Sedap Enough – Nasi Lemak 2.0

I actually started writing this some time ago. I had completed an entire review, with a number of references and dialogue bits thrown in for good measure. Then wouldn’t you know it…the computer crashed. Of course, while that is not something that has never happened, it does give rise to the term ‘buzzkill’.

That also gave rise to this word: eureka! For while I have been largely impressed with Namewee’s debut effort as a full-fledged filmmaker, I came to realise that buzzkill was probably the best word I could think of to describe ‘Nasi Lemak 2.0′.

At Least It’s Not The Macet – Bangkok Traffic (Love) Story

“OK, fine, fine, I’ll check it out,” I promised my friend, who pestered me about the film, ‘Bangkok Traffic Love Story’. She had seen it and raved about it. Apparently, it’s the idea of the monorail transport company in Bangkok, and it did indeed sound like an interesting idea: make a movie, a standalone movie to promote the usage of the transportation system in the city. Smart. I can imagine a forbidden love story made between the Putra and Star LRT systems.

However, I’m not usually such a big fan of such efforts. For the most part, I believe in storytelling for the sake of telling a story. While I admit that it is not such a strict rule, I do believe that there is a noticeable difference in quality when a film is being made without that being at the forefront of the proceedings. I think you can see such a difference as well, when you watch a film whose existence you know is commercial in nature, and films that has a story it wants to tell.

Astaghfirullahhalazim – Jack and Jill

Jack and Jill went up the hill, and, certainly from a box office point of view, made a fair of money along the way. Taking into account its international takings, it more than made its money back. Then Adam Sandler came in more than once and everything tumbled down very, very quickly. Such simplicity does not an untruth maketh when it comes to describing ‘Jack and Jill’.

The title of this review is also a very simple way to describe the kind of film this is. I spent half the time watching this film, covering my mouth, and saying, astagha, mashaallah, and (for my Indonesian fans),  “Ya ampun!”

It’s that kind of movie.

Broken Contract – 23:59

A genre is a contract made between the filmmaker and the audience. Well, at least that’s one definition of it, for there is always more, but for all intents and purposes, it is a promise. If, for example, you walk into a film billed as a comedy, you expect a fun and funny time. It’s a part of the reason why certain films are judged differently to others, because they all have different objectives.

With regards to ’23:59′, this film is billed as a horror film. That was the promise made to me (and my girlfriend and my mom and my stepdad): that, in watching this film, you would be scared. It would be nothing more than a simulation of the real thing, an experiment or exercise in exorcising our worst fears and nightmares.

1 + 1 =… – We Bought A Zoo

Matt Damon was interviewed on ‘The Daily Show’ recently with Jon Stewart. In the interview, he related how producers didn’t really want to make the film, because the story of a guy who bought a zoo was probably not something they’d normally go for. I mean, how realistic is that? Well, pretty realistic, as it turned out, because it was actually based on a true story. There is indeed a Benjamin Mee, and he did buy a zoo. Nevertheless, you could see why certain power brokers in Hollywood would not be all that keen on it, beyond Matt Damon’s involvement as the film’s star.

“And then I told them, ‘Oh, Cameron Crowe’s directing the film’. And the response was, “Well, why didn’t you tell us earlier?!” And so the film got made. This was how I actually found out that the director’s Cameron Crowe, and this was the moment I got a little more excited about the film.

Bromantically Involved – Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

I recently finished reading a book on Malaysian films and literature called ‘Reclaiming Adat’ by Khoo Gaik Cheng. It was the second time I had read the book, for I had finished it some years ago. In fact, a piece of paper slipped out from the book, with the contact number of a friend I made while touring the Joint Security Area between North and South Korea, placing the last reading somewhere near the end of 2009. It was not that long ago, but for some reason, it felt like so much has happened within these past two years.

Anyways, I picked it up again in preparation for some research I am about to undertake. One word that kept popping out was homosocial. Watching the new Sherlock Holmes film, that word popped up again. Homosocial. Homosocial. Homosocial.

Fun Fun Fun – Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

I had thought that this franchise died a kind of death with the last film. Perhaps death is too strong a word, because the last film wasn’t necessarily a bad film, per se. As a film, it worked well on a number of levels: it ramped up the emotions for a number of the characters (not least for Ethan Hunt), and Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s Owen Davian is about as cool and calculating a baddie as they come. He’s the guy who is the most infuriating of the lot: the guy who you know is evil and wrong and yet is sneaky enough to be able to get away with it. He didn’t, of course, but Ethan did, and the film’s ending gave the impression that the happy ending is only and exactly that: the ending.

As a blockbuster summer flick…well, it didn’t really make as much money expected.

Cari Pasal – Gadoh

Hot on the footsteps of films I saw months ago, this review shall look at ‘Gadoh’, which, true to form, is a film I saw some months ago as well. It was a screening I arranged at my university as a part of a film event, and having seen the film itself prior to the screening, I had wanted to post a review as an effort to create some kind of buzz leading into the event. Of course, several things led to others, and I never did get around to doing it on time. Nevertheless, I still had it stuck in the back of my head, and the end of the year is as good a time as any to let things out of the back of your head.

Is Once Enough? – Sekali Lagi

A disclaimer: I have an older brother who is autistic. As a result of that, I find myself being more drawn and attracted to films who do feature autism in one way or another. It is a normal thing, I think; as human beings, I think we are naturally drawn towards that which we can relate to the most. I find this to be one of film’s strongest qualities, for it helps to broaden our emotional palette, reminding us that linguistic, cultural and other such barriers are nothing more than mere constructions that can’t hold back mutual appreciation of a good story. It is a big part of the reason why I am keen to be involved in any way I can.

Joseph Campbell Would Have Been Proud – Merantau

I did a fairly stupid thing recently. Well, stupid by the definition of others, perhaps, but to my mind, it was worth the gamble I threw the dice for. When I was in Jakarta some weeks ago, it came to my attention that there is a film festival called the Indonesia International Fantastic Film Festival. Interestingly, the shorthand for the festival is INAFFF. It took me some time to wonder how the name fit into that.

Anyways, the surprise for me was the closing film of the festival being ‘The Raid’. Lauded at a number of international film festivals worldwide, ‘The Raid’ is an action film that will soon be released internationally, a mighty fine achievement for a film from Indonesia. However, though I am attracted by the trailer, I am also keen on the film because of the film’s director-actor combination. Gareth Evans and Iko Uwais were responsible for the excellent ‘Merantau’ I had heard of for many years, but only saw some months ago. I wanted to write a review for it then, but it slipped off my mind. Now is the time for me to make amends for it.