Month: August 2013

LFM Reviews The Newly Restored Enter the Dragon @ BAM Cinematek’s Wing Chun Classic Film Series

By Joe Bendel. It is the first true martial arts film selected for the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry. Bruce Lee’s first Hollywood star vehicle and his final fully completed film represents kung fu cinema at its most cross-overiest, yet it is still legit to the bone. In honor of Ip Man and Wong Kar Wai’s The Grandmaster, Bruce Lee & director Robert Clouse’s Enter the Dragon begins a week of restored DCP screenings today, as part of BAM Cinematek’s Wing Chun classic film series.

Lee’s namesake is a Hong Kong Shaolin standard bearer knocking on the door of complete martial arts enlightenment. While glory in the ring hardly interests him, he agrees to compete in the triannual martial arts tournament sponsored by Han, an international vice lord and general megalomaniac. Sent in by British Intelligence sans back-up, Lee is to reconnoiter around Han’s pleasure palace and hopefully fight his way out of any trouble he might encounter. It is not much of a plan, but it will suffice.

The stakes turn out to be unexpectedly personal for Lee. Shortly before embarking, he learns Han’s thugs were responsible for the death of his sister, Su Lin. As one might expect of Lee’s kin, she put up a heck of a fight. Han’s chief enforcer O’Hara still bears his scars from the encounter. He is due for some more pain. However, Lee will meet some friendly Americans en route, such as the well heeled Roper, who is looking to hustle some action to pay off his gambling debts, like a kung fu Fast Eddie Felson. In contrast, Roper’s former Army buddy Williams seems more interested in hedonistic pleasures supplied nightly to the fighters.

Enter might not sound earthshakingly original, but that is partly a function of how widely imitated it has been, especially the iconic hall of mirrors climax. Scores of movies have copied its general template of the ostensibly upright kumite going on above ground, while armies of henchmen in color-coded gis labor towards nefarious ends below. Without it, there is no way we would have guilty pleasures like the Steve Chase beatdown, Kill and Kill Again, which is a thoroughly depressing thought to contemplate.

All the elements come together, but there is still no question this is Lee’s show. Almost supernaturally intense and charismatic, Lee was clearly at the peak of his powers throughout Enter. It is a massively physical performance (featuring some impressive acrobatic feats), yet Lee still takes care to convey the philosophical side of Wing Chun. The restored print includes more scenes of Lee as a spiritual teacher that work quite well.

Even with Lee’s overpowering presence, Enter is the film that really put Jim “Black Belt Jones” Kelly on the map. As Williams, he contributes attitude and energy that further distinguished Enter from its genre predecessors. In fact, the cast is loaded with notables, including John Saxon, hamming it up with relish as Roper. Fans often wonder why so little was subsequently heard of Betty Chung, but she has some nice rapport with Lee as Mei Ling, a fellow undercover operative.

There are also plenty of established and future action stars, most notably Angela Mao absolutely crushing Su Lin’s brief but pivotal flashback scene. Bolo Yeung also appears in exactly the sort of role that would make him famous. Sammo Hung has a briefer turn as a Shaolin martial artist who fairs poorly against Lee—but not nearly as badly as blink-and-you-missed-him Jackie Chan, whose meat-for-the-grinder henchman gets his neck snapped by our hero.

But wait there’s more, including a classic funky eastern fusion soundtrack by Lalo Schifrin that opened up a lot of ears up to the Argentinean composer and former Dizzy Gillespie sideman. Without question, this is a historically and culturally significant film, well worthy of being selected for the National Film Registry. Logically, it anchors BAM’s Wing Chun series in honor of Lee’s revered master, Ip Man. Highly recommended beyond martial arts enthusiasts, Enter the Dragon begins a week long run (8/30-9/5) today at the BAM Rose Cinemas.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on August 30th, 2013 at 1:24pm.

Wargames: LFM Reviews I Declare War

By Joe Bendel. War—what is it good for? At least it gets these brats out of the house. That will be a blessing for their parents. Unfortunately, the youngsters will have to endure the ridiculously simplistic tactics of allegorical cinema in Jason Lapeyre & Robert Wilson’s I Declare War, which opens today at the Alamo Drafthouse Yonkers.

Completely free of adult supervision, a group of kids play regular capture the flag war games in the forest near their exurban homes. PK is a young war movie junkie who has always commanded his troops to victory. He finally thinks he has met a worthy opponent in Quinn, who clearly shares PK’s understanding of military strategy, until the promising general is fragged by his own troops. Having captured PK’s best friend Kwon, the resentful Skinner is not about to squander an opportunity for some score-settling.

Initially, we see the kids trudging about with crude makeshift stick-and-twine guns, but soon they are replaced with very real looking assault weaponry. They sound like the real deal too, but no actual blood is shed during their skirmishes, aside from their grenades (balloons filled with red paint). However, there is nothing imaginary about the pain Skinner inflicts on Kwon.

Yes, it is jarring to watch young kids toting assault rifles and blasting away at each other, allowing fantasies to intrude on ostensive reality, but after half an hour or so, we just so get the point already. Frustratingly, the film does not really have anything left in reserve after these initial shocks. Arguably, it might have been a more engaging film if Lapeyre and Wilson had embraced the story of a truly epic capture the flag contest rather than tried to remake Lord of the Flies again.

To their credit, Declare’s young ensemble is completely credible and fully committed to their roles. On the downside, their characters are never very well fleshed out. Basically, we have PK, the slight of stature general with a Napoleon complex, Kwon, the loyal best friend, their resentful loser nemesis, as well as the scheming chick, the annoying kid, the other annoying kid, and the other other annoying kid.

Declare is a compelling example of detailed world building at the child’s eye level. It sort of resembles what it might look like if Full Metal Jacket broke out in the middle of Moonrise Kingdom. Despite the strength of its ground game, the film is still saddled by the clunkiness of its teaching moments and the blandness of most of its characters. For those intrigued by the provocative imagery, I Declare War opens today (8/30) at select Alamo Drafthouses nationwide, including Yonkers in New York and Littleton in Colorado.

LFM GRADE: C

Posted on August 30th, 2013 at 1:21pm.

Crows and the Great Cycle of Life: LFM Reviews Tokyo Waka

By Joe Bendel. They love their kaiju monster movies in Japan. Perhaps that has prepared Tokyo to live with the aggressive, non-indigenous Jungle Crows that have made themselves at home there in recent years amongst the tall buildings. Japan’s Buddhist and Shinto traditions also help residents find a balance with their winged neighbors. The mega-city’s people and crows inspire John Haptas & Kristine Samuelson’s docu-essay Tokyo Waka, which opens today at New York’s Film Forum.

Crows have long played a role in Japanese culture. Evidently, loud speakers still broadcast a time-honored tune at 5:00, warning children at play it is time to go home with the crows. A recurring figure in art and legend, a crow is even the mascot of the national football (soccer) team. However, these transplants are a crow of a different order. Known to whisk away small mammals, they have forced Tokyo zookeepers to erect protective barriers for their prairie dogs (seriously). They have even been known to take a peck at humans whom they don’t like the looks of.

Although Waka is generally meditative in tone, some of the crow footage is kind of creepy. Haptas and Samuelson speak to residents of all walks of life, who are forced to interact with the black birds. Not surprisingly, some of the most insightful comments come from a Buddhist priest, whose temple goldfish fell victim to one of the brazen crows. He never begrudges them for following their nature. After all, it is all part of the great cycle of life.

We also hear from zoologists, city bureaucrats charged with crow population control, and students who have survived crow attacks. Together they piece together a mosaic of Tokyo. Even with the risk of angry crows, it is an attractively cinematic picture (lovely shot by Haptas and Samuelson), incorporating Shinto shrines and the giant commercial neon signs. The homeless woman representing tent dwellers in the park is a good case in point. While surely there are unfortunate economic reasons for her situation, she seems to have partly embraced the Bohemian aspects of it. Indeed, making the most of a difficult situation is arguably quite compatible with Buddhist and Japanese values.

Quiet and thoughtful, Tokyo Waka is still rather peppier than one might expect. Co-directors-producers-cinematographers-editors Haptas and Samuelson capture some striking images of the city and its crows. Stylistically, it is not unlike Jessica Oreck’s Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, though it does not have quite the same charm. Running just a tad over an hour, it is certainly easy to digest. Recommended for students of Japanese culture and bird watchers, Tokyo Waka opens today (8/28) at Film Forum, programmed with the bonus short film, Catcam.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on August 28th, 2013 at 12:46pm.

LFM’s Govindini Murty Talks Ben Affleck as Batman @ HuffPost Live

LFM’s Govindini Murty participated in a HuffPost Live segment yesterday on the subject of Warner Brothers’ announcement that Ben Affleck will be playing Batman in the forthcoming Man of Steel sequel.

Our thanks to the HuffPost Live team for inviting Govindini to participate.

Posted on August 27th, 2013 at 9:22am.

Lifetime Employment: LFM Reviews A Company Man; Now Available on Blu-ray/DVD

By Joe Bendel. Contract killing is one of the few recession-proof industries. Given the illusive nature of our economic recovery, it probably won’t be long before the administration starts doing photo ops with Company Man‘s Assassination Bureau. At least murder-for-hire is still illegal in Korea, but it is a tough racket to quit. On the plus side, there will be a whole lot of openings at Ji Hyeong-do’s firm by the time he finishes resigning in Lim Sang-yun’s A Company Man (trailer here), which releases on digital, DVD, and Blu-ray today, from Well Go USA.

Ji is on the fast track. His people skills are not great, but he has other talents the firm’s president values highly. His upward career trajectory will hit a few speed bumps when two rather messy assignments start gnawing at his conscience. First, Ji must dispose of Ra-hun, a young “temp” who thought he was in the management trainee program, after the kid caps a sensitive target. To make matters worse, Ra-hun’s struggling single mother happens to be Yoo Mi-yeon, the one-hit wonder teen idol Ji always had warm fuzzy feelings for.

As Ji starts looking after Yoo and her teen-aged daughter, the president tasks him with “taking care” of Jin Chae-hook, his former superior who has gone AWOL after the accidental death of his son. Suddenly Jin has a lot to say to Ji, which he does not want to hear, even though he more or less knows it all already. Wanting to start a new life with Yoo, Ji decides to resign from the firm. Right, good luck with that.

From "A Company Man."

Yes, the corporate hitman-gangster thing has become a pretty shopworn movie cliché in the post-Sopranos era. Lim adds little insight into either the world of the salaryman or the contract killer. However, he racks up quite an impressive body count. While the middle gets a little draggy as Ji slowly starts putting the moves on Yoo, the set-up is smooth and grabby and the third act delivers in spades. Company was a monster hit at the Korean boxoffice, so you know you can take happily-ever-after off the table. Popular Korean audiences just seem to dig a bit of tragedy. Nevertheless, the big climax well exceeds viewer expectations with a massive dose of violent action. It is not exactly John Woo’s Hard-Boiled, but it provides a good, stiff fix for genre fans.

As Ji, Rough Cut star So Ji-sub moves like a shark through his action scenes and broods like he really means business. Lee Mi-yeon nicely counterbalances the regiment of jaded sociopaths as the effervescent, but not overly perky Yoo. Amid all the dark suits, Kwak Do-won also makes an effectively loathsome villain as the firm’s petty. micro-managing second in command.

Viewers in a hurry can probably get away with watching the first ten minutes of Company and then fast forwarding to the last half hour. Indeed, when Lim fully unleashes the mayhem it is kind of awesome. A safe bet recommendation for action fans, A Company Man is now available for home viewing options from Well Go USA.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on August 27th, 2013 at 9:18am.

A Shy, Quiet Brand of Urban Fantasy: LFM Reviews Abigail Harm

By Joe Bendel. Visitors come to New York from nearly everywhere, perhaps even including the fairy realm, or some such place. One mousy New Yorker will open her home and perhaps her heart to a decidedly foreign visitor when the Korean fable of the Woodcutter and the Nymph (that shares common elements with the Swan Maiden and Selkie myths) gets a quietly modern makeover in Lee Isaac Chung’s Abigail Harm, opening this Friday in New York.

Shy and retiring, Abigail Harm reads to the blind because she does not like to be seen. Her garrulous father was also a storyteller, but her relationship to the old man was complicated in ways we will never understand. One fateful night, she shelters a strange fugitive, who seems to believe he is a mystical being trapped in our world because someone stole his robe. To thank Harm, he gives her directions on where to similarly entrap one of his fellow visitors, who will become her faithful lover as long as she keeps his stolen garment in her possession.

While Harm is ordinarily quite taciturn, she is rather talkative compared to the strange visitor she ensnares. Yet, a romantic relationship duly develops between them. Nonetheless, questions regarding the sustainability and legitimacy of it all seem to nag at Harm’s subconscious.

Born to play misfits, Amanda Plummer (who is currently appearing on the New York stage in an excellent staging of Tennessee Williams’ eerie Two Character Play) suggests a lifetime of angst and insecurity without revealing any of Harm’s secrets. She stirs viewer empathy, but subtly suggests there is something damaged and maybe a little bit off about her.

From "Abigail Harm."

As her visitor, Tetsuo Kuramochi expresses much without dialogue, but his character still largely remains a cipher during the course of the film. However, Will Patton makes the most of his brief appearance as Harm’s agitated visitor, giving the film its most substantial jolt of energy, as well as performing the narration, which elegantly evokes a sense of once-upon-a-time.

There is no getting around the film’s deliberately paced artiness and its defiantly unsatisfying third act. Nonetheless, it remains one of the smartest urban fantasies of the year. It gracefully hints at cosmic goings on, lurking in plain sight on the streets and subways we use every day (the Union Square station, in this case), without cribbing the adolescent melodrama of the Buffy and Twilight franchises. Adults will find it a welcome antidote to Mortal Instruments and similar copies of copies.

Although it is headed to a very different destination, Abigail Harm would be an appropriate companion film to John Sayles’ Secret of Roan Inish. Strangely, it is also thematically compatible with The Two Character Play, a surreal two-hander about alienation and confinement. Recommended for those who appreciate more demanding manifestations of the fantastic, Abigail Harm opens this Friday (8/30) in New York at the Quad Cinema.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on August 26th, 2013 at 12:44pm.