Movie Buzz : Rango
Mayor: “You see Mr Ringo, people need to believe in something.Pick it up your destiny waits.”
Anyone who knows me would know that I’m a HUGE Johnny Depp fangirl – you won’t be surprised if I said I loved the movie, just because Johnny Depp is involved.
Rango is the story of a lonely chameleon who got separated with its owner and off he entered the desert to become a great asset to the town of Dirt. I would say Rango belongs to more of an adult story rather than a simple animation meant for children. Without a doubt, Johnny Depp delivers almost perfectly that quirky, slightly unstable yet confident personality that is almost natural from him. In fact, I think the voiceovers were very well done, including Jake the Rattlesnake, who is actually Bill Nighy, whom you may recognize as Davy Jones from Pirates of the Caribbean.
Rango: “So you want something to believe in? [points at the "Sheriff" sign] Believe in that there sign. For as long as it hangs there we’ve got hope.”
I thought the story took off on a rather slow pace as it was a pretty good introduction to the characters but personally there were certain details that can be left out for me. One thing about animated films is that the suspense is often lost as the audience usually is able to predict the next scene but I thought Rango built up to the climax pretty well. Fine, I still thought it was predictable but at least it was a satisfying conclusion to the film.
Humor? It is definitely there. The animation looks fantastic and overall, it was a captivating animated film. I could almost see bits of Captain Jack Sparrow somehow, just in a lizard form. As much as I dislike lizards, I would say Rango hit all the notes in the right key.
If you like the whole western cowboy feel and Johnny Depp, you are sure to enjoy the story of Rango. I’ll give it 4/5.
Opening in cinemas on 10th March (TOMORROW!)
Movie Buzz : Saw 3D – The Final Chapter
source : firstshowing.net
The supposed finale of this never-ending SAW saga, probably one of the most recognised horror thriller movie series in film history. As much as I hate horror films, I totally enjoy the gore in the SAW series and that made me a fan. Jigsaw has the most interesting twisted ideas and it is the mystery and twists that make the series genius. SAW 3D has ambitious ideas which reveals the backstory,connecting the little jigsaw pieces together but lack the means to pull them off.
In SAW 3D, I really love the concept of this Jigsaw support group and getting to see some of our favorite characters once again. But the story isn’t getting any deeper and we can tell that the writers have ran out of characters to create and it is merely the basic elements of SAW that pulled this movie together. In other words,it’s time to wrap up.
The subplot was uninteresting and I feel that the subplot has gotten more screen time than the main story which should be the main focus instead. I didn’t feel any connection to the characters and Chad Donella, who played Detective Gibson, was unconvincing. I wished the story focused more on the relationship between Jill and Hoffman that was more interesting. Perhaps I’m biased as I think Jigsaw was killed too early in the sequels and Hoffman was merely a murderer rather than a replacement.
On the flip side, the traps were good. Some had me gripping the edge of my seat in anticipation to see if the victims will manage to escape in time. Plenty of blood and gore with the effects that was up to the past 6 movies’ standard. Might just be best among all. Watch it as a summary of the SAW series but don’t expect it as a stand-alone movie. Not sure if this is really the end of SAW saga but I find myself leaving with even more questions than answers.
I’ll give this a 2.5/5 – watch if you’re a SAW fan or if you really like gory scenes. People with a weak bladder,forget it.
Movie Buzz : The Tourist
I thoroughly enjoyed ‘The Tourist‘ which is a remake of this 2005 French Film ‘Anthony Zimmer‘. It gives me the impression of a reminiscent of an old Hitchcock film with Angelina Jolie with this ‘Audrey Hepburn glow’ – beautiful gowns, elegant looking with not a single hair out of place. Classy but I thought it was ridiculous to have the camera lingering on her for a good 10-15 seconds too long at every other shot. Perhaps Jolie’s fans will appreciate it more.
Johnny Depp stars as maths teacher Frank Tupelo, an American tourist who meets a beautiful British woman, Elise (Angelina Jolie) on a train to Venice and finds himself being pursued by Interpol agent (Paul Bettany) and a badass gangster (Steven Berkoff). Elise is acting under the orders of Alexander Pearce, her mysterious fugitive lover, who instructed her to board the train and pick someone bearing resemblances in order to throw Interpol off. However, as the pair fall unexpectedly in love with each other…..and you get the drift.
Depp is without a doubt the sexy man extraordinaire. Terrific performance despite the fact that this is not his usual eccentric on-screen characters. I love how he can portray subtle emotions across his facial expression, though his character seems to be alil over-infatuated with Angelina Jolie, that makes him look as though he has never seen a woman before in his life. You might observe the peculiar side of him as he runs across the roofs at one of the chase, in his pyjamas. Rather refreshing to see him in his ‘normal’ state I must say (and oh so charming in his suits!)
Top notch actors though I’m actually alil surprised that this film gave them the Golden Globe nods. The secondary characters in the story was well casted too. Beautiful scenery – How to resist the charm of France and Venice ? Gentle romance with elements of humor and intrigue thrown in despite the rather implausible plot and weak script. Satisfying ending that is a pleasant well-written twist (perhaps predictable to some but I loved how it ended).
Not nearly as clever or sexy as I wished it would be but enjoyable. I’ll give it a 4/5 since I’m biased and that extra +1 is for Johnny Depp solely. (Why would I say no to watching 103 minutes of Johnny Depp?!) Win-win situation if you’re a fan of Johnny Depp like me or in love with the views of France/Venice. Guilty Pleasures - Just don’t expect too much from this underwhelmed blockbuster.
[Movie Buzz]: The Perfect Wedding
I’m not a huge fan of Chinese movies to be honest but recently I have been watching TVB shows in order to brush up my rusty Cantonese and absorb abit of my own culture here and there, without my parents nagging at me. So there I was, thanks to Golden Village, at the premiere screening of ’The Perfect Wedding’ (抱抱俏佳人)!
The story begins with Lok Yan (Miriam Yeung) is a successful wedding planner who was ditched by her own fiancé on their wedding day. One night she hooked up with a young attorney, Fung (Raymond Lam) – with no plans of ever meeting again. Cliche but true, fate brings them back together and Lok Yan became Fung’s boss overnight. The couple complicates their relationship with work differences, friends interfering and miscommunication etc…but of course, we all know the typical ending there.
I was never a fan of Raymond Lam but after watching this movie, I thought he is rather cute with a comical side of him that is rarely portrayed on his usual TVB drama series. On the other hand, Miriam Yeung is always great with her on screen charisma! I would say I enjoyed the movie as it was a typical ‘fairytale’ without much twists and turns (ie. no need for much thinking) and it’s a good chillax weeknight movie. One bonus to the show was the appearance of Eric Kot ! I really like him as an artiste but just thought his character has room for development/improvement !
Downsides ? I’d very much prefer to watch it in its original Cantonese dialogues and soundtrack. It kinda killed the effects and punchlines at times, and the mandarin songs do not share the same feel as how the Cantonese would have portrayed ! (The lyrics were the subtitles so I know!) Another thing is how the product placements made it look too crazily-commercialized and providing audience a *roll eyes* moment at every other scene.
Mediocre film but always nice to kill time with eyecandies and some lame jokes – especially when I am really dreaming about having a wedding planning career like Miriam’s character…her firm is to-die-for ! And the gorgeous gowns and everything lovely from a wedding ! That’s probably the only reason why I sat through the whole film !
I’ll give this cliche yet nice-to-watch romance comedy a 2/5 ! Opening on 21st October at your nearest GV cinemas !
[Event/Giveaway] Royston Tan’s new short ‘Ah Kong’
Health Promotion Board had a preview screening of local filmmaker Royston Tan’s latest work – ‘Ah Kong’ 阿公 last Tuesday at The Screening Room. I had the privilege to watch it firsthand with Hweif Fen.
First of all, it is really nice to see how the government is getting involved in the arts scene and sending messages to the public using a creative platform. Secondly, it’s a topic that really touched me because my grandfather suffered from Dementia and I know how horrible the feeling was for both him and the caretaker. It’s like living with a 4 years old trapped in a wrinkled body, sad but true. They need the extra care and attention which most people are unable to provide due to work/social lifestyle. But there’s always help you can seek, so don’t just leave them alone.
Just to share more about Dementia, did you know these are top 10 warning signs of Dementia ?
Top Ten Warning Signs of Dementia
1. Memory loss that affects day to day functions
2. Difficulty doing familiar tasks
3. Confusion about time and place
4. Problems communicating
5. Difficulty planning or solving problems
6. Poor or decreased judgement
7. Misplacing things
8. Changes in mood or behaviour
9. Changes in personality
10. Withdrawal from work or social activities
If someone you love around you shows certain warning signs, you should really pay extra attention and care for them instead of abandoning them on their own ! Being socially engaged and mentally active is one of the few ways to reduce the risk or delay the onset of dementia. (Speaking of which, I feel like I’m suffering from dementia already. Haha ! )
Enjoy the full length film here ! I thought it was pretty well executed and I have to say, the Ah Kong was really convincing.
[Giveaway]
Stand a chance to win an autographed DVD of ‘Ah Kong’ by Royston Tan !
Simply drop me an email at ingridmak [at] gmail [dot] come with the title: “ Ah Kong DVD Giveaway” with your name and contact information. (Please include your mailing address so that I can mail it out!)
Winner will be randomly picked and contacted via email.
*Singapore Residents Only.
Closing date : 27 Sept 2010, 2359.
My subconscious tore me to pieces.
Ariadne: Why is it so important to dream?
Cobb: Because, in my dreams we are together.
Cobb: Dreams feel real while we’re in them. It’s only when we wake up that we realize something was actually strange.
Cobb: I miss you more than I can bear, but we had our time together. I have to let you go.
Mal: Do you know what it is to be a lover? Half of a whole?
Mal: You keep telling yourself what you know. But what do you believe? What do you feel?
Arthur: With the slightest disturbance, the dream’s going to collapse.
Cobb: Look at you. You’re just a shade, a shade of my real wife. How could I capture all your beauty, your complexity, your perfection, your imperfection, in a dream? Yes, you’re the best that I can do. But, I’m sorry, you’re just not good enough.
Cobb: She locked away a secret, deep inside herself, something she once knew to be true… but chose to forget.
Cobb: The moment’s passed. Whatever I do I can’t change this moment. I’m about to call out to them. They run away. If I’m ever going to see their faces I’ve gotta get back home. The real world.
Some lines from the movie really strikes a chord in me, just sharing with a slight re-arrangement to match how I actually feel or hear from the whole story. Guess I could relate to it in a different aspect and in general, life.
People dream of happiness, to know how it feels like to be in love, to be in control of something that makes them happy in life. Yet not many people know the true meaning behind a relationship and how little things can affect the feelings between 2 people. Sometimes people hold on, for different reasons – mainly because they knew what they had before and believe that things will change for the better. However, when this dream collapses, you wake up to reality that is harsh and you realize that you have been obsessed with your own dream and never realizing that the moment has long gone – nothing is going to change. You come back to the real world eventually because you choose to lock yourself away and try to forget, be it returning with regrets, hatred, remorse or simple happiness that you once remembered from these memories.
On a side note, Leonardo DiCaprio definitely has a home run with Inception. Ellen Page is as usual, just an eyecandy with the average sidekick acting skills, along with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. But best film I’ve watched so far this year. Christopher Nolan, impressive !
Movie Buzz : Triple Tap 槍王之王
Triple Tap (槍王之王) is a psychological thriller directed by Derek Yee, starring Louis Koo who plays this Champion sharpshooter while Daniel Wu is his fellow marksman and police officer, they met at an IPSC competition and later Koo gets involved in this robbery case that Wu was investigating. Their confrontation reveals the different back stories and brings out a myriad of lies as the two try to outsmart eachother. Think along the line of The Mentalist or Lie To Me but wrapped in a typical old school Hong Kong crime movie.
Despite the fact that it’s an all star cast and the male leads are drool-worthy, they weren’t exactly great in terms of acting. Both have a standard facial expression without any emotions. They were so ‘serious’ that it was too funny to watch – guess it quite backfired the whole idea of having two ‘cool’ men pulling triggers at each other. I almost choked at Louis Koo’s ‘Are You Ready?’ Sadly the two female leads Charlene Choi and Li Bingbing have little scenes to comment about. The plot was trying too hard to be clever that it ended up being pathetic instead. I don’t feel there’s a connection with the audience and it totally did not snag my attention at all.
Not much of an action saga either, although I did notice that Chin Kar Lok is the action choreographer, what a disappointment. I do see potential in this film, especially when the production seems to be above average in terms of Hong Kong films. Well, at least the guns were pretty cool and I learnt what’s IPSC after watching this film !
It’s a pity that this highly anticipated great film turned out like this,perhaps it might be better if watched in Cantonese instead of the monotone mandarin voice-overs. I’ll give this a 2/5 but if you’re a sucker for some asian action or eyecandy moments, then go ahead and catch this film on a weekday. It’s gonna be out on 1st July 2010.
P.S : Following Trailers are all in Cantonese !
I have to mention, nobody beats Leslie Cheung as the marksman in Double Tap (I think Triple Tap is an unofficial sequel ?) Move aside Louis Koo, you need to learn.
Movie Buzz : She’s Out Of My League
Yet another romantic comedy (seriously, nothing beats ’500 Days of Summer’ as of now), nothing special about ‘She’s Out of My League‘ – girl meets boy, they falls in love, reach the crisis but it’s always a happily ever after ending. Alice Eve is the gorgeous Molly which is drawn in to Jay Baruchel aka Kirk who is just your average Joe – or worse.
We all know how this rating system works when it comes to the opposite gender. It’s always a 1 to 10 and most of us fall under the average 5 or 6 – with a point or 2 as bonus. Few gets to meet a 10 and when they do, it’s like they’ve strike lottery and the whole self-esteem comes as an issue. Same goes for the main leads for this film, Kirk ends up thinking that this relationship is too good to be true and screwing his own relationship up. While Molly is having issues living as a ’10′ in her previous relationships and decided to date Kirk, for a safer alternative. Both realized their mistakes and true love overcomes their differences yadda yadda – you get the picture.
I find the dialogues pretty smart and genuine, I giggled quite alot throughout the film. There were indeed some laugh out points, like Kirk’s balls-shaving scene and ‘jizzed in his pants.’ The characters were quite likeable and some may even find them resembling someone they know in reality. The quirky buddies of Kirk, unfortunately, failed to impress even though provided some amusing moments in the film. I liked Molly’s snarky girl friend Patty, played by Krysten Ritter, she gave me alil of the Zooey Deschanel vibe but sadly – little scenes for her to shine. I have a soft spot for geeks like Kirk and Jay Baruchel played the role perfectly as usual. (He’s ‘Windows’ from Fanboy by the way)
This film convincingly gives every ‘Kirk’ in the world a semblance of hope. Moral of the story ? Don’t sell yourself short when you find true love. Afterall, like how people loves to put it “Love is Blind”. Certainly inspired me to write another post on the topic, wait for it !
I’ll give this 2.5/5 (+0.5 for its soundtrack which I quite enjoyed!) for a pretty brainless chill-out summer film, not worth your weekend tickets but not exactly falling under the ultimate-trashy film category either.
Movie Buzz : Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang
I adore the story of Nanny McPhee which is adapted from the storybooks series called ‘Nurse Matilda.’ Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay for “Nanny McPhee” as well as the sequel ’Nanny McPhee and The Big Bang” respectively in 2005 and of course, coming to the big screens soon on 10th June (Singapore) 2010.
To sum up this wonderful screenplay in a paragraph, Nanny McPhee is a magical nanny who will arrive to misbehaved but inherently good children and change them for the better with her 5 base lessons. As how she puts it “”When you need me, but do not want me, then I must stay. When you want me, but no longer need me, then I have to go”.
Unlike the first ‘Nanny McPhee’, Emma Thompson seems to play a lighter role as the nanny – only to intervene when necessary and the children (Norman, Cyril, Vincent, Megsie, Celia) learn from their lessons on their own under the watchful eyes of Nanny McPhee. I thought the casting was brilliant ! 
The children, like the first, were amazing and the characters were convincing. They certainly do the script justice and of course Thompson’s whimsical side while writing the screenplay. I thought Ralph Fiennes and Rhys Ifans were great but not a fan of Maggie Gyllenhaal, while Ewan McGregor was more like a special guest starring in the movie. Maggie Smith’s character is such a dear but sadly, her image is pretty much stuck as Professor McGonagall (Harry Potter) in my mind.
The film was enchanting and the messages are easy to identify – not necessarily a story for children but a story for the child in us all. I am sure the young at heart (*coughs* like me) will find the piglets really amusing and adorable – will not spoil it for anyone but I TOTALLY LOVE THEM ! I truly enjoyed the movie and I think it has been a long time since I last watched a good old movie with a nice heartwarming plot with lil pretence and great casting. Perhaps not so much on the action or special effects like other blockbusters but I highly recommend this film if you enjoyed ‘Nanny McPhee’ or just need something relaxing to watch over the weekend.
I’ll give this movie a 4/5 ! Remember, ’Small C, Big P.’ 
Movie Buzz/Event : ‘Sex And The City 2′ Gala Premiere
Courtesy of HP, I had the chance to attend the Sex and the City 2 Gala Premiere @ Golden Village, VivoCity with my bestie, Rachael ! I’m ashamed to say that I am no huge fan of the TV series nor have I watched “Sex and the City” before the event, so I went into the theatre pretty much with an open mind and the idea that the whole show is about – 4 manipulative women in NYC with the most gorgeous dresses and a lifetstyle to die for…and I came out with the same conclusion !
This highly anticipated film, well..put it this way – if men have porn, women have Sex and the City. The fashion is to die for, the lifestyle is to die for, the men are to die for. The story gets drowned among the blings and backdrop, a typical chick flick about relationships, sisterhood, women empowerment – the men just don’t get it ! Girls gone wild but a more mature version and bringing the glam factor to the max. If you’re a film critic, you might want to skip this film but you must watch this if you’re a fashionista or follower of SATC the series. I’ll pretty much spoil the entire show if I were to comment on the story (yes, it’s THAT shallow and the plot is absurdly over-simplified) so I shall keep my comments to myself. Let’s just say that I can relate to Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) most because of her relationship problems and craziness while with her friends. I can almost imagine myself telling my future husband “Me and you, just us two”. On a side note, I must say it is quite an interesting topic to discuss if this film were to be alil more political – they were (almost) certainly mocking the Middle East in a way ! (haha)
Anyways, back to the event itself ! I had a great time checking out the HP products (look out for the gorgeous HP mini in the show itself ! ) and catching up with other bloggers. Thanks HP once again for the great night ! As you can see, it’s rather rare for me to post up pictures of myself on my blog but the SJP perfume is my current favourite ! Will someone please get it for me ? (puppy eyes) Hur.
I’ll give this movie a 2.5/5 but a 5 for the gorgeous dresses and yummy eyecandies ! They coo, we coo and coo some more together..that’s how the movie goes.
