Category: Drama

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Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

My Wife Is A Gangster 3 – I Nearly Cried & I Laughed Till My Stomach Cramped

Once in a while, a man has to go solo putting behind the power of 3 (of our Movie Review Squad). Here is my story.

After 7 years of living with Cynthia, I surrender. I just am not a good shopping partner when it comes to office-wear. Most of the time, I am not excited. And when I am, we both gasp at the price tag. I love fashion but fashion comes with a price. One evening I looked at a sea of shoes for ladies, I had an idea. I suggested to Cynthia to go out shopping with her lady colleagues (in order to liberate me of that role) and she did just that. Cynthia and MW (a very pleasant young lady from Malaysia) went shopping together today (Sunday) and she has spent a rather astonishing amount of money. On the same night, Cynthia lined up a parade of trophies that were enough to cover the entire bed and beyond. What a way to celebrate commemorate the 1st day of the 2% GST hike.

Knowing that I would probably have nothing much to do from the moment I dropped Cynthia off at Orchard to meeting Cynthia and her friend MW for dinner, I thought catching a movie would be a great idea. As I have not met my buddy KF since his return from Mount K, what better way to catch up with him and then four of us have dinner together?

Unfortunately I could not contact KF in time (he did join us for the dinner in the end), I have to pick a movie to watch alone. I chose the sneak preview of “My Wife Is A Gangster 3” that was shown in the odd timing of 3pm. I have no issue watching movies alone as I often do that whenever I cannot find a movie partner at the spur of a moment.

I walked into the theater with no expectation especially after watching “Death Proof” recently (a great movie by the way and what else can possibly thrill me after that?). I think I may have watched the 1st episode of “My Wife Is A Gangster” and from what I read, this 3rd episode does not quite gel with the previous two episode. In “My Wife Is A Gangster 3”, the beautiful Shu Qi is the main actress of this Korean movie franchise that has nothing to do with the previous installments. Those who love the franchise may not like this discontinuity.

To give you a quick overview of this Chinese-Korean movie and to illustrate how diverse this movie is, from the language perspective:

70% Korean, 20% Mandarin, 10% Cantonese

And from the movie genre perspective:

50% Comedy, 20% Drama, 20% Action, 10% Romance

As the story goes, A-ryong (played by “Shu Qi”), the daughter of one of the gangster bosses in Hong Kong, caught in the middle of a gang conflict and upon the request of her father, she left Hong Kong and into a country of her choice – Korea. There, she was under the protection of a Korean gang that is in a different kind of conflict with other gangs. Gi-chul (played by “Lee Beom-soo”) together with his 2 subordinates were put in charge as a guide to protect A-ryong. And the story pretty much zigzags between Hong Kong and Korea from then on.

There are many things I love about this movie. When filmed in Hong Kong, it has the typical intense gang drama and action and the moment the location is switched to Korea, I just could not stop laughing at the comedy. The contrast of the gangsters from these two locations (fearful and deadly feel versus comical acting) makes this movie one notch above the Asia movies I have watched.

I often get put off by actors and actresses trying to speak a foreign language throughout the movies that require them so (with some exceptions). I was prepared to see Shu Qi speaks in Korean or the Koreans speak in Chinese. But no, each speaks in his or her native language. To bridge the language barrier, the film-maker has thrown in a translator. And because the translator at times does more than translating the original message, that makes the movie such a joy to watch. With my limited exposure to Asian films, I have not seen films that exploit this translator’s role into great comedy materials.

Talking about originality, besides having a translator that takes on his or her personality, there are quite a few scenes that are original. I am not going to post the spoilers here and you will have to watch it to find out yourself. I love the car chasing scene and I bet you one popcorn set (if you buy me the ticket) that you have never seen anything like that before.

Yes, there are moments when I was so touched by the drama that I nearly shed a tear. There are moments when I laughed till my stomach cramped. And the action scene are beautifully filmed. Almost remind me of Uma Thurman in “Kill Bill” when I saw Shu Qi in action. I have always been a big fan of Shu Qi. In this movie, you will see her coldness, her coolness, her sweetness, a bit of her sexiness as well as her vulnerability. She can be so adorable when she smiles. As icing on the cake, the soundtrack does the job well to blend in with some of the action scenes.

I love “My Wife Is A Gangster 3” and I will certainly get the DVD when it is out. Do I recommend this movie to everybody? Only for those who enjoy Chinese action-drama and Korean comedy-romance and are open to the idea of the combination of these two unique cultures.

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Drama Movie Reviews

Black Snake Moan – A Bit Of Sex, A Bit Of Jesus, And A Whole Lotta Blues

What happens when you put together a bitter old man whose life has beaten him so bad and a young girl who has a “disease” or a “spell” of wanting to have sex with men at least once a day? A young white girl physically chained up in a black old man’s house. Now, can a bit of Bible and the blues music from the old man’s heart cure this young girl? You will have to watch this movie to find out.

Feeling bad that we have left Tong Kiat out for the last two movies Fantastic Four and Ocean 13, after I have received a message from him that he would be landing at 4pm, I sprang into action and picked “Black Snake Moan”.

You may not need to understand blues music to appreciate “Black Snake Moan” but certainly it will help. The show begins with Son House (aka Eddie James House, Jr.) – an influential American blues singer and guitarist – talking about blues music and his appearance continues at each relevant stage of the movie. The movie title is derived from a song by yet another blues artist named Blind Lemon Jefferson. And lastly, the influence of blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist R. L. Burnside is all over the cast. The grandchildren of Burnside, Cedric Burnside and Kenny Brown, are in Lazarus’s (played by Samuel L. Jackson) band; the character name of the reverend is Reverend R. L.; and there are remarkable similarity between Lazarus and Burnside’s features. In short, the entire movie from casting to soundtrack is heavily blues influenced.

And because of that, it is understandable why Samuel L. Jackson (as “Lazarus”) and Christina Ricci (as “Rae”) are in their shabby clothing most of the time living in a rather shabby house. Even the cars and the town itself are shabby. To me, blues music is from the heart talking about love and human conditions. And neither topic is a happy topic in real life most of the time. Almost throughout the movie, Samuel L. Jackson is unshaven and messy while Christina Ricci is presented with not only no make-up but also a bruised-up face resulted from an assault.

From the storyline perspective, it is original. The acting of Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci (I am a fan of both) are great making most part of the movie an enjoyable experience to watch. The dialogue between them gives them much opportunity to develop their relationship. Did you know that Jackson can play blues guitar and sings? I surely did not. And Christina Ricci who has experimented with self-mutilation after her parents’ divorce – strange as it may sound – seems to have made for this role. The last movie I have watched with her acted as the main actress is “Prozac Nation” (an adaptation from the famous book on depression). I think she is a specialist for this kind of movies.

Interestingly, as Rae’s boyfriend (imagine what sort of man would date a girl who has slept with half of the town), it is none other than Justin Timberlake as the character Ronnie who suffers from extreme anxiety (what a movie filled with weird characters). Seems to me that Rae is the only antidote Ronnie can find in this town and they are in love. I personally question Justin Timberlake’s acting ability. Fortunately his part is not long and he does manage to squeeze out an ounce or two of tears when needed too. Oh well, when not needed to as well. (Afterthought: Why am I so critical to Justin Timberlake? Is it because I am a guy? It is not uncommon that a film pulls in an eye candy – a girl usually – to lighten up the show. And funny as it seems, Justin is probably the prettiest thing in the whole movie.)

Again, is “Black Snake Moan” for everybody? Let me ask you, is blues music for everybody (answer is probably no)? I enjoyed the show a lot and probably agree with some critics that this could be the best movie of 2007 so far. Tong Kiat and Cynthia find it “different”. You may wish to check out the trailer by clicking here.

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Drama Movie Reviews

Conversations With Other Women – Original in Cinematography, Not Original in Storyline

There are two sides to every love story ...

It is my first time watching a movie in split screen from beginning to the end. In fact, split screen filming is not common. I can think of the TV series “24” that has employed this technique and probably there are some other productions out there but that is it. The idea is that instead of the traditional cut scenes, you get to watch the actor and actress’ immediate facial and body response while reacting to the lines of his or hers counterpart. This can be powerful. As an added feature, the film maker allows the audience to do their own editing, to focus on whichever part that interests them most. “Conversations With Other Women” managed to pull off because Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter do have great chemistry in the movie. The sacrifice though is the lacking in tastefulness of the backdrop. I compare this movie with “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset” that are similar in nature with “Conversations With Other Women” but with much better scenery and backdrop. “Before Sunrise/Sunset” is an art. “Conversations With Other Women” seems like an experiment.

When watching “Conversations With Other Women”, I could not help but reminiscing my favorite movies “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset”. The story of “Conversations With Other Women” started with a man flirting with a woman in a wedding reception and guess what? They have a past history of passion decades ago and the woman has a flight to catch in a couple of hours’ time and to return to her own family. Sounds like the storyline of “Before Sunset”? I screamed rip off in my head while watching the movie.

From the scripting perspective, “Conversations With Other Women” does have its clever moments. It directs the audience to pay attention to the details in both screens and more clues are dropped as the story unfold. I have got to say, there are some romantic moments that though I wish it was Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy who acted out the parts instead, I think these moments are brilliant.

It is certainly a novelty in watching a split screen movie. Most of the time both screens are synchronized in terms of timing. Other times especially when the couple is recalling the past, one screen shows the present while another screen shows the past. It is interesting to note that the split screen effect also serves as a visual metaphor of two people who are apart trying to get together.

On a side note, Helena Bonham Carter looks familiar but I could not pinpoint which are the movies she has acted in. In fact, she has a long list of movies and TV series under her belt including some of those that I know such as Hamlet, Frankenstein, Fight Club, Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the voice behind Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit and my favourite Corpse Bride! She was gorgeous when she played Ophelia in the movie “Hamlet”. That was back in 1990 when she was 24! How time flies.

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Drama Movie Reviews

Letters From Iwo Jima – Almost Perfect

By now, you must have thought that I am someone who gets overly excited easily because of all the generous reviews be it as books, movies, music albums, or even DVDs. Truth is, if the product is not potentially good, I wouldn’t pay for it. Since I only write reviews on products that I buy, naturally they are already in my good book. As for Golden Globe Award Winner for Best Foreign Film – “Letters From Iwo Jima”, I do have my 2-cent worth of criticism though.

I picked “Letters From Iwo Jima”, together with the rest of my Movie Review Squad, because we have been anticipating this movie since we watched “Flags Of Our Fathers” (see previous blog) back in mid December last year. So, let me be upfront here. My only two complains of this movie are (1) it is a long slow moving show and (2) for a war that 20,000 Japanese troops have perished, it certainly does not look like there are that many Japanese in the show (compares to the fleet size of the American troops in “Flags Of Our Fathers”).

“Letters From Iwo Jima” has quite a number of interesting points that should not be missed. First, I have not seen anyone who directs two separate movies based on the same scenario and have the story told in two different perspectives. Clint Eastwood is the director of both “Flags Of Our Fathers” and “Letters From Iwo Jima”. Second, I seldom get to watch a war movie being told from the Japanese perspective. I have watched many war movies told from the Western perspective, even from the German’s perspective. But from the Japanese perspective acted by the Japanese? It is kind of rare. I have learnt quite a few things new about the Japanese from the movies itself which is refreshing. Third, there is so much humanity being put into the show that I felt bad just to watch what the Japanese has to go through.

Now, back to my two complains. It is a long slow moving show because the movies portrays a losing war. I mean, whatever they do, however smart and humane the Commander-in-chief is, they are going to lose the war. The first explosion happens 45 minutes into this 2 hours long show so you can imagine it is a different kind of war movie. Watching a losing war is like watching “Apollo 13” – a doomed to fail mission (“Apollo 13” is equally boring to me). And we don’t get to see that many Japanese probably because the story is reconstructed from the letters found inside the Japanese caves and I think the focus of the story is on some of the key characters.

I am a fan of Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai” and “Memoirs of a Geisha”) who plays the role of General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in “Letters From Iwo Jima” well. That is probably another good point coming from this long slow moving show.

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Drama Movie Reviews

Paris Je T’aime – A Movie Unlike Anything You Have Seen

Paris does has her magic. When I was studying in UK, I spent most of my school holiday in Paris with my Aunt and Uncle who worked there. I used to know the city inside out, where the historical sites were, and where the best ice-cream store was. Indeed while I was in Paris years later under a work attachment, the city has inspired me to write. Most of my older articles were written in Paris. Of which, my favourite articles are One Late Afternoon (At McDonald’s), Love Fiction, and One Simple Day. And I have written a number of poems as well. One of which (Death Marriage) has over one thousand hits making it the most popular article in this website.

Back to the movie “Paris, Je T’aime”, it is a collection of 18 short stories packed with International movie stars. I picked “Paris, Je T’aime” because I thought Natalie Portman is the main actress. However, she is one of the 46 actors in the movie excluding the extras. Directed by 22 directors and written by 25 script writers with one common theme – love, “Paris, Je T’aime” presents love in different aspects filled with twists that keep audience entertained throughout. My favourite story is definitely Natalie Portman’s “Faubourg Saint-Denis” (the rest of my Movie Review Squad has their own favourites).

Perhaps Paris holds a special place in my heart and perhaps I do enjoy reading short stories grouped under a common theme, “Paris Je T’aime” is by far the most original work I have seen so far. I have included a trailer below. Hope you’ll enjoy watching it.

Edit: I watched the trailer again and realised that I have missed out 2 of them. Hence, the total number of short stories is 18 instead.

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Drama Movie Reviews

My Coincidences And The Illusionist – A Magical Movie

Before reviewing on this Academy Award-nominated (Cinematography) movie, I wish to touch onto a category that I seldom have a chance to pen the stories down. Mainly because “coincidences” are usually in bits and pieces. I have this ability to remember certain faces in a short time frame (I am sure many of you can do that too) and because of that, I recognise the same lady whom I saw on my way to work, then on my way out for lunch, and when I was walking back to my car after a long day’s work, I saw the same lady having coffee break with her friends – all in one day. I mean, what’s the odd of that right? Or the same person I saw in consecutive days and never to see him or her again. Some friends of mine pointed it to the pattern of routine. But still, what’s the odd?

Couple of days ago while having lunch with Cynthia at Thomson Plaza (up north), I saw this young girl with her grandparents inside the same food court I was dining at. It was her big eyes and oval facial shape that I remember of. Then on the night I finished watching “The Illusionist” at Plaza Singapura, I walked out of the theatre and saw her in make-up with her boyfriend by her side. We must have watched the same movie. Again, what’s the odd?

Magical as my coincidences may seem, “The Illusionist” is truly one magical show. I wanted to give this movie a pass because the context sounds too much like “The Prestige” – another movie about illusionists that I happen to like a lot. While “The Prestige” makes it clear that magic does not exist, “The Illusionist” leaves a lot of room for imagination. At times I found myself gasping with the magic showed on the screen.

A drama written and directed by Neil Burger and starring Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, and Paul Giamatti, “The Illusionist” is a story of love, politics, and magic. The only qualms I have over this magical movie is that at times the pace is a bit too slow for me and I wish that the script is less predictable. However, no doubt it is an artistic movie to watch.

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Drama Movie Reviews

The Last King Of Scotland – Gruesomely Charming

We practice democracy within our Movie Review Squad. I personally would have given this movie a pass not because it is not a good show but my preference is in the vague order of originality, witty scripts, beautiful scenery/people … and a bit of tastefully done sex scenes won’t harm.

I can’t help but to compare “The Last King Of Scotland” with “Blood Diamond”. Both movies have plots originated from Africa; both are equally intense and gruesome; and both leading actors are nominated for this coming Oscar. Forest Whitaker who acted as the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin has already earned him a Golden Globe Award. I still hope that Leonardo DiCaprio will win the Oscar this year but knowing the strong correlation between Golden Globe and Oscar (so I am told) … we shall see.

“The Last King Of Scotland” is based on Giles Foden’s award-winning debut novel of the same name as inspired by real people and real events. A story spins off from a Scottish doctor, Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), who found himself becoming the physician and advisor of Idi Amin. Idi Amin is real while the character Garrigan is fictitious (loosely inspired by Amin’s English-born associate Bob Astles). Unlike “Blood Diamond” that is constantly gruesomely intense (or intensely gruesome?) throughout the show, the first half of “The Last King Of Scotland” is actually quite enjoyable to watch. The acting is great and I especially like McAvoy’s carefree character Garrigan. The transformation slowly took place when the charming Amin turned into a brutal monster. Towards the end, it was just blood and gore. I heard a lot of gasping from the audience behind me.

A movie with lots of quality acting, at times humorous scripts, and a slowly build-up of intensity. “Blood Diamond” has a lot of outdoor shots so I got to enjoy the culture side of Africa. Majority of “The Last King Of Scotland” was shot indoor or at some locations that did not seem to be uniquely African. If I have to choose one to watch, “Blood Diamond” no doubt. Having said that, “The Last King Of Scotland” is a show worth watching … for the acting I would say.

Related Blog and Link: Blood Diamond – Intensity With Great Performance (my blog), Official Site for “Last King Of Scotland”.

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Drama Movie Reviews

Clerks 2 – Humour With Characters You Grow To Care

Spoilt by a good number of potentially entertaining movies now showing, my Movies Review Squad saved me the headache and picked “Clerks 2” (Me: Why Clerks 2? Him: It’s funny … Me: Ah-huh. Him: … and it is rated R(A). Me: ON!). “Clerks 2” is a sequel to a 12 years old movie, full of at times gross jokes and at times jokes based on the current entertainment news, and with characters you grow to care as the story unfolds.

Bulk of the movie is set in and around a fast food restaurant in one day – Dante Hicks (Brain O’Halloran)’s last day of work leaving his best friend Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson), his boss-cum-friend Becky Scott (Rosario Dawson), and New Jersey behind for a new life. “Clerks 2”, suffice to say, tells a story of friendship, romance, and dreams in life all mixed with 80% jokes and trash talking and 20% quality dialogues between the characters. Many comedies leave the audience nothing when they walk out of the theater (somehow “Hitch” came into my mind). There are something about these characters that make them stick into your mind after the movie ends.

Related Link: Clerks 2’s Behind The Scene Clips.

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Drama Movie Reviews

Sione’s Wedding – An Urban Romantic Commedy From New Zealand

Wanted something light and fun, I have decided to take my Movie Review Squad to watch Sione’s Wedding – a box office hit in New Zealand. Being totally ignorance on the New Zealand culture, please do forgive me if I make any cultural mistakes here. At first I thought the characters are Māori. Then I read some articles that referred them as Samoans. I think I better stick to what the official movie website refers them as the Polynesian (that includes Tongans, Samoans, Niueans, Cook Islanders, Tahitians, Hawaiians, Marquesans and Māori), the indigenous peoples of parts of Southeast Asia. (I watch Survivor Cook Island and didn’t know that Cook Islanders exist!).

Coming from someone who has no clue about what Polynesian Culture is about, I find Sione’s Wedding refreshing. It’s a movie about four men’s journey in finding love … with a time factor. I think if I was from New Zealand, I would have been able to appreciate the comedy better. (I tried my best not to out-laugh the Western couple next to me for they may come from New Zealand and find it odd that I laughed at something that was not funny.) Nevertheless, the script is tastefully done. Sione’s Wedding won’t make you laugh till your back cracks from beginning to end. But it does have heartwarming moments that keep you entertained throughout.

Related Readings: Sione’s Wedding Official Website, Polynesian Culture at Wikipedia.

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Drama Movie Reviews

Blood Diamond – Intensity With Great Performance

I once worked with an African who shared with me some of Africa’s unique culture. He has probably told me a lot more than I wished to know such as people getting shot inside their cars at the traffic lights. Movies portray a slice of reality and I know very little about Africa besides the seemingly endless civil wars between warlords and tons of humanitarian aid opportunities (AIDS, child rapes, refugees, etc.). As I typed this review, Somalia declares state of emergency for 3 months.

The story of “Blood Diamond” is set in 1990s Sierra Leone when diamonds had to be smuggled out of this conflict zone and into neighbouring countries in order to be sold to the rest of the world (part of a treaty not to buy diamonds from conflict zones). The money from the diamond sales in turn funded the military in Sierra Leone.

Inside a prison, an ex-mercenary from Zimbabwe, Danny Archer (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), met with a Mende fisherman Solomon Vandy (played by Djimon Hounsou). Their paths intertwined and from then on, shared the same quest of recovering a rare pink diamond.

“Blood Diamond” is Leonardo DiCaprio’s second movie to be nominated for this coming Oscar (first one being “The Departed”). His performance is outstanding in “Blood Diamond”. His character played a wide range of emotions from a risk taker and an ex-mercenary motivated by greed to displaying his good nature when situations called for and to someone vulnerable recalling his painful childhood stories (nearly got me shed a tear in that scene). Besides the many facets of emotions, Leonardo switched different accents according to the plot. I enjoyed every moment he acted.

What makes this movie so enjoyable to watch is that the actors are of the same calibre. Jennifer Connelly – Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress – who played a journalist paired up well with Leonardo. The African actor Djimon Hounsou (who won the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in “Blood Diamond”) surprised me the most. He sweat and he teared and he played well as a father who would stop at nothing to be united with his family.

Combine all these outstanding performance and a simple yet tight plot with some of the inspiring scenery that can only come from Africa (the rather backward cities contrast with the beautiful jungle and the sea-side shots) is a 140 minutes long movie that does not have a dull moment.

“Blood Diamond” does come with a violence rating. Some of the scenes can be disturbing especially the opening scene when a village of people were massacred by the rebels. The violence did not stop there and continued as the plot unfold. I think towards the end, I was quite used to it and did not cringe that much. Also, seeing how children being brainwashed to learn how to fight with guns can be disturbing to some as well. I don’t think it is an exaggeration but rather a highlight of reality in some regions of Africa.

Overall, I enjoyed “Blood Diamond” and hope that Leonardo DiCaprio will bag the Oscar this year. And by the way, I don’t think I will see diamonds the same way as before.