A fable of human love caught in the current of nature's wrath
An adaptation of the 1913 play of the same name, Demon Pond blends theatrical artifice with cinematic surrealism offering a compelling lesson in the power of superstition and mythology; defined by a pervasive tension between the ancient and the modern, superstition versus scientific reason, an aquatic tale of life and death. We live as long as we have it, but if we lose it, we die, except the film's true subject is love. We can live without it, but is that really living? In Masahiro Shinoda's lush, romantic, bigger-than-life take on Izumi Kyōka's text, the answer is a resounding no. What starts as a folk horror fantasy with a psychological thriller vibe gradually shifts into full-on action-adventure-meets-disaster film mode once all watery hell breaks loose. Shinoda's is extraordinary in its dreamlike decadence, it's the kind of film that could get by strictly on aesthetic terms, such a feast for the eyes and ears, that it almost wouldn't matter if the story didn't make much sense or even had one to begin with. Set to the swirling strains of Isao Tomita's utterly hypnotic synth score and bolstered by some great acting from its cast, Demon Pond is a fascinating experience; one that arguably runs a little long at two hours, but which remains endlessly captivating thanks to its beauty, elegance, and portrayal of a fable of human love caught in the current of nature's wrath.Was this review helpful to you?
Certainly better than II
Rather than offering a retread of the original film as the first sequel did, A Moment of Romance III goes in an entirely different direction. Don't expect motorcycles racing down the streets of Hong Kong, Taking the basic set-up of the first and transplanting it into a romantic period piece under the cover of a Spielbergian visual aesthetic. Despite the overly hackneyed set-up, the film proves to be decent fluff, jettisoning director Benny Chan in favour of the series' producer, Johnnie To who provides the film with plenty of lavish production values. While the script and story may be pretty generic, To makes the best of it and provides some nice war action and plenty of tear-jerking drama. Although he's seemingly set in brooding mode for most of the runtime, bringing back star Andy Lau was a great move as the chemistry between him and the returning Wu Chien-Lien, also on top form throughout, is undeniable. Eventually, everything gives way to your standard "choice of love" type deal with one of our two parties running to a romantic reunion. Ultimately A Moment of Romance III is extremely sappy but anyone chasing pretty stars and heart-wrenching pathos will not be disappointed, it's certainly a more worthwhile time investment than II.Was this review helpful to you?
Disappointingly unfocused
Right out of the starting gate, it's hard not to be disappointed and perhaps even slightly insulted by A Moment of Romance II. It's horribly unfocused, sharing very little of the original film's excitement or romance along with contrived plotting that doesn't add up to more than manufactured pathos. While the first film at least had some thematic and dramatic justification for its tragic resolution, this one seems to follow a similar pattern to get a rise out of this audience. It doesn't work; you have to care about the characters first. Johnnie To certainly didn't ghost-direct this one... That being said, this is far from a poorly made film, Benny Chan does a more than decent job in the film's direction. The actors all do a decent job with the material given even if Aaron Kwok isn't a real replacement for Andy Lau, the real highlight is the typically slimy Anthony Wong, and the music by William Wu does evoke some form of emotional resonance. Sadly, A Moment in Romance II spreads itself too thin; one that doesn't work as a romance or a thriller, a tragic case of a film trying to be everything to everybody, and ending up as a bit of nothing to no one.Was this review helpful to you?
A celebration of love
Falling in love is easy; falling out of love is harder. This is where Comrades, Almost a Love Story succeeds; its tragic beauty is undeniable. It's a heartfelt story of two mainlanders caught in fate's grand design, an incredibly moving film full of soulful looks, lingering glances and averted eyes. Director Patrick Chan and writer Ivy Ho throw every romantic convention imaginable into the film, Chan's direction remains restrained and respectful, holding back from too much sentimentality; while Ho's script is rich with wonderful details, drawing upon the culture and the history of recent Hong Kong. Although she eventually falls upon clichés to bring the film full circle, the plot devices don't feel like plot devices but combined with a beautiful piano-laden score means its no deal breaker. Maggie Cheung is wonderful here; her luminous screen presence just lights up the film, while Leon Lai turns in an admirable performance of his own, although occasionally wooden at times, it's lovely to see him inhabit such a real character. Destiny is a force that fascinates Hong Kong, which is understandable as they've felt themselves swept along by the river of history, with little or no control over their eventual fate. Yes, there's a certain drag to it and sometimes it's even a little melodramatic but ultimately Comrades, Almost a Love Story is a wonderfully beautiful celebration of love and all the challenges it brings.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Simply magnificent
I genuinely can't believe I put this film off for so long! A darker-than-dark neo-noir thriller, On the Run, is exactly the kind of film I adore one that's raised to another level by an incredibly dark sense of humour and a knack for doing the unexpected. It takes you for a ride, managing to assault, frustrate and delight regularly never ceasing to be entertaining or compelling. It's far from uplifting, a constant overhanging anxiety plagues its characters from the then-upcoming Chinese takeover of Hong Kong, even in 1988 they were worried about the future, it gives the film a suitably grim atmosphere even in the face of its stunning visuals. It's so weird to think that Alfred Cheung was more well-known for his comedies because watching this you honestly wouldn't know it. He perfectly complements the gloomy theme with dark cinematography of the black, Hong Kong horizon dimly lit with the traditional glow of neon lights. It is almost impossible to not be utterly captivated by its mood. As much as this is one of Yuen Biao's finest performances, the film is absolutely stolen by Pat Ha; displaying an intense physical presence throughout as a cold-blooded hitwoman with a heart of gold that commands incredible respect and sympathy. Aside from an incredible pole-slide stunt performed midway through by Yuen Biao, all the action is played with a brutal realism that's nothing short of spectacular, especially that final fight. Featuring a brilliantly crafted script that moves at lightning speed and a truly unforgettable musical score by Violet Lam, I cannot find myself praising On the Run enough, it's simply terrific.Was this review helpful to you?
Beautiful
A Simple Life is simply divine. Expressing hope in human nature which befits the challenges of taking care of our sick and elderly, while its premise is rife with potential for sentimentality it remains remarkably restrained. It's a subject matter that Director Ann Hui handles with tender care and attention that's complimented by a plangent piano soundtrack to tug at the heartstrings tempered with a downbeat reality and tear-jerking performances from both Andy Lau and Deanie Ip that are just the icing on the cake. While these sorts of films aren't normally my cup of tea, you must have a heart of stone if this doesn't leave you unaffected by the sheer wholesomeness of its depressing reality.Was this review helpful to you?
Unflinchingly tense
A gripping, often uncompromising look at the Hong Kong drug trade, Protégé takes a tried and tested storytelling formula and marries it to compelling cinematic finesse caught up in a cobweb of drugs, loyalties and deceit. Mercifully unpretentious, the film is directed with remarkable proficiency by Derek Yee, offering a look at both sides of the drug coin: those who profit from it and those who ultimately suffer from it. By keeping it more personal, Yee's film feels more intimate and urgent, more satisfyingly intriguing, helped in no small regard by its star power. A greyed-up Andy Lau is as great as ever, offering up a sympathetic spin on an otherwise purely business-focused drug lord, while Daniel Wu plays off of Lau with a subtle and controlled rage. With its smart script, solid acting and tight directing Protégé varies from intense drama to dreamlike to subtle shades of black comedy yet never feels like an afterschool special or an obvious morality tale.Was this review helpful to you?
Joe Hisaishi's music destroys me
From its hypnotic style to its pessimistic plot, Sonatine is a mesmerizing manifestation of Takeshi Kitano's continued revitalisation of the yakuza movie. It is a largely peaceful, contemplative work, punctuated by moments of extreme violence all delivered with purpose balancing the fine line between gorgeously dreamy and grim reality. Kitano's haunting elegy to the gangster way of life, he spends the film exposing the gangster ideal as the myth, of little boys who forget to grow up, doing so with incredible flourishes of style, playfulness and jarring outbursts of his trademark humour. Having only written four scenes, the vast majority of the film was largely spontaneous, often Kitano finding his feet in the moment at hand. Sonatine sees the bleak suicidal tendencies of Kitano's mind coming right to the forefront, especially since he suffered partial facial paralysis after a motorscooter accident not long after this film's release. One he has often mentioned was an unconscious suicide attempt, this alone lends a massive amount of weight to the Russian Roulette sequences, giving Sonatine so much more emotional levity to its already unconventional narrative. With the addition of another stunning musical score by Joe Hisaishi, Sonatine rewards those with patience, offering up plenty of existential dread among its exceptional beauty.Was this review helpful to you?
Arigato, Ultraman
I genuinely couldn't wait for a second longer in viewing this, I've been so excited for its release for so long that when some heroes leaked it to the internet during October I was over the moon, yet equally annoyed due to the fact I was already dedicated to Spooky Season at the time. But finally, my time has come and Shin Ultraman is everything I hoped it would be and more.As the threat of giant unidentified lifeforms known as "S-Class Species" worsens in Japan and just when the JSDF and SSSP are pushed to the breaking point, a silver giant appears from beyond Earth's atmosphere.
In this house, we do not stand for Shinji Higuchi erasure, dude had just as much input in the creation of this as Hideaki Anno so it feels morally wrong to completely exclude him from any and all credit he deserves. This film is fucking raw and equally gorgeous, with so many shots of note but the scene of "Ultraman" standing amongst the burning ruins of a city goes hard. Also worth noting is that if you only went to see this or Shin Godzilla due to Anno's name, maybe rethink how you are approaching these movies, just saying.
There's a conscious production design decision by the duo to make Shin Ultraman look as if it was in its genesis and absolutely not concerned with reaching the modern "standards" of polished reboot looks is such a refreshing take. Shin Ultraman looks the part of a brilliant piece of tokusatsu media, a fresh reboot for a new generation and a love letter for long-time fans as both Higuchi and Anno are themselves.
Like Shin Godzilla before it, the visual effects are fantastically stylised. There's a clear love for the original designs and a clever little riff on the reuse of the Shin Godzilla CG model if you know your Ultraman. Shirō Sagisu returns as the composer for the second time, beautifully enhancing the original works of Kunio Miyauchi while adding in works left unused from both Shin Godzilla and of course, fucking Evangelion.
There's so much to be said about the overwhelming success of this film, for a time the highest-grossing film of 2022 in Japan alone and currently sitting at the most commercially successful Ultraman film beating out my beloved Superior 8 Ultra Brothers. It stands tall as one of the finest examples of both a reboot and a piece of Ultraman media, although perhaps not as tall as Brave Love Tiga.
The film doesn't really want to spend time with the politics of its predecessor, as Higuchi has stated in interviews "if we just did the same thing, it's kind of pointless". More power to the man, but the film isn't without a small political commentary on the Japanese government and how they would delineate a situation like this.
There's a little commentary on humanity's place in the universe, and whether we've proven ourselves worthy of continuing as a species. This messaging isn't always elegantly executed but, like so much of the film, it's presented with such enthusiastic sincerity that it's hard to resist. The world may sometimes be a terrible, frightening place, but Shin Ultraman argues that a little decency can still go a long way. I fucking love it, roll on Shin Kamen Rider!
Was this review helpful to you?
The weaker of the Amemiya duology
Easily the weaker of Keita Amemiya's two Kamen Rider films, but J does many things that ZO doesn't. Kamen Rider J skips out on the backstory of its Rider and instead leaves the questions till later opting for the action-first approach. The creature designs are suitably Amemiya with the direction and music as great as they always are, I could have done without the annoying little sidekick as it felt like Amemiya was trying to draw in a younger crowd with it, given the costume design of Zu it feels like the exact opposite, she possesses considerable dommy energy.Was this review helpful to you?
A superior Bodyguard
The Bodyguard from Beijing is a bit of lively, unpretentious fun that takes Mick Jackson's The Bodyguard but replaces Kevin Costner with Jet Li and the weird musical numbers with kung fu. Corey Yuen directs with a visceral energy that wouldn't be out of place in a Wong Jing movie and although, the writing is certainly a bit on the hokey side Li's charisma as a real man's man shines through. With plenty of high-energy and varied gunfights to keep you engrossed, a solid musical score and a fantastic final fight to boot elevate what could have otherwise ended up as a rather undercooked and stale riff, yes it's rather generic but there's a heart-beating somewhere underneath its surface.Was this review helpful to you?
Seriously underrated madness
One part ET, another part Indiana Jones but a Wong Jing movie in every other sense, Magic Crystal has everything and the kitchen sink cheesed up to the max, but dosed on adrenalin too. Wong Jing's signature chaotic direction, balls-to-the-wall pace, brutal stunt work, cheesy yet ridiculously charming effects and humour that ranges from childish to outright offensive but it's presented in such a way that it remains hilarious. Topped off by an incredible cast that includes the likes of Andy Lau, Cynthia Rothrock and an awesomely villainous Richard Norton all of whom commit 100% to the film's stupidity. It's over the top and knows it, delivering endless, ferocious and well-choreographed action all set to a rocking synth score that has become a staple of most 80s Hong Kong movies. Daft, dumb and oh-so-fun, Magic Crystal is one you owe yourself to watch if you are in any way a fan of shlocky excellence. Then again I also gave 5 stars to Future Cops... so you decide.Was this review helpful to you?
Sammo does John Woo
If you only know Sammo Hung for his more happy-go-lucky roles, then Eastern Condors will be a massive shock to the system, going as far as to tread into John Woo's territory of heroic bloodshed. Taking the idea of The Dirty Dozen but setting it in Vietnam, Sammo got serious with this one, even cutting his trademark hair and slimming right down. There are no mincing words about how brutally violent Eastern Condors gets... Hands get chopped off, Vietcong kids play Russian Roulette and people are shot point blank with no hesitation, in the wrong hands it's distasteful stuff, but Sammo treats it all with sincerity, marking this film out as one of his finest accomplishments as an actor, martial artist and director.Although the majority of the action is hyper-intense gun fights occasionally punctuated by a familiar moment seen in Western war films like The Deer Hunter or the Rambo franchise, there is a spectacular final bout of full-contact fisticuffs for the patient ones among you. The cast is populated by plenty of familiar names and faces, although I do wish they got a bit more characterisation outside of their nicknames and who plays them, they all commit often coming away bloody and bruised from the hyper-dangerous stunt work. For better or worse, Eastern Condors has a gritty edge that makes it truly stand out amongst Sammo's filmography often feeling like what Heroes Shed No Tears had originally wanted to be, it's an absolute must-see!
Was this review helpful to you?
Exhausting
Exceptionally convoluted and deliriously nihilistic, Genocide is appropriately harrowing and periodically bonkers if a little middling around the second act. The second of only two movies from director Kazui Nihonmatsu, having previously helmed The X from Outer Space, Genocide is all over the place with enough hair-brained ideas to fill two movies let alone a single 84-minute one, primarily the hallucinogenic bees being bred by an insane holocaust survivor. Nihonmatsu handles the film with considerably more skill than his prior effort, there's a wider variety of shots and a better building of suspense thanks in part to the photography of Shizuo Hirase and the passable score from Shunsuke Kikuchi. It's very much an accident of a film, suitably ambitious and apocalyptic in its finality, ultimately hinging on the potential detonation of a hydrogen bomb and the single mother who may have to single-handedly repopulate a country. Genocide is an exhausting yet very rewarding experience, showcasing so pretty damn good filmmaking for its small budget but, as noted before, has too much plot for its own good.Was this review helpful to you?
Watch the HK Cut
The answer is Jackie Chan. Who Am I? sees Jackie tackle the amnesiac spy thriller years before the Matt Damon shaky cam series and although a lot of the acting from its supporting cast leaves a lot to be desired (almost to the point of brain dead), the action more than makes up for it. The story feels unnecessarily complex and often messy but makes for an otherwise very compelling mystery (provided you watch the right version) in one of Jackie's more serious turns ala Crime Story. Benny Chan's direction is all pretty solid and Nathan Wang's score is decent if very dated, but seeing it paired with Jackie running around causing mass destruction in the Netherlands all while clad in a pair of clogs was truly a sight to behold. Despite a tepid first half, the film picks up steam with some great action, a fantastic car chase and the usual death-defying stunts in the second, with the rooftop fight easily ranking as one of his best, it's all just as imaginative and energetic as his early works even with Chan's advancing age.Was this review helpful to you?
