Adelaide International Film Festival 03

Posted on September 14, 2003 by Alison

THE INAUGURAL ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

28 February – 7 March 2003

Well, the festival certainly went off like a string of fireworks: tickets sold fast and early, many sessions were sold out, and audience reactions, at least at the sessions I attended, were positive. The staff of the Nova were professional and courteous as ever, and the only hiccup was a persistent series of projection problems, caused, I was informed, by the quality of the prints: several prints were … (read more)

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City on Fire (1987)

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Posted on September 14, 2003 by Mark Morrison

You might have heard this one before: Chow Yun Fat is an undercover cop who takes one last job infiltrating a gang of jewel thieves. He befriends cool gunster Danny Lee despite himself. The big jewel robbery goes wrong, Yun Fat gets gut-shot, and the gang withdraw to their warehouse hideout to shout and point guns at each other while trying to work out who sold them out.

Sound familiar? That’s because boy wonder Tarrantino used the last half hour … (read more)

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Taboo (Gohatto) (1999)

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Posted on September 11, 2003 by Alison

There are two main reasons you might want to watch Taboo:

  • You enjoy watching some sword-wielding samurai action;
  • You like looking at beautiful young Japanese men.

    • On both those counts, Taboo is bound to satisfy. The samurai swordplay has the plenitude of droopy pants, flashing blades, and stern-faced shouting that one requires of a samurai flick, while the two young leads are, and I shall put it mildly in order not to be confined to quarters for a week, … (read more)

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    Seafood (2001)

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    Posted on September 11, 2003 by Deni

    First filmic effort from novelist Zhu Wen was certainly, as the BIFF program states, “pushing the boundaries of film form and challenging the conventional norms of cinema”, however I found it a little too boundary-pushing and unconventional for my tastes as I struggled to find things to like. Beijing prostitute Zhang Xiaomei arrives in sleepy, off-season holiday destination Beidaihe and books into a hotel room with the intention of killing herself. As it turns out, she’s not the first, and … (read more)

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    Tusuk Jelangkung (2003)

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    Posted on September 9, 2003 by Eugene

    I have, on occasion, had the moral dilemma of whether I should review a movie in light of its cultural context or whether to discuss it as it stands on its own. Admittedly, this tends to happen after a pretty ordinary movie, so I try to justify it in any context whatsoever. If nothing else, it tends to lessen the bitter, bitter bile that tends to build up.

    And if you haven’t guessed, yes, this was a mental exercise I … (read more)

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    Fat Choi Spirit (2002)

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    Posted on September 7, 2003 by Ching Yee

    It’s a silly [and superstitious] habit but I like going to the movies when Chinese New Year starts. I think it’s good practice and lucky to start off the New Year with lots of laughter. And what better way to put a big grin on the face that than to see a brand new Lunar comedy?

    Over the past decade or so, the trend of putting out Lunar comedies has fallen on Jackie Chan and of course, the laff-meister Stephen … (read more)

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    Second Time Around (2002)

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    Posted on September 7, 2003 by Mark Morrison

    Jeff Lau has directed some of Hong Kong’s most inventive comedies — films such as All for the Winner, Eagle Shooting Heroes, Chinese Odyssey and others. He’s been absent from the screen since Black Rose in 1997, so it’s great to see him back behind the lens — particularly with Johnnie To in the producer’s chair.

    The result is Second Time Around, which is a time travelling gambling comedy romance drama. If that’s defying classification, that’s because Jeff Lau … (read more)

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    My Wife is Eighteen (2002)

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    Posted on September 7, 2003 by Mark Morrison

    The premise is dodgy – older guy has arranged marriage with teenager – but I thought it might have some saving graces. I mean, the older guy is Ekin Cheng, and he was a teen idol himself as recently as Legend of Speed, and the teenager was Charlene Choi, who really excelled in her debut Funeral March.

    Alas, sometimes movies have no saving graces.

    The premise never really rises above the half-joke that it is; as teen bride … (read more)

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