[DVD] Old Romances (老情人 / Lao Qing Ren) (2012)

The launch of the Old Romances DVD coincided with its World Premiere screening yesterday at The National Museum Gallery Theatre, where the directors were on hand to present the film, engage the audience in Q&A, and for an autograph session after the screening.

You can read my review of Old Romances here.

Like its predecessor, Old Romances gets its release on a Region Free DVD (PAL Format), with a key difference - not having television broadcast in mind, this film is presented in its original widescreen format, in an anamorphic transfer, so that's great for many of the widescreen television sets these days. For consistency, this release also sports a similar DVD menu design and function found for Old Places, kept simple with a small preview window that shows clips from either of the 6 chapters that can be selected individually - and clicking it again will bring you to the point in the film proper, or you can use the Play All function to watch the film in its entirety. The chapters do not bring you back to the menu once they're over though, it'll just continue onto the next, until the end of the film.

Even the packaging is kept consistent, done in a very old school style without the usual keepcase, with the DVD disc and 9 thick cardboard postcards when attached together, spells "Old Romances" against a kaleidoscope of nostalgic tile designs.

Film is in a mix of languages, with English subtitles (only) available. Which led to a question during the Q&A session whether subtitles in other languages would be available in future. And it's a reasonable request, for this documentary to be able to reach out to Singapore's older generation who may not be well versed with the English language, or familiar with the languages used by the different narrators.

While the Old Places DVD was relatively bare-bones, Old Romances DVD has a Behind the Scenes (7:08) segment, presented in an anamorphic widescreen format, subtitled in English, and shot in black-and-white, containing interviews with the three directors, and a behind the scenes look at their on-location shoots with the various collaborators and crew. Though short, I think there's probably enough material out there somewhere, where a documentary about the making of Old Places / Old Romances would be extremely interesting, sort of like a documentary about the documenting process. I'm also quite sure there's a lot more material shot that didn't make the final cut of the finished film. A photo-book would also probably not be out of reach, and having them all packaged together - photo-book, documentary, the films proper, would be quite a blast in some ultimate-edition type of release with full bells and whistles.

So Objectifs, what do you think? :-)

Related Links
- Facebook Group
- Q&A Session
- Purchase Old Romances from ObjectifsFilms here.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey IMAX 3D HFR

On Familiar Grounds
Given the phenomenal film success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy both in box office and critical terms, it's a little bit of a no brainer for the filmmakers and studios to desire adapting more of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth for the big screen, if they can work around the politics with everyone wanting a piece of the pie. It's been more than a decade since the first Peter Jackson film The Fellowship of the Ring broke new ground, with The Hobbit bounced around studios, directors even from Guillermo Del Toro back to Peter Jackson, the films being split into two, then three, the deliberation to shoot it in 3D, and on a high film rate of doubling the usual 24fps. And it's not only technical innovation but creative ones as well, closing aligning this story, by the time we get to the final part of the trilogy, to lead it right into earlier three films.

I'm pretty sure the first three films would have grown the fan base, and most would likely have dug into The Hobbit given that, compared to the other Tolkien books, it had familiar characters such as the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) and Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), the principal hobbit and the tale surrounding how he obtained the One Ring from Smeagol/Gollum (Andy Serkis). But while The Hobbit was very much a children's book, compared to the other three, the film treatment, on the big screen, was largely a departure from what one would expect from reading The Hobbit, with the filmmakers being quite conscious that despite the gap in time (here set some 60 years), tinkering with the film just as how Tolkien had tinkered with the very first print of his novel, to align it with his yet-to-be-crafted masterpiece.

Peter Jackson again took some liberties with the narrative that may irk the purists around us. Some may deem it serious departures from Tolkien's intent and sequence, such as the party's capture by three Trolls amongst others, but I suppose for a film to move things along, and translate effectively from print to screen, these decisions had to be done, in addition to coming up with story-arcs that ups the ante for action, since the first third of the book didn't have much to boast of. But these changes were judiciously applied and I thought effective for the film to gather and introduce a little more background and material, to show how expansive Tolkien's universe actually was, and set to get larger when all the completed films get put together.

What also worked was Jackson's filling of the gaps each time Gandalf disappears in the story, which in the film was a reason to re-assemble thespians such as Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee and Hugo Weaving to reprise their roles, in what would be another over-arching sub plot that sounds out the mysterious developments in Middle Earth revolving around a necromancer, that I'm sure many fans would appreciate additional easter eggs pointing to what's to come. Elijah Wood as Frodo Baggins also makes an appearance, in what would be Peter Jackson's way to ease into The Hobbit, sowing the seeds for any viewer in future to link up everything together. With pictures already leaked on more recurring characters, one waits with bated breath how it all gets uniquely intertwined.

Otherwise, this was essentially The Fellowship of the Ring part 2, where instead of a mixed fellowship consisting of hobbits, a dwarf, an elf, a wizard and many humans, this one was predominantly dwarves led by their de-facto leader Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), who have gathered together, mentored by Gandalf, and introduced to the 14th member of their squad, the reluctant Bilbo Baggins. In a promise of adventure, the true quest here is to recover the legendary kingdom of Erebor at the Lonely Mountain, which the dragon Smaug had massacred dwarfish ancestors and had taken over all of their land and riches. Thinking that Smaug, being unseen for years, could be dead, or time they'd get their act together to take back what's dwarf legacy, this becomes the main objective and plot of the film, in addition to common themes covered such as friendship.

The similarities between the earlier movies and this one cannot be more pronounced. Take away the deliberate, creative aspects, this felt very much like Fellowship of the Ring 2, albeit with a new team and new objective altogether. Thre's this sense of deja vu, whether be it fight scenes in the underground mines of Moria, or being pursued by Orcs and their wolf-dogs, that you'd wonder how else the filmmakers could have deviated or innovated with something new, rather than cutting too close to what many would have already be fairly familiar with. Granted that themes are universal in nature, but this translation to the screen could have been a little bit more varied - do we need another archer in a dwarf to compensate for Legolas' absence, or filler scenes such as the many sweeping shots of landscapes?

I was initially a little apprehensive with Martin Freeman being Bilbo Baggins, but I'm glad to be proven wrong through his superb performance, in perfect balance to bring out those small town principle and values and applying them to the extraordinary situations he finds himself in, making him truly the accidental hero many times over, and drawing us in to this wildcard of a team member within the company of dwarves. It doesn't matter if one is the smallest or most inexperienced, that it's what inherently inside that counts and inspires. As Gandalf had put it, his choice for the last member of the company is puzzling, but somehow Bilbo gives him courage, which gets proven time and again through the narrative, which I hope to see more of in the following films.

And of course, holding this film together like glue as we get acquainted with the ensemble, is Ian McKellen reprising his role. We get to see more of Gandalf the Grey at his element, shrewd and sly to aid his cause and motives amongst the company, serving as the strong link between two eventual trilogies. Richard Armitage provided his Thorin with natural leadership and charisma, whose development later in the story will almost definitely be heart-wrenching given where the film here had left off in his established friendship with Bilbo. As for the other dwarves, well, too many and too few screentime for most meant that it's unfortunate they remain in the background, save for a handful played by Ken Stott, Aidan Turner and Dean O'Gorman. Perhaps the other personalities will shine in the forthcoming films.

The 3D used here was exploited adequately, never letting up on opportunity to make objects propel directly into the camera/screen, especially during battle scenes. And the HFR, I suppose Peter Jackson had made a point here, and I'm sold. While the visuals take a while to get used to, sometimes proving to have a video-like, artificial quality, it really didn't make objects move in a blur, especially when the camera adopts a sweeping motion in an around landscapes, or when objects were being swung around, or quick movement of persons usually end up in a blur. Everything got captured crystal clear, now having your mind process everything that your eyes start to capture, where previously you would automatically disregard the backgrounds; now you can't. So in a way, it's sensory assault, but in a positive fashion.

Being the first film of the trilogy, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, was quite expected in the way things turned out, by playing it safe, adopting a narrative structure similar to The Fellowship of the Ring in its build up, having familiar characters return to the table to provide that level of comfort for audiences returning to Middle Earth, before and hopefully, finding its feet and tangent off on its own as we got left with the usual cliffhanger involving gazing into the horizon, promising a lot more. The Misty Mountains song, already lyric by Tolkien himself in the book, will prep you with goosebumps each time it's sung, by the dwarves or during the end credits, or when it serves as the broad theme in the soundtrack, lending prominence to the objective charted out for the story.

Old Romances (老情人 / Lao Qing Ren) Q&A

The three filmmakers of Old Romances - (from Left) Victric Thng, Eva Tang and Royston Tan - were present today for the World Premiere of Old Romances (老情人) at the National Museum Gallery Theatre to introduce their documentary, as well as to engage in a short Question & Answer session with the audience. The session went as transcribed below (with a few minor edits on my part for continuity reasons, my sincere apologies if this inadvertently - and I hope not - changes anything):

Moderator: I was just curious about the process, because most of the time you don't really see the narrators talking about the places, and also there were many, many beautiful stories, and memories, and places. So do you want to talk about the process, about filming, about finding the locations, finding the story tellers?

Royston Tan: Maybe I'll get Victric to talk about this?

Victric Thng: Thank you. The three of us have collaborated for Old Places, so Old Romances is really like a sequel to the documentary. So the format that we decided upon is that we will write down a list of the locations that we want to cover in the film, and after that, we will find people who happen to have any stories or memories about the place, to help us by sharing those memories in the film. But the directors decided not to be imposing, since there are three of us and each one of us have a very different style, so we decided to take a backseat, we like the film to be a space for the audience to enter into while listening to the stories of those people who will voiceover their memories. So generally I think the format is that we are taking a few steps back. If not you'll see a range of three styles where every director has his own take about things.

Moderator: So how do you come to a consensus with regards to the places and the stories. Was there any special place that you planted yourself because you like the place and wanted it to be featured?

Eva Tang: Actually there are a lot of places we wanted to film, but some have gone before we've manage to shoot them. So there's always regret in life. So how do we come to a consensus? We list down the locations, and for each one we try to find photographs, or even pass by and take photographs, so that the three of us have seen the images, and agree upon that this is consistent with the style. Because the place has to have a certain history, and also in terms of decor there must not be a lot of upgrading or renovations. So it has this style and aesthetic appeal to us.

Royston: And for me I represent a department called the "Emergency Helpline" like the police. What happen is like, we have a Facebook group and there's also a number that you can actually call us. Like if there's a place that's going to be demolished very soon, once you call me, what I'm going to do is to activate a crew to shoot it within.. our fastest record was two hours, to capture the last location of the mooncake place, because the next day they will be closed already. So I captured this and I captured Xin Cai Hong (New Chay Hong Beauty Salon). The railway station was very fast as well. We activated six different people stationed at different places to capture the same train passing by. We did it in a primitive style. We just take a handphone, and "Hello, the trained just passed me by", so the next team could stand by. So it's done in a very primitive, old fashioned way

Moderator: When you say an Emergency Team, I thought was to rescue you from the dentist! You know, it's very old school. The new dental equipment are very sleek and look less dangerous!

Royston: This uncle doesn't believe in love, doesn't believe in gentleness. They don't allow people to film this place in the last 30 years. So I waited there and finally there was a trade-off, that the uncle said "I will allow you to film in this place, but I have to check your teeth". And before that the uncle was scolding the patient before me - (In Mandarin) "Your teeth is so dirty! I will have to extract them all! I will do it now!" - I was waiting outside and my heart was beating very fast! But after that we became very good friends. You know the dentures that he made, he gave me the very first set that he made for his mother, so it's in my house now. So he's almost like a grandpa to me, and he's a wonderful person.

Moderator: I'm not going to ask about the address of the place!

Royston: It doesn't exist already. He retired last year. So actually 40% of what you have seen have all disappeared.

Moderator: I was looking at the film and there were a lot of places that I've passed by but never noticed. So it's an amazing experience, that as a Singaporean, I feel like, oh, have I actually seen the whole of Singapore, and I realize that I haven't. So I would like to ask the three of you, if there's any special place that is in this film, and you feel that you would like to revisit, or has a special significance to you in the filming of this project.

Eva: OK, this is a favourite question of a lot of people - which were our favourite places. Frankly and honestly, each one, and every one, is a favourite. Because after knowing their story, you love them even more. Personally, it has to be related to where I'm staying, because I stayed in Tanjong Pagar before, I stayed in Portsdown before, so this was where the train passed by, where the train station was, and in Portsdown with the railway track. So I've seen them there and they're now gone in a very short span of time. And also I like the Tanglin Halt neighbourhood. There's this provision shop which you've seen. People just pass by, and especially children who will remark "Why so smelly?" because there's no air-conditioning inside. (Eva then proceeds to describe the old fashioned way of cashiering using a pulley-tin system) But when you understand them, then it's like... their grandfather started from nothing, that's why they say "When I'm still alive I don't want any renovation". And what I really like about them is that they're really generous, and really care for the poor people. So even if you have 20c or 30c they can still sell you the garlic or onion. You don't have to go to NTUC (a large supermarket chain) to buy a big packeted bundle and can't finish it. Even for rice they can sell it in small packets. If you don't have money, it's OK if if you pay them a few months later. It's what we say in Chinese, we call it "Ren Qing Wei"

Moderator: Well, the sentimentality?

Eva: Yeah, the sentimental values, the humanity that's so important. So next time when I pass by old shops I don't think they're smelly anymore, because they're full of "Ren Qing Wei".

Moderator: Thanks Eva for sharing, it's a beautiful story. Victric?

Victric: I agree with Eva, it's very difficult to pick your favourite, since we started with Old Places and now with Old Romances, because every place is unique on its own, and every place has such rich stories and such beautiful memories. But if I have to pick something, I'm very happy that this time round we've covered more playgrounds. We covered some playgrounds in Old Places, and this time round we've covered more playgrounds. I miss all the old playgrounds. I miss playgrounds with sand where I can run around and play with my friends. And it's kind of like, when we put together the old playgrounds, when I was editing it, I felt like I've lost my playfulness and innocence. I forget how to have fun. I'm very happy we've covered, I think, all the old playgrounds in existence in Singapore, and I'm very happy to go back to Silat Walk estate, because that was really my playground. I play hide-and-seek, and catching, with my childhood friends over there. When we went down to cover the stories while filming, the people, they're all moving out, because the whole place got en-bloc, and they're going to the new HDB flats. I asked them how they felt about it. Of course they don't feel happy, because they felt that in their Silat Walk estate, it's really also their kampong and playground. But they can't do anything about it because of change. There's a lot of things we wanted to say while doing the film, but we can't, but we're very happy to have done this film for all of us.

Royston: I think it's the same for me. I like everything that's old, retro, old people. So if you hear any rumour about me liking people who are younger, obviously it's not true, it's tabloid!

(laughter from audience)

Royston: If you were to ask me to list a particular place, I think it will be Xin Cai Hong. Xin Cai Hong is a very, very special place because they will not allow walk-in (customers) at all. And if you're not an old lady, you cannot enter.

(laughter from audience)

Royston: I'm serious. I really waited very long, and kept pressing the bell until she allowed me to go up there. I'm in fact the first one or two guys that actually when up there. It's like "Er-Mei"

(laughter from audience)

Royston: No guys allowed, we cannot even sit on the chair. It's a very pure place and I went in there it was being preserved just as it was. So Xin Cai Hong is a very special place to me, and ever since then, the auntie and I now became good friends, and I'm still trying to convince her to shampoo my hair!

(laughter from audience)

Royston: But yeah, she's still considering.

Moderator: Did she lend you this, over here?

Royston: This is from my friend, but she has another one that's even nicer but I didn't dare bring it here for fear of damaging it. But it will be in my new house.

Moderator: I think Royston can explain a bit about the furniture here today because about 80% of the stuff are from your house?

Royston: Yeah, they're from my house, and some of the stuff are souvenirs given to us by all the old lovers inside the show. And yeah, I'm a big lover of retro stuff, so if there's anything you want to throw away, please let me know OK? Thank you.

Eva: And Victric is a vintage furniture collector, lover.

Question from audience: Hi, it's been very nice to hear all these very engaging and very interesting stories, but I think there was a conscious decision not to epilogue, was there? To the whole thing, not to epilogue some of the old places that are no longer around, or perhaps still are around today. What went into the decision not to epilogue?

Royston: I think personally for us, you can get the official answer from all the usual newspapers, or textbooks, but this time we want to let the interviewers tell their own side of the stories, and that makes it a little more human. And in the course of doing that we discover even more stuff.

Eva: And also Singapore is a country that always change. And the 45 locations you've seen, they are persistent. It's very rare to find these kind of people who are so stubborn, who don't want to change anymore, who don't go with what is trendy. There's a charm, and this is the charm that I feel is good to preserve.

Victric: I think for us, through this film, we're writing love letters to all these beautiful and lovely places. And we agree with you that, sometimes, or some of the places, 40% of the places are no more. I think it's not our place to give it an account, but because as filmmakers we want to kind of pay tribute to all these places. So it is our way to express our affection to all these places.

Moderator: I think the most powerful part about the film, for me personally, was that after we've seen the film, we're just reminded of our own experiences that you might (have) walked down with your first love at the bus interchange with the reluctance to board the bus, and of some places that kind of remind you of a place that doesn't exist anymore. Personally I appreciated that a lot.

Question from audience: Was it difficult to convince the narrators/story-tellers to speak up, after all, they're from the older generation. And my other question is, will there be a version with Mandarin subtitles, since this may appeal to the older generation who may not know English, to appreciate this film as well.

Eva: We have to do a lot of sweet-talking. We got a lot of rejections. Actually we've secretly filmed a few places but there are those that didn't make it into the cut because we still didn't get their permission. So some of them we've film secretly, and after more sweet-talking they said OK. Because they are older, they're more stubborn, and they always felt that their places were so dirty, so old, don't film us, but this is what we wanted to film about! They've never thought that their things could be shown on the big screen. But after a lot of interviews and seeing what we've done, they really, really love it and appreciated it. They've never seen it so beautifully done and we went to discover it through a pair of eyes that can see the beauty of it. As for the Mandarin subtitles I'll leave it to Royston to answer.

Royston: For very difficult locations, I just had to be very sincere. For example, the dentist, I really waited. I went three days and waited for him, until the third day he just gave up. I was holding the fruit basket and told him I will die if he didn't let me film this (place). And it's the same for Xin Cai Hong also. I just kept standing at the staircase (near) there, and waited like a ghost. I think they were very touched to see that we were so persistent about capturing this and not taking advantage of them. I think for the subtitling bit, I'll highlight to Objectifs which is our distributor, and hopefully with the following screening we can come up with something.

Question: I would like to ask, with the disappearance of some of these places already, do you intend to print, maybe a book, with a map of their locations, so we'd know there used to be something there. Because in a video, I don't think I can locate a lot of these places. The other thing is, Rochor Centre is going to be demolished some years later. It looks like a retirement centre for old people. So I don't know if you have any intention to film the place. Perhaps if you go to a particular place, you'd have a longer clip for that place, and perhaps have a longer film with more details? With a short clip of each location, you'll lose a lot of details.

Royston: We also want to protect the privacy of all the people, so we try to leave the address a little more vague. I'll give you one example. In Old Places, we revealed to people a place to catch wild guppies, and after that the whole canal, no more guppies already, because everybody went to catch guppies. So we try to be a little bit more vague, because they still live in their own environment, so we try not to invade them. Yeah, Rochor is a very interesting place. Let's see if we can find funding, or my two co-directors still have the strength to shoot a Part 3, because they're almost dying after making this. To be honest with you, the effort we have to put in - they were on standby, it's a two year process, and one of the biggest problems we have was that every time we do editing at 2am or 3am, when we're cutting the food segment, we really can smell the food, it really comes out! And after filming a place, and realizing the place has disappeared, emotionally it's a bit of a... burden, I don't know what you call it, emotionally we need some time to recover.

Question from audience: Did you manage to take any record of the Seventh Storey Hotel, before it was demolished?

Royston: It's a pity we do not have.

Eva: Just personal photos.

Question from audience: How about, do you intend to cover People's Park, because they're going to remove one of the buildings there to give way for SMRT.

Royston: I think in Old Places we've actually covered Yangtze Cinema, so that's one place. We need to see how the response for this one goes before we can decide on the third part. Actually I'm very scared about this question, you can see their (Eva and Victric) faces all turning green!

(laughter from audience)

Victric: It seems like it's becoming our responsibility to record old places! We're very happy and we hope that you guys enjoyed the film. And we hope that we inspire you to move forward to record your own old places and old romances, instead of leaving to us! So if you can, in any way, if you know of any place that you used to have fond memories of, please go ahead and document them in any way that you can, because eventually if we ever do something like this, and if we can't find any more materials, you guys will be the ones to supply all these materials.

Comment from audience: Maybe you can consider this as part of a syllabus. I think it's good education, and a kind of history that should be included, at least from primary or secondary school onwards, as part of the curriculum that the students will understand where we've come from. Like for me, I'm in my twilight. My parents decided whether they were to be in Singapore or Malaysia, so my mom is an a-go-go girl, and my father is actually a Nanyang kind of, square-spectacled guy. So what you've shown, is that there was a lot of movement in the past, and I think my kid needs to know so I've brought my kid along today.

Royston: Thank you so much. We have a Facebook group, it's actually called Old Places. Actually a lot of stories have been contributed through this Facebook group, so do join us and contribute stories for us so that we can prepare ourselves. In fact a lot of the stories were from these contributors, and some of them are here today. So please join our group.

Moderator: And please support local filmmaking. You can purchase the DVDs outside, give them out as Christmas presents, New Year presents, and there would be an autograph session. Once again we would like to thank Royston Tan, Eva Tang and Victric Thng!

Royston: I just want to say a very big thank you to each and every one of you who are here today, because part of the proceeds from the ticket sales, as this is project about love, we're going to give part of the proceeds to Action for Aids to help the HIV patients. So thank you so much for supporting us and coming to this event. Thank you!

Old Romances (老情人 / Lao Qing Ren)

Guess Where?
One good turn deserves another. When Old Places made its debut on television, many who missed it clamoured for a re-run, and it did. Since its debut two years ago, it has been screened multiple times at various venues, coupled with a DVD launch of its own. With Singapore's landscape that is ever changing, more "old" places, places that serve as a special venue to some, while to others hold nostalgic memories, get highlighted with a sense of urgency, and through the Old Places Facebook page, become a call to the filmmakers to once again capture a handful of them, which brings us to Old Romances.

Treatment wise, the filmmaking trio of Royston Tan, Eva Tang and Victric Thng adopt similar techniques in the capture of the various venues that are under the threat of change. With three cinematographers this time round to beef up their arsenal of those willing, and able to be on stand by to capture sites that have been earmarked for destruction, the consistent look and feel to Old Places continued, which serves well when the companion films eventually get screened, or re-watched, side by side. And thematically, the title evokes memories of people, and the love stories as told by the various narrators, whether be it with the places featured in this documentary, or evoking sweet remembrance of lovers that once were, who had shared in the nostalgic look back down memory lane.

There are 45 locations featured in Old Romances, bookended by what was probably one of the largest changes in Singapore's landscape in the closing down of the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, and moving up the railway from down south to the northern part of Singapore in Woodlands. Going with it are not only the station itself, with its huge waiting halls and food stalls, but the tracks that had cut through vertically down the island, with vast changes expected with the pockets of land surrounding the tracks that were unusable then, but not any more.

Technically the documentary has to continue in its style, which suited it well, with narration telling snippets of interesting nuggets surrounding a location, whether factually, or in anecdotical fashion, which inevitably includes locally flavoured humour. In Old Places the narration was largely made up by the man in the street from all walks of life. Now there's a slight difference in the presentation of these stories in Old Romances, probably in keeping with the theme and to live up to its title, in that a large number of these stories were told by the location proprietors, or their descendants, which adds more than the usual authenticity since they are intertwined with the places they help set up and establish, and have become icons in their own right amongst the multitude of loyal customers they had been serving. Not only do the places need to be preserved on a film archive, but it has taken more of an organic approach to also document the people, from a community centre pageant winner to a dentist still deft with his old tools of the trade.

One of the most successful documentaries done locally, and its success probably attributed to people sensing an urgent need to preserve some form of heritage in our short history, this is keenly felt when the directors revealed during a Q&A that 40% of what had been captured over the two year period of making the film, are no longer around today. But thanks to film, their slice of history can be preserved in a way, with expectations that will inevitably grow for the filmmaking trio to continue building on their good foundation to perhaps make this into a viable series. A definite recommendation!

Bachelorette

Unhappy People
I suppose with the success of The Hangover comedies, which was essentially a guilt trip for the male demographics, someone's got to plug the gap for the females, and so we have films like Bridesmaids, which was equally insane in its treatment and comical moments. On the other hand we have wannabes such as Bachelorette, which tried but tried too hard, and while having its moments, turned out to be a little too contrived, with good ideas ultimately tanked by playing them out too safely, that it became horribly boring.

Based on a stage play by Leslye Headland, who adapted it to a screenplay and directed this film, Bachelorette had its casting against type working for it, albeit for a while before the novelty wore off as the movie went on. The one who will catch your eye amongst the cast list will be Rebel Wilson, whose presence was such a boost in films like Pitch Perfect, and even her bit role in What to Expect When You're Expecting was funny as hell, but here, it's quite unfortunate she got relegated to the side for the most parts, playing the unlikely bride who's about to get married, and with that big day looming over the next 24 hours, decided to not spend too much time with her high school chums, played by Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fisher, whose characters call themselves the B-girls.

And boy are they B-grade alright. I haven't seen Kirsten Dunst in a film where she had to curse so much, and sure it was a cast against type, but somehow this bitchy demeanour her character Regan is, doesn't really get delivered with aplomb by the actress. The de-facto leader of the group, she's maid of honour, but clearly has plenty of envy issues swirling around, that I suppose any girl can identify with. She's one of the most unlikeable characters for the surface hypocrisy displayed even amongst friends, but ultimately, for the sake of team dynamics, I guess you can't really leave someone like this out of any group dynamics, one who's bossy and having a say in everyone's actions, although when push comes to shove in the most stressful of times, she's probably the one with all the right solutions.

Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fisher play the other two bachelorettes Gena and Katie, both who clearly have a drink and drug issue, spending most of the time in the story high and drunk, never refusing a chance to light something up, or gulp something down. Granted this was probably to get the characters saying some kinky/nasty/funny stuff, but after a while it gets stale, and you'd wonder how long it'll take before they can sober up. Headland obviously has the best lines reserved for these two characters, but the "best" just didn't deliver. You know the lines are meant to be funny, but they'd hardly elicit any laughter because of deadpan delivery, and that they just didn't make the grade. And making things worse for the film, is that neither of these Bachelorettes are actually endearing, with the characters seemingly distant from anyone you can probably relate to or identify with.

Then again, I may not even be in the right target demographic to begin with. The story revolves around the perennial screw ups the girls find themselves in when they accidentally rip apart the bride's gown in the middle of the night, and spend the best part of the next few hours trying to find solutions to get it repaired on time before they ruin their best friend's big day. They agree, they disagree, they get together expecting a good party, but got more than they bargained for when their friendship gets put on the line, while at the same time tackling various guy issues courtesy of the ensemble on the groom's side - James Marsden as the slimy best man Trevor, together with Gena's ex Clye (Adam Scott) who's looking for reconciliation, and Joe (Kyle Bornheimer) who's encouraged to get into the pants of a dead drunk Katie.

Bachelorette as it turns out, is more of an exploration of women issues, and their insecurities and fear when you put a group of women friends together. The story perpetuates the notion of the intricacies behind each girl group, where one can be smiling outside while at the same time cursing big time on the inside. The opening sequence when the girls learn of Becky's upcoming marriage is testament to that, especially with Regan's ultra negative reaction, and that forms the emotional roller coaster ride that lasted until the final frame. It isn't pretty, nor funny, but really repulsive by the time the end credits roll.

A Werewolf Boy (늑대소년 / Neukdae Sonyeon)

Imprinting
I suppose writer-director Jo Sung-Hee had a checklist of the perfect guy that every woman would likely swoon for, with that bit of submissiveness, unwavering loyalty, sense of passion, and a tinge of the mysterious topped with the bad boy attitude when the time calls to be able to protect a loved one. Being good looking is a bonus as well. And with all these traits coming in the form of a leading character, it's without a doubt why this film is powering its way up the Korean box office charts.

It's a fantasy romance much like The Incredible Hulk and Greystroke: The Legend of Tarzan combined, except that the male protagonist here (played by Song Joong-Ki) isn't brought up by apes, but by wolves, and being tamed and trained by the young girl Suni (Park Bo-Young), with whom she begins to open up to, developing a firm friendship that soon developed into a romantic relationship despite their overt differences, and especially with the boy's silence.

But things aren't that rosy in this film, with false accusations, a jealous landlord, the military and a couple of scientists all wanting a piece of the wolf-boy, who harbours an even darker secret as to the strengths he develops, having inside of him a beast that can only be tamed by his lady love. How their love will survive these trials and tribulations become the emotional cruz of this romantic melodrama, which I have to admit is one of the best in recent years that I've seen, without going too over the top in treatment, but packing quite the punch in its final moments that challenges you not to tear as events come full circle.

With a good looking cast showcasing some fine acting chops, and CG that isn't too shabby, A Werewolf Boy is set to polarize opinions as to what the story stood for in terms of an ideal relationship expected from the opposite sex, and whether or not these are something that's sustainable or even plausible in real life. For the romantic die-hards, it is something that their hearts will secretly yearn for, and this is precisely the targeted group the movie is catered towards. But even if you don't subscribe to the saccharine sweet notion of perfect love, A Werewolf Boy still contains the necessary ingredients to move, unless you have a heart of stone. A definite recommendation!

You can read my review of A Werewolf Boy at movieXclusive.com by clicking on the logo below.

Silent Hill: Revelation

This will Silence Anybody
While other video game turned film franchises may have churned out sequel after sequel, Silent Hill took its own time to come up with a follow up to its film debut in 2006. Granted I wasn't too impressed by the storyline from the first Silent Hill, you have to tip your hat towards its impressive visual style and presentation, much of it inspired from the game it came from, although the pace was relatively morose in a desperate attempt to pass it off as atmospheric. It was a video game done on the film format, and remained squarely at that.

The sequel started where we left off six years ago, and introduces us to the now grown up Heather (Adelaide Clemens), who has been uprooted by her dad Harry (Sean Bean) each time she encounters those inexplicable nightmares featuring strangely grotesque beings and burning walls of a different, alternate dimension. But soon her destiny catches up with her, because of Silent Hill's The Order being relatively active in wanting to pursue their agenda to get Heather back to their world, believing that she, and the current infante terrible Alessa (also Clemens), are one and the same, only that Heather is pureness personified. To compel her to return, Harry gets kidnapped as bait, and soon, there's enough plot revelation brought upon by new kid on the block Vincent (Kit Harington), and other disposable characters who would attempt to boost the rather weak narrative.

Frankly, nobody cares much about the developments in this video game world. Admit it, we're in solely to gawk at the amazingly gothic and strange looking creations the production and creature designers can conjure for the big screen, which are gorgeous to look at. And writer-director Michael J. Bassett's approach may be different from his predecessor's, who was focused on recreating the mood and atmosphere experienced from the game. Here, that goes out of the window, adopting a more direct, no nonsense approach to get to the point, although this may seem to have compromised an aspect which stood out from the earlier film, and made it oh so ordinary here.

The battles also seemed a little too lopsided, and this makes it quite boring to sit through, since Heather goes just about unscathed from point to point. The earlier film brought about a keen sense of danger felt by the characters at each turn, but here, that's dissipated and becomes more of a side-show and tour for Heather as she stumbles from point to point, get what she needs, brushes aside adversary fairly easy, and moves on. Wash-rinse-repeat this sequence too many times, and the film quickly loses its flavour, becoming just another ordinary tale telling an ordinary action-adventure story, though complete with blood and gore. For something that's based on material filled with terror, horror, and scares, this one is tame.

Adelaide Clemens may be a superb choice being cast as Heather, but unfortunately she got let down by the lack of a strong story. Fans of the game will notice a few easter eggs being thrown around with character appearances and scene recreation, and the doors being kept wide open for possible follow up films if only the fans turn up for this one. But unless this improves story-wise, and keeps up its standards in creature design, it would be hard to imagine anyone giving the next film a green light so soon. The soundtrack by Akira Yamaoka though, is nothing short of wonderful, since it comes adopted from the games.

3 A.M. (ตีสาม)

Sick Curiosity
One of the oldest production companies in Thailand, Five Star Productions continue in its 3D horror genre films from this year's Dark Flight, with 3 A.M., an anthology of three horror short films put together based on a thematic gimmick where the stories get centered around the said bewitching hour. As different as they can get for the genre, this offering wouldn't be able to send chills and thrills to any seasoned horror fan, having relied on the usual bag of tricks in tame, individual effort to try and whip up some scares.

The first tale by Patchanon Thumajira (Colic) centers around The Wig, which I thought was already a plot element explored to the death by a few Korean movies already. Opening with an ominous scene of suggestion where long hair gets taken from a female corpse, making its way to a wig shop, this segment fell short in not having a proper story behind the ghoul inhabiting its long tresses, focusing instead on two sisters, May and Mint. Their relationship isn't cordial given the latter has sibling envy that her sister has her parents' ears, and so is as rebellious as can be, inviting three friends home - clearly as body count - to party into the wee hours of the morning.

What turned out is an exercise in routine, given that someone will obtain said spooky wig and make fun out of it, before things start to go bump and the body count climbs. Little is said about why the ghoul did what it did, and this short offers no story in any way, other than to accept things at face value, and to acknowledge that it can exploit sound design. Even the twist at the end could be seen a mile away, and what this segment could do, was to set a very low benchmark in which the others, hopefully can build upon.

The second tale deals with The Corpse Bride, directed by Kirati Nakintanon, about a male nurse who gets a stint at taking care of the coffined remains of a couple, Mike and Cherry, who died prior to getting married. The basic ground rules are simple, that he has to ensure that the coffins should not be opened, and the matrimonial room stays locked at all times, not to be entered. But of course for a horror movie to work, rules have to be broken so that strange things can happen. Curiosity kills the cat, and here, a DVD reveals something about the relationship between Mike and Cherry, with an extended sequence involving a lizard going up the thigh of the female corpse. Before you know it, necrophilia comes into play. You read that right, with the camera cutting away and fading to black so that we don't get to see the forbidden bits.

If anything, this segment contains functionary scares of the jump cuts and sudden loud noises to try and make you jump in your seat. It deals with the usual things never being just what they seem on the surface, and often times we know the truth a little too late, finding ourselves firmly stuck in the rut, with no escape. The necrophilia portions of suggestion may be a little bit disturbing and discomforting to sit through. with acts of violence such as the slitting of one's throat that got shown without a blink of the eye. Creepy stuff at best, succeeding in making one squirm when the more intimate bits come on.

And 3AM saved what would be the best segment amongst all for last. It's not an affirmation that it is quality, but when put against the other two short films, this one wins it hands down, with good use of comedy to great effect, in addition to scaring up the audience. O.T. (Overtime) deals with workers who find themselves idling during office hours, only to be staying back to wrap up what they should have done in the first place. To the employer, O.T. is expensive business, so the more they can get their staff to stay away, the better. Which in this segment, management goes to great lengths in whipping out scares so that people will vacate the premises.

Issara Nadee (Dark Flight) conjures a unique and zany story that contains so many twists, turns and formation of alliances, where individuals team up with others to try and out-do, or out-punk/prank any earlier scares they experienced, all in one night. But alas this went on for one prank too many, and you'd soon be savvy enough to catch on that all things spooky being presented, are something that you'd start to be skeptical about, despite the characters still taking things down hook, line and sinker. Sure there's a final twist to the tale, but when that happens it's a sigh of relief that this story actually had a real end point.

Done in the 3D format, some sequences were quite obviously designed with 3D in mind that you'd see hands approaching the screen, or blood spewed toward the direction of. Simple tactics for entertainment value, these simple stories may impress those new to the genre, but will largely remain unimpressive to the seasoned horror veteran.

When Wolf Falls in Love with Sheep (南方小羊牧场 / Nan Fang Xiao Yang Mu Chang)

Counting to 100
Taiwanese cinema is on a charm offensive, with a slew of heartwarming, touching, and fairly unconventional treatments for romances and dramas of late from Au Revoir Taipei, You are the Apple of My Eye, Taipei Exchanges, and GF*BF charging their way through with refreshing tales and unique styles that engage, entertain and move. When Wolf Falls in Love with Sheep now becomes one of my favourites of the year, where hidden underneath all its saccharine sweetness is an aching tale of love and loss, and the road to recovery where we all need second chances to move on.

Writer-director Hou Chi-Jan assembles an impressive ensemble cast to pull off a story where just about every character is, or has gone through, a painful moment in life resulting from unrequited love that just dissipated, leaving one in emotional limbo. Fresh off his Apple success, Kai Ko plays Tung, a young man whose ex-girlfriend (Nikki Hsieh) left him unexpectedly, leaving behind a note that says she's off to cram school. Finally snapping out of his rut, he leaves for Tapiei's infamous Nanyang Street, which is Cram School Central, in which this movie is set against, filled with lonely streets at night where students have already gone home, and with night time inhabitants who carry emotional scars from their respective romance gone awry.

Finding refuge and occupation at a photo-copy shop, Tung begins a new lease of life of sorts, where he spends his waking hours trying to look for his ex, in a job that would be best described as dead end. Through his observations of the people around him, we get to know about Sure-Win Cram School, and its quirky staff from its Chief Instructor, right down to a slick salesgirl (Kuo Shu-Yao) who harbours ambition of material wealth. But the spotlight falls on one of the school's invigilators, Yang (Jian Man-Shu), the titular sheep, because her sheep drawings complete with motivational words of encouragement, and sometimes reflecting personal feelings, pepper the school's exam sheets, which sadly nobody pays any attention to.

Until Tung started, in cheeky fashion, to doodle (and in some ways become) the titular Wolf, and soon enough, their interaction through doodles in exam sheets translate from paper to real life, where each share their own personal relationship demons, which Hou Chi-Jan expended no less effort in painting the different kinds of love and relationships through his many character creations. Soon their creations gain traction and become larger than life, and also served as an outlet to express innermost feelings, or for the film, to move the narrative forward as well. What I liked about the film is how the director effortlessly roped in other characters into its central plot, becoming story arcs to reinforce a point, never having felt that they were unnecessary. And this would encompass those like the noodle shop priest, or the fried rice boy.

The doodles and sayings are a highlight of the film, since the cartoons and animation are kitschy, and messages ringing quite true for anyone who had been stung in a relationship before. The narrative, although short at less than 90 minutes, contains plenty of relationship metaphors, and what I thought to be wise sayings, effectively crammed without the feeling that they were inserted for the sake of. Everything fell into place wonderfully, and surprisingly, paced perfectly despite having those myriad of characters involved everywhere.

Just like how Tung got involved with taking on a part time job of looking for things lost by others, When Wolf Falls in Love with Sheep probably is one massive encouragement by itself, that we're all looking for someone, whom we are hopeful to find one day. It's about two lost souls waiting and looking for their soul mates, in a tightly written script with quirky characters that made it all come alive. A definite must watch film this year, with a coda at the end that continues in its cheeky method of imparting some long held truths.

Back to 1942 (一九四二 / Yi Jiu Si Er)

Walk of Starvation
With big budgeted films like Assembly and Aftershock under his belt, Feng Xiaogang is no stranger to ambitious films set against the Chinese historical backdrop, which he handles most excellently through powerful, emotional dramas, balancing it out with what would be money shots of the large event that forms the canvas of his movies. With Aftershock he dealt with the Tangshan earthquake of 1976, Assembly had his war between the Communist and Nationalist soldiers, and now he goes a little further back in time to 1942, where China's Henan province suffers through its deadliest drought resulting in the death of 3 million through starvation.

I guess it's quite challenging for many here to have experienced true hunger in today's relatively affluent society, but those who have been through some days without having to eat something, usually through vanity reasons of keeping artificially slim, will attest to an uncomfortable feeling. Multiply that by months on end, with a war looming and then experienced, and one can almost picture how miserable life then would have been, with food being literally scraped from what would be unthinkable as food, such as tree barks, and many willing to offer anything, most often children, as barter trade for foodstuff.

Based on the novel by Liu Zhenyun titled Remembering 1942, it charts the huge drought and famine through one of China's provinces, told through the eyes of various protagonists in this sprawling epic. There's a well to do landlord in Master Fan (Zhang Guoli) who opens the movie, as we bear witness to his slow and inevitable descend from prince to pauper, having a stockpile that got naturally targeted by bandits, and when all hell broke loose, he suffers tragedy after tragedy, joining the millions of others on their trek westwards to find food, and also incidentally escape from invading Japanese forces.

Then there's the religious arc, with Priest Sim (Zhang Hanyu), a Chinese man seeing opportunity in all these distraught to spread the word of Christ amongst his fellow countrymen, with his faith being shaken by constant questions how his God would have allowed this to continue, where at one point he had envisioned this situation to be similar to Moses' leading of the exodus out of Egypt. Tim Robbins and Adrien Brody also took up roles in this film, much like Christian Bale in Zhang Yimou's The Flowers of War, with the former being the priest whom Sim confides in, and the latter playing the role of a Time magazine correspondent who also lends his perspective to the growing atrocities, and ignorance of the many politicians who prefer to enjoy the company of elites, and turning a blind eye to the true situation thousands of miles away.

While the film does not offer pointed accusations, it does present a series of events that may have contributed to the immense human tragedy, and this largely involves politicians, soldiers and the Japanese, where WWII almost becomes an excuse for the existence of millions of refugees uprooting themselves and moving elsewhere not only to escape from enemies, but to look for sustenance. Director Feng engages some of the best in the craft for this ironically lush production (for a film that deals with those with absolute nothingness), to bring out vivid looking shots and conditions in which the actors thrived in delivering heartfelt performances, with no holds barred effort poured into the production to make every shot look believable, plausible, succeeding in its attempt to put you right where the action unfolds.

War and battle scenes also looked notches above what the director had done with Assembly. Blood and gore moments were kept realistic without the need to be gratuitous, from major scuffles amongst bandits and villagers, to constant Japanese air raids which saw bombs raining down indiscriminately against both soldiers and the long lines of civilians trying their best to escape from hunger, now having to deal with another threat which some see as a lifeline to end their miserable lives. But if looking from yet another angle outside from the premise of the film, the narrative also deals with the adage of fortunes being cyclic in nature, telling such a story where a rich man's most prized possession will be that final slap in the face when Maslow's basic theory of needs come into play, like a warning to the newly affluent that when it boils down to survival, it's every man for himself, with the elite class likely to suffer the most when the people trodden upon calls it quits.

Chinese films have come a long way over the last decade, and Feng Xiaogang has shown that he's amongst one of the best out there to deliver big budgeted productions that doesn't have to void of a soul or emotional core. It's an epic on the grandest scale, succeeding because it tells stories of the human condition that everyone can identify with. Highly recommended, as I ponder what other historical backdrop the director would be tackling next, since he has a keen eye and a knack for it!

[ScreenSingapore] The Wedding Diary II (结婚那件事之后 / Jie Huen Na Jian Shi Zhi Hou) (World Premiere)

There's Always Room for Product Placement
The Wedding Diary turned out to be a sleeper hit earlier this year during the Lunar New Year season, combining filmmaking talent in front of and behind the camera from territories expected to be its target audience such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore. It was the romantic comedy that was relatively sincere in its treatment of the woes and stress brought about by the relationship of a mismatched couple, with actors Ah Niu and Elanne Kwong in their best roles yet, sharing a seamless and endearing chemistry that justified its success.

And with success comes the need for a sequel in the business sense, which with filmmaking sensibilities come an opportunity to expand its established storytelling technique to examine the issues in a couple's life post-wedding, especially with a tiny tot introduced into the mix. But alas the business acument in filmmaking won out, and turned this follow up into nothing more than an excuse to become a walking advertisement, disregarding its strengths from what made the first film a hit. Goodwill from the first film got thrown out, and replaced by corporate consumerism that would even make Jack Neo beam with pride that his product placement necessity is slowly gaining traction amongst the local filmmaking community.

It's one thing arguing that one needs a big budget courtesy of sponsors to make a film, but it's another to trade off basic filmmaking integrity for it, especially if scenes got inserted for none other than to hard sell a product. It may be OK if the product serves a purpose in the movie, no matter how big or small, but another when scenes get written specifically for a sequence that's nothing than an advertisement. Take for instance, a character in the movie walking into a departmental store, looking for gifts, only to engage in banter with a stilted salesperson and both engaging in exhalting the strengths of a VIP member, whipping out a VIP card, and then confirming things like free delivery. What gives?

Outside of this blatant product placement, The Wedding Diary II also seemed to have regressed in its treatment of the romantic comedy genre, with little romance - which may seem to be a real life parallel of some couples lives when work stress and the baby comes along - and little comedy too, mostly confined to the first half of the film before being bogged by its own unnecessary melodrama no thanks to the introduction of a new character, a girl from Taiwan played by Wang Xinru, self-proclaiming to be the illegitimate daughter of wealthy scion Colin Chong (Zhu Houren), added to the star-studded principal cast all returning from the original film.

Based on a story by executive producer Lim Teck of Clover Films and director Adrian Teh who returns to helm this episode, the film actually got off to a bright start, summarizing everything positive about what made the first film tick in the initial 10 minutes. We see Wei Jie (Ah Niu) quitting his job to become a house-husband / male nanny (well, he can afford to anyway since his condominium has been fully paid up by his tycoon father-in-law) to his infant kid Chua Heng Guan (sounds like a Bak-Kwa company name) aka BBB, wife Zhi Xin (Elanne Kwong) having to assume chairperson-ship of her father's company due to his stroke, and the necessity to keep his health condition under wraps lest stock prices tumble and key investors, suppliers and partners break off long standing relationships due to an industrial accident in China that threatens to fold up the company.

Wait a minute, isn't this supposed to be about early parenthood and its challenges? Well, yes, in a way it is, with its focus at times on scenes immediately after the wedding to return back to reality, and the daily grind of work. Paternity leave didn't exactly occur here, more like a leave of absence from work, with Wei Jie going through early infant care issues, and Zhi Xin having to grapple with breasfeeding. It could have dealt a lot more with a side-splitting take in the run up to the nine-month pregnancy, but all these got breezed through fairly quickly in kitschy fashion, and before you know it, the narrative took on a vastly different direction.

While the first film had the leads dominating in scenes, here they spend a lot of time apart, and when they come together it's usually for an unconvincing fight. There were a lot more plot elements up its sleeve but these served only catalysts to put speed bumps in the couple's lives, before being forgotten when moving on. Such as Zhi Xin spending time in a karaoke joint with a touchy-feely customer, and Wei Jie in the same location for a celebration, leading to the perennial misunderstanding of sorts. Marcus Chin got an expanded role this time with his story-arc taking him out from Penang and to Singapore to spend more time with his grandson, but as far as the intent prepped for that father-and-daughter-in-law clash turned out to be nothing more than disagreements during feeding time. It's pretty much ado about nothing with the kampung spirit clashing head on with the modern affluent lifestyle.

And the story and screenplay, written by Rebecca Leow, had its fair share of clunky, illogical, and unintentionally funny moments, such as the scene where an ill Colin Chong had to be discharged from hospital amid the media frenzy, with the nurse being none too helpful in offering alternatives. Then there's the story arc for Wang Xinru's character, which is the addition to the ensemble, but offering an illogical and unnecessary plot development if only to highlight how we only treasure things when we lose them. But I would have advised to check the criminal penalty being the stunt being pulled, if not to move this film toward heavy melodrama much like any Taiwanese soap opera.

The best part of the film? Chapman To. The Hong Kong comedian makes a cameo appearance as a director in town working on a production (with the likes of Mindee Ong as a slutty actress), and his combination opposite Ah Niu would serve as THE best scene in the entire film. Which is a pity of course, given that this out of the ordinary sequence, undoubtedly put in to boost the star power of the movie, turned out to trounce everything else that the film proper had to offer. Which says a lot.

Technically the film had a wee bit of flaws, such as in its subtitles, which popped up Chinese only subs, or Chinese-Malay subs in lieu of the usual Chinese-English ones, no doubt mixed up by those meant for its overseas territories. On the whole The Wedding Diary II is a pale shadow of its much superior predecessor, but given some weeks between now and its lucrative Lunar New Year and Valentine's Day release, there is still some time to tighten the story and pacing, such that this film wouldn't feel longer than the two hours it wasn't.

[ScreenSingapore Red Carpet] The Wedding Diary II (结婚那件事之后)

ScreenSingapore 2012 edition sees The Wedding Diary II taking the honours as Closing Film this evening, with its World Premiere at GV Vivocity attended by industry peers, cast and crew from the movie.

Picspam from the red carpet and pre-screening stage appearance:

Videos from the Red Carpet:


With Marcus Chin, Wang Xinru, Zhu Houren and Kara Hui

With A-Niu and Elanne Kwong, Executive Producer Lim Teck, Director Adrian Teh, Marcus Chin, Kara Hui, Wang Xinru, Zhu Houren
Videos from the Stage Appearance:


Introduction by Executive Producer Lim Teck

Director Adrian Teh, and Cast Members A-Niu, Elanne Kwong, Zhu Houren, Kara Hui, Marcus Chin and Wang Xinru

[ScreenSingapore] Happiness Never Comes Alone (Un Bonheur N'arrive Jamais Seul)

1+1=3
The 2nd Rendezvous of French Cinema returns this week, and coincides its opening night with ScreenSingapore to add a little bit of glitz and glamour to the latter event, having Sophie Marceau headlining the ensemble of invited cast and crew of films being featured in this year's edition. Many would associate the actress with sensuousness and beauty, but how about, physical comedy?

Yes, Sophie Marceau does what would be as close to slapstick as she can get, showing off some perfect comic timing in her role as a Calamity Jane type as Charlotte Posche, a woman we first see having trip and fall flat, face down onto a concrete sidewalk, have a key thrown at her face, before finally getting splashed soaking wet by a car speeding parallel to a waterlogged road. We learn that she's quite well connected by virtue of her marriage to rich industrialist type Alain Posche (Francois Berleand), although her marriage is now on the rocks, having been separated for two years.

But the film opens with the other protagonist, the singleton Sacha Keller (Gad Elmaleh), a musician whose routine includes playing at a jazz bar, performing with friends, and picking nubile girls up for one night stands. He's the quintessential swinger without commitment, until the aftermath of a disastrous client meeting puts him in the path to bump into Charlotte, and not before long, these two opposites start to attract, where one is obviously of a different social standing than the other, and the other obviously in it for what he would initially thought of as temporary, since older women are not his (nor his friends) type.

What makes this oddball romantic comedy work, are the constant surprises that are contained in the story by the wife-husband team of Sonja Shillito and James Huth, with James also taking on directorial responsibilities. Just as when you least expected, the strangest, quirkiest, and comical situations happen to either, or both of the characters, especially when they turn into klutzes, providing opportunity for either actor to show that they have it in them to do comedy, and very physical ones too. I admit to have gasped out loud for some of the stunts put on screen that would be miracles if not injuring its cast.

And making it quite real world to think about, geared toward the single guys who are living the lifestyle as what Sacha is doing, is the notion of having to find a soul mate who just so happens to be divorced (or going to be divorced), twice, plus already having 3 kids from two different fathers, each exercising some clause to pop by every now and then. This is so if one is averse to the antics of attention-sapping children, with kid's vomit being a running joke in the movie. It's one thing about wanting to be with someone, and another when the baggage that comes along tests one's resolve and sincerity, given that the option to walk away, is always easily available, which is something keenly explored in the movie as well, since habitual changes usually calls for a massive modification of beliefs, and not everyone's cup of tea to leave one's comfort zone.

Most of us would be familiar with Gad Elmaleh if we had watched Priceless where he starred opposite Audrey Tautou, and here his makeup and costuming made him look a lot older as the musician and jingle composer at the cusp of a professional breakthrough, as well as a breakthrough on the personal romantic front in finally finding someone, only to realize things can get quite complicated. He brings about a touch of goofball zaniness when his character had to deal with kids, up close and very personal. But the scene stealer is of course Sophie Marceau herself, balancing the thin line between chic, and motherly, while looking good either way when tackling both facets of her character's life.

Happiness Never Comes Alone is quite apt for a title that ultimately champions the sanctity of family, and makes quite the good poster-child for pro-family policies where you'd have something dysfunctional, corrected in this feel good romantic comedy. It works as intended, offers surprises only on the comedic front, and has two excellent leads to bring some romance back into the air again.

*****
The 2nd Rendezvous with French Cinema has pulled out all the stops to ensure that film audiences in Singapore have an opportunity to get up close and personal with the cast and crew of some of the films that are going to be screened here over the next few days. Picspam from today's red carpet and stage appearance at The Grand Cathay:

And of course, Sophie Marceau takes to the stage leading this year's Rendezvous with French Cinema contingent:

and Hossan Leong conducts a quick interview with Sophie Marceau:

It's a pity the lack of a proper spotlight on stage meant darker than usual footage.

You can find out more about the lineup and screening details of all the films featured at the 2nd Rendezvous with French Cinema here.

[ScreenSingapore] The Last Tycoon (大上海 / Da Shang Hai) (World Premiere)

Like a Boss
Whatever it is, the opening film of ScreenSingapore's second edition turned out to be more respectable than the farce in its inaugural edition. It's a World Premiere, has a renowned (infamous too maybe?) director in Wong Jing, produced by another Hong Kong luminary in Andrew Lau, is funded by the Bona Group in which Yu Dong sits on the board of the screen event, and stars arguably the largest Chinese star in Chow Yun Fat, himself the son-in-law of this little island. It's a blockbuster however way you see it, if only the story had a better and stronger focus than to fire off like a shotgun from afar with hopes of hitting multiple targets.

It's an expansive tale of love, war, and one man's ascension to the apex of a power struggle between his countrymen, the army, and the Japanese over a period of almost forty years in Shanghai from the early 20th century to the middle of WWII. It has ambition to want to tell a Godfather like story set not amongst the mafia, but amongst the triads, made up of respectable folks at the helm, or so it seems. Herein likes the problem with a weak script, that it threw in a lot of ideas, thematic elements and story sub-arcs, but in doing so just presented the dots, hardly making any effort to connect them coherently since most of the meat got left out. Things get presented as is, with key scenes being representative of time, and a character's consolidation of and grip on power skimmed through when that would've been the crux. Don't forget too about the anti-hero's background here, which means with an eye for the Chinese market, you'll just about know which path it would head toward for an acceptable ending, to comply with draconian, moralistic requirements.

The draw of the film is undoubtedly Wong Jing having Chow Yun Fat as his main star, as one of my favourite films early on, is their God of Gamblers where they created magic, which sparked off a slew of copycats from various territories keen to milk the formula dry. Unfortunately, The Last Tycoon is itself a derivation from Wong Jing himself, taking a leaf out of the textbook used by directing peers such as John Woo, Wilson Yip, and even Wong Kar-Wai, which he probably didn't shy about wanting to emulate the classy director, since Wong Jing's filmography has its fair share of sleaze, and needed respectable works to provide that counter-balance. Some may even remember the director's deprecating self-introduction from last year's ScreenSingapore.

So stylistically, we get action shoot-em ups just as how John Woo would have done them in operatic, ballet style, in a church no less, with bullets in cartridges that never seem to run out. In fact the finale could really pass off as The Killer sequel with Chow decked in all-white looking to rescue his lady love. As for a Wilson Yip inspired segment, how about the scene involving Huang Xiaoming's street brawl amongst scores of gangsters, topped with Sammo Hong's more solid introduction compared to a fleeting one early in the film, looked very much like Ip Man 2, with Sammo breaking up the fights, and even looking as if he's recycled his costume from that film. And the biggest homage paid by Wong Jing to Wong Kar-wai can be found here, with the former giving a treat to the latter's fans since The Grandmasters got postponed again. We get to see fights in slow motion, in the rain, of an exponent against tens of others, just the way that it would have been filmed in the movie that's yet to be released. And on the dramatic, emotional front, romance is full of deliberation, unrequited love, and if you were to push it some more, even the parting shot could very much fit into In The Mood For Love.

You may think I'm digressing, but that was how this film felt at different points in its rather plodding 110 minutes. It didn't have a key focus, and was pretty wishy-washy, be it in its development of the romantic relationships between its key characters, or to determine just what or who would be the primary adversary, before dragging Francis Ng's Mao Zai, a soldier who would eventually turn general then turncoat, as its last ditch effort to allow audiences to collectively hiss at the character, since there really wasn't anyone else throughout most of the film to feature any equivalent menace the way Francis Ng can deliver.

Rian Johnson's science fiction time travelling movie had both Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt play the same character at different ages gracing the same frame of the film together. Here, Chinese actor Huang Xiaoming doppelgangers as Chow Yun Fat's younger self for the character of Cheng Daqi, which in some ways thanks to shrewd camera angles, really made him convincingly similar in chiselled looks, before Huang's mimicry gets full marks for ably capturing most, if not all, of Chow's usual mannerisms on screen. Daqi becomes the top gangster in Shanghai in just slightly over an hour, having become the apprentice to Sammo Hung's Hong Shouting, a top cop in the French Concession part of Shanghai, and also its chief gangster. And having taken the young Daqi under his wing, it's a preaching of some never-bite-the-hands-that-feed-you principle and value system that Hong imparts to his fledgling, which continues until Chow Yun Fat took over the role.

It would have been a tad more interesting had Daqi been more ambiguous, than to stake his loyalty out there in the open, becoming an inevitable crutch that enemies can exploit. His rise to infamy and power were also left largely to your own devices and imagination, because nothing was presented other than the cooler than cool shot of Huang/Chow sitting on a chair and having hundreds of extras bowing down in reverence. I would have thought what the man had stood for would be as equally important as showing him to be a deadly shot with a penchant for bullets to the head, or demonstrating his gift of the gab in negotiating tricky win-win deals with any potential adversary.

And don't get me started on his romantic dalliances, where his childhood sweetheart Ye Zhiqiu (Joyce Feng, before Yolanda Yuan took over as the older version) and him go their separate ways, with her pursuing an opera dream in Beijing, before their lives converge in Shanghai, and even then, didn't have any spark to begin, or end with. The writers expanded this part of the tale having her married to an underground rebel who is in possession of the rebel manifest that got quickly forgotten, as if one entire chunk of story got written out on a whim, including relegating said husband to needless involvement. Supporting characters started to swell, such as Daqi's wife (played by Monica Mok), his enforcer type henchmen Lin Huai (Gao Hu) who is extremely skilled with the butterfly knife, and his master's wife (Yuan Li) who dispenses well heeled advice, seeing red when Hong Shouting has eyes for a younger women instead.

Don't get me wrong though that I hated the film, but it was frustrating knowing Wong Jing could have done even better here, in what I felt was certainly one of his better works of late, especially with its lush production values, and star power. The triumvirate of Chow Yun Fat, Sammo Hung and Francis Ng, though short in terms of sharing the same frame, really ought to up the ante and stakes in the poker game their characters play during dangerous times when they should be focused on external threats. The master-apprentice relationship between Shouting and Daqi could have been given additional focus, especially when it transformed to a sworn brotherhood, as is the theme dwelled on the influencers in one's life that shapes it in time to come. The jibes at authority also couldn't go unnoticed, especially against the corrupt and the disloyal, but that too got nothing more than cursory scenes. The deep irony, is that the successful gangsters here abide by values and life defining principles, compared to those in uniform who fail to do what they were supposed to.

Then again, The Last Tycoon probably should be treated as entertainment rather than to take it too seriously despite its subject matter. After all, at the helm is one of Hong Kong's most prolific directors, for films that pander to masses. This one is certainly assembled to score largest at the box office to come. The Last Tycoon opens in Singapore, and the rest of the world, by end of the year / early in Jan 2013.

[ScreenSingapore Red Carpet] The Last Tycoon (大上海)

It rained, but as the adage goes, the show must go on. And it did.

ScreenSingapore returns for its second edition, and there's no lack of the usual glamour associated with red carpet events, except that it's noticeably trimmed this time round with the number of screening nights reduced to just three, one star-studded gala for each night, with two of them being World Premieres. The number of invited guests were limited too to those who were directed involved in the film in question, compared to the invitation of all and sundry who were available for a fee last year.

And kicking things off is the World Premiere of The Last Tycoon, Wong Jing's latest film starring Chow Yun Fat, Sammo Hung, Francis Ng and Huang Xiaoming, amongst others. And out of the four mentioned, only Chow made it today, in addition to the supporting cast, director and producer Andrew Lau, while the rest were made up of the usual industry bigwigs.

And I guess the only way to present this, is through a picspam:

with some videos from the onstage Q&A, in Mandarin and Cantonese. It's a pity though that this was limited, as the sound engineers for the event didn't have a clue to isolate the microphones at the different stages to different sets of speakers, instead having everything mixed and blared through the same, making whatever was said at a particular stage indistinguishable from the other.


Kai Ko and Yao Yao

Director Wong Jing and Producer Andrew Lau

The Last Tycoon Cast and Crew

You can read my review of The Last Tycoon here.

Hotel Transylvania

Enjoy Your Stay!
It's without a doubt that the trend of recent animated films have to revolve around the horror genre and/or involving legendary characters reworked to offer a unique selling point. And because the target audience is primarily the kids, the scary bits have all been toned down, becoming comedic event, to tell stories that possess feel good themes around stuff like family, friendship and the likes. So if you've not said hello to ParaNorman, Rise of the Guardians, or Frankenweenie, then why not check in to Hotel Transylvania?

As you would have skimmed the story from the trailer, it involves an over-protective father, the count Dracula himself (voiced by funnyman Adam Sandler), who have for the longest time looked after his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) as a single parent, and convincing the child that the big bad world out there is full of vengeful humans who won't bat an eyelid to get rid of those who are innately different, namely the vampires like themselves. And to fulfill this grand plan, comes his creation of Hotel Transylvania, which doubles up as safe haven for his monsters brethren to check in, and seek vacation and refuge from their human pursuers.

But as Mavis becomes a teenager at 118 years old, one would come to expect the usual rebellious and curious streak in wanting to get out, explore and experience the world for herself. Then comes the surprise visit by a human - Jonathan (Andy Samberg), whose identity gets kept secret by Dracula for fear of losing his clientele who have turned up in droves to celebrate the birthday of Mavis, and try as he might to get rid of Jonathan, one thing turns into another, with Jonathan more than welcome to stay by the hotel's guests while under disguise, and inevitably falling in love with someone who's very much his age.

Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky with screenplay written by the team of Peter Baynham and Robert Smigel, Hotel Transylvania is chock full of sight gags, and inside jokes that involve the many monsters in its ensemble. There are enough surprises thrown up as the many pop cultural references get weaved into the classical backgrounds of classic monsters such as Franenstein (Kevin James) and his loud wife Eunice (Fran Drescher), the werewolf (Steve Buscemi) and his pack of kids, and he Invisible Man (David Spade), all making leading appearances, with most of the best scenes in the film involving almost everyone on screen at the same time. The romance bit perhaps came on a little too late to breathe some life into the final act, but it's something of a loose end that had to be tied up.

Despite having an ensemble voice cast and a myriad of characters, some that only appear for a few scenes such as the blob, or big foot (used to great comic effect exploiting its size), the best repartee irrevocably belongs to the adversarial Dracula and Jonathan, with one adamant in getting rid of his human gatecrasher, while the other just finds the place radical enough to want to stay a little longer, at the expense of dangerously bringing himself exposed to the truth by some naysayers. Coming a close second are the rip-roaring one liners spouted by the Shrunken Heads, which convey notices outside each hotel room door.

There's hardly a scary moment save for Dracula's first instance of fury which the little ones will get used to, before Hotel Transylvania takes the bull by the horns and tackle issues like for parents to let go and have trust that their children will turn out alright as they venture on their own, and for the kids to realize that their parents have nothing but their best of interests at heart. What surprised me a lot more is its square take on discrimination, and reminder on never jumping to conclusions about others, and being all inclusive and accepting of those who are different. How's that for a monster movie?

The Hollywood animation formula almost always work with comedy and quality animation, and Hotel Transylvania is no different, except that it made a conscientious effort in putting together a coherent story that showed rather than told, and had good heart (Even though it's about monsters!) to teach the little ones a thing or two while having fun with its material. Recommended, and a surprise package indeed! (And any film that took time to poke fun at Twilight, gets brownie points!)