World Reviews Now!: 2001

Showing posts with label 2001. Show all posts

Review: Inch'Allah Dimanche (2001 Film)

Saturday, July 9, 2011 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek

This film is strange. 7 wins and one nomination from international film festivals and award organizations. 5 out of the 7 wins go to director, Yamina Benguigu, and one win to lead acress Fejria Deliba. Well deserved, but the film is strange… but well done, for that mater…

“Human rights issues in your backyard”

The Rundown

Behind the name: Direct Translation: Sunday, God Willing

Country: France/Algeria, 2001

Genre: Drama

Distributed by: Film Movement

Director: Yamina Benguigu

Cast: Fejria Deliba (as Zouina), Rabia Mokeddem (as Aïcha, mother), Amina Annabi (as Malika), Anass Behri (as Ali), Hamza Dubuih (as Rachid), Zinedine Soualem (as Ahmed), France Darry (as Mrs. Donze, neighbor), Roger Dumas (Mr. Donze, neighbor), Marie-France Pisier (as Manant), Mathilde Seigner (as Briat)

Compare to: Other films put out by Film Movement

Hate it or Love it? Appreciate it.

Synopsis in a Sentence: Zouina is forced to live her homeland in Algeria to start a new life in France with her husband…and the mother-in-law from hell…

On Writing: The Plot

It’s on a topic hardly touched. When movies focus on the “mother-in-law from-hell” theme, it’s usually in a humorous way. This one is no joke. It’s simply suppression. The plot does a great job of putting the issue into context, and director, Yamina Benguigu, does a good job of relaying the reality of the situation.

The plot also takes into account 1970s history, socio-political conditions between the French and North Africa, immigration, and human rights issues. A good package. A good plot, but seemed to lack a clear direction.

(3/5)

On Acting: The Cast

Fejria Deliba, who plays lead character, Zouina, is quite the focus of the film. And she does a good job of drawing you in and keeping you locked in on her character.

Rabia Mokeddem, also known as mother-in-law from hell, also relays an excellent performance of the hellish mother you are sure to disdain. By the end of the film, you’ll even disdain her for playing her character—that’s how good she was. All other characters were good enough, but these two simply stole the show.

(4/5)

On Production: The Creativity

Production is stark, almost borderline documentary, but not so. Some great shots, everything seemed real. Good overall.

(3.5/5)

On Resolution: The Conclusion

What to say about the ending? My gosh. I really don’t know what to say… It’s abrupt, slightly surprising, and resolving? Is that enough? Well these are the first words that come to my mind when I think about the ending. It’s a nice twist, but abrupt. It didn’t leave enough room for the plot, but it resolved most issues. You see it and decide…

(3.5/5)

The Verdict: A well-done film. One to remember and mull over.

Overall Score = 14/20

Watch Inch’Allah Dimanche

Posted In 2001, Africa, Algeria, Arabic, Europe, Female Director, Film, France, Inch'Allah Dimanche | 0 comments |

Review: Meteor Garden 1 & 2 (2001/2002 TV Series)

Thursday, June 30, 2011 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek

After seeing the 2009 Korean version, then the 2005 Japanese version, I had to travel back to 2001to see the Taiwanese version. Save for laugh out loud outdated clothing, the Taiwanese version didn’t quite disappoint…

“A Taiwanese twist on an Asian ‘urban legend’.”

The Rundown

Behind the name: Pun on Japanese saying, “dumplings before flowers”

Country: Taiwan, 2001& 2002

Genre: Romantic Comedy, Drama

Broadcast by: Chinese Television System

Directors: Cai Yuexun, Chai Zhi Ping

Cast: Barbie Hsu as Shan Cai, Jerry Yan as Dao Ming Si, Vic Zhou as Hua Ze Lei, Vanness Wu as Mei Zuo, Ken Chu as Xi Men, Michelle Saram as Ye Sha.

Compare to: Boys Before Flowers, Meteor Garden, Hana Yori Dango

Hate it or Love it? Love it.

Synopsis in a Sentence: Shancai is a stubborn college girl with a mind of her own; she’s trying to mind her business as she attends Ying De College, but her life gets mixed up with the elite… and there’s no turning back once you’re mixed up with them.

It’s now an urban legend, and it started with Meteor Garden, then Hana Yori Dango then Boys Over Flowers, and now the world can’t get enough of this Asian series…

On Writing: The Plot

Uniquely Taiwanese, with of all the renditions of Hana Yori Dango, this one had the most twists, the most freedom, and was the most untrue to the original story (See Hana Yori Dango). But the story is good. The twists are interesting enough, but the plot falls at some parts (some extremely unbelievable, unexplained parts). Apart from that, it’s got enough twists to keep you off course, and enough interest to keep you going.

(4/5)

On Acting: The Cast

Not bad. Not quite bad, save for some mismatched casting (might have been better if the cast was re-shuffled a little bit). For example, the difference between Ximen and Meizuo’s character is blurred, whereas in the Japanese and Korean versions, they are more clearly defined.

Another major complaint — in many situations, the actors did not quite OWN their characters — their mannerisms, clothing, and possible reactions, seemed mismatched.

But overall, relatively good actors:

Barbie Hsu as Shan Cai (董杉菜) She plays the Makino (Japanese) and Jan Di (Korean) in this series. Although she’s a bit feminine, she does play tough quite well. And overall, is quite interesting

Jerry Yan as Dao Ming Si (道明寺) He plays Doumyouji (Japanese) and Jun Pyo (Korean) in this series, and plays the stubborn, hot-headed leader of F4 quite well. No gorgeous arrogance in this case, but at least he doesn’t come off as a bit of a hooligan. His character here comes up as a tougher, i-don’t-care-that-I’m-rich character, but with a lot less flair.

Vic Zhou as Hua Ze Lei (花澤類) Plays Rui in the Japanese version and Ji Hoo in the Korean version. And he plays it quite well. The peaceful, sleep-loving character seemed to come quite naturally.

Vanness Wu as Mei Zuo (美作) He plays Akira (Japanese) and Yi Jeong (Korean). Perhaps he’s supposed to play the “playboy” but he came off as a lot less ‘playful.’ His character is not very different from Ximen’s, so that’s a pitfall. Aside from his character, it seems this guy thinks he’s quite the catch of the season…

Ken Chu as Xi Men (西門) Soujiro (Japanese) and Woo Bin (Korean). Not particularly bad. Quite good, but doesn’t have much of a different character of his own when compared to Meizuo’s character: needs a hint of character differentiation.

Michelle Saram as Ye Sha. She’s is a nice addition in Meteor Garden 2. She plays her character really well — arguably the best out of all of them in the second series.

(3.5/5)

On Production: The Creativity

Quite good, but the affluence of the characters was grossly understated: the characters simply seemed rich, whereas compared to the other versions, it was clear the characters were immensely rich. You don’t quite get the hang of total financial worth of F4 in this series, and that’s a major pitfall.

Other than that, production wasn’t too bad

I have to add one thing about fashion here… my gosh. How honestly HORRIFIC! Seriously ugly pieces of clothing, particularly the males… (Take note, Meizuo’s character). I know that it’s supposed to be 2001, but aren’t these characters rich? How did the producer’s completely miss that? It’s like mistaking cheap cotton is for pure silk: not cool!

(3/5)

On Resolution: The Conclusion

Quite a good ending. Over all, the series was completely resolved. It’s a fun watch, with great twists and interesting developments. Uniquely Taiwanese?

(4/5)

The Verdict: Good Good Good, especially for the first version of the series!

Overall Score = 15 /20