Genre: Action, Biography, History

Year: 2010

Country: Hong Kong

Rating:

Starring: Donnie Yen, Lynn Hung, Simon Yam, Sammo Hung Kam-Bo, Xiaoming Huang

Director: Wilson Yip

My Review: The second part to a dramatized bio-pic about Wing Chun (also known as 'Ip Man'), a grandmaster of martial arts. This sequel follows Ip Man and his family as he escapes the racist Japanese and flees to Hong Kong (appx 1949). Once he arrives, he begins teaching the Wing Chun fighting style. He soon encounters the ensconced mafia of organized crime - extortionist policies threaten his livelihood and challenge his right to teach Kung Fu. Overcoming the ensconced hierarchy involves some awesome Kung Fu fighting. The first half of the movie was pretty good. The wire work could have been a little better. The best acting is easily that of Donnie Yen as Ip Man. As a matter of fact the acting by most of the 'Chinese' cast was quite good. While the acting by the 'British' cast was terrible... The second half of the story devolved into an extremely racist (in my opinion) condemnation of all 'westerners' (aka White Men). Filled with strong stereotypes, it's amazing to see this level of racism in film. Both films managed to blame all of China's problems on the Japanese or White men. While the first movie actually depicted some of the historical context for the characters actions. This movie made no such efforts to establish setting or historical context. The British colonials are all depicted as culturally insensitive slobs who can't imagine that the Chinese residents of Hong Kong are nothing more than slave labor or amusing insects to be squashed at their pleasure. Given the precedents set in the first half; where Ip Man easily defeats groups of ten or more opponents and three martial arts masters; the boxing adversary is a preposterous match. Kung Fu vs Boxing is just another stereotype in this racist (in my opinion) story. The story is quite limited, catering to nationalistic fervor and anti-western attitudes. It's an excellent propaganda film. I'm sure it roused/resonated with the intended audience. I'm sure that the Chinese government is quite happy with this film franchise; which points all internal problems at external foreign 'devils'. If they'd (the writers) meant it to be a serious discussion/illustration of how Westerners were poisoning China (re: the Opium trade in the late 40s/early 50s), they could have included some historical context and references to actual western corruption. Instead they resort to simple and stereotypical typecasting without any character development (some limited development in the motivation of the police commissioner) or historical context. The dialog itself seems to serve no purpose whatsoever, and one could easily follow the plot without it. Despite the fact that the first half was quite good, the stereotypical typecasting in the second half left me stunned, and ultimately disappointed. I cannot recommend this film. 2 out of 5.

Summary: Ip Man 2 is a 2010 Hong Kong biographical martial arts film loosely based on the life of Ip Man, a grandmaster of the martial art Wing Chun. A sequel to the 2008 film Ip Man, the film was directed by Wilson Yip, and stars Donnie Yen, who reprises the leading role. Continuing after the events of the earlier film, the sequel centers on Ip's movements in Hong Kong, which is under British colonial rule. He attempts to propagate his discipline of Wing Chun, but faces rivalry from other practitioners, including the local master of Hung Ga martial arts.

Genre: Drama

Year: 1946

Country: Italy

Rating:

Starring: Franco Interlenghi, Rinaldo Smordoni, Annielo Mele, Bruno Ortenzi, Emilio Cigoli

Director: Vittorio De Sica

My Review: Post WWII Italian neorealism at it's finest. A tragic tale about two innocent boys who are swept up by poverty, corruption and despair in the ruins of post WWII Italy. The beginning of the movie starts out somewhat idyllically. Despite the rubble and ruined countryside in which they live, Pasquale and Giuseppe are loving life. They've got jobs shining shoes and they make a meager wage. They're got each other and they're saving some money to buy a horse. As the movie progresses, they're tempted by money, crime and deception. They help a relative purchase some black market goods and end up accused of criminal activity. Soon afterwards they find themselves thrown into a prison full of children like them. Incarcerated for the crime of survival. The movie takes a darker bend as the boys are increasingly cast in the roles of adults and their friendship is torturously tested, bent and beaten. The ending is classically tragic. The acting by the two child stars was outstanding. The direction excellent. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: At a track near Rome, shoeshine boys are watching horses run. Two of the boys Pasquale, an orphan, and Giuseppe, his younger friend are riding. The pair have been saving to buy a horse of their own to ride... The boys meet Attilio, Giuse's much older brother, and his shady friend at a boat on the Tiber. In return for a commission, the boys agree to deliver black market goods to a fortune-teller. Once the woman has paid, Attilio's gang suddenly arrives. Pretending to be cops, they shake the woman down. With a payoff from Attilio, the boys are able to make the final payment and stable their horse in Trastevere over the river... The fortune-teller identifies Pasqua and Giuse. Held at an overcrowded boys' prison, they are separated. Giuse falls under the influence of an older lad in his cell, Arcangeli. During interrogation, Pasqua is tricked into betraying Giuse's brother to the police. With their trial still in the future, the two friends are driven further apart...

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Year: 2004

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Chris Cooper, Richard Dreyfuss, Cajardo Lindsey, John C. Ashton, Elizabeth Rainer

Director: John Sayles

My Review: Chris Cooper stars as 'Dick Pilager' a likable politician that the corporations love. He's pliable, buyable and likable. The perfect candidate for the next governor of Colorado. Set in Denver and various places around Colorado, I loved the settings and the satirical views on politics. The movie was a low key satire, poking fun at politicians, the saps that vote for them and the businesses that they represent. Well cast and written, the characters were well written but poorly developed. The movie moves along at an excellent pace, casting aspersions here and there, while simultaneously attempting to tell a story of corruption, influence and environmental awareness. There's even a bit of mystery when the candidate reels in a dead body during a press shoot. The mystery in this story was totally submersed in the minutiae of a slightly humorous political satire. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Summary: Set against the backdrop of a mythic "New West," a satire that follows grammatically-challenged, "user-friendly" candidate Dicky Pilager, scapegrace scion of Colorado's venerable Senator Jud Pilager, during his gubernatorial campaign. When Pilager finds that he's reeled in a corpse during the taping of an environmental political ad, his ferocious campaign manager, Chuck Raven, hires former idealistic journalist turned rumpled private detective Danny O'Brien to investigate potential links between the corpse and the Pilager family's enemies. Danny's investigation pulls him deeper and deeper into a complex web of influence and corruption, involving high stakes lobbyists, media conglomerates, environmental plunderers, and undocumented migrant workers.

Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller

Year: 2011

Country: Canada

Rating:

Starring: Rutger Hauer, Pasha Ebrahimi, Robb Wells, Brian Downey, Gregory Smith

Director: Jason Eisener

My Review: Rutgur Hauer may look like a shriveled up shell of a man in this incredibly violent, over the top, revenge fantasy - but his acting skills haven't shriveled up. The only reason to watch this gory, over the top, low budget, slasher flick - Rutger Hauer. In this movie, Hauer plays 'the Hobo', a homeless man who rides the rail into town: 'Hopetown' aka 'Shit-Town'. This new city is a fantasy world where the criminals and cops work together to create a dystopia filled with rampant murder, prostitution, drugs and pedophilia. All accepted as the way things are, the people live their lives in constant fear, eking out a meager living in this hostile landscape. Some residents - A crime boss and his two sons - are more vile than others, and they deserve what's coming. Eventually, this hobo can take no more… The results are vigilante justice at the end of a sawed off shotgun. The plot? Really? If you've seen a preview, you know everything you need to know. For that matter - The title says it all. The production was extremely well done. With 90% of the cost going towards special effects, make up and a little post-production chi. The acting quite good - In line with the genre. Rutger Hauer's acting was exceptional. Molly Dunsworth was hot as the naiveté prostitute. The energy level was outstanding. The plot was fairly well developed, but the characters were undeveloped stereotypes. Unfortunately, I really despised the violence and gore in this movie. I just don't dig it. Imagine replacing the people in this movie with animals - Dogs, horses, cats. Do you think there would be any sort of outcry? Any mention of the violence? Any outrage? Think about that! Humans deserve better than animals (in my opinion), and this treatment is vile and disgusting. The violent aspects of this movie brings my rating down to 2 out of 5. I don't like it. My message for the movie industry? Stop wasting talent, time and money on these violent fantasies that objectify and degrade the human soul, the sanctity of life, the spirit of man. Build something useful. Make a difference, create an elevating experience.

Summary: A vigilante homeless man pulls into a new city and finds himself trapped in urban chaos, a city where crime rules and where the city's crime boss reigns. Seeing an urban landscape filled with armed robbers, corrupt cops, abused prostitutes and even a pedophile Santa, the Hobo goes about bringing justice to the city the best way he knows how - with a 20-gauge shotgun. Mayhem ensues when he tries to make things better for the future generation. Street justice will indeed prevail.

Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Year: 2011

Country: USA

Rating:

Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, Terence Stamp, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, Anthony Ruivivar

Director: George Nolfi

My Review: The premise is based on a Philip K. Dick short story. The story is one of destiny and control. Matt Damon plays (David Norris) an aspiring young congressman running for U.S. Senate. Emily Blunt plays (Elise Sellas) a rising star in dance. One day the two meet by 'chance' and they immediately realize that they're destined to be together, or are they? Apparently, a group of secretive agents have other plans for their lives, and their fate has been rewritten in order to conform with some sort of master plan… This story explores some rather interesting concepts of fate, destiny and free will. The love story aspects were well handled, and I actually enjoyed the movie. The acting was o.k. The actors (Emily Blunt and Matt Damon) good looking and the camera work excellent. The cgi was very well done. Seamlessly integrated into the live action stream so as not to create any distractions or take you outside the experience. This mind bending fantasy didn't resort to violence, gore, explosions or sex to sell itself. The story was well told, very enjoyable and suspenseful. I give it a 4 out of 5.

Summary: Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate us? A man glimpses the future Fate has planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, he must pursue across, under and through the streets of modern-day New York the only woman he's ever loved. On the brink of winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, ambitious politician David Norris (Damon) meets beautiful contemporary ballet dancer Elise Sellas (Emily Blunt) - a woman like none he's ever known. But just as he realizes he's falling for her, mysterious men conspire to keep the two apart. David learns he is up against the agents of Fate itself - the men of The Adjustment Bureau - who will do everything in their considerable power to prevent David and Elise from being together. In the face of overwhelming odds, he must either let her go and accept a predetermined path...or risk everything to defy Fate and be with her.