Turnabout

As promised, way back when, things are finally returning to form. This time, it's a film from The French New Wave with Bande à part, and a taste of Hong Kong horror in the form of Troublesome Night 6. As I mentioned, things are back to normalishness (it's a word, now) with lengthier descriptions of the films. Enjoy.

Bande à part
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Anna Karina, Sami Frey, and Claude Brasseur.

Odile (Karina), a bored and beautiful young woman, discovers that a guest in her aunt's house has a large amount of money stored in his room. She lets slip to Franz (Claude Brasseur), a classmate in her English class, that the large sum is often left unattended. In turn, Franz tells his friend Arthur (Frey). Soon, Franz and Arthur hatch a plot to steal the cash, with Odile's help. As they plot with one another to steal the money, Arthur plots against Franz to steal Odile's heart.

"All you need for a movie is a girl and a gun." - Jean-Luc Godard

Staying true to the mantra he first followed with his feature film debut À bout de souffle, Godard creates yet another masterpiece. The deceptive simplicity of the film allows one to become immersed in the fictional world, perpetuating the familiarity of the rebellious nature of The French New Wave, of which Godard was a founder. For an example of The French New Wave, for an immersive fimic experience, or just for a good time, pick up a copy of Bande à part.

Troublesome Night 6
Directed by Herman Yau, starring Louis Koo, Simon Liu, Gigi Lai, Amanda Lee, Wayne Lai, Nadia Chan, Ng Chi-Kwan.

Koo and the gang star as cops in the sixth installment of the Troublesome Night series. For the outing, the story revolves around a group of tabloid reporters who are being killed off by the ghost of a former celebrity. In the previous year, the reporters had hounded the ghost when she was still corporeal, leading her to take a swan dive off the roof of a club.

Having been a celebrity fills the ghost with an exorbitant amount of ectoplasmic ego, leading to her self-righteous retribution. The only thing standing in the way of the murderous spirit and the completion of her quest are Koo & Co. The Tanned-One and his fellow detectives must find a way to stop the angry apparition to save the reporters, save the police deparment's image, and save one of their own.

As with Troublesome Night 1-5, Yau, Koo, and everyone else involved have created an enjoyable, if unnecessary, film. Though it lacks the silliness of some of the previous Troublesome Night films, Troublesome Night 6 is a fairly good flick, with a creepy feel to it. With the silliness gone, and a group of seasoned actors, Troublesome Night 6 proves to be a decent HK horror-flick.

Next time:
My Dear Enemy
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...And Spring