| There was a FYI filmakers show, but I decided it was too far so I watched the local movie Ciplak.
I thought Peter's music sounded good in the film indeed it was one of the most professional stuff. Although it's always refreshing to see some local made instead of Hollywood stuff, it had the same major failings as Hollywood films ie they always fill the movie with lots of action and hope you don't notice that the story doesn't fit together and isn't finished usually cos film-makers are not good story writers.
It was disappointing that it has the same old lies about sex just like Hollywood movies do, that every protagonist finds a beautiful girlfriend .. And then he can't leave a house cos another teenager wants to fuck him. ... That's reality not ! it's particularly immoral in that he's a grown man and his girlfriend is 15. Though it was good that at least one female role was positive - the pragmatic female singer.
I thought there were some great characters in the film : the stuck up girl, playgirl, jealous brother, "I think I am so cool" dude. Given more time it could be a great movie. The action though didn't seem to flow, I think the idea of the main character explaining everything to camera was boring and slowed the film down. Like, if you got rid of the explanations and just let the scenes explain the story the film could have really flowed well. All the people
in my house were bored after 10 minutes and walked out. And that filmakers trick of showing people for whole minutes just smoking and not speaking really pisses me off.
How did they get Peter to play that character a rich eccentric, know everything, homosexual pervert ? It's not a very positive character is it ? It seems to be a negative stereotype of foreigners .. Wheras the playgirl, and jealous brother one sees all the time suely there aren’t many foreigners like your character... Are there ? To me it wasn't believable at all, maybe cos I know Peter is a good person so seeing him as a bad person isn't plausible. It also re-inforces a bad stereotype of homosexuals in that they are sexual predators who grab straight guys crotches .. Really this is not acceptable. But I kind of expect Malayians to be immature and homophobic.
It was interesting to see how the pirate industry operates in Malaysia though I think it shows only have the story. I think that Malaysians feel that it's fairly innocent, but surely when you cross the boundary into illegality it gets wrapped up with all the other ganster stuff. That the business inevitably ends up in the hands of gangsters cos they have the experience in bribing police not to close their shops, the coercion into to handing over the mastertapes cos "you wouldn't want your child involved on an accident". In the UK the line is piracy cross-subsidizes drug exploitation and sex-slave trafficking.
I've never bought a pirate DVD, but then I have never bought one in a shop either.
The technicality of the film was excellent and if they have good writing they could make some great films in future.
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