Red

Red
USA (2010)
Starring:  Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman

Red is an acronym in this movie for Retired, Extremely, Dangerous.  It fits the title.  Frank Moses, a retired CIA agent is beginning to find a peaceful life.  From the picture perfect house to decorating for the holidays Frank continues to find new amusements to ease his retirement blues.  Included in his daily diversions are long conversations with Sarah.  Forced from retirement Frank goes to save Sarah from being the target of the same people who are trying to kill him.  From there the comedy in the movie just grows.

Red is about a group of super bad-ass retired CIA agents getting back together for a cause.  They come replete with aching backs and a madness driven by boredom.  The topic is amusing to me in thought, it's akin to a superheroes rolling in wheelchairs out of a retirement home.

All in all it was a fun little movie.

Delhi 6

Delhi-6
India (2009)
Starring:  Waheeda Rehman, Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor

Roshan was born to a Muslim mother and a Hindi father.  He was raised in America and when his grandmother takes ill he is the only one that is willing to travel back to the city the family came from.  He willingly thrusts himself into a world where he placed between two major religions, a culture unlike any he has ever dreamed of, beliefs and customs that people are willing to die to defend, and a black monkey.  As he discovers the roots of his family, meets his parents old friends, and his family's oldest supporters Roshan's life completely changes the more he is immersed in his new world.

This movie depicts culture shock in a wonderful light.  It partially shows the edges of the boundaries that different religions, castes, races, and cultures create simply by being.  It's full of good humor, song, dance, and of course a Bollywood love story - but, it also has a bit of racial and religious clashing.  In the arena of Bollywood movies I found Delhi-6 a good one; finally a movie where I didn't feel like I wasted my time for the first time in a week!

Loong Boonmee raleuk chat - Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

 

Loong Boonmee raleuk chat - Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
Thailand (2010)
Starring:  Thanapat Saisaymar, Jenjira Pongpas, and Sakda Kaewbuadee
Awards:  2011 Best Film (Asian Film Awards), 2010 Palme d'Or (Cannes Film Festival), 2010 TFCA Award (Toronto Film Critics Association Awards)

Ok, so generally I see that a movie which carries a generally accepted set of genre tags such as comedy, drama, and fantasy and then the awards that were won along with a few other nominations and I think, "wow that might be a good movie.  To get such attention from everyone this one at least has some potential."

I don't know if it was that I couldn't identify the title with the occurrences within this movie or if it was a cross between the ghost, the monkey spirit, the guy who mated with the monkey spirit, or the catfish god having sex with a princess. . . but, this movie didn't really impress me.  

Alien vs Ninja

Alien vs. Ninja
Japan (2010)
Starring:  Mika Hijii, Ben Hiura, and Shuji Kashiwabara

This came around in the San Diego Asian Film Festival last year and I was bummed that I didn't see it.  I spent months looking for it and finally Netflix put it on streaming.  For all of the time that I spent looking for this movie it wasn't worth the wait.  With that said, if you feel like watching a mindless flick with a little gore and some funny but off kilter humor it's worthwhile.

All in all you can make the decision.  I watched it once, but I won't watch it twice. Mika herself was more worth watching in the movie then the movie itself. . .

San kei hap lui - Mr and Mrs Incredible

San kei hap lui - Mr and Mrs Incredible
Hong Kong (2011)
Starring:  Louis Koo, Sandra Ng, Kwan Yue, and Chapman To

Mr and Mrs Incredible is a funny comedy that had me giggling all the way though.  The story is based on two married superheroes who retire forcing them to deal with some of life's finer points.  From arguments and health issues to acting normal and dealing with small town gossip this couple is plagued by the issues that come with being married for years.  From fertility to infidelity the comical bickering and bantering  was funny all the way through this movie.

Gazer Warrior and Aroma Woman are an inseparable duo that struggle to conceal their super powers and former identities from their friends during retirement.  They are successful, albeit barely, for a good while till trouble comes into their lives again. . .  Yes the silliness in the movie matches their superhero names.

All in all the film was kind of silly, kind of funny, and not super unique.  Foreign superhero movies interest me because they require quite a bit of imagination; I'm curious what types of situations and superhero powers other cultures can dream up.  From that perspective this movie was okay.   With that said, if one were to take Mr and Mrs Smith and cross them with the Incredibles, send them back in time about 900 years the result would be Mr and Mrs Incredible.  This movie really was an Asian fusion of those two movies.  If you youtube the actual trailer it will prove that point in about 30 seconds, though strangely enough the trailer is made with zero percent of the film footage.  It was still worth it just for the giggles.  Not to mention who doesn't like a superhero movie?

Quote:  Drunk carriage driving will be fined 2 dollars, serve six months suspension, and the horse will be confiscated.

Aladin

Aladin
India - Bollywood
2009
Starring:  Ritesh Deshmukh, Jaqueline Fernandes, Amitabh Bachchan, and Sanjay Dutt

I can not express how insanely happy it made me to find this movie.  There are just certain stories that always capture my interest, Aladin and the Genie have been one of them for almost 30 years.

The story has little new to it, but it comes from close to the land of the original tale and so from that perspective it is new enough.  This story begins with Aladin hiding from his heritage.  Through a strange twist of fate he ends up with the magical lamp and from it summons Genius.  Aladin can not conceive of three wishes and is prodded by Genius who is eager to get the three wishes over with and go about his way.

This movie has the comedy, the love story, the Bollywood dance, a cultural overlay, magic, carnies, a genie, and some interesting visual effects.  Oh, there is this funny song that you have to hear.  There's a Genie rap in the movie that cracks me up, I wish I understood the Hindi part - but, that might take some of the humor away.  All in all I was happy to see the movie and at just over two hours the time was much better for this story then the typical near 3 hour epics that Bollywood produces.

Quote:

Strigoi

Strigoi
UK
2009
Starring: Constantin Barbulescu, camelia Maxim, and Catalin Paraschiv

I have to give it up for originality.  I was expecting something that didn't wow me too much, something that wasn't really exceptional, and that is exactly what I got.  I actually thought it was a Romanian movie till I did the research on it.  With that said, it is a vampire movie and maybe it's vampire lore somewhere that they behave in the manner depicted in the movie.  If not then these vampires are completely different then those I've grown old with on film.  There is some humor in this movie that's kinda funny.  There are also a lot of things that just don't seem to connect properly, but hey I still gave it the length of the movie.  It was enjoyable on some level, and probably what I'd recommend as a stormy Sunday afternoon flick.

Jeon Woo-chi - The Taoist Wizard

Jeon Woo-chi
2009
South Korea
Starring:  Su-jeong Lim, Yun-seok Kim, Dong-won Kang

Jeon Woo-chi was a whole lot of fun to watch.  This movie is a fusion of fantasy, adventure, action, humor, and deities.

Jeon Woo-chi is about a wizard, Wooji, who is grand in all aspects except that of the reality painted in the movie; his character is acting inside of acting.  He is a jester, adventurer, a wizard, wise, and a prankster.  His character makes the movie.

This movie is another from South Korea that explorers time travel and integrates it into the movie.  In Jeon Woo-chi the part of the movie takes place in the distant past and part in some time that resembles our present.

The way magic is used in this movie is a new portrayal of the subject to me.  This movie uses Taoist magic consisting of charms or spells written on pieces of paper which are only good once as best as I can tell.  The use of Taoist magic is a fitting compliment to the gods that are portrayed in the movie.

I have to say I enjoy what I call outlandish outfits used in many of the period movies of South Korea.  They make me smile.

All in all I had a great time watching this movie; it was fun, a good laugh, entertaining, and presented some really unique CGI/magic.  If you're into the fantasy martial arts genre this is a movie for you.

Quote:  "I am a wizard.  What is a wizard you ask?  A ruler of the winds, a bringer of the rain on dry lands, who leaps through space and governs the world with a swift blade, but handles that sword like a gentle flower.  A wizard's duty is to aid the helpless.  The head is where all decay begins!"