Reviews written by Maximillian
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Crazy Stone (Hong Kong Version)
Crazy Stone (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
(1)Our Price: US$11.49Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:November 4, 2006 Best Chinese film of the year!With China pumping out emotionally stunted martial arts farces like The Banquet, Ning Hao's low budget heist/caper film Crazy Stone is a true breath of fresh air. Relying on well-developed characters, a super clever story, and real instances of Chinese culture (such as the glaring economic disparity between the wealthy and the poor), the film succeeds on every level.
Taking place in Chongqing and featuring dialogue in the local Chongqing dialect, the film revolves around a precious jade stone unearthed at a factory and the various people who want to get their hands on it - from the three local thieves who spend their days conning people with Coke can lottery scams, to the factory owner's greedy son who tries to impress local girls by speaking in standard Chinese, to the goofily suave international thief who is robbed the minute he sets foot in Chongqing. With tongue firmly in cheek, what follows is a laugh riot as the various characters come into conflict with one another while the factory's lone security guard tries to keep the jade safe.
Highly recommended! Despite being influenced by the filmmaking styles of people like Guy Ritchie or Steven Soderbergh, Ning Hao has adapted international styles to create a true Chinese film that is both hilarious and affecting.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Election 2 (Special Edition) (Hong Kong Version)
Election 2 (Special Edition) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
(3)Our Price: US$20.99Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:1 people found the following helpful
November 4, 2006 Johnnie To is the best!Continuing with the same characters in the same world as his award-winning Election, Johnnie To's Election 2 is perhaps the most natural sequel in recent memory. With another triad election coming up, Simon Yam's Lok and Louis Koo's Jimmy (both of whom give terrific performances) begin vying for the position of chairman amid distractions from family, business partners, and police officers. While further dehumanizing triad figures, Johnnie To also takes more than a few swipes at mainland China along the way. Not only are these characters ruthless, heartless, and self-motivated, but they're also pawns themselves.
Johnnie To is easily the most accomplished and mature director working in Hong Kong today, and Election 2 continues his focus on strong characters and culturally relevant themes. As with Election, the violence is a part of this world, and it is not pretty, but stick with it to the end and you'll be rewarded with a realistic conclusion that feels neither forced nor pandering.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
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Re-Cycle (Hong Kong Version)
Re-Cycle (Hong Kong Version) VCD
(2)Our Price: US$8.49Usually ships within 7 daysRelated promotions:2 people found the following helpful
November 4, 2006 Film belongs to Angelica LeeAs one of the best actresses (if not the best) working in the Hong Kong film industry, Angelica Lee takes what could have been a potential doozy of a movie and elevates it above most other Asian thrillers in recent memory thanks to her beautifully restrained emotions and complete understanding of her character.
Off to a slow start on her new book titled The Re-Cycle, writer Ting-Yin is bothered by the appearances of an ex-flame and a rather spooky apparition floating around her apartment. As she begins to realize that the things she is writing are happening in reality (or vice versa), she is transported to a mysterious world upon leaving her apartment - a world filled with all things and people discarded and abandoned.
The Pang Brothers are back in rare form with this film, using a combination of unforced emotions, controlled pacing, and fantastic visuals. The world of Re-Cycle is amazing to behold, with both fear and awe elicited through the film's beautiful distortions. This is not a true horror film by any means, but its heartbreaking themes of isolation, selfishness, and loneliness will resonate with anyone, because in the end, what's truly scary is us and our own thoughts and actions.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
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Dragon Tiger Gate (DTS Regular Version) (Hong Kong Version)
Dragon Tiger Gate (DTS Regular Version) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region All
(14)Our Price: US$17.49Usually ships within 21 daysRelated promotions:5 people found the following helpful
November 4, 2006 This is no SPLThe combination of Donnie Yen and Wilson Yip intially proved to be a major part of the re-revitalization of Hong Kong cinema. The hard-hitting, dark and gritty SPL, despite its few missteps, was a throwback to the HK films of the past. I was excited to hear about their next project, Dragon Tiger Gate (oddly retitled Kill Zone in the US - I guess there was no way to fit "legend" in there), but then I saw it....
While there is indeed some impressive choreography, much of the style and drama found in SPL is replaced here with overt silliness, mounds of bad wigs, and Donnie Yen's ego. Separated during childhood, Dragon (Donnie Yen) and Tiger (Nic Tse) find themselves on opposite sides of a brewing war between The Gate (led by gongfu veteran Yuen Wah) and rival gangs, one of which is led by a Power Rangers-esque baddie. The story is really unimportant as the emotions are really forced and characters are pretty shallow. And as with Tom Yum Goong/The Protector, action scenes alone cannot save this film from sheer ridiculousness. Donnie Yen needs to be taken down a notch before he floats off into the stratosphere on his ego. Oh yeah, and somewhere in there is Shawn Yue (Infernal Affairs 1 and 2, Initial D) as Turbo Shek, wielder of nunchaku and wearer of the worst wig of the film.
This film is another example of what's wrong with Chinese martial arts cinema as a whole. This over-emphasis on style has all but ruined the action genre and wuxia pian genre, all for the sake of international sales and, more importantly, exhibition in the US.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Farewell (Japan Version)
Farewell (Japan Version)
(4)Our Price: US$34.25Usually ships within 7 - 14 daysRelated promotions:3 people found the following helpful
April 17, 2006 Excellent start to a solo career!Van Tomiko's first solo album after the breakup of DAI is a brilliant start to her solo career! She brings to the world of Japanese music an aura of maturity and confidence in her musical style and overall presentation. Her voice shines in a variety of musical styles. Compared to the over-sexed Britney Spears-esque manufactured pop tunes of Koda Kumi and BOA, Tomiko is a true angel! Whether you are a fan of DAI or not, there's plenty to like in Van Tomiko's 'Farewell'. Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This) -
Memoirs Of A Geisha (Full Screen 2-Disc Special Edition) (US Version)
Memoirs Of A Geisha (Full Screen 2-Disc Special Edition) (US Version) DVD Region 1
(1)Our Price: US$27.99Related promotions:8 people found the following helpful
February 28, 2006 Mind-numbingly badI know some, perhaps many, will disagree with me, but to me, this film represents the ultimate ignorance on the part of Hollyweird. I'm not even talking about the dubious casting of Chinese actresses, two of whom have a still very shaky grasp of the English language, as Japanese geishas. Why not hire some Asian Americans? In hindsight there was nothing to lose because not even the presence of Zhang Ziyi, perhaps the most overrated actresses working today, was enough to make this film a success anywhere in the world. But anyway, that's beating a dead horse. Filming this in English with random spatterings of Japanese words and phrases completely destroys any authenticity the filmmakers might have otherwise achieved by filming it in Japanese. Language is culture. "Thank you" does not exactly equal "arigato gozaimasu." It leads to so many inconsistencies and plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. Yes, other films are guilty of the same things. I don't like how MoaG is presented, and I don't like how films in the past have been presented. But to dismiss it in MoaG by laying the blame on other films is irresponsible, so don't try it because it won't work. Similarly, to dismiss the movie's faults by saying "its just a movie" is irresponsible at best. No film is "just a movie." Films are distinct cultural icons that reflect a culture's inner-workings. If you dismiss MoaG as "just a movie," then you are both downplaying its significance, for better or worse, as a cultural text and essentially saying its ok for filmmakers to continue to get away with such gross misrepresentations in the future.
Beautiful to look at, no doubt about it. But a good film is not solely composed of a few pretty pictures. One should ask for more. There should be character development, realistic motivations, competent performances, and, most importantly, an engaging story - all of which this film sorely lacks. I'm a huge fan of Gong Li and Koji Yakusho, and to see them suffer through a film like this in which they have to spout out ridiculous dialogue while portraying hollow, stereo-typed caricatures when they're capable of delivering such better performances is heart-breaking to say the least. MoaG is nothing but an award-whoring mess, substituting cliche melodrama and pretty pictures for actual storytelling, all while praying that no one will notice.Did you find this review helpful? Yes (Report This)
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