Ratatouille and Blood Brothers

It is one of those weeks that watching one movie is just not enough. Having read so many ravishing reviews on “Ratatouille” and since Cynthia so wanted to watch it, Ratatouille it was. An animated feature film produced by Pixar and when you hear the word “Pixar”, it just can’t go wrong. This film is not short either. A close to 2 hours entertainment with a short (bonus) film called “Lifted” at the beginning of the movie. “Ratatouille” has a simple storyline of a rat wanting to become a chef in Paris. It does have quite a “believable” plot from beginning to end (think “Happy Feet” for a hard-to-believe ending). The animation is top notch. I have been to Paris before and some of the scenes I would say are faithful replica of the real thing. No doubt Remy – our chef – is cute. But when you see the horde of rats running everywhere, Cynthia and I found it a bit … gross. Rats are rats and I don’t think people will fall in love with rats after the movie. Nevertheless, the takeaway point from this movie is not about rats per se but rather the insignificant – however usual it can be – can make a difference.

“Ratatouille” was the day before. Today (or rather yesterday), since Cynthia has a business function to attend, I wanted to take this wonderful opportunity to watch an … Indonesian horror film … alone. Cynthia being Indonesian boldly told me that she wouldn’t want to watch an Indonesian film, set aside an Indonesian horror film. That put doubts into my mind. I did some research and decided against watching that horror movie.

Since Cynthia doesn’t fancy Chinese film either, time to watch one while she was not around! Fortunate to me, my buddy KF the consultant could join me for a 6.45pm movie watching “Blood Brothers” at Vivocity. I don’t fancy Vivocity but Cathay does not have the time slot I want. As usual … *ahem* … KF got stuck in the office. I drove like a mad man from Beach Road to Vivocity in 20 minutes during rush hour. Phew … barely made it.

KF asked why I chose “Blood Brothers”. Duh … I am a big fan of Shu Qi so it is really no brainer right? Again, I read the reviews and they are mostly lukewarm. I can certainly understand why. The storyline is a typical Chinese mafia type set in the old days. I have to say I do like the backdrop of the movie, the costume, and the acting of some of the actors … including Shu Qi of course!

What’s the storyline like? Very linear (and no spoiler as always). There is this pair of friends and one elder brother and they left the village wanting to make some money in Shanghai. This trio turns out working with a mafia boss who has a pretty girlfriend (Shu Qi … duh!) … and this pretty girlfriend likes this mafia boss’s brother. Lots of drama, lots of acting opportunities … and lots of gaps. By that I mean if you are not into Chinese movies, you will certainly ponder upon all the illogical moments that appear from time to time. KF and I talked about these gaps over our dinner and without fail, we arrived at the same conclusion that the plot doesn’t have to explicitly talk about it … if you are a seasoned Chinese film viewer, you should be able to figure that out.

I wouldn’t say “Blood Brothers” is a must-watch, nor a film that is worth checking out. Definitely I think Shu Qui is more cut out for action movies like My Wife Is A Gangster 3. For me, the decision of watching “Blood Brother” is Shu Qi and Shu Qi only.