coreguy Reviews

Awake (2007)

Way above my expectation

[7/10 · 17 February 2008]

I am wondering why my rate on this flick is quite off the average. IMO it's a good thriller. Gripping, tense, and with a well-designed story.

The movie starts with a brief introduction on the background. Handsome guy Clayton Beresford Jr. (Hayden Christensen) is a successful entrepreneur who has all but a strong heart. Hiding from his mother, He has an underground relationship with her secretary Samantha Lockwood(Jessica Alba). He also shows total trust on his friend Jack Harper for the upcoming heart transplant operation, even refusing his mother's recommendation. Soon after he impulsively marries Sam,the operation takes place.

The process of operation is well designed. Here the director uses a symptom called "anesthetic awareness" as the basis for two-line plot development. One is the operation, the doctors and how the conspiracy is performed. The other is Clay's consciousness. He actually knows what is going on and trying hard to explore the memory on the edge of death. Quite a lot of clues in the past get proper explanation. The "success" of the immoral plan(it made me sick) leads the movie to the climax. Clay's mother digs out the well-hidden dangerous fact and then starts taking action...

For the story design, "Anesthetic awareness" is a smart setting in this movie, creating two plot lines and equipping the movie with gripping and tense atmosphere, through the role of embodying the intensive brain activity of a silent and paralyzed patient: black-out presents the gradually weakening awareness, the talk with his mother presents the deepest excavation of his memory concerning father's death etc.

Another point worthy to note is the organizing of clues. This movie contains many clues, almost all of which have counterpart explanation, leaving an impression of being logical, despite of some factual errors (Medical science specified, I didn't realize until referring the goof column). Yes, thriller movie really needs logic.

Just some thought about the movie. Overall it should be recommended to anyone who loves thriller. Like Hitchcock? A little, but easy clues in the movie reveal too much, weakening the feeling of Alfred's work. LOL.

Off-beat: Indeed, I think the scene that WET Jessica Alba kisses with lucky hayden lasts too short. >_<

Yoru no Shanghai (2007)

The Shanghai version of "Lost in Translation" ?

[7/10 · 9 July 2007]

Mizushima(Masahiro Motoki) , a famous cosmetician, went to Shanghai with his team for a music fiesta's make-up work. After duty, he took a stroll in the street but soon found got lost. Then a small accident introduced Lin Yi (Zhaowei) to him. They stayed together for a whole night....Finally, Mizushima had a better understanding in himself and the relationship with his girlfriend/assistant Minosan (Naomi Nishida), eliminating his perplexity about the life.

This movie's title is "The Longest Night in Shanghai". Just in this night, everyone of Mizushima's team had found something valuable for his/her life. In daytime, they were all pressed tightly by heavy routine work and had no spare time to consider what has lacked in their life and where their future will be. Mizushima's occurrence had given him an opportunity to experience the life without his assistant, making him know himself better. Meanwhile, his lost also make it possible for other team members to experience a distinct night-time and show their true emotion.

I feel it's a bit like"Lost in translation". People found their missing true emotion in a brand new metropolis. So I call it the Shanghai version of "Lost in Translation". Nevertheless,although there is a suspicion of imitation, it is still worth a rating vote of 7 and recommendation owing to its entertaining plot and script, and cast's performance.

Cherry Crush (2007)

Stereotype plot, plain story but contains some new stuff

[5/10 · 3 July 2007]

Sex, money, desire, crime…all these “necessary” elements combine using an old plot: story of a freaky photographer and a sexy girl. He takes her as his model and sex companion while she takes him as her tool for getting money.

The process is also plain and stereotype: They get acquainted. The girl tells a lie. The man trusts her and don’t know he is already trapped. Then the climax: They mistakenly kill someone,who is just the girl wanna murder in her plan. Her scheme makes the man really involve in the affair because of the photos he takes on the spot of case, and the tracks he leaves. Under the investigation, his character of indecisive and maybe some love for that girl keep him from telling all clues out. So, he bogs deeper and deeper…at last, his life is ruined. um.hum,nothing particular, isn’t it? Many crime flicks about “Photograph” act like this.

Bad side is over, now turn to the good side. Firstly, The leading cast is a highlight. Nikki Reed and Julie Gonzalo especially. Shay Bettencourt’s wildness and sexiness, and Desiree Thomas’s lawyer-like appearance are impressive. Worthy to mention, Some dialogs are interesting, like the discussion between Wade Chandling and Jordan Wells about the lawyer.

Secondly, I probably realize that the director may wanna show something under the plain story: a topic about scripted life designed by the family and an own life made by oneself. At the end of the flick, the main role loses his scripted life and have to escape but maybe it’s actually a good ending for him since he is not suitable for a lawyer career? Deep thought may survives this movie.

Ghost Rider (2007)

Original story is exciting but the movie is lackluster

[5/10 · 24 May 2007]

Friends around the world who love American Comic and their derived movies, after watching this title, you will realize why providing the fact that all the comics are exciting, their movie productions get distinct reputation: Spiderman is "epic-class", Fantasy 4 is "Blockbuster" , but Ghost Rider is only "lackluster" and even not worthy of a piece of movie ticket according to some comments here.

What makes the differences? The Actor and Actress? No. Nick Cage fits the role perfectly. His face keeps telling us the pain in the heart. Eva Mendes is sexy enough for a hero's girl. The Scene? No. I have to admit once ghost rider appears, I wrote some exclamation marks in my head. I have never seen such a cool skull before.

The Answer is : This movie doesn't give the character of figure enough depiction. You will feel that this story is only a "Marvelous story". A super-power hero story with a final fight in the end. But where is the figure's character? what drives him to fight? Fight for what? For example, The former ghost rider told JB that love can make a ghost rider invincible and powerful. But the final battle with Blackheart didn't reflect this important "theory", not at least a little. The scene is: JB was pulled down by blackheart. Roxanne Simpson picked up the gun and shot blackheart to give JB enough time to recover. Then she threw the gun to JB. JB fire-lized the gun and gave the blackheart a big shot. At last, JB used his "special skill"(penance stare) to make all the souls in the blackheart burning. Story ended. Where is love?

In the end, Devil would like to retract JB's power. JB refused and swore to use the power for justice. But How did he form this thought? The movie didn't tell....

Still many flaws to find. Totally, this title is not good enough. If there is a successor, hope it will be better.

Death Note: The Last Name (2006)

I gave 9 points for both episodes.

[7/10 · 3 March 2007]

Today I have spent 4 hours watching two episodes in a row.

The director has done a very good job on depicting the "hidden" war between L and Light, more important and valuable, their respective character and mission in this event:

Light: For "justice" narrowly defined by himself, play hard using the death note, even at the cost of his girlfriend and father. "Sacrifice anyone who is needed" , What he said has fully revealed that finally he became a real criminal.

L : Insisting on his intuition and willing to sacrifice himself for the justice.

About the Actors. The performances of Tatsuya Fujiwara and Ken'ichi Matsuyama are persuasive, tally with their characters.

Nice movies. I was not a DEATH-NOTE manga reader/fan before. but now kinda of...