May 6, 2011 Filed under Script
Movie of the week
Critics say Source Code is a mediocre mystery about reviving a dead girl. But there may be more to this thriller in disguise than can be gleaned at first glance. The movie constantly asks new questions and makes viewers rethink the moral foundations of happiness and the reasons why bad things continue to happen in our world.
Synopsis
Colter Stevens, a US Army helicopter pilot whose last memory is flying in Afghanistan, wakes up on a commuter train having assumed the identity of another man. Eight minutes later, the train explodes and Stevens finds himself in a capsule, where a man named Goodwin tells him he has to return and relive the scene to learn who the bomber is.
He is sent back to relive the experience as part of a project that implants one person’s consciousness into another person during the last 8 minutes of his or her life.
Scene 1
(Stevens wakes up and finds himself in a capsule.)
Goodwin (G): Did you find the bomb?
Caption Stevens (S): Yes. There is a strange hydraulic fluid all over the floor.
G: It’s not a concern, captain. Would you tell me about the bomb?
S: Who is that man? I saw a guy with a crutch on my monitor. He looks like he is in charge; I want to talk to him.
G: That’s irrelevant, captain.
S: I want to talk to your commanding officer!
G: You can talk to him upon completion of your mission.
S: My mission is in Afghanistan, where my unit is. I flew two goddamn missions yesterday.
G: You’ve been with us for two months. Did you ID the bomber?
S: No, where is my unit? And under whose charge is this simulation?
G: Captain, this is not a simulation. Lives are depending on you.
S: What lives?
G: What do you remember about the bomb? Tell me about the detonator.
S: No, what lives, what are you talking about? I need to be briefed (1)!
(Goodwin turns to his commanding officer.)
G: Sir, I need to give him something.
Officer: That’s fine, go ahead.
G: At 7:48 this morning, a bomb exploded on a commuter train outside of Chicago, killing everyone on board, and that’s the train you’ve been on.
S: No, I am right here, you are talking to me right now!
G: A man named Shawn Fentress was on that train. He, in a sense, is now you. Every second spent explaining things puts more innocent civilians at risk.
S: This makes no sense.
G: The train explosion was the first attack of a series. There are going to be more. Now, did you find the bomb?
S: In the restroom, ventilation-panel above the sink, cell phone-detonator. Are we done?
G: Eh, no no. But that’s good, that’s very good, captain. Our records show that 1,812 calls ended at the moment of the explosion. Fifty-two of those calls were received by a cell tower nearby and reversed to the train. One of those calls was made by our bomber. Do you remember a freight train passing by just before the explosion?
S: Yes.
G: The explosion was timed to engulf (2) the passing freight train, which means the bomber had be watching both trains when the call was made. Fifty-two callers, one of which is our bomber. I want you to concentrate on the passengers in your car. Get to know them, narrow the suspect pool. Look for ones who seem quiet or withdrawn, who seem nervous. As always, you have eight minutes.
S: eight minutes, and I am blown up (3) again?
G: Yes. I need you to discipline yourself on this next path. Perform only the task that we assign you. Everything else is irrelevant.
Scene 2
Christina (C): I took your advice. It was a very good advice. You are kind of quiet today?
S: I got a lot on my mind. That’s very kind of you. You’re very decent.
C: Thank you.
S: And real.
Train conductor (T): Ticket!
S: How is everything today?
C: It’s good.
S: Anything extraordinary?
C: Um, no.
S: I mean behavior on the train. Does anything or anyone seem strange to you?
C: You look strange.
(S looks at Christina.)
S: How about you, does anybody looks suspicious?
C: Are you drunk or something?
S: Come here. Come for a second. Come on. Just think of it as a game.
C: A game? They are all so utterly normal, Shawn. That’s what so terrifying about them. Maybe they are a team network. The sleeping giant coached (4) the minister and the comedian. Don’t forget the college kiddy, he is expendable. But they are all controlled by the conductor, standing there like a king and demanding tickets.
S: You are funny. What about that guy?
C: Deposition.
S: And the woman sitting across him?
C: Hair appointment every Monday, you know this. You’ve talked to these people more than I have.
S: Right. And the guy behind her? He’s late for an audition, right?
C: Is teaching not stimulating for you anymore, Sherlock?
Scene 3
(S realized he was actually dead.)
S: Am I dead? A radio listing says that I died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, and my father receiving a medal for me.
G: Your condition is not the issue here. You need to focus on the train attack. Everything else is irrelevant.
S: News reports saying I am dead are irrelevant?
G: Until the person or persons who blew up the train are in custody (5) … Yes.
S: Goodwin. One soldier to another. Am I dead?
G: Part of your brain remains activated.
S: What about the rest of me? I can see my hands and feet. They still move.
G: They’re in manifestation. They’re just a way of making sense of all this.
S: So … what are you saying? Are you saying that I am imagining this? I’m imagining that I’m still alive? That I’m in this capsule?
G: Captain, what just happened?
S: Can I ask you a question?
G: The capsule is a manifestation as well.
S: Where am I?
G: That’s classified.
Vocabulary
1. to be briefed: to be given preparatory information
2. engulf: to swallow completely
3. blow up: to explode
4. coach: to train or direct
5: to be in custody: to have been apprehended
(By Huang Daohen)
Movie of the week
Critics say Source Code is a mediocre mystery about reviving a dead girl. But there may be more to this thriller in disguise than can be gleaned at first glance. The movie constantly asks new questions and makes viewers rethink the moral foundations of happiness and the reasons why bad things continue to happen in our world.
Synopsis
Colter Stevens, a US Army helicopter pilot whose last memory is flying in Afghanistan, wakes up on a commuter train having assumed the identity of another man. Eight minutes later, the train explodes and Stevens finds himself in a capsule, where a man named Goodwin tells him he has to return and relive the scene to learn who the bomber is.
He is sent back to relive the experience as part of a project that implants one person’s consciousness into another person during the last 8 minutes of his or her life.
Scene 1
(Stevens wakes up and finds himself in a capsule.)
Goodwin (G): Did you find the bomb?
Caption Stevens (S): Yes. There is a strange hydraulic fluid all over the floor.
G: It’s not a concern, captain. Would you tell me about the bomb?
S: Who is that man? I saw a guy with a crutch on my monitor. He looks like he is in charge; I want to talk to him.
G: That’s irrelevant, captain.
S: I want to talk to your commanding officer!
G: You can talk to him upon completion of your mission.
S: My mission is in Afghanistan, where my unit is. I flew two goddamn missions yesterday.
G: You’ve been with us for two months. Did you ID the bomber?
S: No, where is my unit? And under whose charge is this simulation?
G: Captain, this is not a simulation. Lives are depending on you.
S: What lives?
G: What do you remember about the bomb? Tell me about the detonator.
S: No, what lives, what are you talking about? I need to be briefed (1)!
(Goodwin turns to his commanding officer.)
G: Sir, I need to give him something.
Officer: That’s fine, go ahead.
G: At 7:48 this morning, a bomb exploded on a commuter train outside of Chicago, killing everyone on board, and that’s the train you’ve been on.
S: No, I am right here, you are talking to me right now!
G: A man named Shawn Fentress was on that train. He, in a sense, is now you. Every second spent explaining things puts more innocent civilians at risk.
S: This makes no sense.
G: The train explosion was the first attack of a series. There are going to be more. Now, did you find the bomb?
S: In the restroom, ventilation-panel above the sink, cell phone-detonator. Are we done?
G: Eh, no no. But that’s good, that’s very good, captain. Our records show that 1,812 calls ended at the moment of the explosion. Fifty-two of those calls were received by a cell tower nearby and reversed to the train. One of those calls was made by our bomber. Do you remember a freight train passing by just before the explosion?
S: Yes.
G: The explosion was timed to engulf (2) the passing freight train, which means the bomber had be watching both trains when the call was made. Fifty-two callers, one of which is our bomber. I want you to concentrate on the passengers in your car. Get to know them, narrow the suspect pool. Look for ones who seem quiet or withdrawn, who seem nervous. As always, you have eight minutes.
S: eight minutes, and I am blown up (3) again?
G: Yes. I need you to discipline yourself on this next path. Perform only the task that we assign you. Everything else is irrelevant.
April 29, 2011 Filed under Script
Movie of the week
Though classified as a thriller, The Next Three Days delivers more than canned suspense. The movie keeps you thinking, revealing its details only little by little. Truthfully, it would be better classified as suspense, since the story does a good job of keeping you on the edge of your seat.
It also challenges your values: is it right or worthwhile for a desperate man to break his wife out of prison – even if he doesn’t know whether she is innocent? The outcome is inspiring: a real man will do anything to protect and spend time with his family.
Synopsis
Lara Brennan is arrested for murdering her boss after a heated argument. She was seen leaving the scene of the crime and her fingerprints were on the murder weapon. Her husband, John, spends the next few years trying to get her released. But with no evidence that can exonerate her and the strain of being separated from her family growing, John decides to break her out.
Scene 1
(The Brennan couple is joined for dinner by Erit.)
Erit (E): I just know that women should never work for women.
Lara Brennan (L): How can you say that?
E: Because they’re always threatened, especially if you’re beautiful and they’re not.
L: Fine. You never had a fight with your boss.
E: Never. You know why? Because he is a man
L: Can we please drop (1) this. I just want to go home and kiss my son, honey.
E: See, you have to mention that you have a child, and we have not. There’s my point.
L: Er, Erit, I didn’t say anything of the sort.
E: Don’t apologize, it’s genetic. Women are always competing with each other. That’s why you have problems with your boss.
L: Because she is a woman …
E: Exactly. Women should work under men, men under women. That’s it.
John (J): What about men under men?
E: That’s fine, too. I mean they can deal with that.
Scene 2
(John visits Lara in prison.)
L: How was your first day?
J: Excellent. Half the class stayed awake, you know. I talked to your mom.
L: When is she coming?
J: She’s having a lot of trouble with her business. So …
L: Well, it’s only been a couple of years, I’m sure she’ll get around to (2) it. Have you heard anything?
J: About the appeal? Yes, and I’ve decided not to tell you. Remember what Meyer said?
L: Don’t.
J: It can take months for the court to make a ruling.
L: I saw that woman. She was there. She couldn’t have just disappeared.
J: Meyer’s looking for a new investigator.
L: Her coat snagged my purse, I felt a button pop, and they’re blinded if they can’t find it.
J: He’ll go through all the evidence again.
L: That’s great, because we’re not quite bankrupted yet.
J: We’re doing fine.
L: How you just lie and lie. But you are so handsome. Can you do me a favor?
J: I don’t know, I’m kind of busy.
L: I need you to run for (3) governor.
J: Oh, I can do that.
L: You can change this rule about no conjugal visits, because I don’t think I can last another 20 years.
Scene 3
(John meets Damon, who escaped from jail seven times, at a cafe.)
D: Where are you from?
J: Pittsburgh.
D: Pittsburgh’s tough; so many bridges and tunnels they can block off. From the time they make the call, the police can have the center of the city sealed tight in 15 minutes
J: How can they be so exact?
D: After 9-11 Homeland Security made every city have a lock-down plan, downtown Pittsburgh, Philly, Boston, Minneapolis – 15 minutes. They can do DC in under 10. Within 35 minutes they will have cops at every tollbooth on the interstate and be running rolling stops on the secondary roads. They won’t have your photograph yet, but they will have your description.
J: What if you can’t make it out? Thirty-five minutes isn’t a lot of time.
D: Then surrender. Because they will shoot you on sight, along with anyone else you are with. Stay far away from the train and bus stations. Forget the local airports. Leave from another state. Second: identity. It’s easy to find fake papers, harder to find ones that will get you through an airport. You’ll need a passport, driver’s license and a social security number. If you have to rent a car, find a place that will take a cash deposit. They’ll still run a credit check, so use a real person’s name on the ID. Third: destination. You want somewhere that doesn’t attract American tourists. Think Yemen, and you get the idea. Then money. You need a truckload of it. Everything’s expensive: hotels, travel, information.
J: How much?
D: Enough to last at least five, six years. Run out of money and you run out of friends. But before you do anything, you have to ask yourself if you can do it. Can you forget about ever seeing your parents again? Can you kill a guard? Leave your kid at a gas station? Push some nice old lady to the ground because she is between you and the door? Because to do this thing, that’s who you have to become. And if you can’t, don’t start, because you’ll just get someone killed.
J: How did you get caught?
D: I gave myself up (4). I couldn’t take wondering when someone was going to come through the bedroom door.
Vocabulary
1. drop something: to stop talking about a topic, especially one that is uncomfortable or unpleasant
2. get around to: to find time to do something
3. run for: to campaign to be elected to a public office
4. to give oneself up: to turn oneself in to the police
(By Huang Daohen)
Movie of the week
Though classified as a thriller, The Next Three Days delivers more than canned suspense. The movie keeps you thinking, revealing its details only little by little. Truthfully, it would be better classified as suspense, since the story does a good job of keeping you on the edge of your seat.
It also challenges your values: is it right or worthwhile for a desperate man to break his wife out of prison – even if he doesn’t know whether she is innocent? The outcome is inspiring: a real man will do anything to protect and spend time with his family.
Synopsis
Lara Brennan is arrested for murdering her boss after a heated argument. She was seen leaving the scene of the crime and her fingerprints were on the murder weapon. Her husband, John, spends the next few years trying to get her released. But with no evidence that can exonerate her and the strain of being separated from her family growing, John decides to break her out.
April 22, 2011 Filed under Script
Movie of the week
Many great films get their start as bestselling books, but Hollywood can’t keep up with all the great literature coming out each year. Dreamworks made a smart gamble when it decided to buy the rights to a film adaptation of I Am Number Four, a book that spent four straight weeks as the No. 1 bestseller on the New York Times’ list.
Critics called it a Twilight knockoff. True or not, moviegoers love mysteries, and I Am Number Four delivers. When secrets make an alien humanoid an outsider at his school, a charming girl becomes intrigued with him and falls in love.
Synopsis
An extraordinary young man, John Smith, is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him. Changing his identity and moving from town to town with his guardian Henri, John is the perpetual “new kid” with no ties to his past.
Now in a small Ohio town he is starting to call home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events – his first love, powerful new abilities and a connection to others who share his incredible destiny.
Scene 1
(Henri and John prepare to move out of town.)
Henri (H): Here’s your new ID. But this time, you stay outta sight. No school. No teams. Nothing.
John (J): John Smith. Very original.
H: I don’t want to be original. I want to be invisible.
J: This time was different. I didn’t just get a scar. I saw Number Three. I felt the knife; I felt him dying. I could tell we all did … the others.
H: We should get moving. Mogadarions could have already picked up our scent (1). I’m going to Paradise. I have business to take care of.
(They arrive at their new house.)
H: It’s Bernie Kosar. He played football. Yeah … he played for Cleveland.
J: Good to know. Next time I get to pick the place.
H: Yeah.
(A lizard follows them into the house as they unpack.)
J: That is all of it. I’m gonna go to the bed.
H: Ooh, hang on. I need your picture. We have to wipe out (2) anything that hits the Internet. Say “Paradise”!
(They spot his picture on a photo-sharing website.)
J: Oh shit.
H: This is why I need you to be invisible.
Scene 2
(A stray dog is outside the house and John wants to adopt it.)
H: Get back inside. John, come on. Come back inside.
J: It’s a little small for a Mogadarion, don’t you think?
(Back inside, they feed the dog.)
H: I’m sure he belongs to someone.
J: He doesn’t have any collar or tags. Somebody somewhere must miss you, huh? Come on, another pair of eyes and ears to watch the house? I’m going to need somebody to talk to.
H: Talk to me. (Shrugs) Yeah, keep the dog. What are you gonna call him?
J: How about Bernie Kosar?
(The next day, John prepares to go out.)
H: What are you doing up?
J: Changed my mind.
H: About what?
J: Look, as much fun as you are to be around, I can’t be a prisoner. I have to go to school.
H: Nope. No way. Too risky.
J: Come on, Number Three was completely off the grid when the Mogs got him. You couldn’t save him.
H: No.
J: Look, I’m going to be safer if I blend in. I promise I’ll keep a low profile.
H: Look, even if I let you out, which I won’t, you can’t just waltz into school and start classes.
J: You think you’re the only one who can forge documents?
H: Hm, do you have
J: Four to five days of rations, different clothes, a GPS and cash.
H: What’s your name?
J: John Smith.
H: Where are you from?
J: Toronto.
H: You seem kind of tan for Toronto.
J: Santa Fe, New Mexico. I know the drill, OK?
H: Keep this on you. I’ll call to every hour. If you don’t pick up, I know something is wrong.
J: Come on! Every hour?
H: That, or you can home-school – and I’ll be your teacher.
J: Fine!
H: Hey, John, don’t be stupid. You keep your head down (3).
Scene 3
(John is invited to dinner at Sarah’s house.)
Sarah (S): Sorry about that.
J: About what?
S: My parents, they are putting on the “aren’t we cool” show.
J: They seem very proud of you.
S: Yeah, and they’re already trying to convince me to go to the local community college in Dayton. They’d love it if I stayed here and got into wedding photography.
J: What do you want to do?
S: It’s my favorite. It got all these light leaks so that the photos come out so interesting. Here, I’ll show you.
(They go to her photo collection.)
S: See that one right there? That’s what I was talking about.
J: What’s this?
S: Well … that’s kind of private, actually …
J: This is amazing. What?
S: You.
J: You’re allowed to picture everyone else – take their pictures – but no one is allowed to see you?
S: OK, that’s enough.
J: Seems like you want to run away (4).
S: I’ll just be happy when I can get out of here.
J: I don’t know, I’ve been to a lot of places
S: You don’t have to give me the “there’s no place like home” speech.
J: No. You can go to wherever you want. See whatever you want to. But a place is only as good as the people you know in it.
Vocabulary
1. pick up one’s scent: to have found the clues necessary to follow someone
2. wipe out: destroy
3. keep one’s head down: avoid being noticed
4. run away: to flee home without telling one’s parents
(By Huang Daohen)
Movie of the week
Many great films get their start as bestselling books, but Hollywood can’t keep up with all the great literature coming out each year. Dreamworks made a smart gamble when it decided to buy the rights to a film adaptation of I Am Number Four, a book that spent four straight weeks as the No. 1 bestseller on the New York Times’ list.
Critics called it a Twilight knockoff. True or not, moviegoers love mysteries, and I Am Number Four delivers. When secrets make an alien humanoid an outsider at his school, a charming girl becomes intrigued with him and falls in love.
Synopsis
An extraordinary young man, John Smith, is a fugitive on the run from ruthless enemies sent to destroy him. Changing his identity and moving from town to town with his guardian Henri, John is the perpetual “new kid” with no ties to his past.
Now in a small Ohio town he is starting to call home, John encounters unexpected, life-changing events – his first love, powerful new abilities and a connection to others who share his incredible destiny.
April 15, 2011 Filed under Script
Movie of the week
After watching enough adrenaline-pumping gunfights, young men dream of becoming one of two things: heroes or a hitmen.
The Mechanic, a remake of an earlier 1970s film by the same name, provides the special effects and action needed to inspire the next generation of action heroes. Its portrayal of gun fights and hand-to-hand combat are worth the price of admission.
Synopsis
Arthur Bishop is a “mechanic” – an elite assassin who follows a strict code and who has a unique talent for cleanly eliminating his targets. It’s a job that requires professional perfection and total detachment, and Bishop is the best in the business.
But when his mentor and close friend Harry is murdered, Bishop is anything but detached. His next assignment is self-imposed – he wants those responsible dead. His mission grows complicated when Harry’s son Steve approaches him with the same vengeful goal and a determination to learn Bishop’s trade.
Scene 1
(Arthur meets Harry at a restaurant after the assignment.)
Harry McKenna (H): Everything went OK?
Arthur Bishop (A): It got done.
H: You know, I’m better than you. That’s why they give you those jobs. They can’t get a little Harry because if they were a good Harry, then you would take care of it and that’s all they care about? Services rendered, no loose ends (1). Fait accompli (2). You’re a god damn machine. You see things. You feel people differently than I do, differently than anybody does. But you got a problem, Arthur. You do need companionship.
A: I have you, Harry.
H: Then you’re in deeper s––t than I thought.
A: So, how’s Steven?
H: Did I tell you I got him a job at a private security firm? They kicked him out last month. He hit some guy half to death. God damn disappointment. Always has been. Always will be.
Scene 2
(Arthur and Harry at an underground parking lot. Arthur is there to kill Harry.)
H: My van is here.
A: I left it there.
H: Oh, s––t. You get me to circumvent my own security. Nobody sees me leave. So, what’s this? Cape Town right?
A: Right.
H: So, what’s the story here? Car jacking? Police will find my van somewhere in a s––thole section of the city, stripped up on blocks?
A: Something like that.
H: It’s like auditorial vision.
(Harry takes out his hand gun.)
H: You do not mind? Yeah, I get off a couple of shots. There is struggle and they get my gun. C’est la vie (3). At least I don’t go down (4) looking like a pussy. I have that for 33 years, gift from Admiral Beasly, sixth fleet. That is the first time I ever fired it.
A: Why didn’t you kill me?
H: They would just send somebody else. I would rather it was you, Arthur.
A: You have to live with it.
Scene 3
(Steve and Arthur at Harry’s funeral.)
Steve McKenna (S): Arthur f––king Bishop.
A: Sorry for your loss.
S: More of a loss for you than me, buddy. It’s a long time. Hey, would you give me a ride to my father’s house?
(Steve and Arthur are on the way to Harry’s house.)
A: Your father talked about you a lot. Talked about spending time with you. Maybe make it up.
S: Give it a rest (5), will you?
A: He was always bringing you up. He had regrets staying with ….
S: And he could pick up the phone anytime.
(They arrive at the house. Pictures of Steve’s forefathers hang on the wall.)
S: I want to show you something. I loved this place as a kid. It’s pretty impressive, huh? Every one of them served their country. I guess I could still do it, you know, make them proud. I’m f––king with you. I don’t know if you have a picture of my father? Maybe you want one.
A: Just looking up. Plan on sticking around?
S: For what? He didn’t leave a will. The accounts are empty. Banks are gonna take the house. By the time the lawyers get a stake in it there’s not gonna be a f––king thing left.
A: Where you headed?
S: I had some place.
A: Need some money?
S: No, thanks. I got a guy come to the house. He’s gonna look at the car. I figure that I can probably get a pay through on the next spot.
A: What about the guns?
S: I was thinking about going out and killing myself a couple of car-jackers tonight.
A: Just any all-around-the-world car-jack, huh?
S: Yeah, you never know. I might get lucky, find the guys that killed my dad. That’ll make you feel better? F––k if I know. I’ll find out.
A: Save it up (6), Steve.
S: Hey, Bishop, what kind of person shoots someone in a wheelchair, anyway?
Vocabulary
1. loose end: an unresolved problem
2. fait accompli: an accomplished fact
3. C’est la vie: a French phrase which means “such is life”
4. go down: here it means to die
5. give it a rest: to stop doing something
6. save it up: to put something away; here it means to forget about revenge
(By Huang Daohen)
Movie of the week
After watching enough adrenaline-pumping gunfights, young men dream of becoming one of two things: heroes or a hitmen.
The Mechanic, a remake of an earlier 1970s film by the same name, provides the special effects and action needed to inspire the next generation of action heroes. Its portrayal of gun fights and hand-to-hand combat are worth the price of admission.
Synopsis
Arthur Bishop is a “mechanic” – an elite assassin who follows a strict code and who has a unique talent for cleanly eliminating his targets. It’s a job that requires professional perfection and total detachment, and Bishop is the best in the business.
But when his mentor and close friend Harry is murdered, Bishop is anything but detached. His next assignment is self-imposed – he wants those responsible dead. His mission grows complicated when Harry’s son Steve approaches him with the same vengeful goal and a determination to learn Bishop’s trade.
April 8, 2011 Filed under Script
Movie of the week
Chinese music fans who love Hollywood movies have extra reason to celebrate the latest version of The Green Hornet: Kato is played by none other than Taiwanese singer Jay Chou.
The role, which has Chou filling the shoes of the late Bruce Lee, has the 33-year-old star winning fans on the other side of the Pacific. But the film is enjoyable for more than Chou’s performance: the movie was given a fun treatment by the cast, and the visual effects are fantastic.
Synopsis
Britt Reid, son of Los Angeles’ most prominent media magnate who died mysteriously, inherits his father’s vast empire. Striking an unlikely friendship with one of his father’s more inventive employees, Kato, Britt sees a chance to do something meaningful in his life: fight crime.
To get close to the criminals, Britt and Kato pose as criminals themselves. Britt becomes the vigilante, the Green Hornet, and Kato builds the ultimate in crime-fighting equipment.
Scene 1
(People gather for James Reid’s funeral.)
Guest A: It was during my election campaign for district attorney that I first met James Reid. And it was immediately clear to me that he was a man of infallible integrity. He dedicated himself to this city though his philanthropic endeavors and his newspaper, The Daily Sentinel, a shining beacon of truth. He was our North Star. He showed us the way. Thank you, James.
Guest B: Britt, your father was truly a great man. When I first started campaigning he gave me some …
Britt Reid (R): Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Guest C: He was the best businessman I’ve ever known. He always came out on top.
Britt, hey, I’m so sorry for your loss. I just want to say that, my father was a federal court judge. So I think I know how it feels. When he passed away, I had some pretty big shoes to fill (1). Just like you. So if you ever need somebody to talk to. I mean, if you ever just want to grab a drink, want to get cheered up. I’m around (2).
R: OK, thanks man. I really appreciate it.
Scene 2
(Britt meets Kato and asks him to make coffee.)
R: You’re Kato? I thought your name was Henry. I thought the pool guy was Kato.
Kato (K): I’m Kato. I’m sorry to hear about your father. He was a complex man.
R: Yeah. I’ve two questions for you, Kato. Then you can go home. Why is it that my dad’s mechanic makes the coffee? And why is it that without you, the coffee tastes like crap?
K: I think it’s easier if I show you.
(Kato shows the coffee machine.)
R: Holy cow. Where did you get that thing?
K: I made it. Watch this.
R: You made that …? Sit with me (3), Kato. Tell me your tale.
K: I was born in Shanghai. You know, Shanghai?
R: Love Japan.
K: My parents died when I was 4, and until I was 12 I lived in an orphanage.
R: I’m sorry, my mom died when I was young, too. What happened after that?
K: Then me and a few friends ran away. Lived on the street.
R: How’d you start working for my dad?
K: I work in a garage. And one day your father came in with a ’65 Chrysler. I know the car well. He was so happy with my work. Then he offered me a job. I said yes.
R: The coffee, how did that come about?
K: He used to always say, “No one could ever make me, a good cup of coffee.”
R: Good impression.
K: So I built him the coffee machine.
R: Well you make one damn fine cup of coffee, sir.
(Kato shows Britt some of his drawings, after which James changes the subject.)
R: Hey Kato, what did you think of my father?
K: He was fine.
R: Come on, just tell me.
K: He was my boss. Nobody loves their boss.
R: Don’t sugarcoat (4) this, Kato. You’re not going to offend me. Just tell me, man to man.
K: He was a bit of a dick.
R: Yeah.
Scene 3
(Britt and Kato are involved in a fight against criminals.)
R: Oh, God! That was crazy! I can’t believe that! Holy shit! Oh my God, Kato.
(Police begin following them.)
K: S––t. Pigs.
R: Oh no. Oh no. Are you a good driver?
K: You kidding me? When I was a kid, me and some friends …
R: Kato, not now, just drive.
K: OK, OK. Just act cool.
R: What do I do?
K: Just act casual.
Police: Pull it over, now!
R: What are you doing?
K: I’m trying to lose him.
R: Man, now we’re in a car chase! Here he comes.
K: Show me your hands!
R: He’s trying to kill us! Do the Ben-Hur s––t.
(Britt and Kato manage to escape.)
R: Kato, I think this is the greatest moment of my entire life.
K: I know. Mine too.
R: Yeah, we rule! That was crazy. How do you do that, dude? You beat the crap out of those guys!
K: Where I grew up, it was very dangerous. I got in a lot of fights when I was a kid.
R: But you knew where people were without looking. You were so fast.
K: When my heart starts pumping, it’s almost like time slows down.
R: It’s unbelievable, how cool we are. Do you hear me, Dad? We did it!
Vocabulary
1. have big shoes to fill: to fill in for someone who did an essential or challenging job
2. to be around: to be available for help
3. sit with someone: Britt’s way of asking Kato to stay
4. sugarcoat: to soften one’s meaning
(By Huang Daohen)
Movie of the week
Chinese music fans who love Hollywood movies have extra reason to celebrate the latest version of The Green Hornet: Kato is played by none other than Taiwanese singer Jay Chou.
The role, which has Chou filling the shoes of the late Bruce Lee, has the 33-year-old star winning fans on the other side of the Pacific. But the film is enjoyable for more than Chou’s performance: the movie was given a fun treatment by the cast, and the visual effects are fantastic.
Synopsis
Britt Reid, son of Los Angeles’ most prominent media magnate who died mysteriously, inherits his father’s vast empire. Striking an unlikely friendship with one of his father’s more inventive employees, Kato, Britt sees a chance to do something meaningful in his life: fight crime.
To get close to the criminals, Britt and Kato pose as criminals themselves. Britt becomes the vigilante, the Green Hornet, and Kato builds the ultimate in crime-fighting equipment.
April 1, 2011 Filed under Script
Movie of the week
There are no shortage of top-notch London gangster movies, such as Snatch and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. It’s obvious that London Boulevard was aspiring to the success of these films with its struggling hero who faces a new life. Unfortunately, the film was doomed from the start by bad screenwriting.
The original story loses far, far too much of its rhythm in making the transition to the screen. Kira Knightley and Colin Farrel gave average performances. Only the appearance by David Thewis – Professor Lupin to Harry Portter fans – was really worth watching. As the manager of a female starlet, a rocker and a hippie, he is by far the coolest guy in the show.
Synopsis
London Boulevard is adapted from a bestselling book by Ken Bruen. The crime drama takes place on the streets of London, where South London a criminal Mitchel tries to give up his gangster past after being released from prison. He finds new work as a handyman for a reclusive young actress.
But London’s seedy underworld proves inescapable.
Scene 1
(Free from prison, Mitchell is picked up by his old friend Billy.)
Billy (B): Here’s something new for you. You can’t smoke in the pub. They done it in Ireland. They done it, f––k me, they done it in France. New York, they’ve made the fags (1), so they burn out if you leave them in the ashtray. Tastes like shit as well.
Mitchel (M): You been to New York, Billy?
B: Well, that’s another story, isn’t it?
(Billy brings Mitchel to a house.)
B: The guy that owned this flat, this doctor, got into heavy schtook (2) with, shall we say, a money lender. Left everything.
M: You’re the money lender?
B: Well … part of a firm. And, we’d like you to be onboard.
M: I don’t think so, Billy.
B: Still, you stay. Think about it. Whatever. Where you gonna go otherwise, right? What? Eighty pounds they give you to make your way in London. In London? What is it, Forty-seven pounds a week jobseekers allowance? fifty pounds a week, this place. On Kennington Road. Here.
(Billy takes out a cell phone.)
M: I won’t use it. You need it. And you need me, mate. You need your friend, Billy.
Scene 2
(At a party, Mitchel meets Penny, who offers him a job.)
Penny (P): Mad Tommy said … Mad Tommy with the mad hairpiece, that this party was for a criminal, just out of Pentonville.
M: I was a criminal. Presently, I am just unemployed.
P: Are you handy (3)?
M: What, with hammers and such?
P: I might have something for you. A job, I mean. I’m serious. I am. Is it too little for you now? What a tradesman makes?
M: No. I know how little I need.
P: To be happy?
M: To be alive.
P: I’m Penny.
M: I’m Mitchel.
P: Look, I have this, um, friend. We go back ages. She lives in Holland Park. She’s … retired.
M: Friend your age? Retired?
P: You’d know who it was if I told you. She’s gone a bit Howard Hughes.
Scene 3
Charlotte (C): How did you become a criminal, since you’re not a big oink (4) with a missing chromosome?
M: Do you want the real answer? Well, I was thinking about something else.
C: And what were you thinking about when you were thinking about something else?
M: Whatever it was, I wasn’t thinking about it clearly enough.
C: We used to have parties. My husband’s half-sister’s stepfather had a daughter by his previous … God, no, I think it was his second previous. Strapping girl with big teeth and dyslexia. She got married here under an awning. So did I. It’s the Cape Canaveral with shitty marriages.
M: Well, it’s the garden for it.
C: So what was it like in prison?
M: The truth is, it was embarrassing.
C: Hmm. There’s something to say about those roses, but I can’t think what it would be.
M: Well …
C: No, I don’t want a plan for them. They’re beyond f––ked.
(Cameras clicking)
M: Now, you’d better go inside. They’re on the roof. They’re up there.
C: One day, I wondered what a shot of me dead would be worth. They pay big for morgue photos.
Vocabulary
1. fag: cigarette
2. schtook: slang for trouble
3. handy: skilled at common tasks
4. a big oink: here it means an exception or a trouble
(By Wang Yu)
Movie of the week
There are no shortage of top-notch London gangster movies, such as Snatch and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. It’s obvious that London Boulevard was aspiring to the success of these films with its struggling hero who faces a new life. Unfortunately, the film was doomed from the start by bad screenwriting.
The original story loses far, far too much of its rhythm in making the transition to the screen. Kira Knightley and Colin Farrel gave average performances. Only the appearance by David Thewis – Professor Lupin to Harry Portter fans – was really worth watching. As the manager of a female starlet, a rocker and a hippie, he is by far the coolest guy in the show.
March 25, 2011 Filed under Script
Movie of the week
Last year, 3D films were all the rage. The enthusiasm seems to have carried over to Tron: Legacy. Once again, the critics seem entirely out of touch with popular opinion.
This film is actually quite decent, with well-placed, eye-popping visual effects, a great soundtrack and a compelling storyline. Science fiction fans who manage to track down a BluRay print are sure to find it two hours well spent.
Synopsis
Sam Flynn, a rebellious 27-year-old, is haunted by the mysterious disappearance of his father Kevin Flynn, a man once known as the world’s leading video-game developer.
When Sam investigates a strange signal sent from the old Flynn’s Arcade, he finds himself pulled into a digital world where Kevin has been trapped for 20 years.
March 18, 2011 Filed under Script
Movie of the week
Like many British movies that make fun of encounters with zombies, serial killers or murderers out for profit, Burke and Hare leaves the audience thinking about the absurdity of reality after they finish laughing at its ridiculous characters.
The film stars Simon Pegg, famous for Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and Andy Sherkis, who some might know for his barely recognizable role as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. Together they add funny and warm elements to a story that would otherwise be a tragedy.
March 11, 2011 Filed under Script
Movie of the week
Movies like The Fighter exist to show off their supporting actors.
Mark Wahlberg may be a good actor, but Christian Bale is a better one. From the superhero who hides in the dark to the former boxing star, every role he plays ultimately becomes another mask associated with his off-screen persona. It’s no surprise Bale took home the Oscar for best supporting actor for his performance in this movie.
But aside from the actors, the movie offers little else. The script, adapted from a real story, offers little new. It’s still worth a look if you’re a fan of director David O. Russell.
March 4, 2011 Filed under Script
Movie of the week
Mary and Max is set in 1972 and based on a true story. An 8-year-old girl and a 44-year-old man with Asperger’s Syndrome, a borderline form of autism, write to each other as friends for 20 years. They have little in common, but they exchange letters talking about everything from pets to neighbors, jobs and obesity.
Mary grows up, and Max grows old and dies. Unfortunately, when viewed in an era of email and smart phones, the tale seems as quaint and removed as a silent film. Few people still put pen to paper when it’s time to communicate.
