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| Gubra - movie, 3.5 stars After the acclaimed Sepet, Gubra is just had to be a must-watch. But my reaction towards it is somewhat mixed. Sepet was a simple (if you ignore the controversial elements) love story presented very nicely in complete Malaysian. It was a film that could be called truly Malaysian. Gubra is Malaysian as well. But it seems to have gone in the direction of art film. Art short films I could probably take, but a feature film which carries all the signature of art films, like long still shots, off-centered subjects and a Pete Teo soundtrack, is just a little too much for me. But Sepet, presentation didn't come off that way to me, so in that aspect I prefer Sepet.
But Gubra is a lot bolder in approaching sensitive issues. I sense that it is going to generate some talks once again. Yasmin Ahmad seems bent on getting the message through of the less conservative Muslim, which holds no prejudice againts other types of people. This time around more characters are involved which makes for deeper and intense stories and sub-stories. And what would strike anyone in this movie is that the theme is a little darker and less jovial. I must also commend Sharifah for her good performance.
I find I do like the story of Gubra but probably not its cinematography. And Yasmin Ahmad confirms that this is an art movie just by the odd and out of place segment after the credits. | | | 3:53 am - email it |
| The Corruptor - movie, 3.5 stars How Chow Yun Fat's English has improved since The Replacement Killer. Chow Yun Fat is always cool in no matter what movie he makes. But even though you have Mark Wahlberg as his partner, this isn't your typical odd couple movie like Rush Hour or Shanghai Knights.
As an action movie, it's pretty standard stuff. Good cop, bad cop. The triads. Some car chase. People being gunned down. Standard stuff in any cop movie.
But what I liked best was the ending. As it ask the questions of what exactly it is to be considered 'good'. Is it the one who betrays in the name of law, or one who remains loyal outside of the law ? Ponder. | | | 10:46 pm - email it |
| Casshern - movie, 3 stars This is bascially live action movie. I watched it out of curiosity. It looked cool and had interesting special effects, all bearing the trademarks of anime. The head villian with snow white hair and crimson red cape, the tormented protagonist, the massive robot army, the superpowers.
But it never seems quite sure what it wants to be. Does it want to be a comic book ? Well, it certaintly doesn't carry any humour or fun. It's a little depressing actually, but that's fine by me. But the story is never very clear. And the ending, oh my goodness, the ending. It was like watching Matrix Revolution. Just watch this movie for the special effects and interesting designs and forget the story. | | | 2:38 pm - email it |
| Malena - movie, 3 stars For the first half of the movie, you would think it was a coming-of-age movie with some adolescent humour thrown in. You wouldn't be wrong. You would think it was just another movie to check out the hottie Monica Belluci and you definately wouldn't be wrong. But watch this Italian art movie with an eye for historical events which unfolds in the movie, namely WWII and see the parallism.
Basically tells the story of a small Italian town in which a teenage boy has an infatuation a lone older woman. He never really takes to her or meet her in anyway, and yet his entire teenage life seems driven by his affections. In the background, the tides of WWII begin to change the town and its people, just as the young boy's outlook changes.
Actually they say this movie is about Italy's place in the events of WWII, Mussolini leading the beautiful innocent country into war, becoming bedfellows with Nazi Germans. The characters serve to mirror the events. It is an interesting perspective for a movie. If you could just stop drooling over Belluci and use your brains. | | | 12:41 am - email it |
| Inside Man - movie, 4 stars A heist flick which is smart, funny, stylish and a whole lot of fun. If Ocean's Eleven was good, then this one is better.
Spike Lee directs this story about a bank heist that isn't quite what it seems as it progresses. We have Clive Owen as the very cool and mysterious lead bank robber, Denzel Washington as the wise-cracking police detective, Jodie Foster as the shadowy figure and Christopher Plummer as a powerful but grey figure. Can't really go wrong with such a cast, can you ?
But even as the game of cat-and-mouse goes one, Spike Lee is back to this old self by trying to potray racial flavour in New York. The supporting characters and even the minor characters are each here to present New York citizens as they are.
It's just one great fun ride. Please Spike Lee, can I have some more ? | | | 3:18 am - email it |
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