Reviews

Some people might say that the first Azumi is a straight action flick which can and should be seen for its dazzling displays of sword play, but, and that's a big but, what glued the visuals together in the first installment was the characters: The little group of young assassins who went out on their mission. Azumi 2 really, really miss this little group. Our doe eyed heroine is even missing her famous smile and the reason for this - a seemingly ghost from the past - unfortunately leaves her with a facial expression, not unlike those who c's her draw her sword, but ain't quite sure if they're to die or not. That apart, Azumi 2 is worth watching: Especially if you dig the action scenes in the first one, and this time, a trio of really cool opponents has been thrown in, which kind of reminded me of the trio of deadly assassins in sword of vengeance, so if you liked them, check out Azumi 2! But, the bottom line is that Azumi 2 is missing something in order to be as good as the first one: Maybe it has been cut, and maybe some day a directors cut version will surface to set the record straight, but until then: you will love it if you're in it for the action, but if you're like me, you will only like it, cause swords are not enough!

More than an action flick, less than a character study: A ballet of blood with a beautiful face, and unfortunately three different versions, which each tips the weigh of the balance slightly towards either action or story. The 123 min. version has slight and small cuts here and there, but the cuts has been made to pace up the action, and thus goes out the story and the fine tuning of the characters: The small cuts are of character actions, and actions understood in the formula show the characters feelings, don't let them tell them by dialog, or in this case, by drawing the sword. Of cause it's a matter of taste, if one likes or dislikes the little things, but the 128 min. version, still adds a little something which makes you understand the characters a little better. I've heard there should be an 148 min version of the film also, but weather or not seeing this version, would be an eye opener like in the case of the Leon directors cut, I dare not say, but one thing is certain: In all three versions of Azumi there is a standout scene, which catches the essence of the movie, and thus pushes it past being strictly an action flick, but still not a full character study: The scene is mesmerizing and doesn't even has the protagonist in it: In a field of yellow, a young man in love has to battle to the death with a devil in white, and as the battle becomes a ballet of blood, an emotional tension even stronger than the whirling swords, are created by the fact, that the young girl is watching and neither she, the young man who loves her or the audience has any clue as to weather or not, she will survive whatever the outcome of the duel might become. And that, is what Azumi is about: The thin emotional line between love and death, cause for even the most skilled assassin, who visually can display unbelievable sword skills, the foundation of the skills, are the young heart beneath

I don't believe there's many headline type words which can be used about this movie, since they all seem to already have been used. The reason is simple: Oldboy is a movie you either hate or love, although considering the subject and theme of the movie, love probably ain't the right word to use. Still, the movie seem to part it's audience and it's understandably, but unfortunately, it also reflects on it's reviews. Oldboy is a tough movie to be objective about, since you almost have to take a stance about it's story, and the problem here is, that if you like the movie, it couldn't indicate that you can also relate to what the protagonist is doing', and of course the same goes, if you don't like the movie. So what is the protagonist doing' ? he's searching for truth. It's as simple as that, but the truth about what ? On the surface its the truth about who did him wrong, but underneath, it's the truth about human nature: How dark are the dark side of homo sapience, when the fire which fuels us, has been brought to a boiling point, where we find ourselves falling' from the edge towards the darkness ? And is it possible to stop the fall by uncover the truth, or will the truth just reflect another dark aspect of human beings: That sometimes, we are so blinded by our own self-righteousness that we can't c', that it is that same self-righteousness, which pushed us over the edge to begin with. Simplistically the love/hate aspect of Oldboy can be put into a question: Is it cool to tell a friend about something you have witnessed, if you know that what you have witnessed, probably wasn't something you should have seen ? Some will say yes, some will say no - same with Oldboy: Same love it, some hate it, and for that rare quality, Oldboy is worth watching.

Crash is a brilliant script: A great story, with nicely shaped characters whom, one way or another, got me thinking "Sometimes, life is a question of the eyes you look through" - What's righteous in the eyes of a human being, can be dead-wrong in the eyes of the fellow human, who's walking by. Obviously, it doesn't matter how strong the script is, if it's transformation to the big screen is sloppy, but with Crash, one of those rare things has happened: One of those rare things some call Oscar material. The multi lined story has been excellently transferred to the screen and the final product is like a perfectly tuned symphony: No note is false, and as the band plays, you get swept away by their music. One of the reasons for this, is a great cast, of whom I think, no one deserves more credit than others...and then again: The little girl with her cape will always shine brightly in my mind. A definitely must see movie!