Category: Movie Reviews

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews Romance

We Celebrated Christmas Eve the Twilight Way

Twilight

Wow.  How Kristen Stewart has grown up from the 12 years old Panic Room diabetes into one fine young actress who is in love with … a vampire.  Twilight watched like a mix of my favorite TV series Buffy and Felicity.  Add that with the cool rock numbers by Linkin Park, Muse, Paramore, and more – OK, this concoction is rather appetizing.

Cynthia and I are both big fans of vampire stories (for different reasons of course).  Watching Twilight to me is like watching a chick flick.  A film adaptation of a young adults book, I am not surprise on how far the film wouldn’t go.  So we have vegetarian vampires, vampires that shimmer in light of diamond under the sun (?!), and a lust so strong that … turns into a series of friendly, cosy conversations on the bed.  Now, if I was the filmmaker, I would have created a Twilight Reload and chopped it with a R(A) rating.

There are moments of awkwardness – at least to me – like the attempt-to-be Romeo & Juliet style of courtship at the woods, or those Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon kind of flying and flirting scenes.  But there are also moments of tenderness and fresh ideas such as vampires playing baseball games (I know) that is really cool to watch.

Pairing the talented Kristen Stewart with the rather stiff looking one dimensional vamp Robert Pattinson to me is like pairing Natalie Portman with the dude who plays Anakin Skywalker.  Hey, I am a guy.  Maybe girls do love Robert Pattinson for his cool factor.  Who knows?

I think Kristen Stewart has potential.  I am keen to follow her acting career.

By the way, Merry Christmas to y’all and watch out for our Movie Review Squad’s nomination for the Year 2008 Movie Awards.  It will be fun, I promise.

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Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

The Day the Earth Stood Still Was the Day We Returned from Our Bandung Trip

This morning, minutes before we checked out of the hotel from Jakarta and to catch a plane back to Singapore, two of our Movie Review Squad members were busy booking our movie tickets via the free wi-fi network provided at the hotel lobby while the third one was on the 10th floor busy catching up with a last minute dosage of Indonesian info-tainment on TV.  Cynthia is in love with Keanu Reeves; I am not sure what TK is in love with; and I am simply a fan of sci-fi stories.

TK and Cynthia appear to have enjoyed “The Day The Earth Stood Still”.  Given the fact that we have not watched a single movie for more than a month, anything that moves on the big screen excites me.  Maybe I entered the theatre with the benchmarks of “The Matrix” and “The Fifth Element” in my head – both have the theme of saving the earth.  Even in my state of movie deprivation, I think “The Day The Earth Stood Still” is far off from my benchmarks.  Nevertheless, an entertaining movie that has to be watched on a digital 4K projection.  The image is so crisp clear.  If I am to pick one or two things I like about this film, that would be the cinematography and the special effects.

The main challenge in liking this film does not lie entirely in the storyline.  It is rather the inconvenience truth that we are facing.  Yes, we humans are the destructive bunch.  A few years ago when Cynthia and I attended the Christmas Mass at a Cathedral in Hong Kong, one message from the sermon left a deep impression onto me: In this year (can’t remember the exact year), two third of our nations are in conflict.  And yes, we humans not only destroy each other, but also the planet too.  I can bet with you that 100 years later when our future generations look back to today, they would laugh at our perpetual denial to link our selfish actions to global warming.  They would laugh at our perpetual denial to link smoking to cancer and to our perpetual resistance in stop making cigarettes too (why do we make and consume things that kill us?!), amongst many others.

And perhaps, yes, Mother Earth needs a reset.  If we look at a larger scheme of work and to acknowledge that Earth is a very rare and unique environment that sustains life form (I once read a report from the used-to-be famous magazine Scientific America on how probable, or rather improbable, there is another planet like ours out there in the Milky Way), maybe human beings are not the best thing that happen to Mother Earth.

The stage set in “The Day The Earth Stood Still” is ambitious.  And personally I don’t think the filmmaker has a satisfying conclusion to why we humans deserve a second chance.  Yes, we may change when we are at the brink of extinction.  But wouldn’t that be a bit … too late?

PS. Brands that I observed being advertised in “The Day The Earth Stood Still” are: Honda, McDonald’s, Windows Vista, LG, and Citizen.

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Action & Thriller Diary Movie Reviews

Prefer Casino Royale to Quantum of Solace – My Quantum of Mad Rush from 1450 to 1658

I think I had my fair share of action packed excitement prior to the five o’clock movie “Quantum of Solace”.  At 1450 (timestamp from one of my messages to M), I stepped into my Aston Martin (OK, more like a … whatever) with one hand on my Nokia phone doing last minute checking on my GPS ordinates (I did turn on my Nokia Map because I couldn’t afford to make any error and you will see why) …

OK.  If you are here for the movie review, please skip to the next section.  

Now, back to my quantum of mad rush … I am usually quite good at working backward and estimating what time we shall leave our doorsteps.  Today, so much needed to be done and … I gave up planning.  1450 was terribly late, that much I knew.  Tailgated the first car I saw on the quiet road of our neighborhood, I overtook it over a hump.  My car’s engine went vroom vroom vroom and … oops, the car belongs to the Colonel whom I just greeted at the lobby, whom was my client back in my consulting life, whom must have thought who this mad man on the road was.  He must have been shocked that I was that mad man on the road.

Sir, sorry Sir!  It was mad rush time!

I am terrible in road direction and I relied on my Nokia Map in times like this.  Spun the car to YCK Road, drove up the Lornie Road, turned right into Holland Road, exited into Holland Avenue, and as I negotiated a sharp right turn into the car park, I was greeted by the sign …

Car park full.

Uh-huh.  Parachuted Cynthia out of the car with an encrypted message “6 Dim Sum Dishes, Crystal Jade”, I patiently waited at the entrance with a path that slopped upwards.  My phone rang just when that dude from the Mercedes-Benz CLS in front of me let go his brake and gravity pulled this huge German machine towards my car.  NO!  I furiously slammed my honk while Cynthia was on the phone asking me which of the two Crystal Jade restaurants we were supposed to meet.

Handbrake Sir … please!  How would the insurance agencies know who hits who in situation like this?!

As I was waiting for our dishes to arrive, I was so happy to see the ATM machine right opposite the road.  In such a high tech city like Singapore, you would have thought that cashless payment is the way to go.  Apparently not for where I was going to visit, Sim Lim Square (amongst many places here).  One time, I literally withdrew S$1,000 notes over-the-counter so that I don’t need to bring a briefcase of S$50 notes to buy electronic gadgets.  Paid by Credit Cards I will need to add 3%.  Paid by NETS I will still need to add 2%.  You know what?  Our supermarkets should follow suit.  Imagine a 2% discount on grocery bills if we pay by cash.  Why not?  I would.  Especially now that we are in recession.  Any saving counts.

I had a vague memory on where M’s client site is at, theoretically a 5 minutes drive from Holland Vee.  I did get lost and I managed to get back on track thanks to Cynthia and Nokia Map.  M must have forgotten how impressive my driving skill is and as I was waiting and waiting for M to appear, I calculated the route to my next destination, Sim Lim Square.

If all go according to plan, mid next week, M and I would be two very happy men on Earth with our two new cameras.  So today, we went for an accessory shopping trip.  To help some of you to relate, imagine you have ordered a beautiful pair of earrings together with a matching necklace from Tiffany & Co.  While waiting for these lovely items to arrive, what would you do?  Yes, go shopping for some new dresses to go along, correct?

We entered into Singapore River area and have to pay S$2 ERP road charges (on a Saturday?!).  We turned into Rocher Road and paid another S$2 ERP road charges.  Good gracious me!  No wonder I love to stay at home during weekends.  And when we reached Sim Lim Square, we saw the sign …

Car park full.

Uh-huh.  Parachuted M out of the car to kick start the purchase process and when we reached the basement, I parachuted myself out of the car and handed Cynthia the car key.  Time was 1620 and it was running out.  Ran up to Alan Photo and M was happily holding his new lens.  I asked for the UV filter, no stock.  Battery, no stock.  Dry cabinet, no stock but I could place an order that comes with free home delivery.  OK, at least I got myself a rather expensive memory card.

Jumped back into the car at 1640, I paid another S$1 ERP for entering the Orchard area.  By the time we arrived at the 6th floor of Cineleisure, it was 1658.  TK greeted us with the popcorn set that Cynthia has been talking about for the whole day and … time for “Quantum of Solace”!

Quantum of Solace     

To the character James Bond, “Casino Royale” and “Quantum of Solace” are separated by merely an hour.  To some of the audience who have caught the previous installment, that is a 2 years wait.  If I was to watch “Casino Royale” right before “Quantum of Solace”, I think I may be more sympathetic over Bond’s grievance towards the quite possibly love of his life Vesper’s betrayal and death.  This chapter of James Bond starring Daniel Craig seems like part of a trilogy.  I made such a guess because there are some loose ends and in the end credits, it says something like “James Bond will be back again soon”.  If so, that may explain this mid episode syndrome when the majority of the plot is to provide answers to the lingering questions from “Casino Royale” but yet, the climax has to come from the next episode.

I prefer “Casino Royale” because I like the storyline better, because the Bond girl is more intelligent, has more air time, and because I get to see James Bond having fun, falling in love, rather than feeling so heartbroken.  Besides, I think the villain of “Casino Royale” is a lot cooler.

If you like Daniel Craig role in the Bond franchise (like me), you would enjoy “Quantum of Solace”.  There are some breathtaking action sequences and certainly, refresh your mind with “Casino Royale” prior to watching this one will help to understand James Bond’s state of mind better.

PS. I like Olga Kurylenko better in Hitman.

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Horror Movie Reviews

[●REC] – A Spanish Horror Film for the Halloween (My Head Still Aches)

For once, I am so glad that none of my female friends can make it for this Spanish horror movie (to my best knowledge, none of my guy friends can take horror films).  Hence, I just need to deal with my own nausea and headache for this extreme horror slash thriller slash shaky camera type of movie.  And I thought I can take this genre well.

Only watch this if pass the following criteria (this part of the review remind me of an old review).

  • You don’t faint when you see blood.
  • You don’t faint when you see a lot of blood.
  • You (think you) can take extreme shaky camera effect mostly throughout the film.
  • You (think you) can take sustained suspense / horror throughout the film.
  • You find most of the horror films are like comedies (I do indeed) and want something different, a challenge perhaps.

“[●REC]” is only a 80 minutes movie, thank God for that.  If it was any longer I would have puked.  My head was aching bad and when Cynthia met me outside, she was surprised at how cold my hands were.  There were a few couples who left the theatre just when the action started.  This is extreme stuff I am telling you.

Ponder upon this.  You watch a comedy expecting a good laugh, yes?  You watch a Korean drama expecting to cry, yes?  And what do you expect when you watch a horror anyway?  Without giving away spoilers (as always), “[●REC]” is a story told entirely from the perspective of a cameraman of a local TV station and an anchor – a lovely young girl by the way.  This couple follows the firemen for an episode of “While You Were Asleep” and something went really wrong in an apartment they visits.

If there is one word to describe “[●REC]”, that would be realism.  “[●REC]” dwarfs the rest of the horror films I have seen.  And I couldn’t help but to have flashback to some of the computer games I have played such as Doom III and Bioshock.  With that level of intensity, I am pretty sure that I would wake up screaming in the middle of the night (sorry Cynthia!).

I read that there is a sequel in the making.  And strange to say, I look forward to watching that.  Happy Halloween!

Categories
Comedy Movie Reviews

Tropic Thunder – An Oscar Nominated Most Expensive True Fake Movie Ever Made?

For the time being, just ignore the title.  It’ll make sense after you’ve watched the movie.

You know what it is like not having it for a long time – whatever it is – and all of a sudden, all the listed movies look so must-watch.  Cynthia needed to do facial so I thought I could either vegetate at home or vegetate at a mall.  I chose to vegetate at a mall and we headed to the theatre thereafter.

In most cases, when it comes to comedy movies, we leave our brain outside the theatre, have a good laugh inside, and the plot stays with us for as long as the film is rolling.  While “Tropic Thunder” may not be consistently funny throughout the movie and there are parts that may go down better to some than others, it is probably (to me) the comedy movie that is so over-the-top, deeper than skin deep, and contains some quality acting moments that you would probably still talk about long after you leave your seat.

Every actor is playing a role that he is absolutely good at, the production is so over-the-top for this genre of film that is rarely seen, and the script is so silly but yet so great that you just have no idea which way it is going.  And to pull this absolutely silly plot off without making the audience feels that silly is kind of an art to me.  Go slightly deeper than pure hilarious, I think the team of talented actors are making fun out of Hollywood itself.  There are plenty of references to other Hollywood movies and actors within the movie.

I have a hard time deciding which actor is my favorite.  Director, co-producer, co-writer, and actor Ben Stiller retains his niche role of being simple and ignorant (I hesitate to use to word stupid).  While his acting does not disappoint, I am amazed by his role as a director and co-writer.  Most people will sing praises to the acting of Robert Downey, Jr.  It took Cynthia and I a few good moments to reconcile the image of a typical Downey and this African-American character who looks like one and talks like one.  I am not a big fan of Jack Black but I guess he has added a new dimension to this comedy.  Matthew McConaughey’s role is brief (by the way, he replaces Owen Wilson whom you probably think that Owen should be in this movie – like I do) but I think it is a good balance to how chaotic and how absurd the rest of the actors play their roles.

My favorite part of the show has to go to Tom Cruise who plays a surprise guest appearance (he was not on the movie promotion).  Three scenes he played and I love them all.  If you intend to catch “Tropic Thunder”, don’t be late.  The 4 fake trailers serve as a great opening to the movie.  And if you are one of the odd balls like me who enjoy staying at the theatre till the very end of the show (read: end credits), you will have your last laugh at the rolling scripts: The actors shot the whole movie in Hawaii, on the fabulously lush island of Kauai.  This is so typical of Hollywood that the filmmakers are poking fun at here – shooting a (realistic) war film not on the ground where the war took place.

Categories
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!

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Foreign Movie Reviews

20th Century Boys (20世紀少年) – So It Was Movie Before Manga For Me

Rarely our Movie Review Squad has such a long deliberation on which movie to watch.  And we settled for “Twentieth Century Boys” after a 3-way split between Rocknrolla, the Bunny, and this Japanese one last week.  I asked TK to give me an executive summary on what this show is about.  It’s originated from a manga, yes I know that.  I think TK didn’t have time get past the first few pages of the manga and Cynthia went in thinking that it is an animation.  I read that “20th Century Boy” is a close to 2 and a half hours show.  And I braced myself for a long part 1 of a trilogy.

I can see where does the money of this so-called most expensive Japanese film ever made have gone to.  Some of the effects are pretty good (a sci-fi movie after all).  The cast of 300 people is pretty intense.  I have a hard time trying to remember who is who.  TK seems to enjoy the film with the plot stepping forward and backward in time.  Surprisingly Cynthia loves it too and calls it a very creative movie (that doesn’t jerk tear thank God, she said).  As for me …

If you have already read the manga and love it, this action-mystery film is a must-watch.  Now that I am reading the manga, I admire the filmmaker’s effort in recreating each scene in exact detail as the manga.  The cast even matches with the look of the manga characters.  That is impressive.

Maybe because of the relatively slow pace especially when the plot goes back in time and dwells on the childhood stories, maybe there are missing gaps in between scenes due to film adaptation that confuse me, maybe there are just not enough eye candies to keep me interested (shallow I know!), I was not jumping out of my chair.

Nevertheless, the effort is commendable and looks like “20th Century Boys” is one movie that up the standard of the Japanese production.  Although I am not quite getting the idea of how a bunch kids’ role-playing game can turn into a disastrous future, I will be there when the 2nd installment arrives.  Meanwhile, the manga looks pretty good and it is filling up the gaps I have from watching the film.  Do check out the manga too when you have time.

Categories
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.

Categories
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?

Categories
Comedy Movie Reviews Romance

Forgetting Sarah Marshall – So Real That I Almost Cried Watching

OK.  Almost.  I may not able to 100% relate to “Sex and the City”, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is as close to big-boys-do-cry as it can get.  At least in my book.  I mean, there is nothing macho about getting hurt, is there?  And yes, men do the stupidest things when that someone we love walked away.  So many scenes within the film I can personally relate to.  Gosh.  I am hopeless.  Fortunately, the film is so hilarious that got the entire Movie Review Squad laughing all the way.  At the end of the show, everyone claimed credit for choosing the show.  Uh-huh.  I swear it was my idea, my pick.

It feels so real probably because the lead actor Jason Segel is also the writer of “Forgetting Sarah Marshall”.  And he was the guest star of CSI for three episodes.  That probably explains the hilarious cut scenes of a CSI-look-alike TV series within the movie.  Jason Segel has also brought in some of his real life relationship episodes into the show.  No wonder.

Ukrainian born actress Mila Kunis is so totally hot.  And so is my breath-of-fresh-air Heroes actress Kristen Bell.  Cynthia asked which one I like better.  Huh?  Can I have both?  I don’t really know Russell Brand but if you were to ask me who is the true comedian of the show?  Russell’s off-beat-over-the-top-least-sexy-acting got me laughing all the time.  That guy is so funny.  Gosh.  Love his British accent too.

For the record, I picked the show.  I say so because I get to write this blog.  Ha!