The UrbanWire

 

In the world of six billion people, it only takes one to change your life.

Together with Festive films, the Urbanwire is giving away 5 pairs of tickets to preview screening of The Visitor, on Dec 5, at Golden Village Plaza Singapura.

Simply answer the following question and stand a chance to win a pair of tickets to the screening. Email your answer with your full name and NRIC to contest.urbanwire@gmail.com by 5 December, 12 noon.

“The young immigrant couple who moved in with Walter are Tarek, who is Senegalese, and his girlfriend Zainab who is Syrian” True/False?

Screening Details
Date: Dec 5, Friday
Time: 9:10pm 
Runtime – 104min
Venue: Golden Village, Plaza Singapura, Hall 4
Rating: TBA
Language: English, French Arabic and Russian with English subtitles

About the movie

“You can live your whole life and never know who you are until you see the world through the eyes of others.”

A college professor becomes embroiled in the lives of a young immigrant couple living in New York City and stumbles into an unexpected romance as a result. As these strangers struggle to deal with their individual lives in a changed world, their shared humanity is revealed in awkward, humorous and dramatic ways.

This poignant film about rediscovering happiness in the least expected places stars a disillusioned Connecticut economics professor whose life is transformed by a chance encounter in New York City.

62-year-old Walter Vale is sleepwalking through his life. Having lost his passion for teaching and writing, he fills the void by unsuccessfully trying to learn to play classical piano. When his college sends him to Manhattan to attend a conference, Walter is surprised to find a young couple has taken up residence in his apartment. Victims of a real estate scam, Tarek (Haaz Sleiman), a Syrian man and Zainab (Danai Gurira), his Senegalese girlfriend, have nowhere else to go.

In the first of a series of tests of the heart, Walter reluctantly allows the couple to stay with him.

Friendship blossoms and in time, differences in culture, age, and temperament begin to fall away.

After being stopped by police in the subway, Tarek is arrested as an undocumented citizen and held for deportation. As his situation turns desperate, Walter finds himself compelled to help his new friend with a passion he thought he had long ago lost. When Tarek’s beautiful mother Mouna (Hiam Abbass) arrives unexpectedly in search of her son, the professor’s personal commitment develops into an unlikely romance.

And through these newfound connections with three virtual strangers that Walter is awakened to a new world and a new life.

Riddle me this: What do you get when you put a stellar cast with an impressive 18 Oscar nominations (5 of which were wins) among them into a single, hugely anticipated holiday movie?
(Read more)

Imagine an underwater video clip of a humpbacked whale, warm sunlight filtering through the iridescent blue ocean, drawing wavy nets of sun across its expansive back. Now imagine it up-close at arm’s length – its white-mottled tail fin almost threatening to hit you as it cleaves powerful strokes through the cerulean waters.

This is total immersion at its best – a distinctive mainstay in 3D digital movies. “3D has the power to educate in the most entertaining way,” says Francois Mantello, producer of Dolphins and Whales: Tribes of the Ocean 3D, of the new dimension of reality that 3D digital filmmaking affords the cinema.

“When we screened our 3D digital underwater documentary (Dolphins and Whales), the children were trying to catch the fishes,” he recalls, “some liked it so much, they even became advocates of marine conservation.” Such is the massive influential power that 3D digital films possess.

3D digital film works by rapidly projecting two slightly different images on to the movie screen, and through special tinted 3D glasses, members of the audience will see a slightly different image through each eye. The brain then works to merge the two images into one for a more complete, tangible picture.

Change In The Playing Field

Traditionally, films have always been shown in 2D, restricted to capturing only the elements of width and height, but not depth, compelling film makers to deftly use the effects of light and camera angles to bring specific characters and happenings in a scene to the fore of the collective audience’s attention.

With the advent of 3D filmmaking, conventional cinematographic techniques have undergone a paradigm shift. Proponents of the silver screen are now able to add the concept of depth into their pictures, giving the viewer a sense of distance – some characters seem almost close enough to touch, while others appear to be further away. By harnessing this aspect of depth and distance, cinematographers are able to manipulate the audience’s attention to certain characters by making them seem closer or further away in the audience’s field of vision.

A digital 3D-rendered form of James Cameron’s 1997 classic, Titanic, illustrates this concept. In a scene where an elegantly dressed Jack Dawson meets Rose DeWitt at an ornate stairwell before a dinner party, the camera shifts to a closer view of the two – an excellent stage for the digital 3D to showcase its magic.

The 3D rendering establishes a sense of distance, making the couple appear closer and at a more intimate proximity underscoring the romantic and emotional intensity of the moment while other partygoers walking past the couple seem more distant and secondary.

Future prospects and the viability of the 3D digital film cinema were unveiled at the inaugural 3DX International 3D Film Festival held on Nov 18-23 in Singapore.

Some time between now and Armageddon, someone will decide to do away with our sophisticated telecommunication network and replace it with human messengers who will verbally deliver messages, much like a schoolyard game of broken telephone.

Based on Jeanne Duprau’s best-selling novel of the same name, City of Ember paints a bleak picture for the future of humanity. It foretells a catastrophe of a magnitude that will wipe out the entire human race and plunge the earth into eternal darkness.

To ensure the survival of mankind, builders put together a subterranean sanctum that will allow a segment of the human population to escape the calamity unharmed. For 200 years, the inhabitants of Ember go about their daily routine under the light of ceiling lamps, which are powered by a massive electric generator.

Now that the generator is failing, the city is in a state of despair. It’s up to Lina Mayfleet (Atonement’s Saoirse Ronan) and Doon Harrow (Harry Treadaway) to uncover the mystery behind the blackouts and food shortages before Ember falls into eternal darkness.

The movie sees director Gil Kenan of Monster House making a shaky transition from animation to live-action filmmaking. For a movie set in the future, the costumes and setting are jarringly backwards.

Characters wear patchwork clothing that look haphazardly pieced together and live in slum-like conditions.

Perhaps if City of Ember had been animated, the audience might be more forgiving towards the conceptual flaws of the tale. However, as it is, you can’t help but question the logic of living underground for 2 whole centuries with mutant beetles and killer moles, without ever entertaining the possibility of life outside the crumbling metropolis.

Also, the CGI sequence of the characters’ climatic escape from Ember sticks out like a sore thumb in the otherwise well put-together film. It’s as if Kenan shoved the characters into an amusement park flume ride and filmed them from the helm. You almost expect a flash to go off in the background for that cheesy souvenir shot.

While the movie falls short in terms of direction and logic, it makes up for it with its brilliant cast and exquisite set design.

Bill Murray plays the role of the portly Mayor Cole most convincingly, despite it being a sidestep away from his usual comedic parts. His address to the inhabitants of Ember oozes with charisma and captures the epitome of a true leader, albeit a corrupt one.

Nevertheless, the star of the show is inarguably Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan. She shines as the plucky heroine, a role that can easily be interpreted as overly dependent, or worse, borderline annoying.

The set design is also something to look forward to.

Production designer Martin Laing managed to transform an old shipbuilding facility into a world that is both ornate and imaginative. From the creaky floorboards, to the weathered stonewalls, Laing captures 2 centuries of wear and tear perfectly in his intrinsic detailing. You will find yourself longing to step into the screen just so you can explore every nook and cranny.

Despite its creative potential, the film is rather disappointing on the whole. You are most likely to leave the cinema with more questions than you have when you entered. Perhaps only to a 12-year-old for whom living in an underground dwelling for 200 years is credible, City of Ember will be a suitable escape into another dimension.

UrbanWire gives City of Ember 2 out of 5 stars.

Movie details

Release date: Nov 27
Language: English
Rating: PG/Frightening Scenes
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Starring: Bill Murray, Tim Robbins, Saoirse Ronan
Directed by: Gil Kenan

(Pictures courtesy of Shaw Movies)

Together with Festive films, the Urbanwire is giving away 5 pairs of tickets to preview screening of Cape No 7, on Nov 19, 7pm at Shaw Lido.

Simply share with us when and who you wrote your first love letter/email to and stand a chance to win a pair of tickets to the screening. Email your responses to contest.urbanwire@gmail.com.

(Read more)

Together with Festive films, the Urbanwire is giving away 5 pairs of tickets to preview screening of Rabbit Without Ears, on Nov 12, 7pm at Golden Village, Plaza Singapura.

(Read more)

You’ve seen the Sony HD ads with flying projectiles dramatically slowed down, repeatedly hit the cooler than ice and immaculately dressed quintessential British spy, eliciting hardly a flinch from his scarred face.

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Singaporean films have generally been categorised into either one of two things: presumptuous artsy fare from the likes of Eric Khoo and enfant terrible Royston Tan, or smack-in-your-face commercial blockbusters by the likes of Jack Neo.

Carrot Cake Conversations falls into the former, but doesn’t quite manage to walk across the thin tightrope strung between a great movie and the more usual unfortunate accident of a film in this category, even though it has been picked for the 8th Annual Anchorage Film Festival in December.

The story revolves around 4 strangers – 3 Singaporeans and an American – who find themselves ruminating upon their lives on the “eve of Christmas eve” and finding companionship over carrot cake and conversation.

The movie follows Kate (Danielle O’Malley), a former aspiring actress who called it quits after 7 years in Hollywood with not much more than a 5-minute part to her name. That this precious footage was subsequently cut off from the movie only added insult to injury.

On her way to New Zealand to start a café, she transits in Singapore for a few hours. Wanting to explore the island with the time she has left, she randomly chooses her first destination – the famous Newton Hawker Centre.

There, she meets Daniel (Alaric Tay), a tired businessman who walked in on his wife cheating on his brother. After talking over carrot cake, Kate makes a proposition that sets Daniel thinking.

Matthew (Adrian Pang) is a rich property heir who’s experiencing a personal crisis. He meets Ruth (former Miss Malaysia Andrea Fonseka), a $100-an-hour prostitute who harbours dreams of becoming a blues singer, for companionship.

Somehow, Kate’s and Matthew’s paths connect and they strike up a friendship.

The topics of their conversations, mostly over local fare such as carrot cake and tau huei chui (soya bean milk), range from the mundane to the ambitiously philosophical. After the conversations, they gain different perspectives and get to reflecting upon their own lives.

The first thing that is noticeable about the movie is its painfully liberal use of medium close-up, shallow depth-of-field shots. There is hardly a scene in full focus and almost no experimentation with using different styles of cinematography.

The screenplay tries hard to impress, but comes across as awkward and pretentious. For starters, the conversations between the characters is amusingly contrived – none of it sounds remotely Singaporean.

And if you’re expecting to find suspense, build-up, action and climax, ditch your hopes now. The drama moves along at a leisurely pace before coming to an uninspiring end.

Crossover actor and host Pang and supporting actress de Cruz were the highlights of the movie. Their acting was consistently impeccable, beautifully nuanced and human - a welcome respite from the mechanical, albeit commendable, acting of the rest of the cast.  O’Malley comes across more Australian than American, and Fonseka doesn’t manage to sound Singaporean in the slightest. Tay manages to play his part of Daniel well, but, for some reason, seems inhibited.

Another pleasant aspect of the movie is its music, which is inspiring, serene and beautiful. More importantly, it perfectly fits the tone of the film.

In short, director Michael Wang’s debut feature is an ambitious effort but it sorely failed to impress.

The UrbanWire gives Carrot Cake Conversations 2 out of 5 stars.

Movie details
Release date: Nov 6
Running Time: 98 min
Language: English
Rating: PG
Genre: Drama
Starring: Adrian Pang, Alaric Tay, Andrea Fonseka, Danielle O’Malley
Directed by: Michael Wang

If you think SAW is overdone, think again - the end doesn’t seem to be even near.

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Homosexuality, Catholicism and forbidden love. These are the themes running through the veins of Brideshead Revisited, a film adapted from the novel of the same name by Evelyn Waugh. Directed by Julian Jarrold of Becoming Jane (2007) fame, the film tells of Charles Ryder’s (played by Matthew Goode) journey as he struggles with the social and religious aspects of the aristocratic age.

Set in the era of gray flannel suits, steam trains and pre-war autombiles, Brideshead Revisited is filled with lush scenery of the countryside, breathtaking captures of the “City of Water”, Venice, and magnificent shots of the sprawling grounds of Castle Howard, where the bulk of the movie is filmed in.

Plot

Upon entering Lincolin College, Charles finds himself lonely and foreign, till he discovers a friend in Lord Sebastian Flyte (played by Ben Whishaw). Charles is quite and unassuming, Sebastian straightforward and popular, and the two friends find themselves being drawn to one another unknowingly.

Curious about Sebastian’s family as he never had one, Charles agrees readily when Sebastian suggests they head over to Brideshead, his family’s luxurious estate. It is here in Brideshead, over globes and more globes of wine where the friendship between Charles and Sebastian blossoms, evolving into something of even greater proportions: a homosexual relationship.

At the same time, Charles delves deeper into the religion of Sebastian’s family-Catholicism-through the strict religious hold Lady Marchmain (played by Emma Thompson) has over her children.

When Charles, Sebastian and Sebastian’s sister, Julia (played by Hayley Atwell) visit Venice, home to Lord Marchmian (played by Michael Gamban) and his mistress, Charles gets to bond further with Julia, whose mysterious personality pulls him closer to her. She has a fondness of saying one thing but meaning another, and it is through the understanding of such that Charles falls deeper in love.

Charles shares a passionate kiss with Julia one night after a carnival. Little did they know, Sebastian had stumbled upon their little rendezvous. Betrayed and let down, Sebastian distances himself from Charles.

Although the budding relationship between Charles and Julia is visible to all, Lady Marchmain refuses to allow him to marry Julia, citing reasons of religious differences, as Julia is a staunch Catholic, while Charles is an atheist.

Meanwhile, Sebastian turns to alcohol to drown his sorrows and worries, while Julia is married off to a Catholic of similar social status.

The scene then forwards to that of 4 years later, where we see Sebastian, shaved bald and stripped of his flamboyance, living in a monastery, riddled with health problems. Charles has progressed from an amateur artist to a professional one, his paintings quested by collectors all around the world.

Despite the fact that Charles is already married, his heart still pines for Julia. In a stroke of luck one can only describe as fate, Charles sees Julia on a ship he is on, and pursues her relentlessly. The lovebirds recognise that one cannot do without the other and Julia decides to leave her husband.

Julian Jarrold then throws in an unexpected twist at this point in time, brilliantly highlighting the theme of Catholicism in one particular death scene.

Cast

Each character is strong in its entirety, with every member of the cast portraying their roles in its most raw form. This UrbanWire reviewer felt that the two notably best performances though, were by Ben Whishaw (who played Sebastian) and Emma Thompson (who played Lady Marchmain)

Ben Whishaw is resplendent in his role as Sebastian. He is flamboyant and flashy at one moment, sullen and reproachful at another. He conveys Sebastian’s emotions so convincingly, you can’t help but grin at the times when he is showy, and despair with him in times of down and under. Little wonder then, that Ben Whishaw has won two awards, one for “Most Promising Newcomer” at the British Independent Film Awards 2001, and another for “Best Actor” at the Sochi International Film Festival 2001 for his role in the award-winning film My Brother Tom.

The other face to watch belongs to that of Emma Thompson. A veteran in the acting industry, Emma has won 2 Oscars and 2 Golden Globes, not counting other numerous awards, since venturing into acting 25 years ago. In Brideshead Revisited, Emma made this UrbanWire reviewer break out in silent applause at the way she portrayed her role perfectly: highly satirical, sarcastic, and very bitter.

Although Brideshead Revisited is essentially a love story, it really isn’t quite the quintessential as it encompasses and looks at love on many different levels. Family love, homosexual love, forbidden love, religious love. These are but a few of the kinds of love broached in the film.

Brideshead Revisited is definitely not a forgettable film. The multiple themes and meanings approached by Julian Jarrold in his take on one of the greatest work of fiction ever will leave you pondering even after you step out of the theatre.

It is a pity though, that Brideshead Revisited watered down much of the theme of Catholicism that was present in the novel, choosing to focus instead on the relationships between each character.

UrbanWire gives Brideshead Revisited 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Movie Details:

Rating: M18 (some mature content)
Runtime: 135 min
Language: English
Director: Julian Jarrold
Cast: Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell, Emma Thompson, Michael Gambon
Date of Release: Oct 30

(Credits: Movie stills are courtesy of Festive Films)

In conjunction with Festive Films, the UrbanWire is giving away 5 pairs of tickets to the preview of Brideshead Revisited on Oct 23.

To win a pair of tickets, simply answer the following question and email the right answer along with your full name, NRIC number and contact number to contest.urbanwire@gmail.com by Oct 22.

(Read more)

Smoke will make you laugh, cry, as well as scratch your head thoughtfully and go, “hmm…” at the same time.

As name suggests, the film is too intangible to pin down to a particular genre. It’s funny at times, but not in the conventional, laugh-out-loud kind of way. In fact, most parts take on a rather somber tone. You’ll probably shed a few tears, but even so, Smoke is hardly your typical tearjerker (Read more)

Adapted from the best-selling novel in 1989 by Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club (1993) is a heart-tugging movie directed by Hollywood Director Wayne Wang that sets out to help people see the struggles between four young American friends and their Chinese mothers. (Read more)

“Hollywood movies don’t give even half a second to breathe,” said Wayne Wang, the famous 59-year-old Asian-American director, about mainstream action and effects laden movies.

“Empty spaces give you time to think about life.”

Such spaces are exactly what he gives to the audience in his second independent film, Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart (1985).

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Helmed by acclaimed Hollywood director Wayne Wang, Last Holiday is a feel-good comedy about a woman whose entire life revolves around possibilities, only to find them morphing into realities when time starts running out for her.

(Read more)