| Fridae Movie Club: Singapore | 15th April 2009 / Issue 266 |
| > Join Fridae Movie Club > Forward to a friend | Archive > Subscribe | Unsubscribe > Write to the Editor > Search movie | Read online “Do you know where you’re going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you?” So sang the incandescent Diana Ross in theme song to the 1975 film Mahogany. In the new drama Revolutionary Road opening this week, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio answer those questions with a heartbreaking “no”. Reuniting on screen for the first time since Titanic (1997) made them stars, Kate and Leonardo play a pair of dreamers who are bored with their suburban middle-class lifestyle, but don’t know how to escape it. Directed by Sam Mendes of American Beauty fame, Revolutionary Road won Kate a much-deserved Golden Globe for Best Actress. The film is raw, honest and discomfiting, and is the must-watch movie of the week. As if Revolutionary Road wasn’t enough of a downer, two other films opening this week carry the grim stench of death.
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Liam Neeson’s new action film Taken, about a man whose daughter is kidnapped by sex-slavers, takes on unexpected poignancy because the actor’s wife, actress Natasha Richardson, suffered an untimely death last month. Also about death is the biopic of rapper Notorious B.I.G, whose life and death (in a drive-by shooting) are chronicled in the watchable biopic Notorious. Now if life was a fantasy, Kate, Leo, Liam and Notorious’s family would be able to turn back the clock and rearrange the events of their lives. That’s exactly what happens in the fluffy but entertaining comedy 17 Again, in which middle-aged Matthew Perry gets his wish granted and becomes a teenager again (his younger version played by Zac Efron). Breezy and brainless, 17 Again is a must-watch for Zac’s fans who’ll be glad to know the stud really can act. 17 Again is about the only spot of sunshine this gloomy week. Till next week, stay safe!
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Revolutionary Road
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Are you a dreamer? Have you dreamt of a life filled with boundless creativity, travel and freedom? Are you now stuck in a job where you feel chained to convention and strict bureaucracy? Then you’ll recognize the characters in this movie all too well. Revolutionary Road explores that very common struggle all dreamers face when they have to grow up and face the real world. The setting is 1950s post-war America, when the American dream was defined by a good stable white-collar job (for a man) and a suburban home with kids (for a woman). Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April (Kate Winslet) have them all – the job, the kids and the pretty house on a street called Revolutionary Road. But being dreamers at heart, they cannot bring themselves to be happy. On the contrary, he is frustrated with his mundane office job, while she is bored with doing housework and raising kids. She wants them to leave Revolutionary Road and follow the figurative revolutionary road by going to Paris and living a carefree, bohemian life – at least, that’s how she perceives Parisian lives to be. But he is skeptical of their chances of survival there… Based on a famous novel by Richard Yates and directed by Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Jarhead), Revolutionary Road is sensitively-crafted drama about a struggle that so many of us are familiar with. Perhaps, because it so close to the bone, it may difficult for some of us to watch the film. Sam Mendes, who also happens to be Kate Winslet’s husband, draws perfectly calibrated performances from his actors. Kate displays every turn of emotion on her vivid face, while Leonardo is a tightly-wound knot of nerves that explodes now and again. Looking at this despairing couple, it’s hard to believe they once played blissful lovers in a little film called Titanic (1997) – the only other film they’ve been in together. Revolutionary Road was nominated for three Oscars, four BAFTAs and four Golden Globes, nabbing the Best Actress Globe for Kate. It is not an easy film to watch, because it is so raw and honest in portraying the boxed life many of us lead. But it also offers some of us the opportunity to examine that life for what it really is. |
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17 Again
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Well, hellloooo Zac Efron! The young stud, who is redefining cute as we know it, proves that he really does have the acting chops to graduate from the High School Musical franchise that made him famous. In the pleasantly engaging 17 Again, Matthew Perry (of Friends fame) plays a middle-aged man whose life is a mess. His wife (Leslie Mann) wants to divorce him, his kids dislike him, and his job is rubbish. He wishes he was back in a high school when he was a basketball champ and everything was great. Voila! – a stranger comes along and grants him that very wish. He is transformed into the 17-year-old version of himself (Zac Efron) and goes back to high school to rights the wrongs of his present situation… Directed by Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down), 17 Again is another body-swapping comedy to join the crowded ranks of body-swapping comedies that began with Freaky Friday in 1976. But just like that movie and 13 Going on 30 and Big and Just Follow Law, to name a few, 17 Again is sweet and funny enough to be inoffensive. he cast is very good, and Zac Efron proves he can carry a movie outside of the musical genre. Even the film’s Big Dramatic Moments are pulled off convincingly, with Zac displaying a surprising range of emotions. Needless to say, we liked this film. And we looooved Zac Efron. |
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Taken
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Liam Neeson’s new action film takes on unexpected poignancy because he recently lost his wife, Natasha Richardson. The actress died of brain injury caused by a skiing accident. Her untimely death made many weep, not least because she was a beloved and accomplished thespian too. In Taken, Liam plays an ex-spy whose daughter (Maggie Grace from Lost) is kidnapped by Albanian sex-slavers who want to sell her virginity to the highest bidder. No one, of course, should mess with an ex-spy. Before anyone can say “Bourne”, Liam is off to find the culprits and plant bullets in their skulls…. Director Pierre Morel is no stranger to the shake ’em-and-shoot ’em style of filmmaking. His debut actioner District 13 (2004) was a low-budget salute to stunts and guns. Taken, which comes with a bigger budget and high-profile writers (Luc Besson of Nikita fame and Robert Mark Kamen of the Transporter movies), is satisfyingly fast, furious and violent. The wonder of it all is that Liam manages to look serious and convincing as he executes the chopsocky moves, reducing the growling baddies to bags of broken bones. A great actor, no doubt. We mourn his loss. |
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Notorious
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We’ve never been fans of the Notorious B.I.G, nor are we familiar with his music. But this biopic of the famous rapper who was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1997 has certainly piqued our interest. Contrary to possible expectations of this being a blaxploitative film, Notorious is actually an even-handed and straightforward biopic about the life and death of one of the most influential rappers of all time. Director George Tillman Jr crafts a respectful film out of some sensational material, and wisely skirts the controversy surrounding the rapper’s death. The film begins is Brooklyn, where Notorious grew up. As a boy, he is teased constantly about his weight and subsequently falls into drug-dealing. Eventually, he learns to rhyme and catches the attention of not just his friends and neighbours – but Sean (Puffy) Combs himself. Combs grooms him into a recording artiste and the Notorious B.I.G. quickly finds chart success and personal happiness – until the tragic death… The performances by the black cast, which includes Oscar nominee Angela Bassett and Derek Luke, are very good. Real-life rapper Jamal Woolard, who plays the Notorious B.I.G, is surprisingly charismatic and convincing too for a first-time actor. Notorious is certainly not a film for those of us who don’t listen to rap. But those who do won’t be disappointed with it. |
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General-interest
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| Revolution-Per-Minute by TheatreWorks / 72-13
$28 / $15 (concessions for students, NSFs and senior citizens) |
1 accident; 2 parties; 3 versions. RPM is a dramatic musing on collision: what happens when lives, bodies and memories plow into one another. One high-speed motorcycle totals itself, taking an unsuspecting pedestrian with it while an incredulous passer-by witnesses the whole event. “Does your life really flash before you eyes before you expire? What will you see? Will you like what you see?” Conceived by Director Choy Ka Fai and written by Robin Loon, RPM is a contemporary theatrical experience that flirts with what defines visual arts, dance and theatre. Featuring a unique collaboration with Osaka dance collective contact Gonzo, this installation performance of sound, lights and multimedia brings you an immersive experience... Where: TheatreWorks/72-13 Mohamed Sultan Rd When: 23-04-2009 to 25-04-2009 |
| LGBT-interest
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| Singapore International Film Festival
Tickets: $9.50 |
DIM SUM FUNERAL National Museum of Singapore, 23 Apr, 7:15pm FEMALE GAMES National Museum of Singapore, 18 Apr, 11:30am JAY The Arts House - Screening Room, 17 Apr, 7:15pm SINGAPORE PANORAMA SHORTS 1
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