Written by James M. Tate / 11/28/2013 / 1 Comment / 2013 , action , elizabeth olsen , josh brolin , mindtrip , remake , samuel l. jackson , spike lee
SPIKE LEE REDIRECTS OLDBOY
 |
| year: 2013 cast: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Olsen, Samuel L. Jackson rating: ** |
How could Spike Lee pull off making so much time behind an iron door, watching television, drinking vodka and eating dumplings, seem prolonged, dire and agonizing using quickly edited montage sequences of Joe donning a Rip Van Winkle beard, watching news footage of various catastrophes and the introduction of three presidents, writing to his daughter and constantly hearing about his wife’s murder he was falsely accused of? All the brooding and screaming just isn’t convincing enough… This important, pivotal sequence is glossed over like a music video… Even when Joe finds his only friend, in the form of a pregnant mouse, the result occurs so quickly you’ll never quite feel the attachment – what should have been heartbreaking winds up unintentionally hilarious although, later on, an extended fight scene with a stagnant camera pointed straight at Joe, who furiously takes down venomous thugs while an intentionally melodramatic soundtrack blares, is somewhat entertaining...
Forced to watch vintage Kung Fu flicks during his incarceration, our hero obviously learned a thing or two… As did the director: Being able to witness gritty action without exploiting the "modern" in-your-face shaky-cam is a nice change... Meanwhile, during the time after Joe's freed, chasing clues with a beautiful young woman, the mysterious maze becomes a poor man's version of THE GAME but not without a dash of genuine intrigue… That’s until the main villain is introduced and fully realized – a lecturing pill so smug and arrogant you’ll wanna mentally fast-forward to the inevitable twist that, in the case of OLDBOY, is more uncomfortable than satisfying… Which can also sum up the entire movie.
 |
| "Who green-lighted this completely unnecessary remake? Come on, let me at 'em!" |
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
All Time Popular
-
Robyn Hilton enters into an eclectic exploitation comedy career in Wonder Women circa 1973 As mentioned a few posts ago, ROBYN HILTON, b... -
year: 1978 cast: Allen Garfield, Leif Garrett, Kathleen Lloyd, Tony Alva, Pam Kenneally rating: ***1/2 Although promoted as a Leif Garr... -
Kari Michaelsen in Saturday the 14th year: 1982 In LOVE AT FIRST BITE, a popular comedy that took the vampire genre by satire, Richard ... -
Cornelia Sharpe in BUSTING Year: 1974 Rating: **** Starring Elliott Gould and Robert Blake as determined vice cops BUSTING hookers, makin... -
Mary-Louise Weller in NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE ANIMAL HOUSE, directed by John Landis and produced by Ivan Reitman, stars John Be... -
Kerri Green and John Candy in SUMMER RENTAL Year: 1985 John Candy, in his first leading role, plays a burnt-out air traffic controller ... -
Robyn Hilton on STARSKY AND HUTCH Model/Actress ROBYN HILTON played Mel Brook's secretary in BLAZING SADDLES and turns up in an epis... -
Robyn Hilton in Video Vixens the same year as Blazing Saddles: 1974 The Anthology of Comedic Parodies, already done in several Woody All... -
CADDDYSHACK is best known for the iconic leading actors: Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, Ted Knight, and Bill Murray, but originally the ... -
Elizabeth James and Tom Laughlin on equal ground YEAR: 1967 THE BORN LOSERS wasn't supposed to happen but thank God it did since BIL...
Featured Post
RUSHING THROUGH JOHN SCHLESINGER'S 'HONKY TONK FREEWAY'
Title: HONKY TONK FREEWAY Year: 1981 Rating: **** John Schlesinger's HONKY TONK FREEWAY has two composers: Elmer Bernstein doing his usu...
This is the movie I really wanted to see. I shall refrain from reading your most excellent review until I do. And then I shall return and read it. I didn't see the movie this was based on, I'm a bit more curious about the original than this one but first I shall see Mr. Lee's version.
ReplyDelete