ghettoracer Reviews

People's Hero (1987)

i only saw the last 10 minutes of the film and i already give it 10/10

[10/10 · 30 April 2014]

i was sleeping and woke up at 4 am... and catch the last 10-15 minutes of this film. wow, the acting is superb! now i need to watch the entire thing from beginning to end.

if anyone loves a realistic story that is full of believable characters this film is it! this film is VERY philosophical this and it is VERY deep in Chinese culture. righteousness, virtues, are a bit lost in modern Taiwan or Hong Kong but, it in the old days it was worth a lot more. lot of familiar faces in this film. the film was released in 1987 so lot of them appear quite young. :)

in the film there are also couple of strong female characters. i'm talking about mental strength not physical. they were awesome.

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love (1996)

a highly under rated film...

[10/10 · 6 May 2005]

I first saw this movie about 4 years ago. And upon the first viewing I was dis-appointed about 15 mins into it. I'm sure most males are attracted to this film simply by the title... Kama Sutra. LOL. I was disappointed because on first glance I did not find Maya and Tara attractive. Yes I know, how lame of me to judge a film based on the looks of the actresses. In my defense, the title threw me off as I was expecting something highly erotic and very porn-ish. However, other than the title of the movie I've heard accolades from critics about this movie... so I manage to finish the movie. I remember thinking wow, not too shabby, the film wasn't what I expected. It really is a tale of love. I've just viewed the movie three times in the last couple of days and at last I'm really appreciating the film.

The acting are superb and I think Indira Varma was a newcomer at that time. I think she played Maya perfectly... Her performance reminds me of how impressive Natalie Portman was in Leon as a totally unknown. Although Natalie was much younger with her debut. It was a delight watching Indira portraying the deep emotions and the hard life of Maya being always in Tara's shadow. My favorite scene was when Maya and Jai reunited. The music/score was perfect and the acting was heart felt I think they have perfect chemistry.

The sets and costumes were colorful and rich. The cinematography was stunning. Character development was complete and the pace of the story was quite good never a wasted moment. This is one of my favorite films about love. It encompasses a lot more than merely the thought of "Kama Sutra" conjures up. It is also about girl going into woman hood. Please enjoy the film with a open mind and I think you will find its true beauty that is rarely matched.

One other film that's a personal favorite is Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon which is directed by Ang Lee. I grew up in Taiwan, but spent most of my life in California and I'm well versed in both the traditional Chinese culture as well as contemporary American. I understood perfectly what Ang wanted to do. There's a big similarity in the fact that both directors made the film for the _foreign_ audiences. I think these films should not be completely judged on its accuracy, but rather, from the director's vision and what they wanted to accomplish. In both cases I think the directors were perfect.

The Secret Life of Zoey (2002 TV Movie)

very realistic rendition of young teens and substance abuse

[10/10 · 4 February 2005]

Might contain spoilers I guess... so you've been warned. I just saw this on HBO in Taiwan... I was very impressed. Superb acting, nothing over the top. And the story is very believable. Drugs are everywhere in USA. So when the pressure or un happiness mounts, I think teens who are not raised right could easily try it casually and get addicted. They do not try to pretend to know the solution to the problems but it is true, it is up to Zoey to come face to face with her problems and solve them. Sounds simple enough... if you simplify life down to the core, it is indeed simple.

I'm a 31 years old male. I have no kids yet, but I know ideally I want a daughter and a son. I hope I don't have to deal with this kind of problems.

The Follow (2001)

best of the BMW short films.

[10/10 · 22 August 2001]

excellent monologue, beautifully filmed, with great music. short and a perfect 10 from me. just flawless.

i wish i can write more eloquently about it. wkw manages to develop the characters quite well and the story is complete. the other films are pretty good, but everyone else seems to agree this one stands out.