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I'm just a girl...
I love Audrey Hepburn movies
Old kung fu movies
Cheesy 1990s thrillers like "Hand that rocks the cradle" or "What lies Beneath"
Spike Lee movies
Foreign movies
Jane Austen movies and books
I love many things. I would rather talk about all the things I love than to waste a moment of my life talking about things I "hate".
�People are what you make them. A scornful look turns into a complete fool a man of average intelligence. A contemptuous indifference turns into an enemy a woman who, well treated, might have been an angel.�
Just a girl who writes stuff.
Favorite expression:
The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me. - Ayn Rand (even though I loathe ayn rand)
and
Every man builds his world in his own image. He has the power to choose, but no power to escape the necessity of choice. - Ayn Rand
You are the chosen one. :)
Reviews
Wu Lang ba gua gun (1984)
THE BEST Kung Fu movie ever made
For many years, 36 Chambers or "Master Killer" had been unanimously decided by fans of the classic kung fu genre to be the best kung fu movie ever made. Directed by Lau Kar Leung in 1978, 36 Chambers marked a change in how audiences viewed the genre, and during this period, Lau, who had officially severed ties with Chang Cheh as a fight choreographer was crowned the "King of Kung Fu".
I've watched 36 Chambers and while a powerful movie, I would have to say 8 Pole Diagram Fighter deserves the title of 'best kung fu movie ever made'. This was one of Lau Kar Leung's final masterpieces and the movie he was dying to make Both movies star Gordon Liu as a young man who transitions from a life of political intrigue to Buddhist Monk. While both movies depict the rewards of hard work as the hero overcomes the struggles of trying to adhere to a new life, it a also doesn't shy back away from the difficulties of staying true to his new beliefs when loved ones are endangered and the same evil men continue to oppress the people a "detached" monk can't stop caring about.
Emotions run incredibly high, in 8 Diagram Pole Fighter, but while a bit over-dramatic, it is sure not to disappoint fans and new comers to this genre of movies. 8 Pole Diagram Fighter is simply put, a movie you have to see to believe. Cheesy costumes an goofy set pieces doesn't distract. This is the best kung fu movie ever made.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
Oscar winning performance by a CGI Chimpanzee -- James Franco, perfect
I went into Rise of the Apes with high expectations, which is usually the recipe for a big letdown. Surprise! The opposite turned out to be true. This was the first movie of the year that I actually went into the movie theater to see, rather than wait for the DVD.
The movie Stars James Franco as Will Rodman, a scientist working on the cure for Alzheimers. Will has a personal stake in the results... his once brilliant father, played by the terrific John Lithgow is currently suffering from this debilitating disease.
When a lab accident goes wrong, Will acquires a baby chimp. He chooses to raise the chimp as his own, to spare it from being put down like the chimp's mother. In doing so, Will discovers the chimp inherited its mothers high IQ, a result of the Alzheimers potion Will is creating.
Ceasar is surprisingly child like, and very human like in his intelligence. The turning point comes midway through the movie, when Ceasar becomes "self-aware". "Am I a pet?" he signs. From that moment on, Ceasar wants to be treated like a human, opting to open the car door rather than ride in the back of a station wagon like the family dog.
The movie matches the tone of its predecessors in that, it truly feels like a science fiction movie, rather than popcorn fare. There's not a ton of action throughout, it chooses to focus on Ceasars development, downfall, and ultimate rise to power.
Surprisingly, we could have the first Oscar winning performance by a CGI chimp. While some might complain that James Franco took a back seat to "CGI monkeys", I assure you that Franco struck just the right note. He plays the brilliant professor with just enough nuance to make him believable in the part. Of course he is camera ready and attractive, but not so much that the audience is unable to suspend belief. James comes across as sensitive and intelligent and doesn't handle the element of surprise cheaply, as Ceasar develops. I love when actors act with their eyes as it tends to draw me into the character and the emotion of the performance. Will becomes as emotionally invested in Ceasar as he does with his father. He wants to keep his "family" together.
The original Planet of the Apes movie, some believe directly referenced the civil rights movement unfolding around the time the movie was made. It was about treating others with the humanity they deserve. Today's world doesn't suffer under the delusion that all humans don't deserve to be treated with racial inequity, so Rise of the Apes doesn't focus on that as much as it does animal rights, and treating them with the humanity and dignity they deserve.
The movie begs us to empathize with Ceasar, more so than it wants us to empathize with our human protagonist, and deservedly so. There's so much potential for emotional conflict between Will and Ceasar, but this element is played down as there are other things to hash out as the apes, quite literally, go wild.
By movie's end, we know what Ceasar becomes, but I wanted to know more about Will and his outcome. I suspect, this is what the director has in mind for the sequel.
Chocolate (2008)
Absolutely terrible
I am a huge fan of martial arts movies, particularly movies Kung Fu movies dating back to the 70s and 80s. I've watched everything from Shaw Brother movies, to Golden Harvest, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, and especially Lau Kar Leung movies are among my favorites. Do not think I am misinformed on Chocolate, because simply put, this movie sucks.
It begins with a sweeping love story between the girlfriend of a mobster and one of his men. The mob boss realises they are seeing each other and both are banished from the outfit and kept apart. If they speak or see each other again, they will be killed, it doesn't matter if the woman is pregnant, she is not allowed contact with the father and any attempt at contact and well... brutal things happen to her.
The couple's offspring is an autistic girl who learns martial arts (something that looks like Kung Fu and Muy Thai), by watching Kung Fu movies on TV and outside her window where she lives, which is next to a Kung Fu school.
Mother because sick, daughter goes out and forces the men who owed her mother money during her mobster days, to pay up.
THroughout the movie, the girl is fighting man after man, woman after woman and only a few of her challengers can actually fight. Some throw machetes at her, swing a punch or two, but what fun is watching a fight if the opponent is so unskilled? The movie steps it up a bit in the 3rd act, there is a guy who uses some type of drunken fist style to fight the autistic girl and that was a nice change. But of course, after this fight has ended, we move on to one REPETITVE fight after another. They bring nothing new to the movie, and sometimes the moves are really slow. I love a good fight but they just went on and on, the same thing over and over again. I don't know how or why so many people like this movie. It was corny, maudlin, and just plain stupid.
There is a sword fight, and it wants to be a samurai movie at that point, and I can't make out what type of Kung Fu movie I'm watching. It was so sloppy. I didn't like anything about it. The girl is athletic, and that's about it. Also, several of the women looked like men. Just sayin.
Can que (1978)
Campy fun
Crippled Avengers, aka Return of the Five Deadly Venoms (named so, because it stars five of the actors who came to be known as the Five Deadly Venoms after its movie namesake), star as five men who are horrifically crippled by a bitter crime lord/politician.
The first, is rendered blind. The second becomes deaf mute because he swears and curses at the crime lord for all of his bullying and wrong doing, the fourth has his legs cut off by the same villain, and the last, the only one who knew kung fu, is rendered an "idiot" in an attempt to confront the villain and bring justice to the wronged four men who are bullied and harassed by the rest of the town for being crippled.
They are led to the idiot's kung fu master and are later taught kung fu. The idiot of course, causes much trouble and his master declares him without "feelings anymore" because of his mental condition, so it was okay to hurt him during practice! The other avengers know that this man was injured trying to avenge them, so they treat him as fairly as they can, then decide to go back to the town to get revenge on the villain and his son.
Good movie, lots of campy fun. Definitely a recommend from.
Za jia xiao zi (1979)
It sucked
The story stars Yuen Biao as Little John, and his on screen brother Big John is played by Leung Kar Yan.
Lau Kar Wing(famous director and brother of the equally famous Lau Kar Leung) plays the villain "Silver Fox".
The movie opens with a hilarious con by Big John and Little John that goes horribly wrong when the beggar, played Sammo Hung (who also directed) derails the plan. The two brothers are left hungry and without money after the plan goes bad so they look for another sucker to dupe. They meet Silver Fox, who not only out smarts them, but beats them terribly.
The con artist brothers realise that it is yet another opportunity to scam the man, and beg to become his students hoping Silver Fox will pay their bills, give them a place to live, and pay their gambling debts. They succeed. Silver Fox becomes their new "master" and takes care of them, but little do they know, Silver Fox is evil. He teaches the brothers to fight, and they are good. The only problem is that they can't fight without each other. Little John learns to Northern Kick and Big John learns the Southern Fist. Lau Kar Wing a real life practitioner of Hung Gar was excellent and comparatively, the other actors were out of their depth.
Things go wrong when Little John learns that his master is not only evil but is also an outlaw and a cop killer. Big John is eventually murdered by the teacher saving Little John's life. Little John vows to take revenge on his old master. He runs into the Beggar, learning that he is versed in monkey Kung Fu. He begs the Begger to teach him, but the Beggar refuses. Little John eventually cons the Beggar into becoming his teacher. Apparently he's learned nothing from the death of his "con" artist brother.
The Kung Fu lessons are full of insults and abuse. The Beggar and Little John don't particularly care for one another and Little John already seems to be over the death of his closest brother. Yuen Biao is nimble enough, and his acrobats are nice. But the monkey Kung Fu sucks. If you want to see excellent "Monkey" Kung Fu, go watch MAD MONKEY KUNG FU, better story, better stunts, better acrobats, and better training sequences.
Yuen Biao is nothing short of amazing though and he is clearly skilled as history would dictate. But his Kung Fu skills (in this movie) are too slow, and choreographed. Sammo Hung as a director is terrible. He uses camera tricks to make the actors move faster, and to cover the fact that some of the moves are lacking. Yuen Baio and Leung Kar Yan move like they're counting numbers "1-2-3-left" arm throw, it's very slow and contrived to me.
I can tell that Leung Kar Yan had no formal martial arts training, and Yuen Biao of course is very good but the choreography didn't do him justice. Plus, the students didn't care about their master, and in the end, Yuen Biao and the Beggar barely liked each other.
These student-teacher relationships are all about respect but this silly movie failed to capture the essence of these important relationships.
I will say that, Knockabout was very funny, and it did make me laugh. So I think fans of Yuen Biao and that other guy, Sammo Hung will enjoy this movie. I'm no fan of Sammo Hung so I didn't but Yuen Biao and Leung Kar Yan did just enough to keep me entertained. Ultimately, it was forgettable.
August (2008)
Excellent Movie Deserves More Praise
Watched this movie online on Netflix last night. Strange, the movie was released theatrically July 11,2008 but is not only already on DVD but can be watched instantly on Netflix.
So not only are movies straight to video but straight to instant viewing. Fine by me. Terrific movie. Critically panned though. Neither critics or fans understood the product this imploding .com company was selling or the fact that the product didn't matter. The plot in August is beset by ominious news stories preceeding "fall".
I thought the movie was terrific. I got it. The scene with David Bowie was SUPERB. I can't tell you enough about his character and the "nose bleed" he gives the protagonist - which comes down to the whole point of the movie and what's important in life. Also important is... the people you crush when rise to the top, you'll see on the way down when you fall. Or however the expression goes. In other words, PLAY NICE.
Analysis: Recommend
Mr. Brooks (2007)
A Virtuoso Performance! (possible spoiler)
Excellent! After two decades of playing "the good guy", Kevin Costner proves he is far more interesting as a baddie.
With a Lectoresque silkiness to his voice, Costner makes a convincing serial killer as Mr. Brooks who, despite the murderous, deceitful double-life he leads, manages to come across as a loving trustworthy guy. In fact, Mr. Brooks is so nice, charming and soft-spoken no one suspects him of being a cold blooded serial killer. The audience knows he's a killer, but either by accident, or Kevin Costner's acting, the highly repressed Mr. Brooks is who the audience will root for. Yes, I said it.
Ah! Chills are rolling up my spine. William Hurt turns in an excellent performance, and I can't say enough about the movie without giving too much of the plot away. I enjoyed it.
Of course there were a few predictable "twists" , but then there were plenty of surprises too, balancing the movie nicely. Demi Moore does her best impression of Holly Hunt, and surprisingly, despite her passive acting approach, convinced as a detective whose "gut" instinct is borderline occult. The same can be said of Mr. Brooks, a shrewd observer of victim and non-victims alike, gifting him with the ability to scheme and predict what his adversaries will do next.
Seems like I've given everything away. Fear not, this summary/review has only scratched the surface of what could have been a convoluted mesh of unrelated story lines. Yes, everything is gift wrapped and tied with a little red bow. And while it lacks a pretentious, grainy, low budget grasp for an Oscar (yes, it's totally mainstream), just remember, Mr. Brooks is a popcorn thriller. If you can appreciate it for what it is, you'll love the movie. If not the movie, you'll not only love seeing William Hurt, but will totally enjoy Kevin Costner's virtuoso performance.
Bravo.
Factory Girl (2006)
Edie Through The Looking Glass
(Possible spoilers, though unlikely)
Okay, let me say that I enjoyed Factory Girl for what it is and think it is worth renting.
The story stars Sienna Miller as the fated Edie Sedgwick and Guy Pearace as vapid pop culture icon, Andy Warhol.
The movie isn't nearly as close to as bad as critics claim it is. The first 40 minutes is much ado about talk of cocks, Andy and Edie's irreverence, and a series of disjointed images. The first act is aimless. But it makes sense because Edie and Andy are aimless and so are the termites chewing Andy's wood at "The Factory".
Enter Hayden Christensen as Billy Quinn and the movie develops its paper thin plot. Though, I should say it's unfair to characterize the story this way. Edie's life was a paper thin plot, so the director, Hickenlooper can't be blamed for that.
Andy, who never says he is gay, though everyone else assumes (or knows) he is, is in love with the idea of Edie "The Superstar" and Billy Quinn simply wants to open her eyes. She becomes the rope in a tug of war. Billy's "soul" cries for the world in a time of upheaval versus the-devil-may-care, drug den world of Andy. And while the latter may be in "love" with his muse, Billy cares and wants Edie to know, if art is the food of the soul, then Edie is eating from an empty soup can.
Edie is a sympathetic character. You get the sense that no one really knew her. Not because she was empty and vapid but that she was so shattered inside the only part of herself she allowed the world to see was the facade her Andy created. In Factory Girl we see Edie through the looking glass. Not as she was, but as she appeared. Warped.
Edie is the cute girl you meet in passing at a party at some stranger's house. You like her, but never see her again. Though, over the years you hear the occasional rumor or two, until one day, you hear she's hit rock bottom and died. That's how it feels to watch Edie Sedgewick's story in The Factory Girl. On one hand, you want to mourn her. On the other hand, you wonder, what has the world lost? That in itself is the real tragedy.