BULLETPROOF MONK

DVD

I have to start out with a disclaimer that I do not own, did not buy, nor ever spent money to see this movie.

This is the only movie I've seen so far (although I've heard of others that I will need to research) that disprove my "Nazis make a good movie" theory. Nazis are the perfect villains in that they were really, really bad (to circumvent a lengthy history lesson). The theory is that if a movie has any connection to Nazis, from the absurd (Blues Brothers), serious (Schindler's List), purely antagonistic (Indiana Jones in Raiders and Last Crusade ... but note: NOT Temple of Doom) to the very obscure (Constantine).

Chow Yun Fat plays a monk who doesn't age, and is apparently bullet-proof (but not Superman bulletproof, more like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fly-through-the-air-with-weapons-while-twirling bulletproof). Sean William Scott is ... Sean William Scott. And Jamie King is a rich girl, long before no one knew who she was in Sin City.

The movie is about a scroll, and some bad guys (the Nazi) posing as a good guy (the head of a Society to end Genocides) ... the writer's didn't really put too much effort into this. Granted, it's been taken from outside source material, a pulp comic that no one has ever heard of.

But then again, I never heard of Hellboy and it was entertaining.

Did I mention there were Nazis in that one too?

Rent it if - you want to waste some money.
Buy it if - oh, just burn your money already.

BETTER LUCK TOMORROW

DVD

Justin Lin's 2002 film about a group of over-achieving Asian American high-schoolers is as funny as it is disturbing and truthful. What's more dangerous than kids so smart they start having free time, all the while unbridled by their parents because they have a 4.0? They're obsessive in what they do ... and when what they do is crime ... it's an entertaining yarn set in bored upper-class America.

The characters go from conning an electronics store out of money to participating in a decathlon to getting guns and a hooker to beating up each other. The humor comes in when it's all juxtaposed on the standard upper-class high school woes: SATs, admissions, and those ever-prized extra-curriculars that round out your academic resume and impress admissions boards.

Rent it if - you want to be in touch with this current generations' kids; you want to learn a few SAT words.
Buy it if - you were one of the few that made this a cult hit in 2002.

OLDBOY

DVD

An original, provocative, disturbing, violent, and humorous film. I've been on a foreign-flick kick recently, and Korea keeps impressing me.

The film is about a man who is kidnapped off the street and imprisoned by strangers for 15 years before being set free for no reason. And he starts to seek revenge.

The violence is brutal. The plot unfolds as a mystery. And as it goes on, you go from being disgusted, to sympathetic, and back and forth the whole time. It plays with your emotions, constantly questioning why you're rooting for who you are.

Not for the faint of heart, if you're in for one of the best thrillers I've ever seen. And if you can't stand subtitles, you can watch the English-dubbed version (but that would drive me crazy).

Rent it if - you're a fan of great thrillers; don't mind foreign (ie: subtitled) flicks.
Buy it if - you want a great movie in your library; the video store nearest you doesn't carry foreign films.