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#2361
09-21-2012, 08:17 PM
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White: The Melody of the Curse. (2011) 8/10
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#2363
09-27-2012, 12:44 AM
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A Korean family moves to Thailand to open a Taekwondo gym. Here they run into a gang of thugs who has stolen a rare knife... and the party begins. Has all the signs of a Prachya Pinkaew flick. Awsome choreography, insane stunt-kicks, something getting stolen, and Petchtai Wongkamlao. Only 1 important thing was missing. Tony Jaa. The only person who can make this kind of movie look convincing with his speed and power. That being said, the young korean fellow in the lead role was VERY, very talented. Can't really find a lot of negative things to say about The Kick other than the lack of Tony Jaa. The pacing was good, the story was simple (as expected), lots of talented martial artists including the girl from Chocolate, and it had its funny moments. But.. I found it quite odd that Pinkaew had chosen to make a movie with Korean and Thai actors speaking korean and thai. Not that i know any of the languages, but it didn't sound like they had i single word in common. Also a lot of the gang members ran around with their faces hidden behind scarves so the audience wouldn't notice how few actors/stuntmen Pinkaew was using in this flick. Looked freakin weird. Oh yea, and the few (thank god) added dancing sequences was incredibly gay.
__________________
I'm right. It's the rest of the world that's wrong.
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#2365
10-09-2012, 09:17 AM
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Re-watched Chan-wook Park's segment "Cut" from Three... Extremes (2004).
The shock value certainly didn't resonate with me as much as it had the first time I had seen it (which, admittedly, was years ago). Was nice to see my Korean boyfriend, Byung-hun Lee, though, and it made me want to watch I Saw the Devil again. I think the direction is great as well as the set - I think I probably had just built it up in my memory. Not as rewatchable as, say Oldboy, which now I want to rewatch again too.
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#2367
10-14-2012, 10:48 AM
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Gandu (2010)
As far I've seen Bengali films, I think this is the 1st ever attempt by a Bengali filmmaker to enroll the 'Bangla cinema' into the exploitation genre of movies that has passed its golden era in European, American & Asian (Japanese) film-circle between late 60s to 70s. The abusive & raw nature in dialogs or character attributes with the backdrop of a gritty lifestyle or dark realism as well as use of explicit sex & violence to manipulate/force or more precisely exploit the viewers to 'taste & feel' the vicious & darkest corner of life...are some basic features in any exploitation movie. And on that ground, GANDU succeeds moderately, IMO. The problem is GANDU is a little exploitation drama that comes with an art house treatment all over. As they have dared to break some boundaries for Bengali cinema, particularly regarding sex and the form & mood of dialogs, lyrics & characters, I think it'd be better to work with a little bit of more drama and a complete story. The film begins with all the frustration, anger & helplessness of poor 'talented' Gandu and it even ends with those same things. Meantime, the viewers become part of Gandu's acid trip which results those delusions of winning a lottery ticket, getting offer from a band and even that 'colorful' explicit sex scene. The cast delivered overall a pretty convincing as well as daring performances, quite worth to check out. Even the characters were interesting & had some great potential to offer something truly memorable but the film suffers for its inconsistent, vague & repetitive storyline; probably due to its excessive art-film approach. The masturbation, sex scenes & the songs added some shock value, which is new & 'exciting' for a Bangla movie & I guess most of the viewers will remember GANDU for those elements only, not for the characters or a story. Too much close up shots & fragmented scenes kinda ruined the mood of watching a sensible movie. I was expecting to join with Gandu & his Bruce Lee fan-friend Ricksha (my favorite character in the movie) in a 'real life' feel crazy ride (not a acid trip) that might go either way...a rise or more downfalls for Gandu. But neither happened & left me frustrated for a 'story'; not a portrayal of a lost youth who is desperately trying to find & prove himself in surroundings that's filled with financial & sexual deprivation in almost every corner of a 'colorless' world. >>: B
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@Letterboxd
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#2369
10-14-2012, 11:15 AM
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Quote:
__________________
@Letterboxd
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