NYAFF, Part 2

SHAOLIN

It was interesting to note that this film is actually getting a release in the states. It was a sold out show, although I think it was out of the sake of exclusiveness more than the actual content of the film.

Andy Lau stars as a warlord who falls out of favor and tries to redeem himself as a monk to the same temple that he harassed in the past. His growth as a character is charming and the film even includes Jackie Chan as a wisecracking but cowardly cook who is afraid of fighting and going outside of the temple grounds. That said, the film starts to drag itself once it goes into the brunt of the story about the second-in-command he raised into ruthlessness and his attempt to pacify him. At this point, I start losing interest and the film begins to drag despite some amusing scenes with Jackie and some of the other masters of the temple.


NINJA KIDS!!!

If Harry Potter was a ninja... well I guess it wouldn't be like this film. Still, set as a platform film to introduce the world to a whole set of actors, Ninja Kids!!! has the distinction of being directed by Takashi Miike. That said, the film had its set of cute moments, and moments where it made no damn sense.

Okay, yes, it's a kid's movie so it should make no sense, but what got to me was the continuous addition of new characters out of nowhere for the sake of being there. You would have something happen and suddenly a new cast member would pop out. This happened every five minutes, without lending any real attempt to desire interest in them as a result. Still, that said, the production values were pretty decent, although the cinematography struck me as lazy and there really was nothing there to ground me into the film between the toilet humor gags and overall tired comic delivery.


BUDDHA MOUNTAIN

Like kids of a Kerouac generation, three young adults with no ambition eventually find themselves renting a home from an angry middle aged woman. Their curiosity finds that she has been living in the shadow of her dead son and they begin to understand each other as a result.

I read a review that said this was pretty much Different Strokes in China, but I have no clue. I will say that Sylvia Chang as the distraught middle aged woman is excellent (although if you check her resume, you'll understand why she is so good) but even so, the acting throughout still stands out--not to spoil, but the young woman in the role shows off great range when she spooks a bunch of bullies.

Cinematography seems to come from a low budget camera that can not hide the intense beauty of the mountainous regions of China as they hop trains and the gritty neon glint of the city that is jagged. Definitely would watch again and even buy the DVD.


ABRAXAS
*No video because it's too indie* :(

Fun fact: this film was shot at Fukushita prefercture. That's right, the one that had reactor failures thanks to the tsunami.

The film centers on a monk whose past as a punk rocker has left him. Not to say that his wild side is there anymore, but the film centers on his eccentricity as he copes with a mental illness that scratches into his ears every so often and tries to find a different path to peace in resolving himself and his condition. The work is slow, but the pace is thoughtful in each step. While I normally hate character study films, this one was actually watchable, in my opinion.


The Recipe

A serial killer was captured and as he was executed, his final plea was to eat dengjang, a particular dengjang. With that lead, a reporter tries to find the story behind the dengjang and its importance and the magical properties that led to its creation and the mystery behind its creator.

It starts good, it gets entertaining and mysterious by the halfway mark, and then when the third arc hits, it PLODS in a third story explaining everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. If it wasn't a story about love, I would say the movie would have been great just for being so mysterious and unique. As it is, it is a muddled mess I couldn't recommend to anyone.


Osamu Tezuka's Buddha

You would think that an animated tale inspired by a manga about the life of Buddha would be pretty tame, but it's not. Questioning the ideas of class identity and morality, Osamu Tezuka's Buddha is fairly violent as it centers around the people directly and indirectly influenced by his actions as he is born and into his teenage years. It seems that much more misleading considering the almost Disney-like personality the film shows.

I'm not big on preachy films and this one seems to be one soapbox too high for my liking, especially when it is done to melodramatic performances that may as well have been given the Matrix-effect for slowing down like that. As a result, not a fan. Manga fans of the adaptation may feel differently about this and probably think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, though.


At this point, I was halfway through the festival, but I don't think I saw that much more. Part 3 will continue!

NYAFF, Part 2

SHAOLIN

It was interesting to note that this film is actually getting a release in the states. It was a sold out show, although I think it was out of the sake of exclusiveness more than the actual content of the film.

Andy Lau stars as a warlord who falls out of favor and tries to redeem himself as a monk to the same temple that he harassed in the past. His growth as a character is charming and the film even includes Jackie Chan as a wisecracking but cowardly cook who is afraid of fighting and going outside of the temple grounds. That said, the film starts to drag itself once it goes into the brunt of the story about the second-in-command he raised into ruthlessness and his attempt to pacify him. At this point, I start losing interest and the film begins to drag despite some amusing scenes with Jackie and some of the other masters of the temple.


NINJA KIDS!!!

If Harry Potter was a ninja... well I guess it wouldn't be like this film. Still, set as a platform film to introduce the world to a whole set of actors, Ninja Kids!!! has the distinction of being directed by Takashi Miike. That said, the film had its set of cute moments, and moments where it made no damn sense.

Okay, yes, it's a kid's movie so it should make no sense, but what got to me was the continuous addition of new characters out of nowhere for the sake of being there. You would have something happen and suddenly a new cast member would pop out. This happened every five minutes, without lending any real attempt to desire interest in them as a result. Still, that said, the production values were pretty decent, although the cinematography struck me as lazy and there really was nothing there to ground me into the film between the toilet humor gags and overall tired comic delivery.


BUDDHA MOUNTAIN

Like kids of a Kerouac generation, three young adults with no ambition eventually find themselves renting a home from an angry middle aged woman. Their curiosity finds that she has been living in the shadow of her dead son and they begin to understand each other as a result.

I read a review that said this was pretty much Different Strokes in China, but I have no clue. I will say that Sylvia Chang as the distraught middle aged woman is excellent (although if you check her resume, you'll understand why she is so good) but even so, the acting throughout still stands out--not to spoil, but the young woman in the role shows off great range when she spooks a bunch of bullies.

Cinematography seems to come from a low budget camera that can not hide the intense beauty of the mountainous regions of China as they hop trains and the gritty neon glint of the city that is jagged. Definitely would watch again and even buy the DVD.


ABRAXAS
*No video because it's too indie* :(

Fun fact: this film was shot at Fukushita prefercture. That's right, the one that had reactor failures thanks to the tsunami.

The film centers on a monk whose past as a punk rocker has left him. Not to say that his wild side is there anymore, but the film centers on his eccentricity as he copes with a mental illness that scratches into his ears every so often and tries to find a different path to peace in resolving himself and his condition. The work is slow, but the pace is thoughtful in each step. While I normally hate character study films, this one was actually watchable, in my opinion.


The Recipe

A serial killer was captured and as he was executed, his final plea was to eat dengjang, a particular dengjang. With that lead, a reporter tries to find the story behind the dengjang and its importance and the magical properties that led to its creation and the mystery behind its creator.

It starts good, it gets entertaining and mysterious by the halfway mark, and then when the third arc hits, it PLODS in a third story explaining everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. If it wasn't a story about love, I would say the movie would have been great just for being so mysterious and unique. As it is, it is a muddled mess I couldn't recommend to anyone.


Osamu Tezuka's Buddha

You would think that an animated tale inspired by a manga about the life of Buddha would be pretty tame, but it's not. Questioning the ideas of class identity and morality, Osamu Tezuka's Buddha is fairly violent as it centers around the people directly and indirectly influenced by his actions as he is born and into his teenage years. It seems that much more misleading considering the almost Disney-like personality the film shows.

I'm not big on preachy films and this one seems to be one soapbox too high for my liking, especially when it is done to melodramatic performances that may as well have been given the Matrix-effect for slowing down like that. As a result, not a fan. Manga fans of the adaptation may feel differently about this and probably think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, though.


At this point, I was halfway through the festival, but I don't think I saw that much more. Part 3 will continue!

NYAFF, Part 2

SHAOLIN

It was interesting to note that this film is actually getting a release in the states. It was a sold out show, although I think it was out of the sake of exclusiveness more than the actual content of the film.

Andy Lau stars as a warlord who falls out of favor and tries to redeem himself as a monk to the same temple that he harassed in the past. His growth as a character is charming and the film even includes Jackie Chan as a wisecracking but cowardly cook who is afraid of fighting and going outside of the temple grounds. That said, the film starts to drag itself once it goes into the brunt of the story about the second-in-command he raised into ruthlessness and his attempt to pacify him. At this point, I start losing interest and the film begins to drag despite some amusing scenes with Jackie and some of the other masters of the temple.


NINJA KIDS!!!

If Harry Potter was a ninja... well I guess it wouldn't be like this film. Still, set as a platform film to introduce the world to a whole set of actors, Ninja Kids!!! has the distinction of being directed by Takashi Miike. That said, the film had its set of cute moments, and moments where it made no damn sense.

Okay, yes, it's a kid's movie so it should make no sense, but what got to me was the continuous addition of new characters out of nowhere for the sake of being there. You would have something happen and suddenly a new cast member would pop out. This happened every five minutes, without lending any real attempt to desire interest in them as a result. Still, that said, the production values were pretty decent, although the cinematography struck me as lazy and there really was nothing there to ground me into the film between the toilet humor gags and overall tired comic delivery.


BUDDHA MOUNTAIN

Like kids of a Kerouac generation, three young adults with no ambition eventually find themselves renting a home from an angry middle aged woman. Their curiosity finds that she has been living in the shadow of her dead son and they begin to understand each other as a result.

I read a review that said this was pretty much Different Strokes in China, but I have no clue. I will say that Sylvia Chang as the distraught middle aged woman is excellent (although if you check her resume, you'll understand why she is so good) but even so, the acting throughout still stands out--not to spoil, but the young woman in the role shows off great range when she spooks a bunch of bullies.

Cinematography seems to come from a low budget camera that can not hide the intense beauty of the mountainous regions of China as they hop trains and the gritty neon glint of the city that is jagged. Definitely would watch again and even buy the DVD.


ABRAXAS
*No video because it's too indie* :(

Fun fact: this film was shot at Fukushita prefercture. That's right, the one that had reactor failures thanks to the tsunami.

The film centers on a monk whose past as a punk rocker has left him. Not to say that his wild side is there anymore, but the film centers on his eccentricity as he copes with a mental illness that scratches into his ears every so often and tries to find a different path to peace in resolving himself and his condition. The work is slow, but the pace is thoughtful in each step. While I normally hate character study films, this one was actually watchable, in my opinion.


The Recipe

A serial killer was captured and as he was executed, his final plea was to eat dengjang, a particular dengjang. With that lead, a reporter tries to find the story behind the dengjang and its importance and the magical properties that led to its creation and the mystery behind its creator.

It starts good, it gets entertaining and mysterious by the halfway mark, and then when the third arc hits, it PLODS in a third story explaining everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. If it wasn't a story about love, I would say the movie would have been great just for being so mysterious and unique. As it is, it is a muddled mess I couldn't recommend to anyone.


Osamu Tezuka's Buddha

You would think that an animated tale inspired by a manga about the life of Buddha would be pretty tame, but it's not. Questioning the ideas of class identity and morality, Osamu Tezuka's Buddha is fairly violent as it centers around the people directly and indirectly influenced by his actions as he is born and into his teenage years. It seems that much more misleading considering the almost Disney-like personality the film shows.

I'm not big on preachy films and this one seems to be one soapbox too high for my liking, especially when it is done to melodramatic performances that may as well have been given the Matrix-effect for slowing down like that. As a result, not a fan. Manga fans of the adaptation may feel differently about this and probably think it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, though.


At this point, I was halfway through the festival, but I don't think I saw that much more. Part 3 will continue!