Fei hap siu baak lung (White Dragon) Directed by: Wilson Yip Starring: -Cecilia Cheung -Francis Ng -Nay Suet -Andy On
During a battle with Chicken Feathers (Francis Ng), White Dragon (Nay Suet) is injured and about to die. Black Phoenix (Cecilia Cheung) hears a noise and finds White Dragon, in return of this mystical fate, White Dragon gives Black Phoenix all her powers. Now, Black Phoenix has become White Dragon Jr. She soon learns that Chicken Feathers will assasinate Second Prince Tian Yang (Andy On). But she also learns more about Chicken Feathers and is now confused as to what to do.
Yet another Asian film (Chinese). This film takes all those swordfighting, martial arts movies and turns it into a comedy. I was unaware of this at the time, and thought it was a standard film like 'Hero' or 'House of Flying Daggers.' However it really was pretty funny and it wasn't that bad of a movie. It was very sweet and like I said it was funny. It especially had a kind of westernized theme to it. The way the girl acted and the whole shopping thing. But it was good, it was funny, the actors were great, the characters were well developed, I felt for them. If you're looking for a comedy with great martial arts, rent this.
This is three short stories done by different directors. It is horror/suspense.
Dumplings Directed by: Fruit Chan Country: China Starring: Ling Bai
An aging actress has found a woman (Ling Bai) whose dumplings are supposed to make one look beautiful again. However, there is a secret ingrediant which is rather gruesome.
This one was ok. The only really disturbing part was the crunching noise. That was gross. Ling Bai was absolutley adorable! She played her character fantastically. It wasn't horrifying as I expected it to be, but it was ok as a film. Some parts were not explained well, but Fruit Chan did make it into a longer movie, so if you rent it, watch the second disc which is 'Dumplings' just longer. I unfortunatley didn't get to watch it, but I bet it would explain a lot more.
Cut Directed by: Park Chan-wook Country: South Korea Starring: Byung-hun Lee
A film director and his wife our kidnapped. The abducter demands several things from the director (Byung-hun Lee). If he refuses to comply his wife's fingers will be chopped off.
I liked this one more than Dumplings. The characters were developed more, I felt more for the characters. There was a lot of humour in it and this one left me very sad. I was very, very upset by this segment. At first, the ending is unclear, but then when you think about it, you realize what happened and it is very upseting. The actors were all amazing. This is one of my favorite segments from this film.
Box Directed by: Takashi Miike Country: Japan Starring: Kyoko Hasegawa
Kyoko is an author who has a reacurring dream about being put into a box and buried. It seems to be in connection with an accident involving her sister and a man who seemed to be their caretaker, when the two were circus performers.
This segment is also one of my favorites. It was very confusing and unclear but I still really enjoyed it. The atmosphere was incredibly creepy and Kyokko Hasegawa was great to watch in it. She played the part magnificently as did everyone else. This too had the characters well developed even though it was unclear what was going on. I definetley enjoyed this.
Here is the trailer. If you ignore the guys voice it's a really good trailer. It makes me want to see it again. I really did love this film, if you're into Asian films, and horror, rent it.
Directed by: Richard Eyre Taglines: -One woman's mistake is another's opportunity... -Loneliness can turn one into a monster.
Starring: -Judi Dench -Cate Blanchett -Bill Nighy
Based on the novel 'Notes on a Scandal' by Zoë Heller. Sheba Hart (Cate Blanchett) is a new high school art teacher. She is married with two children. She confindes in Barbara Covett (Judi Dench), another school teacher, that she is unhappy with her life and wishes for it to be different. One day, after expecting Sheba at a school play who has not shown up, Barbara leaves to find her. However she discovers Sheba and a student engage in sexual activity. She confronts Sheba about this and Sheba tells Barbara everything. Barbara uses this to her advantage.
Unfortunatley I already knew everything that had happened due to the trailer. That is why I'm not going to be showing it. However, the film was still good. I liked it, especially Judi Dench, she played the part amazingly. The characters, I found weren't that well developed. Except for Judi Dench's character. She was the only one that I felt slightly for. The others, I didn't really feel bad for them. It didn't really bring any kind of emotion. I wasn't happy, sad for anyone. Except the cat (you'll know what I mean). You can give this movie a try since it wasn't horrible. But, it's not the greatest movie you're going to see. At least, it wasn't for me.
Sarah Pierce (Kate Winslet) is a surburban mother and wife who lives a miserable life and is afraid whenever her daughter shows affection towards her. Brad Adamson (Patrick Wilson) is a stay at home father, unsure of what he wants to do in his life, job wise. This is a film, about people living with eachother and learning from the most unexpected people in their lives.
This film...wasn't great, but it wasn't horrible. I liked it, it was very well done, the acting was great and it was funny at times. I think it taught a valuable lesson, about people and lives in general. I liked the ending. It was kind of slow, but in a good way. There isn't much I can say about it. I say rent it. I can't really give a good reveiw about it because it's that kind of movie. It was well done, and it was a good film, I can say that. I wasn't disappointed, so...see it.
Directed by: Jonathan Glazer Taglines: -Careful what you wish for. Starring: -Nicole Kidman -Cameron Bright -Danny Huston -Lauren Bacall
10 years after the death of Anna's (Nicole Kidman) husband, Anna decides to remarry. When a 10 year old boy comes to Anna and declares that he is Sean, her late husband. Anna doesn't know what to think.
OH MY GOD!!! I shouldn't even bother doing a review. This whole page should consist of: Do not see this film. Do not see this film. Do not see this film. Do not see this film. Do not see this film. Do not see this film. Do not see this film. Do not see this film. Do not see this film. Do not see this film. Do not see this film.
The music went horribly with the scenes. Ok, sometimes it went well, but other times it was horrendous. Nicole Kidman was just weird. Sometimes she would talk and I would dab my ears with tissue because I thought they were bleeding. Ok, it wasn't that bad, but seriously, she was awful. Her voice was... too soft, but as if she's trying to be...posh or something. It was ugh. The opening scene was Sean's death. He was jogging. HE WAS JOGGING FOR SO LONG!! It's like, "ok, we get it, he's jogging. Tell me when he's done, I'm reading a book." I would accept it if there were credits at the begining, but there were none. I would also accept it if it was one of those very quiet, very slow, movies that make you think. But this just had so many horrendous things it was not making me think, oh wait, no I was thinking how much better Hannibal Rising was!! Then there was another scene, where Anna realized she kind of believes the kid, and she's watching an orchestra and we're watching her. Point blank. It's all suspensful music and it's her face. For practically...more than 5 minutes!!! and then pretty much halfway through I'm thinking "Oh! Oh! Her eyes are getting red, there's a change! There's a change!" and then we watched her with red eyes for another goddamn who knows how long. The point is it was fucking long. Did the editor get hit by a car or just decide not to show up for work? Who was it, a hobo? Goddamn it. Ugh. Oh and in one scene, one of the girls had eyes that looked like blackholes and once again the camera was on her for about 4 minutes and she was just standing there, turning her head side to side with her mouth slightly open. She looked like that black sea thing from the X-Files and it was not cool! It was like, jesus christ, how much are you paying the editor? I am so upset. So...don't see this. I mean, ok, in it's defense I will say, It was an interesting concept and it could of been done very well. But it wasn't, therefore it sucked. Oh ya, the ending was stupid too. Ok, maybe it would of been ok if the rest of the movie wasn't such crap.
The trailer made the movie seem great, that's why I saw it. Do not be fooled!
Directed by: Peter Webber Taglines: -It started with revenge -Wie alles begann (How everything began) Starring: -Gaspard Ulliel -Gong Li -Dominic West -Rhys Ifans
A prequel showing Hannibal Lector's (Gaspard Ulliel) childhood and young adulthood. How he became as we know him.
Let's start with this. I wasn't expecting this movie to be the greatest movie on earth. I wanted to see it because of Gaspard Ulliel and Gong Li whom, I love. However, this was really bad. Many of the lines were bad, many of the scenes were bad. Let me just say something about the begining of the movie. No one is allowed to put in a seriouse film, the shot, of someone holding someone they love, dead, looking up in the sky, with an overhead shot, screaming their name. No one can do that, unless it's a comedy film. No one. I laughed. I knew I wasn't supposed to, but I did. That was the first mistake they made. Now, the rest really is just, bad lines and some of the editing was bad. Like, there could of been more film footage or more explanatory scenes. I don't know, some parts, at the begining anyways, seemed kind of choppy. I'm not going to blame the actors, I did enjoy watching them. I think they did their best with what they were given. It's not such a bad movie that I wouldn't want to see it again. (Provide that I didn't pay for the rental). Actually, if I wasn't using any of my money on the film, I think I would see it again. It's not so horrible like, it's unwatchable. Just bad. I will say that this movie was much better than 'Birth' which will be my next review. Now that movie was awful. At least I hand Gong Li and Gaspard Ulliel in this one. I did enjoy those two and I think Gaspard did a good job. He did play crazy, madman very well. He had the creepy grin, you know that's kind of hot, and the creepy eyes. Ya, he did psychopath pretty well. Gong Li is always fantastic. If you're a fan of those two. I say at least see it once. They are pretty good. Other than that. Pretty bad movie.
There was a special on HBO, however long ago, of Dane Cook's stand up comedy. I don't find his movies very funny, but his stand up stuff is hilarious. Here is a small clip. If you're a fan of his work, then I highly recommend you watch this. It is hilarious.
Directed by: Nick Cassavetes Taglines: -Inspired by true events -How did a crime with this many witnesses go so far? -How did it ever go so far? -One crime. 3 days. 38 witnesses.
*A drama based on the life of Jesse James Hollywood, a drug dealer who became one of the youngest men ever to be on the FBI's most wanted list. (Based on a true story)
Just like 'Harold and Kumar go to White Castle' I really didn't want to see this. I thought it looked so bad, and Justin Timberlake is in it. I may like his music (note, music, not lyrics), but I don't really like him, and him acting? That's crazy. So, I saw it anyways. (Once again it was my sisters). It was surprisingly very good. The begining was awful. It was very weak. We all thought of suggesting we stop it and look for another movie because it was just so bad. It was boring. Near the middle it got a little better. I didn't know, at the time of watching it, that it was based on a true story. When my sister said so, the movie became much more enjoyable and entertaining. Justin Timberlake was surprisingly very good in the movie. He was actually, a comic relief, to me, anyways. So, ya, I did enjoy the movie despite the horrible begining, and if you like Justin Timberlake, definetley see it, he was pretty good. Here's the trailer.
Shí miàn mái fú (House of Flying Daggers) Directed by: Yimou Zhang Starring: -Takeshi Kaneshiro -Andy Lau -Zhang Ziyi
*A romantic warrior breaks a beautiful member of a rebel army out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but things are not what they seem.
I was disappointed by this film. Yimou Zhang had done 'Hero' (Ying xiong), which I absolutley loved. The story was beautiful, the scenerey, the colour, everything was gorgeous. (I've done a reveiw on it, if not, I will post it later). The visuals, were pretty well done, but nothing like 'Hero.' Ziyi Zhang was fabulous, as always. It was pretty sweet, the movie, I mean. I don't think the characters were developed enough, but then again, I don't think they were supposed to. It might be worth a rental, but it's really up to you. It was a good movie, but I think because I raised it on such a high pedastal, coming from the director of 'Hero', it just let me down way to much. I didn't think it was that beautiful, in fact, at times, it was kind of boring. Here, however is a dance (not the best one in the film, by the way) that I love, and it's a beautiful song. Scene is starring Ziyi Zhang. No subtitles, but you don't really need them.
This is three short stories done by different directors. It is horror/suspense.
Directed by: Todd Field
Directed by: Jonathan Glazer
