Category: Drama

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Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Thai Arthouse Film “Ploy” Is Not Quite My Cup Of Tea

Ploy

I have a high level of tolerance when it comes to art-house type of movies but “Ploy” seems to be out of my league.  I don’t mind those long minutes of waiting for something to happen like that one foreign film with a boy and an old man watching the sunset, in real time.  So long as there is a reward in some forms after the wait.  Maybe it’s a subtle theme, maybe it’s to communicate a certain emotion, or maybe it’s just beautiful to watch.  Without rewards, I feel stupid spending time watching an art-house clip.

Some clips from “Ploy” are pretty brilliant.  I like the conversation between the husband (owner of a restaurant in US) and his wife (an ex-actress from Thailand) on why after 7 or 8 years of marriage, the guy doesn’t say “I love you” anymore.  And the subsequent conversation on the same topic with the husband and a little 19 years old girl (called Ploy whom they met in wee hours at a hotel bar).  The mixture of real and unreal clips within the movie at times adds interesting twists.  Some one-liners are bizarrely wicked.  Like before a date rape, the guy said [to the unconscious girl in bed], “Don’t worry, I will use a condom.”  Huh?!  Where does that come from?  We all chuckled.  And we chuckled when one of the actresses suddenly turned the film into a musical (pretty much like a French art-house movie).

Most clips are slow and excruciatingly painful to watch.  No, the sex scene between the bizarre side story of a bartender and a hotel maid is not at all sexy, way off the chart, and doesn’t contribute much to the main story.  It’s a shame though.  If the storyline was to be tighter and unfold a certain cohesive theme, that would have worked better.  During the interview, the director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang mentioned that the 12-hour long shooting on the sex scene was no fun to make.  I read that those sex scenes in “Lust, Caution” were hard to make too (took days).  But Ang Lee has made the scenes beautiful to watch, non-pornographic, and meaningful to the storyline.  If there was one suggestion I could offer to the “Ploy” team on those scenes, dim the light please.  OK make it two, change the casting.

The young girl, Apinya Sakuljaroensuk, who plays the character Ploy is perhaps one of the few rewards I can take home with.  The filmmakers should have exploited this advantage much more.  The film does leave me pondering on what is real, what is not.  And for better or worse, from a country that is famous in making horror and action movies, an art-house Thai film that was premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival could be special to some.  It’s just not my cup of tea.

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Drama Movie Reviews

Beyond the Topic of Doubt Lies the Question of Compassion and Love

Doubt

How certain that you are right before you can justify the action of going all out to bring someone or something down?  Do the means justify the ends?  And in this pursuit of justice and goodness, where does compassion lie?

These are the questions that have gone through my mind since I have watched the movie “Doubt”.

The original play written by John Patrick Shanley in the year of 2004 has staged an interesting story against the timeline of 1964.  A brief look into being black, being gay, nuns and priests, against the reform of the Second Vatican Council in that year whereby the Christian dogma was being examined to make it relevant to the modern world.

Being a Catholic, I am often weary about yet another movie that exposes the negative side of the Christian faith.  And sure, at times, I wonder how much money has our Holy Father authorized just to settle all the child molest cases globally.  However, I still believe that Catholicism has a lot to go for.  Just because terrorism is bred in the name of Islam in some isolated regions of the world doesn’t reflect anything negative about the religion. 

I enjoy watching slices of Catholicism from within “Doubt”.  Thought it seems strange to me that without any opening prayers the movie dives right into the sermon that has little linkage to the Bible, some parts of the Eucharistic celebration are pretty authentic.  Like the turning of bread into the body of Jesus at the alter by the priest with the altar boy ringing the bell at each key prayer.  Also, it is interesting that the concept of doubt is being highlighted.  In my faith, at least how I internalize it to be, there is always this element of “God works in a mysterious way” and to bridge that, it is called faith.  But how do we believe in something when we cannot see it?  We all feel the emotion of love, but what is love?  How do we know love exists?  And in “Doubt”, the concepts of forgiveness, compassion, and confession are also explored.

“Doubt” is a joy to watch, even if purely from the acting point of view.  All four actors and actresses deserve to be nominated for Oscar – and they have – as well as the nomination for the Best Adapted Screenplay.  I personally would like to see Meryl Streep winning the Best Actress category.  She is that good.

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Drama Movie Reviews

Bride War – Chick Flick Double Dose

Bride War

How much weight has Kate Hudson put on?!  I wonder if it is part of the acting in character process that some actors or actresses have to go through.  However, even if she looks like a smurf, her smile still melts hearts.

Cynthia disagrees.  She prefers Anne Hathaway.  I too am a big fan of Anne, on the record.  And when you put the two onto one film, although the general review is pretty bad, we just have to see for ourselves.

Just minutes into the show, I started to think of my favorite Sophie Kinsella‘s chick lits.  Not that the storyline of “Bride War” is that great.  Like my favorite chick lit series, the character development of the male species is pretty non-existence, which is OK for this genre.  Though I wish there is more chemistry between these two beautiful brides and their counterparts.  Having said that, the chemistry between Kate and Anne is pretty convincing.  They have acted like best friends – a tiny little bit like Hathaway in “Rachel Getting Married” kind of finishing-each-other’s-sentences scenes.  And when they fight, boy, it is sexy.

I am not entirely sure how friendship in the world of female species works.  But if there is something realistic that comes out of “Bride War”, this could be it.  A light hearted movie, predictable storyline, lots of eye sweeteners, and lots of moments that you just hope that they-didn’t-do-that.  Would there be a “Bride Wars 2: Baby Shower”?  OK.  This begins to sound very much like going into the direction of another click lit series.

On a side note, I am really looking forward to watching the film “Confessions of a Shopaholic” staring none other than my favorite actress Isla Fisher.  My fingers are crossed hoping that this adaptation won’t be a screw up.  If so, I will certainly join the Sophie Kinsella fan club to protest.

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Drama Movie Reviews

Rachel Getting Married – Intense Family Drama

Rachel Getting Married

Cynthia raised a good point.  Had the character Kym not played by Anne Hathaway, would we feel annoyed by how self-centered the character is?  It is hard not to love Anne, even in her state of depression with cigarettes after cigarettes in her hand and bruises on her face.  A Global Globe award nominee for best actress and more, I am much impressed by the sheer number of actors and actress on screen giving us the audience a convincing performance of them having known each other for years and in Rachel’s wedding, they meet and have a good time.

A very good time indeed.  Jokes are made, live music is performed, songs are sung, poems are read – it is watched like a real wedding, with friends taking photos and videos, with the wedding couple and the helpers busy attending to the crowd.  Camera angles at times are switched to the lower quality hand held camcorders taken from the wedding guests.  The conversation seems spontaneous; the responses seems genuine; friends finishing each other’s sentences. How did they do that?!  We are not talking about a few actors exchanging lines with one another.  We are talking about a long table full of people.  We are talking a tent full of people.  Such realism, such joy to watch.

In parallel with the happy scenes is the intense family drama between Kym and her sister Rachel (who are getting married) and their divorced parents.  Character development?  Checked.  Genuine emotion?  Checked (Cynthia teared).  I think most of us have our own share of untold family drama behind closed doors.  Hence, we shall be able to relate, one way or another.

“Rachel Getting Married” has the great music, great script, and great acting performance to go for, something to ponder after the film.  TK felt nausea in the initial part of the 2 hours show because the camera moves too much.  He joked that both Cynthia and I are seasoned computer gamers so we didn’t feel a thing.  All I can say is … the Spanish horror movie [●REC] is ten times worse in terms of camera shake.  I personally feel that the mild hand held simulated effect used in “Rachel Getting Married” has it own charm in bring out the theme of it-is-what-it-is.

How in the world do we get to watch Anne Hathaway in “Passengers (2007)”, “Rachel Getting Married (2008)”, and “Bride Wars (2009”) here in Singapore almost at the same time?  The Movie Review Squad is giving “Passengers” a miss.  But we are keen to check out “Bride Wars”.  The pairing of Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway is too good to be missed.

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Drama Movie Reviews

The Duchess – Every Decision Has Its Consequence

The Duchess

When I saw the DVD of “The Duchess” selling in HMV Hong Kong, I was wondering how I could possibly miss a movie by Keira Knightley on a big screen in Singapore.  We thought we did.  So, Cynthia and I watched it on our way back from Hong Kong, inside the cabin of our favorite airline, SIA.  Then we realized that “The Duchess” is now showing here exclusively in GV.

Some titles do take long to arrive.

I seldom read reviews by others – no disrespect to other reviewers – because I wish to form my own view.  I do however check the aggregated score from time to time.  And I welcome controversy views.  Hence, I do pay attention to movies that are both loved and hated by many.

Since “The Duchess” is based on true (or historical) events, I think it is rather pointless to comment too much on the storyline.  Or how the story could have ended in a better way.  It is what it is: a series of scandals that involved the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, Charles Grey (2nd Earl Grey) the would-be Prime Minister of UK, and more.  I wish to say that “The Duchess” is about one lady’s strength amidst the harsh reality of needing to produce a male heir, a non-existence love relationship, trapped within her own home, and more.  But true story being as such, there is – in my opinion – no satisfactory triumph.

So I gave it some thoughts and to me, the take home message is that Every Decision has its Consequence.  And working within this theme, I think “The Duchess” really shine in portraying how Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (played by Knightley) lived through the decisions made in such a male dominating environment more than 200 hundred years ago.

How civilization has advanced since then.  It was procreation in the most contractual form.  A man’s lifelong quest to foster male heirs and a woman’s lifelong commitment to care for her children.  And in the mist of all these chaotic lust filled desire from the both sexes, how less complicated it would be if they had the various means of contraception in our today’s world.

The choice of Keira Knightley is good and she works well in a costume drama setting.  What lovely accent she has.  In “The Duchess”, she plays an innocent young girl, a mother, a wife to a man doesn’t know love, a lover, a friend betrayed, and more.  If you stop and think, it is a pretty wide spectrum of emotion.  She has done well, in my book.  In contrary, Ralph Fiennes’s acting as the Duke is mostly being the same sternness and loveless towards his wife – as demanded by the plot.  However, his performance is equally as good to watch.

“The Duchess” reminds me of “The Other Boleyn Girl” at times.  Perhaps this one track desire to have a male heir.  I am rather happy to live in 2009 in this part of the world where having a child – be it as a boy or a girl – is a blessing from the above.

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Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Tokyo! Which of the 3 Segments You Like the Most (or Dislike the Least)?

I planned this outing with my Movie Review Squad even before I left for my trip 2 weeks ago.  This time I picked the title.  I have a soft spot for the picture house genre, especially one with a promise of a story interlaced with multiple plots.  And coincidentally, we watched yet another Japanese film.  Cynthia and TK both enjoy the previous one and I was OK with it.  As for “Tokyo!”, while I adore the three filmmakers’ vision and originality towards this three-set story, Cynthia didn’t like it finding some parts of the film offensive; TK fell asleep half of the time.  OK, we missed the intended show schedule because we were terribly late (something to do with road block caused by a marathon event, German food, and just us being late most of the time – all led to a ticket refund) so naturally we were all quite sleepy.  Good for TK, he felt refreshed after the show.

All three stories exhibit at least two common elements: a storyline set in Tokyo and an original idea that may be foreign to the majority of the audience.  French director Michel Gondry opens the movie with the first set “Interior Design (インテリア・デザイン)” – a story of a Japanese couple’s struggle in pursuing their film making dream in Tokyo.  There are lots of engaging dialogues between the characters, story development in different directions, and towards the end, this first segment of “Tokyo!” turns into a metaphor – a visionary one.  I suspect “Interior Design (インテリア・デザイン)” is the most accessible of all because of a fair bit of drama and humor involved.

The second segment “Merde (メルド)” is directed by another French director Leos Carax.  The French word merde simply means shit in English.  A story of a mad man who emerges from the sewage system and terrorizes Tokyo.  Perhaps the most intense of the three, I awe at the quality and the difficulty of acting involved.  Personally, I think “Merde (メルド)” casts a fresh perspective on a well-known modern day terrorist figure.  This segment is also the most unacceptable segment amongst the rest of the Movie Review Squad.  Though it was at times painful to watch, I admire this segment the most.

“Shaking Tokyo (シェイキング東京)” is the last segment directed by the Korean director Bong Joon-ho, it delivers a story between a Hikikomori (people who cut off physical human interaction with the rest of the society) of 10 years and a pizza delivery girl.  There is not much dialogues, more like monologues (for obvious reason), and the primary channel of communication to the audience is in the form of facial expression and body language.  And hence, the pace is much slower than the other two.

I don’t think these non-Japanese directors have restrained their artistic expression at all.  Some may find “Tokyo!” tilts towards the realm of self-indulgence.  Yes, “Tokyo!” is a different kind of movie.  There is a fine line between being original and intolerably bizarre.  I am an odd ball; I am leaning towards liking this one.

PS. Your very last chance to win that 60″ plasma TV!

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Drama Movie Reviews

Starstruck by Burn After Reading – How Much You Can Tolerate Idiocy?

If there is a center theme to “Burn After Reading”, to me, that would be idiocy.  There is no hero, only idiots.  And that is exactly what the award winning director-writer duo Joel and Ethan Coen wanted it to be, I reckon.

Knowing that I will be heading for an overseas business trip in Malaysia, I spent the last few days trying to do as much as I can in Singapore.  I can’t live without Singapore, I really can’t.  Not entirely the country as per se, but all these dependencies I have built over the years.  Gosh, I will even miss my über computer where I spend much time blogging with.  And so, before I head north, I caught up with my Movie Review Squad.

There are so many big stars in “Burn After Reading”.  I am such a big fan of John Malkovich.  I especially enjoy his acting in “Being John Malkovich (1999)”.  But he looks quite old in this film.  OK, he is old.  54, he is.  I really wish to see him taking home an Oscar one day.

Then there is the old partners George Clooney and Tilda Swinton.  They didn’t get along in “Michael Clayton (2007)”, they didn’t get along in “Burn After Reading” either.  Both are such talented actors.  While George Clooney is not exactly the guy I used to love watching in this film – a bit too jittering to my liking – I bet you have not seen this side of a Brad Pitt at all.  Who is this Brad Pitt?!  Borderline childish, borderline uncool, and totally an idiot.

I can relate 100% on how the filmmakers depict a typical working environment, and that is not even funny.  Gosh, when was the last time I witness something outrageously intelligent at work?  Hmmm.  If I may pick a few favorite scenes from “Burn After Reading”, I simply love to watch the conversations between an official played by David Rasche and his director (J. K. Simmons) inside the the CIA’s headquarters.  The director’s comments are so random in situations of life and death.  J. K. Simmons’s acting makes me laugh out loud, and I want more.  He gives me ideas to reply to a common asked question in the corporate world: what is our lesson learnt?

Not necessarily the most entertaining film of the year.  But if you do like to watch dark comedy and in love with watching some of the stars on big screen, “Burn After Reading” is a good option.

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Drama Movie Reviews Romance

Vicky Cristina Barcelona – And Beyond the Eye Candies …

I must be one strange dude.  I got lost between the two girls kissing each other inside a dark room and the three taking turn to kiss each other at the kitchen stove.  Now, just how probable that scenario can be even if I was born an American or an European?

Largely shot in portrait mode with the bokeh background blurring out everything but the characters, visually the film put much emphasis on the actors and actresses with the scripts in such fluidity to match.  I like some parts when the camera stays with the main character even when it is the supporting actor’s turn to speak.  It is beautiful.  It is beautiful if you can look beyond the lack of conclusiveness throughout the development of the story.  Light, indeed.  Perhaps that’s how the writer-director Woody Allen envisages it to be.  Like the beautiful strokes of stories intertwined in the summer of Barcelona, there is love of eccentricity, committing and reliable love, carefree kind of love, and unfulfilled love.  There is a certain degree of lightheartedness and a certain degree of sadness.  While the story is left unresolved, the incomplete love between the two artists played by Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz is simply intense.  Penélope is simply striking, in this movie.  She deserves an Oscar nomination, I agree.

Scarlett Johansson’s acting as Cristina is charming and I do enjoy watching Rebecca Hall playing the role of Vicky.  Cynthia and I both agree that Javier Bardem is not necessary the most handsome Spanish guy on Earth (to be able to charm both Scarlett and Rebecca with Penélope as the ex-wife … hmmm).  However Javier does come with an incredible credential in his acting career and he acts well in this film.

The Spanish actor and actress Penélope and Javier are the real gems of the film.  Since Cynthia and I are currently learning Spanish, we are happy to be able to pick up a few words within the Spanish dialogues.

Lovely scripts, lovely eye candies.  The question is, can you look beyond this plot of art with the unresolved, rather unrealistic storyline?

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Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Murder Of The Inugami Clan – A Detective Story That Triggers Childhood Memories

Woke up at 7am on a Friday morning, I switched on my phone an hour later and a text message arrived at my inbox: Murder Of The Inugami Clan?

Not a big fan of the genre of crime but I am happy to do a bit of give and take.  Who knows, one day the rest of the Movie Review Squad may yield to the genre of horror – something I love, and often watch alone.

Do you remember the days when you were still a young adult, grew impatience, and started to read books for the adults?  And you might have struggled to finish reading the books like me?  I remember vividly what types of books I read when I was very young: the genre of Wuxia and the Japanese detective novels translated in Chinese.

What hindered me back then hindered me this evening.  Japanese detective novels usually involve quite a number of characters and it is not easy to memorize who is who (in Japanese) as the stories develop.  “Murder of the Inugami Clan” triggers my childhood memory because the story is so similar to those that I have read when I was young: the sheer number of characters, the mystery, and the indescribable dark mood that overshadows the entire story.  The Japanese can be so creative, however illogical the stories can sometimes be.

Notable Japanese director Kon Ichikawa’s final piece of work (he passed away this year at the age of 92) has a certain darkness and bleakness within but not without a dose of humanity.  The story is set after the World War II and the wealthy Inugami patriarch passes away leaving behind a strange will with strange conditions.  A series of murder take place even before the will is announced; a series of past history begin to surface as the plot unfolds.  It is our detective’s job to put the pieces together and solve the puzzle.

I believe what Kon Ichikawa wished to retain is the traditional approach to film making as “Murder of the Inugami Clan” is a remake of his own movie created 30 years ago.  Some audience may chuckle at how unrealistic some of the murder scenes are.  I doubt if any such scene was at all realistic three decades ago.  Pockets of humor are scattered in making the film relatively more uplifting.  I personally enjoyed watching the acting.  Very old school.  (Yes, I did at times allow to watch TV when I was young and my favorite was and still is Japanese dramas).

Not necessarily a film to entertain but a film to admire without having to think too hard.  When our main character Kosuke Kindaichi, the detective, first checks into his hotel room, he looks out of his window, captivated by the beautiful greenery scenery of the mountain behind the lake,and he said something like: where a nation is defeated, nature endures.  So subtlety describes the feeling of people after the war.

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Diary Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Under the Same Moon – Who Wouldn’t Want This Boy As One of Your Own?

A less than ordinary day of mine began with Cynthia’s facial appointment at Vivocity.  Armed with a book and my music collection, my plan was to sit down at a cafe somewhere and space out, which is what I am good at doing when I am alone – spacing out.  So I was at Coffee Bean – a local cafe – with my glass of coffee looking for a table.  Full house.  I turned to an old Chinese couple who, I supposed, have more or less finished their drinks.  My plan B was to quietly hide at one side of the round table, listen to my music, and read my book.

We ended up chatting for forty-five minutes, maybe an hour.  I seriously have no idea that I can actually speak Mandarin!  And certainly have no idea that I can understand that much Mandarin either given my Cantonese root from Hong Kong.  Amazing.

But that is not the end of the story.  Soon, this old couple’s son arrived, together with wife and a baby.  Now, for a brief moment, faced with a family of three generations at a cafe with me being a total stranger, it was kind of awkward.  I looked around, full house still.  OK.  I had a hearty chat with mainly the old couple’s son, for another forty-five minutes, maybe an hour.  We exchanged contacts before we parted.  I am no Owen Wilson.  But I swear I was thinking of the movie “Wedding Crasher”.  A truly enjoyable chat; way better than spacing out on my own.

Some human emotions do melt hearts.

The Mexican movie “Under the Same Moon” (Spanish title “La Misma Luna”) that we watched later in Vivocity melts hearts too.  I didn’t have a high expectation.  In fact, I chose to watch this because Cynthia and I are currently learning Spanish.

Several video editing glitches and slight over-dramatized plot aside (seriously who really think that stories by, say, Sophie Kinsella is realistic but yet we all love the plots), the emotions and the dilemmas people faced are as real as it gets.  The acting by and large is admirable.  And I wish to single out the acting of the little boy Adrian Alonso here.  There is a whole array of despair, determination, and delight for Adrian to act out in tears and in laughter.  Cynthia did cry and the film got my eyes watered.  It’s so easy to love this character – for his street smart approach and genuine devotion to the people around him.

This movie is a journey of a little boy finding his way to his mother separated by a country border.  The plot is well paced with the stories from the two sides of the border well gelled with one another.  Certainly a pleasant movie to watch and one that most can relate to.

PS. I recognized the little boy from the big screen but couldn’t pinpoint who he is.  Only Cynthia can recall such a detail: he has acted in “The Legend of Zorro”.  Now I know.