The Fancy Reader

[Note: I'm stuck on the What to Expect From an ARC post so I had a look through old drafts for some ideas and found this. I completely forgot I wrote this, written about a week ago, so I'm posting it now before it'd be lost in the everlasting abyss of drafts again.]

The Film of 2011 & Top 10 Films of 2011

After a mucho heated and brain-hurting debate with former colleagues, I have decided that the film of the year would be Confessions, but they pointed out that it’s a 2010 film so it cannot be qualified. *pout* In my books, it’s still the film of 2011. I could write all day and night about this sublime film.

Anyroad, here is a list I’d submitted (in no particular order):

1. Starry Starry Night (HK / China / Taiwan) [a truly wonderful YA fantasy of two isolated teenagers / trailer at YouTube]
2. That Girl in Yellow Boots (India) a dark thriller of a young woman in search for her Indian father whom she never knew (note: a colleague of Punjabi/Sikh ancestry dislikes this film; he didn’t like Slumdog Millionaire either, fwiw) / trailer at YT]
3. Snowtown (Australia) [a grim docudrama of real-life murders / trailer at YT]
4. The Artist (France) [a truly adorable silent film set in 1920s-era Hollywood / trailer at YT]
5. Shame (US) [a character-driven drama of a man who's slowly forced to face up that he's a sex addict / trailer at YT]
6. Troll Hunter (Norway) [a sweet, funny and occasionally scary mockumentary of a three-person college camera crew tracking a mysterious man who turns out to be a troll hunter / trailer at YT]
7. War of the Arrows (South Korea) [an intense, occasionally gory and compelling 17th century war drama / trailer at YT]
8. Take Shelter  (US) [a small-town community is affected when one of their own - an ordinary family man - believes the world's ending / trailer at YT]
9. Miss Bala (Mexico) [a young woman walks on a thin line between her dream of winning a beauty contest and the organised crime that sponsors the contest / trailer at YT]
10. The Skin I Live In (Spain)
    

Heh! I didn’t realise until now how global the list is. There are many notable international films I enjoyed, such as The Art of Getting By, Drive, X, The Future, Another Earth, The Tree of Life and – perhaps - Melancholia.

I say perhaps because the cinematography of Melancholia is fantastic and the soundtrack mystical. Some decent performances. The story is classic Lars von Trier, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. The original idea is there, but von Trier’s execution makes it so that the idea remains inaccessible. I don’t understand why he does this with every film he done so far. I mean the purpose of cinema is to communicate through all possible routes as a form of storytelling. With his films, he tends to represent a series of seemingly random symbols of a mood or episode that can be narrated as a classic three-act yet structureless play through characters and settings. Basically, each of his film is covered with layers and layers of net, and it’s up to us to work our way through those layers to find the core. I just don’t have enough love for von Trier to make that kind of effort. Plus, he can be such a pretentious twat.

I quite enjoyed this Norwegian film: Headhunters, based on Jo Nesbo’s 2008 standalone crime-thriller novel (which I never read) that revolves around Roger Brown, a pint-sized Norwegian corporate headhunter (and art thief), who walks into a nightmarish trap laid by Dutch former special ops soldier-turned-corporate man Clas Greve, who wants something that Roger ultimately isn’t prepared to give.

It helps that its lead actor –  Aksel Hennie as Roger Brown - has charisma in spades, even though at times he looks as if he’s a love child of Christopher Walken and William Sanderson, and that his character isn’t exactly noble. There were moments I didn’t like him, but there were enough other moments that got me liking him again. Have to say that Nikolaj Coster-Waldau - as Clas Greve, a somewhat sociopathic smooth talker – is classically handsome. Resembles actor Josh Holloway of Lost fame quite a bit, too.

As a romance reader, I enjoyed Headhunters because it’s basically turned archetypes upside down. Roger is, although highly intelligent and sophisticated, average looking and 5′ 5″ tall and his devastatingly attractive wife is approximately 5′ 11″ tall. He nurses doubts that she truly loves him, even though both are clearly in love with each other. He believes she’d one day dump him for someone else, probably someone taller. Because of this alone, he’s a) refusing to entertain a possibility of having a child with her when he knows she’s desperate to have one, and b) having an affair with a shorter woman.

Clas Greve is painfully handsome and tall, and has an awesome background (special ops, wealthy family) and all other traits that a typical Romance Hero should have. Assertive, smooth, intelligent and very smart. A perfect candidate for the CEO position of a powerful corporate company. However, Roger discovers something about Clas that has him deciding against recommending him for the CEO position. On top of that, Roger issues a blanket request to all companies not to give this Dutchman a job. Clas doesn’t like this and his killing instincts kick in.

Ironically or not, Clas’s extreme form of headhunting has given Roger a change to change and redeem himself along the way. The story really does make us question who’s truly a hero and who’s a villain. It also encourages us to question our idea of beauty, relationship, love, redemption and, more importantly for me as a romance reader, forgiveness. Don’t get me wrong – it’s still a crime thriller with a couple of black-humour moments, but it did make me think. I enjoyed this aspect of the film.

Anyroad, Headhunters doesn’t go on the list because although it’s slated as a 2011 release (hence the screener), it’s postponed to next spring. Booooo! Keep your eyes peeled for this one if you adore thrillers with interesting turns. Until then, here’s a trailer of Headhunters at YouTube (no English subtitles, unfortunately).

Pleasant surprises: Oh, I Didn’t Think You Had It In You, Films… 

Attack the Block (UK) – it has its share of flaws, no doubt, but it has enough to offer an entertaining tale of council estate young men against an unexpected invasion of monsters. I went in, fully expected to hate it, and was already busy hating the stereotypes when it slowly but surely won me over.

The Mechanic (US) – a Jason Statham film and a remake of British director Michael Winner film, The Mechanic (1972), which I haven’t seen. What else can one expect from this remake? All his films so far are basically variations of The Transporter. A loner, with a 1950s-era fashion taste and a set of exceptional skills, who kills for a living. Of course, The Mechanic is another variation of a popcorn stylish thriller in Statham mode, but what makes it a pleasant surprise is the casting of Ben Foster, an underrated American actor with the world’s crappiest agent who obviously doesn’t know what to do with him.

Films I Still Want to See. Maybe Some Day.

And there are many I haven’t seen but desperately want to: We Need to Talk About Kevin, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Unknown, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, We Bought a Zoo, Colombiana, Warrior, Jane Eyre and this promising-looking popcorn monster thriller, The Darkest Hour.  Also, some British films like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (UK / France / Germany) and many international films.

Haywire is a must for me.

Bad, Two Worst Films of 2011, Bad! 

The worst? Sucker Punch (US). I’d already written a review, so I’ll just sum it up as a reminder. While it offers a fantastic visual show, it carries so many conflicting and shallow messages that it’d actually left me feeling neurotic. I can see what it was trying to be and do, but it basically fell short of a finishing line by twenty miles.

The second worst would be South Korea’s big-budget action thriller film, Section 7. It was so awful that I’m still gaping in shock. I can’t even string a few words together. I’m still feeling: “What the fuck was that? Were they blindfolded when they wrote and directed the script or something?”

Not only that, Sector 7 completely lacked originality and creativity as it’d ripped off just about every iconic signature of almost all major innovative SF films and action thrillers. It ignored all opportunities to further character development and setting the plot. It also – while thinking itself as a special snowflake for making an action hero out of a woman – enforced gender stereotypes, blatant misogyny and bigotry.

In short, Sector 7 is unbelievably bad. Doesn’t even merit enough to be a midnight popcorn monster film.

Why did I name Sucker Punch as the Worst Film of 2011 when I could have opted for this one? Easy peasy: producers described Section 7 as a “fun summer action movie” while producers and director tried to tout their film Sucker Punch as a “potentially culturally important film”. Hence, my decision.

Beastly should be up there with those two, actually. Dreadful.

Not Alex Pettyfer‘s year, come to think of it, because his other 2011 film I Am Number Four  was awful, too. There’s another 2011 film, but I haven’t see it yet: In Time, which sounds somewhat similar to Logan’s Run. Such a shame that I won’t watch In Time. Sorry, but I can’t stand Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and to less extent, Cillian Murphy. All three are major leads in that film, so it’s a no-go for me. Maybe I will but only for a bet.

Other Disappointing Films of 2011:

Cowboys & Aliens was surprisingly dull. I had expected cheesiness, silliness, good times and all fun things, but no. It was dull as fuck, which honestly shocked me. They had a massive budget, great cast and a chance to be innovative. Nope. Badly let down by crappy script, lazy direction, lacklustre artistic flair, shoddy editing and certain actors’ indifference. No one cared, and it shows. So bizarre. It was like they were saying, “I’m only here for a pay cheque.”

Super 8 didn’t work for me as much as it did for the others. I noticed the majority of those who loved it are American, which shows that it’s probably a cultural thing. I found Super 8 mediocre, to be honest. A patchwork of influences and homages. Nothing to write home about, really. In a way, it serves as a good reminder that it’s rarely a good idea to get together with your first love because it may not be what you remembered. So yeah, there are times when the past is best left alone, but there are some who can’t just let go. Director J.J. Abrams is one of them.

Anonymous - I wrote a personal review of this one, but it evolved into a ramble about style and substance. Hm, I should just post it, anyway. Here you go: An Incomplete Review of Anonymous (2011).

The Rum Diary  – I wasn’t that surprised, to be honest, because I didn’t enjoy Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas which Johnny Depp also stars. Although both main characters are completely different, they are certainly based on American cult political journalist and novelist Hunter S. Thompson, and Depp just doesn’t have the acting chops to carry either off. I still nursed a hope that The Rum Diary would be good because it’s a Bruce Robinson film. I deeply respect, love, adore and worship Robinson, but not even he could save The Rum Diary. Not surprisingly, I suppose. In spite of the beloved Withnail and I, he’s far better at being a scriptwriter and an actor.

Films that left me with mixed feelings:

• Like Crazy (US) – good, riveting and intense. That was until the ending. I did not like the ending. Sure, it’s the HEA but not the kind I like.
• Higher Ground (US) - good, but I don’t get what it’s trying to say.
• Salvation Boulevard (US) – like above, it’s good, but I don’t understand what it’s trying to say.
• Tyrannosaur (UK) – scripted and directed by Paddy Considine, one of my few favourite actors. Although an extraordinarily raw and intense film packed with powerful performances, it didn’t win a place on my list because it somewhat resembles its star Peter Mullan’s own film, My Name is Joe (1998), which premièred in a Newcastle film festival I was involved with. I had an opportunity to take part in a workshop – and a Q&A session – with director-actor Mullan. So MNIJ left a massive impact on me. Anyroad, both feature run-down council estates where we see a broken man – Joseph (Mullan) in Tyrannosaur and Joe (Mullan) in MNIJ - who struggles to deal with an ongoing issue (alcoholism in MNIJ and alcohol-fuelled anger in T) until he meets his seemingly saviour in form of a kind-hearted woman, who harbours a secret of her own. I’ll end there. I couldn’t get into the film because of this constant awareness of MNIJ, which involuntarily got me comparing them.It’s painfully clear that both Mullan – from Glasgow, Scotland – and Considine – from Leeds, England – came from the same class and background as both films address and perceive the same group of social issues. Either way, Considine has proven himself a fantastic director with his first feature film here. And that he’s much superior to the mediocre director Shane Meadows, who’s regularly touted by film critics as Britain’s brightest hope.
• Hanna (US/UK) – one half of me enjoyed it and the other half thought, “Is that it?” It could have been so much more, but it shied from addressing some meaty issues and a direction that could take it outwith our expectations. Instead, it chose to be an action tale of a young teenager who happens to be a trained assassin with limited social skills that seem to be used as comic relief. Overall, it felt incomplete and it didn’t quite deliver its promise. It left me feeling I had a bowl of wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am that I didn’t ask for. In spite of this, it did try to be different and I appreciated that.
• The Eagle (US/UK) – it was seriously awesome to see my home area (if a little greyer and darker than it is in real life), but dang, in spite of film-makers’ denials, I think this is one of most entertaining gay period films around, thanks to the sizzling chemistry and smothering gazing between main actors Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell. Yes, I do love The Eagle, but all for wrong reasons (“Look, look! That’s only a mile from my school best friend’s aunt’s home!”, “omg, did they just speak Gaelic? Wait, when is this setting? Gaelic wasn’t around back then, was it? Still, it’s nice to hear it! Ah, it’s Glaswegian Gaelic. Better than the usual gibberish, I guess”, “lol, look! They look as they really want to shag each other’s brain out! Do it! Doooo it!” and “lol, that god-awful accent…!”). The film’s biggest flaw is that, it just didn’t know what it wanted to be. It kept wavering between a character-driven drama and an action plot-driven thriller. I found this indecisiveness irritating. In spite of this, I did enjoy the film.

Wrong Year, but I Like You Enough to Pimp You Here. 

(All links in film titles will take you to trailers at YouTube)

• Confessions (2010), Confessions (2010), Confessions (2010)! I won’t say anything here because otherwise, you’ll get at least 1,000 words from me about this film. I’ll hold it off for another time. Be relieved.
• I Saw the Devil (South Korea, 2010) – a dark cat-and-mouse game between a vengeful FBI agent and a serial killer who had murdered the agent’s beloved pregnant fiancée. It also has a sliver of black humour.
• Bleak Night (South Korea, 2010) – a father attempts to learn the truth from two broken schoolboys after their best friend – his son – committed suicide. An excellent analysis of social behaviours, patterns and rituals we all expect to perform in order to function within a society in accordance with what we’re expected to be.
• Control (UK, 2007) – the rise and fall of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. The film does its best to show what makes Curtis special, and possible reasons why he took his life when he was 23 years old. I thought it’d mostly succeeded in making him look a real dickhead, but it was a good film, regardless. Production values, though? Amazing. It transported me back to when I was a little kid. Most details were spot on.

[This is where I stopped. Thank God, seeing that it's already an extremely long post. Sorry about that. ]