The (Mostly) Foreign Movie Review

Posts coming soon

2011-08-08T21:16:00.000-07:00

This summer has taken every free moment that I have and I have enjoyed all of it. For those of you who keep checking back for more movie reviews here's a preview of what I have coming in the next couple of weeks.

Kites
Thank You
Dobi Ghat
Game
Haunted 3d
Shaolin
Mo Gong
Krrish
Jodah Akhbar
Confucius
Dilwale Dulhania le Jayenge
He Ni Zai Yi Qi
Pyaar Impossible
Dostana
Bachna Ae Haseeno
The Tango Lesson

Thanks for the patience while I've been enjoying some non digital life and great weather.

120 Countries

2011-07-05T00:10:00.000-07:00

I was just looking at the stats trying to ponder the future of my blog. On one hand I could continue chronicling movies even though I do not know how much free time I will have in the upcoming months to watch and write about them. On another hand I could just as easily stop writing. The fact that of a small measured part of the year (3 months) I have received hits from just over 120 countries is amazing to me. I am sure some of those were bots and others were proxies, but still I find it amazing that in 90 days I can touch so many from around the world with such diverse topics is amazing. It has even led to what is an interesting pen pal or two from random places around the world. As I go to sleep tonight I am leaning toward continuing the small amount of writing I did. Thank you to all of you from around the world who stumble upon my pages - thank you for simply visiting; again I welcome you to leave comments, suggestions, or movie recommendations for myself and the other readers.

Guan yun chang - The Lost Bladesman

2011-06-22T20:42:00.000-07:00

Guan yun chang - The Lost Bladesman
Hong Kong (2011)
Starring: Yu Ai Li, Hong Chen, Siu-hou Chin, Donnie Yen

I just got my hands on this movie and the only subtitles I could find were a re-translation from a Vietnamese sub. The resulting subtitle I used could have had a serious effect on the story as there are a few things that I seem to be missing - the gist of the movie I know I got fairly well. My recommendation for those of you in the same situation I am in is to try and find a better subtitle file, but the movie is still good.

The Lost Bladesman was a super interesting movie on many levels. Guan Yu, played by Donnie Yen, is a true Chinese general that helped bring an end to the Han Dynasty and ushered in the beginning of the Three Kingdoms. It is still common to see small shrines dedicated to Guan Yu in Chinese stores and restaurants around the world. The movie also depicts the warlord Cao Cao in a way that I had not thought of him. In this movie he is depicted as a wise manipulative man and not necessarily the feared man who rained death upon everyone in his path.

With all of that said this is one cool movie. The cinematography is great all the way through. Most of the fight scenes use the pudao sword requiring large movements that were gracefully executed. The history and the story part I'm still a little fuzzy on and I might have to do some reading and then watch it again when a different subtitle file is available. All in all if you are a fan of epic period martial arts flicks involving kings, generals, provincial leaders, and an honorable hero this is certainly one movie you should be happy to get your hands on as well.

Samurai Ayothaya - The Samurai of Ayothaya

2011-06-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

Samurai Ayothaya - The Samurai of Ayothaya
Thailand (2010)
Starring: Seigi Ozeki, Kanokkorn Jaicheun, Sorapong Chatree
Awards: 2011 National Film Association Award (Best Score) - Thailand National Film Association Award

Finally months of patience and perseverance have paid off and I was able to acquire a subtitle file for this movie enabling me to watch it and more to the point: write this review.

The Samurai of Ayothaya is an interesting movie to me. It loosely follows part of the life of the historic figure Yamada Nagamasa. In history Yamada became the Govenor of the Nakhori Si Thammarat province. In the movie Yamada became one of the elite warriors from the Ayothaya province.

Betrayed by his countrymen and left for dead Yamada is saved by an enemy tribe and slowly brought back to health. He finds tranquility and identity with his saviors and decides to stay after his recovery.

This movie has some really cool fight scenes. There is this humorous tone to the movie that muay thai is the be all end all of martial arts and is the destroyer of all other forms. What else should I expect from a Thai movie though. I don't think the history portrayed in this movie is close to accurate, but I'm okay with that. The choreography of the martial arts is pretty good in this movie. The scenes are really cool - including the full moon festival. The movie served it's purpose of entertainment. I enjoyed watching it.

Mo hup leung juk - Butterfly Lovers

2011-06-13T22:24:00.000-07:00

Mo hup leung juk - Butterfly Lovers
Hong Kong (2008)
Starring: Charlene Choi, Chun Wu, Ge Hu

Butterfly Lovers itself as a movie didn't really "wow" me on many levels. The story however is altogether something else. This movie is based on a story that is almost 2000 years old and is a traditional folktale in China. Liang Zhu as the tale is often referred to, in honor of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, is a love story that has truly transcended history to bring us a tale of two lovers who are bound by a love so strong heaven itself cast them to live upon the earth and never truly realize that which they sought after most. It is a fascinating story and may be older then it's Hindi counterpart Heer Ranjha and certainly older then our western Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. When comparing the similarities of the major characters in these stories the parallels are quite amazing. It makes me wonder if such stories spread and with a change of characters and local were brought back to life and made famous again in a foreign land, or if the stories have absolutely no connection and from arbitrary chance one story was believed to have happened while something very similar was dreamed up with no influence passing either way.

The main actress and the director in this movie both get slammed in popular reviews citing she is not believable in her role. There are a few moments where I felt the same way, but there's a few good giggles, a couple decent martial arts scenes, an evil villain fighting to possess a heart that is not destined to be his, and then of course the story that makes butterfly lovers of Butterfly Lovers. I enjoyed the movie and the history lesson I received while trying to bring you the background on it. I enjoyed it. If you're looking for a romantic martial arts flick, I will stand behind this one.

Quote: Butterflies should be a pair, one left behind will be lonely. So wait for me.

Bab'Aziz - The Prince that Contemplated His Soul

2011-06-12T23:22:00.000-07:00

Bab'Aziz - The Prince that Contemplated His Soul
Iran (2005)
Starring: Parviz Shahinkhou, Maryam Hamid, Hossein Panahi
Awards: 2005 Crystal Simorgh - Fajr Film Festival; 2006 Golden Dagger - Muscat Film Festival

Bab'Aziz is an amazing story that begins in the desert with a blind dervish and his grand daughter. This movie follows their journey as they head towards their destination, a great reunion, with nothing but faith to guide them. On the journey they meet many other dervishes who are also headed the same direction. Some are misguided and without faith can not find the way, others are lost and seeking answers, and one is on his way to find the love of his life whose path had split from his own. As these dervishes come and go, taking their own paths to the reunion, Ishtar's grandfather tells her a story of the prince who gave up his worldly status to contemplate his soul. Through the movie I wondered if that prince was her grandfather himself, but this was never made clear to me.

There are a few things about this movie that I really liked. The scenery was gorgeous. This movie was filmed in both Iran and Tunisia and it incorporates both dues of sand with a satin appearance as well as scorching desert with mountains off in the distance. For the scenery and the cinematography this movie was worth watching. It also has a very heavy undertone of Islamic teaching and words wise enough that I believe many of the lines and stories in this movie might have come from Sufi's. Bab'Aziz does orient towards Islam, but the wisdom hidden in the movie make it a wonderful movie for almost anyone with an open mind. There is no action in this movie, there are no amazing special effects, but there is a beautiful journey and an amazing story.

Quote: He who has faith will never get lost

The Fall

2011-06-12T22:47:00.000-07:00

The Fall
USA (2006)
Starring: Lee Pace, Catinca Untaru, Justine Waddell
Awards: 2007 Best Film - Sitges Catalonian Int'l. Film Festival; 2007 Crystal Bear Special Mention - Berlin Int'l. Film Festival; 2008 Best Cinematography - Austin Film Critics Association

This movie dubbed a fantasy and adventure begins in a hospital. In this hospital there are two characters thrust together by chance. A stunt man with a shattered heart and broken leg and a girl who fell and broke her arm.

Roy befriends Alexandria and begins telling her a story of six heroes who each desire to kill the same man. As the story carries on Roy cons this young child into acquiring medicine for him for his pain. As the story unfolds the viewer begins to understand that medicine will not cure Roy's particular situation.

I decided to watch this movie because I wanted to continue a recent run on fantasy movies. This was far from anything upbeat and was truly sad the way the story unfolds. For those of you who are looking for a fantasy adventure I would look on - the lack of action throughout and the morbid twists will leaving you wishing you picked another movie. For those of you interested in fantasy movie with a dark/depressing motive well you can find it on Netflix.

Wu ji - The Promise

2011-05-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

Wu ji - The Promise
China (2005)
Starring: Cecilia Cheung, Dong-gun Jang, Hiroyuki Sanda
Awards: Orient Express Section Special Jury Award (Fantasporto 2007)

I looked for this movie because I came across an old review from the LA Times I think that called it one of the most beautiful films imaginable. The Promise was without a doubt visually striking. It was worth getting the blu-ray version of it. From the costumes to the scenes to the story itself this movie was cool all the way through. It truly is a beautiful story.

In a world where men and gods live side by side a slave from the Land of the Snow and beggar turned princess pick their destiny. Cheung was promised by a goddess a life of riches, but without love. Jang was born a more noble human from the Land of the Snow and forced into slavery. Their paths cross in a complex turn of events and the rest is the story that is worth watching.

This movie was awesome. Just when I thought that I'd exhausted nearly every major cinematic release from the past decade I found a movie that made me wonder how I had missed it!

Quote: Destiny can be changed, time sometimes does flow backwards, snow can fall in the spring, and even a frozen heart can come back to life.

Frostbiten - Frostbitten

2011-05-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Frostbiten - Frostbitten
Sweden (2006)
Starring: Petra Nielsen, Carl-Ake Eriksson, Grete Havenskold
Awards: International Fantasy Film Award (Fantasporto 2006): Best Film; Festival Trophy (Screamfest 2006): Best music Score

Frostbitten is a slightly twisted vampire movie. When I say twisted in this case it's because it is a uniquely strange vampire movie (as far as vampire movies go). There is little about the movie that can be taken seriously; it is slightly off balance fusion of horror and comedy. I guess if you're a vampire movie lover check it out... if you're not a vampire movie lover, I'd walk right by it at the movie store.

The Thief Lord

2011-05-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

The Thief Lord
2006
Starring: Aaron Johnson, Jasper Harris, Rollow Weeks

I do not recall if I watched this because I wanted to see a childhood adventure movie or because it is supposed to take place in my favorite city ever - Venice. I can recall why I won't keep the movie though. . . The movie was kind of pointless to me it's as if there almost wasn't a story at all, just a bunch of orphaned kids doing what they have to do in order to survive....almost storyless.

Looking for subtitles

2011-05-08T01:30:00.000-07:00

I got my hands on two different DVD's a while back and I'd love to watch them except they don't have subtitles. Can anyone point me in the right direction for either of these? Format of the file doesn't matter much.

The Samurai of Ayothaya
Don Quixote (2010 Chinese version)

Aparecidos - The Appeared

2011-04-30T00:43:00.000-07:00

Aparecidos - The Appeared
Argentina (2007)
Starring: Ruth Diaz, Javier Pereira, Pablo Cedron

On the wake of a difficult decision Pablo convinces his sister to go on a road trip to discover more about their father. After discovering a diary that recants a grim tale two decades old many strange things begin to happen.

Aparecidos wasn't particularly scary, but it was kind of different. Of course you should expect a little of the precursor to being a ghost, blood and gore. There are a few parts that are a bit twisted too.

Aashayein

2011-04-30T00:17:00.000-07:00

Aashayein
India (2010)
Starring: John Abraham, Sonal Sehgal, Anaitha Nair

Aashayein begins by showing a gambler that winning is not what life's all about. Rahul is a compulsive smoking gambler placing everything on one last bet; this wager contained his girlfriend's life savings. Strangely enough he won. He does what any man would do that won a fortune, he throws a party for a few friends to announce his intentions in life and proposes to his girlfriend. There could be no grander stage of happiness that could be built from which someone could fall.

In the moment of his greatest joy Rahul takes ill. Shortly afterward he is diagnosed with lung cancer. Fighting the million ways that his heart and thoughts are tugging his soul fate finds him while in the deepest of his despair. He runs away to a place where those with terminal diseases go to die and somehow blesses them with the most beautiful of gifts - life.

Aashayein is not the most upbeat of movies out there. In truth it has taken me about 4 months to watch it because I've known that. It is, though, a beautiful movie that is touching and thought provoking.

Quote: I don't know what tomorrow will bring. But now, now I have to live.

Mulan

2011-04-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

Hua Mulan
China (2009)
Starring: Wei Zhao, Jaycee Chan, and Rongguang Yu
Awards: Golden Deer (Changchun Film Festival 2010), Shanghai Film Critics Award (Shanghai Film Critics Awards 2010)

Mulan is another epic. Epic in story, history, deeds, and the filming. When I first watched this movie it reminded me of Joan of Arc. It wasn't till a little later that I discovered Hua Mulan is a true historical Chinese figure dating roughly back to 300AD.

Hua Mulan, a woman who couldn't bear to see her aged father be called to battle sacrificed herself and went to fight for him. Women of course weren't allowed in battle so she disguised herself as a man and took her father's place. Legend has it that she fought for 12 years under his name. A noble tale of sacrifice and honor.

I 100% enjoyed this movie.

Goemon

2011-04-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

Goemon
Japan (2009)
Starring: Yosuke Eguchi, Takao Ohsawa, Ryoko Hirosue

I'm just going to open this up with the fact most of Goemon was visually stunning. Between the scene settings whose detail was amazing to match the period, the fight scenes, and some pretty good CGI this movie was one of the most impressive that I've seen in a while. With that said there were some periods of the movie where I caught myself thinking, "just get on with it." All in all though it was phenomenal.

The story itself is based off of a mythic legend from the 1500's in Japan. Goemon was somewhere between a simple thief, a runaway ninja, or the son of a samurai family. The story of Goemon is mirrors that of Robin Hood. He was a man who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. His fighting skills have grown to nearly super-legendary levels over the past few hundred years. In truth little is really known about hit, but that doesn't change the fact that his legend lives on. Today a round cauldron like bathtub is still named after him Japan.

Red

2011-04-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

Red
USA (2010)
Starring: Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman

Red is an acronym in this movie for Retired, Extremely, Dangerous. It fits the title. Frank Moses, a retired CIA agent is beginning to find a peaceful life. From the picture perfect house to decorating for the holidays Frank continues to find new amusements to ease his retirement blues. Included in his daily diversions are long conversations with Sarah. Forced from retirement Frank goes to save Sarah from being the target of the same people who are trying to kill him. From there the comedy in the movie just grows.

Red is about a group of super bad-ass retired CIA agents getting back together for a cause. They come replete with aching backs and a madness driven by boredom. The topic is amusing to me in thought, it's akin to a superheroes rolling in wheelchairs out of a retirement home.

All in all it was a fun little movie.

Casshern

2011-04-25T23:50:00.000-07:00

Casshern
Japan (2004)
Starring: Yusuke Iseya, Kumiko Aso, Akira Terao, Kanako Higuchi, Fumiyo Kohinata

Casshern, is ghost hero in local folklore from one of the small towns in this movie. Based on an old Japanese anime this movie follows Tetsuya through the transition into Casshern where he might become the hero legend. In this movie you will find there is a blur between being alive and being the ghost of the living. I decided to get this movie for two reasons. Casshern is a superhero in a sense and the imagination that goes into creating superheros is unique, so it piqued my curiosity. The other reason is because I read about it being better then both of the Matrix sequels.

I found this movie to be extremely well put together. The scenery and effects are masterful at some moments. The concept of this superhero ghost is unique. The plot is very different. Kazuaki Kiriya filmed this movie in such a way that it made me think to put it together and afterward. Granted I could be incorrectly projecting meaning where there is none, but that's part of why I like this movie. The action though left a little to be desired. It seems as if the beginning starts out great, but where great forces come into play later in the movie they are filmed with regular actions it seems - potentially a money saving venture aimed at reducing special effects costs. Even so, if you like a semi-dark twisted sci-fi anime based superhero story check this one out.

The Chronicles of Narnia - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

2011-04-25T23:22:00.000-07:00

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
USA (2010)
Starring: Ben Barnes, Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley

Based on a series of books I haven't read since I was about five, I found this installment of C. S. Lewis's books to be what I expected. The details of the story I had long forgotten so most of the movie was not as familiar as you might expect of someone who had read the book. It seems like there are some occurrences that weren't in the book and of course many that were in the book that weren't in the movie. Still, all in all, I was pleasantly surprised by what I watched. If I was my little brother's age I would have loved this movie, I am sure.

While the classics aren't represented in their entirety I am enjoying the surge of movies written with a classic literature or historic background that have been coming out in the past 10 years. This one especially so. For everyone who can remember being a kid and reading this book by flashlight or candlelight long after you should have been asleep I thoroughly recommend allowing this movie to take you back to the times when magical things were possible in your mind.

Season of the Witch

2011-04-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

Season of the Witch
USA (2011)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Claire Foy

Season of the Witch enticed me for a few different reasons. First it deals with Templars whom I considered a mystical bunch that were nearly the stuff of fairy tales. Second because it involves witches, which are the stuff of fairy tales. And third, unlike many, I like Nicolas Cage as an actor.

The film didn't disappoint me. I wasn't expecting a whole lot and as such I wasn't quite wowed nor left feeling like I had wasted an hour and a half.

Dominic Sena shot this film in Austria to give it a good backdrop. I give him props on that move. There are some really cool scenes that would have been quite a bit different if he had filmed it anywhere else. The acting was okay and the plot was the stuff of fairy tales. The scenes were set well which only helped form the shell for this story to be told. I wouldn't call it one of Nicolas Cage's best movies, but a good one in his line of movies and it did what it was supposed to: entertain.

Lang zai ji - The Warrior and the Wolf

2011-04-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

Lang zai ji - The Warrior and the Wolf
China (2009)
Starring: Maggie Q, Jo Odagiri, Chung Hua Tou

I was hoping for a Chinese version of Dances with Wolves... That didn't happen.

I will have to say the scenery was cool in this movie, but that's about where it ended. The dialog lacked as much as the recently reviewed Valhalla Rising and it was not nearly so easy for me to glean a story from this film. I fell asleep about half way through and can't find it in me to start it again from that point. Someone will probably tell me that I missed one of the most monumental endings a film has ever had....and I'd probably be okay not watching it still.

The Experiment

2011-04-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

The Expirement
USA (2010)
Starring: Adrien Brody, Cam Gigandet, Forest Whitaker

For years I've heard of this story about a sociology experiment where a class was divided and half became prisoners and half became guards. Over the past two or three decades a few have said it was their class and a couple people knew someone who was in the class. Once I heard the story a few times I kind of wrote all first hand recollections off much the way you would if someone told you they witnessed the Roswell incident. None the less I had to watch the movie.

The movie ended up as I would have expected. There weren't very many surprises. Either there really was a sociology experiment and this movie is based off of it or this movie is based off the fictitious legend someone created. All in all there was some action, a shocking scene or two that makes you think about what it really takes to manipulate a person or a group of people.

Valhalla Rising

2011-04-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

Valhalla Rising
Denmark (2009)
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Maarten Stevenson, Alexander Morton
Awards: International Fantasy Film Award - Special Mention ( 2010 Fantasporto); International Fantasy Film Special Jury Award (2010 Fantasporto)

The first thing that I noticed about this movie was the scenery which was consistently stunning all the way though. The film itself was dark and not just in story, but in the actual brightness as well. There is limited dialog and so much is inferred through the actions, travels, and cinematography.

I enjoy the concept of Viking, Nordic, and other Scandinavian tales so I decided to give the one a whirl. I'm pretty sure I won't do that again - just wasn't my type of movie or storytelling.

There is a fair amount of blood and some fight scenes for those of you who are after that. There is also a good underlying tale and moral to the story about trying to conquer lands that aren't yours. I really enjoyed the part of humans acting on behalf of God or in his name. The superstition that is projected from those in the native land of this movie from a millenia ago was fairly amusing, for about 5 minutes. If you find something you like in this movie I'd enjoy hearing about it.

K-20: Legend of the Mask

2011-04-18T20:18:00.000-07:00

K-20: Legend of the Mask aka The Fiend with 20 Faces
Japan (2008)
Starring: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Takako Matsu, Toru Nakamura
Award: 2009 Hochi Film Award
I went on this long hunt for foreign superhero movies and K-20: The Fiend with 20 Faces emerged.

From his humble beginnings Heikichi Endo is forced to move from being Japan's number one circus act to becoming Japan's number one enemy. With his name in ruin Heikichi trains to gain the skills required to capture the man who set him up.

This Japanese fantasy movie is pretty cool. There's some fun stunts, a few decent scenes, a number of good laughs, some drama, a couple of scenes that beg for the audience's emotions, and a bit of scientific mystery. Sure there were parts that didn't really jive and some scenes where the helicopters looked like little remote control helicopters, but it was worth overlooking that.

I would have watched this even if it had horrible reviews, just because it is a foreign superhero movie. Regardless of why I would have watched it though, I'm glad I did.

20th Century Boys

2011-04-18T19:17:00.000-07:00

20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End
20-seiki shônen: Honkaku kagaku bôken eiga

20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope
20-seiki shônen: Dai 2 shô - Saigo no kibô

20th Century Boys 3: Redemption
20-seiki shônen: Saishû-shô - Bokura no hata

This is a series of three movies produced from 2008-2009 from Japan. The movies is based on an award winning magna series called Yawara written by Naoki Urasawa.

When my week long venture of watching these three was over I was happy. I can see why this might have been a huge success in Japan. It was kind of gory and in some ways seriously creepy. The story continuously develops and devolves as more and more information lost in the minds of the group who wrote a story during their childhood. This is the story of one man, Friend, who climbed to the top of the religious/global political ladders and a group of childhood friends who must gather together years later to fight against the evil that Friend is unleashing on the world.

Aside from being a super long story this set of movies was cool. The special effects left a little to be desired and the style of filming was a little different, but all in all for another take on the end of the world it was worth the watch. I don't think I'll watch it twice though.

Delhi 6

2011-04-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

Delhi-6
India (2009)
Starring: Waheeda Rehman, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor

Roshan was born to a Muslim mother and a Hindi father. He was raised in America and when his grandmother takes ill he is the only one that is willing to travel back to the city the family came from. He willingly thrusts himself into a world where he placed between two major religions, a culture unlike any he has ever dreamed of, beliefs and customs that people are willing to die to defend, and a black monkey. As he discovers the roots of his family, meets his parents old friends, and his family's oldest supporters Roshan's life completely changes the more he is immersed in his new world.

This movie depicts culture shock in a wonderful light. It partially shows the edges of the boundaries that different religions, castes, races, and cultures create simply by being. It's full of good humor, song, dance, and of course a Bollywood love story - but, it also has a bit of racial and religious clashing. In the arena of Bollywood movies I found Delhi-6 a good one; finally a movie where I didn't feel like I wasted my time for the first time in a week!