On Your Mark

This is so good I just have to post it here!! Miyazaki-made MV contains all the usual Ghibli elements: salvation, joy, sadness, fantasy, war, action, comedy, hero & girl - in SIX FREAKIN MINUTES! Two endings and a nonlinear plot completes this short masterpiece.

Asian Auteurs, part 3 of 3

License to Express: 2046 (2004) VS Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)

(2046 nutshell) I do not agree with public opinion and think this is a direct continuation from ITMFL. Mr. Chow gets over his cheongsam girl heartbreak and evolves spectacularly into a successful writer and playboy. Everyone falls for him - the landlord's underaged daughter, the classy playgirl next door, and a gloves-on gambler also named So Lai-Chun. This sets the understone of the story, as Chow attempts to write a time travel story filled with love and regrets, based largely on past experiences, or more specifically, cheongsam girl. As impossible to understand as Mulholland Dr. on a first viewieng, WKW splatters the whole two hours with his usual themes, and then some. Production was an ungodly 2yrs, and part of the all-star cast vowed never to work with WKW ever. Extending the colour palette in 1960s Hong Kong and weird time-travel train coaches, 2046 is a beautiful cinema extravaganza. Amongst the beautiful cast, Faye Wong 王菲 makes a welcome return as her lovely care-free self, Takuya Kimura is a male flowerpiece 花瓶, and both former and current Chinese 'It' girls Gong Li 巩俐 and Zhang Ziyi 章子怡 turn up with solid performances. But 2046 is no doubt about Tony Leung, flexing his acting muscles again as one of the most versatile and best actors in the world. Despite the lavish suits and combed-back hair, Mr. Chow suffers the more he writes, as he discovers that he is not over cheongsam girl after all. But what can anyone do to change the past? WKW overload.
key scene: In a throwback to Leslie Cheung and Carina Lau in DOBW, sassy girl ZZY asks Mr. Chow: "Is this how you treat all girls? 你对每个都这样吗？" The venom, unacceptance, jealousy and rage burning in her eyes.

(SFLV nutshell) Lee Young-Ae makes a terrific transition from palace medicine girl to vicious murderer, in an attempt to piss all Cheung Kam 长今-loving aunties off. LYA plays a ex-convict fresh out of prison, falsely convicted for a vicious murder on a 5yr old boy 13yrs ago. Utilising her witty guile, she gains notorierity, fame and friends in the female prison, earning a beautiful nickname in the process. Upon release, she sheds her angelic image instantly and starts plotting and executing her vengeance. PCW adopts a passive approach this time, exhibiting minimum intent at the start, slowly moulding LYA's character into shape, giving the angel-face murderer a soul acting out of pure grief. I understand PCK's intention to reduce the violence and increase the intent, but this movie does drag about at times. For example, what has baker boy got to do with anything? However, by the time sweet vengeance reaches fruition, the spectacle of mass murderers (mob of victims torturing old boy to death) speaks volumes about the sheer grief of vendetta. Unspectacular, but a fitting ending to the brilliant vengeance trilogy.
key scene: daughter stopping dad from plunging axe into oldboy: "leave some for the next aunty."

2046 VS SFLV keywords: final part of trilogy, most well-produced, least extreme, full expression of director's fave themes, star-studded.

Ahh..manage to fulfil my small desire of becoming a movie critic with these reviews. Manchester has turn me into a full fledge movie maniac, and my to-watch list feels like infinity. Being exposed to HK, China and Korean cinema, and now watching western favourites, I do naturally feel unjustified about the lack of media coverage on excellant eastern movies. Thankfully, websites like lovehkfilm.com and koreanfilm.org can soldier on to increase exposure of Asian movies. Looking through IMDb's Top 250 list, I think there are at most 10 Asian films there. It is dead unfortunate that Westerners still associate Asian films with kungfu and violence, which they can 'relate' to via crappy Tarantino.

No doubt they make the best war movies, westerns and epic trilogies, but many other genres belong to the East:
- romance in the city ~ WKW only. Lost in Translation is good, but nothing comes close to Chungking Express.
- romantic comedy ~ My Sassy Girl is my all-time no.1, maybe Roman Holiday comes close. Then again, I happen to think Jeon Ji-Hyun is the most beautiful girl in the world.
- cops ~ HK must really love their police force, making so many cop and robber flicks.
- gangsters ~ other than Godfather and Casino, I find most other gangster flicks crappy, most notably the overrated Goodfellas. 'Gu wak zai' 蛊惑仔 rulez!
- slapstick ~ always thought Stephen Chow 周星驰 makes the funniest movies, until my recent ran-in into Monty Python. Ni!!
- action ~ anyone who has watched Police Story 1-3, or Drunken Master II, will know what I mean. All those polished kuailous can't even jump off one floor without a stunt double. And Chow Yun Fatt is the coolest person ever to hold a gun.
- melodrama ~ HK's Heaven and Earth 天长地久 and Korea's You are My Sunshine made me cry. 'nuff said.
- finally, cartoons ~ to think that there are ppl that actually prefer Disney to Miyazaki is unbelievable. Compare Laputa to Aladdin? Spirited Away to Nemo? bwahahahaha

I want to click your forehead too!!

Asian Auteurs, part 2 of 3

Inaccessible prequels: Days Of Being Wild 阿飞正传 (1990) VS Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance (2002)

(DOBW nutshell) A ‘bai ga zai’ playboy, an innocent girl, a bumming best friend, a feisty dancer and a aspire-to-be-sailor policeman. What more can you want from a WKW film? A 94-min portrait of post-modern existentialism, each character is stuck in their pathetic selfishness, dwelling on the past and regrets. Heartbreaks and comfort zones play out in a dusty 1950’s Hong Kong summer – messy apartments, dodgy alleys, empty streets. There’s even a take of busy Singapore then. The plot is non-existent, just a slow-paced barrage of emotions, which is how I like my movies. WKW must have squeeze out every grain of acting from the superstar cast, Carina Lau’s Mimi being the exceptional character, every eye-bat and tantrum she unleashes, only masking the need for love in her feisty tough exterior. The perfect art film.
Key scene: Mimi brags to Lai-chun that York loved her more than LC, only for LC to respond “I’ve already gotten over him”. Heartbreaking.

(SFMV nutshell) A deaf-mute guy sells his kidney in the black market, hoping to get a fresh one for his dying sister. Conned off his kidney and fired from his job, he kidnaps his ex-boss’s daughter but accidentally kills her. Revenge(s) ensure and IT ALL GOES TO HELL!! Unwatchable for most because of its pace and violence, which I find are the two most compelling points in this brilliant composition. No signs of violence in the first-half, tension slowly burns in the vengeful characters, before they boil over in a dreadful last half-hour. These are the most horrible scenes of violence I’ve seen in a movie, and I’ve cringed through Miike Takashi’s “Ichi The Killer" (2001) and “Audition” (1999). There is no protagonist or anti-protagonist, where each character’s personal vendetta is justified in his own way. The first of the ‘vengeance’ trilogy displays the rawness, and to a lesser extent, absurdity, of vengeance.
18SG watch: drowning girl, high voltage torture, hacked-to-death-and-kidneys-removed, slitting ankles (the thought of this still makes me squirm), multiple knife stabs
Key scene: Dong-Jin eating takeaway while torturing the mute’s gf with electricity, to the point where her bladder loses control. No remorse.

DOBW vs SFMV keywords: first of unofficial trilogies, inaccessible, slow but well-paced, extreme portrayal of themes, hanging endings.


Shining masterpieces: In The Mood For Love 花样年华 (2000) VS Oldboy (2003)

(ITMFL nutshell) Newly moved-in neighbours find out their respective partners are cheating on them. An even thinner plot is layered richly with superb chemistry from its leads, spectacular camerawork, a brilliant score, and more cigarette smoke. Tony Leung 梁朝伟won best actor in Cannes for his portrayal of Chow Mo-Wan, a hair-sleeked-back-handsomely normal chap, who upon discovering Mrs Chow’s tryst, quits his job and chases his aspiration to be a wuxia author. He also chases after his also-lonely neighbour, Su Li-Zhen (Maggie Cheung 张曼玉), whose stunning cheongsams complement her astounding beauty. The movie’s supporting cast redefine what a ‘keh leh feh’ is – plot fillers. One doesn’t even get to see the faces of the cheating couple. MW wants to move forward and get on with life, whereas LZ is trapped in society’s confinements. It is a love story without love scenes – no kissing, no flirting. Just little gestures of inhibitions, that still demonstrate the adulterousness of the whole affair. LZ’s indecisiveness gets on my nerves, but WKW reminds us what this is really about – the passive reality, not the fairy-tale ending. Chris Doyle works his mastery on the camera, placing strategic voyeuristic shots, keeping the audience guessing, focus fading as the dodgy couple seems to get more intimate. The film that bombarded WKW to world-class auteur.
Key scene: LZ staying overnight at MW’s place. Nothing dodgy happens. Really.

(OB nutshell) Imprisoned for 15 yrs without reason, dude is mysteriously released and given 5 dys to find his captors. The whirlwind story that ensues depict a strange tale of vengeance climaxing in THAT scene (it leaves ppl speechless). For the most part a fun and violent ride ala Tarantino, the movie is injected a bittersweet element in Kang Hye-Jeong’s Mido (also check her out in Rules of Dating, brilliant dissection of dodgy relationships). I don’t endorse the weird and forced plotline, but performances and all-around filmmaking makes Oldboy a must-watch movie. Choi Min-Sik’s plays his wild-haired dude role with utter conviction, accepting his pathetic fate yet fighting for meaningless vengeance. His target, the ‘bai ga zai’ Yoo Ji-Tae, doesn’t possess the ‘bad guy’ aura, but his pitiful and sadistic nature emphasises even more so the humane antagonist. PCW’s fast-paced direction, inter-twining scenes with computer effects, and direct close-ups at the pathetic characters, highlights the young director’s accomplishments. There isn’t much real violence in Oldboy, but the threat of it happening is always there, keeping the viewer on the seat’s edge. The crowd-pleaser.
18SG watch: slurping down a live octopus, pliers & teeth, hammering down a walkway of gangsters, THAT scene (scissors & tongue), bullet in the head
Key scene: sick brother letting sister fall down the dam. Yeesh.

ITMFL vs OB keywords: most famous work, powerful lead performance, guided suspense, helplessness, sad realities

Asian Auteurs, part 1 of 3

Wong Kar-Wai 王家卫and Park Chan-Wook are two of the better known Asian directors in world cinema. Both possess distinctive styles – WKW’s startlingly beautiful cinematography (often with partner Chris Doyle), stand-still romances and blind longing; PCW’s spurts of brutal violence (not unlike Miike Takashi), high-strung tensions and compelling anti-heroes/heroines. The aspiring movie critic in me will shortly review 4 movies from each director, and compare their similarities and contrasting styles. I guess I was inspired by the Caravaggio-Rembrandt expo in Amsterdam, after re-visiting its excellent website.



Precursor to greatness: As Tears Go By 旺角卡门 (1988) VS Joint Security Area (2000)

(ATGB nutshell) HK triad Wah has issues: a girlfriend who just had an abortion, a brainless and trouble-making ‘leng’, debts, more trouble with taikors, and a sick pretty cousin. Despite being very much a genre film (note: A Moment of Romance 天若有情, also starring Andy Lau 刘德华 as a lead), it already is laden with WKW characteristics on his directorial debut – cigarette smoke, futile attempts to salvage pride, simmering romance. Although in this case it leads to a commercially-fulfilling ending of a tragic melodrama. Maggie Cheung 张曼玉 exhibits the strong-resolved dame look wonderfully, esp as Wah boards the red bus, making her a staple in many later WKW productions. It is also interesting to see Andy Lau and the so-much-more talented Jacky Chueng 张学友 resume being triad partners 15yrs later in Jiang Hu 江湖 (2004).
Key scene: the two leads are stuck in an awkward moment, looking at each other, the slight tingle to speak their hearts, the calm surroundings, table fan whirring. Suddenly the door burst open and a bloody Jacky stumbles in. Triad reality looms in an almost cruel way to the viewer.

(JSA nutshell) An area which connects North and South in the Korean Demilitarised Zone, a village called Panmunjeom, is known as the Joint Security Area. A terrible murder occurs in the North camp, apparently done by a kidnapped South soldier as he tries to save himself. Or is it? An investigation into this whodunit is called by the UN, and in comes a beautiful Korean-Swiss major. A rare female lead in a war movie – Lee Young-Ae confronts an alien landscape, missing evidence (incl. a whole person), and political stability theories, as she is forced to answer questions about her actions and beliefs with each new evidence. The film that made PCW big, it is also a demonstration of his filmmaking style – well-paced storytelling, tension-building sequences, brutal killings, and an unforgettable landscape for the film background. It also helps that the brilliant cast eventually became stars in their own right: LYA (who doesn’t know ‘Cheung Kam 长今’?), Lee Byung-Heon (seen most recently in the vicious “A Bittersweet Life (2004)”, and Song Kang-Ho (star of the next PCW flick, and also the unforgettable “Memories of Murder (2002)”)
Key scene: the nerve-wrecking recount of what really happen. Again, reality reveals itself in utmost cruelty.

ATGB vs JSA keywords: debuts, distinguished styles, returning cast, themes: friendship, headstrong, necessary violence, landscape, reality.

Godfather Lessons

Don Corleone: "I spend my whole life trying not to be careless. "

I am a perfectionist. I condemn them a lot, but the types that bother me most are those that put their books back at their “actual” position, after I borrowed for a glance. Such behaviour exists because people do not like it when their ideals are tampered with, even if it is a small thing like the arrangement of books according to height. Tidiness and obsessive, compulsive, perfectionist syndrome (OCPS) go together, I would know. My OCPS has gradually toned down over the years, but I do very much notice it when someone displays signs of it.

There is no ideal position, because it is a relative term. Something that is perfect one day, may become a total eye-sore the next. Because we’re creatures of the heart and mind, we’re liable to change. It is change that fuels the vitality of life. People fear the dark, coming up with reasons to mask the uncertainty of life. There will never be a comfort zone in life, unless one is comfortable with oneself. This is one aspect of life that religion & spirituality has taught me a great deal. Being in a quiet place, church or room, just me and God aka the voice in my soul. Answering questions about my actions, reflecting on my beliefs, deciding the course of my future.

I spend my whole life trying not to be careless. I hurt, I swallow my pride, I cry, because I expect something in return for what I gave - my love, my care, my self. Being is not a business. I trust my creator to be, giving what is worth giving, receiving what is worth receiving. Expectations are thrive in society, and one often succumbs to such expectations. I must maintain my beliefs, acting as God’s buffer, making this world a better place, making people believe that the co-existence of selfs is very much possible.

The perfectionist in me tells me that today, I should have been more cheerful talking to Mandy and interacting with CM. Today, I should not have tempted everyone to a Java Chip, although it’s the best iced coffee drink I’ve ever had after Piccolo Mondo’s mafia drink . I should be reviewing my Matlab code instead of getting caught up with this blogging trend. However, at the end of the day, I am proud of myself, because I was being myself. What I didn’t do is not a mistake, just a pre-cursor to the change that will eventually happen in life. People tend to underestimate the power of the ‘second thought’. The rush and excitement into something has ever so often turn into regrets.

Why I should drink less Java Chip: (and I had Grande with cream!)

I’ll take an opportunity to apologise to Phing bout the whole return flight fiasco. You may think it was just an irritating mistake, but to me it is more than an irritation. Because I spend my whole life trying not to be careless.

Movie of the day: The Godfather (1972)

The amazing masterpiece that is better than the superb Puzo novel. Everthing about this movie is superbly executed: Don Corleone asking for the undertaker's friendship, the Solozzo-McClusky killing, Sonny's cold-blooded murder, and finally the sheer wrath of Michael's vengeance. However, I happen to disagree with public opinion about its sequel. It is a brilliant movie, but for nihilistic depictions of the gangster life, I still prefer HK productions like "Jiang Hu 江湖" （2000） and "Election 黑社会" （2005）.