cmmahon-1 Reviews

2046 (2004)

This movies proves that film was the Literature of the 20th Century

[10/10 · 16 January 2006]

What does the number "2046" mean? In 1997, when Hong Kong returned to China, Hong Kong was told that everything would remain unchanged for 50 years. 2046 would be the last year of this promise. Director Wong was fascinated by the promise and the number. He wondered what kind of love story it would be if it were mixed with the number. He also asked himself what is this world would remain unchanged. In our daily lives, when we fail in love, we often ask ourselves, "Would he/she remain faithful? Would I remain the same?" The film 2046 begins with this number. Directed by one of Hong Kong's most renowned filmmakers, Wong Kar Wai, 2046 is a co-production between the Shanghai Film Studio and Jet Tone Films Ltd. According to director Wong, "The story for 2046 came to me at the same time as we were working on IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, but while some of the characters have similarities, 2046 is not a sequel." The above is very important to understanding this masterpiece. Basically, it is a meditation on the differences between the Chinese diaspora and Chinese Mainland. Be prepared to raise one's consciousness to keep track of what is going on. It is definitely 'literary' with meanings left to the viewer. Finally all of the actors are outstanding.

Resident Evil (2002)

You get what you are looking for in a shoot-em-up

[7/10 · 7 December 2005]

There isn't much story here. Basically, there's about as much storyline as one might expect in a video game. Imagine that! Unfortunately when moving a game to the big screen, one generally expects the story and characters to get fleshed out a bit. It just doesn't happen here. The general idea is that this is set in the 21st Century where a big evil company is doing naughty things such as DNA manipulation and virus generation in the name of top secret military research. The virus gets loose, and a computer controlling the secret underground society goes haywire. And that's just about enough setup to send in a special ops response team and give them some flesh eating zombies and other mutating creatures to shoot. The movie has a whole "Night of the Living Dead" thing going. If like me, you are a Fan of Shoot-em-ups, you will just love this movie. If not, well stay well clear!

The Fifth Element (1997)

A fun night out at the Cinema

[7/10 · 7 December 2005]

Going into the film, I was guardedly optimistic. As a result of what I'd seen in the two-minute theatrical trailer, visions of Blade Runner danced in my head. And the director, Luc Besson, is a well-respected artist whose short-but-impressive resume includes such international hits as La Femme Nikita and The Professional (Leon). I figured that if anyone could handle the task of putting together a rousing science fiction adventure with Bruce Willis in the lead, it was Besson. I was not disappointed! For its time, visually great and some funny moments. Not intellectually challenging like Donnie Darko or Serenity so no 8. The story is fast paced, but without overdoing the action and indeed Bruce Willis is actually intelligent in this movie for a change! Fanatistic costumes, really wacky and futuristic.

Serenity (2005)

Postmodern SF Classic

[9/10 · 9 October 2005]

I will give my considered take on what Serenity represents .

There are certain SF movies that form IMHO a canon. These movies are movies, which CHANGE for good, or for ill how we view movies. Believe it or not, Serenity is part of that Canon. Quite simply if you can decipher the text, Serenity is a Postmodernist SF masterpiece. So, if you are like many people in the SF world who hate Serenity, essentially it is because you do not get the existentialist ANGST, you will be correct that the movie is CLOSED SHOP.

Whedon essentially is a game player. He say that he wants to create a REALIST SF environment, all the while understanding that SF realism is an Oxymoron. This movie DELIBERATELY rips off every SF movie that has ever existed and ever WILL exist! But the reason is NOT TO TELL A STORY, but to pull the knowing audience into another REALITY, which at all times is patently UNREAL. I will just give just one snippet of what I mean. When the crew gets to Miranda (Shakespeare anyone?) Whedon changes the entire atmosphere into if it was a Star Trek episode! The point of this bunch of Outlaws acting like Star Trek is to show the weaknesses of Rationalism. Now the plot spoiler that the revers are the end product of an Alliance experiment is DELIBERATELY simplistic to get the audience to see what he is getting at in a direct manner. Then what is absolutely brilliant is that when the crew discovers the secret of Miranda, River suddenly announces, "I'm better". What is brilliant about this is that one is forced to ask this existential question - what would it mean for River to be better? This point is quite subtle. Remember that the Alliance was trying to 'cure' humanity of its violent tendencies! Spot the existential Mobius Strip anyone?

If you think (like me) that this is cool, then you will realise what a Genius Mr. Whedon is, for I have not seen anyone pull off what Mr. Whedon has done with Postmodernist ideas! He completely blows Matrix Reloaded off the map! In fact he is miles better that Derrida / Paul Man / Sartre!

I deduct 1 mark due to me not liking the look of the film on screen sometimes.

Watch your six!