Dominatio Per Malum

Welcome to The Dollhouse (1996) 6/10

Sometimes, growing up just plain sucks. Just ask Dawn Wiener (Heather Matarazzo), bona fide social outcast with a dysfunctional family to add. It could have turned into a dark exploration of the ugliness of growing up like Water Lilies, but Welcome to the Dollhouse opts for dark comedy, infusing the main character with exaggerated tragi-comic qualities. The sort of film that would likely be a cult favourite, Dollhouse does however fall prey to a fairly predictable storyline progression. Thankfully, the charm, or rather the lack of charm of its endearing protaganist makes this almost the ancestor to modern “growing up” films like Juno.

Water Lilies (2007) 8/10

Dark, but beautifully acted film about growing up and discovering yourself. Plunged into the world of synchronized swimming, director Celine Sciamma directs her talented cast with aplomb. A deft look at the cruelty and backstabbing in a tween’s world, the film is a beautiful, almost haunting ode to the loss of adolescent innocence.

Mind - Boredom May Let the Brain Recast the World in Productive, Creative Ways - NYTimes.com

Yet boredom is more than a mere flagging of interest or a precursor to mischief. Some experts say that people tune things out for good reasons, and that over time boredom becomes a tool for sorting information — an increasingly sensitive spam filter. In various fields including neuroscience and education, research suggests that falling into a numbed trance allows the brain to recast the outside world in ways that can be productive and creative at least as often as they are disruptive.

In a recent paper in The Cambridge Journal of Education, Teresa Belton and Esther Priyadharshini of East Anglia University in England reviewed decades of research and theory on boredom, and concluded that it’s time that boredom “be recognized as a legitimate human emotion that can be central to learning and creativity.”

I have never had much luck with module allocation. So my joy at finally getting all of my 1st choice picks were naturally short-lived when they decided to void it and reallocate. So second time around, i got back the exact same stuff that was given to me initially at first. And naturally they had to burst my bubble and declare the results void again. And finally, with the third go-around, i got back the exact same thing that was allocated to me the first and second time. Now, barring divine intervention, i shall finally get all my first picks.

The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made - Reviews - Movies - New York Times

The New York Times makes a list of the 1,000 Best Movies ever made, and i realize that there are so many acclaimed movies i have yet to watch. Its a fairly decent list, and includes foreign language films like Amelie and Red. However, there seems to be an appalling lack of East Asian films. 1990’s Internal Affairs is included but not HK’s Infernal Affairs (which was remade into The Departed)?? Plus, no entry for Requiem For A Dream, Chungking Express or Life Is Beautiful?!

Mongkok (旺角). It has the highest population density in the world, and i believe it. Standing on the pavement on a Wednesday afternoon, you are immediately struck by how many people are walking around this busy district. Hongkong is already one of the most densely populated cities in the world, but it seems as if Mongkok is the centre of all the happenings. Walking into a nearby mall from Mongkok MTR, i found myself inside one of the most packed shopping malls ever. Stalls selling a variety of knick-knacks and clothing are crammed into small spaces teeming with human traffic. It is a great place to people-gawk, and a haven for shopping. Those who are claustrophobic may not enjoy such closed confines but everyone should soak in the experience of being caught in this mass of human bodies.

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Last Lecture Professor Randy Pausch, 47, Dies - Well - Tara Parker-Pope - Health - New York Times Blog

Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon computer science professor whose last lecture became an Internet sensation and bestselling book, has died of pancreatic cancer. He was 47.

Playstation 2 component incites African war - Video Game Feature - Yahoo! Video Games

Allegedly, the demand for coltan prompted Rwandan military groups and western mining companies to plunder hundreds of millions of dollars worth of the rare metal, often by forcing prisoners-of-war and even children to work in the country’s coltan mines.

“Kids in Congo were being sent down mines to die so that kids in Europe and America could kill imaginary aliens in their living rooms,” said Ex-British Parliament Member Oona King.

Ergo, consoles are evil.

The Dark Knight (2008) 10/10

With the Dark Knight smashing all box office records, you don’t need me to tell you that you should really catch this movie. Chances are, you have already watched it. But for those of you who need a little prodding, here’s why you should catch the Dark Knight: its the best movie you are going to watch this year, and possibly one of the best movies you will ever watch in your life.

In the earlier Batman Begins, director Christopher Nolan had to reboot the failed franchise after the disastrously campy BATMAN AND ROBIN(1997), and the 2005 movie had to spend time on exposition and background. With that out of the way, Nolan’s DARK KNIGHT jumps straight into the story, and the director weaves a compelling, haunting tale of morality and heroism. The film starts with a slickly crafted bank heist sequence that is tightly edited and brilliantly shot and then goes off alternating between adrenaline rushing action and serious drama. It is so rare that a film manages to be both critically acclaimed and blockbuster material but the Dark Knight transcends the divide between arthouse and mainstream, and escapes the confines of a superhero movie. Here, Nolan builds upon the dark, gritty and realistic version of Gotham City of Batman Begins and adds layers of moral complexity. The film itself plays so much like a gangland drama, and comparisons have been made about how Nolan’s DARK KNIGHT is the comic book equivalent of a Scorceses or Mann film. But a better comparison would be how Nolan has taken elements from serious drama like THE DEPARTED or HEAT and places it in a big-budget Hollywood vehicle that manages to please both lovers of serious drama and the action loving masses. It is a difficult balancing act, especially with a long runtime of 2 1/2 hrs, but Nolan creates a modern masterpiece that at once feels too long and too short. Too long because parts of the first half feels like padding, with a superfluous jaunt into HK and less important exposition. Too short because we just can’t get enough of Heath Ledger in his brilliant, magnetic performance as the Joker and because i wish some of the excellent supporting characters like Aaron Eckhart’s Harvey Dent or Michael Caine’s Alfred could have been given more screen time.

Heath Ledger deserves a paragraph unto himself. As the biggest selling point of the Dark Knight, Ledger’s performance is a cinematic tour de force that is as haunting as it is tragically memorable. For the longest time, Jack Nicholson’s Joker in BATMAN(1989) had been the definitive Joker, but Ledger’s interpretation of the Joker blows away all expectations. It is a mesmerizing, hypnotic and utterly unforgettable performance that has generated Oscar buzz for a posthumous Oscar. And rightly so, because Ledger proves that a superhero film can boast of the sort of dramatic performances normally found only in serious “drama” type films. It is a bravura performance of a lifetime and not only does Ledger deserve at least an Oscar nomination, he should probably win it. Ledger first won critical acclaim with his performance in BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, and THE DARK KNIGHT was to have been his stepping stone as an A-list actor but his premature death cast a somber undertone to the his performance here. There is a tragic resonance to Ledger’s intense performance because he doesn’t so much act as Joker as he becomes the Joker. As the charismatic and chaotic Joker, it is equal bits unnerving and riveting to see how much Ledger gets behind the skin of the character and walks out of Jack Nicholson’s shadow. Ledger creates the best villain ever and a definitive Joker who will probably never be topped.

But Ledger’s performance should not take away the shine from the rest of the stellar cast. Christopher Nolan picked a first-rate cast with standout performances from one of the best supporting casts in comic book history. Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine are top actors in their own right who bring much welcome screen presence. The role of Rachel Dawes (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal) grows from being a damsel in distress role to a central plot element and without spoiling too much information is excellently played by Gyllenhaal given her limited screen time. And as the righteous district attorney Harvey Dent, Aaron Eckhart’s performance will probably be overshadowed by Ledger’s overweening screen presence but still Eckhart deserves praise for playing a fine line between good and bad and evolving from the White Knight into something else altogether.

And Christian Bale has grown well into his role as Batman. One quibble though is that i still don’t quite like the gravelly voice Bale uses while in Batman mode but whether as the playboy Bruce Wayne or the conflicted role of Batman he handles it well. In my original critique of Batman Begins, one of the key issues was the need for balance between the hero and the villian’s screen time. In the earlier films, from Batman all the way to Batman and Robin, the villian has taken center stage at the expense of the hero such that Bruce Wayne feels like an afterthought. This was most evident in Tim Burton’s BATMAN RETURNS when the film was packed with no less than 3 antagonists and Batman himself seemed like a supporting character than a main lead. Batman Begins, as an origin story, lacked a strong villian counterpoint which put it just shy of mastepiece status. But in Batman Begins, we not only see the moral dilemma that Bale’s Batman faces, but he faces a truly classic adversary in Ledger’s maniacal performance. In short, The Dark Knight manages the fine balance between Batman and the villains and even though Ledger’s performance is show-stealing, it is not to the extent of overshadowing the performance of Bale and the excellent supporting cast.

As for action, the film really goes guns ablazing from the very first scene with some really cool toys by Batman. The Batbike alone deserves a special mention for being totally awesome. Nolan handles the big set action sequences with better flair compared to his first outing and crafts some truly impressive car sequences that will more than satisfy the pop-corn loving crowd. Although his fist-fight sequences are a slight improvement over Batman Begins, i feel it still has too much of those jerky Bourne-esque feel such that you can’t really tell who is punching who. Nolan is more adept at crafting personal drama than shooting top notch fistfights so here is probably the one main quibble in the action department.

In terms of cinematography, the film looks great. In a dark, depressing but still good looking kinda way. The night shots are especially beautiful and i love it when Nolan chooses an overhead, eye in the sky perspective over Gotham City. Some critics have picked on the lack of effort in dressing Gotham City. Instead of creating a dark metropolis, Nolan has simply taken Chicago as a template with little dressing, and compared to both Tim Burton’s gothic visuals and Nolan’s Batman Begins, the Dark Knight’s Gotham City is a tad too normal. For example, the building used as Wayne Towers looks terrible in comparison to the version used in Batman Begins. But Nolan’s choice of not dressing up Chicago also works to his advantage. In creating his dark morality tale the familiarity of the locales adds a sense of faux-realism to the film. The Dark Knight is as much a political allegory of the world that has changed since 9/11 as it is escapist entertainment.

While the action entertains and thrills, it is the moral undertones and the blurring of black and white into a murky grey that lies at the soul of the film. The Dark Knight asks a question about what is right and what is wrong and what society’s limits are. It is these elements that elevate it from being just a great and enjoyable superhero movie such as Spiderman or Iron Man into another level altogether, the level which sees film not just as entertainment but as art. And as an artwork, The Dark Knight is a masterpiece that blends smart, intelligent drama with summer popcorn entertainment. As a bonus, those who watched Batman Begins will even see some subtle thematic links between both films. For example the ending scene of Batman Begins has a dialogue between Batman and Jim Gordon that is replicated with some modification near the end of The Dark Knight, sort of an Easter Egg for faithful fans.

Certainly, the movie has its flaws: the first half has some excess baggage, i wish Joker’s origin was more developed, more screen time for both Aaron Eckhart and Heath Ledger, less blurry fistfights but considering the final product, these are slight quibbles. The Dark Knight has earned its place in the pantheon of great films and hopefully a few Oscar nominations come awards time. At the very least, it is probably the first superhero film with a decent chance of snagging an acting Oscar and possibly even a nomination for either Best Picture or Best Director (though odds are the Academy won’t give the Oscar to a superhero flick).

The Dark Knight is not your regular superhero movie. You are likely to stagger out of a screening depressed and gloomy because the film itself is the antithesis of a feel good blockbuster happy flick like Kungfu Panda. It has more in common with classic morality tales than escapist fiction. The Dark Knight poses a question of morality, heroism and the value of society itself. It shows us the uncanny similarity of Batman and Joker, that they may just be the flip side of the same coin. As the 2 opposing forces collide, something’s gotta give and one wonders if, as Harvey Dent says: “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”

This is a film that is basically 2 and a half hours of gloom, dread and morbidity. But its imagery, themes and Heath Ledger’s riveting performance will haunt you long after you have finished watching. This is the best superhero movie ever, and it is probably the best film of 2008.

“Watching “The Dark Knight” is like gazing into a mirror on a waning moon night: chilling and mesmerizing. “- Denver Post

“Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” is a haunted film that leaps beyond its origins and becomes an engrossing tragedy.”- Ebert

What started as a happy week ended on a more somber note, as i am reminded of one’s mortality and the vicissitudes of life. Thus i leave you, dear reader, with Philip Larkin’s ruminations on death:

Aubade

I work all day, and get half-drunk at night.
Waking at four to soundless dark, I stare.
In time the curtain-edges will grow light.
Till then I see what’s really always there:
Unresting death, a whole day nearer now,
Making all thought impossible but how
And where and when I shall myself die.
Arid interrogation: yet the dread
Of dying, and being dead,
Flashes afresh to hold and horrify.
The mind blanks at the glare. Not in remorse
- The good not done, the love not given, time
Torn off unused - nor wretchedly because
An only life can take so long to climb
Clear of its wrong beginnings, and may never;
But at the total emptiness for ever,
The sure extinction that we travel to
And shall be lost in always. Not to be here,
Not to be anywhere,
And soon; nothing more terrible, nothing more true.

This is a special way of being afraid
No trick dispels. Religion used to try,
That vast, moth-eaten musical brocade
Created to pretend we never die,
And specious stuff that says No rational being
Can fear a thing it will not feel, not seeing
That this is what we fear - no sight, no sound,
No touch or taste or smell, nothing to think with,
Nothing to love or link with,
The anasthetic from which none come round.

And so it stays just on the edge of vision,
A small, unfocused blur, a standing chill
That slows each impulse down to indecision.
Most things may never happen: this one will,
And realisation of it rages out
In furnace-fear when we are caught without
People or drink. Courage is no good:
It means not scaring others. Being brave
Lets no one off the grave.
Death is no different whined at than withstood.

Slowly light strengthens, and the room takes shape.
It stands plain as a wardrobe, what we know,
Have always known, know that we can’t escape,
Yet can’t accept. One side will have to go.
Meanwhile telephones crouch, getting ready to ring
In locked-up offices, and all the uncaring
Intricate rented world begins to rouse.
The sky is white as clay, with no sun.
Work has to be done.
Postmen like doctors go from house to house.

Philip Larkin

Seoul Raiders (2005) 4/10

Mediocre and uninteresting, this is an utterly unnecessary sequel to Tokyo Raiders, which wasn’t even particularly good in the first place.. Tony Leung slums his way for a paycheck and the rest of the cast is photogenic but utterly forgettable. Light, fluffy and utterly pandering to the masses. In other words, a brainless flick that may please those with low expectations.

Dog Day Afternoon (1975) 8/10

“ATTICA!”. That remains the single most memorable imagery from Sidney Lumet’s 1975 classic film Dog Day Afternoon. Ostensibly a heist film, it is so much more. As a botched bank robbery goes awry, the scene becomes almost a farcical media circus. In the film, Lumet hides political allegory and social commentary behind a straightforward drama. And anchoring the film with a memorable, charismatic performance is Al Pacino at the top of his game. Based loosely on a true story, Lumet crafts an affectionate, enjoyable drama that works simply because a skilled thespian is given the stage to enthrall.

Teeth (2008) 6/10

The sort of film to make guys…. squirm. The less you know, the better.

Charlie Wilson’s War (2007) 6/10

Mildly entertaining film boasting an excellent cast. Unfortunately all that talent is wasted on a trite effort.

Three Kingdoms (2008) 5/10

Purists will be outraged while film buffs will watch Red Cliff instead. Three Kingdom has star power but no gravitas and the period adaption feels like a half-baked Crouching Tiger wannabe.

King of California (2007) 7/10

One of the underrated gems of 2007. I must say that Evan Rachel Wood and Michael Douglas both put in memorable performances and i enjoyed the film greatly. (more…)

Redbelt (2008) 8/10

Redbelt is the 1st 2008 film that i feel deserve to be considered amongst the best films made this year. Which is why it is tagged as “Best of 2008″ if you look at the top right corner of the blogpost. David Mamet creates a film about jujitsu, although in reality it is a film about people and characters. While the film does follow some genre cliches, it admirably avoids the most obvious ones. David Mamet is interested more about the characters than the action, so those hoping for a traditional Rocky slugfest will be disappointed. But as a character drama, Redbelt is compelling stuff, with Chjwetel Ejiofor putting in a memorable performance. While Chjwetel Ejiofor’s character felt too much of a paragon of virtue to me, Ejiofor manages to stretch the confines of a stock character and make the person believable. Redbelt is one of those low key films likely to be forgotten with little awards buzz but it is an undiscovered gem that deserves a second look. I certainly consider Redbelt when i compile my top 10 list for 2008. You should too.

Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2008) 5/10

Guillermo Del Toro is actually a very good director, but he is not good at making big budget superhero flicks. His best films are often those made in his native language and depends more on characters than CGI, like “THE DEVIL”S BACKBONE” or “PAN’S LABYRINTH”. While Hellboy 2 is a tad more entertaining than the original, it feels like a generic Hollywood actioner, full of sound and fury but lacking in emotional heft. The main reason for this is that its characters are simply one-diemensional cardboard pieces. Hellboy, that big red beast, is supposed to be the main star, but he is played as a one-note character. A petulant teenager inside the body of an old beast, who likes wisecracks, cigars and breaking rules. In other words, boring. His supporting cast does not fare any better. Both the villians and the rest of Hellboy’s team elicit a big yawn. They look interesting for sure, with nice costumes, nifty moves and good CGI. But that can only interest you for a few minutes before you realise that they are so utterly generic characters. The film attempts to add romantic subplots, which fail miserably because in addition to being cardboard characters, they do not have chemistry at all. As for the plot, it is just another excuse to introduce the Golden Army, which honestly isn’t that impressive.

What the film does right is its occasional moments of humour and lightheartedness, but this is a superhero movie and not a comedy, and if the wisecracks are the highlight, then something is seriously wrong. As for the action, thankfully it is handled with some finesse, although there is nothing special here that hasn’t already been done in other big budget Hollywood actioner. Overall, the film is unengaging and it fails mainly because the characters don’t connect with the audience. As for the plot, well its the usual “We want to collect special artifacts so we can destroy the world! Mwahahahaha!” The film looks good, has nice CGI, costumes and visuals. But it is like a sterile painting, full of style but no substance. I read through my original review of the first Hellboy (which incidentally gets a 3/10 from me), and i’ll just repeat a line from it which captures what i feel about Hellboy in general: “CGI is decent, though the obvious overreliance on it makes the film a soulless entity”.