Release date : May 7, 2010 Directed by Michel Hazanavicius With Jean Dujardin, Louise Monot and Rüdiger Vogler French movie. Genre : Adventure, comedy Length : 1h39 Production year : 2009
Synopsis Hubert Bonisseur de la Bath, aka OSS 117, is the French spy considered by his superiors to be the best in the business. The year is 1967 - he's been sent on a mission to Rio de Janeiro, to find a former high-ranking Nazi who went into exile in South America after the war. My review
Before the huge success of The Artist in theatres and in many festivals, the Hazanavicius/Dujardin tandem worked on two movies. At that time we could see the genius of Hazanavicius, because his two OSS 117 movies are one of the best comedies ever made. The second movie, Lost in Rio is to me, the better of the two. It is full of cult scenes: the ones with the Chinese killers; the dialogue in the car between Hubert and Bill; the Nazi meeting, and so much more. The humour is the same as in the first movie: very crude, just how I like it! But it's always second-degree, don't be mistaken. The humour is also present in the movie’s small details, so that every time you watch it, you always discover something new, just like Asterix & Obelix Mission Cleopatra. I think it's better to perfectly understand French to appreciate the movie for its true worth, the humour is very subtle and all the jokes can't be translated.
If there was a French movie I would suggest you to watch immediately, it's this one (and the previous OSS 117 of course). Who said French can't be arrogant and funny at the same time?
Release date : March 31, 2009 Directed by Takashi Miike With Shun Oguri, Takayuki Yamada, Kyosuke Yabe Japanese movie Genre : Action Length : 2h Production year : 2008 Original title : クローズ ZERO Synopsis The Suzuran Senior High School for Boys is the poorest achieving, most violent school in the country. The students band together in factions, battling each other for influence and power. But they all share a common goal, one that has never been reached in the school's history: unification. No one faction has ever reigned supreme. Genji Takiya, a transfer student who attempts to take over Suzuran Boys High School and is mentored by old boy yakuza Katagiri as he faces off against rival Serizawa. My review
It was the kind of movie I had dreamt of watching for a very long time, especially after watching a lot of dramas based on high school life in Japan. I wanted something more violent and stylish, but when I saw that the director was Takashi Miike, I was a bit worried - The reason being that he has made many weird and crazy movies. But the more I looked at the trailers and photos of Crows Zero, the more enthusiast I became and the more I was thinking that I was about to be blown away... And for once I was right, it blew my mind!
Don't expect to watch a fighting movie like any other, where the characters fight without good reasons, where the screenplay is just superficial. In the worst case scenario, if the screenplay was very bad or even non-existent and we only had fighting, I would mind; But Takashi Miike didn't want that and really wanted to do the best job possible to show the Mangaka, Hiroshi Takahashi, that he could trust him (this movie is the prologue of the Manga WORST and the Mangaka refused many times to assign the rights to other directors). From the first minutes we see that the movie is in good hands and Mr. Miike masters his movie perfectly. In 10 minutes we're already blown away: highschool students fights and there is confrontation between Genji and Yakuza with a rock music background, which fits perfectly to the badass atmosphere of the whole movie.
The rest of the movie is simply the confirmation of those first minutes and shows that Miike never does things by halves and achieves what he started splendidly. The final fight between Genji and Tamao is somehow the one of our own lives: we all want to be the best and we do everything within our power to achieve our goals. From this perspective comes a unique and joyful atmosphere, because we know they fight to achieve the goals they set.
Smiling and fighting, those two "enemies" are ready to conquer the world and they know that even if they lose a fight, they will rise again. After watching the movie, we have a lust for life and the will to give ourselves to our goals, achieving them by any means possible. More info on imdb.com
Release date : April 13, 2012 Directed by Gareth Evans With Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim and Yayan Ruhian Indonesian and American movie Genre : Action, thriller Length : 1h41. Production year : 2011
Synopsis Deep in the heart of Jakarta's slums lies an impenetrable derelict apartment building which became a safe house for the city's most dangerous murderers, killers and gangsters. The rundown apartment block has been considered untouchable to even the police. It all changes when an elite team is tasked with raiding the building in order to take down the notorious crime lord Tama Riyandi who runs it. My review
The Raid is becoming quite famous, especially with the buzz created on the web. It has been shown at many film festivals all over the world and a lot of people describe it as the best action movie in decades. I love fighting movies, especially Asian ones, they're usually really realistic. So when I heard about this one and I saw the trailer, I was very excited and I was expecting a lot from it.
The day before watching The Raid, I watch the previous movie from Gareth Evans, Merantau and I was blown-away by it! It has a good storyline and the best fighting scenes I have ever seen in a movie! So I was expecting even more from The Raid, and this is the reasons I wasn't that impressed after watching it. I think The Raid has one main failing: the storyline. In Merantau the storyline was good enough to lead the audience to be sympathetic with the main character, which gives more density to the fights. In The Raid I didn't feel into the story, so the impact of the fight scenes was reduced. However, it doesn't change the fact that they are amazing and mind-blowing! Some of the best I have ever seen.
What is impressive in the fight scenes is the directing. Usually there are a lot of cuts in fight scenes, but in this movie Gareth Evans (as in Merantau) prefers lengthening his takes, which gives more realistic action. Moreover, the mix of using fists, feet, knives and guns is just amazing. The soundtrack was made by Mike Shinoda, one of the vocalists of Linkin Park, and I love it! It's the kind of soundtrack that fits perfectly with this kind of movie! It might not be the one you will remember, but when you watch the movie, the background music gives more rhythm to the scenes.
Overall, I was expecting more from the movie, especially after watching Merantau. That's the reason I have to watch it again in a couple of months to make myself enjoy the movie as I should do. However, if you have the opportunity to watch it, don't hesitate one second! You will be blown-away by the action-packed movie! More info on imdb.com
