Reviews

"Face" is a detective story/murder mystery with supernatural elements and a few of the images used in recent Japanese and Korean horror movies. The protagonist works with the police reconstruction the appearance of murder victims from fragmentary skeletal remains including a few recently that have had all the soft tissue burned away with acid.

His daughter is recovering very slowly from a heart transplant and we see (but the characters don't) that some of the hearts available for transplant into patients with complications may have been harvested by other than ethical means

We saw "The Host" (South Korea) today and it is hard to write about it without sounding like a flack for Magnolia Pictures. KO A-sung, a fifteen year old actress who plays a middle school student grabbed by the title monster gives a starmaking performance if ever there was one. BAE Doo-na is a very beautiful and expressive actress—her eyes are almost a special effect in themselves, as startling as the eyes of Emmanuelle Beart or Bette Davis—and she is terrific here. She is heartbreakingly good in everything I have seen her in. SONG Kang-ho is a real movie star. This is the fifth film we have seen him in—he simply disappears into his character like very few stars can.

Its score may be the best part of "The Host" and I hope it is available as a CD. Cinematography, editing and all other tech credits were outstanding. Director BONG Joon-ho said in an interview that he couldn't do as many monster shots as he wanted due to budget restraints—even so the monster was properly scary and repellent.

But it isn't really a monster movie as such. The evils are bureaucracy (both Korean and American), petty tyrants (ditto), the horror of being a client state occupied by the armed forces of another country, the frightening combination of military power and stupidity shown by the United States are worse than the monster. It is also about the indelible ties of family and culture, the unbreakable bonds between parents and children, the ability of otherwise undistinguished people to become heroes in the face of evil and the nobility of striving to overcome a crippling affliction.

It is worth seeing in a movie theater—the sound effects and score are what digital sound was made for.

A really good movie

While this movie is a number of things--a standalone Hong Kong cops and robbers flick, a parody of or comment upon or theft from the "Die Hard" moves" it is also, more than anything else, director Wong Jing's vehicle to run over Jackie Chan. They worked together on "City Cop" and grew to loathe each other. Based on what we know of the work habits of both, they probably both had good reason to dislike the other.

Wong Jing is very powerful in Hong Kong movies. The IMDb filmography only hints at how prolific he has been--there have been some years in which he wrote, produced, executive produced, directed or consulted upon over 20 films.Ridiculing Jackie Chan may not have been number one on his list of things to do but he did get around to it. This is the happy result.

Depending on how you feel about such things, this movie is a) tasteless; b) politically incorrect or c) transgressive—especially by 2005 American conventions. Since it was made for a local audience 17 years ago the point can be made that we can't really judge it from a very different time and place—that to do so would be anachronistic, imposing standards that didn't exist then.

However..."How to Pick Girls Up" is an only occasionally funny comedy. Its view of women is not untypical of mainstream movies, whether made in Hollywood, Western Europe or Hong Kong. It says that women must have men in order to exist. In the Wong Jing universe a woman might be intelligent, rich, successful, talented and drop dead gorgeous. But until she hooks up with a guy—even if the guy is stupid, poor, ineffectual, crude and ugly—she has to keep looking. And a morally reprehensible guy, like the Love Pain Killer, is still better than none at all.

The only reason to see this movie is the actresses. I rented it because it has two of my favorites—Maggie Cheung and Chingmy Yau. Since I would gladly crawl across a field of broken glass in order to touch the hem of Maggie Cheung's garment (or something like that) sitting through ninety minutes of a Wong Jing masterpiece in order to see her was not much to ask. "How to Pick Girls Up" was released in 1988—a year that saw ELEVEN movies with the Maggster hit the screens. It was Chingmy Yau's second movie.

In watching the early work of favorite artists it is difficult not to see it from the point of view of what they have become—even in such lightweight fare. There is a sense of inevitability that only exists when one is looking back. Obviously Maggie Cheung had a lot of fans in 1988—but none of them could say that years later she would be one of the most respected motion picture actresses in the world, a person who drops into Berlin, Venice and Cannes in order to pick up a "Best Actress" award one year and to sit on the jury the next. After seeing "In the Mood for Love", "Comrades, Almost a Love Story", "Clean", Irma Vep", "Centre Stage" and several other films it is tempting to look this one and say that the kernel of her later success was apparent in her work—tempting but wrong, of course.

She has a couple of excellent entrances and some decent lines—not only, for example was the father of her one year old son killed in a fight, ALL of her other ex-boyfriends died in street battles. A bit later we find that he was killed in a car accident and that she has had no other boyfriends. Maggie is a whirlwind of energy, easily dominating the lovesick Wilson Lam. We tend to empathize with him—she is gorgeous and full of life and her quasi-underworld background gives her an additional edge. But mainly Maggie hits her mark and says her lines. She plays a one dimensional character, which is the way her character (and everyone else) is written.

The same is essentially true of Chingmy Yau who plays Beibei. One can't make the leap from this movie to, for example, "Naked Killer"—her insanely sexy overbite wasn't even deployed in "How to Pick Girls Up." The other actresses are also as good as they are allowed to be by the material. Elizabeth Lee is Hong the bat wielding friend of Beibei. It is hard to believe that Maggie's character would fall for the decent but painfully shy He Matong (Wilson Lam) or that successful TV actress Beibei would be interested in Xin Jeijinjg—essentially Wong Jing playing Wong Jing. But it is impossible to think that Fei Changfan (Stanley Fong) would get a second glance from Hong after his disgusting attempts to gain her favor.

At least when Ellen Chan as Yuki seems to fall for the Love Pain Killer himself it is clear that there is something happening under the surface—she must have an ulterior motive. The problem is that the other women don't—they are just looking for guys to hang on to and it is obvious that just about any guy will do.

Recommended only for those (like me) who will see anything with a favorite actress.

It is the story of two professional assassins who live to kill. Both are act without remorse or second thoughts, are highly effective and completely relentless. Takashi Sorimachi plays O, the Japanese killer who is considered the best in his (admittedly limited) field. He kills efficiently, dispatching the target, his bodyguards and anyone who could identify him. He is quick, clean and much in demand by those who employ him. Andy Lau is Tok, a Chinese killer who wants to replace O but who is considered too showy and flamboyant. When O executes a hit he simply walks away and disappears into the crowd. Tok escapes on a stolen motorcycle while a police station explodes in the background.

They are brought together by Tok's envy of O and Tok's desire to replace him as the most sought after assassin in Asia. While they stalk and spy on each other, they are also linked by Miss Chin, played by the gorgeous Kelly Lin. She is O's housekeeper and Tok's girlfriend. Simon Yam is Inspector Lee of Interpol who leads a team going after both of the killers and who (literally in one case) are always just a step behind them.

There are references galore to other movies: El Mariachi and Desperado, Blood Simple, Hard Boiled, Point Break, The Godfather, Samurai and probably plenty of others that I missed. Even the Warner Brothers cartoons of Chuck Jones are referenced—one of the more outrageous assassinations by Tok has "Largo Factorum" from The Barber of Seville accompanying the action, in much the same way that Bugs Bunny committed mayhem to the tune of Mozart, Wagner or Rossini.

The action scenes are excellent. There are cars that blow up when shot, pistols that are accurate at 500 yards and huge shotguns that appear from beneath short leather jackets but even with these clichés the action set pieces created by Johnny To are exciting, fast paced, very violent and seamlessly shot and edited.

Sorimachi is properly dour and brooding, almost phlegmatic. His understated acting personifies the loneliness and isolation of his character. Lau, in keeping with his character, has a much more florid style—Tok could be a full time smirker as well as a full time killer.

While not exactly a return to heroic bloodshed—there aren't any heroes here—Fulltime Killer uses many of that genre's conventions. Very much worth seeing and recommended.

I agree completely with the Good Doctor's comments above, although I may have a different cut of this movie. The one I have--titled "Shaolin One" and released by Ground Zero has several minutes at the beginning of Jet Li essentially doing a martial arts recital. Many styles, fist, leg, weapons...it is widescreen and very sharp. Then the movie itself begins, full frame and not subtitled. The voice over is done by an announcer with a Commonwealth accent and fits the action very well.

All of that aside, any version of this movie will be an excellent outline of what Hong Kong martial arts movie fans see on the screen and is highly recommended.

Samuel L. Jackson is the perfect host/narrator for this well done look at how martial arts movies began and progressed. There is plenty of footage from the silent era to 2000 put into context by interviews with Chinese directors, actors and producers. Jackson introduces and explains the various periods and sub-genres, paying special attention to the most important individuals including Bruce Lee, John Woo, Ang Lee plus others whose names will be immediately familiar only to fans of Chinese cinema from the 1950s.

Of particular note is the way the narration links two of the most important influences on martial arts film--Beijing Opera and the destruction of the Shaolin Temple by the Manchu dynasty along with the traditional stories around that destruction.

Watching this movie was an odd experience, since I knew so much about it. Lot of interviews with Kentis (especially) and Lau in the press, long, detailed article in the New York Times. The tortuous tale of getting "Open Water" shot and edited and then the agony of finding distribution was at least as good a story as the movie itself.

However--it is a decently told story with very strong images that provoke feelings of fear, abandonment and desolation. The viewer doesn't identify with the characters as such--there just isn't enough development to care about them as individuals. They are Everyman and Everywoman caught in the unfeeling grasp of nature and overwhelmed by its immensity.

Worth seeing now, but it should translate very well to the small screen.

Nancy Franklin has written and directed an almost perfect romantic comedy. Dialog is sharp and witty, the she puts her characters in are believable, the plot is very well constructed to keep things moving.

Diane Keaton looks GREAT and dominates the screen whenever she is on it. Jack Nicholson, for the first time in what seems to be decades, inhabits a role instead of simply doing a riff on himself. Supporting players (McDormond, Reeves, Peet)are quite good in keeping the story going. The locations in the Hamptons and New York City (or whatever was used for them) give you a real sense of time, place and class--the characters are unabashedly wealthy people who live very well in ten room beach houses, zillion dollar townhouses and sprawling co-ops.

The Rube Goldbergesque manner in which the characters are killed in the movie is great. No one is dispatched simply. The series of events which led to each death is well thought out, if fantastic.

Not at all frightening, the gore is tastefully (if that is possible) presented with arresting images quickly cut away from.

There is a death by barbed wire that should win an award, for creative use of everyday objects in slaughter.

Ali Larter has one of the most sexy overbites in movies today.

There is at least one too many interlocking story within a story in this multi-layered allegorical treatment of the Armenian genocide, but why quibble. It is a great movie and well worth seeing.

Egoyan is such a craftsman that he can linger for a long time on shots with little happening and still keep your attention. He has become so comfortable with cutting between time, place and character that it is almost unobtrusive.

He shows he is as interested in the life of a Canadian customs officer and how he relates to his gay son as he is in the lives and deaths of his putative subjects, the Armenian victims of 1915 and their descendants in Canada in 2002.

And as usual Egoyan gets terrific performances from members of his stock company--Arsinee Khanjian, Bruce Greenwood, Elias Koteas in this case. The most wily of old pros--Christopher Plummer and the newest of the new--David Alpay, who has no other credits at imdb--are given the chance to build characters.

The scenes of slaughter, some of which are distanced by being part of a movie within a movie--are disturbing. While brief they tell the horrifying story of helpless people being murdered.

Not a Christmas movie but well worth seeing.

Far from a plot-driven film, "Heaven" forces you to keep remembering that the heroine has killed four completely innocent people as a result of a poorly planned and executed attempt to assassinate a drug lord. All of this takes place under the credits. By the time the movie itself has started, the viewer is faced with some very sticky ethical and moral questions.

Blanchett's character, an English teacher in Italy, realizes that she cannot forgive herself for her actions but must face the consequences. She does, brilliantly, and with the help of Giovanni Ribisi, playing a young caribinieri officer who (almost) falls in love with the prisoner the first time he sees her.

The movie looks and sounds great. The score, often played by just a piano and violin, is terrific. Many of the scenes toward the end of the movie are shot in the sun drenched countryside of northern Italy (Lombardy) and the shots from the beginning of the movie, overhead and looking straight down at the red-topped roofs of an Italian town, are stunning.

There are a few shots that call attention to themselves--one in particular, when the lovers run from a house, across a field and wind up under a large tree. Looking at it, one is aware that it could only have been shot from a helicopter--although it may also refer (in advance) to the rest of the movie.

Terrific movie. It not only depicts the horrific events of 1/30/1972 in Derry, but also gives a glimpse (and only that) of the lives of people in that time and place.

Knowing what happened on Bloody Sunday does not keep one from being pulled into the world of "Bloody Sunday".

Much of the dialogue, at least to this listener, could not be understood. Which, in this case, posed no problems at all--the impact of the movie was not deflected at all by not understanding the specific, commonplace words of the working class characters.

For those interested the inflections and cadences of urban Northern Ireland are difficult for Americans to understand. Added to this is the very rapid and sometimes mumbling delivery of the actors. But anyone who thinks they need to know EXACTLY what lines a certain actor is delivering to understand the story is wrong.

The scenes of combat (or slaughter, if you will) are almost too powerful. The confusion that reigns among the three main groups--the British Army, the Civil Rights marchers and the disaffected, lumpenized youth is very well depicted.

So well done all around that you can ignore the decade-bending anachronisms.

Cast is almost perfect--Foster shines as a member of a religious order who is no where near as bad as the boys think, but also unable to connect with them in any real way.

Haunting echoes of "Blue Velvet" and other indy masterpieces.

The score fit the action as well as anything I have seen and heard.

It seems that the star power of its 30 to 40-something actresses is all Hollywood has going for itself now. Unfaithful is a terrible movie with leaden performances by the two male leads, turgid writing and a see through plot. Richard Gere was either woefully miscast or simply uninterested in this movie. Oliver Martinez, excellent as a romantic hero, is an affectless bore.

The climax of the movie happens over THIRTY MINUTES before the closing credits roll--and that last half hour takes forever, since you just don't care what happens to these characters.

However, there is Diane Lane. She redeems this movie. She is gorgeous, talented and completely alive to the camera. Great body, legs that most strippers would envy, eyes you can simply fall into. Her portrayal is riveting, comparable (but completely different from) Tilda Swinton in last year's "The Deep End"--another suburban housewife who acts impulsively.

The only good thing about this movie--and it is a VERY good thing--is the undeniable, incandescent, zillion watt star power of Angelina Jolie. It is a feel-good flick that is written and directed by the numbers that attempts to push all the right buttons at the right time.

Unfortunately, there are no surprises in this movie. You can see the end from the beginning and are always aware of what has to come next in order for that ending to happen.

But Jolie is worth the price of admission, at least for a matinee. She is able to carry an otherwise blah movie by herself.

And this movie is not up to the standards of "Plenty", in which Meryl Streep found life's meaning as a British intelligence agent in occupied France during World War II.

It may be the source material, the director's approach or just the difference between 1985 and 2002, but "Charlotte Gray" is too romanticized.

The movie looks great--which it must with Cate Blanchett as its star. Simply pointing the camera at Blanchett and lighting her decently is enough to make a movie look great, of course. I am a fan of hers and this has been a great year for Cate watchers. She is in almost every scene and has never looked better. The 40s costuming (including some GREAT hats) and makeup--deep red lipstick, striking against pale skin--are perfect for her.

The story is full of loose ends, including one very important one--which may be Gillian Anderson's making the story reflect the insanity and lack of closure that characterizes war.

And I am a Nicole Kidman fanatic. I would pay to see and hear her read the Moscow phone book, which, for all I know, she may have been doing when she was speaking Russian in this movie.

All four of the principals are excellent, but the movie itself is a number of good images and better scenes held together by nothing.

While one is always ready to suspend disbelief while watching a movie, this one asks too much of the viewer.

It could have been very funny (which it is in parts) or quite frightening (which it is in one scene) but the director didn't seem to know which way to go.

Beautifully realized shots of the unforgiving coast of Newfoundland, showing the physical isolation of the inhabitants from the rest of the world. They are as inbred as any family imagined by Faulkner but with a high Hollywood gloss. They rely on each other for sustenance, both physical and emotional.

The score fits well, the accents work, the dialogue is sharp. Spacey overplays his underplaying, mumbling just enough to make you listen. When you listen you realize he doesn't have anything profound to say. Moore is in her red-headed, peaches and cream glory. She has an all purpose Gaelic accent that says "Irish" to American movie goers. Judi Dench steals every scene she is in--what a wonderful actress.

Worth a couple of hours of your time.

This seems to have been a surprise box office hit, holding in the top 4 of the late summer returns for weeks.

If you are a fan of Nicole Kidman, which I am, you will love this movie, which I did. Saw it twice, and may do so again before it leaves. And unlike "Moulin Rouge" Kidman's other triumph of the season, it will translate well to the small screen.

There is one moment toward the end of the movie where a frightful person appears. Several people in the audience screamed when it happened--they were quite shocked and had been drawn into its emotionally claustrophobic atmosphere

The absence of violence, gore and murder is welcome in this genre. The hysteria that is always just below the surface (and occasionally breaking through the surface) builds throughout the film.

Kidman is in almost every scene--actually in almost every shot. She has never looked better.

Decent performances, which is to be expected from a cast like this directed by Gus Van Sant, but it expects too many leaps of faith or suspensions of disbelief for a "serious" movie. The South Bronx is made to look like Westchester County, except the people who live in the Bronx are black and have more fun.

Deserves its Oscar buzz, since it is a well made, ultimately upbeat movie--just the kind of things the generally conservative Academy voters like to reward.

A real example of luxury casting--"bench strength" in NBA terms. One could take those NOT listed on the poster and have quite a cast. Albert Finney, Benjamin Bratt, Salma Hayek, Amy Irving, Steven Bauer, James Brolin, Miguel Ferrer and Luis Guzman are quite a supporting cast. And given the screen time and importance to the story, Guzman should replace Dennis Quaid in pride of place in billing. But billing is another story, so...

Of the interrelated stories, the San Diego cops vs. the local drug dealer (Guzman and Don Cheadle are the good guys, Ferrer the bad guy) is the most engaging, tightly written and believable, at least on movie terms. It has all the makings of a great "buddy" flick. Guzman is a real pro and a wonderful actor, underplaying to Cheadle's slightly more manic, take charge persona. They are excellent together and (in my case at least) that is the story in which most the emotional involvement was.

The Zeta-Jones character was just a bit too competent. She goes from being helpless and scared as her husband is taken to jail to having the chutzpah to face down a tough drug lord on his turf while eluding surveillance from the DEA. And drives a REALLY hard bargin as she does it.

Michael Douglas and Amy Irving had the unenviable task of making us sympathetic to another upper middle class suburban couple who have no real control over thier lives or that of their child. The angst was laid on too thick. Erika Christensen who played their daughter also failed to engage, but came across well as a spoiled kid who was caught in the grip of addiction.

Benecio Del Toro did an excellent job as the only honest drug enforcement cop in Tijuana. His character seemed conflicted throughout the film and was subject to making tough decisions. Jakob Vargas was essentially the sidekick--they were the South of the border version of Guzman and Cheadle. Marisol Padilla Sánchez as Vargas' wife made the most of a small role and is a real beauty as well.

It will not give away the ending(s) to say that the various stories are resolved in ways that will allow Academy members to vote for the picture and the actors and other artists when Oscar time comes around.

Guest and his repertory company are at the top of their game. A look at 5 groups of people and their dogs as they prepare for and compete in the big show. Catherine O'Hara may be the funniest person working in film now. Fred Willard is perfect as the loutish sportscaster. Both are over the top, but grounded in reality just enough.

Essentially everyone will see something of themselves in one or more of these characters. With the exception of the male gay couple, all are EXTREMELY disfunctional (to use current psychobabble) as seen from the outside but somehow work perfectly for each other within the confines of the relationship.

This was barely released and it shows--ending seems overly contrived and tacked on, the focus of the action (and our interest) swings wildly between three characters, but Jessica Lange is incandescent. Her performance is shockingly good, even for her.