Pasha's Film Reviews Etc.

4/5 The year is 1925 and Imperial Japanese army in South Korea is focused on one thing only - to catch the infamous tiger Dae-ho - the King of the mountain. As all their efforts are in vain, they ask for help the hunter Mun-duk, unaware of his special relationship with the animal. When Mun-Duk refuses, Japanese find a way to apply pressure. It's not before long that things get out of control and a tragedy strikes at the hearts of both - the animal and the man. Director Park Hoon-Jung is thriving on period action drama, heavy with CGI effects, which until recently was impossible in small Korean market. Balancing visual spectacle with deep and meaningful drama, he gives us a dark fairy tale - a memorable story on a touching subject. He carefully recreates the period piece with masterful attention to detail, but the real winner here is nature. The mountains and the forests of South Korea are on display with colourful season change, giving us a perfect impression of the la...

3 1/5 /5 A small frontier town in the old west has been invaded by the tribe of crazy cannibals. They kidnap a deputy and a medical woman - Samantha O'Dyer. A rescue expedition includes Samantha's husband Arthur, sherif Hunt (Kurt Russell), and few others. They embark on a journey through the wilderness, only to find out that they bit more than they could chew. Their trip is even more complicated because of Arthur's broken leg - an injury he sustained before his wife's kidnapping. The men come face to face with the true terror, that my be the real representation of the land they came to possess. Stripped of the remains of what defined them as civilised men, they are now locked in the battle for survival. The first adjective that comes to mind when describing this directorial debut by Steven Craig Zahler is "long". The film's running time (over two hours) is the movie's biggest flaw. 30  minutes or so could be easily edited out, however the l...

3/5 Kate Abbot (Milla Jovovich) is the only survivor in an explosion where all her colleagues had died. Being the only suspect  and with a merciless killer (Pierce Brosnan) hunting her down she has no one to turn to. She can only count on herself to uncover a global terrorist conspiracy and stop the unthinkable from happening. SURVIVOR has a familiar set up of Nick of Time, Red Eye or Non Stop, but with a lesser budget and simpler script. Director James McTeague, the famous creator of "V For Vendetta" gives us a disappointing and uninspired piece of work. It's resembles an episode of 24, only without character development. Every turn of the script is obvious from miles away and Milla Jovovich gives a woden performance and lacks vulnerability and charisma required for the role. The image of a merciless killer suits her much better. As for Pierce Brosnan, he plays well against the stereotype, portraying a cold blooded bastard with ease, however the script does ...

4/5 Following the final testament of late "M" James Bond is tracking down the syndicate of killers, unaware that for him it's going to become the most personal battle yet. James Bond films are famous to have an easy one line synopsis. The plot of SPECTRE is designed to finish the quartet of Daniel Craig journey as Bond, with story coming the full circle, uniting the elements and the characters from the previous films.  Using familiar plot devices like putting the secret agency on the brink of extinction (latest Mission Impossible movie) and  creating an all seeing worldwide computer security system ("Captain America: Winter Soldier" and "Furious 7" played with the idea), it continues to give us a very human version of Bond. Here, once again, he is falling in Love. What SPECTRE does best, however, is to preserve the atmosphere of a Bond movie the way we remember it, awakening nostalgia mixed with the sense of adventure, and a pure p...

5/5 The conflict between two brothers, one - an idealistic surgeon and the other - a ruthless lawyer, escalates to a point of no return when when their children commit a heinous crime. Based on a bestselling novel "OUR BOYS" the film's premise is even more shocking, as the script re-writes the original premise and turns one of the teenagers into a girl. THE DINNER seems deceptively lighthearted for approximately the half time of its run, and starts gradually growing darker giving us a sudden and shocking conclusion. The script is precise and concise and gives away just enough information about the characters to make your you mind and then turns it all upside down. Cinematography is simple enough, with all focus on the performances and the story. The film raises interesting argument about what it really means to be true to one's values and how everything changes when the dilemma has a personal touch. Don't expect an easy viewing. You ...

3/5 After having a successful career overseas, beautiful and talented architect Selena feels nostalgic and decides to return to her home country, Italy. But the only job she can find is in a restaurant. There she meets Francesco, who she instantly falls for, but to her dismay it does not share her feelings. Things get complicated when Selena poses as a man to get a job at a company that has prejudices against women. To help her to get away with the deceit she asks help from Francesco. In exchange she offers  to help him to reconcile with his son. A hilarious comedy of errors awaits. DO YOU SEE ME takes some time to get going, but once it introduces the main plot points it will take you on a wild ride. It has all the elements of a great comedy. It is funny enough, it's original, it has its dramatic moments and gives just enough clever commentary on the social issues to be considered clever. On the downside it has an uneven tone and the parts of it feel disjoi...

5/5 It's a testing time in Margherita's life. She had just broken up with her boyfriend, there are endless problems on the set of her new movie, her daughter doesn't want to study, and on top of all her mother is dying in the hospital. What lessons, if any, are in store for Margherita, as she battles her way through this life crisis. MIA MADRE is a slice of life movie, that echoes Fellini's "8 1/2". While it draws a lot of inspiration from that film, the movie tells its own, very personal story.    Director Nanni Moretti mixes dreamlike sequences with a daily routine, which  creates a unique style, it sucks you in from the very beginning. John Torturro is a welcome presence with his larger than life character Barry Huggins - an unfortunate Hollywood star that wrecks havoc on Margherita's shoot. But any comedy is quickly absorbed by sadness of Margherita's brother Giovanni, played by the director Nanni Moretti himself. His well ...

4 1/2 /5 Dimitrio Perez is a low ranking lawyer who had lost his way in life. His job is a dead end, his wife had left him and his daughter is dating a gangster. A chance encounter with the band of thugs on the street, when his life is threatened, makes him re-think his existence and accept a deal from a mob man he is defending. This deal is supposed to be the solution to all his problems, but he needs to be one step ahead of of his adversaries. And for a man who had never made a single risky decision in his life it may be just too much to bear. PEREZ is a modern slow burning noir, unpredictable both in character and plot department. Italian mega star Luca Zingaretti is brilliant as a reserved and broken man who has nothing left to lose. The plot puts his character into an impossible situation, and makes him crawl out of it by sheer planning, plotting, improvisation and keeping his head cool. Saying that, PEREZ is not full of action. The story develops slowly but gradu...

2 1/5 /5 Ermanno and Giacomo are two friends and partners in a small furniture business. As their finances are running dry threatening the closure of the factory an incredible thing occurs - they discover the the oil on their backyard. To put the oil on a production rails requires a significant investment of money and effort, and the two old friends go head to head when their opinions on what to do with the grand discovery differ. What will win, the honest stubbornness or practicality? There are films that are not intended for an international market and PARTLY CLOUDY is one of those films. Oriented mainly for the family viewing it includes animation sequences that are too unoriginal to attract younger viewers while the two middle aged men arguing over the oil does not make an intensive enough experience for an older audience either. Even the charisma of the ever popular  Luca Zingsretti in the role of Giacomo is somehow inefficient in this well written, but weakly...

4/5 In a kingdom far far away a mad queen is ready to sacrifice everything to get pregnant. A lustful prince is loosing his mind hearing the song of a woman and falls madly in love with her. And a young princess becomes a victim of her father's obsession with a gigantic flea. It is not easy to describe the plot of TALE OF TALES. Based on the fairy tales by Neapolitan poet Giambattista Basile, who earlier than Brothers Grimm introduced the wider reader to such stories as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, the movie switches effortlessly from one narrative to the other, plunging us into the world of violence and sacrifice in the name of love.  The three stories that the director Matteo Garrone had chosen for his film is not for the faint hearted. Boasting some grand visuals, creepy practical effects and impressive international cast, this film is as original as a modern fantasy could be. The plots has a dream-like logic and does not shy away from a straightforward h...

2/5 Vitoria is a beautiful and strong willed magistrate who is determined to singlehandedly take on Calabrian mafia. Trying to appeal to the wives of the mafioso bosses she is looking for an accomplice to stop the senseless killing of the young apprentices - the mafia sons. In fact, this seems to be the main focus of her quest - to protect the children whatever the cost, even if it means to take them away from their mothers. LAND OF SAINTS is  well photographed and  has a few good performances, but the weak screenplay undermines the efforts of delivering a sensitive drama. The credibility of many scenes and dialogues is in question, and the central protagonist Victoria is the least real person in the story. We know very little about her, and the reason for her determination, or rather - borderline craziness, is never explained. So she hardly seems like a real person - just a catalyst inserted into the story to carry it forward. Valeria Solarino, as Victoria, i...

4/5 Guido takes it very hard when his wife leaves him for another man, but things quickly turn around when a young and extremely beautiful Silvia is moving in next door. Guido falls head over heels, but is Silvia just too good to be real? Meanwhile, unbeknown to him, another woman is seeking Guido's affection. Things get complicated when Guido’s friend finds out about Silvia something that can threaten the relationship. And to top it all, Guido’s parents arrive to Napoli to see his son’s bride. A comedy of errors insures. WHAT A BEAUTIFUL SURPRISE is a twist of the classical tale DONNA FLOR AND HER TWO HUSBANDS, and deals with the dramas of middle aged loves and broken ideals we all have to face. The lead Claudio Bisio as Guido is as charismatic as he is entertaining. He has the perfect timing with his jokes and gradually turns what could be seen as grotesque and ridiculous into something endearing. But the real gems of the film are Guido’s parents. The...

3 1/2 /5 Once upon a time there were three brothers, two were evil one was good. The evil brothers were in the mafia, smuggling drugs and living as riches. The good brother was a shepherd and lived peacefully in their family home. The good brother had a son, who wanted to be a gangster too. Will his decision lead to the family's undoing? BLACK SOULS has a set up of a dark fairy tale, but the film produced has authentic and raw feel about it.  While the story plays out as classic tragedy, the value of the film is in the details. We get a clear idea how close this mafioso family is to their roots and of their values and lifestyle. The settings stripped of glamour, with most of the film taking place in a remote village - a family home of the characters. There's nothing new in the basic ideas of the film: Violence gives birth to violence, the sins of the fathers are carried on by their sons. There's also some dwellings about fate and that only the most radical w...

4/5 A Moon Hye-Rim, a  young nurse in a Seul VIP hospital, is looking after the dying millionaire. The man needs an urgent heart transplant and his son Song Woo asks the nurse to play a detective and find the next of kin of a brain dead patient, a pregnant prostitute nicknamed Madonna.  As Moon Hye-Rim dwells deep into the life of Madonna she discovers a heartbreaking story of a vulnerable woman and her continuous spiral into peril from the moment she was born. Keeping her own dark secrets at bay, Moon Hye-rim is now determined to stop the heart transplant. But Song Woo has his own reasons to keep his father alive and will stop at nothing, not even murder. If there was one word to describe MADONNA it would he "heartbreaking". It is a story of a vulnerable human being growing up in a hostile world. As Moon Hye-rim investigates Madonna's past life, the stories of two women intervene in the most unexpected ways. Their fates are much more similar than it ...

4/5 It's 1972 and a failing actor Kim Sung-Guin is groomed to become a double of North Korean  Dictator Kim Il-Sung. This performance of a life time does not find its audience, and thirty years later our failed dictator is in a retirement home, consumed by his fake persona. It all changes when his son bails him out in order to get his share of an inheritance. A hilarious and a sad journey to the past brings the two men together in this bitter sweet  drama, that is too good for its gimmicky premise. MY DICTATOR starts off as a straight forward drama, spirals into comedy, and then bounces back into a full dramatic mode. The plot is over the top with both, melodrama and comedy going overboard, but they always work. Focusing mostly on the father-son relationship it is about obsessions that come through generations and never let go. The movie runs for over two hours, but it doesn't drag a bit. Instead it turns into a family saga. After credits roll one will...

5/5 Roaring currents tells the story of one of the greatest naval battles in the history of Korea, when in 1592, during the Japanese invasion, 12 ships, under the command of the admiral Yi Sun-Sin, had won against the Japanese fleet of 300.  As unbelievable as it sounds, the movie is showing us, step by step, how the victory had been achieved. Avoiding the Hollywood cliches of love triangles aka Pearl Harbour film focuses solely on the battle and its strategy, and through action introducing us to the admiral Yi Sun-Sin and various other characters. Roaring currents is not a biopic, and maybe this is the reason it makes such a compelling viewing. There are barely any subplots, the movie only showing us one battle and its course. The characters are only important as the course of the battle. Surprisingly they are well developed. As we decide whether we like them on not, basing on their actions, it makes us learn about them and recognise them quicker than if we had a ...

4/5 CLEARER THAN YOU think is an anthology animation film from young and talented director HAN JI-WON, who is called “animation prodigy of South Korea”. There are four stories in total. The plots are focused on simple life of everyday Korean people. The first is about a young man looking for love and doubtful of his future, the second is about an office girl dreaming of love, the third is focused on a broken friendship of the high schoolers over one of them quitting the band, and the fourth is a fairy tale journey of a pouch, who escapes home and befriends a flightless crow. The common theme that unites the episodes is the illusiveness of a dream and the stand one has to take against the circumstances to follow it. The ability to find their way under pressure of the society in modern day Korea is highly praised by each storyline and shown as the only way to remain true to one’s self. CLEARER THAN YOU THINK is not for everyone: some simplistic takes on c...