Opus, you might not want to click me.

That headline AND this one on the same day?

Jamie Foxx is gonna be cruisin' to the Jan Hammer theme...

'80s nostalgia is so '90s.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

I have to suspect that America is catching on to the facts that a) having seen Mission Impossible 2 doesn't make you an Asian film fan and B) John Woo is incredibly overrated. Now the Hollywood studios just need to catch on and everything will be right with the world.

I think I speak for my avatar when I say that this is a crying shame.

I don't know, it kinda seemed like the appropriate place to share something i wrote in my journal just a few days ago...

10/01/04 - Paycheck* (john woo) [Worst Film I have ever seen in my Life. Period.]

After that miserable mess, i vow to never again view a John Woo OR a Ben affleck movie.

So there.

And anyway, is it only me or does He-MAn remind you of Hans and Frans?

-s.

I should point out that there's a vast difference between John Woo's Hollywood output and his Hong Kong output. Unfortunately, Hollywood has ripped him off so much that his classic films (i.e. The Killer, Hard Boiled) may seem almost trite in comparison. Such that if you see his films now, you might wonder what the big deal is. And of course, Woo hasn't done much to defend the brand lately, so to speak.

Now Johnnie To... there's an overrated director.

Johnnie To is the new, hip Hong Kong director on the scene (although he's been directing films since the 80s). He first made his name directing F/X-laden sci-fi martials flicks like The Heroic Trio, and then really made his name directing ultra-stylish, melodramatic gangster flicks like A Hero Never Dies and The Mission. However, for all of their style and panache, they've almost always left me unsatisfied. At best, his films come close to touching the genius of Woo's work (The Mission, and Fulltime Killer is absolutely brilliant at times). However, when they're bad, they're absolutely wretched (PTU, Throwdown). However, his films are very love or hate, and those that love his films really love them.

Woo used to rock. Seriously. Woo was, like, the ultimate to the gunplay fan. The intricacy and score of his action choreography was by far the greatest of the genre--return to the years Hard Boiled and Killer released and find a comparable flick to date. IMO, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark came close in some respects, but Woo was superior in his grit-noir symphonies of chaos and order, and Hard Boiled still reigns as king of bullet-time action flicks.

And then he came to the states, Hollwood said 'Americans like it diff'rent here' and emasculated him with the likes of faux-talents Jean-Claude Van Damme and Christian Slater and the rest is torpid, anguished history.

See, I'd seen Woo's Chinese stuff (along with all the other amazing stuff over there) for several years when Arrow released--and I was like, "JOHN!!! HARD TARGET WAS THE EXCEPTION, NOT THE RUUUULE!"

Inre: Travolta? Absolutely. My wife and I go back and forth on that one. He bores me utterly.

One Nite in Mongkok is one of this year's best so far, but I personally thought that last year's Lost in Time was much better. Same director. Those are the first two movies he's made after a long (10 year?) hiatus and they both are excellent.

Edit: Just saw that another To flick, Yesterday Once More, starts in theaters in HK this month. It stars Sammi Cheng and Andy Lau. As all To flicks do, it certainly sounds intriguing. I'll have to remember it a few months from now when the DVD is making the rounds.

Just saw this on Twitch... John Woo does Espianoge For Dummies.

John... why? Just get around to remaking Le Cercle Rouge, and we can pretend that past few years and movies never happened.

Wow the world is a weird place.

First of all someone came up with the idea of these action figures. They all had the same body, but wer just painted differently and had different heads (some didn't even have different heads - e.g. Adam, but you could get away with that cos its was a toy and people needed to be able to keep up)

Then there was a TV series cartoon spin off. From this a few new characters spawned, and we began to realise that compared to Prince Adam, Clark Kent was a master of disguise. (Seriously - how did anyone not know. Adam you're stacked even if you're not He Man you should still be pretty useful)

There was also a comic which I think I had one issue of.

Then there was a She-ra lame-o spin off.

And then there was a terrible film version with Dolph Lungren - best forgotten. In fact you'd think all Hollywoo would hang its head in shame, bury and make sure no-one ever dug their again.

And now we're getting the remake of a film based on a cartoon, based on some action figures with the same bodies*

Mad mad world

Matt

*Ok Battle Cat, Man at arms, the chicks and the guy I had who had three faces werer all a bit of a variation, but most of them were later additions.

That was the bizzare thing about He-Man. Prince Adam was always regarded as a playboy and a layabout by everyone in the Court. (Esp. Teela) So basically Adam's 'secret identity' was to make himself as useless a person, and a shame to his parents as possible. He's either really terrified someone will find out his identity (a stupid fear as the palace got attacked every other week. If he thought he were putting the king, queen, Teela et al. in danger by revealing the truth it wouldn't make a difference to their day to day lives) or He-Man is his deep rooted inferiority complex exerting itself upon him.

Needless to say, I'm not holding out for Woo having a go at explaining all these ambiguities. I reckon he'll go straight for the ass-kicking. Just this feeling I have...

Phil.

"Adam... has anyone ever said you like a bit like...oh never mind...no ...it was nothing..."

A short and spoiler-ridden, but insightful review of One Nite In Mongkok has been posted here. It's a film that's definitely worth seeking out. Sadly I think the HK saturation of the genre spoiled it for me a little.

And my review is right here.