Ne Me Quitte Pas

Yasmin Ahmad (1958 - 2009)


Al-Fatihah...

Prebiu 2009

Filem-filem yang aku mau tonton, dan kau patut tonton, tahun ini.

WATCHMEN
Even if it turns out to be only half as good as the graphic novel, I'll be satisfied. Even if the adaptation is shite, quality time can be spent on reveling at Silk Spectre and that 'fanboy-treating' of an outfit. Oh and to those who haven't read the graphic novel, you're really missing out. TIME's 100 Novels List can attest to its greatness.

TERMINATOR SALVATION

I admit I still store a sheer amount of skeptism on this movie. First, it's a Terminator movie without the terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger. Second, it's directed by "McG", the guy who brought us the movie Charlie's Angels . But if he managed to get Christian Bale and Jonathan Nolan on the boat, he must be doing something right. The snippets I saw are not-too-bad either.

FUNNY PEOPLE
As in my previous post. Could this be the second Adam Sandler flick that I love? Even the film's poster managed to make Adam Sandler look "likable" for once.

PUBLIC ENEMIES
Teh Bale. Johnny Depp. A Michael Mann movie. Ya can blow a load now.

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS
A WWII Tarantino movie. I'm one of the few who loved Death Proof. Guess I still belong to the now dwindling, Quentin Tarantino fan club.

UP
It wouldn't be right to not have a Pixar film to look forward to every year.

AVATAR
It looks like James Cameron has finally ran out of all that money he got from Titanic. Thank goodness.

THE ROAD

This film should have been a 2008 release, but somehow got pushed to this year. Is that a bad sign? With the talents involved, I doubt it. The Road is a post-apocalyptic film adapted from Cormac McCarthy's novel, and directed by John Hillcoat who rose to fame with The Proposition.

500 DAYS OF SUMMER
Any film starring Indie favorite Joseph Gordon Levitt is worth anticipating. Seriously this guy should do something bigger that could attract some serious attention. "Big" in the sense of not in a blockbuster movie(*ehem* G.I. Joe), but more to something that those golden statuettes love.

SHUTTER ISLAND

Sorry..couldn't find a photo worth posting for this one.

It's safe to say that this would be a lock as one of the front-runners in the next Oscars. But if I'm not missing anything, with the exception of Public Enemies, this year there's no other film with big-name directors attached that could rival the juggernaut that is Martin Scorsese, so it has all the chance of coming out winning methinks.

FUNNY PEOPLE

All of a sudden this becomes my most anticipated film of the year. Hah! I'd never thought I'd say that for a movie starring Adam Sandler. Tapi sebenarnya yang buatkan aku amat tertarik dengan filem ni adalah sebab pengarah/penulis Judd Apatow, yahudi totok yang dah jadi "the new Woody Allen".

THE FILMS OF 2008

10 - Let The Right One In

If there's only one vampire cum romance flick that you would see, make it this one.

9 - In Bruges

A criminally underlooked British gangster flick, boasting Colin Farrel's best performance to date.

8 - Revolutionary Road
An acting showcase for Leo and Kate, back together again, albeit in a completely opposite end of the spectrum, in tone, than their previous collaboration.

7 - Doubt

You won't doubt the cast's acting abilities, that's for sure. Watch this if you want to see great actors chomp through the whole film.

6 - Slumdog Millionaire

This is the "Little Miss Sunshine" or "Juno" of the year. A crowd-pleasing indie film, that although may not be as mindblowing as the hype would suggest, but still nearly impossible to hate. Heck Danny Boyle can always make up to any shortcomings in a script.

5 - Wall-E

The first half of Wall-E is pure cinematic heaven. But when it gets "talky", it loses most of its magic. But nevertheless, it's still on par with some of Pixar's best.

4 - Happy-Go-Lucky

You'd know that a movie was great if it can make you smile for the rest of the day. The title fits perfectly.

3 - Chop Shop

Chop Shop is another unappreciated gem of a film, reminiscent of the old Italian neo-realists.

2 - The Wrestler

Honestly, this little flick damn near takes the top spot. Intimate, and as emotionally engaging as it gets. Mickey Rourke is back in a performance of a lifetime. and to those Aronofsky detractors who claimed he's more style over substance, The Wrestler pretty much could shut them all up.

1 - The Dark Knight

I'd bet you can see this a mile away. What more can I say? The Dark Knight is all kinds of awesome. Full stop. As the list shows, TDK is the best example for mainstream cinema, and The Wrestler, for the independent cinema.

Honorable Mentions: Susuk, Iron Man, Gran Torino, Budak Kelantan, Eden Lake, Man On Wire, Transsiberian, Speed Racer, Tropic Thunder, Time Crimes

Disappointments: The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, Quantum Of Solace, Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, My Blueberry Nights

Most Unwatchable Film: Milk

Other Top 10 lists:
EddVedder
Roman Kodian

Familiar?

Abomination

Ok. This is officially the worst thing I've seen in a while ("movie-wise"). Be forewarned, watching this short clip may cause bleeding eyes and involuntary regurgitation due to its mind-blowing badness.




Bad music, bad acting, bad directing, bad everything all jam-packed in this 2-minute clip. Guess I don't have to watch the whole Twilight movie to know that it's a piece of crap.

Side note: I don't think it's even legal putting this up here. But heck, it's for a good cause.

MASIH HIDUP

SUSUK (Amir Muhammad & Naeim Ghalili)

Wau penamatnya buat aku meremang. Terpaku aku sekejap. Bukan disebabkan takutkan 'hantunya', tapi seram secara psikologi yg datang bila aku imbau balik babak-babak awal dalam filem ini, yang pada mulanya aku sangka tak ada apa-apa signifikasi pada jalan cerita. Satu penamat yang betul-betul melengkapkan filem ini. Mengikat semua jaringan-jaringan plot, dan juga mengupas jiwa sebenar Susuk. Ia bukan filem 'seram' yang biasa. Filem Susuk ada naratif yang lebih kompleks dan mendalam daripada apa yang terang-terang dipaparkan. Jarang sekali kita dapat sebuah filem seram, tempatan ataupun mana-mana sekalipun, yang mempunyai jalan cerita yang kuat. Maksud aku, kebanyakan filem seram hanya nak menakutkan penonton saja tanpa apa-apa sokongan naratif yang merangsang otak. Jalan cerita hanya dijadikan 'alasan' untuk menyumbat seberapa banyak babak seram yang boleh, contohnya filem Jangan Pandang Belakang dan klon-klonnya. Tapi tidak Susuk. Cerita dan skrip diutamakan. Sebab ni aku dapat rasakan ramai orang yang tak suka Susuk. Babak-babak 'hantu' pun hanya diselit sedikit saja, mungkin hanya nak memuaskan hati penonton yang masuk panggung mengharap filem seram yang tradisional. Memang efek-efek hantunya tampak murahan, tapi itu bukan nadi utamanya. Ternyata, objektif utama Amir Muhammad adalah nak menyampaikan cerita. Cara plotnya dikupas yang melekatkan perhatian aku. Jadi aku tak kisah pasal isu seram tak seram tu. Tambahan lagi filem ni dibarisi pelakon-pelakon yang hebat. Paling mengejutkan adalah lakonan Diana Rafar, yang tampak bersahaja dan membuatkan perkembangan wataknya 'believable'. Yang menariknya aku juga dapat rasa ada sentuhan surrealisme David Lynch (watak utama yang naif dikelilingi kejadian-kejadian pelik/surreal yang akhirnya dia sendiri terjerumus ke dalamnya). Amir/Naeim berjaya mengangkat filem ini keluar daripada kepompong satu genre, menjadi hasil artistik yang aku berani katakan filem tempatan terbaik tahun ini.

Tapi sebenarnya, aku rasa peminat-peminat filem seram takkan ada masalah dengan Susuk. Yang aku maksudkan mereka yang betul-betul peminat sejati, yang sekurang-kurangnya sudah tonton filem-filem Dario Argento. Hah babak kegemaran aku dalam Susuk sudah pasti babak 'homage' Dario Argento tu! Stail! Selepas saja babak tu aku terus yakin yang pembikin filem ni tau apa yang mereka buat, dan akhirnya memang betul sangkaan aku.

4/5

PENSIL (M Subash)


Pada dasarnya filem Pensil sama saja dengan mana-mana filem/telefilem arahan Rashid Sibir. Cuma bezanya M Subash adalah pengarah filem yang lebih baik. Pensil lebih berkesan, lebih autentik dan kurang menjengkelkan dalam memancing air mata penonton. Aku sangat, sangat memuji M Subash sebab menonjolkan budaya melayu/Islam dengan lebih baik daripada kebanyakan pengarah filem melayu sendiri. Tengok saja posternya yang guna tulisan Jawi tu. Dan seperti mana-mana pengarah 'auteur', ada eksplorasi personal yang dibawanya; pertembungan bangsa Melayu dan India (watak Badrul kacukan melayu/india). Hubungan antara watak Badrul(M Subash) dan neneknya(Ruminah Sidek, lakonannya gila hebat!) adalah yang paling menarik bagi aku. Aku nantikan filem seterusnya daripada pengarah baru ni.

3.5/5

SEPI (Kabir Bhatia)


Filem ni ada potensi. Ada cebisan-cebisan tema 'kesepian' yang menarik dijelajahi. Tapi keseluruhannya dirosakkan dengan melodrama murahan dan situasi-situasi yang terlalu 'fantasi'. Maaf, aku tak dapat rasa emosi yang autentik dalamnya. Alah kau akan kata "Cerita jiwang memang macam tu! Kalau tak fantasi tak best!". Memang, filem Cinta juga ada penyakit 'fantasi keterlaluan' ini, tapi ia diseimbangkan dengan naratif dan karakter-karakter yang aku ada rasa empati. Ada connection. Sepi tak ada dua benda ni. Senang cerita, aku bosan dengan Sepi dan kesepian (haha).

2/5