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Reviews
Kung fu (2004)
One of the most original films of the year
Sing, a young man who tried to be good as a child and got bullied and now decides that he wants to be bad and wants to join the evil Axe Gang, that his terrorising an alley housing complex and killing many of the residents. The Axe Gang, finds out that the landlady and the landlord both are great martial arts fighters and they plan on protecting their housing territory so they get a legendary martial arts fighter as well named The Beast, to kill them. In the end Sing, has to decide whether or not he wants to be good or bad. The film blends action, comedy and even romance together while using cartoon like martial arts moves. Winner of The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Action Choreography, Best Editing, Best Picture, Best Sound Effects, Best Supporting Actor (Wah Yuen, who plays the landlord) and Best Visual Effects at The Hong Kong Film Awards and The HKFCS Award for Film Of Merit at The Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. Kung Fu Hustle, has good direction, a good script, good comedic performances by everyone involved, good original music, good cinematography, good film editing, good production design, good art direction, good set decoration and good martial arts choreography and visual effects. Kung Fu Hustle, blends together action, comedy and romance and it all comes together and works very well. The martial arts scenes are like watching classic children's cartoons and the fight scenes (along with the rest of the film) are clever, inspired and very imaginative. The film is also a very good looking film and is nice to look at and the film has an entertaining story and is a lot of fun. The film is like a big popcorn movie but it is made much better than your average popcorn movies and as of this year it was the foreign film with the highest cinematic release in North America. Even though the film has subtitles I think this film will appeal to a lot of people just because it is very fun and entertaining and very creative. One of the most original films of the year and one of the best.
Day of the Sirens (2002)
Day of the Sirens is phenomenally written, directed and performed
After loving the director's previous movie Love Life I was excited to catch his latest, shot on a micro-budget this British drama is incredible. I'll limit my comments about this film to opinions rather than a critical review, as there are many people, none on this site obviously, who are much more knowledgeable and qualified to give an educated critique. I just felt it deserved another positive comment to counter the many negative ones, it seems like the director Ray Brady has a hate campaign from some dispossessed individual intent in damming this original and inspired piece...which I don't really understand and can't explain except to attribute it to ignorance. If you read production notes on the film, you'll realize the writer and director purposely used hand-held cameras to heighten audience tension and to convey a certain sense of realism and to be less intrusive...i.e., not encroach on the actors performances; just acting as a passive observer. In my mind this is brilliance, especially for such an intense, emotionally charged film where capturing certain things on film can only be done a certain way once and numerous camera and lighting setups would constantly interrupt the creative flow. I guess if you don't enjoy a film, you're not very likely to read production notes or check out the films website to learn about how it was made. So for that reason, you can forgive the ignorance of those who commented on how bad it was for childish, superficial reasons rather than making valid intelligent points. If you found it difficult to follow, you might want to stick to less "artsy" fare that doesn't make you think and leaves your brain feeling mushier than when you came into the theatre. This film is emotionally driven, the story is carried forward by the characters and their situations rather than a structured plot. If you insist on linear story telling and can't open your mind to something a little more abstract, you'll have a hard time with this one. In my opinion any movie that evokes such a strong visceral and emotional reaction, be it tears or laughter or even anger is certainly worth seeing. The performances in Day of the Sirens speak for themselves...both the principle actors are phenomenal, Saeed Jaffrey and ESPECIALLY Rik Mayall blew me away. I always thought of him as a great comic actor; the feelings he can exhibit with a facial expression or even just the look in his eyes sent chills up my spine. Go see it, rent it, whatever...even if you end up not liking it, its worth a try. Very British, bigger than TV but maybe too small for the big screen (without big names, a sensible realistic budget and a sizeable P&A budget), I was lucky enough to see this at a festival and I highly recommend it though when it is available DVD.
Love Life (2002)
Wow! What a lovely film.
Watched this film at a local festival, the Silver Sprocket International Film Festival Florida . What a lovely film. A simple, uncomplicated morality tale about a young care free young man having to take responsibility for his actions. It neither pretentious or flashy my two teenage daughters loved it and for a change I wasn't embarrassed by any of the film content or language. A real family film and the best British comedy film I've seen since Billy Elliot.The film went on to win not surprisingly the top festival awards of Best Film and Best Director. Ten out of ten.