A collection of reviews of films from off the beaten path; a travel guide for those who love the cinematic world and want more than the mainstream releases.
Nic Cage plays a bad ass bank robber in a post apocalyptic world forced to go get the "granddaughter" of a war lord.
Sion Sono makes his first English Language film and it is completely batshit crazy and then some. Mannered, over the top and completely crazy PRISONERS is set in another place and another time part old Japan, part old spaghetti west and part post apocalyptic toyland. Its as if every idea anyone ever had was thrown into a blender and this was what survived when it was poured out.
No one acts, they over act. Everyone is deadly serious and not.
The script looks like it was made up on the spot with sequences often playing like it was a rehearsal instead of a take.
Its all over the place and a complete and total mess.
It's a horrible film and not.
Its a one of a kind nightmare that Sundance did a disservice by running streaming since this film needs an audience. This is a movie that MUST screen in a theater (or living room) with audience as big as possible. It need to be talked to, talked at and cajoled. It needs to be made fun of and embraced.
How you see this film will determine you love or hate of it.
Spinning is a sport that grew out of South African gangster culture. Years ago when a gangster died his friends would steal a car, “spin it” (do circle burn outs and some crazy stunts) then set the car on fire as a means of respect. The spinning of cars grew out of that into a dangerous but truly awesome dance between man (or men) and machines. There are now competitions held across South Africa where teams compete to find out who is the best spinner.
An Ordinary People is both one of the coolest films I’ve seen this year and one of the most frustrating.
This is just a really cool looking film. The images of the spinning cars are absolutely mind blowing. More to the point what the drivers and their crews are doing is absolutely amazing on so many levels. Director Ernest Nkosi and his crew have assembled a visual masterpiece- a grand cinematic dance fil of the highest order. This film is going to stay with me for a very long time. How do I know- because I was half way through the film and I was emailing friends and relatives that they had to see the film.
The problem with the film is that it takes a while before you really have a sense of what you are looking at or what this film is about. As someone who knew nothing about the sport except from a couple of brief clips I came into the film blind and was slightly taken aback. As the film opens we are watching clips of several crews spinning cars from either inside the car or from cameras attached to one of the spinners. It is very POV and it is almost 10 minutes before we actually see what is going on outside the cars or have anyone explain to us what we are seeing. The film then slowly winds it’s way into explaining the sport, the drivers and the fans. It’s a set up that requires the audience to be patient and willing to work with the film. Even though it is clear the filmmakers know their subject backwards and forwards they should have had someone outside the sport take a look so that we outsiders have an easier path into the sport.
Reservations aside, An Ordinary People is a must see for anyone who loves motorsports and who is willing to work with the film. It is a film that will make you talking out loud to the screen as people do the most amazing things.
Yuen Woo-Ping at The 18th New York Asian Film Festival
Last night, the New York Asian Film Festival was in full swing featuring an award ceremony for the legendary Hong Kong action choreographer and director Yuen Woo-Ping. If you are follower of Unseen Films then I'm sure he needs no introduction, but if you just happened to be tuning in, the man directed Jackie Chan in his first two movies, Snake In The Eagle's Shadow and Drunken Master. Yuen went on to make movies with Sammo Hung, Donnie Yen, Yuen Biao, Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh. Many years later, American audiences would know him for his work in the Matrix movies, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Kill Bill. Back in the day when Mr. C and I collected kung fu VHS tapes on our trips to NYC, if Yuen Woo-Ping's name was mentioned somewhere on the box, we knew that the action scenes were going to be off the hook! Yuen was awarded The Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award at the Walter Reade Theater in Lincoln Center. Yuen graciously accepted the heavy award which he lifted in the air proudly as you can see in the photo above. He also said a few words which you can see in a video below.
left to right: Samuel Jamier (Executive Director of NYAFF), Yuen Woo-Ping and Joanne Chu (Director of the Hong Kong Economic And Trade Office in New York)
The award ceremony was followed by a screening of Master Z: The Ip Man Legacy. The movie is an excellent spinoff to the Ip Man series which features Max Zhang back in the role of Master Z. After his defeat to Ip Man, Master Z looks to live a quiet life running a small grocery store and taking care of his son. Drug dealing gangsters put an end to the peaceful life for Master Z and sure enough, it's back to kicking and punching in the Hong Kong streets. I wasn't aware of the stellar cast in the movie but there is Tony Jaa who plays the mysterious Sadi the warrior, David Bautista as a restaurant owner and Michelle Yeoh as the leader of an organized crime gang. The action in the movie is some of the best in recent years especially a sequence above the streets and among the neon signs. I highly recommend the film to fans of the genre and you best believe I'll be seeing it again soon and hopefully in a movie theater packed with kung fu movie fans. Yuen Woo-Ping came back after the movie for a Q&A moderated by Samuel Jamier of NYAFF.
If you are interested in seeing more of Yuen Woo-Ping's movies at NYAFF, then check out THE MIRACLE FIGHTERS on Tuesday July 2, 9:00 PM at The Walter Reade Theater and IRON MONKEY on Wednesday July 3, 10:00 PM at The Walter Reade Theater.
