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THE DICTATOR AND THE OSCARSPosted on 25 Feb 2012 |
SYNOPSIS: Set in the political snake-pit of Elizabethan England, Anonymous speculates on an issue that has for centuries intrigued academics and brilliant minds... who was the author of the plays credited to William Shakespeare? Anonymous poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when cloak-and-dagger political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles hungry for the power were exposed in the most unlikely of places: the London stage.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Taking a break from plotting the destruction of the world whether from aliens (“Independence Day”) or from global warming (“2012”), Roland Emmerich sets his sights on more erudite interests with the period thriller “Anonymous”. Weaving a tale of Elizabethan politics around the centuries-old mystery of the identity of William Shakespeare, it is a surprisingly well-done attempt at painting an alternate reality to Tudor history – even if scholars might vehemently pooh-pooh writer John Orloff’s “Oxfordian theory”-based narrative.
Orloff imagines that the Bard we knew was really an illiterate buffoon, whose claim to fame was staging politically-veiled plays written by a certain Earl of Oxford, Edward de Vere (Rhys Ifans). An ardent lover of the literary form, Oxford’s penchant for writing plays was frowned upon by royal adviser William Cecil (David Thewlis), the latter of whom took him in as a ward after his father’s passing and whose daughter he eventually marries. Edward however despises William, and fears that Queen Elizabeth’s imminent passing will lead the throne to be usurped by the Cecils.
Recalling a visit to the popular community Globe theatre, Edward decides to use the power of the written word to engineer the passing of the crown to the Earl of Southampton (Xavier Samuel), one of the bastard sons of the Queen whom Edward is intimately connected to. To conceal his identity, Edward enlists the help of young playwright Ben Jonson (Sebastian Armesto) to stage his written plays in the Globe- but their attempt at keeping the writer of the play anonymous is upstaged by an ambitious actor and wannabe playwright Will (Rafe Spall) eager to take the credit.
Orloff’s densely written screenplay with its twists and turns and power plays requires that audiences pay close attention to every evolving piece of the story, even as it leaps back and forth in time to a younger Earl and his dalliances with the Queen (played by Joely Richardson as a young adult, and Vanessa Redgrave in her old age). With so much going on, it is admirable that Emmerich never does lose his audience along the way, and kudos to the German director for keeping the pace tight and taut while fluidly transiting between different points of the story.
Emmerich is also well-served by an ensemble cast of British actors, every one of whom is at their tip-top best. Ifans, often typecast as the nerdy comedic sidekick, gets one of his meatiest roles playing the cunning Edward, who later on finds himself at the very centre of a Greek tragedy. There is gravitas and poignancy in his nuanced performance, just as Thewlis makes an excellent conniving palace advisor both in Cecil’s young and old age. Immortalised on screen by Cate Blanchett, Redgrave nonetheless gives an utterly compelling performance as the fickle-minded and emotionally manipulated Queen. Indeed, such a plot-driven film requires its actors to make the best of their characters every step of the way, and Emmerich’s cast does not fail him.
Even without his usual battery of special effects, Emmerich manages to conjure up the wonder of London four centuries ago- with special mention to Sebastian Krawinkel’s gorgeous production design that includes a full-scale reconstruction of the Globe theatre. Indeed, while he may not be the natural choice for a material like this, Emmerich is still a consummate storyteller and his grippingly told tale of Victorian intrigue qualifies as one of his best films.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Don’t miss the Audio Commentary with both director Roland Emmerich and writer John Orloff- this is clearly a passion project for both of them, and the attention and thought that went into the details of the movie, from scripting to production design, is fascinating to sit through.
Otherwise, there are three short ‘Deleted Scenes’- the first of which is recommended for a good showing of David Thewlis’ powerful acting. Lastly, there is a featurette ‘Who is the Real Shakespeare’ that has cast and crew weighing in on the debate- unfortunately, if you’re looking for some academic insight, this probably won’t satisfy you
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mix is a blast- dialogues are clearly projected and balanced, while more action-heavy scenes benefit from a strong surround effect. Visuals are sharp and crisp, and beautifully capture the lush production values of the film.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by Gabriel Chong
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OSCARS 2012Posted on 27 Feb 2012 |
Genre: CG Animation
Director: Conrad Vernon
Cast: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Jessica Chastain, Frances McDormand, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short
RunTime: 1 hr 30 mins
Rating: G
Released By: UIP
Official Website: http://www.madagascarmovie.com/
Opening Day: 7 June 2012
Synopsis: Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins are all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent - Madagascar style.
Movie Review:
We are guessing it’s only a matter of time when Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo and Melman the Giraffe make their way to Asia, that is, if the Madagascar movie franchise continues to strike gold at the box office, prompting the studio to produce another sequel. After traveling to Madgascar and Africa in 2005 and 2008 respectively, the animals from New York;s Central Park Zoo find themselves in Europe this time round. Other than the locale and improved animation (expect nothing less with today’s technology), pretty nothing much else has changed – you can still expect non stop chattering from the talking animals from beginning to end.
There isn’t much of a story to begin with: The four protagonists, together with King Julien, Maurice, the chimpanzees and the penguins go on a journey through Europe. Throw in a traveling circus, a psychotic animal hunter and lots of zany colours, and you get this animated comedy directed by Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath and Conrad Vernon.
The agreeable 90 minute duration of the comic caper makes sure that there is nothing unnecessary to bore the mass audience with short attention spans. The family friendly animation also makes sure that there are enough in your face jokes, adorable animals and loud music (listen out for Katy Perry’s very popular “Fireworks” which is aptly used in one of the film’s best sequences) so that viewers will be kept entertained every single minute.
The A listers voicing the protagonists effortlessly do their jobs in this third movie of the successful franchise. While Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith pull no surprises here, they deliver a serviceable performance as the home sick animals. Elsewhere, Sacha Baron Cohen and Cedric the Entertainer return as the amusing lemurs King Julien XII and Maurice, stealing the show from the protagonists. And we are not forgetting the well liked penguins and chimpanzees, who add that much needed humour to the movie series.
New characters to the third movie include Bryan Cranston’s Vitaly, a Russian tiger who leads the circus, Jessica Chastain’s Gia, a jaguar who wants to learn how to perform the trapeze act and Martin Short’s Stefano, an Italian sea lion who always chooses to look on the bright side of things. While there are no major faults with these animal characters, they do not leave much of an impression either. It is Frances McDormand’s Captain Chantel DuBois, a psychologically unbalanced animal control officer whom you will remember after leaving the theatre. The oddly shaped antagonist is so warped, you almost forgive her for her evil actions after seeing how she drops to the ground and crawls around like a spider to hunt down her preys.
The movie also delivers the obligatory wholesome themes which kids can bring home and grow up with. Seeing how the American animals help their European friends rediscover their passion for showbiz and circus performance, you will only wish things in real life are this easy to deal with.
Movie Rating:
(This family friendly summer offering may not be inventive, but it’s still entertaining enough to keep the kids at bay for 90 minutes)
Review by John Li
SYNOPSIS: From acclaimed director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) comes a quirky, coming-of-age love story between a young man (Henry Hopper) who has given up on life and a beautiful, charming young girl (Mia Wasikowska) who possesses a deep-felt love of life and the natural world. When these two outsiders chance to meet at a funeral, they find an unexpected common ground in their unique experiences of the world. Produced by Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Bryce Dallas Howard and Gus Van Sant.
MOVIE REVIEW:
"Restless" is the story of a boy who is restless with the living side of life and a girl, also restless with the living side of life since she just wants to get on with her own impending death. Enoch (Henry Hopper) is more interested in death since death claimed the lives of his parents and the life he once knew. Annabel (Mia Wasikowska) is a terminally ill cancer patient and instead of fighting her illness, is content living her final days studying nature. Until they met each other.
It's a story of boy meets girl, if you will. Except, these are not conventional characters, so this is not a conventional love story. The son of Dennis Hopper looks like he just walked out of the Cleary Estate from "Wedding Crashers" (2005) as the misbegotten son with creepy obsessions. The problem with this type of character in a drama is that he isn't endearing enough and he certainly isn't there for us to laugh at. Annabel doesn't hold her own life with much respect either (not that she has much choice with her terminal illness and all) but either way it's hard for us to care about her all that much too.
The most sympathetic character was Elizabeth (Schuyler Fisk, daughter of Sissy Spacek), Annabel's sister, who has no father, an inept, alcoholic mother who would be better off dead, and a dying sister who is perfectly happy with the finality of her life. I felt bad for her. The next most sympathetic character was Hiroshi (Ryo Kase). He was a ghost. If the film is starting to sound a little odd, that's because it is.
The story itself is as predictable as it is well-known. The odd couple holding on to each other to teach each other the meaning of life, the complementariness of the life-death ambivalence in the two central characters, the breaking apart of the deal they have struck when Enoch cannot accept Annabel's imminent death, their coming back together in the end, all these are well-worn clichés. Danny Elfman's unceasing and often borderline sentimental music is not much of a help. In the hands of a lesser director, this would have turned into an unbearable tearjerker.
Not so with Gus van Sant: Repeatedly he adds little touches which recall this from the abyss of kitsch into which this film might have fallen. Hiroshi's ambivalent role helps keep it afloat and so does a good dose of irony and humor. The silly fun in the morgue or the horribly cheesy death scene which turns out to be just playacting tip this alway back on the side of life. Restless is a conventional story conventionally told and far from van Sant's most daring films, a minor work maybe. But even so, it is, nonetheless, a tender, touching and even uplifting story about the trials of youth and what it means to grow up that can only be told by an observer as keen and sympathetic as Gus van Sant.
I certainly applaud the film for creating such odd characters with odd responses to life as it goes on around them. But because the characters were so far removed from anything I know, it was a little hard to fully appreciate them. It's still interesting enough and well written for those craving a small, independent movie about life, love and death. Mostly death.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
The DVD brings us on an insightful look at the movie through Deleted Scenes, Gus Van Sant's Silent Version of Restless, and 5 Featurettes which explore the different aspects of the film.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
There are English, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Thai audio tracks to choose from. Picture quality is pristine and sharp to showcase the movie's dreamy cinematography.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD RATING :
Review by John Li
Genre: Action/Thriller/Crime
Director: Fred Cavave
Cast: Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Gérard Lanvin, Elena Anaya, Mireille Perrier, Claire Pérot
Runtime: 1 hr 24 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Some Violence and Coarse Language)
Released By: MVP and GVP
Official Website: http://a-bout-portant.gaumont.fr/
Opening Day: 15 March 2012
Synopsis: Samuel (Lellouche) is a happily married nurse working in a Paris hospital. When his very pregnant wife (Anaya) is kidnapped before his helpless eyes, everything falls apart. After being knocked unconscious, he comes to and his cell phone rings: he has three hours to get Sartet (Zem), a man under police surveillance, out of the hospital. Shot on location in wide lens, POINT BLANK is an exhilarating non-stop ride through Paris' streets, subways, hospitals, warehouses, and police stations, as Samuel quickly finds himself pitted against rival gangsters and trigger-happy police in a deadly race to save the lives of his wife and unborn child.
Movie Review:
To be honest, the promotional poster doesn’t work for this tired and cynical reviewer: How many more surprises can an action crime thriller pull off? Besides, the “running man” motif on movie posters is somewhat cliché. What is he running from? Guilt? Bad guys? Falling trees? Also, it turns out that this is a 2010 production which is only making its way to local cinemas after two years – surely something must be wrong somewhere?
Turns out that this is a decent and tightly paced French movie that manages to deliver with its very digestible 84 minute runtime.
Director Fred Cavaye’s movie tells the story of Samuel, a nurse (yes, a male one at that – probably to spice things up a little) who saves the wrong guy. The patient in question is a thief whose henchmen take Samuel's pregnant wife hostage to force him to release their boss from the hospital. A race through the subways and streets of Paris begins, and yes, people start dying. Having to evade cops and the dark criminal underground, things are not looking good for our protagonist – how will this end?
This is the exact question in viewers’ minds when they watch this tout thriller. It’s always nice to have a goodie two shoes character caught between good and evil. With his personal agenda on hand, how will the scriptwriters end his story? Here, Caveyeteams up with Guillaume Lemans to pen this exciting tale of a man torn between two sides.
We may not be familiar with Cavaye’s work over at this part of the globe, and the names of stars Gilles Lellouche, Roschdy Zem, Gerard Lanvin and Elena Anaya do not ring a bell to us either. However, this may be the reason why this movie works. From the start, our attention is hooked by a well choreographed chase scene through the beautiful night streets of Paris. We are introduced to the thief in this scene, before Samuel and his pregnant wife enter the picture. From there on, it is a non stop adrenaline ride as the story plays out at an incredibly brisk speed. There is almost no opportunity to take a breather (hold those bladders, we’d advise slurping happy audiences), and the action is appropriately paced without any feeling particularly tiresome or overdone.
Lellouche plays the central of Samuel, and you cannot help but emphatise with him, wondering what you would do if you were in his shoes. The ruggedly handsome North African Zem takes on the role of the injured thief, and this is one of those times you wish you are on the bad guy’s side. Lanvin plays a senior police inspector who becomes involved in this mess, while the pretty Anaya plays the helpless pregnant wife.
There are further developments and complications to the plot, and Cavaye manages to contain them without overcooking the movie. The result is an agreeable and serviceable action thriller that may not be groundbreaking, but is recommended for knowing how to entertain and keep its viewers at the edge of their seats.
Movie Rating:
(A tout thriller that does what it should do – entertain)
Review by John Li
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Off On A Movie Adventure!Posted on 23 Apr 2012 |
Damn! And this reviewer thought John Williams would win his sixth Academy Award this year. With two nominations for his brilliant compositions on “War Horse” and “The Adventures of Tintin”, you’d think the maestro would bring home the Oscar after 47 nominations throughout his career. Then came along this score composed by Frenchman Ludovic Bource for the Oscar darling – so is it worthy of its win?
Let’s just say that the Academy has awarded the Oscar to less deserving winners in its 84 year history.
The film is a commentary on the transition of silent, black and white films to “talkies” in Hollywood’s early days, and explores the relationship between an actor of silent films and an actress all geared up for cinema’s next phase. Bource’s compositions aptly reflect the emotionally gregarious film music from that era, and bring out the period’s unmistakable positive nature.
The soundtrack album contains 77 generous minutes from the silent film, a first to win Best Picture at the Oscars since 1927. We are guessing that the absence of pointless dialogue and sound effects in the film allows voters to pay extra attention to the music, hence the eventual win. Bource, who began his career composing music for commercials, is responsible for 20 out of the 24 cues on this album.
“The Artist Overture”, a grand orchestration you’d expect from Hollywood’s finest days, kicks off the soundtrack. After a perilous “1927 A Russian Affair”, we get to hear the highlight of the album “George Valentin”. The six minute track paints a colourful (note the nice contrast with the black and white nature of the film) personality of the protagonist and one can imagine him to be a well liked, popular and go to guy. The eccentric and infectious tune is easily identified by the use of xylophones here. It’s a theme which would be heard again in other tracks.
The female protagonist has her own theme in “Waltz for Peppy”, a lovely score which illustrates her delicate character. Elsewhere in the album, there are darker tracks like “1929” (mysterious), “The Sound of Tears” (tragic), “Ghosts from the Past” (melodramatic) and “My Suicide (Dedicated to 03.29.1967)” (melancholic). But all’s well by the end of the album, when the chirpy “Peppy and George” comes on. It’s so wholesome and bubbly that you feel like breaking into a dance.
ALBUM RATING:
Recommended Track: (3) George Valentin
Review by John Li
Genre: Drama/War
Director: Zhang Yimou
Cast: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Zhang Xinyi , Huang Tianyuan, Tong Dawei, Atsuro Watabe, Shigeo Kobayashi, Cao Kefan
Runtime: 2 hrs 25 mins
Rating: NC-16 (Violence and Sexual Violence)
Released By: Shaw
Official Website: http://www.theflowersofwarthemovie.com/
Opening Day: 29 March 2012
Synopsis: From internationally celebrated director Zhang Yimou (Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, Hero, House Of Flying Daggers) comes a story of love and war - and a band of outcasts who emerge as unlikely heroes from the shadows of a city's occupation. At once lyrical and visceral, the film enters the apocalyptic world of Nanjing in 1937 only to find a vibrant human story about the invisible people of the city and a series of unexpected relationships that lead to a resonant act of sacrifice.
It begins when the danger in the streets of Nanjing throws together a group of opposites --a flock of shell-shocked school children, a dozen seductive courtesans, and a renegade American (Academy Award winner Christian Bale, The Fighter, The Dark Knight) posing as a priest to save his own skin, or so he thinks - all seeking safety behind a walled cathedral. Trapped by marauding soldiers, over the next few days the prejudices and divides between them will fall away as they unite around a last-ditch plan to protect the children from impending catastrophe.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Because foreign commentators have not accorded the appropriate significance to the subject of the Japanese occupation of Nanking, there is a certain amount of righteous indignation whenever it is raised amongst the Chinese, whose ancestors had suffered at the hands of the Nippon invaders way back in 1937. Indeed, the fact that they have termed that dark chapter in their history ‘the rape of Nanking’- alluding not just to the pillorying of the city, but also literally to its inhabitants and especially its women- says a lot about their sentiments on the matter.
It is therefore quite impossible to expect objectivity from any Chinese treatment on the subject- even if it is from internationally acclaimed director and the once-enfant terrible of Chinese cinema Zhang Yimou- so the best one can hope for is subtlety, with Lu Chuan’s earlier box-office hit ‘City of Life and Death’ being an excellent example. Fortunately therefore, though Zhang Yimou’s take begins on an overtly jingoistic slant, it eventually settles for a nuanced approach that exudes the very humanity at the heart of Yan Geling’s story, becoming a moving and poignant account of heroism and self-sacrifice.
Opening with the first of just two battle sequences throughout the whole film, Yimou starts off emphasising the heroism of the Chinese soldiers who were outnumbered and outgunned by the invading Japanese troops. Amidst the blatant chest-thumping is a pair of convent girls trying to get back to the safety of their Catholic church, as well as an American mortician John Miller (Christian Bale) sent to attend to the last rites of the recently deceased parish priest. While the church’s boy warden George (Huang Tianyuan) and the dozen schoolgirls under his care think that Miller could be their way out of the city, he turns out to be anything but- well at least in the beginning.
Content to remain nonchalant to the plight of the girls, Miller instead binges on the communion wine supply in the church’s basement and ransacks the church for any money left as payment for his services. Better still, when some 13 ladies from the local brothels seek shelter at the church, he welcomes them as if elated at the prospect of his own personal harem. But transformation is at the heart of Yimou’s tale, and even though you know that by the end of the story Miller will rise to the occasion to save the girls, the path to that dramatic character turn is still deeply affecting.
Kudos to Liu Heng’s elegant screenwriting, whose collaboration with Yimou goes as far back as the latter’s ‘Ju Dou’, for crafting a moving character arc for Miller- beginning with an act of admirable courage when Miller puts on the priestly robes one day in a bid to stymie the Japanese from forcing themselves on the underage schoolgirls. Ever so delicately, the movie charts his change of heart from a once self-centred opportunist to a Fatherly figure looking after both the convent girls and the courtesans and eventually turning into a saviour for the former.
Just as skilfully, Yimou also charts the transformation of both groups of ladies. At the crux of it is a truly outstanding act of self-sacrifice on the part of the courtesans, as their egocentricity slowly but surely gives way to empathy for the schoolgirls and culminates in an extraordinary gesture of courage. We won’t spoil this plot point for you- suffice to say that Yimou handles it with beautiful restraint, and what could easily have been maudlin melodrama is instead cast as an uplifting testament of the common bonds of humanity that unite us all despite our social backgrounds.
Yimou’s adroit storytelling is complemented with the stirring performances of a top-notch cast. Christian Bale is perfectly cast, his usual understated but no less powerful acting creating a compelling character in Miller. It also enables him to blend in nicely with the rest of the massive ensemble, despite being the lone Westerner in a cast of Asians. Refusing to monopolise attention on himself or his character, he too strikes up great chemistry with his co-stars Tianyuan and newcomer Ni Ni- the latter of which steals the show with her luminous portrayal of Yu Mo, the pseudo-leader of the courtesans whose radiant beauty masks an equally sharp mind.
Evocative too is d.p. Zhao Xiaoding’s cinematography, which avidly captures both the sobering horrors of war as well as the cautious moments of quiet optimism between the girls. In particular,mXiaoding also uses the convent’s stained glass as a nice recurring motif to signal the omnipresence of God despite the atrocities and bleakness. And despite boasting none of the gaudy excesses of Yimou’s previous big-budget extravaganzas (a la ‘Curse of the Golden Flower’), production designer Yohei Tanada deserves credit for the visually intricate designs of both the cathedral as well as the war-torn streets of Nanking.
Nonetheless, what will likely resonate most at the end of the day are the film’s twin messages of courage in the face of fear and humanity in the face of atrocity. Yimou’s confident direction also makes for a multi-faceted movie that offers various perspectives on the war through its myriad characters, while placing Miller, Yu Mo and a thirteen-year old convent girl Shu (Zhang Xinyi) at the heart of it. Don’t be deterred by its grim subject matter, or its partiality to the matter- just as its title suggests, there is beauty to be found in the unlikeliest of places, and in spite of the inevitable scenes of heartbreak and despair, it is a quietly stirring and deeply poignant drama of self-sacrificial love, especially meaningful with the impending occasion of Good Friday as a reminder of this highest form of love.
Movie Rating:
(Objectivity aside, this is a quietly stirring and immensely poignant drama of unlikely heroism and self-sacrificial love that will reaffirm your belief in the ability of mankind to demonstrate the highest form of humanity in the midst of inexplicable atrocity)
Review by Gabriel Chong
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The Odds in Favour of THE HUNGER GAMESPosted on 13 Apr 2012 |
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