Tag: Netflix Queue

The Departed. The US remake of Infernal Affairs. I had recently watched the original because by coincidence it wound up on my Netflix queue at the same time the US remake debuted.

The original was confusing. Now this may sound cliched but I couldn’t tell the bad guys apart. They were all chinese to me, so that when it was time to remember who the mole was in the police department, I couldn’t pick him out of a police line up. I spent the better part of the movie trying to fathom out what was going on. At least the undercover cop was easy to pick out because he’s the infamous Tony Leung. Supposedly, the other guy is somewhat famous, but I don’t really watch much chinese cop dramas because I am limited to the kung fu genre. Anyway, the original besides confusing me ended in a very bitter tone. You had the mole, who always wanted to be a good cop, make it and the undercover cop not. Like the scene in Heat with Al Pacino and Robert Deniro, their tales where intertwined, and you know that someone loses in the end. In this film, it turns out the good guy was the bad guy. For some time after, I was confused by the turn of events to let the mole live. It felt wrong, but I felt conflicted liking the bitter ending, but not liking that crime triumphed. Heh.

The remake adhered to the premise of the original with lots of the same plot rythms. Along with The Aviator, this pic does not include many grand Scorsese stylings. Scorsese sublimates his style to tell the story. Nicholson on the other hand is always Nicholson. The quiet unfolding of the film under Scorsese was punctuated by Nicholson’s brashness and makes the film seem lively, but the length of the movie was very noticeable. I squirmed for the last half hour waiting for the ending. Of course, there was an american twist in the end. You cannot end an american story embracing the dark side. Unlike the original, the mole gets his comeuppance. This was rather phony. For once, an american film should’ve ended (like the original) with the embrace of bad cops rule. I would’ve liked the bitter ending to have remained.

Mark Wahlberg was the best. Followed by Alec Baldwin. DiCaprio and Damon were alright. The boston accent is teh suck.

Original: 2 of 5 stars.
Remake: 2 of 5 stars

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Not one of Wes Andersons best. Funny. Especially the filipino pirates.

Here’s a question, “What would their movies be like if Wes Anderson did Coen Brothers scripts and vice versa?” It was all I thought about while watching this flick. Both directors have a manner in their storytelling and in their filming. What would The Big Lebowski have been if Wes Anderson and his cast of regulars did the film? What about this flick done by the Coens? John Goodman in the Klaus role or would it be better filled by John Torturro? And what part would Steve Buscemi play? The intern?

Anyway, it wasn’t as fun as Bottle Rocket or as sweet as Rushmore, but it did have its moments. And it is imaginative.

3 of 5 stars.

I’ve already written praises for Lukas Moodysson’s Fucking Amal, and I’ve already said some things about Lilya 4-Ever.

So I place it in my Netflix queue once more.

It’s even sadder upon second viewing. The scenes between Volodya and Lilya are more poignant. The subject matter more brutal. The dreams more surreal and touching. I don’t know, but there’s something about this flick. Heart-wrenching. Grotesque. Men are stupid and gross.

It’ll keep you off internet porn for a while.

4 of 5 stars.

Gunslinger Girl is an anime DVD set in Italy with these little girls who’ve lost their previous lives and have been given cybernetic bodies and lethal skills. They are killing cyborgs. And yet they are still little girls with guns.

This anime maintains the theme that the father of all, Blade Runner, anime keeps, “Can replicants have feelings, too?” The girls have been trained and conditioned to be lethal killing machines, but they are still little girls. The cybernetic implants are slowly killing them and will they understand that their lives have a meaning outside of guns and assassinations. It is a rather sad theme. Melancholy.

The girls are teamed with an adult in a “fratello.” That is their handler. Some handlers are mean. Some are indifferent. Others are saddened by the fate the girls have been placed in. Yet they do not show love to their younger “sister” afraid at what the attachment might mean to their relationship. Will it weaken the girls’s killer instincts and place both their lives in jeopardy?

I went in thinking that this was going to be a rock ’em shoot out with little girls with guns, but it was a more moving story. I originally rated it 4 after the first disc, but the second disc dropped it to a 3 because it had too much action. I am giving it a 4 overall, because the last disc made me sad. Beethoven’s 9th and shooting stars will not be the same.

There was some action, but the languid pacing of each episode was appropriate for the theme. Do not think that this is a shoot ’em up anime or you will be disappointed. But then again, you may find the story beautiful and appreciate it for the tale it tells. I wonder what happens to them.
4 of 5 stars.