Watched the following short films as part of the Young Cinema Programme organised by the National Museum.
The Animal Save the Planet
Very nice stop motion film in the style of Wallace and Gromit! The ideas were well thought out!
Link
The Story of Stuff
Too wordy and need to concentrate to get the message! Saw most of the kids got restless for this segment. Maybe it would help if subtitles were displayed?
Link
Garbage Angels
Nice abstract piece about simulated wild animals made of garbage!
Link
Papiroflexia
Nice abstract piece about the beauty of nature and paper folding!
Link
Goldfish
Really funny film about the unexpected side effects of watching too much "Finding Nemo"!
Link
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Star Trek
The story is about how a group of cadets worked together on a space ship and saved Earth from being destroyed by aliens. It is based on the popular TV series of the same name.
Liked the chemistry among the characters and the catchy dialog! The dynamics between James and Spock is especially interesting!
Internet Movie Database Link
Liked the chemistry among the characters and the catchy dialog! The dynamics between James and Spock is especially interesting!
Internet Movie Database Link
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Kabei: Our Mother
The story is about the life of a Japanese mother narrated by her daughter. Her husband was thrown into jail for his left wing ideas during the early 1940s and she had to fend for her two daughters by herself.
The eldest daughter was quite cute with her two pony tails and the uncle was a lovable character in his own way! Great acting by the two daughters! Thought the director could have shortened the ending. A reasonably good film but I was a little disappointed as it didn't move me as much as "Twenty Four Eyes" and "Burmese Harp", both were Japanese anti-war films made in the 1950s.
Internet Movie Database Link
The eldest daughter was quite cute with her two pony tails and the uncle was a lovable character in his own way! Great acting by the two daughters! Thought the director could have shortened the ending. A reasonably good film but I was a little disappointed as it didn't move me as much as "Twenty Four Eyes" and "Burmese Harp", both were Japanese anti-war films made in the 1950s.
Internet Movie Database Link
Friday, May 01, 2009
Umberto D
The story is about an old man and his dog. The old man owes the landlady money and is gradually being kicked out of his apartment.
Nice story and the maid looked quite pretty! Was quite impressed by the tricks that the dog could do too but I felt a little depressed for the old man towards the end!
Internet Movie Database Link
Nice story and the maid looked quite pretty! Was quite impressed by the tricks that the dog could do too but I felt a little depressed for the old man towards the end!
Internet Movie Database Link
Sell Out!
The story is about the lives of the employees of "FONY", a fictitious Malaysian company whose focus is on making money at all costs. The main characters are an Arts show host intent on climbing the social ladder and an idealistic product manager.
Liked the songs and the black humor! I also liked the scenes where they showed the ordinary people in the streets!
Internet Movie Database Link
Liked the songs and the black humor! I also liked the scenes where they showed the ordinary people in the streets!
Internet Movie Database Link
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Milk
The story is about a milkman who stays with his mother and aspires to be a poet.
Very interesting opening sequence that showed how a snake crawled out of a woman's mouth who was hung upside down with a mysterious boiling pot of potion below! Don't quite understand what it all means though. Thought the scene where the son caught the fish and her mother plucking feathers off a bird was beautifully shot too!
Internet Movie Database Link
Very interesting opening sequence that showed how a snake crawled out of a woman's mouth who was hung upside down with a mysterious boiling pot of potion below! Don't quite understand what it all means though. Thought the scene where the son caught the fish and her mother plucking feathers off a bird was beautifully shot too!
Internet Movie Database Link
Sex is No Laughing Matter
The story is about the love between a teacher, Yuri, and her student, Mirume. Mirume had two close friends, En-Chan and Domoto. En-Chan liked Mirume secretly while Domoto liked En-Chan secretly.
Interesting exploration on how feelings between teacher and student could develop and their consequences! Both leading actresses looked quite pretty!
Internet Movie Database Link
Interesting exploration on how feelings between teacher and student could develop and their consequences! Both leading actresses looked quite pretty!
Internet Movie Database Link
Still Walking
The story is about a Japanese family reunion. The son and daughter of the family brought their spouses and children to pay their parents a visit and to mourn for their brother who died in an accident.
Liked the warm family spirit evoked through the interactions among the individual family members! The daughter-in-law looked quite pretty too!
Internet Movie Database Link
Liked the warm family spirit evoked through the interactions among the individual family members! The daughter-in-law looked quite pretty too!
Internet Movie Database Link
US$9.99
The story is about the lives of a group of people staying in a Sydney apartment. The title refers to the price of the "Meaning of Life" book that a young unemployed guy bought.
Liked the subplot about the small boy and his piggy bank as well as the old man and the angel the best! Thought the love between the re-possessor and the super model was quite scary. The telemarketer sounded quite sweet!
Internet Movie Database Link
Liked the subplot about the small boy and his piggy bank as well as the old man and the angel the best! Thought the love between the re-possessor and the super model was quite scary. The telemarketer sounded quite sweet!
Internet Movie Database Link
Friday, April 24, 2009
Wendy and Lucy
The story is about how Wendy, a woman with very little money, spent a few days in a small town on the way to Alaska when she found that her dog, Lucy, was missing.
Great acting by the lead actress and I liked the well written script! Her encounters with the many ordinary people during her stay were interesting! These include a kind hearted security guard, an overzealous supermarket employee and a technically savvy car mechanic among others.
Internet Movie Database Link
Great acting by the lead actress and I liked the well written script! Her encounters with the many ordinary people during her stay were interesting! These include a kind hearted security guard, an overzealous supermarket employee and a technically savvy car mechanic among others.
Internet Movie Database Link
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Fish Eyes
The story is about life in a small town during the China Olympics period.
Liked the nice desert scenery and the simple life that the father led! Thought the three-way relationship of the father, the son and the mysterious girl was quite interesting!
Internet Movie Database Link
Liked the nice desert scenery and the simple life that the father led! Thought the three-way relationship of the father, the son and the mysterious girl was quite interesting!
Internet Movie Database Link
Monday, April 20, 2009
A Big Road
The story is about the lives of three women in Shanghai.
Liked the jumbled up fragmented shots that required the audience to piece the story together themselves! Thought the daughter who was treated like a servant by her step mother looked the prettiest!
Internet Movie Database Link
Liked the jumbled up fragmented shots that required the audience to piece the story together themselves! Thought the daughter who was treated like a servant by her step mother looked the prettiest!
Internet Movie Database Link
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Dada's Dance
The story is about a girl's search for her biological mother together with her neighbor. The girl's name was Dada and her neighbor had peeked at her when she was performing a little dance at home one day.
Great acting by the two leads who also took part in the script writing process! Personally, I thought that Dada's friend Coco and the lady at the inn looked slightly prettier than her.
Internet Movie Database Link
Great acting by the two leads who also took part in the script writing process! Personally, I thought that Dada's friend Coco and the lady at the inn looked slightly prettier than her.
Internet Movie Database Link
Agrarian Utopia
The story is about two farmers working on their friend's land as they were heavily in debt.
Interesting look at a typical farmer's life! The children had fun playing in the field but worked hard as part of a team when it was harvest time! Liked how the seasonal and weather changes were depicted in the film!
Interesting look at a typical farmer's life! The children had fun playing in the field but worked hard as part of a team when it was harvest time! Liked how the seasonal and weather changes were depicted in the film!
Disengagement
The story is about how the death of a woman's father led her to embark on a journey to search for her daughter who was living in the Gaza strip. Israel was carrying out a disengagement plan to evict all Israelis living in the region then.
Had not heard of the Israeli disengagement plan before and I wanted to find out what it entailed! The police had to literally evacuate the place, carrying people away when they did not cooperate and destroying the vacated buildings!
Internet Movie Database Link
Had not heard of the Israeli disengagement plan before and I wanted to find out what it entailed! The police had to literally evacuate the place, carrying people away when they did not cooperate and destroying the vacated buildings!
Internet Movie Database Link
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Promised Land
The story is about how a group of East European women were sold to Israel to become prostitutes.
Didn't quite like the style of the film that simply showed what happened to the women within the span of a few days. Would have preferred either the documentary approach that explained the background information on the history of human trafficking or the more personal approach adopted by feature films that described the stories of the women in more detail.
Internet Movie Database Link
Didn't quite like the style of the film that simply showed what happened to the women within the span of a few days. Would have preferred either the documentary approach that explained the background information on the history of human trafficking or the more personal approach adopted by feature films that described the stories of the women in more detail.
Internet Movie Database Link
The Beetle
This is a documentary about the history of a man's vintage Volkswagon and how he travelled to Jordan to restore it even though his wife was about to deliver.
Liked the interview clips with all the previous owners and the arguments between the protagonist and his wife on whether to dump the car! Was quite happy for them that everything turned out pretty well in the end!
Liked the interview clips with all the previous owners and the arguments between the protagonist and his wife on whether to dump the car! Was quite happy for them that everything turned out pretty well in the end!
Yuri's Day
The story is about an opera diva's journey back to her hometown. Her son who was traveling with her suddenly disappeared and she had to cope with the stress.
Interesting look at the small town life and very nice choral music! Thought the opera diva found her true calling by staying back and contributing back to her hometown!
Internet Movie Database Link
Interesting look at the small town life and very nice choral music! Thought the opera diva found her true calling by staying back and contributing back to her hometown!
Internet Movie Database Link
18 Grams of Love
The story is about what happened when the husbands of two couples became suspicious of their wives and started to write love letters to each other's wives to test them.
Thought the script was excellent! It was funny and yet meaningful at the same time! Liked how the director incorporated martial arts, literature and Chinese orchestra music into the film! I would have bought the DVD on the spot if Sinema had sold it in its shop!
Internet Movie Database Link
Thought the script was excellent! It was funny and yet meaningful at the same time! Liked how the director incorporated martial arts, literature and Chinese orchestra music into the film! I would have bought the DVD on the spot if Sinema had sold it in its shop!
Internet Movie Database Link
The Story of Mr Sorry
The story is about the life of a ear-wax cleaner who became world famous after being shrunk by his boss as he was able to get inside people's ear and do a more thorough job. He was also able to see his customer's subconscious mind and in the process, he found out what happened to his missing sister.
Liked the interesting storyline and the psychological build up towards the end! I thought the images inside the customer's subconscious were very nicely depicted! They may not have been as nicely drawn as the dreams in "Paprika" by Kon Satoshi but the raw emotions were conveyed more clearly! This is my number one animation of the year so far!
Liked the interesting storyline and the psychological build up towards the end! I thought the images inside the customer's subconscious were very nicely depicted! They may not have been as nicely drawn as the dreams in "Paprika" by Kon Satoshi but the raw emotions were conveyed more clearly! This is my number one animation of the year so far!
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