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E D I T O R I A L
Real Life vs. Cinemas
Wednesday, May 30 — Having seen it on the big screen this past Friday, I can confidently describe Pearl Harbor as the feel-good war movie of the year. Watching this lazy and entirely predictable spectacle unfold, I can't say I was surprised at what I was seeing. Actually, I was hoping for something a little more offensive, something to get my blood in a lather, but, alas, the filmmakers were determined to avoid inciting riots in the streets. I did eat a lot of popcorn, however . . .I've seen a handful of American films in cinemas during the past month, and the overall impression is one of dull gruel. The Mummy Returns would make a fun video game, A Knight's Tale had the germ of a good idea but failed to execute, and Driven featured Burt Reynolds as a bad guy in a wheelchair and an illegal Formula 1 drag race through the streets of Chicago. Shrek was the best of the bunch, an amusing and extremely cynical romp through the heart of fairy tale land with extremely lovely computer (if that isn't a contradiction in terms) animation.
You might ask: Why keep going to see (mostly) lousy movies in cinemas?
Because there is a huge difference between sitting at home in my living room, staring at a television, ready to hit the "pause" button on the DVD player if the phone rings, and sitting in a large room with a large screen and loud sound with near-complete attention focused on the movie at hand. True, there are few opportunities to see Asian films in general (much less Hong Kong releases) in a cinema here in North Texas. Still, watching American movies as they were meant to be seen reminds me that, when I watch Hong Kong films on DVD, I am NOT seeing the film as it was meant to be seen, and that I should make allowance for that in recording my impressions (either on my brain or in a review).
At least, that's the idea.
I've seen just three HK films during the past week, but they were all excellent and are highly recommended (Bullets Over Summer, Full Throttle, C'est La Vie, Mon Cheri). My evenings keep getting filled with non-movie stuff — not that there's anything wrong with normal life, it just doesn't have the pizzazz of a Johnny To shootout.
That makes me think: What if real life was more like HK movies?
For example, instead of being a writer and researcher for hire, I would be a cop or criminal, maybe a cross between Lau Ching Wan and Francis Ng. On the way home, Anthony Wong would chase me on the highway, smashing into my car and cursing in Italian. I would tell Carman Lee to put her head down as I blew out the rear window of my 1988 Ford Escort (smoking the pavement at its maximum speed of 57 miles per hour) with a gun specially chosen by Dante Lam. As Anthony caromed off a light pole, I would screech to a halt at the stiffly outstretched hand of fellow policeman Jackie Chan. . .
It would sure make doing the laundry a lot more fun if the possibility existed that a fight would break out between Jet Li and Yu Rong Guang. What if Daniel Wu delivered my pizza? And Karen Mok and Leslie Cheung were arguing on the upstairs apartment balcony about her having to skip drug rehab so she could bail him out of prison (instead of my real-life neighbors doing the same late at night)?
Mmmm, obviously I have to watch more movies and spend less time in "the real world" . . .
Upcoming reviews: I can't believe I STILL have Hit Team sitting on my shelf. I took notes on all the features last night, and I will try again to get it out of the way. I have a batch of Ringo Lam films on hand, as well as Wing Chun, Perfect Match, and the very first in the Young and Dangerous series. Something will get seen this week . . .
As a reminder, if you disagree with any of my reviews, I will be glad to post your comments (with expletives deleted) on the forthcoming "What Other People Are Saying" page of this site.
Please feel free to e-mail me your comments, whether positive or negative.
peter
Editor / Reviewer / Webmaster
Current Editorial | Current Index
Dreaming in Cantonese (5/16/01)
The Echo of Small Children (5/3/01)
Hong Kong Film Awards: Who Won? (4/26/01)
A Tale of Three Directors (4/19/01)
Supermodels of the HK Film World (4/12/01)
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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