The Last Victory (2004 Film)

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek






Experience the obsession of a historical sport when it hits entire cities.

“If you’ve ever felt the passion incited by a sport, this one’s for you.”

The Rundown

Behind the name: De Laatste Overwinning (Also Known As)
Country: The Netherlands, 2004
Genre: Documentary
Released by: Cobbs Films BV
Director: John Appel
                       Cast: Egidio Mecacci (as old man), Paolo Rossi (as young man), Alma Savini (as old woman), Roberto Papei (capitano), Camilla Marzucchi (girl)
Compare to: Palio (1935)
Hate it or Love it?  You see it & decide  

Synopsis in a Sentence: Siena, Italy prepares for the Palio horse race, and people’s lives are on the line.


I’ve never seen anything quite like this. Fans of the Palio will give football fans a run for their money. This is more than a sport; it’s the lives of the people and their livelihood at stake.


On Writing: The Plot

Experience the art of obsession.
The documentary tells the story of the Palio, a yearly horse race between contradas (historical communes) in Italy. It follows the lives of the people of Civetta, a particular contrada in Siena, Italy and the events that lead to Italy’s Palio di Siena (known locally as Il Palio). The Last Victory tells of the overwhelming passion behind the sport, beginning six weeks before the start of the Palio. It then follows the lives of select characters whose lives are consumed by the sport. The topic’s interesting, and discovering the reaction to the sport is fascinating. However, a deeper look into the history behind the sport may have been helpful to those who have never heard of the Palio, and helpful in understanding the craze behind it.
(3/5)


On Acting: The Cast

One can’t quite rate the performance of people who aren’t acting. This is real life, not a “reality show”. The subjects chosen for the documentary were interesting enough, and relatively diverse, but it may have been nice to look into the lives of key characters in the sport, such as the jockey. Quite honestly no character stood out as exceptionally interesting, but they were relatively easy to follow. A wider base of subjects may also have been appreciated. While we were offered the perspective of the older generation, we were only able to see from far the reaction of the younger generation. Additionally, perhaps offering the perspective of a rival contrada may have opened up our insight into the sport.
(2.5/5)


On Production:

The cameras switched perspective from a point-of-view outlook to an interview outlook. This allowed for varied perspectives and a deeper understanding of the events.
 (3/5)                                             


On Resolution: The Conclusion

Depends on what you were looking for before picking up The Last Victory.  The title may lead one to anticipate a look into the elation expectation of passion behind a historical sport, and while that is present, it’s not the whole story, and it’s a story worth telling.
(2.5/5)


The Verdict: Recommended to lovers of sport, horses and Italian culture


Overall Score = 11/20


Get The Last Victory [http://www.amazon.com/Last-Victory-Egidio-Mecacci/dp/B000C20VHI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1277519085&sr=8-1]

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Aap Ki Khatir (2006 Film)

Sunday, June 20, 2010 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek





As you may already know, Indian movies may come across to westerners as, practically, musicals. The music in this film is not bad, and there’s a bonus music vid as the film starts, but don’t be too irritated by the seemingly sudden outbursts of musical fantasy. It’s natural to this genre of film. 


“It’s The Wedding Date—Bollywood style.”

The Rundown

Behind the name: Direct Translation—For Your Sake
Country: India, 2006
 Genre: Romantic Comedy
Film Industry: Bollywood (2006)
Director: Dharmesh Darsha
Cast: Priyanka Chopra (Anu), Akshaye Khanna (Aman), Ameesha Patel (Shirani), Sunil Shetty (Kunal), Dino Morea (Danny), Anupam Kher (Arjun)
Compare to: The Wedding Date
Hate it or Love it?  For what it’s worth, love it.  

Synopsis in a Sentence: A woman hires a co-worker as an escort to her sisters wedding to make her ex-boyfriend in England jealous, and as you can guess, it doesn’t work and she ends up falling for her escort instead.



It begins with a music video that trademarks its Indian roots. There are fans, flying hair, dancing, and good music. The problem is, the video may give away the end of the story, but you’ll forget that by the time you get into the whole 2 hours and 7 minutes of this movie.


On Writing: The Plot

 Welcome to the wonderful lives of rich Indian families with access to mansions in London and Lokhandwala and New York. Here’s the story: the lead character, Anu is a London-based non-resident Indian, living in India, she has to attend her sister’s wedding in England, and then “the Wedding Date” happens. The entire story is actually the Indian version of it. So there’s a little bit of re-writing, and a nice twist at the end, (not to forget the signature Hindi musical scores infused into all the drama). It’s good writing, with laugh-out-loud moments that may be memorable ones also. The individual characters infuse the Indian background to the story, and we learn a lot more about social backgrounds in modern day India through Aap Ki Khatir.
(3/5)


On Acting: The Cast

 Not bad. The lead character carried the movie quite well. The main cast meshed easily, there was chemistry between the couples. It’s a fun cast, a good one, through which comedy was infused through (a shout out to Kunal’s aunts from New York). Of noteworthy mention is Sunil Shetty’s humble attempt at portraying romance, as he is otherwise known for his performance in action productions (we commend his courage to try something new, but truth is, he's great at playing staple character: he looked completely out of place in this film). It’s important to note one disappointment though; the so-called boyfriend from England, who Anu tries to impress (Danny) was quite disappointing. Otherwise, all was well.
Akshaye Khanna, who played Aman Mehra, (aka fake boyfriend) easily merged comedy with romance and drama. The lead character, Anu Kher, played by Priyanka Chopra (Miss. World 2000) also relayed the comedy and drama quite well.
Anupam Kher, who played Anu’s father, highlighted comedy in the film, while Ameesha Patel (Anu’s sister) highlighted the tragedy. Put together, the characters of Aap Ki Khatir and its cast were quite good.
(3.5/5)


On Wardrobe: The Fashion

Not bad, but nothing in particular of noteworthy mention. The styling of a few western-style pieces was laughable, while the Indian garb was enviable. Put together, nothing stood out as remarkably fantastic. 
(3/5)                                             


On Resolution: The Conclusion

There’s a pattern to Indian cinema, be it adventure or comedy, tragedy or action—If there’s a romantic story to the plot, there’s always a twist just as the couple is about to get cosy, and true to Indian cinematic writing, this pattern occurred in this movie. That said, everything was resolved, and without giving the finale away, it ended in a manner that was too-good-to-be-true, but what are movies for? The point of entertainment is to be entertained, and if that includes a happy feeling when the story ends, Aap Ki Khatir did just that.
(3.5/5)

The Verdict: A fun watch. Light-hearted comedy with a stab of tragedy and then it’s all happy-go-lucky again.

Overall Score = 13/20

Watch Aap Ki Khatir [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_n-JjNUB7WA]

*Note: All web sources provided from this source are legal.  


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Personal Preference (2010 TV Series)

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek
The story begins like the typical romantic comedy—boy meets girlà boy & girl resent each otherà relationship gets complicatedà boy and girl like each other…


But Personal Preference has far more to it that that. 




“Based on a novel by a Korean-American, Personal Preference (also known as Personal Taste) skilful highlights the modern views on homosexuality in South Korea.” 

The Rundown
Behind the name: Direct translation- Personal Taste/Gae In's Taste
Country: South Korea, 2010
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Broadcast by: Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation(MBS)
Director: Son Hyung-suk
Cast: Son Ye-Jin (Park Gae-In), Lee Min-Ho (Jeon Jin-Ho), Kim Ji-Seok-I (Han Chang-Ryul), Wang Ji-Hye (Kim In-hee), Jung Sung Hwa (No Sang Joon)
Compare to: It’s a BoyGirl Thing
Hate it or Love it?  Love it.

Synopsis in a Sentence: Boy meets girlà Boy dislikes girlà Girl thinks boys is gayà Relationship gets complicatedà Boy and girl like each other…

You know that special friend that stays by you no matter what? Now imagine that he’s a boy, he appears to be gay, and he’s absolutely gorgeous…


On Writing: The Plot

The story’s written by a woman for women, but the men have got a lot to enjoy (and learn) from this. The story brings an important issue into light: one that is hardly touched in Asian cinema—the dynamics of homosexuality. The story amply attends to the issue with little harm. Very well written. The relationship between the characters and the events that shapes the plot are relatable, intricate, and comprehensible in various contexts. All the characters and their supporting acts bring a very complex series of relationships into play, which only makes the story much more fun!
(4/5)

On Acting: The Cast

The primary characters carried the series. The cosy chemistry between Lee Min-Ho (Jeon Ji-Ho) and Son Ye-Jin (Park Gae-In) was electric, and allowed an effortless evolution of friendship from platonic to romantic. The characters highlighted the perfect man, the clueless-optimistic woman, the sly but stylish (female) villain, the stern father, and the reputable homosexual boss. All put together, the cast accounts for a diverse, fun interplay of characters.
As it seems, Lee Min-Ho will never pick a role that won’t make him look good. He’s grown professionally since Boys Over Flowers and he added this series to his résumé to prove it. Son Ye-Jin also relayed a powerful performance. She genuinely walked us through every bit of emotion felt by Park Gae-In. We’ve never seen her play such a character, and she did it very well.
(4/5)


On Wardrobe: The Fashion

The female villain, Kim In-Hee (played by Wang Ji-Hye) wins the award for best dressed. The stylists poured their hearts and souls into styling the character we all love to hate, since the primary female character could not be styled immaculately. In-Hee single-handedly carried the torch for style.
As for the men, Jeon Ji-Ho (played by Lee Min-Ho) was basically used as a model throughout the film. Men’s clothing has never looked so gorgeous! From impeccably styled suits to uniquely-patterned t-shirts, Ji-Ho reflected the esteem of his character, and so did his clothes. It made me want to wear men's suits. 
It must have been tough for the stylists to accomplish a complete 360º from Kim In-Hee to Park Gae-In, so it’s important to honour their skill for styling an off-beat character like her. You won’t believe the wardrobe murder that was performed on behalf of Park Gae-In, but it made it more fun to watch the evolution of her character.
 (4/5)                                             


On Resolution: The Conclusion

A fusion of Korean and American ideals may give ample account of the method to the resolution of the series, as the writer is a Korean-American. Everything was resolved, from the main character to the most secondary ones. This is a new pattern to resolution in South Korean cinema. Although it comes across as very western, it may be a breath of fresh air to its Asian viewers. By the time the series is done, you'll get that warm, fuzzy feeling that makes you want to be friends with everyone. You’ll like this one.
(4/5)

The Verdict: A good one. See it with your girlfriends, boyfriend, gay friends, mothers, fathers, neighbours, e.t.c, e.t.c…    






Overall Score = 16/20 

Watch Personal Preference [http://www.mysoju.com/personal-preference/]

*Note: All web sources provided from this website are legal.




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IRIS (2009 TV Series)

Thursday, June 10, 2010 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek













I just saw the Korean series, IRIS and I have to say, its absolute good stuff.  



“Great writing, excellent actors, cutting-edge cinematics and ingenious directing—all wrapped up in an impressive plot. The Korean entertainment industry has made its mark with this one.”     


The Rundown
Behind the name: IRIS, named after the flower
Country: South Korea, 2009
 Genre: Espionage, Action
Broadcast by: Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), 2009
Directors: Yang Yun-Ho & Lim Kyu-Tae
Cast: Lee Byung-Hun (Kim Hyun-Jun), Kim Tae-Hee (Choi Seung-Hee), Jung Joon-Ho (Jin Sa-woo), Kim So-Yeon (Kim Seon-Hwa), Choi Seung-Hyun/T.O.P (Vick)
Compare to: 24, Mission Impossible, Alias
Hate it or Love it?  Love it. 


Synopsis in a Sentence: Two friends get chosen as spies for a secret national security agency, and as their lives get mixed up in secrets, betrayals, and international conspiracies, they fall for the same woman.
With a budget shelling over $17 million (200 billion won), IRIS began as a South Korean TV series, but is now flaunting a movie, a book, and a spin-off to the series (to be titled, Athena: Goddess of War). IRIS attracted over 40% of the South Korean populace, and sparked attention from the Asian and Western entertainment industries, and is possibly exporting the idea of the series to an American TV network. With its creative film techniques and universal plot, IRIS highlights Asian filming at its finest.


On Writing: The Plot

The story makes IRIS legendary.
At first the story may seem too rushed—a plethora of events are established at once, but in hindsight, it was necessary to advance the development of the story. The series flowed seamlessly. There was no reason to doubt the occurrence of certain key events. A common flaw in this genre is to over-write the plot, to an extent where some events become unnecessary, forced and fail to make a connection, but there were connections throughout IRIS. At no point did the story seem overly deliberate or improperly written. No one enjoys a story that drags on, and every scene and event throughout IRIS made sense—the right amount of action for the boys blended with the perfect balance of romance for the girls, all spiced up with drama and half a hint of comedy. Very well written. 
(4.5/5)


On Acting: The Cast

What’s to say about the cast of IRIS?
Nice eye candy. There’s a bit to look at, from Jung Joon-Ho [Jin Sa Woo] to Lee Byung-Hun [Kim Hyun-Jun] to Kim Tae-Hee [Choi Seng Hee] to of course, rapper/actor, T.O.P of Big Bang. I’ll confess, T.O.P was what tuned me in to IRIS, and I wasn’t disappointed.
In IRIS, T.O.P played an assassin, and the role fit him perfectly. He delivered his few lines in Korean and English very well, through an important but minimal role highlighted throughout the series. His sparing appearances allowed him bring his best to screen. Perhaps we’ll see him in more series? Hopefully.
The lead roles, played by Lee Byung-Hun [Kim Hyun Jun] and Kim Tae-Hee [Choi Seng-Hee] were artfully mastered. Lee Byung-Hun made the series, but he didn’t do it alone. Supporting actors Kim Seung-Woo [Park Cheol-Young], Kim So-Yeon [Kim Seon-Hwa] and Hyun Jyu-Ni [Director Park] made their characters come to life. Jung Joon-Ho [Sa Woo] and Kim Yeong-Cheol [Baek San] brought real emotion to the screen. Put together—real, empathetic, good, raw, talent. 
Yet, it’s important to state that throughout the series it seemed obvious that the producers were aware of actor profiles. If a person looked trustworthy, he was a good character. A shady-looking person turned out a bad person. Of specific notice is the use of black males. Though used sparingly, they seemed to play the bad characters. An occurrence to note. That said, it was a breath of fresh air to encounter internationalism through this series, even minimally. English, Japanese, Hungarian, [sparing] French and of course, Korean were used throughout the series. It was great hearing this mix of language and communication in an Asian series. Shall the Westerners learn?
(4.5/5)


On Wardrobe: The Fashion

Never have dark suites, trench coats, and business-professional clothing looked so good. It made me want to invest in some good business suites. Each character embodied their own style, which corresponded throughout the series and re-instated their character-identities. Asian entertainment is known for its style, and in spite of all the tough action and, murder, IRIS didn’t forget that.             
Yet, some wardrobe choices seemed not to make much sense, like, why would an assassin, [T.O.P] be dressed brightly stylish and mod-casual during an assignment? [Yuki’s death scene], and why would an agent [Mi Joung] for a secret intelligence agency constantly be dressed as though she was working at a high-end dance club? I guess IRIS wanted to re-define the wardrobe for action series, and I’m not complaining. .                                                                                                                      
(4.5/5)                                              


What else? Oh yes, Resolution.


On Resolution: The Conclusion

Western T.V. series seem to have a common pattern of resolution. Typically, there are, a series of key events that Western culture has deemed proper in the resolution of film. Usually, loose knots are tied, roots uncovered, and endings resolved through a systematic outplay of events. Korean cinema does not play by these rules. Korean cinema has its own unique technique for resolution. With that, IRIS was resolved perfectly, if it will produce a sequel. If not, then it’s quite a bummer, because in reality, the first season did not resolve the story at all. IRIS concocted the right amount of suspense, intrigue, interest, and all the other emotions that create perfect film series.                                                                                                                        
(4.5/5)


The Verdict: A second season highly recommended.   

Overall Score = 18/20 






Watch IRIS on HD [http://www.hulu.com/iris]



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