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Fatal Move [夺帅] The story is about a triad founded by two brothers (played by Samo Hung and Simon Yam). The triad itself is watched by the HK Organised Crime Division which seeks to arrest the leaders and completely neutralise it. Naturally, there were car chases, pitched gun battles etc. all over the movie. Also challenging the Triad is not the law enforcers but other Triads which are technically competitors. As such, there were several scenes of gory gang fights for the purpose of territorial control. These fights comes complete with digits and limps severed, throats slashed, people stabbed through the belly and lots of blood being splattered all over the place. In one scene, there was even a close up on an arm which is cut off half way, plus another showing how a woman was tortured in a gruesome manner. There were also several scenes of murders which leave people wondering if Hong Kong is completely lawless. Definitely not for the faint hearted and please avoid watching after eating a good meal if you have a weak stomach. |
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Beyond that, there’s an element of ‘Infernal Affairs’ in the show, where there is a Triad plant within the police force itself, attempted betrayal and blackmail by the wife of a member of the Triad, and also internal dissent and infighting within the Triad itself. And in the end the infighting brought the Triad down, and all members were killed – even though who ended up in jail – in the end. So what’s really so bad about it when there’s obviously quite a rich plot? It’s the fact that it is trying to do too many things at one go and it’s trying too hard to impress with all these gory scenes and sub-plots. In the end, none of them were done really well, and most people we left wondering who was behind the plot to kill every single one member of the Triad in the end. If you have a liking for Hong Kong Triad movies, then this might be the one for you. But in general, there are better Triad Movies which is less gory being made. There is nothing really impressive in this movie and it’s best you give it a miss if you intend to get a VCD or DVD. |
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Category: Movies
Vesak Day Movie Marathon
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Iron Man I liked this movie as I have always been a fan of powered suits, even though I was never impressed by rich guy superheros like Batman, Ironman or even aliens like Superman. Personally speaking, my opinion is that the capabilities of Ironman’s suit itself was a little far fetched but of course Marvel comic fans would disagree. However, all that being said, the movie itself didn’t disappoint. The story itself was very well rounded up and the CGI was very well done. Though impressive, I would say the CGI is still a class away from Transformers. |
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While I really disliked the after credits, I would recommend this movie to you. I won’t tell you what the after credits is, though in my opinion it hints of a possible part 2 of the movie. *** spoilers alerts *** I have ranted about this before in this post. So, if you haven’t watched the movie and intend to catch it on DVD, please refrain from checking out the post. Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon [三国之见龙卸甲] |
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So, once the download for the documentary was underway, I started looking around the site and found some of the movies I did not manage to watch because I was unable to find someone to watch with me on the big screen. After which, I decided to download the few movies I have missed. If you are a history buff, you will be appalled by the distortion of recorded history. It is of no surprise Cao Cao [曹操] and even his descendants continued to be vilified in spite of the review of history that is going on. However, I don’t really mind the makers trying to fit Maggie Q into the movie by changing the sex of a historical character, Cao Ying [曹婴] into a woman. Of course, you must already have heard about the criticisms regarding the Japanese look of the armor of the troops in the movie, though I would say its dark coloring was a futile imitation of what was done in Lord of the Rings (LoTR for short). And if you haven’t already watch it, you are really not missing a lot. The story surrounds the character of Zhao Zilong [赵子龙 aka 赵云], from how he rose through the ranks from just a conscript to becoming one of the five famous generals [五虎将] of the State of Shu [蜀国] in the Three Kingdoms Era (三国时代). |
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I suspect the makers of the movie tries too hard to make the battle scenes impressive. But after the Battle of Helm’s Deep scene in LoTR, is there even a point trying at all? The entire story also make the life of Zhao tragic – it was as if whatever he has done in his military service, was ultimately meaningless. And that’s not mentioned that in the movie, he never managed to settle down to raise a family. In the end, he still have to fight one last battle as an old man and die a heroic death. (Though why is death glorified, I really do not know. Chinese historical characters almost all died some kind of gruesome death before they are immortalised.) I won’t recommend the movie to you, even though it isn’t really that disappointing. Forbidden Kingdom [功夫之王] |
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Anyway, the entire story was a spin off from the Journey to the West [西游记] and in specific, about the Monkey God [孙悟空]. It was a story about how the American boy travelled through some kind of time gate into a mystic world to rescue the Monkey God who was turned into stone by an evil deity dominating that world. The fact that all the casts of the movies spoke English is a little awkward aside, some of the lines they said were pretty lame. For e.g. after wacking the American boy with a bamboo stick, Jacky Chan said, “You want to learn Kung Fu? This is a strike. I will teach you how to block tomorrow.” It may sound funny and a little Confucius-like to the angmohs, but it gives me the impression of a stereotyping of the Chinese. It is as if we always speak in some kind of riddles or dish out pearls of wisdom. Granted we have 5000 years of history, but that doesn’t mean we speak like sages! The Kung Fu scenes I have no complaints of course. Even though the reasons why they both fought was pretty thin, you finally get to see Jet Li fight Jacky Chan, with no one gaining the upper hand. (Though I suspect that was deliberately done so none of the fans will be offended.) |
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My only complaints was that there wasn’t enough screenings of Liu Yifei (刘亦菲) and Li Bingbing (李冰冰). If there were more screenings of them perhaps the eye candy would ease some of my disappointments with the movie… hiak hiak hiak. |
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Spoilers: Ironman After Credits
I liked the movie, and I’ll do a review later. But I am sick of after credits scenes. And for those who wants to see it… here’s the link.
The quality ain’t so great because most of these were snapped by people using their phone cams.
Movie: The Bucket List
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I watched this with my mei, Xinyun. And as usual, a Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman movie can never go wrong. This movie certainly did not disappoint. The story is about two men, Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman), who is a simple mechanic, and multi-millionaire Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson), also the CEO of the hospital they were in. The two of them has become good friends of sorts after sharing the same hospital ward during their treatment for cancer, and having gone through the same pain and suffering that comes along with their therapy. As Carter faced the reality that he would not have long to live, he decided to put down a list of things he wanted to do before he passes away, even though he knows he might not possibly have the financial capacity to fulfill them. Edward, who faces a similar prospect of death, decided to help Carter realise his dreams, instead of waiting for the dreaded inevitable languishing in a hospital ward or trying out some fancy ‘miracle’ cure that might or might not work. Soon, the two of them embark on a journey and an adventure around the world in the attempt to complete everything on the list they have put up. I’ll not talk more on the movie as I do not wish to release spoilers. Suffice to say that both xinyun and I enjoyed the movie and the gist of it is to enjoy your life to the fullest, and to do so without regrets. (And I think xinyun cried in the movie. :P) |
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Incidentally, a few days later as I was taking a cab, the cabbie was lamenting to me about the high cost of medical care his sister had to pay and the difficulties of she, a housewife without any CPF, is going through. He then mentioned that it is best that when we are still able to move and enjoy life, to go wherever we want to go, and see as many places as we can before our bodies fail. The most interesting part about it was, before I got off the cab, the cabbie said: “Dont’ forget, live your life to the fullest!”. Did I ever say before that Singapore probably have the most political attuned and philosophical taxi drivers in the world? It was sort of deja-vu… and the most interesting part at the back of my mind I could also hear a voice that says – and don’t forget this: to live it without regrets. I am still trying to figure out the last part, though a few days back as I was talking with sicarii, I mentioned to him that I once said I’ll give my life to God, and God said to me, “I give it back to you.” Personally speaking, that probably means it wasn’t holy and good enough for Him, and He is telling me, “Before I take it, I am giving it back to you so you can live it according to My Will.” I certainly have much to think about. |
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Some have asked me for the password of my previous post. Here’s the clue to what the password is: The message on the Gate of Mazeus and Mythridates in Ephesus. The Son of God. Then go one forward.
Good luck guessing.
Movie: The Leap Years
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Watched this movie last week with my mei, xinyun. Well, I don’t usually watch a romance movie, and I don’t normally come out of one with praises for it. But I liked this movie a lot even though I originally didn’t expect much from it. (It’s that pre-conceived notion that all local productions can’t be too good.) I am not going to talk too much about the storyline since I would prefer you watch it yourself. However, the movie clearly shows that in a relationship, what is the most important would be communication. Had there been communication, Li-Ann (Wong Li Lin) would not have wasted many years waiting for her dream man Jeremy (Ananda Everingham). Had there been communication, Li-Ann and her step-daughter Dyllan would have cleared things up earlier. (For those who hasn’t watched this I’ll keep Joan Chen’s role in the movie a secret.) There are of course some lighter parts in the movie as well. The relationship between sidekicks, KS (Qi Yuwu) and Sunetta (Nadya Hutagalung), provided some laughter and breaks in between. I strongly recommend this movie, as along with 881, they showed that local productions are not all just about Jack Neo anyway. For starters, Jack Neo should learn some humility. After all, it’s not like all of his movies are that great to begin with. |