The Gene Generation

USA, 2008

Director: Pearry Teo
Starring: Bai Ling, Alec Newman, Parry Shen
IMDB: 4.6

It's not easy being a fan of futuristic science fiction movies as they're so rarely done well. But as its one of my favourite genres, I can't help but be excited when something interesting is on the horizon. And this one has been on the horizon for a long time!

The trailers have been doing the rounds for well over a year now, featuring a grimy dystopian aesthetic, a story involving genetic manipulation, a pumping hard rock soundtrack, and not least a leather-clad ass-kicking Bai Ling in the title role. Expectations were high.

Michelle (Bai Ling) is a contract killer, eliminating DNA Hackers who the government wants rid of. Handy with a wide range of weapons, she's also a formidable martial artist, which is even the more amazing considering she's dressed in tight leather most of the time. Not that this guy is complaining. At all.

Unfortunately she's saddled with a shithook of a brother whose gambling problems and general lack of smarts gets them into trouble with the wrong people. When burglarising a neighbour he unwittingly steals a one-of-a-kind genetic manipulation device - and this lands them in the middle of a bad situation.

Despite the interesting cyberpunk premise of the film, the movie pretty much plays out like an action movie. Which is a lost opportunity in my opinion, because the cyberpunk genre has a lot of interesting ideas to draw upon. The Gene Generation is basically an action movie with a razor thin veneer of science to support the plot.

First time director Pearry Teo definitely has his heart in the right place, but maybe not quite the experience or the budget to pull such an ambitious idea off. The dialogue, acting, and special effects are at times pretty darn woeful, and at others surprisingly good.

A consistently good performance was given by the inimitable Bai Ling (who always brings something special to her roles), and Alec Newman was good as the genetic scientist Christian. However Parry Shen as Michelle's brother and pretty much all of the support characters really dragged the film down, not helped by some fairly inane dialogue. Giving a few of them cheap and nasty effects on their voices does nothing except add a C-movie vibe. Bad idea.

What really holds the movie together is the presence of Bai Ling. She features prominently on the cover art, and I'd say most people checking this out will be there for the ass-kicking hot asian chick factor. Well, I was anyway. And she fills that role perfectly with her tall, lithe figure and edgy looks. She has some great kill scenes, gets covered in blood (and has to take a shower to clean it off), and kicks multiple bad-guy ass with her martial arts moves.

In summary, the movie has some great scenes and ideas but also a number of factors that drag it firmly down into B-movie territory (in the bad sense of the word) and spoil what could've been a really great movie. I still enjoyed it though, and fans of Bai Ling should definitely check it out. Hopefully Mr Teo's next project will have a better budget to more fully realise some great ideas.

Rating: 5.5/10

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Trailer

Southland Tales (2008)

Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Bai Ling, Sean William Scott, Justin Timberlake, Mandy Moore
IMDB: 6.4

After the success of 2001's Donnie Darko, it took director Richard Kelly 5 years to complete this his next movie, and another couple of years for it to finally be released. It's been a long wait.

Based in an apocalyptic alternate future, this is at its core a sci-fi movie... but so much more. This is a world that we all can relate to, as its our own extrapolated a few years into the future: resource wars, alternate energy sources, reality chat shows hosted by pornstars, and real-time non-stop information overload ...




It's this last theme that the movie itself is presented within - a world awash in information, much of it redundant and inane. (Eg: The reality-show pornstars debating the ramifications of taking a morning-after pill while crossing the international dateline). Obviously this is a direct reflection on today's media landscape ... Kelly simply exaggerates it for emphasis.

Many reviewers have criticised the movie for being jumbled and a mess. And while its true that it covers a wide range of ideas and concepts within its runtime, any plot utilising parallel dimensions is by its very nature going to be somewhat more difficult than average. The fact that Kelly even attempts to address so many issues relevant to the current zeitgeist is more than most films have done this year. If not everything gels as perfectly as it could, then so be it. I'll take an ambitious failure over a conservative success any day.



There are a wide range of characters and cameo appearances ... Sean William Scott (better known as Stiffler from American Pie) plays two roles and does a surprisingly good job. Bai Ling brings her unique brand of sass to the role of Serpentine, and I never get tired of watching her perform.

Sarah Michelle Gellar breaks the mold as pornstar Krysta Now ('if you wanna fuck me, you can fuck me NOW'), and delivers some of the movies funniest moments. Even Justin Timberlake as a drugged-up Iraq veteran lip-syncing a hallucinated song and dance sequence (to the Killers 'All these things that I've done') is a standout.




Like Donnie Darko, music plays a big part in Southland Tales ... songs by The Pixies, Muse, Janes Addiction, The Killers and more play a central role. The rest of the soundtrack was created by Moby. This is a movie that needs to be played loud :)

In summary, this film is intelligent, funny, sexy, and surreal - rich with ideas, and backed with excellent music.  In my opinion this is the best movie out of Hollywood in quite some time. For some reason it speaks to me on a personal level that few movies do.

My rating: 10/10

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Trailer

Edmond

USA, 2005
Director: Stuart Gordon
Starring: William H. Macy, Julia Stiles, Bai Ling, Denise Richards, Mena Suvari, George Wendt, Debi Mazar
IMDB: 6.3

Much like the film Falling Down, Edmond deals with a white middle-class man pushed over the edge of sanity by the bullshit of everyday existence. One day he has just had enough ... he leaves his wife and goes to a bar to think. A friendly stranger recommends that what he really needs is to get laid.

After finding a stripper (Denise Richards) too expensive, a peep-show girl (Bai Ling) not what he is after, and not enough cash for a whore (Mena Suvari) ... he ends up on the street and things quickly spiral downhill from there. Without giving away too much of the plot ... its hard to imagine how things could get much worse. This is not a movie with a happy ending.

Very funny at times, and occasionally brutal, Edmond also has deep insights into modern urban life and its hard not to take the side of Edmond as he rails against society. Great acting as usual by William H.Macy, and supported by an ensemble cast. Bai Ling's scene is especially funny - kudos to her for a brave performance.

Fans of Falling Down and American Psycho should enjoy this one. I can't wait to watch it again. Recommended.

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