Word: film
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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This exchange, though brief, aptly summarizes the overall experience of watching this film. It begins with high hopes for artistry and authority, makes plodding steps toward achieving these goals, and remains largely unsuccessful. The audience patiently grants the film time to develop, but instead of maturing, the plot slowly abandons its attempts at greatness and withers. The film succeeds in its early attempts to satirize the modern art world, but soon grows convoluted and unnecessarily dark, much like 2006’s indie house failure “Art School Confidential...
...film benefits from a few genuinely thought-provoking discussions of modern art. One scene raises the question of artists who challenge current artistic conventions but remain unpopular—are they true visionaries, or do they simply lack creative talent? At a swanky dinner party early in the film, one guest whispers to another that an under-appreciated artist lacks a following because he is “ahead of his time.” Looking skeptical, the other guest quietly replies, “But what if time never catches up?” These moments, if somewhat exceedingly...
...recalling the abrasive and bizarre soundtrack of a Paul Thomas Anderson movie but without Anderson’s artistic discretion. The film’s surprising turn toward a dark and haunting ending, as typified by a grotesque and unexpected murder scene, also proves jarring and unnecessary. If this film were an artistic hopeful, it would probably do well to accept its limited talents, give up its dream, and get a real occupation...
...When a film is rated R by the MPAA due to “intense sequences of epic warfare,” it’s difficult not to be intrigued, if not excited. And “Red Cliff”—an amalgam of “300,” “Lord of the Rings,” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”—certainly lives up to these expectations. With grandiose battle sequences, crisp and masterful cinematography, and an endless showcase of the beautiful Chinese...
...legendary Chinese film director with an impressive repertoire, has been in Hollywood for the past 17 years. In 1992, he emigrated to the U.S. to take L.A. by storm. Blockbusters like “Mission: Impossible 2,” “Face/Off,” and “Windtalkers” brought Woo a degree of fame that even his early success in China could not have predicted. After establishing himself as a prominent Hong Kong director with gritty films such as “Hard Boiled” and “A Better Tomorrow...