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August 29, 2004

Hero

I have always enjoyed movies like The Last Samurai, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and now Hero. Asian culture is very interesting to me, in that everything is based on honor and respect (at least that’s how it’s portrayed in movies). Asian films are always refreshing to me, because they aren’t all about big tits and tons of gore like most American action films. Not that that is always bad or wrong, but it’s definitely nice to have a break once in a while and see something that tries to actually have a point and let you leave the theater with something other than an empty wallet and slimy butter fingers.

Hero is basically one big flashback, or “illustrated conversation” between the Nameless Hero (Jet Li) and the king of Qin. I don’t pretend to understand all of the philosophy and “zen” in the movie, other than sometimes you have to sacrifice yourself for what you believe in. There is actually very little speaking in the movie anyway. Instead, much of the story and feelings of the characters is expressed in the brilliant cinemaphotography, and the excellently choreographed fight scenes. The swords themselves are almost treated as characters in the movie as well.

The cinemaphotography and choreography in this movie is really what makes it great. I’m no kung-fu aficionado, but this movie has some of the most beautiful and interesting fight choreography that I’ve ever seen. The sets are beautiful, and the use of color plays a very prominent roll in many of the scenes. Most of the backgrounds and landscapes are very desaturated or monotone, and the characters are dressed in very bright contrasting colors, which really makes them the focus of the film, even though all the landscapes are so breathtaking. There are quite a few special effects in the movie, but they are all very subtle, which was really nice. They are artfully and tastefully done so that they completely blend in with the rest of the scene.

As I said, I don’t pretend to understand all of the philosophy in the movie, but if you enjoy kung-fu, cinemaphotography, or just pretty pictures, you definitely need to see this movie.

Rating: 4/5

August 26, 2004

OneWord: Awake

It takes me about 3 “snoozes” in the morning to finally wake up. Which is kind of silly when you think about it, because after the alarm goes off the first time, you are getting less than 10 minutes at a time of sleep, which can’t be very good sleep. So you might as well just set the alarm for the correct time and wake up the first time. Then you get 20 more minutes of deep sleep, rather than short snooze sleep.

It sure does feel good to go back to sleep after the alarm goes off the first time though… If only you could go back to sleep for as long as you wanted. Maybe I should try setting my alarm at 9:00 some Saturday morning, just so I can turn it off and sleep as long as I wish.

Taking Lives

Taking Lives is another movie that came and went in the theaters with little fanfare. I had actually completely forgotten about it until I happened to see that my sister-in-law who is staying with us had rented it. And after watching it, I can see why it came and went in the theaters so quickly.

The first half of the movie is very atmospheric and a little suspenseful. It reminded me of the look and feel of “Seven”. However, the second half of the movie feels completely different, like it was written by a different writer, and directed by a different director. Hell, even the acting changed.

Somewhere around the bizarre and out of place sex scene, the movie just fell apart in my opinion. There was no suspense at all. They just kept switching back and forth between whether the guy was the killer, or not the killer. The twists were way too abrupt and completely out of place, with no hints as to what might happen.

Save yourself the time and just download the Angelina Jolie sex scene and skip the rest of the movie. :)

Rating: 2/5