Bucket List

Bucket List has 2 excellent actors of our time, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman.

The two men met in the hospital, suffering from cancer. Edward Cole (Jack) is a hospital typhoon while Carter Chambers (Morgan) is a mechanic, who dreamt of being a history teacher. As both men has less than a year to live, their friendship blossomed with the creation of the bucket list. It is a list of things they thought of doing before they kick the bucket.

They went on an adventure around the world, travelling to Safari, Egypt, China, Tibet, Hong Kong, and etc. Doing things which they never try like car racing, sky diving... everything they have put on their bucket list.

Death is old and yet new to all of us. These two unlikely friends will only be found in movies and Hollywood, never in real life. The storyline is rather weak and seemingly lack of depth despite the many emotional struggles one will expect to go through if caught in their situation. And at the end of the day, you learn the basic lesson. Family matters.

Rating: 3 out of 5 fairy clouds. I expected more from these 2 veteran actors. I can only blame it on the storyline and directing.

La Môme (La Vie En Rose)

La Môme (The Sparrow), also known as La Vie En Rose, is the life story of the famous French singer, Edith Piaf.
Born to a street singer mother and contortionist father, she grew up not wanted by both parent and stayed briefly with her prostitute grandmother. Blessed with a great voice, she started to perform on the street with her father and lately on her own before she was discovered by a club owner at the age of 20. That was her lucky break.

From there on, her singing career soared. She was in popular demand, singing internationally in Europe, United States and many other places. Her lesser known private life is a tragic. Many broken hearts from one man to another, one marriage to another. As soulful as her voice and music were, they were truly a reflection of her inner emotions, hopes as well as disappointment in life.

Marion Cotillard is an excellent actress. I first noticed her in the movie Taxi (yes, the French version) and then later in Jeux d'enfants (Love Me If You Dare), and I was deeply charmed by her acting and devotion. She assimilates totally with the character she takes on in each of the movie. You can see her spectacular performance as Edith Piaf, making you feel as if you are seeing the real Edith on screen again.

It is a pleasure to watch one of my favourite singer and actress together, despite the fact they are both from different era. There are a couple of songs which I deeply love like La Vie En Rose, Milord, Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, and more. Superb movie, and portrayal of the Little Sparrow. Makes me think why all great singers during those period have such tragic lives? I guess emotions overflows when you have too much of pain. And this resonant inside us when we hear it in music.

Rating: 5 out of 5 fairy clouds. Excellent movie! Even if you do not know who is Edith Piaf, it is still a touching and amazing movie to watch.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I'm happy to see Indiana Jones on the big wide screen after its last movie, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. That was a pretty well done movie. The father and son duet is really amusing. But for today, we will focus on Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

The story starts with our famous archaeologist/adventurer Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones wrestling against the Soviet militant, in search for the none other, Crystal Skull. What exactly was the mystical and power of the ancient which the Soviet seek? Hint: The power of the mind, a potentially amazing and powerful weapon.

Then again, Indy movie wouldn't be fun without the allure of the unknown. I'm a sucker for the mystical ruins of the Inca and Machu Picchu, which is exactly why I love this Indy movie. It explored the legends, added the sweet element of adventure, and tested our imagination. I wish I'm part of the action with Indy.

As with all past Indy movie, you can expect riddles, myth, adventure, action, humour and the charming man, Dr Jones. It is all the things you expect to see in a typical Indiana Jones movie. It will not fall flat to your expectation.

However, I believe the scriptwriters over done it by adding a little too much "Indy" feel to the movie. It might be for the benefit of the younger viewers who have not much encounter with the previous series. Action is a little slow. I love Cate Blanchett and I think she is an excellent actress. But she isn't vicious and agile enough for the role of Irina Spalko.

Overall, it is still an enjoyable and fun movie despite everything being within expectation and predictable. Harrison Ford is a good actor, but it is high time he quit action packed movie. Leave it to the young guys with the nimble moves.

Rating: 4 out of 5 fairy clouds.

Iron Man... BRAVO!

I have a late night movie treat with a friend today. Iron Man is the movie I have requested to watch. I have gotten excellent feedback and reviews from everyone. I'm in TOTAL AGREEMENT with them! It is an EXCELLENT movie!

Robert Downey Jr is rather cute. Hey, it is about the man, isn't it?

Iron Man is a Marvel comics character. Tony Stark, a multi-billionaire, flirtatious and good looking playboy, adventurist and inventor, is the star of this movie. During a presentation of his latest weapon a new missile, Jericho, to the US military outpost in Afghanistan. He was very unfortunately captured by a group of terrorists known as The Ten Rings on his way back.

He was forced to build a Jericho replica for the terrorist. But instead he built for himself his 1st piece of armor suit, and henceforth destroyed the terrorist base while escaping from danger. After his 3-month long ordeal, he came to a realisation of the weapons his corporation has produced and relentlessly worked towards his new mission in life of saving the world.

It was a fun, thrilling and adrenaline pumping movie from the start till the end as you watched him researched, built and tested his new armor. Several interesting twists were added, spicing up the movie for viewers like myself. And at the end of the day, our hero, the Iron Man saves the day. In comparison to the movies of Marvel characters, this is by far the best and most entertaining.

Oh my hero...! (Note: Say this line with an adoration tone and ending it with a breatheless sigh.)

This is definitely a movie not to be missed. Do watch it even if you need to skip school or work. It is worth every cent of the movie ticket.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 fairy clouds.

Le Scaphandre et Le Papillon

Le Scaphandre et Le Papillon, also known as The Diving Bell and Butterfly, is based on the real life incident of Jean-Dominique Bauby, a French journalist and Editor of Elle magazine. He suffered a massive stroke and awoken in the hospital to find himself totally paralysed, except the use of his left eye.

I'm impressed by the director's ability to portray the life of a man trapped inside his body. A soul desperate for the extravagant lifestyle he used to enjoy while at the same time, angry and sadden by his helplessness. What is the quality of life? How about integrity? You find yourself questioning, is there hope in the world if you are caught in the same situation as him. Despite his rare condition, Bauby dictated his story to the interlocutor by blinking his eye. And he passed away shortly after the book was published.

I'm amazed by Bauby's will power and I also sympathise with his condition. It is depressing to see someone going through it. Very similar to a Spanish movie I like, The Sea Inside, which is about Ramon Sampedro. He was paralysed from neck downwards for 29 years and was fighting for his right to end his life. I admire these men in their strength, courage and passion for life, in making the best out of the worst situation.

A very typical style of french movie in adding artistry to the film so that it can have more depth. A little is fine, but too much makes the movie dull and slow without giving more insight to the viewer. Still, it is an excellent movie which is hard to direct and produce. I salute the director's effort.

Rating: 4 out of 5 fairy clouds. A movie to watch if you are able to handle extreme misery and pain life sometimes has to offer.

Lars and The Real Girl

Lars and The Real Girl is a story about Lars, who is an extremely shy man from a small town. He lives in the garage with his brother and sister-in-law, Gus and Karin. Despite being rather cute and well-liked by everyone in town, he is unable to maintain any form of physical contact or relationship with anyone, including his family.

The story took a twist when Bianca arrived. Bianca is a real doll that Lars ordered online. It is rather amazing to see how Lars manifest way to handle deep personal issues of death and abandonment which he had been struggling to do for years. On top of it, supportive family, doctor and town folk who accepted Bianca as a real woman. I guess love transcends everything in a perfect world.

As Lars learn to give love to Bianca, he also learn accept love from others. Losing his mom as a baby with no family support, Lars kept all his anger, disappointment and fear inside him for all these years. Like a blooming flower, Lars slowly opened up and took a leap out of his isolation towards the end of the movie. The story of Lars run deep on emotional issues that everyone deals with, lessen the extreme measures.

Personally, the movie has a rather intriguing story. However, I find that Ryan Gosling (Lars) still seem to lack the depth in portraying those deep emotions which Lars shouldered for many years. I do admit that it is definitely not easy for someone like Lars to walk outside his comfort zone. Tempo is a little slow but still a movie worth watching on weekend.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 fair clouds.

Broadway Beng! 3

This evening, I went to a musical, Broadway Beng! 3 at the Drama Centre, inside National Library. The main lead, Mr Ah Beng is none other than Sebastian Tan.

A lot of the jokes, songs, humorous slap-sticks are mostly in the universal language of the Bengz, Hokkien. Being a Cantonese Pedigree, I can only understand like 90% of the play. It would have been better if subtitles are provided for the hokkien jokes and dialogues.

Sebastian Tan is rather good at engaging the audience and getting them to dive into his musical performance. I applaud him for his stage effort. On the matters of the his CB (Chio Bu), though very tongue-in-cheek funny, it is a degrading Beng's joke. It can only be funny if you take it with a pinch of salt. As a feminist, I'm having a little bit of a hard time dealing with any derogative behaviours and words towards female. Then again, that's just me.

Overall, the musical wasn't as entertaining as I imagine it to be. There are a couple of interesting jokes about Mas Selamat, Maria (the Original Maid) in the Sound of Music, her Chio Bu (in She works hard for her money) and more. This musical is very much palatable to the Singapore local audience.

Personally, I do not think I will be going to another Beng's production. I do enjoy what Selena Tan has produced so far and her productions in Dream Academy. But Broadway Beng just isn't my cup of tea tonight. I can't help feeling a slight disappointment when I'm expected a good laugh.

Dan in Real Life

The movie told of the life of Dan Burns. Widower with 3 lovely daughters. A hardworking father who worked very hard to provide for his girls. During one fateful annual family gather, he met a beautiful lady in the town's bookshop. Falling in love with her, without realising she is his brother's new girlfriend.

The story is a little slow. Though the director tried to work in some subtle attraction and emotional issues for both the lead actor and actress, there is still the seemingly lack of chemistry between them both. I love Juliette Binoche and have watched a couple of her movies. But i have to say, she is rather bland in this movie.

This is one of those movies you can watch if you really have nothing else to do that day. I have to say Steve Carell is much more interesting in the movie "The 40 Years Old Virgin". I believe he has been rather stereotype by his acting skill. Wholesome and all goodie goodie angel storyline can at times make it boring.

Rating: 2 out of 5 fairy clouds.

Taxidermia

Taxidermia is one extremely unique Hungarian film. It has gory details of twisted human while at the same time it is beautifully film like an art!

The movie showcases 3 generations of different men. Starting with a soldier from World War II who is capable of shooting fire with his (ahem) penis to a glutton, love story of speed glutton and finally a man who loves embalming to death and quite in the literal sense too. Loosely inter-linking all 3 men - grandfather, father and son.

This greatly grotesque movie is shrewdly made, showing the strangely talented, creative and yet dark and twisted cinema techniques. I guess we all live in a rather dysfunctional society. If we choose to be selfish, self-absorb and living without boundary, I do wonder how many of us will end up like these 3 men in the movie. Deviant and yet alluring at the same time. Can this truly be our real form as human. I really hope not.

This Gyorgy Palfi film is worth watching. But it isn't for the faint heart. It is mind blowing till the very end of the show.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 fairy clouds for the excellent cinematography and style which not many people can achieve without making it a totally turn off movie.