cinema

War of the Giant Pelicans

Watched Spielberg’s War of the Worlds with Ling today and though I liked it a lot, it was, film-wise, one traumatic experience for me. Forget the little bits of exposition they had to furnish concerning Tom Cruise’s Ray Ferrier’s household mismanagement problems. Forget the slightly cheesy-by-modern-day-standards explanation on how the alien lifeforms landed on (or rather into) Earth. If one were expecting an alien-invasion movie similar to, say, Independence Day, one might be sorely disappointed, because there were no Earthian heroes with the talents or the technology to defeat the mighty giant armoured machines. The film was instead one grand statement about the fragility of Man and his ugly nature when the desperation to survive supersedes morality.

This is one film that was based on a late-1800s novel by H.G. Wells, with a famous radio series in the 1930s by Orson Welles that sent people who believed the invasion real into panic. It would have been a horror tale more for the imagination than a visual exercise if not for the advances of cinematic technology.

Subjects: Film, Television & Anime 映像

Mood: Raves and Rants

Tags: cinema, H.G. Wells, Minority Report, Orson Welles, pelicans, PKD, science fiction, Steven Spielberg

Anticipating: 2004-05-21

The two Chinese films currently showing at Cannes:

2046

Wong Kar Wai’s 2046 - A Writer’s DeskWong Kar Wai’s 2046 - MailboxesWong Kar Wai’s 2046

Subjects: Film, Television & Anime 映像

Tags: 2046, Cannes, cinema, Final Fantasy, Kaneshiro Takeshi 金城武, Square-Enix, Wong Kar Wai, Zhang Ziyi

Ashes of Time 《東邪西毒》

The following is a combination of 2 transcriptions of the film that I found on the Internet. Both transcriptions were excellent and close to being word-for-word. Still there were some spelling errors that I noticed and corrected. I took the liberty of adding my descriptives to some sections I found were not explained clearly enough in the original transcriptions.

Ashes of Time 《東邪西毒》

Subjects: Film, Television & Anime 映像

Tags: cinema, Hong Kong, Leslie Cheung, transcript, Wong Kar Wai

Spidey!

I just watched Spiderman today. Was supposed to be Saturday after my exams but we (family) just couldn’t wait. After all it is Labour Day and since the ‘sneak previews’ are screening from 2PM to 9PM in cinemas island-wide (what an irony), it is a pretty good excuse. Anyway, how did I like the film? I say I love it. It’s a huge bonus that Tobey Maguire is in it (my sis likes Kristen Dunst). Tobey Maguire has been one of my favourite Hollywood actors (others include Jude Law, Ewan McGregor, Jude Law and Natalie Portman) ever since I watched Pleasantville (I think that was the first Maguire film I watched), and was my top choice for the web-slinger role in a film that I’ve been following in its developmental process since the 90s. I’m definitely going to watch it again on cinema after my exams are done.

Speaking of exams, I’ve got one on Friday and I’ve barely begun studying for it.Shit… I don’t have the motivation to either. Maybe I’ll go to Mcdonalds tomorrow to concentrate properly =( arrrrgh…

Subjects: Film, Television & Anime 映像

Mood: Raves and Rants

Tags: cinema, examination, Perth, Spider Man, Tobey Maguire

I love the LOTR

This is a bit belated, but I just have to say: Lord of the Rings, what a great, great movie. The best fantasy movie in years, and a completely different cinema experience from what we’re used to seeing. This should be what movie-making should be about. And the score, damn, Howard Shore, you’ve convinced me to buy your album. What a nice present to get for your family for christmas.

The only thing that marred my viewing experience was the horrible audience who couldn’t appreciate the subtleties of the film. This bunch of women at the back just couldn’t shut up throughout the movie, even in the quiet moments of the film. How unfortunate for them that they missed out on one of the greatest movies ever, even though they had paid S$7.50 and were propped in one of the best seats of the theatre.

Right now, I’m done with re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring and starting on The Two Towers. I have the Alan Lee embellished hardcover edition that I got for Christmas a couple of years ago. I see the movie-tie-in mass paperback editions in the market right now, they just don’t do the book justice. Even though the prices of the hardcover editions have increased over the years (My book cost about S$70 four years ago, the same books now cost around S$105), I think they are a great investment if you can afford.

Subjects: Books 書物, Film, Television & Anime 映像

Mood: Raves and Rants

Tags: anime, Christmas, cinema, gift, Lord of the Rings, Miyazaki Hayao 宮崎駿

Anticipating the FOTR

I’m going to watch The Fellowship of the Ring tonight. =) Bought the tickets from the cinema when it opened its doors today. The blasted cinema… its first show was supposed to be showing at 10:10 AM in the morning, so I expected the booths to be open at around 9:40 so I was there waiting around that time. It made sense didn’t it? But noooo… it turns out the cinema’s run by a bunch of slackers and it only opened at 10AM sharp. *grumble* I guess I wasn’t the only one pissed because there was a bunch of people wanting to watch the early show with not-very-happy faces. I must admit one good thing about Singapore is that you can easily buy tickets to opening-day screenings/sneak previews on the day itself without having to queue up for a long time as long you go to book the tickets early. Alternatively, you can also book via Internet/Phone if you have a debit/credit card. Call me old-fashioned but I prefer the traditional means of booking.

Anyways, It’s the 8:15 show, that means the show will probably end at around 11:25.

Subjects: Film, Television & Anime 映像

Mood: Gratifications

Tags: cinema, Lord of the Rings

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