This
is a great cop/crime movie form Hong Kong. Andy Lau is a criminal who
joins the police academy to become a mole on the police force. Tony
Leung is a promising young police cadet who goes undercover as a
criminal. After 10 years of this, both men are so good at their
respective roles that they’ve almost become the parts they are playing.
It’s at this point that both sides realize they’ve been infiltrated, and
Lau and Leung are so well respected that both are asked to essentially
find themselves. On the surface this sounds like John Woo territory,
don’t expect lots of two fisted gun fights and property destruction.
There’s some action, but none of it is showy. 'Infernal Affairs’ is
more concerned with the psychology of its two main characters. Although
a couple of plot points were a bit confusing to me, overall this is a
well written and extremely well acted movie. It was a major hit in the
rest of the world and spawned two follow ups. So of course when Miramax
acquired the movie for the US, they just sat on it like they did with
‘Hero’ and ‘Shaolin Soccer’, eventually giving it a very small
theatrical release and then dumping it onto DVD. There’s an American
remake due in 2006 (to be directed by Martin Scorcese). Gee, wonder if
that had anything to do with the way Miramax handled the release?
Anyway, check this out if you like intelligent crime films. You won’t
be disappointed. There’s even an English dub for those of you who
refuse to read subtitles. (Bob Ignizio)
The
live album may be dead, but it has been more than adequately replaced by the
live DVD. Case in point, this excellent DVD from Nightwish. ‘From Wishes
to Eternity’ consists of an entire live concert from 2001 as well as
interviews with the band and four promotional videos (two concept, two
live). The extras are nice, but even without them the concert portion of
this disc is well worth the purchase price for Nightwish fans. The sound
quality is excellent, and the visual portion fares almost as well. Every
member of the band gets his or her fair amount of close-ups, and audience
reactions are shown enough that you get the idea without making you go,
“come on, I want to see THE BAND!” The only complaint I have is the image
quality is a little washed out looking, but not distractingly so. The
majority of the set comes from the ‘Wishmaster’ album, but there’s plenty of
earlier material as well. In a way, this acts almost as a “chapter stop” in
the band’s career. Shortly after this tour, the band recruited a new bass
player and toned down the power metal bombast for a more song oriented
approach. All those hardcore fans who constantly grumble, “Their old stuff
was better” should be happy, and those just now becoming familiar with
Nightwish through their ‘Once’ album will find this a good introduction to
the band’s history. All in all, a very worthwhile disc. (Bob Ignizio)
I’m
not sure exactly when Jamie Foxx went from being a so-so comedian to
being a top notch dramatic actor, but the man truly earned both his
Oscar nominations this year. Foxx plays blind pianist/vocalist Ray
Charles here, and it’s an amazing performance. Aside from Foxx’
performance, ‘Ray’ is a really good movie, too. In a flashback, we see
Charles’ mother telling him she doesn’t want anyone to treat him as some
pitiful cripple, and the movie seems to take her advice. This is
definitely not an idealized portrait of the man. We can see that
Charles truly loves his wife, but that doesn’t stop him from fooling
around with plenty of other women. Charles was also a heroin addict for
much of his early career, and the movie makes clear that this, not his
blindness, was his real handicap. I watched the extended version
included on the DVD (the original theatrical cut is here, too), and it’s
hard for me to imagine the film playing as well without the additional
scenes. As with the Metallica documentary ‘Some Kind of Monster’, I
don’t think it really matters whether you’re a Ray Charles fan or not.
The story is interesting, and once you get into it you’ll be hooked
until the end. (Bob Ignizio)
Metallica
used to mean the world to me when I was in high school, but I started
losing interest in the band around the time they released their
breakthrough self titled album. I still don’t have much use for the
band’s musical output from the nineties onward, but this documentary is
another story. Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Joe Sinofsky (‘Paradise
Lost’, ‘Brother’s Keeper’) were hired to film the making of a new
Metallica album. They did just that, but they also were on hand to see
the world’s most popular heavy metal band damn near self destruct. It’s
fascinating to watch, regardless of what you think of the band’s music.
The dynamics of the band and their producer, Bob Rock, are every bit as
complex as those of a dysfunctional family. A therapist known for
working with sports teams is brought in to help the headbangers get in
touch with their feelings. Then the therapist starts getting so wrapped
up in working with the band he starts to think he’s a member of
Metallica. Definitely not your run of the mill rockumentary. The DVD
comes with a second disc with enough deleted scenes to make a whole
other movie, and many of them are just as interesting as what’s in the
movie. Forget any prejudices you may have against Metallica or heavy
metal in general. This is just a great movie. (Bob Ignizio)
This
is a great cop/crime movie form Hong Kong. Andy Lau is a criminal who
joins the police academy to become a mole on the police force. Tony
Leung is a promising young police cadet who goes undercover as a
criminal. After 10 years of this, both men are so good at their
respective roles that they’ve almost become the parts they are playing.
It’s at this point that both sides realize they’ve been infiltrated, and
Lau and Leung are so well respected that both are asked to essentially
find themselves. On the surface this sounds like John Woo territory,
don’t expect lots of two fisted gun fights and property destruction.
There’s some action, but none of it is showy. 'Infernal Affairs’ is
more concerned with the psychology of its two main characters. Although
a couple of plot points were a bit confusing to me, overall this is a
well written and extremely well acted movie. It was a major hit in the
rest of the world and spawned two follow ups. So of course when Miramax
acquired the movie for the US, they just sat on it like they did with
‘Hero’ and ‘Shaolin Soccer’, eventually giving it a very small
theatrical release and then dumping it onto DVD. There’s an American
remake due in 2006 (to be directed by Martin Scorcese). Gee, wonder if
that had anything to do with the way Miramax handled the release?
Anyway, check this out if you like intelligent crime films. You won’t
be disappointed. There’s even an English dub for those of you who
refuse to read subtitles. (Bob Ignizio) 
The
live album may be dead, but it has been more than adequately replaced by the
live DVD. Case in point, this excellent DVD from Nightwish. ‘From Wishes
to Eternity’ consists of an entire live concert from 2001 as well as
interviews with the band and four promotional videos (two concept, two
live). The extras are nice, but even without them the concert portion of
this disc is well worth the purchase price for Nightwish fans. The sound
quality is excellent, and the visual portion fares almost as well. Every
member of the band gets his or her fair amount of close-ups, and audience
reactions are shown enough that you get the idea without making you go,
“come on, I want to see THE BAND!” The only complaint I have is the image
quality is a little washed out looking, but not distractingly so. The
majority of the set comes from the ‘Wishmaster’ album, but there’s plenty of
earlier material as well. In a way, this acts almost as a “chapter stop” in
the band’s career. Shortly after this tour, the band recruited a new bass
player and toned down the power metal bombast for a more song oriented
approach. All those hardcore fans who constantly grumble, “Their old stuff
was better” should be happy, and those just now becoming familiar with
Nightwish through their ‘Once’ album will find this a good introduction to
the band’s history. All in all, a very worthwhile disc. (Bob Ignizio) 
I’m
not sure exactly when Jamie Foxx went from being a so-so comedian to
being a top notch dramatic actor, but the man truly earned both his
Oscar nominations this year. Foxx plays blind pianist/vocalist Ray
Charles here, and it’s an amazing performance. Aside from Foxx’
performance, ‘Ray’ is a really good movie, too. In a flashback, we see
Charles’ mother telling him she doesn’t want anyone to treat him as some
pitiful cripple, and the movie seems to take her advice. This is
definitely not an idealized portrait of the man. We can see that
Charles truly loves his wife, but that doesn’t stop him from fooling
around with plenty of other women. Charles was also a heroin addict for
much of his early career, and the movie makes clear that this, not his
blindness, was his real handicap. I watched the extended version
included on the DVD (the original theatrical cut is here, too), and it’s
hard for me to imagine the film playing as well without the additional
scenes. As with the Metallica documentary ‘Some Kind of Monster’, I
don’t think it really matters whether you’re a Ray Charles fan or not.
The story is interesting, and once you get into it you’ll be hooked
until the end. (Bob Ignizio)
Metallica
used to mean the world to me when I was in high school, but I started
losing interest in the band around the time they released their
breakthrough self titled album. I still don’t have much use for the
band’s musical output from the nineties onward, but this documentary is
another story. Filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Joe Sinofsky (‘Paradise
Lost’, ‘Brother’s Keeper’) were hired to film the making of a new
Metallica album. They did just that, but they also were on hand to see
the world’s most popular heavy metal band damn near self destruct. It’s
fascinating to watch, regardless of what you think of the band’s music.
The dynamics of the band and their producer, Bob Rock, are every bit as
complex as those of a dysfunctional family. A therapist known for
working with sports teams is brought in to help the headbangers get in
touch with their feelings. Then the therapist starts getting so wrapped
up in working with the band he starts to think he’s a member of
Metallica. Definitely not your run of the mill rockumentary. The DVD
comes with a second disc with enough deleted scenes to make a whole
other movie, and many of them are just as interesting as what’s in the
movie. Forget any prejudices you may have against Metallica or heavy
metal in general. This is just a great movie. (Bob Ignizio)