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515,426 | 317,399 | 1,264,107 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Pulau Hantu
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While this might have been marketed as a horror film , the end result is nothing but , given its distinct lack of scares . I suppose local horror movies with military flavour ( such as 1942 ) tend to be focusing on the military aspects of the story and even on the relationships between soldiers of a platoon , rather than on the supernatural elements . Pulau Hantu did try to stick to some formula with attempts at cheap scary shots , which because of the amateurish technique , failed to raise goosebumps or elicit worthwhile screams . Maybe that's why this also didn't opt for a commercial distribution ? Besides Army Daze , I think this is the only other local feature film that doesn't seem to quite put the Singapore Armed Forces in good light . With the former , it's understood that the characters were designed for comedic effect , and the setting being the first three months of conscription , does provide for some natural opportunities for humour . With the platoon in Pulau Hantu , these are reservists who form the backbone , but alas they seem to be more like complaining schoolboys ( minus the girl of course , who's a career soldier here ) , which to a certain degree , does seem to be quite a close fit to real life . And putting the horror element aside , it dwells a bit on the dynamics within the platoon however , with a white horse LTA Heng ( Carl Ng ) leading the team , much against his own wishes for coming back to serve out his obligation to the country , and is assisted by a female MSG June Fong ( Pamelyn Chee ) . Rounding up their group are a number of CPLs Alvin ( Shane Mardjuki ) , Rajah ( Vijay Madhavan ) , Hadi ( Sani Hussein ) who seemed the only one aware of the deep trouble they're going into , and the Hokkien soldier PTE ( yeah ) Frankie Low , played by John Cheng , providing plenty of comic relief in the first 20 minutes of the show . As mentioned , the " white horse " element got quite a bit of attention and comparison here , as do other little gripes about wearing green . The film opens in quite standard terms with establishing the source of the supernatural , with a village bomoh ( witch doctor ) raping a woman he fancies , and the product of that event was a child . Soon both mother and child get buried alive , and sets up the background for the spirits that haunt the island . We then see Adrian Pang cameo as MAJ Damian Lee at the Detention Barracks , interrogating an unseen somebody to recount the events that are about to unfold , for investigations , and thus sets up a little bit of mystery just who this person might just be . So it's a story about a platoon being recalled to serve their reservist by looking for 3 AWOL soldiers on the island of Pulau Hantu , before realizing that their enemy might be of the unseen variety . The premise had plenty of potential to make this one mean horror flick , with its veins reminiscent of Singapore's cinematic heydays with the likes of horror films such as Pontianak . Witch doctors , victimized damsels , and nicely set up twists to surprise the audience , but alas , its execution came through as a little bit clumsy , and unfortunately , seemed caught up at wanting to play at soldiers rather than to serve up something that could even be remotely spooky . Granted that this is PG rated and funded by MDA so there might be certain territory that the film can't venture too much into , but this could serve as a stifling point in reining back something that could have gone to greater heights . For instance , this much be one of the most polite bunch of soldiers I've come across in a while , and does Singapore proud by speaking good English even at the face of adversity . And while tactical route march is the order of the day , certainly we can cut down on the number of instances where soldiers walking around in high port pattern , since , well , nothing exactly happens . Lighting is also an issue , though I understand that it could be digitally enhanced to spruce up the darkened skies and the likes , but this in effect negated a number of scary moments where the audience frankly couldn't see a thing , when it should have mattered and raised some goose bumps . Also , certain scenes came across quite jarringly due to poor editing ( the sudden immolation scene anyone ? ) , though credit is to be given for working around a tight budget , such as the creative thought into dealing with grenades that cannot be exploded . It tried to be a Guard Post , but of course minus the blood and gore ( it's not a slasher flick ) , but could have incorporated many basic techniques to serve us some serious scares that audiences would still be left shaken even when the lights come on . We have no lack of ghost stories , as mentioned sarcastically in the movie , that is set in the army , such as a stuck in development-hell production called Charlie Company , but what needs to be really improved , is the way those stories get told and transferred to celluloid . For once I say let rip those cheap scare tactics to see how far one can go in getting audiences spooked .
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515,455 | 317,399 | 810,823 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : The Deaths of Ian Stone
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The premise made this look like a distant cousin of movies like Groundhog Day , only that it's more bizarre , and containing an element of gore . Imagine if you wake up but find yourself living a different life from before you slept , not just repeating the last 24 hours . And each iteration actually ends in death , where you feel pain , and knowingly being hunted down . Then you rinse and repeat , with little recollection and little opportunity to figure things out before you get hit again . Sounds interesting , right ? But The Deaths of Ian Stone wasted the premise , and became a very boring movie despite the tense build up . It kept you guessing , until slowly you realize a whole host of clichés start to creep in , especially those pertaining to speeding up the narrative and to provide wholesale , verbatim explanation on things to come . Showing you is not enough , the characters have to blabber repeatedly , and you start to roll your eyes when they beat around the bush for no good reason . Ian Stone , the titular character , is played by Mike Vogel . A teenage ice hockey jock , things start to go bump for him when he realizes that time will start to freeze , and he finds himself getting thrust forward in time , but not before suffering immense pain from creative death . The only constant that keeps him sane , is the presence of girlfriend Jenny ( Christina Cole ) , who seem to not recognize him in his moment of awareness , as he tries hard to figure out the whos and the whys . The posters plastered suggest creatures spawned from the imagination of Stan Winston Studio , but to give credit to the plot , it contains something a little more . While you can find little fault with the special effects and Harvester creature design , you will probably laugh at the laziness in costuming , where total rip offs from the Matrix Trilogy were adapted from , with the tight Trinity styled Lycra spandex coming on screen , with the characters ' hair slicked back and shades to boot as well . Of course the theme of love is central to the story ( i . e . if you have no theme , you can always fall back on love ) , as an emotion so powerful it can move mountains and oceans , and with new love come jealousy and envy from those around you , especially from the ones who hold the candle . As mentioned , the movie had promise and an explanation for the strange , but the delivery is suspect , and unfortunately , quite boring . After the first few iterations , you know the idea well has run dry with generic killings , and a whole amalgamation of tools being used concurrently just to inflict pain , but done off-screen . The fight sequences too are terribly bad , with lacklustre punches being thrown around , while brandishing those nicely shaped bladed hands . The Deaths of Ian Stone is nice to look at at first , but slowly the flaws start to surface , and soon enough you'll realize just how flimsy everything had been put together . Should Harvesters be real , they could feed on the audience's collective fear of the dreadfulness the movie is heading towards . And they will be well fed .
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515,511 | 317,399 | 862,946 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : The Bugmaster ( Mushishi )
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I was expecting Mushishi to be a wild fantastical ride full of snazzy special effects and martial arts . I was sorely disappointed with the latter , and more so when the movie had decided to jump right into the plot of things , with little explanation of what's going on . Based on the Japanese manga written by Yuki Urushibara , Mushishi , or The " Bugmaster " follows the trials and tribulations of a young mystical shaman Ginko , who travels from location to location , healing people who are infected by the " mushi " creatures , spreading like the plague . However , the filmmakers decided to have made this for fan boys , and doesn't dwell too long with the backstories or relationship details between characters . Started off quite impressively with a special effects shot of a huge landslide , the movie thereafter degenerated into a series of incomprehensible events that signals that the movie isn't really for non-fans . I was confused by the lack of explanation , either through dialogue or visuals , of what's happening . Imagine watching Star Wars with little or no explanation of " The Force " - things just happen , and you move on . Come to think of it , it must resembles Star Wars in many ways . You have a manipulator of mystical energy , and have various practitioners belonging to various factions , and you have lineage issues with the lead . You even have a character with horns on the face , like Darth Maul . For its length , I was hoping for something more epic . , with the potential of being a classic . But sadly that was not to be .
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514,468 | 317,399 | 477,347 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Night at the Museum
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Night of the Museum is this year's Chicken Little . With the trailer played almost every time before a movie is screened , it's arguable that this is probably the most watched movie trailer for the year , with that T-Rex skeleton taking a sip from the water cooler , made the iconic scene for the film , taking over Chicken Little doing its rendition of " the running man " . Given its marketing muscle , it'll work two ways - live up to its hype , or gets buried in it when it fails to deliver , given its continuous build up of expectations . Night at the Museum treaded dangerously close to the latter . Fans of Ben Stiller , myself included , will definitely not miss this movie . There's this tinge of zaniness in his movies and characters , and most of his comedic films never fail to crack me up . I reckon at least one scene in every movie will have me ended up in stitches with tears rolling . Sadly , this was not to be for Night at the Museum . It's a pretty ordinary role about a very ordinary quitter , who can't seem to hold down a regular job , and is faced with losing respect from his son , now living with his estranged wife . So as the story goes , he gets a job as the sole night watchman of the Museum of Natural History , and as you would already know , it's a kids fantasy as inanimate objects and statues all come to life when the sun goes down . At its heart , this is a children's movie , through and through , having caricatures for villains , and situations which are deemed very family friendly , which suits its target audience to a T . It's filled with top notch special effects and costumes to bring history to life , but again it's nothing groundbreaking about it . The storyline is rather plain and almost buried itself under ultra predictable plot lines , which is a pity because it had some great supporting cast , like Robin Williams , who was surprisingly very muted and restrained , Dick Van Dyke , Mickey Rooney , Ricky Gervais , Owen Wilson and Steve Coogan , the latter two playing combative , bickering figures from different eras who are in constant battle for more territory . To thoroughly enjoy this , bring along a kid , or allow the kid inside you some leeway to take over your emotions for a while . Otherwise , this movie will be a tad tough to sit through without constantly checking your watch . Hope the next Ben Stiller project will be much better .
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515,268 | 317,399 | 456,899 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Lower City
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Two childhood friends , Deco ( Lazaro Ramos ) and Naldinho ( Wagner Moura ) meet Karinna ( Alice Braga ) , a stripper looking for a cheap ride to the city of Salvador , in exchange for sexual favours with the boys . Who could pass up a blonde like that , and in record time , we see the friends getting it on with her inside their steamship . It's actually an extremely simple story , with lacklustre sex , some flesh , and again , a short story premise being extrapolated painfully into a feature length movie . The central theme here is the disintegration of a deep brotherly friendship because of man's innate selfish nature when it comes to affairs of the heart , and how lust takes over to blind the dudes that it just isn't worth fighting over a slut . If I may paraphrase a popular saying , why forgo your sights on the various bikes available in the store for the village bicycle , which everyone has ridden ? If there should be any plus points for the film , then it would be the handling of this character exploration of the breaking down of a friendship . However , that alone isn't sufficient to garner your attention through the movie . Alice Braga , the Brazilian actress who starred in City of God , looks good in the role , but seriously it's nothing to fantastic about it . Her Karinna is one seriously indecisive about the matters of the heart , though totally passionate about losing her clothes without batting an eyelid . While she realizes that her indecisive ways is causing havoc to the friendship of both men she likes , making some preliminary plans to escape the situation but not execute it doesn't help much too . What made it all worse , and this is directly linked to the story , is the frustration of leaving things just hanging in the air . The movie ends in similar fashion to Karinna's character - the inability to decide . Oh , and the overrated scenes of the city , it's seediness , gloominess , etc , it's really all done in quick montages , or on location sets that doesn't offer you anything more than a sneak peek . Like its characters , the movie's delivery just doesn't make you care for any of them , or their self-inflicted plight . All said , this movie will probably not get any thumbs up by the ah pek community . What they're primarily looking for , gets glossed over too quickly , bogged down by the characters trying to emote too much . I'm not sure how some can tout the supposedly steamy scenes as hot , unless of course they haven't got it in a long time .
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514,591 | 317,399 | 479,528 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Rogue Crocodile
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Not another crocodile movie again , you might groan . I did too , as I wonder just how many killer shark and killer crocodile / alligator movies need to be made , before they finally die off . Not too long ago we had Primeval , which was a crocodile movie set in the African continent which had attempted to weave local politics into it . Here , it's set in the Northern Territories of Australia , and with such killer-reptilian movies , the more exaggerated the size and aggression of the animal , the better . So we have a seven metre long crocodile for the characters to contend with . It's a simple set up , in which Radha Mitchell plays Kate Ryan , a river tour guide who pilots her own boat to ferry tourists down a river to experience the wild life , as well as learning little details such as them not getting themselves attacked by any crocs because their tour boats are larger , or so they would like the tourists to believe . That said , our monster in question took about 30 minutes before deciding to increase the pace and tension of the movie , by knocking up against the boat of our merry bunch when they respond to a distant distress signal . It takes a while to get things moving because writer-director Greg McIean ( Wolf Creek ) had dedicated the earlier portion of the movie to get the audience chummy with the characters , before they become fodder for our hungry crocodile . And surprisingly , I have to say that Rogue Crocodile did work , despite it being a crocodile movie done countless of times over , and whose plot development we can see coming from a mile away . What probably worked in its favour , is that there aren't any gung-ho heroes in the story - no cops or natural crocodile dundees , but everyday folk like you and I , and we naturally would root for them as they try to escape their predicament . And it looks like a typical episode from the television series Lost too . You have a makeshift island where our temporal inhabitants seek refuge from , though the tide's coming through to flood it in time , and with water comes natural territory for the crocodile to wade through . Communication devices aren't working and they're cut off from the rest of the world . So they can only rely on their own ingenuity , plans crafted with time working against them , if only they can get past their occasional bickering on what to do . There are enough tension filled moments to excite you as this crocodile chomps without remorse , and it doesn't shy away from showing some gory bits , though the number of set action pieces are limited , and involves a little too much thrashing about by the roguish reptile which turns out to be not too smart , relying on plain brawn . Suitable for those lazy Sunday afternoons .
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515,542 | 317,399 | 831,887 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : The Spirit
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I wonder what Will Eisner will think of Frank Miller's interpretation of his classic character The Spirit . While I have not read the comic books of old , I am feeling curious enough to want to know whether Miller's version sticks to Eisner's vision , or came off as his own creation , like what he did to The Batman with The All Star Batman and Robin . Miller probably got his interest in film-making piqued when he witnessed two of his graphic novels Sin City and 300 rake in big bucks at the box office with Robert Rodriguez ( and Miller ) and Zack Snyder at the helm , and thought that his stint with the former , and employing similar CG techniques , would allow for a rookie to have a go at it . So in came The Spirit , with Miller writing the screenplay , and providing the direction . Truth be told , it felt a lot like a fanboy given a palette and having the freedom to go at the canvas . This is basically self-indulgence , no two way about it . You know how comic book movies feel like comic book movies because certain elements from the books get translated verbatim into the movie , and one of the guilty elements was like the reading of text with every monologue that found its way into the movie . Gramted the style here was to adopt from detective noir , but it felt pretty artificial . And what was more artificial , was the dialogue , which was farcical at times too . Fan boy elements reared their ugly heads again when Miller felt that he had to just have characters spew lines referencing comicdom , and there were so many lines which self-parodied the film , that it just raised your goosebumps . And when combined with lengthy monologues that made it seem like it's a one-man stand up comedy . For instance , when The Octopus ( Samuel L Jackson ) has The Spirit ( Gabriel Macht ) tied up and ready for the kill , he lapses into yet another blah-blah egoistical speech , so much so that The Spirit had to break the fourth barrier and remind him to get on with the show . Macht is a relative unknown , and I guess the decision was quite right given that the material probably couldn't entice any big names to want to don a fedora , trenchcoat and red tie , jumping around rooftops and proclaiming that they are the city's spirit . Samuel L Jackson seems to sleepwalk through this role which he hammed up with plenty of tongue in cheek , and the costumes handed to him in the film was nothing less than zany , from Samurai garb to Nazi uniform , it provided plenty of platform for him to reprise his villainous role , which did seem like an over the top version of the many baddie roles that he had already played in the past . Action-wise , between these two characters , their immortality becomes the crutch of this film , where everything including the toilet bowl ( yes , complete with filth ) can be thrown at each other . There are but a few redeeming factors of course . This film doesn't feel a need to have its narrative follow a chronological order , and it worked wonders , especially when it's used to break the monotony of dead dialogue that borders on going nowhere . Backstories are told in flashbacks , and for a first movie , it worked its origin other than to follow the usual formula in telling the audience how policeman Denny Colt become this supernatural being who can't die . Sort of how The Crow meets Batman / Daredevil , which Miller had opportunities to work on . At times though I do feel that the references to " my city " do seem a little Bat-heavy . And I guess when it comes to casting the femme fatales that The Spirit flirts with given his Casanova erm , spirit , this film had its cake and eaten it as well with the likes of buxomy actresses in skimpy outfits , such as Paz Vega in a minor role as Plaster of Paris , Scarlett Johansson as The Octopus ' partner in crime Silken Floss , and Eva Mendes in a meatier role as an old flame with a thing for bling , Sand Saref , and this in addition to Jaime King's head - scratch inducing Lorelei Rox , Sarah Paulson as The Spirit's current squeeze Ellen Dolan , daughter of the commissioner , and a whole host of beauties as well . The Spirit is probably hit and miss for most audiences given that the negative factors outweighing the positives , but I suppose if one approaches this with low expectations , you might just get some kicks out from the load of sticky cheese this movie gets to fester with . If the littlest moments count , then perhaps you would likely enjoy the end credits roll a lot more , especially when you get to see Miller showcasing his artwork , to the sounds of Christina Aguilera belting out the song " Falling in Love Again " . I know I did , and was left pondering how this would probably be a better film should it be animated right from the start .
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514,628 | 317,399 | 420,260 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Tony Takitani
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Tony Takitani is a short film , clocking in at 75 minutes , but it's amazing how so much can be cramped into so short a time for a feature film . Telling the story of the titular character , played by Issei Ogata , we actually go backward an additional generation to learn of Tony's father Schozaburo Takitani , played by the same actor . The movie had segregated within itself certain milestones of events , with the dad's story first , and It took awhile before Tony took over and moved the plot forward , or should I say , plodded forward . We observe how he meets the love of his life , Eiko ( Rie Miyazawa , Twilight Samurai ) , who , like in a Taiwanese movie The Shoe Fairy ( starring Vivian Hsu ) , has an obsession , not only shoes , but the entire designer fashion wardrobes . The next half of the movie tells of the sadness Tony underwent when he loses his wife , and tries his best to forget the pain . Hence his weird classified ad he posted seeking someone who fitted his wife's frame , to come work for him , but wearing his wife's clothes , giving him a sense that she's somehow around him . Totally weird , in which he agreed to . But of all the scenes I would love the last one best , as if it served as a wake up call of not living one's life in the past , but to look to the future . Perhaps the movie has a deliberate dull feeling to it , reflective of Tony's character . As mentioned , a lot of underlying themes and various emotions run through , but ultimately , I felt it was dry and boring at times , because nothing much happens - no big action , everything's pretty nuanced and controlled , so much so that scenes drag . The movie's beautifully shot with pretty images , but ring hollow in me from a lack of emotional resonance . Effectively , it gave you a sense of loneliness and isolation that Tony goes through when his wife is lost , and the pain that sledgehammers in the silent moments , save for the narrative voice over , done to perfection as it integrates wonderfully with the character's monologue , or conversations . Not to forget too is the pretty distracting technique of having the camera pan from left to right between scene transitions . Recommended only for art movie lovers , who'll probably have a field day with this slow moving movie .
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514,457 | 317,399 | 772,157 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Broken English
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Broken English referred to , and this is the more obvious reference , the way English is not spoken by native speakers , thereby creating at times some comedic situations when accents come into play to dilute the actual meaning of the words . But Zoe Cassavete's movie isn't an outright comedy , or one which deals with language in Mind Your Language style . It's actually a dramatic look at Romance , from the point of view of a 30-something . And this actually turned out to be a Parker Posey vehicle , as the actress takes the lead role of luckless in love Nora Wilder , who is into her 30s , and as per societal judgement , gearing towards an old maid zone . Perhaps I belong to the other gender , and hence understand some of the predicaments faced ala the movies starring Zach Braff of late ( The Ex , One Last Kiss ) , thus not being able to fully appreciate the point of views from Cassavete's characters . But try as I could , I thought it fell short in presenting its points succinctly , instead by adding too many sub plots without much depth , the entire narrative turned out to be rather scattered . Maybe deliberately done to highlight that life throws you the occasional curve ball that you can hardly dodge from , but watching how Nora gets put through the paces of meeting men and then finding out that their incompatible , which usually happens quite fast , Broken English initially turned out to be quite episodic . Scenes change , characters get introduced , things happen , and then the next big thing occurs . While not disjointed , it did seem a little superficial , and hardly allowing you room to feel for Nora or to be in her shoes and walk around in it a little . Things get interesting when Parisian Julien ( Melvil Poupaud ) , a friend of a colleague , enters her life , and then for a moment you fear the worse as shades of Before Sunrise / Sunset start to creep into their conversations of just about anything , and their gung ho attempts to spend quality time together , wherever they may be , go to , or end up at . For a minute I thought Vienna would be swapped for New York . The pace was not deliberately slow , but you can feel its length , especially during the third act when the locale gets shifted overseas , and you start to secretly hope that it'll all end soon , whatever the outcome . Being a debutant Zoe Cassavetes written-directed by movie , I think it had shown signs of promise , just that it is unfortunately not polished enough . What made this movie watchable is the ever reliable Parker Posey performance , where the weight of the entire movie fell on her lithe frame . She made this movie bearable to continue watching despite her character's frequent misery , and kudos to her are well deserved . Watch this only if you cannot get tickets to Harry Potter .
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515,502 | 317,399 | 397,078 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Just My Luck
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The only Lindsay Lohan movie I had ever watched was Mean Girls ( 2004 ) on board a flight to Europe , and I thought it was a pretty entertaining chick flick . Herbie Fully Loaded somehow didn't appeal to me , so Just My Luck was next on the screens here . There's another little story too on how we picked this DVD in Petaling Jaya , KL , Malaysia , together with Scary Movie 4 , and then donated it , but heck , that's another story for another day , and it really was just our luck that night of the purchase . Just My Luck tells the story of the crossing of fated paths between an incredibly lucky girl , and a totally unlucky guy . In typical boy-meets-girl fashion , these 2 individuals will meet , and re-meet each other again in make-believably coincidental situations , and find in each other , the sparks of love . The introduction was quite neat , as we get acquainted with Ashley Albright ( Lindsay Lohan ) , the walking good luck charm , and Jake Hardin ( Chris Pine ) , a walking disaster with a knapsack full of emergency supplies to help him tide through the day . One's a sassy PR consultant , the other a " bao-kar-liao " ( takes care of everything ) lowly worker at a bowler's , aspiring to make it big via his discovery of a Brit band , the McFlys . The couple meet anonymously at a masquerade ball , and a seemingly innocent kiss transfers all the luck on Ashley , to Chris . And so it follows that Ashley will try everything she can to get her luck back . Until her conscience starts to question just who might need the luck more . The reversal of roles story isn't really new , only the medium and method are different . Like recent movies The Shaggy Dog , and even Lohan's own Freaky Friday , are movies that belong to the same story genre . So the question is , does this one work ? Given the good looking cast , it should appeal to the youngsters who are fans of Lohan , or are attracted to the good looks of Chris Pine . Their chemistry worked well off each other , and you can feel their respective surprise and frustration as their lifestyles differ drastically . There are plenty of situational comedy infused with a story like this , but most of them felt contrived . Towards the end , given that luck could swing the situation either way , some scenes seemed to be stuck in limbo way too long , waiting for that punchline to give it direction . Granted , being incredibly lucky already is stretching the plot a bit too thinly , so you'll be better off treating this movie like a childish fantasy . A typical date-safe movie enjoyable at certain points though , with the usual expected feel-good ending .
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515,045 | 317,399 | 449,487 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Passengers
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Anne Hathaway stars in no less than three films being released this month alone in Singapore . There's Rachel Getting Married , the upcoming Bride Wars , and Passengers . Amongst the three , and I'm counting my chickens before they hatch , Rachel Getting Married is a must watch to see how Hathaway has nailed it as a credible actress , while Bride Wars from the trailer does suggest she has some comedic flair , and this one , well , is one of those attempts at her trying to diversify . She did credible , but still couldn't shun away from being a pretty vase in her Claire Summers role . But she uses it to her advantage here , as her struggling grief councilor character uses her charm to disarm , and is getting used to all the unwanted male attention courtesy of patient Eric ( Patrick Wilson ) , who is one amongst the group of an airplane crash survivors that she's tasked to work with . Two separate threads develop here , one on the romantic front with a clash of morals given a conflict of interest with a patient , and the other some creepy mystery with regards to the shrinking size of her group therapy class . The former thread is easy to follow , since it's all about Eric and Claire playing games with each other , with every approach met with icy cold defense , until of course persistence finally paying off . Don't expect any sparks to fly as both Hathaway and Wilson felt as if they're going through the motions with their characters . The latter thread is where the fun should be , with its brewing conspiracy theory with the airline's involvement to something sinister , given contradictory reports with the survivors ' experience , as well as shadowy figures following everyone's movement . However , Ronnie Christensen's sleight of hand technique can be detected and seen a mile away . In its buildup , suspense wasn't considered , and it plodded on with issues and unfinished business being piled one on top of another , though credit must be given to David Morse in his creepy rendition as an airlines representative , as do Andre Braugher and Dianne Wiest . By the time the movie rolls around its half way mark , those alert can already know what the big revelation will be . Which is nothing groundbreaking already since a number of films already use similar plot devices and revelation that it's no longer surprising , but the norm . I only felt that the revelation could have been less clumsy and made clearer , given the many bewildered responses heard all around the cinema hall . Passengers is one of those films that you don't expect to see on a plane's inflight entertainment system , together with the likes of Flightplan and the first Final Destination . It does boast a spectacular plane in distress scene , though it dangled that prospect for the longest time before delivering its effects laden payload to the audience .
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514,760 | 317,399 | 1,023,481 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Step Up 2 the Streets
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The opening just might inspire the return of the flashmobbers , a fad which picked up for a short time in Singapore ( of which I did participate in one ) , and then faded into oblivion . From the get go , it seemed like a unique idea , until you realize it's all staged to gain street cred in this Youtube age , performed by " crew " members of reigning street dance champions 410 . But Step Up 2 retains much of the superficial facade of the original movie , with the setting in the same elite school , only with a different cohort . From what we've seen in the first , those snobby arty farty dance kids no longer hog the spotlight , as it is firmly on a group of misfits who are here to replace the loss of the previous two leads Jenna Dewan and Channing Tatum , although the latter did land a guest appearance to cement the excuse for a sequel , as well as to pass on the troubled teen mantle to Andie ( Briana Evigan ) . Whatever troubles these teens have , it's all secondary to the purpose of making the movie . Sure , you have the outcast who don't look right and get prejudiced against , a typical younger brother trying to step out of the shadows of his more illustrious brother who's now school principal , and some might even deem it condescending to have an Asian character who speaks in a funny accent . Too many characters here and all of them turn out to be one - dimensional and cardboard . But all that camaraderie building aside , which is what is formulaic glue , the main draw is undoubtedly the street dancing moves . I'd bet everyone in the audience , who are mostly teenagers into free form dance , will lap up all the moves that the cast put on display . And there are plenty of set pieces for one to gawk at . However , in my own personal un-dance-like opinion , the dancing here pales in comparison to the first . What made the first interesting to watch , is the fusion of two different schools of thought , and having them come together for an explosive finale which was worth the wait . Here , it's more improvisation , and even then , you can't help but notice the very individualistic styles that stand out on its own , never for a minute trying to blend in with the rest of the crew . Coming together for the expected finale was also very staged and forced , and in no way given the story development , can they pull off something like that . Even so , instead of one coherent act , you get many disjointed short sequences being force fit together . Not very effective , or interesting to sit through unfortunately . So I am going to state that Step Up 2 the Streets is strictly meant for street dance fans , otherwise this makes the first movie look like a class act of its own .
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514,608 | 317,399 | 120,082 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Scream 2
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Given the success of the original Scream , it is inevitable that there would be a sequel , bringing back cast members from the first movie who survived the massacre ( Neve Campbell , David Arquette , Courteney Cox ) , and adding new popular faces that would add to the body count , like the underutilized Sarah Michelle Gellar . In case you've forgotten the iconic beginnings of this franchise , it is again reprised with a movie within a movie , as Gail Weather's ( Cox ) successful book about the incident has been turned into a movie called Stab , starring Heather Graham in Drew Barrymore's role , and David Schwimmer ( not seen though ) and Tori Spelling in the roles of Arquette's and Campbell's respectively . It's an incredibly cheesy beginning , which stayed true to the way the original was played out , and guest stars Jada Pinkett Smith too . With the original Scream poking fun at slasher flicks in general , this sequel pokes fun at , you'd guess it , sequels . A new copycat serial killer is in town and stalking Sidney ( Campbell ) and the surviving gang has to race against time to try and find out who this sicko might be . Could it be a copycat down to the last detail such that Sidney's new boyfriend , an alpha-male jock , is involved ? Or one of the surviving cast from the first film ? Or how about the innocently accused Cotton Weary ( Liev Schreiber ) who's released from prison , and wanting to get back at Sidney for putting him in jail ? The gore factor definitely has been reduced ( or was it because I was watching a Code 3 version ? ) and relies on the usual soundtrack crescendos to pull in the screams ( put intended ) ? And speaking of the soundtrack , there were moments were Broken Arrow's was used liberally throughout . The in-jokes and numerous references which made the first Scream a darling , were sadly missed in the sequel . The ending again is a twist when the killer is revealed . Though like all predictable villains , a long extended monologue always seemed to be the order of the day . Guess that's just the way the genre goes . Like what was mentioned , there are only a few sequels which surpass their originals , and sadly , Scream 2 is not one of them . Code 3 DVD was a barebones version , nothing special included , which is a pity .
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515,354 | 317,399 | 373,883 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Halloween
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I had not watched the original Halloween , so sadly I can't do a comparison of Rob Zombie's reimagination of the horror classic by John Carpenter , about a psychotic killer hell bent on a mindless rampage when he escapes from the mental institution , with his doctor hot on his heels . Michael Myers ranks up there with Freddy Krueger ( of the Nightmare series on Elm Street ) , Jason ( of Friday the 13th ) and LeatherFace ( of Texas Chainsaw Massacre ) , and of late , these characters have been on the recycling mill , with the latter having a prequel made , and the former two combining forces in a movie . Wrestler Tyler Mane takes over the mantle of Myers , and Zombie's movie goes quite far back into the time when Myers was a kid , and how he got institutionalized . But it's more of an formality and an exercise in routine , as we've seen enough demonic kids ( Omen , Joshua and also in Whisper , now showing in theatres ) these days and nothing of similar nature would excite . But credit to Zombie , he goes for the jugular ( pardon the pun ) from the get go , and you get what you're looking for early in the movie ( and there was one lady who deemed it too much , and walked out at this point ) . However , the reimagination didn't steer clear of tried , tested and tired clichés , such as getting the same old blondes being targets ( somehow , everyone here is spotting long hair , mostly blonde ) , plenty of gratuitous nudity where almost every actress here had their clothes shed , and you guessed it , everyone had sex on their minds , though we know what that means in the horror genre . But what was a tad interesting though , was that Zombie made you abhor the characters who die early in the film , thus providing you an avenue to cheer ( ! ) Myers on as he dispenses his own brand of justice from a mean looking kitchen knife . Classic characters from the original return , with Dr Samuel Loomis now played by Malcolm McDowell , and Brad Dourif having a bit role as Sheriff Lee Brackett . But the gem in the Halloween movie is who gets to play the role made memorable and propelled Jamie Lee Curtis as the Ultimate Scream Queen , and here , the part of Laurie Strode went to Scout Taylor-Compton , whom I thought didn't scream enough . Anyways , fans of the franchise would be pleased with Danielle Harris taking on a role in the movie , having appeared in two other movies in the franchise . Some might say this is yet another mindless remake , giving opportunity for Rob Zombie to make yet another blood lust slasher movie . Definite must watch for fans though , as Zombie elevates Myers to almost god like invulnerability here , but almost ( ? ) closes the door on possible sequels . Then again , no one can stop from being imaginative enough to yank Myers from Hell and back again , if the box office clamours for it . What is indeed a classic instead , is that unforgettable signature tune of the Halloween theme composed by John Carpenter himself , while not at all frightening , does give you a sense of impending doom .
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515,352 | 317,399 | 484,562 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : The Seeker : The Dark Is Rising
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The Seeker : The Dark is Rising , no doubt being based on a children's book series , could have come up with a better sounding title than to reinforce the impression rightly that it's for the young ones , with nary any bit of sophistication . Telling the story as is in a straight forward manner , it's filled with tons of cliché thrown in from start to end , and while it does have its moments , on the whole it felt very familiar , with similar plot elements from various fantasy movies contributing to this emotional and action flatliner . The clichés are obvious with the get go . You have a loner hero , Will Stanton ( Alexander Ludwig ) , who's destined to be The One saviour of the world by virtue of him being the seventh son of the seventh son ( you imagine how his mom managed to keep her figure after giving birth to 8 children ) . Saviours of mankind must always belong to the social outcast clique , unpopular and having a bad time winning over the girls . He has powers beyond his imagination , no thanks to Firestarter , The Force and Gamma-Rays , but the biggest mystery is why these weren't invoke to save the day , but rather to impress girls ( OK , so he's only a fourteen year old ) . Oh , and he can travel through time too , but only as part of his mission to retrieve six items that can defeat The Dark ( cue bad guy theme ) . In certain sense , it's like National Treasure done in a schizophrenic premise , with the film undecided whether to be fantastical and medieval , or rooted in modernity . With Will's ancestors being the creative one in splitting formidable Light power into six components , you will begin to laugh at its version of prophetic self-fulfillment . Naturally there are obstacles , but these challenges nary tickle the mind , or strain the body . Then there's the usual beware-of-beautiful-girls reminder for a kid with raging hormones , but that's what the guardians ' duties would include , to chaperon our young hero . The supporting cast are indeed laughable . From being labelled literally The Old Ones , they do not possess any powers beyond very cheap weapons that can be bought off the shelf , and neither does the movie have any budget in utilizing the weapons , for fear of breaking the good looking props . They dispensed advice recycled from other movies , of believing in oneself , and with a scene directly lifted from Fellowship of the Ring , where Cate Blanchett tells Eiijah Wood that even the smallest of beings could achieve great things . And the part where I laughed the loudest , was Merriman Lyon ( Ian McShane ) giving his best impression of a Marlon Brando speaking to Christopher Reeve in a booming voice , and what came after was a scene just dripping with cheese . There are plot loopholes abound that you'd just want to laugh at , especially when the chief villain known as The Dark Rider played by Christopher Eccleston ( hands up all who know where this one came from ) never failed to remind everyone how best to destroy him , or just blatantly blind to the fact that he could achieve his objectives earlier on in the movie if he cut down on the needless theatrics . Then again , if we have a smart , realistic villain , we won't have much of a story now , have we ? Even his schemes that are hatched , such as the planting of moles , reeks of failure ( no thanks to the trailers of course for ruining who that person might be ) , and with absolutely no flair in character , this villain is truly unmemorable , and one of the worst . However , to the children out there , this movie will still serve as a rather enjoyable t rip to the cinemas . It's almost devoid of sex and hardcore violence that makes it suitable , with a feel good theme and ending , save for one or two creepy moments . Although belonging to the fantasy genre , this is one of the milder , childish ones that anyone weaned ( and I hate to use this example but I should ) on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy will find terribly wanting . This is this year's Eragon , which like The Lion , The Witch and The Wardrobe that preceded it , are trying just too hard to fill the void left by Jackson's Juggernaut . The bar was already raised by the adaptation of a classic , and unless more of these books-to-movies adaptation have something more original to tell , most of them will find themselves languishing in the Forgotten Realms soon enough .
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515,292 | 317,399 | 119,469 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Scarred Angels
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Scarred Angels left me scarred , as to what it is trying to say . It's based on a television series from the 1970s of the same title , and because I hadn't existed yet , I couldn't tell if it stuck close to the series , or revamped it for the modern times . The synopsis looked interesting enough , but I wasn't prepared at how much more is covered in the movie , that made it seem like it's heading nowhere . Sure , the crutch here is the theme of friendship , and looking at the movie , the relationship between the main protagonists , Ace Intelligence Agency private detective Mitsuru ( Etsushi Toyokawa ) and his partner Hisashi ( Kuroudo Maki ) , is nothing short of the buddy-buddy friendship of many detective stories out there . But wait , this movie is nothing to do with investigations or crime . Instead , down and out Mitsuru , working on possibly one of his last assignments , chances upon a dying mob boss , and makes a reluctant promise to delivery his son to his ex-wife . The first half of the movie dwells on this mission , done road trip style where the three characters play off one another's shortcomings in illicit some laughs . Most of the jokes , few and far between , fall flat , and imagine this , there's a scene that looked like Nacho Libre gone totally wrong . Scarred Angels became a victim of trying to squeeze too much material into too short a time , thus exhibiting an obvious lost in focus and direction . Perhaps in trying to demystify or debunk rumours that Mitsuru and Hisashi aren't gay , an unconvincing , boring , uneventful hint of a romance with a beautician gets thrown into the fray . Not that I'm complaining about the eye candy , but really , it's more of a distraction from the main plot , and when issues finally get resolved , the open ended relationship continued to chug along and added to an unnecessary run time of close to 2 hours . I can't think of any scene that is memorable , or worth raving about . Character wise too , there is nothing that stands out . It's kind of plain and evenly keeled , with little ups and downs , with nary a character development , or anything in the movie that will cause you to silently applaud .
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514,897 | 317,399 | 84,586 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Human Lanterns ( DVD )
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Human Lanterns is probably widely talked about as a cult martial arts film with some dabbling on the macabre . The opening credits show a warehouse with plenty of human remains atop a bloody grinder . In fact , it has all the ingredients of a torture porn flick , except that , horrors of horrors , this DVD edition comes censored ! So gone are the scenes where the victim's skin are peeled off their bodies to make the titular lanterns , though there was a fleeting boob shot from afar that the censors seemed to have missed . Anyway , the story is nothing remarkable , with two town braggers , Master Lung ( Tony Liu Yong ) and Master Tan ( Chen Kuan Tai ) at loggerheads and always scheming to be one up against the other . Tan shows off his latest human-sized lantern which gets the admiration of the simple townsfolk , and Lung decides to go one up on his rival . His search for a master lantern maker leads him to one time love rival Chun Fang ( Lo Lieh ) , who agrees to make him the most stunning lanterns ever seen , with a condition that he never visits his workplace . Best of all , they celebrate their strange union by visiting the whorehouse . Hmm . Also , a mysterious masked creature looking like an overgrown hairy ape with highly skilled kungfu start to terrorize the town , kidnapping young nubile females such as the # 1 courtesan and the sister of Master Tan , and given the nature of the disappearance , the animosity between the two men deepen to a deadly duel . However , it doesn't take you a second to figure out just who the man is behind the creature , and there's some needless tension built up around this mystery which seemed a little waste of time . The " police " too turn out to be rather foolhardy and inept , with the sergeant always listening to the two rich men , allowing his investigations to be poisoned by ill opinions from each of them on the other . Talk about siding with those who are rich or in power . While it can't be comparable to stuff we see today , for it's time I think the fight scenes were still interesting enough to engage audiences , given its myriad of weapons from swords to fans ( and the creature's gloved claws ) , and stunts . In fact , the stunts and sets were really impressive for its climatic battle , and I thought there was no stinginess in creating multi - layered sets for the actors to ply their martial arts abilities . What seemed to be interesting here though , is not the choreographed martial arts display , but rather the portrayal of the women's role in cultures back then . They are treated like playthings , with zero say in the ways of the world , reduced to gossipy aunties , and helpless damsels in distress . In fact , Lung's wife had to even tolerate , and even approve of her husband's infidelity . That said , Human Lanterns could have been a more entertaining watch , if not for the censoring of those crucial moments , making it like eating Char Kway Teow without the See Hum !
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514,991 | 317,399 | 498,353 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Hostel Part II
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Between the first Hostel released last year and its sequel , there have been countless number of torture porn movies released , like Turistas , Captivity , Wolf Creek , and the likes , so much so that audiences these days ( or fans of the genre ) bay for more blood to be spilled , the gorier the merrier . In that respect , Hostel Part 2 failed to live up to its predecessor's success in sticking to the blood , gore , violence , drug and nudity clauses that have become staple , and instead , opted for a perceived balance with its earlier film , which made it turn out to be a yawn . Like Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2 , Hostel and Hostel 2 are different beasts altogether . The first hostel was a horny excuse told from the male perspective , where a group of buddies go backpacking in Europe in search for ultimate pleasure , only to get sucked into something they had not bargained for . Hostel 2 starts off where the first had left , before we're introduced to a newer group of backpackers , this time from the opposite sex . Beth ( Lauren German ) , Whitney ( Bijou Phillips ) and Lorna ( Heather Matarazzo ) are three ( eye candy ) girls who find their way to the same Hostel thanks to a nude model Axelle ( Vera Jordanova ) , and before you know it , you've come to watch what you've expected . Except that things start to shift into high gear only about an hour into the movie . Prior to this , writer-director Eli Roth decided to show the audience the perspective of the other side - the lives of the customers in the form of Todd ( Richard Burgi ) and Stuart ( Roger Bart ) and their run up before savoring their game , and dwelled a little more on the business aspects of the hostel . What was briefly suggested and shown in the first movie , gets the in-depth treatment that frankly , those who're here to watch blood and gore , couldn't care less about . Whatever's left in the blood , gore , nudity department gets quite toned down , unlike its predecessor , so despite the similarities in structure , there is less gratuity in those aspects . It becomes a study of sorts of those who have too much money and not know what to do with it , of wanting to do something unique , and getting that " respect " and killer aura . It really took its time before getting into the groove , and to my surprise , it had quite a satisfying feel in its ultimate revenge and how that played out . It also included some fleeting commentary on how the dangerous , perverted ones are almost always the quiet ones , and those whose bark is loud , chances are their bite is nowhere close . Hostel Part 2 flopped at the US box office , and it's understandable why . Great eye candy doesn't cut it , and recycling a similar structure , with zero enigmatic villains ( especially businessmen ) , doesn't help the cause . The death sequences aren't really innovative ( I know I sound sick when I say that ) , and by not delivering what audiences have come to expect , I guess Hostel should just stick to 2 , being bookends of each other , and nothing else .
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515,257 | 317,399 | 259,324 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Ghost Rider
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Mark Steven Johnson , I hate to break it to you . 3 strikes and you're out . I understand your earnestness in trying to write-direct Marvel superhero movies by trying to stay close to the source material , but somehow they all turn out to be mediocre efforts . Although you didn't direct Elecktra , you produced and wrote it , and wrote-directed Daredevil and now Ghost Rider . I enjoyed Daredevil even though most others did not , and that unfortunately was your best effort . Marvel superheroes have their fair share of material being translated to the big screen , the largest cash cow being Spiderman , which opened the doors for efforts like The Hulk and Fantastic Four , creations of Stan Lee , and others , which I deem on the lower echelons , like Daredevil , Punisher , and Ghost Rider . The floodgates have not closed , as Spiderman and Fantastic Four will spawn their sequels this year , with Iron Man coming our way as well . Naturally not all the movies are hits , and too bad , I had hopes for Ghost Rider to join the hit list , even though I've not faithfully followed the comic books nor am a fan . I'm not quick to dismiss that comic book material can't be turned into powerful motion pictures . Batman Begins and the Spiderman movies have earned their mark of respect for having that emotional oomph to engage the audience , coupled with effects and stunts to wow . I guess we're spoilt from the excellent efforts of Christopher Nolan and Sam Raimi , as they've raised the bar and their movies are now the de facto benchmarks for comic book adaptations to reach . The first sign that things aren't going all that well , was that this movie was postponed , if I recall correctly , for almost one year , on the pretext of jazzing up the special effects . True , the flames on the skull were as realistic as can be , but that's about it . Every other effect seemed quite ordinary , and nothing to make the jaw drop . In fact , some CGI shots became so repetitive , that you start to wonder if the same clip was being recycled to save time . In essence , much like the origins of Daredevil , Johnny Blaze ( Nicolas Cage ) unwittingly signs a pact with the devil Mephistopheles ( Peter Fonda ) , and indirectly caused the death of his father . Blaming himself , and because of the sale of his soul to the devil , he abandons all hope in life , and his true love Roxanne ( Eva Mendes ) , and leads a dangerous life as a stunt biker who throws caution to the wind , knowing that he can't perish because of his secret " guardian angel " , and awaits the day when he can be free from fear and blame . Fast forward to the quick introduction of the main villain Blackheart ( Wes Bentley ) , son of the devil , who recruits the Elementals ( Earth , Wind and Water spirits of sorts ) in his cause to bring hell on earth . Yes , it's Constantine all over again . The plot was too vanilla plain , lacking much conflicts to challenge our anti-hero , besides his love interest . The villains , especially the Elementals , were a joke , and were so easily dispatched , that you'll scream for your money back . Given that it's an origin story of sorts , you'll get to see how Johnny becomes the rider who can walk on both worlds , and slowly get introduced to how he got his tools of the trade , including his jacket , gloves , chain , bike and shotgun . Unfortunately , one of the Rider's powers , the Penance Stare , is overused , and to cinematic audiences , we've probably seen a similar version in Alex Proyas ' directed The Crow starring the late Brandon Lee . While there are some remotely funny moments , most of the time the humour seemed contrived , and you'll probably cringe at some of the cheesy Western reference , no thanks too to one of the tracks performed by Spiderbait . If you're on the lookout for Stan Lee , who frequently pops into the Marvel films , don't . I think by steering clear , it's another indication that well , perhaps it's not as good a job as it should be . The narrative sagged in the middle , and contained some illogical , lazy plot moments , like a public transformation , and a busy jail house with no cops ( yeah right ) . Nicolas Cage could have been Superman with a hairpiece , but I thought he looked good as Johnny Blaze with a hairpiece . To his fans , you would've already seen the acting range he showed here , especially from John Woo's Face Off . That crazed look with the eyeballs almost popping out is repeated here , and at times , his Castor Troy scene comes to mind . Eva Mendes was largely wasted as the buxomy Roxanne who cock teases Johnny , and you actually wonder what Wes Bentley is doing in a movie like this . Sam Elliot shows up as the Caretaker , and is actually involved in a pretty cool scene which you might have seen revealed in the trailer . All in all , I would still say an enjoyable movie if you don't compare to , or have seen some of the other movies which I've mentioned above . It should do well at the box office in the initial week , before word of mouth gets to it . Fans of Ghost Rider , I sure would like to hear your views if you've liked it , or not , because after all , the fans are the ones who hold their hero dear .
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514,626 | 317,399 | 817,928 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Ghost Game
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The premise seemed interesting enough - a group of game contestants undertaking the ultimate dare , to rough it out in a prison renowned for its haunting given that it was the location of a massacre . The news film reel style at the beginning , without showing much gore , already set the atmosphere and mood , providing much anticipated scares for our 11 contestants . Again I'm sad to say that this horror flick didn't work for me . It seemed like a bit of Battle Royale meeting Truman Show mixed with Survivor elements . While Battle Royale had a group of students sent to an island for them to whack the living daylights out of each other , in this one our motley crew had to rely more on psychology to outplay , outwit and outlast each other , as well as the supernatural elements . There's something in common though , in that they had ex-winners re-enter the competition . There're plenty of CCTV cameras and public announcement speakers installed throughout where instructions are yelled through , and images are recorded for public broadcast in the show Ghost Game . Like Survivor , there were plenty of decisions made in the spirit of that game , together with familiar elements of alliances and mistrust , of second guessing good intentions and making wild conjectures , all in the name of playing the game and emerging the winner for that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow . Which actually left the scares wanting . Unfortunately we had to fall back on the usual lame quick cuts , sudden camera zooms , and extreme close ups accompanied by loud beats to race heartbeats . It might even leave you wondering about that aged old saying , that only if you're unlucky , could you see spirits wandering around you . Here , sightings aren't consistent if that aged old saying is to be believed , and that could be a bit frustrating . Setting the game to coincide with the anniversary of the massacre seemed like common sense for television ratings , As a side , the eleven contestants here are actually from a variety show called Academy Fantasia in Thailand , and in similar fashion , they get " voted off " here too . The gem however turned out to be the scene played during the end credits , where the contestants come out to say a few words prior to being sent to the game location . Plenty of cheese as they ham it up in character , and watching it in hindsight , you can't help but to feel a tinge of despair . P . S . I've read that the filmmakers had to apologize given the premise of the prison seemed to have cut too close to the Cambodian's Toul Sieng prison during the Khmer Rouge regime , with the depiction of genocide , and the loose reference in the movie in the form of a game show .
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514,823 | 317,399 | 768,212 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : The Last Mimzy
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Directed by the current CEO of New Line Cinema , The Last Mimzy is a children's fantasy movie which goes along the grains of having its children protagonists developing special powers , communicating with one another and with an alien object that no adult ( or anyone else for that matter ) can , and to help save some futuristic civilization . Sounds like a typical walk in the park for any children's movie you might add . The Wilder siblings Noah ( Chris O'Neil ) and Emma ( Rhiannon Leigh Wryn ) find a mysterious box with strange markings , containing some weird toys , amongst which includes a harmless looking soft toy bunny christened Mimzy . Soon enough Noah starts developing intellectual prowess bordering on genius and like Peter Parker would do without eyeglasses , while Emma , with Mimzy clutched closely to chest , starts to exhibit powers that a psychic would , in addition to being able to play five stones that float and with a light show included . As parents and adults ( Noah's schoolteacher and his wife ) , they have a natural tendency for disbelief and to second guess the children , as all adults would in a made for children's movie . And the authorities are hunting for them , just as they would , as targets of a resulting city wide blackout . If anything , the chemistry between the child actors playing the siblings is believable enough , and you would agree with me that Rhiannon Leigh Wryn is adorable as the kid sister whose innocence and love play a crucial role in the movie's plot . There are a few moments with injected humour , which I thought Asian audiences would identify with immediately with Kathryn Hahn's role as a " numbers " obsessed lady , and for technical geeks , watch out for that logo ( I've actually had a friend who was expecting it to pop out , and to our surprise , it did ! ) Expect the rudimentary plot development , characters as well as special effects that are just functional rather than to wow . It should serve as pretty interesting for a kid , but for an adult , we would have already seen other more superior stories , beginning with Spielberg's ET .
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515,040 | 317,399 | 1,305,854 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : All's Well End's Well 2009
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It surprised me that this Hong Kong comedic franchise still had some legs to carry on with yet another installment , given that it's been some 12 years since the last film , which started off in 1992 starring Stephen Chow at his element , filled with plenty of " mo-lei-tau " jokes , and its fair share of obvious spoofs from well know movies . It's title ties in with none other than its release over the Lunar New Year period of the year , because it's believed that cinema goers automatically head for the comedies showing in the cinemas . Right , Jack Neo ? Each installment of the franchise share links with one another only in the title of the movie timestamped with the year , and its ending with the usual fanfare song and dance to usher in the Lunar New Year as well . And the second movie in 1993 was actually filmed in Singapore's now defunct and demolished Tang Dynasty City , being one of the rare ( if not the only ) film to have been done in its entirety at the location . Clifton Ko , who had been assuming directorial duties then , has now turned it over to Vincent Kok , while together with Raymond Wong , they retain producer credits . Just how zany or irreverent this addition to the franchise can become ? Unlike the previous films , the number of direct references for spoof purposes is much more obscure . Gone are the blatant in your face sight gags played just for laughs , and though there are the much touted scenes of emulating Daniel Craig's bare bodied emergence from the sea in Casino Royale , the actual scene is contrary to what the movie still would have you believe . Other references and cameo appearances / spoofs also take on a much subtler approach , so for an audience who blinked , you can forget about any rip-roaring laughter from start to end . But of course as a comedy , one can't fault the script for trying to piece everything together , resulting in one crazy and messy approach . A huge leaf taken from the Will Smith vehicle Hitch forms the central premise , where a love guru dispenses advice to his clients to help them achieve their objectives , while at the same time finding trouble to practice what he is teaching . Louis Koo's Koo Chai is the Asian Hitch equivalent with some hypnotic powers , being paid by Ronald Cheng's Kei to help his sister Sandra ( Sandra Ng ) get married , so that he can break the family curse that befalls each of his fiancées . The principles of seduction get into full swing to charm the successful alpha-female with a zilch love life in routines that you can see coming from miles away . There are however , some excellent one-off scenes , and my personal favourites are the dining table identity crisis scene , as well as a gambling one involving Raymond Wong ( given top billing here although he appears only from the halfway mark ) , Lee Heung-Kam and Sandra's real life dad Ha Chun-Chau , the latter two being her on-screen parents . I guess the filmmakers were quite unsure whether new faces could carry the franchise , so they had to rely on the tried and tested veterans , though folks like Sandra seem to be playing yet another usual character seen in many of her movies . Ronald Cheng though is a personal revelation and has quite the rubber face . Don't go expecting plenty of hearty laughter , as the set pieces do look more juvenile rather than genuinely funny , and are more misses than hitting the mark .
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514,448 | 317,399 | 1,199,506 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : The Olive Depression
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The Olive Depression , a film in 8 parts , was originally scheduled to take its bow during last year's Singapore International Film Festival . Out of the blue it got yanked from the schedule of the inaugural festival section called the Singapore Panorama , and going by the synopsis alone , many had wondered if it was the critique contained within that made the powers that be frown upon what could possibly be an attack on an entrenched institution and rite of passage to turn local boys into men . It would have been an interesting addition to the repertoire of local films , because any big-bang action movie involving our armed forces would be somewhat far off , and we only have the comedy Army Daze , based upon the popular play by Michael Chiang , to show for any cinematic effort focused on our army . Perhaps comedy is the only allowed genre involving our forces , and centered around the 3 months Basic Military Training , which is supposedly the most grueling because you're the scum at the bottom of the food chain trying to survive a change in culture . The Olive Depression takes one step back and examines a boy's life two weeks before he enlists , and for all male Singaporeans , this inevitably will bring back some memories of our own D-day . For me , D-Day was a tour of Singapore , where I had to report to a nearby community centre , before going on a bus ride to a logistics base to collect equipment , then to the Central Manpower Base for the Oath , before travelling to Commando Jetty for a lunch , 30 bucks in cash , and a one way ride on the rough seas toward Pulau Tekong for 2 solid weeks of physical training . Like the character Trevor , my failing of the Napfa test meant an earlier enlistment , and missing out on my prom . Anyway that's my story , one amongst thousands who had gone before and after me . Joshua Lim's story and direction seemed to pull back the punches , though they aren't strong enough to begin with . Like how he opened the film in a General Paper examination setting , most of his pointed arguments automatically came with counter arguments to provide balance , be it from church members , older peers who had been there and done that , best friends and parents , and in a bizarre twist of irony , the story conforms eventually to a resignation to fate and what it started out opposing , rather than to stay the course in challenging the norms that it began with , proving to a certain extent that it is futile to resist , and assimilation being the order of the day . However it does get a little tedious in trying to buy the audience into some of the arguments spelt out . Lines of dialogue felt very heavy handed when it became a preachy platform , and you have obscure moments talking about conflict and competition , how the state can effect true control by affecting the minds of its people , terribly sweeping statements that felt like weak potshots against conscription , right down to complaining about cinema ratings and comments about living in Singapore Inc . Character faces are usually gloomy , but never fail to light up when , in colloquial terms , talking cock . Perhaps this boiled down to a relatively inexperienced cast regurgitating with lack of confidence and expression , the lines from a script rather than being made to feel these are actual sayings you and I will talk about . It became somewhat of a chore to sit through a talkie-film when statements made were wafer thin and came across as a complaint in 88 minutes , although there were one or two gems with regards made to the state of the system here , where everything's just a formality because they're all spelt out to you for compliance purposes . Ooi Jy's Johnny seldom smiles , because he chose not to , covering up his innate fear of enlistment with some false bravado of being nonchalant and spiteful of practically almost anything . Not surprising of course that his crush told him to lay off her and just be friends . It's not an appealing character to associate or identify with , and somehow was quite a turn off with his pissy attitude . If that's the reaction sought to elicit from the audience , that goal got achieved . Perhaps it wanted to mirror how many perceive life here , that you're given ample opportunity and various platforms to air your piece , but ultimately you are co-opted into what has been decided and established , and the only choice left is whether you'd want to look on the brighter side of things , or dwell miserably on the negatives that you have little power to overcome on your own . Like how the mother character puts it , you can have your own opinion , but keep it to yourself . The Olive Depression anchors itself as one of the rare military-themed films of Singapore . If only the delivery had been a little more slick and refined - at times the audio was muffled - and arguments felt less like mouthpieces from atop a soapbox , but after all this is a first feature film , and it's good to know that Joshua Lim has another film in the works called The Seminarian . I guess the only way to go from here is up .
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514,469 | 317,399 | 473,444 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Curse of the Golden Flower
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Zhang Yimou is desperate . Desperate for that elusive Oscar . In his third attempt to lift that statuette , he has stuck to the martial arts genre , still deciding to go headlong since Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon's ( CTHD ) win . For his previous attempts , he has utilized CTHD star Ziyi Zhang in both Hero and House of Flying Daggers ( HFD ) , and had resorted to casting big Asian stars like Jet Li , Tony Leung , Maggie Cheung , all of whom are known actors to the West , and the likes of Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro . Here , he dug deeper , and went to snag CTHD star , and another recognizable face Chow Yun-Fat , as well as ditching Ziyi Zhang for his original muse , Gong Li , in roles fit for royalty . Well actually , they are royalty in this Shakespearean inspired tragedy . Or should I call it comedy . The family of Chow as Emperor , Gong as Empress , and royal princes played by Jay Chou , Qin Junjie and Liu Ye , are as dysfunctional as can be . They scheme , they plot , they fight , they switch loyalties , they have deep dark secrets and huge skeletons in their closets . They have complex relationship problems of the paternal , maternal , brotherly , and you can probably name every issue from incest to heterosexual sex , they're all in it . These folks know how to love , but for all the wrong reasons , and in all the wrong ways . Someone should remind Zhang Yimou that story is key . Seducing audiences with costumes that show twin peaks , peekaboo moments , and having grand sets and massive foot soldiers running around , just can't cover up the lack of a strong story , and it lapsed into convenience of wrapping it up ala HFD with nonsensical , implausible ( maybe it's possible but I doubt ) plot elements . If you thought having HFD's extremely quick transition of the seasons bad , wait till you get a load of this , and its loopholes ( like one dealing with travelling time ) stuck out like a sore thumb . If you're expecting cool martial arts swordsplay , then I'm sorry , look elsewhere . The fights are few and far between , and nothing spectacular . Other than relying heavily on CG trickery , the fights are short of exciting , save for the first showdown at the beginning of the movie . It all went downhill after that , except for one scene where a funky weapon was wielded by one character . It brought back the memories of old Shaw Brothers martial arts flick where combatants wield the most interesting weapons like clubs and rakes , but this one takes the cake ! True to the theme , it's in gold too ! Despite its convoluted plot , which credit though , makes itself clear as the movie progressed , the actors are probably sleepwalking through their roles . Chow had little to do except be nasty ( and surprisingly , little screen time ! ) , Gong had to break out in sweat from her tight tube top , Jay looked extremely lost , while Liu Ye who played the Crown Prince , was portrayed as one horny bastard . The sets , while beautiful at first , gets tiresome after a while , especially the psychedelic palace decor which really will get to your nerves . This is truly a wannabe Banquet gone stale , and one wonders how much those gold plated stuff , if they're real , could have fetched on the market to make up for lost box office revenue once word gets out that it leaves a bad aftertaste . If there's any consolation , at least it's better than Chen Kaige's The Promise , and there's a scene here which is finger lickin ' good !
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514,995 | 317,399 | 356,696 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Homerun
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Having Homerun shown on television tonight was an opportunity to compare the masterpiece of the original Children of Heaven , and the local remake done by Jack Neo . To his credit , taking on such a film and remaking for the local audience is a feat of courage , and given that the young rookie Megan Zheng had actually won a Golden Horse award for her performance , I thought it would something at least . Sad to say , the movie is really quite devoid of a soul and lacks the innocent charm of the original . If you really want to watch this , then make sure you haven't seen Children of Heaven , or you'll be disappointed . First of all , it's an adaptation , so key scenes are replicated in Homerun . While not shot-for - shot , it still has elements that are instantly recognizable , and in attempts to deviate slightly from the original , some scenes were played out in verbatim , or found a needless desire to be explained in every minute detail . Jack Neo did try to infuse some environmental changes with Homerun , and had the setting and premise in 1965 Singapore , where we still had villages , and the production values allowed a Singapore of yesteryear to be recreated . However , in trying to carve out something still unique for Homerun , he put in what he knows best - I Not Stupid . While acting talent is scarce here , putting familiar faces into the movie , and again with the school setting , draws too much similarities and can't shake off the ghost of the I Not Stupid series . What created a slight ruckus at the time , was the incorporating of the spat between Singapore and our neighbour , in not-too-subtle scenes that on one hand tried to draw some laughter , and on the other trying to add some much needed depth to a bland copy of Majid Majidi's classic . In doing so , what was essentially achieved was to divert attention from the main story , and introduced some scenes of football , petty school spats ( you just got to love hating those small sized boys with big mouths ) and the issue on water , all of which only achieved one undesired objective , and that's to extend the runtime . Homerun was anything but a homerun in the making , and could have actually cut down such unwanted scenes to tighten the pace . While Megan Zheng might have won the Golden Horse award , she's no Bahare Seddiqi . The former's expression relied on plenty of tears , and a perpetual scowl she puts on her face . While Seddiqi endears , Zheng can't do any of that . Her screen sibling Ah Kun , played by Shawn Lee , is no better than Amir Farrokh Hashemian too . Ah Kun turned out to be lacking the street smarts , and was quite dependent on his friends to pull him out of his predicaments . So if you're looking at Homerun on the basis of the leads alone , they can't hold a candle to the original casted siblings . Honestly , Homerun is a decent production , but when compared to the original , it pales by plenty of miles . Understandably Jack is no Majid , but one thing that really irked me , is how Jack consistently shovels sympathy down your throat by replaying scene after scene of reminders of how pitiful the children are , now that they have to share a shoe , and reminders of how the shoe's disintegrating , and included a scene involving broken glass bottles , which is ridiculous and only there to milk some more sympathy points ( which backfired of course ) . Come on , we're not stupid , and too much of something done in such an obvious manner , will only cause the rolling of eyes . Children of Heaven , this is definitely not . Stick to the original , and nothing less .
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515,005 | 317,399 | 430,357 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Miami Vice
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Again we got the short end of the stick , having the movie released under NC-16 with snips , when an M-18 rating would have left the movie intact . And what was cut to satisfy the lower rating , were the sex scenes , as if to say we're all OK with the violence , but too prissy to make love . Written and directed by Michael Mann , who served as one of the executive producers of the original 80s television series starring Don Johnson as Sonny Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Rico Tubbs , this is one of the rare recent Hollywood remakes that had someone from the series helm the project . However , the movie version is a mixed bag , and it's not hard to understand why . Mann has built a reputation for solid , intense movies like Heat , The Insider and Collateral , and is deftly able to balance quiet moments with loud action . Miami Vice turned out to be flitting from one end of the spectrum to the other , with the quiet moments being absolutely horrendous , only to be saved by the roar of noisy toys , ranging from the Ferrari F430 Spider on land , the Adam Aircraft A500 in the air ( flown only by Foxx cos he got experience from Stealth ) , and the Donzi speedboats on water , peppered with the authentic symphony of various weapons like the Heckler & Koch G36C and the Benelli M4 Super 90 12-gauge semiautomatic shotgun ( this one is a beauty I tell you ) . While I like to think of it as a sophisticated cops and robbers movie , at times its execution is less than slick , and the storyline just pretty ordinary . It didn't help with its plot loopholes , or credibility issues with its police operations looking very much like what you can find in many Hong Kong movies of the same genre - the calvary only arrives after the heroes have taken out the baddies . The finale was climatic , but it suffered from the usual calvary problem , much akin to the monologues of villains when they have the heroes at their gunsights . What irked me more was perhaps key team members taking five , and unaccounted for during gun battles . It just didn't make much sense . In fact , the entire story arguably didn't make much sense , especially with the villains being so well informed and having access to intel , nor having the story compelling enough to engage the audience the full 135 minutes . Having trust issues is a given for any crime lord , but it probably means one thing - go do the job yourselves and build their own distribution channels . The cat and mouse here really went around and around , and capitalizing on an Asian-Cuban in Isabella ( Gong Li ) having a thing for white meat , is already a dangerous strategic play . The romance bit between Isabella and Sonny Crockett ( Colin Farrell ) is totally unbelievable ( yeah right , cos they making moves on each other , y'all ) , and really slowed down the entire movie . Speaking in bad English just made matters worse for Gong Li ( you can't fault her for effort ) too , and having them exhibiting their touchy-feely luurve in the den of the lion , is stupid . Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx ( as partner Rico Tubbs ) lacked the chemistry two undercover buddy partners should possess . Most times they seem like two individuals outdoing each other , though there are moments where one gives up the limelight to the other . The trust between their characters is rarely shown , and amongst themselves , they seem to be challenging each other to outgrowl one liners in gruff tones while oozing machismo behind shades . They got attitude , but they got no soul . Despite being primarily a two-man team , they do have a backup squad straight out of Mission : Impossible , who steals some thunder during times of action . What worked with excellence , is the cool gritty cinematography from the HD cameras , giving this Miami Vice the look of danger and urgency from its jerky motions . Its action is no frills , most of the time being over before you get to see much , and everyone's plain trigger happy , which works - show no mercy , one shot one kill , go for the head style . Gun battles are few and far between , but nonetheless vividly realistic and the complete opposite to the poetic styles of John Woo ( fast vs slow motion , matter-of-fact vs deliberate style ) . Like many scenes in the movie where the weather always threatened to rain with its incessant thunder and lightning over the horizon , the movie had a roaring potential in delivering what the television series could not in terms of spectacle and the ability to punctuate the series ' spirit . However , it turned out only to be a slight drizzle , and ended up just Miami without much Vice . P . S . for our print at Grand Cathay , what's up with telling us that the print is copyrighted and certified for exhibition ? Is it a UK thing ? And no , we can't be bothered with taping the movie from hand-held cameras .
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514,916 | 317,399 | 1,156,444 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Fatal Move
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Written and directed by Dennis Law , Fatal Move was originally conceived as the prequel / sequel to 2005's SPL , which had Donnie Yen and Simon Yam pit their skills on the side of the law against triad members played by Sammo Hung and Wu Jing . SPL had an interesting concept to begin with , but I guess with the ending as it was ( a cop out in my opinion ) , a successful sequel with an interlocking storyline with the surviving characters would prove challenging . A prequel on the other hand might not be as engaging , as if we were to see the rise of Sammo's character to triad boss status , it would ring too much a bell with Infernal Affairs 2 . So Fatal Move offers a completely new storyline , albeit with most of the SPL main cast coming back for another go . Donnie Yen is absent ( I'll see him in action later with The Empress and The Warriors ) , and Simon Yam crosses over the fence to star as the brother of Sammo's triad boss character Lin Ho Lung . However , Yam's Lin Ho Tung seems to be having a walk in the park ( and in fact he really did ! ) , as is Lin Ho Lung , because those itching to see some serious butt-kicking action by Sammo Hung , will have to wait until the last 10 minutes of the movie . There are plenty of Milkyway regulars here , with Lam Suet , Cheung Siu-Fai and Maggie Siu on hand to lend their heavyweight support to appeal to Westerners here who are familiar with their works , and Danny Lee returns after a long hiatus to play , what else , a cop yet again . The storyline is nothing to wow over , and most times seemed to be running on a railway track , completely fixed and one-way , chugging along almost endlessly , without a destination in sight . Character motivations were unclear , and Tien Niu as Lung's wife Soso really let it all rip in a melodramatic monologue that contains a lot more story in her words than all the dialogue put together in the movie . It's about the self-destruction of a triad gang from internal strife from the greed of man , but its central theme was touched upon in a rather haphazard , messy manner that you'd wonder if the sub-plots were just bookends for the action sequences . However , despite its title , Fatal Move is severely lacking in compelling action scenes . You have the tired car chases , and it seems that there was little effort in trying to milk what Wu Jing and Sammo Hung could do . They're martial arts exponents , but get to handle guns most of the time , and this does not exploit the skills they are trained with , which you can probably employ anyone to take over their place . Most of the fighting sequences were courtesy of Wu Jing , who's especially mean with his lopsided blue-dyed hairdo and an extremely sharp sword , but given no competent exponent character-wise to spar with him , it all boiled down to a one-sided affair . Seriously I'm a fan of his and I think it's about high time he takes over the starring role mantle for Chinese action movie stars , instead of getting bogged down playing side show villains . What gets compensated for the uninspiring action sequences , was blood and gore done in CGI . I'm placing my bets that Herman Yau , as director of photography here , would have added some of his own pointers in this aspect , and the camera does linger on in some of the more violent and gory aspects , such as pumping continuous lead into a body , and various forms of decapitations involving limbs and fingers , right down to a castration . The much touted fight between Sammo Hung and Wu Jing was the main draw for me I have to admit , but if you were to put SPL and this side by side , Wu Jing vs Donnie Yen had a lot more intensity and slick moves compared to Wu Jing vs Sammo Hung . But alas despite the M18 rating here , the movie was still subjected to multiple edits ( originally rated R21 uncut , but no thanks of course to money-making distributors ) , and most of the gory bits couldn't escape the censor's scissors . What made it unforgivable , was that the much awaited duel too became victim , and for that , with the insipid storyline and relatively generic action , I would have to recommend that this be skipped at the cinemas , and rent the DVD if you're really interested .
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515,318 | 317,399 | 263,488 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : ( DVD ) Jeepers Creepers ( 2001 )
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I've heard much hype about this horror film , and decided to take a look into it . It delivered some thrills , but nothing fantastic to rave about . Starring Justin Long and Gina Philips as siblings on a road trip home , perhaps it is the relationship between the two which is refreshing , yet tinged with a sense of familiarity . Instead of the usual boy-girl romantic relationships which are staples of horror movies , sibling rivalry gets the nod , which to an audience , is something easier to identify with . The main baddie is the unexplained - a mysterious man riding in a beat up armoured truck whom the siblings see dumping wrapped bodies in a church . Against his sister's advice , Darry decides to investigate , and hence they become the latest prey of the creature . We do not know anything more about it , only that it rises every 23 years , for 23 days to feed , to take something from his prey , and doing so by inflicting fear , and smelling . The creature makeup is interesting , like a cross between a mer-man and a vampire bat , but you don't get to see it in its full glory until the end . And the end to some , might be a disappointment , as it still left things unexplained . Maybe that's the appeal , that you're free to interpret . There should be a lot of gore in this movie , but I suspect the Code 3 edition has pared it down quite a bit . In short , this movie is one extended country road trip , with some mysterious elements and motivations added . Nothing too fancy , nothing too horrific . And yes , it did spawn a sequel . Code 3 Extras : Trailers , Cast and Crew Interviews .
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515,217 | 317,399 | 778,159 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Bewitching Attraction
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Billed as a romantic sex comedy , Bewitching Attraction is neither full of raunchy sex ( ala another movie in town now - Lie With Me ) , nor is it full of laughs . It's an acquired taste , with sporadic nudity and sex , and rests its wit in black comedy instead . Starring Moon So-Ri in the female lead role of textiles professor Eun-suk in a rural town , and Ji Jin-hee as Park Seok-gyu , a comics illustrator turned lecturer , Bewitching Attraction relies heavily on the chemistry of its leading cast to carry through a convoluted plot . Eun-suk , a lady with a limp , is extremely promiscuous , having had sex with most of the men in her faculty , possessing with her much influence on the men with her sexuality . An environmental activist , she also harbours ambitions in branching into television , hence the early sex sequence with a TV show producer - nothing much really , just full of pumping action . Enter Seok-gyu into the fray as the new lecturer , and the other folks feel threatened with the arrival of the good looker . You'd thought for a minute that the two will hit it off straightaway , but both have this cold shoulder exhibited . The rest of the story deals mainly with the slow revelation of a deep dark secret these two share way back in high school , which involves death in a plot line similar to that of Dorm's swimming pool . In some sick fashion , I kinda enjoyed ( ! ) the way it was played on screen , it looked horribly realistic . And the black comedy continues from then on , as if both characters are that forbidden alignment of the stars , that when brought together , will cause the tragic demise of those around them . I've got to give the movie credit though , that these sequences happen when you least expect it , or if you are expecting it , the delivery will still manage to surprise you for a bit . And is it just me , or does Moon So-Ri look like Michelle Chia from certain angles in the movie ? Somehow she looks really to die for at certain angles , while other angles made her look pretty ordinary . You gotta check it out to see what I mean . But it's recommended only if you cannot get tickets to other more worthy summer movies . With the barrage of Korean movies of the same genre lately ( dealing with romance ) , this could possibly be one of the weakest K-offering this season .
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514,638 | 317,399 | 758,730 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Aliens vs . Predator : Requiem
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My very first encounter with Aliens Versus Predator , was actually a coin operated arcade game some more than 10 years back . For 20c for 3-5 chances ( depending on how the owner configured the machine ) , you can choose between a 2 Predator Warriors , or 2 humans , to go up against an Alien infested land , where you score points with multiple Alien kills , and get to use some of the cool weapons ( always like those killer discs ) and combo moves to finish off opponents . Needless to say , who would want to use the human characters , when you can play Predator ? The PC game then emerged , this time sticking closer to the " Versus " format , where you can pick to play either character from a first person perspective , and have at your disposal the multitude of weapons and moves , making it truly a gaming experience , if not for my crappy PC of the time not being able to support the gameplay in full . These games actually game off the heels of the relatively successful movies , which are not works of art , but fairly decent action movies . In Predator , we have Arnold Schwarzeneggar and later Danny Glover in the sequel pitting their know how in rural and urban landscapes respectively , while in the Alien Quadrilogy , it made Sigourney Weaver arguably one of the first and most well known female action hero with her Ripley , under the masterful direction of Ridley Scott , James Cameron , David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet , who also introduced Winona Ryder to the franchise . And with the successful creation of these cult characters , they found longevity in the games mentioned , as well as various books and graphic novels , challenging other established heroes to duels , until someone thought it would be a great idea to pit these two foreign creatures against each other in a movie , already having their respective fan bases to support it . Hence the first Aliens Versus Predator movie was born some three years ago , which for a strange reason , I did and have not yet watched . The sequel begins almost immediately where the first one left off , with an Alien ship having in its hold a dead Predator , who is suddenly found to be a carrier of the Alien larvae . Naturally this dude becomes the chief baddie with developing a hybrid Alien-Predator look , but sad to say , with none of their powers combined . Everyone on board gets pawned by the hybrid and the ship crash lands on Earth , thus beginning the second round . A new Predator watches the proceedings via Cable TV at his comfy sofa at home , and decides that he should preserve the honour and purity of his species , by going to Earth and killing off the bastard incarnation and its offspring , hence the hunter and the prey are set , whichever way you look at it . So the trailers seem to suggest the human involvement this time round , but seriously , they are caricatures that need to make up the death toll . While the respective franchise movies have a very strong human element in them , this one only has humans as fuel for gore . Which brings to mind that Transformers had a strong human aspect to it , which was panned by purists who want more of the robots . Here , we get a lot of Alien and Predator action , so let's not start by clamouring for more human soul and character development . Heck , this movie doesn't even need a storyline , but requires just an excuse to have the two species share the same screen and whack the living daylights out of each other , with humans as collateral to spill red blood , rather than gooey muck , or green plasma . It's basically one Predator pulling all the tricks in its book using weapons we're already so familiar with , it's like second nature guessing what this lone wolf will utilize next . The Aliens here pose little threat really , and look more like rehashing the mood it likes in cold , dark and dank sewers , before breaking out to the city and unleashing hell on earth . And in this movie , everyone is fair game because it's not Titanic as one character puts it , so women and children enjoy no sanctity . One complaint I have though of the blood bath , is that almost all the action take place at night , which of course makes it perfectly easy for the CG folks to cut corners if necessary , and marred by the many close-up shots that make you see nothing perfectly too . As mentioned , don't go about looking for any semblance of a plot , which involves very clumsily , a mom returning from a theatre of war , some adolescent hormonal flings , an ex jailbird , and a town sheriff . Naturally they have watched either The Mist or 30 Days of Night , and with the ambiguous and strange serial killings in town , decide to hole up in a supermarket ( again ! ) to stock supplies before venturing to safety . I vote the Supermarket as Cinematic Refuge for the Year 2007 . With the usual sarcastic take on the Government ( not lying to its citizens , and the final army decision taken which looked like a cop out ) , Aliens Versus Predator : Requiem , which was supposed to be shown on Christmas day , is just another pop corn movie with two men in rubber suits ushering in 2008 . Forget the story and characters , as we want to celebrate mindlessly and herald the new year with violence . Auld Lang Syne !
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514,372 | 317,399 | 413,099 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Evan Almighty
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Surprisingly , Evan Almighty is not a comedy per se . A sequel to the Jim Carrey movie Bruce Almighty , where Steve Carrell played a television journalist Evan Baxter - the one with the rubbery face giving Jim a run for his own money , this movie is sans Jim , and Steve is thrust into the leading role , with writer Steve Oedekerk ( the one who gave us androgynous Barnyard cows ) providing Evan Baxter a fast track in his career , to that of a newly elected Congressman . What Evan Almighty is , is serious family drama . For anyone out there working hard ( read : workaholic ) , this story is a reminder on the finer , more important things in life , and that is family ties , and never to neglect your kids as they are growing up . To anyone bringing home the bacon like Evan Baxter ( and to feed that fuel guzzler of a vehicle ) , these work-life balance scenarios are sometimes more myth than can be actually achieved . Building his campaign on the promise of Changing the World , he now has to deliver those election vows , much to the dismay of his wife and kids whom he had uprooted and moved to new suburbia . And like The Willow Tree - not that this movie is as classic as that - be careful what you wish for from the Old Man upstairs , as sometimes he has a strange sense of humour , or wanting to teach you how to fish rather than grant you that fish himself . Ask and you shall receive , but you know not in what form that wish will come in . There's a poignant moment , for those who make requests from time to time , that the Almighty provides an opportunity for you to achieve something , rather than providing you with that something without you earning for it , or presenting it on a silver platter . Miracles don't come easy nor cheap these days . Morgan Freeman reprises his role as God . One of my favourite character actors , I felt he has immense presence in whatever roles he takes on , and it's no wonder he's given this manifestation of the supreme being . There was a slight tongue-in-cheek moment in the story where he referred himself as a storyteller of sorts , and those who have followed Freeman's career roles ( I've only done so for the last 25 years or so ) , would know that's a reference to his days as the Easy Reader on the Electric Company . Thanks to 40 Year Old Virgin , we do know Steve Carrell is kind of hairy , and as Evan Baxter turns into Noah , this wealth of hair comes into great use . But Steve's not Jim , and the story doesn't allow Steve to exhibit any kind of physical comedy , unless you count the repeated falling from heights funny , or his trying his darndest best to escape from animals who come calling , making him seem like a reel alternative to Eddie Murphy's Dr Doolittle . It takes while for Evan to finally resign himself to God's commandment , and that actually doomed the movie to some uninspiring scenes just going through the motions , which the trailers have more than covered with the skeptics doubting and mocking Evan as Noah . Even Steve's little crazy jig expires after a while . The supporting cast of John Goodman , Lauren Graham from the Gilmore Girls , and Wanda Sykes all seem to be playing caricatures , and amongst the three , Sykes unfortunately turned out to be the most irritating of the lot , spouting one-liners so bad , you'll cringe in your seat . But one-dimensional characters aside , Evan Almighty did boast some nicely done , especially when you see the ark in its final glory and gets put into some use , reminiscent however of a turkey of a movie in Speed 2 : Cruise Control . Evan Almighty could probably join the list of sequels that shouldn't be made , but tear away its association with its predecessor , it might work as a standalone given the strong human emotions , and its cursory statements on environmental issues should it be paid more attention to . Saving the earth , saving the animals are contemporary themes these days , and with the reminder on performing Acts of Random Kindness , there are moments when watching the movie that you'll nod your head in concurrence .
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515,460 | 317,399 | 1,372,681 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Aa Dekhen Zara
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Jumping from great heights and into a swimming pool is firmly a cliché in my books . Hollywood overuses it , and I see that influence has crossed borders as well . Need an escape when your character is cornered ? Well , leaping off a building automatically means a body of water deep enough to cushion impact down below . There's nothing more lazy than that nowadays , so thumbs down to any story that offers this quick fix , like a " Goto " statement in a program , rather than opting for a more elegant programming structure . It's a little bit surprising that Aa Dekhen Zara clocks in less than 120 minutes , with intermission . Not that all Bollywood movies are supposed to be at least 150 minutes long of course , but you can feel that director Jehangir Surti has not grasped the need to tell more in less time , and as such the characters suffer in being nothing more than cardboard caricatures . Sub plots tangent off one another that they felt half-baked , and were introduced for the sake of , rather than for a purpose and a need . Not that it was narratively bad , but the story suffered from the lack of time . And time plays a key role in this science fictioner . Neil Nitin Mukesh plays Ray Acharya , a freelance photographer with mounting debt and no assignments . His grandfather is a great scientist , and when he passed away , Ray inherits an old camera which turns out to be more than meets the eye . Of course I'm not going to reveal what it does here , which the movie does in a montage one step being behind the audience who would already have figured out by then , but suffice to say that with great power comes great responsibility , and big trouble as well , as a given . For what it's worth , it delves into the greed of man . With power comes the ability to satisfy the lust after money . You can bet your last dollar that everyone when thrusted with a new power , will try to see if it can be monetized . And if it can , then you're likely to milk it for its worth . And when it comes to money , it's typically all men for themselves , with everyone wanting a piece of the pie , stopping at nothing to try and get at it . If it's a golden goose that lays golden eggs , then there will be neighbours eyeing that fowl of yours . Villains though are extremely one dimension . Having the story shifted to Thailand in the later half of the film , there seemed to be no qualms in highlighting the corruption of the police as either informers , or greedy bastards , that seem to plague both countries . Bipasha Basu delivers more spunk than the male lead Neil Nitin Mukesh here , and it's no surprise since the veteran has more mileage in action flicks under her belt . Her role as a DJ turned aspiring singer here I felt was little more than to allow the usual song-and-dance routine to come up . While that set in a club was natural , there was one awfully artificial routine in Thailand where Ray and Bipasha's Simi escape into an outlaw bar , and are forced to sing and dance for the Thai men just because they're expected to . Neil and Bipasha also looked very awkward with each other , sharing really no chemistry as lovebirds , but rather clicked when they're supposed to be estranged . It has a potentially interesting premise and plot device set up , but alas the story's yet another bland action flick with little suspense as you're likely to stay one step ahead each time . If only it had a better story , but perhaps that was left to a sequel ( which Aa Dekhen Zara lead into ) which will probably not be made since this film would have tanked that prospect .
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515,295 | 317,399 | 84,881 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Space Pirate Captain Harlock : Arcadia of My Youth ( Waga Seishun No Arukyadia )
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The second movie for the festival is another anime , albeit an older one , belonging to the 80s . I vaguely remember watching the series on television as I recall the familiarity of the pirate motif spaceship . But maybe I remembered wrong , as there are plenty of such space aged cartoons in those days , like Macross , Gundam , and the likes . The introduction already put me off , with a really repetitive Phantom Harlock flying his red biplane and monotonous introduction of his name , over and over again . The plot takes some getting used to , with the bombastic names as we follow this rogue pilot / pirate in his quest to duel with Commander Zeda of the Illmidus alien race . Watching this early 80s animation brings about the obvious comparisons and observation of how advanced animated movies have become . It's obviously 2-D drawings here , and plenty of details which were not possible to be included . Things like background characters having continuity presence issues ( varying numbers amongst a crowd in a constant setting ) , and objects appearing and disappearing for the same reason that drawing by hand , takes up time , and yet draws attention to themselves . And having to draw many , well , sometimes animators do become lazy . This is most unlike today's computer generated graphics where crowd and objects are rendered with a click of the button , and possibly given some artificial intelligence along the way so that they can seem to " act " independently . Space battles have become a dime a dozen , and watching this film today , sadly , the battles are not as exciting as it should have been , with its numerous laser cannon scenes . Some scenes were repeated by showing stock clips over and over again , and brings back fond memories of how , as a kid , you tend to see past these shortcomings , and enjoy the animation for what it is . In today's standards , this will be judged more like stemming from the indifference from the animators , and the lack of pride and professionalism . The characters here are typical of Japanese anime , with weird coloured hairdos , and quite surprisingly , this movie loads up on the melodramatics and exaggerated dialogue . Compared with anime of today , there has been vast improvement in story pacing , setting , and character design . While there were families and kids watching Final Fantasy VII : Advent Children , and this one , it wasn't unexpected that this anime too had its fair share of walk outs , probably because of the hard-to-grasp storyline for toddlers , or the insane need to read subtitles and then explaining to the kids what some of the imaginary words meant . P . S . somehow the screening was marred by the speakers set to maximum volume . The dialogue and musical fanfare just got drilled through your ears into your head and probably gave everyone a splitting headache watching it . The first boo-boo for the festival , and I really hope it's the last .
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515,083 | 317,399 | 1,082,868 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Quarantine
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Call it a case of deliberately engineered deja-vu , that I consciously decided to sit through this American remake of the recently screened Spanish horror film REC . Well of course the purpose is to discover if what's essentially the same story and technique employed , could get screwed up in a remake , given that Hollywood more often than not , lets down the original brilliance which they think they can replicate easily to translate to box office dollars . So what's the verdict ? If you've already watched REC , then this one just simply pales in comparison , because of the need to be verbatim , and somehow the filmmakers here found it necessary to tell you every now and then , that there's actually someone behind the camera . Scott the cameraman ( Steve Harris ) appears quite often in front of the camera , well , and actually does so from the onset . Also , to up the body count quotient , new characters were included ( although supporting ones ) , and unlike the original which had an opening scene dedicated to the fire station filled with more meat , here it drones on and on at how the assigned firemen are getting the hots for reporter Angela Vidal ( Jennifer Carpenter ) . The storyline's almost the same , save for a few more extra scenes included to jazz up the gore department , and to incorporate some additional action elements . Otherwise , there's plenty of overacting here by everyone , so much so that instead of rooting for the characters to get out of their predicament , you're more likely to find yourself wishing that they meet their demise soon enough . Such is the original essence lost , and with that , what primarily works in REC . Between the two Angela Vidals , I'd confess that Jennifer Carpenter can't hold a candle to Manuela Velasco . The latter's the sweet damsel you'll risk life and limb to save , whereas the former , well , you'd just wish that she shuts the hell up and stop barking orders . I guess the direction of John Erick Dowdle will have take responsibility for that not-too-subtle difference between the Vidals . And through this film I'd learnt to appreciate how the shaky-cam was used to great effect in REC , and how easy it is to lapse into pitfalls as in Quarantine . Same storyline and plot development , same technique , relatively the same type of characters , but totally different outcomes in terms of how it engages the audience , because there were crucial moments where it failed to understand the need for restraint . Sure you can't expect rocket science to be coming out of this film , but unfortunately it joins the pile of " remakes that don't make it " . Word is REC2 is currently in production , so I'll be looking forward to that , and hoping that there won't be a Quarantine 2 to embarrass itself .
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515,043 | 317,399 | 1,127,884 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus : Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour 3
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Alright , I have to confess that I have no clue as to who Hannah Montana is , except that she is some " it " girl with some links to Disney , and was spoofed in Superhero Movie . She's a character played by Miley Cyus , daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus , who has to don a long and silky blonde wig to play her alter ego , and perhaps the only time I've seen Miley perform , was lending her non singing voice in Bolt . So I was precisely the proverbial fish out of water who knew zilch about the influence of Miley's reach , and know nothing too about the songs in both Montana and Cyrus ' discography . But of course that didn't persuade me otherwise not to go for this concert movie to find out a lot more in under 90 minutes , and being a 3D movie provided extra reason to do so as well . Being what would be my first 3D concert movie , the depth of field here worked wonders in tricking your senses that you were there at the performance , and every hand that shot up to wave about , or a pop of a head because of enthusiastic fans jumping up and down , would have you either want to reach out and slap them , or like the kids in the audience , they too were lured to mimic such typical enjoyment as if they were there , swaying , dancing , running around , doing cartwheels even ( ! ) just in front of the screen . These kids provided an additional D with their honest , devil-may-care participation . One too would expect just performance of a number after performance , and the only truly 3D-ish moments was the drummer who executed tossing his drumstick into the air , and with Miley herself throwing one right toward the camera , which made you cringe . Other than that , there's nothing unusual , and the documentary aspect of preparing for her concert turned out to be rather plain as well , beginning with designing the stage and the moves on a mock location , before wrapping everything after a full dress rehearsal for the actual performing location . Expect a number of talking heads from parents to co-performers peppering this concert movie , though there's absolutely nothing scandalous being said , more like plenty of pats on the back . Of the " two " performers here , personally I preferred Miley Cyrus ' turn rather than Hannah Montana , which I felt was a little bit fake to begin with , and of the songs performed , I had preferred Cyrus ' selection over Montana's . Then again , what would I know , since they're essentially the same person , and the age group this is targeted at , would have more discerning opinions . I'm just there to soak up the atmosphere , really . Give us U23D !
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514,561 | 317,399 | 800,240 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Deception
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The big joke making its rounds here about this movie was in its promotional poster for this part of the world . Perhaps to the West , Maggie Q would be just the chick from MI : 3 and didn't warrant top billing , or a photograph in its poster . Here , we have a badly pasted " extra " face of hers plastered on the poster , supposedly banking on her popularity with Asians . Only that as it turned out , she only has 5 minutes worth of screen time , appearing in black lacy lingerie , and doing nothing . If that's the case , then Natasha Hendrige should also be included in the poster , since she's famous for showing off her body in the Species movies , and continues to do so here to remind everyone she hasn't really lost it yet . While Hancock has been proved not guilty of putting everything in the trailer that you can write a review out of it , the same cannot be said of Deception , no matter how its title sounded like in trying to throw you off track . It is exactly as it is played out in the 2 odd minutes of it , so if you were to want and try to enjoy this , do not watch any of its trailer nor its stills . It really ruined it outright , stripping away all surprises in store . And while Hancock kept important stuff under wraps to bring about heightened pleasure when all get revealed , Deception's " surprise " was like a limp premature ejaculation which didn't make much sense , and insults the audience . But that's not to say that it was bad all the way . The premise had potential , and if you're going into it blind , then there are enough to intrigue you , especially when it comes to the turn . Ewan McGregor slicks back his hair and puts on glasses to give himself the stereotypical bookish accountant look , in a firm to audit their books . As with all audits , keeping lonely late night vigils is a norm as everyone in the firm you're auditing automatically shun you , for fear of getting questioned . His Jonathan McQuarry cuts a pitiable figure that most of us in the corporate world will probably understand . In comes a highly sociable , humorous , and charismatic legal counsel of the firm , Wyatt Bose ( played by Hugh Jackman , who also serves as producer ) , and the two hit it off over a late night filled with jokes and the sharing of pot in a conference room , before getting so chummy with each other , that going to strip clubs to chill out seemed perfectly OK . In a careless accident , they switch cell phones , and before you know it , Jonathan gets all excited over the prospect of milking Wyatt's exclusive high society sex club membership , where members call each other up anonymously through the service , and asks a seemingly innocent question " Are you free tonight ? " . Sure there are rules to Sex Club , such as no names , no details , no casual chit-chats , just the caller booking a room at the hotel , and the callee turning up as arranged to get their respective rocks off . I'm sure by now plenty of ah-peks would be interested to watch the movie already , but its M18 rating ensured that everything put on screen isn't hardcore stuff . I won't be surprised too if something of this nature already exists , serving a rich clientèle who spend 90 % of their waking hours in the office , leaving no time for anything else . Think of it as a matchmaking service that goes into that bit of extra . Complicating matters of course is when Jonathan falls genuinely in love with one of the members called S ( Michelle Williams ) , whom he met outside of the club at a train station . Being totally smitten with her , he refuses to do the deed , and breaks almost all the rules . Then begin the cat and mouse mind games , which of course would have worked , but the last act just became convenience after convenience , that made it eventually a very lazy piece of storytelling . Deception tried , but didn't try hard enough . It had great foreplay , adequate skills , but no stamina to last the distance . Strictly for fans of McGregor and Jackman only , and of course those who still want to check Maggie Q out in lingerie , or to admire that Hendsridge still has it in her .
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514,910 | 317,399 | 482,599 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Shutter
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Someone remind me what's the point of a remake again ? A dearth of ideas ? Thinking that one can do the job better ? Don't laugh but one of the better Asian horror I've seen ( probably amongst the first few too in recent years ) was the Thai movie Shutter , which played on the plot device of spirit photography , those strange streaks of blurs that cover weird angles in a photograph , and with a vivid imagination , you can even make out faces of people you know , or know not . There are remakes which challenge on the technical fronts - having to recreate scenes shot by shot , or those helmed by master directors in the hopes of injecting some depth into characterization and story . Some filmmakers even choose to remake their own films with a different cast ( Funny Games anyone ? ) , and the list goes on . But one thing's for sure , I seriously hope that the number of Asian horror remakes start to dwindle , given that the westernized versions pale in comparison to their Asian originals , and Shutter happens to be one of them . OK , so perhaps half the fun was eliminated when you know just about every plot twist and turn , character motivation , and probably even what dialogue will come out of the actor's mouths ( so I jest ) . But in all earnestness , I reckon that this remake will appeal more to those who have not seen the original . It's easy to be thoroughly bored because you know just what's about to come , and can eliminate red herrings , as well as spot the now-so-obviously subtle hints that the characters try to hide unsuccessfully . Also , you can bet your last dollar that Hollywood will again go over the top in trying to explain everything verbatim , as well as attempting to up the ante with the finale , but in doing so , tried too hard . I do not deny that it was much needed tension too little too late toward the end , but really , it added nothing to the plot besides succeeding in making you squirm . Technically this remade version boasts nicer production values , but lacked the edginess that the original had to offer , well , because the directing duo of Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom were rookies then , and lacked certain horrific charm and soul ( pardon the pun ) . In fact , there was one critical scene which the Thai version had which boasted some ingenuity in a tracking shot , but one which the remake had chickened out to do , opting instead for cheap CG and unnecessary cut-shots . So the remade had blinked first , and didn't offer any really frightening moments to genuinely scare . Somehow I thought it was rather subtly pre-occupied with sex , given that you have a great looking cast with Joshua Jackson as Benjamin Shaw the photographer , and his newly wedded wife Jane Shaw , played by Rachael Taylor . For some reason , Japan gets automatically associated with Asian horror , and that's where this remake was set in , maybe because the director - Masayuki Ochiai - is Japanese too . But the final straw which I found really disturbing , was the lack of acknowledgement that this is a remake . There's nothing in the opening credits to inform the audience that it is one ( the original Thai directors given only producers credits ) , and probably tried to pass off as an original story . Recommended of course to those who have not seen the original ( even then I'd suggest you only watch the Thai version ) . Those who have , are advised to steer clear .
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514,699 | 317,399 | 1,016,205 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : The Mourning Forest
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Winning the Grand Prix of the Cannes Film Festival last year , I actually found it a tad difficult to appreciate this piece by Naomi Kawase , as compared to Shara . I am beginning to suspect that I have a profound disengagement with movies that deal with grief and loss , especially when it takes on a very detached approach in some ways with the characters constantly unable to deal with those emotions for the most parts . The movie opened true to Kawase's penchant for capturing moving air . Here , we see lush greenery on tree tops dancing to the motion of wind , and vast open fields where blades of grass sway back and forth when caressed by the breeze . It's like watching a National Geographic episode of forests and greenery before the opening credits kicked in to start the film proper . I even suspected that M Night Shyamalan could have paid homage in his The Happening , which also had plenty of such shots put into it . The story tells of the relationship that formed between Shigeki ( Shigeki Uda ) and Machiko ( Machiko Ono ) , the former an old man in an elderly home who has been aloof after the lost of his wife some 33 years ago . 33 years is an extremely long time , and to miss someone for that long , well , you know how strong his emotions are to his wife . On the other hand , Machiko is a staff at the same elderly home , but she too is grieving internally for the loss of her son , and her husband squarely puts the responsibility and blame on her petite shoulders . While initially starting off on the wrong foot with fiery misunderstanding , they soon hit it off in a game of tag in the great outdoors , where the camera pulls back to reveal again the large open spaces , and the two protagonists finding and connecting with each other , two tiny creatures in the space that Nature offered , only to act as a precursor of a more adventurous outing that would come soon after , in an excursion that took a turn for the unexpected when their car ran into a ditch . In what seemed to be a wandering around aimlessly on foot deep inside nature herself , both Shigeki and Machiko had to depend on each other to keep to their wildlife tour , with the former having the objective of wanting to look for his late wife's grave , like a pilgrimage in itself . The observations from far earlier gives way to a more intimate look at the two , and Shigeki turned into some kind of enigma , clutching his all important haversack , as they go from set piece to set piece , some quaintly quiet , while others I seem to make no headway from sudden outbursts which persisted as being more whiny than anything else . Might be a masterpiece for some to appreciate , especially with its beautiful cinematography , but everything else was certainly lost on me probably due to my lack of extreme patience , and I grief in not being able to be moved by this movie .
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515,063 | 317,399 | 66,601 | 5 |
A Nutshell Review : Zabriskie Point
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I've got to admit I continue to be perplexed at the films of Michelangelo Antonioni , having the counter now reach 2 . Perhaps it's due to my limited knowledge of the vast issues during the 1960s counter-culture era , and probably count The Graduate as one of the movies set during the time that stuck vividly on my Teflon coated memory . Between Blow Up and Zabriskie Point , I thought I saw a style continue in having scenes come up in a rather haphazard manner without any seeming logic to connect one to the other . We're presented with something , and then we're left to our own devices to figure out and fill in the blanks . Just like how Daria ( Daria Halprin ) was introduced as a stand-in secretary wanting to access the rooftop of Sunny Dunes Development Company to retrieve a book left behind , before having to ask the approval of a manager . So , was there really a book , and did that chance meeting progress into anything more substantial ? I can only guess . Zabriskie Point began with a closed door debate on revolution , where geeky students were championing their various individual thoughts on what it means to be a revolutionary , some fighting with ideals , while others suggesting violence . It's a somewhat long scene where the camera adopts jarring motions as if you're caught right in the middle of the verbal crossfire , peering over heads and shoulders to look at ( and sometimes fail to see ) whoever's talking . The other protagonist , Mark ( Mark Frechette ) gets introduced toward the end of the discussion where he disagrees with the majority , and walks out . Throughout the first half of the movie we follow Mark as he evades the authorities , presented here as very heavy-handed , and daft too , and we see this very carefree rebel almost synonymously generalized with the impetuous youth of the time . Little is known of him at this stage besides watching him getting entangled in a protest riot ( which was quite documentary like ) that went awry . We assume that he is quite well to do since he obviously have taken lessons to fly a plane , and fly one expertly at low altitudes too . And then the ridiculous and the boring happened , which was an elaborate courtship ritual over land and air , and it's not since Tom Cruise tried to woo Thandie Newton in John Woo's MI : 2 using the crashing , twirling sports car technique that this goes into my books as quite laughable . I would have imagined that the story would pick up at this point where the two youths meet , but of course I was wrong . I am now starting to believe that if it's something that I would have come to expect , then an Antonioni film this would not be . One had been trying to look for direction to the next stage of her character , while the other was running away and wanted to be left alone in peace . Put them together and I wanted to see some sparks fly as they talk , flirt and get intimate . They do , but not without having the entire scene become far more surreal , with plenty of other bodies joining in a frolicking good time at the titular location . And from that point on , I felt the story went downhill , trying to find an avenue to make a last ditch attempt to salvage something out of nothing so far . Sure I can see the obvious references to the anti-war statements , or statements that are anti-establishment , but beyond that , try as hard as I can given my limited ability , I just can't figure out what else would have been coded in between the lines . Just when I thought there would be a story , the last act dragged out itself and no longer became engaging , save for what some would call the mother of all repeated explosions , making a blatant point across that consumerism , corporations , mass media ( and the list goes on ) can all go to hell . Sorry , but Fight Club deals with that theme in far more interesting ways than this one did . There are still redeeming qualities though , and that's the cinematic images that the movie contains , with plenty of generous shots of vast plains , as well as a view from the top looking down at relatively flat city skylines . And sadly , having read about one of the final shots which never seen the light of day , I thought it would've complemented perfectly the gaudy colours of a hastily and heavily graffiti-ed plane with striking pictures of the male appendage and 2 boobs on its wings , together with echoes of anti-war statements and of bombs . Needless to say I did not really enjoy Zabriskie Point , but curiously enough , there were some shades of local films Lucky 7 and Dreams From the Third World in it with its scenes in the flats and in what I thought looked like a cave with dripping water . I guess to continue to try and enjoy more of Antonioni's works and to prep myself , nothing can come sooner than a documentary about the man himself , to be screened tomorrow morning as part of the Retrospect .
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515,485 | 317,399 | 63,105 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Golden Swallow
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Touted as the sequel to King Hu's Come Drink With Me starring Cheng Pei Pei , this movie is anything but . Except for the return of Pei Pei's Golden Swallow role , Chang Cheh's movie doesn't share any similarities with King Hu's original , clearly stamping his own take on his movie utilizing the lead character from Come Drink With Me , and relegating her to supporting role status . As a fan of the original , this is downright disappointing , as I had expected to see Pei Pei kick some serious rear again as the fabled swordswoman . Instead , what we get is a story involving a love triangle of sorts , with costars Lo Lieh as Golden Whip Han Tao , a man who saved Golden Swallow from bandits and nursed her back to health , and Wang Yu as a beau from long time ago , who now calls himself The Silver Roc . The Drunken Cat , with whom Golden Swallow rode into the sunset with , is clearly forgotten and totally written out . In actuality , this movie can be renamed The Silver Roc . The story centers on this figure , an orphan bearing a scar on the forehead similar to Harry Potter's , and is one of the fellow disciples to Golden Swallow's teachers . Disappearing one night to seek revenge on his family's murderers , he resurfaces to look for Golden Swallow , and does so by killing villains in her name , in an attempt to lure her out of seclusion . Being the self-proclaimed number one swordsman with an attitude helps too , and not before long , our trio will meet , with Golden Swallow being indecisive about both alpha males , that they have to duke it out to settle scores . In Chang Cheh's signature ketchup blood style , this movie doesn't lack in the gore department , with really bloody scenarios , dismembered bodies , slashes to face and an inspiration to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom , albeit done in a more straightforward manner . But some of the kung fu moves seemed recycled from One Armed Swordsman , especially Wang Yu's Silver Roc , who holds his sword akimbo similar to his One Armed days . And his much revered " Coup De Grace " killer move was never seen until the finale , and that too was too weakly executed and laughable . I wondered too about numerous scenes where characters liked to leap out of windows , clearly to a mat at the bottom , out of the screen . But one thing's a bonus , and that's having plenty of outdoor shots versus indoor studio ones , which boosts production values a little . Still , it's a decent martial arts flick , but one which could have been miles better . With Wang Yu hogging too much of the limelight with his character in this movie , it suffers by neglecting the other leading characters by Lo Lieh , and especially Cheng Pei Pei , because the movie , after all , is named after her Golden Swallow , or in the original English title , it's the Girl with the Thunderbolt Kick ( apparently it's a misnomer , she doesn't have that skill , nor executed any recognizable kicking moves ) . If anything , watch out for a young Wu Ma as Hu Zhen , a supporting character and friend of Golden Swallow and Han Tao . Nothing memorable , but just a getting a kick out of recognizing a star ( to me at least ) in his earlier youthful looking days .
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514,533 | 317,399 | 233,469 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Collateral Damage ( 2002 )
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This was one of the films whose release schedule was affected by the terrorist attacks on September 11 2001 , because its content touched a raw nerve , having depicted terrorists detonating bombs in downtown Los Angeles , and planning another at Washington DC . Even when released finally in 2002 , the big budgeted action sequences did not succeed in making the film a decent box-office success . It was also Arnold Schwarzenegger's last few films before he ran for Governor , and in this film , he plays yet another heroic figure , a fireman called Gordy Brewer whose intrinsic responsibility is to save lives . However , his family became collateral damage in a Columbian freedom fighter's bringing of terror onto the shores of the USA , and this caused an about turn in Brewer's character into a life-taker , seeking revenge . Given that the government's hands are tied , Brewer decides to go at it alone , planning to go after The Wolf whose organization admitted responsibility to the bombings that killed his wife and child . The movie then plods along as we follow Brewer's infiltration into Columbia and to the terrorist organization's base camp . He meets up too with The Wolf's wife and kid , and somehow forms a bond with them , given his own loss . The action contains nothing much that has never been seen before , so those who are expecting thrills and spills along the lines of the fantastic Arnold vehicle True Lies will be disappointed . However , things pick up towards the last 30 minutes into the show , as the plot contains a slight twist that catches you off guard and makes you go " now why didn't I think of that " . It kinda plays on the assumptions of man , and why couldn't it be possible I'd say . The violence begets violence message in this movie is obvious from the onset , and makes you wonder about the world today with the terrorist threat always looming . Some scenes like the planned attack on the train station might also ring too close for comfort , given that real train attacks in Madrid and London did happen since the movie's release . Nonetheless , this movie is still watchable , and perhaps it is inevitable that you wonder why Arnie's star seemed to fade out during his last few films . Perhaps it's too much of the same thing without much variation on the heroic action . Nothing much can be said of Arnie's acting , but it's pretty amazing the amount of mayhem a lone fireman can inflict ! Code 1 DVD Extras : Audio commentary by director Andrew Davis , additional deleted scenes , and two documentaries : A Behind the Scenes and one titled " The Hero In A New Era " containing mostly interviews with Arnie and Andrew Davis .
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514,587 | 317,399 | 889,588 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Escape from Huang Shi
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So the posters have Chow Yun Fat's mug splattered in the center and given top billing . However , this is actually Jonathan Rhys Meyers ' vehicle as he plays the central character of George Hogg , an Associated Press reporter who smuggles himself into Nanjing pre-WWII and witnessed the atrocities of the invading Japanese army . Inspired by a true story , this is about the life of Hogg as he takes it upon himself to do whatever he can to save a group of orphans he gets set up and acquainted with . What of Chow ? His Chen Hansheng , a communist fighting against the Japanese , gets relegated to supporting appearances , to give us some brief history lessons on the uneasy alliance between the communists and Chiang Kai-shek's Nationalists , as they only link up with each other to fight a common enemy when it conveniences both parties . You would come to think that , from the trailers , this is gonna be quite an action packed movie with Chow leading his group of merry men to do battle against the Japanese , but the movie employs a " fight another day " stance , and the central plot has nothing to do with that too . And pairing up in the same movie after their Crouching Tiger , Hidden Dragon stint is Michelle Yeoh , only this time , they don't get to share any scene together , and worse , Yeoh's role as a rich merchant Mrs Wang gets severely diminished . No doubt it is clear that the prospects of uniting Chow and Yeoh together would bring in curious crowds who can't wait to savour the opportune moment , but alas they happen to be just the side dishes . Jonathan Rhys Meyers , joined by Radha Mitchell , fresh from her battle with a beastly crocodile , takes on leading man status , as the reporter who finds himself thrusts into Huang Shi , and into the enclave of 60 male orphans , living in filth , and without hope . Strongly encouraged to stay behind and take care of them , he becomes the reluctant and unwilling teacher , but slowly wins over the hearts and trust of the children , and hence begins a fairy tale like environment that seemingly is remotely away from the war in China , except for the enemy planes flying overhead serving as a reminder . However , it's soon that they find themselves between a rock and a hard place , with the Japanese inching closer , and the Nationalists wanting to possess their land for their use , as well as to conscript those boys into warfare . Not wanting that to happen , Hogg packs them all up , and so begins the journey proper as per what the title says . The events that unfold are just plain sailing without any tension involved , nor any excitement built up . It just flat-lines its way through beautiful environments of mountains and plains , coupled with treacherous snows and sandstorms , but otherwise , it seemed that their 1000km trek looked quite peanuts . What's more amusing here though is how the Chinese cast look so much more comfortable speaking English - I thought Chow has improved by leaps and bounds , but Meyers and Mitchell really sounded very off in their Mandarin diction , that you'll find it quite ridiculous that the parties they speak to , can understand them totally . Brownie points have to be given for their courage to speak , and give the language a go , though again it could be playing to character as one cannot master the language in such a short period of time . At the end of the day , this played out more like a simple account of an event that had happened ( of course again with artistic license taken ) , and the documentary-styled interview segments at the end while the end credits play , affirmed what happened and gave us some insights into Hogg's character , much more that what the film had portrayed . While the alternate title might seem to involve the Children quite a bit , only a few were given names and faces , and even fewer given personalities . Similar to movies like Schindler's List and Hotel Rwanda where the ability of one man helped save many , but this one lacked that crucial emotional punch .
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515,297 | 317,399 | 422,861 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : The OH in Ohio
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The OH here refers to the female orgasm , and while some like to tout this as the female version of last year's hit comedy The 40-Year Old Virgin , I would beg to differ . Written and directed by Billy Kent , the only probably reason for the link between the two films is that both starred Paul Rudd , but of course , playing different characters . Appealing to obviously different groups , The Oh in Ohio , while it has its rib tickling moments , is nowhere as hilariously insane as The 40 Year Old Virgin . Parker Posey is no Steve Carrell , even though their characters have their lack of sex being something in common . Posey's character Priscilla Chase is one of the most gorgeous woman of her time , but unfortunately for her as she finds out , she had never had an orgasm , even though her husband , Jack ( Paul Rudd ) has one of the more impressive guns around town , as ascertained by his student Kristen ( Mischa Barton , from the OC ) . While Virgin had its focus trained on that one man who hasn't got laid , OH in Ohio sets its sights on how the Chase husband and wife settle their differences . To her , her frigidity was identified as a cause for her lack of the big-O , but for him , it's a different story altogether as it's a direct impact on his big fat male ego in being unable to satisfy his wife . From then on , the story tangents off in two separate directions , with Priscilla and her quest to cum , and Jack on his journey of self-assurance . Part of the fun here belonged to the expanded cast , like Heather Graham has the lesbian sex shop owner , and Liza Minnelli as a sex guru , in what could probably be one of the most hilarious scenes in the movie . Danny DeVito , I thought he uttered one line from Batman Returns , was probably the most underdeveloped character as Wayne the Pool Guy , though he played an important role as adviser and confidante . However , the rest are pretty much throw away characters . Mischa Barton's role too was nothing more than a cock-tease . To bring on more laughs , there were senseless scenes on the ( ove ) reliance on devices , sexual and otherwise , though that was counter-balanced with some pretty raunchy-witty dialogue . My only gripe is that The OH In Ohio ended in an anti-climax . Just as you thought the lead characters had built up and developed , and are expecting some fireworks between them , it ended off with quite a limp , leaving you just as unsatisfied as Priscilla was prior to her transformation .
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514,767 | 317,399 | 482,051 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : One Foot Off the Ground
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I didn't really know what to make of One Foot Off the Ground . As it twists and turns in and around its dizzying myriad of characters and the lives , it's easy to get lost , and those without patience would find themselves tempted to walk out of the cinema hall . The payload only gets delivered from the midway mark , as writer-director Chen Daming takes his time to set up each subplot , before developing them richly into satisfying conclusions . The tale opens with an opera troupe performing its last act , because its director had lost their funding in an accident . As such , the troupe temporarily disbands , and we fast forward three months later , to be introduced to individual characters , their current lives and the little episodes that happen to them in order to spice the movie to feature length duration . And very early on , you start to wonder just where these stories are heading toward . You have Ma San ( Li Yixiang ) and his participation in underground cock fights , whose wife is contemplating going to France to set up a Chinese restaurant . There's Sihai ( Jin Hong ) who doctors the dogs he sells to pass them off as another pedigree , and there's Liu Bing ( Yao Lu ) who runs a photo studio and develops the hots for a young model . These are just some of the lead characters , and there are plenty more supporting ones like the old master of the opera training school who's looking for a companion , and a sleazy film scout who calls himself F4 . And for a film without any recognizable big names , it relied heavily on the delivery of the cast to engage the audience with its earnest scenes , some which are comedic , and some others heavy on the drama . But for the most parts , it was the little moments that bring out little joys while sitting through it . There aren't any large scenes or sudden great leap forward plot development , and I was quite tickled with the plot element of a money bag making its rounds and adding confusion and suspicion on the characters that happen to stumble upon it . If I could summarize this movie in a line , then it would be " nothing fancy , but it works " .
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515,395 | 317,399 | 297,284 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Mindhunters
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Mindhunters is titled after FBI's trained serial killer profilers , whose job is to get behind the mindset of such killers , and to profile them according to their perceived traits , trying to understand their motivations , and the who what why questions . We start off with a brief introduction to a group of profiler rookies and their instructor ( played by Val Kilmer ) , before joining them in a chill session where they show off their profiling techniques . Before you can say " FBI " , our group is whisked to an island as part of their routine training , where they are to put what they learnt into practice . But things go awry and real deaths occur , and soon the survivors start to realize that there is actually a real serial killer amongst them . The narrative is promising , with stars such as Val Kilmer and Christian Slater helming the show , or that's what I thought . When you bump off your stars early in the film , it serves as some kind of warning , wondering if the other lesser known leads will be able to shoulder the film to the finishing line . The premise has potential , but it degenerates into a normal Renny Harlin action movie with slasher tendencies - dismembered animal parts and creative killing scenes . At times , you thought you're watching Battle Royale , with the island setting , the characters ' suspicion on one another , the explicit gore element , the use of a public announcement system , and so on . Or I thought it was another " The Haunting " , where the audience goes into whodunit mode while character after character gets bumped off , except that the environment is different . Or the killings look strangely like a bad cousin of Saw's sadistic games . Though I must give the film some credit , as I didn't really manage to identify who the serial killer was until the very last minute . On the other hand , I felt that the movie somehow cheated by not explaining enough of the backstory , and then telling us " oh yeah , that was what happened , so that's why I'm doing what I'm doing now " . Mindhunters explores the mind behind the serial killer . Or at least attempts to . In summary , if they had stuck more to the profiling process and techniques ( with some glimpses of CSI on the big screen ) , it could probably sustain and emerge as a more intelligent thriller .
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515,196 | 317,399 | 294,870 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Rent
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Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes . Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear . Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes . How do you measure , measure a year ? In daylights , in sunsets , in midnights in cups of coffee . In inches , in miles in laughter in strife . In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes - how do you measure a year in the life ? How about love ? How about love ? How about love ? Measure in love . . . seasons of love . The musical movie reunites most of the original cast in the Broadway production , making it a pretty accurate film version in terms of having the right persons play the roles they've already become familiar with . Telling the life of a struggling group of Bohemians in the East Village of New York City , having the musical immortalized on celluloid enabled the production to reach out to commercial masses at the price of a movie ticket . Dealing primarily with the love and lives of these friends , we cover all grounds with gay , lesbian and heterosexual love , and treading upon themes like drug use and AIDS . You have Jon-Bon-Jovi look / sound-alike rocker Roger Davis ( Adam Pascal ) , with a scarred emotional drug filled ex-relationship getting it on with exotic - dancer - with - current - drug - use - problem Mimi Marquez ( Rosario Dawson ) , aspiring filmmaker Mark Cohen ( Anthony Rapp ) whose ex-girlfriend Maureen Johnson ( Idina Menzel ) left him for her butch lover lawyer Joanne Jefferson ( Tracie Thoms ) , and two gay buddies Tom Collins ( Jesse L Martin ) and Angel ( Wilson Jermaine Heredia ) who meet by chance when Tom was mugged on the streets . They sure ain't no Brady Bunch , with serious adult issues to grapple with , like urm , paying their rent on time ? However it doesn't bore with the issues , and entertains with the many ( at least 20 ) musical numbers . so much so that almost each time a cast member opens his / her mouth , they come out singing . Which for a minute , might seem a bit out of place , but then you forget you're watching a musical on film , a made for a 3-D world put flat on a 2-D screen . It compensates somewhat though by having the camera constantly move to give the illusion of space . Perhaps the themes and character lifestyle didn't appeal to me , so I didn't really dig the storyline , though I didn't really dislike it either . Some plots degenerate into the usual A-meets-B , A-loses-B , A-reconciles-with-B . Notice I didn't use boy-girl , as the same plot gets rehashed for most of the characters , which made it seem like groundhog with different characters . Live Life , Love All , sounds like a Hard Rock Cafe slogan . Sure I enjoyed the music , and the visuals which accompanied the music , but that's about it . By the time the heartwarming ending rolled in , I was too jaded by it all to care too much .
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515,451 | 317,399 | 416,236 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : The Spiderwick Chronicles
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I guess movies based on children's fantasy books are money spinners that are just too hard to be passed up . But for each Harry Potter and Bridge to Terabithia , there's Eragon and The Golden Compass . The latter two have ready literary installments , but their dismal box office result means they are unlikely to be made anytime soon . Which is probably why The Spiderwick Chronicles decided to combine multiple books into a palatable 100 minute movie that just gets to the point without unnecessary meandering . Based on the books by Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi , the story centers on three children , twins Jared and Simon Grace ( a double dose of Freddie Highmore ) , and older sister Mallory Grace ( Sarah Bolger ) , who chance upon a whole new world as introduced in a secret book written by Arthur Spiderwick ( David Strathaim ) , albeit with a warning not to read it , lest they attract the attention of an evil ogre and its minions . Of course , being children , and the rebel amongst them - Jared , learns all that he can about the world of faeries and various miscellaneous thingamajigs that we don't get introduced to much at all . So it's a battle between the good children and the evil monsters as the latter try their best to steal Arthur's field guide , in order for world domination ( as always ) ! On the whole , as a children's movie , it works to entertain the kids . There were rounds of applause each time the children go one up against the enemies , who aren't really that bright and are easily defeated by tomato sauce ( yup , it's a children's movie alright ) . Some scenes reminded me of Home Alone though , where normal household items become weapon of choice against the enemies . There are the usual pathos built in with the usual parental - children break down in relationships , such as that between Jared and mom Helen ( Mary - Louise Parker ) , and the waiting for promises fulfilled between Lucinda ( Joan Plowright ) and dad Arthur Spiderwick . I'd bet if the filmmakers can insert reminders to listen to your parents , they would . The special effects don't really set to wow , and the creature designs also don't set out to astonish . They come across as fairly routine effort in crafting realism , but somehow lacked a distinct soul . Perhaps it's the lack of focus given to individual creatures that they don't come across as unique , or very lazily and hastily slapped together since they're usually moved around in groups . Action set pieces are somewhat below par , and involves lots of running , little physical contact between combatants , and not much tension building where you would root for or cheer for the heroes . Then again , this is an adult watching the movie , not a child , who would have a different opinion . Fans of Freddie Highmore would be delighted that he does get to stretch his acting chops a bit , although it's just acting through 2 characters on different ends of the spectrum . Filled with various supporting voices like Martin Short as Thimbletack the brownie , Seth Rogen as Hogsqueal hobgoblin and Nick Nolte as evil shape-shifting ogre Mulgarath , it's pretty much a standard action adventure suitable for the entire family with little violence and no gore , though to adults , it might be a little bore .
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514,747 | 317,399 | 97,694 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Black Rain
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WWII movies are a dime a dozen , and so are many movies which touch on the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 . Japan still remains the only unfortunate victim of an actual bombing incident using atomic / nuclear weapons , and I suppose any movie that touches on this topic out of Japan , deserves a watch for the perspective it brings . Black Rain is no different . Based on the novel by Masuji Ibuse , Black Rain referred to the rain which fell just after the mushroom cloud ballooned , and because of the high radioactivity content in the atmosphere , what fell from the sky was actually contaminated , and was reportedly black in colour . But the film isn't a meteorological exercise , but rather one which is rather rich in its drama on the sufferings of both the direct and indirect victims of the A-bomb , as well as the psychological scars inflicted upon , and endured by surviving soldiers of the war . Putting its fulcrum on lead character Yasuko ( Yoshiko Tanaka ) , who was near Hiroshima enough for the black rain to fall upon her , it tells of the prejudice everyone else has of her . Faced with social discrimination which hinders her ability to get married , and worse , the need to be isolated into a small village of survivors from the A-bomb , it tells of the horrors of war of the worse kind , and that's the aftermath despise one has to suffer through to the end of one's natural life . Though the village she resides in has interesting characters who encourage one another and keep the spirits up , there is always an overhanging ominous feel to the place , as one by one the inhabitants have to face up to the inevitable . It's not always doom and gloom in the movie , as it does provide some avenue for much needed comedy to elevate the depressing mood . But the more powerful scenes were those in the beginning . While not possessing snazzy special effects to recreate the events on the tragic day , its simplicity brought the message and visuals out vividly enough . There is no big bang , but rather a lone bomb parachuting down is adequate to send down chills of the unfortunate and expected . The direct victims as portrayed here were the most realistic ( even when watched today ) of many films that I've seen , and the reminders are to the point and stark . But the flaws in this black and white movie was the degeneration of the narrative into serious melodrama which for the most parts dragged on for just too long . Clocking just over 2 hours , it actually felt a lot more , and I thought if it could have tightened up the pace a bit with the exclusion of some unnecessary scenes involving too many side characters , and should also have kept focus instead on a select few to support the main lead . Black Rain though serves its point , in being an anti-war / nuclear bomb movie , and boy does it actually inflict a test of your patience to finish watching it .
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515,385 | 317,399 | 424,863 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : The Book of Revelation
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You'd be forgiven if you thought that this movie was nothing more than the final chapter of the biblical text . Although itself based on a novel , this is a far cry from doomsday , though for the lead character , his life has been made a living hell for the sheer psychological and physical torture he goes through even after his unfortunate ordeal . And it does provoke some thought into the issues it put on screen , though it doesn't provide any answers , which I suppose in a real world equivalent , it's likely to remain under wraps too , for the shame . There are many movies out there which deal with and center around the topic of rape . But this would probably mark the first time I've watched a movie where the male lead gets set upon by a gang of three masked females , who for the protection of their identity , prefer to keep their kinky sexual exploits from perhaps each other as well . In fact , their dressing is so well designed , that they have openings for their eyes , and a flap to expose their mouths for the purpose of providing pleasure . And being clothed for the most parts , it prevents the victim from trying to identify any tell-tale signs like tattoos , birthmarks or moles . Tom Long ( no offence , but what a name , really ) plays Daniel , a renowned dance practitioner under the tutelage of Isabel ( Greta Scacchi ) . To Isable , Daniel is her star , and she fiercely guards her protégé , up until he decided to go around a corner and buy a packet of cigarettes for his fiancé , that he gets kidnapped , and the production has to rely on a stand-in . Daniel of course returns , but returns as a changed man . Meek , irritable , and with a feeling that he's lost his skills . He becomes obsessed , and we slowly learn why - he's become a victim of a gang rape by an all female trio , who in their own words , just want to see him perform a dance for them privately , failing which the punishment is . . . rape . To justify its R21 rating , we're given a full blown account for Daniel's inexplicable disappearance from the normal world he's used to , and now find himself chained to a dark basement like an animal , responding to the whims and fancies of his captors as they take turns to deal with him up his rear . And to a hunky , muscular guy , I suppose this would be a breaking down of resistance , as the power play between the captors and the captive turn psychological , and at times blurring the lines whether Daniel is actually enjoying his current situation . Wait a minute , who in the right mind would enjoy being in such a situation ? Here's where the crux of some of the issues are . Can a man be raped ( obviously if against his wishes , yes ) , and what's with the stigma of having such a stain ? Is it hard to imagine the kind of reaction for a guy to make a report and say " Excuse me Mr officer , but I've been raped for days repeatedly by three women wearing masks " ? While we can easily understand and sympathize with female victims , could we say and feel the same for a male one , especially one who potentially has the propensity to fight back ? Hard to fathom of course , which speaks volumes when the screening I'm in had its fair share of walkouts from amongst the full house audience . But in a tale of two halves , the other showcases Daniel's struggle to try and rebuild a normal life , but again , with such a traumatizing event that he experienced , it does turn some screws loose , as he begins to suspect and mistrust , just like female victims would , all women whom he encounters and who in his estimates , fit the bill of his kidnappers , for reasons none other than vengeance . I thought the second half was more engaging than its earlier portion as it boiled down to an individual struggle , and with an ending that spoke volumes for the things left unsaid . Not an easy movie to sit through given its pace and storyline , but you do get plenty of discussion topics when you emerge from the theatre .
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515,359 | 317,399 | 427,392 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : The Invasion
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It seems like Nicole Kidman's The Invasion is something like a tit-for-tat response to ex Mr Nicole Kidman's War of the Worlds . Aliens from outer space , check . Estranged spouse ( the cinematic one that is ) , check . Cute toddler kid , check . Being the only one who figures what could be going on , check . Lots of running , check . Single parent power , check . Having people clamour on your escape vehicle , check . Cop out Hollywood styled ending mocking the aliens , check . Pointless remake ? Probably not , and that's its leg up against the tripods . The Invasion is an update to the many movies based on Jack Finney's novel The Body Snatchers , and the last movie I can remember about the same was the one starring Garbrielle Anwar ( that beautiful lady who tango-ed with Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman , and together like Chris O'Donnell , has already faded from the limelight ) . At its core the story's about how alien lifeforms start to take control of human beings by being their doppelgangers , and with behaviour like a Stepford Wife , it's definitely not appreciated by those who value their freedom and the ability to choose . The movie did try to elevate itself from the run of the mill thrillers , in putting in not so sublime anti-war-anti-terror messages . In its cinematic world , the war on Iraq is over with the US troop pullout , and the Koreas get unified . That's because the aliens have taken over and taught us truly what world peace is all about . And therein lies the issue - if we're beings who strive for the greater good , why not let the aliens take over , instead of resisting and insisting on continuing our flawed existence ? A human utopia is impossible , given our human nature to suspect , fight , and kill each other . Borg-like assimilation however , we cannot accept . So Nicole Kidman's psychiatrist Carol Bennell and Daniel Craig's doctor Ben Driscoll ( who looks just very Blond here in bland Bond like moments ) seem to be the few who would take a long time being found out to be puny humans , and battle it out with the aliens in a hide and seek cat and mouse game , together with cute kid Jackson Bond as Carol's son Oliver . You cannot sleep , and you cannot show emotion , lest you be pinned down , given a taste of a tazer , turn into a cocoon and wake up a new person . The movie does have its fair share of excitable moments , contrary to what I would have believed from other opinions of the movie , and there are genuine , effective jump at your seat episodes . While Craig is bland , Nicole Kidman is reason enough to watch the movie as firstly , she illuminates the screen with her gorgeous poise , even when she's trying to be robot like , or running around with kid in tow frantically trying to save their souls from zombie-like humans , who thankfully subscribe to the George A Romero model rather than the Danny Boyle one ( though I would have loved to see more energetic aliens takeover than the docile world-peace loving ones here ) . My greatest beef with the show however , is how everything must be ended nicely , bright sunshine and all . Woefully typical , instead of my personal preference for an apocalyptic styled one . Perhaps therein lies the belief that we humans can provide the fix for our flaws , in good time to come , as Carol Bennell so confidently states early in the movie .
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514,809 | 317,399 | 792,965 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Hunting and Gathering
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It's Audrey Tautou , and ever since Amelie , I am of the opinion that Singaporeans have an affinity for the pint sized actress , and her box office draw here is fairly strong . Count me in as one of the fans who will lap up her cinematic outings , good or bad , so long as our heroine gets the opportunity to shine on screen . Hunting and Gathering is based on a novel by Anna Gavalda , and tells the story of four individuals whose lives converge in an apartment . In this movie directed by Claude Berri , I thought that it was split into 3 acts , with story arcs focused on the challenges faced by each of the characters . Tautou stars as Camille Fauque , a near anorexic surface engineer who smokes a lot , guzzles alcohol , but eats very little . Living alone in a small attic of an apartment block , she meets Philibert ( Laurent Stocker ) , a fellow neighbour who suffers from bouts of anxiety . Philibert's housemate Franck ( Guillaume Canet ) is a chef who lives hard and fast , whose only worry is the welfare of his grandmother Paulette ( Francoise Bertin ) , a senior citizen who fears being tossed aside by kin , and makes life quite difficult for her caretakers . The narrative is quite plain actually , with every conceivable development being very predictable . That means no quirky twists and turns for the sake of it , and it actually allows you to shift to lower gears to enjoy this outing . It's a story about having dreams , fulfilling them , and helping others to fulfill theirs too , through encouragement and support rendered . Having all four characters together under one roof , though brief it might be , did seem like an episode of Friends gone all French and all whacked with the age grouping , and proving correct the adage that two's a company and three's a crowd . It did try to cover a lot of ground given that there are a number of characters here , but it did so at the expense of depth . The romance entanglements between characters did seem rather superficial , bland , trivial and predictable , while Philibert's quest to stem out his stammering through stage acting unfortunately had to take the backseat , and thus having his character fade away somewhat for the last act of the movie . The most meaningful and beautiful arc here belongs to Francoise Bertin's Paulette , as her tale of fear of abandonment rings through very honestly , and somehow , you'll start to wonder when you're of old age , whether you will have companions whom you can get along with , or be forgotten and tossed to some old folks ' home to spend your twilight years in . I felt that it was superiorly poignant , without which there would be no emotional anchor for this movie . Somehow , movies that feature food and classy restaurants ( Ratatouille , Mostly Martha and No Reservations anyone ? ) of late that I've watched always have fallen into the clichéd ending . I'm unsure if it's an unwritten rule to have it done so , or if it's a formula that has proved to work every time . But in all earnestness , I thought it ended quite nicely with that happily ever after feel . In summary , definitely worth a watch for the eye candy cast , but it plays like a generic romantic / friendship tale that possesses potential that was hardly scratched .
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514,528 | 317,399 | 903,135 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : The Invincible Iron Man
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The only reason why I picked this up was because it's on cheap sale , and it doesn't hurt to see how Marvel would have envisioned their hero way before the live action feature film starring Robert Downey Jr hit the big screens , right ? The Invincible Iron Man is an origin story , but as far as origins are concerned , they are open to updates and reinterpretation . The original Stan Lee version had Tony Stark develop his suit of armor during the Vietnam War , since this character was developed in the 60s . With the movie version , it got updated to reflect some Middle East sentiments . For this animated version , since they wanted to fuse his origins to that of chief villain The Mandarin , we have it set in the Orient , where Stark Enterprises got itself a project to lift an aged old monument from the buried underground , only to unleash some prophecy which involves the second coming of The Mandarin . There are a couple of changes to how Tony got his heart injured and had to rely on an over-sized pacemaker , but this time he got help from good friend Rhodes , since he's now an employee of Tony , and has nothing to do with the Air Force . I suppose purists would already foam at the mouth by now . Nonetheless you know the drill as plot elements are kept quite consistent - they build a crude suit of armour , and break away from imprisonment . But to speed things up to meet run time requirements , it turns out that Tony Stark already has a whole array of suits back in his penthouse , and can call upon the fancy variations to do battle with the Elementals who are in the quest to recover the Mandarin's power rings to resurrect him . The action sequences do look a bit lacklustre , because the Elementals are basically one-trick ponies , and it doesn't take much effort for our hero to dispatch them one by one . Then again of course this is Tony Stark's first foray as a hero utilizing his suits for good , so he's not all that versed with battling enemies , and magical ones at that too . But in an effort to build up to the climatic finale , there are a couple of missteps . First , it's actually an antique armour that he uses - for one I would like him to have used his most powerful suit available , but no thanks to SHIELD . And if you think the finale battle would be something like the image on the back cover of the DVD sleeve , it's not ! In fact while there's an interesting twist on The Mandarin which you could see coming from a mile away , alas the battle is nothing but a big letdown . There are also a couple of recurring characters to complete the animated universe , such as Tony's dad Howard , where the plot follows that of Batman Begins involving some major boardroom struggle , as well as faithful secretary Pepper Potts , who had a lot more to do here than Gywneth Paltrow's version in the feature film . But they don't add much value to the film here . The pace moves quite hurriedly , and coupled with the disappointing lack of a proper finale , this is one animated flick that could have been much better if it provided some more exciting action sequences , since after all , an animated feature opens up the imagination to unlimited boundaries , just like how a page on a comic book does the same .
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514,795 | 317,399 | 472,071 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Death Defying Acts
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What had drawn me to watch Death Defying Acts , is that it's a story with Harry Houdini , arguably the greatest illusionist and escape artist of our time . A few days ago I was browsing through a book which revealed the secrets behind his brand of death defying acts , and really he's a man of science , engineering and most of all , a performer to bring to life the act of fooling an audience into believing his stunts . Sure there's an element of danger , but with proper risk assessment and safeguards , they strip away all the mystique that serves to confound . But contrary to the title , there's nothing really death defying about the movie , as it treaded on safe ground and doesn't dwell any more on the illusions that it has to . In fact , you can count the number of stunts which involve Harry Houdini , and the filmmakers left that for another biographical movie that someone else should pick up on . What we have instead are glimpses into the man's personal life , and Guy Pearce provided quite an intense and charismatic Houdini with personal demons of his own to do battle with , though the story seemed to rein him in from dwelling too much on that aspect , and preferred to have a more romantic tale weaved in . The romanticism of the movie is not with his illusions , but with a single parent who's a psychic of sorts , relying on her street smarts to get her own act going . Catherine Zeta-Jones plays Mary McGarvie , who has to rely on her wits to build credibility for her stage character . Together with daughter and sidekick Benji ( played by Saoirse Ronan of Atonement fame ) , the mother and daughter team tries hard to make a living from their acts , but realize that they're by no means close to Houdini's widespread fame and fortune . However , Houdini himself throws a gauntlet to all psychics far and wide , that whosoever can accurately reveal what his late mother had last said to him , will inherit US$10 , 000 . His purpose it seems is to reveal that the majority of these soothsayers are tricksters in disguise , until of course he meets the luminous Mary , and affairs of the heart throws him off course . Naturally , Mary and Benji find themselves up against the best in the business , but when your back is against the wall , there's nothing much to lose it seems . As mentioned earlier , this movie's more of a character study of the master magician , and explores things like his guilt because of dedication to his craft and performance , as well as his questionable motives in being attracted to the fictional Mary McGarvie . Narrated by the character of Benji , we see things through a child's eyes , and perhaps therein lies the loss of some pathos in the romantic angle of it . On one hand , it isn't your classic romantic story , while on the other , it doesn't seem to want to preach the method , rationale and mindset of Houdini himself . So what emerged is a mixed bag . Beautifully shot , but again falling on the emptiness of its effort in trying to allow the audience to feel for the characters . At least Timothy Spall , who plays Mr Sugarman , Houdini's manager , allowed for some light moments as the guarded and wary person that he is . And credit goes to keeping the ending quite right too .
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514,710 | 317,399 | 120,751 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Mighty Joe Young
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Merian C . Cooper came up with the story of King Kong first , about the 40 foot giant ape which was discovered in Skull Island , then brought back to New York to wreck havoc . He too dreamt up the story of a smaller ape - 15 foot , who lives with his human protector , and brought back to the USofA where he wrecks minor havoc against poachers . Joe is a gorilla whose parent died under the hands of poachers . Being the target , he in turn was protected and raised by the Young family , namely Jill Young , who lost her mother too on that same faithful night . 12 years later , Jill ( Charlize Theron ) have to find safe haven for her ape friend Joe , whose day out attacking explorer / researcher Gregg O'Hara ( Bill Paxton ) brought unwanted attention to itself . Jill and Gregg form an uneasy alliance as they transport Joe to a man-made habitat in Los Angeles , and the habitat and Joe come under attack from the same poachers 12 years ago , this time wanting revenge . It's a simpler tale compared to King Kong , but somehow I find the storyline a poor cousin to that of Kong's . It's difficult to live up to classics I suppose , but there are moments enough to elevate the film . Like the action sequences . The first time we see Joe as an adult gorilla taking on the research team in their jeeps was a sequence to behold . You can see the CGI-ed Joe in its full glory as it gallops ( ? ) with incredible speed and using its wit to overcome its aggressors . The scaling of a ferris wheel felt like a weak homage to Kong's scaling of the Empire State Building . Then again , Joe is about the size of Kong , but can it roar as loud too . Or the moments where Joe actually coos like a baby , when Jill teases him / plays games / sings lullabies . Along the lines of Kong , only a beauty can tame the primal beast . Mighty Joe Young is a remake of its 1949 debut , which featured a stop-motion animated Joe . And oh , did I mentioned I watched this also because of Charlize Theron ? ' Nuff said ! Code 3 DVD : bare bones version .
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514,599 | 317,399 | 396,752 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Nanny McPhee
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Nanny McPhee , based on the Nurse Matilda books , tells the story of the Brown family . Mr Brown ( Colin Firth ) is a widower who has to single handedly bring up seven children . Make that seven mischievous children who has driven away a record 17 nannies . He needs to work to bring home the bacon , but cannot find a suitable nanny who could stand the children's antics . Until Nanny McPhee ( Emma Thompson ) turns up mysteriously one day ( yes , she did knock ) , and weaves her brand of wit and magic into the Browns . It's a simple fairy tale like story meant for kids , with lessons like listening to the adults , behaving , and love . Adding a tad complexity to the plot would be Mr Brown's desperate search for a wife to remarry , so that the family could continue to receive monetary support from their Aunt Adelaide ( Angela Lansbury , Murder She Wrote , anyone ? ) But the storyline gets predictable halfway into the movie , and unless you're a ten year old , you'll probably figure out the plot from then on . Along similar production styles like recent children-focused tales such as A Series of Unfortunate Events , the production sets are a sight to behold , especially during parts where the CGI , though simple , actually managed to add a touch of grandeur to entire scenes . While Nanny McPhee is the title role , we don't get much of the backstory of this magical nanny , so you'll have to take it at face value on what she's capable of , or read the books . If children's acting ( or lack thereof ) get on your nerves , you'll be surprised at the tots ' performances , even the littlest one . I thought Thomas Sangster , who plays the eldest son Simon , looked a bit like Freddie Highmore . Possible challenger there . The pacing of the movie is kept even , with comedic situations thrown in aplenty to probably make you forget about the average storyline . So if you're in for a movie which is kept really simple , and suitable for a family with small children , then look no further , Nanny McPhee will be the movie of your choice this week .
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515,399 | 317,399 | 790,686 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Mirrors
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Looking at the filmography of Alexandre Aja , he's becoming dangerously close to being branded as a director who specializes in remakes of films that can allow him to amplify the original gore factor , and one who hopefully doesn't position himself , intentionally or otherwise , such that audiences would come to expect a twist in every single one of his movies . While I'd enjoy his Haute Tension and his version and update of The Hills Have Eyes , he seemed to have reined himself in with Mirrors , where allowance for violent excesses was minimized and allocated to creating mood and tension , which succeeded as the movie went along , and plodded forward during many moments in the beginning when Kiefer Sutherland's Ben Carson began probing the mystery of his workplace . You can just about sense Aja's glee when it came to scenes that called for gore , and at times succumbed to cheap scares which were rather successful . However , Aja can't decide if this was going to be an all out spiritual spook fest , or a monster movie , and that confusion resulted in an actual schizophrenia , where one ending is insufficient , and you'd need two endings in order to provide for some bang for the buck . It's as if it ran on multiple fronts which could be delinked from one another , and if not for the characters ' relationships , it could well be a series of shorts pasted together with the mirrors being running motifs where spirits reside in , and can determine life or death , with a concept quite refreshing , but again , unoriginal since it's a Hollywood adaptation . While Aja might seem to want to tread back to familiar territory at every opportunity at gore , Keifer Sutherland too can't seem to break too far away from his cop related roles for the big screen , save for lending his voice in Phone Booth , his recent The Sentinel and this one still had his character come from the force . Perhaps it's lazy casting on the filmmakers ' part in getting someone already familiar with the territory so that audiences can immediate latch onto his Jack Bauer persona , and have it plain sailing from there . And no matter how Sutherland tries to provide a new dimension to his mentally pained ex-cop , he just can't shake Bauer off , which became as niggling as the persistent spirits that call out for his attention . And that familiarity didn't just stop with the director and the lead actor , as it extended toward the supporting appearance by Amy Smart , though in a not so surprising role of being here just to shed her clothes . I thought she could be a decent actress without having to resort to such " tricks " , but I guess filmmakers from Crank to Mirrors still haven't got enough of her Road Trip stint . Again , very dangerous ground to tread on for the mentioned - one for gory remakes , one for cop roles , and one a naked flowervase . Granted there were some fine moments courtesy of special effects , with misbehaving mirror images and the way characters get dispatched - slow , painful and plenty of blood - but those looking for occasionally fine scary moments may find them in Mirrors . I've not seen the original 2003 Korean movie Into the Mirror which this movie is based upon , but given the cheeky finale , I just might be interested to check out the Korean version . For now , I'd start to think about those palm prints left behind in mirrors as they will never look the same again .
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514,941 | 317,399 | 368,794 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : I'm Not There
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I've got to admit that I'm not a Bob Dylan fan , and neither do I know enough of the man and his music . The only reason why I opted to watch I'm Not There , is undeniably because of the stellar cast attached to the project . Especially so when you have Cate Blanchett who got an Academy nomination for her role and I just wanted to fins out why , as well as the first pairing ( well , not quite ) of both Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger on screen , though they never share the same frame . I only know enough to get by , that the different actors who get assigned to play Dylan related roles , be it through references of song , or characters through movies , make this movie seem quite all over the place , and therein lies the catch - how do you personify a living musical legend on the big screen , one who probably has so many facets to his life , that is near impossible for one actor to portray ? So I guess Todd Haynes built multiple personalities around the Dylan motif , and see how they went . For most of the movie , you can treat it like a short film , each with different actors at the helm of a Dylan-related character , holding court , with couple of recognizable celebrities making cameo appearances , and though what I thought was interesting , was that Bale had 2 segments given to him , one near the beginning where he gets to showcase his singing voice , and the other one right at the end . Again Bale goes through a physical transformation that you'd probably do a double take just to convince yourself that it is him under the guise . Other than that , Heath Ledger's role I thought was the simplest to follow , as it centers on the love life of an actor . Despite these highlights and the other supporting acts , Cate Blanchett really showed who was in command , as her role was really very trippy even for my liking , but made it a whole lot of fun just to watch her in action - you might even wonder what kind of medication she was on to put on a performance like that . I really wasn't quite right there with the movie , so if I were to round up a final statement , it would be that this movie is suited for Bob Dylan fans as you can probably go ballistic with the number of references loaded in this film , or if you're really keen , to do a lot of research by reading up the life of the man , and of course to listen to his music , in order to get something meaningful and rich out of it .
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514,796 | 317,399 | 866,439 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Made of Honor
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Made of Honor spells chick flick all over it , the perennial formulaic romantic comedy that tells its entire story in the trailer , but that's not going to stop couples from hitting the cinemas for their date movie flick , does it ? What I thought was peculiar was that the original US rating for this was R , meaning a lot more sexual material thrown in , versus the now released PG-13 version which was re-edited , and over here , the rating of PG that allows for everyone to make a beeline if they want to escape from the week's blockbuster . The plot's nothing new as well , with movies like My Best Friend's Wedding , and even from as far back as Three Men and a Little Lady where the best friend tries his / her very best to convince the bride / groom that their choice for eternal companionship , is of the wrong one , and of course , to make away with their respective selves to live happily ever after . And if you think the premise is a ludicrous one , where a man will take up the duties of a maid of honor , then Singapore perhaps just legitimized it with a wedding in a cinema last Tuesday , where indeed a male did grace the occasion of his best friend's wedding as her MOH . For a man who doesn't seem to have a job and have a huge trust fund behind him , Patrick Dempsey shed his uptight role as a dad from his debut big screen outing with Enchanted , for a playboy called Tom who lives by certain rules in his dating game , and amongst them , no back to back sex with the same girl , no dates with the same girl unless it's a week apart , and never to call someone new in the next 24 hours , never bring them to weddings and family events , and the likes . Women find him irresistible ( either for his looks or for that bank account ) , and he spares no time in getting to know them inside out . The ideal bachelor lifestyle I'd bet , with a constant flow of money , women , and good pals to shoot hoops with , none of them seemingly poor enough to hold down regular jobs . However , he has his best friend and confidante in Hannah ( Michelle Monaghan ) with whom he spends his weekends with , and just when he discovers that he truly loves the girl , she drops the bombshell that she's going to marry a Scot whom she met during her business trip , and talking about whirlwind romances , will be getting married in 14 days . So the clock starts to tick in order for Tom to prove himself to be better than the groom-to-be Colin McMurray ( Kevin McKidd ) , which is an uphill task as riches-for-riches they could be on par , but you just can't inject blue blood into you . While at the same time juggle his role as the maid of honor and going through the many girlie things that they're supposed to do for the bride . While it is a formulaic story , what works , and so long as it does , this type of movies will forever be made , is the chemistry between the leads . You just can't deny that both Dempsey and Monaghan look good together on screen as a couple , and you can't help but find yourself rooting for them past their characters ' stupidity to realize that they're made for each other , after 10 years of being together , with little clues left unanswered with questions such as " why do you like him " going unanswered . If only of course it were that easy in real life , that a romance can be wrapped up with Eureka-like moments of enlightenment within two hours . Of course I must admit though with formula , it doesn't require anything cerebral from you as you sit through and ( try to ) enjoy the story in fantasy land . The eclectic soundtrack helped as well , with contemporary tunes taking centerstage and played at the right moments , from Smash Mouth's opening , to Oasis ' Stop Crying Your Heart Out , when last I heard of it in a movie was in The Butterfly Effect . Supporting characters like Kathleen Quinlan and Sydney Pollack goes wasted of course .
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514,374 | 317,399 | 897,287 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Blood Brothers
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Inspired by John Woo's Bullet in the Head , Blood Brothers ventures into the tried and tested boys in the hood gangland story about honour and comradeship , only to find out that there's a little more to girls , gangs and guns . The movie looks great with beautiful sets , costumes , props , but there was a general sense of being emotionally empty beneath the shiny looking veneer . I always thought the cinematic 1930s Shanghai resembled the Capone era of Chicago , with gangland chiefs ruling the streets , and beautiful molls being the damsels in distress , carving a living out of singing in the dance halls , waiting for their anti-hero in that smart suit and fedora hair , totting a tommy and mowing down opponents without batting an eyelid . Blood Brothers transports us back to the era of the Shanghai Bund , with brothers Gang ( Liu Ye ) , Hu ( Tony Yang ) and best friend Feng ( Daniel Wu ) looking toward the big city for an opportunity to carve a name for themselves . Leaving their village to pursue their dream , little do they know that their friendship will be put under severe tests when greed , power and ambition , or the lack thereof , come into play , and challenge the very notion of blood being thicker than water . However , despite big names in the production , what I found to be primarily lacking , is that you don't feel for the brotherhood and camaraderie between Gang , Hu and Feng , which I thought was extremely crucial if we were to care about what will happen to the trio - a reluctant soul yearning for home , a brawn over brains type muscleman whose ambition knows no bounds , and one who turned to the bottle because he can't live up to expectations . Time is indeed set aside in the beginning as a prompter , but it's a case of too little too late , with the narrative being caught up with bringing the audience to the glitz and glamour of the Paradise nightclub . Here , the blood brothers three get involved with yet another power playing trio - Boss Hong ( Sun Honglei ) , his number one enforcer and brother Mark ( Chang Chen ) , and the moll of the movie , the sultry cabaret singer Lulu ( Shu Qi ) , and as the story unfolds and entangle all our casts together into a web of complex relationships , it is when the plot starts to thicken and get slightly interesting , only again to be exposed for its one - dimensional treatment . Which is a pity , given the potential of how things could have been played out . Even the ironic audacity of having the devilish characters storm into Paradise and unleash hell with guns ablazing , in attempts to reach a crescendo , ended up being a tad too bland . Perhaps the same-old treatment given to familiar themes and scenarios bore little fruit , despite a change in setting and a power cast . You just know what will happen , and they happen like clockwork . And it seemed that Blood Brothers was perpetually plagued by the clumsy romantic angles that don't serve much purpose or to contribute any depth to the characters involved . Despite the weak material , the cast did prove to be charismatic enough to hold your attention throughout , which is a good thing . Shu Qi lends her voice and sings in the movie , Chang Chen broods with a degree of suaveness , Daniel was found to be struggling with Mandarin , Sun Honglei was being really menacing , Tony Yang as the naive follower , and Liu Ye's steely gaze and demeanour will make you think twice should you want to cross his character . There were plenty of close up shots of their facial expressions in Blood Brothers , and this pretty left much of the bea utiful sets and costumes being left unseen . What I found wanting though , was the editing and cinematography . It was quite jarring to see the 180 degree rule broken so obviously , and bringing so much attention to itself . For the first time in many years , I was actually slightly disoriented when watching a scene , when it particularly liked to cross the line and back again , and move back and forth when characters are conversing , or that sudden swing of action brings us to the other side of it all . For once , I would have begged for the camera to stay where it should be , and stay still for that matter . I would love to have loved Blood Brothers for its high production values . However , the way the story is developed , and while trying hard to evoke equal emotions as the material it got inspired by , just left a bad aftertaste that it was trying just too damn hard to please .
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514,690 | 317,399 | 790,604 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Deck the Halls
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You know the Christmas season is coming when the theatres start to line up its Christmas themed movies . You have comedies like Deck the Halls , one for the romantics in The Holiday , and of course , going back to basics with the retelling of the birth of Jesus Christ in The Nativity Story . The very first Matthew Broderick movie I've watched is Wargames , when I was a kid . And I thought he would have had quite a stellar career with his boyish good looks . Well , it's been almost 20 years , and that dude still retains his baby face , though now given age he's taken on roles of the family guy , and as Steve Finch , he's known as the Christmas guy around town , for his role in the committee for spreading the Christmas cheer . Until of course , his new neighbour , the Halls , move in , and innocently starts a rivalry with Buddy Hall ( Danny DeVito ) , which in certain instances , look as petty as those squabbling neighours in the Joo Chiat area . And family comedies like Deck the Halls are as predictable as they come by , with the setup of the dysfunctional characters . In the Finches , you have the straight laced Steve , the model mom Kelly ( Kristin Davis ) , the depressed son Carter ( Dylan Blue ) and the coming of age daughter Madison ( Alia Shawkat ) . At the other corner , you have the Buddy the father , with a penchant for giving up the things that he does , the ditzy mom Tia ( Kristin Chenoweth , reprising a role so similar to her RV one as yet another blonde yodeling mom ) , and two , totally hot teenage twin daughters in Ashley ( Sabrina Aldridge ) and Emily ( Kelly Aldridge ) , which are unfortunately , flower vase roles . The feud starts when Ashley and Emily suggest to Buddy that their new home cannot be viewed from MyEarth ( a fictional Google Earth clone ) , and to Buddy , one way to do that is to light up his home so that it could be seen from outer space . That's the primary premise , and naturally , by doing that , you disturb the neighbours , the Finches . So begins the one-up-manship between the two guys , egos bursting and all , as they outwit and try to outlast each other , much to the disapproval of their wives and kids . It does make you think though , that in this spirit of giving and forgiving , that these two men are actually doing the direct opposites in upholding their Christmas values . Steve wants his ( boring ) family traditions to continue , and he does so in a very boorish manner , with his frequent complaining , whining , and sabotaging . Buddy on the other hand , steals . It portrays typical hypocritical behaviour that in your laughter , you're forced to think enough about whether you actually fall under the same category in this season of goodwill toward all men and women . The flaws in the movie are obvious , such as the poor editing which dazzled itself during the Winterfest scenes . I suspect that a lot of footage containing various set action pieces were shot , and some discarded for time and quality , while the Who's Your Daddy joke just couldn't not to be included . Given its budget , cheap CG shots also distracted and took the mickey out of the fun factor . Given that it's a Christmas movie , it definitely must have the feel good factor , which accounts for its implausible ending that cannot happen given time constraints , unless of course , you deem it a miracle . It's feel good , though some in the audience were manipulated enough to shed some tears at the end . And what of the message ? It's obviously Love Thy Neighbours , and to relook into man made traditions that seem to stifle rather than make closer the valued family ties . But as goodwill extended to this movie , although it'll never be a classic , will be the impressive light show sequence , as lights are made to dance in tune to the yuletide songs . One wonders who much time , effort and money went to create that show , which is this movie's pièce de résistance . And I appreciate that little clip from Meet Me in St Louis starring Judy Garland - watch that if you can .
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514,738 | 317,399 | 415,978 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Me and You and Everyone We Know
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Written and directed by Miranda July , Me You and Everyone We Know is an indie film that has gone on to win several film awards around the world . It finally opens in the theatres here , but it's difficult to see what the fuss is all about . Miranda plays one of the two major leads , Christine , in a community tale with an ensemble cast of minor characters . Her role as a contemporary artist looking for her break and earning a livelihood driving an " Eldercab " , spews too many philosophical lines and basks herself in many contrived situations , and gets herself involved romantically in an unconventional manner with Richard ( John Hawkes ) , a shoe salesperson recently separated from his wife and tried his hand ( pardon the pun ) at self-immolation . The Everyone We Know here refers to the ensemble cast in the movie , ranging from Richard's younger son dabbling innocently in internet romance / online sex , the elder son who got lucky when 2 arguing teenagers wanted to know who gives the better blow job , a little girl preparing her dowry in 20 years time when she marries , her mother whom she seldom sees , to Richard's colleague at work who teases with the 2 teenagers , and the list goes on . Basically it refers to the neighbours they live with , and the very limited degrees which separate them . In my opinion , it's actually quite an ordinary movie about the ordinary lives of ordinary people , but perhaps therein lies its charm . It's not the usual romance filled storyline between Christine and Richard , nor are the relationships between any of the characters the usual clichés that you'd come to expect . Not that it's dry , but it's quite different . However the movie does have its moments , and somehow I enjoyed the stalker like instances when Christine courts Richard , the dowry made up of everyday household items stored in the chest of Hope , and of course the more risqué bits , especially the one where the identity of the online sex chat partner is finally revealed , and you'd get to see the reactions of both parties when they meet up . Pure unadulterated magical moment , if I could say so . And the gag which really cracked me up , was an innocent quip about this " back and forth " smiley : ) ) < > ( ( You got to watch the movie and find out for yourself what it means .
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515,345 | 317,399 | 43,587 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Ginza Cosmetics
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The opening shots of this movie firmly puts it in the Ginza district of Tokyo back in 1951 , with its distinct landmark of the Clock Tower , and serves kind of like a documentary snapshot of the district with following the kid Haruo in and around the area , before finally we get to meet his mom Yukiko ( Kinuyo Tanaka ) , a bar hostess struggling to make ends meet . Directed by Mikio Naruse , this movie doesn't have any big moments , and feels like a capture of the relatively mundane life of Yukiko , in her luckless meeting with various men who seem always to disappoint , and her taking care of her only son . These are acute observations that represent that slice of life , and doesn't over-dramatize or wallow in melodrama and the theatrics , which is quite commendable , given the usual tendency for movies of the genre to lapse into . Things happen as a matter of fact , right up until the tense and anxious moments of looking for a runaway kid . Kinuyo Tanaka brings forth a quiet , stoic demeanour in her Yukiko , being unable to change her fate of being a single mother , and she could make you wring your heart as we experience together with Yukiko a potential moment of probably romance with a young man flit away , despite initial reluctance to get acquainted and help out in his stay in Tokyo . I thought it was quite magnanimous of her to do what she did , and felt that it was really sad for one to resign to her fate without any inclination to challenge it with the hope that things might be for the better . If you prefer your movies quiet , with the dignified presence of a star actress at her element , then perhaps Ginza Cosmetics would be a launchpad for anyone interested in following the filmography of director Mikio Naruse , and of his many film collaborations with Kinuyo Tanaka .
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514,806 | 317,399 | 361,127 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : The Woodsman
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( This is one of the tough reviews I've had - the material is tough , and having seated beside a cute chick in the theatre ain't helping bucketloads ) The Woodsman gets its name from a fairy tale - Little Red Riding Hood , you know , the dude who actually cut the wolf and out came red riding hood , alive and well . The woodsman ( and his axe ) gave red riding hood a chance to live another day . Does society give second chances to criminals , criminals like Walter , convicted of child molest ? Released on supervised parole , Walter tries hard to reintegrate back to society . Police knocks at his door anytime , snarling . Frequent visits to his psychiatrist is a must . Getting a job is based on whatever network he has left , and willing to accept him with the condition that he doesn't screw up . Colleagues belittle him . Relatives shun him , sometimes mock him . And yet Walter tries , hard . He knows it is an illness in the mind he has to conquer . And he sees this sickness manifest itself in a strange man whom he calls " Candy " , who loiters outside the school courtyard outside his home - he understands what " Candy " is up to , setting traps for young boys , with the aim of violating them . He is disgusted , but the reason why he understands what's going on , is because he's such a person himself . " It takes a thief to catch a thief " doesn't ring any truer than this . But not all is gloom , as he hooks up with Vickie , a colleague At his workplace . Vickie is his pillar of strength ( in a way ) , and yes , she too comes along with plenty of emotional baggage ( seems like all the characters in this movie are really screwed one way or another ) The finale is gripping , as we see Walter being tempted by a young girl , who's undergoing some really painful relationships back home . Will Walter falter , or will he find moral courage to resist ? And what will happen to Candy ? And will Walter find what he's looking for with Vickie ? The highlight here is Kevin Bacon , perhaps the most underrated character actor ever in Hollywood . His measured performance made it so believable that hey , you just pity the guy Walter he's playing . This movie is an acquired taste , though I must warn you the movie takes its time to tell its story ( even though it clocks in at about 90 mins ) . And oh , don't get me started on the 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon !
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515,496 | 317,399 | 382,821 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : ( DVD ) Lu Cha ( 2003 )
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The first movie I watched starring enigmatic Chinese actor Jiang Wen was during a business trip to KL , catching a show at KLCC before my late afternoon flight . In Warriors of Heaven and Earth , he donned a moustache and beard as the charismatic leader Lieutenant Li , in a movie which had great premise but a lousy story to tell . As for Zhao Wei , unless your head was buried in sand , you wouldn't have missed the era in the late 90s where she was bombarding television sets everywhere in her role as Little Sparrow in My Fair Princess Huan Zhu Ge Ge . So I guess putting them together in a movie made it almost irresistible to not want to pick up this DVD . This was actually a precursor to their Warriors movie where they collaborated again , but in this modern setting , based upon a short story " Adiliya by the River " ( what the heck is Adiliya ? ) by Jin Renshun , they star as a pair of wannabe lovers looking into exploring if they could be together . Sweeping aside the age gap , this movie is one heck of a mindgame . It's frustrating at times as nothing actually happens , and the lead characters just sit around and talk about stuff absolutely not related to anything at all . Well , at least not directly related to what's happening on hand , but telling stories - we're sitting through a story with characters telling stories , fictional ones which doesn't really add depth to plot , or characterization . It's pretty strange stuff . And strange are their characters too , with the only realistic moment is the beginning - if you're looking for a stranger in a cafe , and there are two ladies , who would you approach first , the hot one , or the plain looking one ? Chen Mingliang ( Jiang Wen ) went for the jugular , but it was actually Wu Fang ( Zhao Wei ) who was his blind date . They don't start off well , and continued to bicker . One's become obsessive with her conservatism , while the latter is a serial blind-dater . But there is more than meets the eye to Wu Fang , and herein lies the guesswork to decipher who she actually was , and the motivations behind what she is doing . You can boil it down to PMS , or to the wall being built around her heart , or to just plain old psychosis . Whatever the case is , it's about persistence and the relentless pursuit of who you like , and on the other side , to spice things up with playing coy , hard to get , and being more of a mysterious enigma . Nothing much to take away in less than 90 minutes , except to admire the two lead's ability to act and play off each other , and Christopher Doyle's cinematography ( he makes tea leaves in hot water so sexy ) , which is a bit of a waste in a movie lacking in strength of story . I hate to say this , but the repetitive score is a bit irritating . Code 9 DVD contains zero extras . The sound was quite bad , with plenty of echo , like speaking in a vast enclosed space . The transfer was bearably decent , but the subtitles seemed to look as if it has its bottom thinly shaved off .
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515,126 | 317,399 | 415,932 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Lemming
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The lemming has this reputation as a mindless creature which commits suicide by jumping off cliffs , and this has developed its connotation to various popular culture , and I do recall a computer game called Lemmings which features exactly that . This movie , which opened the 2005 Cannes Film Festival , has a plot point related to this Lemming reference , but I shan't go into the details for obvious reasons . Directed by Dominik Moll , Lemming tells the story of the young Getty couple Alain ( Laurent Lucas ) and Benedicte ( Charlotte Gainsbourg ) who seem to be living the model life - a relatively successful husband , a beautiful wife , a large house in trendy suburbia . What more could they ask for ? Things start to go all wrong when Alain's boss and wife , Richard and Alice Pollock ( played by Andre Dussollier and Charlotte Rampling ) , arrive one night late for a scheduled get together dinner , during which Alice's behaviour as a guest was utterly deplorable and downright rude . They end the night on quite a sour note , with Richard's philandering ways made public , and thus set in motion a series of unexplainable sequence of events that plague the Getty couple . For moments this film couldn't decide how it wanted to play out , and this will leave you engaged throughout its painfully slow revelation . Yes you'll feel the length of the slowness in pace , but strangely would be forgiving and willingly allow to be hooked . From hints of a psychological thriller , to supernatural horror , or can even be boiled down to a demented imaginative mind , you will inadvertently try and decipher the plot , as well as attempt to classified its genre , which the filmmakers ensured that you possibly cannot , until the very last few scenes . So perhaps it's best to mention something which the movie proposed , a thought about why a married man will choose to refuse getting entangled into an affair . Is it purely because of the love for the spouse , or simply because the chances of being caught one day is high , and not worth the risk ? Each of us has an internal moral compass , which guides us on the general dos and don'ts , rights and wrongs . However , if there is a strong belief that you could do something incorrect , and get away with it , would you go ahead and do it ? It makes for intriguing discussion . The soundtrack was creepy though , with that lone piano plonking away in eliciting the necessary mood from the audience . And it does so quite perfectly as it raises your heartbeats , and while you're waiting for the final crescendo , it just holds it right there , and continued to hold that note till . . . well , nothing ! And I'd probably still recommend this movie if you're looking for different fare amongst offerings of the week , though you'd have to agree to be led from start to end . The revelation might make you wonder why the trouble to go through all the fuss , and given its simplicity in playing it out the way it had chosen to , it would give that unfulfilled feeling , that it could have lived up to its initial potential .
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515,478 | 317,399 | 475,944 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : The Covenant
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Don't think too much when watching this movie . That's my advice , but it worked as an excellent therapy right after surviving the horrendous local film Return to Pontianak . The Covenant is guilty pleasure , of watching something full of effects , zero storyline to think about , great looking cast and the usual fast cars and quick action . Alpha males will have another reason to rejoice , given the leading characters come from the so-called elite of the community , nicknamed " The Sons of Ipswich " for their founding fathers ' efforts in building the town they live in . All of them are your usual good looking hunky frat boys , with fast cars , and cute chicks in tow . However , our gang of four harbour a deep secret , that each of them have supernatural powers that they can use for whatever they want , and how they want . The only catch is that with each use of their powers , they will physically age . So , do you wanna trade good looks , for absolute power ? But of course , the Book of Damnation ( gee ) instills certain rules , and introduces the audience to hokey witchcraft and imagined mysticism . Naturally no one's interested in that stuff , except to watch with glee how our frat boys will ( ab ) use their powers . It's addictive , you know , having such abilities , and given the mysticism added in , it's no longer the drugs , nor the sex , nor the rock and roll that get these boys going , but the addiction of being omni - potent in place of power , wealth and fame . The leader of the pack , as per all juvenile stories , is the most powerful of the lot , and preaches time and time again on the virtues of restraint . Until one day the team faces an unexplainable disturbance in The Force ( oops , wrong movie , but you get the drift ) , and have to discover just exactly what the disturbance is . No honours will go towards acting abilities , and I feel those in the audience with strong sense of feminism will go up in arms about how the lead female character is portrayed . You know , the one who will go weak in the knees for the hottest looking guy and literally and blatantly flings herself at him . The guys too fare no better , always trying to ooze machismo and drip testosterone at every opportunity , and enjoy replicating Underworld-styled leaping off rooftops . For a movie like this , there are no efforts spared in jazzing up the special effects . While on the whole it's all good , there are portions of it which made scenes look like extended screen versions of the video game Street Fighter , and taking a leaf too from Asia's StormRiders ( Feng Yun ) in creating battle scenes . You know it's time for formula , when fights are choreographed according to an alternative rock soundtrack . While the action is good , the pacing of the movie could be improved loads . It couldn't decide whether it wanted to be mysterious , horrific , reliant on action or wanting to take its romantic bits seriously . It seemed that director Renny Harlin had a lot of ideas for the feel of the movie , but couldn't decide which to put focus on , and in the end , threw everything into the pot for a mix . It's like an all boys " The Craft " , also set in school , except that their powers are inherited , and the story examines what's it like to use power with a price . If you need something to immerse yourself to forget about a hard day's work , then The Covenant probably is your choice . Oh , and this is one movie in which the trailer tells the whole damn story .
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514,777 | 317,399 | 956,038 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Nights at the Rodanthe
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After spending the night at Rodanthe , I would rather revisit the Lake House or Il Mare , whichever version that floats your boat . But this is no time travel romance , but features a beach house that's architecturally pretty , a perfect setting for the lovebirds to roost in , in spite of a looming hurricane threatening to uproot their idyllic property . This is a movie where its lead characters are given second chances with their romantic love life , as we observe how they make the best use of their limited one weekend with each other , finding some fascination in their discovery of the other party , before falling head over heels into the arms of the other . While the story might not be something to shout about , I thought the pairing of Diane Lane and Richard Gere worked wonders because of their chemistry , thus giving this movie an added gravitas , versus having some other unknown bear the weight of a generic story on their shoulders . The narrative also made some time for the characters to deal with their respective demons , and responsibility in the minding of their children . For starters , Gere's Doctor Paul Flanner has to reach out and find out how to reconnect with his estranged son Mark ( James Franco ) , while Lane's Adrienne has to convince her kids Amanda ( Mae Whitman ) and Danny ( Charlie Tahan ) that her not getting back together with their father is something that while personal , had undergone much thought with their well-being always on her mind . Such common ground in their attempts to foster a betteer relationship and bonding with their children , draws both Paul and Adrienne together . I was wondering whether Richard Gere still had that magnetism to attract the teenage female crowd , judging from the numbers that turn out in droves to watch this , or the fact that romantic movies are targeting this demographics altogether . Then I realize , from the squeals of delight , that they'll probably go Richard-who , since the object of their affection was James Franco instead . With whatever little screen time he enjoyed here , you can detect audible fawning overs in sense-surround sound . As with all romances , there are certain rules to abide by in attempts to conform and immortalize characters . It's no different here that there was the inevitable , but what I felt would have made the movie a little more powerful , was Paul's attempt to address the minute possibility for a surgeon that an operation might go wrong . While it was used as a platform for Paul to rethink his approach to life , it certainly could have been a lot better handled rather than being glossed over casually with a sweeping under the carpet approach . Those who need your daily dose of romantic movies or typically safe date movies would find that Nights at Rodanthe would appeal as your choice at the movies this week . Despite the clichés used , you have two veterans who could turn it around into relative strength , and pull what would be a bad movie , into something more palatally average .
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515,504 | 317,399 | 449,089 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : RV
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If I were to tell you I grew up watching Robin Williams do his " nanoo nanoo " on television's Mork and Mindy , then yes , you'll know how ancient I am . The last movie I've seen with Williams in it ( ok , just his voice ) , was the animated feature Robots . His is a career with pretty defining movies , like Dead Poets Society and Awakenings , to darker fare like recent movies Insomnia and One Hour Photo , vastly different from his comedic roles like in Mrs Doubtfire and Cadillac Man . So it's almost a must for me to watch RV , despite its almost silly premise for a family comedy . It's Robin Williams , and he could lift almost any mediocre movie , in my opinion , and depending on the genre , either swing it to comedy with his perfecto impersonations and ad - libbing , or flaunt his acting chops in more serious roles . However , in RV , you could see him slow down as the movie misses the mark at certain points , unsure of what it wants to be . Certain scenes were dragged out for too long , and could have been shortened instead . But it doesn't mean that it's a bad film altogether . Telling the story of the dysfunctional Munro family who communicates via instant messaging , Robin Williams plays the head of the household , who on one hand has to try and keep his promise of bringing his entire family for some serious bonding sessions over a Hawaii holiday , but on the other , have to keep to his work commitments in order to save his rear and from being retrenched in the face of young upstarts eyeing his job . Talk about work life balance ! So he devises a plan to do both , by hiring a Recreational Vehicle ( hence RV ) , a truck like vehicle with all the modern trappings like television , sofas , bedroom , etc . The only glitch is that the Munro family is besieged by infighting , and are quite the anti-social family to begin with . Having to live out in the rough , and in camp like communities , spell a totally different ballgame for them altogether . That is until they meet the Gronickes ( played by Jeff Daniels and Kristin Chenoweth ) , a family of five seemingly strange people with prozac-enhanced attitudes toward life . The movie picks up whenever the Gronickes come into the picture , and they play it for laughs as the all American , all innocent , all singing family , kinda like the Brady Bunch . But the Gronickes are more than meets the eye , as we slowly find out , as RV splutters towards the finale in many clichéd moments until an all's well that ends well close . But it did offer an interesting attempt in contrasting between that of a salaried man , and one who is financially free . And to break down stereotypes and perceptions of classifying fellow men based on their behavior and appearance .
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514,871 | 317,399 | 449,080 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Cutting Edge
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The reason why I chose to watch Cutting Edge during the German Festival was simple , and that's to savour comedy from a different country , and I thought having one in a hospital setting will be perfect for an evening of laughs . Hospitals are always thought as serious places where the sick find some avenue for recovery under expert medical care , but surely it'll run riot when the doctors and nurses are a madcap lot ? But Cutting Edge is not your usual slapstick , physical comedy that provides laugh a minute scenes . In fact , the first minute will have dispelled any notion of the direction the movie will take , and that's the usual " I think I left something inside the patient " joke getting over and done with . It relied much more on wit , chemistry between characters , and had a lot more brewing in the background providing the laughs because of cruel irony . So what we have instead is a slew of comedy of errors , some which hit the mark , while others happen to fall flat because what we expected were delivered to a T . The story centres on the rivalry between two neighbouring hospitals , the casually run Oakwood , and the state-of-the-art , professional outfit St George . Budget cuts mean that one of the hospitals has got to close down , and it is up to the two hospitals to show their best side to health inspectors who are there to audit their processes . Oakwood's top doctors Steffen Wesemann and Klaus Kunze ( Carsten Strauch and Rainer Ewerrien respectively , who co-wrote the story , with the former taking up directorial duties as well ) provide much of the comedy here as the lead characters who are tasked to brainstorm for innovative ideas to save their careers , only to discover that they're spending more time instead trying to salvage an accidental side-splitting incident involving a transplanted liver . Throw in shady undertable deals brewing within St George , and the unethical practice of having an ex-flame Dr Christiane Tietz ( Nina Kronjäger ) trying to extract sensitive confidential information , you'll know our duo will have their hands full . And in such pairings , you just can't avoid the usual gay jokes abound which played out to the best of laughs amongst the audience , and madcap business process experts with suspect credentials all added to the brew . Cutting Edge has an air of predictability , and could have gone even crazier with its antics . But alas the comedy ends once the end credits blooper reel finishes , and nothing funny lingers after that when you try hard to reminisce just what make you laugh until tears started to flow . One or two genuinely funny scenes , while the rest are the usual textbook regurgitated comedic scenes .
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515,224 | 317,399 | 468,489 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Half Nelson
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Perhaps the curiosity towards Half Nelson , is how Ryan Gosling got nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor , from seemingly out of nowhere . Probably better remembered for his short lived television series Young Hercules , and recently in the straight to DVD movie Stay , he puts up a rather stoned performance ( ok , so his character is a junkie ) that seemed to want to tug your heartstrings in his weary , isolated outlook of life , yet leaving you feeling rather nonchalant given his substance abuse . To his students , Dan Dunne ( Ryan Gosling ) is the teacher full of unorthodox ideas , challenging authority and doing things his way . His subject expertise is history , and instead of going the rote way in regurgitating curriculum , he opts for the understanding of rationale behind events , making his classes interactive and interesting . Being a teacher , whether you like it or not , you're a role model , and therefore , a moral compass to your impressionable charges . I have a friend whose other friends are teachers , and he sometimes account their behaviour outside of class , which we are of the opinion that if any parent were to know of their shenanigans , they would immediate withdraw their children from classes . Dan is such an example - a substance abuser , developing a crutch toward vices to sooth his pain of the real world , where he increasingly feels disconnected from . Chancing upon his activity one day in a toilet , is his student Drey ( Shareeka Epps ) , who decides to keep mum about it . And thus , the two of them start to form this unconventional , radical bond between themselves , a friendship which raises eyebrows from certain quarters as well . With this bond , Dan experiences certain moral responsibility developed , and takes it upon himself to not let Drey succumb to any negative influences . On the other hand , Drey looks up to Dan like a surrogate big brother , given that she's atypical of a latch key child . The movie adopted rather different approaches , and diverts from the cliché tried and tested story lines like how dangerous substance abuse is , and basically sheds off a lot of fat by keeping its focus on the two leads . The story coasts along rather slowly , and at times , rather aimlessly . I thought the connection with the theme of discrimination and the dwelling on dialectics and the winds of change , rather weak , though some have lauded it , and I don't see what's the big deal about it . What was awesome though , was one scene where you could feel the pain the characters go through , as one felt helpless and rather shameful to have been exposed in the manner prescribed , and the other , surprised yet unable to do anything else about it , unable to change , and the feeling of guilt akin to delivering poison for a friend's consumption , with another subtle level of letting a mentor down . Peppered with intentionally bad jokes and a reasonable soundtrack , Half Nelson is reasonably engaging , but definitely not great . Don't hold your breaths for Gosling winning the Oscar as well , Forest Whitaker is probably on the final home stretch for The Last King of Scotland .
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514,706 | 317,399 | 297,905 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Harmful Insect
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I wonder what the English title of Harmful Insect alluded to , as I usually associate critters that do no good as pests , deserving of the right sole of boot , or that slap of a rolled up newspaper . Unless of course it referred to a couple of characters in the movie big or small , with the latter made up of lecherous men who can't wait to proposition the helpless school girl at every step of the way . Perhaps it made reference to somewhat frail creatures , who with the right tools and misguidance , able to do a lot of harm that for the particular crazed moment , they cannot comprehend the severity of their deeds . Directed by Akihiro Shiota , Harmful Insect tells the story of a young schoolgirl Sachiko Kita ( Aoi Miyazaki ) , whose father has mortally left her , and her suicidal mother compounding the problems that come with a broken home by her extreme mood swings , and hooking up with a boyfriend whom we know spells trouble from day one . We see that she skips school , and spends her days wandering the streets with a new found friend in a teenage delinquent , and Mr Kyuzo ( Koji Ichikawa ) a vagrant who is none too bright . Possibly her first real friends with whom she is able to connect , we see her happier days in a lingering , unspoken suggestion of romance , as well as a semblance of a dysfunctional family of sorts to belong to . They hang out , have fun , and even come up with dangerous though innovative ways to survive and " make a living " . Her tale can be broken into 3 acts , with the first being as described , dealing with her alienation from her proper place in society , in the school courtyard , and the second dwelling on attempts at trying to bring her back to where she belonged , thanks to the relentless efforts of her non-judgemental neighbour Natsuko ( Yu Aoi ) , who turns out to be a pillar of strength for the girl , and her appointed guardian angel . I thought Natsuko as a character was a somewhat strong contrast to Sachiko , which you can tell from the very brief moments they interact , and even the kind of happier home that Natsuko comes from , in a scene so short , but tells a lot . And what more the act of self-sacrifice in giving up someone she loves ( ok , so it might be puppy and even though debatable , you get the point ) just to ensure that her friend finds some balance in her life , and to having someone else look out for her too . But Sachiko's Miss Unpopular stigma gets stronger from an attempted act of violence , which leads us to the third and final act , with her flight from trauma . By now , events that develop on screen would already become quite episodic , as the story reads like a book , and plot threads open and close like a turning of a page . All these while we peer at letters written to a certain Mr Ogata ( Seiichi Tanabe ) , which reads like diary entries explaining the inner thoughts of Sachiko , though I have to admit that at times they do seem abstract enough , and out of place . While generally a quiet , slow moving movie , the sound design here alternates between tranquility , and really hard hitting loud noises ranging from falling marbles , banging on doors , the dragging of chairs in class , to the random jets flying overhead . Likely in echo of the character's state of mind , these loud noises do jolt you up from its peacefulness , knowing that there's always something negative brewing on the horizon . But while you think that the narrative's quite sedate , the payload actually gets delivered at the end , as you're likely to start to realize that you've been brought along for an exasperating journey all this while . By the time the last 5 minutes play out and the end credits roll , you can't help but to feel a sense of pity , and anger even , at her giving up of hope , and falling into a web of deceit that she'll probably never be able to crawl out from . Then again , I'm second guessing that it's because of my negative nature adopted when viewing the story from tinted lenses made so by earlier unfortunate episodes of Sachiko's encounters with the wrong type of men , of being the kind of helpless schoolgirl jail bait that gets dangled in front of desperadoes . For all I know , she might be offered a job at a departmental store , or a fast food outlet . But who am I to kid ? Harmful Insect isn't that easy to sit through given its rather bleak nature , although its run time seemed to be a breezy less than 90 minute movie , which was anything but . You can feel its length as it keeps you guessing at some parts before providing you clear answers . But it will make you think in depth of the character of Sachiko and her possible aftermath , way after the end credits roll .
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515,523 | 317,399 | 366,780 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : MirrorMask
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Neil Gaiman was in town last July , and MirrorMask was one of the yet-to-be-released film projects that he had scribed . It was supposed to be scheduled for release here late last year , but somehow the plans got shelved . Good news though , it will make its theatrical release in the local GV theatres next week . It's pretty abstract at times , and I admit there were portions which I completely zoned out . Directed by illustrator Dave McKean , you'd come to expect the stunning visuals which MirrorMask offered , right from the opening credit sequence in 3D . MirrorMask tells the story of protagonist Helena , a young girl belonging to a family of circus performers . She often dreams of life outside performances , that of what she deems as " real life " , as opposed to her own fantasy world of make believe inside the Big Top . Blaming herself for her mother's ill health after a heated argument , she begins to dream and fantasize herself in being in a world ruled by two queens , a world filled with strange and bizarre beings , where everyone is masked . In parallel to her life , the white queen is also ill , and she's tasked with the quest of finding the fabled MirrorMask to save her . Think of it as sort of a darker , Gaiman-ish take to Alice in Wonderland , with plot devices and scenarios which leap from wild imagination , accompanied by beautiful surreal environments . MirrorMask suffered from a pretty draggy beginning , and it took a while before the plot began to pick up , with Helena's quest and wondering if what was happening was truly real , of really nothing more than just a dream , which of course offered ample avenue to flex those creative juices . It's filled with special effects that boggles the mind , and offbeat characters made so beautifully by Jim Henson's Creature Shop . However , this movie is strictly for fans of Neil Gaiman only , as those not accustomed to his style of story telling , might be overwhelmed by the visuals and get lost in the plot . But for those who persevere , if you strip away the eye candy fluff , at its core , it's a fairly simple , straight-forward storyline of an adult fantasy .
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515,291 | 317,399 | 338,679 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : A Class To Remember IV : Fifteen
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I'm not too sure why Gakko III wasn't selected for the festival . It could be that it was too much of the same with its teacher-student-school trinity . Or probably the subject matter wasn't diverse enough for it to be differentiated for an audience already seen the first two , and still being fresh in the minds . And Gakko IV - Fifteen , is very much different from the first two Gakko movies , in that it is not set within the confines of a school compound . Rather , this movie has legs , given that it's a road movie , and has its protagonist , 15 ( obviously ) year old Daisuke ( Yuta Kanai ) running away from home to go on the road , in search of a 7000 year old Cedar tree in Yakushima island . Road trips stick to a formula , that you will encounter strange , quirky people along the way ( that's what makes it interesting ) , and somehow have your lives touching each other's because Fate would only have it that way . You have the usual unfriendly bunch , and portrayals of those whom you will also like to meet up with , should you embark on a road trip yourself . Thumbing and hitchhiking his way , with little money and possession , Daisuke totally hates school , and this is something that any teenager could identify with . But don't forget , Life , or living Life , is probably the best school there is . Throughout his journey , Daisuke meets up with people whom he will affect ( for the better ) , and vice versa . The most memorable , and probably having the longest screen time devoted , will be his meeting with a woman trucker ( Rei Asami ) , who , out of pity and curiosity , brings Daisuke home to provide him with temporal shelter and food . How Daisuke affected her family , with his bonding and bringing out the reclusive son , somehow worked wonders and cemented the theme of friendship in this story . At the end of the day , personal relationships get healed , and one of the most touching moments was the expected run in with his family , especially his dad , at the end of the unannounced journey . That scene alone , with its relatively quiet moments , with subtle gestures , and almost muted feelings of regret , is very powerful indeed . That scene alone , is a worthy finale , and worthwhile in investing time to watching this .
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514,842 | 317,399 | 785,006 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Hotel For Dogs
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Being Man's best friend , I understand the slew of movies that are made these days in honour of our canine friends , from the chihuahuas in Beverly Hills Hollywood or the Labradors in Miami , to the Roadside Romeo in Bollywood , I guess you just can't put a good dog down , as they continue to endear even through the most cliché of stories . For dog lovers , the appeal here is the whole range of dogs being put on screen , coming in all shapes , sizes and attitudes , trained of course to execute those stunts meant to show their intelligence beyond the heels , stays and roll overs . The other draw of course is how makeshift technology in the form of contraptions made using almost everyday objects , can be used to keep the dogs occupied and entertained . Unfortunately , almost every mechanical device has been shown in the trailer , leaving nothing new nor surprising , talk about letting all the cat out of the bag . Wait , make that almost every plot device shown that you can sleepwalk through the film and still know what it's all about . Andi ( Emma Roberts the Wild Child ) and Bruce ( Jake T . Austin ) are two orphans who have in the last few years gone from foster family to foster family , because they happen to be two misunderstood kids who find it almost impossible to live with their new foster parents whoever they are , especially if they come in the form of would-be performers completed with lack of intelligence and inflated egos like the Scudders ( Lisa Kudrow and Kevin Dillon hamming it up in full camp regalia ) . They find it increasingly impossible to keep the fact that they are keeping their pet dog Friday ( a terrier similar to Milo in the Mask ) from the Scudders , and in one night time escapade , find themselves with Friday and a couple of strays hiding in an abandoned hotel from the authorities . So begins their very slow starting mission of saving abandoned dogs from around their city , with the help of pet shop employees Dave ( Johnny Simmons ) and Heather ( Kyla Pratt ) and a friendly neighbour Mark ( Troy Gentile from Drillbit Taylor ) , who is mostly underutilized and in it like a sideshow extra . And with any typical dog movie , the enemies are always the folks who operate the dog pound , who according to stereotype just cannot wait to imprison dogs and then put them to sleep when their lease expires under their charge . To add certain gravitas here , there's Don Cheadle whose Bernie the social worker works at having Andi and Bruce find proper homes , and to serve as that Deux Ex Machina mouthpiece toward the end , exposing director Thor Freudenthal's weakness in wrapping this up naturally . And there were a couple of moments which I thought could have been brilliantly explored and not left at just a fleeting and passing remark , where Andi realizes that their inexplicable assistance rendered to stray dogs , happens to be a mirror reflection of their own predicament in being passed from place to place , longing for a perfect , functional home that they could never have , and as such relying on her brother's technical wizardry to make it all complete and worthwhile for the dogs under their charge . Like adoption , very rarely do people want to take on anything but a puppy , if not for its cute factor , but for the reason that they can be nurtured , versus the adage that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks . Hotel for Dogs , being a Nickelodeon movie , has to subscribe to the same old feel good and feel safe formula to make it suitable for all families . In that you can't find anything that will rebel against the established order of the genre , so much so that you're inclined to go along with the formula as dictated . Like a good pet dog .
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514,406 | 317,399 | 490,488 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Dead Run ( Shisso )
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Essentially the movie tells of the story of the central character , Shuji ( Yuga Tegoshi ) , and his ultimate downfall from grace . However , with the way the narrative is set up , you'll most likely be bewildered as to how the movie is going to develop and which direction it's going to take . It's quite messy with its many ideas thrown in at multiple points , each may or may not providing the resolution you're seeking . In fact , it has so many ideas ( since it's adapted from a novel ) , that it's almost like watching an incident laden life of a young boy growing up into a teenager , examining and observing his interactions with unexpected members of society , ranging from small town gangsters , to big town Yakuzas , from gangster molls to his own female peer in Eri ( Hanae Kan ) , who shares the same passion for running as Shuji does . There are quite a number of characters introduced to facilitate this , and more often than not , you only get to know of their background in a rather slow revelation . The movie takes its time to develop the characters and their backgrounds - so don't be expecting the conventional approach . It's a pity though , that some characters become throwaway ones , even after significant screen time had been dedicated featuring them . Of importance is the character of a priest , Father Yuichi ( Etsushi Toyokawa ) , which had a rather rich background story developed and set up as the " Boo Radley " of the movie . Given the screen time devoted , I was rather puzzled when it turned out that he too became a disappearing act in the middle portion , before returning for a bit part in the finale . Like most of the other movies shown during the festival , this one also had a segment of its setting in a classroom , and has its fair share of featuring children in lead roles , albeit up to the one-third mark where the more adult actors took over . And lead actor Yuga Tegoshi did an excellent job in his Shuji - a confused boy , utterly moulded by the environment around him , his loneliness stemmed from a disappearing family , and his quest to seek companionship bringing him to Osaka and Tokyo . What finally redeemed the movie was its last third , where it got its act back together , and realized its direction towards its final push to end the movie . It's a full circle tale after all , with a message never to judge a book by its cover , or to judge a character based on hearsay . And what finally hit you , assisting you in sitting through the convoluted storyline , is the excellent piano musical score done by SENS . p . s . at one point in time the projection seemed to have tilted downwards , cutting off the bottom half where the subtitles are . Thankfully there was just one ( inconsequential ) line of dialogue uttered , and was fixed before anything major happened in the story . p . p . s . I thought at one point it had a scene somewhat similar to Sepet , with the handphone bit !
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514,584 | 317,399 | 997,167 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Midnight Eagle
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The opening film of last year's Tokyo International Film Festival , the reviews for Midnight Eagle has so far been less than stellar , and I was curious to find out why . I mean , a disaster - like movie with elements that threaten in epic proportions couldn't be all that bad , what with a nuclear bomb atop a snowy mountain , with the risk of a nuclear fallout causing death and environmental damage through all of East Asia , and a race against time to prevent it from happening , relying on the heavy shoulders of a few , seem like a stroll in the park right ? The Japanese are in familiar territory , given the experience learnt from the old days when Gozilla stomped Tokyo , right up to the recent Sinking of Japan remake , you'd come to think by now they can fuse the best practices from such movies , and put together something with enough thrills and spills to excite the action seeking audience . Wrong . In fact , nothing much really happens here , and I have to admit that Izuru Narushima is no Michael Bay , who can really pump the adrenaline in folks with just a clock on countdown . Here , although there's a need to wrap things up in 48 hours , everything proceeds with a severe lack of urgency . Which really puts the damper for it to be a " race against time " thriller . In trying to tell a story in as large a scale as possible , it incorporated three fronts before converging them all in the finale ( Transformers , anyone ? ) , but does so in a very slow manner . You have the political front , led by Prime Minister Watarase ( Tatsuya Fuji ) who on one hand declines to reveal the incident to the public lest a panic occurs and he loses his job , and on the other pandering to the US request of maintaining confidentiality , because they had actually flown nuclear bomb carrying stealth bombers over the skies of Japan . Yes the USofA again conveniently becomes the blame victim just had how it was in Korea's The Host , which one wonders whether their allies are becoming tired of their military antics . Then there's the " action " front with war photo-journalist Yuji Nishizaki ( Takao Osawa ) , who on his frequent journeys to the Northern Alps , photographs the incident , and on the cajoling of his friend Shinichiro Ochiai ( Hiroshi Tamaki ) , they decide to scale the mountain to investigate up close , only to have " agents " ( North Korean spies actually , in lieu of the more politically correct subtitles ) also on the same mission , but to finish off what was started . The duo need firepower to handle the adversary , and that comes from the Defense Forces ' Major Akihiro Saeki ( A-Saku Yoshida ) . Lastly , Nishizaki's sister in law , whom he isn't on good terms with , given the sexual tension between them ( or so I read their body language ) , handling some events on the domestic front with some injured North Korean and his girlfriend , who holds the key to end the danger . In some ways , it resembles Robert Redford's Lions for Lambs , which also has a battlefront created on the high mountains , while pencil pushing decision makers survey the action from the comfort of their warm , sparse bunker operations room . Since it's a drama more so than an action movie , a lot of extras are just sitting in the background , trying not to sleep while the actors emote , and looking prim and proper in their starched uniforms decorated with countless of medals . The Japanese seem to be unable to get rid of showing off technical superiority with long distance communications over huge television monitors that give unprecedented clarity in both video and audio , of course with plenty of loopholes abound too . While there's a lack of urgency , the enemies are faceless too , with inanimate objects like " the bomb " and plenty of snow-camouflaged , masked soldiers armed with automatic machine guns and RPGs , so they don't really present themselves as menacing or life-threatening , just as another generic goon that gets dispatched easily . Midnight Eagle could have been a taut action thriller , but what we got was plenty of unnecessary drama that bloated the plot .
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515,178 | 317,399 | 427,968 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Trust the Man
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When I saw the trailer for this film earlier this year , I placed it under my radar to watch if it makes its way here . I would like to have loved this film , but try as I may , I just couldn't . Not that it's a bad film , but it had too much cramped into it , with subplots flying off in various directions , and the flow just feels too bloated . It's been some time since we last saw David Duchovny on screen . I'm a fan of his Fox Mulder , but after the series ended , it seemed that he has difficulty securing regular appearances in movies these days . He doesn't seem to age , and his latest outing in this movie is testament to that , save for that bearded look toward the end . His character , Tom , is interesting enough as the sex addict ( yeah , you read that right ) , who just can't get enough of the hot and heavy from his wife Rebecca , played by Julianne Moore . For this couple , we look at their marital woes , or woes that exist but always swept and kept under the carpet . It doesn't help when husband and wife reverses roles , with him becoming a house husband with plenty of time in his hands , and she spending long hours away with her theatre rehearsals . And when an attractive divorcée comes into the picture , all hell breaks loose of course . Written and directed by director Bart Freundlich ( real life husband of Julianne Moore ) , the story contrasts this couple with another , that of Tobey ( Billy Crudup ) and Elaine ( Maggie Gyllenhaal ) . They are your perennial long term dating pair , with one eager to tie the knot , while the other just being commitment phobic . The hairline cracks finally give way , and we go into deep examination of the doom and gloom , the familiarity and the taking for granted , your other half . There's plenty of dialogue in this movie , but don't expect most of them to be funny all the time . No quality wisecracks can be found here . While some are humorous , they come off rather contrived . Many scenes are also set around the ( dinner ) table , which offers the perfect opportunity for the characters to get together and share their thoughts , being conveniently related to one another , through blood relations and friendship . What's interesting though , is the reminder constantly played throughout , about the need to be totally honest about each other , even though this will mean having to declare things you know will definitely hurt . A cry for help shouldn't be blown away . Again there are plenty more scenes shot which didn't make it to the final cut , and the editing was not slick enough to cover up these open end hanging feeling between scenes . A whole host of supporting cast like Gary Shandling and Eva Mendes amongst others , get so minuscule a role , they just adds to the needless character count , and contribute to the fat not required in story development . But if you think you're in need of some serious romance drama , and potentially the need to reaffirm your love for someone , or in the mood for some discussions about the various themes put across - of love , faith , lust and sex , then Trust the Man will be your clear choice this week .
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514,720 | 317,399 | 351,283 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Madagascar
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Dreamworks Animation SKG has set high standards with its Shrek series , and follow ups like Shark Tale . Somehow this film falls short of expectations , and the best bits seemed to have been featured in the trailers . Without going into the story details which you can piece together from promotions - this one has neither the zaniness nor a level of adult sophistication which we are spoilt with , and it seemed pretty back to basics . Sure the spoofs are there - but not as rampant as the other animations ( See ? I'm comparing here ! It's the standards that are set ! I can't help it ! ) . I've only managed to spot Zoolander , American Beauty , Cast Away , and given the premise , how can anyone not spoof the reality TV series Survivor ? The lack of spoofs might not mean much , but dialogue without much wit doesn't cut out for me . Louis Armstrong's Born Free being played ad nausem also got to me . Despite its flaws , the animation is still top notch . The animals are beautifully drawn , and as always , contain that hint of their real life actors in them , like caricatures . In the zebra , you see Chris Rock , the Lion , the cockiness and self-importance of most Ben Stiller's reel life characters , and David Schwimmer's prominent neck resulted in him being handed the role of the giraffe . Jada Pinkett Smith as the hippopotamus ? Now that's something different ! Some of you might fall in love with the potential of the supporting characters , and at times , it seemed that they upstage the main leads . The pair of monkeys ( one can read but can't speak , the other can't read but speaks with a stiff upper lip ) , the gang of penguins ( they steal the show each scene they're in ) , a squirrel with rip-off Shrek's-puss-in-boots eyes ( awww . . . ) , and my personal favourite - the crazed Lemur King , who speaks like an Indian chief ( he sounds like one anyway ! ) . Perhaps with a little bit of direction and a more focused script ( for kids ? Or for adults ? Or having elements of both to entertain adults and kids alike ? Kids were falling asleep in this film - a sin for animation ! ) this could turn out into a hit . Alas the Dark Side of the Force is strong , and I really don't see this scaling to the peak of the ( US ) movie charts and dethroning the Sith . The saving grace for me - the madcap jungle banghra rave party ! WOOHOO ! Repeated again as the end credits roll , but nothing at the end except for a hippo who thinks its a Tinkerbell .
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514,515 | 317,399 | 468,820 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : ( SIFF ) Noriko's Dinner Table
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This Japanese film is my closing film for this year's SIFF . It tells of a compelling family story , where " safe " is boring , and a child is off looking for that spark in life to spice things up . Turning her back to her family , Noriko makes her way to Tokyo to look up her internet friends , friends she came to know through an online forum . At first everything seems puzzling , until she realize that they are all " actors " , folks providing " rental family " services to lonely people out there , yearning to belong . It's ironic that Noriko had turned her back on her real family , only to join a surrogate one , pretending to be close knit to a lot of other strangers . She takes on her online persona , and forgets about " Noriko " , the life she left behind . Which makes it really strange - why would anyone want to abandon their own family , and comfort zone , to make believe with others ? It's a social exploration of alienation , and on a separate note , tries to look at the trend of suicide clubs in Japan . One harrowing scene that was replayed , was that of 54 female students jumping off a train platform in unison . Taking on pseudo-security camera views , and plenty of blood with the smashing of heads on track ( in full glory ) , it'll make you wince , yet wonder in astonishment , the question of Why . ßRunning parallel to Noriko's narrative , are a few others , like her dad's , her sister Yuka's ( who also joined Noriko in her new role ) , and a forum founder Komiko . Taking on parallel and different points of view , it is no wonder that this film clocks in at slightly more than 2 hours . The father seeks Noriko and Yuka and wants to start afresh by welcoming them home , but find that the siblings have already disowned their lives thus far , preferring to pretend to be someone else , someone they have total control over , someone that they have created for themselves . The movie started off strongly , but the pace sagged around the half way mark , before picking up again for the grand finale . It also helped that almost all the female cast in this movie are eye-candy , contrasting the seriousness of the issues presented , with their outward cuteness and pretty faces . It's a pretty weird story , with strange characters , those who don't bat an eyelid over suicide , taking it as a form of higher calling . However you'll still be stuck at the Why question , as the movie doesn't offer any concrete answers , and somehow teased with an ending hinting of a possible sequel , that probably wouldn't be made .
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515,539 | 317,399 | 1,129,442 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Transporter 3
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I'm beginning to see a pattern here , and I'm thinking that The Transporter , if it has the legs for more movies , could be the franchise equivalent of being a poor man's cousin to James Bond . Created and written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen for three installments so far , the character of Frank Martin is a roguish looking strongman with a penchant for suiting up when going about being the best of the best in personalized delivery , with no questions asked , no names , and a whole host of other rules which he will of course break during the course of the movie . Like Bond , he drives a cool , sponsored signature car . While Bond has his Aston Martins and BMWs , Frank Martin traded his BM in the first movie , for the armoured Audi A8 W12 which he has brought over from the second film , and here , that sweet supercar got to be put through even more punishment . It also shows itself to be a cut about the rest in being waterproof too , and an occasional dunk in the river won't put out the powerful engine , with tyres that self-inflate too ( ok , so just in case you don't realize , I'm pointing out mistakes ) . And it follows the Bond formula in having the Chick of the Flick highlight too . Shu Qi came on board in the first film as the vixen who traded her body to convince Frank to take the job . Then we had the good girl-bad girl combination for Part 2 with Amber Valletta and Kate Nauta respectively . Here , model Natalya Rudakova , with her very obvious freckles getting in the way , continues from where Shu Qi left off , being the flower vase who can't speak English fluently no thanks to her strong accent , and that's fine since their characters hail from a non-English speaking country . Director at the helm has been round robin too ( now by Olivier Megaton ) , with Hong Konger Corey Yuen crafting the first movie , before taking the back seat in every film by taking charge of how Frank Martin does hand to hand combat . So we do get to see some consistency in the technique that Jason Statham adopts in performing martial arts and various stunt work on his own , and Statham definitely has what it takes to fill up the void of having the lack of Western action heroes on the big screen . I suppose with more hits under his belt ( pardon the pun ) he could cement this status , and I sincerely hope that he avoids the plague of being relegated in his later years to the direct to video market . As far as the story goes , it just provides a basic premise and an excuse to see how our hero gets to sit behind the wheel again . The Frank Martin now is more laid back , and spends most of his leisure time with the French detective Tarconi ( Francois Berleand ) whom he has befriended now . Until of course his reputation catches up with him , and in a Crank inspired moment , has to do what he does best for the bad guys , much against his wishes . The villains almost always seem to be part of what's topical at the moment , and this time Frank Martin has to contend with some eco-terrorists who are blackmailing a minister , involving some permit for industrial waste . But who cares about any semblance of the plot anyway ? We're looking for some adrenaline pumping , high octane action aren't we all ? And here's where it takes a slide for the worse actually . Unlike Bond , there isn't anything new or refreshing to keep the audience engaged and away from the deja-vu feeling . For some reason , Besson and Kamen's story seemed to be stuck in a lot of drama and talk-talk-talk , giving our hero not much time to flex his muscles . And when he gets the chance to , it's the same old one-man-surrounded-by-thugs routine where he effortlessly dispatches them all with aplomb . Such fight scenes are becoming common in The Transporter franchise , and Corey Yeun definitely needs to rejuvenate his action sequences designed for the franchise pronto . There are only two major fisticuffs scenes , and they all follow the same routine , which spells boring . And apart from that , we get the usual complementary car chases which seem to be rather standard with the usual camera shots and angles capturing the action too . Fans of the series and of Statham will no doubt make a bee line at the box office for this , but I suspect that should there be any more thoughts on extending the franchise beyond the three films , then while the formulaic plot format can be kept , the action better be innovative because nobody likes seeing the same thing twice . Since different directors got a chance to have a go at the franchise , perhaps a change in action choreographers might give Frank Martin the lift that he needs .
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515,163 | 317,399 | 475,590 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : The Wig
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If you'd know me by now , I take my pick of horror flicks depending on my mood . I'm game anytime for zombie films , might take a little persuasion with vampire flicks , ghosts and goblins I might like too . The Hollywood movies that is , heavily laden with effects , and most of the time compensated with gore . I haven't watched an Asian horror movie since The Ring , and now have taken my first plunge with The Wig . Oh OK , it's all about the chicks again . Dark Water had Jennifer Connelly , Skeleton Key yesterday had Kate Hudson . In The Wig , we have two beautiful ( actually in my opinion , one only ) sisters Ji-hyeon ( Yu Seon ) and Su-hyeon ( Chae Min-seo ) . Su-hyeon is suffering from leukemia , and isn't given too long to live . Her sister Ji-hyeon takes it upon herself to care for her until the end , which isn't expected to be too long . We see sisterly love abound after a cheesy start to the movie , and Ji-hyeon presents a wig for her sister to cover her bald head , the side effects of chemotherapy . Of course , the wig's possessed by a spirit ( hence the obvious title ) , and therefore takes over the life of Su-hyeon . She seemed to rapidly recover without the aid of drugs , and has a sudden lusting towards her sister's ex-boyfriend Ki-seok . Attitudes and habits change . You can experience the occasional standard horror fare like dream sequences , hallucinations , sudden appearances , pesky cats , dark corridors , creepy attics and the likes . Familiar territory for horror buffs . So it's left to our heroine Ji-hyeon to quickly discover the whos , wheres , and whys , before it's too late to save her beloved sister from the devil . I suppose with most formulae , this discovery always ties down to the various characters in the movie , and their back-stories . It might interest you that Ji-hyeon didn't speak throughout the movie , as she was injured in an accident , so don't expect a lot of screams from her to raise your goosebumps . But the main back-story , once revealed , is actually quite sad , especially the scenes after the revelation . It might be brief , and it might just bring out a tear or two from some sensitive audience . A slight twist at the end too when they tie up some of the subplots , which might raise some eyebrows , but only after a few cheap scares by the filmmakers . And yes , I'll make it a point to peek under the toilet seat for the next few days . Gee , must every spirit from horror movies start to appear from everyday objects ? Handphones next , anyone ?
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515,481 | 317,399 | 439,654 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : My Wife is a Gangster 3
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Director Cho Jin-gyu of the original action-comedy My Wife is a Gangster returns to direct this sequel . However , without the return of the titular Wife Cha Eun-jin ( Shin Eun-Kyung ) , this movie is nothing more than just a namesake , but there's no stopping the linkage with the box office success of the earlier movies . The new Wife here ( though she's actually a guest rather than a Wife ) is none other than sultry looking Shu Qi , who plays Aryong , the daughter of a triad leader ( what else ) in Hong Kong , starring Ti Lung in a supporting role . There are some bits shot in Hong Kong , and in the Cantonese language , which is all fine and dandy ( given it's rare here to hear complete Cantonese dialogue in movies no thanks to the Speak Mandarin campaign ) , but what was bad in these scenes were the plenty of subtitles - in English , Mandarin and Korean , which cover almost 50 % of the screen . As the story goes , Aryong offends some gangsters in her homeland , and in a bid to ensure her safety , her father gets her packing overseas to take cover from the impending gangland war . She gets packed to where else , Korea ( it's a Korean production after all ) , and becomes a guest to some Korean mafiaso , with Ki-Chul ( Lee Beom-su ) and his posse being the hosts and guardians of Aryong . But with the bumbling inept fools , you're quite certain who's the protector , and who's in need of protection here . It's a fairly average movie with the usual lost in translation jokes , the clashing of cultures and of course , societal norms in a male dominated society . Mistaken intentions and deliberate translation errors to pursue individual character ends are the staple here , and some of them are genuinely funny , but like the adage , too much of a good thing cheapens it , especially when it continues to milk and replay scenes , such as over the dining table . You can see most of the jokes coming your way , and it depended very much on the actors ' skill in delivery - that exaggerated body language , or that wide-eyed stare of disbelief and suspicion . The action sequences are nothing much to wow about , especially with Shu Qi's superwoman Aryong character , who's almost only the character here who can fight . Given the number of goons thrown at her , you can't help but feel that many action scenes remind you of The Bride in Kill Bill , as she dispatches henchmen with so much ease , she rarely breaks into a sweat . And most times , with that deliberate long hair obscuring her face , you can bet your last dollar it's a stuntman taking over that lithe frame . Some cheap shots were incorporated into the storyline , playing to Shu Qi's ex-vamp , slutty image of yesteryears . Guess you can't help it when you have some notoriety in your history , and scenes of boob grabs and woman-on-top staircase-induced gyrating scenes were in the movie quite unnecessarily , if nothing more for some juvenile laughs . But all said , it's still a tad enjoyable , especially when you can't get tickets into the other blockbuster movies like Transformers and Die Hard 4 . 0 currently showing . Sometimes , movies like this when released at the same time of the expected sold-out movies , makes its cash by being the catch-all net from the expected overflow .
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515,358 | 317,399 | 1,018,902 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Pleasure Factory
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According to Pleasure Factory , Geylang was once an area where factories process coconuts , but now have given way to brothels providing pleasure , with pimps eager to hawk their latest acquisitions to anyone loitering a little while longer . Perhaps it's like Vegas , where what happens in Geylang stays in Geylang , that the characters here all have a propensity of not speaking . I would have no issues on this if the visuals , which paint a kaleidoscope of beautiful imagery showcasing the lure of the bright lights and the seedier side of what dwells amongst the shadows , can maintain a movie on its own before starting to look like Discovery Channel , but too often the narrative found itself caught up in the moment with its characters , in obvious short stories forced together through casual circumstances . The three stories here were actually like snapshots , everything given on the surface , and without much depth . The first story is the perennial army boy seeking to pop his cherry , and what better way to do so than with someone of experience . Loo Zihan ( who co-directed and was one of the leads in Solos ) stars as the Jonathan the army boy who while at first seemed shy and unwilling , on the goading of a friend Kiat ( Katashi Chen ) , managed to decide on the services of a buxom girl from China , Xue Er . I thought this story was the best amongst the three , in that it had clear direction in what it wanted to get at , interjected with good humour . It also painted the motivations of all the characters clearly , highlighting the play acting and masks that people wear , whether we really know the deep dark secret desires that others have in mind , and dalliances on love , lust , and of course , the virgin experience . Unfortnately , that cannot be said of the story involving the veterans Ananda Everingham and Yang Kuei-Mei , who's a regular in Tsai Mi ng-liang movies , that Pleasure Factory tries hard to emulate its minimalistic and reliance on visual language , with dismal results . People hardly talk here , and the visuals relied a fair bit on the unsteadicam as it weaves about and around the corridors of a budget hotel . While Yang's Linda and Isabella Chan's teenage girl has a mother-daughter love-hate relationship suggested , it was Ananda's Chris that proved to be the story arc's undoing , given that his character had no clear motivation at all . He just appears , hesitates , feels sorry , and that's it , finding it hard to communicate to the duo given that he speaks only English . And it's not the characters alone that have unclear objectives and motivations . The movie too was disjointed in itself , having succumbed to schizophrenic moments where it inserted two documentary styled interview footage into the narrative structure , thus having those sticking out like a sore thumb . While much of the narrative is fictional in nature , I thought that it may have felt a need to have a mockumentary ( ? ) mouthpiece to provide us some candid answers , albeit for a short while only . The remaining story arc puts the spotlight on a pleasure giver , a hot girl in a red dress ( played by Jeszlene Zhou ) , the regular plaything of a old , pudgy man driving a sports car , who while jaded with satisfying the lusty old man , as a person she too yearns the desire for love / lust being satisfied . I thought this was a more of a conventional treatment of Herman Yau's Whispers and Moans in its tit-for-tat moment , but it does open one's eyes to having to resort to innovative methods to solicit , and cements the term " Special " being us ed in the trade . In circumstances where you tell the pimp your fantasies and get them fulfilled somewhat , Pleasure Factory did not manage to do just that . You have a basic idea what you want to get at . and while it's packaged very nicely on the outside , the skills for pleasuring the senses dispensed unfortunately didn't provide for a satisfying time . But this is Geylang after all . Fans will undoubtedly have no hesitation to see how their playground gets depicted in a feature length film , while those curious enough or have never stepped foot into its territory , would probably prefer to see it through a filmmaker's lens first .
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514,947 | 317,399 | 423,977 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Charlie Bartlett
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You have Ferris Bueller , and Van Wilder , and now we have Charlie Bartlett ( Anton Yelchin ) . But unlike the other two high school dudes with natural chemistry , Bartlett got to work hard at it , stemmed from his personal issues which manifest itself as a want to get himself catapulted to the top of the popularity charts . Being from a rich household , he finds himself like a fish out of water in a public school after being thrown out of just about every private school out there for his shenanigans . And of course , things don't get any better after a disastrous day at school with the school bully , and giving the first wrong impressions to Principal Gardner ( Robert Downey Jr ) , whom he has to convince later when Bartlett begins to develop affections for Gardner's daughter and fellow schoolmate Susan ( Kat Dennings ) . So beings a power struggle of sorts within the school compound , and for the girl both care about . Some have billed Charlie Bartlett as a Juno follow up , but I would like to beg to differ . Sure , they're both dealing with high school kids who fast talks , but when compared to Juno , Charlie Bartlett would probably get his butt kicked real hard . Not to say that Charlie Bartlett is a bad film , but Juno offered a lot more pizazz , attitude and charm that Bartlett seemed to be lacking . However , there are still enjoyable moments with Bartlett that most school kids who aim to be Mr or Ms Popular , would probably identify with . And the scenes where Charlie becomes Agony Uncle and sets up shop dispensing useful advice , as well as controlled drugs , take the cake in the movie , as he discovers his niche market , and milked them for all it's worth . Anton Yelchin has this very sly demeanour and offers much of a devilish attitude from beneath that wimpy surface , though I can't really say that as Charlie Bartlett it will be his defining role . I look forward to his involvement as Chekov in JJ Abrams ' upcoming reboot of the Star Trek movie though . The soundtrack is unlikely to be memorable ( for a teen movie ! The Horror ! ) though one can take consolation with Hope Davis ' portrayal as Charlie's neurotic mother Marilyn , which did seem like a distant cousin to Annette Benning's role in Running With Scissors . And Robert Downey Jr with a bottle in hand did seem like reliving his past on screen , and I'd bet his Tony Stark in Iron Man , would also seem like a stroll down memory lane for him too . The best parts of the story for his Principal Gardner of course involves his one to one challenges with Bartlett , as do any school principal with their school's # 1 rascal , so there's nothing new though to offer there . I had expected a lot from Charlie Bartlett , and we all know what expectations can do , especially when the movie doesn't seem to hit the mark set . Enjoyable , but not the greatest we've seen in the shenanigans department .
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514,944 | 317,399 | 880,578 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Untraceable
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So I thought I'd take a break from the Festival and get down to some regular screening of what some would deem as the usual products from the usual assembly line . Untraceable became that movie , because the poster here had Ebert giving it a positive rating , but everyone else I heard had panned it . Directed by Gregory Hoblit , who was at the helm of one of my favourite movies Frequency , I thought I'd give it a shot . The premise was interesting enough to appeal to geeks , at least some parts of it . A serial killer with the technical know-how sets up a site , and uses the power of the internet as well as the voyeuristic nature of the online denizens to aid in the kills , meaning the more hits the site receives during an online , live execution , the faster the victim will die . Needless to say should he slap an ad on the site , it'll rake him enough dough to retire . And the police can't do anything about it because of bureaucratic red tape in terms of jurisdictions , and of course , the killer being a gifted cracker . In the veins of torture porn movies , it does showcase some rather sick though innovative ways of brutally dispatching someone , although it doesn't resort to ramping up the gore element unnecessarily . There were some nifty visual effects and makeup , but for those weaned on the Saw franchise and its wannabes , then Untraceable doesn't provide anything new . So goes the usual cliché storyline of cops , led by Diane Lane's FBI Agent Jennifer Marsh , Colin Hanks ' Agent Griffin Dowd and Portland Detective Eric Box ( BIlly Burke ) , going after the elusive killer whose only presence is online , until it becomes personal and hits closer to home with the obvious plot development involving family and friends . But unlike its title , there's nothing much untraceable about this hunter and prey game , and provides you with very little connection or psychological challenge in outwitting , outlasting and outplaying each other . It doesn't attempt to build up the great " unknown " about the killer in a whodunnit fashion , and only weaves through a connection of convenience . However , Untraceable does have genuinely tension building moments , and you do find yourself sitting at the edge of your seat during certain segments , but that's about it , as the rest of the time , it's just plain sailing in expected waters . I felt that while it had some message to say about online netizens and anonymous chatter in general , it doesn't quite achieve what it had set out to do . You get to see snapshots of essentially a chatroom with its mindless discussions and terrible shorthand with typos , which probably is something you'd be accustomed to should you visit any chatroom anyway . Also , Hollywood still couldn't get away from designing some really snazzy login menus and user interfaces that end users in the real world will probably drool over , or laugh at its cumbersomeness . What really plummeted the movie to B-grade movie territory is the ending . No worries , no spoilers here , but really , it ended with plenty of bravado and the cheese was just too thick to swallow . Seriously , watching Diane Lane did whatever she did , sent my eyeballs rolling upwards sky high . Promising premise which didn't allow for its plot to keep pace .
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514,664 | 317,399 | 490,086 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Big Stan
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The only other movie I remember vividly with the protagonist fearing his upcoming time spent in jail , was in Spike Lee's powerful drama 25th Hour , where we follow Edward Norton's character in his final day of freedom before being sent to the slammer . In Big Stan , Rob Schneider's crooked time-share conman Stan got arrested in the opening minutes for fraud ( and you might think it's for racism ) , and spends much of the first act mulling over the fear of getting raped in jail , for not being part of any gang , and a first timer wussy who's easy target for the lonely tough guys behind bars . Thanks to his crooked lawyer Lew Popper ( M . Emmet Walsh ) and the crooked system ( from the judiciary right down to the prison warden , who as the movie states , are always made to look like dicks anyway ) , he gets six months off before he has to present himself to the courts to begin his sentence , in in this period of time , tries his best to look " undesirable " . Help comes in the form of The Master , played to good campy effect by David Carradine , star of the 70s Kung Fu series , whom I last saw in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill movies playing well , yet another stereotyped kung fu master . Thus begins the tried and very tired formula of the kooky training regime with strange food and diet , coupled with near impossible feats like titty-weight training . Granted there were some genuine sight gags , but sad to say they all get confined to this particular sequence . The trailer would have already spelt it all out for you , and suffice to say that the best bits were already inside . The story by Josh Lieb seemed to have run out of steam even before the mid-way mark , where Stan had already entered the jailhouse , and asserted his tougher than tough , no nonsense , keep away demeanour by punching the lights out of the meanest rapist in jail , and a few others . If you're looking for end to end laughter , then you're likely to be bored once Stan becomes head honcho in getting some respect in jail . With that out of the way , the movie degenerated into series of clichés , and the usual nasty warden with nasty plan routines . It didn't help that supporting characters here were stereotyped into playing stereotypes , conveniently split into the different cliques and clans . Directed by Rob Schneider himself , his films to date has somewhat been of a hit and miss for me . Lending his prowess to supporting roles like in You Don't Mess With The Zohan and Click , I thought he usually fared better in those , unlike having to carry the movie solely on his own , ala Deuce Bigelow and The Benchwarmers . What I found out unfortunately is that they usually start off strongly with quite a unique premise ripe for the cracking of some insane jokes , before fizzling out halfway and coasts through some predictable drama to the finale . Still , some laughs are better than none at all , so if you really feel that you need some light hearted medicine , then you'll find some joy in the beginning , but that's all .
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514,749 | 317,399 | 1,340,838 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Raaz : The Mystery Continues
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The first Raaz starring Bipasha Basu has nothing to do with this film . The mystery indeed continues here in name only , just like how the Thai horror franchise The Art of the Devil 2 having no relation to Part 1 . It's a totally different story altogether with no return of characters from the first film , so this rose could be called any other name , and would it smell as sweet ? There's a certain formula followed here and comes with the obligatory " logical " explanation , but the story could have been nipped and tucked a little to help in the pacing . Fashion model Nandita ( Kangana Ranaut who seems stuck in such roles , the last of which was the recent Fashion ) and her fiancé Yash ( Adhyayan Suman ) seem to hit all the right notes as a successful yuppie couple . At first we're told the relationship is on the rocks , but then a quick reconciliation over an awards ceremony meant happy days for both . For her , she's at the height of her career , and for him , being the successful producer-director of a long running reality television series called Superstition , which explores the many myths and beliefs in Indian culture , and goes about deconstructing and debunking them . So of course , things start to go bump in the night , but seemingly affecting Nandita more , to the point of insanity . We get introduced to an artist Prithvi ( Emraan Hashmi ) , who falls into a drunken trance with a few swigs , and ends up painting masterpieces of people he doesn't know , only to find that the impressions of his paintings are predictions of future occurrences . Recognizing that his drawings lately have resembled the high profile model , he takes it upon himself to explain things , and this sets everything up for a romantic triangle , where his brooding demeanor doesn't put him in the good books of flamboyant Yash . Things with Nandita start to get worst , and just as you wonder if there would be any inkling of Hollywood come smacking in the face of the film , there had to be some homage paid to movies like Ghostbusters ( Kangana's rendition of the Gatekeeper , anyone ? ) and The Devil's Advocate , but this being Bollywood meant it's a clothes on affair in the display of deep - rooted scars in front of a church altar . Shades from Asian horror like The Ring also gets overused here . Songs have to be worked in , and this was done fairly smartly in having to set it in pubs , private serenading and a much unwanted dream-like fantasy of Prithvi lusting after Nandita ( well , it did seem that way ) . Director Mohit Suri employed every trick in the scare book in order to work up some boo - moments , some of which still get effectively delivered , while others dallied on the anticipation too long and backfired . From mirror images to shaky doorknobs , from copious amounts of blood stained walls to deserted underground car parks , sound effects in the theatre were maxed out to give that sense-surround creepy feeling , with whispers and creaky doors used to great effect . Alas the narrative failed to exploit the technical brilliance at the film's disposal , and investigations by both Prithvi and Nandita ( the character of Yash does get forgotten for a while ) take their toil as they take just too darn long to get to where they should ( about 40 minutes ! ) . Unfortunately we don't get to see a lot of footage of superstition which could've been milked for various scenes . Instead , it becomes a rather bland X-Files episode where the superstitious and the non-believers go head on toward unraveling the mystery of the worshippers and rites of a remote town , with some environmental concerns thrown right in just because it's the in thing . The link that binds the characters together were too weak to say the least , becoming too trying especially in its final revelation with a last ditch attempt . If it had tightened its pace and felt no need to explain everything in verbatim , this could clock way below 2 hours , and a tighter thriller could result . Not a bad experience for my first Hindi thriller , but it had room to be much better .
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515,013 | 317,399 | 416,315 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Wolf Creek
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Based on true events supposedly , Wolf Creek is an Australian production that adds its two cents worth to the slasher genre . However , audiences today won't buy too much into " based on a true story / event / life / etc " gimmick , especially if your end credits contain a line that reveals all events in the movie are purely fictional . Right . Nonetheless this movie takes its cue from disappearing folks in Australia , having more than 30 , 000 people doing a Houdini , 90 % being discovered within the first month of disappearance , and the remainder being out there , somewhere , unaccounted for , gone perhaps . Oh , there are lots of creeks at the outback , like the Emu's , but our story takes place in the more sinister sounding Wolf Creek ( Wolfe Creek actually ) . But it takes about an hour before the real action began , which is a long yawn . During the first hour , you don't get to see much except tolerate the weak characters on screen , characters you don't care about anyway because you know they are fresh meat , and having that meat pounded is all you care about ( otherwise , why bother with a movie like this ? ) An Aussie bloke and two of his British chick friends are on a road trip across Australia . Like I mentioned , the first hour is pretty boring as they make their way to various pit stops and attractions , like Wolf Creek Crater , a pretty amazing sight to behold , touted to be a site where a meteorite came crashing down . Just as they are about to leave , their vehicle fail to start and are contemplating spending the night under the stars . To their good fortune , a friendly Samaritan came along and offers free help . But there's nothing like free lunch , or is it ? It brings back what your mama always tell you about talking and trusting strangers . It's like Haute Tension ( High Tension ) shown last year , and Jeepers Creepers combined , with its bogeyman hunter character , but it's no Blair Witch Project in the atmospheric department . The degree of gore is comparable , but not that many scenes because it's pretty low budgeted . In some scenes , you thought that even sicker stuff would be presented , given the array of equipment made available , but alas they were not to be . Which makes one wonder , if we could go even more extreme than writer-director Greg McLean . Which of course isn't a very good sign if you have ideas that can probably top the writer and director's vision . Either you're a sick sick person , or the movie is mediocre when compared to slasher greats . And it won't do you any favours if you're planning a road trip in Australia anytime soon , and your vehicle happens to break down .
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515,191 | 317,399 | 492,650 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : The Art of Seduction
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Truth be told , if I were to come across Son Ye-jin's Han Ji-wan character , with those bambi eyes and pretty face , I would go jelly too . But that'a about it . I guess I pretty much ruled myself out of the dating scene , for the time being at least , to fall for her manipulative charms . Perhaps it's true that a pretty face can turn a monster into a mouse , and boy , does Son Ye-jin turn heads . She plays a " player / swinger " Han Ji-wan , a private banker who uses her good looks to win customer confidence , or uses it to seduce any man she fancies , for whatever multiple reasons . If anything , players / swingers are quite insecure folks , despite the confidence they project on the exterior . Audiences might have noticed her playing opposite Korean heartthrob Bae Yong-jun in April Snow , where her character was mostly calm , composed , demure , quiet . Here , she goes to the opposite end of the spectrum , with her gregarious , scheming nature in full contrast with the former character's . She also seemed to have slimmed down a bit from her chubbier April Snow outing , but yeah , nobody's complaining ; - P Playing the alpha-male seducer , her counterpart / rival / mark , is actor Song Il-guk . As a good looking architect , Seo Min-jun is a chip off his father's playboy ways . Like Ji-wan , he too is able to turn on his charms to snag the woman he desires , and when he's tired of it all , after reaching his goal , he brings them to a setup fortune teller , using Fate as an excuse that things will not work out . So The Art of Seduction presents to you , the tricks both sexes use on their prey . And it turns up the heat , when the two players meet . Here's where the usual tricks don't seem to work , especially when used on experienced , first-rate players who have worked the ground using similar tactics , and counter-tactics . The narrative was played out rather ordinarily , with one side being presented a scenario created by the other , and how they wriggle out from , then the tables are turned using a different scenario , and it goes on . And unfortunately , for far too long . It does get to you after a while , as you'll start to feel the length of this 100 minute movie . Some of the tactics used were recycled , like Ji-wan's expensive car accident trick , and Min-jun's cost of cigarette statement . For non-Korean speaking folks , you might get lost during the early sight gags where MCQs in Korean flashed on screen . Thankfully this technique isn't used for the entire movie . Many situations presented in the movie also pushes the envelope of believability - how much would a man go to satisfy the unreasonable / weird demands of a girl ? It's the games people play , and how much do you want to get involved ? And it does seem weird that the men Ji-wan snags ( with her skills ) always turn out to be the ah-peks ( older men have all the fun ? ) while Min-jun does well with better choices ( by better I mean more pleasing to the eye ) . On the whole , the movie is pretty campy fun , despite some scenarios not being reasonably plausible . You get to laugh at the jokes ( some being quite weak though , and can be seen a mile away ) , toilet humour even , but more importantly , depending which way you swing , the eye candy on screen would be satisfying enough to forgive the flaws .
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514,581 | 317,399 | 494,834 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Silk
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If Fate would have it , I would have the opportunity to go to Tokyo for this year's Japanese International Film Festival , and watched this as the closing film . Initially I had mixed this up with Atonement , also starring Keira Knightley in a period romance story , except that this one had shades of The Last Samurai thrown in , with the love triangle moments with the involvement of a Japanese girl . Based on the novel by Alessandro Baricco , Silk takes its name from the Silk trade , where a French village looks to having its economy hit , if not for Alfred Monlina's Baldabiou who ventures into opening a silk mill and employing the townsfolk . However , in need of untainted silkworm eggs , free from an epidemic striking Europe , he sends overseas one of his staff Herve Joncour ( Michael Pitt ) , whom is indebted to him for arranging his marriage with Knightley's Helene , and off he goes on the arduous journey first to Africa , then to the land of the rising sun , now in the impending stage of internal strife . The journeys are probably the best bits in the movie , with lush landscapes filling the screen in all serenity of the turmoils that are yet to come . I thought director Francois Girard tried to ape Terence Mallick's direction , with lush natural beauty punctuated with voice over narration of the character's inner-most thoughts . We learn a lot of what's going on in Herve's mind , as he tells us the story of his being , and the conflict he faces when he gets tempted to committing adultery , never forgetting about his tryst overseas when back home he has a lovely wife to go home to . While the movie has that central conflict that provides the fuel to propel the movie forward , somehow it never gets utilized , having the story and characters dance around on the sidelines of the issue , never to take it head on . This adds to the frustration of watching the deliberations that they have , made worse as the movie chooses to unfold itself extremely slowly , taking too much of its own sweet time . Fans of Keira Knightley would have watched this movie solely to see her performance after the Pirates double bill , but sadly , even though she's given top billing , her screen time is limited , as the spotlight falls on Michael Pitt's Herve and we are told of this story through his eyes . What adds to the annoyance as well , is that the movie is sans English subtitles . Having it set in France but the characters speaking in English is understandable ( after all , Pitt is American and Knightley is English ) , but having the Japanese speak in their native tongue , and not providing the subtitles , removes a layer that would have provided probably a deeper understanding of the movie . Yes , granted we are supposed to feel the pain of Herve in his inability to connect with the people and the one he loves , but I don't feel that this should be done at the expense of understanding , especially for non-Japanese speaking folks . However , despite its obvious flaws , the movie redeems itself with a powerful end , packing quite a punch especially when you think it's headed nowhere and probably into mediocrity . Suddenly you discover that things are again not always what they seem , and wonder just who the bigger fool is . But the bottomline , if there's a message to be taken away from this movie , is again never to give in to temptation , and truly treasure your loved ones . Tried and tested , clichéd but true .
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514,454 | 317,399 | 452,702 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Vacancy
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For starters , if I own a BWM , I'll make sure I have a baseball bat handy and near enough for that occasional road rage , and am sure as hell gonna bring it along with me if my car stalls and I need to journey into the night . And to remember never to bicker incessantly with my wife because she's always right , and everyone else deserves to have their heads bash in because otherwise , they'll snuff us . Clocking in at a mere 80 minutes thereabout , Vacancy seemed like a decent thrill-a-minute ride , with Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale playing an estranged Fox couple , spending the first 20 of those precious minutes arguing for the most parts inside their BMW . They take their time to set themselves up for the fall , and in the process fail to heed the warning signs which you can learn all about in the movie Scream . The person who's helping you has ulterior motives usually designed to get you in harm's way , and everything that is too conveniently true , well , surely is . You can't help but to feel that director Nimrod Antal ( who directed the excellent Kontroll ) was somewhat hampered by the formulaic script written by Mark L Smith . Instead of having the perpetrators stay one step ahead and in turn keeping our victims on their toes , what you experience is yourself predicting how the movie will turn out , every single step of the way , right down to pointing out where shadows will appear , and which scene will have that throwaway jump shot to elicit some cheap screams . Not surprisingly , nobody in the theatre I was watching this in felt any adrenaline rush , as they reeked of a sense of familiarity - you know who the villains are , you know what will happen to cops , and worse , Vacancy followed recent peer flicks like Wolf's Creek and the likes to exhibit some girl power . Perhaps the only scenes which will get your heart pumping , are the snuff films on display , albeit at times strategically cut away . Watching those aged films did bring on some pity at the least , that there are sickos out there who make these films for sheer pleasure and profit . And having realize that they are in dire straits , the Foxes begin figuring out in double quick time just how to survive the horrendous ( in both sense of the word ) night . But it's not all hopeless though , if you haven't experienced much of the movies from the same genre , then you might find Vacancy entertaining . There was something I enjoyed watching though ( no , it's not Beckinsale , who still looked stunning despite having to exhibit fear throughout ) , and that's the beautiful main and end titles . They're wonderfully designed , and they just work . Those who have a font fetish , will most likely go ga-ga over them . Vacancy showed promise , but as you soon realize , it's nothing much other than a rehash of familiar plots and situations . Oh Beckinsale should go all vampirish on her hunters !
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515,397 | 317,399 | 402,710 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Young Andersen
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This Danish movie is shown in Singapore as part of the Hans Christian Andersen Film Festival , running till next week . I also learnt that Singapore is the first country outside Denmark to screen this film . The narrative of this film is simple , looking back into the early life of Hans Christian , before he was an accomplished writer of stories you and I are familiar with ( like The Ugly Duckling , Little Match Girl , etc ) , he was an uneducated young lad looking for his first major break , be it as an actor , writer , poet or playwright . However , his deficiency was in his formal education , or lack thereof . An opportunity was presented and he gets sponsored by the King to get educated in a school , tutored personally by the school's principal Mr Meisling , and staying with his family . Here he befriends a young servant boy named Tuk , and cements their friendship with his telling of fairy tales . But with Meisling's unorthodox teaching methods , and ban on Hans Christian's wanting to write poetry , both men clash . It seems that Meisling wants to curb Hans Christian's perceived attention disorder ( words cloud his mind and he wanders off developing and writing " bad " poems off the cuff ) , while the latter deems Meisling too stifling . The direction seems to be split between wanting to explore the friendship between Hans Christian and Tuk , and to explore the rivalry and resentment between Hans Christian and Meisling . This indecisiveness takes its toil on the overall feel of the movie , as I couldn't fathom which , and was feeling a little divided over the movie's narrative objective . The production sets and costumes are beautiful , and I could say the acting credible . The pace however , needed improvement , as most times scenes drag , for no apparent reason . There were also sub-plots that could be done without , which could probably improve the narrative , as these plots don't add much depth . Those who plan to watch this film , don't expect to be watching him develop his well known and loved stories ( a narrative track similar to Finding Neverland ) . Rather , it's a film on his self-discovery , and probably regret , which allowed him to learn , and inject these sad experiences into his tales .
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514,946 | 317,399 | 416,508 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Becoming Jane
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Julian Jarrold gave us Kinky Boots in 2005 , and now helms something I thought of as more solemn in tone with the biographical tale of literary legend Jane Austen in Becoming Jane , starring Anne Hathaway and James McAvoy in yet another period dramatic piece since Atonement . Here , they play star crossed lovers who get embroiled with the rigidity of class , honour and reputation back in Old England , with him being a legal student , and she , a budding novelist , where at the time isn't a career choice ( if at all ) for a female . Sounds like Pride and Prejudice ? Yes . If the movie is to be believed , then the love and life of Jane Austen served very much as the basis and seed for the premise of that novel of hers , and for an audience , probably ample opportunity to soak in the scenes that ring a bell , and compare Hathaway's performance as Austen to Keira Knightley's performance as her created character Elizabeth Bennet . The two characters couldn't be more alike , with one being almost an autobiographical account of the life she's facing as a single woman of marriageable age , and what more , being wooed by a Mr Darcy equivalent in Tom Lefroy ( James McAvoy ) . Also , the tale moved along quite similarly to that of Miss Potter , which tells of the story of the creator of Peter Rabbit , where we're plunged headlong into the critical crossroads of their professional life as well . Or like that of Finding Neverland , yet another adaptation of the life and times of JM Barrie , who gave us Peter Pan where inspiration is as chronicled in the movie . I thought Anne Hathaway finally got a meatier , more mature role here , and what more , starring as a legend too in Jane Austen . However , I can't deny that her faux pas English accent was found somewhat wanting and proved to be a distraction of sorts . She did manage , though , to bring out the pain that Jane had to go through in having to hold out on love , find it , lose it , like the adage says , better to have loved once and lost than never at all . James McAvoy's performance here is a notch below that which he delivered in Atonement , probably because it's something that has already been done to death ( not another Mr Darcy clone ! ) . The last 10 minutes was a kick too in seeing how visibly aged the characters become , thanks to wonderful make up . Other than that , sit tight for a romantic drama which as I mentioned , had much ado about Pride and Prejudice , that at times you might lapse into thinking it is that movie that you're watching .
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514,510 | 317,399 | 441,674 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : ( DVD ) Princess Raccoon ( 2005 )
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I guess playing a Japanese character or acting in a Japanese movie doesn't warrant as much an uproar as having to play a Japanese geisha . And of course no prizes to be given out if you can guess why I would want to watch Princess Raccoon in the first place - that Zhang Ziyi is one of the leads in a Japanese movie , has piqued enough interest to pop the DVD into the player . The story is a simple one , which somewhat resembles that of Snow White . King Azuchi ( Mikijiro Hira ) is a terribly vain man , and like Snow White's evil stepmother , cannot stand for his offspring to be more beautiful ( yes ) than himself . So he hatches a plan to get rid of him , first by getting him murdered , failing which exile doesn't seem that bad of an alternative as well . So Prince Amechiyo ( Jo Odagiri ) accidentally journeys to the forbidden grounds at the foot of Mt Kairasu , where he meets with the Raccoon Princess Tanukihime ( Zhang Ziyi ) , and thus it becomes a tale of forbidden love , as he's human , and she's obviously not , and goes through its Romeo and Juliet routines . But as it is , the plot is somewhat meandering and plodding . While its central structure is clear , it tangents off with a number of subplots , and unless you're in a mood for fantastical elements with magic , deities and all in various surreal scenes , you'll find the story going terribly all over the place . There are too many characters here , and most of them the minor ones that just chalk up the number of casts without adding much to the story , and there perhaps to boast the beautiful costumes . What takes the cake here is the gorgeous sets and special effects . For the most parts , watching the movie is like watching a stage play , in that the camera pretty much doesn't try anything fancy , nor break the invisible 180 degree rule . It's as if you're sitting in a theatre , and watching events unfold in pretty much the style of a stage musical built on intricately designed sets , with the multitude of songs and dances . What makes this movie unique is the visual presentation , fusing effortlessly the elements of computer generated graphics with live action ( though some were deliberately cheesy ) , and that forms the primary appeal when watching the movie , which is part musical , part kabuki , part opera , nothing less than a visual spectacle . Zhang Ziyi obviously had her handicap in the movie worked to her advantage . Being a magical raccoon , she speaks in an incomprehensible language ( which is Mandarin ) to the rest of the Japanese folks , while being able to rote learn and spew by heart her lines in songs , given that they're repetitive in nature . Her acting's her a little over the top and exaggerated , perhaps to complement the operatic elements in the movie . Pick this up only if you are a completist in wanting to watch the movies in the filmography of Zhang Ziyi , or love graphics , sets and beautiful visuals . Otherwise the story is likely to bore you to death .
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514,718 | 317,399 | 74,751 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : King Kong ( 1976 )
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This movie is as old as I am , but it's not the original . Yes you heard me right . The original big gorilla debut in 1933 . and this is a remake . Unless you've been residing in Mars , you'll also know that Peter Jackson will be adapting King Kong for the big screen for a release next month , and thank heavens it's closely based on the original . While this film also adapts from the same source material by Merian C . Cooper and Edgar Wallace , it has taken certain liberties and artistic license to change some character backgrounds and premise . For example , the film crew has been replaced with oil prospectors , and the blonde lass doesn't start off the journey with the team , but actually plucked out unconscious from the sea , an actress wannabe who didn't enjoy Deep Throat ( don't ask ) . Gone too is the iconic scene atop the Empire States Building , now Kong scales the World Trade Center and hops between the two towers ( alas , September 11 changed it all ) . However , this movie still retained much of the story's structure - team ventures into island , chances upon island inhabitants , inhabitants kidnap blonde lass as a sacrifice to the great Kong , the beauty and the beast sequence , the capture of Kong , bringing him back to New York , and all hell breaks loose . Just not quite . This Kong is quite benign in nature , and only goes berserk when jealousy makes him go on a rampage against those trying to prise his lass away from him . The effects look dated if you watch them today , and the animatronics probably made a giant ape hand - that's the only mechanical limb you get to see up close , the rest can be figured as a man in a rubber suit , captured using various techniques to achieve the desired proportions for size . Don't go scrutinizing the plot too , as there are gaping loopholes , and plenty of minor characters . Oh , Singapore's mentioned a lot of times in the first twenty minutes , as the ship crew navigates from Surabaya , Indonesia en route to looking for oil . Starring a very young and very hairy Jeff Bridges in the role of a professor / ape expert , this movie is probably famous for introducing a very nubile Jessica Lange in her first feature film . She could be considered as the Jessica Simpson of that era , having prancing around the island in hot pants and tank tops , various strapless gowns and in wet island garb , which gave way to a wardrobe malfunction when Kong molested her with its finger ( don't ask - the ape's probably horny too ) . So while awaiting Peter Jackson's masterpiece , why not get your hands on this adapted classic too ? Good for compare , contrast , but don't go bananas over this one if it doesn't meet your expectations .
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515,454 | 317,399 | 406,759 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : The Eye
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So I haven't watched the original Eye movie by the Pang Brothers , but I guess with remakes these days , it doesn't really matter , since most of the time , the Hollywood remade version pales in comparison with the original , despite having a bigger budget , bigger stars and of course , better visual effects . And what almost always seem woeful , is the attempt to try and recreate the atmospherics for a spook fest that Asian horror had perfected , and I'm inclined to suggest that they should adapt the storyline ( since there's a creative dearth of ideas ) , but leave the mimicking of mood at the door . This is probably the first movie that Jessica Alba marquees , and comparisons would be abound for those who've watched the original to compare her to Angelica Lee's performance . But really , I don't think it matters , since all you need to do is to look scared . As blind violinist Sydney , Alba escapes the need to act blind given the cop out of using shades , coupled with the fact that her transplanted eyes allow for the camera to be out of focus for the most parts . Things start to get interesting when she begins to see shadowy figures borrowed straight out of Pulse ( yet another Asian horror remake ) , and these all get conveniently debunked by her doctor Paul ( Alessandro Nivola who stars as the hopeless , formless Gavin Harris in the Goal movies ) , because if you're blind for so many years , your brain needs some major time out to absorb all the new sights you're constantly bombarded with . So goes as with standard horror fare , that those who can see spirits when others can't , are classified as nutcases . Alba's no scream queen as the proceedings don't allow her to exercise her lungs , and I swear there are just too many of those waking up from nightmare moments , and the clock ticking around 1 : 05am . But credit is due though to the scenes which aim to frighten , and some did hit the mark even though they're the usual tools to surprise from the bag of Boo tricks . There are , to me , a major unexpected moment which I had to nod in acknowledgement of not seeing it coming ( I had thought otherwise ) , but unfortunately , that was it . The latter half of the journey became a road trip movie which seeked answers , coupled with Hollywood's preoccupation of having to explain and show everything , leaving little to your imagination since everything was spelt out . While the story's not at fault , the way it's presented made this look like a standard mystery thriller , without the mystery , and without the thrills . And the finale was a little lacklustre as it seemed to be styled in Final Destination fashion , making it look like it had no more rabbits to pull out of the hat . The Eye had plenty of neat visual effects , and although there are some beautiful stunts involving glass shards and the walking through of objects , special effects alone do not make a horror movie spine-chilling . Looks like there's some major sty in this eye .
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514,610 | 317,399 | 402,894 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Casanova
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Hollywood has depicted many legendary lovers in one way or another , from Don Juan to Valentino , and this time , Venetian playboy Casanova gets the big screen treatment in the form of Hollywood " It " boy Heath Ledger playing the title role , with much aplomb . Hollywood's Casanova , set in the 18th Century , isn't a very serious film , taking its cues from 90s styled period productions like The Three Muskateers ( which also starred Oliver Platt ) and Man in the Iron Mask ( with ex-Hollywood " It " boy Leonardo DiCaprio ) . Casanova , as we learn , lacks mama's love , as he gets abandoned while she sets off with her unseen lover , but not before she vowed to return , and therefore bringing to our attention that his view of love is probably screwed to begin with . He sees women as conquests , and if Geishas can stop a man in his tracks with just one look , Casanova can bed thousands of women with his sweet nothings , and I mean nothings . Becoming the god of fornication brings about infamy to his name , until he has to salvage it by settling down with the right women , or face the church's wrath . While setting his sights on probably the last virgin in Venice ( yes , the image of Virgin Mary did come on screen ) , he's also attracted by the strong willed Francesca Bruni ( Sienna Miller ) , in a role that personifies feminism . She cross-dresses as a man to get to educational institutions , writes under a pseudonym to express her thoughts on the modern woman , and holds on to the notion on one true love . Alas , she's engaged to a pork lard merchant from Genoa , Paprizzio ( Oliver Platt ) , whose family wealth is much needed to the Bruni family . There are countless of cheese that added plenty of camp to the characters , and stretched was the notion of mistaken identities like a grand Venetian Masquerade , as Casanova schemes his way to get past the Church and women to get to his prize - Franscesca . Certain scenes seemed implausible , like American Pie styled antics in the grand ball , as we see Casanova wriggle his way out of tight situations he puts himself in . But the Catholic Church perhaps got the most flak , like the depiction of horny nuns , dim-witted investigators ( Jeremy Irons sleepwalking through his role as an Inspector Closeau clone ) , and having strange powers like the restoration of a woman's virginity . Corruption too prevails , as the Papal Office seemed eager to strike shady deals in order to further its cause . The movie has its moments , but not enough to carry the entire movie through . It stuck to safe predictable formula to entertain , and offers nothing much in its censored version shown here . Good probably for a boring weekend , and if you want to check Heath out to compare with his role in the other Oscar heavyweight movie .
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514,516 | 317,399 | 468,871 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Portrait of a Lady Faraway
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This movie marks my first Iranian film viewing , thanks for this year's SIFF focus on Arabian cinema . You might be curious as to why I chose this film amongst the selection on offer . Remember Fly By Night 2005 ? Before we came up with The Undecided , we actually considered a short film which resembled the synopsis of this movie . My interest was piqued , and so I bought a ticket . What did I think of it ? Honestly , I thought our short film , if we had done it , would have turned out to be more interesting . No , I'm not being shameless , This movie started off very strongly , given the setting of the premise , but then it degenerated into what I always deem as a cop out - the open ended , was-it-a-dream cliché . A lonely elderly man , Ahmed , finds that a woman had left her intentions for suicide on his answering machine , together with instructions and an address , and approximate time during which she will end her life . He decides on a whim , and out of curiosity , to seek out this woman . His intentions would be to save her , then again , it was never told . At the address , he doesn't find the woman , but instead found a friend of the woman , and they embark on a journey together to look for the suicide victim . You can get a good glimpse of Iran in their travels , before the movie starts to slow and get bogged down by wondering how to weave all the subplots and end them in a coherent fashion . I'm never a fan of movies which try to take art-house twists and suggest dreams or leaving it too open ended without a hint of a reason . However , the complex visuals make this interesting to watch , and the edgy soundtrack was good enough to hold my attention , despite it being extremely loud so as to vibrate the entire cinema hall .
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514,787 | 317,399 | 470,801 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : I Do , I Do
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I first saw Adrian Pang on the big screen when I was still in the army , during one of our nights off where we managed to catch a Singapore movie ( back then , Singapore movies were rare , and not to mention suffers from low attendances because of the misconception that locally made movies are bad ) , and I was tickled by his portrayal as the Ah Beng who aspires to be the king of disco in Forever Fever . Fast forward to today , Adrian is based back in Singapore , and has been a regular on local television , from acting to hosting , and gaining a reputation as a funnyman in addition to Gurmit Singh . In between he has also managed cameos in movies like Spy Game , and it's no surprise that he was picked to star in another movie , this time by Jack Neo in I Do , I Do , opposite top compere and host at that time , Sharon Au . I Do , I Do is a typical Jack Neo movie , tackling topical issues of the day , this time with the worrying trend of single Singaporeans taking too long to get hitched , and to repopulate our numbers . Falling into this category , I recall plenty of noise with regards to this , from the newspapers , to television , to even nagging parents , and it is no doubt that Jack , the commercial film director that he is , would have picked up the buzz and made a romantic comedy out of it . And in typical Jack Neo fashion , you'd come to expect the predictability of recycled criticisms of the government ( which had a scene with Jack as an MP , good for only one thing ) and social commentaries worked into the plot , which is more or less what you hear from coffeeshops . Starting with a one-sided breakup of an infatuation , Liu Wenhui ( Sharon Au ) made it clear to Lee Ah Peng ( Adrian Pang ) that she sees no future in their relationship , given their difference in status and having no " Feelings " for him . The story then tracks Ah Peng's tactics into wooing his lady love back , and along the way , the main obstacle comes in the form of a new ABC colleague Chen Jianfeng ( Allan Wu , current host of the Amazing Race Asia Edition ) . It's predictable stuff , clearly fluffly with implausible plot development , totally losing the plot towards the end , as it plays out as short comedic skits being glued together , some not being funny at all . Typical in a Jack Neo film , you can count on a series of songs being composed for the movie , and used as montages for plot summarization . As always there are scenes set in coffee shops and hawker centers , and dialogue and cameo appearances played just for laughs , like the appearances of " Brother Hui " and Mark Lee , regulars in Neo's troupe , and the Lao Zar Bo also seen from Neo's latest 2007 movie Just Follow Law . But for a lacklustre movie with its key message focused on not giving up the forest for a flower , it's compensated for its revelatory scene at the end , after you have to course through cliché after cliché in its storyline . The nifty special effects were a treat too , though it does also get cheesy at times when coupled with song and dance . The Code 3 DVD from Scorpio East contains decent audio and visual transfers , which does not offer you any choice of formants or languages . You only have a scene selection from 8 chapters , as well as subtitles available in either English or Chinese . It's relatively bare bones , and I'm not sure why to date locally pressed DVDs still call standard fares like the inclusion of theatrical trailers and useless photo stills " Special Features " . Just so you know , the trailer runs 2mins 10s , and the photo gallery contains 20 stills . Hardly what I call special .
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515,207 | 317,399 | 449,467 | 6 |
A Nutshell Review : Babel
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If my memory serves me well , my knowledge of The Towel of Babel is from the Bible , where it was said that men at one time were speaking one common language , and aspired to build a tower so high that it would reach the Heavens . For some reason , God decided to pour cold water on the massive project , by dispersing everyone on Earth to far corners , and have us humans speak multiple languages , so that overnight , we couldn't understand one another , and therefore , the Tower project had to be abandoned . Babel just triumphed at this year's Golden Globes by walking away with the Best Drama award , which The Departed was touted to win , but I guess having a movie which is a remake win the award , is akin to saying " Infernal Affairs , you guys can trounce our multi-million dollar epics anytime " . Babel follows a similar formula to other acclaimed movies such as Crash and Syriana , which take on a multiple angle , multiple story , with multiple intertwined characters all running along in the fragmented narrative , with the story arcs all linked to a common theme . With Crash and Syriana , the themes were clear and simple . With Babel however , it lived up to its issue of communications . In a bad way that is . Babel probably wanted to be bringing across the message of the importance of communication , and miscommunication , but it turned out to live the message of the latter instead . Perhaps it wanted to elevate itself more into a thinking man's movie , but really , it's much ado about nothing . For movies which relied on narrative gimmicks such as this , it belongs to the same category as my previous movie review for Haven . Entertaining wannabe , but not quite there yet . Written and directed by the same team who did 21 Grams ( director Alenjandro Gonzalez Inarritu and writer Guillermo Arriaga , which probably explains why thanks went out to Naomi Watts and Sean Penn ) , it's not all that bad , but you rue at its missed opportunities to really become something great . There are four arcs here - the first being a Moroccan farmer and his children , the second an American couple in a life-and-death crisis , the third a Mexican housekeeper and the children of her employers , and lastly , a look into a Japanese deaf mute's relationships with people around her , which probably is the one with the least relations with the others , but had the most potential in bringing out the theme . In all the stories , you see the attempts at communication , or lack thereof due to language , but you notice many a times , that language itself serves not as a barrier so long as the willingness to address another person is there . The American couple ( possibly the big name stars in the movie - Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett ) with zero language barriers , yet faced with insurmountable difficulties in understanding each other , or in the deaf mute's case , the constant brushing away of parental concern , and of course , the inherent difficulty in not being able to speak or hear another person . In fact , in all these stories , it's more about the cry for help , in various sense . The Moroccan farmer sensing futility in the heavy handedness of the law , the American couple literally begging for help in a land in which they do not speak the language , and in their ill attitudes of blaming everyone else , of the Mexican housekeeper getting her charges stuck in a nightmare situation , contradicting her many years of faithful service , and of course , the Japanese arc , the deaf mute undergoing peer pressure in getting laid , and we question the reasons for her sexual promiscuity . And I couldn't help it but laugh at the various televised news reports in the movie , that the media is always quick to jump to conclusions , and in doing so , helps nobody at all . There are familiar actors in the movie , but don't go expecting any to pick up any awards anytime soon , as their roles do not offer them a chance to shine , especially not in a crowded ensemble like this with little room for much character development . Keen eyed viewers might recognized Gael Garcia Bernal from another movie now showing - The King , and Dakota Fanning fans will get a chance to see her sister Elle Fanning in action , albeit in a very small role , most of the time asleep . What could have set tongues wagging would be Rinko Kikuchi's role which required full frontal nudity and Sharon Stone-ish moments , but really , there's nothing much to it . My verdict is that Babel is overrated , belonging to that cross narrative wannabe style of storytelling , with actually a very simple story to tell , let down by delivery , traded off for style instead . Don't expect too much from it .
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