source: www.thesocialnetwork-movie.com

“…they just can’t wrap their head around the idea that someone might build something because they like building things.” said the real Mark Zuckerberg in reaction to The Social Network film.

What the real Mark Zuckerberg did not get was that Erica is merely a symbolic device for putting the character’s extreme egoism and narrow-mindedness up for exhibition. Arguably, it is these unique qualities of “Mark Zuckerberg”, among with his vast intelligence and relentless conviction,  that made facebook.com one of the most pronounced sites to this day in terms of design and philosophy.

That Mark Zuckerberg is an asshole easily made him the biggest draw on screen. His disdain towards authority and ignorance towards anyone deemed worthless effortlessly established the character’s charisma. Compared to this alternate Zuckerberg, the real-life counterpart doing on F8 keynote is as animated as a PR droid.

One other element the film has captured so well but was neglected by other reviewers was the desolation and solitude of software developers. The on-screen Zuckerberg, though a genius,  was merely an inarticulate 19 year old boy suffering from the taste of reject and badly in need of comfort. Ironically, the way he saw himself out was to dive deeper into his own world. That was a world where his revenue and fame driven partners Jeff Parker and Saverin could never recognize.

source: www.thesocialnetwork-movie.com

Towards the end of the film, Zuckerberg asked Marylin, the only character sympathetic of him, if he could stay around and “use the computer”, before the screen fades out while he waits for a friend request reply from Erica. In his own twisted ways,  Zuckerberg was as connected to the world as he was isolated from it.

Extended Reading:

http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/10/04/the-social-network-fact-vs-fiction/

http://www.facebook.com/thefacebookeffect

Documentary films have therefore evolved from the hardcore BBC style where authenticity and university professors take center stage to the makeshift blockbuster thrillers they have become. While effective in grabbing headlines and generating controversy, one sometimes can’t help but think whether the tradeoffs are worthwhile. Tension and drama are no doubt effective emotion provoking vehicles, but when the dosage gets too frequent, fatigue and detachment can kick in just as quickly. As easy as that is to grasp, film distributors have never been so keen on pushing the noise stirring documentary race to more ridiculous heights.

The argument is not against producing good quality documentary films that are both thought-provoking and dare I say – entertaining. Few would think that Ric O’Barry‘s compassion towards dolphins was an excuse for putting night vision scenes in The Cove. When executed appropriately, the tension helps to put the viewer in the epicenter of the depicted event and make him as involved in the subject matter as the film makers themselves.

However, the abundance of subpar documentary films relegating to shock and gore as cheap marketing tricks have inflicted enough damage on the genre already, making viewers and critics much more skeptical and “rational” than before. On the other hand, right wing critics with a self-proclaimed sense of responsibility to balance the opinions of the world would pour out lengthy counter-arguments with the sole purpose of muddling the original message of the documentary film makers and showcasing their own moral objectivity. Healthy, serious debate is much needed as it teaches us not to accept everything at face value, but most of the ones I came across were merely pseudo arguments with a rational disguise. At the end of the day, this deranged phenomenon causes a set back as confused and less-knowledgeable viewers at large become less sure of what to believe in anymore.

Not all film makers are able to recruit ILM expertise for camera hiding advices and unmanned aircrafts constructions. From The Cove.

So that’s that – documentary film makers should stop adhering to the Moore formula as their impacts are being increasingly watered-down and no meagre budget boosts would help.

Fish Tank

Synopsis:

FISH TANK is the story of Mia (KATIE JARVIS), a volatile 15-year-old, who is always in trouble and who has become excluded from school and ostracized by her friends. One hot summer’s day her mother (KIERSTON WAREING) brings home a mysterious stranger called Connor (MICHAEL FASSBENDER) who promises to change everything and bring love into all their lives.

http://www.hkiff.org/eng/film/detail/7/34071-fish-tank.html

Berlin-Stettin

“Berlin-Stettin” is a fine cinematic essay-autobiography from veteran documentarian Volker Koepp. Even audiences unfamiliar with Koepp’s pedigree as a leading chronicler of ordinary East German working lives will appreciate this accessible, informative and warmly humanistic journey across the miles and the decades (quote).

http://www.hkiff.org/eng/film/detail/23/34025-berlinstettin.html

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers

Synopsis:

In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a high-level Pentagon official and Vietnam War strategist, concludes that the war is based on decades of lies and leaks 7,000 pages of top secret documents to The New York Times, making headlines around the world.

http://www.hkiff.org/eng/film/detail/23/34134-the-most-dangerous-man-in-america-daniel-ellsberg-and-the-pentagon-papers.html

The Ghost Writer

Synopsis:

When a successful British ghostwriter, THE GHOST, agrees to complete the memoirs of former British Prime Minister ADAM LANG, his agent assures him it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start—not least because his predecessor on the project, Lang’s long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident.

http://www.hkiff.org/eng/film/detail/13/34241-the-ghost-writer.html

Irene

Synopsis:

Irène and the filmmaker. A powerful relationship but full of gray areas. Irène disappears. A private journal left behind resurfaces years later. A freshness. An attraction. A danger. How to make a film?

http://www.hkiff.org/eng/film/detail/14/34100-irene.html

A crowd of three (ケンタとジュンとカヨちゃんの国)

Synopsis:

Shota Matsuda and Kengo Kora star as Kenta and Jun, two working class guys who grew up together at the same orphanage like brothers. They take demolition jobs straight out of junior high school, but are overworked and routinely bullied by their boss (Hirofumi Arai). Frustrated with their lot in life, the pair decide to break through their “invisible wall” and travel north to visit Kenta’s real older brother Kazu in jail. Now armed with a dim glimmer of hope, Kenta and Jun burn their bridges and take to the road along with Jun’s girlfriend-slash-punching bag Kayo-chan (Sakura Ando).

http://www.hkiff.org/eng/film/detail/20/34048-a-crowd-of-three.html

Comments/impressions to follow soon.

21 Guns

Sometimes a song really gets to you not due to its quality but how its context hits you at the appropriate moments. This is the parting swan song that echoed in my head as I saw her ashes being put into place. What can I say? A tragic tune loaded with anger and unjust, just like her life and passing.

Jesus of Suburbia

It’s Green Day revisited year alright. It wasn’t till 09 when I rediscovered this tune and taken to its nihilism and rage. I don’t care if you don’t I don’t care if you don’t I don’t care if you don’t care.

UP

This was quite unexpected. Watching UP was like watching my entire life flashing before my eyes…though unlike Carl Fredricksen, I’m hanging on to the floating house like dear life. At least he had somewhere he could go. At least he doesn’t have long to live before he gets to see his Elly.

証人 Beast Stalker

Moving on to less sentimental choices.  I think Beast Stalker (a 08 film) is undoubtedly the best local film I saw in 09. With the local film industry being stagnated or gone all haywire,  this might remain the most decent film for many years to come. Mark my words.

Let It Be – Remastered

Love the fact how the 2009.09.09 re-issue has rejuvenated the band’s legacy around the world. Pity that “Across The Universe” didn’t sound particularly different. Sometimes efforts to bring back certain things that have passed are destined to be futile. A real shame.

Slumdog Millionaire

There was the initial shock (seeing Dharavi) followed by waves of surprises. The success of the film lied on its transformative power – its ability to change people’s perceptions upon alien cultures and nations. Not to mention how it eventually led me to set foot in Mumbai or learn about Mahatma Gandhi’s life. The chase scene in the beginning is so much more engaging and shocking than any of the pompous CG scenes in Avatar.

Sweetney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

A fantastic film I didn’t get to see till this year. The production, characters, sets and music are all top notch. Should have seen it at a cinema. An underrated film this didn’t seem to have garnered enough praises.

Uncharted 2 (ps3 game)

Have to bring up this title again, for its innovation in pushing the gaming media into new narrative heights. In terms of achievement Uncharted 2 should be up there with Shenmue, I reckon.

Marley and I

It wasn’t a film about canines. It was showing us a life that we wished we could have had but knew we never would. I wonder if her tears were shed for the same sentiments. I’d never know.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Anything with David Fincher’s name on it is bound to secure a place on my list. Though criticized for its linearity and unoriginality, Benjamin was great in its own terms. The portrayal of encounters, emotions and departures in life were simply outstanding. Another film that managed to reduce me to a pool of tears (and eventually led to a Varanasi visit).

20th Century Boys Part 2+3

I might be the only one who thoroughly enjoyed all three parts of this trilogy. Seeing how the production team painstakingly re-created the imaginary world from the manga was nerve whacking enough – then seeing how they went an extra mile in exemplifying the key scenes and emotions was beyond moving. People, you guys were missing the point, big time.

Sometimes there are films you’ve heard so much about, they automatically categorize themselves into the “heavy material – not for casual viewing” group. As time wears on, your expectations only grew. Sometimes one become cautious about whether to watch the actual film in the end, as it has already taken a certain form in your mind, and any deviation from that often leads to disappointment or disorientation.

Babel is the case in point.

Critics and reviewers tend to be quite generous towards the film, praising it on the portrayal of universal emotions like pain, suffering and yearning for unity, on the controversy of western imperialism, on the failure of language and senses under certain circumstances, among others.

I wasn’t in such a forgiving mood though. To me, the main draws were the cast (Cate!) and the emphasis on determinism/fatalism/the butterfly effect/casuality…how all events and lives are intermingled and have profound effects on one another regardless of spaces and time. Seems like a formula that can’t go wrong.

But “formula” was exactly what the curse was. About one-third into the film, it couldn’t become more obvious that the characters in the four stories are somehow inter-related. With the suspense given away, the audience was left to see how events would unfold and come to their inevitable ends. And while the unfolding was intense, it regrettably treaded into the waters of TV-style melodrama, with chains of stupid decisions from protagonists made to serve little more than plot devices. What a shame.

In comparison, the little scene depicting Determinism in Benjamin Button (“If the cab driver hadn’t stop for a cup of coffee…”) was much more powerful and convincing. Sometimes ideas like this work better in a more confined context, both in terms of length and space.

Suddenly I feel a bit worried about other films sitting in the same category, like “Constant Gardener”, “2001 Space Odyssey”, “Blade Runner”, “River Kwai”, “Godfather trilogy” and so on… I wish I’m over-reacting.

1. The Place Promised in Our Early Days (雲のむこう、約束の場所) by Makoto Shinkai – Shinkai has been all the rage in the anime world these days and I’m late to witness what the fuzz is all about. Approaching the film with no expectations or pre-assumptions, it was, to be honest, a bit hard to get in. Sure it’s just a simplistic becoming-of-age story in its core, but the sc-fi disguise and the inevitable comparison drawn to the Eva series is damn frustrating. Personally I think it’s the production crew to blame, that they should vary their style a little to avoid the confusion.

On the other hand, the artwork is absolutely stunning – it’s like a re-creation of Shinji Iwai’s imagery styles on computer, with traces of artificiality carefully concealed. The fact that Shinkai has a strong literature background and he spent 8 months alone to produce a short anime film on a Mac makes his works all the more interesting. He would become one of the names to be known for putting people’s faiths back into anime.

skate (ps3) – I’ve never had an urge to write about video games before, but skate is special in its own terms. The flickit control is revolutionary and the game is full of depth. Really wish I’d be able to learn to skate in real life.

Across The Universe (2007) - Now this was totally unexpected, but in a good way. I generally hate musicals and quasi-musical films. The idea of people breaking off to sing a corny song in the middle of a conversation is incredibly corny and awkward. I guess that’s why I have resisted watching Tim Burton‘s Sweeney Todd and the like.Clearly there’re some exceptions – with the most obvious one being Moulin Rouge. Rented as part of the research for last year’s Paris trip, the film blew me away when – of all the people – Nicole Kidman started singing “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. From then on everything became forgivable.

The same goes for Across The Universe. I wonder how some clueless people would react when they watch the psychedelic bits like “I’m a Walrus”. Would they reckon it’s something deep or metaphorical when it’s just a bunch of people getting high on drugs? Anyway, psychedelic section apart, it was a wonderfully produced and crafted film. There’re some original and inspiring uses of imagery, with my favourites being the strawberry grenades and subway lights galaxy. It brings on a whole new meaning to the decades old lyrics. Needless to say the performance, guitar and singing was top notch.

hello i’m a Paul McCartney lookalike

Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes

To say Death Note is revolutionary is an understatement. It has taken comics and storytelling to new heights in many aspects. What lies beneath a genius vs. genius story are layers of ideas and questions that challenge our beliefs and vow to unveil what’s wrong at the foundations of our society.

It isn’t too difficult to find yourself empathizing with Light, the protagonist. His actions were well founded, his logic was precise and extremely bold. I find it surprising that all the criticisms and arguments made against him all sound so unconvincing and powerless. Men have no rights to take the lives of others? What Light did was no different than that of a serial killer?? Come on! The antagonists never succeeded to bring up with arguments with profound reasoning to back them up.

Some say the popularity of Death Note reflects a society where morality is on the demise. Kids make up their own gods and reject conventional wisdoms and values, their ability to wreck havoc are limited only by their lack of power. Truth, justice and evilness are just distant concepts that bear no weight on everyday life. I couldn’t agree more. Keeping a blind faith on being “good” and staying on the “correct” path – why so and how does it matter? Light’s intentions are more authentic and sincere than those who put on an all dignified face but act with double standards. Despite the lives he had taken, his youth and innocence is a stark contrast to the hypocrisy of many grown ups. In the film, he remains true to this character and beliefs till the very end. His dying words, instead of the laughable “i don’t want to die” original, was “Kira is justice”.

Of course, the single greatest mistake Light has made was being impulsive enough to take on L’s challenge. That fatal blow led him into difficult subsequent situations. His shrewd attitude towards the duel, shown by his unwillingness to give up portions of his life in exchange of “the eyes”, is a demonstration of the selfishness of humans and eventually hit back at him. In the film, L was able to win because he dared to put absolutely everything at stake. He who isn’t committed enough may win small games but will eventually loose the battle.
So, is the question “is kira evil or justice?” still relevant? Kira is certainly no evil, but it is impossible for mere mortals to act on behalf on Kira and not cause major disaster. History tells us that humans could never transcend their own weaknesses when granted with the power of god.