My type of movie

Posted : 8 months, 1 week ago on 15 December 2007 03:42 (A review of I Am Legend)

Sure, we've seen a few other zombie movies pop up over the past few years, but that won't stop "I Am Legend" from being a quality movie to add to that bunch. I personally liked watching Will Smith work his way throughout the film as the isolated human in a bleak landscape, he did a good job being alone and onscreen for a majority of the movie with one kick-ass dog sidekick. You could hear a pin drop for most of film, which made things even more tense. I like to think of this movie as a mix of two of my other favorite horror movies in recent memory, 28 Days Later (environment, subject matter) and The Descent (the creatures). Recommended for anyone who enjoyed those two.

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So tense, loved it

Posted : 9 months, 1 week ago on 15 November 2007 08:31 (A review of No Country for Old Men)

Great acting, great storyline and probably most notable, best soundtrack ever (virtually no music and long periods of silence, I love it!). This makes for a real tense watch and it fits the film perfectly. The film, which is based off a novel of the same name from 2005, does a great job staying true to almost every part of the book, including the ending who may upset or confuse some (ala Sopranos finale'). Javier Bardem plays such a great role as villian, and yet with some added humor here and there. If his character (Chigurh) doesn't creep you out, I'm not sure what will. There are slight traces of humor throughout the movie, but it's done in a classic subtle way. Josh Brolin keeps the movie rolling as we follow him throughout with his portrayal of a hunter who's stumbled upon another world/lifestyle. Surprisingly, this was my first Coen brothers movie and I can't wait to see some of their older films after watching this classic film. I predict lots of Oscar buzz for this one.

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Unexpected Greatness

Posted : 10 months, 3 weeks ago on 29 September 2007 05:17 (A review of Eastern Promises)

I haven't written a review in a while, but felt compelled to for Eastern Promises, a film I had no knowledge about before heading into the theater last night. In fact, the only reason my girlfriend and I watched it last night was because the theater complex was being renovated and only had 3 movies playing on a Friday night! After the first half hour, I noticed the big named stars, Viggo Mortensen as a convincing Russian driver/gangster speaking in a perfect accent. Cue in Naomi Watts in another solid, though not particularly spectacular portrayal as a concerned hospital worker trying to figure out the story behind a raped girl's sudden death.

If you've read anything about this movie so far, you'll probably read that it has a twist at the end that left some viewers confused or even upset. To me, the twist was minimal to the storyline and really had no impact to me as far as how I viewed the first three-quarters of the film. I could deal with or without it since I really felt like the movie would be great regardless.

Another small tidbit I realized after the film was over was that David Cronenberg directed. His last film, A History of Violence, left a real bad taste in my mouth and I couldn't understand why so many critics raved about how great it was. Eastern Promises, however lived up to any preconceived expectations and I'll certainly recommend this film to any fan of a good crime drama.

Comparison: The Departed with better acting and one of the most memorable fight scenes in film history.

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Unlike any other film I

Posted : 1 year, 7 months ago on 7 January 2007 08:40 (A review of Pan's Labyrinth)

When I first arrived to the theater, I came in thinking Pan's Labyrinth was more a fantasy film than anything else. After the film ended, I wasn't sure how I felt about it. After thinking more about the film (a reason why I think the film works - it forced me to really think about the outcome) it was clear that it was more than just a fantasy film. Pan's Labyrinth found a way to balance a story between fantasy and reality that forces the viewer to imagine what life in war is like, and how everyone involved must deal with the situations in their own way.

The story puts all of the major characters in a situation where they are each trying to achieve their own goals, even the villain. It is a classic story, told and re-told through different mythology and fairy tales in many different cultures. The director's achievement is that it is a totally original story which brings together elements of fantasy and reality to make us reflect on our own lives.

Overall, the movie was very well made, but not for everyone. I believe many expected it to be purely fantasy or perhaps even horror, but this movie transcends all genre's and is unlike any other we've seen in a long time.

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Exceedingly good

Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago on 17 December 2006 04:50 (A review of Clerks II)

A friend rented this for us to watch one bored weeknight, I had my doubts since I am not a huge Kevin Smith fan. I never watched the original Clerks, but this movie had me laughing throughout. Some good references to some of my favorite movies and had a pretty kickass soundtrack (listen for Q Lazzarus' "Goodbye Horses" classic song during one hilarious scene). I've read others call this Smith's "softest" film to date, but hey, I enjoyed it. Recommended for a good laugh without too much thinking.

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Overrated

Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago on 10 December 2006 01:49 (A review of A History of Violence)

I really had high expectations for this movie, but it really failed me. I thought the concept was good, but it wasn't written very well and far too predictable. It contains some of the cheesiest movies scenes in recent memory (see son's high school scenes, William Hurt entrance at the end). I still don't get why people like this movie. Overall, its anticlimactic finale left me with a bad taste and sorry that I had wasted two hours watching this mess.

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another foreign classic

Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago on 10 December 2006 01:09 (A review of A Dirty Carnival)

What can I say, this is only the second Korean film I've ever watched and again I've been blown away by such great storytelling and directing. The first Korean film I saw just 3 weeks ago (see below - A Dirty Carnival) got me researching other Korean film and I heard A Bittersweet Life was comparable to A Dirty Carnival. While each plot can be deemed rather simple in storyline, we are brought into a world that few know exist and we go through an exciting journey throughout the harsh underworld of Korea.

I'll first start off by saying that while both A Bittersweet Life and A Dirty Carnival are "gangster flicks", they share few similarities. Although the premise is generally the same, I believe they are both contrasting masterpieces in their own right. In this film, the main character Sunwoo goes through simlar personal emotions and restraints that affect his "professional" career. The main difference is how each character from each movie interact within their own contrasting environments and situations. One example is that this movie is more realistic in the sense that guns are used through-out while ADC never really had or needed the guns to make it a gangster movie. Fight scenes are almost night and day in each film and it shows me that action sequences have no clear cut formula to be great, as long as it works well within the story. I've never witnessed actors playing conflicted characters better than these two that I've seen in the last two Korean films.

What I've enjoyed most about A Bittersweet Life is that it's completely original and honestly just much better than any other action films I have seen produced anywhere else in the world. This goes for character authenticity and great cinematography. There are always exceptions, but it's far too often now to see movies going for the storybook format and predictable storylines rather than the raw, emotional scenes I've seen in A Dirty Carnival and now A Bittersweet Life.


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Great mobster flick

Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago on 4 December 2006 07:36 (A review of A Bittersweet Life)

When I watched "A Dirty Carnival" (Dalkomhan insaeng) at the Chicago International Film Fesitival, I knew I had to sit down and write a review about it. Let me just say the theater was applauding at the end of this movie more than I had ever experienced in a public theater. I even heard a guy behind me while were leaving the theater say "This was better than Scarface!"

You know what, I think I'm with him on that account. I hadn't heard much about this movie until earlier Saturday when I read another review in Variety. Little did I know was that the first South Korean film I ever was going to watch was one of the best gangster films I've ever seen (and I've watched all the classics from aforementioned Scarface, The Godfather, Goodfellas etc.).

Sang-Chul, the protagonist gangster in the film was played great by the youthful looking Yoon-Jae Moon. During the course of the film we go through random sorts of thug characters, as well as Sang-Chul's past as he re-unites with his peers from his school years. This is when you could see his struggle between which life either as a deviant or regular civilian he should choose. There's also a love interest that could have been horribly pulled off if director Ha Yu pulled the typical cliche and predictable, but he never did. A twist is thrown in as one of his schoolyard peers returns to his life wanting to make a film about gangsters, so who not better to ask than Sang-Chul? The making of a movie within the movie worked on so many levels because we could see Sang-Chul struggling between his family, his work, and his new-found friends and love interest pulling him in seperate directions, while it was all being filmed in right front of him. This not only provided a great story throughout, but also uneasy tension, action and even some humor.

My favorite parts of the film were the fight action sequences that were long almost too grueling to get though, yet I couldn't keep my eyes off of the screen. Only once in the film did I see a gun being pulled out, and that was for a split second. Most of the gangsters fought with bats, pipes or shashimi knives due to gang code of conduct. It definately made for a more entertaining watch in that aspect.

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A decent noir throwback

Posted : 1 year, 8 months ago on 4 December 2006 07:24 (A review of Brick)

I've read about this movie for quite some time, but never got around to watching it. Joseph-Gordon Levitt plays Brenden, a high-school student who attempts to solve the killing of his ex-girlfriend. You quickly notice that this is no ordinary teen murder mystery, it plays homage to the old "noir" films that were so prevalant in the 40's and 50's. The film style, plot twists, and somewhat over-the-top characters (see Lukas Haas Pin character for example) are done very well, however if you didn't know anything about the movie going into it, you'd probably think it was a little too hard to comprehend. The dialogue is hard to follow at times, but again this is a throwback film in some sorts, so it may require multiple viewings to truly grasp the meaning of many scenes.

I particularily liked how the movie used this type of film style in a setting like a high school in suburbia, where you might not think would work so well. It was pulled off as well as it could be, but again the characters were just too unbelievable in many aspects. What makes me appreciate the film though is how many great actors and great directors there are as shown in this movie that are not afraid to produce a film that clearly goes against the grain.


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