transition - AsiaLIFE Magazine

oxofficebookshelfCoconutUnlimitedBy Nikesh ShuklaQuartetDead Like YouBy Peter JamesMinotaurFair GameUnless you live under a rock youknow how the US went to warin Iraq. In case not, Fair Game,based on a book by ValeriePlame (Naomi Watts) and herhusband Jospeh Wilson (SeanPenn), tells it like this: SaddamHussein had no weapons ofmass destruction, everyone in theUS administration knew it, theystill wanted a war so used fakeevidence to go ahead with theirplans. Naturally this is bound toupset some people, especiallythose portrayed in the movie asliars. But decisions made by theUS administration also impactedPlame and Wilson, which is whatthe movie is about. With solidperformances by Watts and Pennit makes for an engaging movie,but knowing that it is based ona chain of events in the recentpast makes it more thrilling. It hasbeen poo-pooed by many criticsas an unfair portrayal of thegovernment, but don't buy into it.Worth a watch.Opening DatesCINEMASG: Galaxywww.galaxycine.vnM: Megastarwww.megastarmedia.netShaolinAfter an impressive movietrailer for Benny Chan'sShaolin (a remake of theclassic which launched JetLi's career) had fans waitingwith bated breath for therelease, does the film live upto its expectations? In a word,yes. Benny Chan's penchantfor visually stunning martialarts movies is well known butwith Shaolin he surpassesall expectations. This is themovie that has martial artsfan stunned into silenceby its spectacular scenesand performances that are,simply, mind blowing. Chanshowcases old school martialarts but with some modernityinfused in it as one has cometo expect from the stalwartJackie Chan who does notdisappoint in Shaolin. WuJing, Andy Lau, Nicholas Tseand Fan Bing Bing also put ingreat performances and thesoundtrack is very good.Burlesque (Feburary 18)Fair Game (Feburary 25)Meet the Fockers (Feburary 04)BurlesqueMuch like Moulin Rouge, whichwas a visual and song anddance delight, Burlesque is boundto enthrall those who don't rolltheir eyes at everything camp.Ali (Christina Aguilera) lives asheltered existence in a smallAmerican town but has a dreamof making it big. In what is sotypical you're sure you've seenit a hundred times, Ali heads offto The Big City with a bag full ofdreams and somehow (obviously)convinces a club owner (playedby the magnificent Cher) to hireher. What happens next is almostirrelevant and rather predictable,but this doesn't make it not fun.Expect everything deliciously tackyto occur here—from crazy dances,backbiting backstage tantrums, toStanley Tucci and Alan Cummings'histronics, and bejewelled outfitslike you've never seen, Burlesquewill entertain you on a wet Saigonevening. If nothing else it's worthwatching for Cher's performancefor she reminds us just why she'sthe diva she is.Little FockersIt's never a good idea to starta review of a film by saying, "Ifyou liked the original, you'll likethis" but it is impossible not tocompare the latest in the Fockersseries to its predecessors.Perticulary if you're a fan of theFockers and want to see howmuch more Gaylord (Ben Stiller)can screw up with his in-laws,chiefly father-in-law Jack (RobertDe Niro). It is after all the raisond'etre for the Focker franchise:watch Gaylord upset Jack,and watch Jack react. You'dthink that now, when the movieopens, and Gaylord has twoyoung children, things wouldhave changed. But sadly not.Which means there's plenty ofroom for hilarity, especially asGaylord is keen to live up to thetitle of inheritor of his father-inlaw's"power". Jessica Alba isnew to the cast as a pharmacyrepresentative that has a crushon Gaylord, causing manymisunderstandings and gags.The information on this page wascorrect at the time of printing. Checkcinema websites for screenings.In his debut novel, Nikesh Shukla, writes about three boysAmit, Anand and Nishant living in Harrow, London, in the1990s. They don’t fit into the private school where they are theonly Asians nor do they fit into their traditional Gujrati familieswho want—nay expect—the boys to pursue science. So, theboys embrace rap and form Coconut Unlimited (coconut beinga derogatory term amongst Asians which means “brown on theoutside, white in the inside”) except that they don’t really knowmuch about rap, hip hop, black culture, or even black people.And they keep getting sidetracked by girls, their families areoutraged, they have to contend with a racist teacher andthere’s a drug dealer, too. This coming of age story—whichis about Asians, an ethnicity that rarely gets early teen printspace—is packed with hilarity as their misadventures are writtenwith great comic pathos.i-D Covers: 1980– 2010By Terry JonesTaschenBefore the Internet, people read and sought inspiration frommagazines, one of which was the ground-breaking i-D. Createdby Terry Jones, former art editor of Vogue, i-D celebratedthe life of the stylish in fashion, music and arts in Britain. Itwas groundbreaking not just in its design but in its reachingout to the youth and featuring them, their clothes, clubs,culture—hitherto unchartered territory in magazine publishing.To celebrate three decades, the team has published its covers,its models and superstar celebrities posing with the magazine’siconic “wink”. Kate Moss in a military jacket, hat and wink;Lady Gaga shot by Nick Knight; uber model Linda Evangelistain cheeky wink; a young couple in a delicate topless embraceand a host of other images grace this book. You may think it isjust for designers, but this book will make a beautiful additionto any library.Peter James’ new book has been reviewed in the WashingtonPost as, “the most engrossing thriller since Silence of theLambs”. This is a huge accolade but his books have long beenbestsellers in England. Dead Like You is his sixth thriller in theseries about Detective Roy Grace, crime solver extraordinairewho is a hard working police officer trying to balance work anda troubled marriage. The wonderful aspect of James’ writingis that he takes his time developing characters, which isunusual in page-turning thrillers that centre solely on plot. Here,however, we get to know the victims of the crime and developempathy for them and for the officers desperate to find a serialrapist (and shoe fetishist) terrorizing women. This is a grippingread bound to win even the hardest “thriller hater” over.PoserBy Claire DedererFarrar, Straus & GirouxIt was only inevitable that the new age craze that yoga hasbecome in the US would find itself as a subject of someone’smemoir. What is surprising, however, is how good, Poser: MyLife in Twenty Three Poses is. Claire Dederer, a New York Timesbook critic, tackles the subject of her self-actualisation in anhonest style, almost fearlessly, not caring for any rebuking shemay receive for being trivial—which other memoirists often arein their self-indulgence. Poser is deeply personal but also aboutyoga itself, how poses like downward dog, mountain pose,headstand etc. impacted her life. It is done intelligently, humourouslyand provides much insight without ever being over-bearing,or worse, new age-y. With each pose, she learns to faceher demons and let them go, often it is funny (“who puts theirfoot behind their head?”) other times it is painful. It is everythingbut boring—and may even inspire you to take on yoga.T: Thang Longwww.giaitrithanglong.com/cinemaShaolin (Feburary 18)98 asialife HCMC asialife HCMC 99