Recently I realised that I'd mainly reviewed excellent films on my blog, so I've decided to write a little post about a film I saw recently entitled Crying Freeman.
A very overlooked film that despite all it's flaws is still a solid action film, much better than a lot of the terrible action films of recent years (The Expendables, The A Team etc...). The reason it was so overlooked is probably because it didn't get a US release, for diverse reasons.
Crying Freeman is based on a popular Manga, which had previously been adapted into an Anime. I am unfamiliar with both the manga and the anime,so I probably enjoyed the film a bit more than those familiar with the source material for I heard it deviates considerably.
Directed by Christoph Gans, mainly known for the Brotherhood of the Wolf.
It stars Mark Dacascos and Julie Condra (who incidentally got married afterwards).
Saturday 26 March 2011
Friday 25 March 2011
Stylish Blogger Award
Lesya over at Eternity of A Dream was kind enough to bestow the Stylish Blogger award upon me!
So first of all, thanks Lesya!
Now, apparently since I've been awarded this distinction I must name 7 facts about myself, and then pass of the Award to 7 other bloggers who I admire.
Wednesday 23 March 2011
Malcolm X - 1992
Spike Lee is in the Director's Chair over at the LAMB. Check the blogathon out to find many reviews and various posts dealing with the directors work.
Spike Lee is a director who has contributed much to America Cinema throughout his rather long and varied career and even if you don't agree with his strong political and social beliefs you can't deny that his films have proved to be very influential.
Now I will review what I consider to be his most important film in terms of social and political factors, Malcolm X.
(I consider Do The Right Thing to be his most important film from a Cinematic point of view.)
Malcolm X was released in 1992, with a budget of about 33 million dollars and a gross revenue of about 48 million, so it can't really be considered a financial success, although I'm sure it made up for it's costs easily in the international release and the video market.
Denzel Washington stars as Malcolm X, Washington was a regular actor in Lee's films having appeared in 4 of his works.
The rest of the cast contains Angela Basset as Betty X and Spike Lee as Shorty.
It won 16 awards around the world including The Silver Bear for Best Actor (Washington) and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Malcolm X was one of the most controversial and, in my opinion, one of the most important figures of the past century.
Now, I am not Black but I must say that while watching this film and while reading the book it was based upon I felt very inspired and impressed by this great man.
But this isn't only a film with a powerful and important message, it is an extremely well made film with terrific performances.
Spike Lee is a director who has contributed much to America Cinema throughout his rather long and varied career and even if you don't agree with his strong political and social beliefs you can't deny that his films have proved to be very influential.
Now I will review what I consider to be his most important film in terms of social and political factors, Malcolm X.
(I consider Do The Right Thing to be his most important film from a Cinematic point of view.)
Malcolm X was released in 1992, with a budget of about 33 million dollars and a gross revenue of about 48 million, so it can't really be considered a financial success, although I'm sure it made up for it's costs easily in the international release and the video market.
Denzel Washington stars as Malcolm X, Washington was a regular actor in Lee's films having appeared in 4 of his works.
The rest of the cast contains Angela Basset as Betty X and Spike Lee as Shorty.
It won 16 awards around the world including The Silver Bear for Best Actor (Washington) and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Malcolm X was one of the most controversial and, in my opinion, one of the most important figures of the past century.
Now, I am not Black but I must say that while watching this film and while reading the book it was based upon I felt very inspired and impressed by this great man.
But this isn't only a film with a powerful and important message, it is an extremely well made film with terrific performances.
Sunday 20 March 2011
Quick Ratings/Reviews of The Week
Hiroshima, Mon Amour - 1959 directed by Alain Resnais.
9/10
I didn't know quite what to think after watching Alain Resnais Last Year in Marienbad a while ago, thankfully Hiroshima Mon Amour is much more comprehensible film.
I thought it was great, it wasn't what I expected, it starts by showing the horrors of the atomic bomb strike of Hiroshima but then becomes a Romance of sorts and an interesting character study.
While I have to admit that it's love story didn't interest me much, I do think this was quite ground breaking in it's depiction of the horrors but also because of the fact that it shows clearly the suffering a young French woman who fell in love with a German during WWII, at the end of the war she was persecuted and banished, and I felt that the way the film dealt with this was commendable for this is a part of French history that is not often mentioned here in France.
The acting was very good, and the cinematography was stunning, as was the use of music. The script did have a tendency to get a bit too cerebral at times, but I'm not complaining, intelligent dialogue is always welcome even if it does feel slightly out of place at times.
Great film, highly recommended, but probably not everyone's cup of tea.
9/10
I didn't know quite what to think after watching Alain Resnais Last Year in Marienbad a while ago, thankfully Hiroshima Mon Amour is much more comprehensible film.
I thought it was great, it wasn't what I expected, it starts by showing the horrors of the atomic bomb strike of Hiroshima but then becomes a Romance of sorts and an interesting character study.
While I have to admit that it's love story didn't interest me much, I do think this was quite ground breaking in it's depiction of the horrors but also because of the fact that it shows clearly the suffering a young French woman who fell in love with a German during WWII, at the end of the war she was persecuted and banished, and I felt that the way the film dealt with this was commendable for this is a part of French history that is not often mentioned here in France.
The acting was very good, and the cinematography was stunning, as was the use of music. The script did have a tendency to get a bit too cerebral at times, but I'm not complaining, intelligent dialogue is always welcome even if it does feel slightly out of place at times.
Great film, highly recommended, but probably not everyone's cup of tea.
Weekly Collection of Random Film Thoughts
- First of all, I have a rather pressing question that has been troubling me: Does one say directing or direction when speaking of the work of the film director? , I have seen both written here and there and was wondering which one is the correct term.
- I was wondering what directors you find to be the most overrated, I find Christopher Nolan, J.J. Abrams, Zack Snyder, George Lucas, Brian De Palma, Ridley Scott and James Cameron to be very overrated. Antonioni and Godard would probably qualify as well if I had seen more of their work.We all have a list of directors we find are overrated, mine happens to be rather controversial but I didn't mean for it to be so, I juts don't think these directors are as good as their reputations.
- I've just got my hands on "The Yakuza Papers", they are known as a sort of Japanese "The Godfather" a crime epic of sorts spanning six films. I can't wait to watch them. Directed by Fukasaku, director of Battle Royale.
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