{"id":848,"date":"2007-09-23T16:09:54","date_gmt":"2007-09-23T16:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2007\/09\/23\/day-3-scrambled-neurons\/"},"modified":"2012-08-17T05:19:43","modified_gmt":"2012-08-17T05:19:43","slug":"day-3-scrambled-neurons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.revolutionsf.com\/revblogs\/geekcurmudgeon\/2007\/09\/23\/day-3-scrambled-neurons\/","title":{"rendered":"Day 3: Scrambled Neurons"},"content":{"rendered":"

The line for the first Ain’t It Cool News secret screening<\/a> extended around the building with some 300 people. So instead, I opted for the Hong Kong crime film, Flash Point<\/span><\/a>. From what I heard, this turned out to be the wise move. AICN screened the forthcoming Southland Tales<\/span><\/a>, the latest from Richard Kelly<\/a>, the director of Donnie Darko<\/span><\/a>. Feedback was decidedly mixed, ranging from horrible to disinterest. Everything pointed toward mediocrity. <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

I knew I made the right choice when the 1970s public service anti-vandalism short Destruction: Is It Fun or Just Dumb?<\/span> began. Following that bit of seventies propaganda were trailers for John Milius<\/a>‘ Dillinger<\/span><\/a>, 1978’s Stunt Rock<\/a><\/span>, the 1955 western Shotgun<\/a><\/span>, Vanishing Point<\/a><\/span>(1971), and the legendary Sonny Chiba’s The Streetfighter’s Last Revenge<\/a><\/span>. Mixed within all this fun was Nick Frost<\/a>‘s educational and humorous film on how to defend yourself from someone wielding a baseball bat, and a clip from a 70’s crime film with Jack Palance<\/a>. The perfect preamble to Flash Point<\/span> concluded with with AC\/DC’s "Jailbreak"<\/a> video.<\/p>\n

Starring renowned Hong Kong actor and director Donnie Yen as a no nonsense Dirty Harry-type cop in pre-Chinese takeover Hong Kong, Flash Point<\/span> offers the perfect combination of cop drama and martial art combat. As the film begins, Inspector Jun Ma (Yen), known for his violent treatment of suspects, is demoted to being charge of the police music division. When Ma’s undercover partner encounters problems with the Viet mob, Ma doesn’t let a little thing like a demotion stand in his way. At a slim 88 minutes, Flash Point<\/span> thrives on character development and well placed action scenes. The climatic battle between Yen and the collection of bad guys is mind boggling.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Offscreen<\/span><\/a> scrambled my neurons, leaving me stunned as if hit by a blunt object. Some ten hours later and I’m still not sure how to codify this movie. <\/p>\n

Highly respected Danish actor Nicolas Bro decided to film his life for one year in hopes of uncovering a feature film. Shortly after beginning the shoot, he decides to make the film about the love between him and his wife Lene. Less than 1\/4 of the way into the movie, she leaves him. Bro continues, recording the degeneration of a man who had almost everything but loses everything in his quest for the one thing he cannot have.<\/p>\n

Shortly after the film begins, I forget this story was fiction and was lost in the intense reality of the story. Bro films everything using a handheld camera, only enhancing the intensity. The camera becomes an obsession with Bro as he falls deeper into the depths of voyeurism and exhibitionism. By the end of the film, you hate Bro and the man he has become and you pity the man he once was.<\/p>\n

One of the more disturbing and excellent films I have ever seen. I was amazed just how far Bro was able to fall into the depths of depravity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The line for the first Ain’t It Cool News secret screening extended around the building with some 300 people. So instead, I opted for the Hong Kong crime film, Flash Point. From what I heard, this turned out to be … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n