The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies
The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies |
| Posted: 09 Nov 2011 04:20 AM PST After topping the box office in Taiwan and Hong Kong, You Are The Apple Of My Eye is setting its sights on Malaysia. ONE of the most anticipated Chinese movies of the year, You Are The Apple of My Eye, has finally made its way to our shores. The 110-minute coming-of-age movie, which opens tomorrow in local cinemas, has been packing halls with two weeks of sneak previews in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Penang and Johor Baru. What seems like a simple teen flick about puppy love has become a runaway success in Taiwan and Hong Kong, where it has broken box office records set by other Taiwanese films to date. In fact, You Are The Apple Of My Eye has even surpassed the soft-core 3D Sex And Zen: Extreme Ecstasy in Hong Kong. The movie has also notched four nominations at Taiwan's 48th Golden Horse Awards (to be held on Nov 26), namely best new director (Giddens Ko), best leading actress (Michelle Chen), best new performer (Ko Chen-tung) and best original film song. A hilarious caper about the angst of first love and growing up, this Taiwanese film owes much of its success to its director/screenwriter being best-selling writer Ko (better known as Jiubadao or Nine Blades). The prolific Taiwanese novelist makes his directorial debut with this light-hearted adaptation of his best-loved semi-autobiographical novel of the same name (which in Chinese translates into The Girl We Chased Together In Those Years). You Are The Apple Of My Eye tells of a bunch of 16-year-old schoolboys at Chingcheng Junior High School with a crush on the prettiest girl in their class. Top scorer Shen Chia-yi (Michelle Chen) may be every boy's secret love, but she is only interested in her studies. Meanwhile, Ko Ching-teng (Ko Chen-tung) and his friends Tsao Kuo-sheng (Owodog), Liao Ying-hung (Tsai Chang-hsien), Hsu Bo-chun (Yen Sheng-yu) and Hu Chia-wei (Wan Wan) are always up to mischief. Caught fooling around in class, Ko is made to sit in front of Shen, who sets him straight and makes him study to improve his grades. Their antagonism gradually gives way to admiration but they do not officially become a couple. Soon, graduation sends them separate ways to attend different universities. What will become of the fledgling romance between Ko and Shen? – Seto Kit Yan ● You Are The Apple Of My Eye opens in local cinemas tomorrow. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 09 Nov 2011 04:19 AM PST Hong Kong director Oxide Pang shares how he got ideas for his latest film, Sleepwalker. HONG Kong filmmaker Oxide Pang says he dreams in full colour and is constantly inspired by his quirky dreams and surreal nightmares. "Even on the flight to Kuala Lumpur this morning, I fell asleep and had a nightmare. In my dream, the plane crashed. I was jolted awake and found myself still here," Pang shared during an interview conducted after the press conference to promote his latest movie Sleepwalker in 3D recently. The director, who is now based in Bangkok, Thailand, was accompanied by his glamorous Kedah-born wife and leading lady Lee Sinje. Sleepwalker is their first film project together after they got married last year as well as their first in seven years since filming Re-cycle, which was released in 2006. Together, they make a very entertaining couple as they shared how they decided to sleep in separate rooms while filming and discussed topics like nightmares, sleepwalking and murder. Pang revealed that the premise of Sleepwalker is based on his personal experience. "In the movie, the protagonist has a dream of an abandoned piece of land and the suspicion of a body buried underneath. This image has been a recurring one for me for the past 10 years." However, unlike the character in the movie, Pang hasn't gone on to investigate. "Because I'm very sure I've never killed anyone!" the director deadpanned, leaving everyone in stitches. Lee added: "We read in America that there was a very loving couple. One day, the husband killed the wife while sleepwalking. But he was eventually acquitted of murder. So, it's hard to explain these matters. "It was big news then. So, I combined the two ideas and got the concept for the plot of Sleepwalker. It's more of a mystery and a drama this time. While the idea may have come from my own dream, my movie is more horrible," Pang teased again. So does either one of them sleepwalk? "I don't believe so but I wouldn't know even if I did. Because sleepwalkers don't know what they are doing. I only remember once that I was crying in my dream and when I woke up I was still crying," Pang, 46, offered. Lee, 35, said: "Probably not because nobody has ever told me I sleepwalk. But, I've been told I talk in my sleep. Once, I yelled out very loudly in the middle of the night and scared the person next to me." "That person must have been me!" Pang interjected, eliciting more laughter. After revealing that it was not Pang, Lee added that Pang actually talks in his sleep. "It's actually quite scary, and I've told him about it. He says he doesn't remember anything though." With that, Lee said sleepwalking is something she is quite familiar with because her younger brother used to sleepwalk when he was a kid. "We'd all be watching TV and he'd suddenly walk out of his room and stand in front of the set. Since we all knew very well what's going on, we'll just take him back to his room. On that night, my parents would make sure that all the doors were locked. Sleepwalking is very dangerous as he may fall down the stairs. "So for Sleepwalker, I based my portrayal of sleepwalking on these memories, which have left me with a very deep impression. The director also created a very interesting premise for the movie. With it being in 3D and me walking around in my nightgown and high heels, I believe audiences will be able to identify with my character's predicament and feel the same horror as she does upon discovering her chilling affliction." Although she admits to being easily scared, Lee is surprisingly unafraid of filming the horror movies that she is well-known for. "It's not scary at all when we are filming. There are easily a hundred people around keeping you company. There is nothing to be afraid of." So, why did Pang decide to shoot Sleepwalker in 3D? "To me, 3D is just a new technology with improved camera techniques. Hence, it's only a natural progression to shoot in 3D. Even wireless technology for phones has gone from 2G to 3G and now 4G. It's the same and so simple, if you don't start shooting in 3D, how would you be able to go on to shoot films in 4D and 5D and 6D later?" replied Pang. The bespectacled director who operates a production house in Thailand, conducted interviews in Cantonese and English and was asked to demonstrate his command of the Thai language. Having made so many horror movies (his most successful genre), Pang expressed an eagerness to expand his horizons and explore other genres. He said that he would be coming to Kuala Lumpur again next month to recce filming locations for his next movie, another sequel to The Detective series (2007 and 2011), which stars Aaron Kwok. Pang also looks forward to making another sequel of Bangkok Dangerous (1999), his first movie made with his younger twin brother Danny. Pang, who started his career as a telecine colourist in a film lab, has a dozen movies under his belt and another 10 made in collaboration with Danny. ● Sleepwalker in 3D is showing in local cinemas. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Posted: 08 Nov 2011 05:00 AM PST HIGHLIGHTS of the EUFF includes Sophie Scholl (Germany) which won Silver Bears in Berlin (2005) for Best Leading Actress and Best Direction and three German Film Awards (2005) for Best Film. The movie tells of a story which happened in Munich (1943) where a group of young people, mostly university students, resorts to passive resistance as the only effective way to cripple the Nazis and their inhuman war machine during a devastating war waged by Hitler in Europe. Here are the synopses to a select few movies that will be shown during the EUFF: > Venice (2010, Poland): A magically beautiful adaptation of three short stories by Wlodzimierz Odojewski. It is summer of 1939. Following the family tradition, 11-year-old Marek is about to visit Venice for the first time. But when the conflict between Poland and Germany intensifies, he is sent to a small village to live with his aunts in a vast mansion. There, in a flooded basement, they recreate Venice which becomes a backdrop for the emotional transformation of the film's characters. Somewhere between his dreams, Venice, and the war, Marek must transform from a boy into a man. Directed by Jan Jakub Kolski and starring Marcin Walewski, Magdalena Cielecka and Agnieszka Grochowska. > Winter In Wartime (2008, Netherlands): The time is January 1945, and food is scarce in Nazi-occupied Holland. Fourteen-year-old Michiel is bored and dreaming of adventure, itching to play his part in the Resistance. He has an opportunity when he and a friend witness the shootdown of an RAF pilot who goes into hiding in the nearby forest. Michiel resolves to help the pilot escape, and as he gets more deeply involved in the Resistance, he places his family in jeopardy. With the conflict coming to an end, Michiel comes of age and learns of the stark difference between adventure fantasy and the ugly realities of war. Directed by Martin Koolhoven and starring Martijn Lakemeier, Jamie Campbell Bower and Yorick van Wageningen. > Cell 211 (2009, Spain): Juan Oliver wants to make a good impression at his new job as a prison officer and reports to work a day early, leaving his pregnant wife, Elena, at home. His destiny is forever changed by this fateful decision, as during his tour of the prison, an accident occurs that knocks him unconscious. He is rushed to the empty but visibly haunted walls of cell 211. Directed by Daniel Monzón and starring Luis Tosar, Alberto Ammann and Antonio Resines. > Sophie Scholl – The Final Days (2005, Germany): The Final Days is the true story of Germany's most famous anti-Nazi heroine brought to life. Sophie Scholl is the fearless activist of the underground student resistance group, The White Rose. Using historical records of her incarceration, the film re-creates the last six days of Sophie Scholl's life: a journey from arrest to interrogation, trial and sentence in 1943 Munich. Unwavering in her convictions and loyalty to her comrades, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Scholl delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility that is both haunting and timeless. Directed by Marc Rothemund and starring Julia Jentsch, Fabian Hinrichs and Gerald Alexander Held. > Tandoori Love (2008, Switzerland): This comedy is about an Indian cook, Raja, and his series of (mis)adventures in the Swiss mountains. These include leaving his Bollywood troupe to starve as he starts working for a Swiss restaurant, delighting people with his Indian delicacies, stabbing a man, singing, and perhaps most significantly, falling in love with his boss Markus' fiancée, Sonja. Directed by Oliver Paulus and starring Lavinia Wilson, Vijay Raaz and Martin Schick. > Luxembourg, USA (2007, Luxembourg): The film is a ringing portrait of the Midwest, of rural America, crossing a very specific and little known community: the Luxembourgese. Between 1830 and 1900, around 70,000 Luxembourgese (at the turn of the century, that was more than 25% of the population of Luxembourg) immigrated to the United States to discover the new world. They named their cities Luxembourg, Belgium, Rollingstone. The film explores the history of the reasons for the immigration to the new world. But Luxembourg, USA is primarily about the Midwest today, the region in the central-north of the United States, where 90% of the population today is of European descent. Directed by Christophe Wagner. > The Escape (2009, Denmark): Danish journalist Rikke Lyngvig is taken hostage in Afghanistan by a terror group. With help from one of the terrorists, the young Nazir, Rikke manages to escape. On her return, she is soon declared the Danish Jessica Lynch and her career is launched into the spotlight. All the while Nazir flees from Afghanistan, heading for Denmark. When he finally seeks out Rikke, she is shocked and torn. Is she willing to help the man who threatened to kill her, and to jeopardise her new-found career? Their tumultuous encounter turns into an ill-fated confrontation with their own demons and a nation driven by a hunger for sensation and political populism. Directed by Kathrine Windfeld and starring Iben Hjejle, Lars Mikkelsen and Faegh Zamani. > An Ordinary Execution (2010, France): Based on his own hugely successful novel of the same name, Marc Dugain's debut feature is an encounter between the ageing Joseph Stalin and a young doctor, Anna. Anna, who has extraordinary healing powers, is brought in to treat the escalating physical woes of the dictator's old age after his own doctor has been "purged". Seen entirely through Anna's eyes, he lays bare his philosophy of terror – rambling, plotting, intimidating. Directed by Marc Dugain and starring André Dussollier, Marina Hands and Edouard Baer. > Kooky (2010, Czech Republic): Young Ondra has asthma and so his mum throws away his favourite toy: a musty old stuffed bear named Kooky. That night Ondra dreams that Kooky is determined to find his way back home from the dump. In the boy's fantasy, the bear gets lost in a forest occupied by strange animals and remarkable beings that he never heard of while living on the toy shelf in Ondra's room. And, of course, even in this small imaginary world, true good exists as does real evil, which Kooky must face up to in order to become a real hero. Directed by Marc Dugain and starring André Dussollier, Marina Hands and Edouard Baer. > Niko And The Way To The Stars (2008, Finland): Imagine a young reindeer boy knowing his Dad is a member of the legendary Santa's Flying Forces – the coolest reindeer around! But this young boy has never met his real father and no one believes his stories about his famous Dad or his claim that he, too, will fly one day. They laugh at him because he just falls over all the time! Now he has to prove them wrong. Directed by Michael Hegner and Kari Juusonen; and starring Olli Jantunen, Hannu-Pekka Björkman and Vuokko Hovatta. > Oliver Twist (1922, Britain): Oliver's mother, a penniless outcast, died giving birth to him. As a young boy Oliver is brought up in a workhouse, later apprenticed to an uncaring undertaker, and eventually is taken in by a gang of thieves who befriend him for their own purposes. All the while, there are secrets from Oliver's family history waiting to come to light. Directed by Frank Lloyd and starring Jackie Coogan, James A. Marcus and Aggie Herring. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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