fongniur Reviews

The Bible (2013)

Compelling Narrative of the Old Testament, Yet There's Too Much Abridgment

[7/10 · 4 November 2013]

As a Christian who was born and raised in China, I find it fairly difficult to hold fast to my faith when the majority of people here still take Christianity as superstition or a series of fairy tales. So I was more than thrilled to have this opportunity to revisit these thought- provoking stories that could help to strengthen my faith in God.

The narrative style and visual effect on the first couple of episodes was stunning enough to draw me into the age of Genesis and Exodus.Both of the actors did an amazing job in conveying the steadfastness and faithfulness of Abraham and Moses. To top it off, from episode 6 onward, the depiction of Jesus Christ is the best I've ever seen compared to other titles with the similar theme. I was also glad to notice that the script includes some of the most memorable and inspiring verses like Psalms 23 ("The Lord is my shepherd") and Matthew 5:3-10 (The Sermon on the Mount).

The drawback of this TV production is that it has neglected many great events in the Old Testament. For instance, the detail of some of the ancient prophets like Samuel, Nathan, and Jeremiah and one of my favorite stories --Jonah's disobedience to God's command. (In fact it left out the entire book of Jonah). I understand that due to its limited length and budget, it is impossible to include every detail, yet to look at the show in a bigger picture, I still feel that it's lacking something important. It most probably could be the omission of the Holy Spirit which makes every heart submit to the Lord and leads our way, proclaims the truth, and restores our lives. In other words, I think this production only explains 2/3 of the Trinity.

But in general, this is a very truthful rendering of the Bible and I would strongly recommend it to people who are still searching for God and those who wish to get an outline of important events in the Holy Bible.

Reign of Assassins (2010)

A story of an eunuch and his weird apprentices

[7/10 · 28 September 2010]

Caution: very minor spoilers contained.

I went to the premiere this afternoon to pass some leisure hours with no expectation to be impressed. Surprisingly enough, "Reign of Assassins" (Jian Yu) turned out to be such an action-packed, romantic and gripping entertainment. Some absurd dialogs and an awkward cast won't stand in the way for its being the best Chinese wuxia (Martial Arts/Kungfu) movie since "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon".

Those who claim that this movie is a Chinese tribute to "Mr.and Mrs. Smith" must be kidding--reason being: 1, Michelle Yeoh is not funny; 2, Michelle Yeoh is uncool though she knows Kungfu; 3, Michelle Yeoh and her husband in the movie are self-employed, much more advanced than the Smiths...though much more underprivileged.

Believe me, if John Woo has any intention of paying tribute to an American movie, it must be "Godfather". "Reign of Assassins" perfectly drives home the idea "just when I thought I was out, you pulled me back in". In this movie, everyone is unhappy about their miserable lifestyles, they are so resentful of "Jianghu" (a not quite precise translation would be: the world of swordsmen) that they want to finish the last assignment and go for a seclusive life without face book, blogspot, twitter,and you tube just like the life in modern China. (Yay!)So each one is trying desperately to find a way to end this. Some choose to undergo a plastic surgery and move to the depths of the country, while this poor guy just wishes to get his "thing" back so that he can have a normal sex life

After a tapestry of wire-dangling, shallow-minded and boring Chinese wuxia movies that have proved to be pure disappointment, John Woo has finally come up with something both entertaining and educational!

Here's what I learned from the movie: 1. Plastic surgery is deadly risky. It can turn an ordinary-looking guy into Woo-sung Jung but can also disfigure a good-looking lady who ends up being 20 years older and more than 20 times uglier. 2. Girls beware: if a man who speaks with an unnaturally coarse voice and whose mustache always stays nicely trimmed, he could have been castrated. 3. The coolest way to die is eating a bowl of noodles quietly after being stabbed all over your body 4. Go practice Kungfu, it'll bring your "manhood" back...even if you don't have one! 5.If an unfamiliar woman appears on your bed totally naked, pick up her clothes and run to your neighborhood and shout out loud:"Come and take a look! I've got a lunatic on my bed." 6.If you wake up in the morning and can't remember how you fell asleep last night, your wife could be a hitwoman.

There's something really bothered me: why Woo made Barbie Hsu repeatedly take off her clothes in this movie? Although it is palpable that her character is a weird nympho, it is still annoying, because every time she did this I knew I wouldn't see anything! I wanted to rush into her room, slap across her face and warn her: "Stop this!You know you can't make it! Don't you know we have media censorship in China? Plus, you're not sexy!"

These may sound a bit weird, but you'll know what I was talking about after watching this fall's must-see!

My rating: 7/10

The Departed (2006)

Pathetic Plagiarism

[5/10 · 18 January 2007]

This movie simply doesn't compare with its original Hong Kong version "Infernal Affairs" (IA).

The plot line of this movie always reminds me of a Chinese proverb which goes:"Hua she tian zu." literally meaning "to add some feet to the drawing of a snake". That's the way the script goes and it creates a MONSTER. In the original trilogy, the Buddhist philosophy of suffering is well-depicted through the story of the mole and informant. The cop's informant didn't die in the end, but he definitely suffers more than the departed mole. He lives a life in a deep state of remorse. However, the newly adapted ending of this movie doesn't seem to be any clever to me. In fact, it looks more like the feet added to a snake, which ruin the whole picture.

The cinematography of IA far surpasses that of The Departed. The tone of the picture is in grey and blue which arouses the feeling of depression and helplessness. While in this "plagiarized" version, the scene is much less impressive, less organized and difficult to relate to.

One more thing I'd like to point out is that I value the pacing and suspense more than anything else in a thriller. However, The Departed fail to inherit the flawless and breathtaking style of IA and what I've seen is a bunch of whiny and ill-tempered guys throwing swear words to each other all the time. What a shame! In a thriller, the editing and music generally speak louder than words. and Scorses obviously has failed to understand that.

My rating: 5/10