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Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Well-Executed Risky Genre
The style of EEAO reminds me a lot of Stephen Chow's over the top comedy genre. This style is normally seen in B Movie, but if it is executed well, it has a lot of potential to be an iconic legendary movie. Because the styles and the humor are sooo weirdddd...
Kudos to the team to pull this off. This is not an easy achievement, to blend absurd comedy with heartfelt deep drama.
TBH, I am not quite getting the message of this movie. It is as weird as Matrix and Life of Pi. And because as far as I understand, the storyline was structured like a collage, stitching small pieces of individual incident. It also involved a lot of symbolism and homages to popular culture. Again, this is a style you can find in Stephen Chow's movies, Chow mastered it, but rarely seen in Hollywood movies. Perhaps Kill Bill can come close to this style.
I am not gonna comment on the acting part. Yeoh, Lee-Curtis, and James Hong are solid actors.
7/10 from me. This is a movie that may reach a legendary status.
Joker (2019)
Neat But Nothing Special
Nothing makes this movie touches my 8-star list.
The cinematography is neat beautiful by the way, but I couldn't find any scene that supposedly will be remembered as a great shot. Sorry, I just couldn't find it.
The screenplay is having difficulty to built a grand climax. I mean, I wish they asserted a unique traumatic event life which built the Joker persona, but it was not there. Being bullied, losing mom, I think will only ended up in a regular villain, but you can see this kind of plot in many movies. What makes those experience special? Helloooo... you are building a super-villain here. The conflict in this story is not complicated enough to produce a Joker.
This is a great drama, not a super hero movie. Let's put it that way.
Joaquin Phoenix is a superior actor and he acted amazing, period.
He didn't bring that "searching & confused" eyes that you find in people who have mental disorder. Ledger and Leno on the other hand displayed them, which perfectly represent a character with an awfully troubled mind. I understand, Ledger and Leno's Joker is a fully developed Joker, while Joaquin's played the Joker in the making, in his early stage of madness. The madness level between early Joker and older Joker might be different. Love Joaquin's acting. The screenplay man... ugh.
Cinematography is excellent. Consistent tonal and color grading, from start to end. I appreciate that it is showing a brighter Gotham than previous movies with Joker in it, nothing's wrong with that, it gives a different look of Gotham. Again I considered this more a drama movie than an action (super hero) movie, so the suspense should not be generated from the action scene but from the storytelling or conflicts. I wish I saw a bit chaotic camera motion to add suspense to character, but I only saw that in the train fight. I don't understand the shot in which Arthur Fleck sitting down on the side of his mom's hospital bed and taken from behind (only showing his side/back). What the heck? The back shot is supposed to be used to emphasize the subject/object in front of the character, which was Peggy Fleck lying still on the bed. What on earth interesting about it?!!! The shot taken from the opposite angle (from the bed towards Arthur Fleck) is stronger than that.
7-star is enough. I enjoy the movie. Tone down the hype guys, you are delusional to give this a 9, on par with The Godfather.
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)
From Tarantino to B-Movie
Parabellum fails to develop a strong storyline.
If High Table is so respected in the assassins universe, it wouldn't be so easily dismantle by Wick. It doesn't make any sense to follow all the codes if you can challenge it. The adjudicator placed a 7-day notice before executing penalties and giving people options, that feels weird, because John Wick story before this is all about the immediate and clear consequence. If you do this, you'll get that.
Parabellum expanded the Wick's World to the East, which opens a very interesting possibilities to play with. However, it struggles to make it natural. Kill Bill has set the bar for western fighting movies very high, making Parabellum fight scenes with the Asians assains look like Fast and Fury.
The fight scenes also showed a classic problem that has been solved long ago, and can be seen in so many Jacky Chan's movies, Matrix series even has solved this too. People don't brawl in order, one enemy by one enemy, the come altogether towards the target.
I can appreciate the addition of some new characters. Not all of them are strong. Halle Berry and Anjelica Houston are strong ones. And especially the fighting DOGS!!! The not-so-Japanese Japanese character, played by Marc Dacascos, is weak.
I hope the next sequel can compensate this one. 6/10 for this lazy sequel.
Nae meorisokui jiwoogae (2004)
Recycled Theme, Executed Very Well
Enduring love versus illness and time is no stranger for the audience. I watched this in 2019, the experience could be different if I watched this before I consumed other movies with similar storyline.
Having said that this movie has been executed it very well. It did justice to this genre. I have to say the choice of ending is a bit lazy though, and that's the only weakness in the story. I understand the ending is always a very tricky part in any stories. Well done.
Sybil (1976)
This movie means a lot to people who suffer the condition like Sybil's
This movie is inspiring, if not healing. I hope it helps people to understand people with mental disorder. It is hard journey to make a peace with your traumatic past. A thoughtfully crafted movie.
Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
This movie is telling something real
SPOILER --- Reviews that say Crazy Rich Asians (CRA) is about materialistic lifestyle, cheap soap opera movie, nor race stereotyping are totally missed the point of its story. I can tell you, because I am living a life quite similar to this movie. This movie is real.
THE UPS
First, CRA is about Chinese family culture. I watched movies about Chinese family culture normally in documentary or news format, and mostly telling story about conservative family in the old days. CRA retells the story in the modern day, and it is rare that a Chinese family life is depicted in such detail. To the details that matches the depiction of Italian culture in the Godfather's movie, not a superficial or festival culture, but a culture inside your home. I lived with a matriarch grandma, her relations with m aunties, her with her sons, and grandsons, her role in big Chinese family, the way the prepare the food, the role mother play in Chinese family dinner, are absolutely identical to this movie.
Second, Crazy Rich Bernard Tai. You think that's fictional character. I had a friend in junior high school who punched his teacher because he had bad grade, and tell the school to change his teacher. Just to let you know how screwed an Asian rich kid can be. I don't like how he lived his life and I don't agree how he treated people. But yes, Bernard Tai character is not fictional at all, at least for me.
Third, knowing who is who from family names. When Eddy asked, Chu who, Chu plastic from Taiwan, Chu from there or there... Yes, Chinese can track your family background from names. Some of the Chinese families have a unique naming method to identify a person rank in the family.
Fourth, the MOM (Michael Yeoh) and the AUNTIES. Oh yeah, you need to win the aunties before you win the mom, but eventually you need to win the boss, the matriarch, the Grandma, in Chinese family. This happens whenever there's an absence of male figure, but the challenge to enter a Chinese family will be the same. It has a hierarchy, according to seniority.
Fifth, the treatment of WIFE (Outside female family member). Although the females in these movie are the powerful ones, you can see clearly how their roles in a Chinese family. They serves the family name. If only this movie had a male figure, you can also see that they will serve the male in the family, like the sacrifice of Astrid to Michael.
I can go on and on and on... in the nutshell, this movie is trying to tell something real. It's not about the wealth, but about the culture. Although I have to admit that material possession in Chinese family matters big time, even among the family members.
THE DOWNS
Slightly weak storyline, although backed up by strong actor like Michelle Yeoh. The finishing is not good, typical Southeast Asian movie's weakness.
Oshin (2013)
Superb Story, Superb Remake
Oshin 2013 is an excellent remake.
Sequel and remake are normally very hard to match its predecessor, especially if the older movie is a very good one. The audience have benchmark (at a very high standard) to compare this movie with.
It's original TV serial in 1980's was a big hit, not only in Japan, but at least in Southeast Asia region. It is rated 8.1 of 10 (338 user reviews) on IMDb at the time I am writing this review.
Two of the original stars reappear in this movie, Ayako Kobayashi (playing Mino, Kayo's mother, previously was young Oshin in TV serial) and Ms Pinko Izumi (playing Kuni, the old grannie master, previously Oshin's mother in TV serial). A brilliant, yet daring selection which invited the audience to refresh their memory and at the same time directly compare this movie with the original version.
Kokone Hamada who played the Oshin in this movie is an awesome young talent.
------ The script itself is a dominant factor who contributes to the fame of this movie. It tells a story about a young girl who was forced to become a domestic helper to help her family.
The characters were surrounded beautifully with Japanese winter environment, cultural wisdom, and social history. So this is a pretty rich story.
The movie-maker once told that Oshin remake is dedicated to the present generation, especially in Japan, who is confronting harsh living and competition and some of Japanese young generation have fallen into stressful life or even suicides. Oshin movie wants to convey the message about survival, family support, hard-work, and promoting better opportunity for young generation, especially for the not-have and the girls.
Oshin is said to be inspired by a real life of a successful female entrepreneur in Japan.
I don't speak Japanese, and have little knowledge in Japanese movie culture. So I reserve further judgment about the actors' performance.
A well-delivered remake. A classic has reborn.