Ann Hui’s Night And Fog A Disappointment

Star Trek (2009) – I was really looking forward to the Star Trek reboot given the raving reviews stateside and I must say I wasn’t disappointed. J.J. Abrams imbues this 2009 version with great energy less all the cheesy dialogue that made the previous movies quite cringe-inducing at times. Without any A-list stars in the leading roles works in the film’s favor and in fact the relatively unknown cast delivers solid performance – we can see how they grow into the characters. The movie never really slows down as crisis after crisis hits the crew of the Enterprise and I must say the space fleet battles are the best yet in any of the Star Trek series. My pick for the best blockbuster for the summer so far! Highly recommended.

Terminator Salvation – many film buffs probably squirmed at the idea that McG was going to direct this 4th installment of the Terminator franchise but the casting of Christian Bale in the leading role as John Connor gave some hope. Terminator Salvation isn’t as hopelessly boring as Terminator 3, but fails to generate the excitement of T2 or the original. We’ve seen robots bashing each other around in the Transformers two summers ago, there aren’t any new jaw dropping special effects … and the plot fails to deliver any surprises either. The film remains a passable popcorn movie but won’t be crowned top dog among this summer’s blockbusters.

Duplicity – Hollywood has run out of ideas (and new stars) for successful romantic comedies so they created a new genre – the romantic thriller. Julia Roberts and Clive Owen star as ex-CIA and ex MI6 operatives who have fallen in love, and given up their secret service jobs in order to make a quick buck in the world of corporate espionage. Alternating between romance and thriller, Duplicity should provide enough serpentine plot twists and romantic interludes to keep both guys and chicks happy. Recommended.

Night And Fog 天水圍的夜與霧 – I found Night And Fog a disappointment as part 2 of acclaimed Hong Kong director Ann Hui’s probe into life in the working class Tin Shui Wai 天水圍. Her earlier film followed the mundane life of a blue collar mother working to support her son – that movie never succumbed to melodrama and delivered a slice of life about making a living in one of Hong Kong more troubled neighborhoods with honesty and a lot of heart.

Night And Fog, however, although based on a real life tragedy, quickly falls into genre movie territory with Hui adding an overt layer of social commentary on top of the proceedings. The film focuses on an unemployed construction worker played by Simon Yam – his distrust of his significantly younger Szechuan wife ultimately leads to the tragic slaughtering of his wife and two children. Although Yam has really blossomed into a subtle actor in many of Johnnie To’s movies, here he is reverting back to the “madman pervert” role he played so often in exploitation movies back in the 1990s.

To’s Sparrow soars – Kwok’s The Moss fails to excite

Sparrow 文雀 – Much publicity surrounded this Johnny To film as it made its debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Sparrow is supposed to be an elegy to the old Hong Kong – but I’m not sure it works well at that. It is however a very entertaining film – very little dialogue yet totally engrossing. Kelly Lin cons Simon Yam and his pickpocket colleagues into helping her regain her freedom by stealing her passport locked into her husband’s safe. To’s usual ensemble of actors are present here, from Simon Yam to Lam Ka Tung and the ubiquitous Lam Suet. Kelly Lin is also given more to do than most actresses in To’s crime capers. For me, Sparrow resembles Jean-Pierre Melville’s Bob le Flambeur in its insistence on being light-hearted at the core despite the presence of a few unsavory characters. Very good and highly recommended.

The Moss 青苔 – Director Kwok Chi Kin’s previous film The Pye Dog 野‧良犬 won some accolades at the Hong Kong Film Awards this year and Kwok was nominated for a Best New Director Award (though he lost), so I became interested in his latest film. The trailer looked interesting – Shawn Yue is a cop who will do anything to survive on the streets. Make no mistake Yue’s character is not likeable. Trouble starts when the son of a gang’s leader is missing and Yue is “assigned” the task of locating him. Shit piles up quickly . . . and the plot breaks down! The 2nd half of the film falls back on cliches like a reclusive assassin, betrayals within the various gangs etc. I did not find the film particularly intriguing.

Zodiac : David Fincher’s best work yet

Fantastic Four : Rise Of The Silver Surfer – pure pop corn fun with no pretence of any high brow themes (or moralizing), this Fantastic Four film is probably the shortest blockbuster of the summer, clocking in at only 92 minutes. This is a plus in my books, as it means we cut straight to the actions scenes, with a little bit of comedy serving as diversion in between the set pieces. The best sequence was the introduction of the Silver Surfer and the subsequent chase with the Human Touch; unfortunately, the trailer exposed this scene months ago. All in all the film was fun: the Silver Surfer was cool and I can accept the compromise of Galactus being a cosmic cloud rather than Jack Kirby’s purple armoured giant (which wouldn’t work at all on the silver screen). Special effects were decent but not groundbreaking.

Zodiac – I have waited for David Fincher’s latest critically acclaimed film for months and I would say this is one of the best non-action movies I have seen so far in 2007. Based on the real life unsolved case, the film traces how both the press and the police failed to pin the Zodiac killings to anyone. The murders took place in San Francisco from the late 1960s to the 1970s and the serial killer has fascinated the public – in fact, the original Dirty Harry movie imagined a scenario where the maverick cop managed to identify and kill the Zodaic killer. In real life, the case was much more complex and David Fincher gives us an engrossing look at how a reporter, an inspector and a cartoonist dedicate their lives to uncovering the man behind these murders. Of the trio of stars (Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr.), I thought Ruffalo was the most convincing one, though all three were outstanding. This is definitely Fincher’s most mature and controlled film to date. The film also features an excellent soundtrack. Highly recommended.

Eye In The Sky 跟蹤 – well received when it was shown abroad at various film festivals, I missed the Johnnie To produced, Yau Nai Hoi directed police thriller at this year’s HKIFF, but managed to catch it last week. Eye In The Sky follows the mould of most of Johnnie To’s thrilling police procedurals – I found the plot engaging, and the acting strong and generally subtle (in the case of Simon Yam and Tony Leung Ka Fai). Former Miss Hong Kong Kate Tsui makes her big screen debut and acquits herself with an OK performance. The production was partially financed by Cable TV – this means prominent product placements for many Wharf Holdings companies, from Cable TV to New T&T. Overall, not quite as good as To’s Election movies or Exiled but still above average.