Sepet

Country: Malaysia 2004
Language: English, Malay, Chinese

Picture from flickr
More details: sepet


Seen: 23 February 2005
A much talked about and anticipated Malaysian made film. Overall good effort from the cast and production. The simple story line, a love story and a fairly strong script helps the film to move along quite smoothly. My only sore point might be the feel good factor prevalent among the main characters and the on going dialogue on sterotypical racial traits. Reminder of her petronas (Malaysian national petroleum) ads.

Chemman Chaalai

Country: Malaysia 2005
Language: Tamil
Picture from jaffa
More details: imdb



Seen: 6 February 2005
My first Malaysian Tamil movie. I have yet to see Puteri Gunung Ledang (a much hyped Malay love story based on a legendary princess) but from what this film potrays this is a deserving representative of a piece of Malaysian life. Simple story line, effective acting and editing made it a gem. It does not pull your heart strings all the way, but we can get misty eyed with certain scenes. Reality strikes but I doubt this will make it popular among the usual Malaysian cinema goers.

Quill

Country: Japan 2004
Language: Japanese
Picture from cdjapan
More details: cdjapan

Seen: 6 Feb 2005

Japanese feel good/sad/poignant film about the life of a dog. The moment the camera scans his birth until the end, we can empathise with how the protagonist, the dog feels about his life. First, a puppy without a care in the world. Transferred to caring and loving caretakers but taken away after a year
because he is being trained to be a guide dog for the blind. The trails and tribulations of having your own mind at the training school. The human trainers have ample reserves of patience with him. The dog does not dissappoint. He is intelligent and one of the best. A beacon of examplary behaviour for others to emulate. His end was not without pain but he was with loved ones, if that is a consolation.

Party Monster

Country: USA 2003
Picture courtesy of imdb
More details: partymonster

Seen: 31 Dec 2004
True story of a nightclub promoter who brags that he killed his roommate and drug dealer. The main character is played by Macaulay Caulkin. Caulkin is so different from his Home Alone days. His face is still boyish but he brings fresh insight into the every day life of the protagonist. It is a disturbing story for some since it did happen in real life. How does a person grow up to become such a character. His family background, the past all gelled together. I can't judge or pre judge why people do what they do. I can accept what happened since I didn't see any malice in his acts. He might have offended a lot of people but his intentions were pure, to make everyone happy as he was. Or is he demanding everyone to be happy so that he'll feel the same.

Capturing the Friedmans

Country: USA 2003

Picture from imdb
Details: capturingthefriedmans

Seen: 30 Dec 2004
I went to see this documentary expecting a straight forward style documentary. But the photography itself sucked me into the family's trials and tribulations. It is astounding that the mother didn't know what had happened during all those years. She was alone against the husband and children when the trials started. I guess she felt let down after so many years being together as a married couple. It seems as if this is typical of families with problems related to allegations of sexual misconduct with minors.
In Malaysia studies show that the mothers tend to turn the other way when the breadwinner is accused of sexual mischief with minors in the family or outsiders. This attitude is more pronounced when the mothers are dependent on their husbands to provide for the family.
Taking advantage of minors almost always occurs within 'normal' 'average' families in most communities. The impact explodes onto everyone only when the victim has mustered enough courage to speak to someone.

Untold Scandal

Country: Korea 2003

Language: Korean

Picture from hancinema
More details: hancinema

Seen 29 Dec 2004
Korean version of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. The story transformed very well to 18th century Korea. The acting and art direction is superb. I'm biased since I'm always taken up by nuances in the eyes, facial expressions and images. The understated acting and detailed care on the little things - costumes, scenery - helped me to delve deeper into the characters many faceted life. Satisftying watch for me.

Films I've watched

This site will be my take on films that I have watched. It would not be as detailed as established reviews found in the media but more of my personal feelings when watching the films.