by monkeyboy on Tue Apr 10, 2012 3:27 pm
Needing You [4/5]
After being utterly underwhelmed by "Romancing in Thin Air", I thought I would go back to where Johnnie To helped create the Sammi Cheung as temporary queen of the Hong Kong Box Office. And it had everything that the modern film didn't: fun, humour, romance and that kind of "other movie reference" that makes Hong Kong Cinema of the time so joyous. Sure Sammi is a little one note, and I never quite buy Andy Lau as a leading man (is it just me, but is there something just sinister about the guy?), but it won me over.
I Do [2/5]
People like Li BingBing and Sun Honglei are so much better than this underwhelming but well filmed rubbish. It exisits in that strange capitalist Mainland of gleaming spires, fast cars and stock markets, that only seems to exist in these kinds of films. It is pretty enough, Li is becoming more gorgeous with age, and Sun is just wonderfully charming. But the underlying story is vapid, and just the worst kind of Mainland film. Nearly everyone involved has done MUCH better work.
The Illusionist [3.5/5]
Just to show I do watch non-asian films, I finally caught up with this one. I missed it originally, as it wasn't the fabulous "Prestige". But actually it was pretty darn good (and I am told "The Great Magician" is a retelling?). Some great performances, mixed in with some rather unconvincing facial hair. But, if you are a magic lover like me, the final "twist" is just too easy to predict, and it lacks the ending I think the buildup deserved.
Love in the Time of Twilight [3.5/5]
One of the Tsui Hark films I never got round to before, and for my money a bit of an underated classic. The time travel device is a little complicated and pretty much held together with blu-tack, but it is fun and imaginative, with at least two really winning performances.
