2008: The Digital Rummage

[Brian Thibodeau]

I actually think the industry is better now than it was, say, 10 years ago.

Interesting point. It's a given (or should be) that Hong Kong Cinema's glory days of the 70's to mid-90's--and the mass production and wildly range of production quality that inevitably accompanied them-- shouldn't be forgotten or consigned to the dustbin of "been there done that" (1st place ribbons to those who have, etc. etc.), if only for the reason that newcomers to the form deserve encouragement, not the "why bother?" that would seem to greet them if they joined certain internet discussion forums to learn more. Obviously the "new" Hong Kong cinema doesn't produce enough movies to hold the attention of some interested new arrival who might dig the Hong Kong cinema vibe, but thankfully the back catalogue is large and cheap to acquire, as we've all discovered.

Ten years ago is apt, actually, because that's more or less around the time that the industry took its post-handover downswing and all those shoddy-to-just-passable shot-on-video productions actually started to outnumber the A-list features being shot in the city (as continuing discoveries by Bearserk, Teddy Wong and myself will attest), though you'd never know from researching most internet sources on the subject. Once you factor in (and preferably watch a few of) those "crappy" productions--and I don't see how you can't, since they employed one hell of a lot of the industry's personel during those lean years--you get a much more accurate, if distressing, picture of the true, overall production quality of Hong Kong cinema of that era. Sure, top-shelf productions were being made, but these DTV productions really mitigated against the industry as a whole being taken seriously by old fans ("wow, look how much crap they're making nowadays!") or new fans ("do they only make a lot of crap like this?). The big picture didn't seem pretty.

Now that those DTV productions have all but disappeared, and a lot of the craftspeople have departed for television or the mainland or other jobs or wherever, current Hong Kong productions, though the total output is smaller, have the distinction of being much more consistent in production quality than they usually were in the past decade, especially 1997 to 2004, when every two-bit producer was cranking out TRUE no-budget junk to feed the market. Sure, these movies are flawed, but at least they're real movies most of the time. Folks who some of them as the absolute nadir of Hong Kong cinema strike me as not having experienced the real bottom of the barrel during those key years, and perhaps as a result, not ranking the films on a proper sliding scale. (and yes, I realize that an A-list film can earn a big fat "bomb" rating just as easily as some Z-list home video full of has-beens, but I'm still skeptical )

Interesting to me is how these video productions are virtually ignored (or despised or derided if they're acknowledged at all) by the press of the day, the internet hoi polloi of the day, many of the experts of today, and so on. These films were often quite dire, but I'll continue to treat them as a crucial part of understanding Hong Kong cinema through the past decade, in particular how desperate circumstances led to their proliferation and how their gradual disappearance in effect improved the overall quality of local film production from a technical standpoint even though it gave artisans fewer projects on which to work. In that sense, Hong Kong cinema is definitely better than it was ten years ago, but unfortunately, we've got less to watch as a result.

[cal42]

Actually, Brian, you've pretty much said what I was going to say (except in more detail than I could have gone into!).

Like some fans, I was totally turned off from modern HK movies a while ago because I was just watching so much dross. It took a lot to convince me that HK movies had "come back" (watching EXILED helped, though). I'm still not convinced their action movies (which some would say are the lifeblood of the industry) are back up to scratch, but there have been a few steps in the right direction recently (even though FATAL MOVE went back a few steps - God, I hated that movie!).

When Mike talks about competing with Hollywood, I feel this is partly where the problem lies with HK movies today. I, personally, would be happier if HK didn't even attempt to compete with Hollywood and went about its business doing its own thing. I see too many HK films trying to ape US big budget productions, and while sometimes it comes off, I get the distinct impression that they are pandering to western audiences or playing up to Hollywood sometimes. We all probably got into HK films for the refreshingly different feel and look of them after being forcefed Hollywood for most of our lives (or is that just me?) and some of its identity seems a little lost now.

But as I say, I think things are looking up. While I perhaps didn't like THE DETECTIVE as much as Mike, I still bought it and watched it, and given my comments a couple of years ago (which I hope no one remembers) that's some achievement .

And maybe a drop off in quantity is not such a bad thing...

(PS, as the resident Brit, I'm glad so many of you enjoyed SEVERANCE. I, for one, love it to bits. We have to be careful now - we've made about 6 good films in the past 10 years and people will be saying we've got a film industry again )

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

...I'm still not convinced their action movies (which some would say are the lifeblood of the industry) are back up to scratch, but there have been a few steps in the right direction recently (even though FATAL MOVE went back a few steps - God, I hated that movie!). ...

What did you think of the action in Flash Point (2007)?

Also, I don't think we will see the quality of martial artists like the 70s, 80s again. The transition from post-Peking Opera to stunt work and eventually lead status for many (Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, etc...) cannot be duplicated because of child laws, people having more a life, different choices etc... (obviously there will always be great martial artists, but the dedication those individuals made or were forced to make is quite astonishing).

Now, MA ability is just one part of the action movie formula. When Yen creates choreography that is unique, it definitely brings more to the action table. That certainly is a step in the right direction.

The maturation of Benny Chan I think is something to look forward to.

[Mike Thomason]

Re: HK Cinema competing with Hollywood...

This isn't a personal thought of mine, from swinging back into mainstream Hollywood movies of late (or Western cinema in general, for that matter), nor is it an observation of an industry that used to make its bread and butter on the domestic front from emulating just about every big Western (read: American) hit film. This is documented fact that has been stated time and time again by both Western and HK based media observers!

Both JURASSIC PARK and TITANIC did irreparable damage* to the localised box office in HK on their release in the territory -- both years those films were released in HK could be considered "under-performing" years for the HK domestic product. The shock waves felt in HK from both of those films on their film industry just about had HK filmmakers pack up and change jobs, as the general consensus was that they could never compete, no matter how hard they tried, with fiscal giants such as those films no matter what the market, economy or circumstances (cue John Woo, Chow Yun Fat et al promptly uprooting and scooting off to where the box office behemoths originated from). Then, just as things were starting to recover, video piracy surged and a new scourge raised its head against the HK filmmaking body: South Korean film and television (which has also had a tremendously influential effect on HK movies). If anyone's ever watched the interviews on the DVD of Gordon Chan's A1, Chan himself stated that, at that time, "HK movies have a bigger audience than ever -- they just aren't paying to watch the films anymore" and that's one of the most prescient statements I've ever heard made of industry. Look at You Tube, bit torrents etc etc -- there's maybe thousands of people or more that wouldn't even dream of paying to see a HK movie or importing a VCD/DVD like most of us here because they can just rip it off the 'net for free!

Additionally, from my travels in SE Asia, the old adage about action movies being the "bread and butter" of the HK film industry might have weighed true back in the eighties, or even early nineties, but it's really only that niche pocket of international viewers and undiscriminating Asian viewers that even give them the time of day any more. Last time I was in Malaysia I went and saw TWINS MISSION and Japanese horror film FORBIDDEN SIREN in the cinemas -- no prizes for guessing which film had less than a dozen viewers in the audience during an after-dinner evening screening. Yeah, we Westerners love these things, but from my own personal experience it seems Asian audiences just can't bothered with them these days; when LETHAL ANGELS (under the alternate title NAKED AVENGERS) opened a year ahead of HK release in Malaysia, the film wrapped up its one week run in cinemas nationally a day early due to poor ticket sales! And I saw that happen firsthand, because I was there. I can't speak for HK itself, as I haven't spent any time there yet -- but just a general perusal of the annual film product out of the region pretty clearly indicates that action movies simply aren't number one at the box office there anymore (the aforementioned FLASH POINT, from what I read, pretty much tanked at the HK box office -- SPL did respectable business a few years back, but made a swift exit to video thanks entirely to its Category III rating limiting its revenue) and haven't been for some time now. Horror, comedies and romances appear to be the only genres of film virtually guaranteed a return on the domestic HK cinema circuit; even casual observers will notice a lot of product starting to go the "dumped to DVD with no cinema run" route of late.

Erm, dinner time...more anon.

* both films totally eclipsed all domestic product on their years of release.

[Brian Thibodeau]

Emulating, sure. But their emulations couldn't hold a candle to most Hollywood product, even though they overflowed with that unique vitality that attracted many of us to them in the first place, and which obviously held Asian audiences in rapt attention . . . for a while. How Indian cinema has gotten away with it this long, I don't know, but that is a pretty large audience after all!

Not sure where I particularly disagreed with you in my previous posts, or tried to single you out as being alone in your thoughts. I did stress that I never thought Hong Kong could compete. I'm well aware that they tried to compete, and even satisfied audience demands in Asia (and that inconsequential international niche by extension), and furthermore held their own at the box office.

But in many ways (see below for details) they still weren't as good. And we loved them for it all the more. It made them different.

My specific point was about creativity, all of the artistic disciplines that come together to make a motion picture, though I suppose such a point gets lost in my flabby posts. By such a yardstick, even in the 70's and 80's, the best Hong Kong filmmakers couldn't match what the best filmmakers in Hollywood were doing on so many creative levels. I'm sure budgets were one reason, among others. The best Hong Kong talents came awfully close in their own unique way (eastern sensibilities applied to western genre templates, for example), as scholarly history and our own libraries no doubt attest, but the majority didn't, nor did they really seem to care to. A strong local demand and a lack of deeply-entrenched piracy (as it exists today) seems only to have staved off the inevitable. Hollywood would move in.

If the rampant piracy of today, in all of it's insidious guises, had instead happened in the 1980's or the 1970's, Hong Kong cinema would have been finished then, instead of now. They were fortunate to have a responsive regional audience that was content with rough-around-the-edges production values, broad acting styles, derivative plotting and so forth. Since they ultimately couldn't compete technologicaly (and in many ways creatively) with Hollywood any better then than they do now due to lower budgets, hasty production schedules and what have you, a massive outbreak of filesharing or DVD authoring, on the scale it exists today (not the typical VCD hawkers of the era), would only have ushered in the downswing that much earlier. Their product lacked the built-in immunity that a monster like Hollywood can bestow ($$$) upon the majority of its productions, no matter how short-lived even that might seem these days. And let's not forget the ancillary pipeline up here in North America--endless cable channels, once-plentiful rental chains (not just stores), and now legal, paid, high-quality download portals (too many to mention anymore, at least 'round these parts). Those are all nice buffers that have yet to be completely crushed by piracy. Nor will they anytime soon, though they're all destined to change.

But speaking from my experience now, living in one of the most pirate-friendly countries on the planet outside of Asia (I'd even put us up against you New York/L.A. folks anyday ), and living just moments from--and spending much of my time in--the massive Chinese diasporic communities here, I can offer no argument against the harmful effects of piracy. I'm enthralled by Hong Kong cinema, and fond of obtaining it legally, so it bothers me to no end to see a phenomenal demand for Hong Kong cinema, bigger probably than it ever was, that sees virtually nothing being returned to the its creators unless, as I said, they're wise enough once in a while to work in the one genre that can tap the ancilliary streams in the U.S. (cable, DVD, VOD, etc.): action pictures.

Not sure who said the action film was some kind of magical industry saviour; I certainly don't agree. But I do appreciate that people there still take the time to make one now and again. I don't really care whether it's a LETHAL ANGELS or a FLASH POINT or an INVISIBLE TARGET, or how well it performs at the box office (since there are other, more logical revenue streams to pursue in this day and age). I'm just glad someone still cares enough to try. And more power to them if they can crack that U.S. ancilliary market, which action films are much more likely to do (two of the three just mentioned already have), then there's a better chance they'll make back a great deal of their comparitively low production costs. Because what they do still doesn't cost a lot of money on average, and it still has the power to entertain some people as successfully as many Hollywood blockbusters, without entirely surrendering its sense of identity.

Obviously, piracy isn't hurting just Hong Kong cinema. It's hurting ALL cinema from everywhere, but by and large only Hollywood has the creative, technological and marketing muscle to produce pictures that still put millions of bums on seats the world over in spite of their own films being made available on bootlegs just days after their theatrical debuts.

And yet in spite of everything, I still find much to enjoy in what's left of HK cinema, and don't really see the point of the blame game anymore. It happened. It's over. There's still life, faint though it may seem. Initial theatrical boxoffice and critical/internet reaction aren't everything; strip them away, good or bad, and we're still left with the artform, the craftsmanship, the thing that I care the most in cinema. And they still make plenty of good Hong Kong movies, especially when they're judged as Hong Kong movies instead of held up for comparison to the cinema of another country or dismissed out-of-hand for bandwagon hopping.

[cal42]

What did you think of the action in Flash Point (2007)?

I've not seen it yet . It's on my "to get" list, but I'm trying not to buy films at the moment as I'm heading off to NY again in September...where I'll probably buy lots of films again .

[Mike Thomason]

Not sure where I particularly disagreed with you in my previous posts, or tried to single you out as being alone in your thoughts.

And yet in spite of everything, I still find much to enjoy in what's left of HK cinema, and don't really see the point of the blame game anymore. It happened. It's over. There's still life, faint though it may seem. Initial theatrical boxoffice and critical/internet reaction aren't everything; strip them away, good or bad, and we're still left with the artform, the craftsmanship, the thing that I care the most in cinema. And they still make plenty of good Hong Kong movies, especially when they're judged as Hong Kong movies instead of held up for comparison to the cinema of another country or dismissed out-of-hand for bandwagon hopping.

In short: wasn't singling you out personally, Brian, as my reply was intended as a generalised response to a number of things of I have been reading as a whole; thus, apologies that you appear to have felt I was going mano-a-mano. I wasn't.

Agreed on the last above quote paragraph -- my whole point though was that in recent years, like a number of other small regional film industries across the globe, there outwardly appears to be a very physical replication of whatever happens to be the "latest in thing" from Hollywood again, over retaining regional identity and that very uniqueness that differentiated it from other countries' film industries. By way of example, last night I watched New Zealand film THE TATTOOIST, which was co-produced with Singapore's Medicorp Raintree company, and what elevated it for me above similar genre fare was its unique cultural awareness and identity -- its central focus was Samoan culture, and it harboured a distinctly Kiwi style that was, expectedly, infused with just a hint of Singaporean flavour in its opening passage set in Singapore itself. I fleetingly mulled over this thread while watching that film, as it was HK's unique cultural identity that initially drew me to its cinema and held me there for a very, very long time. Over the last twelve to eighteen months or so, I just don't feel that connection as strongly anymore -- but that's just me, everyone is different and there's a whole host of films out there from a variety of different places that I still want to see that aren't solely just HK movies. Like anyone who loves movies, I have my sideline interests and I'm just having an extended time-out this year and exploring other avenues...

[Mike Thomason]

Anyway...inspired by this thread and the boundless enthusiasm harboured within I have just, and I hope we're all sitting down, ordered the following:

Besieged City (Hong Kong) (DVD)
In Love With the Dead (Hong Kong) (2-DVD)
Linger (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Mad Detetctive (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Missing (Hong Kong) (2-DVD)
Playboy Cops (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Run Papa Run (Hong Kong) (DVD)
The Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon (China/Hong Kong/South Korea) (2-DVD)

...if they come before our baby arrives, I'll try my best to get the blog reactivated and start posting up some reviews. If not, the usual silence will prevail therein until I've adjusted to having the little one around

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Some of what I ended up getting from the DD Discount Criterion sale:

F For Fake, Green for Danger, Rififi, Viridiana, Playtime, A Night to Remember, La Haine, The Furies, Double Suicide, Tunes of GLory, Youth of the Beast, And the Ship Sails On, Mishima, Miss Julie, Naked Pray, Pierrot Le Fou, The Sporting Life, Wild Strawberries, Three Films by Hiroshi Teshigahara, Dreyer Box Set.

Additional Asian films of late (I've bought too much lately):
Two Champions of Shaolin (Well Go R1 release)
Brothers Five (Well Go R1 release)
Fearless (Directors Cut; the copy after the recall -- Best Buy actually got this right)
Farewell My Concubine (China)
Perfect Blue (Japan)
The Mission (Needed more To)
Beijing Bicycle (China)
City of Lost Souls (Japan)
Tell Me Something (Korea)

[cal42]

Additional Asian films of late (I've bought too much lately):
Two Champions of Shaolin (Well Go R1 release)
Brothers Five (Well Go R1 release)
Fearless (Directors Cut; the copy after the recall -- Best Buy actually got this right)
Farewell My Concubine (China)
Perfect Blue (Japan)
The Mission (Needed more To)
Beijing Bicycle (China)
City of Lost Souls (Japan)
Tell Me Something (Korea)

You can't go too wrong with the Mission! It's been an age since I saw Farewell, My Concubine, but I really enjoyed it. I don't remember much of the actual film, but my review of Brothers Five wasn't too complimentary .

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

...
You can't go too wrong with the Mission! It's been an age since I saw Farewell, My Concubine, but I really enjoyed it. I don't remember much of the actual film, but my review of Brothers Five wasn't too complimentary .

I'll read your review after I watch it (not sure if I will go Exiled next or The Mission from the oeuvre of To.) I see you gave Brothers Five a five (will read review fully after I watch the movie). Yea, the mediocre Shaw films do not tend to stay in the cranium much .

STSH gave Farewell, My Concubine 1 star .

[Brian Thibodeau]

Bit nutty at work the past few days, so haven't had a chance to properly continue the discussion. And never let it never be said that Canadians aren't a sensitive bunch.

By way of example, last night I watched New Zealand film THE TATTOOIST, which was co-produced with Singapore's Medicorp Raintree company, and what elevated it for me above similar genre fare was its unique cultural awareness and identity -- its central focus was Samoan culture, and it harboured a distinctly Kiwi style that was, expectedly, infused with just a hint of Singaporean flavour in its opening passage set in Singapore itself. . . .

I see your point here, but I wonder how many New Zealand films about Samoan culture with a distinct Kiwi style and a whiff of Singaporean flavour (or other such distinct films) should the industry be expected to produce lest interested parties turn away, forcing it to supplement with genre fare to keep people working? Admittedly I'm not hip to New Zealand cinema (so be kind ), but wouldn't a movie like THE TATTOOIST be produced alongside other, more generic pictures, perhaps stuff that could even be labeled derivative? In other words, what about the rest of New Zealand cinema? Surely the whole industry isn't given over to films steeped in "local/regional identity" in the same manner as THE TATTOOIST. I think the same school of thought could apply to Hong Kong cinema, or what's left of it.

More importantly, though, to those of us who don't live there, or close by as you do, any film set in New Zealand is going to impart a sense of local flavour, simply by default. Some do it better than others, but I'm sure if you showed me some routine New Zealand cop thriller full of American-style cliches, I'm still, as a foreigner more than just a film buff, going to suss out the "differences" within it, be they acting styles, faces, locations, language, set decoration, pop culture references . . . the list goes on.

This is how I continue to approach Hong Kong cinema both old and new, and it's how I hope others are able to approach it as well. It's also, possibly, why I continue to see evidence of Hong Kong's unique cultural identity in the newest productions where Mike, perhaps, does not. Like him, I too was hooked (like a junkie!) on this city's films/videos because of their unique regional identity, even though it frequently infused contemporary plotlines that could be transposed to just about any culture (barring, of course, the period epics, but even then . . . ). Maybe I'm an eternal optimist, but I just don't see where Hong Kong cinema has lost its identity just because it produces a few blockbuster-wannabes each year.

Even many (though certainly not all) of the Z-grade VCD shelf-fillers (circa '99 - '04) that I've watched are seasoned with herbs that can only be found in Hong Kong: sometimes it's by way of characters, locations or an inherently Hong Kong Chinese approach to the issues and storylines they explore; other times it's by way of the simple the fact that they're set there. It's a metropolitan Chinese city; that's a big part of its identity, and I expect to see metropolitan stories from its cinema, even if the core stories find might also work in films set in every other metropolis on earth!

but that's just me

I wonder if this might be as big a factor in your recent stance as anything the city has produced in the last few years. Seems like a lot has happened in your life over those past twelve-to-eighteen months or so as well Mike! I think this is probably true for a lot of movie buffs, especially if they enjoy going through phases, as you very much seem to.

This thread in particular, despite its original intention as an update on the Asian films people were buying, attests to the fact that most of us who post in these forums are hardly limited to just Hong Kong cinema. Many folks here, myself included, have a host of films they're watching from various places thanks to online sales, price reductions, bargain bins, random curiosity etc.; we're hopefully not stuck on just this one. At least that's not the impression I get around this forum. Other ones, however . . .

Mind you, I've only watched a handful of Hong Kong titles in the past couple of months because the stacks of unwatched NON-Hong Kong DVDs had been starting to intimidate me, as was my desire to streamline the main body of my collection while there was still good money to be made from it. I know I won't make much reselling unwanted pieces from my unwatched Hong Kong DVD/VCD piles, so the sense of urgency hasn't been as strong with those. Not being able to watch them more regularly, on the other hand, has been akin to withdrawal. Definitely looking forward to getting the "other stuff" out of the way so that I can find an better balance between west and east.

Anyway...inspired by this thread and the boundless enthusiasm harboured within I have just, and I hope we're all sitting down, ordered the following . . .

. . . if they come before our baby arrives, I'll try my best to get the blog reactivated and start posting up some reviews. If not, the usual silence will prevail therein until I've adjusted to having the little one around

Uh-oh! I sincerely hope you (and your wife) won't decide the money would have been better spent on diapers and baby food.

[Brian Thibodeau]

I also think the subject of downloading, which has been brough up in a couple of recent posts by Mike and myself, is worthy of discussion, and I'm genuinely interested in everyone's thoughts on the subject. But I'll start a new thread over in Hong Kong Movies so it has some room to breathe.
http://hkmdb.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=70109#70109


.

[cal42]

I never expected to get involved in the Criterion discussion but I seem to have unwittingly bought one. After a discussion with Shawn, I bought La Samourai and it turns out to be one of these Criterion thingies that people seem to find so agreeable . Didn't cost the earth either - I bought it brand new from Amazon Marketplace for about £12.

Anyway, talking of Samurai, does anyone know how the Criterion Seven Samurai compares with the BFI disc?

[Brian Thibodeau]

I never expected to get involved in the Criterion discussion but I seem to have unwittingly bought one. After a discussion with Shawn, I bought La Samourai and it turns out to be one of these Criterion thingies that people seem to find so agreeable . Didn't cost the earth either - I bought it brand new from Amazon Marketplace for about £12.

I must say I'm jealous of Shawn's haul in that recent BOGO Criterion sale at Deep Discount. Got my six measly purchases last weekend, but I'll be saving those for the right moods.

Also last weekend, I stopped by Big Lots during my visit to the states and picked up a few more $3 odds 'n ends. Don't know if any of these will be kept, but $3 is an ideal price to see movies I only ever half-wanted to see in the first place! Most of these are MGM titles:

SPECIAL EFFECTS (1984)
PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES SE (1970)
CURSE OF THE PINK PANTHER (only one I've never seen, I'm sure I haven't mised much)
CODE 46 (2003) (partly filmed in Shanghai and Hong Kong, I'm told)
EAT DRINK MAN WOMAN (1994)

(DVD Planet pays $4.49 for three of these via their QuoteMachine, so theoretically I could make my money back on the whole lot just by selling three )

Also got VENTURE BROS. SEASON TWO for $14.99 at Best Buy. Love that show.


.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

Brian,

Tell me how CURSE OF THE PINK PANTHER after you watch it. I just can't get myself to pick up the non-Peter Sellers Pink Panthers (yes I still haven't got the Alan Arkin one ).

I actually got even more Criterions, but I felt a little spoilt putting them down (though all for good ). I went a little crazy (though talking with a few people on Criterionforum.com they went even more nuts).

Cal, it is an easy one, get the three-disc Seven Samurai; just in case you don't believe me here is http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompar ... amurai.htm

[Brian Thibodeau]

Tell me how CURSE OF THE PINK PANTHER after you watch it. I just can't get myself to pick up the non-Peter Sellers Pink Panthers (yes I still haven't got the Alan Arkin one ).

Easy to keep my expectations in check after TRAIL OF THE PINK PANTHER! Either way, $3 seemed apropos.


.

[Mike Thomason]

Anyway...inspired by this thread and the boundless enthusiasm harboured within I have just, and I hope we're all sitting down, ordered the following . . .

. . . if they come before our baby arrives, I'll try my best to get the blog reactivated and start posting up some reviews. If not, the usual silence will prevail therein until I've adjusted to having the little one around

Uh-oh! I sincerely hope you (and your wife) won't decide the money would have been better spent on diapers and baby food.

Trust me -- we've spent literally thousands of dollars preparing for the arrival of the little fellow in the past month or so; my wife just said "buy yourself some DVDs" and I figured out what wouldn't cost a fortune, that I really wanted to see, and ordered them. We still have plenty of savings tucked away and are well prepared for any extras bub might cost -- plus, being a supporting spouse, I get some decent subsidies from the government to assist us. I am sure we'll do okay...

In other developments: new HK movies!!! Film at 11

[cal42]

An aside:

Oh, so that's what the fuss is all about with these Criterion thingies.

[Brian Thibodeau]

In other developments: new HK movies!!! Film at 11

Well, my fingers are crossed that we'll finally hear some good news on that broadcast!

[Mike Thomason]

August Purchases

13: Game of Death (aka: 13 Beloved) (Unrated) (Thailand) (DVD)
21 Grams (US) (DVD)
25th Hour (US) (DVD)
Amelie (France) (2-DVD)
Amore Perros (Mexico) (DVD)
Atonement (UK) (DVD)
Babel (US/France/Mexico) (2-DVD)
Bad Boys/Bad Boys II (US) (3-DVD)
The Beach (US/UK) (DVD)
Bend it like Beckham (UK) (DVD)
Black Sheep (Unrated) (New Zealand) (DVD)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (US) (2-DVD)
Brick Lane (UK) (DVD)
Bug (US) (DVD)
The Butcher (Italy) (DVD)
Calendar Girls (UK) (DVD)
The Card Player (Italy) (DVD)
Casino (US) (2-DVD)
Catch Me If You Can (US) (2-DVD)
Chaos (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Chicago (US) (2-DVD)
Children of Men (US/UK/Japan) (DVD)
Christian, the Lion at World's End (UK) (DVD)
Cold Mountain (US) (2-DVD)
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (US) (DVD)
Confidence (US) (DVD)
The Constant Gardener (UK) (DVD)
Crash (Director's Cut) (US) (2-DVD)
Crazy Eights (US) (DVD)
The Darjeeling Limited (US) (DVD)
Dead Man's Shoes (UK) (DVD)
Deja-vu (US) (DVD)
The Dreamers (NC-17 version) (UK/France/Italy) (DVD)
Eastern Promises (US/UK) (DVD)
Elizabeth (UK) (DVD)
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (UK) (DVD)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (US) (2-DVD)
Fate (Hong Kong) (DVD)
Flushed Away (US/UK) (DVD)
Fool's Gold (US) (DVD)
Gangs of New York (US) (2-DVD)
Heaven (US/UK/France/Germany/Italy) (DVD)
A History of Violence (International version) (US) (DVD)
In the Valley of Elah (US) (DVD)
Jarhead (US) (DVD)
The Kingdom (US) (DVD)
Like Minds (aka: Murderous Intent) (Australia/UK) (DVD)
Little Miss Sunshine (US) (DVD)
The Lives of Others (Germany) (DVD)
Lord of War (US) (DVD)
Lost in Translation (US) (DVD)
Lust Caution (NC-17 version) (Taiwan) (DVD)
Madagascar (US) (2-DVD)
Million Dollar Baby (US) (2-DVD)
Monster (US) (2-DVD)
Mrs Henderson Presents (UK) (DVD)
Mulberry Street (US) (DVD)
Mystic River (US) (2-DVD)
The Nest (France) (DVD)
No Apparent Motive (Italy) (DVD)
No Country for Old Men (US) (DVD)
Notes on a Scandal (UK) (DVD)
The Notorious Bettie Page (US) (DVD)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (US/France/Germany/Spain) (2-DVD)
Punch-Drunk Love (US) (2-DVD)
Ratatouille (US) (2-DVD)
Reincarnation (Japan) (DVD)
Road to Perdition (US) (DVD)
The Rock (US) (2-DVD)
Scooby Doo (US) (DVD)
Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (US) (DVD)
Secret Window (US) (DVD)
Shortbus (US) (DVD)
Swimfan (US) (DVD)
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (Unrated) (US) (DVD)
Unrest (US) (DVD)
Waz (UK) (DVD)
Wicked Little Things (Unrated Director's Cut) (US) (DVD)

...this is The End...my beautiful friend, The End...

[Brian Thibodeau]

A couple of recent bargains:

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE SE (Blu-Ray)
(a chain called Family Video in the U.S. had this up for pre-order at $8.84 a few weeks back, which made it a no-brainer. Gotta wait until Sept. though.)

SCI-FI 70's DOUBLE FEATURE: MOON ZERO TWO/WHEN DINOSAURS RULED THE EARTH
Sprang for this when it became known that the latter film was the uncut version despite the G rating on the package. Now it sounds as though there might be some kind of recall in the works because of that error, so might be worth grabbing a copy if you see it. It's yet another Best Buy "exclusive" : it's still available on their website and in many stores, I'm told. If a replacement does come, the big question is will they reprint the sleeves with proper ratings, or substitute the cut edition of DINOSAURS to match the existing sleeves!

Hoping to get some Hong Kong movies in the next few weeks; once there's enough titles to justify shipping.

[Brian Thibodeau]

Thoughts on some recent viewing

ONE MISSED CALL (2008): Quite a disappointment considering how easily the concept of the original could have been transferred to just about any "wired" culture on earth. I'm just glad we found this super-super cheap (like $3). While I'm no champion of the idea of these remakes of popular Asian horror films, which I tend to think are unnecessary, I'm usually willing to cut them some slack and take them on their own terms. First, they changed the ringtone to something far, far less creepy than the one featured in the original, then they proceed to indulge in lazy, FINAL DESTINATION-style misdirection to set up some of the kills, particularly an egregious false-suspense scene where one "next victim" walks across busy lanes of traffic, then walks back across the same lanes to get something from his friend, then makes a dreadfully obvious crack about losing his head if it wasn't attached (so obvious, in fact, that you know he won't die that way), then promptly gets killed in a manner that's barely "unexpected" because you've already been primed to "expect" something different. This kind of cheat was clever about five or six years ago (even in the original), but not now. This was shot in Atlanta, but it might as well have been Toronto for all the local colour it has, but even at that, it's more colour than you get from leads Shannyn Sossaman and Ed Burns, who are clearly sleepwalking throughout the film because their director can't draw well-rounded characters with them. Margaret Cho shows up briefly as a cop . . . and handles dialogue that could just as easily have been given to Burns. It's also rated PG-13, which explains why the climax carries almost none of the impact (or gore) of the Japanese film. I noted at the IMDB that this was called DON'T PICK UP THE CELL PHONE in Australia. Could that be true?

Started watching THE EYE this morning, but won't comment until I'm done with it . . . other than to say that Jessica Alba is a very average actress.

NEVER TO LOSE (Korea, 2005; AKA LEE DAE-RO CAN'T DIE). One more run-of-the-mill Korean police procedural, about a police division with a poor arrest record, fronted by impulsive brawler Kim Min-joon and old salt Heo Joon-ho, being tasked with taking down a super-suave drug runner operating in their district. Meanwhile a new female recruit (Nam Sang-mi) investigates of the hit-and-run of a dog. Naturally, both storylines converge. Some welcome (if familiar) local flavour in the form of the bureaucracy and budget cuts facing the unit, and the cameraderie of these rule-bending cops, but the central conflict is 80's American Cop Show Drama 101: the icy-cool villain (Yoon Tae-young, never missing an opportunity to go shirtless it seems) even blends his heroin into the pottery he ships out of the country! Gee, haven't seen that before! Nice slugfest between Kim and Yoon at the climax, with both men demonstrating an almost superhuman ability to withstand repeated blows.

SHORT TIME (Korea, 2005) This is a remake of a criminally underappreciated Dabney Coleman starrer from 1990, and you'd think it'd be hard to screw it up, but that's just what they do here. Once again, Korean stuntpeople show how far they have to go when it comes to staging realistic car chases. The central one here, mirrored with far more zip in the American version, almost never feels like its moving very fast, and the vehicular stunts defy physics in the bad way that American TV cop shows did in the 70's and 80's: punching the accelerator does not give a car enough lift to fly up through a bottle water truck! Perhaps another car with a slanted rear end would have at least sold a gag like this a little better, even while still violating laws of physics, but I guess they figured Korean audiences wouldn't notice. In the original, cowardly cop Coleman, thinking he's got a fatal disease, starts trying (and failing, spectacularly) to die in the line of duty so his wife and son can collect on his generous insurance policy, but instead becomes an indestructible supercop. Here, Lee Beom-soo chews the scenery a bit too much as the title character (who's also corrupt - a nice new touch), but for purely Korean-style melodramatic reasons, they make him a single dad searching for his daughter's birth mother while his current girlfriend schemes with another man to get a big chunk of the payout. Not that the original didn't have it's schmaltzy moments, but rejiggering the plot in this way (coincidentally, "this way" is a translation of the main character's name, making for a neat pun in the title) allows for more opportunities for overripe tear-jerking than a film like this really needs. Not a total write-off, as there are a few laughs unique to this version, but like so many Korean action films at this level, it leaves you wondering how much better it could have been.



.

[Brian Thibodeau]

In case anyone's interested, Amazon has a "3 DVDs for $10" sale on right now. Seems like it's mostly Columbia/Sony stuff, but might be a few goodies there. Don't know how long it's running, though.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?i ... 0261871&pl

Asian/Martial Arts-themed stuff I noticed:
Wasabi
Jackie Chan's Who Am I?
Blind Fury (Rutger Hauer remake of Zatoichi)
Silent Rage (Chuck Norris vs. the living dead)
3 Ninjas Kick Back


.

[Brian Thibodeau]

Well, compared to the remake of ONE MISSED CALL (or the remake of SHUTTER, which likewise misfired for tampering too much with a good thing), the remake of THE EYE is bonafide classic! Not literally, of course, but I'll give the filmmakers due credit for being more respectful and faithful to the source material than the folks behind just about every Asian horror remake to date. It's not scene-for-scene, but it hews to the original quite closely and thus provides many of the same pleasures all over again, so if you enjoyed the original, this should only enhance its reputation. All the key scenes from the earlier film are accounted for and slickly handled in a wider frame: creepy floating elevator guy; lunging ghost woman (tranported from a calligrahy studio to a tony bistro); report card boy; the fiery finale. A few things were dropped, and aren't overly missed from a western standpoint; namely the protagonist's grandmother/mom/whatever (part of a nice thematic throughline, but I never felt it was crucial to telling the story) and the handsome Thai doctor, an unnecessary third wheel in the second half of the earlier film. Alessandro Nivola basically combines the Lawrence Cheng and Pierre Png roles into one. A couple of things were done better in the original, though: the heroine's mirror reveal (where we finally see the face she thought was hers but wasn't) was a much tighter piece of work; the eye donor's relationship with her own mother was drawn in more detail; and the death wraiths were a little creepier with their shifting white faces (they're fully black here). Some things were changed but still effective: instead of running through the fat schoolboy, Alba runs through a young woman, for example, and both films feature creepy scenes in Chinese restaurants that serve to reinforce the heroine's "gift" (though I rather prefered that meat-licking wife-ghost in the original). The ending is virtually the same in both films, although the remake depicts a much more logical reaction from the people in the traffic jam, which alters the tone of the ending considerably. I'm still not entirely convinced that Alba's a great actress, but having seen the whole film now, I suppose she's alright for glossy popcorn fare like this. At least she's something more than just eye candy for once, though she's not quite a patch on Angelica Lee.

[Masterofoneinchpunch]

^ Looking through Alba's filmography, I noticed I have only seen (not counting TV) her in two films: Never Been Kissed (small role) and Sin City. Most of her films like Good Luck Chuck and Fantastic Four I probably won't get to anytime soon (or ever).

I am curious about The Eye remake (though I'm more curious about The Eye 3), but I've been trying to get through more US 2008 releases (OK, I've only watched four so far Iron Man, Hellboy 2, Drillbit Taylor, Forbidden Kingdom; it is hard to talk to people about what I've been mostly watching for the past few years ). Your mini-review definitely has me curious (I was never quite happy with the original ending).

[Brian Thibodeau]

^ Looking through Alba's filmography, I noticed I have only seen (not counting TV) her in two films: Never Been Kissed (small role) and Sin City. Most of her films like Good Luck Chuck and Fantastic Four I probably won't get to anytime soon (or ever).

She was certainly nice to look at in the FF movies, and again she does alright even in those roles since they don't exactly require a great range. I suppose I should just be content that she doesn't overreach, at least not yet. No Jane Austen adaptations on her plate, and all that.

I am curious about The Eye remake (though I'm more curious about The Eye 3)

I've noticed that on store shelves during a couple of recent visits to the U.S. and kept forgetting to look it up when I got home. Finally did just last night, actually, realized it's a retitle for THE EYE 10 and added it as an alias to that film's DB entry.

but I've been trying to get through more US 2008 releases (OK, I've only watched four so far Iron Man, Hellboy 2, Drillbit Taylor, Forbidden Kingdom; it is hard to talk to people about what I've been mostly watching for the past few years ). Your mini-review definitely has me curious (I was never quite happy with the original ending).

I've seen a lot of the big spring/summer movies this year, mainly because Toronto has too many top-flight theatres not to, and since many were digital projection, I suppose they count here!

Saw:

IRON MAN: highly impressed with this; probably one of the best comic adaptations ever. Actually looking forward to future sequels)

INCREDIBLE HULK: like this more than Ang Lee's version, but it did feel slightly like a retread because Lee's film was so recent (and wasn't that bad to begin with). Better start to a franchise though, should they decide to go that way.

DARK KNIGHT Love the character, enjoyed the terrorism/homeland security /corrupt bureaucracy undercurrents, and like these two movies much better than the older four, but this was unnecessarily long, with supporting characters more interesting than the hero (something that practically defined the 90's films). Having Bale grunt his dialogue when he's in costume was not the wisest decision. And the joker's social experiment with the two ferries, and a lot of the dialogue that went along with it, was just too much preaching for my tastes. Overall, though, it provided enough kicks (and punches, and car chases, and explosions) to justsify the night out!

MAMMA MIA. Fun for what it was. Made comments earlier in this thread.

SPEED RACER: a wonder to look at; a chore to sit through.

PRINCE CASPIAN: Not a fan of these kinds of fantasy quest pictures in general, especially ones with religious underpinnings, but can take them on their own merits nonetheless. Thought this was a marked improvement over the first one by far, with a much wider scope and larger action setpieces and (slightly) less preaching to the choir.

INDY 4: Basically fun, if mechanical, but never seemed as "big" as the first three (which tended to revolve around significant religious artifacts), but that could just be because of the changing face of fantasy/adventure/action cinema since 1989. It's all been done by now, so we have to just enjoy the company of familiar characters. Lots of references for fans of the series and aficionados of cold-war paranoia, so that was fun, and the action scenes are as inventive as anything in the earlier pictures, although the jeep chase/swordfight through the jungle strained credibility.

WANTED: I rather liked the snide, sick sense of humour in this, especially in the office scenes, which probably hit home for many people nowadays. Didn't mind the final line that people seem to bitch about, either. The director obviously wanted to arrive in Hollywood with a bang, and he has. The storytelling gets a bit muddled towards the end; it makes sense, but you shouldn't have to work so hard for it. Action scenes are knowingly over the top within the film's mythology: cars are hurled around like toys by their drivers; trains derail and plummet thousands of meters to wedge between cliffs; brutal beatings are healed right up in strange baths; and lifes are ended on orders from a giant loom. I've read the first couple of issues of the trade paperback of the comic, and huge liberties were taken. The comic book's characters were a bit more superhero-like, with costumes and powers that were wisely left on the page (along with the hero's puggish resemblance to Eminem, thank God). Mind you, I'd be curious to see characters like Shithead and Fuckwit writ large on the silver screen someday!


Hoping to catch MUMMY 3 and HANCOCK on the big screen as well, despite what I've read about them. I'll probably wait until they've moved to the discount theatres, just to be safe.

[cal42]

INDY 4: Basically fun, if mechanical, but never seemed as "big" as the first three (which tended to revolve around significant religious artifacts), but that could just be because of the changing face of fantasy/adventure/action cinema since 1989. It's all been done by now, so we have to just enjoy the company of familiar characters. Lots of references for fans of the series and aficionados of cold-war paranoia, so that was fun, and the action scenes are as inventive as anything in the earlier pictures

Yeah, as a huge fan of the series, I was really worried how this was going to turn out. I actually think it turned out the best it could have done under the circumstances. I could have done WITHOUT the references, myself (who, in all honesty, DIDN'T know we were going to see the Ark when we first see the Area 51 warehouse??), but all in all I was quite happy with it.

although the jeep chase/swordfight through the jungle strained credibility.

God, yes. I remember thinking "Uh-oh, someone's given Lucas too much free reign again!". And those ants...what WAS that all about...?

It's funny, I pointed out that sequence to a friend, criticising it quite heavily, and then praising the scene where he gets hit by a nuclear bomb and comes away without a scratch .

[Brian Thibodeau]

I could have done WITHOUT the references, myself (who, in all honesty, DIDN'T know we were going to see the Ark when we first see the Area 51 warehouse??), but all in all I was quite happy with it.

I kinda figured the ark would make an appearance, as a couple of shots of that warehouse were so obviously similar to the final shot of the first film! Thought it was an OK touch, but yeah, the second and third movies didn't bother with such touchstones (although the second one is technically the first story in the timeline, as I recall . . . )

God, yes. I remember thinking "Uh-oh, someone's given Lucas too much free reign again!". And those ants...what WAS that all about...?

The swordfight car chase was definitely one of those instances of an elaborate sequence requiring just a few too many digital effects to pull off. The effects were top-drawer, but I started thinking about them the longer the combatants danced around on top of those careening vehicles! I also had to wonder if it wasn't just a case of Steven Spielberg trying to prove he can play with all the young turks out there these days when it comes rampaging CGI action scenes.

It's funny, I pointed out that sequence to a friend, criticising it quite heavily, and then praising the scene where he gets hit by a nuclear bomb and comes away without a scratch .

If nothing else, the nuke scene at least sets up the light tone of the film, even if it stretches reality. Hey, if I could roll with it in WANTED, I was OK with it here. I'm not so sure nuclear test buildings were so highly detailed in real life, but it did make the ensuing destruction a little more rich.

[cal42]

Just ordered the Criterion DVDs of Rashomon and Seven Samurai. Oh, well, you only live once, I suppose.

Never seen the former and very much looking forward to seeing the latter again.