Drama, Rated R.
Director: Patty Jenkins. 
Writer: Patty Jenkins. 
Cast: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern.

Monster is based on the real-life criminal exploits of Aileen Wuornos, a Florida prostitute who became a serial killer, and brutally murdered seven men during the ‘80s.  Aileen blamed most of her problems on her childhood upbringing, claiming that not only was she poor, but she was constantly beaten and raped as a young girl.  With delusions of becoming a Hollywood superstar, Aileen left home only to eventually end up homeless, with no money, no education, and nowhere to go except into the arms of strangers.  Aileen continued to work as a hooker for years, taking her lumps from angry men that treated her like street trash, until one night when she fell in love.  But to Aileen’s utter surprise the one who won her heart wasn’t a man.  It was a woman.

No one was more shocked by this romantic turn of events than street-tough Aileen, Charlize Theron (“The Italian Job”), because she always considered herself to be straight.  But after a chance meeting in a bar, Aileen was suddenly infatuated and engulfed by the gentleness of a young woman named Selby, Christina Ricci (“The Laramie Project”).  The two impulsively shack up in a seedy hotel, but the honeymoon is shortly over when Selby discovers that Aileen killed a man one night while hooking because he was beating her to death.  Praying it was a onetime occurrence Aileen reluctantly goes back to work, but the trauma resurfaces during her next encounter, creating paranoia and delusions so great, that she kills that man, too.  Afterwards, Aileen realizes she would rather be a serial killer, than a prostitute, and that’s exactly what she becomes.

Writer and first-time Director Patty Jenkins deliveries an ambitious project that succeeds on certain levels and fails on others.  Monster is an intimate story in that there are very few supporting characters.  And, yet, somehow Jenkins doesn’t provide a lot of information about the two main characters making the movie’s overall depth very shallow.  And Jenkins chose to make Monster more of a love story, than a drama, and left a lot of questions unanswered.  On the other hand, Monster seems like it’s supposed to be nothing more than a glorified showcase for Charlize Theron (who also served as one of the producers).  The normally gorgeous Theron literally buries herself into the flesh and spirit of Wuornos and the transformation is almost flawless.  Theron gets down and ugly like she’s never done before in a performance that’s sure to change her acting path.

As a whole, Monster is far from perfect and it will not entice everyone.  But most people will watch this film out of curiosity to witness Theron’s character study of the white-trash serial killer.  And those people will not be disappointed. 

Bottom line. Should you see “Monster”?  Yes.

Review by Chad Goldich

Horror, 2003, Canada
Director: Brett Sullivan
Cast: Katherine Isabelle, Tatania Maslany
Score: **

The first Ginger Snaps released in 2002 was a snappy, bitingly funny (pardon the puns) and inventive horror flick that was arguably the best Canadian film that year.  The plot concerned Ginger (Katherine Isabelle), bitten and transforming into a werewolf at the same time of her puberty.  Naturally, much to her chagrin and to the audience’s amusement, her strange behavior was dismissed by everyone as growing up pangs.  John Fawcett amazed the audience with his inspired direction that included a grand climax set during Halloween. The original script, written by Karen Walton also introduced quirky characters like the nonchalant mother and the local cool school pot supplier as the founder of the antidote to the werewolf transformation.  Brilliant!  Now two years later, fans and critics alike eagerly await the sequel.

The original Ginger Snaps last saw Brigitte Fitzgerald (Emily Perkins), lying on top of the creature that had once been her sister Ginger, as it took its final breath.  In Brigitte’s hand was the hypodermic needle containing the liquid antidote that would prevent her from being a werewolf.  That is as far as the similarity of the two films goes.  The new Ginger Snaps: Unleashed (and the prequel is already in the making) moves the action from the suburbs to a drug rehabilitation clinic where Brigitte is ‘imprisoned’.  She meets an assortment of weirdoes that include a 14-year old by the name of ‘Ghost’ (Tatania Maslany) who eventually help her escape to save herself and whoever else gets in the way.

The script for Unleashed retains some of the wicked humor of the first Ginger Snaps- the initial segment has the librarian (a lively cameo by Canadian teen Brendan Fletcher) telling Brigitte he is on to her referring to him noticing her movements rather than her dilemma and a clinic worker attributing Brigitte’s blood sucking desires to her being a lesbian.  Characters are less fascinating though. The male role of the pot supplier is replaced by that of a rather bland but handsome morally corrupt Tyler (Eric Johnson) who supplies Brigitte her dosage in exchange for sexual favors.  The decision to push ‘Ghost’ as a major influence to the plot does not work too well either.  As a result, novice director Sullivan (John Fawcett now serves as executive producer) has to rely on the piling up of incident upon incident to keep the pace of the film going.  Though the potential of the drug rehabilitation setting is effectively developed with some keen observations and often laugh-out loud situations, the film soon runs out of steam by the second half.  Brigitte utters at one point: “If you keep me locked up, people are gonna die!” Apparently, the filmmakers take these words to heart with the film ultimately deteriorating into a typical werewolf flick with the monster laboriously stalking the victim and perfunctorily doing away with the minor characters.  The creature looks remarkably real and scary though – credit to the make-up and special effects crew.

The script still does not explain the ‘raison d’etre’ of the werewolf.  When Brigitte is questioned on where the monster comes from - the humorous reply “from the suburbs” just does not suffice.

In the original Ginger Snaps, Brigitte says to Ginger: “I’d rather be dead than what you are!” The film drags on so much that one only wishes for Brigitte to be out of her misery.  There is a prequel already in the making.  One can only hope it can sustain more interest than this disappointing entry!

GILBERT SEAH was born in Singapore and moved to Toronto in 1982. He is an engineer by profession, with a passion for the cinema. Since the age of 10, he has been to the movies almost daily. Having been brought up in the Asian, British and Canadian cultures, he is able to bring a distinct perspective to film.    

Drama, 2003, UK/Luxembourg
Director: Peter Webber
Score: **

Peter Webber’s feature debut Girl with a Pearl Earring places more importance on the subject (Scarlett Johansson) of the painting than its 17th century Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth).  And with reason too for the girl - young Griet, who is forced by poverty to work in the Vermeer household, has more life encounters in her period of employment than most others in their entire lifetime.  Proving that beauty can be more of a liability than an asset, she runs afoul of the jealous and strict-fisted wife, Maria (Judy Parfitt) and the ugly daughter.  Worse of all, she has to reject the advances of both Vermeer and his patron, Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson).  The only ray of hope in her distressed life is her passion for the butcher’s son, Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later).

The film is rich in period atmosphere with lush shadowed photography by Eduardo Serra and great attention to detail in costumes, lighting and sets.  However, the problem is Olivia Hereed’s script adapted from the Tracy Chevalier novel, which treats Griet as so faultless that Johansson basically struts around like a soulless figure. Her character is like a princess stuck in a really grim fairy tale waiting for a prince charming that never arrives.  The only interesting character is the matriarch of the family, Catharina (Essie Davis), who has to wheel and deal to keep the family finances in order.  Whatever anticipation created at the film’s start (e.g. a warning given: “Close your eyes to catholic prayers") is never fully realized.

A point put forth in Webber’s film is that a person having to answer to no one is one who has freedom and a more satisfying lifestyle.  On the contrary, perhaps if more control be been put on Webber’s flawed but great-looking work, a more satisfying film would have been offered.

GILBERT SEAH was born in Singapore and moved to Toronto in 1982. He is an engineer by profession, with a passion for the cinema. Since the age of 10, he has been to the movies almost daily. Having been brought up in the Asian, British and Canadian cultures, he is able to bring a distinct perspective to film.   

Drama, USA, Rated PG-13.
Director: Tim Burton. 
Writer: John August. 
Cast: Ewan McGreggor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup.

Big Fish is the story of an eccentric man named Ed Bloom who was always known by family and friends as a fabulous storyteller.  Ed constantly loved to tell fable-like tales about his past to anyone within earshot, but he especially took pride when it came to entertaining his young son Will.  He would tuck Will in with bedtime stories of sizable proportions about giants, witches, and yes, even a big fish.  As a child, Will easily took these exaggerations as truth, but he began to angrily question their validity as an adult.  In fact, feeling that his father was nothing more than a liar, Will began to despise Ed so much that he moved away vowing never to speak to him again.  And Will stubbornly stuck to his guns, until one day when his mother called to let him know that his father was dying.

So the pragmatic Will, played by Billy Crudup (Almost Famous), comes back home with his wife, Josephine, in a last-ditch effort to reconcile with his dad.  But the father-son reunion is short-lived after Will realizes that even on his deathbed Ed Bloom, Albert Finney (Erin Brockovich), is still nothing more than a blowhard.  Though disappointed that he can’t captivate his son, Ed doesn’t miss an opportunity to entertain and gladly talks to Josephine who has kindly provided an open ear.  Ed tells her the story of a lifetime, his lifetime.  It’s the greatest story ever.  It’s the story about the trials and tribulations he went through to win over the love of his life, his wife, Sandra.  And through a series of flashbacks, Big Fish begins to switch from present to past, back to a time when Ed Bloom was a young and foolhardy fellow.  Ewan McGreggor (Moulin Rouge) takes on the ever-smiling and optimistic role of Young Ed, and the bulk of the movie continues by walking along with him on his fantastic journeys. 

Big Fish seems to have all of the right elements.  Director Tim Burton (Ed Wood) creates an artistic and creative world for his viewing audience that is packed with tons of visuals and imaginative characters.  He assembled a talented cast, including: Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham Carter, Robert Guillaume, Steve Buscemi, and Danny DeVito.  And he has a magical story with the potential to standout for years to come.  But somehow the film lacks something, causing it not to gel.  The stories don’t quite click together, the characters don’t have enough depth, and its humor isn’t fleshed out.  Now Big Fish is by no means a bad movie.  In fact, it’s probably one of Burton’s better attempts in recent years.  But with so much going for it, Big Fish seemed like it could have been humongous.  And, maybe, that’s why it felt small instead. 

Bottom line. Should you see Big Fish?  No.

Review by Chad Goldich.

Horror, 2002, Japan
Director: Hideo Nakata
Cast: Hitomi Kuroki, Asami Mizugawa, Rio Kanno

Yoshimi (Kuroki) is in the process of a divorce as well as a custody battle over her daughter. She and her daughter Ikuko move into a new apartment. Soon it becomes apparent that water is leaking from the apartment above and the building management does nothing about it. Being on the brink of a nervous breakdown, Yoshimi begins experiencing strange events that she can’t explain.

This is a creepy film. Once again Nakata created a film that contains great atmosphere and elements that come together quite well to form super creepy vibe. He certainly has a talent for turning the mundane into the frightening. Everything (camera works, sound effects, and music) perfectly syncs to make you feel unnerved. It is not as tense as his previous film (Ringu) and for the most part the film is very slow paced. For some, patience might be required to make it through the film but once you get into it your attention will be kept and the dark vibe will take you over.

This movie is very creepy and enjoyable, even though the atmosphere of the film is very strong, comparing to Ringu, Dark Water has a creepier feel but Ringu has much more intense moments.

Shogo is an award-award winning filmmaker currently hard at work on a new project. Asian Fever is his weekly column devoted to Asian cinema and related topics.