Phillyist Framed Returns!
Hey Man, Can't We All Just Get Along?
Playlist Rewind: AFI at the Factory
Yo, Philly in the News
Whole Hog Is All Heart
Films: Future Screenings: Exiled: No future screenings scheduled
Paprika: No future screenings scheduled—although the film will apparently be coming out in wide-release soon
I'd like to make one thing very clear: there is nothing, I repeat, nothing romantic about Asian gangster movies. Which is why I was completely baffled by the couple sitting directly in front of me that spent more time with their tongues down each other's throats than actually watching Exiled. They couldn't even sit in the back corner like teenagers do?
Exiled
I always forget how much I like Chinese film, because I so rarely have a chance to see it. Of course, my propensity for Chinese film is usually more toward Red Firecracker, Green Firecracker than Infernal Affairs, but Exiled sounded fascinating, and after Jim's review, I decided to make sure to catch Exiled, and I'm so glad I did. The film is beautifully shot and the plot is exceptionally compelling. I was on the edge of my seat through a good part of it. Like Jim said, it's sometimes a little difficult to follow what's going on in the fight scenes: at the end of them you just kind of have to take a quick survey of who's still standing, and even then, there was at least one "bad guy" who I thought died several scenes earlier than the one in which he met his final demise. But seeing as there are very, very long (but not boring) stretches of the movie that don't have any fighting, my moments of confusion were few and far between, and I was able to sit back and enjoy the best action movie I've seen in a long time: possibly ever.
Festival rating: Very Good to Excellent
Paprika
I don't usually go in for anime. I had a rather traumatic accidental encounter with some anime porn when I was in middle school, and I think it really kind of ruined things for me. (Also, baby sis used to love her some Sailor Moon, which I hated, and I just kind of assumed that most anime was like that.) From the anime films I've made myself watch in the last few years, though, I'm beginning to think that I may have been missing out on some truly spectacular films. Paprika is one I'm especially happy I didn't miss. It's absolutely stunning to look at: several of the lush backgrounds almost look real, until you notice the animated characters walking across the frame. The plot could be a little confusing at times (I'm still not entirely sure why "Paprika" is the only alter-ego in the dream world, but saying any more than that may be spoiling the film), and the editing was sometimes dizzyingly jumpy, but the film on the whole was so lush and interesting (I love movies about dreams, too) that I just decided to accept that I might not always "get it," and instead to just sit back and enjoy. It was a good decision. Now I just want to see more movies like this one.
Festival rating: Very Good to Excellent
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I don't know that she is the only alter-ego in the dreamworld. The obese guy and his assistant both also had alter egos (or seemed to).
Listen, I know that we all look the same to you people, but Zatoichi is Japanese, not Chinese.
Tarzan: their the other dream-world alteregos seemed to actually be products of the dreams, than conscious creations. That's what I was getting at: sorry if I was unclear!
Mike V.: You're right, of course. I have no excuse for my cultural insensitivity other than the fact that I was writing the post at 2:30 in the morning and possibly a little delirious. I seem to recall there being a Chinese film with blind men fighting, but when I tried to figure it out on Google, Zatoichi was all that I could come up with, so maybe I'm just making that up. At any rate, film has been changed!