Category Archives: English

BEING JULIA sparks the reminiscence of glorious old Hollywood days when larger-than-life characters often portrayed on the screen and be given serious considerations by putting them into, simply, good films. As the time progressed up to date where reality-look-alike has become increasingly boring, we turn ourselves to even greater contrast in those visual-effects driven films, and once in a while, a small film like Being Julia here is released to remind us how acting, a good one, defines the quality of a film in general and to the extent of lifting up the film from its fluffiness.

Take a look of the story. The aging diva Julia Lambert (Annette Bening in her performance of a lifetime) is at the brink of her downfall popularity, not even her husband who is also the theatre manager in which they formed together (played by Jeremy Irons who seems not being able to capture comic timings) could help her finding some excitement to satisfy her own self. Not until she encountered a dashing young American (Shaun Evans) when she embarked on an illicit affair, without her acknowledgement that she was being manipulated by him for his own agenda, i.e. providing a stepping stone for his girlfriend, a new starlet Avice Crichton (Lucy Punch). Or did she really not know?

Once she got to know the games played behind her back, then the real fun of the film begins.

The storyline may recall the similarity found in All About Eve, with a hint of playfulness a la Sunset Boulevard, and who can resist the combination of both? At times funny, nail-biting sharp bantering lines continues to march throughout the film, over-the-top gestures that provide comic elements, they are wrapped harmoniously under the direction of Istvan Szabo who certainly having a good time making this film. It may not be his best as that one is reserved for his glorious Sunshine, but to see the good elements of one enjoyable film are put nicely in such a watchable presentation that never falls out of the sync is an applaudable effort, isn’t it?

Moreover so with a grand presence of Annette Bening in the house.

In the tradition of films (seem to be) catered, crafted, designed and made to one particular actress playing the designated role of their careers, such as how All About Eve means Bette Davis, Sunset Boulevard refers to Gloria Swanson, Sophie’s Choice belongs to Meryl Streep, or recent examples would give Salma Hayek is destined to play Frida, so is Annette Bening who goes further in merely playing as Julia. Seeing this film from the very first minute to the end, we will be seeing Bening embodies and steps into her character so well that we begin to forget the presence of a certain often under-appreciated actress playing the role of her lifetime. Every lines shown in her face belong to Julia’s, so do the mimics, the gestures, the grandeur movements of hers that beyond the word believable. In other words that may seem to be overtly used for some meaningless promotional advertisements of bad films, yet you can rely on me this time, I proudly state that Annette Bening is Being Julia.

What a sweet revenge it is if she wins at the Academy Awards this time, for it means a tribute and a win to Davis, Swanson, and other grand actresses who never won playing roles they know better than anyone else: a diva.

At times, I have to close my eyes, block my ears, to avoid listening to words the characters say, for they are simply too painful to hear. Not that they are bad, but they are meant to evoke your utmost sense in dealing with lies, deception, and betrayal.

CLOSER presents a close look on how one has to deal with complexity in not just a relationship or two, or not even countable as those relationships are intertwined and tangled dizzyingly to one another. Take a look.

Meet Alice, a free-spirited American girl trying a piece of her life in London who, on one clear day, stumbles upon Dan, a struggling novelist who ends up being an obituary writer, who will be falling in love with Anna, a successful photographer at the height of her career, who will be taken by the charm of Larry, a doctor with typical male-chauvinist pig character inside of him, who will be longing for Alice’s presence at times when his life starts crumbling down.

Confused? We only reach the start. The core is much more interesting to see.

Once we peek at their domestic lives, we know that we can expect something different, unlike any other films dealing with similar theme before, for this time around, Mike Nichols has returned to his roots in theatrical/stage-y manner of presenting human interpersonal matters in a frank manner that to some extent shifts towards being blatant, blunt, and brutal, in the tradition of his own Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? or Carnal Knowledge, or Wit, or even Angels in America without any advanced visual effects. The shocking effects we can expect are Patrick Marber’s intimidating and manipulative words from his own play. The words are not merely written for the sake of having scenes that flow smoothly from one scene to another, but they are created thoughtfully and crafted through the ways they are uttered convincingly so much so that we will be leaving with questions whether those words are literally real, true or even deceiving?

Or do we begin to choose to accept the reality as the way we want to perceive it as is?

The way this film is presented without any clear conscience on timeframe actually enables us as the audience to choose the angle we wish to see and interpret the story, be it seen as a harsh, funny, witty or even dramatic rendition of human relationships, in any form. And the tendency to confront ourselves with words instead of action does actually happen in our lives, as we think that we can hide under the comfort zone of manipulations and lies, yet these two will actually trap us down deeper to the holes of continuous, endless fakes of reality.

Such a heavyweight theme, don’t you think? Yet, the way these sexual matters are told instead of meaninglessly shown would not giving you hard times or painful sitting through throughout the entire duration, and I can’t help questioning whether this is Nichol’s reason on the choice of the cast. Let’s see.

Julia Roberts in her furthest departure from usual roles she has played so far, provides a certain confidence in her uptight character of Anna, yet being bombarded with the regretful fact that the role was meant to be played by the always-reliable Cate Blanchett has hindered me from giving an objective view of Julia’s turnout here. I rest my case here. All I can come up with is how I do enjoy seeing Julia here, although the execution can be triggered to a higher level.

The same case happens to Jude Law, somehow is still unable to shake-off his own persona in playing the role of Dan that actually require the actor to bear his skin through his gentleness and sweet, tender gestures suggesting playful characters. Yet, Law only manages to barely reach the surface of the character as we can still see Law carrying himself here, somehow it’s hard for me to differentiate his Dan and his Alfie in another film of the same name.

That leaves us with two actors who, surprisingly, manage to hold their own screen presence in this film strongly and superbly: Clive Owen and Natalie Portman.

Playing a tart with deceiving heart that longing for truthfulness in other human beings she encounters in her life, Portman injects a strong dose of child-like feminine characterization to her Alice, suggesting that she can be fragile yet approachable at the same time; her journey in finding herself being loved faithfully by men surrounding her would mean sacrifice that she has to endure and that makes her strong, manipulative and decisive.

Clearly this is the most mature role Portman has ever played to date, and seeing her carrying her role with vivid understanding of a woman being victimized by her surroundings leave me feeling thrilled, as every minute of her screen time would be filled with surprises clearly shown in her facial expression, and it really is hard to believe that it’s been a decade since she made an outburst entrance in Leon The Professional.

Finally, if one has to single out one performance that stands out and apart from the rest, the noble honor belongs to Clive Owen, at last playing a role that deserves our attention and suitably match his charisma, his charm and his towering presence as a character actor. We can’t help seeing his character, Larry, here as a beast and as I wrote earlier, a typical male-chauvinist pig, and we get to the part of dismissing this character further as Owen plays the character in a menacing way, plainly honest in revealing his own truest fear and insecurity over his holdups. The rising of sensitive, new age guy has been clearly defied by Owen who gives macho-ism in his character here, and being Larry enables Owen to showcase his amazing range of acting skills that would be enviable to character-actors wannabe out there. Studious character that is played without being over-acted, Larry belongs to that rarity of characters who can be both loved and loathed at the same time, and Owen does his Larry convincingly that we begin to wonder on how this man, this particular character has been living around us all this time.

Being a human being with all the failures, the risings and the longing for boredom and steadiness in relationships, I can’t help myself reeling over this film. Never before sex, lies, truth and deceits are given an intellectual treatment with smart and witty lines peppered here and there, capturing not only your eyes but also your mind, captivating your senses to begin questioning:

What is truth?

CLOSER is all about the most sexually and sensually brutal film ever.

Finding Neverland tells the story of how Peter Pan was made. Or sort of.



It revolves around the life of J.M. Barrie at his utmost lack of creativity when everything he creates seems dull or being blasted out by both critics and audience. His marriage does not even help to inspire him, until one day when performs his ‘ritual’, i.e. walking his dog to a park, he stumbles into a woman and her four children who are not like any other uptight families of early 20th century in London, they freely express themselves despite the ailing health of the mother. Yet, the adventure that Barrie and this family share together prove to be an oasis in the desert for Barrie, so much so that he decides to create the magical works of Peter Pan, and his own relieving presence in the family gradually ascends into being a father-like figure of those four children.

What a straight-forward narrative drama, you may think. A typical family drama that only suits for lazy Sunday watching pleasure of made-for-television movie, you may presume.

Whereas this movie may fall deeply to the stated categories above, the fact that it soars high above any other currently released film prove that to make a good-feel film, it takes putting a lot of efforts in how much you rely yourself on the story and how much you inject your own emotional thoughts and beliefs to the whole process of filmmaking. As making comparison should not be allowed in reviewing a work of creative process, I can’t help scratching my head to notice that this beautiful piece of imaginative tale told in imaginary narrative is made under the direction of one man responsible for the grim and bleak of Monster’s Ball, i.e. Marc Forster himself.

Unlike Wes Craven that once gone too far outselling his soul when he made Music of the Heart, this time Marc succeeds in dwelling himself as a man with a lot of pure hearts and innocent views on the magical world of fairy tale, so much so the extent that the whimsical theme in this film can be smoothly translated into visually breathtaking images that at times can be both real and dreamy.

You will agree with the statement above once you get to the scene when Kate Winslet’s character at her worst health-condition is taken to her small garden that transcends into a journey of her lifetime. Or just wait until the very last scene when all you can think of is the gradual process of questioning your own eyes: What was it that I just saw for the past 100 minutes or so? Is this a true story? Is this a true fairy tale?

Who knows? I don’t and I doubt you will do. How can we spare a time to think of that when you are fully transported to a dreamland like this? Where you can indulge your senses to Jan A.P. Kaczmarek’s beautifully composed score that marks one of the rare cinematic moments in which music scores do enhance and heightened emotional values in watching a film. Where Johnny Depp gives an understated performance as JM Barrie that, despite being overtly praised recently, is a fine example of acting skills resulted from psychological approach that instead of merely being the character, Depp chose to be interpreting the character in the most logical sense suitable to the story. Thoughtful without necessarily falling into pretentious seriousness, seeing Depp as Barrie gives a sense of approachability value that audience can directly relate themselves to him.

Yet, in terms of acting-class performance, I would give my high credits to Kate Winslet, Freddie Highmore and Julie Christie. Reliable in making her characters she played on the screens distinctive enough to stand apart from the rest of the cast, this time Winslet is given a role of Sofia, a mother-of-four who holds up on her own, a character that may seem to be destined as an embedded supporting character, yet Winslet injects a strong dose of wits and confidence that makes Sofia a strong one and essential enough in determining the plotline, as her character slowly embodies the whole mood of the story. In the same understated kind of performance as what Depp gives to the film, so is Winslet’s turn with more subdued execution due to the nature of the character’s own destiny.

Whoever is Freddie Highmore? I can’t give you any satisfying answer as IMDB or whatever movie resource would provide you with one, yet what I can say about this boy wizard is that he does not only steal the scenes wherever he is in, but he completely hijacks them with his bravura performance as Peter, the rebellious among Winslet’s boys here, in such an applaudable turn that we would not be able to catch a glimpse of fact that he has to stand on his own along heavyweights like Depp, Winslet and of course, the evergreen beauty of Julie Christie.

Christie, who deals with her past-stardom era by making turns in numerous smaller roles, again proves us that she is way beyond the word ‘capable’ in giving a certain height and credibility to whatever roles assigned to her. As a mother of Sofia who never approves and gives a chance for Sofia to live on her own, the role of this kind may be played with nothing but merely smirk or usual highbrows, but this time, Christie imbues a certain determination that in the end, we sympathize with her character instead of dishing out hers.

Watching Finding Neverland is indeed finding our own self in the world of bewilderment and fantasy because if you believe in awaking your childhood sense, you will say: I do! I do!

Let’s get it straight and done!

The year 2004 was filled with film-watching experience like no other years have ever been.

The year marked my first entry to the real world of working life, of desk-bound stressful overworked and underpaid job, which most of the times left me feeling exhausted with a little energy inside to concentrate or even just a pay a little particular attention to the films I watched.



In brief, you can’t be more right, my dear readers … I often found myself sleeping and snoozing inside the cinemas! Especially during the first few minutes, especially when the films start at 7 pm which means that I need to rush down from my work that ends at 5.30 or 6 pm or even 6.30 pm at times, by the time I was rushed into the theatre, I’ve got to take a little time to catch my breath while staring at the big screen, starting to wonder if I have missed some crucial parts.

Familiar with the scene above? Welcome to the club then.

Alas, film-going experience has evolved to become an inseparable part of our enrichment in lives. Be it for social gatherings with friends, acquintances, lovers or haters in indulging over pop-corn flicks, or providing the food for thought in watching arts-y flicks during the festivals, previews, premieres, or special screenings, the feeling of being put inside a darkened room for two or three hours of your day and watching a presentation of certain human beings’ lives as seen by a certain set of eyes has always been stamped in our habitual routine that not even temptation of pirated DVDs can ever replace.

As the years go by, so does the memory of certain films.

Certain unforgettable films.

Whereas for the list of films presented below in different categories, they have shown certain distinctiveness to be qualified as films worth revisiting, or simply remembering. These films stand out from the rest of mass products unavoidable in the treatment of films as industry, and these films prove that believing in what you create in filmmaking process shall prevail and be reflected on the big screen.

You may find disagreement here and there as I have anticipated, after all, one shall not be controlled by other people’s opinion towards a certain work of arts. The beauty of film-going experience as a communal activity is that it detaches completely from forcing one degree of perception. In fact, when you sit comfortably in those plushy seats, begins your 2-3 hours adventure of your own, starring and directed by your own thoughts, the whirlwind may be loathed, or loved.

These are my journeys.

In alphabetical order,

PAR EXCELLENTE! category:

1. 2046 (HONG KONG)



The film that has tested the cinephiles and audiences’ patience is surely worth a wait.

The latest Wong-Kar Wai’s egoistical indulgence in film-making is presented in such a grandeur style where every single scene screams for ‘arts’ and having Christopher Doyle at the helm of cinematography has never been any better.

Captivating images that speak for themselves, combined with some soul-filling scores peppered throughout that strongly injects some indelible presence (now whenever I hear Connie Francis’ “Sibonay”, all I can think of is seeing Zhang Ziyi appearing for the for first time in the film) makes you hooked throughout despite its absurdity which only exist eternally in your mind.

Surely being a fan of his previous works himself, this is the time for WKW to head an ensemble of cast other director can only dream of.

Yet, I will single out Zhang Ziyi for surprisingly carries her role in such a slicky way that will simply makes you bewildered and longing for more of her. The confidence in her performance prevails above other actors, not even Tony Leung in his most brooding role ever, or Faye Wong in her understated presence, or Gong Li in her scene-stealing role.

The picture perfect of how stylish filmmaking needs not to be over-the-top, and manages to sexily subtle its morality.

2. ARISAN! (INDONESIA)

Oooohhh! If you follow this blog religiously, you may remember how I trashed this film in my posting about Festival Film Indonesia (FFI).

I did though, I admit that. Yet, since I only blasted the performances from some of the actors here, I can’t help giving this film a high credit, for stating out loud the supposedly-taboo or potential controversies that can be smartly avoided by playfully toying along some light touches without necessarily degrading the initial intention to … show-off!

In a sweet manner, indeed. The urban theme appearing on the screen is presented in such a way of terrifyingly real, yet, its gorgeouseye-candy appealing proves to be a treat for the eyes. Yet, the strongest point of the film lies on the chemistry of Nia DiNata and Joko Anwar. Unpretentious, dreamy, blatantly honest without necessarily degrading, Joko’s script managed to balancewittiness and harsh reality some people see towards gay and hedonism issue, and he tackled this potentiallyflickering problem by taking observer’s side who could give objective point of view and not being judgmental. With such a blessed script like that, it’s up to Nia then to give a certain direction, and the path she chosecouldn’t be more tuneful. After making me scratching my head and feeling puzzled upon watching Ca Bau Kan and its misled drive towards80s melodrama, we can sense Nia was indulging herself in her free-est way of freedom, exploring her sensitivityin seeing her society and translate her views to the camera as if she has been with us throughout all this time. An outsider with a high degree of curiosity who peeks into a circle that goes wider, she represents most membersof society in general.

An Indonesian film that will surely leave its mark in the history.

Oh, one more thing.

Arisan stands out as one of the most surprising film-going experiences I’ve ever had. And to that, I salute Cut Mini Teo.

Never be a household name in the recent hype of celebrity-obsessed entertainment world nor in sinetron, she delivered a superb performance to the extent that by the first time she appears wearing a loose red T-shirt, trying to seduce her husband, we know well that she has stepped into the skin of her character, Mei Mei, comfortably, that we couldn’t even think of any other actress perfectly fit into the role other than her. On why she was missed out in FFI nomination is definitely beyond my comprehension, as to my humble opinion that Tora Sudiro and Surya Sahputra should not be cast on the first place.

3. BEFORE SUNSET

Two long-lost lovebirds found each other again after their one-nite encounter over a night-ride on a train.

They talk.

And that’s what this film is all about.

The talk of two connected souls that have been cruelly separated by the arrogance of the world and its never-ending demands to bend down to manifactured rules, conceptions, or anything that fits the narrow-mindedness of “this-is-how-you-should-live-your-life” frame. Yet, there will always be a moment of bliss in such a hectic life, in one romantic afternoon among the streets of Paris, where they stand as the silent witness of how two emotionally-attached lovers need not be politically correct in speaking out their minds, where the sky is the only limit of all conversation topics in the world one can think of, where finally, confronting the truth resulted from the longingness of quenching heart’s contented thirst is the greatest adventure one human being has to endure and to be tested.

(aduh maap, gue jadi terharu pas nulis semua itu)

Once again, Richard Linklater has done and shown how psychological, philosopical screenplay needs not be rising our eyebrows to indulge on it, in fact, isn’t love in life itself is full of lyrical words?

With such powerful script crammed with emotional lines, it is only up to the actors to carry them, and Julie Delpy, my personal preference for the upcoming Best Actress nomination race in Academy Awards, magnifies the screen with her fragile presence which simply make us longing for her words, and never once to get bored with them.

Ethan Hawke, in a supporting performance seemingly intended to boost up Delpy’s, may not be giving a heartfelt performance he once did in Training Day, yet his relaxed, easy manner reflecting him playing as himself here does add essential relief to already-refreshing atmosphere.

A film to remember, indeed.

4. ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

Have you ever been in love?

Then you know what it’s like to be in this movie. Literally.

Ask ourselves, how glad it is to be in love, at the initial stage. As the love itself progresses, you lure yourself to the web of entangled senses and illogical thoughts. Yet, at the end of it, you can only bear the pain so hurtful that you may decide to end your logic’s life.

Yes, we are all way too familiar with the story. But you may not be prepared to see this film, no matter how often you fall in and out of love.

For the first time, Charlie Kaufman’s mindful script gets a jaw-dropping visual shock that Spike Jonze himself never attempts to breach in Being John Malkovich or Adaptation.. Michael Godry, in his feature-film directorial debut, shockingly chose to go deeper by exploring what goes inside that tiny brain of Jim Carrey’s character when he goes through a painful breakup from his girlfriend, Clementine, played wonderfully by Kate Winslet who donned many inspirations of hair colors.

What we see mirrors what we actually think when we leave the door of a certain relationship, numerous memories filled the particles of brain, sometimes they are interconnected to one another, marking a difficult and unidentifiable pattern to trace. Thus, you can imagine how more complex it can be when you need to erase the memory of your past relationshipt that goes awry, and here’s what Godry excels at. The picturization of the brain itself is shown to see a collection of memories, they can be painful to remember or simply great to indulge in. The more you walk through the path of your brain, the more you realize that at the end of the day, the good memory prevails. The loving memory of how we begin the relationship, when the world is all ours in the hands of giggling lovers full of promises they speak to themselves.

The film is about revelation, that despite hatred, a relationship is built on love itself.

I shamelessly proclaim that I shed many tears upon walking out of the cinema after the film ends.

5. FACING WINDOWS (ITALY)



The first film in 2004 that I took a chance to do repeated viewings, all with paid tickets.

Imagine a world stands before you, a world of routine and normality where you are a mere humble, passive player getting stuck on them.

You’ll never know what a stranger may bring upon you.

An encounter on the busy streets of Rome in a daylight may cause your life a lifetime change at its own stake.

That’s what happens as we go along the life of Giovanna, a woman who has to sacrifice her 20s to be a breadwinner of the family, thanks to the love she bears with her down-with-luck husband, no matter that he has tremendous amount of unconditional love to her. When they stumbled upon an amnesiac, lonely old man who can’t seem to recall his whereabout, they discover that throughout the entire process of helping him finding out his existence, they do in fact helping their own existences that seem to crumble. Especially Giovanna’s.

From the hidden desire she has carefully kept from her dashing, charming neighbor to the revelation of past forbidden love, every characters in this film are connected by one boundary: unrequited love ahead of its time.

The tangibility of two-dimensional presences may be gone long enough, yet the memories of them all will forever linger on the minds and thoughts.

That is why, you will be forever put under the spell of the very last scene in this film where Giovanna’s set of sightings haunt and long for that memory.





6. IN AMERICA



At times lyrical, at times sentimental, most times autobiographical, and this time, Jim Sheridan has proved that his sensitivity is the greatest force of all.

Based on his own life experience of coming to America for the first time to try his luck, the film revolves around a family consists of a struggling actor (Paddy Considine who at both times shed and enhanced his unusual charisma), a faithful wife who goes the distance to save the mental of the family (always-underappreciated Samantha Morton in her less showy role), and their guardian angels (impossibly cute Sarah & Emma Bolger), all are bound in the longingness of stability, security and a little glimpse of hope from the toughness of New York.

Downluck after downluck, they stumbled upon one of their neighbours who happen to suffer from AIDS (played convincingly by Djimon Hounsou), and chose to live reclusively in his apartment, making him feared by his surroundings, except for that two angels who brought a bright shining light of life, and eventually brought the family itself up, although it does not necessarily mean complete …

In the tradition of recently released Nobody Knows, or Sheridan’s own My Left Foot, an inspirational drama needs not be cheesy, weepy, or worse, melodramatic.

When it comes to autobiographical picture, despite the subjective point of view the director wishes to hold, it is still considered the best to let the the occurences flow naturally,expressions caught on camera may be the sincerest acting showcases that suit well to a film of this nature.

Moving, inspiring and exhilarating as well, In America enhances my thirst for matured family drama like this.

Which turns out to be surpassed by a surprising entry from one bizarre family called …

7. THE INCREDIBLES

By any means, I challenge Pixar will be able to come up with something better and more magnificent than this.

This is it, the ultimate, the grandest, the one that defies all the common (mis)conception rules of how a good animation film should be.

C’mon, the first to get PG-13 rating, and ain’t that something?

The first Disney film that highly regards the presence of a mother as a strong-billed, decisive woman instead of a mere home-maker that will only get killed haplessly (yes folks, I’m talking about that Bambi!). Instead, Brad Bird places the role of Helen in such a vital position that it’s hard to detach her from the whole structure of the film.

Equipped with a strong sense of womanhood heard from the voice of Holly Hunter, Helen Parr, the Elastigirl would be forever noted down to history of Disney as the singular rarity of mother-character in Disney flicks, which not just tend but ALWAYS overlook this fact.

The fact that would impossibly be substituted even with the presence of such a sidekick character, a la … Edna Mode!

I wholeheartedly applaud the extra-ordinary ability of Brad Bird in coming up with a scene stealer who provide continuous hilarious laughter, and speaking of that accent, what is that? One linguist may scratch his bald head to come up with a scientific answer for this, as well as the original thought of superhero-costume-design!

No childish soundtrack, instead Brad opts for classy, jazzy swing.

No creepy talking inanimate object, instead human beings are presented at their most humane.

No sequel? We’ll see. 😉

8. KILL BILL VOL. 2

I happen to be surrounded by people who prefer the first installment. I understand why.

The first episode glares our eyes with shocking visual treatment which at times, resemble most to Japanese manga and anime, which surely will keep us captivated by those strong images. Whereas for the second installment, Quentin Tarantino departed greatly to what has been his cup of tea: punchlines, dead-panned dialogue, and this time, he enhanced them with a slick tribute to Italian western, and, old Chop-suay kungfu genre! No other director has been bold enough in making an attempt to this.

The result?

A defining contribution to the culture of pop cinema, again. Picking up what’s left on Kill Bill Vol. 1, Uma Thurman in her signature role as The Bride has finally completed her revenge. But as the saying goes, “It’s not the destination, but it’s the journey”, so does the film that revel in the process and the journey the character has to undergo before she reaches her ultimate destiny: to kill Bill, as simple as that.



Well, simple may be too simple to mention, for the entire film is wholly dedicated on bizarre elements of filmmaking peppered with surprising punchlines and banterings that at times look or sound silly and fake, as it is intended to be by Tarantino himself. The maniacal hysteria of Daryl Hannah or the brooding boredom of Michael Madsen, and the suavetowering figure of David Carradine whose character hints at fragility of a human being getting brokenhearted, they all help defining the characterization of the Bride as one helluva woman with a soft touch of delicateness, and who could be more perfect in portraying the character than Uma Thurman? The way she carries the sword, the way she stares at you, driving breezily in an open air, or the way she carresses her daughter, we see Uma not merely playing the Bride, she embodies the Bride.

In the response to the lack of strong woman character who can carry the film by herself, with a magic touch of lower-grade pop culture that has an art of its own, Kill Bill vol. 2 is one single contribution that deserves ahigh regard.

9. THE RETURN (RUSSIA)

How many times have we heard ‘growing up is hard to go through’?

How about ‘growing up is mentally challenging’?

Because it is the entry to one’s manhood?

One may call this film the most psychologically brutal film on puberty and on reaching the rite passage of adulthoodin a certain young boy’s life.

I am not sure whether I would be completely in agreement with that statement, for what follows may be strongly resembling that fact, yet what goes deeper between the characters, among the still images and wordless scenes, are more thought-provoking to explore. The smirks, the smiles, the coldness of Russian people as has been stereotyped for decades, have enhanced the calm, haunting look of the film.

The story itself revolves around a widow and her two sons at their teen years, suddenly have to face their father, the man they only know from a single photograph and he has been away from the family for 12 years. On that summer, the holiday trip proves to be one unforgettable journey that will change the course of their lives, forever.

Andrei Zvyagintsev cleverly shot the film in a bleak atmosphere without even a single glimpse of bright colors that would evoke a sense of joy, as he prefers to dwell on psychological inter-relationship among the three main characters, Andrey,Ivan, and their father.

As the film progresses, we will see that each other has kept their own hidden thoughts from each other, about each other, all these years as they are hopelessly trapped in their unfulfilled longingness of tender and care. Matched with a gorgeous landscape any budding filmmaker can only be jealous of, Andrei tactfully brings out the utmost inner acting from the two young actors who are relatively newcomers, and we can see that he gave a considerate amount of freedom for them to interpret the characters they play on their own, resulting on unbelievably natural performances that slip along the whole film perfectly.

Such a terrific swansong for Vladimir Garin, the young actor who played as Andrey, as this would be his one and only film he ever made.

10. THE TRIALS OF HENRY KISSINGER

My top-10 list ends with … an ex-minister?

Not just another ex-minister to my opinion since, well, he is the one who caused the change of many major turmoils, strategically and sporadically spread through certain keypoints that have shaken the whole world.

Within 80-minute duration of the film, the shortest among listed here, we are presented with horrifying footages that provoke many eyebrows-raising questions on the foreign political policy of United States.

After all, this is the story about Henry Kissinger, you may love or loathe him or both at the same time, but he has stood on his own, delivering many regulations, orders or acts that were condemned and praised altogether. One of the most dismissed-by-large recipients of Nobel that I can think of in recent history.

Welcome to the world of documentary, at the time when truth seems to be blurred with fiction.



You may claim that fact has become stranger than imagination, the harsh reality can be transformed into a pop-corn flick.

The reason of choosing The Trials of Henry Kissinger over Fahrenheit 9/11 or Super Size Me or Capturing the Friedmans, a few documentaries I felt lucky to see last year, could be addressed to his stature of being a larger-than-life real-life man who has gone to extremes by himself in handling political situation in such a way they had affected and altered (literally) the lives of millions. The presentation of the film itself may not be bold or innovative a la those films mentioned, yet Eugene Jarecki, the director, let his findings speak for themselves.

Like a conductor who only conducts beautifully composed piece of Strauss and still resulting in something pleasant for the ears to hear, so does Eugene here. The truth of Henry Kissinger may be objectionable, yet, history has noted.

Are we done? Not yet!

These films below are following closely behind. Ladies and gentlemen, you have no idea how much you are gonna miss if you chose to skip these films.

In no particular order,

HIGHLY COMMENDATION! category:

DOGVILLE (Denmark) resonances American way of life in a chilling manner that only Lars Von Trier would be able to direct convincingly, with the best role Nicole Kidman has ever played on screen so far.

LAST LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE (Thailand) with its dreamy-like whimsical quality proves that you can get your own film eventhough Christopher Doyle’s doing the cinematography.

LOST IN TRANSLATION states loudly in its silence that each and every one of us needs some recognition and acknowledgement of our existence, not necessarily having romance attached.

EVIL (Sweden) portrays the youth anger and rebellious manner the way James Dean would be proud of.

THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (Argentina/Brazil) charms even those anti-revolutionary style of Che Guevara with an honesty and innocence of road-trip adventure

21 GRAMS is a puzzle of human minds and their fate that will leave you thinking over about death and redemption. Naomi Watts at her darkest and most intense role ever.

BIG FISH leaves your eyes wide open in amazement that Tim Burton should have directed Forrest Gump!

THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but as harsh as a political movement should be, so is the film.

SPIDER-MAN 2 belongs to those rarity of better sequels, and this time, it defies the common concept of how a superhero should be portrayed and thereby, I accept that Sam Raimi is one visionary director.

MARIA FULL OF GRACE (Colombia) and its bleak portrayal of drug smuggling makes a way of a newly born star named Catalina Sandino Moreno.

SUPER SIZE ME shows that a nail-biting documentary can be freakingly hilarious!

HARRY POTTER & THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN is the darkest, yet the most accurate adaptation of the beloved whiz-kid story so far.

MEAN GIRLS is my pleasant surprise of last year, thanks to Tina Fey and her unbelievably tickling script that evokes genuine laughter throughout!

JAPANESE STORY (Australia) may resemble Lost In Translation a lot, yet Toni Collette carries the vehicle on her own very well, so much so that you could not help feeling symphatized.

MYSTIC RIVER has an exceptional ensemble of cast, and with the superb line-up consists of Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Laura Linney and Marcia Gay Harden under the titular direction of Clint Eastwood, expect a strong dose of good dramatic acting.

THE SEA INSIDE (Spain) leaves you smiling widely over its lift-up mood and this time, Alejandro Almenabar roams his imagination freely.

ZATOICHI (Japan) stomps its feet hard, loud and cheerful, like you’ve never seen any Japanese martial arts films before!

THE BARBARIAN INVASIONS (Canada) strikes off preachy, tear-jerker element and substitutes it with an insightful look of capitalism in telling the story of a family starts crumbling down.

LOOK AT ME (France) is painfully real and refreshing at the same time in presenting manipulative people only to stumble upon honesty and innocence that prevail at the end of the day.

SPELLBOUND sweeps off my feet over its cutesy portrayal of obsession and American dream, through a spelling contest that, believe it or not, has become a cult!

What is the Mecca for film?

Hollywood?

Unfortunately so.

Being the center of the film universe, Hollywood has been arrogantly dictating the world on how to showcase films, be it foreign-language films, which can be pretty exhilarating at times, or simply their fake, artless, commercialized, mass-produced products to the extent that it does not take any beggars to smell them as stinkers.

These films shamelessly prove my point above.

(note that the list of film below reflect what appeared on cinemas in Singapore for commercial releases, festivals, or other special screenings from the period of 1 January to 25 December 2004, by using the order of the month when I watched them)

(secondly, I do not write about these films’ synopses!)

DISHONOR! category

1. THE SINGING DETECTIVE

Whatever happened to the supposedly suave, charming, witty Dan Dark in the film portrayed as a brooding, neurotic, confused, amnesiac, and hopeless singer played by Robert Downey Jr. as if he needed to be injected with a bloody loads amount of heroine? One can’t stop wondering how possibly bad it can be if the screenplay writer himself did, in fact, write the original television scripts in which the films is based upon! After numerous bad adaptations from stage to screen, or from words to screen, now comes the masses of the batch from googlebox to big screen … The Mod Squad, anyone?

By the way, I still lure myself to the jazzy soundtrack sung with a debonair style of Downey himself. At least! Something worth noting can be derived from this messy film!

2. GOTHIKA

Halle Berry does indeed shamefully capitalize her recent status as The Star in forking out gigantic sum of money by appearing in whatever being offered to her. All these one-word-title films seem to assemble themselves marching to the garbage can, noting that you do not miss much, in fact, you do not need to be bothered watching them.

The mischievous poster and trailer did offer a good promise of a thriller film wrapped in a chilling, bluish look, only to suggest that throughout the painful 100-or-so minute of watching this film left me giggling and laughing. Oh dear!

3. STUCK ON YOU

Many puzzling queries rolling over my head:

– Do you really need having two directors in making a grossed-out flick?

– Whatever happen to the insertion of pure naturalism in previous Farrelly Brothers’ flicks?

Look, you may accuse me of being too serious in appreciating arty-farty flicks, yet I applaud There’s Something about Mary which I think is superbly done and Cameron Diaz has never been at ease with her perfectly placed comic timing, and Shallow Hal gives Gwyneth Paltrow a rare opportunity to showcase her range of acting skills. Sadly, similar notions could not be applied to this film which somehow lost its intention halfway throughout the film, while indeed it tries to capitalize the life of a Siamese twin, we were not given a slight chance of their insights which may boost the plotline.

What were Meryl Streep and Cher thinking when they agreed to sign in as cameos?

And speaking of Eva Mendes …

4. OUT OF TIME

She stole the show from the obviously-tired presence of Denzel Washington! In a wrong movie, though …

While the film clearly paid its tribute to the slick, stylish, slightly-noirish good cop vs. bad cop genre from previous decades, enriched with Miami background giving a relaxed atmosphere to the story, the film couldn’t help from falling flat in entertaining, or simply providing some sparks of interest in following the plot twists which were just predictable even if you fall asleep halfway through.

5. THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT

What if?

That’s what the tagline of this film says.

What if … the movie is not made?

Better. I won’t get Punk’d!

There’s a great difference of a smart film and a film trying hard enough to be smart, clearly the abovementioned film belongs to the second one by dangerously venturing into a theme which has a great risk to be brough up: time-travelling. Moreover, without any logical explanation accompanying the dizzying, puzzling scenes scattered throughout the duration of the film very much done in an MTV-influenced style, what appears on the screen would only evoke a sense of visual amazement without prompting the mind to question the viability of the plotline. The compromised ending was simply something forced to fill in the necessity to end the prolong story.

6. LITTLE MEN (Kazakhstan)

My Singapore International Film Festival (SIFFest) journey this year had to begin with such a shaky start, due to the wrong choice of film which certainly arose my curiosity on how the film got selected in the first place.

Perhaps the festival committee really wished to explore to as varied countries as possible, which I find it pushy to some extent, that’s beyond my comprehension.

However, to sleep during the screening done in one sunny afternoon where no trace of sleepiness was found would only strengthen my point on how the film failed to make itself as something worth-watching, as simple as that.

Audience may quick to point out on the slow pace of the film, although that might be redeemed by giggling in a silly way on some funny scenes, which are not meant to be funny on the first place for sure. The bleak presentation of otherwise a lift-up mood on the struggle of two salesmen facing the toughness of the world they live in only left me with an impression that living on Kazakhstan does indeed ask you a great deal to survive there …

7. TROY

Yay! Finally, I’ve come to my so-called favorite entry, simply because this film has a great dis-honor to be THE WORST FILM OF THE YEAR!

I found myself on a great shock of horror upon going out from the cinema while all I could grumble was, “What was that? What was I watching just now?”, which of course, all boiled down to one single question:

“How could one make such a horribly terrible film?”

I may not particularly blame Wolfgang Petersen though, or in fact indeed I do, for he did not inject his sense of artistry and sensibility as what he did superbly in his previous works a la Das Boot, or even U-571 if you ask me.

Topping the senseless direction is the horrendous butchering touch, removing the human-ly elements in the initial poem written by the great Homer, which turned out suggesting that the film is somehow based on blurping lines uttered by Homer Simpson instead.

What a waste of big budget, big biceps (of Brad Pitt), big stars, big, in the sense of grand, presence of Julie Christie and Peter O’Toole, big, nuanced performance from Eric Bana, and it’s a big bomb dropped on the knees of Hollywood to start realizing their biggest failure of the year.

8. THE STEPFORD WIVES

Lesson learnt: Never launch an attempt to modify something highly regarded as a cult!

When the original film was released on 1975, the timing couldn’t be more perfect as the world had just been awakened by the rising movement of female liberalism, thus both the novel and the film, in a lighter sense, proved to help providing some thought-provoking reactions.

If only this new remake would dare enough to do the same, not stripping those elements and replace them with unnecessary glossy images and dry, unfunny jokes that not even the A-list actors seemed to bother to immerse themselves on the lines.

Seeing the lineup of talented actors here who have often crossed one genre to another easily, we can’t help asking one thing: What were Nicole Kidman, Glenn Close, Matthew Broderick, and Bette Midler thinking when they read the script?

And enough of the suddenly-too-familiar cameo appearance from Larry King in many films, including this one!

9. THE WHOLE TEN YARDS

One can only wonder, how could that possibly be, the predecessor was a good example of how a mob comedy flick can be full of punchlines and smart jokes, while the sequel, being the sequel itself, has to try desperately hard for merely trying to be funny?

One can only wonder why there wasn’t any chance of putting the right comic timings from Matthew Perry in his usual slick style, Bruce Willis in sometimes-merciless expression, or even Amanda Peet with her manipulative girlish smile would actually work well for this kind of film.

10. THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

I know that I should not expect much from Roland Emmerich film, although his involvement in The Patriot somehow did lift up my slight believability that this man can still deliver a decent film after some “little-known” horrible pieces of junk called Independence Day or Godzilla.

Or not being a fan of action-adventure genre myself, I still find Twister entertaining, but the same reeling definitely not going to others, which include the latest offering this time, playing fool around on what’s supposedly a potential, strong theme of global warming which has been a major issue for the past few years.

Again, for the sake of milking cash by covering itself under the clout of ‘entertainment’, we were presented with mindless visual effects and thin storyline that put the charms of Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum and Dennis Quaid aside.





DISAPPOINTMENT category,





because THEY ARE JUST SIMPLY BAD!



Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason suffers from both being sequels and adapted from a sequel novel as well, and both the novel and the film receive exactly the same lukewarm reviews, yet Renee Zellwegger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth certainly enjoy their holidays here.



Bride and Prejudice shows that Gurinder Chadha needs to learn a lot about masterful skills to make a Bollywood musical and not to compromise the essential elements of singing and dancings that are supposed to make audiences tapping on their feet; however, seeing Aishwarya Rai at her utmost ease is worth the admission ticket itself.



I, Robot is an example of making a blockbuster film, put an A-list star, the box-office guarantee that overshadows everything else in the film, not to mention the ripping off the understated theme of power and oppression that could make the film a major thought-provoking work of arts, yet it chose to fall flat.

because THEY CAN BE MUCH BETTER!



Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is applaudable for its daring use of technology that matches really well to the storyline, yet one can’t help seeing that Gwyneth Paltrow seeems to be out of place since her character is unforgivably reduced to be a mere background. If only the scriptwriter adds in a lot of punchlines here and there, making her character a la damsels in 1940s films, the film would be just perfectly complete.



5×2 (France) tells its story in a way that made Memento and Irreversible memorable, yet this latest outing from Francois Ozon fails to match the hilarious, shocking elements usually found on his previous works.



Beautiful Boxer (Thailand) has all the potentials to be one admirable and adorable film that has a universal appeal due to its unusual choice of theme. However, Ekachai Uekrongtham, the director himself, is trapped into the cliche of compromising in making a feel-good flick, not to mention carrying the burden of telling a real-life story.

Final Note:

I remember this particular quote found in SIFFest’s forum board a few years back, in which the quote itself ws apparently coming out from some renowned director, he said that if you are watching a horrible film, you’d only lose your $8 and 2-3 hours of your day, whereas for the filmmakers, they lose millions of dollars.

How do you want me to react to that statement?