Review: Trash (UK/Brazil: 2014): The proletarian adventure movie comes to Brazil.

Posted on by
Trash (2014)

Trash (2014)

While Stephen Daldry’s action/adventure film set in the the poverty stricken slums captures the energetic spirit of Andy Mulligan’s young adult novel, adults may be less than thrilled by the story while its content may lead it to be rated outside the reach of its intended audience. Still, the performances of the novice lead actors make it worth seeking out even if it never gets a US release.

Rating:

image

Continue reading →

White God (Hungary: 2014): a familiar tale, this time with dogs

Posted on by

white_god

 

A Hungarian Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Kornél Mundruczó’s White God tells an allegory about betrayal, oppression and revenge, but also the durability of the bonds that form between pets and their caretakers. Canine lead Hagen walks away with this one, conveying surprising emotional depth for a newbie actor.

Rating:

3stars.PNG

Continue reading →

Kung Fu Jungle (Hong Kong: 2014): Classic Fighting Film with Cameos Galore

Posted on by

kungfu-jungle-official-poster

 

Teddy Chen goes old-school in this martial arts detective story starring Donn Yen. The fighting is intense and the special effects muted in this story about a former martial arts champion released from prison to help capture a serial killer. An homage to the one-on-one Hong Kong action films of the past, Kung Fu Jungle is filled with dozens of cameo performances from the action stars of the past four decades.

Rating
image

Continue reading →

Hwayi: A Monster Boy (Korea: 2013): Joon-Hwan Jang Returns with A Vengeance

Posted on by
Yun-seok Kim educates Jin-Goo Yeo

Yun-seok Kim educates Jin-Goo Yeo

Ten years after his flamboyant debut, director Joon-Hwan Jang steps out with a much tighter and straightforward crime saga. While it isn’t Save the Green Planet II, Hwayi stacks up well against other Korean vengeance thrillers. In a genre crowded with first rate films over the past decade, Hwayi shows that there can always be room for another.

Rating:
image

Continue reading →

Kundo: Age of the Rampant (Korea: 2014)

Posted on by
kundo-age-of-the-rampant

Jung-woo Ha: the clear-eyed, incorruptible, horse-hung butcher for justice.

Jung-woo Ha and Dong-won Kang shine in this period-action film about a clash of two men cast aside by Joeseon society. Director Jong-bin Yoon pulls Kundo together from a mix of styles, heavy on the Spaghetti western, but true to contempory Korean martial arts action. Overall, the film stays light and fun, but the slow exposition over the 137 minute run time keeps this good film from greatness.

Rating

3stars.PNG

Continue reading →

Man on High Heels (Korea: 2014)

Posted on by
 

Cha, looking exhausted. You may be, too.


Action-drama-action-drama-action-drama. Given the choice of following a policeman on his last days before a sex-change operation or mind numbing mayhem, Man on High Heels offers too much tragic-action for my taste. Seung-won Cha is great playing the lead with as little irony as possible. It is overall a much more humane treatment of the transgender role than expected. But after awhile the burden everyone carries is too much, and the action too cruel for the movie to elicit more from me than a blank stare and a shoulder shrug.

Continue reading →

Secretly, Greatly (Korea: 2013): Identity-crisis and action genres step on each other in otherwise entertaining film

Posted on by

secretly-greatly-stars

Brief Review

The comic book origins of the story are never more apparent than in the clashing final confrontation scenes of Secretly, Greatly, Chul-soo Jang’s action-comedy-drama about North Korean super spies. The different cinematic requirements of  drama and action are kept in check until the final 20 minutes, when they stumble over each other, making for a relatively disappointing finish to an otherwise entertaining film.

Rating

image

Continue reading →

Inherent Vice (USA: 2014): Strong style and mood cannot overcome a lost plot

Posted on by

inherentvicenewbannerlarge

Brief Review

If one could enjoy a movie for mood and setting alone, Inherent Vice may be the masterpiece of the year.  It is America of of 1970 that director P.T. Anderson is laying out, that time of hazy drugs and confused meanings when the entire country seemed to have completely lost the post-war plot. That the rootlessness of the times overwhelms the characters is understandable, but at 2 1/2 hours, viewers may become restless at the meandering developments that always seem to be leading somewhere, but which never reach any specific conclusion.

Rating

Continue reading →