Fri, Jan 21, 2011 page16

• Other movie releases

  • Compiled by Ian Bartholomew / Staff Reporter
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  Jackass 3D

  The Jackass team is back for a third installment, showing conceptual rigor in its refusal to deviate from a formula that has already cultivated a passionate fan following. The only difference with the 2010 release is the 3D, a novelty that has the benefit of enhancing the projectile movement of bodies and body fluids that characterizes the franchise. Though little has changed from the previous movies, the spectacle of Johnny Knoxville and his friends hurting themselves in various ingenious ways still remains, for those who like their brand of joyously masochistic slapstick, extraordinarily funny.

  Shaolin Temple (新少林寺)

  A formidable cast led by mega-star Andy Lau (劉德華) tells the story of a vicious warlord who is betrayed by his subordinates, and while on the run befriends a cook from Shaolin Temple. This friendship leads him to understand the spirit of Buddhism, make friends of the initially suspicious monks, and finally take a role in helping save the oppressed, and Shaolin Temple itself, from the ravages of war. Directed by Benny Chan (陳木勝), a veteran action film director, and featuring performances by Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒) and Fan Bingbing (范冰冰), as well as a cameo by Jacky Chan (成龍).

  The Beautiful Person (La belle personne)

  A romance loosely based on La Princesse de Cleves, a novel published in 1678 about forbidden passions among the aristocracy. The novel, long a staple of French literature classes, has been injected with a strong dose of pop sensibility and moved into a modern French high school. There is an overflow of beautiful young people falling in love and in lust with one another, but the complex romantic relationships, while treated with rigorous attention to the details of mood and style, are too emotionally detached to produce much heat.

  The Messenger

  A highly regarded film from the hand of Oren Moverman (who wrote and directed the offbeat Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There). The point of departure is the work of the US Army’s Combat Notification Unit, the people who knock on doors and tell the next-of-kin that someone they love has died in combat. The film stars Woody Harrelson (Captain Tony Stone) and Ben Foster (Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery) as a two-man team that has this unenviable duty. The story develops on two levels, the first of Stone teaching Montgomery that the only way to handle this job is to do it by the book, and the second of Montgomery failing to abide by this rule and beginning a hesitant and tender romance with Olivia (Samantha Morton), the widow of a fallen officer. First-rate acting and a commitment to understanding the nuances of bereavement save this film from being a standard tearjerker.

  Leaves of Grass

  Edward Norton plays two identical twins. One is a university professor, the other a small-time pot grower who tries to stave off a takeover bid from a local drug lord. It goes without saying that the twins don’t much like each other, but a relationship builds and they discover much about themselves and each other as they battle the bad guys (bear in mind it is the same person playing both roles). The cast includes heavy hitters like Susan Sarandon and Richard Dreyfuss, and some inspired acting by Norton himself. The film, directed by Tim Blake Nelson, is described by Roger Ebert as a “sweet, wacky masterpiece.”

  Kites

  An Indian film by Bollywood director Anurag Basu about passion, bank robbery, and of course dance, Kites opened in the US as the largest distribution of a Hindi film to date. The director’s reputation and the presence of Hrithik Roshan, arguably the hottest man in Indian cinema, gives Kites huge commercial momentum. Roshan’s character is a man living on the edge, just one step ahead of the police, bounty hunters and others, all of whom want him dead. The only thing keeping him going is his passion for Natasha, played by Japanese-Uruguayan-Mexican model Barbara Mori Ochoa. In a mix of English, Hindi and Spanish.

  My Name is Khan

  Another unconventional product from Bollywood, My Name is Khan, a film set largely in post-9/11 America, tells the story of a young Muslim boy who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome. Directed by Karan Johar, one of the highest profile Bollywood directors, it provides a look through Bollywood eyes of the perils of being a Muslim in an increasingly paranoid America, and combines this with a tender love story, and a meditation on human nature. Best described as a thoughtful tearjerker, My Name Is Khan runs for 160 minutes, so make sure you take along a large box of tissues. Primarily in English, with some Hindi.

  The Last Flight

  A gorgeous French period drama set in the 1930s with Marion Cotillard playing a woman pilot who finds her way to a fort in the Sahara after a plane crash, desperate to convince the commandant to send out a search party. War is brewing with local desert tribes and her request is refused. There are battles, enemies become friends, and death from thirst is always just steps away. Directed by Karim Dridi, The Last Flight is notable for its spectacular scenic photography and attention to period detail, evoking comparisons to Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Sheltering Sky.

  Wheel of Time

  Werner Herzog’s 2003 documentary about the Kalachakra initiation, the 12-day process in which Tibetan Buddhist monks are ordained, is shown on the big screen in Taiwan for the first time. The famously acerbic filmmaker takes a step back, cutting back on his commentary to plunge the audience into an intensely religious experience. Wheel of Time differs from the many films recently screened here focusing on Tibetan Buddhism in general or the Dalai Lama in particular that to a greater or lesser degree proselytize for the Buddhist faith. Herzog, in his inimitable way, is content to allow one of the world’s greatest religious events to overawe us.

  Mr Bedman (彈簧床先生)

  Directed by Dai Tai-lung (戴泰龍), who made So-Called Friends (哥兒們) back in 2001, Mr Bedman is a mildly slapstick romantic comedy that works hard to be risque. The Bedman of the title is Ah Hai, played by Ralf Chiu (邱彥翔) — whose claim to fame is being the face of PXmart (全聯福利中心) commercials on television — a proprietor of a shop selling beds. This profession puts bedroom activities front and center, and Ah Hai negotiates relationships with his wife (Ann Chang, 張心妍, who played a receptionist in Cape No. 7, 海角七號), who he fails to impregnate, despite his best efforts, and high school sweetheart (FHM cover girl Lin Yi-fan, 林尹釩), who he knocks up all too easily.

  Crazy Little Thing Called Love

  Thai romantic comedy that has performed well in its local market. It follows the story of Nam (Pimchanok Luevisetpaibool), a nerdy girl, who has a huge crush on the school’s heartthrob jock, played by young actor Mario Maurer, who first gained some regional prominence for his part in Love in Siam (2007). Nam undergoes a makeover and manages to get the boys chasing her, but the object of her desires remains indifferent. At least it makes a change from the almost unmitigated diet of Thai horror that has flooded screens in the past few years.

  Go Lala Go! (杜拉拉升職記)

  Romantic comedy from Chinese actress, director, writer and celebrity blogger Xu Jinglei (徐靜蕾), Go Lala Go! aims at the same format of style over content that made The Devil Wears Prada such a hit. Xu plays the Lala of the title, a young woman with plenty of ambition and drive who believes that hard work will win her a place high up the corporate ladder. She wins more than a promotion, and her boss’ wife (Karen Mok, 莫文蔚) sees in her a romantic rival.

  Ghosts

  This Japanese/South Korean coproduction makes no bones about ripping off Jerry Zucker’s 1990 hit movie Ghost, though replacing Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze with Japanese actress Matsushima Nanako (best known outside Japan for her part in the Ring films) and South Korean actor Song Seung-heon. Although the roles of the living and the dead have been reversed, dialogue and a number of scenes (most notably the famous pottery scene) have been lifted in their totality. It might all be spoken in Japanese, but you know you’ve seen it all before.

  Snow Prince

  A film based on a script by Kundo Koyama, who wrote the Oscar-winning Departures, Snow Prince does not show the same unconventional brilliance, with a mood and style much more rooted in soap opera. The film is prettily made, with beautiful scenes of Japan’s snow country and a delightful dog. The familiar story of a poor boy who becomes friends with a rich girl, Snow Prince picks up on all the usual cliches, but the period setting in the 1930 and fine acting from a cast veterans such as Keiko Kishi and Tadanobu Asano ensure a level of quality that is more or less able to hold the audience through most two hour running time.

  A Tale of Ululu’s Wonderful Forest

  The setting in the scenic backwoods of Hokkaido gives this animal film some appeal for armchair tourists, but on the whole this is largely a TV-style family drama. A brother and sister go and live with their veterinarian father after their mother is hospitalized, and as they gradually adapt to their rural setting, they find a companion in an abandoned puppy. The puppy turns out to be a wolf and they decide to return it to the wild. It’s heartwarming, but that’s as far as it goes.

  The Executioner (Jiphaengja)

  Feature film debut by South Korean director Choi Jin-ho, The Executioner takes up the issue of the brutalization that takes place within the prison system. Jae-kyoung, a young prison guard, is appalled by the vicious methods of his mentor Jong-ho. The reopening of a 12-year-old case creates a disturbance among inmates, and the guards need to respond, providing an insight into hearts and minds of this closed community.

  Atashin’chi

  Although this is the second feature film release derived from the manga by Eiko Kera, this is its first edition in 3D splendor. That a 40-minute cartoon about the domestic life of a Tokyo family whose members all look like potatoes needs to be watched wearing silly goggles gives rise to a feeling of profound despair, but the series has proven able to span national boundaries. The TV version has aired in India, South Korea, Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines.
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