DVD Collectors Online

Cuando me toque a mi, a review by Danae Cassandra

Where We Are:  Ecuador
wikipedia

What We Watched:


Cuando me toque a mi (My Time Will Come)Overview
A predawn murder sets in motion a series of interlocking tragedies that eventually find their way to the city morgue's brooding Dr. Arturo Fernandez.  Physically and emotionally isloated from the world around him, Arturo develops an oddly intimate relationship with the personal lives of his cases, gradually forcing him to confront his connection to the living, and the dead.  Adapted from the novel De Que Nada Se Sabe, director Victor Arregui's serpentine tale is a dark but sympathetic portrait of one man's solitude set against a richly textured rendering of Quito, Ecuador's capital city.

My Thoughts:
My first thought was that the overview made Arturo sound like much more of a prominant character than he was, for the first part of the film is very much an ensemble piece.  Gradually, however, Arturo takes a greater role in the film, until he does become the protagonist, such as the film has.  This is a low-budget film not overly concerned with the technical (the camera work, for instance, is a bit shoddy).  Instead, this is a slice-of-life kind of picture, a look at the lives of these characters, where and how they intersect, and the dark, gritty Quito they inhabit.  It is also a character study of Arturo, a man with an inability to form connections with other people.  One wonderful scene, perhaps the best scene in the film, is very short and completely wordless, but tells the viewer everything they need to know about Arturo's family.  I couldn't help but think after that scene that a US film would have felt the need to have a lot of dialogue there, but that instead Arregui had the actors convey everything with body language.  It was a wonderful moment and really showcased that Arregui has quite a bit of talent as a director.  If you like quirky, character-driven films that aren't transparent as to where they're headed, give this one a try.  Much like others I've watched, if you need a lot of action or a tidy, wrapped-up ending, skip it.

Bechtel Test:  Fail

Overall: 3.25/5

(From Around the World in 86 Movies on September 2nd, 2012)

The Revenge of Doctor X, a review by RossRoy

WHAT THEY SAY

A NASA scientist is ordered to take a vacation due to showing signs of stress while working on his latest missile project. Traveling to Japan, the scientist decides to indulge in his botany hobby and begins experimenting on a venus flytrap he brought along on his trip. Using radical techniques and falling into madness, the scientist eventually creates a plant creature that feeds on flesh and blood, wich then sets off to find food in the form of the people of a nearby community.

MY THOUGHTS

I can sum this movie up very easily: Tooooooooooo ... Daaaaaaammmmnnnnn ... Looooooooonnnng ... Nothing happens! The "Doctor" just keeps on babbling and babbling and babbling. Then a guy in a suit humanoid plant appears and goes on a rampage .... or not. It basically just stands there rocking left to right. Oooooh scary!

RATING

(From RossRoy's Random Viewings on July 1st, 2010)

The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Kung Fu: The Legend Continues



What's the show about?
Kwai Chang Caine was a priest at a Shaolin temple, where his son Peter also lived and studied. The temple was destroyed and father and son each thought the other had perished in the fire. For many years, Kwai Chang 'walked the earth,' while Peter became a big-city cop. Finally, they are reunited and now together they battle evil, using wisdom, martial arts, and occasionally even Peter's pistol.

What happened before?
Kwai's grandfather, Peter's great-grandfather was the Kwai Chang Caine from the series "Kung Fu".

"Initiation"
A man comes to Chinatown of Los Angeles who looks like he stepped out of the movies "The Last Emperor". He prevents an assault on a chinese merchant but gets hurt in the process. Meanwhile the cop Peter Caine goes undercover to take out a Chinatown underground boss.

My Opinion
While I am not much into cop shows in general, I liked this one because I like martial arts. And this father and son are a great team. But the show hasn't been published here (except for the pilot).

(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on January 4th, 2008)