Ranvir Posted October 29, 2024 Posted October 29, 2024 There Will Be Blood ***1/2 Some great if slightly over the top performances from Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano help digest this hard to watch bleak Western about an oil driller.
zen Posted October 29, 2024 Author Posted October 29, 2024 (edited) 21 hours ago, Ranvir said: The action scenes are still good. The sequel especially had some great ones but there is a lot of garbage as well, that friend of Chow Yun Fat who gets depressed and coma like is a weird angle. Action is the only thing that Woo's Hong Kong films have going for them and the charisma of Chow Yun Fat, the stories are often boring and have lots of very unrealistic theatrical aspects to them. IMO, Many of John Woo films appear like flavors of the season as they have not aged as well as I would have liked. There will be 4-5 films such as Face/Off and Hard Target that remain more than just time pass films. PS MI2, which is a remake of Hitchcock’s Notorious, too felt like more style than substance (haven’t watched it recently). It is widely seen as the weakest film in the MI series. Edited October 29, 2024 by zen
zen Posted October 29, 2024 Author Posted October 29, 2024 Hard Boiled (1992, Cantonese) A fun action film directed by John Woo. It has a couple of HK actors that I like - Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung (In the Mood for Love). The hospital segment, which is probably like 45 mins long, has tons of shooting - like one shot every 10-15 secs. Chaos 1
Chaos Posted October 29, 2024 Posted October 29, 2024 1 hour ago, zen said: Hard Boiled (1992, Cantonese) A fun action film directed by John Woo. It has a couple of HK actors that I like - Chow Yun-fat and Tony Leung (In the Mood for Love). The hospital segment, which is probably like 45 mins long, has tons of shooting - like one shot every 10-15 secs. Principal…. zen 1
zen Posted October 30, 2024 Author Posted October 30, 2024 Talking about Hard Boiled, I don’t recall watching a film with so many lengthy and intense shootout scenes off late. I watched the film at night. When I woke up, I thought I was hearing gun shots
zen Posted October 30, 2024 Author Posted October 30, 2024 (edited) The Killer (1989, Cantonese, English dubbed) 1/2 We get to see John Woo at his best in this film where he balances style and substance. Good story (inspired by Le Samourai to a certain extent), nice cinematography, and an effective score. Chow Yun-fat brings style to the film. Can’t ask for more in this genre! Edited October 30, 2024 by zen
zen Posted October 31, 2024 Author Posted October 31, 2024 After watching the Killer (1989), I felt like watching it again! A plot involving a hired assassin is among my favorites. Hollywood’s attempts to remake the Killer haven’t been as fruitful as it would have liked. Recently, we saw Fincher direct a version of the Killer (2023) starring Fassbender for Netflix. Some of the films that I like in this genre include: Branded to Kill (1967, Japanese) Le Samurai (1967, French) The Day of the Jackal (1973) The Killer (1989, Cantonese) Leon: the Professional (1994) … … …
zen Posted November 3, 2024 Author Posted November 3, 2024 A Good Year (2006) This film is in my collection. It is one of Ridley Scott’s lesser known films but it is one of my favourite films directed by him. I like the concept, the laid back rural setting in a vineyard in France, which is contrasted with the cut throat corporate culture in London, and the women who look good esp. Marion Cotillard. Other Ridley Scott directed films in my collection include Blade Runner, Black Rain, Gladiator, Hannibal, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of Heaven, and the Martian.
zen Posted November 10, 2024 Author Posted November 10, 2024 (edited) Elephant Walk (1954) 1/2 Elizabeth Taylor falls in love with the owner of a tea plantation and goes to Ceylon. It is a good looking film. It has elements of Rebecca (1940), where the bride is exploring the “Elephant Walk” for its mysteries with a (probably unnecessary) love triangle thrown in. It is similar to the Naked Jungle (1954, also released in the same year) where a “mail order” bride arrives at a Cocoa plantation in South America. The Naked Jungle is about husband and wife finally falling in love after they battle an army of ants (ants as seen in the Indiana Jones 4). Edited November 11, 2024 by zen
zen Posted November 10, 2024 Author Posted November 10, 2024 (edited) 9 minutes ago, Nakli said: 1954 is way to old to watch for me, mate. Oh, you watch it for Elizabeth Taylor: Edited November 10, 2024 by zen
zen Posted November 10, 2024 Author Posted November 10, 2024 (edited) The Naked Jungle (1954) As already discussed in one of the above posts. It has nice interactions b/w Charlton Heston and Eleanor Parker. And the Marabunta (army ants) Edited November 12, 2024 by zen
zen Posted November 10, 2024 Author Posted November 10, 2024 (edited) Btw, all the 3 films mentioned in the previous post are a part of my collection: Rebecca (1940) - Criterion Blu-ray Elephant Walk (1954) & The Naked Jungle (1954) - Digital Edited November 11, 2024 by zen
zen Posted November 17, 2024 Author Posted November 17, 2024 (edited) The Devotion of Suspect X (2017, Mandarin) 1/2 I was planning to read the book but watched the movie first. I am not sure how closely the movie follows the book but it is interesting. Edited November 17, 2024 by zen
BacktoCricaddict Posted November 17, 2024 Posted November 17, 2024 (edited) Watched Do Patti on Netflix yesterday. 5/10 Good: Beautiful sceneries, a decent twist towards the end, awareness regarding domestic violence. Bad: Pretty much everything else. I like Kajol, but she was trying too hard to sound Punjabi or something - like K3G type accent. It was bad. Ugly: The case presentation - too simplistic. No depth at all. I am very hesitant to critique movies - I know it is not easy to produce/direct/act/videograph etc., and know very little about the nuances. But some movies just don't have "it." This was one of them. Edited November 17, 2024 by BacktoCricaddict
coffee_rules Posted November 18, 2024 Posted November 18, 2024 4 hours ago, BacktoCricaddict said: Watched Do Patti on Netflix yesterday. 5/10 Good: Beautiful sceneries, a decent twist towards the end, awareness regarding domestic violence. Bad: Pretty much everything else. I like Kajol, but she was trying too hard to sound Punjabi or something - like K3G type accent. It was bad. Ugly: The case presentation - too simplistic. No depth at all. I am very hesitant to critique movies - I know it is not easy to produce/direct/act/videograph etc., and know very little about the nuances. But some movies just don't have "it." This was one of them. Find some of these movies, they are good: BacktoCricaddict 1
zen Posted November 18, 2024 Author Posted November 18, 2024 @BacktoCricaddict Try out (free trial) the Criterion Channel. It has a good collection of films from all parts of the world that are generally highly rated: https://www.criterionchannel.com BacktoCricaddict 1
zen Posted November 18, 2024 Author Posted November 18, 2024 (edited) The Boy and the Heron (2023, Japanese) This is acclaimed Hayao Miyazaki’s final film (PS He could be planning his next project and if it is a feature length film, this may turn out to be not his last film). He came out of retirement to direct this one. Some facts: * It is the most expensive Japanese film * It is the 5th highest grossing Japanese film of all-time * It has won numerous awards including the Oscar for the Best Animated feature * It took 5-7 years to complete. The title was announced in 2017, the film was released in 2023 This film is a part of my collection. It looks stunning in 4K HDR. I can’t imagine how gorgeous it would have looked in IMAX. The production values are top notch where the animation is among the best that I have seen. Attention to details and composition are excellent. It can be seen as a work of art. The score is good too. However, it is not your typically fast paced Studio Ghibli film. If you are looking for that you may not get into it. You may have to watch it a few times to appreciate its layers. It is relatively a slow burn where Miyazaki takes his time to build up the environment and the characters. The film is somewhat like an Ozu film. It depicts the life in Japan during WWII, dealing with loss and conflict, while also incorporating fantasy and magical realism elements. Overall, like almost all Studio Ghibli films, it takes you to a new world. Birds talk. Birds fight. Birds care. Its relatively slow pace allows you to explore the details of its world. It is different. It mesmerizes! Edited November 21, 2024 by zen
singhvivek141 Posted November 20, 2024 Posted November 20, 2024 (edited) Meiyazhagan (7/10) Generally, emotional family is not my favourable genre..but had to sit through and watch this coz of the pressure bh Home Minister. It's a simple your next door story written beautifully and acted superbly by the cast. It's always refreshing to see Arvind Swamy post his comeback, has portrayed the role with necessary subtleness and sincerity. An impressive 9/10. Kaarthi at times seem loud and unnecessarily chipku type...but overall he did decent job as well (6/10). Edited November 20, 2024 by singhvivek141
zen Posted November 20, 2024 Author Posted November 20, 2024 6 hours ago, singhvivek141 said: It's always refreshing to see Arvind Swamy post his comeback, has portrayed the role with necessary subtleness and sincerity. An impressive 9/10. Good to know that Arvind Swami is still around. I recall him going through some personal turmoil (don’t recall the details).
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