Treasure Experience – Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

“It is perfect,” said my cinematographer.

We were waiting for the subway to come, after having caught the film together with another friend of ours. “I did not see any mistakes being made. It was very, very well done.” This sparked off a not-so-intense (and a rather one-sided version) of how American productions are more professional, and therefore make less mistakes. But that’s not the point I am trying to make here.

The point that I am trying to make is that, for the first time, I have almost seen a film through a filmmaker’s eyes. This is what I call the syndrome that many filmmakers go through: instead of sitting back, relaxing and enjoying the show, you find yourself looking for the holes to pick at, wondering how such a shot was conceived, whether this was shot on 35mm or high definition, as well as how natural (or otherwise) the lighting is.

Hot Rod – Iron Man

Pure, adulterated, fun. Despite what many high-brows would claim when it comes to films, the fun factor is probably the most important factor of all. Yeah, it would be nice if all films can change the way we think about the world. Perhaps a film that infuses more than a little bit of philosophy into the script, one that stretches the mind (since it already stretches our wallets), would float your boat rather better.

But that is about thinking. When it comes to the summer time, it’s all about feeling. Feeling the love in the air, feeling the heat against your skin (not too hot, though), feeling the relief at the oncoming semester holidays, and, in this context, feeling the fun flood back unto the silver screen.

And that, ladies and gentleman, is what ‘Iron Man’ is all about.

Maid in Korea – Shadows In The Palace

Korean movies have a tendency of going a completely different way when it comes to renaming itself for the international market. I say different, in the sense that the name is not a complete translation of the original title. Hence, for the past however many years, we have had the monster hit, ‘Monster’ (in Korean) renamed as ‘The Host’ (which, in my opinion, took out a bit of the sass in the original name). There are usually deliberate and, for the most part, works well enough. After all, the original name might be one in which the meaning would be lost under a different context. A name, any name, exists only in a particular context, in order for it to be grounded with more meaning.

Hence, the original title for ‘Shadows in the Palace’ is actually 궁녀 (Goong nyaw), which basically means ‘maid’ (or ‘court maid’ in this context). While that accurately describes what the film is about, the international title gets a lot closer to the undercurrents that lies within the story described. While some might classify this under the horror genre (from the marketing and advertising, I notice that it leans closer to movies of that ilk), having watched the film, if such definitions are required, I am more inclined towards describing the film as a period thriller.

Taking Fazil’s Flower – Flower In The Pocket

You see, I am not really into independent films (that would be more up Fikri’s alley, not me). I prefer those commercialised Hollywood blockbusters with loads of explosions, special effects, computer-generated creatures, and the works. However, on the off chance that I do watch an indie film, there’s a 50% chance that I will like it. Like ‘Flower in the Pocket’ a locally made film by Da Huang Pictures and directed by Liew Seng Tat.

You might be surprised to hear this, but this is actually my very first local independent film (yes, I have not even seen those films by Yasmin Ahmad), and made me realise I should watch more (which I will, since the lovely people at Da Huang have sent us a few more together with this). It gave me a whole new perspective on Malaysian films since I have always thought that it’s a pre-requisite for all Malaysian films to have the extremely over-rated (and not-at-all funny) Saiful Apek as its lead, and bad, unnatural dialogue to go with it.

Speaking Cannes-tonese – A Look At Cannes 2008 (part 2)

After loading on the sushi while I was in Tokyo, I caught the last flight out to get back to the second half of the look at Cannes. These picks reflects the dynamism of world cinema, and proves even further how far from reality the Academy Awards has become in terms of ‘naming the best’. Until it becomes far more encompassing of films from other countries and industries (and not just Hollywood productions in foreign countries) on a more regularly basis, then festivals like Venice, Berlin, Pusan and Cannes will remain the standard that I think many filmmakers should aspire to.

Around The World In 10 Films – A Look At Cannes 2008 (part 1)

Let’s imagine, for a moment, that I somehow manage to get to France. Stretch that imagination further, and magically, a guest pass for the 2008 Cannes film festival appears in my hand. What would I do, then? Which film would I watch? Having had a look at the screening schedule, these are the films that I have decided make time for.

Now, in compiling this list, I actually had targeted to select only ten movies. My first selection method is the people behind the film (“Oh look, Wim Wenders made ‘Palermo Shooting’.”). What made it tricky is that there’s a fair amount of people who manage to immediately grab my attention. Whether the movie is actually good or not is another story, but they manage to pique my interest nonetheless.

Kimchi Spaghetti – The Good, The Bad, The Weird

I have to admit, the first time that this film truly caught my attention was when it was announced that the premiere of the movie will be held at Cannes. “Blimey,” I thought (yes, in my head, the word ‘blimey’ serves as the long-term residue from my Cockney subconscious), “that’s quite an honour.” Not that Korean filmmakers are in need of a map to get to the film festival itself. They have been making regular visits over the past decade or so, ever since Kim Ki-duk’s excellent ‘The Isle’ made its way across many isles to be there. Regardless of the travel miles clocked up, having a premiere at arguably the biggest film event in the world is no small cake (I say arguably, since I include the Oscars in the reckoning. However, while this is an argument for another day, I’ll take some time out to say that I think film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and Pusan are far more encompassing of the film world, with emphasis on ‘world’).

Good Shot – The Hunting Party

I like this movie. There, I’ve said it. It’s not a particularly popular choice, as it turns out, with a fair amount of people. Reviews of ‘The Hunting Party’ have knocked it whenever possible, while the majority of the American audience has generally given it the damning ‘thumbs down’ verdict by not attending. As a result, it made back only the same amount of money that Brad Pitt would probably earn just by breathing air around a product, rather than cover the relatively mammoth production budget of over $20 million.

I also like the fact that the filmmakers chose a brave subject to explore. There’s not that many films that tackles issues that happens in countries like the Balkans. Generally speaking, people have forgotten the issues that happened there. If one is to consider the attention that is given by way of making movies about such subjects, then things like ethnic-cleansing no longer grabs ones attentions as much as the Iraq war, Afghanistan, even Guantanamo Bay. For that, it’s effort in refocusing the focus on something that was over a decade ago deserves much plaudit.

Lie, Cheat, Steal – Ladron Que Roba A Ladron

Here at ‘Thoughts on Films’, we like foreign films. After all, movies across borders, cultures, and all that jazz, so I got my hands on this lovely Spanish flick. I actually saw a trailer of this on one of my DVDs and thought that the movie looks interesting (I guess cross-promotional efforts does work, then).

Actually, I should qualify that; the film, which means ‘To Rob A Thief’ in English, is actually an American production. It’s the spoken language (Spanish) that might mislead you. But make no mistake about it: the main men behind the movie, like the director Joe Menendez and Jojo Henrickson, who is the writer, are both Americans. So be careful before getting your hopes up too high, since it’s not the typical critically-acclaimed Spanish film that has various international awards to its name and has ‘Almodovar’ written on its posters. No, this is your average Hollywood popcorn flick but spoken in Spanish and stars Spanish stars of various nationalities. Well, they’re actually telenovela actors, which is a plus, since I love telenovelas!

Western Entry – The Forbidden Kingdom

The whole world has been waiting for a Jackie Chan and Jet Li collaboration for years. Now that it has arrived, was it worth the wait? My honest answer to that question would be no. The movie was actually quite alright, but the fact that it stars Chan and Li together for the first time…well, lets just say that it did not live up to expectations.

The first mistake you could see with the film is that it’s a Hollywood production, and not an Asian production. It’s directed by Rob Minkoff, who previously did ‘The Haunted Mansion’, both ‘Stuart Little’ movies, as well as ‘The Lion King’. What??? I would really like to know who was responsible for making that awful choice. Now don’t get me wrong because I love The Lion King but this is just the wrong choice for such a movie. Is every other action director in Hollywood busy? How about the Hong Kong directors? I believe a movie pitting these two legends would have been much properly handled by Asians, and not bastardised by Hollywood.