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Reviews
The Kite Runner (2007)
Melodramatic, Clichéd, Predictable
I'm probably gonna get slammed for saying this, but "The Kite Runner" is a transvestite of a book. It doesn't mean that I hated it, but I always got the niggling sense that the book was begging to be made into a movie. It was melodramatic, clichéd and predictable, just perfect for Hollywood. I'm not making light of the plight of Afghanistan, I just feel the plot was...melodramatic, clichéd and predictable.
And so I thought the movie might just be powerful in the right hands, I mean, the book really read like a movie, right? The adaptation process couldn't have been as tough as, I dunno...Corelli's Mandolin? (I'm grabbing the first book that comes to mind) And I really liked Forster's previous movie "Stranger Than Fiction". But I came out feeling a lot more cheated than when I read the book. The movie pretty much glossed over the first half of the book, which was I do feel is crucial in establishing the dynamics between Amir, Hassan and Amir's father. One great thing about the book was that the relationships of the three central characters were simply but deftly told. Hassan adores Amir, Amir adores his father, yet his father seems to treat Hassan better than his own son. Instead, the movie chooses to split the length of the movie into almost three equal parts: Amir and Hassan's childhood in Afghanistan, Amir and his father's escape and adjustment to life in America, and finally, Amir's act of redemption. For me, I did feel that the middle part was a tad redundant. It just served a superficial purpose to inject a little romantic drama in the form of Amir's marriage, and the illness of Amir's father felt a little manipulative. Was it important in the book? Yes, I do think so. But the filmic version falls short in conveying the strength of character for both Amir and his father while struggling to make a life in a foreign land. Because of that, Amir comes across as a little whiny for insisting on becoming a writer, and Amir's father is just there to jerk our tear glands.
That said, I really loved the kite-flying scenes and the kids were brilliant...Oh, that's just one line of praise. Bugger.
Cloverfield (2008)
Cinéma-Vérité of Our TIme
We have rap and hip-hop, internet and mobile communications, as well as Survivor and The Amazing Race. These are what our generation can claim our own, and that applies to The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield, cinéma-vérité of our generation.
To caution potential viewers about to catch the movie, calling it a disaster or monster film might be misleading. Essentially at it's heart, Cloverfield is a romance story. The character which the film "documents" through a hand-held video camera, is Rob, a New Yorker about to leave for Japan to take up a vice-chairman position. This present story is recorded over a previous taping of Rob's day with childhood friend Beth. Through the little snippets that have not been recorded over, it can be deciphered that they have spent a night together and the situation between them is now awkward. Are they just friends? Is Rob willing to stay in New York? Things are unresolved and Beth leaves in a huff.
This is when the story takes a turn. An explosion resembling an earthquake shatters through the city. As the party makes its way onto the street, the head of the Statue of Liberty crashes onto the street. A terrifying cry of echoes in the air, signifying that this is the act of a living thing rather than an earthquake or terrorist act. As the city is being evacuated, Rob receives a distress call from Beth. Along with Hud, his best friend-cum-cameraman, his brother's girlfriend and Hud's love interest, they make their way back to Cloverfield, where Beth's apartment is. Why does he go back for someone who is not even officially his girlfriend? Not to give away anything in terms of plot, I can only say it's hard to see someone you love die, but it's worse to leave someone to die without her knowing you love her.
What happens next is for you to find out. As I left the cinema, I noticed that the majority of the viewers seemed disappointed at how the movie turned out. Just look past the set expectations that a genre carries with it, suspend your disbelief and enjoy a film that will be a classic that is representative of our time.
Nanking (2007)
An Event That Should Never Be Forgotten
How do you write about a documentary on an atrocity committed during the darkest days of modern history? You feel grief, and anger, and downright bewilderment. To cast these feelings aside and think about the film on it's own is almost impossible. Can you talk about the structure of the film, whether it's well-paced, or the performances commendable? The subject itself almost consumes all of your thought, you wonder how it could ever have happened, and more important, if it is ever possible that you can ever commit such an act of brutality.
Having actors perform the roles of the foreigners who are deemed saviours of the Chinese is perhaps a bad move on the filmmakers' part. Even though they make no attempt to hide the fact that it is a performance, or rather, actors at a staged table-reading, it stands in too stark a contrast to the interviews with the Chinese survivors and Japanese soldiers. In particular, 2 Japanese soldiers, now in their twilight years, seem to be filmed at a distance, maybe even unknowing of the fact that they are being recorded. They talk about the killings and rapings impassively, even with a little hint of smugness. It ironically holds a mirror to the actors' readings of characters. Do they hate the Japanese? No, as the actress representing Minnie Vautrin said. So filled with kindness are they that it's almost as unbelievable as the monstrosity of the Rape of Nanking.