136 Best Releases Translations Mandarin on Amazon Prime Video (Page 6)
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When we think back to actors of the 80s, we often think of the Brat Pack, that group of young charismatic stars whose impossible good looks occasionally compensated for middling acting ability. They were cute, and likable, but often lacked that element that makes certain actors more interesting, that sense of danger and mystery. Those actors, like Mickey Rourke, Sean Penn, and Nicolas Cage, didn’t get “Dream Date of the Month” write-ups in Teen Beat, but were more talented, more versatile, and more compelling to watch. Continue Reading →
Annette
StudioARTE France Cinéma,
As if chomping at the bit to show its true self, Annette immediately disrobes. Director Leos Carax, off-screen during the opening credits, tells the audience to stay silent. Audio tracks spray over shots of Los Angeles and, in a studio, he asks his musicians, “So, may we start?” He’s now speaking not to us but Ron Mael and Russell Mael of Sparks. Both of them share a story by credit, the latter having written the screenplay, and already, the film has dived feet first into its own joke. But Carax’s latest doesn’t just strip itself naked. It takes off its own skin, as a rock opera and as a movie. Continue Reading →
シン・エヴァンゲリオン劇場版:||
SimilarAnna and the King (1999), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), The Island (2005),
StarringKotono Mitsuishi, Mariya Ise, Megumi Hayashibara, Sayaka Ohara,
Let me start by saying this: Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time is the best film I have seen in 2021 so far. It's a gorgeously animated conclusion to one of 20th and 21st-century science fiction's great works. It executes both its quiet, still moments and its grand setpieces with care and precision. The voice cast (who have been playing these roles for decades, going back to the original 1995 television series Neon Genesis Evangelion) and the animation team give the cast an excellently detailed life and liveliness. 3.0+1.0's editing—particularly during its extended, tone-jumping climax—is downright sublime. The imagery? To paraphrase Sam Peckinpah, I will not be forgetting what I've seen in Evangelion 3.0+1.0 any time soon. I do not think I could. From a ruined piece of pre-Impact infrastructure twirling in a patch of broken gravity to one of the titular gargantuan combat androids going to work on a swarm of bizarre, disturbing opponents, it's indelible. Whether familiar or bizarre, beautiful or horrifying, 3.0+1.0's imagery is, without fail, flabbergasting. Continue Reading →
The Green Knight
SimilarHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), Ravenous (1999), The Silent Partner (1978), Thor (2011),
It’s no more than a few minutes into its 132-minute runtime that The Green Knight lays its cards on the table. It doesn’t really subvert expectations here; it’s not like it immediately carves out its identity. Rather, it makes itself clear in the most literal of ways, although in one that doesn’t register as such immediately. After an opening in which Sir Gawain (Dev Patel) wakes up hungover and half-naked, the camera tracks him from behind through sweaty medieval corridors and out into the cloud-covered morning. As he walks through the village, text flashes across the screen declaring itself “a filmed adaptation.” Continue Reading →
The Tomorrow War
Watch afterBlack Widow (2021), Free Guy (2021), The Suicide Squad (2021), Wrath of Man (2021),
StarringSam Richardson,
It's clear from the starting gun that Paramount originally intended to push The Tomorrow War as a major summer theatrical release. But given the pandemic, Amazon Prime Video has stepped up to rollout this 140-minute sci-fi action romp starring Chris Pratt of Marvel’s Cosmic corner and Jurassic World fame. Continue Reading →
The Cable Guy
It can’t be overstated how much the mid-90s belonged to Jim Carrey. Largely a stand-up comedian and supporting actor at first, Carrey shot to stardom thanks to In Living Color, and the grotesque characters he played on it, including the disfigured Fire Marshall Bill, and ponytailed lady bodybuilder Vera de Milo. His leap to leading roles in comedy features was swift and wildly successful, with Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Mask and Dumb and Dumber all released the same year. There hadn’t been a comic actor much like Carrey before, someone who did childish things like pretend to talk out of his butt, but also had a wild look in his eyes that suggested a hint of danger with the body contorting nonsense. Continue Reading →
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
SimilarA Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Carrie (1976), Happy Death Day 2U (2019), Ocean's Twelve (2004), The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999),
StudioNew Line Cinema,
Several movies into the Conjuring universe, we’ve mostly separated the real life grifters Ed and Lorraine Warren from the America’s Mom and Dad version of them on screen. If the movies work, it’s because stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga bring warmth and gravitas to them. They sell the hell out of the bullshit their characters are peddling, whereas the real-life Warrens often came off as prickly and defensive in interviews, offended that anyone would dare to question their dubious authority. Wilson and Farmiga can only do so much, however, and it’s not enough to save The Conjuring: the Devil Made Me Do It, a by-the-numbers snooze that trades in haunted house horror for a supernatural police procedural. Continue Reading →
Port Authority
SimilarBreakfast on Pluto (2005),
It doesn’t take more than a minute or two for Port Authority to start dangling its main theme right in front of the audience. On probation and having just gotten off the bus in New York City, Paul (Fionn Whitehead) roams the station, showing strangers a picture and asking if they’ve seen a woman. But you see, it’s not like she’s missing. He’s the one who’s missing, the woman in the picture being his sister, Sara (Louisa Krause), who’s refused to pick him up and take him in. He has no family. The movie really wants to make sure you get it. What makes it hard to buy is how inorganic Danielle Lessovitz’s feature debut is. Continue Reading →
A Late Quartet
Before he passed away at the age of 46, Philip Seymour Hoffman starred in 52 feature films. Starring roles, character pieces, chameleon work—he left a legacy nearly unmatched in both quality and quantity. Now, with P.S.H. I Love You, Jonah Koslofsky wafts through the cornucopia of the man’s offerings. Continue Reading →
Four Good Days
SimilarLord of War (2005), P.S. (2004), Riding in Cars with Boys (2001), The Cider House Rules (1999), The Last Emperor (1987), The Piano (1993), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992),
In Four Good Days, when heroin-addict Molly is asked what her triggers are, what could get her to use again, she replies, “My life’s a trigger…” Fellow addict Amanda Wendler takes things a step further, though, proclaiming, “Reality’s a trigger.” But Amanda isn’t another character in Molly’s story—she’s the inspiration behind it. In 2016, the Washington Post chronicled a few days in her fight for sobriety in their much lauded article, “How’s Amanda? A Story of Truth, Lies and American Addiction.” Continue Reading →
The Outside Story
StarringSonequa Martin-Green,
In the last year, we’ve all been able to relate to The Outside Story protagonist Charles Young (Brian Tyree Henry) and his desire to just stay indoors. Whereas the general public’s inclination to stay inside has come from the danger of the COVID-19 pandemic, though, Young has been refusing to move from his couch due to a severe case of heartbreak. After learning that his girlfriend, Isha (Sonequa Martin-Green), cheated on him, the two have broken up. Now Young is so forlorn that he can do nothing but remain in his apartment working on video editing assignments from Turner Classic Movies. Continue Reading →
Bridesmaids
Come back to a simpler time. A time when people were left shocked and awestruck when a remarkable pop culture event occurred, one that dumbfounded many and helped inspire a cultural shift, one where viewpoints that had previously been derided and ignored were placed at the center of an increasing number of narratives. Continue Reading →
Tom Clancy's Without Remorse
SimilarCellular (2004), The X Files: I Want to Believe (2008),
Watch afterNobody (2021), Wrath of Man (2021),
StarringColman Domingo,
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Giants Being Lonely
Grear Patterson's debut feature is moody, evocative, and graciously efficient, but doesn't fill its world with characters you can care about.
In a world where the average blockbuster runs closer to two and a half hours than 90 minutes, the 75- to 80-minute movie is often like a breath of fresh air. Kudos then to the filmmaker that can manage to make those minutes feel like 1,000 years. It’s an impressive feat, albeit one no one wants to sit through. Unfortunately, this is where all 78 minutes of Giants Being Lonely lands.
Director and screenwriter Grear Patterson’s debut is a moody little exploration of the perils of growing up. Set in the warm days at the end of the school year in the south, we follow a group of teenagers as they wrap up the year and prepare for prom. The cast is mainly comprised of unknowns, which adds to the film’s feeling of “Anyplace, USA”. There’s wayward baseball star Bobby (Jack Irv), the coach’s battered-down son Adam (Ben Irving), and Adam’s crush, Caroline (Lily Gavin). From first loves to illicit affairs and parental abuse, the kids go through it all as they wait for summer to come. Continue Reading →
One-Eyed Jacks
From the moment that it debuted in 1961, following months of negative headlines surrounding its schedule and cost overruns that all but sealed its fate long before it ever hit theaters, a debate has raged over One-Eyed Jacks, the jumbo-sized Western that proved to be the Heaven’s Gate of its day. It also marked the beginning and the ending of the directorial career of renowned actor Marlon Brando. Was it, as some people even back then noted, a one-of-a-kind masterpiece that dared to inject overt artistry and psychology into what was normally one of the most straightforward of screen genres? Or, as others suggested, was it a pretentious and bloated misfire that did nothing but underscore the dangers of letting an actor with overweening creative ambitions take charge of a project without any sort of controls? Continue Reading →
Invincible
SimilarBen 10: Omniverse, GARO, HAPPY!, Loonatics Unleashed, Madan Senki Ryukendo, Mirai Sentai Timeranger, The Batman,
StarringJon Hamm,
While there are many ways to adapt material to another medium, there do seem to be two prominent schools of thought. Some want adaptations of existing works to take the source material as a jumping-off point. The original text should inspire the creators of the new media, but should make their own perspective felt. On the other hand, there are those that crave pure accuracy. They want the new piece to resemble the original as closely as possible, in tone, point of view, and style. Continue Reading →
Coming 2 America
Coming 2 America Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5lrkdvEZGg&ab_channel=AmazonPrimeVideo
Continue Reading →
Tell Me Your Secrets
I am a great lover of camp media. I love the over-the-top, the ridiculous, the melodramatic, and the ostentatious. I love storytelling that delves so far into the extremes of the human experience that it departs from reality altogether. Unfortunately, camp can backfire, and when it doesn’t work, it can become so ridiculous that it’s hard to watch. Continue Reading →
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things
SimilarChocolat (2000), Edward Scissorhands (1990),
Rebecca (1940) The Science of Sleep (2006), True Romance (1993),
It’s easy to feel like time’s been stuck in an infinite loop recently. Especially when two movies are released within a year of each other that both ask the question, “What if we remade Groundhog’s Day, but with two people instead of one?”. Unfortunately for The Map of Tiny Perfect Things, a Y.A. drama streaming on Amazon Prime, it’s now the Volcano of time loop romances (the superior Palm Springs is the Dante’s Peak, of course). Continue Reading →
The Crow
Similar28 Days Later (2002), Blown Away (1994), Edward Scissorhands (1990),
Jackie Brown (1997) Sin City (2005), Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014), Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982), The Dark Knight (2008), The Interpreter (2005),
StudioMiramax,
While the first movie in the series was stylish & unexpectedly moving, it was tainted by cheap, empty sequels that forgot what made it special.
You don’t have to have seen The Crow to know the story behind it. It’s one of the great Hollywood tragedies, like the Twilight Zone crash, or the Poltergeist curse, where watching them feels a little forbidden and eerie. That’s particularly true for The Crow, because the scene in which star Brandon Lee was accidentally killed with a prop gun was left more or less intact. Granted, there’s some clever editing and use of a body double, but it’s close enough to raise the hairs on the back of your neck.
I shan’t spend too much time recounting The Crow, because, again, even if you haven’t seen it, you’ve sort of seen it (and also it’s already been written about at length on this very website). I will say that I rewatched it for this project, and was surprised to see how well it holds up. It might be perhaps the most early 90s movie ever made, but unlike, say, Reality Bites, it’s in a way that’s still cool and stylish. The swooping urban landscape shots, created almost entirely with miniatures, are still a feast for the eyes, and would be put to even greater use four years later by director Alex Proyas, in his masterpiece Dark City. Sure, the villains, who have names like “Tin Tin” and “Funboy,” are laughably over the top, but they’re balanced by Lee, undoubtedly a rising star, who plays doomed hero Eric Draven with subtlety and genuine human emotion. Continue Reading →