Reviews

This was a really creepy film! Asian horror films (particularly Japanese films) are not necessarily for the typical American horror film fan. They tend to be psychological horrors rather than slasher films, absent of endless streams and splatters of fake blood. Their appeal is in building a tension between shock scenes - an appeal that many of the posters here seem to have missed. This film was not lacking in nervous tension but still didn't have the obligatory slashing to broaden its appeal to western audiences. Contrary to one poster's way-off-the-mark comments - THIS IS NOT A JAPANESE HORROR FILM! It doesn't take a genius to figure that out from the beginning. It does rely on the same formula that is characteristic of Japanese horror films. If that formula works for you, you will certainly enjoy this film.

After watching an advanced screening of this film, the director (Chen KaiGe) was in attendance and told the audience that it was a film about individual choice. In a country where the communist party has historically frowned upon individualism - a country where arranged marriages were the norm for centuries - individual choice is viewed with different perspective from one generation to the next. China is undergoing continuous social change - some changes are obvious and others are more subtle but still very real. This was elegantly captured in this film. From reading other user reviews of this film, it's really hard to tell what others were expecting from this film - but they clearly missed a very easy central theme (or lost sight of it amidst tertiary issues). Too bad, because for the viewer who doesn't try too hard to be critical for the sake of being critical (or read too much into the film), it is a wonderful film!

This is an absolutely wonderful film. I have seen the original version on screen and have the director's cut on DVD and recommend this to anyone - not just Korean (or more general Asian) film afficionados. The storyline is told with a rather sharp wit, such that it hardly seems likely to morph itself into a true romantic comedy - but it does so, and very effectively. The leads in this film are very good - probably more so with their expressions and body language than with the dialogue itself.

It bothers me to hear that Dreamworks is planning a remake of this film. No doubt they will strip it of its original charm - much of which comes from its cultural context. Korea has produced some truly hilarious comedies (e.g., "My Wife is a Gangster") - it is truly sad that 99% of Americans will not have the opportunity to see these gems in their original form. It is also a slap in the face of the fine Korean actors and actresses who made these wonderful stories come to life on the big screen. If you haven't yet seen this film, buy a DVD copy off of eBay and enjoy the original versions before Hollywood ruins them.

This was a very impressive remake. It was a much glossier production than the original and did a slightly better job of explaining some of the ambiguities than the original Japanese version. The shocking scenes of this film had greater impact than did the original. On the other hand, the original version had a much greater build-up in tension than this one. The cast in this remake was also far less likeable than the original version (particularly the young boy). Although these characters clearly understood that their 7 days were running out fast, they sparsely acknowledged it - those in the original version agonized over it. I would encourage moviegoers to see both versions - particularly those unfamiliar with Japanese psychological horrors. Those films can be razor sharp.

I enjoyed this movie far more than I expected to. The whole cast of characters (or charicatures) was wonderful - particularly Anita Mui. This is light-hearted, whimsical storytelling about as good as it gets. A little bizarre at times, but a fun story throughout.

This was a very entertaining movie. The action choreography was both exciting and obviously rigorously exacting (particularly the climatic battle between Jackie Chan and Ken Lo). This was also one of the funnier gongfu movies I have seen in quite some time. Anita Mui was DELIGHTFUL and provided an interesting and unpredictable comic angle. While the movie's few, brief attempts to be dramatic were a bit weak, it didn't really matter - since this was almost exclusively about ACTION and COMEDY. In terms of those two facets - this movie never let down.

This is a film of immense appeal to a relatively well-defined group (of which I am not a part). I went to a preview of this movie not knowing what to expect - I ultimately found it disappointing. The history of a dreadfully dysfunctional (oftentimes downright "twisted") Hungarian Jewish family is not my cup of tea. An epic saga like this should really provide its viewers with something more in the end. Ultimately, pictures such as this are about the human condition - this picture cast almost no new light on any of its more meaningful facets.