tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25845068244448966832011-12-14T11:22:34.874+11:00Genre film, video, books and games (moderated).Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.comBlogger801100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-19307691629268901052011-01-21T17:00:00.082+11:002011-01-21T17:00:07.539+11:00

'Citizen of the Galaxy' is one of many juvenile SF novels written by Robert Heinlein. It tells the story of a boy named Thorby. At the beginning of the novel, Thorby is a child slave on a feudal planet, who is bought by the beggar Baslim. Baslim becomes his surrogate father and teaches him the value of education and hard work. However, Baslim is more than a mere beggar and leads a mysterious

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-6482932646835745232009-10-29T17:00:00.003+11:002009-10-29T17:00:00.603+11:00

Sometime in the future, people can act out their fantasies in resorts populated by human-like robots. Two vacationers, Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) and his friend John Blane (James Brolin) holiday in the 'West World' theme park, where they get involved in wild west set pieces, including shoot-outs with a particular robot called the Gunslinger (Yul Brynner). Other vacationers go to other

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-90616892797158702702009-10-25T17:00:00.005+11:002009-10-26T09:18:34.982+11:00

In a seemingly lawless world, the Dragon Tiger Gate martial arts academy, run by Master Wong (Wah Yuen), trains its students to uphold justice and resist the triads, and provides a home for orphans. One of its students, Tiger Wong (Nicholas Tse) runs foul of the triads when he and his friends get hold of the Luocha Plaque, which signifies that the holder is second only to Loucha Gate's boss

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-51273957088566642942009-10-23T17:00:00.001+11:002009-10-23T17:00:00.928+11:00

In Macau 1998, before the colony's handover to China, five professional hitman, led by Blaze (Anthony Wong), decide to do a last job for one of their own, Wo (Nick Cheung). Their plans go awry when triad boss Fay (Simon Yam) enters the picture, and they spend some time lost in the wilderness before rediscovering their purpose. Action fans might be a little disappointed by plain nature of

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-54437080681371256752009-10-21T17:00:00.004+11:002009-10-21T17:00:04.159+11:00

Adapting Frank Herbert's complex galaxy spanning novel to the big screen was never easy. Since the novel's publication, various film makers, including Ridley Scott, have had a go. This version, adapted and directed by David Lynch, charts Paul Atreides' rise to power as the foretold super human 'Kwisatz Haderach' and leader of the Fremen, the natives of the desert planet Arrakis. Arrayed

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-35277260429811022382009-10-11T17:00:00.001+11:002009-10-11T17:00:01.790+11:00

In 1982, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) invades southern Lebanon to remove the PLO. During their occupation of Lebanon, Bashir (or Bachir) Gemayel, the leader of the Lebanese Forces (an Israeli ally), is assassinated. Subsequently, militiamen from the Lebanese Forces were allowed by the IDF to enter the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps, where they massacre Palestinian civilians. The title

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-81624785544995066782009-10-09T17:00:00.001+11:002009-10-09T17:00:01.204+11:00

'Ashes to Ashes' follows-on from its predecessor 'Life on Mars', this time with DI Alex Drake (Keeley Hawes) transported back in to 1981, after a possibly fatal incident, where she finds she is part of DCI Gene Hunt's (Philip Glenister) team. Alex quickly works out that she is having the same experience as Sam Tyler from LoM (conveniently, she read his case file) and decides that the way back

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-80405505405886532012009-10-07T17:00:00.004+11:002009-10-07T17:00:05.384+11:00

Raphaël (Edouard Baer) is an anonymous ghost writer of celebrity autobiographies who pretends to be satisfied with his lot. He dates architect Muriel (Marie-Josée Croze), whose forthright manner starts to make him confront his unfulfilled dreams. When he is commissioned to write the autobiography of boorish footballer Kevin (Clovis Cornillac), he discovers that the woman he fancied in

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-17618613778292348252009-09-30T17:00:00.006+10:002009-09-30T17:00:05.210+10:00

In 2079, Earth has been losing a war with aliens from Alpha Centauri for 10 years. The success of the Centaurians and their ability to create human-like robots create a climate of fear and paranoia on Earth, leading to the establishment of a totalitarian regime headed by a Chancellor. The film starts with physicist Dr. Spencer Oldham (Gary Sinise), a high-ranking scientist in a government

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-64691387662637207972009-09-28T17:00:00.006+10:002009-09-28T17:00:05.254+10:00

Tears of the Giraffe Alexander McCall Smith 2000 Abacus, London In the second in a series of novels that features Botswana female detective, Precious Ramotswe, she searches for an American student who was last seen near the desert 10 years ago. While she solves that mystery, her friend, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, proposes to her and also makes an unexpected commitment, and her efficient

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-56005811476051861592009-09-26T17:00:00.006+10:002009-09-26T17:00:02.312+10:00

The life of TV actress Pepa (Carmen Maura) is turned upside down when her lover, Iván (Fernando Guillén), leaves and avoids speaking to her. Before Pepa can sort out her life, she visited by a frantic Candela (María Barranco), who has found out that the men she has been staying with have been arrested as terrorists. Pepa also has to deal with a young couple, Carlos (Antonio Banderas) and

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-32792864672338045112009-09-22T17:00:00.005+10:002009-09-22T17:00:01.308+10:00

'Torchwood' is an adult-oriented SF spin-off from 'Dr Who', featuring Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman), previously a recurring character in 'Dr Who', as the leader of a secret government organization of the title. In episode 1.1 'Everything Changes', we are introduced to Torchwood via Gwen Cooper (Eve Myles), a Cardiff police constable who tails the Torchwood team back to their base

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-920304268276734572009-09-20T17:00:00.007+10:002009-09-20T17:58:49.042+10:00

In the port city of Dunkirk, a young blind girl is kidnapped. When her father tries to pay the ransom, he is accidentally killed and two retrenched workers end up with the ransom money. Then another girl, a diabetic, is abducted. Without insulin, she would die within a few days. Among the police assigned to the case is a junior profiler, Lucie Hennebelle (Mélanie Laurent). Her investigation

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-68800994983935672662009-09-18T17:00:00.006+10:002009-09-18T17:00:04.892+10:00

Simon Wells (Macdonald Carey), a retired American executive holidaying in the tourist town of Weymouth, meets and becomes attracted to a young local girl, Joan (Shirley Anne Field), much to the displeasure of her older brother, King (Oliver Reed). King, the leader of a gang of punks, beats up Wells and tries to imprison his sister, but the couple escape in Well's boat. With the gang trailing them

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-48535904595470742662009-09-16T17:00:00.002+10:002009-09-16T17:00:04.893+10:00

Filemón (Benito Pocino) and Mortadelo (Pepe Viyuela) are two agents of the TIA (Técnicos de Investigación Aeroterráquea), a secret government organization. They are assigned to retrieve a stolen device from Tirania, whose dictator has declared war on England by dropping a giant ball of dung on the Queen's palace. Complicating their mission is that their boss, El Super (Mariano Venancio), has

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-70579322969807648612009-09-14T17:00:00.011+10:002009-09-14T17:00:02.391+10:00

This film follows Urjindorjyn Batchuluun and his family, who are nomadic herders in the Mongolian steppe (or grassland). Their life revolves around tending their herd of goats, sheep and cattle, and seems little different, aside from a wind generator and an ancient motorcycle, from that of their ancestors. One night, two sheep are killed by wolves, and the next day, their eldest daughter,

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-67429462322156483662009-09-12T17:00:00.000+10:002009-09-12T17:00:02.119+10:00

On nights when the kids decide on junk food, we found that the Phoenix Thai Takeaway has the right sort of Thai food for dinner in front of the TV: spicy enough to be interesting but not so hot as to kill your taste buds, sauces with some body and a reasonable price. Details: Phoenix Thai Takeaway, 186 Huntingdale Road, Oakleigh East 3166. +613 9543 6550

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-70598377086382408382009-09-10T17:00:00.001+10:002009-09-10T17:00:06.034+10:00

One summer, a young work experience student, Mélanie (Déborah François), becomes a live-in baby sitter for Tristan, son of wealthy lawyer Jean (Pascal Greggory). Jean's wife, Ariane (Catherine Frot), a pianist for a small ensemble, takes a liking to Mélanie. When Ariane discovers that Mélanie has music training, she employs Mélanie to be her page turner during her performances. What the

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-47944434166807629222009-09-08T17:00:00.001+10:002009-09-13T08:50:18.030+10:00

Zeke (Richard Pryor), Jerry (Harvey Keitel) and Smokey (Yaphet Kotto) are three friends who work in the assembly floor of a Detroit car company. The work is hard, and Zeke, the youngest of the three, is frustrated with the unwillingness of the auto workers union to help their members, while his older friends are more equanimous. When Zeke runs into money problems, he convinces his friends to

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-23136009503609574272009-09-06T17:00:00.000+10:002009-09-13T18:17:00.830+10:00

Origami, the art of paper folding, is often considered a minor craft to keep kids occupied. Vanessa Gould's documentary Between The Folds shows us what dedicated practitioners can really do with origami. This film takes a broad perspective, showing you models can require hundreds of folds and computer software to design, models that represent the real and the abstract, and linking origami with

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-46251608059120574472009-09-04T17:00:00.001+10:002009-09-13T08:50:18.031+10:00

On a stormy night, on the eve of a convicted killer's execution, the killer's defence team tries to persuade a judge that the killer is insane and should be committed to an asylum instead of being executed. The case for the defence rests on the judge examining the killer, so he is being transported from prison to the court house. At the same time, ten travellers find that the highway is

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-68961949523673154712009-09-02T17:00:00.001+10:002009-09-02T17:00:04.749+10:00

Tony Takitani (Issei Ogata) is a quiet and introverted technical illustrator. He lives a solitary life, his mother (Rie Miyazawa) having died soon after childbirth, and him only meeting his father Shozaburo (also Issei Ogata) every couple of years. Tony falls in love with a much younger woman, Eiko (also Rie Miyazama) who attracts him because she perfectly wears her clothes. In addition to

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-15671214257559874672009-09-01T17:00:00.001+10:002009-09-02T13:36:02.354+10:00

Sometimes, a TV series can have a lot of potential but be lumbered with poor execution, so poor in fact that you can't help but start noticing its flaws. The kids' SF series, 'Skyland', is one of these series. Set in the future, when Earth has been blown up into lots of small floating islands, the plot revolves around two teenagers, Mahad and Lena, who have special powers. After their

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-14012297318255831772009-08-30T17:00:00.002+10:002009-08-30T17:00:03.680+10:00

Hong Kong Detective Inspector Chan (Simon Yam) has had a bad run. After his witness against triad boss Wong Po (Sammo Hung) has been assassinated, he become the guardian for the witness' child and finds out that he has inoperable brain cancer. On the eve of Chan's retirement, his replacement, D.I. Ma (Donnie Yen), arrives to find that Chan and his team are framing Wong Po for a murder. The

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-21899909693399117822009-08-28T17:00:00.003+10:002009-09-13T08:51:41.160+10:00

In the beginning of the 20th century in London, two magicians vie to create the most spectacular illusions. Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) comes from an aristocratic family, and he feigns an American accent and background to avoid embarrassing his family with his stage ambitions. His rival is Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), who comes from more humble beginnings. After the death of Angier's wife,

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-49104890041427853372009-08-24T17:00:00.002+10:002009-08-24T17:00:05.893+10:00

Laura (Goya Toledo), a child psychiatrist, is abducted and imprisoned in an underground room by Ramón (Darío Grandinetti), a serial killer. In return for her life and freedom, he forces her to play word games. In a parallel narrative, police detectives, lead by Comisario Espinosa (Fernando Guillén) and Inspector Sánchez (Eric Bonicatto) question Ramón regarding Laura's disappearance. As the

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-75012214474004506202009-08-22T17:00:00.002+10:002009-08-22T17:00:03.844+10:00

After street racers hear that a nondescript young tofu delivery man, Takumi (Jay Chou), can drive his father's (Anthony Wong) old Toyota AE86 at incredible speeds down Mount Akina, they challenge him for the honour of the fastest time. Like any young man, Takumi has more pressing issues to resolve first: his girl friend Natsuki (Anne Suzuki) is going away for the school holidays and his father

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-59430074786138362342009-08-20T17:00:00.003+10:002009-09-10T19:08:50.410+10:00

A young art student, Angélique (Audrey Tautou) becomes infatuated with the Loïc (Samuel Le Bihan), a respected cardiologist, who is married to Rachel (Isabelle Carré). When Loïc does not reciprocate (he is barely aware of her), Angélique plots increasingly desperate and violent ways to separate him from his wife. From watching recent French films, you might think that erotomania, a delusional

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-56323065366185121012009-08-17T19:00:00.001+10:002009-08-17T19:00:03.634+10:00

I didn't care about learning Chinese when I was a kid because it was tedious to copy Chinese characters from the blackboard or textbooks. Another difficulty for me, more familiar with English, was that I couldn't map sounds to characters. As a kid, I simply got bored and tuned out. Fast forward to the 21st century and I'm having another go at learning Chinese. This time around, I've found out

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-23467673123821649502009-08-13T18:00:00.000+10:002009-08-13T18:00:00.472+10:00

Channel Nine launched its second digital channel, Go! last Sunday (9 Aug 2009). It is pitched as an entertainment channel which I hope means that it will be possible to watch a series without it being rescheduled or interrupted by sport or other events. Wednesday's schedule (named GO BEYOND) has three SF-themed series back-to-back: [the laboriously named] Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles,

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-31568499263778497732009-08-08T18:00:00.000+10:002009-09-13T08:50:18.031+10:00

After the end of the first film, good Transformers led by Optimus Prime join forces with locals to fight off more bad Transformers, who are looking for a power source called 'The Cube' hidden somewhere on Earth. It's a Michael Bay film, so there's lots of action and flashy camera work but forget plot and characters. The action scenes are really disappointing because they are so grossly

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-60353909216941096072009-08-03T19:00:00.001+10:002009-08-03T19:00:04.076+10:00

We took ourselves on a three week holiday in July '09 to visit my relatives in Singapore and Malaysia. Planning started in December '08 and initially I wanted to go over Easter but I couldn't get leave until the July school holidays. As it turned out, the company I worked for decided to close its engineering group in Melbourne by the end of June, so my leave in July was permanent. Singapore city

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-40218310494053907392009-08-02T18:00:00.000+10:002009-08-02T18:02:48.604+10:00

While our car was out of action, we walked to Clayton and found that Caffé Corso was one café that was open on a windy Sunday afternoon. Details: Caffé Corso, 298 Clayton Road, Clayton. +613 9544 7750

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-50441141233729431212009-07-06T17:00:00.001+10:002009-07-23T16:55:44.655+10:00

After the success of their previous film, The Eye (2002), the Hong Kong based Pang brothers, Oxide and Danny, provide not a continuation, but another aspect to the idea of seeing ghosts. This time, another young woman, Joey Cheng (Qi Shu), gains the ability to see ghosts after an unsuccessful suicide attempt in Thailand. Returning to Hong Kong, she finds out that she is pregnant and her lover

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-19403770082185229822009-06-29T17:00:00.001+10:002009-07-23T16:52:24.015+10:00

Does romance end with marriage and children? Three friends, Vincent (Yvan Attal), Georges (Alain Chabat) and Fred (Alain Cohen) ponder the issues. Fred is single and has no problems picking up women, much to the envy of his friends, who are both married. Georges and Nathalie (Emmanuelle Seigner) bicker constantly, while Vincent and Gabrielle (Charlotte Gainsbourg) are drifting apart. In Yvan

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-89928191056325379312009-06-25T17:00:00.001+10:002009-09-13T08:50:18.032+10:00

Three Boston boyhood friends, who have drifted apart over the years, meet again in unfortunate circumstances. Jimmy Markum (Sean Penn), a shopkeeper with a criminal past, and David Boyle (Tim Robbins) still live in the same neighbourhood, while Sean Devine (Kevin Bacon) has become a police detective. Their lives intersect when Sean and his partner, Whitey Powers (Laurence Fishburne),

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-15857398461573039892009-06-22T17:00:00.000+10:002009-09-13T08:51:41.161+10:00

In a another twist to the reality series format, hedge fund investor Lex Van Dam fronts up a million dollars to set up a hedge fund in London, run by 8 novice traders. The idea is that novices would do as well as experts. The series was filmed in July and August of 2008, which coincidentally, is also the period of the current financial crisis. You won't find out much about the mechanics of

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-20226424546326468162009-06-15T18:00:00.003+10:002009-09-23T16:41:24.690+10:00

When detective inspector Juan Garcia (Carmelo Gómez) is assigned to a cold case involving a missing businessman, he comes upon evidence to suggest that something supernatural may have occurred. Made after a slew of other supernatural thrillers such as 'The Others' by compatriot Alejandro Amenábar, director Norberto López Amado's film is only slightly creepy and intriguing. There's some

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-45567625662382873032009-06-11T18:00:00.007+10:002009-09-23T16:40:30.699+10:00

Reporter Manolo Bonilla (John Leguizamo), his producer Marisa (Leonor Watling) and cameraman Ivan (José Maria Yazpik) follow the trail of a serial killer who preys on children in the Ecuadorian countryside. They unexpectedly encounter a travelling salesman, Vinicio (Damián Alcázar), who may know something about the killer. But Vinicio demands a price for a once in a lifetime interview that may

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-83121912056367233442009-06-08T18:00:00.006+10:002009-09-10T19:10:07.062+10:00

A lonely book restorer, Anna M. (Isabelle Carré), becomes infatuated with her doctor, Dr André Zenevsky (Gilbert Melki), and begins to stalk him. Writer-director Michael Spinosa chronicles dispassionately Anna's increasingly psychotic and violent behaviour as she tries to attract Zanevsky's attention. The tone of the film is realistic and avoids the over-the-top murderous obsession of 'Fatal

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-15234302992784056542009-06-07T14:44:00.002+10:002009-06-07T14:46:53.833+10:00

Welcome to Vibogafi! This is a blog of impressions about media that interest me, namely video, books, games and films.

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-40689884741674256662009-05-09T17:00:00.001+10:002009-09-03T17:29:11.939+10:00

Yuki Asakura's (Miwako Ichikawa) life is thrown into turmoil when her older brother Taka (Houka Kinoshita) commits suicide. Seeking to understand why her brother died, she consults her former psychology lecturer, Dr. Kunisada (Masahiko Akuta), as a patient. She also meets a former classmate, Ritsuko (Miho Tsumiki), who seems to have an ulterior reason for helping her. I couldn't take

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-75429358420171768522009-05-09T17:00:00.000+10:002009-09-13T08:50:18.032+10:00

Started well enough with stories based on the original British version, but went downhill quickly. The writers couldn't decide how Tyler's hallucinations should manifest, so they chose whatever prop was convenient, which diminished his fear and made him almost look forward to them. They also made it a device to move the plot forward once too often, like 'Medium', instead of keeping it

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-52809947930943331142009-05-02T17:00:00.003+10:002009-10-12T18:29:38.242+11:00

Follows the breakdown of housewife Jo (Anne Bancroft) and writer Jake Armitage's (Peter Finch) marriage, told from Jo's perspective. Harold Pinter adapted Penelope Mortimer's novel for the film, and the dialogue has his style of using repetitive phrases, which calls attention to itself and becomes distracting after a while. On the other hand, director Jack Clayton and DoP Oswald Morris set

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-2914782451285095402009-05-02T17:00:00.000+10:002009-09-13T08:50:18.032+10:00

In 1976, Dallas police officer Robert Wood is shot to death by the driver of a car that he had pulled over. A month later, the police receive a tip off from teenager David Harris and charge Randall Adams with the murder. Adams is subsequently convicted of the crime. Film maker Errol Morris retells the events using his now-famous style of interviews, re-enactments, montages, and Philip Glass'

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-48035995378159759322009-05-01T17:00:00.006+10:002009-11-02T08:59:35.914+11:00

A sequel to 'The Ring', where people who watched a cursed video tape die a horrible death within a week. This time around, pathologist Dr Mitsou Andou (Koichi Sato) and medical student Mai Takano (Miki Nakatani) unravel the mystery behind the death of Dr Ryuji Takayama (Hiroyuki Sanada), who was one of the last victims in the previous film. It's a lifeless effort, made worse by some cheap

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-62986832770722097222009-05-01T17:00:00.005+10:002009-11-02T08:57:10.182+11:00

Two Canadian activists and film makers, Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis, document the struggle by unemployed workers in Argentina to repossess their workplaces. They focus on workers in the Forja vehicle parts plant in Buenos Aires, who learn from other groups how to prevent administrators from stripping the factory and how to petition the court and city for the right to run the factory. In the

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-83972459751945472602009-04-01T17:00:00.003+11:002009-11-02T08:55:35.791+11:00

What happens when your memories and dreams are worth more than anything else in the world. Ben Kingsley is just wonderful as the proud but inflexible Iranian exile Colonel Bahrani, while Jennifer Connelly looks appropriately depressed as the divorced Kathy. Weakest of the trio is Ron Eldard's deputy Lester, whose motivations aren't made clear until too late in the film. Camerawork and

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-56731578036579302202009-03-22T17:00:00.004+11:002009-11-02T08:52:49.459+11:00

During Sophie Tardieu's (Solène Bouton) wedding, her brother Philippe (Benoît Magimel) becomes besotted with one of her bridesmaids, the exotic Senta (Laura Smet). The two could not be more different: Phillipe is a salesman for a builder and lives in small house with his mother and sisters, while Senta is an unemployed actor who slums in the basement of her aunt's dilapidated mansion. As

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After David Staebler (Jack Nicholson), a late-night radio host, receives an urgent call from his older brother, Jason (Bruce Dern), he rushes to Atlantic City to find Jason in jail. Jason has been living with Sally (Ellen Burstyn) and Jessica (Julia Anne Robinson) in a hotel room while wrangling a deal to build a casino in Hawaii. However, Jason's employer, Lewis (Scatman Crothers), a shady

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-30732193060927598582009-03-18T17:00:00.001+11:002009-11-02T08:47:14.243+11:00

New Zealand-born director Martin Campbell gets a second call (his first was 'Goldeneye' in 1995) to direct a reinvented James Bond, this time with Daniel Craig as Bond. The villain this time is Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen), a banker for terrorists' funds. When MI5 learn that Le Chiffre is going to the Casino Royale in Montenegro to raise funds, Bond is sent to thwart him at the poker table.

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-11505154244874627162009-03-16T17:00:00.003+11:002009-11-02T08:44:19.782+11:00

Two residents in an apartment block, Mr. Zao (James Hong), an aged Chinese gentleman, and Sarah Silver (Leelee Sobieski), a young aspiring actress, strike up an unlikely daughter-grandfather relationship. Mr. Zao lives alone with the memories of his sister, Mai Mai, who was killed in the Second World War. Sarah is an understudy for the star of a play, Sylvia, and is having liaisons with

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-12879275807942413092009-03-11T17:00:00.002+11:002009-11-02T08:34:17.074+11:00

In 2027, mankind is on the path to extinction because no children have been born in 18 years. While the world descends into chaos, Great Britain remains relatively calm but has become a police state. The government regularly extradite refugees (nicknamed 'Fugies'), though some citizens, the 'Fishes', are opposed to it. Some protestors take it a step further and become terrorists. Theo (Clive

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-54010852548991941252009-03-09T17:00:00.002+11:002009-11-02T08:30:08.857+11:00

In this semi-autobiographical musical, written and directed by Bob Fosse, his alter-ego, Joe Gideon (Rob Scheider) is a chain-smoking, hard-drinking, workaholic choreographer, simultaneously directing a new Broadway musical 'NY/LA' and re-editing his over-budget and overdue film 'The Standup'. Fosse is also pretty harsh on Joe (and perhaps himself) by making Joe a serial womanizer. Joe's wife

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-2698386965057936922009-03-08T17:00:00.001+11:002009-11-02T08:27:54.136+11:00

After three years' absence, stage actress Camille Renard (Jeanne Balibar) returns to Paris to perform in an Italian play. The company's director and her lover, Ugo Bassini (Sergio Castellitto) frets that the season would be a failure. Between performances, the two drift apart. Camille visits her ex-lover, Pierre (Jacques Bonnaffé), a philosophy lecturer who is still working on his thesis on

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-79145057363760294312009-03-07T17:00:00.003+11:002009-11-02T08:23:50.925+11:00

During a hot August month in Chicago, private detective V. I. Warshawski investigates a murder which may have been triggered by a tragic event. In the course of her work, she runs into street gangs, pro-lifers, her ex-husband and the shady side of private medical care. In this novel, the fourth featuring VIW, Paretsky has an accomplished, no-nonsense style befitting her tough-as-nails

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-45401768844826352172009-03-01T17:00:00.002+11:002009-11-02T08:21:54.811+11:00

The crew of the spaceship Bebop, cowboys (bounty hunters) Spike Spiegel, Jet Black and Faye Valentine, and their companions computer hacker Edward and enhanced dog Ein, who previously appeared in a TV series that ran from 1998 to 1999, return for another adventure in this animated film. This time, an ex-soldier, Vincent Volajo, threatens to unleash a biological weapon to wipe out the people

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-88151327093516183202009-02-28T17:00:00.004+11:002009-11-02T08:17:11.733+11:00

Eleven days before a Danish general election, the opposition Centre Party is riding high in the polls. Then, the unexpected happens: their leader is hospitalized due to an accident. Deputy leader, Lone Kjeldsen (Nastja Arcel) makes a tilt for the leadership. When journalist Ulrik Torp (Anders W. Berthelsen), recently appointed to the parliamentary news desk, starts getting wind of a possible

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-88994737493128093882009-02-27T17:00:00.004+11:002009-11-02T08:14:06.005+11:00

Just before Christmas, Dante (Libero De Rienzo), a bicycle courier, decides to leave Turin to escape his dingy flat and the 20 000 Euros he owes to local gangster Skorpio (Michele Di Maurio). At the same time, flight stewardess Nina's (Vanessa Incontrada) relationship with her boyfriend is on shaky ground. When she becomes stranded in Turin due to a general strike and is unable to find a

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-42268310014046886402009-02-25T17:00:00.001+11:002009-10-26T17:46:06.543+11:00

Characters whose paths intersect in one busy night in a Mexican city: Nene (Lucas Crespi) and his partner, Tomson (Jesús Ochoa) hire computer cracker Nolo (Diego Luna) to get bank passwords for Russian gangster Svoboda (Norman Sotolongo). While on the job, Nolo spys on his pretty neighbour Andrea (Marta Beláustegui), a concert musician who is having an affair with her conductor and also her

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-22337144637679497712009-02-23T17:00:00.003+11:002009-10-26T17:42:55.739+11:00

In the 330, after Constantine (272-337) had established his rule over the Roman Empire, he estalished a new capital in Byzantium (now Istanbul), and named the new city Constantinople. The move was due to the need to face threats to the empire from the Sassanid Persians (based in Iraq and Iran) and Constantine's dislike of Rome and its politics. Constantine also adopted the then-new Christian

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-63821453846226009152009-02-22T17:00:00.006+11:002009-10-23T08:15:46.774+11:00

After Kyoji (Tadanobu Asano), a young Japanese cook, murders his lover Seiko (Tomono Kuga), he flees Macau on a cruise ship, where he meets Noi (Hye-jeong Kang), a Korean mother with a toddler, on vacation. When he arrives in Phuket, he finds he is being hunted by some gangsters, possibly hired by Seiko's husband (and his Thai boss), Wiwat (Toon Hiranyasap). This is a languorous film made by

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-5921994102955355162009-02-21T17:00:00.003+11:002009-10-23T08:09:26.068+11:00

An especially hirsute woman, Lila Jute (Patricia Arquette), falls in love with uptight scientist Dr Nathan Bronfman (Tim Robbins). One day in a forest, they come upon a man (Rhys Ifans) who had been living as an ape in the forest since he was a child. Nathan believes he can make animals more intelligent by teaching them table manners, and the ape-man becomes an ideal subject for his research.

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-9608059314175724382009-02-16T17:00:00.004+11:002009-10-18T19:52:17.688+11:00

In the city of Lille, Clair Gautier (Isabelle Carré) lives an ideal modern life: she likes her job as an insurance assessor, is happily married to Fabrice (Jonathan Zaccai) and has a young daughter. One day, she processes a claim by a middle-aged vetinarian, Laurent Kessler (Benoit Poelvoorde). Kessler is self-effacing, charming but slightly creepy, so it is unexpected when she allows him

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-2380255371501071082009-02-15T17:00:00.010+11:002009-10-18T08:32:07.207+11:00

If you read novels for leisure, can you find a more enjoyment from reading? Thomas C. Foster thinks so. His book takes you through the elements of a novel, a brief history, narrators or voices, style and authors. I oriented myself using the early chapter on a potted history of novels. Novels, as we recognise them, started from 'Robinson Crusoe' and 'Pamela' (and the first parody, 'Shamela'),

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-67715503147702573602009-02-15T17:00:00.009+11:002009-10-18T08:27:10.495+11:00

Coraline, The Graphic Novel Adaptation by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by P. Craig Russell 2008 HarperCollins Coraline, a young girl, and her parents share an old house with two retired dancers and an man who trains rats. Bored, Coraline explores the unused rooms in the house and stumbles into a slightly warped version of our world, occupied by ghosts, talking animals and a malevolent entity.

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-89339197493917217172009-02-08T17:00:00.007+11:002009-10-12T18:06:40.419+11:00

In a small country town, psychiatrist Vincent (Samuel Le Bihan) treats mechanic Francois (Francois Berleand) in exchange for servicing his car. One day, Francois tells Vincent that his wife, Julie (Nadia Fares), is only aroused by killers, so Vincent suggests that Francois play along with his wife's fantasy. The next day, a man is found murdered near Francois' garage. In this light murder

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-32416593893311173002009-02-08T17:00:00.006+11:002009-10-11T15:09:09.661+11:00

Boris (Mathieu Amalric), an aspiring film maker, and Marilyne (Helene Fillieres), an upcoming business executive, fall in love. Their affair is told in three chapters, each five years apart. The English title, 'A Real Man', is ironic because this film seems to be about the reversal of expected male and female roles. Marilyne is assertive and often makes the first move, whether it'd be throwing a

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-7398547657394745542009-02-07T17:00:00.003+11:002009-10-01T17:11:14.619+10:00

Yann (Vincent Elbaz) is airline safety inspector who falls in love with Charlotte (Elsa Kikoine). When Charlotte travels to Australia for a year, Yann's phobia about flying stops him from visiting her and she dumps him. Years later, after many failed dates, Yann becomes attracted to radio presenter Alice (Marion Cotillard), but also finds out that Charlotte in back in France. Marion

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-26676731524413623712009-02-03T17:00:00.004+11:002009-09-29T17:08:19.926+10:00

Turing's Delirium Edmundo Paz Soldan 2007 West of today, Bolivia is in turmoil caused by zealous privatization and inequality. The government of ex-dictator and president Montenegro struggles to hold on to power against a coalition of unionists and indigenous people. The government's secretive Black Chamber department is called into action to track down crackers who attack their systems.

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Carla Behm (Emmanuelle Devos) is a secretary in a busy construction company. She is somewhat resentful of her deafness, not accepting it but unwilling to open up to others. She longs for a more glamorous life and lives vicariously on the relationships of others, reading glossy magazines during lunch or eavesdropping on lovers' conversations by lip-reading. Her manager allows her to hire an

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On the eve of the biggest story in Chicago in the 1920s, star journalist Hildy Johnson (Jack Lemmon) tells his editor, Walter Burns (Walter Matthau), that he's quitting his job to get married to Peggy (Susan Sarandon). Burns is as determined to keep his best journalist as Johnson is to leave, and tries various schemes to get him to write the story and keep him in the paper. This is one of

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Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) - modelled on explorer Jacques Cousteau - is having a bad day: his friend has been eaten by a giant shark, his latest documentary is a yawn, his agent Oseary (Michael Gambon) is deserting him and he is estranged from his wife Eleanor (Anjelica Huston). All he has left is his ship and crew, and even they are in the dumps. When pilot Ned Plimpton (Owen Wilson), who

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-51770064630623241312009-01-22T10:04:00.002+11:002009-09-22T15:30:33.235+10:00

This book is a collection of the author's speeches on history delivered in 1961. The speeches address ... the current feeling of pessimism felt by a once-powerful elite that sees the end of the British Empire, why history is not merely a recitation of statistics and facts and that historians should try to understand what has happened, that we should be cautious when using our values to

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-11974310276640636362006-06-23T17:00:00.003+10:002009-09-19T16:24:55.841+10:00

Poor Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire)! As if being an unappreciated superhero in New York isn't enough, he's too broke to pay his rent, his life long sweetheart MJ (Kirsten Dunst) is betrothed to a national hero, Aunt May's (Rosemary Harris) house is about to be repossessed by the bank and his best friend Norman (James Franco) is consumed with hatred of Spiderman who killed his dad. What's more

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-62386378827077960082006-01-25T17:00:00.002+11:002009-09-17T17:15:58.548+10:00

In the 1930s, intrepid reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) and her former boyfriend Joe "Sky Captain" Sullivan (Jude Law) race around the world to foil the evil plans of Dr Totenkopf. They have to battle Totenkopf's robots and henchmen, and rescue Sky's gadgeteer mate Dex (Giovanni Ribisi) and a bunch of kidnapped scientists. On their mission, they get meet of some of Sullivan's old

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-5724533753459878932006-01-06T17:00:00.007+11:002009-09-15T17:07:29.789+10:00

When a top government physicist goes missing and his minder is found murdered, the British secret service decides to investigate. Harry Palmer (Michael Caine) is transferred to the team looking for the physicist. During the investigation, he discovers something more sinister called Ipcress. This low-key thriller has all the elements of the "realistic" spy genre: mysterious shadowy men,

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-3096722246421985402006-01-06T17:00:00.006+11:002009-09-13T08:44:43.621+10:00

John Buckingham (Ben Chaplin), a lonely and frustrated bachelor, marries a Russian mail-order bride, Nadia (Nicole Kidman). After an initial period of awkwardness (they don't speak each other's language), they settle down to a life of kinky sex. Their marital bliss is upset by the arrival of Nadia's friends, the genial Yuri (Mathieu Kassovitz) and the menacing Alexei (Vincent Cassell). The

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-15166565808770938962005-12-22T17:00:00.002+11:002009-09-13T08:47:32.311+10:00

Simon wondered what I thought of Avalon, and I sent him a quick reply. Here's a longer review with possible spoilers. Caveat: I watched Avalon on late night telly, so it might have been a less than engrossing experience compared to watching it in the cinema. In a dreary and depressed city, people play a virtual combat game called Avalon to earn a living. One of the aces is Ash (Malgorzata

Kam-Hung Sohhttps://profiles.google.com/107475180053147318205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2584506824444896683.post-758485028434709581996-04-19T17:00:00.002+10:002009-09-13T08:48:04.149+10:00

`Strange Days' chronicles the last two days of 1999 in Los Angeles. As the locals gear up for the new millenium, Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes) goes about his business of peddling erotic memory clips. He pines for his ex-girlfriend, Faith (Juliette Lewis), not noticing that another friend, Mace (Angela Bassett) really cares for him. This film features good performances, impressive film-making

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