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monacoforeverr
Reviews
Better Call Saul: Plan and Execution (2022)
SPOILERS FOR PREVIOUS EPISODES AND BB TOO
Lord almighty. I replayed the final scene a few times out of fascination/shock. Lalo is finally back in town. Assumably he didn't hurt Zieglers wife and dog in Germany. I was happy about that, because even though it's only a show, that would have made his character totally unsympathetic with no reason to do it, thus destroying his fabric and any reason to 'love to hate' such a charismatic character. He is just pure evil, easily the worst character in the whole saga. Then what he does to Howard is just a head trauma in itself. I was not expecting that. I assumed Howard would live through all this somehow and just move away or stop associating with Jimmy or something. So in Germany, the worker he tracked down spilled his guts off camera and was killed, so Lalo can find him there now, play his waiting game like one reviewer pointed out doing his Pennywise impression, and expose it to ruin Gus and kill him (assumably that's his plan). I think Kim will die, it just seems too hard for her to survive this after everything she knows and had seen. But I wonder: considering Hectors arrival at the desert site of the laundromat with the twins (who doesn't love those guys?) in tow in Breaking Bad, how can that have happened? Lalo called Hector and told him Gus sent killers!!? How will Gus keep Hector from spilling this information? I can't wait to see how all this goes it's going to be something. Thank you for reading what I have to say.
Kickboxer (1989)
Probably Van Damme's best
Let's face it, in the world of martial arts, Van Damme is a legend. I mean apart from all of his achievements in tournaments, kicks at head height or above are known worldwide as 'Van Damme Kicks'. He must have done something right!!!
Anyway in this film, it's Van Damme in his cliché role, not that it matters, which is either revenge, being pursued or both. Revenge in this one.
His older brother gets in a fight with a real bad guy, so it's up to Jean-Claude to save the day!!
Even though he can act, despite popular belief (Replicant, Maximum Risk, In Hell) he doesn't concentrate on that here. He just shows us his breathtaking ability to kick down a brick wall with an aerial kick, and how he can, with ease, without bending over at all, kick with both legs well above his own head, with force too. He's not just doing fancy moves that mean nothing in the grand scheme of things. You have to really applaud his ability, he's incredible, he has his name up there with some of the best like Jackie, Jet and Bruce. He's also one of the most physically defined people I've ever seen, how much fat would you say? Maybe minus five percent?!!!! A true athlete, where he gets the energy to do what looks like about 4 or 5 hours of exercise a day is beyond me. How far can he stretch, too? It's enough to make you lose your appetite, but it's all good!
Poor story, but that's not what we care for, great action, a bit of comedy to keep us laughing, and incredible training montage and fight scenes, with a soundtrack you want to get hold of yourself for personal use when working out! 10/10
Koroshiya 1 (2001)
Pretty much what all Asian plot based films are trying to be!!!
I have to say I really enjoyed this film. But for the record, the guy on the front is not Ichi.
One day, boss Anjo of the Anjo gang goes missing with 100 million yen, and his chief henchman, Kakihara, is determined to solve this mystery. The one thing we do know is that the violence behind the massacre is caused by Ichi, a painfully shy and sexually repressed yet psychotic mad man, who is constantly on the verge of mentally snapping He is the trademark card of Jijii, played by Shinya Tsukamoto, who is an ex-cop and a genius. He is, for ambiguous reasons (money?) determined to turn all of the gangsters in Japan against one another, until the streets run red with blood. It's a little bit like Japanese Pulp Fiction (but Pulp Fiction would make a mockery of this film any day!!!!!) in the sense of more than one tale: the foreground tells the story of Kakihara, the guy who is obsessed with solving this horrific obscenity, then the background of the film tells the story of Ichi, the guy behind it. Because Ichi is observing and cowering away from anything that is connected to his crimes and this specific event, and seeing other people and how they are reacting to it, it's like watching Batman through The Joker's eyes!!
The character of Ichi is extremely interesting with lots of character development, along with Kaneko and Jijii, but Ichi is by far the best character in this film. It's extremely hard to tell what is going to happen next, and all questionable elements in this film are ambiguous, which is awesome, because it is endlessly productive.
Kakihara, played by the great Tadanobu Asano, is a very strange man, because he gets pleasure from receiving physical pain, which is the reason he is so interested in finding his boss Anjo, because it is his boss Anjo who fed him pain the way he liked it!!! Also, what is Kaneko's relationship with Ichi? And his son......?
I know it all sounds bizarre, but it's just a film, and it's extremely interesting. I would like to warn women that there are some very graphic and intense scenes which women will be very offended by, but just keep paying attention and you'll notice that the film is not glorifying the negative things towards women (like when a guy spreads her legs and smells in between in an attempt to get an idea of who raped her!!! I know, they went too far on that one!!), and everyone who shows any abuse towards women gets what is coming to them, so it balances it out and makes it a positive message.
Please, however, do not watch it dubbed, because that ruins any film, especially this, you miss a lot if you have it dubbed!! Subtitles please!
Maybe you'll think I'm weird for saying this but I actually laughed a bit when watching it, because of the extreme sense of black humour (like smiling and getting an erection from watching bodies and guts fall apart onto the floor!!!!).
Just don't take it too seriously, because it's a film, the makers of it are only trying to turn your head off for a couple of hours. Also, be warned, there are some pretty intense scenes for anyone, so if you have a weak stomach, probably best not to bother.
Other than that, great acting, great plot, and an ending that will leave you gasping for air! This is difficult to explain because I'm not allowed to spoil it, nor do i want to, but when Kakihara does what he does to himself with the Stilettos on the rooftop at the end, and then what he is looking at next just pause it for a second and have a think, don't think that what you see is definitely happening. To be more specific, considering what he does with them, maybe he damaged his brain.....? That's one last thing, pay close attention to the scene where Ichi and Kaneko are eating noodles, it will throw you off guard a bit. Just make sure you are watching the uncut version.
Breakdown (1997)
Extremely good and underrated!!! A must for any action/thriller fan!!
This film is really cool. Basically, a man and wife are travelling and fall victim to some very shady people in a cat and mouse game. As the film progresses, we get plenty of things you would expect if you were in this position yourself, like the people at the diner, and the involvement of the police, who politely inform you that they can't help any further after not much has been done. The scene in the police station where Jeffrey is looking at all the missing people made me wonder: 'how many of these people were involved with the trucker?'.
He involves the police but as I say they can't really do much, but he's not really all that concerned with those who suspect he's lying; he's concerned with the people who know he's telling the truth!!
The film also gives you the kind of scenes you need in order to stay interested and 'into it' so to speak, there are great plot twists here and there accompanied by some great acting and very fine action sequences. The scene in the truck with the great M.C Gainey's dialogue about how dumb Jeffrey is raises a lot of questions. The scene in the barn near the end is a real eye opener, when you see all the license plates and items of clothing and so on in boxes hidden in the top of the barn, whose are those? Also when Billy talks briefly about 'that couple in Ohio'. Have they done this thing a lot before?
Truly great film all around, you never get bored and you can rarely guess what will happen next! I must also compliment J.T. Walsh for giving a great performance as Red Barr, and Rex Linn for his great cameo as the police officer. You know how sometimes you start playing with your phone or keep looking at your watch? Oh no, not this time pal! Great acting, great action, great plot, I'm loving it!! 10/10
Replicant (2001)
Move over Silence of the Lambs you have been beaten miserably!!!
This film is brilliant! Ringo Lam is a genius!!
Come on, OK, Hopkins is a good actor, but with all the arrogant stereotypical crap that actors just like him deliver (I'm so good, I'm so respected and important in the movie industry, you don't even need to watch my films, you just know I'm the best actor ever.).? Give me a break! This film has none of that, and is way better!
It's basically about a serial killer (who has been coined 'The Torch' by cops, for very obvious, and extremely interesting reasons you will notice) who lives a very elusive (which explains how he can live in a fixed position without being noticed) and disturbing life in Seattle.
I won't say who he kills, but it is for very specific reasons, almost to suggest that he's actually a good guy, with the exception of a couple of body counts which were different to the rest, but still motivated by method in madness.
He's basically a very lonely man, who has been the victim of a lot of abuse and is now pretty keen to show the world what if feels like to be a victim, which is so cool because it 180% reflects an actual serial killer's mind!
There are so many interesting elements to this film, like why does Garrotte get so angered by Riley (played by the legend that is Michael Rooker) talking so bad about him on TV near the start, considering nobody knows his true identity? How about the tattoo we get a shot of near the start on his arm? United States Marine Corps......? Why does he kill almost all his victims in the same fashion? Why is Riley so sadistic on the innocent clone when he first meets him? Who injured the little boy? The clone? The dog?....Himself? And how is Jake related to the little boy and Angie anyway? How about him hearing the woman calling her son a 'bad boy'? We don't see him finish her off, so what did he do? Why does it seem that since the police are involved he's killing just for Riley, not any other cops, to pick up the pieces? What does Garrotte mean by 'You received my message...'? Why is he so interested in taking pictures for his computer and for his mother to see? Why is she in the place she is, and in that condition? How did he know the cops would turn up at his apartment when they did? How about his apartment in general? What did he actually do so wrong as a child to be treated that way? There's a line by Jake's mother :If you treat people like criminals, that's exactly what they will become.' Remember it for the rest of the film. That's the most down-to-earth statement I have ever heard in my life! Pay close attention also to the file Jake's co-worker has on Garrotte near the end about him, and the scene where the clone remembers Garrotte shaking like a child next to his mother's bed. I can't stress it enough, this film is absolutely incredible!!!!! It's all these ambiguous questions that make this a cult classic, this is one of the most interesting films ever!
You have to really feel sympathy for the serial killer, he is so innocent underneath it all, and so incredibly interesting, and Van Damme delivers an incredible performance as the killer and the clone. Yes, Jean-Claude can act! If you compare this to 'The 6th Day' made one year earlier, with a similar plot, it's amazing how much better it is, and how much better Van Damme can act than Arnie!
Forget Hannibal, seriously, Van Damme would absolutely wipe the floor with Hopkins' character and performance in those movies!!
Another great thing about this film is that the death toll of the killer (told by a news reporter shortly in the film )is a very small number over the time, which is awesome not being a cliché like Grissom's death count in Con Air or Hannibal Lectar or some other film and serial killer that is 500 miles up its own backside with how amazing they think they are.
The ending is humorous and enlightening, and it never at one point leaves you bored, there is always some awesome question you are asking yourself. As for the action? Van Damme can still do the moves like a master blaster at 40 years old and he is in tremendous physical condition, car chases and explosions to keep you going all the way.
I must also thank Jean-Claude for proving that he doesn't always ruin or damage the career of Chinese directors making American movies for the first time, like people think he did with Ringo, John Woo and Tsui Hark, because he has now done 4 films with Ringo Lam, all of which are great.
Also thanks to the legend that is Michael Rooker for a hell of a convincing performance as the obsessed detective, who is also in great shape for his age. Always fun to watch him. Highly recommended. 500/10