|
October 11th, 2009
 | 11:29 pm - Oh, thank you Wacko, it all makes sense now...
Discovery of the night: it turns out that my big recent director discovery--Pang Ho-Cheung (You Shoot, I Shoot (probably in my top 10 of the year), Exodus, Isabella (which I just watched & is fantastic), Men Suddenly in Black (which is still indefinitely unavailable on Netflix))--was also the author of the novel Fulltime Killer, which the same-titled Johnnie To film is an adaptation of. Which is one of my favorite Johnnie To films.
So anyway, it makes a lot of sense, because his own films--especially Exodus, and a little bit the other two--have a pretty similar vibe, especially a similar black humor and a similar (but less explicit) meta undertone to them.
As for Isabella?
I thought it was very good. Definitely something to watch if you are in the mood for something a little more on the slow/arty side, with a strong emphasis on character & little emphasis on plot. Those who are actually seeking such may find it a bit insubstantial, but I thought it was excellent. It kept me rapt throughout, which is a pretty decent accomplishment.
Oh, yeah. It bears pointing out that Isabella Leong & Chapman To are both really good in it and the latter, at least, seems like quite an accomplishment as I wouldn't have believed he could pull off such a subtle role.
|
August 8th, 2009
 | 12:13 am - Filmdrunk is required reading
Case in point #1:
Collider recently got the chance to talk to Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner, the guy behind the idea to make movies out of boardgames. Put on your helmets, because it’s about to get stupid. (*record scratch*)
Case in point #2:
Paramount’s decision to only screen G.I. Joe for critics handpicked by the studio and their phoney-baloney empty gestures at patriotism (they won’t actually put the US military in their movie but they’ll bend over backwards to use them for marketing - you’re not fooling anyone, you pieces of sh*t) were looking good as of a few days ago when the film was tracking 91% on rottentomatoes. Now that a few people have actually seen it… not so much. It’s down to 41% as of this writing, and the only point of contention seems to be whether it’s just really stupid, or so stupid that it’s kind of fascinating...
|
February 16th, 2009
| 09:32 pm - Two second movie review
Finally got around to watching Brotherhood of the Wolf. Although I agree that it is pretty awesome--mostly because the secret plot twist/revelation gets the Mal Seal of Approval (TM)--I must also point out that seriously, folks, just how many cliches do you think you can throw at us?
I'm fairly confident that the movie was written by a European whose only knowledge of Native Americans was watching bad--and incredibly racist--American films. And I would say this even if this movie was in New York accented English.
RANDOM NOTE: Holy crap! I just checked imdb and how did nobody ever tell me that Christophe Gans' previous film was a French adaptation of Crying Freeman starring Mark Dacascos!!! MUST TRACK DOWN!
Further evidence uncovers the existence of an HK adaptation starring Simon Yam which... actually looks pretty crappy. But who knows? These things must be uncovered! And then sent to me!
Current Music: Skunk Anansie - Little Baby Swastikkka | Powered by Last.fm
|
December 14th, 2008
| 11:21 pm - Quick Movie Review: _One Night in Mongkok_
One Night in Mongkok
Directed by Derek Yee, 2004
Don't get me wrong, One Night in Mongkok is a good film. A great one, even. I can almost even see why I've seen it called a classic. It's delightfully atmospheric, unrepentantly nihilistic, shot incredibly well and is willing to define its own pace. With all that said...
I keep coming back to the first half hour, forty minutes or so. Daniel Wu is a hitman from the mainland. You see, Lam Suet has this bizarre setup with his family and friends back home: when he needs a hitman, he calls them, and they send him one. Daniel Wu gets picked this time, and quickly; just sitting around the fire with a rifle and his friends when someone runs up and yells that he's got a job, and he gets driven out of time with the rest of his village running behind and wishing him well. (That's not the only part of this movie that feels a bit like the Johnnie To touch.) But Lam Suet gets ratted out by an informant and busted, and Wu quickly figures it out and goes on the run. Unfortunately, Daniel Wu is a bit of a country bumpkin who's never been to the big city before and doesn't speak the language very well. Fortunately, he runs into a woman from a neighboring province, working as a hooker in the seedy hotel he's staying in. Which is good, because he needs a guide as he's really in town to find his fiancee (who it turns out may be working as a hooker herself) and take her grandmother back to the village...
...and this is starting to look like a really interesting movie. A bit of a Wong Kar Wai touch, maybe. A love triangle between a real woman (who may just be trying to steal the $150K HKD in his bag) and a woman who can't be found, and a pair of fish out of water trying to stay one way ahead of the cops. I could've watched this set-up for a whole movie, but the real plot just had to get in the way. And then it all goes to hell..
Like I said, don't get me wrong. It is a great movie. Daniel Wu excels and looks fantastic in glasses. Lam Suet does a great job, appearing because the Milky Way treaty of 1998 declares that he must appear in every movie Anthony Wong can't make it to. Cecilia Cheung, unfortunately, plays the same character she does in every movie (which is admittedly somewhat impressive on its own, given her plethora of genre flexibility) because of course what HK cinema really needs is more women defined by their ability to cry out loud distinctively.
Le sigh. It IS so good, but I mourn for what could've been.
Four stars out of five. It probably should be four and a half, but I'm unfairly penalizing it for not giving me what I wanted.
|
November 28th, 2008
| 09:01 pm - Lost and Found
Tonight I watched Lost and Found, almost entirely due to its placement on Kozo of LoveHKFilm's list of his top picks and a bit due to the fact that it's one of the few that A: I hadn't seen, and B: were available on Netflix.
I've been meaning to write up more of the movies I watch, partially for my own enjoyment and partially to assist my memories in the future and partially because it would be nice to be better at expressing what I love about films and practice makes perfect. And I loved this movie so much that it seems worth being a first stab. I've never heard of director Lee Chi-Ngai before, but I've just added Dr. Mack, Sleepless Town, and He's a Woman, She's a Man into my Netflix queue primarily due to his involvement.
( Read more... )
|
September 5th, 2008
| 06:56 pm - A couple months worth of quick movie reviews for no particular reason
...based on a combination of my Netflix rental list and the ratings list on my Netflix friends page, since the latter seems to be non-comprehensive and the former doesn't include movies I've watched in other venues:
* Blood Brothers dir. by Alexi Tan, 2007. On the one hand, it's not as good as I'd hoped given the hype while it was in production and the phenomenal trailer; on the other, it's nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be based on the reviews it got when it came out. It's as gorgeous as the trailer promised and is--as was made clear during production--clearly inspired by John Woo's (who produced) Bullet in the Head. But that film offered a clear, forceful narrative about well-defined characters who were backed into a corner and forced to make decisions with unfortunate consequences. This one... didn't. Expanding the first hour of the movie into a two hour narrative and forcing the extra space to be spent on better building of characters would have made a better movie, but it's difficult for me to begrudge it the last half hour, even if it did end up in the obvious place. Also, it's probably better in reality than it was for me because I realized a half hour in that I had difficulty distinguishing two of the main actors (Chen Chang and... Ye Liu, maybe?) just because I wasn't previously acquainted with them and there were enough scenes in which their character was not clear enough to carry it out, so their roles--which were pretty critical--got a bit muddled for me.
Recommended, with reservations.
* Lawyer Lawyer starring Stephen Chow, 1997. I gave it three stars on Netflix, which for an HK movie starring Stephen Chow is pretty much the kiss of death. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just more-or-less indistinguishable from a bunch of other Stephen Chow movies from the same era (King of Beggars, the Royal Tramp movies, Forbidden City Cop...) whose primary advantage is that they came out first. If you want to watch a Stephen Chow movie, it's good enough. If you've already seen the previously listed movies, the best I can say is that it's not a waste of your time.
Not recommended, except for people (like me) who want to see every Stephen Chow movie.
* The Tiger Blade dir. Theeratorn Siriphunvaraporn, 2005. I only returned this a month ago? Wow, this movie was apparently pretty forgettable. Um, I remember it being somewhat vague and vapid. I also recall liking the feel that it wasn't a fantasy movie so much as a cop movie from a universe where Buddhist magic worked, and this was blasely but not extensively incorporated into crime and police work.
Recommended for people who want to watch every Thai action movie or every new martial arts movie.
* Heroes of the East dir. Lau-Kar Leung, 1979. This movie was great. Really really sweet. It's got a great one-sentence pitch, which becomes even better when you discover it to be a action romcom in the tradition only HK can bring to the table. Also, it's great as a product of the times insomuch as it's clearly a movie whose twin themes are cultural tolerance/understanding and the inherent superiority of Chinese culture (as demonstrated by its martial traditions), and the movie gives you enough nudges and winks to make it clear that they're in on the joke without making the contradiction the focus of the film.
Recommended for everyone.
* Forbidden City Cop dir. Stephen Chow, 1996. Not quite as good as I remember it, but still pretty sweet. I would say that From Beijing With Love is plainly superior. I was really shocked looking back to go, "Oh hey! Carina Lau is in this!"
Recommended for Stephen Chow fans.
* King of Beggars dir. Gordon Chan, 1992. My memory is definitely a bit fuzzy at this point, but it was definitely pretty good. I will always be grateful to it for the realization that Beggar So aka So Hat Yi is some sort of actual mythical/legendary figure, not just a generic name given to beggars in every other historical martial arts movie (Drunken Master, Heroes of the East, Fist of the Red Dragon aka Heroes Among Heroes, &c...).
Recommended for Stephen Chow fans.
* The Girl Who Knew Too Much dir. Mario Bava, 1963. Definitely Bava's Hitchcock film, for better or worse. Very much one of those movies I spend the whole time talking over, mocking it for inconsequentialities, then realize at the end that it was actually pretty decent.
Recommended only for Bava die-hards. If you haven't bought the boxed set, you probably shouldn't bother.
Gotta run. To be continued...?
EDIT (continued):
Evil Aliens dir. Jake West, 2005. We were constantly going back on forth on whether this movie was awesome with some awful moments or awful with some awesome moments. I don't know if people ever still drink beer and watch movies at Phlabra's place after Cahoots on Saturdays, but if they do Phil should rent this and show it to them. Abra will have to close her eyes a couple times, and everyone will say "I can't believe they did that!" a dozen times or so, and hopefully the majority of them will be with glee.
You will weep with joy the first time you see an alien get run over by a combine.
Amazons vs. Superheroes dir. Alfonso Brescia, 1975. This movie is just fucked up. Seriously, totally off the wall.
Mildly recommended for people who want to watch a movie just because it's a bad idea.
|
|
|
|
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
malcubed's journal