MERDEKA Weekend Pic Aug 31 - Sept 2 2007

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing:

1. FRACTURE (courtroom thriller with Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn and Rosamund Pike): Rated * * * (out of 4): Tycoon shoots wife but what seems like an open-and-shut case becomes a complex chess game between a young prosecutor and a clever hubby. Not to be missed for fans of Hopkins. (Reviewed below)

2. THE INVASION (sci-fi remake with Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam and Malin Akerman) Rating: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): The one compelling reason to catch this remake of "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" is because Kidman is playing the lead. Human drama, alas, is inadequate.

3. ROGUE ASSASSIN (action thriller with Jet Li and Jason Stratham, pic, right) Rating * * (2 stars): Yeah, yeah. Expect mindless action and shootouts in this Jet Li vehicle that also comes with a twist at the ending.

4. RATATOUILLE (animated comedy with voices of Brad Garrett, Patton Oswalt and John Ratzenberger) Rated * * * (3 stars): A lip-smacking comedy about a rat who wants to be a chef in the city of Paris. Great animation and an engaging story are a plus to this effort by Brad Bird of "The Incredibles". (See review below)

5. PERFECT STRANGER (murder thriller with Halle Berry and Bruce Willis) Rating: * * (2 stars, 18PL): Here is one perfect build-up to a huge letdown. The desperate need for a surprise twist at the end turns this movie into a bomb despite its able cast. (See review below)

6. OCEAN WONDERLAND 3D (IMAX documentary on the denizens of the Great Barrier Reef) Rated * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): A treat for the kids with a sea turtle playing tour guide to the creatures of the reefs. (See review below)

FRACTURE: Intriguing Chess Game

FRACTURE (courtroom drama)

Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn and Rosamund Pike

Director: Gregory Hoblit

Time: 114 mins

Rating: * * * (out of 4)

(Pic: Rosamund Pike & Ryan Gosling)

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? "I shot my wife," multi-millionaire Ted Crawford (Anthony Hopkins) tells LAPD detective Rob Nunally (Billy Burke) calmly as the police arrive at his house to find his wife Jennifer (Embeth Davidtz) lying in a pool of blood. Considering that Crawford later signs a confession to that effect, we would think that this is pretty much an open-and-shut case, wouldn't we?
Well, that is what Assistant District Attorney Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling) thinks too, as he agrees to take the case - presumably his last - before he leaves to join a private law firm. Beachum considers himself a hotshot prosecutor with a 90-per-cent success rate. This high profile case would only add another feather to his cap, or so he thinks.

Beachum has another 'thing' coming. Crawford is not our regular jealous-husband-shoots-adulterous-wife type. After learning of his wife's affair with a young man, the aeronautical tycoon puts into motion a meticulous plot to punish his wife and her lover - as well as to allow himself to walk away from the trial a free man. Even with the signed confession, we find Beachum's case crumbling gradually as his list of evidence against Crawford is rejected, one by one. Is Beachum too arrogant for his own good? Or is he just a pawn in Crawford's 'perfect' scheme?

SMARTS & FLAWS: Directed by Gregory Hoblit (who gave us the spine-tingling 1996 murder mystery "Primal Fear"), "Fracture" is a cleverly devised courtroom chess game that makes us want to applaud each time we find Crawford 'check-mating' Beachum. This is really a movie about a clash of egos, pride and redemption - and at one point, we even find our protagonist almost succumbing to the 'dark side'.
Character development is solid, with the talented Hopkins holding court as usual, and Gosling's cocky prosecutor realising his mistakes and trying to pick up the pieces of his career. Every 'perfect crime' has a 'fracture' in its scheme, and it is up to Beachum - and us viewers - to find it.
The secondary stars are well-matched too. The classy and sultry Rosamund Pike (as Nikki Gardner) provides the requisite distraction as Beachum's would-be boss and love interest. David Strathairn is the level-headed Los Angeles District Attorney who understands what the odds are, and Billy Burke serves up the street-smarts as a cop who is not above fabricating evidence to nail a criminal.

Throughout the first one-and-a-half hours of the movie, we seem to be led by the nose through the legal mechanics of the plot. However, it is to the credit of screen-writers Daniel Pyne and Glenn Gers that there are no sensational twists or melodramatic surprises in store. If you pay close attention, it is easy enough to spot the 'fracture', especially in the 'double jeopardy' system. We may notice other flaws too, like the conspicuous absence of family members of the comatose Jennifer at her hospital bed, and that nobody bothered to check the serial numbers of the guns involved in the shooting. All right, these are minor fractures, really.

THE VERDICT: The main thing is that the movie is entertaining enough to keep our minds working throughout the show.

PREMONITION: Another Groundhog Day?

PREMONITION (sci-fi thriller)

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon, Nia Long and Kate Nelligan

Director: Mennan Yapo

Time: 100 mins

Rating: * * (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? First, let's discuss the title. If you get the feeling that something is going to happen and you take action to prevent it from happening, the feeling becomes pure imagination. For a premonition to work, it has to happen, no matter what is being done to prevent it. Having ironed out the basics of such a plot, "Premonition" is a lot like that of time-travel movies that meddle with casuality and paradoxes. One may go 'back to the past' to change the 'future' in time-travel movies, but for a premonition to work, the ending has to be a foregone conclusion! Now, can this explain why this Sandra Bullock vehicle is such mess of a time-warp movie that leaves viewers more mystified and bewildered than entertained?

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? Bullock plays Linda Hanson, a seemingly happy suburban housewife whose world suddenly crashes when a police officer arrives at her door with news that her husband Jim (Julian McMahon of TV's "Nip/Tuck") has been killed in a road accident. She consoles her daughters Megan (Shyann McClure) and Bridgett (Courtney Taylor Burness) and gets her mother (Kate Nelligan) to come and help out. By nightfall, Linda is exhausted. She curls up on the couch and falls asleep.

She awakens the next morning to discover that not only is Jim alive but the calendar has been peeled back from Thursday to Monday. Gradually, as the days pass, Linda discovers that she is no longer living life in a chronological fashion. Instead of her days progressing sequentially from Monday to Sunday, they are jumbled up, with the main event being the day of Jim's accident. Knowing what is going to happen, can she stop the accident? Should she change Fate?

HIGHS & LOWS: While sitting through the movie, we are reminded of "Groundhog Day" where events of a certain day are repeated over and over. In "Premonition", however, Linda is caught in a 'time warp' in which she is never certain whether she is in a nightmare or in reality. Her initial passivity and reluctance to change the outcome robs the movie of its possibilities. Throughout the movie, as German director Mennam Yapo offers up plot complications like Jim's perceived infidelity (with an office colleague), Linda's incarceration at a psychiatric hospital, and even an insurance conspiracy theory, we wonder if a surprise plot twist awaits us at the end.

Alas, what we get is disappointment. We can only write this off as another of Bullock's unlucky enterprise - after that unsavoury fourth-dimension romantic tryst that was "The Lake House". Sure, Yapo is understandably indulgent with his lead star, offering lingering close-ups of Bullock in bed and in the shower. Too bad he and scriptwriter Bill Kelly have not given Bullock a character we can really root for. Here, she appears like a Desperate Housewife sorely in need of a scandal. Except for the two child stars who offer solid portrayals, the other cast members are wasted too.

THE LOWDOWN: The puzzle in "Premonition" appears promising but we soon find that the pieces don't really fit. Better luck next time, Sandra.

OCEAN WONDERLAND 3D: Environs Lesson

OCEAN WONDERLAND 3D (documentary, IMAX presentation, KL)
Cast: The denizens of the reefs
Directed by Jean-Jacques Mantello
Time: 40 minutes
Rating: * * 1/2

PREAMBLE: If you have dreamt of going scuba-diving into the fascinating world of coral reefs but never had the chance to do so, this is a wonderful alternative. You will see the denizens of the deep up-close – and don’t even get wet!

WHAT"S IT ABOUT? "Ocean Wonderland 3D" takes us on a tour of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia and the Bahamas with a friendly sea turtle named Aris as our guide. Well, Aris fancies himself more of an educator than just a wildlife narrator, providing interesting details of fellow critters like the pouting grouper, a playful dolphin, majestic eagle rays and the voracious sharks. Of course, we also get to visit the cousins of Nemo, the clown fish.

COOL OR NOT? In the immersive 3D format, we are always tempted to reach out and grab the subjects that seem to flirt in front of our eyes. Indeed, Aris invites us to ‘have a go’ and pat his dolphin friend who loves to show off his dancing skills. There are also other underwater ballet performances – by a shoal of yellow snappers, trumpet fish and barracuda, all accompanied by the captivating music scores of Christophe Jacquelin, performed by the Sofia Symphony Orchestra.

The colourful and idyllic world of our planet’s largest reefs is not without danger and conflict. Here, the food chain system applies and predators like the shark, groupers and barracuda are always in search of prey, providing a few moments of excitement for viewers. Other ‘threatening’ scenes include those of puffers and a poisonous sea snake that swims menacingly close to our nose. Still, the action here is not as exciting as those of "Sharks 3D" although there is also a brief shot of a ‘feeding frenzy’ by the underwater carnivores.

By the way, "Ocean Wonderland 3D" is the predecessor to "Sharks 3D" of 2004, which was also directed by Jean-Jacques Mantello. "Ocean Wonderland 3D" was shot in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef as well as the Bahamas during a four-month expedition in 2001. The movie, released in 2003, is supported and endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the WWF, among others. As such, this ‘educational’ tour includes appeals to stop environmental pollution and help maintain the fragile and endangered ecosystem of the reefs.

THE LOWDOWN: "Ocean Wonderland 3D" will be both a cinematic treat and an interesting lesson for young students. It will teach them to appreciate our corals and help preserve them for the next generations.

LINDA LINDA LINDA: Art House Drama

LINDA LINDA LINDA (drama, a pick of Japanese Film Festival 2007)

Cast: Doona Bae, Aki Maeda, Yu Kashii and Shiori Sekine

Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita

Time: 114 mins

Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? "Linda Linda Linda" is one of eight selected movies for this year's Japanese Film Festival and it offers viewers a chance to join a bevy of high school girls as they prepare to celebrate the school's annual rock festival. Yes, basically, what you get is a slice of student life observed from the point of view of three Japanese girls and a Korean exchange student.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? It is time for the annual school funfair and rock festival but band members Kei (Yu Kashii), Kyoko (Aki Maeda) and Nozomi (Shiori Sekine) find themselves in a fix. Their guitarist has broken her finger in a basketball game and their vocalist quits in a huff. With just three days before their performance, they need to find alternative songs to play, and a singer. While rummaging through a box of old cassettes, they come across an old hit, 'Linda Linda Linda' by the Blue Hearts, and decide to do a cover version of it. For their vocalist, they turn to Son (Doona Bae), a Korean exchange student who is trying hard to fit into the school crowd.What follows are practice sessions, encounters with boyfriends and teachers, and more rehearsals.

HIGHS & LOWS: There is no plot or teenage scandals the likes of which you find in Hollywood films like "American Pie" and "High School Musical". Camerawork in this 2005 effort by Nobuhiro Yamashita is sluggish and awkward at times - and so is the story development. However, Yamashita manages to capture the tone and ambience of high school life in Japan to share with us.

We get a few laughs along the way, especially from Son's muddled attempts at communicating in Japanese and a scene in which she has to confront an ardent but shy admirer. Indeed, the quiet and lanky Doona Bae is the most watchable of the cast - and we warm up to her easily. The others are pretty solid too, with each providing a realistic performance as individuals. Clocking in at nearly two hours, the movie is rather slow and tedious but not boring. There is a number of superfluous scenes that could have been discarded for a more compact and engaging story. Obviously, Yamashita is not bothered about the commercial viability of the movie, opting for the art house crowd instead. He does not exploit his cast of pretty girls for eye candy scenes or even riotous romantic comedy. The movie is simply about the band's yearning to put up a good show - and the payoff comes when we see them doing 'Linda Linda Linda' on stage.

THE LOWDOWN: Yes, when we see the band strut its stuff, we are wont to applaud and tap our feet. It makes us forget the slow build-up we had to tolerate earlier.

WEEKEND PIC Aug 24 - 26 2007

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing:

1. RATATOUILLE (animated comedy with voices of Brad Garrett, Patton Oswalt and John Ratzenberger) Rated * * * (out of 4): A lip-smacking comedy about a rat who wants to be a chef in the city of Paris. Great animation and an engaging story are a plus to this effort by Brad Bird of "The Incredibles". (See review below)

2. EVAN ALMIGHTY (comedy sequel with Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham and John Goodman) Rating: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars, 18PL): This story about a guy manipulated by God to build an Ark is not very funny. It even borders on the ridiculous but the message about faith can be inspiring. (See review below)

3. FEBRUARY 29 (psychological thriller with Park Eun-hye, Lee Myeong-jin and Baek Eun-jin) Rated: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars, 18PL): The plot, about a toll-gate girl who suspects that someone is out to kill her on Feb 29, is more of a thriller than a horror flick. At least it is more intelligent than many other Asian thrillers. (See review below)

4. PERFECT STRANGER (murder thriller with Halle Berry and Bruce Willis) Rating: * * (2 stars, 18PL): Here is one perfect build-up to a huge letdown. The desperate need for a surprise twist at the end turns this movie into a bomb despite its able cast. (See review below)

5. CONTRACT LOVER (romantic comedy with Richie Jen, Fan Bingbing and Yuen Wah) Rated * * (2 stars): A formulaic outing that is neither romantic nor funny. The story, about a guy hiring a gal to pose as his fiancee to his conservative parents, is so predictable that it is cliched. (See review below)

6. SUSTER NGESOT (Indon horror with Nia Ramadhani, Mike Lewis, Donita and Lia Waode) Rated * 1/2 (1.5 stars, 18PL): The movie appears like a rip-off of the Japanese "Ringu" and "Death Note" combined and there's only loud sudden noises and creaking doors to try and jolt us. (See review below)

7. TRAIN OF THE DEAD (a Thai 'attempt at horror' with Kett Thantup, Savika Chaiyadej, Sura Theerakon and Yarichada Wattanawongsri) Rated * (1 star, 18PL): With a giveaway title, a predictable plot and horrible acting, this pathetic excuse for a horror flick crashes even before it can leave the station. (See review below)

PERFECT STRANGER (psychological thriller)

Cast: Halle Berry, Bruce Willis, Giovanni Ribisi and Gary Dourdan

Director: James Foley

Time: 105 mins

Rating: * 1/2 (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? We can only classify this one as a Perfect Build-up to a Huge Disappointment. It would have been justifiable if "Perfect Stranger" were a B-grade effort with a second-string cast. It would have been forgivable if it were an illegitimate and exploitative sequel like "Hannibal Rising" or "Basic Instinct 3".

But no, it has Oscar-winner Halle Berry and action veteran Bruce Willis top-lining its cast. Its trailer promised a murder mystery that we could really sink our teeth into - and some people may even conjure visions of Halle B reprising those 'babelicious' scenes from "Swordfish" and "Monster's Ball". After sitting through more than an hour of complicated plot development, we get thrown into the depths of inanity as pay-off! To add insult to injury, Halle B stays in PG-territory!

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? Berry is Rowena Price, an investigative reporter who is trying to track down the killer of her childhood friend, Grace (Nicki Aycox). At the time of her death, Grace was having an affair with married advertising mogul Harrison Hill (Bruce Willis). With the help of her sidekick, Miles (Giovanni Ribisi), Rowena manages to get hold of a computer account that has incriminating sex chat transcripts between Grace and someone nicknamed "ADEX". Now, is Harrison's log-in name ADEX? To find out, Rowena not only logs on and sends suggestive messages to ADEX, she also joins Harrison's company as an intern to get to know him better. Meanwhile, she discovers that Miles is more than just an ardent assistant, and that her boyfriend Cameron (Gary Dourdan) has been keeping some secrets from her...

GEMS & FLAWS: Indeed, this movie works on the tagline "How Far Would You Go To Keep A Secret?" but the secret it keeps from us viewers is downright ridiculous. It leaves us feeling so cheated that we feel like suing the film-makers for wasting our time. Director James Foley seems so desperate to come up with a 'surprise ending' that he risks losing everything he has built up in the movie. Instead of a surprise, he dropped the proverbial bomb that blew everything away.This is a pity because Berry, Willis and Ribisi have helped to work up our curiosity and have even provided a bit of tension and suspense. The cat-and-mouse game between Rowena and Harrison is filled with sexual vibes even if Berry overacts her scenes. All these have come to nought - and Foley has to come up with a soliloquy to explain the illogical twist.

THE LOWDOWN: Save your money and meet "Perfect Stranger" on cable.

EVAN ALMIGHTY: Better Than 'Bruce'

EVAN ALMIGHTY (Comedy)

Cast: Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, John Goodman and Lauren Graham

Director: Tom Shadyac

Time: 95 mins

Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? First, let me say that "Evan Almighty" is a slightly better movie than its trashy 2003 predecessor, "Bruce Almighty". While the latter was just a vehicle for Jim Carrey to make an ass of himself with his juvenile humour, "Evan" has a proper plot and a rather inspiring message about faith and trust in God. Okay, Christian fundamentalists may argue that God has already made a covenant with Man that He will not flood the world again, but nobody seems to have told screenwriter Steve Oedekerk or director Tom Shadyac. Or even if they knew about it (from Genesis, in the Bible), they must have found enough potential in it for a comedy - even a preposterous one with a plot about the Almighty asking a guy to build an Ark!

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? The sequel opens with Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) leaving his job as TV news anchorman after being elected Congressman on a pledge to change the world. He moves from Buffalo with his wife (Lauren Graham) and kids to a mansion in New York. On his first day at the job, he kneels and prays for divine guidance on how to change the world.
God acts in strange ways. Evan soon discovers this when he receives huge deliveries of ancient tools and timber - and finds animals and birds follow him wherever he goes. An encounter with a Man-in-White (Morgan Freeman) comes with a request for Evan to build an Ark - yes, like the one Noah built - and he even gets a copy of 'Ark Building For Dummies'. Of course, Evan thinks that this is all a joke and Shadyac includes a few sequences on how Evan resists this obligation to concentrate on supporting a corrupt and controversial bill of Congressman Long (John Goodman).

GOOD DEEDS & SINS: Shadyac acts in stranger ways. This is essentially a one-joke movie and Shadyac has to resort to applying a few subplots to get the laughs. He sees a need for Evan to appear and dress like the biblical Noah - conjuring scenes of Evan trying to shave off his facial hair and hiding his robes under his jacket and trousers. Other sight gags include a sign that reads "The 40-Year-Old Virgin Mary" (a reference to Carell's "40-Year-Old Virgin"), and an 'Al Mighty' name tag for Freeman's fast food waiter. You are also required to catch the joke in Molly Shannon's real estate agent, Eve Adams.
As the movie nears its climax, Shadyac ups the ante, featuring circus antics as the critters help to build the Ark. Now, where do these tigers, lions and pandas come from? From zoos all over the US? More incredible sights are in the offing when the film-makers fool around with CGI for shots of the boat splashing onto the US Capitol! Americans affected by the September 11 tragedy may not find that scene funny or awe-inspiring.
For comedies, I prefer Carell to Carrey. It is easier to empathise with Carell and although his talents are not properly exploited here, he suits the role as God's foil and even as a hapless victim. Freeman again gives his role a light-hearted touch and it is good to have him back.

THE LOWDOWN: Catch Freeman and the cast hamming it up in the end credits and you will realise that this is just an hour or so of cheap satirical fun. There's nothing to get offended by.

RATATOUILLE: Yummy Treat From Brad Bird

RATATOUILLE (Animated comedy)

Voices of Brad Garrett, Patton Oswalt and John Ratzenberger

Director: Brad Bird

Time: 108 mins

Rating: * * * (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? A rat who dreams of becoming a chef at a snobbish French restaurant? What a strange subject for a big-budget cartoon. Rats are not what people would want to find in the kitchen and they will make anyone squirm. How can anyone pull off a stunt like that? Well, if you were Brad Bird, who had thrilled us with "The Incredibles" and "The Iron Giant", that should be no problem. He just needed the right ingredients.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? Remy (voice of Patton Oswalt) is a culinary wizard of a rat who also loves good food. His senses are so refined that he refuses to eat garbage and is used by others as a "poison detector" since he can tell if something is toxic by sniffing it. His desire, however, is to become a chef (like his TV hero Gusteau), and he gets a chance to achieve his dreams when he meets Linguini (Lou Romano), a kitchen cleaner at a Paris restaurant, also called Gusteau's. Hiding under Linguini's chef's hat, Remy teaches the boy to create dishes of culinary delight. Soon, Gusteau's is the talk of Paris again and Linguini wins the heart of fellow chef Colette (Janeane Garofalo). However, not everybody is elated. The head chef (Ian Holm), who is jealous of Linguini's newfound fame, wants revenge. Also, the food critic Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole) has decided to have a meal an Gusteau's - and on that very evening, Remy is missing.

BON APPETIT? With even more realistic graphics and action seen from the point-of-view of the rats, "Ratatouille" gets our interest right from the start. Bird has taken computer animation one notch higher and a chase scene through the streets of Paris and onto boats floating on the River Seine is so splashingly real that we forget that it is CGI. Sometimes, we even forget that Remy is a rat! Bird fashions the movie as a parable about racism and tolerance. The conflict is between rats and humans, and members of each species get to learn a little about the characteristics of the other. There is also the Cyrano de Bergerac angle that has Remy teaching the boy to cook (instead of wooing the lady of his dreams).
However, the action in "Ratatouille" gets along like yummy French food - up to the point when we see hordes of rats invading the kitchen - and cooking meals. These sequences must be a put-off to parents in the audience and they could have been avoided or toned down. Still, with its slogan "Anyone Can Cook", the movie celebrates passion in creativity and the pursuit of excellence and it should inspire the kids in the audience.

THE LOWDOWN: To sum up, let's take a quote from Anton Ego: “Not everyone can be a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” Our compliments to master chef Brad Bird. "Ratatouille" is not as entertaining as "The Incredibles", but it is close enough.

TRAIN OF THE DEAD: It's A Wreck!

TRAIN OF THE DEAD (Thai horror)

Cast: Kett Thantup, Savika Chaiyadej, Sura Theerakon and Yarichada Wattanawongsri

Director: Sukhum Mathawanit

Time: 96 mins

Rating: * (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? With the title giving away the plot of this Thai horror attempt, "Train Of The Dead" becomes a cinematic wreck even before it can leave the station. One can only surmise that this pathetic excuse for a movie was produced solely to cash in on Hollywood’s interest in Asian horror – perhaps to get on the bandwagon of recycled Asian thrillers like "The Ring" and "The Grudge"… However, we feel that even if some desperate Hollywood moguls decide to adapt it for American viewers, a major rewrite is necessary to get the story back on track.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? While trying to escape the police, a gang of fumbling robbers crash their getaway car into the shack where Toh (Kett Thantup) is resting after a dirt bike race. The robbers decide to take Toh hostage and somehow they hoist him on board a train.

HOW BAD IS IT? Common sense tell us that getting on a train can never be a good way to flee the cops, but then writer-director Sukhum Mathawanit is not interested in logic. He is only interested in dishing out the ‘thrills’ – and the locomotive serves as a metaphor for ‘carriage of souls’. Yes, the plot gets unravelled very early in the movie and we are left having to tolerate repetitive scenes of squabbling among the robbers, passengers who appear and disappear from the carriages – and very amateurish and annoying acting. Among the robbers is a junkie whose hallucinations provide the opportunity for some of the scarier moments of the movie. Others, like gang leader Joke (Sura Theerakon) make us cringe with his pathetic attempt at acting tough, and Phoomjai Tangsanga (as the cowardly Mued) serves up a gory decapitation sequence.

Well, no Thai offering comes without some eye candy and here we have Savika Chaiyadej looking ravishing as Rahtree, a passenger who tries to rescue Toh from the crooks, and Yarichada Wattanawongsri as June, the gang moll who also has a soft spot for the pretty boy Toh. During the last 10 minutes, we find director Mathawanit rushing to ‘wrap up’ the plot and explain the ‘real’ destination of the train – a fact we have already deduced in the beginning. Also, throughout the movie, we get distracted by dark blotches used to black out the ‘F-word’ in the English subtitles. This is so badly done that the blotches tend to highlight the offending words instead.

THE LOWDOWN: On the whole, "Train Of The Dead" is not beyond salvation. With an experienced cast, a rewrite of the script and dialogue, and proper direction, Hollywood may put this thriller back on track in its remake. However, I won’t be booking the tickets yet.

FEBRUARY 29: An Intelligent Korean Thriller

FEBRUARY 29 (psychological thriller in Korean)

Cast: Park Eun-hye, Lee Myeong-jin, Baek Eun-jin, Choi Yoon-jeong and Ho Im

Director: Jeong Joon-heong

Time: 93 mins

Rating: * * 1/2 (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? "February 29" is one of the more intelligent thrillers to have emerged from Korea last year. It doesn’t have that silly white-powdered long-haired ghost, screechy soundtrack or irrelevant jolts to shake us every few minutes or so. Instead, director Jeong Joon-heong uses a lonely highway toll-gate in the middle of nowhere to set the mood and ambience for tension and suspense. He just allows us to frighten ourselves.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? The plot revolves around toll-gate girl Han Ji-yeon (Park Eun-hye) who receives a bloodstained ticket from a creepy driver in a black car one night. The next morning, she learns that someone has been murdered near the toll-gate and the police arrive to question her. Ji-yeon tells her friend Jongsook (Lee Myeong-jin) about what happened and finds out that a terrible car accident 12 years ago had claimed many lives, including a woman whose body had never been found. Jongsook also tells her that on each February 29, someone would be found brutally murdered near the toll plaza – and it has been four years since the last time. Coincidentally or not, Jongsook’s birthday falls on Feb 29!

HIGHS & LOWS: Fans of American slasher flicks may find the pace rather slow and dull but "February 29" is more of a psychological thriller than a gory horror flick. The movie opens at the end of the plot – with a journalist going to a mental asylum to interview Ji-yeon about her ‘visions’ and claims of a woman killer scheduled to come after her on that fateful date. Hence, with the narrative unravelled in flashbacks, we see everything from the point-of-view of Ji-yeon. Whether we believe or not her is up to us.

With such a plot set-up, a lot depends on the performance and credibility of the protagonist – and here, Park Eun-hye manages to deliver. She has us rooting for her right from the start, sympathising with her as a girl living alone in an apartment and having to work the late night shift. Her character could have been better developed, perhaps to include a boyfriend or family members, but director Jeong seems to opt for fewer characters, probably to emphasise her loneliness and insomnia as the cause for her state of mind. Well, it works nonetheless, without making Ji-yeon seem like an outcast.

THE LOWDOWN: "February 29" is a part of four-movie series called "4 Horror Tales" which were made last year. The others are "Forbidden Floor", "Roommates", and "Dark Forest". Fans of Asian horror may want to check them out.

WEEKEND PIC Aug 17 - 19

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing:

1. RATATOUILLE (animated comedy with voices of Brad Garrett, Patton Oswalt and John Ratzenberger) Rated * * * (out of 4): A lip-smacking comedy about a rat who wants to be a chef in the city of Paris. Great animation and an engaging story are a plus to this effort by Brad Bird of "The Incredibles".

2. HULA GIRLS (Japanese drama with Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Yu Aoi, Shizuyo Yamazaki) Rated: * * * 1/2 (out of 4): This is somewhat like "The Full Monty" in grass skirts. It is about how a declining coal-mining town in Japan (circa 1965) tries to reinvent itself by having a Hawaiian dance troupe. Great performances all round. (Only at Cathay PictureHouse)

3. EVAN ALMIGHTY (comedy sequel with Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham and John Goodman) Rating: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): This story about a guy manipulated by God to build an Ark is not very funny. It even borders on the ridiculous but the message about faith can be inspiring.

4. RUSH HOUR 3 (comedy with Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker and Max von Sydow) Rated * * (2 stars): This third outing is lacklustre with the fast-talking Tucker becoming more of a nuisance than comic relief. The franchise seems stuck in a deja vu jam.

5. CONTRACT LOVER (romantic comedy with Richie Jen, Fan Bingbing and Yuen Wah) Rated * * (2 stars): A formulaic outing that is neither romantic nor funny. The story, about a guy hiring a gal to pose as his fiancee to his conservative parents, is so predictable that it is cliched. (Reviewed below)

6. SUSTER NGESOT (Indon horror with Nia Ramadhani, Mike Lewis, Donita and Lia Waode) Rating * 1/2 (1.5 stars): The plot smacks of the Japanese "Ringu" and "Death Note" combined and there's only loud noises and creaking doors to try and jolt us. (Reviewed below)

7. PERFECT STRANGER (murder thriller with Halle Berry and Bruce Willis) Rating: * * (2 stars): Here is one perfect build-up to a huge letdown. The desperate need for a surprise twist turns this movie into a bomb despite its able cast. (Sneak previews)

CONTRACT LOVER: Cinema Fodder

CONTRACT LOVER (Romantic comedy in Cantonese)

Cast: Richie Jen, Fan Bing Bing, Yuen Wah and Kate Tsui

Director: Alfred Cheung

Time: 90 mins

Rating: * * (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? As soon as you learn what "Contract Lover" is about, you can safely predict how it will turn out. Its plot, about some guy hiring a girl to pose as his girlfriend to rile up his conservative parents so that she could be rejected in favour of his real girlfriend, is such a cliched romantic comedy set-up that everything seems to go according to formula.
The most recent flick based on this kind of plot was "The Wedding Date" (2005) which was shown in Malaysia both in the cinemas and on Astro last year – to lukewarm reviews. "Contract Lover" has ‘cinema fodder’ written all over it and it is doubtful that it would generate much business here and abroad. ‘Cinema fodder’, for the uninitiated, are B-grade quickie efforts produced to generate work for the studios and to ‘feed’ the cinemas.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? "Contract Lover" is the story of Fok Kai Fatt (Richie Jen), a Beijing businessman who is pressured by his family to get married as soon as possible. Fatt is afraid that his girlfriend Rachel (Kate Tsui) is too Westernised to be accepted by his tradition-minded father (Yuen Wah, as a martial arts teacher), so he hires Jo Lau (Fan Bingbing) to pose as his fiancee and meet his family in their village home. The plan is to get Jo to shock his father with her ‘wild and modern’ behaviour so that he would reject her and settle for Rachel instead.

HIGHS & LOWS: Of course, it is mandatory of all romantic comedies that nothing would go as planned – and you can guess the outcome. However, for such a plot to work, there must be chemistry between the leads, as well as a certain amount of hilarity in the proceedings. You can write off the first requirement as Richie Jen and Fan Bingbing are not only mismatched, they are also miscast. Richie has only two stock expressions to offer – looking bewildered and going ‘hmm?’ and brooding in silence. Bingbing is pretty, period. Together, they are as romantic as a dog and a cat – and even act as such. Yuen Wah (of "Kungfu Hustle" fame) does nothing to ‘energise’ this movie.
As for its attempts at humour, the gags are mostly lame and tame, involving a comedy of errors (as when Fatt’s aunt imagines what she believes are bedroom noises) and a clash of cultures (as when the frumpy aunt tries pole-dancing). Gay humour seem to be a must for Hong Kong comedies these days, and here we have some comic relief provided by an ‘American’ friend of Jo who accompanies her to the family home. This provides a love-triangle subplot among Fatt’s sister, the American and a kungfu student who is in love with the sister.

THE LOWDOWN: Only for fans of Fan Bingbing and Richie Jen.

'Transformers' Crosses US$300m Mark

13 August – "Transformers", already the all-time top-grossing movie in Malaysia, crossed the US$300 million (RM1.035 billion) mark last Friday (10 August), its 39th day of release. Boxofficemojo.com, which tracks world ticket sales, reported that it is hot on the heels of "Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End" as the year’s top-grosser.

Meanwhile, "Rush Hour 3" kicked off its opening weekend with less than two thirds the attendance figure of its predecessor. The Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker flick drew an estimated US$50.2 million (RM171 million) at about 5,200 screens at 3,778 cinemas, topping the weekend US box office. The action comedy sequel, which reportedly cost US$140 million to make, saw initial popularity closer to the first "Rush Hour" film than "Rush Hour 2".

Six years ago, "Rush Hour 2" bagged a US$67.4 million start from 3,118 cinemas. Adjusted for ticket price inflation, that would equal about US$80 million today, the most attended August opening ever. Its US$226.2 million final tally adjusts to nearly US$270 million today. The first "Rush Hour" of 1998 was a surprise smash, grossing US$33 million out on its first weekend or about US$47 million adjusted, en route to US$141.2 million or around US$200 million adjusted. Production price tags for "Rush Hour" and "Rush Hour 2" were US$33 million and US$90 million, respectively.

The lacklustre response was generally attributed to the six-year lapse since the last sequel. What's more, Jackie Chan hasn't been on American screens for three years, while Tucker's last movie was "Rush Hour 2". That "Rush Hour 3" had a sizeable debut is a credit to the goodwill generated by the first two pictures – or so Boxofficemojo.com commented.

Local box-office figures for "Rush Hour 3", which also opened last Thursday 9 August, are not yet available. However, "Transformers" has sold RM17.5 million worth of tickets as of 6 August, an all-time record in Malaysia.

SUSTER NGESOT: Indon take on 'Ringu'

SUSTER NGESOT (Indonesian horror thriller)
Cast: Nia Ramadhani, Mike Lewis, Donita and Lia Waode
Director: Viva Westi
Time: 87 mins
Rating: * * (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? ‘Suster’ is an Indonesian slang for ‘nurse’ (from the English equivalent of ‘sister’) and "Suster Ngesot The Movie" is based on an Indon legend about a crippled ghost that crawls about to catch on to someone's feet. Now that we have got the ‘daffy-nition’ out of the way, you may just consider this effort as Jakarta’s version of Japanese horror series, "Ringu" and "Death Note", combined.
Yes, you get jolted by familiar visions of the ghastly long-haired kid in white – plus a bald one thrown in for good measure. These are accompanied by loud searing noises that are more irritating than scary. In fact director Viva Westi repeats the jolts so often in both the narrative and flashbacks that it gets tedious and loses its effect after a while. Instead of quivering in fright, you go ‘Oh no, not again’.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? The movie deals with two pretty nursing trainees, Vira (Nia Ramadhani) and Silla (Donita) who have come from Bandung to Jakarta to work at a hospital. The girls are picked up at the railway station by the dashing Mike (Mike Lewis), a university student from Australia, who is the boyfriend of Vira. However, the moment they check into the decrepit building that serves as their hostel, you know that something is going to go terribly wrong. For one, the room allocated to them had not been opened since 20 years ago, and for another, it is so full of rats and roaches that even a pest exterminator would have trouble settling into it.
As soon as she starts work, Vira finds a strange diary that can predict the death of her friends. She also runs into Mak Saroh, an old woman who tells her that her room is haunted by a nurse named Lastri (Lia Waode) who was believed to have been murdered by her fiance who had been having an affair with her best friend. Meanwhile, Silla is going out on the sly with Mike, and the two seem to be getting closer and closer. Will the tragedy of 20 years ago repeat itself?

HIGHS & LOWS: In terms of plot-execution, Westi seems to be going by the Book of Asian Horror – with its tried and tired devices like creaking doors, cheap loud jolts and sudden appearances of characters. These might have worked if there was a proper build-up or even an attempt at story development.
To be fair, "Suster Ngesot" has an unpretentious feel about it and it even has a nice twist in the plot. The problem is that the film-makers do not know how to capitalise on it and resort to conventional devices which are repeated throughout the movie. There is even the ‘resident clown’ in the form or a weird caretaker who peeks into the ladies’ shower – a’ la "Psycho".
Also, it would have helped a great deal if the lead stars were properly directed to play their respective roles. As it is, Nia and Donita look awkward and lost as ‘hot chicks’ implausibly trapped in a dump of a hostel. Their facial expressions are limited to grimacing and screaming in fright. Mark Lewis is terribly miscast and has no chemistry with his co-stars. The one thing they have going for them is their earnestness in trying to act.

THE LOWDOWN: With its slant on young love and betrayal, "Suster Ngesot" should work better as a date movie than a horror thriller. It is not creepy enough to make your skin crawl…

WEEKEND PIC Aug 10 - 12 2007

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing:

1. HULA GIRLS (Japanese drama with Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Yu Aoi, Shizuyo Yamazaki) Rated: * * * 1/2 (out of 4): This is somewhat like "The Full Monty" in grass skirts. It is about how a declining coal-mining town in Japan (circa 1965) tries to reinvent itself by having a Hawaiian dance troupe. Great performances all round.

2. RUSH HOUR 3 (comedy with Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker and Max von Sydow) Rated * * (2 stars): This third outing is lacklustre with the fast-talking Tucker becoming more of a nuisance than comic relief. The franchise seems stuck in a deja vu jam. (Reviewed below)

3. DISTURBIA (suburban thriller with Shia LaBeouf, David Morse, Sarah Roemer and Carrie-Anne Moss) Rating * * 1/2 (out of 4): A watchable suburban mystery that looks like a recycled "Rear Window". However, it seems to have taken a wrong turn and ends like a slasher movie.

4. FLASHPOINT (action thriller with Donnie Yen, Louis Koo and Fan Bing Bing) Rating * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Like "Invisible Target", we have another cop-versus-Vietnamese gang in this over-indulgent fightfest that insults our intellect.

5. THE SIMPSONS MOVIE (animated comedy with voices of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright and Yeardley Smith) Rated: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Homer gets chased out of town but somehow redeems himself in this rather tame big-screen rendition that seems to recycle the gags of the TV series. Mainly for Simpsons fans. (Reviewed below)

RUSH HOUR 3: Stuck in Deja Vu Jam

RUSH HOUR 3 (comedy)

Cast: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Hiroyuki Sanada and Max Von Sydow

Director: Brett Ratner

Time: 92 mins

Rating: * * (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? You know you are going to be stuck in a déjà vu standstill the moment this movie opens – with Chris Tucker mucking around in his ridiculous comedy shtick as a traffic cop in downtown Los Angeles. Tucker is so over-the-top as former detective James Carter that he is more of a pain-in-the-butt than comic relief. Problem is, there is no letting up on the Tucker nonsense all through this movie.
This is a pity because Tucker had been the ‘fun guy’ attraction of his ‘ying-yang’ partnership with Jackie Chan in first two movies. Now, after a six-year gap, he almost turns "Rush Hour 3" into a wreck.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? This second sequel has Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) playing bodyguard to Chinese Ambassador Han (Tzi Ma) at a World Criminal Court conference in L.A. when the envoy is shot while presenting his speech. The culprit is Kenji (Hiroyuki Sanada), a member of an international triad – and someone who had been rather close to Lee.
Carter takes it upon himself to help Lee track down the gang, embodied in an elusive clue called Shy Shen. The mission takes them to Paris where the hapless duo muck around in the city’s sewers, cabaret nightspots and even the top of the Eiffel Tower, ostensibly to provide the mandatory Jackie Chan stunts.

HIGHS & LOWS: Except for a stunt sequence involving a gang of motor-bikers and a French taxi, most of the action scenes fall flat – thanks to shoddy choreography and an anaemic script. Yes, we see Lee and Kenji facing off each other in a sword fight but we know that neither of them is going to kill each other. We see veteran thespian Max Von Sydow as a French Foreign Minister and we can safely predict how he would turn out to be in the plot mechanics. Even director Roman Polanski, who has a cameo as a sadistic French cop, fails to provide the movie the extra star-power that it desperately needs.
Sure, Brett Ratner, who has helmed the previous movies, throws in lots of eye candy in the form of scantily-clad Folies-Bergeres ladies and even a femme fatale (Noemie Lenoir as Geneviere) as a one-night stand for Carter. However, the excitement dissipates as soon as these scenes are over. There is precious little in the way of freshness or wit in this effort and we are left to tolerate the ramblings of motor-mouthed Tucker most of the time.
Arguably, Ratner and his screenwriters seem to have hurt the image of the French and they make up for this with a subplot about George (Yves Attal), the heroic Parisian cabbie who helps Lee and Carter escape their enemies. The subplot may appear rather contrived, as is everything in the movie, but it should help give the movie a boost at the French box-office.

THE LOWDOWN: Unlike Bruce Willis in "Die Hard 4.0", the "Rush Hour" franchise now looks like it is caught in a standstill. It is time for Chan and Tucker to say ‘adieu’ to each other and go their separate ways.

WEEKEND PIC: Aug 3 - 5 2007

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing:

1. BECAUSE I SAID SO (Romantic comedy with Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore and Gabriel Macht) Rated: * * * (out of 4): Unabashedly derivative and formulaic, this comedy works because of Keaton who can ham her way through any movie and still look funny.

2. DISTURBIA (suburban thriller with Shia LaBeouf, Sarah Roemer (pic), David Morse and Carrie-Anne Moss) Rating * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): A watchable suburban mystery that looks like a recycled "Rear Window". However, it seems to have taken a wrong turn and ends like a slasher movie.

3. FLASHPOINT (action thriller with Donnie Yen, Louis Koo and Fan Bing Bing) Rating * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Like "Invisible Target", we have another cop-versus-Vietnamese gang in this over-indulgent fightfest that insults our intellect.

4. THE SIMPSONS MOVIE (animated comedy with voices of Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright and Yeardley Smith) Rated: * * 1/2 (2.5 stars): Homer gets chased out of town but somehow redeems himself in this rather tame big-screen rendition that seems to recycle the gags of the TV series. Mainly for Simpsons fans.

5. RISE: BLOOD HUNTER (Vampire actioner with Lucy Liu, Michael Chiklis and Carla Gugino) Rated: * * (2 stars): This one is mainly for fans of Lucy Liu as a reporter who goes for revenge after becoming a vampire.