Chungwai Reviews

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Ready to watch the 5th and 6th time because...

[11 May 2003]

**** A LITTLE BIT OF SPOILER ****

I absolutely love the movie, and overall it blew me away... but... somehow I fell asleep everytime when Janet Leigh's scenes came up?!

Also 3 things I just didn't get it?! 1.What was Janet Leigh doing in the film? Her conversation with Frank Sinatra sounded as though they both work for some sort of secret agents and they

talked in codes ("are you Arabian" was asked at least 3 times)? Listen carefully to their dialogues... didn't make sense at all and I was misled to assuming her as an important character! 2.Leslie Parrish taking off the white blouse revealing a "strapless" bra !!!... Don't tell me it was a necessary gesture to complete a political theme Hollywood movie!? Cheezie! 3.Janet Leigh's relationship with Frank Sinatra... Still didn't make sense to me after watching this movie 3 times repeatedly within one day.

However, this film really shocked me as I did not realize how politically

expressive a film could go in such a chaotic and unstable America in the 60's. Really wish to see a remake of this film!!! 8 out of 10.

Monsoon Wedding (2001)

A very straight- forward comment for Monsoon Wedding

[30 April 2002]

Straight to the points: - I didn't see any reason for "frequent" close- ups on every single scene...! My stomach almost couldn't hold it...

I am assuming that the "home video" feeling was intentional, but it just didn't work at all when the close- ups were not even stable (yes, very shaky indeed)! - Some of the subplots were unnecessary... the story overall was a bit "soapy", though I felt the warmth and "on your face" family and friendship love... - Overall, Monsoon Wedding really felt like a documentary of upper class India.

It would have been a great documentary of upper- class Indian wedding with such beautiful art direction, set design, costumes, and brilliant Indian music... And these were the reasons why I stayed for the entire movie.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

What's wrong with the art direction...

[5 January 2002]

The Royal Tenenbaums is no doubt one of the best movies I've seen recently. Fascinated by the screenplay, photography, and his direction, and I'm absolutely speechless and stunned with the entire cast and their witty performances ("Pagoda" is so wacky!) However, I have to admit that the costumes and scenic designs did not match the year?! I was very confused as I really assumed the story happened in the late 70's New York "suburbs" until the very end of the movie! Even the props (ie. Margot's cigarettes) don't look modern at all?! Maybe that's intentional, but first of all, what does the 70's look got to do with the characters and the relation to the story? And why does everything else (the bus, the ship, the streets, and even the Lindbergh Hotel) also look so 70's? Shouldn't there be more varieties in order to better distinct the characters' personalities and styles? The only style that stood out was Owen Wilson's outfit (obviously), yet it is still unable to take my mind back to the present times. Generally speaking, the costumes are slightly overstated (do they all have to dress exactly like how they dressed when they were kids; not to mention Chas's sons' outfits...?!) My very last question, if the 70's look is really intentional, why does Chas's (Stiller) apt look so modern?! The art direction is very misleading, and it is a pity.

Now, I wonder if Rushmore is also about the present times?!

Code Unknown (2000)

Multi- cultural dilemmas that exist everywhere

[2 December 2001]

"Code Unknown" is truly an excellent portrayal of the never- ending multi- cultural dilemmas within a "modern" society. It is a topic that we all have to face everyday. It has become part of our lives and for most of us, we have gotten used to it, to accept it as is. I strongly recommend everyone to spend 2 hours to see what we really are going through in our society, and an issue that we think we are solving yet deep down we are ignoring it for all sorts of selfish reasons. The message in this movie has also aroused us that our younger generations are also making the same racial mistakes that we, the so- called "older generation", have all seen and some might have had already experienced not once, but several times. The unique way of editing in this film works perfectly with the story because I was very disturbed by the elongated black outs between scenes; however, the more I felt disturbed, the more I felt as if I was one of the characters, sharing their emotions and their confusions. The timing of the black outs was also a superb and fresh way to reflect a continuation of the situations in the most cleverly subtle alternative. What we see on the silver screen is actually a mirage of our reality. Instead of telling us to our face that we are having problems, it simply shows us what we are doing everyday. It is that simple.