Some more films
Divergence(2005) 6/10
There is one very, very good chase scene in Divergence. But beyond that, Divergence is poorly scripted and the end result is more disappointing than exciting. Aaron Kwok won his first Best Actor in Divergence, and one wonders if the judging committee is blind. Seriously, Kwok’s performance here, especially when he tries to go all emotional is more cringe-worthy than good. The direction and intercutting between 3 main characters is competently done, but the end product is mediocre
Heavenly Mission(2006) 5/10
The film tries (or at least I think it tries) to make a statement about the duality of good and evil, black and white. Unfortunately, the result is a muddled and fairly predictable genre film that falls far short of what the director hopes to achieve. Ekin Cheng plays a top traid boss who gets jailed for some years in Thailand before returning to HK. Ekin goes saintly and renounces his past ways, doing all kinds of good stuff. Or does he? The police don’t think so, and a task force is set up to monitor his activities. Meanwhile, Ekin’s previous triad associates are disgruntled by the supposed new ‘saintly’ Ekin, with Stephen Fung playing a young gangster stirring up trouble with Ekin.
The problem with heavenly mission is that it plays out in a predictable, even amateurish fashion. Ekin Cheng isn’t the guy to go to for dramatic roles and here his performance is underwhelming while Stephen Fung is a one-note character. Even Ti Lung, who is usually great, is relegated to a small supporting role. What a waste of talent! Ultimately, Heavenly Mission is an exercise in mediocrity.
Friends with Money(2006) 6/10
Imagine Desperate Housewives on the big screen. Above Average.
The Ant Bully(2006) 7/10
Another animation that was much better than I expected.
Borat (2006) 6/10
Totally tasteless, completely crass and yet uproariously funny, Borat is both good and bad at the same time. If you have never seen Sacha Baron Cohen don his Borat persona, lets just say that it is a total riot. Misogynistic, racist and absolutely politically incorrect, Borat’s portrayal as a traveling Kazakh journalist is one of the most refreshingly original takes on the comedy genre in a long time. But beyond the slapstick jokes and the racist dialogue, Borat also serves as social commentary, because the people he interacts with may well be a more searing indictment of America than any recent film. One priceless scene: Borat enters an evangelical Christian church with absolutely hilarious and even downright disturbing outcome. However, Borat is also very uneven a movie. The first half is very strong, but once the novelty wears off, the film starts going downhill. Not all the jokes work, and some like wrestling scene felt unnecessary and was a total downer for me. Its also clear that that the film is too long. It might have better been suited for a 1 hr sitcom slot than a full length movie, and the result is that the second half is significantly less funny and feels forced at times, especially with the Baywatch subplot. Ultimately, as long as you are not the kind of person who easily takes offence, Borat is a funny albeit uneven film. I won’t consider great comedy yet- Monty Python does comedy with far greater finesse, but when Borat is good, its really funny. Too bad there are just as many hits as there are misses.
