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Reviews21
themovieclub's rating
Most say Eternal Summer is a gay movie. But I would rather call it a movie about relationships.
Newbies Bryant Chang and Joseph Chang play two best friends who come a long way from primary school after they were paired off as motivational buddies by their form teacher. As the 'third party' Carrie (Kate Yeung) enters the scene, the relationship becomes more complicated. All three struggle with love and friendship a line that can seem so clearly divided but is not.
With 4 nominations at the Golden Horses, this movie caused a stir in Taiwan, both in terms of theme and story. Fortunately, it did not sink into typical Taiwanese melodramatic mode. The director takes his time to unfold, filled with awkward yet genuine moments. Note the parallels that he draws, and the subtle contrast between scenes reveal more than what is said.
Many times, the audience may feel frustrated with the slow pacing, and wished that the characters would just acknowledge what they feel. Perhaps this is a reflection of individuals being unaccepted and different in society, whether you are a gay, migrant or loner. You may just identity with the 3 characters' suppression and lack of ability to communicate.
With Lan Yu winning the Golden Horse, and Brokeback Mountain the Golden Globes paving the way, homosexual themed movies have started arriving to the shores of Singapore (with some censorship). Just a few years before, it would almost seem impossible that movies like Eternal Summer would be screen here. Liberation of the authorities or sophistication of the audience? To emphasize, this is not just another 'gay' movie, and may disappoint those going for the wrong reasons. With the tagline "No One Wishes To Be Lonely, Neither Do We", it can be viewed as a beautifully shot movie on the pains of growing up, friendship and love.
Newbies Bryant Chang and Joseph Chang play two best friends who come a long way from primary school after they were paired off as motivational buddies by their form teacher. As the 'third party' Carrie (Kate Yeung) enters the scene, the relationship becomes more complicated. All three struggle with love and friendship a line that can seem so clearly divided but is not.
With 4 nominations at the Golden Horses, this movie caused a stir in Taiwan, both in terms of theme and story. Fortunately, it did not sink into typical Taiwanese melodramatic mode. The director takes his time to unfold, filled with awkward yet genuine moments. Note the parallels that he draws, and the subtle contrast between scenes reveal more than what is said.
Many times, the audience may feel frustrated with the slow pacing, and wished that the characters would just acknowledge what they feel. Perhaps this is a reflection of individuals being unaccepted and different in society, whether you are a gay, migrant or loner. You may just identity with the 3 characters' suppression and lack of ability to communicate.
With Lan Yu winning the Golden Horse, and Brokeback Mountain the Golden Globes paving the way, homosexual themed movies have started arriving to the shores of Singapore (with some censorship). Just a few years before, it would almost seem impossible that movies like Eternal Summer would be screen here. Liberation of the authorities or sophistication of the audience? To emphasize, this is not just another 'gay' movie, and may disappoint those going for the wrong reasons. With the tagline "No One Wishes To Be Lonely, Neither Do We", it can be viewed as a beautifully shot movie on the pains of growing up, friendship and love.
Few make good Sci-Fi Movies.
Most Sci-Fi movies opt for a mix of politics (Minority Report), disasters (Armageddon) or fantasy (Matrix) to assure box office success. The rest falls into the B-grade mediocre category, which diminished the genre's credibility.
In the light of the rise of Sci-Fi shows such as Battlestar Galactica and upcoming Star Trek XI, Sunshine's timing is appropriate. After all, it boosts big names such as director Danny Boyle (Millions, Trainspotting) and Fantastic Four's Chris Evan and Michelle Yeoh.
Good Sci-Fi films have a mix of science, research and technology. It bases future predictions with possible and speculative scenarios with present findings. In this case, the sun will die and lose its heat 50 years later. The only sense of hope is by sending a team of 8 in spaceship to reignite part of the sun.
There are accidents, mistakes made and life endangering situations along the way. The excitement comes when the 8 struggles to survive, speculate and start losing their sanity. Mankind will not change, past or future. And the struggle to survive is their most basic instinct.
The story starts off promisingly. Every cast member is representative of a certain type of human behaviour from the selfish, to stubborn, to the sacrificial. It has a good mix of international actors (especially Asians), probably so because predictions say that the future world will belong to the American and Asian powerhouses.
Unfortunately, like the spaceship on the voyage, towards the end of the journey becomes mediocre and haphazard. Be prepared for an anti-climax. At least, the movie recovers itself before it falls into a bottomless pit.
http://themovieclub.blogspot.com
Most Sci-Fi movies opt for a mix of politics (Minority Report), disasters (Armageddon) or fantasy (Matrix) to assure box office success. The rest falls into the B-grade mediocre category, which diminished the genre's credibility.
In the light of the rise of Sci-Fi shows such as Battlestar Galactica and upcoming Star Trek XI, Sunshine's timing is appropriate. After all, it boosts big names such as director Danny Boyle (Millions, Trainspotting) and Fantastic Four's Chris Evan and Michelle Yeoh.
Good Sci-Fi films have a mix of science, research and technology. It bases future predictions with possible and speculative scenarios with present findings. In this case, the sun will die and lose its heat 50 years later. The only sense of hope is by sending a team of 8 in spaceship to reignite part of the sun.
There are accidents, mistakes made and life endangering situations along the way. The excitement comes when the 8 struggles to survive, speculate and start losing their sanity. Mankind will not change, past or future. And the struggle to survive is their most basic instinct.
The story starts off promisingly. Every cast member is representative of a certain type of human behaviour from the selfish, to stubborn, to the sacrificial. It has a good mix of international actors (especially Asians), probably so because predictions say that the future world will belong to the American and Asian powerhouses.
Unfortunately, like the spaceship on the voyage, towards the end of the journey becomes mediocre and haphazard. Be prepared for an anti-climax. At least, the movie recovers itself before it falls into a bottomless pit.
http://themovieclub.blogspot.com