Review: Identity (2003)

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 flooded, so they shelter from the rain in a motel. Among the travellers are Ed (John Cusack), an ex-cop driving a limousine, Paris (Amanda Peet), a call-girl and Rhodes (Ray Liotta), a police officer transporting a prisoner named Robert (Jake Busey). While they wait for the storm to abate, they find themselves being picked off, one by one, by a savage killer.

The start of the film is intriguing, with each person having a secret and a reason to distrust the others. However, after the first murder, things start to go downhill as the film veers between a slasher flick and an episode from 'The Twlight Zone'. Director James Mangold, who goes on to better things, doesn't handle the material well, relying too heavily on clichéd tricks to scare or horrify the audience. Even so, it could have been a passable popcorn flick ...

... Except that writer Michael Cooney adds one twist which invalidates the entire set up. We expect thrillers to use plot twists to keep you interested and a good twist (some so good that no one else could use it) would delightfully rearrange your perception of earlier scenes. In this film, the twist just made me feel cheated and after that point, I simply didn't care about what happens.

1 out of 5 stars.

Review: Tony Takitani (2004)

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 having found a companion, Tony also realises that he no longer wants to live alone. They have a blissful married life, except that Eiko's insatiable need to buy designer clothes makes Tony request that she moderate her desire, with tragic results.

Tony lives in a hushed world of muted colours. Everyone, except Eiko and Shozaburo, is kept at arms' length. His home is a sterile tidy apartment. Tony sees the details in his world, such as the veins in a leaf or the fabric of Eiko's clothes, but never the whole picture. Based on a short story by popular Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, writer-director Jun Ichikawa's film perfectly captures the idea of loneliness.

Japanese with English subtitles.

4 out of 5 stars.

Review: Skyland / Skyland, Le Nouveau Monde (2006)

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 mother, Mila, is captured by an oppressive organization called The Sphere, the kids flee and become the crew of a flying rebel or pirate ship (it's not quite clear to me) captained by Aran. Their subsequent adventures revolve around flying to different islands to get support against the Sphere or escaping the Sphere's robot minions.

At first glance, the animation, using motion capture, is fluid, the backgrounds are detailed and gorgeous, and I have a soft spot for sky pirates, so it should have been easy to enjoy the series. What started to spoil it for me is the inane introductory voice-over at the start of each episode, which plainly contradicts what is on screen. Things that I usually overlook begin to grate. Why is there still air if there's no gravity? Why are all the islands oriented the same way? Why is there night if there's no body to block the sun? Argh! By the third episode, I got so annoyed that I just stopped watching.

0 out of 5 stars.