College
Deb Hagan
The burning question here is: Why didn’t this go straight to video? Actually no, it should be, why did this even get made in the first place?
The mean-spirited film takes three high-school seniors and plonks them at a college’s orientation weekend. This turns into an excuse for an exercise in excess as they get sloshed, get hazed and get laid.
It is a mystery why bland Kevin (Drake Bell), nerdy Morris (Kevin Covais) and chubby Carter (Andrew Caldwell) are even friends since they barely have anything in common.
Carter is a bully who delights in being mean to Morris while Kevin is, well, bland.
The hangover you will have after partying on New Year’s Eve will be more fun than this.
(ST)
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Bedtime Stories
Adam Shankman
The story: Hotel handyman Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler) has to come up with the winning theme for a proposed new project so that he, instead of the brown-nosing manager Kendall (Guy Pearce), can run the place.
At the same time, he has to babysit his sister Wendy’s (Courteney Cox) children with the help of her friend Jill (Keri Russell). He tells the kids fantastical bedtime stories which start to come true.
Bedtime Stories will not quite lull you to sleep but it will not keep you on the edge of your seat either.
Clearly, they had money to spend on this film. The audience is transported to a mediaeval castle town, outer space and even ancient Rome, the settings of the various fantasies. But you end up feeling like you are watching an attention-deficit child and the gimmickry only displays a lack of trust in the material.
Which is not all that inspiring in the first place. When Skeeter realises that his nephew and niece’s pronouncements are coming true, he is chiefly concerned with his own needs, including getting a Ferrari, kissing the girl and winning the contest.
In another plot device, the bedtime stories come true, but not necessarily in the way one would expect. While this creates a little interest, it also means sitting through two versions of the same tale.
As for the cast, the hardworking Sandler is back on the big screen for the second time this year after the hairstylist comedy You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, but maybe he should take a break. He dials in a low-key performance, coasting by on what he imagines to be his goofy charm.
Russell, playing the love interest, looks miffed and is probably wondering: “What am I doing in this movie?” At least she has a bigger role than Cox, who recycles her uptight- but-actually-decent persona from the sitcom Friends.
British comedian Russell Brand seems to be the oddball sidekick du jour and pops up here after the comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), while Australian actor Pearce is somewhat miscast as the toadying Kendall.
If you want a movie about fairy tales with actual charm and heart, do pick up a copy of romance classic Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride (1987) instead.
(ST)
Adam Shankman
The story: Hotel handyman Skeeter Bronson (Adam Sandler) has to come up with the winning theme for a proposed new project so that he, instead of the brown-nosing manager Kendall (Guy Pearce), can run the place.
At the same time, he has to babysit his sister Wendy’s (Courteney Cox) children with the help of her friend Jill (Keri Russell). He tells the kids fantastical bedtime stories which start to come true.
Bedtime Stories will not quite lull you to sleep but it will not keep you on the edge of your seat either.
Clearly, they had money to spend on this film. The audience is transported to a mediaeval castle town, outer space and even ancient Rome, the settings of the various fantasies. But you end up feeling like you are watching an attention-deficit child and the gimmickry only displays a lack of trust in the material.
Which is not all that inspiring in the first place. When Skeeter realises that his nephew and niece’s pronouncements are coming true, he is chiefly concerned with his own needs, including getting a Ferrari, kissing the girl and winning the contest.
In another plot device, the bedtime stories come true, but not necessarily in the way one would expect. While this creates a little interest, it also means sitting through two versions of the same tale.
As for the cast, the hardworking Sandler is back on the big screen for the second time this year after the hairstylist comedy You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, but maybe he should take a break. He dials in a low-key performance, coasting by on what he imagines to be his goofy charm.
Russell, playing the love interest, looks miffed and is probably wondering: “What am I doing in this movie?” At least she has a bigger role than Cox, who recycles her uptight- but-actually-decent persona from the sitcom Friends.
British comedian Russell Brand seems to be the oddball sidekick du jour and pops up here after the comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008), while Australian actor Pearce is somewhat miscast as the toadying Kendall.
If you want a movie about fairy tales with actual charm and heart, do pick up a copy of romance classic Rob Reiner’s The Princess Bride (1987) instead.
(ST)
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Ip Man
Wilson Yip
The story: In the thriving southern Chinese city of Foshan in the 1930s, martial arts expert Ip Man (Donnie Yen) tries to keep above the fray of martial arts schools competing fiercely for students. When war breaks out and the Japanese army swoops in, Ip can no longer keep a low profile.
Ip who, you ask?
You might not be familiar with the man, but perhaps you have heard of his most famous disciple – gongfu superstar Bruce Lee. The movie was probably greenlit on the strength of that fact.
However, if it is a detailed biography of the late Ip Man you are looking for, this is not the place to find it. And no, Bruce Lee does not appear either.
It would be more accurate to think of this as a gongfu flick with Ip’s life serving as a loose narrative structure.
When the audience first meets Ip, he is a man in the prime of his life who seems to have it all. He is the acknowledged gongfu champ in Foshan despite not having a single student. He lives in a big house and has a beautiful wife (Lynn Xiong) and a young son.
His biggest problem, which he despatches while barely breaking a sweat, is a gang of ruffians from the north who go around challenging, and defeating, all the other teachers.
Biopics sometimes drown you in details but in this case, you wish there was some explanation of how Ip got to where he was at the beginning of the film. Instead, you barely get a sense of the man beyond the fact that he is a saint.
When war breaks out, Ip is turned out of his house and forced to scrape an existence from menial work. Still, he keeps his cool until his friends are killed in matches with Japanese karate fighters, organised for the amusement of General Miura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi).
The showdown between Ip and Miura is the action highlight of the film but while the fight sequences are entertaining enough, there is nothing about them that is truly surprising or inventive.
With his martial arts background, Yen does a credible job with the combat scenes and to his credit, he imbues the upright and moral Ip with the hint of a smile and prevents the character from becoming too stuffy.
There is little for Xiong, singer-actor Aaron Kwok’s purported real-life squeeze, to do here in the role of the supportive wife.
Since this is not a strictly factual biopic anyway, it might have been nice to see her break the ornamental huaping (flower vase) mould and bust out some gongfu moves of her own.
(ST)
Wilson Yip
The story: In the thriving southern Chinese city of Foshan in the 1930s, martial arts expert Ip Man (Donnie Yen) tries to keep above the fray of martial arts schools competing fiercely for students. When war breaks out and the Japanese army swoops in, Ip can no longer keep a low profile.
Ip who, you ask?
You might not be familiar with the man, but perhaps you have heard of his most famous disciple – gongfu superstar Bruce Lee. The movie was probably greenlit on the strength of that fact.
However, if it is a detailed biography of the late Ip Man you are looking for, this is not the place to find it. And no, Bruce Lee does not appear either.
It would be more accurate to think of this as a gongfu flick with Ip’s life serving as a loose narrative structure.
When the audience first meets Ip, he is a man in the prime of his life who seems to have it all. He is the acknowledged gongfu champ in Foshan despite not having a single student. He lives in a big house and has a beautiful wife (Lynn Xiong) and a young son.
His biggest problem, which he despatches while barely breaking a sweat, is a gang of ruffians from the north who go around challenging, and defeating, all the other teachers.
Biopics sometimes drown you in details but in this case, you wish there was some explanation of how Ip got to where he was at the beginning of the film. Instead, you barely get a sense of the man beyond the fact that he is a saint.
When war breaks out, Ip is turned out of his house and forced to scrape an existence from menial work. Still, he keeps his cool until his friends are killed in matches with Japanese karate fighters, organised for the amusement of General Miura (Hiroyuki Ikeuchi).
The showdown between Ip and Miura is the action highlight of the film but while the fight sequences are entertaining enough, there is nothing about them that is truly surprising or inventive.
With his martial arts background, Yen does a credible job with the combat scenes and to his credit, he imbues the upright and moral Ip with the hint of a smile and prevents the character from becoming too stuffy.
There is little for Xiong, singer-actor Aaron Kwok’s purported real-life squeeze, to do here in the role of the supportive wife.
Since this is not a strictly factual biopic anyway, it might have been nice to see her break the ornamental huaping (flower vase) mould and bust out some gongfu moves of her own.
(ST)
Journey to the Centre of the Earth 3-D
Eric Brevig
Journey is a film tailor-made to showcase 3-D technology.
The plot is an excuse to get geologist Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser), his nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson) and their guide Hannah (Anita Briem) to the otherworldly realm at the centre of the earth, one filled with exotic flora and fauna.
Naturally, the way there involves a jolting ride in an abandoned mine and lots of freefalling.
The 3-D effect took a little getting used to, especially when Fraser pops into larger-than-life view for the first time.
But the you-are-there impact was cool for the roller coaster ride, which could definitely have been longer. Another standout sequence was that of Sean crossing over a pathway of floating magnetic rocks.
Somewhat surprisingly, the real-life landscape of Iceland fared much better in 3-D than the computer-generated vistas, which seemed kind of flat in the distance.
On the whole, this is an enjoyable romp but you wonder if you should be watching this in an amusement park instead of in a cinema.
(ST)
Eric Brevig
Journey is a film tailor-made to showcase 3-D technology.
The plot is an excuse to get geologist Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser), his nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson) and their guide Hannah (Anita Briem) to the otherworldly realm at the centre of the earth, one filled with exotic flora and fauna.
Naturally, the way there involves a jolting ride in an abandoned mine and lots of freefalling.
The 3-D effect took a little getting used to, especially when Fraser pops into larger-than-life view for the first time.
But the you-are-there impact was cool for the roller coaster ride, which could definitely have been longer. Another standout sequence was that of Sean crossing over a pathway of floating magnetic rocks.
Somewhat surprisingly, the real-life landscape of Iceland fared much better in 3-D than the computer-generated vistas, which seemed kind of flat in the distance.
On the whole, this is an enjoyable romp but you wonder if you should be watching this in an amusement park instead of in a cinema.
(ST)
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Cicakman 2: Planet Hitam
Yusry Abdul Halim
This plays like an episode of the cheesy 1960s Japanese superhero TV show Ultraman, only with less subtle acting.
It is up to Cicakman (Saiful Apek), or Lizardman, to save the day when the evil Professor Klon (Aznil Nawawi) hatches a plot to turn the world’s water supply black.
Lurking in this Malaysian film is the interesting premise of a superhero struggling to earn his keep in the regular world. But this is something that director Yusry Abdul Halim is not interested in exploring.
Clearly the movie is not meant to be taken seriously when the arch-villain Klon first appears looking like an overgrown and unwashed hobbit.
But what little irreverent charm there is is simply overwhelmed by baddies who cackle incessantly, a noisy soundtrack and acting so exaggerated that this could be an invaluable how-not-to guide.
(ST)
Yusry Abdul Halim
This plays like an episode of the cheesy 1960s Japanese superhero TV show Ultraman, only with less subtle acting.
It is up to Cicakman (Saiful Apek), or Lizardman, to save the day when the evil Professor Klon (Aznil Nawawi) hatches a plot to turn the world’s water supply black.
Lurking in this Malaysian film is the interesting premise of a superhero struggling to earn his keep in the regular world. But this is something that director Yusry Abdul Halim is not interested in exploring.
Clearly the movie is not meant to be taken seriously when the arch-villain Klon first appears looking like an overgrown and unwashed hobbit.
But what little irreverent charm there is is simply overwhelmed by baddies who cackle incessantly, a noisy soundtrack and acting so exaggerated that this could be an invaluable how-not-to guide.
(ST)
Igor
Anthony Leondis
At the annual Evil Scientists’ Fair, the best in the land of Malaria (the awkward name being an example of the writer trying too hard to be funny) battle it out with their dastardly inventions. They are helped by Igors, those born with a hunched back and destined to be second-class citizens.
One such Igor (John Cusack) dares to dream above his station and successfully invents life in the form of the comically proportioned Eva (Saturday Night Live’s Molly Shannon). But her evil bone is not activated and she is instead brainwashed to become an actress who yearns for her big break.
This conceit is the funniest thing here, and Shannon gives a nicely restrained performance. Steve Buscemi as Scamper, the immortal rabbit with a death wish, and Sean Hayes as the none-too-bright Brain, also steal a couple of laughs as the oddball sidekicks.
But the whole is less than the sum of its parts, and like an invention missing the critical spark, the movie never feels fully alive.
(ST)
Anthony Leondis
At the annual Evil Scientists’ Fair, the best in the land of Malaria (the awkward name being an example of the writer trying too hard to be funny) battle it out with their dastardly inventions. They are helped by Igors, those born with a hunched back and destined to be second-class citizens.
One such Igor (John Cusack) dares to dream above his station and successfully invents life in the form of the comically proportioned Eva (Saturday Night Live’s Molly Shannon). But her evil bone is not activated and she is instead brainwashed to become an actress who yearns for her big break.
This conceit is the funniest thing here, and Shannon gives a nicely restrained performance. Steve Buscemi as Scamper, the immortal rabbit with a death wish, and Sean Hayes as the none-too-bright Brain, also steal a couple of laughs as the oddball sidekicks.
But the whole is less than the sum of its parts, and like an invention missing the critical spark, the movie never feels fully alive.
(ST)
Sunday, December 07, 2008
All Our Worldly Goods
Irene Nemirovsky
This could well be a Gallic take on a Jane Austen study on manners and courtship, sense and sensibility.
Pierre Hardelot and Agnes Florent are in love at a time when one’s class dictates one’s match. His grandfather is an iron-fisted industrialist while her family are brewers. When he defies social norms to marry Agnes, Pierre is cut off from the family business.
The outbreak of World War I soon dwarfs every other concern. In an economical 30 pages, Nemirovsky parses the psyche of a nation at war – despair, fear, numbness, hope, relief – with a few incisive episodes.
The couple get on with their lives after the war ends, only to face the outbreak of World War II decades later.
Nemirovsky marks the fragility of achingly casual happiness in the interim with a family outing to the woods.“They brushed aside the day, relegating it to the past, to obscurity, without a single regret. It had been one of the sweetest and most peaceful days of their lives. But they had no way of knowing that.”
The novel covers an extraordinary period in history when a generation lived through two world wars in the span of about 30 years. When World War II erupts, Pierre has to watch his son take up arms, knowing that even the illusion of the glory of war was gone as “they know that all our sacrifices were useless, that victory conquered no one”.
What is remarkable is the note of hope the novel ends on, all the more heartbreaking when you consider that Nemirovsky died in the concentration camp at Auschwitz in 1942 at the age of 39.
If you like this, read: All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. A searing indictment of the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of a young soldier from the trenches of World War I.
(ST)
Irene Nemirovsky
This could well be a Gallic take on a Jane Austen study on manners and courtship, sense and sensibility.
Pierre Hardelot and Agnes Florent are in love at a time when one’s class dictates one’s match. His grandfather is an iron-fisted industrialist while her family are brewers. When he defies social norms to marry Agnes, Pierre is cut off from the family business.
The outbreak of World War I soon dwarfs every other concern. In an economical 30 pages, Nemirovsky parses the psyche of a nation at war – despair, fear, numbness, hope, relief – with a few incisive episodes.
The couple get on with their lives after the war ends, only to face the outbreak of World War II decades later.
Nemirovsky marks the fragility of achingly casual happiness in the interim with a family outing to the woods.“They brushed aside the day, relegating it to the past, to obscurity, without a single regret. It had been one of the sweetest and most peaceful days of their lives. But they had no way of knowing that.”
The novel covers an extraordinary period in history when a generation lived through two world wars in the span of about 30 years. When World War II erupts, Pierre has to watch his son take up arms, knowing that even the illusion of the glory of war was gone as “they know that all our sacrifices were useless, that victory conquered no one”.
What is remarkable is the note of hope the novel ends on, all the more heartbreaking when you consider that Nemirovsky died in the concentration camp at Auschwitz in 1942 at the age of 39.
If you like this, read: All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. A searing indictment of the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of a young soldier from the trenches of World War I.
(ST)
Burma Chronicles
Guy Delisle
Is it Burma or Myanmar? Delisle addresses the different names for the country right off the bat and the choice of his title indicates he does not consider the ruling government to be a legitimate one.
Despite the overtly political start, Burma Chronicles is more a personal memoir of life in a repressed and isolated regime. When his wife Nadege, who works with Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), receives her new assignment, Delisle and their toddler son Louis go along for the ride.
The cartoonist finds humour in learning about, and adapting to, a different country and culture. His black-and- white sketches offer charming, and sometimes instructive, anecdotes about such events as taking part in the water festival, surviving the rainy season or simply trying to find the right kind of ink.
While Louis is a universal ice-breaker with regard to meeting the locals, Delisle’s own profession opens some doors – he meets fellow illustrators and conducts private animation classes.
But inadvertently, politics intrude every aspect of life. For one thing, Nobel laureate and pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi is kept under house arrest near where they live.
Delisle also touches on the Orwellian regime’s control over the media, the exploitative gem trade, the easy availability of heroin in some places and the wildly different worlds of the privileged few vis-a-vis most ordinary Burmese.
His generally simple and direct style serves the stories well. And his depiction of sightseeing tours to Bagan and Lake Inlay displays wit and elegance. Instead of the usual six panels a page, he works in 15 wordless panels, conveying the harried, manic quality of such outings.
If you want a humane and humorous peek into the country, this is a good place to start.
If you like this, read: Pyongyang: A Journey In North Korea by Guy Delisle (2007, US$10.17 (S$15.50), www.amazon.com). Here is a glimpse into another repressive regime from Delisle, who seems to have an affinity for them.
(ST)
Guy Delisle
Is it Burma or Myanmar? Delisle addresses the different names for the country right off the bat and the choice of his title indicates he does not consider the ruling government to be a legitimate one.
Despite the overtly political start, Burma Chronicles is more a personal memoir of life in a repressed and isolated regime. When his wife Nadege, who works with Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), receives her new assignment, Delisle and their toddler son Louis go along for the ride.
The cartoonist finds humour in learning about, and adapting to, a different country and culture. His black-and- white sketches offer charming, and sometimes instructive, anecdotes about such events as taking part in the water festival, surviving the rainy season or simply trying to find the right kind of ink.
While Louis is a universal ice-breaker with regard to meeting the locals, Delisle’s own profession opens some doors – he meets fellow illustrators and conducts private animation classes.
But inadvertently, politics intrude every aspect of life. For one thing, Nobel laureate and pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi is kept under house arrest near where they live.
Delisle also touches on the Orwellian regime’s control over the media, the exploitative gem trade, the easy availability of heroin in some places and the wildly different worlds of the privileged few vis-a-vis most ordinary Burmese.
His generally simple and direct style serves the stories well. And his depiction of sightseeing tours to Bagan and Lake Inlay displays wit and elegance. Instead of the usual six panels a page, he works in 15 wordless panels, conveying the harried, manic quality of such outings.
If you want a humane and humorous peek into the country, this is a good place to start.
If you like this, read: Pyongyang: A Journey In North Korea by Guy Delisle (2007, US$10.17 (S$15.50), www.amazon.com). Here is a glimpse into another repressive regime from Delisle, who seems to have an affinity for them.
(ST)
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Sex Drive
Sean Anders
Ian (Josh Zuckerman) is a high-school senior who wants to lose his virginity but he is secretly in love with Felicia (Amanda Crew), his platonic female friend.
His best pal Lance (Clark Duke) is a chick magnet and just wants to help him get laid.
Didn't they already make this film?
Just because it is a teenage sex comedy does not mean it has to be generic. I enjoyed it when it was called Superbad (2007), which had heart and likeable characters along with the ribald humour.
Sex Drive, though, is merely content to cross one dated genre (teenage sex comedy) with another (the road movie) as Ian goes on a nine-hour car trip to keep a date with an Internet hook-up.
There are a couple of funny moments with a giant doughnut costume and Seth Green as a deadpan Amish but otherwise, Zuckerman as the blandly sweet Ian and Crew fail to leave much of an impression.
Mostly, this ride just limps along.
(ST)
Sean Anders
Ian (Josh Zuckerman) is a high-school senior who wants to lose his virginity but he is secretly in love with Felicia (Amanda Crew), his platonic female friend.
His best pal Lance (Clark Duke) is a chick magnet and just wants to help him get laid.
Didn't they already make this film?
Just because it is a teenage sex comedy does not mean it has to be generic. I enjoyed it when it was called Superbad (2007), which had heart and likeable characters along with the ribald humour.
Sex Drive, though, is merely content to cross one dated genre (teenage sex comedy) with another (the road movie) as Ian goes on a nine-hour car trip to keep a date with an Internet hook-up.
There are a couple of funny moments with a giant doughnut costume and Seth Green as a deadpan Amish but otherwise, Zuckerman as the blandly sweet Ian and Crew fail to leave much of an impression.
Mostly, this ride just limps along.
(ST)
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