Category: Movie Reviews

This month has to be a month of Asian movies. Five of the seven movies I have watched are from Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong. So where shall I begin? Ah, the beautiful Korea Actress Son Ye-jin (The Classic) in the romance comedy The Art of Seduction. The movie was immensely entertaining with Son Ye-jin playing the seductress faced off with her seducer. Need not to say, I was very much seduced throughout the show.

What I did not expect was the action packed romance drama show Daisy. I thought I was up for a romance comedy and I was wrong. Jeon Ji-hyn – none other than the famous actress behind My Sassy Girl and Windstruck – played the painter who found herself in love with a government agent and an assassin in a miss-timed fashion. There is a nice twist at the end and you just have to watch and see.

The Sentinel played by Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland, and Kim Basinger has surprisingly exceeded my expectation. Is it a movie that has re-watch value? Probably not. Though the plot is less of an original but it does give you the level of suspense that kept you entertained till the end.

Of all the Korea movie I have watched so far, You Are My Sunshine – a movie that I kept forgetting that it is based on a true story – is one of the best. The actors and actresses may not be the typical Korean eye candies. But their acting is more than adequate to make you realise that Koreans can make serious movies. In fact, out of 7 nominations of the 26th Blue Dragon Awards, the show has won the Best Director, Best Actor and Best Couple award. The movie starts with an unmarried farmer who has fallen in love with a pretty waitress at a local coffee shop who provides more service than just coffee delivery to her customers. It is a romance tragedies and it reveals the essence of love that though many may not be able to relate but definite able to celebrate with.

I have always been intrigued by Japanese Animation. When Final Fantasy VII – Advent Children first hit the store, I grabbed one home. I was delighted and amazed at how fast pace and beautiful crafted the movie is. I wish I have followed the Final Fantasy franchise since the beginning. That way, I could have appreciated the movie much more.

Jasmine Women played by Zhang Ziyi and Joan Chen is about three generations of women living through the Japanese occupation, rise of Chinese communism, and the modern 80s. In this three chapters of stories of three generations, Zhang Ziyi always plays the younger one (daughter or granddaughter) and Joan Chen always plays the older one (mother or grandmother). It is a story starts with a decision of not to carry out an abortion and ends with the same decision that needs to be made. A very emotional movie I must say and Zhang Ziyi’s acting was superb.

Finally, Mission Impossible 3. Or simply M:i:III. Awesome, it is awesome. By far the best Mission Impossible movies I have watched. I seriously do not remember any bits and pieces of the previous installments (except the pigeons flying off when Tom Cruise walked by … that scene, remember?) but the storyline of this latest installment is well-crafted. It was never a dull moment from beginning till the end.

Looks like these days I have plenty of free time. Cynthia and I did not plan to watch “Failure to Launch” and we bought the tickets out of spontaneousness. Have you ever watched a show that you enjoy while you are inside the cinema and totally have no recollection on plots or actings or whatsoever when you left the cinema? Ya, this is the kind of show.

“Crash” is an Oscar winning film and though Cynthia and my friend found the show so-so, I enjoyed it thoroughly. “Crash” painted the many facets of racial discrimination and delivered a plot that has many resolutions within the sub-stories while leaving many open-ended. To me, this movie is a rare gem.

“V for Vendetta” is a commercial film based on a short comic series. Cynthia, my friend, and I enjoyed it a lot. The script shines the most. The idea though conceptualized many years ago is still valid looking at the current affair of terrorism and the “authority”. Natalie Portman’s acting is good. And I especially like Hugo Weaving’s acting as V (Agent Smith from the Matrix, remember him?).

What “Ice Age 2” lacks of are an engaging plot and character development. The only thing that saved the movie from no star to perhaps 1 star is the small animal that is crazy over nuts.

Cynthia wanted to watch “Brokeback Mountain” and thanks to my friend from the office, I have borrowed the DVD that saved me from taking her to the cinema (and dragging my movie buddy along as well). To be fair, the movie is more than a gay cowboy show. But I can understand why many men may find it disgusting to see two men kissing and screwing each other on the screen (sorry, can’t use the word “love making”). Nevertheless, it is an Oscar winning film (I think) and if you can look beyond the intimacy between two men, it does have storyline on how these two men having their own normal love life – marriage and kids – and yet find time to spend with each other over 20 years. It is a love story that is nicely filmed. Too bad, I can’t relate to that.

“Tristan and Isolde” is an epic love story set in the Medieval Age when the Roman Empire just collapsed and Europe has fallen into the Dark Age. Tristan was from England and Isolde was from Ireland. I am more intrigued by the story itself rather than the acting and filming. Acting-wise, it is substandard. Filming-wise, well, I have seen much better ones like King Arthur and Troy. Sophia Myles played Isolde and she is just so adorable in the movie.