Wednesday, April 20, 2011 -

As promised in my previous post, here's my actual review of an Honest-to-God Romantic comedy....Johnnie To's new film; "Don't Go Breaking My Heart"...its actually been quite some time since I've had to catch a romantic flick in the cinema...and I can't say I missed the experience at all....LOL

As uncharacteristic as it is for me to catch such a flick, much less review it, the movie does kind of explore some very interesting relationship themes that I'll touch on later in this post.... I know, How very Aunty Agony of me...well anyways here you go:

Don't Go Breaking my Heart

“Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” is one of those full-out Saccharine-sweet romantic movies that women absolutely adore and guys need to endure. Why did I agree to watch this movie you ask? Well….one reason; Johnnie To.

Johnnie To, as previously mentioned, is one my favorite Hong Kong film directors and his romantic comedy “Love on a diet” with Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng was one of the few I actually enjoyed. Even his lesser, fluffier films like the Chinese New Year cash-in movie “Fat Choi Spirit” or “Love for all seasons” were pretty entertaining and more well-executed than 90% of films in this genre.

The plot of the story presents the ultimate female fantasy; a simple plain Jane is chased by two extremely eligible bachelors, embodied by Louis Koo and Daniel Chan and she can only pick one.

Each of the two represents the opposite spectrum of the female ideal of a guy; Louis Koo is the cocky, flirtatious Bad boy/ladies’ man who struggles to stay monogamous and Daniel Wu is the artistic, sweet, dedicated nice guy who is just completely into the female lead. Both are equally matched in the looks department and are filthy rich; so let the games begin!

Over the course of the film, the two suitors pull out all the stops trying to get the girl; giant hearts made out of post-it notes, sports cars, cooking romantic lunches, performing magic shows/ puppet shows, singing love songs over the phone, last minute trips to China to watch the sunrise on a skyscraper and the ante is constantly upped all the way till the film’s finale.

My favorite corny romantic trick was taking a diamond ring and placing it in the middle of an open dictionary with the definition of “Love” highlighted, when light passes through the ring, the shadow cast in the middle of the open book will be in the shape of a heart. Creative? Sweet? Or just too much damn time on his hands? You decide!!

Underneath all the fluff, one of the interesting underlying questions posed was whether a girl would ultimately pick the “bad boy” or the “nice guy”? Now this question has always been the source of considerable debate; research shows that when polled, more than 80% of girls will say that they will go for “the nice guy” but actual field tests conducted show that this answer may not be indicative of what happens in real life and that the females polled may have only given that answer because it was the “politically correct” response.

My actual opinion on this? Well I’ll go more into more detail on that after the movie review.

I felt that one of the weaker elements of the film was the fact that the audience was almost pre-conditioned to root for Daniel Wu’s character over Louis Koo’s character right from the get-go, minimizing the suspense of who the central character is going to pick in the end. Halfway into the movie and you’ll probably know that the film will end in a politically-correct but not necessarily realistic manner.

Thankfully, Johnnie To throws a nice curveball towards the end of the film; just when the nice guy sweeps the female lead off her feet, the director introduces an unexpected element into the mix that keeps the audience guessing; that of the reformed Bad boy. And well I guess, nothing sets a girl’s heart aflutter more than the image of a reformed bad boy; having come back down to earth, all repentant and vulnerable.

All in all, despite the fact that I was lapsing into a diabetic coma from all the sweetness, I thought that this film was an entertaining enough romantic comedy, that was rather deftly directed by Johnnie To.

End of Review


Disclaimer: The findings presented in the next section of this post have been based on copious amount of personal research, observation and a decade’s worth of emo debates/discussions with male friends.

So my opinion on the eternal Bad boy/nice guy debate? It’s simple:

A girl would date the bad boy over the nice guy any day of the week.

It’s a hard pill to swallow but absolutely true.

Those that fit in the bad boy mold are generally more outwardly self-assured, exciting and have a more dangerous edge to them while Nice guys are just that…nice.

The nice guys are always dependable, always available, always willing to bend backwards to accommodate the girl they like. More often than not, their desire to please the one they like just ends up making them look like push-overs. They present no discernible challenge (I.e. No excitement) for the female species.

The bad boys play by their own rules and never act like they have got anything to lose, plus they offer the females an enticing challenge; to have the chance of being that one person that rehabilitates them and changes them for the better, where so many others have failed.

Sure the women know that its more or less a fool’s errand to think they could ever fundamentally change a person’s personality, but that doesn’t stop them from trying does it? Everyone wants to be optimistic.

The general cycle associated with this bad boy/nice guy dilemma seems to break down into two stages that are as follows:

Dating Stage:

-Girls are generally between 16-28 yrs of age and at their prime
-Value excitement and fun over dependability and stability at this stage
-More short-term rather than long-term oriented with the advantage of youth on their side (e.g. Fun and unpredictability>stability and predictability)
-Preference skews towards the bad boy archetype rather than the nice guy
-Physical attractiveness is a crucial factor in this stage
-Attracted to flirtatious, cocky-funny style of humor
-Sees a guy putting her needs above his own as not being an attractive trait (e.g. too “available” or needy)
-Given a choice, would rather love then be loved (e.g. be with someone she loves rather than someone who really loves her)

Settling down stage:

-Girls in these stage are already in the late 20’s
-Options are now limited as they approach the end of their shelf-life
-Takes on a more balanced, long-term perspective
-Stability, dependability and security are now crucial factors.
-Looks and humor are a big plus but not a must
-A guy placing her needs above his own is now seen as an extremely desirable trait
-Given a choice, would rather much be loved than to love (e.g. preference would be towards the nice guy who loves them rather than the bad boy they so desperately love)

My secondary school friend (someone in the mold of the Nice guy archetype) once posed me a simple enough question, after a long discussion about the amount of effort and thought he put into an unrequited love affair with a friend of his, who had a penchant for dating ‘jerks’, the question was something like this: “When do you think she will ever acknowledge or even appreciate the things I’ve done for her and just take a chance on me?”

My reply after hearing his whole sob story: “Probably when she’s old and grey and her options are limited or when you’ve finally and completely distanced yourself from her to avoid continual disappointment…but you’ll probably already be with someone else by then though.”

Pessimistic? Sure it is but I’ve yet to find someone who can disprove what I’ve said to him, for all purposes and intents that’s just the way life usually is. Bittersweet. Usually the former more so than the latter.

Well, there you have it; my take on this decades-long debate! Give praise underserving ones, for this day you have been privy to the superior insights and enlightened teachings of a higher being.

Next: To get this lingering sweet taste out of my mouth, I’ll be reviewing Herman Yau’s Untold story next; the most controversial Category 3 Hong Kong film of all time. Trust me, You’ll never want to eat another Char Siew Pao again. Be there.

11:02 PM

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I'm back with another review of a film I've been wanting to catch on DVD for quite sometime now; Jonathan Glazer's Sexy Beast starring Ben Kingsley, Ray Winstone and Ian Mcshane.

I have been hearing rave reviews about Ben Kingsley Oscar nominated performance as Don Logan for quite some time now, so I finally decided to get the DVD from HMV after the submission date for my Korean marketing proposal. Well here's my 2 cents:

Sexy Beast

Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy Beast is one of the British Gangster flicks that is an enjoyable enough movie on its own but taken to another level by the tour de force performance of Ben Kingsley as Don Logan.

The plot of the film is fairly straightforward; Ray Winstone plays Gal Dove, an ex-convict and safecracker who’s retired with his ex-pornstar wife, DeeDee and their two friends, Aitch and Jackie to a gorgeous villa in Spain. Meanwhile, Don Logan sets out to recruit a team for a bank heist planned by gang boss, Teddy Bass and he wants Gal along for the job. Gal is happy with his life and doesn’t want to come out of retirement and Don won’t take no for an answer, wacky hi-jinks ensue.

Ben Kingsley’s Don Logan is the absolute antithesis of his role as Mahatma Gandhi in Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi Biopic. A psychotic sociopath, with a hair trigger temper and Napoléon complex, who seeks to achieve his objectives through intimidation, violence and sheer force of will. It’s terrifying yet hilarious seeing Don Logan brow-beating Ray Winstone’s Gal Dove into submission.

Here’s an excerpt of one of my favorite scenes in the movie:

Don Logan: What you think this is the wheel of fortune? You think you can make your dough and f*ck off? Leave the table? Thanks Don, see you Don, off to sunny Spain now Don, f*ck off Don. Lying in your pool like a fat blob laughing at me, you think I'm gonna have that? You really think I'm gonna have that, ya ponce. All right, I'll make it easy for you. God knows you're f*cking trying. Are you gonna do the job? It's not a difficult question, are you gonna do the job, yes or no?

Gal Dove: No.
Don Logan: Yes!
Gal Dove: No.
Don Logan: Yes!
Gal Dove: No!
Don Logan: Fat c*nt!
Gal Dove: No, No, No…
Don Logan: YES! YES! YES!

And another one of Don Logan’s monologues; pretending he got molested when he’s detained after getting thrown off a plane for smoking:

Don Logan: Yeah, that's what I said. There's me putting my bag up in the cupboard next thing ya know, I feel hands on me. Someone's touched me, touched my front... my front bottom. I can't believe it, I've gone all cold. I look around, he standing there isn't he? That steward with the guilty look on his face. I was shocked, I didn't know what to say. I had to sit down, I was that perturbed. Then his mate, the other one who was giving us all lessons on what we do if we land in the sea. How to wear your life jacket etc; He starts off, he starts looking at me all funny... suggestive. Now I don't know if they're wanting me for a twosome or something, I don't know how they work it. But I'll tell you what, it scared me. I was shaking like a leaf, so without thinking I lit up a cigarette to calm me nerves. I was trembling, I was very emotional and that when all the rest of it happened. It's very regrettable. Now, I don't want to kick up a fuss, right, press charges... contact the British embassy. I'd rather not pursue those channels, that's not my style. I'm not that sort of a bloke. I don't want to lose the man his job. Man's got to eat. And I'm sure he's not representative of all you Spanish people. But I would appreciate it if you had a word with him, let him know he's been rumbled. The one with the ginger hair.

Classic stuff.

Ray Winstone also turns in a very nuanced and subtle performance as the mellow Gal Dove that nicely complements the wild, manic energy that Kingsley brings to the film. Sure he’s an ex-con, but he’s a nice enough bloke who’s trying to put it all behind him and in walks this force of nature that turns his idyllic life upside down. Ian Mcshane’s performance as Teddy Bass was also a revelation, he played the role with greater restraint than Kingsley’s explosive Don Logan but exuded this quiet, palpable sense of menace that was in some ways even scarier. I’ll keep a look out for his performance as Blackbeard in the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

The only element that I found jarring and not particularly effective was the inclusion of this mutated human-sized Jack Rabbit that seems to be a figment of Dove’s imagination. What the rabbit is a metaphor for, only the director knows I guess.

All in all, the film was a solid British Gangster movie elevated by the outstanding supporting cast and what I felt was the finest character performance given by Ben Kingsley.



And that's all folks...for my next post, I'll be reviewing a film nobody would ever expect me to...a Romantic comedy...>GASP!!<....plus the next post will also include my throoughly researched thesis about the eternal debate on whether chicks go for the bad boy/nice guy ...it'll be a lengthier and juicier post than normal.....Stay tuned!!

10:39 PM


Wednesday, April 13, 2011 -

Well....Looks like going to be the longest night yet for me in a 3 week string of late nights spent cobbling together the marketing proposal for some Aus 500-1 billion mandate for the Australian state pension fund.....the past 3 weeks has been a blur ......and April is already alomost half over... the mind reels...


Waiting for those Kangaroo-loving mofos from the sydney branch to get back to me with their inputs/changes/feedback/comments/more changes......well its as good a time as any other to blog I guess.... So as per my last post, here's my review of Ichi the Killer, truly one of the most bizarre and nastiest movie ever comitted to film...

Ichi The Killer:

Takeshi Miike’s highly-touted Ichi the Killer is Not an easy film to watch. It is a psychological tour-de-force of violence, sado-masochism and sadism and Miike is absolutely unflinching in his exploration of these themes. The film is bold, daring and pushes the envelope, perhaps a little too far in terms of good taste.

Every character here is psychologically-damaged to the nth degree; the main protagonist, Ichi, is a seemingly mild-mannered, man-child who is prone to excessively brutal bouts of violence and can literally only get-off on violence. The antagonist, Kakihara, is a flamboyant and sado-masochistic Yakuza enforcer with a Cheshire smile stretching from ear-to-ear, held on only by his facial piercings. Add in a manipulative old-man with hypnotic abilities and a body-builder’s physique, a dominatrix prostitute who speaks in 4 languages and a pair of twin detectives who sniff women’s underwear for clues and you have got one of the most bizarre collections of characters that I have ever seen in a film.

The violence in this film is over-the-top comic book violence for the most part but there are certain sequences that are so realistic in their execution that you can’t help but flinch. While I am fine with violence that is used in service to a story, violence for the sake of violence (Hostel, Saw, etc.) is a pointless exercise to me. Unfortunately, Ichi dips into the latter a little too frequently for my tastes. The treatment of some of the female characters in particular, verged on being misogynistic.

The characters themselves are psychologically rich in their complexity and Miike explores their motivations, psychosis and quirks in a substantial amount of detail in between the mayhem. Tadanobu Asano in particular steals the show as Kakihara, one of the more memorable filmic creations in recent memory, who undoubtedly inspired Health Ledger’s version of the Joker in The Dark Knight.

If I could boil down the plot of the whole film to its basics; it is essentially a twisted love story. Kakihara is a sado-masochist who loves his boss, due to his ability to inflict pain upon him like no other. When his boss gets killed by Ichi, Kakihara wants revenge on Ichi for eliminating his greatest source of pleasure but after witnessing the massive trail of destruction left behind by Ichi, Kakihara grows to believe that Ichi may be the perfect person for him, the one that can truly inflict the level of pain he craves.

Highly regarded though the film may be, the lack of any character with redeeming qualities, the overriding theme of sado-masochism, the level of sheer brutality (especially towards the women) made for a bizarre and heady brew that ultimately…just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Next Post: More reviews!.... so many movies to watch so little time and energy...

5:55 AM