I wonder if this is what some of the porn directors of the 60s/70s thought the genre might be able to achieve one day: a fusion of erotic (and not simulated) sex scenes and an actually good movie. This one uses sex to not only titillate, but also as an object to explore cinematically. In part, we get a great portrait of desire and the things we’ll ignore to get with people we want. We also get a really interesting…
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Only the River Flows 2023
A movie about a detective losing his mind in the face of impending fatherhood, the death of the cinema, and a crime he can’t solve, in no small part because of an incompetent bureaucracy more interested in ping pong and seeking merits than helping its employees do their jobs well.
The story appears at first like it’s going to follow a tried and true formula, but it plays out in pretty unexpected and sometimes baffling (in a good way, to…
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The Sword 1980
The Sword starts out so strong. Great atmosphere (love the fog in the woods and the bridge scene especially), some striking cinematography, and cool sword fights. Unfortunately the next fifty minutes really drag, filled mostly with pretty boring conversations. There’s almost a good kernel of a romance story there (something Tam would do a lot better in My Heart is that Eternal Rose) but it’s just too muddled. The end gets the juices flowing again, but it’s too little too late. Still, it’s an almost cool mixture of action/romance that Tam and other Hong Kong directors would do more successfully in other movies.
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House of Wax 2005
Immaculate early 00s vibes. Chad Michael Murray perfectly channeled the douche bag bro mentality that pervaded the St. Louis suburbs 20 years ago. Soundtrack very reminiscent of that period as well. I would have heard all those bands on 105.7 the point while driving to the movie theater.
The horror aspects of the movie itself were surprisingly good. Pretty tense, shockingly gruesome in parts. Cut 15 minutes off and you have a near masterpiece of the 00s.
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