Jqn_Hgar Reviews

Limbo (2021)

Soi Cheang's long awaited comeback to serious filmmaking.

[9/10 · 15 June 2022]

Story wise Limbo plays within a familiar territory when it comes to police investigation films about the hunt for a serial killer on the loose therefore the execution makes all the difference here and it ends up being a prime example of how a movie's visual aspect elevating it above its written material. After All Limbo shares a lot of similarities with Soi cheang's own Dog Eat Dog in terms of plot and in terms of how murky the morality of most of the characters at play is but as bleak and filthy as that film was it still has nothing on Limbo because as stated above the aesthetic that this film goes for is even grittier, grimier, nastier and bleaker yet still somehow mesmerising as it creates an atmosphere that is as creepy and ruthless as its subject matter.

Hong Kong is depicted in almost apocalyptic way, focusing mostly on the territory in which the killer operates, the rain soaked litter filled back alleys of the city, a wasteland that feeds on the outcasts of society, if you don't get chopped up by the killer the street will literally eat you alive. The city's mega structures are juxtaposed in the background in some scenes as a way to comment on how isolated the underworld feels it's almost as if the movie is saying you can scream all you want because nobody is coming there for help and nobody cares.

With a cast and crew consisting of a few Milky way image regulars (recurring story elements from previous works like the police detective losing his gun subplot are explored here again with a different approach), Limbo tells the story of a relentless manhunt for a deranged serial killer terrorising the female outcasts of the underworld. With Gordon Lam, in one of his few leading roles, shining as the tormented veteran police detective. His looks kind of reflect the harshness of his environment, the guy isn't afraid of getting knee deep in a trunk full of junk if it means he gets one step closer to stopping the culprit. On the other hand we have Yase Liu giving a very solid performance as the lead female of the film, I've never seen her in anything before but her turn will surely make me watch out for anything she does in the future. Mason Lee who I just found out is Ang Lee's son also does a decent job as the newly assigned and relatively naive detective, he might not be as good at his job as Gordon Lam's character but he definetly has the same resolve to fulfill his duty.

This is a step in the right direction for Soi Cheang a director who is clearly better than being a for hire in mainland chinese CGI crap fests, definetly the best film I've seen from him as of yet. If you liked his Dog Bite Dog you should find this right up your alley because I personally think it's a way better film that shows how much he grew as a filmmaker. Please for the love of god keep doing stuff like this. Also somebody please wake Johnnie To up from his sleep, we need more films like this! Keep Hong Kong cinema alive.

VR Fighter (2021)

Fairly decent DTV actioner starring Riki Oh.

[7/10 · 9 April 2022]

Right off the bat it opens with a visceral action scene that is more creative and energetic than most of the major productions from Hollywood in the last 2 years. Sadly after that we get to the generic cliched part where we follow our protagonist coping with the loss of his wife and taking care of his sick girl. These obligatory 20 minutes of miserable melodrama are easily the worst part of the film that and everytime some character speaks in English but thank goodness they did not drag this part because for the rest of the movie it's pretty much non stop brutal action with some nice shootouts and a very impressive one on one fight inside of an elevator culminating in yet another one vs one with the main baddie that is less memorable compared to the previous one but still makes up for that with how brutal it gets.

There is a plot twist at the very end that you may or may not like. That and the completely unnecessary Sci-Fi element of the story are the film's major flaws. I don't mind thin storyline and underdevelopped characters as well as the occasional dodgy CGI.

One More Shot delivers on its promise as a dumb DTV balls to the wall actioner with crappy Sci-Fi elements that should satisfy most action movie fans.

Hell Hath No Fury (II) (2021)

The current 3.7/10 rating is a joke right?

[7/10 · 10 November 2021]

First off I only felt inclined to write this review after seeing the shockingly low score and all the 1 star reviews that make no sense. Those people should really reconsider the way they view films. Criticizing a film like this for being cheap isn't exactly valid because the movie is a straight to video effort from a straight to video director with straight to video cast members and for that kimd of movie Hell Hath no Fury delivers a fine actioner that is tightly plotted (unlike earlier Jesse V Johnson movies) fine acting (Louis Mandylor has grown on me since seeing his pairing with Scott Adkins in Debt Collector and it is always a joy to watch Daniel Bernhardt in an actual role and not just an appearance where he gets his ass kicked by some Hollywood pretty boy/girl or SNL comedians, the rest of the cast was fine) and loads of action inspired by the likes of Sam Peckinpah.

Now as much as I liked JVJ's other films the shootouts weren't exactly his strongest aspect. Here he kind of makes an improvement in that department but still it is no John Woo or Johnnie To however it's always great to see those juicy ass squibs again. Hollywood please listen to action fans worldwide for once, we demand to bring back the juicy squibs! CG blood is a crime against cinema.

Overall decent DTV action flick, you would totally enjoy this if you go into it not expecting to get your mimd blown and definetly do not believe the negative ratings 3.7/10 is the kind of score I'd give to those half assed excuses of movies that Seagal churns out every once in a while, this is no where near as bad as that even if you ended up dislilikg it.

One Shot (III) (2021)

One Shot is better than 1917 and Birdman and you can't change my mind.

[8/10 · 7 November 2021]

First off I hate the one shot gimmick when it's used for the entire movie but I love it when it's used for a sequence withing the movie (Hard Boiled and Johnnie To's Breaking News both come to mind when talking about action movies), I think it takes away from the experience and to be honest I find it unnecessary most of the time but that doesn't mean that there haven't been good movies made with this gimmick in fact Victoria (2015) was one of my favourite movies of that year which was shot in one continous take for real and involved traveling to multiple locations, I also loved Birdman and 1917 as well (still think it's somewhat overrated) and this year One Shot joins that list.

I'm familiar with James Nunn's work, he's one of your go to director these days if you want some good old fashioned DTV action movie carnage, Eliminators which was also a collaboration with Scott Adkins was a fairly decent entry and I remember it had one fight scene filmed in one continuous shot. So when this movie was announced and I learned that it's a DTV film that is going to use the one shot gimmick to say I was annoyed would be an understatement because I thought not only are they gonna completely mess up the technical aspect but this is going to have mediocre action because the one shot technique isn't exactly helpful when you're pulling off any complicated choreography. But much to my surprise One Shot took me completely by surprise and ended up becoming one of my favourite films of the year not that it's saying all that much about the quality of films coming up these days.

The filmmakers used the siege and prisoner extraction scenario well though you've got to have some suspension of disbelief here because of the infinite waves of suicidal terrorists but I personally do not expect my DTV actioners to be oscar worthy material if you know what I mean. Still for this kind of movie it did have some.well implemented comments on the war on terror and radicalisation. I gotta admit that scene where they motivate the young terrorist to put on the suicide vest kinda moved me and I was surprised with the unique and sympathetic view on this hard subject.

I love how the action was varied, you got everything from shoot and cover to defend the building to sneaking around in stealth mode in what could be the film's most impressive part. The oner gives you a good sense of immersion and you're never confused about the geography of the scenes and of the characters at play in regards to eachg other.

Another element that I appreciated is that you could feel the exhaustion and the desperation of Scott Adkin's character and the detainee towards the end of the movie. My only minor complaint is that Scott doesn't get to show off his great kicks here but I get that this is not that type of flick.

This is one of the best DTV action films of all time imo, up there with Universal Soldiers Regeneration and Day of Reckoning, Sinners and Saints, Drive (with Marc Dacascos) et al... and I love the fact that people like Scott Adkins, Jesse V Johnson and James Nunn are singlehandedly keeping this dying breed of cinema alive.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (2019– )

Not a game changer but very well done.

[8/10 · 7 October 2021]

A few years ago when Demon Slayer first came out it was the talk of everybody in my circle of friends who are into Anime, I was so busy with other Manga and Anime so I had to pass on this, I have the habit of not buying into whatever is the new hot thing entertainement wise because usually people hype it up to such a level that it's impossible not to feel underwhelmed after you finally catch up with it. So the best tactic is to wait for the hype to die down and then sit down and see what all the fuss is about.

Demon Slayer is not going to reinvent the wheel, it's not a game changer and certainly not going to make my top 10 all time favourite Anime however it is still a very well made show, in a nutshell it is your typical shonen that's elevated by it's impeccable technical aspects. The animation is to die for blending hand drawn with 3d effortlessly, it all moves fluidly and the colors Oh my god the colors are breathtaking! On the other hand you got the music which fits this show to a tee, I'm sure going to have to get the album for this asap as it's exactly my cup of tea.

The lead, Tanjiro, is the most wholesome protagonist this side of Gon Fritz, the man is basically an angel and that's a huge turn off for me as I'm more into dark and messed up protagonists (Eren Yeager in the war on Marley arc from AOT springs to mind from recent memory) his bond with his sister is the catalyst for this story for his drive is not to be number one at doing his thing but rather to gain his sister's humanity back and he is willing to lose his own in the process (not gonna happened obviously). The supporting cast are more colorful featuring a healthy mix of badasses (the upper rank demon slayers) and the comic relief (Tanjiro's rag tag group aka boar head and cry baby) they both have their moments but I couldn't stop laughing at their antics and i'm a person who rarely laughs when watching movies.

Demon Slayer offers loads of entertainement and is a feast for both the eyes and the ears. I'm probably not singing its praises all that much because it was way overhyped for me so it was inevitable that i was going to be a bit underwhelmed, just don't expect the best or most original story ever as well as not the best action and you should greatly enjoy it.

Gantz (2004)

Cool concept but the execution leaves alot to be desired.

[6/10 · 6 September 2020]

Gantz otherwise known as cringe, is a very frustrating Anime with a somewhat brilliant concept however the way the writers decided their annoying characters should behave really tested my patience, you got extremely menacing aliens charging at characters armed with a powerful suit and ultra effective weapons (albeit still kind of stupidly designed since there's a huge lag between when you fire the laser guns and their impact) but all they do is stay baffled, reluctant to shoot or/and make the most illogical choices, it doesn't help that all of the group of humans basically stay still and rarely ever engage or do something of merit when the alien monsters are ripping one of them apart right in front of their eyes, either fight or run like hell! besides you'd think this kind of behaviour would change later in the show but no these guys are still acting so dumb even after their previous experiences. I have a very wierd relationship with this Anime series since despite of its endless flaws it still has something that hooked me on it, I consumed this piece of sleazy dumb action/horror in a matter of 2 days, I don't think that the creator intended for it to be goofy but I think I was approaching it in the same way I would approach an exploitation B movie, not to mention that this is the most Japenese Anime you'll probably ever see containing alot of perversion and brutal brutal violence, so there's plenty to like here for all you weebos out there.

Hell or High Water (II) (2016)

Movie of the Year

[10/10 · 10 November 2016]

David McKenzie directs this gritty neo Western crime drama with subtlety and confidence about two Brothers on a Bank Robbing spree and the two Cops hot on their tails. This film reminds me of the good old days when movies used to have balls, it gets straight to the point from the get go but at the same time give enough time to develop it's characters. The cinematography captures the roughness of the American south and even though I know for a fact that this film is going to get no love from the academy awards but This cinematographer deserves some attention. On the other end of the camera Mackenzie manages to pull out some great performances from his cast, especially the always underused and criminally underrated Ben Foster who manages to completely steal the show here, Chris Pine who plays the good Brother gives a career best performance imo, managing to show some acting range. Jeff Bridges plays a racist cop on the verge of retirement, I really liked the way his character is developed and the interactions between him and his half Native American half Mexican partner. I think this is probably the best film I saw this year, It works so well on every level thanks to a solid script, top notch performances and McKenzie's brilliant direction, he is a really good under-appreciated director check out his previous films especially Perfect Sense and Starred Up.

Train to Busan (2016)

one of the best films of the year

[9/10 · 20 September 2016]

Train To Busan is simply one of the best films I've seen this year, and probably the best Zombie movie since 28 Days Later. One of the strongest elements in the film is the screenplay, it works so damn good, giving each character enough time to develop and at the same time keeping us on the edge of our seats with every scene. this movie plays like a video game every level is a scene, and with every level the protagonists go through it gets even harder and more complicated. the actors did an incredible job, I swear to god I nearly cried a couple of times during the run time of the film. Overall this is a very exciting and emotional ride, it's clever with it's pace and character development, the action scenes were brilliantly executed although I don't remember the protagonists killing a single zombie during the entirety of the movie, it also offers a good little twist on the zombie genre, it looks like it was there to serve the advancement of the plot but it's really clever and it worked well. bring some tissues along with you to theater, i dare you not to cry at least once when you see it. 9/10

Shane (1953)

C.i.n.e.m.a

[10/10 · 15 September 2016]

you know the first thing I said when I watched this movie for the first time? "They Don't Make them like this anymore".

Shane is easily one of the Masterpieces of Cinema, Released in 1953 this film has more color and beauty in every frame than most of the garbage we see today combined, It's no surprise that Loyal Riggs (also terrific job in the Ten Commandments) was awarded for an Oscar for Best Cinematography for it, but that alone doesn't make a film the Story of Shane is one of the best stories told in movies Ever, the story is well structured, simplistic, the characters are great and the actors portraying them deliver a helluva job. This is a film of infinite beauty, there's so many emotions and vibes, it's also a story about moralities, Love, Honor and Friendship, it also has one of the best endings Ever, Nearly made me cry. this movie's influence on modern cinema is very obvious, Clint Eastwood's excellent but underrated Pale Rider is a mix of This and High Noon, Clint was also inspired by the final shootout in his Final gun down in his Tour DE Force Unforgiven and so on and so forth. for the life of me I can't find any more adjectives to describe how well made this film is, from Screenplay to acting to camera work and it was made in 1953. if you ask yourself the question "why do I love Movies?" it's films like this that are the answer. 1000/10

The Wailing (2016)

Best film i've seen this year so far

[10/10 · 8 September 2016]

This movie is a revelation, being a fan of Ha Hong-Jin's who had previously directed two of the best thrillers of recent memory (The Chaser and The Yellow Sea) i had great expectations for this but as I was watching I knew that this is going to be something else, it looks like an urban legend of some kind but I'm not sure, the exorcism scene in this made me jump from my seat. The movie takes place in a small village in south Korea, a policeman is investigating a series of murders but then more strange things start to happen, people losing their minds, Houses burning, suicides... and at the center of all this mystery is The Japenese Man "the stranger" and the mysterious Woman in White, I don't want to spoil the rest of the movie for you but it's really one of the most original and most Clever mystery/horror films ever made in my opinion especially in the midst of all the Hollywood recycled movies, rip offs and remakes that strangely make a sh!t load of money at the box office but films like this, ones that challenge viewers both mentally and emotionally, are completely ignored by movie goers, I'm sure Horror fans will consider this film a miracle and non Horror fans will enjoy it even more because I think it works really well as a Mystery/Thriller, the characters are well developed and you start to care for them especially the Protagonist and his daughter who deliver stunning performances and the cinematography is spot on. Ha Hong Jim has yet to disappoint me 3/3 now for this dude. My Rating: 9/10

Ben-Hur (2016)

Why?

[5/10 · 6 September 2016]

i'm the kind of guys who would give any film a chance, even remake of a classic like Ben-Hur 1959, I know it's also a remake and there has been so many others too but the Charlton Heston Version directed by William Wyler is a masterpiece of filmmaking and a film that still holds up as pretty damn good from the Technical aspect. this film while not as bad as so many people making out to be is still not close to being good either in fact I think it's a waste of Money and Talent (Jack Huston) who is probably one of the few elements that worked in this movie, this is why i'm giving it my lowest rating 5/10. i hope Hollywood learns a long overdue lesson with this commercial disaster and stop ruining every great movie they ever made, don't remake foreign movies too.

The Neon Demon (2016)

not your average horror film, be prepared to go through a lot of research after you see it.

[8/10 · 1 September 2016]

NWR's love letter to 70s European Horror films in particular Dario Argento's Suspiria is a sick film with stellar performances (especially Jena Malone who literally steals the movie) beautiful Cinematography and a killer soundtrack from Cliff Martinez. while it's still not without its flaws this film will drag you in and will never let go until after the credits roll with it's dark sick themes, visual Metaphors and Satirical comments about the obsession with beauty and fame and how far some people are willing to go in order to achieve it I'm sure this is not a movie for everyone because i felt that it will make a lot of people angry especially in an age where saying anything about anything makes you a racist, a sexist and a terrible human being. Art-house film fans will enjoy it more than hardcore Horror fans that i'm sure of, it has a lot to say for itself (obviously) and it's so incredibly dark that you have to see it in order to believe it. 7.5/10

Izo (2004)

My take on Takashi Miike's IZO (2003)

[8/10 · 22 August 2016]

Izo is a recently killed warrior who wanders through time and space killing everybody in his way to find "divine retribution", silly plot huh? Well need I to remind you that this is a Miike film so get comfort in the fact that this is just the tip of the iceberg. I read a lot of user reviews on different websites that were mostly negative, accusing Miike of being a hack and that he doesn't even know what he's doing, i don't blame those people since i think in the end it's their point of view but I think they are wrong about this movie, there's more to it than just what you see, it's full of symbolism especially religious symbolism, the opening for example finds our protagonist a Samurai called Izo being crucified and then stabbed in the chest with a spear just like what they did to Jesus only more Miikesque, then he is somehow reborn in the shape of an undead killing machine, believe me this film is ruthless Izo kills almost everyone in his way while he's on the look for the organization that created him which is a metaphor for god if i'm correct but it could also be the Devil because i went out from this film with three interpretations 1) Izo is looking to kill god because he felt that despite him carrying the sins of the world he died a painful brutal death so he felt betrayed. 2) Izo is looking to kill the devil because he felt that he is responsible for the sins of the world hence Izo's Death. 3) (spoiler alert) the pretty boy Izo confronts in the end is both God and the Devil. This is only my interpretation of the film and i'm sure there's more into it than just this. Miike is in top form in this film ( I always thought he's one of the best working directors working today even though he admitted that he hates his job I still think he's doing a marvelous job) there's some really breathtaking action sequences here which is a trademark in Miike films, but what interested me the most is the "Tableaux" shown through the film, there's some very beautiful and creative imagery that only a genius like Miike can cone up with. This is a very good effort from Miike, this is his most experimental film (he had his share of those) absurd but at the same time very deep and thought provoking, this is a true Cult Classic and a must see for movie buffs, I guess Sion Sono's Love Exposure was a response to Miike's Izo in away but you never know, some themes are represented in both films but Love Exposure had a beautiful love story while Izo is an in-humanistic work of art.

Dark City (1998)

My Thoughts on why this film is one of the best I've ever seen

[9/10 · 29 June 2016]

Dark City is simply one of the best movies I've ever seen and I think part of that isn't just because I like Science Fiction, it's rather because of it being also a Film Noir and not just aesthetically it goes further down to the script which contains all the elements that makes a film a Film Noir, there's the the protagonist who suffers from amnesia and he's being hunted down by some mysterious guys then we find the side kick who serves well at explaining plot points there's also the detective and last but not Least the woman. I'm not gonna go through the plot, it's been 18 years since the movie was released and i don't think it needs any introduction because it's more famous now than it ever was when it first came out. I felt Dark City was a near perfect movie, it's well directed it's gorgeous to look at the film noir aesthetics blended with the great special effects of the Science Fiction movie Genre and I Still think the movie holds up pretty damn good for a film that was released nearly two decades ago. On the other side of the camera the actors did a fine job, nothing Oscar worthy but just self aware performances maybe it's Rufus Swell's best work basically because he hasn't been in many good movies ever since. Overall it's a pretty good science fiction Mystery, I don't recall i ever looked at the runtime not a single once when I was watching it, the script is very solid and I think it's a movie worthy of viewing at least once in your lifetime if you're a movie lover.

Yakuza Apocalypse (2015)

They don't get any crazier than this

[7/10 · 15 October 2015]

First off I believe Takashi Miike is a mad genius and a very hard working director i mean the guy makes like 4 movies a year and that's pretty exhausting if you ask me but he manages to bring quality as much as quantity and his latest movie Yakuza Apocalypse is no different from his other works it's got all the elements you want from a Miike film, genre mixing, gore, weirdness and over the top violence with little to no humanity to it. the plot is very simple, a Yakuza boss ,who is also a vampire but he managed to keep that a secret from everybody else, is murdered but before he dies he bites his henchman and the latter gets infected and decides to avenge his boss. if you think this is a serious movie please don't watch it because you're not getting the point or you probably never seen a Takashi Miike film apart from those serious ones he makes once in a while like 13 Assassins and Audition to mention a few. the point from this movie is that it's absurd but it tries to be a serious film kind of like Leslie Nielsen's character in The Naked Gun franchise he's a very serious guy but everything around him is just plain stupid and absurd. but here comes the genius of Takashi Miike he manages to keep this film Absurd and Sublime at the same time he knows that there's a fine line between Genius and Maniac and he walks that line with complete confidence. Overall this is a decent film it's not Miike's best but it's still highly entertaining and fun especially for the people who are familiar with his work. My Rating 7/10.

Bullet (1996)

Give the movie a break!

[7/10 · 9 June 2015]

i don't know why the critics have to be so cruel with multi-talented people like mickey Rourke. Rourke who co-wrote the script of this movie gave one of the most believable performances of his career, on the other hand we got very cool Photography that really reflects the harsh reality of the drug underworld in the US. the film had a great acting ensemble with Adrien Brody, John Enos III, Mathew Powers, Jerry Dean with a cameo from Tupac as the villain and especially Ted Levine who is a scene stealer in this film. besides the script focuses on a lot of things like family friends brotherhood and redemption furthermore the movie has a powerful message for every drug addict in the world.

so the conclusion is that this is one of the most realistic crime movies ever made with great photography and performances so anyone who was afraid to watch this film because of the *beep* critics, just give it a try and you won't regret it.

Predestination (I) (2014)

the little you know about it the better

[9/10 · 26 November 2014]

it's been a while since i've been this satisfied with a movie, it's compelling, thought provoking and extremely clever film that keeps you guessing to the last frame.

excellent storytelling thanks for the great work from the directors/writers despite the low budget they pulled out a great movie with good production values, sets, costumes and special effects.

powerhouse performances from the two leads Ethan Hawke as usual is a very serious actor though he haven't been in any good movies in the past few years but you can see that he's making a comeback with this one as well as this years magnificent BOYHOOD but his performance in PREDESTINATION is a very strong one because he had to handle such a very complicated character, same thing goes for Sarah Snook.

the less i say about the plot the better, this is the kind of movies where you have focus throughout the whole runtime of it trying to figure out where is it going and any detail that you miss might ruin the whole experience for you but hey don't worry there's an explanation for everything here.

this movie is one of this years' personal favorites as well as the indie of the year so far (still have to see BIRDMAN).

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

2014 is Marvel's year

[10/10 · 11 November 2014]

After the very excellent Captain America: The winter Soldier this year and the very ambitious X-Men: Days of future past and the commercial success of The Amazing Spider Man 2, if not nearly as good as the before mentioned in my personal opinion, still have grossed a lot of money in the Box Office (That's a success in Hollywood), it's Guardians of the Galaxy that delivers the grand finale for a year full of good MARVEL movies and what a Blast it was to put it in a simpler sentence i'd say take all the movies done by MARVEL before, combine them together and it's still nowhere near as good as this one. it had top notch acting from all the leads who are by the way a bunch of unknowns except for a few famous actors lending their voices to some animated characters and the appearance of such thespians as Benicio Del Toro, John C Riley and Glenn Close. the cast did an excellent job they had great chemistry, they delivered some very good punchlines and each and every lead character was as well developed as the other all thanks to a brilliant screenplay and good direction from James Gunn (i'll never forget this name) who managed to give enough screen time for every character to pull off some of the greatest ensemble casts in years. not that alone he made the movie have such an atmosphere never experienced before on the big screen with sets that look a bit like FIREFLY and a great soundtrack (James Gunn have such a great taste in music i'll give him that) and last but not least i think he was very inspired by the Japenese anime COWBOY BEBOP which has the same feel to it as this one, i'm not saying he ripped it off but i'm sure it was his source of inspiration while working on this Movie.

to summon this all i'd say this is a near perfect movie so get prepared for the ride of your lives, it's worth every penny you spent to buy the ticket and every second of it's 2 hour runtime so enjoy.

I give it a rating of 10/10 .

Cold Eyes (2013)

This is how action movies should be like

[8/10 · 1 October 2014]

i have never heard about this movie before but today i was surfing the net looking for a good action movie and because i love Korean movies i stumbled upon this great piece of entertainment.

the movie starts with a very spectacular heist executed precisely by an armed gang with the supervision of a man that seems like he doesn't wanna get his hands dirty (i was wrong about him) instead he instructs his gang members from an elevated position he is basically the architect of the heist.

on the other side a group of high tech police squad that chooses it's recruits carefully as they have to be very brilliant in many aspects in this demanding field and the chase begins in this action packed edge of seat thriller.

this movie is simply a chase that lasts like 3 days if i'm not wrong involving followings stakeouts and bugging houses in order to identify the members of the bank robbers as they plan another even more daring heist. the directors kept the same pace through the whole movie in order to give the audience a feel that time is running out or rather a feel of doing something risky and trying to get away with it. they also focused on the Villain of this movie who in my opinion stole the show with his intelligence and fighting skills as he manages to stay one step ahead of the police the entire time.

and how can i disregard the brilliant camera-work and the editing that despite the nature of most of the action happening in this movie still manages to capture every single thing.

overall this is a great cops and robbers movie with some good thrills and fight scenes. my rating 7.5/10

A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)

decent flick with some brilliant photography

[7/10 · 1 October 2014]

i just need to say that the guy who handled the cinematography for this picture is a genius and deserves some recognition even though i know for a fact he is not gonna win an Oscar for his work in this movie because simply it's not the kind of movies that gets the academy awards.

as my review for the rest of the movie i thought it was good from the point of view of a guy who misses the old days of the 70's to the 90's because honestly it's became an event to watch a realistic movie these years it's either a superhero movie or some kind of an adaptation to a teen favorite bestseller. i know i personally had great expectations for it especially when i saw the trailer but it fell short of my very high expectations (i expected something like those Korean brilliant thrillers like The Chaser 2009 or I Saw the Devil 2010) however it still doesn't disappoint and it delivers some very good and realistic action scenes with practical effects for a change. god i miss the 90's.

Boyhood (I) (2014)

Nostalgia!

[10/10 · 13 August 2014]

Richard Liklater is known for his simple yet full of life movies, it's always about a group of friends or a couple or in this case an individual and he always succeeds because he somehow manages to drag into the film mostly with his realistic look at life it's just like magic you actually travel into the movie and you live the moment with the characters in the movie, you actually hang out with them smile for their jokes and cry for their losses. actually in Liklater's movies Dazed and Confused, the Before Trilogy, waking life and now this there's always that déja vu moment, because the characters experience the same stuff that i as a viewer experienced when i was in their position whether it's the last day in school or the girl i met once in a train or things i used to do as a teenager. and let's not forget his philosophical touch which adds more depth to the movie, speaking of depth i think Boyhood is one of the deepest movies i have ever seen, it follows this kid as he grows up to become an adult in such a unique way never depicted on film since the dawn of filmmaking , we don't need to go through the process of explaining the making of this movie because i'm sure that everyone that visits this page is aware of it. but is this movie just about this kid growing up? no it is not. it is actually a close look at society in that period of time (the 90s in this case) through the eyes of a very normal kid, who is by the way someone that you might even never knew if he was in the same school with you, he is not cool and sexy and stuff but he is however not dumb as most of the kids born in this generation (no offense). one of the reasons this movie is brilliant is how realistic it is, being born in the 90s i shared a lot of the stuff this kid goes through in this movie and yes Linklater got it right from high-school to video games to music to cinema and even politics. I read in this movie's message boards that some people didn't like the movie because of the main character as he is just not that interesting and he didn't really have a sense of humor and that kind of crap but as i said above this is the story of a very normal boy and i believe not everyone was a Ferris Bueller when he was young but somehow it matters for some people if the main character is cool or not heck they judge the movie based on that but does it really matters, why can't you guys just take it for what it is this is a story of a specific kid let's assume Richard Linklater chose a boy randomly and unfortunately he picked up Mason, so really get over it if you really think that of this movie do the world a favor don't ever tell anyone on IMDb your opinion about movies anymore. in fact one of the things i liked about the movie is Mason Jr, he had a unique point of view about everything and he was an artist, and as he grows up we see him making is own unique personality by learning from his past mistakes and standing up for what he believes in. another point i wanted to make before i finish my review is the cinematography, i mean when the events are taking place in the 90s the movie looked from the 90s the colors the camera angles the lightening in fact it reminded me of his movie TAPE but by the time we reach the 2000s it simply changes and it's now a movie from that period of time, it gave this movie a sense of time because apart from Mason's aging the movie doesn't really give you a heads up to weather we are advancing in time. Finally, this is a well executed movie full of nostalgia, it drags you inside like other Linklater movies only this time is very special, the directing is brilliant the acting is top notch and the dialog is very real, so if you haven't seen it what are you waiting for?

Furious 6 (2013)

throughly enjoyable, but who the hell wrote the script

[5/10 · 19 August 2013]

*****************This Review may contain some spoilers******************

"this is just an action film so who cares about the script it's all about the action" Well not anymore people are not as dumb as they used to be anymore i mean hello it's the 21st century so here's what i think was wrong with this movie.

• The Dialogue was one of the worse i have ever seen, i've seen so many awful films with better dialogue.

• The script was at moments so confusing for instance can anyone explain to me how the bloody hell Gina Carano's character turned out to be a traitor who works for Shaw I know i'm not watching a Christopher Nolan Film but shouldn't there be any hints or something.

• Last time i checked there is no 100000000 mile long Runways.

• The Tank scene when Dom jumps out of his car to catch Letty and then they crash on a car which becomes bloody junk but the couple just manages to walk out without a single scratch. at some point i thought that this is the twist where Dom discovers that he is in fact Hancock jr or something.

• Shaw is an ex special forces turned terrorist fighs like a girl, or it's just like i said before Dom has some superpowers of some kind he is so strong that Shaw was left hopeless.

• Brian O'Connor and ex FBI agent now a crook goes back to the united states as a prisoner with another name but no even one of the prison guards recognised his face.

• Am I the only one who thinks that Roman is not funny.

• I think it's too late for this but apart from Thr Rock and Michelle Rodriguez the rest of the cast should work on their acting it's pathetic.

Mr. Nobody (2009)

A Wonderful Experience

[9/10 · 22 June 2013]

A filmmaker once said "we don't go to the movies to think we go there to feel", i gotta say that's so true only in this film it makes you both feel and think at the same time. I won't be going to say anything about the plot because if i start to talk about it i'll never finish, but this film can really make you think about a lot of things through it's themes like Love, death, destiny...in fact it makes you think of life itself. technically the film is a visual masterpiece, it's a near perfect film from writing to editing (oscar snub), to acting except for Dane Kruger's heavy German accent but she's hot so who cares ending up with directing which shows us how a project done with so much passion can be. if you think the movie is confusing, which it really is in the first 30 minutes or so, you're wrong there's an answer to everything in the end. overall a very good movie, it's emotional and visually stunning.

My Rating: 8/10

Once Upon a Time in High School: The Spirit of Jeet Kune Do (2004)

brilliant, emotional, thought provoking piece of cinema

[9/10 · 7 June 2013]

Once Upon a time in high school is a very good film despite the horrible title, it takes place in Seoul 1978, Hyeon-Su a Bruce lee fan whose father is a Tae Kwon Do coach moves to a new military school where he meets Hamburger a classmate who sells pornography in order to make a buck and Woo-Shik a trouble maker who is also a Bruce lee fan. along the way our protagonist is faced with bullying, but thanks to Woo-Shick he manages to avoid trouble because the latter is a nut case who roots for violence, and the tyranny of the high school regime. this may make the movie look sad but it's not, well it's not exactly funny but the characters had great fun together for instance in one scene the three friends were partying in a disco and hamburger was hitting on a girl and he was being rude unfortunately for him she was a Tae Kwon Do champ so i don't need to tell you what happened to him. on top of all that this movie has a great love story between the Shy Hyeon-Su and the very beautiful Eun-Ju, but she becomes Woo-Shik's girlfriend which will complicate their friendship, i personally think(IMHO) that this is one of the best love stories i have ever seen in film history, it felt realistic(maybe because i met my first love just like Hyeon-Su did). The writing was very clever it manages to keep you entertained and at the same time emotionally moved with well developed characters and the relationship between them, the actors did a great job not even a single one of them failed to deliver his character besides they had a good chemistry together that they make you feel like you are living near them. Overall this is a movie not to be missed,it can be described as a movie for all tastes, there's enough fights to call this film an action film but don't expect something like Takashi Miike's underrated high school fight club flick Crows Zero (1+2).

Welcome to the Punch (2013)

Predictable plot at times yet still a very good action film

[6/10 · 19 May 2013]

the film opens with our lead character London City Detective Max Lewinsky chasing a gang of thieves making their getaway on motorcycles after a bank heist, eventually Det Max gets shot in his right thigh by the leader of this gang and the criminal mastermind Jacob Sternwood. we then go further in time exactly three years from that incident, Sternwwod's son is in way over his head and he is bleeding from a bullet wound after a heist gone wrong in the end he gets busted in the airport and taken away to a hospital, this calls for his father Jacob to go back to London in order to help his son escape and settle the score with whoever framed his boy but detective Lewinsky is eager to get his revenge by any means necessary and the hunt starts.

with a good supporting cast that involves Andrea Riseborough, David Morrisey, Peter Mullan, Daniel Mays, Johnny Harris and a Cameo from Jason Flemyng besides a very good Marc Strong as the cold blooded killer yet the kind of villain that you'd sympathies with, it's James McAvoy who steals the show with a stellar performance.

The Dialogues are good, you feel like it was written by someone who knows what he is doing, on the other hand the story is not that good but it's OK, like so many people who reviewed this film i had a problem with the plot being predictable most of the time which is bad in this kind of films.

this is an action film so let's talk about the gunfights, yeah it's set in London and yeah we know that cops in London don't use guns but in this movie something happens and the authorities are forced to use firepower i won't go deep in this matter because i might spoil the movie for you, anyway the action junkies wont be disappointed with this it's got a lot of shootouts, a good final shootout that reminds us of the excellent video game Max Payne(bad film), in fact in this film i don't know what is it with the characters but i find most of them extremely trigger happy, American like trigger happy not the usual gunfights from the UK.

Overall this is a very watchable action flick that brings us back the nostalgia of the 80's and the 90's with good performances from the whole cast and good job by the director.

My Rating: 7/10