Category: My Opinion

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Drama Foreign Movie Reviews

Pleasure Factory – Geylang Unleashed?

Let me be upfront and tell you what “Pleasure Factory” is not. It is not a documentary film about Geylang. Far from it as I think some of the facts are flawed given my limited knowledge of what Geylang is like. It is not a romantic erotica either. Face it, the working girls are not necessarily the prettiest things on earth and definitely not the paying customers. And it is definitely not a movie to watch with your date. You will have better luck with … I don’t know … “Basic Instinct”?

And let me also be upfront about the audience reaction during the screening of the movie. When the gay scene was shown, one old man left the theatre and never came back. Before the show has ended, the couple beside me left the theatre and never came back. When the show has ended, there was a mad rush to the exit. My take is, not many people actually appreciate the film.

“Pleasure Factory” does have its charm. It was selected for the Un Certain Regard competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. The Thai director does come with certain credential and the movie has got actors and actresses from outside Singapore such as Taiwan and Thailand. According to the filmmaker, this movie is inspired by true story and real life characters. “Pleasure Factory” has little dialogues. And it is a mixture of three different stories: a virgin army boy and his prostitute, an old prostitute and her daughter with her client, and a red dressed prostitute with her client in fast car and someone who plays guitar. There are parts that I think it is a bit slow. And I feel that some of the editing can be improved as the time dimension seems a bit off to me as an audience.

What I particularly like about this movie is that some of the scenes are just so memorable. The bedroom scene of the army boy and the prostitute is probably the highlight of the movie. The emotional scene between an old prostitute and her daughter at the hawker center is my next favorite scene. And I love the ending scene as it is so symbolic – the fish tank, the girl on the bed, and the wallet.

Having said all that, I think majority of the movie is a bit too slow and I wish it has gone the direction of either a documentary or a romantic erotica. However, it has certainly achieved what the director has set out for: a film to have a vivid sense of realism and honesty.

Is it a film for everybody? I think not. Only for those who has the patience to watch an art movie as well as having an open mind.

PS. One question I have: Is Er Xu, the prostitute in the movie, a prostitute in real life? That interview she had surely seemed like a casting selection process.

Official Site: Pleasure Factory.

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Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

I Watched “The Brave One” Because Of Jodie Foster

As I watched how Jodie Foster’s character Erica transformed from a radio show host into someone who sought justice with gun and bullets, I couldn’t help but to feel a strong sense of deja vu having flashbacks from the movie “The Accused (1988)” that won her the Best Actress Oscar and Golden Globe Award. The main different is, in “The Accused”, her character – a rape victim – sought justice in a lawful way.

And that is why I admire Jodie Foster so much – the ability to take on such a wide genre and yet, there is much depth in her acting. “The Brave One” though I must say is dark and at times depressing. The blood and gore due to violence and murder is enough to justify the Singapore’s NC-16 rating. The topic is disturbing as the movie attempts to explore the fear and violence in America and how some people turn to owning guns and ultimately using them. Watching how Jodie Foster’s character dealt with trauma of a thug attack leaving her critically wounded and her fiance dead was enough to draw me deep into this pool of sadness. And watching how her character sought justice outside the law made me wished that she did the otherwise. This shows how engaging Jodie Foster’s acting is, at least to me.

From the storyline point of view, I must confess that part of it seems a bit far fetched and it is by and large predictable. That aside, I think it is a complex movie to film – both in terms of character development as well as how the scenes are composed. It is one hell of a disturbing and dark movie to watch. Be warned. On our way home after the movie, Cynthia turned to ask me why I was so quiet. For one, I just couldn’t get the character Erica out of my mind. Still can’t.

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews

Moliere – French Comedy or French Tragedy? You Decide

The Movie Review Squad is giving “The Brave One” another miss because this time round, TK could not make it. We picked “Moliere” instead because Cynthia suddenly has this craving for a high dosage of picture house type of art movie – in French.

I was prepared to fall asleep over watching the life story of a French playwright and actor who, by the way, is considered as one of the greatest masters of comedy in the Western literature on screen. Seriously, do we need another “Shakespeare In Love”? And I was wrong. “Moliere” is entertaining from the beginning to end filled with witty well crafted scripts, superb acting, beautiful costume, and a playful soundtrack to go along with the drama. The story “Moliere” itself is fictional inspired by some of Moliere’s (his real name is Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) significant works as well as real people that existed around him during 1600s. If you subscript to the concept that an artist’s work is inspired by his or her real life events, you may buy the idea that from the artist’s work, one may be able to reconstruct what has inspired him or her in the first place.

The movie “Moliere” is segmented in two parts – Moliere’s triumphant return to Paris after touring the countryside for 13 years and what happened to him 13 years ago. It is the latter that takes up much of the entire movie’s length. A good portion of the movie is comedy. I could not stop myself from bursting into laughter scene after scene. Despite the fact that “Moliere” entertains the audience through comedy, the underlying mood of the movie – in my opinion and true to Moliere’s own preference – is a tragedy. It is so well crafted that it makes you laugh and cry at the same time. (Cynthia did shed some tears over the movie.)

Out of all the wonderful actors and actresses of “Moliere”, I wish to single out Romain Duris as my favorite actor in the movie – quite possibly my favorite French actor of all time. The first movie I noticed Romain Duris is “Peut-etre” (1999) when I was working in Paris. A classic sci-fi movie by the way that has a bizarre story of a man at the year 2000 party emerged into the future from an attic meeting his future family members and his future-self. Since then, I enjoy watching “L’Auberge Espagnole” (2002) – English title as “The Spanish Apartment” – and the sequel “Russian Dolls” (2005) when he played against my all time favorite French actress Audrey Tautou. In “Moliere”, Romain Duris’s acting is convincing.

Not to be missed if you are into French movies or art movies in general. “Moliere” is not one of those over exaggerated romantic comedy nor one that is full of dramatic twist and turn. You have to appreciate the beauty of the scripts and the amount of acting poured in in order to enjoy this.

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Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

What Happens When “The Donnas” Bitchin’? Girl Band Doesn’t Get Better Than This

From my limited music exposure, I would say that it is a novelty to see an all-female English rock band out there playing all the instruments of the songs they compose. I often think that female voice is a natural choice for hard rock music because of the higher pitch that floats above the guitar and drum tracks. Guys often have to scream through their lungs to attain the same effect.

And because it is a novelty to see girl rockers, I am usually less critical on the technicality but rather amazed at the fact that they make it in the International scene. My favourite girl rockers? In the following categories …

  • My favourite Girl Rock Vocalist – Courtney Love of Hole because of her character. Hole is such a great band. Too bad it is disbanded on 2002 after 3 years of music career leaving us 3 great albums and the feeling of wanting more.
  • My favourite Girl Rock Guitarist – Not just any guitarist but one that can play the guitar solo. From the pure raw energy and wild perspective, the winner goes to Brody Armstrong of The Distillers. When The Distillers first emerged from the rock scene back in 2000, it was compared to Hole. Again, too bad it is disbanded and Brody formed Spinnerette in 2007. I am eager to find out what comes out of the new line up. Meanwhile, from the all-rounded perspective of a balance of rhythm and melodic guitar leads, Allison Robertson of The Donnas has a special place in my heart. It’s a tie I guess.
  • My favourite Girl Rock Bassist – I have been thinking really hard who are the distinguished female bassists in the International scene. There just ain’t many. Somehow the image of Ginger Sling stuck onto my mind after seeing her performed in Live Earth concert as the new bassist of The Smashing Pumpkins.
  • My favourite Girl Rock Drummer – That has to be Meg White of The White Stripes. Some doubts her ability to play drum. But think about this, The White Stripes can’t be that famous without Meg White, right?
  • My favourite Girl Band – I first started listening to The Donnas back in 2004 with their album “Gold Medal”. All the members of the band are born in the year of 1979 and they have been best friends playing music together since the eighth grade. That explains the chemistry of the band.

After leaving their major record label Atlantic Records and formed their own, The Donnas has managed to release an album that the fans have been waiting for. The entire album has this arena old school rock vibe that works wonder. There is no one single slow song and all aim to make you want to get out of your seat and dance. The melody is infectious and the music is tight and interestingly varied. I think Brett Anderson sings better in this album compares to the previous one – more emotion involved and more loosen up. Torry Castellano’s drum track is relentlessly energized, though not as fast pace as other rock bands. There are moments when Maya Ford’s bass line shines. However I must say, it is rather subdued in “Bitchin'”, same goes to the guitar solo that I would have expected from Allison Robertson. In this album, Allison Robertson’s emphasis I think is more onto the ambient of the overall sound (as she is the only guitarist in the band). And from that angle, the guitar riffs are memorable. Check out the video below for “Don’t Wait Up For Me”.

Categories
Fantasy & Sci-fi Movie Reviews

Resident Evil: Extinction – Expect The Worst Seems To Work For Me

I am almost sure that by the time Lora reads this post, she will raise her fists high in the air and protest that it is yet another writeup on a zombie movie, which she sort of did after reading Planet Terror. One fine day, knowing that Cynthia is out of town, TK messaged me: Feeling bored today? The truth is, life is never boring when Cynthia is out of town …

… not!

Just kidding! Anyway, we ran through the choices we have and to anticipate what we will watch when Cynthia is back in town, TK picked “Resident Evil”. Or rather, given the limited choices, I picked “Resident Evil”.

The general review of “Resident Evil” is not that fantastic (in the region of 4 out of 10). Moreover, one colleague of mine who has watched it the day before declared that “Resident Evil” is not worth watching. Since my job is to help you decide if you may or may not wish to watch this movie, here is my take in point form.

You may wish to check out “Resident Evil” if you satisfy one or more of the following criteria.

  1. You are in love with Milla Jovovich
  2. You have enjoyed the previous episodes of Resident Evil
  3. You love zombies, lots of zombies
  4. You love to see girls kicking ass
  5. You love to see girls kicking zombie ass
  6. … with guns and blades
  7. You are a computer gaming geek
  8. … who especially love the genre of first person shooter
  9. You enjoy watching sci-fi horror movie
  10. You have no better movie to watch
  11. And last but not the least, you are in love with Milla Jovovich

Since all of the above points except 3, 5 and 6 (I am a normal dude after all) are valid for me, I naturally enjoy watching “Resident Evil”. One thing to highlight is the awesome sound effect. TK and I jumped off our seats in numerous occasions.

Damn zombies …

From an avid gamer perspective, I think the movie producer has done a great job in creating a movie out of a computer game concept. I can almost picture myself watching all the cut scenes of a game. If you judge “Resident Evil” in a traditional way, I can imagine the split rating. However, if you judge this movie from a gaming perspective – the same way you would judge a comic book adaptation – “Resident Evil” is a pretty good watch. I am a big fan of Milla Jovovich, love her since “The Fifth Element” (1997). Perhaps that’s one of the major reasons why I enjoy the movie. For you, perhaps zombies are the last thing on earth you wish to see on a big screen?

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Hard Rock & Metal Music Reviews

Velvet Revolver’s Libertad – A Sleek Rock Album By The Ex-Members Of Guns ‘N Roses and STP

In case if you wonder what on earth is Velvet Revolver (VR), it is a super-group formed by the ex-gunners Slash (guitar), Duff McKagan (bass), and Matt Sorum (drummer), the lead singer of Stone Temple Pilots (Scott Weiland), and Dave Kushner (guitar) of the 80s punk band Wasted Youth. At first listen, “Libertad” can be a little bit too “fibrous” – a borrowed term from Cynthia for albums that take a long time to digest – but I would say, “Libertad” has outdone VR’s debut “Contraband”. It is lean and it is a mean rock album. The patterns within each song are memorable and each instrument takes turn to shine in various parts of the song. There is no one member who dominates the album.

When VR first released “Contraband”, I could not help but to compare VR to the good old Guns ‘N Roses albums. After all, it is in essence Guns ‘N Roses minus Axl Rose. Time after time I would jump out of my seat and imagine how the song would sound with Axl instead. It is hauntingly scary I am telling you and it is frustrating.

Though it is hard to accept, VR is indeed a new band. A band that has moved forward with time and to be frank, the sound of VR is relevant to today’s rock scene without sounding too much of an old school. In their second album, VR has brought in Brendan O’Brien – a music producer who has worked with many renown bands including Stone Temple Pilots (STP) – and the result speaks loud and clear: “Libertad” convinced me to listen to VR as a new entity, and not just ghosts of Guns ‘N Roses nor STP.

If you like rock music, do give “Libertad” a try. The CD does suppose to contain videos of the making of the album. Unfortunately the media content cannot be played in my computer (duh!). Good thing though, it links me to the Sony BMG Musicbox. Do check out that site. It is like a mini YouTube with legal music videos in wide screen format. My only complain is the streaming speed. YouTube is much better.

PS. Is it just me to think that the name “Velvet Revolver” has a strong association to “Guns ‘N Roses”?

PS2. Oh I forgot to mention. I love the bonus track a lot. VR did a country music and when the singer kept going on and on towards the end, one of the members (Slash I suppose) said: whatever. And the song ends. Man, I am a sucker for all these extras.

Categories
Drama Movie Reviews

The Nanny Diaries – Heartwarming Though Nothing Exceptional

When was the last time you and your friends or partner caught a show spontaneously? It is certainly not often for me. I always plan it half a day or a day in advance. But you know in life, there are just moments when you feel … just do it – however rare these moments are. In fact, I can even recall when Cynthia and I caught a show spontaneously – Nicolas Cage’s 8MM (1997) at Malacca, Malaysia and Sarah Jessica Parker’s Failure to Launch (2006) at Suntech, Singapore.

Last Sunday at AMK Hub, we wanted to check out the spanking new Cathay cineplex and all of a sudden, both of us wanted to catch a show despite the fact that we have just watched “Shoot ‘Em Up” the day before. You know what a craving for movie is like.

Looking back, I had no idea why we chose “The Nanny Diaries”. The show started in 10 minutes’ time was one. Scarlett *ahem* Johansson was another. For me at least. Strangely, or rather coincidentally, Paul Giamatti played as the jerk ass husband who seldom gave time to his family (hence the nanny came into the picture) and he also played “Shoot ‘Em Up” as the jerk ass husband who kept promising his wife on the phone that he would be back soon (hence the non-stop bullets in “Shoot ‘Em Up”). What a strong sense of deja vu.

To be fair, Cynthia did enjoy watching “The Nanny Diaries”. It is definitely heartwarming to watch a storyline of self-discovery and how one can be life changing to others. I think for those who are either fresh out of school and still ponder upon which career path to take (not me), or those whose mothers always wanted them to choose a different career (a rock star perhaps but nah), or those who are brought up by nannies because their parents were too busy at work (not me either), or those who are mothers or mother-wannabes (definitely not). In short, I personally cannot quite relate to the storyline. But I can imagine some others may.

I wish that “The Nanny Diaries” could give me more in terms of scripts and acting. It is a heartwarming movie no doubt.

On a side note, I tried very hard to recall which movie Scarlett Johansson has acted in. Somehow that video of her and Justin Timberlake (“What Goes Around Comes Around”) got stuck in my mind big time. She does have quite a number of movies under her belt, including my favorite “The Prestige”. Now I remember.

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Action & Thriller Movie Reviews

Shoot ‘Em Up – A Dark, Brainless Piece of Entertainment

Is “Shoot ‘Em Up” a hollow piece of crap like some reviewers say? Probably yes. Is it like a movie straight out of a comic book or a computer first person shooting game? Probably yes too. But why does it have a mixed review rather than a bad review? The key word is “entertainment”. One scene got some of the audience – I included – clapping and cheering inside the theater. The last I saw that was the ending scene of “Death Proof” – and that scene got more girls cheering than guys.

Yesterday morning, Cynthia left the newspaper opened, pointing at the movie advertisements and in a semi-sleepy-semi-demur way, she said she wanted to watch a show. Got it. So what do you want to watch, I asked. “Shoot ‘Em Up” or “Underdog”, she replied. I called up the rest of the squad (just TK really) and had no answer. Usually TK answers the “call for movie” almost instantaneously. What happened to him? Turned out that I woke him up from a 24-shift and his reply was: Underdog, are you joking? “Shoot ‘Em Up” it was then.

Though the story is downright straightforward (very implausible) with minimal opportunity for character development, the movie does keep the audience in suspense as the story unfolds slowly – at least for the first three quarter of the movie when there are still lots of questions in the audience’s head. The shooting scenes though … my God … have more “bullets per frame” than most of the other movies I have watched. And some of the ways of how a gun is shot are so creative that left me in awe. The mood is mostly dark with dirt and sweat, rats and blood. However, the scenes can be so entertainment that got the audience laughing … at times in a morbid way.

Cynthia finds “Shoot ‘Em Up” entertaining. TK calls it “an entertaining piece of rubbish”. As for me, if Clive Owen was to replace his guns with swords, that would have been made into a typical Chinese ancient story with heroes in special power (you will see what I mean in one of the ending scenes). If you want some dark and brainless entertainment and laugh your brain off after a long hard week of work, perhaps “Shoot ‘Em Up” is an option.

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Music Reviews Pop Rock & Alternative

Bjork’s Volta – Chaotic Beauty For Those Who Dare To Submerge

The year was 1992 when one day my college friend came back with Bjork’s debut “Debut” borrowed from her classmate from the Mathematics faculty. I was shocked that Bjork’s debut album can be called music. To my ears, it was just incoherent pieces of tracks of … sound … with some very weird melody. What was she thinking?! Strangely, “Army Of Me” from her second album “Post” has changed my mind. Since then, I have slowly become a convert, religiously buying each of her release from “Greatest Hits” onwards.

Bjork, is an acquired taste.

Last month, I had the same feeling when I first listened to her latest album “Volta”, the same feeling as I first listened to “Debut”. What was she thinking?! Is that music? After a few tries, I gave up listening to it just like some of her recent works. Then one day, I picked up her “Greatest Hits” again – an album that I enjoy and strongly recommend to those open minded ones – and got myself … “Bjork-ized”. “Volta” does not deviate from her previous works in as much as I thought it was. Though, the full bodied to-your-face kind of bass is out. The tracks are a lot cleaner. Lots of layers of electric sound – from ship horns to seagull to sound of water and wind to Chinese instruments to orchestral sound to down right unique drum beats. In fact, the more I listen to “Volta”, the more I get to appreciate the genius of music composition. Bjork has turned her voice from merely human voice into a musical instrument, truly blended into the song with many layers of her voice all combined as one. Her voice is so full of emotion.

The opening track of “Volta” – “Earth Intruders” – starts off with powerful beats and ends with the different sound and pitch of the ship’s horns that only becomes apparent with the more powerful track “Declare Independence” towards the end. The duet track “The Dull Flame Of Desire” is a good example of how Bjork can turn something so simple and short into a full song. Below is the full lyrics of “The Dull Flame Of Desire”.

I love your eyes, my dear. Their splendid, sparkling fire. When suddenly you raise them so to cast a swift embracing glance. Like lightning flashing in the sky. But there’s a charm that is greater still. When my love’s eyes are lowered. When all is fired by passion’s kiss. And through the downcast lashes, I see the dull flame of desire – The Dull Flame of Desire by Bjork.

From the content point of view, “Volta” focuses much on internal emotion in an abstract manner. She writes about someone suffering from Pneumonia, suicide bomber, and my favorite, the powerful “Declare Independence” with lyrics as follows.

Justice. Start your own currency. Make your own stamp. Protect your language. Declare independence … Damn colonists. Ignore their patronizing. Tear off their blindfold. Open their eyes. Declare independence. Don’t let them do that to you.

Each release has earned Bjork – Icelander – an award of one sort or another. Her works often strikes me as an outcome of improvisation. It is chaotic to say the least. But to make something as chaotic as Bjork’s music into something so beautiful to listen to, there is only one person in the world who can do that.

Below is the opening track “Earth Intruders”. If you like it, try out “Innocence” as made by one of her fans.

Again, Bjork is an acquired taste. You either love it, or you don’t.

Categories
Book Reviews Non-Fiction

The Strategy Paradox By Michael Raynor – Quite Possibly The Best Business Book I’ve Read In These Recent Months

One day, Cynthia brought home a new book sponsored by her company written by one of her Partners and in this book, her client Johnson & Johnson is featured as one of the case studies. As always, I read the book and she gets to hear the summary. A win-win situation for the both of us.

I love reading strategy books but to finish one is a daunting task. “The Strategy Paradox” turns out to be the exact opposite of what I perceive a consulting book to be. It is full of interesting case studies, not too much into the methodology, and it is written with such a pose. Read the following excerpt and you will see what I mean.

Bowing to the limits of our station need not imply that we aim lower: a Macbeth or an Oedipus who accedes to the vagaries of fate can still be king, but he rules the kingdom very differently. Similarly, a strategy built on humility can still succeed; it just looks very different from a strategy built on hubris. This book has explored those differences and argued that a strategy of humility is a better and nobler way to think about the future of your company – Chapter 11 Reinventing Strategy.

In the beginning of “The Strategy Paradox”, Raynor brought out an excellent analogy. Tell me, what is the opposite of love? Some may say hatred. But the answer is indifference. Hatred and love has the same intensity of feeling towards a person but indifference has none. So, what is the opposite of success?

Failure?

The opposite of success is mediocrity. Being average is what many companies are contented with. Raynor pointed out that the ones that aim for greatest, the ones who aim for success has the same attributes as the ones who fail. It is due to the uncertainty that these companies fail. Traditionally, in order to succeed, companies formulate a strategy and commit to it. It is this commitment that forbidden them to adapt to the changes experienced. To resolve this, the author proposed Requisite Uncertainty. Simply put, the corporate office should focus on managing uncertainty while the operating managers must focus on delivering on commitments.

In chapter 2, the author has brought forth an interesting case study of Sony through its electronic formats of Betamax in video, MiniDisc in audio and illustrated how focusing too much on strategic success and not enough on strategic uncertainty can be disastrous due to bad luck.

The book has made clear that we simply cannot forecast the future. There are just too many variables. And some changes are too fast for us to react while some changes are just too slow (as illustrated by the example of the Viking) for us to adapt.

But there is a way out.

All we need is to create options. In chapter 7, the author brought in the excellent case studies of BCE and Microsoft. The former one consists of a portfolio of partial equity stakes that creates a strategically flexible corporation but lacks the formalized processes required to implement the approach versus the latter one that is able to pursue an options-based strategy far more consistently and so manage strategy uncertainty far more effectively.

The key to success is to acquire options that are related to the way a business is shaped. Take J&J as an example. There is a corporate venture capital arm, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC) that its primary focus is to acquire business that may benefit J&J in future. To achieve strategic flexibility, one must acquire enough stake – and not too much – in order to sell off or further invest on the options as the future unfolds. There is a price to this of course. And the 4 phases of managing a portfolio of real options are create, preserve, exercise, and abandon. In the end, it boils down to how one should exercise the option (i.e. purchase the subsidiary that will benefit the overall group) or sell off the option (i.e. abandon what is not beneficiary to the future of the company).

I personally believe that “The Strategy Paradox” is crucial to those who are into M&A business (Merger and Acquisition) as well as those who are into corporate strategy. It would have been nice if Michael Raynor elaborates on the future of Sony with the Blu-ray format war against HD DVD as that would have been a true testimony to what he preaches about.