Short reviews-A bittersweet Life

Revenge is sometimes a dish best served cold according to some and by the looks of things in Jee-Wonn kim's stylised thriller the main character completely agrees. We follow our protagonist Sun-woo(Byung-hun lee) from the daily works of an undercover job, working as an enforcer for the hotel company. Through traditional Asian cinema traditions this has a ring of a samurai story in partnership and structure. Sun-woo is a man who follows a strict regime of Self-discipline and obeys his master Mr Beak, played to an underwhelming affect by Jeogn-Min Hwang. Sun woo is giving a simple assignment, follow the girl, see what she's up to, if anything gets out of hand deal with it.He makes the wrong descion. Sun woo makes a bargain with the girl and her estranged lover- don't see each other and this will all go away. But the power of love, something sun-woo is unaccustomed to, cannot be stopped.

That's the force that eventually drives the story of A bitter Sweet life, a bravely cheap yet sleek crime drama. Continuing through the story and Sun-woon is now on the run.His boss has betrayed him. His colleagues are under Mr Beaks tiny little thumb. Through some technically dazzling feats of cinematography and camerawork that make you think how did they do that, we meet sun-woo where he will inevitably be: his death.He brakes out his code of silence to carry out cold hearted revenge. In a way that makes Jee-Woon Kims film at it's heart the perfect movie about a killer(s).To call the characters in A bittersweet life barren and emotionless is an understatement.There are scenes which are undeniably harsh, one scene which isn't particularly violent where someone is beating to death with a phone.Fine we see the justice,but these characters have not got any understanding of the word human compassion.It makes the villains technically great antagonist but not entirely compelling ones.

However on a side note it would be to simple to write this off as another crime thriller.This is a film which may look simple on the top but it's complexities lye underneath.There's an interesting shift with the gangster sub culture with the film "You can't play with life" is one line which seems contradictory,even funny when you take that against there job.

Sun-woo never let's his emotions get in the way of his work.He's a cooly calculated perfectionist.That makes him perfect for the job.But once the girl stops him in his tracks something human beckons in him.It's that twinkle of relief that he now has a purpose in life, which in turn (like last years sophisticated,high gloss euro thriller The American) Sun-woo becomes a killer with a heart.There are even ties to the traditions of gangster and samurai heritage, intermingled in A Bittersweet Life.The business that is run is illegal but legit, a type of inport-export service for the hotels rather unpleasant guests. Sun-woo is traditional when it comes to kicking ass.He,not until the end,never uses gun's, knifes or any weapons.Just good old fistie cuffs. Whether it was down to the director or the choreographer the film, when the action is on the screen, does a strangely realistic job of framing the action.The action throughout is unapologetic violent, so making the film watchable and pleasing is one triumph of the film and with an twisted wit (sometimes even quirky humour) at it's fingertip's it makes for a hard edged version of any R-rated film you've ever seen.

The action is seen as making these staged, almost acrobatic scenes seems natural.Everything is rough around the edges but feels like there was a great deal of work put into the fight sequences and this is without any of inducing sickness of shaky cam.A triumph of style over substance?.There are impressive shot's which are florid, kinetic and energetic all from the directors point of view.However i couldn't shake the feeling that something felt eminently cheap and forgettable, like a less memorable version of a John woo film. Recently i went on the IMDB page for the film.Underneath the first review there are always recommendations for other films, most of these are Asian crime dramas and two are from John woo. There will always be the notion that in every country there is a hack.In America there is Bay .In Asia........?.I wouldn't call Jee-woon kim a hack, i would just that the film is flawed.When the action kicks the film is thrilling, when it slows down, we are occasionally left with something half cooked.However, when a film tackles a romantic sub plot-this time down with beauty and grace contrasting the brutal and tired business he works for- and does it with this strong an execution, then we have adequate supplement to keep us engaged.It's flawed but the style, oh the the style.

Source Code-My name is Captain Duncan Jones

"Source code" has already been called many things. Its "Groundhog day meets inception", "Hitchcockian", "rare class" and someones bound to say it at some point "A mind f**k". All these statements are true. Source Code, directed by Moon's Duncan Jones, is a rare breed of mainstream cinema. Simple yet complex and clever, strong performances, sharp script with old fashioned stardom power and a director of S-f who hasn't messed up his second feature (take a closer look at the past and Richard Keely's Southland tales or DJ Caruso's equally terrible second hit Eagle Eye come to mind). Source Code is exactly what Eagle Eye wasn't; Good.

Source code is a computer program; it will hold you in a state on immersion in the last and only the last eight minutes of a man's life. I would also presume that goes for women too. It has taken into its program Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhall), a helicopter pilot for the US military, who is unaware of what is going around him. His mind literally is the key for solving what is an apparent terrorist attack on a passenger train going in to Chicago. His mission is simple, find the bomber and you can prevent another attack. But his mission is in trouble; he's been swayed by Christine (Michelle monaghan).His plan swerves away from the objective, he thinks he can save millions of lives and save the girl. Remember people this all to be done in 8 minutes.

The comparison to Inception is a weight on Source Code. It would seem that every mainstream science fiction film that is in anyway loopy will be compared to Christopher Nolan's blockbusting hit. It can't and sadly won't be lifted but credit is due in part to the writer Ben Ripley. The story is intelligently put together and down not only to his part, Jones and Ripley are able to grab you in instantly. It starts off like Carry Grants first knowledge that something’s not quite right in North By North West, cranked up to hyperventilating levels and with an impressively old fashioned soundtrack from Chris Bacon making this classily put together thriller, almost Hitchcock like in feeling. Questions are also asked within Source Code which it quickly and immediately answers. As with Inception, it has rules but less annoyingly has little to do with the rules of a time paradox.

The rules are set up so you’re never distracted by the nagging feeling that something doesn't quite make sense. There are little contradictions to the story and with that little reason to have to have a a huge suspension of disbelief. Source Code can simply be composed primarily as surrounding an idea; that idea is being able to go back in time. But it's not as souly mechanical as Inception or gimmicky. Instead it's a closely compacted version of Cludo, where the central idea runs along characters and old fashioned twist and turns. You taken into the mystery, never knowing what direction Jones is going to take the film. Which is a good thing seeming it is centred around a repetitive premise, which could have easily turned tedious but for the mainstream thrills alone, the film will certainly keep you entertained and with the trippiest of quantum leap plots, it keeps you thinking even if it is simply a "who dunnit" scenario.





So what is stopping Source Code from greatness? It is hard to comprehend with a film which has it's roots in so many other films, if anything it's a less flashy version of Déjà Vu, a less memorable version of Minority Report and a less than engaging version of Moon. By the end Source Code is the perfect balance of Popcorn cinema and thinking man science fiction .However when the fun, the mystery and the excitement stops we are giving to squander at what is left-that is the love stories. The two female leads are Vera Farmiga and Michelle Monahagn-who both have a part to play in colters life. One is in reality and one is in the source code. Monahagn's Christine is sexy and charming but less than strong compared to the hard nosed Collen Goodwin. They both trust and fall for our doomed protagonist, yet on both sides we don't know really why. Farmega adds a connection to the story in reality, allowing for her character to be swayed from her path. She adds as sense of urgency to the story, every time he comes out of the source code the next attack is getting closer. Gyllenhalls character isn't giving a particularly strong back-story, we never know why when he turns into Sean (who he turns into for the last 8 minutes of the man's life) he has such a strong connection to monaghan. It has none of the wild excitement of a relationship, beginning out of thin air, in its most noticeable comparison to North By North west where Carry grant meets the irresistible and spontaneous Eve Kendall.

The reason why this years The Adjustment Bureau worked so differently from the mainstream was because the two leads were far from dull. There dialogue and chemistry never dragged and was endlessly engaging and no matter how preposterous the film got it was always believable. With Gylenahll and Monahagn we are just given that these two have to fall for each other, as the script by Ripley never gives the two leads to have a real moment just to talk, instead it is focused on the overall mission. She is ultimately clueless and he is far too much like the heroic caricature we have seen in other similar films. However there is far much more praise for Ripley. This is a film that keeps you engaged yet its continuously repeating itself and by the end once things quieting down, it truly rings a happy, sentimental and romantically touching lump in the throat.

Source Codes biggest obstacle for success is to stand head and shoulders high with the massively popular Inception. Maybe it will have to stick to the Cult Status label but you'll be wrong to think this is worse, it's better. Complexly told yet strangely simple and accessible and never as overbearing as Inception's philosophy, and with the film set in our reality we are given real drama and a sense of playfulness and humour to Gylenhalls storyline.It's a film which favours set piece's, which are big and explosive but never dumb down the story to needless set pieces instead of philosophical insight's or gimmicky trciks. Jones has crafted a film that is always intriguing and this is a rare first, genuinely clever. In fact this makes Source Code ahead of it's predescessors


Duncan Jones has already shown with Moon that he has a fine hand at crafting character driven stories, but how does a small budget director learn to tackle the mainstream. Source code is overly long and at 93 minutes that's a problem it's primarily with the last 15 minutes being a somewhat anti-climax and with a stronger and less preachy ending Source Code would be the next big thing. It’s not quite as memorable as you would want the film to be but this is a solid and well crafted thriller. Quantum leap would be begging for as much class.

LOW DOWN
Popcorn cinema at it's most preposterously engaging. It’s a fun, particularly old fashioned film the type that you would only expect the types of Spielberg to direct. But it's by Duncan Jones and this is only his second feature. It is simple and less memorable than Moon but more accessible and if he play's his cards right, Mute is certainly one to be getting excited for in the near future.

***/****
(3/4)