COWBOYS & ALIENS Movie Review. Of COWBOYS, ALIENS, and then SOME.

 

COWBOYS & ALIENS Press Preview

A game of metaphors, anyone?

All you have to do is to conjure a posse of cowboys.

Then you align them with a horde of ferocious aliens.

Finally you ensnare them and watch as they battle it out in a grim battlefield.

You witness mayhem, the drama unfolding with the shrill snapping of human flesh amid gunsmoke.

There you are …. you have what the title implies – COWBOYS & ALIENS, a genre blending project.

This film has an awkward title, an odd pairing of subject matter.

We have the retro cowboys (year 1875) versus the techno age aliens, these two unlikely nouns exemplifies a rare hybridized mix, and if anything, connotes a goofy western based on a comic book by SCOTT MITCHELL ROSENBERG.

Film director JOHN FAVREAU lets his hair down and goes bonkers with COWBOYS & ALIENS by adopting and mashing together two genres (Westerns and Alien-Invasion films).

Let’s dwell on the film synopsis:

Lead actor DANIEL CRAIG plays Jake Lonergan, a man who wakes from a mysterious slumber in the desert.

He has a futuristic-looking device on his forearm and is clueless as to what it is and who he is.

He then heads from the barren desert to the nearby town of Absolution, Arizona where he discovers peace loving people.

Not long after, a young spoiled brat Percy Dolarhyde (PAUL DANO) rides into town, guns ablaze, rattling about his big-shot daddy (HARRISON FORD) and how no one should mess with him, otherwise his father will move their lucrative cattle business to another destination. Money wields power, so everyone heeds Percy’s warnings.

All except Jake, who intends to teach this kid a lesson.

But alien ships zoom in quickly and kidnap several of the town’s residents, including Percy, Sheriff Taggart and Doc’s wife.

The remaining group of survivors decides to band together to track down the aliens.

COWBOYS & ALIENS ensures an entertaining cross-breed Western with stunning visual effects that will serve to overwhelm without going overboard for an over-kill.

Both CRAIG and FORD share an affable onscreen chemistry and  pitch in commendable performances. CRAIG’s good-guy role is juxtaposed against the controlling mean-guy played by FORD.

A dose of mysticism is brought in by OLIVIA WILDE’s character. She plays Ella Swenson, an enigmatic cowgirl with piercing green eyes that harbor a dark past.

Expect nothing except to be entertained, then COWBOYS & ALIENS will work very nicely which is the premise of the movie.

But once you adorn your thinking cap and go ga-ga on your film analysis, you will find numerous plot holes that make little or no sense.

Cast aside your skepticism to fully absorb and experience the film.

It really ain’t bad at all.

THE LOAN SHARK 《大耳窿》Malaysian Film Review. An AMBIGUOUS dose of ART versus ACTION.

THE LOAN SHARK《大耳窿》Press Preview

Unconventional film directors who brave the media storm to dare defy the norm always intrigue me.

Simply because they are creatively different.

They feel, then they do.  Action speaks louder than words. They don’t just talk.

Hence my curiosity in Malaysian Director CL HOR’s body of work.

His films are more often than not, devil-may-care, they tread precariously on the Art House genre.

You can gather that he has little to offer on the commercial side, for the masses. His is a niche market that supports art films.

The general audience may find his works a tad tiresome to appreciate, much less to absorb.

His first foray was the contemporary THIRD GENERATION, hailed as Malaysia’s first Cantonese art film that showed raw touches of Wong Kar Wai.

Reviews were scattered, mostly lukewarm.

His second KINTA 1881 was positioned as Malaysia’s first Chinese Martial Arts film.

This one received scathing reviews on the plotline and the way the (bloody) actions were rendered during post production, but this film director has guts.

Constructive or destructive criticism, he spurs on with his third Chinese feature, this time a gangster film unveiling the brutalities of the traids, aptly called THE LOAN SHARK.

Here, he infuses art into the action sequences, such as the “choreographed”  shattering of glasses as the splinters “dance” before you in style. And the use of grid lines to “cross over” from one scene to another.

An eye-popping experience, but that depends whether you are enthralled by this methodology.

Watch out.  Never say die. Go on. This is a lesson we learn from this arty man.

You criticize and condemn. Let it be. Very soon I’ll be on my way to do my fourth. That’s typically CL HOR.

THE LOAN SHARK stars SAM LEE and JOJO GOH as an unlikely pair of siblings.  The brother is a relentless debt collector by profession whilst the sister is a police undercover.  Both are caught in a web of intrigue involving the illegal money lending activities in Malaysia headed by an infamous triad group.

All the leads in this movie: SAM LEE, LAM SUET, EDDIE CHEUNG, IRENE WAN and ROSANNE LEE with the exception of JOJO GOH are secondary actors from Hong Kong. Aptly put, this is their show, without which the movie will be out on a limb.

The package comes with a predictable story laced with plot holes and inconsistencies in the character development.

There are limited locations, most of these taking place in a karaoke lounge, car park, apartment interior, roof top and a mock-up sitting room with comfy chairs where the big boss and his henchmen sit and smoke, nineteen to the dozen, as if there isn’t going to be any tomorrow.

One wonders that, with so many impressive smoking scenes, are they promoting tobacco advertising?

You either dig the film director’s style and like this movie. Or it may not be your cup of tea. There’s no two ways about it.

Only you can make this decision.

AT THE PRESS CONFERENCE TO PROMOTE “THE LOAN SHARK”, NOT A SINGLE HONG KONG ACTOR WAS IN SIGHT.  THEY WERE SORELY MISSED.

“THE FORTUNE BUDDIES” 勁抽褔祿壽 Hong Kong Movie Review. Three SILLY BILLIES playing GODS of FORTUNE.

HONG KONG MOVIE 勁抽褔祿壽 “THE FORTUNE BUDDIES” PRESS PREVIEW.

Bored?

Don’t be.

Here’s another of the regular Hong Konger’s “staple diet” comedy to tickle you pink.

It may not be your ideal cup of tea though, unless you dig mindless slapsticks.

But then, just like the “child” embedded in all of us, if you care to remember the famous MARY POPPINS character who sings the 60s classic verse “In very job that must be done, there’s an element of fun and a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down in a most delightful way.”

It’s like saying the occasional farce can expedite wonders for a stressed out soul.

Cool.

So get set for the made-for-chuckles FORTUNE BUDDIES, the latest Hong Kong laugh-out-loud offering, nevertheless a smirk therapy, albeit a welcome destressor.

It originated from a once popular Hong Kong TVB wisecracking-and-dance variety show called LIZA AND THE THREE GODS known largely for the male cross dressing gags.

On a serious note, we are not talking about demi-gods here.

These three “gods” are the not-so-young and definitely far from being labeled pretty boys, and they are the effervescent Wong Cho Lam, Louis Yuen Siu Cheung and Johnson Lee Si Jit. They lead the story.

The package comes with the ever squeaky Eric Tsang and a host of well-worn faces from TVB in silly cameos.

Minus the grand dame Liza Wang who has been unceremoniously written out of the script as she is a dispensable “no go”.

It’s obvious that the retro queen Liza’s hey days are long over even if she still adamant about “keeping up with the times”. Maybe one should tell her to bask in past glories and leave fond memories as they are.

Hopefully this movie may usher in a generous sprinkle of cheer to brighten up anybody’s sometimes stereo-typed working life.

In Hong Kong, apartments for the average Hong Konger are smaller than small and “cooping in the nest” can be liken to life in a pressure cooker.

The citizens need a quick fix other than going to the doctor, and crazy entertainment like “THE FORTUNE BUDDIES” where the actors “belittle” and poke fun at all and sundry, including themselves can be a welcome respite.

You visit the cinema to have a hearty laugh, never mind the plot.

So in gallop this comely slapstick featuring three foul-mouthed, conniving, exploitative silly buddies who take absolute delight in looking for trouble. Expect loads of bawdy nonsense and remember to switch off your “disbelief” mode at escapades that make no sense. Especially when you have three nutty comedians from TVB spewing mindless cracks and vulgarities to get the ball rolling.

Hop on in!

FORTUNE BUDDIES does not offer you a logical plot line. Chiefly it hollers about three bosom buddies who are “sworn” brothers who will stick to one another through thick and thin. It starts with Lam Lok (Wong Cho Lam) who intends to marry his childhood sweetheart. His materialistic future father-in-law demands that he pays a down payment of five hundred thousand dollars for a flat as a form of sincerity.

The three chums rally together to work in all kinds of menial jobs (property agent, part-time actor, security guard, driver) to raise the money. They even attempt at cross dressing stints, busk in Mongkok’s infamous Sai Yeung Choi Street and wrestle in the open donning ridiculous masks and attire.

That is, until a foreigner who is actually a professional wrestler from the World Wrestling Entertainment pitches a challenge and this is where the story speeds up and escalates towards a crescendic climax.

It’s all well that ends well, finally.

If you had thoroughly enjoyed producer Eric Tsang’s Lunar New Year’s blockbuster “I Love Hong Kong”, then this one’s for you.

NOW, JUST SEND IN THE CLOWNS.

“WE ARE NOT YOUR REGULAR PRETTY BOY TYPE. BUT TRUST US, WE ARE A LOT BETTER. WE ARE CHARISMATIC DANDIES.”

“HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, DUDES!”

“WE ARE THE FORTUNE BUDDIES AND HERE’S A TOAST FROM EACH AND EVERYONE OF US.”

“FOR ALL OUR HARD WORK, THE FORTUNE BUDDIES WILL SURELY BE A ROARING BOX-OFFICE SUCCESS!”

“CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER” Movie Review. By Golly, SPARE us, SAVE the EARTH.

“CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER”PRESS PREVIEW in 3D.

Do you read the comics?

At some point in our lives, during our formative years, most of us could have grown up on a diet of the MARVEL comics.

If so, one should be familiar with the scores of iconic American super heroes dwelling within the Marvel Super Space.

These figures would loom, larger than life in our fantasies, unbelievably stereo-typed, overly muscled in the form of Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Iron Man, Thor, the X-Men and their heroic deeds. The list surely goes on.

Salute, please.

And bravo, these unsunk heroes fight for us, to save the human race and the earth from extinction, over and over again.

Since the late 1990s, Marvel has become increasingly protective of its intellectual properties. The X-Men, Spider-Man, and Iron Man all got powerful big-screen treatment, resulting in an exemplary marriage between art and commerce.

Great films are made and they are heroic blockbusters with heart, soul, thrills, and emotivity.

The latest in kind is “CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER.”

The new one is here to sweep you off your feet and carry you way over the moon for as far as you dare venture, into the abyss of your aesthetic mind.

This Reviewer can surely go on and on pitching one Marvel super icon against the other.

But it goes to state the obvious that different directors have different strokes and therefore treatments are so different.

This review will focus on the present icon, with CHRIS EVANS leading us into his role of CAPTAIN AMERICA.

This film is superb wholesome entertainment.

It’s a smashing adventure targeting the entire family in mind, with colorful action galore that will astound in the glory of 3D.

This is an arresting movie with double doses on the ravages of war and a blossoming romance that’s nipped in the bud before you can say hey-presto.

Step right in.

Young Steve Rogers (CHRIS EVANS) is a puny Brooklyn kid who is a loser always being set upon by bullies. He dreams of joining the Army and defending America against the Nazis.

Turned down as 4-F, he refuses to give up, and eventually makes it to basic training, where he’s being trampled upon.

But the kid has determination and the balls to succeed. This attracts the attention of the hard-boiled Col. Phillips (TOMMY LEE JONES) and a scientist named Erskine (STANLEY TUCCI) who supervises a secret government program.

Steve is injected with a special serum that rips his muscles and improves his metabolism, making him an unexpected demi-God with latent powers.

You get to watch the art of superimposing actor CHRIS EVAN’s face onto the frame of a puny body double and sees the stunning transformation. This is the marvel of visual effects at its best.

You will be enthralled when CAPTAIN AMERICA is out doing a colorful song-and-dance broadway-type road show with a bevy of chorus girls and a mock-up Hitler to sell war bonds. Steve is slowly being transformed into a media-made hero, starring in comic books and serials designed to boost American morale.

The movie inhabits a world where the bad guys are bad, the good guys are good.

Compelling performances from an all star cast with competent directorial leadership by JOE JOHNSTON.

All in all, “CAPTAIN AMERICA” is a feel-good adventure movie that’s set to entertain.

And entertain it does, in no small measure.