Lazy Views

movie reviews for the truly lazy
(out of five dots total)


#

200 Cigarettes (English)
- Typical MTV flick but entertaining and well-thought-out.

A

Akarui Mirai (Japanese)
- Odagiri Joe and lots of angst, plus the occassional poisonous jellyfish.
Alive (Japanese)
- Neato plot and nice special effects. The main character is cool.
Anna Magdalena (Chinese)
- The side-story makes the (slightly boring) rest worth while.
Another Heaven (Japanese)
- Nifty little sci-fi/horror/mystery/romance. I liked Kimura.
Aoi Haru (Japanese)
- More blood and gore, less plot. A bit senseless.
Azumi (Japanese)
- Can definitely see the manga roots in this one, but it's not necessarily a bad thing.

B

Bangkok Dangerous (Thai)
- What could be cooler than a deaf assassin? Very sad ending.
Battle Royale (Japanese)
- Monumentally pointless.
Bowling for Columbine (English)
- Every American should be forced to watch this movie. Eye-opening.

C

Cell, The (English)
- Visually beautiful but lacking in plot. An excuse to dress J-Lo up in weird clothes.
Chasing Sleep (English)
- Artistic but slow. Bonus dot for strangeness.
Chinese Ghost Story (Chinese)
- Just marvelous. Puts the magic back into movies.
Chinese Ghost Story 2 (Chinese)
- Not as good as the original but not too bad.
Crimson River (French)
- Graphic; a few heart-jolting moments. The two leading men play off each other well.
Cube, The (English)
- Original and suspenseful but overacted.
Cube: IQ HAZARD (English)
- Possibly the worst film ever made. No plot, bad acting, bad lighting, bad sound.

D

Dai Shitsuren (Japanese)
- Amusing but dragged a little. Takeda Shinji is cute as always.
Darkness (English)
- Lots of wasted potential. A few scary moments.
Das Experiment (German)
- Riveting. I couldn't stop watching, not even for the bathroom.
Dinner Rush (English)
- Interesting but dragged at times.
Donnie Darko (English)
- Haunting. Strange and dark but makes you think.
Double Tap (Chinese)
- Interesting Leslie in an evil role, but no character development at all.

E

Ed Wood (English)
- Artistic but a little boring. Johnny Depp, super-actor.
En Face (French)
- Nice twist ending. A little raunchy. Gotta love the French.
Eye, The (Chinese)
- Now that's what I call a horror movie! I actually screamed.

F

Farewell, My Concubine (Chinese)
- The most amazing movie. I could watch it over and over.

G

Gangs of New York (English)
- Interesting but tried too hard at times.
Ghost System (Japanese)
- Two-dimensional characters and emotionless acting left this chiller sadly luke-warm.
GO (Japanese/Korean)
- Funny, moving, romantic, cool.

H

Hole, The (English)
- Scary. Good twist ending; keeps you guessing.
House on Haunted Hill, The (English)
- A horror movie that doesn't take itself too seriously. A good time.
Human Nature (English)
- Makes some interesting observations. A little raunchy for my taste.

I

Insider, The (English)
- Interesting, maddening, ....long.

J

Jam Films (Japanese)
- Like a box of chocolates; short, sweet, and enough variety to be entertaining but not boring.
Juon (Japanese)
- Had its scary moments. Had its stupid moments. SFX sadly lacking.

K

Kujaku (Chinese/Japanese/English)
- I get the feeling I understood, but I guess not, after all.

L

Laundry (Japanese)
- Kubozuka Yousuke is so versatile! A little Forrest Gump-y.
Legend of Gingko (Korean)
- Silly fight scenes but pretty imagery. Perhaps a rental.
Little Voice (English)
- Good acting, great singing, mediocre plot.

M

Man Who Cried, The (English)
- Suddenly it ended. Did they run out of production money?
Matrix: reloaded (English)
- As an action flick, more than satisfying, although some parts leaned towards comedy.
MOONCHILD (Japanese)
- Like a live-action manga. HYDE is just gorgeous. He gets a bonus dot.
Moonlight Express (Chinese/Japanese/English)
- A wonderful movie. Leslie Cheung speaking English AND Japanese.
Moulin Rouge (English)
- Fast-paced, heart-wrenching, a masterpiece. You'll either love it or loathe it; must-see.

O

Okinawa Rendezvous (Chinese/Japanese/English)
- Diverting. Be sure to rent the DVD for the interviews after the movie.
Onmyouji II (Japanese)
- Fairly interesting; same flavor as the original, but a sad turn for Abe no Seimei fans...

P

Pianist, The (English/German)
- Moving, shocking, anti-climactic.
Pillow Book, The (Japanese/English)
- Bonus star for Ewan naked. The rest was indecipherable.
Pirates of the Caribbean (English)
- What a movie should be. Must-see.
Ping Pong (Japanese)
- Shonen manga come to life. Diverting. Bonus dot for eye candy.

R

Red Dragon (English)
- Almost makes up for the waste of film that was 'Hannibal'.
Red Shadow (Japanese)
- Ninja flick. Hard to follow but funny.
Returner (Japanese)
- Satisfying ending and lots of Engrish. Who could ask for more?
Riding in Cars with Boys (English)
- Tear-jerker but sometimes the mom got REALLY annoying. Worth a ticket price.
Ring 0 : birthday (Japanese)
- A prequel to 'Ring'. The last 15 minutes make the first 4/5 worthwhile.
Rock Star (English)
- Entertaining but cliche.
Rosemary's Baby (English)
- Scares you with what you DON'T see. A statement on feminism?

S

Scarlet and Black (English, BBC)
- Intriguing. Bonus dot for Ewan-y goodness.
Scary Movie 2 (English)
- Stupider than the original, if that's possible. More base humor from the Wayans.
Shallow Grave (English)
- twisty, plus Ewany goodness.
Shanghai Grand (Chinese)
- Mediocre story but Leslie Cheung was lovely.
Shanghai Triad (Chinese)
- Didn't understand a thing. Maybe it lost something in the translation.
Shaolin Soccer (Chinese)
- Absolutely hilarious. You might actually want to BUY this one.
Soul Carnival (English)
- Stupid. Don't watch it unless it's free.
Spider (English)
- Nice twist ending. An interesting role for Ralph Fiennes.
Stupid White Men (English, TV)
- Funny, in a liberal American sort of way.
Sumo Do, Sumo Don't (Japanese)
- Typical sports movie. Less funny, more corny.
Sweet November (English)
- Sappy, but as a romance film it passes.

T

Temptress Moon (Chinese)
- Exquisitely acted. Leslie Cheung and Gong Li are an amazing team.
Time to Remember, A (English/Chinese)
- Obviously translated out of Chinese. Skillfully acted.
To Dance With the White Dog (Japanese)
- Monotonous.
Tokyo Eyes (Japanese)
- Strange flavor but intriguing. Ambiguous ending is less than satisfying.
Too Busy to Die (English/Japanese)
- Long but interesting. Takeshi Kaneshiro speaking English.

U

Unbreakable (English)
- Twist ending was nice. The rest of the movie dragged.

V

Versus (Japanese)
- Lots of blood and gore but with a funny slant I liked.