Showing posts with label 2008. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2008. Show all posts

Patrik, Age 1.5 (2008 Film)

Monday, April 30, 2012 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek

I’d never seen a Swedish film before, but with all their talent in music (they’ve got insanely talented producers), I was (reservedly) sure that their film wouldn’t disappoint much—and I was quite right. This was a fun watch!


“Think homophobia, man crushes, and testosterone on emotions...” (Okay, maybe it’s not as dramatic as that, but it comes close.) 


The Rundown
Behind the name: A very good summary of the plot
Country: Sweden, 2008
 Genre: Drama, Comedy infused
Director: Ella Lemhagen
Cast: Gustaf Skarsgård (as Göran Skoogh), Torkel Petersson (as Sven Skoogh), Tom Ljungman (as Patrik), Annika Hallin (as Eva), Amanda Davin (as Isabell)
Compare to: Brokeback Mountain (Only because of the common theme), Reinas, The Wedding Banquet
Hate it or Love it?  Love it  

Synopsis in a Sentence: Patrik, age 15, gets adopted by a gay couple (who really thought he’d be 1.5 years old — thanks to a typo on his adoption papers) and as you can guess; the teenager is a homophobic criminal.
           

On Writing: The Plot

It’s quite good. Actually it’s really good. Quite well written, and although it has its cliché moments, it’s not too cliché (Although, if you’re a seasoned film junkie, you can guess how some scenes would play out before the actors act them out). Then again, can you really blame moviemakers and scriptwriters for writing a story that warms the heart?
(4/5)


On Acting: The Cast






Torkel Petersson (as Sven Skoogh)


Good actors. Gosh they do the film justice. They’re natural together, and one hardly overpowers the other. Say hello to the 3-man main cast:

Tom Ljungman (Patrik)

 
Gustaf Skarsgård (as Göran Skoogh)


Probably the first film you’ve seen without a female lead…

(4/5)



On Production: The Creativity

Production is good, lending dramatic construction to the dramatic parts, and infusing comedic stances when necessary. The production didn’t overpower anything else.
 (3.5/5)                                             

On Resolution: The Conclusion
Awwww shcuks!

(4/5)


The Verdict: I really, really liked this film. It was one good foreign film that didn’t (for once) reek of “foreign” production. An all round good one!  


Overall Score = 15.5/20 







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Review: Girls of Riyadh (Book, 2008)

Thursday, March 24, 2011 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek

Running on an Arabian-tale high, I picked this one up after reading Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia, and Girls balanced the weighty after-effects of Princess quite well. I knew that Princess had a deliberate, slightly outdated outlook, and I wanted to read something more current, balanced, and varied.

I found Girls of Riyadh sitting valiantly on a front-row shelf in the Mid-Manhattan NYPL. I already had the books I wanted: I passed it. I walked back. I picked it up. I smiled: Just what I was looking for!


The Rundown
Country: Saudi Arabia, 2005 (Saudi Version), 2008 (English Version)
Author: Rajaa Alsanea
Genre: Novel
Languages: English & Arabic
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 300
Love it or Hate it?  Love it!

Synopsis in A Sentence: An anonymous writer reveals the escapades of her 4 girlfriends, Sadeem, Gamrah, Lamees, and Mashael (Michelle) through weekly-emails.
Think: Gossip Girl meets Sex and the City
The Good:  A fun read! It’s extremely enlightening and insightful: light-hearted, yet politically heavy. It’s the kind of book you’d read to take a break off everything serious, only to realise that you’re actually reading something serious!
The Bad: The tone may be a bit too bubbly and vivacious for some male readers, but if you’re bold enough to pick this up, you’d be too engrossed in the story to be bothered by the tone… and it’s a fun tone too!
The Verdict: 4.5 Stars- A complete guilty pleasure! Much fun! Do read.

Memorable Quotes:
1.     “Ladies and Gentlemen: You are invited to join me in one of the most explosive scandals and noisiest, wildest, all-night parties around. Your personal tour-guide—and that’s moi—will reveal to you a new world, a world closer to you than you might imagine. We all live in this world, but do not really experience it, seeing what we can tolerate and ignoring the rest…”

2.     (After quoting a poem from Nazir Qabbani) “Right you are Nazir Baby! Your tongue be praised, God bless you and may you rest in peace. Truth be told, though you are a man, you are indeed ‘the woman’s poet’ and if anyone doesn’t like my saying so, they can go drink from the sea!”

3.     “My hair is now fluffed and teased, and I’ve pained my lips a shameless crimson red. Beside me rests a bowl of chips splashed with chilli and lime. Readers: prepare yourselves. I’m ready to disclose the first scandal!” 

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Dr. Omar's Gang (2008 Film)

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 | Posted by The Entertainment Geek
Essabet El Dr. Omar (AKA Dr. Omar’s Gang) was the first Arabic film I ever saw, and although I saw it on a crammed airplane screen, I found it was laugh-out-loud funny!


“Essabet El Dr. Omar takes us back to when comedy wasn’t all satire.”


The Rundown
Behind the name: Also known as—Dr. Omar's Gang
Country: Egypt, 2008
 Genre: Comedy
Distributed by: Almassa
Director: Ali Adris
Cast: Mostafa Amar, Yasmin Abdel Aziz, Edward, Mohamed Sharaf, Khaled Sarhan
Compare to: Hareem Kareem, 1/8 Daset Ashrar
Hate it or Love it?  Love it

Synopsis in a Sentence: Dr. Omar comes back to Egypt with an international degree and employs strange tactics to his psychiatric patients: amongst them is a kleptomaniac woman who falls for him, and somehow they get involved in theft.
           

On Writing: The Plot

The plot is good, with cases of mistaken identities and intentions while bringing the difficulties faced by a kleptomaniac into light. The comedy is straightforward, not forced, but just slightly overdone. Most interestingly, there’s a story to this one. And you’ll find yourself laughing as the plot progresses.

(4/5)


On Acting: The Cast

There are real characters in this one. Most of them in 3D.

Mostafa Amar is interesting enough, drawing us into the film and keeping us there. He’s the actor we need him to be.








Yasmin Abdel Aziz takes on her animated, comedic self in this movie, through the climax and tragedy and comedy. She plays her character well.




All the other actors adopt the character of “first comedy” like in the old days, where gesture and body language were controlled to make you laugh. In this post-modern, satiric stage of comedy, it may either come across as annoyingly fake or appreciatively authentic.

(3/5)


On Production: The Creativity

It’s a good mix. There’s music, but not elongated, Bollywood-style scores. The comedy is complemented by a few shots of tragedy, and thankfully, there’s a real story to it. Wardrobe is as you’d expect it to be, and the cameras do what they’re supposed to do. So overall, it’s quite good.

(3/5)                                              


On Resolution: The Conclusion

It ends well, as a comedy should. After a fair bit of laughs, there’s tragedy and betrayal and “action” and suspense and more smiles.

(3.5/5)

The Verdict: Comedic.


Overall Score = 13.5/20

See Dr. Omar’s Gang

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