Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa: Movie Review

Directed by: Yusry (KRU)
Written by: Yusry (KRU), Amir Hafizi
Also known as: The Malay Chronicles: Bloodlines
Who's in it: Stephen Rahman Hughes (Merong), Ummi Nazeera (Embok), Dato' Rahim Razali (Tok Kesum), Khir Rahman (Kemawas), Gavin Stenhouse (Prince Marcus), Jing Lusi (Princess Meng Li Hua), Craig Fong (Admiral Liu Yin).

The real Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa:

This movie is loosely based on an ancient Malay text, the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa aka Sejarah Kedah. This text chronicles the history behind the founding of Langkasuka, an ancient kingdom founded by descendants of Merong Mahawangsa, a Roman official who got stranded in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia after being attacked by a giant fire-breathing bird known as garuda. The kingdom of Langkasuka was later known as Kedah Tua.

The movie version (warning: spoilers ahead): 

Merong Mahawangsa is no longer a Roman official but a lowly sailor, a halfbreed (part Roman, part Malay) and an outcast (banned from almost every port in the world for his reputation as an internationally acclaimed womanizer). He was given a second chance at life (he was planned for an execution in Goa after sleeping with an Indian princess) when a Roman fleet, stranded in Goa requested his service to sail the treacherous waters of the South China Sea to reach Malaysian shores in time for the big wedding between a Roman prince and a Chinese princess. On Malaysian shores, they were attacked by a clan of pirates known as "garuda". The movie ended with a huge epic battle between the pirates and the combined forces of  the locals, the Chinese and the Roman fleet lead by Merong Mahawangsa which resulted in the complete annihilation of the pirates and sacrificing himself in the process.

Why i think this movie is an expensive piece of crap:

Calling a movie "epic" is a huge responsibility. Epic usually refers to a movie where everything is BIG: BIG budget (this movie cost around RM 10 million to make), BIG cast (this movie has the biggest number of international actors in a Malaysian movie: Stephen, Gavin and Jing Lusi are all based in London and Craig Fong hails from Australia), BIG effects and hundreds of supporting actors ("Pak Pacaks").  This movie has all the makings of a great Malaysian epic, so what went wrong?

1. The best word to describe the screenplay is CRAP. The creators of this movie were unable to decide on the type of movie they're making till the very end. It is not surprising that the screenwriter (Amir Hafizi) reworked the screenplay 17 times before coming up with the final piece of CRAP which became Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa. They were too many corny lines in this movie to mention here but imagine this scene: a surprise attack by the pirates causes everyone to flee in a state of shock and confusion, in the center of this chaos, a very Conan the Barbarian-like, Merong Mahawangsa gallantly fights a whole army of scrawny pirates, the camera focuses on Merong, he turns around and said (in English): "this is not fair, i told you one by one". It must have been difficult writing a script for an international cast: Merong speaks a confusing mix of flawless English (with a thick British accent), broken Malay and broken Mandarin. The Chinese princess and her trusted handmaiden talks mostly in English even when they're alone. The Romans speaks with a British accent and not in Latin or Greek like they're supposed to and the small selection of locals with  speaking parts (most of the locals communicate by nodding or incomprehensible shouting) speak in a weird mix of classical Malay, talking in riddles and flowery proses despite being barbarians.
2. The make-up and costume are CRAP. Dato' Rahim Razali must have received a huge paycheck just to stand around looking silly in his huge white wig, looking like an older and wiser version of the Monkey King. Merong's girlfriend (Ummi Nazeera) wears a dress which is too sexy for a "kampung girl" and his mother (Ummi Aida) dresses like a guy. The extras were extremely malnourished to pass as menacing pirates despite the BIG BOSS looking like a puffed up blow fish covered in fake tiger skin. 
3. The action choreography is a total rip-off of Ong Bak. Close combat scenes look impressive but lacks historical accuracy. Roman prince don't do kungfu and certainly not armed with a pair of nunchaks and iron claws were never part of traditional Malay weaponry. The silliest scene to me is  the climax of the first showdown between the pirates and the Chinese fleet. A whole army of pirates climbed on top of a two story watchtower to kill Merong. The camera closes up to the base of the tower where blood gushes down in gusto and in the background, you can hear victory cries claiming that Merong is dead. The whole army at the base of the tower then proceeded to bring down the tower with the most funny result, the tower fell on top of them killing everyone except for Merong, who despite loosing gallons of blood earlier is still able to stand up and gave a final war cry before collapsing on top of the mountain of dead pirates. Why go to all that trouble just to kill one person and end up killing themselves in the process? 
4. On a positive note, the cinematographer should be commended for making the movie look expensive by applying some neat filtering tricks giving the whole movie a dreamy, ethereal look but even that was not able to save this movie from sinking to the deepest recesses of the South China Sea along with pirates of the garuda clan. 

Let me just stop here, I think this short review is enough to illustrate how greatly annoyed I was with the movie. I personally think that KRU should be proud to put Malaysian cinema at a new level of mediocrity.

The snob's verdict: 2/10
Instead of watching this movie at the cinema, why not watch reruns of Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah on Astrofirst.

Best of the Best of 2010 (part 2)

Continuing where I left off, I have so far reviewed two movies i.e. The Social Network & The King's Speech which means I have three more movies to scrutinize before i complete the customary 5 nominee shortlist to be considered for Best Picture in the upcoming Academy Awards. I find that by afternoon, my British accent is slowly diminishing and I am slowly reverting to my old self. And the list of nominees continue....

Inception  
Written & Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Actors: Leonardo di Caprio, Joseph Gordan Levitt, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hardy, Micheal Caine
Achievements so far: 3 wins and 25 nominations. Nominated for 4 Golden Globes but failed to win any.Nominated for 9 awards in the upcoming BAFTA.

What is great about this movie:

This movie is the perfect example of a perfect blockbuster. Big budget, big cast (this movie features a huge number of Hollywood A-listers and a multi-racial casts to boot), big set, big score (the most prominent sounds you hear on the score are the big horns) and most importantly an enormous ambition to be more than just a summer blockbuster. This is a summer blockbuster with brains.This movie pushes genre boundaries, it is at once a thriller-espionage, sci-fi-fantasy, action and drama all rolled into one. One can easily get lost in the labyrinth of stories within stories but the director's careful direction allows you to sit back, relax and just enjoy the show. Director Christopher Nolan waited patiently until right at the end of the movie to drop the biggest bomb which kept people talking months after the movie was shown: Did Dom (Leonardo) really made it back to the real world? Did they succeed in their mission? Will the top finally stop spinning? This is the stuff that makes a movie a cult: allowing the audience to keep guessing, discussing, debating on the movie years and years after its release but never giving a definite answer, allowing space for formation of theories, speculations and predictions. To create the amazing effects you see in this movie, the director decided to dish CGI for conventional camerawork and went all the way to design a rotating sound stage for the famous anti-gravity hotel scene. I strongly feel that any respectable award shows should be celebrating these kind of amazing feats in movie making and not simply rule out Inception as another summer blockbuster which deserves recognition only for technical achievements but unworthy of other major recognitions including Best Picture and Best Director. The movie features excellent performance by the casts as a whole but lacks any outstanding performance for it to be considered for any acting recognition. I do feel that Hans Zimmer deserves better recognition for his work on the movie's score rather than the couple who clinched the globe for Best Original Score for their work in The Social Network.

Black Swan 
Directed by: Darren Aronofsky
Written by: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz
Actors: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel

Achievements so far: 4 wins and 33 nominations. Natalie Portman won her first Globe this year for her brilliant portrayal of a ballerina at the verge of a nervous breakdown. This movie is up for 12 nominations in the upcoming BAFTA. 

What is great about this movie:

I've reviewed this movie in my blog before and I gave it an 8 (but very close to 9) which makes it one of my favorite movie of 2010. This movie uses the background of a ballet theater to showcase the destructive power of neurosis fueled by jealousy, insecurity and an unrealistic desire to be perfect in any way possible even when it means sacrificing your own sanity and in the end your life. This is perhaps one of the most beautiful psycho-thriller i have ever seen: acted by beautiful people (Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis), beautiful camerawork (including liberal use of CGI to enhance the visual hallucination experienced by the lead), beautiful make-up and wardrobe and a hauntingly beautiful score which effectively captures the mood of the movie. Natalie Portman definitely deserves the accolades she got for her wonderful performance in this movie. It is very disappointing that the soundtrack by Clint Mansell was not even considered for competition since it was ruled ineligible (containing excerpts from the original Swan Lake).

The list of nominees continue....

Best of the Best of 2010

Instruction: kindly read the following excerpt with a British accent

I do believe that it is still not late for me to present a list of movies that made 2010 a memorable year .I finally got to watch The King's Speech last night and when I woke up this morning I found myself thinking and talking like King George VI. Very well then, let us move on to a more pressing matter. In the light of the upcoming Academy Awards to be held in February this year, I feel obligated to provide a comprehensive summary of possible nominees for the most coveted award of the night: Best Picture of 2010. Following that, using a considerable amount of wit, vigor and valor, I will try my very best to produce my own prediction as to which of the possible nominees will most likely be crowned the best of the best for the year of 2010. And the nominees are:

The Social Network

Directed by: David Fincher

Written by: Aaron Sorkin, Ben Mezrich

Actors: Jessie Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake

Achievements so far: 17 wins and 22 nominations, including 4 wins at the recent Golden Globe Awards for Best Picture (Drama), Best Director (David Fincher), Best Screenplay and Best Original Score.

What makes this movie great:

This is a movie about the founding of facebook. If this is a superhero movie, it would be called Facebook: The Origin. This movie centers on a Harvard undergrad, Mark Zuckerberg (Jessie Eisenberg), a computer programming genius, a nerd and a social outcast (who managed to piss off a whole load of people which explains why he spends most of the movie in a meeting room filled with lawyers and a throng of angry people). Director David Fincher did a wonderful job transcribing a book about the founders of facebook  to the big screen and instead of presenting this movie in the form of a documentary filled with interviews and commentaries or another John Grisham's courtroom drama, he chooses to focus on the human drama behind the creation of one the world's greatest invention of the 20th century. Who knew that the world's largest social network was created by a social outcast who until today is still without any real friends (he lost his GF at the start of the movie and his BFF at the end, i won't be surprised to find Mark on the next episode of The Bachelor or come up with his own My New BFF series). This movie has all the elements of an award-winner, superb direction, great acting by the casts: Jesee Eiesenberg is excellent as the caffeine-laden, fast-talking, borderline hyperactive Mark, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake provided commendable support as rivals vying for the coveted role of Mark's BFF and an entertaining score to liven up the mood of the whole movie. However, I do believe that there is an ulterior motive behind the many wins this movie has garnered so far. This movie is extremely popular in the United States for one simple reason: this is the all-American movie. This is a movie about an American kid who manage to conquer the world just  by sitting in front of the computer. He eventually became the world's youngest billionaire and proves that America can still do it despite the grave conditions of the world's economy. This movie carries the torch of the American economic reform, sending a message  to all Americans and the entire world that if a kid from Harvard can do it so can we, America will prevail. Last year, Katherine Bigelow's war drama, The Hurt Locker won an Oscar for Best Picture for depicting America as the victim (rather than the scoundrel) in 2003's invasion of Iraq and I strongly believe that this year, the Oscar belongs to The Social Network.

The King's Speech

Directed by: Tom Hooper 

Written by: David Siedler 

Actors: Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush

Achievements so far: 7 wins and 39 nominations, received 7 nominations in the recent Golden Globes but only won an acting nod for Colin Firth's excellent performance as King George VI. Nominated for a total of 14 awards in the upcoming BAFTA (the British equivalent of the Academy awards) including for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Colin Firth.

What makes this movie great:

I finally got my copy of this movie last night and proceeded without haste to finish the movie despite suffering from flu which resulted in a mild headache which i must admit is a nuisance but was not severe enough to impair my judgment. So before, dismissing this review as an incessant ramblings of a delirious man suffering from high grade fever, i must assure you that at the time this review is written, the fever has completely subsided and my brain function is completely restored to its former glory. This movie centers on a monarch with a speech defect who managed to overcome all adversities and emerged as the voice of the nation with the help of a speech therapist with unconventional methods who later became his best friend. At the heart of this movie is the story of a bond formed between two individuals from different social standings: a reigning monarch and a commoner, a therapist (without any degree) who believes that the problem with speech defects lie deeper than pure mechanics and the only way to cure stammer is to overcome fear. The Duke of York has many things to fear: his father, King George V is dying, his brother shows zero interest in state's affair and focuses his undivided attention to a married woman and his royal subjects think he's unfit to be the King because of his stammer. In fact the only person who genuinely believes in his greatness is his therapist whom despite his unconventional methods managed to cure his stammer and made him the King that he's meant to be. This movie is the favorite in the upcoming BAFTA awards for obvious reasons: superb direction, brilliant performances by the cast: Colin Firth deserves all the attention for his performance as the tortured King George VI,  Goeffry Rush is brilliant as the speech therapist and Helena shines in her few non-eccentric roles. The cinematography is perfect, depicting an otherwise dreary pre-war London in soft, pastel-colored tone accentuating the various human emotions emanating from every scene.

And the list of nominees continues...........................

A Retrospective Review of Malaysian Horror

Introduction:

Malaysian loves horror, in fact, they love horror so much as soon as a new horror is released, tickets are snatched so fast you have to book a few days in advance just to see a movie. Horror is the only genre in this country that can guarantee big bucks for the producers (which explains why David Teo is one of the most successful producer in this country). In celebration of the recent release of Khurafat, a new horror produced by Yusof Haslam (and directed by his son), let us revisit all the horror movies released in this country the past few years and hopefully by the end of this review, we can finally uncover the answer to the biggest mystery of them all: why do we keep failing with a genre that is so close to our heart?

The 80's

The 80's was dominated by four main genres: soppy dramas (Tiada Esok Bagimu, Esok Masih Ada etc), slapstick comedy (with AR Badul and his protege Mr.Os), romantic comedies (Ali Setan, Adik Manja etc.) and of course, horrors. Out of these four, horror remains the favorite with fans (which explains why Indonesia was so eager to produce multiple collaborative efforts with our country at that time). Noorkumalasari (now retired for good) was the reigning queen of horror during that period, she was  the lead in more than a few movies including those produced by our neighbor Indonesia. Among the many movies she starred in, the most outstanding has got to be Rahsia. 

Rahsia (1987)       

Directed by: Othman Hafsham     

Who's in it: Noor Kumalasari, Yusof Haslam.

Achievements: This movie won two awards in Festival Filem Malaysia back in 1987 for Best Picture and Best Director but unfortunately not an acting nod for Noorkumalasari. 

The story:

This movie starts with a newlywed couple moving in to an old bungalow by the sea with their two children. One of the children drowned while swimming in the sea one day and following that the mother (Noorkumalasari) is constantly haunted by the ghost of a child which she initially thought was her daughter. At the end of the movie, she unveiled a horrifying secret hidden within the walls of the haunted bungalow: the remains of a child, an heir to a rich family killed by a jealous relative who died a horrible death at the end of the movie  (stabbed in the abdomen with iron railings while trying to climb over a gate). This movie is the perfect example of classic movie making. Back in the 80s, without the help of special effects and CGIs, directors relied heavily on solid story telling, creative camera works and most importantly strong performances by the leads. There were no ghosts (with long black hairs and bad make-up) crawling all over the place, tok imams with special powers throwing around energy balls or bodies floating in mid-air. The suspense built throughout the movie was so palpable, you can't help but feel what the lead is going through and sympathize with her conditions. This movie reminds me of another horror classic, Poltergeist (Tobe Hooper, Steven Spielberg, 1982).

The 90s
The 90s was better known for the downfall of the horror genre. The Ministry of Information that time was headed by a strict, conservative old man and by his decree horror movies are banned on the grounds of inciting people to worship the supernatural. For many years, directors steered away from this genre, concentrating on comedies and dramas to fill in the gaps. Aziz M.Osman dominated with comedies and Suhaimi Baba started the "new drama" wave with movies like Ringgit Kasorga (1995) and Layar Lara (1997).

2000

2004 was a historical moment for Malaysian horror fans. After so many years, FINAS has finally lifted the ban and Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam became the first horror movies ever shown in the cinemas. After going through countless cuts and controversies surrounding its release, this movie was finally released to loud applause by both fans and critics. Did this movie deserved all the accolades it received?

Pontianak Harum Sundal Malam (2004)

Written & directed by: Suhaimi Baba

Who's in it: Maya Karin, Ida Nerina, Kavita Kaur, Eizlan Yusof, Azri Iskandar, Rosyam Nor.

Achievements: Best Actress nod for Maya Karin in the Asia Pacific Film Festival (2004).

The story:

This story is about the vengeful spirit of a gamelan dancer who was unjustly killed by a jealous suitor after refusing him many times. She was pregnant at that time and before bleeding to death, she miraculously gave birth to a baby girl who grew up to become a beautiful woman who looks exactly like her. She now works in a resort owned by the descendants of her mother's killer which is haunted by a ghost (with long black hair and bad make-up) who turns out to be the spirit of her dead mother who possess her body at night and goes around wreaking havoc looking for a pair of ankle bracelets. Confused? So was I. I guess both fans and critics that time were so hungry for horror that the first movie they get was considered a masterpiece. After making it big with drama, Suhaimi Baba (overly confident after all the accolades she gets from her previous efforts) decided to try her hands at directing horror. This movie presents horror in a new light, a combination of horror and romance with a historical background (pretty much like what Nonzee Nimibutr did with Nang Nak in 1999). The script needs serious reworking, half of the cast can't even speak in Malay (including Maya Karin who talks with a thick Indonesian accent), the time line was too confusing (you can't make out who's who, where and when without getting a headache), the arts direction looks cheap and childish and the story lacks continuity that the momentum of the movie is quickly lost in all the confusion. No wonder this movie is more famous for its theme song (Pulangkan sung by Misha Omar) rather than the movie itself. I guess she must be so confident after Maya Karin's win that she went on to make two horror movies after PHSM (PHSM 2 in 2005 and Waris Jari Hantu in 2007 which won four awards in FFM 2007 including Best Director despite losing to Cinta for Best Picture). On the scale of 1 to 10, I will give all three movies a 3 for the director's effort in reintroducing the Malaysian audience to the horror genre and paving the way for future directors to dive in the world of the supernatural, the biggest money making machine in the Malaysian movie industry.

  

To be continued.........................

Khurafat: Movie Review

Written & directed by: Shamsul Yusof
Genre: Horror.     
Rating: PG13 or 18PL (for violence, horror and religious content).
Who's in it: Syamsul Yusof, Liyana Jasmay, Sabrina Ali, Fauziah Nawi.

The story (warning, spoilers ahead): 

This movie centers around Johan (Syamsul), a medical assistant working  in the morgue at a government hospital. After visiting his mother (Fauziah Nawi) in the village, he started seeing ghastly apparitions haunting him wherever he goes. His condition became worse when his ex-lover Anna (Sabrina Ali) suffers from nervous breakdown and blames his wife (Liyana) for ending their relationship. After failing to convince Johan to leave his wife, Anna stabbed herself to death. Johan, feeling guilty for Anna's death, volunteered to arrange for her funeral which involves transporting her body across a godforsaken road in the middle of the night, plunging down a ravine in a van, carrying a dead body across the jungle, getting chased by a horny ghost and in the end waking up from a coma only to die again after a few minutes but not before getting flash backs of his past deeds which explains the origin of the horny ghost. 

Is it worth watching? 

Most Malay movies suffers from the director's apparent lack of attention for details. Here are some of the details the director might have missed:

1. For a movie that is shot almost entirely on hospital grounds, the director sure didn't do his homework. In the  scene where Johan's mother gets admitted for having breathing difficulties, she was seen lying flat on a hospital bed (she was supposed to be propped up) and  attached to a high flow mask when the bag wasn't even inflated. The worse mistake was when Johan wakes up from a coma (he suffered severe trauma after the crash) but was not even attached to a ventilator. No hospital in this country would have all the lights in the ward turned off at night (this is to prevent the nurses from falling asleep and missing a patient in distress). Perhaps the director is trying to create an eerie setting for the movie but the whole premise just seems wrong.
2. I still can't decide on Johan's position in the mortuary. He hardly wears a uniform, in fact the only uniform he wears is a white shirt and black pants which means he's a medical assistant (MA) but most MAs i know wears their shirt tucked in. 
3. Recycling the same scenes over and over takes away the suspense in a horror movie. The director used too much of the "look behind your shoulder" and "what's that above your head" and the "i think there's something hiding in the bushes" approach that halfway throughout the movie, most of the audience were having fun guessing where the ghost is going to appear from.
4. A makcik living in a kampung doesn't go around talking to strangers like in a romantic novel. Nobody says words like "seolah-olah" or "seumpama" while chatting and the scene where the camera focuses on the picture of the makcik's son (who is supposed to look like Johan but with spectacles ) was just hilarious.
5. Syamsul Yusof should stop making himself the lead the next time he directs a movie (think Evolusi KL Drift 1 & 2 and Bohsia Jangan Pilih Jalan Hitam). He might be a talented director but I personally think, he should spend more time behind the scene (until he takes some classes to improve his acting skills).

Enough said, do i think this movie is exceptionally bad? NO, I've seen worse, I might dedicate a special post on all the bad horror movies ever made in this country including movies made by more experienced directors like Suhaimi Baba. I really hate a movie that has such a promising trailer but in the end disappoints in so many ways. I really feel that this movie has all the potential to become a new horror classic, the script needs rewriting, the horny ghost needs better make-up, the leads need better acting and Syamsul Yusof needs to spend less time in front of the camera and concentrate on being a better director and a champion for the next generation of local directors (just like his father once was).

The snob's verdict: 5/10.

If you're looking for a good horror movie, try Ahmad Idham's Jangan Pandang Belakang or if you're in for comedies with supernatural theme try Mamat Khalid's Zombie Kampung Pisang or the recent Hantu Kak Limah Balik Rumah or Ismail Bob Hasim's Ngangkung.

Black Swan: Movie Review

Directed by: Darren Aronofsky.
Writers: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz.
Rating: 18 SG (for graphic violence and sexual contents)
Who's in it: Natalie Portman (Nina), Mila Kunis (Lily), Vincent Cassel (Leroy), Winona Ryder (Beth M), Barbara Hershey (Nina's mom).


The story (warning, spoilers ahead):

Black Swan takes us backstage to one of the world's most prestigious live performance, the ballet. Acclaimed ballet director, Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decided to open the season with a new interpretation of the Swan Lake. In his version, both the white and black swans will be played by the same lead (which means whoever gets the role will be crowned the new "queen" of the troupe). Thus begins the story of Nina (Natalie Portman), a ballerina struggling to reach the top at the price of her own sanity and in the end her life (yes, Nina died at the end of the movie just like the white swan). After going through a disappointing audition, she decided to pay a "personal" visit to the director's office and was eventually named the new swan queen. That is when the problem starts. Nina suffers from nervous breakdown after being pushed to her limit by both the director and her mother. The director urging her to shed her frigid, seemingly perfect image to better embody the evil side of the black swan while her neurotic mother (a retired ballerina who blames Nina for ending her career) refuses to let her grow and treats her like the perfect little white swan she never got to be. She suffers from depression, paranoia and  hallucinations which eventually lead to her death at the end of the movie.

Is it worth watching?
Black swan is a psycho thriller. Director Darren Aronofsky gave us a peek at the ugly truth behind the seemingly perfect world of ballet. Despite their graceful appearance on stage, the dancers suffer from insecurities, jealousy, unrequited love, repressed sexual desires and severe case of eating disorders. Nina is the perfect representation of an artist suffering for her arts. The whole movie centers around her transformation from the frigid, stiff and emotionless white swan to the sexually charged, violent and murderous black swan. The scene where the black swan stabs the white swan in the stomach with a piece of broken glass and left her to die gave me chills down the spine. The liberal use of CGI was perfectly executed to enhance the visual hallucinations she gets throughout the movie. Her eventual transformation into the black swan, sprouting pitch black wings from her body is a scene not to be missed. A word of caution, be prepared for some heavy dose of female masturbation and lesbian sex scenes. This movie is definitely NOT for family viewing.

Awards buzz:
This movie is up for four awards in the upcoming Golden Globe: Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Performance by an Actress in Motion Picture (Drama) for Natalie Portman, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Drama) for Mila Kunis and Best Director for Darren Oronofsky. This movie is up against not one but two globe favorites: The Social Network and The King's Speech.  Darren Oronofsky faces tough competition from fellow directors Christopher Nolan (Inception), David Fincher (The Social Network) and Tom Hooper (The King's Speech). Mila Kunis has little chance at clinching an award for her limited appearance (but not limited in talent, and at times she even manage the  steal the scene). I am rooting for Natalie Portman to clinch her first ever Globe for her wonderful portrayal of a beautiful ballerina with serious mental issues. Her only rival for the night would be Halle Berry for an equally disturbing portrayal of a woman suffering from split personality (another mental case) and Nicole Kidman as a mother battling with depression after losing her son in a car accident (yet another mental case). Judging from the severity of their onscreen symptoms, I believe Natalie Portman has the best chance at winning this year's globe for best actress and hopefully an Oscar in the upcoming Academy Awards.

The snob's verdict: 8/10 (but very close to 9)
If you're itching for another psycho-thriller with a lesbian theme, i strongly recommend Chloe by Eton Egoyan.

Easy A: Movie Review

Directed by: Will Gluck

Who's in it: Emma Stone (Olive), Penn Badgley (Todd), Amanda Bynes (Marianne), Dan Byrd (Brandon), Cam Gigandet (Micah,), Lisa Kudrow (Mrs. Griffith),Stanley Tucci (Olive's father).

Genre:

One of the biggest challenge for an amateur reviewer like me is to place a movie in a certain genre. Genre can sometimes be unfair for a movie since classifying a movie in the wrong genre is like putting the wrong label on a bottle of expensive wine and making it look cheap (not like i've ever tasted expensive wine or even cheap ones because you see i don't drink). The point is, you should always use genre as a guide and use your common sense to decide what to make of the movie after watching it yourself and not simply take for granted the words of a self-proclaimed movie critic like me. 

However, if you insist, i will classify this movie under the following genres (i just don't feel comfortable assigning a single genre for any given movie): romantic comedy (without any actual romance), high school (the non-musical type).

The Story (warning, spoilers ahead): 

This movie started with Olive (Emma Stone) lying to her BFF (with the big boobs) about having a date with a guy to avoid going on camping trip with her BFF's family (her BFF comes from a family of nudist). She lied about having sex with her "imaginary date" but unfortunate for her, Marianne, the school's notorious leader of the" I Love Jesus" cult happens to hear about it and spread rumors about her being a slut to the whole school. The rumors went from bad to worse when her gay friend Brandon (Dan Byrd) asked her to help convince everyone that he's straight by having "imaginary sex" with her at a party (with everyone listening at the door). When she got fed up of denying all the rumors, she started dressing like a stripper and offered "imaginary sex" to half of the school's losers. Her breaking point came when the students staged a rally (started by none other than Marianne, after her so-called BF claimed he got Chlamydia from Olive) to get rid of her from school and almost got raped by her BFF's BF on a date. She was saved by her soon-to-be BF, Todd (Penn Badgely) and after hearing his confession about wanting to kiss her for real since grade school (she gave him an "imaginary kiss" when they were younger), she decided to end the rumor and make a live online telecast, confessing every single lie she ever told about her being the school's infamous skank and in the process exposing  the counselor's  (Lisa Kudrow) one night stand with a student (and giving him Chlamydia) among other things.

Is it worth watching?
If you like high school movies without a bunch of students jumping around singing and dancing from a tune that pops out of nowhere (like in Glee or High School Musical), this is the movie for you. In fact, this movie reminded me of Ten Things I Hate About You, another high school movie (which is now turned into a serial ) starring the great  Heath Ledger.  If TIHAY is loosely based on The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare, this movie draws its inspiration from the Scarlet Letter, an 1850 novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The heroine of this movie shares the same wise-cracking, "i'm a genius i don't belong in high school" attitude with the leading role made famous by Julia Stiles. This movie poses the same question asked in so many American high school movies: what it means to be popular? However, the creators of this movie decided to pose this question from a slightly unconventional  perspective: would you go all the way to stake your own virginity for the sake of being popular? This movie talks about sex without showing real sex (since most of the sex in this movie are imaginary) which makes it an ideal family movie and a good candidate  for a sexual education video (if our government ever decides to make sexual education part of the high school program) . Emma Stone, Penn Badgley (he gets to take his shirt off, a lot in this movie), Cam Gigandet (he gets to keep his shirt on this time around),  the BFF with the huge boobs all make for delicious eye candy. The plot is engaging enough to make me glued to my seat, the screenplay is decent with some really "cool" lines, decent acting by the cast, no over the top ending with fireworks or kids dancing along some catchy tune that pops out of nowhere.
By the way if you're still wondering what the title of the movie means: easy as in easy to get laid and A is short for "adulterer". Olive got inspired by the book Scarlet Letter where a woman is wrongly accused of being an adulterer and was forced to wear an A on her dress before being sentenced to death. Olive wears a red A on her dress to school after being called a slut. 

The Snob's Verdict: 7/ 10. Definitely worth watching is you're itching for a high school movie minus the singing and dancing.