Stories from Cofee Coffee
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Ocean Heaven
Cofee Coffee &bull Feb 3, 2012I wasn't quite prepared for the first shot of Jet Li in Ocean Heaven. I've been watching Li for about fifteen years, a combination of Chinese language and English language films, on the big screen and home screen. It could be the combination of the glasses and… Full Story »
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Yakuza Weapon
Cofee Coffee &bull Feb 1, 2012In the middle of Yakuza Weapon is one scene I would encourage any serious film critic or historian to see. Or at least those people with an abiding interest in how scenes of action are filmed. The putative hero, Shozo, is pursued relentlessly by an powerful, international criminal organization. A large gang of killer nurses were unable to… Full Story »
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The Cinema of Hong Kong
Cofee Coffee &bull Jan 30, 2012I have mixed feelings about this collection of essays on Hong Kong cinema. Part of it stems from reading academic dissertations. As David Bordwell proves time and again, you can be academic without writing like one. Strangely enough, the most academic of these essays is also the one with a small filmography of cited films. I'm not enthused about books on film that are skimpy in illustrations… Full Story »
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Daisy Kenyon
Cofee Coffee &bull Jan 17, 2012The first time I was really conscious of the existence of Joan Crawford was seeing one of the films she made following the success of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. The film I saw was The Caretakers, one of several films made dealing with issues of mental illness at… Full Story »
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Sweet Love, Bitter
Cofee Coffee &bull Jan 12, 2012One of my best memories of studying film at New York University was encountering Lewis Jacobs. Best known for his book, The Rise of the American Film, we had some lively discussions both in and out of class. I knew he had also co-written a screenplay to a film I had read about, but had not seen, and had wished that he had shown it in class. Sweet Love, Bitter might not be… Full Story »
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Air Hostess
Cofee Coffee &bull Jan 5, 2012Tis the season to be pummeled by various studios with screeners, bearing the words, "For your consideration". And yes, some of these films have already been considered as award worthy by critics groups. For myself, I'm already tired of the sense of self-importance, and worse, the joylessness of these films. Sometimes you need to see a film that really isn't aspiring to be… Full Story »
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Nichiren and the Great Mongol Invasion
Cofee Coffee &bull Jan 3, 2012I first read about this film, mentioned by Donald Richie, without knowing anything about it. The title meant nothing to me until a few years later. Being a Nichiren Buddhist not long after this introduction to Japanese film, my interest was piqued. I even bought the Japanese DVD, even though it lacks English subtitles. Having been a Buddhist for about thirty-eight years, I pretty much know the main narratives about Nichiren. I had no idea that there… Full Story »
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Rickshaw Man
Cofee Coffee &bull Dec 28, 2011While most of Rickshaw Man seems to indicate that Hiroshi Inagaki hasn't quite figured out how to make use of the TohoScope screen, there is one brilliant moment. The following scene is done in a single long take, in a full master shot. The rickshaw driver, Matsu, is carting a man who appears to be British, or perhaps it is a Japanese businessman dressed in the British style, complete with the bowler hat. Matsu sees the young boy, Toshio, whom he looks… Full Story »
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The Reluctant Debutante
Cofee Coffee &bull Dec 26, 2011I don't know why it took me so long, but I just realized that both of Vincente Minnelli's films from 1958 centered on preparing young women for their "introduction" as it were, to society, or at least a specific society.… Full Story »
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Merry Christmas!
Cofee Coffee &bull Dec 25, 2011Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg - 2009)... Full Story »
