Before I begin this review properly I would like to apologise for the lack of a review yesterday.  The review of the French comedy classic Le diner de cons will be on its way to you soon.  However, I am going to bring my own musings on another film Taking Woodstock.  The eagle-eyed among you will have seen the headline and will guess how I feel about this film.  Unfortunately I am quite a big Ang Lee fan.  The man who brought the world classics such as Lust, Caution and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon has not repeated his usual high standards. In fact he has created a disaster worst than his 2003 epic of misery Hulk. I feel cheated.  I feel like the master has decided not to treat me to an evening of cinematic excellence, and instead has pulled down my trousers and bummed vigorously for 2 hours (Not a pleasant experience).  Anyway sit back relax and watch as we probe away to discover why you should not watch Taking Woodstock.

The film follows Jake Teichberg.  He has gone back to his families loss making motel to help them try and survive.  With closure looming, Jake gets wind of the forced move of the Woodstock music festival.  As he has already got a license to host a music event he gets in touch with them, this results in him turning his small town in to the iconic music event.

Where do I begin?  The film is 1hr 50 minutes and you feel every single second of this, in particular the first half feels like you are pulling your teeth out with the most boring dentist in Beige Hospital.  Everything about it is dull.  I understand that Mr Lee was simply trying to set everything up for the second half.  However, he could have done this in a tenth of the time and still not have lost any of the quality of the film.

The second half is completely different.  The film springs to life.  The festival is on the verge of collapsing again.  The young people are destroying the family motel and Jake is on the brink.  The development from here to the end of the festival is actually quite good.  In particular the scenes involving the father rediscovering his happiness by spending time with a transvestite security guard and Jake’s journey into the world of drugs and music.

There are two exceptional performances in the film.  Imelda Staunton plays Jakes mother, a strict Russian woman who is obsessed with making money.  Staunton’s performance is spell bindingly and probably steals the show as she is so dislikeable that you end up enjoying every scene she is in.  The other great performance is Liev Schreiber, his portrayal of Vilma a transvestite security guard is priceless.  Frankly without him the film would have been devoid of any humour.  I put his small role down to the film being just about acceptable to watch.  and for achieving that he surely deserves a nod at this years Oscars.

The worst performance is sadly Jake, played by Henry Goodman.  He is wooden, uninteresting and is a disappointment to the acting profession. It is not because the character is like this, its because he cannot act.  At no point do you believe that he is Jake and throughout you’re fully aware that this is a young actor cutting his teeth.  He breaks the cinematic illusion and for that I not forgive him.  I also do not forgive him for having possibly the biggest nose I have ever seen in my life.  It is so large people in Austria ski down it in winter.  For half the film I spent my time trying to work out if there was a background, because his nose was in the way.  Get plastic surgery and acting lessons and then you might just be able too appear in something other than series 10 of I’m a celebrity, get me out of here.

Ang Lee.  I won’t rip you to pieces because you’re a great director but honestly this was poor.  Next time make sure you have actually got a plot line and vaguely decent script before you decide to make a film.

Overall it is alright but is not worth the money.  Wait until it is on itv2 in three years.

4/10 – Beige

Lust. Caution.

Lust, Caution.

Lust….Caution.

The English name of Ang Lee’s latest film consists of two words. Taken separately, they stand alone as two individual concepts: Lust, a primal, human urge; and Caution, an evolved, societal tool. Put them side by side, and you see a comparison: the primal versus the evolved, individual versus society, incongruent.

Poke a little hole in the membrane that seperates the two, and we begin to see a contrast. Lust, the human emotion, surges in the face of caution. Caution stares right back, coolly, unflinching.

Make that membrane even more porous…and the two start to bleed into one another. Can you see it? The red, thick goo of lust languishedly start to expand ever so relentlessly…and the pale, milky fog of caution determinately surrounds the lust, permeating through space, suspending, until the red is only visible as a faint, blushing pink through the suffocating, white curtain.

Ever since I saw Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution” (2007), I have not been able to stop thinking about these two words. They were not chosen at random, I know. Lee is a master at quietly evoking powerful emotions. To me, his directorial style is a gentle cross between Wong Kar-Wai and Clint Eastwood, combining Wong’s taste for moody, lush cinematography with Eastwood’s strong, silent characterizations. All three innately understand the power of the unsaid. All three evocate instead of telling. And that is why they move me like no other. Lee, in particular, is a provocative blend of eastern sentimentalities and western sensibilities. Perhaps that is due to his upbringing, born in TaiWan and educated in both his native land and America, he strucks me as a director with a precise feel for what he wants. The title of his first film, “Sense and Sensibility,” seems oddly appropriate.

“Lust, Caution” opens in ShangHai, China in 1942. The first shot is that of the face of a german shepherd, and pans up to the face of a man. Observe this quiet link between man and beast. It is an important theme that is revertebrated throughout the rest of the film.

We float up the stairs of a house, following the trail of indistinctable, womanly chatter, through a darkened corridor, and into a richly decorated room where a MaJong table sit in its midst, surrounded by four Chinese women at its sides.  The air is sweet with scent of extravagance. Expertly-cut cheongsams glide over their well-preserved figures, the lush fabrics intimately outlining the curves of its adorner, its silky weight titallatingly speak of the pearly flesh that lies beneath. The upper class women giggle and laugh while their immaculately manicured hands float across the tabletop like marble scrulptures that come to life, precisely picking up, sorting, stacking, and throwing down MaJong pieces with a well-oiled ease, the gold and gems of rings and bracelets cut through the air in a blur, occassionally catch the light and reflect off a glint that is too bright to the eye.  It’s 1940s in Japanese-occupied ShangHai, and everything seems possible and uncertain. Outside, the alleyways are dark.

This is described as an espionage thriller. It is so much more than that. Lee says that it’s filmed in the tradition of film noir. I believe that. It is also a love story, one of distrust, patrioism, self-preservation, of lust, and of caution.

The break-out star here is Wei Tang. This is her first film role, but you wouldn’t be able to tell. The story starts four years before that fateful MaJong game, in Hong Kong. The Japanese is closing in, and patrioism boils amongst young blood. Wong Chia Chi (Wei Tang), a first year university student, falls in with a group of eager fellow theatre students, and they come up with a plot to assassinate Mr. Yee (Tony Leung), a high level Chinese official working for the Japanese, a traitor to the country they love. The gang  has no experience in anything of this sort, but their naivete is all the courage they need. The plan evolves in unexpected fashion when Mr. Yee and Mrs. Mak, Wong’s cover, meet. He takes an immediate interest in her. She is a natural actor and responds in kind, believing this is the “in” they needed. Once the spark is lit, there is no turning back. Unbeknownst to them, the fate of these six young people were forever sealed in the first look that passed between Mr. Yee and Mrs. Mak.

The plan is interrupted prematurely when Mr. Yee moves to ShangHai. Four years later, everyone find themselves in the same city again, and as fate would have it, in the same predictment. The naivete has long been stripped away by this point. The Japanese ruled the city. Death and poverty litter the streets of ShangHai, while the rich and powerful live in bored extravagance. That’s always the way it is. That was the way it was.

What follows, is the living-out of the fate of Mr. Yee and Mrs. Mak. They are from different worlds: a high official that lives in layers of secrets and security and a poor young woman with nothing to live for. But he is a man that many people wants to kill, and she is a woman that is hired precisely by those people to kill him. He is a traitor to his country. She is a patriot, or at least, she thinks she is. For all those reasons above, the two people most unlikely to meet, meet once again, and they rekindle the flame that was snuffed out four years ago.

What ensues you can imagine. The sex is explicit, and the film has gotten more attention for its NC-17 rating than its story. This is wrong. The sex is not unnecessary. It is the ultimate portrayal of intimacy between Yee and Mak…not only physical, but emotional. These are two of the most fear-filled, confused, and desperate individuals that existed. Yee can have anything he wants, but he is so scared of death, so consumed with the preservation of his mortality, that he can hardly find pleasure in all that is so readily available to him. His wife, his wealth, his job, his secrets, he goes through them with an air of stoic endurance. He endures them because he must in order to live, and he has accepted that…until he meets her.

Mrs. Mak is a cover, but for Wong, it is an escape from her life in reality. We hear little about her father, but we sense that she has been abandoned. She floats through life with a ghostly hopelessness. She insists on going to school just to feel some kind of purpose, even though all that is taught is Japanese, language of the oppressors that have sucked out all the hope in her life. She keeps on going to movies and cries in the dark, but even films are interrupted by war announcements. Escape is so hard to come by in those times…so when an opportunity presented itself, she seized it, and she met him.

Their relationship quickly ended up in bed, and that is where it stayed, most of the time. I suspect that is the only place where they both feel safe…stripped of clothes, naked, all that is visible is their lust for each other. Within the lust caution is exerted. They look at each other intently while their bodies engage, trying to find any trace of deceit and secrecy. They physically exhaust each other, fighting for climax, for weakness. This is a battle of the will, and the tangle of limbs are merely soldiers of war.

“I hate you.” She says. “I believe you.” He grabs her. “I haven’t believed anyone in a long time…but I believe you.” He shakes her with force. “Say it again.”

The problem with humans is that we are emotional creatures. Emotions are like floods…you open a small break in the barrier, and before you know it it all comes crashing down.

“You shouldn’t be so beautiful.” He wraps his arm around her in an iron vice, as if trying to squeeze out his desire of her, furious with his loss of focus while she waited outside.

“He knows better than anyone the extent of pretending.” She gasped, when asked by superiors to stay in the role longer. “He not only invades my body…but my heart. Only if I faithfully stay in this role can I burrow into his heart.” She breathes harder. “He makes me bleed and cry every time, only then will he be satisfied, only then will he feel alive in the dark. Only he knows that it is real.”

This is a losing game from the start. They both tried to conquer each other while deceiving each other. Lust was their weapon of choice, and caution was their armour. But even the most intimate act cannot strip away all that armour. Or maybe it did, eventually. They started to injure each other, inside. The seed of lust grew and grew, and started to chip away at the armour of caution from the inside out, and they were both helpless against it. The ending was inevitable. It could not have ended any other way. Watch the last shot of her, observe the flashback to those innocent days, and weight the consequence of that one, simple choice she didn’t even know she made.

Tony Leung has been my favorite actor for a long time, ever since I saw him in “In the Mood for Love.” I can’t explain why he is except, well, that he is my kind of person. There are many, many great actors that I admire: Edward Norton, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Benecio Del Toro, the list goes on. But no one does melancholy like Tony Leung. No one does a longing look like Tony Leung. And no one…and I mean no one, can make me feel myself breaking away into a million pieces, by simply walking away, into the shadows.

The film opened with a shot of a beast and a man. It closed with a view of just the man, Him. Observe him sitting in the darkness that he is so afraid of, then emerging towards the light, and walks into it. But even then he was never completely in the dark. He kept the light on himself, partially, as if afraid of fading into oblivion completely. And when he stands up and leaves the bed that he once shared with possibly the most real love of his life, his shadow lingers until the very last frame. He never really left the dark either. The beast in him is alone now, again, and how long will it be before it rips him to shreds?

Lust, Caution. Translated literally into Chinese, it becomes “色,戒” (Se, Jie), the official Chinese title of the film. Translating each character literally in the other direction, you get “Color, Ban.” The ban of color results in a void, filled only with shades of black and white. It is a simple state, non-emotional, ordered, but it is not real. We live our lives in color and chaos. Humanity is color. The emotions that mark our identity are colored, and are evoked through color. How ironic is it, that the caution against lust, one of the most powerful and colorful human emotions of all, is also synonymous with its complete removal. It is not a caution, then, but a complete wipe out of one’s humanity.

The line between lust and caution is a foggy one. Tread carefully… as once blurred, one may wipe the other out entirely.

“Even the favorite reviews, the audience response is the movie is too slow, deliberately slow. But for the Chinese audience, the biggest complaint is it happens too quick. I think the historical background that build into our genes is different. American people has never been occupied. The deep sadness and sentimentality, the cultural background that relates to melodrama that we relate to and grow up with, the propaganda, I didn’t imagine the difference is so big. It’s a very interesting cultural phenomenon.” – Ang Lee

The Twitterverse was all a-buzz today with how amazing Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance video is.

The song itself is infectious, but between the hair, the clothes, the styling and the fashion – it’s probably THE most inspirational video this year.  It’s in a league entirely of its own!  ART.

One thing I noticed today after watching this video repeatedly, were these adorable earbuds Gaga was rocking:

Upon closer inspection, I realized they were her own brand of Beats by Dr. Dre earbuds, called Heartbeats by Lady Gaga.

When Dre launched his headphones a few years ago, they were easily recognizable by their distinctive logo, but also their distinctive price: $200 – $350!

But these Heartbeats by Lady Gaga are too fierce-looking to pass up!  And they go for a standard $120 (similar to the Bose In-Ear headphones, which run around $100).

They also come in 3, fashion-forward colors:

And who can resist a personalized note from La Gaga herself?

To be one step closer to Gaga, go and get your own Heartbeats!

In elementary school, when everyone else had effed-up teeth & got to wear those super “cool” retainers…I was SO jealous.  (I mean, when you’re 9-years old, who wouldn’t want to wear a plastic retainer, custom-molded to the roof of your mouth?!)  I used to un-fold a paper clip and stick it on my teeth, just to pretend that I had a retainer.  (lame!)

These days, my accessory of desire: glasses.

Glasses are all the rage.  Hell, if retailers like Forever 21 and American Apparel sell clear-lensed glasses for $40+, then it’s definitely hipster-approved.

My dilemna is: I have 20/20 vision, and I refuse to be a poser and wear clear-lens glasses.

I’ve tried DESPERATELY to qualify for reading glasses, to no avail.  I even lied on my eye exam once, but I think they caught on to me and I got denied.

If I were to qualify, my frames of choice would most definitely have to be Sol Moscots.  Sol Moscot is a NYC institution; it’s been around since 1915, and is a family owned & operated store that specializes in eyewear & eyecare.  Their shops have an incredible selection of Sol Moscot designs, as well as a healthy designer selection.  With 2 locations in Manhattan, original Sol Moscot frames are also carried at various international retailers.

To me, Sol Moscot is an eyewear CLASSIC.  Here it is, in SAT-analogy terms:

• Sol Moscot : Eyewear
• Burberry : Trench Coats
• Hunter: Rain Boots

If you need celebrity approval on “cool factor”, ya can’t get much cooler that Monsieur Johnny Depp:

The 2 frames I would rock, if my eyesight were compromised:

(Frame style:  Yale)

(Frame style:  Zelig)

For more info on Sol Moscot: www.solmoscot.com

I never thought I’d ever utter these words, but:  I have e-Book Reader ENVY!

This past July, my parents were generous enough to buy me the Amazon Kindle for my birthday.  Since I have a 45-minute subway commute to work, and I travel a lot for my job, a Kindle was the perfect gift.  I read more books on there in 2 months, than I did ALL of last year.

Then, last night, my friend @brooklynbum had to go and spoil my contentment by showing me this story on Gizmodo about the new Barnes & Noble e-Reader, Nook.

←DROOL

Just from everything I’ve read online, here’s what I can gather about these 2 devices.

Of course, the Nook boasts a lot of the SAME standard features the Kindle offers:

• e-Ink Screen
• Sample e-Books
• Free Wi-Fi or 3G to download books
• 2MB of built-in Memory
• Built-in Dictionary
• Page Mark-Up ability
• Kindle & Nooks both have FREE versions for BBs, Handhelds and iPhone

How is the Nook BETTER than the Kindle?

• Touch Screen (sexy!)
• Color Book Cover preview window (extra sexy!)
• Memory Slot Card for expandable memory: you can carry your entire bookshelf on 1 memory card!
• MP3 Music listening capabilities
• No Keyboard (I think this is an advantage, because I don’t often use mine and I’d rather devote the space to an enlarged screen)
• e-Lend Program: Ability to “Lend” a book to a friend for 2-weeks.  Very much like an old-school library system.  Books can be shared & read on any B&N e-Reader platform: on a PC, Mac, iPhone or Blackberry.  Sharing is caring.  (extra EXTRA sexy!)
• No International version…yet.

How is the Nook is NOT better than the Kindle?

• Limited Wi-Fi book-browsing:  at least for the launch, you can only access the free Wi-Fi and browse books in their entirety AT Barnes & Noble store.
• Limited Title Offering:  Amazon will offer a more extensive title offering, so if you are looking for obscure books, you still need to buy an “old-fashioned” paper version.
• e-Book prices are slightly higher on B&N.com than Amazon.com

Honestly, I’m kicking myself a little for copping the Kindle in July.  I’m a sucker for all gadgets, shiny & new.  I’m sure there will be kinks/bugs that will need to be worked out – as with any new device.  But the initial specs look very promising.

Very drool-worthy!

You can place a pre-order for your Nook on the B&N Site.  Expected ship date November 2009.

What do you think about the new Nook?  Are you going to get one?

As much as it pains me sometimes to admit it: I am my mother’s daughter.  Yes, I like to dress in cheap Forever 21 clothing in the “style du jour” as my every day wear.  But I always hear my mother’s voice in the back of my mind, saying: “Classic will always be IN STYLE.”

That credo has definitely stayed with me whenever I buy something above a $100 price bracket.  I tend to lean towards trusted “Classic” brands.  If I want boots, I look to invest in a pair of Frye or Dr. Marten boots – because I know they are guaranteed a certain level of quality.  They are, in a sense, “Classic”.

My mom would like nothing more than for me to dress like a Stepford wife every day: pleated khakis, a sweater/cardigan set, pearl earrings, mocs, topped off with a Vera Bradley bag.  In the past, she’d always BUY me things she’d hope to see me wear.  One such thing was a Barbour Coat.

Barbour is another such “Classic” line of coats.  They’re standard wax-cotton coats are what you would imagine Europeans walking around in the countryside, flanked by their sheepdog, smoking a pipe…in their Barbour coats.  Kinda like this:

Maybe I was too young and rebellious to appreciate a Barbour. OR maybe Barbour has come out with a few more “contemporary” designs.  But I’m kinda itching for one of these coats:

Barbour Cameron Coat:

← $479 USD

and the Barbour Ladies International Parka:

←$430 USD

What do you think?  Is it me? Or are these coats worth an investment?  They do not come cheap, but these are the types of jackets you wear for a lifetime.  They’re extremely well-made & timeless!

www.barbour.com

Shanghai in the 1930s has always seemed to be a impossibly romantic place. By then, it was the fifth largest city in the world, filled with the glorious cultural mixture from its colonial past. Its bustling ports and the opium trade made it the centre for business in Asia. Foreigners flocked to the city, giving it a foreign population of nearly 70,000 people. It became known as “The Paris of the Orient.”

Since the time, it’s served as an inspiration for an endless variety of things, with its unique mix of cultural influences, and the romantic mixture of seedy gangsters, fabulous wealth, and political scheming. Some of my favourite films are set there (go out and see Lust, Caution right now if you haven’t… though be aware that’s it’s very explicit in parts.) I’ve also always been so inspired by the fashion I see from pictures there. The mixture of traditional Chinese elements with Western influences produces some truly beautiful results.

All this is to say that I was dreamily searching around the web today for pictures of Shanghai in the 1930s, when I came across this photoset on Flickr. It’s from Natalie Zee Drieu, who really does have one of the most glamourous grandmothers of all time. These photos are treasures, showing what I at least envision as to be the mood of the time. I feel rather odd putting up pictures of someone else’s grandmother, but hopefully if she sees it she’ll understand that it’s done with nothing but respect and amazement for the beauty of the pictures. I wish I could know more about this woman… what interesting stories she must have from this time!

Natalie Zee Drieu also runs Coquette, which is a marvellous fashion blog.

The last time I was at Sakura, I got a Calgel Fill-In for the first time.  Although it took an inhumanly LONG time to do, I DID get a chance to look through all the nail magazines at the salon.  And I chose a few designs that caught my eye.

Just thought I’d share my nail eye candy with y’all:

All my girlfriends can attest:  I’m REALLY bad at shopping.  I’d much rather shop in the comfort of my own home via my laptop, than trudge around NYC and deal with a village of idiots everywhere I turn.  There’s something to be said about these formulas:

• CLOTHING STORE + SHOPPERS = PLUMMETING IQs

• HEATHER + SLOW-WALKING, FICKLE SHOPPERS = ANGRY HEATHER

I don’t have patience for morons.  Sorry.  Time is too precious.

So imagine my surprise when I passed by EXPRESS (of all places) in SoHo, and spotted this cute vest in the window:

Shocked to encounter such cuteness from EXPRESS, I dragged my friend into the store to investigate further.

PRICE:  $88.00

“Not bad for leather,” I think to myself.  Then we rush out of there, just as the store clerk began to assault us with, “Y’know, we have a great Men’s section downstairs…”

Back at my trusty computer, I checked out the Express Website and discovered that the vest actually is NOT leather, but FAUX leather.  Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t like “faux” ANYthing.  I like all things genuine.  That applies to Music, Food, Personalities, Fur (hell, it keeps me warm), Labels and Leather.

Cute, no?

But now, knowing it’ll cost me $88-Georges…not sure if that’s REALLY worth it.  Call me cheap (I prefer THRIFTY), but I don’t want to drop them bones on something that’s “faux”.

*sigh*

The search for affordable leatherware continues…

EU AMO PEQUIM (Xia Ri Nuan Yangyang)
Direção: Ning Ying
Produção: China, 2000 (97 min)
Dezi é um galanteador motorista de táxi. Por força de sua profissão, mantém diariamente contato com os mais diversos tipos de pessoas, embora um tipo de passageiro lhe agrade mais: jovens mulheres.

fonte:http://www1.folha.uol.com.br

Vi esse filme quase no final…passando a mais de meia noite na futura…sempre passam filmes com ar meio cult, me interesso bastante, ainda gostario de vê-lo completo.

Na minha lista de filmes asiáticos…na verdade chineses…me lembre de Lust, Caution…quero ver! que aliás é de Ang Lee.

]]> http://filmgordon.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/21-favorite-romantic-films/ Sat, 18 Jul 2009 02:14:30 +0000 filmgordon http://filmgordon.wordpress.com/2009/07/18/21-favorite-romantic-films/

With the release of one my colleagues, Brandon Fibbs, ABSOLUTELY favorite movie of the year, “(500) Days of Summer,” we take a look at our 21 Favorite Romantic Films.

While several films on this list wouldn’t be considered your typical romantic Hollywood fare, what they all have in common is at least one central character that feels so good loving their “somebody while that somebody is loving them back.”

We considered hundreds of films but thought it best to keep the focus within the past 25 years. While love was the primary theme, the films that ultimately were selected were films that either made us feel warm and fuzzy (among other feelings). Notable films that we struggled with but ultimately passed included “Brokeback Mountain,” “Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” “Wall-E,” When Harry Met Sally,” “When Stella Got Her Groove Back” and “Moulin Rouge.”

Without further ado, and in no particular order, here is our 21 Favorite Romantic Films.

Love Jones | 1991
From the opening strains of Theodore Witcher’s intelligent ode to love you have a feeling that something special is about to unfold – and you would be correct. Anchored by the amazing chemistry between Nia Long and Larenz Tate, “Love Jones” is an instant cult classic that lets us in as this handsome couple woo, fight and ultimately makeup under the gritty lights in Chicago. The film examines love among a group of young urbanites but it is this “brother of the night’s” signature line, “Let me tell you somethin’. This here, right now, at this very moment, is all that matters to me. I love you. That’s urgent like a motherf***er,” that gives the film it’s powerful center.

Titanic | 1997
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet radiated sensuality as a pair of young lovers aboard the doomed liner. While the sinking of the ship may have been the primary story, the romance between these two is largely what people remember about this film – along with Celine Dion’s theme. These two were so good together that they would reconnect a decade later in “Revolutionary Road.”

Love Actually | 2003
This collection of interconnected stories about a group of people falling in love was a warm tender Valentine to holiday moviegoers. The film showed several stages of love including unrequited between a supervisor and his assistant as well as a young boy and an attractive classmate. Our personal favorite was the author and his maid. But the film’s best story was between an author and his language-challenged maid. Guaranteed to leave your heart aflutter!

The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | 2004
This tender story of a man who has his memory erased to lose memories of a lost love – but keeps finding her, is an amazingly creative premise that works because of the fine work of Jim Carrey and Winslet. Directed with a flourish by Michel Gondry, Carrey is a lost soul who is magnetically attracted to the oblivious Winslet like a moth to a white-hot flame. Never has the phrase, “love conqueror all,” been more applicable.

The American President | 1995
Long before he developed one of the most acclaimed series on TV, “The West Wing,” Aaron Sorkin’s tale of an unmarried President Andrew Shepherd (Michael Douglas) who falls in love with a political operative, Sidney Wade (Annette Bening) may be highly unlikely but there’s no denying that these two definitely won the popular vote.

Jerry Maguire | 1996
In addition to giving us the classic line, “You had me at hello,” Cameron Crowe’s story of a renegade sports agent and his assistant (Renee Zellwegger) who slowly fall in love is another tender, funny story that also benefits from another solid supporting love affair between Regina King and Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding, Jr. While Crowe’s tale showed us the money, his living room confession of love got him the honey!

Pretty Woman | 1990
On paper, this story of an out-of-town executive who pays a prostitute to be his companion on a business trip is nothing special. Add Richard Gere and an emerging actress with billion dollar smile, Julia Roberts and you have a phenomenon. The chemistry between the two was so special that even a lackluster script couldn’t keep this film from being a hit. The two later reunited in “The Runaway Bride,” but couldn’t duplicate the magic of this film.

Dirty Dancing | 1987
Patrick Swayze became a household name as sexy dancer Johnny Castle who woos “Baby” (Jennifer Grey) in this late-80s dance hit. Women loved looking at Swayze who would hit the jackpot several years later in “Ghost.” For fans of this movie, we all had the time of our lives watching this story. One thing for sure after that explosive, energetic finale, indeed NOBODY puts Baby in a corner!

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | 2008
This magical story of a man who finds the love of life as child – while aging in reverse was timeless, sad yet inspirational, simultaneously. What makes the story so interesting was the two lovers (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) who enjoy the pinnacle of their relationship when they meet in the middle of their lives. Film shows that love truly is timeless and never, ever dies!

Bull Durham | 1988
One of the few sports movies to make the list find a love triangle between a young cocky pitcher Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), a veteran minor league catcher, Crash Davis (Kevin Costner) and baseball seductress, Annie Savoy (Susan Sarandon) who takes the pitcher under her wing only to fall in love with Davis. This film features something for everyone, sports for the guys, love for the ladies – and Sarandon who met her husband, Robbins while making this film.

Say Anything | 1989
Crowe strikes again with this loving story of an underachiever who falls in love with a beautiful valedictorian the summer before she goes off to college. John Cusack radiates an everyman quality and he has never been as vulnerable as he was in this film. Who can forget the famous scene when he tries to woo his love while holding a boom-box over his head to win her heart. Forbidden love has never be as sexy as it is here.

Love and Basketball | 2000
No woman is more identified with African-American romantic comedies as sexy actress Sanaa Lathan. In this film, she teams with Omar Epps in a titanic struggle for his heart. The two lovers grow up together, remain close but she is slow to discover her true feelings for him. The film climatic scene where the two play a one-on-game for their relationship is one of cinemas most heart-wrenching moments. For sure, all is fair in love and basketball!

Lust, Caution | 2007
This politically charged film featuring a group of students trying to assassinate a high-ranking secret agent backfires when a young woman (Tang Wei) falls for her target, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. In our review we wrote that this highly-charged erotic tale was so hot, it should be watched with a condom. While Wei and Chiu-Wai may have not made not have really done “the beast with two backs,” director Ang Lee’s steamy, NC-17 rated political drama also had a damn powerful story to match.

Notting Hill | 1999
Everything about this film contributed to it’s tremendous success and cult-like appeal as a real-life A-lister Julia Roberts plays . . . A-lister Anna Scott who falls for a local travel book store owner in “Notting Hill.” Trying to make a film in London, Scott must battle the paparazzi as she begins a relationship with the ordinary William Thacker (Hugh Grant). By the time, Scott utters the film’s signature line, “I’m just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her,” and Elvis Costello croons “She,” a feeling of love will wash over you like a wave in the ocean . . . and passionately swallows you up!

Bridges of Madison County | 1995
Who would think one of Hollywood’s toughest actors, Clint Eastwood could direct and star in such an engaging love story. Playing a National Geographic who falls for a married woman (Meryl Streep) in the 1960s. At the end of the film, Eastwood stands in the middle of the road in the pouring rain almost telepathically begging for Streep to come to him. You see her hand on the move to the door latch and release as Eastwood drives away forever. There was not a dry eye in the theater as Streep delivers the film’s killer line, “this kind of certainty comes once in a lifetime! WOW!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Smith | 2005
This clash of the beautiful people, Angelina Jolie and Pitt, who secretly are rival spies resulted in winning chemistry, a hot kick-a** film AND a real-life love affair. It’s almost like we’re watching the two of them in the throes of the beginning of their love affair during the making this film. Of course, Pitt left his long-time love, Jennifer Aniston for his sultry leading lady at the conclusion of this film. The rest, as they say, is history!!!

Forrest Gump | 1994
Tom Hanks won his second Oscar in a row for his portrayal of a man of few words who LOVES his Jenny (Robin Wright-Penn) in “Forrest Gump. While Gump narrates his story that finds him involved in several notable real-life events, through it all his love for Jenny never diminishes. While “life was like a box of chocolates,” we always knew what Forrest would get with Jenny – the eternal love of his life!

Ghost | 1994
When Sam (Swayze) is brutally murdered, he summons a phony clairvoyant (Whoopi Goldberg) to help him reconnect to his long-lost love, Molly (Demi Moore). Who ever thought making pottery could be sexy? It’s amazing what could happen over the strands of The Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody.” Along with “Dirty Dancing,” Swayze would surely be in the Romance Hall of Fame – if one existed. Not only does true love never die but you take it with you!

Brown Sugar | 2002
Using hip-hop as a backdrop, director Rick Famuyiwa’s tale of two friends who grow up and fall in love is intelligent, funny and insightful. It also doesn’t hurt that if features the queen of Black romantic comedies, Lathan and handsome leading man, Taye Diggs. One of the first movies filmed in New York after 9/11, the winning chemistry between Lathan and Diggs is largely responsible for the success of this “sugary” tale where Lathan ended up with “the buddy AND the booty!”

Mississippi Masala | 1991
It’s surprising that an actor as handsome as Denzel Washington has strayed away from many leading romantic characters but in “Mississippi Masala,” Washington was in full effect as a local carpet cleaner who falls for a sexy young Indian woman (Sarita Choudhury) whose family is from Uganda. When their union is discovered, their respective families go crazy, proving that racial politics are not always Black/White. Washington and Choudhury make an attractive couple in Mira Nair’s engrossing tale.

Jason’s Lyric | 1994
Long before she became wife of one Hollywood’s biggest stars, Jada Pinkett Smith was a successful working actress. Fifteen years ago, her hot steamy love scenes with co-star Allen Payne almost earned “Jason’s Lyric” an X-rating. This story of a romantic dreamer who falls for a troubled young Houston man with an insane-in-the-membrane older brother will always be remembered for the hot nude love scene in a bed of flowers. Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who thought the two were hot – Will Smith married Jada several years later!

Doi detectivi particulari (din motive de siguranta o sa-i numim Bond si Colombo) stau la un filaj:

Bond: (casca) Bai, baga-mi-as, stam de trei ore si aia nici gand sa plece. Poate e femeie serioasa si e barba-su paranoic.

Colombo: N-ai auzit ce zicea ala? Ca de fiecare data cand se intoarce din delegatie, o gaseste cu vanatai pe gat.

B.: Poate se raneste cu aspiratorul. Dupa cum arata in poze, nu prea le are cu sculele casnice. Si totusi, de ce nu coboara in sprayul meu paralizant odata? S-o fi prins ca o pandim?

C.: Daca e la fel de desteapta ca aia din filmul care l-am vazut eu ieri, e posibil.

B.: Ce film?

C.: Lust, Caution ii zice.

B.: Si ce inseamna?

C.: Pai, lust e ultimu’ in engleza, iar caution nu poate sa insemna decat cautiune. Deci Ultima cautiune. E ceva metaforic, doar e regizat de Ang Lee

B.: Asta nu e ala care a facut filmu’ ala cu cei doi taranoi americani care se babardeau in varf de munte?

C.: Ba da. Vad ca ti-a mers la suflet filmu’ ala; ti-o fi adus aminte de tine si de tovarasul capitan Bobu. Ha, ha, ha!

B.: Asa, sa razi ca bou’, sa se trezeasca si singura baba din bloc care nu se uita la masina noastra de dupa perdea. Zii mai bine cu ce era filmu’ ala.

C.: O gagica dintr-o gasca de studenti revolutionari (ca aia unde te-a infiltrat pe tine Secu in tinerete) accepta sa fie unealta prin care aia vor sa il asasineze pe un mahar care se daduse cu dusmanii. Actiunea se petrece pe la chineji in Al Doilea Razboi Mondial.

B.: Si se descurca fata?

C.: E super tare sa vezi cum fata, initial cuminte si la locul ei, se transforma si invata sa se comporte ca o fufa, ca sa il vrajeasca pe ala. Stiind ce-i in sufletul ei, te minunezi si te sperii de cat de mult poate sa se prefaca o femeie.

B.: Ar fi bine sa avem una de-asta la agentie. Am ochi o nevasta mai isterica si cu bani, am pune-o sa-i seduca barbatul si aia ar veni tot o fuga la noi.

C.: Mda. Stai sa-ti zic; sunt si niste scene de coțomârleală hardcore in film.

B.: Misto. Cu asta m-ai convins sa-l vad. Da’ ia zii, il face gagica pe fraier pana la urma?

C.: Pazea, obiectivul iese din bloc.

B.: Muica, cum e imbracata! Parca e o tarfa. Numai pe nevasta-mea am mai vazut-o asa. Ce facem daca se duce asta intr-un club?

C.: Intram dupa ea, clar.

B.: Imbracati in trenciuri si cu palarii pe cap? Esti tampit?

C.: Stai calm, la ora asta, aia din club sunt deja drogati.

B.: OK, atunci hai, calc-o!

Many consider Tony Leung’s role in director John Woo’s 1992 action film Hard Boiled in which he co-starred with Chow Yun-Fat, as his breakthrough role in film. However, Leung first gained international exposure through Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s 1989 film A City of Sadness, which won the Venice Golden Lion.

Leung often collaborates with director Wong Kar-wai and has appeared in many of his films. His most notable roles in Wong Kar-wai’s films include the lonely policeman in Chungking Express (1994), a gay Chinese expatriate living in Argentina in Happy Together (1997), and a self-controlled victim of adultery in In the Mood for Love (2000), for which he won the Best Actor award at Cannes.

He is considered by many to be the finest actor of his generation in Hong Kong. Robert De Niro is an admirer of his work,^[5] and Leung has been called Asia’s answer to Clark Gable.“Why Tony Leung is in the mood for lust“. The Times. 18 October 2007. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/london_film_festival/article2678331.ece. 

Leung speaks decent English and is well read and well versed on historical issues. During the late 1990s, some predicted that it would be difficult for him to break into Hollywood since he would not take on degrading roles because of his pride and character. In addition to Cantonese, English, and Spanish, Leung is also able to speak Mandarin and Japanese (as heard in Tokyo Raiders).

During the promotion of the film Hero, some politicians and commentators in Hong Kong attacked Leung for expressing the view that the Tiananmen Square demonstration crack down was necessary to maintain stability. Under constant political pressure and boycott threats, Leung made a single statement that he may have been quoted out of context but refused to retract his statement in the magazine.^[8] However, the movie magazine editor maintained that the original statement was not out of context and challenged people to read the complete interview.-wiki

Tony Leung movie 2046

Him in Red Cliff

Him in Infernal Affairs

Him in Lust Caution

Him in Hero

So…who is King?

Highlight: MAGGIE CHUENG from movie Hero!!! Charming. In red or green.

Maggie Cheung Man-yuk (born 20 September 1964) is a Cannes Best Actress, Berlin Best Actress, five-time Hong Kong Film Award and five-time Taiwan Golden Horse winning Chinese actress from Hong Kong. Raised in England, she has over 70 films to her credit since starting her career in 1983. She is the first Asian actress to win a prize at the Cannes Film Festival.-wiki

Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution is supposedly an espionage thriller but that is very much a misnomer.  Mainly because it is only ever intermittently thrilling and it paints the picture of a different movie altogether.  Espionage elements aside, Lee’s film is a mostly lifeless bore of a movie that limps to a conclusion .

Based on the novella by Eileen Chang, adapted into screenplay form by James Schamus and Hui-Ling Wang, Lee’s film sets itself in Hong Kong and Shanghai circa 1938 and 1942 respectively, amidst the Japanese occupation during WWII.  Wei Tang plays a young drama student pulled in by her classmates into a daring assassination plot against a Japanese collaborator (played by Tony Leung).  She picks up a fake identity and ingratiates herself into his life and eventually becomes her mistress.  The film follows our young heroine as she puts herself completely into her role and then begins to fall in love with the man she is supposed to set up for murder.

This film was an incredible disappointment to me as I really enjoy Ang Lee’s work.  The characters are lifeless and dull.  The film is of such a singular simple premise and focus that it becomes a chore to sit through the entire two and half hour run time without any character to feel latched on to.  There are intermittent scenes of suspense and some solid performances that keep certain stretches afloat, but nothing that keeps the viewer involved in the story.

It’s a beautifully composed film that sheds light on a place during World War II that wasn’t completely familiar to me.  It’s a wonderful sense of place that Lee creates here and it’s the film’s defining characteristic that really made it felt somewhat worthwhile.  Unfortunately, the characters are such bores and stretch any kind of reality that it’s hard to sit and watch.

There are aspects of this film that reminded me of the great Alfred Hitchcock film Notorious, most notably the latter half of the movie when Tang is asked to resume her relationship with Leung’s Mr. Yee.  The man asking her to do this is the fiery, attractive classmate that convinced her to go along with the plot in the first place, who as the audience can tell from glances and brief cut-aways, share intimate feelings with each other.  That is where the similarities end, both in narrative and quality.  While Hitchcock built the relationship between the handler and the spy, the film focuses on the spy and her target.  Here the film could have found interesting ways of discovering this relationship and showing the effects on the handler as well, but Lee doesn’t seem to care for this aspect of the story.

In that sense, there is a Hitchcock feel to the building of suspense in certain scenes, but whereas Hitchock would pay things off and build interesting character relationships so well, Lee lets things simmer and eventually die, including audience interest.  The relationships are scarcely given attention to and there is barely any character momentum to lead to character actions that lead to its conclusion.  Lee seems to feel that the explicit, NC-17 sex scenes are enough to show how much in love they have fallen, but there is little follow up.  The characters never feel real and it hurts the central relationships that are supposed to drive the story forward.  The characters are so cold and frigid toward each other that one wonders if this was a purposeful choice by Lee and that, if it was, that he’s gone too far in that direction to give the audience absolutely no feeling towards any of the characters.

The performances are quite good but they are given so little and feel so misused, that it’s hard to find any moments where they are given to shine, with very few exceptions.  The students that originally set out on this assassination plot are given just the barest hints of character development and seem to be brought in towards the end of the film just to show that, yes, they are still around.

The film’s greatest enemy is its pacing which utterly kills any momentum that might have been able to garner any interest.  The last half hour or so, things actually begin to ratchet up but it’s too little that comes far too late.  There is far too little in an otherwise overlong, over-dull, attempt at Hitchockian and romantic intrigue.  The entire endeavor falls flat and its too bad because the story given is quite good.  Within this unruly bore, is a good film waiting to burst out but unfortunately, Lee was unable to bring that sense of emotion and unruly passion that made Brokeback Mountain such an amazing work.

We all exist through sex, all of us will die. Now the German anatomical scientist, Gunter von Hagens has caused controversy with his latest plastination of two copulating corpses. Some have reacted with outrage, others with dubious jokes about stiffs with ‘stiffies‘. The reaction should not surprise us, because since the time of Plato, western thought has seen sex & death as opposing forces. Eros, passionate, life giving sexual desire, is contrasted with thanatos, the death drive. Sexual passion gives way to the little death of orgasm & post-coital sadness.

Von Hagens has attempted to combine the two, although the dynamic of the adopted pose suggests a drawing apart even in the act of union. (At least so it seemed in the image reproduced in the newspapers.) The couple being dead are not really having sex in any case.

As opposing forces, eros & thanatos cannot be combined, they can only coexist in tension. Ang Lee in his film ‘Lust Caution’ explores this theme. A group of Chinese students, incensed by the Japanese attack on their country, perform patriotic plays. They want to go further and take part in violent resistance. One of the actors, a young woman named Wang Jiazhi, becomes a weapon in the fight. In becoming the mistress of a Chinese collaborator, Mr. Yee, she hopes to create the security breach that will enable his assassination by her friends.

Mr. Yee is a sadist, who tortures & kills others. The elements of s & m in their initial sexual encounters reflect this. Eros & thanatos both come to the fore. Wang is a skilled actor. In the physical intimacy of sex, she seeks to worm her way into Mr. Yee’s heart, even though he only brings evil into her’s. Her acting has to be perfect, otherwise suspicion will be aroused & the plot exposed.

The twist in the plot comes when Wang goes with Mr. Yee to collect the jewel encrusted ring he has bought her. This is to be the trap for the assassination. At the last moment she tells him to flee. Eros, love, gets the better of thanatos but only for a short while. She & her co-plotters are captured & executed; Mr. Yee survives.

The attempt to make war by making love fails. Eros & thanatos cannot be combined, one wins out in the end.

Ang Lee is one of the few directors who can tackle virtually any genre, and with a few exceptions (2003’s The Hulk leaps to mind) come up with something marvellous if not exceptional (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, 2000,  Brokeback Mountain, 2005).

Lust, Caution is a slow-burning thriller set in WWII Japanese-occupied Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Wong Chia Chi (27 year-old Wei Tang in her film debut) is university freshman, abandoned by her father, and living with relatives. She has no sense of belonging – anywhere or to anyone. She joins a drama group who long to be part of the Chinese resistance and discovers an unknown talent..

When the troup’s plan grows grander, she agrees to take on the role of a lifetime – seducing Mr Yee (Tony Leung), a corrupt government minister responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Chinese resisters. She will lure him away from his heavily armed security, so he can be assassinated.

This means Chia Chi must learn to dress, speak and also perform sexually – the way Yee would expect, not as a virginal university student. Of all the indignities she has to bear, I found this ‘training’ the most painful.

Eventually she succeeds in her mission to seduce Yee, but any sense of control is immediately shattered. Though she never wavers from the purpose of her mission,  her encounters with the cruel and emotionless Mr Yee are the only time Chia Chi truly feels truly alive. She is longing for him as much as she longs to see him dead.

It is simply impossible to do justice to this film in a few hundred words. There is the complexity of Chinese politics in a time of occupation.  Chia Chi’s personal story. And then there is the issue of the thousands of women who’ve performed this wartime ’service’ for their countries who, if considered at all, are more likely to be called whores than heroes.

At 2 hours and 39 minutes, Lust, Caution is long and the first half hour lingers over the manners and habits of the moneyed class. Joan Chen has a small but interesting role as Yee’s wife, caught up in gossip, shopping and mah jhong.

Yet once the story begins to move it is riveting. The breathtakingly frank sex scenes (for which Tang was blackballed by the Beijing film industry) are unforgettable – and are the one caveat I offer before recommending this film. If you are even moderately easily offended, the sex scenes will likely take you out of your comfort zone – as much as they do Tang’s character, which is why they are entirely appropriate.

Also included on the DVD – a making-of documentary with interviews with Ang Lee and the cast, including co-stars Joan Chen and Hong Kong heartthrob, Lee-Hom Wang. A truly miraculous film.

Today I wanted to talk a little about angles and how sometimes, something is perfect depending on how you see it.

From 2007’s Lust, Caution.

The genesis for that was going to be (and is now) me talking about how Ang Lee’s gorgeous and seductive film, Lust, Caution. It’s a beautifully erotic film, and stars Tony Leung, the man who is probably the lead actor in every single Chinese adult film.

Not adult as in porno (despite the evidence to the contrary in these images from Lust, Caution), but adult as in mature and erotic films for adults. Watch a film starring Tony Leung and you’ll see what I mean. And not just that, but you’ll see one of the most still, most restrained and classy actors in cinema anywhere in the world.

Tony Leung and Wei Tang in Lust, Caution.

This is how he describes himself: “I am very restrained, very suppressed, very quiet. I don’t like to talk too much because I don’t know what to do in front of an audience. Actually, I don’t know how to communicate with others because of my background and I am scared.” It’s not surprising to hear him say that since his screen presence is a disarming sense of dangerous confidence mixed with wounded masculinity.

From Wong Kar-Wai’s 2046.

Also, he – Tony Leung Chiu-Wai - apparently is known by the nickname of “Little Tony,” to distinguish himself from “Big Tony,” who is Tony Leung Ka-Fai. For some reason, I always assumed it was Chiu-Wai in The Lover, but it was Ka-Fai.

“Every once in a while a train leaves to a place where lost memories are remembered. But no one has ever returned from 2046.”

“…except me.”

If you haven’t seen Wong Kar-Wai’s In The Mood For Love yet, which is one of the most agonizingly beautiful love stories ever, then I suggest you put down your internet and go find yourself a viewing of it immediately. There is no nudity in the film, no sex scenes, and yet it’s so erotic that you’ll ache from longing. And maybe that longing will be satisfied by it’s sequel (of sorts), 2046.

Wong Kar-Wai is a brilliant director and thanks to his cinematographer, Christopher Doyle, you can literally take any scene from either of those (or any of his films, honestly) and just pluck them right off the screen and hang them on your wall.

Tomorrow or the next day, we’ll talk about the angles (you’ll see what I mean). But tonight is me suggesting that you find yourself In The Mood For Love as soon as possible. Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung in that film are real, beautiful cinema at it’s finest. Go see what I mean.

Credit to Ang Lee–the man does not make the same movie twice. He’s gone from The Ice Storm to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon to Brokeback Mountain to Lust, Caution. And don’t forget Hulk, probably the best of the comic movie boom. The Taiwan-born director’s latest is Taking Woodstock, based on the true story of a young Catskills hotelier who helped promoters put on the famed festival in 1969.

Lee never seems to let much of himself show through his movies, although they always feel sincere. Many of his films are written by producing partner James Schamus, who also penned the Taking Woodstock adaptation. Lee uses actors in interesting ways–just dig the gymnastics of Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Tang Wei in Lust, Caution–and they reward him with memorable performances. (Brokeback Mountain made Heath Ledger’s legend.) The married director frequently deals in gay themes, and Woodstock’s tale is no exception. Elliot Tiber’s memoir is also about how he hides his sexuality from his parents, who own the impoverished resort he helps run.

Weirdly enough, aside from several hippies who look like they’re in an Abercrombie & Fitch photo shoot, there’s no mention of that in this trailer. Alas, what is on screen doesn’t make much of a case for Taking Woodstock’s existence. The overall vibe is of an indie comedy, with the production values of a VH1 made-for-TV movie. The main questions are: Will Elliot save the resort by providing land for the festival? Can Elliot and the hippies fend off the angry citizens of upstate New York? While the cast includes the appealing Comedy Central poster child Demitri Martin as Elliot Tiber and Eugene Levyas Max Yasgur, though, the film doesn’t look particularly funny.

Still, look closely and you’ll see Emile Hirsch, fresh from Milk’s storefront and now doing the mad-as-hell flower child thing. Liev Schrieber looks considerably more blissed-out at the prospect of three days of peace, music and rolling around in the mud. Nobody looks like they could actually plausibly exist in the 1960s.

Brokeback Mountain couldn’t be made at any other time except the Bush era, and Lust, Caution was an attempt to spark to bring the sexy back to China (the Communist censors simply cut out the offending scenes and said the positions could cause physical harm.) But Lee’s motives for Taking Woodstock are on this evidence still unknown.

Anupam Kher is a well known actor in India who can justify any character. Even Hollywood people identified him and called him for the international films like Bride and Prejudice, Mistress Of Spices and Lust Caution. In the first two films Aishwarya Rai played the female lead. Every one knows him for his characters as a father and comic characters only. But he is also very good in negative characters.

He is actually from Shimla. He has started his acting career with drama in college days. He made his debut with the film Aagman and he attracted many directors and found many offers. All the Bollywood audience identified him with the movie Saaransh. After Saaransh he became one of the leading actors in Bollywood.

Anupam Kher In Karma
He acted in a negative role called Dr.Dang for the movie Karma . Dr.Dang is a terrorist character. He kills a inspector’s family for slapping him and faces inspector’s son’s revenge after many years. In Sarkar also he played a character which opposes Amitabh. It is not a villain character but has a negative shade.

SFIAAFF March 12-22, 2009

It’s film festival season again but in this new economy, the operative term is downsize. The 27^th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival opens today with a smaller than usual but exceptional program of 100+ new Asian American films. Fortunately, most of the financing was arranged last year before the crisis really kicked in, so most of the sponsorship was locked in.  Other festivals will not be so lucky.  I am particularly attached to SFIAFF because the programming is wonderfully diverse and the Center for Asian American Media (CAM) is actively involved in producing a lot of these films, so the screenings have a warm familial quality to them.  The festival takes place in San Francisco (Sundance Cinemas, Castro Theatre, and Landmark’s Clay Theater), Berkeley (Pacific Film Archive) and San Jose (Camera 12 Cinemas). Most of these films sell out early, so buy your tickets online in advance.  Here are ARThound’s picks:

The Festival opens with the world premiere of H.P. Mendoza’s exhilarating musical “Fruit Fly” which was shot in San Francisco.  Mendoza was the lead actor and director of “Colma: The Musical” which premiered at SFAAFF ‘06.  “Fruit Fly” follows Bethesda, a Filipina performance artist-adoptee and “fag hag” as she navigates her own self discovery in song.  The term “Fruit Fly” is a softer, gentler interpretation of “fag hag” but Mendoza’s candid exploration of stereotyping and the impact of labels in the gay community is what gives this refreshing and candid musical its substance.  Mendoza wrote the 19 songs and brings Colma’s lead songtress, L.A. Renigen, in the lead role.

“Tokyo Sonata”: Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s penetrating portrayal of the impact of economic downsizing on Ruhei Sasaki, a Japanese mid-career administrator and his family.  Initially, the shamed Ruhei hides that he lost his job from his family and suits up and pretends to go to work everyday.  Meanwhile, his idealistic teenage son decides to enlist in the U.S. military, while his younger son embarks on secret piano lessons going against his father’s will.  His lovely wife has her own crisis and suddenly, everything seems to unravel in the family as Ruhei’s sense of purpose and identity fade.

“The Chaser”: If you’re hungry for penetrating psychological horror, “The Chaser” by South Korean director Na Hong-jin will pre-occupy your thoughts and dreams for days.  The film is essentially a cat and mouse game between a former cop turned pimp whose call girl has gone missing and a serial killer with a fetish for hammers, chisels and religious iconography.  It turns triangular when the cops get involved.  Set late night in the back alleys of residential Seoul, the film’s plot is refreshingly unpredictable and skips special effects and high tech forensic crime scene analysis in lieu of a simple black satchel filled with killing implements, a jingling set of keys and lucky car crashes.

Ang Lee and “Lust, Caution”: Ang Lee will be talking with UC Berkeley’s resident sexologist Linda Williams about his new epic film at a special screening of “Lust, Caution” at UC Berkeley.  Set against the back-drop of a 1940’s Shanghai during the Japanese occupation, the film follows an assassination attempt against the imperious official Yee by Wong Chia Chi, a beguiling young actress in a resistance theatre troupe. Wong Chia Chi befriends Yee’s wife (Joan Chen), a mahjong mistress, so that she can seduce and entrap Yee.  A mesmerizing epic whose deeply passionate, consuming and at times violent sex scenes have slowed its mainstream release.       

“Project Kashmir:” Situated between India and Pakistan, breathtaking Kashmir is the destination for two American women, Geeta and Senain, who want to know what life is really like in this paradise turned blood bowl.  Shot by Academy-award winning filmmaker Ross Kauffman, “Project Kashmir” tracks the two women as they search for the truth through interviews with aid workers, journalists and activists and their friendship is put on the line when their beliefs differ.

2007: Se, Jie di Ang Lee

Controverse le critiche in Italia:
Il Messaggero: “…è il film più rovente e insieme più “freddo” di Ang Lee, proprio perché astratto come un teorema. Ma anche forse il più personale”.
Repubblica: “A parte il piacere concesso all’occhio da alcuni momenti bollenti, la sottigliezza del film è nel seguire l’itinerario di queste due anime perdute, dove non si sa più chi dei due sia migliore o peggiore”.
Il Mattino: “Eterogeneo, estenuato, fluviale eppure avvincente – grazie anche alle circoscritte ma cruciali sequenze di sesso (l’avranno fatto davvero?) – Lussuria del superpremiato Ang Lee non solo tratteggia un verosimile affresco della resistenza cinese all’occupazione nipponica tra il ‘38 e il ‘42, ma si distingue per un taglio melò tanto estremo da diventare provocatorio”.
Il Corriere della Sera: “A parte l’impeccabile disegno dei caratteri, sia nudi che vestiti, Lussuria si fa apprezzare per la miracolosa ricostruzione dell’ambiente…”.
La Stampa: “…un film di stile impeccabile, anche se non sempre equilibrato nella struttura”.
Panorama: “…un film affascinante, complesso nella costruzione, ricco nei dettagli e nelle psicologie, ma certo troppo lungo (2 ore e mezzo) e gonfio di derive”.

Agli Americani, che lo hanno coprodotto, il film di Ang Lee non è piaciuto molto: critiche fredde, incassi scarsi (Variety: E’ un melodramma pulito e freddo, che dopo un’ora e mezza sta ancora scaldando il motore). Ma Lussuria merita di essere visto, e per vari motivi.
Affronta un periodo storico dal cinema poco illustrato (l’invasione della Cina da parte dei Giapponesi), ritrae in modo mirabile due personaggi (al contempo vittima-carnefice) estremamente interessanti, mostra chiaramente quanto l’erotismo e la passione amorosa siano a volte determinanti, offre scene di sesso finalmente non superflue e gratuite ma essenziali allo sviluppo del racconto.
Smagliante la fotografia e la ricostruzione ambientale, funzionale e accattivante la colonna sonora, superlativa la recitazione dei protagonisti (ma non solo). Tony Leung conferma, dopo Happy together In the mood for love 2046 Hero, di essere uno dei migliori attori della attuale cinematografia (perfetto, calibrato e misurato al massimo), Joan Chen, dopo prove non molto esaltanti, ha finalmente modo di mostrare in pieno il suo fascino e la sua notevole bravura in un personaggio che non sarà facile dimenticare. Perfetta l’esordiente Tang Wei.

Abituato ai frenetici ritmi di tanta produzione hollywoodiana, Lussuria a qualcuno potrà non piacere: la lunghezza, il soffermarsi su particolari, il dispiegarsi lento della narrazione… sono però necessari e contribuiscono al fascino di un film che Venezia ha premiato con il Leone d’oro.

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Preferibile il titolo originario Se, Jie, in inglese Lust, Caution: “«Voglia sfrenata, prudenza». Ovvero gli opposti sentimenti che si alternano nell’animo del supersbirro Yi di fronte alle grazie che gli proferisce la giovane Wang Jiazhi” (Tullio Kezich).

Pubblicato su Cineocchio
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Regia:  Ang Lee
Sceneggiatura:  James Schamus, Hui-Ling Wang
Cast: Tony Leung, Wei Tang, Joan Chen, Lee-Hom Wang, Chung Hua Tou
Paese: Cina, USA 2007. Uscita Italiana: 4 Gennaio 2008. Uscita USA: 28 Settembre 2007. Uscita Hong Kong: 23 Settembre 2007
Trama:
Un gruppo di giovani cinesi progetta di assassinare un potente personaggio politico giapponese. Ad aiutarli una donna che verrà coinvolta in una scabrosa storia passionale con il nemico.