A South Korean drama thriller directed by Kim Jee-woon.
A girl is released from a mental institution into the care of her stepmother. Her sister also lives there and there are haunting style events in the house.
This didn't make any sense. The plot failed to hold my attention. The characters were shallow and even mysterious. The video was excellently done. There was a variety of creative shots and transitions. The audio was in Korean with English subtitles and the dialogue and music seemed to be mixed correctly. Overall, I couldn't pay attention and when I could, failed to figure out what was going on. I rate this poor. You probably shouldn't watch it.
A Chinese kung fu comedy directed by Vincent Kok, starring Louis Koo and Sandra Ng.
Male and female superheroes meet. They get married and want a child, but their lives are not exciting enough to be fertile.
Not too shabby. The plot was a little too convoluted for the simple premise. I think there were too many characters and that the two main characters were not developed enough. The video was the best part. It all looked great and had amazing special effects with the magical super powers of the couple. I was reminded of Kung Fu Hustle style of physical comedy. The audio was in Chinese with music mixed very low and I was able to find good English subtitles. Overall, A fun watch with only a few flaws. I rate it adequate. You might want to check it out.
An Australian animated drama directed by Adam Elliot, starring Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
An Australian girl becomes pen pals with a mentally ill man in New York City. They tell each other about the problems in their lives.
This was animated very well and looked really cool. The plot was very sad and tragic, but that seemed to be the goal. The characters were developed marvelously well because of them narrating the letters in which they describe their lives in detail. The stop motion claymation style was awesome because of the limited, almost black and white color palette. The audio was mostly dialogue and the music was mixed low to bring out the voices of the characters. Overall, it seemed to be planned and executed in a very exact manner. I rate this awesome. Watch it!!!
An Indonesian documentary directed by Joshua Oppenheimer.
Indonesian gangsters who were executioners during the political upheaval in 1965 are given a camera crew to make a movie about what happened. This is the making of their film.
This strange and slow, but worth it in the end. The subject matter and director were the same as Look of Silence (2014). This film starred different executioners and only a small number of them who still work together as gangsters. The most interesting element was attitude development over the duration. The main character has completely changed how he thinks of the 1965 communist genocide by the end. I won't spoil the ending any more than that, but it was the best part and an extremely powerful scene. One scene that I can mention without spoiling things is Herman brushing his teeth. It's hilarious! The video in this was not as good as Look of Silence. There were more informal and handheld shots. The audio was in Indonesian and the English subtitles were a little difficult to see. Overall, an emotionally powerful film. You have to wait for it, but it gets there. I rate this good. Watch it! In fact, watch both of them as a series.
A science fiction horror remake directed by Matthjis van Heijningen Jr., starring Joel Edgerton and Ulrich Thomsen.
An alien and spacecraft are dug out of the ice in Antarctica. The alien bursts out of the ice block and takes on the appearance of crew members.
I didn't like the original and don't like the remake. I think that this is a very mediocre science fiction with a lackluster monster. The plot almost held my attention. The characters were very shallow. We're talking little kids' plastic backyard swimming pool lack of depth here. The video was the best part. It was all expertly done and the special effects were amazing. That's where all the money went in this flick. The audio was decent. There was some type of foreign language with no subtitles, but most of it was in English. Overall, there are much better science fiction and horror films with much less fame than this. I don't understand why people like it. I rate this o.k. You might want to think about watching it sometime if there's nothing better.
A British music documentary directed by Julien Temple, starring the Sex Pistols.
The story of the punk band, Sex Pistols is told.
This was pretty accurate and well made. The subject matter is one that interests me a great deal. I love punk! The interviews were odd. They had positioned the interviewees against a bright background, making their faces dark. There were also the obvious clips of the band from previous appearances on-stage and in interviews. The plot followed the timeline of the band from formation to Nancy's death, covering the entire mythology of the group. None of the video was of good technical quality, but I think it went well with the punk aesthetic. The audio was all mixed correctly. Overall, a perfectly fine documentary about a cool subject. However, it did not go the extra step to earn a high rating. I rate it adequate. You might as well watch it.
An American documentary directed by Josh Aronson.
Two families with deaf children are decided whether or not to get cochlear implants for their kids.
This was mildly confusing, but well made. The subject matter seems like a "no-brainer" to most people, but the parents in this film would disagree. Some of them like being deaf! One of the grandparents had a quote about a crippled family breaking the legs of a child who could walk. I thought that was extremely appropriate. The subject of deaf culture came up and it means deaf people sticking together, staying deaf. If they only knew the sounds that came out of their mouths... The interviews were done very well and were supplemented by intense arguments between family members. There were also scenes of the prospective families visiting cochlear and deaf schools as well as families with cochlear equipped children. The video all looked great, mixing very raw footage with more planned and edited material. The audio mercifully turned down the inarticulate vocalizations of deaf cast members. Overall, a well made documentary about a unique subject matter. I rate this good. Watch it!
