I Come with the Rain

A former police officer turned private detective (Josh Hartnett) is hired over a voice masked phone by someone rich to go to a jungle somewhere and find his son. He goes and finds out the son is dead, but then he’s not . . . he is in Hong Kong according to some other guy. So josh Hartnett goes to Hong Kong, meets up with what appears to be a friend (?)(Shawn Yue), who is also a cop. Then he somehow doesn’t notice that the guy who’s picture he has been carrying for weeks is right across a glass window from him, though he makes eye contact. . .*sigh*. Oh but its okay because he magically realises later on when it’s a whole lotta too late. We also find out that this missing son apparently is a healer of some kind, sort of like Michael Clarke Duncan in The Green Mile I guess. . .oh and an older hairless Casey Jones beats up, then bites Josh Hartnett during the film’s opening prologue, I guess that’s important to the plot. But since that stops making any sense a third of the way in, we can just forget about that.

As you may be able to tell, I really didn’t like I Come with the Rain, which is by far the biggest shock of my film watching life. I can’t begin to explain how excited I had been for this for over a year since first watching a trailer. First off I have always liked Josh Hartnett, he is usually a great actor in my books. However he really looks bored out of his mind in this (can’t blame him), and was probably being paid in potato skins. I also like Shawn Yue so that was good. However the apparent clincher for me was that one of my favourite actors in the world, Lee Byung Hun plays the films villain (I might add that term must be used lightly). The trailer looked awesome, the cast looked awesome, and I was stoked. And like a slap to the face it ended up being a jumbled, incoherent snore fest that felt like an overachieving artsy film student’s thesis project. However if you like half naked people rolling on the ground, clenching themselves and groaning, then this is the film for you. Imagine the awful rave scene in the second Matrix lasting 2 hours, and you might have an idea.

Maybe I am being too harsh? But over all I just didn’t get it. I will admit I usually go for the bizarre incoherent “Lost Highway esc” indie films. But this was just too much, the longer it went on the less it made sense until I finally started to forget why the characters were where they were, and doing what they were doing in the first place. Perhaps a second or third viewing is needed, but to be honest I really don’t see that happening. I also don’t see this getting much worldwide support, a US release? Not likely anytime soon. However if it does, then do yourself a favour, don’t watch it!

3/10

A Film by: Anh Hung Tran

Nobody Knows

Four siblings, Kyoko, Shigeru, Yuki, Saki, and the oldest Akira all live quite happily in a small apartment with their mother. The four children all have different fathers, but seem to get along and love each other very much. The landlords only know of Akira. Shigeru, Yuki, and Saki all must stay hidden. Despite their imperfect lifestyle, the family appear to be happy, and their mother also appears to be a loving parent. Even though she does not let them go to school. Then suddenly their mother disappears, only leaving a little money and a quick note which appoints Akira to watch over his three younger siblings. Things go along ok, and after a few months their mother shows up again. But not for long, after a short visit she leaves again. And now begins these poor children’s grim story. The four children, lead courageously by oldest brother Akira, must somehow find a way to survive in their new world of sudden unexplained abandonment.

Review: ‘Nobody Knows’ is one of the most beautiful, and heart breaking film I have ever seen. You immediately begin to adore these four children. Especially oldest brother Akira (Played brilliantly by the young Yuja Yagira). I can’t say enough about the acting from these four kids. The movie just feels so real, like you are watching a documentary.

Nobody Knows is a fairly long film, running just under 2 hours and 20 minutes. So some may find it too long, or a bit slow. I however certainly did not. The story really doesn’t take off until about 45 minutes in when their mother leaves for good. Then begins the children long and horrendous struggle to survive. What is really great about this film is how well you get to know the kids, and also how much they all change by the end of the film. The oldest boy Akira, and his slightly younger sister Kyoko at first are very happy kids, who always have big smiles of their faces. Akira especially who seems to always have a happy smirk. The same can be said about the two youngest kids the hyperactive boy Shigeru, and the adorable Yuki. Both can rarely be seen without a smile. They are simply happy kids. However, once they are abandoned you slowly see they happiness fade, and the grim realization of what they have endured set in. Seeing these happy children turn to grim is heartbreaking. Which brings me back to Akira. The development of his character is outstanding. You really see the despair set in heavily as he tries so hard to keep his family together. You may ask yourself why they do not just call the police, or child services. But he refuses, he does not want himself and his siblings to be split up.

Nobody Knows is a wonderful film, something that I can highly recommend to anyone. Even though it is a very sad story, it does also kinda make you smile. Seeing just how much these kids care for one another, and how hard they work to keep their loves together after being left in abandonment is, simply said, beautiful.

9/10

A Film by: Hirokazu Koreeda

Daisy

In Amsterdam, hired Killer Park-yi (Woo-sung Jung) while on a job in a quite countryside spots, and instantly falls for Hye-young (Ji-hyun Jun), a young street painter who was visiting the secluded location to paint a field of daisies for a coming art contest. While trying to cross a log bridge she slips and falls into a shallow creek. She is able to climb out, but loses her backpack to the current. Witnessing the fall, but unable to reach her in time Park-yi manages to salvage her backpack and soon after decides to build her a wooden bridge so that she can cross into the field with ease, and also leaves her backpack for her to show that the bridge is for her. Back in town he is unable to bring himself to approach his new love, so he decides to leave her a pot of Daisies every day. He also watches her from his window as she paints on the street trying to secretly visualise his life with her. Little does he know, Hye-young has fallen for her secret admirer and wants nothing more than to find him. Enter the third peace of this love triangle, Interpol Agent Jeong Woo(Sung-jae Lee).

Jeong Woo is in town on assignment to track down and apprehend a gang of traffickers, who as fate would tell, is stationed directly behind where Hye-young paints her portraits. To get a good vantage point Jeong woo decides to pose as a customer, and have her paint his portrait. After returning a few times not only does he find himself falling for her, but our poor street painter is now convinced that Jeong Woo is the mysterious stranger leaving her flowers, and immediately falls in love with the wrong man. Unable to admit he is not her secret love he goes along with it. His little white lie begins the inevitable showdown that would lead to a series of tragic events that are better left unsaid. . .

Daisy is a co-production between Hong Kong and South Korea, and helmed by half the Infernal Affairs directing duo Andrew Lau. Who is best known for his dark Hong Kong thrillers; however he is able to pull off the Romantic Drama genre very well. One thing that shows strongly with this film is Lau’s wonderful visual style, using some superb shots to add to the films overall tone. It’s a beautifully told, but bittersweet story that is lead by an absolute stellar cast. It is a perfect role for the uber-talented Ji-hyun Jun, who is best known for her roles in other Korean melodramas like il Mare, Windstruck, and of course My Sassy Girl. Her on screen charm carries this film very well.

It must be noted that this review is based on the original Korean version. I have not seen the longer Directors Cut, but it’s been said that version is quite different and superior to this one. This version of the film does carry with it a slight bias towards one of our male love interests over the other, which is supposedly more balanced in the DC. If this is true I can see this in itself being an improvement. However the DC with be watched and will no doubt deserve its own separate review.

8.5/10

A Film by: Andrew lau

Departures

The 2009 Best Foreign Language Film Academy award winner, and deservedly so!
‘Departures’ is not only one of the best Japanese films I have seen, but one of the best period. I am still in awe and even finding hard to find the words to write. A truly beautiful story about a failed cellist who gives up his big city life, and moves back to his hometown. Then through circumstances best described as "fate", a typo in the want ads of a newspaper leads him to discover his calling as a mortician. Not only does this change his life, but it would lead him to re-discover lost parts of his own past.

After finally landing himself a spot as a cellist in a Tokyo symphony, Daigo Kobayashi finds himself jobless when the entire orchestra is disbanded by its owner. Deciding to give up his passion he parts with his yet unpaid for cello and returns with his wife to his hometown moving into his inherited house left by his deceased mother. However he does not give up his passion completely, as throughout the film we are treated to some wonderful moments when Daigo picks up and plays his old childhood cello. Needing work he finds an ad for a position in “Departures”, which states that no experience is necessary. Assuming this is some sort of travel agency he heads off for his interview and is hired on the spot by ‘The Boss’. He soon learns of the typo and that ‘Departures’ was actually supposed to read ‘The Departed’. Unable to resist the lucrative pay he takes the job, but shamefully refrains from telling his wife exactly what he is doing at his new job. After a short while he starts to view death in a far different light, even the sight of a dead chicken for dinner or a floating fish in the stream has a profound impact on him. However it wouldn’t be long before his wife learns what it is he does, and without a full understanding of what that is, leaves him until he decides to quit. A choice he cannot bring himself to make.

Departures is not only a great film, but it’s a wonderful education on the Japanese tradition of preparing the dead. In a gracefully ceremonious fashion the body of the deceased is cleaned, re-dressed, and made up in front of his or hers mourners and prepared for the casket. At the same time they too wipe the face of the departed and say their farewells. The best moments of the film come during these ceremonies, and you soon see just how passionate Daigo has become, especially in the film’s final moments when he performs the ceremony on an especially important person. A moment that brought a few tears to my eyes!

Call it what you will, A “spiritual journey”, a “coming of age” story. Whatever you call it one thing’s for sure, Departures is a film that will leave a lasting impression on anyone who takes the time to watch it. It’s unfortunate that being a foreign language film this will be passed over by many people at the video stores, but for anyone who decides to give it a try they will not be disappointed.

A Film by: Yojiro Takita

10/10

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles

Zhang Yimou has become best known around the world for his martial arts epics Hero, and House of Flying Daggers. However fans of Asian cinema know that, though those films (and recently his third martial arts picture Curse of the Golden Flower) are spectacular in their own respect, its drama, and simple story telling that this master film maker does best. Riding Along for Thousands of Miles was written for the lead actor Ken Takakura, it’s the story about an aging Japanese fisher man named Gouichi Takata (Ken Takakura) who has been estranged from his son Kenichi for some time. When Takata learns that his son has taken ill, he leaves his small fishing village to visit him in Tokyo. Unfortunately he wants nothing to do with his father anymore. Takata’s daughter wants her father to know what his son is really like. So she gives him a tape to watch. It turns out his son is a film maker who also has a deep passion for Chinese folk opera, the videotape is of a performance that was recorded during one of Kenichi’s visits to China. On the tape he is interviewing a famous opera singer named Li Jiamin (played by an actor named Li Jiamin). Who tells of a great song called “Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles”, a song from the famous novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," about a general who selflessly went on a long journey to help a friend. Unfortunately Li was too ill that day to perform it for him, so he says to come back to China another time and he, who is the best at performing the song, will show him. Kenichi would never return.

Soon after watching the video Takata learns that his son has terminal cancer to the liver and will not live long. So he decides that he will travel to china, and record Li Jiamin performing “Riding alone for Thousands of Miles” for his dying son. This task however will not be an easy one for him.

What makes this story so good is that it is so very similar to the song which it is named after. The song is about a great General who travels for thousands of miles to help a close friend. The film is about a father who decides to travel thousands of miles himself to do a great deed for his son. Its not only the story that makes this film so beautiful. Most of the filming was done in Lijiang and Yunnan China. Anyone who knows China will agree that there are fewer places in this world with such lavish landscapes. If you did not know, well watch this film! The acting is also a highlight. Takakura is simply stunning in his role. A man with few words, who has given himself a task and is willing to go to any lengths to complete it. Another great performance was given to the young Zhenbo Yang who played Yang Yang(Li Jiamins estranged son). He does not appear for long, or say much, but its his face that truly tells his story.

Zhang Yimou has brought us another masterpiece, Riding Along for Thousands of Miles is definitely one of his best films. If you liked The Road Home, or Takeshi Kitano’s great film Kikujiro. This is a film for you.

10/10

A Film By: Zhang Yimou

No Problem 2

When a wealthy business man dies, he leaves his fortune, as well as his company to his daughter Yumiko (Wakana Sakai). This angers his brother Kazuo who expected the fortune to be left to him. So out of anger he hires a hitman to kill her.

Meanwhile, after being fired for daydreaming about being a Hong Kong movie star Kensuke (Takashi Okamura) heads to Hong Kong. When he arrives complications due to an old and confused hotel owner causes him to get mixed up as the killer hired to take out Yumiko. Not fully aware of what happening, he goes along with it. But when he sees her he immediately falls in love and saves her life instead of killing her. But his heroics are short lived when one of Lazuo's henchmen (played fantastically by Collin Chou) kidnaps her and hypnotizes her into giving him her company.

With the aid of a Kung Fu master (Yuen Biao) and his buck-toothed sister (Candy Lo), as well as a bumbling police officer (Sam Lee) the group seeks out to find and rescue the imprisoned Yumiko.

No Problem 2 feels like a combination between Scary Movie, and Kung Fu Hustle. A lot of the movie is made up of parodies of many classic Hong Kong action and martial arts films. And its a real treat.

No Problem 2 is a very fun film to say the least, especially for the hard core fans of Hong Kong films. It is similar to the fashion of the Scary Movies series(and what they did with classic horror films). Except with Scary Movie you had a messy jumble of random film references placed together into an hour and a half of pure stupidity. No problem does not do this, they managed to take famous moments from classic films and not only spoof them, but actually fit them nicely into the context of the plot. And its humor is very reminiscent of a Stephen Chow film. The movie opens up in a church exactly like The Killer and we break into a hilarious gunfight which shows our wanna-be-hero randomly sliding across tables killing hords of baddies with only a few rounds fired. And later when our damsel in distress is kidnaped and dragged onto a bus. Our hero once again busts into action, but first her grabs an umbrella. . .you can see where I am going with this. Throughout the film we also see references to many other films, Drunken master, The Karate Kid, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Matrix, and even Who Wants to be a Millionaire!

Another treat was the appearance of Yuen Biao as the wise Kung Fu Master. He is at his comedic best for sure, and he also has a few wonderful fights as well. The rest of the cast was very well put together. Sam Lee pulls of the idiot cop role quite nicely. And Collin Chou shines as the villain in the film. But I must say that the lead actor Takashi Okamura carried the film wonderfully. The role he played is very much like Stephen Chow in Kung Fu hustle. We alo get treated to another great Eric Tsang cameo! Hurray!

8.5/10

A Film By: Chin Kar lok

Unborn But Forgotten

“Unborn But Forgotten” is a fairly strange film that could almost be considered the love child of The Ring, and the awful American horror flop “Fear Dot Com” however to the films credit the similarities do part ways as the film progresses. A pregnant journalist (Jun-ho Jeong), and a dedicated police officer (Eun-ju Lee) team up to try and solve a case of mysterious deaths, all connected by the fact that all of the victims were pregnant women who had all visited the same website 15 days before their death (see!). And guess what! As I mentioned our female lead is indeed pregnant, and yes, she too visited www.if-you-are-a-pregnant-woman-this-site-will-kill-you.com as well (note: not actual website name). So now to avoid her own inevitable demise she and her new partner must find a way to stop this murderous web-spirit-thingy. . .

The film hits basically all horror movie clichés as though they went into the making of the film with a checklist. And until all have been checked off the story must go on. We have unsettling silence, creepy dolls, thunder and rain, and even a screaming tea kettle. The story is pretty straight forward, but does come with its share of plot holes and unanswered questions. For some reason our pregnant victims switch from being pregnant to not being pregnant depending on who is looking at them . . .why? Well that is left for you to decide. No, not magic glasses!

The film does have some great cinematography, and the acting from the late great Eun-ju Lee (as most should know the actress committed suicide in 2005) is superb. She delivers a fine and convincing heroin. Jun-ho Jung played his charismatic cop role nicely as well!

As straight forward as the story is, if you find yourself disconnecting from the film part way through you may soon after find yourself lost. Not to mention it sort of ends very abruptly. Throw in some okay horror beats, and a decent plot twist and you get a passable Korean horror film. Unfortunately with such a large selection of fantastic Korean Horror films available for your discovery, it’s a film that will most likely itself be soon forgotten. (pun intended!)

6/10

A Film By: Chang-jae Lim

Fearless

(Written upon its release in 2006)

As most know by now, Fearless has been tagged as Jet Li’s final Wushu martial arts epic. This is obviously not good news to any fan of martial arts films, and especially fans of Li himself. That said, if you ever wondered how Jet Li would end his triumphant run after so many classic martial arts films, I can tell you he goes out on top. Fearless is easily one of Li’s best films in years, maybe ever. Also it is definitely one of director Ronny Yu’s best achievements in over ten years (in the past decade we have been treated with such forgettable films as ‘Freddy vs Jason’, ‘Bride of Chucky’, and ‘Formula 51’).

The film tells the story Chinese martial arts legend Huo Yuanjia. (Jet Li) and how he took back the lost pride and glory of the Chinese from the influential western powers and the growing Japanese reign in the early 20th century. The film opens up at the climatic moment of the story, at a fighting tournament where four of the top fighters from Japan, and the west are to compete against Yuanjia himself. Right from the beginning we are treated to a wonderful sequence of fights between three of the competitors and Yuanjia. But before he is to fight his final component, Anno Tanaka (Shido Nakamura), the story sends us back to Yuanjai’s childhood.

We see a very rambunctious young Yuanjia who wants very much to be a martial arts master like his father, but is forbidden to because of his asthma. When he watches his father be publicly defeated and humiliated in a fight, young Yuanjia challenges his own fight with a local bully, where he is also defeated and feels personally obligated to become the greatest fighter in TianJin.

The story then sends us forward to 10 years before the climax of the film, where we see an older Yuanjia who has almost achieved what he set out to do. We see him easily take on and defeat many local fighters and quickly become a local icon. Unfortunately as his popularity and reputation as a great fighter grows, so does his arrogance.

Everything suddenly comes to crashing halt when he unintentionally kills a fighter who he called out to fight during his birthday celebration. At this point we can start to see Yuanjin begin to start losing his self-control. But the final blow to his stability occurs when his daughter, and mother are brutally murdered out of vengeance for the man he killed. Yuanjin, in a state of complete disarray, fleas his town and takes salvage in a small farming village. He spends many years there, and with the help of a lovely blind girl finds himself, and is ready to return to his village and make a mends with his troubled past. Unfortunately when he returns, his village has started to fall to the influence of the westerners.

Shortly after his return, he discovers there is an American who has been defeating Chinese fighters all over the country and as a result the Chinese name is being tarnished and ridiculed as the 'the sick man of Asia’

Yuanjia now finds himself with a new personal objective; he fights not for his personal glory, but for his country and his people. We see his heroics return in a new light, and this light is ever so wonderful.

Fearless is a very special film, not only is it Jet Li’s final wushu film, but it’s a return to what Jet Li does best. When he did Hero in 2002, Jet Li fans worldwide rejoiced at seeing his return to his roots after so many disappointing American films. But Fearless is even more of what we all love so much about Jet Li, its Jet Li, its Wushu, its glorious!

Now there is one problem with the film, or should I say “lack-there-of”. The current version available(NOTE: Directors Cut now available), and probably the theatrical version is a mere 100 minutes. However the film that was shot was a much longer 150 minutes. I hate to admit it, but you can tell. The pacing of the film is good, but it just feels too quick. The story being told just can’t be done in less then two hours. The film takes place mainly over 10 years (longer if you include the childhood scenes) and there are many key moments throughout the 10 years, so an hour and 40 minutes just doesn’t work Now perhaps 150 minutes is too long, but cutting almost an hour seems like butchery. There is even cut scenes featuring the lovely Michelle Yeoh. However, all that said. The film is very watchable and even if there is never a full version available, what we get is still great. The acting is terrific, great casting, and lovely cinematography. There are some minor stop-and-go moments during the fights. They work, but some may find them unnecessary.

So if this is indeed Jet Li’s final Wushu martial arts film. I can honestly say it is a hell of a way to go. It’s hard to tell if this film will have the same impact Hero did to a worldwide audience, but for fans on the genre, and of Jet Li. I cannot see this disappointing.

8.9/10

A Film By: Ronny Yu

G.I Joe

G.I Joe is by no means a good film, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. What I really appreciate about it is that it does not take itself seriously at all. It is exactly what it set out to be. A live action, big budget, Saturday morning cartoon. One that requires the viewer to suspend all disbelief, lighten up, and just enjoy the show. Transformers 2 did quite the opposite, it forces us to try and invest too much emotion into something that should just be a fun time at the movies . . . or at home with a nice TV and a Blu-ray player. That in essence is what really makes a bad movie isn’t it? Something that tries to be one thing, fails, and ends up being something completely different. Be it a comedy that is not funny, or a drama that ends up being laughably bad. G.I Joe is none of these; it succeeds at what it is trying to be.

The highlight and lowlight is the cast. Lee Byung-hun (a personal favourite actor of mine) and Ray Park easily steal the show. Their sub-plot could have been its own film. Dennis Quaid may not have turned in his best performance of his career, but he sure looked like he was having a good time! On the other hand Channing Tatum is just . . . not a good actor at all, and having Marlon Wayans at his side most of the time did not help. Joseph Gordon-levitt pulled of the kind of performance that could only suit a film like this. He was the perfect cartoon villain. Very Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face.

This is not Christopher Nolans G.I Joe, this is Stephen Sommers after all, the guy who brought us The Mummy, Van Helsing, and a Huck Finn! So if you can try and enjoy it for what it is you may get more out of it then you think. Remember it could have been worse; it could have been Micheal Bay's G.I Joe. . .

6.5/10

A Film by: Stephen Sommers

The Red Shoes

A young mother who has recently discovered her husband has been cheating on her, decides to leave him and start a new life alone with her daughter. Shortly after she finds a unique pair of red shoes in a subway that she feels a strange attraction to. However once the mysterious shoes enter her life, they start a chain of horrific events that she finds herself unable to get away from.


A nicely stylized horror film that will probably be for fans of the genre only. Like some other Korean ghost stories, The Red Shoes definitely offers more style than substance. The atmosphere and look of the film is stunning, but the story can be somewhat difficult to grasp in one viewing(yes, a second is recommended). That said, the story is actually quite good. Its not so much a tale of haunted red shoes, as much of a story about a mother, struggling to raise her young daughter who appears to resent her, all while of course dealing with a pair of evil shoes.

It may be silly to think of a horror film about evil shoes, in fact it does sound silly. But then again we have had haunted video cassettes, cell-phones, cellos, cameras, wigs, eye balls, and so on. So a pair of shoes actually fits into the mix quite well

7/10

A Film by: Kim Yong-gyun