I love Johnnie To, I thought that this would be a good movie considering the rating. Though I see the critique of obsession with money, it is a dud, where there isn't a single likable character, or even interesting character. The acting is over-the-top, the motivations are not always clear, the title has no real connection with the storyline, in fact, the storyline is fairly non-existent and random. Characters appear that have no connection to the rest of the story when you thought they would, others appear suddenly that are significant but we couldn't have known it, the dialogue is awful. I guess Johnnie To was good in the 90s-00s.
Reviews
6 Reviews
The Kissing Booth
(2018)
To call this a romantic-comedy movie is an insult to romance, comedy and movies
15 February 2019
It is tragic to see a young actress like Zoe King let herself become the object of ... sexual objectification, as well as such a destructive message for young people being put forth.
This film doesn't honour much in terms of storytelling. They set up one thing then lead in a different way. In order not to spoil, I will just say, don't waste your time. Bad male role-models everywhere, bad examples of behaviour shown as normative.
This film is not funny, not romantic, and not a good story.
This film doesn't honour much in terms of storytelling. They set up one thing then lead in a different way. In order not to spoil, I will just say, don't waste your time. Bad male role-models everywhere, bad examples of behaviour shown as normative.
This film is not funny, not romantic, and not a good story.
Begin Again
(II) (2013)
Made me say "YES!" at the end.
15 January 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Apart from its awful title, it is a thoroughly enjoyable movie. It talks about a musician and a producer who decide to record an album. Both are going through personal issues, though they are at very different stages in life. It is a movie that pits various elements against each other: authentic VS unauthentic music, relationships worth fighting for VS ones that one needs to walk away from, and it does so brilliantly.
The trailer made it look like a romantic comedy, which it is not, but just as well. It is a slice of life movie which blends elements from romance, musical, and drama to make something which feels very real. The excellent script has great lines and does a nice job of including and contrasting British English speech and mannerisms with American ones. The language is real, people swear with their guts but it doesn't go the way of the vulgar R-rated comedies which are multiplying over the pond. Mark Ruffalo stands out as a fantastically nuanced actor, Keira Knightley impresses too. My biggest shock came when I found out the lovely voice that sung her songs was actually HERS!
But ultimately, I yelled "YES", because the movie ends with a good resolution for the main characters. It upholds and honours them as people, in a sex-saturated movie industry, where characters jump into bed on first dates at an alarming rate, and even in a relationships- obsessed society, where it is impossible for someone not to be with someone!
The French actor-director-scriptwriter Alexandre Astier says comedy and drama are part of life and therefore good movies should have their share of both. I think this one does a good job of it, and with great music at that.
The trailer made it look like a romantic comedy, which it is not, but just as well. It is a slice of life movie which blends elements from romance, musical, and drama to make something which feels very real. The excellent script has great lines and does a nice job of including and contrasting British English speech and mannerisms with American ones. The language is real, people swear with their guts but it doesn't go the way of the vulgar R-rated comedies which are multiplying over the pond. Mark Ruffalo stands out as a fantastically nuanced actor, Keira Knightley impresses too. My biggest shock came when I found out the lovely voice that sung her songs was actually HERS!
But ultimately, I yelled "YES", because the movie ends with a good resolution for the main characters. It upholds and honours them as people, in a sex-saturated movie industry, where characters jump into bed on first dates at an alarming rate, and even in a relationships- obsessed society, where it is impossible for someone not to be with someone!
The French actor-director-scriptwriter Alexandre Astier says comedy and drama are part of life and therefore good movies should have their share of both. I think this one does a good job of it, and with great music at that.
The longest awaited game adaptation of all time...
28 May 2014
When I was a kid, Street Fighter II was my game. Apparently, it also was Joey Ansah's, and Christian Howard's, as well as Mike Moh's!
All Street Fighter fans who loved the lore and the martial arts of the game were disappointed never to be given a rich, powerful representation of Ryu and Ken on screen, except for some great anime versions.
After a long wait (about 16 years for me), Joey and Christian announced that they wanted to make a live action adaptation, and after another year and a half, with hyped up expectations, their team unleashed Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist onto the world. It is truly phenomenal. As a fan, and one with extremely high expectations, I was amazed at how these were blown out of the water with the great story given us with SFAF.
Do they actually Tatsumaki? Yes. Do they Hadouken? Yes. Do they Shoryuken? Yes! (No spoilers here, they show it in the trailer)
And the story is indeed great: it is intricate, starts in medias res with very interesting developments throughout. The friendship between Ryu and Ken is endearing. It is for fans (with lots of little references to various elements of SF lore) as for people who have never heard of the game, and it's not just for male audiences, girls have really enjoyed it too! (And not just because of Christian Howard being topless a lot in it.)
On such a small budget, it is AMAZING what they have done. The dialogues are good, the characters are well developed, the fights are fantastic. The ending makes me cry, but also leaves me wanting more! More of Gouken, Akuma, Ken and a lot more of Ryu, knowing where the story can take us from here!
The most imposing actors in the movie for me were Igawa (no surprise there) but also Akira Koieyama, who can be very impressive and compelling. But you can also see that there is room for growth in the characters of Christian and Mike, who did a great job and will look even better is a sequel.
Regarding the cinematography, wow. The shots are great, with fantastic views and angles. The image gives off a warm vibe, a strength of colours which just feels good to me as a viewer.
I truly hope that Joey, Christian and their team will get the proper funding for many more features and will continue (soon!) to produce more of this great story on screen for us!
In the meantime, I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH JOEY, Christian, JACQUELINE, MIKE, TOGO, AKIRA, PATRICK, and all the others for the amazing work done on the show, and EVERYBODY, WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! It's available online on the Machinima website!!!
All Street Fighter fans who loved the lore and the martial arts of the game were disappointed never to be given a rich, powerful representation of Ryu and Ken on screen, except for some great anime versions.
After a long wait (about 16 years for me), Joey and Christian announced that they wanted to make a live action adaptation, and after another year and a half, with hyped up expectations, their team unleashed Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist onto the world. It is truly phenomenal. As a fan, and one with extremely high expectations, I was amazed at how these were blown out of the water with the great story given us with SFAF.
Do they actually Tatsumaki? Yes. Do they Hadouken? Yes. Do they Shoryuken? Yes! (No spoilers here, they show it in the trailer)
And the story is indeed great: it is intricate, starts in medias res with very interesting developments throughout. The friendship between Ryu and Ken is endearing. It is for fans (with lots of little references to various elements of SF lore) as for people who have never heard of the game, and it's not just for male audiences, girls have really enjoyed it too! (And not just because of Christian Howard being topless a lot in it.)
On such a small budget, it is AMAZING what they have done. The dialogues are good, the characters are well developed, the fights are fantastic. The ending makes me cry, but also leaves me wanting more! More of Gouken, Akuma, Ken and a lot more of Ryu, knowing where the story can take us from here!
The most imposing actors in the movie for me were Igawa (no surprise there) but also Akira Koieyama, who can be very impressive and compelling. But you can also see that there is room for growth in the characters of Christian and Mike, who did a great job and will look even better is a sequel.
Regarding the cinematography, wow. The shots are great, with fantastic views and angles. The image gives off a warm vibe, a strength of colours which just feels good to me as a viewer.
I truly hope that Joey, Christian and their team will get the proper funding for many more features and will continue (soon!) to produce more of this great story on screen for us!
In the meantime, I just want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH JOEY, Christian, JACQUELINE, MIKE, TOGO, AKIRA, PATRICK, and all the others for the amazing work done on the show, and EVERYBODY, WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! It's available online on the Machinima website!!!
The kind of movie I would normally love
14 January 2014
The set pieces, the decor, the characters and part of the script are absolutely fantastic!
But suddenly, all the characters who are set up for a reason turn out to be basically useless, even the main characters: they are supposed to be an inventor, a bookworm and a biter, and they hardly do any of that throughout the film. Then at some point, the story stops making sense, with an atrocious finale. The script also descends from being very witty and clever to nonsensical.
The kids are never able to tell people that the person they're talking to is a killer, and they never do anything (almost) to fight him, it is so frustrating and annoying to watch.
Enjoyed the first half very much, but was disappointed with the second. A story that had the potential (and the time, it was only 1h30 long) to be so much more.
But suddenly, all the characters who are set up for a reason turn out to be basically useless, even the main characters: they are supposed to be an inventor, a bookworm and a biter, and they hardly do any of that throughout the film. Then at some point, the story stops making sense, with an atrocious finale. The script also descends from being very witty and clever to nonsensical.
The kids are never able to tell people that the person they're talking to is a killer, and they never do anything (almost) to fight him, it is so frustrating and annoying to watch.
Enjoyed the first half very much, but was disappointed with the second. A story that had the potential (and the time, it was only 1h30 long) to be so much more.
Special ID
(2013)
Good fighting and cop movie, Donnie Yen sets the bar higher for MMA.
6 January 2014
Thought I'd give this movie a hand, a long-time IMDb user, creating an account just because I'm outraged at the bad press this movie is getting here!
After SPL and Flash Point, this movie fits right into its sub-genre, which Donnie Yen is pioneering and he is going to be known for the choreography work he is doing in these movies in years to come.
Some of the review to this movie are phenomenally unfair. People are considering Sha Po Lang as a benchmark, and while it had great fighting scenes, it was incredibly over-dark. Flashpoint starts with the development of MMA in fight scenes, and does a great job, although the final action scene was really long. This film has some of the best fight scenes seen in a long while and it really brings MMA to the screen in an exciting and new way. (The guy who says Yen is the only one who knows ground-work in the movie wasn't watching, it seems.)
Not only that, the colours and the settings are grand, the first scene in a Kowloon-looking gangster hangout is fantastic, and there is a great scene in a restaurant as well.
The action is visually beautiful and emotionally tense, a great job with that. Maybe the car chase scene is a bit long, there is some Chinese cheesiness with the conversations with the female character, but it brings the action forward and Andy On is a great bad guy. Maybe the storyline unfolds quickly and not all the elements are there, but the characterisation of Donnie Yen's character is new and interesting, though they play on old HK conventions.
In short, this is a GOOD action movie for people who like martial arts movies and cop movies. Yen is reviving the police dramas that Honk Kong hasn't been doing well for a few years now (Johnnie To and Dante Lam being the exceptions). It is great fun, with great shots and even its music is not bad!
Thank you Donnie, for making action movies that are fresh, new and cool!
After SPL and Flash Point, this movie fits right into its sub-genre, which Donnie Yen is pioneering and he is going to be known for the choreography work he is doing in these movies in years to come.
Some of the review to this movie are phenomenally unfair. People are considering Sha Po Lang as a benchmark, and while it had great fighting scenes, it was incredibly over-dark. Flashpoint starts with the development of MMA in fight scenes, and does a great job, although the final action scene was really long. This film has some of the best fight scenes seen in a long while and it really brings MMA to the screen in an exciting and new way. (The guy who says Yen is the only one who knows ground-work in the movie wasn't watching, it seems.)
Not only that, the colours and the settings are grand, the first scene in a Kowloon-looking gangster hangout is fantastic, and there is a great scene in a restaurant as well.
The action is visually beautiful and emotionally tense, a great job with that. Maybe the car chase scene is a bit long, there is some Chinese cheesiness with the conversations with the female character, but it brings the action forward and Andy On is a great bad guy. Maybe the storyline unfolds quickly and not all the elements are there, but the characterisation of Donnie Yen's character is new and interesting, though they play on old HK conventions.
In short, this is a GOOD action movie for people who like martial arts movies and cop movies. Yen is reviving the police dramas that Honk Kong hasn't been doing well for a few years now (Johnnie To and Dante Lam being the exceptions). It is great fun, with great shots and even its music is not bad!
Thank you Donnie, for making action movies that are fresh, new and cool!
Tell Your Friends