If you love action flicks, but you're getting tired of all this whiz bang, shaky camera stuff where you can't tell what the heck is going on, Exiled may be the antidote you're looking for. This makes any worthwhile action movie downloads list because the action isn't so darned all over the place. Everything is clear and coherent, you can tell what's going on. You rarely see action this... Graceful.
Years after a top ranked lieutenant in the Triad betrays his boss, the boss, played by Simon Yam, sends a pair of hitmen to take him out. Meanwhile, two members of the gang come to protect the man. These characters were all friends in the gang, and it's out of duty that the two hitmen come to kill their old partner. They come to a compromise and decide to pull off a big score to support the man's wife and child before settling their conflict.
There's a warmth and sweetness to what happens. Where most gangster movies are defined by that cold, impersonal "Just Business" approach to violence, here, none of the characters really want to shoot at each other, they've been friends since they were young, and they seem upset that it's come to this.
The movie was directed by Johnnie To, the Hong Kong legend, who came out with his first films around the same time as John Woo and Ringo Lam were defining the Heroic Bloodshed genre of HK action flicks. Where those earlier films were defined by the anger at the Chinese takeover of the city, this one has a sense of forgiveness, compassion and understanding, having been made after the takeover.
The movie has an odd, dreamlike quality to it. An opening gunfight has a bathroom door fly off its hinges and it twirls gracefully around the room until the firefight finally ends. Later we see a character throw a Red Bull can into the air, and the entire gunfight happens in slow motion before the can hits the ground. This is a bullet ballet.
The story isn't always quite as clear as the action, but this actually helps to improve the dreamlike quality of the film. To himself has admitted that he finds the film confusing and still hasn't quite made sense of it. Watch it for the characters and the action, though, and you'll be able to appreciate the movie in full.
The Heroic Bloodshed era of Hong Kong action flicks was certainly an incredible time for film lovers. Hard Boiled and City on Fire defined the genre, being angry, explosive films, showing independent characters taking on the masses as a symbol of Hong Kong independence against Chinese communism. Lam and Woo went to Hollywood, and you could argue the qualities of their American films. Johnnie To stayed behind and turned the genre into something entirely different.
Exiled is a rare action film, and certainly one to see if you want something a little different than the usual shaky-cam shootout flick. It's really a refreshing breath of fresh air if you're sick and tired of not being able to tell who's shooting who and how the heck that guy got on the roof. Definitely a change of pace. - 40727
Years after a top ranked lieutenant in the Triad betrays his boss, the boss, played by Simon Yam, sends a pair of hitmen to take him out. Meanwhile, two members of the gang come to protect the man. These characters were all friends in the gang, and it's out of duty that the two hitmen come to kill their old partner. They come to a compromise and decide to pull off a big score to support the man's wife and child before settling their conflict.
There's a warmth and sweetness to what happens. Where most gangster movies are defined by that cold, impersonal "Just Business" approach to violence, here, none of the characters really want to shoot at each other, they've been friends since they were young, and they seem upset that it's come to this.
The movie was directed by Johnnie To, the Hong Kong legend, who came out with his first films around the same time as John Woo and Ringo Lam were defining the Heroic Bloodshed genre of HK action flicks. Where those earlier films were defined by the anger at the Chinese takeover of the city, this one has a sense of forgiveness, compassion and understanding, having been made after the takeover.
The movie has an odd, dreamlike quality to it. An opening gunfight has a bathroom door fly off its hinges and it twirls gracefully around the room until the firefight finally ends. Later we see a character throw a Red Bull can into the air, and the entire gunfight happens in slow motion before the can hits the ground. This is a bullet ballet.
The story isn't always quite as clear as the action, but this actually helps to improve the dreamlike quality of the film. To himself has admitted that he finds the film confusing and still hasn't quite made sense of it. Watch it for the characters and the action, though, and you'll be able to appreciate the movie in full.
The Heroic Bloodshed era of Hong Kong action flicks was certainly an incredible time for film lovers. Hard Boiled and City on Fire defined the genre, being angry, explosive films, showing independent characters taking on the masses as a symbol of Hong Kong independence against Chinese communism. Lam and Woo went to Hollywood, and you could argue the qualities of their American films. Johnnie To stayed behind and turned the genre into something entirely different.
Exiled is a rare action film, and certainly one to see if you want something a little different than the usual shaky-cam shootout flick. It's really a refreshing breath of fresh air if you're sick and tired of not being able to tell who's shooting who and how the heck that guy got on the roof. Definitely a change of pace. - 40727
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To find your Eric, look to your friends to find that magic combination of vision and values. rented dvds In 2003, Oprah decided to do two episodes of her favorite things segment - one in the Spring and one in the Fall. Take the time to give yourself a mental pat on the back.
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