Retro Review: Pedicab Driver (1989) #Hongkongcinema

Pedicab Driver aka Kwan Lung Hei Fung

1989

Cast: Sammo Hung, Lau Kar-leung, Max Mok, Billy Chow, Fennie Yuen, Nina Li Chi

Genre: Martial Arts Comedy Drama

Hong Kong Box Office Gross: over $14 million

Plot: Two men find themselves in trouble when one falls in love with a bun maker and the other with a woman he doesn't know is a prostitute 

'A Hidden Gem Considered By Many, Yet I Wasn't Quite Sold On It'

Set in the 1930s, Pedicab Driver follows the trials and tribulations of a set of pedicab drivers in Macau: two of them have set their hearts on two attractive ladies, one a baker, and the other a prostitute. So, it is a part-romantic comedy, part drama and part action. 

This is not what I personally consider to be a favourite of mine from Sammo Hung's. Viewed purely as a film with a beginning, middle, and end, Pedicab Driver's journey from A to B isn't sloppy; instead, it is unequivocally brazen and veering all over the place, with no coherency. It was difficult to keep track of the plot throughout. Scenes oscillated between comical and silly at the start to serious and violent, to dreary melodrama which meanders on and is overemotional, in typical Hong Kong drama fashion. 

Additionally, the female characters are not written very well; here they are objectified and once, or twice, they get slapped around or are hit by a male character. That, and it doesn't look pretty. Again, in many of these 1980s Hong Kong action films, unless they are the main characters i.e., Cynthia Rothrock, or Michelle Yeoh oozing a strong onscreen presence, the women are generally portrayed as physically weak and overly emotive/emotional to the extent to which their sensitive nature is taken advantage of and mocked. I had to look away twice when one of them got kicked and punched by the bad guys (she ended up dying I think). 

It could have all gone straight to pot, but the film is just about saved by the performances and the impressive and over-the-top looking martial arts action sequences (one involving Sammo's character, Lo and Casino played by Lau Kar-Leung in a weapons duel), in the face of the melodramatics, the topsy-turvy tonal shifts and dull romance plots involving the two main characters, Max & Lo. Instead of counterpointing the heaviness of the drama with light relief in a smooth, nuanced way- something which can be detected in say, some of Robin Williams' earlier movie works that incorporate drama and comedy-, Pedicab Driver slaps the two styles together without any degree of thought as to how they could coincide with one another. 

Besides the fact that he was a right prick, I found John Shum's bad guy character so annoying. Though he fought well against Sammo, he came across as being so OTT and wicked, he was an annoying twerp throughout. Shum's characters are often silly, goofy, and playful with that snarky tone in his comedy films, - and so it was a surprise to see him play a person, whom I hated so much. 

Final Verdict:

I really wanted to love this one, given that it is highly regarded, but because of the tonal whiplash Sammo took with it, it just never quite worked out for me. It is a film that makes little to no sense and makes little to no attempt in presenting a coherent narrative for us to follow - it just so happens that it excels in the action - yet manages to be jarring. It is never a love-it or hate-it movie for me; it just falls in the middle. Had it followed on, right through from the first fight scene, by not losing sight of its direction when it came to the story and not confusing viewers by mish-mashing subplots, then Pedicab Driver would have turned out to be a terrific film. 

If you are not too bothered by the (muddled) story and are more interested in the action, that's fine.   

Overall:

Retro Review: Shaft (2000)

Shaft

2000

Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Vanessa L. Williams, Jeffrey Wright, Christian Bale, Toni Collette, Busta Rhymes, Mekhi Pfifer, Dan Hedaya, Richard Roundtree 

Genre: Action Crime Thriller

Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $107 million

Plot: The nephew of John Shaft, the original 1970s detective, goes on a personal mission to make sure the son of a real estate tycoon, is brought to justice after a racially motivated murder 

'What Is an Enjoyable & Standard Affair That Should Have Been Way Better? (Shaft!)'

Just to be sure: this isn't a remake of Shaft, nor a prequel to the 1970's Shaft, but a different type of Shaft character... he is the nephew of Uncle John Shaft. They share the same first name, but Samuel L. Jackson's Shaft is not his take on the original Shaft character.

Here, John Shaft (Jr) is an NYPD cop who is investigating a racially motivated murder wherein a young Black man named Trey, was fatally killed by a rich White yuppie, Walter Wade Jr., played by Christian Bale (years before he (Bale) took on the mantle of Bruce Wayne & Batman in Christopher Nolan's Batman films). Shaft quits the NYPD and 2 years later, he is now a narcotics cop/agent with leader & partner, Carmen Vasquez (Vanessa L. Williams) at the helm. When Wade gets released years later, he and a Dominican drug lord, Peoples go out of their way to kill the eyewitness, Trey's date, Ivy (Toni Collete). 

In John Singleton's original script, Richard Roundtree would have played a more pivotal role, teaming up with a younger, newer generation to fight social and racial injustice. Yet neither the studios nor Shaft's producer agreed. Reportedly, Samuel L.Jackson & Singleton disagreed during the shooting & they had clashed with producer Scott Rudin & screenwriter Richard Price during the filmmaking process. 

For someone who never saw the original nor was familiar with the Richard Roundtree-led Blaxploitation hit, John Singleton's Shaft was enjoyable, if not mind-blowing. 

I thought the supporting cast did well with the marginally weak script and lent themselves well as their characters: Vanessa L. Williams and Toni Collette were decent, although it was a little odd to see that Williams' character is Latina, and Williams herself is African-American, and Jeffery Wright's surprising turn as the flamboyant Spanish-speaking People's was one of the highlights (I was interested to learn he is part-Latino in real-life), whereas rapper Busta Rhymes, you can either give or take his cameo as Rasaan. Bale's turn as the smug Walter was a follow-up to his breakout role in American Psycho and here, he dials up the nastiness and bravado to a tee.

Yet the film's flaws lie in the lack of character development: the story itself is very routine, one-note and by-the-numbers, which doesn't offer many surprises, but for the two corrupt and not-so-smart cops. It does well with what it has to work with, but this in itself lies in the film biting off more than it can chew.  

Final Verdict:

Regardless, that same story was easy to follow all the way through, the casting worked & the team-up of John Singleton and Samuel L. Jackson was interesting. Other than that, as mentioned, I found 2000's Shaft enjoyable, but it didn't offer more for it to deserve a 9 or 10 out of 10 for me.  

I just wished the story was a little scrappier and were a bit feistier for an R-rated, 18-rated crime thriller; Shaft plays things all too safe and Singleton allows whatever issues that are supposed to be deep and serious to be resolved, in a very simplistic and watered down way. 

It got a mixed reception, yes - subjectively speaking, Shaft isn't great, but I still enjoyed it. 

Overall:

Mini Movie Review: Here Comes The Boom (2012) #badmovies

Here Comes the Boom

2012

Sports Comedy

A high school biology teacher tries to raise funds for a school by moonlighting as a mixed martial arts fighter and in his quest, he attempts to win the heart of Bella, the school nurse he has a crush on. 

An MMA promotion, starring then- latest in the long line of TV actors turned movie stars, Kevin James, unfortunately, Here Comes the Boom fails to hit the mark as this sports comedy wallows in an insipid and forgettable story and plot, which while on paper, sounds promising, the execution isn't that entertaining, with weak humour. This film would have been more interesting had it been released in the late 1990s or early 2000s with a mid-late 1990s or early 2000s style of comedy. Produced by Adam Sandler, it has his brand of juvenile humour and comedic tone, which was a thing in the 2000s into the early 2010s interweaved into Warrior and Never Back Down. 

Kevin James' and Adam Sandler movies make them the male equivalents of Melissa McCarthy, and with Here comes the boom it is a by-the-numbers, formulaic Sandler project that doesn't challenge himself or the audience. And it is stale too, both in the story and dumb humour. Hardly the side-splitting farce one would predict in a comedy. I stopped after an hr. 

Is It Worth Watching?

For Sandler and Kevin James fanatics only

 

Overall: 

Retro Review: Fantastic Four (2005)

Fantastic Four

2005

Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington 

Genre: Superhero

Worldwide Box Office Gross: over $333 million 

Plot: A group of astronauts gain superpowers after a cosmic radiation exposure and must use them to oppose the plans of their enemy, Doctor Victor Von Doom 

'Solid Adaptation & Far from The Drubbing It Received in 2005'

As the 1990s became the noughties/00s, the age of the Marvel cinematic universe began, starting with Blade in 1998 starring Wesley Snipes, X-Men followed suit in 2000 with then-unknowns Halle Berry and Hugh Jackman: the financial success of the X-Men movies catapulted their statuses. But it was 2002's Spider-Man that broke the $100 million barrier. Fox's gamble on the X-Men paid off and they then turned their attention to the Fantastic Four. 2005's Fantastic Four became the second live-action Fantastic Four. A number of directors flirted with the idea of taking on the most famous superhero family - those included Chris Columbus (well known for Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire), who under Avi Arad and Ralph Winter's production was hired by Fox to write AND direct the Fantastic Four, way back in 1995, and Payton Reed, the latter who went on to take on the realms of Marvel's Ant-Man, - before it settled on Tim Story- whose previous success was with 2002's Ice Cube and Cedric the Entertainer comedy, Barbershop. 

Fox's initial first choice for Sue Storm was Rachel McAdams (The Notebook and Dr Strange), whereas Payton Reed wanted Charlize Theron for the female role and have Paul Walker (The Fast & the Furious) playing Sue's brother, Johnny Storm. Alexis Denisof (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as Reed, John C. Reily as Ben Grimm/The Thing and Jude Law as Victor Von Doom rounded up the initial casting. Under Tim Story's direction, the casting became of that of Welsh actor, Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba - off the back of dance drama, Honey -, then unknown Chris Evans in his first comic book movie role and Michael Chiklis of FX cop drama, The Shield. Chiklis in latex, as opposed to CGI, as the Thing looked all right. Rounding up the cast was Australian actor, Julian McMahon who, much like with Chiklis, was achieving success on the small screen in Nip/Tuck as Christian Troy. Dr Doom was the biggest weak spot; despite being the main villain, he was neither imposing nor could be taken seriously as one. 

Back in 2018, I commented on and reviewed 2015's iteration of Fantastic Four, which was and still stands as one of the worst superhero films of all-time. With that being said, and given the vitriol 2005's movie received, I had to revisit this one thoroughly this time around to see if it is that bad. Well, surprisingly, I found it to be enjoyable in places and somehow, the casting worked - though in contrast to the 2015 Fantastic Four, there seemed to be a bit more charm with this one and is a tad more entertaining than I'd thought it would be. 

There were aspects of the story that didn't hold up all the way through, and the characters lack that something to make them stand out amongst other superheroes such as the X-Men, The Avengers; yet in Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis, they were by far the standouts in the entire film. It was really interesting to see Evans as Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch and pre-Captain America and before he became really big; when you give an actor like Evans a character with a big personality to back up his skills and abilities when it comes to the action elements, you can see him come to life, and as a result, he excels as a character actor. He demonstrated this in the indie fare, The Losers, as Captain America and in the first big Fantastic Four movie. 

However, Jessica Alba and Ioan Gruffudd's roles seem underwritten and underwhelming, as much as they try to do their best in their performances. Along with Evans, Chiklis, it at least to me it felt like I could buy into them onscreen as a team and as a family. I still take this Fantastic Four over the 2015 casting, which looked out of sorts and had no chemistry, no charm, no synergy. The dialogue, in this one, is a give and take thing, and whilst it lacks style, the turns by Evans and Chiklis just about keep the Fantastic Four together, - and just about. 

The mid-2000s special effects via the $100 million budget, are still decent to this day, and honestly, as a whole, it wasn't too bad as a film; I had fun with it and went along for the ride, and it was fairly solid and enjoyable. 

Final Verdict:

It's definitely not a complete bomb as a film as critics have stated at the time of its release and today as it has its bright spots; it embraces the spectacle aspect that is found in movies such as this and goes out of its way to entertain. 

2015's Fantastic Four has nothing, and I say absolutely nothing, on this one. 

Overall: 

Mini Movie Review: Whitney (2015) #badmovies

Whitney

2015

Biography 

From Britney to Whitney and other biographical offerings, Lifetime movies have been pretty terrible, and it is no record that Whitney's family made no secret of their loathing towards this one. Oddly, it jumps straight into the late 1980s where she broke out with I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Too much about Bobby Brown (this is a film that is supposed to be about Whitney, after all), also Deborah Cox is a fantastic singer, but why have her or anyone else sing Whitney's songs? Doesn't make sense, whatsoever. There is a glaring omission of the darker details of Whitney and Bobby's troubled relationship, i.e., the domestic assaults, and the sex scenes, are, well... (and what is with the choice of reggae music playing as they have sex in one of them?) A stiff, low budget film - directed by none other than Angela Bassett, shock horror - that skimps out on the most important and crucial moments and successes of Whitney's life and career and focusing on her ups and downs with Bobby Brown and presenting Whitney in a negative light, and one that is exploitative. Whitney Houston fans will be unimpressed when and after they see this. I'm hoping the upcoming I Wanna Dance with Somebody will be the movie that will do justice to Whitney's pop legacy, - unlike Whitney, well make that Whitney and Bobby. More like propping up Bobby Brown and playing down Whitney.

Is It Worth Watching?

I came for Whitney, but what I got was Whitney's lows, and Bobby. Don't bother

Overall: