Norway/Sweden 2003
Director: Bent Hamer
Score: ***

The image of a character placing the just torn and neatly folded toilet paper - ready for use - beside the roll in Bent Hamer’s first film EGGS (1995) still registers clearly in my mind. Such is Hamer’s attention to the quirks of his actors and to the household items surrounding them. Hamer’s latest outing, KITCHEN STORIES, set during the post-war period offers him more chances to showcase his talent for observing the idiosyncrasies of human beings. The scenario concerns experts of house and home re-organizing the kitchen so that the average housewife can work most efficiently. Having already mapped out the ideal Swedish kitchen, scientists now move to northern Norway as they send researchers to observe single men.

KITCHEN STORIES is much better than it sounds. To achieve the above task, one observer, Folke (Tomas Norstrom) is placed atop a high stool to observe the daily movements of farmer Isak (Joachim Calmeyer).  There are rules: Observer and observant are barred from conversation and have to stay distant and a supervisor arrives occasionally to check up on the two men.  Naturally, these rules are next to impossible to follow and eventually, Folke’s co-worker and his bachelor take to the drink together. At the same time, Folke and Isak slowly become friends. This is Hamer’s humor, sometimes very dry (so dry that often no laughs are heard at all during the screening I went to) but often quite funny and satirical on issues such as bureaucracy and human behavior like friendship, masculinity and loneliness. 

At the same time, Hamer’s camera focuses on some marvelously striking images, like the egg-shaped caravans filling a desolate landscape or ladders placed on the walls of a farmhouse. 

KITCHEN STORIES is entertaining and easy to watch.  It also reminds one of the essentials of cinema, how so much can be achieved using basic techniques and camerawork, without reliance on highly paid actors or special effects.

Review by Gilbert Seah.

It doesn’t happen all that often in Hollywood, but occasionally a horror remake can be respectful to the original while still driving its own course, often armed with a wicked sense of humor. It happened with John Carpenter’s The Thing, David Cronenberg’s The Fly and Chuck Russell’s The Blob. Heck, it even happened with Tom Savini’s underrated remake of George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, so it’s only fitting that a remake of that original film’s sequel join the club.

Hardcore Romero fans and uptight horror traditionalists may not want to agree, but Dawn of the Dead is an unqualified success – a gory, nerve-racking and often hilarious reimagining of the 1978 zombies-at-the-mall classic. The original is arguably Romero’s best film, but the 2004 version is its own blood-spilling beast, taking little more than the basic premise of its source material and running – and we do mean running – with it.

Go’s funky-teethed beauty Sarah Polley stars an overworked nurse and simple suburban housewife who awakes one morning just in time to see her husband gnawed to death by the neighbor girl. And then miraculously, he comes back to life, albeit a changed man who wants to eat her. She quickly escapes her home, only to find the outside world a living nightmare, erupted in chaos. Buildings are on fire, bodies are everywhere, cars are colliding with one another and – oh, yes – there are flesh-hungry zombies sprinting about the streets as if at a track meet. And this is just the first10 minutes.

After running off the road, Polley finds comfort and help with armed cop Ving Rhames and a few other hangers-on, and together they hightail it to the nearby mall. Unoccupied (well, mostly), it serves as a safe haven from the teeming swarms of the undead while they await rescue. More survivors appear, but the bloodthirsty crowd outside threatens to penetrate the retail mecca’s doors and tear them all to shreds, so they start to take matters into their own hands, some more successfully than others.

If you’re the kind of moviegoer who appreciates fireplace-poker impalings, accidental chainsaw dismemberment and zombie newborn babies, this is the movie for you. I’m surprised at how much bloodletting they were able to get away with in the constraints of an R rating, and yet, despite all the violence, I never got the bad-taste feeling of nihilism that I did with last year’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake.

Part of that has to be due to the humor. Romero’s version is well-known for its satirical look at consumerism. Satire is here, too, but not as a social statement; it functions on a more pop-culture level, which is a nice dose of levity given the film’s end-times backdrop. I’ve got to give credit to screenwriter James Gunn – here he’s working on full-throttle (like he did on The Specials) and not watered-down (like he did on Scooby-Doo). His constant use of the mall’s Muzak system to provide ironic comment – via tunes like “Don’t Worry Be Happy” and “Alone Again” – is a nice device.

First-time director Zak Snyder comes from commercial land, but refreshingly, isn’t as much of a fan of the rapid-fire, quick-cut show-off school as his peers. At the start, he gets right down to business, establishing a pervading sense of dread and spends the next hour and half paying it off.

Polley, Rhames and company all do fine in their thinly drawn roles as human bait; you feel empathy for the nice guys and loathing for the bad ones. And then there’s the zombies – as in 28 Days Later, they run. Fast. Which certainly will ***censored*** off the purists, who prefer their zombies to move at a snail’s pace. The decision to have them run only heightens the tension, in my estimation; the fact that they are your physical equal simply raises the stakes.

And Dawn does that as a remake, too. There are nods to the fans – with cameos from Savini and ’78 Dead star Ken Foree – but the movie is different enough that it can’t rightly be accused of laziness or as a cheap cash-in. It’s pure fun from start to finish. And be sure to stick around for the end credits.

Review by Rod Lott.

China/HK 2002
Director: Zhang Yimou
Cast: Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung
Score: ***

One of the most eagerly awaited martial-arts films, HERO arrives in North America first in DVD form rather than on movie theatre screens.  Miramax has picked up distribution rights and left it collecting dust on the shelves for their own selfish reasons.  Finally this April, HERO will apprear in screens across North America.

What is intriguing about HERO is the fact that it is director Zhang Yimou’s first venture into martial-arts/swordsmanship territory though the director is no stranger to the Chinese period piece having made RED SORGHUM, RAISE THE RED LANTERN and JU DOU. The meager plot, set in 3 B.C. when China was split into many kingdoms, concerns a nameless hero (Jet Li) given audience to the king (Chen Dao Ming) of the Qin Kingdom, having thwarted the previous attempts of three assassins, Sky (Donnie Yen) and lovers Broken Sword (Tony Leung) and Flying Snow (Maggie Cheung).  As Nameless relates his questionable heroic exploits, it becomes apparent that it is he that is now out to do the deed, being granted the privilege of approaching less than 100 paces from the king.  As far as Yimou’s storytelling abilities go, HERO diverts into separate segments, the number equaling the frequency of costume changes (from red, green to white and so on).

HERO is full of luscious colour, a trademark of the director, an ex-cinematographer himself, as he pushes the film to excess, thanks to Chris Doyle’s (Wong Kar-Wei’s CHUNGKING EXPRESS and Van Sant’s PSYCHO) cinematography and the award winning costumer designer Emi Wada.  This is therefore no CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.  Action and excitement are surely replaced here by movement and grace.  The fight scenes are done mostly in slow motion, from extreme attention to detail to broad spectacle like the blood that drips down from the blade of a sword to the thousands of arrows shot by the archers who storm the calligraphy school.  Yimou and scriptwriters Li Feng and Wang Bi are unashamed to douse the film with Chinese culture, so unfamiliar to western audiences. Lovers argue more about right and wrong than declare their love with sacrifice, honour and duty rising in importance over sacrifice, honour and dignity.  Even the beauty of China’s scenery is given a further lift by Doyle’s favored use of reflections.  Interiors are handsome shot as well, like the rows of candle lit flames that flicker gloriously in the palace giving the film a mythical sense.  Tan Dun’s musical score, comprising largely of violin and drums further enhances the gothic feel.

But viewers should be forewarned that story and narrative, normally strong in Yimou’s previous films are noticeably weak here, the frequent shift from action to love story being noticeably unsettling.  The ambiguous characterizations, whether intentional or not, are at times confusing because of the different segments and version of stories that unfold.  Realism is thrown out the window, the spotless costumes and the fight scenes that take place only by waterfalls, lakes or forests being cases in point.  Vengeance, a strong element in most Chinese swashbucklers is replaced here by the search for fulfillment.  The film turns out to be a little too preachy at the end.  The final result is that HERO evolves more into an opera than an action flick.  Viewers will either be amazed or disappointed depending on their expectations.  But whatever outcome, HERO is still a feast to the eyes and perhaps the prettiest film to emerge this year.

Review by Gilbert Seah.

2002, Japan
Director: Takashi Shimizu
Starring: Okina Megumi, Ito Misaki

Plot: Rika is a volunteer social worker that is sent to a home to check on an old woman. When she attempts to clean the house, she hears noises coming from upstairs and finds a boy named Toshio trapped inside a closet. This turns out to be the beginning of the chain reaction that would soon pass through those who come in contact with this mysterious residence.

If you thought Ringu was scary enough, think again.  This is based on 2 straight-to-video films (JU-ON and JU-ON 2) of the same title. Having seen both, this theatrical version actually feels like a sequel to it. I must say this is another masterfully crafted horror film from Japan. The story is told in separated short vignettes that go back and forth throughout the film (just like straight-to-video versions). Each segment is packed with more than enough creeps. Sure, most of the characters are not developed enough for us to really care, but the structure of the film plays very well since the associations between players and how the curse spreads are the main focus of the story. Production design and cinematography are just right. They create a super eerie atmosphere throughout the film. People say cinematography is not to create good images or bad images but to create right images. It really is amazing how effective they are in this film.

Just when you thought Japan possibly reached the top in horror film genre, director Shimizu has created something that is possibly scarier than anything you have seen before. I recommend everyone watch it before an American remake hits theaters in the fall. And make sure to watch it alone.

Review by Shogo.

Germany, 2003
Director: Wolfgang Becker
Score: ****

It is not difficult to envisage why Wolfgang Becker’s bittersweet comedy drama GOOD, BYE LENIN! came about to be the highest grossing film in Germany of all time. The film is a well-intentioned carefully plotted tale complete with family values (there is a mother, son, daughter and absent father), historical cynicism and moral values that neither offends nor take sides be in the socialist eastern or the democratic western bloc.  Entertaining, relevant and timely, it has sufficient substance to enthrall even those not so familiar with German current affairs.

Poor socialist mother, Christiane (Katrin Sass) suffers a heart attack and goes into a coma for the period of time the Berlin wall is demolished.  To prevent shock that probably might lead to another attack, her teenage son Alex (Daniel Bruhl) keeps the news of the new Germany from her.  Bringing her back to the little apartment, he furnishes it with all the ‘old eastern Germany’, complete with hard to find groceries (Spreeewald pickles and Moccca Fix coffee), carpet, furniture and the like.  This is no simple task as Christiane wishes to watch television and walk about.  So, he fabricates news items and videotapes his own creations, passing them off as news to her.  There is plenty of material to play about here and director Becker takes the first half of the film to reveal how easy (while tricky) it is to put such a scheme into place. 

GOOD BYE, LENIN! could easily have fallen into satirical farce and it would be interesting to contemplate how good a film that might have turned out.  But it is difficult to fault what Becker has done – to give the majority of Germans what they preferred, which is a light hearted comedy with heart.  Still intelligence abounds with Alex’s search for his real father standing in for his desire for a real utopian ‘Fatherland’.  Particularly comical is what sister Ariane (Maria Simon), working at Burger King says to her dad meeting him after a long period of years: “Enjoy your meal and thank you for choosing Burger King”.  No person is displayed as all knowing or perfect.  Alex has flaws, as pointed out by Ariane and girlfriend, Lara (Florian Lukas).

What is also striking about this movie is the way director Wolfgang Becker craftily imposes his ‘Utopia’ – a blend of east and west, where west German refugees flood the east and the rat race is replaced by people working their best with their good intentions- to his audience.  Yet this is a brave new ideal place to live it, even though it arrives complete with flaws.  It is without doubt that non-Germans will miss out on most of the local humour (especially during the scene of mother’s birthday celebrations), but enough good-will and ideas exist for all viewers to be entertained.

Review by Gilbert Seah.