film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: BRWC

  • Comrades: Almost A Love Story – Review

    Comrades: Almost A Love Story – Review

    Comrades: Almost A Love Story – Review. By Joe Muldoon.

    So close, yet so far; fate has an oftentimes cruel sense of humour. In our story, two Chinese mainlanders migrate to Hong Kong, and their lives undergo a series of intertwinings and severings, their paths crossing and departing. Li Xiao-Jun (Leon Lai) is a naive northerner, and Li Qiao (Maggie Cheung) is a hustling southerner, and the two are brought together as they combat the loneliness of being outsiders in a large city. Their aspirations are very different, with Li Xiao-Jun aiming to bring his fiancé to Hong Kong and Qiao seeking to gain great wealth, and so they find themselves unable to be together.

    When Li Xiao-Jun’s fiancé XiaoTing Li (Kristy Yeung) arrives in Hong Kong, the two wed, and Li Qiao enters a relationship with gangster Pao Au-Yeung (Eric Tsang). Though the mainlanders live separate lives, they find that their feelings remain the same, however hard they try to suppress and ignore them. Very fittingly, Taiwanese pop icon Teresa Teng’s Tián Mì Mì permeates the picture, serenading the audience, and acting as a minor plot point. “Wherever there are Chinese-speaking people, there is the music of Teresa Teng”, goes the popular phrase – even when separated, the lovers are united through her music.

    Director Peter Ho-Sun Chan’s picture is beautiful and saddening in equal measures. With a cast so immensely beloved by Hong Kong cinemagoers, Chan could have easily leant towards audience-pleasing melodramaticism, with a great degree of success. Few other directors have the discipline to resist the urge to fight fate. Instead, he opted to imbue within the film an ever-present underbelly of loneliness, heartache, and yearning. Even when living their own separate lives, the ill-fated lovers’ paths unwittingly cross, often cruelly close.

    Distinctly Hongkongese and arguably one of the greatest romances of all time, Comrades: Almost A Love Story is a masterclass in filmmaking and storytelling. With heavyweights Maggie Cheung and Leon Lai (who is best-known as one of the “Four Heavenly Kings” of Cantopop) delivering almost career-best performances, the bedrock for brilliance is laid with ease. Greatly helping them along in particular are Eric Tsang and Kristy Yeung, who play the tragic third wheels wonderfully.

    Especially pleasing for fans of Hong Kong cinema is the inclusion of Christopher Doyle, longtime Wong Kar-wei collaborator, who has a small role as Jeremy, the easygoing immigrant who teaches English to locals. Though not a film you would typically want to watch on a first date, the tragic beauty of Comrades: Almost A Love Story is undeniable, a tale of love that is to be, and not to be.

    By Joe Muldoon.

  • Florida’s Stop Woke Law: What We Can Learn From Inherit The Wind

    Florida’s Stop Woke Law: What We Can Learn From Inherit The Wind

    Florida’s ‘Stop Woke’ law and what we can learn from the 1960 film ‘Inherit the Wind’. By Richard Schertzer.

    Everyone is afraid of change but I never thought I would see this from this generation in this day and age. If you are not aware, Governor Ron DeSantis has signed into law which prohibits any instruction on race relations that would imply that any person’s status, whether oppressed or privileged, in the United States would be determined by their race, religion or sex.

    Banning the teaching of something that is basically history is something that touched a nerve with me because it seems the conservatives are afraid of knowing or hearing something that might “offend” their sensibility.

    This action reminds me of a movie from 1960 entitled Inherit the Wind. It was directed by Stanley Kramer and was a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial, where a high school teacher named John T. Scopes was arrested for violating the state of Tennessee’s Butler Act which outlawed the teaching of human evolution or Darwinism.

    Scopes was defended by his lawyer Clarence Darrow while William Jennings Bryan stood for the prosecution.

    Dick York plays Bertram T. Cates, whose character is based upon John T. Scopes, Spencer Tracy plays a fictionalized version of Darrow named Henry Drummond while Fredric March portrays Matthew Harrison Brady who is a fictionalized version of Jennings Bryan.

    It seems so silly that, in the film, Cates is arrested, berated and humiliated in front of the public simply for teaching a theory to high school students. The conservative mob is so quick to publicly lynch him that they want him run out of town for attempting to teach something beyond anyone else’s comprehension.

    Drummond attempts to fight for the right for Cates to “be différent” and in the same vein it seems that the right to think is on trial in the film the same way said right is at risk with this new woke ban put into place. It’s insane that people can place a ban on learning history.

    Here is a little FYI for the people that are triggered reading this article. The theory of evolution and critical race theory are just what they say they are: theories. Just because they are theories does that mean that we should stop teaching the Big Bang Theory in Science and Astronomy class? No, it doesn’t.

    If a theory, not conspiracy, is supported by enough sufficient evidence and context clues with a good reasoning behind it that excludes any anecdotal evidence, then there is a basis for teaching it in schools.

    I’ll leave you all with the quote saying that he who troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind.

    Florida’s ‘Stop Woke’ law and what we can learn from the 1960 film ‘Inherit the Wind’. By Richard Schertzer.

  • Hail Mary: Review

    Hail Mary: Review

    Hail Mary: Review. By Alif Majeed.

    I read a story recently about how Lance Henriksen was supposed to be the original Terminator in that iconic movie. That he was supposed to look like an everyman who could blend in. As intriguing as that would have been, I can’t imagine him replacing Arnold who played him as a rampaging mountain who could not bother to blend in. Now I would have taken both versions of the killing machine archetype over what they portrayed in Hail Mary!, which plays out like a quasi-remake of The Terminator with a lot of religious undertones.

    It is pretty straightforward in its plot, which is a modern-day retelling of the Mary and Joseph story. If, during the pregnancy, they were being chased by a killing machine (sent by the devil perhaps?)

    The premise is why I started watching the movie in the first place, and maybe I was expecting too much after reading the synopsis, but I was a little disappointed when it didn’t end up being the overblown B-Movie action fest I thought it would be in my head.

    A lot of the disappointment had to do with the portrayal of Baal, the agent of chaos sent to kill the child. Jack Huston, who is a pretty exciting actor felt out of place here. He might have been trying to project an air of mystery but he just comes across as indifferent and bored. I was almost half expecting him to channel Nicolas Cage from the Ghost Rider movies with his now legendary manic energy and screen presence. When it comes down to it, maybe I would have preferred him to have fun with the role as it deserves some fun. I also didn’t get a clear sense of his powers or why was he after the couple.

    What was also off was the pacing as it is a road chase movie but you don’t get a sense of urgency. I was surprised to know Hail Mary was directed by Rosemary Rodriguez, who has done some lovely work on television which I enjoyed. I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if they got a bigger budget.

    It also made me wonder what would have happened if someone like Seth Rogen, who it seems gets to play with any pop culture property, had a go at it. He was involved with Preacher after all (a show that feels like a startlingly airy cousin of Hail Mary.

    Considering “Hail Mary” is supposed to be a genre-bending retelling of the Mary and Joseph story, it doesn’t hold your interest after the initial promise of the premise dies down.

    I realize that many of the issues I had with the movie stem from the fact that it was not the movie I expected to play out when I started watching it. Maybe if you manage your exceptions, you might just be able to see it in a different light than I did.

  • When Critics Turned Into Trolls

    When Critics Turned Into Trolls

    When Critics Turned Into Trolls. By Richard Schertzer.

    I have to talk about this and it’s only fair as we go forth into the contentious climate of critical thought and divisive debate. Critical analysis is meant to be used for critique to see where a movie went wrong and what it got right. Nowadays, however, many critics have turned to trolls that have turned critique and constructive criticism into heinous, vile, diatribe of vitriol that seems to tear down hard-working filmmaker’s work, content and art.

    One such example has been when critics and audiences alike have decimated the idea of the live-action remakes and most recently given such hate towards the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid. Rather than being open to the idea of a new iteration with an actor of a différent race, people have been so averse to the idea that they have responded with ad hominem, childish attacks about her race not being the same as the 1989 film.

    It just goes to show you that a lot of that evil rhetoric has bled over to critical thought where it seems that critics have focused on, specifically, everything that they hate about a film rather than trying to see the value in a reimagining.

    I wasn’t around before the internet, but I have an inkling that critics were more critical of a film because of its execution rather than silly, innocuous details that really didn’t matter that much and which are now overblown and magnified to the point that that’s all of people’s concern, despite the fact that they may have missed the entire point of the movie. They speak so poorly of a film that they almost recycle taking points from what the masses say rather than stopping and thinking about the filmmakers’ true intentions.

    I feel that people have an attitude of what they are already going to say about the film before they even watch it and fail to look at it from a différent lens which could shift their ideas and perspectives to a more understanding mindset rather than one of hate and cynicism.

    It’s okay if you don’t like a movie, but having a healthy debate and civil discourse rather than going around thinking that you’re always right is always better. If you live your life thinking that you are right all of the time rather than hearing the other side of the argument, you will be walking around believing that you can do no wrong and that there is no need for improvement in your argument. I may be wrong about my stance but I challenge anyone to a civil, mature and relaxed debate if I am wrong.

    By Richard Schertzer.

  • Paula Velasquez – California Coyote Interview

    Paula Velasquez – California Coyote Interview

    Paula Velasquez – California Coyote Interview. With Liz Rodriguez.

    Seasoned Venezuelan actress Paula Velasquez was born in a small town called Maracaibo. When she was seven she moved to Mexico, which is when she found her love for acting. She began her journey in entertainment as a professional dancer and soon after got the acting bug.

    From theatre productions in Mexico City to the big screen in Hollywood, Paula went onto study musical theater and Acting for Film, ahead of her move to Los Angeles to obtain her Bachelor of Fine Arts at the prestigious New York Film Academy. 

    Fast forward, and the Latina is a sought after talent in Hollywood. We caught up with Paula to talk about her latest feature film, ‘California Coyote.’

    Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Tell us a bit about yourself. 

    Hello! I started my acting career in Mexico at a young age. At first I was captivated by dance and movement so joined a professional dance troupe and started competing and from there I transitioned into acting. Now as an actor in Hollywood, which is the entertainment capital of the world, I work on film and television projects that I feel passionate about the story and character I am to portray. 

    What can you tell us about the new movie ‘California Coyote?’

    California Coyote is a film about Living in the world of Cartels and Coyotes. It is based on the daughter of a Cartel leader that is trying to escape from her father’s enemies and finds herself in situations that will make her take edgy decisions.    

    What character do you play and what are some of her traits?

    My character’s name is Leticia Nava, Aka Leti. She is the main character of the film along with Danny De Leon. She is the daughter or a very important head of a Cartel, Diego Nava. She is a very smart girl that has been trying to get away from the Cartel environment. She wants to have a regular life and be as free as she can be. She has a very strong personality from the south of Mexico and she does not put up with anyone’s bullshit. She has major trust issues because of her surroundings so she is always skeptical of what people tell her. Deep down, she is a hopeless romantic and all she wants is safety. Life has made her toughen up and grow up really fast. She craves to have fun and loosen up a little bit. She’s very outspoken and she would say anything that is on her mind. She’s very loyal and not afraid to fight for the people that she loves.  

    Do you think it is easier to play a character that is similar to you, or is that harder?

    Definitely both. Somehow, when you play a character that is similar to you, it hits hard because you start to maybe realize a lot of things about yourself and sometimes it feels like a slap on the face in a very therapeutic way. It makes you be more empathetic towards yourself, and it feels just very comfortable sometimes but also very vulnerable, which is the tricky part. You have to definitely dig deeper within yourself and you get to learn how to be more patient with your own person. 

    Who else is involved and where did you film?

    What I love about this film is that is all a Latinx cast and crew which I appreciate a lot. It is also my culture and it feels so at home to work with people that understand your roots. We are still currently filming, we are filming in various locations, but as off now we have filmed in Lompoc, California. We still have a long way to go with filming. 

    What are you hoping people take away from the film?

    Definitely hoping to learn more about my roots and see it from a different perspective. Leti is very different from me and I love the fact that she challenges me in that way. I absolutely love having to do stunts and that is something that I have the opportunity to work on for the entire time that we are filming. Working with amazing people that push me to be a better actor is something that I am forever grateful for. 

    Is there a timeline for its release?

    At the end of this year, which I am very excited about. 

    How can people keep up with you?

    People can follow me on Instagram and also on IMDb.