#16 Skyfall (2012, Dir: Sam Mendes). Im a Bond Fan. Like all Bond fans, I have my favorite 007: Sean Connery. That being said, Daniel Craig acquits himself well in the role and Skyfall is no exception. Unfortunately, I thought the plot was kinda dumb. Sam Mendes does a really good job directing a great cast (probably one of the better casts of a Bond flick in a while), but I just didnt think the script or story lived up to delivering a great complete package. Javier Bardem was great, but I really didnt buy his character as all that evil or at least his reasons for being all that evil. I liked the end in that it sets up the next installment of Bond nice and cleanly. The real shame is that Idris Elba is not the next Bond. #17 Triads: The Inside Story (Chinese Title: Wo Zai Hei She Hui De Ri Zi) (1989, Dir: Taylor Wong). One of the greatest action movies to come out of the HK movie industry is Hardboiled starring Yun-Fat Chow (or as us gwai lo call him Chow Yun Fat). The final fight scene at the hospital in Hardboiled is one of my top ten favorite, most over the top, insane scenes in any action movie. Seriously ridiculous. And its not just Hardboiled where Yun Fat Chow demonstrates some serious action star chops. Theres The Killer, Full Contact, A Better Tomorrow, etc. So with those films in mind I decided to watch Triads: The Inside Story. And Im SOOOOOOOO sorry I did. This movie was horrible. I mean really bad. One of the worst Ive ever seen. Well, Josh does it go into the Its so bad, its good category? Thats where this film belongs. For the first twenty minutes I found myself debating in my head whether the film was bad due to the films dubbing or was did it bad because the script seemed to have been written by someone who had no grasp of any spoken language. Then it dawned on me that I dont speak a lick of Chinese and that this internal debate was actually pointless. Oh and the dubbing! Usually we complain that the dubbing is out of sync or the dialogue line is perhaps longer than the mouth movements thus creating some humorous screen imagery. Not in this case. This was a case where the producers hired voice actors with the job spec that it was their job to trundle out every cliche sounding gangster voice they could muster. Imagine a Triad crime boss uttering dialogue sounding like a 5th place finisher in a James Cagney or Edward G. Robinson impersonation competition. Sometimes with films like this, you gotta say, Well its not fair to critique this film based on what its not. Thatd be fair, because this film is a piece of garbage, objectively. Im even starting to doubt Netflixs commitment to exhibiting quality films. You may ask, But surely, Josh, there are fans of this genre who will like this film? I am a fan of this genre and Im telling you here and now this film is an abomination and an insult to the HK action cinema tradition. You want a good laugh on a rainy Saturday or Sunday afternoon, it might be a candidate, but I warn you the laughs will come at a cost. The cost? The hour and half of your life you just lost to watching potentially one of the worst films ever made. The sacrifices I make for this group.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 18:14:50 +0000
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