What ELSE (other than KUNG FU) has everyone been watching?

[ShaOW!linDude]

Okay, so as of late my wife had had us watch vampire movies because she is a True Blood fan and season 4 began Sunday night, so I got even with her this weekend.

I made her watch all 5 KICKBOXER movies with me LOL (I have the Lionsgate DVD box set)

You dastardly man! How could that warrant sure cruelty on your part? Roughly 7.5 hrs --- 4.5 of which she'll never get back! (Meaning only 3 hrs/2movies were worth it.)

[ShaOW!linDude]

A WOMAN, A GUN, AND A NOODLE SHOP

This is based on the film "Blood Simple" and states so at the beginning of the movie. It was.....okay. Very twisty plot wise. The cinematography is gorgeous. There is some humor but not the laugh out loud kind. One of those films of folks lurking around due to being motivated by their greed. There's suspense and coincidence because everyone's trying to cover their tracks. If it's your kind of movie it's worth dvr'ing, maybe a rental. Personally, I'm glad it's not something I bought.

[jmungus]

space battleship yamato.

quite okay. big budget grand scale sci fi features from japan are always welcome. has its flaws tho. 6/10

i share a few of my impressions here: http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13318

[Sheng]

Been on a Johnnie To flex recently and watched his two disarmingly charming blockbuster romcoms LOVE ON A DIET and NEEDING YOU. The new Kam & Ronson BD’s are a mixed bag as usual. NEEDING YOU looks very good and is, as far as my infected eyes can tell, not an upconvert. The subs are solid too, spotted very few grammatical errors, but they’re definitely programmed by someone who vastly overrates the average Gwailo reading speed; meaning they run too damn' fast and you'll find yourself constantly rewinding scenes...

LOVE ON A DIET doesn’t look much better than a good DVD, subs are perfectly timed here though. Both BD’s have quite interesting “Making Of” and “Behind The Scenes”extras, unfortunately in Cantonese only. The extra features of LOVE ON A DIET are based on highly revealing interviews with the two American make-up artists that To used, they’re the ones responsible for Andy Lau’s and Sammi Cheung’s outrageously funny “fat suits” (glad to say that at least these interviews are in English!).

If y’all enjoy the more commercial side of Messieurs To and Wai Ka Fai then these two BD’s come highly recommended!

[DiP]

The Lost Bladesman (2011)

Very underrated movie. Sure, there's lots of inaccuracies and many plotholes of how Guan Yu went on to build his relationship with Cao Cao, his whole journey to Liu Bei defeating six generals and going through five passes and which role he had during the whole warring period shown in the movie. Maybe a sequel/prequel on the way? I don't know much about RotTK so what do I know. But from a standalone point of view, it's a retelling a familiar story in a new way. Besides, the point the filmmakers wanted to get across to is based on what THEY themselves feel about the legend behind Guan Yu and how he could've been as a real-life person instead of going with the portrayal of the person from the novel majority of Chinese people have embraced. For that, I applaud them. Acting and casting in general was good and from what I read from reviews, Jiang Wen is considered as the film's driving force. It's true words. All of Jiang's scenes come off strong and whenever he speaks his lines, his charisma shows and you'll know he means business. Donnie does a very good acting job giving pretty good competition holding his own (despite being dubbed) and turns into a better performance than his turns in 14 Blades and Legend Of The Fist. Action-wise, The Lost Bladesman is a piece of work. Donnie is getting alot of great work done in action choreography lately and this didn't disappoint. The stuff he displays here is unlike I've seen from him or anybody else for that matter before. Choreography, camerawork, editing, use of locations, and overall execution. Just top-notch. Rating: 3.5/5

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

Michael Bay may not make the best movies ever but he ain't making bad ones either. Except this. First movie was pretty decent, the second was entertaining but got the point of nearly being ridiculed with clichés and unnecessary moments here and there but this third one goes too far. I could tell Bay had the urge to place happy hour moments between the story to please and stimulate. Problem is that it's freaking overdone here and it's being done by almost everyone. The bots/d-cons were given long enough screentime and the action is impressive as always in Bay movies but they are the only saving grace here, really. Big fail. Rating: 1.5/5

[DiP]

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

My first taste of spaghetti/Italian western. The reputation and hype it gets is certainly deserved. The setting and all distinguishes are there and for which they typify the genre the way you would expect averagely. But the movie's strength is really the style. The camerawork, editing, slow pacing, sparse dialogue, music (very catchy), the acting; the overall meticulousness behind the directing and storytelling. It's phenomenal and fantastic. Now I see where Johnnie To and Takeshi Kitano got part of their inspiration from. The cast that shouldn't be forgotten either. Especially the parts played by Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards and Claudia Cardinale really sold and altogether represented the general western mythology perfectly that made the movie in the end.

5/5

[Elemental Fist]

I've seen Fast Five, which is the second Fast and Furious I've seen in full (I've finished the first but couldn't finish the second) and it was a fun movie, Vin Diesel and the Rock can be entertaining in action films but Paul Walker improved a bit except in the scenes where he was supposed to be angry, so he's still stale.

Thor was an awesome film, I'm a big fan of the character and even I thought making a proper movie adaptation was a difficult task to do but by God, they've done it. Also another cool note, the script was co-written by J. Michael Straczynski who written one of the best comic runs on the Thor character.

Blitz, it was a pretty decent UK Cop drama, I'm a big Jason Statham fan who consider to be Hollywood's current proper Action actor, and here he proves that he does have range as an actor since the film didn't call for any of the typical Statham action until the very end with the chase on foot scene.

Me and my brother seen Scott Pilgrim and I can tell you that it's not a movie for the emo nerds as one certain member on this forum once claimed without actually seeing the film and who I won't name (since I'm sure a lot of people know who I'm talking about), nor would I call it a "hipster" film that glorifies the hipster lifestyle. Would it appeal to the video game/comic book nerd fandom? Yes it would but it also appealed to my big brother who's not a comic book reader and not really a gamer (he mostly plays racing and war games and that's it), I personally have a bit nerd in me but not to the point of going gaga over anything nerd fandom (or nerdom) would go nuts over also neither of us are "hipsters".

It was a basically a fun over the top movie that paid tribute to video game, comics, anime and martial art film that will definitely appeal to fans of those specific genres but can also have a better general audience appeal than it's given credit.

[ShaOW!linDude]

KURT COBAIN: ABOUT A SON

Documentary. It's a compilation of interviews done over the course of '92 - '93. It's interesting to hear his voice as he relates anecdotes from his past; talks about his paranoia with and general hatred of people; his early desire to be a rock star and loathing for all the attention brought to him; his battle with chronic pain and justification for drug use. The cinematography is really cool. It has a nice grungy feel to it. There's not any stock footage of he or Nirvana used. Actually there's very few photos even used of him and the majority of that is right at the end.

I'd heard good things about this. I enjoyed it and I think any Nirvana fan would. He was a tortured soul by his past, present, and self. But the same can be said of each of us. I hate that he copped out of life. I love him as an artist but that was lame.

[ShaOW!linDude]

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS --- Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Shia LaBeouf, Channing Tatum, Chazz Palminteri, Rosario Dawson, Dianne Wiest.

2006 film based on the book by Dito Montiel (who also directed the film) on his life growing up in a rough neighborhood in Queens, NY. I really enjoyed it. Channing Tatum's performance as the tough boy/best friend full of antisocial anger in particular really stood out to me. Chazz Palminteri's performance is grand as well as a father who loves his son but never stops to actually listen to him. Robert Downey's performance (as Dito) is minimal and stoic, a man who has left his roots and really doesn't want to return. I dvr'ed it. Definitely worth watching.

[DarthKato]

Just got through watching The Mummy:Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. I think the first two were better, but it was okay. I also just got the first Black Mask movie , which i'm going to watch tomorrow. I have seen the sequel, which was alright although too much CGI was used and the story was strange to say the least. I have heard that the first is much better, guess i'll have to watch it and see.

[AlbertV]

Had a movie filled weekend!!!

THE LAST EXORCISM - produced by Eli Roth. This was a movie shot in documentary fashion about a priest hoping to show that exorcism is fake but only to learn that the victim is actually possessed by a demon. There is a nice twist at the end that proves to be shocking.

FRIDAY THE 13TH (2009) - I actually liked this reboot directed by Marcus Nispel (who helmed PATHFINDER and the reboot of TEXAS CHAINSAW). I like how they made Jason more faster and in fact, having smarts. Derek Mears was truly a great choice for the role and some of the deaths are reminiscent of the original series of films.

THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE - I enjoyed this Disney film that starred Nicolas Cage as Merlin's apprentice who must find the one who has Merlin's blood in him to defeat an evil sorceress and her minions. Jay Baruchel played the title role perfectly and loved the homage to Mickey's 1942 clip from Fantasia.

THE WARRIOR'S WAY - Gonna review it this week on the main site

HELLBINDERS - Gonna review it on the site this week

CHIHUAHUA: THE MOVIE - Cute family film about a mean spirited woman who gets a new lease on life when her mind enters the body of a chihuahua owned by her assistant.

YOU GOT SERVED: BEAT THE WORLD - in-name sequel to "dance battle" flick pirs hip hop team mixing freerunning and breakdancing against Euro-dance team...wasn't too bad...interesting backstories. Of course, the free running scenes were the best part...Chase Armitage and his 3Run Team choreographed the freerunning scenes.

[Lionclaw]

All the Harry Potter movies I haven't seen, lol. (Thats from number 3 and up)

Smoking Aces: Interesting movie. Loved the ending but I wish there was more action. (I never thought Alicia Keys could be so hot.) I might buy the movie just for her and the ending.

The Tomb Raider Movies: They're alright if you have nothing better to watch.

13 Assassins: Enjoyed this one a lot.

[DiP]

Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

Sergio Leone's last movie based on a novel about childhood, struggle, brotherhood, love, betrayal and grief in New York's slummy side that is Brooklyn in time periods of 1910s, 1930s and 1960s switching back and forth. It's known for some things. Like controversies Leone faced during and after post-production with American studio heads, Leone's hate for the end result leading to his supposed retirement, and its' LENGTHY running time (clocking near 4 hours). Also considered superior to other classics in the same genre. Altogether, it's a great gangster epic but it's nowhere near the perfectionism of, say, the first two Godfather movies. Given the problems Leone dealt with and most of which he couldn't handle, the movie got cut up several times for several markets and when you watch the movie it's obvious what's missing and where gaps take place. Had it not been for this, I think the movie would go beyond from being the imperfect work it is now. Nevertheless it's up there with the classics and with a great cast and fine performances, especially from Robert De Niro and James Woods. Also featuring great locations (both real and built sets), cinematography/lighting/lensing (one of the most remarkable things about OUATIA; these elements really highlight the grimy/ghetto-ish scenes efficiently and gives a remarkable look), and beautiful music done by Leone's composer, whose work in Once Upon A Time In The West still drives my head crazy. Rating: 4/5

Heart of the Dragon (1985)

Sammo is a great action choreographer but his movies are not that much talked about as a whole, which pretty much leaves his artistic abilities left aside. HotD stands out as one of his definite masterpieces, along with Encounter Of The Spooky Kind, The Prodigal Son, Carry On Pickpocket, Winners & Sinners, and Pedicab Driver, where Sammo gets to stretch his muscles as a storyteller. Action (of excellent quality from Sammo in those times) here is sparse but when a movie like this is aimed to make you engage in the story and characters, at that point, action hardly matters. This is strictly about how limitations, sacrifices, struggles and determination in people's lives so an action-packed resolution to the whole thing wouldn't work. Jackie and Mang Hoi (in a rare dramatic role) turn into good performances but it's Sammo himself who steals the show with his mentally retarded character. It's interestingly also his performance that amongst other things led to Rain Man being made three years later in Hollywood. Rating: 5/5

[DarthKato]

I watched Black Mask last night. It was really good. The fight scenes were entertaining and the

story was easy to follow, unlike the sequel.

I woulld give it a 5 out of 6( the one point deduction is due to some use of bad CGI.)

[masterofoneinchpunch]

On Secondary Characters:

Normally the supporting roles do not make or break a film, but they can certainly can help a weak one or hurt a good one. I think most of us watch a variety of films from classics to b-films and can sit through most anything. When a film is floundering I do try to think positive and find good points where I can (and oppositely when I watch a classic I tend to be more critical; ultimately I follow a pragmatic critical approach which is why I tend to eschew "binary" criticism -- the type of criticism that either loves or hates everything with no inbetween; I'm always bewildered by the amount of 1s I see on IMDB). I do not want to completely waste my time so I take what I can get.

This segues into:

Drive Angry (2011: Patrick Lussier): If Nicholas Cage wasn't in it I doubt I would have seen this. He certainly is in his share of mediocre to bad films (most recently watched for me was Bangkok Dangerous). If I had looked at Patrick Lussier's oeuvre (and Best Buy didn't have the DVD for so cheap) I certainly wouldn't have watched this. Not much to say about this except that other than one character and a few other scenes I didn't like it. With a title of Drive Angry I was expecting more surly driving scenes. The best part of the film goes to William Fichtner's portrayal of The Accountant (I thought he was excellent in the TV series Prison Break). He was just so damn cool regardless of the inept direction. The 2-D doesn't view well with many scenes with the background looking flat and the colors looking bland. Without his performance this film would have gotten a even worse rating from me. He was over-the-top, but still had the panache to pull it off. This was in contrast to Cage's character who could have easily been better if Cage cared. I'm not even sure he flipped out in this film. I am certainly not recommending the film. Luckily it has a character that helps prevent you from taking the DVD and flinging it at noisy neighbors similar to a scene with the CD spitting demon in Hellraiser III.

I will see you in three months.

Despicable Me (2010: Pierre Coffin/Chris Renaud): Another good animation film from 2010 (I still need to see Tangled). However, my favorite characters were the supporting minions who resemble anthropomorphic yellow pills with one or two eyes. These characters are jocular, have their own unique language, are impish throughout, actually have individual names, and made me smile throughout the movie. I wonder if they originally had the idea for these creatures and thought let's build a film around them.

This isn't the first time I liked supporting animated characters more than the main ones. I feel that the Madagascar penguins have become so much more interesting than the lead characters. The shorts from those (I have the DVDs, I have not seen them on their TV series) are so much funnier than the two films, more adult in humor and are much more in depth with their personas.

The Princess and the Pirate (1944): I am a Bob Hope fan. No, he doesn't really vary his personality much. But his quips are usually quite good and he works well with dialog. But it really helps his movies when he has a strong supporting cast to play off of. This is considered one of his better films he was in because of that reason. When you have Walter Brennan as a slightly insane pirate and Victor McLaglen as a bloodthirsty leader of seafaring bastards then you know you are in good company (well the characters are not good, but they are portrayed well). It's so easy to see Victor McLaglen as a pirate and he plays it well.

Hope's films from the 40s are generally his best.

On a side note: is there any inside joke in cinema that is done more than the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby connections in either of their films. The more films you watch with them (by themselves) especially in the 1940s that amount of references between the two trading barbs is huge. Of course the film mentioned above has one (and one of the best that I have seen), but it is amusing whenever I see one and it becomes almost like spotting Hitchcock in one of his directed films.

[DiP]

Tactical Unit - The Code (2008)

The first of five entries to an unofficial continuation of Johnnie To's PTU produced by himself and directed by one of his assistant directors/students (Law Wing-Cheong) about the patrolling unit of the Hong Kong police force and involves a vast of various characters as primary subjects matters for particular themes in the main plots/subplots and a filming style different from To's artsy narrative, which is more in line with documentaries and movies about social problems. The Code deals with crime being taken care of, cops breaking rules to get ahead of catching crooks, cops getting into emotional states through difficulties on and off duty, and how ethics from work and otherwise can mesh up and lead to bad consequences. The content is well done and provided with support are a cast of professional actors and TV actors that gives you more insight on PTU, their operation and their criminal counterparts in real-life. Something the movie lacks is an interesting direction though. There's quirkiness in some scenes but for the majority of time, it plays off rather conventionally. Maybe had to do with artistic choices which explains the narrative. Still, The Code is as good a Milkyway movie as it can get. Rating: 3.5/5

Tactical Unit - No Way Out (2008)

Second entry in the series deals with cops and criminals using fall guys to stay in business and avoid trouble helped by their own rules, and how ugly consequences can be like if you cross the line more than once. This movie really caught my attention because the direction doesn't rely on showing off storytelling but is aimed to engage you in the characters and the chaotic events that follows up for them. This is pretty much the usual caliber from director Lawrence Lau (known in Hong Kong for making movies about humanitarian problems) who opts for an documentary approach and injects realism to convey emotions and situations that makes sense and can reach the viewer. Johnnie To did a great job choosing the right guy for the right script. Acting is very good and most of the cast from The Code return playing their characters to keep up with the routine stay sharp. Simon Yam, Maggie Siu and Lam Suet are billed is leading actors but the focus is on Derek Tsang (Eric Tsang's son) who plays the fall guy for both the cops and the criminals, so he's the movie's real star and does a good job playing the character. Rating: 5/5

[masterofoneinchpunch]

The Flame of New Orleans (1941: Rene Clair) ***/****

I have no idea why I originally thought this was made in the 1930s, but most likely after watching three previous 1930s features of Marlene Dietrich in this five movie collection (this is the forth). I did not realize until this morning when I did some research on the film that it was from 1941. The perils of trying to finish off box sets without looking at the data (actually the dates for the films are not on the cover).

I hope Rene Clair did not do the whole narrated beginning because it is superfluous in his first American film (I believe) after working in England. It feels tacked on like the studio felt that the film needed a few more minutes and a teaser to the story with voice narration (by Robert Paige) that makes it feel like a short nature documentary

Dietrich is her normal sultry character with a hint of self parody (nothing new by this point) as the globetrotting opportunist named “Countess” Claire Ledoux who has landed into a “quaint” little burg known as New Orleans. She seeks money to keep her way of life and what better way than to marry into money specifically Charles Giraud’s (Roland Young: Topper) money. However a pirate named Robert Latour (Bruce Cabot: King Kong) falls in love with her. But does she love him (well the beginning unfortunately gives this away)?

It is a little depressing watching the ultra charming Theresa Harris in a subservient role as Claire’s Maid Clementine (though still a decent role for her for the times as she gets plenty of screen time; though still was a bit irked with the coin/chest scene)?

And then there are appearances from Shemp Howard as a tavern worker and Andy Devine as a pirate. As funny Andy is here it is nowhere near his performance as Abdullah an Arab in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1944) or Shemp as Sinbad in Arabian Nights (1942). Actually I think I like the secondary performances better than the leads. One of my favorite was Mischa Auer (My Man Godfrey) in his typical Russian role but was quite hilarious as the scared lover of women. The scene with him and Roland Young and the whole party leading up to their confrontation was perfect and one of my favorite moments in the movie.

But overall it is a fun film with nice direction and a few excellent scenes – only if it wasn’t so dang predictable.

[ShaOW!linDude]

PONTYPOOL --- This was kind of a cool movie. An audio virus within the English language is turning people in this small town into crazed zombie-like killers and 3 people trapped in a radio station break the story. I liked the premise but there's not a lot of action or gore. It's one of those movies where the relating of just what is going on outside builds the suspense and allows you to sort of use your imagination. Could've done with a tad more action/gore though.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK --- Stars Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake. This is the 2010 film about Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. This movie was very interesting and very good. I'd be curious as to the truth of the circumstances. Did he in fact steal the idea? I'll watch this again at some point.

GOING THE DISTANCE --- Stars Justin Long, Drew Barrymore. It's a comedy about a couple trapped in a long distance relationship. It has its funny moments. The supporting cast are really good and not too over the top. I thought it was well written and nicely acted. Always been a fan of JL. Love the way he delivers his lines. (I saw a little more of him in this than I wanted to, if you know what I mean.)

[AlbertV]

BRINGING UP BABY - Howard Hawks' 1938 slapstick comedy pairing Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. This is classic Hollywood comedy at its finest. The story of a paleontologist and a somewhat socialite trying to raise a leopard named Baby, for Hepburn's aunt. Lots of classic mischief.

[DiP]

My Lucky Stars (1985)

Out of the three first Lucky Stars (Winners & Sinners, this, and Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars) movies, My Lucky Stars certainly gets alot of flak for lacking an original plot and gags being recycled over and over. Like pranking on a woman, hustle people, getting into involved with criminals etc. But these were all Chinese New Year films with the aim to just entertain the crowd at the time of their releases. Despite being played out silly at times, I really enjoyed the chemistry between Sammo and his buddies (Richard Ng being at his best as always). But depending on your type of humor and knowledge of Cantonese comedy, this can both be either entertaining or confusing. Action-wise, it's not quite action-packed as you would hope but it's still has the most fight scenes compared to other LS movies, and won't surely disappoint.

4/5

[ShaOW!linDude]

LAND OF THE DEAD --- stars Simon Baker, Asia Argento, Dennis Hopper, John Leguizamo.

Set in the future when zombies are rampant and humans have set up fortified cities to continue life. Of course everyone's been reduced to either 1 of 2 classes: rich or poor. Some folks make runs outside the city for provisions and amenities. Zombies begin to show a developing intelligence in the use of tools and weapons and even begin communicating to some degree. It was okay. Not really all that scary 'cause you know the walking dead will infiltrate the city regardless of its defenses. Hopper as always is fun to watch though as the arrogant, powerful leader of the city who could care less about its other inhabitants. There's some gore and cool f/x but the zombies don't really look all that nasty like you'd think they should. I love a good zombie movie and it was a fun watch but nothing I want for my collection. I had dvr'ed it.

ALCHEMY --- stars Tom Cavanaugh, Sarah Chalke.

This is a rom-com. TC is a computer scientist who doesn't relate well to people. He's developed a program for computers to give them emotion. Losing his funding and tenure unless he publishes a paper on his work, he sets up an experiment of his computer against a known Lothario to see which can get a girl to fall in love first. The test subject: SC. Interesting but...meh. Could've been sooooo much funnier. TC usually cracks me up and there's a few places he does but it's not very constant. (Loved his TV show "ED".) I like SC, too. She has a couple of funny moments as well. (I'm a big "Scrubs" fan and she was a cast member and TC made seasonal appearances as Zach Braff's brother.) I dvr'ed this. Don't really care to ever watch this again. Wish it'd been funnier.

[AlbertV]

BIG MOMMA'S HOUSE: LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON - not a bad 3rd installment. Martin Lawrence got most of the laughs and at first Brandon Jackson seemed annoying. However, as the film progressed it was a little better and the highlight is a Twister game between "Big Momma" and a school janitor played by Faizon Love.

THE MECHANIC - I loved this movie. Jason Statham was great as the titular character and I actually was surprised with Ben Foster as his protege and mentor's son. Exciting action scenes and IMO, "one hell of an ending".

ALPHA AND OMEGA - cute animated film about two wolves from opposite clans who are caught by humans to procreate in a zoo and make their way home. One of Dennis Hopper's final performances (as one of the clan leaders).

YMCA BASEBALL TEAM - funny and at times serious Korean film about the country's 1st baseball team, led by scholar Song Kang-Ho. Involves the Japanese occupancy of Korea and Japan facing Korea in a game of baseball where soon after, dark secrets and truths are revealed before a major rematch between Japan and Korea.

FUNNY PEOPLE - Adam Sandler plays an aging stand up comic who learns he may be dying of cancer. He finds an assistant in aspiring comic Seth Rogen. Rogen does pretty well in a role that is part-typical Rogen and part-not Rogen. Sandler spends most of the film as a complete a**hole until he finally is forced to see the light of his life. Great film from Judd Apatow.

[AlbertV]

WISHMASTER: THE PROPHECY FULFILLED - got this at Big Lots for $3 and it was interesting. The evil Djinn takes over the body of a lawyer for a couple when the husband gets in a motorcycle accident and is paralyzed, thus causing the couple to possibly divorce. As the lawyer, he gives the couple a $10M settlement, enables the husband to walk again, but the 3rd wish involves the wife falling for the lawyer and should she grant the wish, the Djinn would release his "brothers"...very gory at times and at times, funny.

MEAN GIRLS 2 - pretty dire sequel to the Lindsay Lohan flick. Stars 3 Disney actors and Tim Meadows...very vindictive, reminiscent of JAWBREAKER minus the dead girl, and all ends in an insane flag football match between the divas and the norms.

DARKMAN - Liam Neeson, Larry Drake, synthetic skin...Sam Raimi...nuff said

[teako170]

Crimson Rivers 2: Angels of the Apocalypse (2004)

I like Jean Reno and Luc Besson is a decent writer but this was GARBAGE.

Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972)

Klaus Kinski floating on a boat ala Apocalypse Now. Dark film. Minimal dialogue. Cooool.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)

Popcorn flick but the 3D is already getting old. Turturro and Malkovich shined but Rosie Huntington-Whiteley was simply ass candy.

Very Bad Things (1998)

More like Very Bad Movie. Had some moments but most of the film was nothing but yelling.

They Live (1988)

Re-watch. Roddy Piper/Keith David alley slugfest never gets old.

Planet 51 (2009)

Was on cable. Missed parts of it but what I did see was very entertaining.

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Seen a dozen times. Classic. So many memorable lines/moments. Love when Brando "clears" the table.

[masterofoneinchpunch]

...Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972)

Klaus Kinski floating on a boat ala Apocalypse Now. Dark film. Minimal dialogue. Cooool.

...

This and his performance in Fitzcarraldo are two of my favorites.

The Enigmatic Case (1980: Johnnie To: Hong Kong):

No real review here but random notes and thoughts. It took me awhile to actually find a copy when for some reason copies of this movie have been floating at various places (one still on Amazon) after not being available for a few years (I had a feed on Ebay and only saw one copy for sale in that whole time as well).

This is a vary basic action/adventure/mystery where if you look hard enough you can find some similarities between this and later Johnnie To films, but you have to look hard. There's some swordplay, no real kung fu and I would be hardpressed to call in a wuxia film either though technically it is. I have read some reviews on this that were positive (I swear that I think some people give directors some leeway if they like their later films), but the best thing I can say is that is somewhat competent. To didn't feel that competent and felt like he needed more experience back doing TV (at TVB) before he would direct again for Happy Ghost III (I have not seen this).

This is what To has to say on his involvement:

"I couldn't grasp the dramatic motivation, or perhaps I thought of the effect first and then its dramatic motivation later, which I didn't think was the right way. The most important thing in creativity is that you have to achieve the most primal motivation in a character, and I couldn't achieve that. I had to rely on others to help me, such as the cameraman, and so I wasn't up to it myself." (this is in response to Stephen Teo talking about him using cinematic effects such as flashbacks, slow-motion in an interview in Teo's book on To)

In fact it is one of the earliest HK films to use step-printed slow motion effect for the final scene (of course before Wong Kar-wai). It actually annoyed me and was nowhere near as elegant as the slow motion of Chang Cheh.

Here's Teo's quick comments on the film and why it wasn't a success: "The Enigmatic Case did not contain any remarkable action sequence, nor did it utilise special effects in the way that Tsui's and Tam's films did. ... the film overall had an austere look and a fundamentally realistic style of martial arts choreography that made it altogether different from The Butterfly Murders and The Sword, which, in contrast, were spectacular visual productions with backing from major production houses." (though it should be noted that The Butterfly Murders wasn't really a hit either with a box office take of 1,152,756.20 HK Dollars; BO not available for The Enigmatic Case).

Damian Lau Chung-Yan is the lead though he is better in Last Hurrah for Chivalry (1979). This is one of the earliest Hong Kong films filmed in the Mainland after the "Open Door" policy implemented in 1978. Johnnie To states that he did not choose the genre and that it was the choice the company made.

For To completists only. IMDB has a codirector listed, HKMDB does not.

The DVD copy I have is a Mei Ah R0/NTSC release with removable English subtitles. There is a Cantonese and Mandarin dub too (it looks like the Cantonese dub matches up with the lip movements better). The dark scenes are a bit difficult to see, but I do not know if that is the prints fault or if the quality of the film is just low.

HKMDB reviews on The Enigmatic Case

IMDB link on The Enigmatic Case

Spoilers below:

Teo makes two mistakes in his book Director in Action: Johnnie To and the Hong Kong Action Film where he states that:

"To had experimented with slow-motion in The Enigmatic Case with quite unusual results in the final duel scene where the female protagonist (Cherie Chung) tries to stop the fight between the hero and her father by running into their field of action, interposing herself between the two adversaries (predictably she is accidentally killed)."

The final fight scene was not between the hero and the father. That was the penultimate fight scene (well at least before the final fight scene). She also was not accidentally killed, she watched her father plunge to his death before she was later killed by a new antagonist on purpose during the final fight scene.