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Reviews
Ram Setu (2022)
Fun like Da Vinci Code
Nice visuals and beautiful scenaries like Da Vinci Code.
But also illogical like Da Vinci Code.
Loved the obligatory musical dance in the middle - probably the best part of film!
If you want to belive, you will. If you do not, you will not.
Because the 'evidences' posited in the film do not prove that oral epic literatures are histories. If Ram Situ is made of loating rock, why isn't the whole thing floating? But instead it sits on the bay bottom. Also was corals mentioned in the Ramayana? When you find archeological evidences like an old tomb. It is actually not always easy to prove who was buried in the tomb. Just finding something is just a beginning for real archeology.
The Invisible Man (2020)
Good mood but with fatal flaws
Good Atmosphere and mood. However, the device of an invisible man has too many logical holes to be plausible these days. For example, if one fears being stalked by an invisible man, just spray the room with air freshener or foggers. An outline will be easily seen. Also, there is such a thing as Motion Detector today. Set one up and you need worry no more!
Sha chu ge huang hun (2021)
Poignant and elegiac
For long time viewers of HK cinema, this film has special poignancy. Patrick Tse was a charismatic leading man from the hey days of HK cinema. Patrina Fung was a prodigy child actress often compared to Shirley Temple. Like both of them, Lam Suet is a veteran actor who has given his life to cinema. This backward look into their unique styles echoes the journey of the characters. Various social problems were touched upon. Through comedic and touching flow of events, the film ends on a hopeful note of finding a way to build a new life in the very foreign world of today.
Collateral Beauty (2016)
Will Smith gave his all - but it wasn't enough.
The plot was too self consciously clever though the guest stars were terrific. But the lynch pin - Will Smith - does not deliver. He gave his all, but it wasn't enough to make the viewers believe and feel his pains. So the whole film felt synthetic. In contrast, consider 'Demolition.' That film also has a other worldly quality, but it works more subtly and charms the viewers into following its protagonist's journey.
I Origins (2014)
Stylistically Fetching, Logically Hollow
Ms. Bergès-Frisbeyis is our 'enigmatic gamin' of today. She is so fetching and delectable that one could almost believe that the Mystery is 'right outside our door.'
Almost, but the core idea torpedoed the entire picture. (Spoilers ahead)
I think this film appeals to those who take as miraculous the image of Virgin Mary in a loaf of bread. In other words, when we 'have' the answer and go looking for proof, we can usually find it: whether in your eyes or a loaf of bread. In contrast, the scientist goes on to ask: What did I see? What does it mean? Just because two individual have similar eye patterns, does not PROVE reincarnation. We have 7 billions people on earth today at 2015 while even five hundred years ago, we have only 500 millions people. Where did all the extra people come from? If reincarnation exists, whose theory is right? the Hindus? the Buddhist? the Essene? Thus this theory raises more questions rather than answer questions.
By all means, put that loaf with the image of Virgin Mary on the altar. Just be sure that it's not "the loa Erzulie Dantor."
The Presence (2010)
Beautiful start, but fatally flawed ending.
The film does have some strong points, but concludes in a fatally flawed ending. The cinematography and scenery were beautiful. However, the characters' relationship remains quite 'cold' and fraught. Thus, it can hardly qualify to be called romantic. It was, instead, a small scale exploration of how a woman with psychological trauma deals with the possibilities of a new relationship. On that count, it did quite well. The unknown nature of the apparition also played well through the first half of the film until it ended in a Faustian twist. Unfortunately, the film went downhill from there. There was no more suspense to sustain the viewer's interest. But worst of all is the Deus ex Machina ending. It left me feeling cheated and provides no sense of resolution. Is the filmmaker trying to say that the only path to healing is through a divine intervention? Are we nothing but playthings of higher powers or film auteurs?