The Assassin (2015)

 

Hou Hsiao-Hsien's first feature film in 8 years is a steadily paced martial arts drama, that has a very different feel to the usual martial arts films you see. It is a film of great beauty and elegance requiring patience from the viewer as it calmly unfolds (though it will sure be to slow for some). Despite it's beauty and very steady pacing, the film is actually isn't the easiest to follow and is slightly puzzling, so there were certainly times I felt a little lost, but I still got the jist of everything. The choreography is also commendable, nothing stand out but it fits with the films elegance.

Overall this is a very solid movie but not quite great, it's different from what we usually get from martial arts genre, but it's certainly not for everyone.

***1/2

Dead and Buried (1981)

Now here's an intriguing horror from the early 80's, one that is rather atmospheric, with a mystery at the center of its story. It has a really good opening that starts out almost like a kind of romantic drama before quickly descending into horror, There's also some nice practical effects scatter throughout too. I found the plot pretty easy to work out early on, so I wasn't surprised at its reveals but I still liked the execution quite a bit and  think it's a pretty good horror overall.
***

Ryuzo and the Seven Henchmen (2015)

The latest offering from Takeshi Kitano is a solid comedy that is no where near the greatness of some of his earlier work but still quite an entertaining little film. It's about a bunch of old retired Yakuza who decide to make a new family together leading to some very funny moments scattered throughout and some fun performances from it's cast. Now apart from it's plot and some of it's comedy the film actually doesn't feel that distinctively Kitano,  it's overall visual aesthetic is very standard and the film could probably pass as a general comedy directed by someone else. I'm sure it'll disappoint alot of Kitano fans (a current 5.4 imdb score would suggest that), but for me I really quite enjoyed and thought it was still pretty solid, even if it is far from greatness. ***1/2

Ip Man 3

The final installment in Wilson Yip's Ip Man trilogy and possibly Donnie Yen's last martial arts film (according to him). A solid entry that is not as good as the first two films but still a satisfying enough conclusion. Action choreography is really good as expected and the film is worth it for the somewhat dream match of Donnie Yen vs Mike Tyson. The plot is pretty standard stuff but it still has a small emotional core that doesn't hit as hard as it should but still evokes a little sadness.
Still overall its pretty good, but I didn't enjoy it as much as its predecessors. ***

The Revenant (2015)

Iñárritu delivers another great film for the second year in a row. Featuring more of Emmanuelle Lubezki's fantastic cinematography, The Revenant is a beautifully shot, harsh and brutal visceral period epic lead by a great central performance from DiCaprio (the film could even be seen as a metaphor for Leo's Oscar quest) as well as a strong supporting cast (Tom Hardy is top notch as usual). It's plot is very straight forward and simple but that is certainly not a detractor as the film is more about it's execution in depicting it's characters' struggles and it certainly does that with pure excellence. I may not have loved it as much as Birdman but it's still one of 2015's best movies. ****1/2

Room (2015)

One of this year's Oscar contenders, Room is a strong emotional drama filled with tense moments, sad moments, dark moments and happy touching moments. It's solid emotional core made possible through strong central performances from Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay, though the rest of the cast also do a good job, with some of it's side characters having very interesting traits that adds to the films overall depth. It also some interesting cinematography especially when trying to show Jacobs point of view on things.
Admittedly some of it's dialogue is a little hokey and it arguably tries a little too hard to pull at your heartstrings but film works and is a genuinely great drama with a big heart. Just remember if a stranger asks you to help with his sick dog...you should probably say no. ****

Friday the 13th Film Series Review

Recently I've been trying to watch popular horror film series' that I've never got around to watching. After completing Hellraiser and Nightmare On Elm Street (which I should have written up but sadly did not) I am now on the Friday the 13th film series. A series that help popularise the slasher genre (the first film being regarded as one of the first true slasher films) and created one of the most famous horror icons Jason Voorhees. Here I shall look at 12 films in the series (including the crossover and remake) and my thoughts on them.

Friday the 13th (1980)

Regarded as one the first true Slasher films, Friday the 13th has all the famous genre cliches (some of which it invented and would be used throughout the entire series) and when looked at in modern times has nothing to make it standout from all the slasher films that followed. It's the basic teenagers at a camp site getting killed off one by one by a mysterious killer who isn't revealed til the very end and is confronted by the final girl. A very simple generic plot but Slasher films have always been more about the kills, suspense, mystery and final confrontation then about interesting deep narratives, characters and stories (that's not to say these  don't exist in some). Also as iconic as he is now, Jason Voorhees is actually hardly in this first movie, having only a bit of screen time as a kid (including a scene which terrified me when I was younger). Instead the focus here is on Jason's mother played by Betsy Palmer who I think does a great job as playing the psycho Mom type.The film itself is actually very entertaining, Tom Saviini does the effects, so you get some nice bloody moments though these may seem alot tamer compared to today's standards, and the final confrontation is enjoyable too. Overall it's a solid start to the series that's well executed. ***1/2




Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)

The second film in the franchise sees Jason take center stage as the killer for the first time. Not with his famed hockey mask though, but a sack over his head (which is surprisingly effective and actual scarier than the mask). This literally has the same plot as the first film except with Jason as the killer, with nothing really added and the same kind of structure. So again your typical slasher which is still manages to be quite entertaining considering particularly with the final confrontation. ***