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Reviews
Oldeuboi (2003)
It's not about revenge, it's about meaning and life
There are movies that aim to entertain, and there are movies that attempt to say something. This movie aimed to do both, and succeeded admirably. Sure, upon reflection, various parts of the plot don't seem to follow from one another, and so many things in the movie are implausible. But does one want a movie that is as smooth and plausible as yesterday afternoon? Like it or not, human life is tortured and zigzags without warning. What matters is making sense of it afterwards in a way of one's choosing.
This movie is not really about revenge. It is about the human need for knowing things not just about oneself, but about other people. The protagonist could never have lived with himself without knowing why certain things happened to him. Our lives make no sense when the intentions of others are ignored.
Most touching in the movie was the woman's sacrifice for the protagonist and his for her. They were entirely dedicated to each other, and showed that one being willing to do anything to make another happy alone induces happiness.
Thus, the movie invites the viewer to contemplate his need not only for narrative meaning in his life, but also for the intersubjective quality of that meaning.
Akahige (1965)
Perhaps too sincere for an American audience
The story is about a young doctor who thinks a posting at a public medical clinic is below his station. But the gruff Red Beard teaches him a thing or two. The film endeavors to heighten awareness of human suffering. The viewer identifies with the young doctor and learns with him about the evils of the world and the ever-surprising lengths Red Beard goes to to mitigate them.
There is ample humor, sparse dialogue, and excellent characterization. Cinematography and other finer features are somewhat pedestrian. Yet the film is touching and memorable. It is not melodramatic, cheap, or smarmy--it is one of the films whose appeal reaches other times and nations besides 1960s Japan.
...E tu vivrai nel terrore! L'aldilà (1981)
Poorly made, formulaic, senseless
The movie was poorly made. The blood and flesh were fake. Sound effects, acting, and contact lenses were poorly done. The dubbing was OK. Very fake spider. Background for final scene of hell is all the same shot from the same perspective. The actors are superimposed. Very obvious. Bad makeup.
The plot was spare. Woman moves into old house. Bizarre "accidents" claim the lives of various people. Various things tell her the cause is supernatural, but she doesn't believe until a zombie tries to kill her. She seeks the help of Manly Doctor, who doesn't believe her until a zombie tries to kill him.
The various deaths are bizarre. Painter sees zombie reflection in window and falls off scaffold. Plumber grabbed by zombie in basement. Woman killed by zombie of plumber in bathroom, even though his corpse is in the hospital. Man grabbed by zombie in basement. Man falls off ladder, is conscious but lets his face be torn apart by tarantulas, who come out of nowhere.
This was all just too childish for me. Never has 86 minutes seemed so long. After about 40 minutes my mind started to wander--what do I need to do when I get home? Why did I let my friends talk me into watching this? The positive side is that some parts were so bizarre that they were funny.
Krull (1983)
Banal, childish, predictable
Hero saves world by trying and getting help: that's the movie.
All the characters in the movie are stock characters: noble, but young protagonist/hero; pretty, loyal, helpless princess with too much makeup on; jester/comic relief figure who means well but always bungles (but amazingly in the end does something right to help the cause), bandit who helps hero and turns out OK at the end, villain who has no purpose or personality other than "destruction" of the "good," wise Obi-Wan Kenobi adviser.
The dialogue is hackneyed. The victory over the villain is achieved by the use of a magical device and (no joke) by the power of love in the form of fire that shoots out of the hero's hand. Only a handful of henchmen defend the villain's fortress when an army appeared earlier in the movie. I could go on and on. It's enough to make one believe in censorship.