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Dead Time: Kala (2007)
Nevermind the Fellowship of the Ring, here comes The Deadtime Possee!!!
Well not really , I am after all a huge self admitting LOTR fan :D but this long review will be a testament of how much KALA gives me to think "hey there's hope after all !"
so here we go;
Watching an Indonesian Film in the Cinema, is like playing Russian Roulette with a cheap Potato gun; it doesn't hurt that much, let alone kill, but it keeps hitting on that same darned spot & it'll definitely leave a traumatic albeit small-but-plenty bruise marks.
While movie production has been going steadily if not rapidly in the country, Its no secret that quick-to-be-rich scheming producers has been churning out films that will make Deep space Nine seems like Fellini's 8 1/2 by comparison. Capitalizing on cheap shot-with-video production filled with hopeful yet untrained Soapie stars that barely grow breasts, shooting it faster than you could say "Roger Corman" and then slap the finished products with misleading titles and posters that looks like its been photoshoped by the producer's clueless but hopeful secretary, you know the types; little small town Betsy with the "Can Do" attitude.
OK, that was a brief history of Indonesia's current Industry's situation, sad but almost true, hence its no surprise that the arrival of natural born rebel filmmaker like Joko Anwar into the whithering local industry feels like a much needed dope injection of fresh cinematic foray. One thing that cannot be denied; the man definitely masters and inhabits an extremely eclectic artistic prowess; after the highly entertaining Joni's Promise, Joko took a drastic turn with his sophomore piece, and needless to say, it does not disappoint.
KALA starts with what seems to be an allegory to Indonesia's current condition, chaotic, bleak, and ticking like a time bomb, the fictional country governed by faceless powers that created a nation filled with zombified residents.
After a series of trepidation for things to come, we are introduced to the two main protagonist of the film; (playing Greek-Gods allegory here with the two names) Eros the jaded beefy cop,not without his unshaken sense of justice. And then there's Janus; the scruffy, doe-eyed journalist. Janus is riddled with marriage and career problems, what's a guy to do? He's suffers from chronic Narcolepsy. These two will carry the bulk of the story like a tasty blend of Dashiel Hammet's characters.
Though the two didn't know each other, the story soon unravels its wheels of happenstance that would connect the two and the role they soon play.
Through a series of unexplained deaths and freak occurrences, begins a surreal journey that would reveal that Janus and Eros's destiny might hold a bigger part in the country's future, the key to the mystery they are trying to solve lies within the existence of a beautiful mysterious bar croon-stress Ranti, adding creep factor to the plot is a pale ghostly rastafarian like figure in adult diaper, and the fact that whenever rasta man appears, head starts to roll.
KALA is such of a film where aside from the two main protagonists, everyone else seems to have their own hidden agenda, after all the main plot device is really about the legendary "Treasure" hidden by the first president. This again, really effectively reflects the harsh reality of Indonesia's heated "grey area" circumstances, intended or not. This is only Joko Anwar's second film but already he choose to take a drastic direction, visual or narrative wise, compared to the high energy, lush with urbane colors that filled Joni's promise, KALA is painted bleak and moody, asserting moldy and broken down exteriors of a city that has seen better days, suppressed color palettes that spells doom and hopelessness, the dialogue within the film keeps to the minimal level, reminiscing of Noir classics, uttered by tough rain coated jaded men and cynical femme fatales under thick layers of smoke and shadows. Just witnessing above, I personally can hardly wait what approach does Joko have in store for his next project.
The acting here ranges from great to decent, Fachri Albar is especially good as the narcoleptic bumbler, never fully comprehending the mysterious happenings around him, Albar's nervous twitch and hunched awkward demeanor really makes a convincing delivery. Then we have Eros, played by the vigorous Ario Bayu, channeling a much younger Morgan Freeman in SE7EN, his youthful look smolders with ravaged confliction and wise beyond age vibe. Towering Model Fahrani plays Ranti, the smoky voiced bar singer pleasant to look at even from her first appearance and by the time KALA's revelation reveals who she really is, you'll be cheering her entrance in the final scene, man is she hot.
Other memorable performances includes pop star Shanty as Janus's wife with flexible loyalty, Arswendi Nasution plays an effective greasy corrupt official complete with a villainy pony tail, and lets not forget August Melasz & Frans Tumbuan; two senior actors playing two types of lawmen, the good and the bad respectively.
The music in KALA is another thing worth noting, a crazy cryptic combination of Indie progeny Zeke Khaselli's trippy vocal and Aghy Narottama brash composition evokes melodies from a fairy tale-ish town that we thought only to be heard in tale-telling songs, only here, the music supports the town that inhabits KALA.
Tethered to the bone with criticism towards the powers that be, KALA never borders to overly political, as a film itself, it holds firmly in its main goal; to entertain. Although some would argue that its theme and pace might be an acquired taste, however for those who have the patience, the wait is worth the trip; like a juiced up mixture of Fritz Lang head butting Shaymalan and Jeunnet, KALA turns out to be one sparkly cocktail that does not leave a hangover.
Gigli (2003)
Deserves few of the lashings it receives
Something truly evil bellies within the womb of what we called the informatical media pyramid, what started as mere pages in some housewife magazines about Ben and Jlo's love tapestries, could actually resulted in the very destruction of "Gigli" having been called the worst film of 2003, well i can asure you this much, a good film "Gigli" ain't, but the worst film of 2003? truly a sick and unforgiving work of Media frenzy.
I admit that I've been long a tolerant follower of Martin Brest's works, The re-imagining of "Scent of A woman" and "Meet Joe Black" although both not anything outstanding, i would say Marty have a penchant for being able to work the sparks between his main protagonists...take Chris O'donnels and Al Pacino's in SOAW or Brad Pitt's and Claire Forlani's and Hopkins in MJB.
I am not to sure whether the chemistry between Ben and Jen happened throughout the production or after or before, but regardless,I can say that in Gigli the two characters chemistry works out just fine.
Sure its a film which seems to has lost in touch on what genre should it belongs to, and hell, I don't deny that theres some amazingly bizzare occurence that happened within the film, memorable writings suddenly interwoved with some really surreal lines, truly the writer/director (here being Mr Brest himself) had either alot of chutzpah or too much caffeine to allow it all spill in the final cut, ppl who had seen this know what I ment; yeah it's that whole "gobble, gobble" thing, and such bizarre concoctions occurs now and then through out the film.
The acting job ranges from Above Decent to Mediocre, short wise no one really gave a shameful performance as it was so bluntly subjected through those Razzie awards thing,Ben Afleck is naturally the same man-boy he usually plays, here to his benefit, as the role seems to fit himself just fine; lightweight.
Jlo carries herself with ease into the Bisexual contractor character,and this kind of sultry never broke a sweat role seems to fit her really well, its just too bad about the sometimes awkward dialogue she was given.
The guy who played the Mentally disabled young man was okay,not being fleshed out enough I think, the dude who played Gigli's boss did some pretty funny impersonation of Bobby De Niro, but if its purposely done, then I must say its a guilty pleasure.
C. Walken in a very brief appearance didn't fail to deliver, the thing with Walken is that no matter how brief he appears in a film you'll always left wanting for more. Al Pacino, seems to be doing a favour by fitting into a one day shooting schedule, and he does what Al Pacino usually Do, Screams out his lines in a thunderous tone at some climaxing point & add about 678 punctuation mark at the end, and you can tell that he enjoys it, and so do we, although his scene in this film seems to belong in film that might be called "Devil's Advocate redux (with a touch of organized crime)" ..hence just making this film more bizzare.
Oh yeah...the whole argument-of-Vagina-and-Penis-whilst-doing-yoga thing, was intriguing, yet the presented scene plays out like some sort of Andy Warhol type of motion picture piece, its just weirding some of the audience out of their sense, it might be the misplaced background music, it might be the kitschy aura , I've no idea frankly...it could be that Martin Brest is thinking way ahead, and we as an Audience are simply not ready for the ahead-of-trend mumbo jumbo he tries to apply here.
Other than that Gigli's flaws seems to occur from the hype that surrounds its release, sure, lets say ..what if Ben and Jen was never enganged, or at the time wasn't Hollywood's first page material then I suppose Gigli would do just alright, its a bad film sure, but its 5 out of 10 bad, not 1.9 out of 10...oh yee cruel world.
State and Main (2000)
Mamet delivers, like most of the time.....
Now this is a sweet interesting film, and hey, a film in a film is never dull, take me words lad, take Gods and monsters(1998) for example,anyway, if you know Mamet, then you know that his stuff was never below average, and yes i mean the stuff that he directed and the stuff that he wrote..unless he only act as an uncredited writer (which he sometimes does on bigger scale films). And before some people start to whine "ohhh not His wife Rebecca Pidgeon againnnnnhhh" , personally i do not find anything wrong with it, i mean what is wrong with the mutual respect between husband and wife both breed together as artists? (~_^ )..Pidgeon isn't a lousy actress, well Pidgeon always play..Pidgeon. just as MIchael Caine plays Caine and Hopkins play Hopkins..to top of it all he is the director here and he can cast anyone he damn wants. So this sweet little tale begins with Film Director Walt Price scouting a new location for his movie "The Old Mill" , being forced out of the last town for some reason that i couldn't remember. goverment stuff clashing with artistic ideals probably. Anyway they arrived at some ole' Vermont town, ensured that this is the right spot to continue the production, they began to make a move and from here on , we are offered with the tale of crews that choose to shoot first and ask question later, againts the raggity towns people whos more than ready to "welcome" the shooting, alas each with different reasons. What advances this film from the rest of the float-muck that came out at 2000 was probably theobvious ability of Mamet to corporate with his casts and thus produced the best ensemble performance since Magnolia (1999) or so i think. Even if you're a pop corn junkie who have less understanding about complications of making a movie, this wouldnt thump your cerebrums, hell , my 14 yr old Sister laugh at the usual "Mamet- dialogue -oriented" Jokes and she got Clueless (1995) as one of her favourite movie. Unfortunately, this film was never a box office, and naturally this reflects the majority of cine-audiences taste who still limits to liking style over substance, while style in this film got "MAMET" written over it, substance is second to none, kinetic it isn't yet if you like the out of towner kinda comedy minus the cliches' then this is your bag of surprises. Alec Baldwin is the kind of actor that do well providing the script fits his true nature, and in this case he did a good job as Bob Berenger, the pederastic movie star, Sarah Jessica Parker being the Julia Robert-esque actress who wouldnt bare her boobs on screen for religious reason, however an extra $800k would change her mind. Man, i would like to comment on every acting prowess thats so painfully effective here, i mean come on, Phillip Seymour Hoffman he never sucks (yep i use the plain word"never sucks"/"unsucks") here he plays the shy scriptwriter whose self dillema empowered his true kind nature, missus Mamet plays the usual idealistic free spirited -yet-cool-l-o-v-e interest, nothing new, she looks lovely as always, Julia Stiles was given little to do, thats a shame ,as the matter of fact the only flaw in State and Main is probably that theres so much great actors appearing here alas underused, and they ain't even a cameo role , take Ricky Jay , Stiles or that Guv'nor who played the other Lebowski in The big Lebowski(1998), cant recall his name, just as i cant recall most of other character actors names. I conclude my praise for the acting with the performance of character actor David Paymer as the roughnecked take-no-bullsh*t Producer, stealing every scene he is in, with his razor mouther utterings, he got the best lines in this flick, all in all this almost preceeds the Movie producer role of Dustin Hoffman as Stanley Motts in Wag the Dog (1997) i said almost! Ok so this is it ladies and germs, a film that is so tongue sweet, you'll require no snacks while watching it. enjoy this one and follow it straight away with Heist (2001) another quality Mamet sleeper that its shine has unshamingly stolen by other Similar film that came out at that year too, directed by the Jolly who fills the voice for Miss piggy. 4 outta 5 stars. +4 for the most entertaining ensembled performance in recent years and a simple from the outside yet complex in the inside plot. -1 for whatever,but mostly for abandoning some of the great actors talent because ...theres just not enough time.
We Were Soldiers (2002)
Ach, Wow iz Brilliant moovie! Let's peek up ze flagz!!!!
"Brilliant!!!" Yeah thats what the test audience of the U.S.A. probably soars , and thus ..badabing..add another dolla dolla for color refilling and all the post production whatnots to make this piece even glossier, maybe just another $40 million or so, you know the kinda money that could stop a war.
Nah, you all know i was just exaggerating right? anyway here we go ; Mel Gibson plays yet another Capt. America larger than life type of character, Col. Hal Moore, the dude who leads 395 U.S.A. Prime Beef to wipe out more than 1700 Viet Congs.
This is what we get from the guy who writes Braveheart and Pearl Harbour, Randall Wallace is most likely for me the latest American Romantist ever hit on Hollywood stools, you could give him a story treatment about a group of cactus thieves in Albania and this guy will pen it so that by the end of the script, a burned out bloodied American Flag will wave in the middle of cactus plantation.
I mean hey, i suspect theres a certain guild association of Writer-Directors that made a deal with The National Security to make movies that propagenies the state of the audiences mind. If the Patriot(2001) could show A bunch of homely Black servants who live burden free within the land of Benjamin "The Ghost" Martin( when in truth the real person this character is based upon is rumoured to be an Indian Massacrist and a slave rapist) then why not show a Black house wife sitting comfortably in an all white Soldiers wife group meeting, remember folks, this is 1964, in some part of America , like the dirty south , blacks are still dragged by chains behind mini trucks if not Lynched by mobs, that scene is as surreal as watching Osama having tea with Pope, a painful cover up ..too painful.
Ah yes,then we are also presented with Untainted troopers, i mean they love their wifes, they got new born babies, they even build hospitals and churches in other countries, i mean if theres any message of lost innocence here it'll be the fact that in 5 to 7 years from where this event starts, them G.I's gonna come home with their Vietnamese mistresses who's spoken english is stereotypically limited to "5 dolla" and "long long time, midori no hooka" , talking about taking the responsibility like a true Platoon Grunt.
So....moving on to the film, we got lines like; "All we got is each other" "I-know-my-buddies-just-been-blown-to-crispy-bits-and-i-just-barely-survive d-2-days-trauma-burying-myself-in-dirt-without-eating-or-defecating,but!!! i want to rejoin the frontier.... sir" and lastly but not strangely... "Tell my wife i lover her". The last was mention for how many times, but with an effort to break the cliche' one of this line is uttered by a Japanese American trooper, brilliant right? i can only stupidly assume that this is a redemptional act of Randall Wallace,who probably feels guilty since he dehumanizes the Nipponese so much in Pearl Habour(2001) and, since he is taking Karate lessons(no..seriously!), he decided to come up with the idea, and what brilliant idea; an Asian, the supposedly central race of the enemy, also exist in the Troopers,hath become the tear jerking navigator of the third act.
Also,since the producers are busy spending their money on 25 million a-piece-Mel-Gibson and buying C4 to destroy every green area that appears on the screen, they can't be bothered to show authenticity of location, therefore they decided to use some embarrasingly fake location(I'm guessing its still inside North America) and plant some plastic mini palm trees, wow.. this, i have to say, is pathetic. My gardener could do a better job producing a the set in my golf field, only i don't have a gardener and i don't play golf.
Mel Gibson have become the master of everyday man's leader, all he need to do is reposition his facial wrinkles and Voila!, Madeliene Stowe is criminally underused, looking very artifical here, she was at her best in Twelve Monkeys(1995), Chris Klein as the young pop, im glad that he didn't get more screen time than he needs to, this guy just doesn't worth the $ for me, that face would forever be remembered as the singing cherry popper in America pie series or the try hard in Rollerball(2002), official Soldier actor Barry Pepper takes the role of a war photographer, and remembering him as the sharp shooter from Saving Private Ryan (1998) i start my stop watch, counting when he is going chuck the Minolta away and pick up the colt to smoke some VC, it was roughly in the 29th minute i think.
Simon the gay a.k.a Greg Kinnear plays Pilot Snakesh*t Crandall, why Snakesh*t? because he flies Lower than snakesh*t..(gee whiz) he got his moments, but thankfully he is not on screen long enough to keep singing.
Lastly the good ole' Sam Elliot as Dirty Dozen-ish Lee-Marvin-on-acid sporting Plumley,an effortless yet effective role as the tough talking veteran who preffers the Handgun rather than the M-16, he also acts as the only person who never dodge bullets yet manage to survive unscatched, i can only assume that the Vc felt sorry for this gramps.
Some good guilty-free Highlight does exist in the film, i wouldn't deny that; the Parallelic resonance mind connection between Col.Moore and the Vietnamese Colonel Nguyen, each reading the moves of each others strategies,or the inner tension that beats whenever Soldier damsels sees cabs arriving in front of their houses(it means they carry telegram of death news), although i'm not sure why didn't the Goverment show more respect and send an army Lackey instead.
Ok, i still think this movie is bad in that "propaganda-ish" kind of way, can't help it though, its an American Movie, with american money, and made mostly for American audience,so its only normal to show a hint of patriotism in a right wing kinda way,an Usbekiztan movie about Usbekiztan troopers againts pygmies invasion will most probably also shows the patriotism brotherhood of Usbekiztanians helding hands whilst ak-47-ing them damn pygmites.
I consider myself a westernized Asian, having been living in western countries most of my life,i do not use chopsticks on my bowl of noodle and i do not practice kung-fu (sometimes caucasians are so curiously friendly, when they learn that you are of Chinese origin, the first thing they will ask is "hey do you know kong-fuu?"), alas not a native english speaker(that explains the dodgy english ppl.), however when i saw my fellow friends (who are Chinese) next to me cheering for the Harrier bombers pulping Vcs to ashes and Mel Gibson riddling holes effortlesly to 199 Vc soldiers rushing towards him(they cheer for Mel and the Bombers of course) i cannot help it but to feel this aching hunch on my shoulder, not because that i have problem with seeing Asian oriented extras being hole punched with CGI fire and squibs so that they can get their paychecks later on, but because i realize how in the long shot this kind of film could unhealthily manipulate the minds of people, leading them to believe whatever biased, dramatized act presented on screen , thus removing the audiences from a more complex truth, hell, talking about the power of media. Truth is indeed scary, i only hope, if theres another "Anti-war" flicks let it be ones which goes more along the line of Thin Red Line(1998), where affection and depth are showed from two opposing sides, and the study of inner humanity is richly embraced, not artificially sugar coated.
ps: Windtalkers is just out on the cinema, after this chunk i doubt it that i want to see Nick Cage wielding two tommy guns, one on each hand, sliding in the air for 5 seconds while sending 99 running Japanese troops to the bowels of Hades, it has become an essential unwritten rule in hollywood films that all historical war villain troops have to run towards the good guys, holding firearms but by any means not using 'em, since screaming in villainish rage is life threatening enough.
1.5 outta 5 stars.
+1.5 for entertainment factor that glorifies the fact that war is not so horrible if shoulder to shoulder male bonding occurs..(sarcasm intended).
-3.5 for all the factors in the film that forced me to write this review which ends up more like a personal contrived opinion.
Dalmaya nolja (2001)
Easily forgotten jopog comedy
Being a Korean cinema fan, one of my bad habit was to put a superbly high expectation to every new Korean films that emerge in the local chinese Cinema, now theres 3 main categories for films, a good film , a bad one , and those who doesnt leave any particular impression and you forget as soon as you have your forty winks.
Hi dharma belongs to the last category, that is not to say this is a flat out dull film , which it isn't, it has this box-office aura thing going on, and it still gives you the usual cackle if you can ignore the fact that this kind of fish-out-of-water symmetri has been done to death,or should i say , a shark-went-to-aquarium, ok, try Sister act(1992) or We're no angels (1989), the usual law dodgers finding sanctuary in religious zone plot, i almost have no doubt that Dir.Park Chul Kwan view these flicks prior to shooting ..just for reference sake ya know......
Firstly i personally just couldnt help it but to feel fed-forced by the filmmakers to tolerate the unjustified resolutions that surrounds some of the characters, kinda the same feeling i get at the ending of Jopog Manura/my wife is a gangster (2000). Ok in no way i mean that i expect to see bad ass gangsters to be monks,so maybe its okay too, for the monks to receive soccerballs, toilet tanks, etc as a form of donation from the supposedly spiritualized gangsters , who purchased those items with their profit money from prostitution, black mailing , drug dealing, underground gambling activities, oops, i think i leave out assassination jobs.But hey! as long as the monks are happy and one of the 5 gangsters decided to be a monk who would argue?
the jokes are oftenly culturally specific, which means, if youre a person who have dwelled in Korean, Buddhism culture you could probably laugh your bottom to death, but if you're not, then sometimes you have to be satisfied with a mild smirk or the urge to push the forward button scene since youre so p***ed of not sharing the laugh that happens on screen.
Like so many Korean Jopog(thats gangster to you folks)male bonding type of films,the role of female is almost Non existant, as if the film makers are so drowned in their homoerotic crafts of showing a gangster slapping the bottom of a monk as a show of a blossoming brotherhood, ok so we get to see this disturbingly beautiful female monk in two scenes, i was having the impression that she was going to be a love interest of one young gangster character, yep , i was wrong, she dissapears in the mist of the thick as thieves malebonding fog.
watch this especially if you're into monk bowing jokes, irrelevant nauseating manic character who wears jogging pants & acts like a smeghead,or if you're into that dude who plays the husband in Jopog Manura, he seems to appear in every Korean Gangster comedy.
2 outta 5 stars .
Pasir Berbisik (2001)
Summary: Piece of beauty with slight Thorn in the inside.
One of those art house films that can accentuate to a various potential, Pasir Berbisik have those potential indeed, and if you have seen it then you'll know what i mean, a story line that develops as the film rolls, as new characters are introduced, a main character with so much things ahead for her, Damn how about a sequel for this "epic"?..."The adventure of Daya in the big city " or "Daya; lost in Jakarta" ok enough with it, this is a film that probably captivates if you watch it once, but after that start to sink you in a turmoil of depression, maybe because the underlying theme reflects the fact that people like "them" really exist in Indonesia, The small citadels of desolated villages having to move around, and trying to make a living in the most constipated way.
I myself in a way can relate to the characters of the film (being a Chinese Indonesian, we are usually refered as the people without genuine motherland) having no particular sanctuary ground, forced by circumstances to abandon their huts finding another abandoned places, reluctantly for a mere shelter. Putting food on the plate by selling hand grinned herbs, this is the potrait of the lower class in indonesia, exist now and then (the film itself is set in the post Japanese invasion era). Naturally they wouldnt be called the lower class until they urbanize to the big cities, and they usually did so, currently Indonesia is occupied by a rough figure of 80% poverty stricken people/families.
putting, poverty and hardship aside, undelying themes in this film includes, mother and daughter relationship, Paedophilism, whilst putting exotic cultural elements in between. Director Nan Achnas no doubt worth to be called one of the most creative film maker to emerge from Indo-cinema in the past years, along with Mira Lesmana , Riri Rizal she is goes belongs to the category of what i usually called "Reformation era Artists" , for they are young and emerging in their own courageous style after the end of the Soeharto Regime.Her visuals are haunting and symbolistic, the scenes are set in a short episodical way, every incident holds its own poetical dillemas, like a Ballad of traditional story telling, in the same way of Garin Noegroho plays the structure his films *(Balada Pantun)*
Being a Joint venture of Japanese'S NHK studio collab, Pasir Berbisik flaunts a lush photography, usually a rarity in Indonesian films (good film stocks dont come cheap), real location settings in Brohmo mountains (if im not mistaken)also adds realism and memorable panoramas, even in VCD this film looks satisfyingly glossy.
a Brilliant cast for a big production art house like this is a must, so here we go with the players; Christine Hakim, one of the most powerful actress in Indonesian Film industri delivers as usual, she have embodied that strong woman panache' since her award winning performance in Tjoet Nya Dhien(1988), Didi Petet as Suwito the trader with hidden intentions, coming from theatrical background, he manages to break his stereotype clowny affeminate role he always engange back in the old days.
Slamet Rahardjo one of Indonesia's leading Characters actor steals his own scenes, playing an irresponsible dodgy father, watch him in a show stealing wacky scene where he shows his junk-salesman skills.
Newcomer "Model-turn-actress" Dian Sastrowardoyo,plays the free spirited-yet-caged curious Daya, although her acting is still a bit on the stiff side, she manages to pour out some emotion into her complex screen character, alas uneven, but who cares? she is a real beauty and i'm not that old to ignore that fact ..really.
Conclusion; a good film that is not too friendly with the usual majority audiences, yet if you're a person who dwells in traditional ballad, laconic story telling then this may be your ham and cheese.
3.2 outta 5 stars.
Insomnia (2002)
A close to Perfection post-humanist uber thriller.
Yes , i am indeed pretty lucky, having been able to see this on its premiere screening at Sydney, along with a Q& A session with Christopher Nolan the director. When some film geek of some sort was asking the question "why re-make?" Chris jokes "why ? will you write for me?" before proceeds to answer question, "When i see some films which really struck me rock bottom, i have this urge to re-set the stage, why not make something that goes with your own perspective? a great film (Insomnia 1997 version) it is, and it is that great that i feel that i want to create my own version,what will happen with the characters if i set the flow?"
A fine answer indeed, hands down to mister Nolan, Probably our generation's new Hithcock of many years to come.(when asked why all his three features is of Noir thriller genre,he admitedly answered, because he tries to explore the ability of one self to tap into his/her own fears.)
Insomnia is near flawless,everytime the intensity hits, i got this goosebumps of enthralling satisfaction that i've got when i watch SE7EN(1995) years ago. whilst SE7EN have been my all time Neo-Noir , Insomnia really pushes me to another conclusion, unlike David Fincher, Nolan relies less on graphic visuals or obvious production design use(creepy/ murky serial killer apartement, body parts prop, heavy make up effect etc), he on the other hand challenge and wants the audience to feel, or even suffer, what Det. Will Dormer, experiences, what burdened him. Its a flair combination of Thespian Prowess, visceral editting and sound effect, the pacing of the story really struck the brilliant chords, it allows the audience to breathe and navigate the central characters psyche, and what does it do after that? it challenges us to sympathize for all the wrong characters, and heck its good, i call this a film that requires "thinking". I don't think i need to summarize the plot, hell i even suggest you people not to watch the original or see any plot summaries whatsoever.
Pacino the man with all the acting fibre really plays Will Dormer to the bone and sinew, although one cannot help it but to think of his character as the same Brainy versatile cop in Heat (1995),looking slightly aged yet still upstand his timeless charisma,its not that this is a difficult role for him, why? because this role got Al Pacino written all over it.
*Might Spoil* A delightful surprise by funny-man-turn-not-so-funny Robin williams, as one Walter Finch, by not being a creepy killer with satanic grimace or the usual brooding silouhette with a shiny bloodied knife, he just transformed himself from a mild mannered ba writer to a cold blooded killer, his aura is so human as he tries to negotiate with Dormer,he is terrified when Dormer is threatening him,yet he also manipulate the situation, making Dormer an unwilling pawn of his own plotting to avoid the murder charge,that is what makes Finch so dangerous, he is but a man that you might found sitting next to you in the cinema or bus etc,for Pete sake he even owns to lovely doggies, ladies and gentlemen, Lo and behold for the most frigtheningly human "would be" serial killer ever presented in the past years. I just can't wait to see him in One hour photo(2002),Geez, after watching him here, Mrs Doubtfire would never be the same again, ahahhahah.*End-o-Spoiler*
Hillary Swank did a well praised job, as the aspiring young detective,the existance of her character helps a great deal on building the 'Mentor-Protege' plot that arouse between her and Pacino, the ending of this film justifies this point so strong. Martin Donovan did an accomplished job considering his character screen time, as for Maura Tierney whose given the responsible for Det.Dormer's homely ground, a short alas affectionate scene with her and Pacino didnt ruin the panache' of the overall story, although im wondering what were they up to (in such A short moment) when she lies on Dormer's bed the next scene.
OK, although i have praised this film only so much as i can, this is not a film without its itsy bitsy limitations, but you know what? i don't even think it is worth mentioning. True,not everyone is going to enjoy this one, just as Memento(2000) wasn't to everyone's liking, but whoever are down to Character-driven-thriler type of film(in the tradition of hidden gem Primal Fear(1996) or Silence of the Lambs(1991)), then this one will one will be a must...hear that? A MUST!!!
4 outta 5 stars.
+ 4 for damn good acting all around, headache-free pacing, and for being one remake that could preceeds the original, actually i rather use the term "reshape".
-1 ...but what is -1 anyway? if you want to see a 5 out of 5 film you have to wait till i actually got employed by the industry (^_^ ).
Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA (2000)
A feastful delight of intelligent, yet heart stimulating Drama/Thriller.
This is just one of the most memorable film i've ever seen in the past months,although the genre suggest "Political cold war thriller" i dont really go with that, the mentioned genre suits more for films like The Siege (1998?).There should be a specific genre for a film like this, i roughly refer it as "Male bonding thriller", despite the risk of being cheesy this film actually manages to surpass the level of the corny field, at the same time hits the goal in being one of the most memorable film in 2000. If Oscar works universally , this is a no-question contender for acting, direction, photography, editing and heaps more.(yes people, i do mean it!).
So, JSA revolves around the mystery that happens around the Line Perimeter that separates North and South of Korea, thus its called "Joint Security Area", the film starts with a chaotic gun blazings between the mentioned border, as a result Two of the North korean soldiers ends up worm chow, one wounded southie, the frame of the story recoils around the investigation of the neutral Swiss unit, sending one of their Military investigator; a Swedish grown Korean Major Sophie Lang.
First i must to advise viewers for those who are not familiar of what happened between the North and the South (Korea) two countries that has been separated under two different ruling system, South being a Republic and the north being Communist(since the China alliance).In the process of peace keeping and the intention to unite, forms of violence has occured,making the vibe between these two neighbouring brothers a murky and hateful one, similarly to what happened with UK and Ireland. Ok that is the ball park estimation to whats going on , since i dont want to go on about histories, however i still advise those who have heard of the hype of this masterpiece and yet hold no idea of the conflict of the two countries, to read some articles about it.
And with that the unfolding of the mystery is on the process, as the film goes we are offered little clues and hints of flash backs(most of the film consist of flashbacks) that shed some light of what really happened, and by the the second to third act, audience will realize why i call this a male bonding thriller.
Director Chan Won Park, combines a subtle mixture of Hollywood-big-budget-ish vibe with the traditional methodic essence of Asian Cinema story telling, and what a job he did! From the First scene one would assume that this will be another Shiri(1999) type-o-ride, since Shiri coincidentally also revolves around the conflict of south and north.
The lush Photography which lately have become a flaunting show in Korean cinema , managed to capture the cold intense atmosphere of the border area, and this is great because most of the location are limited to borders, fields and military bases.
The acting was an all around power house, especially one Kang Ho song, playing the brutish charismatic Sgt.Oh Kyung Pil of North, the one person without any professional acting experience delivered his screen persona raw and primal. Yong Ae Lee as Maj. Sophie Lang, her role is not an easy one, since she is the sole female character in a male dominated Military drama, and also she speaks alot of english in this film, now usually this is a very hard job to do for Asian Actors, that is, unless they have been trained in a western country, yet she avoid the goofy land mines succesfully, credits to her (freudian slip: for a painfully obvious example of Asian actors hitting the goofy land mines while speaking english check Hsu Qi in Wesleys Mysterious File(2002)or in that matter, almost every try to be international techno spy Hongkong film). The rest of the cast never once act flat as to insult the audience, each seriously drowned in their screen characters, also last but not least the "Gwaylo" actor Chris Hoftrichter playing the wise sage Swedish General Botta, for once i finally see a western actor who didnt won the most over acting Gwaylo award, you know, the ones who usually appears in 80's John woo films.
All in all i have to say that this film is a must buy, having it on my DVD collection it is such a shame that special features have never been subtitled in Korean release DVD, and if its going to be released in reg. 1 its most probably have been chopped off like they did to Nowehere to Hide(1999).
PS: watch for the last 5-10 minutes, the most beautiful photographical symbolism ever hit on cinemas for so many years, that scene struck me so strong in the sad soppy nerves, darn.
4.4 outta 5 stars.
+ 4.4 because all the whiz i already revealed up there.
-0.6 for some tricky pacings although it doesn't occured more than twice or thrice at most, and also for some minor flaw in an obvious use of CGI.
Deuces Wild (2002)
A good weekly rent.
A movie that goes along the tradition of Goodfellas(1990) or something like it, alas, in a whole different league.
The whole finished piece ends up almost like a B-movie, there is no doubt that , in some country like Australia most probably , Deuces WIld will never be screened to the cinema. Alright, aside from that , this film still manages to entertain , i mean we have to expect something from the guy who directed the gritty Basketball diaries(1995).
with the usual plot of a rigtheous gang that will stand againts the odds , no doubt cinema geeks have seen this before , i call it a blend of Rumble fish (1984) and the Young and Dangerous series (Hongkong Productions).
Stephen Dorf plays Leon, the righteous gang leader who still cleans the mosaic windows of churches, probably as an act of redemption, Bad kid Brad Renfro plays his younger angry brother, who also acts as the narrator of the story. Somehow Renfro's acting reminds me of his character in Bully(2000) , still grunting around as usual,and looking more and more beefy, this is the tyke who appears in The client(1993), Dorf performance saves himself from being a miscast character, the crew cut really exposes his lack of hair, i guess he is getting old, and damn, he is just too skinny despite the DVD commentary said that he undergoes rigorous weight lifting. Norman Reedus the annoying scuddie from Blade 2 plays Marco Vendetti the villain, well it seems that he have to be supported with a shiv and non-stop utterings of profanity to be a real bad ass, almost a bad job.
Not really a crucial role here, but James Franco as one of the uber deuces looks like a reincarnation of the original Rebel without a cause fella...have to see to be believed.
None of the female characters in here seems to be presented as at least a decent accountable character; One alcoholic mother, one nuts mother, a girlfriend only acts as "the-chick-of -the-badass" played by Madonna look alike Drea De Mateo, and yeah....talking about the most mismatched coupling, A teenage Renfro with close to thirty-ish Fairuza Balk.
SInce the budget seems to be constrained, audience with keen sense of frame could possibly tell that most of the scenes was shot in a backlot set.
In a film like this violence is expected, however oftenly becomes an annoyance as we see packs of Elvis/Dean haired brutes pulverizing each other for five minutes(which is a long time), some of them wield butterfly or flip knifes, amazingly none of them managed to get stabbed. The bone crunching sound effects also add mild bittery aftertaste.
Folks , like i said, this is an alright film , which manages to entertain if you feel violent because somebody ruin your haircut, however an act of purchasing is highly questionable.
2.5 outta 5 stars.
+2.5 for the entertainment value.
-2.5 for all the Balderdash already seen so many times.
Killerdeului suda (2001)
In the tradition of those"Post-offbeat-gangster" films
Not that there is anything wrong with it, i really do appreciate such genre, starting with Reservoir dogs(1992), all the way to the recent Snatch(2000). This is one Asian version of it, less off beat more to the mild side and violence is not glorified (however candy flossed). My only mistake is that i actually purchased this film on DVD,believing that this film is as good as its rave, i set an extremely high expectation , take Sharkskin man and peach hip girl (1998) , i was expecting heaps too out of that one , and boy i wasnt the least dissapointed, that film rocks the boat! OK so i was giving a ball park estimation that this film gonna go in the tradition of Sharkskin man; lots of wacky characters with killer suits, a rocking fast and furious action and off beat dialogues.... hmmm... i guess it doesnt work that way. This views more like those Hongkong films , where every people under 30 are at their peak of hipness and being a killer doesnt stop you from having a well groomed haircut.... anyway....yeah. I'll cut it short, this film goes around 100 minutes or so , i haven't manage to finish the whole film but i'm up to the 90 minutes something and i'm guessing that there won't be any twist or a major resolution whatsoever, here we are presented with 4 pretty boy type dudes, who seems having quite alot of fun on doing their job "offing" people, naturally with this kind of film, the characters have to be unique, one have to play the mysterious sniper, whilst theres the usual wild but wacky lad, and then theres the leader, ah yes, lastly but not least , the youngest pretty boy who isn't allowed to handle guns yet , he also acts as the narrator of the story. Two of the characters the Leader of the quartet and his younger brother, the junior, are played by Korean leading Music video models, i forgot whats his name , but he plays the killer in Bi Chun Mo(1999) and the youngest played by Teen heart Throb Won Bin. You get the usual bullet time scene, and some slow mo running, and others that you wont be too surprised off if you seen the movies i mentioned above. This is an ok film, more well produced than your average straight to VCD hong kong films , a neat scene of an assasination act within the parrarels of Shakespeare's Hamlet occurs here. 3 out of 5 stars.
The Business of Strangers (2001)
A slick String pulled psychological drama of the venus gender.
What do we get when we have two hard as marbles women waiting in airport for a "constantly delayed" flight? 90 minutes of awe and the urge to drink a cold bottle of Evian, for some reason BOS really makes me agitated, i don't know which character should i root for, the two of them are made-in-hell-tough,so tough i think my teeth will sink backwards if i bite on any one of these angry damsels.
The story basically goes like this; 40 something woman A in the hectic moment of her daily slave corporate basis, in the middle of it she manage to rough handle early 20 woman B, who supposedly is her assistant on spot. However after woman A managed to get promoted as a CEO. she sobered up and befriends woman B , who have secrets and intentions of her own, putting other character aside (MEN) a psychological claustrophobic game of mind-stabbing commences, who shall be the victorious? this is a tale of the older against the brash younger both with their unpleasant past stories.
Stockard Channing takes the role of a woman who's been around in a male dominated corporation, had this been a film of a bigger scale, an Oscar nomination would be a no-question, enough said.
Julia Stiles taking the antagonistic role here, sporting some rub-on tattoos, she plays her part as the rebellious writer/assistant (who might or might not have been pulling strings since it all begun) too convincingly, its a love and hate character,i never saw her being so menacing,which is always a good surprise.
Director Patrick Stettner, on his feature debut,works his gig neatly, from the first opening scene, he entrust the audiences intelligence by giving us hints about the backdrops of where the story going to take place, Michael Mann-ish shots of Landscapes really gives you the sense of chill that you usually get when youre sitting in an empty soccer stadium,and you're not even a soccer fan.
Certain scenes really offer some deep screen linguic messages, such as the scene where the two heroines explored the area of the hotel that is under construction, makes one eager to flip his/her film language Cyclopedia.
The lightings are subtle yet vivid, the pale white backdrop, the contrast of dark foreground which works as an enclosure for battlefield of the two women, which separates them from the outside world.
A good film , especially those who didn't expect anything, i was having high expectation because of some recent positive hearings, well satisfied i am, in a negative accentuated kinda way.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
+3.5 for upsolid performances from the aging yet raging Stockard and the young Stiles, Good direction and photography, an enganging dialogue in the tradition of Mamet(think Glengary Glen Ross).
-1.5 for minor uh oh and a storyline that could have been more..ummm.. broad.
In the Bedroom (2001)
A Compelling tale about unforgiving nature of parental love.
**SPOILERS**There are two things that goes completely beyond my assumption about this film,by the time i was watching this on DVD , i have no idea whatsoever what's the film all about. Upon hearing rave reviews, i assumed that this is a drama romance of aging couples, i guess i was tricked by the Title and poster,initially the only intimidation for me to watch ITB was upon finding that my Teenage hood dream girl Marisa Tomei stars in this film, oh yes also , after feeling damn satisfied with this film i went to IMDB to check who's this Todd Field dude(the director), then i realize he was the person i only known priorly from appearing in that mess The Haunting(1999) for less than 7 minutes, but more familiarly in Eyes Wide Shut(1999), playing "That Pr*ck Piano player" as uttered by a hedonistic Sydney Pollack. Well i've never seen his previous off screen work, but this "Pr*ck piano player" sure leave me in awe,from the opening scene two couples of different age groups running about in a field, then made a pact that their love will be intact. now up about this point i still led to believe that this is a romance movie, although im wondering why the heck is this post-teener lad from Disturbing behaviour(1998) oggling about with late 30-ish Tomei, something's fishy......
*(MIGHT SPOIL)* Okay i won't really go over with the story details,twists or whatnots,i do tell that something bad is happening close to the middle of the film though, and from then on , the film takes an entirely depressing view of coping with the loss of a family member which leads to an act of planned revenge, in short a realistic take on what if, a picture perfect parents lost their only child? *(END)*
What makes this piece a stand out,can be divided into several aspects, all neatly balanced, the acting for one is a no contest situation, Marisa Tomei who surprisingly given the most limited screen time still shakes my heart, ok thats obviously a sick biased view, Nick Stahl's also great potraying a college aged boy falling for a Mother of two, he'll go far. However it is Tom Wilkinson that really becomes the central navigator of the story, he embodied his role as a gentle and intelligent understanding family man who's later on shattered yet still trying hard to keep himself in control, alas, all for naught. Sissy spacek deserve her own credit as well, then again she never did a bad performance, all and all, the supporting characters helps to uplift this film for what it is, and yeah.. that goes for Tom Cruise's Cousin too(before this i've only seen him as an extra,if not a non-speaking villain thug in major action films ha!)
The direction is credible, the change of mood after the tragedy occur are downright obvious, not that its a bad thing, from a peaceful small town where neighbours greet each other and garden gnomes run about in the garden, to a glass walled grainy isolated scape, where locals are doing an awkward job in comforting the family on the wake.
I could go on about this film, but like i always said, have to be seen to be truly enjoyed, then you probably will go "ohhh yes i see... exactly what he (me!) said", if not..God forbid.
despite receiving several nominations, and probably winning some awards, which i'm not to sure of, this film still goes in the hidden gem category,Naturally it takes those actors with a 20 million price tag to make this film a box office success(in Sydney this was shown for less than 2 weeks in theaters).One could learn alot about serious film making , where every characters on the script are played to the bone and every scenario that occurs are presented in honest if not creative approach, well done piano player! looking forward his next directorial works....
3.8 outta 5.
+3.8 for superb acting, a simple and pleasant approach of directing, finely crafted script.
-1.2 for mild yet unavoidable thought that this film might just be a little too slow paced and slightly draggy and also for not showing enough of Marisa Tomei.
Made (2001)
what was Favreau thinking?
Yes! i dont know what Favreau was thinking when he signed to take that crappy role in the Replacements (1999) a barking cop turned psychotic idiotic football player who keeps on attacking his own team mates(have to be seen to be believed, i was wondering is this really favreau? he looks mighty embarrassed having to signed as this below human role) i mean this guy have plenty of talent inside his gut, he writes good stuff, he directs and his acting is diversified, you dont believe me yet? just because he plays the sensitive nice guy in his vaughn collaboration doesnt mean he have to be a mangy footballer or a floating dead Astronaut to break the stereotype, check him in Dogtown(1997) or in Rudy(1993), this dude always shines in the indie league, and so here goes;
Right here , right now at this moment i am also watching swingers(1996) on DVD, that is because i realize how neat of a pair Vaughn and Favreau make, but it's 67 minutes since the film started and i'm close to concluding that in no way Swingers is better than 'Made'...i guess i am biased because the use of profanity and the occasional "Badabing" for me really enhance the comedy elements, whilst jokes on being money and picking up chicks for me is getting too tiresome.
Made revolves around two downbeat old buddies who are struggling to make ends meet, favreau plays Bobby the quiet one who vulnerably goes along with the idea of being "made" because he wants to prove something for his single mother stripper girlfriend Chloe, and Vaughn plays Ricky the one whos more eager, more cunning however not necessarily more brighter,the story basically goes on how they have to manage working together as sent men of small time Don, Max (played to the bone by light headed Peter Falk) to undergo a money laundering scheme, from here on we are presented with the journey of the pair as the hesitant bobby over cautiously proceed, whilst Ricky just want to do it with style.
Most reviewers complained on how Vaughn's approach towards his character is down right irritating, however i thought this worked really well againts the whole plotting of amateurs face sitting the pros, his character is that irritating that you can't help it but to laugh over how the other characters responds to his attitude, although Bobby is probably down right being too enduring, the scenes involving the Hotel bellboy is purely wacky.
Everybody acts satisfying here, Favreau giving his best usual quiet shy protective role , vaughn who clearly enjoys his role having the compliment of uttering The "F" word 3 times every minute,good ole Peter Falk, breaking free of his gum shoe Columbo act, we can however leave Sean P diddy out as he seems to suffer the monotonic facial expression here. If theres any complaint about the film ,it'll be the under used Fammke Jansen which probbaly appears only to do skittish favour for Jon Favreau which i assume was dating her at that time. Watch out for a wacky cameo by the snake skin chameleon Sam Rockwell.
well thats about to cover it, my suggestion is, rent it or buy it if you have some extra cash, the dialogue is colorful though not candy flossed, which is the strength of this film , and the whole simple plot still comes out fresh, ignore the fact that when you are viewing it you get the same "low budget" feeling that you got when you saw swingers 5 years prior.
3.2 outta 5
+3.2 for smart dialogue that brings us the same Tarantino nostalgic trance,wonderful if not sufficient acting works all around.
-1,8 for the rest of things that i won't bother mention, its not a movie without flaw.
Baise-moi (2000)
a moral message hidden in a grainy messy rampage
First thing first, this film is banned in Australia for all i know, but funny how the fact that the banning of such films is what makes its viewing-count high, just like the Ten commandments (~_^ )... well anyway with little effort i finally get to purchase the uncut DVD version of this stuff (77 minutes).
For people who keep on saying this as an excuse for a pornographic material hiding itself as an arthouse piece, actually i wouldnt 100% agree, well it is a known fact that the director is a porn actress,as also for the two main lead character, despite never read the novel (and thus unable to do the usual ooooohh-such-a-suckie-adaptation ) i'm sure that this Film (or video?) couldn't be too far fetched. By the way , i have to say that the opening scene really starts brilliantly if not misleading, a close up frame of one of the heroine, in an anxiety nervous look, covered in crimson red lighting, as if potraying a woman on the verge of explosion, after that it goes down the slope albeit still manages to shackle....
So..as the film went on with its graphic viewing of penetration act and those usual hardcore porn cut footages, complete with some bad pre-millenium type of techno dance tracks, i tried to grasp the hidden message that unfortunately burried so deep inside this big chaotic smegma mess.And at the end i come to the conclusion that the film tries to tell a dystopic france where dudes ain't nothing but rapist woman beating pigs if not sleaze balls just looking for a quickie ,and women, they play the unfortunate part of not giving a damn yet still battered to pulp , physicially or emotionally ....and it just happens that this time the subject have reaches to exploit these two heroines that have nothing to lose, plus they are marginalized characters, being one is a part time prostitute full time pothead, and the other is a small time pornstar street wise type of tomboy who inside her heart cursed the world for what it is.
Now, like i said , the message was presented badly (occasional vague acting by amateurs,bad music,holes that occur in the logic of the characters, and many more) which is what makes this film bad for me , although the shock value did give a little hint , these two women whos probably all their lifetime have been screwed by Men or by society in general , one couldnt help to think that in this film, Smith and Wessons, Glocks ,even high heel shoes acts as a metaphorical symbol of the Phallic, which the heronines used to screw back the society that have been screwing them (an obvious methapor close to literally "screwing the society back" example is the one at the orgy club , performed to the final unfortunate grunting victim) The continuous act of degrading woman also presented occasionally here however one that strikes me most is probably the one in the final scene, performed by the law system itself, alas, only verbally suggested.
I considered myself as an experimentalist,to see this film for what it is, i dont bear any grudge or feeling cheated, considering that this is a directing debut from a porn actress, which obviously shows in the repetitive albeit not enoughly dehumanized sex scenes, however i get the nihilistic message , sorta, and i don't regret purchasing this film either, just for reference sake, that the cinema industry is having a clash of reconstructing the limitation of provocative materials, how far is too far really?
PS: for lots of reason, one would like to watch this only with an open mind,contains openly act of penetration, fellatio that occurs in your usual X rated pornography,some uncomfortable scenes involving female bodily functions,lots of close up execution style head shots,bodily fluids and organic matters whether from intercourse and violence also appears for a few times.
2.2 outta 5
+2.2 for a valiant brave effort from Colarie Trinh and co to make this film knowing that theres going to be some amount of controversy, and for the accountable nihilistic subject that is probably frighteningly close to reality.
-3.8 for a valiant effort from Colarie Trinh and co to make this film based on the knowledge that it is going to sell because they know people like controversial stuff despite it could be covered with 80% smut footage, and also for a crummy presentation.
Baby Boy (2001)
An unambitious move by singleton, yet enjoyable to certain extent
Singleton's solid direction didn't save the uneven pacings of this film , and not only the pacing, theres alot of Gap that occured here, i dont know what it is exactly but probably the lack of resolution and the absence of consequences that suppose to be given to some of the lead characters, i don't know maybe its just me, after Boyz n' the hood(1992) where the ending is brilliantly justified or the murkier 'Menace to Society' (1993), this one seems to be too easy going on facing the hard days yet to come, so i should probably blame it on the script.
The story opens with a fresh sequence on the definition of why a black male is defined as a baby boy, we are then introduced with the title character , Jody , A 20 yr old unachieving young man trying to break free off the directionless life on the street but seems to do little about it,instead he preffers the good old in and out and sampling other local females, despite already giving babies to his steady girlfriend and another mistress type of woman,oh yes, he also lives with his young mom who still samples on different type of thug boyfriends, that is until the biggest thug,Melvin aka Ving rhames came by , took the heart of mom, and leave Jody with oedipus angst, now i leave it to here, since it is really hard to break down a summary for this one, every scenes seems to be working like a mini episodes of themselves, which is also the weakness of this film.
Other than that , good acting, Tyrese did a good job playing Jody, considering he is a singer, and a young one at that, he got the emotion played all on the right spot (i think), Taraji Henson as the pressurized lover who bears Jody's baby, Ving "Marcellus" Rhames as a proud ex-old schooler who dates Jody's mom (watch for a very innovative stamina requiring squatting activity he and J's Mom perform..priceless) , Omar Gooding steals every scene he is in as Jody's cuz who's raging about his current life status, and what "lesson of life in da street" film is it without employing a hardcore gangsta rapper? Snoop Dog appears here looking more evil as usual, heLL, even Tupac did a cameo, sorta...
i rent this DVD without any expectation whatsoever, since one review i read gave this film a 1 outta 5,and also this film went straight rentals without showing anywhere in cinemas out here.... thus i am quite satisfied knowing that this stuff isn't really that bad, i mean Singleton's film couldn't be that bad wouldn't it? well bad it ain't only it could have been much better
2.5 out of 5
+2.5 for neat acting job and cinematography, plus the nice squatting idea.
-2.5 for the numbing pacings, the overused shootout in the porch scene, and plotholes that might go away if youre just watching this to kill time.
Blade II (2002)
Newly improved sequel that lacks the effort of the original,yet still entertains
Blade 2 (might contain minor spoiler )
One thing i dont understand that some people could gushes complains about story plotting , ok, i dont blame them though, it is probably the anally retentive veins pumping, i myself dont read Blade comics so i wouldnt know what does the comic version offer that this film didnt have...dig that B?
ok i hate to like this film, but i do like it , the energy of the action scenes are ridiculously squeezed into your cerebrum, this feeling of "oh-how-i-wish-im-a-cloaked-vamp-vigilante" invaded me,i got out of the cinema feeling jealous that i have to lead this gloomy college life, the same feeling when i watch films like Matrix, spiderman and such.. bummer.
Aside from the parrabelum holed plot settings, credits due where its due, one can tell the difference of budget between this blade and the first, probably like El-mariachi(1991) to Desperado(1995) if not like Desperado to the upcoming Desperado; once upon a time in Mexico(2002). The computer effects; the burning to ashes slaughtered vampires for example, whilst in the first Blade this effect can sometimes be shown in a playstation 2 presentation (to keen eye) enhanced greatly in Blade 2, the computer effects departement obviously are so proud of this, that even a sliding burning ashes got its own camera close up for 2-3 seconds, the highlight of CGI in here is however the transformation of real flesh and blood actors to a silicone rendered one, shown especially in a fresh original way and enhanced by the kinetic camera work, you just have to see it for yourself to experience it, its almost like watching a virtual animated comic book.
costumes, gadgets and locations, need i say more? the props and set designer departement deserves heaps credit here,the G.I Joe's Snake Eyes look-a-like costume that Assad and Nyssa wears at the first time, the mini gun used in the night club..yep.. think aliens or predator..the character designs of the bloodpack, straight out of manga, yet too cool to be criticized,the Reaper character almost fails to impress me as it took too much reference from other parasytical creatures of other films, i like the Bone shielded heart idea though.
Bad points here will be the acting, somehow Snipes looks tired, and aged, his one liner utterings,and superficial grimmacings that occured whenever a fight scene commences doesnt help his character development (and believe me theres so much fighting scenes, you wont even have time to take a pop corn break here), whenever Blade shares screen with the bloodpack or reapers he shines less, but i think its probably due to Snipes height and dimming persona, he is after all reached his Fourth decade, plus Blade's costume looks too thick that it hides wesley's muscular figure and makes him somehow looks thick and over protected... whilst the figures of bloodpack members looks mighty cool, it is better when some of them do not speak at all, as i Assume some of these dudes are martial artists that usually appears in gary Daniels B martial art duds. Donnie Yen as snowman is criminally underused, ok, so he did a good swordplay scene, however later on, dispatched in the silliest way when he suppose to be this silent Shinobi type character, Ron Perlman repeats his role in Enemy of the Gates(2001) and Alien Ressurection(1997) , but we love him anyway (a freudian slip for comic geeks here; he is set to play Hellboy, he got the attitude and look, but he, like Snipes here is a bit too old to play these inhuman anti heroes, plus with his current non leading status, one can't help to assume that a 'Spawn-played-by-michael-jay-who?' syndrome might repeat itself).
Ok last minor flaw i want to mention anyway; when Assad and Nyssa character was first introduced as the night marauders, their fighting skills equalizes that of Blade's, however as the film goes,they become so mighty weak, Heck..like that Scud character say "wot's up with that B?" and also Scud character is almost unecessary, but like Donald logue in Blade 1st, he is a comic relief. well, if youre looking for an ultimate kung fu, WWF enhanced vampire shoot em up flicker with 1001 sound effects of bone crunching, sword toring the flesh and sinew stuffed in it.. then this is a must, if youre looking for a tragedy-romance vampire type of film then fast forward to the last 5 minute scene, its a bit on the cheese side but Leonor Varela is a hottie and the panorama helps.
3 outta 5 for this solid horror action flick.
+3 for production value,energy and non stop action scenes.
-2 for the cliche "entering the thumping Sodom and Gomora night club scene" and repetitive use of sound effects,existence of Scud character and for non stop action scenes.
Paradise Villa (2001)
a suburban gorefest thats too realistic to be gorish
I remember when i was still an innocent little guy, that would be my pre-teen ages, at that time i was already watching 'Psycho', the murder scene especially makes me feel uncomfortable, i still got it from time to time whenever a film have an excessive epitaphs of violence towards female..i guess because in the eyes of male this is more sexually psychological , i.e. the recent "Koroshiya Ichi".. ok the same uncomfortable feeling comes back to me when i watch this piece, like a sledge hammer thumping my forehead, this film isn't about anything except a directionles mayhem that occured within an apartement building. and yeah , lots of women get killed in this one, the word 'nihilism' is all over the place.
the story starts with a computer geek whilst playing in an online gaming centre , finds out that his online character weapons has been stolen and sold (people who spend 24/7 on RPG character developing games such as Diablo, Baldurs gate, will be familiar with this scenario) well from here on, this guy is hellbent on tracking the theft who goes by the initial Viagra, who happens to live on "Paradise Villa" after the first murder, with some side plotting of an accidental murder, people can guess where this film is going, that is given the fact that this geek's psychology doesnt really make any sense except being the necrophiliac knife wielding he is,why would he kill at the first place ? if his goal is to retrieve his game items or vengeance why the hell does he do other irrelevant twisted stuff like going about to rape a dead body who doesnt have any connection with the viagra character? heck i felt like im watching Friday the 13th all over again...cheese hole plot slasher.
The strength of this film lies within the wacky residents,with the story takes place in the midst of world cup eve (2002?)a water purifier sales woman who tries majorly hard to sell her products,a cheating landlord, a titanium alloy mouthed aspiring pornstar and heaps more.. although often im wondering why they exist at the first place except to be dispatched later on.
The violence potrayed in this film is rather crude and too realistic often i think about neighbourhood violence that often happens in city development areas, some sexual scenes also exists so there you go with the warning.
Watch it if you like black comedies at its blackest (this ones barely a comedy) for those who dwells in Asian cinema , if u like Koroshiya Ichi type of shotgun vehicle go see this, otherwise stay away and see Palwol Il christmas instead.
Ada Apa dengan Cinta? (2002)
the birth of pop-indocinema?
*MAY CONTAIN SPOILER*
Despite a one day show in Sydney, it was fate for me to missed this screening, and whats worse is the actors and the film makers came and did a Q&A session..darn.. fortunately, i finally receive a copy of the vcd, too bad its no DvD,and i'm almosts sure it wont ever be released on DVD nevertheless its a great presentation including a set of repetitive annoying toothpaste commercial and a making-of-a2dc feat.
well.. to be frank i got a really mixed feeling for this one, continuing my study to australia since 14 par..8 yrs later, i am quite pleased that the effort that it takes to make such film is obviously a painstaking one,why? memorable perfomances by newcomer actors, great locations reflecting the not-so-shaddy-Jakarta, and a decent production value , in short..not a done-in-a-week flicker.
story wise the plot setting of young love is actually quite original in a cheese smelling kinda way, a school star girl, meet a pretty boy loner, finds out he is more arty farty than she is in a poem reciting competition, she tries to sway him, he does the opposite and a grumpiful crusade to tumble eachothers heart through series of stuff (yes! also includes some poem recitings) ensues sure, the story may be too candy flossed at some points , considering it supposedly to hit some reformation era nerves, an honest-yet-obvious approach of hollywood teen-bopper film clearly shows, but hey who cares? its not easy to copy a never good at the first place-style without making it utterly ridiculous.
the acting job; now this is interesting, one can see that so much impro and rehearsal has been goin on before they start shooting, Nicholas Saputra particularly, a fresh man without no prior acting exp gives a memorable yet sometimes uneven performances, at some point we see this beautiful , poet lone wolf-esque schoolboy..uttering sharp words to whoever gives him the slightest annoyance,also this one person have one icy eye gaze, talking about a look that could murder ..unfortunately there are scenes that exist where he does one Fredie prinze on south east asia heat acting, Dian Sastro done a convincing job being herself, a tough talking,machine gun criticizer, brash yet soft hearted school heartthrob, now i have to tell you, this girl is just too beautiful, she of course being the leader of the girlie gang, which offers your daily cliche'(there are your usual, tough sporty spice, posh spice, clown spice, and the frail bird with family abuse issues)...i guess that will make Dian's character; Cinta , Love spice.(Cinta=love). Editing might look choppy if youre one with keen celluloid eye , but other than that, technical wise this film is very satisfying , i couldnt comment on the directing though, seems like everyone took equal effort on making this film to comes to shine.
Thus comes to my conclusion; for those who wants to explore Indonesian cinema (like my self) do not start with this, go for Ca-bau-kan which is out now or Pasir Berbisik, or even better, dig some of those Garin Noegroho, Teguh Karya films.... however to those who've seen too many mid 80's to early 90's Indonesian lovey dovey films on smaller scale (Lupus, catatan si boy) .. shot with grainy blurry 16 mm and all.. then i recommend you this vehicle...or if youre an Indonesian who was never been the hip dude or chick in SMA (equivalent to senior high ..grade 10 to 12)and wish that you were, then see this film and paste your face into the where dian or Nicholas face suppose to be. When two of indonesians most promising teen newcomer comes to actual kissing scene, alas a snappy one (im telling you this doesnt happen too much in a country like Indonesia) then you should know, that indonesian cinema is moving forward, slowly but surely ..so..WATCH IT.
Jelangkung (2001)
a rushed work that could be good yet wasted
Ok, this piece is not really really terrible ,it is just Bad, and such a shame too, since as the film makers have the guts to scavenge the urban legends of Indonesian ghost myths ....yep, Indonesian Ghost myths, the dragging nurse, the jungle infant,headless priest etc.. im telling you, if youre an indonesian or even a foreigner who have a knack for exotic folklore,urban ghost occurrences, this stuff are extremely creepy, not only because the fact that so many sighthings have occured , but also because these subject are extremely supernatural AND also Murderous in nature, hence its not just the ghost who seeks a tag team human buddy to get lifted so that they may R.I.P. These are ghosts who hangs around in darkest corners and toying with your sanity , that is if they're in a good mood, alas being a ghost was never about dying in a state of bliss,so they're just being themself and drag you in to hell and out and so on.
I realize that this supposed to be a semi guerilla low budget work, however based on my knowledge what makes a low budget film good is the effort that was squeezed on it.Try , El Mariachi, that one film inspires me to endure eating instant noodles so i can buy my digital video cam. This film lacks the torture, it looks as if all the scenes of each location are done in one day, and since the actors are buncha green unknowns a multiple rehearsal might be done, but ironically the worst acting came from the only recognizable name in this picture, yep, you guessed it, the lead actor, who is supposedly a known radio Jockey, this dude could probably set a record of being the most calm human being to ever encounter Evil ghosts, ok maybe he did some body movement yet his face remains the same, heck, try imagine the Facial expression of R2D2 if he is about to be light sabered to scrap pieces, yep, we got a commander Data here. The female role was given nothing more than to be the main guy's girl, and when his disturbing fetish of visiting creepy places in order to see Ghosts becomes too much , it is only normal for her to began her whinning and muttering, of course in a cute way, also there's your usual rambo tough guy, been done, this dude carries a sickle and a tiny knife , he probably thinks them ghost aren't that skillful to catch his throwing knife, thus might be defeated in such way.... One acting of a cliche chubby eating-machine-cowardly type of guy is particularly effortful, he supposed to be the loser in this film and i ended up rooting for this character so that he might live to see the credits roll.
Another thing i couldnt help noticing that the use of lime green colored water in a jar to represent something of a mad scientist left overs, was shown multiple times, and also that annoying.."oh-look-this-place-has-been-abandoned-for-years-yet-theres-a-liza rd-in-an-aquarium-still-alive" shots..yes shots, that same amphibian actor was used twice in a same type of scene. ok enough criticizing for now, the location use was good, i give them that, its not like hollywood teen horror genre where obvious use of sound studio is unashamingly shown, old hospitals,abandoned mansions, and crummy corners...then again in Indonesia , theres heaps of those places which are usually left overs from the Dutch invasion, i leave the forest scene out since the lighting in the night scenes are so amateur, this supposed to be an isolated far away bush areas like those in Blair witch project , yet it looks as if theres a walking street lamp behind the shiny head bald head of one tough guy actor, this supposed to be where the creepiness are highlighted but that ghost in form of one walking street light..is one spoiling happy ghost which brings to much hope in the word terror. Editing; choppy as hell, one is so embarrasingly flawed is where the kissing scene appears,again i mentioned in my other review that kissing scene in teen films are such a black pearl in ocean in Indonesian film industry, you just have to watch it to believe how bad it is. I think the two directors put an adequate effort on bringing this project to its shone, however their intimidation to make this film in less than two weeks (?)ruins the whole potential that lies within. one particular interesting scene is actually where the commander data lead man was discussing the theories and psychological reactions of ghost stories within a circle of society, this scene accumulates around 7 minutes and pure well written dialogue, now that was probably harder to make than most of the special effects in this film, since the friend of Commander Data did a good job,so the scene should be intriguing and thought provoking right? yes.. if its not for Commander Data whom i can only assume has a malfunction on his topographic cyberchip and decided to read out the script pages on his lap below the frame *(prior to this scene, commander Data also shows a supposedly shocking image from the Net, well bad job from the film maker not to try at least make their own photo manipulation, since this the only people who hasnt seen this image from their email accounts are certainly people who doesn't have e-mail account, hell its like telling that Princess Leia is Luke's sister to any current Star wars fan and expecting them to be surprised) * My conclusion; a scary film lacking depth of scare, greatly burdened by bad acting, rushed development and repetitive special effects that at most would probably scare you for its shock value if not for the cheesy music video shakey shots, after that.. its all snore and unintentional laughs, yep the word is Neo-shlock.