I love watching movies. 

But what is with the bloody remakes?? Lately, it seems like you cannot step into a cinema without having at least one remake screening. My personal peeve is remaking movies from their original and oftimes, superior incarnations. Look at films such as The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Infernal Affairs, Fright Night, Conan the Barbarian and even The Ring. I can see the commercial appeal but why re-visit these films with something that was tweaked or worse, explained to death?

No matter how much Singapore tries to be as open-minded as possible on film censorship, they manage to fuck up. Is it because they are afraid of repercussions or discussions that a film may provoke? Or that Singaporeans may suddenly have a mind of their own?

I came across an article on Yawning Bread on the film, The Way I See It: Stories on Human Rights. There is nothing wrong a film that carries a strong message but to rate it R21? Why can't the film be screened under a PG rating and have it open for discussions instead? Ok, if PG is too open, how about NC16 for the more conservative people? Hey, if the idea is to get as many eyeballs as possible to watch this film and get people thinking about human rights, I think that it should be screened for the public and let them decide.



Kudos to Singapore's human rights group, Maruah for bringing the film in. Wish I knew of the screening earlier, I'd have signed up to watch it.

And on a lighter note,I think the guys at Salesforce.com got a bit Tron-crazy. But still, very cool:


Salesforce LIVE at Dreamforce - Tron from Bryan Ebzery on Vimeo.

I've been on a mad movie bender with the girls and its been great, if a little bit of a pain-in-the-ass. The pain comes from sitting in all the weird little cinemas.

Thus far, we've caught a Fellini retrospective, A Year with Take Dance (pronounced Ta-ke Dance, cos the founder is Japanese!), the entertaining Mexican movie Rudo y Cursi and the ultra violent, yet hilarious, Kick-Ass. All over one weekend.

I really love films and the one thing that still stands out for me is, the story and how its told. Catching so many films in one weekend showed the power and differing styles of the directors. It showed that even a master like Frederico Fellini had problems when delivering a film as complex as 8 1/2 - how the hell do you show what is going on in the protagonist's mind back when the movies were still in black and white? It also shows that if anyone wants to make it big in film, they have to be up-to-date on the medium, its channels and the formats that film can come in. Or they have to pick a compelling subject matter. But enough grousing.

Here is the film that we're planning to watch soon. This is the follow-up to, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, titled, The Girl Who Played with Fire.Hopefully with lots of good company and pillows, so that we have something to hide behind when things get hairy....

Like many things modern, everything is going digital these days.

Even one of my favourite stories. Scheduled for a February 2009 release, Neil Gaiman's Coraline is a stop-motion which is co-directed by Henry Selick and Mike Cachuela.

This is the story of a young girl, who unlocks a mysterious door in her new home in Ashland, Oregon, and enters into an adventure in a parallel reality. On the surface, this other world eerily mimics her own life—though much more fantastical. In it, Coraline encounters such off-kilter inhabitants as the morbidly funny Miss Forcible and Miss Spink, and a counterfeit mother and father — who attempts to keep her. Ultimately, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to get back home.

While touching and funny on one hand, Coraline also gave me the chills. It mirrors Lewis Caroll's classic Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Both stories blur the distinction between fantasy and reality and gave me a little thrill and chill to read it. I've been facinated by this genre for years and it's been reflected in the books that I read. But enough prattle, see it for yourself:

My weekend of crime was fairly interesting.

It made me wonder, just what is it with directors and their muses?

While I admit that some of these combinations work, I think that sometimes directors and actors have to break out of their comfort zones to work on other projects instead of sticking together. The much-hyped American Gangster reteams Ridley Scott with Russell Crowe and delivers a strong story with engaging character studies of its two protagonists. Character study aside, it's a story that we've seen before far superior movies like Infernal Affairs and Heat. American Gangster plays up the 'being bad is good' card but loses steam in the midway, which sucks. It would've been better if it was trimmed down.

The movie that won me over was David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises. Gripping, gory and dripping with malice throughout, it got me caught up from the start. The one thing that I forgot about watching Cronenberg movies is the gore...If you cannot stomach sudden spurts of violence and blood, then it's best to give this movie a pass. What worked was the hints of violence as well as the use of the victim as a narrator, it's such nuances that chills the blood. Although the characters in this movie and their mob ties can be a little confusing at times, you never lose sight of its purpose or plot. Very good.

Now to wait for No Country for Old Men...woo hoo!

I was inspired by the romance of the movies this weekend while watching The Last of the Mohicans. Although I am a huge movie nut, I am never one to sit through rom-com flicks.

Let’s put it in perspective. I intensely dislike watching rom-com flicks – yes, I’ve seen almost all the classics and some of the biggest duds like Down with Love, Serendipity, No Reservations (why the hell did they have to tamper with a great original like Bella Martha?! Oh wait, Americans…figures), etc. I’m cheesed off especially if I have to sit through 90 mins of droll dialogue, uninspired directing and insipid acting that will reach a predictable ending. Bo-ring! See, this is the reason I read romances instead of watching them. Somehow in the books, the characters have much more life and spice which get lost in translation when they appear onscreen.

My notion of romantic movies is that they have to be entertaining but with a dash of reality. The actors have to have chemistry and the script cannot too silly, clunky or unbelievable. Most importantly, it has to touch the viewer and make you feel that you too, want to be saved by or loved by someone like that. Sadly, most of the factory-like rom-coms today possess neither the charm nor the sparkle that movies like When Harry Met Sally, Dirty Dancing, The Mask of Zorro or even the quirky In & Out had.

So what sort of ‘romantic’ movies do I watch? Let’s look at the list, shall we?

1. The Last of the Mohicans – I love, love Michael Mann. Even though he didn’t read the bloody book before and during the shot, he captured the romance, the wars and brought the characters to life almost effortlessly. The romance was built into the plot and you felt each and every nuance of pain, love and loss. Tell me, which girl didn’t want Hawkeye to come save them too?
   
2. Grosse Pointe Blank – Ah, this one is the interesting romantic comedy. Hit man reluctantly goes to his high school reunion, he’s on assignment, he meets the ex-flame that he stood up and he’s also being chased by a rival. What the hell’s he supposed to do? Smart, witty script, sparkling characters coupled with small bursts of action = one really fun movie.
   
3. Amelie – It’s French, it’s quirky and it introduced us to Audrey Tatou. This is one of the most implausible romantic comedies every, but its warmth and charm drew everyone into Amelie’s world and you naturally ended up rooting for its crazy heroine.
   
4. Rent – Friendship, love and loss. Although the movie version didn’t do justice to this classic musical but the fact that they reunited almost all the original cast still touches the heart. The years have added color to the songs that were not there when these actors performed their characters so many years ago.
   
5. Rob Roy – The romantic hero with a woman who possessed a spirit that was unshakeable and as strong as her man was. Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange had a chemistry that very few actors have with each other and that was what lifted then entire movie.
   
6. Sin City – Film noir, anyone? Granted this is not romantic in any way but what I loved was how they brought the characters to life, everyone looks so bloody tormented, so sad, sigh…
   
7. Chasing Amy – Ben Affleck was cool once. He was cute and witty back when he was the baffled comic book artist in love with the lesbian in this classic Kevin Smith movie. And he gets his wish too…Oh wait, didn’t I say this was a Kevin Smith movie. Expect weirdness…
   
8. The English Patient – Only ardent movie fans need apply here for this movie richly rewards those who have the patience to sit through it all. Its characters are complex and the relationships complicated but the cinematography and the script are first-class. Hence the accolades.
   
9. The Age of Innocence – Forbidden love, deceit and desire set in 1800s America. Should you marry someone just to uphold a perfect front or marry someone that you truly desire? Hey, maybe Singaporeans should watch this too…
   
10. 50 First Dates – This one almost didn’t make the cut but I figured, since Adam Sandler tried so darned hard to get Drew Barrymore to remember him, it’s worth all the silly vomiting walruses, the weird German chick and even Rob Schneider.

I’m thinking that I’ll hibernate at home with my DVDs next weekend. Gosh knows it’s too darn hot to go out and the movies that are repeated during the festival holidays suck.

The rain over the past two days has certainly put a damper on things. Not having much Christmas spirit to begin with is also part of my problem, so while some excited friends are humming their jolly tunes or clamoring to take a picture with Santa, I'm snarling and growling like a grumpy cat.

One of the things that got me fairly excited was a calender that a client sent over. While it's not the most fantastic that I've come across, it certainly brought back memories of a little adventure that I had over the past year. My fellow conspirators will surely recall something like the picture on the left - now, that's leaving your mark!

The rain also set the mood for some anti-festive brooding. Not that I usually have lots to brood about but getting excessively wet even with while being partially sheltered by y yer brolly just puts you in a cantankerous mood. While I do occasionally feel the need to run out in the rain to pay tribute to Gene Kelly, this is definately not one of those times.

And since I haven't done this for a long time, here's yours truly's Top 10 songs for a rainy day. Something to really get you get yer brood on:

1. The entire Grace album by Jeff Buckley - whenever I'm in a funk, I turn to someone who's more fucked up than me
2. Forever Blue - Chris Issak
3. I am the Highway - Audioslave
4. Drive - Incubus
5. Interstate Love Song - Stone Temple Pilots
6. Rootless Tree - Damien Rice
7. Baby Don't You Break My Heart Slow - Vonda Shepard & Emily Saliers
8. New York State of Mind - Adam Pascal
9. I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues - Elton John
10. November Rain - Guns & Roses

Theme to the list? Of course, now while the songs will generally not inspire one to kill themself, they just build on the general greyness of the days hopefully by the time Axl sings his last note you'd feel a little bit better about everything :o)

And now for a little mood lifter to end the day with - or what I would like to call, something old, something new, something perverse...specially for you. For The Dude: the Transformers trailer. Robots everywhere! For you Viggo fans out there: Alatriste...for the one that brought back memories: Perfume oh and one of course, purely for me: Babel - I'm not a Brad Pitt fan but it's Alejandro González Iñárritu who directed the really fab Amores Perros...and well, my indulgence for the season. A girl can hope!

It's yet another one of those posts where i get to wax lyrical about a current love. No, I'm not in love - I'm disinclined to cast such words about frivolously. It's the other L-word that comes to mind instead ;o)

It's Bond season once again and this time, bloody hell, I've got it bad. I've like a chirpy, gushy teenager...Casino Royale - this is the blog site! (oh and hallo, annoying plebians, it's Royale the e is there for a reason!) the 21st Bond film to be released this year to much controversy as everyone knows but well... This is actually the first time since GoldenEye that I was compelled to go watch a Bond movie in the cinema. Why? Well, usually because the Bond franchise is rather campy and silly. It's a cinematic institution, yes but well, it's a silly one...and frankly, not as excitng as the Star Wars ot Lord of the Rings series.

But despite the numerous complaints that's been heaped on the much maligned Daniel Craig, I think he makes a worthy succesor to the Bond title. How worthy? Well, over the past week, Anne and I have managed to torment all the guys at the monitoring table as well as an assortment of friends and acquaintances with numberous oohs and aahs, swoons, etc over how good he looks, it's the presence, the body, the eyes, the body, the accent, the body...We actually considered tagging the pages with purple tags - that's how bad it is! Looks-wise, he's rough and tumble but attractive. Pretty boy, he's not (thank god!) but the interesting looking ones are definately worth a few extra looks. And just in case you think I've gone off the deep end, the monitoring table spawned its benefit in the form of Sylvia Toh Paik Choo's Licensed to Thrill article in The New Paper on Nov 13.

I practically ran to the cinema the moment the movie opened and the verdict is: Casino Royale IS worth it. The Bond character is finally personified as he should be; a cold, calculating, sometimes amusing and always smart, bastard. The biggest surprise of all is that the movie humanizes him and also makes him more accessible as a person in contrast to the slick and rather fantastical persona that Pierce Brosnan wore for the last four movies. If Connery is the ultimate, Moore was a sleasy ah pek and Larzenby didn't even warrant a seconf take...who cuts it for me then? Well, up until now, it's been Timothy Dalton - much to the horror of many.

Back to the gush, uh ah post...Kudos to Martin Campbell and Paul Haggis who overhauled a franchise that was about to plunge into the complete idiocy of the Batman & Robin territory. It's the rejuvenation of the heroes and much like Batman, Superman and even Spiderman - we finally get to see the foundation of the character instead of just having him jumping from bed to bed or just action scene to action scene. And before I go all insane again, I have to say that this is the most satifying Bond in years.

The second surprise was to hear Chris Cornell do the theme song...OMG. It's a bit like a testosterone overload - but in a good way...hehe. It's not as great as the one I have in the title or a few others but, it's alright. As for the Bond girl, Eva Green's Vesper Lynd is charismatic, mysterious and as calculating as Bond is - for once I didn't wish that she got killed off instantly...hah. But no Q? WTF? Ah, well...next movie maybe...

All's fantastic in the world right now...Now, I'll just have to wait for the DVD. But for the time being, I do beg your indulgence if you hear me turn on the gush yet again, forgive me...It's just one of those times ;o)

I'm very inspired by a close friend's recent birthday bash, hence this little list.

Instead of the madness that usually accompanies the 'becoming-a-year-wiser', this time we all trooped to a really neat little cafe in Arab Street which served the most heart-stopping, artery-clogging cheesy (cream cheese, who'd've thunk!) brownies I've ever had...orgasmic! But I digress...What really got me was that this little cafe came with its very own little cinema. Think big, roomy couches, lots of throw pillows and comfy lounges and you're in the right place :o) This is the perfect place to accomodate all your buds for a night at the movies, where you can cheer the hero, heckle the baddie and sigh over the best friend who didn't get any. Freedom, people! I am proposing freedom to lounge whichever way you want and enjoy a movie as it should be...

Here's what I'd recommend: Witchy's top 10 list for movie night (in no order whatsoever...). Somewhat crowd pleasing, somewhat eccentric and strictly NO Pretty Woman - cos I'm biased, that's why!

1. The Sound of Music - Blue pussies, anyone? If you were there on movie night, your ears would've fallen off at this
2. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert - Altogether now, I love the nightlife, I want to boogie...
3. Das Boot - it's masculine, it's 42 men stuck in a submarine with a captain that has to lead them through sheer madness. It's Bridge Over the River Kwai, in a U-boat
4. Salsa - because we've already had the time of our lives and because there's more to Menudo than Ricky Martin
5. Some Kind of Wonderful. Some of you may be familiar with my grouse with the run-of-the-mill rom-com (I can't stand most of them) BUT I do love the 1980s John Hughes movies and this is one of my all time faves...
6. Pulp Fiction - Where Mr Q reminds us why he was great, long before that idiot called Bill
7. Spartacus - Long before the mountain that broke backs, Kirk Douglas and Sir Laurence Olivier made men in skirts sexy. We will be entertained
8. Life of Brian - The reason why I go "the Messiah!" every time I meet someone called Brian...insanity at its finest
9. Grosse Point Blank - because hitmen need to be loved too...
10. The Little Mermaid - Le poisson, le poisson...the reason why I have a soft spot for psychotic French chefs. Oh, and if Ursula was a real witch, why couldn't she have made herself slimmer sooner? So susah!

I did, however reluctantly, have to let a few things go...or else this list will never end! Aye! What's missing is:

• The Drew Barrymore double-bill: Ever After and Never Been Kissed. Funnily enough, she's the ONLY Hollywood actress whose rom-coms I can stomach...
• The Princess Bride - classic fairy tale with a twist of madness
• Dude, Where's My Car - because I may be murdered after that...annnndddd ttthhheennn...
• Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey - Keanu Reeves' best role, like ever, dude!
• Velvet Goldmine - Bale + Rhys Myers + McGregor = major drooling :P
• Hedwig & the Angry Inch - For pure indulgence and because we can all watch this in a far-out blonde wig while pretending to be punk rock stars!

Anyone up for movie night?