Reviews

Nearly 10 years after their last movie together, Andy and Sammi reunite along with Johnnie To once again to form what the media has already described as a "Solid Trio", bound to create a smashing movie hit that can wow its audience and effortlessly dominate the box office for as long as it screens.

The movie centers around Ho, a female cop who joined the force after her schoolmate went missing back in the day. She seeks the help of a detective, Johnston, who, while blind, was an intuitive man capable of puzzle-piecing his imagination to recreate crime scenes.

The movie's heavy play on humor from the beginning was like setting a mood for the movie, especially in the scenes where Johnston tried to reenact crime scenes with Ho. And yet, amazingly, it's the perfect movie for sick people like me who at the same time crave for scenes of violence. The even mix between such intensity and light-heartedness throughout the film must have been hard to achieve. While this probably isn't anything new to Hong Kong cinema, it seems Johnnie To had taken the genre in his masterful hands and made it his own.

Yet, the movie wasn't all perfect.

While the funny bits had kept me well-entertained and interested, the monotonous non-progress of the storyline seemed to have done otherwise. Just saying, I might have skipped a scene or two if I had a remote. I was at the edge of my seat, eagerly waiting for the story to get good, but it never really got there. Simply put, the movie should have been a lot shorter. I should imagine a lot more could have been done with a story that had a concept as great as this. And I shan't deny that there came a point of time where I decided Johnston was basically a scientist hypothesizing a million possibilities and spinning his own yarn just to prove those hypotheses true. It just soon began to feel as though Johnston was telling a story; a story that he wrote.

Many reviews that I have read have briefly criticized Andy and Sammi for overacting their roles in many parts of the movie. I, on the other hand, have a different take on this. Obviously, this isn't one of those typical cop movies that Hong Kong cinema produces hundreds of, every year. Unlike those movies, "Blind Detective" had no endless gun shots, long-winded crook chases, or all-of-a-sudden-everyone-knows-kungfu stints. The overacting was necessary, in my opinion, to have the audience bear in mind the unique atmosphere and essence of the film; that it's not just crime; that it's the awkward get-together of Ho and Johnston that results in a show so full of fun to watch. Need I even comment on the incomparable chemistry that's oh so perfect between Andy and Sammi?

As a close follower of Sammi's film work, especially in the recent years. I can easily contrast "Blind Detective" with "Lady Cop & Papa Crook". Thankfully, and fortunately, I'd see the former 10 times with 10 paid tickets before I'd see the latter once with a free one.

"Blind Detective" was a perfect showcase of Sammi's acting skills. The versatility of the mini role-plays she performs within the movie just proves that she is no ordinary actress. And that just kicks people wondering why she hasn't gotten a Hong Kong Film Award yet. Her commendable skills, paired with Andy Lau's excellent enactment of an intuitive blind detective, which everyone in the cinema had probably mentally applauded for, possibly made the movie a hundred times better than it would have been.

In a nutshell, it was definitely worth a watch. Just focus on the humor and don't let the draggy-ness of the film get to you. If you're not gonna see it it for the story, then see it for the cute couple. Just Andy and Sammi alone might have made the ticket worth its price.

It has been a long time since I have written a review. But I felt like it was my responsibility as a movie-lover to advocate the brilliance of this beautiful film rendition to every other person I know.

Based on the 1925 novel, the 2013 version of The Great Gatsby kept me glued to the screen. There was actually a point during the movie when I had wanted to check the time on my watch but just couldn't look away. I should think one of the toughest parts of making such movies is having to capture the audience's attention, and making the audience appreciate what it was like to live in that era. But this film had effortlessly achieved that from the beginning, and brought that achievement to a whole new level. And that's coming from a guy who rarely appreciates films of such genre, what with it being set in the 1920s and all.

It has always been a wonder to me why DiCaprio hasn't gotten an Oscar for his work yet. He was (and still is) a brilliant actor who manages to live in the shoes of whatever role he plays. No exceptions here. Alongside the guy from Spiderman (I do know his name, don't worry), the duo charms the shoes off the audience while still playing their roles strongly and effortlessly. And I guess that's one of the elements that made the film so captivating.

And who didn't really fall in love with the beauty of Daisy, or the charm of Gatsby?

The artistic film had created an atmosphere that's so beautifully thick, yet one that's so easily digestible. Obviously long-winded for its own reasons, I never felt bored. I was, instead, eager for the story to keep going, even till the end. We loved Mr. Gatsby ever since he appeared in the film, in spite of the half-hour wait.

I could go on for hours, praising this movie for everything, but I should probably just... Stop typing, so you'd stop reading, shut your computer down, and buy a ticket.