the wizard exploded??

Average rating: 7.25

Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011) - "Three years after the infamous Dragon Inn was burnt down in the desert when its innkeeper Jade vanished. A new gang of marauders had taken over—innkeepers by day and treasure hunters by night. The inn is the rumoured location of a lost city buried under the desert, and its hidden treasure would only be revealed by a gigantic storm every 60 years. The gang used the inn as a front to locate the lost treasure."
Length: 2h, 2m | Source: my DVD | directed by Hark Tsui | Why I watched: having recently watched one of the classics, I wanted to see a different type of wuxia film

IMDb: 5.9/10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 68% / 48% Audience | My IMDb: 7/10 | MPAA: R 

Tone & Texture: Wind and motion as moral release / exuberant fantasy 

notable quote: "I could go anywhere for him."

my notes:  although it feels chaotic and frenzied at times, this movie is about stillness, and the idea of personal agency v. the force of external powers. I loved Jet Li as strong, stable, mesmerizing Zhao Huai'an. I was also impressed by the women, particularly Xun Zhou (serene, wise Ling Yanqui) and Lun-Mei Gwei (the face-tattooed and crazy Chang Xiaowen). 

Themes: justice blurred by vengeance / ghosts of responsibility / redemption through endurance
overall:  recommended

 

Just Visiting (2001) - "An American retelling of the 1993 French comedy Les Visiteurs in which stars Jean Reno and Christian Clavier reprise their popular roles. In the film, A French nobleman, Count Thibault of Malfete (Jean Reno) and his servant André (Christian Clavier) find themselves in modern day Chicago—transported from the 12th century due to a wizard's flawed time-travel potion."
Length: 1h, 28m | Source: my DVD | directed by Jean-Marie Poiré | Why I watched: it was a very long day; this is non-taxing

IMDb: 5.7/10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 33% / 52% Audience | My IMDb: 7/10 | MPAA: PG-13 

Tone & Texture: Fish-out-of-water comedy / French medieval twist

notable quote: "'We're taking the freeway; you can run seventy miles an hour, can you?'

    'I have good boots!'"

my notes: silly, funny, historically inaccurate, and sweet. Reno and Clavier are a fun team, and their medieval antics are Monty Pythonesque. Christina Applegate plays things straight, letting just enough enjoyment of the nonsense shine through her eyes. 

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

Themes: Culture clash & adaptation / second chances / love & humility / friendship & loyalty
overall: recommended

Laura (1944) - "Manhattan detective Mark McPherson investigates the murder of Madison Avenue executive Laura Hunt in her fashionable apartment. On the trail of her murderer, McPherson quizzes Laura's arrogant best friend, gossip columnist Waldo Lydecker and her comparatively mild fiancé, Shelby Carpenter. As the detective grows obsessed with the case, he finds himself falling in love with the dead woman."
Length: 1h, 28m | Source: my DVD | directed by: Otto Premiger | Why I watched: I'd seen it before and recalled its cool, thoughtful noir

IMDb: 7.9/10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 100% / 90% Audience | My IMDb: 8/10 | MPAA: Approved 

AFI: 100 Years…100 Thrills (2001) #73

    10 Top 10 (2008) Mystery #4  

Tone & Texture: Elegant and atmospheric / cool, romantic, and psychologically charged 

notable quote: "'Have you ever been in love?'

    'A doll in Washington Heights once got a fox fur out of me.'

    'Did you ever know a woman who wasn't a "doll", or a "dame"?'

    'Yeah, one....'"

my notes: some of the best movies transcend their component parts. Laura is strange, incoherent, and utterly implausible, but also compelling and beautiful. Clifton Webb's performance as Waldo Lydecker is magnificent, and Vincent Price's Shelby Carpenter is ridiculous, tragic, and quietly fascinating.

    Roger Ebert's review is here, which I think is very funny and deliciously catty.

Academy Award winner (4x nominee):
• Best Cinematography, Black and White—Joseph LaShelle

Themes: obsession and idealization / identity and perception / desire and control / reality v. illusion
overall: highly recommended

From Paris with Love (2010) - "A junior U.S. embassy aide in Paris, James Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), dreams of being a full-fledged intelligence operative. His chance arrives in the form of Charlie Wax (John Travolta), a brash, unorthodox, trigger-happy special agent whose methods make chaos look refined. Over 24 explosive hours, the mismatched pair tear through Paris uncovering a terrorist plot—and forcing Reece to confront the gap between wanting the job and surviving it."
Length: 1h, 32m | Source: my DVD | directed by Pierre Morel (co-written by Luc Besson) | Why I watched: I'd seen it before (reviewed here) and really liked it

IMDb: 6.4/10 | Rotten Tomatoes: 37% / 54% Audience | My IMDb: 7/10 | MPAA: R 

Tone & Texture: Swaggering absurdity / gritty but bright momentum 

notable quote: "'Nice work Reece.'

    [splattered in blood] 'What's so nice about it?'

    'How 'bout the fact that he's dead and you're alive?'"

my notes: surprisingly, intensely violent (bodycount: 51, mostly hand-to-hand or close-range), fast-paced, funny, and unexpectedly emotional. It's not for everybody, but what movie is?

    Roger Ebert's review is here. However interesting, it doesn't quite address the film.

Themes: aspiration v. identity / the cost and isolation of competency / transformation via partnership
overall:  recommended

 

[the title quotation is from Just Visiting]