I actually liked ELECTION, yet here we are with Johnnie To reverting to type. With him it's one step forward, two steps back. Empty, soulless tosh; thinks its John Woo, but it ain't even close. Come to think of it: THE MISSION was better too. A disappointment.
grim_tales wrote:Which DVD of Res. Dogs is best? (PQ/extras?) The one I rented was the 2001 SE (I think) and I thought the transfer was fine.
I happen to like the UK SE transfer but most don't, it being on a DVD-5 doesn't help.
I used to own it so can relate to how it compares. This used to be a tricky question to answer but it's now dead simple:
The R1 15th Anniversary Edition in a red petrol can style packaging. It's cheap too. This wipes the floor with ALL other versions. The remaster job is fantastic. Don't get the R1 10th Anniversary Edition that sucks. That's the one with different covers for each character.
I actually liked ELECTION, yet here we are with Johnnie To reverting to type. With him it's one step forward, two steps back. Empty, soulless tosh; thinks its John Woo, but it ain't even close. Come to think of it: THE MISSION was better too. A disappointment.
OMG no way. I thought Exiled was class. Ok not John Woo level but damn closer than anything we've had recently.
Johnnie To is probably the only HK filmmaker I pay attention to now and he has made some turds in the past but I didn't think Exiled was one of them. I thought it was better than the Mission.
You seen Election 2? Now that's a film. I also liked Election but the sequel is even better.
I haven't seen Election 2 yet. I think I might try to get a hold of both parts and watch them back-to-back for best effect.
As for Exiled and Johnnie To... sorry but this filmmaker consistantly disappoints me. Some love almost everything he does... I guess I'm just not one of them. No matter how hard he tries To will never be on a plain with John Woo... or Ringo Lam for that matter. The irony is: I really want to like these movies. I never start a film hoping it'll suck just so I can say "this sucks!" I'd much rather have posted here saying "wow, best film I've seen this year!!" It just doesn't happen. I'm very fussy and it looks like I'll have to live with that.
I wonder if Woo has abandoned all his old tricks for Red Cliff? It could possibly work though, considering that they had magic powers in Romance of Three Kingdoms.
grim_tales wrote:Which DVD of Res. Dogs is best? (PQ/extras?) The one I rented was the 2001 SE (I think) and I thought the transfer was fine.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith - 1/5
More like Mr. and Mrs. Shit. Meandering, tedious and vapid non-sense. A supposed "action-comedy", except without the comedy; not even any from Vince Vaughn's character.
I liked Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Both Pitt and Jolie have on screen charisma and play off each other well. Yes it's completely vapid and feels nothing like a Doug Liman film but I still thought it was good fun. I'd give it 5 out of 10. Angie is uber hot too!
As to Reservoir Dogs I wouldn't take a bunch of screen captures as gospel. They only tell you so much. The last capture their jackets are blue!
Mystery Train (USA, 1989) – 3/5
Three stories in the shadow of The King. Jim Jarmusch’s uneven episode film set in Memphis begins with a terrific, slow moving story of a young Japanese couple who come to visit the hometown of Elvis. The lead couple Masatoshi Nagase and Youki Kudoh (from Shinji Somai’s masterpiece Taifu Club) give fantastic performances. The follow up, a dull tale of an Italian woman who gets ripped off by practically everyone, only comes with two good scenes. Thankfully the film ends with a bang, when Joe Strummer and Steve Buscemi are having a hilariously tragic night with booze and a gun.
Kantoku Banzai / Glory to the Filmmaker (Takeshi Kitano - 2007): / 5
What... the... fuck... did I just watch ?
All I know is that I almost died watching this film.
Was laughing so hard, I almost choked to death.
It's true, Kitano has gone nuts.
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
beat me by 30 minutes (it took an hour to write this, I'm sure you understand )
Kantoku Banzai! (Japan, 2007) - 2,5/5
It's official, Kitano has gone mad. Kantoku Banzai! makes his previous work Takeshis' look line a coherent piece of cinema. No wonder he shot this movie in secret. While the first 40 minutes actually make some slight sense, the rest is just 100% Kitano's brain waves transcribed into film frames (and those ain't no Hana-Bi waves). Everything is incredibly stupid and childish, but also confusing enough to be often funny. Shame about Anne Suzuki's talent being wasted in a mess like this, but then again, the film is all about Kitano and nobody else. I wonder if any director has ever made a film as egocentric as this before.
The Eye - 3/5
A highly competently made thriller with superb editing and cinematography, good effects that rarely revealed the obvious budgetary limitations and believable performances.
Wasn't in the least bit scary though. Lord knows why this film was hyped.
EvaUnit02 wrote:The Eye - 3/5
A highly competently made thriller with superb editing and cinematography, good effects that rarely revealed the obvious budgetary limitations and believable performances. Wasn't in the least bit scary though. Lord knows why this film was hyped.
I'd agree with that...
EvaUnit02 wrote:Are you posting whilst on the piss again?
Remaking Halloween might not have been the brightest idea, but hiring Rob Zombie to helm it was indeed. By no means is Zombie a guarantee of quality but at least he’s a gamble, and not another pipeline director to deliver a turkey that doesn’t even attempt to fly. On the other hand it seems Zombie himself isn’t capable of getting rid of his own obsessions. Halloween 2007 is his third violent white trash depiction in a row. Only after the halfway the film goes back to the Carpenter rail, but without the horror maestro’s technical brilliancy. However, there lies the soul of Zombie’s film.
The film is, hopefully intentionally, constantly off tone and never stylizing the killings. The use of darkness in the end is nearly brilliant. No ’bright as day’ darkness, but real darkness that doesn’t allow you to see almost anything. The film’s technical and psychological roughness feels oddly refreshing. The cast is what you’d expect from Zombie film; loads of genre veterans plus the directors wife, Sheri Moon Zombie (is that a cool name or what?). The acting is a bit awkward, as is the dialogue, but it’s all in line with the film’s style. The new teenage victim collection is one dimentional to say at least, although Scout Taylor-Compton isn’t too bad.
Flash Point - 3/5
A pretty good movie. Didn't love it. Donnie Yen's incorporation of MMA into the fights is inventive and nice to watch. Didn't think Colin Chou was a worthy villain for Donnie though. Overall, not as good as SPL but still lots of fun.
(PQ/extras?) The one I rented was the 2001 SE (I think) and I thought the transfer was fine.
/ 5
