INTO THE DEEP ****

 

Never Has there been a shark movie so horrifically spectacular and heart wrenching in the opening scene of this gripping film. A much-in-love young, happy couple (Callum McGowan and Scout Taylor- Compton) are about to be terrified.

Calum McGown

Sout Taylor-Compton

 A much-in-love young, happy couple (Callum McGowan and Scout Taylor- Compton) are about to be terrified. A father is teaching his young daughter how to tread water. Both are having a fun time when the daughter tells dad that something is touching her feet; it’s a shark. Both swim furiously back to the boat, but her dad gets caught in the shark’s mouth. From the boat the daughter reaches out to him, held by her mother at her waist, but he is a tinge out of her reach. He just can’t get to her small hand in time. This segment of the film is exceptionally well directed. 

                                              

                                                         Kudos to Christian Sesma

 Fast forward many years later, and a scuba diving fest is about to happen with friends.

Understandably, Cassidy, the mother (played by Compton) is nervous, but her recent beau reassures her.

 

Things are going well under water for the two women, but not for the other couple’s son. A shark appears and all swim furiously back to the boat, but the son gets badly bittn by the shark and is in need of immediate help.

 

Unfortunately, a drug smuggling nasty man (Jon Seda) with his small gang of thugs comes aboard under the pretext of helping the son. A liar he is! He’s there to get one of the gang to enter the shark cage that’s is on the boat. He orders her to retrieve the heroin packages waiting to be picked up deep under water. Since her fear of sharks comes from childhood, having to go down in a shark cage is her worst nightmare, yet she volunteers. Why?

There’s an epilogue with Richard Dreyfuss as himself  talking about the need to preserve sharks and their value was out of place – in my opinion. It just didn’t fit with the film, considering the shark is the predator in the film.The grandfather Richard Dreyfuss) is teaching his young granddaughter how to tread water. Both are having a fun time when the daughter tells dad that something is touching her feet; it’s a shark. Both swim furiously back to the boat, but her dad gets caught in the shark’s mouth. From the boat the daughter reaches out to him, held by her mother at her waist, but he is a tinge out of her reach. He just can’t get to her small hand in time. This segment of the film is exceptionally well directed. Kudos to Christian Sesma.

The film flashes back to her when she is a little girl. She is being pushed by her grandfather (Richard Dreyfaus) to swim endlessly back and forth to conquer her fear. It is his stern teaching that ultimately pays off for her.

Richard Dreyfuss

If you think this is the standard scary shark movie made to frighten you out of your seat, nothing could be farther from the truth. Though there is great suspense in the film, there’s the rich plot that slowly builds tension fuled by an undercurrent of fear from past memory. But soon the slow mounting tension snaps into a rapid pace of fury and fear.

This is one of the most sophisticated horror/thriller films I’ve ever seen.

There’s an epilogue with Richard Dreyfuss as himself  talking about the need to preserve sharks and their value was out of place – in my opinion. It just didn’t fit with the film, considering the shark is the predator in this film.

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                            A MAN OF REASON ****

                                            Directed by Jung Woo-Sung

 

Few films are daring enough to start the beginning with two minutes of no dialogue. Just a lone man is walking towards a car.

Right away, the film pulls you in with ominous overtures to a soon-to-come plot -- one that slowly builds yet never dulls.

As it goes, Su-hyak (played by Jung Woo-Song himself) has spent ten years in prison, and it's the first day of his release. He was a violent gangster working for a Mafia-like boss named Eung-kook. He is is now chairman of a glitzy corporation.

Su-hyak earned his keep working for him.  He goes to see Eung-kook who wants him back, but Su-hyak wants no part of it. He wants to leave his past behind and live a "normal" life. He pays the price of refusing to work for Eung-kook. Unfortunately, his yearning to be left alone is soon dashed.

He seeks out his former girlfriend who takes him to watch a ballet class. It is here that she tells him he has a daughter, but she would never take him back until he thinks and gets his head on straight."

                          

Our anti-hero’s daughter and mother become the focus of the film and that of Su-hyuk. And this is where things go awry.

His former boss who is out for blood sends his “assistant” Kang, to take care of things.  Su-hyuk gets embroiled in vengeance and violence; and in typical Korean style, mayham fills the screen; fast-paced action scenes are amazingly unique and without mercy. Violent strategies are vividly played out. Extraordinary scenes taught with tension saturate the film.The calm slow pace during the film's first part contrasts beautifully with all this frenzy. Music subtly underscores this tension; (you may recognize a popular hit melody whose motif periodically enhances certain scenes).

 "A Man of Reason" is Jung Woo-sung's directorial debut. It has one several awards, including tiif.

In Praise of Knowledge Network

I am overjoyed by Knowledge Network. I cannot express the unbridled excitement that fills my being everytime I watch one of their series. How lucky I am to have this streaming network in my life.

Their genre variety offers a stimulating  menu of thrilling tastes - each underscored with remarkable quality.

 While watching 'Being Beethoven', I was riveted to my seat. Each painful event this musical genius experienced was revealed, made all the  more real as one his compositions played echoing his tortuous loneliness - a result of his deafness. His opera, 'Fidelio' exemplifies the composer's luckless fate,

I am so happy Knowledge Network is here. It invites me into a world of wonder that enriches not just my viewing experience but allows me to know more about the world in which I live. There is no fee by the way to join.

WOL F PACK, Directed by Michael Chiang*

 

The beginning sets us up for real suspense. A bus ride for a young man ends up in havoc for him. He is pushed out of the bus and his attacker throws his backpack over a bridge in the water.

The young man is a doctor and he’s forced to operate on a man under secrecy in a tent. He is now involved with mercenaries and he must fight with them. A special kind of gun marked with an insignia seems to be the reason the gang is fighting – to get that gun.The secret over this special gun just didn’t hold any suspense, and delaying the revelation that the head mercenary  knows the young man through his dead father was revealed too late in this Korean film. For the young man, it holds the answer to his father’s death. The film was boring and moved too slow.  The plot weird, and the acting dull. It all could have moved much faster. Furthermore, confusion trumped the great fight scenes. 

#wolfpack@wellgoUSA

CROCODILE ISLAND** , directed by Shixing Xu, Simon Zhao

A plane crashes somewhere in the ocean on a deserted island. Lucky for the few who made it out alive – or so they think. Aside from having no water and no rescue team in sight, there is little hope. But there's another problem: a huge crocodile lives on this island, and when the croc discovers them, the terrified group runs. In fact, most of this film’s action comprises running away from this very hungry creature. But it’s not just the croc that comes after them, there are gigantic spiders whose webs catch the human prey.

There is a father and his daughter, a pregnant girl and her fiancé, a selfish bad boy and a nerd. But the characters are flat; we really don’t care if they get eaten by the croc. Suspense is totally lacking because we know what the croc is going to do once he opens his mouth.

Certainly, this is no “Jurassic Park”. The film never shows the croc eating the poor souls who end up in his mouth. Nor do we ever see the croc using his tail to batter anyone. Dare I say these actions would have added some gruesome excitement to the film. The film plays out like a horror spoof.

          The best actor in the film was the crocodile.

#CrocodileIslandWellGoUSA

3 DAYS IN MALAY *** A Powerful War Film Directed by Louis Mandylor

                                                   Inspired by true events

This gritty war film vividly conveys the horrific consequence of being ambushed by the enemy - in this case - the Japanese. War planes attack an American airfield base; the allies’unpreparedness leaves corpses in the wake as some run for cover.

Without much notice, the marines are sent on a kill mission.

The Japs descend on them like locusts. The outcome is a disaster. 

By the time help arrives, it's too late. Only 3 men survive.

There’s an important back story here: the two protagonists, John Caputo, (played by the director himself) was once a boxer with a past he keeps hidden. James (Donald Cerrone) and Caputo knew each other in childhood.

James played by Donald Cerrone

Caputo (right) played by Louis Mandylor

Haunted by a broken friendship, Caputo goes from the boxing ring to this marine corps to find his former friend. Their conflicts both small and major were never resolved. Ironically, it's  on the battlefield where their issues come to light. James’s decades-long grudge against Caputo disintegrates.

 

What makes the film uniquely memorable is the friendships formed off the field. It serves them well as they deal with the undeniable terror on enemy terrain. Mandylor gave great attention to each marine's character. Their emotion is palpable.

"3 Days in Malay" is not a dry tell-what-happened account.

It lives real before our eyes.

#3daysinmalay@WellGoUSA 

FIST OF THE CONDOR ****

 Directed by Ernesto Diaz Espinoza*****

A Chilean film  set in the 16^th century.  

Focused on the the empire’s fall to invading conquistadors, the film vividly shows what lengths marital arts masters and their proteges will go to to safeguard a sacred book detailing the secrets behind their superhuman fighting techniques.

The action is incomparable, even  hypnotic at times whilte showing the prowess of the protagonist who must fight an equally skilled expert who want this book. No ordinary martial arts film, the theme of passion and loyalty rises to the fore, embedded in dramatic music composed by Claudio Rocco. The score, the landscape and the unpredictable events transport the viewer into a heightened level of supreme suspense. A female expert teaches the man she chooses to fight against his enemy. Armed with sayings from this master and the other master who is killed early on in the film, the victor employs daunting techniques to vanquish the enemy.

Kudos to Marcos Zaror for being a hero on screen and in his role.

 trailer video