September 29, 2011

Ip Man: The Legend is Born (Herman Yau, 2010)

Unimpressed by Ip Man: The Legend is Born trailer, the film didn’t make it into my preliminary list of ten films for the Fantasia Festival therefore, mere hours before the showing, cutting it close to showtime, I quickly decide on a secondary list of ten films for the festival, bringing my total up to twenty films so far. Once I […]
March 29, 2010

Little Children (Todd Field, 2006)

Although true at times, Little Children never compels as the story suffers from the same shortcoming as In the Bedroom: it is merely an actors’ showcase.
September 28, 2010

Coming Home: Melodrama and social change

David Ehrenstein condemns melodramas like Coming Home for perpetuating the illusion that they can affect social change instead of creating real change.
November 28, 2010

Woochi (Dong-hoon Choi, 2009)

Woochi starts out as a magic-driven wuxia-like set in the Joseon era in Korea, but segues into an unsophisticated popular fare.
March 26, 2010

Dan in Real Life (Peter Hedges, 2007)

Dan in Real Life is predictable, and its characters rarely venture into unknown territory. It makes for a passable rental, but not much else.