La Caja 507
So, on Wednesday night, me and few colleagues and friends decided to catch a free movie screening in UM. it's "La Caja 507", a spanish film.
first of all, the place where we watched this is kinda wrong already... it's like conference room, a big one lah, situated in the Faculty of Linguistic in UM. but then again, the light's off, it still look like a cinema hall to me.
(i so hope that UTAR will finally have a movie club, and then we can screen movie weekly in a proper theatre hall or something! and i seriously think that the students of broadcasting shall pick up the responsibility to do so -- they just watch too little films!! sigh... )
secondly, when it's stated there Spanish Film Festival, we expected to see some arty farty national cinema... but it seems that the film is a spanish commercial/mainstream movie. so we were disappointed in general. simply because our expectations were not met, and not because the movie is not good!
La Caja (pronounced La Caha) means the box... box no. 507 is the key to the story. it talks about a banker - Modesto, whom unluckily become the target of a group of bank robbers. they tied him up and drugged him, while swipe out most of the safety boxes. after Modesto woke up, he vomited in box 507, and discovered some strange documents from the box, which are related to his daughter's death 7 years ago. as he pursued the truth, he revealed even bigger scandal.
the story is very flesh and original, you can't really predict what's going to happen next. the actings are believable. and i particularly think that the control of pacing is great... there's no single boring plot, very energetic film. but like i said, because we went in with different set of expectations, all these strengths only appealed to me after i've reflected on the movie. i was originally hoping for some Almodóvar rather than this.
my rating: 7/10
Re-cycle
OK, i admit i went to watch this movie due to the actress, patriotic mah. :P but i am still amused by her performance in "the eye".
the movie, according to a lot of audience, is a boring piece, a let down. but i, on the contrary, like this movie. disappointing? perhaps you went in with an expectation to see a typical horror movie, or wanted so much to be scared - maybe only the first half an hour of the movie satisfied your need, the rest is just a... well, letdown.
it is actually a serious arthouse movie, i mean the subtext - if not the text. it talks about the things, the people, the ideas, the memories that we've forgotten or taken for granted. all this forgotten materials are kept in a secret realm, and will get recycled once it's been totally forgotten. ok, it sounds illogical, but when all those sepia-toned images appeared in front of my eyes, i got such a nostalgic feelings - especially that merry-go-round and the old library. they sorta summarize what i wished for in my childhood, a mysterious circus and a room full of books to read... but when all these appear in a forgotten land, i was like getting a slap on my own face -- i have forgotten about all these things too!! i no longer got attracted to circus, fun fair, not even merry-go-round anymore. i no longer crave for books, no longer enjoy the fantasy world of a book anymore... what a shameful feelings.
so, yes, it's the "recycled" movie idea of "Alice in Wonderland" or "Wizard of Oz", but this is a much gory one, and a more adult version. it talks about how Lee Sin Jie, the protagonist, accidentally bumped into this realm of forgotten land, and trying hard to find her way out. (i shall not be a spoiler and tell you how the story ends) the setting of the "wonderland", in this movie it's the "recycleland", is simply wonderful -- of coz you can't compare it to the multi-billion-budget Hollywood movies. The mood is right, the young girl's acting is superb, the old man's acting is good, the main actress' acting is... errr... forget about it... :P
ok ok, i have to admit the last scene of the movie has gone over the top... ok ok, even the 2nd last scene is a bit cliche... ok ok, so the pace of the movie especially in the "wonderland" is draggy like hell... (ok ok, i know i mumble too much without reviewing much about the plots, character development blah blah blah)... but so what, i enjoyed the movie, i got my own imagination running throughout the film, and that's enough for the price of a ticket.
rating: 6.5/10
Superman Returns
yup, i've been wanted to watch the movie when it returns after so many years. hehe. me and frens even went to Cineleisure 2 weeks before the premier only to find out that the movie was not on yet... hehe, really paiseh!
few reasons why i wanted to watch the movie:
1. to experience my childhood again, i remembered quite well that superman's series are among those of my early exposure to movie world.
2. to feel the heroic actions of superman all over again, and to believe that there's a savior to the world.
3. to listen to the theme music again, and be (somehow) motivated.
4. to go watch Kevin Spacey, he is my all time favorite actor since American's Beauty.
so yes, finally me and a few frens went to Cineleisure for the wednesday cheap session of the movie...
the review:
all of the above reasons to watch the film failed...
1. soon i realized i can't have my childhood back, it has long past, no more fantasy... sigh... can't deny the fact that i AM old already. -.-
2. i realized i don't believe in hero anymore. all of us have to depend on ourselves. and it's very clear that superman is just a product to sell - he's NOT real!
3. when i listened to the theme song while the "planets" credit sequence is shown, i finally realizeed that i've mixed up Star Wars' theme song to Superman's theme song... hahaha!! paiseh... :P
4. Kevin Spacey just didn't perform, or he has no chance to perform at all. the director has done an appalling job to design this antagonist. it's very superficial and have no weight at all. audience don't get to know who this Lex Luther is, seriously, let alone giving him a childish and somehow moronic motivation to create an island!!!??? come on, who are you kidding??
my fren complained to me 1 hour down the movie and said, "where is the story going? i don't even know what's the important plots or core of the story yet!!" very very true... i think the script is poorly written, the tension and the conflicts didn't build up at all the first half of the movie. too much of reminiscence slows the whole movie. the last 30 minutes of the movie only the pace picked up, which is a little too late. then everything followed happens too fast too rush.
another fren told me after the show that he fell asleep for at least half an hour in the first part of the movie. he asked me what have he missed. nothing, i answered... that shows how bad this movie is!
okay lah, the special effects are good no doubt, the colour of the film is superb too. technically, nothing's wrong with this movie! but it's just not enough in so many fundamental aspects - storyline, structure, character design, control of the pace....
my rating: 5/10
Brokeback Mountain
the movie is actually pretty old school: old-fashioned cinematography and plotlines, the acting style is not over the top. it definitely helped with a Chinese director Ang Lee. he with his poetic touch not only successfully bring his previous "Sense and Sensibilities" to life, but in this film, give the film new breath. i haven't read the book, but i doubt it's going to be this poetic. Music definitely shape the mood. acoustic instrument, solo guitar with often monotonous melodies, create surprisingly haunting surreal ambient rather than a calm one. all in all, a genuine work of art.
i like the fact that the "couple" actually started the relationship with lust, but thru the years, it built up to be a true love. this no doubt is not a breakthrough notion of gay relationship, but often untouched (or actively avoid) by filmmakers (could it due to the fact that it lower gays' self-esteem?). We might question their lustful relationship first, but couldn't deny the intensity of their love after so many years. sadly, it only became clear to Ennis, that the love between them is so strong, after Jack died. don't we all love tragic moments in film? the moment where everything is going on a one-way train heading a wrong direction, and all we can do is sit there and sigh "if we could only turn back time!"?... that reminds me of another line from Jack again, "It could be like this, just like this, always." our life is full of so many "if", but we are never satisfied with "if", but yet we are so afraid of facing the truth hence we turn away... how nice if Ennis decide to take on Jack's proposal to open a range of their own (metaphor for building a family together)... then the ending will forever changed...
hopefully after the movie, ppl will realized that it will only bring more miseries if we deny and dicriminate the gay community. all the gay bashers, even if you don't bash the gays literally, the ideas of your mere existence haunt them forever. look at Ennis, how the image of the death/humiliation of an old gay cowboy left such an impression on his 9 yrs old mind, and the fact that his father could be the person who bashed the poor man even reinforce the resistant he has when Jack suggested to open their own range together... so the pain and misery spread out to both's wives and kids... and it also reminded me of another film that i watched, "The Laramie Project", where there is one scene when the lesbian mother said she was walking down a street with her gf and daugther, a truck passby, the "macho-man" driver looked at them with hatreds, and how she was so afraid that the truck would turn back and knock them... although the truck didn't really knock them... but the thoughts and insecurity that they will, already kill them...
i also like the way Ennis's character is constructed. praising the cowboy slang that Heath Ledger "mastered" is superficial... but his mumbling words, he habitually lowered his head, constantly looking away while speaking to people, cowboy hat that cover more than half of the face, all these really make his character become 3D and real... excellent job both Heath and Ang Lee...
Let's see if it will win Ang Lee another best film and best director... i really hope the best for my favorite director (man, Ang Lee's "Wedding Banquet" is perhaps another of my all time favorite movie!)... Go watch it, grab a copy if you can, don't miss it!! standby a box of tissue at the end of the movie if you think you are as emotional as me... :P
Memoirs of the Geisha - Hatsumomo my dear
Since yesterday i went to watch "Memoirs of the Geisha" premiere, i might as well write something down. the movie is ok ok only, hollywood standard what, don't expect mediocre and also masterpiece lah... hahaha...
i personally quite like the opening scene, like i told my students today about treatment of a scene... the opening is about how these 2 sisters Satsu and Chiyo been sold to geisha house in Tokyo. the director chose night scene which is definitely suitable to portray certain uncanny and uncertainties. what is good about this opening scene is the direct employed a lot of tracking shots and follow shots, and more often the shots are shaky, bumpy and unstable. i doubt everyone will get nausead by watching that opening scene. moreover, the composition of the shots are normally tighter shot, especially when they reached Tokyo streets, through the lens we see lamp light, doors and houses, smokes etc... so throughout this scene, there's actually no room for us to breath or rest. all these design helps to create tension to audience, audience are forced to experience what the little girl has gone through - helplessness, loneliness, scared in a strange unknown world...
Another thing i like about the movie is the character Hatsumomo acted by Gong Li. Not only because of her superb acting skills, but the character design itself is very 3D. we cannot deny the fact that geishas, no matter how u want to portray them differently, are only prostitutes guised with their artistic appearance and dancing or singing skills. don't get me wrong i'm not having any prejudice about ppl who are in the "lust" industry, but being brought up in this kinda environment when money, luxuries, fighting for survival mean everything in this world, they cannot help but be shallow. Hatsumomo's character successfully reflects the real geisha, flesh and blood, with complete personal history of why she become someone evil, using strategies that only she thinks they are clever... the truth is, i am like Nobu, he got all the rights to hate geishas. let's face it, Memoirs of Geisha is after all kinda autobiography, when ppl tell you their story, they will kinda beautify the story here and there, even when i explain something to my parents, i will always make it a bit beneficial on my part. there is no wonder i doubt the character of Sayuri/Chiyo is really genuine...
But seriously i don't like the ending of the movie, it's too "happy ending" until it looks really fake and pretentious... well, the chairman will never never or can never accept Sayuri after so much things had happened. although the narration at the end kinda telling us that Sayuri can only be some substitute wife and can only be with the chairman after night falls, but i just can't stand the romantic cheesy scene when the chairman broke into tears and hug Sayuri.... it just... too... jarring!! sigh...
There are more to discuss... but time is golden and i've gotten better things to do now... hahahaha... see ya!
rating: 3/5 (worthed watching but don't expect too much, or go to watch it if it's free or if you have few extra dime to spend.) :P
Getting started!
This is the site where i'll put down what i think after viewing a movie. My own words, that i wish to share with all of you.
