The important thing is, I'm meeting new people
INTJ
Catharsis is my favorite feeling.
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Maybe Yahoo ( or some other behemoth ) buys Tumblr. Maybe they ruin it. Maybe it’s ruined so badly that I stop using Tumblr. ( That would have to be...
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omfg i’m crying at the latest episode of Got because daenerys is listening to this guy and she’s so tired of his bullshit and she...
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George Takei responds to “traditional” marriage fans.
George Takei: One Million / Those idiots: negative infinity.
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My job title is Outreach and Grants Manager. I will also be the spokesperson for the organization, doing all press and appearances.
I will be...
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I could watch this GIF for days. Is it real? I don’t even care. It’s so good; the animated GIF as a method for reorganizing...
Mad Detective (2007) Johnnie To, Ka-Fai Wai
This psychological puzzle from Johnnie To has an interesting premise that makes you think you have everything figured out, but still manages to surprise multiple times. The main characters are pretty well-constructed (despite the suspension of belief needed for the titular character), and well-played. There are some really stand-out moments (whistling, the young cop talking to the mad detective’s wife, ordering food). Admittedly, I got a little bit lost along the way, but it was still a fun ride all the way to the Lady of Shanghai-inspired end sequence.
#150 - 7/1/2012
The Odd One Dies (1997) Patrick Yau
I had read that the films made by other directors under Johnnie To’s Milkyway production company can still be considered to be of Johnnie To’s “house style” *, so I am considering this to be a Johnnie To film. Stylistically though, I found something that felt more akin to David Lynch’s Twin Peaks than to any of To’s other works (that I have seen - still very few). The music plays a big part in that, from the cool cheesy jazz that signals macho men being macho, to the overly sentimental music played at overly sentimental moments that then take on real emotion. The Odd One Dies also mixes its tones, combining moments of action and violence (in Twin Peaks, suspense/almost horror) with madcap humor and romance.
That said, I enjoyed the weirdness of The Odd One Dies. Even on this poor DVD transfer, it was a pretty, stylish film. The main characters, once you get comfortable with them, are very likable. And the story is pretty good and interesting. Enjoyable! I don’t know that I would really recommend this though, except for Johnnie To/HK cinema completists. It was good, but there are so many other movies in this world to watch…
* “From 1996, To, as Milkyway’s impresario, would collaborate with several directors, as well as screenwriter Yau Nai-hoi and subsequently the so-called “Milkyway Creative Team,” a constellation of writers which reportedly changes from film to film. Here, the HK conception of the producer further complicates the Western notion of auteurism: while more than half of the Milkyway films were produced but not directed by To, they nevertheless represent his ‘house style’; furthermore, the Cantonese word for producer actually translates as something akin to ‘writer-director’, so we may assume To has stewarded all the films. While it is true that the functions of the ‘producer’ in HK are more fluid than they are in the West, To earned a reputation for lording over his underlings, perhaps just as Tsui Hark, and became known in some circles as a controlling megalomaniac. For example, after To expressed dissatisfaction with the “immaturity” of director Patrick Yau, he demoted Yau to television duties. That To himself retreated to TVB after the failure of The Enigmatic Case seems to be one irony that got lost somewhere along the way.”
#147 - 6/30/2012
Triad Election (2006) Johnnie To
After watching The Mission, I needed more Johnnie To. More! All Johnnie To all the time. Triad Election (or Election 2) is a sequel to Election, and a continuation of his “power, but at what cost?” theme.
As the politics get more brutal and the moral compromises more horrifying, so do the action set-pieces. Triad Election is not one of To’s more light-hearted ventures. There is humor, but it is dark dark dark.
I found this to be a big improvement on Election, which I thought was just alright. More exciting, higher stakes, better characters.
#132 - 6/11/2012
The Mission (1999) Johnnie To
Maybe I’ve talked about my nascent love for Johnnie To a bit before… =)
The Mission was fantastic, I loved it. Despite being made without a script (!), it holds together, even with its somewhat awkward plot development toward the end. Additionally, since it’s not so dependent on a narrative, it doesn’t have quite the same pacing weirdness of Exiled or Vengeance.
But whereas Exiled and Vengeance are super slick and mostly serious, and Election and Triad Election super dark and serious, The Mission is fun. The tone of The Mission is the lightest of any of the To films I’ve seen, with some really good funny moments.
And the music! It’s cheesy, but I loved it, and I can still hear it in my head (in a good way). It sort of reminds me of something that would be in Sam & Max. A great scene, and a great example: the waiting game.
The five characters hired to protect the big boss are just really fun to watch; great characters and great actors, especially my To favorites Anthony Wong, Suet Lam, and Simon Yam. These Triad guys want to see some action, but most of their time is spent waiting. Still, there are some crazy stylish action scenes, and when they happen, they are welcome.
Great characters and great actors, especially my To favorites Anthony Wong, Suet Lam, and Simon Yam.
This one is definitely a watch, and one I will be looking to own.
#128 - 6/10/2012
This is out of order, but I had to share this scene from Johnnie To’s The Mission, which I went to see last night. The first thing I think of when I think of Johnnie To is his beautiful, cinematic shoot-out set pieces. But the second thing I think of is his characters. Almost the exact opposite of Takeshi Kitano’s anonymous Yakuza members in Outrage, To’s gangsters have personality and a sense of humor. I really love To in moments like these. Also, the music! And Anthony Wong!
Election (2005) Johnnie To
I liked this, it was pretty good. Not quite as slick and stylish as Exiled or Vengeance.
What I found most interesting was that many of the same actors appear throughout these three, in roughly the same roles. They are not the same characters, but they could almost be a progression. It’s just sort of fun and disorienting.
#56 - 3/12/2012
On the Edge (2006) Herman Yau
Hey, my new favorite actor, Anthony Wong. This time, he plays a supporting role as the partner of a cop who spent 4 years undercover with the Triads and who just wants to be a regular cop. Crosscuts flashbacks from fun times with the reality of working with people who don’t trust him, fighting former friends. Good, not great.
#46 - 2/25/2012
Exiled (2006) Johnnie To
Another Johnnie To film that I loved. Great set-pieces. He does wonderful things with lighting and slow-mo fight scenes. The pacing of this one was quite strange, but not entirely bad. I love love love Anthony Wong but I can’t quite put my finger on why. He plays essentially the same character in Exiled as in Vengeance, this sort of aging gangster resigned to ending his life with integrity. Wonderful.
#38 - 2/17/2012
Vengeance (2009) Johnnie To
A good gangster/revenge film with a lot of style. This was my first Johnnie To film, and I just added like 20 more to my Netflix queue. I was a big fan of Anthony Wong in this one.
#31 - 2/10/2012
