Genre: Drama/Romance
Director: Reinout Oerlemans
Cast: Barry Atsma, Carice van Houten, Anna Drijver, Pierre Bokma, Beppie Melissen, Eline Van der Velden
RunTime: 1 hr 49 mins
Released By: Shaw
Rating: R21 (Sexual Scene And Nudity)
Official Website: http://www.komteenvrouwbijdedokterdefilm.nl/
Opening Day: 5 July 2012
Synopsis: Stijn loves life and life loves him. He’s got his own business, a wonderful daughter and Carmen, his beautiful wife. There’s no need for her to know that he occasionally enjoys the pleasures of other women. His heart belongs to Carmen, and that’s all that matters.
Their idyllic world is shattered when Carmen goes to the doctor and hears the diagnosis every woman dreads. Life falls apart and they embark on a roller-coaster ride for survival. Though supportive at first, Stijn soon escapes from the new harsh reality into the arms of the sexy, care-free Rose. As Carmen is bravely going through treatment, Stijn will learn what it really means to love.
Based on the best-selling novel which was translated into 26 languages, STRICKEN (A Woman Goes to the Doctor) enjoyed huge domestic market success with a gross of over $13 million at the box office. Produced by Oscar® winning producer Hans de Weer (Antonia’s Line) the movie stars internationally acclaimed Carice van Houten (Paul Verhoeven’s Black Book, Tom Cuise/Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie and Repo Man).
Movie Review:
Dutch authour Ray Kluun’s novel A Woman Goes to the Doctor may not represent the most mirthful of materials to work with but Reinout Oerlemans, making his directorial debut with Stricken, has turned it into a worthy celebration of a woman’s indomitable spirit in the battle against breast cancer. At turns playful and serious but never melancholic, Stricken wisely avoids the familiar, if often overplayed emotional sensibilities of the genre. What it does offer is a passionately honest look at the maxim ‘until death do us apart’ when it’s threatened by the onslaught of cancer.
Barry Atsman portrays Stijn, a man who has everything anyone could ever hope for in his life: a successful career in the advertising industry, a best friend (Jeroen Willems), his beautiful wife Carmen (Carice van Houten) and a young daughter. Unfortunately, an innocent visit to the doctor delivers a terrible judgment that tears Stijn’s perfect life asunder. Diagnosed with breast cancer, Carmen’s life dives into a seemingly endless cycle of hospital trips, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and puking. Stijn is caring, helpful and supportive but begins to seek solace in the arms of gorgeous painter Rose (Anna Drijver). Zipping between the responsibilities to his wife, work commitments and bouts of casual sex with Rose, Stijn soon struggles to discover what his love for Carmen truly means.
Stricken tackles this struggle in a way that feels genuinely believable. To take on an issue as convoluted and delicate as cancer in a compact 109 minutes may prove to be a less than flattering idea but Oerlemans largely succeeds in selling us the heartfelt experiences of a brave woman whose life is quickly devoured by her illness and a man who is confused over his role in the midst of this tragedy. The narrative blossoms in an unhurried and tidy manner, offering a refreshing change of pace from the ill-conceived proceedings and slapdash editing redolent of the manufactured reality that most Hollywood dramas would have you believe.
As you might expect of a film that questions a man's fidelity at some point in time, Stricken isn’t afraid to break out of its pensiveness into unabashed nudity when the occasion calls. All too often, the film juxtaposes scenes of a spirited Carmen braving treatments alone against the backdrop of an uneasy silence with scenes of a blithely unaware Stijn having sensational sex with Rose in her apartment to great effect. This is an approach to the issue that breaks down the barriers of fantasy and competently addresses it on a very intimate and real level. Without spoiling the beats of the plot, I’d say that it’s easy to blame Stijn for the problems that occur but by the end of the film, you’ll come away with a huge sense of respect for the man, his flaws and his sacrifices.
Unmistakably frank and unashamed of it, Stricken is a true revelation. It is genius not only because it’s so meaningful but also because such films rarely get made anymore. If this is any indication of how dramas in the Netherlands are produced, then perhaps it’s sound to entrust more dramas to the Dutch from now on
Movie Rating:
(When it isn’t about misery that a tragedy brings but a celebration of all things that a tragedy moulds people into)
Review by Loh Yong Jian
SYNOPSIS: In the epic finale, the battle between the good and evil forces of the wizarding world escalates into an all-out war. The stakes have never been higher and no one is safe. But it is Harry who may be called upon to make the ultimate sacrifice as he draws closer to the climactic showdown with Lord Voldemort. It all ends here.
MOVIE REVIEW:
After spanning a decade with seven successful movies, the Harry Potter saga finally came to an end with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”.
With Voldemort retrieving the Elder Wand from Dumbledore’s grave at the end of part 1, the trio (that is Harry, Ron and Hermione) decides to break into Gringotts bank suspecting that a Horcrux might be hidden there. Realising that there might be another Horcrux hidden at Hogwarts, the trio make their way to the school only to be confront by Snape with the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord waiting for the big showdown.
The movie wastes no time unravelling the many action pieces after the slower-paced part 1. In fact, the 130 minutes hardly paused for a breather with one battle following another. A Harry Potter movie simply can’t do without magical creatures and a huge dragon appears here giving our protagonists a lift out of danger within the first act. “Deathly Hallows 2” in a way served as a summarisation of the whole franchise from magical creatures, spells, objects, ghostly beings to the wizards. Director David Yates and regular series screenwriter Steve Kloves did a marvellous job reminding the audience what the series have brought to the audience for the past years yet putting their final touches to the finale.
Although the script is wonderfully crafted and supposedly approved by J.K. Rowling herself, chunks of subplots and characters are left unexplained even though Yates invited many of cast members from the past instalments for cameos. While obviously it’s hard to condense the original novel for the movie, I personally thought more time can be dedicated to the more familiar characters. Characters that I shall not name who met their untimely demised.
Ralph Fiennes is spectacular as Lord Voldemort, ever since his debut appearance in “Goblet of Fire”, he has never been given the chance to shine until now. The British thespian is amazingly electrifying, same goes to Alan Rickman for his portrayal of Severus Snape, a character that will surprise you if you have not been a Harry Potter avid reader. Their younger cast members, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson have emerged victorious for their performances including Matthew Lewis as Neville Longbottom who received a major portion of screentime.
Accolades to production designer Stuart Craig for his eye for detail and workmanship, the battle at the Room for Requirement for example is engaging partly for the physical props which are accumulated over the years for the Harry Potter movies. The meticulous craftsmanship, wondrous CG effects all played a part in creating this swansong.
This generation of lightsaber duels come in the forms of magic wands as wizards fought against the evil death eaters. When Harry, Ron and Hermione bid farewell to their own kids 19 years later on the platform of 9¾ in the epilogue, we can’t help but feels a tinge of sadness as we say goodbye to the magical series that enchants us all for a good 10 years.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Focus Points consists of several short featurettes including “Aberforth Dumbledore," "Deathly Hallows Costume Changes," "Harry Returns to Hogwarts," "The Hogwarts Shield," "The Room of Requirement Set," "The Fiery Escape," "Neville's Stand" and "Molly and Bellatrix." Running at 29 minutes, it offers insight to makeup, costume design, stunts, cast interviews and more.
When Harry Left Hogwarts is a tremendously well-done behind-the-scenes featurette shot by Morgan Matthews. Running at a whopping 48 minutes, it is humourous, detailed and emotionally wrenching to see the cast and crew wrapping things up after a decade of shooting the series.
We take a closer look at how the little people put on their makeup and shoot for the bank scene in The Goblins of Gringotts.
J.K. Rowling, Emma Watson and Bonnie Wright discuss about the various female characters featured in the movies in the 22 minutes feature, The Women of Harry Potter.
8 Deleted Scenes are included here for your viewing pleasure though most of them are just brief moments that it doesn’t matter much if they are left intact or on the cutting floor.
Warner Bros. Studio Tour London is a promo reel touting the Harry Potter studio tour that is coming up in spring 2012.
Introduced by Rowling herself, Pottermore is another promo reel about the newly launched Harry Potter online website.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Despite it being a very dark movie with mostly gray shades and a washed out palette, images remain detailed and images crisp and sharp. The climactic battle sounds incredible on the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. Dialogue and ambient effects are smooth and impressive.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
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ALREADY FAMOUS box-office continues to impressPosted on 13 Dec 2011 |
Just like how any movie directed by Steven Spielberg can’t go too wrong (yes, even 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had its merits), his frequent collaborator John Williams is also man who can do no wrong. In their latest project, they take Tintin from Herge’s comic books, and boy, what a treat it is!
The 65-minute album will delight both fans and those listening to Williams’ music for the first time. The disc kicks off with the jazzy “The Adventures of Tintin”, a cue that reminds us of the charming end credit theme from Catch Me if You Can (2002). From there, you embark on a playful journey with the characters you had grown up falling in love with. “Snowy’s Theme” and “Introducing The Thompsons and Snowy’s Chase” are frisky tunes that may not be impressionable at first listen, but grow on you in a pleasantly sprightly manner.
Those familiar with Williams’ music compositions will have a blast with engaging cues like “Escape From Karaboudjan”, “Sir Francis And The Unicorn” and “The Flight to Bagghar”. Without visuals, these grandly orchestrated pieces are able to bring you on a journey with Tintin and his motley crew. The highlight of the must own album is “The Pursuit Of The Falcon “, which transits nicely from “Presenting Bianca Castafiore” after a ear shattering finale. The six minute track is a fine testament that the 80 year old composer still has got what it takes.
Emotions are brought to a high point as the album comes to an end. Listen out for “The Clash Of The Cranes” and “The Return to Marlinspike Hall and Finale”, where you triumphantly conclude the adventure with the multi award winning composer’s energetic score.
In a career spanning almost six decades, you cannot help but take your hat off the maestro’s talents. When the album ends with the teasing “The Adventure Continues”, you will realize why Williams is the most celebrated and successful American composer in our time.
ALBUM RATING:
Recommended Track: (14) The Pursuit of the Falcon
Review by John Li
If you had watched the yuletide offering produced by Aardman Animations and Sony Pictures animation, and had seen the film version of Justin Bieber’s music video “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, we are hoping that you are not a big fan of the song – because it is not included on this soundtrack album.
It is a good thing the radio friendly tune isn’t part of this soundtrack though, because it would have kind of spoilt the overall rating of this recommended collection of music composed by the prolific British composer Harry Gregson-Williams. The 47 minute disc contains 17 score tracks and a lovely old school tune “Make Someone Happy” performed by Bill Nighy, The acclaimed English actor, who voices Grand Santa in the movie, is unlike tha 136 year old cranky father who hates the modern world he plays on this joyful song.
Of course, the attention is really on the Golden Globe nominated composer, known for his work on adventure films like The Chronicle of Narnia series, as well as his music on animated movies like the Shrek series. Here, his talent on these two genres is very evident. Instead of the usual feel good wholesome Christmas music you’d expect on a holiday movie, you get an energetic and adventurous score that engages you every single second of the album.
The opening track “Trelew, Cornwall, England” begins on a wondrous note, before the mission centric “Operation Christmas” kicks in. While these are two very different sounding cues, one can imagine them to play out perfectly against the Sarah Smith directed animation film. The adventure continues with “Waker” and “Mission Control”, and you begin to wonder whether there is any Christmas element in the CD at all.
Before bringing on the jingle bells, Gregson-Williams continues conjuring an imaginative universe of elves and magic in tracks like “Dash Away”, “Paris Zoo” and “Race to Gwen’s House”. There is peril and excitement, which will please fans of enjoy adventure scores.
Where are the heartwarming bits of the soundtrack? They are heard in “One Missed Child”, “Arthur’s Sadness” and “Goodbye Evie”, where softer and more sentimental moments slow down the pace of things. For those who are still wondering where the Christmas tunes are, they can briefly heard in “Christmas Morning” and “We Wish You A…”
So who needs Justin Bieber when you have music like this?
ALBUM RATING:
Recommended Track: (15) Goodbye Evie
Review by John Li
SYNOPSIS: When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the tiny blue Smurfs out of their village, they tumble from their magical world and into ours -- in fact, smack dab in the middle of Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Clamoring out of bed early in the morning on Sunday was a routine for this reviewer when he was a very young boy. You know it’s pretty addictive watching an evil wizard with a strange name chasing after a village of adorable blue creatures called “Smurfs” week after week.
Nostalgia aside, truth to be told this live-action of the popular Peyo’s created comic strip isn’t very impressive if you have been an avid follower of other movies featuring CG talking creatures and animals or even the old Smurfs cartoons. Probably afraid those younger viewers might feel too detached; the entire movie premise is moved from the Smurfs village to contemporary New York just ten minutes into it. Come on; give the Smurfs some confidence will ya?
Anyway, Papa Smurf (Jonathon Winters), Smurfette (pop singer Kathy Perry), Grouchy (George Lopez), Brainy (Fred Armisen), Clumsy (Anton Yelchin) and Gutsy (Alan Cumming) are sucked into a gigantic vortex which leads them into New York City with the evil Gargamel and his cat hot on their heels. Finding refuge in the home of advertising exec, Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris) and his wife, Grace (Jayma Mays), the Smurfs must find a way to return back to their village before Gargamel captures them and turn them into "Smurf essence”.
I very much give credit to director Raja Gosnell for his effort in churning out a live-action hybrid version of “Scooby-Doo” but again that was back in 2002. The formula obviously doesn’t really work that well in 2011 especially when we already have a very successful franchise in the form of “Chipmunks”. Characters in a fish-out-of-water situation? Checked. Characters getting into heaps of trouble with their human friends? Checked. Cheesy unnecessary subplots? Checked. It’s sacrilegious enough to narrow the Smurfs into just six and by putting the ever-reliable Neil Patrick Harris rapping and playing guitar hero with the Smurfs simply isn’t consider a redemption factor.
And wait, the movie is peppered with lines such as “You smurfed with the wrong girl!”, “NO Smurf gets left behind!” and “Where the Smurf are we?” which tells us significantly the writers has basically no idea what to do in a Smurfs movie. The only good thing that Gosnell got it right was casting Hank Azaria (The Simpsons, HOP), the perfect man to ham it up as Gargamel with his spot-on performance and comic timing.
The younger ones will definitely lap up “The Smurfs” for all its cuteness and outrageous wizardry fun, cartoony magic to be precise not dark ones. The adults on the other hand will watch it for nostalgic sake. As for the announced sequels, it got to work a lot harder in the story writing before we go “What the Smurf is wrong with it?”
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Try to earn the most smurfberries in Find The Smurfs Game.
More silly Gargamel’s antics, the origin of Smurfette and a lluaby can be found in the 5 Deleted & Extended Scenes.
THE SMURFS: Comic Book to the Big Screenis an eight minutes feature that has the crew talking about creating believable and realistic-looking Smurfs.
Anton Yelchin, Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry, Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen and George Lopez discuss their voice-over experiences in Smurf Speak: Meet The Cast.
Going Gargamel looks at the talented Hank Azaria’s performance as the evil wizard Gargamel from his voice to makeup to working with a real cat etc.
Two brief shots of the Smurfs clowning around made up the fluffy-named Blue-pers and Happy Music Montage is just music set to scenes from the movie.
In Progression Reels, the guys at Sony Pictures Animation talks in detail how they create the CG characters and the blending of CG with real elements in five short featurettes namely Smurf-olution, Growing a Village: Generating Complexity for a Smurf-Sized World, Building and Lighting a CG Smurf, Image-Based Set Reconstruction and Lighting,and Anatomy of a Portal: Effects and Lighting.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Colours are bright and the CG effects beautifully transported to the DVD. Ranging from the music, ambient special sound effects to the dialogue, the English Dolby Digital 5.1 is rousing and powerful.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Linus Tee
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Launch Of Limited Edition Happy Ghost DVD Premium BoxsetPosted on 02 Dec 2011 |
Genre: Action
Director: Stéphane Rybojad
Cast: Diane Kruger, Djimon Hounsou, Benoît Magimel, Denis Menochet, Raphaël Personnaz
RunTime: 1 hr 38 mins
Released By: Shaw
Rating: NC-16 (Violence)
Official Website: http://www.facebook.com/forcesspeciales
Opening Day: 5 January 2012
Synopsis: Afghanistan. War correspondent Elsa Casanova is taken hostage by the Taliban. Faced with her imminent execution, a Special Forces unit is dispatched to free her. In some of the world’s most breathtaking yet hostile landscapes, a relentless pursuit begins between her kidnappers who have no intention of letting their prey escape them and a group of soldiers who risk their lives in pursuit of their single aim – to bring her home alive. This strong, independent woman and these men of duty are thrown together and forced to confront situations of great danger that inextricably bind them – emotionally, violently and intimately.
Movie Review:
Helming as the new instalment of Black Hawk down of this decade. Sure there are plenty around to savour and put side by side to compare just how big their, ahem, strength in story are, but are they as or any good as the classic of yesterdays? In a nutshell, Special Forces doesn’t quite hit that sweet spot of male testosterone amped up plot line but has it’s potential which unfortunately didn’t quite sit well as i expected.
In a nutshell, Special forces plays out like a giant commercial of the French forces, which by all means not a negative thing, we’ve seen and experience it all beforehand in abundance with the American ones. Summing it up in one sentence. A group of French special force goes on a rescue mission for a french journalist who is kidnapped by the Taliban in Afghanistan. No twist or turn. No covert mission. Just nothing but straight to the point, “get in and get out” satire. Well of course there would be deaths along the way and the constructed framing of brotherhood camaraderie. All though out the film, the quote Leave no man behind kept running in my head and realise its kinda sad that any war/rescue mission themed film will always be compared to the ever unforgettable film by Ridley Scott. But alas, in my book, very little indeed has surpass that bar of expectation. Or perhaps i need to watch more war films.
Co-written and directed by new comer, Stéphane Rybojad, with only a short film and a tv documentary, it’s rather impressive to see such work in his belt of career. Braving the mass shooting locations of the mountains, desert and such, kinda wonder where his path will lead us in the future. Leading up the team of bravado's, Djimon Hounsou and his six men travel the impossible, escaping the treacherous landscape with massive weaponry in hand. For those who heed the other way upon knowing that such manly film is mostly in French, do not despair as its a no brainer film where action speaks louder than words. Aside from Djimon, most of the cast are rather unknowns, unless you frequent french films. Even knowing that these men may be unknowns to much for us local movie goers does not mean that talent is lacking but rather quite the opposite. For an action film, emotion do run high, with the sadness of your team mates dying or even a flirting humorous moment with the rescuee. None of the action was made overly dramatic (well maybe some) but it didn’t overpower the believability and strength which was very much an advantage to the nature of the film, in compared to the American counterpart.
As mention of the natural conveying of emotion of the actors in such situation, the overall feel of the film drastically changed the view of the setup. It may however be a double edge sword for the film as in one side, the realism and connection of how real uniform forces were portrayed would somehow appeal to the govern body and enhanced the appeal but on the other side, the lack of such commercial value (big explosion and one-hand trotting gun blazing) which may be expected from normal movie goers will disappoint such expectation and garner lesser favours to spread such good value film. Nonetheless, Special Forces stays in its own class, recommendable to a major salute.
Movie Rating:
(Aside from the gun blazing moment of bravery, it lacked a certain pointers to bring it to the next level)
Review by Lokman B S
SYNOPSIS: Kim Cattrall shatters her sizzling SEX AND THE CITY image as a down and out '80s porn superstar, Monica Velour. Her number one fan, 17-year-old Tobe Hulbert is an offbeat, virginal geek with a love of old movies and a passion for 1930s jazz. With his fast-food wiener-mobile ready to go, Tobe will stop at nothing to meet the object of his raging hormones' desire: Monica. He finds her and discovers that her life has fallen to pieces. Now, he's dead set on putting it all back together, whether she likes it or not.
MOVIE REVIEW:
If you want to know what happens after you have ‘Sex and the City’, well then come find your answer in ‘Meet Monica Velour’. A passion project of lead star Kim Cattrall, the actress takes a daring leap by unglamorising herself for the role of a has-been porn star named Monica Velour that’s as far from her fashionable cougar days in the hit HBO series as can be. But surprise, surprise- Cattrall pulls off the transformation admirably, putting on weight and showing off her newfound love handles while nailing her character’s emotional ups and downs.
Unfortunately, first-time feature film writer/director Keith Bearden makes the movie less about Monica than about a geeky awkward 17-year-old called Tobe (Dustin Ingram, who had a supporting role in this fall’s Paranormal Activity 3). Socially inept and a big time fan of Monica Velour, the Napoleon Dynamite clone has just graduated from high school and is clueless what to do next with his life. It doesn’t help that his grandfather (a wasted Brian Dennehy) keeps nagging at him to continue running the family hot dog business that’s already a dead fish in the water.
So Tobe decides one day to set out on a trip to see his idol Monica, after stumbling onto a website that announces she will be performing at an Indiana stripclub for a one night exclusive. Turns out Monica’s star has fast vanished, and the over-the-hill XXX celeb is now living in a trailer park while trying to fight for custody for her daughter. And just as you’d expect it, this turns out to be a tale of one naïve teenage boy trying to help his older (read- much older) wannabe girlfriend find purpose and direction in her life.
Even if we accept its clichéd premise, embracing the coming-of-age tale of Tobe is a tall order- especially since Bearden doesn’t know how to make him stand out from the rest of the teenage social misfits we’ve grown weary of from movies like ‘Adventureland’ and ‘Youth in Revolt’. Ingram inhabits the role without making it truly his, and the result is a character that feels superficial and never really relatable. And because the movie chooses to unfold from his perspective, it pretty much runs aground.
It doesn’t help that the intended romance between the 49-year-old Velour and the 17-year-old Tobe already strains credibility- as Velour herself exclaims, ‘I’m old enough to be your mother!’ Still Bearden insists that we accept the attraction between porn star and porn star fan, their first date a firework-filled affair out in the open fields that ends in Tobe losing his virginity. The connection between the two characters never feels real enough, and what is meant to be a tender and poignant affection between them only comes across contrived.
Because the drama lacks heft, what is left is Bearden’s tongue-in-cheek porn references, especially an X-rated parody of Star Wars where Hans Solo becomes a jerkin-off Hands Solo, Princess Leia becomes Princess Lay-Me, and the stormtroopers are really Cocktroopers dressed in cock-shaped costumes. It’s easily the funniest part of the entire movie- pity then that there is too little of these amusing guffaws. In fact, the movie pretty much ambles around without much momentum, except when it tries to spoof those corny porn movies of yesteryear.
That’s unfortunate, because the best parts don’t showcase Cattrall’s ballsy performance, commendable for both her courage and her ability to disappear into a role that’s far from that her fans will be familiar with. Cattrall however is also to blame, since she was the one who championed for Bearden to assume writing and directing duties on this movie- and in either aspect, the newcomer lacks the skill to make such a quirky story work. Unless you’re a die-hard fan of Cattrall, you can skip this meeting with Velour.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Kim Cattrall and writer/director Keith Bearden both contribute to the film’s Audio Commentary, where they share many interesting filming experiences, particularly in overcoming the movie’s budget constraints. Neither are however very animated speakers, so you may find your mind wandering off from time to time.
There are about 8 mins worth of Deleted Scenes, nothing pretty substantial except for some additional time between Tobe and his grandfather
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 uses mostly the front speakers for its dialogue, while leaving the back speakers working only during Andrew Hollander’s score. Visuals are especially strong on the colours, though the clarity needs some work.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Gabriel Chong
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THAT 'MAGIC' FORMULAPosted on 04 Dec 2011 |
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