The Holiday (2006)

Time for a holiday

Yes, the holiday season is here! It is a time to feast on turkeys (they have it easier than chickens, we only eat them once a year), give/receive presents, decorate your Christmas tree, do last minute shopping and most importantly to take a break from the bullshit world of work, school and, uh, work. Go for a holiday! You mean you don't know where to go? How about a home exchange that involves Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black (Oh yeah, I can feel your heart pumping real fast)? Well, its cheaper than a real holiday.

The story evolves around 2 women who are poles apart. Woman at L.A. is Amanda, who has a 'tear duct' problem (Cameron Diaz). Amanda is a successful career woman who has it all: a big house, loads of money and a company that produces movie trailers. No such luck in love instead. She finds that her boyfriend is cheating on her and promptly breaks up with him.

Meanwhile on the other side of the globe is Iris, woman at London. She is a journalist (with a problem with controlling her tears) at the Telegraph, and is head over heels for her ex husband, Jasper (Rufus Sewell) and still bears hope that one day they will reconcile. All hopes vanish when Jasper announces his marriage to another woman and to do it in front of her, now thats what i call a double whammy.

Question time. How do lonely souls spend Christmas? Answer: Go for a holiday! Not the normal kind of holiday, mind you, but a home exchange. Amanda moves to London and Iris flies to L.A. The rest of the story revolves around the people they meet, ie: Iris's brother, Graham (Jude Law) and Miles (Jack Black) and how they subsequently fall in love.

Notice that the focus is not on the male stars of this show. The real leads are Diaz and Winslet as this is a female orientated show. How? Firstly, the plot discusses on how women can be strong and live their own lives, sans men. Secondly, why do you think Jude Law is in it? To Act (Pardon me, he can act but this show requires him to just turn on his charm)? No! To sell tickets. Jack Black is here to cater for women with different taste (funny, chubby) for men. The guys here are the eye candies not the gals.

The Holiday is definitely not in the class of Love Actually. At best, it is just an above average movie. Metaphorically speaking, if The Holiday is like a trip from Singapore to Thailand, then Love Actually will be from Singapore to Europe.

3
txq

Death Note 2: The Last Name (2006)

Don't write my name please!

I'm not perfect. Yes, the dreaded prefects, more often than not, have caught me, during my secondary school days. From improper attire to getting my hair highlighted (yah I'm ah beng, but who wasn't one during those turbulent days?), I've done it all. My name is always on the prefect's little black book. The notion of seeing my name on that book irks me and thats what motorists feel when their names end up in traffic police's own little black book. A sense of helplessness will surge into our minds. And that's exactly how you will feel after you have watched Death Note 2: The Last Name; a sense of helplessness for those who died.

Picking up where Death Note ends, Death Note 2 resumes the battle of wits between Light (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and L (Ken'ichi Matsuyama). Now, another Death Notebook has fallen into the hands of another person and she is Misa (Erika Toda), a pop idol we last seen vaguely in Death Note. She is a fervent fan of Kira (Kira is the alias of Light in the cyberworld) and she proclaims herself as the 2nd Kira. However, she has something that Light doesn't have. Shinigami (Death God) eyes. Now, as there are 2 notebooks, will that mean? Yes, 2 Shinigamis, Ryuk and Remu (Ryuk is a very funny and surprisingly lovable Shinigami). Things, now, become more complicated (And I mean real complicated) when a 3rd Kira appears. Can the Kiras plot the downfall of L, or will L triumph? Will anyone discover the identity of Light? And the million dollar question: Who will be the Last name on that Death Notebook?

Well, I'm not sympathizing with those criminals. However, after seeing what Light did to them, I felt helpless and began to think who is Light to take their lives (You might think this way too I'm sure). Once again, human nature is in the spotlight. Power can corrupt even the most pristine state of any person's mind. The hunger for power is too overwhelming to resist. A Death Notebook is not only a weapon that can take lives but also a temptation (Think the snake in the garden of Eden); A temptation that will test your morality. And now for the billion dollar question. What will you do when you gain possession of a Death Notebook? If i have that, I will probably write down the prefect's names (Haha just kidding, I don't remember them anyway)! Will you do something like what Light did? Killing all the criminals and make it a criminal free world? Or do you think that Light is already a criminal himself? Seriously, I might just plan how I die, when I will die and whom I die with. I don't dare to think of any date but I will want to die with my loved ones. What will you do?

P.S: Thank you, moviesonspace.com
4
txq

A Battle of Wits (2006)

Defend, well, is still the best form of attack

You must be thinking: this guy simply cannot get enough of war films, right? For the past month, I have watch thousands of soldiers battling it out in Iwo Jima, a handful of Lafayette Escadrille and now we have ONE man slugging his guts out during China's Warring States period. And that man is, who else but Andy Lau ?

This movies is based on a popular Japanese Manga, Bokku. Set during the China's Warring States period, this story is about Ge Li (Andy Lau), who is from the Mozi Clan, helping Liang City fend off enemies and a very certain invasion from the nation, Zhao. People from the Mozi Clan are famed for their unorthodox war fare. As they are a peace loving clan, they main forte, obviously, is to defend. There is only so much a person can do, can Ge Li successfully defend the fortress?

Scenes in this movie are beautiful and grandiose. The battle sequences, though cannot be compared to LOTR, still hold the film pretty well. Nothing spectacular about the acting here as the characters are somehow one dimensional. Lau tries to keep the cast tight but the only chemistry he has is with Fan Bing Bing who plays Yi Yue, a Hua Mulan kind of figure. Director Jacob Cheung emphasizes on the complexity of the human nature. How gratefulness can turn to jealousy and how trust can bring about betrayal. It is saddening to see that the we humans can be such selfish creatures. The greatest irony of man, I'm sad to say, is man himself.

3.5
txq

Fly Boys (2006)

Battle of the skies

Another war movie! Fret not, this movie takes a different approach altogether. It is about a group of volunteers in the French Air Service, the Lafayette Escadrille and how they start as relatively unknowns and end as heroes of World War I.

As usual there is a leader of the pack, and he is non other than the-cooler-than-thou-and-the-green-goblin's-son James Franco. He stars as Rawlings, a suave guy who packs plenty of ambitions in his 5' 11" frame. And typical of many movies, there is the guy with a history, a guy who wants to change his destiny, a mommy's boy and several weird characters. I know it is Cliched but we still watch it nevertheless.

Few surprises here as we see this bunch of amateurs become world class pilots and eventually winning against the Germans. I think i miss out on a love story but well, it is insignificant in the end. A tad too draggy though, if the film makers can take out the love story, the movie will surely be more enjoyable. The flight sequences will keep you glue to your seats and after observing how easy pilots die during those turbulent days, their balls , i mean wings , are really made of steel.

3
txq

Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

WARNING: Multiple viewings are required

War movies, haven't we watch them umpteen times? From the horror of Apocalypse Now to the D-Day of Saving Private Ryan, we've watched them all. So, what's new? Isn't it going to be the same? Bodies blown up, the lives-so-worthless scenes (think the opening sequence of Saving Private Ryan) and the 1001 ways soldiers die. Hold your guns soldiers, because Flags of Our Fathers is not your typical war movie.

This story traces back to World War 2 and evolves around the photograph that turns the war around: 6 marines erecting the USA flag atop Mount Suribachi. Upon seeing the impact of the picture, the remaining 3 marines who raised the flag then were recalled back to the States (the other 3 were killed). Their mission was to stir the patriotism of the citizens and in turn persuade them to buy more war bonds. Upon arrival, John "Doc" Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagnon (Jesse Bradford) and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) were immediately named heroes of the war. They went 'on tour' around the country and soon were disillusioned and, to a certain extent, disgusted by the fanfare and the overwhelming attention on who raised the flag (except Gagnon that is). Just to use an anecdote to illustrate my point, the entire bond raising drive is almost like a PR campaign. The packaging of the heroes, the countless flag planting drills and the fabricated speech that they were forced to speak of. Meanwhile, the real heroes were back there on the island. Bleeding and dying for their country. Yet no one spoke of them. The real heroes were forgotten.

Instead of intense action throughout the movie, we get fragments of the war and some part of the bond raising drive. Flashbacks are used extensively by director, Clint Eastwood. His story plays around with time and sometimes it might get to you. You might need to be very alert to understand the movie and the point he is driving at. I especially took a liking for one quote in the movie, it goes like this: "They may have fought for their country but they died for their friends, for the man in front and for the man beside." Every man for himself does not apply here.

3.5
txq

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By the time you are reading this, my picture is already on www.moviesonspaces.com. No I am not wanted by the police, I want you to vote for me (insane laughter). If you guys think I'm good, please vote for me. If not, tell me where I can improve and I will jolly well pull up my stinking socks. All comments are welcome; criticisms, praises, expletives, I-wish-you-lose and the list goes on. Just keep it coming, keep my spirit alive. Hope I didn't disappoint you people for the past year or so. Show me the money! Or rather, show me the love.

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Your friendly moviephile,
txq

Coming Soon!

Greetings fellow movie-philes! As you can see from your calender, we are nearing the end of the year again! Holy cow, time flies and an eventful year is about to end real soon. Hold on, before we end 2006 with a bang, let us see what are the movies coming to a screen near you this month.

1. After This Our Exile (7 Dec)
This big winner in the Golden Horse Awards this year stars Best Actor, Aaron Kwok, and the youngest Best Supporting Actor, Goum Ian Iskandar. Not only that, this movie also won the Best Picture award. Expect some serious and stellar performances by the star-studded cast. And remember to carry a pack of tissue paper.

2. Eragon (13 Dec)
Are you having The LOTR hangover? Need some fantasy to boost your mundane life? Fret not. Eragon, the dragon rider is here. This film is based on a novel by Christopher Paolini and aims to carry on the fantasy genre. Will Eragon emulate LOTR? The jury is still out.

3. Confessions of Pain (14 Dec)
Girls, stop gushing! Book your tickets for this film now! This movie stars two of Asia's hottest guys: the brooding Tony Leung and the picture perfect Takeshi Kaneshiro. Personally, I am anticipating this show for a long time because it is from the makers of Infernal Affairs (Andrew Lau and Alan Mak). As a fan of Infernal Affairs, I expect some quality work being churned out here!

4. A Night At The Museum (21 Dec)
Ben Stiller is back! Brace yourself for more laughs and gags from Hollywood's funniest man ( Some of you might not agree). Just in time for the festive season and this is one perfect family movie.

5. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (28 Dec)
Expect many crude jokes here as Ali G stars as Borat, a reporter from Kazakhstan who is trying to marry Pamela Anderson (crazy stuff). A mad cap movie of enormous proportion (no pun intended), I must say.

6. Blood Diamond (28 Dec)
After a successful outing in The Departed, Leonardo Dicaprio is back in Blood Diamond. Blood Diamond is about the chaos in 1990's Sierra Leone and how a diamond can transform the lives of the people. Jennifer Connelly also stars in this politcal charged film.