Review Comrades, Almost a Love Story

sitenoise

Member: Rank 5
You can also post your other reviews on the Recently Seen Thread.
I like separating out films worth talking about into their own thread. I'd do it more often myself but most of the films I like aren't worth talking about. A shortcoming of putting everything into "Recently Seen" is that visitors from an alien world are unlikely to see them. Some stranger might open the Asian Forum to see what's going on but they are unlikely to read through eleven pages of tangents and digressions to find red meat. But "Recently Seen" does promote the easy, no pressure talkiness I enjoy. dunno.gif
 

sitenoise

Member: Rank 5
I absolutely think this was supposed to be an (obviously) awkward scene.
Yes. My quibble is that is wasn't done very well. They were trying and it almost worked. When Maggie tilted her head back during coat number one, eee gads, you see how brilliant she is. The scene overall had the Classic going on, which to me is inauthentic, which boils down to the fact that the guy wasn't in the same league as Maggie.
 

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
I like separating out films worth talking about into their own thread. I'd do it more often myself but most of the films I like aren't worth talking about. A shortcoming of putting everything into "Recently Seen" is that visitors from an alien world are unlikely to see them. Some stranger might open the Asian Forum to see what's going on but they are unlikely to read through eleven pages of tangents and digressions to find red meat. But "Recently Seen" does promote the easy, no pressure talkiness I enjoy. View attachment 244
Agreed. I also do that when I find a movie/series something worth shouting out to the world.

And yes, that coat scene spelled AWKWARD. Like errrr......can we get this done and over with awkward.
 

sitenoise

Member: Rank 5
the things you mentioned as distractions for you never came on my radar at all
You are not alone in that. Most people don't even know what bad eating-acting is! lol

I can't describe what a sigh of relief it was, that scene, the two of them walking down the street after the bracelet purchase. How beautiful it was. Just bodies and words. [Update - scratch the words. All I need is bodies. They can stare off into space and say nothing, as long as they're not chewing on something.]
 
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sitenoise

Member: Rank 5
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I think she brought the guy (too bad we only call him as the guy lol) in the film. Its like, even if she's not talking, she says something.
That's what I'm sayin'. I think Maggie does better when she's not talking. Like that scene where she's in the car, and the guy, he's inches away staring at her (continuity issues notwithstanding). And she sits there. That's really hard to do, I imagine. Then as the guy, as he walks away, and Maggie bumps her horn. That's red meat. No words.
 

Zelena

Member: Rank 2
This movie is a gem, why haven't this been mentioned before?? I blame sitenoise. lol. Or zelena, they didn't tell me this movie exists.
Haha, don't blame me, man! I did review this in some depth a couple years ago, but I don't remember what I said and those write-ups are ERASED FOREVER. :emoji_frowning2:

I guess I know you guys' taste well enough by now that it was easy to foresee you would like it, and comrade @sitenoise would hate it. Too Hongkongy and when I remembered it has Eric Tsang in it, I knew that was the death-knell. Like, if you wanted to invent a boogeyman that would remind you of every single Hong Kong movie, it would look like Eric Tsang. But I love that guy, he's a geezer. Well, anyway it's good to have dissenting opinion -- that's the richness of the discussion. My taste is about as mainstream as it gets, considering what I choose to watch -- it galls me that my ratings are rarely more than one click off from the consensus.

For the rest of us, a great film. I find it interesting that this was made right when Hong Kong was "handed over," and it really was the end of something, the last of the good times. Usually, when it seems like the world is coming to an end, the world is coming to an end.
 

sitenoise

Member: Rank 5
I'm starting to like this film lol1.gif We haven't even mentioned Christopher Doyle. Why hasn't anyone ever mentioned him before? As far as side characters go, he was fun, him and Cabbage--probably named as an homage to one of the cats in If Cats Disappeared from the World.

I also thought the social commentary in the first act was cool. Not so much later on.
 

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
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That's what I'm sayin'. I think Maggie does better when she's not talking. Like that scene where she's in the car, and the guy, he's inches away staring at her (continuity issues notwithstanding). And she sits there. That's really hard to do, I imagine. Then as the guy, as he walks away, and Maggie bumps her horn. That's red meat. No words.

Agreed on that. But that torrid kiss in the car (with the guy outside) was terrible. Too terrible I will forget it ever existed in this film.
 

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
Haha, don't blame me, man! I did review this in some depth a couple years ago, but I don't remember what I said and those write-ups are ERASED FOREVER. :emoji_frowning2:

I guess I know you guys' taste well enough by now that it was easy to foresee you would like it, and comrade @sitenoise would hate it. Too Hongkongy and when I remembered it has Eric Tsang in it, I knew that was the death-knell. Like, if you wanted to invent a boogeyman that would remind you of every single Hong Kong movie, it would look like Eric Tsang. But I love that guy, he's a geezer. Well, anyway it's good to have dissenting opinion -- that's the richness of the discussion. My taste is about as mainstream as it gets, considering what I choose to watch -- it galls me that my ratings are rarely more than one click off from the consensus.

For the rest of us, a great film. I find it interesting that this was made right when Hong Kong was "handed over," and it really was the end of something, the last of the good times. Usually, when it seems like the world is coming to an end, the world is coming to an end.
Well I must have brushed it over. You know my attention is usually caught when I see "the other one dies", "one suffers amnesia", "they go their separate ways", "it has lovely pets here", etc. so I didn't realize you have mentioned this before. Eric Tsang was naturally loveable here! He had mickey mouse tattoed on his back!
 

sitenoise

Member: Rank 5
that torrid kiss in the car (with the guy outside) was terrible. Too terrible I will forget it ever existed in this film.
Hey, slow down or you'll have to drop your score lol. But yeah, most of the porn wasn't good. I mean the kissing and whatnot.
 

Zelena

Member: Rank 2
It galls me that I enjoyed Strobe Edge twice as much as this movie.
Dude. I don't really know how to use that galaxy of emojis you seem to have access to, but try to picture one with me shaking my head and rolling my eyes at the same time, while panning my gaze over to plsletitrain and making a sort of NY-style "dis guy" gesticulation jerking my thumb. I will never understand your taste in movies. I mean, I know it, but I don't get it. You are like a professional contrarian. In any case I'm glad you draw my attention to some movies I never would have heard of. But Strobe Edge is not one of them.
:emoji_laughing:
 

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
Hey, slow down or you'll have to drop your score lol. But yeah, most of the porn wasn't good. I mean the kissing and whatnot.
So you're starting to like the film, I'm starting to hate it by enumerating those terrible scenes. Ladies and gentlemen, this the power of real-time- posting our thoughts on a certain film.

Yeah, imagine that pumping scene (supposedly simulated sex) and they fell down on the bed only to be revealed that they're still wearing bras and whatever. Yeah, what exactly were they pumping for????
 

plsletitrain

Member: Rank 5
Dude. I don't really know how to use that galaxy of emojis you seem to have access to, but try to picture one with me shaking my head and rolling my eyes at the same time, while panning my gaze over to plsletitrain and making a sort of NY-style "dis guy" gesticulation jerking my thumb. I will never understand your taste in movies. I mean, I know it, but I don't get it. You are like a professional contrarian. In any case I'm glad you draw my attention to some movies I never would have heard of. But Strobe Edge is not one of them.
:emoji_laughing:
Amen to that. Sitenoise is so hard to figure. For instance, he might like something with this scene on, but on another movie with that similar scene, he won't. I've always labelled him as a species of his own. He's very very unpredictable.

@sitenoise
Aw come on, you can come up with a much better emoticon than that.
 

mjf314

Member: Rank 1
Those of you who liked this film should also check out An Autumn's Tale (starring Chow Yun-fat). It's one of my favorite HK romance films, and just like Comrades, it takes place in New York City.
 
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