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golden_dove88
Reviews
Kynodontas (2009)
And the Emperor was wearing no clothes
I first saw this at the SXSW film festival. I had high hopes because this film had won several awards and seemed to have gotten high reviews. Not to mention it seemed to be a very interesting movie. However I was greatly disappointed. Within the first few minutes of the film a woman turned to me, utterly confused, and said 'Is this Dogtooth? Am I in the wrong theater?'. Unfortunately, yes, we were in the right theater.
The flaw with the film isn't necessarily style, though it is one that is very strange, it's more of a huge flaw in directing and story telling. Often moments would drag on for five minutes more then it should and the events lacked the flow it needed to keep anyone interested. Five minutes felt like ten, ten felt like twenty, and, well, you get the picture.
The story was there but very thinly present. Not to mention the director or writer, who ever is to blame for this, seemed to resort to cheap gimmicks (the long awkward sex scenes, unnecessary gore, etc) just to try to keep it interesting and edgy. But this isn't what makes a good movie, that has never been the case. If it still had these things in it, but it still had a strong story then I wouldn't care. However it seems to me that the director was too caught up in doing something scandalous that he forgot what this film was supposed to be about. It was obvious from the start what was going on and it didn't let us think about any other possibilities. Yes, I get it, it's a metaphor but that doesn't mean it's a very good one.
It's boring, and I suppose you can point the finger at me and say something along the lines of 'you're not cultured enough' or 'it's art!' but the fact of the matter is just because a pile of dog dirt might look like the Virgin Mary, it doesn't mean that it's necessarily a holy relic.
If you're really REALLY interested in watching this. Then try to find some clips on you tube before dedicating your time and money to it.
Gui tu lie che (2009)
The world you never knew
Short and sweet: the best documentary I've ever seen, and it doesn't even feel like one when you are watching it. A must see.
Now the details for those of you who want it.
The Last Train home is a beautiful and tragic picture of what China is like for factory workers. Forced to work in a city factory, the Zhangs sacrifice their beautiful yet difficult life on the farm with their children in hopes that they can get enough money to send them to college. All the factories allow them to go home one time during the year, meaning thousands and thousands of people all trying to get back to their rural towns in China all at the same time. A surprising and eye opening experience into a world you never knew existed. The train stations are filled to the brim, people turn violent, and people faint from exhaustion. All for something so simple that many take for granted; going home.
The factories are not demonized in this film, in fact, it shows us how dependent the people are on it. If a factory closes down, it's workers are devastated. So many work there so they can scrap together enough money to help their families in the country. All are in danger of extreme poverty and starvation. It raises a lot of moral questions on if sweat shops are necessarily as bad as everyone thinks. The quality of living is horrible, sure, but on the other hand these people desperately need the money just so that their children maybe luckier than they were and go to college. It's a topic that leaves you torn, even if it's not focused on in the film.
Like I mentioned above, this documentary doesn't feel like one. Documentaries, though interesting, can come off as artificial. With Last Train Home this isn't the case. It is a seamless flowing film that drops you into this family's lives as a silent observer. The director never makes a comment on his project and lets the family tell their story for us. I believe this is what makes this film so strong and emotionally stirring. It's easy to get lost in their many, many, beautiful and painful moments and then you realize that these people are real. They exist. This really happened. Then it is all the better or all the worst.
Now this film isn't all doom and gloom. You laugh, you cry, just like it should be. The director is able to get his point across with out making it feel like there is no hope. Instead you cling to it. Things have to get better, you tell yourself, and sometimes it does. However this is the main component that keeps you glued to the very last second and leaves you wanting more. Such a simple thing but in a film like this one it could have been easily lost in all of the misery.
It also should be added that this film is great for showing the conflict between 'Old China' thinking vs the 'Modern China' thinking. It has been a topic that has come up in various literature, such as Pearl Buck's 'The Good Earth', but it has never rung so clear as in this film. The Grandmother's old superstitions and old way of thinking is conflicted with her grandchildren's modern view on the world.
Overall, this film is as close to perfection as it could get. It draws you in and keeps you there until the final moment, until the credits roll and until the last line of dialogue is spoken. It's a film of sacrifice, family, and survival. It has a powerful message that needs to be heard.
The Last Airbender (2010)
Colonel Shyamalan's Last Stand
When I heard that M. Night Shyamalan was directing the Last Air Bender I was excited. My favorite director who had started to go down hill over the past few years seemed to have been given a chance to turn it all around. Avatar: The Last Air Bender was an action fantasy with lovable characters and an interesting plot. This could be the 'back to the basic' film he really needed. No way he could screw that one up, I thought, hell he might even make it better.
Boy was I wrong. Where do I even start? First, lets do the positive. Most of the actors from cast for the fire nation characters were wonderful. Totally on par. They were the strong ones in the film and deserve way better.
Well that's it. The only positive in the sea of negative.
The acting quality of the other actors was horrid. Normally I would give a little wiggle room because the lead actors are children, but it was obvious that they needed more work. Aang was either blank faced or had his eyebrows furrowed, Katara lacked warmth, Sokka lacked the humor that his animated counterpart had. In fact the whole film lacked the humor the animated series had. No one was having a good time while making this film, and it showed.
The directing was ghastly. Way better in quality when held up to Lady in the Water, but still doesn't redeem M. Night in the slightest. There were a bunch of pointless shots and in one scene it consisted of all super close up shots of the actor's faces. It was rushed, and it was sloppy. These mistakes mirror those you see in first year directing students at film school. Mistakes a director like M. Night shouldn't be making, he knows way better than this.
The screen writing was even worst than the acting and directing combined. Dialog was forced, doesn't flow, and is unrealistic. The story was cramped and jumped around. It was a whole season they were trying to condense, it needed to be hacked and slashed then stitched together. M.Night seemed to only do the hacking and slashing and then did little to nothing to smooth over the rough patches. This made the whole film jumpy and confusing. Practically unbearable to watch.
The biggest fault with this whole film was the editing. The script didn't help much, but many scenes felt out of order or out of place. Transitions were sloppy and poorly executed. I could go on for days about this but I'll spare all of you the trouble.
I'll be surprised if they push on with the live action series after this flop. However the franchise can be revived if there are casting revisions, the editor is sacked, Bryan Konietzko is brought in to write the main screen play, and M. Night gets the ax. If nothing changes and they do decide to go on, nothing good will come of it.
As much as it pains me to stay this, M. Night Shyamalan's career is over and this film proves it.
Pushing Daisies (2007)
If you're looking for the negative, you will find the negative.
Never, ever, listen to any of these reviews on IMDb. The best way to know if you actually like a show or not is to do the simplest thing; actually watch an episode. You may like it, or you may not. It's a personal taste thing.
That being said let me state my opinion which you can read if you want. I already have said what the most important thing is.
The most complaints I hear about this show is that it isn't 'Wonderfalls or Dead Like Me'. They're right, it isn't, and that's because it's a completely different show. Pace is an amazing actor, he did a fantastic job as the older brother in Wonderfalls and I think it's great that he is able to expand his horizons by being able to play a different type of character that is just as equally lovable.
Overall the faerie tale like theme of the series appealed to me. It is heart warming and almost wants to make you believe in simple things like true love again. Yes, like another reviewer said it is like the french film Amelie (a fantastic film by the way), but at the same time it isn't. Does that make any sense? The acting is wonderful so are the characters. After the first few episodes you can at least find one character to identify with. This is an amazing work of scripting. Making deep and interesting characters is no easy task when it comes to writing. It takes a special type of writing and, blah blah blah, you don't want to hear all that writing class stuff. Back on topic! Like my title says. If you're looking for the negative, you'll find the negative. Some of these reviews are just from bitter fans of Dead like me and Wonderfalls, who, like myself, were seriously urked by the cancellation of the shows. If you go into a TV series thinking 'well c*** this isn't going to be nearly as good as 'such and such' and it has too much hype.' yeah, you're going to find a whole lot wrong with it.
So don't take my word or anyone else's on this show. I think it's great, I really do. The best thing I can suggest that you do is sit down, rent the first season, and keep an open mind. Decide for yourself.
One thing I can tell you with out a shadow of a doubt is that it won't be a waste of your time.