The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion
The Malaysian Insider :: Opinion |
| Posted: 21 Dec 2012 03:36 PM PST DEC 22 — Last week I wrote about my five favourite albums of 2012, and if you've been regularly following my column I'm sure you'd know that more than a music geek, I'm an even bigger film geek. So what's the end of the year without my own favourite film list, right? A few caveats before you dive straight into the list — I obviously haven't seen everything, therefore the exclusion of end-of-year or festival releases that could be special like Tabu, The Master, Amour, Holy Motors, Leviathan and more. And of course, these are my favourite films of 2012, not the best of 2012. So here we go! Las Acacias This small, simple Argentinean film is far and away the most beautiful and illuminating viewing experience I've had this year. Winner of the Camera D'Or at Cannes in 2011, it's a simple story of how a lorry driver is asked by his boss to let the boss' maid tag along on his journey from Paraguay to Buenos Aires, except nobody told this distant and private man that a baby's coming along as well. Set mostly in the lorry cab, it's a heartfelt and heartwarming encounter between two souls that makes a virtue out of simplicity and quiet moments. Chronicle My favourite Hollywood film this year, and yes, I've seen The Avengers. Like District 9 from a few years back, this is a low-budget (by Hollywood standards) US$30 million (RM93 million) studio film that looks way more expensive and, most importantly, startlingly fresh and exciting. A tale of three teenage boys who are accidentally gifted with superpowers, told in the found footage style of The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield, this is a true movie. It's got it all — drama, comedy, romance, good vs evil slam-bang action and tragedy. And you can watch over and over again and still not get bored. The Raid: Redemption Surely the best reviewed film of the year, and probably the best reviewed martial arts film of all time, this Indonesian movie has without a doubt set the new standard for which all other martial arts films to come will be measured against. It's a fast, furious no-nonsense action film that doesn't even pretend to care about "story" or "character", as it's all just an excuse to string up one mind-blowing fight scene after another, video-game style. Yet despite all this, ironically, you still care about the characters. V/H/S If you think that the found footage genre is all played out and dead, then you haven't seen the many brilliant ways that the found footage gimmick is used in this anthology/portmanteau horror film. Almost all of the segments are great, but my hat is unreservedly tipped towards the stunning last segment by a gang of directors calling themselves Radio Silence. THE horror film to see this year. Once Upon A Time In Anatolia Who says an almost three-hour film, set during one whole night of a homicide investigation in the shadowy landscapes of Turkey, in which nothing much happens in terms of action, can't be a riveting watch? I've never thought that complete darkness, aided only by car headlights can look this beautiful. Never one to throw this word around so much, but this film is hands down a modern masterpiece. Aurora Another three-hour film, but this one actually is quite a demanding and tough watch. This follow-up by Cristi Puiu, director of the Romanian game changer The Death Of Mr Lazarescu, sees Puiu himself step in front of the camera as the movie follows a quiet man for 36 hours, whom we the audience will only later on in the film realise (spoiler alert!) has been planning to murder a few people. Chilling and at moments quite scary, this is a dark film that sheds quite a light on the capabilities of the human soul to commit cold blooded murder. Frankenweenie Ahhh Sparky, my favourite movie character of the year. And Frankenweenie, a stunning stop-motion, black-and-white film, is the beautifully touching, moving, sad and ultimately joyous film that houses it. If you've ever doubted 3D, go see this and witness how in the hands of a great director it can actually be quite a gift to the senses. Simply wonderful. Headhunters Like a Coen brothers black comedy on acid (is that even possible, knowing how on acid their black comedies can be?), this Norwegian adaptation of Jo Nesbo's international hit novel is a brisk and hilariously nasty ride from start to finish as the "height-challenged" protagonist (somebody please get Tom Cruise for the Hollywood remake!) suffers all sorts of humiliations as bad things pile up with unnervingly scary speed as he tries to dig himself out of the hole that he found himself in, only to find himself in a bigger and deeper hole. An evil delight! Rowdy Rathore If you love "masala" movies, then this Bollywood send-up of South Indian supercop movies will leave you laughing and grinning from ear to ear. The action is over the top and defies logic, the songs and dancing melodious and cheeky, the acting and humour delightfully broad, it is a Bollywood movie for people who don't usually like Bollywood movies. And it's a riot. Damsels In Distress Last but not least, the comeback film from Whit Stillman, director of the great yuppie trilogy from the '90s which included Metropolitan, Barcelona and The Last Days Of Disco. I've no idea why I love this film so much, as it will surely seem quite stilted and mannered to those unfamiliar with his other films. But the whole thing, from the deadpan one-liners to the absurd situations and the infectious musical score (by Adam Schlesinger of Fountains Of Wayne) just leaves me feeling all giddy on the inside. Let's just say it's a bit of an acquired taste, but once you've acquired it, it's so damn good! * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
| Posted: 21 Dec 2012 03:15 PM PST DEC 22 — Where do you stand on the great Arsene Wenger debate? With the possible exception of Mario Balotelli, the Arsenal boss has been polarising opinion more than any other personality in English football this season. Very few people are neutral on Wenger. You either trust him unconditionally, pointing to his magnificent achievements and firmly believing that he is leading Arsenal into a bright future, or you believe that his best days are behind him and that the Gunners need to move on with a new man in charge. As with most extremes, the truth probably lies somewhere in between.  Wenger reacts during the match against Reading at the Madejski Stadium in Reading on December 17, 2012. — Reuters pic When the Frenchman arrived in north London in 1996, having acquired his reputation as a bright, progressive coach by leading little Monaco to the league title in France, he inherited a Gunners team that had long been known as "boring, boring Arsenal," illustrated by the favourite fans' chant: "1-0 to the Arsenal." That soon changed as Wenger rapidly exerted a significant and lasting influence on the way English football is played and coached. By combining the technique and tactical sophistication of overseas players such as Dennis Bergkamp (who had been signed by his predecessor Bruce Rioch), Robert Pires and Thierry Henry with the traditionally English rugged determination of Highbury stalwarts such as Ian Wright, Tony Adams and Nigel Winterburn, he created one of the greatest teams in the history of the Premier League. In his first seven full seasons in charge, Wenger's Arsenal won three Premier League titles and three FA Cup trophies. Most memorably of all, the 2003/4 Gunners vintage won the title without losing a single game, earning the nickname of the "Invincibles". He also made a significant contribution by implementing new techniques of preparation into the previously reticent English game. The rapid proliferation of sports science, sports psychology and nutrition all came about largely thanks to Wenger's forward-thinking, progressive mode of working. And his "Invincibles" team truly was magnificent. They played entertaining, flowing football — scoring an average of nearly two goals per game — in an era before Barcelona had brought such a style into vogue. But they were also tremendously difficult to break down, more than capable of "mixing it" and playing tough if the situation required — their last Premier League title campaign saw them concede just 26 goals in 38 games. Bergkamp, Henry, Pires, Kanu and Freddie Ljungberg provided the flair; Sol Campbell, Gilberto Silva, Patrick Vieira and Ray Parlour provided the steel. I remember seeing them at Southampton, just after Christmas 2003, and they were a brilliant team — almost impossible to play against because they would out-pass you if the game was open and out-fight you if it became a battle. Gunners goalkeeper Jens Lehmann was in typically petulant mood that evening, complaining heartily every time a Southampton player went near him, and there was a fair amount of feistiness on display as every dead-ball situation effectively became a wrestling match. But Arsenal gave as good as they got, showing toughness as well as class to finish with a hard-fought 1-0 win. But then something changed, best illustrated by Wenger's decision not to directly replace Vieira when the dynamic midfielder joined Juventus in 2005. The Frenchman had been the heartbeat of Wenger's side, encapsulating the perfect balance between silk and steel that Wenger had managed to find in his record-breaking team. The effective replacement for Vieira was a young Spanish teenager who had just been whisked away from Barcelona's academy: Cesc Fabregas. He would prove to a magnificent footballer, but a very different kind of player and without Vieira the balance had been disrupted. Wenger simply refused to contemplate a "like-for-like" replacement, and the Gunners have never been the same again. Of course, it would be a gross oversimplification to state that Arsenal have lost their winning habit simply because Wenger didn't directly replace Vieira when he left in 2005, but that, I believe, is the best single example of their decline. While Wenger's title-winning Arsenal struck the perfect blend between technique and power, between attack and defence, between energy and intelligence, his more recent Arsenal teams are too heavily biased towards the creative, inventive, progressive sides of the game. Imagine the encounter that I described at Southampton if it took place now: would you have any confidence whatsoever that the Gunners would hold on for a hard and nasty 1-0 win, as they did on that occasion at St Mary's? Me neither. Nowadays, the chances are that they would buckle under any kind of sustained pressure and end up with a draw at best. Arsenal's most recent outing was a 5-2 demolition of Reading on Monday night, which was one of the most one-sided games I've seen in a long time. The Gunners were brilliant and they are still certainly more than capable of turning on the style in games of that nature. But it cannot be overlooked that it came against a poor Reading team who are badly lacking in confidence and have been conceding goals for fun in recent weeks. The team that won 5-2 at Reading was the same team that got dumped out of the League Cup by fourth-tier Bradford; the same team that lost tamely at Norwich; the same team that failed to turn up at Old Trafford against Manchester United in November. Wenger's Arsenal used to be a relentless machine, rolling out result after result with a combination of efficiency and excitement. Now they're an inconsistent source of endless frustration: brilliant one week, mediocre and mentally weak the next. And the ultimate responsibility for that state of affairs must rest with the manager. This doesn't mean that Wenger should be relentlessly hounded by disgruntled Arsenal fans until he's sacked or forced to resign. He deserves immense respect for the way he revolutionised Arsenal Football Club and even English football. But that certainly doesn't mean we should not be allowed to criticise him — too often, Arsenal fans hide blindly behind their favourite maxim: "In Arsene We Trust." Managers should be trusted and given a proper opportunity to carry out their plans, rather than forced to react to the trigger-happy, success-now mentality that dominates modern football. Arsenal, however, have gone far too long without a trophy (it will be eight years in May) and Wenger cannot be placed eternally beyond question because he won a few trophies nearly a decade ago. If I was on the Arsenal board, I wouldn't want to sack Arsene Wenger; but I would certainly be asking him some pertinent questions and making it clear that something had to change. * The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the columnist. |
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