| Fridae Movie Club: Singapore | 12 November 2008 / Issue 244 |
| > Join Fridae Movie Club > Forward to a friend | Archive > Subscribe | Unsubscribe > Write to the Editor > Search movie | Read online Folks, there ain’t that many new films this week. Quantum of Solace is taking up almost half of all the cinema screens in Singapore, hence fewer screens are available for new releases. However, the three new releases this week are all pretty good. First up, there’s The Good, The Bad and The Weird, a totally kickass Korean cowboy movie that is one of the biggest box-office hits in South Korea. Starring three of the best actors in K-cinema, it tells a fast-paced action-packed Western-inspired story of three bandits trying to get their hands on a treasure map. Don’t miss it! Also worth catching is Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, which has the unusual distinction of being a sequel that’s better than the original. Reuniting the original cast of Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith and Chris Rock, this hilarious and sometimes touching animation will have you laughing and tearing at the same time.
|
Seriously now, if the recession is getting you down and escape is what you’re looking for, either of the two titles above will so the trick. Finally, there’s Rabbit Without Ears, a solid romantic comedy from Germany for those of looking for a date movie. The chore of having to read subtitles aside, this Til Schweiger vehicle is well-written and directed. So what if there are only three new releases this week? Quality outweighs quantity. Enjoy. |
| ^ back to top | |
 | Another Double Fridae Special Previews! Fridae Movie Club brings you 20 pairs of preview tickets to catch Cape No.7, Courtesy of Festive Flims. This Taiwanese production of a romatic flim directed by Wei Te-Sheng has been tearing up Chinese Box-Office records, stars Van Fan, Tanaka Chie, Kousuke Atari, Shino Lin and Liang Wen-Yin. This highly acclaimed Taiwanese production has been breaking records in the Chinese movie theatres, including 9 Golden Horse Nominations and a shot at Best Picture of the year. Do not miss the most successful Taiwanese flim of all time! Quarantine, a Hollywood remake of the Spanish horror blockbuster, [REC] which is currently shown at cinemas in Singapore. The Hollywood version stars Jennifer Carpenter, Steve Harris and Jay Hernandez. Quarantine promises a roller coaster ride of emotions as the main character, a television show presentor, Angela Vidal played by Jennifer Carpenter whose overnight assignment at a Los Angeles Fire Station slowly ravels into a blood bath. The time and venue for Fridae's preview for Quarantine has not been decided yet, but we urge you to sign up early! Quarantine opens in cinemas on the 27th November 2008. To enjoy these free treats from our movie partners, sign up for the Fridae Arts & Entertainment Mailing List today! Fridae Arts & Entertainment
Mailing List >> View list of movies shown at previous Fridae Private Previews |
| Check
Movie Schedules and Book Online Book online at our favourite cinemas in Singapore. >> Shaw |
|
 |
|
| ^ back to top | |
 |
The Good, The Bad and The
Weird
 |
The most exhilarating movie of the week is Korean cowboy movie The Good, The Bad and The Weird. A box-office hit in its home turf Korea, it is obviously inspired by Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns, in particular 1966’s The Good, The Bad and The Ugly starring Clint Eastwood. The film stars three of Korea’s top actors, Jung Woo-Sung (Daisy), Lee Byung-Hun (JSA: Joint Security Area) and Song Kang Ho (The Host). All three play bandits circa 1930s Korea when the country was controlled by Japan. When word gets around that someone possesses a treasure map, all three engage in a mad scramble to get hold of the map. It turns out that each has a grudge against the other, and the race for the treasure becomes personal… Directed by Kim Ji Woon, this crazy, outlandish film moves at a consistently neck breaking speed. The plot is neither complicated, nor are the characters particularly well-developed. But the action sequences are superbly choreographed and jam-packed with surprises. The cinematography is also first-rate. Top that off with incredibly charismatic performances by the three leads (Song Kang Ho has rarely been funnier, and Lee Byung Hun has never been more stylish a villain) and you get a real winner. If you love action movies, The Good, The Bad and The Weird is quite simply The Must-Watch.
|
||||
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
 |
Who would have thought the sequel to the average animation Madagascar would be this good? Madagascar: Escape to Africa has more heat, heart and humor than the original, as it reunites the original cast of Ben Stiller as Alex the lion, Chris Rock as Marty the zebra, David Schwimmer as Melman the giraffe, and Jada Pinkett Smith as Gloria the hippo. In the original cartoon, our four comical heroes run away from a New York zoo for a taste of wildlife in Madagascar. Now however, they’ve started to feel homesick and want to go back to New York. As they attempt to fly out of Madagascar, the plane crashes in Africa. There, Alex, Marty, Melman and Gloria recognize their own kind among the fauna and realise that Africa is truly their home. Alex, for one, gets to meet his real parents. Unfortunately, he has trouble gaining their love and respect from them because he is too “urban”. Touching on the themes of friendship and family ties, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa can be surprisingly honest and moving. It is also frequently funny, bombarding you with plenty of zany antics and pop culture references. But just like the first film, the funniest parts belong to the penguins – particularly Skipper (Tom McGrath) who falls in love with a dashboard hula girl figurine. Are you laughing yet? .
|
||||
| ^ back to top |
 |
| Rabbit Without Ears (Kein Ohr Hasen)
In German with subtitles
 |
Actor Til Schweiger is the Brad Pitt of Germany . Tall, handsome and buff, he became famous overnight after starring in the 1994 gay comedy Der Bewegte Mann (The Most Desired Man). Since then, he’s stayed at the top of the fame game and has ventured into producing and directing. Rabbit Without Ears is his second directorial effort, and we’re pleased to tell you that it’s rather good. A well-crafted and amusing – if somewhat formulaic – romantic comedy, it stars Til as an arrogant womanizing reporter who gets into some trouble and ends up in court. He is sentenced to 300 hours of community service in a creche for kids. There, he meets the nerdy Nora Tschirner, who had been humiliated by him years ago when they went to the same school. She wants her revenge and is determined to get it. At first, she gets the pleasure of watching him flounder helplessly around the kids. But little by little, she starts to fall for him and he for her… Yes, it’s all very predictable but also very cute. And since we’re on the subject of cute, both Til and Nora are extremely cute. Til is still swaggeringly sexy, while Nora combines sheer beauty and comedic sense to devastating effect. You can’t help but like both of them. So, considering how bad Hollywood romantic comedies are these days, you might as well make this a date movie – even if it is in German and you’d have to read subtitles. |
||||
| ^ back to top |
 |
| Quantum of Solace
|
|
| Dragon Hunters
|
|
| Lakeview Terrace
|
|
| The Carrot Cake Conversations
|
|
| Brideshead revisiteded
|
|
| [REC]
|
|
| Sing to the Dawn
|
|
| Choke
|
|
| Blindness
|
|
| High School Musical 3
|
|
| The Coffin
|
|
| Tropic Thunder
|
|
| Tokyo!
|
|
| Nights in Rodanthe
|
|
| Burn After Reading
|
|
| My Magic
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LGBT-interest
|
|
| Watch Online: Women Who Love Women: Conversations in Singapore Website: http://womenwholovewomensingapore. blogspot.com/ Presented by Lim Mayling  watch>>READ Fridae Sex&Living Exclusive interview with the filmmakers and cast |
My Queer Career/ Mardi Gras Film Festival 2009 Call for Entry Closing Date: 9 Nov/14 Nov Venue: Sydney, Australia Presented by QueerScreen more>> |
| Kansai Queer Film Festival
2009
Date: Jan 2009 (Main Festival) Venue: Osaka, Japan Presented by Kansai Queer Film Festival Committee more>> |
|
| Cinemarosa at QMA: Queens'
Only Queer Film Series
featuring: Coming Out, Coming of Age in Asian Culture - Right By Me/Rainbow Boys (Thailand), See Me (USA), Out In India: A Family’s Journey (India) , ... Date: 16 Nov, 21 Dec Venue: Queens Museum of Art, New York City Building, Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Queens, New York, USA Presented by CINEMAROSA more>> |
|
| 7th Q! Film Festival
Indonesia
The Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela (Iceland/Philippines), Spinnin' (Spain), Sita Sings The Blues (USA), Good Boys (Israel), A Very Natural Thing (USA), With Gilbert and George (UK), 881 (Singapore), Risk, Stretch or Die (Germany), The Birthday (The Netherlands), Love Songs (France), Suddenly Last Winter (Italy) , I Don't Want To Sleep Alone (Taiwan/France) , Chants of Lotus/Chants of Lotus (Indonesia), Lucky7 (Singapore), My Super 8 Season (France), ... Date & Venue: Jakarta (8 to 16 Aug); Bali (21 to 24 Aug); Surabaya (14 to 19 Oct) Bandung (27 Feb to 3 Mar 2009); Jogjakarta (Apr 2009), Indonesia Presented by Q! Film Festival Indonesia more>> |
|
| The Celluloid Closet
and Sex Change Soldier By invitation only; Please regsiter your interest with the organisers. Date: 8 Nov Venue: Pelangi Pride Centre, Singapore Presented by Pelangi Pride Centre more>> |
|
| Short Circuit 3
By invitation only; Please regsiter your interest with the organisers. 377 by Loo Zihan, Substitute by AD Chan, Twogether by Victric Thng, Don't Say Farewell Again by Eva Tang, Miss A Shot by Ghazi & Ezzam, Overhead Clouds by Yeo Lee Nah, Four Dishes by Leon Cheo, Tanjong Rhu by Boo Junfeng, Wet Seasons by Michael Tay, ... Date: 8 Nov Venue: The Substation, Singapore Presented by Short Circuit more>> |
|
| Hong Kong Lesbian and
Gay Film Festival 2008
Date: 20 Nov to 3 Dec Venue: to be announced, Hong Kong Presented by HKLGFF Incorporating LGBT Book Sale at Kubrick Bookstore (details) more>> |
|
| THE CENTER for LESBIAN & GAY
STUDIES
Date: 4 Nov to 25 Nov Venue: CUNY, The Graduate Center, New York City Presented by CLAGS Events more>> |
|
General-interest
|
|
| Portable Film Festival (Singapore) 2008
Date: 3 Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov Venue: Portable Screen Academy Presented by Portable Screen Academy more>> |
Grindhouse
Planet Terror, Death Proof Date: 6 to 15 Nov Venue: Screening Room at The Arts House Presented by The Arts House more>> |
| 3rd Singapore Indie Doc Fest
Call for Entry Closing Date: 5 Jan 2009 Date: Mar 2009 Venue: TBA Presented by The Substation Moving Images more>> |
12th German Film Festival 2008
Chiko, Trade - Welcome to America, The Edge of Heaven, The Wave, And Along Come Tourists, The Beauties From Leipzig, Beautiful Bitch, Rabbit Without Ears, Naked Among Wolves, Shoppen, Special Escort, The Vow, ... Date: 5 to 16 Nov Venue: The Cathay Cineplex Presented by The Goethe-Institut in Singapore more>> READ Fridae People exclusive interview with gay director Marco Kreuzpaintner of Trade – Welcome to America |
| First Take
Together, A Fistful of Yusof Ishaks, Tak Dong Cheng Date: 3 Nov, 1 Dec Venue: The Substation Presented by The Substation Moving Images more>> |
Grindhouse
Planet Terror, Death Proof Date: 6 to 15 Nov Venue: Screening Room at The Arts House Presented by The Arts House more>> |
| World Cinema Series
Days and Nights in the Forest Date: 11 Nov Venue: Gallery Theatre, National History Museum Presented by National Museum Cinémathèque and Singapore Film Society more>> |
Asia on the Edge 2008: Cinema First — Film Screenings works by Aureaus Solito (The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros and Tuli), ... Date: 28 Nov to 6 Dec Venue: Screening Room, The Arts House Presented by The Arts House and PICO more>> |
| Asia Pacific Festival Of 1st Films
Date: 4 to 10 Dec Venue: Screening Room, The Arts House Presented by Teamworks and The Arts House more>> |
World Cinema Series
Hunger/Sult Date: 9 Dec Venue: Gallery Theatre, National History Museum Presented by National Museum Cinémathèque and Singapore Film Society more>> |
| M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2009 Frozen Angels, Raised as a Pack of Wolves Date: 7 to 18 Jan 2009 Venue: National Museum Gallery Theatre, Esplanade, The Substation, The Old School Presented by The Necessary Stage more>> |
 READ Fridae
People Fridae speaks to lesbian artist Genevieve
Chua, whose new work Raised as a Pack of
Wolves will have its world premiere at
M1 Singapore Fringe Festival 2009. READ about Raised as a Pack of Wolves |
READ
READ
READ
READ
READ
READ