Change Your Image
nguyan556
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Ted Lasso (2020)
4 episodes seen already! Can't wait for the rest
I don't watch many sports films or Tv shows and considering that Jason Sudeikis is Ted Lasso from the Premier League commercials years ago, I thought his character was going to goofy & clueless. He's more than that...he's a man with heart for the competitive game that he knows less about!
Personally I wasn't expecting anything special but I was fairly surprised on how engaging it was from the first episode. There are some amazing characters portrayed here with interesting conflicts in between. And what I do like about the series is that they don't focus on the "soccer" gameplay as an excuse to move the narrative forward! They keep it simple & make the moments relatable as possible (in terms of the football culture in the Uk).
Already 4 episodes in and I am starting to warm up with this series already! This is a good show to watch especially if you were just on Twitter having to read comments from a bunch of toxic football fans! Give it a watch!!!!
Du zhan (2012)
It's 2020 and I believe this is still a modern Chinese masterpiece
I've seen this film about 20 times and for some reason, I've never got to write down all of my thoughts on paper. Drug War is my favourite crime thriller film of all time. No one's ever going to change my mind. Not even "Seven", "Heat", "The Prestige" or "Scarface" would convince me to change otherwise. Unpopular opinion: this might be in my top 25 favourite films of all time! Drug War is just a very personal film to me and the way it was shot, staged and cut...I just felt like I've watched a completely different film that somewhat stands out from any other average crime thrillers I've experienced in my lifetime. For me, the first-ever viewing was a surprise but the second time I saw it, it was a total out-of-body experience.
Apart from that, there are also two reasons why Drug War doesn't get the worldwide recognition it may deserve for it to be considered as a classic HK film (Chinese film but still, whatever). Firstly, western audiences seem to be jumping on certain bandwagons when it comes to crime/action films made in Hong Kong such as "Infernal Affairs" starring Tony Leung Chiu-Wai & Andy Lau. Or John Woo's guns-a-blazin flicks like "A Better Tomorrow" or "Hard Boiled. And maybe even Johnnie's most known crime thrillers such as "Election" or "PTU". And yes, I can understand that Drug War seems to be more recent than those films in comparison but also, this film is set in mainland China instead of Hong Kong (CCP restrictions and all that). Secondly, if you're looking for a crime film where it focuses on in-depth character development or psychological emotions; or a crime film where it has explosions, gunfights every 10 minutes or the usual action film clichés, you'll be disappointed. I believe this film is well better off without those and the film is still intelligent and exhilarating overall.
A simple synopsis; a Hong Kong criminal gets arrested for manufacturing tons of meth in China and is ceased to receive a death sentence. However, the criminal begs to keep him alive and allow him to help the police take down the drug ring. The Chinese police captain, looking unconvinced, gives him one chance to redeem himself and the criminal turns into an informant to work alongside the police. Or does he? With a partnership being formed between a cop and a criminal through circumstances, one can't help but realise that the criminal is a tad suspicious. What are his exact motivations in this film? Also, throughout the entire film, who really has the upper hand here; the cop (stoic & no-nonsense) or the criminal (looks vulnerable on the outside, sneaky & cunning on the inside)?
Like mentioned, we never get to see the full backstory of these two primary characters; Johnnie To (like many of his other films) tends to tell his stories this way and delves straight to the point; focus on the police operation at hand. Simple plot but with such reckless filmmaking from Johnnie and strong & slick storytelling on display.
The direction is detailed and low-key. It's procedural, intense and nonetheless, edge-of-your-seat material. As mentioned, there is not really any key action set-pieces throughout the first 2/3 of the film as all the events have unfolded over 72 sleepless hours of the intense insight of the operation that is complex and full of surprises (that's all you get to know). Then it all leads to what's arguably the greatest final 20 minutes of a crime film I have seen in my life, appropriate for every language on this planet. It's confronting and 'in your face' at the same time.
In my heart, Drug War (even the lead up to the finale itself) should place themselves alongside other American crime masterpieces that I have seen. The camera movement was utilised so elegantly, even while the chaos is taking place in the frame. Usually many other crime films make the shots "shaky" in order to capture the excitement of the chaos which I believe loses the authenticity, something that Drug War doesn't lack. The overall colour grading is cold-blooded, silver-blue fog which is like the old French New Wave crime films from master filmmaker Jean Pierre-Melville (Johnnie's filmmaking inspiration) and I think it was used nicely because it definitely gave me the chills watching this. The visuals are so sophisticated, and the action set-pieces are purely old-school craftmanship, something that new HK/Chinese thrillers mostly lack these days (if you've seen them, you should know what I meant).
It's gripping and enthralling from start to finish! If you are not familiar with Johnnie To, Drug War is a great film to be introduced to his filmmaking style. I highly HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend giving this movie a watch. What I LOVE about this film is how simple the plot is and how it results into one of the most terrifying climatic resolutions I have ever witnessed.
Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood (2019)
Waited till June 2020 to watch this...and it's the most promising film to have come out in 2019! Not Tarantino's top 5 though
Arguably, this is not even top 5 out of Tarantino's 9 films for his fans (audiences saying Tarantino's most overrated, overhyped film ever). However, after watching this latest masterpiece, OUTIH has officially replaced my childhood Tarantino classic (fyi, kids weren't supposed to watch this) Kill Bill on my own top 5 of Tarantino's films!
Judging from all the promotions & trailers, I thought to myself this is a very different Tarantino movie as there doesn't seem to be any Tarantino gore violence being seen around here. And that is alright because I didn't mind that since this is just a comedy-drama and I was happy to see Tarantino trying to move away from his usual violent style after Django Unchained & The Hateful Eight.
Why people don't like this movie is because it's not like a usual Tarantino's other film due to the lack of his regular violent style as mentioned earlier. What they don't understand is that this is Tarantino's comedic & thoughtful tribute to the late 60s Hollywood that some of us younger audience may have never seen and experienced before. I started appreciating the pop culture back in those days and for some unknown reason, Leonardo DiCaprio singing & dancing to Jim Lowe's "Green Door" song just keeps popping up in my brain cells for the past month, lol!
One of the most interesting films of 2019, this is probably the first Tarantino film that I think boys and girls can enjoy. Characters that are either fictional or non-fictional such as Sharon Tate, the Manson family (a bunch of weirdos) and even BRUCE LEE (although it's an addition people are unhappy with)! This just makes Tarantino's screenplay more engaging & entertaining at the same time because by the end of it, you'll recognise that he wants his viewers to immerse into his alternate vision of the 60s Hollywood...just like what he does with his other films.
The first 15 minutes compromises of the introduction of the character before we start off exploring 3 different storylines; Leo's character Rick Dalton's tarnished acting spell, Brad Pitt's Cliff Booth on his trip to an old film company patrolled by some hippie cult and Margot Robbie's Sharon Tate (real-life Hollywood star in the 60's), which might be a pointless, short segment to look at but it fits into the historical context of the time this film was set in and she also happens to be Rick's neighbour.
After going through the first 2 hours, everything comes together in the last 45 minutes of the film! Unexpectedly, the most surprising last 45 minutes you'll ever see in movies! Irritating, intense but a lot of fun at the same time. I'm sure based on the fact that Sharon Tate is a non-fictional character, you would definitely want to do some research afterwards because I have found some stuff that has broken my heart and furious at the same time.
Tasteful & natural chemistry between Leonardo DiCaprio & Brad Pitt, I was so excited to see two of my favourite film superstars on-screen together! That's the feeling I'll get if I get to meet Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time EVER! Leo's performance as Rick was funny, charming and quirky but it's about Brad Pitt's coolness & charisma that stole the show, even as a supporting actor. As soon as Brad won an Oscar for this film, I had doubts whether he deserved it or not but whenever Brad is in a Tarantino film, it's just pure satisfaction. Also, his character Cliff Booth was certainly the most interesting to watch but that's up to you to decide.
After seeing this film, I have high expectations for the Korean masterpiece Parasite (still haven't watched it yet ) as they did beat other films in 2019 such as Joker, 1917 or Ford vs Ferrari for Oscars Best Picture! OUTIH is A MUST WATCH, even if you're not a Tarantino fan!
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
ANNOYING RATINGS OF 1! GIVE A REALISTIC RATING AT LEAST, YO!
This is my 3rd favourite ever Tarantino film after watching 8 of his films (apart from OUATIH)! I recently watched the film for the 3rd time and I can confidently say, this film has not lost its touch once you give it a second viewing. I would give an in-depth review but seeing as everyones given it a 1 in the most CHILDISH fashion, I decided to balance the books and just rate it, NOTHING ELSE.
And these haters giving it a rating of 1 probably love watching these annoying over-the-top Marvel films cos it has special effects & all of that green screen stuff and think that it's more "cinematically" better than 'Inglorious Basterds'!