perseusathenian Reviews

Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

Vandalized the Legacy of the Amazons and the First WW Movie

[1/10 · 27 December 2020]

Remember the Diana that deflected a hail of bullets in no man's land? Remember the God Killer who took on Ares the God of War? Remember the immortal sisterhood of Amazons who were created by the gods to be ambassadors of peace in a world troubled by constant war?

If you were expecting a sequel that would show how Diana would live up to her mission and Amazonian ethics in 1984, you're in for a disappointment.

If you haven't guessed from the trailer, this version of Diana spends more time on dates and in bed with the spirit of her dead boyfriend than she does being a Wonder Woman. The movie is a messy, unrelated layout of cartoon villains, cringe plot devices, bad CG action and...too long!

Perhaps 'cartoon' is too harsh because the DC Animated Universe holds their WW to higher standard in their stories.

Steam: The Turkish Bath (1997)

This is not a movie about gays

[10/10 · 9 April 2020]

My partner and I thought we were settling down to another gay movie for our TV dinner.

On the surface, it appears to be about Francesco's repressed sexuality and unhappy marriage to Marta, an independent, career driven woman. Francesco is called to Turkey, quite reluctantly, to settle the estate of his recently deceased Italian aunt, Anita who is estranged from Francesco's mom for unknown reasons.

We follow Francesco's emotional and sexual liberation as he is drawn further into the same exotic charms of Turkey and Hamam culture that compelled Anita to stay decades earlier. Anita is not shown in any flash backs but the audience is "sees" her throughout the film through Anita's letters and fond, descriptive memories of her Turkish business associates, neighbors and the family who lived with her.

Half way through the film, you realize that Francesco wasn't the intended focus of the story when Marta makes a surprise visit and brings everything full circle.

The ending is poignant and hauntingly beautiful. Without giving too much away, the story is ultimately about Anita and the person who unexpectedly goes through the same transformation and embodies her again.

Jupiter Ascending (2015)

An Embarrassing Salad of Recycled Characters, Plots and Special FX

[1/10 · 4 June 2015]

The Wachowski siblings had wanted to create the ultimate galactic epic with the ultimate galactic villain to which their galactic Heroine and audience can rally against.

So they thought...let's write about a greedy, profit-driven, genocidal, galactic corporation operated by a dynasty of pouty lipped, alien British aristocrats who "...never cleaned a toilet".

And who better to take on the imaginary excesses of capitalism than a poor toilet cleaner who was born at sea to an illegal Russian immigrant mother.

Really, Wachowskis? Not even the wealthiest Wall street trader or Venture Capitalists have $179 million (cost of the movie) in disposable income to throw at a tech startup. Those kind of resources are exclusive to Hollywood aristocrats like the Wachowski's. Irony or ironies!

It's hard to believe that this incoherent mash-up of recycled sci-fi characters, plots, special FX and sophomoric, left-leaning social commentary is the handiwork of the same siblings who gave us something as epic and philosophical as the Matrix.

Inseparable (2011)

A Choppy Blend of Genres that tried to be 'KickAss' and then some.

[3/10 · 6 December 2013]

Daniel Wu plays a mild mannered, affluent, urban professional in Guangzhou who is faced with a few personal problems which the film generalizes as the consequence of modern China's capitalist system.

He works at a seemingly unscrupulous corporation which is rushing to market with an unsafe prosthetic product despite his objections. He is 'asked' by a supervisor to lie about the product's safety at an upcoming public securities exchange hearing. Daniel is also bypassed for a promotion which is given to the son of the company's owner.

At home, he struggles to maintain his marriage after his wife who had recently suffered the miscarriage of a deformed fetus. It is revealed later that the wife was taking folic supplements from a company that had been using fillers in their products. This part is based on a true story.

Unable to cope with these pressures, Daniel's character attempts suicide but is foiled by a mysterious, nosy expat neighbor, Kevin Spacey who has some unconventional ideas for Daniel's catharsis. They include vandalism and costumed vigilantism.

Daniel's bilingual character is unconvincing as is the washed up looking Spacey who appeared awkward and out of place. Perhaps that was intentional when we learn towards the end that Spacey's character and the version of the 'wife' who accompanied them on their escapades are not who they seem.

This was an unoriginal, choppy genre blend of 'KickAss','Breaking Bad' and some sophomoric social commentary about China's post-marxist economic boom.

Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

Damn You Hachi! You Made a Tough Guy Cry!!!

[9 July 2013]

I've been with my boyfriend, a tough guy from Queens for ten years. And in all that time, I've only seen him shed tears once. And it was at his mother's funeral.

Well, last night, some acting Dog managed to milk his tear ducts for over an hour. BUT IT WAS TOWARDS THE END that he just lost it completely, CRYING TORRENTS when it was revealed in the epilogue that the movie was based on a true story with photos of the real Hachi.

**** Possible Spoiler ******

Hachi is an Akita, an indigenous breed in Japan that were prized the Samurais and nobles for their fierce and unwavering loyalty. There is an overlooked scene in which the Richard Gere's character is chided by his Japanese colleague for not fully appreciating Hachi's noble pedigree when he (Gere) can't understand why Hachi refuses to fetch a ball for his master's amusement.

It's because Hachi is not a pet. He's a companion. This is a very important detail to look out for as it will explain Hachi's behavior when the movie takes a dramatic turn with the Richard Gere character.

A nice break from the usual fare of over the top CGI, violence, sophomoric humor.