The Latest Movie

Of course I've watched many movies in the past 7 months.  Here are some of my favorite.

Harakiri (1962) Winner of the Cannes Special Jury Prize, Masaki Kobayashi's drama centers on samurai Hanshiro Tsugumo, who arrives at a lavish manor and asks to commit hara-kiri on the grounds. But the vengeful warrior is harboring a secret. A new political climate finds the once-powerful samurais wandering the country begging estate owners to allow them to commit suicide on their properties, when what they really want is a handout. This one has been remade with the title: Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011) The Reluctant Saint (1962) Maximilian Schell stars as Giuseppe Desa, a 17th-century Italian peasant who becomes a Franciscan friar after his mother pressures a hesitant abbot to accept her son into the monastery -- and a bishop takes a shine to him. Upon being ordained a priest (thanks to a string of remarkable events), Giuseppe begins to levitate while praying, leading some to believe that his miraculous power is the work of the devil. The Gene Krupa Story (1952) Sal Mineo plays Gene Krupa, the charismatic musician who took the jazz world by storm. With his best pal, Krupa leaves his hometown for New York City, where he's recognized for his talents as a drummer. But in addition to fame, Lady Luck also brings him an addiction to drugs, by way of a singer whom he beds. Krupa's career halts when he ends up in jail, but he gets a second chance on music and life when he's freed. The Artist (2012) This modern-day silent film artfully recounts the poignant end of the silent-movie era in the late 1920s. The story contrasts the declining fortunes of a silent-screen superstar with his lover's rise to popularity as a darling of the "talkies."

(H) Hong Kong Cinema

I don't remember how I got into Hong Kong Cinema, I think it was an old co-worker named Chris. I used to watch them some, but he really opened my eyes up to the genre. I watched a lot of Hong Kong Cinema, but Chrs got me into Hong Kong Action Cinema. The obvious difference is the latter falls under the genre of Action & Adventure. Where as the prior encompasses all, but in my case it was the Dramas I watched.
Hong Kong action cinema is the principal source of the Hong Kong film industry's global fame. It combines elements from the action film, as codified by Hollywood, with Chinese storytelling and aesthetic traditions, to create a culturally distinctive form that nevertheless has a wide transcultural appeal. In recent years, the flow has reversed somewhat, with American and European action films being heavily influenced by Hong Kong genre conventions.
My favorite HKAC actors include: Jacie Chan, Jet Li, Chow Yun-Fat, Anthony Wong Chau San, Michelle Yeoh, Gong Li, Ziyi Zhang, Bruce Lee and Takeshi Kaneshero.
Many of te above actors are also in a lot of the Drama's as well. These are some very busy actors/actresses. Many of them also are in Hollywood films these days, but they started out in Hong Kong.
HKAC Movies I recommend:
Hardboiled 1 & 2
Supercop 1 & 2
Drunken Master 2 (The Chinese language version not the re-release dubbed in English)
Enter the Dragon

HK Wire Fu:
It is a combination of two terms: "wire work" and "kung fu".
House of Flying Daggers
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Fist of Legend
Hero

HKC (Dramas):
All About Ah-Long
The Wooden Man's Bride
Raise the Red Lantern
Shanghai Triad

Category III HKC:
"No persons younger than 18 years of age are permitted to rent, purchase, or watch this film in a movie theatre." These movies are violent & extremely graphic.
Ebola Syndrome
The Untold Story
Taxi Hunter

And yes, they are all subtitled. Of course you can find some dubbed versions, but why would you want to.

Last Man Standing - Film review across time and space

A 1920 era movie made in the 1990s, based on a Japanese samurai movie from the 1960s that was based on American western movies of the 1950s....got that?

Starring Bruce Willis as John Smith, a drifter making his way through a Texas town. On his route he finds rival gangs. Italians and Irish gangs with sharp suits and Tommy guns battle each other during 1920s prohibition America.

Christopher Walken plays Hickey, the Irish gangs right hand man. The best at what he does. Seems Hickey and Smith have a strange mutual respect for each other.

But Smith isn't making a home with either gang, he's playing both sides and getting pretty rich in the process.

Although this movie doesn't have much of a score, the little bit of music that you do hear is distinctly Kurisawa-film sounding.

As I was watching this, I thought this story was pretty familiar. So I looked it up and found that it was based on the 1961 Akira Kurosawa film, Yojimbo starring Toshirō Mifune.

In Yojimbo, a ronin arrives in a small town where competing crime lords make their money from gambling.

Obviously in the original film there are samurai sword instead of a Tommy gun, and a lot of honor and of course, no sex (some saki though).

Out of these two films, I enjoyed Yojimbo much more. I felt it had a little more class and a lot more style.

The only reason I watched "Last Man Standing" was because Walken was in it. It was an OK film, but as far as art or a film that will stick with you, it didn't work.

Yojimbo, although the same movie, is a much better film.

Happenings

Hi everyone, I wanted to give an update.

I am currently working at a temp job in a cool Adverstising firm in Midtown. It is Long Term, but not sure how Long Term it is. The people are really nice, the work is easy but interesting, and my boss is a lovely woman. So right now, I'm happy!

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Our choir entered a contest at NBC Today. Me and my friend Liz ran around trying to get this on a disc and sent off to the show before the deadline. My daughter took the video. Here is our little group (most everyone is there) and we are singing "Ave Verum Corpus" Elgar's version. I never really heard us before, we sound pretty damn good!


If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm the tall one in the center. I'm not really that tall, it is just that everyone else is below average in height. LOL!

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October is almost over, and I have not read "Dracula" yet. Screw it! I will just read it whenever. I didn't read "The Exocist" yet either, and I purposly bought the book to read this month. But I will read this soon too. OK, maybe not until next January, because November is Nanowrimo, and at the moment I'm reading writing books, and "The Neville Reader". Once I'm finished with those, it is on to Christmas Reading. I have on my to read list "An Amish Christmas" as per Wendy.

October also means the end of the Horror movie fest. I've watched quite a bit of interesting stuff this month. Lots of Vincent Price, some Asian Horror and some recent stuff. I usually end up watching the Horror stuff until the 2nd week of November, because there is just so much. My daughter doesn't watch much of it with me, just the Vincent Price type stuff. Movies like "Halloween" and the like, she hides in the room. I did finally watch "Les Yeux Sans Visage" (Eyes Without a Face). It has been on my DVR for 2 years! My reaction....eh. It was OK. I mean it was from 1959, and it had a good creepy atmosphere, but I don't know if it is the cinematic masterpiece everyone says it is. 3 out of 5 stars for me.

Once I'm done with the Horror, it is right into Holiday movies, which there seem to be no shortage of. One would thing I would have a hard time finding new stuff to watch, but nope. I will have a list this year as well. Not as much as last year, but a few things that might interest.

Speaking of Holiday's, I got my tickets for The Radio City Christmas Spectacular. You would think the fact that I live in New York City, I should be at this show every year, but this will be my first time in the 43 years I've been on this earth that I am going. My daughter has been after me for years, but it turns out, when the season comes, I'm strapped. Not so much this year, considering I don't have a steady job. But it will be just me and her, so the tickets were not that expensive. In the past, I would have had to pay for 4 tickets, but Mark is not interested (he will be around, it is Thanksgiving weekend that we are going), but I think he'd bop me on the head if I said "Let's go!". My mom is unemployed so she isn't coming, and she wouldn't let me buy her a ticket either. I hope I can get some good shots. We are on the 2nd Mezz off to the left, my camera lens is up to 200mm, we'll see.

Catholic Movies

Last year I did a post on Catholic Fiction. I found it interesting that there were some Catholic themed books out there that I had no idea were such. Now I will take a look at movies. Of course, some are obvious, while others are not. Some I've seen, some I have not, some I've heard of, others not.

Considering that Pope John Paul II wrote the play verison of The Jeweller's Shop (1988), I think it is safe to say that this is a Catholic Movie. Drama about three married couples and their ups and downs in holy matrimony. With a faithful jeweler acting as their spiritual adviser, three sets of husbands and wives struggle to live their lives with love, steering clear of avarice and infidelity. Must say away from those pesky deadly sins now!!

Brother Orchid (1940) is another movie I don't recall hearing about. The storyline sounds interesting. When retired racket boss John Sarto tries to reclaim his place and former friends try to kill him, he finds solace in a monastery and reinvents himself as a pious monk.

Well, just by looking at the cover I can see this is a Catholic Themed movie. I have never seen The Miracle of the Bells (1948), but I will put it on my list. I actually haven't heard of this one, and the synopsis sounds good: Granting her final request, a Hollywood press agent brings the dead body of an actress, who died after making her first and only film, back to her hometown for burial. To arouse public interest, and to get the reluctant studio head to release the film, he asks all the local churches to ring their bells for three days.

Apparently Mel Gibson has his hand in a lot of Catholic Themed movies (OK we get it, you are proud to be Catholic). We Were Soldiers (2002) is also considered a Catholic themed and refrenced movie. I have not seen it, but if Mel is in it, it probably is true.

This is one of my favorite Christmas movies. The Trouble With Angels (1966) centeres around a girls Catholic school and some students who don't quite behave. Definetly a light movie, sometimes Catholic movies are so serious, it is nice to laugh occasionally.

The Decalogue (1987) are 10 full length Polish language movies by the late Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski. Each story is based on one of the 10 commandments. Each and every film is depressing, dark and thought provoking.

I remember seeing this movie in the library in the foreign film section. Sometimes I do like to watch thought provoking older films. Monsieur Vincent (1947) a French film talks about the life of 16th-century French priest St. Vincent de Paul (Pierre Fresnay). He faced slavery in Algiers as a boy and the horrific Black Death in Europe as an adult. The internationally acclaimed film won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in 1948. It isn't hard to see why.

Karol: A Man Who Became Pope (2005) is obviously a Catholic Movie. It takes us through the life of the man who would become Pope John Paul II. We get to see how the war affected him, and his rise to the highest 'human' seat in the Catholic world. This isn't your typical 'pretty' story, this is raw and depressing, but very good.

Come on, you know you love this movie. I have not met anyone who did not like Sister Act (1992). I enjoy this movie too because I am in a choir, and to see how she whips these sisters into shape makes me smile. There is the Mother Superior who is strict as hell, there are all sorts of nuns in this convent, just like there are all sorts of people in life. I love the scene where they are sitting around making rosaries.

The most obvious movie that comes to mind is The Excorsist (1973). This movie should just have a big Catholic symbol ont he cover. You know the story, two priests save the soul of a young girl who is possessed by The Devil himself. One would think all movies about excorsism would be considered a Catholic Movie, but I haven't watched another one in which I would consider even on par with this one. Others that come to mind are The Exorcism of Emily Rose and The Last Exorcism. Both of these movies fell short of what The Excorsist did.

One movie that surprised me in having not only a Catholic Theme but Catholic Refrences as well was, It's a Wonderful Life (1946). This is my favorite movie, but in watching it, year after year, I never noticed the Catholicness about it. I will really watch for it this year. I mean, it is Christian in theme, there is Clarence the Angel after all. Does anyone recall a specific Catholic reference? Never-the-less, it is on the Pro-Catholic Movie List.

A Tale of Two Sisters

A Tale of Two Sisters ** (장화, 홍련 Janghwa, Hongryeon literally 'Rose Flower, Red Lotus') is a 2003 South Korean psychological horror film by Kim Ji-woon. The film is inspired by a Joseon Dynasty folktale entitled "Janghwa Hongreyon-jon", which has been adapted to film several times.

I don't remember who said they saw this movie and thought it was really scary? Was it Wendy? Anyway, I did see the American remake "The Univited". I didn't hate that version, but I am a fan of Asian Horror, so I thought I'd give the Korean version a try.

I don't remember being afraid watching the American version, but the Korean version was creepy. I wasn't 'scared', but I did tense up some. I did get a little lost during the movie, I wasn't sure what was happening, and at the end, it didn't come to light. Maybe I'm just dense, but the overall picture was very good.

For those unfamilar with the story it is about two sisters who come home from a hospital stay. They come home to a step mother who moved her way in shortly after (or during) their mother's death. Strange things happen once the girls return home.

I always tell people to watch the Asian version of a horror picture before they watch the American remake. I have not found any American remake that was as scary as the Asian. The best American remakes were "Shutter" and "The Eye"...still the Asian version is better.

If you have any interest, here are some Asian Horror pictures that are out there:

Ju-On (The Grudge) (Japanese) **
Ju-On 2 (Japanese) **
Jian Gui (The Eye) (Chinese)
Shutter (Thai)
Rinne (Reincarnation) (Japanese)
Ringu (The Ring) (Japanese)
Ringu 2 (Japanese)
Yogen (Premonition) (Japanese)
Phone (Korean)

**Highly Recommend

I purposely left 2 movies off "Auditon" (Japanese) and "Pulse" (Japanese) because they were awful.

Stats & another foreign movie

Got this idea from ItsjustmeWendy

79 Books read in 2009

44 books were fiction
11 were auto/biography or memoir
23 were non fiction
1 book was a play
I read 20 female authors (with a couple of books by the same author)
13 of these books were about religion or had heavy religious overtones
14 were Classics
5 related to health
11 were audiobooks
11 were on my Kindle
37 were library borrows (hard copies not audio)
16 were owned by me
16 were New releases
2 were over 500 pages
8 were historical fiction
5 Books about Christmas



Fear and Trembling (2003)
Stupeur et Tremblements
Japanese/French
107 minutes

In search of a new beginning, Amélie moves from Belgium back to her early-childhood home of Japan, where she starts working full time for a large corporation. But life as a foreigner proves difficult to navigate -- and Eastern office etiquette is nothing like what she's used to. French director helms this Tokyo-based dramedy adapted from the autobiographical novel by Amélie Nothomb.

Amélie gets a job where she does nothing, the Japanese don't trust a westerner. When she is given a task she is not equiped to do, all hell breaks loose. Her immediate supevisor, a beautiful Japanese woman, turns into a major bitch, and her not so immediate supervisors are no bowl of cherries either. How she deals with it, is spot on.

Even if you don't like foreign movies, you can't help but to like this one.

4/5 stars.

Foreign Movie Review

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Originally uploaded by kelsokraft

Don't bother with the photo, it has nothing to do with the post. But as I can only post from flicker, I needed to find a picture, and one that at least will have something to do with what I'm talking about. LOL!

Actually I was going to talk about Foreign films. I mentioned in an earlier post that I would like to watch more this year. In 2009, I only watched 3, that is pathetic, I usually watch more, in 2008 I watched 14 and in 2007 I watched 21.

This will be the year of the foreign film, at least until I need a break. I will make an effort to watch at least 1 a month, that would give me 12 by the end of the year. This year so far I've watched 2, and 2 very good ones.

La Strada (1954)
Italian

This is a Federico Fellini film starring his wife Giulietta Masina. I've seen other Fellini films that didn't have Masina in it, and I didn't like them. This film also stars Anthony Quinn.

The story follows the plight of gentle Gelsomina, who's sold by her mother to a bullying circus performer, only to have a clown win her heart and ignite a doomed love triangle.

The synopsis sounds pretty plain, but the movie is so cerebrial. And Masina was just such a great actress. Another movie I would recommend by her and directed by Fellini is "Nights of Cabiria" (1957) "Le notti di Cabiria" in Italian. That is another gem.

Another movie I saw was entitled "Black Girl" (1966) "La Noire De..."(French).

This is a short film, lasting less than an hour, but the story it tells in that time will leave an impression.

Working as a governess for a wealthy French family, a young Senegalese woman accompanies her charges on a vacation to the French Riviera, where her white mistress suddenly expects her to do the work of a common maid.

The maid never talks to her employer during this movie. Her point of view is strictly voice over. We can hear her inner thoughts, and they aren't nice. This movie is tragic and haunting.

I hope to watch at least 2 more this weekend, I want to have 10 under my belt by the end of January.