| Movie | Rating | Review | Date | Your Rating | Match | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appaloosa - R |
Coming off the heels of 3:10 To Yuma, I really wanted to enjoy Appaloosa. While the movie did have some good moments, overall, I felt it was the same tired western stuff I didn't care much of in the first place. Story takes place in a town with bad hoodlums. (don't they all?) Town council hires Marshall Virgil Cole and Deputy Everette Hitch to help enforce the law. Marshals go after the bad guy in the form of Jeremy Irons. Bad guy is captured, bad guy is rescued, bad guy gets away, good guys pursue and eventually good guys win. Nothing new here. But then, you have to appreciate the attention to detail. Costumes were great, the language was representative of that time, the set was well designed. Period movies are usually a gem when it comes to these things. Even more so when you really get it right. This is not your typical action movie. In fact, one might even say it's not an action movie at all. The gun fights are fast and a bit uneventful. The dialogue soft spoken and slow. It's basically good storytelling. Too bad there's really nothing that makes it truly stands out. Still worth a look if you're into westerns. |
February 1, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Cape No. 7 (Hai Jiao Qi Hao) - Unrated |
There's lots of things going on in Taiwan's highest grossing movie of all time. The small and simple town of HengChun is holding a seaside concert starring Japanese pop singer Kousuke Atari. The town representative (Ma Ju-Lung) refuses to outsource the front act and starts auditioning local musicians to showcase their talents. What results is an odd mixture of musicians. We have and ex-SDU member turned traffic cop, his father, a teen church pianist, a dorky mechanic named Frog and the son of the towns representative Aga, a failed musician who wanted to make it big in Taipei. Eventually they are joined by wine salesman, Malasun and 80-year old post office worker, Old Mao. They represent one of the best mix of oddballs i've seen in a long time. The arc of the story is the discovery of a set of love letters sent to an outdated address, Cape No. 7. As Aga reads thru the letter, the movie goes into voiceover narrative and flashbacks that parallel current events. The movie is a great mix of comedy, drama and sentimentality. I just felt that the supporting characters are just much much more interesting than the main character. The movie isn't perfect but the imperfections are certainly very easy to ignore. Don't miss this one. |
February 1, 2009 | N/A | |||
| Push - PG-13 | February 1, 2009 | N/A | ||||
| 21 - PG-13 |
It's one thing to be playing blackjack. The thrill, the anticipation and the winning (or losing). But I realize that it's a totally different thing when you're watching wiz kids play it. Maybe it's the script, maybe it's Jim Sturgess but whatever the reason may be, there's no denying the fact that 21 is a total letdown. Based on the book Bringing Down The House, the movie did not exhibit the great storyline the book provided. Instead, Director Robert Luketic and Screenwriters Peter Steinfeld, Allan Loeb decided to replace the good qualities with cheesy melodrama and cutesy scenes that almost made me puke. The movie would have definitely been better if the same level of genius required to count cards was also present when this movie was made. Story: 5/10 Boredom Factor: 7/10 Pace: Medium Talk to Action Ratio: 6:4 Overall: 3/10 |
September 5, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The Bank Job - R |
This is not your usual Jason Statham mindless action movie. The Bank Job goes back to the classic honest to goodness caper flick formula. Not only that, the story features several layers of complication and most amusing is that it's based on a true story. I found the start of the movie a bit slow. I think this is the disadvantage of not having watch trailers for the movie and having no idea about the movie. I think that with the foreknowledge of what's to come, one can be more patient with slow openings. But the story flows well past the point where it reveals the plot. There's not much action in this movie. By action I mean elaborate car chases or explosions and gunfights. Like I said, this is your classic heist formula so there's planning, things that go wrong, the intrigues and the subsequent complications. I agree with a lot of people that it's not the best bank robbery movie. But I still think it's better than most. Story: 8/10 Boredom Factor: 5/10 Pace: Medium to Fast Talk To Action Ratio: 5:5 Overall: 7/10 |
September 3, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Nan er ben se (Invisible Target) - R |
When Benny Chan makes a movie, expect some real kick-ass action and don't expect anything special with regards to the storyline. Invisible Target justifies the above statement. Starring Hong Kong superstars such as Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue and Jackie Chan's son Jaycee Chan, the action is intense and stunts are over the top, the likes of which are stunts similar to old Jackie Chan and Yuen brothers movies. The story however is such a mess. The relationship between our three actors are a bit superficial. There's too much cheesy dialogue going on between the cops and the bad guys. Then we have Jaycee Chan overacting. And it gets irritating when all the cheese and overacting happens in-between fight scenes! But there's still plenty of action to satisfy old school HK movie action buffs. In fact, it more than makes up for the storyline shortcomings that most people would enjoy the action enough to not care too much about the dramatics. Emotionless action I guess. Story: 3/10 Boredom Factor: 6/10 Pace: Medium Talk to Action Ratio: 3:7 Overall: 5/10 |
September 1, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Tau ming chong (Warlords) - Unrated |
History is almost always a topic that I can appreciate. History is just filled with great stories. Hong Kong cinema's 3 big stars - Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro - stars in this swords and armor period movie based on the Qing dynasty story of the assassination of General Ma Xinyi. While the production was great and the stars their usual talented selves, the story telling simply leaves room for a lot of improvement. Unfortunately, the film doesn't take advantage of its rich cultural and historical elements. There's just so much information in China's tumultuous past that choosing to emphasize violence, brotherhood and war themes leaves the movie a bit shallow. All the depth and richness of Chinese history merely serves as a backdrop for the interplay between our 3 big stars.In this sense, the movie's commercialism greatly affected how good this movie could have been. Still, Warlords is an interesting and entertaining movie. Definitely not to be missed. Story: 7/10 Boredom Factor: 4/10 Pace: Medium Talk to Action Ratio: 4:6 Watch Again Rating: 6/10 Overall: 6/10 |
September 1, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Lust, Caution (Se jie) - R |
Based on the short story by Eileen Chang, this movie is anything but short. At two-and-a-half-hours "long," I initially balked at watching this movie. Plus all the bruhaha about it being overly long just to get to the point and all. But there are times when you don't let those reviews discourage you from watching a totally decent movie. Stars Tony Leung and newcomer Tang Wei, Ang Lee creates an engrossing erotic thriller set in 1938 China where civil war threatens unrest and resistance forces are well in play. I will admit though that 150 minutes of buildup for a momentary conclusion is indeed overly long. Which is why this is a short story in the first place - something Ang Lee, for all his brilliance needs to have taken into consideration. So when I watched this, I watched this in two parts and not in one long sitting. I think this made the experience better - treat it like a mini series. Nevertheless, this film is beautifully shot and stylish. Its attention to detail is simply exquisite and its still a pleasure to watch. Story: 8/10 Boredom Factor: 7/10 Pace: Slow Talk to Action Ratio: 7:3 Overall: 8/10 |
August 29, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Charlie Bartlett - R |
A combination of Ferris Bueller and Rushmore, Charlie Bartlett is another one of your teenage depression, alcoholism and all the angst that comes with being a teenager. Unfortunately, Charlie Bartlett doesn't have even half of Ferris Bueller's charm and the movie spirals downwards from amusing to weird to downright silly. Here you have a rich kid, doing counseling in the school bathroom. Then he goes to his shrink, tells the shrink the stuff people tells him at school, the shrink prescribes anti-depressants which he in turn prescribes to his "patients" for a hefty price. Maybe it's just me but I think these teenagers should realize that they should be happy. Adult life isn't really that great. Which is why I think youth is just wasted on kids... haaay. Anyway, avoid this movie if you can. If not... well.. you can console yourself to the fact that at least this movie didn't get just a 1 rating Story: 3/10 Boredom Factor: 5/10 Pace: Medium Talk to Action Ratio: 7:3 Overall: 3/10 |
August 29, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Semi-Pro - R |
You always know what to expect from a Will Ferrell movie - lots of silly, immoral, and nonsensical humor. And you sometimes hate to admit that you found it funny. Semi Pro brings more of the same humor we all expect. But I'm afraid it just isn't Talladega Nights or Blades of Glory caliber. I think Ferrell is running out of ideas and jokes. But despite that, I still somewhat enjoyed Semi Pro. I did find Talladega Nights too "crazy" for my tastes. Blades of Glory was simply hilarious. Semi Pro is just so-so. I think the inclusion of Woody Harrelson made it a bit more laid back. Basketball fans may love it or hate it. I like basketball and Will Ferrell's ok with me so Semi Pro is just ok I guess. I still love Will's song... Love me sexy..... haha. Story: 4/10 Boredom Factor: 3/10 Pace: Medium Talk to Action Ratio: 4:6 Overall: 5/10 |
August 26, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Definitely, Maybe - PG-13 |
Admittedly, I was guilty of branding this movie from the start as "just another romance cutesy movie." Good to realize that it's anything but. Although it definitely is a "cutesy" movie, Adam Brooks manages to come up with a surprisingly smart and sophisticated script that makes the movie a gem among the recent romance releases during this time. Ryan Reynolds plays Will Hayes, a single father to 11-year old Maya (Abigail Breslin) who desperately wants to know what went wrong with his relationship and who her real mother is. The candidates: Summer (Rachel Weisz), April (Isla Fisher), and Emily (Elizabeth Banks). As Will bounces from one relationship to another, the audience, along with Maya, is kept guessing who ends up with who and who Maya's real mother is. Great direction and writing definitely (and not maybe) puts Definitely, Maybe at the top of the romantic comedy list. Story: 8/10 Boredom factor: 5/10 Pace: Medium Talk to Action Ratio: 7:3 Overall: 7/10 |
August 26, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The Eye - PG-13 |
More of the same Asian-to-Hollywood crap we've seen with classics such as Ringu, Premonition, Shutter, One Missed Call and My Sassy Girl. Jessica Alba stars in this unimaginative remake of the HK movie by the Pang Brothers. When you've watched the original, this one is definitely worth skipping. Pirated DVDs are better than watching this "pirated" version. Story: 3/10 Boredom Factor: 6/10 Pace: Medium Talk to Action Ratio: 7:3 Overall: 2/10 |
August 26, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Mong bat liu (Lost in Time) - PG |
Director Derek Yee is famous for creating movies that dwell into human emotions such as grief, loss and hope. Lost In Time tackles this issue with a remarkable subtlety, detail and restraint. With Lost In Time, Yee teams up with underrated actor Lau Ching Wan and surprisingly effective Cecilia Cheung. Cheung plays Sui Wai, a headstrong and stubborn young woman scheduled to marry her fiance Man (Louis Koo). In a cruel twist of fate, Man dies in an accident, leaving Sui Wai with a totaled minibus and to make matters worse, a five year old son, Lok Lok. Against everybody's good judgment, Sui Wai had the bus restored and is determined to balance her life by becoming a single mother / minibus driver. But things are not always as easy as they seem. This sets the stage for a great dramatic story. Again, single parents and children are always great dramatic narrative elements. Cheung plays the role surprisingly well. She plays the tough mother and at the same time vulnerable. Hiding her weakness and despair with stubbornness. Along comes Dai Fai (Lau Ching-Wan), Man's colleague and was the first on the scene during Man's accident. This little connection serves as the strong that binds their lives together. When Sui Wai starts her minibus driver career, Dai Fai shows her the ropes. He takes time to take care for Lok Lok. He's a good friend to them and inevitably becomes more. While most drama films would probably end it that way, Director Yee takes time to explain the rationale behind Dai Fai's actions, revealing his tragic past. Although the Dai Fai character would seem to just be a sort of a "knight in shining armor" plot device, Lau Ching Wan simply makes this not so. Dai Fai is just a simple character, nothing special, just your ordinary guy, who makes choices based on believable experiences. Hong Kong cinema just doesn't give Lau Ching Wan his due as a great actor. (he's never won an award, duh) I think this film is just great. Not the typical "in-your-face" drama that relies on gallons of tears and stuff. It's very subtle and quiet. Not cheesy at all. One of Hong Kong's best dramatic films. Story: 9/10 Boredom Factor: 4/10 Pace: Slow Talk to Action Ratio: 8:2 Watch Again Rating: 7/10 Overall: 9/10 |
August 8, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Bo bui gai wak (Rob-B-Hood) (Robin-B-Hood) - Unrated |
After some mediocre Chan films like The Myth or New Police Story and Forbidden Kingdom (well this movie was a later movie), Robin B Hood is a very watchable and enjoyable action/martial arts/comedy movie. The gags were really funny and the chemistry between Jackie Chan and Luis Koo worked pretty well. As usual, as with movies with babies, there's always the usual cheese. Babies are just simply great dramatic narrative elements. There's definitely your usual Jackie Chan bag of tricks - using sliding doors for protection, jumping from one airconditioning unit to another going down a building, blowing an electric fan at someone inside a freezer - there's no limit to what Chan can use as a weapon. This is one Jackie Chan movie you shouldn't miss. There's plenty of well choregraphed action sequences and ranks for me as one of Chan's funniest movies. Story: 5/10 Boredom Factor: 2/10 Pace: Medium to Fast Talk to Action Ratio: 3:7 Watch Again Rating: 8/10 Action Choreography: 7/10 Funny factor: 8/10 Overall: 8/10 |
August 7, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The Dark Knight - PG-13 |
We all know one thing, Heath Ledger definitely elevates the Joker into status only reserved for the likes of Hannibal Lecter. No question about how magnificent he was in the movie. Actually, Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman all were great. Maggie Gyllenhaal on the other hand is simply NOT Katie Holmes. Her character doesn't even have to act too much in the film so it would have been nice if we had someone as good looking as Katie Holmes to look at. I'm not really too sure how I feel about the movie. On one hand, there's a good balance between morals how the real world would react to a masked vigilante. On the other hand, it can get frustrating when Batman always hesitates in killing bad guys. You tend to miss movies where the hero has free will to just shoot someone hehe. But I prefer the realism so I guess I'm great with it. My usual beef with a lot of movies is it's cinematography. Wally Pfister's camera shots are simply horrendous and too confusing. This is the reason (along with casting Maggie Gyllenhaal) why this movie doesn't get a higher rating. There's so much detail that I felt the audience missed simply because the camera shots were too close. Heath Ledger not only does all the Joker facial mannerisms right, but his whole body language was great as well. Notice how his hands also move below the camera. The way he leans when he's talking. His gait when he's entering a room. It's all lost. Batman's costume is cool but we always see only a small portion of it. When Batman is in combat or especially the endgame building sequence was simply too chaotic. Just a waste of great production design. I hear people wondering why Batman's voice changes. I mean duh. People are not stupid like the people in Superman movies where a pair of glasses is enough of a disguise. If Batman talks like Wayne does, in the era of voice recognition software and whatnot, it would be a dead giveaway. Christopher Nolan is definitely a director I really like and respect. He can write great scripts and stage great action scenes. Dark Knight follows up where Batman Begins left off - Gordon telling Batman it's about escalation, and Dark Knight definitely sits on higher ground. Story: 9/10 Boredom Factor: 0/10 Pace: Fast Talk to Action Ratio: 3:7 Watch Again Rating: 9/10 Overall: 8/10 |
August 5, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Lara Croft Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life - PG-13 |
I remember when gamers oogled over Lara Crofts dumbbell breasts while playing Tomb Raider. Aside from having a sexy heroine, Tomb Raider is a ground-breaking game in itself. The graphics was really great (back then), the gameplay was addictive, the quests very interesting. To get you started, the game also features a training stage - an area in the croft mansion where Lara can practice her moves. Tomb Raider 1 captured the heart of the game and appropriately features Angeline Jolie as Lara Croft. Great action scenes, cool stunts and one can watch the movie as if one's also experiencing the game. The success of Tomb Raider 1 prompted a sequel. The sequel however just didn't get the formula anymore. Again, we have a sequel which simply relied on more - more violence, more action, more bad guys, more dead bodies, more scenic locations, bigger plots, bigger things at stake, etc etc. But despite having so much richness in terms of content, the storyline simply suffered in Tomb Raider 2. A good thing with watching back to both Tomb Raider movies is experiencing the early days of two big stars right now - Daniel Craig and Gerard Butler. It's always a pleasure to see how big names have come a long way and deserve it. Overall, Tomb Raider 1 definitely outshines the sequel in all aspects. Tomb Raider 2, despite a bigger film, is definitely weaker. Story: 5/10 Boredom Factor: 4/10 Pace: Fast Talk to Action Ratio: 7:3 Overall: 6/10 |
August 3, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Lara Croft - Tomb Raider - PG-13 |
I remember when gamers oogled over Lara Crofts dumbbell breasts while playing Tomb Raider. Aside from having a sexy heroine, Tomb Raider is a ground-breaking game in itself. The graphics was really great (back then), the gameplay was addictive, the quests very interesting. To get you started, the game also features a training stage - an area in the croft mansion where Lara can practice her moves. Tomb Raider 1 captured the heart of the game and appropriately features Angeline Jolie as Lara Croft. Great action scenes, cool stunts and one can watch the movie as if one's also experiencing the game. The success of Tomb Raider 1 prompted a sequel. The sequel however just didn't get the formula anymore. Again, we have a sequel which simply relied on more - more violence, more action, more bad guys, more dead bodies, more scenic locations, bigger plots, bigger things at stake, etc etc. But despite having so much richness in terms of content, the storyline simply suffered in Tomb Raider 2. A good thing with watching back to both Tomb Raider movies is experiencing the early days of two big stars right now - Daniel Craig and Gerard Butler. It's always a pleasure to see how big names have come a long way and deserve it. Overall, Tomb Raider 1 definitely outshines the sequel in all aspects. Tomb Raider 2, despite a bigger film, is definitely weaker. Story: 5/10 Boredom Factor: 4/10 Pace: Fast Talk to Action Ratio: 7:3 Overall: 6/10 |
August 2, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Be Kind Rewind - PG-13 |
Despite many ridiculous ideas, Be Kind Rewind still comes out very entertaining. The movie starts out a bit unfocused and you never really know what's going on. We have some sort of thing going on with Fat Waller. Then Danny glover owning an outdated VHS store. You have Mos Def as his sole employee at the store. Then you have Jack Black electrocuted while trying to sabotage a power plant (and survives!). So I tell myself "what the F is going on here?" Then all things come into place when Jack Black enters the VHS store, ultimately magnetized and thus erases all the VHS movies! As customers start renting tapes, the two find themselves filming their own versions of Ghostbusters, Rush Hour 2 and other popular movies. Micheal Gondry, director of such movies as Human Nature and Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind succeeds in a different kind of love story - the love for movie making and movie watching. While the movies our two heroes struggle to recreate are hilarious and low-budget remakes of our most favorite films, it's the love of movie making and watching movies that is emphasized. It reminds us of our past when movie makers had to have a great story to make movies instead of just relying on special effects to make the movie watchable. Definitely a laid back movie you can enjoy without too much stress. Very enjoyable and ultimately funny. Story: 6/10 Boredom Factor: 3/10 Pace: Medium Talk to Action Ratio: 5:5 Watch Again Rating: 7/10 Overall: 7/10 |
August 2, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Augustin, Roi du Kung-Fu (Augustin, King of Kung-Fu) - Unrated |
The sequel to the French hit, Augustin, Augustine Dos Santos is back. This time, he struts his favorite martial arts moves - stuff he learned from watching Hong Kong martial arts movies - in the hopes of starring in a kung fu movie of his own. Dos Santos' antics makes for a silly yet funny movie. With his mind firmly made up to follow his dream, he goes to the next best location - Chinatown in France. As he enrolls himself in a martial arts class, he finds he has a problem with human contact. Thus he finds an acupuncturist Ling (Maggie Cheung). Colorful characters make the movie quite enjoyable. Darry Cowl, famous French comedian plays Augustin's possessive friend. The film is simple yet elegant. It's a quiet movie you will certainly enjoy amidst the rainy season with a nice cup of coffee on hand. Story: 7/10 Boredom Factor: 5/10 Pace: Slow to Medium Talk to Action Ratio: 7:3 Watch Again Rating: 7/10 Overall: 6/10 |
July 28, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Persepolis - PG-13 |
We're so used to graphic novels like 300 or Dark City and all those "cool" drawings and stuff that we often forget that simple animation is more often than not, more effective than mere eye candy. Persepolis trades eye candy for simple hand drawn (may even be simple Flash animation) cartoon to help point focus on the story it is trying to tell. Persepolis is the story of the coming of age of Marjane Satrapi, an innocent nine-year-old Iranian surrounded by loving parents and a country in the midst of war and civil unrest. She finds comfort in idolizing her grandfather and uncle and listening to Abba and most things western. While we experience Marjane's transformation from innocence to experience, we are also exposed to the harsh realities of war and racial discrimination. As Marjane is sent by her parents to Austria to study, her Iranian heritage exposes her to racial prejudice. As she grows older and comes back to Iran, she gets married and is exposed to the tyrannical pressures of her new country. The great thing about Persepolis is it's a story about coming of age as well as a country's history. But the story isn't told directly to the viewers. Instead, we experience this by experiencing Marjane's life. First we see Marjane and her parents as a child, happy and carefree. Then she's all grown and she's now wearing a veil - subtly telling us Iran has changed. She walks down the street amidst secret sellers whispering "Julio Iglesias?" "Nail polish?" "Make Up?" "Iron Maiden?" Similar to those weird guys in Greenhills approaching you with chants of "deebeedee? deebeedee?" While the DVD pirates in Greenhills are selling illegal wares, what's normal anywhere like nail polish and Iglesias CDs is shown as something "illegal" in Iran - further reminding us of the difference. This kind of storytelling is simply very effective and does not require any cool carton graphics. It can hold its own in its simplicity and innocence. Great is not exactly a word you use to describe Persepolis. When we use the word great, we often think of something groundbreaking, as in "great CGI effects!" Or something on a grand scale (as in great production set!) Or something strong (as in great power comes great responsibility). Persepolis isn't groundbreaking in the visual sense. The animation is simple. It doesn't have anything complicated and large scope message. The story is straightforward and simple. There's nothing big or grand here. Yet it's simplicity is its greatest asset and when I say it's a great movie, I hope you realize it's not great looking or anything but simply...great. Story: 10/10 Boredom Factor: 1/10 Pace: Medium to Fast Talk To Action Ratio: 5:5 Watch Again Rating: 10/10 Overall: 10/10 |
July 23, 2008 | N/A | |||
| The Lost Boys - R |
More of a comedy rather than a horror movie, The Lost Boys is simply too ridiculous to take seriously. This cornball 80's vampire classic stars not one but TWO Coreys (Corey is such an 80s name)...not to mention another 80s name..Jami Gertz. Let's not forget Keifer Sutherland. Movies like this remind you how careers can go down the drain. Luckily for Keifer, he rose from the dead with his hit series 24. Directed by one of my most hated directors Joel Schumacher, the film simply reeks of his undeniable bad taste and utter ridiculous crap. I mean you find out there's something terribly wrong with you, your reflection is translucent, you feel pain in your body so you go back to the vampires cave. Instead of worrying and investigating what's wrong with him, he sees Jami Gertz and they have sex. Do people actually think of sex at a time like THAT? Well...maybe if it was actually Jami Gertz during the 80s haha. Overdirected and junky, the movie is still mildly amusing. But looking back to old movies like this, it's not the type of movie you revisit often...unless your name is Corey. Story: 3/10 Boredom Factor: 5/10 Pace: Medium Talk to Action Ratio: 6:4 Watch Again Rating: 1/10 Overall: 3/10 |
July 23, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Tin heng tse (Heavenly Mission) - Unrated |
I'm not sure where the title was derived. There's a mission alright but I'm not sure how it was heavenly. Ekin Cheng plays Autumn Yip, a big time triad boss who was incarcerated for eight years in a Thai prison. On his release, he is apparently a changed man planning to do something "big." Hearing someone planning something "big" often denotes something ... well... big. However, what transpires is Autumn organizing his old gang and organizes a series of goodwill gestures, entering into legitimate business, donates to the poor, visits orphanages, etc. What the... While it's a decent drama about a gangster wanting to thread the path to goodness and shed his evil ways, the film falls a bit flat. Ekin Cheng doesn't really fit the role very well. He actually fits the role of the good side of Yip but somehow, it was hard to imagine Ekin Cheng being notoriously bad. To provide the "dark side" of Autumn Yip is Ghost (played by Stephen Fong). The two are highly contrasted, Yip being too stoic and righteous while Ghost is emotional, rash and even detestable. Yip is constantly reminding the audience that he was once like Ghost and is constantly advising Ghost to "go study" and change his ways. It would have been better is Ekin Cheng's character have bouts of guilt and remorse over his past deeds, providing better realism on how conflicting it is to one day be evil and the next be good. But unfortunately, Cheng plays it cool like he's always thinking about reports he has to make in the office. Half of the movie is also dedicated to the police side. Seems the Hong Kong police presses the panic button and forms a task force to serve as a preventive measure against any bad deed Yip may try to do. So we see policemen chasing Yip around, harassing him at every turn hoping he'll do something illegal...which Yip doesn't do. It's a bit confusing for me and a bit of a letdown. Seems being good on the big screen may not be as exciting after all. Story: 5/10 Boredom Factor: 5/10 Pace: Medium Talk to Action Ratio: 7:3 Watch Again Rating: 3/10 Overall: 4/10 |
July 23, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Buddha's Palm - Unrated |
It's the kind of wuxia fantasy movie that defines high points of my existence during that time. Never mind the loose and silly script and cheesy characters that come with it. Special effects are the worse you've probably seen. There's definitely lots of silliness in the movie. First you have Flaming Cloud Devil (Alex Man), who happens to learn the lethal Buddha's Palm technique from his master several years ago. He passes his knowledge on to Long Jian Fei (Derek Yee) simply because he's the first person to not want to learn it. You see, the Buddha's Palm was perfected by a monk in the Cave of a Thousand Buddha's right before he died. Passing it on to Flaming Cloud Devil, he vowed to take revenge on all his enemies. Cloud devil was then defeated by four of kung fu masters and has never been seen since...until now. All this in the first 12 minutes of the movie. What follows are flat aluminum wrapped buddha statues guarding a fake orchid, masked musicians that attack using lyres, guitars, etc, a badass guy with a long retracting foot, people jumping all over the place and a mysterious monk who manages to announce "Bi Gu of East Island is here" (accompanied by Casiotone musical notes) every time he appears. But then, I guess movies like this aren't supposed to make any sense at all. It's a fantasy world nobody should understand. Lest they are nuts. Incidentally, this is the same Derek Yee who directs great dramatic movies like Lost in Time and Protege. If you ever want to have your own Mystery Science Theather 3000 with a Chinese movie right in your own home, this movie is simply great entertainment. Story: 2/10 Boredom Factor: 3/10 Pace: Very Fast Talk to Action Ratio: 3:7 Watch Again Rating: 6/10 Overall: 4/10 |
July 20, 2008 | N/A | |||
| Moon to (Protégé) - R |
Unfortunately, the movie pales in comparison to the ultimate undercover Hong Kong movie, Infernal Affairs. Most undercover cop movies just don't have the same impact IA had. Andy Lau and Daniel Wu team up to provide solid performances for the movie. Unfortunately, the film was paced too slow and too much emphasis was given to Daniel Wu's obsession with helping out his drug addicted neighbor. However, overall, the movie was actually well written and gave a detailed analysis of the drug trade. Daniel Wu plays the undercover cop selected to take over the drug business of the aging Andy Lau. Seeing how Wu's neighbor destroys herself with her addiction, this pushes Wu closer to exposing himself and arresting Lau. Interesting take on the subject but just a bit slow for my tastes. Story: 6/10 Boredom Factor: 6/10 Pace: Slow Talk To Action Ratio: 6:4 Watch Again Rating: 3/10 Overall: 5/10 |
July 18, 2008 | N/A | |||
| American Dreamz - PG-13 |
I'm simply giving this movie some points for being a bit funny. Whatever semblance of satire and wit this movie may have had was simply wasted with a bad and dumbed down screenplay - like audiences were too stupid to understand what a satire is. You have the president portrayed as a bumbling fool. You have contestants that suck but still make it to the finals of a talent show simply because of the opinions of a judge. I just think people are not that stupid. Story: 4/10 Boredom Factor: 4/10 Pace: Fast Talk to Action Ratio: 6:4 Watch Again Rating: 2/10 Overall: 4/10 |
July 18, 2008 | N/A |
181 ratings
128 reviews
