09-20-2007, 08:47 PM
At the risk of being labeled a three-hugger, I have decided to review three DVDs at once. The reason is simple. It is the right thing to do.
These are the three movies:
Three Extremes
Three-Iron
Three Coins in a Fountain
Three Extremes is a trilogy of horror shorts, two of them by directors I have tremendous respect for. In particular, Takashi Miike and Park Chan-wook. The first -- Dumplings -- is the weakest. It is directed by Fruit Chan. I'm not recalling any other of his work at present. It is about a woman seeking to be young again, which involves eating dumplings with a very special ingredient. It is horrific enough, and will freak out a large number of women. But it just seems too derivative -- the quest for eternal youth combined with Japan's obsession with cannibalism in all its forms. The second short -- Cut -- is by Park Chan-wook (of Oldboy fame). This is a very twisted tale of a good-hearted director and his wife held hostage by an extra who appeared in many of his movies. The extra is deeply disturbed by the director's goodness and is bent on forcing him to commit one atrocity or another. A small ornamental hatchet plays a significant role. Lady Cranefly liked this one best, but I thought the actor playing the director was too flat and the whole thing stage-bound, taking place almost entirely in a living room. The final short -- Box -- is by Miike. It is the tale of a woman haunted by her past -- in particular, her early childhood when she and her sister were contortionsists in their father's magic act, vying for their father's adoration. I liked this one best because the characters seemed more legitimately emotional. But Lady Cranefly just didn't want to hear another weak woman whimpering and crying her way through another movie. All in all, Three Extremes was a bit of a disappointment, because all the directors seemed too intent on outdoing each other with horrific scenes, at the cost of good storytelling.
Three-Iron by Kim Ki-duk is a deceptively simple tale of a young man who puts pizza flyers on doors throughout neighborhoods, then comes back a couple days later to break into a house whose flyer is still intact. He doesn't rob anything. In fact, he acts as a caretaker, sometimes fixing things, then leaves before the owner returns. Eventually he meets up with a young woman, and the two of them share this lifestyle until the plot darkens. The title comes from a golf club that plays a minor role throughout. Oh, did I mention that the young man never talks? Oh, another detail: the young woman never talks. Still, it won me over in the late going, and I would recommend it. Still, if you want a trustier intro to Kim Ki-duk, go with Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring. The only fault with that movie is that it doesn't start with a "Three."
Three Coins in a Fountain by Jean Negulesco is the tale of three American women seeking love in Paris. Or maybe it was Rome. I'm not certain which it was, so let's just say London to remain neutral. The director, Jean Negulesco, is best known for being ... dead. Okay, so I don't know a lot about him. But these three women end up in Jack London Square where there's a big fountain, and they all make wishes and then see who can skip a coin the most times in the fountain. If I recall correctly, the blonde wins, her coin skipping clear across and putting out the eye of a handsome young man on the far side. The young man soon dons an eyepatch, starts talking like a pirate, and the next thing you know, all three women are in the hold of the Queen Mary with One-Eye steering them towards Mongolia. Admittedly I might have a couple details wrong here, because it's been 30-odd years since I saw the bloody thing. Still, I did refresh my memory by studying a poster of the movie I found online. What I do vividly remember is a Doris Day feel about it, though I'm certain she wasn't in it. I never found Doris Day sexy. I guess I just missed her hay-day. So I always associate her with these old boring grownup movies where people are distressed by the opposite sex for no good reason. I won't tell you how this movie ends, because it would be criminal to spoil it for you. But you can pretty much bet that there's a lot of "forever after" happiness churning about like noxious fumes from a meteorite strike.
Thus concludes my review of these three fine films.
--cranefly
These are the three movies:
Three Extremes
Three-Iron
Three Coins in a Fountain
Three Extremes is a trilogy of horror shorts, two of them by directors I have tremendous respect for. In particular, Takashi Miike and Park Chan-wook. The first -- Dumplings -- is the weakest. It is directed by Fruit Chan. I'm not recalling any other of his work at present. It is about a woman seeking to be young again, which involves eating dumplings with a very special ingredient. It is horrific enough, and will freak out a large number of women. But it just seems too derivative -- the quest for eternal youth combined with Japan's obsession with cannibalism in all its forms. The second short -- Cut -- is by Park Chan-wook (of Oldboy fame). This is a very twisted tale of a good-hearted director and his wife held hostage by an extra who appeared in many of his movies. The extra is deeply disturbed by the director's goodness and is bent on forcing him to commit one atrocity or another. A small ornamental hatchet plays a significant role. Lady Cranefly liked this one best, but I thought the actor playing the director was too flat and the whole thing stage-bound, taking place almost entirely in a living room. The final short -- Box -- is by Miike. It is the tale of a woman haunted by her past -- in particular, her early childhood when she and her sister were contortionsists in their father's magic act, vying for their father's adoration. I liked this one best because the characters seemed more legitimately emotional. But Lady Cranefly just didn't want to hear another weak woman whimpering and crying her way through another movie. All in all, Three Extremes was a bit of a disappointment, because all the directors seemed too intent on outdoing each other with horrific scenes, at the cost of good storytelling.
Three-Iron by Kim Ki-duk is a deceptively simple tale of a young man who puts pizza flyers on doors throughout neighborhoods, then comes back a couple days later to break into a house whose flyer is still intact. He doesn't rob anything. In fact, he acts as a caretaker, sometimes fixing things, then leaves before the owner returns. Eventually he meets up with a young woman, and the two of them share this lifestyle until the plot darkens. The title comes from a golf club that plays a minor role throughout. Oh, did I mention that the young man never talks? Oh, another detail: the young woman never talks. Still, it won me over in the late going, and I would recommend it. Still, if you want a trustier intro to Kim Ki-duk, go with Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter ... and Spring. The only fault with that movie is that it doesn't start with a "Three."
Three Coins in a Fountain by Jean Negulesco is the tale of three American women seeking love in Paris. Or maybe it was Rome. I'm not certain which it was, so let's just say London to remain neutral. The director, Jean Negulesco, is best known for being ... dead. Okay, so I don't know a lot about him. But these three women end up in Jack London Square where there's a big fountain, and they all make wishes and then see who can skip a coin the most times in the fountain. If I recall correctly, the blonde wins, her coin skipping clear across and putting out the eye of a handsome young man on the far side. The young man soon dons an eyepatch, starts talking like a pirate, and the next thing you know, all three women are in the hold of the Queen Mary with One-Eye steering them towards Mongolia. Admittedly I might have a couple details wrong here, because it's been 30-odd years since I saw the bloody thing. Still, I did refresh my memory by studying a poster of the movie I found online. What I do vividly remember is a Doris Day feel about it, though I'm certain she wasn't in it. I never found Doris Day sexy. I guess I just missed her hay-day. So I always associate her with these old boring grownup movies where people are distressed by the opposite sex for no good reason. I won't tell you how this movie ends, because it would be criminal to spoil it for you. But you can pretty much bet that there's a lot of "forever after" happiness churning about like noxious fumes from a meteorite strike.
Thus concludes my review of these three fine films.
--cranefly
I'm nobody's pony.
