THOMAS PODVIN’S FREELANCE WORK
Freelance writer - translator - Editor

In the modern world, it’s not easy to be a virgin, especially if you happen to be forty years old. Andy Stitzer is one of these rare specimens, and his sex-obsessed co-workers decide to help him find a mate, which is easier said than done. The plot, such as it is, sounds conventional and it is – but the film never falls into the standard teen movie boob-ytraps. Director Judd Apatow, producer of The Ben Stiller Show and director of the TV-series Undeclared, skillfully portrays a cast of horrendous, sex-crazed characters with wit. The adult-orientated humor may be a bit heavy-handed at times, yet Apatow makes it all seem engaging.
That said, the message here seems to be that sexual abstinence before marriage is a good thing. The lead character is happy with his non-existent sex life, while his sexually active co-workers are either weirdoes, losers or victims of unhappy relationships. The female characters are wracked with guilt – either unmarried pregnant teens or single mothers. The only people who enjoy post-marital sex are those who are without sin. Perhaps the film’s investors are members of the religious right. Spooky.
Universal Pictures DreamWorks SKG

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
February 2006 issue

A young, attractive and dedicated hotel manager takes a much delayed red eye from Dallas to Miami on her way back to work at a 5-star hotel. To reveal any more of the plot would spoil the fun. This highly suspenseful film, full of surprising twists, is directed by Wes Craven, the so-called “King of Horror” (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream). Yet, here he’s opted for a subtle Hitchockian approach, one that takes a simple story (two main characters, banal situations) and transforms it into something extraordinary. In practical terms that means there’s no room here for that cliché of the teen horror flick; yet there’s still a maniac waving a butcher’s knife around. Rather, Red Eye is a mature adult thriller that still has its share of shock value, albeit of a subtler variety. The story is indeed easy to relate to; the script, based on the common experience of sitting next to a total stranger in an airplane swiftly involves the audience.
Adding to that credible performances from the leads and a classical, yet efficient mise-en-scene, and Red Eye provides one tight, solid and breathtaking romp through the upper stratosphere.
DreamWorks SKG

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
February 2006 issue

The usual animated movies offered during the holiday season are slow-paced and mawkish, barely good enough to keep kids quiet. Not so this film directed by Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?); who once again displays his knack for successful family entertainment. With the help of longtime friend Tom Hanks (playing five characters here), he adapts the classic book written and illustrated by a respected name in children’s literature, Chris Van Allsburg. The story relates a journey onboard The Polar Express train to the North Pole during Christmas Eve. To bring Van Allsburg’s tale to life, the Oscar-winning filmmaker uses the amazing motion-capture technique, which captures an actor’s live performance and uses it as a blueprint for creating virtual characters. This renders the slightest facial expression extremely real. In other words The Polar Express is to animation what genuine turkey is to the processed sort. Kids and adults will be entranced. Indeed, the producers believe in the product: to re-watch this box-office hit all year round, CAV Warner China will offer three DVD versions: a single disc; a two-disc edition with extras; and a gift set with two DVDs plus a collectible snow globe.
CAV Warner

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
February 2006 issue

O.C. stands for Orange County, California, more specifically, Newport Beach, a community for the rich and famous. The teenaged sons and daughters of the rich and famous, are, of course, spoiled rotten, though surprisingly well behaved: they seem to divide their time between charity work and partying. Homework is not an option. Young Ryan Atwood is something of an exception: he’s saddled with a delinquent brother, an alcoholic mother and an absent father; he’s a good student, but prone to trouble. Enter attorney Sandy Cohen – the sweetest proxy dad you could ever dream of – who adopts Atwood. He does his best to be a good son, but he soon realizes that life in Orange County is not as ideal as it appears; on the contrary it is a world of lies, back-stabbing and vengeance. But somehow, it all turns out just fine. This series is not about tragedy; each episode delivers 45 minutes of feel-good TV, full of lighthearted comedy, mild drama and the occasional twist. The dialogue is sometimes corny and situations cheesy, yet the multi-layered generational issues and the overall optimistic feeling somehow works, making this a must-see series that will appeal to more than just privileged Californians.
Warner Bros/Fox

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
February 2006 issue

Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine) is no longer a fifth-generation director; he’s become a maker of the blockbuster. Nothing wrong with that; The Promise (Wu Ji) is an exhilarating romp, with great care exercised in all departments. Photography, sets and costume design provide eye candy, while the SFX and action scenes will delight the most demanding audiences. Wu Ji’s a Chinese fantasy tale about a love triangle involving a slave, a general and a concubine, which gives moviegoers plenty to chew on for 128 minutes – about what you’d expect from the most expensive movie ever made in China (USD 42 million). The film reportedly broke the China opening weekend box office record pulling in USD 9 million (total earnings in China are expected to reach USD 25 million), which is good news for the marketing team. Premiere tickets were sold at an exorbitant (RMB 2,000), while ordinary tickets were 30 per cent dearer than usual – which is probably not the best way to fight piracy. Evidently designed for foreign audiences or the Chinese newly rich, The Promise doesn’t seem to fit the definition of cinema as “entertainment for the masses”.
China Film Group

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
February 2006 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
February 2006 issue

A Chinese Tall Story contains all the necessary ingredients required for an amusing festive-season movie. The RMB100 million production provides some of the most eye-popping scenes ever seen in a Chinese film. But there’s also lighthearted comedy, eccentric characters, and a touching romance. The plot is thus: 500 years ago, a monk is looking for his three disciples; along the way he falls for a lizard imp and battles evil in the form of UFOs, a bizarre Buddha and assorted monsters. Ten years ago Hong Kong filmmaker Jeff Lau explored the legend of the Monkey King with two successful, hilarious movies starring the SAR’s number-one comedian Stephen Chow (Kung-Fu Hustle). Lau’s proven to be capable of delivering witty situations with a sense of anything goes. Yet this episode is less convincing for lack of a really talented comedy artist (Chow does not appear). Indeed, what’s most interesting is the eagerness of the various production companies to show off their prowess within the Chinese film industry. No question the movie is ambitious: it’s an over-the-top show piece, with an excessive number of visual effects, and nearly every actor signed by the Emperor Motion Group (a branch of Emperor Motion Pictures) makes an appearance.
Emperor Motion Pictures/H. Brothers

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
February 2006 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
February 2006 issue