Change Your Image
GlennInWinnipeg
Reviews
Ko-ri-a (2012)
Just a fantastic movie .. exciting to watch.
The first 35 minutes is your typical "sports story" .. one actor is obviously a gifted comedian like Doris Day (tad campy type of thing) but just when I was about to think it was the light and fluffy drama, if sudden changed. Not to spoil it .. but he story, you can tell it jumped into the relaying an important happening .. and the acting was no longer your typical type .. but full of sincere emotion and the viewer just gets drawn in.
The action is shot amazingly well and is really exciting to watch with some terrific shots and visuals. What a wonderful and important story. The cast is just amazing with the ending: well certainly a Kleenex warning is warranted.
Absolutely recommended, make it to the 38 minute mark and you are in for a spectacular treat of a movie and history retelling.
Dohee-ya (2014)
Just a terrific movie .. not a wasted scene.
What an outstanding movie. The cast .. wow all so strong and believable. The characters that stick with you are the police chief (Doona Bae, what a talent that boosts everyone's performance here I think), the little girl Do-Hee(Sae-ron Kim, perfect performance), and the main protagonist(Hie-jin Jang) is very strong which makes the thing work. I also thought the Indian man's strong performance made that entire part of the story work (comes in about 2/3 into the movie).
You will have to watch it, but the story has so many levels of plot and surprises. When people say it keeps you engrossed from the beginning to the end they are not kidding. Every scene had me thinking and pondering how I have seen this type of thing happen, and also how I have not seen the truth of matters because my perception was being manipulated -- giving in to stereotypes and lies as if they were actually true.
The other aspect is that this is a very quiet film -- even the music is quiet. I was thinking during the credit -- I'm amazed such a quiet movie kept my attention -- but the reason is that the story and people are so darn interesting.
I highly recommend it. I hope it gets some theatre or DVD/BluRay release in Region 1.
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Matrix went religious - this one went political.
This is simply an amazing movie on so many levels. Editing -- it must have been a nightmare to do and I cannot find a fault in it. Bravo.
Papa Sung's bar is perhaps capitalism. Perhaps we are all working in that bar as slaves for those literally feeding off our labours. You go to work with the promise that if you give to the company you will be rewarded with "accolades and awards" and a promising retirement?
If you liked the original Matrix -- for the beauty and storytelling (and many messages) -- you will love this one. It you do not like thinking, and just want a feel good movie buzz -- this one will seem long.
For me, I think it was outstanding and will watch it a couple more times. Which was the exact feeling I had with the first Matrix.
Remember is uses arc storytelling, which is a bit like a soap opera with several story lines running at the same time and you jump to each.
The directors said the INTENT was to start off with the viewer feeling confused and lost as the 6 different story lines have sharp disjointed cuts and one wonders what is the connection. I know many people in the theater I was in had already given up in the first 15 minutes and were busy with their cellphones or chatting or whatever. As the movie goes along the stories are edited to show they are the same story really .. for instance in the future they are on that narrow expandable bridge and it cuts back to the ship and the guy running on the narrow beam. Just perfection.
This movie is not junk food -- designed to give a rush with no mental activity - just stimulation. Go watch a contrite love story or action movie for that. But for those who like to participate and to be pulled into a movie, this one is truly amazing.
Chik yeung tin si (2002)
Guys Movie .. ah .. with women as leads (ie. Charlie Angels)
Just a great surprise -- great action and cast. The story-line is a bit comic-book like (think Batman) at times, but this just adds to the feeling that part of the enjoyment of the movie is being along for the ride and to not take it all too serious.
Every good action movie it seems has a unique visual "trick" to show -- Matrix had "bullet time" for instance. This one they figured out how to make glass look like it is breaking and they use side wire tools that allow them to fly a bit like Spiderman (by making it part of the plot, it saved the special effect team having to paint the lines out).
If you like action movies, and the cast, you will be very happy with this movie. I really appreciated the use of extended close ups on the faces -- something less and less common in Hollywood.
Also a great soundtrack and the song "Close to You" (originally by the Carpenters) is just outstanding as a good (unusual) choice to make a couple of surreal moments.
Hold on for a great ride.
Tian xia wu shuang (2002)
Nearly Perfect Story and Cast.
I have just watched the 2009 release -- 90 minute version -- and what a outstanding movie. It translates well to English -- though I recommend watching it twice (once to read, once to watch the expressions etc).
It is very funny, particularly if you know something about Wong Kar-Wai movies, or even movies that feature martial arts fighting (new and old); particularly Chungking Express (story 2) would be wise to have seen before.
The story is very very good .. and you have to be a bit on your toes with the dialogue as it features gender switching rolls -- remember the Princess escapes the Palace by dressing as a man.
Spoiler: One character -- Solid Gold Love -- my advice, he is introduced early and appears here and there in the movie; pay attention to him when he is on screen -- you will get a feeling that more is going on then the story we are seeing.
The cast are just amazing .. they are very good at comedy and you can tell they are enjoying themselves doing it and the chemistry is truly amazing! The 90 minute release has the Chinese opera scene removed, plus some sub-plot jokes. I suspect they wanted to tighten up the story as it is just so effective.
2046 (2004)
So at last, I got it. It's entirely beyond my control.
The theme is about how a sad romantic past (a lost true love) can leave you emotionally "out of sync" unless you understand that by trying to recapture your past feelings, you are cutting off your ability to fall in love because your emotional anchor is looking backward. You see, the past is fixed, so it cannot change -- you can rely on the past, but the future because it is not establish fact yet, makes one feel powerless to affect the outcomes. So people just "give up" because there are too many variables that would need to come together to make that "perfect feeling of love" to happen again.
2046 is a summation of two other movies this Director made .. "In the Mood for Love", primarily; but also "Days of Being Wild".
In 2046; there are several stories, but the one involving Miss Wang and her Japanese boyfriend, is essentially a simpler version of the story the main character went through in "In the Mood for Love".
Since the writers failed romance, we open with him saying how has become a womanizer and does not need a serious relationship - in fact he has changed a lot since "in the mood for love" where he was innocent and loving. Here the women love him, but he gives them "his time" in repayment. But he wants nothing beyond a surface fun friendship. Essentially, he has given up on falling in love because it is out of his control. We see the story of the special women in his life .. and all the people end up in the novel eventually - Lulu jealous boyfriend, Miss Wang, the Hotel owner (Miss Wang's dad) become the Train Captain of 2046 for instance.
The stories weave around each other. The one that shows us how to escape 2046 is that of the sad story of Miss Wang and her Japanese boyfriend. Miss Wang is forbidden to see her boyfriend because he is Japanese, and the father would disown her if she saw him. She begins to talk to herself - repeating over and over the words she wished she could have said - I will come with you. Her story takes a break as she is eventually hospitalized; returning later in the story, a shell of her former self. The writer has been observing her relationship and is touched by her perseverance and sacrifice --she knows her situation is hopeless but she seems unable to give up. He eventually surprises us by helping her out by having the boyfriend's letters sent to him, and slipping them to her privately so her father is not mad. She eventually helps him write for the summer, and he falls in love with her - but she longs for her boyfriend. He then gives her a gift by writing a new novel called 2047 where he wants to show her how he sees her relationship with her Japanese boyfriend. He says that the more he wrote about the Japanese boyfriend, the more he felt he was really writing about himself.
FROM 2046: "I once fell in love with someone. After a while she was gone. I couldn't stop wondering if she loved me or not. I went to 2046 hoping to find her there. But I never found her."
We go to a dinner scene with Bai, which seems to serve no purpose, but shows us how she went looking for the writer the previous Christmas, and he was not there .. similar to 2046 quote above.
He has figured out the emotional damage people get -- "Our cabin attendants are superbly designed... But there's only one problem: when they've served on so many long journeys, fatigue begins to set it. For example, they might want to laugh, but the smile would be slow to come. They might want to cry, but the tear wouldn't well up till the next day... "
In the 2047 the Japanese character TAK concludes - "So at last, I got it. It's entirely beyond my control. The only thing left for me... was to give up." The writer then has dinner with Miss Wang - he asks her if she has heard from her boyfriend. She says she stopped because the situation was impossible because of her fathers feelings. The writer concludes - it is only impossible if you give up (take "no" for an answer), and offers to take her to call him. The expression he has as he looks in through the window is touching -- as she makes her call - he says he felt like Santa that year.
Mr Wang meets up with the writer to say that he is off to Japan for his daughter's wedding. The father says he has learned that all he wants is for his daughter to be happy. So the impossible has happened. Mr Wang adds .. "my daughter loved 2047; but wishes you would change the ending as its too sad." Which begs the question - can our main character get a happy ending himself.
He meets Bai again for dinner, she hands him the $10 bills he had given her, and he pays for dinner without realizing.
"He didn't turn back. It's AS IF HE BOARDED A VERY LONG TRAIN headed for a drowsy future through the unfathomable night"
In short, he knew he was stuck in 2046 forever because he had given up. However, he was able prevent the couple from giving up and they got out of 2046.
The only theme I've not touched upon is the "single gloved hand" .. simply put it shows a past undisclosed but visible to everyone.
Huo zhe (1994)
Zhang Yimou does it again ..
I have seen, The Road Home, Happy Times, Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and Not One Less. "To Live" is another fine movie by Zhang Yimou.
This movie starts just when China was turning to Communism, and is a wonderful history lesson because it is told from the perspective of this family going though all the changes.
There is also an ironic type of almost humor in the movie. This is used to show how "surreal" or "bizarre" it must have been to go thorough all those changes and basically build a life around it. Sort of situation where you would say, "if it were not true, you would think it was a cruel joke." Very interesting movie to watch, you are so in love with this family and really want them to build that peaceful and calm future for their children to live in. The acting and storytelling is simply first rate -- I am in awe.
Worth noting is that the pacing is very quick, so if you fear the "epic" style might just be too involving for an evening do not worry, it is very entertaining from start to finish; and has so many surprises and interesting situations -- you will be laughing one moment and overcome with sadness the next.
Wonderful movie.
Xing fu shi guang (2000)
Wonderful Gem of a Film
I saw this in the middle of the night on CBC; and bought the DVD so that I could see the first part.
The acting is just amazing. It is a "different" comedy; but I would call it more a drama that has a lighter way of making a deep point; so that you do not realize how important the relationships will be. The purpose, I suppose is to give you more of an emotional impact because you just do not expect something so profound to happen.
The movie is surprisingly magnetic .. particularly when "little Wu" is introduced and you can see the interplay as all the relationships develop. Also the acting is so brilliant, that you somehow understand way more then they present - so you can tell the history of the characters just by the way the actors bring out 3-dimentional characters.
*Spoiler*** The ending, I really was not happy about - but the more I think about it, the more I am content with it. The original ending sounds better -- to me; if only to have the two main characters on the screen at the end. It is actually quite a shock as you really feel these two can heal each other.
Anyway, I HIGHLY recommend it.