Saw VI (2009) - Movie

I don't care if people think that the whole SAW franchise thing is lame or that the movie is stupid. I love SAW! As far as I am concerned, the gore, the B-grade acting (and B grade actresses with big breasts e.g. Jigsaw's wife) , the insane flashbacks and twists in plots till I don't know which way is front or back, can just keep rocking my world .. bring it on!

SECRET LOVE IN PEACH BLOSSOM LAND (Movie)

I cannot understand mandarin! Im a banana.. however, even this ignoramus banana, found the following Stan Lai film amazing.

Anyway, Monday nights are movie nights at the Annexe Gallery (Central Market KL).
'Secret Love In Peach Blossom Land' is a Taiwanese film written and directed by Stan Lai, featuring Christopher Doyle as director of photography. When two opposing acting groups fight for the same rehearsal space, a comical situation emerges. One group is practicing a somewhat slapstick satire, the other a contemporary political romantic tragedy. They could not be more different or worlds apart from each other.
However,as the story unfolds, and the desperate acting troupes divide up the stage, the way Stan Lai merges the two dialogs makes the show magical. The style and the angles employed for shooting this movie are nothing shot of genius.

Go watch!

footnote:
*copied from biography of stan lai
Stan Lai is a highly influential award winning US-born Taiwan-based playwright and theatre director, also known for his award-winning feature films. He has been described by the BBC as “probably the best Chinese language playwright and director in the world” and his plays have been performed throughout the Chinese-speaking world. He is the writer and director of “Secret Love in Peach Blossom Land”, often touted as the most successful contemporary Chinese play. The film version of the play won the Caligari Prize at the Forum, Berlin (1992); the Best Picture and Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival (1993); and Singapore Film Festival (1993).

Zombieland 2009 - Movie

photo from here

I love Woody Harrelson in most movies... he's one of my all time fav 'funny-men' and have you seen him in that movie, dressed up as a tranny? Unbelievable.
Anyway, what's better than Woody Harrelson? Both Woody Harrelson AND Bill Murray in the same movie! Two of the funniest guys alive.

Zombieland.. This spoof on the zombie genre literally and figuratively is killer. It's LOL (laugh-out-loud) funny, the gore is beautifully over-the-top, and the wicked script is laced with a cutting wit.

RULE #1 .. CARDIO!

Oh, I loved it!
Go watch it!

The Informers (2009)

If you once thought to yourself.. I wanna be a rockstar when I grow up..

This show will make you think twice.

Image from here.


"The Informers" follows the sordid life of a couple of young, rich, bored, talented(?) Los Angeles kids. There are the spoiled rich kids who spend their nights doing drugs (and each other); there's the television executive who is cheating on his wife; there's a visiting rock band whose lead singer is on the verge of a breakdown; there's a nobody looking for a break into showbiz who gets caught up in a kidnapping when his no-good friend shows up on his doorstep.

It has a good cast and a cool soundtrack (Devo, Simple Minds), but it also has some very 'kayu' (wooden) acting.. like so bad t.v. soap opera. The Informers is not so lousy that you can’t sit back and enjoy it, but nor is it good enough to go and see. Just don't spend money to watch it , if you catch my drift.

Look out for Kim Basinger.. has her hairstyle changed at all between then and NOW? haha.. really.. it really looks like a case of Kim Basinger starring as Kim Basinger!

We found this show extremely average with an anticlimatic ending, but what I want to know is how much they paid that chick to just walk around naked throughout the entire show?! Not much acting skill involved I tell ya!

The Boat that Rocked (2009)

Ah.. the 1960's! Back in the day when the A-list of British rock bands reigned supreme.. BBC was only playing classical music and jazz instead of .. ROCK and ROLL. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Yardbirds, The Hollies.. all took a backseat. What a pathetic situation.. and with no commercial radio stations to fill in the gap, this soon created the phenomenon of pirate radio ships. These pirate radio ships operated just three miles offshore, but good enough to be outside the bounds of English law and they began playing pop and rock music 24 hours a day.
Representing the Illegal, the Mysterious and every girl's heart-throb pirate DJ, they eventually they had 25,000,000 listeners.

The premise of the movie stretches the imagination - A renegade, radio boat at sea!

Cumi found this show moderately entertaining.. with some unbelievably hollywood-ish parts.. but.. I loved it! (Girls {and boys} check out the phenomenally sexy
Midnight Mark - Tom Wisdom, played Astinos in '300').
Call it the romantic, musician in me.
[Cumi - watch out for the XXX version .. 'The Booty that Rocked'!]

Also, the wardrobe is amazing..
THREE words.. Apple-green Leggings!


Go watch!



photos from imdb here

I LOVE TWIGGY!

(watch out for her black and white photos that adorn the ship's walls!)

Johnny Mad Dog

We recently watched a rather disturbing movie, that warrants a mention.

Kidnapping takes its vilest form as armed children in Liberia commandeer other kids to join their marauding troop. Fiction based on unbelievable fact, "Johnny Mad Dog" chronicles the atrocities of the ongoing civil war in that West African nation. The film directed by Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, thrusts you into a world far worse than any hell you can imagine.

The scariest thing about this movie is the irrationality of it all. The more they murder, rape and plunder, the more desensitized they get, and they are only KIDS. From this show you can glean some insights into the psychology and mechanics that spur these young rebels to take up arms.


photo from here

Locations and production design are top-notch!
Go watch it.

The Half Life of Timofey Berezin (PU-239)

Mélanie Thierry in The Half Life of Timofey Berezin

Caught the HBO trailer several months ago and missed the opportunity to watch it so had to resort to special arrangements to get it, and we have to say this is an excellent original HBO movie! Captivating film, script/screenplay and performances.The movie tells the story of a nuclear plant employee exposed to radiation. He feels betrayed by the establishment (and the country) he has been working for most of his life. Without pension or much savings, he seeks one last resort to provide wealth for his family before his imminent death. As the story unfolds, we get a glimpse of post communist era Russia and the social injustices prevalent in this once formidable country.

Website
Review

In my youth I remember stopping by Moscow twice as we flew Aeroflot to London. We had to transit for 2 days in the middle of winter. The glass chambered airport with pale faced soldiers, which we took forever to clear and the stark hotel which we took forever to reach, will be forever embedded in my memory. Then there was the tasteless, bony, anorexic chicken with some watery rice dinner, that was included as part of the hotel stay. Later, visiting the colorful St. Basil's Cathedral and once again seeing the cold, solemn-faced russkies. It was a good opportunity to catch a rare glimpse of USSR then.

District 9 the movie

Since this has been a rather long weekend (for those working in Selangor), we've been catching up on movie watching. Another great movie that had me gnashing my teeth and gnawing my nails was District 9.

Alien beings living amongst men, in slum-like conditions, exploited and un-loved/un-wanted.. one day, a government agent's life is changed forever .. because.. (you have to watch it to find out!) With a fast paced, fiendish plot this has got to be one of the more impressive sci-fi films I have had the pleasure of watching recently.

This show totally reminds me of THE FLY (1986)!

Prawn!

TRAILER

cumi: Underlying the action/drama/comedy, the movie parallel's many of today's human rights issues. Can't wait to know what happens 3 years from now....

Brüno the Movie

Photo from here and here

We watched Bruno (the uncensored version) and found the show a riot! This film mainly addresses two things: America's insatiable obsession with stardom and its perceptions/treatment of the homosexual community.

The show is shallow and silly, but the actor Sacha Baron is pretty damn convincing in his role of recently fired Austrian fashion icon (ok, apart from the cacat Austrian accent.. )

The movie takes the term crude humor to new heights. Though this show will definitely put off a fair number of the decent public, there are some genuinely serious moments in the film that will make you stop and think. The revelation of just how shallow and soulless mankind can be, will make you want to cry, squirm, LOL and barf.. all at the same time, at different intervals of the show!

Malaysian censorship board would have a great time cutting it up so much that viewers will be left with just 15minutes! - 10minutes goes to the opening and closing credits!

Good luck, you've been warned.

SPOILER!..... TRAILER

Footnote:
*watch out for the velcro suite.. it's the bomb;)
**Also, if you watch the movie, you will see some of the reactions of the people interviewed are pretty real, and may well be, real. We wondered so much about the reality of it all that we googled and we found Brian Hickey interviewing the karate guy and the holy roller. Thanks Brian for letting us link to your hardwork!