OK I'll be the one to go out on a limb here...this movie is dreadful. It's very well-made, the actors are superb and the intentions are honourable but somewhere in the mix Wes Anderson has failed to produce anything more than a boring and somewhat pretentious film. Where the quirky humour, wry characters and intricate plots in "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tennebaums" worked to their advantage creating fresh films with style, "The Life Aquatic.." is repetitive and droll. The highlight of the movie is the excellent Willem Dafoe as the sensitive German, sadly underused. Murray is as excellent as he is in all Anderson's and the rest of the cast give all in earnest (would have liked to see more of Michael Gambon also). On paper, this must have looked like an actor or a film fans, dream production - what we're given is version of The Emperor's New Clothes. This film will be forgotten in a year whereas previous Anderson movies will remain favourites. Extremely disappointed.
Reviews
3 Reviews
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior
(2003)
Back to the old days of good Jackie Chan movies...
31 October 2004
Wires should only be used in martial arts movies when dealing with mythical warriors (Crouching Tiger, Hero, etc) not Hollywooded to death as we've seen in recent moves. Martial arts movies should only be made in Asia where the insurance companies (or lack of them) allow the stunts to be real! Ong Bak - thin but okay storyline, funny scenes (the farcical chase scene when objects kept appearing in his way was like Austin Powers - yes it was intentionally funny) and awesome action. The fighting was the most realistic I've seen in years and as most of us are not used to the Muay Thai style, even when watching it as a sport in the ring, there are some shockingly nasty moves, especially the bone crunching head cracking.
It is a genre piece and it is a stereotypical martial arts movie - but not like we've seen in a long time and the production values and filming are high, showing that Thai cinema is here to stay.
We're going to see the main guy in a lot more.
To the reviewer who thought seeing some white guys in seedy Thai fighting halls were out of place, you're completely wrong, putting them in there was keeping it real. I've lived in Bangkok and us farangs are everywhere including scenes like that.
10/10 on pure entertainment and enjoyment factor.
It is a genre piece and it is a stereotypical martial arts movie - but not like we've seen in a long time and the production values and filming are high, showing that Thai cinema is here to stay.
We're going to see the main guy in a lot more.
To the reviewer who thought seeing some white guys in seedy Thai fighting halls were out of place, you're completely wrong, putting them in there was keeping it real. I've lived in Bangkok and us farangs are everywhere including scenes like that.
10/10 on pure entertainment and enjoyment factor.
Cuban Blood
(2003)
Un-expectedly excellent!
23 October 2004
Saw this at the Hawaii Film Festival where the director and his wife (who produced it) took a Q&A afterwards.
I found it hard to believe this is a first time director and all kudos to Harvey Keitel for once again taking a risk and going out on a limb for a script he liked.
Certainly reminiscent of Cinema Paradiso, it tells the story of the young director on the turning of the revolution in Cuba. However, don't expect this to be a movie about the revolution, it's political stance is wonderfully ambiguous. Many references to the directors obvious love of film history (a great "Bicycle Thief" homage") and some whimsical scenes which work with out being pretentious.
Enjoy!
I found it hard to believe this is a first time director and all kudos to Harvey Keitel for once again taking a risk and going out on a limb for a script he liked.
Certainly reminiscent of Cinema Paradiso, it tells the story of the young director on the turning of the revolution in Cuba. However, don't expect this to be a movie about the revolution, it's political stance is wonderfully ambiguous. Many references to the directors obvious love of film history (a great "Bicycle Thief" homage") and some whimsical scenes which work with out being pretentious.
Enjoy!
Tell Your Friends