when you've gray hair, people think your heart never skipped

Average rating: 8

Dragon {Wu Xia} (2011) - "In a quiet rural village, a seemingly mild-mannered paper maker becomes an unlikely hero after stopping two dangerous criminals—drawing the attention of a meticulous investigator who suspects there’s more to the man than meets the eye. In Dragon (also known as Wu Xia), the story unfolds as a slow-burning unraveling of identity, where past and present collide and violence carries lasting consequence. What begins as a mystery gradually reveals itself as something more elemental: a man trying to outrun who he once was." 

length: 1h, 38m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by Peter Chan  |  why I watched: Donnie Yen is growing on me, and of course Takeshi Kaneshiro is a big draw

IMDb: 7.0/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: NA% / 81% Audience  |  my IMDb: 7/10  |  MPAA: R

tone & texture: somber, textured/earthy

notable quote: "'You have more questions?'

    'I'll think of something.'"

my notes: astonishingly beautiful, this film is made up of some innovative, remarkable, brain-twisting camera work and editing. That means lots of sighs (the rain! paper-making! the river!) and some gasps (the inspector, inspecting! the river!) and a few gags (the EAR!). The action sequences are terrific. 

themes: identity, tradition vs. change, justice

overall:  recommended

 

Belfast (2021) - "Seen through the eyes of a young boy, this film captures a working-class family navigating the sudden eruption of sectarian unrest in late-1960s Northern Ireland. Ordinary routines—school, movies, neighborhood bonds—are disrupted by forces the child can’t fully understand, even as they reshape the family’s sense of home. The film balances moments of warmth and humor with the growing pressure of a world becoming less safe, asking what it means to belong when staying and leaving both carry a cost." 

length: 1h, 37m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by Kenneth Branagh (also written by)  |  why I watched: I'd heard such good things

IMDb: 7.2/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: 86% / 92% Audience  |  my IMDb: 8/10  |  MPAA: PG-13

tone & texture: tender, documentary - real

notable quote: "'"Too long a sacrifice can make a stone of the heart."'

    'Is that what does it?'

    'Yeah, well, you don't usually buy your wisdom with a walk in the park. Your heart has to explode.'

    'Mr. Philosopher. And when did your heart ever explode?'"

my notes: a terrific, well-made, stunning-looking film (so stunning, it seems like a series of still images rather than primarily a moving picture) that I never, ever want to see again. Ciarán Hinds and Judi Dench blew me away. It was my first exposure to Jamie Dornan, and to Caitríona Balfe since Ford v. Ferrari. It's just... I spent the entire time with feelings of intense discomfort, bordering on fear, and it was never quite resolved. It left a mark, and not in a good way. 

themes: loss, identity, loyalty

overall: highly recommended

This is Not What I Expected {Xi huan ni} (2017) - "A chance collision between a tightly wound executive and a fiercely intuitive chef sets off a quiet chain reaction neither quite understands at first. What begins in irritation and misalignment gradually becomes a series of small, revealing encounters—where taste, habit, and attention carry more meaning than intention alone. Rather than building toward sweeping declarations, the film lingers in the in-between: moments where people test, resist, and slowly adjust to one another’s presence. As routines are disrupted and assumptions quietly undone, connection emerges not as inevitability, but as something tentative, shaped through curiosity, friction, and the willingness to let another person alter the shape of your world." 

length: 1h, 46m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by Derek Hui  |  why I watched: after the last film, I wanted something that I knew I would love and be comforted by (previously reviewed here)

IMDb: 6.7/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: 78% / 87% Audience  |  my IMDb: 10/10  |  MPAA: TV-PG

tone & texture: intimate, lush & romantic

notable quote: "'You're not just a chef. You're special... but sometimes too special. That's beyond any standard. So special that you can't be controlled. So special that I don't know what to do with you.'"

my notes: it's a rare movie that I'll watch twice in two months. Or that I'll buy on DVD after having streamed it. Or whose rating I'll upgrade from 9/10 to 10/10 upon second viewing. This is a unicorn of a movie, and I absolutely love it. 

    It was, incidentally, produced by Peter Ho-sun Chan, who directed Takeshi Kaneshiro in Dragon. Very different films, sharing an interesting aesthetic thanks to that combo.

themes: chaos v. order, love, tradition vs chaos

overall: most strongly recommended

The Natural (1984) - "A gifted but enigmatic ballplayer arrives midseason to revive a struggling team, carrying with him a past that is both obscured and unresolved. In The Natural, myth and memory intertwine with America’s pastime, as talent alone proves insufficient without timing, integrity, and a reckoning with what came before. Told with a sense of quiet grandeur, the film traces the arc of a man who seems larger than life, yet is shaped—like anyone—by missed chances and the fragile hope of redemption." 

length: 2h, 18m  |  source: my DVD  |  directed by Barry Levinson  |  why I watched: the death of Robert Redford (and Robert Duvall) made it important to re-watch (previously reviewed here) 

IMDb: 7.4/10  |  Rotten Tomatoes: 83% / 88% Audience  |  my IMDb: 7/10  |  MPAA: PG

tone & texture: warm, lush & romantic

notable quote: "My life didn't turn out the way I expected."

my notes: it's not a bad movie, just very forgettable. If you like sports films whose purpose is to feature an inspiring hero—Rudy, Miracle, The Blind Side—then this is probably for you. If you're like me, and prefer movies about sports to be more than one infallible giant, then you're looking for something more nuanced, e.g. Bull Durham, Tin Cup, 42, or Breaking Away. 

    Regardless, this is Robert Redford making it look easy at the age of 47. No knocks on that.

    Roger Ebert's review is here (and, no surprise, he didn't love it either). 

themes: redemption, courage

overall:  recommended

 

[the title quotation is from Belfast]