Trigger

2002 (HK)

Stars Stephen Fung and Nicholas Tse. Sam Lee appears in the first 20 minutes or so, but fans (are there even any? I like him but wouldn't consider myself a fan - seems like he gets alot of roles and cameos as if he's some sort of quirky heartthrob or something) will probably enjoy his character here. This film is a bizarre combination of Frighteners, X-Files, Blade (Wesley Snipes movie, not Tsui Hark), Ghostbusters and Gen-X Cops. Gen-X Frightener-Files Blade-Buster Ghost-Cops... that's the new title. Nicholas Tse plays the sole living member of an elite task force assigned to handle supernatural police cases. More specifically, ghost crimes. His first partner, played by Sam Lee, is a ghost... Nicholas's character accidently shot and killed him back when they were both living police officers and he can see ghosts ever since and Sam's character has stayed by his side ever since. So I guess there were no hard feelings. Eventually, Sam's character has to move on to the next realm or whatever, so Nicholas has to find a new partner. Stephen Fung, fascinated by the job (and the cool Matrix style jacket and spiffy sports car), decides he wants to be his new partner. Blah blah ghost cops blah blah.

Sorry - had to stop myself or I would've just kept going and told you the whole movie. Anyway - Stephen Fung is more or less a lifeless mushroom in this (get it? mushroom? fung-us? haha? nevermind...)... I've liked him in a few things, but I didn't care for him much in this. Nicholas likes to play the ultra-cool elite task force guy with special abilities and it shows in this. Despite the weak script, he manages to be pretty decent in the film. Speaking of the script... it did have some good ideas and scenarios, but it seemed a bit sloppy in the writing department. The cinematography was pretty tight though. It was certainly a slick film for the most part. The effects were on par with what's been going on lately in HK... some nice CGI with unique camera POV. It was quite stylish. That doesn't mean it's got alot that you've never seen before though. Storywise, it's not a horror at all... there's some action in it - the choreography for the fight scenes was nicely executed (nothing you've never seen before though)... there's a splash of comedy here and there which keeps things moving... this is not quite a ghost movie though. Believe it or not, it's all of these things, but above all I think it's a romance movie. That's what it turned into by the end anyway. Nicholas's love interest was a terrible actress by the way... difficult to watch actually. Still, it's a fun movie and totally worth seeing I think.

The DVD is nice... good picture and sound and the subtitles were decent as well. No complaints really that I can think of. Overall, I'd rate this about a 7/10 and give it a . It's worth seeing, but don't expect to be blown away. I was entertained.

St. John's Wort (Japan)

Wow! This movie was awesome! It's about a video game designer who goes with his ex-girlfriend to see a house she inherited from her father who she never really knew since she was more or less an orphan since she was small. The game designer takes a camera along with hopes to incorporate the experience into his next video game. The house turns out to be really creepy (like the house from the original Resident Evil game for the Playstation) and the more they explore and uncover, the more things get creepy and dangerous. This film is very unique despite the B-grade script.

The cinematography and use of lighting and color filters and effects gives this film such a distinct look and it really adds to the tension while also functioning as part of the plot/premise. Hong Kong films are great, but they all have pretty much the same flavor. Korean films tend to be very stylish and often lack substance (with several huge exceptions). Japanese films though are a cut above I think. The Japanese are so damn creative and are not afraid to try new and different things. I've certainly seen a few Japanese movies that were less than creative or that just plain sucked, but when they do it right it's awesome. While this film in its parts is not new territory for cinema, as a whole it is like nothing I've ever seen... eXistenz comes to mind, but that movie can't touch this one and the only common thread they share is the video game aspect. What I'm saying though is I gotta hand it to the Japanese for being able to make some fantastic movies... I'd get into them more if their DVDs weren't so damn expensive. As such I have to just take whatever makes it over to Hong Kong.

This film isn't perfect and I can't guarantee that everyone will love it - the ending left something to be desired... I liked what they did with the ending, but I didn't like what actually happened - I felt like it was pretty weak considering the build-up leading to it...


The DVD is excellent. There is an awesome DTS track, a DD5.1 and a 2.0 track in Japanese and also a Mandarin track. The subtitles are well done and the picture is crisp. The blacks aren't as black as they should be in some spots, but overall the colors are great. No extras, but I'm more than satisfied with this DVD from Universe.

The film gets an 8/10 from me - would've gotten higher had I clicked with the ending better... I just felt a little let down by it. It in no way spoiled the film though. The film has a few scares and alot of creepiness. If you're a fan of Resident Evil or Alone In The Dark or other Survival Horror games, then you must check this film out. It gets a big from me and I highly recommend it to Video Game fans as a must buy. The casual and the curious I can only just recommend as it might not be for everyone. For a horror film, it's good and worth watching... for what it is, it's an amazing tapestry of Japanese psycho-horror-drama and a total must see (if you're the type). Despite the 8/10, I did like it tremendously and will certainly watch it over and over.

Yamakazi - (France)

Extreme sports jumping and scaling buildings. Luc Besson had something to do with this. It's got some amazing stunt-work in it. It has a lousy script though and the acting is average. It's about this crew of 7 guys who are called the Yamakazi and they basically scale buildings without the aid of rope or nets. The cops hate them cuz they are troublemakers and whatnot. A little boy needs a heart transplant, but his family can't afford the 400K francs to get the heart off the grey market. The Yamakazi decides to help by pulling off aerobatic heists of rich doctors' homes in order to save the day. It's really quite dim actually. About all this film has going for it is the style/look and the stuntwork - which is great as I said. Taxi and Taxi 2 are much better IMO. It's worth a rental if you like Luc Besson's productions or films with great stuntwork or films featuring guys scaling buildings and jumping everywhere, otherwise I'd suggest passing on it.

The DVD sucks - while the picture and sound are quite good, the subtitles aren't. I'm surprised cuz Delta Mac usually turn out really great DVDs. The subtitles aren't timed well and they are incomplete. I've seen worse though, so it's not a total loss. I guess it sucks for a Delta Mac DVD - it's something I'd expect from China Star though.

Overall, I'd give this a 6/10 - it's stupid fun. It probably deserves a 5/10 though. If the subtitles were better, I'd recommend it to genre/producer fans or as a rental to the curious... as it is though I suggest renting only since the subtitles are weak. If you speak french though, you're in luck... the sound is quite good. I can't really give it a thumb cuz I'm so on the fence about it. I'll probably sell or trade it after I watch it one more time for the action.

d2cheer

I agree, all the build up to a lousy ending. That was my main problem with St. Johns Wort also.


I would give it a 7/10

carnifern

2002 was enjoyable but highly overrated. They had some great ideas but never explored them and often even broke their own rules. Perhaps a sequel could improve on the concept.

St. John's Wort has a decent plot with an absolutely awful ending but it's definitely one of the most visually stylish films I've ever seen. DV is a great video format that many directors are now using but few take advantage of. This is one of the few who used it to a great degree. I'd recoomend seeing it for the cinematography alone.

jtkv

2002 was great... This is more of a supernatural sci-fi movie.
Over- rated? how?? Being a HK movie, it's not like it gets alot of publicity.... just word of mouth from us fans!
It is a very good introduction to the 2002 team, if they decide to make sequels out of this.... then they can flesh out the cool stuff and not need to establish anymore background info.



J.T.

Trigger

St. John's Wort spoilers:

walt

Exactly my opinion on this great film! Here i have some screenshots and a german review online.

chococat

I agree with the thoughts on "St. John's Wort". I watched it back-to-back with "Session 9" and was treated to a big build up -- no pay off double feature.

I found the scenes in which the duo explored the house in "St. John's Wort" to be extremely boring, and that "Blair Witch" style camera-work always gives me a screaming headache. I loved the feel of the film, but it needed more plot.

This begs the question, when are we going to see a good haunted house film?

gabegarwick

Thanks for the reviews Trigger!