I guess i'll do a wrap up like this every year..... and maybe mini award ceremonies....will be fun haha....
My top 8 in no particular order:
(note, the year is not the production year but the year's films i've watched)
1. Perhaps love
You may have guessed it, it'll top as one of my favourites...i think i've emphasized this enough...great stuff, how often do u get chinese musicals anyway?....every snapshot of the film is so visually beautiful and the musicals choreographed by Bollywood's Farah Khan...very underrated imo, it's like a lost gem undiscovered among all the year's blockbusters and reviewers generally was lukewarm with this film....but some critics love it....they just haven't discover it yet.....
2. Sympathy for lady vengence
The last concluding episode of park chan-wook's revenge trilogy...not my favourite of the 3-part trilogy but still i thought it was an appropriate way to end his trilogy(despite many felt disappointed after all the hype)....unique park's style as usual and u needn't doubt or worry abt the visuals, creativity and soundtrack...finely executed...and of course....one of the greatest performance by Lee young-ae...if u r used to her image in dramas and CFs.....be in for a great shock.....
3. Nobody knows
Directed by kore-eda Hirokazu about the life of four abandoned children...inspired by real life events of such abandonment in Japan....one of the saddest films i've seen....brilliant child actors and the performance of lead-yagira yuya clearly deserved the best actor award he won at Cannes....
4. Nausicaa of the valley of wind
A 1984 sci-fi anime...another ghibli film and miyazaki's production....one of my favourite anime's ever...given that it's produced in 1984....u'll be surprised even then what magic miyazaki can produce....if u've never watched a ghibli film or heard of miyazaki who is like the 'godfather' of animation....u clearly misssed out the gems....
5. Howl's moving castle
The latest miyazaki anime....i dn't need to emphasis again....just go watch a ghibli film and u'll know what i mean...miyazaki's anime has this added human touch and very magical feel every time i watch it....makes me feel like a kid once again....taking a trip through the candy fields or floating between the clouds....i'm not exaggerating....and it's not surprising how many adult fans he has worldwide and many who respect his works....he produces anime's fit for adults and no doubt i'll still enjoy it many many years later....if u haven't seen his works....spirited away and grave of fireflies are some of his other popular works...
6. A tale of 2 sisters
A film by director kim Jee-Woon....it is a film in the horror genre which i never touch with a ten-foot pole...yeah...i never watch horrors with a few exceptions...this film first caught my attention with it's promotional poster, very beauiful and seemed tragic work of art...but still i never watch it until i've heard many said it wasn't scary at all and a rather bad film with again lesbian undertones (like the more famous whispering corridors horror series with it's les. undertones)....and after i watch it...i feel so maligned for this film...it was one of the more beautiful and great art directions films i've seen....and true it wasn't exactly horror or frightening film but rather a psychological thriller imo....and no it does not have the les. undertones that many misunderstood...it was more abt sisterly love...but what was most interesting was the minor clues left along the way which let to a very clever twist at the end...which i'll nt talk abt in case u've yet to watch it...if u didn't catch the twist...a 2nd or 3rd re-watch, u shld be able to get it like many others...nice film and definitely nt ur usual horror....
7. Shawshank redemption
A 1994 film abt prison life....which i shan't elaborate since most of u wld've known abt it's rave reviews....it is ranked 2nd on the list of top 250 films of all time at imdb.com with 1st place being the Godfather(which is also my most favourite film of all time...)....the film was adapted from Stephen king's novel-Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption...it is one of the few films in history that has done well frm adaptations which mostly fails...including the most recent...memiors of a geisha...so this shld be on ur to watch list someday....a memorable dialogue frm the film : "...do u want to get busy living...or get busy dying?...."
8. Deulist
A Lee myung se film........when i first saw the trailer...i have no intention to watch this...it was marketed as a 'wuxia' film with 2 popular stars as the lead which i thought was another crappy film powered by star power...gosh was i very wrong....i was motivated to watch it after some critics praised it to the sky...this film is the most 'fun' film i've ever seen...it does not have a specific genre....like a magic pot mixed with everything and one of the best cinematography ever...however it failed terribly at the box office and many people bashed this film till it worth no more than 2 cents but some love it so much they watch it several times...this is indeed one of the love/hate films...so either u hate it or u adore it...with repeated viewings...as i mentioned it was marketed as a 'wuxia' flick so the viewers had the impression that the film they were going to catch was of this genre...so they expected lots of fights,etcs...and because it turned out not to be such...the viewers may have felt betrayed expecting something they never receive...but seriously viewers ought to broaden their mindscope....who cares abt genres specifically...a new film...more creative and interesting works is more impt....although the film was set in a historical era..it did not follow the traditinal settings or styles of that historical period...the film has actors in diff. colourful clothings, no sspecific storyline and genre but a mixture of everything which turns out right and very innovative and of course a cinematic feat...what the director wanted wasn't a stoyline he wanted to tell or audiences to follow but he wanted his audiences to enjoy the cinematic...the basic wonders of watching merely a few hrs film in the cinema...so the film did not have an obvious plot bt it doesn't kill the film...it is extremely entertaining with comical doses...and visuals so beautiful and interesting use of colors, photography...it is a cinematic achievement...the leads were fighting in and out of the shadows beautifully captured...and the soundtrack was also an integral part of the film...unlike soundtracks usually being only a part of the film...in Duelist, it was an integral component that works with the film to bring out the magic...it is abt movements, motions, colours and sounds as the director mentioned...we are seeing the very essence of cinema and the reasons that we enjoy...Lee myung-se defies all the boundaries and created something that brings a new edge to films....so who says we cn't enjoy a film with no concrete plots...he proved us wrong and showed us what is cinematic experience....btw a spoiler ahead....the leads were tango-ing with their swords at the back alley under the moonlight...tango-ing mind u...nt fighting....have u seen expressions of love through merely swords?....is this enough to entice u to watch?....a black horse of the year...very under-rated and misunderstood film...watch it and u'll know what i meant by cinematic experience....hope it'll reach our shores and u all cn watch it...but don't kill me if u hate it...as i mentioned earlier...it's a either u-love-it-or-hate-it film...but watch it with an open mind...u'll be greatly surprised and satisfied....
Other worthy mentions: A bittersweet life (Dir: Kim jee-woon) , Hana and alice (Dir Shunji Iwai)
Most disappointing films:
1. Harry potter and the goblet of fire
I preferred the previous episodes rather than this....maybe because the previous has more comedic moments but the goblet of fire was trying to cover too many plots in a few hours leaving all the plots not adequately developed and seems excessively cut...and makes u waiting and waiting for it to reach the peak and somewhere....
2. The chronicles of Narnia:the lion, the witch and the wardrobe
I read the entire series of chronicles of narnia by C.S lewis a long time ago...and i dn't really rem them now...but it was far more enjoyable than the movie...the film has a feel of a ancient european classic feel but the cinematography was mediocre at best...it doesn't bring out the beauty of the story...but many adult viewers still found this film enjoyable...probably because it has the simplistic, fantasy like feel that they had long ago....although the film has it's use of metaphors and it's teachings...i didn't quite enjoy the acting of the child actors....hopefully the sequels will have more to offer...
3. Memiors of a Geisha
One of the stories that i enjoyed....and eagerly waiting to see this film with it's impressive casting as well....i was dissapointed and partly because i have very high hopes for this and long wait for the release....like i mentioned earlier...adaptations seldom do well especially full-lengh novels...there were to many characters and plots that it wanted to capture that it turned out to confuse it's audiences more than anything else if they haven't read the book itself....if all else fails...at least i found it visually beautiful...and with it's casting...i'll still have catched it anyhow....but i thought it could have been much better....
i think there's more to the list....but i'll keep as it is before it gets any longer...
I realised it is extremely difficult to give awards in this matter since i chose the films i like best...but of my list, some awards that cn be given are:
Best actress: Lee young-ae (Sympathy for lady vengence)
Best cinematography: Deulist
Best hk film : Perhaps Love
Best horror: Tale of 2 sisters
Best anime:Nausicaa of the valley of the wind
Best soundtrack: Cn't decide between a bittersweet life, tale of 2 sisters and sympathy for lady vengence
As u cn see this is not a fair selection for the Best list since they are of diff.country, yr of production....so it is loosely based on my favourites..haha....
~~~~~TRIBUTE~~~~~~
This has nothing to do with films but i wanna give a tribute to Do As Infinity....one of my favourite bands disbanded in 2005....I'll always enjoy their songs....i love almost all their albums...great works....great vocals by my all-time fav. Tomiko Van....hope she coninues to do well with her solo....
DAI.....thank you for the music u've brought us....(*fans screaming in a corner and always will rem. DAI).......
Monday, March 27, 2006
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
just an essay...
Hello there!
been so long since i last post....to add something new in the mean time...below will be an essay i wrote for some competition, hoping to win an ipod as the prize, but sad to say none...maybe the judges didn't liked my bashing and accusations and frankly the tone and content was not exactly "educational healthy"...anyway i'll juz post it here and dn't kill me if it's something too dry to post on a blog....oh well...i dn't usually write such stuffs anyway...
Censorship kills creativity.Comment.
Censorship is the most vital and sensitive issue concerning films and generally the media. The main concern of my arguments, is with regards to film censorship.
First, what drives creativity? It is the space, freedom, choice and means that one can exhibit their mode of expression and communication. It is without restrains, the dare to imagine, to experiment, to create one’s piece of ‘artwork’ resulting from the pure blend of the creator’s feelings, imaginations, styles and their directions to create their unique piece of work, not tailored for the audience, but their own piece of art they truly want to show, a story they want to tell, or a statement they want to make, to simply fulfill the desires of communicating with the audience, hopefully to bring their point across through their work or to vision their proud work being showcased.
However, censorship has stifled such creativity to flourish and a pity to both the director as well as the audience who could have witnessed another masterpiece. Many films, especially political ones are met with the misunderstandings that the directors are trying to rebel, to mislead the audiences, to bring up again taboo subjects, history which should be buried as a means to voice their anger, to stir up interests to sell their films. More importantly, the audiences should know that the films they watch are for entertainment, the media is about entertainment, thus how can they literally take the meaning or facts of what they see? At best, it is just a well directed piece of masterpiece or artwork, which the audience can enjoy the ride through a well told story, indulging themselves in the excitement and experience of the interesting film and its cinematography. The films are told through the writers and directors’ point of view, thus its meaning are subjective and open to interpretations, thus they cannot be accused and blamed for misleading the audiences merely because of expressing their own views. Therefore an obvious example is, although a political film or a film about a national hero may be very sensitive, it may not be the intentions of the director to foolishly stir up criticisms for its own film or to glorify someone, it can be merely telling a story of one’s emotions and experiences when under certain circumstances. Thus, the audience should just enjoy the ‘journey’ with the characters in the film like reading a book, or enjoy the cinematography, the good script, well-written lines and acting, humor, exciting plot twists or just a subtle artistic experience. Because certain plots or images are vital to bring out the ‘feel’ or the ‘point’ of the film, just like a political film cannot do without political images or a revenge film cannot do without some sort of cruelty, just like the saying “revenge is a dish best served cold” , and the very reasons why these parts are censored, causes the films to lose its ‘taste’ and the core essence of the film, rendering it meaningless or incomplete. Therefore, we cannot ignore the impact of censorship on films.
Ironically, films that do not deserve such censorship treatments are treated cruelly while those that has much more detrimental effects are being generously shown such as those films with excessive or explicit sex scenes (which makes you question whether the quantity is really necessary) and the massive amount of advertisements making use of sexual themes to sell their products shown over your TV set at the prime times with the most audiences (including kids of course). A recent example is the film ‘Irreversible’ with long and explicit sex scenes being shown uncut in our local theatres which garnered much responses and criticisms. With profits realistically linked to media and entertainment, does it means that profits has the upper-hand and priority when it comes to censorship so much so that the marketing ploy to show such films uncut in order to bring in the viewership, can escape unharmed? While censorship remains ‘morale’ and ‘just’ when it comes to small, or less box office hits, or overseas seemingly unimportant art films, and letting other investments generated, films worthy as marketing tools, out the back-door, makes the purpose of censorship very questionable? What the audience need is something different, unique that will excite them or bring them through another artistic journey, and not being feed constantly with the mediocre entertainment trash that has ‘safe’ plots repeated endlessly that dulls the audience. And for every masterpiece to rise, it takes a 100 failed tries, thus when can we witness the next masterpiece, if censorship bites on the leg of creativity?
been so long since i last post....to add something new in the mean time...below will be an essay i wrote for some competition, hoping to win an ipod as the prize, but sad to say none...maybe the judges didn't liked my bashing and accusations and frankly the tone and content was not exactly "educational healthy"...anyway i'll juz post it here and dn't kill me if it's something too dry to post on a blog....oh well...i dn't usually write such stuffs anyway...
Censorship kills creativity.Comment.
Censorship is the most vital and sensitive issue concerning films and generally the media. The main concern of my arguments, is with regards to film censorship.
First, what drives creativity? It is the space, freedom, choice and means that one can exhibit their mode of expression and communication. It is without restrains, the dare to imagine, to experiment, to create one’s piece of ‘artwork’ resulting from the pure blend of the creator’s feelings, imaginations, styles and their directions to create their unique piece of work, not tailored for the audience, but their own piece of art they truly want to show, a story they want to tell, or a statement they want to make, to simply fulfill the desires of communicating with the audience, hopefully to bring their point across through their work or to vision their proud work being showcased.
However, censorship has stifled such creativity to flourish and a pity to both the director as well as the audience who could have witnessed another masterpiece. Many films, especially political ones are met with the misunderstandings that the directors are trying to rebel, to mislead the audiences, to bring up again taboo subjects, history which should be buried as a means to voice their anger, to stir up interests to sell their films. More importantly, the audiences should know that the films they watch are for entertainment, the media is about entertainment, thus how can they literally take the meaning or facts of what they see? At best, it is just a well directed piece of masterpiece or artwork, which the audience can enjoy the ride through a well told story, indulging themselves in the excitement and experience of the interesting film and its cinematography. The films are told through the writers and directors’ point of view, thus its meaning are subjective and open to interpretations, thus they cannot be accused and blamed for misleading the audiences merely because of expressing their own views. Therefore an obvious example is, although a political film or a film about a national hero may be very sensitive, it may not be the intentions of the director to foolishly stir up criticisms for its own film or to glorify someone, it can be merely telling a story of one’s emotions and experiences when under certain circumstances. Thus, the audience should just enjoy the ‘journey’ with the characters in the film like reading a book, or enjoy the cinematography, the good script, well-written lines and acting, humor, exciting plot twists or just a subtle artistic experience. Because certain plots or images are vital to bring out the ‘feel’ or the ‘point’ of the film, just like a political film cannot do without political images or a revenge film cannot do without some sort of cruelty, just like the saying “revenge is a dish best served cold” , and the very reasons why these parts are censored, causes the films to lose its ‘taste’ and the core essence of the film, rendering it meaningless or incomplete. Therefore, we cannot ignore the impact of censorship on films.
Ironically, films that do not deserve such censorship treatments are treated cruelly while those that has much more detrimental effects are being generously shown such as those films with excessive or explicit sex scenes (which makes you question whether the quantity is really necessary) and the massive amount of advertisements making use of sexual themes to sell their products shown over your TV set at the prime times with the most audiences (including kids of course). A recent example is the film ‘Irreversible’ with long and explicit sex scenes being shown uncut in our local theatres which garnered much responses and criticisms. With profits realistically linked to media and entertainment, does it means that profits has the upper-hand and priority when it comes to censorship so much so that the marketing ploy to show such films uncut in order to bring in the viewership, can escape unharmed? While censorship remains ‘morale’ and ‘just’ when it comes to small, or less box office hits, or overseas seemingly unimportant art films, and letting other investments generated, films worthy as marketing tools, out the back-door, makes the purpose of censorship very questionable? What the audience need is something different, unique that will excite them or bring them through another artistic journey, and not being feed constantly with the mediocre entertainment trash that has ‘safe’ plots repeated endlessly that dulls the audience. And for every masterpiece to rise, it takes a 100 failed tries, thus when can we witness the next masterpiece, if censorship bites on the leg of creativity?
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