Reviews

XANDA is probably a better movie than it has any right to be. The leading man is brand new, there are no big stars, and the script is too brisk, cutting necessary exposition in favor of a fast pace. And yet XANDA hits all the right buttons, giving some excellent martial arts sequences in combination with some effective romance between the two young leads. Leading man Sang Wei-Lin is a revelation, and Xanda, the fighting style featured in the movie, looks like the style of the future. It's fast, ferocious, and powerful. My only complaint is that the film is too short. Other than that, XANDA puts a film with a similar premise, Daniel Lee's STAR RUNNER, to shame.

7 out of 10

(go to NIXFLIX.COM for a more detailed review)

A "western" with people running around doing Shaolin kung fu. There's a "Chinese" character who looks as Chinese as my Aunt Sally, who has never seen a Chinese person in her life. All the bad guys are dummies, and even though they always have their guns aimed at the good guys at point blank range and could kill them at any time, never bothers to pull the trigger. This, despite the fact that the bad guy's head honcho (Gary Busey) has killed people randomly throughout the film, but for some reason always lets the hero go so he can come back for one of those final shoot-outs. The script by the star is nonsensical, even as camp. The martial arts is actually quite good, but in the background of a western, it's just...wrong. Also, did the female lead steal Sharon Stone's clothes from THE QUICK AND THE DEAD? Someone call the police.

4 out of 10

If you can slush through the first 40 minutes of STAR RUNNER, which features one of the most contrived and inexplicable romance in movie history, then the film is worthwhile. The fights range from decent to good, and the final brawl is impressive. The female lead is very beautiful, but her character is also the weakest element of the film. Whenever the character is onscreen, the cliches come hard and fast, and you'll be hard-pressed to survive it all.

Summation: Nothing original, but decent if you can survive the silly and unbelievable romance angle that incredibly takes up the film's entire first half.

5 out of 10

CORONADO certainly manages some visually remarkable special effects with what must have been a modest budget, but perhaps it's all for naught. The entire movie is one big special effects reel, without a coherent story or much of a story, in fact, to string it together. Things take place in the film's 80-minutes that have no rhyme or logic to them. They're all in service of the next special effects scene that will, usually, showcase a CGI aircraft of one sort or another. The entire film, actually, should just be a bunch of CGI tanks and CGI helicopters flying around shooting at each other. Which is a shame, because the acting is actually quite good. Unfortunately the script is nonexistent and you've seen better versions of this in the INDIANA JONES movies and ROMANCING THE STONE.

Mindless CGI is nice to look at. But I'd much rather have a movie with coherent plotting and storylines instead.

5 out of 10

A terrific, pure action movie. THE NEST was obviously heavily inspired by Hollywood action pictures, most notably that of Cameron's ALIENS and, according to the movie, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN. The narrative is right on the money, and the film delivers on the intensity and insane action. It's really the best action movie I've seen from France in a long, long time. Not since the years of Luc Besson's glory days. And as they did with LA FEMME NIKITA, I'm sure the French movie industry, so mired in its undying pretentiousness, will not pay this excellent movie any interest. Which probably makes the director's jump to Hollywood a good thing -- the French movie industry will never embrace him. Hollywood will.

AZUMI is an entertaining period film from Kitamura, the man who gave us the zombie epic VERSUS. AZUMI is Kitamura's biggest budgeted film to date, and it shows. There's a lot of massive sword battles, and the finale features the sword-swinging heroine as she slaughters her way through, oh, about 200 foes or so. It's quite something to see.

As to originality, there's not a lot of it in AZUMI. The film's premise -- petite woman is also master swordswoman -- has been done in PRINCESS BLADE. Even the movie's "vibe" is the same as RED SHADOW and OWL'S CASTLE.

Then again, the movie is vastly entertaining, and there's always a swordfight when things start to get boring. It's too bad the lead is mostly dull.

7 out of 10

ALIVE is a big letdown for fans of Kitamura's VERSUS. It's not a big surprise Kitamura chose this movie as his sophomore effort coming off the massive success of the hyper kinetic VERSUS. The result, unfortunately, is a terribly dull and drab movie that expends way too much energy on a silly story and even sillier fights. The first half is mostly nothing happening, with the film's first 40-minutes completely superfluous, as it has nothing to do with the rest of the movie. What amounts to "tension" is one nice guy (who was condemned, but is still pretty nice) and a not-so-nice guy (who was also condemned, and deservedly so) trying to outdo each other when it comes to weak acting. The nice guy just mopes a lot and the mean guy just shouts and acts crazy. Amateur hour, anyone?

It doesn't help that Kitamura shows his familiarity with American films by, basically, reusing up all the action sequences that he liked from those films in this one. THE MATRIX special effects was used, as well as James Cameron's ALIENS sequence where characters run around screaming into each other's helmet/vid contraption as they're attacked. (For "elite soldiers", these guys "lost it" pretty darn quick!) We also get "psychic powers" very, VERY similar to Proyas' DARK CITY.

Not that ALIVE is completely bad. It's just...mostly dumb and bad.

5 out of 10

UNBORN BUT FORGOTTEN lacks originality to the nth degree. It is nothing more than a retread of every post-RINGU movie that's come out of Asia in the last 5 years or so. The film actually exchanges "videotape" with "website" and there you have it. Aside from the usual flattering South Korean aesthetics, there's nothing here for anyone looking for a good time. It is, in a nutshell, OLD.

3 out of 10

Sermoning Hollywood films are nothing new. Our fine residents of Lalaland has always harbored the "secret" that they know more than the rest of us hicks not living in lalaland. Of course, to them everyone who DOESN'T live in lalaland or New York are hicks -- otherwise what's the point of being in a club if that club isn't extremely exclusive with a limited membership?

DAVID GALE is a poor film that neglects so many common sense angles that it makes you wonder if the writer(s) was drunk as he wrote the film, or if he/she/they were just downright stupid. I tend to believe in the latter myself.

Point 1: Just because the director elects to NEVER film anyone talking on a cellphone, or even owning one, in the 21ST CENTURY doesn't deny the existence of such inventions. Of course the presence of cellphones would sort of negate the lead's "race against time" nonsense toward the end. You can't have a guy-on-death-row movie without having someone racing against time to save them. How cliche.

Point 2: The writer(s), again, shows lack of understanding. The characters' motivations are all over the place. A movie that is supposed to be anti-death penalty only ends up showing the "heroes" as hypocritical fanatics. Unless the film was supposed to be PRO-death penalty (which I highly doubt), this is a giant failure. It would be supremely ironic if the filmmakers HAD NO IDEA they did this.

Point 3: I suppose this wouldn't be a Sermoning Hollywood Movie without cardboard characters. Everyone against the death penalty sports glowing halos above their heads. Everyone for the death penalty should have grass in their teeth and talk with a slow, retarded draw. I understand the need to hedge one's bet and give all the "other" guys the disadvantages, but fair is fair, and stupid Hollywood movies with pretentious of greatness are just stupid Hollywood movies with pretentious of greatness.

All in all, DAVID GALE is a poor film. The acting is serviceable, but direction by the usually reliable Mr. Parker (COME SEE THE PARADISE ranks as one of my favorite movies of all time) is strangely incompetent. The flashback transitions have an amateurish vibe to them, and on a whole, the film is sunk by its own hefty bias.

In closing: I am anti-death penalty. It is a racist system that overwhelmingly punishes minorities over whites. The entire system should be overhauled or gotten rid of permanently. Just in case you were wondering.

Yet another attempt to cash in on the popularity of CSI, a show that I myself has never really gotten into. COLD CASE is bland from the beginning, starting with its run-of-the-mill cases, supporting cast, and a leading lady that screams "dull". If the show was less bland, then there might be a chance. But centering your show around a blonde that has zero charisma is the kiss of death. Had the lead been just a little bit more interesting, instead of standing around looking like a lifeless mannequin with an okay face, the show might have a chance. As it stands, it probably won't survive into 2004. Or, considering American's inexplicable fixation with forensics shows, it might. I just know that I won't be tuning in.

FEBRUARY is an excellent film, with the kind of detailed and exceptional camera work currently owned, seemingly, by South Korean filmmakers. The aesthetics of FEBRUARY are quite impressive, with lavish attention to detail in every scene. But if there is one complaint, it's that the movie goes on for about 15 minutes too long. It should have ended at the 90-minute mark -- had it done so, the film would have left a lasting impact on the audience, as we realize how cruel fate is. Even so, FEBRUARY is a must-see, and definitely marks the move toward maturity for the Thai film industry.

8 out of 10

FLESH FOR THE BEAST has a great name, I'll give it that. But it's a bad, bad, bad movie. Even for fans of the genre, who considers films like these as guilty pleasures, there's just no getting around the fact that BEAST is a bad movie, through and through. Worst of all, the director was responsible for a sea of cheapie sex flicks, but you wouldn't know that considering how awful the fake sex in BEAST is. I kid you not. You would expect someone who spent so much time shooting sex scenes, and movies with naked women, would somehow develop a knack for fine T&A. But alas, BEAST doesn't even give the viewer that. The gore is fine, but it could have been better. As a whole, the film is poorly executed, and the acting is, as expected, quite atrocious.

3 out of 10

SEX IS ZERO is a rather funny film in the style of, as others have noted, AMERICAN PIE. There are three differences: the characters are Korean; the scene is college; and the Third Act is Overwrought Melodrama that completely undermines all the gross out gags of the first hour.

Anyone familiar with Asian films will not be all that surprised by the movie's sudden shift in themes. Tackling a serious topic like abortion in a movie where characters masturbates at just about EVERY given opportunity??? It provides an odd dichotomy, to be sure.

Still, the film is reasonably funny enough, even if all of its gags are telegraphed about 10 minutes beforehand.

6 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie)

XIN HAN (aka SHIVER) is more Serial Killer movie than a Horror film -- more David Fincher's SEVEN with a quirky sense of humor than any of the rash of horror films currently being churn out by the Hong Kong film industry.

Francis Ng makes an affable lead as the absent-minded cop who seems incapable of realizing that his ailing wife needs attention, since she's started to see strange visions in the aftermath of getting shot in the head. Ouch.

The film is oftentimes confusing, and seems to be playing up to expectations. It's by no means scary or a horror film, and its Third Act is more SILENCE OF THE LAMBS than THE EYE.

In short: Not so bad, especially if you like Francis Ng.

6 out of 10

NEW BLOOD was obviously made to cash in on the current horror fad running wild through Hong Kong cinema at the moment. It employs all the same conventions of the genre, including garish green tint, somber acting, and one of those spirits that shows up in quick spurts ala Shock Flashes that horror filmmakers seem required to do nowadays. The movie offers up a Big Twist at the end, but it seems somewhat perfunctory and not very well thought out.

Even so, NEW BLOOD has a good actress as its lead, and the movie, although it's quite conventional, nevertheless benefits from the director's visual flairs. No CGI or elaborate special effects here, only a ton of fake blood and a lot of creativity with the camera. The editing and use of sound is also quite well done.

6 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of the movie)

MOON CHILD has a lot going for it. It's a visually stunning film to behold, but its story reeks of lack of originality. The movie is basically a retread of the Gangster genre, with a character on the rise, and his eventual fall, in the underworld. Throw a vampire into the mix to spice things up, and the film actually feels a bit more than generic, but alas its second half proves that it is, in fact, nothing more than a generic gangster movie.

As an action film, the movie fails badly. The director has a lot of money to throw around, so we get plenty of special effects and gunplay. There are, perhaps, TOO much gunplay. This is made doubly hard to stomach because the gunplay is so poorly filmed. John Woo this movie aint. If anything, MOON CHILD's gun battles look like the product of a director who wants stylized violence, but refuses to fully "go" with it. As a result, the film's non-action scenes play it up as realistic, but its action scenes reek as cartoonish.

Still, a visually impressive movie that just might be bothered by an unnecessarily long 15 extra minutes at the end and the old Asian use of heavy melodrama for no obvious purpose other to have melodrama.

6 out of 10

In a nutshell, UNDEAD is a tedious and tiresome film. I am a lover of the zombie genre. Love it to death. Can't get enough of them. I will watch any type of zombie film, from no-budget to big-budget and enjoy them all the same. But UNDEAD, a film that I had eagerly anticipated, tried my patience. I can't stress enough how much I looked forward to this movie, and how much I love the genre. But UNDEAD is simply...UNbearable.

In short: the characters are not funny, but are in fact grating on the nerves. The actors are amateurs and do not sell their roles. The script is horrible and reeks of over compensation. The story is gibberish and, by movie's end, becomes so convoluted that it becomes completely incomprehensible. I dare anyone out there who raves about this movie to tell me the purpose of the alien invasion.

Other things: the action direction was nice, even though it gets repetitive. In fact, the entire movie is repetitive, consisting of basically the same sequence repeated over and over. To wit: Marion saves survivors; survivors insult Marion and take away his gun at gunpoint; Marion saves survivors again; repeat sequence. I guess the filmmakers could only come up with one idea and just decided to repeat it ad nauseum.

Overall, UNDEAD is a poor zombie movie. Worst, it attempts to be "more" than a zombie movie, and only succeeded in being unbelievably tedious, dull, repetitive, and amateurish.

2 out of 10

Sequels, by their nature, are supposed to be inferior to the original because they no longer have originality at their side. My my, does MIMIC 3 prove this notion. The film tries to be a thoughtful approach to the series, but it only ends up being tedious, dull, and wholly lacking in entertainment value. Too bad, because the actors do some good work, but the movie, sporting a thankfully short running time, does itself no favors. Dull characters mixed in with a dull story equals a dull movie. Even THE SIMPSONS gave us a better REAR WINDOW retread. And is it me, or did our voyeur photographer always seem to run out of film or forgot to click on his camera whenever the mimics were in view? Well, I guess if he actually took a picture of them the whole movie would be over, and the dumb cop couldn't keep thinking that our hero was nuts. How contrived.

3 out of 10

INFERNAL AFFAIRS 2, the prequel to the popular film from 2002, is a bloated movie trying to make its way into "epic" status. The film runs almost 2 hours long, is at least 30 minutes too long, and too many characters are introduced, leaving the original two leads -- the two people the film is supposed to be "exploring" -- standing in the background with nothing much to do. One of the main character commits a murder in the beginning that sets off a gangland war, but other than that the two main characters could have been excised completely from the film.

In a nutshell, INFERNAL AFFAIRS 2 is THE GODFATHER 2, but with Chinese actors and triads instead of mafiosos. Narratively, the two films are identical, and the writers of IA 2 even re-uses elements and sequences made popular in that other film. It's not very hard to spot, but I guess we can count is as homage rather than theft. Perhaps.

In any rate, IA 2 is a good enough movie, but in truth, it really shouldn't have been called IA 2, or a prequel to the far superior INFERNAL AFFAIRS. As another movie entirely, without relations to INFERNAL AFFAIRS, IA 2 would have been quite a terrific film. But alas, it comes to us with baggage.

7 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this film)

HEROIC DUO is visually stunning. The film has the feel of a South Korean drama, which in this day and age is a very good thing. There's a slick quality to the movie, and the script is oftentimes clever and assured. The only bump in the road comes toward the ending, with a Third Act that gets thrown out the window in favor of contrived melodrama. Had the film remained clever and intelligent, it might have been another in a short list of Hong Kong revivals that have gone for brains rather than brain. DUO is in the vein of RUNNING OUT OF TIME, with an emphasis on being clever, but it doesn't have that movie's follow through. Even so, the leads are quite engaging, even Ekin Cheng, who I do not find to be very engaging. Leon Lai once again turns in an excellent performance.

6 out of 10

RUNNING ON KARMA is an odd little movie. The film features a gimmick where star Andy Lau wears a "muscle suit" throughout, but for the life of me I can't figure out why. It seems to be a gimmick, and really serves no purpose other than to have Cecilia Cheung's character call him "Big One" or "Big Guy" because his character, from what I can gather, has no name. The film gets extremely muddled and weak when it wanders into karma and destiny land. It might have been better had the film stuck to a more traditional method of storytelling. As it is, it's good to see Cecilia Cheung out of period costume or hanging out with Wong Jing. The film's first half, with its police cases and action, are its best. The second half reminds one of German filmmaker Tom Tywker, only less coherent and unfocused.

6 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this film)

WONDERFUL DAYS is the first South Korean animation I have seen. The animation is, in a word, GORGEOUS. The story, on the other hand, is grossly lacking. It's not that the film doesn't answer questions, it just doesn't seem to care about supplying minor details like -- oh, the NAME of the third party in the story's core love triangle. You know, I would think giving the guy's name early on would be logical, but I guess not. We don't even know the guy's name until over an HOUR into this 85-minute movie. Other minor quibbles dominate the film.

But as animation, WONDERFUL DAYS is a winner. It is also supported by a fantastic and haunting soundtrack with some amazing choice songs. The type of stuff that makes you weak in the knees.

Now if only they could bother with the story...

7 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of the film)

CURSE OF THE FORTY-NINER (or MINER'S MASSACRE, as it's actually called in the movie) may be low-budget, but it delivers the goods. To be sure, it's yet another mindless Teen Slasher, without any redeeming quality whatsoever. But the movie is very much aware of its insignificance to world culture, and in return we get all the goodies fans of the genre are used to.

Final word is that FORTY-NINER will not win any awards, but it doesn't sell its niche audience short. Although the leads are a bit bland. I didn't even know they had names, or that they were married (!), until almost toward the end.

5 out of 10

ANATOMY 2 is not a very good film. It obviously had a big budget, and the visuals are quite polished and slick. But the film itself is cartoonish and uninvolving. The screenplay lacks credibility, and the movie's use of science, as a whole, is laughable. Comic books make up better science than this movie.

The characters are also lacking. The only character of note is the Filipino nurse, who sadly goes missing for much of the movie. The lead is not very sympathetic, and most of the characters who play "doctors" (or interns) look more like a high school clique rather than people who have graduated from medical school.

Also, there is almost no action. I keep hearing "more action", but where is it? I see a lot of running and chasing (in a hospital, no less!) but nothing close to "action".

All in all, a bad film. I haven't seen the original, so perhaps it's better. I don't say this often, but perhaps ANATOMY 2 would have been better had it taken the Teen Slasher route, and gone for dumb mindless fun. In this case, the movie is just dumb and mindless, but not very fun at all.

4 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie)

HANGMAN'S CURSE is a mildly entertaining film, combining horror elements with social commentary. Set in a high school, it rounds out its cast with the usual Goth misfits and the jocks, two natural enemies. A "curse" that sends jocks who are also known bullies into comas brings a family of paranormal investigators to a local school.

Despite the elaborate poster, the film is not scary. I hesitate to call it a horror film. At most, it's a mystery, with the two young teens as the actual leads. The parents really do little except run around peering into microscopes. For those who have seen these type of movies before, all the answers should be obvious by the 50-minute mark, leaving 50 extra minutes for the characters to catch up.

It's not a bad film. I would even recommend it. But it's definitely not going to scare anybody.

P.S. HANGMAN'S CURSE will be memorable to me for one thing: ITS TEENS ARE ACTUALLY PLAYED BY TEENS!!! Yes, they still do exist.

6 out of 10

(go to www.nixflix.com for a more detailed review of this movie)