RNJ97 Reviews

Hand Rolled Cigarette (2020)

It's Very Good

[7/10 · 3 February 2022]

I personally enjoy this movie. The sound, cinematography, wardrobe, location are all top notched. The acting is on point, there is no over the top acting or cringe inducing funny moments that plagued so many hong kong movies. The director Chan is surprisingly young and yet I can see he's a very steady hand and a crew that works well together for him. There is still hope for hk cinema.

Beast Stalker (2008)

Finally A Good Thriller

[8/10 · 22 September 2020]

Many Hong Kong thrillers suffer from over styled over produced (by Hong Kong standard) and over acting. I feel like this one has none of those and it has a good story and direction to back everything up. Nick Tse is a pretty boy but this flick he plays a man all right. The film was released in 2008 and I just caught it in 2020. I have no expectation after seeing too many thoughtless glossy productions, but this one is an exception and a pleasant surprise.

Insidious (I) (2010)

it's ok if you haven't seen Poltergeist(1982)

[2/10 · 24 August 2020]

I feel like this is a remake or a tribute to the 1982 Poltergeist. I didn't read any back story of this movie to find out if the director or writer has ever acknowledged that or it is just me seeing too many similarities between the two. See Poltergeist if you like Insidious, it's a much better movie.

American Assassin (2017)

Disappointing

[3/10 · 1 February 2018]

The guy who cut the trailer deserves some recognition. I thought it could be off the chart cool. Alas, it isn't even anywhere near the chart. The movie is just tedious.

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Walk slower walk slower until they fall asleep

[3/10 · 11 October 2017]

In the New York Times' anatomy of a scene, director Denis Villeneuve painstakingly narrates the scene where Ryan Gosling's K or Joe is about to find and meet his screen forbear, the original Blade Runner Dekard, played by Harrison Ford. Villeneuve informs us that he reminds Gosling to walk slower, how the garden of giant naked statures of boobs or whatever is designed by some guy, and the sound effect of the buzzing bees and how very careful he selects the music and hence the significance of it for that scene so on and so forth. Without his explanations, me philistine wouldn't be able to enjoy his movie.

None of this really matters to me except Gosling sure keeps walking slower and slower the entire movie, which is quite an effective way of putting me to sleep. Thanks to caffeine and the upright cheap seat, I was able to stay half awake through out this 3-hour long snooze fest disaster that is called Blade Runner 2049.

In general I am OK or even like Gosling's phlegmatic puppy faced performance. I imagine it is even apt for his character, a meek replicant, android, a non human who can't say no to orders. Ford plays a caricature of his own character whom he played some thirty five years ago. Ford nowadays just plays any characters he used to play with some mirthless smirks and call it a performance or a day. I can't wait to see him play Han Solo in the never ending upcoming Star War Episode XXX.

Blade Runner 2049 is pretty much over when it kills off its most potentially interesting character Sapper played by Dave Baustista in the first fifteen minutes of the film. Me waited thirty five years for this. Thanks to Denis Villeneuve, the same director who brought us Arrival (2016)-duh!

Ghost in the Shell (2017)

it's okay but nothing too exciting

[5/10 · 19 April 2017]

Ghost in the Shell asks the perennial question every human being asks and yet unable to answer-- Who am I? Those who think they have the answer are usually mistaken. Major who is given a body, not just any body but a Scarlett Johansson body, finds her law enforcement gig less fulfilling without a memory of her past even when reassured by her creator, Dr. Phil, played by the lovely Juliette Binoche, that life is defined by what one does rather than one's memories or past. And of course, everybody and his dog know Dr. Phil is full of it. Like Major, nobody is free from his past and everybody is burdened by history. The movie doesn't come with any surprise everything happens just as expected or even like a déjà vu. Every futuristic cityscape scene is derivative of Blade Runner except it is a knockoff and ten times cheesier. The Hong Kong streetscape can be interesting only if the post production doesn't feel obliged to add more and more and yet more video gimmickries to the mix. The few architectural shots are almost facsimile copies of Peter Stewart's pictures of the same. The 1.85:1 aspect ratio is supposed to give audience an immersive experience but sometimes I can't help but feel like watching 4:3 standard definition TV, also the PG-13 rating doesn't help either. Nothing good can come out of any existential crisis not even good cinema in this case. Scarlett Johansson does have very good skin which manages to salvage the movie from downright unwatchable to somewhat entertaining and somewhat watchable. Between Kong: Skull Island and Ghost in the Shell, the choice is obvious.

Infernal Affairs III (2003)

The Star power doesn't quite shine

[5/10 · 17 February 2005]

This time around, we have the returning Tony Leung, Andy Lau, and the new comer Leon Lai to light up the screen for Infernal Affairs III. The three are arguably the biggest pop stars in Hong Kong since the 80's. Does it make the movie any better, I don't think so. These superstars just act like superstar actors (essentially playing their cool selves on screen) and I don't think they are great in this one. They have better performances in other movies. The cool monotone blackish production design doesn't necessarily make the movie cool and modern, not even the computer, gadgets, GPS..., in fact it comes across as rather pretentious and boring. How does it compare to the original Infernal Affairs? I like the first one better, at least it has some good story telling there, not necessarily original: undercover cop, mole, I don't think it's all that original, but you don't necessarily to be original to be good. This sequel rehash the basic premise of the first one, do some more plot twisting and psychological drama there, which I somehow find totally unnecessary other than let's make another sequel to cash in from the first one. It's not a good sequel and definitely not a very good movie either.

Kung Fu Hustle (2004)

Probably Chow's most brilliant to day

[9/10 · 9 February 2005]

I saw it on VCD ( 2 discs) I bought in Chinatown on Chinese New Year day. It is a very enjoyable movie. The story is simple and boy does he know how to tell a good old story. A good nobody turned bad and finally redeemed himself at the end - a very common theme that's almost always in Chow's movies. Some super duper wuxia heroes retired in some remote settings tried to live a normal life only being forced to fight one more final battle - a very common theme in wuxia novels. The movie makes some very good references to old Cantonese wuxia movies as well as works by Jing Yong, the Godfather of wuxia novels. All the Gong Fu or Kung Fu fight scenes are outrageous, and they are outrageously funny and good. I am glad I find them enjoyable. In my mind, Gong Fu Hustle and Crouching Tiger Hidden Tiger are probably the only 2 movies that do justices to the wuxia genre.

2046 (2004)

Just can't fall in love with this one...

[6/10 · 8 October 2004]

Saw the 2.20PM show in a movie house called UA on Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. It wasn't exactly a waste of money or time, but I just couldn't enjoy it as much as I would love to. The voice-over; the passage of time theme, you know 10 hours, 1,000 hours; the telling secrets to a hole are getting tiresome toward the end of the movie. I wanted to care for the characters but I just couldn't. I don't really feel their sorrows although they were like crying or feeling melancholy a lot of the time. I have had better experience with Days of Being Wild, Chungking Express, Happy Together and Fallen Angels. If you enjoy this movie very much, good for you. I just think that his prior works are much more powerful, quietly powerful than this one. When the DVD comes out, make sure you get the 16:9 version, I mean can they even make a 4:3 version with this movie?