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E D I T O R I A L
Thursday, April 12: Supermodels of the HK Film World
The Storm Riders is one of the supermodels of the HK film world: widely celebrated, extremely beautiful, but thin -- known more for how it looks than its substance. (OK, everyone who clicked through to this editorial hoping for pictures of supermodels can now click onward.)
The film grossed more than HK $41 million and has throngs of admirers. The production design is exquisite. The special effects are flashy. Sonny Chiba exhibits a commanding presence as the chief villain. Peeling away the layer of beauty, though, reveals barely-sketched characters and a deadly dull pace -- it feels like an automated slide show, and I continually wanted to click a button and move on to the next scene. Sure it's a comic book come to life. The problem was that I couldn't turn the pages when I wanted. The DVD looks awesome, by the way. In fact, if you watch the short "Special Effects" feature, you can experience the essence of the movie and save yourself more than two hours.
Another film light on substance is Spy Kids. The difference is that it's not a supermodel - it's pretty, but built more for speed than beauty. This American film has ruled the local box office for the last two weeks, raking in more than US $49 million. It's directed at kids, but avoids being so juvenile that it holds no interest for adults. The production design is colorfu and imaginative; some of the action is wire-assisted, and most of the special effects were created in the garage of director Robert Rodriguez (or so I've heard). The performances by the two kids and their parents (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) are a bit weak, but the pace is quick and the whole thing runs less than 90 minutes -- finally an American film that Hong Kong cinema owners should love.
Wag the Dog is an American film from late 1997 (made before the presidential scandal hit the headlines). Basically it explores the shadowy world of political operatives desperately spinning the news in favor of their candidate in a darkly funny way. The film digs itself into a hole late in the story, but overall it was quite entertaining, highlighted by Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of a supremely confident Hollywood producer induced into staging a war to cover up the American president's misdeeds. Hmmm, no supermodel parallel here -- not that beautiful, a bit fat in its plotting, a little heft to its tale (ahem!)
Upcoming next week, I'll take a look at two sequels made by -- surprise! -- experienced directors (in America, most sequels are made by new directors happy for the job), including the only Hong Kong movie made in Texas (as far as I know), along with whatever else tumbles into view.
Site notes: Regular readers may have noticed that the update schedule has been rather erratic lately. Whenever I have something new to post, I try to put it up right away, which means two or three small updates per week rather than one larger one each week. Most new content (including newly-announced upcoming DVD releases and new reviews) will be highlighted on the main page.
Also, once again I am trying to refocus my energies on writing reviews for more recent DVD releases of the latest films rather than older movies (by which I mean anything from the '70's up to 1996 or so). Many sites have excellent reviews of these "older" movies and I often have little to add. Because I'm an insufferable completist, I'll add brief observations ("Quick Views") on most everything I see along with a recommendation and a comment on the quality of the DVD presentation. Occasionally I'll still write up a full review of an older title, just because I can't help myself!
Please feel free to e-mail me your comments, whether positive or negative.
peter
Editor / Reviewer / Webmaster
Current Editorial | Current Index
What are you prepared to do? (4/6/01)
Academy Awards Special (3/26/01)
The Price of Success (3/19/01)
Is Jackie Chan Still the Man? part 1 (3/12/01)
Great Expectations (3/7/01)
In the Mood for Change (2/26/01)
Bronchitis on the Brain (2/12/01)
Hong Kong Sequel Blues (2/5/01)
Better or Best? (1/29/01)
To Dub or Not to Dub (1/22/01)
Scenes From a Fractured Skull (1/15/01)
Year-End Round-Up (1/7/01)
Briefly noted (12/31/00)
Wuxia Fantasies and the Black-and-White Western (12/24/00)
Raiders of the lost heart (12/17/00)
The movie week in review (12/10/00)
Redesigning A Better Tomorrow (12/3/00)
The fantasy begins again (11/26/00)
A return and a shortened work week, hurrah! (11/20/00)
That blasted job! (11/12/00)
Hollywood, Jet, Jackie, Fred, and Gene (11/6/00)
Did you want blood with that? (10/30/00)
Do you like cold pizza? (10/24/00)
Preparing for the Legend (10/16/00)
The pauper must pay (10/10/00)
A visit to Five Star Laser (10/05/00)
A brief vacation (9/25/00)
The editor's plea (8/20/00)
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