Space Bugs, Gut Bugs, and Squirrel Bugs: Macross Frontier: The Wings of Farewell (2011) Review

Director: Shoji Kawamori

Notable Cast: Aya Endo, Megumi Nakajima, Yuichi Nakamura, Aya Hirano, Katsuyuki Konishi, Sanae Kobayashi, Kikuko Inoue, Megumi Toyoguchi, Rie Tanaka, Tomokazu Sugita

 

Although I already had my ticket loaded for Macross Frontier: The Wings of Farewell after seeing the first Macross Frontier film two weeks prior, my gut feeling was not the most hopeful. Despite its highlights, the predecessor was something of a mess and a missed opportunity in my book (you can read my full review over HERE if you would so like) and it relatively dashed my expectations for the second film. Did I really want to see if they could piece together the shattered remains of tones and narrative left in the wake of The False Songstress?

 

With that in mind, The Wings of Farewell is, surprisingly enough, a substantial step up from Macross Frontier: The False Songstress. It fixes so many of the issues that plagued the previous one in its tonality and general character development. It’s not a perfect film, particularly in its stuttered narrative, but it’s entertaining enough and features some significantly fun set pieces to catch both old and new fans of the Macross world. 

 

Legend (1985)

Director: Ridley Scott

Notable Cast: Tom Cruise, Mia Sara, Tim Curry, David Bennent, Alice Playten, Billy Barty, Cork Hubbert, Peter O’Farrell, Kiran Shah, Annabelle Lanyon, Robert Picardo

 

It’s no secret that Ridley Scott is one of the most prolific directors still working. At the age of 83, the man is releasing two films in the final quarter of 2021 (The Last Duel and House of Gucci for those wondering) and his career is just as diverse in subject matter as the gap between those two films. However, while his directorial trajectory over the decades has had its roller coaster moments of quality, his early work is essential viewing. Genre fans, in particular, owe a great deal to the semi-auteur director.  Whether it’s Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise, or Gladiator, Scott has produced films that have a significant legacy to them. 

 

Of course, then there’s Legend. 

 

Scott’s 1985 fantasy opus, starring an up-and-coming who’s who of young talent and featuring a truly ethereal sense of whimsy, darkness, and adventure, was actively met with disdain or apathy at the time of its release. It was often compared by critics and audiences to his previous film, Blade Runner, as a film lost in technicality and missing real characters or plots. Keep in mind that the mentioned science fiction epic was also met with disdain and/or apathy on its release. Yet, just like that film, Legend has garnered a vivacious cult fan base since then for all of the same reasons it was dismissed. Enough so that Arrow Video has deemed it worthy of a luscious new 4K restoration and collector’s edition package. 

 

The Mad Fox (1962)

Director: Tomu Uchida

Notable Cast: Hashizo Okawa, Michiko Saga, Ryunsosuke Tsukigata

One of the best things that Arrow Video and their sister label Arrow Academy has done in the last few years is that they have really dug into classic Japanese cinema for release in the west. While Criterion certainly whets the whistle with their Akira Kurosawa releases and a few other key ones (notable for this review will be the Samurai Trilogy,) Arrow has picked up the pace and delivered iconic releases for both genuine classics and those of the cult variety. The Mad Fox represents a bit of both of those worlds. Directed by Tomu Uchida, a prolific director that is finally getting more of his films beyond the previously mentioned Samurai Trilogy released here, The Mad Fox is both a gorgeous classic medieval Japanese dramatic tale and one where the fantasy elements edge it further into genre territory than expected. While the film is certainly well executed in a variety of ways, it’s also one that has a rather intriguing and often baffling script that makes it uniquely odd. For those who want to dig into Uchida’s filmography or perhaps just watch a wild cinematic experience, The Mad Fox certainly delivers for both of those groups.

It should be mentioned at this time that, while I have seen my fair share of Japanese films, the romantic and fantastical dramas of the early 60s are very much not something I am well versed in and, thus, The Mad Fox is something of a punchy way to leap into it. For that reason, if you are in the same boat as myself – I cannot recommend this Blu Ray enough simply for Jasper Sharp’s commentary that truly helped me understand what film I just watched, why it makes some of the choices that it does, and why this film deserves some attention. Not that a film should require someone to guide its viewer through the entire thing, but for someone that is not well versed in the mythos, fantasy elements, or time period of The Mad Fox – it’s a must listen.

Asako I & II (2018)

Director: Ryusuke Hamaguchi

Notable Cast: Masahiro Higashide, Erika Karata, Koji Seto, Rio Yamashita, Sairi Itoh

Ryusuke Hamaguchi is continually proving himself to be one of the finest directors anywhere out there, and that is coming from someone who has unfortunately still yet to see his universally acclaimed Happy Hour. His latest offering, Asako I & II, where it stands at this point in the year, is my absolute favorite film experience thus far. Yes, it premiered in 2018 in many parts of the world, but its U.S release is this year, kicking off at the Metrograph this month (May), courtesy of Grasshopper Films.

Night Is Short, Walk on Girl (2017)

Director: Masaaki Yuasa

Notable Cast: Gen Hoshino, Kana Hanazawa, Hiroshi Kamiya, Ryuji Akiyama

One of the great things about a film festival is that a person is able to see a lot of films that they may not have been intent on seeing previously. For me, this is the case for the animated and fantasy focused romantic comedy, Night Is Short, Walk on Girl. As someone who is only just starting to get into the realms of anime and one that is not all that keen on romantic comedies, this was a film that I was hesitant to simply leap into without much warning. However, a brief search of the film online sold me that it was worth the chance. The film had already opened in Japan to success, received some accolades like the Animation of the Year at the Japan Academy Prize, and it is already slated for a select US theatrical release. Naturally, this perks my interest. Even then, Walk Is Short, Walk on Girl was not quite the film I expected. Instead of a straight forward take on any of its genres, it exists as a strange vortex of exaggeration of the elements, tonally, visually, and in narrative. It’s quirky as hell and is often as perplexing as it is engaging with its story, but Walk Is Short, Walk on Girl is also impressively confident with the material which makes it one of the most intriguing and dynamic cinematic experiences this year.

How Long Will I Love You (2018)

Director: Lun Xu

Notable Cast: Jia Ying Lei, Li Ya Tong

It’s not often that a cult cinema site like Blood Brothers is offered the chanced to run coverage on a romantic comedy and, normally, it’s one that we wouldn’t pursue because, well, how many rom-coms have genre elements that would even fit into the realms of cinema we cover? However, How Long Will I Love You had a twist. It’s a film that uses a time-travel/multi-dimensional gimmick as the hinge in bringing the two leads together for their rom-com tropes. It was enough to perk our interest in the film and here we are…writing a positive review for a rom-com. In many ways, the film suffers by adhering so vehemently to the tropes of the genre. Enough so that large swaths of the film are easily predictable. On the other hand, the film subverts them with its own messages about fate and serendipity through its strange fantasy elements. It’s a teeter-totter kind of back and forth that makes it feel a bit more sporadic then needed, but ultimately the saving grace of How Long Will I Love You is that no matter which way the film is leaning, it’s irresistibly charming and powered by the hilarious and heartwarming chemistry between its two leads.

Legend of the Mountain (1979)

Director: King Hu

Notable Cast: Shih Chun, Hsu Feng, Syliva Chang, Tung Lam, Tien Feng, Chen Hui-Lou, Rainbow Hsu, Wu Jiaxiang, Ng Ming Tsui, Sun Yueh

Legend of the Mountain remains a rather unique cinematic experience for a variety of reasons. As one of the overlooked films in King Hu’s filmography, particularly compared to his famous wuxia films like Come Drink with Me, Dragon Inn, and his artistic pinnacle A Touch of Zen, it’s truly a wonder that this film finally finds itself with a proper release in the US via our friends at Kino Lorber. It’s not a film for everyone, thanks to Hu’s enigmatic narrative and almost-too-much-of-a-good-thing visual and auditory approach to the film, but for those that are seemingly up for the 3+ hour leap into realms of magic, love, and just a hint of horror, it’s a film that embraces its cinematic experience in full.

The Apartment (1960)

Director: Billy Wilder

Notable Cast: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kreschen, David Lewis, Hope Holiday, Joan Shawlee, Naomi Stevens, Johnny Seven

In an effort to be upfront and honest with the readers of this site and to give some context to this review, Billy Wilder films have never quite been my cup o’ tea. Massively respectable, sure, and I would even go as far as to say that I agree he made some of the defining films for multiple decades. Yet, many of the films I’ve seen of his never quite resonated with me. That is, until The Apartment. A multiple Oscar winning film from 1960, The Apartment is a dramatic comedy that pushed a lot of buttons for a film made in this time period. Its comedic moments are often dark at times and the basic plot and narrative adds a lot of layering to what could have been a fairly cut-n-dry dramedy. It’s a film that is impeccably crafted in terms of how it unveils its romantic comedy narrative and uses its stronger elements to deliver a thoughtful, layered, and humane story. For cinephiles around the world, it’s a film that deserves to be seen and this latest Arrow Academy release is the way to see it.

Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield (2017)

Director: Lu Yang

Notable Cast: Chang Chen, Yang Mi, Zhang Yi, Olivia Wang, Tan Zhuo, Lei Jia-Yin, Xin Zhilei, Chin Shih-Chieh, Li Yuan, Mickey Yuan, Liu Feng-Chao, Wang Ren-Jun, Wu Xiao-Liang

Back in 2014, Brotherhood of Blades came out as a rather big surprise. For a modern wuxia, it had an impeccable sense of balance to its dramatic storytelling, old school Hong Kong style brotherly loyalty at its core, and a flashy sense of taking modern action and mixing it with classic wuxia elements. It was artistic enough to be effective and heartfelt, but entertaining enough to strike a chord with more mainstream audiences. It was also a surprise box office hit along with winning a few awards to add to its list of strong qualities. Fortunately, it was enough to warrant a franchise out of the film and this year we were given a prequel, Brotherhood of Blades II: The Infernal Battlefield, that tells the ‘origin’ story of Chang Chen’s character from the original film. As much as a prequel can horrifically backfire, in another round of surprises, Brotherhood of Blades II is just as impactful, fun, and effective as its predecessor. It’s inherently the same kind of film, a historically set wuxia surrounding a conspiracy with plenty of morally gray characters to fill out the tale, but it’s also one that strips the film back and refocuses itself on one key element: a love story. And it works brilliantly.

Once Upon a Time (2017)

Directors: Zhao Xiaoding, Anthony LaMolinara
Notable Cast: Liu Yifei, Yang Yang

I will admit, I had no clue whatsoever what this film was going in, which is the purest mindset you can go into a cinematic voyage with. I was told "You will be reviewing a big budget Chinese fantasy romance film", and I said "Cool!". As I sat down, and prepared myself for a visual treat, I was immediately sucked into the world, and then spat right back out as I began to realize that the visuals, and everything else for that matter, weren't quite what one would initially think. Confusing? One moment...

Love and Goodbye and Hawaii (2017)

Director: Shingo Matsumura

Notable Cast: Aya Ayano, Kentaro Tamura, Momoka Ayukawa, Aoi Kato, Risa Kameda

Finding yourself in the process of breaking up with a loved one is hard to do, especially when feelings may still be lingering about from one or potentially both of the people involved. Rinko finds herself in this situation with her boyfriend of several years, Isamu. The two are comfortable around each other and enjoy the presence of one another still. There are no awkward moments or tension in the air and Rinko is allowed to stay until she can afford to move into an apartment of her own. The only thing of this whole situation that is unusual is that none of her friends are in the loop on this breakup. Love and Goodbye and Hawaii delivers are warm romantic comedy with just the right amount of subtle drama that delivers the best picture of this nature so far this year and in fact one of the finest films of 2017 period.

Daguerreotype (2016)

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Notable Cast: Tahar Rahim, Olivier Gourmet, Constance Rousseau, Mathieu Amalric, Malik Zidi

Kiyoshi Kurosawa has become not only a household name in the horror community, but has made a name for himself in the art circle as well and as a filmmaker he has been branching out of his usual genre of choice for the past several years now. Continuing to venture out from his regular choices, though being seemingly familiar once we get to it, Kurosawa has crafted a piece outside of Japan for his first non-Japanese language picture, to France, with the chilling romantic ghost tale, Daguerreotype a.k.a The Woman in the Silver Plate.

Neko Atsume House (2017)

Director: Masatoshi Kurakata

Notable Cast: Atsushi Ito, Shiori Kutsuna, Tae Kimu, Tomorowo Taguchi, Kayoko Okubo

JAPAN CUTS 2017:

So, a Neko Atsume movie happened. Never thought I'd say that, even with the massive success of the game internationally, I was just instantly baffled that a game where you set out various food and toys to have cute cats comes visit you periodically, could ever be adapted, and for that matter into a film of all things, but he we are and I must say it is a lot better than I thought it would be going in, as it is quite obvious that I was fairly skeptical.

Bamy (2016)

Director: Jun Tanaka

Notable Cast: Hironobu Yukinaga, Hiromi Nakazato, Misaki Tsuge, Toshi Yanagi, Yuki Katsuragi

Ghost stories in Japanese cinema have sort of faded away for the most part, aside from trying to squeeze out every drop of profit that companies can from franchises like Ju-On or Ringu, but J-horror (as dubbed by Western culture) in general is a dying genreas a whole, or is it? No, all jokes aside, Jun Tanaka takes the romanticized stories of ghosts that the likes of Kiyoshi Kurosawa has done before during the boom of the genre, and resurrected it and made it all his own by way of indie film making, with the chilling and overall creepy, Bamy.

This is Not What I Expected (2017)

Director: Derek Hui
Notable Cast: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhou Dongyu, Ming Xi, Tony Yang

Food lovers are transported to the best interpretation of 'food heaven' yet as This is Not What I Expected takes the potential erotics of food (visually speaking) and cranks them up to be the most eye-pleasing series of close-ups and slow-motion preparation shots of all time, in cinematic history, period. Now that may be up for debate, and is perhaps a strong opinion to throw out into the wild upfront, but it is what I stand by, just like the confidence of Kaneshiro's masterful critique of said cuisine.

A Man and A Woman (2016)

Director: Lee Yoon-ki

Notable Cast: Gong Yoo, Jeon Do-yeon

Lee Yoon-ki is one of those directors that not a lot of people know about, sadly, but he has always been one that I get excited for every time he has a new project in the pipeline. Given that two of my favorite performers from Korea, Jeon Do-yeon (Secret Sunshine) and Gong Yoo (Silenced) were attached as the two leads, admittedly I began to quickly over hype myself for said film. It came out finally on Blu-ray in Korea, and well, I left the film, equally satisfied and annoyed.

A Man and A Woman is the story of... uh... a man and a woman (yep) that meet by chance in a foreign country. The two people are very lonely and that is quite apparent by their nature in general. Both, coincidentally, are sending their children off to a trip with a schooling group. Afterwards, the woman is without a ride, and grows worried for her child, as he has special needs, so the man offers her a ride to go to the place where their children will be staying, to allow her to have a since of relief, and during their car ride there, the two seem to hit it off. Essentially, a romance occurs, which is in no way a spoiler at all, and it is quite obvious where things are going, so nothing more is needed on the plot.

Journey to the Shore (2015)

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

Notable Cast: Tadanobu Asano, Eri Fukatsu, Kaoru Okunuki, Akira Emoto, Yu Aoi, Masao Komatsu

I walked away from this film as irritated as I was pleased and thankful that I had the chance to see this newest outing (save Creepy, which I think hasn't even opened in Japan yet) by longtime favorite of mine, Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, Retribution, Tokyo Sonata). It's a film that is slow, beautiful, heartbreaking, and at the same time it's uninteresting and dull in parts. Oddly, I think it works in the end, though I couldn't help but find myself not caring at moments, but I'll get to that later.

Love in a Puff + Love in the Buff (2010, 2012)

             

Director: Pang Ho-cheung

Notable Cast: Shawn Yue, Miriam Yeung, Cheung Tat Ming, Sharon Luk, Charmaine Fong, Xu Zheng, Yang Mi, Vincent Kok, Ekin Cheng, Huang Xioaming

Original Cantonese title(s): 志明與春嬌 / 春嬌與志明

The Love in a Trilogy (that's not what it's officially called, but we'll go with it; the third has yet to start shooting) is one of my favorite series of films, not because of the ambition and scale (like a lot of Hollywood franchises thrive on), but because these are great hang out films. The lead characters of Jimmy and Cherie (played to perfection by Shawn Yue and Miriam Yeung) are two of my favorite characters in all of cinema. Again, they aren't overly written or that unique, but they are very much real, so much so, that I often forget when watching them, that I am watching people act. They (aside from how nice they look visually) both [films] have this almost documentary quality to them, especially the 1st one. Love in a Puff has an interesting element of interviews with each of the characters for a documentary that is being made in the film. Fantastic!

Cherie and Jimmy

To keep things organized, and to not bounce back and forth between films constantly, I am going to primarily be reviewing Love in a Puff, with a little add-on paragraph below on Love in the Buff, which feels like more of an expansion to the film, rather than a sequel that takes us into a very, very different place, despite the actual setting be different (Beijing instead of Hong Kong). With that out of the way, let's get to it and talk about one of my favorite Hong Kong films of the decade, the quick-witted, always vulgar and yet charming, Love in a Puff.

PUFF:
2010 marked an awesome year for me. I discovered a new (to me) director working in my favorite area of cinematic gold (Hong Kong was my place at the time), Pang Ho-cheung. I saw two of his films that year, both very different films: Dream Home (維多利亞壹號), and the subject of this review. I was completely blown away by both films as they were both so different from each other (one a slasher film and the other a love story), and yet similar in how they handled real characters and very realistic dialogues. Now, I will say, I am no speaker nor even an understand-er (new word) of the Cantonese language, but what I will say is my ears can differentiate that over-the-top theatrical dialogue that films have (no matter the language spoken) versus a more naturalistic approach. This film has so much swearing in it, that it sort of reminded me of a Kevin Smith film, without going in to that so far-fetched that it feels fake territory that Smith films often do. Pang and his dialogue felt to me like the closest thing I'd get to hanging out with local Hong Kong people than actually being right there in the country. It was something fresh that I hadn't really gotten with other films from the area, and it excited me.

Love in a Puff, as said before, is quite the simple tale, in which two people meet up and begin to fall in love, with the backdrop to the romance being the smoking situation in Hong Kong that had began around that time (smoking at designated posts in public). The two lovebirds to be, Jimmy and Cherie, have some of the best chemistry as a couple of any romance film I've seen. They are completely real and believable. I think to this day, this is still the best character Shawn Yue has played. He's so loose and comfortable and never once does his star image ever seep through. He is Jimmy. The exact same praise goes for Miriam and her character.

Singing in the red room!

Some of the best scenes in the film are the interactions between their group of friends, whether it's just a more mundane story, or something more exotic like the pubic hair caught on the wristband of Jimmy's ex-girlfriend, whilst the gang was eating at a very fancy restaurant one night. It always kept me intrigued and constantly sporting a goofy grin on my face for most of the entirety of the film. To add to that, and to transition a little, the film also goes into more serious areas later on, nothing crazy or dark, but true to life nonetheless. The film greatly shows that human relationships are equal parts simple and complex. A 'romance', no matter which way you approach it, is a very layered thing to even attempt. Two humans having to put trust in to one another and try to slowly begin to understand, appreciate, and bond together, despite differences in personalities and viewpoints on life, is something that it is very difficult to convey realistically in cinema, and I think Pang has done an excellent job in doing so whilst also juggling that this movie has mainstream appeal. I'm not saying the film is much deeper than it leads us to believe, but I am saying it has a certain depth in its naturalism that it showcases within people's everyday lives, and I think that is a beautiful thing.

I won't blab on too long, for fear of a 50 paragraph review, but if I had to pick one romance film that could appeal to anybody, it'd be Love in a Puff. It's genius!

BUFF:
Love in the Buff, the 2012 sequel to one of my favorite films, now sees Jimmy in Beijing with his job, working mega hours and being stressed out. He has also developed a relationship (which we see unfolding throughout) with a local woman, Youyou Shang (Yang Mi), a person whom he seems to enjoy time with. By chance, and sort of the thing about the film that annoyed me [though I understand it needed to happen for the film's sake], Cherie magically shows up in Beijing due to her work as well. The two bump into each other and that old flame reignites. They can't seem to get out of each others' lives, both mentally, and now physically. Things seem to start picking up for the two, but Jimmy's current relationship with Youyou seems to make things complicated, and all the while Cherie seems to have something going with a man named Sam (Xu Zheng). Will the two lovebirds of yesteryear reunite and finally fall truly in love with one another? Have they been in love this entire time? Well, you'll have to see and find out.

Cherie and Jimmy: Strikes Back

I really don't want to go too much into the sequel, other than to sort of give a small two cents on it. I think the film is fine. I don't think it is a strong as the 1st, but a nice continuation it certainly is. Ekin Cheng (of, well... he's Ekin Cheng, fame) has a small, but awesome role as a crush of Cherie's, and he is fantastic in the film. I'm usually not a big fan of the guy, but he totally works here. Everyone's acting is fine, the cinematography is fantastic as usual in a Pang film. The writing is fresh, but sometimes feels too familiar. It's nice seeing familiar faces pop up, whilst also developing and having new characters to enjoy and get to know.

New Area, New Lover?

I have only seen Buff once, but it is an effective movie. The relationship and previous feelings between Cherie and Jimmy from the 1st film, is what keeps this film's momentum going. You just want the two to get together, but you know it is subtly more complicated than that. Knowing that there is a 3rd film now in the works, I really hope we get to see where their relationships will ultimately lead them. Love in the Buff is a fantastic follow-up, but not one I am sure if was absolutely necessary to come out when it did. I don't feel enough time had past for me to really, really invest back into what was going on between the two, but it still got me in the end, and it's a solid watch.

Written by Josh Parmer

Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal (2015)

Directors: Peter Pau, Zhao Tianyu

Notable Cast: Chen Kun, Li Bingbing, Winston Chao, Yang Zishan

In the effort of being upfront, the intense focus on rivaling Hollywood in spectacle by some of the bigger films coming out of Hong Kong has been underwhelming. In the case of Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal, the blend of classic Chinese story and CGI slathered spectacle heavily caters to the latter and forgets to focus on the former leaving a film that has potential, but rarely lives up to it. Even fans of epic fantasy films are going to find it a bit hard to digest. It’s not for lack of effort, but Snow Girl just doesn’t have enough time or budget to get out what it needs to be a great film.

Zhong Kui (Chen Kun) is a legend in the local city. He’s a demon slayer trained by a god in heaven to keep the Earth safe from the demon hordes of hell below. When a mysterious woman named Snow Girl (Li Bingbing) shows up after he steals the powerful Dark Crystal from hell, he begins to remember a past life that will set him on a course to shake the vary foundations of the three realms and uncover a conspiracy to annihilate mankind for good.

The white color scheme of innocence is a bit heavy handed in this scene.

Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal (which is really titled Zhong Kui: Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal according to its title sequence) is a film that, like it’s narrative and lead character Zhong Kui, is caught in multiple realms of reality. On one hand, the film is an epic fantasy film hinged on a romantic character struggle with ties to classic wuxia films and stories with a slew of characters and tons of intrigue built into the narrative. On the other hand, the film so desperately wants to obtain an epic Lord of the Rings feeling that it will sacrifice everything to be on the cutting edge of being grand. This leads to some lofty problems of ‘too much shit in one bucket’ for the film to properly handle itself.

This culminates to a battle of visual storytelling versus script in the film. Directors Peter Pau and Zhao Tianyu, who handle the cinematography of this film like a bad ass, obviously are very visual storytellers. They throw everything they have into creating a visceral experience for the audience. The background CGI is phenomenal (even if the CGI characters within those are exponentially more hit and miss – including Zhong Kui’s demon form which never feels as smooth or effective as it could have) and the directors have a knack for great camera work with the landscapes. Even the visual effects riddled battle sequences are something pretty to look at with enough sparkles, bits of debris, and motion to obtain the ‘epic’ look that the film desperately attempts to achieve. The highlight of such is a fun underwater demon battle that, outside of the silly Zhong Kui demon form, looks and feels like a Hollywood production. A huge step considering some of the terrible CGI that has riddled the last few years of Chinese big budget productions.

Mondays.

The plot itself harkens backs to the core of a lot of great Chinese storytelling. Gods and romance, demons and morals, action and emotion. The story is so massive though that often many of the elements are thrown out there and then have to be sacrificed for its attempts at being a blockbuster. The romantic subplot is often overlooked for the visuals as actors Chen Kun and Li Bingbing are only in a handful of scenes together as real actors and the rest is in their CGI demon forms which takes a lot of oompf out of the emotions. Even some of the more intriguing plot twists, like finding out just who is the real villain of the film, fall flat as there wasn’t quite enough time to develop the character relationships that didn’t serve the pacing or the visual grandeur. Too much of the interactions and the character growth is thrown out for the sake of those big epic visuals and massive CGI monster battle sequences that the depth needed to actually hold up those same elements is forgotten. Subsequently, Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal sinks like a rock as the audience desperately tries to grab onto anything worth taking away from the film when it comes to the story.

Balrog who?

Granted, the intent of this film was obviously two things: visual opulence and the kick off of a possible franchise. In those things Snow Girl and the Dark Crystal does succeed. The cinematography is stunning and the plot builds some great threads that it can’t actually use in this film, but would be perfect for sequels. However, as a stand-alone film experience Snow Girl fails to resonate with its classic themes, characters, and emotional relevance. Which are all keys to raising this film above and beyond its own execution. In the end, it’s a very pretty film with all kinds of deserving praise for shots, costuming, and design and yet…it remains a hollow cinema experience that won’t be remembered in the years to come. Balance is everything. This film sorely lacks it.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Temple of the Red Lotus (1965)

Director: Hsu Cheng Hung

Notable Cast: Jimmy Wang Yu, Ivy Ling Po, Lo Lieh, Chin Ping

While my love for the Shaw Brothers filmography developed through the studios’ 70s and 80s classic hand to hand combat films, time and availability has grown my appreciation for what the studio had to offer in various genres and styles – but the earlier 60s martial arts films still tend to feel a bit unconfident in many ways. This wavering dedication to a style shows up heavily in Temple of the Red Lotus. Despite some solid attempts at narrative and the sheer star power of both Jimmy Wang Yu and Lo Lieh, the film finds itself wandering a bit too much and failing to provide the entertainment needed to sell it’s epic story.