henry325 Reviews

The Lake House (2006)

second rate copy...

[6/10 · 22 January 2007]

The Lake house is a remake of Il_Mare, it says so in the beginning. I recommend watching that over this. The background is this, there is a lake house with a mailbox, the mailbox transcends time and acts as a portal to both the present and 2 years into the past. Bullock, a doctor, and Keanu, an architect, begin to correspond through the mailbox and thus fall in love.

The story itself is basically the same as Il_Mare, but this movie plays up the romance and down plays the drama. If Il_Mare is an emotional roller-coaster then the Lake House is an emotional merry go round. The connection between the two leads is done fairly well, but Keanu is still Keanu and looks lost at every turn.

I liked drama over romance, maybe you like romance over drama. But I still think if you compare Il_Mare to Lake House, you'll see Il_Mare is far more powerful and thats why I rate this movie a 6, although I'll let it slide that it isn't original, it doesn't stay true to the feel of the original story. It went from something that could have been unique in theaters to just another feel good romance date movie. I give it a 6 just cause the story and filming are sound, I just didn't really appreciate the different feel.

Shiri (1999)

Its more than an action flick

[6/10 · 18 January 2007]

This movie is more than an action flick, it highlights the relationship between North and South Korea. If you know anything about their pasts and their present than you can see why this is a movie by Koreans for Koreans. The actions scenes did not impress me, I saw this movie in 2006...after watching such movies as MI3, but it wasn't too shabby for a non-Hollywood pre-new millenia movie.

Okay so about the movie itself...I don't like the opening, too dramatic and over the top, I was never a fan of Roman decimation and I will never be a fan of this kind of training method. However, once it gets to the actual story then the clues and hints are laid out and you see how everything comes together in the end. You can probably guess the entire ending after some time. The romance is small, about what you expect for an action film. The chemistry is okay. It is really more of a thriller than anything because you're usually puzzled as to how the hero is going to catch the bad guys since he keeps on failing initially.

The actors did a fairly good job. The action sequences are okay, they're shaky at times, I don't like how the South Korean SWAT teams can't hit anything despite perfectly planned traps and outnumbering the bad guys 50:1. Maybe they should get plastic surgery to open their eyes? It was a so-so movie, but because of theme and background I'll put it above the the average, it could be used to do more than simply entertain. It is simply outdated now if you want a really good action film.

The Classic (2003)

Bring tissues, its a classic well done

[10/10 · 17 January 2007]

So a lot of people have compared this director's work to his previous work My Sassy Girl which came out about 2 years before this one did. There have been many comparisons between this one and that and while there are similar themes in choice of music and themes I would say it is like comparing apples to oranges. MSG was funny and then got dramatic hence it is a romance/comedy with some drama (if anything, i would call Windstruck MSG 2). This one was mostly a dramatic romance story with a few very classical clichés. There is enough foreshadowing that you can guess what is going to happen if you pay any attention at all and have seen any Korean drama, but the director still does an excellent job in telling the story.

The main characters do an excellent job acting and bringing out the character's emotions. The story is beautiful and so is the music. Enjoy it for what it is, if you have a heart at all you'll be teary eyed. You'll know what is coming and you'll still be floored by it, thats how good it is. Even the ending, which I thought was a bit over the top, is the only way you could have ended a classic.

I am a little hesitant to say that this is a date movie, definitely not for a first date. I would think that any emotionally sensitive human being is not going to be particularly happy throughout most of this movie until the very end. Such is a melodrama.

The White Dragon (2004)

Don't take it seriously

[6/10 · 14 January 2007]

If you have ever watched a 90s Hong Kong action/comedy...say city hunter with jackie chan (ie: Jackie chan as Chun Li from street fighter) then you know just how unserious these movies can be. This is an example of it (this genre happens to be one of my favorites). This movie has managed to incorporate jokes from the new millenia into the a feudal china setting. If you aren't entertained by a teenage girl smashing a sitar on a pillar in rock star form and then crowd surfing, then this movie might not be for you. If you are however just looking to be entertained and don't really care if the movie is real quality or not then this will do. The story isn't really innovative, the jokes are pretty cheesy, the lines are pretty cheesy too, but you know if people didn't make these types of movies then there wouldn't be a cliché or a norm. So take it for what it is, a silly movie designed to entertain you with out a lot of drama or required brain power. It's a movie, it's job was to entertain, it did for the most part. I could probably do without the last couple of minutes of the movie.

6/10, it is average for the most part, Cecilia Chung looks pretty cute in this movie. The blind guy...just looks goofy or like hes having seizures. You might say I have no taste, I say don't be so picky, you might starve to death.

I Wish I Had a Wife (2001)

a little boring*spoiler*

[5/10 · 11 January 2007]

The movie is centered around a lonely banker and a lonely school teacher. Unfortunately for the school teacher the banker seems rather indifferent to the fact that she wants him. Unfortunately for her, he only really begins to interact with her other than treating her as a stranger when he gets a girlfriend which he loses. So our lonely banker turns to the school teacher and eventually what you knew was gonna happen happens.

I found the flirting in this movie childish and unromantic. It was too PG to really be any fun. There is practically no dialouge that lead to the hookups. Also, there are a lot of unexplained characters. For example, the scene with the dog and the two girls on the roof, who is that other woman and if she is the soon to be ex-girlfriend how come they didn't go with a love triangle, that'd have been a pretty dramatic twist. Also the whose the guy when they're praying to the dead father? a brother? What is he there for? Why doesn't the main character share about his dead mother from the beginning of the movie when she says her father died? I'll give this movie credit for being realistic, this is exactly what would happen when you get two lonely people together. Shes cute, not gorgeous, and a man could do far worse. I guess there were some scenes that were suppose to be touching and/or funny. I found them either very mildly entertaining or infuriating because I thought it was stupid for that action to be so meaningful, ie: cleaning the glasses.

Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)

Save your money

[3/10 · 9 January 2007]

If you are an American, DON'T WATCH THIS MOVIE. You might say that I didn't get the movie...no no, I understood the movie and I still say it sucked. Heres why:

-The movie moves very slowly, 2 hours to get to the meat of the story. -Majority of the movie is intrigue, I don't think that fits well with the idea of a movie, cause movies are suppose to show things -Not enough kung fu, there's was a good bit of action in the second half, but you'd be better off watching an ACTUAL martial arts movie. Although the assassins and the King were pretty badass, I'll give him that. -No ending, you'll be stunned when you see the credits begin to roll, you won't be expecting it, you'll have too many questions -Family is just a little too messed up (sarcasm on the little) -It wasn't pretty, it showed 3 places, a hallway, a courtyard, and some house out in the middle of nowhere. Better scenery easily found in other movies.

I think this movie will flop in American box offices. For having such big names like Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li, I was sorely disappointed, not in their acting, but in the fact they chose to play a role in the movie.

I give it a 3, I'm sure it blew Chinese cinema out of the water because of how much money spent on the costumes and set. I like Li Gong, Chow Yun Fat, and the costumes. The rest of the movie bites.

The Contact (1997)

If "you've got mail" were a drama, this would be it

[6/10 · 7 January 2007]

It is an okay movie. The characters were sound, the story fairly believable with everyday people and situations.

The story involves two strangers, a man and woman, communicating via the internet (like you've got mail). They are caught up in their own love triangles (kind of like how Tom Hanks and Meg Ryans both had their significant others while chatting), they share their emotions via an old record (I'm talking the kind with the needle). Finally they are able to remove themselves from their troubled relationships and are thus able to meet up and of course hook up. You know its coming, it wouldn't be a movie if it didn't happen, however the last maybe 3 minutes of the movie would make any movie watcher go WTH? Go get her, this part of the movie I didn't understand. But then again, Tom Hanks didn't tell Meg Ryan either. It is all for drama. Not a whole lot of funny stuff going on in the movie.

6/10, the internet isn't booming anymore, there's a lot of sleaze bags out there now, I wouldn't recommend talking to random strangers on the internet unless it is through some legit site and even then...maybe. I'm not a fan of the ending, I personally wanted to kick the guy.

Neukdaeui yuhok (2004)

A bit weird...not really into that kind of thing

[5/10 · 5 January 2007]

So at first it seems like pretty classic love triangle with one girl and two guys both gang leaders from their 2 schools. There is some fighting in the movie involving these two bad asses which is pretty cool, no wire fu here. Some of the characters left me in disbelief, I couldn't really understand the reason and lack of thinking displayed by some of the characters. Insecurities and a lack of trust plague the characters and then the noble self sacrifice comes into play a lot.

I'm not a fan of any of the characters cause of their insecurities. Also I was dumbfounded as to how the main female character became the center for everyone's infatuation, I didn't see any qualities that would leap out and snag a guy in one meeting. And as for the male characters...I don't think liking your (__this would be a spoiler__) in that way would fly too well in America.

The movie as a whole was okay. It delivered to its audience, if you wanted action, drama, and romance wrapped into one movie, here it is. 5/10 I think one of the comments on here compared it to My tutor friend or 100 days with Mr. Arrogant, and My Sassy girl. This is a different kind of genre, I didn't find them to really be in the same category, the other movies were funny. This one had much more action and drama than comedy and romance.

Too Beautiful to Lie (2004)

Entertaining Romantic Comedy

[8/10 · 29 December 2006]

A very well thought out story that lacks some depth, but the point of the movie is to entertain and not provoke thought. Kim Ha-Neul IS the movie, her facial expressions and acting within the confines of the situations provided is pretty much the whole movie. She is sassy, mean, but also classy and very cute. I recommend My tutor friend and of course My Sassy girl if you like this movie. They are romantic comedies with a slight touch of drama. It gets kind of cheesy at times. The jokes are good and the portrayal of the countryside family is great. 8/10 just because I know there are better movies of the same type and with the same kind of characters. If you like Kim Ha-Neul you would probably also like Jeon Ji-Hyun movies.

My Tutor Friend (2003)

Decent Chick flick

[7/10 · 23 December 2006]

It is first and foremost a chick flick, it is a romantic comedy. There is a fair balance between the two. This particular movie has the addition of some pretty sweet fight scenes, I don't think any wires were used or if they were they weren't flat out blatant. It isn't a terribly complicated movie so it easy on the brain, no need to analyze anything to get the deeper meaning, pretty simple, good chemistry between the leads, and a fun watch. I'd like it if they made brought out the full potential of the girls looks just once cause she can be amazingly cute, but throughout the movie they keep it low key kind of pretty. I'd watch it again...with a girl.

Take Care of My Cat (2001)

Not for your average movie watcher

[5/10 · 22 December 2006]

This movie is not for entertainment. If you want drama, action, funny lines, situational comedies, or what not then you won't find it in this movie, go watch "My Sassy Girl" or something like that. Instead you'll find a movie that follows the lives of 5 girls after high school graduation and to be quite frank, for them, life kinda sucks. It's a drama, indeed a subtle one, there's no dying lover or at any point will you be at tears. The movie left me unsatisfied, it didn't really seem to have a plot to me but if I had to describe it, I'd say its about the trials and tribulations of becoming an independent person on your own and then realizing that you have friends and friends are there to support you on your ups and downs. Well directed, well thought out, just a low entertainment value.