More mini movie log...
Doubt
It's more engrossing that I thought. And certainly a very well-written character-driven drama.
The Plot: Set in 1964, Doubt centers on a nun who confronts a priest after suspecting him of abusing a black student. He denies the charges, and much of the play's quick-fire dialogue tackles themes of religion, morality, and authority.
Maybe it's a slight miscast, cos even with his powerful performance, there's a certain guilty look on Philip Seymour Hoffman's face (?!?) Hmmmm. So did he and didn't he?
However, that's beside the point - the point is where do we draw the line between faith and certainty? Even the strongest conviction, without hard proof, it's dangerous. The film wants you ponder a lot on these heavy subjects. But I am most impressed with characterisation in the film. Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is a progressive thinker, but he also likes to indulge himself. Sister Beauvier (Meryl Streep) is rigid and old-fashioned but not without reasons and sympathy.
There are plenty shades of grey in the story - my only complaint is that the director seems to have made them "too obvious" for audience, which in a way, makes the film less interesting.
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Some housekeeping first. I am on Twitter now, mainly to try a new project that J is working on. I am not following a lot of twitters (tell me some good ones if you know), but the Tweets app on iphone looks super nice.
Anvil!: The Story of Anvil
The TV promotion of this documentary made me think the audience had just come out from the screening of "My Life as a Dog" - with words like "emotional", "touching" etc.
This documentary, it's kind of like "This is Spinal Tap" - except this time the band is REAL and because they are real, apart from laughing out loud, you kind of feel sorry for them. And this sentiment is perhaps the biggest reason why this documentary is a big hit.
The film has a great intro - by saying that several bands attended a rock festival in Japan sometime in late 1970s, they all went on to become big players in hard rock/heavy metal scene. Except one band and that's Anvil.
So - what went wrong?
The documentary is not attempting to find out why - because there's no definite answer. It could because they are Canadians (?) Could be that they never had a good manager (The most probable reason, IMO). Could be that they are just TOO nice (Another major contributing factor, IMO). Or could be that they were just plain unlucky.
What the documentary is trying to say is: they definitely can rock and they've got the chops.
However, since when does these qualities guarantee success?
Their "never giving up" journey is most of the time - funny and touching. A small amount of the time, I feel embarassed for them. I am sure there are thousands of bands who go through the same stages as Anvil did, the difference is 90% of them would have given up. But it is exactly this stubbornness and Anvil's almost-naive-optimisim is what grabs the audience's heart.
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| Date: | 2009-06-26 13:32 |
| Subject: | Lost in Translation |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  confused | | Music: | what's the song with James Morrison and Nelly Futardo? |
All my LJ and other blogger friends are doing a much better job at covering Michael Jackson's shock and sad departure, I only need to say: Michael Jackson, RIP. I have not been diligent with movie log this year, in order to clear back log, I am resorting to 5-line comments.
Choke
Plot: A sex-addicted con-man pays for his mother's hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death. (imdb)
It's the same guy who wrote Fight Club, but instead of stimulating, thought-provoking story, this is a self-indulgent mock auto-biography. There are some twists and sharp humour in it, but in the end, the characters are just too unsympathetic for audience to care and I lay part of the blame to Sam Rockwell's "I am the biggest schmuck" performance.
Take the book instead.
Blindness
Plot: A city is ravaged by an epidemic of instant "white blindness". Those first afflicted are quarantined by the authorities in an abandoned mental hospital where the newly created "society of the blind" quickly breaks down. Criminals and the physically powerful prey upon the weak, hording the meager food rations and committing horrific acts.
Also based on a famous novel by Jose Saramago. While I am intrigued by the "neutral and anonymity" of the city in the film (it never says where is it), the screenplay suffer so many logistic problems, it's hard to concentrate or buy into the story. Another major flaw of the film is the lack of a focal voice or POV - this type of story is best-served from a single voice. It seems like the director couldn't make up his mind on which one: Julianne Moore' s character who can actually SEE? or Danny Glover, who has been objectively observing?
Instead of bringing out the apocalyptic atmophere and the decline of human decency, the film just leave frustrated and unconvinced.
Take the book instead.
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Synecdoche, New York
One sentence review for this will be: It's either a masterpiece by a genius or an overlong self-indulgent pretty-to-look-at piece of art.
Or maybe a bit of both.
The Plot: Theater director Caden (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play. (imdb.com)
To me, it's probably not the best film of the year, but it's likely to tbe most ambitious film of the year. It's a monumental goal that even when the path to the goal is uneven, you can't help but adore it. The plot cannot be taken in literal sense, much like David Lynch films - audience have to buy into Kaufman's surreal reality, otherwise, you are watching the wrong film.
Less weird than Lynch, but sadder. In fact, no one does sadness and melancholy better than a Charlie Kaufman script. Fear of aging, dying, dissatisfaction at your career, your marriage - Caden is facing the worst kind of midlife crisis and it's not a phase. As he tries emerge his life into his art, the art takes over his life, literally. Until his life is fully taken over and dictated by a voice who is better version of himself. Sounds surreal, oh yes, it is.
Grand ambition and vision, Kaufman keeps his charm and his patent grimace and wits, humour in a sad situation. When he snaps his fingers, all kings and queens in the indie-film circle come his way (similar to Caden in the film). And they all delivered.
The film is at times engrossing to watch, and at other times unbearably self-indulgent. It leaves you reeling with emotions and thoughts, but also baffled and frustrated.
Not unlike life itself?
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more meme by order of the lovely ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) gnashsang andfridayblues :
Rules:
1. Anyone who looks at this entry has to post this meme and their current wallpaper at their LiveJournal.
2. Explain in five sentences words why you're using that wallpaper.
3. Don't change your wallpaper before doing this. The point is to see what you had on.
( Ready? )
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Forget about Disney, Jerry B or Prince of an ancient desert in the middle east. This is the Jake I want to see on big screen. First publicity stills for Jim Sheridan's "Brothers":
*squee* - Ex-con Jake:
Family drama essential - argument at dinner table. Checked.
Inner struggle - secretly in love with your brother's wife? Checked.
more pics at & courtesy to WDW.
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Doing nerdy meme instead of logging the tons of movies I've watched. This is by the order of def_fr0g_42 and bedsitter23 .
1. To mark your page you: use a bookmark, bend the page corner, leave the book open face down?
All three. Usually with a bookmark, but I keep forgetting to take it out after I finish a book. Recently I use the receipt as bookmark.
2. Do you lend your books?
Not often. And only to people I trust.
3. You find an interesting passage: you write in your book or NO WRITING IN BOOKS!
I did it only once - on the original Brokeback Mountain short story, I marked the passages that I love and I gave that copy to a friend as a gift.
4. Dust jackets - leave it on or take it off?
Take it off - I read in bath-tub.
5. Hard cover, paperback, skip it and get the audio book?
Paperback and ebook. I only get hardcover if I REALLY want to read the book as soon as it comes out.
6. Do you shelve your books by subject, author, or size and color of the book spines?
Probably by author and by size. But that's not a real system.
7. Buy it or borrow it from the library later?
Buy it. Sometimes used copies.
8. Do you put your name on your books - scribble your name in the cover, fancy bookplate, or stamp?
No... who's gonna steal my book in my house?
9. Most of the books you own are rare and out of print books or recent publications?
A mix of old and recent publications, I'd say. But nothing rare.
10. Page edges - deckled or straight?
Straight.
11. How many books do you read at one time?
Two usually.
12. Be honest, ever tear a page from a book?
No. Why would you do that?
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We had a mini city-break over the weekend in Frankfurt. Why Frankfurt? Why not? :P
That's why people are fat reason #65: put two pork fillets together to make your schnitzel, with cheese and ham toppings:
And reason #75 - TWO wood smoked pork steak on top of a half a kilo of fried potatoes and onions:
( More Frankfurter Photo spam... )
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| Date: | 2009-06-04 10:46 |
| Subject: | 20 Years Later |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  sombre | | Music: | When Doves Cry - Prince |
20 Years on...
Things I remember 20 years ago: 1. Went to the "all black" demonstration in Happy Valley and saw friends there I haven't seen since primary school. Allegedly, 1 out 6 Hong Kong people went to that demonstration. 2. At that time, I was doing summer job in a Japanese Engineering firm, a week before that fateful day, one of the Japanese engineers wanted to go to Beijing to support the students, he bought sleep-bag and tent, all ready to go, angrier than me over this...
3. My father who had been a faithful reader of a left-wing newspaper The Hong Kong Commercial Daily (香港商報) for most of his adult life, switched to Sing Tao Daily.
Maybe one day forgiveness is possible, but it should never be forgotten.
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I.O.U.S.A.
The documentary was going around film festivals since the beginning of 2008, before Lehman Brothers collapsed - ie when common people finally became aware that "shit , we are in a financial crisis". I remember watching part of it on BBC World when UK was already in the deep sh** with everyone in the world.
The aim of the film is to give out warning that America is on the brink of a financial meltdown. Explaining what that means and how did they get to this situation.
You cannot find a more entertaining way to deliver the bad news that I believe, most Americans, should but don't really want to hear. Everything is explained in layman's terms with clear and detailed supporting evidence. It's humourous and sobering at the same time.
The main culprits? They didn't say it out loud, but it's not hard to spot: successive Republican presidents with their reckless and irresponsible financial management - Bush Jr's 8 year in reign has restarted and run up the National Debt Clock from Clinton's surplus to $8 trillion in debt.
And of course, there are other contributing factors: corrupted; short-sighted politicians, dodgy accounting practices, the spending culture etc. But the worst news is that most Americans were (at the time of the filming) still oblivious of the problem they are facing and what they are passing on to their children.
Is it scary? Yes, because even though the film mapped out some ways to deal with the problem, one couldn't help getting the hard truth that - it might be already be too late.
And the more alarming truth is that: UK has the same symptoms and it looks like it's heading the same way.
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I am not the biggest Manics fan, but I thought this new album would generate more interest than usual because they are using the left-over lyrics from the presumed-dead ex band member Richy Edwards.
But apparently, now the focus is on its cover because the supermarket chains are freaking out.
 Even if you interpret this as the battered face of a child - it's hardly worth covering it for and it's nowhere near as shocking/interesting as these.
My suggestion? People stop buying albums from stupid supermarkets, so they'd stop stocking them and having stupid censorship?
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Transporter 3
The thing about the Transporter series is - it could so easily have become a cult - if they just put a little bit more efforts in it. It has a sustainable plot frame, interesting enough characters (The Transporter and his Inspector friend) and Jason Statham (who J has a man-crush on) has charm, even if slight left of the field kind.
Unfortunately, Luc Besson and co. just want to run the franchise til it dies of unnatural causes. So in number 3, we are getting a filmsy plot (even by the series' standard), the obligated beauty whose typical broken English and bad acting are getting on my nerve. Fast editing with not that impressive CGI.
So it's only natural that I fell asleep in the last 20 mins. I asked J about the ending later, and he said, "Jason Statham kills everyone".
Oh.
Body of Lies
With the combination of Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe, no doubt, this has been a disappointment. However, if it's a TV series instead of a featured film, the result could have been much better. The structure of the story - which is very episodic - lends itself to be a 4 or 5 part mini series. When Ridley Scott tries to stuff all that into a 2-hour film, it becomes a fast-pace big chunk that lacks details and depth and without a main focus.
Much like when his role in "The Departed", Leonado DiCaprio does his action hero in constantly-freaking-out style. I don't quite grasp his CIA field agent character, at times, he's sensitive and intelligent, at other times, he's crude and aggressive. On the other hand, Russell Crowe delivers his CIA character in apt form - bigoted, arrogant and with a disdain on other people - even though it's almost a waste to see him pacing around a house with a mobile phone 80% of the screen time.
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Zack and Miri Make a Porno
The first part of the film is pretty Kevin Smith brand of crude and hilarious. A grown man making a movie about grown men and female acting like adolescents. I enjoyed it and the familiar faces make a good reward for fans. But then, after Zach and Miki actually made a porno - things aren't funny anymore, it's like Kevin Smith suddenly has a change of heart and decides that he just wants to make another Jersey Girl, so he digs out all those lovey mushy "I've just realised how much I love you" stuff.
The Plot: Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought. (imdb.com)
I think the biggest disappointment for me is that, apart from the unashamed straight sex talk, this film is fairly conservative and safe. It's OK, if he wants to add some sweetness and real romance in a sex comedy, but he kind of forgets that neither Seth Rogen nor Elizabeth Banks has the acting calibre to carry that transition off. Funny how t's not the icky sex chat, but the starry-eyed romance part of it that makes me uncomfortable.
Having said that - the funny part of the film has some laugh so hard I have tears in eyes moments. Still worth checking out.
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Ghost Town
This is a rare comedy which the actual film is much funnier than its trailer. Could be just my low expectations making it a surprise. I had my doubt about Ricky Gervais' brand of humour merges with mainstream Hollywood. But kudos to him, I think he pulls it off brilliantly without losing his unique, erm, Britishness.
Plot-wise, there's no surprises. The film's success lies in its off-beat, non-hurry delivery. It's almost like a laid back version of As Good as It Gets. Gervais has weaved some magic and made a few mediocre gags look deadpan funny. Top performance from Tea Leoni and Greg Kinnear as well. It's the kind of comedy that has a very formula frame, but packed gems in the details.
Step Brothers
It's no Anchorman or even Talladega Nights, but putting Will Ferrell and John C Reilly together, you'd definitely have some fun, even in a half-effort like this one.
There is an interesting main subject here: shamelss grown up men refuse to grow up. It's hard not to laugh when Ferrell and Reily are throwing tantrums like some 5-year-olds. However, there is only so much Ferrell and Reilly can do with a pedestrian plot. It would have been a funny sketch on an episode of Saturday Night Live, but there's simply no enough meat in the script to drag it out for a 90-min feature.
Fans will still like it - it's like you'd still enjoy your favourite takeaway even when it's a left over in the fridge.
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In case you are wondering, I am still watching movies, even though I haven't been logging them.
Righteous Kill
You can imagine how they pitched this film: "hey, we got De Niro and Pacino to play two vigilante cops". Job done. Classic example of how a film totally rely two big names and nothing else. Time seems to have frozen when you watch this film, it's crawling so slowly, you wonder if it will ever get to the end - or whether you care anymore. The script is cliched and lazy, the direction is dire. The lack of tension is appalling in a supposedly high quality thriller.
Time to re-watch "Heat" instead.
Taken
There are many things that's wrong in it, including blatant racial discrimination - all Albanians are criminals, all Arabs are slave buying dirty old men. And yet, this action film moves so fast, and Liam Neeson kicks so much ass - it leaves you no time to feel guilty or wonder, "hey, wait a minute..." As far as a lone-hero-seeking-revenge storyline goes, this one is as convincing as the others, what set it apart is Liam Neeson in the lead role which gives it all the credibility the film needs. And the ruthless, well-designed action sequence that dazzles audience. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People Simon Pegg goes to America. Unfortunately, it's more "Run Fatboy Run" than "Hot Fuzz", ie it's entertaining, but it's not as sharp as you'd hope it to be. They aim to be a satirical piece (as the original story is), but the silliness outweighs the sarcasm. Having said that, I did laugh out loud in quite a few scenes and it's hard not to like Simon Pegg in a comedy. Even though he makes Toby Young looks like a shameless idiot, rather than the fish-out-of-water-genius he wants to be.
Trivia: Toby Young once mentioned that he wouldn't mind if Jake Gyllenhaal is cast to play him... (I am speechless)
More movie-log homeworks tomorrow...
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| Date: | 2009-04-21 13:51 |
| Subject: | |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  blah | | Music: | Walk This Way - Run DMC |
I am back.
A lonesome small church on top of a mountain in Litochoro, Greece. Accompanied by a rusty makeshift metal cross, complete with neon light facing the town below.
Greek Easter had its usual fair, the same week, they found a child-molesting priest - at least unlike the Catholic church, the Greek church didn't just send him to another Parish...
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| Date: | 2009-04-13 13:18 |
| Subject: | Too gay for amazon |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  not amused | | Music: | Close Encounter of Third Kind on telly |
On the back of def_fr0g_42 's Gay Thunderstorms post, seems like more American corporations are thinking it's only their duty to curb the gay agenda from spreading: Amazon has allegedly stripped thousands of GLBT books from its sales rank - thus, diminishing the books exposure and visibility. All these based on the excuse of "adult content policy".
Seems like if your book is about the gays, then you have adult content. Doesn't matter that your novels won/shortlisted Booker Prize constantly - I searched with a few Alan Hollinghurst's award-winning gay fiction titles and all of them are stripped of sales rank. While "Playboy - The Complete Centerfolds" is still having a healthy sales ranking. Adult content policy? Or GLBT adult content only policy?
And oh, yeah, apparently, if you search with keyword "homosexualilty" - the first book that comes up will be: "Parents Guide to Prevent Homosexuality" - just what their core customers are looking for, eh?
However, it's all hit or miss - some have been stripped, some still got sales rank. It is as if they are doing it manually, perhaps depends on the staff of the hour?
The story is still unfolding (development can be seen here) and I'll give Amazon the benefit of the doubt that "it is a technical glitch", but they would have to come up with a better explanation than this.
In any case, to strip a book of its sale rank because of its adult content is already a stupid move on its own - homophobic agenda or not.
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| Date: | 2009-04-02 19:23 |
| Subject: | Sweet April Fool |
| Security: | Public |
| Mood: |  amused | | Music: | Channel 4 News |
I didn't get fooled at all yesterday. Early in the office, some colleague said he thought it was April's Fool joke when he heard that Alan Shearer has become the new manager of Newcastle United. Really? You mean you didn't see that coming?
And the only "I want to believe" April's Fool joke was Jake is re-shooting the upcoming film Brothers - with extra shower scenes.
Bored with no quality jokes, I made some sweets - The easy-piecy Rocky Road:
Cooking time: 15 minutes. Leave to cool in fridge for an hour.
Ingredients: 200g Belgian dark chocolate, 50g of butter, 1/4 cup of cream, 3 tbps of caster sugar, 1 cup of butter shortbread (in small pieces), 2 cups of mini marshmallows, 1 cup of Brazilian nuts.
1. Melt chocolate and butter in pot over low heat. add sugar and cream. Mix well.
2. Add pieces of shortbread, marshmallows and nuts in the chocolate mix.
3. Line a square baking tin with baking sheet.
4. Pour mixture into tin.
5. Put in fridge until set.
6. Cut into small pieces, add icing sugar on top.
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I've broken my New York curse and spent two days there. First impression: New York is more similar to London than New Yorkers would like to admit. And thanks to J's company's crazy Amex points, we managed to get upper class tickets with Virgin Atlantic. Have I mentioned they are my favourite airline? Highly recommended - even for their economy class. I am torn between watching all the movies available there and trying out the comfy looking bed.
First film I picked right away on board is this:
Rachel Getting Married
One could easily forget that apart from Silence of the Lambs, Jonathan Demme also made clever indies like Something Wild. In a way, this is a slight return to Demme's indie root, with a touch of documentary style.
The Plot: Drug addict Kym returns home for the weekend from rehab for her sister's wedding. Family tragedy, personal failure, sibling rivalry and a distant mother all come to a boiling point...
On paper, this is not a premise that I would be interested. Weddings bore me, in real life or in movies. And this film's story and characters, in the hands of a lesser director and a group of lesser actors would be disastrous. But the end result here is a family drama that's both hilarous and heartbreaking. And for once, wedding seems to be a very justifiable setting - where simmering tensions and emotions run high. Demme with his third-party participant camera moves, never really intrusive, gives audience enough time to see the family drama unfold.
Should Anne Hathaway have won the Oscar for this instead of Kate Winslet? I have no idea. Kym is a hard role to play, she's a whiney, attention-seeking middle-class spoiled brat plus a recovering drug-addict, however, Hathaway's genuine vulnerability makes her likable and convincing as Kym patches things up with her family. Another noticeable performance is Debra Winger as the distant mother - very limited screen time but... talk about scene stealing.
If you only attend one wedding a year, perhaps this is a good one to go.
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Bookworm meme... via def_fr0g_42</lj> (again):
1) What author do you own the most books by?
Louis Cha's martial arts novels, Harlan Coben's mysteries (even though I always forget his stories as soon as I finish them), and everything by Josh Lanyon.
2) What book do you own the most copies of?
Emmm... there are a couple of books that I own two copies but that's it. I do have quite a few books dedicated to analysis and interpretation of Annie Proulx's Brokeback Mountain.
3) Did it bother you that both those questions ended with prepositions?
I suppose that's proper grammar?
4) What fictional character are you secretly in love with?
I can't think of anyone in particular, I seem to be rooting for someone (or a pair) rather than wanting to have him/her for myself.
5) What book have you read the most times in your life?
Probably Natsume Seoseki (夏目漱石)'s Sorekara (And Then). I read the Chinese translated version, then tried very hard to read the original Japanese one and then found the English translated version the easiest to digest. I love the story though.
Recently, it will be Josh Lanyon's "Adrien English mystery" series.
( Read more... )
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busy
diet another day
tired
headache
geeky