If Paris Not Fun

If Paris Not Fun, If Paris Downcast 2018

If Paris Is Not Fun Around the love story between Yue Zhu (Truong Han) and Nguyen Man Quan (Hieu Thanh Tu). He is a successful young entrepreneur going to receive the admiration, women followed long queue. She is a good lawyer and a strong, deep woman who does not fall easily. A person with a liberal personality, not afraid of anything in this world. One who always wants to protect himself and others around him is in love with each other. Imagine they are two opposing extremes, but they create a touching love story. Before meeting Dong Zhuo Yao, Nguyen Man Quan encountered the biggest event in his life. To help her ex-boyfriend get rid of a financial case, the man fake the papers, but she also finds herself in jail and is unable to work as a lawyer.

Staying in prison is still a heart toward her boyfriend she is waiting for each day free to return to find her love. But the end result, when Tse Yao was released is also his boyfriend married another girl. The soldier seemed to have lost everything, so much so that there was nothing left. And at that moment she accidentally encountered Yue Zhuo, who pulled her from the mire. Nguyen Man Quan tried his best not to stop him from becoming a voice actor in the company. But then, she wanted to return to work as a lawyer as before, not because she missed the job so much that she could not quit, but because she wanted to pursue Yao Yuzu Peach.
But their love is too many obstacles, the Army has always felt guilty about his past, while Trieu Yao has many "good reputation far away" about the lack of food, playing lovers not long. Apparently they love each other but always fear and evade their feelings. The enemy flees, to lose before the heart, she ran to Paris, but finally met him. That may be the cause, probably because they can not give up each other but later on, the military knows for Tieu Yue: "People who love Dong Zhuo Yao, but in the world Yue Zhuang only one That person is Nguyen Man Quan. "

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Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2011)

A dangerous formula of combining Werner Herzog and documentary leads to the first film I've fallen asleep in this year. Considered a potential Oscar documentary contender I thought I'd get a jump on the eligible films knowing that some won't get shortlisted. Of all the ones I watched early, this is the only one I regret watching. Originally shot in 3D, it had a pretty decent box office run, and the non-3D is not great.

The film is about a cave that was found in the south of France in 1994 by a couple of explorers. They found that it contains wall paintings that date back 20,000 years. The oldest preserved wall writings and the film is an exclusive look at a very contained site. Honestly it was pretty cool for about 15 minutes, and I think this would have made an excellent documentary short film. The content just seems to run out after 30 minutes and we get interviews with scientists who talk about how the cave "might" have smelled, what dreams the people "might" have had.

The problem was that the scope of the documentary was so limited that scenes of a toy plane flying around the valley [pandering to the 3D I'm sure] seemed out of place. The valley probably looked completely different 20,000 years ago so what are you showing me. This wasn't for me, to each his own, but I'm glad this one wasn't shortlisted.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1664894/

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The Road (2009)

I won't lie about it, I really didn't completely pay attention to this one. I had something else going on and it was playing in the background. Maybe if I would have focused it would have had a higher rating... then again my wife was paying attention and agrees it was this bad.

This film actually was in post-production for a very long time. I think it was Viggo Mortensen's follow-up to 2007's Eastern Promises which he was nominated for an Oscar from. It was originally scheduled for a Nov. 2008 release but I think the market was saturated with similar themed films. By the time it came out I had lost interest. Now 3 years later I finally got around to watching it after hearing mixed reviews [mostly bad].

The film is based on a novel, and I'm guessing that the novel explained who the apocalypse happened. Either way some sort of event has left the earth in ruins with a very limited food supply and rampant cannibalism. Maybe this is supposed to be a realistic take on what it would be like after nuclear war... I'm not sure. Kodi Smit-McPhee is quite young in this film, you'd know him if you watched Let Me In. Charlize Theron plays the wife of Mortensen in his flashbacks and we have some small roles by Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce, nothing special.

I was quite disappointed by the pace of this film and lack of information, it should have been much better.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898367/

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Something Borrowed (2011)

Directed by Luke Greenfield, who has been making tv movies and is responsible for The Animal. Starring Ginnifer Goodwin & Kate Hudson then Colin Egglesfield & John Krasinski as the boyfriend/friend relationships.

Rachel [Goodwin] is the main character of the film, her best friend Darcy [Hudson] is engaged to Dex [Egglesfield]. We learn that Rachel and Dex were student partners in med school and both never acted on these feelings, meanwhile Darcy is introduced and doesn't hesitate to act. Ethan [Krasinski] plays Rachel's childhood friend who supports her in winning Dex back who clearly only cares for Rachel.

The problem with the film is actually not Hudson, surprising enough because most of the films she is in... she is the bad part. The problem is the horrible script, Krasinski's lines are just awful in the first 45 minutes... he gets better at the end. It is clear that this is written, directed, and produced by a team used to doing sitcoms and the issues play out like a couple episodes strung together. I can't fathom how this is adapted from a book and what that book must be like. The last time I can remember Goodwin in a lead was for Mona Lisa Smile 8 years ago, and this doesn't come close.

It wasn't unwatchable, but it wasn't very good either.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491152/

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Catch-22 (1970)

One of the newest Must See war films I still needed to see, and in the closing week of Western/War month I thought I'd knock it out. I wish I would have known from the start that this was supposed to be a comedy, but I figured it out fast enough.

Alan Arkin stars as Capt. Yossarian, and is immediately stabbed in the back. I think I was supposed to realize that we then flash back for the rest of the story, but didn't realize until the end of the film. Martin Sheen and a number of other well known actors make up the cast of men in the unit. They are pilots who have flown a ridiculous number of missions and are looking for ways to get out. We find out that the only way out is to be considered mentally ill, but if you think you are mentally ill then you by definition can't be mentally ill. The "catch-22" becomes the theme of the film as we see through Capt. Yossarian's eyes as he snaps.

The film starts out kind of like MASH [from the same year], jokes like a man with the first name Major, which is too confusing for him to be a captain so they just make him a major. It is funny for a little while... but then Yossarian snaps. Thinks start to get stupid, the comedy becomes more of a bad dream and the jokes are complex and not funny. I could see this being better when it came out, but I just didn't like it at all.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065528/

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Cavalcade (1933)

The vast majority of Oscar winners I was able to find with a netflix subscription several years ago, but there were a few that were nearly impossible to get ahold of. The only way I was able to find this one was to order the DVD on ebay from a Korean company that had made a dvd from an old VHS. To this date it is still not on dvd but can be found if you really try.

Unless you are obsessive about finishing lists, you probably should just leave this as one of the ones you never got a chance to see because it wasn't convenient [I now have a copy I'd be happy to give you].  

I really can't tell you what the film is about, because for the most part it isn't really about anything substantial. A family tragedy film is the best way to describe it, by definition a cavalcade is a procession of dramatic events. A mother has two sons, the oldest goes on his honeymoon traveling on the Titanic. You can guess what happens... but then again you have to guess because we never see the ship go down and it isn't like there weren't some survivors. The younger son and father both go off to war, we get some glimpses of soldiers marching and random battlefields during World War I, but again we don't actually see the tragic events.

I'd have to say this is really something of an anti-war drama, but it is really hard to say. The audio was horrible, grainy and muffled, what you can expect from a bootleg DVD with a VHS source. There is a reason no one is pushing for this one to get a cleaned up release. Easily the worst Oscar winner I've seen so far.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023876/

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Just Go With It (2011)

Another Happy Madison film, maybe it is the nostalgia of Adam Sandler films of the 90's that keep bringing me back. Honestly I don't know why I bother with films I know will be bad, sometimes to just have to see for yourself.

Adam Sandler plays a plastic surgeon who is scarred by a fiance early in life and who uses his wedding ring as a tool to get women. When he meets the girl of his dreams Palmer [Brooklyn Decker, beautiful and talentless], but she finds a wedding ring in his pocket he, he then has to create an elaborate scheme to convince her that he is about to get a divorce. He convinces his secretary Katherine [Jennifer Aniston] to go along with the plan as the lie gets more complicated at every step.

If anything, this is Sandler's first Romantic Comedy since Spanglish in 2004. Since then it has been potty jokes and gay jokes, so I will give him that he did something a little different and more mature. It is sad to me the last Sandler film I REALLY liked was Reign Over Me and he won't do that again because it didn't make any money. Would you make crap like this if you could gross $103million without really trying?

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1564367/

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The Green Hornet (2011)

This is one of those movies that you really have to ask yourself, "is this even worth my time?" The first sign of a film being really bad is if you see a lot of commercials for it. That means that it is so bad they are afraid your family and friends won't suggest it, so they have to tell you about it as much as possible. Second is that it has Cameron Diaz.

I was getting this and Green Lantern mixed up since I knew little about either. This one is not a comic book remake, it is a TV show made into a movie starring Seth Rogen in his most annoying role ever. Couple that with Diaz still thinking she can make entrances like she did 13 years ago... your 39!

So Kato is his sidekick that is really the hero of the film. Rogen's character is a rich brat and just plain annoying. Need I say more?

I felt I had to watch it, but I'm not sure why. Don't have the same feeling.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0990407/

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Knightriders (1981)

Let me start by saying that I can see how some people would like this film and how a 30 or 40 something would put it on their top action movie list. Second this is not what I expected at all from George A. Romero or the movie poster. I thought this was going to be like Army of Darkness with a motorcycle gang somehow time traveling back to the middle ages, actually that would have been a lot cooler.

The film stars Ed Harris back when he was young (31). He plays Billy the King of a traveling carnival of jousters. A medieval play where knights joust on motorcycles going from town to town with injuries more realistic than the crowd believes. Keep an eye out for a cameo by Stephen King as a country hick who thinks everything is staged. Billy is followed around by Merlin (Brother Blue) who is African American witch doctor of the group.

We join the band of misfits at a pivotal time. The show is gaining popularity and a faction wants to see the show grow into something performed in arenas in major markets, but Billy wants to stay on the outskirts of society and feels that there is more to the lifestyle than the money.

The film clocks in at almost two and a half hours. There are several subplots and storylines that are kind of interesting, but the Easy Rider ideals are too 1960's for me. I just found myself bored with most of it and hoped there was more to the whole thing than there was. Not for me, and not going in my top 101 action list.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082622/

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Foxy Brown (1974)

As the dvd tagline goes, before there was Jackie Brown there was Foxy Brown. Pam Grier stars in this blaxploitation film as the sexy Foxy Brown. 23 years later Quentin Tarantino starred Grier as Jackie Brown, his homage to blaxploitation films.

The plot is... interesting... Foxy's boyfriend just underwent plastic surgery after he testified against some white drug lords. When the police were unable to get a conviction he had to find a way to hide himself to be safe. Foxy's brother sells her boyfriend out, and after they kill him she goes on a rampage. She becomes a high class hooker in this drug lords ring to exact revenge on the people that killed her man.

Atrocious acting, boring plot, and a real lack of ACTION made this a bad movie. And a really bad pick for a "top" action film. This movie just wasn't made for me I guess.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071517/

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Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010)

For a second year I've been really into the documentary category of the Oscars and try and watch a handful of short list picks that didn't get a nomination. It really helps me get a feel for what the academy thinks is worthy and if going beyond there picks is worthwhile. For the most part I like all documentaries, and as you have probably seen from my ratings they usually get at least an average rating. It quickly drops into an avoid watching (5/10) if I felt I gained nothing from the film. Unlike fiction films, I want to learn something from a documentary. When I feel I'm being lied to I start to really hate the film. 3/10 might be generous for a documentary that really pissed me off.

Eliot Spitzer was a powerful man in New York who did a lot of good in terms of regulations on Wall Street, he was also an asshole. Maybe that is what it takes to go up against the likes of AIG and these corporations, but when you are also doing illegal stuff you lose all credibility yourself. Spitzer is interviewed in this film and has no problems talking about all the good things he did in his career. He immediately tells the interview he does not want to talk about all of the illegal things he did. Come on. YOU MADE THIS DOCUMENTARY. If you aren't willing to get it out in the open, apologize, and move on how are you going to gain any credibility. This documentary is more of a campaign ad of Spitzer's telling us to forgive him because others were so much worse than him.

I learned nothing from this documentary, which is horrible considering that it pushes 2 hours. Interviews with call girls that just drag out, and air-headed girls that run these call girl organizations was almost painful to sit through. One of the first documentaries that I severely disliked.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1638362/

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Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010)

Having watched the original a couple weeks ago, and needing to get this one over with, I scheduled some time for this long sequel. I was concerned from the start since the main character completely changed from the original, Charlie Sheen to Shia LaBeouf.

The film starts with Michael Douglas finishing his jail sentence and leaving the jail. We, that remember the first film, assume he is in jail from Sheen's character's closing scenes of the first film. The film then tries to remake the 2008 bank failures with fake companies, and Josh Brolin playing the main bad guy that caused all this. The film is a constant battle between who's character is more important LaBeouf or Douglas. There is never a focus on the storyline and we get a sense that this film was just made because of the latest issues on wall street. There is a cameo by Sheen... yay. The thing I hated the most was the interaction between Carey Mulligan and LaBeouf and Douglas. I'm not a fan of hers and all the scenes seemed fake.

Pass on this horrible remake, the original wasn't even that good, and they are just pandering to the 2008 wall street crash to make a buck.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1027718/

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Trouble in Paradise (1932)

This is going to be a really bad review, and I'm sorry for that. I have to say this film never really had my interest. I found it dull and slow, but nevertheless made it through pretty quickly. In retrospect I can't say I remember much about it... already. Maybe that is strange, but you can't tell me you haven't watched a movie so boring that you almost instantly forget it.

The movie is a romantic comedy starring Herbert Marshall and Miriam Hopkins, the two meet while trying to con each other, they have a moment when they both figure each other out as fakes, and instantly fall in love. The premise of the film is that they work as a team pulling big con jobs all across Europe. They both join a perfume company and target the beautiful owner. Marshall makes his way up the food chain at the company to get in close contact before even eventually being in charge of financial decisions. Saying more would spoil the film, what there is of one that is.

I just couldn't get into this film, I didn't find much of anything to be funny. As a drama it was weak, and it was weak as a romance. Maybe it was more interesting 80 years ago.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023622/

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The Last Airbender (2010)

This is a first for me. I watched this movie back in early November and forgot to blog about it. After spotting it on imdb and seeing that I had not voted for it, I couldn't find it in my blog and traced it back in my log files for when I watched it. Hopefully this doesn't happen frequently, but isn't a surprise since I'm usually a couple week behind on reviews lately.

The fact that I completely forgot about this one might tell you just how much I liked it. The film won the Razzie Award last year, for those that don't know what that is, it is the award for the worst movie of the year. Not only did it win the Razzie for the worst film of the year, it also won for worst director, screenplay, and supporting actor: Jackson Rathbone. It was nominated for worst couple, actress, and two others. I've never seen a film garnish so many razzie nominations and wins. So you can see how much this one was disliked.

 I guess I still haven't commented as to what I thought. It reminded me of something a preteen would watch on cable television in the middle of the day. The acting was horrible, and you have to blame the director when it is EVERYONE. Dev Patel, the bad kid, was so bad it was impossible to remember that this was the same kid from Slumdog Millionaire. The other bad guy was played by Aasif Mandvi, previously of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, who came on the show weekly with political commentary filled with over the top sarcasm. Seeing him play a bad guy was impossible for me. He seemed to be constantly sarcastic, and I wondered, is he making fun of bad guys?

The lack of a substantial plot was overshadowed by the ridiculous martial arts build ups to the simplest tasks. Moving a small ball requires the same amount of effort as moving the ocean? It made no sense, and was painful at times. I am reviewing this four months late, and I can't remember what redeeming factors there were, sorry. Just don't watch this one. 

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0938283/
(Move to November 10th, 2010 after 1 month)

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The Band's Visit: Bikur Ha-Tizmoret (2007)

I actually remember seeing a trailer at the movie theater for this film when I went to see There Will Be Blood at The Magnolia. I remember thinking... that looks awful, I hope no one puts it in there Top 10. So thanks a lot Roger Ebert, he put this in his Top 20.. so I don't have to watch it, but it definitely made me wonder if it had any redeeming qualities.

The premise of the film is that an Egyptian Police Band is scheduled to perform at a ceremony of an Arts Center opening in an small town in Israel. When one of the members has the name misspelled, they end up in the wrong town with no available transportation until the following day. A local shop owner, a 30-something single woman, takes them in for the night and finds friends to shelter the bad over night. The entire film is based on the different band members as they interact with the different locals.

Dull, slow, and quite uneventful. This international "slice-of-life" film was not my cup of tea and I could have done without it. I definitely wouldn't suggest it. Although better than what I expected, it wasn't far off.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032856/

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P.S. I Love You (2007)

This movie has been in my queue for quite some time. It can be funny how the longer and longer it takes you to watch a movie can sometimes be because you anticipate that it will not be good. Honestly for the 4 years it took me to get around to this one I had no idea that it starred Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler.

So the film starts with a painfully long opening sequence that makes you wonder if you missed the opening credits somehow. A 10+ minute argument that ends well, but was confusingly long, involving characters we didn't know yet. After the opening credits we learn that Butler's character is dead, there is no explanation why or how and first, this was even just grazed over when we do learn. It was an awkward and harsh shift in the film that did not leave you with an emotional connection to the Swank's character going through the loss... which was odd. The film becomes something you would watch on the Lifetime Network with Gina Gershon and Lisa Kudrow consoling Swank. Since Butler's character's death was illness related he had time to write letter, make audio recordings, plan vacations, and do a number of things for his widow. Cheesy and borderline ridiculous.

A film like this is typical now for Butler, so that wasn't odd for me. He is not good in these films and should stick with action. The real problem here is Swank, he is not good at Romantic comedy and it was more of a romance/drama than a comedy, because she doesn't really bring anything funny to the table. Avoid this one, it isn't even a good date night movie.


Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0431308/

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Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar, the famous Spanish director, known for All About My Mother, Talk to Her, Volver, and Broken Embraces. Since this is my 5th film of his to see, and with mixed emotions about the four I just listed, I expected this to be below average. The title alone scares me, and Spanish comedy is not my thing. With only two films left to finish the Yahoo 100 Movies to See Before You Die, I had The Apu Trilogy and this one. With the 6 hour trilogy over, I felt getting through this one as fast as possible was a great goal. At only 90 minutes it was like pulling off a band-aid.

The film stars Carmen Maura and a young Antonio Banderas. The plot is frustratingly bad, and the acting is worse. I felt like I was watching a bad soap opera on Univision, and struggled to get it over with. Amazingly this film was nominated for an Oscar in 1989 and lost to Pelle the Conqueror [a film I've never heard of].

It was rough, but hey, I finished a movie list by watching it, yay!



Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095675/

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Grown Ups (2010)

Fart jokes, jokes about sex with old ladies, fat jokes, all of what you can expect from a Happy Madison Production. The thing that is really frustrating is that this film is disguised as a family movie.

It is as if Sandler gets together all the comedians who have only put out crap in the last 10 years [Rob Schneider and David Spade] and made a movie about school age friends having a reunion. Maybe it was wrong of me to have any expectations from this movie. Truth is, I've liked most of Adam Sandler's movies. It just seemed like no one tried to really make this more than a "hanging out with Sandler and his friends."


I suggest avoiding this one.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1375670/

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Blow-Up (1966)

This one managed to make it into the top 15 of the top 100 films to see before you die by yahoo. Top 15 of all time... seems a little high for a movie most people have never heard of. A pretentious movie about a photographer who treats models like crap. In his free time he likes to take pictures around town, in the park, etc. Unaware that he is photographing a crime he is asked to give up his film by the lady he photographs.

The woman happens to be Vanessa Redgrave at the peak of her popularity. The film is very racy for the 1960's and with a Redgrave topless scene I can see where the popularity comes from. Michelangelo Antonioni was nominated for an Oscar for his directing of this, and the Brits nominated it for 3 BAFTA's including script, art direction, and best overall film.


I hated it. The main character was a jerk. The story never progresses anywhere with the foreshadowing it provides. It was a waste of time. With less than half of an hour left all I could think was, where is this going? What is the point? You can die without seeing this one.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060176/

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Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

One of the last two films on the AFI Laughs left to watch. One of the films I reserved until the end to watch with my wife. Given the number of films I watch there are many I watch on my own, but since this was an old Cary Grant film we had never heard of we expected it to be pretty good.

Turns out this was RKO's biggest blockbuster, and a very popular film in the 1940's. Which is amazing, because I hated it. No really it was hard to watch because the characters annoyed me so much.

Cary Grant plays "Mr. Blandings," a short tempered father of a middle class family, with a wife and two daughters. He works for an advertising agency in New York and lives in a cramped home. Myrna Loy plays "Mrs. Blandings," the wife who is completely non-supportive of her husband and allows her ex-boyfriend from college "Bill" [played by Melvyn Douglas] to hang around. The family buys a dump, and eventually end up building a new house. No one in the family gets along, and the comedy is overshadowed by the bad attitudes throughout the film.

Maybe it was because I saved it, expecting it to be good. Maybe it just wasn't good. I found this to be incredibly over-rated, and was inspired to make a list of the 50 most over-rated films after watching this one.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040613/

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