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Reviews
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
Intense!
From the opening shot 'till the credits, this movie is a roller coaster ride of emotions. Too much blood and violence 'though. More gore than I would have liked to see.
All in all it's a very good movie. A very COOL one indeed.
Bravo, Uma for your characterization.
I insist, too much de-limbing and decapitations.
Thank god Tarantino used Black and White in one of the most violent scenes. If that wasn't the case it would have been a BLOODY mess.
Nice ending. Wait 'till you see how the movie ends. It really leaves you breathless.
Perico ripiao (2003)
A good effort... but nonetheless mediocre.
I've been postponing mi viewing of Perico Ripiao since its premiere. That was until tonight.
I wasn't expecting anything fancy and that's exactly what I received: A less than good piece of cinema with some funny moments now and then.
The movie begins with a truck full of soldiers escorting some prisoners to god knows where. Suddenly the bus comes to a halt and the driver (by the way, one pretty annoying character) has to fix it. Having fixed the bus they needed someone to push it for it to start. Who do they get to push the bus? None other than the prisoners. When the bus starts it drives away without the prisoners and they barely escape only to be caught again when the soldiers realize they left the criminals behind. And all this happen in the first 10 minutes of the movie.
What can I say? The script is so badly written that I saw myself hitting the edge of my seat in disbelief every now and then. The plot has a lot of holes in it. Sometimes there's just no explanation for a given scene, it just sits there. Introducing new characters only to dispose of them five minutes later. And the movie is void of a proper ending.
The acting is somewhat balanced. I think Manolo Ozuna does a great job.
The direction of photography is very good. The night scenes are very well rendered.
The music is also very good. Only complaint is the lack of coherence in the musical sequences between the instruments you see on screen and the ones you actually hear. Where's the bass guitar? Perhaps it annoys me most because I'm a musician. But it annoyed me nevertheless.
All this aside, I think Perico Ripiao is a very good effort. Angel Muñiz did an admirable job making a film in a country where films are null. It was great team work, considering the conditions they were working on. I just hope Dominican cinema to grow in the future, being a director wannabe myself and knowing there are a lot of talented people just waiting to be unleashed here in the Republic.
I give it 3 (***) out of 5 (*****).
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
It's a dream!
What can I say? I saw this movie two days ago and still can't get it out of my head. All I speak is Moulin Rouge! At work "Moulin Rouge", with my friends "Moulin Rouge", with the family "Moulin Rouge"... I haven't had the time to see it again, but I'm sure It will be a hundred times more. And when the DVD comes out, I'll be the first in line. It's a dream. You'll remember MR with a kind of nostalgia only masterpieces can achieve. Viva Moulin Rouge!
P.S. All the critics that has written MR as a ridicule piece should reconsider their career. Go see it, no matter what they say!
Wo hu cang long (2000)
Poetic!
I saw this movie last night. I went to the theater high on expectations having read the reviews and seen the trailer. I went with my wife and my sister-in-law who actually didn't want to see this movie. One of them wanted to see "Chocolat" and the other one "Amores Perros." The point is, I was so sure that this movie was worth the effort to convince them to see it with me. They agreed. And I was right.
The movie started quite normal. Soon after people started to make fun of the Mandarin accent (This is one reason why I don't like going to public premieres.) Then the fighting began. Let me tell you how beautifully choreographed they were. It was like watching a ballet. Just as beautiful. Every movement is worth of your attention. They'll make your jaw drop. Even more when the fighting reaches higher ground (or no ground at all). People started yelling this was "Dragon Ball Z". Shame on them! They just didn't know what they were watching. After the movie my wife told me that she liked it, but it was too much. That they have overdone it with the fighting sequences (especially the bamboo treetop one near the end of the movie.) This brought me to the conclusion that this movie was not meant for everybody.
It is esentially an epic love story. Wonderfully portrayed by Yun-Fat Chow ("Anna and the king") and Michelle Yeoh ("Tomorrow never dies"). The acting was good enough to make you really care about the characters.
It is more than a great movie. With an astounding cinematography that leaves you breathless. In one word: Poetic. Sometimes it makes you feel as if you were in a dream of some kind.
One word of advice: Don't listen to anyone but yourself . DON'T pay attention to the commentaries people throw at the theater. They just don't get it!
La tarea (1991)
It has one of the most erotic scenes I've ever seen.
La Tarea is basically entirely shot in one scene. And what a scene. It's steaming with the most frantic (and it looks REAL!!) sex scene I have ever seen. If what you want is something different, try it. This is one of the movies that makes you wonder: If these are not hard core porno actors, how do they do that?