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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022)
I wanted to hate it. My hate-watching verdict.
After watching the trailers I was really disappointed. I'm not really fussed about the diversity or anything. That doesn't really bother me. I think it's perfectly fine to have our media reflect the world we live in. But the trailers made everything look really cringe and corny, the casting looked bad, etc.
After watching the first two episodes, I can safely say I was wrong. There are some forced conflicts and some of it is really predictable, and Galadriel seems like a bit of a Mary Sue, but I really enjoyed it. The dialogue isn't terrible, the action is really good. There was always something interesting or exciting happening. Most of the characters are genuinely likeable and the performances are good too. I love the hobbit girl already and Elrond seems cool. I thought I would hate him the most
I think they've really captured the feeling of LOTR as well. It's definitely not the best quality. It does feel like it's a show for families to sit around and watch, it's not deep or dialogue heavy or complicated to understand. It is also by far one of the most visually stunning TV shows I have seen. The budget for this show really is on display. There were so many beautiful frames on display.
If you're hating this show because it conflicts with your idea of Tolkein's world, or you hate that there are black dwarfs or something else that's irrelevant ...you gotta learn to move on. This idea that IPs are going to stay the way you want forever is unrealistic. Studios are going to create new stories. Get used to it. Find something meaningful to critique.
I read Hobbit and LOTR when I was a kid and watched all the movies when they were released in my late teens. I'm a long time LOTR lover. I think it's fine to create new stories and new lore from the worlds we love. I'm not that attached to a book. My memory of reading The Hobbit as a kid isn't going to be ruined by a TV show 30 years later. I just like a good story. This new story is off to a good start and I'm excited to see where it goes.
Chugyeokja (2008)
So much promise, but develops into a failure
Based on a true story, with the ultimate goal of highlighting the flaws of the South Korean Police Force and the story of one of South Korea's most brutal serial killers
The basic premise of the story; a few prostitutes go missing, their pimp-a former detective-goes out in search of the girls, and it becomes a race against time to get the killer behind bars.
30mins of the movie in, I was mesmerised. The mood had been set and the story was ready to unfold, but it just didn't, and started to become farcical.
This was supposed to be a dark grizzly thriller and it created that setting perfectly, shooting it almost entirely at night, the grizzly cut scenes to the killers house, the blood and brutality. But this was its only success.
The South Korean Police Force maybe flawed, but in this movie they were portrayed as bumbling clowns. The director tried to get a laugh out of them, and this didn't fit with the nature of the film, a true story about a brutal serial killer and an inept criminal justice system.
The film itself is filled with so many unexplained mysteries and so many implausible situations. Whilst they may have really occurred, the director fails to transfer this honestly to the screen.
The film leaves you with more questions than answers, I know some critics will say, "It's a true story, its what really happened". But this isn't enough. If you're going to make a film there has to be a satisfactory resolution to the questions asked in the film, and that can only be answered by the film.
The film itself does contain mystery and suspense, enough to stop you from switching it off, and at times it does draw you in, but the excitement fizzles out slowly.
If you're a fan of Asian cinema then I would recommend it, I'm sure some fans will love this movie, I loved it it for about 40% of the time. It will become an important part of Korean cinema & culture. For fans it is worth a watch. But if you don't watch many Asian films, steer clear
My Favs/Recommends 1. Twilight Samurai (Japan) 2. Infernal Affairs (China) 3. A Bittersweet Life (S.Korea)
Chaser gets a 6/10...So much promise, but fails to deliver.
DOA: Dead or Alive (2006)
Catastrophe!
Corey Yuen is a stain on Asian cinema. Making awful film after awful film, but remains quite popular to western audiences.
Dead or Alive, a great Japanese VG, with the main characters Japanese. But here 3 out the 4 main characters, non-Japanese. Clearly making a movie to accommodate the west and betraying the VG.
Fans of the VG wanna see more of Hitomi, Lei Fang, Jann Lee, and definitely Ryu Hayabusa, the super ninja. Not some pathetic body guard, portrayed in this movie. These characters are the people's favourites. Whilst we still like the bouncy chicks, it shouldn't have been the main attraction to this movie.
Terrible, cheesy dialogue. Boring plot and rubbish sequences. The cast wasn't a bad one, Holly Valance, Jamie Pressley, Sarah Carter, Devon Aoki are all likable performers. But Corey Yuen just can't do anything with them other than make Lei Fang look good.
Chichi to kuraseba (2004)
Not Bad at all.
The film focuses around two characters throughout,Mitsue-the daughter and Takezou-the father, with the third character Kinoshita briefly making appearances, although Kinoshita is central to the story. It takes place over a few days mainly inside the family home. The story reveals the anguish and pain caused by Hiroshima, it does this well. The film's main story is about Mitsue's inability to try and live a happy life after the bombing. Despite her good natured and vibrant personality, she struggles with life.
The movie has two great performances from Yoshio Harada and the wonderful Rie Miyazawa. The film itself i found to be enjoyable, but didn't quite make the mark. Some might find the pacing of the film annoying, normally it wouldn't make a difference to me, but this was too slow and did not engage me often. But i would recommend it, it has good historic relevance, great performances, a chilling musical score and of course Rie Miyazawa.
In summary a simple story told well.