Sunday, February 01, 2009

Underworld, Passengers and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Just watched Underworld: Rise of the Lycans last night at the Cathay, and i was surprise with how short it felt. The costume of the vampires were nice, but other than that there was really nothing spectacular about it. Guess i just like the fantasy touch of the fanchise, but in the end it fails to impress.

The Passengers is a movie about a therapist being assigned to a group of airplane crash survivors trying to get them to talk their experiences during the airplane crash, only to have the story developed into a possible cover-up by the airline, or so it seems. The twist in the story is subtle, and requires you to really relook at all the scenes to really find out what is going on before the truth struck you. I find the ending rather nice, and give a meaningful touch. But i shall not spoil the ending, and seriously don't find any spoiler to the movie if you intend to watch this show. Not a very good movie, but i feel it is a movie that is worth watching because it is something out of the ordinary. The movie will be released in Singapore 5th Feb.


Lastly, the movie i want to talk about is The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, based on the novel by Irish novelist John Boyne. The story has a Nazi themed, and evolved around the Holocaust. The main character in the movie, Bruno, moved to a house near Auschwitz. Being bored with his new life without any friends, he explored the area around his house, and chance upon the Auschwitz concentration camp, and there, he met and befriended a jewish boy named Shmuel across the fence.


The story reflect how the innocent Bruno view the environment around him. He thought that the Aushwitz camp is a farm, wondered why the farmers were all wearing pyjamas, thought that the numbers on each pyjamas were part of a game. He thought that Shmuel had more fun than him because he has friends inside the camp, and so many people around him. He wondered why his tutor taught him that all Jews are evil, and he cannot be friend with a Jew. He wondered why the chimney from the farm emits black smoke and a foul smell. As usual i shall not spoil the end, but the scene is simple yet emotional. Bruno and Shmuel just do things together because of their friendship, without any regards or knowledge of the consequences of their actions. Is it not reflective of some of our actions, that we just do for our friends, without any regards on the consequences.

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