Happy Ghost V directed by Raymond Wong & Norman Chan Hok-yan - 4/10
The fifth installment of the Happy Ghost series is the first and only one which Raymond Wong actually directs, and unfortunately it is a huge let down. The first twenty minutes don't even seem like a Happy Ghost film at all, and then it hits us with an uninspired plot that is a rip-off of many American movies. Fortunately, some of the charm of the other films is still around and the film gets absurd enough to make me laugh at times, but I feel like the series would have had a better close if it didn't completely abandon our original character. In fact, it would've been much better to end the series with Raymond Wong's character meeting Maggie Cheung's character from the third film again as the ending of that film suggests. As it is, I can't recommend this film even to diehard Hong Kong cinema fans, the first three are great for this kind of corny film, the fourth is enjoyable if you liked the first three, and this one, well it isn't necessary viewing for people who don't have as much free time as me.
Precious Images directed by Chuck Workman - 8/10
This nice short film perfectly shows the magic of the movies (American movies that is) and makes for nice viewing. I saw this at the Museum of the Moving Image this weekend, and I loved noticing films I have seen and enjoying clips from films I haven't seen. Thanks to IMDb I can find all of the films featured in this short film, there is quite a lot. Someone needs to make one of these for international cinema as well (I can imagine individual ones made for France, Hong Kong, China, and Japan as well, those would be awesome!).
The Great Train Robbery directed by Edwin S. Porter - 9/10
I re-watched this film at the Museum of Moving Image as well. In historical terms, it is a masterpiece but otherwise it isn't very entertaining even if it features some nice early cinematic images. I love the ending though! My high rating is mostly due to historical purposes though I took off a point because I don't find it as enjoyable as other early films.
2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick - 10/10
Yes! I saw this on a 70mm print at the Museum of Moving Image, and it was such an incredible experience! I really felt like I was part of the movie as I saw this film on the big screen. The ending and many of the themes/ideas still elude me, but that's what I love about this film. I know I'll never tire of watching this film, but I'll try to spend more time before my next viewing so I can appreciate it even more!
Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema directed by Stanley Kwan - 8/10
This is a very fine documentary on gender and sexuality in Chinese cinema. I didn't like how it was clear that Kwan was trying to force his point of view on sexuality in many Chinese films even when the filmmakers of those films clearly disagreed. I also didn't like how Kwan chose to read Chinese cinema through a Western lens of sexuality which I think is annoying especially considering that Kwan is a Chinese filmmaker. However, the film introduced me to a lot of concepts and ideas that are very interesting about Chinese cinema. I knew a lot of the films, but I also discovered a lot of gems through this film. There are also some very touching moments such as Stanley Kwan coming out at the end of the film and the interviews with his mom and Leslie Cheung. When Kwan lets go if his bias and agenda a bit, the film really reaches the level of documentary masterpiece. Unfortunately, Kwan's biases get in the way of this film from becoming a masterpiece from beginning to end. I wish there were more films like this that explore an individual nation's cinema (although I wish the film would've been longer to expand on the differences between mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong cinematically)
The Big Boss directed by Lo Wei; starring Bruce Lee - 8/10
I actually liked this film more than I expected as I heard that Bruce Lee didn't star in great films. While this film is no masterpiece, it is still very enjoyable from beginning to end. I actually like this film's style more than a lot of the other similar types of martial arts films of the period. It's no Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, King Hu, or Chang Cheh masterpiece, but it's definitely a very good martial arts film!
The fifth installment of the Happy Ghost series is the first and only one which Raymond Wong actually directs, and unfortunately it is a huge let down. The first twenty minutes don't even seem like a Happy Ghost film at all, and then it hits us with an uninspired plot that is a rip-off of many American movies. Fortunately, some of the charm of the other films is still around and the film gets absurd enough to make me laugh at times, but I feel like the series would have had a better close if it didn't completely abandon our original character. In fact, it would've been much better to end the series with Raymond Wong's character meeting Maggie Cheung's character from the third film again as the ending of that film suggests. As it is, I can't recommend this film even to diehard Hong Kong cinema fans, the first three are great for this kind of corny film, the fourth is enjoyable if you liked the first three, and this one, well it isn't necessary viewing for people who don't have as much free time as me.
Precious Images directed by Chuck Workman - 8/10
This nice short film perfectly shows the magic of the movies (American movies that is) and makes for nice viewing. I saw this at the Museum of the Moving Image this weekend, and I loved noticing films I have seen and enjoying clips from films I haven't seen. Thanks to IMDb I can find all of the films featured in this short film, there is quite a lot. Someone needs to make one of these for international cinema as well (I can imagine individual ones made for France, Hong Kong, China, and Japan as well, those would be awesome!).
The Great Train Robbery directed by Edwin S. Porter - 9/10
I re-watched this film at the Museum of Moving Image as well. In historical terms, it is a masterpiece but otherwise it isn't very entertaining even if it features some nice early cinematic images. I love the ending though! My high rating is mostly due to historical purposes though I took off a point because I don't find it as enjoyable as other early films.
2001: A Space Odyssey directed by Stanley Kubrick - 10/10
Yes! I saw this on a 70mm print at the Museum of Moving Image, and it was such an incredible experience! I really felt like I was part of the movie as I saw this film on the big screen. The ending and many of the themes/ideas still elude me, but that's what I love about this film. I know I'll never tire of watching this film, but I'll try to spend more time before my next viewing so I can appreciate it even more!
Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema directed by Stanley Kwan - 8/10
This is a very fine documentary on gender and sexuality in Chinese cinema. I didn't like how it was clear that Kwan was trying to force his point of view on sexuality in many Chinese films even when the filmmakers of those films clearly disagreed. I also didn't like how Kwan chose to read Chinese cinema through a Western lens of sexuality which I think is annoying especially considering that Kwan is a Chinese filmmaker. However, the film introduced me to a lot of concepts and ideas that are very interesting about Chinese cinema. I knew a lot of the films, but I also discovered a lot of gems through this film. There are also some very touching moments such as Stanley Kwan coming out at the end of the film and the interviews with his mom and Leslie Cheung. When Kwan lets go if his bias and agenda a bit, the film really reaches the level of documentary masterpiece. Unfortunately, Kwan's biases get in the way of this film from becoming a masterpiece from beginning to end. I wish there were more films like this that explore an individual nation's cinema (although I wish the film would've been longer to expand on the differences between mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong cinematically)
The Big Boss directed by Lo Wei; starring Bruce Lee - 8/10
I actually liked this film more than I expected as I heard that Bruce Lee didn't star in great films. While this film is no masterpiece, it is still very enjoyable from beginning to end. I actually like this film's style more than a lot of the other similar types of martial arts films of the period. It's no Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, King Hu, or Chang Cheh masterpiece, but it's definitely a very good martial arts film!