A Nutshell Review: Infamous
Coming up with many movies on the flavour of the day is nothing new. Robin Hood had one by Patrick Bergin and Uma Thurman going head to head with Kevin Costner's, we have the clash of the space asteroids with Deep Impact and Armageddon, and volcanic eruptions with Volcano and Dante's Peak. One inevitably is more memorable than the other, partly because of the timing of the release, as well as the stars attached to the project. The biopics of Truman Capote had seen Capote make its way here in 2006, while Infamous was being held back in its local release, until now.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/05/infamous.html
A Nutshell Review: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
First things first, you must stay until the end of credits for a scene which truly ends the movie proper, in a bittersweet manner, full of love and fulfilled promises, especially after you've experienced the double, triple, quadruple crossings in Pirates 2 which carried over onto this final chapter. If you want to know this ending because you were impatient in leaving the theatres after 168 minutes, scroll down to the last spoiler-marked paragraph.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/05/pirates-3-first-things-first-you-must.html
A Nutshell Review: Amazing Grace
Nonetheless some movies might have that one hall screening, and Michael Apted's Amazing Grace managed to squeeze past the Pirates of the Caribbean off a small hall. I was curious about the film as it offered a look behind a familiar song, which has now become a hymn naturally because of the message contained in the lyrics, written by John Newton (Albert Finney). But the movie doesn't tell you that story about the writing of the song per se, much as I thought it would, but instead told of a certain William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd), who embarks on a political journey in 19th Century England to abolish the slave trade in Britain and her territories.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/05/amazing-grace.html
A Nutshell Review: Shrek the Third
And we welcome back our favourite giant green ogre Shrek, who in its third installment, expands its mythology as well with the introduction of various characters from the Camelot tale, most notably those of Lancelot, Genevieve, Merlin and of course, Arthur himself. As we last left out heroes, Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are back to living with royalty in the kingdom of Far Far Away, now with pals Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and family.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/05/shrek-third.html
A Nutshell Review: Zodiac
Serial killers make good villainous subjects for movies, especially notorious ones who never get caught, like Jack the Ripper, spinning off countless of movie adaptations, each with its own theories on who might be the real perpetrator, and responsible for the creation of a subculture devoted to their study and conspiracy theories as natural by products.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/05/zodiac.html
A Nutshell Review: Hula Girls
This is a story about change. Hula Girls, based on true events, takes place in a small Japanese coal mining town in the late 60s, where its town folks find that with the shifting reliance on oil from coal, the survival of their town is at stake when a major company decides to retrench and cut its headcount.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/05/hula-girls-hula-gru.html
A Nutshell Review: Black Snake Moan
This movie oozes sexiness, attitude and wacky fun, with loads of quirkiness all round. With stars Justin Timberlake, Christina Ricci and Samuel L Jackson, Black Snake Moan is a movie with some of the more unconventional characters put on screen, and with Jackson on board, you can be sure that he brings forth some of that mo-fo traits that features prominently in his movies.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/black-snake-moan.html
A Nutshell Review: Men in White
Singapore's first horror-comedy in its film renaissance, Men in White (some say this has political connotations, but seriously, there is no direct jibes at the ruling party, contrary to what some might think). We're used to watching Jack Neo comedies, so it's quite easy to spot some similarities, but I guess that's in our "Singaporean-ness" that we like to jibe at public policies, and do so in coffeeshops and such, which is a set that rarely finds itself not being featured in our films.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/charity-gala-men-in-white.html
A Nutshell Review: Ocean's Thirteen
13 is not an unlucky number for this Steven Soderbergh directed franchise. With many a blockbuster presenting their third installments this summer - Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Shrek, Bourne and the likes, Ocean's 13 bested those that have already gone before, with something light and breezy, although rehashing the tried and tested formula employed in Ocean's Eleven.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/oceans-thirteen.html
A Nutshell Review: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Spider Lilies, Eye in the Sky
I've written almost two years ago that I adored the movie adaptation of Fantastic Four despite many out there who hated it to the core. Back then, what I found was right about it was its spot on characterization and its capture of the spirit which was FF, the bickering amongst its members as well as its theme on unity and family. I'm surprised that I actually predicted the coming of Galactus, though some would be disappointed with his big screen appearance.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/fantastic-four-rise-of-silver-surfer.html
Review of Spider Lilies: http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/03/hkiff-spider-lilies.html
Review of Eye in the Sky: http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/03/hkiff-eye-in-sky-gun-chung.html
A Nutshell Review: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
The poster of this animated movie looks a little suggestive, but nope, it's actually a wholesome time travel movie which explores a little on the vestment of such powers to a klutzy individual, as well as relationships, and the perennial question of what would anyone do if you have the ability to go back into time, and make changes presumably for the better.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/girl-who-leapt-through-time-toki-wo.html
Click here for a review of Spider Lilies:
http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/03/hkiff-spider-lilies.html
Click here for a review of Eye in the Sky:
http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/03/hkiff-eye-in-sky-gun-chung.html
Click here for a review of Hot Fuzz:
http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/05/eu-film-fest-hot-fuzz.html
A Nutshell Review: Surf's Up
It's easy to roll your eyes when you see yet another animated movie starring talking animals, and what more, talking penguins. Guess you can credit the popularity of our feathered friends from down south to award winning films like the documentary which started it all, March of the Penguins, and the other animated movies Madagascar (where they were scene stealers) and Happy Feet. But before you actually decide to pass on this one, Surf's Up a surprisingly refreshing tale set in the bright sunny beaches with laid back "dude" attitude, which doesn't seem to try too hard to please, and comes up just about right.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/surfs-up.html
Click here for a review of Spider Lilies:
http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/03/hkiff-spider-lilies.html
Click here for a review of Eye in the Sky:
http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/03/hkiff-eye-in-sky-gun-chung.html
Click here for a review of Hot Fuzz:
http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/05/eu-film-fest-hot-fuzz.html
A Nutshell Review: Nancy Drew
I last read a Nancy Drew book about 20 years ago, so much of my memory of the fictional character is probably faulty. From what I gathered, the books were introduced to me at an era when teenage sleuths were popular to children growing up at the time (for my case, the 80s and early 90s), with Hardy Boys, Famous Five, and of course, "Carolyn Keene"'s Nancy Drew amongst the more famous ones. I still remember those hardcover books with very dated cover illustrations, usually quite heavy (for a kid) to lug around, and the thickness of the book perhaps attributed to the fact that the words are printed in large fonts.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/nancy-drew.html
Click here for a review of Spider Lilies:
http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/03/hkiff-spider-lilies.html
Click here for a review of Eye in the Sky:
http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/03/hkiff-eye-in-sky-gun-chung.html
Click here for a review of Hot Fuzz:
http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/05/eu-film-fest-hot-fuzz.html
A Nutshell Review: Quentin Tarantino's Death Proof
After the relative success of his homage to kung fu with his Kill Bill movies, Quentin Tarantino turned his sights to the 70s exploitation movies with Grindhouse: Death Proof. However, for us outside the US, we do not get the Grindhouse double bill with Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror and a host of easter egg styled trailers, but rather we get the longer cut of both movies. Many have said that Planet Terror proved to be superior to Death Proof, but without watching the other, I thought Tarantino's offering was pretty decent stuff.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/quentin-tarantinos-death-proof.html
A Nutshell Review: Goal II: Living the Dream
Living the Dream? More like Living the Nightmare!
The first Goal movie brought plenty of cheers to football fans, who celebrated the coming of a decent movie about the beloved Beautiful Game. And it didn't disappoint, with a likable hero in Santiago Munez (Kuno Becker) in a rags to riches story, nifty footwork and camerawork, locales familiar to English Premier League fans, the seamless combination of real world match footage with fictional shots taken on match days, and access to seldom seen areas in and around the stadiums.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/goal-ii-living-dream.html
A Nutshell Review: Hooked On You
When I first heard about this movie and read the synopsis, I thought it would be one of the regular run of the mill romantic comedy productions that Hong Kong churns out every now and then. And I am glad that I'm proven wrong, that this movie had its moments which totally charmed me, not so much because of the eye candy cast, but the story. I'm sold when the story somehow touches me in ways I'd rather it not (cutting too close to experiences and personal life), but in doing so, makes me appreciate it a whole lot more. Richard has a knack of inviting / introducing me to movies that surprise me (like My Name Is Fame), and this one is no different.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/hooked-on-you-mui-dong-bin-wan-si.html
A Nutshell Review: Transformers
Growing up in the 80s, you can't help but take notice of the Transformers toys which can change from various vehicles to robots, or the cartoon series which had a pretty good run, with its fair share of spin offs having different character variations (Headmasters anyone?), settings in outer space, 3D animation (Optimus Prime as a mean looking gorilla), all great symbiotic marketing strategies between the toys and the cartoons. But one thing about the animated series though, both the Autobots and the Decepticons had lousy aim, which the Movie (1986) sought to correct, and "traumatized" (well, at least me when I was a kid watching this) kids with mortality for the beloved bots.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/transformers.html
Click Here to read a review of Hooked On You
http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/hooked-on-you-mui-dong-bin-wan-si.html
A Nutshell Review: Die Hard 4.0
John McClane, USA's supercop, returns to the big screens. being at the wrong place at the wrong time yet again, kicking some major terrorists ass since the original Die Hard way back in 1988. It has been almost 12 years since Bruce Willis last starred in the definitive cop role, which some would arguably state that Die Hard had kick started the action movie blockbusters in the late 80s to 90s.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/live-free-or-die-hard-die-hard-40.html
A Nutshell Review: The Flying Scotsman
The Flying Scotsman is a formula sports biographical movie, based on the book written by a champion cyclist Graeme Obree. As with sports biopics like Cinderella Man and The World's Fastest Indian, Scotsman tells the story of the underdog's triumph against himself and his adversaries through innovation in technique, technology, and of course, perseverance sprinkled with grit and determination. But of course, like A Beautiful Mind, there are inner demons that have to be worked out, before assailing to the summit.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/flying-scotsman.html
A Nutshell Review: My Wife is a Gangster 3
Director Cho Jin-gyu of the original action-comedy My Wife is a Gangster returns to direct this sequel. However, without the return of the titular Wife Cha Eun-jin (Shin Eun-Kyung), this movie is nothing more than just a namesake, but there's no stopping the linkage with the box office success of the earlier movies. The new Wife here (though she's actually a guest rather than a Wife) is none other than sultry looking Shu Qi, who plays Aryong, the daughter of a triad leader (what else) in Hong Kong, starring Ti Lung in a supporting role.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/06/my-wife-is-gangster-3-jopog-manura-3.html
A Nutshell Review: Invisible City
I must confess I had eagerly anticipated Tan Pin Pin's latest work Invisible City since I caught wind of its production. Given that I had enjoyed Singapore GaGa tremendously, and having had the opportunity to view Invisible City in a special bloggers' screening, I just can't contain my glee enough. But the mood I experienced when watching the movie was somewhat sombre if compared to GaGa, which had lovely tunes sprinkled around.
If I could use a word to describe Invisible City, it will be 'Important'; an aptly timed wake up call. Given the recent (coincidental) slew of news on conserving aged architectural beauties, I thought the documentary touched upon issues of importance vis-a-vis those articles, that as material things get demolished and destroyed, what's left are the memories of what once were. And when memories fade, become faulty, not get recorded in some medium as evidence of its existence, what then? It's as if what was, had fused into a part of our current e-world, something virtual and intangible, from a long time ago, far, far, away, unrecognizable.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/07/invisible-city.html
Keen to watch Invisible City and watch for free? Click on http://invisiblecity.sg to find out how - from the 19th-21st July 07! Tan Pin Pin herself will be present for a Q&A session after the screenings!
Click on the following link for the Q&A session (spoilers!)
http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/07/invisible-city.html
A Nutshell Review: The Ex aka Fast Track
If I were to look at it, I would say The Ex aka Fast Track forms a loose trilogy of sorts with regards to growing up, and somewhat like a natural progression in the different stages of life that Zach Braff's characters form when stringed together. With Garden State, it's in the 20s where you're having a feel for the ground, exploring your options and not knowing exactly what life will dish out to you.With One Last Kiss, so you think that you're dead sure about your other half, you're getting married and vowing to spend the rest of your lives together, and suddenly an ingenue comes along, and cast doubts about that.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/07/ex-aka-fast-track.html
Watch Tan Pin Pin's Invisible City for free?
Click the following link to find out how! http://invisiblecity.sg
Review is available here: http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/07/invisible-city.html
A Nutshell Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Finally, Harry Potter's gotten a decent clean cut hairstyle, compared to that ghastly shaggy dog manes that he spotted in the previous installment Goblet of Fire. The much touted scene here is The Kiss (about 1 hour into the movie), but seriously, that's much ado about nothing compared to what the rest of the movie has in store for audiences around the world. Just so you know, I've still not read any of the books by JK Rowling thus far, preferring to rely on cinematic magic to condense the ever increasing thickness of the novels into 2hrs and 10-20mins of full sensory invasion.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/07/harry-potter-and-order-of-phoenix.html
Watch Tan Pin Pin's Invisible City for FREE?
Click on http://invisiblecity.sg to find out how!
Review available at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/07/invisible-city.html
A Nutshell Review: Broken English
Broken English referred to, and this is the more obvious reference, the way English is not spoken by native speakers, thereby creating at times some comedic situations when accents come into play to dilute the actual meaning of the words. But Zoe Cassavete's movie isn't an outright comedy, or one which deals with language in Mind Your Language style. It's actually a dramatic look at Romance, from the point of view of a 30-something.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/07/broken-english.html
Watch Tan Pin Pin's Invisible City for FREE!
Click to http://invisiblecity.sg to find out how!
Review of Invisible City can be found here: http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/07/invisible-city.html
A Nutshell Review: Who Slept With Her?
The poster hailed Who Slept With Her as the "most hilarious sex comedy of the year", a classic case of tooting the horn too loudly. For sure it definitely is not the most hilarious, as most of the time, the jokes felt quite juvenile and akin to what any hot blooded lusty adolescent male will come up with.
Continues at http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/07/who-slept-with-her-aka-sexy-teacher.html
Watch Tan Pin Pin's Invisible City for FREE!
Click to http://invisiblecity.sg to find out how!
Review of Invisible City can be found here: http://anutshellreview.blogspot.com/2007/07/invisible-city.html