Opening the Bird’s Nest

WOW.

Did anyone expect anything less from China? After over a hundred years of ‘humiliation’ by the West and even Japan, this was the moment for China to make an official announcement of its status as an emerging superpower; to throw a party that would make every country – especially those that excluded China from their parties before – look on in awe and astonishment.

The messages of world unity, friendship etc. were all there at the opening ceremony. But the resounding message I hear all night is: “Top this, World.”

You get the feeling that Zhang Yimou, the director, was handed a blank cheque – spent all you need, just make sure that this is a show that owns them all.

And it was. Stirring, mesmerizing and at times genuinely moving, it was as much a spectacle as it was a catharsis for Chinese pride; a vindication of the trials and tribulations that the country has endured, despite its many imperfections.

When an airborne Li Ning sky-ran the circumference of the Bird’s Nest roof to ignite the Olympic cauldron, accompanied by a galaxy of fireworks, any Chinese watching must have felt a palpable sense of history and pride.

Cut to a day later and the Singapore National Day Parade. One can’t help but feel a little sorry for everyone involved in what must cruelly feel like a sideshow to the event that transpired in Beijing 24 hours earlier.

 

TDK

After The Dark Knight, Chris Nolan could direct a kitchen sink and I’d still wait in line to see it.

You couldn’t compare The Dark Knight with Iron Man or Spider-man or any other superhero movie that’s ever been done. This is a complex, character-driven crime film deeply rooted in psychological and moral conflict. It transcends the genre in a way that completely validates the power of great direction, screenwriting and performance – even when dealing with a character dressed up as a bat and a villainous clown.

And Harvey Dent – I didn’t see that one coming. His tragedy is almost Shakespearean in scope. I’m still floored by how the Nolans (screenwriters) brought it all together on the page – the character arcs of Batman, Dent and Gordon while the elemental Joker tears through each one like a poisoning force of nature.

I sincerely hope the film gets best direction, adapted screenplay and acting nods for the award season on top of the technical categories it is sure to be represented in. This is an amazing piece of film making and storytelling that stays with you long after you take in the sad fact that the irrepressible Heath Ledger will not be in the next film.

The Dark Knight is riveting, gut wrenching, emotional and utterly unforgettable. Its ending is tragic, hopeful and heroic all at once and I for one would have little complain if the series ended there.

It’s unthinkable that a third film would top this one, but I still hope to see a properly decked out Batcave in the rebuilt Wayne Manor.

 

Indy Movie

“Must…escape…this…movie.”

Lots came and went over the last month. Will try to pick the interesting bits to update this weekend.

Before that happens, just want to get this out of the way: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull sucked, and it’s heartbreaking.

 

Heavy Metal

Take a bow, Jon Favreau and Bob Downey Jr.

Who’d have thought a director (and sometimes actor ) whose best known film before this was the Will Ferrell farce “Elf” could pull off what is surely one of the best examples of a superhero movie done right. VERY right.

At the time of posting, Iron Man has a 94% rating on RottenTomatoes.com, with over 150 North American reviews on the chart. To give a comparison, Spider-man 2, widely acknowledged to be the best superhero movie ever, scored an eventual 93% over 228 reviews.

And Robert Downey Jr – hands down the best superhero performance I’ve seen (aside from Chris Reeve’s original Superman). Magnetic, nuanced, funny and powerful, his casting is a master stroke. To think that Tom Cruise at one point wanted the role. Sometimes development hell has its merits.

To put it simply, this is the best origin story since Batman Begins and possibly even better than it. For me, 1978’s Superman tells the quintessential birth of a superhero, and Iron Man comes close to hitting that note with a character that is marvelously flawed and even unlikeable at first but grows to become a true protector.

Iron Man, like countless superheroes, essentially chooses to use his powers for good (in this case a genius mind for weapons invention and obscene wealth). Conscience is a powerful driver and with Iron Man, especially in the hands of Downey Jr, you get a rare piece of character development that feels infinitely more epic than teenagers being bitten by radioactive spiders.

The sequel (and you can bet your life savings on there being one) is likely to be darker as Favreau has spoken about bringing in the arc of Tony Stark’s descent into alcoholism. Given Downey Jr’s history of substance abuse, one could only imagine the potential of that performance.

For now, a new hero has been built. Go see him soar.

 

The Handycam to Own All Handycams

A bunch of ridiculously good-looking 20-somethings with relationship issues throw a party at a trendy New York apartment before a giant sea monkey shows up to destroy the city.

This J.J. Abraham-produced flick is basically Godzilla meets Felicity seen from an insanely violent Handycam perspective. If you felt sick watching The Blair Witch Project, Cloverfield will make you barf up last week’s lunch.

Abraham’s intent for this movie is to create an American monster that taps into the fears of the present consciousness, much like how Godzilla – a radioactive, toxic lizard – was created soon after the Hiroshima bombing. Hence an 80-storey terrorist tearing up New York City. That’s Hollywood’s ‘Making Relevant Movies 101’ for you.

But – anything new in a genre movie is welcome these days and the relentless hand-held style gives the film a jolting, visceral energy that grabs you by the throat and tosses you around like a chew toy (if you like that kind of stuff…). And there are some decent scares too. The only real downer for me is the cast who project less credibility than a teenage celebrity blogger. Monster movies need regular Joes, not generically hip and absurdly gorgeous trust fund babies.

This is probably the only monster movie where the monster isn’t the star. Neither are the characters. The real hero here is the Handycam that provides the ‘first-person’ view for the entire movie. This baby is the Rambo of Handycams – able to withstand falling cities, artillery bombardments and sky-scraping monsters, not to mention having an incredible battery life.

It ain’t a phoney – it’s a Sony.

 

The Films of Makoto Shinkai

4 years ago, I went to a small local animation festival and saw a 25-minute short film done entirely by one person on his Power Mac G4.

By the end of that viewing of Voices of a Distant Star - the project that launched Makoto Shinkai into the anime world’s consciousness – there was a sense of having seen something special that resonated for days after. I’ve been following Shinkai’s career ever since, eagerly awaiting his next piece of work.

Voices of a Distant Star (2002)

It’s strangely difficult to describe the films of Makoto Shinkai. The easy way is to say that they are possibly the most gorgeous animated films you will ever see.

The funny thing is, there is surprisingly little animation in his films if one takes a closer look. But Shinkai infuses every image with such luster and detail, the economy of his animation only serves to accentuate the power and beauty of each frame.

The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)

At once otherworldly and ultra-real, Shinkai’s work is an ethereal alchemy of mood, music and utter melancholy. Themes of separation and loneliness are ever present, and while there is hardly a cheer, there is almost a quiescent joy in the depression.

5 Centimeter Per Second (that’s apparently the speed of cherry blossom falling – beat that for a lyrical title) is probably Shinkai’s best film yet. I first saw it in March this year during the Tokyo Anime Fair, when Shinkai’s producer told me to go see it even though there were obviously no English subtitles.

So I did (free ticket anyway). It’s stayed with me since and I fought the urge to see it again on YouTube where fans have already subtitled it, hoping instead that it would be brought in for this year’s Animation Nation in all its 35mm glory (which of course happened).

5 Centimeter per Second (2007)

Animation is not a genre – it’s an art form. At the moment I can’t find a better proponent of that argument than Shinkai. Like reading a short, sad story on a train that clings on to you long after you’ve left the station, the films of Makoto Shinkai may not make you leap for joy, but they linger in your memory like treasures from life itself.

Selected Works:

She and Her Cat (彼女と彼女の猫, Kanojo to Kanojo no neko)
Voices of a Distant Star (ほしのこえ, Hoshi no Koe)
The Place Promised in Our Early Days (雲のむこう、約束の場所, Kumo no Mukō, Yakusoku no Basho)
5 Centimeter per Second (秒速５センチメートル, Byōsoku Go Senchimētoru)

 

Humanistic Sci-Fi Anime in a Cup Noodle

Animation Nation is here again, this year descending amongst the uber trendy surroundings of the swanky National Museum, where most screenings are held.

This underrated festival of mostly independent animated short and feature films has gone from strength to strength since its inauguration 4 years ago. Having helped sponsor it since 2005, I feel a special affinity for the festival, although the hard work of organising and running it is done by a passionate group of volunteers from the Singapore Film Society.

This year’s line-up is the best yet, with Asian works making up the majority of the feature screenings while an impressive compilation of international shorts fill up the rest of the schedule.

I attended Friday’s opening screening of TekkonKinkreet – a story of brotherhood and kinship set in a kaleidoscopic world of yakuza, alien assassins and gravity-defying boys. While a little slow to get going after a frantic opening bus chase, the film, which is heartbreaking at times, cumulates to a rousing crescendo before a quiescent resolution of optimism. Amazing stuff.

Saturday night’s screening was Freedom, a 6-part direct-to-video sci-fi anime series sponsored by Nissin. The first 3 episode were screened.

Such is the vibrancy of Japan’s consumerism and appetite for anime that a cup noodle company will happily commission an anime series to promote its product. Needless to say, the familiar white cup appears generously throughout the show. I’ve never seen a more blatant example of product placement – and it’s hilarious!

It’s also nice to see good old fashion junk food surviving 300 years into the future. With the amount of chemicals they put in those stuff, it’s gotta.

 

Are you Superbad?

The infectious, soul-funk silhouetted opening credit sequence hits you like a party brick soaked in vodka slush. It’s like entering a retro club after a couple of drinks and catching that groove. Next thing you know, you’re on the dance floor doing moves that will shock your mother.

That’s literally 30 seconds into the movie (well, it did it for me anyway). But the opening sequence sets up this grubby-looking comedy perfectly. Accompanied by an awesome 70s funk soundtrack, this movie about 3 teens trying to swindle booze to a party in the illusory hope that hotties will fornicate with them is 2 hours of rapid fire, gut-busting laughs.

And the profanity. They really start ‘em young in America. If high-schoolers in Singapore talk like those in the movie the government would instate martial law. Forget Amercian Pie. Superbad is hardcore, and all the better for it.

But it’s also honest and sweet in a quirky way, a credit to the trio of actors (one’s 24, one’s 19 and one’s still in high school – let you figure it out when you see the movie) who play the sad, beautiful losers. While American Pie imagines the perfect boys’ summer, Superbad creates the worst possible night but manages to find more heart in it than the former could conjure.

If anything else, this one name alone is worth your ticket: McLovin. God knows where they dug up this 4-eyed creature, but man did he steal the show.

The great thing about Superbad is that as long as high school and adolescent men trying to get laid exist, this dirty movie will save any party.

Go see it.

Superbad Uncut Trailer. Come Get some.

 

Return of the King

The bold musical Magneto & Friends did not go down well with fans and critics alike

There’s Shakespeare and there’s ‘Royal Shakespeare Company’ Shakespeare, I’m told. Last weekend the RSC brought their King Lear to Singapore for a 3-day gig.

I was never quite into the texts and rarely liked literature classes in school, where I read the Merchant of Venice and Anthony and Cleopatra for my ‘A’ levels. But I attribute that to the teachers I had, who were more inclined to masturbate over the bard’s verses then to actually try and make the class like them.

Yet, I’ve always enjoyed seeing the performances – mostly TV versions in the early days, and a few films (never had much opportunity to see good live plays). I could probably watch Shakespeare on TV all afternoon but struggle to stay awake reading it.
 
Nothing wrong with that, I’d argue. After all, plays are meant to be acted out and seen. In Shakespeare’s time, his plays were the equivalent of our modern-day soap operas or sitcoms, staged for blue-collar commoners in England – not ‘royalty’ like so many who turned up for Saturday night’s performance decked out to be.
 
Oh, the atrocities of today’s theatre-going public (part of it at least). You’d think that if Shakespeare was alive, his plays would be attended by people from all walks of life, staged in venues decidedly less ‘high brow’ than the ostentatious Esplanade that comes complete with drink prices that will put most airports to shame.
 
As someone who can barely quote a few lines from Shakespeare, and who more than felt the pinch of $160 for a 3rd floor circle seat, it bothers me that more people could not have seen this wonderful play.

The distance between me and the stage / actors were distracting at times, and my attention had to stretch in periods but there were moments where the emotions tear through, like scenes of Edgar’s grief at finding his blinded father; Lear’s heart rendering reconciliation with Cordelia; and the King’s mourning of his youngest daughter’s death before completing the tragedy by accepting his own.

If your average housewife or coffee shop uncle can be hooked to Korean drama serials like crack heads, they would bawl over a tragedy like King Lear. It is quintessential drama, above all else.
 
It’d need subtitles for the rest of Singapore, of course – not a problem if the organisers were willing to push for it. Many foreign productions have had it. Video screens would also help as one really needs to be close to the actors. I can’t imagine the RSC not wanting the most diverse community of people to see this, especially in Asia.
 
As it is, the RSC’s King Lear will be marked on Singapore’s 2007 cultural calendar as a highlight of lauded prestige, attended by some students on group discounts, but more noticeably by hordes of well-dressed people who were at the champagne line during intermission faster than you can say ‘Gandalf the Grey’. 

Finally, McKellen’s Lear, while excellent, did not surpass Lawrence Olivier’s 1984 TV version, which remains the definitive Lear for me. But my assessment is probably unfair as I had the luxury of camera closeups with the latter, while from my seat on Saturday night I could barely make out Sir Ian’s nose.

 

Giant Ass-Kicking Robot Movie Based on 80s Toys – I Like

Mech Daddy

When Steven Spielberg announced in 2004 he was going to make a Transformers movie, it was a moment when fanboys triumphed and geekdom was vindicated. 3 years later, this is the big one. Forget emo web slingers and silver surfers and pirates with mascara. 2007 was always going to be about the smackdown between Autobots and Decepticons – just like so many evenings on television 20 years ago.My pulsed raced as I entered the cinema and took my seat. Memories came rushing back – but they were not complete or coherent. It was as though 20 years seemed too long ago …

Suddenly, a familiar, awesome voice filled the theatre as Optimus Prime (voiced by the original’s Peter Cullen) began his prologue. In an instance, I was transported and the nostalgia was complete.

The next 2 hours 15 min was the best time I’ve had in a cinema for as long as I can remember. From the opening attack by the terrifying Blackout to the final shot where Prime looks the skies, hoping that the last of his race hear his call, this movie is all gold.

The comedy was great, the action rock-hard, and the CGI staggering. Angels must have shed tears when Optimus Prime transformed for the first time.

Sure, the story was feather-light and while you don’t have to leave your brains at home, it can pretty much cruise on stand-by throughout the movie. Hey, it’s Michael Bay afterall. But the stars are the robots, and every dollar spent on ILM is onscreen.

Having said that, Shia Labeouf was very watchable and Megan Fox…well, I’d pay to see her play a kitchen sink.

It is easy to mock any perceived importance of a movie based on a toy line (or one directed by Mr. Bay), but just like how audiences were blown away by Jurassic Park’s dinosaurs 14 years ago, Transformers achieved the rare feat of putting on screen something truly fresh and awe-inspiring. No one has seen any of this stuff before, which is why it’s going to be one of the biggest hits of the year and hopefully validate the genre to allow more robot franchises to grace the silver screen. The possibilities are mouthwatering – Voltron, Macross / Robotech, BattleTech, Evangelion, Gundam…

80s cartoons are at least looking to be the next wave for Hollywood studios, with development starting on classics such as He-Man,  Thundercats and G.I Joe. It’s going to get crazy and some of these movies are probably just plain, bad ideas. But the fun is in the talk and anticipation – just like how we used to wait agonizingly for next week’s episode to see how the Autobots are going to whoop the Decepticons’ mechanical asses; how G.I. Joe will save the world from COBRA’s evil clutches; how MASK will foil the insidious plans of VENOM once again….

Transformers kicked it off in serious style. It’s fingers crossed from here onwards.

Finally, this is just sacreligious:

How Cartoon Network is Killing My Childhood