The Full Monty
Peter Cattaneo (director), Simon Beaufoy (writer)
Starring Robert Carlyle, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Addy
I love British films! Two middle-aged friends in a run-down factory town are out of work; one of them urgently needs to prove that he deserves visiting rights to his young son, while the other feels that he's not desirable anymore and his wife doesn't want him. Desperate and broke, they do the only thing they can think of: they decide to put on a strip show.
Hilarious, vulgar, and tender, as only the Brits can do. Highly recommended.
IMDB: The Full Monty
Showing posts with label foreign films. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foreign films. Show all posts
Friday, May 23, 2014
Very Brief Film Reviews: Martin Chuzzlewit (1994)
Martin Chuzzlewit
1994
Pedr James (director), David Lodge (screenplay), Charles Dickens (story)
Starring Paul Scofield, Pauline Turner, Philip Franks
Masterpiece Theater TV mini-series dramatization of the Charles Dickens story. I didn't expect to like it - I don't generally enjoy Dickens. But I did, I really did. The villains were marvelously foul and despicable, and the heroes were noble and good (except for a few who were rather awful to begin with but got themselves sorted out eventually). It was fun!
I actually got caught up in the story and the characters, and found that its grittiness felt sharp rather than preachy. The acting was terrific, and Paul Scofield is a stunningly good-looking old man. Much fun.
IMDB: Martin Chuzzlewit
1994
Pedr James (director), David Lodge (screenplay), Charles Dickens (story)
Starring Paul Scofield, Pauline Turner, Philip Franks
Masterpiece Theater TV mini-series dramatization of the Charles Dickens story. I didn't expect to like it - I don't generally enjoy Dickens. But I did, I really did. The villains were marvelously foul and despicable, and the heroes were noble and good (except for a few who were rather awful to begin with but got themselves sorted out eventually). It was fun!
I actually got caught up in the story and the characters, and found that its grittiness felt sharp rather than preachy. The acting was terrific, and Paul Scofield is a stunningly good-looking old man. Much fun.
IMDB: Martin Chuzzlewit
Sunday, May 11, 2014
Very Brief Film Reviews: House of Flying Daggers (2004)
House of Flying Daggers
2004
Zhang Yimou (director, writer), Feng Li, Wang Bin, Zhang Yimou (writers)
Starring Takeshi Kineshiro, Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi, Dandan Song
During the Tang dynasty, a rebel group arises against the government. The police engage in subterfuge in an attempt to find and take down the leaders, including a beautiful blind woman they believe to be an assassin, but their plots are complicated further by continual layers of betrayal, secret loyalty, and secrets.
Frankly, I didn't like House of Flying Daggers nearly as much as Hero - the story was less skillful and a little too complicated, the fighting was less interesting and varied, and the cinematography was less stunning. That said, all those things were still deeply enjoyable, it was still lovely and interesting and fun, and - as typical of Zhang's movies - things are never as simple as they purport to be. Basically, I enjoyed watching it once very much, but haven't bothered to rewatch it since. In Chinese with subtitles.
IMDB Link: House of Flying Daggers
2004
Zhang Yimou (director, writer), Feng Li, Wang Bin, Zhang Yimou (writers)
Starring Takeshi Kineshiro, Andy Lau, Zhang Ziyi, Dandan Song
During the Tang dynasty, a rebel group arises against the government. The police engage in subterfuge in an attempt to find and take down the leaders, including a beautiful blind woman they believe to be an assassin, but their plots are complicated further by continual layers of betrayal, secret loyalty, and secrets.
Frankly, I didn't like House of Flying Daggers nearly as much as Hero - the story was less skillful and a little too complicated, the fighting was less interesting and varied, and the cinematography was less stunning. That said, all those things were still deeply enjoyable, it was still lovely and interesting and fun, and - as typical of Zhang's movies - things are never as simple as they purport to be. Basically, I enjoyed watching it once very much, but haven't bothered to rewatch it since. In Chinese with subtitles.
IMDB Link: House of Flying Daggers
Very Brief Film Reviews: Hero (2002)
Hero
2002
Zhang Yimou (director, writer), Feng Li, Wang Bin (writers)
Starring Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi
An ostensibly simple story of how a simple man defeats three would-be assassins of the first Emperor of China, which unfolds slowly and gracefully as the newly celebrated hero tells his story to the Emperor himself.
The extended combat scenes use the surreal fighting style with lots of wire-work first popularized in the West with Hidden Tiger, Crouching Dragon: very balletic, not terribly reliant on physics. The pace is slow - too slow for some - but I feel that as long as you let yourself be absorbed into it, it serves to draw you in, with long lingering strokes that draw out the tension, the secrets, the questions. Visually, the movie is breathtakingly beautiful. One of Zhang Yimou's greatest strengths as a cinematographer is his use of color and textures, in my opinion, and it is nowhere shown off as strongly as in this film.
Do be warned that if you cry easily at movies, bring a tissue. Or a box. In Chinese with subtitles.
Highly recommended.
IMDB Link: Hero
2002
Zhang Yimou (director, writer), Feng Li, Wang Bin (writers)
Starring Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi
An ostensibly simple story of how a simple man defeats three would-be assassins of the first Emperor of China, which unfolds slowly and gracefully as the newly celebrated hero tells his story to the Emperor himself.
The extended combat scenes use the surreal fighting style with lots of wire-work first popularized in the West with Hidden Tiger, Crouching Dragon: very balletic, not terribly reliant on physics. The pace is slow - too slow for some - but I feel that as long as you let yourself be absorbed into it, it serves to draw you in, with long lingering strokes that draw out the tension, the secrets, the questions. Visually, the movie is breathtakingly beautiful. One of Zhang Yimou's greatest strengths as a cinematographer is his use of color and textures, in my opinion, and it is nowhere shown off as strongly as in this film.
Do be warned that if you cry easily at movies, bring a tissue. Or a box. In Chinese with subtitles.
IMDB Link: Hero
Monday, May 5, 2014
Very Brief Film Reviews: He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not / À la folie... pas du tout
Laetitia Colombani (dir, writer), Caroline Thivel (writer)
2002
Starring Audrey Tautou (Amelie), we thought this would be a sweet romantic film in the same vein. Oh no. College-age Angelique is desperately in love with a married surgeon, whom she claims adores her, too; her friends tell her that he's stringing her along and she's better off without him, but she refuses to listen. How does the surgeon really feel about her?
A rather disturbing psychological film, quite well made. Very French. Also starring Samuel Le Bihan and Isabelle Carré. In French with subtitles.
Laetitia Colombani (dir, writer), Caroline Thivel (writer)
2002
Starring Audrey Tautou (Amelie), we thought this would be a sweet romantic film in the same vein. Oh no. College-age Angelique is desperately in love with a married surgeon, whom she claims adores her, too; her friends tell her that he's stringing her along and she's better off without him, but she refuses to listen. How does the surgeon really feel about her?
A rather disturbing psychological film, quite well made. Very French. Also starring Samuel Le Bihan and Isabelle Carré. In French with subtitles.
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