OG- 'Reviews' You Up

Right, that's what I meant.

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"Like all dreamers, Steven mistook disenchantment for truth."

Yeah, I guess it was an expression of violence as high art, and I liked that concept in Kill Bill, but here it didn't do anything for me, besides make me laugh at the outrageousness a few times. In Sin City they just seemed to be trying to hard to hard to make extreme violence cool. I loved the setting of the story and visually it was as stunning as Jessica Alba , but I wasn't too keen on the characters most of whom I couldn't help but see as bland run of the mill archetypes. I guess that was somewhat intended as it is basically a B-movie or genre film or whatever you would like to call it but maybe they could have developed the characters to be a little more three dimensional. Sorry if my comments are harsh, but I am still bothered by this situation, never before have I so badly wanted to like a movie that I didn't actually like. I know there must be more to it than I picked up on but I can't put my finger on it.

Cryptic like a fox! .......(I don't know what that means.)

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Pumpkins scream in the DEAD of night!

The only thing I can possibly deduce from what you have said is that you were unable to really sink into the dialogue. Maybe you were too mesmerized by the look of the film. Maybe you were with friends that wouldn’t shut the **** up. Who knows? What I do know is this: The people I’ve talked to have all said basically the same thing; if they loved the film, they talked about the amazing depth and richness of all the dialogue. If they didn’t like it a lot; they never mentioned the dialogue or thought it was corny or stupid. The heart of the film is certainly Miller’s pen. What his characters say always has more meaning and power than their actions.

While I was watching the film, I was so blown away by the lavish dialogue which I wasn’t even close to being prepared for. There were times when a character would say something in ten words that could easily encompass ten years worth of life and its lessons. I found it humorous and a little sad sometimes while I was watching it because there were times, especially with Marv, that what was said was so moving and powerful that my eyes would begin to tear up. Yet, half the audience laughed at these moments. All I could do was sit and think, “All those people don’t get it.” If they got it, they wouldn’t be laughing, because there was nothing even remotely funny about what was just said. They just weren’t prepared for that kind of depth, I guess. I dunno.

If you get the chance to see it again, please do so. Pay closer attention to what these people say as they are introduced and how nearly everything has meaning and significance. You’ll understand what I mean if you really listen to the opening sequence when Hartnett is there to kill the girl. He literally tells us a terribly sad love story. He is not just a heartless killer at all, but a hopeless romantic who offers peace and love to his victims. His heart bleeds alongside theirs, but in the end, he knows he is still a professional. Either that, or he is lost in his own world of make believe, and he is nothing other than cold and ruthless and it’s all a game to him. Either way…what he says and does…IS NOT A JOKE!!! Yet, nearly everyone in the audience had this big guffaw, like it was a punch line or something. There were only two or three times throughout the film, where there really was a gag going on. But, think about it…how many times did you hear the audience laugh throughout the picture? I bet more than two or three times. I did laugh though, When Madsen ends what he’s saying with, “…and you got a bum ticker.” Because that was just so damn silly the way he delivered it.

Anyway…I love, love, love, this film. I want to see it twenty times before tomorrow. I want to see it fifty times before the week is over…but I know I’ll have to settle for a couple more times. Sin City is amazing. It has the best use of CGI I have ever seen in a mainly CGI film. It has some of the most exceptional acting in this type of film that I’ve ever seen. It has incredibly powerful, poignant, and heartfelt dialogue. And above all, it’s mostly Miller with a splash of Rodriguez…any other way and it would have likely failed.


I forgot to mention that I liked your review of this one. I haven't seen any of the other films you've reviewed so far, but this one I have...and we felt basically the same way about it. Great suspense film, and great review. This is one of my favorite threads now, and I really hope you keep it up.

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"Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

At times like this I wish we all lived close to one another so we could each have other people around who also wanted to see the film 10 more times before it leaves theaters. I am going to try to go out and catch it again tomorrow night if possible.... To add to what others have said, this **** was spot on to the source material, and the viloence was portrayed as it was in the comics... This film is really Sin City come to life....


Also, after all this time at MoFo, I had finally found an avatar ifelt worth changing over to, byt Slay already has it going.... Maybe there is a Yellow Bastard avatar out there somewhere

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In Your Face!!!

You can use this one if you want to.

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Aye, Aye cap'n! I've actually been pretty much writing the reviews immediately after I watched the movie. I really like doing it, but I fell into a lull after Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, so I'll write that one up today and head on over to Video 21 to see what else they can manifest from my hopes.

And word up, Sedai and Slay, I feel like watching Sin City until I pass out. I've only seen in twice so far and feel inadequate because of it! That movie is heroine.

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Horror's Not Dead
Latest Movie Review(s): Too lazy to keep this up to date. New reviews every week.

We're so alike sometimes...it's downright scary. It's like you're my little sister, or sumptin'.

Weird.

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one, considering your love for Oldboy.

Wow thanks Slay! You got it. You hit the nail on the head. I was too distracted by everything else to closley follow the dialogue. I will definitley have to see this again(probably many times). I get it now! You have made my day.

I have reached enlightenment

Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance, Directed by Chan-Wook Park, 2002



The first entry in Chan-Wook Park's revenge trilogy (the second being Oldboy and the third Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) is actually rather estranged from it's successor. It's not as kinetic and fun as Oldboy, ultimately leaving me with a feeling of emptiness. I can't say if this is a direct result of my expectations, but it probably was.

Which is why I'm torn on this film. I respect the hell out of it and in form and function it is actually a better film than Oldboy, however, it's not a film I could watch repeatedly for entertainment. I love the art of filmmaking, but at the end of the day I want a movie to either mean something to me or at the very least entertain the hell out of me. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance isn't a depressing movie and it isn't necessairly a shocking film (though I'm sure many will find moments rather cringe inducing), it's a lecture on how revenge completely consumes a person. It may be a much more profound lecture than that of Oldboy, but Oldboy is a much more enjoyable one. I have a feeling those who didn't like Oldboy outright will love Sympathy.

I want to say I enjoyed it, but I'm really not sure I did. It's a damn fine film, it really is, but it was missing something crucial to bump it up more into my memory. I can't exactly place my finger on it considering how incredibly well constructed it was, but it's been bugging the hell out of me. It's like when you're walking through an art museum and you see a painting or sculpture and you're truly impressed by the skill that went into making it, you love the aesthetics of it, you like everything about it, but you just don't care that much and move on to the next piece after 20 seconds.

This film really will make you feel sympathy for the vengeance consumed man. Well, I should say vengeance consumed men as the plot focuses on two individuals seeking revenge. The first being the deaf and dumb Ryu whose sister needs a kidney transplant and the second being the father of the little girl Ryu kidnaps to hold for ransom to afford said kidney transplant. You become instantly sympathetic for Ryu, who from the first minutes of the film is clearly and blissfully isolated from the world around him. He is ignorant of the bureaucracy of the world and tries his hardest to get things done despite his obvious limitations. So when things start going horribly, horribly wrong for Ryu you really do feel for him.

The film is packed to the brim with nuance, both in acting and set design. One particular thing I really liked were several bedroom shots of Ryu and his girlfriend sitting adjacently on the bed with a mirror between the two. It took me a bit to actually realize that the mirror was there so that they could look into it and see each other doing sign language. It's not very important, but it's details like that that introduce a whole new level of mastery, in my nerdy opinion.

Another thing I did love about Sympathy and about Oldboy is that the cause for revenge isn't treated like it is in most films. Extreme events occur in the films, but they're not treated as such. They aren't over glorified and it's a huge boon for the film. Neither film treats the viewer like a moron who needs everthing spelled out or bolded for them. It presents them matter of factly, just as they would be in real life, which gives the film a surreal feeling that nature is just unwinding itself.

It's a very sad story and watching it is like watching a trainwreck in slow motion. But just like a passenger in a car passing that trainwreck, once it's out of sight it's out of mind.

A bold 3.5 out of 5

The One Sentence Review - Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance is a wonderfully made film with a story that'll beat your emotions to new levels of empathy, but, unfortunately, in the end I was rather indifferent to the whole thing.

Arahan, directed by Seung-wan Ryoo, 2004



There was a subtitle for this film, something along the lines of Suburban Action Masters or something, but it's not on the title of the box and seeing as you can't skip the previews on the disc, I don't have the energy to look it up again.

I love martial arts films. There is just something about watching someone beat the hell out of someone else with extreme skill that gets my blood pumping.

But I'm sick and tired of seeing people fly across the screen on invisible wires. I don't want my fighting to be a carefully choreographed ballet. I want it to be a raw beat down. I want bones broken and I want blood.

I picked up this movie just because the guy who writes the blurbs for the back of the cases at Video 21 (since most of their Asian section is imported) wrote that it was a "beastly action flick". I'm all for a "beastly action flick", but screw this. If it's not going to be even moderately serious it needs to be so over the top that it's just funny (see Stephen Chow films). I have a feeling that in Korea this film would be marketed to the young teen audience, so it isn't a fault of the film, but it just didn't do anything for me.

The CGI used was actually above average for the CGI used in such fantasy-fight flicks, but it still was rather laughable at times. But it was chock full of cliche camera movements and fight choreography. The only thing original about it was the story of Tao masters working normal jobs in the inner city because no one has an interest in martial arts anymore. Hell, even that may not be all too original (though it was the first time I had seen it).

And my god was the hero of the film innnnnnnnnncredibly annoying. He was playing the bumbling idiot who can never get things right, always rushing in etc, etc, but it just went past the line and became nails on a blackboard anytime he opened his mouth.

1 out of 5

The One Sentence Review - Rent it for your tweens, Arahan isn't even a joke enjoyable by adults.

Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior, Directed by Prachya Pinkaew, 2003



I had to watch some real ass kicking after the dissapointment of Arahan and I knew Tony Jaa would supply, though not so much the second time around as the first.

Some crazy old guy with an electronic voice box has a fetish for collecting the heads of statues from villages. Ting's (Tony Jaa) village falls prey to this odd collector and Ting heads into the city to return the head before the village falls into incredibly bad luck and everyone gets the clap or something.

But you don't need to know that, just know that the rules of gravity do not apply to Tony Jaa. The man is a machine. I know someone who was training in Muay Thai, so I'm familiar with the style, but it never ceases to be a source of awe. To my knowledge there was not a single wire setup in this entire movie. If Tony Jaa dashes down the street on people's shoulders, he's really doing it. None of it looks fake and the timing is perfect. On top of that, several of the films key fights take place in doors and the obvious lack of proper and consistent lighting setups gives the film another ace up its sleeve when it comes to continuing reality.

Though towards the end chest padding becomes more noticeable as it seems like Jaa is kicking people wearing kevlar vests, but who cares? I'll take someone really getting kicked in a padded chest over someone faking a kick to the chest any day of the week. The double edits (highlighting impressive moves twice in a row) can be kind of annoying some times, but any annoyance instantly vanishes because then you realize he just jumped 8 feet in the air.

Oh snap!

3.5 out of 5

The One Sentence Review - It's not my favorite martial arts movie, that title goes to Jet Li's Fist of Legend, but if you like your action raw Ong-Bak will more than deliver.


Oh and Edit: If Tony Jaa is going to be the villain in the new Die Hard, as is currently rumored, that is going to be one crazy ass flying knee to the head.

Great reviews of Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance and Ong-Bak.

Side note: I'm eagerly awaiting Sympathy For Lady Vengeance. Any idea when it's supposed to be released?

Thanks And nope, dunno. IMDB doesn't even have a listing for it yet. AICN did, however, recently post a translated Q&A about it, but no release date mentioned :-\
http://aint-it-cool.com/display.cgi?id=19798

The best part of Ong Bak was that retarded Aussie wannabe-pro wrestler, with the greasy-mop hairdo:

"C'mon, Thailand, I spit on your national passtime and let my dingos sleep on your flag. G'daaaay Mayte."

I guess it's not really worth commenting on the stupidity of the story and characterizations. The ghettoized soundtrack on the localized version was whack though.

Sympathy for Vengeance is pretty good. My only complaint would be that it gets a bit boring to watch, they could have been a bit more imaginative with the camera, rather than just situating it some place and waiting for the actors to do something in front of it. Like you said though the revenge plot is really frustrating to watch in a good way. I don't think I cared about any of the characters, really, but I liked how most of the characters have no idea what's going on or see things but are just unable to stop it from going bad. I think the ending worked out nicely and the guy who played the deaf mute was great. Don't think I'd watch it again though.

I saw that Joint Security Area seems to be playing in N.Y. last weekend, but saw Steam Boy and a couple Marx Bros. movies instead.

Nice reviews, -Og. Keep em coming.

A Boy And His Dog, Directed By L. Q. Jones, 1975



I loved the hell out of this movie. Holden recommended it in passing years ago, but as usual I didn't heed his advice with any speed. I knew Video 21 had a VHS copy, but I don't have a VCR at my apartment, however the other day I went to go return some movies and thought to myself, "man I hope they have A Boy and His Dog on DVD." And bam, there it was on the shelf! Haven't seen it there since as long as I've been going there. I willed it into existence.

What a great, great movie. It certainly is my favorite post-apocolyptic story. It is a perfect blend of fantasy and destroyed reality. It's got every miniscule detail required for enjoyment completely nailed. It's the perfect length and the perfect laughs.

Blood, the dog, was turned into a better actor than half the child actor's I've ever seen. Seriously kids, get it together or dogs will take your place! The voice acting was great and Don Johnson was surprisingly very charming and gave a spot on performance. Reminded me alot of a young Matthew McConaughey.

The bleak portrayl of the future wastelands was as expected, but there is just something incredibly charming about little shanty towns set up in the middle of nowhere. Obviously it's anchronistic to say that it reminded me of my all time favorite computer game, Fallout (listen to the opening for Fallout 2, I love it and hits me with a wave of nostalgia any time I listen to it), but it did. And I have a huge emotional attachment to those god damn games, which just doubled my enjoyment of this film. They share the same great sense of humor and sense of innocence in the new world order after the bombs drop.

I actually don't feel like writing up much else because it wouldn't be productive. It'd be like interviewing a 7 year old as to why he likes the taste of candy. Or a crack addict why he smokes rocks.

Crack ain't gonna smoke itself, sheeeit.

4.5 out of 5

The One Sentence Review - A Boy and His Dog is an absolutely wonderful tale of a very special relationship between, well, a boy and his dog and is perfectly quirky and remarkably enjoyable for anyone with half a brain.

great review OG, I haven't seen this movie yet but its on the list...

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letterboxd

More people should listen to me.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Yah, yah, yah. The little kid never listens to the old man. Lesson learned.