Komedi, mana engkau pergi?

Istanbul Aku Datang
My rating:




Pembikin dan cendekiawan filem Amir Muhammad menggelar filem ini, bersama dengan Gol & Gincu dan Pisau Cukur, sebagai "Gedik Trilogy" terbitan Red Films. Ketiga-tiganya diarah oleh Bernard Chauly, ditulis oleh Rafidah Abdullah, dan memaparkan watak utama perempuan yang muda, periang dan (ofkos) gedik. Saya tidak menonton Gol & Gincu tapi saya menyukai Pisau Cukur, dan saya ada memuji saudara Chauly sebagai salah satu pengarah filem yang paling cekap dan berwibawa. Namun Chauly dan Rafidah nampaknya jarang mengeluarkan filem; sudah tiga tahun sejak Pisau Cukur baru muncul Istanbul Aku Datang, babak ketiga dalam Gedik Trilogy ini. Saya sebenarnya tidak merancang untuk menonton filem ini, tapi mujurlah ada pembaca blog memberi komen yang merekomenkan filem ini. Saya gembira kerana sempat menontonnya - tapi bukan kerana ia best sangat.

Kerana saya berpeluang menulis tentang apa yang membuat sebuah filem komedi romantik bagus, dengan memberi contoh apa yang kurang dalam filem ini.

Dian (Lisa Surihani) membuat keputusan yang terburu-buru untuk mengembara ke Istanbul, Turki agar dapat bersama kekasihnya Azad (Tomok) yang sedang belajar di universiti di sana - tetapi dia kecewa dengan sambutan dingin dari Azad. Ketika mencari tempat tinggal, Dian tertipu oleh seorang lelaki Turki (Mert Yavuzcan) dan terpaksa tinggal serumah dengan Harris (Beto Kusyairy), seorang lelaki dari Malaysia yang langsung tidak senang berkongsi tempat tinggal dengan Dian. Tetapi sambil hubungan Dian dengan Azad bertambah renggang, hubungan Dian dengan Harris pula bertambah mesra - sehingga Dian harus memilih siapa diantara mereka berdua yang memiliki hatinya.

Kekuatan tulisan Rafidah adalah dialog yang lucu dan bersahaja, yang berjaya menggelikan hati penonton-penonton dalam panggung saya. Arahan Chauly juga menampakkan sentuhan ringan yang efektif, mewujudkan suasana kelakar bagi filem ini. Tapi saya rasa keistimewaan filem-filem terbitan Red Films yang utama ialah watak-watak heroin yang menarik dan mendalam, yang juga memberi peluang bagi pelakon-pelakon wanita memberi persembahan yang mantap dan mencabar. Watak perempuan sebegini jarang dilihat dalam filem tempatan (dan bukan sahaja dalam filem tempatan), jadi sayanglah kalau Red Films tidak lebih kerap mengeluarkan filem. Humor dalam Istanbul Aku Datang adalah bernada mesra dan murah hati; jenakanya tidak memperli sesiapa, dan tiada watak yang benar-benar jahat atau patut dibenci. Ini semua benda yang saya suka.

Apa yang saya tak suka ialah jalan cerita yang tidak teliti dan tidak tekun. Kita tahu ini sebuah komedi romantik, jadi kita tahu Dian dan Harris akan jatuh cinta. Tapi kita tidak melihat mahupun merasainya. Mula-mula mereka saling membenci, tiba-tiba timbul perasaan cinta. Watak Harris pun tidak terbina; siapa sebenarnya mamat ni? Apa personalitinya, apa bezanya dari Azad sehingga Dian memilihnya sebagai kekasih? Mengapa sampai hampir babak klimaks baru kita tahu apa pekerjaannya? Dan mengapa Rafidah dan Chauly hanya menggunakan adegan-adegan montaj berlagu bagi menceritakan kisah cinta mereka? Bagilah mamat dan minah ni betul-betul berkenalan, bersama dialog yang mencuit serta menyentuh hati. Kalau harapkan montaj saja, ini penceritaan yang sungguh malas. Cerita ini malas!

Sifat malas inilah yang amat mengecewakan saya. Genre filem ini ialah komedi romantik, tetapi komedinya setakat separuh pertama sahaja. Lepas pertengahan jalan, langsung tiada lawak jenaka lagi. Mengapa, saudara Chauly dan saudari Rafidah? Ini bukan cara nak buat cerita romantic comedy; walaupun dilema percintaan heroin anda makin serius, unsur komedi tetap perlu ada. Separuh keduanya bertukar menjadi melodrama yang sappy dan telalu sentimental - dan masalahnya, jika separuh pertama adalah komedi, begitulah jangkaan penonton terhadap cerita seterusnya. Penonton sudah bersedia untuk ketawa. Penonton dalam panggung saya ketawakan adegan Harris mencuci rambut Dian, dan pasti ini bukan niat anda bukan, saudara Chauly dan saudari Rafidah? Anda ingatkan adegan ini sedih dan pilu, bukan?

Pemilihan pelakon juga agak ragu-ragu. Lisa Surihani adalah antara pelakon wanita yang paling popular dan berkarisma; tiada masalah bagi beliau membawa watak heroin Red Films. Tetapi kedua-dua pelakon gandingannya pula kurang sesuai. Tomok Indrawan sering kelihatan kayu, terutama bila berlakon disamping Lisa yang ceria. Beto Kusyairy pula, mungkin beliau dihampakan oleh skrip yang tidak membina wataknya, seperti yang dikatakan. Tetapi saya tetap rasa Beto salah dipilih sebagai watak utama lelaki dalam filem komedi romantik. Raut mukanya sentiasa serius dan garang. Lakonannya dalam babak-babak komedi adakala tidak natural, dan beliau tiada banyak chemistry dengan Lisa.

Tetapi saya tidak patut terlalu keras mengkritik filem ini. Dahlah saya memberinya 3 bintang, kerana ia tetap sebuah filem yang menghiburkan - malah saya ingin melihat banyak lagi filem tempatan sebegini. Selain komedi yang bersahaja dan dialog yang kelakar, ia juga memaparkan keindahan kota Istanbul dimana ia difilemkan; filem ini boleh dilihat sebagai travel porn yang berjaya. Chauly juga boleh berbangga atas kejayaan ko-produksi ini bersama kru dan pelakon Turki. Dan sudah tentu saya tidak mahu menunggu tiga tahun lagi sebelum keluar filem seterusnya dari Chauly, Rafidah dan Red Films. Kekuatan mereka amat dialu-alukan - dan kelemahan mereka pula sesuatu yang perlu diperbaiki dengan lebih banyak latihan. Kita tunggu babak seterusnya dalam Gedik Quadrilogy nanti.

NEXT REVIEW: War of the Worlds: Goliath
Expectations: man, I have nooooo idea 

Tiga hari bersama dua bahlol

Untuk Tiga Hari
My rating:

Adalah tidak wajar bagi seorang pengkritik filem untuk melangkah masuk ke panggung dengan prasangka dan prejudis. Namun bagi TMBF yang masokis hendak mengulas filem-filem Melayu, kadang-kadang ini tidak boleh dielak. Untuk Tiga Hari adalah sebuah filem yang diarah dan dilakon oleh Afdlin Shauki, salah satu daripada bilangan pembikin filem tempatan yang saya hormati. (Bilangan ini amat kecil.) Tetapi ia juga mempunyai premis yang langsung tak masuk akal bagi saya. Begitu juga, ia sebuah lagi adaptasi dari novel tulisan Ahadiat Akashah; sebelum ini, filem adaptasi novelnya yang pertama juga sama tak masuk akal. Apakah Afdlin dapat menggilap tahi Ahadiat sehingga menjadi permata? Kerana prasangka saya ialah, cerita asal Ahadiat ni memang tahi, menampakkan dua watak utama yang pada pendapat saya amat keji.

Alangkah terkejutnya saya, bila saya dapati filem ini setuju dengan pendapat itu.

Zafrin (Rashidi Ishak) dan Ujie (Vanida Imran) pasangan yang bercinta, tetapi dipaksa oleh ibubapa masing-masing untuk kahwin orang lain. Maka Afin mencadangkan bahawa mereka mengahwini pilihan orang tua mereka - Afin kepada Juwita (Ayu Raudhah), Ujie kepada Armi (Afdlin Shauki) - tetapi bercerai selepas hanya tiga hari. Kedua-dua mereka pernah kecundang dalam percintaan; Remi (Zizan Razak), teman lelaki pertama Ujie (semasa muda dilakonkan oleh Ainul Aishah) telah mengahwini gadis lain, manakala hubungan Afin (semasa muda Zizan Nin) dengan Balqis (Dira Abu Zahar) ditentang oleh ibu Afin (Khatijah Tan). Dalam tiga hari mereka berumahtangga dengan suami dan isteri yang penyayang, Afin dan Ujie mula ragu akan perjanjian mereka.

Ni yang tak masuk akal bagi saya: apa rancangan bangang mamat dan minah ni?? Kahwin hanya untuk menenangkan hati orang tua, tapi lepas cerai hati mereka tenang lagi ke? Akal korang tak panjang sangat ye? Alasan mereka pula, kerana dipaksa. Wei, korang ni masih kecik ke? Belum habis menyusu lagi? Rupa je dewasa, tapi tak reti nak berdikari atau memilih pasangan hidup sendiri. Kalau tak setuju dengan kata orang tua, cakaplah tak setuju. Bukannya suruh kau derhaka pada mak bapak, tapi pujuklah sampai diorang faham pendirian kau. Orang tua menang degil, bukan senang nak pujuk, tapi itu kan kewajipan seorang anak. Afin dan Ujie berdua ni pengecut, tak berani nak menuntut kedewasaan dan kebebasan diri sendiri. Lalu mereka sanggup memperdaya dan mematahkan hati dua insan yang tak pernah bersalah terhadap mereka. Apa kejadah punya cerita yang menampakkan dua bahlol ni sebagai watak utama??

Rupanya ini cerita yang pada akhirnya mengiktiraf kebahlolan mereka. Disini saya bagi SPOILER ALERT, kerana saya terpaksa menyingkap pengakhiran filem ini untuk mengulasnya dengan teliti: Ujie memilih suaminya Armi dan meninggalkan Afin yang sudah bercerai dengan isterinya Juwita, lalu Afin tinggal keseorangan. Malah ada babak dimana bapa Afin (lakonan Zaibo) memarahinya atas sebab sama yang saya tulis diatas; apasal pulak dia salahkan ibunya menghalang percintaannya, sedangkan dia sendiri yang setuju mengahwini orang yang dia tak cinta? Tak sangka cerita ini tiba-tiba mengambil haluan ini. Akhirnya Afin - yang dahulu mengilhamkan rancangan kahwin tiga hari ini dan mendalanginya dari mula - menerima padah yang setimpal dengan perbuatan kejinya.

Namun ini tidak cukup untuk menjadikannya filem yang baik. Afin dihukum, tapi Ujie lepas begitu sahaja, malah dihadiahkan seorang suami yang setia dan kaya-raya. Ujie tak bersalah ke? Kita tak nampak ibunya (lakonan Fauziah Ahmad Daud yang tersangat nyaring dan over) degil atau bengis macam ibu Afin; macam tiada halangan pun kalau Ujie memilih pasangan sendiri. Dia tetap menurut kata kekasihnya, tetap memperdaya suaminya, dan tetap melukakan hati Armi bila mengaku akan niatnya untuk bercerai demi lelaki lain. Tapi Armi macam tak marah dan tak tersinggung dikhianati cintanya, malah tetap memujuk Ujie menerimanya sebagai suami. Akhirnya Ujie macam jadi heroin dan Afin jadi watak tragedi. Adil ke ni? Apa kemuliaan Ujie yang menjadikannya layak mencapai kebahagiaan, sedangkan Afin tidak?

Saya tak faham apa tujuan cerita ini. Ada selitan adegan-adegan seorang ustaz (lakonan Hafizuddin Fadzil) memberi ceramah kursus kahwin - jadi ini filem cereka ke filem pendidikan tajaan JAKIM? Filem yang mengikuti jalan hidup dua watak celaka ini dan mengundang simpati kita terhadap mereka? Yang memaniskan kecelakaan dan keburukan perangai mereka dengan lawak jenaka? Disini saya boleh katakan bahawa arahan Afdlin cukup cekap dan berkesan dalam menggarap adegan lawak yang bersahaja, serta adegan drama yang bertujuan menyayat hati. Lakonan dari barisan pelakon pada keseluruhannya mantap - walaupun Khatijah Tan melakonkan watak jahat yang terlampau jahat tahap dewa, tetapi sesuai jugalah buat cerita ini. Sinematografinya juga cantik, dan ia sentiasa memberi gambaran sebuah produksi yang berkualiti. (Saya juga ingin memuji sebuah babak kelab malam yang buat pertama kalinya bukan dilihat sebagai sarang maksiat. Kelainan yang amat menyegarkan!)

Namun sepanjang jangka masa filem ini, soalan yang sentiasa bermain-main dalam fikiran saya ialah, "Wei, movie, kau tak sedar ke Afin dan Ujie ni sebenarnya dua manusia yang pendek akal, pentingkan diri sendiri, dan berperangai amat buruk?" Kalau sampai babak akhir baru ia menjawab, "Ya, kami sedar! (Tapi Afin je, Ujie okey)," itu sudah jauh terlambat. Saya rasa sebab utama saya tak suka filem ini ialah falsafah yang berbeza. Pengajaran filem ini bukan "bertanggungjawablah atas hidup anda sendiri dan jangan sakitkan atau salahkan orang lain." Dari apa yang saya lihat, pengajarannya ialah, "kalau dah kahwin, kekalkanlah perkahwinan itu, tak kira ikhlas ke tidak atau ada perasaan cinta ke tidak." Ini suatu pandangan yang terlampau asing bagi TMBF.

NEXT REVIEW: Looper
Expectations: pretty high! 

Namewee needs to work on his impulse control

Hantu Gangster
My rating:




My respect for Namewee took a plunge after his anti-Lynas music video. I have no wish for a potentially hazardous industrial plant with dodgy safety standards on our shores, but I thought that video was hateful. It was full of nothing but virulently racist invective against Australians, for no other reason than that Lynas is an Australian corporation. It clearly did not occur to Namewee that many Malaysians may have Australian friends, and his video would have utterly embarrassed both of them. Which is why I was eager to watch his latest movie. I liked his last, and I wanted to see what he does next. I've gone to bat for him before and defended him against those who think he's a vulgar and shameless opportunist. I would like to think he's more than that.

I think he is. But he is also, in many ways, his own worst enemy.

Te Sai (Namewee) is a petty criminal, ne'er-do-well and single father to his perpetually disappointed 12-year-old son Chee Meng (Tee Jing Chen). But he's the one whom the ghosts of three recently-murdered gangland bosses, Pak Nasir (Dato' Jalaluddin Hassan), Uncle Arulmugam (Dato' David Arumugam) and Uncle Ah Hua (Charlie Loke), seek out to avenge their murders. Their sons and new leaders of the gangs - weak-willed Parut (Taiyuddin Bakar), thuggish loan shark Seelan (Abu Bakar Siddiq) and debauched drug dealer Ah Bao (Fa Chai Bao) - have forgotten the bonds of brotherhood that their fathers forged decades ago, and are on the verge of a race war. Unbeknownst to all three is the fact that the devious Ewan (Farid Kamil), who ordered the hit on their fathers, is deliberately stoking racial tensions in his bid to take control of all three gangs. To stop Ewan and restore harmony, there could not be an unlikelier hero than Te Sai - although if he succeeds, he might win the heart of the lovely Jameela (Diana Danielle), his son's schoolteacher and also the daughter of Pak Nasir.

Dear Namewee. Here is a list of things in your movie that are not funny:

- Te Sai's expletive of choice, "Kuihkochi".
- Attempting Japanese dialogue when the extent of your knowledge of Japanese comes from JAV.
- The fact that Arulmugam is never without a bottle in his hand. Dude. Beh hao ar.
- The musical number that the three gangs suddenly launch into to hoodwink the police.
- "Guaaaaang Zhou." (Unless this is a reference to something I'm unfamiliar with.)
- Te Sai getting hamsap with Jameela.
- "Christopher".
- Anything to do with Ah Bao's four perpetually-shirtless henchmen.
- Especially the one with the killer penis. Yes.
- And the one who seems to really really enjoy anal stimulation.
- Seriously, any time you think of doing a dirty joke... don't. Just don't.

The majority of these are unfunny because they are, quite frankly, distasteful. Those that aren't are silly and lazy - which isn't to say that the distasteful jokes aren't also lazy attempts at getting laughs just by putting something stupid up on screen. Broad humour - which seems to be the only kind of humour that local films know how to employ - doesn't have to insult the audience's intelligence. One only has to look at the films of the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker heyday (Airplane!, Top Secret!, The Naked Gun) for examples of jokes that are silly on the surface, but in fact rely a great deal on the audience being smart enough to get them. I mention this because I am greatly hoping that Namewee does a little homework and learns from his betters before making his next movie.

Because the fact is, he's got a lot going for him. Despite Certain Quarters trying to paint him as a Chinese chauvinist, he managed to rope several popular Malay actors into his film, aside from many of the same non-Malay celebrities who previously appeared in Nasi Lemak 2.0. He discovered a bona fide child prodigy in Tee Jing Chen; he even managed to score a cameo from Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir no less. He's done a canny job of getting investors for his films, which he repaid with quite shameless product placement shots. He's daring enough to poke fun at the Polis DiRaja Malaysia, in a joke that I couldn't believe he got past the censors. And of course, he has his fanbase in the Chinese-speaking segment of the population, who supported him through his last movie and will certainly make up the bulk of the box-office for this one. But there is also his deep, abiding - and thoroughly sincere - love of the multi-cultural mix that is unique to Malaysia and only Malaysia.

Oh, it's in this movie alright, and in spades. There are few tributes to 1Malaysia as effective as the flashback sequence chronicling how the three gang bosses (played in their youths by Noh Hujan, Reshmonu and Dennis Lau) met, became fast friends, and went on to become the most honourable, most fashionably-dressed, and overall awesomest gang leaders in Klang. (Well, except for how the Indian is always drinking.) We even see how they weather the events of May 1969, in a scene that has a lot to teach a certain other local production about how to depict that particular historical event. Beyond the annoyingly tasteless comedy, Namewee is a true patriot; the one message he wants to convey, above all else, is that Malaysia is only Malaysia if it's made up of Malays, Chinese and Indians. Love him or hate him, you can't deny him this - and you'd be ignorant and judgemental if you did.

So it's a shame that his most noble instincts are always brought low by his basest. I once called him less than circumspect, but I think I was far too kind; he's bloody reckless. Dude just doesn't think before he executes his ideas, whether it's in a viral video or a feature film. Hantu Gangster's screenplay bears the mark of having been hashed out in about a day, then never once being rewritten or revised or looked over to see if maybe this scene or that joke could be better played another way. (He's banking a lot on the audience's suspension of disbelief with his ridiculously romanticised portrayal of gangsters. And by movie's end, when everyone is one big happy family again, he seems to have forgotten that Seelan is still a violent criminal and Ah Bao is still a drug dealer.) Everything in here feels like a first thought, just as everything Namewee does seems like pure unguarded impulse without the benefit of a voice of discretion.

Which, again, is a shame, because his talents are also undeniable. As dumb as the jokes can be, there is at least one bit where I laughed out loud: a perfectly-timed rendition of "Negaraku." Contrast the hilarity of that moment to a later one, when our same national anthem is used as ironic counterpoint to a tense, ominous scene. Hantu Gangster is not a bad movie; there's some pretty good filmmaking in here, and it loses out to Nasi Lemak 2.0 only for being less of a purely feel-good experience. But if Namewee is gonna keep making films, he really really needs to work harder at it. Study other comedy filmmakers. (Hence, Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker.) Learn how to build something more than a paper-thin plot. Spend more time on effective storytelling rather than comic setpieces. And most of all, start asking yourself, "Does this work? Is this good? Or is there a better way?" In fact, as I mentioned earlier - when it comes to anything that could be gross or risqué, ignore your instincts. When it comes to your sense of social satire, or your vision of what Malaysia is and should be... those instincts, you can trust.

NEXT REVIEW: The Bourne Legacy
Expectations: no Paul Greengrass or Matt Damon - but hey, Tony Gilroy?...

Sorakan yang ringan

Hoore! Hoore!
My rating:




TMBF dah nak givap dengan mengulas setiap filem tempatan yang keluar di panggung. Dulu boleh, tapi sekarang makin susah - tambahan pula kini bukan hanya satu tapi dua filem tempatan keluar setiap minggu. (Tak hairan kalau kebanyakannya dari kilang filem Metrowealth, yang pernah cakap nak tingkatkan produktiviti tapi senyap tentang kualiti.) Jangan salah faham, saya tetap akan cuba sebaik mungkin untuk menonton dan merebiu filem Melayu, tetapi mungkin hanya pilih yang menarik perhatian saya sahaja. Filem Hoore! Hoore! berjaya menarik perhatian saya, kerana filem muzikal yang menggunakan lagu-lagu klasik nyanyian Allahyarham Sudirman Haji Arshad nyata sesuatu yang berbeza dari filem-filem Melayu biasa.

Beza memang ada, dan ini antara kekuatannya. Tetapi kelemahan dan kekurangan juga ada.

Nurul Aiman (Nurfarah Nazirah), atau lebih dikenali sebagai Iman, adalah seorang gadis remaja yang sering dipersendakan kerana tubuhnya yang gempal - terutamanya oleh alpha bitch di sekolahnya iaitu Rita (Kilafairy), malah juga dari kawan-kawan Iman iaitu Lana (Shana Razman) dan Azadan (Afi Yamin). Iman amat disayangi oleh ibubapanya (Harun Salim Bachik dan Adibah Noor) dan juga neneknya (Fauziah Nawi) yang pernah menjadi ratu cantik zaman '60an. Neneknya mendorong Iman supaya menyertai pertanding Ratu Idola yang juga ditanding oleh Rita bagi membina keyakinan dirinya - walaupun ibu Iman kurang senang dengan pertandingan ratu cantik sebegitu. Iman juga dibantu oleh Johari (Akim), ketua pengawas sekolahnya yang menjadi jejaka idaman semua gadis, tapi sebenarnya menyimpan perasaan terhadap Iman; namun Johari juga menghadapi tentangan dari bapanya Cikgu Mursyid (Shahronizam Noor).

Banyak yang saya suka tentang filem ini. Saya suka dialog tulisan Shariman Wahab bersama pengarah Saw Teong Hin yang kerap bijak dan kelakar. ("Moto tu mak kau ke aku mak kau?") Saya suka lakonan yang hampir flawless, terutamanya dari pelakon veteran seperti Fauziah Nawi, Harun Salim Bachik dan Adibah Noor manakala bakat baru seperti Nurfarah Nazirah dan Akim juga berkesan. Saya suka paparan hubungan antara watak-watak yang berkonflik, namun penuh kasih sayang. Saya suka ia sebuah cerita orang muda lawan orang tua yang memihak kepada orang muda. Dan saya suka tema ceritanya, iaitu kebaikan tidak mengenal rupa dan hati yang murni lebih penting dari pandangan orang, semuanya berlandaskan pandangan dari seri agama Islam yang lebih terbuka dan bukan hanya melarang-larang. Semua ini amat baru dan segar bagi filem Melayu, dan ianya ubat penawar yang mujarab kepada filem-filem lain yang kononnya Islam sangat.

Tapi sebagai sebuah muzikal, ia kurang memuaskan. Berbanding filem Mamma Mia! (yang mengadaptasikan pementasan Broadway) dimana ceritanya dibina berdasarkan lirik lagu-lagu ABBA, plot Hoore! Hoore! tidak berkaitan dengan lagu-lagu Allahyarham Sudirman yang dipilih. Adegan muzikal dalam filem muzikal perlu diintegrasikan dengan cerita, supaya muzik dan liriknyalah yang menjadi penggerak cerita - tapi disini, walaupun lagunya sedap, tapi kesannya ibarat garam yang ditambah, bukan ramuan utama. Bagi saya - yang jujur kata, bukan minat sangat genre muzikal - kelemahan yang paling besar adalah dari segi penceritaan. Watak-watak tidak dibina dengan teliti dan konflik antara mereka kabur; akibatnya, yang mengecam dan melarang penyertaan Iman dalam Ratu Idola pada mula-mula, tiba-tiba ubah pendirian tanpa sebab yang jelas.

Disini saya terpaksa membandingkan filem ini dengan filem Hairspray (yang pernah difilemkan dua kali - satu tahun 1988, satu lagi remake tahun 2007). Dalam filem itu, bakat yang ditonjolkan oleh heroinnya Tracy Turnblad ialah tarian, bukan ratu cantik; Tracy juga seorang yang penuh keyakinan diri dari mula, bukan pemalu. Perubahan ini melemahkan Hoore! Hoore! kerana kita boleh lihat sendiri kebolehan Tracy menari, jadi kita faham bagaimana dia boleh menjadi popular walaupun gemuk. Iman pula segan dan kekok, jadi popularitinya sebagai petanding ratu cantik sukar dipercayai. Masalah utamanya ialah ini menjejaskan mesejnya tentang gadis gemuk yang ingin membuktikan diri - kerana apa sebenarnya yang Iman nak buktikan? Apa sebenarnya kejayaan yang dicapainya? Saw dan Shariman seolah-olah takut hendak menjadikan Iman terlalu berani atau kasar, dan akibatnya mesej ini kurang bergigi.

Yang saya ingin lihat dari filem ini ialah gigi. Contohnya babak awal dimana Iman bergaduh dengan Rita selepas Rita memperlinya; lagi sedap kalau Iman memberi satu penumbuk ke hidung Rita dengan bunyi dusshhh! yang kuat. Watak nenek Iman lakonan Fauziah Nawi memang hebat, tapi lagi hebat jika dia ada semasa Rita dengan entourage-nya menyindir Iman lagi; bolehlah dia balas balik dengan sindiran yang lagi power. Dan kan lagi syok kalau persembahan Iman di pusingan akhir pertandingan itu ialah babak tarian dan nyanyian yang rancak dan bertenaga? Ini kan filem muzikal. Ini kan filem girl power, ke tidak? Kalau ada babak-babak macam ni, baru lagi seronok.

Tapi saya agak suka jugaklah filem ini. Nyata ia sesuatu yang baru dan segar, serta menunjukkan pendirian yang amat ingin saya lihat dalam filem tempatan. Filem seperti inilah yang perlu diperbanyakkan lagi di panggung wayang kita - bukan hanya kerana ia memberi ajaran yang sihat dan berharga kepada penonton, khususnya penonton muda dan remaja yang disasarkan. Juga kerana lagi banyak filem seperti ini yang dibikin, lagi mahirlah pembikin-pembikin filem tempatan mengolah dan menggarap cerita sebegini supaya kelemahan yang ada disini dapat diperbaiki.

NEXT REVIEW: Snow White and the Huntsman
Expectations: hoping K-Stew isn't as bad as they say

Zizan Razak Buat Perangai Bodoh: The Movie

Jangan Pandang-Pandang
My rating:




Kembali semula TMBF mengulas filem Melayu tempatan! Dah lama saya tak menonton filem Melayu arus perdana, tidak termasuk Bunohan yang boleh dikatakan filem arthouse tahap antarabangsa, dan juga Cinta Kura-Kura dimana saya diundang ke tayangan perdananya. Sebenarnya saya cukup berasa serba salah, kerana adalah menjadi mission statement TMBF untuk mengulas semua filem tempatan yang ditayang di panggung. Melihat trafik blog ini yang pasti meningkat setiap kali saya terbitkan ulasan filem Melayu, jelas inilah catatan yang paling popular dikalangan pembaca. Ampun maaf diminta kerana banyak filem tempatan yang tak sempat saya tonton.

Jadi diharap anda puas hati dengan ulasan filem Jangan Pandang-Pandang ini. Sebab saya pula langsung tak puas hati ketika menontonnya.

Lima pelajar kolej, iaitu Ajis (Zizan Razak), Yaya (Sara Ali), Ben (Nas-T), Diana (Anith Aqilah) dan Marsha (Miera Liyana), diberi tugasan oleh pensyarah mereka (Jaafar Onn) untuk mengembara ke Gua Bewah dan mencari artifak-artifak bersejarah yang masih ada di situ. Ajis dan Yaya dulu berpasangan, tetapi telah putus hubungan kerana Ajis bodoh nak mampus main kayu tiga; manakala Ben pula jatuh hati dengan Marsha yang penuh misteri. Marsha diterima masuk kedalam kumpulan mereka kerana dia mempunyai sebuah peta lama tinggalan moyangnya yang menunjukkan jalan rahsia kedalam gua tersebut. Lima sekawan itu menyewa bot dari Abang Bob (Azhar Sulaiman) untuk merentasi tasik menuju ke gua itu, tapi gua dan hutan disekelilingnya rupanya berhantu - dan kelima-lima mereka pula rupanya langsung tidak berotak.

Apa kejadah dengan filem-filem arahan Ahmad Idham yang bertajuk Jangan Pandang ni? Yang pertama ialah Jangan Pandang Belakang dari tahun 2007, yang setahu saya ia filem seram yang serius. Diikuti pula dengan Jangan Pandang Belakang Congkak pada tahun 2009 serta sekuelnya setahun kemudian, kedua-dua merupakan filem seram komedi. Sekarang keluar pula Jangan Pandang-Pandang yang juga seram tapi lawak. Keempat-empatnya tiada kaitan antara satu sama lain, malah plot filem ini pun tiada kaitan dengan tajuknya. Satu-satunya faktor sepunya ialah kesemua diarah oleh Ahmad Idham. Apakah Ahmad Idham percaya dua patah perkataan itu ada tuah baginya, dan adakah ini kepercayaan syirik?

Kalau filem ini bertuah di pasaran pun bukan bermaksud ia filem yang baik. Ia sebuah lagi kenderaan bintang (star vehicle) bagi Zizan Razak, yang juga membawa kejayaan yang tidak wajar kepada filem Hantu Bonceng tahun lepas. Wataknya kali ini jauh lebih bangang dan menjengkelkan; si Ajis ni adalah moron paling agung dalam barisan watak yang tak kurang ke-moron-annya. Dahlah dungu, bongkak pulak tu, asyik memegahkan dirinya sebagai ketua kumpulan, dan setiap keputusan yang dibuatnya hanya menggagalkan tugasan mereka dan menyesatkan lagi kumpulan itu dalam hutan belantara. Yang paling sukar dipercayai ialah, cerita ini menampilkan watak Ajis sebagai hero.

Jadi yang paling dungu disini ialah, tak lain dan tak bukan Tuan Pengarah Ahmad Idham - oh ya, juga termasuk Tuan Penulis Skrip Meor Shariman (yang buat saya malu kerana memuji hasil kerjanya dalam filem Senjakala). Segala perbuatan watak-watak tidak masuk akal, sebab jalan ceritanya pun tak masuk akal; di pertengahan jalan, kumpulan pelajar ini terus givap nak menyiapkan tugasan mereka tanpa sebab yang munasabah. Kemudian semasa sesat di hutan, datanglah babak demi babak bertembung hantu yang tiada sebab atau makna. Entah mengapa, perasaan marah Yaya terhadap boiprennya yang curang mula reda, walaupun Ajis tak pernah kesal atau taubat kecurangannya. Yang paling membengangkan ialah plot twist di saat-saat akhir, yang sebenarnya dicanggah oleh adegan awal. Rupanya Ahmad Idham atau Meor Shariman sendiri lupa apa yang sudah ditulis/difilemkan.

Namun saya rasa mereka memang tak endah semua itu. Plot yang logik, cerita yang digarap dengan teliti, watak yang dibina dengan bernas dan berpembawaan, semua itu boleh buang asalkan ada cukup masa untuk Zizan membolot skrin. Malah jenaka yang sepatutnya ada dalam sebuah skrip komedi pun tiada, kerana memang ketara Zizan sedang meng-improv-kan segala dialognya. Tak kira dia Raja Lawak ke, Maharaja Lawak ke, bakatnya bukan dalam bidang komedi improv sebenarnya. Dialognya bangang, bukan lucu. Hanya bila beliau diberi skrip yang benar-benar kelakar, baru lakonannya berkesan - contohnya Cinta Kura-Kura. (Atau mungkin juga saudara Zizan ni ibarat Jack Black; kalau hanya suaranya yang kedengaran, boleh tahan, tapi bila mukanya muncul terus mengundang penumbuk.)

Tapi tak baik saya salahkan Zizan atas keburukan filem ini. Saya juga takkan salahkan Sara Ali yang telah membazirkan bakat hebatnya dalam filem buruk ini. (Jujur kata, wajahnya yang kiut gila babi sajalah yang saya suka dalam filem ini. Oh Cik Sara, you tau tak nafsu hati I milik you??) Yang salah memangnya Ahmad Idham dengan Meor Shariman - tetapi memandangkan penonton-penonton lain yang gelak tak henti-henti dengan telatah Zizan, salah perlu dikongsi juga dengan penonton. Sebab inilah TMBF dah malas nak ulas filem tempatan. Bukan hanya kerana hampir semua filem-filemnya teruk - juga kerana kalau tahap citarasa penonton tempatan begitu memalukan, hapuslah segala harapan untuk dunia filem kita maju. Malah filem macam ni yang menciplak muzik tema Indiana Jones pun boleh diterima.

NEXT REVIEW: Wrath of the Titans
Expectations: will it be as good as I like it as much as the first?

Humour soothes grief, but only understanding can cure it

The Descendants
My rating:




I have only ever watched one Alexander Payne film, that being Sideways. (When Election first came out I was eager to watch it, but could never find it on DVD; I somehow never got inclined enough to catch About Schmidt; and I've barely even heard a thing about Citizen Ruth.) Mainly I liked it because I saw a lot of myself in the Paul Giamatti character, whereas the Thomas Hayden Church character reminded me just as much of a close friend of mine. Personal issues aside, that's pretty much what I remember most about it, but I think I might want to hunt down the DVD and watch it again soon.

Because after his latest film, Payne might just have become one of my most eagerly anticipated filmmakers.

Matt King's (George Clooney) life is thrown into upheaval after his wife Elizabeth (Patricia Hastie) is rendered comatose in a boating accident. He now has to reconnect with his daughters - 10-year-old Scottie (Amara Miller) who is showing signs of inappropriate behaviour, and 17-year-old Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) who has a history of rebelliousness and substance abuse - as well as his drifting-apart marriage. In addition, Matt is also the sole trustee of several thousand acres of pristine Hawaiian land, and he is in the midst of negotiating its sale whilst gathering the consent of his extended network of cousins, including Cousin Hugh (Beau Bridges). When the doctor tells him that Elizabeth will never recover, he has to break the news to all their friends as well as his in-laws, in particular Elizabeth's doting father (Robert Forster). But when Alex reveals that his wife had been cheating on him, Matt is goaded into seeking out Elizabeth's lover - a man named Brian Speer (Matthew Lillard), who it turns out also has a wife (Judy Greer) - with his daughters and Alex's dimwitted friend Sid (Nick Krause) tagging along. What good it would do to confront the man though, Matt has no idea.

The Descendants reminds me a lot of 50/50. Both are films that deal with death and tragedy and leaven them with comedy. But though I liked that Jonathan Levine-directed Joseph Gordon-Levitt-starrer plenty, my main criticism of it is that its balance of comedy and drama seemed a little skewed to the former, and didn't right itself till the latter half. Payne, working off a screenplay he co-wrote based on the novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings, avoids this neatly. It maintains a consistent tone throughout - and that tone is a quirky, bemused contemplation of how tragedy leads to the kind of ignominy that also lends itself to comedy. The death of a wife, mother, daughter and friend is dealt with in all its heartbreaking sadness, yet the humour of the film never undermines it - nor does it ever descend into tear-jerking melodrama. The film's tightrope walk between funny and tragic is a thing to behold.

There are several instances where the tragedy of the story is undercut almost immediately afterwards by humour. The scene where Matt first tells Alex about her mother's impending death, for one; she submerges herself in the swimming pool and screams her anguish underwater, then berates her dad for telling such news to her while she's swimming. Or when Matt does the same to his father-in-law; right after a father learns of the death of his adult daughter, Sid says something hilariously insensitive that earns him a facepunch. The character of Sid provides much of the comic relief, with his goofy grin and his stoner-casual attitude towards the family's tragedy - but there's a later scene that reveals exactly why Alex is friends with him and why she wants him around during this time. There's also a liberal amount of profanity in the dialogue (none of which is censored, yay!), and one of the funniest running gags is Matt's complete inability to control his daughters' - both his daughters - vulgar language.

But I fear I'm talking too much of the film's surface. It's a richly emotionally resonant film, one that's not making it easy for me to talk about all its themes and depths. Its main throughline would be how Matt comes to terms with what Elizabeth meant to him, in all her good and bad; the first time he visits her after he learns of her infidelity, he launches into an angry and vicious tirade, seeking answers she can no longer give. But almost immediately after, when Alex does the same - for her own reasons to be angry at her mother - Matt chastises her to be more respectful. For all that he is an absentee father and neglectful husband, he is still a good, responsible man; at first he balks at the prospect of informing their large network of friends about his wife's inevitable death, but he goes through it with a minimum of fuss, despite the immense emotional toll it takes on him. And he speaks glowingly of their initial courtship when Scottie innocently asks him how they met. It isn't till he confronts Brian Speer that he finds the answers he seeks - why she did what she did, and who she truly was.

I admit that I still have trouble thinking of George Clooney as a serious dramatic actor, despite his current penchant for roles in movies like Michael Clayton, Up in the Air and The Ides of March; I still tend to think of him as the action hero of The Peacemaker and Batman and Robin and the icon of suaveness in Out of Sight and Ocean's Eleven. Maybe I should revise my thinking. During the scene where Alex first tells him about Elizabeth's affair, Clooney plays it with a coiled and intimidating fury that seems distinctly un-Matt-King-like - and right after, he undercuts this in just the right way with a remarkable bit of physical acting. (The way he runs.) The performances are terrific, even from supporting actors like Robert Forster, Amara Miller, Beau Bridges and Judy Greer, but the one other standout is Shailene Woodley, whose most prominent previous credit is a teen TV series. Some may think it a copout that her difficult relationship with her father is repaired so easily, but me, I loved seeing her join forces with Matt in getting back at Brian with an almost malicious glee. (It also helps that she is frequently bikini-clad and looks drop-dead gorgeous in them.)

And there's also its depiction of Hawaii, a part of the US that is rarely seen in movies and very different from the glitzy and glamourous Los Angeles that most Hollywood movies are filmed in. Early on, a voiceover by Matt skewers the common perception of the islands as paradise by saying "Paradise can go f**k itself." And indeed, we see plenty of the dull suburban streets and office parks of Honolulu (the state capital), and there's plenty of local colour in how all the locals - even the rich folk - dress in aloha shirts and bermuda shorts all the time. On the other hand, the seaside land owned by Matt's family, descended from genuine Hawaiian royalty (did you know Hawaii had a royal family?) is stunningly beautiful. And part of the film's unique setting is in Matt's background of having a fabulously wealthy inheritance, which he steadfastly refuses to flaunt or squander - unlike some of his cousins. One of the threads in the complex tangle of Matt and Elizabeth's relationship is that she resents him for not spending more of his money on her, against his principle of frugality - and how he may now regret it.

Now that I come to think about it, The Descendants has a great deal in common with the 2008 Japanese film Departures. Both deal with the messy business of mortality; how death strikes without warning and rarely, if ever, offers its next of kin the closure that humans need; and how we go about finding that closure when it seems the only person who can offer it is gone forever. It is a universal truth that our lives are finite, but death is such an alien thing, so outside of human comprehension - and thus a film like this, that aims to shed light on it with wit and warmth and insight, is a rare treasure. If all you expect from movies is empty spectacle and frivolous laughs, I urge you to catch this one - a film that is real and true and human. As I've said before, watching a really good human drama will make you a better person.

NEXT REVIEW: Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Expectations: *snort of derision*

Jangan panggil dia penyu!

Cinta Kura-Kura
My rating:




Ampun dan maaf diminta dari pembaca-pembaca TMBF sekalian. Dah lama saya tak mengulas filem Melayu, dan saya sudah terlepas peluang bagi filem-filem seperti Suatu Malam Kubur Berasap, Papa I Love You, Sesuatu Yang Tertinggal, Keramat, Bujang Telajak, Sumpahan Kum Kum, Azura dan Hantu Dalam Botol Kicap. Tiada alasan yang boleh saya beri, melainkan baru-baru ini saya selalu malas nak tengok filem dan tulis rebiu. Tapi saudara Nizam Zakaria telah mengundang saya ke Gala Premiere filem arahannya yang pertama, Cinta Kura-Kura, dan hutang budi ini perlu dibayar dengan sebuah rebiu. Kini pasti anda tertanya, apakah undangan ini telah menjejas integriti dan keobjektifan TMBF? Apakah beliau teruja sangat dapat menghadiri event glemer serta bergosok bahu dengan selebriti-selebriti fofular, sehingga pasti rebiu ini memuji filemnya setinggi awan?

Hakikatnya, saya rasa filem ini best. Ko percaya ke tak, ap tu you lah. (Lagipun, malam tu Tiz Zaqyah tak endah aku pun.)

Nani (Tiz Zaqyah) tinggal bersama abangnya Amin (Bob Yusof) dan memelihara seekor kura-kura bernama Nico (Zizan Razak). Adam (Aeril Zafrel) pula ahli kumpulan muzik dan tinggal bersama ibunya Mak Uda (Norhayati Taib). Kedua-dua hidup berjiranan, dan mula jatuh hati antara satu sama lain apabila Amin menyertai band Adam sebagai penyanyi utama. Tetapi oleh kerana Adam tak reti beza antara penyu dengan kura-kura, Nico tidak menyukainya dan ingin menghancurkan hubungan cinta antara Adam dengan pemiliknya Nani. Oh baidewei, Nico serta semua kura-kura lain dalam filem ini boleh bercakap dan berjalan atas dua kaki dengan pantas. Di samping itu, seorang pemilik kedai haiwan peliharaan bernama Fazli (Fizz Fairuz) juga ingin mengorat Nani, dan Nico juga berkawan dengan dua ekor kura-kura di kedainya bernama Atok (Shy8) dan Mira (Fara Fauzana). Tetapi Fazli mengerjakan perniagaan haram, membekal haiwan terlindung kepada Mr. Lim (Chew Kin Wah) yang menghidangkan haiwan-haiwan tersebut di restorannya. Dan antara hidangannya ialah daging kura-kura...

Saya agak bahawa kebanyakan filem Melayu disasarkan khususnya kepada penonton lelaki. Ini kerana filem-filem yang paling berjaya di pasaran - KL Gangster, Hantu Bonceng dan Kongsi, antara yang lain - menjual unsur-unsur aksi dan rempit yang memang diminati golongan laki-laki Melayu muda. Tapi baru-baru ini muncul pula filem Ombak Rindu, sebuah kisah cinta melodrama yang juga amat berjaya, dan saya pasti kejayaannya terhasil dari penonton-penonton wanita. Ini suatu petanda yang baik, menunjukkan industri filem tempatan sihat dan mampu menampung berbagai segmen penonton. Diharap ini akan membuatkan Cinta Kura-Kura juga berjaya, kerana ia sebuah filem yang jelas menyasarkan penonton anak gadis muda urban.

Bukti ini kerana pertama, ia cerita komedi cinta. Dan kedua, "bintang" filem ini bukanlah Aeril Zafrel atau Tiz Zaqyah, tetapi sebuah kura-kura kartun CGI yang bernama Nico dan diberi suara oleh Zizan Razak. Nico adalah suatu ciptaan yang amat menggelikan hati, jelas dibuktikan dari gelak ketawa gadis-gadis remaja yang duduk sebelah saya di panggung setiap kali kura-kura ini beraksi. Dan walaupun dia memang comel sepertimana watak CGI dalam filem live-action pasti comel, bukan kecomelan saja yang dia ada. (Rujuk filem-filem seperti The Smurfs atau Alvin and the Chipmunks, yang tidak patut ditonton sesiapa yang berumur 12 tahun ke atas.) Nico ada personaliti yang diberi oleh Nizam yang juga menulis skrip disamping mengarah, dan skripnya juga memberi dialog-dialog yang lucu kepada Nico serta watak-watak lain. Saya boleh kata filem ini adalah komedi yang benar-benar kelakar.

Ini sesuatu yang jarang dilihat, kerana kebanyakan filem komedi Melayu yang pernah saya tonton adalah bodoh, bukan kelakar. Tapi filem ini berjaya mencuit hati saya. Dialognya sedap didengar, dan lawaknya timbul secara bersahaja dari watak-wataknya - contohnya adegan-adegan Mak Uda meleter Adam, atau ahli-ahli kumpulan muzik Adam. (Satu daripadanya dimainkan oleh Harun Salim Bachik yang tak pernah tak kelakar.) Nico suka membaca buku cerita "Arnab dengan Kura-kura" milik Nani dan memperli watak arnab itu. Ada juga sebuah running gag dimana kereta Fazli sering memainkan lagu dangdut. Saya juga tertawa dengan kemunculan seekor gajah semasa babak penamat (tak boleh saya nak jelaskan lebih sebab spoiler). Sentuhan-sentuhan kecil inilah yang meyakinkan saya bahawa Nizam adalah seorang pencerita yang bijak dan berimaginasi.

Kelemahan yang boleh saya nyatakan ialah pada kisah cintanya. Perasaan cinta antara Nani dengan Adam tidak begitu terasa; babak paling romantis ialah sebuah perbualan telefon dimana Tiz dan Aeril tidak berinteraksi secara bersemuka. Juga saya rasa Aerillah pelakon yang paling lemah dalam filem ini. Yang lain semua, termasuk Norhayati Taib, Fizz Fairuz, Chew Kin Wah serta pelakon suara bagi watak kura-kura, semuanya memberi persembahan yang over the top sedikit, tapi lakonan Aeril agak kaku dan kurang sesuai dengan nada komedi cerita ini. Nasib baiklah ada Tiz yang sungguh menawan hati dalam filem ini. Walaupun beliau paling terkenal dengan peranannya sebagai seorang MILF wanita berumur dalam drama TV dan filem Nur Kasih, namun di sini dia cukup meyakinkan sebagai anak gadis berusia awal 20-an yang masih berperangai keremajaan.

Kalau difikirkan lama-lama, ada juga beberapa lubang plot yang tidak masuk akal - misalnya, kenapa Nico seorang (seekor?) saja kura-kura yang boleh berjalan atas dua kaki? Mengapa kura-kura tak berani nak dedahkan kebolehan mereka bercakap walaupun nyawa diri diancam? Tambahan pula, watak Amin abang Nani seolah-olah menghilang waktu separuh terakhir, kerana dia sudah tiada kaitan dengan ceritanya. Namun saya sedia merekomenkan filem ini kepada siapa-siapa - khususnya jika anda perempuan yang ingin menonton sesuatu yang kiut, samada Aeril, Tiz ataupun kura-kura CGI yang bersuara macam Zizan Razak. Saya ingin melihat lagi filem dari Nizam, dan anda juga patut inginkannya. Jadi sila ke pawagam menonton Cinta Kura-Kura pada 1 haribulan Mac nanti. Kalau filemnya best, saya takkan segan nak mengiklankannya.

NEXT REVIEW: The Descendants
Expectations: hope to not watch it while I'm feeling sleepy

What's the Frequency, Ah Beng?

Ah Beng The Movie: Three Wishes
My rating:




I enjoyed the last two Astro-produced Chinese-language local movies released during the past two Chinese New Years, but I was doubtful about this one. For one thing, it's not directed by Chiu Keng Guan who did the other two; the second of which was weaker than the first, but at least I have an idea what to expect from a Chiu film. For another... well, just look at that poster. Or its trailer, for that matter. That is a deeply uncool-looking poster, and that is a trailer that says nothing about what the movie is about. It would appear that this movie is trading largely on the appeal of the Ah Beng character - who not only appeared two years ago in Woohoo! but also stars in an eponymous Astro Wah Lai Toi TV series - as well as the channel's entire stable of TV personalities. I liked watching them in Woohoo! and Great Day, but if all they're gonna do here is goof around for 90 minutes, their fans may enjoy that but I doubt I'm gonna.

Fortunately, there's more to the movie than that. But there certainly could've been more more.

In 1975, Ah Loong's (Gan Jiang Han) only New Year's Eve wish is to finally find a job so he can support his wife (Wan Wai Fun) and infant son. Because of his kindness and generosity, the God of Prosperity grants him three wishes - and his first is to see his son as an adult. He is thus transported to New Year's Eve 2012, where his son Ah Beng (Jack Lim) is now a lowly and oft-put-upon security guard - and his wife is now a doddering old woman who doesn't even recognise him, due to his untimely death while Ah Beng was still a baby. But although their means are humble, Ah Beng lives happily with his friends Rain (Royce Tan) and Bobby (Bernard Hiew), and their next-door neighbours, cousins "Vege" Lian (Gan Mei Yan) and "Salted Fish" Lian (Chen Keat Yoke). However, their happiness is threatened when "Salted Fish" Lian contracts a life-threatening disease that will cost a fortune in medical fees.

It was with pleasure that I thought to myself, not long after the movie started, that this appears to be the Malaysian Chinese version of Back to the Future. But only after I came out of the theatre that I realised this is a lot more similar to Frequency, a 2000 Jim-Caviezel-Dennis-Quaid-starring sci-fi drama that really deserves more attention than it got. Rather than a teenager who travels to the past and meets his parents when they were his age, it has a father who gets to meet his son as an adult in the future. In fact, another notable similarity - the father being a chain-smoker in both movies - leads me to believe that Jack Lim, who is credited as producer and for original story and co-screenwriter, has definitely watched Frequency before. Ripoff? Naah. The similarities end there, and the premise still possesses rich veins of drama and pathos yet to be mined.

After all, instead of an action-thriller-drama with a serial killer villain, Ah Beng The Movie: Three Wishes is a broad comedy-drama in the same vein as, well, pretty much every other popular local Chinese film since Woohoo! They love this kind of stuff, and this one pulls it off pretty well; a fair bit better than Great Day, certainly. The jokes are broad and silly, and toward the latter half they give way to melodrama that's even broader and calculated to milk the tearducts. But it works; not because of well-developed characters, or even particularly great acting - the most you can say about the cast is that they're likable - but through the simplicity and familiarity of their stories. The life-threatening illness one is more simple and familiar, but it works because it's Chen Keat Yoke reprising (more or less) her Ah Lian character.

And the time-travel one works because there's just no red-blooded Chinese who could be unmoved by a father willing to sacrifice everything for his son. (Certainly not during the CNY period.) It works well enough that I wish Lim, his co-screenwriter Kenneth Wong, and director Silver had put more thought into it. Both Frequency and Back to the Future were tightly-plotted films, and by that I mean they both paid as much attention to character arcs and emotions as they did to plot mechanics. Here, Ah Beng and Ah Loong are content to just mosey along in modern-day KL, stopping along the way to enter a talent competition (facetiously named Malaysia's Got Challenge - at least I hope it was facetious) to raise money for "Salted Fish" Lian's medical bills, until the climax forces them to make use of the God of Prosperity's other two wishes.

Which means what actually happens most of its running time are aimless gags and comic setpieces featuring a grab bag of cameos by Astro celebrities. I don't recognise any of them (although the audience at my viewing seemed to), so I wasn't as tickled by them as the movie expected me to be. I wish these Astro "hor sui pin"s wouldn't rely on them so much; I wish they'd focus more on honest-to-goodness storytelling, as well as on the characters that are actually relevant to the plot and the actors that are capable of more than just a funny cameo. The aforementioned Chen, who gave the strongest performance in Woohoo!, is pretty much relegated to the background here, and for much of the movie I even thought it took place in some alternate continuity from the earlier film in which her character is not Ah Beng's love interest. (When did she become his neighbour's cousin anyway?)

And to be honest, this kind of thing worries me. Ah Beng The Movie is a good movie, but it is not notably better than Woohoo!, and Great Day was not as good as those two. Two years after audiences had their appetites whetted for local Chinese-language films and it's starting to look like they're spinning their wheels, trading on the familiar formula of Astro celebrity cameos - little different from I Love Hong Kong 2012, the other big CNY movie of the year. I haven't seen that one, nor any of the other Hong Kong "hor sui pin"s of the last several years, but I have my money on Ah Beng The Movie being better than any of them, if only because of the unique local flavour. But c'mon guys, you can do a lot better. Based purely on my observations at the ticket counter, it appears I Love Hong Kong 2012 is the box-office winner of the holiday season - but there's no reason why Lim, Silver, Chiu and the rest of the Astro production team can't beat the Hongkies if they really try.

NEXT REVIEW: Chronicle
Expectations: ooh, looks interesting

The Muppets are as sweet and earnest - and magical - as ever

The Muppets
My rating:




It was either this or Arthur Christmas for my next review. I'm missing out on a lot of big movies in an (increasingly desperate) attempt to catch up on current cinema releases; although the Aardman Studios animated film has been garnering great reviews, I ultimately chose The Muppets due to its greater, um, shall we say, "cultural significance." (Even though its cultural significance here in Malaysia is somewhat suspect.) Boy, I'm glad I did! I'd forgotten that the new Toy Story short from Pixar, Small Fry, is attached to it, and I would've hated myself for missing it. Although it feels like a massively shortened version of the first movie (Buzz gets left behind again), the hilarious spoofs of cheesy fast-food kid's meal toys make up for it. And of course, it's a pleasure just to see Woody and Buzz and the rest of the gang on the big screen again.

And The Muppets? Glad I caught it too.

Gary (Jason Segel) and Walter (voice of Peter Linz) are adopted brothers and lifelong fans of the Muppets - especially Walter, who is clearly a Muppet himself but apparently no one ever comments on this fact. On the 10th anniversary of Gary's and his girlfriend Mary's (Amy Adams) relationship, they go on a trip to Los Angeles and bring Walter with them, who is especially excited to visit the famed Muppet Studios. But upon arrival, they find it run down and the Muppets disbanded, having lost their popularity. Worse, an evil oil baron named Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) is planning to buy the property, tear it down and drill for oil. Thus, Gary, Walter and a slightly reluctant Mary must gather the old Muppet gang - Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Animal, Miss Piggy, Swedish Chef, Rowlf, Camilla the Chicken and all the others - and save the day the only way they know how: by putting on a show. But first, they must convince hard-nosed TV executive Veronica (Rashida Jones) to give them a slot, then get Jack Black (Jack Black) to be their celebrity host - and finally, defeat the machinations of Richman, who mean to ruin them at any cost.

Did The Muppet Show ever air in Malaysia? TMBF was a bona fide TV addict throughout the '80s, and I don't recall ever seeing it. (And I recall Fraggle Rock.) There's a great deal of love and nostalgia for the Muppets amongst the pop-culture-geek websites I hang out on, none of which I or anyone I personally know feel; sure, I've heard of Kermit and Miss Piggy through cultural osmosis, but that's about it. So I came to this movie with none of the pop-cultural baggage that it seems to be deliberately addressing - such as the basic storyline about how they've fallen in popularity and need to convince the world, both in the film and in real life, that they're still relevant. I also came to this movie with a somewhat removed impression of the Muppets' appeal, i.e. I know people like them because they're charming and funny and cute, but I haven't really experienced it myself. Now that I have, I can sum it up in one word: sweetness.

Which is a difficult thing to aim for, since it can so very easily end up as cloying sentimentality. It's also very easy for most people to adopt a cynical, cooler-than-thou hipness that looks down on something as unfalteringly clean and cheery as the Muppets. But I see now that what makes them so beloved - and what this movie succeeds at capturing - is their ability to make sweetness sweet, and not cloying or corny. This is a delightfully candy-coated confection of a film, one that knocks down every wall of cynicism to put a gleeful, child-like smile on your face that you can't wipe off - to paraphrase a lyric from one of its songs. And yes, it has songs; it's a musical, which I've said before is my least favourite genre, but this movie shows that there's nothing like a showstopping, intricately-choreographed song-and-dance number to convey effervescent joy. That's what The Muppets offers - effervescent joy.

How does it accomplish that? First, by being very very cute. In this day and age when there's a multi-billion-dollar corporation that does nothing but create marketable icons of cute, it's enlightening to consider what Jim Henson created 35 years ago through the old-school art of puppeteering. Second, by investing each and every one of those creations with personality - something Sanrio has never bothered to do - via voice acting, puppetry, and plain ol' good storytelling. Third, by adopting an ironic sense of humour that pokes fun at itself more than anything, which therefore gives it license to also poke fun at everything. The funniest jokes in this movie come from its gleefully fourth-wall-breaking moments - like when an entire chorus line collapses in exhaustion after the principal characters leave the scene, or even offhand bits like when Kermit first balks at Walter's plea to reunite the Muppets and Mary says, "This is going to be a very short movie."

But where it resolutely refuses to descend into irony is in the emotional subplots - Gary's and Mary's relationship issues, Walter's identity crisis, even Kermit's and Miss Piggy's on-again off-again romance. Which tend to bog the movie down in its midsection; none of them have any real dramatic weight for the amount of screentime they take up. Albeit the Kermit-Miss Piggy one works better, since the Muppets' brand of earnest sentiment works better when it's played by Muppets instead of flesh-and-blood actors. Because if there's another word that best describes the Muppets, it's earnestness. It's there not only in the sentimental scenes, but also in its entire approach to entertainment at its cheesiest. It's what accounts for Camilla and gang clucking their way through an all-chicken rendition of Cee Lo Green's Forget You (the clean version of the song, of course), as well as the bit where Chris Cooper starts rapping. The former is fun - the latter is a little cringe-inducing. Just as well that neither goes on for too long.

But I feel guilty just for saying the slightest uncomplimentary thing about it. A Muppet movie isn't supposed to be dramatically weighty, after all. It's not a great film, as my rating indicates, and I wouldn't even place it among the year's best. It's just a highly entertaining little movie that kids will enjoy, that'll turn hardened adults into kids again, and that'll leave a smile on your face that'll last a lot longer than most empty-headed kids' movies. (Despicable Me, I'm still looking at you.) Still, I wouldn't put it past some people (Malaysians in particular, if only because we never grew up watching The Muppet Show) to be immune to the Muppets' charms - to think of a movie starring old-school, non-CGI-animated puppets to be uncool. Just look at Walter, the one new Muppet character created for this movie, and see how the same piece of inanimate felt can convey heartbreaking sadness, overwhelming joy, and the entire gamut of emotions in between. There's a magic in that - magic that Jim Henson discovered and that his successors carry on. For those on whom that magic doesn't work, you clearly live in a colder and bleaker world than the rest of us.

NEXT REVIEW: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Expectations: wow, AV Club, really?