taooftri Reviews

Life of Pi (2012)

Excellent movie by Ang Lee and his crew!

[8/10 · 4 March 2013]

This is by far the best Ang Lee's film, at least to me.

I read a lot of comments about this film after watching it just yesterday. Many discussions revolve the topic on whether the animal or human version of the story is real. My view is that none of them is real.

It is a film about faith. Both the animal and human versions are not real. The human version is made up. The animal version is a figment of Pi's imagination and the animals are merely metaphors. The four animals personify the 3 religions and logic that Pi has been exposed to in earlier life. This adventure allows him to find the religion that means the most to him (we all have our preferred gods). Logic - most likely represented by the orang utan - is not enough to help Pi tide through the ordeal at sea. Only the tiger - his chosen religion/faith - is able to last him the whole way. In effect, the boat is Pi, his heart; and the sea and storms are life itself. Through life, and experiencing life, Pi finds his god.

What is the island? The green interwined roots of the mystic green trees most likely stand for the serpents of Vishnu and the shape of the island does remind one of Vishnu. The fact that the island gives and takes away life provides further proof that it is actually a metaphor for Vishnu.

There are many other interpretations to this film but I think this is the beauty of Life of Pi. The human version of the story was made up for the two Japanese investigators and it is actually a sarcasm toward the conventional minds, which do not believe in faith and miracle but embrace only the logical.

It is a film not to be missed.

Bravo, Ang Lee and team!

The Grandmaster (2013)

A focus misplaced. Lost opportunity for a film on a martial arts icon.

[2/10 · 15 February 2013]

Sadly speaking, "The Grandmaster" does not get a grand score from me.

Before this film, 3 movies have been made about Ip Man, with the first two by Donnie Yen. Like it or not, first movers always have an advantage. The prequel of Ip Man - "A Legeng is Born - Ip Man" - did pretty well, featuring a Wing Chun practitioner Dennis To. But, in my opinion, all these 3 movies did not sufficiently capture aspects of the Man's life stories that many fans are looking for - his philosophy about Wing Chun, how he took up Wing Chun, and, of course, his mentor-ship of Bruce Lee.

"The Grandmaster", in my opinion, missed this golden opportunity to satisfy the thirst of martial arts fans on these aspects.

For one, I am surprised to see that the script chose to focus on something other than Wing Chun - the so-called "64 forms", a kind of martial art - and revolve around the relationship between Man and Gong Er (Zhang Ziyi), with a rather strange majority of screen time placed on Er. In fact, I strongly suspected that the "Grandmaster" in the film is actually Gong Er and not Ip Man (and perhaps this film will be so successful in this respect that there will be another film on Gong Er?)

I believe audeince is in for the story behind Ip Man, Wing Chun and Bruce Lee, not "64 forms" or the fictitious Gong Er. It is clearly focus misplaced.

The fighting sequence is a major disappointment as well. Fighting sequence is barely 5 moves in total, with the camera zooming in on to the hands or legs and, which is my pet peeve, the overuse of slow motion and special effects that obscure the real beauty of the moves. I am not sure whether these effects are specially chosen to mask the fact that Tony Leung is not a martial artist, but applying these on veterans such as Zhang Ziyi - who has learn some martial arts before - is a waste of talents.

Taking a step back, I suspect that the producers and director seemed to want to break away from the proved formula of story-telling about Ip Man and Wing Chun, and took risk in the script and even cinematography. However, I see traces of Zhang Yimou in the technique, which I neither am opposed to nor strongly encouraged. However, I think the director OVERDID on the special and visual effects, because, in my opinion, he may have wanted every scene and frame to be visually stunning. While there are many scenes (including the special effects) that are indeed very captivating - e.g. those at the train station involving the duel of Gong Er and San - these effects quickly became a major muddling distraction for me, to an extent that I felt like the film has overrun in length in its appeal to audience.

I prefer a film that takes care of its basics well, before venturing into the visual/special effects (what I consider icing on the cake). In any story involving Ip Man, the basics should be the man, his family, his time and his Wing Chun.

Finally, the film applied another technique often seen in Zhang Yimou's films - the somewhat emotionally derived script with somewhat wooden expressions on its casts, with a hope to create an ambiance of mystery and helplessness (e.g. in a time that saw China fell into the hands of the Japanese during World War II). Personally, this technique is a waste of the acting talents of the likes of Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi.

"The Grandmaster" is clearly a focus misplaced.

I had higher hopes for anything Ip Man and Wing Chun.

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010)

Nothing special and a slight disappointment!

[4/10 · 24 September 2010]

Lesson: directors should never allow a sub-standard plot and cast to be salvaged by an action star. Many times, that won't work. This is an example.

The storyline of Legend of the Fist feels like an on-screen version of the script writer's scrap book. Everything comes together in a rather untidy and haphazard fashion. There wasn't at least a brief explanation of Chen Zhen's escape from death under the Japanese soldiers 7 years ago and no one knows why he ended up in France fighting the Nazis. With Donnie being the action choreographer, I have expected much more. Donnie, IMO, failed to introduce any unique and memorable elements in the epic fighting sequence in the dojo scene. Bruce Lee started it all. Then came Jet Li. Jet's most memorable moves in the dojo scene are how he outpaced his opponents and even had time to stare down on his Japanese opponent before delivering his blows. In contrast, Donnie's sequence showed very little imagination (other than mirroring his signature moves in Ip Man and Dragon's Gate). It feels flat even. Ironically, Donnie Yen acted as Chen Zhen in a mini serial about 10 years ago. Back then, he handled the dojo scene much better - by fleshing out two (instead of one) nanchuckus! The final fight sequence with the Japanese general is quite letdown and far from being realistic. After Chen picked himself up and a few feints and parries later, he stepped on his opponent's foot before raining a series of 3 consecutive punches on a martial arts expert who seems to be immobilized for no reasons. The fatal fight was over in less than 2 minutes. This is just not convincing enough.

Back then, Bruce Lee handled his fighting sequences with an outspoken respect for his opponents - in that he gave them ample opportunities to showcase their martial arts skills, even after the textbook moment when the hero picked himself up and went in for the final sequence of fist duel. Donnie's style seemed very different. He seemed to opt for a fight sequence that in some ways highlight his ability to "over-power" and even "humiliate" his opponents into defeat. The price to pay is the lack of realism.

Well, there is only one Bruce Lee after all. This may explain why Bruce Lee is still THE man.

The Reader (2008)

Mediocre script supported by excellent acting

[5/10 · 28 January 2009]

Without the masterful acting by Kate Winslet, The Reader would have been a mediocre film overall.

It is a touching story of a woman trying to hide from her past, only to realize that death is the only way to atone for the cruelty she has committed as a former Nazi prisoner guard.

The storyline is simple and to be honest, I don't think the nude scenes are even necessary at all. The bond between the older woman and an under-aged (Michael confessed of being 15 year-old later in the film) can be expressed aptly without having to be explicitly and substantially depicted in the many sexual encounters. I think the script can be improved and trigger more empathy in the audience if the kindness nature of Hannah can be described more vividly. The script prefers to show the more sensual, sexual and yet inquisitive nature of the central character. Then again, all these can be made more balanced, with a little touch of adjustment to the overall emotional repertoire of the character.

This film is lucky to be supported by the many good acting throughout the film, including that from minor roles such as that of the American girl/woman who survived the fire and Holocast.

I find it difficult to grade this film. For Winslet's acting, 10/10. No doubt about it. I find her acting is much stronger than Angelina Jolie's acting in Changeling, which is somehow wooden. Jolie certainly does not have the range of emotional acting ability as Charlize Theron, Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep. For the script, I would give it a 3/10.