On a tragic summer, out of a little girl’s vivid imagination, she accused a man with a crime he didn’t commit and would soon spend the rest of her life regretting what she had done, changing the lives around her that would never be the same again. This is ATONEMENT, a tale about a woman’s redemption and penance to the falsehood she used to extirpate lives, told in a fashion which shimmers with intrinsic cinematic power that’s uniquely British and nearly as flawless as possible. It swings with moods, atmosphere and emotionally-charged sequences that vibrantly flutter from classic cinema-making to modern storytelling.
Adapted from Ian McEwan’s madly bestselling novel of the same name back in 2004, which pushed him to fame and bestsellerdom, Joe Wright’s cinematic interpretation is spectacular – one that rarely happens when filmmakers transform literary pages to filmic histrionics. Well, knowing that he’s done the book-to-film drill already with last year’s brilliant PRIDE & PREJUDICE (that did make the Jane Austen fandom teary-eyed proud), there’s so much confidence in Wright’s adept skill when he started this project. Now, the result – the screenplay works, the cinematography is a glowing masterpiece, the score is surrealistically haunting, and the editing requires great immersion as the scenes shifts backwards and forwards, all building up to a tension and a conflict that pulls you like a galvanic magnet.
This tightly moralistic tale starts off in a Victorian manor in an English countryside circa 1935 with the well-off family of Tallises. 13-year old Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan), a fledgling writer, sits with her typewriter as she was finishing her play “The Trials of Arabella” for her brother Leon’s homecoming dinner. Briony, severely know-it-all with a cold blue-eyed gimlet stare, witnesses her sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley) coming out of the pond half-naked in front of the housekeeper’s son, Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), and depicted something straight away in her fertile imagination. This elusive judgment of hers came to be proven even more when Robbie handed her a letter meant for Cecilia – that turned out to be a pornographic letter he handed out by mistake – which supposed to be a sorry note. A sordid letter confirmed Briony’s suspicion, as her pettiness made her so dangerous and perniciously cruel, that it all led to a quagmire nobody expected to happen in that night. She caught Robbie pinning her sister Cecilia against the shelves in the library doing an extremely salacious act in the eyes of a thirteen year-old. It was made even much worse when their cousin Lola Quincey was found raped in the midst of an all-search for the lost young twins, who both escaped the manor. Briony was there and saw it by herself that Lola was raped by her older brother’s friend, but pointed the blame to Robbie, calling him a “sex maniac”.
Of course, Briony didn’t know the whole story, and Cecilia was reduced to vulnerability against her younger sister’s playing-innocent fibs. Cecilia, with all her life, trusts Robbie because he’s a childhood friend and went to university with her in her father’s expense, and they were both in love but altogether thought they were too juvenile for the relationship. In the brilliantly handled scenes expertly orchestrated by Wright, from the glowing palettes and shades of Seamus McGarvey’s gorgeous cinematography to dramatics of the key characters, from Knightley and McAvoy’s near-faultless performances to the young girl Ronan’s haunting and calculating stares – it all balanced the air of golden and youthful decadence. Then it all seemed to melt in the heat that it emanates, as Robbie was arrested and put to prison, and suddenly jumps into the bleak and hopeless France, 4 years later, as he joined the army.
While the WWII rages around them, Briony grows up now, 18 years old, realising her greatest mistake and started serving her own personal penance and retribution as she turned down her offer from Cambridge and worked in a hospital instead as a nurse to help more wounded soldiers from the war, as she also seeks forgiveness from her sister. Cecilia, on the other hand, also works in the same hospital but never talks to her sister anymore.
ATONEMENT, with its gratifying visual eminence, is also blessed with elite performances. The vindictive young Briony was played by Saoirse Ronan, a breakthrough act for this young actress that needs recognition. Her transition to the 18-year old Briony working as a nurse in the shattered London was played with such a sympathetic sweep by Romola Garai that you somehow feel sorry as well for her no matter what she had done in the past, then transforms in her late age as a troubled novelist played by Vanessa Redgrave. But it is Ronan’s stunning performance as a child bereft of mature guidance, lost in her imagination’s wilderness that easily eclipses the other two older actresses. Knightley could finally prove that she’s one of the best actresses working in her generation today with such poise she wouldn’t stumble. This is a perfect career move, giving Cecilia that undulating spirit for love as she longingly says “Come back to me...” to Robbie, a woman whose destiny was bound to a single error committed by her sister and was forced to live a life with dissatisfaction. McAvoy, now being tagged as the new leading man of town, is on his full form as Robbie, especially the scenes in Dunkirk, a surprisingly long, almost 10-minute complex shot that shows the desperation of the people in the beach as they wait for rescue, harbouring so much emotional complexity that it’s almost heartbreaking to watch.
And the ending, don’t continue reading this if you don’t want to know. A sad and tragic fate for Cecilia and Robbie, with Briony paying a tribute to them with her final book called “Atonement”, telling all the truth in it that she distorted during that eventful summer, except for a happy ending that she believed both Cecilia and Robbie deserved so much in their lives. After you’ve watched it, it would stay with you for a while and will keep on reminding you this moral tale of a girl who deprived the happiness of two people because of childish fancy and immature conviction.
Right, you should see it before I carry on schmoozing here. It is a majestic film, rest assured. ATONEMENT is intelligent, brave and bold. The first act during the summer scenes is a force that regenerates bravura in filmmaking as the story unfolds, the second act with the WWII London days and France expedition will grab your senses in an extraordinary way (especially the tracking shot in Dunkirk scenes), and the third act with Briony finishes her story and finally atoning will clench your heart with an unexpected sincerity.
VERDICT:
A haunting, respectable story blended with beautiful, eye-watering cinematography added with sincere direction, ATONEMENT is a near-perfect film for the eyes, the mind, the heart and soul. Doubtlessly, this is Wright’s masterstroke with masterclass performances. Bet your bollocks for an Oscar Best Picture nom next year.
RATING: A
If it wasn’t for Chris Tucker, I would have fallen straight to sleep in my chair by the time Jackie Chan opens his mouth to speak or starts to do his shtick. Nonetheless, RUSH HOUR 3 felt madly squeezed like a lemon without juice, and other than that, neither Jackie Chan’s karate-chops nor Chris Tucker’s motormouth helped the flick much. If you have seen this third (yawning) instalment, then you have seen it all, to be honest.
I wonder what Brett Ratner is on about these days. He needs a serious film to redeem himself, after what he had done to X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, he somehow tormented the series into something anti-climactic after his brilliant X-MEN 2. Now years later after the first RUSH HOUR film, they still managed to slice another franchise that’s totally plotless and clueless of its humour.
Save from Tucker dancing in the street as a traffic man, in tune to one of Prince’s song, which resulted to chaos on the road, was a tickle to the tummy and man, I laughed. Then the film carried on giving the audience a taste of what rubbish filmmaking is all about; Chan chasing an assassin, Tucker fighting the world’s tallest man, Chan and Tucker hitting with women, we think we’ve seen it all already. Nothing fresh, nothing vibrantly new, and they seemed to use Paris just as a backdrop for action scenes as the plot plodded along.
This must have resulted from the curse of “three-quels” over the summer, and a normal every-audience would surely agree that it suffered from its own pointlessness. Two cops chasing for a suspect of an assassination plot over to Paris seemed too forgettable and easily dumb for my standards. It felt like after watching the film, you wouldn’t really care at all if they catch the suspect or not, and apparently appalled when they started strutting at the end of the film. I never really understood as well (or was it really fully explained) what the hell was Chris Tucker’s character chasing a bad guy when his job only allows him to do some traffic control on a street. For goodness sake, as though I was that daft enough to miss such minimal things.
Unbearable, indeed. Chris Tucker might bring some laughs, with the “I’m Me, who are you?” - “I’m Yu.” sequence, but it’s entirely a bummer. There are movies that we can’t stand sitting the whole movie throughout, that’s the irony of it. If this is Hollywood doing the dawdling exercise of nonsensical films, that sad to say, the Hollywood filmmaking era is going definitely mad.
VERDICT:
One of summer’s worst movies. RUSH HOUR 3 felt like a squeezed material, plus the boring, nonsensical, plot. You might as well go to sleep as this will make your day better than this sloppy farcical flick. Cheers to Tucker for making me laugh; well at least once in every 40 minutes. That’s twice in the whole film.
RATING: D
KNOCKED UP, amid the detonation of overblown summer movies, is indeed the summer’s pleasant surprise. Predicted a sleeper hit, born a sleeper hit – it’s a kind of low-budgeted flick that you wouldn’t expect to do some goodies in the box-office domineering age; but it has, in fact, amassed delightful reviews from critics seeking for another shade other than they grey vistas of Hollywood blockbustering recently (as Spiderman suddenly retreats to its bleak shades of grey in its third instalment). But so much for budget talks and overblown epics, KNOCKED UP is that comedy Hollywood rarely dares to touch a finger on. Yes, it’s a comedy, but we do rarely see flicks like this that’s all funny, raunchy, rude, with balls-to-the-wall jargon, outrageous, convincingly honest and emotionally accurate. Kudos to the writer/director/producer Judd Apatow for letting us believe that his first outing THE 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN was no fluke, and that he can still work on some realistic wonders.
How idiosyncratic life could become: beautiful, career-woman, E! Television floor manager Alison Scott (GREY ANATOMY’S Katherine Heigl), fresh from promotion, hitches up in a club with her sister and during an alcohol-induced dancing and raving, she meets Ben Stone (Seth Rogen), a dorky-looking, slacker-kind of shlub that builds internet website devoted to female celebrity skins. Of course, with heavy alcohol influence, the inevitable happens: a night of sex. Rushed. Unprotected. Dismissed. So then this transforms into a lesson for most blokes out there who remains careless and for ladies who are all-too-excessively hasty. A morning later, Alison sees the woozy Ben in her bed. Eight weeks later, her career in television goes downhill (let the vomit mantra begin), and yep, she’s knocked up; pregnant of the baby caused by recklessness. Needless to say, this tale turns out from a one-night-stand to a responsibility they both must face throughout their lives.
How wonderful Apatow’s writing skills are as he seasoned his dialogues with such wittiness, although spiced with sharp, bawdy rudeness that would make Quentin Tarantino a little proud perhaps. It’s his affectionate sense for honesty and pulling out hilarious moments in human situations that sets out the punches, creating dialogues that are severely straight to the point, no-fuss, and bull’s-eye authentic. There are loads of scenes that wouldn’t leave your mind after watching this film: Alison and Ben arguing rather straightforwardly in an offensive language in a public restaurant (“I was drunk!” Alison shouts hysterically. “Oh, was your vagina drunk?” Ben shouts back.), Alison in the car and hospital having hormonal rages, Ben having his speech about who gives a “flying fuck” about baby books, and a rather poignant moment at the end in the delivery room where Alison shakes the whole hospital by her labouring screams. It’s not only the dialogues, but it is how Apatow build his characters to be completely sympathetic and believable individuals; flawed humans forced to take responsibility to clean up their mistakes and stand up for it. For Alison and Ben, their relationship might feel a tad awkward (she, the poster-girl beauty, while he, the fat klutz) but the contrast between each other remains more interesting. They are indeed two different people with different outlooks in life. Alison, who believes in success, hides the fact that she’s pregnant in her job; and Ben, who’s basically a manchild, forced to grow up and take in some life lessons.
It’s also a joy to watch good performances from the two major leads of the film. But from Heigl and Rogen, Katherine Heigl shines the brightest. She pitch-perfectly carried the anxiety, the distress and the confusion in life during pregnancy stage and by that time we see the baby coming out of her, it’s daft to say she hasn’t done her job well. For Rogen, with no acting backgrounds at all, generates charm beneath gruffiness and did something to the movie, just as what Steve Carrell had done to THE 40-YEAR OLD VIRGIN. There’s also Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, who both work well in the film as supporting characters of a couple with a crumbling marriage.
VERDICT:
May not appeal to everyone, especially the conservative ones, but KNOCKED UP is a comedy with a heart, just excuse its rude juvenilia jargon. Like its main characters, it’s nevertheless a flawed film but a big nod to Apatow for being sensible enough to bring out a human comedy about the foibles and responsibilities of life.
B+
Let’s admit: figure skating is silly – especially if it involves males posing in the ice. And a movie about male figure skating is way sillier, but it’s forgivable because it is hilarious. Two blokes skating their way to gold glory, beating other contestants and sizzling a celebrity-like buzz in sports that one could think Olympics is of another planet away, is ridiculous; and male figure skating itself is like the impeccable description of homoeroticism. BLADES OF GLORY could never have been gayer. But as i mentioned, it’s absorbingly funny. Good laughs all along the way.
Jon Heder (famous for being the dorky NAPOLEON DYNAMITE) stars as Jimmy McElroy, the shining star of male figure skating, with colourful costumes of peacocks and fancy flashes. His biggest competitor, Chazz Michael Michaels played by Will Ferrell (who have starred in films almost all about sports covered by the media i.e. ESPN), however, is the rock star of the skating rink. He glides raunchily with his cowboy demeanour and puts every single woman in arena on their knees. But the competition was a tie; and the both of them shared the golden medal, resulting to a knuckle fight that cost them their reputation and were both banned from the tournament.
Then the rest of the film carried on with its predictable formula; they both reunite, although with call-backs, insults and indictments, cat and dog attitude altogether, to compete in the pairs division (as though they never knew pairs division only involves a man and a woman skating). They set to compete with the unbeatable champs, the Van Waldenberg brother and sister (played by Will Arnett and Amy Poehler respectively, of Saturday Night Live, real-life wedded couple by the way).
It’s a comedy done right; a bit overblown but all too funny to be redemptive about it. BLADES OF GLORY rescues the whole awkwardness of its theme by its zap editing, energetic sequences and exaggerated competition skating scenes. It moves like a sport-casting edition in ESPN; showing us the backstories of the contestants in sepia tone and the lives of the characters. As for the performances, Will Ferrell, usually over the top, is laughable. Jon Heder, in his first adult role, is claiming something of a statuette in the comedy department. His comic timing is effortless.
There might be loads of crotch jokes and silly gags, but all of it was overshadowed by the hilarity of the outrageousness of the skating sequences. When we see Ferrell and Heder do their final stunt, with slow-motion amusement, we actually find ourselves hoping that they get the gold. BLADES OF GLORY is not glorious; may feel like a sketch or an extended episode of Saturday Night Live, but it will surely liven up your Saturday and cause some belly laughs.
RATING: B
This simplistic tale of a young shepherd boy following his dream is more of a parable than a mere novel. But nevertheless, it’s a joy to read this one. An exotic allegory to everyman following his goals in life and putting destiny in the matter of choices, whether it’s worth pursuing the life’s treasures with endless struggles or stay in the confines of the ordinary and the security of basic needs. THE ALCHEMIST may lack the complexity of plot structure, may be too preachy, but it delivers a strong message to every single person in the world daring to dream, which I have no qualms about.
Santiago, the main protagonists, breaks free from his shepherding work and follows his dream – that is to retrieve the treasure hidden in the Pyramids of Egypt. As Spanish, he has to travel, sell his sheep, in order to risk his own self for something greater beyond the horizon, over the deserts of Egypt. Seeking his destiny put him face-to-face with a struggle; he needs to have a job in order to further his quest, so he admits himself into a glass shop, in which he spent years in it. And when he continued his journey, surmounting loads of obstacles, he finally discovered at the very end what the treasure is really worth and how they can be found within.
It’s forgivable that Coelho sticks with simplistic, unostentatious writing style. He comes up with a lush, provocative and affecting tale that would appeal to anybody, even the younger readers. It’s a short book to read, like reading a Biblical parable. Its positive message is spread all throughout. But it is Santiago’s humanly voice that reflects so much on the readers, letting us be reminded that we are all humans bereft with the power of assurance, and that we have to choose between what is right and what is easy, meaning not all right things are easy. In fact, most ‘right’ things are the difficult to do.
Coelho stirs a classic. It may not be perfect, with flaws and mishaps, but overall – its message simply stays a while after reading; that life is all about choices. THE ALCHEMIST, generally, is a mystical tale about the compelling wonder in following your dreams and the rightful importance of listening to your heart.
RATING: A-
It’s a mad statement to call THE HOST a rubbish film, a bleak export from the South Korean seas.
In fact, it’s not.
THE HOST, with all its rollicking enjoyment to its grave moments, is a superbly-made monster movie, filled with touches that are funny at times, apocalyptically horrific, and unexpectedly poignant. It’s difficult not to like this film because it works on many levels, generating a genre-bender that is rarely done by movies nowadays. First it’s pure terror; then it turns humorous, then back to frightfest and sways you into another curve that might touch your nerves and tearducts. You could say it’s a Korean film but it’s nevertheless a film that breaks the monotony of Hollywood bloatedness and gives your money some real worth. Gathering plaudits from Cannes and New York Film Festival, this proves to be the most successful export from foreign seas so far this year and now it sets record to be South Korea’s top-selling film of all time (TITANIC now had ostensibly sunk).
As aforementioned, THE HOST is an all-too many genres combined together to brew a weird but effective mix. The movie starts as a social commentary as a U.S. officer in a morgue demands that all “dirty” formaldehyde be emptied down into the drain, leading to Seoul’s Han River, then the creature feature show started as years later, a bizarre mutated monster surfaced from the waters terrifying the populace of the vicinity. The monster, as entitled, is a host to a deadly virus and was mutated from formalin, weirdly resembling a cross between a giant tadpole and a coelacanth with legs. And yes, it’s massive. Its how monster movies are supposed to be; gigantically intimidating species starts causing riot and mayhem. But at the very epicentre of the film is a story about a dysfunctional family with lost abilities and unfulfilled pledges in their lives; a neurotic father who struggles to remain sane as his daughter was abducted by the monster while all the rest believed that she died in the tragic event; an uncle who’s both proud and vain yet secretly disgraced by his own uselessness without any job to cling on to; an aunt who never took home the gold medal in archery and fails to take the bull’s-eye; a grandfather who struggles to keep his family together and discovers that not at all times guns are loaded for warfare; and a child who shows courage and strength in the midst of indelible horror of being held captive by the monster. THE HOST is like South Korea’s LITLLE MISS SUNSHINE, but more on the extravaganza of the thrill and mainly of characters with depth and reason. And no, this doesn’t offer cheap thrills unlike other cheap American creature films.
There are also geopolitical and mainly political undertones beneath its mighty currents as director Bong Joon-ho buzzes a commentary on this film, toxic wastes laid imperviously, government silencing down inhumane ways and means, and the U.S. government’s heavy influence on the South Korean territory. Aside from that he knows how to handle the complexity of his camera movements as every angle shots of THE HOST is filled with careful precision, catapulting cinematography into its highest levels. The editing was brilliant as well, with a pace that’s never dragging. His unpredictable knack for surfing from genre to genre never lets the film stays in its box and lets it breath with inventiveness. There might be abrupt tonal shifts but such moments leaves audiences breathless as for example in the funeral scene – I have never imagined such a funny moment staged in a funeral – then plunges us back into the terror in which the movie is roughly about. Hyun-Seo, the school girl who was abducted by the monster, remains the strength of the film as she manages pulling out astoundingly hair-raising scenes devoted to her escape but unfortunately fails. Of course, Bong must have known his suspenseful tricks as he may well have studied GODZILLA and pop culture.
And of course, the film’s surprisingly human and powerful emotional punch at its climax – dark, desperate need for the dysfunctional Park family to finish the failed rescue effort. We somehow know that there’s indeed something stirring beneath the waters of THE HOST.
Don’t dare misjudge the capability of this film. It’s a superior monster movie, almost on par with the great JAWS. Bong Joon-ho works like the early Spielberg brimmed with his tricks of delights. THE HOST succeeds because it never thought, not a single minute, to be intimidated of greatness.
RATING: A-
NEVERWHERE is a fascinating and intriguing read. Neil Gaiman weaves a rich yarn of complex characters and plots that involves the secret embellished world of “London Below”, right beneath the subways of London Underground. It’s very impressively imagined, linking fantasy with reality and sustaining that “what if” ideology of a fantastic world existing beyond human sight.
The tale starts in the “London Above”, the world where humans move about. London, a city of hustle-bustle, remains unfamiliar of its dark currents underneath. The protagonist Richard Mayhew, a commoner, a busybody of office work and social dealings, bored with the usual daily London life, commits a “Good Samaritan” act by saving a wounded girl in an alleyway while estranging her nagging girlfriend behind. By this mere stunt, he falls into the cracks and his life turns upside down as he started to unravel hidden mysteries of the world below the ground he walks everyday; also embarking on a quest to go back to the London Above but with danger and mortal peril on the rise.
Gaiman proves to be an expert on his field as he uses the real-life underbelly of London Underground as his setting, brilliantly envisaging the shadowy and dark tunnels, depicting danger beneath the train stations. For anyone who have gone to or lived in London, quite familiar with the loudspeaker’s chant “Mind the gap” could definitely think quizzically what would happen if one falls into the gap. Of course, if you fall into it, you’re nothing worse than dead, but Gaiman makes it very interesting and fantastical. With stopovers in the book, generating characters almost too lifelike you’ll be wondering and considering visiting the underground and sewers whether they’re actually there: there’s an Earl guarding the Earl’s Court station; monks wearing black robes served as wardens of the Blackfriars Bridge; there’s a snakelike woman residing at Serpentine; and Islington is characterised as an Angel. This weird, twisted but magnificent imagery of Gaiman is such a genius thing to behold, letting his readers want to know and flip pages more.
You need to be familiar with London Sub-stops to go along with the story, otherwise you might be wondering where’s Knightsbridge or Oxford Street. All you need is a little map, and then you’ll be on your way to a great read. The only downside of the story is the lack of emotional core; the characters are amazingly wrought, but its core feels a tad hollow, synthesizing it as just an adventure tale at the end of the book. But it’s absolutely Gaiman’s matter-of-fact writing ability that keeps you immersed and carrying throughout the twist and turn, every surprise and treat.
RATING: B+
Seeing Elliott’s bicycle lifts up into the sky, gliding past the moon, creates such a magical scene that it’s considered to be one of movie history’s most glorious moments. Finally seeing the whole thing 25 years later from it release made me embarrassed as a film freak; such a disgrace in my behalf that I have never seen this film fully in my whole film-viewing life, and only blips of Drew Barrymore kissing E.T., or Elliott with his gang soaring the sky with bicycles reminded me of my childish indifference.
Probably one of the best crafted entries in family-friendly movies, E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTIAL forges a tender story about loyalty, trust, and the power of friendship that could bridge distance without earthly bounds. Of course we all know the tale; a boy named Elliott, who copes with the loss of his father, discovers an extraterrestrial unintentionally left by its own species on Earth. E.T. and the boy created a bond never before formed as Elliott understand the alien’s emotions as they become linked with each other. However, staying longer in Earth imperils E.T. health and he needs to go back home with his own kind, with the boy helping contact the outer space knowing that one day, the parting of ways will definitely come.
I love E.T. because it’s an exquisite piece of film. It transports us back into our childhood mentality, letting us experience the wonder and spectacle of children fantasy that’s both intelligent and moving. Steven Spielberg, with his misunderstood career, at his summit at this point, presumably knew what masterpiece he was making when the idea of this film first fell into his head. Considered now as one of America’s greatest films, and also one of the finest ever made in history, this work surely is best-loved by viewers who wanted to rediscover the magnificence of flight, family and friendship.
This maybe a science-fiction movie but it’s the sheer impact of humanity in this film that makes us applaud. Everybody might be wondering how weird a relationship between a boy and a creature from outer space could exist, and why did Elliott considered E.T. as his best friend; Elliott, in his period of innocence, never had a best friend before, extends his care to this creature who’s also lost and forlorn without anyone to cling to. Spielberg inundates emotions here in his genre pastiche, mixing fantasy, adventure, drama, sci-fi and comedy, leaving audiences bedazzled. And when the credits roll, this is a kind of film that wouldn’t leave a dry eye in the house. The final scene of E.T. is poignant, moving and definitely a tear-jerker. When the comically fantastic and superb performance as well by the young Drew Barrymore as Gerrie shed tears and kissed E.T. on the cheek, it blurs our sight as we feel this child saying goodbye to something that made an impact to their lives.
As Frank Sweitek of One Guy’s Opinion said, “Unquestionably a classic... anyone whose heart isn’t touched by E.T. probably doesn’t have one”, this proves an E.T. had indeed moved lives and will continue to stir in the next generations without doubt. This, in my opinion, would have to be the most heartfelt movie ever made about an alien. You’ll laugh, cry and experience the bravura kind of movie-going brilliance.
RATING: A+
