Recently Seen, Part 5 (June 2017)

[clayton-12]

I'll kick things off, if I may ...

29+1 (Kearen Pang, 2017) tells of a successful Hong Kong career woman facing up to impending 30th birthday, and re-evaluating her expectations of life in the process. It began with a shaky start, coming across like a Hong Kong cross between Bridget Jones and Sex and the City, as we’re introduced to calorie neurosis, a going-nowhere relationship with an irresponsible man-child, and all-my-friends-are getting-married crisis. However, the film does improve significantly when a second character, a diametrical opposite of our career girl, is introduced, and events cause people to think about mortality, and what their legacy will be. In its most emotional scenes, the film does not come across as manipulative at all, which was kind of surprising given how derivative the first part of the film was. And a shock revelation towards the end completely blindsided me.

The other point of note is that the film is based on an apparently successful stage play that Pang apparently wrote and starred in, and the film makes little attempt to distance itself from its origins, with scenes from the live show playing over the end credits. While the film didn’t have the air of a play merely being filmed, as a film it probably suffered structurally from trying to stay close to its roots. All in all, not a great masterpiece, but it wasn’t half bad either.

 

[Daniel Larusso]

Shaolin Soccer (2001) - 2nd viewing
So crazy and fun. Probably the first asian live-action film I've ever seen. Made me want to re-watch Stephen Chow's filmography.
8/10

 

[divemaster13]

Re Shaolin Soccer

I think this was the first Stephen Chow film I saw. It was all the rage and I bought the (Region 3) DVD blind. I thought it was mildly amusing, but I didn't love it. Same reaction a few years later when I watched Kung Fu Hustle. I actually saw that first run in a U.S. theater. It was worth the viewing, but not something I'd go out and buy the DVD or recommend.

The funny thing is, I've since seen a number of Stephen Chow's earlier films and liked them much better. For example, there are some scenes in Royal Tramp where I've laughed harder than just about any movie other than Airplane!. Is it a "great movie"? Nah, I guess not. But watching Chow roll across the floor in a parody of "martial arts mastery" had me laughing so hard I couldn't breathe. And From Beijing with Love is one of my favorite send-ups. Freakin' hilarious.

I imagine, now that my tastes in HK silliness have had time to develop, I might get a few more chuckles out of Shaolin Soccer. Stephen Chow is a comedy genius, no doubt about it.

 

[Daniel Larusso]

The Godfather: Part III (1990) - 2nd viewing
Decent ending to the trilogy. It's obviously not as good as the previous entries but the story is worth telling, this film had to be made. Al Pacino carries the film and Andy Garcia is also a solid add to the saga cast.
7/10

How I rank the Godfather trilogy:
1. Part II - 9/10
2. Part I - 8/10
3. Part III - 7/10

La La Land (2016)
The directing was fantastic, loved how the camera moved around the characters like we are dancing with them. The visual is so beautiful! I loved this film technically, but I didn't care as much about the singing by Ryan and Emma despite how sweet their love story was. The film got better when they stopped singing making it feel more like a drama and less like a musical. I think this is a very good film, one that I will still remember in many years, but I'm just not a great fan of musicals. I also want to highlight the ending sequence, it was so great.
7/10

 

[plsletitrain]

Death Note: Light Up The New World (Japan, 2016)

I'd be blunt: I was disappointed. I remember Daniel and ebossert recommended this, I'm on the opposite side. I'm glad I wasn't able to catch this in the cinemas or I'll scream refund!!!! Kidding! Or not.

If you wish to carry Death Note in your title, you should at least carry on or live to the standards set by the prequels. My main and constant distraction is the characters. The interesting stories behind L and Kira were all gone. Instead, we were shoved with uninteresting characters that are a disgrace to their source material. Take for example Ryuzaki. He was my favorite character in the Manga and in the movies. I've always praised K'enichi Matsuyama's portrayal of L in the prequels. It was like, he was born to play L. And here comes Ryuzaki in this film who was a trying-hard L. And it was painful to watch him do all those L-like acts that are so not him. He was a constant distraction which made the overall watching experience a disaster. Even "Neo Kira" wooh! was really a bore. Kira may not be the best role model for kids, but hey, we're not kids. So where's the fun you ask? None actually. I was just watching everything just to let things unfold and so I could tell myself I finished the whole movie. lol

The story was also a mess. I had so many questions that I realize how the IMDb message boards would've come in handy. I could just post a question and I might be answered. The explanation of Neo Kira wasn't so clear to me. Like, if I remember correctly, one can only lose memory of the Death Note if you lose it. I really didn't understand everything can someone just please explain to me how Neo Kira came to be...well, it would be a spoiler if you haven't watched it yet, came to be the person revealed to be Neo Kira. Which brings me, there was a first Neo Kira. Wooh, I'll stop here or I'll be commenting on how his all-white formal attire with a one-sided hairdo kinda ruined the Kira image for me. Hehehe. And the ending!!!! Wow, I thought I've seen the worst..the ending would cement my not-so-enjoyable experience actually.

The production values here are fine. But its Death Note we're talking about here. We loved the Manga, the story, the characters. Even the shinigamis. Sad to say, this one's not Death Note.

 

[divemaster13]

Gorgeous (1999). Goofy but surprisingly sweet Jackie Chan romantic comedy. For a while I didn't think it was going to work for me, but it grew on me so I can forgive many of its flaws. Shu Qi plays a naive fishing village girl who treats life as her own personal fairy tale--one that takes her to HK to find a mysterious fellow (played by Tony Leung) who sends romantic messages in bottles. Well it turns out he's a make-up designer Nancy-boy, so no dice there. Eventually she meets up with the business tycoon Chan character, who is involved in an ongoing business feud with a childhood buddy.

Everything about this movie is "cute sweet" with extra sugar on top. Shu Qi is pouty and bratty, and then all smiles. Chan is goofy. They play with dolphins ferchissake. Leung takes his gay character to overacting extremes. Richie Ren plays a goofball/sweet paramour from the fishing village who follows Qi to HK. Stephen Chow has a cameo as a policeman with a police dog that appears to be dumber than a box of hammers. The business rival doesn't really want to hurt anyone, and his "thugs" feel bad about physical violence. The fight scenes are merely boxing sparring matches that don't have anything to do with the overall plot--they just seem shoehorned in to give Chan fans something to see. But, as usual, they are very well choreographed. Chan is at least 30 years older than Qi, but no one seems to realize this or care. But I guess it doesn't matter, since it's the most chaste romance humanly possible.

I can't really recommend it as a typical Chan vehicle, or as a heart-moving romance. Just a inoffensive way to pass a couple of hours if you are in the mood for goofy sweetness.

3 stars out of 5

 

[clayton-12]

Dog Bite Dog (Cheang Pou-Soi, 2006) is, for most of its runtime, a pretty taut little thriller. Edison Chen is a feral Cambodian, shipped into Hong Kong for a hit, and when things go wrong, finds himself alone, cornered, and fighting like an animal for a way back home to his pack. The primary hunter is Sam Lee, an equally feral cop whose colleagues can barely keep on a leash. It’s all pretty brutal, but this isn’t a martial arts spectacular – the fighting is savage, desperate street scrapping. Most of the action takes place over the course of a single night, and throwing in both a sweet love story with a crippled, sexually abused Mainland girl who Chen finds in a rubbish tip, and a touching backstory involving Lee’s corrupt, comatose cop father, does nothing to bog down the brutal pace of the first 90 minutes. The film looked great in its gritty way, with the HK backstreets bathed in primary colours, and the sound track was mostly impressive (repeated growling dog noises had me rolling my eyes at the obviousness of it, but that actually turned out to be a portend of concrete dragging on bitumen).

A 20-minute coda at the end of the film, which follows the characters after the fateful night and opens proceedings up to a much more epic scope, might divide the audience – I can imagine some people hating it, but I think that if the whole is taken as a parable, it works pretty well. Plus you get possibly the most hilariously incongruous use of You Are My Sunshine in a film ever.

 

[ebossert]

Dog Bite Dog is a solid thriller indeed. It made me respect Edison Chen a bit more as an actor.

 

[ebossert]

Highly Recommended

The Liar (2014) (Korean Drama) – This movie is about a young woman who lives with her downbeat brother and alcoholic sister, but she’s a compulsive liar who constantly gives the impression that she has more money than she actually has. She lives this facade while in the presence of others, as well as when she’s by herself. So there’s a deep-rooted mentality behind all of this that creates a truly fascinating character. The protagonist is mostly cold-hearted but also has a concern for her siblings, which helps to create some multi-dimensionality as well. Kkob-bi Kim is fantastic and carries the entire film on her shoulders from start to finish. The theme of commercialism is omnipresent. I loved the ending too, because it is sharply ironic and drives home the whole point of the film.

Madonna (2015) (Korean Drama) – A nurse’s aide is in charge of an important patient who is completely paralyzed and awaits a heart transplant. After a brain dead postitute arrives at the hospital, the nurse is coerced into obtaining an organ donor consent from the next of kin. Along the way, she uncovers the girl’s sad life story. This is a very good quality movie, with efficient character development. This is a downbeat story, but it’s communicated in interesting ways. There are also a handful of social commentary subtexts in this as well. From the director of “Pluto.”

Crazy N’ the City (2005) (Chinese Drama/Thriller) (repeat viewing) – Two patrol officers do their thing in Hong Kong, while occasionally bumping into a crazy guy (Francis Ng) who deludes himself into living in the past. Many of the early events are inconsequential, but help to build the characters nicely. Eason Chan and Francis Ng give solid performances. The introduction of a primary antagonist (a rapist/murderer) provides some good suspense and mystery. The strength of this film is undoubtedly its ability to blend light-heartedness and solid drama thru well-developed characters. There are a few memorable scenes in this one.

Recommended

Alley Cat (aka Dora-heita) (2000) (Japanese Drama/Comedy) – A new magistrate uses his abrasive strategies for the purpose of cleaning up a crime-infested fiefdom that is rife with corruption. Koji Yakusho is perfectly cast in this; he portrays a man who is playful but dead serious at accomplishing his goal. There are some interesting attack strategies, like gambling tricks to bankrupt some of the criminals. He uses manipulation more than force, but can certainly handle himself when necessary. Quite a bit of low-key humor in this too. I like the spunky moments involving his geisha girlfriend.

47 Ronin (1994) (Japanese Drama) – The Asano clan seeks vengeance upon the lord whose corruption and rudeness led to a series of events that ultimately resulted in their master’s death sentence. Nicely shot and well acted. About 90 minutes shorter than Chushingura (1962), which assists pacing a bit. There are a few short, but good sword fights as well as a lengthy (and surprisingly bloody) final assault. Similar to other adaptations of this popular story, there are some interesting strategies by the protagonists that are non-violent.

Dark Soldier D (1998) (Japanese Action/Thriller) – This made for television film (shown in 3 parts of 32 minutes each) is about a man who is thrown into the role of a hesitant hero when he discovers he can fit into a suit that allows him to defend the Earth against meteorites and aliens. The monster effects are a mix of physical and CGI, and they look pretty good. There are three highlight fights between the robot suit and monsters, one in each part of the film. There’s also quite a bit of bloody violence. One scene near the 30 minute mark is quite surprising. This takes itself seriously but there are also some hilariously ridiculous elements. Pretty cool B-flick.

The Professionals (2016) (Indonesian Action/Drama) – After being thrown into prison by a business rival (Arifin Putra), an entreupaneur (Fachry Albar) organizes a heist to take revenge. There are multiple infiltrations into the building that are used to gather information and spy on the target, but the big heist occurs later on. Acting is solid by the two leads, which is no surprise. A rather generic heist film, but it stays grounded and does not go over-the-top. A good car chase near the end. (Viewed without subtitles, but some of the dialogue is in English.)

The Sands of Kurobe (1968) (Japanese Drama) – Toshiro Mifune is an engineer charged with construction of a gigantic tunnel through the Japan Alps for the transportation of equipment in the building of the massive Kurobe Dam. The tunnel crosses an earthquake fault and Kitagawa is beleaguered not only by cave-ins and flooding, but by strife between management and the workers’s union. This movie has tons of tunnel sequences that show the dangers of mining, which do get suspenseful. Good performances and natural environments too (snowy mountains). Runtime of over 3 hours is a bit long, but this is a good flick from Kei Kumai. (Viewed without subtitles.)

 

[divemaster13]

Dog Bite Dog
Dog Bite Dog has been moved to the top of your Queue

 

[sitenoise]

The Whispering Star (Hiso hiso boshi) [2015] • Japan
Director: Shion Sono
5.123456789/10

Big Sono fan, disappointed by this. It's good looking, graded on a curve for budget. I admire directors who can make low budget look good. So that's cool.

Sci-fi's built-in excuse for boring—portraying loneliness & isolation—isn't warranted. Megumi Kagurazaka isn't skilled or gifted enough to make watching her sweep the floor (or making tofu and singing Kumbaya) worthwhile. The ideas of the film are interesting, but they are insubstantially filled out by slow pans, repetition, and scenes screaming for an edit: style in search of substance. The sound design is great, and annoying.

Bottom line: I hate the sound of Stars Whispering (for dramatic effect).

Sono, the self-aware monster that he is, gives us a planet full of humans where making a sound above 30db is punishable by death. Good idea, ....

 

[clayton-12]

scenes screaming for an edit

And that in a 100 minute film from a director who can make films almost four hours long positively whizz by at a cracking pace!

 

[plsletitrain]

watching her sweep the floor (or making tofu and singing Kumbaya)

Zelena!!!

I still can't make of your review if this is for me or not. I guess I'll just see for myself.

 

[sitenoise]

And that in a 100 minute film from a director who can make films almost four hours long positively whizz by at a cracking pace!

Well put. Haha

@plsletitrain I think it comes down to whether you find resonance or intrigue with Megumi Kagurazaka. Some folks have. And then there's the peculiar sitenoise thing: bad whispering-acting is right up there with bad eating-acting in annoying me. You can steer around that one. There's a flying house that's kind of cute/campy in that flying car with backdrop thing you describe Kyoshi Kurasawa doing. The film has a fluid visual appeal, but it's slow. There are probably more scenes of watching Megumi think than of listening to her whisper. Oops. I think I just killed it for you

 

[plsletitrain]

Thanks for the heads up. I've included it in my watchlist. I like the whispering eerie thing. And its 100 minutes, I'll take the slowness as long as its not that slow.

 

[clayton-12]

Oops. I think I just killed it for you

I'll take the slowness as long as its not that slow.

Looking forward to finding out if you make it past the dripping tap scene!

 

[plsletitrain]

Arrrrggghhhh now I'm excited! After sitenoise posted his review I looked for the film on my ahem, source, but ugh, I'll look further.

 

[elanor]

Dog Bite Dog (Cheang Pou-Soi, 2006) is, for most of its runtime, a pretty taut little thriller. ... The film looked great in its gritty way, with the HK backstreets bathed in primary colours, and the sound track was mostly impressive (repeated growling dog noises had me rolling my eyes at the obviousness of it, but that actually turned out to be a portend of concrete dragging on bitumen).
.

I liked the film a lot. Yes, no martial arts. Just brutal fighting and believable characters. Definitely not uplifting. But great acting, gripping and very memorable story, and well directed. I would not call it a "little" thriller. For me it's a hard-hitting extremely gritty thriller. But perhaps I'm simply not familiar with the harder stuff.

 

[clayton-12]

would not call it a "little" thriller. For me it's a hard-hitting extremely gritty thriller. But perhaps I'm simply not familiar with the harder stuff.

The "little" was more a reference to the simplicity of the plot - this isn't one of those thrillers that are jam-packed full of characters, motives, double-crosses, twists and turns, etc. Not to be confused with "soft", 'cause it definitely ain't that hehe.