Don’t get too excited. The Protector 2, from which the above still is derived, and which I review at RogerEbert.com, is pretty bad. And Rhatha Phongam doesn’t figure in it as prominently as she might. Phongam was last “widely” seen in these parts in Only God Forgives, so she’s due for a karmic break soon, I’d reckon.
Also in my reviewing sights this week are two films of worthy ambition that don’t quite get to where they ought: Decoding Annie Parker and Belle, the latter of which does not have any relation to an Al Green record, which is too bad.
Though I thought Christy Lemire’s review of 2 Amazing 2 Spider-Man was pretty good (although didn’t quite line up with my reaction to the film) I’d like to know what you thought of it, Glenn.
Haven’t seen it. Sorry.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOkay.
I wasn’t even invited to a screening!
I’m sorry to read so many pans of DECODING ANNIE PARKER, if only because its director, Steven Bernstein, was the DP for my all-time favorite film, Noah Baumbach’s KICKING AND SCREAMING. (He even made THE WATERBOY look good, no mean feat). Still, any film with Samantha Morton can’t be all bad. Right?
On an irrelevant note, did anyone else here see BLUE RUIN? I caught it last night and was very impressed.
Would’ve sworn I posted something here yesterday about Tony Jaa. Am I having a brain fart, or did I break a rule or something? I don’t think there was anything objectionable in the post.
@Bettencourt – saw BLUE RUIN last week and I was really impressed with it too, although I agreed with some of the critics who thought the ending disappoints. The ambiguity of the first two thirds drains away by the end, and it seems to become a pretty standard version of the revenge film it was subverting.
Without giving away too much of that ending though, there was, for me anyway, a great shot where we see a character resign himself to making a fateful decision that successfully manages to both get us to root for that character and feel defeated by all the events that had come before. And on a technical level the movie was first-rate all the way and amazingly assured for a rookie. I was left queasy and spent by the end of it.
Sorry, J. I don’t know how that comment went down a hole but I didn’t make it happen!
No worries, Glenn. It was just a little name-dropping blather about the time I was commissioned by a producer to develop (and eventually write) a remake of THE MAN FROM HONG KONG for Tony Jaa to star in (possibly to be directed by Sammo Hung). It never got off the ground though, so yeah – cool story, me. 🙂
Aw, I enjoyed RZA in The Man With The Iron Fists. Like, he wasn’t good, but his earnestness and vulnerability were really charming. It was an ingénue performance!