Posts by Richard Hernandez13

Has anyone actually sat down to watch Yimou's House of Flying Daggers yet?

Honestly, it feels like Miramax kept Hero stuck in distribution limbo for so long that the director managed to squeeze in another entire movie before we even got a chance to see it.

During tonight's closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, Beijing will be showcased as the upcoming host, and one of the creative minds behind their performance is the director of Hero, Zhang Yimou... who mentioned there will be about 250 dancers, with choreography inspired by "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero."

Was Krešimir Dolenčić just too expensive for them? 😁😁😁

casualotter21 said:Potejto - potato 😁

Let me rephrase that...

It actually caught me off guard that there wasn't any flashy, over-the-top fighting—just pure swordplay—so I figured it might be a slight departure from the typical wuxia style.

I ended up reading an interview with the director, and he mentioned that he didn't really want to stick to the usual genre tropes—mostly because he doesn't even know them that well—but rather wanted this to be his own personal take on wuxia.

casualotter21 said:Maybe it is a case of style over substance, but even so, it serves as a perfect blueprint for how movies like this ought to be made.

To me, the movie feels like visual poetry, though I wouldn't go so far as to say the plot—the actual meat of the story—is just there to give Yimou's and Doyle's stylistic flourishes something to hang onto.

What really grabbed me was the historical and political layer—specifically the figure of the emperor acting as the "unifier of all under the sky" (is that how they translated it?) and the way an assassin is sacrificed for a "higher purpose." It’s a fascinating dynamic, even if I can see why some people might interpret it through a slightly... well, let's say *questionable* ideological lens.
😁

...
Inache, what "two, two and a half hours" are you talking about? 😕
The film is only 98 minutes long. The original cut runs maybe ten or twenty minutes longer than that.

dustyscout53 said:Is it actually any good? And has it been released here in the States yet?

I have to say, this book is absolutely fantastic.

By the way, the entire L.A. Quartet has been translated over here in the States.

James Ellroy basically took one cold case—a real-life crime that was never actually solved—and used it as the foundation for every single book in the L.A. Quartet. DahliaSo, to be specific, we’re talking about the murder of Elizabeth Short, who was found at some intersection in L.A. back in the late forties, looking absolutely horrific—completely mutilated, sliced in half, and with her organs removed. Sounds like a real blast, doesn't it?
Even though there’s a little bit of everything packed into the pages, the book really just centers on sex and all its messy, twisted side effects—we're talking pornography, sex tourism down in Mexico, incest, and pure promiscuity.

Because he packs his books with such an incredible amount of authentic detail, some people have actually started calling Ellroy's novels nothing more than historical fiction wrapped up in a gritty crime plot.

...
Speaking of movie adaptations, I remember seeing one a few years back. Dark Blue hanging out with Kurt Russell.

I just finished reading Black Dahlia—honestly, I have nothing but respect for whoever managed to turn that story into such a meaningful screenplay.

steelviper6 said:I wonder which one would be his sixth film?

Forgotten Silver

The movie really drives home how the most trivial, everyday things can spiral into massive tragedies.

but...

...like I mentioned before: all the ingredients for a truly gripping drama were right there on the plate, but I feel like the director just overcooked the meal.😁

Honestly, this marks the third time I've caught a shot of Jennifer Connelly just standing there on a pier.

The previous two instances were in Dark City and Requiem for a Dream.
At first, I was convinced it was some kind of running gag or an inside joke among filmmakers, but it turns out all three cases were just pure coincidence. 😲

I’m starting to think the universe might actually be trying to tell me something.

It felt like all the ingredients for a truly gripping drama were right there on the plate, but by the end, everything just landed with this strangely artificial, forced quality.

So, who is an actor actually capable of pulling off both heavy drama and laugh-out-loud comedy with equal skill?

I was thinking about Kevin Klein, though I suppose he isn't exactly pigeonholed as a comedian—even if he did show us his funny side playing Otto in fish called Vanda.

restlessowl52 said:I think it’s probably the fifth one, right?

Yup.
Thanks for the corrections!

...
Regarding everything to do with AvP.... 😁 Honestly, I just can't bring myself to care about him one bit.

I was just reading that the movie didn't even have any special critic screenings—which, honestly, can only mean one thing.

The Castle ( 1997)

It’s this little, low-budget underdog of a comedy from Australia that just has so much heart. Since Miramax handled the international distribution, you’ll probably catch it popping up on some local network like ABC or maybe a random channel on cable every once in a while
when they decide to rotate through their modest movie library.

I'm not sure who you're referring to, but I'm ready to jump in whenever you have something to share!
Oh, I just adore these lists... though, honestly, here I go again, basically trying to reinvent the wheel by pointing out that the criteria used here feel a little bit off. I mean, what does "overlooked" actually signify in this context?

In an American context, we’re really talking about those films that never quite made it past the initial buzz or failed to find their footing beyond the early stages of release. art-house I really think we need to talk about cinema.

In the American version—he didn't play outside. Film Archive. 😁

...or, to put it more simply, these are just those movies that always seem to get unfairly overlooked whenever people start talking about the "greatest" films of the 1990s.

Carlito's Way I was just thinking about Brian De Palma. He really struggled to find his footing here in the States, which is such a shame because while he didn't exactly break the box office in America, he’s always been held in such high regard by critics over there. Even the French critics tend to rave about him. Sight & Sound does Cinema They actually went ahead and declared it the best film of the nineties—I mean, honestly, how many famous directors have to thank God for the French? 😁 )

...
I honestly find it a little surprising that nobody thought to include this one on the list. Hudson Hawk. 😛😁😬

manwe said:The dubbing will be perfectly synced, and they're actually having Philip Seymour Hoffman lend his voice to Garfield...

Oh, please.
Judging by the poster itself:

Garfield starring Philip Seymour Hoffman

😂

Douglas Robinson12 said:Heavenly Creatures (honestly, my absolute favorite film of the 1990s)

And me too!! 👋

When I sat down to watch it for the second time, I honestly realized I was starting to shake and break out in a cold sweat as things started winding down toward the end. 😱

That’s pure art right there, son! 👍😁

I am honestly just sitting here counting down the days until Jackson starts making those kinds of movies again. At first, there were only these little whispers about him potentially tackling another true story out of New Zealand, but now the rumors have shifted toward an adaptation. I really can't wait to see what he comes up with. The Lovely Bones.

Carol Long95 said:If we're actually looking to appeal to a younger crowd, then we definitely need to cut Adam Sandler from the lineup—I mean, is there anyone left on this planet who actually finds that guy funny??

I don't know about that; I think Sandler can be pretty hilarious when he's used the right way (hint: think Happy Gilmore). 😉

I’ve spent the last three days absolutely glued to my computer screen grinding through Doom 3, so honestly, I just haven't had the mental energy to sit down and watch any zombie movies on the big screen. 🙄

Let's be honest, it is notoriously difficult to pull off a truly great biographical film.

The real struggle lies in figuring out how to take several decades of someone's life and somehow "squeeze" them into a single feature-length story that actually feels cohesive and dramatically meaningful.

Sophia Williams said:I personally went into this thinking "Charlie Chaplin" was going to sweep the awards season, but apparently the big-name critics felt Richard Attenborough fell a bit too deep into mannerisms—which unfortunately dragged Anthony Hopkins down with him in that fictionalized biopic... Even so, I still think it’s a great movie.

As for me, I found Charlie Chaplin to be pretty mediocre. It just felt like a dry, academic adaptation that lacked any real soul.👎

Benjamin Gray66 said:I was actually thinking about Bill Murray for this, though I’d also say that Kevin Kline and Johnny Depp both have that incredible knack for being hilarious.

Honestly, I feel like Kevin Kline really finds his comedic stride whenever he's sporting a mustache; once he shaves it off, he just settles right back into those heavy, serious dramatic roles.