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Reviews
The Lyricist Wannabe (2023)
Episodic
Directed by: Norris Wong
Written by: Norris Wong
SUMMARY
An episodic, light story about a young girl who wants to be a lyricist - someone who writes song lyrics. We follow her through the ups and downs of high school, finally getting her lyrics on a demo, but then replaced, and her stepping away from the music industry. We end with her hearing her song on the radio.
RATING
B
This is a light, sweet story about a young girl who wants to be a lyricist. It's vibe is kinda C-drama-esque, with a light, episodic kind of feel. I think this would have been more appropriate as a TV show rather than a movie.
Nam yan sei sap (2002)
Hong Kongese American Beauty
Directed by: Ann Hui
Written by: Ann Hui, Derek Yee
Starring: Jacky Cheung, Anita Mui
SUMMARY
A middle-aged teacherre-evaluates his relationship with his wife after a young student begins coming onto him. We discover that he married his wife out of obligation after his wife was knocked up by her teacher. In essence, he has become the villain. He never loved his wife and they end their relationship.
RATING
B+
Tender and slow, grounded by moments of comedy. I wish there was more emphasis on the wife's role because this is actually her story. Still, strong performances. This is like a Hong Kongese American Beauty.
Yim ji kau (1987)
Suprisingly beautiful
Directed by: Stanley Kwan
Written by: Yau Tai Ping On, Lilian Lee Pik Wah
SUMMARY
The ghost of a prostitute ghost haunts an everyday newspaper editor, in search of her lover she was supposed to meet in the afterlife after committing suicide together. In the end, she finds her lover, but he's revealed to be selfish and small.
RATING
B+
Surprisingly beautiful filmmaking supported by strong performances. I think the film is a little weighed down by its own emotional weight and would have benefitted (and been even more emotional, actually) by embracing its comic nature. It would have been stronger as a comedy. Still a fantastic film.
Rumours (2024)
Absurdist
Directed by: Guy Madin
Written by: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson
SUMMARY
Dark, absurdist comedy. The leaders of the G7, the world's liberal democracies, met to draft a motion about a global crisis, but find themselves lost in a forest where strange things are happening. They eventually make their way back to the house, and finish their resolution.
RATING
B+
"Rumours" is not a traditional, linear, narrative film, but rather a surreal, absurdist dark comedy. In place of the lack of a strong narrative, the film has a great premise - that the world's top leaders essentially find themselves in a horror movie - and strong acting. While I can't say I know completely what happened with the plot, I was pretty entertained. That said, I would love for a more mainstream implementation of this idea.
Einstein and Eddington (2008)
Beautiful
Directed by: Philip Martin
Written by: Peter Moffat
SUMMARY
A historical drama detailing the life of two physicists - Einstein and Eddington during World War I, as Einstein discovers the theory of relativity.
RATING
A
With a star-studded cast giving great performances, I didn't even realize this was a TV movie. They did amazingly with what they were given. "Einstein and Eddington" details the history between these two men, especially with Eddington's confirmation of Einstein's theory by taking pictures of stars during a total eclipse. David Tennant plays Eddington beautifully and painfully, especially in the first half of the film, as a repressed, closeted gay man.
The Wild Robot (2024)
Beautiful
Directed by: Chris Sanders
Written by: Chris Sanders
SUMMARY
A robot is stranded on a remote, wild island, and learns to care for a small goosling there, becoming its surrogate mother. It's a parent child story. The first half is about raising Brightbill to be independent to migrate, and then the second half is about Roz leaving (or not leaving), but ultimately leaving to return to her futuristic home to protect the island.
RATING
A+
This is a gorgeous film that has emotional woven throughout. I found myself tearing up near parts, and the heart of the film is truly resonant. Some of the pacing is a little messy at times, and I get the sense that with just a little bit more time, this film could have been truly great.
Heat (1995)
Fun
Directed by: Michael Mann
Written by: Michael Mann
SUMMARY
Crime film. A cat-and-mouse game between a high stakes crime thief and a detective. They chase each other, including in a dramatic armed robbery of a bank, and end up acknowledging each other as very similar. The film ends with the detective killing the thief.
RATING
B+
Exciting and thrilling action scenes - including the dramatic robbery of the bank and spillover into gunfire on the streets of LA. I don't know if I just wasn't in the right mood, but I felt that the movie was too long, with two romantic subplots that were completely extraneous to the rest of the film. Still, it was a fun watch.
Tenet (2020)
Fun but convoluted
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Written by: Christopher Nolan
SUMMARY
A man needs to stop a bad guy who is communicating with the future, and bringing "inverted" weapons - weapons that run in reverse time - to the present time. He travels to the future where time runs backwards.
REVIEW
B
The core idea of Tenet - the key mechanic of time running backwards - is a marvel to watch onscreen and an action film where the main mechanic is reverse time is certainly very cool. The story, however, is unfortunately convoluted and contrived. Maybe it was just me, but I didn't understand any of it. Still, I thought it was a pretty fun ride.
Slingshot (2024)
Great ending, so-so everything else
Directed by: Mikael Hafstrom
Written by: R. Scott Adams, Nathan Parker
SUMMARY
An astronaut on a mission to Saturn - including slingshotting around Jupiter - begins to lose his grip on reality because of hallucinogenic drugs used in his cryo-sleep. We find out that he's been hallucinating his crew mates, and that he is the only man on the mission. Seduced by a delusion that he's actually still on Earth, he blasts himself out of the airlock, thinking he can go back home.
RATING
B+
Slingshot is film about a man struggling with hallucinations on a long voyage to Saturn. While the final twist is strong, the film is oddly paced and slowed down by a romance story that goes nowhere. I couldn't really pinpoint a theme in this film until the very end. What aspect of humanity was this trying to tackle? If only the plot points at the end were moved to the middle of the movie, this could have been a really interesting movie. This movie would have gotten a low B, but the ending pushes it to a B+.
He bian de cuo wu (2023)
Brilliant
Directed by: Wei Shujun
Written by: Wei Shujin, Kang Chunlei
SUMMARY
A detective murder mystery piece set in rural village 90s China. After the murder of an old grandma, a cop investigates the murder. Going from lead to lead, he ultimately reaches the unsatisfying conclusion that it was committed by a madman. The bureaucracy of the police determine the madman is the murderer, but the cop still has doubts, but ends up conforming to society's opinion. This is a tragic piece about conformity.
RATING
A+
Wei is a brilliant filmmaker, whose confidence and intentionality fills every single frame of the movie. It feels like the entire piece is perfectly crafted - yet not in a pretentious way. There is remarkable efficiency in his filmmaking. What is not shown is almost as compelling as what is shown. Can you achieve the same story, painting with negative space?
Fly Me to the Moon (2024)
Could have been good
Directed by: Greg Berlanti
Screenplay by: Rose Gilroy
Production companies: Apple Studios, These Pictures
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
SUMMARY
A charismatic advertising agent needs to figure out a way to sell NASA to the public to generate funds for the moon landing. Halfway through, she is forced to film a fake moon landing in case the actual one fails. She also falls in love with the NASA launch director.
RATING
C+
There is actually a really interesting story here about a cynical advertising agent doing the most cynical thing possible - filming a fake moon landing - but then finally learning the lesson of what it means to be an authentic human being and the value of things that are real. However, the balance of the movie seems off. The story is primarily geared towards being a rom-com first, which it shouldn't be, and a character growth story second. This makes scenes with the love interest, Channing Tatum, feel tangential and boring. The real story is her character growth.
Kung fu (2004)
Best fight scenes
Directed by: Stephen Chow
Written by: Huo Xin, Chan Man-keung, Tsang Kan-cheung
SUMMARY
A wild, absurdist kung-fu meets western screwball comedy. In a fictional version of Republic era Hong Kong, an evil group of gangsters, the Axe Gang, takes on the villagers living in Pig Sty village, only to discover that there are Kung Fu Masters that live there - including some of the greatest masters of all time. Ultimately, the Axe Gang is defeated by "the One", a wannabe gang member who becomes good.
RATING
A+
You don't go to Stephen Chow movies for "great" filmmaking - though, I would argue he is a great filmmaker. In his chaos, there is a method. I believe the fight scene between the evil twins and the zither with the Three Masters is one of the best - non-ironically best - fight scenes I've ever seen. Creative and fun.
Ga yau hei si (1992)
Let go of logic
Directed by: Stephen Chow
Written by: Vincent Kok, Tessa Choi, Roman Cheung
SUMMARY
An screwball, absurdist comedy. An ensemble family movie about three brothers and the women in their lives - a husband who cheats on his wife, a gay man who is rivals with a lesbian woman, and a handsome brother, who falls for a woman but also cheats on him. The film is wild, but ends with each othe brothers making peace with the women in their lives (including, the gay man becoming straight with the lesbian woman).
RATING
A
A thoroughly fun time despite the screwball nature of this. Let go of logic and the story becomes a ride that careens from one area to the next, but still maintains humor throughout.
Sik san (1996)
Funny and absurdist
Directed by: Stephen Chow
Written by: Stephen Chow
SUMMARY
A wild, absurdist comedy. A narcissistic celebrity chef gets upstaged and dethroned. He finds his way back by befriending an ugly woman who runs a noodle shop and learning mystical Shaolin cooking techniques.
RATING
A
You would think Stephen Chow movies would be too wild to judge, but the narrative structure itself is surprisingly coherent. It's rather the content that is wild, but that works! I thought this movie was very funny and a fun wild ride for the mind.
Directed by: Stephen Chow
Written by: Stephen Chow
SUMMARY
A wild, absurdist comedy. A narcissistic celebrity chef gets upstaged and dethroned. He finds his way back by befriending an ugly woman who runs a noodle shop and learning mystical Shaolin cooking techniques.
RATING
A
You would think Stephen Chow movies would be too wild to judge, but the narrative structure itself is surprisingly coherent. It's rather the content that is wild, but that works! I thought this movie was very funny and a fun wild ride for the mind.
Sunshine (2007)
Underrated!
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Written by: Alex Garland
SUMMARY
The Sun is dying. A group of space scientists fly a spaceship to the sun to drop a payload bomb to try to restart it. They encounter the previous ship that failed and discovered the previous captain was suicidal and sabotaged the mission. The movie turns into a slasher halfway through. At the end, the suicidal captain is defeated and they drop the payload into the Sun.
RATING
S
While not ever risk Sunshine takes pays off, the film is still a wonderful space film with an absolutely brilliantly assembled cast and a gripping narrative. I'm surprised this is as underrated as it is, because I absolutely loved this film.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stunning, even today
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Written by: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke
SUMMARY
Sci-fi space epic, with groundbreaking visuals. After a mysterious (alien) radio signal is detected on Jupiter, a crew flies to Jupiter to investigate. The crew, two men, Frank and Dave, are betrayed by the AI, who thinks the men are plotting against it. Eventually, Frank arrives at Jupiter but is sucked into a wormhole, and ends up in a place beyond time, and is reborn.
RATING
A
The visuals and filmmaking alone is impressive enough to shoot this to a personal A rating, though I found the story to be light, as it was designed to be. This is not a very narrative kind of story and is instead more experimental and artistic. The dreamlike quality is supported by stunning visuals, that still hold up today, and would have wowed audiences in 1968.
Tian mi mi (1996)
Almost there, but could have held back
Directed by: Peter Chan
Written by: Ivy Ho
SUMMARY
Two Mainland immigrants to Hong Kong meet and fall in love. The man has a girlfriend back home in China. The woman is focused on making money. The two end up parting ways, but finally end up coming back together in New York.
RATING
B+
The premise and ending of this film is very strong, and I thought the ending was quite beautiful. However, I wish the film held back a bit more at the emotional parts, with plot points being hit very hard with a full score and dramatic acting. Parts of it came across trying too hard and cheesy, like a soap opera. With a subtler touch, this film could have been a masterpiece. What's surprising is that there are subtle moments in the film. I wonder if this was the result of two different creative forces.
Moon (2009)
Strong premise, muddy second act
Directed by: Duncan Jones
Written by: Nathan Parker
SUMMARY
A space worker working a three year stint on the Moon discovers that he is a clone and that his entire life, including his loving wife waiting for him on Earth, is a lie. In the end, he works with his clone to escape back onto Earth in a repair ship.
RATING
B
A very strong premise and first act that, unfortunately I though, deflates and loses steam through a muddy second act. Throughout the film, I kept wondering why the two clones weren't talking to each other, trying to figure out what was going on. Instead, they immediately were antagonistic and started bickering with each other. I really thought the ending was very good, but I wish the film spent more time there.
Xi yan (1993)
Great
Directed by: Ang Lee
Written by: Ang Lee, James Schamus, Neil Peng
SUMMARY
A gay Chinese man has a fake wedding with a woman to hide his sexuality from his Chinese parents. The second half of the film turns when the woman gets pregnant. They end with the three of them agreeing to have the baby and everyone deceiving the Father, but he knows about gay.
RATING
A
A premise that could have easily gone too outlandish is tempered by Lee's gentle sensibility. What I really appreciate is that all the characters have depth here, including the parents, who could easily have come off as "conservative" and one-note. While I think the back half of the film falters a bit, with an out-of-left-field baby plot, I think the film holds up overall.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Classic action adventure
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Jeffrey Boam
Story by: George Lucas, Menno Meyjes
SUMMARY
Indiana Jones discovers his father has gone missing on a quest to find the Holy Grail, captured by the Nazis. He works to free his father and recover the Holy Grail before the Nazis do. Ultimately, he reunites with his father, finds the Grail, but chooses to leave it.
RATING
A
Classic action adventure for a reason with action scenes that are thrilling and unfold in an unexpected kind of way. The action scenes here are a masterpiece of storytelling, and the film manages to contain light, even broad, comedy along with a thrilling plot.
Contact (1997)
Trippy
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Written by: James V. Hart, Michael Goldenberg
SUMMARY
A young woman astrophysicist, searching for aliens, picks up a signal from an alien civilization, revealing to the world that there really are aliens in the universe. The aliens send over instructions to make a spacecraft. She visits the aliens, but comes back with no proof.
RATING
B
After Interstellar, I was in the mood for a space movie and I enjoyed Contact. The filmmaking, particularly the cinematography, was fascinating to watch and I really enjoyed Jodie Foster's acting. The story seems optimistic and bombastic, very characteristic of the 90s, and I was shocked to see Bill Clinton featured in the film several times.
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
Wonderful
Directed by: Joe Wright
Written by: Deborah Moggach
SUMMARY
A romance set in the Regency era of the 1700s. A proud young woman, Elizabeth Bennet, who believes she can deduce and judge the character of anyone meets a proud young man, Mr. Darcy, who is snobbish and socially awkward. The man falls in love with the young woman because of her wit. She ultimately realizes she has misjudged the character of Mr. Darcy and falls for him herself.
RATING
A
Pride and Prejudice is a wonderful novel, one of my favorites, and this film captures the novel spectacularly, if not in every twist and turn (though most!) but in its emotional character. It's surprisingly funny at points. It was a delight to watch.
High Life (2018)
Experimental
Directed by: Claire Denis
Written by: Claire Denis, Jean-Pol Fargeau
SUMMARY
Sci-fi drama. Non-linear narrative. A crew of condemned prisoners is put on a space ship to go and explore a black hole. While this makes it sound like the focus is on the crew and the black hole, this is more an experimental piece about a man living among an isolated group of people slowly going mad. The prisoners are forbidden from having sex with each other, but the doctor is trying to create a human life fit for space travel. Ultimately, the man goes into the black hole with his daughter.
RATING
B+
A weird, sci-fi bordering on experimental film. While it feels like there is not much here to hold onto narratively - a lot of weird stuff happens - ultimately, the film is still very interesting and visually captivating. Beyond any literal truth, I did feel the emotional truth of the piece.
Cyrano (2021)
Ultimately, a little empty
Directed by: Joe Wright
Written by: Erica Schmidt
SUMMARY
The skilled soldier, but ugly dwarf Cyrano, is in love with Roxanne. Roxanne falls for a handsome soldier, Christian. Cyrano, a skilled poet, writes Christian letters of love to give to Roxanne and Roxanne falls in love with Christian. The two even marry. But then the soldiers are sent off to war where Christian dies. Cyrano comes back from the war and confesses to Roxanne, and then dies.
RATING
B
Cyrano is a romantic drama based on the idea of a love triangle, where the love interest Roxanne, is actually in love with the words of the main character, Cyrano. It is filmed in a very romantic and lush kind of way, which I enjoyed. I know that the original play was a downer ending - with Cyrano dying - but I really feel like the ending leaves the movie feeling pretty empty.
Civil War (2024)
A critique of journalism
Directed by: Alex Garland
Written by: Alex Garland
SUMMARY
In a dystopian America waging a civil war, a jaded photo-journalist, Lee, wants to get to Washington DC to interview the president. She takes along a young, naïve girl who also wants to be a photo-journalist. At the end, after a harrowing journey where several of her friends die, she becomes disillusioned with photo-journalism. She sacrifices her life to save the young girl, but the young girl is just concerned with taking photos. This is a film about the sick voyueristic adrenaline fueled motivation behind some journalists.
RATING
B+
In many ways, Civil War is much smaller of a film than the word implies, as it follows the story for a group of photo-journalists as they try to make their way to DC to interview the president of a collapsing America, torn apart by - as the name suggests - civil war. The film isn't really politcal, but rather, focusing on how journalism and bearing witness can bring out a dark side, a hunger for sensationalism and addiction to the adrenaline rush of chasing the next headline, sacrificing your humanity in the process. The last action sequence - where soldiers storm the White House to kill the President - is gripping and thrilling, but it also itself is both falling into and expressing the same sensationalism that the film derides. Is it meta-commentary? I don't know. Ultimately, I didn't quite enjoy a film that portrays journalism in a bad light in modern day America. I don't really care if there is a dark motivation behind some journalists. Journalism is important!