The Movie Review and Discussion Thread

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Whaaaaaat?

I don't remember what score I gave it...but it was definitely no higher than a 2.5.

But Kong himself was

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Diesel

I don't remember what score I gave it...but it was definitely no higher than a 2.5.

But Kong himself was

That opening hour is so..... ugggghhhhhh, after that however it's all

[Steve46]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Ah yeah, I remember Kurt's line there.

The X Files ripped off the idea in a very good episode.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Foggy

That opening hour is so..... ugggghhhhhh, after that however it's all

The middle portion is easily the best part of the film as far as I remember (

[Show spoiler]T-Rex

FTW!!)

I didn't like the third portion though.

So

1 -
2 -
3 -

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Diesel

The middle portion is easily the best part of the film as far as I remember (

[Show spoiler]T-Rex

FTW!!)

I didn't like the third portion though.

So

1 -
2 -
3 -

I found the last third to make me tear up quite a bit I just don't really like how episodic it feels, it's a bit like watching a mini 3 part huge budget tv show than an actual film, if it had a little bit of trimming on each part, it would be a far neater fluent film.

[Diesel]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I found the last third to make me tear up quite a bit

I just don't really like how episodic it feels, it's a bit like watching a mini 3 part huge budget tv show than an actual film, if it had a little bit of trimming on each part, it would be a far neater fluent film.

That would probably have made it work better for me as well. Maybe it would have gotten up to a 3/5

[Cowboy]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Ah yeah, I remember Kurt's line there.

Best line in the entire film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwN4ylkHFhk

[jvince]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Next greatest blind-buy: “The Other Guys.”

[Show spoiler]We all know cop movies; they show badass dudes flying through the air, with guns in both hands, shooting bullets galore at badguys, with big ‘splosions in the background and cars careening into buildings. Seriously, that’s exactly how this movie starts; right from the start, it lampoons the action genre before presenting the film’s real heroes. From there, it’s quite an amusing trip as the underdog protagonists confront danger from all angles. Above all, the film is loaded with funny and quirky dialogue, situations, and gags.

The story for this is not too far off from other buddy-cop movies, like “Beverly Hills Cop” or “48 Hours” or countless others. Once again, the movie slaps an odd couple together; it’s hard not to enjoy Will Farrell’s character, even when he is playing the biggest square on screen; I did find Marky-Mark’s character almost unlikable, but he does come off as more believable, with a few amusing quirks of his own. Together, they go through a fairly standard cop’s adventure, filled with plenty of laughs, and a few bursts of action.

The film has decent photography and editing. Acting is swell; Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg are good in their respective roles; Samuel L Jackson and Dwayne Johnson are perfect in their parts; Michael Keaton sure is looking old, but still makes a good police captain; and everybody else is solid. Writing is pretty darn good and funny. Production value shows lots of good sets, props, costumes, and special effects. Music is a little arbitrary, but good overall.

4/5 (entertainment: 4.5/5, story: 4/5, film: 4/5)

[Show spoiler]Recommendation: As a rental.

This Blu-Ray looks darn near perfect! Sound quality did not disappoint, but probably could be a grade better.

PQ: 4.5/5, AQ: 4/5

I saw this again on Starz just recently, and I was surprised that I still enjoyed it. I love Ferrell, Wahlberg, and Keaton in this and I wouldn't mind if they make a sequel.

Originally Posted by Foggy

L.A. Confidential

[Show spoiler]Not really going to write a lot on this one, because my feelings are pretty straightforward and it's getting late here

I really liked it, which was going to be a given for me I guess, it's got the plot, the characters, the setting, the pace, the acting, all nailed. It's just missing that it factor for me to rave to my friends, sort of like a scene of which I can send to my friends on youtube that shows them how unique and awesome the film is to make them feel the need to watch it. And to be honest, L.A. Confidential isn't the sort of film they'd be in favor of watching.

9/10

I try really hard to resist blind-buying, but I recently picked this one up (because I've been wanting to see the film and also because I can't believe I didn't use the $5 Best Buy coupon at least once until today, it was killing me ). I'll let you know what I think once I watch it.

Originally Posted by wilky61

[Show spoiler]This last week presented the most time to watch Blu-Rays/catch up on Blind Buys of any week in the last twelve months. I consider a 9/10 an excellent film, then great (8), very good (7), good (6), decent (5), mediocre (4), bad (3).

Solaris - 9/10, third viewing
Paths of Glory - 9/10, second

Days of Heaven - 8/10, first
Serenity - 8/10, thirdish

Princess Bride - 7/10, fourthish
Outlaw Josey Wales - 7/10, first

Star Trek - 6/10, third

Field of Dreams - 5/10, first
Red Shoes - 5/10, first
Thin Red Line - 5/10, first

Nightmare on Elm Street - 4/10, first
Mummy - 4/10, first
M - 4/10, second

Black Narcissus - 3/10, first

[Show spoiler]Original versions of Solaris/Elm Street, of course. I will be selling all of the 5/10 movies and below except for The Mummy which was my girlfriend's blu-ray.

I really need to see Solaris. And only 5/10 for The Red Shoes?

Originally Posted by Foggy

The Thing

[Show spoiler]Those Crazy Swedes...

The Thing is both a film that's silly and campy, while containing enough humanity and genuine character to keep it grounded. It has it's themes placed in the right places and tuned in to keep the film from loosing track and running away from it's own film. Sometimes it can feel like Carpenter is restraining himself, but ultimately it's him trying to define his films and his style.

If you look at it, it's him trying everything, making something he genuinely feels invested in. Does it always work, no, not necessary (I think it has the stupidest opening shot to any film ever) but it all adds up as a great attempt to make something unique and scary, while not loosing it's story. And when it all adds up, it becomes what I consider the greatest sci-fi horror of all time (and yes, I'm already having an argument with a friend over this, so bring it on!)

The effects vary, some parts are phenomenal, some parts look a bit fake, but all in all, if the prequel was to opt for a cgi route, it would look a million times less interesting and scary than the things you see in this film. Luckily it isn't, which, at the moment, sort of feels like the only thing they've got going for it at the moment

The Thing is just one of those films, that regardless of it's flaws, you sort of wind up falling in love with it every time you play it, it memorable enough that you won't be forgetting parts and the story, but you just forget how effective the visuals and atmosphere is, you know it's scary as hell, but you don't really get that effect until you're halfway through the film and you're knee deep within the same shit the characters are. You've just got to sit the rest through because you're simply engrossed.

10/10

[Show spoiler]PQ - I wasn't expecting great things from this disc, but I was completely wrong, granted, a bit blurry from the age of the film, but I wouldn't believe it's nearly 30 years old The opening shots (actual opening shots, not the stupid spaceship) are enough to make you think this is a brand new film. The film isn't visual mindblowing, but the image is sharp and details blossom on screen - 9/10

AQ - Nothing excellent, but well put together, with the ominous score coming from the back of the throat of the speeker, to the spitting of the flame thrower, it's an effective audio track - 8.5/10

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by jvince

I try really hard to resist blind-buying, but I recently picked this one up (because I've been wanting to see the film and also because I can't believe I didn't use the $5 Best Buy coupon at least once until today, it was killing me ). I'll let you know what I think once I watch it.

You should really like it It'll be a worthy Blind Buy hopefully

[Foggy]

Went to get a blu-ray today (Limitless) because I thought I liked it a bit (not overly much though) but ended up getting taunted by another film

I don't Blind Buy much (I have done it about 10 times within my Blus, and I disliked 6 of them), I shan't spoil what it is until I've watched and reviewed it, but whether I like it or not, I shall be heartbroken either way...

[Foggy]

I'm not posting my review until someone has had a guess at what the blind-buy was

[Steve46]

Today's blog entry:

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Action, Crime)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu and Daryl Hannah

Disney / Buena Vista | 2003 | 111 min | Rated R | Released Sep 09, 2008



Video:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1

Audio:
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles:
English SDH, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish

Disc:
Single 50GB Blu-ray Disc

The Film 5/5

I'm a big fan of Chungking Express and remember reading that Quentin Tarantino cries when he watches it because he loves it so much. That's how I feel when I watch the two Kill Bill movies. Within three minutes, I hear Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) and I'm transported into another world. It reminds me of what I'm in for. Every choice that Tarantino makes, from story, to dialogue and music, is absolutely perfect. I feel like he made this film with me in mind.

Uma Thurman was born to play the role of The Bride. I'm still not sure how she managed to keep a straight face as she spoke the dialogue.

It took me five years to bother seeing Kill Bill because I don't embrace things with senseless violence. The movie suggests extreme violence, but shows hardly any of it, just the result. The cuts are convincing and have the same effect as if you had seen the violent acts. I expected Thurman to prance around with a samurai sword, hacking people to pieces. In fact, she pretty much does, but there's so much more to the story.

First of all, she makes me care. Her back story makes her actions seem justified, but I also feel pity for O-Ren Ishii (Liu) when we see what happened to her when she was a child (brilliantly portrayed anime style). The film uses a number of tricks such as stills, black and white, slow motion, silhouettes, changing aspect ratios, and extreme close-ups. The pacing, humor, drama and action all seem to be woven together perfectly.

Kill Bill is a simple story of revenge. We learn in the opening scene that The Bride was shot in the head at her wedding rehearsal and spent four years in a coma as a result. The story isn't linear, so the first person we see her kill is actually second on her Death List. Although it reveals that she successfully killed O-Ren Ishii by showing a line through her name, none of the tension is lost when we are shown their epic battle.

We see The Bride recover from her coma and visit Japan in search of O-Ren Ishii. There's a great scene involving Sonny Chiba and we eventually see The Bride hunt down O-Ren Ishii and her minions. The showdown is approximately an hour long and it's intense. Thurman looks like she can handle a sword and stunt double Zoe Bell handles the more difficult scenes.

It's hard to think about the film without using the word perfect. The battle involves dozens of fighters as The Bride hacks her way through the obstacles standing between her and O-Ren Ishii. The contrast between those scenes and the final fight is stunning. Instead of being surrounded by a noisy mob, The Bride and O-Ren fight in a quiet setting. It's a very effective transition.

I always watch Kill Bill Vol. 2 after seeing Vol. 1 and think of it as one long film. If you think that the characters feel incomplete, the concluding volume fleshes them out and makes them seem a lot more real. This first installment contains most of the action and fans of that genre should be happy with the result.

Video Quality 5/5
Kill Bill Vol. 1 looks fantastic on Blu-ray, even though it was released in 2008. Detail is strong throughout, whether the image is in color or black and white. Colors are rich and accurate and black levels won't disappoint. I detected slight aliasing in one scene, but the overall presentation makes the film one of the best-looking live action films yet released on Blu-ray.

Audio Quality 5/5
The lossless English: LPCM 5.1 mix matches the excellent video quality. There's a lot going on and it's all separated well and presented accurately. Whether it's the sound of swords clashing during the intense battle scenes, dialogue, feet crunching on cereal, or Daryl Hannah whistling the theme from Twisted Nerve, you'll hear everything clearly.

Special Features 2/5

The extras are all presented in standard definition:

The Making of Kill Bill (22 minutes) - A decent feature with Tarantino and some of the cast and crew.

The 5, 6, 7, 8s Musical Performances (6 minutes) - Two songs from the band featured in the film.

Trailers - Six trailers for Tarantino's films.

As I said at the start of this review, Kill Bill is so good that I'm close to tears within three minutes. It's full of action and thrills, good music, and some of the funniest dialogue I have ever heard. I find myself watching both parts more than anything else in my collection and love every moment each time I give it a spin. It's guaranteed to make me grin for four hours. If you like action and intelligent humor, I challenge you to name a better movie.

Overall score 5/5

[AKORIS]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I find the end monster to be a bit silly ("Yeah, **** you too!") and the stuff involving the spaceships, but for the most part really darn scary

if there was one thing to fault in the entire movie, it would be your example but it doesn't take away for the fact that it's one of my favorite films of all time--

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Cowboy

Best line in the entire film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwN4ylkHFhk

Originally Posted by Steve46

The X Files ripped off the idea in a very good episode.

I remember that one. It was cool.

If they remaster the entire "X-Files" series for Blu-Ray, I might consider buying it...

Originally Posted by Foggy

I'm not posting my review until someone has had a guess at what the blind-buy was

"Hobo With a Shotgun?"

Originally Posted by Steve46

Today's blog entry:

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (Action, Crime)
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Starring Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu and Daryl Hannah

[Show spoiler]
Disney / Buena Vista | 2003 | 111 min | Rated R | Released Sep 09, 2008



Video:
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1

Audio:
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles:
English SDH, Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish

Disc:
Single 50GB Blu-ray Disc

The Film 5/5

I'm a big fan of Chungking Express and remember reading that Quentin Tarantino cries when he watches it because he loves it so much. That's how I feel when I watch the two Kill Bill movies. Within three minutes, I hear Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) and I'm transported into another world. It reminds me of what I'm in for. Every choice that Tarantino makes, from story, to dialogue and music, is absolutely perfect. I feel like he made this film with me in mind.

Uma Thurman was born to play the role of The Bride. I'm still not sure how she managed to keep a straight face as she spoke the dialogue.

It took me five years to bother seeing Kill Bill because I don't embrace things with senseless violence. The movie suggests extreme violence, but shows hardly any of it, just the result. The cuts are convincing and have the same effect as if you had seen the violent acts. I expected Thurman to prance around with a samurai sword, hacking people to pieces. In fact, she pretty much does, but there's so much more to the story.

First of all, she makes me care. Her back story makes her actions seem justified, but I also feel pity for O-Ren Ishii (Liu) when we see what happened to her when she was a child (brilliantly portrayed anime style). The film uses a number of tricks such as stills, black and white, slow motion, silhouettes, changing aspect ratios, and extreme close-ups. The pacing, humor, drama and action all seem to be woven together perfectly.

Kill Bill is a simple story of revenge. We learn in the opening scene that The Bride was shot in the head at her wedding rehearsal and spent four years in a coma as a result. The story isn't linear, so the first person we see her kill is actually second on her Death List. Although it reveals that she successfully killed O-Ren Ishii by showing a line through her name, none of the tension is lost when we are shown their epic battle.

We see The Bride recover from her coma and visit Japan in search of O-Ren Ishii. There's a great scene involving Sonny Chiba and we eventually see The Bride hunt down O-Ren Ishii and her minions. The showdown is approximately an hour long and it's intense. Thurman looks like she can handle a sword and stunt double Zoe Bell handles the more difficult scenes.

It's hard to think about the film without using the word perfect. The battle involves dozens of fighters as The Bride hacks her way through the obstacles standing between her and O-Ren Ishii. The contrast between those scenes and the final fight is stunning. Instead of being surrounded by a noisy mob, The Bride and O-Ren fight in a quiet setting. It's a very effective transition.

I always watch Kill Bill Vol. 2 after seeing Vol. 1 and think of it as one long film. If you think that the characters feel incomplete, the concluding volume fleshes them out and makes them seem a lot more real. This first installment contains most of the action and fans of that genre should be happy with the result.

Video Quality 5/5
Kill Bill Vol. 1 looks fantastic on Blu-ray, even though it was released in 2008. Detail is strong throughout, whether the image is in color or black and white. Colors are rich and accurate and black levels won't disappoint. I detected slight aliasing in one scene, but the overall presentation makes the film one of the best-looking live action films yet released on Blu-ray.

Audio Quality 5/5
The lossless English: LPCM 5.1 mix matches the excellent video quality. There's a lot going on and it's all separated well and presented accurately. Whether it's the sound of swords clashing during the intense battle scenes, dialogue, feet crunching on cereal, or Daryl Hannah whistling the theme from Twisted Nerve, you'll hear everything clearly.

Special Features 2/5

The extras are all presented in standard definition:

The Making of Kill Bill (22 minutes) - A decent feature with Tarantino and some of the cast and crew.

The 5, 6, 7, 8s Musical Performances (6 minutes) - Two songs from the band featured in the film.

Trailers - Six trailers for Tarantino's films.

As I said at the start of this review, Kill Bill is so good that I'm close to tears within three minutes. It's full of action and thrills, good music, and some of the funniest dialogue I have ever heard. I find myself watching both parts more than anything else in my collection and love every moment each time I give it a spin. It's guaranteed to make me grin for four hours. If you like action and intelligent humor, I challenge you to name a better movie.

Overall score 5/5

I agree with everything here. Back in the day, I was also concerned about the blood 'n guts, but the story and the film's craftsmanship kept me coming back for more.

[SquidPuppet]

Originally Posted by Foggy

I'm not posting my review until someone has had a guess at what the blind-buy was

[Show spoiler]

[Al_The_Strange]

“Hots Shots! Part Deux”

Pretty much the same as the first film (…Part Un?! ). More goofy slapstick, more silly action, more sight gags and ridiculous dialogue, same characters and actors, same directors, same producers, same title (save for the “Part Deux”), same studio, and even the same DVD case (what’s up with that?!).

This time around, the movie cuts through the BS and gets straight to the butt-kicking. It’s got quite a steady flow, with frequent action and comedy, and only a slight amount of romance and drama (which doesn’t really get in the way like it does in the first film). This time around, the movie primarily targets “Rambo” II and III, alongside with references to “T2,” “Star Wars,” “Apocalypse Now,” and a bunch of other stuff. Yep, it’s a fun ride.

The story for this is kinda similar to the first movie. As a sequel, it doesn’t really add much to the first film; the two could stand on their own individually. Both films deal with a troubled character entering some kind of combat and resolving some inner struggle (actually, that could describe a lot of films ). In this case, I think the story has better structure than its predecessor (probably because there’s an actual mission for the whole movie, providing a constant source of conflict). Characters are pretty much the same as before. But in the end, it’s the comedy that matters, and it’s pretty good most of the time.

As a product of the early 90s, in the time of the Gulf War, this will probably be one of those movies that come around once and will never have an equal. In this day and age, poking fun at Sadam Hussein (and many foreigners in general) doesn’t seem kosher anymore, and today’s audience will likely take offense to the film’s gung-ho attitude about warring and defeating him. There is a bit of a Republican edge to this film, which probably won’t sit right with certain people.

If you can manage it though, you will be gloriously treated with average photography and mediocre editing. Acting and writing is every bit as silly as they should be. Production value is a little cheap. Music is whatever.

Once again, they added goodies to the credits. Expect to see trivia, puzzle solutions, people not even in the movie, and a pop quiz at the very very end. A voice also informed me that it was filmed in front of a live studio audience. Awesome. Now why can’t more movies have credits like this?!

3.5/5 (entertainment: 3.5/5, story: 3.5/5, film: 3.5/5)

Recommendation: As a rental.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

"Hobo With a Shotgun?" .

No, but I did come very close to picking that one up

Originally Posted by SquidPuppet

[Show spoiler]

Super

When it came down to this or Limitless, it all came on to one goddamn factor...

"Far Better Than Kick-Ass"

Oh hell no, this film didn't go there. It's like it was intentionally teasing me, it's like the company single handed decided to get me to buy it, better than Kick-Ass, I'll be the judge of that...

So either way, I'd either had wasted £9, or I'd wasted £18 on my Kick-Ass steelbook I got a year ago...

[Show spoiler]£9 down the crapper

Once the film had finished, there was one thought going through my mind..., parts of it are very good, parts of it are very moving, and parts of it are very daft. But that's it's biggest problem, it's only partly funny, or partly dramatic, or partly daft, it never pushes anything the whole way, which Kick-Ass did, it was very funny, very daft, and sometimes very moving, becoming a very good film, while Super is only partly a good film.

I don't know how the review sounds, whether it sounds fair or biased towards Kick-Ass but I did want this to be a very good film, I was really pushing myself to enjoy it, I think the part it lost me however was early on...

This might be a spoiler, but I've got to spoil it to get my point across, our main character has a vision that God and The Holy Avenger (Nathan Fillion, in case you one of the few people who are having withdrawals of him after watching Firefly 500 times) telling him to become this superhero...the twist, the vision is influenced by Henti porn...WHY?!?!

And every time it starts to pull me back, more weird vision stuff takes me out, like his puke telling him what to do

And now I understand why this is a limited release film, it's relentlessly twisted (which is at least the one thing I really love about the film), surreal, and tries very hard to get the extremes of seriousness and comedy combined, which it quasi-succeeds at.

It's strange how damn effective the film is, yet ultimately flops in it's end product. I care what happens to the characters, and what usually happens shocks, the ending is very bitter sweet, but deserved and very realistic approach (and the film gets the realism in the right place).

I guess when it all comes to solidification, the one thing that I can really see about the film dragging it down is just the lack of The Crimson Bolt and Boltie, when you watch it, you want more of this superhero mayhem you come to expect from this genre now. If that sounds fine to you then I guess you'll like the film, and suspect this might grow on me, since the way it was advertised was very backwards. But at the moment, I rate it a very very kind...

8/10

I very much expected more from a film that has little wrong, hence the rating.

PQ - This was done from G2 entertainment, which I suspect is there first major release (which isn't all that major) but they pulled a nice job here, the film has a very dull, washed out colour to go with the sort of hopeless feel of the film, but every now and again, amateurish comic book colours flash onto screen, and goddamn I nearly got a epileptic fit from the opening credits - 8.5/10

AQ - Surprising loud, I had to turn my the volume right down when the score got loud, sad news is that id doesn't have a lot to boast about besides the brilliant climactic assault, and the soundtrack is filled full of pretty bad songs - 7.5/10

[Lepidopterous]

Smiles of a Summer Night (Sommarnattens Leende)

My wife may cheat on me, but if anyone touches my mistress, I become a tiger!

As it turns out, Ingmar Bergman can make a comedy. And this is one lovely, brilliantly constructed film. At first glance, Smiles of a Summer Night seemed outside my comedic palate, but I adored every moment of it. The comedy in the film is a product of the contrasting personalities of each character clashing with one another. It is as if Bergman tuned each character's compatibility with one another to maximize the comic chemistry were they to all be present in the same room. Each character retains both endearing and dishonest qualities, so that by the end of the film, it's hard to decide who to root for and who should get what's coming to them. Either way, it's one big game of love that is hilarious from every angle. Bergman made the film charming enough to sympathize with them and ridiculous enough to criticize them, all while painting an honest portrait of how chaotic love can be. From their interactions to subtle facial expressions, the quality cast and superb script make Smiles of a Summer Night thoroughly entertaining. It is not one of the director's best, but it is certainly my second favorite film of his, next to Persona. Pure amusement from start to finish and very highly recommended.

4.5/5

Note: Available for streaming on Hulu Plus. It was available on Netflix streaming up until a few weeks ago, and now that the B&N Criterion sale is over, perhaps a hard copy rental might be the way to go for those that do not have a Hulu Plus subscription.

[Steve46]

There's a good Miyazaki feature by Empire.

[Al_The_Strange]

Next greatest blind-buy: “The Double Life of Veronique.”

Maybe you’ve seen me discussing it in other reviews, but I do find duality within and among characters interesting. “TDLoV” should naturally spark some interest, watching a pair of identical strangers sharing a bond that cuts across multiple countries. Heck, such a concept plays heavily into one of my favorite Japanese anime shows, “Noir,” and perhaps to a larger extent, a strange show called “Madlax.” It’s also been internalized in “Black Swan.” So once I heard that “TDLoV” was an influence on “BS,” and upon seeing the theme of duality, I was intrigued.

Well, I figured it wouldn’t have as much crazy gunfighting and swordplay as “Noir” or “Madlax,” and none of the freakiness of “Black Swan.” In fact, “TDLoV” is far less eventful than I hoped it would be. It does have a solid, mesmerizing pace. It does have interesting imagery, quality performances, and some real-looking locales. It does have its share of thought-provoking shots and dialogue. However, I found the film a little too loose, and perhaps a little too slow, for my taste.

The story is probably what disappoints me the most. I won’t deny that the film has quality characters; it’s hard not to like Veronique (or is it Weronika?! ). The story itself has an interesting premise, and an okay structure. It just meanders too much from one random scene to the next, with no real sense of progression, build-up, and most frustratingly, conflict. Any sense of mystery never really hit me until the last half-hour or so, and even then, I’m not sure what manner of conclusion this film really reaches.

For what it’s worth though, the film is of exceptional quality, with excellent photography and editing. There’s enough green and yellow tinting here to put “The Matrix” and “Swordfish” to shame; the color schemes are phenomenal. Acting is perfect, and the writing shows some strong moments. Production value looks tight, with plenty of real-looking sets, props, costumes, and locales. There’s barely any music in this film, but all the singing sounds lovely.

4/5 (entertainment: 3/5, story: 3/5, film: 5/5) I guess that means I like it. I probably would have enjoyed it more with more conflict.

Recommendation: See it at least once, see what you think.

This Blu-Ray looks awesomely sharp and detailed, with strong colors and contrast. Sound quality seems really good.

PQ: 5/5, AQ: 5/5