Movie Review

To the lady at the movie theater,

Yes, I admit that I could have been nicer when I asked your daughter’s friend to stop kicking the back of my chair, but given that I know for a fact that I, at 5ft 9inches tall, had to stretch to reach the row in front of me from the exact seat she was sitting in, and given the fact that it’s pretty damn obvious in a “stadium seating” scenario that your feet are level with the back of the head of the person in front of you, and given the fact that she’s 12 and should know better, I don’t see why I should have to be nicer.

Oh, yeah, and before you say it, I’m gonna: it’s not about race, it’s about manners. I know I didn’t help to teach her any today, but what can you expect from someone who had to contend with getting the chair behind the back of her head kicked once every five minutes? Maybe you can do better. Good luck. I wish you well with that.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Forget the “are they or aren’t they” speculation of the tabloids. And forget the commercials for this film. Mr. & Mrs. Smith is, contrary to its marketing, a marital comedy of the blackest kind. It’s light and fluffy and this is one time in modern filmmaking when the human stars of the film outshine the gadgetry in shear beauty.
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Star Wars III: Revenge Of The Sith

I have purposely stayed away from the reviews by professionals because I wanted to walk into Star Wars III: Revenge Of The Sith as blank a slate as possible. I wanted to allow my joy as an eight year-old at seeing Star Wars IV: A New Hope to temper my disappointment at seeing Star Wars II: Attack Of The Clones more than 20 years later. And now that I’ve seen ROTS, I’m ready to say what I think.

Here there be spoilers

Mindhunters

I’ll be so unbelievably glad when the Japanese horror craze dies down. I suppose it’s a cultural gap, but I just don’t find dank places and dripping water scary: I just find them gross. Now, a guy with a hockey mask killing camp counselors, that’s scary, or a whip-smart serial killer who likes to play mind games, that’ll have my fingers in my ears^* every time. Lank, oily hair, old videotapes, dripping water, these just make me want to take a hot shower and get a cup of tea. None of this, however, has anything to do with Mindhunters, the latest in the profiler-CSI-serial killer genre of horror/thriller.
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Kung Fu Hustle

Throw The Matrix trilogy, a couple of B-grade kung fu movies, High Noon, and the Three Stooges into a blender, hit puree, and when you’re done you’d have Kung Fu Hustle.

The story of Sing (writer/director Stephen Chow), a young man who is long on talk and short on action, who gets into trouble impersonating a member of the Ax Gang, lead by Brother Sum (Kwok Kuen Chan). Sing’s impersonation exposes several kung fu masters living quietly in Pig Sty alley, including the tenament’s Landlord (Wah Yuen) and Landlady (Qiu Yuen).

To avenge his humilation at the hands of these two “peasants,” Brother Sum has Sing break The Beast (Siu Lung Leung) out of the insane asylum where he has retreated out of disappointment at not being able to find a worthy opponent.

The entire movie is improbable, and uproariously funny simply because it makes use of all the conventions of the various genres from which it draws and takes them to the far end of absurdity (Landlady’s high-speed foot pursuit of Sing as she chases him from Pig Sty alley epitomizes this approach).

For not taking itself too seriously, and for the director’s clever use of the touch-stones of a variety of genres, I’m giving this moving 3.5 popcorns out of 5.

3.5 popcorns out of 5

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