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bettytuan0209
Reviews
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Impressive upgrade to the classic
It took me 5 years to get the courage to watch this. I liked the classic and the score so much I'm scared the remake will ruin it. It's hard to believe but I really like this remake! It's much more than just translating animated characters to real actors. It does justice to the classic plot and songs, while adding a few changes that improved the story.
The characters are fuller and more believable. I like the additional background story to both the beast and Belle. I've wondered for years why they are the way they are, and now I know! Gaston and LeFou are more believable and have their own stories and development instead of the two dimensional symbolic existence they were in the classic. I like the new songs too.
London Has Fallen (2016)
Can the screenwriters even watch this?
The plot is ridiculous it must be intended for 5 year olds. Besides that though, I thought the actions, music, setup, editing and acting were mostly well done.
Now back to why this should be an example of bad screenplays. Have the writers got the slightest clue of how a US president's security system works? The movie was doing well until the scene where the Japanese prime minister is STUCK IN TRAFFIC on his way to the British prime minister's funeral. Seriously? Anyone who has been late to work because of some closed roads for a head of state's visit knows this is not how they travel. Many other presidents were allowed to go anywhere and do whatever they want with minimal body guards around them, in a foreign country, right before a national event. The security system is a joke in this movie.
A terrorist group was able to bomb all of the London landmarks minutes apart, fill every state department with their people, cut off London's power supply, listen in every communication channel and still have an endless supply of people to fight a single Secret Service agent, who kills all of them?! And the movie did not give a remotely satisfying explanation if how they did it except there is an insider. I had to cut my brain out of power to finish this movie.
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Stereotypical portray of Asians
As an Asian in the US I really hate this movie. I think it's a very narrow one-sided and stereotypical portray of Asians. All the Asian women have terrible stories of being dominated by jerks (usually the husband). I must say that some of the cultural and historical background is true and I will admit that some of these do reflect reality in China or Asian cultures, but it is overly dramatized and exaggerated. The plot has so much room to play with that I expect to have more breadth and diversity. It just seems unrealistic that all 8 women have such tragic lives. It bothers me so much that this is the way China and Asian cultures are being portrayed in a movie that is popular in the west.
In the scene where Waverly brings her white fiancé Rich home, Rich didn't know some Chinese dining etiquette. When Waverly's mother said her fish is not salty, she was being humble and actually wanted everyone to praise it. Rich actually criticized the dish and just poured soy sauce on the fish. It hardly seems like something anyone with decent manner would do. The character of Harold, who is Lena's husband and splits the cost of everything they share, and Lin-Xiao, who is Yingying's ex-husband and abused her and openly brought his mistress home, both seem overly flat, dramatized and unreal.
There are also many noticeable flaws in the plot. For example, Ted became bored in his marriage with Rose because Rose has lost herself and let Ted makes all the decisions. Ted was going to divorce her for another women. During the divorce, Rose realized her mistakes and yelled at him "Get out of my house" and the next thing we know they are back together. The film never explained how the 4 women came to the US too.
Besides the plot, the acting, filming, editing, etc. are actually good. It's annoying some people in the scenes in China speaks mandarin with an American ascent but I'll give them a break.
Skhizein (2008)
Fascinating story and good graphics
The story is quite interesting. A man is 91cm away from himself after struck being struck by a meteorite.
The graphics is very nice. I also love the tone of the film. As previously mentioned, the animation style looks a little childish, which I found refreshing. Because of the subject, the film has a little sadness and darkness to it. The tone aligns with the man's pain from coping with his life. I could almost feel his misery and suffering. The French also sounded great.
Only thing I'm not quite satisfied with is not having a more definite ending. I sure hope more people get to see films like this.