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

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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

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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

Dragon Squad is the latest attempt to revive Hong Kong's golden age of action movies. Directed by Daniel Lee (Star Runner), this multi-layered film also typifies the current approach to filmmaking in the SAR, aimed at overcoming the industry's decade-long financial crisis. It works thus: assemble an international team and piece together a movie with the widest appeal possible. Dragon Squad was co-produced by America's favorite mullet-coifed limb-breaker Steven Segal, and features a cast of recognizable stars, including the lead, Heo Jun-ho (Silmido), and Michael Biehn (Terminator). Unfortunately, some of the less experienced cast members reveal a startling lack of acting skill. The plot follows a team of Interpol agents who enter into a game of cat and mouse with a gang of mercenaries. It's formulaic and viewers won't find any surprises. However, the main problem is the abundance of main characters (a dozen) and the uneasy shifts between butt-kicking and dramatic sequences. That said, the action is terrific, and these scenes benefit from expert editing and, more importantly, the spirit of traditional Chinese swordplay. In spite of its many flaws, then, Dragon Squad delivers on one level, that is if you appreciate a well-placed, swift kick to the groin.
Shankara/Visualizer Film Productions

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

Looking back - but not necessarily in anger - is currently the theme of choice in the art-house film scene. Take Wang Xiaoshuai's Shanghai Dreams or Peng Xiaolian's Shanghai Story for instance. Both films concern the impact of the past on the present – especially that most troubled of decades from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s. In Sunflower, Beijing-based director Zhang Yang looks back (for 130 minutes) at a family in his home town. The story centers on Xiangyang, whose father, a painter, is sent to the countryside in 1969. When he returns seven years later, Xiangyang doesn't recognize him, or his parental authority. Yet slowly the father regains his influence and eventually leads his son to a successful painting career in the late 1990s. Zhang injects a personal note in the father-and-son conflict; his own father, Zhang Huaxun, was a successful filmmaker from the 1970s. As a result, this is personal filmmaking at its best, providing thoughtful analysis and psychological insight.This RMB 12 million film is one with which audiences can identify; the father-son relationship parallels the transformation of society as a whole, as evidenced in the radical shift from the traditional siheyuan to modern multi-story buildings. Still, the underlying sense of nostalgia is balanced by hope for the future.
Fortissimo Films/Ming Productions

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
January 2006 issue

Your boss cracks obscene jokes, constantly interrupts your work and still boasts of his great team leadership skills. He's cocky, ineffective, a foul-mouthed pseudo-philosopher devoid of any real qualities. Nevertheless, he inspires pity. Sound familiar? Well, then imagine him on TV. David Brent (Ricky Gervais) is the boss in the multi- award-winning TV-series The Office. Filmed in faux-BBC documentary-style using hand-held cameras, this series has a disturbing sense of realism which may explain its widespread popularity. Some scenes documenting the boss' boorish behavior will feel so familiar that the hair on the back of your neck will stand up. Add office flirtations and what you have here is a sense of déjà-vu all over again. But for one thing: the colorful British dialogue and Cockney slang might not be instantly recognizable, but somehow it translates well. You may be disgusted by the humor, but you'll laugh your arse off anyway. In any case, Gervais, a former radio DJ turned comedian/actor/writer/director has inspired an imitator: in the US, NBC produced an adequate (and successful) version of the series all on their own, without any bossing around from the man himself.
BBC

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
January 2006 issue

British director Guy Ritchie (the man critics love to hate) goes against the odds in this unusual, sexy gangster movie. Indeed, he sets the stakes so high that he risks losing the audience. Which is fitting, at least in one sense: the double or nothing bet is Revolver's main theme. Rather than rat out his associates, inveterate gambler Jake Green (Jason Statham) takes a seven year fall in the big house. While inside, he passes the time planning the perfect con, including the formulation of a set of Sun Tzu-like sure-win rules. Following his release, he puts the plan in motion, a plan designed to make him rich at the expense of his nemesis, crime boss Macha (Ray Liotta). As in his earlier gangster flicks (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch) the director favors eccentric characters, black humor, a plot that is too clever for its own good, oh-so-cool camera tricks and a catchy soundtrack. Produced by Luc Besson, Revolver has every trick in Ritchie's bag, with the addition of animated sequences. In the end, it's all a bit too much. The overly obtuse plot, experimental editing and excessive angst will leave most viewers feeling as if they've overdosed on valium. Ritchie is willing to take chances (he's Madonna's husband after all), but with this effort, he's bet the house and lost.
Europa Corp.

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
January 2006 issue

What is love? Hong-Kong filmmaker Peter Chan addresses this simple, yet unsolvable question, in his first directorial effort since 1996. Of course, the question gets complicated when you have a USD 10 million budget and an international cast and crew. The plot is thus: Ten years ago, Lin (Taiwan heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro) and Sun (Chinese mainland actress Zhou Xun) were a couple living in Beijing. They split and went their separate ways. Fast forward to the present when they meet in Shanghai on the set of a musical. Lin tries to win Sun's love back, but she's romantically involved with the musical’s director, Nie Wen (Hong Kong's 'God of Song' Jackie Cheung). For a love-triangle, this sounds rather complex, at least on paper. But Chan has transferred the somewhat convoluted plot to the screen in a very straightforward fashion, and in the process raises an interesting question: What is the nature of reality and fiction? Produced by Andre Morgan (Million Dollar Baby), Perhaps Love is certain to seduce audiences and critics alike. Indeed, the film has already pocketed the Best Foreign Film award at the Queens Film Festival in New York, and many more awards are expected. So what is Love about? Guess we'll never know.
Applause Pictures

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
January 2006 issue

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
January 2006 issue

This new Harry Potter opus will surely bewitch the younger audience with its parade of bizarre characters and eye-popping special effects. Still, Harry himself has grown up and teenage fans can share his first brush with acne and puppy love. That said, there's not much time for romantic frivolities in this fast-paced plot where Harry is chosen against his will to represent his wizard school at the Triwizard Tournament. This fourth installment of a saga rests more than ever on the franchise's main assets: hatfuls of magic and SFX. Both are taken to the limit in one sequence, a flying chase between Potter and a dragon. Which is a good thing. The dazzling effects help one to forget the unequal performances. That said, the cast veterans are solid: for example, Brendan Gleeson (Kingdom of Heaven) is wonderful as the madcap 'Mad­Eye' Moody. Viewers indifferent to Potter's fantasy world will probably see the real magic in the real behind-the-scenes story: J. K. Rolling, unemployed for years after fleeing a violent husband, has become the wealthiest woman in UK. Incidentally, at the Shanghai premier, Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger promised, much like the makers of this global series, to "be back".
Warner Bros.

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

Guanzhou Chief editor: Christopher Cottrell
January 2006 issue

Whenever the former Monty Python alumnus and reigning eccentric of the British film industry directs a new project we can expect two hours of imaginative and entertaining fare. The Brothers Grimm is no exception; indeed, it is filled with more bizarre characters and surprising story developments than The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Brazil combined. The real Grimm Brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm, were born in the eighteenth century Germany, and at age 20, began collecting and publishing European folktales, including Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood and Sleeping Beauty. The genius of Gilliam here isn't to adapt one of their tales, but to make a fairytale out of the brothers' lives, portraying them in their early years (before they began writing) as con artists, witch-hunters and collectors of odd objects (a red hood, a glass shoe…). All of which, of course, they will later use as source material for their book. Yet there's something missing in the film; it is amusing, at times even silly, but somehow the old Gilliam magic doesn't quite work.
MGM

(c) that's Shanghai Magazine
Chief editor: Steven Crane
December 2005 issue

While the English title is Just Friends, it translates literally as "I'd rather we stay friends" -- something you'd say to your partner just before you ditch her to return to the sweet and sour life of a celibate. Indeed, being single is the central theme of this bitter-sweet, urban comedy set in Paris -- the world's most romantic city? The plot centers on two characters, Claude (Jean-Paul Rouve), who hasn't been involved into a steady relationship for some years, and Serge (Gérard Depardieu), who flirts at wedding parties in the belief that 56 per cent of married men meet their wives at such an event, ignoring the fact that in Paris, two out of three marriages end in divorce. Serge is a statistician, not the type who lets fate decide his future. Rather, in his quest to meet his mate, he attends speed dating sessions, group therapy and matrimonial agencies and cunningly involves Claude in the process. Directors Nakache and Toledano show Paris as never before, and reveal the male ego in the funniest fashion possible. Just Friends was nominated for the Golden Goblet at the 2005 Shanghai International Film Festival.
Mars Distribution

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
December 2005 issue

If you're a baby boomer, then the 1960s TV series Bewitched surely counts as a childhood favorite. Remember the witch Samantha Stephens twitching her nose to cast a spell? Created in 1964, the lighthearted comedy series aired for eight years on ABC – much longer if you include re-runs. In this big screen version, director/scriptwriter Nora Ephron (You've Got Mail) scratched her head and came up with a totally different story. Isabel Bigelow (Nicole Kidman) is an ingénue witch who wants to lead a normal human life – whatever that is. She's cast as the lead for a remake of the TV-series Bewitched opposite has-been actor Jack Wyatt. Somehow this version ended up a messy mixture of reality (within the movie) and fiction. Ephron has stretched the movie concept (a remake within the remake) for more than 100 minutes that lack pace and timing – key ingredients for a successful comedy. Those viewers unacquainted with the TV-series will be left wondering what all the fuss is about. Fortunately, Kidman, more radiant than ever, doesn't need a magic spell to make this flick look cute.
Sony Pictures

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Chief editor: Steven Crane
December 2005 issue