Bullets 'n' Babes

hey,

OK, let me put it this way... I can't believe you are wasting precious DVD-Rs on such crap films.

Not even my precious dvd-r's were wasted! And as I've explained before, and I don't expect it to make sense, this is my viewing habit, alternating gladly between the great and worse of HK cinema. I actually WANTED to see this:

http://www.sogoodreviews.com/reviews/p3.htm#pursuit

Sums it up really.

Daniel Wu being dubbed was a bit irritating.

Same was true for his role in Everlasting Regret and I believe he did perform in synch sound Mandarin in Beijing Rocks. Guess he can do it to an extent.

hey,

King Of Gambler 2/5

Featuring Lam Wai as one of the cooler characters to ever come out of the gambling/heroic bloodshed genre, his number crunching, invincible character deserved a better spotlight than given in this standard genre picture. The EXTREMELY extensive gunplay is devoid of style and even good technical execution largely so what could've been an eventual classic merely ends up as being noticeable.

Return of the King Extended Edition 5/5

this has gotta be worth it just for the scene with Gimli blowing away the ghoslty hands...that was just great, hilarious. how could they have cut that out of the main print!!!

the extra stuff in this movie is awesome. the battle is shorter than i remember though. but still awesome film.

Keung wrote:Boys Don't Cry
5/5

Swank is amazing! Very powerful film indeed.

Very much agreed, can you believe it's cut in The States or at least very nearly was.

I'm sure the Europeans DVDs uncut. I'm sure the R1 R rated isn't.

thelostdragon wrote:The Banquet - 4/5

Who throws the sword into Wan's back at the end.

It was the butler. No, just kidding. It was the brother of the girl who drank the poison by mistake.

brooce-leroy wrote:

thelostdragon wrote:The Banquet - 4/5
Who throws the sword into Wan's back at the end.

It was the butler. No, just kidding. It was the brother of the girl who drank the poison by mistake.

Thanks! Makes sense now.

Seven Swords 4/5

Hmm, I was more than a little pleasantly surprised by this one. Absolutely loved it! I didn't expect much after seeing the trailer ages ago. It looked a bit of a mess.

Essentially another take on Seven Samurai (which HK had done before with Seven Warriors), I really think the inconsistent latterday Tsui Hark really hits the mark with this one. Toning down the fantasy element of Legend of Zu/Zu Warriors, some of the brutality and atmosphere was reminiscent of Tsui's The Blade. The action was also of a high standard, and it was nice to see some swordplay action without loads of OTT wire enhancements. The action in this is a lot more grounded in comparision to the likes of Hero and HOFD.

Yeah, all in all I loved it. Easily Tsui's best since Time and Tide (which I have also grown to really like with every re-viewing, despite not liking it the first time).



Dog Bite Dog audio commentary (English subbed) 4/5

A compelling and brilliantly in-depth commentary. The director, 2 producers (IIRC) and a couple of fans talk about every aspect in the film without ever getting boring. Everything is discussed - characters, casting, set design, other flms that have influenced the director; almost everything that you'd want to know about the film. If you're a fan, this makes the movie even better. Even if you didn't like the movie, this is a worth a listen as it is interesting stuff.

Samurai Champloo - 4/5

Shingster was right about Champloo. It was surprisngly good. It's not something I'll watch again but I'm left wishing there was a lot more, it's very watchable and I was never bored. Real quality production, in a way better than the animes I like more because of their depth or emotion. The animation was top notch with only some of the CG used in fast action sequences being a bit dodgy. And even though the main story was really quite the let down it was still all very entertaining because it's mostly made up of side stories.
I thought there'd be lots of hiphop bullshit, there was not. I'd question why they included that sort of nonsense at all, the comedic element was really downplayed and there were so many missed oppurtunities even in the specific comedy episodes. But the balance they achieved between style and classic chambara was really very impressive.

Definitely recommended. Quality entertainment, without a lasting effect. But be warned, WORST OPENING TRACK EVER. Dear God, I hope the person who decided to commision some horrible Japanese rap in English about samurais dies horribly. If only Yoko Kanno had been asked to come up with some sort of hiphop-whatever fusion soundtrack.

That opening track is pretty fuckin gay...

hey,

A Mighty Wind 3/5

Nothing will be as great as This Is Spinal Tap but Christopher Guest still is allowed to be in love with the form. Commands the absurd humour the fake documentary approach captures and there are some genuinely inspired exchanges and visual gags here. Rather mild satire of the folk music scene I reckon though.

I started watching Spinal Tap a couple of weeks ago on TV... got bored after a half hour and switched off.

A one-joke skit padded out to feature-length.

Casino Royale - 5/5

Daniel Craig is not a good Bond. He is Bond. This is how they should have been made ages ago. I loved it & can't wait for the next one...

I'll be seeing this at the w/e. I fear they'll end up cocking it up at some point. Let's not forget Goldeneye also went down a storm (it too revived the franchise) but by the end we had Die Another Day.

Whoa! Glad you liked it IM! I'm really looking forward to seeing it next week.

I've got a bastard cold so I can't go to the flicks.

Gone With The Wind: Making Of a Legend documentary (on the 2004 GWTW 4 disc) - 4.5/5

Extremely interesting, all about the pressures of making the movie. Hearing all this its probably a miracle it turned out the way it did

Night Watch - 3/5

Interesting and at times visually stunning film, with a good story but some of the effects were just a little too wierd, as if they were done just to be wierd/cool.
Never seen a Russian film (apart from Battleship Potemkin).

The Suspect

Solid HK-film, with an unbelievably tanned Louis Koo in the lead. Besides a very crappy special effect at the end, The Suspect doesn't have many errors, but also nothing really exciting.
It was nice to see Koo vs. Simon Yam (just as in Election 2)once again.

3/5

hey,

am watching The Suspect tonight as a matter of fact.

bradavon wrote:I'll be seeing this at the w/e. I fear they'll end up cocking it up at some point. Let's not forget Goldeneye also went down a storm (it too revived the franchise) but by the end we had Die Another Day.

thelostdragon wrote:Whoa! Glad you liked it IM! I'm really looking forward to seeing it next week.

Don't get me wrong, you might completely hate it! I went with a few friends and some of them weren't so sure about the new direction the series seems to be going in. I prefer the more grounded Bond films to be honest. The ones with solid plots & no / few gadgets & a more serious tone are my cup of tea. Thats why I can't stand Roger Moore's films (apart from For Your Eyes Only).

So Casino Royale may be just the sort of Bond film you're after, or it may be too dark & serious. You'll have to see it for yourself to decide. I personally think The Living Daylights & Licence To Kill are 2 of the best Bond films, but I equally know people who think Licence To Kill is one of the worst.

I just prefer the more serious tone of those films & Casino Royale sticks to that which is why I loved it...

Never thought I'd agree with Brad, but:

Children of Men: 2.5/5

-Too many questions, zero answers.
-Boring as hell.
-Clive Owen. His performance in Sin City was dull enough, but he's even worse in this film.

+Nice cinematography, good editing.
+Some of the long takes are amazing.

Rubbish. Thought you'd like it as well.

tom2681 wrote:Never thought I'd agree with Brad

Me neither. OMG I agree completely.

Clive Owen is the British answer to Keanue Reeves (okay he's not that bad, he was decent enough in Closer).

It's and MI3 are the only two blockbusters of the 5 I've seen I won't be getting the DVD.

IronMonkey wrote:Don't get me wrong, you might completely hate it!

After the CGI and unbelievably stupid Die Another Day I seriously reckon I'll love it.

I also reckon it could be the first flawless (comparatively speaking) Blockbuster of the year, and the year's nearly over. All the others have had obvious flaws.

I wish they'd kept Miss Moneypenny and the gadgets (there's no reason they have to be over the top and can base them in reality) but am pleased Q isn't back. Q is Desmon Llewenyen now he's passed away (RIP) it was wrong to bring him back.

That said I'm sure they'll be niggles. I'll be seeing it tomorrow evening for sure.

Tomorrow Never Dies is my fave for Michelle Yeoh (she plays of Bond wonderfully) and the motorbike chase.

All the pre-Brosnan bonds tend to merge together for me (obviously in distinct actor periods). I liked the Roger Moore era, you never believed he was a killer but it didn't matter but by Die Another Day things had gone seriously wrong.

I agree its a mistake having another Q character, Desmond WAS Q/Major Boothroyd. Though John Cleese's cameo in TWINE was funny I liked Brosnan's humour but also Connery's coldness in the role.

John Cleese was in Die Another Day too.

I wish they'd bring back a reoccurring villain. It worked so well with Blofeld, sure they can't use him but give us someone else (even if it's just for two films).