KEA Productions: DVD Movie Reviews
from the archives of NuReel.com, The Berkeley Daily Planet, and Alameda Sun- written by Kamala Appel
ratings: Plus (highest)-Neutral (okay)-Negatives (pass & omitted from archive)
J: John Q, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
KANDAHAR (NEUTRAL/PLUS)
The breathtaking cinematography stands in stark contrast to the bleakexistence of the characters portrayed in this drama. Many of the peoplewhom the filmmakers encountered while filming KANDAHAR were dying ofstarvation, leading the cast and crew on a humanitarian effort todistribute food and medicine on a daily basis. (Press Notes- AvatarFilms 2001).
Although KANDAHAR is a fictional story, the events and characters arevery true to life for Afghanis living under the Taliban. Nelofer Paziragives a very honest performance as a woman who journeys from Canadaback to her native country of Afghanistan in hopes of preventing hersister's suicide. KANDAHAR argues that hope strengthens and sometimesgives someone an existence.
In common with the neorealists in Italy during the aftermath of WorldWar II, director Mohsen Makhmalbaf (GABBEH, THE SILENCE, A MOMENT OFINNOCENCE, and THE DAY I BECAME A WOMAN), used amateur actors.
No professional actors were used and scenes were constantly improvised.In fact, the director had to educate the locally hired cast on thefundamental aspects of the film arts. The locals had never even seen amovie so Makhmalbaf set up a screening room. The numerous would-beextras were made up of separate tribes, and in Afghanistan, opposingtribes do not speak, so they often refused to act in scenes with oneanother. (Press Notes- Avatar Films 2001)
The oppressive situation in Afghanistan would probably beincomprehensible to a modern-day Westerner. I find it ironic that OsamaBin Ladden would be such a media hound by hosting his own televisionshow, when the Taliban forbids images and modern communicationtechniques in efforts to suppress one's imagination and to keep theAfghani people down economically, socially, technically, andemotionally.
Afghanistan, a country without images. At the beginning of the 21stcentury, Talibans have a problem with images! There is no cinema, theyhave even taken away television. Their newspapers do not printpictures. Taking photographs or painting is considered 'impure'. Musicis forbidden. Girls' schools have been closed down. Girls do not havethe right to anything, not even public baths. In 1996 the Talibanordered a big library in Katoul, containing 55,000 books, to be burntto the ground. (Mohsen Makhmalbaf in an interview with ProfessorDabashi of Columbia University- Avatar Films 2001)
KANDAHAR is a worthwhile film with a very timely release. This filmprovides a rare insight into Afghanistan under Taliban rule. Althoughthe film gets a bit pedantic at times and ends abruptly, the educationit provides and the voice it gives to the Afghani people, make the filmimportant to see. Cinematically the film does not break new ground,however, in terms of content, the film breaks through oppressive andinternational boundaries.
KANDAHAR will start a platform release on January 4th, 2002. This film would be equally enjoyable on video.
Kingdom Come (Neutral)
When I saw the trailer for "Kingdom Come", I thought it looked like afilm a film with a lot of potential to be both moving and funny. Thestory revolves around the death of a man whose "mean and surly" waysproduced a dysfunctional and disgruntled family. Throughout the film,we (the audience) find out how Bud Slocumb, the deceased, hascontributed to the weaknesses and strengths of his family. The filmhosts a long list of comedians and actors, including: LL Cool J, as arecovering alcoholic; Vivica A. Fox, as his do-good wife; WhoopieGoldberg, as a bitter and frank wife of the deceased; Loretta Devine,as a holier-than-everyone religious fanatic; Anthony Anderson, as anunsuccessful dreamer; Jada Pinkett Smith, as a back-breaking, naggingwife with shattered dreams; Darius McCrary, as a lazy dead beat; andCedric the Entertainer as a reverend named Hooker. Surprisingly, JadaPrinkett Smith gets first billing, even though her character is theleast interesting and she seems to be the most unsuited for her part(her performance was too over-the-top). The two performances that makethe movie are by supporting actors: Loretta Devine who manages to playa melodramatic character without over-acting herself, and Cedric TheEntertainer who is always funny, especially with the ridiculous lisp hegives his character. LL Cool J also gives a moving and credibleperformance in spite of the simplicity of his character. I had trulyhoped that this film would be better than it is because it addresses atopic not often addressed in films with an all black cast, the issue ofdysfunctionality and the nuclear family. To my disappointment, thecharacters are somewhat two-dimensional, their development is awkward,and the story is extremely contrived. I never thought it was possiblefor a film to have too much closure, but this film does. This filmopens wide on Wednesday, April 11th. It would be equally enjoyable onvideo. If you do see it, stay for the end credits because there aresome funny photos at the end.
KISS OF THE DRAGON (neutral)
International action film production. Luc Besson co-writes. Jet Li andBridget Fonda star. Dynamic action sequences. Very corny dialogue andstory.
Jet Li tries to flex his acting muscles in "Kiss of the Dragon".Although I do not think Li's ability as an actor equals his ability asa martial artist, he does give a more compelling performance than hedid in "Romeo Must Die". In "Kiss of the Dragon", Li plays a cop whogets mixed up in an international debacle that jeopardizes his life andhis career. In the process of attempting to save his own reputation andcareer, he proves that chivalry is not dead, as he learns to put thesafety of a damsel-in-distress (played by Bridget Fonda) above his own.Bridget Fonda ("Point of No Return", often considered the American "LaFemme Nikita", "Singles", "Single White Female", "Bodies, Rest inMotion") co-stars as an ex-junkie crack whore named Jessica, whosenaivete also led her to get mixed up with the same wrong crowd as Li'scharacter, Liu Jiuan. In common with Liu Jiuan, Jessica puts the lifeof another above her own, but in her case, the life belongs to herillegitimate daughter.
Luc Besson, more commonly known for his role as a director ("The BigBlue", "La Femme Nikita", "The Professional", "The Fifth Element", and"The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc"), co-wrote this film withRobert Mark Kamen ("Lethal Weapon 3", "The Karate Kid", "The Karate KidII", "A Walk in the Clouds", "Taps", and "The Fifth Element" withBesson). The two set out to develop the story conceived by Jet Li. Thethree wanted to create a story that was as high on characterdevelopment and story as it was on action. They succeeded in creating astory filled with dynamic action sequences; however the story wasfar-fetched and predictable. In terms of character development, theonly character who changed at all was Li's character, the others seemedto exist as character-types only to help Liu Jiuan grow. Ironically,Liu Jiuan's on-screen maturity that reflects the character's educationon self-sacrifice, makes Li look somewhat self-absorbed since hischaracter is the only one with any depth and development. I realizethat Li is the star, but the film would have made him shine brighter,if he had allowed for multiple characters of equal interest (look atthe success of films like "A Fish Called Wanda" or television showslike "Seinfeld", their popularity stems from the chemistry of a strongensemble cast).
For those who will flock to the theaters in pursuit of action, you willfind happiness viewing "Kiss of the Dragon". Actiondirector/choreographer, Cory Yuen ("Leathal Weapon 4", "X-men", "TheBlack Rose", and many Hong Kong pictures with Jet Li including "TheLegend of Fong Sai-Yuk" and "Bodyguard from Beijing") demonstrates hismastery of visual drama and fight sequences. He worked with the rest ofthe filmmakers to keep the action grounded in reality, relativelyspeaking, as compared to recent hit films like "Crouching Tiger, HiddenDragon" and "The Matrix". Even though the fight scenes in "Kiss of theDragon" may not make you gasp for air as those in "Crouching Tiger,Hidden Dragon" and "The Matrix" may have, you will jump in you seat andlet out plenty of "oohs" and "awes".
Besson brought on a relative newcomer to feature film directing, ChirsNathon, who focused most of his early career on directing commercialsin France. Nathon's style in "Kiss of the Dragon" resembles that ofdirector John Woo, whose claim to fame is his ability to slow down thevisuals at the peak of drama (for example following a shooting bullet).At times, I found the varying film speeds and the center of visualattention a bit campy, but even though my laughter may have been a bitinappropriate at times, the humor offset the tension created by all theviolence. It is worth noting that there is A LOT of gratuitous violencethat does not add to the story in any way including animal cruelty.
The film has an oddly negative tone for this good triumphs over eviltheme. What could have been a interesting and creative internationalcollaboration, instead becomes a narrative filled with culturalstereotypes: the drug addicted American whose life is filled withviolence (Fonda), the sexually awkward little kung fu fighter (okayWushu- Li), the arrogant French man (and extremely violent- TchekyKaryo). I found the negative stereotypes somewhat bothersome.
The film does feature a very hip soundtrack filled with releases that Ithink will hit the top 40, especially with hip hop fans. Happy Walters,Producer, has a music supervision company, Sidewinder Music that isbehind the soundtracks for films that include "Scream 2", "There'sSomething About Mary", "The Next Best Thing", "American Pie", and "TheKlumps: The Nutty Professor II". Craig Armstrong created much of theoriginal music and is the mastermind behind some other popular musicalsthat include "Moulin Rouge" and "William Shakespeare's Romeo &Juliet".
"Kiss of the Dragon" is entertaining in terms of action, but thestoryline and character development leave a lot to be desired. I wouldnot classify this film as a family film due to the high level ofviolence and child endangerment. If you are a big Jet Li fan, you willprobably enjoy the film since he is definitely the center of attention."Kiss of the Dragon" opens wide on July 6th. Due to the emphasis onaction, I would recommend seeing the film on the big screen.
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