After working with Academy Award winning composer A. R. Rahman for his last two films, English filmmaker Danny Boyle turns to another composer to tell a story of how the hypnotism and reality can screw up one’s mind. The 73 minute album is a colourful mix of English composer Rick Smith’s engaging score and a couple of tunes heard in the highly recommended movie.
The 16 track album kicks off with Art & Dotty Todd’s “Chanson D’ Amour”, an old school vintage tune which is easy on the ears. Following that is Smith’s “Bullet Cut”, which carries a main theme which will be later heard in other cues. The choice of electronica and synthesizer arrangements for this movie is apt, considering how the characters in the story are kinda messed up mentally. The somewhat melancholic “Solomon” is next, and there is an ominous feel to this seven minute track, It is, however, a treat for score fans who like their cues developed.
Smith and Emeli Sande come together for the irresistibly catchy “Here It Comes”, which plays during a key scene in the movie. Another seductive tune on the soundtrack is Kirsty McGee’s “Sandman”, which can be heard with another arrangement performed by the movie’s female lead Rosario Dawson in the album’s closing track. Fans of English pop would be pleased to hear Moby’s “The Day”, while Unkle enchants with “Hold My Hand”.
Smith, having worked with Boyle for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isles of Wonder, does a decent job scoring this movie, providing the appropriately emotional moments. One highlight to listen out for is “The Heist”, where you’d be brought on an adrenaline pumping musical journey that is, for the lack of a better description, pure trance.
ALBUM RATING:
Recommended Track: (15) The Heist
Review by John Li
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman, Max Martini, Robert Kazinsky, Diego Klattenhoff
RunTime: 2 hrs 11 mins
Rating: PG13 (Violence)
Released By: Warner Bros
Official Website: http://www.pacificrimmovie.com/
Opening Day: 11 July 2013
Synopsis: When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes-a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)-who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.
Movie Review:
As far as summer blockbusters go, ‘Pacific Rim’ has probably the most unabashedly uncomplicated premise - giant robots versus giant monsters. How much you enjoy Guillermo del Toro’s robot-monster smackdown ultimately depends on whether you expect the movie to be any more than that. If you did, then you’re probably going to walk away disappointed at how simplistic this apocalyptic spectacle will turn out to be; but if you’re satisfied simply with watching huge-ass monsters and robots go up against each other, then you will enjoy every bit of this epic (and yes we do mean it literally).
Indeed, the draw of del Toro’s monster of a movie has always been to witness the monumental series of battles between massive lizard-like monsters (referred to in the movie by the Japanese word ‘Kaiju’ as a tribute to the science fiction films from the country which featured such giant beasts, e.g. Godzilla) and 25-story high robots (known as Jaegers, or ‘hunters’ in German) operated by humans. And in this regard, let us assure you that nothing in your expectation will prepare you for what del Toro has managed to accomplish onscreen - not even comparing it to a ‘Godzilla’ meets ‘Transformers’ movie does it any justice.
Let’s start with the basics. First and foremost, the action is shot cleanly, meaning none of them shaky-cams nor extreme close-ups that diminish the scale on which it is unfolding. It is also coherent - thanks to some impressive work from del Toro regular Guillermo Navarro as cinematographer and John Gilroy and Peter Amundson as editors - rather than just a mashup of scenes that don’t flow well into one another. We’ll add one more before we start gushing - it is also beautifully choreographed, with just the right mix of medium and wide shots to place you right into the heart of the action.
If that description above seems too clinical, then how about this - these setpieces are superb; in fact, they are worthy of every superlative that you can think of. Working on a gargantuan scale, del Toro executes the action with magnificence, whether the fleeting shots of the destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge at the beginning or the more detailed sequences in the middle and at the end - in particular, a simply jaw-dropping one begins at sea just off the waters of Hong Kong and then continues seamlessly inland where both the port and the very city centre gets decimated by two Jaegers battling two Category 4 Kaijus.
It isn’t just about how colossal it gets; it is also the sheer mesmerising quality of the images, starting from the amazing level of detail of the Jaegers and the Kaijus. Even though it seems to be raining a little too conveniently every time one of these battles happens out at sea, there’s no denying just how real and majestic each of them feels. On the other hand, the cityscapes are arresting in their neon hues, and the combination of the futuristic look with which del Toro paints these familiar cities with the bioluminescent appendages and venom of the Kaijus make for a particularly appealing visual palette.
Now that we’ve finished with the savoury bits, it is only fair that we get to the (ahem) less than wieldy parts, which is in actual fact just about everything else we have yet to talk about. At first, the science-fiction mythology sounds rather intriguing - instead of coming from the skies, the threat to our planet came from a rift deep within the Pacific Ocean, a portal through which the Kaijus emerged and necessitated an equally massive response in the form of the Jaegers. Ditto the functioning of the Jaegers, which given their size, have to be operated by two pilots who sync up their minds via the neural handshake, otherwise known as the “drift”.
But del Toro and his fellow screenwriter Travis Beacham (who is also credited with this original story) uses these elements too mechanically. The rift is no more than an excuse for an underwater climax where the Jaegers aim to close the portal from which the Kaijus emerged, a resolution not quite different from that in ‘The Avengers’. More significantly, the melding of minds isn’t quite exploited for enough dramatic possibility, particularly given its significance in enabling our two lead pilots, Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) to bond so seamlessly with each other.
Equally clunky is the characterisation, which has as much poignancy as a piece of metal. Raleigh’s scarred Jaeger pilot, still reeling at first from the death of his brother Yancy (Diego Klattenhoff), heals too quickly for us to make much of an emotional connection. Mori’s own traumatic near-death experience as a child that continues to haunt her also rings hollow and is equally quickly forgotten. Idris Elba plays his Jaeger commander Stacker Pentecost in suitably macho fashion, but is largely one-note and engineered simply to deliver the rallying cries at suitable intervals - like the oft-heard “Today, we are cancelling the apocalypse” in the trailers.
Amid the self-seriousness of it all, a pair of mismatched scientists - Charlie Day looking like JJ Abrams and Burn Gorman channeling Dr Strangelove - that bicker non-stop as an attempt to inject levity are just plain irritating. Only Ron Perlman’s underworld criminal Hannibal Chau proves the more memorable supporting character - with the rest of the ensemble cast like Max Martini and Rob Kazinsky playing a father-son Aussie pilot team and Clifton Collins Jr as Stacker’s technical right-hand man essentially filling up stock types.
No thanks to the plotting and character issues, the pacing of the movie sags considerably after a prolonged prologue establishing the necessary backstory of the robots-versus-monsters war and Raleigh’s own past. It only picks up at the halfway mark when the deep-sea monsters finally clash again with their mechanical counterparts, which will either be stimulating enough (if you’re an adolescent fanboy) to make you wet your pants or leave you numb. Our opinion? It is del Toro’s most ambitious, most imaginative and probably most groundbreaking movie ever, but we wish there were more of the warmth and idiosyncrasy that have defined some of his best work.
Movie Rating:
(Every bit as jaw-droppingly awesome and exhilarating as this clash of the titan robots versus monsters promises to be, but clunky in every other aspect that’s not about spectacle)
Review by Gabriel Chong
|
COLD WAR wins big at the 32nd Hong Kong Film AwardsPosted on 14 Apr 2013 |
|
BECOME IRON MAN EVENT LAUNCHPosted on 12 Apr 2013 |
Genre: Crime/Thriller
Director: Johnnie To
Cast: Andy Lau, Sammi Cheng, Guo Tao, Gao Yuan Yuan, Lo Hoi Pang, Wong Man Wai, Lam Suet
RunTime: 2 hrs 10 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Violence)
Released By: GV & Clover Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 4 July 2013
Synopsis: Forced to leave service after turning blind, a former detective ekes out his living by solving cold cases for police rewards. When an attractive hit team inspector enlists his help in a personal case, he decides to take a stab.
Movie Review:
‘Blind Detective’s’ pedigree reads like a match made in cinematic heaven - on one hand, it boasts the reunion of Hong Kong’s golden screen couple, Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng, after almost a decade; on the other, its creative team made up of Johnnie To and Wai Kar Fai is arguably one of the most successful partnerships in the Hong Kong film industry. Yet it is precisely because of the latter reason that one should know better than to expect a conventional movie - after all, neither To nor Wai have ever liked to be associated with just perfunctory.
And ‘Blind Detective’ bears that similarly uncharacteristic trait, defying easy genre characterisation by treading right on the middle line between a slapstick rom-com and a crime thriller. It is a very fine balance no doubt, one that proves too tricky from time to time even for a director of auteur status like To, so criticism that the movie is tonally all over the place is somewhat not unfounded. That doesn’t mean however that it isn’t entertaining; on the contrary, it pulses with its own eccentric beat, and the more you get used to its offbeat tone, the faster you’ll begin to appreciate its own unique charm.
To introduces us and his odd couple to each other with an acid attack case that both Lau’s retinally-damaged former top cop Johnston and Cheng’s junior crime squad cop Ho are on the trail of. Ho’s superior Szeto (Guo Tao) assigns Ho to follow Johnston when he spots the latter while surveilling a busy Hong Kong street for the perpetrator, and indeed using his keen sense of smell, Ho manages to track the culprit to the roof of a high-rise building. It is there that we realise To’s comedic intentions - upon being discovered, Johnston and Ho engage in some quickstep dance around each other to shield themselves from being poured on with acid.
Turns out that since losing his sight four years earlier, Johnston has been using his other senses and formidable deductive powers to solve crimes solely for the purpose of earning the associated bounties. Having made acquaintance, Ho engages Johnston to do a little sleuthing for her - more specifically, to assist her in finding a childhood friend with a tragic past called Minnie who disappeared many years ago. Under the guise of working more closely with her, Johnston moves into Ho’s apartment - though an earlier scene which demonstrates his solitude living alone suggests that he wants company too.
While Minnie’s case frames the nature of their interaction, almost half the movie is in fact spent on other cold cases that Johnston is still chasing the bounty for - and like Ho, we too are taken on a couple of these bizarre diversions. One particularly outlandish case has Johnston attempting to piece together a murder scene in a morgue with some generous help from Ho, the re-enactments played for broader-than-broad laughs with a hammer, a motorbike helmet and a TV set thrown in. Johnston’s technique is to attentively reconstruct the crime scene, which given his disability, makes Ho a useful companion to participate in these elaborate and occasionally over-the-top sequences.
At least for the middle section, Wai’s script tends to meander, not least for the fact that it tries to add in some unnecessary subplots including Johnston’s crush on a tango dancer (Gao Yuanyuan) and his rivalry with Szeto. Only towards the last third does Johnston get down to business on Minnie’s case, the trail of clues leading them to a love triangle in Zhuhai involving a pregnant woman (Eileen Yeow) and a teppanyaki chef (Ziyi) as well as to a psychotic serial killer responsible for the deaths of several missing young women over the past few years.
Even then, those familiar with To’s rigour in shooting well-detailed procedurals like this year’s ‘Drug War’ may not be used to what appears to be a lack of storytelling discipline here. To plays it fast and loose here, seemingly reluctant to exert tighter directorial rein over Wai’s slackly constructed plotting; yet seen through a less critical perspective, To in fact gives as much, if not more, weight to the relationship between Johnston and Ho as to the central mystery, each of the distractions in fact deepening their quirky but no doubt romantic attraction.
Just as in most Wai films, there is a moral at the end when the truth about Minnie’s disappearance is revealed, a cautionary lesson if you will about the consequences of being blinded by one’s own stubbornness. Viewed through this lens, Johnston and Ho’s earlier encounters gain some meaningful significance - ultimately, both Johnston and Ho have also been guilty of refusing to let go of their respective baggage from the past, and it is with each other that they learn to recognise the importance of moving on. Yet it is a point that may be lost on many audiences, who are likely to be frustrated by the alternating mix of madcap laughs and overdone acting.
Yes, while there is little doubt of the palpable chemistry between Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng, both are guilty of crossing the line into histrionics at times. Lau is arguably best during his character’s quieter and more introspective moments, in particular when he visualises himself communicating with victim and suspect alike in dreamlike fashion; unfortunately, his real-life interactions tend to consist of him flailing and shouting exaggeratedly. Cheng is thankfully more subdued most of the time, and amply demonstrates her gift for physical comedy especially during the crime scene re-enactments.
It’s hard to imagine any other screen couple in the roles of Johnston and Ho, which is another way of saying that the movie probably would not work with someone else in Andy and Sammi’s shoes. And by virtue of that, this genre mash-up is unequivocally their show, which in the hands of Johnnie To and Wai Kar-Fai, is quite a different creature from the usual Hong Kong comedies or for that matter detective thrillers. The combination of both makes for a deliberately uncharacteristic tone that is both weird and wacky, but there is still an undeniably idiosyncratic charm about it that deserves an appreciative audience.
Movie Rating:
(A distinctly Johnnie To and Wai Kar Fai offbeat construct of a cross between a rom-com and a detective thriller that coasts on the unique chemistry of Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng)
Review by Gabriel Chong
|
MACHI ACTION Singapore Star TourPosted on 18 Apr 2013 |
Genre: Comedy
Director: Jeff Chang
Cast: Bolin Chen, Owodog, Chen Ting Xuan, Guo Xue Fu, Qiu Yan-xiang, Stanley Huang, Jeffrey Huang, Vivan Hsu
RunTime: 1 hr 36 mins
Rating: TBA
Released By: Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website:
Opening Day: 18 April 2013
Synopsis: What happens when a costumed universal space hero is put out to pasture? Or, rather, the actor portraying him is? That's the basic concept behind Jeff Chang's Taiwanese sci-fi action comedy Machi Action. A surprise hit in Taiwan - where it opened in the third spot behind The Grandmaster and Life Of Pi - stars Bolin Chen as the actor thrown out of work when producers decide they need a fresher face to stomp on their weekly galactic monsters. It's the sort of concept you would expect to come out of Japan, if anywhere, but Chang seems to have nailed it and the trailer is a clever, playful and heartfelt bit of work.
Movie Review:
Gasp! Has Taiwan attempted its first superhero movie? Well, not really. ‘Machi Action’ isn’t a superhero movie per se, but a whimsical comedy-drama that follows the fate of a TV actor named Tienan (which literally means ‘Iron Man’ in Chinese) after the live-action kids’ TV series in which he plays the costumed superhero character ‘SuperHero Fly’ is cancelled. Thing is – not only is that the only character he has ever known, he genuinely believes that he was born to play it, which of course makes it doubly hard for him to get out of character.
It’s a high-concept premise all right, and for the large part – save for a deus ex machina towards the end - director Jeff Chang and screenwriter Giddens Ko succeed in creating a wittily entertaining meta-fiction that turns out surprisingly poignant. Right from the start, there’s no mistaking a distinct sense of self-awareness to the material – the opening scene in which Fly insists on filming another take of a climactic fight between superhero and resident baddie to get it right specifically highlights the limitations of doing so because of the cheap costumes and the makeshift props on set – and that tongue-in-cheek attitude accounts for much of the humour in the film at least in the first act.
Indeed, those who have grown up watching ‘Ultraman’ and numerous other similar Japanese live-action superhero serials will find something to reminiscence in the sheer old-fashioned nature of ‘SuperHero Fly’ – from the disproportionately scaled TV studio backdrops, to the crude special effects, and even the catchphrases that tend to be the first thing you say when you imagine yourself as that very superhero. But there’s only so much one can go on nostalgia, and after the business-minded daughter (Puff Guo) of the TV station’s founder takes over from her ailing father, she decides it’s high time for the show to be revamped – i.e. by killing off Fly and replacing him with a new-age superhero.
Not only is Tienan booted off the set, so too is his best buddy and co-star Monster (Qiu Yanxiang), who dons the villainous costume opposite his superhero act. In place of Tienan is up-and-coming teenage star Face (Owodog Zhuang), with a cocky persona to match his equally arrogant punk look. Despite his pleas to Face, the new director Two Knives (which in Chinese is an obvious riff on screenwriter Giddens’ Mandarin name) and Chairwoman Su, the meteoric rise of Face’s popularity ultimately work against Tienan’s attempts to revive his character. What follows in the second act has some genuinely funny bits – in particular, Fly’s reincarnation on the set of a 3D porno film – but overall, Tienan’s struggle to divorce himself from his character gets a little too repetitive.
Further confirming that the narrative has pretty much run out of steam, the third act forces a clichéd resolution where Fly gets to demonstrate his real- and reel-life superhero qualities. From robbing kindergartens, a gang of thieves - whose leader was humiliated as a child by his friends for embracing a villainous TV character instead of the superhero – suddenly holds hostage an entire crowd of people gathered at a live studio concert event meant to promote Face, giving Fly the perfect opportunity to save the day. Not helping the contrivance of this twist is Chang’s somewhat clumsy handling of the parallel subplot involving the band of bandits, which appear but twice throughout the entire story before suddenly being exploited as a device for closure.
Ignore that hiccup however, and you’ll find that Chang’s feature filmmaking debut is in fact pretty impressive, finding the right balance between frivolity and sobriety to hit just the right notes in most of the scenes. As with his record-breaking ‘You Are the Apple of My Eye’, Giddens demonstrates once again his flair for combining slapstick humour with tender heartfelt drama – and Chang complements that with a sensitive directorial hand (as well as some evocative contemporary soft-rock tunes) that are especially effective in bringing out Tienan’s melancholy when it dawns on him just how replaceable Fly was.
Perhaps most surprising is how engaging Chen Bolin is in the role of Fly. Never quite known for his acting skills, Bolin conveys with acuity the naivety, disillusionment and subsequent enlightenment of his character – though it’s likely that one will remember his sheer infectious enthusiasm at portraying what is essentially an 80s superhero. Providing much comic relief as his sidekick/ co-star is Yanxiang, whose knack for deadpan humour is simply brilliant. Unfortunately for Owodog’s fans, his role here is largely one-note, overshadowed by other supporting acts including Chen Tingxuan’s cute demure production assistant Jingfen with a crush for Tienan and even Stanley Huang’s buff porno star.
Without sounding patronising, the film also celebrates the everyday superheroes in our lives, defining them as the very people who lift a hand to help us when we are in need. It’s a befittingly conclusion that is especially relevant considering Tienan’s motivations for being a superhero in his younger days, tying up the more affecting side of a movie that offers both big-hearted laughs alongside sweet intimate moments. It is also characteristically Taiwanese in its whimsical nature, and those who are fans of Taiwan cinema will surely enjoy this tremendously.
Movie Rating:
(Blending tongue-in-cheek humour with poignant human drama, this ode to old-school superhero TV series of the 80s and early 90s is a winning whimsical delight)
Review by Gabriel Chong
Genre: Drama
Director: Chiu Li Kuang, Huang Chao-Liang
Cast: Amber Kuo, Chu Ko Liang, Tony Yang, Kang Kang, Miao Ke Li, Su Chu, Lin Mei Hsu, Lotus Wang
RunTime: 1 hr 38 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Coarse Language And Sexual References)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website:
Opening Day: 9 May 2013
Synopsis: In 1990s, a Taiwan local photographer Zhu Dade(De Go Liang) accidentally becomes a Mafia boss. And to catch up with trend of internationalization, later changes his name into "David Loman", in Taiwanese means great gangster. Xiao Ho(Tony Yang) who is a nerd has a Feng shui Master father Old Ho (De Go Liang), who looks like the same as Boss David the Mafia boss, exchange their identity coincidentally, but unfortunately murdered as a substitute for Boss David. In order to fight for the justice in this sin world, Xiao Ho, Boss David and his daughter Jin (Amber Kuo) team up “DL Special Force”.
Movie Review:
So this reviewer was hoping to be cheered up by this Taiwanese comedy, especially after a not so great day at work. Things can’t go that wrong when this 98 minute film happens to hit box office gold during the Lunar New Year period in Taiwan earlier this year, can it? And a quick glance at the cast list tells this reviewer that the tried and tested combination of Chu Ko Liang and Kang Kang (those who are familiar with Taiwanese variety shows can vouch for this) is guaranteed to milk some laughs.
Gosh, how terribly wrong he is.
The movie starts off with a nostalgic black and white sequence, and one may be led into thinking that the story would be a comedy infusing a heartwarming homage to Taiwan’s history. Things become a little suspicious when you hear how the protagonist (Chu Ko Liang) is named “David Loman” (a word play of “big time gangster”), and how the rest of the movie will be his fumbling adventure with a young punk (Tony Yang) whose father he accidentally kills. In the mix is David Loman’s own rebellious daughter (Amber Kuo) who, surprise surprise, has an issue with Daddy not being there during the times she needs him most. The antagonist played by Kang Kang is, well, out to make things difficult for everybody.
We’ve got a story going, no? Known in Taiwan’s entertainment industry as a leading producer, first time director Chiu Li Kuang manages to bring together an ensemble cast which will go down well with local viewers. Chu Ko Liang and Kang Kang do their usual stuff – exaggerating every single expression. The younger Tony Yang and Amber Kuo do their jobs of looking handsome and pretty respectively, while delivering forgettable performances. Audiences who have given up on Singapore TV and have started regarding Taiwan TV as a staple will have fun spotting supporting characters played by Su Chu, Jeff Huang, Ma Nien Hsien, Yin Wei Ming (better known as “Clipper Xiao Ying”), Miao Ke Li, Lin Mei Hsu and Lotus Wang.
The abovementioned names don’t ring a bell? Maybe you’d walk out of the cinema as befuddled as this reviewer. The jokes are unfunny, and the one hour and forty minute runtime seems to drag on forever. Logic also doesn’t seem to be priority to the filmmakers, considering how one incident can conveniently lead to another. Wait, if the kid’s father is dead – why does he join forces with the culprit (fully knowing he killed his Dad) instead of grieving? Also, let us warn you of a training montage sequence which went on for what seemed like 15 minutes too long.
Oh, did we mention the version screened here is heavily dubbed in Mandarin? The bulk of the jokes in this movie are wordplays of the Taiwanese local dialect, and hearing them spouted in Mandarin mars the viewing experience. When the movie’s end credits roll with NG takes, you wish the 90 odd minutes you’ve sat through were as funny as the actors making mistakes during production.
Movie Rating:
(A painfully unfunny Taiwanese movie that gets lost in dubbing)
Review by John Li
SYNOPSIS: Kate (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Charlie (Aaron Paul, TV's "Breaking Bad" ) are a young married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of music, laughter and drinking...especially the drinking. When Kate's drinking leads her to dangerous places and her job as a school teacher is put into jeopardy, she decides to join AA and get sober. With the help of her new friend and sponsor Jenny (Octavia Spencer, The Help), and the vice principal at her school, the awkward, but well intentioned, Mr. Davies, Kate takes steps toward improving her health and life. Sobriety isn't as easy as Kate had anticipated. Her new lifestyle brings to the surface a troubling relationship with her mother, facing the lies she's told her employer (Megan Mullaly TV's "Parks and Recreation" ) and calls into question whether or not her relationship with Charlie is built on love or just a boozy diversion from adulthood.
MOVIE REVIEW:
You might remember Mary Elizabeth Winstead from ‘Final Destination 3’ (the one where the roller coaster falls off its rails), but you ain’t quite seen her until you’ve seen her in ‘Smashed’. The second feature from indie director James Ponsoldt, it sees Winstead play a kindergarten school teacher struggling with alcoholism while trying to navigate her life for the better. And as is often the case with such small-scale dramas, the performances often make or break the film - thankfully then, Winstead is simply terrific here.
Indeed, the 28-year-old actress exhibits a depth not witnessed before in any of her previous roles, digging deep into the complex role of an addict trying to make the necessary changes to get herself on the road to sobriety. It is a character study all right, and Winstead matches Ponsoldt’s richly drawn protagonist with a raw and guileless portrayal that embodies her character’s anxieties and vulnerabilities keenly. It’s not an easy role to play we can tell you that, especially since Kate is essentially two different personas when sober and when drunk.
Illustrating the debilitating effects of alcoholism on a person, Ponsoldt paints a stark contrast between the two Kates - one smart, witty and articulate; and the other angry, unrestrained and out of control. Perhaps the most significant thing is how the former Kate knows and is trying to avoid being the other Kate, especially after she throws up one day in a classroom of second-grade kids following a bout of binge drinking from a flask of whisky she keeps in her car. And yet like any other habit, it’s a hard one to kick.
Compounding the problem is the fact that her husband Charlie (Aaron Paul), whom she loves deeply, is also an alcoholic and enjoys the bingeing that they have on nights out together. Even her mother (Mary Kay Place) is an alcoholic herself, further reinforcing her state of addiction and retarding her on the path to recovery. Neither are the positive forces that simple - the school’s vice principal Mr Davies (Nick Offerman), a former alcoholic himself who introduces her to AA, reveals in a moment of extreme inappropriateness that he would like to have sex with her; and even more prominently, her impetus to come clean doesn’t result in the best of circumstances.
Ponsoldt doesn’t candy-coat the events in his film; instead, he strives for honesty in the way he portrays the gamut of emotions that Kate experiences, from the dizzying highs to the crashing lows, taking his audience on the same emotional journey and culminating in a bittersweet conclusion that shows how life doesn’t always resolve itself in the same neat way we often expect. But through it all, Winstead is the very reason the film always stays engaging, heartfelt and even affecting.
Granted that such dramas aren’t for the casual viewer, but those looking for some challenging fare will find plenty to chew on in ‘Smashed’ that, for the lack of a better word, boasts a smashing performance by a young actress whose range and ability has not been noticed enough.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
If you're a fan of the movie, be sure to take a listen to the "Commentary with Director James Ponsoldt & Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead", a warm, honest and insightful look at the making of this indie drama. In particular, what comes through is the enthusiasm that both have for the material, which translates to the energy of what we see on screen.
If you're interested in some behind-the-scenes facts of the movie, but cannot take the time to sit through the whole movie again, then go for "Making Smashed" which pretty much covers the gist of the story, characters and shooting process.
The "Toronto Film Festival Red Carpet and Q&A" and "Deleted Scenes" are rather throwaway material though.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Visuals are deliberately grungy, so don't blame the disc for the look of the film. Audio is balanced and satisfying for the material.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Gabriel Chong
SYNOPSIS: In the jungles of Ecuador, blood taints the waters. A multinational conglomerate's unholy alliance with a bloodthirsty military regime has resulted in a massacre. Only the rebel Francisco Franco (Forest Whitaker, Repo Men) and his determined wife Mia (Eva Longoria, TV's "Desperate Housewives") can prove the truth. To settle a personal debt, former CIA agent Jack Begosian (Andy Garcia, Ocean's 13) takes on the freelance assignment to rescue Francisco and risks everything in a brutal battle to expose the cover-up.
MOVIE REVIEW:
It’s never easy to switch career at the age of 56 but Andy Garcia, the good-looking guy from “Black Rain” and “The Untouchables” did just that in “A Dark Truth”.
Taking on a role as an ex-CIA agent turned radio talkshow host, Garcia plays Jack Begosian, a guilt-ridden man who has done a lot of wrong things during his career as a field agent. At the request of a rich socialite, Morgan Swinton (Deborah Kara Unger) and the lure of $250,000 cash, Begosian has to extract an eco-terrorist, Francisco Francis (Forest Whitaker) out of the jungle of Eduardo where a massacre is taking place. It turns out that Swinton’s company, Clearbec run by Morgan’s brother Bruce (Kim Coates) is indirectly involved in the massacre in order to take control of the water supply.
Eschewing his usual dramatic roles, Garcia goes trigger happy in this production from Canadian writer and director Damian Lee. Comparing “A Dark Truth” to the usual slew of direct-to-video releases, Lee’s movie is not that bad after all. While the pacing is slightly sluggish and the material a little heavy-hand, it does has a well-intended message that touches on the greedy conglomerates which result in the sufferings of the people from the Third World.
If you have doubts about Lee’s directing and storytelling skills fret not, the man has the charisma to attract a bunch of interesting names to his project. Besides the few mentioned bigger names, we have Eva Longoria ditching her Desperate Housewives’ outfits for a short jungle tour with her onscreen husband, Whitaker and Kevin Durand (Lost) appearing as a gunman for hire.
There are a few major action sequences peppered around namely Dominican Republic standing in for South America and the finale taking place in downtown Ontario though seriously none of them is that strenuous to wear out the aging Andy Garcia. If Longoria is able to fire a few earth-shattering shots with her rifle, we are pretty sure Garcia can do it as well.
“A Dark Truth” is not a movie to be watch on the big screen but for the sake of all the familiar names involved at least it warrants a single viewing on a quiet Sunday afternoon. Too bad Cuba Gooding Jr and Christian Slater couldn’t make it else it will be a far better truth.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The 14 minutes Making Of covers a lot of ground including interviews with the various cast members, shooting in Ontario and discussing the stuntwork.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
“A Dark Truth” looks decent on DVD and the supplied English Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is great on the dialogue with a few moments of shattering gunfires.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
| « Prev | 131 | 132 | 133 | 134 | 135 | 136 | 137 | 138 | 139 | 140 | 141 | Next » |
Most Viewed
No content.