Brothers (2009)

USA

105 mins.

Directed by Jim Sheridan

Starring: Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard, Carey Mulligan, Patrick Flueger

I haven't seen the original Danish version of Brothers yet, but now I'm interested to see how different the two are in comparison. This version is nothing special, but should be remembered for three strong performances hampered by unsure direction and an unfocused script.

Like a Dragon (2007)

AKA Ryu ga gotoku: gekijo-ban / Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Japan

110 mins.

Directed by Takashi Miike

Starring: Kazuki Kitamura, Goro Kishitani, Sho Aikawa

Takashi Miike's loose adaptation of the PS2 game "Yakuza" is definitely an odd duck. I've never played the obscure game it's based on, much less owned a PS2 (PC fanatic at the time). After seeing the movie, though, I highly doubt anything in the game is as intriguing as some scenes in this bad mothertrucker.

An Empress and The Warriors (2008)

aka Kong saan mei yan / The Kingdom and The Beauty

China

95 mins.

Directed by Siu-Tung Ching

Starring: Kelly Chen, Donnie Yen, Leon Lai

An epic tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, the movie is ultimately bogged down by simplistic dialogue and an unfortunate side of cheese. 

Reviews every day!

This place is brand new and soon it will be home to a ridiculous amount of reviews on every single kind of movie in existence, new and old. Check back every day for new content as I keep tweaking and improving everything. Thanks for stopping by.

The Tournament (2009)

UK

95 mins.

Directed by Scott Mann

Starring: Ving Rhames, Kelly Hu, Robert Carlyle, Ian Somerhalder, Scott Adkins

Here is a film that delivers on exactly what it promises: unapologetic, bloody, chaotic assassin action. No pretenses, no needless subtext, no preachy anti-violence nonsense. There's no room for any of that in a film like this. Bring on the assassins? Boy, do they ever. 

Ninja (2009)

USA

92 mins.

Directed by Isaac Florentine

Starring: Scott Adkins, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Todd Jensen, Togo Igawa, Mika Hijii

Right off the bat, I had to check to make sure this thing wasn't an Asylum knockoff of Ninja Assassin. Nope. Good to go. Scott Adkins? Alright now I'm interested. He played a very underrated bad guy in the surprisingly good Undisputed II.

The Sniper (2009)

AKA Sun cheung sau / Godly Gunslingers

Hong Kong

86 mins.

Directed by Dante Lam

Starring: Richie Ren, Edison Chen, Xiaoming Huang

Apparently Edison Chen has been a bad boy. At least that's what I've read.

Regardless, The Sniper is not going to reinvent the wheel; but it does approach its plot with a certain snazz that I couldn't help but smile at. 

Throwback Review: Once Upon A Time In The West (1968)

AKA C'era una volta il West

Italy/USA

165 mins.

Directed by Sergio Leone

Starring: Charles Bronson, Henry Fonda, Jason Robards, Claudia Cardinale, Gabrielle Ferzetti

This is Sergio Leone's second best film after The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. Second. For anyone to have a number two film as great as Once Upon A Time In The West says one thing: the man was more than merely a master filmmaker.

Now, with the ass-kissing out of the way...

Rough Cut (2008)

AKA Yeong-hwa-neun yeong-hwa-da / A Movie Is A Movie

South Korea

113 mins.
Directed by Hun Jang
Starring: Ji-Hwan Kang, Ji-Seob So, Chang-Seok Ko

I have a soft spot for Korean cinema after living there for two years, so any reason to revisit my former home away from home is welcome.

Yet Another Movie Review Blog

Yeah, this really is another movie review blog which happens to be surrounded by countless other blogs brimming with cinematic opinions.

Hold on, though.