SITE ARCHIVE! (REGULARLY UPDATED)

15 (2003), dir. Royston Tan

AB-NORMAL BEAUTY (2004), dir. Oxide Pang

BLADE, THE (1995), dir. Tsui Hark
BOTHERSOME MAN, THE (2006), dir. Jens Lien
BUFFALO BILL AND THE INDIANS, OR SITTING BULL’S HISTORY LESSON (1976), dir. Robert Altman

CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO, THE (1979), dir. Hayao Miyazaki
CHAN IS MISSING (1982), dir. Wayne Wang
CHINESE FEAST, THE (1995), dir. Tsui Hark
CHINESE GHOST STORY, A (1997), dir. Andrew Chen
CITY OF WOMEN (CITTA DELLE DONNE, LA) (1980), dir. Federico Fellini
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER (2006), dir. Zhang Yimou

DEAL OF THE CENTURY (1983), dir. William Friedkin
DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, THE (2007), dir. Julian Schnabel
DUELLISTS, THE (1977), dir. Ridley Scott

EASTERN CONDORS (1987), dir. Sammo Hung Kam-Bo
EVIL (2003), dir. Mikael Hafstrom

FINE, TOTALLY FINE (2008), dir. Yosuke Fujita
FOUNTAIN, THE (2006), dir. Darren Aronofsky

GALLIPOLI (1981), dir. Peter Weir
GOOD BYE, DRAGON INN (2003), dir. Tsai Ming-liang
GREETINGS (1968), dir. Brian De Palma

HAPPY TOGETHER (1997), dir. Wong Kar-Wai
‘HUMAN’ FACTOR, THE (1975), dir. Edward Dmytryk

INNER SENSES (2002), dir. Chi-Leung Law
INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA, OR THIS DREAM PEOPLE CALL HUMAN LIFE (1995), dir. Stephen and Timothy Quay

JACKET, THE (2005), dir. John Maybury
J.S.A.: JOINT SECURITY AREA (2001), dir. Chan-wook Park
JUSTICE LEAGUE: CRISIS ON TWO EARTHS (2010, DVD), dir. Sam Liu, Lauren Montgomery

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005), dir. Ridley Scott

LEON (1994), dir. Luc Besson
LIFEBOAT (1944), dir. Alfred Hitchcock
LUCKY ONES, THE (2008), dir. Neil Burger

MAIKO HAAAAN!!! (2007), dir. Nobuo Mizuta
MCCABE & MRS. MILLER (1971), dir. Robert Altman

NOBODY KNOWS (2004), dir. Hirokazu Koreeda
NOWHERE TO HIDE (1999), dir. Myung-Se Lee

OLDBOY (2003), dir. Chan-wook Park
ON GUARD (2002), dir. Philippe de Broca
ORDER, THE, FROM MATTHEW BARNEY'S CREMASTER 3 (2002, DVD), dir. Matthew Barney

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE (1974), dir. Brian De Palma
POSTAL (2007), dir. Uwe Boll

QUITTING (2001), dir. Zhang Yang

REBELS OF THE NEON GOD (1992), dir. Tsai Ming-Liang
ROBOT STORIES (2003), dir. Greg Pak
ROUGE (1987), dir. Stanley Kwan
RUNNING ON KARMA (2003), dir. Johnnie To, Wai Ka-Fai

SABOTEUR (1942), dir. Alfred Hitchcock
SECRETARY (2002), dir. Steven Shainberg
SIMPLE PLAN, A (1998), dir. Sam Raimi
SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR (2000), dir. Roy Anderrson
SQUID AND THE WHALE, THE (2005), dir. Noah Baumbach
STUCK (2007), dir. Stuart Gordon

TARNATION (2003), dir. Jonathan Caouette
TRIAD ELECTION (2006), dir. Johnnie To
TROUBLE THE WATER (2008), dir. Tia Lessin and Carl Deal and Kimberly Rivers Roberts

ULTRAVIOLET (2006), dir. Kurt Wimmer
UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING, THE (1988), dir. Philip Kaufman

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA (2008), dir. Woody Allen

WELCOME TO DONGMAKGOL (2005), dir. Kwang-Hyun Park
WORLD'S GREATEST DAD (2009), dir. Bobcat Goldthwait

ZIGEUNERWEISEN (1980), dir. Seijun Suzuki
ZOMBIELAND (2009), dir. Ruben Fleischer


Movies everyone saw: this site also features reviews of such popular films as...

AMARCORD (1973), dir. Federico Fellini
AMERICAN GANGSTER (2007), dir. Ridley Scott

BATMAN BEGINS (2005), dir. Christopher Nolan

DARK KNIGHT, THE (2008), dir. Christopher Nolan

ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK (1981), dir. John Carpenter
ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (2004), dir. Michel Gondry

FELLINI – SATYRICON (1969), dir. Federico Fellini
FRENCH CONNECTION, THE (1971), dir. William Friedkin

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL (2008), dir. Steven Spielberg
IRON MAN (2008), dir. Jon Favreau

JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963), dir. Don Chaffey

KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE (1989), dir. Hayao Miyazaki

LADY VANISHES, THE (1938), dir. Alfred Hitchcock
LOOK BACK IN ANGER (1958), dir. Tony Richardson

M*A*S*H (1970), dir. Robert Altman

NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND (1984), dir. Hayao Miyazaki
NIGHTS OF CABIRIA (1957), dir. Federico Fellini

ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (2003), dir. Robert Rodriguez

ROOSTER COGBURN (1975), dir. Stuart Miller
ROPE (1948), dir. Alfred Hitchcock

SHAUN OF THE DEAD (2004), dir. Edgar Wright
SIN CITY (2005), dir. Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino
SUPERMAN RETURNS (2006), dir. Bryan Singer

THRONE OF BLOOD (1957), dir. Akira Kurosawa
TO CATCH A THIEF (1955), dir. Alfred Hitchcock
TOM JONES (1963), dir. Tony Richardson

VERTIGO (1958), dir. Alfred Hitchcock

WARRIORS, THE (1979), dir. Walter Hill

AB-NORMAL BEAUTY (2004), dir. Oxide Pang

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A little too over the top to be genuinely scary, “Ab-normal Beauty” is nevertheless an effective thriller about obsession and the dark paths it can lead down. Some will consider it unfortunate the chosen path has already been explored in films like “The Cell” and “Hostel,” but in my opinion, that’s where the movie actually gets interesting. Overall, this is a solid effort from half the internationally-famous Pang Brothers filmmaking team.

“Ab-normal Beauty” centers on Jiney (Race Wong), a Hong Kong art student who seemingly has it all: good looks, a comfortable lifestyle, and a talented eye when it comes to art and photography. But despite being the best in her class, she’s morose and withdrawn, only awakening a little around her gal-pal Jas (Rosanne Wong) or when training her camera on something. Her nature changes, however, after witnessing a bloody car accident outside her home, at which point Jiney becomes fixated with capturing images of guts and viscera. That, in turn, leads to an escalating amount of personal risk-taking and taboo-transgression for the sake of art.

“When I press the button on my shutter, everything stops. It’s the same way with death,” Jiney says at one point. The screenplay, by director Oxide Pang and Pak Sing Pang, provides some back-story as to why the big sleep could be such a big turn on, connecting it to an unresolved childhood trauma which seems wholly unnecessary (wouldn’t the alienating and de-sensitizing nature of modern urban life have been enough explanation?) until it gets harkened back to by the final, haunting frame.

Like just about anything by the Pang Brothers, “Ab-normal Beauty” features vibrant colors, music video-style editing, and a throbbing techno score. But to the credit of Oxide Pang, who flies solo this time, the bells and whistles occasionally add up to more than just a superficial attempt to be “cool”; some of the best sequences bring the viewer into Jiney’s mind, allowing us to experience it getting re-wired for blood. For example, there is a scene in which Jiney becomes obsessed with photographing chickens being slaughtered at market, so she pays a butcher to kill bird after bird while she snaps pictures and gives directions. What results is a brisk montage inter-cutting chickens pulled from their cages, their necks sliced, and their bodies tossed in an ever-growing pile, and the rush of all this activity, we assume, is exactly the kind of exhilaration that the protagonist herself is feeling.

There’s also one crazy sequence where Jiney, whose darkroom is normally illuminated by red light, is unable to tell the regular lights have been switched on – a terrific way to depict how blood-lusty she has become. For her, the world still looks crimson-hued, and all the photographs hanging on clotheslines start appearing to bleed. Creepily-effective stuff, and a shame it wasn’t arranged closer to the end of the film when her condition has gotten much worse, because it proves tough to top.

Now to close with a word about the last third: “Ab-normal Beauty” ends up in the kind of sick-green-hued dungeon managed by a twisted-looking soul one expects to find in the “Saw” movies. This is where the plot is at its most conventional, but it’s also a reason why I liked this movie; I can’t help thinking the filmmakers included it as a kind of commentary about society’s viewing habits, that when you have an audience obsessed with seeing images of death and suffering, gradually-escalating reactions (culminating in underground snuff films, which become an integral plot point) are bound to result. Pang might have been thinking about the spate of splatter movies popping up in Asia, but that doesn’t mean “Ab-normal Beauty” lacks universality. Indeed, viewed in context with the current trend of masochistic torture porn flicks that are so popular here in the U.S., “Ab-normal Beauty” gives us additional reasons to look at, and worry about ourselves.

Overall rating: *** (out of ****)

ZIGEUNERWEISEN (1980), dir. Seijun Suzuki

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“Dreamlike” may be the most apt description for Seijun Suzuki’s “Zigeunerweisen,” which doesn’t necessarily rely on logic in exploring the depths of its main characters’ feelings. Both a melodrama and something of a ghost story, it doesn’t have much in the way of conventional narrative thrust; rather, the screenplay seems to feel its way around, guided by the emotional states of the intellectual and middle-class set it depicts.

The first part of Suzuki’s famous “Taisho Trilogy,” the film takes place in a 1920’s Japan where the privileged live comfortably, but perhaps not happily or virtuously. Initially set at a seaside vacation resort, the protagonists include Aochi (Toshiya Fujita), a college professor of German, whose manners and traditional bearing make him the polar opposite of Nagasako (Yoshio Harada), his long-haired and wild-eyed friend. Despite his striking good looks, Nagasako is a hedonist, misogynist, and maybe something worse: when we first meet him, he is being accused of a woman’s murder. Although he claims his innocence to the police, he eventually makes a drunken confession to a local geisha named Koine (Naoko Otani). Aochi, meanwhile, remains friends with Nagasako despite the possibility he is a serial killer.

Photographed in a manner that starts out bereft of sunlight and only gets darker, “Zigeunerweisen” isn’t concerned with crime and punishment so much as the emotionally-charged triangles formed between various characters: Nagasako, Koine, and Aochi; and later, either the two men and Aochi’s wife (Michiyo Ookusu) or a Koine lookalike named Sono. Recurring appearances by a trio of blind, vulgar beggars (who look and act like something out of either a slapstick comedy or zombie flick) provide yet another three-sided relationship, but the film is less an essay than a jangled-feeling procession of images that aren’t necessarily consistent from cut to cut, as well as somnambulant portions comparable to the best of David Lynch.

Some of the film’s more gloriously-deranged moments come with no warning and go without any explanation, but in keeping with Suzuki’s reputation as an instinctive filmmaker, and the context of the protagonists being ambushed by their own feelings and inhibitions, they feel right. A nightmarish sequence where Aochi’s wife tries to escape from Nagasako in her house, only to find him behind every door, reappearing in improbable locations, is one of the best. In another scene, the lights in Koine’s home go out when she and Aochi are alone, replaced by floating mirrors and a single, glowing red lantern. “I feel like I’ve fallen into the fox’s den,” Aochi says. “Am I the fox?” the hostess responds.

Koine later says about the beggars, “They were married to each other. It was the only way they could survive.” The same thing, it turns out, could be said about most of the film’s threesomes. Aochi going home to his woman leaves the rest of female-kind at the mercy of cruel Nagasako, apparently. Likewise, when one character’s wanderlust kicks in, all that’s left for his partners to share is bitterness, isolation, and discomfort. Suzuki and screenwriter Yozo Tanaka stage this pattern for just about every triangular permutation, but it’s setting events in a time period with so much preoccupation over self-pleasure that helps ground the potent, phantasmagorical imagery. Here, the objects of desire tend to become desired objects: Aochi imagines Koine as the kind of mythical creature that could be found in the very books he pores over; meanwhile, the man his foodie wife is infatuated with becomes a thing to be devoured and be devoured by.

As for sex animal Nagasako, he seemingly desires to feast on death itself, visualizing a blood-covered crab crawling out of one of his possible murder victim’s genitals, and commenting afterward, “I fancy a dish of eel.” Indeed, Nagasako looks like a man about to rip the next woman open with his teeth before sucking the marrow out, and this objectification with death eventually extends to Nagasako, whose bones he asks for upon his expiration. Will Aochi be able to extricate himself from this decorum-defying pact with a deranged man, or is a bargain a bargain? Known for what some scholars cited as a “sick sense of humor,” Suzuki offers the ultimate comeuppance for a world in which no one believes in anything: proof that something beyond these shores exists, but that it’s equally obsessed with its own enjoyment. That’s what I got out of it, at least.

Overall rating: **** (out of ****)