emaan Reviews

Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

Not bad but writers need to try harder

[6/10 · 4 November 2006]

The twist and reveal plot is definitely entertaining but all in all, it feels like a lesser effort trying to ape non-linear action-thriller hits like Pulp Fiction, Lock Stock & 2 Smoking Barrels, etc. The way this film reveals important pieces of the puzzle through flashbacks is inferior to the above examples because they feel more like 'the butler did it' cop-outs instead of integral story moments... again, these are signs of a not-so-well thought out script.

Another element that isn't strong enough to warrant a 'keeper' rating of 7 or better: weak dialogue. It's all very mundane and nothing really makes you feel the characters are interesting individuals with their own motivations. Nothing really dark or menacing to drive up the tension (the set-up murder was OPERATIC in the victims' hysteria and emotional), and hardly any comedic moments, except those meant to play off Mr Slevin's "I'm a nice guy, why are you doing this to me?" schmuck facade.

This one does better than the other try-hard movie in my book - THE BIG HIT - purely because the director and actors are more confident and capable. They saved the writer(s), really.

Mystic River (2003)

Overhyped and unsatisfying

[5/10 · 22 February 2004]

What did the critics see in this? I'm totally with the nay-sayers! I kept expecting a plot revelations from the way Dave confronted Sean during his interrogation... like maybe the 'truth' as shown in the beginning of the film is actually a fabrication... that perhaps there was a GOOD REASON for both Jimmy and Sean to hate Dave. I kept speculating during the movie that maybe all 3 kids were abducted, but that only Dave managed to escape... It was all for nothing in the end. Dave was a victim twice over for nothing. Jimmy didn't have to pay for his sins. Sean caught the killers but still didn't do his job right.

Unsatisfying.

The Patriot (2000)

Good for one viewing only

[6/10 · 30 January 2001]

Entertaining enough, with a wicked villain to really tweak your

emotion buttons. But the most vivid memory I had was of the

"happy interlude" when our heroes reunited with their loved ones

at the village and Heath Ledger decided, "Heck, we may be at war -

but I still wanna get married!". Perfect setup for the tragedy that

follows soon after (ahem, the burning church... newly wedded

bride included.)

I won't be watching this again on DVD anytime soon.

Johnny Mnemonic (1995)

The computer graphics stole the show

[3/10 · 14 September 1999]

I can't say how disappointed I was when I stepped out of the cinema. I had higher hopes for director Robert Longo, especially since I was a fan of his avant garde video efforts for techno music pioneers New Order.

Basically the original Will Gibson story was stripped of most of its vital human dimension and given over to actors who didn't understand what cyberpunk was about. Even badass Ice-T who usually drips with attitude was wearing the wrong emotional wardrobe.

From the looks of the pitiful sets it seems the producers forked over so much of their capital to the CG houses that they couldn't built any really interesting places that were true to the settings in the novella.

Where was the Low-Tec killing arena with the dancing floors? And most of all, where was Molly the ice-cold assassin who's supposed to have saved mister "Ultimate Hard Drive's" butt? All we got was a whiney, frazzled looking and helpless dame in distress.

Commendable ONLY for it's impressive computer graphics work from Sony Imageworks (among others) that still rivals some aspects of The Fifth Element. I guess The Matrix did it better... a lot better. *sigh*

Alien 3 (1992)

Feeble, disjointed

[2/10 · 14 September 1999]

There is one scene in this movie that ultimately made me hate it. It's where Charles Dance's character gets killed. I must say that up to that moment I was getting by on the great cinematography, and actually getting into the whole sombre mood.

We had gotten to know Charles's doctor as a guilt-ridden man with blood on his hands who is trying to redeem himself. He was presented as a soul-mate of sorts for Ripley. Hey, they even made love in a rather tender scene.

Then out of nowhere drops an alien which in a wink of an eye simply kills him. I mean, if he's going to be killed so off-handedly, WHY BOTHER giving him so much time to built up a relationship? And the warm atmosphere just ripped away like a bad joke. ARRGHH.

Soldier (I) (1998)

Fun in a brainless way

[8/10 · 8 September 1999]

SOLDIER is not as bad as many have made it out to be. I found the film to have some of the sacarstic, cynical humour like that in Paul Verhoven's Starship Troopers. The lack of dialogue and over the top action is deliberate and adds to the comic-book atmosphere.

One particular trivia-bit stands out for me - Todd has the names of several space-war campaigns tattoo'd onto his chest and one of these battles is TANNHAUSER GATE. For the oblivious ones out there, Tannhauser Gate is mentioned in Roy Batty's elegiac last lines in Blade Runner. To imagine that Todd could have fought alongside android troops like Roy is mind boggling to say the least. Maybe script writer David Peoples was nostalgic?

I'll give this one 3 out of 5.

Spriggan (1998)

How many cliches can you pack into one anime?

[3/10 · 30 August 1999]

I watched Spriggan at the local Film Festival back in April '99 and I really think it's a piece of unashamed, over-commercialised, fan-boy rubbish.

There were just too many parallels to Akira, from the art direction to the use of a prematurely-aged, grey-haired boy with blow-your-brains-out pyscho-mental powers,... except, this time the kid is American.

Then there is the "hero" who seems indestructible, is filled with angst because of his traumatic past at the hands of his grotesgue former commander (who is now of course his prime enemy). Said "hero" has kungfu moves so flashy he puts Street Fighter to shame. And when he REALLY gets in trouble - no problemo, he's got an even more-indestructible side-kick who always appears in the nick of time. (Even after he's left for dead in an earlier battle.)

Then the all-explosive "climax" as the doomsday Ark is blown away (was there ever any doubt?). Oh yeah, the fist pumping and high-fives being passed around by the surviving grunts really sent a shiver down my spine. Hard to believe Otomo allowed his name to be associated with this piece of junk.

Avoid, avoid, avoid!

Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993)

Strong, quiet characterisation... Excellent!

[8/10 · 30 August 1999]

Director Mamoru Oshii gets it right the second time round. His penchant for deep philosophical stories is executed with the right touch of pathos and aided greatly by the superior quality of animation and more "mature" character designs.

Followers of the TV and OAV series would know that the chief of Section 2, Goto harbours a crush for chief Nagano of Section 1. However, being the stoic man that Goto is, he could never openly admit his affection for her.

The plot focuses on Nagano's past as a brilliant student of labor tatics - and her relationship with her much older mentor.Their affair was doomed as he was a married man. The political fallout caused her high-flying career to to come to a halt and ended up with her posted to the "lowly" Special Vehicle Section 1.Her mentor took charge of a UN labor peacekeeping force which got slaughtered in the jungles due to inept commands from his superiors. He returned to Japan a changed man.

The story is a vastly superior adaptation of "SV2's Longest Day", one of the outstanding episodes in the first OAV series. The film is filled with poignant scenes and quiet, surreal sequences in the heart of the city that are a prequel of sorts to Oshii's masterpeice Ghost in the Shell. Like I said, fans of the series will especially appreciate Goto's dilemma in the closing scene.

Memories (1995)

3 Tantalising Stories

[10/10 · 30 August 1999]

Part 1: Magnetic Rose Unsuspecting space freighter crew responds to a mysterious SOS signal and gets ensnared by the bizzare past of a galactic opera star. Has touches of Kubrick's 2001 in the "museum"-like settings.

Part 2: Stink Bomb Most accessable segment of the lot. Hapless biolab assistant Nobuo's desperate search for a cold cure has dire and comedic consequences for his collegues, Japan and eventually the US top brass.

Part 3: Cannon Fodder Most surreal of the 3. Citizens of an unnamed country go about their daily lives serving the countless number of cannons protruding out of every roof-top and window. Question is... who is the enemy? Excellent art direction and innovative use of perspective CG.

Patlabor: The Movie (1989)

Intelligent but very dry

[6/10 · 30 August 1999]

Much as I love Patlabor the OAV and TV series, I found this film too be too slow moving at times and all too serious. The quality of animation was slightly above the OAV's and the character designs also kept closely to the OAV (as opposed to the more mature look in P2).

As I understood the plot, a mysterious hacker introduced a virus into the operating system (called H.O.S. or Hyper Operating System) for ALL labors in Japan. This virus could cause unmanned units to go beserk, and is activated by a unique ultra-sound frequency created at random by the gusty winds that blow across the Tokyo skyline.

Tied in to all this is the newly completed tower of the Babylon Project to reclaim land in the Tokyo bay. Apparently the tower is a giant tuning fork which could give the doomsday signal when a great storm hits the bay.

All this sounds intriguing, but it takes way too long for the plot to advance to a coherent stage. There is hardly any action save for the last 20 minutes or so. Most of all, I missed the great dialogue and humour in the video and TV series.