Movie Reviews By Movie Reviews Pro

Kung Fu Hustle

Rating:

Movie: Kung Fu Hustle (2005)

Studio : Sony Pictures Classics

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 117 min

Website : kungfuhustle.com

Trailer :
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1l206

Review:

“Kung Fu Hustle” is the brain-child of Stephen Chow, a Chinese film maker who combines both his knowledge of American and East Asian film making. Though probably classified as a comedy, it should be equally a fantasy and martial arts woman.

As with every film, the opening image is the most important one in a film, the second-most being the ending. Instead of going straight into the story and introducing the main characters, the villains are first introduced. They are the third group seen, the first being the city’s police, who are being beaten by the leader of the “Crocodile Gang”, a tough group of gangsters who have the police in their pocket. “The Axe Gang” approaches them in the street and a fight ensues, the Crocodile gang getting the worst end of it.

The protagonist of the story isn’t even introduced until easily 12 minutes into the film. “Pig Sty Alley”, the home of the majority of the film’s action is a poor part of town run by a chauvinist and his loud-mouth, cigarette-smoking wife. These people are destitute but have great courage. The Axe Gang comes to town after Sing (Chow) and his friend attempt to steal money from one of the sty’s occupants. They attempt to call the gang members with a firecracker, which backfires, but in the end, the gang members approach and are promptly beaten back by three of the store owners.

The action sequences are incredible. As someone who prefers a realistic style of violence over movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but these sequences are for more than artistic sake, being a vehicle for both plotting and humor at the same time.
A word on the humor: there is a lot of great humor in the movie, from the physical comedy of the hair stylist who wears pants that almost have no point to dancing gangsters, and Loony Tunes inspired moments, coupled with a lot of puns as well as very subtle moments in dialogue and staging of the actors.

This is one martial arts movie that I can watch time and time again, feeling like I have missed details that make it better with each viewing. As with all his films, Chow plays a major role in the film, his comedic talents not just on the script. His performance sticks out among many great characters in the film. This is a film for anyone wanting a laugh or seeing incredibly choreographed action.

-M. Sigurd Hall

Action, Comedy, Crime, Fantasy, On BLU-RAY, On DVD Action, crime, Drama, kung fu

Layer Cake

Rating:

Movie: Layer Cake

Studio : Sony

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 106 min

Website : Layer Cake Movie

Trailer :http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8ptle

Review:

When looking up “Layer Cake” on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, the combined, it only gained a 7.75, but the reasons given by critics were that it was the same as all the other British crime dramas that predated it, mostly notably “Snatch” and “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels”. As the producer on the two movies, it isn’t surprising that one would make this comparison, but they missed the mark. The point of “Layer Cake” was to take these same ideas, where bumbling criminals can always succeed and turn them on its head.

On previous projects that Mr. Vaughn worked with Guy Richie, the characters played by Jason Statham, Tom and Turkish respectively were neither adept nor even competent. The character played by Craig is a middle man for the British drug trade with aspirations of getting out of the business, not because of morality, but because he is a business man who tires of the incompetence of those he works with. He is backed by a small group of cohorts who help him ply his trade. Because he is careful, Craig’s character tries to stay away from those who aren’t.

Unfortunately for him, in his self-stated last deal, he is given the task of selling 1,000,000 ecstasy hits which were stolen from a group of Serbian militants. The thieves are the kind that he attempts to avoid, but now has no choice but to associate with him. Having both the British drug lords and Serbian militants on either side of him, guns drawn if he decides to sell or give the drugs to anyone but them, he has to get creative.

With a stellar cast, including George Harris, Colm Meanny, Kenneth Cranham, Sienna Miller, and Michael Gambon, the film succeeds at every corner, giving only the exact amount of information needed to move the story forward. For a viewer that wants everything explained to them, this is not the film for you, but on a second watch, the film will answer most of the questions needed to truly enjoy the movie.

A last word about cinematography and soundtrack: I am not sure that I have seen many movies with many more beautiful shots which flow in and out like dancers on a stage or music that so suits the mood, from The Cult’s “She Sells Sanctuary” to Kylie Minogue’s “Can’t Get Blue Monday out of My Head” to Joe Cocker’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, every song fits the moment of film perfectly as if they were written for this project.

Layer Cake is a must watch, and a suggested buy for film.

-M. Sigurd Hall

Crime, Drama, On BLU-RAY, On DVD, Thriller crime, Drama, Thriller

The Natural (Director's Cut)

Rating:

Movie: Brooklyn’s Finest (2010)

Studio : Millenium Films

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 144 min

Website : N/A

Trailer :

Review:

“The Natural” was one of the first major films directed by Barry Levinson who has produced 41 projects, written 26, and directed 34, on top of acting in 9, making him one of the most prolific film makers in Hollywood 25 years later. In 1984, only his third film made was a sensation, much having to do with the movie starring Robert Redford, backed by Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Robert Duvall, and Wilford Brimley. For Redford, this was his 51st project, which might have seems anti-climactic for the actor, having followed such projects as “The Chase” starring Marlon Brando, “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” and “The Sting” costarring alongside Paul Newman, “The Great Gatsby”, and “A Bridge too Far”. Already 48, Redford’s acting career had seen some of its greatest successes. Despite being in the shadow of many of his greatest successes, there is the ability to say that he might not have peaked until the making of this film. Between Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB, “The Natural” didn’t make a huge impression on the public, but some of the movies with the highest production value go unseen.

Like every film, the first five minutes are key. The film opens with a young Roy Hobbs (Redford) diving for a catch in a tall, grassy field. A soft fanfare accentuates the catch. Redford immediately is shown, remembering the lessons of his youth including him witnessing the death of his father. The second most important character of the film is shown almost immediately afterward, his baseball bat, “Wonderboy” which he hand-carved from the wood of a tree struck by lightning. After boarding a train, he is elicited the challenge to pitch to a character that can only be Babe Ruth. In three pitches, he strikes “Whammer” out. Though he is on the train to become the newest member of professional baseball, Hobbs makes it no further than the train, being shot by a silver bullet from an assassin’s gun. The story is based on the novel written by Bernard Malamud who fictionalized the career of Philadelphia Phillies’ Eddie Waitkus, who was shot by an obsessed fan.

The film is well written, with a style that sounds truly natural (forgive the pun) coming from each of the of the incredible performer’s mouths coupled with the direction of Levinson and the script by Roger Towne and Phil Dusenberry.
The film’s lighting is incredibly positioned, with soft key lights and orange filters which gives the movie a warm, summer-like feel which is fitting of a baseball movie. Because of this, the primary colors are warm tones, including the New York Knights’ accentuating red on their uniforms. The warm tones also help to create an old feel, as Wilkus’ and subsequently, Hobbs career was primarily in the 1930s.

The color red is almost in every shot of the film, from the roses during his first dinner in a hotel, which foreshadows Hobb’s passionate relationship with the girlfriend (Basinger) of one of the other baseball players (Madsen). Because of the filters, the blue is do dark that in many shots, it looks little more than a deep purple or even black. At moments in the film, only natural light is used, coupled with dark silhouettes, giving the look of inspiration coming from filme noir that was popular during the era, which helps to give authenticity to the project. During the time that they play early on, the filters are changed to a blue, reflecting the feeling of depression and frustration by all of the characters, despondent over the fact that they have been on a severely losing streak. One pitch is sent to him, which passes him without a swing. His second pitch is accentuated with a lightning bolt as his bat connects with the ball, knocking the leather from the insides. Immediately afterward the warm filters are back, the news reporters already.

There are many points of humor, which are only moments here or there, grouped together, including the 7th inning stretch speeches which liken losing to a disease.

I won’t ruin the last 2/3 of the film. What I can say is that it definitely is worth the watch, having a runtime of almost 2 ½ hours. Not only is this probably Redford’s greatest film, it is also one of the greatest films ever made, with a story that ends naturally, neither happily nor sad, but with great closure to a great story. If you haven’t seen this film, or if it’s been years, it would behoove you to change the habit, pick it up from the rental store or put it in the queue of your Netflix account. You won’t be disappointed.

-M. Sigurd Hall

Drama, On DVD, Reviews by Genre, sports Drama, Robert Redford, Sport, The Natural

Brooklyn’s Finest

Rating:

Movie: Brooklyn’s Finest (2010)

Studio : Millenium Films

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 132 min

Website : brooklynsfinestthemovie.com

Trailer :http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbjqfc

Review:

I’m currently teaching a class in introductory literature, during which students are required to read one play. This semester, that play will be Oedipus Rex. As I’ve been rereading the play and attempting to tie it into my lessons on Greek tragedy, I couldn’t help but think of Brooklyn’s Finest, which stars three characters who could easily be tragic heroes in a Greek drama.

The first is Tango (Don Cheadle), a narc who’s been undercover for so long that he’s become confused about where his loyalties lie, particularly to Caz (a returning Wesley Snipes), a drug dealer who apparently saved him during a prison riot when he did an undercover stint there. Eddie (Richard Gere) is a burnt-out patrolman with seven days left before retirement. We first see him when he wakes himself up by chugging some whiskey and pointing a revolver into his mouth. Ethan Hawke is Sal, a detective with a wife and family that’s too big to support, with a set of twins on the way. In desperation, he’s taken to robbing drug dealers.

The movie intercuts these three stories, as we’re meant to see the hardships that real New York City cops endure: it’s the antidote to the fake buddy cop picture. We see Tango’s frustration appear to drift into borderline madness as he keeps being promised Detective First Grade by his supervisor (Will Patton) and threatened by a slimy agent (Ellen Barkin) if he doesn’t bust Caz. Eddie’s being asked to mentor rookie cops by taking them into the high-crime Brooklyn streets that have worn him down. His “retirement ceremony” brings some dark humor, all the more because it’s so sad. Sal’s wife (Lili Taylor) has to go to the hospital because of mold on the ceiling, which is threatening the health of her unborn twins. “Can you move to a bigger house?” the doctor asks. If only he knew…

The pacing here is excellent. Antoine Fuqua, the director of Training Day, does a great job at moving back and forth between these three stories, never dwelling on one for too long but allowing us enough time to get to know each character. The only downside was I had a hard time sympathizing with Hawke’s character, who seems to have put himself in his predicament of “too many kids.” My reasons will make me sound inhuman, so I’ll stop there.

The cinematography is fitting to the story as well. We don’t see overhead shots of the Brooklyn Bridge with the Manhattan skyline in the background, like most New York-set movies. Shots are limited to the streets, because this is the world occupied by these cops. The romance of New York is lost by most people who live there, but these guys appear to see it as a crime-ridden hellhole. With the exception of a shot of a subway station and the Brooklyn accents (well-done by both Gere and Hawke), this could really take place in any city.

One of my favorite movies is Requiem for a Dream, based on the Hubert Selby book. I hadn’t seen his name on any of the previews, but I wondered for a bit if the screenplay had been adapted from one of his novels. Brooklyn served as a fitting backdrop for his stories, all of which focused on multiple characters suffering from their own faults, and ultimately, succumbing to the consequences to follow. Michael C. Martin and Brad Caleb Kane, the screenwriters, certainly seem to have been inspired. It’s well-written and well-made. Not as good as Training Day, but worth the trip to the theater.

-Craig Wynne

Action, Crime, Drama, Just left Theaters, Reviews by Genre, Reviews by Status, Thriller Action, Brooklyn's Finest, crime, Drama, Richard Gere, Thriller