21 And 4 Other Movies

I've been watching (and reading) a lot of movies the past few days. I watched 21 today and almost had a coma. Here are my ratings and the review of 21.

21 F

My new worst flick ever! Based on a true story about a math genius who was persuaded by his teacher to join a group of blackjack card counters to cheat the casinos in Las Vegas. Yeah, I know, what is so exciting about card counting but with the right script and director it could be good, example: Rounders with Matt Damon and Edward Norton. Not 21 though, which I declare is nothing more than 2 hours of cliches, slo-mos, mnemonic gestures, and several wig changes by Kate Bosworth. If I had taken a shot of my homemade mango vodka each time those annoying scenes come on I would have gotten plastered after the first half hour. I waited and waited and waited for the movie to pick up its pace but after one hour nothing thrilling is happening. It's as riveting as watching paint dry. Watching bass fishing perhaps is more exciting than this movie. I got up to do something in the kitchen without pausing the player and listened to the dialog and did not miss a thing. At the ending scene when Kevin Spacey was being confronted by the security chief I uttered: come on Keyser Söze, walk out of there! This movie is definitely NOT chicken dinner worthy.:D

My rating for 3 Hong Kong and 1 French movies: All A, Highly Recommended

THE WARLORDS
Period movie, brotherhood, betrayal, ambition, lots of gore and martial arts. With Jet Li, Andy Lau, and Takeshi Kaneshiro

TOKYO RAIDERS
Asian James Bond with cool gadgets and sexy assistants, nonstop dizzying kung fu action, cheesy, comedy, romance, yakuza, the most ridiculous but entertaining chase scene with motorized skateboard and small bicycles in the chaotic streets of Tokyo. With Tony Leung and Kelly Chen

INFERNAL AFFAIRS 3
Sequel/Prequel to Infernal Affairs (remade by Hollywood as THE DEPARTED). With Tony Leung, Andy Lau, and Kelly Chen

MOLIÈRE
A fictionalized account of the "lost" 2 years of the French actor and playwright Molière's life after he got out of prison for unpaid debts. Hilarious, laugh out loud funny, beautiful cinematography and music, accurate costumes and sets for the period. Played by Romain Duris who is the lead actor in one of my favorite movies last year, THE BEAT THAT MY HEART SKIPPED, a French remake of the American movie, FINGERS.

Ghosts, Ghouls, Zombies, And A Succubus

What a way to start the new year: a book and a movie with ghosts, ghouls, zombies and a she-demon.

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW by Mike Carey A
Mike Carey is the creator of the character Constantine in his graphic novel Hellblazer which was made into a movie with Keanu Reeves as Constantine. The Devil You Know is his first novel published in 2006. The hero, Felix Cantor, a semi-retired freelance exorcist, after a botched job exorcising a demon from his best buddy, is working as a magician in birthday parties to pay his bills. That was until the day he was asked to banish a female ghost in the Bonnington Archive. He could not resist accepting it because he needs the money and gets curious when the ghost would not show herself to him. He wants to know who the ghost was and why she is haunting the archive. The story becomes a murder mystery with Eastern European mafia in the middle of it. Our hero employs a Hawaiian-shirt clad computer expert zombie, gets help from his Catholic Wiccan landlady, falls in love (lust, actually) with a succubus named Juliet (who in the movie version should be played by Angelina Jolie), and almost gets killed by the mafia. Very entertaining, excellent story and writing style. Highly recommended. I can't wait to read the sequel VICIOUS CIRCLE.

RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION B
Milla with machetes in both hands fighting superzombies! Not an intellectual film, just entertaining. I liked it!