To the west, 47 ronin is a romanticized tale of loyal ronin who avenge their lord knowing it will cost them their lives regardless of their success. That's also what everyone on the streets of Tokyo expected out of them-it's not like it was a big secret, and their target wasn't the most popular man. What is less obvious is that they took quite a while to carry it out, and that the undertaking was bankruptingly expensive. This fresh look at this old tale which has been retold every which way will not satisfy peasantly needs to see wrongs righted in swashbuckling action. It's also about 47 and many more men, so don't hold your breath to see the few outstanding women to take over the show. Its comedy derives from the single factor that honor loving proud samurais rarely had a clue about finances until their wallets bit them in the butt. You've already seen the vengeance play out in some other iteration of this event, this is not a possible tale of what happened, but how it was made possible, and an entertaining one at that, as long as you're not stuck waiting for swords to clash and heads to roll.
Reviews
91 Reviews
Okja
(2017)
Free the GMO
14 February 2021
For the longest time, I've avoided this movie with a stick picturing a Free Willy Disney flick. However an automated preview abounding with Snowpiercer-like eccentricity made me rethink venturing into it. Marketing this movie to kids is a sure plan for failure with the violent action and cruelty towards animals. The realistic creature design like in The Host, might leave something to be desired, but doesn't really get in the way of the movie. Seeing Glen from the Walking Dead kicking around is also an added bonus.
The Invisible Man
(I) (2020)
The invisible plot
30 January 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Cecilia is the plain looking town girl who has enraptured the heart and mind of the very possessive, manipulative, financially successful and brilliant scientist Adrien. At a point she even asks him why he's so obsessed with her when he could have had anyone better. As we find out, she not only carries a red herring with her to give viewers a superficial reason for his interest in her physical well-being, she outsmarts him on multiple occasions, and poses the ultimate conquest to a man of mind games, a lifelong challenge. The patriarchally phrased title, could have been more appropriately and simply renamed The Invisible, because it's not only a tale of female abuse-much of which is hearsay and thus invisible, and gratifying vengeance, it's about what the power of anonymity can turn smart and driven people into.
HUGE ENDING SPOILER Cecilia doesn't hand in the evidence which could acquit her or implicate Adrien, instead she uses it to definitively end their relationship and manipulates her cop friend to get access and testimony of the final event. She is broke and will soon be in need of financial support, but walks away from the man who stood in her way with the means to go beyond the law. Intentional or not, the movie is much more ambiguous than I've read in other reviews and interviews with the staff.
HUGE ENDING SPOILER Cecilia doesn't hand in the evidence which could acquit her or implicate Adrien, instead she uses it to definitively end their relationship and manipulates her cop friend to get access and testimony of the final event. She is broke and will soon be in need of financial support, but walks away from the man who stood in her way with the means to go beyond the law. Intentional or not, the movie is much more ambiguous than I've read in other reviews and interviews with the staff.
One Night in Miami...
(2020)
Sausage pre-afterparty, drinks and food optional.
22 January 2021
Like Malcolm's idea of a party, the movie's greatness depends on your commitment to see it through and what you bring to the table. It can be as charismatic as its stars, and serve up a dynamic discussion about the many ways highly talented and or renowned figures of an era can or have fought against the multifaceted oppression even they weren't exempt from. It also can be four men locked up in a room talking instead of partying like any first time world champ should, while the women never become more than girlfriends quickly forgotten by their men and movie, or understanding wives in literal danger.
Shin Godzilla
(2016)
Politicians & co. vs Godzilla and red tape
12 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
What the new Godzilla does right far outweighs its wrongs, although they can't be missed- -what's with those eyes? What's with her accent? What kind of tank alignment is that? The haters will have a field day picking the movie apart, but unlike the majority if not all of the other entries in the genre, the following tropes also have gone out the window: children, romantic relations, wives left waiting for the return of their brave husbands, victims holding personal grudges, exposition from long ignored all knowing specialists, a common enemy to side the audience with the titular creature--tiresome plot gimmicks, the total absence of which felt refreshingly good. The political subtext aside--which should mostly only interest people with political opinions on Japan, the plot follows a team of underdogs and outcasts led by a government cog in a race against literal bombs to find an effective way to neutralize a national threat. The camera-work and editing is fast-paced, and a multitude of characters play a role in handling the crisis. Crisis management movies based on real events usually try to hit emotional chords by emphasizing the above mentioned tropes to varying degrees of success, while overlooking the mundane aspect of processing such situations. Resurgence avidly instill a life into the mundane work of these everymen who happen to be the alternative to possible obliteration, human or otherwise.
As can be seen from the range of its ratings, the movie is divisive. But whatever the conclusion, viewing it is worthwhile if only to track the influence it will hopefully have on the genre as well as Japanese cinema.
As can be seen from the range of its ratings, the movie is divisive. But whatever the conclusion, viewing it is worthwhile if only to track the influence it will hopefully have on the genre as well as Japanese cinema.
The Revenant
(I) (2015)
Gripping vendetta marred by convenient cop-out ending
9 May 2016
The conclusion is completely inconsistent with the driving force and direction of the rest of the story and an all too convenient third option in the last moments--though foreshadowed, feels so out of the blue it cheapens the drama built up till that moment to Saturday morning cartoon morality. Otherwise, the visual intensity and sense of desolation and scale is superbly captured through the lens, choreography, wardrobe, location, props and casting. It is an undeniable masterpiece until the last three minutes, and if Iñarritu could Brazil or Blade Runner this, he should definitely release an alternate ending or simply cut off its tail and slap on a director's cut on it.
There could be a deeper interpretation meant to elevate this movie beyond this first impression, if so, the blame for allowing this poor interpretation still falls on the filmmakers.
There could be a deeper interpretation meant to elevate this movie beyond this first impression, if so, the blame for allowing this poor interpretation still falls on the filmmakers.
I Am a Hero
(2015)
Japanese meditation on the collapse of the status quo.
6 May 2016
Just as Ringu was a social metaphor of its times, I am a Hero stabs post 3/11 Japan, after earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear meltdown stripped it of the comfort it took for granted and threw it out into a world where things stopped making sense. The movie follows the average near jobless modern Japanese thirty something's journey through a disheveled society deprived of the civilities his preceding generations have taken for granted where he is left with the ultimate choice to adapt or die.
I am a Hero is my favorite zombie movie next to Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland!! It hacks the manga it's based on and blends it into a movie satisfyingly. A lot of character development goes through the window, but enough is left to make you imagine the rest. Half the staff is Korean whom we can thank for the superior effects, and the script is surprisingly tight for a Japanese production of this budget. Blood flows by the gallon, it has the best panic scene I've seen in any disaster movie, and the ZQN (zombies) are the scariest thing that's been put to film to date because they retain their former selves. None of the cast lets the film down. My sole complaint is an unimaginative crucial scene which feels more metaphorical than physical--removing some of the immediate threat I wished it would convey, but it is a mere skipped beat in a heart pounding sequence which still concludes with a powerful image. If you are familiar with the original work, I must tell you to stay away from the manga till you see the movie though, some of the stuff left out might be harder to swallow with a fresh memory. The movie keeps the main character's imagination, but leaves out the supernatural beyond the early ZQNs--it focuses on the early books, allowing it to stand alone as a zombie movie.
I am a Hero is my favorite zombie movie next to Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland!! It hacks the manga it's based on and blends it into a movie satisfyingly. A lot of character development goes through the window, but enough is left to make you imagine the rest. Half the staff is Korean whom we can thank for the superior effects, and the script is surprisingly tight for a Japanese production of this budget. Blood flows by the gallon, it has the best panic scene I've seen in any disaster movie, and the ZQN (zombies) are the scariest thing that's been put to film to date because they retain their former selves. None of the cast lets the film down. My sole complaint is an unimaginative crucial scene which feels more metaphorical than physical--removing some of the immediate threat I wished it would convey, but it is a mere skipped beat in a heart pounding sequence which still concludes with a powerful image. If you are familiar with the original work, I must tell you to stay away from the manga till you see the movie though, some of the stuff left out might be harder to swallow with a fresh memory. The movie keeps the main character's imagination, but leaves out the supernatural beyond the early ZQNs--it focuses on the early books, allowing it to stand alone as a zombie movie.
Swimming Pool
(2003)
Topless chick open to interpretation
4 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The plot in a giant SPOILER: A female London-based mystery novel writer spending a summer at her publisher's villa in France helps a young woman (Julie) claiming to be the publisher's daughter get rid of evidence of her murder of a local young man interested in both ladies. The writer ends up writing a book based on this girl and a book by her mother based on her romantic relationship with the publisher, and publishes it behind his back. The final sequence reveals another similarly named girl (Julia) to be the daughter of said publisher. The writer waves at both girls in the final scene, and the silhouette she waves at mimics her. Further SPOILERS: The first girl is topless through a lot of the movie, and BIG SPOILER: the older writer also goes Full Monty for one scene. No one else that matters gets naked.
I immediately looked up interpretations of the film because it does not hold your hand in its conclusion. Julie's existence, her relationship with Julia, with the publisher, and with the writer all come into question.
One character (if we accept he existed) grounds Julie in reality, it's the gardener Marcel. He has a dwarf daughter whom at the mention of her mother shuts herself in terrified, insisting she died in an accident. When he stumbles upon the freshly dug grave of Julie's latest victim, it is as if he had already seen this before. The writer looks at Julie for help, but since she's asleep, offers herself to the gardener instead. Julie is playful with Marcel, and in one scene stops him from working and pulls him in the bushes with her newly met sex partner. Julie might have had to gain the gardener' silence previously. Maybe she killed his wife. The hysteric way in which Julie pleads her mother not to leave her and her agony when she realizes she's talking to the author and her mother already isn't there could suggest she's reliving the past trauma of having been abandoned by her mother after a similar incident. Since the writer wouldn't have been there before, the gardener might have been Julie's former accomplice. Work at the villa might be compensation, it explains why neither parent wants to go back there or see Julie.
Julia is younger than Julie, and could be the official family the publisher approves of. She has braces. Julie absolutely does not wear bras. She is too free, the unwanted child of a sex orgy. The book the writer publishes behind the publisher's back is an "illegitimate" product itself. It is more personal and vindictive.
Etymologically, I don't know how much the director likes to play with names, but Julie's mother fled to somewhere Nice, her relationship with her father is Long done, and at the end she herself drives off to St Tropez, or Saint too much.
When I first saw the writer seeing Julia for the first time, I thought Julie had duped her. The final scene might suggest the two are the same, but Julia does not seem to recognize the writer at all when they meet in London. Perhaps the writer is projecting one onto the other, but Julia is in London and wouldn't come without her father, Julie is gone to St Trop. The shadow she waves at happens to mimic the writer's wave, suggesting both are her puppets, imagination, or own projection. The movie ends leaving the silhouette anonymous. It also puts the writer back in France. Maybe the publisher gave her the villa as compensation. She did warn him her detective series would be coming back, a not so subtle blackmail after delivering him a book digging up old bones literally in his backyard. The best way to shut her up would be to give her a reason to keep people off the property he doesn't want to go back to himself.
As soon as I finish writing this I'm sure I will come up with another interpretation, and I've already spent more than the movie's running time on this. This is perhaps the beauty of the Swimming Pool.
I immediately looked up interpretations of the film because it does not hold your hand in its conclusion. Julie's existence, her relationship with Julia, with the publisher, and with the writer all come into question.
One character (if we accept he existed) grounds Julie in reality, it's the gardener Marcel. He has a dwarf daughter whom at the mention of her mother shuts herself in terrified, insisting she died in an accident. When he stumbles upon the freshly dug grave of Julie's latest victim, it is as if he had already seen this before. The writer looks at Julie for help, but since she's asleep, offers herself to the gardener instead. Julie is playful with Marcel, and in one scene stops him from working and pulls him in the bushes with her newly met sex partner. Julie might have had to gain the gardener' silence previously. Maybe she killed his wife. The hysteric way in which Julie pleads her mother not to leave her and her agony when she realizes she's talking to the author and her mother already isn't there could suggest she's reliving the past trauma of having been abandoned by her mother after a similar incident. Since the writer wouldn't have been there before, the gardener might have been Julie's former accomplice. Work at the villa might be compensation, it explains why neither parent wants to go back there or see Julie.
Julia is younger than Julie, and could be the official family the publisher approves of. She has braces. Julie absolutely does not wear bras. She is too free, the unwanted child of a sex orgy. The book the writer publishes behind the publisher's back is an "illegitimate" product itself. It is more personal and vindictive.
Etymologically, I don't know how much the director likes to play with names, but Julie's mother fled to somewhere Nice, her relationship with her father is Long done, and at the end she herself drives off to St Tropez, or Saint too much.
When I first saw the writer seeing Julia for the first time, I thought Julie had duped her. The final scene might suggest the two are the same, but Julia does not seem to recognize the writer at all when they meet in London. Perhaps the writer is projecting one onto the other, but Julia is in London and wouldn't come without her father, Julie is gone to St Trop. The shadow she waves at happens to mimic the writer's wave, suggesting both are her puppets, imagination, or own projection. The movie ends leaving the silhouette anonymous. It also puts the writer back in France. Maybe the publisher gave her the villa as compensation. She did warn him her detective series would be coming back, a not so subtle blackmail after delivering him a book digging up old bones literally in his backyard. The best way to shut her up would be to give her a reason to keep people off the property he doesn't want to go back to himself.
As soon as I finish writing this I'm sure I will come up with another interpretation, and I've already spent more than the movie's running time on this. This is perhaps the beauty of the Swimming Pool.
Hugo
(2011)
Read the spoilers and save yourself the time and pain.
4 March 2012
Warning: Spoilers
I saw the movie in 2D. I now believe Martin S owns the movie industry. Have yet to find professional reviews calling the movie a failure without kissing up to the man. The titular homeless orphan living within a French train station's walls fixes an invention of grumpy old toy shop owner George Melies and restores the man to his legendary status. Adding nothing to the main plot are the budding romances of two elderly regulars of the station and their dogs and that of the slapstick station inspector and a flower girl. Couldn't have cared less about any of the antipathetic characters. Especially the lead. Not particularly pleasing to the eye or ears, a lot of camera time is spent on his less than interesting variations of silent frowns and glares. Sexy beast Kingsley, Sasha Borat Baron and hit girl Chloe, I'll think twice before getting excited to see you in a movie. If you absolutely must go see this, bring a Nintendo 3DS with you.
Zombieland
(2009)
Columbus of the dead
25 May 2010
I hate all zombie movies except Shaun of the Dead. Now I hate zombie movies except Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland. No other zombie movie has managed to make me feel so good and happy for having watched it. Production value, acting, humor, action, romance, bromance, cinematography, music, presentation, style, reference to pop culture, name the criteria, I love both movies on all levels. I am otherwise speechless and drooling at how good this movie was. And will be every time I'll be rewatching it with friends and by myself.
Thank you for making me believe in Woody Harrelson again.
Missing the number of lines necessary to make a review, unlike the very concise movie, I shall delve deeper into what has made it such a welcome blast in the face for me. The casting is superb. Aside the obvious thumbs up for the main cast and the triple hoorray for the surreally incredible cameo, every zombie and its victim is simply an amazing selection of vivid faces, making the opening sequence one of my favorites, along with those of Seven, Dead or Alive-Hanzaisha, and Watchmen. The zombie make-up is fantastic. Every new zombie flick seems to try a distinct look for its zombies, but fortunately this one backs up its efforts to make rotten flesh look fresh with a good plot and characters to love. Even the deleted scenes and promotional theatrical trailers in the special features expanded on the characters in completely hilarious directions. I especially love the deleted scene where the pasts of two of the protagonists are hinted/guessed at. It's a scene that is nice left out of the movie, yet must be seen to add another layer to every character involved. Just watch it. The promotional theatrical trailers give you a list of clips from the movie followed by the two main characters giving you zombie survival tips, and serve as great fillers. Very worthwhile.
I can't wait to buy my own copy.
Thank you for making me believe in Woody Harrelson again.
Missing the number of lines necessary to make a review, unlike the very concise movie, I shall delve deeper into what has made it such a welcome blast in the face for me. The casting is superb. Aside the obvious thumbs up for the main cast and the triple hoorray for the surreally incredible cameo, every zombie and its victim is simply an amazing selection of vivid faces, making the opening sequence one of my favorites, along with those of Seven, Dead or Alive-Hanzaisha, and Watchmen. The zombie make-up is fantastic. Every new zombie flick seems to try a distinct look for its zombies, but fortunately this one backs up its efforts to make rotten flesh look fresh with a good plot and characters to love. Even the deleted scenes and promotional theatrical trailers in the special features expanded on the characters in completely hilarious directions. I especially love the deleted scene where the pasts of two of the protagonists are hinted/guessed at. It's a scene that is nice left out of the movie, yet must be seen to add another layer to every character involved. Just watch it. The promotional theatrical trailers give you a list of clips from the movie followed by the two main characters giving you zombie survival tips, and serve as great fillers. Very worthwhile.
I can't wait to buy my own copy.
Yakuza 3
(2009 Video Game)
Ode to Okinawa.
25 May 2010
I took this game with me on a half year long trip abroad so I wouldn't get homesick. Rural summers in the company of children and Tokyo night life among yakuzas somehow coexist in a single cohesive storyline deeply rooted in its meticulously recreated miniature Japan. I missed an opportunity to go to Okinawa, and am currently outside of Japan, but this game is the next best thing.
The game spends a good portion of the plot developing your relationship to the new characters, which might throw you off a bit until you reach that point when events call you back into action, and your new "family" becomes what you fight for. And the ass-kicking business has never been this good. I played through the fourth game, which introduced three new playable characters and entirely new points of view on the plot along with distinct fighting styles, making for an awesome experience, but I still don't mind coming back to play the third game.
The game spends a good portion of the plot developing your relationship to the new characters, which might throw you off a bit until you reach that point when events call you back into action, and your new "family" becomes what you fight for. And the ass-kicking business has never been this good. I played through the fourth game, which introduced three new playable characters and entirely new points of view on the plot along with distinct fighting styles, making for an awesome experience, but I still don't mind coming back to play the third game.
Yakuza
(2005 Video Game)
Lone Yakuza and 10 billion Yen Cub.
25 May 2010
I am plowing through my second run of the fourth installment of this franchise, yet the first game will always hold a dear place in my heart. This is not Grand Theft Auto. The morality of the protagonist is impeccable, and the worst you could do is refuse to help in a side mission. You play a man who took the fall for his best friend and spent ten years in prison, and since you supposedly killed your own boss, every yakuza hates you. This is unfortunately the most irritating aspect of the first title. Every encounter-able character in the street will pick a fight with you (a problem addressed in the sequels). Go to a convenience store to buy that household item which will turn your weapon into something more, and you'll get into two fights along the way. Try to make your way back to a save point and you'll have to beat the crap out of three new sets of punks. What saves this from becoming entirely unbearable is that your set of moves develops as you smash more faces to the ground, and you rarely run out of environmental weapons or the chance to pull a cinematic special move: you seldom get bored of beating people up. While you're not beating people up, you're running from place to place in town, and unfortunately, this second aspect is equally mortally flawed by slow loads--as many load times as street corners, and space distorting camera angles which will make you run into a street (after a prolonged load time hiccup) and back where you came from (meaning another prolonged load time to put you back where you started) by simply holding the directional stick in the same direction because the fixed camera angle will have done an unexpected 180 on you.
Those are the only two things I can complain about the game, which I still think deserves its 10. Once you beat it, get hold of the sequel which is twice as long and takes place in Osaka half the time. Beat that and buy a Playstation 3 to play the third game (not the swashbuckling spin off), which is half set in Okinawa. The fourth game is entirely set in the original city, with the addition of rooftops and underground levels. I love the series, and every installment. Since the playstation 3 games did away with the fixed camera, I doubt I'll be playing this game again, but I still give it a 10 for hooking me in so bad I did all of the above.
Those are the only two things I can complain about the game, which I still think deserves its 10. Once you beat it, get hold of the sequel which is twice as long and takes place in Osaka half the time. Beat that and buy a Playstation 3 to play the third game (not the swashbuckling spin off), which is half set in Okinawa. The fourth game is entirely set in the original city, with the addition of rooftops and underground levels. I love the series, and every installment. Since the playstation 3 games did away with the fixed camera, I doubt I'll be playing this game again, but I still give it a 10 for hooking me in so bad I did all of the above.
For Those We Love
(2007)
A lady's memoirs of the young kamikaze pilots who ate at her diner, as told by the Governor of Tokyo
13 July 2007
We are told early on that the kamikaze missions were entirely suicidal, and that therefore sinking a ship wasn't half as important as dying in front of the enemy. In the same breath, "voluntary" enlistment for those missions is revealed to have been an irrevocable order. Once the demented premise established, the episodes of various young men and how they spent their last moments come and go, as simply and as mercilessly as History sent off its zero fighters. The grainy footage and detail to military mannerism and apparatus give an authentic flavor that counterbalances the poor effects and sparse, but undeniable awful (child) acting. The first two thirds are drama heavy, and the climactic beautifully and obviously computer-generated aerial battle comes early at the head of the third act, which then peters out into a dragging epilogue about the aftermath of war that stretches out of the frame into the present. Personally, I have never found that plot device a good idea to begin with, but it is especially poorly executed in Japanese movies, such as Otoko-tachi no Yamato (2005), Lorelei (2005), The Twilight Samurai (2002), or Murudeka 17805 (2001). The credits should start rolling right after the last plane crashes, leaving the remaining twenty minutes to those who wish to stay seated. The weight of the movie still rests in the first half hour, but that alone is worth the price of admission. The Governor of Tokyo scripted the movie based on the stories he heard from the diner lady around whom the movie is centered.
Nobody Knows
(2004)
"Grave of the Fireflies" for a post-postwar Japan
3 September 2004
Studio Ghibli's "Hotaru no haka" (grave of the fireflies) came to mind after reflecting on the uncathartic "Dare mo Shiranai" (Nobody knows). While the former is an animation (by Hayao Miyazaki's studio nonetheless), it is an effective tearjerker. The impact of Nobody Knows is the casual eye the camera takes to document the degeneration of a family of children. Unlike Grave, Nobody does not have an anti-war agenda to preach the human tragedy with an orchestra score. It's about the real time Japan that nobody knows, and the last glance the movie throws at the spectator is a dagger retitling the movie Nobody Cares. Like "Ponette," the movie is told from the unpatronizing perspective of the children, and the film follows minute details which thread the challenge it is for them to simply live.
Kamikaze Girls
(2004)
Lolita and Japanese moped gang fans
29 August 2004
The story is about a girl who goes to Tokyo to buy her Lolita clothes, and the moped gangster girl she very unwillingly befriends. This movie is funny cute and sexy. Laughed a ton, and then got misty eyed too. A great Thelma and Louise kinda female bonding movie. Haven't seem T&L though, so don't take my word for it. The camerawork and cinematography, wait, the entire storytelling is funky and pop, but it's such a good story. Glad to have caught the last showing. The climax is surreal. But so is everything else. it's a movie driven on fashion, but the plot is knit tightly :) And still I wouldn't care, these two girls are both incredible. Very hot, very hot. A classic for Japanese pop culture conoisseurs. A decent story for all others.
The Second Circle
(1990)
no, not at all, this was funny.
17 November 2003
"gorgeously shot," "profound," whatever.
This movie was funny in awkward moments, and the lincoln center crowd I went to laughed at none of it. It's weirdly funny, because the humor doesn't escape the everpresent corpse. If you're up there with the guy the movie's about, or if you've had a wedgie since the movie started, I could imagine you wearing a sour face or a jaded stare. In the moments were the story felt completely impersonal to me, that's when I found it hilarious.
I like this movie "for the wrong reasons." Yet they are the rights ones for me.
This movie was funny in awkward moments, and the lincoln center crowd I went to laughed at none of it. It's weirdly funny, because the humor doesn't escape the everpresent corpse. If you're up there with the guy the movie's about, or if you've had a wedgie since the movie started, I could imagine you wearing a sour face or a jaded stare. In the moments were the story felt completely impersonal to me, that's when I found it hilarious.
I like this movie "for the wrong reasons." Yet they are the rights ones for me.
The Matrix Revolutions
(2003)
I liked it very much!
6 November 2003
Warning: Spoilers
When I heard Fox had bought the rights to a live-action adaptation of the anime series DRAGONBALL, I was worried... until I saw Neo's last fight with Smith. I didn't catch the Smith-Anderson etymological metaphor of artifice vs man until then. All that was missing were fireballs--I hope I'm not spoiling anything by saying that.
Big problem: who cares who dies in Zion? The only characters who've gained my sympathy in RELOADED were the kid and Link--his gf was on the verge of annoying. Locke, councillor Hamann, Bane, Bane's captain, all the other captains except Morpheus and maybe Niobe, Mifune, the funny-looking lady heading the council, they could all have been sent unarmed on the front line, and the movie would still have maintained its emotional integrity. So when I saw Sentinels "sit down," they gained over all the sympathy I'd saved up for the Zionites. Not that they are all mediocre people, but they get as much pity as strangers we would read about in the obituaries. Even the artificial Indian family we see at the beginning has more sympathy from me than the faceless or characterless populace of unplugged humans. The Merovingian! great character! His wife Persephone! Nearly even better! Had they been fighting the Sentinels, I would have bawled my eyes out. Had the Ghost twins or the tall Werewolf or the Asian goon with the beige coat working for the French man from Reloaded been on the losing side of the battle, I would have had more emotional investment in the war. From playing the game, I would have wished Ghost's character would get more of a story. The only people I got to care about were Neo and Trin and they seemed to only be making a guest appearance in the film (I'm exaggerating).
Sadly, the unfortunate substitution of the role of The Oracle took away all the love I had for one of my favorite characters from the first two movies.
A smaller problem: Maybe it was because they were tyring to make a point of separating physics of the real world with those of the Matrix, but the lack of physical damage noticeable on the characters of Smith and Neo felt like watching a video game lacking much needed damage skins. The fights seemed inconsequential, and therefore of lesser importance. Even in RELOADED Neo was bleeding when he stopped the sword... *SPOILER* Not to mention albeit thrilling, the Neo recapture was conducted with an ease that made me question the threat of his captors. Morpheus seemed to be a bigger fish to catch in THE MATRIX.*END SPOILER*
yet I really liked the end. Duality is a shallow concept, but I liked the movie nonetheless. I'm afraid I don't have many friends with whom I'll be able to share my appreciation of these three movies.
Big problem: who cares who dies in Zion? The only characters who've gained my sympathy in RELOADED were the kid and Link--his gf was on the verge of annoying. Locke, councillor Hamann, Bane, Bane's captain, all the other captains except Morpheus and maybe Niobe, Mifune, the funny-looking lady heading the council, they could all have been sent unarmed on the front line, and the movie would still have maintained its emotional integrity. So when I saw Sentinels "sit down," they gained over all the sympathy I'd saved up for the Zionites. Not that they are all mediocre people, but they get as much pity as strangers we would read about in the obituaries. Even the artificial Indian family we see at the beginning has more sympathy from me than the faceless or characterless populace of unplugged humans. The Merovingian! great character! His wife Persephone! Nearly even better! Had they been fighting the Sentinels, I would have bawled my eyes out. Had the Ghost twins or the tall Werewolf or the Asian goon with the beige coat working for the French man from Reloaded been on the losing side of the battle, I would have had more emotional investment in the war. From playing the game, I would have wished Ghost's character would get more of a story. The only people I got to care about were Neo and Trin and they seemed to only be making a guest appearance in the film (I'm exaggerating).
Sadly, the unfortunate substitution of the role of The Oracle took away all the love I had for one of my favorite characters from the first two movies.
A smaller problem: Maybe it was because they were tyring to make a point of separating physics of the real world with those of the Matrix, but the lack of physical damage noticeable on the characters of Smith and Neo felt like watching a video game lacking much needed damage skins. The fights seemed inconsequential, and therefore of lesser importance. Even in RELOADED Neo was bleeding when he stopped the sword... *SPOILER* Not to mention albeit thrilling, the Neo recapture was conducted with an ease that made me question the threat of his captors. Morpheus seemed to be a bigger fish to catch in THE MATRIX.*END SPOILER*
yet I really liked the end. Duality is a shallow concept, but I liked the movie nonetheless. I'm afraid I don't have many friends with whom I'll be able to share my appreciation of these three movies.
Hunt of a New Wolf
(1999– )
I caught an episode of this TV series a long time ago
24 October 2003
and it had real badass themes and cool cinematic techniques for a TV show. I've been looking for videos of the show since 1999, but all I remember is that the next episode was going to be about the Chinese Mafia, and ever since no one I know has heard of the show. I wonder if the triads ran off with the tapes. Cool show. I'd like to see some more of it.
Hulk
(2003)
THE INCREDIBLE WHO FRAMED BRUCE BANNER STORY with guest appearances by the Hulk
24 June 2003
Bruce Bana is a mean-looking dude. When he says he likes looking mean, he's scarier than all of the romping and stomping the Hulk does combined. it's because Ang Lee's Hulk has those lovey-dovey hubby-dubby cute and adorably loveably gleaming disney eyes. They are so shiny and sparkly that how could anyone resist speaking in baby language while watching that cute innocent giant green teddy bear smashing its first military base to smithereens?
It's the same problem GODZILLA 2000 had. Enormous shiny anthropomorphic pupils in the eyes. The giant rubber God. could flatten Tokyo for good, and he would still look cute doing it. Hence the white-eyed pitiless Godzilla in the third installment. The Hulk could have been a greater visual menace had he had smaller pupils and the wrath of an angry Bana. Instead, the Hulk mopes around a lot, and looks like he needs to be locked up in a small room alone with Eric Bana.
It's the same problem GODZILLA 2000 had. Enormous shiny anthropomorphic pupils in the eyes. The giant rubber God. could flatten Tokyo for good, and he would still look cute doing it. Hence the white-eyed pitiless Godzilla in the third installment. The Hulk could have been a greater visual menace had he had smaller pupils and the wrath of an angry Bana. Instead, the Hulk mopes around a lot, and looks like he needs to be locked up in a small room alone with Eric Bana.
Die Another Day
(2002)
what does it say when you would rather see Madonna's music video turned into a movie than a sequel with Pierce Brosnan?
21 June 2003
James Bond is more badass than usual because he grows a beard and is hostage in this movie. Great. Madonna is way more badassin her music video for the movie. It has a gritty dark feeling different from the movie, with a load of funny James Bond references, the best one being her sword planting itself in Brosnan's portrait. The movie itself has lots of entertaining scenes and oneliners, but... I'm disappointed. Maybe because I'm Asian and the whole Asian to White thing felt like Dragon Ball Z all over again.
funky and stylized Aeon Fluxish art
16 June 2003
Warning: Spoilers
The grotesque caricatural art work is as captivating as it is repulsive, and makes watching world record an awkward experience. SPOILER: freeing himself of the Matrix through his physical prowess alone, Dan, the protagonist, is an even more fantastic character than Neo.
The final flight of Square
16 June 2003
Warning: Spoilers
Awing the world with the graphics of SPIRITS WITHIN, OSIRIS by
comparison is a step back, or rather, it really is a job done on the
side as all energy was being poured into FF. The clunky
movements of the characters, especially noticeable in the opening
simulation scene, are subpar those of the 2001 box-office flop.
SPOILER: The actual sequences inside the Matrix involve an
extended jump, flat jogging, and a casual conversation with an old
lady who decided for once that she should not turn into an Agent
and stop Jue from informing Zionites about the attack of the
Sentinels. Maybe Jue wasn't such a hot face among the Agent's
most wanted list. Maybe it's a big PLOT HOLE. But, there is
mouthfuls of butt, and that alone must make OSIRIS the top
favorite of pseudo fans of the Matrix.
comparison is a step back, or rather, it really is a job done on the
side as all energy was being poured into FF. The clunky
movements of the characters, especially noticeable in the opening
simulation scene, are subpar those of the 2001 box-office flop.
SPOILER: The actual sequences inside the Matrix involve an
extended jump, flat jogging, and a casual conversation with an old
lady who decided for once that she should not turn into an Agent
and stop Jue from informing Zionites about the attack of the
Sentinels. Maybe Jue wasn't such a hot face among the Agent's
most wanted list. Maybe it's a big PLOT HOLE. But, there is
mouthfuls of butt, and that alone must make OSIRIS the top
favorite of pseudo fans of the Matrix.
Double Vision
(2002)
hybrid perspective
16 June 2003
When Edgar Allan Poe wrote Rue Morgue and other Dupin stories, he is said to have created two branches of the detective-novel: the sensational and the deductive. Trying to reconcile elements of the detective with the supernatural the way traditional Taiwan has married Westernization, DOUBLE VISION--quite the adequate title--is a hybrid worth watching for its bastardy. The detective part suffers when the movie ventures into the supernatural, and the former has holes of its own without the latter. However, once you've taken the Red Pill and bought the protagonist's story about his daughter, these holes in logic somewhat become intrinsic to elements of the supernatural, and the unexplained becomes the unexplainable that is plainly accepted. This fallacy grows on the film like the hallucinatory mold the plot revolves around, and DOUBLE VISION gains dreamy and poetic dimensions. Undoubtedly, this is not the deductive type of mystery--the cancer of sensationalism is as terminal as a brain tumor better left not operated: it is the entire charm of the movie.
Attack the Gas Station
(1999)
koreanarachy!
16 June 2003
a riot. literally. there's little more that can be done to a gas station maintaining good taste. the single location of this film has thoroughly been put to use. every development only escalates the level of trouble the four antiheroes get themselves in, and its exhilirating to see them face every new challenge with the same bravura.
Crash
(1996)
watching this movie was really awkward
14 June 2003
it has a nice title sequence though. The credits move to the fore one after another and the metallic font is slightly dented, supporting the carcrash theme of the movie. the guy from SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL is quite more psychotic than when he played the Devil in FALLEN. I've had my eye on Deborah Unger since HIGHLANDER 3, but she's more disturbing than pleasing to watch. I definitely felt more comfortable watching eXistenZ.
Tell Your Friends