These are some of the movies I have watch over the past 1 month or so…

Fool’s Gold (Watched: Sunday 2-March 2008)
My first comment when the show ended was: “It begins with the sinking of a boat, and ends with the sinking of an aeroplane.”

Starring Matthew McConaughey as Ben Finnegan and Kate Hudson as his estranged wife Tess Finnegan, the story revolves around finding the legendary 18th century Queens Dowry – 40 chests of exotic treasure that was lost at sea by the Spanish Armada in 1715, after Ben discovered a vital clue to the treasures whereabouts.

It was not as exciting as Nicholas Cage’s National Treasure, but while most of National Treasure’s hunt for treasure is on land, a lot of this movie is filmed at sea. In fact, it made up for the minor deficiency in excitement with fun and laughter with the other characters: Billionaire Nigel Honeycutt (Donald Sutherland), daughter Gemma (Alexis Dziena) and mentor-turned-nemesis, Moe Fitch (Ray Winstone).

A worthy watch, in my personal opinion.

CJ 7 (Watched: Tuesday 19-Feb 2008)
This is truly an atypical Stephen Chow movie. If you were expecting the usual witty remarks that’s common in movies such as Shaolin Soccer or Kung Fu; or the usual mindless humor and laughter, you will be quite disappointed. Many of my friends who are Stephen Chow fans finds the movie uninspiring in spite of the technology behind the making of the computer animation: the alien CJ-7.

I would say we give credit where it is due. The computer graphics blend in quite well with the real cast and it is not easy to act as if something is there when it isn’t. Although the animation isn’t as awesome and ground shaking as that of Monster, Inc, it was still made with the state of the art computers, not to mention with far less computers with higher processing power. Above which, the child actress Xu Jiao was playing the role of a boy in the movie and she has done quite well.

In the movie, Chow played the role of a single father earning a living at the construction site in his attempt to give his son a proper education and a better future. After feeling sorry that he couldn’t afford to buy his son (Xu Jiao) a mechanical dog toy, Chow bought home something he found in the garbage dump which he thought would have been the perfect toy. Soon his son would discover it to be what it really is, and the story would evolve around the relationship between Chow and his son, the school and classmates, and the alien creature nicknamed CJ 7.

Though it would be quite uninspiring compared to the typical Stephen Chow movies, the social divide depicted in the movie between China’s nuevo richie and the less affluent masses was very realistic. This is the same stuff you read regularly on Yazhou zhoukan, but now you see it with your own eyes. One needs to open his heart to appreciate this movie, and I would consider it a break through by Stephen Chow from his usual roles.

Jumper (Watched: Sunday 17-Feb 2008)
David Rice (Hayden Christenson), the son of an abusive father (Michael Rooker) and a mother (Diane Lane) who abandoned him when he was 5 years old, is a jumper – a human being with the supernatural ability to teleport to any part of the world instantaneously. David left home when he was a teen, after surviving a harrowing experience of near death when he almost drowned in an icy river, and discovering his super natural powers.

Unknown to him, there are ohters like him, and he has enemies known as the Paladins, headed by the ruthless Roland (Samuel L. Jackson) who have been mercilessly hunting and killing them. He soon run into fellow jumper and orphan Griffin (Jamie Bell), who would reveal to him the stark reality after David escaped from his first encounter with Roland. They soon form an temporal alliance of convenience as they deal with the threat presented by Roland and the Paladins.

I love the special effects of the movie and I wished I could jump too. Then I don’t need to suffer on our ‘Worse Class’ Transports anymore and every weekend I can just jump to any place in the world to have fun. However, the movie was not at all breath-taking or captivating. In a matter of 3 weeks I had almost forgotten the name.

And one thing bugs me in the movie. Roland became aware of David after David robbed a few banks. But by presenting Roland and the Paladins as merciless murderers, it seems to justify David and some of the Jumpers’ crimes. It sort of reminded me how some people cheered the rogue trader from SocGen who lost the bank 7 billion dollars as a champion fighting against capitalism and as some kind of financial Che Guevara. Is this how our world is coming to, where we either cannot differentiate right from wrong, or see a wrong for what it is as long as a bigger wrong is being done?

Lawyer Michael Clayton (George Clooney), is a ‘fixer’ who clears up complex or dirty cases on behalf of corporate clients. He was called in after the behaviour of an old friend and colleague, Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson), who has been working on an important case on behalf of a large client for eight years, is causing concern among the partners of the law firm and the client.

While Michael was dealing with his own personal problems, Arthur died under suspcious circumstances and as Michael investigated more into the case, he discovered facts about the case which would put his life in danger. In the process Michael has to make a choice between defending corporate interests of his client, or to face down the dark forces which will stop at nothing to prevent the truth from seeing the day of light.

In my personal opinion, this is a movie that would win awards but would never be a box office hit. I am more convinced by the fact that this is so because it wasn’t on the big screen for too long and when I went to watch it with a friend, it was screen in a hall that has at most 150 people. It is definitely a good movie (I believed is even better than I am Legend ) If you have missed it on the big screen, try and catch it on DVD.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age is the story about Queen Elizabeth I (Reprised by Cate Blanchett) facing familial betrayal and danger for her throne and country. In the changing religious and political tides of late 16th century Europe, Queen Elizabeth finds her rule challenged by her cousin Mary Stuart, and the Spanish King Philip II (Jordi Molla), who is building a sea-dominating armada to ferry his powerful army to England and restore the country to Catholicism.

While I didn’t watch the first Elizabeth movie made by the same director, there is really nothing to complain about the cast. That’s not forgetting that the previous movie had seven Academy Award nominations and part of the cast were reprising their roles in this. I suspect that the movie wouldn’t be box office hit either and I find it a bit lengthly for a movie, even though it is definitely long enough to be more satisfying than National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Unfortunately, I was starting to fall sick on that day itself, I wasn’t really in the mood for a long movie nor to think more about what I have watched.

Anyway, like all Hollywood productions, this is not entirely correct historically. (For a more detailed, and possibly more accurate historical account of Queen Elizabeth I, this article, on Wikipedia maybe a better source.)

My friends and I went over to Eng Wah at Suntec to catch Dan In Real Life after having coffee at Marina on a Sunday, because we decided it was too early for dinner. I personally wasn’t expecting much, but it turns out to be quite an enjoyable movie since I hardly ever bothered about the supposed artistic value of a movie. (In which case, I just couldn’t figure how horror movies can be artistic, though I am not asking anyone to agree with me on that.)

The movie tells the story of Dan Burns (Steve Carell), a local newspaper advice columnist, and a widower with three daughters. He brought the family to his parent’s house for a family get-together and met a woman, Marie (Juliette Binoche) whom he fell in love with.

The movie revolves around how he deals with his feelings for Marie, and subsequently how he come to terms with the fact that two of two of his elder daughters are no longer little girls. It is a typical family-value themed moviies and there are lighter moments which brings out lots of laughter.

I would say it’s a good DVD to pick up for the weekend or the holidays but just don’t expect a breath taking blockbuster.

This is my first movie in 2008, and on New Year’s day too. I watched it with tstar, and according to her, this is her first R21 movie.

The movie is 155 mintues long, and is based on author Zhang Ailing’s book of the same name. The background is set in Japanese occupied Shanghai in 1942 and Wang Jiazhi alias Mrs. Mak (Tang Wei), is an undercover operative of the Chinese Nationalist government. She is part of a scheme to seduce Mr Yi (Tony Leung), the head of counter-intelligence of the collaborator Wang Jingwei government, so as to create opportunities for a team of operatives to assassinate Yi.

The plot was originally hatched by a group of students – headed by Kuang Yumin (Wang Lihom) – when they were in Hong Kong after the Japanese occupied Guangzhou. It was their desire to do their part for their nation by killing a member of the collaborator’s government. The plot fell apart when Yi left Hong Kong to return to Shanghai to take up his post.

Unknown to the group of idealistic students, the Nationalist government has taken an interest in their plot and had placed them under observation. When their plot was almost busted, Nationalist operatives stepped in to prevent it from unravelling. Wang Jiazhi however, was so disappointed by their apparent failure that she returned to occupied Shanghai after the Japanese occupied Hong Kong.

The plot, now as part of the Nationalist black-ops, continues but as Yi was too cautious and cunning, the Nationalist handlers in charge of the operation decided that ‘Mrs Mak’ must return to the plot to make it a success. They found Wang in occupied Shanghai and invited her to return to her part in the plot. And since she has originally given much to the plot, she agreed to continue in her role.

The rest of the story is of course on how Wang managed to seduce Yi, and became his mistress… There were some sex scenes in the movie and personally I wonder if any actual sex is involved because the scenes are even more realistic than the exaggerated Japanese AVs. But I won’t talk more about the story and would leave those who are interested to enjoy it.

Personally, I said it is very well done. The story covers on how ‘Mrs Mak’ deals with every aspect in which Mr Yi would be suspicious. It shows in the end her struggles in her role as a mole and bait, against her own personal feelings for Mr Yi. Everything was very well portrayed and it deserved every bit of the acclaim it has gotten.

Caught this movie with Renee at GV Plaza at 8:35pm on Wednesday.

In the movie, Robert Neville (Will Smith) is a brilliant military scientist trying to find a cure for a terrible manmade virus that has wiped out the majority of the human race. Being immune, Neville appears to be the last human survivor in the remnants of New York City living alone with his dog, Samantha. Robert had not evacuate and had remained in New York to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood.

The story is about how he get by day to day in the ruins of New York, and how he used his wits to survive against ‘The Infected’ – rabid, carnivorous victims of the plague who can only exist in the dark and who will devour or infect anyone or anything in their path. It is debatable whether they still retain the higher functions of humans, however.

Watching the movie makes me wonder if I will have the wits to live in an hostile environment all alone. The very thought of being the last one alive, and the constant threat of being hunted and killed in the most gruesome way isn’t a very tantalizing thought.

圣诞节前夕我和朋友在狮城大厦的电影院里看了 《投名状》。

这部电影改篇编自张彻的 《刺马》。时代背景是讲述晚清太平天国作乱年间，败将庞青云 (李连杰饰) 死里逃生后，和山贼头子赵二虎 (刘德华饰) 和姜午阳 (金城武饰) 结为异姓兄弟后投靠清廷，成为清军中号称 《山字营》 的部队的故事。故事描述庞如何从落魄到飞黄腾达，也穿插了庞与赵的妻子莲生 (徐静蕾饰) 的奸情。也应如此，加上日后各自意见相左和利益上的冲突，最终导致兄弟反目、互相残杀的结局。

实力派的演员如刘德华、李连杰都演的不错。相对之下金城武就有点相形见拙和有点木纳 (可能是他普通话不怎么行的关系吧？)。不过气派上和西片来比还是略逊一筹。故事的结局有些差强人意，原因是庞设计杀害赵的意图是为了女人、保全地位还是过去的冲突，或者是三者都有都交代得不什么清楚。加上，当年湘军攻下当时太平天国的首府 ‘天京’ (现南京） 时，可没片中那么的和平。据说，1864年 7月19日湘军在南京是 ‘见人即杀，见屋即烧’ ，把南京洗劫一空，付之一炬，大火七日不熄。 虽然说是电影，但是这段血腥的历史 – 晚清年间的 ‘南京大屠杀’ – 被全部抹去让我觉得是有点在扭曲历史的政治意图。