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Bulletproof Monk (2003)
Decidedly against.
Poor Chow Yun-Fat. If he single-handedly declares war on America for the ruthless slaughter of his career, I wouldn't blame him; consider me a Chow Yun-Fat sleeper cell. 'The Replacement Killers'; 'The Corruptor'; and now, 'Bulletproof Monk'. I hope his next movie is one in which he goes back to twin .45 Magnums to mete out 90 minutes of justice to his agent/translator, once he realizes he's getting shafted in American cinema.
I saw this movie with a preview pass. I wasn't expecting a cinematic miracle, I just hoped that Yun-Fat would get to show off some of his stuff. Sure, it didn't cost me any money, but like most people are saying: "I want my two hours back." This diarrhetic detritus on celluloid starts out with an amiably familiar scene of advanced monks sparring in impossible circumstances. Concern crossed my mind when the wirework seemed to be just slightly off, but that was forgivable. People loved 'Bride With White Hair', flaws and all, didn't they? But then the bluescreen effects (which feature prominently throughout) were as terrible as those in 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade', to where you think you're missing the punchline to a rather obvious joke. Unfortunately, the joke is: "How many suckers can you fit in a cineplex solely on the merit of a Hong Kong action star, despite two past offenses?" Ha ha ha.
The movie quickly leaps out of the gate, shifting from mediocre to abysmal with inspired determination: Seann William Scott, star of such action thrillers as 'American Pie' and 'Dude, Where's My Car?', redefines himself as diverse and inept in even more genres than previously realized. Blissfully innocent of charisma and tension, he obediently walks through a series of stale routines and delivers one-liners the way miners deliver chunks of black lung. James King challenges your disbelief with her send-up of a socially-conscious Daddy's Little Girl (who can afford three fashionable costume changes per scene but can't scrape together change for a sandwich now and then?) moonlighting as a sewer-gang prima donna. Stridently championing heroin-chic, she's unable to similarly compel any interest in her role, her appeal entirely banked upon monstrous, inexplicable close-ups and split-second-spliced action sequences in which any of various black-clad limbs are flung in random directions in dark rooms, and someone goes "oof" and then she wins.
Karel Roden wasn't too bad as a villain. Trite stock-Nazi-officer routine aside, he bore a sense of humor and intensity with shades of Gary Oldman and, unlike for the other actors, my dislike of him was not ironic. However, if you like Gary Oldman, that is not reason enough to see this movie. If you like Chow Yun-Fat, you must not see this movie. A questionable cast of negligible talent (excepting Yun-Fat, of course); erratic, almost non sequetorial leaps in plot and action; physically painful script and an insultingly obvious ending - if you like yourself, you will disabuse yourself of any last curious vestige to subject yourself to this movie. Spend your dollar-votes on dim sum with friends, and bemoan the cruel fate of that once-proud stallion, Chow Yun-Fat, as Hollywood drags his beaten carcass out of town on its muddiest road. Aiya.
Oi gwan yue mung (2001)
Excellent cast, great story, beautiful piece of work.
This film is an excellent example of latter-day Hong Kong cinema. Emulating and expanding upon Western methods of cinematography and pace,'Dance of a Dream' really shows off what filmmakers can do in Hong Kong. The cast is stellar: Andy Lau is magnificent and charming, able to command the audience's breathless attention. The comedic/dramatic dynamo that is Anita Mui shines as she pursues a seemingly unattainable dream beset with obstacles at every turn, alternately compelling laughter and hot tears with accomplished skill. Sandra Ng serves as a foil to Anita's character, exemplifying the ethical dilemma brought to Andy's dance instructor. There's no fighting, no guns or explosions, just a lot of dancing in the form of highly imaginative dance sequences and hot-blooded competition.
A lowly waitress at a fancy restaurant, Anita Mui's as Tina is inflamed with desire to learn the high art of ballroom dancing, especially after seeing Andy Lau's Namson perform at a fancy dinner. Poor but proud, she finds a way to attend Namson's tutelage and befriends the ragtag class practicing with her. Kam (Sandra Ng) is an ivory tower princess who merely wants to learn to dance so she may better impress her high society acquaintances. Kam gains a sense of humor through contact with Tina and their interplay is truly charming - Wai Keung Lau shows a temperate, confident hand at directing during one of the funniest scenes in the movie, as Kam and Tina privately discuss their respective "endowments". Anyone else could've made this mawkish and cheap, but it plays itself out with control and grace and is funnier for it. Finally, Namson is faced with the dilemma of keeping his low-scale dance studio and sliding-scale clientele versus gaining a more elite downtown studio in a beautiful building, sure to attract wealthy new patrons but rendering it inaccessible to the students he's come to care for.
For all the occasional slapstick and simplified plot dichotomy, 'Dance of a Dream' is still a passionate, engaging, mature body of work, on par with 'Mack the Knife', 'La Brassiere', and 'Sausalito'. This is to HK cinema what 'Ghost in the Shell' was to anime - a direct-line descendent, the latest evolution, and a new standard.
Rubin and Ed (1991)
Pure Chewing Satisfaction
This was a hilarious, hilarious movie. The humor in here is very bizarre and dry and clearly isn't for everyone, but films like this are a staple in the collections of cult intelligentsia.
The premise is not unrealistic, and the characters are not unbelievable. What happens once the action starts is surreal and fantastic, but the story really does start here on Earth and I think that may be an effective hook to make the audience sit and watch the whole thing: how could such a reasonable situation go so incredibly far off course? And it's not just outlandish for the sake of seeing how weird they could possibly get, it's not just arbitrary freak-you-out material, the story is a more or less logical progression of events. Some of the jokes (especially the desperate passage of events in the desert) may churn the casual viewer's stomach, and I think that these contributed to its less than widespread popularity in the States, but anyone with an active imagination and a sense of humor other people don't "get" is going to dig this film. And by gods, is it quotable: you too will find yourself interrupting discussions and social events to announce, "My cat can eat a whole watermelon," or "I am the king of the Echo People," for years - yes, years - afterward.