Reviews

One of the scariest and creepiest film I have ever seen. This is the version to see not the crappy American remake which proves again when American filmmakers try to remake a Asian horror film they always fail. This is the story of a ghost haunting her ex boyfriend Tun and his friends. Some of the most frightening scenes I have seen in a film in a long while. The scene on the ladder when Natre is climbing down the ladder head first after Tun is great. The ending while I do not want to give away too much is chilling. This is the first film in a while that left goose bumps and had the hair standing up on my arms. Definitely recommended to anyone who likes creepy films

I loved this film. I liked the Renior version also but felt the darkness of this film made it more realistic. I think that if people are in this situation they will act more this way then like they did in the Renior film. The acting was fabulous including Toshiro Mifune, Koji Mitsui as the Gambler, Gonjiro Nakamura, the landlord and especially Kamatari Fujiwara as the actor and Bokuzen Hidari, "Gramps". I loved the way Kurosawa used stage actors mostly to film this play but they did not show they were stage actors. The scenery was wonderful and not many directors can film a movie and make it interesting with only two locations. I think this should be near the top of Kurosawa's other films

I just wasted almost 90 minutes. I say almost 90 minutes because without the credits they could not even stretch it that far and that includes a car chase that seems to go on and on and on and on. They could have made a great film but misfired badly. With Forrest Whitaker, Sigourney Weaver, Matthew Fox, Dennis Quaid, William Hurt, and Bruce McGill they had a great cast and gave them nothing. Too bad. I was looking forward to watching this. This story of the attempted assassination of the president at a worldwide summit could have been a blockbuster. The only thing I liked about this was the attempt to make it different by going back to see the attempt from different character's vantage point. But even that was a problem because you could not get involved emotionally with the characters. Please avoid this movie

For Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette to even think a film about a really bad joke would work was insane. Guess what, not only did it work but it may have been the funniest movie ever. I have laughed before at films, Harold and Maude, Some Like it Hot, etc, but never as hard or as much as I did for this film. I was laughing so hard that I had to watch it again because I missed what was being said in the next scene.

The joke does not make any sense and is not funny. What is funny are the different ways comedians remember it and their reflections and retellings of it. The highlights are George Carlin and Gilbert Gottfried. I have never been a Gottfried fan but his telling of the joke at the Friars Roast of Hugh Hefner is classic. Carlin makes up his own version of the joke on the spot and even though very disgusting is very funny. Even the normally "clean" Paul Reiser has a graphic and hilarious retelling of the joke.

I had trepidations about watching this film. A 90 minute movie about a joke, right. But after seeing it I am glad I did and will be recommending to all my friends.

Director Ki-duk Kim has done it again. With his beautiful human stories like Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and 3-Iron, he has come up with a very human story of a different sort.

One of the most incredible and searing performances I have seen in years by Jae-hyeon Jo, as Han-ki, the Bad Guy, and almost totally wordless. His eyes tell as much about the way he is feeling as any words can. The raw human emotions are amazing. Watching Sun-hwa go from the most innocent girl into the call girl that she becomes makes your heart break but then watching how she begins to feel about the Bad Guy at the end tempers this a little. And that ending, with that traveling den of iniquity makes you feel both sorry for the two and at the same time you feel that these two people have found something that they have been looking for. Once again an Asian film maker ends a film realistically unlike American film makers who always go for the happy ending which would have ruined this story. I do hope that no American film maker decides to remake this film

I didn't think that Ki-duk Kim could do better then Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring... but with 3-Iron he has surpassed it by quite a bit. This film at times reminds you of a silent movie which makes it all the more amazing. Not a word is spoken between the two main characters but you know exactly what they are thinking because of the great performances by Hyun-kyoon Lee and Seung-yeon Lee.

This story of a drifter who breaks into peoples homes and instead of stealing things he helps out the people by doing their laundry and washing dishes. He leaves their places cleaner then when he came in. It may not sound interesting but in the hands of one of the worlds most skilled directors and two great actors it is one of the most fascinating and memorable films ever made.

Another example of Asian movie making being superior to American films. This is a great film of four guys (two from South Korea and two from North Korea) who become friends during very tense times.

Great performances from the four stars, Byung-hun Lee, Tae-wo Kim, Ha-kyun Shin and especially Kang-Lo Song. It is a very tense story of these four men who meet, drink and play games at the Demilitarized Zone. They come to realize that instead of "Comrade" they are "Brothers" until the tragic end. If this film was made in the US the ending would have been different. Tom Cruise or Leonardo DiCaprio would not have done what the actor did at the end of this film. I hope that an American director does not try to remake this one. I definitely recommend this film to anyone who love great film making

If this film was titled Beautiful Movie it would have been just as true as the actual title. This is one of the most beautiful films that have been made in many years. The training and fight scenes were some of the best ever filmed. This film tells the story of a transvestite soon to be transsexual champion Thai kickboxer, from childhood to after having the operation that he/she had been waiting for all her life.

A great performance by Asanee Suwan(his only film role?), in the title role. He shows the ferocity in the ring and is also very touching portraying Nong Toom outside the ring when he is trying to act very feminine. The scene where his trainer and coach Pi Chart sees him with makeup on for the first time is wonderful.

I recommend everyone see this film, gay, straight, transsexual and all man. If you are not moved you should really see if you have a heart inside your body

The Exorcist was made in 1973. Since then there have been two horror movies made by American film makers that are considered (by me at least) scary. The Sixth Sense and The Ring, which was a ripoff of a Japanese film. With White Noise this does not change. This a totally unbelievable and very non scary attempt. The story of a man whose dead wife contacts him through EVP is embarrassing. It is an interesting subject that if it could be done better could be very creepy.

There are huge holes in the the story and no explanation of what is going on. Who are the three figures that you see throughout the film? This is never explained. And making a very minor character be "the bad guy" at the end was really weak. They should have had a more important character be the "villan". They could still have been a surprise. Also the guy who got Micheal Keaton's character involved had been doing this for years and all of a sudden he is found dead. I didn't buy a minute of this film

The Farmer's Wife is the story of a farmer who is seeking a wife. It is a slapstick comedy that at times is very funny. The farmer, Mr. Sweetland has trouble finding a wife after the death of his first. He makes a list with the help of his maid, who is secretly in love with him. He has four eligible women on his list and they all turn him down in one way or another. All of these small stories are very funny, especially the Thirza Tapper story, with a hilarious performance by Maud Gill as Tapper. Gordon Harker as Ash, the handyman is also very funny.

This is a different genre for Hitchcock and he succeeds. He tried comedy later with Mr. and Mrs. Smith and did not succeed but The Farmer's Wife shows that he was a genius and a true artist. This very charming and touching romantic comedy is one of the best of its time or anytime

Horror Express is a about an archaeologist (Chrisopher Lee) bringing a "fossil" from China back to England. The fossil turns out to be a creature that came to earth millions of years ago and and transfers itself into its victims after its host dies through its next victims eyes. This way it keeps every victims intelligence and has seen everything in the history and prehistory of the earth.

Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are at their best and show no signs of just going through the motions after many years and films (both good and bad) together. There is also a wonderfully hammy performance from Telly Savales (pre Kojack fame) as a Cossack officer. I remember seeing this film as a kid on Creature Features and it has lost none of its appeal

It takes a while to get going but it is a gem of a horror film once that happens. The first part although slow and the acting melodramatic does have a nice atmosphere. Once The Ghoul gets going you can see that Boris Karloff can do more with silence then most actors can do with dialogue. He is marvelous like in his earlier films Frakenstein and The Mummy where although he is mostly silent steals the film from the actors with lines.. He has a very expressive face. This film which I believe was lost for many years is a great find for early horror movie buffs. Watch it some night with the lights out and you will not be disappointed.

The first 90 minutes of Suicide Kings is very entertaining. There is a great sense of humor which shows that the filmmakers did not take this film too seriously. Helped out by a great performance by Christopher Walken, this is a story of a mob guy who gets kidnapped by a group of kids so he can help them find one of their sisters. She supposedly was kidnapped and Walken's character has the connections and the money to get her back. There is a great sense of humor throughout the film. This continues until the last 10 minutes where it seems like everyone gets killed actually just 4 people die but I think this would have been a better film if they had changed the last part of the film. Even with my reservations about the ending of the film I highly recommend it mostly for Walken' performance

"Saw" is the story of two guys who are locked in a room chained to a pipe. One of them is told he must kill the other and if he does his wife and child will not be killed. The only way they can get free is to cut through their foot. This film at no time thrilled or scared me like a thriller is supposed to do. I think the reason for this were the huge holes in the story and abysmal acting, if you call them actors. This film took 18 days to film and it shows.

Now for some of these holes. First the cell phone worked in that environment. Mine never would have worked. It would not have gotten reception. Here comes the spoiler so if you have not seen the film do not read the rest of this. The killer was playing dead in the same room with these two guys and during the entire film he did not breathe or twitch a muscle. Then before he got up he let the doctor leave the room, not that he could get too far in this condition. Can we say witness. And lastly and more importantly even though the saws could not cut through the solid metal of the chain why didn't they cut through the pipes. Pipes are very thin and hollow.

Now god forbid let us wait for Saw 2.

Why can't Christopher Walken play "normal" roles like this more often. You really forget what a great actor hr is until he gets a role like this. He plays a man who came back to see his father, son and grandson after leaving 30 years before. After his father, played wonderfully by Micheal Caine, dies and leaves a letter that they must scatter his and his dog Spike's, who died the next day, ashes around the country while eating at KFC restaurants. The father and son learn slot about each other during this trip. It turns out that Walken's character is also dying which leads to a touching scene of the son and grandson dancing in their memory. If you watch the film you will find out this significance. This is not a great film but I recommend it as a nice way to spend an hour an a half and feel good afterward

This RKO version of the H. Rider Haggard novel of a woman forever young is the best version of many filmed. Even with the theatrical and melodramatic acting style of famous stage actress Helen Gahagan,in the title role, its no wonder that this was her only film role. Her Style was definitely more suited for the stage. Randolph Scott was never considered a great actor and he shows this in his role of Leo Vincey, but he does bring a strong handsome presence to the role. Even with the flaws in the actors this is a fun film to watch. A great avalanche scene early on is a highlight. There are some cheesy moments like the dancing scenes in honor of SHE. But overall from beginning to the aging of the title character in the end this makes for an entertaining time.

The Motorcycle Diaries is an amazing film in many different ways. First the incredible performances by Gael Garcia Bernal, as the young Che Guevara and Rodrigo De la Serna as his friend, Alberto Granado. Also the scenery was some of the best in film history. This is the story of a young medical student Ernesto Guevara and his friend travel from their hometown in Argentina and travel up the west coast of South America until reaching Venezuela. Their travails are very well encapsulated in this trip. It is also fascinating to see the change from a idealistic medical student to the beginnings of the revolutionary Che was to become. It is very emotional at times and the friendship between these two men was great to see. Even during certain moments where you knew what the outcome was going to be, like Che's swimming across the river and whether he was going to make it or not was still tense and exciting. I totally recommend this film to anyone

I hope someone can tell me why I was so fascinated by this film. Good Bye Dragon Inn was a film about a Japanese tourist getting out a torrential rainstorm and going into a movie theater on its last night of business. There are only 5 or 6 lines of dialogue among the characters. The only other dialogue comes from the film playing on the screen. There is really no action to speak of. There are long shots of patrons watching the film and each other, eating peanuts, using the urinal and smoking but I was fascinated by it. There were some funny moments like when a customer comes in and sits next to the tourist even though there are hundreds of empty seats. The most interesting character is a worker who is physically handicapped. She goes around and makes sure things are in working order, like flushing every toilet in the theater. At the end when she closes up for the night you can see the sadness in her face that she may never do this again. This is also a testament to the old one screen movie houses which have pretty much disappeared for the multi plexes. Some of you may think I am crazy but I was mesmerized by this film.

Infernal Affairs us one of the best crime dramas not only out of Asia but anywhere in the world. With great star performances by Andy Lau and Tony Leung this is the story of two men one a cop who is a mole in the gang of a drug lord and the other a mole in the police working for the drug lord. It shows the toll that takes place on these two guys as both sides are trying to find the moles. I also like the fact that even though these two actors are stars in Hong Kong they are not afraid to play the bad guy and get a little dirty. You will never see Harrison Ford in a role like this for example. I will not give away the ending but it did surprise me that it ended the way it did. This film is definitely worth watching