Based on the events at the end of the Han Dynasty in China leading to the period called the Three Kingdoms period; John Woo returns to Asian Cinema to bring one of the greatest turning points in that period, the Battle of Red Cliff, to the big screen. How big a deal is this? This is the most expensive Chinese movie to date estimated at $80 million dollars to produce. Big name actors from Chow Yun Fat, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai had all been cast once to play these important historical figures.
The movie adaptation is based on the events at the Red Cliff (Chi Bi) where the outcome decided the fate of the end of Han and creation of the three separate kingdoms; the Shu, Wei and Wu. The events leading to this great battle is interesting enough to carry a film of epic proportions that even John Woo has made this movie into two separate parts with the first one being released this month. This is also the second movie based on the Three Kingdoms in 2008; which I have high expectations for. The other movie starred Andy Lau and Sammo Hung; and that was a disaster and a complete let down in terms of plot and acting. I seriously hope John Woo’s Red Cliff (Chi Bi) will not let me down.
Continue reading ‘The tale of Red Cliff saga begins’
How many of you remember Chow Yun Fat’s God of Gambler? I do. It was during a time period where Hong Kong movies just churned out gambling movie after gambling movie. It was the golden age of Hong Kong flicks I would say. Seriously; it was a mix of mafioso mixed with gambling and comedy.
As I was stumbling around the net looking for images, I found this God of Gambler relationship chart detailing how everyone was tied to each other somehow. Interesting chart to say nonetheless.
Continue reading ‘The God of Gambler Family Tree’
We are a nation lacking sleep. I would rather sleep that extra 15 minutes than eat breakfast. Do you eat breakfast? If your like me, then you probably miss the most important meal of the day, EVERY DAY! (The whole sleep topic will be discussed in another post) So why do we leave out this most important meal of our day to get our day started? I don’t have an answer to that but I do have an answer for having breakfast.
I recently watched a movie called ‘Flakes’, it is a comedy love story trying to over come all odds. Go rent it, its a pretty good movie. I found the most interesting part of the movie was the business concept on a breakfast store serving ONLY cereal. So simple yet how come there aren’t franchises yet? This is the next business opportunity that could explode like what Starbucks did for coffee. Coffee was something you could have prepared to drink at home, at the office or picked up at any mom & pop donut store. Starbucks took coffee to the next level; offering multitude of choices and alternatives. From cappuccinos, lattes, frappacinos to now even iced tea varieties. The pure convenience of having coffee anytime of day to any where you live and marketing it as the trendy thing to do became a phenomenal money maker. No more is coffee constrained for the morning or the typical sleep depraved coffee fanatic. It is available to all! Worse of all, coffee is not even supposed to be healthy for you.
Continue reading ‘Did you miss breakfast? No problem, head over to Flakes!’
Starring an all-star cast with Jet Li (Hero, Forbidden Kingdom), Andy Lau (Infernal Affairs) and Takeshi Kaneshiro (House of Flying Daggers); this movie is set during the Qing Dynasty when Empress Dowager Cixi ruled the lands of China. The story is about a lost general meeting local bandits to rejoin the army to find greatness and glory. Among other things, a brotherhood is formed like the three muscatels except due to selfishness and drama; it all gets broken down. Betrayal, control, obsession. All characters are developed well and acted wonderfully. I cannot find much complaint.
The film is currently available on YouTube and here is the first part to get you started: Continue reading ‘The Warlords’
I have been trying to compile a list of movies that had memorable movie scores to it. Several come to mind such as The Godfather, Lord of the Rings, Titanic, etc. However, I think my personal top 5 movies with amazing music soundtrack scores are the following:
| Rudy |
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The first time I saw this movie was in my sociology class. Didn’t think too much of the movie at the time, except that this is the ultimate underdog movie and I shared a name with the movie’s title. I think the musical score stood out the most and made this movie a whole lot better. Very dramatic indeed. |
| Requiem for a Dream |
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I saw this my first year in college recommended by my roommate. Movie was awesome and musical soundtrack made it unbelievable. Yes, the change of seasons, the psychedelic theme, and probably because I was under the influence made this movie and soundtrack especially memorable. To this day, I can still feel chills when I hear the violin from the main theme. |
| The Last Samurai |
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I saw this movie twice in the theaters. It wasn’t an especially great story; although I thought the movie’s cinematography and costumes were awesome. Add the musical score in the background, it just played over and over in my head. Must be my fondness toward Japanese culture and the Meiji period, due to watching one too many Kenshin episodes. |
| Cruel Intentions |
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Movie wasn’t impressive. Soundtrack impressed me. I really did not pay too much attention to the story; at the time Sarah Michelle Gellar was pretty hot but after watching her nose for too long; it became annoying. The background musical score made the mood though. It is one of the tougher to find soundtracks out there. I believe it is from the same composer of Requiem for a Dream. |
| The Rock |
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Awesome characters, awesome plot, awesome movie! Period. How can you not like Sean Connery’s character in this movie; the only man to escape Alcatraz? Also, listen to the music that plays in the background. Everything goes with whats going on the screen perfectly. Especially the scene between Sean Connery meets his in-movie daughter. |
Continue reading ‘Movies with amazing musical scores’
For the past two weeks of the holiday season I have been catching up on movies; visiting the local Blockbuster at least 3 times a day during the weekend (Thank you movie pass). I came across a movie I must recommend.
Once is a film which depicts a lost wandering musician trying to find himself and meets a lady with a similar passion for music. They find each and build a wonderful friendship and both improve their lives in the end as opposed to where they were at the start of the movie… namely lost and stuck.
Continue reading ‘Just Once, plain & simple.’
Based on the events at the end of the Han Dynasty in China leading to the period called the Three Kingdoms period; John Woo returns to Asian Cinema to bring one of the greatest turning points in that period, the Battle of Red Cliff, to the big screen. How big a deal is this? This is the most expensive Chinese movie to date estimated at $80 million dollars to produce. Big name actors from Chow Yun Fat, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai had all been cast once to play these important historical figures.
