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Reviews
Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
Michael Bay has gone insane
This movie is terrible in so many ways that it is impossible to articulate them all. Usually, with a bad movie, it is easy to say, "It is bad because of this, this, and this," but with Framstorners: Bark at the Moon, the problem is that everything in it is terrible.
The basic storyline is not too bad, and in the hands of another director, it could have been a decent 90 minute action sci-fi movie. Michael Bay makes it 60 minutes too long, and fills it with a bunch of Michael Bay rubbish that does not need to be there.
Other reviewers have done an excellent job of pointing out the many different reasons why this movie is horrible. I think that Michael Bay has been injecting testosterone directly into his brain stem, and it has made him insane. How else could someone make a huge-budget movie and not care about plot, characters, dialog, physics, or having even a tiny shred of respect for his audience?
And to top it off, why does everyone in the film have orange skin tones? Every person looks like an Oompa-Loompa. They look like they've been hanging out with John Boehner in the spray tan booth.
Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat in Space (2002)
Some background on t.o.L. and Tamala 2010 production
I attended a screening of Tamala 2010 at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. The directors, t.o.L. (trees of Life), and animator were present for discussion after the film. It was two years ago, so my memory might be shaky, but I can fill in some information about the production of the film.
t.o.L. is an enigmatic multi-media creative duo (a man and a woman). While they work with animation, illustration, and graphic design, their primary focus seems to be music, and they composed and performed all of the music for the film.
All of the animation was done by one (!) man. He labored for nearly four years animating Tamala 2010. From his comments, it sounds like the directors fed him information about story and scenes, bit by bit, which he would use to animate segments. He usually did not know what was coming next while animating a segment. After the initial character design and style was established, he was left with complete control over his work.
Responding to a question from an audience member, the directors admitted that the idea for "Minerva" was based on "Tristero" from Pynchon's novel "The Crying of Lot 49".
The directors also indicated that they are very interesting in marketing merchandise based on Tamala 2010.
While the film is visually and conceptually interesting, it is disjointed, lacking a smooth flow. This is probably a result of the "make it up as you go" approach to direction and animation. The film could have been more satisfying if it had been planned out more carefully from the beginning.
The music provides continuity and holds the film together, which leads me to believe that music is t.o.L.'s primary interest.
Oldeuboi (2003)
Excellent ending, but the journey suffers
Oldboy follows a fairly standard story structure: The audience is presented with a "mystery" which the protagonist must solve. However, while pursuing the mystery, information and characters are gathered which are significant for the ending, when a huge surprise is revealed. Other films that follow this pattern are "No Way Out" (1987) and "The Usual Suspects" (1995).
The setup for Oldboy is: Dae-su is kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years by an unknown antagonist. On release, he is given some clothes, money, and a mobile phone. He learns that he has five days to discover who his antagonist is, and why he was imprisoned.
Much of the movie is devoted to gathering clues to solve the mystery, and this is the film's weak point. The director, Park Chan-wook, must provide the audience with all of the clues which are important to the ending, without telegraphing the ending. He must also make the search for clues interesting on its own - as if the audience is watching an ordinary mystery film. It is in the latter that Oldboy fails.
The story of Dae-su solving the mystery is not involving. Likewise, the romance that begins between him and a young woman is not developed very well. There is not much sense of character development, and events seem somewhat random. Director Park tries to spice things up with violence and odd behavior by characters, but it is just "window dressing".
In some mystery genre films, such as "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) or "Lone Star" (1996), the "journey" of solving the mystery is the interesting part of the film. The solution to the mystery is not particularly important, but the journey is entertaining and rewarding.
Not so in Oldboy. I felt bewildered as to what direction the film's events were following, and I was not engaged in the storyline.
A good test that Park should have used in developing the story is: If the ending was removed or changed radically, would the remainder of the story stand on its own merits? Would it engage the audience?
The ending of Oldboy has tremendous impact. It is very well executed, and very intense. It is too bad that the journey to that ending is so weak.
When "No Way Out" or "The Usual Suspects" ends, the viewer re-evaluates everything he has seen, and sees it all in a very different light. Oldboy's ending does not trigger such a revelation.
Xing fu shi guang (2000)
Simple story with social/political allegory
The simple story of Happy Times overlays an interesting commentary on China's government, society, and future.
The first act of film creates the characters, their relationships, and the overall situation, to set up the political allegory that plays out in the final two acts. The story unfolds that retired/laid-off Old Zhao must take care of the young blind girl, Wu Ying. Through a series of lies, Zhao has put himself in a situation where, although he is retired and poor, Wu Ying believes he owns a successful hotel. He offers to give her a job in the hotel's massage room. (This is not a front for prostitution. In China, "blind man massage" is available in most cities.)
He uses the factory where he worked - which is shut down but not yet abandoned - and the help of his former workmates, to create a fake massage room and fake customers. Zhao also provides the money to pay Ying for massages, until the crew hits upon the idea of using fake money.
In the old China, the state guaranteed jobs for everyone. The patriarchal and authoritarian government wanted to show off their glorious communist system, and how well it worked (compared to the decadent capitalists, with their unemployment problems). The government could always print more money, to pay these workers.
The allegory is clear: Zhao represents the "state" - and its well-intentioned "make work" projects. The pride of Zhao (and his chances with his fiancee) is at stake, and he struggles to maintain the charade. As well, he finds that he cares for and is concerned about his charge, Ying.
In the end, two things happen independently: Zhao finds that he cannot sustain the masquerade - he is running out of money and resources (and gets into a situation where it is impossible for him to continue, and, indeed, might put Ying in desperate jeopardy); and Ying, who cottoned on to the charade long ago, decides to take responsibility for herself, and seek her own fortune.
In the same way, China's government realized it could not continue along its Maoist path, and its citizens (or at least some of them) were eager to be responsible for themselves, rather than relying on their government. A new path for China's people has opened, with greater responsibility and greater opportunity.
The film's ending brings mixed emotions: we are concerned for Ying, who must begin coping with the world with no help (at her own choice, although circumstances would force this choice, anyhow); at the same time, we are optimistic for her future possibilities; and we are sad that the relationship of Zhao and Ying has ended.
It is a tribute to director Zhang Yimou, Zhao Benshao (Zhao), and Dong Jie (Wu Ying) that the story and characters are touching, regardless of the underlying allegory. The movie plays well as the delicate and simple story of two people brought together by funny circumstances and human nature.
City of Ghosts (2002)
Excellent mood and atmosphere
What I really enjoyed about "City of Ghosts": The atmosphere of modern Cambodia; the understated characters and storytelling.
I recently spent a couple of weeks in Cambodia. The portrayal of Cambodia in the movie brought back many memories of the place, and I found the overall feeling to be accurate. We get a sense of the sadness and tragic history of the country, its current condition, and the wonderful warmth of its people (as portrayed by Sok, the cyclo driver, who is absolutely authentic).
Some reviewers have complained that Cambodia is portrayed too negatively in this film. However, the bad elements shown - brothels, mugging and beating, corruption, Generals building casinos, and the run-down condition of Phnom Penh - are real. The film is about criminal characters who are doing some "business" in Cambodia, so it makes sense to see these seedy elements. To put it in perspective: we see many movies that show Los Angeles as a gang-ridden city with daily drive-by shootings, but that is only one slice of the city. (I do encourage everyone to visit Cambodia - it is a fantastic and beautiful place - but be aware, and pay attention to the warnings in your guidebook!)
"City of Ghosts" does not sensationalize the seedy aspects of Cambodia. It merely shows them as part of the story being told. It does not get bogged down in the mud, but uses it as part of the backdrop of the story.
The comparison to "The Third Man" is interesting and relevant. It points out how, in our modern world, not only is "Harry Lime" (Marvin) corrupt and soulless, but "Holly Martins" (Jimmy) is complicit in the crimes. We also see that the crimes of Harry Lime have become institutionalized and common today, not only in the third world (Generals spend tax and aid money building luxurious casinos, while Phnom Penh still looks like a war zone after twenty-five years of peace), but in the United States ("City of Ghosts" opens with massive insurance fraud perpetrated in the U. S. by Marvin).
There is more depth to "City of Ghosts" than first meets the eye. Its understated style is deceptive. Rather than over-sensationalizing and over-dramatizing, it gives us something to think about.
Ying xiong (2002)
Jet Li's best, but not Zhang Yimou's best
Having gotten sick of waiting for this film to be released in the U.S., I purchased it on import DVD.
The producers of Hero obviously want to cash in on the success of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Hero has a number of traits that are similar to CTHD: a cello and drums score, with similar musical themes; awesomely beautiful locations; a fictional story set within historical China; interesting martial arts fight scenes, assisted with wire-fu.
That said, Hero stands on its own as a film, and the common elements with CTHD are mostly superficial.
Hero is action star Jet Li's best film, so far.
Director Zhang Yimou has made many truly excellent films, including "Raise the Red Lantern", "The Story of Qiu Ju", "Keep Cool", "Shanghai Triad", "To Live", and so on. When ranking Zhang's films, I have to put Hero at the bottom of an impressive list (although I have not seen "Codename Cougar").
Judging on visual style, it is Zhang's best. It is simply beautiful. Many sequences are monochromatic, or monochromatic with one accent color. Zhang even chooses landscapes to match his color schemes - an impressive feat (although some locations, such as the Li River near Yangshuo, have been enhanced - either digitally or through split-grade filters - to achieve the monochrome effect). Zhang was even granted permission to film at the UNESCO World Heritage site, Jiuzaigou (Nine Village Valley), with its unusual blue lakes. Cinematographer Christopher Doyle also deserves credit for the stunning visuals.
Hero has a clever and interesting story line, where we revisit the same events and characters multiple times, each time with a new piece of information which completely changes our interpretation of what happened, and the motivation and goals of each character.
However, while CTHD has a strong emotional core, Hero does not. The film has a distant, intellectual feel. Zhang's strength, in his previous films, is in telling intimate stories of people, even if the setting has epic proportions. In Hero, he attempts to tell a grander story, with large, heroic characters, and fails. The characters remain distant and cool, like pieces in a chess game.
The performance of Maggie Cheung, as Flying Snow, is the strongest. Cheung is one of the most expressive and emotionally true actresses working today. She manages to breathe a lot of life into a thinly drawn character.
Flying Snow's partner/lover, Broken Sword, is well played by the always enjoyable Leung Chiu-Wai. As with Cheung, he manages to put some life into his character, but has little opportunity to do so. Unfortunately, the role does not permit Leung to use his smooth charm and intellect.
Zhang Ziyi gets the worst of the deal. Her character, Moon, is a stale stereotype which gives her no room at all to breathe, strangling her performance. This is sad when compared to her wonderful performance in Zhang Yimou's earlier film, The Road Home.
Jet Li is not known for his acting prowess. His character - the central role in Hero - is a loner/assassin type, and plays well to his strengths and weaknesses as an actor. He turns in a career-best performance, adding some roguish charm to an otherwise mostly physical performance (at which Li always excels).
Hero is worth watching as a visual statement, and for its intriguing, twisting storyline. It is unfortunate that equal time was not devoted to developing strong characters, to give an emotional core to the film. As with some other recent large budget, epic, and ambitious films from China (The Emperor and the Assassin, Musa), too much time was spent on grandeur (of story, scenery, sets, and costumes) and not enough on the basics of character and emotional interest. Ang Lee has shown the path, but other directors are having difficulty following it.
Vertical Limit (2000)
Incompetent film making
While a number of comments admire the endless action of Vertical Limit, I found it tedious and, ultimately, boring.
The problem is the lack of both pacing and dramatic buildup. Each unbelievable new cliffhanger featuring these incompetent mountaineers is not much different from the last one. No cliffhanger contributes to the next one. It is just a string of unbelievable, disconnected "exciting" sequences.
Halfway through the movie, I would start laughing as a new cliffhanger developed. I waited to see how many ludicrous elements the director and writers could pile on (he's hanging from his ice axe over a cliff, the cornice is breaking; now the woman is hanging, and he's hanging off of her; now the nitro explodes; now an avalanche comes). But at the end of each sequence, someone is either saved or dead, and we move on as if nothing happened....
Great action directors know how to build excitement on top of excitement, with a rhythm. Each situation, while locally resolved, contributes to an even larger tension, until the audience is sitting at the edges of their seats.
Vertical Limit fails utterly to compound the tension of its action sequences. It ends up tedious and predictable.
San tau chi sai doi (2000)
Total kinetic energy
I don't think I've seen another film with as much action as Skyline Cruisers. It is relentless, and there are no lulls. While some sequences are silly, they blow by so fast that before you have time to reflect, you are onto the next one.
Despite the non-stop action, the characters are developed. Each actor provides a sense of personality. Character development occurs through action and facial expressions, rather than dialogue. Skillful direction and editing makes the slightest eye movement meaningful.
The film makers are relying on the audiences' knowledge of action films. They assume we know the basic rules and stereotypes: the hero and his sidekicks, internal team struggles, the femme fatale, the double-double-cross, etc. Thus, they don't bog down the action with setups and explanations. They only provide the key details we need to understand their hero, or the current sub-plot. They assume the viewer is intelligent, and knows the genre. No time is wasted overexplaining the details. This is not a shortcoming but a strength of Skyline Cruisers.
The film is also stylish. Sets are glass and steel. Cold, grey colors dominate. The camera is always in motion, adding to the kinetic energy. The cinematography and lighting is crisp and glossy. The whole package gives Skyline Cruisers a high-tech, state-of-the-art action film look.
Skyline Cruisers is not a big-budget film: there are no huge, expensive "set pieces". But, they are not needed. Intelligent planning, good casting, and understanding of the genre and its audience has replaced spending. Hollywood can learn from Skyline Cruisers. Perhaps they will stop making $100,000,000 turkeys and make some movies like Skyline Cruisers: smart, entertaining, and full of action.
Dong jing gong lüe (2000)
Silly, but entertaining
Tokyo Raiders reminds me of the T.V. action series V.I.P. The director, Jingle Ma, uses similar camera and editing techniques (speed up and slow down, rapid cuts, framing only feet or hands, rapid zoom, tilted camera). The story doesn't make much sense (or, to be less polite, it's downright preposterous), but the movie cranks along at an energetic pace, so you don't really care.
The actors have little opportunity to breath life into their characters. Only Tony Leung manages to create a sense of personality. The rest - Ekin Cheng, Kelly Chan - are minimal character sketches: just enough to establish their roles in the story.
If you want some fast-paced, lightweight entertainment, Tokyo Raiders will suffice.