previous reviews here.

Old Partner (2009) – korean documentary about a very old, and old fashioned, farmer couple who have an unusually stubborn connection to the old ways and their pet ox.  a slow-paced but illuminating and endearing look at this old nagging couple and how society has left them behind.  all they have left is their farm and their faithful ox who’s been working with them for decades.  i thought it was a touching film and an acknowledgment of a large swath of korea that is being left in the dust by its hyper-modernization of the past two decades.  4 stars.

Good Hair (2009) – chris rock in this documentary about the idea of, participants in and the industry behind the ideal of “good hair” for black women.  chris rock interviews lots of people about this idea that kinky black hair is shunned and replaced by straight, wavy hair.  Rock asks leading questions and the people off the street, who are clearly giddy as shit to be on tv with chris rock, follow his lead and say whatever they think he wants them to hear.  all this is shabbily wrapped up by some boring narrative about some hair design contest.  it’s clear that chris rock meant this movie for one audience: black americans.  still, as a non-black american, i found it illuminating to see a glimpse of society that i don’t usually get a peek at and have to wonder about how the causes and effects of “good hair” can translate to other minority populations in america.  as a korean-american though, i feel slapped in the face at the film’s brief but lasting accusation against koreans without giving koreans any screen time like other groups were given.  no points for intellectual balance.  3 stars. 

Crazy Heart (2009) – jeff bridges is an old, washed-up, alcoholic country music star trying to make his way through his disappointing twilight years.  also starring maggie gyllenhaal and colin ferell.  jeff bridges won the best acting oscar for his portrayal of Bad Blake but i didn’t really think it was an awesome performance.  then again, i don’t remember any performances that i think got snubbed and a year is only 365 days.  a best acting oscar doesn’t mean “best actor of all time.”  the film was formulaic and a bit lacking in the development department, imo.  it wasn’t bad though and a good song at the end ties it all together.  3 stars.

Sherlock Holmes (2009) – robert downey jr. reprises his Tony Stark character except this time with a british accent.  i don’t really remember my childhood sherlock holmes pit fighting thugs for money, so that’s a new twist to the old dude, one that works, imo.  sherlock holmes has to solve the mystery of the dead man who has risen from the dead to terrorize london, all while dealing with his thinly veiled homo-erotic disappointment at dr. watson’s imminent marriage to some girl.  the normally radiant rachel mcadams was fairly wasted as the female interest; pity that.  the rest of the film though was a light and fun breeze.  completely entertaining if not deep and earth-moving.  it never really said it was trying to be deep nor earth-moving though, so it’s all good.  3.5 stars.

Tokyo Sonata (2008) – a japanese father of two is laid off from his corporate job and he has to learn how to deal with the shame of it all…  by hiding it.  the torture this guy goes through to hide his shame and the unspoken strength of his wife are both charming in a way.  the biggest story here though is that this totally decent film was somehow overlooked by japan when they were selecting their one pick for foreign language oscar.   (Departures, the ultimate oscar winner, kind of sucked, imo.  then again, Departures did win it, so wtf do i know?)  3.5 stars.

35 Shots of Rum (2007) – french film about a subway train operator, his daughter and the people around them.  really it’s about change and how we prepare for it and deal with it when it happens.  at least i think that’s what it’s about but who knows with these fucking french.  the father and daughter are completely charming as they act out their enviably cute relationship, and that’s what carries this film.  3.5 stars.

The Slammin’ Salmon (2009) – broken lizard.  michael clarke duncan  is the boxing champion-turned restaurant proprietor with about 84 screws loose who demands that his staff double their previous record for receipts this night.  hilarity ensues.  not really.  fans of broken lizard will have a few chuckles to burp up, mainly thanks to the completely violently unhinged performance of that man-beast michael clarke duncan, but the film ain’t no Super Troopers.  not even a Beerfest.  2.5 stars.

Red Cliff International Version (2008) – john woo’s epic chinese film about a historic battle at the end of the Han Dynasty starring tony leung and that other dude who has a japanese name but stars in all the chinese flicks.  apparently the condensed US version is spotty and hard to follow and not nearly as good as the five hour — repeat: five hour — international version.  that’s the one i saw, because that’s how i roll.  i set aside an entire saturday afternoon to watch this five hour behemoth.  it really is epic so it has that going for it at least.  and i didn’t find it hard to follow at all, so that’s another plus, i guess.  but seriously so disappointing.  the battle scenes were lame.  the acting and dialogue was sappy, cheesy and lame.  that respected frenemies theme that john woo made so cool in the 80s is just sappy, cheesy and lame now.  but, hey, it was epic.  2 stars. 

Flame and Citron (2008) – film about the Dutch resistance during WW2.  it’s not the typical WW2 film since the focus is mainly on the nazi infiltration in the netherlands, and not about the jews, so that’s a relief for this holocaust-fatigued film-viewer.  the focus is on these two assassins in the dutch resistance code-named Flame, for his red hair, and Citron, for his…  sour face?  *shrug*  who knows.  it tries to add a james bond badass element to the typical WW2 setting, which is an admirable goal, but i found the film a little too…  self-aware?  it tried to be too cool, too poignant, too heart-tuggy.  that self-awareness really bothered me throughout so i couldn’t take it seriously.  2 stars.

Air Doll (2009) – korean actress Bae Doo Na stars naked (again) in this japanese Pygmalion-with-a-twist film about a lonely middle aged japanese man whose sex doll comes to life while he’s away.  it’s a fun premise: this doll, who is used for sex by her owner, naively and innocently walks the world in full discovery mode.  the jumps from cute and innocent to dark and unhappy are rather abrupt though and render the film a little schizoid.  2.5 stars.

No One Knows about Persian Cats (2009) – iranian indie film about a thriving underground music scene in the famously oppressive society.  the love of music and yearning to get out and be free are jumping through the screen and that’s a relief.  the musician actors aren’t really actors, apparently.  they weren’t acting.  they were pretty much playing themselves trying to game the system and play some fucking music often at serious risk, and that was a great part of the movie.  it’s a close look at that part of Iran that people hope for but really have no evidence of: the young people that just want to fucking live.  that part is good.  as a film, on the other hand,  no bueno.  pretty terrible as a matter of fact.  it’s obvious the filmmaker felt more loyalty to all the many many different musicians he included in the film than the plot itself.  the result is a film that feels like a 90 minute, discombobulated, low quality music video.  so as a film i have to give it 1.5 stars.  still might be worth a look though just to kill some curiosity. 

Medal of Honor (2009) – romanian film.  a sad sack grandfather, living with his annoyed wife is told that he’s to receive a medal of honor for his role in the war, though he can’t remember what for.  the emotional and physical lengths this guy goes through to figure why he’s getting this medal and justify it to himself is a trip in itself — he’s a living trainwreck — , but the film pays off when he can finally present his new wares to his visiting son and grand son.  quite a interesting story.  3.5 stars.

With a Girl of Black Soil – korean art house film about a single coal miner living with his young daughter and retarded son when he’s laid off for medical reasons.  the film is a totally minimalistic look at the downward spiral of this simple man who lost his one anchor and can’t seem to get settled again.  slow and a little hard to watch, but it’s a solidly depressing look at life and how it sucks and in that suckiness some people try to be strong, though the results might not always be awesome.  3 stars. 

My Friend and His Wife – korean film.  happily married couple and their rich friend who lives in secret envy.  things end badly as expected, though much more badly by degree.  much more than i expected anyway.  the dramatic turns from happy to evil were completely out of touch and unrelateable.  typically korean level of overdoing it.  1.5 stars. 

Rough Cut (2008) -  korean film.  an actor who plays a gangster gets a real gangster to play in the movie with him.  the two rub off on each other and try out each other’s lives for a while.  it has elements of your typical gangster film, but it’s written by the captain of the korean art house: kim kiduk, so there is some depth to it.  amazingly, the film is loaded with dialogue, something kim kiduk’s films don’t have much of.  the film has fun cross-dressing the two characters and basically undressing the cad actor to his bareness.  i thought i was going to see some guys punch and kick each other but i ended up with a fairly decent journey of self-discovery.  3.5 stars.