CATCHING UP WITH FILM - THE QUEST FOR A PERSONAL CANON

For February, I will be watching one of the most popular Korean dramas of definitely the past decade and possibly of all time. I don’t know why this series had to go on so long. Even though 16 episodes is actually not that long for a Korean drama, the most interesting plot, the serial kidnapper one, could have been resolved in half the time (and been a much better series as a result). Instead, to fill the time, we follow the leader of the gang that is trying to take over Bong

For February 2019, I will be exploring the works of Hong Kong action director and master Ringo Lam, who passed away last year. Ringo Lam has stated that he wanted to put his political films (the On Fire films fall in this category) behind him, largely because of the pressure that he was getting from the government and powerful people. I would say that he succeeded. Full Contact is a somewhat straightforward revenge movie in which Ko Fei is left for dead by a gang that betrays

2018 wasn’t the best year for blockbusters though movies like Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians made history. The Oscar nominations are home to such dreck as Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book, which only goes to show how out of touch that institution is and how badly needs it to be overhauled. However, 2018 was a great year for documentaries, indie films, female directors and new talent in general, and I can easily see many of these films as the starts of long, fruitful care

This year, I am going to try to get through the whole oeuvre of Nicolas Cage because my fascination with this man and his contradictions is endless. God help me. Fire Birds (1990) This is the first truly forgettable movie in the marathon, which I didn’t think was possible simply because of Nicolas Cage’s presence. It’s essentially a Top Gun ripoff with little of the joy or cheesy memorableness of that movie, but the jingoism sure as hell is intact. The movie was made by two m

For February, I will be watching one of the most popular Korean dramas of definitely the past decade and possibly of all time. So this is when the other shoe drops. What I mean is the tendency of Korean dramas to have really strong beginning episodes, but the quality drops off considerably in the second half of the series. The fatal mistake they make this time is to steer away from the serial kidnapper plot, which had been relatively tense and well-executed up to that point.

For February 2019, I will be exploring the works of Hong Kong action director and master Ringo Lam, who passed away last year. While the two movies of Lam’s that I had seen before took place in worlds where it was reasonable to expect danger (the criminal underworld and prison), School on Fire is perhaps one of the most realistic in that young people in neighborhoods outside the purview of “respectable” civilization face violence on a regular basis. Chu Yuen-Fong, a schoolgir

2018 wasn’t the best year for blockbusters though movies like Black Panther and Crazy Rich Asians made history. The Oscar nominations are home to such dreck as Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book, which only goes to show how out of touch that institution is and how badly needs it to be overhauled. However, 2018 was a great year for documentaries, indie films, female directors and new talent in general, and I can easily see many of these films as the starts of long, fruitful care

This year, I am going to try to get through the whole oeuvre of Nicolas Cage because my fascination with this man and his contradictions is endless. God help me. Wild at Heart (1960) When I first saw this film, I was relatively new to David Lynch and serious, critical movie-watching in general, and I did not know what the hell to make of this. The film starts off with extreme violence from Nicolas Cage’s Sailor as he fends off a would-be murderer. His vigorous self-defense en

For February, I will be watching one of the most popular Korean dramas of definitely the past decade and possibly of all time. The predictable plot elements are clicking into place. The love triangle between the three main characters follows a lot of patterns. The rich, jerky guy has a position of distinct power over the protagonist. The guy that she is currently interested in is from her class, but complications exist of course. He has a girlfriend, and he has no idea that s

For February 2019, I will be exploring the works of Hong Kong action director and master Ringo Lam, who passed away last year. I am so used to see Chow Yun-Fat in serious mode that I still haven’t gotten used to seeing him in a more comedic role, despite the overwhelming seriousness of the rest of this movie. Perhaps Lam knew he couldn’t get away with unrelenting darkness for this movie, although Chow Yun-Fat's character is hardly just a clown. He carries a dark past of his o