Author Topic: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts  (Read 561867 times)

FifthCityMuse

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #500 on: March 15, 2009, 06:13:42 AM »
I'm 95% sure it is used in Identity.

I did like that movie. Maybe I should revisit it...

duder

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #501 on: March 15, 2009, 07:58:32 AM »
Where have I seen that 6/9 twist before?

Minority Report

Definitely in that one, I'm sure I've seen it elsewhere too though.

Identity? Memento?

Pretty sure it isn't in memento.

Why does he kick in the wrong door when he goes to the motel looking for Dodd?
...

'Noke

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #502 on: March 15, 2009, 07:59:13 AM »
Where have I seen that 6/9 twist before?

Minority Report

Definitely in that one, I'm sure I've seen it elsewhere too though.

Identity? Memento?

Pretty sure it isn't in memento.

Why does he kick in the wrong door when he goes to the motel looking for Dodd?

does he? I don't remember that.
I actually consider a lot of movies to be life-changing! I take them to my heart and they melt into my personality.

duder

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #503 on: March 15, 2009, 08:08:53 AM »
Damn you for making me go look! :) It's not the same twist, but it' there.







...

'Noke

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #504 on: March 15, 2009, 08:30:14 AM »
Damn you for making me go look! :) It's not the same twist, but it' there.

 ;D
I actually consider a lot of movies to be life-changing! I take them to my heart and they melt into my personality.

Melvil

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #505 on: March 15, 2009, 12:26:13 PM »
Quick, to the Deja Vu thread! ;D

mañana

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #506 on: March 16, 2009, 12:38:37 AM »
The Mission (To, 1999)

The first half of the film is a shoot ‘em up. Five professional killers are recruited to protect a mob boss who’s just survived an assassination attempt. Over the course of their time as a team of body guards, the disparate crew bond and later proclaim each other BFFs. This commitment is tested in the second half of the film when one of them misbehaves. If the first half is a shoot ‘em up, the second half is about the “code” among brothers/bandits. With the exception of the above-average action sequence in the shopping mall, it’s all really very OK. Do all Hong Kong action films from 1999 feel like American films from 1989? Was the dated look intentional? I'm picking on it, but it really isn't bad at all.      

Hard Boiled
(Woo, 1992)

I’ll spare you all a plot summary because I’m pretty sure I’m the last person to have seen it so I assume everybody knows what it’s about. But what I will say about the plot is that undercover stories are generally pretty good and Hard Boiled is no exception.

This is my inaugural spin with John Woo and he certainly delivered what he was advertised to. The opening teahouse shootout and the closing hospital sequences provided more than enough bullets, mayhem, and slow-motion. The camera work, editing, and choreography in these scenes and others are certainly impressive, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t at times find them tedious. I know this is blasphemous to the action fans, and forgive me, but to my tastes enough-was-enough long before they were over. Don’t get me wrong, the action was cool (particularly the long take in the hospital), it’s just that for me less would have definitely been more. And I’m perfectly aware that I’m missing the point. What kept my interest was actually not the shootouts, but rather was the co-stars, who are both big movie stars for a reason; they’re great in the actions scenes and they just generally emit charisma.  

Verdict: The Mission is a not bad film, and if for no other reason is worth checking out so you can brag when the American remake comes out, but Hard Boiled is the gold standard. It may not have wowed me like I hoped it would, but Tequila definitely breezes through round 1.
« Last Edit: October 22, 2010, 04:19:49 PM by matt tmw »
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pixote

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #507 on: March 16, 2009, 03:25:10 AM »
Five professional killers ... proclaim each other BFFs.

This sounds awesome!

Do all Hong Kong action films from 1999 feel like American films from 1989?

LOL!

I’ll spare you all a plot summary because I’m pretty sure I’m the last person to have seen it so I assume everybody knows what it’s about.

I have no idea what it's about.  My guess is it has something do with guys flying in slow motion through the air firing sideways guns in both hands.  I'm thus very intrigued.  And I assume the two stars you mentioned are John Travolta and Christian Slater.

pixote
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smirnoff

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #508 on: March 16, 2009, 07:06:46 AM »
Do all Hong Kong action films from 1999 feel like American films from 1989?

LOL!

Seconded! Great stuff matt.

Bill Thompson

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Re: 1990s Far East Bracket: Verdicts
« Reply #509 on: March 16, 2009, 08:41:13 AM »
Xin Buliao Qing (C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri, 1994)

I don't want to sound like I am immediately going for Cheri's jugular, but it was a very conventional love story. The idea of mopey boy falling for eccentric girl who changes him only to have tragedy take her away from him has been done a lot. So, in that regard Cheri isn't anything special. But, luckily it does manage to rise above its own genre conventions with the help of one actress and some music.

Any film that uses In The Mood by Glenn Miller Orchestra in its best scene should get a thumbs up from you, if not I fear you have no soul. That scene in particular highlights the airy quality that Cheri has. But, the music isn't just light, it's your guide to the emotions of the characters, where the story is going and the tone that the film will take. Even better than the music is the performance of Anita Yuen. I can see her falling too far into manic pixie dream girl for some, but that wasn't the case with me. I found her take on the fragile girl to be a breath of fresh air, usually actresses in such a role play their character with a pall over them. You know something bad is going to happen because the actress gives it away. Yuen didn't do that, she was full of energy and pushed that energy so far that I didn't see the ultimate end coming until her sickness was introduced.

Cheri is an enjoyable film, it isn't deep nor is it original or a film that will wow you. But, it is, sorry to sound redundant, enjoyable with the use of music and the performance of Yuen placing it above most mediocre love stories.

Vs.

Da Hong Deng Long Gao Gao Gua (Raise The Red Lantern, 1991)

It's hard to adequately explain how effective Raise The Red Lantern is, because alliterating loneliness isn't easy. But, that's what I most took away from Lantern. It started with emotional loneliness in Songlian's conversation with her mother and slowly it turned from emotional loneliness into loneliness through antipathy. It is really hard to describe, but Lantern has an overbearing tone in it loneliness, it leaves you with such a strong feeling that this woman's life ended the moment she entered that mansion and now you are watching her fight to survive slowly leave her and waiting for the inevitable to come.

Based on the above, Lantern obviously isn't the cheeriest of movies. But, it does have some moments of dark comedy and it looks amazing. The set design is beautiful, yet restrained. I loved the stylistic choice to never actually film the Master or keep him in the frame, because the story isn't about him, it's about these women and the other people around them. Not focusing on the Master also keeps him in the role of cruel taskmaster, an emotionless being who doesn't understand, or care, how his prison set-up is affecting his mistresses. The camera work is also integral to the claustrophobic prison feeling of Lantern, we never see outside of the mansion, and when we do see through a door to the outside world it is a long shot that emphasizes how something so close is actually so far away. Then there are the overhead shots of the mansion that emphasize how small it is, and how little room the women have to move around in, but that is all they have.

Li Gong is of course amazing, she always has been, yet for some reason I feel people always forget about her when listing great actresses. She conveys emotion, but she also conveys perfectly the slow death the mansion is bringing to her, and in the end she portrays the end of her breakdown just as how I imagined it would play out. Most of all, Gong never takes her character to sympathetic territory, because while we do feel for her, we also can't sympathize with her because she isn't the best person in the world, she is mean, cruel and petty and Gong never lets us forget that. The rest of the wives are also great when on screen, especially Zhuoyan, who does such a great job of hiding her true nature and then when it's revealed she turns into the character you hate.

Verdict:



I don't think it should come as any surprise, Cheri is a fun little film, but Lantern is a great film. It has depth, tremendous acting, feels authentic and original. I liked both films, but I loved Lantern and Lantern will move on.
« Last Edit: March 16, 2009, 02:30:30 PM by Bill Thompson »