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lpk_old
Reviews
Brand Upon the Brain! A Remembrance in 12 Chapters (2006)
fascinating but over-hyped
Saw this just now with Eli Wallach narrating, and he and the foley crew were definitely the best and most interesting part, dressed in lab outfits with a full kit of radio show props (not Wallach, the foley crew). Wallach actually chuckled during one scene near the end, but to be honest the movie was not that funny, nor very compelling. In fact, it was exhausting, and you probably won't be thinking about it much after the last cymbal crash. I'm only writing about it to try to shake off the numbness, which sustained applause at the end for Maddin and Co. did nothing to stir.
Interesting live show, but by the standards of theater it is just OK. By the standards of film this is a diverting curiosity but not essential. if you are thinking about watching this with a pre- recorded soundtrack I'd watch another of Maddin's movies instead, this one is a real disappointment.
Windtalkers (2002)
under-appreciated anti-war movie
The other users who commented seem to have missed the point of this movie, which is that violence kills the soul (a latent theme in most of Woo's work). This comes across most bluntly in Nic Cage's bizarrely over/under-acted character, a highly decorated and highly traumatized soldier who thinks that by waging a one-man war he can spare the rest of his company from dying. The rest of the acting is not much more nuanced; Adam Beach is better than he was in Smoke Signals, and Christian Slater plays the open-minded white guy in an effectively naive manner. The production quality of the movie is not exactly up to par either, with terrible music and a made-for-TV look.
But the movie is an absolute stunner. I don't know any other recent action movie that has affected me this deeply, besides "Fellowship of the Ring." This might be why other users rated it so low--this is a war movie that tricks you into watching an anti-war movie. Instead of feeling exhilarated by the violence, you are left drained and regretful. Still, the action scenes are damn good, and incorporate lots of clever moves.
Finally, this is one of the only big-budget movies to deal with Native American issues in a complex manner. If you are a white American and you don't mind facing up to your own history while watching a bad-ass movie, then by all means rent Windtalkers.
Shu shan zheng zhuan (2001)
beautifully shot, but that's about it
Even after reading the overwhelmingly negative comments on this movie, I went ahead and watched it. It was surprisingly good, but the experience was like watching Final Fantasy - you are spellbound by the visuals, which are beautiful enough to merit a second viewing, but that is about the ONLY reason to watch it again.
The special effects are extremely well done and used in a way that is very peculiarly Asian. That is, people, not spaceships, fly around shooting things, and there is a lot of martial arts and one-on-one combat involved. Basically, it is the *coolest* use of CG I have ever seen, cooler even than the Matrix.
Tsui Hark is a director who deserves his reputation, and although his editing and plotting may seem confusing to Westerners (like me), Chinese audiences (like my cousins) have gotten used to it. "Time and Tide" is another good example of his deliberately muddled technique, although that movie is a lot more satisfying. "Time and Tide" had good music, an unpredictable storyline, and sympathetic characters, none of which are to be found here.
Overall, I would recommend watching it just for the sumptious colors and cool weapons. Otherwise, as an example of the graphics-enhanced kung fu genre, "Stormriders" is way better.
Magnolia (1999)
This is not just one of those things...
Hey, the trivia talks about the numbers "8" and "2," referring to Exodus 8:2. Well, the combined user rating at the time I'm writing this is 8.2 out of 10. Coincidence? Ladies and gentlemen, I think not...