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Upcoming movies
1. Rainbow song 聽說你愛我 (6 December)
A Japanese romance.
2. To each his own cinema (7 December)
This is a must-see for film buffs, particularly Cannes buffs. People who have watched " Paris je t'aime" would be no stranger to the structure of this tribute to the 60th Cannes Film Festival. Let's go with some numbers:
"3" – each segment is strictly limited to 3 minutes despite strong pleas from some of the directors who are not used to taking "no" for an answer
"33/ 35 – there are 33 segment made by 35 director that include 2 pairs of brothers
"5/ 25" – 5 continents and 25 countries, that's where these directors are from; the name list would be too long to include here but be assured that it will be a film buff's paradise
[updated on 17 Dec: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0973844/usercomments-2]
3. Feast of love (6 December)
This 6.7/10 IMDb user rated romance drama (one critic calls it a "serious comedy") is another one that I would have seen in Toronto had there not been so many better choices. Radha Mitchell ("Melinda and Melinda") and Morgan Freeman are always watchable and there's Greg Kinnear who played the father in "Little Miss Sunshine". One critic's verdicts is: "not great art but enjoyable soap opera; not memorable but pleasant".
[updated 7 Dec: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800027/usercomments-22]
4. The warlords 投名狀 (13 December)
Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro star in this epic story set in the turbulent late 19th century in China, directed by Chan Ho-sun 陳可辛. The female lead is China'’s college campus movie idol Xu Jinglei 徐靜蕾.
[updated on 21 Dec: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0913968/usercomments-9]
5. Persepolis (13 December)
An animation adapted from the graphic novels (a marriage of comics and literature) of Marjane Satrapi, this is an autobiographic story about her life in Iran . One critic describes the BOOK as "drawn in a deceptively simple, stark style, all in black and white….. captivating and elegant in their austerity…..like Japanese woodcuts" and goes on to praise the screen adaptation as "exceeding expectations". This winner of the Canne's Special Jury Prize has also earned a 8.2/10 from IMDb users.
6. I am legend (13 December)
Just take a look at IBDb's genre description of this new Will Smith movie that will open concurrently in Hong Kong and North America :
"Action/drama/fantasy/horror/Sci-fi/thriller"
In the IMDb daily poll, out of some 25,000 votes collected, this movie is no. 2 in a list of some 25 movies for "December release to which you are most looking forward" (some 4,800 votes or 19.6%). Topping the list, btw, is Johnny Depp’s "Sweeney Todd", with a 22% score.
[updated on 18 Dec: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480249/usercomments-272]
7. Alvin and the chipmunks (13 December)
Based on the 1980s cartoon series about the music group Chipmunks, this family comedy has "part computer animation", whatever that means.
[for movies opening on 29 November, please see the previous blog posting]
Movie chat
Plus:
Book chat: http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/fridaybooks/
Stage chat: http://hk.myblog.yahoo.com/fridaystage/
Harry 2007-12-10 22:11
BW 2007-12-10 19:56
Just went to see "To Each His Own Cinema". I enjoyed the medley very much. Never before has one ticket given you the opportunity to watch so many masters in action. I recommend it.
Belinda
michael 2007-12-09 23:49
September 9th, 2007 3pm HK City Hall Theatre
Director: Jane Birkin; Cast: Jane Birkin, Geraldine Chaplin, Michel Piccoli
Fully agree with Harry's views. Here's my input.
Anna (Jane Birkin) runs a house for single woman and lives with her mother (Geraldine Chaplin) and her three daughters. They are visited by Anna's dead father and her three dead husbands. The living and the dead are very close to each other. They talk and hug. The father and daughter relationships are so close that may put suggestive ideas into minds of the viewers.
There's no music most of the time and no special camera effects. It's a French film but half of the conversation is in English. It's almost like a Woody Allen-ish talking movie. While Anna looks back, she believes her life is a mess. But then the others, living and dead, lead her to face her life in a new perspective. The last shot shows her new male acquaintance, Guy, waiting for her at the doorsteps.
Harry 2007-12-09 19:32
Boxes (Les boites)
This French movie is so new that it's not even yet listed in IMDb. Using a surreal approach director and lead performer Jane Birkin depicts a middle-age women's reflection of her deceased father, her mother and her 3 daughters by three differnet men, exploring the sensitive femininity. Incidentally, people who still remember Geraldine Chaplin as Tanya in Doctor Zhivago will be delighted to see her. Over to you, Michael.
This is the first of my two French Cinepanorama films. Due to time constraint, I didn't re-watch "Flight of the red balloon" (although it fully deserves rewatching) which I saw in the TIFF earlier this year in September:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0826711/usercomments-1
michael 2007-12-09 13:24
It has to be mentioned that the director and photographer take several shots through the glass window, once on a train showing the scenery through the window on one side and the sunset reflected to the camera from the other. Another such shot is taken in a room with Song sitting in front of a window with one side of the window pane close and the other half slightly ajar to allow both sides to show the reflections of Song, and through the window the red balloon is floating around. When the balloon and Song image superimposed, Song's reflection stands out prominently on the screen.
This is definitely not a film for those who are used to the fast moving, action packed Hollywood or HK movies, but an enjoyable one for the others.
michael 2007-12-09 13:21
8th December 2007 2:30pm; HK City Hall; French Film Festival
Director/co-writer: Hou Hsiao-hsien; Cast: Juliette Binoche as Suzanne
Have not watched any movie by this Taiwanese director who seems to take delight in showing the simple daily lives of the single mother Suzanne (Juliette Binoche) who tries her best to cope with things around her, in great detail. The film is definitely slow moving. The free floating red balloon does add an attractive element in the development of the movie. It is later disclosed that it's the work of Song the Taiwanese nanny who takes video shots of Simon, Suzanne's son.
The whole story picks up at the Chinese puppet show, an elderly man manipulates the strings and sings in native Chinese verse to a room packed with French audiences. The music is played with a Saxophone to the tune and style of tradition Chinese presentation. In subsequent puppet shows, it is Suzanne who sings in French and how wonderfully she does it preserving the Chinese ways with the tunes. At the end of the movie when the lights go up and the closing credits roll on the right side of the screen, the puppet show is shown at the right side. It is the story of "Boiling the Sea". 90% of those who where there stayed the entire length till the very end.
Harry 2007-12-07 12:43
Feast of love
Good, but in a way very different from what I expected. The title and poster are deceptive, making you think that it's like "Love actually". But "Feast" is a more serious, and sometimes sad, movie. There is of course the lighter side too. I personally quite like it.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0800027/usercomments-22
michael 2007-12-04 22:40
上映日期︰2007-12-20
導演: 彭浩翔
主演: 陳奕迅,鍾欣桐,鄧麗欣,麥浚龍,林一峰,余文樂,譚耀文,陳冠希,鄭融,關智斌,林海峰,杜汶澤,田蕊妮
<quote>"劇本是改編自彭浩翔的短篇小說集《破事兒》, 由十八個短篇組成。 最近重新整理出版。作者在後記說：「愛慾生死，也不過是些破事兒」。"</quote>
影片選了七個故事: 不可抗力, 公德心, 做節, 德雅王, 大頭阿慧, 增值, 尊尼亞.
導演美其名為表現生活小插曲, 可實在是賣弄色情(不可抗力, 做節, 增值). 利用黑色幽默, 大談無哩頭破事兒(公德心, 德雅王, 大頭阿慧, 尊尼亞). 但是話說回頭, 本片不乏娛樂性, Cast也很強, 賣座相信沒有問題.
Harry 2007-11-30 18:20
The flock:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473356/usercomments-3
Harry 2007-11-28 09:08
The Grand Cinema in "Elements" Shopping Mall, "Kowloon" MTR Station
http://www.thegrandcinema.com.hk/(csicv13oe21uukuswb5a0w45)/index.aspx?visLang=1
From the outside, it looks very impressive. A friend who has been there has nothing but good to say about it. And then, the "Elements" Mall is something else.