WEEKEND PIC: Sept 28 - 30 2007

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing:

1. LUST, CAUTION (with Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tang Wei, Joan Chen and Wang LeeHom) Rated: * * * (out of 4): With almost all the steamy bits taken out, this Ang Lee effort is more Caution than Lust. Still, it is a compelling watch if only to get the tone and flavour of his controversial epic. (Reviewed below)

2. THE BRAVE ONE (with Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard and Naveen Andrews): Rated: * * * (3 stars): What, another vigilante movie? Yeah, but this time around it has Foster as the reluctant avenger roaming the streets of New York City persuading us that sometimes we have to help the law find justice. (Reviewed below)

3. HAIRSPRAY (with John Travolta, Nikki Blonsky, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken) Rated: * * * (3 stars): This remake of the 1988 musical does not have the memorable songs of 'Grease' or 'Saturday Night Fever' but it boasts of a Travolta in drag. That should be enough to lure his fans - and lovers of song-and-dance musicals. (Reviewed below)

4. I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY (comedy with Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Jessica Biel): Rating * * (2 stars): This story about two heterosexual firefighters getting into a 'gay' marriage of convenience is too over-the-top and cringe-inducing to be funny. Only for those who like crude humour.

5. A NOTE OF LOVE (local drama in Hokkein with Sharifah Amani and Daniel Lee) Rated: * * (2 stars): This indie film about puppy love and an old couple trying to rekindle romance is rather trite but there are some nostalgic scenes of 'endangered' venues. (Reviewed below)

6. SKINWALKERS (horror thriller with Natassia Malthe, Shawn Roberts, Jason Behr and Elias Koteas) Rating: * 1/2 (1.5 stars): A B-grade tale about werewolves with a bad script, lame performances and a silly story.

LUST, CAUTION: More Caution Than Lust

LUST, CAUTION (war romance/drama in Mandarin & Cantonese)

Cast: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Tang Wei, Joan Chen and Wang LeeHom

Director: Ang Lee

Time: 142 mins

Rating: * * * (out of 4)

PREAMBLE: When you are having an illicit affair at a time when the country is at war and everything is in turmoil, you need to exercise a fine balance between Lust and Caution. The same applies when you are in love with someone who has to carry out a dangerous mission: you need to balance feelings of Love with Caution.

Now that I have explained the title of Ang Lee's latest movie (adapted from a short story by Eileen Chang), let me add that this version of "Lust, Caution" for Malaysian audiences is five per cent Lust, 95 per cent Caution - and a whole lot of plot build-up. This is partly because the 'original' version shown at the Venice Film Festival was 157 minutes long while the censored version for local viewing is only 142 minutes. Yes, 15 minutes of the much-touted seduction and torrid sex scenes were snipped away, leaving us to imagine what the first half of the title is all about!

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? The story is about Wang Jiazhi (newcomer Tang Wei, pictured above with Tony Leung), a first-year Hong Kong university student who is roped in by fellow student Kuang Yumin (Wang Leehom) to join the Resistance against the Japanese in 1938. Their mission is to infiltrate the home of Mr Yee (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and his mahjong-playing wife (Joan Chen) so that they can target Mr Yee for assassination. Yee, you see, is collaborating with the Japanese occupiers and been responsible for the torture and death of hundreds of patriots. In Hong Kong, Jiazhi manages to lure Yee to her fellow conspirators but the hit fails at the last minute.

Fast-forward to Shanghai in 1941: Jiazhi is now a poor student living with her aunt and studying Japanese. Kuang re-enters her life one day, with news that Yee is in Shanghai. He persuades Jiazhi to reactivate their mission - to seduce the guy again and set him up for termination. Mr Yee, however, is a very cautious man, given the nature of his job - and the more Jiazhi gets 'entangled' with him, the deeper she falls for him. At one stage, Huang and Jiazhi, who realises the predicament she is in, even beg their handlers to complete the mission quickly. The conflict between duty and desire comes to a head when Yee and Jiazhi decide to throw caution to the wind and indulge in their lust...

HIGHS & LOWS: Ang Lee's directorial trademarks in "Lust, Caution" are unmistakable. The locations (some of which were shot in Penang and Ipoh) and sets are lush and detailed, the cinematography by Rodrigo Prieto (of "Babel" and "Brokeback Mountain") captures the 'country-at-war' atmosphere vividly, and the music score helps to evoke the appropriate emotions. However, Ang Lee is better known for pushing the limit with his films (like the gay factor in "Brokeback Mountain") and here he reportedly does what nobody had dared to with sexually-explicit scenes in mainstream Chinese cinema. Alas, it is a pity we just don't get to see how far he had gone.

So for Malaysian audiences, "Lust, Caution" will probably be remembered for the sterling performance by newcomer Tang Wei who has us on tenterhooks whenever her Jiazhi carries out her mission. Contrary to expectation, Tang Wei's lines and wardrobe are rather tame - but she still manages to hold our awe and sympathy throughout the movie. Leung is a veteran at this seduction game (read: "In The Mood For Love") and this role must have been a walk-in-the-park for him. Joan Chen is largely wasted in scenes confined to the mahjong table. LeeHom is passable in expressing the 'subplot' about 'Love, Caution' - as a guy who is too careful to show his love for Jiazhi until it is too late.

THE LOWDOWN: This 'cleaned-up' or 'cautious' version is still a must for Ang Lee fans - who will probably be waiting for the full-length version on DVD.

WEEKEND PIC Sept 21 - 23 2007

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing:

1. THE BRAVE ONE (with Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard and Naveen Andrews): Rated: * * * (out of 4): What, another vigilante movie? Yeah, but this time around it has Foster as the reluctant avenger roaming the streets of New York City persuading us that sometimes we have to help the law find justice. (Reviewed below)

2. HAIRSPRAY (with John Travolta, Nikki Blonsky, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken) Rated: * * * (3 stars): This remake of the 1988 musical does not have the memorable songs of 'Grease' or 'Saturday Night Fever' but it boasts of a Travolta in drag. That should be enough to lure his fans - and lovers of song-and-dance musicals. (Reviewed below)

3. 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)

4. A NOTE OF LOVE (local drama in Hokkein with Sharifah Amani and Daniel Lee) Rated: * * (2 stars): This indie film about puppy love and an old couple trying to rekindle romance is rather trite but there are some worthwhile scenes of 'endangered' venues. At GSC International Screens only (Reviewed below)

5. PREMONITION (psychological thriller with Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon and Kate Nelligan) Rated: * * (2 stars): It's like 'Groundhog Day' revisited as Bullock's housewife gets news of her hubby's death in a road crash - and then goes back in time before the tragedy. Can she stop it? Well, we can't blame her for trying in this messy sci-fi outing. (Reviewed below)

6. SKINWALKERS (horror thriller with Natassia Malthe, Shawn Roberts, Jason Behr and Elias Koteas) Rating: * 1/2 (1.5 stars): A B-grade tale about werewolves - with a bad script, lame performances and a silly story.

HVO: 'Mr Brooks', 'My Life Without Me', 'Redline' & Eastwood's Iwo Jima films

Here're more movies for your Home Viewing Options:

Mr BROOKS (DVD 2007, psychological thriller)
Cast: Kevin Costner, Demi Moore, Dane Cook, William Hurt, Marg Helgenberger and Danielle Panabaker
Director: Bruce A. Evans
Time: 120 mins
Rating: * * *

AFTER a number of box-office failures, it looks like the stars are shining again for Costner’s career. Here, he plays Earl Brooks, a box-manufacturer who is voted Man-of-the-Year in Portland, USA. However, even as he returns home with his wife (Helgenberger) after receiving the award, his alter ego, Marshall (Hurt), starts prodding him into another ‘mischief’. Brooks is a schizophrenic and a serial killer dubbed the Thumbprint Killer and police detective Tracy Atwood (Moore) has been on his trail. That night, while committing a murder, he makes a mistake and he has to deal with a Peeping Tom who calls himself Mr Smith (Cook). Smith wants Brooks to take him on his next killing spree!

This is a weird variation on the Dr Jeckyll & Mr Hyde tale and there are some interesting surprises in store. It definitely will not make the big screen in Malaysia because of the many nude scenes and the morality factor that assumes that serial killers are passed down from generation to generation. Moore is forgettable here as a rich girl who just wants to be a cop. A classy B-grade thriller with an A-list cast.
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MY LIFE WITHOUT ME (DVD 2003, drama)
Cast: Sarah Polley, Scott Speedman, Deborah Harry, Mark Ruffalo and Amanda Plummer
Director: Isabel Coixet
Time: 105 mins
Rating: * * 1/2

KEEP the tissues handy cos this is an unabashedly corny weepie – at least for those who emote easily with women with terminal diseases. Never mind that they look progressively more beautiful as the illness progresses…

Ann (Sarah Polley), is a 23-year-old wife and mother who works as a custodian at a local university. When she learns that she only has two or three months to live, she decides not to inform her family. She makes a list of 10 things she wants to do before she dies. These include recording messages for her daughters for every birthday until their 18th (the kind of thing only a movie character would do), getting her hair and nails done, having an affair, and making a man (Ruffalo) fall in love with her. The last is actually an act of cruelty, playing havoc with someone’s emotions but the movie makes it appear romantic and worthy of our tears!

Ann's illness seems to instantly grant her wisdom and licence to do what she wants, never mind if anyone gets hurt. But then, this is a movie that requires viewers to think with their hearts – not their minds. Go for it if you need a good cry.
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FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (DVD 2006, war drama)
Cast: Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford, Adam Beach and Jamie Bell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Time: 135 mins
Rating: * * *

THIS is the first of Clint Eastwood’s twin series on the Battle of Iwo Jima of WW2. ‘Flags’ views the effects of the battle from the American side while his ‘Letters From Iwo Jima’ sees the action through the Japanese soldiers on the island.

Mention Iwo Jima and most people would think of that iconic photograph of six American soldiers planting their flag on the island during WW2. This picture, shot by AP photographer Joe Rosenthal, sparked off a campaign to promote war bonds and other political mileage. To get this campaign on the road, the authorities needed a bunch of heroes to parade around the nation and three surviving soldiers, John Bradley (Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Bradford) and American native, Ira Hayes (Beach). The movie, based on the book by James Bradley (John's son) and Ron Powers, is basically about these three 'reluctant' men and how their 'tour of duty' as national heroes affected them.

Director Eastwood divides the movie into three time frames - the present, the actual Battle on Iwo Jima and the promotional tour of 1945. He intercuts among the segments constantly and uses a form of 'colour coding' to differentiate them. This is a thought-provoking movie and a valuable insight into the psyche of (American) soldiers everywhere.

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (DVD 2006, war drama)
Cast: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Shido Nakamura, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase
Director: Clint Eastwood
Time: 138 mins
Rating: * * * ½

HERE, we see the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers on the island where the Americans are the enemy! The movie begins in late 1944, several months before the conflict, with the arrival of General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) on the island. The Japanese realise this will likely be an American target and they dispatch the general to prepare the defences. Kuribayashi re-deploys artillery from the beaches to the high ground and commissions a series of tunnels to protect themselves from air attacks and to connect various points. As a counterpoint to the General's perspective, Eastwood also provides the point-of-view of a common solider, Saigo (pop star Kazunari Ninomiya), who plays a more important role in events than one might initially suppose.

Previous movies about Iwo Jima have presented the Japanese as faceless do-or-die fighters but here we see them as ‘guys-next-door’ who have been thrust into a war for the glory of their homeland and Emperor. It is a gritty, gruesome movie aimed at stripping away several misconceptions of the war.
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REDLINE (DVD 2007, race thriller)
Cast: Nadia Bjorlin (pic), Tim Matheson, Nathan Philips and Eddie Griffin
Director: Andy Chen
Time: 95 mins
Rating: * 1/2

IF you are ‘caught’ between a bevy of scantily-clad chicks and a row of sports cars like the Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porches – and your attention inevitably strays to the cars, then this is the movie for you.
Produced at US$26million by millionaire mortgage lender Bob Sadek, who also provided his own collection of exotic cars, ‘Redline’ got a wide pre-production publicity when one of its stars, Eddie Griffin, crashed a US$1.5 million Ferrari Enzo during a promotional charity race.
However, that is nothing compared to this total-wreck of a movie. ‘Redline’ is such a no-brainer that beside it, ‘Tokyo Drift’ and the other ‘Fast & Furious’ movies look like epic classics. Director Cheng’s format is race, chase, fight and crash, race chase fight and crash. The real stars are the cars. As for the acting by the human cast, make sure you have a barf bag ready. They make you wanna puke!

OTHER DVDs reviewed below: 'Apocalypto', 'Sisters' and 'Goya's Ghosts'

A NOTE OF LOVE: Tribute To Yasmin?

A NOTE OF LOVE (local drama in Hokkien)

Cast: Han Ead Fong, Alice Tan Yen Yen, Eugene Neo, Oik Geok Lan, Sharifah Amani and Daniel Lee

Director: Linus Chung

Time: 82 mins

Rating: * * (out of 4)

(Pic: Oik Geok Lan & Han Ead Fong)

PREAMBLE: “A Note Of Love” may be about a young boy’s puppy love and an old couple trying to rekindle their romantic flame, but the feeling one gets while watching this movie is that there is another ‘passion’ involved – the need to capture and preserve scenes of ‘ordinary’ Malaysian life that may soon be lost forever.

Indie writer-director Linus Chung, who is also the cinematographer, lingers the camera on antique sellers, dilapidated aquarium and bicycle shops and pre-war buildings in Penang as if to document their existence before they succumb to the demands of development. And yes, he also takes us on visits to the abandoned Rex cinema along Burmah Road in Penang and even to a Hindustani movie in an old stand-alone cinema. It is to his credit that the ‘ordinary’ looks ‘extraordinary’ in his shots as we ponder how these places had appeared in their heyday.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? The ‘love stories’, however, are not so enigmatic or engaging. The main plot deals with a 60-year-old man (Han Ead Fong) who gets an attack of ‘romanticism’ when he accidentally reads his son’s (Daniel Lee) love letter to his Malay girlfriend (Sharifah Amani). All of a sudden, he gets the urge to relive their ‘pak-tor’ (courtship) days and takes his wife (Oik Geok Lean) to the beach, to the old cinemas and fast food joints – and even persuades her to lie on the grass like they did when they were courting. These sequences may look cute and some are even touching, but without a backgrounder (or flashback) on their relationship, the scenes are just vignettes like those from a TV commercial.
Indeed, this ‘vignette approach’ with minimal character development is also repeated in the subplot about six-year-old Yao (Eugene Neo) who gets his own attack of puppy love when he sees tuition teacher Zhi (Alice Tan Yen Yen) walking her student Pei (Vanessa Khoo) home. The next day, he goes to the market to acquire some flowers for Pei. However, not quite understanding the difference between love and concern, Yao asks Zhi to be his girlfriend – much to the chagrin of her real boyfriend Keong (played by Linus Chung).

PROS & CONS: This is the part where Chung squanders the chance to give more depth to Yao’s budding feelings of love. Except for one sequence where the boy intimates to Zhi his attraction to Pei, we know nothing of what goes on in Yao’s mind. Chung should have included a few sequences where Yao professes his new love to his gang of friends instead of elaborating so much on how the puppy love affects Zhi’s relationship with her boyfriend. That spoof on Hindi romantic movies – where the lovers run around trees – have been overdone by local productions, particularly in “Sepet” which Chung had co-starred in.Indeed, those who have seen “Sepet” would notice that some of Yasmin Ahmad’s social commentaries are being recycled here, especially that suckling pig scene with “Sepet” star Sharifah Amani as the dinner guest. In many ways, this movie is a tribute to Yasmin’s works, especially with that Daniel Lee-Sharifah Amani relationship. Only Sharifah Amani proves to be the veteran star among the cast of newcomers. Besides the shots of ‘heritage buildings’, I also like that “Titanic” spoof on the Penang ferry and the well-written songs that accompany the romantic sequences. What I can do without are the repetitive shots of drains and rusty bridges. Also, most of the vignettes capture the characters with smiling faces, as if they were in an advertisement. Well, too much of a feel-good thing can be boring.

THE LOWDOWN: As a maiden effort, “A Note Of Love” looks technically competent and promising enough for local movie fans and the art house crowd.

PS: Like Arivind Abraham, the director of "S'kali" (2006), Linus Chung was also one of the Malay Mail Young Reviewers a few years back. He also contributes to Cinema Online magazine. However, no special consideration was given to him in this review of the movie.

WEEKEND PIC Sept 14 - 16 2007

Your Guide To The Weekend Viewing:

1. THE BRAVE ONE (with Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard and Naveen Andrews): Rated: * * * (out of 4): What, another vigilante movie? Yeah, but this time around it has Foster as the reluctant avenger roaming the streets of New York City persuading us that sometimes we have to help the law find justice. (Reviewed below)

2. HAIRSPRAY (with John Travolta, Nikki Blonsky, Michelle Pfeiffer and Christopher Walken) Rated: * * * (3 stars): This remake of the 1988 musical does not have the memorable songs of 'Grease' or 'Saturday Night Fever' but it boasts of a Travolta in drag. That should be enough to lure his fans - and lovers of song-and-dance musicals. (Reviewed below)

3. 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)

4. KNOCKED UP (romantic comedy with Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann) Rating: * * * (3 stars): There are some genuinely funny gags in this story about a woman's regret after a night of careless abandonment. Heigl looks perfect in a role originally meant for Anne Hathaway.

5. PREMONITION (with Sandra Bullock, Julian McMahon and Kate Nelligan) Rated: * * (2 stars): It's like 'Groundhog Day' revisited as Bullock's housewife gets news of her hubby's death in a road crash - and then goes back in time before the tragedy. Can she stop it? Well, we can't blame her for trying in this messy sci-fi outing. (Reviewed below)

6. NARAKA 19 (with Patrick Tam, Chun Tin You, Shaun Tam, Bonnie Sin and Gillian Chung) Rated * (1 star): Watching this attempt at a horror thriller is like being trapped in the 19th Gate of Hell, which is the title of the movie based on a Chinese book about an SMS game. (Reviewed below)

THE BRAVE ONE: Foster In Charge

THE BRAVE ONE (action thriller)

Cast: Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Naveeen Andrews, Mary Steenburgen

Director: Neil Jordan

Time: 122 mins

Rating: * * * (out of 4)

PREAMBLE: After the "Death Wish" series of the 70s, vigilante movies have become run-of-the-mill and boring. The genre had been so extensively exploited by film-makers all over the world that viewers became wary of them. You can imagine my feelings of foreboding when I sat through the first half-an-hour of "The Brave One", expecting Jodie Foster to turn into a female version of Charles Bronson - and start shooting down the bad guys in New York City. It would be like 'The Accused meets Death Wish', so to speak.
However, I was pleasantly surprised. Foster gives her avenging Dark Angel a new dimension - the realisation that even you and I can become judge, jury and executioner when we are faced with certain conditions and circumstances. And this scares the hell out of me...

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? Foster is Erica Bain, a New York City radio talk-show host who chats about life in 'the safest big city in the world'. One night, while strolling in Central Park with her fiance, David (Naveen Andrews of TV's 'Lost'), they are brutally attacked by a gang of muggers. David is killed and Erica is hospitalised with critical injuries.
When Erica finally pulls through and is discharged, she is not consumed by the need for revenge. She is completely overcome by fear. The city she has known and loved all her life now terrifies her. She jumps at shadows and is always looking behind her back. As a sensible woman, she realises that she must conquer her fears if she is to survive and continue working. Like many people in her condition, she buys a gun - without even knowing how to use it. Erica, however, is a fast learner. When she witnesses a robbery and finds her life in danger, she does not hesitate to use her weapon. And she is surprised to discover that her hands did not shake as she had expected them to. Soon, news of a vigilante shooter spreads and police detective Sean Mercer (Terrence Howard) finds another case on his plate besides the mugging incident involving Erica and David. Now, as Sean and Erica team up to track down the 'vigilante', a bond develops between them...

HIGHS & LOWS: Directed by Neil Jordan, "The Brave One" explores the psyche and soul of a victim of brutality and tragedy. This is right up Foster's alley as she has played so many such characters before. Jordan lingers the camera over her lithe body and injured face, trying to make us sympathise with her and her actions. We also root for Howard's embattled cop as he agonises over another case where the hands of the law are tied. Cops, after all, are human too and they can also be pushed to go beyond the limit.
Jordan portrays New York as a dark and dank metropolitan like Batman's Gotham City where we expect weirdoes to show up in every corner. Still, the screenplay (by Roderick and Bruce Taylor and Cynthia Mort) does not glorify Erica's deeds. It shows her as the victim of circumstances. The ending may appear rather far-fetched, giving a new meaning to the term 'cop-out' as it were. However, with Foster as the protagonist, it somehow feels justified.

THE LOWDOWN: Yes, this is Foster's vehicle and as the titular character, she drives the movie along as she did in "Silence Of The Lambs". Only that she is no longer the 'lamb' here.

HAIRSPRAY: Travolta In A Fat Suit

HAIRSPRAY (musical)

Cast: John Travolta, Nikki Blonksky, Amanda Bynes, Christopher Walken, James Marsden and Queen Latifah

Director: Alan Shankman

Time: 105 mins

Rating: * * * (out of 4)

(pic: Travolta & Nikki Blonsky)
WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? It is America and a social revolution is brewing. Television is still black-and-white but it is mostly white, as far as the performers are concerned. Only once a week (on 'Negro Day' Tuesdays), blacks are allowed to perform on a Baltimore network's dance show - at a time when beehive hairstyle is the rage and smoking is in vogue, even among pregnant women.
However, the times, they're a-changing. The younger generation is fighting for racial integration on television - and for 'everyday to be Negro Day'. Will the powers that be allow such nonsense? Ladies and gentleman, welcome to America of the Sixties and to the world of "Hairspray", a musical urging Americans to accept people who are 'different'.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? It is Baltimore in 1962 and chubby Tracy Turnblad (newcomer Nikki Blonsky) dreams of performing in a TV dance show with her idol Corny Collins (James Marsden). Tracy and her best friend Penny (Amanda Bynes) rush home from school everyday to catch the programme on TV - much to the chagrin of her heavily obese mother, Edna (John Travolta in drag), and Penny's highly religious mum, Prudy (Allison Janney of TV's 'West Wing'). However, when a regular on the show goes on maternity leave and an audition is held for her replacement, Tracy jumps at the chance.

At the audition, Tracy is dismissed by the show's producer (Michelle Pfeiffer) for being too fat - but Corny likes her moves and offers her a shot. Expectedly, she becomes an overnight sensation and a regular on the show. Meanwhile, Tracy befriends a bunch of black dancers and joins their pro-Integration movement led by Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah) to clamour for Negroes to perform on TV. This gets her into trouble with the police - jeopardising her plans to take part in another dance contest.

HIGHS & LOWS: "Hairspray" (based on the 1988 movie directed by John Waters) follows in the footsteps of "The Producers" and "Little Shop of Horrors" as 'song-and-dance' movies that became Broadway shows before returning to the screen in even more lavish productions. The original film starred Ricki Lake as Tracy, and the colourful Divine (real name, Harris Glenn Milstead) as Edna.
According to many critics, the late Divine had defined the role of Edna so well and memorably that it becomes a tough act to follow even for Travolta. The former "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease" star appears like 'Travolta in drag' rather than the audacious Edna played by Divine. Still, he looks pathetic enough to pass off as a shy mother who has refused to leave her house since 1951 because of her obesity.
Christopher Walken is likeable as Tracy's dad Wilbur, even standing out in his duet with Travolta for the number 'You're Timeless To Me'. However, the show-stealer is Blonsky, a charismatic starlet who grabs our attention right from the opening number and never lets go of it. She handles all her songs rather well and provides Tracy with the requisite saccharine sweetness that is integral to the role. The Sixties mood and mannerisms are also nostalgically captured in this all-star version.
One of the problems that have dogged "Hairspray" as a musical is that none of the songs are memorable or hummable enough to remember after we leave the cineplex. This version, however, will always be remembered as the one with Travolta in a fat suit, taking four hours to get ready for the camera and having his dance moves limited and constrained.

THE LOWDOWN: We thank director Alan Shankman for not ending Travolta's duet with Walken with the customary kiss. That would be like having hair in our throat!

BUDAK LAPOK: Tribute To P. Ramlee

BUDAK LAPOK (animated comedy)

Voice cast: Mohd Hasrul Syafiq, M. Hafidzuddin Mahmudi, Muhammad Eric Muhammad Fuzi, Datuk Aziz Sattar and S. Shamsuddin

Director: Anwardi Datuk Jamil

Time: 90 mins

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

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? "Budak Lapok" is a fitting tribute to the works of local legends, Tan Sri P. Ramlee, Datuk Aziz Sattar and S. Shamsuddin. The cartoon feature - the third locally-produced animated effort so far - is a fictional account of how the trio meet as children in a village called Kampung Sebatang Pinang and become close friends.

HIGHS AND LOWS: As the movie opens, we get the feel of the Sixties atmosphere - with rudimentary colours and old-fashioned hand-drawn images - as we are introduced to young Ramlie (voice of Mohd Hasrul Syafiq), Ajis (M. Hafidzuddin Mahmudi) and Sudin (Muhammad Eric Muhammad Fuzi) and their idyllic life in the village. The caricatures remind us of the TV cartoons of Datuk Mohamad Nor Khalid, better known as Lat, who seems to have a great influence on the artwork in this movie.

As expected, we see the trio doing what kids usually do in the kampung in those days - bathing in the river, making havoc for the chickens, struggling with English lessons and playing tricks on the local girls. Our three friends are particularly attracted to Nani, Salmah and Eton who are also their school mates. Ramlie, who sports the trademark 'karipap' hairstyle, has a soft spot for Eton and goes all out to impress her - even to the extent of taking part in an inter-school drama competition.

What is not expected, however, is the cameo appearance of cartoon versions of Datuk Aziz Sattar and S. Shamsuddin (providing their own voices) to comment on the movie. This intrusion evokes a touch of nostalgia in this effort aimed primarily at the younger children. Indeed, the gags and dialogue are rather juvenile in appeal, and the voices on the soundtrack can be jarring at times. If the film-makers had meant to capture the mood and style of P. Ramlee's childhood (circa 1940?), then they are spot on. The kampung scenes also evoke a sense of nostalgia and there are even scenes and musical scores that recall Ramlee's classics like "Bujang Lapok" and "Laksamana Do Re Mi".

Among the gags in the movie, the most inspired are Ramlie's dream sequences that spoof the Tarzan, Indiana Jones and "The Titanic" movies. It is just too bad that Indiana Jones and "The Titanic" came way after the time of Teuku Zakaria Teuku Nyak Puteh (the real name of P. Ramlee) and as such, they could not have been in his consciousness. Also, those who expect to find insights into the lives of the three movie legends would be disappointed. The movie is only a kiddie adventure with its main highlight on a football match between Ramlie's school, Sekolah Kampong Sebatang Pinang, and Sekolah Kampong Semerah Padi, the reigning champion.

THE LOWDOWN: "Budak Lapok" is scheduled for the coming Hari Raya Aidilfitri. It should be a nice festive treat for the kids.

WEEKEND PIC: Sept 7 - 9 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 tycoon. Not to be missed for fans of Hopkins. (Reviewed below)

2. KNOCKED UP (romantic comedy with Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann) Rating: * * * (3 stars): There are some genuinely funny gags in this story about a woman's regret after a night of careless abandonment. Heigl looks perfect in a role originally meant for Anne Hathaway.

3. 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.

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

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. DELTA FARCE (comedy with Larry The Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, DJ Qualls and Keith David) Rated: * 1/2 (1.5 stars): Wanna see the Three Stooges Go To Eye-Rac? It also seems like the script is written by them as well. (See review below)

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

DELTA FARCE: 3 Stooges Go Eye-Rac

DELTA FARCE (comedy)

Cast: Larry The Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, DJ Qualls and Keith David

Director: C.B. Harding

Time: 87 mins

Rating: * 1/2 (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? The humour in this 'redneck comedy' is so idiotic and rudimentary that it not only seems like we were watching 'The Three Stooges Go To Iraq' but it also feels as if it was written and directed by Larry, Curly and Moe themselves. Yes, it is that kind of gutter comedy trying to spoof America's involvement in Iraq.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? The story follows three hapless army reservists, Larry (Larry The Cable Guy), Bill (Bill Engvall) and Everett (D.J. Qualls) (picture), who are so out-of-shape that they can't walk down the block without stopping for a rest and a beer. Somehow, they are drafted into the war in Iraq - under the command of Sgt Kilgore (Keith David) - and are to be air-freighted to the Middle East. On route, the plane encounters problems and is forced to jettison some of its load - including our three sleeping stooges and their Sarge.

The guys wake up in a desert in Mexico. However, with the sun, sand and 'people of colour' wandering around, they think that they are deep in Iraq. Getting ready for battle, they mistake a band of 'bandits' for Iraqi insurgents and even manage to drive them out of the village. Soon, Larry, Bill and Everett are feted and treated as heroes by the villagers. Why, Larry even wins the admiration of beautiful Maria (Marisol Nichols), the mayor's daughter. However, when they come to their senses and realise where they really are, it is time for them to face the wrath of bandit leader Carlos Santana (Danny Trejo).

HITS & MISSES: Yes, the 'chief bandido' is so named (like the famous musician) to generate a few laughs. Indeed, laughs are pretty hard to come by in this low-brow comedy aimed at satirising the stupidity of the Southerners (or rednecks). Fat, fart and Fallujah gags abound, and in one scene, the grumpy Sarge is even dressed in drag.
Director C.B. Harding is no Michael Moore (of "Bowling For Columbine" and "Fahrenheit 9/11") when it comes to 'Bush-whacking' or hitting out at America's foreign policy. Harding, a former TV comedy director (who also helmed "The Osbournes") goes for 'hit-and-miss' humour - and we get mostly misses here. Some sequences even turn out pretty bizarre - like when Larry gets a passionate kiss from the sophisticated-looking Maria. It's like giving gratitude a bad taste.
Still, it is to Harding's credit that the comedy is not aimed at insulting any religion or foreigner. Throughout the movie, the jokes seem to be on the cast. Larry and Engvall, for example, portray the stereotype 'beer-guzzlers' of the Mid-West, while the skinny Qualls is a sight gag just by himself.

THE FINAL SHOT: "Delta Farce", like the title suggests, is basically home-brewed American comedy, probably written by someone whose 'mother drank too much during her pregnancy' (to quote Larry).

Home Viewing Options (DVD Reviews)

Hey Cinema Fans,

I am starting a new post of DVD reviews of movies that are not shown in cinemas in Malaysia. This posting is to help you with your Home Viewing Options and will be updated periodically. Bear with me, please.

THE SISTERS (2005, drama, on DVD)

Cast: Maria Bello, Mary Stuart Masterson, Erika Christensen, Tony Goldwyn and Elizabeth Banks

Director: Arthur Allan Seidelman

Time: 115 mins

Rating: * * * (out of 4)

LOOSELY based on Chekov’s 1901 play, The Three Sisters, this production takes the story out of Russia and places it in a faculty room of a Manhattan university. Written by Richard Alfieri, the movie opens with three sisters and one brother of a dysfunctional family gathering in a faculty club after the death of their father. The occasion is the birthday of Irene Prior (Christensen) and her sisters, university chancellor Olga (Masterson) and socialite Marcia (Bello) have prepared a surprise party for her. Their brother Andrew (Allessandro Nivola) brings along his girlfriend Nancy (Elizabeth Banks) and even before Irene’s arrival, sparks start flying as the family members take swipes at one another.

Others caught in the fray include Irene’s fiance David (Chris O’Donnell), the spiteful Prof Sokol (Eric McCormack), the fatherly Dr Chebrin (Rip Torn) and a married childhood friend named Vincent (Tony Goldwyn) who starts an affair with Marcia. This is a talky movie and those who enjoy verbal assaults and biting wit will definitely find this effort stimulating. Unlike Shakespeare’s works, Chekov’s is not easily transferable and a lot of the Russian writer’s nuances are lost. However, as it stands, it is engrossing enough to be entertaining.

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GOYA'S GHOSTS (2006, drama, on DVD)

Cast: Javier Bardem, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgård, Randy Quaid, Blanca Portillo and Michael Lonsdale

Director: Milos Forman (Time: 114 mins)

Rating: * * 1/2

SET in Spain in 1792, this movie looks at the waning years of the Spanish Inquisition, particularly involving painter Francisco Goya (Skarsgard) and two fictional characters, Ines Bilbatua (Portman) and Brother Lorenzo (Bardem). The movie is uneven, appearing like two different stories that are intertwined with each other. We see a young Ines being imprisoned and tortured on suspicion of practising Jewish rites because she refuses to eat pork. Goya gets involved because he has painted the portraits of both Ines and the hypocritical Lorenzo. Through Goya, Ines' father asks Lorenzo to mediate Ines' release, but a cordial dinner turns into something that will change Lorenzo and Ines' lives 15 years later.

This movie tests Portman's acting skills, portraying her as a haggard madwoman (and recalling Forman's 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' and 'Amadeus'). However, the touted 'nude' scenes are anything but erotic. Also of interest is Forman's views of how politics and religion can combine to ravage a country and keep it in the Dark Ages.

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APOCALYPTO (2006, adventure, on DVD)

Cast: Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, Jonathan Brewer, Morris Birdyellowhead, Raoul Trujillo & Rodolfo Palacios

Director: Mel Gibson (Time: 138 mins)

Rating: * * *

THIS movie was not shown in Malaysia because Mel Gibson would not allow any cuts to be made to his work. And believe me, there are some incidental nude scenes which Malaysian censors are wont to snip off. Needless to say, it has become one of the most popular movies on pirated DVDs here.

The movie is a fast-paced actioner about young warrior Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) whose tribe is attacked and captured by a Mayan war party to be sacrificed to the gods. Jaguar has managed to hide his wife and child in a hole in the ground just before he is caught and taken away to be sacrificed. Obviously, the gods must have decided it is not his time to die yet - and Gibson takes us on a gruelling chase that comes with many twists and surprises. Most of these are too over-contrived, especially the ending which looks helluva preposterous and coincidental. However, the glimpses into the degeneracy of the Mayan society are still worth the price of the disc.

NARAKA 19: Trapped in Hell

NARAKA 19 (HK horror thriller in Cantonese)

Cast: Patrick Tam, Chun Tin You, Shaun Tam, Bonnie Sin and Gillian Chung

Director: Carol Lai Miu Suet

Time: 95 mins

Rating: * (out of 4)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? If you are wondering why this Hong Kong Cantonese production has a Malay title, it is because the story is about a mobile phone game called ‘Naraka 19 – The 19th Gate Of Hell’. The story is adapted from a best-selling Chinese novel written by Choi Tsun. The novel has reportedly sold more than two million copies in China over the last two years and has now been translated into many languages for distribution worldwide.
No, I haven’t read the book but if this movie is anything to go by, you won’t find people queueing up at the book stores like they did for the Harry Potter editions. Also, those who are excited by Gillian Chung's name in the cast, let me clarify that the famous Hong Kong singer-turned-actress does nothing impressive in the movie. Watching "Naraka 19" is like being trapped in the 19th level of Hell…

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? The movie follows four female students – Rain (Gillian Chung), Mandy (Xian Seli), Eva (Lee Man-kwan) and Violet (Vincy Chan) (pictured above) – as they move into their dorm on the first day at the university. However, instead of preparing for their studies, the girls are more preoccupied with sending SMS on their mobile phones. One night, Rain receives a text message from Eva, asking her to meet at an abandoned building. For some unknown reason, Eva wants Rain to take her picture at the building, believed to be haunted by the ghost of a girl who had committed suicide there.
The next day, Rain watches in horror as Eva kills herself in a most gruesome and painful manner. When a police officer arrives to investigate the case, Rain discovers a cryptic message, ‘Game Over’, on Eva’s mobile. Yes, she has been playing the deadly game on her phone – and soon the other girls, including Rain herself, are ‘forced’ to play too. Are they really victims of the game? Or does the sinister-looking Professor Yim have anything to do with the deaths?

OOHs & YUCKs: According to Chinese folklore, hell has 18 levels – each for a particular sin. Can this so-called 19th level be specially reserved for those who fiddle obsessively with their mobile phones? Or is it for those who have nothing better to do than watch this amateurish production? That is what it feels like, with its unheard-of cast that seem unsure of their roles, and a story that drifts aimlessly in search of a plot. Indeed, there are some above-average CGI scenes of Hell, especially the one in which hands protrude from walls, clasping at their victim. However, for the most part of the movie, director Carol Lai opts for clichés - like dripping faucets and loud music – to grate our nerves. Some of her attempts are more funny than scary.

THE LOWDOWN: Is there a ‘pay-off’ for all our tolerance of this pseudo-horror? Maybe, if you consider the cameo by Gillian Chung's Twins partner, Charlene Choi, at the end of the movie a reward. Others may call it ‘fraud’.

THE MILKWOMAN: Love Interrupted

THE MILKWOMAN (Drama in Japanese)

Cast: Yuko Tanaka, Ittoku Kishibe, Akiko Nishina and Misako Watanabe

Director: Akira Ogata

Time: 127 mins

Rating: * * * (out of 4)

(pic: Yuko Tanaka & Ittoku Kashibe)

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? "The Milkwoman" is a simple story about 'love interrupted' set in the scenic city of Nagasaki, Japan. Besides the engaging tale about a milk delivery woman, its subplots about the city's inhabitants are also an integral part of this Japanese movie aimed at the art house crowd.

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? At 50, the unmarried Minako Ohba (played by veteran actress Yuko Tanaka) is content to live her life delivering bottles of fresh milk at dawn to houses on the hill slopes of the city. In the afternoons, she works as a check-out cashier at a supermarket. Her evenings are either spent reading at home or with an aunt (Misako Watanabe) and her husband who suffers from Alzheimer's disease.Indeed, Minako's life is so routine and regimented that her supermarket boss asks her if she is a virgin. Through recollections and flashbacks, we discover that as a teenager, Minako was in love with schoolmate Keita Takanashi (Ittoku Kishibe). Their relationship, however, was disrupted by a scandal involving her mother and Keita's father.

Since then, the two refused to even acknowledge each other even though they live in the same area - and she delivers milk to his house daily. Like Minako, Keita also lives a life of routine, caring for his wife Yoko (Akiko Nishina), who is terminally ill, and working at the Bureau of Children's Affairs. A typical highlight of the childless Keita's days is to track down street urchins who steal food from Minako's supermarket. Knowing that her days are numbered, the invalid Yoko, who has learnt about her husband's teenage romance, tries to reunite the former lovers. According to Yoko, it is the least she could do for Keita so that he won't be alone when she is gone. However, getting the two together is more of a problem than Yoko has imagined. Minako believes that it is her fate to be single. Can she defy Fate?

HIGHS & LOWS: Director Akira Ogata unfolds the story at a snail's pace, taking his own sweet time to introduce his colourful characters and even provide insights to life in the scenic town. This is fine, given that Tanaka has fleshed Minako out to be so charismatic and enigmatic that we are eager to learn more about her. Our hearts cry out for Keita too, especially when he weeps over the fate of a pair of siblings that he had to separate from their drug-addict mother. Other subplots deal with the lives of the growing middle-aged population of Japan and how they cope with the challenges.With many emotive close-ups of the faces of the lead stars, "The Milkwoman" is a tale about how Fate can deal a severe blow to lovers. Now, do we dare interpret the smile on Keita's face (at the end of the movie) as his 'victory' over Fate?

THE LOWDOWN: This 2005 drama, which is a part of this year's Japanese Film Festival in Malaysia, should be a refreshing change for those who are tired of the formulaic Hollywood fare in the cinemas today.