» Tanpa Label » Counterpoint Review: COLD WAR Brings a Spark to the Boardroom

Counterpoint Review: COLD WAR Brings a Spark to the Boardroom

Oleh

Counterpoint Review: COLD WAR Brings a Spark to the Boardroom

Counterpoint Review: COLD WAR Brings a Spark to the Boardroom

Posted: 03 Nov 2012 01:00 AM PDT

After its world premiere in Korea at last month's Busan International Film Festival, Longman Leung and Sunny Luk's much-touted directorial debut Cold War finally opens on home turf. Originally slated for a summer release, before being pushed back to mid-October and then again to 8 November, the film was eventually unveiled to a home crowd last night, as opening film of the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival. After reading Pierce Conran's review from BIFF, my expectations were pretty low, and perhaps it is because of this that Cold War actually proved to be an overall engaging and entertaining cop drama. Pierce's main concern with the film was its over-reliance on grand spectacle and hollow bombast, rather than substantive, character-based drama: "Over-produced and austere, it features strong and...

Review: LUV SHUV TEY CHICKEN KHURANA, Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before...

Posted: 03 Nov 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Let me tell you a story. Please, stop me if you've heard this one before.Once upon a time there was a rowdy young adult NRI (non-resident Indian) living it up in London. This young man decides to take a train journey across Europe and on this journey he meets the woman of his dreams, Simran. They have a chaste flirtation which ends abruptly when Simran is whisked off to India to fulfill her childhood betrothal to a family friend. Raj dashes off after her to Punjab where he shows that no matter how far from India he's traveled, the culture has always been in his heart. After some shenanigans, misunderstandings, and crying fits, Raj and Simran live happily ever after, and India is the reason....

Review: THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS Goes Direct to "Meh"

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 05:00 PM PDT

An awkward love letter to martial arts movies, The Man With the Iron Fists fills its running time with nearly every genre staple imaginable: spurting blood, severed limbs, poison darts, flying children, Buddhist training, bathing prostitutes, invincible villains covered in CGI armor, dialogue that sounds like it was translated badly from English into Chinese and then back into English by someone who speaks neither language and then dubbed into English by a non-native speaker. Oh, and Pam Grier. Obviously, The RZA has a deep, wide knowledge of martial arts cinema -- for further proof, check out the excellent DVD audio commentary he did with Andy Klein for The 36th Chamber of Shaolin -- and, in making his directorial debut, he appears to have been intent...

Toronto After Dark 2012: Award Winners Announced

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 04:30 PM PDT

After several days of mostly second-tier genre film fun, the Toronto After Dark film festival has wrapped for another year.This was my first year dipping my toes into the fest, and for me what was most nice was having another excuse to run into regular stalwarts that usually show up for TIFF Midnight Madness screenings. With the likes of Twitch writers Peter Kaplowsky and Shelagh Rowan-Legg on board on the programming staff, TAD provides the local scene with a wide range of features, shorts, docs, etc.There's an earnestness to the whole event which is actually quite charming, exemplified by the sheer ridiculousness of having dozens of different "awards" that they give out at the finale. Cockneys vs Zombies took home the big audience award, while...

Justin Lin Warms Up To Sci-Fi With HIBERNATION

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 03:30 PM PDT

My one experience with Justin Lin's directorial work was the season 1 episode of Community titled 'Modern Warfare' (Yes, the paintball episode) (and yes, a classic for the show). So while I can't really speak to the man's filmography, it's evident that his uber success revitalizing the Fast And Furious Franchise with Fast Five has got the industry singing to the tune of Lin in perfect pitch. Once the fella's done with Fast Six, it's on into the final frontier with the sci-fi thriller Hibernation, which is being scripted by fresh scribes Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Will Frank, and produced by Lin's own Perfect Storm Entertainment and Film 360.No details yet on story, but Lin's producing partner at Perfect Storm, Troy Craig Poon described the project to...

Nakata Hideo Returns To Classic Horror With THE COMPLEX

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 02:00 PM PDT

Nakata Hideo has proven reluctant to repeat himself, the director of The Ring and Dark Water staying away from the genre of horror that he helped define and launch over the past decade, choosing to explore different styles and genres over his past several works. But no more.Japan's Nikkatsu studios are showing a ten minute reel of Nakata's latest effort, titled The Complex, at the American Film Market and it is arresting stuff, instantly reminiscent of the director's best known work. The long shots, dark atmosphere and sense of isolation that undergirded much of The Ring and Dark Water are very much present here and while you can never be sure that the mood of a promo will translate to a complete film the footage...

Review: CAFE DE FLORE Grooves To A Superb Metaphysical Tune

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 02:00 PM PDT

In an annual New Years tradition of merriment and bonding, the patriarch of a decidedly secular family asks for God's blessing in the coming year.  It is a contradictory detail such as this - a combination of the pragmatic and the spiritual - in which Café De Flore asks (in a round about way) what is probably the most difficult question put to a person, at least someone in privileged first-world society: "Are you happy?" The latest film from Québécois wunderkind Jean Marc-Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y.) is a film of moments - intense emotional moments - offered up in a loose, free-wheeling montage (requiring the aid of voice-over) before settling into something deeper. The film further mines two of the more interesting themes that have been slowly emerged in my world-cinema filmgoing last year...

Amazonas Film Festival 2012 Preview: Off to the Jungle

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 01:30 PM PDT

The ninth annual Amazonas Film Festival kicks off in the sweltering Amazon Jungle capital of Manaus, Brazil this Saturday and Twitch will be there to report on the films and festivities taking place. Screenings unspool in the scenic opera house Teatro Amazonas, made famous as the subject of Werner Herzog's film Fitzcarraldo. The festival includes an eight film International Feature Competition that we'll detail below. Aside from these features, there are also two different short film competitions. The first includes all films produced in Brazil, while the second is for films specifically produced in the state of Amazonas. Top prizes in these competitions can mean big money for the filmmakers and a real chance to make it in the Brazilian film world. We'll have...

AFI Fest 2012 First Impression: HITCHCOCK Does The Legend Justice

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 11:30 AM PDT

AFI Fest 2012 got off to a rousing start last night with the packed world premiere of Hitchcock. Set amidst the director's filming of Psycho, the movie focuses on both his personal and professional challenges, painting an intimate portrait of the man behind the legend. Anthony Hopkins stars as 'Hitch' with a generous helping of prosthetics that give the man his emblematic bulk. Hopkins's transformation into Hitchcock is remarkable even if his mannerisms do a skew a bit close to the caricature line at times; never quite crossing it, however. On the other hand, Helen Mirren's performance as Hitch's wife and partner Alma is flawless. Hers seems the biggest lock for awards season recognition. The truly remarkable story behind Hitchcock the movie is how expertly...

Sex And Violence In Christian Linaban's ABERYA

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 11:00 AM PDT

Cinema One originals selection Aberya takes audiences to the glittering underbelly of the Cebu region of The Philippines. Director Christian Linaban has created what looks to be a slick and stylish fusion of sex and violence with the film, one that includes some surprising elements.Aberya is a trip through the seamy side of Cebu through the eyes of four anti-heroes: an egomanic Fil-am boxer on a pleasure trip, a prostitute from Luzon on a mission, a local drug dealer experimenting with time travel, and a social climber from Mindanao caught up in a scandal.Take a look at the teaser below....

Shotguns, Gangsters And A Monkey Head In Richard Somes' MARIPOSA (SA HAWLA NG GABI)

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 09:00 AM PDT

Filipino director Richard Somes established himself as one of the brightest lights on the local independent circuit with his 2008 offering Yanggaw (Affliction). A super realistic spin on the aswang mythology, Yanggaw demonstrated that Somes was a director with a very distinct voice, one well worth keeping a close eye on.Somes latest effort is Mariposa (Sa Hawla Ng Gabi), a crime drama that is once again backed by the Cinema One Originals series, which has funded a number of his feature films. The synopsis is quite simple - it's the story of a young woman caught up in a bad situation while searching for her missing sister in the big city - but coming from Somes it's safe to expect something a bit unusual from...

Charlotte Rampling Broods In A Trailer For I, ANNA

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 08:17 AM PDT

If, like me, you find yourself helplessly drawn to anything Charlotte Rampling does, then the trailer for I, Anna will surely whet your cinematic appetite. Featuring a vulnerable, enigmatic Rampling in the lead role it's a psychological thriller with a stellar supporting cast including Gabriel Byrne, Eddie Marsan, Hayley Atwell and Honor Blackman. It's also directed by Rampling's own son, Barnaby Southcombe, and recently played to appreciative London Film Festival crowds.  A brooding psychological, thriller, told from the point of view of a female murder suspect, who falls for the detective in charge of the case. Anna (Rampling), a striking and enigmatic woman, reluctantly attends a speed dating event. A man is found bludgeoned to death in a London apartment block. DCI Bernie Reid (Byrne),...

Elijah Wood Starring in Nacho Vigalondo's OPEN WINDOWS

Posted: 02 Nov 2012 06:30 AM PDT

Elijah Wood will be hanging out in Spain a little while longer. Having just wrapped production on Eugenio Mira's new film Grand Piano in Barcelona, Wood is now in Madrid, filming Open Windows, Nacho Vigalondo's third feature.Open Windows is a technological thriller, told in real time, of a man with a bit of a celebrity obsession, unrolling on laptop screen. Vigalondo is known for stretching the narrative and aesthetic boundaries of cinema, whether through time travel in Timecrimes or spaceships in Extraterrestrial. Moving into the strange world of the internet seems to be along the lines of a trilogy of science fiction, one which will likely be just as interesting and mind-bending.Wood may be an A-list star, but his commitment to independent film continues. Having just started...
Back To Top