Category: Movies

von Trier Destructo-Psyche attack, roll vs -8 to save

unlimited powah
Unlimited Powah, tak skal du have?

Melancholia is von Trier’s new film, and looks to follow Monsters back in 2010 in taking a mainstream Hollywood concept and relegating it to a basic background plot premise in order to focus on the characters. Of course, this is a v.Trier film, which means it’s going to veer hard right into demented territory. I don’t expect it to have the raw impact of Dogville and/or Antichrist though, unless that whole trailer throws us for a loop. This is the man who claimed that all of his films till now have had happy endings. He’s either a supreme troll, a subversive genius or a complete nut. Perhaps a little bit of all three. Still, if he’s bonkers, it’s the good kind of bonkery.

When did Korean girls transform from fuddy-duddy to smoking hot?

I don’t have the answer.

But I distinctly remembered that the Koreans girls were once seen as the poor cousins of Japanese girls.  Japanese girls were the cute/sexy/hot ones while the Koreans girls were… well, motherly.  In a Kim Jong Il manner.

Is it the Korean dramas that sport ridiculously looking gay dudes who sent girls swooning over some stupid sit-up scene? A nefarious soft power projection by the South Korea gov? The vast improvement in skillsets of the Korean plastic surgeons? All of the above?

Anyway, who cares? A couple of years down the road, I’ll be too old to be looking at teenage girls prancing on the stage without feeling like a dirty old bastard. Might as well enjoy the ride it last.

Random Korean girl group

R.I.P. John Barry

In the midst of all the insanity of football transfer news over last night, I actually didn’t realise the passing of the great composer, Mr John Barry.

You won’t find me blogging much about music news as I know nuts about this subject, but Mr Barry is kinda different.  Probably best known for his works in the James Bond films, John Barry probably created what is best described as the “Bond Sound”.

Mixing a blend of horns, jazz, strings, brass (I’m not entirely sure what I’m listing here is even correct, so don’t get pissed if I got them wrong), his influence in the soundtrack of future Bond films which he does not even contribute can be felt.  (Don’t believe me? Check out the Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace songs.)

I guess I would probably want to list down one of my favourite soundtracks of all time. One that I actually bought (in cassette tape, no less) because I had a thing for a-ha when I was a boy, but ended up loving for the rest of the instrumental tracks when I grew up.

The album, as you would have guessed correctly by now, is “The Living Daylights” (1987).  The soundtrack would turn out to be Barry’s last contribution to the Bond franchise.  Fusing a bit of disco, a bit of classical music and  lots of that ‘Bond Sound’, this soundtrack when listened today brings a very retro-futuristic vibe to it.

I have included my favourite track of the movie’s soundtrack below, which I just found on youtube, which is I guess my way of honouring the passing of the great composer.

Barry – The Ice Chase (from The Living Daylights OST)

JAMES BOND - ICE CHASE ( The Living Daylights )

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Felt like digging a hole and jumping in? That’s the Office for yer.

Just to add some new developments to what golliz said here, the conservatives are now trying to use the “Look, that loveable Rush Limbaugh lookalike is laying it thick on those smug liburul Hollywood scum!” narrative after what happened. Ignoring what the man at the centre of this teacup tempest said, I’m sure since they’re so enamoured of Gervais, they should be happy to invite him to their own dinner events. Because like the last time that something like that happened, things just went SWIMMINGLY, with a gracious and good-natured crowd lapping things up.

Ricky Gervais, I worship thee …

It has always been said that the Golden Globes are literally just an excuse for the Hollywood Foreign Press throwing a star-studded lavish 4 hour party for Hollywood bigwigs to pat each other on the back.

Well, somebody sure didn’t remember to tell that to this year’s host, Ricky Gervais.

The visibly slimmer acid-tongued  has lost none of his sting.  Insulting presenters and Hollywood in general. The man was on fire.  Sadly, most of the stars forgot to remove the stick wedged up their arses, and even starts rebutting at the host (which I must say is a first for me).

My big surprise was after Robert Downey Jr’s comeback at Ricky’s funny intro, he went on to suggest the nominees shoulda slept with him.  So, I suppose making cracks at screwing an actress is OK, but being teased about your past convictions are a no-no?

I dunno.. but RDJ has always been a charming bastard and manages to pull off the risque little speech well.

On the whole, I thought Ricky managed to do the impossible.

He made the Golden Globes fun.

Thank God for Ricky, even if he doesn’t believe in one.

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Interesting notes :

Why is Mark Zuckerberg suddenly being revered whenever “The Social Network” wins anything? Did MZ threaten to remove their Facebook accounts or something?

Is Christian Bale channeling Johnny Depp or was he trying to look like Jesus?

Holy Jesus, Batman!!

Ain’t it great to see Trent Reznor win for Best Score? It’s so hip and non-conventional, and best of all, it already got dumped by the Academy (Oscars) cos it’s not ‘original enough’

Speaking of the Social Network… DAVID FINCHER. BEST DIRECTOR. WOOHOO!!

Why does a blonde Emma Stone look more like Lindsay Lohan than Gwen Stacy?

Lindsay? Is that you?

But last but not least. January Jones, the hands-down winner for Miss Golden Globes 2011.

yum

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Hey This Looks Familar…

J-Lo in all her cartoon glory

Just happened to catch a teaser for American Idol Season 10 (view the AI Launch 1 video) on the local TV channel and the Jennifer Lopez caricature made me think… hey, I’ve seen this before.

Oh Goddess…

And then it hit me, the depiction of Lakshmi in Sita Sings the Blues, of course.

Probably all a coincidence.

You can download or view the entire show on YouTube . Highly recommended. And then either donate or buy some merchandise to support the creator, Miss Nina Paley, who have so kindly given this work of art to us for free.

The Curious Case of the Missing Rambo Film

Has anyone ever noticed that there was an error in the sequence of Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo franchise?

John Rambo first appeared in 1982 in “First Blood”;

A 1985 sequel was made,  titled “Rambo : First Blood Part II”

So, why the heck was the 1988 sequel after that named “Rambo III” instead of “First Blood Part III”  ???

To make things more bizzare… 20 years on, Stallone returned to make a ‘prequel’ to Rambo III, titling the fourth installment… RAMBO. (which technically mean it is RAMBO 1?)

So, the question is… if they do make a FIFTH movie,  should it be titled RAMBO II , or First Blood Part III?

As Alice would say, “Curiouser and Curiouser.”

Redbelt (2008)

redbelt_xlg

4.5 stars outta 5

“A fight is not won by one punch or kick. Either learn to endure or hire a bodyguard.”

— Bruce Lee

In my previous review of “Ip Man” I mentioned that I felt strangely dissatisfied with the movie’s lack of wushu spirit in its theme and for the weirdest reason, I just couldn’t let the flaw of the movie go while half wanting to recommend it.

I needed a closure; and what better way do this than watching yet another martial arts movie.

Yet,to call Redbelt “another martial arts movie”, is like saying The Dark Knight was merely another comic book movie. A bold claim, yes. But not entirely unjustified.

The latest movie from David Mamet shows us the fight that most of its peers does not offer enough of: The struggle within.

Chiwetel Ejiofor (quite a mouthful, eh?) plays Mike Terry, a jiujitsu instructor who explains that he doesn’t teach people to fight, but to prevail.  An interesting comment, since his dojo is not making money, has a shattered glass from an incident that may lead to his one of …two(?) students going to jail, he’s unable to pay his rent and to top this off, his wife ends up borrowing money from a loan shark for a bust business deal that she could never pay off.

It sure is a good thing that Mike’s brother in law happens to be running an ‘Ultimate Fighting Champion-ish’ tournament. And with a $40,000 top prize carrot dangling in front of a desperate man, could this finally be the straw to break the camel’s back ?  Does every man, even a honourable one like Mike, truly have a price?

I have but merely scratched Redbelt’s surface in its intricate plot lines, a wonderful character piece case study on the theme of honour, a subject matter sorely missing in many martial arts movies; and to see it  on an American movie actually makes it even more remarkable to me.

Now, the movie does have its flaws.  The overly macho dialogue sounds like they belong to another world (Who talks like that in real life!?!) the fact that everything piece of the puzzle falls oh so neatly into place in the film.  But I am more than willing to ignore this shortcomings because I have simply enjoyed the ride that Mamet is bringing me.

Of course, it would be ridiculous of me to expect all martial arts movies to suddenly stop fighting and to start preaching, what would be the fun in that?

But, dear reader, hear me out.  In today’s world where money seem to be the most important thing, it heartens me to think that old fashioned values like honour and respect still means something to somebody, even he is a work of fiction.

THAT should be the spirit of wushu, of martial arts, and for better or worse, for our lives.

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Ip Man

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3 out of 5 stars

I left the cinema with a strange feeling of dissatisfaction after watching Ip Man, Donnie Yen’s latest kung fu flick.

The film talks about the life (and brief) times of the title character, a practitioner of Wing Chun Martial Arts whom was considered the most highly skilled martial artist whose disciples would include the legendary Bruce Lee.

The movie, if you excuse the cheesy pun, literally packs a punch. Donnie Yen portrays Ip Man as a modest family man who is always ready to offer a helping hand but would never asks for any in return. The opening fight scene between Ip and a fellow master is a masterpiece showcase in this genre. The viewer has no doubt that the challenger is out to probably humiliate Ip, but instead, he was offered hospitality by Ip. And strangely, this increases my curiosity of how good Ip really is. And the fight does not disappoint. While most fighting movies aims for the absurdity these days, the opening fight scene demonstrates how control and discipline can be even more impressive. Ip whom easily outmatched his opponent could have easily beaten him to a pulp not only held back most of his punches; he modestly thanks the opponent for doing the same afterwards.

It was at this time, when my friend turned and told me “I love this movie!” I eagerly concur, but once again I spoke too soon.

The second to third act of this movie unfortunately derailed from the intial set up. The Japanese invasion came along and all in Fo Shan goes to hell. And all these eventually led to a series of ‘misunderstandings’ which results in some meaningless over the top fight scenes which turned Ip turn from the humble kungfu master into a one man Mortal Kombat-ish fighting machine. All these of course are an overly elaborate lead to the final showdown between Ip and the Japanese General Miura, whom surprise surprise, happens to be a highly skilled kung fu Master in his own right.

Oddly enough, I was more than ready to ‘forgive’ all that went wrong with the movie if this last fight was played out … respectfully. And I humbly offer my thoughts on what totally went wrong with the third act.

The scene that personally I feel could have saved the movie was when General Miura came in to offer Ip a meal on the night before the big fight; a mirror of the opening scene of the show don’t you think? I would rather have Miura and Ip use the scene to state their respect for each other’s skills in Martial arts and I would imagine that the two are opposite sides of the same coin entwined in the middle of WW2. But alas, Ip sprouted some speech on Jap bashing, and later on, bashed up the Japanese General. *YAWN!*

You probably think I’ve put too much thought into a simple kungfu movie, but what I’m trying to say is what should have been a great film on the spirit of wushu, ends up as another generic chop-socky flick, and to that, I lament.