agent2009 Reviews

Urban Justice (2007 Video)

A Comback For Seagal... sorry false alarm

[2/10 · 23 November 2007]

Don't expect too much, this movie belongs to trash bin. All you can see is a big chimp swinging his arms and legs and everybody else falls on ground at convenience. Too many close up and shaky camera during the fight scenes so don't fall for those Seagal fans spamming how good this movie is.

Storyline is about a revenge that has been told a thousand times before. Nothing new is really added to it. Characters are one dimensional and you don't really care about them. Most of the time I found the black people get beaten up, kicked in the balls, and get shot.

The only reason to watch this movie is either you are a Seagal's fan, or you just feel tired after a hard day work and really need a mumbling voice like Seagal's to put you a quality sleep.

I hate to admit it but this one is no comparasion with Seagal's early work like Under Siege or Out of Justice. Stop carrying a false hope for a Seagal's come back before you would regret.

The Wicker Man (2006)

Totally worth seeing if never before

[10/10 · 11 October 2007]

I find most of the comments here are more disturbing than the movie itself. Viewers are pretty much "angry" and some even want to "punch a baby"

The truth is, without seeing the so-called original one, I find The Wicker Man is quite interesting, not in a way of horror, but in a way of mystery. The opening is done pretty good to build up the suspense you need to hang on with. A bizarre accident event, followed by a letter from ex-girlfriend, draws the police officer Malus into a potential case of kidnapping; a little girl is at stake. The plot sounds good to me as I was brought up by The X-files, though there is no paranormal activities involved except Malus has vision and nightmare about weird things, and "trust no one" thing... And the bear costume thing that people laugh about, it is really nothing serious cos you would find it in stadiums so why not in a celebration event taken place in a movie?

Do not let other people's rage to cloud your judgment, this is a good movie with decent acting at work.

Live Free or Die Hard (2007)

Once again John McClane vs Brave New World

[9/10 · 8 October 2007]

Who says an old fashion guy can't survive technology? From microwave to Nakatomi building, from fax machine to polymerframed pistols, McClane always finds his way to get over it, only this time it is much more large in scale than he could ever imagine: computer network, things that made out of chips and cable. And of course the bad guys. In Die Hard series the world always appears to be black and white.

This is the 4th Die Hard for nearly 2 decades, and fortunately it is a promising one. Absolutely entertaining with loads of explosion, stunt works and funny lines. It starts with hack of computers, which leads to a money scheme behind it. In between cities are totally cripple, and McClane's daughter is taken hostage, making the situation personal to our all-time hero. The story is not complicated to follow, so you could focus on the action and, needless to say, Bruce Willis himself, who portrays the legendary John McClane, a NYPD cop in 30 years of duty.

The downside, if I have to point it out, is Timothy Olyphant, who plays the master mind behind the crimes, may look too young and naive to orchestrate the whole things. It would take more than money to drive his crews to carry out his insane plan. He is just not that evil guy. That makes him less convincing and therefore the weakest link of the movie. And I do wish Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who plays Lucy McClane, would have had a little more character development than merely a bargain chip. Despite of these, you will not be disappointed with this movie. Die Hard 4 is a must see this year.

The Abandoned (2006)

A horror film you must see; A scary experience you can't miss

[9/10 · 4 October 2007]

If you can come up with a film that is scarier than this one, be my guest. The Abandoned is not just a film that you can see and hear; you are actually experiencing it with all your sense as it was alive and presented right in front of you. It's not like SAW that you see people get killed one by one, nor Evil Dead that you see a lot of graphic scenes, nor Grudge that keeps you long waiting for nothing to happen. The visual, the sound, the atmosphere, the lighting, the suspense, and the sequences they are all done exceptionally well that you would expect from a first-grade horror movie.

This movie is worth your attention for every single minute right from the beginning. The story details may be little blur and not fully explained, but that is the point. The only thing that matters is a twin Ruissians get stuck in a haunting house. It is not a drama after all, so just sit back and let the horror rolls.

BloodRayne II: Deliverance (2007 Video)

Basic facts about BloodRayne that the movie has completely ignored

[1/10 · 28 September 2007]

BloodRayne is indeed a very unique character ever created as a female hero. She is somewhat like a combination of Buffy the vampire slayer and Lara Croft the tomb raider, only she is much more powerful and sexier than the latter ones.

In the original game:

1. BloodRayne works for a secret society whose objective is to crash Nazi's conspiracy in WWII.

2. BloodRayne can recover her health by sucking human blood, while she can dodge enemies' bullets using the victim body as a human shield

3. BloodRayne is equipped with a chain that allows her to capture and draw an enemy in distance before she can initiate a melee kill

4. BloodRayne has some supernatural "abilities" that make her remarkable and unique. One of her moves is to spin herself around foes and do a lot of damages

Without these elements the character BloodRyne in this movie is merely a woman in Halloween costume, except she ain't get no Halloween party to crash. I sincerely hope that Hollywood should stop further sacrifice of decent characters in order to sell their crap movies.

A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

Finally a thriller with a decent tale

[8/10 · 23 September 2007]

The film do not contain too much gore and violence, but I'd say this is one of the finest horror/thriller ever made in years.

It all starts with weird scenes, atmosphere and tension that senses don't add up, that keeps you anxious and wondering of what is really going on there. As things are getting weirder with a sequence of bizarre events, truth seems to reveal on themselves. Then you would be feeling kinda relief for a moment because situation seems to be getting normal. But before you know it, a whole new experience awaits you. Present time and flash back events overlap each other to shock you once again until you reach deeper beneath the surface.

The film would have gone so wrong if it had not been executed with incredibly well directing skills. I just love the ending, not only because I have feelings for the characters, but it tells enough things that I need to know, and leaves a certain things that keep me guessing as part of the mystery.

The Hitcher (2007)

This movie is an insult of human intelligence

[2/10 · 21 September 2007]

If life is about making choices, this movie will give u an idea how easily you would get messed up with bad choices, totally. What this movie tells you they have no logic, what you keep asking the same questions when viewing is "what the hell you think you're doing?" Lots of thing they don't make sense at all. For instance (**spoilers**):

After viewing some files and the crime scene, Cowboy sheriff jumps to a conclusion that the fugitives "didn't do it", simply because they are "21 years old college kids". Obviously he doesn't know anything about any of college shoot outs from the TV-news before. Not even counting the possibility that the suspects could be accessory of the crimes.

The hitcher has no hesitation of killing the family and cops, it seems he is unstoppable. But he doesn't kill the college kids when several chances has presented to themselves.

The officer, who is supposed to sit face to face and keep watching the detained suspect the whole time during the trauma transport, doesn't know the cuffed one is trying to uncuff. Somehow he is not seeing what he is looking at, that is pretty strange.

Hunted by a lunatic killer, the smart college boy chooses to turn away from cops that's one thing, but trying to call his folks for help is one other thing. In upclose danger, I can't see how his folks in distance could be any helpful while the local cops ain't.

Perhaps the only thing that makes sense is the college kids try hard to run away from those useless cops. They somehow know this hitcher is capable of killing any cops who get in his way. Yes, cops we can find in the scenes they all end up dead.

et cetera

Sophia Bush is good looking. But she is losing voice, it's like she was suffering from sore throat or some sort. That's pretty annoying to ears when hearing her speaking. I wouldn't suggest her to act in any horror films in future.

Hostel (2005)

Ain't that bad, but the movie might end 25 mins earlier

[5/10 · 21 April 2006]

What I'm going to say about this film contains spoilers, that's the fact. But if you asked me, I'd tell you it didn't really matter. Anyway...

I must admit this movie is scary, and it may not be boring as people have told about. The story is way from realistic I don't really care however. The film is shot pretty good, with scenic views and good lighting. Three young men traveling a long way to visit a chicky hostel they have been told, that's like Stephen King's "Stand By Me", with a different goal. Boobs are necessary, after all those are what the characters really hunger for, right? Torture things are necessary too, I mean that's the whole idea of the film, a creepy torture house for captive tourists. If you didn't see the torture, how could you know that was a exhibit for "arts show"? And you know what I think? I think the first 30 mins are for the viewers to finish up their jumbo popcorn before they move on to the open gut thing. Can't say it's a bad thing.

The sad thing is the thriller is not well balance. Begins at the scene when the 2 characters find out their friend has gone missing; ends at the scene when Paxton is through the torture, the thriller last for roughly half an hour out of an hour and half. After Paxton has made his way off the torture chair, everything seems to be rushing to the credits. So what is the chance that in 25 minutes Paxton can

1. get out of a strong hold filled with many armed guards, and

2. run into the 3 guys (at the same time, how convenient!) who have set him up on the way of fleeing, killing them without any damage or leaving blood stain on the car, and

3. sneak out from an alerted road block and land on the getaway train safe and sound, and

4. run into the man who is behind everything, without being spotted first, and

5. get in an empty restroom of a busy train station (I know that sounds impossible but I'm pretty sure this is really happening...)

?

You tell me.

The Hunt for Eagle One (2006 Video)

You would love it if you love playing Battlefield, or don't bother at all

[7/10 · 21 January 2006]

To be honest I really enjoy this movie, it offered me a nice pass time. I think anyone who loves Battlefield series (computer game) would find this movie irresistible and stunning. Lots of guns bursting, and they look real and convincing, not only the visual and sound effect, but also the way the weapons being handled. In short it's kind of different from Hollywood's formula of making war movies.

In this movie don't expect deep-thinking dialogs as you would find in other films like Saving private Ryan, perhaps that how it keeps the the fighting intense. (***Spoiler***)But one thing I don't understand is, what the goggles on the helmet for? I mean those shiny things are doing nothing helpful during the battle, but giving away the soldiers' position. And the torture scene is pretty lame....

I'm glad Mark Dacascos plays a role of the rescue squad's leader, he is truly an remarkable action-actor.

Japanese Story (2003)

Needs no spoiler warning!!

[1/10 · 1 April 2005]

***The comment may contain spoilers*** The idea of adventure in outback and the cast sounds interesting to me. the more time has passed by, the more i felt boring.

I have seen it once, and i was not convinced by such weak story, perhaps no plot at all, so i gave it another shot, and this time i'm convinced that i have wasted totally 4 hours with nothing more than a big disappointment.

The main flaw of such crappy film is that, Sandy and Hiro should have never met each other this way in the first place!! A rich Japanese so-called businessman, who can afford a classy Leica camera, he just can't afford a team of professional traveling guides to show him around, particularly in outback. Does the Japanese really look that naive? i'm simply not buying this.

If the director gives the green light to go this way, fine i just move on to see what chemistry can possible exist between these businessman and geologist. Well, They are stuck in the middle of the desert. It's predictable but hey, what the heck, i might get something interesting between these two people. for the next 20 minutes i just see someone is digging, and a few lines coming from someone's mouth, then followed by goodnight sleep. Sorry I couldn't see any plot here, not to mention there is any chemistry I can smell,,, Someone please tell me what's the deal with the pants in the sex scene. If the director cares the least to explain why, at least someone who gives 10 stars should.

Sooner or later I will ask myself, what exactly are these two people, who are willing to put their life in danger again, doing in this no-man's land? If you expect an explanation for this, don't. Because the director was so concentrated to shoot the beautiful landscape in outback. (Perhaps it was meant to be a documentary film, but somewhere along the line it turns out to be a drama/ romantic movies, that might be the missing plot,,,) The death of Hiro is just ridiculous and hardly to believe. From the way Hiro jumps to the water, breaking his arms would be the worst scenario. I thought he was making fun of Sandy by playing dead, but it won't happen because there is no plot remember. And the dragging body, i just admire how great the director is good at killing time, unfortunately my time.

I can't imagine how a wife could be soo cool for losing a husband and a father of two children. May be i'm not that sophisticated to understand it. And again I hear the familiar soundtrack. If you are the one who have trouble of sleeping, you shouldn't miss this mind taking scene of airport.

If i ever watched it again, I would edit the film with nothing left but the shot of Toni, and call it Sandy story.

A Chinese Odyssey: Part One - Pandora's Box (1995)

Chow Sing Chi has delivered his unique sense of humor

[10/10 · 30 December 2004]

This is one of the finest Chow Sing Chi has made so far. Ng Man Tat is not the first time to act as a supporting character as he has done quite a few before this one. These two comedy actors can promise a lot of laughters they are perfect pairs, making no exception for this movie. Special effect is something i don't expect too much or have any comparison with Hollywood, but in generally speaking i can accept it. Every Chinese should have learned about who monkey king is, or what he has achieved during the journey to the west, or Chinese odyssey. Director Jeffrey Lau makes a new point of view that leads the viewers in a mysterious way n that's a challenge, it comes out so well with those weird dreams the joker (Chow Sing Chi) has been having them from time to time. A romance involved with Karen Mok generates a lot of funs and refer to what happens later that the joker does undergo a struggle whether give up all he has and take the Holly Quest, leaving all the memories behind, unfortunately includes the relationship with his beloved Karen Mok. In the process Chow Sing Chi has delivered his unique sense of humor, which we refer it "a sense of nonsense humor" that becomes part of our culture in Hong Kong, and i am glad to see that. If you want to see a movie that makes you laugh and relax a bit, this one is a good choice.