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With every vote up in the air, a blind side is in order. Will Avatar be banished to the losers’ hurt locker? It takes a serious man and resident film buff like Ronald Wan to offer UrbanWire his precious annual predictions and an education on the Oscars

The Oscars race this year feels rather lacklustre, perhaps a telling reflection of the movie calendar for the past year, thanks to the writers’ strike in 2008 that seriously affected the industry, creating a ripple effect and dearth of quality screenplays. A look at the 8 major categories and I can lock in at least 6 dead certain winners. Where’s the fun then?

We know you have to win the office pool and impress the female receptionist.Well, try upping the stakes in the dramatic showdown between David and Goliath, ex-wife versus ex-husband, bomb squad versus blue creatures, $1.5 million versus $237 million, you versus the impressionable female receptionist, or simply The Hurt Locker and Avatar. Despite upsizing to include 10 nominations, the playing field narrows into a lockdown between the low-budget suspenseful war drama The Hurt Locker (picture below) and the spectacular 3D fantasy epic Avatar (picture above) in the Best Picture category.

Both films have been sweeping wins at awards’ dinners and critics’ circles, but in my opinion, the year’s best belongs to Up in the Air, the all-American movie about retrenchment, unemployment, ambitions, traditions and coping with the new world order, clearly a true reflection of our times. The Zeitgeist would agree (in fact, read about his top 10 movies of 2009). Doesn’t the Academy just love to award movies that are of the zeitgeist, of the moment (read: Chicago’s win in 2003)? How UITA lost its frontrunner momentum still befuddles me. But I digress from the Avatar-Hurt Locker love fest.

Maybe the Academy couldn’t resist some drama. After all, they are in the business of moviemaking. The recent controversy surrounding THL producer Nicolas Chartier’s ban from attending the Oscars after his email urging voters to not vote presumably for Avatar is an example of raising alarm over smoke. Plus all eyes will be on THL director Kathryn Bigelow and Avatar director, a.k.a. king of the world, James Cameron, once-married couple and present rivals in the Best Director category.

And who can resist a triumph of the underdog story? We want THL to win, not just Best Picture, but also Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. We want indie pictures to put in a good fight. Slumdog Millionaire, Little Miss Sunshine, Brokeback Mountain – these are some of the movies we were rooting for in recent times. We hear some folks still can’t quit griping over Brokeback’s loss to Crash.

Categories from Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress to Best Adapted Screenplay are locked in and those Up in the air include Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and just maybe, and I meant maybe in the strictest sense, Best Actress. And that’s because I’m in love with Carey Mulligan, whom Variety hails as the next Audrey Hepburn. Again, I digress with this crush. And so here are my humble and serious predictions for your consideration. You can paint me Na’vi blue if I don’t score at least 6 out of 8 correct predictions this time round. Eltu ayoe eywa hapxi kewong!

Best Actor

Colin Firth, A Single Man

George Clooney, Up in the Air

Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart

Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

Morgan Freeman, Invictus

Alcoholic, estranged father, triple divorcee and a has-been country singer relegated to singing in the saloons. Jeff Bridges inhabits the multiple challenging roles as Bad Blake in Crazy Heart, which is what voters love. During an early scene where Bridges reclined in a chair with his beer belly exposed and a glass of whiskey in his hand, you knew that sense of grittiness would send him on the highway to Oscar glory. Bridges is one of the most underrated – 5 nominations so far – actors who deserves to win.

Best Actress

Carey Mulligan, An Education

Gabourey Sidibe, Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

Helen Mirren, The Last Station

Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side

My heart says Carey Mulligan, but my head knows Sandra Bullock will be the sentimental favourite to win as the fearless and feisty Leigh Ann Tuohy, mother to an African-American teenager who life coached and pushed him to succeed in football. Bullock is a spitfire and the Academy loves a comeback win (after a series of flops before The Blind Side) for one of their own darlings. Brit Mulligan ranks as an outsider with her classy turn in An Education. Fingers crossed she wins, which would be a wonderful blind side.

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer, The Last Station

Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Matt Damon, Invictus

Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones

Woody Harrelson, The Messenger

Evil reigns in 2 outstanding roles here – Stanley Tucci as a serial killer and Christoph Waltz as the delicious and devilish Nazi officer Colonel Hans, who strikes fear with his cold and calculated gaze. Don’t bet against the latter evil incarnate.

Best Supporting Actress

Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air

Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart

Mo’Nique, Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

Penelope Cruz, Nine

Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air

We know Mo’Nique is a sure-win as the abusive and deranged mother of a teenage daughter. She was a monster who made us hate her despite playing a character that was supposed to win our hearts. Mothers are supposed to be nice. I wanna do a shout out to the sensational Penelope Cruz as the mistress who seduces the audience with a sexy and titillating dance number. Damn, those legs are hot! Who knew ropes could be so fun?

Best Director

Lee Daniels, Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

James Cameron, Avatar

Jason Reitman, Up in the Air

Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker

Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

We’re about to witness history here. Kathryn Bigelow will be the first female director to win the award for steering The Hurt Locker. Bigelow worked magic not in the explosion but in the sequence leading up to it, the minutes, the seconds and suspense that is killing the audience. It’s a masterful and realistic work of Hitchcockian suspense – way better than rendering 3D effects on a computer.

Best Picture

An Education

A Serious Man

Avatar

The Blind Side

District 9

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

Up

Up in the Air

Stranger things can happen when it comes to a Best Picture. Gatecrashers (Crash), surprised winners (Shakespeare in Love) and those with momentum that never made it. Up in the Air is an example of a piece of work with great buzz as early as last autumn, but somehow the pendulum has swung in The Hurt Locker’s favour after it won several awards, including its esteemed win at the Directors Guild of America awards.

The category takes another strange or complex turn with a new voting style: voters vote in order of preference, which means every film gets a vote, so it boils down to the second, third or even fourth choices. This translates into a tight race hence many are throwing Avatar into the mix for a two-horse race thanks to its populist wave.

I’ll go with The Hurt Locker simply because it has momentum.

More insights on the 10 nominees here.

Best Original Screenplay

A Serious Man

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

The Messenger

Up

It’s a tale of 2 brilliant screenplays so vastly different in their treatment – one doesn’t say much except to build on what is unseen and the other talks way too much, smacking of wit, pomposity and fun. We’re referring to The Hurt Locker and Inglourious Basterds, the 2 films locked in a tight race. Quentin Tarantino is such a fave with actors and actresses in the Academy so the lobbying might help. We’ll go with The Hurt Locker considering its potential in Best Picture. Usually, a Best Picture and Original Screenplay go well together, like entrée and dessert.

Best Adapted Screenplay

District 9

An Education

In the Loop

Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire

Up in the Air

It’s my favourite film of the year so I will be partial and generous in my plaudits here: The writing is sharp, clever and lucid, possessing a playful wit. Jason Reitman proves he can write and direct and after 3 successful features (Thank You For Smoking, Juno and Up in the Air). It hurts to know UITA might not win Best Picture, but at least, it lands and wins something.

And the rest of the categories:

Best Animated Film – Up, up and away!

Best Art Direction – Lush forest, forest fairies and those darn mountains hanging in mid-air! Somebody bring me to Pandora. Avatar by a mile.

Best Costume – It’s a fine, fine line between fashion and costume and the pieces in Coco Before Chanel serve the film well.

Best Cinematography – Again, bring me to Pandora. In 3D. Avatar, no contest.

Best Documentary – The Cove. Inspiring, moving and this is how a documentary is supposed to be made: with bravery and passion.

Best Film Editing – How do you create suspense? Cut scenes according to precision (wires, facial expression, cutting wires, facial…boom!). Kudos to The Hurt Locker.

Best Makeup – I’ve no idea and it’s the strangest category with 3 nominations only. Say, Star Trek?

Best Music (Original Score) – Avatar. Hello? It’s James Horner, the Titanic man.

Best Music (Original Song) – ‘The Weary Kind’ in Crazy Heart. That song has so much gravitas especially after you’ve watched the film.

Best Sound Editing – The Hurt Locker.

Best Sound Mixing – See above.

Best Visual Effects – No brainer. Give it up for Avatar.

Do you agree with Ronald’s predictions? Take the challenge! Let’s see who shall paint who blue! Comment away.

J.K Rowling’s beloved conception of a boy wizard who discovers his true identity in the world of talking spiders and sleek flying broomsticks in his quest for an ultimate showdown with the Dark Lord is surely the template for the newest kid on the old fantasy block.

They say that imitation is the best form of flattery. But I digress.

The Lightning Thief, Rick Riordan’s bestselling children fantasy that is alike Harry Potter in so many of its elements, takes its shot at joining older and more established film franchises with its first big screen movie adaptation. The story gives a contemporary, pop culture twist to ancient Greek mythology, making it all the more fun and appealing to a young audience: the Empire State Building is actually Olympus, home of the gods, the Underworld is below Hollywood, and every Greek god that lives in the heavens also has an updated 21^st century persona. (Well, if I were Hades, I’d take a Mick Jagger human form too!)

As with previous fantasy novels that have been brought onto the silver screen, the books are infinitely better. While the first of the Percy Jackson & The Olympians print series was lavish on details of its hero’s epic adventure to the Underworld and his side quest to find out more about his heritage (his mother is mortal, while his dad is an ancient Greek god), the movie had streamlined the book’s 375 pages to a 119-minute film that’s bigger on its visual effects than its flimsy plot.

Zeus (Sean Bean), ruler of Olympus and god of the skies, accuses Percy Jackson, son of the sea god Poseidon (Kevin McKidd), of stealing his master lightning bolt that’s the most powerful one on earth and the heavens as well. The teenager has 10 days before the summer solstice to return the bolt to its master, before an apocalyptic war so disastrous and destructive even mankind won’t be spared, begins between the gods.

So now, Percy must travel to Half-Blood Camp, a lousy reference to the title of the sixth Harry Potter book, where he will train in swordfighting and learn more of his long ancestral past before he begins on his dangerous quest to the Underworld.

Joining him on his Herculean mission across America is the daughter of the goddess Athena, Annabeth Chase, who is played terribly by Alexandra Daddario because she tries too hard to ape Hermione Granger, and the satyr Grover Underwood, who’s reinvented by actor and funnyman Brandon T. Jackson to reflect a more comedic personality onscreen than the timid role he played in the book.

Undoubtedly the best looking of the ensemble cast, Logan Lerman (3:10 to Yuma) stars as the titular hero. His cheeky grins and mythical god image are set to put him on the radar of screaming fan girls worldwide, even though he makes you barf whenever he tries to get all emotional during the film. The scene where Percy had discovered the sacrifices that his mum had made for him after she had supposedly passed away is a reason enough to send the actor for some classes that the scriptwriter should tag along for as well. “She did all these for me? Why didn’t she tell me earlier?” says the boy who has just lost his mother, with a few drops of teardrops glistening in his sparkly blue eyes. Double barf.

The strong supporting cast that includes Pierce Brosnan as Chiron, trainer of heroes and half-man half-horse, Uma Thurman as she vamps it up as the seductive Medusa (who has little snake friends on her head where her hair should be), and Sean Bean, fans may remember him as Boromir from the Lord of the Rings series, who plays the angry lightning god.

However, the action sequences were jam-packed with fast cuts and spectacular digital effects that are worth the value of the movie tickets alone. This comes as no surprise given director Chris Columbus’ track record with big budget action-packed pictures like 2 of the Harry Potter film franchise and the Fantastic Four films. Whether Percy is battling the gargantuan Minotaur or the 5-headed fire-breathing Hydra, the film is rapidly paced to keep you at the edge of your seat while throwing up some dazzling lighting bolts and nimble swordplay in the air.

By the first 60 minutes, most people who are able to follow the poorly developed story would have guessed the identity of the original lightning thief already, which is such a letdown considering that the author of the books had gone to such great lengths to keep his readers in suspense right till the last chapters. Screenwriter Craig Titley had also forgone some of the breathtaking moments in the book, such as the first time Percy had learnt to will water to his advantage in Half-Blood Camp and the taming of the ferocious 3-headed dog Cerebus by the sharp-witted Annabeth, for a much looser narrative that would have buckled in the film if not for its strong visual support. Perhaps the director should have been more faithful to the original story that made Riordan’s book a major bestseller.

The ultimate showdown in the book between Ares, the war god, and Percy was also scrapped in favor of a completely new face-off where the lead character summons water in air bending and gravity-defying fashion to defeat the main antagonist. The consequences of doing so may spill over into the subsequent films where the additional arc of Percy’s bitter relationship with Ares will call for additional screen time and development.

Forged with danger, suspense, action, evil dark lords, and even a cheesy romantic subplot, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is poised for big numbers at the box office. The heroic saga made and marketed to capture of some of the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings colossal fan base will inevitably do so, as movie-going audiences get their fix of magic and glitter in a year that’s quickly shaping up to become one in celestial territory, given the upcoming release of mega blockbuster Clash of the Titans on Jan 25 in Singapore that is also based on the legends of greek god Perseus.

UrbanWire gives Percy Jackson & The Lightning Thief 2.5 out of 5 popcorns.

Release: 11 Feb (Singapore)

Duration: 119 minutes

Rating: PG

Language: English

Genre: Fantasy / Action

Director: Chris Columbus

Screenwriter: Craig Titley

Cast: Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Steve Coogan, Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Kevin McKidd

The Spy Next Door was released in cinemas just a month ago, and Jackie Chan churns out another offering in time for Chinese New Year and Valentines’ Day. He plays the role of the Foot Soldier and sole survivor of the Liang army in action-comedy Little Big Soldier. Set in some hundred years B.C., before the emperor of the Qin Dynasty unified the country into one China, the plot revolves around the fictional encounter between Jackie’s character and the General (played by Wang Lee Hom) of the Wei troops who ambushed and triumphed over Liang.

Their fate began when the Soldier, whose greatest wish is to lead a peaceful life on his own farm, captured the injured General so he may exchange his captive for a great reward, including 5 mou [an Chinese unit to define area, where 1 mou ≈ 667m²] of land. The duo bickered and argued along the way back to Liang, while collaborating at crucial times to escape from tight situations, including a ferociously hungry bear and a native tribe intending to enslave them.

^{The Foot Soldier (Jackie Chan, right) holds the General (Wang Lee Hom) captive in hopes of exchanging him for a great reward from King of Liang.}

As with all movies with Jackie Chan’s name, there were lots of fighting scenes with cheeky humour smack in the middle of kicks and punches, especially the several exchanges between Soldier and General. It definitely lived up to expectations of its genre, and you’ll walk out of the cinema mimicking the Soldier’s pet phrase, “挺好的 (Not bad)” or hum the song that belts out the route to his home from the Mountain of Liang.

^{The Foot Soldier (Jackie Chan) and the General (Wang Lee Hom) often exchange blows throughout their journey.}

^{The Foot Soldier (Jackie Chan) and the General (Wang Lee Hom) often exchange blows throughout their journey.}

Lee Hom’s realistic portrayal of the General came as a pleasant surprise, as his well-established image of a talented, gentlemanly musician conflicts with the general perception of, well, a General. The 33-year-old brought out the proud air and high-and-mighty aura required of the role through his stern facial expressions and glares.

^{Wang Lee Hom as General of Wei army}

^{Wang Lee Hom as General of Wei army}

Besides the Taiwanese heartthrob, another eye-candy to look out for would be Steve Seung-jun Yoo, former Korean pop idol and new addition to Jackie Chan’s entertainment management company, who makes his big screen debut as Wen, the Prince of Wei, and showing off some well-toned abs and biceps.

^{Steve Yoo as Wen, the Prince of Wei}

^{Steve Yoo as Wen, the Prince of Wei}

However, it’s advisable to leave your logic and reasoning outside the theatre before stepping in. The best way to enjoy this 95-min chain of events is to treat each scene as separate entities, or you may be yawning and checking your watch by the time General caught Soldier’s virus of singing to the mountains. A range of random characters appearing out of nowhere, such as the forest natives and the scout from Liang who never seems to understand the situation, doesn’t help reduce the confusion either.

^{The Foot Soldier (Jackie Chan, right) and the scout from country of Liang (left)}

Remember to stay back for a while until the credits end to catch the hilarious behind-the-scenes footage and take a peek into the NGs and instances of Jackie fumbling his lines.

Release Details:

Title: 大兵小将 Little Big Soldier
Opens: Feb 14 at Cathay cineplexes and other local cinemas
Duration: 95 mins
Language: Mandarin (with English subtitles)
Rating: PG
Genre: Action Comedy
Director: Ding Sheng
Cast: Jackie Chan, Wang Lee Hom, Steve Seung-jun Yoo

6 years ago, Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon, Braveheart and The Patriot) decided to take a break from acting and went on to work behind-the-scenes, directing The Passion of the Christ in 2004 and Apocalypto in 2006.

It’s then with piqued interest that Gibson returns in front of the camera in the film adaptation of 1985 British drama serial Edge of Darkness, as a police officer no less, after more than half a decade off screen.

The story revolves around Detective Thomas Craven (Gibson) of the Boston Police Department who investigates the murder of his MIT-graduate activist daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic). Craven soon discovers that his daughter’s death by a shotgun round to her chest on the doorstep the day she decides to come home was more than he could’ve imagined.

The case leads him into a world of government conspiracies and cover-ups involving a Massachusetts-based nuclear research facility called Northmoor and its boss Jack Bennett (Danny Huston). He eventually becomes a target of the very people he sets out to catch.

From the get-go, the film is in good hands with director Martin Campbell and producer Michael Wearing, who were also responsible for the drama series that gathered 6 accolades at the 1986 BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards.

Gibson gives a commanding performance throughout, and to be honest the film really is him all the time. In essence, this is the perfect role for an obviously aging veteran actor who looks visibly haggard and sports greying hair with a receding hairline.

Still, the 54-year-old manages to hold his own among younger counterparts in the action department, unleashing heavy blows and displaying surprising agility in fight scenes that seem to come with ease. The showing accuracy in shooting a moving target (in this case a person in a car rushing head on at him) in another scene involving an attempt on his life is evident that he packs as much punch.

British actor Ray Winstone (Beowolf, Fool’s Gold) as CIA agent Matt Jedburgh (originally to be played by Robert De Niro), who’s sent to prevent Craven from “connecting A to B” in his investigation is notable. Though he doesn’t have many appearances, Winstone performs admirably alongside the main character.

His character displays a cold, cynical front while from time to time showing hints of support and admiration for Craven and his cause.

The storyline is also well thought out, delivering an adrenaline pumping hook to the senses just when you think the events unfolding in front of you are getting a little bland. On hindsight though, the movie seemed a little draggy at some parts, especially as it isn’t exactly the typical gun-slinging action cop film you might be used to.

Fight scenes and shootouts are significantly toned down compared to previous Gibson films like Lethal Weapon. Instead, the movie chooses to play more on the emotions and investigative skill of Craven, so there’s understandably a significant proportion of the film spent talking and going around to interrogate people.

However, don’t expect the dialogue to be particularly deep. Like many dark police films these days it packs a substantial amount of expletives into character interactions, making the film’s rating in Singapore a not-so-squeaky-clean NC16.

Ultimately, Edge of Darkness is a fitting re-entry into acting for the Academy Award-winning director, and combines the emotional capability he displays in The Patriot and Braveheart with the familiar detective role in The Lethal Weapon he is equally known for.

This isn’t by any account one of the best films out there, nor is it very likely to be as highly grossing as the more recent popular titles, but still manages to offer movie goers the variety of both good action and some intelligence, so as to appeal to a wider audience. A decent watch all round.

Release Details:

Opens: Jan 28
Duration: 117 min
Language: English
Rating: NC16 (Violence and Coarse Language)
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Martin Campbell
Cast: Mel Gibson, Ray Winstone, Bojana Novakovic

When God loses faith in man, a legion (described as an army of between 3,000 and 6,000 by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary) of angels is sent to exterminate humankind forever and bring an end to the continued degradation of our society.

These angels, instead of swooping in to take us out with wings and all, possess the bodies of weak-willed people and give them razor sharp teeth (all the better to eat you with) and the ability to shape-shift into long-limbed fast moving humanoids (all the better to grab you with) to bring about the apocalypse.

Thankfully, one of those originally meant to destroy all life on planet, archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) turns against God to protect a certain pregnant mother (Adrianne Palicki) in a diner in the middle of nowhere whose unborn baby can “deliver what He (God) needs” instead of “what He wants”.

This is Legion, 2010’s first major disappointment.

Despite a relatively decent casting which includes Bettany (A Knight’s Tale, The Da Vinci Code), veteran actor Dennis Quaid (The Day After Tomorrow, Pandorum), rapper-turned-actor Tyrese Gibson (2 Fast 2 Furious, Transformers) and Lucas Black (Jarhead, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift), the movie provides little more than a few action scenes peppered with corny, predictable one-liners.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, except that with this flick, plenty of things don’t quite seem to make sense.

First of all, despite its apocalyptic plot, surprisingly few of the good, fangless people actually die, unlike in recent similar-themed films such as The Day After Tomorrow or 2012.

Traditionally speaking, movies such as this need a good mix of both compelling action and story telling. Unfortunately, Legion had neither.

Another contributing factor is the film’s length. At just 100 minutes, there are even animated films longer than it. This means that the depth the plot can go into is compromised.

Even so, the storyline ended up pretty draggy, a far cry from the amazing trailer that released in August last year.

Action scenes, while decently put together, came at weird junctures of the movie and were unusually spaced out; the first of which occurred right at the beginning before a whole lot of dialogue comes by to put you to sleep and a final battle wakes you up again just before the close.

The action wasn’t even particularly enjoyable, as it seemed that all it took were good ol’ automatic weapons to effectively stop every wave of angel-possessed people, despite Michael’s incessant warnings that “they’re coming”. You wouldn’t be blamed for expecting more from God’s army.

Even the final big fight, in which a sea of attackers surrounded the diner causing you to truly fear for human lives, ultimately didn’t even happen as another archangel, Gabriel, gets involved by busting into the diner for a one-on-one duel with Michael, leaving the rest of the angel army standing outside like, well, zombies.

It is little wonder the film turned out so wrong. While director Scott Stewart’s resume boasts recent hits like Grindhouse, Die Hard 4.0 and Iron Man, all of which he played the part of an uncredited visual effects senior staff member, this is the first full-length feature film of his career, and it really becomes clearer as the movie progresses.

For those expecting this movie to be similar to the 2005 flick Constantine, prepare to be sorely disappointed, as Legion displays none of the plot development and character depth that the former had.

Despite this, the main protagonists’ performances were admirable albeit restrained to a certain extent by the storyline and plot. This was showcased mainly halfway through the movie when the action came to a temporary standstill, allowing some kind of character interaction.

Still, the movie overall left too many questions unanswered, which most often points towards the possibility of a sequel, but with the first movie as it is, do we really want one?

Like the apocalyptic films of the past decade such as The Day After Tomorrow and 2012, a sequel wouldn’t be required so they really should’ve tied up as many loose ends as possible.

At the end of the day, Legion displays some traits of formerly successful end-of-the-world films, but fails to deliver that final sinking punch. What a way to kick off the new decade.

Release: Jan 21
Duration: 100 min
Language: English
Rating: NC16 (Coarse Language and Violence)
Genre: Action/Fantasy/Horror/Thriller
Director: Scott Stewart
Cast: Paul Bettany, Dennis Quaid, Tyrese Gibson, Lucas Black, Adrienne Palicki

Kirk Jones, the man who gave us the laudable comedy Waking Ned Devine, tries his hand at a sentimental film, but his efforts will leave you feeling anything but fine.

The British director’s remake of Giuseppe Tornatore’s 1990 Italian film, Stanno tutti Bene (Everybody’s Fine), is overtly mushy – and not in a good way.

Robert De Niro plays Frank Goode, a widower who decides to travel across the country to visit his 4 grown-up children – David (Austin Lysy), an artist in New York, Amy (Kate Beckinsale) an advertising executive in Chicago, Robert (Sam Rockwell), an orchestra conductor in Denver and Rosie (Drew Barrymore) a Las Vegas dancer, who all claim to be far too busy to visit him.

Frank Goode made a living by coating America’s telephone wires in PVC to protect them. However, his health declined when he contracted a lung condition, requiring medication, due to the inhalation of harmful gases during work – a fact played up later, in a rather devious manner to tug at your heartstrings.

While he devoted his entire life to protect the lines of communication used by other people, Frank was simply unable to maintain those cords among his family after the death of his wife. An irony painstakingly established in the movie as he journeys to visit his first son. But the ironic detail would’ve been much better appreciated if it was mentioned in passing and left to the audience’s interpretation rather than being made the subject of a 5-minute long conversation.

This is a recurring trend as every plot point in the film is carefully explained and Jones seems to display a tendency to believe that everyone who will be watching his motion picture is only fortunate enough to possess half a brain.

Although it’s obvious from De Niro’s wistful expressions that what he sees upon looking at his children isn’t the grown-up but instead, the child that he used to care for, Jones inserts scenes of actual kids to get this element across.

When Frank arrives at his first stop, he’s disappointed to find that David doesn’t seem to be home, and this is when the only saving grace of the movie is revealed; the cinematography.

The scene of a dejected old man, sitting alone on the steps leading up to an empty apartment, is presented in a skilful manner. And it’s the cinematography rather than the annoying soundtrack that captures the sadness of the moment.

The use of music in this film is both unimaginative and blatantly manipulative. Just before the possibility of Frank meeting 1 of his brood, the music will rise up in an uplifting melody and almost immediately crash into a swell of sorrowful tunes as it becomes apparent that the widower is about to be disappointed.

The poor musical score comes as a huge surprise, seeing that Dario Marianelli, a Golden Globe Awards winner for Best Original Score, is the man responsible for the film’s music.

As Frank makes his way from child to child, it becomes increasingly apparent that his children are hiding something from their dad. And if the evasive behaviour exhibited by the 3 siblings when questioned about the whereabouts of David isn’t enough of a hint to moviegoers that the painter is in trouble, the awkwardly introduced scenes of hanging telephone wires overlaid with anxious conversations between the siblings about the fate of poor David, will definitely get the point across while at the same time insulting your intelligence.

During each visit, it’s revealed that the siblings aren’t just hiding the whereabouts of their brother David, but are lying about significant details about their lives as well.

Amy and Rosie go through a huge amount of trouble to hide these facts from their father and Rosie even goes as far as to borrow a penthouse from a friend and to rent a limousine to pick her father up.

What could compel them to go so far to hide the truth from their father?

Dad it seems “worries too much when not everything is perfect.”

With a whole plethora of possible reasons for extreme levels of deception, Jones probably didn’t spend a great deal of time deliberating before settling on this rather unconvincing plot hook.

Although the film is pretty much all about Frank Goode, it’s the performance by Sam Rockwell as Robert that steals the show. Rockwell convincingly portrays the bitterness felt by an individual who grew up afraid of falling short of his father’s expectations in an argument he acts out with De Niro over supposedly lying to the latter about being a music conductor.

This was the only scene in the entire movie that attempts to establish that the widower might’ve been a fearsome disciplinarian of a man. Up till that point, De Niro only managed to present Frank as a milquetoast, easy going old codger.

This cloyingly sentimental film is a prime example of how, no matter how talented the cast of a movie may be, a film that’s stricken with a bad plot is beyond saving.

At the end of the day, this film’s quest to stain your cheeks with tears feels rather contrived and rings false at almost every turn.

The UrbanWire gives Everybody’s Fine 2.5 popcorns.

Release Details:

Opens: Jan 21 (Singapore)
Duration: 90 minutes
Language: English
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Director: Kirk Jones
Cast: Robert De Niro, Drew Barrymore, Sam Rockwell, Katherine Moennig, Kate Beckinsale, Austin Lysy
Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Singapore

^{(Images courtesy of Yahoo Movies)}

No need for any plot introduction. You’ve watched most of this movie already. This tough-guy-nanny-handles-kids and kids-triumph-over-baddies storyline is so overused it’s surprising no screenwriters have been sued yet. Think The Pacifier and replace some elements with the Home Alone series, complete with a hint of Spy Kids. Then again, if muscle-bound governator Arnie and the Rock have suffered indignity at the hands of pre-teens, why not Jackie Chan?

The Spy Next Door is Chan (The Forbidden Kingdom, Shinjuku Incident) now a geek named Bob Ho. He also happens to be boyfriend of a divorcee (Amber Valetta), who has 3 cute brats (Madeline Carroll, Will Shadley, Alina Foley).

To cut a long story short, the brats don’t like Bob, yet Bob gets to babysit them, evil Russian baddies come after Bob because he turns out to be a really cool spy. Brats see Bob kick some ass and suddenly want him as their father, wedding bells chime, and wait – Bob’s real name isn’t Bob! Surprise, surprise.

The film opens with a series of clips showing Jackie Chan’s stunt performances in various previous movies like The Tuxedo. Sadly, that’s the most exciting fighting scene you’ll see here. Age must finally be catching up with the 55-year-old kungfu superstar, and this movie appears to be his desperate attempt to pave a way into the field of family entertainment to stay on in this industry.

But if you’re not looking for kick-ass action scenes, have an annoying kid you need to please, or simply have too much money, then this film is for you.

Only a young audience will accept the ridiculous clichés thrown at them in the movie. The Russian spies are bumbling, menacing-looking boneheads who will stand still and wait to get shot by the genius kids who can perfectly operate high-tech spy equipment as soon as they lay their grubby hands on them. An intelligent boy who can operate a tracking device definitely knows his way outside his neighbourhood enough to cycle to the dilapidated shack (that may be just somewhere down the street) where Jackie Chan is preparing an ambush for the baddies.

Maybe there’s something emotionally liberating for a child to watch another fellow child hate a grown-up, be spoilt and rotten, and get away with it.

So if you’re 9, you’ll like this movie. Maybe.

UrbanWire rates The Spy Next Door an almost waste of time. 2.5/5.

Photos courtesy of movies.yahoo.com

Release Details:

Opens: Jan 15
Duration: 94 min
Language: English
Rating: PG
Genre: Action/Comedy
Director: Brian Levant
Cast: Jackie Chan, Amber Valletta, George Lopez

If you’ve ever wondered what’s behind your friends’ “It’s Complicated” relationship status on Facebook profiles, this film might be a good gauge – but only if those friends are your parents’ age.

Nancy Meyers directs It’s Complicated, which has garnered her a nomination for Best Screenplay and Best Motion Picture in the Golden Globes. The romantic comedy veteran also directed What Women Want and Something’s Gotta Give, which shows us her ability in delving into the love life of women older than those you’d expect playing the lead in Hollywood.

You could say she’s chasing after the silver dollar, seldom served by most of the Hollywood fare, but Meyers knows just what her audience wants, or at least dreams of. It’s Complicated is escapism for the middle-aged woman at its best. It’s any divorcee’s 2-pronged fantasy – getting back at the ex and finding love again.

That doesn’t mean audiences in their 20s won’t enjoy this laugh out loud comedy though.

Meryl Streep plays Jane Adler, a self-reliant divorcee, who leads a Martha Steward-esque lifestyle. She lives in a dream house in picturesque Santa Barbara, runs a successful bakery, and also has supportive friends, a tight-knit family and an ideal son-in-law to-be.

Along comes her ex-husband Jake (Alec Baldwin), who has remarried to a younger woman, yet is smitten by what Jane has blossomed into since the divorce. During their son’s graduation, they hook up after a drunken night out and old flames are fanned. But to complicate matters, Jane is also seeing Adam (Steve Martin), an architect hired to remodel her house.

Not surprisingly, Streep, who holds the record for both Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in the Comedy or Musical category in the 67^th Golden Globes for her role here. She only lost the award to her own performance in Julie & Julia. As usual, she does a fantastic job. As the confused divorcee, on the cusp of starting/restarting a relationship, she’s natural and a delight to watch as she convincingly teeters between her 2 suitors. It’s just 1 suitor less than what she had in 2008’s Mamma Mia! One can understand why she’s one of the few actresses in Hollywood who, even at her age, plays the lead, and gets the devilishly handsome man despite her less than stunning face.

Any doubt that the 50-something-year-old cast won’t appeal to younger people was quelled by the sight of the cinema filled with 20-somethings, responding to the jokes with easy laughter. Who wouldn’t? The dialogue is funny and entertaining – for instance, Jake tells Jane “I’ve got 3 grown kids and I’m going to kindergarten interviews, I’m a walking cliché” – something people of any age group will enjoy.

Younger audiences can also look out for John Krasinski. The actor, most well known for his role as Jim Halpert in The Office, a television mockumentary series, manages to inject comic relief, despite being cast as one of the secondary characters. In fact, as the oldest Alder daughter’s fiancé, the ‘outsider’ looking into the family drama supplies some of the better laughs in the film, mostly due to his amusing facial expressions.

Central to the film is the idea that you can have fun at any season of life, and the oldies’ idea of fun is surprisingly similar to ours. Jane, Jake and Adam, all well in their 50s get away with acting like teenagers – they appear at parties high on pot (marijuana) and fall in and out of relationships. In contrast, their children (for the most part) are completely independent and behave more mature than their own parents. While an older audience might associate this with reliving their youth, younger audiences will find this fairly ridiculous.

The real issue here though, is that you fail to sympathise with the right characters. Jake is an amusingly charming but obnoxious jerk of an ex who prances back into Jane’s life expecting eager arms. This is fine, except Adam’s nice guy architect, the one you should be rooting for, never gets fleshed out properly. He’s all smiles and sensitivity, but not much more than that. As a result, he remains 2 dimensional and uninteresting, and there’s minimal emotional investment in him all the way to the end of the film.

The same goes for the 3 Adler children and Jane’s friends who only have brief appearances, and are conveniently ushered to the background so the affair can develop. Her friends don’t serve any other purpose in the film either, beyond serving as an outlet for Jane to share her confusion about her state of affairs.

All in all, watch It’s Complicated as a date movie, or simply for entertainment, but don’t expect anything deeper than that or you’ll be in for disappointment.

Release Details:

Opens: Jan 14
Duration: 120 min
Language: English
Rating: NC16
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Director: Nancy Meyers
Cast: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, John Krasinski

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The first impression of The Blind Side from its 150-second long trailer is certainly underwhelming, with its seemingly cheesy plot, mushy dialogue and yawnfest of a story. Even its promotional poster featuring a petite woman gently guiding a giant of a man would draw a puzzled look from most people.

But any expectations you have are likely to be exceeded after you actually sit down and watch the movie. Set in the southern state of Memphis in the United States, the production costs only US$29 million (about S$40.3 million), which is relatively low budget in Hollywood terms. Yet during its first 7-week run, it manages to hold its own against the likes of bigger blockbusters like sci-fi mammoth Avatar and the slick and sexy Sherlock Holmes, grossing over a cool US$200 million, according to the Hollywood Insider.

But all that’s possible because the picture is a powerful and true story in itself – one that must be told. A homeless black teen (Michael, played by Quinton Aaron) is literally scooped off the freezing streets by the altruism of a blond woman, who takes him into her family and makes him feel like he belongs.

Sandra Bullock is without a shred of doubt, the megastar of the 128-minute feature. Formerly known for her funny lady turns in popular romantic comedies like The Proposal and Miss Congeniality, her career has taken a surprise turn with this compelling and emotionally demanding role as Leigh Anne Tuohy. This leading lady of the film and family in the film is spirited and steely, often delivering sass and strength. Bullock colours her character with such an emotional intensity that makes you feel for Leigh every time she tries to make the boy’s life better, like when she makes his bed, invites him to the dinner table with her family, buys him new clothes, and even coaches him in his football games.

The movie surely leaves you guessing if there’s some sort of Pay It Forward imperative that drives Leigh to such an extent, that she’d invite a complete and total stranger into her life and very expensive home. She asks herself precisely this in one scene where she’s visibly frustrated with the situation after Michael leaves during a quarrel.

“Am I a good person?” Leigh sighs. “It’s not a joke. Not rhetorical…”

“You are the best person that I know. Everything you do… You do it for others,” replies Sean Touhy, her husband and fast-food tycoon.

“And why is that?”

He laughs a little, before saying, “I have not a clue. But um… you obviously get some sort of sick satisfaction out of it.”

“Sean…” Leigh says in her thick Southern accent, “What if Michael never comes back?”

Most of the screen time is devoted to how the family deals with their new addition, who’s probably twice their individual sizes and comes with some very deep hurt from his childhood experiences. While Michael is every bit capable of talking, he prefers to mutter under his breath and keep his sentences to a few lines. His GPA at school is a total disaster; much to his tutors’ despair. He struggles through soccer practices as well, using his brute strength to shove his opponents to the ground instead of tackling them properly as you’re supposed to as the offensive lineman in American football.

The Herculean job of helping “Big Mike” get back on track then falls on the tiny shoulders of Leigh, who’s dressed in Gucci and Chanel for the most part. While it may seem like a Disney fantasy that a wealthy white woman would extend her manicured nails to help Michael find the hope to live again, the fact remains that the story has happened. American journalist Michael Lewis wrote the remarkable and uplifting tale of Touhy and sports legend Michael Oher into a book that was published in 2006, which while not very popular sales-wise, became the source material for director John Lee Hancock to make The Blind Side.

In this, Lee never lets any explosive effects or extravagant music direct the picture as popular tastes dictate. Instead, he expertly layers the film with the development of the story’s characters with very light touches, and lets his talented cast give weight to the sensitive roles they play.

Blessed with meaty scenes and delivering a hell of a performance, Bullock will be the actress to beat for the Oscar, come March.

Country singer Tim McGraw stars in the role of Mr Tuohy, and is a fitting match for the good-natured and charismatic man that he plays, while child actor Jae Head makes the little brother look and sound as cute as a button every time he is on with Michael. Kathy Bates is the feisty Miss Sue, who’s hired by Bullock’s character to help the kid ace his exams so that he may qualify for a football scholarship.

Newcomer Quinton Aaron plays the troubled and lonely Michael Oher, who cannot understand what his teachers are saying in class most of the time and carries around his wardrobe of a shirt and pair of pants wherever he goes. We discover his heartbreaking past with his own family through a series of fast cuts and flashbacks.

Even without any formal training, Quinton is as convincing in every scene he appears with the other veteran actors. His droopy eyes and hunched posture exude the sadness of a boy who has lived most of his life forgotten by society. It’s a role that’s hard to play well without milking an unnecessary extra dose of pity from the audience, but Quinton does unexpectedly well and reminds you of the male version of another newcomer, Gabourey Sidibe, who stars in the similarly themed Precious (2009), which is, unfortunately, not likely to see a release in Singapore. Both Quinton and Gabourey certain make the list of stars to watch during 2010’s many award ceremonies.

By the time the movie ends on a triumphant note where Michael Oher finally earns his place in college and in the football team, it’s hard not to shed tears with the spitfire of his blond adoptive mother as she quickly dashes off into her car to hide her heartache that her new son is going off to live in college.

It’s the short and quiet scenes like these that make Bullock the serious leading Hollywood actress that she already has been for a long time, just waiting for the right role.

While the film also has many of those big sentimental moments, it’s the little nuances in body language or facial expressions by the characters that make you feel a little warmer on the inside and give the movie the big heart that it deserves.

Ultimately, The Blind Side is a big package of love, hope and all things good in a family. Paired with the drama of a young black man’s awe-inspiring story, a very convincing and skillful cast, and America’s all-time favourite sport, you’ve a winning formula that’s sweeter than fudge, and bound for greater things during its run on the silver screen.

The UrbanWire gives The Blind Side 4 popcorns.

Release: Jan 14 (Singapore)

Duration: 128 min

Language: English

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Sports / Drama

Director: John Lee Hancock

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates, Quinton Aaron, Lily Collins, Jae Head

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After disappearing from local TV screens for half a year, MediaCorp artiste Rui En will be counting down to Chinese New Year with her new Channel 8 drama series, Happy Family. The soon-to-be-28 Rui En sheds her career woman image to portray Yang Xiao Dong, who co-owns a shop in Chinatown with her grandfather Dong Jianye (played by Chen Shu Cheng). Jianye, who’s 70 years old, is known to have no family members other than his adopted granddaughter Xiao Dong.

^{(All images courtesy of MediaCorp Channel 8) Rui En overturns her career woman image to portray “plain Jane” Xiao Dong.}

Next to Xiao Dong’s business premises is a store that sells ladies’ garments and lingerie, where university graduate Chen Haojie (Shaun Chen) temporarily helps out at after being retrenched during the economic recession. Although Haojie is already attached to a girl he’s known even before he completed his tertiary education, Xiao Dong admires him with a teenager’s pure innocent heart.

^{Shaun Chen plays Haojie, a retrenched university graduate temporarily helping his uncle sell lingerie.}

One day, a young Japanese man Noguchi Nariyasu (Remus Kam) drops by Xiao Dong’s shop, and explains that his father Dong Jinxing (Chen Tianwen) is Jianye’s son. Jianye chases him away immediately, while Xiao Dong keeps her confusion and suspicions within her. On his second visit, Nariyasu reveals that Jianye actually has 2 sons, Jinxing and Muxing (Darren Lim), as well as a daughter named Shuixing (Ann Kok).

In this family-focused drama series, it wasn’t just Rui En who had a makeover for the show, but MediaCorp actress Cynthia Koh also had to get a perm with huge curls and put on a fat suit under the harsh sun and humid weather for her role as Muxing’s wife, Mei-e.

^{Cynthia Koh also changes her appearance drastically for her role Mei-e in Happy Family.}

The plot develops when Jianye confides in Xiao Dong and Nariyasu in hospital that he wants to see his family again and take a family portrait. The 2 main characters embark on a journey together to look for Jianye’s children and fulfill the old man’s wish.

Happy Family premieres next Tuesday and airs every Monday to Friday at 9pm on MediaCorp Channel 8.

Even without the Oscar-laden director and leading men driving Invictus, the story filled with inspiration and hope is sure to get to you.

4-time Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby, Flags of our Fathers) is almost guaranteed another nomination for taking the helm of Invictus, and includes Oscar-winning actors Morgan Freeman (The Bucket List, The Dark Knight) and Matt Damon (The Bourne Trilogy) as stars in an otherwise unknown cast.

The effect is tremendous, as the pair play a pivotal role in telling the triumphant true story of how former South African President and Nobel laureate Nelson Mandela cleverly used the universal language of sport to unite his countrymen who had been driven apart by almost 50 years of apartheid and oppression in South Africa.

Freeman plays Mandela, newly elected and facing the problem of a widening divide as the Black Africans finally have the opportunity to seek bitter revenge on the Whites that segregated them. Damon is Francois Pienaar, captain of the under-performing South African rugby team the Springboks, which is full of White players and is a reminder of White rule and suffering to the Black African-majority now in power.

Naturally, the team receives almost no support from the 43-million strong population partly due to its poor showing at international matches, but is backed by an unlikely man, President Mandela, who previously used to support any team that played against the Springboks.

Mandela realises that the best way to unify the country is with the help of the White minority instead of continuing to push them away, and during a tea session with Pienaar, challenges him to lead the Springboks to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup hosted in South Africa.

The Springboks go on to win the tournament in style, even beating rugby powerhouse the New Zealand All Blacks who had recorded the highest number of points in a single match, 145, in the same tournament against Japan. A truly inspirational story indeed.

As expected of thespians of their calibre, both Freeman and Damon demonstrated significant command of their roles, depicting their characters strongly. A nice detail was the use of African accents in their roles (Damon even had a dialect coach), in order to add to the overall authenticity.

Those who aren’t hard core rugby fans will be relieved to know that the movie doesn’t show excessive scenes of the sport, something pleasantly different from the underdog-team-comes-out-champs movies of the past decade (Gridiron Gang, The Longest Yard and Coach Carter, just to name a few).

It was up to the dialogue to make the greatest impact in the heavy-themed film of racial segregation and national unity. This it did and more, causing the film to be more engaging rather than making it a boring historical movie.

A few laughs were even invoked at significant, appropriate moments, such as when Mandela’s head of security Jason Tshabalala (Tony Kgoroge) said, “According to the experts, we’ll reach the quarter-finals, and no further,” about the Springboks’ chances in the World Cup, to which Mandela responded, “According to the experts, you and I should still be in jail.”

The witty and almost mindlessly idealistic approach (considering nobody would’ve expected South Africa to even get close to winning the World Cup), was a light counterpoint to the deep struggle and hardship of bringing a fractured nation together, and, at times, made it seem far simpler than it probably was.

There were, however, some things that were rather strange. Perhaps it was a way to cut down the amount of rugby shown in the film, but it really did seem like the South Africans easily brushed aside all competition (except the New Zealanders) due to the brief coverage of their games.

This was a little difficult to believe, considering this was a team who had previously been consistently losing, and whose competency was in doubt even before the World Cup began.

Regardless, it has to be said that the movie really isn’t about rugby at all, but rather about the foresight of a leader to heal some of the deepest hurts almost overnight.

When you throw in Eastwood’s unique style of story telling and superb acting from Freeman and Damon, then we, like the South Africans, have ourselves a winner.

Official Trailer:

Release Details:
Opens: Jan 7
Duration: 133 min
Language: English
Rating: PG
Genre: Biography/Drama/History
Director: Clint Eastwood
Cast: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon

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^{(All images courtesy of sina.com.cn)}

This movie has taught me to appreciate the finer tastes of ordinary-looking popcorn, after constantly chomping on the snack for almost 2 hours, and its function – to keep you busy in case you end up entering a theatre showing a huge mistake of a movie like The Treasure Hunter, which proves that it might not be worth the effort afterall.

The film plot tracks the race of a treasure hunt between treasure hunter Jay Chou (Initial D, Secret, Kungfu Dunk) and some weird masked or mummified enemies.

That is, if you count nightly flirtatious banter and ogling at a woman a “race”. As every hero’s unnecessary must-have beauty accessory, Lin Chi-ling (Red Cliff I & II) dutifully clings onto Jay’s back as they whiz through the desert on a big, bad, black motorcycle, tries desperately to figure out the non-existent chemistry between them, and not-so-surreptitiously seduces the hunter while wiping the day’s grime from her neck. Well, at least she actually does look pretty.

Honestly, there aren’t any competitors – the loser baddies who arrived in a storm vanished, literally, without rhyme or reason from the whole storyline after coming out to punch, kick, and roll in the sand for a while. Jay’s road to the buried treasure couldn’t be any smoother with a babe at his side and foes mysteriously absent.

The popular singer continues his cool, arrogant hero act here – same few expressions without much improvement – but provides endless scenes for groupies to squeal at. If you’re an action scene lover, there’re a few fight sequences with a mummified human, a Darth Vader sound-a-like, and 4 old bearded spirits.

Eric Tsang (Bodyguards and Assassins, Perhaps Love) acts as the comic relief character, though it’s probably redundant as this movie seems to be a joke in itself. The veteran reveals the hidden Singaporean in him, spewing his lines in Mandarin, English and Cantonese. Chen Daoming (Infernal Affairs III) is the “emo” guy with a screw loose, who mutters incomprehensibly to himself, and has a potentially powerful background story that was gone to waste.

Now, doesn’t all that just sound promising?

The Treasure Hunter is clearly a movie without any artistic aspirations, only hoping to bank on Jay Chou’s popularity to sell the tickets. Director Kevin Chu (Kungfu Dunk) needs to learn that a few stars carelessly thrown into the movie poster are no longer enough to lure the audience into spending their hard-earned money.

Even if you’re a fan of Jay, take heed to destroy any expectations of the movie you might have, and make sure your arms are full of popcorn, nachos, chips, and every snack you can grab before you walk into the cinema hall.

UrbanWire rates The Treasure Hunter 2/5.

Release Details:
Opens: Dec 31
Duration: 106 min
Language: Mandarin
Rating: PG
Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: Kevin Chu
Cast: Jay Chou, Lin Chi-ling, Eric Tsang, Chen Daoming

^{(All pictures courtesy of Filmofilia)}

As much as the incessant blast of the soundtrack from the first Chipmunks movie was annoying, the Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, was an enjoyable film.

Joining Alvin (Justin Long), Simon (Matthew Gray Gubler) and Theodore (Jesse McCartney) are the Chipettes, Brittany (Christina Applegate), Jeanette (Anna Faris) and Eleanor (Amy Poehler) who are the female version of the Chipmunks. Don’t underestimate the power of 6 singing animated rodents; they’re almost too cute for words.

The movie starts off with Dave (Jason Lee), their “father” of sorts, being sent to the hospital, thanks to Alvin. The Chipmunks, who were told that they had to go to school, temporarily fall under the care of their incompetent slob of a cousin, Toby (Zachary Levi). Mad props to Jason and Zachary for acting convincingly across non-existent CGI animated co-stars.

Hijinks, like accidentally hurling the Nintendo Wii remote into the TV, ensue.

Typical high school stuff comes next with Alvin indirectly causing Simon to get “swirlies” and also making Theodore’s worst nightmare come true. Their old nemesis, Ian Hawke (David Cross), also comes back to haunt them. To top it all off, they fall in love with the Chipettes too.

Apart from the predictable storyline and slapstick humour, the movie was thoroughly entertaining with a very upbeat soundtrack, especially from the Chipettes.

The Chipettes, comprised lead singer Brittany, bespectacled Jeanette and chubby Eleanor, sang covers of popular songs like Katy Perry’s “Hot N Cold”. Their rendition of Beyoncé Knowles’ “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” is a crowd puller and a personal favourite, complete with dance moves.

Filipino singing sensation Charice Pempengco, who recently performed at the Singapore Idol finale, makes a surprise appearance as herself belting out Alicia Keys’ “No One”.

The movie followed the tried and tested storyline of imparting the wisdom and importance of teamwork without being too cheesy, which makes for good fun for the whole family. However, a little more exploration of Toby’s backstory instead of showing the odd snippet of his geek days in high school, would have had an added compelling factor for the movie.

Official Trailer:

Release Details:
Opens : Dec 24
Duration: 89 min
Language: English
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation/Comedy
Director: Betty Thomas
Cast: Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Anna Faris, Amy Poehler and Christina Applegate
Distributed by: 20th Century Fox

1905: a year of dangerous undercurrents and secret plans, the year of pseudo calm before the revolutionary storm.

A group of underdogs and rebels gather in an attempt to protect Dr. Sun Yat-sen, a well-known assassination target for his revolutionary ideals, who’s stopping by Hong Kong for a meeting with 13 other resistance group leaders under the pretext of visiting his mother.

Sounds like a movie for you action film junkies?

Here’s a piece of advice: don’t go into the cinema expecting Bodyguards and Assassins to be similar to the adrenaline-packed Yip Man film.

But still, there’s more than enough reason for you to part with $7.50 (Singapore dollars) for a weekday/night ticket. The movie boasts of a total of US$23 million (S$32 million) in production costs and a full scale location set (S$8.8 million) of 1905 Hong Kong (as calculated by their official website). Producer Peter Chan Ho-Sun (The Warlords) and director Teddy Chan (The Accidental Spy) even managed to assemble a 12-star lineup.

^{(All images courtesy of www.bodyguardsandassassins.com and www.sina.com)}

With so many stars in the film, an apparent danger is the lack of engagement between the audience and the characters. Bodyguards and Assassins did fairly well in this aspect of connecting the audience to most of the characters.

Donnie Yen (Yip Man) plays Shen Chongyang, a money-grubbing, good-for-nothing gambler, whose only merits are – make a guess – superior fighting skills, and a (almost-withered) conscience. With more emotional depth to explore in this character than his previous roles like Pang Yong in Painted Skin (2008), Yen unexpectedly left a deep impression. The ambivalent feelings towards his old flame were compelling, and crying scenes were surprisingly well handled.

Veteran actor Wang Xueqi (Warriors of Heaven and Earth) gave a stellar performance as Li Yutang – from the somewhat apathetic businessman, to the hesitant leader of the protection plan, to the strict father – every emotion and expression was flawlessly executed. Though the first half of the movie was virtually his solo performance, no complains here.

Tony Leung Ka-Fai (The Myth) must’ve been a rebel scholar in his past life – he brought out the skin and flesh of his role with ease. Nicholas Tse (Storm Warriors) was a convincing honest and simple rickshaw puller; his acting’s no longer over the top. Hu Jun (Mulan, Red Cliff I & II) was able to show that there was more to the antagonist than just a mindless killing machine.

Another noteworthy actor is former NBA player Mengke Bateer, who’s Mongolian. His rendition of a smelly tofu hawker is surprisingly natural, and the parody on his basketball player identity during the character’s fighting scenes provided harmless, lighthearted humour to the plot.

It didn’t bode well for the movie, though, when the audience started to chuckle at a supposedly serious character doing a supposedly serious act – which was what happened to Leon Lai’s (Seven Swords) beggar character.

The audience giggled and snickered through his time on the screen. At his ‘big moment of sacrifice’, he stands ramrod straight on the stone steps, a slight breeze hardly messing up his stiff hair, weapon in hand, with the pose of a kung-fu master ready to face death… and all we could do was laugh.

Lai’s fans can console themselves though, albeit slightly; it probably had less to do with his acting ability than his ridiculous getup and nonsensical back-story. What, pray tell, does a self-pitying, lovesick and suicidal beggar who fell in love with his father’s lover got to do with the theme of the movie?

But that’s as bad as the character backgrounders get. The innocent love between Nicholas Tse and Zhou Yun, who plays a handicapped female, was sweet, and given just enough screen time to create an emotional resonance within the audience. Father-son interaction between Wang Xueqi and Wang Bo-Chieh was wonderfully heartwarming too.

Action scenes, which were intended as the main attraction in the movie, were left wanting. The parkour sequence by Donnie Yen, and the brawl between him and professional kickboxing champion Cung Le was no doubt first-rate, but seemed a little drawn out, and some fighting scenes were dizzying with too much going on.

However, through a daring decision to cut between the intense action scenes to pay homage to those sacrificed, this brought out the ’sacrificed anonymous’ topic of the film well without compromising its pace.

Other minor faults like characters’ makeup, such as Yen the poor gambler showing off perfectly bleached teeth, and costumes, with Eric Tsang (Infernal Affairs I, II & III) looking like he’s cosplaying Mr. Pringles the potato chip mascot, can be ignored if you’re less particular.

This is a story about the grey areas of a resistance, about the darker side of a normally perceived “good” side, about the deceit and blood that stain a shadowed fragment of revolution.

The secret of Bodyguards and Assassin’s success lies in the meticulous craft which goes into explaining each character’s motive and background and engaging the audience emotionally with not only the main characters, but also many of the supporting roles.

However, a flaw in this picture of sacrifice is the lack of a reason for sacrifice. Many characters in the film don’t even have the slightest clue who Sun Yat-sen is, as they’re set as non-educated, but they all too willingly sacrificed their lives. Too much emphasis on martyrisation led to unwarranted deaths; characters that were painstakingly developed suddenly became blind and thoughtless – cheap offerings to the cause of revolution.

Complaints and regrets aside, this is a must-watch for the amazing acting and grand action sequences (and some laughable characters).

UrbanWire rates Bodyguards and Assassins 3.5/5.

Release Details:

Opens: Dec 18
Duration: 138 min
Language: Mandarin
Rating: PG/Some Violence
Genre: Action/Drama
Director: Teddy Chen
Cast: Donnie Yen, Wang Xueqi, Tony Leung Ka-Fai, Hu Jun, Nicholas Tse, Leon Lai, Eric Tsang, Fan Bingbing, Simon Yam, Wang Bo-Chieh, Li Yu Chun, and Zhou Yun.

“A brand new beginning”, it definitely is for newly crowned Singapore Idol, Sezairi Sezali, crooning to this year’s theme song, “Touched By An Angel”. The 22-year-old sang his best and proved deserving of the title, impressing not only the 8000-strong crowd at the Singapore Indoor Stadium which included enthusiastic fans, but the whole country with his wonderful vocals.

It was a tough fight with his rival, Sylvia Ratonel, who was initially touted to be the first female winner of Singapore Idol after 2 seasons of male victors. Nonetheless, she lived up to be the only female grand finalist throughout the three seasons of the competition.

Without extravagance throughout the semi-finals, Sezairi has shown that a quiet confidence can bring you all the way till the end. While on the other hand, Sylvia stayed adamant to being sincere and honest all through her performances.

The night truly belonged to the 2 finalists as they competed neck and neck for the coveted title. Sylvia seemed to take the lead with her cover of “Mercy” by Duffy that opened the show, while Sezairi’s rendition of “Virtual Insanity” originally sang by his inspiration Jamiroquai, didn’t seem to stand out as much.

But soon the tides were turned as Sezairi brought his performance up a notch with Aerosmith’s “Crazy” that even Ken Lim commented that the second round “belonged” to him.

Finally, the verdict came when both finalists sang this year’s theme song that pretty much wrapped up the experience they gained over the 6 grueling months of the competition.

Sezairi now walks away with the title of being the third Singapore Idol, alongside first Idol Taufik Batisah and second/Asian Idol Hady Mirza. In addition, he also won himself a recording contract with Universal Music.