Break Up Club – Barbara Wong

Break up is a big word for most of the people, I once heard the more you love the harder to say goodbye. I was caught up by the Chinese name of the movie, how could one possibly say I love you when they are breaking up. If you love me, then why do this me?

Do you want your girlfriend back? If so, are you willing to break up one of your friends so as to bring back your girl? So, who’s the lucky one? Break Up Club is “Mockumentary”, perfectly blended with today’s culture which people love to record their lives in many different sorts of ways. To me this is like Video journal, I’m peeking through the camera to take a glimpse of their romance. It’s relatable, even if you 15, 25, 35 or even 65, it will somehow touch the strings in your heart and make you ache.

We look for different things in different stages of our life sometime without even noticing it. When we were young, we were shortsighted, we don’t think about our future much. We are just like an artist following our dreams, our emotions, and our passions without thinking the consequences, making decisions purely by instincts. We dare to love, we dare to hate. “Even the sky is falling down, you’ll be my only, no need to worry” (Down by Jay Sean) Love is everything for most of the people. When Fiona is just a salesperson, she doesn’t mind being with Jaycee who never bothers to find a permanent job. The only thing matter is the chemistry between them, the “sparks” tickling their heart.

When we get a little older we are like a businessman, no flames, everything is practical. When we are bored with our life, when you want a change, want a stable life and WOW suddenly there is a prefect option, a big opportunity in front of you, there is no way turning it down. After the movie ends my friends said Fiona was the bad one, she had an affair and dumped Jaycee. Na, I don’t see eye to eye with him, why? There is no such thing as who’s right who’s wrong in love. Love is selfish. No matter how much you love someone, deep down you will just put yourself first. If Jaycee were a better guy, a guy you could see a future with, do you think Fiona’s would dump him?

Can you stop and wait when you’ve already walked a big step ahead of him/her to wait for them to grow up? Doesn’t mean you don’t love them but when your lives are no loner allies with each other, it’s time to move on. I know it’s heart breaking jus let it go.

Credits have to be given to the leads, Fiona and Jaycee. Without their performance, this movie will never be a success. They are a convincing couple. All those tears are real, it makes you cry with them. You can feel the pain in them. They absolutely delivered! Apart from them, Patrick has also done a great job putting a balance between their tensions.

All those spying like style add to the authenticity of the whole concept. Wong has played a big part. If it were not shot in this way, it may not be as touching as this is. It maximized the intensity by doing so. The story speaks for most the people, something we may not want to admit but it is the reality. I love this so much just because of its truthfulness. This is not some fairy tales which will never happen, however, we might have come across these kind of stories in a way to two, or some of us even realize this after watching the movie and start wondering your future with your loved one. Wong just approaches everyone, if it happened before you’ll find it relatable, if not, you’ll find it utterly disturbing as it shakes your belief in love. One day it will never be the same again.

I love this too much I watched it twice. Just don’t miss this, guys! It is a must watch in 2010!

Let the Right One In – John Ajvife Lindqvist

I have to say the book is ten times more intense than the movie, and it does match up the description of the book – disturbing! There were times I just stop breathing, as it was way too vivid, like I was a witness in those bloody vicious killing scenes. If I have to choose which is better, I will say the book, as the book gives a clearer picture of its name.

Everyone in the book seems more complex than the movie. Everyone is telling their own story but at the same time contributing to the whole frame of the story. The novel takes you in much deeper into the lives of the characters. This is why I love it more than the movie.

Oscar - a brave a little boy at least much braver than the movie only with a little help of Eli, he is fighting back like a real warrior. Oscar represents a number of the teenagers in the world right now, single parent, being bullied at school, low self-esteem. Reading Oscar story is encouraging in some point, as through the story we can see Oscar grows, he is fighting back the villains standing up for himself. Most of the kids in this age (12) are somehow still seeking the attention of their parents. What will happen when they have no one to turn to no one to talk to, especially when they are being bullied at school? Before meeting Eli, the only thing that Oscar can do is stabbing trees imagining he is stabbing his bullies. Saving up money to buy a knife to protect himself. Most of the time he is heading back to an emptied house. The loneliness is killing him inside, no one wants to be friends with him as they are always afraid of being the next victim. Finally, Eli appears in his life.

The lack of parenting increases the eagerness of finding a friend. Having a drunk father, Oscar loses all the hope for his father, having limited choices, in the end he picks Eli, even when he knows Eli is not human but a monster, he is terrified, however, she is the only “person” he could turn to.

Luckily, on the other hand Eli is as lonely as Oscar although there isn’t much description on Eli, not much from her perspective, but we have known enough. The word “vampire” rarely pops up in the book. It was treated as something sacred, something cannot be told. Without much talking about Eli’s previous life, left me wonder how she could manage to survive all these years. The relationship between Eli and Oscar is complicated, there is one moment Eli is leaning towards Oscar’s throat, and she immediately retrieves her head once Oscar touches her face. Maybe this is a long gone touch by someone who is really concerned that stops her. Solitary is the word for Eli, two thousand years, people just come and go by her life, there must be some reasons she settles down with Håkan.

Håkan is another interesting character which the movie did not put too much emphasis on. Owing to the limitation of the movie, it did not clearly portrait the true identity of him. I guess most the people who have watched the movie guessed Håkan is more than a guardian. By looking through Håkan’s life, you will have a much solid understanding of this character and you will be unsettled by his actions.

Everyone in the story has their own problem, nevertheless, they are all linked to one thing – Solitariness. In a way or two they are trying to overcome their difficulties and seeking for someone’s comforts. No one can really survive alone, sometime people are just like parasite, and we need to hang around someone in order to survive. It is just a matter of letting people in and going into theirs.

This is not another typical vampire horror story, it’s way more than “JUST” sheer horror, however, it offers a lot to think about, John Ajvife Lindqvist includes a lot of social issue in this book. Bullying, homosexual, alcoholics, single parenting, paedophile. People may not take this book seriously as there are too of its genre flocking in the market now but I dare say this is the best of its kind.

Reading the book I strongly acknowledged the message of story. John Ajvife Lindqvist just used another approach to bring this whole theme together. No matter the storyline and the way he tells the story I have never found it elsewhere. Although some moments you may just want to put down and book and take a deep breath. You simple just can’t stop yourself from turning the pages. . If you like the movie you will love this book. If you haven’t watched the movie, you will find yourself at a lost for words when you finish it.

Ex – Heiward Mak

Have you got over your exes?

What will happen if your lives come across again? Especially when you are not totally over him/her? What if you two were seeing someone but still have feelings for each other? Wrong Timing? The movie depicts the dilemma in such situation Where Gillian Chung, William Chan and Michelle Wai are stuck in this scenario. What will happen in 2 days?

Can you still be friends with your exes?

Personally, I don’t mind being friends with my exes. However most of the people don’t really like this idea? I sort of know the answers now. Maybe people are still not yet over their exes as they don’t want to lose them or the present one doesn’t like the idea of reconnecting your former encounter, jealousy. Scared something might happen or sometimes making comparisons. We never have the intention to compare the present one to the old ones, but deep down in certain ways the memories start floating back from the deep ocean. Somehow you will think of them in a way or two intentionally or accidentally. There must be something you can’t let go.

“The one who you truly love is always not around.”

I have figured this out when I was about 12, is not about how they look like, how gentle, sweet and understanding they were, is more about the moment we shared. Something will never be the same again. However in a certain extant the memories will come and haunt you, you don’t have to look for them, they will FIND you. No matter how hard you deny there is always something down there looking for you. “I don’t want to settle for wrong one.” Said Gillian in the movie. But sometimes you don’t have the luxury to choose, the one you really want maybe is the one most unreachable.

This is the first time I saw William on the big screen which is pretty impressive, not too much nor less. One word - believable. Secondly the director, the whole movie is just depicting about two days, but it is more than enough to tell the complexity of their relationship. Mak uses the lingo precisely capturing the accent of today’s generation. The only drawback is the cast, most of my friends were disgusted by the cast and on the other hand I was attracted by the poster. I regard myself lucky, as it is actually an inspiring piece.

I was surprised! Never have expected the movie is something like this, sweet but sour. It does live up to its names, the theme, is about exes. Something genuine, sometime we may not openly discuss it with our friend. Life is full of mysteries, dilemmas. Either one is enough to make you suffer.

The Runaways – Floria Sigismondi

“Hello Daddy, Hello Mum, I’m your Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch Cherry BOMB!”

I instantly love this song, “Cherry Bomb”, I have just listened to it during the movie and I already could remember the lyrics when I walked out of the cinema! I could imagine Lady Gaga singing this song doing the “ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch Cherry bomb” thing. And it definitely would become of the greatest hits of the time. You know all those po-po-po-poker face thing! Lol.

Biopic is always my favourite. Although I don’t know whether I should call them a success or not, as the Runaways dissolved in 1979, but I still see them as a success! In the 70s most of the bands are formed by boys, we seldom see girls doing rock back then. I especially admire Joan Jett I know it’s a bit unfair as she is one of the producers of the movie all those scenes must have been hand picked by her, the side she wants us to see, to know. I admire her passion in music she didn’t stop after the Runaways was dissolved. She kept going and now she is still active in the entertainment business she is going to be on tour with the current rock band Green Day in this summer in Europe. It is the perfect attitude we should have!

Despite the fact that Joan Jett produces the movie, it is based on Cherry Currie’s biography, Cherry is key of the band she is the focus of the band, centre of attention. The movie mostly depicts Cherry’s psychological changes, about how she sees her family. Living in a single-parent family, a drunk father, mum ready to move to Indonesia with her new husband. At that point she sees herself as an orphan. “Runaway” with Joan Jett and started the band. However later she realizes she needs sometime with her family as her father is sick, and due to the stress she have being a star she turn to drugs and becomes an addict.

One thing I don’t like about the story is the problem of drugs, does every pop star and rock band somehow a drug addict. Most of the time Joan Jett and Cherry Currie is high. On show or not they are drinking or taking drugs.

I like it when Joan Jett is lying in the bathtub and rewriting the song “One of Them“ to “Love is Pain”, I love the lyrics: “I am not ashamed to say love is pain, but I’ll do it again.” Sometime personal, the relation between Joan and Cherry is a bit confuse, their friendship seems a bit more then just team mates, they kiss, they sleep together, they are close. The time Joan re-writes the song is after the band has dissolved. I am not trying to imply anything, but there is definitely something going on.

The two Twilight co-stars impressed me. Little Ashes and The Runaway are both interesting biopic staring these both young actors. And both of them are somehow kissing their friends and we left wondering the relationships between them and theirs friends. Kristen Stewert actually requested to sing in the movie, and it turned out not so bad! They are promising superstar in the future.

As a biopic, I won’t consider the Runaways boring. There are a lot of ups and downs among the characters, nice music and interesting story. If you are a rock fan you will definitely love it, if not you will still find it interesting.

The Lovely Bones – Peter Jackson

What would happen after death? Would there be an afterlife? A Heaven?

Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) was killed by her neighbor, when one day she was going home from school walking across the cornfield. Since then she has been watching her family and friends from the place where she called heaven or somewhere in between. She could not let go of her family so she stayed.

I was mesmerized by the scene when Susie goes into a blench white room where in the middle stands a pale white bathtub, a man whose face is covered by a towel is lying inside and resting his both arms on the two sides. There is blood scattered across the room, dirty and muddy clothes are among the scattered bloodstains. Not far from the bathtub located a filthy washbasin coloured with more blood and the faucet hangs a bracelet. At the moment Susie finally realized that she is dead. I love the contrast of the white and the deep red, step by step Susie walks into realization of her death, the fear in her eyes speak a thousand words. The scene is beautiful but yet brutally depicted.

The story is told from the perspective of Susie. In the beginning when she describes the murderer her voice is so soft and neutral, there is not a hint of anger or hatred. You may wonder how could she channel her anger. Later the truth will be revealed. Sometimes we may easily let anger rule over us, distracted our mindset, shadowing our decisions. However, to let all those down is really a complicated task, not that I am asking you to embrace your murderer but to let the anger down so as not to put burden on your loved ones shoulders. Leading your family and friends living in miseries does no good to any one. Considering the circumstances it doesn’t worth putting them in hell for your lost. The world doesn’t only revolve around you.

The story is all about letting go. You cannot live in the past forever, there is no such thing as “It ‘s not the time yet.” Or “It should have happened the other way.” Nothing is certain, you can’t stop anything from happening, and most importantly it’s not about then, is about now. Lingering in memories may only help you to survive a while but not forever. Learn how to embrace and accept the truth and carry on living a better life is what we should focus on not the former.

Watching this movie is like experiencing something impossible, most of the religions tell us there is an afterlife. Nevertheless, the truth has never been verified. Seeing Susie watching her family and friends makes me wonder the existence of my life after dead, will I be watching someone I can’t let go? Or it’s simply just the end?

Few confusions but it is still an inspiring journey.