Category: Movies

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I am amazed. No. I am Amazed. Nope. I am AMAZED and IPRESSED. Yeah, that’s about there. I have seen “Shaolin Soccer” on DVD right now. I thought it would be yet another funny Chinese kung fu flick with some action and some jokes, and that something of what I like about all Chinese movies…

I was a bit wrong there. This movie is really a breakthrough in Chinese-American movie-making. It brings the best of both cultures. Let’s see. From Chinese side it takes, of course, all the kung fu action. It also takes this traditional “simple way of viewing complex things and complex way of viewing simple things” thingy. And actors are all Chinese. From the American side it brings an excellent production, computer graphics and special effects, and the simplicity of story (although that could have been Chinese too). The mix turns out to be mind blowing film!

It does have a few weak points though, again brought from both cultures: poor soundtrack which mostly a kind of Chinese Britney Spears, weak supporting roles, and few underdeveloped characters.

Still, this movie is very refreshing and way too unexpected. I’ll rate it as a 9 out of 10. Surely worth a rent if you ever enjoyed at least 1 American and 1 Chinese movie.

I’ve just watched “In America” on DVD. This is an excellent drama about difficulties of life in general and immigration in particular. This film brings up such topics as religion, faith, and family. The story is good, the setups and camera work are excellent and there is plenty of good acting.

This is strongly recommended for both family and individual watching. Worth a rent and a movie going. 10 out of 10 is my verdict.

Warning: if you are a crying type (like I am) take a couple of paper tissue bags with you. You will gonna need it.

I’ve just watched “The Last of the Mohicans” on DVD. It is yet another Michael Mann‘s creation from back than (12 years ago).

The film is nice and magnificant. It goes along the lines of the book. At least as good as I can remember it from reading it last time more than 15 years ago. There is plenty of nice scenery and amazing battle scenes. It reminded me a lot of “The Patriot” at times.

The only thing that spoils this film is the language. British soldiers are speaking American without any accent. Indians are speaking like cops from the 80’s action movies. Every phrase and every word shows that this movie was done in recent times. Even few indian smalltalks don’t save it. They sound very out of time and very false. This is such a pity. Everything else was creating the atmosphere pretty good, and if it wasn’t for the language, I would go straight into that atmosphere and imagine myself back in those times.

Still the film is very good and worthy both your time and money. I’ll rate it as an 8 out of 10.

Watched “Confidence” on DVD. I think that “CONfidence” makes for a better title, since “Confidence” doesn’t say anything at all, while “CONfidence” might suggest that it is a con movie, which is what it exactly is.

There are way too many con movies out there. This is one is among the very good ones. It is just below such jewels as “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels”. It has a good story, nice pace, cool guys, hot chicks, competition, and what not. Many celebrities are in this one too: Rachel Weisz, Leland Orser, Paul Giamatti, Luis Guzm�n, Dustin Hoffman.

I’ll rate it as a 8 out of 10. It is actually one of those 8s which are very close 9. But not exactly there. Maybe soundtrack could have been better. But a good rent anyways.