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Reviews
Ye yan (2006)
Darker than expected, but still good
When Feng Xiaogang announced he was entering into the period-piece genre with his next movie, a Chinese adaptation of Hamlet, many were surprised and skeptical. Feng has long had a solid fan base in China, and is arguably the most popular Chinese directors in terms of pure entertainment value, with audiences flocking to theaters ever year to see his newest Chinese New Year comedy, known for their dry wit. His latest, A World Without Thieves, was widely regarded as his best to date. His movies had gradually turned darker and darker as the years went on, but still, an adaptation of Hamlet was a rather drastic departure from his usual territory. So before this movie's release, expectations were high and yet skepticism abounded from his fans, including this one.
So how did the movie measure up? In one aspect, it was surprising and gratifying to see that he actually had a measure of talent for directing and designing the action and elaborate set pieces that this kind of movie required. He never displayed much attention to artistry and cinematography in his previous movies, but this movie is beautiful to watch, especially if you see it on the big screen. There is a clean simplicity about the palace and especially the wooden theater used in the beginning, that is refreshing, and thankfully not gaudy, like in The Promise. The action sequences are deliberately staged like a choreographed dance (even more so that your usual wuxia film, providing for some of my favorite parts of the movie.
On the other hand you expect more in terms of dialog. Feng Xiaogang has always been so good with dialog that this is really disappointing. The scrpt is spoken slowly and calmly throughout, in a poetic way and the effect is that there's not much emotion in the film. I suppose that it fits with the overall feel of the movie, and that the plot added constraints, but still... I had hoped that he would have added in his usual colorful dialog that makes his movies so engaging.
Overall, I thought is was a good movie and a successful leap for Feng Xiaogang into another genre. He picked a talented, young, good-looking cast that makes this film in that respect more eye-candy than previous wuxia genre films, which went for marketable but not exactly good-looking (or young) people. The girls look rather awkward with their Tang Dynasty makeup of shorn eyebrows and pale faces, but are still pretty. Daniel Wu and Huang Xiaoming just look hot overall, and it's a shame that Huang Xiaoming hasn't got much screen time and that when he does, his face is covered up by a helmet or a beard. I don't think anyone's acting stood out, but they're decent. The only one I was really disappointed in was Ge You, the emperor, and Feng Xiaogang stable. I used to think he was such a good actor, but I realize now he's much better as an actor when required to be lively; here his eyes show no emotion at all and everything from him is just so stilted.
And my final overall impression of the movie is that ...it was such a guy's movie. It was enjoyable enough for me, but I can't help thinking I'd probably like it more if I were a guy. There isn't just beautiful fighting in this, there's brutality and blood and all that aplenty which I was not expecting from a Chinese movie. From beginning to end, it's blood, blood, and blood. Maybe not on a Kill-Bill scale, but it's bad enough. And the way some people die just makes you shirk back in your seats. And there's like this moment between Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Xun that made me wonder if it was written for the ZZY/ZX fan boys. It made me think that behind that bubbling exterior, Feng Xiaogang has this rage underneath that just wants to see people get killed, like any other guy who would start whooping whenever someone got his limb torn off in Sin City. Or maybe he just wanted the blood for his red/black color scheme. Who knows?
Wedding Crashers (2005)
Manically funny
I can't count the number of times water was flowing out of my eyes in this movie. It's a gem, and you need to go see it. It's not perfect, but it's quite brilliant all the same.
There are two things that are the strong point of this film. The first is the script. It's so funny, so sharp, that you're left thinking the screenwriters who wrote it are geniuses. One laugh right after the other, and you're not done laughing before another one comes along. People were laughing at different parts of the movie because they might not have catched the other one since the comedy was so rapid, just the way I like them. It'll give me something to look forward to on the DVD.
The other highlight was Vince Vaughn. This man is so brilliant. He's not always hilarious, but in this movie his timing was perfect, and his delivery is what really helped the movie move up a notch in the funny department, from hilarious, to classic. Give this man a script and he'll run with it.
The romantic element felt tacked on though, even though they set it up early on and everything from John's first lingering doubts about tricking women. I don't think Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams have a lot of chemistry, and I didn't see how they belonged together. I think that a movie that did this part better was Heartbreakers. This had better laughs, but that movie achieved a better balance between the comedy and the romance. At least for this girl.
That's disappointing because I like well-done romance in my movies. And that's what keeps this from being 10/10. The ending falls flat, and the dearth of rapid-fire jokes is very conspicuous, even though there are still quite a few left.
Be prepared to laugh your head off in the middle of the film and hear them come to a slow halt at the end.
Fantastic Four (2005)
Not Batman, but not bad...
I went in this movie with low, very low expectations and thus came out pleasantly surprised.
Is this movie good? It depends. It doesn't all click together but it is good entertainment. My theater was full when I went and a loud applause came from the audience at the end. Everyone I went with liked it, and I heard several little boys wanting to see it again. That's probably the best demographic to be to enjoy this movie, but other age groups will find a fun-popcorn flick that you won't feel you've wasted your money on.
The best thing about the movie is the dynamic between the actors. They feel like what they're supposed to feel like: a bickering but loving family, and all the actors, especially Evans and Chiklis do a good job. I don't know much about the comics, but you do get a very good sense of their personalities. The only weak link would be Gruffud, which I'm sorry to say because I really liked him in Horatio Hornblower. Mr. Fantastic's just sort a boring character in this movie.
Another great thing about the movie is the humour. Batman was better overall, but it had a dryness that did hinder it from being truly enjoyable. This is where FF truly delivers. Most of the humour comes from Evans who is outstanding at hitting the right notes to make people laugh.
The weak point of the movie was the plot. There was no plot. There was the setup, and then Dr. Doom decides to kill them. That's it. No master plan, no ingenuity. Nothing. It really felt lacking. Somebody mentioned spoilers. I don't see how you could spoil the movie. It's very straightforward and rather predictable.
However, I always rate movies on how I enjoy them overall and I give it 7/10.
Luen ching go gup (2004)
Fun comedy with a hilarious cast
Perhaps the vote I've given this movie seems a little high at first but I wasn't grading this based on technical achievement. I gave it a 9/10 because it was fun movie that I couldn't stop watching even though I first caught a glimpse of it on television at around eleven at night, while on vacation, and needed to be up really early in the morning.
The basic premise is that a guy (Louis Koo) is not romantic enough for his girlfriend, so the girlfriend (Gigi Leung) breaks up with him, but he convinces her to give him until Easter to make their breakup official. He then hires a romance coach, Charlene Choi, to teach him what to do to be romantic which leads to hilarious scenarios, and flashbacks to his past girlfriends. The plot is thin, yes, and sometimes it goes off tangent, but the film never strays far, and the pace is always fast, and the movie never bogs down for long.
There are two things that really help carry this movie and keep it from being a bit ridiculous. First is the ensemble cast. Louis Koo has such great comedic timing in his expressions, and he does very well in keeping a balance between the silly and sentimental side of his character. He's also not afraid to make himself look like a complete fool, such as in one particularly memorable scene when he gets his ass kicked by martial arts star Donnie Yen with a belt. Ultimately however, he makes his character very likable, and easy to sympathize with, despite all the faults. He's creates a truly believable flawed character, not a hero with some tragic flaw like in most movies. He's an average guy, but you still root for him. Gigi Leung's character doesn't hold up as well, because she's a little too ditzy, however, Gigi is cute in the role and you'll want to see her be happy in the end. Charlene Choi can be annoying sometimes in her roles, but I think she did an excellent job here as the girl who tries to bring romance back into Koo's character's life. The supporting cast makes memorable turns too in character roles that add a lot of humour to the movie. Out of the old girlfriends, Gillian Chung (it was only after this film that I found out about Twins and the fact that they're EVERYWHERE) makes the deepest impression because in a movie that doesn't try to take itself very seriously she gives a rather poignant performance that I thought was quite touching, and says a lot about how human nature. Two other standouts were the guy who tries to set up Gigi's character with his boss, and the guy who plays her father. They're not large parts, but they're nice touches to the movie.
The second thing that really helps the movie is the theme music that plays throughout. I haven't watched many HK films, but this one is catchy and really fits the mood of the movie. It's a fun tune and tell you not to take the film too seriously.
After finishing the film and being instilled with a new found appreciation for Hong Kong cinema and it's slapstick comedies that don't employ grossout humour for its laughs, I set out to find this movie. I did end up finding a copy and I watch it every so often. It a great addition to my DVD collection, and never fails to make me laugh. It of course has its faults, like a particularly useless cameo by Alex Fong, Olympic swimmer turned heartthrob (although I'm not sure exactly how, with his looks), but that's why I gave this movie a 9 instead of a ten. they're flaws but they don't ruin the enjoyment of this film. So go watch, you may be pleasantly surprised.