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olsonmike2000
Reviews
Chin gei bin (2003)
Why did I buy this movie? Doh!
I saw this movie in Blockbuster and thought it might be a good Sunday evening movie when there is nothing else to do. So I bought it used, 3 DVDs for $25. Although it was cheap, my money would have been better spent on a nail to drive through my foot.
The film started out nicely. Kinda Dark and mysterious. I was always enthralled with vampire and samurai movies as a kid. I thought the combo would be really cool. The first fight scene was pretty cool. I was excited for the rest of the movie. Then the movie took a serious nose dive.
I understand that this was a big hit in the east. I guess because of the twins. I don't see it though. This movie, aside from the first 10 minutes, was absolutely horrible. So many movies in this genre have the potential to be great, and blow it terribly. This is just another casualty.
Jacki Chan's role in this film doesn't make any sense at all. Whyyyyyyyy? Complete silliness. He probably made a few bucks off it though.
The only cool thing in this movie are the swords they use. Nice idea.
I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone.
Azumi (2003)
Really Great! (after a few drinks)
One night I went on a quest for a bloody samurai movie that I could have a drink to and just let my brain turn into Jell-O. This was the one I found. And it was just right for the mood I was in. I'm not as well versed in the genre, but I enjoyed the film greatly.
There was enough story to keep me interested, but lacked the deep, well developed characters and plot that make great movies. I will definitely be checking out some of the directors other movies.
I'm a sucker for nice cinematography and this film has quite a few moments that were very well done. Very stylistic. Nice color usage. It seemed that the cinematography was what really saved the fight scenes. I don't know anything about the martial arts, but you could tell they weren't Jet Li. I guess they covered up a lot of the poor swordplay with nice filming techniques.
I could have done without some of the silly soundtrack music. Much of the film has a serious tone, despite the poor dialogue and slim plot, and is ruined in a couple of spots by what is probably the pop band of the month over there. It didn't ruin the film totally though. It just broke the continuity and made me take it for what it was, a Pop Culture Flick.
Overall, I enjoyed the ultra violent fighting sequences and beautiful look of the film. If you liked Hero, Crouching Tiger, etc
you might enjoy. It was worth seeing, but if you are looking for a great piece of art..... You might try looking somewhere else.