Category: Movies

Brilliantly funny zombie romantic comedy.

It was very skillfully written and put together. The script and the visuals both demonstrate some pleasing symmetry.

Saw the at the draft house north in Austin. Saturday October 2nd.

I really wanted to see this, and now I have.

A much better movie than RE2, but strangely, you leave the theater a little empty. I think because it intentionally harks back to a simpler time for the movies, and it’s a straight Sci-Fi serial reel, that it feels a little thin. Still, it’s beautiful, fun, and funny.

Jude Law, Gwen Paltrow are great. And I thought Jolie’s character was fabulous and fun. I wanted more of her.

AMC 1000, 1145pm show.

It was pretty awesome to see a young slim Jack Nicholson, suave and confident, in a great role.

I was impressed by the pacing of the movie. A good script — the plot propelling you right along.

I came to watch after soccer and dropped off to sleep somewhere, for just a few minutes, I think.

My favorite scene right now might be Jack N. slapping Faye Dunaway around. Pretty unforgettable.

also, movies where a main character goes around in a bandage are cool.

September 22, 2004
Castro Theater, 935pm

it’s interesting that there are so many ways to make a bad movie.

this is a movie that you expect to be bad, even terrible, and you leave the theater feeling disappointed that it exceeded, somehow, impossibly low expectations.

RE2 is actually bad because it expects nothing of its audience, and we don’t exceed it’s impossibly low expectations.

that said, I would be lying if I didn’t say I enjoyed it.

it occurs to me now that there wasn’t a lot of pure CG. Most of it was real, and that makes it more convincing than CG epics like Van Helsing.

The structure is simple but effective. Careful plot rationing means that the audience has something to chew on as they leave the theater.

September 19, 2004.
Coronet Theater, 945pm.

Ok, this is a great movie. I’m still processing it but I urge you to go see it.

I’ll write more about it later. I thought this interview with the director on Midnight Eye was pretty interesting.

Japan, 2002
Director: SABU

an uptight salaryman’s ordered, punctual world is punctured when his car is highjackked by 3 bank robbers in pursuit of their wheelman, who has fled the scene with the money.

the characters are so interesting and fun to watch you don’t mind the improbable plot–and, anyway, it’s a comedy.

SABU mixes genre conventions (comedy, horror, and action) to punctuate the internal state of the characters. it’s a journey into how these characters think, and why. it’s a movie that has strong opinions (and sometimes they are cliques) but doesn’t preach. it has a scattering of themes: fate, duty, greed, redemption.

but enough of the psychological. it is an extremely entertaining movie, funny and whimsical.

and there’s a scene in a punk rock show that is not to be missed.

I saw Hero in Union Square on Saturday night with K and her boyfriend S. midnight show.

We did a big walgreens run and got Cokes and chips and cookies. So much food in the backpack.

it’s a beautiful movie.

there are themes here that probably resonate better in Asia, especially China. loyalty, and sacrifice of self or even one’s ideals for the sake of the country.

the plot is a bit tough to follow, with so many reiterations of the same basic action.The strong use of color helps you keep things straight. Even so I had trouble in the green section–comatose from too much sugar, I drifted asleep for a bit.

there was some laughter from the crowd, who came for a martial arts epic and couldn’t quite sort out the more introspective philosophical take on life and love.

it’s a great cast–tony leung and maggie cheung are a great pairing. zhang ziyi is of course, beautiful, but has such great facial control… no need for words with her. and i’m a big donnie chen fan. jet li is overshadowed but holds up well enough.

Miramax added a short explanatory prologue, and maybe a bit extra on thr subtitles at the end. not too invasive. Of course they sat on this film for so long. Most chinese in the usa have already seen it, on dvd or vcd.

We had a nice chat about the film on the way home.

overall though, this film did not have the same emotional punch as crouching tiger.

Azumi is a Japanese summer blockbuster, done Hollywood-style. But done in Japan. Director Ryuhei Kitamura obviously loves big action movies, and he’s staking a claim to the action movie that has been dominated by Hollywood imports.

Azumi is one of ten young warriors raised in seclusion by a sword fighting master to be assassins. Based on the eponymous manga, it’s a tale of young warriors finally graduating into the life for which they’ve been trained, and how they deal with it.

As a manga adaptation, it is by necessity over the top. That’s half the fun–and the villains of the story are richly over the top. But the lead character is played straight. Pop star Aya Ueto’s portrayal of Azumi is strong and grave. It provides a emotional anchor to the movie which keeps it from descending into camp.

The action sequences are fast and furious, with sword thrusts and spurting blood aplenty. The action direction is pretty good, and director Kitamura adds his signature flair.

All in all, an enjoyable, fun romp of an action movie.

August 18, 8th Annual Asian Film Festival
Four Star Theater, San Francisco.
945pm

Saw this today. The print didn’t have English subtitles, but I went to see it anyway. Shu Qi doesn’t get much credit for her acting, but I think she earns it here. The attraction between her and the cadre leader is obvious. There are some real tense moments in this story, and its not overplayed at all.

Okay, the film fest is here. There’s a Johnny To movie that just came out that is not on the schedule yet.

Marvin’s already sent me his list, so I’ve added taht below.

Here’s my planned schedule…
Continue reading “8th Annual Asian Film Fest”