Markgway's capsule reviews of recent-ish HK movies

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 17 Sep 2006, 17:34

SEOUL RAIDERS -- Glossy, lightweight caper, just like it's predecessor, Tokyo Raiders. Kills time adequately, but is disposible really. If you liked Tokyo, not reason why you shouldn't feel the same about this one. I'm actually starting to warm a bit to Shu Qi.

DRAGON SQUAD -- Headache-inducing, over-stylised cops 'n' robbers flick, with blurry action sequences. Improves towards the end, but the script is largely non-existant. Michael Biehn adds a touch of weight to an underwritten character; most of the young cast are anonymous.

THE SHOPAHOLICS -- Surprisingly enjoyable comedic farce from Wai Ka Fai; and this is from someone who hated Fantasia. For once Wai hit many of the right notes and the performances are a joy; Cecilia Cheung, especially, is delightful as usual. Not hilarious, but will brighten up your day.

THE PROMISE -- Only watched 45m of this fantasy epic so far, but severe over-reliance on CGI is a major turn off for me. And worse Cecilia Cheung is dubbed(!)

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 17 Sep 2006, 17:42

hey,

this couldn't go into the usual what have you just seen thread? Appreciate the reviews but it would make more sense if you were announcing "big" reviews on an own site or something like that.

Do not mean to come off as whiny. Just offering up some constructive trains of thoughts, brother.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 17 Sep 2006, 18:31

Agreed. Mark ?
Do you have a good reason for this, or should I move your post into the What Have You Seen thread ?

That's where capsule reviews are supposed to go...

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 18 Sep 2006, 01:17

Whiny bitches.....

Well, I was gonna just add to this thread whenever I saw a newish HK release so we could discuss.

As soon as a review is put onto the other massive thread it's lost. I put it a review about A History of Violence a couple of days ago with links hoping for a discussion and nothing happened... so what's the point?

Close this if you must -- but I won't be wasting my time with the other thread.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 18 Sep 2006, 08:03

i agree with mark actually-stuff goes awol in that massive thread and i for one can't be arsed wading through it.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 18 Sep 2006, 11:27

OK. Won't touch it.

brooce-leroy · Post by **brooce-leroy** » 18 Sep 2006, 14:32

I was hoping for more from Dragon Squad but it was poor. Not even the presence of Samo Hung could save it.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 18 Sep 2006, 15:29

Seeing Sammo made me wish it was twenty years ago and he was the star.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 18 Sep 2006, 15:30

I'll update the first post with any new reviews.

'The Promise' should be coming next.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 18 Sep 2006, 16:22

Let us know what you think, I want to see it (the film) also

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 18 Sep 2006, 16:35

hey,

you weren't very clear on the fact that you wanted discussion but as that is your aim, I'm cool with that.

dragonhero005 · Post by **dragonhero005** » 18 Sep 2006, 17:26

Hey good idea!

But are we supposed to just discuss about movies for which Mark writes reviews, or may we post our reviews for recent HK-pictures and discuss about them as well?

I'm looking forward to your "Promise review", btw. There are so many bad reviews out there, which kept me waiting instead of buying...

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 18 Sep 2006, 17:39

Knetan wrote:hey,

you weren't very clear on the fact that you wanted discussion but as that is your aim, I'm cool with that.

Oh, thanks then!!

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 18 Sep 2006, 17:42

dragonhero005 wrote:But are we supposed to just discuss about movies for which Mark writes reviews, or may we post our reviews for recent HK-pictures and discuss about them as well?

I just designed the thread for myself... sorry!

I don't expect this thread to run forever but at least a little while whilst we get some discussion and opinions on the films listed in the first post.

brooce-leroy · Post by **brooce-leroy** » 18 Sep 2006, 21:04

A History of Violence

BTW I don't agree with you at all on History of Violence. Although it's not a keeper, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and feel that it's one of Cronenberg's best films alongside The Fly. Maybe that has something to do with me not really being a fan of the director, as I know that the aforementioned films are probably his most "mainstream" to date (in terms of accessibility).

I think you said that you weren't keen on Viggo Mortenson but I thought he was perfect in the film, and charismatic in a Charles Bronson type of way. The film is supposed to be a modern day western, and Viggo plays it brilliantly.

The action was also really good, and Viggo looked convincing doing all that stuff.

So, for me, it was a solid 3.5/5.

P.S I agree that William Hurt didn't add a lot, but Ed Harris was fantastic (as he usually always is).

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 18 Sep 2006, 21:34

i enjoyed history of violence and it's a movie i think will be even more impressive on subsequent viewings.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 19 Sep 2006, 00:17

I thought Ed Harris was good.

Would rather have seen Charlie Bronson in the lead though...

I thought Viggo was bland. Part needed a stronger identity figure. Someone who could really hold your attention. Did you guys read those links? Raised some excellent points about how the narrative gives up the suspense far too early and leaves nothing but 2nd rate gangster filler for the last half hour. Also I would have liked a more in-dpeth look at how violence damages people and breaks a family apart. What we have seemed kinda half-hearted like the writer and director weren't that interested beyond surface level amateur dramatics.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 19 Sep 2006, 10:00

Re: The Promise:
Yeah, Cecilia's mandarin is quite poor. The dubbing was pretty much unavoidable.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 19 Sep 2006, 15:14

Why not cast, oh I don't know, a Mandarin speaker, say?