monkeyskin
Refugee
My Blueberry Nights
Not a whole lot to add that Lance hasn't already noted in his review. The dialogue was definitely clunky in places and it can't even be put down to the American vs Hong Kong argument ("How's it hangin'"?!). And the scene where Jude Law shares a smoke outside his cafe with a woman was horrible, mostly due to her not being able to act in the slightest.
There are positives. Norah Jones seems to settle into her role quite ably as the film goes on and each setting captures a distinct vibe. The location choices for the three major sections are also well chosen, at least for someone like me with a tourists' perspective of the US. Ultimately the film started to dip when we get to the Vegas / Natalie Portman segment. It's not her fault, just the story didn't grip me and the film didn't go anywhere new. Possibly after the sweet opening act and the void left unfilled from Weisz and Straithern it simply floundered.
A lot of people seemed disappointed in the screening I saw and after talking to a couple I'm tempted to put it down to the audience not being familiar with Wong Kar-Wai and not getting what they expected from a film with such stars. But I certainly don't rate it as a bad film; sub-standard WKW for sure but not by any means bad. As with the other of his films I've seen I get the feeling multiple viewings will open them up.
Not a whole lot to add that Lance hasn't already noted in his review. The dialogue was definitely clunky in places and it can't even be put down to the American vs Hong Kong argument ("How's it hangin'"?!). And the scene where Jude Law shares a smoke outside his cafe with a woman was horrible, mostly due to her not being able to act in the slightest.
There are positives. Norah Jones seems to settle into her role quite ably as the film goes on and each setting captures a distinct vibe. The location choices for the three major sections are also well chosen, at least for someone like me with a tourists' perspective of the US. Ultimately the film started to dip when we get to the Vegas / Natalie Portman segment. It's not her fault, just the story didn't grip me and the film didn't go anywhere new. Possibly after the sweet opening act and the void left unfilled from Weisz and Straithern it simply floundered.
A lot of people seemed disappointed in the screening I saw and after talking to a couple I'm tempted to put it down to the audience not being familiar with Wong Kar-Wai and not getting what they expected from a film with such stars. But I certainly don't rate it as a bad film; sub-standard WKW for sure but not by any means bad. As with the other of his films I've seen I get the feeling multiple viewings will open them up.