 million,Dance Dance Dragon《龙众舞》 (not to be confused with Dance of the Dragon) stars Dennis Chew, Kym Ng and Adrian Pang (the latter two sharing the big screen previously in Wee Li Lin's Gone Shopping), and Malaysian artistes Lai Ming and Melvin Sia. Kat Goh, who served as Assistant Director to a number of Kelvin Tong films such as The Maid, Love Story, Kidnapper and It's A Great Great World, and won accolades recently at the 2009 Silver Screen Awards, Singapore Short Film Category for Best Film (Swimming Lesson) and Best Director, directs her debut feature film. In her press statement, Kat says, "Since young, I have always enjoyed Chinese New Year films as they are festive occasions when the entire family bonds in a cinema. To have Dance Dance Dragon - a Chinese New Year movie - as my debut film therefore comes as an absolute delight for me. I can't wait to bring my parents to the cinema this coming Chinese New Year."

As with almost all Lunar New Year films, expect some wholesome comedy with heart warming moments fit for the entire family. The shoot will commence in November and filmed entirely in Singapore, with distribution by Cathay Keris Film and is slated to screen from mid January 2012. Watch for it!


Photos Courtesy of MediaCorp Raintree Pictures Pte Ltd

[DVD] Singham (2011)

Cop Swagger

I noticed that the the window between the cinema debut for a Hindi film and its subsequent DVD release is getting shorter, perhaps in a bid to combat piracy, and perhaps it's good news for fans fans of any film if they so desire to rewatch the movie in the comfort of their home and for those little extras packed inside the DVD release. Some may argue that a shorter window may spell disaster at the box office since many can afford to wait, but the collective and communal cinema experience is something yet to be accurately replicated with a home theatre system, well not just yet.

And films like Singham, which is and meant to be a lot of fun, is best viewed with large masses of folks, preferably vocal and rowdy, since there are plenty of opportunities in the film for you to go wild and cheer the hero on as he goes on a stylized rampage to rid his community of the evil that comes in the form of an influential city gangster. You can read my review of the film here, and the second round at home was just as fun as the first, only without the crowd experience.

The Region Free DVD by Reliance Home Video presents the film in an anamorphic widescreen format without blemish, and audio is available in its original Hindi language with options in Dolby Digital 5.1 or Stereo. Subtitles are available throughout the feature film in English and Arabic, with scene selection over 20 Chapters.

As with most DVD releases of Indian movies, there will be a menu option for Songs, and Singham only has three in its entire movie, with the title theme song Singham (3:50), Saathiyaa (3:14) and Maula Muala (2:48), which goes into the point in the film they come on, and then exits back to the menu. There's also the Play All option.

The Special Features turned out to be one massive Making Of broken down into separate sections, with a Play All option, presented in letterbox format in a mix of English and Hindi, and as such no subtitles are available here. Making of Singham "Action" (6:42) showcases the usual behind the scenes look on the choreography of many stylized fights with the help of plenty of wires. Interviews with the star Ajay Devgn, director Rohit Shetty, actress Kajal Aggarwal and supporting cast members such as Prakash Raj, Ashok Sarat, Sonali Kulkarni and Sachin Khedekar are available in all the sections such as Character Sketches (6:47) where they talk about their roles, and share their respective Difficulties in Making of Singham (5:07) especially from the heat experienced in Goa while shooting the film outdoors.

Those who always marvel at the way Bollywood does its song and dance sequences will find plenty of material in Making of Singham Title Song (5:03) and The Making of Maula Maula (4:38).

The Three Musketeers in 3D

Musketeers Assemble!

There are more than 20 films made on Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers novel, so the challenge here for any filmmaker seeking to make a film adaptation is to come up with something new, but yet staying true to the spirit of what the One For All and All For One epitomizes. Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the man responsible for a number of Resident Evil films and other remakes such as Death Race, it's quite obvious he'll film this in 3D given that he took the Resident Evil franchise in that direction with a steampunkish look and feel, but little else.

The Three Musketeers tells the story of four musketeers, with a certain D'Artagnan (Logan Lerman of Percy Jackson fame) looking to join the French King's elite force only to find that they've been disbanded by the evil Cardinal Richelieu (Christoph Waltz) who has the diabolical plan of getting England and France to go to war, and stepping in to usurp the throne. D'Aartagnan soon makes an enemy out of Captain Rochefort (Mads Mikkelsen) and bumping into the trio of Athos (Matthew Macfadyen), Porthos (Ray Stevenson) and Aramis (Luke Evans), the titular musketeers now into semi-retirement, and soon find themselves banding together once again to answer the call of saving the king Louis XIII (Freddie Fox) and his queen Anne (Juno Temple).

That's the gist of the usual tale, where in Paul W.S. Anderson's case had envisioned the musketeers to be sort of an early rendition of secret agents out to do the country's bidding, with a license to kill. The opening character introductory sequence brings us to Venice, Italy, where the trio, together with Milady de Winter (Milla Jovovich) embark on a secret quest to retrieve construction plans of an airship, only for the lady to betray them all, and working as a double agent under Richelieu, and the Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom). The screenplay by Alex Litvak and Andrew Davies broadly follows certain key elements from Dumas' original story, such as the involvement of the Queen's lady in waiting (Gabriella Wilde), the plot to kick-start a war and the many political double-crossing, but took a lot of liberties pertaining to how events unfolded that it is The Three Musketeers in name only, and could have been entitled The Adventures of Milady de Winter for the pivotal role the character plays throughtout the film, and having just about the coolest of all fight scenes. Oh yes I forgot Milla is Mrs Anderson.

Much has been said about the mixed accents spoken through the film, and it's true, if one's a stickler for accent authenticity, one will not find that in this movie, where everyone just about speaks in their own natural accented English. Everyone practically hammed up their roles, with Orlando Bloom turning in a really flamboyant performance as the villainous Duke complete with metrosexual tendencies, while Christoph Waltz, the current Hollywood It guy to play chief villains in films, slept walk his way in his role - you can tell he's already tired from it all - complete with a very bad hairdo. Worst, the heroes aren't that heroic and lacked certain believable charisma given that they are supposed to be One for All, being at times too smart even for themselves, and got overshadowed fairly quickly by the more illustrious cast standing on the side of evil.

Since it's a Paul W.S. Anderson film, expect the usual slow-motion technique being overused in just about every major set action brawl, with green screen environments being obviously used to craft and design unbelievably complex fights that almost always try to be very cool and stylish. It does take the mickey out of a good old straightforward swordfight, especially since guns are the de facto weapon of choice instead. When the battle airships got introduced, you know this is not your father's The Three Musketeers, but very much something that could have existed in a parallel universe instead. I wonder if Alexandre Dumas himself would be entertained by this updated version, that became a lot more comedic in nature as the minutes ticked by, or turned in his grave at the monstrosity this was.

It's good that this 3D version was shot in that format and not playing the cheat sheet by having it done in post production, with some moments obviously exploiting that format and you'll have a number of swords pointing your way more than once. Otherwise it's the usual depth of field you'll get to enjoy, but alas this version is far from being the definitive The Three Musketeers that you've read about, but a very bland action adventure that uses its name and premise only, but lacked any depth to truly live up to the themes it stood for, paying lip service only about camaraderie and love. The open finale is unsatisfying as it leads directly into a potential sequel that will see some difficulties in becoming reality given that this one didn't light up the box office.

RA.One

What Facial Cleanser You Use Ah?

The wait is finally over, with the release of Shah Rukh Khan's most anticipated and the most expensive Indian film to date, RA.One, chock full of visual effects it just looks like any other big budgeted summer blockbuster spectacle that Hollywood can churn out, only with a little bit more heart thanks to its family, or rather its father-son relationship arc, and one really infectious song-dance routine in Chammak Challo, which has become my new ear worm.

Much has been said about the film's visual effects shots, and true enough with the resources and technical craftsmen involved, the special effects looked really good and polished, although at times certain scenes were created just for the sake of putting more stars into the fray, or just to alternate between make believe landscapes to add variety. For instance, there's an early fantasy sequence with Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra and Sanjay Dutt involved in a pretty campy set up that doesn't look too out of place from any Final Fantasy film, with martial arts, damsels in distress and awesome weapons. It served as a fun, opening action sequence after some mumbo-jumbo about a new science fiction technology created by the fictitious Barron conglomerate, in which SRK's nerdy Shekhar is a chief games developer having problems with being the hero in the life of his young son Prateek (Armaan Verma).

The story isn't something that's totally unique, given many easily identifiable references from various science fiction films already done in the last five years or so, although in some ways most of these films all share common themes and attributes such as heroism, family relationships and the likes. But there were elements that are too close for comfort with what's already out there, and that takes some shine off being something original. For instance, James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgment Day was almost like the guiding light for the emotional centre of the story, with an evil being capable of shape shifting making it its mission objective to go after and eliminate the boy, who is being protected by a weaker version of the digital lifeform programmed for good. And of course there's the mom character (Kareena Kapoor as Sonia) who together form a dysfunctional family nucleus, except that she's not packing any serious muscle, trading mean attitude for more feminine moves on the dance floor.

Then with the recent release of Real Steel, the father-son story arc cannot be more pronounced, and incorporating elements from Gamer, you have avatar control built into this universe complete with the necessity to play out a deadly game, now transpired into the real world. Then when RA.One and G.One got introduced by Shekhar, they each come with a HART device that Tony Stark will probably send his lawyers to order a stop to the manufacture of the full bodied console game for a breach of intellectual property. Elements from The Matrix trilogy provided inspiration for sentient programs in the virtual world aspiring and eventually making it to the real world, but without the deep philosophical leanings, and formed the initial look and feel for the villanous RA.One when Tom Wu took on the role in the beginning (rumoured that Jackie Chan rejected this, and hence the running joke in the movie) complete with shades and black trench coat, before Arjun Rampal took over for the second half.

What's unique though is the creation of the names of the digital characters for the film, and having it named after the villain instead, since Shekhar's son Prateek, aka Lucifer as his online handle, made no hesitation in telling his clumsy, nerdy father that villains are cool and heroes are so passe, that in an effort to reconnect with his son, Shekhar readily convinces his development team to create a villainous character the world has yet to see, and incorporating Indian mythology into it, such as RA.One sounding very much like Raavan (with its 10 heads a metaphor for the identities he can readily adopt and use), while the good guy equivalent becomes G.One, or Jeevan, meaning Life, and made in the likeness of its creator.

Which of course is what forms a heavy dramatic aspect of the story in establishing the father-son, or husband-wife arc when G.One takes it upon its programming to protect Prateek and his mom by extension when RA.One enters the real world to hunt him down and to complete their unfinished business in the online arena. This provides for plenty of emotional wrangling since G.One may look like Shekhar, but possesses none of the mannerisms nor the bad curly hair but blessed with flawless synthetic skin (ok, I wonder how much of the budget went into this facial), so much so that it provided opportunity for an extended song routine which had licensed Ben E. King's Stand By Me to hammer it all in. Shah Rukh Khan plays two roles here which is probably reminiscent of Endhiran, the Rajnikanth blockbuster which was billed as the most expensive Indian film until this one came along, both as the creator and the product, although the innocence of G.One was more similar to SRK's portrayal in My Name is Khan.

Comparisons with Endhiran are inevitable, from certain scenes such as major fisticuffs involving the girl telling the robotic being to renounce violence, and an action sequence involving a speeding train which did look more like a summary of Unstoppable instead. Then there's the child like, innocent nature of G.One that makes it quite like Chitti, but I guess to ensure some peace was made before the film was released, this film had the Superstar reprise his now famous role once more in a cameo that overtly acknowledges unabashedly just who is the number one superhero in India. And frankly, Chitti here doesn't do much other than to appear and show who's boss, and the minute he appears, the audience just goes wild, which I'm sure this rapturous response will be replicated elsewhere as well.

So familiarity aside, RA.One still contains some nifty action spruced up by visual effects, although it's average at best for its story given that major ring of familiarity to it, padded like any other Masala offering with cheeky moments, slapstick, and all round promoter of good family values no matter how jarring those well meaning messages may come across. It's not the blockbuster I would have expected in its lack of sophistication in story telling, but no doubt it will ride on the strength of its marketing blitz and SRK's star status to ensure that fans still turn up in droves for this superhero's opening weekend.

P.S. would love to have watched this in 3D, but alas the print wasn't ready and will only be screened from Friday this week at select timings, and in truth now that I learnt it was a post-production conversion, that interest has now diminished, and none of the shots in the film was truly done with 3D in mind, nor to exploit what 3D can do.

In Time

Keep Walking

This was one of my highly anticipated films of the year given that Andrew Niccol's was responsible for writing and directing it, with his debut feature Gattaca remaining one of my firm favourites amongst the science fiction genre. Here, Niccol's created a whole new scientific world where the gene responsible for aging has been identified, and will be turned off automatically at age 25. However as a trade off, a timer that counts down is introduced as a population control measure, where time in terms of seconds to centuries get earned through an honest living, or obtained through unscrupulous means by way of crime. And one can gift another a slice of one's own life through almost telepathic ways, making it a commodity much like currency, and with any form of financial system equivalent, the rich get richer, while the poor gets stuck in the rut.

New environments and landscapes got created for this futuristic world with the slums being the residence and work area of the have nots, where going from point to point meant doubling up since time spent on non-economic activity is best kept to a minimum, given rocket inflation and the unfortunate need of having to live hand to mouth. Justin Timberlake continues his successful acting gig this year with a rather well placed Will Salas, a poor man gifted a century's worth of time, although wanted for murder and having to rage against the system for what it did to his mom, played by Olivia Wilde. Soon he teams up with Amanda Seyfried's poor little rich girl Sylvia in what would be a classic throwback to Bonnie and Clyde, with the duo involved in robbing from banks, and redistributing wealth in time currency amongst the poorest of folks with interest free loans

Blessed with a great premise that you would see have been covered in a number of short films out there, In Time somehow lacked that clear direction of where it wants to head to. It chases its own tail going around, didn't quite live up to its billing of how precious every moment, of an audience's time, actually is. Ultimately it really looked like an origin piece for something derivative from it, be it a television series which in all likelihood can work given a new universe created with countless possibilities that can use the 20-odd episode television to explore with new characters living in the confines of the environment, or an MMORPG where one can take control of one's online fate through avatars created and going about with similar challenges to stay alive.

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

The Woman Knight of Mirror Lake (競雄女俠 - 秋瑾 / Jianhu Nuxia - Qiu Jin)

MCPs Beware!

It's the centennial year of China's overthrow of its centuries long imperial rule spanning a number of dynasties, and it's no surprise for films coming out of the Chinese territories to be putting out more patriotic, biographical fare of its martyrs and heroes, some more well known like Dr Sun Yat-sen in Jackie Chan's 1911, while others perhaps not so with Qiu Jin, the titular woman knight, known for her progressive thinking and feminism, although my interest was stoked with her character's appearance to kickstart Jackie Chan's film. So having it released post 1911, may be a shrewd move given the trailer for the film had been played for months already before finally being released.

Director Herman Yau may seem like the director to go to if not to latch onto any popularity wave as far as film franchises and genres go. With his The Legend is Born: Ip Man, he took on the character outside of the Wilson Yip-Donnie Yen universe and gave it his own spin with Dennis To in the lead, and had a claim to some legitimacy with the casting and roping in of Ip Man's direct descendent Ip Chun as technical reference as well. It's been a long way since his earlier days of achieving cult status with his iconic Category III films like The Eight Immortals Restaurant and Ebola Syndrome, to being at the helm of a film celebrating the life and times of a Chinese heroine when interest has turned toward biographical stories of historical characters.

Actress Huang Yi, better known for her role in Overheard 2 and the campy Treasure Inn, plays the title character who is born into privilege, but having am inquisitive streak and mind of her own, challenging customs and traditions at a young age. Skilled in both the written word and in martial arts, she's an intellect with an independent mind, but is still constraint by societal rules, which at the time under Manchu Qing rule, had in place rather regressive norms such as bound feet and lack of education for women, in order to keep them docile and submissive due to a physical handicap passing off as beauty. Needless to say her shock jock tactics such as dressing in man's clothes do not gain approval from her government official husband (Kevin Cheng) who sees it as a lost of face amongst his peers, and determined to find her true calling, pack up and left for Japan, where she meets similar minded peers including Xu Xilin (Dennis To) where the seeds of revolution got incepted and cultivated.

Credit has to go to the scriptwriters to produce a well researched into biographical story, having Qiu Jin's multi-faceted life, roles and talent all incorporated into the character, without feeling repetitive. And in doing so you'll marvel at and admire her talent for poetry, martial arts (though for entertainment sake she fights like she can take on Wong Fei-Hong and Ip Mam together) and her rousing speeches on revolution, although with the latter it's more of a fight against an oppressive regime that condones the lack of female rights. And not only that, her uphill battle involves changing mindsets even amongst the educated women themselves, who have already ingrained what the skewed norm is. If anything her involvement in revolution came from the need to overthrow existing mindsets and provide the level of freedom and equality for her gender in China. And surprisingly Huang Yi manged to pull the character off, as she hadn't really had any role quite in the same league, or noteworthy of a challenge to begin with.

This is one film that was absolutely better than the promotional trailer made it out to be, which was quite the bore as it played out just about every aspect of the film and was a tad overlong, so thank goodness the film was way better delivered. We begin at the tail end of Qiu Jin's revolutionary life with the assault of her Dayong school, a front to train civil servants but in fact used as a training ground for revolutionaries, and slowly from flashbacks we get glimpses into milestones of her life, shifting backward and forward through transitions that worked at times, while others quite clumsily executed, though nothing more than to grab your attention to its technicality with limited impact to the plot of course.

The other gripe I had was with its martial arts. Granted the kung fu set action pieces would draw crowds but I've just about had a limit with wire-work stunts executed in physics-defying fashion. It's a historical biography, and the fight choreography could have been more subtly executed rather than to break the laws dictated by science. You can have superhuman throws in fantastical, mythical stories, but for something like this, realism would be much appreciated since so much effort had gone into creating a credible tale only for this niggling aspect to shave off some brownie points.

But on the whole, Herman Yau had assembled a credible piece of work that can serve as a launchpad for anyone remotely interested in researching Qiu Jin, with Anthony Wong and Lam Suet playing Manchu officials on a divided fence with one adamant to get rid of her soon to please the courts, while the other appreciating the fact the execution of a talented individual he admires, is nothing but a loss to society and country even. The final moments of her life is moving and poignant to say the least, a reminder in the world we live in that one's progressive thoughts and actions often puts one ahead of the pack, but all alone, and it takes tremendous gumption to literally make personal sacrifices and fight for what one believes in for the greater good, especially when up against powers that be who enjoy the status quo for obvious benefits. Highly recommended for that sneak peek into a Chinese heroine's life through film.

The Help

Oh My How Hypocritical

So one of my simplest reasons to watch this film is to see Emma Stone in a role that didn't require her hair to be dyed red, so that it's a glimpse into how she might look like in next year's summer blockbuster The Amazing Spider-man as Gwen Stacy, and coincidentally the last actress who took on that role in Sam Raimi's Spiderman trilogy, is Bryce Dallas Howard who's also in The Help as the antagonist whom everyone would love to hate for her highly hypocritical, bitchy and demeaning ways, being in a position of power and never letting anyone forget that, what more also as the instigator and immoral compass of the housewives in her community, organizing fund raisers for overseas but neglecting what's happening on the home front.

But frivolous reasons aside, The Help is one of the many films that's set in the 60s that deals with themes like prejudice and racism involving segregation amongst the Whites and the African Americans in Jackson, Mississippi, but having the very same themes also being relevant in society today even here in Singapore especially, with recent talk and focus on the issue of domestic help and our attitudes toward household maids that many employ for various reasons, who assist in looking after the children and the elderly, as well as to keep home while the rest of the adults are neck deep in economic pursuits. While racism is generally kept under control here, there are niggling incidents that pop up every now and then, so clearly we're not off the hook and there will always be individuals who choose intolerance.

Granted that racism back then was more pronounced especially during that era put on film, the story's based on an international bestseller written by Kathryn Stockett, and over here we're bound to identify with the issues highlighted especially in the horror stories you'd hear with regards to the treatment of domestic help, with abuse cases that make you sit up and wonder why we are capable of such inhumane acts. And the worst of all involves being hypocritical, putting on a false front for society, while clearly behaving like the devil when behind closed doors. The bottom line is, we're all humans and we share similar hopes and dreams whatever our skin colour, language and where we're from, in desiring a comfortable life filled with love, with a roof over our heads, food and community, friends and family we can turn to in times of need.

Which is why this film has themes and a poignant, thought provoking narrative that screams relevance, especially for those closeted intolerant few who must watch this, and reflect. Emma Stone stars as Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, an aspiring journalist who has returned home only to find out that the group of peers she had grown up with, are leading a lifestyle of superficial leisure, saying a lot of things, but meaning nothing. And for all their cliquish behaviour in cruelly treating one of their own as a social outcast (Jessica Chastain from The Tree of Life), for an ulterior reason only Hilly (Bryce Dallas Howard) knows, what more their household maids who have to slog with the chores, be that surrogate mother to their kids, be at their beck and call, and being given attitude, stick, and threats of the sack?

Given the tension all round during the time, it's no wonder that Skeeter's plans to want to highlight The Help's predicament and provide them with a voice, no doubt also serving as a ticket for her journalistic ambitions to embark on a career in New York, all met with stone walled silence, until Aibileen Clark (Viola Davis) decided that enough is enough, and begin opening up to Skeeter as research material, becoming her insights and perspective on how the African American help get treated in White households. And besides Aibileen's point of view, her friend Minny Jackson (Octavia Spencer) also chipped in, and both represent the broad spectrum of heartfelt accounts both good and bad, though largely negative, with the tacit understanding with Skeeter that they are not to be referred to directly.

It's one of those powerful films that takes the ugly side of humanity and presents it to us face on, to confront how cruel some of us can be, and what the strong amongst us must do to act and help those who are weak or bullied. Director Tate Taylor, who also wrote the screenplay, focuses on the tales crafted around the households both Aibileen and Minny serve, from being treated like dirt to forming firm friendships with some of the people they know and serve, such as Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain), as a reminder on how we should never judge a book by its cover, being obviously relevant when one gets handed one's fate for being of a certain skin colour. You may think that this may be a heavy film with all its seriousness, but trust me there is enough light hearted, even heart warming moments scattered throughout, though counter-balanced with moments of fear that will make you worry for the characters since mob mentality can lead to anything.

Emma Stone normally plays kooky characters of late, so this was perfect opportunity for her to shine in more serious drama which she does adequately. But she got upstaged by both Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, the former who brought a certain quiet dignity to her role which just calls for respect, and the latter being the comic relief as a really straight-talker, and whose story was probably the most touching in the film, with one of the funniest, running gag in the later half. Bryce Dallas Howard also owned her role as the antagonist Hilly in the film, and if you'd think she's only capable of goody two shoes roles, think again as she can convincingly play back-stabbers, with Sissy Spacek in a supporting role as Hilly's mom.

The Help reminds us of how one has to have Fear and Courage to addresses changes in community or the larger society we serve in, without which we would all be poorer for it. It may be almost 2 1/2 hours long, but it's every minute worth it just watching how an uphill battle was fought, and baby steps being taken each time to overcome obstacles placed in the characters' way. It's guaranteed that you'll laugh and you'll cry in the film thanks to its material, and it's firmly one of the contenders to be amongst my favourite films of this year. Highly recommended!