Category: Movie Reviews

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Foreign Movie Reviews Romance

I Give My First Love To You – Cry Baby, Cry!

One lesson I learned: Try not to bring your partner to watch a Japanese (or Korean for that matter) romance movie after her makeup workshop.  Cynthia was weeping profusely throughout the movie, like the rest of the girls around us in the theater.  I had no idea it was that emotional.  The title sounds harmless.  Based on a Japanese manga, “I Give My First Love To You (僕の初恋をキミに捧ぐ)” centers around two young lovers engaged in a love relationship that has a time limit.  This is not a spoiler.  Within the very first few seconds into the show, the narrator said so.  Cynthia and I exchanged a look and we mouthed: Uh oh.  Throughout the movie, I tried to ask Cynthia to be strong, don’t cry.   Poor girl, the new make-up was still fresh from the workshop.  That did not work.

Takuma has a rare heart disease.  And the doctor said that he will not live beyond the age of 20.  Mayu, the daughter of the doctor, is Takuma’s childhood sweetheart.  On screen, they look like the cutest couple on earth – both the pair of the child actors (when the story was rewound) and the adult actors (in present time).  In fact, the four of them are so adorable to look at.  As far as the story goes, it is the classic Japanese / Korean tragic romance formula that some if not many subscribe to and keep subscribing to – like I!.

Because Takuma has a very weak heart, there is not much he can do but to stay relatively inactive trying to live life to the fullest.  His approach to love , I would say, is reckless bravery.  Mayu, on the other hand, is one interesting character.  How far would she go to keep this love going knowing that this love has a time limit?  Does she love Takuma out of pity?  Or deeper than that?  Her approach to love, I would say, is relentless loyalty.  Putting these two characters together, you would expect some interesting fireworks.  Meanwhile, the parents of Takuma and the father of Mayu have played excellent supporting roles.  One would cry seeing them act.  My heart ached.

I think, in a more reflective level, “I Give My First Love To You” got me pondering upon loving someone in our temporal existence.  How long does love last?  Knowing the fact that love has a time limit, would you still give that love to someone?  And knowing, by that I mean consciously knowing that no love last forever (in a non-poetic sense), what would you do differently each day?  I recently read a book.  The author joked that the best love ends in death.  In a morbid sense, I cannot agree more.  Better than ending in a breakup or a divorce paper, eh?

To end this post, I would like to make a noteworthy mention of the young Japanese actress Mao Inoue.  Japan has plenty of photogenic actresses but not many can act in a multitude of dimensions, which this film has plenty of opportunities for Mao Inoueto to shine.  I am not entirely certain if she is a kyūdōka.  But the way she handles the Japanese archery looks authentic to me.

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Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

The American – I Watched It As A George Clooney Fan (And That Only)

We practice democracy within Movie Review Squad, most of the time.  Last weekend, I wanted to watch a European foreign film.  Cynthia said OK.  TK said OK.  I then spotted a George Clooney film and I thought, time for a second round of vote?  Cynthia said American.  TK said American.  Two against one, so “The American” it was.

That evening, both TK and Cynthia were exceptionally hungry.  Over dinner, while I was logging the expenses (I am the movie scouter, the accountant, the review writer as well as the ticket booker within Movie Review Squad – hence a.k.a. “The Secretory”), they were busy attacking the dishes.  By the time I looked up, half of the food on the table was gone!  After our meal, TK showed us one of the free apps he downloaded for his Apple phone.  It is pretty hilarious.  You talk to the animated cat inside the phone and it repeats what you say with a very cute voice and a little delay.  And when Cynthia laughed hearing that, the cat paused and laughed too.  That triggered another round of laughter and so on.  People around us must have thought that she was crazy laughing at / with / on the phone.

“The American” is a slow pace movie, very slow.  So slow that I thought I would have my vindication against Cynthia and TK for choosing the film after all these months and years of laughing at me for making a bad decision in picking that Spanish movie (which I still think it was a good pick) or that Thai movie.  My vindication was very short lived.  In no time, they joined forces singing praises for “The American” and gave me that look of I-thought-this-is-the-sort-of-slow-movie-you-love-a-lot?

OK, to rewind, those who enjoy watching classic thriller would love “The American”.  And that is one aspect I enjoy, a thriller that is different from what we have in the market today.  Not many make films like “The American” these days.  A simple plot, emotionally gripped, and a constant sense of danger.  George Clooney has done a good job in playing the rather serious role.  I am not going to spoil you from enjoying the film as I walked into the theater with absolutely no clue on what the story is about.  Much time, you would wonder where the story is going.  It is especially slow in the first half of the movie.  But it does get better when the pieces of puzzle – not many by the way – are put together.  There is a lot of space within the plot, that is my own reservation of classifying “The American” as a classic.  I love the part of having two sinners falling in love.  But I was hoping that there is a deeper resolution, a redemption perhaps.  “The American” is a beautifully made movie.  You would feel for the characters.  If the plot was not as shallow, I would have loved it more.  After all, “The American” does have the sure win ingredients of money, sex, and blood.  Shot entirely in Europe with European actors and actresses, it does feel like watching a European film.  So, looking back, I did watch a European movie, in a strange sense.

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Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Detective Dee And The Mystery Of The Phantom Flame – Intriguing!

This post has been delayed for quite some time as I have a backlog of blog entries piling up by the day.  But I have this quirky habit of documenting all the movies I have watched as I gave up collecting stubs that fade.  Unless the movie is so bad that all I want is to forget about the whole thing.  Besides, it is often more than a review.  It is part of my diary.

Wuxia fans would love “Detective Dee”.  I guess two weekends ago when this film was out, it was hugely popular.  All the cinemas in town were full.  Fortunately the Movie Review Squad managed to book some seats in a Cathay cinema in the middle of a heartland.  AMK Hub is always packed with people.  I have warned my buddy to buffer at least 30 minutes to find a packing lot.  It did not take that long.  But you would never know.

An intriguing detective story aside, those who have been reading wuxia stories should be able to appreciate some of the details the filmmaker has put into the show – the transfiguration, the foreign weapons and fighting style and poison from outside the mainland among others.  Andy Lau, Tony Leung (Ka Fai), and Carina Lau are seasoned actors and actress.  Hence I would not expect anything less.  I am also much impressed by the role played by Li Bingbing.  It adds another layer of complicity to the overall plot.

I would consider myself as someone who has paid much attention to my Chinese history lessons at school.  However, it took me some time trying to reconnect to the knowledge that Empress Wu is the only woman in the history of China to assume that title.  And then I did some research.  Her Chinese name is 武則天.  And then I remember.  Needless to say, when I studied Chinese history, I studied in Chinese, I remember in Chinese (PS. This movie is filmed in Mandarin and as a Cantonese, I have to rely on the English subtitles).  Today, I read up a little bit more about Wu Zetian on the Internet.  Her story alone is intriguing.  And her role in Chinese history is also intriguing.  Think about this.  Of the thousands of years of Chinese civilization, we only have one empress who ruled for 20 years.  That does not seem right, does it?

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Comedy Movie Reviews

Dinner for Schmucks – Laughed Till My Face Went Numb

Again, thanks to Omy.sg, we were invited for an exclusive preview of “Dinner for Schmucks” at Iluma.  I think Omy.sg loves me, and I love Omy.sg the same.  I picked “Schmucks” because it is mid week and I reckon I need some comedy.  The movie is not perfect.  But it delivers.  Cynthia and I had a hearty fun time.

We love Steve Carell, the 40 years old virgin and the Tripplehorns.  And in “Schmucks”, he plays the role of an idiot.  Or so it seems by and large as there is a deeper debate on who are the schmucks, which I would not want to spoil your fun watching this movie.  Steve is a talented comedian.  He can play any role and be convincing.  We also love the other lead actor Paul Rudd who has acted in “I Love You, Man”.  If you enjoy watching Western comedy, putting the two together can be quite a treat.  The surprise to us is the talented New Zealander Jemaine Clement from “Flight of the Concords“.  His airtime in this movie is way too little.  I really wish that he had a more significant role to play.  The spooky yet hilarious Kristen Schaal too from “Concords” is also involved in this movie, together with a quality team of comedians too long to be listed here.

From the story writing point of view, “Schmucks” is not going to be memorable.  Rarely comedy films do.  The middle part of this 114 minutes film could be quite awkward to watch, though hilarious.  Because it can be quite … stupid (the young girl next to me were laughing and screaming “It is so stupid” at the same time, all the time – which is quite funny on its own).  The good news is that it has a quality ending and some of the jokes are original.  And if you are not in a hurry to leave the theater at the end of the show (interestingly many people here do), there is a tiny bit of extra clip after the end credits.

If I could single out one thing I wish to complement, that would be those miniaturized mouse models.  So beautifully made, so heartwarming / heart wrenching to look at.  I seriously think that the filmmakers should sell the replicas of these models as merchandise.  I would want to get some.  The choice of soundtrack is good too.  Need a good brainless laugh?  I doubt “Schmucks” would disappoint.  I laughed till my face went numb.

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Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

The Secret in Their Eyes – A Man Never Changes His Passion

This morning, it was typhoon signal number one.  Now, it is upped to number three.  I often visit my birth town in winter, seldom experience the rain.  In a way, the rain today brought back the sweet memory of my study life.

Cynthia and I were in IFC Mall when we stumbled upon a cinema.  Ritually, we scanned through the program just in case something interesting came up, with the right timing and not too crowded.  Interestingly, a Spanish movie fitted the bill.  Although we are not quite into the genre of crime, we were happy to take the opportunity to give our Spanish some exercise, especially when we have given our class a one week holiday break.

“The Secret in Their Eyes” or the Spanish title “El Secreto de Sus Ojos” is surprisingly a great movie (consider the fact that for us, it is a “walk-in” movie).  Little did we know that it has won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.  Only when the script mentioned “Buenos Aires” did we realize that it is an Argentine film.  It is an intriguing story that weaved through a rape-murder case in a flashback style.  It has enough twists that keeps the 127 minutes movie engaging.  It has enough drama and character development that makes it more than a story of solving a crime.  In terms of timeline, the story spanned 25 years between 1974 to 1999.  In 1974, the main character Benjamín Espósito was a federal justice agent.  In 1999, he has retired and decided to write a novel on the rape-murder case he worked on.  A case he handled together with his assistance Pablo Sandoval and his department chef Irene Menéndez-Hastings.  Besides crime solving, much of the story is dedicated to Espósito’s friendship with his assistance and the romance with his chef.

“The Secret in Their Eyes” is a moving story, a tragedy.  It is artistically made supported by beautiful classical soundtrack.  From the Spanish learning point of view, we feel that the Argentines speak with a different accent.  It took us some time to adjust.  A good practice nonetheless.  As for the cinema, we love the sofa seat.  The staffs were courteous, well dressed.  They thanked the crowd for coming as we exited.  That is what service industry should be like.

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Drama Movie Reviews

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – A Worthy Sequel

Thanks to Omy.sg, we have received a pair of tickets to watch the world premiere of “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” at our favorite cinema in town – The Cathay.  I can’t remember when I watched the original film “Wall Street (1987)” on rental (I am really not that old) as my memory on the plot was fuzzy.  It would be a good idea to grab a copy and refresh your mind before September 23, when the sequel is opened in theaters.  You may get more kicks from this sequel.

Michael Douglas has won an Oscar for his role in “Wall Street (1987)”.  His return on this sequel as Gordon Gekko comes with great expectation.  I was fully engrossed by his performance throughout the movie.  That fire in his eyes, that emotion.  Some scenes moved me.  British actress Carey Mulligan plays the role of Gordon’s daughter, Winnie.  I love her performance in the award winning movie “An Education“.  And she is a worthy supporting actress for Michael Douglas in this movie – father and daughter in an estranged relationship.  In “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps”, Josh Brolin picks up the role as the villain – a hedge fund managing partner.  For some strange reason, I think he has played the role well because his character reminds me of some real life people whom I know and are of that caliber or social status.  In comparison, Shia LaBeouf’s performance as the trader, Jake, may not be as memorable.  But as a whole, the movie has a strong casting.

The beauty of this movie, to me, is the background of the story.  Set during the financial crisis in 2008, the story begins with the collapse of a financial institute that reminds me as part Bear Stearns and part Lehman Brothers, the government’s bail out process, and then the sub-prime crisis that leads to a wider collapse of the banking system.  As someone who is working in this industry and have friends and colleagues who were affected by the financial crisis, this movie captures the sentiment and the background well – the free fall of stock prices, the painful nationalization process.  It relived my memory.  When we now talk about sub-prime, it seems so far away.  But that was only two years ago.

I don’t think that “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” is positioned as a movie primarily to entertain – solid acting aside (although I must say that I was excited by the crisis in the movie while Cynthia didn’t quite feel the same).  And the financial aspect of the story may be challenging for some to follow.  The movie to me is reflective in nature.  For example, through the three main characters – Gordon, Winnie, and Jake – the movie has explored the different aspects of “money does not matter (then what does?)”.  We seem to have a different definition of what money is for.  And there is this concept of moral hazard when no one is responsible in managing money.  The movie also prompts us to reflect upon the economic bubbles that we have created time and time again dated all the way back to the days of tulips (?!).  The movie even attempts to predict what the next bubble would be (wouldn’t it be funny if that turns out to be true?).  The most memorable part of this 133 minutes long movie?  The very dialog that gives forth its title.  For those of you who are going to watch to show, please pay attention to the beginning and ending narration and drop me a comment here on what you think of it for I don’t fully get what the narrator is trying to say.  Thanks in advance!

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Comedy Foreign Movie Reviews Romance

Heartbreaker – A Quality French Romantic Comedy

If you love romantic comedy, you ought not to miss this one.  As far as the story goes, there are three categories of women in a relationship: (1) happy, (2) knowingly unhappy, and (3) unknowingly unhappy.  The main character played by Romain Duris together with his sister and his brother-in-law have made a profession out of breaking up relationships in the last category.  The method is seduction.  The only rule is that they do not break up couples in love.  Then comes a day when Team Heartbreaker is desperate for money and they are hired by the bride-to-be’s dad to break up a seemingly perfect couple.  That is when Romain Duris meets Vanessa Paradis.

I have been following some of Romain Duris’s work since the day I watched his sci-fi movie “Peut-être (1999)” in Paris, which includes the more well-known films (in this part of the world) “The Spanish Apartment (2002)” and “The Russian Doll (2005)”.  He is one versatile actor and there is a good range of emotion in “Heartbreaker” for him to shine.  As for Vanessa Paradis, most of the time she plays it cool so I cannot say much about her acting.  At the age of 37 and a mother of two, she is still stunning.  And she does not wear excessive make-up either.  Pure natural beauty.  I have been a fan of her music career.  It is my first time seeing her on big screen, which I am glad that I did.

As far as the movie goes, there are plenty of quality comedy from the beginning till the end.  And there is also a fair amount of drama.  What does quality comedy mean?  Well, you know how forgettable most comedies are?  When you walk out of the theater long after you have watched “Heartbreaker”, chances are, you would still remember some of the scenes and still have a good laugh thinking about them.  Speaking as such, I still remember some of the scenes in “Peut-être (1999)”.  Filmed largely at Monaco, which we have recently visited, that is probably another reason why we love “Heartbreaker”.

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Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

The Expendables – Now, That Is Loud

I can understand why this film receives mixed reviews.  And I can also understand why this film is doing quite well, commercially speaking.  Audiences love to feel good.  We love to see our heroes beating up the bad guys, many bad guys.  And we hate to see our heroes getting hurt or get killed.  “The Expendables” delivers just that, with a big team of stars.  I was not expecting anything intelligent from the plot and hence, this film works for me.  Some dialogs can be entertaining too.  The clip with the uncredited Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis is probably one of my favorites (though some may cringe).  There is not much acting to highlight per se.  But I enjoy watching one particular scene as Mickey Rourke recounts the past.  That is a convincing piece of acting.

I am a big fan of Stallone and his career thus far has inspired me to rise up to the challenge against all odds (that Rocky theme song still plays inside my head when that happens).  Directed and co-written by Stallone, “The Expendables” is full of loud action.  Some action scenes are so incredible that can only be seen in a shoot-them-all type of video game.  The story is pretty simple.  A CIA officer has hired the mercenary group called The Expendables to kill off a dictator in a fictitious island backed by an ex-CIA agent.  And in the mist of this, the general’s daughter whom seems to disagree with her father’s dictatorship is involved.  Hardly an epic storyline, I must agree.  But it is good to see the actors having fun with the scenes like good old friends.

We watched this film at Cathay Cineleisure and the sound effect was loud, really loud: The gunfire and the explosion and let’s not forget that super loud machine gun that is capable to blow bodies and military structures into pieces with a single shot or two.  Fortunately, not everyone in The Expendables equips that I-win weapon.  I like the knife fight better.  More stylish to watch.

And yes, there is some blood and gore.  But worries not.  I have seen worse on screen, much worse.  It was the loud sound effect that seemed to bug me, for just a bit.

Categories
Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

Salt – It Is Angelina Jolie! Gasp!

What’s there to like about Angelina Jolie, Cynthia would ask.  Sigh.  Need I say, really.  Her lips?  Her sexy back?  Her Lara Croft come alive body shape?  Her guns and ass kicking action takes?  Well, none of the above; all of the above and more.

So I dragged Cynthia to watch “Salt” at our favorite cinema at The Cathay, with our friends, over the long weekend.  I love “Wanted” and in a strange way, “Salt” reminds me of that movie.  Must be the gun fight and action (and more).  I was genuinely led confused throughout a good portion of the movie.  “Salt” is action packed, from the very first frame.  It is a film about CIA and spy, Korea and spiders, US and Russia, nuclear war and a dog inside a backpack (OK, it is not that abstractly artistic, just in case you get the wrong idea).  Some parts of the film do not seem to make sense.  But it has sufficient feel good factors to keep us entertained.  And there are sufficient moments that move.

Yes, “Salt” is about vindication.  Bad guys must die.

Categories
Comedy Movie Reviews Romance

Au Revoir Taipei – Comically Cute

Friday evening.  Time to celebrate the end of a rather long week of work.  I picked a Taiwanese romance comedy.  Cynthia wondered why the randomness of my choice.  Because we seldom watch Chinese movies.  At the end of the movie, Cynthia was pleasantly surprised.  And I was pleasantly surprised by her not hating it.

I did not pick “Au Revoir Taipei” by random.  It says: winner of the Best Asian Film at the Berlin International Film Festival 2010.  My only concern was that this movie would bias more to art than entertainment.  OK.  Some parts are pretty slow.  Mostly filmed at night, the lovesick character Kai wanting to leave Taipei in order to meet his girlfriend in Paris.  And here comes the gangsters, the cops, his friends, and Kai meeting Susie who works in a bookstore he frequents.  For most parts, there is a certain honesty in the overall performance that reveals the raw essence of comic without pretense.  There are enough character development opportunities that however brief some are, it is hard not to feel for them.  As for the story development, “Au Revoir Taipei” reads like a chapter from a short story (the direct transaction of the Chinese title is “One Page of Taipei”) that leaves us wanting more.  “Do you think there will be a sequel?” asked Cynthia when the credits rolled.  That would be good, I think, to see closure to many of the seemingly unresolved plots.

The main actress Amber Kuo is also a Taiwanese singer (if you have not already known).  I have downloaded her three albums from Nokia Music Store.  Sounds decent so far.  Below is the movie trailer.