Phần 2
Phần 3
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Phần 3
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01. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
(2012): 3.5/5
The film still manages to capture the epic
ambiance of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy (the New Zealand scenery setting is
just speechlessly magnificent) but one cannot rise any deep feeling from such
background without a solid plot and compelling story, which The Hobbit
definitely does not possess. The shallow composition of "the Team"
(90% dwarves) does not help either, the characters are all the same and lack
the depth (and backing history) to be believable in the eyes of the audience.
Even the main characters are thinly built due to the fragmented and incoherent
story/journey, a fact that makes the film even less attractive. The three parts
should have been compressed into two, even one, the greed (of both money and
creativity) really kills this first entry of the trilogy. One more thing, the
action sequence with the Goblins is actually quite similar to the action
sequence in King Kong, one more minus point.
02. Les Misérables (2012): 5/5
The film has its own share of weak points -
next-to-none transition, very poor long shots - especially the barricade
sequence, interrupted and slow opening. But the rest is just emotionally
amazing - the cast is pitch perfect (although Russell Crowe seems to be not
really at ease with his role), the close-up shots are heart-breaking, the music
is superb. Mr. Tom Hooper really mastered this musical by excluding any
unnecessary "dancing" (appears far too much in Hollywood musical) and
focusing on the build-up of emotions and feelings. The musical itself is
already lack of deep emotion (due to the frequent interruption of singing and
dancing), a musical adapted from a huge popular novel and theatrical work is
even less able to get the emotion from spectators (how can they when the ending
is already well-known?). But “Les Misérables” just wonderfully takes their
heart away by stunning performance of ALL the cast (especially Anne Hathaway
and Samantha Barks) and the wonderful, wonderful music. 5 stars for a flawed
film, yes, that the way cinema is, it is all about emotion and feeling.
03. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2012): 4/5
The portray of Jiro sensei and his
(actually, his group)'s superb art of sushi making is sincere, calm (in
comparing with the determination of such "shokunin" like Jiro sensei)
but no less intriguing (especially on the quest for creating good sushi).
However the underlined message is somehow confusing and the focus is not as
clear as the title. Still, the documentary is really interesting to watch and
deserves compliment for being able to translate the uttermost calmness of
sushi, and Japanese people, to the world through the simple but beautiful
cinematic language.
04. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012): 4/5
Amazingly good for a coming-of-age film.
Despite the not-so-impressive final showdown and the conventional plot (can't
help, since the film has to stay put with the half-century-old concept of
Spider-Man), the film is still worth watching for its compelling acting
(Garfield & Stone are pitch-perfect for their roles), eye-catching 3D
effect and the enjoyable non-twist-and-turn story. The surprisingly bright
ending is also a plus (a “500 Day of Summer”-type of ending), and the
"uprising scene" of the ordinary New York crane workers is truly
emotional and surprising for such a superhero film.
05. The Guard (2011): 4/5
Un héro très discret - A very quiet hero,
that's how you can find calmness among arms and blood.
06. Colombiana (2011): 3/5
For guilty pleasure, this film has done its
work: Simple plot, checked; hot chics, checked; cool hero, checked; “revenge is
a dish best served cold”, checked; evil villain, checked - what could you
expect more?
07. Life of Pi (2012): 4.5/5
Visually heart-breaking! The photography of
the film is so good that it dwarfs Hollywood "epic" films of these
days by a whole kilometre. The storytelling is quite simple, yet contains full
of surprises that re-enforce the storyline and keep audience in their sit for
the whole 2 hours. The only minus point of this film might be the immensely
strong vision can easily be cut off without the 3D and wide-screen effects.
08. War Horse (2011): 3.5/5
Long and somehow tiring film. The
cinematography is illustrious, the reuniting scene is absolutely
heart-breaking, but the slow tempo (for a war film) and the just-above-average
story and acting did damage the wholesomeness of the film.
09. Lincoln (2012): 3.5/5
Daniel Day-Lewis is just mesmerizing as
Lincoln (he should really campaign for a political position!), a fact which is
quite understandable since the subtleness, intelligence, wisdom and underlying
energy of The Greatest US President indeed suit the charisma of Daniel
Day-Lewis very well. It will be very unsurprising if Daniel becomes the first
actor with 3 Oscars for leading role with this remarkable achievement. The film
in a whole, though, is slow, quite unattractive and even lack the usual
awesomeness of Spielberg. Several scenes are moving enough to catch the emotion
of spectators, but the overuse of rhetoric language (which is really, really
difficult to understand, let alone FEEL), the seemingly wise but finally
ill-advised intention (of Spielberg or his writer?) to (almost) totally avoid
the tragic on-going war except for its shadowing consequences to the debate at
Capitol Hill, and the tiring story-telling (similar to War Horse) keep Lincoln
as just a political biography and a little bit lower than a real biopic/epic
film, which Steven Spielberg really aimed to, I suppose. It will be a
disappointment if this film can win Oscar for best picture over Life of Pi.
10. Django Unchained (2012): 4/5
Technically flawless (in a Quentin
Tarantino's point of view), super fascinating to watch, especially when
considering the most conventional plot that Quentin's ever used, and of course
(still) full of bloody surprises that no one can envision. Yet, the film
somehow lacks the necessary passion to become a Quentin's opus - the cast is
far less impressive in comparison with “Inglourious Basterds” (poor Leonardo,
still not able to find the role of his career) except for the always
exceptional Christopher Waltz, even the characters are less colourful than “normal”
(aka. super interesting) Quentin's characters, the conventional plot with quite
loose and slow opening could not help either. Also, the film is specifically
Spaghetti-Western homage, so spectators without such kind of background will
find the ultra-violent and bloody nature of this film quite irrelevant, even
ridiculous. Still, maybe all these criticisms exist only because the
expectation and the “normal” quality of Quentin's work are too high, this film
is still amazingly entertaining. One more thing, this is the first time
Quentin, the king of close-up and medium shot, deals with such many long shots
with the enormous American nature as background, and he did them very well, the
exhilarating feeling watching those scenes are on the same level as with Coen Brothers'
“True Grit”. Funnily enough, this Western cowboy film, in many scenes, seems to
be more a Coen Brothers' than a Tarantino's :)).
11. Silver Linings Playbook (2012): 4/5
A film utterly delightful to watch, which,
strangely enough, reminds me of “When Harry Met Sally”. THIS is the film to
bright up your mood after a bad day, but THIS is not the film deserving THAT
many Oscar nominations (hat off to Harvey Weinstein, who one more time proves
to the world that his genius lobbying can do anything with the nomination
process). Why? Simply because the "crazy" pretext and the madness
background of the film were not fully utilized, thus the connection between the
hilarious opening and the heart-warming ending is just next to none. However,
Jennifer Lawrence is really superb with the acting and her attractive sensual
appearance is indeed a germ for Hollywood nowadays. Jennifer, welcome to the
world of "movie star"!
12. The Grandmaster (Nhất đại tông sư, 2013):
4.5/5
The most understandable Wong Kar-wai so
far, yet, all the melancholic ingredients à-la-Wong Kar-wai are still there,
which make watching the film a real pleasure for his fans (like me) who have
been waiting for almost 10 years for the authentic Wong Kar-wai be back.
13. Journey To The West (Tây Du: Hàng ma
thiên, 2014): 4/5
The opening sequence was so strong and
sudden that the rest was dwarfed for good.... The gory ambience and dirty
setting remind me so much of Chow's “The Mad Monk”, which has a surprisingly
similar plot and underlined philosophy, but the lack of Chow himself really
leaves a big hole on the film. Chow, we miss you, the real you...
14. The Truman Show (1998): 5/5
My official in-flight film - watched this
at least 3 times when I was "up in the air", and will still watch if
it is shown. Nothing can soothe your confined situation, physically and
mentally, better than this wonderful mixture of deeply original concept,
down-to-earth yet charming characters, and many surprises throughout the film,
sometime heart-warming, other time heart-breaking. The ending seems to be lousy
but it only heightens the film's message to us about our boring, uninteresting
lives, which are no better than the caged life of Mr. Truman, the only True Man
among us.
15. Kon Tiki (2013): 3/5
The film falls far below my expectation,
which consists of many years imagining about every single page of the book
(written by Thor Heyerdahl himself) that I have read for many times since
childhood. Despite a strong beginning, the film is really mute and lack of any
excitement due to a disoriented storyline - what is the real driving force of
the plot? The desire to prove himself, to surpass all difficulties of Thor? The
complex interaction and inner struggle of the Kon-Tiki team in such
claustrophobic and dead-or-alive condition of the raft? The joy of discovering
the immerse beauty of nature, of ocean? How can the spectators realize and feel
such plot when even the director and the writer themselves apparently could not
make it clear? Quite a disappointment for an Oscar-nominated film, especially
when I have been waiting so long for the day when my favourite book of
childhood is brought to the big screen.
16. Almost Famous (2000): 5/5
One of my all-time favs, and one of the
most upbeat and hear-warming films I've seen. The moment when Penny, sweeping
away her tears, heart-brokenly smiled and walked away from the bitter truth
(that Willam flapped to her face) will always be "a moment to
remember" of the 2000s cinema.
17. Oblivion (2013): 4/5
Considering the thin and dangerous
post-apocalyptic pretext (which makes any sci-fi film trapped among cliché
and/or cheesy minor details), “Oblivion” is really well-executed thanks to a
pragmatic director, who is wise enough to avoid the cheesy traps like
"romantic affairs between the last standings" or "existentialism
reflecting through the forgetfulness, blah blah blah" and to focus instead
on making the film "make sense" (logic) and "raise emotion"
(affection). The first act (or leading/intro part) seems to be long and a
little bit boring, but it should be so that the weak background of
"apocalyptic thing" can be reasonably developed, the emotions (of
characters, and of spectators) can be built up for the climax, and the visual
stunning aspect of the film can be shown off to sci-fi lovers (the apocalyptic
environment "à-la-Planet of the Apes" is really convincing). The
second and the third acts could not really achieve the necessary climax (given
the context of the film, this is almost impossible), but the likeable-yet-charismatic
Tom Cruise, alongside with his two impressive "concubines" (Kurylenko
is only above average, but Riseborough did an amazing job) did deliver the film
to the very end, and did it really well. And even if they could not, “Oblivion”
would not be considered "oblivious" due to the superb visual and
score. The major deficiency of this film might be its lack-of-climax plot,
especially the deaths, which would have been executed much better given the
tiny number of characters and the excellent contexts that led to their deaths.
This film makes me remember of “Thor”, which is also a film with minimal and
lousy story yet well executed thanks to the director and the cast. The only
difference between these two is that “Oblivion” is much better - a truly
dedicated film for the sci-fi genre (curiously enough, “Thor” has much higher
score here in Rotten Tomatoes :)) ).
18. Wreck-it Ralph (2012): 3.5/5
A neatly-made animation with entertaining
plot, "à-la-Disney" cute main characters (the supporting ones and the
villain are just, as a typical Hollywood animation, thinly made), interesting
concept (the sequels are surely to come in the following years). But,
originality is no where to find, in term of both character development and
visualization, the lack of the more-famous arcades/NES/Atari video-game
characters like Mario is also disturbing (Disney is unable to secure the right
to use them? or they just don't want to use? - since Hollywood always, from one
film to another, tries to downgrade the significance and superiority of those
Japanese "anime" characters - Astroboy, Goku,... to cite a few). The
film would have been much more original, and paid a good homage to the
long-gone era of arcades, if only the director/writer could use a less cheerful
but more nostalgic story to back the development of characters, but this is a
Disney film (!), so such expectation is just unrealistic. (Note: Is this a
hidden message from Disney in this film supporting the current
"invasion-for-democracy" policy of the "bad guy at outside but
good guy at heart" US?)
19. The Master (2012): 4.5/5
Why my beloved PTA becomes more and more
brutal? After “There Will Be Blood”, another epic oeuvre of PTA about an iconic
era that helped shaping the modern American society - with the characters so
raw they can suck all happiness out of the audience. Alcoholism, delusion,
fanatic religions, rotting social relations (kinship/friendship/love), the ugly
aspects of American society (and any modern society), which normally hide deep
under the fancy surface of prosperity, or religious dedication, are dug out and
depicted through utterly brutal and complex characters. In fact, PTA's
characters in this film are so complex that they actually show nothing about
their really "character" to spectators, and leave them, after the
screen already turns off, in a state of opaqueness, wondering about who they
(the characters) really are, what they really think, and why PTA wants to
create such characters. In a way, this issue makes this film less enjoyable
than the dark, yet somehow twinkling, “Magnolia” (which so far is my PTA's
fav), but such rawness makes the film deserved to be watched and re-watched to
have a deeper insight on what are the things that built up the American modern
identity, just like “There Will Be Blood”. Besides, the
cast/cinematographer/score composer of this film can also be considered Master,
which is rare in these fast-food days of Hollywood. Joanquin Phoenix - welcome
back to your real domain, please continue to shine as an actor rather than to
hide as a rapper. And those who watched the film already will surely keep in
mind for a long time the genius PTA's scene when the famous photo "They
Are Coming" (or the "model with/without clothes" photo) of
Helmut Newton is recreated into big screen in a most original way to imply the
idea of the film on peeling off the superficial skin of the American society.
20. The Wolf Children (Okami kodomo no ame
to yuki, 2012): 4/5
Never before the werewolf subject is approached
with such ease that can only come from a brilliant director like Mamoru Hosoda
who has dealt with many fictional subjects (time travel? artificial society?)
and yet presented them in a very down-to-earth way that is both simple to
digest and delightful to enjoy. The story of Ame and Yuki is far less complex
than his previous “The Girl Who Leapt through Time” and “Summer War”, but the
light-hearted story-telling, friendly characters and breath-taking visual
(especially the natural sequences) did great job to compensate the conventional,
non-twist-and-turn plot. This is not a film about struggle, about the hardness
of life, it is all about love, compassion, and understanding, just like the
ever-shining smile on the face of Hana, one of the best character Hosoda has
ever created.
21. The Descendants (2011): 5/5
If “Sideways” is all about finding your own
family, then “The Descendants” can be called “Sideways Part II: Finding Back
Your Family”. A “standardized” Hollywood family drama at its very best: witty script
(with a lot of somewhat cliché quotes, though), charming characters (especially
the naughty kids), complicated situation and satisfying ending - but still
possesses the essence of Alexander Payne: a lousy appearance and manner are
utilized to cover an endearing and deeply human heart and soul, which are
constantly searching for the very meaning of one's life: family.
22. Iron Man 3 (2013): 3.5/5
Should have been 4 stars if it were an
authentic 3D film (I watched this in IMAX3D), the post-production-converted 3D
of this film is really unconvincing, just like any other 3D-converted film.
Similar to “The Avengers”, “Iron Man 3” is really interesting, clear-cut with
minimal plot (minimal, not minimalist!), simple story (to focus the audiences'
attention on the technology and visual effect show-off - which was already
proven as a good choice by “Avatar” and “The Avengers”), and a lot of Robert
Downey Jr.'s slick fun. Yet, if “The Avengers” is a super-heroic superhero film,
“Iron Man 3” is more like a rom-com superhero film, with quite high dose of
Stark-Potts relationship (which is not bad, but not interesting either), very
diminished "evil plan" (which does has bright twist-and-turn but is
lack of any depth or conclusive ending - which makes it even more disappointing
- similar to “The Avengers”), weak supporting characters (the little boy is fun
to watch, but is not convincing at all), and above all an apparent
superficiality that really damages the quality of story-telling - the new trend
of superhero films is always somehow related to the internal struggle of the
superhero (the kind of "to be or not to be") - but this film did not
even care about that popular (and agreeable) trend, it was all about having fun
and entertainment - just like a Hollywood McDonald! This is really
disappointing because the twist-and-turn regarding The Mandarin is really
surprising, political correct and involving, which could be easily developed
into something substantial with another more-serious film makers.
23. Jack Reacher (2012): 3/5
The opening is very promising for a
detective film with enough dose of thrill, devilish antagonist, and of course a
mysterious detective (Tom Cruise is as dependable as ever). However, the rest
is disappointing due to the shallow story (the brilliant "evil plot"
at the beginning was recklessly developed into a ridiculous easy revelation at
the end), the weak supporting characters, and the definite lack of
"ambiance" (the "mysterious" detective and his arch-enemy
turned out to be not really mysterious at all!). The most disastrous decision
of the director/writer might be the revelation of à-la-“ABC Murder” plot from
the very beginning, which made the film much less interesting to guess (and to
watch). Rosamund Pike might have one of the most beautiful and cinematic faces
I have ever seen, what a pity that she only possesses a mediocre level of
facial acting skill, which will never be able to elevate her to the rank of
A-level stars. Coincidentally enough, she already played another
beautiful-but-forgettable legal employee in “Fracture”, which also had a
promising opening but finally ended up at nowhere. Tom Cruise, you deserve a
better director and better script than this.
24. Raging Bull (1980): 5/5
Once watch “Raging Bull”, you will forever
remember “Raging Bull”. Only a glimpse of Robert De Niro talking to the mirror
"I could have been a contender", only some notes from the tragically
beautifully composition by Mascagni, those are more than enough to bring tears
to anyone that once loved, and still loves the tragic fall of the ever proud
and arrogant Jake La Motta.
25. Lost in Time (Vong bất liễu, 2003):
3.5/5
Accidentally switched the audio stream to
Mandarin dub, and realized that the lousy Mainland dubber already killed half
of the film's emotion by her lack of husky voice - or the distinctive
"Cecilia's voice". Despite all the crazy scandals, or her
up-and-downs in the career, Cecilia really possesses an incomparable charm
among her generation (of Hong Kong actresses), which can be proved by this
film. From the very first film (“King of Comedy”), Cecilia already showed that
she could be at her best with characters that try to cover their fragility and
loneliness by strong-will and reckless behaviour. And maybe she needs that kind
of role again (and such good director like Derek Yee) to revive her career, a
chance that she deserves because that is also a chance for the Hong Kong cinema
to get back its treasure - one of the most original actresses in recent years.
26. Fast and Furious 6 (2013): 4/5
The acting is lame, especially Michelle
Rodriguez who really makes audience confused about what she feel and think
throughout the film (and Mr Dwayne Johnson, true to his nickname "The
Rock", is really "stone" through and through). The
"melo" sequences are cheesy, the middle part of the film is a little
bit low-key (in comparison with the rest), and the choreography (or editing?)
of some action sequences is either interruptive or too fast to follow. BUT, the
film in a whole is beautifully made, grandiose, and beyond expectation (given
the already excellent "they've got a tank" trailer). The
racing/action sequences are entertaining, involving and, incredibly enough,
believable despite the fact that the director will surely get an F in physics
for defying gravity and all natural laws. The editing is quick, strong, and
very effective in keeping the fast tempo of the film (Mr Bay should learn from
this film for his next “Transformer”), although the effect could have been even
more effective with a better soundtrack (the film's background music is not as
epic as the film itself). Regarding the cast, Vin Diesel is as awesome as ever,
the female cast is deeply strong and convincing (except Rodriguez, who is given
a somewhat awkward role), the male cast is funny and complementary (to their
female partners), and the villains are well-made (although their
"ending" is a little bit messy and lousily developed). Besides, the
film paid a nice homage to the series with an outstanding opening credit and
warm ending, as well as opened a bright future for the series with a little
surprise at the ending credit. It is really hard to keep the identity of such
pure action series, but “Fast 6” did it wisely and entertainingly. I generally
enjoy (good) action films, but this time I not only enjoy but also respect the
film, because it deserves that. Oh, and IMAX, I love you for enhancing the
visual and sound effects to their best!
27. Le Dernier Métro (1980): 4/5
Listening to the dreamy melody of "Mon
amant de Saint-Jean" and watching the supremely elegant face of Catherine
Deneuve are more than enough to bring back Paris to anyone who loves this
bizarre, heart-broken, yet enormously charming city.
28. The Professor and His Beloved Equation
(Hakase no aishita sûshiki, 2006): 4/5
The beauty of this film lies on the
faithful adaptation by the director (and the writer) of the wonderful book by
Yoko Ogawa. The simple and charming storytelling of the book was entirely
transferred into the film, so were the affecting relationship between the characters,
and the love between them and mathematics. Mathematics is often regarded as an
emotionless and alienated subject, yet, this film proves that mathematics can
be loved, and should be loved, since it is the gift from the nature for the
sake of our enlightenment.
29. Armageddon (1998): 2/5
Known "I Don't Want to Miss a
Thing" for a very long time, but this is the first time I watched the
film. The first one-third of the film (the introduction/recruitment à-la-“Seven
Samurai”) is actually engaging enough with an adequate amount of fun, quick
editing, and interesting premises for character development. However the latter
two-third, especially when the characters are "un in the space", is
simply a total disaster, through and through. As bad as a Michael Bay's film
can go, the film is full of cheesy dialogue, cheesy images, cheesy characters,
and of course cheesy (and bored-to-death) plot. I tended to write more
criticism about the film, but given the utterly bad quality of this film, it
will be only a waste of my time. Simply put, even on the Armageddon day and
having no other film to watch, I will not watch this horrible “Armageddon”
again.
30. Lan Kwai Fong 2 (Lan Quế Phường 2,
2012): 1.5/5
One and a half stars for the amount of
"exposure" (including the "surprise" appearance of Sola
Aoi), zero star for everything else.
31. Now You See Me (2013): 3.5/5
Not as bad as I imagined (and as the
ridiculously low score on Rotten Tomatoes), and not as, predictably, good as
the trailer either. Due to the not-so-good reputation of Louis Leterrier, I did
absolutely not expect a film that could maximize the wonderful premise of the
trailer, but it turned out that Leterrier did handle the material quite well
with up tempo, quick editing, excellent cinematography, and solid cast. The
first quarter (including the introduction of characters and the "first
act") is really entertaining and tightly plotted, but the remaining is a
little bit tiring (it would be very hard to find a screenplay that can balance
such extraordinary premise and the "revelation") and full of
plot-holes, while the lame ending nearly ridicules the film in a whole (the
fake emotional tension and, later, affection, between the two detectives is
simply an ill-advised plot detail - they should have been treated in the way
the two main magicians are treated). However, such films that try to mix the
magic tricks and reality into one believable plot often fail to deliver a
satisfactory ending (even the great “The Prestige” and “The Illusionist” have
quite disappointing ending), therefore “Now You See Me” should be viewed in a
whole - which is an interesting, involving, and solid film of the action genre,
at least it is much more successful than the terrible “Law Abiding Citizen”
(which also had a very promising trailer). Small lesson learned: If Morgan
Freeman does not play a God-like or father-like character, the film will not
really bad, but not so good either (see “Wanted”).
32. Pee Mak Phrakanong (2013): 3.5/5
The shallow script is somehow compensated
by the fine mixture of horror, romance, and (dirty) comedy. Still, the quite
innovative idea of the film should have been developed into more details
instead of abruptly finishing with such Korean-ish ending.
33. Kung Fu Hustle (Tuyệt đỉnh công phu, 2005): 5/5
Some said this film is somehow weaker than “Shaolin
Soccer” in term of originality. I agree. But every single time watching this
film, even only a portion of it, still brings me joy, pleasure, and emotions.
That is how “Kung Fu Hustle” works, on three layers to be exact. The first
layer of joy is for the ordinary viewer who has no idea about what is a Stephen
Chow's film or what it is all about the Hong Kong cinema, since the film itself
is a magnificent piece of over-the-top CGI that could jolt anyone, even my
father who did not know this is a Chinese or HK film. Thanks to this layer
(which the previous films of Chow often ignored) that “Kung Fu Hustle” was a
huge success to the general audience, even the Americans who would be
absolutely unable to understand the essence of the Chow's style of storytelling.
The second layer of pleasure is dedicated to the avid fans of Hong Kong cinema
and Chinese wuxia genre (literature and cinema in a whole) who will hundred
percent go crazy about the tons of homage to the wuxia world, from the
idiosyncratic characters of Jin Yong, to the crazy martial styles in the old
Shaw Brothers films or the outdated TVB wuxia series, and of course the
appearance of the kung fu legends of Hong Kong cinema who reinvented their
roles in the most hilarious yet fully righteous way. The final layer, the
emotional one, is reserved for the lifetime crazy fans of Stephen Chow,
including myself, who can simply recall the Chow's identity from every single
details of the film, who would cry their eyes out thinking about why Chow does
not want to bring us HIS films any more, who still find joy in the new “Journey
to the West” but somehow feel a deepen hole in their love to cinema thinking
back about how excellent Chow was in the 1995 version. Suddenly I think about
how similar Chow and Quentin Tarantino are, in term of originality, in term of
their love to cinema, and in the amount of joy that they have brought to
cinephiles around the world. Too bad that Quentin still makes films, good films
that is, while Chow is simply nowhere to find...
34. Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (1988): 5/5
“Cinema Paradiso” is one of those rare
films that once you watch, you will never ever forget. You will never forget
the tender melody echoing from the utterly beautiful soul of Ennio Morricone,
you will never forget the gentle touches by Giuseppe Tornatore on the stories
of the broken hearts, on the childhood dreams that never come true, on the
sincere love to cinema, on a tiny little Italian town with a tiny cinema house,
on the clumsy yet utterly beautiful Italian character, and of course you will
never forget the shiny smiles of the little Salvatore and the broken-hearted
and nostalgic tears of the same Salvatore, but in an adult form. Watching, no,
tasting Cinema Paradiso is like you taste something strangely sweet that makes
you remember the candies of your forgotten childhood, that makes you remember
how dreamy you once were, that makes you regret the dreams so beautiful that
you never dared to realize. Yes, Cinema Paradiso is a paradise, a lost paradise
of the past.
35. Drug War (Độc chiến, 2013): 4/5
A proof for the fine film making of Master
To, who can cover up the not-so-subtle characters and background stories by
fast-pace plot, terrific setting (the "coincident car crash" at the
end seems incongruous but that is the "To-ish" style), trademark gunplay
of Master To, and of course fine acting from the two leading actors. In waiting
for the next master work of Master To, “Drug War” is more than enough to
satisfy the thirst of To's avid fans, like me.
36. Redemption (2013): 2/5
One word: Lame. The film had a lot of
(pretentious) storylines but nothing was dug deep enough, only some melancholic
but cheesy details floating around with full of clichés tried to explain the
weird behaviours and psychology of the characters, in vain. The inability of
Jason "Stath" to act emotionally could not help either, especially
when the writer and director themselves could not decide which is the main plot
of the film instead of confusing (themselves and their audience) the whole time
with useless background stories. The melancholy and loneliness of the film's
characters recalled a very good recent film - “Drive”, which was, alas, much
more successful by focusing on DESCRIBING the identity of its characters through
a single consistent plot rather than trying to EXPLAIN such identity through
chaotic storylines. And that makes a whole difference between them two.
37. Cold War (Hàn chiến, 2012): 3.5/5
The production value of this film was
top-notch and at a Hollywood-level with an always-shining, neat, clean, and
minimalist setting (which, ironically enough, distances the film from the real
life of the crowded and humanly chaotic Hong Kong). The opening sequence was
also strong, fast-paced, effective and gave out a lot of good pretext for a
good, if not excellent, Hong Kong "cop-movie" "à-la-Infernal
Affairs" with full of internal conflicts (between greed and righteousness,
between professionalism and paternal love, and of course between the police in
the light and the "evil force" in the dark). However, the middle part
of the film missed the tight control of the opening while the ending was
confusing and pretentious. It seems that the directors were so self-confident
that they forgot to develop the excellent pretexts from the beginning and only
focused on keeping the "clean" setting of the film intact by
procedural plot-twists, which was not really efficient due to the lack of
connection between the (quite inhuman) characters with the audience.
38. Skyfall (2012): 3/5
Suspicion confirmed: I could not, and will
not enjoy Mr. Bond's stories, even this "most successful" one. Except
for some fun homages about the old Bond films and the excellent production
value, “Skyfall” fell behind with weak villain, shallow storylines, and failed
attempts to make 007 more "human" with melancholic background stories.
In my opinion, 007 concept has been already too dated to revived, renewed,
reboot, or whatever the "re-" is.
39. A Good Day to Die Hard (2013): 0.5/5
Depicting Russia like a salvage hole full
of wild and stupid pigs? - NOT in my watchlist then. It's funny how Rotten
Tomatoes does not accept zero-star rating.
40. Pacific Rim (2013): 3.5/5
The "mecha"s are simply awesome,
full of steampunk details "à-la-del Toro", but the lame story almost
and the sub-par cast almost bring the film down to the B category. It seems
that a fine mixture between sophisticated tech. and simple yet concrete
storyline like Avatar is still a challenge to Hollywood. Still, the
well-meaning robots have made Pacific Rim at least ten time better than the
nonsensical Transformers.
