May 27, 2007

Proof

Proof DVD Adapted from David Auburn's play titled Proof, this movie stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Catherine daughter to brilliant mathematician, Anthony Hopkins as Robert the genius mathematician, Jake Gyllenhaal as Hal doctoral candidate whose adviser was Robert, and Hope Davis as Claire older sister to Catherine. Robert was a genius mathematician and professor at the University of Chicago who made brilliant contributions to mathematics but later in life suffered from schizophrenia. After becoming mentally ill, his youngest daughter Catherine quits school to take care of her father who is often no longer coherent and unable to take care of himself. Against the wishes of her older sister Claire, Catherine refuses to allow their father to be institutionalized and chooses to take care of her father herself, letting him stay in his own house. This goes on for about five years after which Robert passes away. During the five years, there is one year when her father seems to recover becoming almost fully lucid. However as Catherine describes, except for that one year when her father's illness went into remission, her father would talk to himself, be convinced that aliens were trying to communicate with him in code using the dewey decimal numbers on library books, scribble nonsense into notebooks, and stink due to the fact that he would refuse to bathe. Obviously it was a very tough five years for a daughter to watch the father who she loved deteriorate. After the father's passing, Claire her older sister comes to visit Catherine and to attend her late father's funeral. Not long after the funeral, one day when Catherine reveals to Claire and Hal that she is the author of a proof for a complex mathematical theory having to do with prime numbers, both Claire and Hal do not believe this and insist that the proof must have been written by their late father. Although they are aware that Catherine is a great mathematician in her own right, they cannot believe that such complex and advanced work could have been written by Catherine. For her part, Claire the older sister fears that Catherine is losing her mind. The older sister becomes concerned that the same tendencies for mental illness which were exhibited by their late father may have been inherited by her younger sister Catherine. Despite Catherine's pleas, both Hal and her own sister demand some proof. The movie takes place on a university campus and the movie is reminescent of a similar movie titled A Beautiful Mind. This current movie goes beyond academic mathematical proofs and delves into the topic of personal relationships, and the proof of love, proof of trust, and that often it is the choosing to believe that is truly important as there cannot be absolute proof on some things.

May 13, 2007

In the Name of the Father

In the Name of the Father DVD Directed by Jim Sheridan, this movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Gerry Conlon and Pete Postlethwaite as Guiseppe Conlon. Movie starts out in British occupied Belfast Northern Ireland in the early 1970s. Daniel Day-Lewis plays the role of Gerry Conlon a young Irish man from a modest working class family. Rebellious by nature, Gerry and his friends tend to engage in small time theft and burglary. One day while attempting to flee pursuing English soldiers, Gerry and friends end up causing a small riot. Fearing for what trouble their son may eventually end up in, Gerry's father Guiseppe sends his son off to England to live with his aunt Annie, away from the chaos involving the English occupation forces and the IRA resistance movement. Once in England, Gerry and his schoolmate buddy Paul Hill decide to stay at a hippie commune where they spend their time in idle bliss. One night when a bomb goes off at a pub located in Guildford, England, 5 people are killed and many others injured. Under intense pressure to catch the terrorists, the police wrongly arrest Gerry and some of his hippie friends. Tortured, Gerry and friend Paul Hill both sign a statement confessing to the bombing despite their non-involvement. The British legal system would eventually sentence what became known as the "Guildford Four" as well as Gerry's father to jail terms ranging from 4 years to life. Being a young male Irish from a working class family with a criminal record, Gerry fits the profile whom British police have sketched in their minds as being the perpetrator of the pub bombing. Although indeed Gerry did commit some wrongs, his real crime is being at the wrong time and the wrong place, and being Irish. The movie is based on Gerry Conlon's autobiography titled In the Name of the Father: The Story of Gerry Conlon of the Guildford Four, it was earlier published by the title of Proved Innocent. On the night of Oct 5, 1974 two pubs frequented by British soldiers is bombed, killing 5 and leaving many others injured. The pubs were located in Guildford, a small town outside of London. Following this bombing more bombings ensued. In their fervor to catch the perpetrators the British police cast a wide net and end up wrongly arresting and convicting Gerry Conlon, his friends and family. On November 28, 1974 when the British government enacts the Prevention of Terrorism Act, this grants British police with sweeping powers one of which is the right to arbitrarily detain people for 7 days and 7 nights without needing to charge them with any crime. The movie depicts how Gerry's ill father is arrested as an accomplice in the bombings. Gerry's father suffering from pulmonary thrombosis would eventually die in jail after serving 15 years. He would be buried in Milltown Cemetery, Belfast. The movie shows how the police seem to be preoccupied with engaging themselves in a witch hunt as opposed to trying to find out whether or not Gerry is the real perpetrator. Indeed in 1987 it's revealed that the police headed by Robert Dixon actually suppressed evidence which seemed to exonerate Gerry. In 1989, the convictions of the Guildford Four is overturned. Unfortunately none of the British police are convicted of having done any wrong, an eternal black mark tainting the professionalism and integrity of the British police as well as the British legal system. It is outrageous how Robert Dixon as portrayed in the movie seems to be totally focused on getting Gerry and his family convicted of the Guildford pub bombings despite being presented with evidence to the contrary. In the face of evidence pointing to the contrary as well as an admission of guilt by Joe McAndrew, the real perpetrator of the Guildford pub bombing, the inability of the British legal system and its police force to face the truth and admit its own guilt in its scapegoat convictions of innocent people is outrageous, frustrating, almost incredible, and makes this a great fantastic revealing movie.

April 23, 2007

Ringu 2 (リング 2)

Ringu 2 DVD Stars Miki Nakatani as Mai Takano - assistant to now deceased Professor Ryuji Takayama, Rikiya Otaka as Yoichi - son of Reiko Asakawa and Ryuji Takayama, Yurei Yanagi as Okazaki - TV reporter who works at same station as Reiko Asakawa, Nanako Matsushima as Reiko Asakawa - female heroine of the original Ringu and mother to Yoichi, Hiroyuki Sanada as Ryuji Takayama - Professor of math and ex-husband of Reiko Asakawa, Fumiyo Kohinata as Dr. Kawajiri - attempts to help Yoichi be free of Sadako's energy, Hitomi Sato as Masami Kurahashi - female patient in hospital who like Yoichi seems to have been infected with Sadako's energy, and Kenjiro Ishimaru as Detective Omuta - investigating mysterious deaths of Reiko Asakawa's husband and father. The two ex husband and wife main characters from the original Ringu make appearances in this sequel as well although their roles are not as large. At the start of this sequel we learn that Reiko Asakawa the beautiful female TV reporter has disappeared and has not shown up at work for several days. We also learn that her ex husband and her father have both died. Three people attempt to find out more about the mystery of their deaths, Asakawa's disappearance, as well as the mystery of the strange video tape. The three people are Detective Omuta, Okazaki a TV reporter at the same station as Asakawa, and Mai Takano who was an assistant to the now deceased Professor Takayama. During the course of the movie, we learn that the strange video which warns people about their impending death a week from now seems to still be circulating. There seems to be a way out of this certain death however, which is to make a copy of the tape and have someone else watch it before the week is up. Professor's assistant for whatever reason seems to now possess some supernatural powers just like the now deceased professor had in the original movie. Some more people with supernatural powers include a mental patient named Masami Kurahashi and the little boy Yoichi. Anytime Kurahashi comes near a tv the tv seems to turn on automatically and clips of the video including Sadako's mother and the well seem to come up. As for Yoichi he seems to have similar powers as well including being able to choke people just through his thoughts. It seems all these people have somehow been infused with the spirit, power, or energy of Sadako who had been trapped in a well for close to 30 years. The movie is a hodgepodge melee involving many people. A nutty professor named Dr. Kawajiri gets involved in this melee when he attempts to release Sadako's powers by dissipating it in water. It's like the makers of the movie did not really know what to focus on and so just started taking shots of various things they thought may be cool and scary, and then clipped the various pieces together to produce a film. A lot of the story is not clear and I suspect it's not clear because even the makers of the film did not have clarity on what it is they were producing. What is interesting about the movie is that it does give some more information regarding Sadako Yamamura and her father and mother. Far as I can tell, Sadako's father was maybe Dr. Heihachiro Ikuma and mother was Dr. Shizuko Yamamura. From the various short clips regarding this family, it seems Dr. Ikuma performed some kind of public experiment involving Sadako. It seems something went awry and we see angry people shouting at Sadako or her mother or both, shouting out loud that they are freaks or mutants. We also learn that it may have been the case that when Sadako's mother was pregnant with Sadako, the mother may have attempted to abandon Sadako shortly after giving birth.

April 14, 2007

Beneath the Planet of the Apes

Beneath the Planet of the Apes DVD Starring James Franciscus as Brent, Linda Harrison as Nova, Charlton Heston as George Taylor, Kim Hunter as Zira, Roddy McDowall and David Watson as Cornelius, Maurice Evans as Dr. Zaius, and James Gregory as Ursus the war hawk gorilla military leader. This sequel starts where the original Planet of the Apes left off. In this movie, an astronaut named Brent crash lands on Earth sometime around the year 3,955 A.D. He was on a rescue mission in search of Taylor and while following Taylor's course Brent himself seems to have somehow traversed through time to land on this future Earth where apes rule. By chance he meets Nova who is alone on horseback. Brent notices that she happens to be wearing Taylor's id tag and asks her to take him to where Taylor is. She is unable to speak but through scenes which visualize Nova's memory we learn that after parting from the apes in the Forbidden Zone, Taylor and Nova wandered the area for what seems to be some time. Then Nova's last memory of Taylor is seeing him somehow disappear through a wall. Nova takes Brent to the city of the apes where Brent is horrified by the sight of the apes, particularly one gorilla who is a military leader named Ursus who urges war be waged against humans who may be inhabiting the Forbidden Zone. In the city Nova takes Brent to meet Zira and Cornelius, the intellectual chimpanzees who had previously helped Taylor. They treat a gunshot wound which Brent has sustained and brief him on Taylor's last known whereabouts. While escaping some apes who are in pursuit, Brent and Nova wander into a cave which turns out to be the dilapidated site of the New York city subway. Brent is shocked when he sees a station sign reading "Queensboro Plaza". Led by a strange humming sound Brent is led to a city of intelligent but hostile mutant humans who seem to worship an Atomic bomb as their god. These humans are able to use what they term as "Traumatic hypnosis" to create visual and sonic deterrents. They possess the ability to communicate telepathically, to make people hallucinate, and somehow mentally push Taylor and Brent to fight against each other. Noteworthy is the fact that this is the movie where the beautiful Nova first speaks uttering the word "Taylor". I guess she was keeping in line with her role as a primitive but still, for someone so beautiful, her first uttered words sounded almost manly and shocking to hear. The story of the movie is interesting with definite hints of a message against nuclear weapons proliferation. Considering the movie was released in 1970, I guess nuclear weapons were a hot topic issue then. It's also interesting how the movie distinguishes the apes into factions - the orangutans being the ruling administrative class, the chimpanzees being the intellectuals and anti-war, peace-loving apes, and finally the gorillas being the war loving military class. There is one scene where as the gorillas start their march towards war, there is a group of young chimpanzees who stage a peace protest in an attempt to block the advance of the gorilla soldiers.

April 1, 2007

Planet of the Apes

Planet of the Apes DVD Starring Charlton Heston as George Taylor aka Bright Eyes, Linda Harrison as Nova, Kim Hunter as Zira, Roddy McDowall as Cornelius, Maurice Evans as Dr. Zaius, Robert Gunner as Landon, Jeff Burton as Dodge, and Lou Wagner as Lucius. A classic this 1968 original version starring Charlton Heston is by far superior to the 2001 remake starring Mark Wahlberg. The screenplay was written by Michael Wilson and Rod Serling. Rod Serling as you may know is famous for the Twilight Zone TV series. The screenplay was based on a novel by Pierre Boulle titled La planète des singes, translated into English as The Planet of the Apes. The novel stars three frenchmen as the heroes of the story as opposed to three Americans the 1968 movie depicts. Movie starts off aboard a US space ship which is currently out somewhere in space. Because the ship is traveling near the speed of light, to the 4 crewmen on board the time elapsed since their takeoff from Earth has been about 6 months. However in earthtime the time elapsed would have been about 700 years. Before he puts himself into suspended animation for the trip back to Earth, the captain of the ship George Taylor takes a final look at the date and time it would currently be on Earth and the clock reads March 27, 2673. The ship crash lands on a body of water and the crew must abandon ship. Just before leaving the ship Taylor looks at the clock again and it reads November 25, 3978. The surviving members of the crew consist of Taylor, Landon, and Dodge. To the best of his knowledge Taylor surmises that they have crash landed on an alien planet which is about 300 light years from Earth, and that about 2,000 years have past since they left Earth. In their exploration of this foreign planet they initially spot a group of primitive humans. Taylor jokes that if this is the best they have, the three of them will soon be running this planet in a few months. Then suddenly a howling sound and the crew sees the primitive humans fleeing. In the melee the crew soon learn that the howling noise are from apes on horseback carrying guns, and they seem to be hunting the primitive humans. The crew is split up during their attempts to flee the horsebacked apes and Taylor's throat is hurt leaving him unable to speak. The crew has landed on some planet where apes are on top and humans are primitives who cannot speak and who forage for food like animals. From within his confines in a cage Taylor meets Zira, a female chimpanzee whose work involves studying humans. She seems sympathetic to him and when she learns of Taylor's intelligence, his ability to write and reason she becomes very excited in seeking the true origins of this man. Zira seems to be a relatively open-minded scientist interested in pursuing the truth. So seems to be the case with her chimpanzee fiance Cornelius. However, their work is impeded by conservative orangutans led by Dr. Zaius the Minister of Science and Chief Defender of the Faith. According to the apes culture and their Sacred Scrolls, a divine entity created the apes in his own image and they are and have been since beginning of time been unique from other species. Taylor is seen as a threat to this fact which should be self-evident and Dr. Zaius seems more interested in protecting this faith as opposed to pursuing truth in science. When Dr. Zaius orders that Taylor be gelded, Taylor attempts to flee but is recaptured. This is the scene where he utters his classic line, "Take your stinking paws off me you damn dirty ape". In the conclusion of the movie while wandering an area called by the apes as The Forbidden Zone, Taylor comes across the fallen remnants of the Statue of Liberty and he realizes that he is not on a foreign planet, but indeed back on Earth. Unfortunately it seems to be an Earth where Taylor suspects the humans have managed to end their own civilization.

March 24, 2007

Infernal Affairs (无间道)

Infernal Affairs DVD Released in Hong Kong four years before the release of The Departed, this is the original movie from which the Martin Scorsese remake was made. Stars Tony Leung as Cadet Chen Wing Yan the undercover cop, Andy Lau as Lau Kin Ming the mole for the mob working as a cop, Anthony Wong as SP Wong the police captain, Eric Tsang as Sam the mob boss, Kelly Chen as Dr. Lee Cadet Yan's psychiatrist, and Sami Cheng as Mary girlfriend to Lau Kin Ming. When one sees Infernal Affairs, the similarities are many and it's obvious that Infernal Affairs and The Departed tell the same story. The cast on undercover cadet Yan's arm, Sam's deal with some foreigners which the police monitor, the incorrect spelling on the envelope which cadet Yan corrects, the mob boss and his mole's meeting together at a movie theater, and the police captain getting tailed to the roof of a building. As expected there are some differences as well, such as that in Infernal Affairs the mob boss seems to play a smaller role. He isn't as memorable or large a personality as Jack Nicholson was in The Departed. Also in Infernal Affairs for some reason there is a scene which portrays the undercover cop meeting an ex-girlfriend. Not sure what this was about as it was a small scene, perhaps an attempt at character build up. Overall Infernal Affairs is a pretty good movie in its own right, however Martin Scorsese does seem to have done a great job. I personally enjoyed The Departed a little more. Not sure why I like it better as it's about the same story. Perhaps Scorses did a better job of building up his characters more in The Departed, for example the scene where Leonardo Dicaprio's character is first interviewed by the police Special Investigations Unit. The scene devotes times to bring out his background, how the character was raised, even details about what accents he has. On the other hand, there isn't much character build up or introduction for the characters in Infernal Affairs, consequently they seem more distant, emotionless, and cold, almost seems like one's watching random individuals in various scenes. One item of interest is that the DVD for Infernal Affairs carries an alternate ending. The ending of Infernal Affairs as shown in the movie is more like that of The Departed although there seem to be some differences. However, the alternate ending version which the DVD for Infernal Affairs has is totally different. It was interesting to watch the original movie and compare it to the 2006 remake.

The Departed

The Departed DVD The Martin Scorsese remake of the original Hong Kong movie going by the title of Infernal Affairs, The Departed stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Billy Costigan, Matt Damon as Colin Sullivan, Jack Nicholson as Frank Costello, Martin Sheen as Captain Queenan, Mark Wahlberg as Dignam, Kristen Dalton as Gwen, and Alec Baldwin as Ellerby. Setting is Boston, Massachusetts present day. Two young men enter as new recruits into the police force. Billy Costigan is a young recruit who happens to fit the profile of what the Special Investigations Unit needs - smart (scored 1400 on his SAT), honest hard working immediate family, but with more distant family - cousins and uncles who are bookies or drug dealers. In the eyes of captain Queenan and Dignam, this makes Billy both someone who they can trust, and at the same time makes Billy someone who would be believeable as a cop gone bad. Billy's first assignment is to intentionally get busted for a crime and to serve time in jail and pretend to get kicked out of the police force. This along with his family background makes him believeable as a cop gone bad. Soon after his fake dismissal from the police force, Billy enters Costello's gang, and little does Costello know that Billy is actually an undercover working for the police Special Investigations Unit. Billy's dismissal from the police force is made to seem genuine, and that it is all just an act is kept secret even from other police. Only people who know that Billy is actually an undercover cop is captain Queenan and Dignam. The other recruit who enters the police force is Colin Sullivan who becomes a statie, a member of the state police. Colin is loyal to Frank Costello, the mob leader the Special Investigations Unit is investigating. Colin first met Frank when Colin was a child and it seems their relationship and loyalties were bonded over the years. From within the police department, Colin is able to tip Costello off on police plans and efforts to try and bust Costello's gang. When both Costello and the police realize that there is a mole within their teams, a race beings to try and track down the other's mole. Disinformation is put out on both sides in an effort to track down their mole. The story is excellent and keeps you captivated and guessing.

Oldboy (올드보이)

Oldboy DVD Starring Choi Min-shik, Yoo Ji-tae and Kang Hae-jung, this mystery thriller is based on the Japanese manga with the same title Oldboy created by Tsuchiya Garon and Minegishi Nobuaki. Oh, Dae-soo, an average salaryman is on his way home one night when he stops at a public phone booth to make a call to his home. He speaks with his infant daughter whose birthday happens to be that day. That night Dae-soo never makes it home. His whereabouts are unknown to his family. Dae-soo finds himself locked up in a small room with no way out. With no way to communicate with anyone, his only company is a television set. Dae-soo has no understanding of who put him there, nor why he is being kept there, nor how long he will be kept locked up and isolated in this way. Food is delivered to him through a small opening through his door. He plans his escape by patiently digging an opening on his wall using a metal chopstick. At the end of 15 years, he finally manages to dig an opening to the outside and seems ready to make his escape. Strangely enough however, just when he seems able to escape, he is freed. After 15 years, Dae-soo finds himself a free man. He is eager to find out who was behind his 15 year imprisonment. One day outside a sushi restaurant, Dae-soo is approached by a strange, homeless man who gives Dae-soo a cell phone and a wallet. Inside the restaurant, Dae-soo receives a call on his new cell phone. The caller seems to be the one behind Dae-soo's 15 year imprisonment. Dae-soo frantically asks the caller to reveal himself, but the caller does not. Shortly after the strange phone call, Dae-soo for some reason falls unconscious. He awakes to find himself at the house of the young attractive female sushi chef who had prepared his food at the restaurant. Her name is Mee-doe. It surprises Dae-soo that Mee-doe would bring him, a total stranger, to her house. She seems strangely friendly to him, and very eager to assist him. Dae-soo is careful to not trust anyone too readily, even Mee-doe. However with time, their relationship grows and evolves into a romantic one involving physical intimacy. One day when he notices her chatting online with a stranger who knows about Dae-soo, he cannot help but suspect that she may somehow be involved with the person/people who had him locked up. During his 15 years of imprisonment, Dae-soo was often fed fried dumplings which were delivered from one particular restaurant. Dae-soo is able to track this restaurant down, and subsequently he manges to track down the location of his prior imprisonment. Arriving at his former prison, he tortures the people who ran that private prison in an effort to find out who was behind his lock up. Dae-soo learns that someone had payed for him to be imprisoned for 15 years. However, he is unable to find out the exact identity of who payed for this service. The only clue Dae-soo has is a tape recording of a male voice which says that he wants Dae-soo locked up for 15 years because "Dae-soo talks too much". Through much detective work, Dae-soo starts to piece together the mystery behind who may be behind his 15 year imprisonment, as well as the murder of his wife during his time in confinement. Dae-soo's investigation leads him to try and piece together events from his past, specifically his days in high school, and the circumstances surrounding the death of a female student named Lee, Soo-ah. More cannot be said about the plot without risking giving away the twisted ending of the movie's conclusion. It can be said that the conclusion is a shocker and one which could not be guessed. The actors do an excellent job in their portrayals, the movie's story is entertaining and captivates you throughout. The scenes which mix past and present, representing Dae-soo's search to make sense of his situation were really well shot, and a fine example of good movie making.

Shall We Dance? (Shall We ダンス?)

Shall We Dance? DVD Starring Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka. Shall We Dance is the original Japanese version from which the Hollywood version with the same title Shall we Dance starring Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez is based. Sugiyama (Koji Yakusho) is an accoutant who finds an outlet to his humdrum daily life, by finding joy in dancing. On his commute home one day, by chance Sugiyama spots the beautiful dance instructor Mai (Tamiyo Kusakari) through her dance studio window. He initially signs up for dance instruction not so much because of any interest in dancing, but because of his attraction to Mai. Unexpectedly however, he develops a genuine interest in dancing and realizes that he has a real talent for it. An accountant by trade, Sugiyama at first feels somewhat embarassed about his interest in dancing. To his surprise however, he learns that he is not the only one who has such an interest after seeing one of his co-workers, Aoki (Naoto Takenaka) attending the same dance studio and specializing in Latin dance. About taking a chance in life, about finding life's joy in unexpected places, this feel good drama in its original version is worth a viewing. In Japanese with English subtitles.

Open Your Eyes (Abre Los Ojos)

Open Your Eyes DVD Starring Eduardo Noriega, Penelope Cruz. This is the original Spanish language version from which Hollywood's remake was based - Vanilla Sky, starring Tom Cruise. Set in Madrid, the main character of the movie is Cesar played by Eduardo Noriega. Young, handsome, and rich, Cesar seems to have everything in life until he gets involved in a car accident which leaves him disfigured to such an extent that he must wear a face mask. After the accident, he finds that the girl which he has fallen for Sofia (Penelope Cruz) seems to have lost interest in him. On top of that, he unexpectedly finds himself under suspicion for murder. It would not be possible to reveal the rest of the story without ruining the viewer's experience. The movie's story is unexpected, excellent, and definitely worth a viewing.

Chung King Express (重庆森林)

Chung King Express DVD Starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, Wong Faye, Tony Leung, Brigitte Lin. It's been said Quentin Tarantino of Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill fame, loved this movie very much. Chung King Express by director Wong Kar Wai was the first film distributed in the US by Tarantino's company Rolling Thunder. Chung King Express consists of clips and pieces telling the story of multiple people, who at times cross each other's path. He Qi Wu (Takeshi Kaneshiro) and the Cop Number 663 (Tony Leung) are two guys each of who are in the process of trying to get over lost love. Another character is a young woman (Wong Faye) who secretly frequents Cop Number 663's apartment. Yet another character is the woman with the blonde wig and sunglasses (Brigitte Lin) who is on the losing side of a drug deal gone bad. Chung King Express is unlike the standard movie in that it is more like a music video which constantly switches from one scene/story to another, depicting parts of four people's lives. If you enjoyed Pulp Fiction, you may enjoy this as well.

Bi Chun Moo (비천무)

BiChunMoo DVD Starring Shin Hyun June, Kim Hee Sun. This Korean movie takes place towards the decline of the Yuan Dynasty - when Mongols conquered and ruled China. The story is about two things. First, the story is a romance - about the star-crossed lovers Jin Ha (Shin, Hyun June) - son of a Korean migrant and Sullie (Kim, Hee Sun) - the daughter of a Mongol general. The other story is about how Jin Ha finds out that he is not just of lowly peasant birth as he always believed, but the son of a great Korean swordsman. After finding out the truth of his past, as well as his parent's murder, Jin Ha seeks vengenace on those responsible. The fight scenes are pretty well done and quite entertaining. And as for Kim Hee Sun who is cast as Sullie....she is absolutely beautiful. However the problem with this movie is that, those were the only two redeeming qualities about it. It lacks good story telling and the story as depicted was quite dull, with no character build up.

Ringu (リング)

Ringu DVD Starring Nanako Matsushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Miki Nakatani. This is the original Japanese version from which Hollywood made the remake starring Naomi Watts titled The Ring. It is based on the book Ring authored by Koji Suzuki. Exactly one week after staying at a remote cabin, a group of Japanese teenagers all meet sudden inexplicable deaths. A cousin of one of the victims, reporter Reiko Asakawa (Nanako Matsushima), begins an investigation that leads to the discovery of a videotape containing hauntingly bizarre footage. Upon viewing the tape, Reiko receives a phone call stating that she, too, will die in one week. As the clock ticks away, Reiko enlists the help of her estranged husband, Ryuji (Hiroyuki Sanada), who possesses limited psychic abilities. Together they attempt to discover the meaning behind the cryptic film and break the supernatural curse. Hideo Nakata's Ringu, based on a novel by Koji Suzuki, was such a hit in Japan that it spawned both a sequel and prequel, along with a huge cult following. Like a horrific version of an X-Files episode, the dark, moody film makes the most out of the mysterious and the unknown. As any viewer will admit, the surreal, death-inducing video presented within the movie is extremely effective. And as Ringu's tension builds, so does its sense of mounting doom. One of the creepiest motion pictures ever made, Ringu culminates in an unbelievably chilling finale. Do not watch this film alone...and make sure the phone ringer is off.

Lagaan

Lagaan DVD Starring Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley. Considered to be a modern classic of Indian cinema, Lagaan is a musical drama which tells the story of a central Indian farming village in 1893. The village waits for the monsoons to come and rain on its crops, but the ground remains dry and infertile. Meanwhile, British ruler Captain Russell (Paul Blackthorne) demands lagaan--or double normal taxes--from the villagers. When it becomes clear that they can't pay, Russell challenges the villagers to a game of cricket, a game they know nothing about. Teaching the villagers about the game falls on the shoulders of farmer Bhuvan (Aamir Khan). As they begin to learn, the villagers are inspired to go up against Russell, with tax negotiation as the stakes for the game. Full of choreographed musical numbers and climaxing in a pulse-pounding cricket match, Lagaan is a fun, heartwarming British/Indian production that should have no difficulties translating across other national borders.

Full Contact (侠盗高飞)

Full Contact DVD Starring Chow Yun Fat, Simon Yam, Anthony Wong. With Full Contact director Ringo Lam established his reputation, along with John Woo of A Better Tomorrow and Wong Kar-Wai of Chung King Express aka Chong Qing Express, as one of the premier directors of the Hong Kong subgenre known as heroic bloodshed. In these films, which are an outgrowth of Kung Fu films, the hero has both deadly fighting skills and a small army of heavily armed cohorts and adversaries. After a few reels of bullets and bloodshed, the hero, usually a man of honor--although he can be seeking revenge, as in Full Contact--has a climactic one-on-one battle with the head of the evil gang he's fighting against. Set in Bangkok, this film stars Chow Yun Fat as Jeff, a bouncer at a nightclub who rescues his friend Sam (Anthony Wong) from a beating by a gang led by Judge (Simon Yam), a particularly stylish and viscous gangster. To pay back the money Sam owes, they agree to go in on a robbery with a couple of his gang members, a vixen named Virgin (Bonnie Fu), and her musclebound boyfriend, Deano (Frankie Chin). After Jeff is betrayed during the robbery and left for dead, he manages to escape to a Buddhist monastery, where he recovers until he's ready to return to settle the score with Judge. Both Chow Yun-Fat and Simon Yam give terrific performances in this action drama that is perhaps most famous for the bullet-cam shot of a shoot-out from the bullet's point of view.

Happy End (해피엔드)

Happy End DVD Starring Choi Min-shik, Jeon Do-yeon. A provocative drama that caused a storm of controversy in its native Korea. In it, a recently laid-off man has trouble dealing with being unemployed. Depressed and unable to find another job, he finds that his career oriented wife has lost interest in him. Soon he finds that she has rekindled her relationship with a former lover leading to some revelations that are destined to change their lives forever. Jeon Do-yeon who plays the role of the unfaithful wife is hot as always in this movie. This was one of her earlier roles before she received the best actress award at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. Her versatility as an actress ranging from the humorous, sentimental, to seductive always amazes me. As for the unemployed husband this role is played by Choi Min-shik, an actor who stars in yet another movie which is highly entertaining.

Visitor Q

Visitor Q DVD Starring Kenichi Endo, Shungiku Uchida, Kazushi Watanabe. An assailant (Watanabe Kazushi) cracks Kiyoshi (Kenichi Endo) on the head with a rock. The victim is the patriarch of a depraved family and this act of violence mysteriously enables the stranger to enter their unhappy home. Dysfunctional does not even begin to describe this family unit which consists of a prostitute daughter (Fujiko) who turns incestuous tricks, a son (Jun Moto) who viciously beats a junky mother (Shungiku Uchida) and the father who videotapes all the unsavory behavior in hopes of revitalizing his television production career with a reality program he'd like to call True Bullying. Their visitor tightens the family bonds through truly unusual methods as he videotapes a murder and guides Keiko to excessively lactating an apparently healing breast milk. Takashi Miike's familial portrait captures a disturbed household that reaches surreal levels of depravity. The unsettling film, shot on digital video, is laced with dark humor and haunting, shocking imagery. The film builds to a final image that can be seen as both transcendent and immoral.

Ichi the Killer (殺し屋1)

Ichi the Killer DVD Starring Tadanobu Asano, Nao Omori, Shinya Tsukamoto. Prolific director Takashi Miike keeps finding new ways to test the boundaries of on-screen violence. Ichi the Killer is a masterful piece of filmmaking, simultaneously funny and horrific, but it’s only for viewers with strong stomachs. One character, Kakihara (Japanese indie film heartthrob Tadanobu Asano), a masochistic yakuza lieutenant, has slits in his cheeks through which he blows cigarette smoke and gleefully hacks off his own tongue to apologize for his impudence. Then there’s eponymous assassin (Nao Omori), a painfully shy but sadistic young voyeur who wears a leather superhero outfit to work. Manipulated by the cagey and mysterious Jijii (English translation: "Gramps," Shinya Tsukamoto), Ichi lashes out and massacres those Jijii deems bullies, and basically anyone else who upsets his frail psyche. Jijii uses the demented lad to start a bloody war between rival yakuza factions. Miike’s film is full of grotesquely over-the-top violent set pieces, including flying entrails, graphic mutilations, and even a severed human face splattered against a wall and slowly sliding to the ground. It’s all captured with kinetic camerawork and hyperactive editing. It’s not for everyone, but bolder viewers will find it uniquely entertaining.

Friend (친구)

Friend DVD Starring Yoo O Sung, Jung Woon Tae, Jang Dong Gun, Suh Tae Hwa. Story starts off in 1976 Korea, where the movie introduces four friends - at that time all in the 6th grade. Joon Suk (Yoo O Sung) is the best fighter in school, Joong Ho (Jung Woon Tae) is the carefree happy go lucky friend, Dong Soo (Jang Dong Gun) is a transfer student whose father works as a mortician, Sang Taek (Suh Tae Hwa) is the fourth friend and narrator through whose eyes the movie is told. The movie is about these four childhood friends and their times together through thick and thin. Upon entering adulthood, two of the friends enter the underworld gangster life and their paths cross each other's in a tragic way. A fairly entertaining movie about the loss of innocence, personal ambition, divided loyalties, and lasting friendship, this movie was a blockbuster hit in its native Korea.