Playing Catch Up Pt.1

After an extended break due to lack of motivation, I’m back and raring to go. In my time off I’ve written notes on a few films that I’ve seen and thought I’d publish them here without trying to go back and flesh them out too rigorously, as none of them are recent. Most are short, around a paragraph or so, with a few longer ones to come in the second post. Regular length reviews should return next week or sooner.

The Good, The Bad, The Weird


Kim Ji-Woon’s latest, a western about three men fighting over a treasure map, doesn’t waste much time on story or characterization, but as a spectacle it's a lot of fun. Kim obviously knows his way around a camera and the budget is huge, boasting large sets and many violent explosions. Song Kang-Ho as The Weird (Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, Memories of Murder) is funny and steals the show as he is wont to do, though much of the humor on display here is very Korean. The action scenes are often breathtaking, though sometimes over-long, repetitive, silly and chaotic. It’s an obvious Leone homage, but it's never meant to be subtle or thought provoking, and I think Kim has too much talent in that department to waste his time on blockbusters. Recommended for fans of Korean cinema only.

My Bloody Valentine 3-D


This by-the-numbers horror flick about a crazed miner is as souless and cardboard as a post- Scream 90s horror film, so if you long for the return of I Know What You Did’s and Urban Legends then this might be a fun diversion. The fun factor of the 3-D and the first couple of scenes have potential, but the film quickly falls apart due to the largely terrible cast and nonsense plot. Still, the 3-D is fun when it works, which is mostly during the many violent death scenes. Recommended for fans of B-grade horror and those who enjoy the new wave of 3-D.

Legendary Assassin


Legendary Assassin is a fun throwback to 80s Hong-Kong action films, meaning it's short on plot, long on action. Still, the set-up for this one, an assassin stuck on an island due to a storm and still carrying the severed head of his mark, is good enough to float the often bad acting and dialogue. Action is good by Jacky Wu, a rising martial arts star in Hong Kong and directing himself here, but an unexciting and melodramatic ending leaves a sour taste. Too bad.

The Wrestler


The documentary-like feel, coupled with Mickey Rourke's empassioned performance as wrestler Randy the Ram, add considerable weight to a well-trod tale of a broken man holding on to his heyday. Aronofsky is definitely out to prove himself after the box-office bust of The Fountain but the film is little more than an indie character piece. See it for the performance.

Hellboy 2


This time around Hellboy is much more of a fairy tale than 50s pulp homage of the first film. It’s almost like watching a mondo documentary, in that you're always waiting to see what strange creature or fantastic locale is on display next. I particularly enjoyed that it was not all about Hellboy this time around, other, often more interesting characters step into the spotlight. Hellboy on his own is sort of one note, and that note was exhausted early in the first film. However, pacing-wise the film can't seem to decide if it is an action film, a comedy or a soap opera, and it doesn't manuever very well among the three.

Wanted


Wanted is a film that thrives, both visually and thematically, on the human desire for fantasy and escapism. It knows what it is and delivers the goods in spades. If you can turn off your brain and just enjoy the story, about a guild of secret assassins that can bend the trajectories of bullets (I know, I know) the actors and action set pieces will capture you. Give it a chance.