#228. The Conversation

"He'd kill us if he got the chance."

A paranoid survellience expert is hired to record a young couple's conversation. He refuses to hand over the tapes after he suspects the couple could be in great danger because of them. As the story unfolds, Harry's paranoia and burning conscience make it hard from him to distinguish what's in his mind from reality.

To be honest, I found most of this movie confusing. After it ended, I had to read reviews online and basically do a research paper to understand what happened in it. Now that I've done that, it makes more sense, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it was entirely too slow. I don't see how anyone could understand what was going on until about half way through the movie. From watching the trailer, I could have sworn this movie was going to be an awesome psychological thriller like "The Secret Window" or something like that, but it was far from my expectations. Sure, there were a few some-what scary moments near the end, but not enough to classify it as a "thriller".

My favorite character was the protagonist Harry Caul. He was the one with all the psychological  problems, so it's pretty much a given; he was the most interesting. The couple was also significant, but I have to say, all the others did absolutely nothing for me. But since Harry was great, the "characters" score didn't plummet too much.

Overall, I thought the movie had a very interesting plot (after I understood it), and the end isn't something you'd expect, which I appreciate. It didn't hold my attention like some other movies, but it wasn't too bad. My immediate rating is a 6.8.

Characters: 6.7/10
Acting: 7/10

Storyline: 6.8/10
Entertainment Value: 6.3/10

Immediate Rating: 6.8/10

Total Score: 33.6/50

#229. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

"No growth without assistance. No action without reaction. No desire without restraint. Now give yourself up and find yourself again."

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an Asian film in the Mandarin language that focuses on an epic quest. Li Mu Bai decides to pass on magical sword to a friend, but it is stolen by a mysterious martial arts master. Li and his love interest Yu Shu Lien have taken on the challenge to discover who the theif is and retrieve the sword.

I've never really been fond of Asian fighting movies, and to be honest, I especially don't get hype about this one. Sure, it was fun to watch (borderlining humorous...) and it had pretty good themes going for it like honour, love, and discipline, but the plot wasn't awe-inspiring enough to catch my undivided attention. And though the acclaimed film critics would think I was insane for this, I thought the fight scenes were extremely corny. I mean running up walls, and gliding on tree tops? They could have made at least a little bit realistic. Despite this, I do commend the actors in their talents for martial arts.

I didn't really have a favorite character while watching this. There were only about four that stood out to me, and they were of course the main characters. Dark Cloud and Jiao Long were a little bit more interesting than the other two, so my favor leans toward them.

The fact that I watch the English-dubbed version could affect my judgement of this film, but it was the only version I could find. To assess it in one word, I would say it's "decent". I could watch it again to catch some underlying meaning of the storyline, but this is not my kind of movie, so I'd rather not. My immediate rating is a 6.4.

Characters: 6.8/10
Acting: 6.4/10

Storyline: 6.5/10
Entertainment Value: 6.9/10

Immediate Rating: 6.4/10

Total Score: 33/50