Love Battlefield (2004)

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Posted on July 10, 2004 by Eugene

Well that was a surprise.

Absolutely no expectations for this film. Has heard vague rumours that this was a good film but have been so preoccupied lately that I only paid them lip service. In retrospect, I don’t even think I paid much attention to the synopsis walking into the film. And any of you who do have plans to see this film, I think this is probably the best state to see this film in – so stop reading … (read more)

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Goodbye Dragon Inn (2003)

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Posted on June 6, 2004 by Alison

If you like Taiwanese drama, then read no further, because you’re likely to be annoyed. For the rest of you, here’s my unvarnished opinion of Goodbye, Dragon Inn.

Interminable. Almost unwatchable. Aside from no more than 2 slightly amusing moments, the film had nothing I wanted to see. And they may have been slightly amusing only in contrast to the absolute tedium of the rest of the film: a desperate attempt by one’s forebrain to extract something, anything, out … (read more)

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Zatoichi (2003)

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Posted on June 3, 2004 by Eugene

I am not a critic. I am a reviewer.

(It’s a line I’ve nicked off an article Steven Grant (an American comic book writer) once wrote in one of his forums. It being applicable, I thought I’d use it for myself.)

So why the distinction and why now? Well, the thing with being a reviewer is that all I really do is fulfil a consumer role — I basically recommend whether something is worth seeing or not. I’m not really … (read more)

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Visible Secret (2001)

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Posted on June 2, 2004 by Alison

Visible Secret was among the vanguard of the “My left eye sees ghosts” sub-sub-genre of films to come out of Hong Kong recently. And it’s a pretty good one, I must admit.

It’s an extremely visual film, not surprisingly. The colour palette is striking: lush, deep, drenched colours, lots of night-time settings, and dramatic lighting make it beautiful to look at. Some might also say that Hsu Qi makes it beautiful to look at, although I’m not in a glandular … (read more)

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Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)

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Posted on June 1, 2004 by Deni

If The Happiness of the Katakuris opens with a bizarre claymation sequence that makes you wonder if you accidentally stumbled into a screening of Eat Carpet shorts or early Peter Jackson films, don’t worry. You are definitely in the right place, and soon to be in the right frame of mind, for Miike Takashi’s hilariously twisted family values romp through traditional Julie Andrews territory. Don’t try to understand, just use it for preparation time because believe me you are going … (read more)

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2000AD (2000)

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Posted on May 31, 2004 by Alison

2000 AD is one of a rash of relatively high-budget actioners that came out of Hong Kong over the last few years, but there are a few things that set this one a tad above most.

For starters, there’s the casting. Fairly attractive and high-profile leads in Aaron Kwok and Daniel Wu mean that the characters are reasonably well-executed, and provide sufficient eye candy. Both are also quite credible in the action department, being disgustingly fit and athletic.

Then there’s … (read more)

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Goddess of Mercy (2003)

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Posted on May 31, 2004 by Alison

As opening film for HKIFF 2004, Jade Goddess of Mercy (title later changed to Goddess of Mercy, for reasons unknown) should have been excellent. Alas, it fell down in at least one major respect: casting. Although most of the cast did well, and in some cases very well, the female lead was a problem. Vicki Zhao Wei, no matter how perky, no matter how cute, is just not a sufficiently good actress to carry the role of a dedicated … (read more)

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Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)

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Posted on May 29, 2004 by Eugene

Being an Aussie male, it is pretty much mandatory socially, if not legally, to know something, anything about cricket. It is pretty hard to grow up in Australia and have not swung a bat or bowled a ball at least once. Or even have a conversation related to cricket in some fashion (as men will do to avoid talking about their feelings and such, so I’m told, of course) over a beer in the summer. That, I can say, I … (read more)

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