kevin142 Reviews

Collateral (2004)

Metropolitan life

[8/10 · 23 February 2006]

LA taxi driver Max was not satisfied with his status quo. He was planning to start his own business. One day he met a passenger Vincent who said he was a businessman. Vincent wanted to use him for the whole night. At first Max did not agree. After Vincent offered a good price, he accepted it. He just did not realize that he made a big mistake. A dangerous city game began.

The film was not only a thriller but a drama for exploring the complicated relationship between city people. As I live in Shanghai (16 million population), I can identify what the movie expressed. It is the fierce competition that make cold metropolitan. Somebody fight for living. Somebody fight for good living. There are so many people in the metropolitan, but we always feel so lonely.

I particularly like the far shots. They brought me strong visual impact. Of cause wonderful acting and music should not be overlooked. If Jamie Foxx did not win the best actor for Ray, he also could win the Oscar award for Collateral.

A thought-provoking drama. 8/10

Roman Holiday (1953)

Eternal love

[9/10 · 23 February 2006]

A princess came to Roma to have a public visiting. As a young girl, she was bored of continual tasteless activities. One night she sneaked out of her living room. When she came to the street of Roma, she was deeply attracted by the ordinary life of Italian. In the end she was so tired that she slept on a street chair. An American journalist Joe accidentally saw her and took unhappily her to his apartment. When he learned her true identity, an interesting and romantic journey commenced.

What happened at the mouth of truth was the funniest scene in the movie. Although they got one day to stay together, their love would be eternal. True love is not up to how long you stay with your another half. Once happened, it will be eternal no matter how short is.

Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck brought me unforgettable performance. Cute Audrey absolutely deserved her Oscar award (the best actress).

An all time romance classic you should not miss. 9/10

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Cruel war

[9/10 · 21 February 2006]

The story happened in the Second World War. Private Ryan's three elder brothers were killed in battles. The US army decided to send Ryan back to home to alleviate his mother's pain. Captain Miller accepted the task, though he was not satisfied with it including other members. It was said that Ryan was in German-dominated-France-area. Every team member knew its hardship.

The opening battle that happened in Omaha beach was fierce and unforgettable. The similar scenes also occurred in wonderful TV series Band Brothers. When Miller led seven people to execute the mission, that reminded me of The lord of the rings. Of cause the task in TLOTR was more difficult.

Life is precious. However a war can easily kill many people. The war is ruthless so that you must be cold-blooded or get killed in battlefield. Peace is really what we should cherish.

An excellent thought-provoking war drama. 9/10

Fly Away Home (1996)

A wonder

[9/10 · 21 February 2006]

Little girl Amy survived a car accident. But her mother was not so lucky. She went to live with her father who was very busy on his job. Although her father tried his best to make her happy, she still could not wipe away sorrow. One day she found some wild goose eggs that appeared near a broken tree. She decided to take artificial incubation for them. As times went by, 16 cute wild gooses were born. These gooses brought huge pleasure to Amy. However they had to learn to fly because they belonged to migratory bird. In fact a bigger problem was waiting for Amy and her father.

What the film depicted was really a wonder. The whole flying process was exciting. More happily, Amy constructed a closer relationship with her father.

Anna Paquin successfully played a brave little girl. She proved her acting ability again after her impressive performance in academy-award-winning The piano (she won the best supporting actress at 11).

An excellent uplifting drama. 9/10

Insomnia (2002)

Small mistake causes big mistake

[8/10 · 9 February 2006]

Will was a veteran detective. Although he succeeded on several cases, he would be faced with the accusation of wrongdoing. When he and his partner were sent to assist solving a murder case happened in Alaska, the investigation on him was still going on. His partner was a key witness on his own case. He tried to persuade his partner to give up, but failed. More head aching, he killed mistakenly his partner in an operation of hunting the killer. He covered the truth. His agony just began.

Sometimes we make a mistake, and then we conceal it. It turns out to lead to bigger mistake because you have to make continually mistakes to prevent the exposure of truth. The price usually is huge.

Al Pacino wonderfully played a sympathizing detective. He should have won a nominee for the academy award at least.

An excellent thriller. 8/10

The Lost Weekend (1945)

A drunkard's story

[8/10 · 8 February 2006]

Don was an unsuccessful writer. Although he wanted to write a novel, he did not write any word. That should be mainly attributed to his alcoholism. It looked like that without drink he could not live. Luckily his family did not abandon him. His younger brother offered him an apartment and paid the rent for him. More luckily he met his true love Helen. Could they separate him from alcohol? The situation was not optimistic because he just spoiled a planned weekend.

Everything has a limit. If you walk over the line, that will become a disaster. It not only brings bad effect to yourself but people love you. Although it is difficult to control, you have to face it by yourself.

Ray Milland amazingly played a disgusting alcoholic. Although Nicolas Cage's performance in Leaving Las Vegas is good, Milland is better. He deserved the academy award (the best actor).

An excellent drama. 8/10

Amadeus (1984)

A genius's tragedy

[9/10 · 8 February 2006]

When Salieri was a child, his father opposed him to develop his interest on music. After the sudden death of his father, he can put fully his heart into music. When he grew up, he became a royal composer. He often heard people talking about Mozart's music. That raised him big interest. When he saw Mozart in an occasion, Mozart's unusual behavior surprised him a lot. As to Mozart's music, he had to admit its greatness. The more he appreciated Mozart's music, the more jealous he was. That led to fearful outcome to Mozart, then himself finally.

You can hear splendid music from start to end. Of cause the plot is also absorbing. Especially the final part, Mozart gave an oral account for his work in deathbed while Salieri tried to write it down. That is the most unforgettable scene in the movie.

The whole acting and producing level is high and satisfying. No wonder it won 8 academy awards.

A masterpiece worth watching many times. 9/10

My Father's Glory (1990)

Unforgettable childhood

[8/10 · 25 January 2006]

Clever boy Marcel's father was a teacher. He was very proud of his father because his father was capable of doing many things he could not imagine. He also had a gentle mother and a naughty younger brother. One day his father decided to take them to spend summer vacation in the countryside. Marcel had a high expectation on it.

The movie vividly revealed a happy childhood of a French kid. It did bring me back to my childhood. Although we were short of materials at that time, we did live carefree lives. I think that present children are not lucky as we were. They are always under the huge pressure of study. There is no happiness at all.

There were many funny scenes in the movie. They were so natural that I could identify some of them. Everyone has one's childhood. No matter good or bad, it will be unforgettable.

An excellent French family drama. 8/10

Happy End (1999)

Tragic end

[8/10 · 25 January 2006]

Seo was a kind middle-aged man. He had a competent wife and a cute daughter. Due to enough financial support from his wife, he was not so anxious to seek a job. On the contrary he led a lazy life by reading novels. Of cause he had to spend some time on looking after his young daughter. One day he accidentally found that one of keys that belonged to his wife was strange. He began to doubt the loyalty of his wife. A family crisis occurred.

The unexpected ending was powerful and shocking. Extra-martial affair is bad in my eyes. It not only breaks a family but also brings agony to other people. If you did it and caused bad outcome, you had nobody to blame but yourself.

Min-sik Choi convincingly played a desperate husband. I think that he is one of the best Korean actors. He also left me deep impression in Oldboy, Springtime.

An excellent Korean drama. 8/10

The Elephant Man (1980)

Sympathy is virtue

[9/10 · 25 January 2006]

Disfigured man John was treated as a freak. His boss wanted to make big money by exhibiting him. The plan was opposed by the police. It raised great interest for doctor Frederick. He decided to take a look on John. The outcome really shocked him. As a sympathizing doctor, he wanted to help John. He took John away from his boss and provided a room to John. However what happened next was beyond Frederick's control.

What Frederick did to John really moved my heart. Although everyone wants to be beautiful, everyone's fate is different. Mocking other unluckier people just shows ignorance. Although appearance is important in modern society, inside should be the deciding factor. Unfortunately it is not be accepted by everyone.

Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt brought me unforgettable performance.

An excellent drama worth everybody to watch. 9/10

Saving Face (2004)

Live your own life

[8/10 · 24 January 2006]

Wil was a cute girl and worked in a hospital. She was a Chinese American and lived alone. Although her thought was western, her family was absolutely not. Her mother always urged her to attend the party to find her Mr. Right. She encountered a beautiful girl Vivian. Wil had a good impression on Vivian. One day when Wil came back to her apartment, she found that her mother was there. An exploding news was waiting for her.

If we live our lives just for other people, it is painful. In fact whether your life is happy or not happy is completely up to yourself. Anyway you have the right to choose your own life.

Joan Chen, Michelle Krusiec and Lynn Chen brought me unforgettable show. It is a maiden work for director Alice Wu. She really did it pretty well. I am expecting her next work.

An interesting family drama. 8/10

Lord of War (2005)

Lord of death

[8/10 · 24 January 2006]

Yuri immigrated into America with his parents and brother from Ukraine. They ran a restaurant. But Yuri was not satisfied with his poor life. He was an ambitious young man. He found that he was good at selling guns. He decided to take it as his future career. Due to lacking trust on other people, he persuaded his younger brother to do it with him. A dangerous game commenced.

The weapon can not kill people automatically. Only people with weapon can do it. That is right. However if people do not own weapon, killing can be prevented. So weapon trafficking should be eliminated. The earlier the better.

In truth the role is not a big challenge for Nicolas Cage, though he acted well in the movie. My favorite movies starred by him are The rock, Face/off, Windtalkers.

A thought-provoking movie. 8/10

Art Museum by the Zoo (1998)

Love just around you

[8/10 · 19 January 2006]

Chun-Hi was a wedding photographer. She lived in a rented apartment alone. One day she found that a strange man Chul-Su was in her room. It turned out to be that he was the boyfriend of ex-tenant. But he was discarded, though he did not want to give up. Chun-Hi was involved reluctantly in their conflict. The more disturbing was he wanted to stay more time in the apartment

To love somebody is not an easy thing.Sometimes we are not sure whether we love somebody or not. In truth if you can seek your love with your heart, I am sure that you will find out who is your true love.

This Korean movie was gentle, interesting and refreshing. It was quite different from present Korean romance movie that tends to be a tearjerker.

A charming romance movie. 8/10

Donnie Darko (2001)

The biggest enemy is yourself

[8/10 · 19 January 2006]

Although Donnie Darko had a mental problem, his parent still loved him. One night he got a horrible message that the world was to an end after 28 days. His peaceful life was broken up. He was not welcome in the school, though he was a clever student. That mainly was because his frankness. Luckily new classmate Gretchen appreciated him very much. They fell in love with each other. But if she knew what he did in the following days, she would not be so happy.

Fear is a normal feeling that we can not avoid totally in our daily life. But we should let it under our control or it will destroy you.

Jake Gyllenhaal convincingly played Donnie. He was a talented young actor indeed. I am sure that he will have a bright future.

An excellent drama. 8/10

Secrets & Lies (1996)

Live in the darkness

[8/10 · 18 January 2006]

Maurice was a successful photographer. He could satisfy every customer but not his wife because they had no children. Maurice lived under heavy pressure. His older sister Cynthia also lived an unhappy life with her daughter. Hortense was an optimistic black girl. After her foster mother was dead, she decided to find out who was her born mother. The outcome really shocked her.

Secret and lies are not welcome in reality. Especially is dark secret. The longer you keep it, the more painful you will be. In fact if we can learn to face with the truth, the problem will be easy to solve.

Director Mike Leigh brought me a touching movie full of details that you can not watch in other movies. I found that he really is fond of laying stress on detail. His another movie Bleak Moments also is a good example.

An excellent family drama. 8/10

No Man's Land (I) (2001)

No one care

[8/10 · 18 January 2006]

A group of Bosnian soldiers were lost in the fog. The next day they found they were in the shoot range of enemy (Serb). Under heavy attack, Ciki struggled to crawl into the trench between two lines. Then Serb officer decided to dispatch two soldiers to look over. The rookie Nino was chosen. The Serb veteran put a self-made land mine under a seeming dead body of a Bosnian soldier in the trench. After brief exchanging fire, Ciki and Nino survived. Although Ciki wanted to save his wounded companion, how to remove the awesome land mine was a great challenge. Their situation also attracted the attention of UN peace troop.

The unexpected ending was really a huge satire. The war is always brutal. However if the mankind loses the humanity, the world will be hopeless.

The movie was worthy of winning the best foreign language film (Oscar award).

A thought-provoking movie. 8/10

Three Times (2005)

Unforgettable times

[8/10 · 18 January 2006]

There were three stories in the movie. The first one happened in 1966 was called the dream of love. A young man encountered a pool hall girl on the day before he went to join the army. At once he had a good impression in the girl. He promised he would write to her. However when he was back, the girl went to another place. He decided to find out where she is.

The second one happened in 1911 was called the dream of freedom. There was no spoken language in the story. The actors' performance, the subtitles and lively music elegantly explain everything. It was a rare phenomenon in modern film. The third one happened in 2005 was called the dream of youth.

The first story is my favorite. The second story brought me unspoken aesthetics. Shu Qi proved that she could become an excellent actress by her acting ability not beauty. Director HouXiaoXian is a master indeed.

A well-done movie. 8/10

Wedding Crashers (2005)

Only sex is not enough

[7/10 · 18 January 2006]

John and Jeremy were divorce counselors. Their biggest pleasure was to attend a wedding party and chase beautiful bridesmaids. The only problem was how to convincingly posed as the relatives of bride or bridegroom. Of cause they would not put their true feeling into the game. When they had sex with the hunted, they would leave them quickly. However John fell in love with the daughter of a famous secretary in a wedding party. He decided to stay more time to pursue her. But the longer they stayed in the party, the more dangerous they would be seen through.

Sex without love can not last long. One day you will be tired of sex. John had a correct decision. Jeremy's future was in doubt. Given a choice, I like to be John.

The comedy brought me too much laugh, though it can not be compared with Sideways. As a comedy, it did its best.

A very funny movie. 7/10

October Sky (1999)

A boy's dream

[9/10 · 18 January 2006]

Homer was a smart student. After watching Soviet Union successfully launched the rocket, he decided to make his rocket. But that is opposed to his father's will that wished him become his successor in the mine. Under warm encouragement from Homer's teacher, he kept on making rockets. To win the prize in the national science festival would be his last straw.

A child should have the right to choose his future. As parent, they should not interfere. Even failed, that is only the price for growing or regret for life.

Chris Cooper and Jake Gyllenhaal convincingly played father and son. Their interaction was the most wonderful thing in the movie. Jake also had an impressive show in Donnie Darko (a excellent movie). Although I have not watched Brokeback Mountain, I am sure that he will not disappoint me.

A uplifting and touching drama. 9/10

Gallipoli (1981)

Brutal battle touching friendship

[8/10 · 17 January 2006]

Archy was a talented Australia sprinter. Although he was only 17 years old, he wanted to join the army to fight with Turkey for England since the First World War broke up. In the traditional tournament he defeated anybody else as his uncle wished. He got acquainted with a young sprinter called Frank. After learning Archy was refused by local office, Frank took him to Perth to have another try. To Archy's joy, he was accepted as cavalry. Due to bad riding a horse, Frank was denied. But he still managed to join the army as an infantry. Their misery just began.

The cruelty of war was beyond their imagination. To my joy, their friendship stood the test. That is the most satisfying thing in the movie. The final battle scene was so solemn and stirring that I still remember it.

Mel Gibson and Mark Lee put the vigor into their respective role. That brought me unforgettable show.

An exciting Australia drama. 8/10

Talk to Her (2002)

Talk to her with your heart

[8/10 · 16 January 2006]

Marco was a reporter. After watching a TV program about female bullfighter Lydia, he wanted to interview her face to face. At first she was against the interview, step by step she accepted it. At the same time Marco fell in love with her. However an unexpected bullfighting accident happened. She was in a deep coma. Marco encountered a man called Benigno in the hospital. Benigno had been taking care of a female patient who was in a coma for four years. It turned out to be another touching love story.

It was an enchanting movie, though its rhythm was slow. After I finished watching the movie, I found that pure love did not just existed in Korean movie. This Spanish movie was not definitely a tearjerker that Korean romance movies were good at. I was deeply attracted and moved by the pure love that was revealed in the movie.

Director Pedro Almodovar did a wonderful job.

An excellent Spanish drama you should not miss. 8/10

Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (2005)

Heart warming

[9/10 · 15 January 2006]

After he learned his son was in the hospital, Takada hurried to see his son. However his son refused to see him because of their long time bad relationship. His son's wife gave him a box of videotape that was his son's work about China. After finished watching the tape, Takada made up his mind to go to China to make a video recording for a Chinese traditional opera that his son missed. He hoped he could improve his relationship with his son by doing this.

Sometimes heart-to-heart talking is hard because we are used to hide our true feeling. In fact we are afraid of showing our weakness to other people. If we can abandon the bad habit, we can live an easier and happier life.

No doubt Ken Takakura is impeccable. I am so glad that director ZhangYiMou who I used to know is back. His previous two hollow movies (YingXiong and ShiMianMaiFu) were really big disappointment. Hope director ChenKaiGe can follow Zhang's step and bring us a movie like BaWangBieJi not WuJi.

A very touching drama. 9/10

The Doors (1991)

Light your life

[7/10 · 5 January 2006]

When Jim Morrison was a kid, he saw a traffic accident. The painful facial expression of the injured people left him a deep impression. When he grew up, he became a popular rock singer. His passionate stage show won the heart of every fan. But old unhappy memory still confused him. He began to take drug and indulge himself. He paid a big price for it.

Jim Morrison's short life was full of passion. He did what he wanted to do. I appreciated his straightforwardness very much. Life needs passion. Life without passion is colorless.

I watched many movies starred by Val Kilmer. I think that this one is his best. He brought me a lively Jim Morrison. In addition to good acting, the movie also proved that he could sing well.

An exciting biopicture. 7/10

Being John Malkovich (1999)

Being yourself

[8/10 · 4 January 2006]

Craig was a street puppeteer. In fact he had to rely on his wife because of his unpopular show. So he decided to look for a job. He successfully get a job in a company where located in weird seven and half floor. One day he found a hidden door by chance in his office. Due to curiosity, he crawled into the portal. What happened next surprised him a lot.

If one's thought is controlled by another person, that is definitely a tragedy. If things go on like that, life is boring and meaningless. After I finished watching the imaginative movie, I felt that I am so lucky to have my own thought for everything.

Excellent screenplay and satisfying performance made the movie absorbing. More importantly the comedy brought me not only laughs but food for thought.

A meaningful fantasy movie. 8/10

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

All about love

[8/10 · 4 January 2006]

Self-willed Tracy was going to marry again. That was big news in Philadelphia. The "spy" magazine sent reporter Mike Connor and photographer Liz to Tracy's home to get more news about her incoming marriage. Due to help of Tracy's ex-husband Dexter, they could live with Tracy's family for a few days. Unthinkable thing happened. Tracy appreciated the book written by Mike very much. After several talking, unconsciously their hearts were becoming closer. Tracy faced with choices.

The unexpected ending was really a big surprise for me. Marriage, divorce and remarriage are significant thing for a person. It is wise to think twice before act.

Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart brought us wonderful and unforgettable performance. James Stewart deserved his Oscar award (the best actor).

A comedian classic. 8/10