Kurgan wrote:I know, we all dream of the day someone is allowed to beat up camels and the like, but that day is not today. So, hang onto the dream... One day...
Very good film, Joaquin Phoenix is really good as Johnny Cash, doing so much more than an impersonation and giving a great insight into someone who made some great music but was also a troubled, pained person because of drugs and drink.
The music is great, with songs like I Shot a Man in Rio (?), Get Rhythm and of course Ring of Fire I also really liked Reese Witherspoon's performance as June, she was very good.
Great. I especially liked Gary Oldman´s and Christopher Walken´s small appearances.
4/5
Unleashed / Danny the Dog
Very entertaining as well. I was surprised by Li´s good acting..
4/5
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Wow, I really liked this movie, directed by Oldboy director Chan Wook-park. Very strong performances by the two leads! Actually, although it´s very violent and brutal sometimes, I found that it was rather a quiet movie. And although the story that is being told is again rather shocking and unlike, there is some comedy in it.
Sad that the great music (although I wouldn´t know a scene to use it), from the trailer didn´t make it to the film, or it did and I just didn´t realize...
In my eyes not worse than Oldboy, but just different and of course it doesn´t have such a great turning point...
I´ll have to check out more Korean movies, that´s for sure. As well as Sympathy for Lady Vengeance.
4.5/5
Last edited by dragonhero005 on 03 Aug 2006, 10:21, edited 1 time in total.
dragonhero005 wrote:Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Sad that the great music (although I wouldn´t know a scene to use it), from the trailer didn´t make it to the film, or it did and I just didn´t recognise...
I think it comes later in the credits. The film has some of the most interesting credits ever. We only hear Song Kang-ho's dying voice. And later comes the music I think.
Well, it is featured on the official soundtrack. It's track 13, the very last track.
Last edited by thelostdragon on 03 Aug 2006, 10:21, edited 1 time in total.
The Bow (2nd viewing) - 4.5/5
I really love Kim Ki-duk's films. I already posted my thoughts on this so i wont go into it again...but it is an amazing film. If you've enjoyed Kim's other films, then don't listen to the reviews and give this one a chance.
Really looking forward to his new film "Time".
Duelist - 2/5
Pretty lame to say the least. I really wanted to like it, but its just so empty. The romance makes absolutely no sense...and the characters are all rice-paper thin. It is so funny to see a great actor like Ahn Sung-kee in a crazy role like this, so that offered some mild amusement...and the opening market place scene is so absurd that i couldn't help but laugh out loud a few times.
Visuals are interesting and fun to watch, yes...but unfortunetly fails to salvage the rest of the film.
Wedding Campaign - 4/5
I loved this. The film is about two Korean bachelors in their late 30s who are both strugging to find their sole mates. They travel to Uzbekistan as part of a Korean culture event..and embark on a quest to find the one.
The film is shot mosty on location in Uzbekistan and it was great to see a small Korean film in an exotic location like that. The two male leads are great. I especially like Jeong Jae-yeong, who has been in many Korean films all the way back to "The Quiet Family". Su Ae is adorable as always, and does a fantastic job in her role as one of the translators assigned to the leads. I love how she can play characters like this and in "A Family", as well as in Dramas like "Emperor of the Sea" where she is playing the type of character you would expect from her.
Uchiage hanabi, shita kara Miruka? Yoko kara Miruka? – 4/5
This is exactly what I was hoping from Iwai; A wonderful film full of energy and warmth. Iwai really manages to encapture the beauty of childhood with this film. A beautiful movie, in every imaginable way.
Fried Dragon Fish – 3,5/5
Guns, gangsters, dragon fishes and Tadanobu Asano. The film’s missing the beautiful cinematic look of most Iwai films, and looks more like a low budget TV movie (which is what this movie is). Other than that, it’s technically brilliant and strangely fascinating detective story with a nice B-movie feel in it.
The Cat o’ Nine Tails - 2,5/5
I’m not a huge fan of Argento’s early works. This for example is a well made and entertaining murder mystery, but doesn’t really offer anything too memorable. What I liked most was the score by Ennio Morricone.
Sars Wars – 3,5/5
After the first 10 minutes I was already thinking we’ve got a new Bad Taste here. Guns, swords, zombies, school girls, commandos, bees, men in bikinis... what else can you ask for? Unfortunately the film fails when you’d expect it to be at it’s best, which is when the splatter begins. Somehow the zombies look very much alive compared to main characters. I was expecting a hyperactive zombie-sword-machine gun massacre, instead I got less than hyperactive zombie-sword-machine gun massacre. It’s still a very funny movie, but the first half an hour gets your hopes so high that you can't help but to feel a bit disappointed once you realize this isn’t a 5 star movie. But it comes close to 4.
Sin noticias de Dios - 2,5/5
Victoria Abril and Penelope Cruz. Not much else worth mentioning. But that’s not very little, is it?
Monty Python and the Holy Grail – 3/5
I never understood why people consider this movie so great (8,4 at IMDB). It’s fun, but it’s not that fun. Though I have to admit that following the dialogue was a pain in the ass at times and I probably missed a few jokes. Next time I’ll watch this with english subtitles...
Johnny English – 3/5
Rowan Atkinson as a secret agent... ingenious. The movie was pretty funny too. John Malkovich gave his best performance ever. Or worst. I’m not sure. It was either brilliancy or idiocy.
Days of Heaven - 4,5/5
Just as beautiful as Malick’s later films. I still haven’t seen Badlands, but so far Malick has only been doing perfect and near perfect movies.
Three Times – 2,5/5
Beautiful, but comes damn close to being boring. But I liked it. Next time I’m either gonna love it or bore to death.
First Blood - 3,5/5
I wasn’t expecting anything this ambitious. Making Rambo a madman certainly gave this movie some originality. I also liked the slightly documentaristic style.
First Blood: Part 2 – 3/5
Now, this is what you’d expect from Rambo. Good and (very) stupid fun. Some unbelievable story developement, too: first Rambo and the vietnamese woman have a 100% platonic relationship, then they fall in love, decide to escape to America, then the woman is killed, and finally Rambo swears revenge while holding her dead body. And all that happens withing 90 seconds.
Rambo III – 3,5/5
There’s some irritating cliché here and there, but other than that this is just great fun. The last 15 minutes just unbelievable. The best one man war (in an american movie) since Commando. And that’s quite an achievement.
The Blade – 4/5
Some little flaws (a few lines of terrible dialogue, quick occations of over-acting etc.) prevent this from being a 4½ star movie. It does come pretty damn close, though. Very impressive movie with several perfect scenes.
Unforgiven - 4/5
I really loved the naturalistic style here. There’s some little flaws that break the realism, though. Clint was really great, but Morgan Freeman is turning himself into a cliché. It feels like he’s playing the same role in every movie. Otherwise an excellent movie.
Time and Tide - 3/5
Slow beginning, but gets better later. Bar none the best thing was the action scenes. They’ve got some of that craziness HK action movies used to be so famous for.
The Birds – 3,5/5
Not really what I expected (except from the last 15 minutes), but very entertaining nevertheless. It looks partly dated, but the ending and the final images are midblowing.
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) – 4/5
An excellent film, not sure if it was a great remake because I haven’t seen the original. Unlike some scenes in The Birds, this movie hasn’t dated a bit. And damn that chapel scene was perfect.
HungFist wrote:
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) – 4/5
An excellent film, not sure if it was a great remake because I haven’t seen the original. Unlike some scenes in The Birds, this movie hasn’t dated a bit. And damn that chapel scene was perfect.
More of a reimagining than remake. It could done without that wretched Doris Day song IMO, otherwise it's pretty solid. The finale setpiece with the big band was really well done.
Three Times – 2,5/5
That the Hou Hsien whatever (the Taiwanese dude) movie with Shu Qi?
Hung wrote:Monty Python and the Holy Grail – 3/5
I never understood why people consider this movie so great (8,4 at IMDB). It’s fun, but it’s not that fun. Though I have to admit that following the dialogue was a pain in the ass at times and I probably missed a few jokes. Next time I’ll watch this with english subtitles...
Pfff, I fart in your general direction. I don't wanna talk to you no more, you animal food trough wiper.
Now LD.. i would expect you to appreciate Dog Soldiers for what it is. It does not in any way take itself seriously and acts only as a fun low budget horror film with likable characters and some funny dialog and cool retro effects.
I truly cannot imagine someone not enjoying this unless they are not a fan of the genre alltogether...but fair enough if you just didn't like it
Yes, it's just Bisc love for all things cinema coming through. I hope
Just a point I'd make to HungFist: when Morgan Freeman was cast in Unforgiven, he wasn't at cliché stage there. Subsequent roles, perhaps, but not at that stage of his career.
So, do the right thing and give the film that extra point
I mean the way he plays characters. It's always the same. Unforgiven, Danny the Dog, Seven, Shawshank Redemption, Hard Rain... it's basically the same character every time. It's always an old and wise man who's seen life, usually has a dark (or tragic or sad) past but he's gotten over it, doesn't talk much about it, he rarely acts very emotionally, instead he accepts there's only so much one man can do, and he always speaks slowly...
But Kurgan is right, it wasn't a cliché back in 1991. But I still won't raise the rating. 4 is enough, but it's a very strong 4.
Great film IMO, certainly one of the better latter day Jackie movies. Exciting and thrilling Though its a bit like Who Am I in places
The DTS was fairly good, though not much .1 in there.
I don't understand why they changed some things in the US version, why change the Anthrax II to Opium II - or something? Conversely though it means the part when Yong says she was turned into an addict is confusing - what's she addicted to?
Watch the cresits - as well as outtakes theres even an epilogue at the end, Mani sends Jackie a e-mail "Miss being a spy?"
The Wizard of Oz (1925) and Hustling for Health (Laurel and Hardy short) - 3/5
I also really liked Reese Witherspoon's performance as June, she was very good.
