this will come as a shock to both of us: I'm a born sucker for love

Average rating: 6.75

Butterfly and Sword {San lau sing wu dip gim} (1993) - "Butterfly (Joey Wang) is the doting wife of Sword (Tony Leung) who are planning a life of domestic bliss among the tree-tops of the Happy Forest clan–a cult of martial warriors led by the stoic Sister Ko (Michelle Yeoh). At the dying wish of her sifu, Ko is told to track down the evil Master Suen (Elvis Tsui), who is masterminding a rebellion alongside His Excellency to kill off all of their rival warriors making them king of the martial world. Sword and Ko grew up together at the same orphanage, and unbeknownst to Butterfly, Sword embarks on a mission to infiltrate Suen’s Elite Villa and bring down the baddies from the inside. But that’s not quite everything...."

    NOTE: This film was released with the English title Butterfly and Sword, but has been packed for DVD without the 'and'.
length: 1 hour, 28 minutes

source: I bought the DVD
I watched it because: Tony Leung Chiu-wai is my hero
IMDB: 5.9/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: N/A% Audience: 51%
my IMDB: 6/10

MPAA rating: Not Rated

directed by: Michael Mak

my notes: oh lord, what a mess. Entertaining, but bizarre. Over-stuffed with plot and spinning, flying fights, it is confusing and exciting and weirdly funny. Leung is terrific as Sing, vulnerable and ass-kicking at once. Joey Wong as Butterfly is a pretty dingbat, more than a little irritating. Michelle Yeoh (Sister Ko) is the heart of the film, and her interplay with lovesick Yip Cheung (Donnie Yen) is sweet and heartbreaking. 

overall:  recommended

The Professionals (1966) - "Wealthy Texas oilman Joe Grant (Ralph Bellamy) hires four professional soldiers to retrieve his wife Maria (Claudia Cardinale) from Mexican revolutionary and bandit Jesus Raza (Jack Palance) who is demanding $100,000 for her return. He promises the four men $10,000 for what amounts to nine days' work. Two of the men—Rico Fardan (Lee Marvin) and Bill Dolworth (Burt Lancaster)—know Raza from their own days fighting with Pancho Villa during the Mexican revolutionary war. They make their way to Raza's encampment with a battle or two along the way, and in the end have little trouble getting hold of Maria Grant. What they learn, however, leads them to question just who the kidnappers are, and how they should deal with their employer."
length: 1 hour, 57 minutes

source: I borrowed the DVD from my parents' collection
I watched it because: it's been a while since I'd seen it (previously reviewed here) and I was in the mood for Lee Marvin
IMDB: 7.3/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 89% Audience: 82%
my IMDB: 7/10

MPAA rating: PG-13

notable quote: "That's a lot of woman there. Beautiful, classy—and guts. Hard enough to kill you, and soft enough to change you."

directed by: Richard Brooks

my notes: good story, well-told and engaging, but with a slightly slimy overlay. There's a slightly good bad buy, and a slightly bad good guy. There's believable camaraderie among the group of professionals, each of whom has strengths that complement the others. On the other hand, there is an excessive amount of cleavage, under the circumstances, and some distracting romantic interplay. The color balancing isn't great, either, and can be distracting. 

Academy Award nominee:
• Best Director—Brooks 

• Best Writing, Screenplay based on material from another medium—Brooks

• Best Cinematography, Color—Conrad L. Hall
overall:  recommended

 

The General (1926) - "One of the most revered comedies of the silent era, this film finds hapless Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray (Buster Keaton) facing off against Union soldiers during the American Civil War. When Johnny's fiancée, Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack), is accidentally taken away while on a train stolen by Northern forces, Gray pursues the soldiers, using various modes of transportation in comic action scenes that highlight Keaton's boundless wit and dexterity."
length:  1 hour, 18 minutes

source: I own the DVD (in combo with Steamboat Bill, Jr., reviewed here)
I watched it because: I wanted something good and uncomplicated

    previously reviewed here
IMDB: 8.1/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 92% Audience: 92%
my IMDB: 10/10

AFI: 100 Years ... 100 Laughs (2000) #18 

    100 Years ... 100 Movies (10th anniversary edition 2007) #18

MPAA rating: Passed

notable quote: "If you lose this war, don't blame me." [via intertitles]

directed by: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton

my notes: technically incredible, low-key acting, and an absorbing story, this is an amazing movie. We're awfully lucky to have access to something that was made a hundred years ago! 

    Roger Ebert's review is here, with which I completely agree.

The General is an epic of silent comedy, one of the most expensive films of its time, including an accurate historical recreation of a Civil War episode, hundreds of extras, dangerous stunt sequences, and an actual locomotive falling from a burning bridge into a gorge far below.

overall: highly recommended

Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014) - "Disillusioned with the tedium of his existence, psychiatrist Hector confesses to his girlfriend that he feels he is a fraud for dispensing recommendations to patients who never seem to improve or get any happier. He considers breaking out of his lackluster routine. Summoning up some courage, Hector gives his starved curiosity free rein and embarks on an international quest to find the right formula to bring him joy and vitality."
length: 1 hour, 54 minutes

source: I bought the DVD for 25¢ 
I watched it because: ...Jean Reno
IMDB: 6.9/10  -  Rotten Tomatoes: Tomatometer: 38% Audience: 61%
my IMDB: 4/10

MPAA rating: R    (which is ridiculous)

notable quote: "Listening is loving."

directed by: Peter Chelsom

my notes: boy, when this movie started, I liked it. BUT (and yes, it's a big 'but') there is an unforgivably egregious flaw. Around the one-hour mark, something happens that shatters the foundations of the film, took me out of the suspension of disbelief, and made me want to punch the writers in the face. Good intentions aside, this film is trite, and it treats its viewers badly. It works neither as inspiration nor silly comedy. 

    RogerEbert.com's review is here, with which I agree.

It’s Eat, Pray, Love-lite, and Eat, Pray, Love was already “lite.” One of the things Eat, Pray, Love and Hector have in common is that they feature economically privileged people with enough disposable income that they can leave their jobs for an indeterminate period of time and take multiple international flights on their quest to understand themselves.

overall: not  recommended

 

[the title quotation is from The Professionals]