Change Your Image
Crimsonarmor
Reviews
Dwelling by the West Lake (2023)
Way over the top.
Dwelling By The West Lake fails to captivate with its uninspired storytelling and lackluster performances. The idea of pyramid selling, boiler rooms and chop shops has been around in Hollywood but here China is taking a stab at it. This could have been a good movie but the plot meanders aimlessly, leaving audiences disengaged and disinterested. Character development is shallow, making it difficult to invest in their journeys. Their performances are so over the top, any average Joe could have been cast to stand there simply screaming shouting and making odd facial expressions to pass off some sort of deep emotional acting. The cinematography, touted as a highlight, falls short, failing to evoke the beauty and majesty of the West Lake setting or the location which is Hangzhou. Overall, it's a forgettable cinematic experience that fails to leave a lasting impression or deliver any meaningful impact.
Expats (2023)
Very accurate view on life in another country.
I thought this Tv show was spot on having lived, worked, travelled and loved in China, HK and Taiwan. The story is about expats lives in another country. There are many language barriers that most people who have not left the comfort of the homes have experienced. Simple things like going to the supermarket to get sauce are a challenge. The streets are full of temptations for men and women on every corner. Life is about working hard, going out, connecting with people and having a good time. Being a foreigner has its pros and cons and this is what you see unfold in the story. People go missing all the time and there's almost zero chance of recovering them. Good performances from everyone and a story that would really appeal to those who have been there and then done that. Many people don't understand the courage it takes to go to another country where daily communication is a challenge and daily necessities, freedom of speech and overall righteousness is difficult to find.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2024)
Flat and boring.
I remember watching the movie which was actually quite good. Well acting by Pitt and Jolie, the chemistry was good, fun action packed sexy movie that was easy to follow with no large expectations. This TV show however falls flat for me. The chemistry between the two was not there, the acting was mediocre, and the idea of this show was just boring. The writing doesn't go anywhere and the scenes where they are supposed be spies and tracking people was just poor. I was waiting for it to pick up and or gain some traction, but it was just one boring scene to the next. I tried my best to stay focused by kept losing interest and finally just couldn't get past the fourth episode. I gave up. The whole idea of making a MR and MRS Smith was a mistake. This shows you just how far Hollywood Tv shows and movies have fallen.
Meg 2: The Trench (2023)
megaladumb
This movie was a disaster. I don't know why is wasn't direct to video like some other b-movie. Bad acting, especially from wujing who's expressions, humor and delivery were poor. The story is stupid, in fact the best part was the opening. I won't bore you with detaols, but megs, dinosaurs, sea monsters what on earth was the point. What direction was this movie going? What was this? A comedy? Horror? Thriller? What a mess. They replaced libingbing who did a decent job in the first movie. Why they didn't bring her back, I don't know. And as for statham, he seems stuck in a rut with similar roles where he is a tough guy. His movies have really gone down and hasn't shown any versatility in anything. I would give this a miss or watch it in the background while you are doing something else.
Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey (2023)
What total garbage
They came up with the idea of taking a beloved character and making him bad. I was looking forward to a good horror slasher flick with a twist but instead what I got a was just a hot mess. Watch it in the background while you are doing something else. Thats my recommendation. The idea is you can turn off your brain and watch this, so you can multitask. Poorly written script, a lot of it was quite predictable from the get-go. The acting was mediocre, and Christopher Robin was exceptionally bad. The movie ended is the dumbest way possible. Perhaps than ran out of ideas on how to wrap the movie up and so I guess the ending was actually real. Maybe they told good ol Chris that they broke their budget, he wasn't getting paid and thus his sudden change and the change in the ending.
The 355 (2022)
Not the best action spy movie
I can see what they were going for but it wasn't any different to what's already out there. A Female A-team movie. Lupitya was on form and Sebastian Stan really does make a good villian. Fan bing bing's make up was so heavy she almost looked like a geisha. Her English wasn't clear, especially trying to portray an international operative. Her fighting skils and acting were too watery for me. They could have chosen someone else easily to fill that spot. There's a huge list of Asian actresses that could have filled the spot. Plus I felt like I was being given lessons in Chinese culture, the constant references to tea, medicine, ancient this and that. This seems to happen often when they introduce a Chinese character into English movies. It's not necessary at all. Diane Kruger was surprisingly good and handled her role suprisingly well considering she fell into B movies. Jessica chastain is good at kicking ass and does a decent job. All in all, a predictable story.
Ju ji shou (2022)
Another war movie about defeating the USA.
I have to say Zhang has made some good movies, but that was a long time ago. This is just another movie showing how great the Chinese army is and how they killed so many American soldiers. Current state of the world has left China trying to convince it's populace that they are indeed strong and they would succeed if it came to war. PROJECTION. I think directors who make movies should focus on good story telling and great cinematography. Not propaganda. This movie only serves to brainwash the PRC and Stoke the fires of nationalism.
Lel Maout (2021)
Amazing show
I thought I was going to watch Megan Fox's til death but it turned out to be something completely different. And I have to admit that I was very impressed. I've never seen a Lebanese TV series before but this was incredible. The plot was quite straightforward but Very well acted, great locations, local culture and dialogue exchanges. The tension is well maintained with some good twists. Everyone really brings their characters to life. Not to mention a Gorgeous cast. The subs for me move quickly but I can get the gist of what's going on. The scenes are visually appealing and I hope Netflix picks this up because people need to see this. There's a lot of TV shows from Japan and Korea Netflix is picking up. They need to get this one of they haven't already.
Romeo Must Die (2000)
terrible
Had no connection with Romeo and Juliet, nor was Jet even named Romeo. The martial arts was really poor. Too much wirefu which looked clunky and sloppy. Aaliyah and Jet are suppoed to have chemistry or a thing for each other but just didn't. The martial arts they performed together in the fight scene was a joke. Overall not a good movie compared to Kiss of the dragon or Danny the dog.
Karmouz War (2018)
Horrendous movie
Terrible accents, acting and luke warm story telling. Scott adkins is an amazing martial artist but seems to have fallen after the boyka snd ninja saga. Stick to martial arts and pick good story lines. Time for a new character and story line to be created.
The Green Hornet (2011)
Not great for a Green hornet movie
I'd give this a 5 purely out of being a die hard comic fan. Anyone who is into comics and Bruce Lee will know that this was a highly anticipated movie by many loyal fans. Rumors surfaced some years ago about 2007 that Jet Li was gonna play Kato and they were looking for a lead as Green hornet but that idea was scrapped later. But Seth turned it into a bit of an early 70s kind of Batman TV show. I was surprised the screen didn't have POW! written when the fists & kicks connected. Seth seemed out of place in this movie and Jay chou not being a real martial artist and extremely poor acting/language skills just killed the movie. Jay has had an expressionless face since childhood and does not seem to be able to show hardly any emotion or charisma in any movie he's made. Additionally he didn't come across as the cool ass kicking side kick he should have been. Mainland china has so many martial artists/actors who can act and fight such as Collin Chou or even Jon Foo from UK who played Jin in the Tekken movie. Overall I was not very impressed with the movie but, it's worth watching if you love the old TV show, Bruce Lee and comics.