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The Good the Bad the Weird, a review by dfmorgan

The Good the Bad the Weird

Year: 2008
Director: Kim Jee-woon
Cast:
Overview: Set in the 1930's Manchurian desert where lawlessness rules, three Korean men fatefully meet each other on a train. Do-Won (Jung Woo-sung - The Warrior) is a bounty hunter who tracks down dangerous criminals. Chang- yi (Lee Byung-hun - GI Joe: The Rise Of Cobra) is the leader of a group of tough-as-nails bandits. Tae-goo (Song Kang-ho - The Host) is a train robber with nine lives. The three strangers engage in a chase across Manchuria to take possession of a map Tae-goo discovers while robbing the train. Also on the hunt for the mysterious map are the Japanese army and a horde of marauding bandits. In this unpredictable, escalating battle for the map, who will stand as the winner in the end? Forget Indiana Jones and The Man With No Name and experience the incredible, the original, the outrageously unpredictable The Good The Bad The Weird!

Watched: 3rd Mar 2010
My Thoughts: And now for something completely different. After half a dozen animated films thought that I ought to do a live-action one again. Can't get much different than a Korean Western I enjoyed this film very much with its nodding references to Spaghetti Westerns. In some areas I was reminded of films that I used to enjoy going to see like Terence Hill and Bud Spencer films. The chase/shoot-up sequence set to Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood. a remix I think of the Santa Esmerelda version, was glorious. In fact I'm sure I've heard that music in another film but can't place it at the moment, was it a Tarantino film   ?

I loved the final sequence
My Rating: A glorious 4

Dave

editied to answer own question above

(From Dave's DVD/Blu-ray Reviews on March 3rd, 2010)

Ring 2, a review by Jon

Ring 2
2 out of 5

Rachel and her son have survived their first encounter with Samara, but not without a price. She's trying to rebuild her life in a sleepy town when a local boy is found dead, in worryingly familiar circumstances. It soon becomes clear that Samara is now coming for the two of them, but why?

I always judge remakes -especially of foreign films- on how they stand up if the original didn't exist. Remakes are rarely better, but every now and then you drop across one that certainly did nothing wrong and was a watchable version. I thought the American Ring was like that. It was loud, brash and overdone, but the intricate storyline was intact and still powerful. Unfortunately this sequel to the remake is a missed opportunity, especially when directed by Hideo Nakata, director of the first Ringu.

Japanese horror films seem to generate a lot of impact by being made as simple dramas; no unnecessary editing or music and the actors play it straight. Howard Hawks once said, "no action without danger" and it makes a lot of sense. I get the impression Hideo is trying that here, but the score and cast are still being played like there is a ghost around every damn corner. Nothing can be accepted for what it is, it's overflowing with unresolved innuendo and furtive glances. It doesn't help that most of the cast are wooden or half-developed characters.

Naomi Watts is gorgeous as usual and does nothing particularly wrong and David Dorfman still impresses as Aidan coming across much older than his years, although I think he's being stretched in the last act. They're let down though by a murky, unfocused script and poor supporting characters. It tells you something when the most memorable is the ever reliable Gary Cole who is on screen for about 30 seconds. He gives the film a much needed slap in the face, but then goes away again.

Overall I quite liked the premise. Fitted in well with the mythology, as you'd expect. It just needed some... oomph! There's a scene toward the end in Samara's well that was great. It needed lots more of that while letting the drama scenes lighten up and simmer down.

All in all, this is a Asian-American fusion that has failed completely, taking the worst of both sides.

Note: there is an extra on the DVD, a short film acting as a sort of prelude to the first victim, that while being weak nevertheless makes me think it could have been a decent storyline for a sequel on its own. All the Rings start off with kids finding tapes and showing them to each other, scaring themselves shitless. Here they go one typical teen step further by forming a cult that records everything that happens after viewing the tape and seeing how close they can get to the 7 day deadline before showing it to the next person, a pre-appointed "tail". I liked the idea of them trying to play Samara at her own game for thrills.

(From Jon's Random Reviews on February 2nd, 2009)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon, a review by Achim

10. Strange Things Happen at the One Two Point
The three-dot symbol leads Sarah to a company with a surprising connection to Andy Goode's Turk. Riley becomes a liability to John.

My comments:
Awesome episode all the way through. Other than Matthias I even enjoyed the Sarah plot sufficiently. There was lots of stuff going on and even if there was comparably little action I enjoyed all parts. There were many little bits which were especially fun to observe (Matthias mentioned them all:

I found it was nicely left somewhat ambiguous whether the 3 dots had a deeper meaning or not. While Derek makes a good point that they are probably not (he doesn't say this, but they might have been by the guy writing all the stuff when he got exhausted from writing and used three fingers to lean himself on the wall) but then I thought that Akagi (the guy in Sarah's story line who scams her) pointed out that the three dots are "just a logo" once too many (then again, if that had a meaning, he probably wouldn't know at that point...).

Also Riley's and Jesse's suddenly being revealed as being intertwined kept things interesting on that side. It seemed to be going on for a while already opened up a few new mysteries to be uncovered later.

Interesting how Matthias talked about all major plot points but then left out the reveal in the last shot. Things are certainly shaping up for Weaver and from all we can see the story of Sarah getting ripped off may have been a red herring after all.



(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon on February 11th, 2010)