Phần 15
01. John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023): 2/5
Normally I would use the poster of the first film on this thread as the thread's cover picture, but since this film is thoroughly mediocre, I will save that place for another film. I do not understand the raving scores film critics have given this film, nor the incredible hype Redditors have dedicated for this one since before its opening. Were it a simple "video-game" film, I would have given it a good score too, considering the hilariously "beat-being beaten-revive to beat" repeat mode of this film that of course reminds people of "Max Payne" or the top-down perspective of one shooting sequence in Paris that clearly reflects the influence of the top-down shooter genre, especially "Hotline Miami". However, since this film is considered a "neo-noir" action film of the first rate, I would review it as such. This film is all style-over-substance, and in the worst way possible, as the "style" was established with a slick appearance yet giving out a deep sense of shallowness of B- or direct-to-DVD movies, yes, that bad in my opinion. In addition, the style-over-substance nature of this film is also reflected through its way-too-long running time that can easily make the audience tired since the lack of any decent pacing make this film just a very long action sequence without any actual rhythm or necessary "resting time" for the audience to savour the immediate previous action sequence. Thus by the end all the action sequences stay pretty much the same to viewers (except maybe the "Hotline Miami" sequence"), as they were indeed choreographed and filmed in very similar manners. The very, very pretentious dialogues of this film, with foreign words and short sentences injected here and there for absolutely no reason except for maybe making this film sound cheap, especially to the audience of said languages, only makes the matter worse - for example ALL the French dialogues in this film (except for the radio announcer) were spoken by those who DO NOT handle well this language at all, that is just maddening to me! The tiring feeling of this film also comes from the fact that it has NO STAKE at all, since no matter how many adversaries are onscreen or how strong one "appears" to be, John Wick will simply prevail by ... covering his face with his bullet-proof vest (who approved this ugly and super passive style of action for this film????), unlimited magazines, and unbreakable bones despite ALL falling heights. Why modern Hollywood blockbusters are so afraid of stakes I have no idea, as the fact that NO ONE of any significance die in this film (disregarding the very poorly-constructed main villain) really makes it a very unimpactful one in terms of emotion building for the audience. Wick's obvious invincibility might be a selling point in a superhero or over-the-top action film, but this one is all about redemption, about the fallibility of power (I think - especially given the weakling appearance of John Wick, and his ultimate out-of-nowhere death - a hilariously abrupt death at that), yet, the protagonist stays thoroughly unbeatable until the very end, why the writers of this film would think that this is a good idea is beyond me. This dilemma between its theme and John Wick's Superman-like nature was highlighted even more by Keanu Reeves' very disappointing acting. He was just slow, tired, passive from the first until the last minute, even during action sequences (and of course his facial expressions and voice are still as wooden as ever - I have never ever seen Reeves being a decent actor in any film, even at his height during the "Matrix" years). Yes, yes, I understand that Redditors still get crazy by his "authentic" style of manning a gun, but that style really does not matter in this film as he has to use one hand to hold up the bullet-proof vest over his face most of the times (again, an extremely ugly style of action choreography), and Reeves CLEARLY did not act during the demanding action sequences (long-hair cascadeurs must make a lot of money out of this film replacing him) and was also CLEARLY not able to keep up during the action sequences that he showed his face (and thus could not rely on cascadeurs) to the point of making those sequences awkward and boring to look at. Such a disappointing film this one really is, I expected more, much more.
02. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022): 3.5/5
An extremely well-crafted film that actually reflects a lot of the older and more "traditional" films by James Cameron like "Terminator" or "Titanic" (the whole sinking-ship sequence in this film is just "Titanic in Pandora") and thus gives out a surprising sense of nostalgia, especially given the closeness of the story and motifs of this film to the very traditional epic "Dance with Wolves". Despite its rather conventional and "slim" story (I would rather not call this story "simplistic"), the film is still thoroughly entertaining thanks to a level of CGI so high NO contemporary sci-fi could even attempt to achieve (the CGI of the new "Black Panther" looks like a child play in comparison to this one), an amazing quality of cinematography - again, the top-notch underwater cinematography (James Cameron's passion since forever) in this film is simply incomparable to any other film in the market, very well choreographed action sequences, and satisfying character development for the leading cast (the supporting cast is rather underwhelmed, but given the extensive running time for action sequences, something else has to be sacrificed). Still, the film is a little bit too long for my taste (probably due to James Cameron's need to tell his stories and the world he has spent decades to imagine and create) and the "Avatar-form" of the cast, no matter how excellent the CGI is, still creates an emotional gap for the audience and thus somewhat distants these characters from the audience from the relatability point of view (something like "Why should we care for these strange "blue creatures", even though the story itself is VERY relatable). Still, this film totally deserves its box office of more than 2 billions USD - a much better sci-fi than what Marvel and DC could pump out these days.
03. The Flash (2023): 3/5
(Woo, three full months since my last review, it has probably never been this long that I have not watched a full film since forever). An okay superhero film with a very, very questionable second act (mostly due to the hideously bad performance by Ezra Miller as the "alternate" Flash) that is somewhat redeemed by the last act and the heartwarming presence of Michael Keaton, who is easily the best part of this film. I like the visual and action style of this film, which is way more unique and memorable than any Marvel film - especially the more recent ones, but the poorly-made CGI did take part of the fun and immersion away from the watching experience. The way the film handles the time travel paradox and the heavy subject of parental loss is also commendable but would have been much more effective with a better lead (Ezra Miller is not THAT bad, he simply is not capable of such a multi-dimensional (literally and figuratively) character like The Flash and his alternate in this film (probably very few, the kind of Leonardo DiCaprio or Christian Bale, can, maybe, but not Miller). It is also funny that EVEN in the alternate world, the Soviet/Russians (I am not sure Hollywood and Americans in general can distinguish between the two or try to do so) are STILL the bad guys - the propaganda game is still as strong as ever with Hollywood.
04. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023): 3.5/5
I really like the visual and concept art of this film, especially the biology-inspired tech and vehicles (the space ships in this film look particularly cool) and the various cyberpunk animals that remind me somewhat of "TMNT" in a post-apocalyptic setting. The storyline involving Rocket Racoon is also very emotional, impactful, and effective in making this film different from the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe rosters despite the eugenics theme has already been used for countless time before by previous films in this "Universe". There are numerous things that I do not like about this film, though, which made me rate this film lower than it would have been had those issues been fixed. Those include the half-an-hour-too-long running time of this film due to various "fillers" that contribute nothing to the story or character progress, the again-disappointing main villain who in parts is overpowered and other parts illogically under-powered, wayyy too many banters that are corny and wasteful of running time, extreme inconsistency in terms of character behaviors (for example, Drax is KNOWN for his daredevil nature and yet appears to be a coward for multiple occasions throughout this film), and boring action sequences (except for the "hallway" fight scene - that part is very cool). Not a perfect film in any sense, but at least a film that I enjoy (despite the obnoxious banters) - already a rare feat for a Marvel Cinematic Universe member.
05. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023): 4/5
Extremely titillating animated film with probably the most sophisticated visual that I have ever seen (Mamoru Hosoda's Summer Wars comes close, but to a lesser extent). The choreography of the key action sequences is also very, very impressive that can easily beat any live action film by Marvel or DC. Still, I did not enjoy this film as much as its prequel, probably due to its super fast pace that is breathtaking figuratively and literally as it made me tired after watching for awhile. Also, despite its sophisticated look, this film does not have the novelty of blending different styles of drawing and CGI like its prequel, thus it could not amaze the audience like me the way the first film did. Still, an excellent film and I do look forward to its sequel.
06. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023): 3/5
The film is a little bit gimmicky with a script significantly worse than the recent Mission: Impossible films including another disappointing set of villains (even Vanessa Kirby's character, who was so cool in the previous film, is portrayed in a way more comical and forgettable fashion). The action sequences are still good, especially the falling train sequence by the end that reminds me a lot of Uncharted II - what would have been had Sony entrusted Tom Cruise with the adaptation project of Uncharted.... Still, probably due to the undercook script, the action aspect of this film also appears to be disjointed, less impressive, and inconsistently choreographed. I still enjoy the film thoroughly, though, as it is always an honest attempt by Cruise et al. in entertaining people without trying to be pretentious or preachy - a commendable approach that Tom Cruise has followed in this later phase of his career.
07. A Haunting in Venice (2023): 2.5/5
A pretty subpar Agatha Christie adaptation in comparison to the previous two Hercule Poirot films directed by Branagh. Branagh himself is still quite good, but the uninspiring script and especially the wooden acting by the otherwise-competent cast really dampened the mood and the quality of this film. Tina Fey and Kelly Reilly, the latter of whom I have loved for more than two decades since her "L'Auberge Espagnole" day, are particularly bad in this film with amateurish performances that are clearly not up to their true standard. The most memorable thing about this film might be the lovely shots of Venice that Kenneth Branagh was able to manage, to the point of "de-populating" this crowded island-city from the top destination of global tourists down to a peaceful and somewhat desolated post-war Italian city and thus giving me a profound sense of nostalgia similar to the Merchant-Ivory films of the old days, especially when being coupled with the classic and angelic voice of Vera Lynn through her "When the Lights Go On Again".
08. The Killer (2023): 4/5
Is this the best Fincher's film? Probably not. But am I satisfied with this one? Totally. This film is just a pure Fincher flic through and through. From an absolutely stunning and terrifying soundtrack and sound design to the perfect attention to details that only Fincher can achieve, everything about this film helps Fincher's portray of a descent to ... normality of a seemingly superhuman contract killer, played perfectly by Michael Fassbender. Some might find this film devoid of emotions and thus too cool/cold for its own good, but I fully enjoyed this carefully-designed mood of this film, which is very much in line with Fincher's previous thrillers "Gone Girl" and "Mindhunter". I love, love the way Fincher "degraded" his protagonist throughout the film from a meticulous killer "leaving no trace" to an ordinary revengeful guy that leaves fingerprints and CCTV evidences everywhere on his way to the ultimate act of revenge. Of course, the plot and the dialogue of this film could not be compared to Fincher's absolute best - "Seven" in my opinion, but an entertaining one? You cannot find a better one.
09. Full River Red (2023): 3/5
Just like its outrageously mismatched soundtrack, this film feels great, and not-that-great at the same time. For example, I was very moved by the little humanist moments shared between Zhang Da and his brother-in-law Sun Jun or especially the tiny bits of romance between Zhang Da and Zither, but somehow those heartwarming/wrenching moments are just all over the place and just could not create a true emotional impact on the audience. The whodunit theme of this film was also masterfully done by Zhang Yimou (as he often does) but the overtly patriotic tone by the end really undermines such whodunit approach of this film. Still, I enjoy this historical piece thoroughly and can only hope that Zhang can spare some part of his busy schedule making contemporary "patriotic" films for these historical and wuxia projects that I enjoy much, much more.
10. Kingdom III: Flame of Destiny (2023): 4/5
ANOTHER amazing installation of this "Kingdom" series (I gave the previous two 4/5 as well). I cannot believe that the filmmakers were able to maintain the quality of this series, but they did it again, I am so happy! Of course this film possesses a big advantage having a superb original manga script to adapt, but the pacing, the acting, the production values, and the concept arts, all those excellent aspects of this film are totally due to the quality and dedication of the filmmakers and the cast, kudos to them. I cannot wait for the next installation of this series, especially the sure return of Masami Nagasawa's Yang Duan He, who in my opinion is still the coolest character in this series full of cool characters. Her necessary absence in this third film, although not affecting its quality, did make me miss her character and long for her return. Such an enjoyment this film really is.
11. Lesson in Murder (2022): 3/5
Pretty decent Japanese-style murder mystery/criminal mind film. The film itself is quite slow with a final "plot twist"/revelation relatively easy to predict but possesses a very immersive ambience thanks to the nice cinematography (the repeated superimposition of the main protagonist and antagonist during their meetings is interesting and implies a lot, but turns to a little bit jarring by the end due to the lack of variation of this superimposing frame), unique palette of colours that is often used in Japanese ... serious drama/family films à-la-Hirokazu Koreeda, and some surprise sequences of goriness. On the other end, except for the main antagonist/villain, the film has a less-than-optimal cast with unconvincing performance of the leads, thus unfortunately makes this film subpart to similar ones that are adapted from Keigo Higashino's novels and often have superior casts. Still, a very easy film to follow and a nice watch for any fan of the Japanese murder mystery genre (like me).
12. Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms (2023): 3/5
This film really has amazing CGI scenes that are totally comparable to Hollywood standard. However, like many recent Chinese films, CGI is definitely over-used here despite the fact that the film has little fighting sequences, and thus gives the audience a jarring vibe, especially in the second half. The script of the film is solid enough, as it was adapted from the freaking Fengshen Bang (which I love and is the only reason why I watched this film), with fleshed out characters and easy-to-follow lores and story settings. Aside from the exhilarating opening battle, though, the slow pacing of the film makes this script less effective since the filmmakers spent so much time in building their characters (who are all already very well-established characters in Chinese tradition and literature that probably any Chinese or ones with interest in Chinese culture like me already know to some level) instead of accelerating the films to the way more exciting battles and confrontations. The poor performance across the board did not help on this aspect either. This film just reminds me of Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower due to the similar approach of "style over substance" with a lot of exotic settings, golden costumes, and unique Chinese imperial dynamics between characters. But Creation of the Gods fell way behind in terms of acting (its young cast might look handsome and powerful, but their acting is anything but) and production design (which is very inconsistent - great at parts but terribly cheap at others) and therefore becomes much less memorable. At least this film sets a very solid background for the sequels, which would, and must, have many more exciting moments of battles and duels. As a side note, originally I had given this film a 2.5 stars, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it did indeed succeed in GIVING the audience a promising launching ground for its sequels, and the (supernatural) character designs are also very impressive disregarding the acting quality of their performers, so a 3 might be a more appropriate score. Nonetheless, I really look forward to the sequels, hopefully they will live up to my own expectation after watching this film.
13. A Man (2022): 4/5
Seemingly a heavy everyday drama at first, this film quickly turns into a strange mystery and yet again into an existential tale of those who try to find themselves while facing prejudices and tragedies in life, and yet again into a story of ironies and twists of fate. Such a strange combination and somehow the film still works thanks to an extremely impressive cast who all performed very well no matter how important their roles are in this film, and also due to the subdued, seemingly ordinary and even illogical at parts yet very effective approach to storytelling by the filmmakers. Thus this film reminds me of "Drive My Car", which coincidentally won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Film just the year before this film, and also succeeded in "de-dramatizing" very heavy dramas in a very relatable way to the audience. Of course, one might find this film's telling of major issues in modern Japanese society like prejudice (against children of parents with not-so-great past, or against Zainichi aka. Korean Japanese), unhappy families/parenthood/childhood, or loneliness and loss of oneself, especially in this era of smartphone and social network too "unrealistic" and "stage". But those issues are very true and have already been explored in other Japanese literary or cinematic works and thus this film appears to me to be totally convincing, especially with such excellent acting across the board - no wonder why this film basically swept all acting categories at the 46th Japan Academy Film Prize save for the Best Actress category since this film does not necessarily have one. Simple yet deeply effective and emotional films like this really is the bread and butter of Japanese cinema.
14. Laplace's Witch (2015): 2/5
A shockingly bad adaptation of a Keigo Higashino novel, and it was even more shocking to me when I realized that its director is no one else but the unique Takashi Miike. This film's script and implementation are just all over the place without a clear focus on either character development or "problem solving". Instead Miike spent too much time on nonsensical monologues of both protagonists and antagonists that contribute almost nothing to the story but only make it more incoherent and unimpressive, especially given the very consistent quality of Keigo Higashino's writing. At least the acting is quite good, especially by Suzu Hirose who played the titular Laplace's Witch, but the rest of the cast lack the necessary charisma to the point that I had hard time believe that Sho Sakurai (who played the actual main character of the film - Professor Aoe) is a member of the famed Arashi band.
15. Sleeping Forest (2014): 3.5/5
I did not realize that this film is just a television film instead of a full-scale cinema release. Therefore, even though I really hate its digitally-filmed appearance, I cannot deduce a point from my score for this film due to that television-quality look. As a television film, the acting quality in this film is not that great either, especially during the New York sequence when Hiroshi Abe's English is so poor that it becomes hilarious given a very specific dialogue before this sequence assuring that Detective Kaga, as "an elite", can speak English very well. Still, I like Abe since he simply is the perfect embodiment of Detective Kaga in terms of both appearance and manner, which are very important aspects to an avid fan of Detective Kaga like me (in my opinion Kaga is still the best character created by Keigo Higashino, smart, likeable, and very relatable to the audience). The female cast is also very decent, and above all the story and twist-and-turns are really good, realistic, emotional/sentimental (a typical trait and strong aspect in Higashino's writing), and satisfying. Might not be among the best Keigo Higashino adaptations, but an enjoyable one this one still is.
16. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994): 4.5/5
I do not know why I could not find my review of this film, despite really did see it long time ago, probably almost two decades I think. Still, a second watch with the eyes of a married man with two children is still as fresh as ever, especially with such a refreshing film like this one. Thanks to my wife, who have been craving for "culinary films" after watching "Boudin" that I recommended this film for her and consequently watched it (again) with her. I vaguely remembered that the first time I watched this amazing piece by Ang Lee, it was a delightful experience full of laughs and optimism. This time I still have a lot of fun watching the mouth-watering food being made and the "messy" relationships of the film's characters. But beyond that, I realize much more about the intricate development of those characters, from trying to "fit it" to the "acceptable" recipe of a "normal" life to living at their fullest, cooking the food they want to make, the way they want to eat. Now, being older and with actual experience of forming and building a family of my own, I appreciate even more Ang Lee's masterful stroke in making his characters as normal, as approachable as possible. I can easily find a piece of myself in one character, another piece in others, and still at the same time be able to enjoy the film as it is - a cinematic experience full of "catchy" foods, lovingly characters (I admired Wu Chien-lien for her Anita Mui-like beauty the first time I watched this film, but this time, I adored her even more for her tasteful "office wears", too bad her career was not as long as I expected after such a rapid rise with this film and of course "A Moment of Romance").
17. Tampopo (1985): 2.5/5
This film is way worse than I expected, especially given its high rating and praises from even top critics like Roger Ebert. The foods in this film (the first reason why I watched it with my wife, who had asked me for more "food films" after watching "Eat Drink Man Woman") is good, but other aspects are really not of my liking, from the typical (and terrible) Japanese style of overacting, to the confusing editing that makes this film more like a mosaic of lives and loves for good food instead of a food film with a coherent and focused plot.
18. A Guilty Conscience (2023): 2.5/5
This film won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Film WITHOUT a single win in any other category, I should have taken that fact as a warning sign about this film. This film really is a big letdown to me as it not only does not live up to its "HKFA winner" hype and to its very interesting pretext (a legal fight between a destitute lawyer and some "old money" evils, and a mystery of whodunit surrounded by layered tragedies involving children, disability, unfaithfulness, and the eternal social class division), but also has very poor acting, writing, and cinematography qualities. Of course it is still watchable, and pretty entertaining at that - especially with the "drinking water while bleeding" twist at the end, but nonetheless feels very, very emotionally manipulative from the beginning (when the said destitute lawyer was a utterly despicable legal guy with nothing but money in his eyes) through the transition (when he suddenly turned righteous overnight - literally and figuratively) and until the end (when he finally and predictably transformed into a hero of the poor and a sly and respectful figure in court) without any smooth and convincing character development, whereas the rest of the cast - his supporting cast remained exactly the same as they were from throughout the two-hour film. Talking about the cast, my heart broke a little bit watching the poor performance of the entire cast, from the lead actor to every single supporting ones - the kind of performance that is very suitable for the traditional Hong Kong legal series that I once loved very much, but not subtle enough for a competent cinema release, especially given the long pedigree of superior performers in Hong Kong like Tony Leung Chiu-wai, the "Four Heavenly Kings", or the many leading ladies that Hong Kong cinema once had. Nothing represents this lack of acting quality in this film better than the annoying appearance of Michael Wong with his annoying "style" of switching back and forth between Cantonese and English for obviously no reason - I hated it then and I hate it even more now. My heart broke since I felt again, why watching this film, that maybe Hong Kong cinema will never be able to recover, to return to its height when even this poorly-made film could win an award that was once only reserved to the very best like "Chungking Express" or "Comrades: Almost a Love Story". Such a letdown, such a letdown.
