biki
Joined Feb 2001
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Reviews2
biki's rating
AOTC's greatest triumph is highlighting how non-Star-Wars TPM was. AOTC feels like Star Wars. Moreover, it is a better film than ROTJ and TPM.
It's not as visceral as ANH in terms of emotion... it closer to the greys of ESB. But its also about repressed emotion, so it does feel cold. But, to quote Besson, emotion comes from the resistance to emotion.
Forget the nitpickers and naysayers - especially those who ignore the failings of the original trilogy, in favour of a myth about the SW myth - the flaws in AOTC are the same endearing flaws found in all the SW films. Sure, it shares somes flaws with TPM that the others do not have (Jar Jar, less charismatic actors, slower pace) but they're far fewer in number.
My biggest gripe with AOTC is John Williams' score. I'm not a fan of JW but his score in TPM was my fave aspect of that movie - it was barely noticeable here.
P.S.
To those, like Roger Ebert, who are using AOTC a rallying cry against HD... get over it. You may be an adequate film critic Ebert, but I doubt you know your ASA from your F-Stop, yet alone your HD from your 2K scans. I wonder if you managed to spot the HD footage in TPM? Besides, AOTC is an incorrect gauge on that debate given that it was mostly bluescreen... and the actors were extracted from a 'matted' HD 16x9 frame and placed in a high resolution 2.40 frame.
P.P.S.
To those who want Peter Jackson to direct EP3... 9 months ago I would've agreed with you. But GL has done something remarkable in AOTC which PJ failed to do in FOTR. GL resisted the temptation to telegraph every moment as a big event. He had restraint.
It's not as visceral as ANH in terms of emotion... it closer to the greys of ESB. But its also about repressed emotion, so it does feel cold. But, to quote Besson, emotion comes from the resistance to emotion.
Forget the nitpickers and naysayers - especially those who ignore the failings of the original trilogy, in favour of a myth about the SW myth - the flaws in AOTC are the same endearing flaws found in all the SW films. Sure, it shares somes flaws with TPM that the others do not have (Jar Jar, less charismatic actors, slower pace) but they're far fewer in number.
My biggest gripe with AOTC is John Williams' score. I'm not a fan of JW but his score in TPM was my fave aspect of that movie - it was barely noticeable here.
P.S.
To those, like Roger Ebert, who are using AOTC a rallying cry against HD... get over it. You may be an adequate film critic Ebert, but I doubt you know your ASA from your F-Stop, yet alone your HD from your 2K scans. I wonder if you managed to spot the HD footage in TPM? Besides, AOTC is an incorrect gauge on that debate given that it was mostly bluescreen... and the actors were extracted from a 'matted' HD 16x9 frame and placed in a high resolution 2.40 frame.
P.P.S.
To those who want Peter Jackson to direct EP3... 9 months ago I would've agreed with you. But GL has done something remarkable in AOTC which PJ failed to do in FOTR. GL resisted the temptation to telegraph every moment as a big event. He had restraint.
Clara Law's strengths are her provocative mise en scene and her playful seriousness. She also has a tendency to make structural leaps which, by forcing you to think through the story, ironically remove you from the story. This is a weakness, which fades upon repeat viewings of her work.
Floating Life is no different in this regard.
A traditional HK 'migration narrative', Floating Life tells the simplistic story of a family migrating from HK to Sydney. It is structured around a series of tableaux focusing on different family members.
However, Floating Life is a different film for law. It is her most personal.
It oozes emotional truth. Undoubtedly Law drew upon her own migration experience as well as that of her family [which migrated to Australia before she did]. It also draws heavily on pre-hand-over fears for its humanity. Even her typical whimsical humour creates a humanity for her characters.
And in the end, that is Floating LIfe's strength, the story of its characters. It is very moving.
For once (at least in her late period), Law's cinematic mastery has been subdued, or at least equalled by the emotional.
Worth hunting down.
Floating Life is no different in this regard.
A traditional HK 'migration narrative', Floating Life tells the simplistic story of a family migrating from HK to Sydney. It is structured around a series of tableaux focusing on different family members.
However, Floating Life is a different film for law. It is her most personal.
It oozes emotional truth. Undoubtedly Law drew upon her own migration experience as well as that of her family [which migrated to Australia before she did]. It also draws heavily on pre-hand-over fears for its humanity. Even her typical whimsical humour creates a humanity for her characters.
And in the end, that is Floating LIfe's strength, the story of its characters. It is very moving.
For once (at least in her late period), Law's cinematic mastery has been subdued, or at least equalled by the emotional.
Worth hunting down.