THE FIGHTER (2010)

RATING: 3.5/5

Mention the name David O. Russell, he's the unique kind of director who made a career out of quirky comedies (1994's SPANKING THE MONKEY, 1996's FLIRTING WITH DISASTER, 1999's THREE KINGS, and 2004's I HEART HUCKABEES). But who could have thought that his longtime comeback since that I HEART HUCKABEES flop, turns out to be his radical departure of the usual norm? His fifth feature, THE FIGHTER, is Russell's surprisingly toned-down directorial effort. It's certainly an odd move but it turns out that THE FIGHTER is also his most mature and best movie to date.

Inspired by the striking true story of "Irish" Micky Ward and his relentless brother Dicky Edlund, this boxing drama focuses on the early years of Micky Ward until his eventual rise to fame. On July 18, 1978, Lowell, Massachusetts, Dicky (Christian Bale) is a local legend after being crowned as "The Pride of Lowell" following from his unforgettable knockout against boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard. But that was fifteen years ago. Instead of continuing his career successfully, Dicky is eventually wasted himself being a victim of crack abuse. While his glory day as a boxer is way past behind him, he's now becoming a trainer to his younger brother, Micky (Mark Wahlberg), who wants him to become world boxing champion someday. While Micky has a little reputation for being an impressive amateur boxer with a devastating left hook, many peoples -- fans, trainers and other professional boxers -- are frequently looked down at him as a "stepping stone" fighter. On the night before his much-anticipated first fight, Micky make his move at the sexy barmaid, Charlene (Amy Adams) and wants her to become his girlfriend. He also make a huge promise to her and everybody else who support him dearly that he will win the fight. However, everything goes downhill especially after the last-minute lineup change has caused him such a brutal and embarrassing defeat. He ends up feeling miserable, and not even have a gut to call up his girlfriend but Charlene remains supportive enough to back him up and their relationship is gradually picking up steam. On the other hand, he also begins to realize that he needs true professional to reach his full potential, rather than relying on his trainer brother who often goes missing at the crack house. Charlene agrees with his decision, but unfortunately that decision has particularly angered his mother Alice (Melissa Leo), who had always served as his manager. Things get worse when Dicky gets himself into deep trouble attempt to run away from the law. Not only Dicky's criminal act lands him into jail, Micky also gets his hand being brutally bashed by an angry police officer following from an ugly arrest. With Dicky in jail, Micky shifts his focus completely to pull himself together by subsequently recovered his injured hand so he can fight again. With the support of his father, George (Jack McGee), Charlene, and a new business-minded manager, Micky is moving forward to rise his boxing career into soaring height.

Boxing drama about underdog fighter is nothing new at all, but this particular subject matter is often inspirational tale hard to ignore (1976's ROCKY and to lesser extent, 2005's CINDERELLA MAN quickly comes to mind). THE FIGHTER does succeed on that level alone, even though the underdog story offers here is pretty much conventional all around. Still, screenwriters Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson skillfully manage out a thoughtful and riveting character-driven drama that ultimately preventing from being one of those listless genre movies. Much like 2004's MILLION DOLLAR BABY, the boxing element here plays second fiddle whereas it is the intimate human drama that binds the movie altogether. THE FIGHTER is especially remarkable when it focuses on the hardship and obstacles Micky have to face endless dilemma with his family and his girlfriend.

Not to forget also, is Russell's keen observation on making sure each of his talented cast shined with their respective role. As a result, THE FIGHTER contains some of the best acting ensembles of the year. In his brilliantly understated performance, Mark Wahlberg is simply good here. Physical wise, he is certainly convincing as a boxer (a tremendous result he has earned from his five years worth of strict training regime). But ironically, the real spotlight here are the impeccable supporting cast. In his stunning method acting since 2004's THE MACHINIST, Christian Bale drops weight again to achieve the skeletal frame of Dicky Edlund. His physical transformation alone is worth watching. Other than that, Bale is just as spontaneous as he is a lively spark. Playing a hardened tough guy is nothing new to him, but Bale's dramatic turn here shines a new light we hardly seen him before -- that is of course, letting loose. No doubt this is his finest acting role to date. Equally dynamic is Melissa Leo, in her loud-mouthed turn as Alice. Her showy performance is just as vivid as Dicky does, and she's simply engaging enough to watch for. Last but not least is Amy Adams. Instead of what could have been a thankless role playing Micky's love interest, she truly excels here as the level-headed girlfriend who is both radiant and exceptionally tough.

While radical change is seen all around in Russell's direction here, he still never forget his roots. There are underlying sense of quirky humor here, particularly on the broad side of showcasing comic relief involving Dicky and his seven (no kidding) sisters. It's quite awkward at times, although it's still refreshing bit nonetheless. Technical wise, THE FIGHTER displays some worthwhile moments here with Russell's constantly fluid camerawork. The boxing scene, particularly in the hard-hitting finale, is brilliantly shot in television style to give the sense of urgency that keep the viewers feeling involved all the time.

In an effort to get this movie done, THE FIGHTER is originally a notoriously troubled production. Way back in 2005, Mark Wahlberg has been shopping around his particular pet project to get the movie greenlit. At that time, Darren Aronofsky is originally attached to direct the movie but left the production to work on BLACK SWAN (2010) instead, even though he remains as executive producer here. The eventual directing part goes to David O. Russell who is heavily suggested by Christian Bale. However David O. Russell's bad reputation as one of the notoriously difficult director has originally made Wahlberg feeling uncomfortable to work with him especially what he went through before in 1999's THREE KINGS. But Bale insists to collaborate with Russell so much that Wahlberg ends up agreeing anyway. Bad reputation or not, Russell ends up executing one of the best movies of the year. THE FIGHTER may not have been ranked alongside with some of those great boxing masterpieces but one thing for sure -- this is certainly not to be missed.

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FAIR GAME (2010)

RATING: 4/5

After a colossal misfire of the sci-fi actioner JUMPER (2008), director Doug Liman makes a stunning comeback with FAIR GAME. It's good to see him return to the espionage thriller territory that he's famous for -- 2002's THE BOURNE IDENTITY and 2005's MR. AND MRS. SMITH -- but unlike those slickly-packaged and action-oriented movies, his latest espionage take is decidedly more grounded and realistic. That said, anyone who expecting Doug Liman injects the cool factor of a spy movie will be sorely disappointed here. All those obligatory car chases, gunfights and fisticuffs usually expected in that kind of movie are noticeably missing here but Doug Liman has brilliantly traded his usual energetic visual filmmaking style with a John le Carre-type that leans toward on the more intellectual approach. The result is a vividly intense look of dirty politics and riveting human drama of a political marriage on the verge of a breaking point. Simply to put, FAIR GAME is one of the best spy movies ever seen in recent memory -- the kind that evokes the particular genre's finest moments during the 70s (e.g. 1976's ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN).

Based on the two books, The Politics of Truth by Joseph Wilson and Fair Game by Valerie Plame Wilson, this fact-based story centers on the fall of 2001, where CIA agent Valerie Plame (Naomi Watts) brings in her husband, Joe (Sean Penn), who is a former ambassador, to use his contacts gaining valuable information whether the "yellow cake" uranium is actually being smuggled out of Niger or not. Unfortunately he returns home from Niger with no evidence regarding about the "yellow cake" uranium. Despite that, President George W. Bush, in his State of the Union address, publicly declares that Saddam Hussein have been stockpiling the "yellow cake" uranium needed to create nuclear weapons (also known as WMD -- weapon of mass destruction). Joe is determined to straighten out the fact by publishing a New York Times article entitled "What I Didn't Find in Africa". Unfortunately his act of retaliation against President George W. Bush and the White House has resulted Valerie's identity being blown to the media. Not only she is about to lose her job, her friends and her reputation, she is also on the verge of losing her family altogether. With all fingers pointed out at both Valerie and Joe, they have no choice but to fight back for what's right while working hard to save their marriage.

Adapted by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, the screenplay is taut and intense right from the beginning and never let up until the gripping end. At a compact 106 minutes, the movie is certainly feels relentless. The first half, which concentrates on the procedure of gathering intelligence, moves at a brisk pace anchored by Liman's effective handheld camerawork that gives the much-needed urgency of a documentary-like look. But it is the second half, where the movie raises the momentum to a compelling height once Valerie and Joe find themselves becoming the blame target from the U.S. government. From the political intrigue to "this time it's personal" kind of vibe, the subsequent change-of-pace may been a turn-off for viewers expecting a movie concentrating more on the bigger agenda rather than watching a decidedly low-key drama involving Valerie and Joe trying everything to clear their name and save their marriage. But Doug Liman remains in high gear here, thanks to the emotional weight and airtight narrative that constantly keep the movie all the more remarkable experience.

Speaking of the emotional weight, the movie is also best seen for two acting heavyweights that actually bind the movie altogether. Working for the third time since 2003's 21 GRAMS and 2004's THE ASSASSINATION OF RICHARD NIXON, Naomi Watts and Sean Penn (both roles originally intended for Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe) continue to excel in their respectively engaging and award-worthy performances collaborating together. Watts, in particular, gives one of her most captivating performances in her career as Valerie Plame. Likewise, Sean Penn's commanding performance playing a bluntly outspoken character with sheer intensity. No doubt both of them display great chemistry together, yet so natural that they should collaborate more in the future.

Apart from Liman's effective camerawork, the rest of the production values are equally first-rate -- notably for Christopher Tellefsen's sharp editing and John Powell's intense music score. One of the best movies of the year.

READ MORE - FAIR GAME (2010)

BLACK SWAN (2010)

RATING: 4/5

Ballet has never looked this wickedly eerie in Darren Aronofsky's highly-anticipated BLACK SWAN, a worthy companion genre piece to his award-winning 2008's wrestling drama THE WRESTLER. Whereas THE WRESTLER marked the director's usual flamboyant visual style into an unlikely subdued restraint, BLACK SWAN is his polar opposite -- dark and unsettling in both subject and tone. In fact, the movie is leaning towards more into Aronofsky's significantly earlier masterpieces (1998's PI and 2000's REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) -- something that die-hard fans have been long waiting for. On the other side, it's also a vividly realized character study about a young woman's overachieving struggle to succeed in a cutthroat and highly-demanding profession she has chosen, which in this case, the world of ballet dancing. This alone, thanks to a tour de force compelling performance by Natalie Portman, BLACK SWAN is simply the kind of movie with enough curiosity values hard to be missed.

Twentysomething New York City ballet dancer Nina Sayers (Portman) has been long practicing very hard to rise to the top of the ranks among her colleagues in hope to nail the coveted role of the Swan Queen in a highly-anticipated production orchestrated by an acclaimed theater director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel). While she is praised for her sharp precision in term of ballet dancing, Thomas remains doubtful about whether she's really up for the Swan Queen role. In fact, it's actually dual role she needs to master -- an angelic White Swan and a darker side of Black Swan -- both performances that require more than just perfect dance choreography. It need a lot of heart and character to pull this off convincingly, and this is what Nina is desperately wanted to achieve. After a few hesitations and setbacks, she is somewhat lucky enough to be given the role anyway especially after a fateful private encounter with Thomas. At the same time, Nina's newly-given role provokes the veteran and over-the-hill prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) who also wants the role desperately as well. But whatever it is, Nina is too thrilled to finally have the star role and so do her domineering mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) who have been longed of seeing her at the peak of her career. And so the rehearsal begins, not to mention with all the rigorous energy Nina have to go through. Production is drawing near and she is completely overworked at that time until she becomes increasingly paranoid especially when the arrival of a new fellow dancer Lily (Mila Kunis) is poised to steal her role away.

Psychological decline, paranoia and claustrophobia are the highlights of the movie here. Darren Aronofsky, Mark Herman, Andres Heinz and John McLoughlin's screenplay is fascinating and thought-provoking, the one that bristled with macabre intimacy it feels genuinely disturbing. Speaking of intimacy, cinematographer Matthew Libatique simply outdoes himself with his often handheld camerawork where he never stops following the protagonist (frequently from behind) and we witness everything she goes through -- from her hard work, her accomplishments, and finally her eventual downfall. The picture almost works like a semi-documentary feel, and thanks to Aronofsky's blistering direction, it's simply a grueling visual experience. While Aronofsky's style of direction is arguably too operatic for its own good but then again, that is just minor quibble. As a matter of fact, it's hard to ignore Aronofsky's sheer influence here that leaned towards the early work of David Cronenberg's body horror (split toenails and shoulder rash comes to mind) and Roman Polanski's psychological decay undertones (e.g. 1965's REPULSION and 1968's ROSEMARY BABY). In the meantime, the rest of the production values are equally top-notch with surrealistic art direction by David Stein and creepily innovative music score by Clint Mansell who actually reworked Tchaikovsky's classic Swan Lake playing in a backward and distorted manner. Creative peak is certainly the feverish height Aronofsky and his talented crew have worked so subtly here, especially considering the budget of the movie is only a measly $13 million to make.

But for all the kaleidoscopic fascination offers here, BLACK SWAN is mostly remembered for Natalie Portman's groundbreaking and Oscar-favored performance. She's certainly very dedicated to his physically and emotionally challenging role here. So dedicated that she lost 20 pounds to play her ballerina role convincingly. At one point, she twisted her rib during the filming of a dance sequence which took her six weeks for a full recovery and manage to continue her role with sheer enthusiasm. And this level of enthusiasm is evidently shown in the final product of what we see in her performance. Supporting cast, in the meantime, are as equally compelling, with Vincent Cassel perfectly embodies his unsentimental role as the ruthless ballet director Thomas Leroy. Then there's Mila Kunis, who lands in a surprisingly finest performance to date as the alluring and shady role of Lily. In fact, her Lily character strikes a terrific contrast to Portman's more innocent-looking Nina Sayers. Viewers will probably never forget her soon-to-be-iconic set piece where she involves in a fiery lesbian encounter with Nina. Barbara Hershey is deceptively frightening as the overprotective mother who keeps pushing her daughter Nina to strive for her very best, while Winona Ryder excels in a memorable cameo appearance as the ill-fated Beth who is eventually lead herself to a tragic doom.

While the movie is not for everyone, BLACK SWAN is nevertheless one of the best genre movies ever made in a long while, and not to mention among the year's best.

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UNKNOWN (2011)

RATING: 1.5/5

Widely advertised as a follow-up of sorts to the 2009's surprise hit TAKEN, UNKNOWN is looking set to be another surefire winner for Liam Neeson. But anyone, especially action fans, are expecting another high-octane action thriller in the similar template of TAKEN will be sorely disappointed by the more Hitchcockian-like territory that borders more on psychological suspense. Blame it on the misleading marketing strategy (well, that isn't new after all, considering Hollywood big-studio system loves to deceive viewers) but even the movie is actually geared as a suspense thriller, it fails miserably on (almost) all counts.

The first 10 minutes of the movie, however, delivers a knockout premise that is particularly intriguing: Dr. Martin Harris (Neeson) and his beautiful wife, Elizabeth (January Jones) have just arrived in wintry Berlin for a business trip to give a presentation at a high-profile biotechnology summit. Once they are in an executive hotel, Martin realized that his important briefcase, which contained all his necessary document and identification, was somehow left at the airport. While his wife is busy checking in for their hotel room, Martin hurries back to the airport by catching a taxi ride. When Martin urges the taxi driver to take shortcut to get to the airport as fast as possible, an unlikely car accident occurs in a busy traffic that sends the taxi losing control and plunges over into the river. The taxi driver manages to save Martin from getting drowned, and next thing he knows, he wakes up from a coma four days later lying down in a hospital. He's been wondering about his wife's whereabouts and what's even worse is that he has lost all his identification and passport, while having trouble remembering most of the important agenda prior to the serious car accident. Worrying sick for his wife, he decides to discharge from the hospital even though he is not fully recovered yet. And so, he rushes back to the hotel to find his wife and is temporarily relieved. But what surprises him the next is that his wife looks him in the eye and claims she doesn't know who he is at all. Martin is further shocked when she tells him she is actually married to another man (Aidan Quinn) who shares his name and identity. Martin immediately claims the man as an impostor but unfortunately no one lead to believe since he doesn't have identification at all to prove his existence.

So far so good, but what follows next is an occasional downfall that doesn't regain proper footing as the rest of the story sees Martin is trying to regain back his memory loss. After admitting himself back into hospital, a nurse is kind enough to help him out by recommending her friend, Ernst Jurgen (Bruno Ganz), the former head of the German Secret Police who specializes in private investigation. Ernst urges him to track down the taxi driver who saves him in the first place, and that taxi driver turns out to be an illegal immigrant named Gina (Diane Kruger). Martin and Gina eventually team up to help each other out, and subsequently become targets of two mysterious assassins as they are inching close for the truth. From here, the movie suffers greatly from glacial pace and director Jaume Collet-Serra just doesn't have a clue when to stop or restrain at all. Not only that, Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell’s screenplay (which is adapted from a Gallic novel called Out of My Head by Didier Van Cauwelaert) is chock full of loopholes which grows progressively unstable during subsequent running time.

Sure, the car chases are well-staged which provides some exhilarating moments the movie can offer here but less so when the rest of the action sequences are mostly edited in tight close-ups and frantic camera jerks (especially when comes to hand-to-hand combat). But nothing comes as shockingly dull as the inevitable twist ending. A movie that relies heavily on twist to tie up the entire context of the story is either make or break, but in the case of UNKNOWN, the twist here is so fundamentally silly that it (almost) ruined the entire movie that comes before. Once Martin's longtime colleague named Rodney Cole (Frank Langella) make his last-minute appearance to meet him, a series of expository-filled scenarios take place and we are gradually being revealed about Martin's true identity. And that climactic revelation is sketchy at best and at the same time fails to give any sort of satisfying, let alone coherent explanation of the entire going-on.

Cast-wise, all the actors give mixed performances ranging from above-average to plain dull. Of all, Liam Neeson is at least engaging here. Playing a desperate man trapped in a series of pressure-cooker scenarios, just like the way he does successfully before in TAKEN, Neeson's relentless performance almost echoes the same intensity Harrison Ford used to play in the like-minded role (e.g. 1988's FRANTIC). Ernst Jurgen, in the meantime, has his own fair of lion's share stealing some limelight in a small but memorable performance as the wily private investigator. His best moment, and incidentally the movie's strongest point involves a meeting between him and Rodney, where both of them are trying to outwit each other in a good old-fashioned spy game. And what is particularly excellent about this scene is no physical action or any kinetic visual involved -- just two veteran actors in a series of verbal exchanges hinged with an air of menace. Too bad Langella's role himself is sorely underwritten, and mostly relegated to stunt casting. As for the rest of the supporting actors, January Jones acts like a piece of wooden plank while Diane Kruger delivers a thankless role who does nothing more other than following Martin around and looking panic the whole time. The least said about Aidan Quinn the better, as his role is particularly wasted.

UNKNOWN is actually has the potential to become an excellent thriller in the vein of Hitchcockian territory, but what we have here instead is a wannabe thriller that is just plain embarrassing and little else.

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THE STOOL PIGEON (2010)

RATING: 4/5

Forget about FIRE OF CONSCIENCE, which proved to be an underwhelming effort for acclaimed director Dante Lam. But he quickly rebound with this excellent crime thriller, THE STOOL PIGEON, which in turn, earns its spot as one of the best movies of the year. Never mind the fact that Lam assemble most of his familiar cast (Nick Cheung, Nicholas Tse and Liu Kai-Chi), reshuffled their characters with role reversals, and revisited the same crime thriller with conflicted moral underpinning that almost recalled the similarity of his award-winning THE BEAST STALKER (2008). What is never quite worked in THE BEAST STALKER has definitely improved by leaps and bounds in his latest movie here. To cut long story short, THE STOOL PIGEON is most qualified as Dante Lam's best directorial effort since BEAST COPS (1998).

The title of THE STOOL PIGEON refers as informant, and at the beginning, we learn the fate of an informant Jabber (Liu Kai-Chi) who ends up being exposed his true identity after a botched operation goes awry. Jabber became so paranoid and scared stiff that he spends most of his time looking insane and lives like a beggar. Inspector Don Lee (Nick Cheung), who is responsible for the case, feels guilty of causing Jabber's unlikely consequence. A year later, he is out to recruit a new informant and this is where a jailed driver Ghost Jr. (Nicholas Tse) comes in. At first Ghost Jr. is reluctant to join Don, but he forced to do so especially after he discovered his sister works a prostitute to pay off their dead father's debt. With a handsome reward of money, Ghost Jr. is required to work undercover to infiltrate a gang of jewel thieves lead by Tai Ping (Keung Ho-Man) and Barbarian (Lu Yi). But it's not without a series of complications, when Tai Ping's girlfriend Dee (Kwan Lunmei) ends up falling in love with Ghost Jr.

As far as crime thriller goes, Jack Ng and Dante Lam's screenplay is nothing new and particularly refreshing. In fact everything about this movie is tried-and-true formula. Only this time the story is airtight, thought-provoking and well-told. We learn the inner conflict between Inspector Don Lee and Ghost Jr. and feel their tortured souls deep within. Inspector Don Lee's backstory, in particular, which involved him trying to rekindle his lost love with a crippled dance instructor (Miao Pu) is especially heartbreaking. Then there's top-notch acting powerhouse which anchored most of the movie here. Nick Cheung delivers an emotionally-dynamic performance as the pained Inspector Don Lee who is riddled with guilt vows to seek redemption, only to find himself sinking down into a sea of despair as the movie progresses. Nicholas Tse is similarly excellent here, while the rest of the supporting cast are all equally solid (particularly the female counterparts in the form Kwan Lunmei and Miao Pu). Even Liu Kai-Chi who mostly overacts his insane role here still deserved a credit to pull off his act with juicy result hard to ignore.

Not to forget also is Lam's ever-kinetic direction when comes to delivering action sequences. Likewise, the action is brutal and exciting, particularly in the middle section involving a chase between Ghost Jr. and Dee against a bunch of police officers and the climactic violent school-set showdown.

While the movie could have cut down for its ever-annoying shaky cam presence, THE STOOL PIGEON remains highly recommended. Hong Kong cinema definitely needs more quality movie like this.

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THE HOUSEMAID (2010)

RATING: 3/5

Fifty years ago, THE HOUSEMAID (1960) was widely regarded as one of the finest Korean movies ever made. That is why when a remake is announced, the buzz is quickly generated like a spreading wildfire. Writer-director Im Sang-Soo has definitely take pride to make this modern version of THE HOUSEMAID into something worth respecting for. The result is an elegantly-paced, glossy erotic thriller that we rarely see such genre cinema these days.

The premise, in the meantime, is simplistic in nature: Eun-Yi (Jeon Do-Yeon) is handpicked by an elderly housekeeper Byung-Sik (Yun Yeo-Jing) to serve in a wealthy household consisting of three family members -- the master of the house Hoon (Lee Jung-Jae), his highly-pregnant wife Haera (Seo Woo) who is expecting a pair of twins due anytime soon, and their well-mannered daughter Nami (Ahn Seo-Hyeon). At the beginning, Eun-Yi arrives at the house looking shy but she is obedient enough to carry her job very well. Soon it also doesn't take long before she strikes up a friendship with Nami. For Eun-Yi, everything seems too perfect to be believed but it's just a matter of time when Hoon starts to rear his ugly side. When Hoon surprises her by showing up in her room, they end up engaging in a forbidden sexual act that Eun-Yi herself can't help resisting at all. Their sexual encounter doesn't stop there, as they continue to engage such act for the second time. Except this time, Byung-Sik witnessed the incident and soon all hell breaks loose. Eun-Yi begins to find herself pregnant with Hoon's child, but because social indifference between them, it's natural that Hoon doesn't want a bastard child in his family.

A critical hit at the Cannes Film Festival, Im Sang-Soo's THE HOUSEMAID is a distinctive piece of genre cinema made for the grown-ups. The production is top-notch, while the story is sneaky enough for an erotic thriller even though there aren't much sex scenes worth remembering for. At the same time, the movie also works well as a cautionary tale between the bitter consequences of lower-and-higher class of peoples.

But what makes THE HOUSEMAID equally memorable are the flawless cast here. Headlining the small ensemble here, is the incomparable Jeon Jo-Yeon in one of her finest performances to date. Playing a commoner with a taste of lust is definitely nothing new for her (she did it before in 1999's HAPPY END) and she truly steals the show here. We really feel her shame and pain she has to go through all the traumatic experiences after encountering a series of forceful situations she doesn't have a place to bargain with. That is why by the time she begins to lose everything (not to mention, her sanity as well), the movie's ending is no doubt one of the most disturbing set-pieces ever seen in recent memory, the kind that sticks to your memory long after the credits roll. Lee Jung-Jae is suitably despicable as the cold-blooded Hoon, while the rest of the supporting actors engage their respective roles with equal flairs.

READ MORE - THE HOUSEMAID (2010)

GALLANTS (2010)

RATING: 3/5

Consider this scenario: Derek Kwok and Clement Cheng's GALLANTS is a low-budget Hong Kong genre mishmash that mixes with kungfu comedy, character-driven drama, old-school martial arts tale, and uplifting story about underdogs. But wait, the movie doesn't have a huge selling point in the form of a recognizable action star (e.g. Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan or Wu Jing) except for a cast largely consisting of 60-plus Shaw Brothers veterans (Chen Kuan-Tai, Leung Siu-Lung, Lo Meng) and a disposable young cast starring Wong Yau-Nam and JJ Jia. Such movie is going to be a tough sell for today's demanding market (young generation, in particular) these days. However, GALLANTS proves to be a surprisingly entertaining movie in its own right.

The movie begins with a bespectacled loser named Cheung (Wong Yau-Nam) who's been a constant subject of bully working at a real-estate company. Nobody seems to respect him at all, and renders him as a useless being good for nothing. Which is why his boss decides to send him in a thankless task where he is required to go to a small village and secure a remote rural property for redevelopment. The particular property happens to be a rundown teahouse manned by ex-martial artists Dragon (Chen Kuan-Tai) and Tiger (Leung Siu-Lung), two faithful students to their comatose master, Master Law (Teddy Robin Kwan). Apparently for the last thirty years, Dragon and Tiger haven't been giving up hope to await his master to wake up from his coma following from a legendary duel gone awry. Once upon a time, the teahouse is used to be Master Law's famous martial-art school nicknamed the "Gate of Law". Problem arises once Cheung has unexpectedly causing trouble in the small village, and getting himself involved with a scheming bad guy named Mang (MC Jin). Coincidentally, Mang happens to be a neighboring kid Cheung used to beat him up and naturally Mang sees this as his opportunity to use him at all cost. Then there's a local martial-arts competition, organized by Master Pong (Chan Wai-Man) who is actually looking forward to conquer the Gate of Law. Dragon and Tiger refuse to take up the challenge, while Cheung himself has been desperately wanted to learn a couple of martial-art techniques so he can help them defending the teahouse. All that change when Master Law finally awake from coma, but it's not without a series of complications ensues -- he happens to lose his mind and mistaken Cheung as both Dragon and Tiger.

What makes this little movie entertaining enough to watch for is the quirky way Derek Kwok and Clement Cheng paying homage to the 1970s Shaw Brothers kungfu genre (complete with freeze frames and extreme zooms) and blending them mostly in a good old-fashioned nonsensical comedy of a bygone era the Hong Kong cinema used to be well-known for. The movie is also benefited from a cast of kungfu veterans -- with Chen Kuan-Tai, Leung Siu-Leung and Lo Meng -- deliver surprisingly nuanced and spirited performances deserved a standing ovation. Despite their relatively retirement age, they still pack a few wallops when comes on showcasing their graceful martial-arts move they used to be so great during their Shaw Brothers era. It's definitely hard to expect some 60-something veterans still can fight like today's action superstar, and the action sequences are exceptionally top-notch. Then there's the long-forgotten Teddy Robin Kwan, who made a memorable comeback to the Hong Kong cinema. Not only he's a scene-stealer here, he is simply hilarious as the absent-minded master who knows well about terrific comic timing. As for the younger stars, both Wong Yau-Nam, MC Jin and JJ Jia (who plays as a pretty martial-art girl frequently hang out in the teahouse) manage to shine in their respectively playful roles with equal flairs. Though the plot doesn't quite live up to its sustainable momentum, this is as good as it gets, especially for a movie with such low-budget caliber. The ending is particularly something of a different approach, something that is out of a norm you commonly expect in this kind of kungfu genre movie. Make no mistake, it's not that there isn't any fight involved except that it ends up in a symbolic nature where "winning isn't everything".

Produced under Andy Lau's Focus Films with actor Gordon Lam Ka-Tung serving as the producer, the story behind the making of GALLANTS has certainly reflected the underdog nature of the movie alone. Believe it or not, the movie took about ten years just to get financing alone. But all the hard effort definitely pays off handsomely with a movie that will become the talk-of-the-moment. It's not a perfect classic by any means, but GALLANTS deserved its spot as one of the best movies of the year.

READ MORE - GALLANTS (2010)

PEDICAB DRIVER (1989)

RATING: 3/5

Considered by many fans as Sammo Hung's finest masterpiece of all-time, PEDICAB DRIVER is an entertaining action comedy that is surprisingly hard to find on the video or DVD release (except for the one available in the UK). Other than that, it's pretty much an uneven mix of genre mishmash commonly seen in the '80s Hong Kong action-comedy cinema, and PEDICAB DRIVER suits the definition of its particular era well-intended.

Sammo Hung stars as Fat Tung, a righteous pedicab driver who falls in love with a local baker girl Ping (Nina Li Chi). But the problem is, Ping's master baker, Fong (Suen Yuet) happens to fall in love with her as well. On the other side of the story, Fat Tung's best friend nicknamed Malted Candy (Max Mok) happens to fall in love at first sight with a lovely girl named Siu Chui (Fennie Yuen). But he doesn't realize that Siu Chui is actually a prostitute, who later coincidentally slept with Malted Candy's playful friend, San Cha Cake (Lowell Lo) while visiting a brothel. Problem arises when a sleazy pimp named Master 5 (John Shum) finds out that Siu Chui tries to quit prostitution and ends up ordering his trusted high-kicking thug (Billy Chow) to locate the girl and killed anyone who involved with her escape.

Yuen Gai-Chi and Barry Wong's screenplay is terribly episodic and the kind which defy genre conventions. At times, the movie tries so hard to be melodramatic, funny and whichever appropriate that goes. It's almost something similar like the one from Jackie Chan's much-successful outing in MIRACLES (1989) with a handful of subplots slapped together into one movie.

Forget about the haphazard plot, because what matters the most is the term of entertainment Sammo Hung delivers here. And for that alone, the action sequences are remarkably top-notch. Among them are the memorable fight between Fat Tung and a casino owner/kungfu master (Lau Kar-Leung); the innovative pedicab chase sequence; and of course the final fight-to-the-death between Fat Tung and Billy Chow. As for the cast, the actors are pretty much in game here, although there are some of them tends to overact a lot (particularly during the many melodramatic moments).

PEDICAB DRIVER doesn't really succeed as an entire whole, but as far as a '80s crowd-pleasing entertainment, this is just as good as it gets. While the movie doesn't exactly ignite fire in the box-office (which earns only $14 million), the movie managed to garner Best Action Design nomination (lost to Jackie Chan's MIRACLES) but won Best Original Song for So Noi and Lowell Lo's Pang Jeuk Oi (which literally translated as Relying on Love).

READ MORE - PEDICAB DRIVER (1989)

MIDNIGHT FM (2010)

RATING: 4/5

Thriller about an obsessed stalker/fan is nothing new in the genre cinema, with 1996's Hollywood's THE FAN, which starred Robert DeNiro and Wesley Snipes, quickly came to mind. But Kim Sang-Man's much-anticipated follow-up to his 2008 debut in GIRL SCOUT, is a slickly-made accomplished thriller that benefited from an airtight script, excellent cast and top-notch suspenseful moments. To put long story short, look no further than MIDNIGHT FM, which has made quite a splash at the top of the box-office in South Korea ever since its release on October 14.

The story centers on Ko Sun-Young (Soo-Ae), a former popular TV anchorwoman and late-night radio host, who is about to make preparation for her final radio program before decided to call it a quit since she needs to take her little daughter Ko Eun-Soo (Lee Joon-Ha) for a heart surgery in U.S. But on that particular last day of her work, her sister Ko Ah-Young (Shin Da-Eun) who watched over Eun-Soo and her niece, Ko Hyeon-Ji (Choi Hee-Won) at Sun-Young's apartment gets a surprise visit by a vicious man named Han Dong-Su (Yoo Ji-Tae). Ko Ah-Young ends up being knocked unconscious and held captive by Han, while Sun-Young's daughter is hiding somewhere around the apartment. Han, who is apparently a die-hard fan of the radio show, sends a text message to Sun-Young instructing her to follow his directions and not to tell anyone about the incident. What follows next is a series of cat-and-mouse game between Sun-Young and Han where they try to outwit each other during the course of a single fateful night.

Intense is the best word described for this well-paced thriller. Writer-director Kim Sang-Man definitely knows how to build a sustainable tension that boils up as gripping as it gets. The climactic chase that leads to the discovery of her kidnapped daughter and her niece is especially heart-pounding. As for the story, there's really nothing new here but it's the electrifying depth between Sun-Young and Han Dong-Su that matters the most, particularly the disturbing nature of how far an obsessed fan would go to the limit to invade the life of a celebrity. Soo-Aee delivers a compellingly charismatic performance as the emotionally-intense Sun-Young who is willing to go over the limit to save her precious daughter. In fact her performance is so good that she is deserved a Best Actress award for the coveted 31st Blue Dragon Film Awards held in her native country. On the other side, Yoo Ji-Tae is exceptionally creepy as a psychotic fan. Production-wise, the movie is visually stunning, especially with all the hypnotic nighttime cinematography.

This is one solid South Korean thriller not to be missed.

READ MORE - MIDNIGHT FM (2010)

THE MAN FROM NOWHERE (2010)

RATING: 3/5

2004's MAN ON FIRE and 2008's TAKEN is given a South Korean makeover with the country's one of the most anticipated movie events of the year, THE MAN FROM NOWHERE. On the surface, this kind of brutal revenge thriller is nothing new at all but clever marketing gimmick (promoted as Won Bin's star vehicle in his much-anticipated showcase as a "masculine" action star; and of course director Lee Jeong-Beom's brilliant exploitation of using the ever-popular Hollywood template of the aforementioned) has propelled this movie straight to No.1 South Korean box-office hit of 2010 with a healthy 6.2 million won ever since its theatrical release in August 4. As good as the movie sounds, THE MAN FROM NOWHERE is decidedly a mixed result -- an overlong revenge thriller that bogged down by its heavy-handed executions.

Won Bin stars as Tae-Sik, a former government assassin who is now laying low as a pawnshop owner in a rundown building. He's been relatively leading a quiet and secluded life that his only remaining contact is little but lovely rascal named So-Mi (Kim Sae-Ron), who often seeks shelter at his pawnshop to avoid the sight of her drug-addicted mother Hyo-Jeong (Kim Hyo-Seo). Problem arises when her mother made a big mistake by stealing the mob's pack of heroin in a nightclub she's been working there. Apparently Hyo-Jeong also happens to pawn off a camera to Tae-Sik, which contained that pack of heroin. Because of this, a group of angry mob in which the heroin belongs to two sadistic brothers named Man-Sik (Kim Hee-Woon) and Jong-Suk (Kim Sung-Oh), immediately come looking for her and at the same time wanted to retrieve the pack of heroin as well. Nevertheless Hyo-Jeong ends up dead in a gruesome fashion, while So-Mi is held captive. In the end, Tae-Sik has no choice but to resort his violent old ways to save her. Along the process, Detective Kim Chi-Gon (Kim Tae-Hun) is hot on the trail to bring down the mob as well as trying to figure out the secret identity behind the mysterious Tae-Sik as well.

At nearly two-hour long, the movies tries hard to cover as many territory as possible. It's not that being meaty is a crime except that director Lee Jeong-Beom doesn't know the little word called "restraint". Perhaps the biggest mistake here is the director has added too many subplots for its own good. Side stories that includes the disturbing nature of human trafficking, bleak outlook of the drugs underworld and so on, are more of a distracting filler that drags the momentum. Had the movie focuses on a single goal, which is Tae-Sik goes on saving the kid, it would have been an exhilarating rollercoaster ride all along.

Still the action remain one of the highlights of this movie. Among them are of course involving close-combat battle between Tae-Sik and a vicious bodyguard named Ramrowan (Thailand actor Thanayong Wongtrakul) -- first at the nightclub bathroom, and of course the memorably violent knife duel in the bad guy's lair. Too bad most of the action doesn't sustain long enough for a satisfying period of time, which are quite frustrating considered the amount of the running time given here.

Cast-wise, Won Bin may have looked too young to portray the seen-it-all, ex-government assassin but he make terrific use of his vacant eyes and well-toned muscular look to deliver a convincing presence nonetheless (except in the first third of the movie where he sports that hideous-looking emo haircut). The rest of the supporting actors are equally credible, if nothing much to shout about here.

Not the best revenge thriller by all means, but THE MAN FROM NOWHERE remains a satisfying piece of action cinema.

READ MORE - THE MAN FROM NOWHERE (2010)

CONFESSIONS (2010)

RATING: 2.5/5

Ijime (bullying) is a common sight in Japanese schools, and acclaimed writer-director Tetsuya Nakashima's controversial adaptation of Kanae Minato's bestselling mystery novel takes the viewers into a whirlwind rollercoaster ride of poetic justice, revenge and perverse society where everything is all about nihilistic and uncomfortably cruel. The result is CONFESSIONS, which in turn, became a phenomenal sensation in Japan. The movie was also a huge box-office and critical hit, and has already been selected as the country's official entry in the Best Foreign Film category of the upcoming 83rd Annual Academy Awards. Not only that the movie has received (almost) universal praises with a great degree of success in the film festivals around the world. So the biggest question is: what makes CONFESSIONS such a praiseworthy effort? Upon watching this with a high hope, I find this with a mixed feeling. It's not really that good as (most) critics expected in the first place. It's certainly a bold piece of work that earns its reputation as among the most disturbing genre movies ever made in the recent memory, except it's not in a very positive manner. In the end, CONFESSIONS ends up as among the most overrated movie of the year.

Still, the first 30 minutes or so is a masterpiece of cinematic experience that holds your attention -- At the beginning of the movie, which set entirely in a classroom filled with junior-high students, as Yuko Moriguchi (Takako Matsu) announces her early retirement following from her three-year-old daughter who is found drowned in the school's swimming pool. During her teaching session in the class, she quickly discloses that she knows the identity of two unnamed killers who was responsible for the cruel murder. Those two killers happened to be the teenage boys from her class. Since she knows that they cannot be held punishment under Japan's juvenile legal code (they are 13-year-old of age), she decides to take matters in her own hands by injecting HIV-infected blood into the two killers' milk carton she have distributed in the class. Everyone start to grow panic, as she proceeds to give a long-winded moral speech in which she speaks calmly amidst the chaos while describing the killing by addressing the two killers with pseudonyms. No doubt the classroom scene alone worth the price of admission as the tone is nevertheless gripping enough to keep the viewers glued to their seat, anticipating the way Yuko has unleashed her psychological warfare through disturbing speech revelations. At this point, Takako Matsu's riveting performance is a sight to behold and if only the movie would have sustain the similar momentum for the rest of the running times.

And this is where the real problem begins to unravel. After the compelling first 30 minutes, the rest of the movie starts to cut loose and the story starts to spin in a RASHOMON-like tricky narrative structure as we learn the insight of these particular three characters: pathetic loner Naoki (Kaoru Fujiwara), Naoki's worrying and overprotective mother (Yoshino Kimura) and a science genius Shuya (Yukito Nishii). As complex and bold as it sounds, the story quickly moves haphazardly with a degree of unfocused attention while Nakashima's overly-artistic direction almost crippled the entire bleak tone that sets the movie perfectly earlier on. Perhaps Nakashima's vision is way too stylized and too odd for its own good, and his excessive usage of depressingly blue-and-grey tones with the accompaniment of rock music soundtrack is more of an annoyingly distracting experience than a novelty approach. The movie doesn't really regain much of its confident footing, leading all the way to a so-called (literally) explosive finale that is neither particularly gory or psychologically disturbing for that matter.

As far as nihilistic revenge cinema goes, look no further than Park Chan-Wook's VENGEANCE trilogy or any good Korean movies of similar genre. CONFESSIONS tries too hard to achieve that kind of cult status and whatever phenomenal sensation that ignite this movie in the first place remains anybody's guess.

READ MORE - CONFESSIONS (2010)

THE KING'S SPEECH (2010)

RATING: 3.5/5

The little British movie that can. Who could have thought that a movie about speech impediment and a character (in this case, King George VI) who has a stammer, managed to be both crowd-pleasing and inspiring at the same time? In THE KING'S SPEECH, this Tom Hooper's period drama does just that with a striking chord -- it's this year's among best movie you've ever come across. Not only that, this is also the movie that solidifying Colin Firth as one of the best British actors of his generation since his Oscar-nominated turn in 2009's A SINGLE MAN.

The plot, in the meantime, is deceptively simple: When England's King George V (Michael Gambon) dies in 1936, the throne is ultimately passed down to eldest son King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce) -- the very reign that his younger brother, the Duke of York, later King George VI (Firth) wanted to claim the royal crown very much. Unfortunately there's a little problem that prevents him from doing so -- he develops a stammer that unable him to deliver proper speech ever since childhood. Because of speech impediment alone, he doesn't have the necessary voice authority and most of all, courage to lead his country at all. The Duke, in which his nickname is "Bertie", is simply very frustrated. However, his ever-supportive wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) is making sure that he'll succeed to overcome his speech impediment one way or another. Enter Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush), an aspiring actor and professional speech therapist who is called upon by Elizabeth to help Bertie. At the beginning, Lionel deals with a great amount of pressure trying to reason with such a stubborn person like Bertie. But from time to time, both Lionel and Bertie are slowly becoming unlikely friends as they help each other to overcome the problem. Thanks to Lionel's unorthodox method, tBertie's speech impediment is subsequently progressing into a better flow and it doesn't take long before Bertie finally have the courage to step up as a king especially after King Edward VIII gives up his throne when he chooses to marry his forbidden love which happens to be a divorcee.

At the heart of the movie is an unlikely friendship blooming between a royal and a commoner that David Seidler's screenplay has beautifully portrayed this nuanced gesture with delightful result. But the most unique aspect about this movie is an inspiring true story about how King George VI overcome his stammer with sheer determination that ultimately lead him to a success of delivering his first-ever, smooth-flowing speech at the national radio. Seidler, who suffered from a stammer as a child himself, knows well how to spin such story element and blends them with juicy dialogue, witty verbal exchanges and wonderfully hilarious moments mostly revolving around Bertie and Lionel.

Speaking of Bertie and Lionel, the movie is also best seen for these two actor's heavyweight showcase of great talents. -- Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. When they first met, it's hard not to take your eyes off them because the way they interact each other is simply wonderful to watch for. Not surprisingly, Firth (a role that originally given to Paul Bettany, but declined to spend more time with his family) is certainly magnificent in the lead role as a man with disability and delivers a very convincing physical frustration (eye squints, hand gestures) that makes him such a great method actor. No doubt come award-season time, his remarkably flawless performance is the one to watch for. Lending the strong support is Rush, who is equally dynamic as the speech therapist who isn't afraid of status quo and provides most of the movie's best laugh lines. Helena Bonham Carter, often cast as weirdo in the past (e.g. HARRY POTTER), delivers a refreshing change-of-pace in a well-mannered role as a calm-headed wife.

Tom Hooper's direction is pretty much straightforward, clean and crisp as he favors the good old-fashioned steady shot and doesn't rely on creative camera angles to prove his point. Instead he believes that minimalism is simply more than enough to deliver a good movie especially with great support from excellent cast and equally effective screenplay held altogether. All the technical credits are distinctively top-notch, with production designer Eve Stewart successfully recreates turbulent era of the 1930s England, while Alexandre Desplat composed some of the most beautifully atmospheric scores ever heard in a movie.

Though THE KING'S SPEECH is a well-made movie, there are times it feels manipulative and a bit overrated especially with all the massive hype has generated it all over the place. But this is just minor nitpicking, because THE KING'S SPEECH remains a movie not to be missed.

READ MORE - THE KING'S SPEECH (2010)

EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED (1998)

RATING: 2.5/5

With an intriguing title like EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED, you would be expecting something different than your average cop thriller normally found in Hong Kong cinema. And for that alone, Patrick Yau's follow-up to his earlier Milkyway's nihilistic thriller, THE LONGEST NITE, is another curious beast worth checking out for. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED has all the hallmarks of an uncompromisingly violent cop thriller that characterized the Milkyway's genre specialty and mixes them with a lightweight soap opera route. The result is an unique Hong Kong genre mishmash but mostly a heavily uneven piece of work.

When a trio of inept Mainland robbers (among them are Collins, played by Lam Suet) botched a jewelry heist, a chain of violent event strikes in a matter of short time. Apparently Collins make an escape into a nearby apartment building, inadvertently leading the police to the hideout of a second gang of criminals (lead by Keiji Sato) who happened to be much more vicious killing squad. Nevertheless a shootout massacre ensues, leaving plenty of police officers dying mercilessly in the wake. Leading the case is the "O" department, headed by a no-nonsense, by-the-book sergeant Ken (Simon Yam) who is working hard to rectify the situation. His team is consisting of his mischievous lieutenant Sam (Lau Ching-Wan), veteran Ben (Hui Siu-Hung), and two rookies Macy (Ruby Wong) and Jimmy (Raymond Wong). While they are on the case, a minor love triangle occurs between Ken and Sam, who both shared the same affection with their key witness, a lovely waitress named Mandy (Yoyo Mung). Apparently three of them were childhood friends, and Mandy is particularly fond of Ken. However, Ken spends too much time concentrating on his job and doesn't realize that Mandy has falling in love with him. Still Sam, who also have a crush for Mandy, decides to become a cupid of sorts and masterminded a series of plan in hope to hook up both Ken and Mandy together.

Deep down, there's really nothing new beneath Chow Yin-Han, Szeto Kam-Yuen and Yau Nai-Hoi's screenplay except that the movie is best seen for its unique approach to surprise the viewers at the least expected moment. The lightweight moment, which happens to be the central attraction of the movie, is pretty much a corny love melodrama that is sometimes feel awkward and most of the times, very annoying as well.

But on the other side, the pessimistic approach is what saved the movie from being a complete stinker. In EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED, anything can happen as Patrick Yau wanted to point out that life is fragile and of course, unpredictable. Being cops, especially in a tough division like the "O" department, can lead to deadly consequences. This is where the action sequences truly excel here, with violent shootout and car chase that reminds the gritty work of Ringo Lam. Perhaps the most extraordinary set piece of all is the movie's unexpected surprise ending that is pretty downbeat and something of a disturbing shocker.

In the meantime, the cast are equally credible by the likes of Simon Yam and Lau Ching-Wan. Newcomer Yoyo Mung, who garnered a Best New Artist nomination for the Hong Kong Film Awards, is lovely to look at, though her acting leaves nothing much to be desired of.

Though EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED feels patchy in most parts, the movie remains one of the interesting Milkyway productions ever made and fans of Hong Kong genre cinema wouldn't want to give this a miss.

READ MORE - EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED (1998)

NO STRINGS ATTACHED (2011)

RATING: 1/5

Once upon a time, Ivan Reitman is used to be making some of the '80s most beloved comedies (MEATBALLS, STRIPES, GHOSTBUSTERS and TWINS). Then came a series of high-profile misfires during the '90s (JUNIOR and SIX DAYS, SEVEN NIGHTS) and '00s (EVOLUTION and MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND). Now he's back into the directing chair after five-years' hiatus since his MY SUPER EX-GIRLFRIEND debacle, and it's quite a surprise he chooses to tackle a raunchy romantic comedy that could have helmed by Judd Apatow instead. I mean, seriously, at the age of 64, Ivan Reitman should have gone something more mature. But unfortunately he feels strangely out of place here because everything about NO STRINGS ATTACHED (it was once called as FUCK BUDDIES) trying so hard to be hip and so today turns to be such a wannabe instead. No, make that a big wannabe.

On the surface, though, NO STRINGS ATTACHED gets an extra point for attempting something different than what would be a typical romantic comedy by mixing a novelty premise about two peoples getting involved in a strictly sexual relationship. (Okay, 2010's LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS beat it to theaters by two months before). And there's the always-reliable Ashton Kutcher (at least for this kind of genre) and of course the lovable Natalie Portman who have been lately making a huge spotlight herself (following from her critically-acclaimed and multiple award-winning turn in last year's BLACK SWAN). Added to that is the much-needed R-rated vibe here, meaning there's no restraint in term of sex, dialogue and situational matter of romance and comedy aspect. But wait, Elizabeth Meriwether's screenplay says it otherwise -- it's a kind of movie that is wanted to be daring but keeps holding back. Not one, not two but numerous times that I don't know whether it's Ivan Reitman's fault being such a dick himself for refusing to let loose or Meriwether's fault for trying to blur the line between raunchy and romance.

As for the plot, the story follows a series of encounters between Adam (Kutcher) and Emma (Portman) from the day as young teens at Camp Weehawken, then again ten years later from a college frat party and five years past till today, they chanced upon each other again. Except that now they lead into different path of life: Emma is a hardworking medical intern who has no interest in romance, while Adam works as a lowly production assistant on a Glee-style television series. When his hot ex-girlfriend Vanessa (Ophelia Lovibond) is found sleeping with his aging former sitcom star father, Alvin (Kevin Kline), he seeks comfort with buddies Eli (Jake Johnson) and Wallace (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges) to drink away his sorrow and vows to call every women he knows to have sex. But next thing he knows, he wakes up the following morning lying naked on the couch in Emma's apartment without any memory of how he got there in the first place. It doesn't take long before Adam was actually sleeping with one of her roommates, fellow medical intern named Patrice (Greta Gerwig). But before he plans to head home, he and Emma are suddenly attracted to each other and ends up having a quick sex together. Their first sex session together turns out to be such a memorable moment for Adam until he goes up to Emma and gives her a balloon present. A few hiccups later, Emma suggests it would be great for them to keep their relationship strictly sexual. All they have to do is phone or text each other, and they will have sex at anytime, anywhere. So far their favor works well, until one of them starts to feel for something. Something that is touchy-feely, of course.

Novelty premise aside, NO STRINGS ATTACHED is surprisingly very shallow and enormously patchy all over the place. There's little sense of consistency in Meriwether's writing here. Sure, there are moments of hilarious F-bomb and some noteworthy verbal gags but those only pops in some occasions. Perhaps the biggest problem here is that Meriwether fails miserably to push the envelope beyond the surface of her script. And there's the sheer clumsiness the way Reitman handled his direction here. It's hard to believe that he's obviously very rusty these days. At one point, it's actually good to see him trying to keep up the pace for today's romantic comedy style, and at another point, he's such a slapdash filmmaker who still can't get his hand off relying on the weary formula (yup, the one that usually involved a series of melodramatic/raunchy montages). In the meantime, the cast are mostly a mixed bag. Kutcher is definitely handsome and has that typical goofy charm for this kind of genre (what is new anyway?) and not surprisingly, his character is pretty much the same old role we have seen him countless times before. But Natalie Portman... that is the biggest question here. What the heck is she doing here anyway? Other than a would-be reason she might be doing this for easy paycheck or possible need to "let loose" after doing BLACK SWAN, she doesn't excel much here. Okay, maybe there's a few moments she managed to balance her lightweight acting way between serious and funny without missing a beat. The rest of the supporting actors are equally decent, and most of them are benefited from their improvisational acting.

Now where is his better-talented son, Jason, when we need him the most? Note to Ivan: better get polished up for the long-gestating GHOSTBUSTERS III instead.

READ MORE - NO STRINGS ATTACHED (2011)

SHAOLIN (2011)

RATING: 3/5

With this year's Lunar New Year focuses more on releasing comedies (I LOVE HONG KONG, MR. AND MRS. INCREDIBLE, ALL'S WELL ENDS WELL 2011, WHAT WOMEN WANT), it's rather refreshing to see an action adventure in the form of a big-budget, star-studded epic spectacle, SHAOLIN. The movie, is of course, a remake of 1982's SHAOLIN TEMPLE which starred the then-unknown young Jet Li. Whereas SHAOLIN TEMPLE was more on a simple storytelling approach that focused mainly on Jet Li's graceful kungfu movements, Benny Chan's version is more elaborate with a rarely-tackled theme of Buddhism playing a major part for this movie. In fact, SHAOLIN is a rare breed of a Chinese genre movie at this kind of large magnitude as it puts characters and story first, while the action is more of a second fiddle. The result is one of the more mature works Benny Chan has ever tackled, and SHAOLIN is also marks a fine if heavily flawed beginning for Chinese-speaking cinema in 2011.

The movie focuses on a ruthless and cunning warlord named General Hou Jie (Andy Lau) who only cares about expanding his iron-fist power of conquering a neighboring land across China. He's a kind of arrogant person who doesn't mind gunning down an injured enemy, and becomes ferocious whoever tries to question his authority. That person turns out to be Cao Man (Nicholas Tse), Hou's second-in-command and protege who mostly does the dirty work. Cao remembers what his mentor used to say to him: “If one doesn’t kill off his enemy when he has the upper hand, he’ll be dead". And that particular word of wisdom has encouraged him to turn the table against him at the least suspecting moment. During a meeting between Hou and his sworn brother over a power struggle goes awry, Cao Man takes his opportunity to betray him at all cost. As a result, Hou's precious daughter ends up dead and his wife (Fan Bingbing) hates him very much. Riddled with guilt, Hou turns to Shaolin temple, the sacred place he has previously causing trouble earlier on, and seeks refuge there. Most of the Shaolin monks, including two seniors (Wu Jing, Xing Yu) are not particularly welcomed his presence but their old master strongly believe that Hou ends up at Shaolin to seek redemption one way or another. Under the guidance of an outcast Shaolin cook (Jackie Chan), Hou is slowly turning himself into a good person. Hou is even goes as far as shaving his head and vows to become a monk. In the meantime, Cao has finally gained the upper hand and starts to conspire with foreigners looking to prey on the Chinese. In exchange of his gratitude, he gets an abundant supply of Gatling guns.

Spirits of Buddhism, while other themes of retribution, redemption and karma are portrayed in an earnest manner here and those are part of the unique structures that shaped Cheung Chi-Kwong, Zhang Tan and Alan Yuen's meaty screenplay. No doubt it's a good attempt to make this otherwise straightforward kungfu action adventure all the more meaningful. In fact the story is almost echoed the likes of Jet Li's FEARLESS (2006).

Too bad the movie is burdened by its own weight of the story. It's just too preachy in most parts and simply overlong. This also comes as a typical mistake Benny Chan never fails to achieve like his past efforts. Just about everything here he loves to magnify those melodramatic sense of impact as much as possible, and at times, he has little sense of restraint when he needed to do the most. Not surprisingly, the characters are mostly a mixed bag. Make no mistake, it's not that their acting are bad. In fact, some of them are exceptionally credible but majority of them are actually lackluster. Casting an acting heavyweight in the form of Andy Lau instead of a martial-art superstar like Jet Li in the original version is certainly a novelty and a refreshingly change of pace. His first collaboration with Benny Chan since their 1990's evergreen A MOMENT OF ROMANCE is quite an inspiration here that they should work together more often. Lau's layered performance from an arrogant general to a redemptive kind-hearted monk is equally well-handled. For the martial-art actors, the likes of Wu Jing and Xing Yu, are well-cast for their required roles. But there are some disappointments as well: Nicholas Tse is glaringly over-the-top as the movie's chief villain. It's hard not to laugh at his character trying too hard to be a despicable bad guy with natty uniform and strangely unkempt look of a street gangster. Then there's Fan Bingbing, who is neglected to a thankless role as -- what else -- an estranged wife and a damsel-in-distress we have seen her many times before. In an extended cameo appearance, Jackie Chan make quite an impression (who originally had a bigger role but greatly reduced due to his heavy commitment for last year's THE KARATE KID) as a kind-hearted cook who doesn't know how to fight. His subdued performance is no doubt a refreshing change of pace, following his different approach of acting (SHINJUKU INCIDENT, LITTLE BIG SOLDIER, THE KARATE KID) and it's still not without his own moment of excitement -- a crafty action scene where he stops a bunch of evil soldiers by using kitchen equipments.

Speaking of action, this is where the movie truly excels. Thanks to Corey Yuen's nifty action direction, with slick choreography by veterans Yuen Tak and Li Chung-Chi, the action sequences are graceful and exciting. Notable fight sequences that involve Wu Jing, Xing Yu and Xiong Xin Xin are entertaining sight to behold. Other than that, there is an earlier spectacular set piece involving a pair of horse-riding carts colliding against each other along a tight and winding road at the edge of the cliff. Production-wise, the technical credits are top-notch especially with a rare on-location shoot at the sacred Shaolin temple that added all the more authenticity look of the movie.

READ MORE - SHAOLIN (2011)

VANISHING ON 7TH STREET (2011)

RATING: 1/5

Remember how M. Night Shyamalan's post-apocalyptic thriller called THE HAPPENING (2008) used to be one of the most intriguing summer movies of the year but turned out to be a complete cop-out after all? History repeats itself in this latest post-apocalyptic thriller called VANISHING ON 7TH STREET. But instead of M. Night Shyamalan, the director turns out unexpectedly to be Brad Anderson. Brad Anderson, is of course, a critically-acclaimed director who made quite a number of interesting projects which are ranging from 2001's SESSION 9, 2004's THE MACHINIST and 2008's TRANSSIBERIAN. You can say he's a master of suspense, but for his latest feature here, VANISHING ON 7TH STREET turns out to be his worst movie he's ever directed so far.

But make no mistake, the movie's premise turns out to be quite a killer: When a massive power outrage cuts off abruptly across the city of Detroit, and presumably, all over the world, a number of human populations are mysteriously disappeared during the total blackout. At each passing day, the sun can be seen only at mere shorter period of time before the darkness creeps in faster and longer than expected. And ironically, there are four strangers left to be survived: TV news field reporter Luke (Hayden Christensen); AMC multiplex projectionist Paul (John Leguizamo), physical therapist Rosemary (Thandie Newton); and a 12-year-old boy named James (Jacob Latimore). All four of them come across each other as they holed up in a corner bar called Sonny's, the seemingly only place where a working electric generator provide them the much-needed source of light. As it turns out, light is very important for them to survive. If a slight blackout occurs, there will be some sort of malevolent shadows creeping in at every possible corner to suck the life out of any human being in no time. They are trying to figure out what causes the mass blackout in the first place, and where are these malevolent shadows come from? Why are they are lucky enough to survive?

For starters, VANISHING ON 7TH STREET is simply eerie and intriguing enough just for the killer premise alone it's simply screamed like one of a good Twilight Zone-like episodes. In fact, for the beginning itself, director Brad Anderson has crafted some worthy suspenseful moments, with the generous aid of Lucas Vidal's string-laden score and Uta Briesewitz's sneaky cinematography. Too bad Anthony Jaswinski's screenplay does very little to care for any satisfying explanation behind the mysterious blackout happens throughout the movie. Because of that, everything else tends to be repetitive and nothing much is happened other than watching these desperate survivors trying to stay alive at all cost. Everything here is just too vague, and all those spooky factors quickly turns out to be a chore to sit through as the running time passes by.

If that's not bad enough, the climactic ending is a total cop-out that finishes off with a head-scratching finale. Once a new character is introduced abruptly at the finale, you'll be dumbfounded to discover how is this particular character survived so long with -- get this -- a solar-powered flashlight!. No kidding. What an idea for insulting the viewers' intelligence.

Avoid this movie at all cost.

READ MORE - VANISHING ON 7TH STREET (2011)

SANCTUM (2011)

RATING: 1/5

Attached a brand name that goes by "James Cameron", and (everyone) starts to take notice. That is exactly what SANCTUM tries to sell to the viewers. No doubt with Cameron himself involved as one of the executive producers, and everything else that stamped his trademark -- underwater and that innovative 3D camera technology previously employed in AVATAR (2009) and RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE (2010) -- it's definitely hard to ignore the existence of SANCTUM. But beyond that, the movie is more of a marketing gimmick and the end product itself is merely your typical underwater action-adventure coupled with uninspired direction, hackneyed script, lame characters and surprisingly lack of thrills.

At the beginning of the movie, we learn that Papua New Guinea's famed Esa-ala is the largest unexplored cave system ever existed in the world. And down the cave is where master diver Frank McGuire (Richard Roxburgh) and his team have been based there for the last thirty-four days. They are all tired, and they are soon to be joined on the last leg of their research by Frank's estranged 17-year-old son Josh (Rhys Wakefield), wealthy entrepreneur Carl Hurley (Ioan Gruffudd), and Carl's inexperienced hot girlfriend Victoria (Alice Parkinson). After a botched underwater cave expedition that leads one of the team's death, Frank suffers a dilemma that he is unable to rectify the situation. But that is just a beginning. What happens next is a bad storm coming up in no time, and if that's not enough, a falling boulder has blocked their exit from above. With the water increasingly rising, Frank and his remaining surviving team have no choice but to force swimming down to an unfamiliar cave system in attempt to locate another way out. As their underwater journey has become increasingly dangerous, they soon experienced short amount of supplies (lights, oxygen tanks) while some of them begin to suffer a series of panic attacks, decompression sickness and hypothermia.

At the ground basis, you would have figure that a screenplay co-written by Andrew Wight who once had a first-hand experience on cave diving and became one of the victims trapped with fourteen other people in a cave for two days, would have come up something that is remarkably intense. However, both him and John Garvin are first-time feature screenwriters, and their lack of experience are obviously present in this movie. For a supposedly exciting movie involving around a small members of people trapped inside the underwater cave system, the entire movie is surprisingly dull at almost every department. The writing are just plain bad, with banal and equally laughable dialogues like "What could possibly go wrong diving in caves?", and a number of ego-driven characters that are hardly to care about. No doubt Richard Roxburgh is making quite an impression playing a hard-ass character but for that alone, his unlikable character has ultimately ruined the subtlety of the movie. Rhys Wakefield, who plays as Frank's 17-year-old son, spends most of the time whined a lot you wish you wanted to cut him off. And there's Ioan Gruffudd, whose arrogant wealthy bastard role has got to be among the most annoying character ever seen in recent memory. In the meantime, the female characters are either reckless beings or spend too much time complaining a lot.

Alister Grierson's direction, as previously mentioned, is uninspired. His previous directorial effort was the 2006's little-seen war drama called KOKODA, and here he puts little effort to raise beyond its talky script while he has almost no sense of kinetic flair when comes to delivering dramatic scenarios. Even there are a number or two suspenseful moment with the heavy aid of David Hirschfelder's thumping score, there are simply not enough claustrophobic nature and real excitement to recommend this movie entirely. Still, the usage of 3D camera system and Jules O'Loughlin's underwater cinematography is quite a sight to behold, but doesn't exactly justify the price of the admission. It's just too bad that SANCTUM turns out to be a shockingly dull experience. Don't bother to waste your hard-earned money watching this in 3D.

READ MORE - SANCTUM (2011)