Rating: Summary: An amazing movie and a great DVD Review: The DVD looks and sounds great. This is an amazing movie, and if you didn't see it in theatres, you really missed out. The DVD DOES have an advantage over the theatrical version, in that the subtitles are in the black bar and not overtop of the print, so you can see the entire print during the film. There is also an English subtitle, but I haven't listened to that, because I assume it is not that good. Don't worry, the film is very accessible with the subtitles. The extras are decent as well.
Rating: Summary: Chow WOW Fat! Review: I've only seen this twice but I've been impressed everytime I see it. The movie just speaks to me on so many levels emotionally and enriches me about how Chinese people can speak a different language than us yet convey the same societal ills we all endure each day. I can't keep my eyes off Chow Yun Fat, he is such a great actor as Li Mu Bai and I hope to achieve his level of zen when I become an adult with disposable cash on hand.
Rating: Summary: WHAT GARBAGE! Review: This has to be the dumbest, most over-rated movie of the 00's so far. People said that it was a lavish spectacle with stunning fight-coreography. Then comes the best part, the emotional side of this film. What the fu...? I must be the only person in the world who missed that part. If I only had this movie to go by, I'd conclude that the Chinese do not have emotions. The dialougue was basically recited, with no inflection or detectable emotion. As for the fights, well there's stunning moves and then there's physically impossible. We all know that there are some things that you can't learn from Martial Arts. But with a harness, some pullies, and a blue screen, the sky's the limit. Joke.Oh yeah, the title. This isn't a new phenomenon. Titles frequently don't translate well into disparate languages. When I was visiting Spain in 1997, "Dante's Peak" was called "Un Pueblo Llamado Dante's Peak." Now I'll bet "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" sounds brilliant in Chinese. But in English, it just sounds silly. Much like the whole movie.
Rating: Summary: It's hard to be objective, but... Review: THE GOOD: It looks pretty and...well, I guess it's an epic, if by epic you mean long and set in midevil times. THE BAD: Where shall I start? The dialouge...it's really bad. Sure, it's a dub, but this isn't a Godzilla movie...this is a HIGH PROFILE movie (or so I'm led to believe) so I don't feel guilty about ripping into it for that. There were a few good fight scenes, but the flying was just stupid! When I heard that the actors "flew" I figured it just meant they jumped a lot higher than most people can, like scaling small buildings or flipping over people. Stuff like that. No, they really FLY, like Peter Pan. It's really stupid. The fight scenes also just aren't...adrenaline charged. There's no fast-paced backflips and people getting countered and jacked with awesome punches and kicks, it's mostly fighting with aluminum swords. The movie looks pretty, but it looks like a pretty B movie. The plot is too long and it wanders all over the place. There's no real pressing problem, just a few minor annoyances that people are trying to patch up. The villain does nothing to redeem the sad state that the movie villian has fallen into. I like to think that I'm more patient than your average Joe moviewise, but...this movie was too long and too bizarre. The director was either trying to create a personal vision, or it was for people with radically differant tastes. Most likely the latter. But that doesn't change the fact that I don't like it.
Rating: Summary: Wonderful introduction to another cultures philosophy. Review: Even thought the subtitles were a little bit of a distraction, this movie was really rather lovely. I have no familiarity with true Chinese culture but it reminded me somewhat of the "A Hundered Secret Senses" by Amy Tan in terms of the introduction is offers to another way of viewing the world. The story begins by introducing two older warriors, Shu Lien (female) and Li Mu Bai (male), members of a fighting underworld. Li Mu Bai has had an epiphany and decided to drop his warrior ways, beleiving that they will bring sorrow. He asks Su Lien to take his sword, the ancient and magical Green Destiny to an old associate in Peking. While there, she meets Jen, the daughter of the local Governer who is soon to be married. The same night, the sword is stolen by a masked stranger who engages in a phenominal battle with Shu Lien for the sword. It is obvious that the stranger has tremendous talent, of course the mysterious stranger turns out to be the young, impetuous Jen. The other main characters are the mysterious Jade Fox, a warrior who killed the master of Li Mu Bai and for whom he wished to extract revenge, and Lo, the barbarian lover of Jen. The movie revolves around the delicate love story between the two older warriors and the turmoil surrounding Jen, who causes trouble to all others as she fights against the requirements of her family and position and her own wishes to be free and to develop her talent. The characters are beautifully played, the photography exquisite and the action scenes quite startling. As has been mentioned here previously, American sensibilities may not be satisfied with the bittersweet ending, however, maintaining an open mind will allow those individuals to enjoy the freedom of coming to our own conclusions of what appears to be a necessary sacrifice.
Rating: Summary: A disappointment Review: After all the build up from every film critic out there, I was really disappointed with the movie. Yes, it has incredible martial arts fight scenes, and I'd watch a movie with Michelle Yeoh anyway, but what's the deal with the desert prince. I'm reminded of another movie that had a COMPLETELY extraneous character in it . . . Star Wars Episode 1 and ole Jar Jar Binks. You could completely delete the entire desert prince and desert scene from the movie, and it would make absolutely no difference to the outcome, character development, or anything else. Here's my recommendation, get the movie, edit out the middle 45 minutes of the movie, and then disregard any references to this love interest, and you'd have a pretty good movie.
Rating: Summary: good, not great! Review: while i enjoyed the cinematography, the locations and the acting of chow-yun fat, i do not agree with the overall opinion of people who write that this is one of the greatest movies released last year(2000) or ever. the story isn't groundbreaking and fairly predictable. that said, it was a movie that differed in the fact that it wasn't made by hollywood, so i assume this is what made people think more of it than they would otherwise.
Rating: Summary: I am and it is Review: I grew up with this genre. My fondest memories are Saturdays at the Toyo Theater in Honolulu armed with one dollar. Admission and some snacks later, as an Asian woman, I felt proud and empowered. So, all you Asian ladies out there who are rather "jaded" by being mistaken for a Geisha... or Lucy Liu, THIS film will make you feel important. Seriously, it is an extremely well produced, orchestrated masterpiece. It should have swept the Oscars... but that is another essay! Get it, you will not be disappointed unless you lack a chromosome or two.
Rating: Summary: Crouching Story, Hidden Plot Review: This movie is, in my opnion, the most over-rated film it has been my displeasure to be unable to avoid. When it first came out on DVD, I breathlessly stormed my local video store, renting one of the first copies to hit the shelf, anticipating luxurious visuals, whimsical storytelling, and hyper-kinetic action. Movie reviews I had read led me to believe that this movie was akin to the re-invention of Great Cinema (capital letters intentional). My wife and I were sadly disappointed. The plot was meaningless and rehashed, the action (ACTION??? I meant non-stop "swordfights") is the silliest I have ever seen, and I couldn't wait for the next scene. Any scene. Anything that made sense, or progressed a plot... Forget Crouching Tigger, Hidden Piglet and go see a Bruce Lee movie instead.
Rating: Summary: in spanish...horrible pelicula... Review: la fui a ver y lo mejor fueron las palomitas...tal parece que quien dirige la pelicula y el autor de la trama se drogaron para hacerla, lo unico que vale la pena es la tela de los vestidos de la protagonista, no entiendo porque se dice que es una buena pelicula o de plano no se nada de cine...ahora veo porque se ofrecen tantos videos usados de esta...
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