Change Your Image
tomwhore
Reviews
Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
To touch the sounds of hope
Beyond the music of this film, of which there is a treasure trove of, there is an undercurrent of the hope beyond hope.
We see Cuba, torn apart after years of senseless revolution and senseless retaliation, filled with some amazing individuals who still strive for the brass ring of beauty. They are all older, having been thru the pre and post- revolutionary facets of their mother land, who where either quietly retired of slowly fading into the night. This film shows them revitalized, renewed and as vibrant as ever. Against the bleak backdrop of the spent and tattered Cuba they shine even more brightly.
The scenes in New York are perhaps most telling for me. Having been a new yorker for some 30 years now removed from there for the last two, I can see in thier eyes the wonder of a person seeing it for the first time. More amazing still is to see them come to grips with how far the world has come outside of their stifling motherland's revolution.
This is a must see for anyone who treasures music, beauty, and the hope that infuses both.
Hak hap (1996)
Stink Stank Stunk
As a long time fan of Jet and his films, and of the whole body of films in this genre that are truly great, I was looking forward to seeing this released on the big screens.
After seeing the film I wished I had gone and rented the Suk series or Ninja Scroll...anything but what I had seen.
The plot is paper thin, the action is lackluster at best. the supposed gore and mayhem is pale in comparison to many other films from HK. The stunts were weak, and i mean weak weak weak. There was more wire to be seen than in a communications closet at Cisco. Not only that but the few good fight scenes where speed up in such a way as to not appear an effect but an obvious editing gaff.
I wont even get into the acting, or the amateur camera work (look for the headcutoff frames and the "oh no im too close to a flying kick" pull away).
All in all this was a major turd that landed in the theaters. It makes me look forward to the next Jackie Chan rererelease.