In China They Eat Dogs

	Rating: 3 out of 5 Original Title: I Kina spiser de hunde Release Date: 1999 Director: Lasse Spang Olsen Netflix Link IMDb Link

I do love a good heist movie, and In China They Eat Dogs has one of the most interesting capers I’ve seen. It also has one of the dumbest resolutions ever. If not for the ending, I definitely would have given it 4 stars, but no, they had to go and ruin it. I have no choice but to drop a whole star off of my rating because of the ending and it’s lucky to get that.

In China They Eat Dogs definitely had potential. It has a good cast, some moments of humor, and even some really big explosions and lots of gushing blood. It also has an an interesting snowball-effect plot where the every-man protagonist attempts to change his life and seeks help from his violent, criminal brother setting off a downward slide deeper into the hole they dug for themselves. Again, I say, if it hadn’t been for the atrocious resolution that, quite frankly, pissed me off, this would have been a good film, but as it is, it’s a fail. It is worth watching up until the last five to ten minutes though. I’d recommend just making up your own ending.

Bob Le Flambeur

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Release Date: 1956 Director: Jean-Pierre Melville Netflix Link IMDb Link

Aaaaah, Melville. I’ve been watching his films sparingly since there aren’t that many of them and he’s one of my favorite French directors. Melville just doesn’t have a bad film and this one is on par with everything else I’ve seen by him. It does have a heist, but the character, Bob, is less of a laconic gangster than Melville normally portrays. He is a worldly, old-time, happy-go-lucky, ex gangster who is trying to make it straight. Bob finds himself at odds with the world around him and, eventually, is forced into his old gangster ways by circumstance. The world is changing while he stands still, in contrast to his plucky protege, Paolo, who embraces change easily while Bob struggles.

Claude Chabrol, François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard are generally credited with starting The French New Wave (La Nouvelle Vague), but most of the elements can be seen right here in Bob Le Flambeur, years before Chabrol’s Le Beau Serge (1958), Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (1959) or Godard’s Breathless (1960). Nouvelle Vague’s deep contrast shadows, hand-held camera, voyeuristic visual style, on-location shooting, unusual editing sequences, and narrative with lots of hip street lingo and indirect social commentary can all be found in this film. Melville rarely gets any credit, yet his influence on the world of film is incalculable. Godard acknowledges that this is his favorite Melville film and it’s quite obvious just how much influence it had. Everyone from Godard and Truffaut, to Scorsese and Tarantino have borrowed from it.

In context, Bob Le Flambeur was well ahead of its time, but even half a century later, it has an interesting, intricate story (written by the director) with great characters and cool direction. Bob Le Flambeur is a must-see for fans of French cinema.

Flickering Lights

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Original Title: Blinkende lygter Release Date: 2000 Director: Anders Thomas Jensen Netflix Link IMDb Link

A ridiculous comedy of errors perpetrated by a gang of four buffoons played by some of Denmark’s finest actors. With unexpected emotional depth in the form of flashbacks to their harrowing childhoods, Flickering Lights is a surprising comedy. There was one scene in particular (blowing eggs), which was so utterly wrong and took me by such surprise that I actually guffawed and then almost felt guilty about it. There’s just so much weirdness and nonsense packed into this movie that it’s hard to know where to begin. It’s not full of your typical American one-liners, although there are some; the comedy is more situational. I wouldn’t recommend this for the faint of heart, but if you like offbeat comedies, I’d highly recommend it.

Le Deuxième Souffle

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Release Date: 1966 Director: Jean-Pierre Melville Netflix Link IMDb Link

Le Deuxième Souffle (The Second Wind) is not as good as some Melville films, which still puts it far and away above the rest of its genre. The plot is meticulously detailed with a jailbreak, a police manhunt and a heist. So much so that it’s almost like several films in one. Unusual for a Melville film, the female lead does more than just get slapped around or make sandwiches. In fact, the female character is an integral part of the plot. However, the mainstay is the men and their interactions. Trust, betrayal and honor are at the core. If you are unfamiliar with Melville, this would not be the film I’d recommend to start. I’d recommend Le Cercle Rouge, Le Doulos and Le Samourai ahead of it. However, if you’re a fan of gritty French crime dramas, it’s definitely worth a watch.

Cruel Gun Story

	Rating: 3 out of 5 Original Title: Kenju zankoku monogatari Release Date: 1964 Director: Takumi Furukawa Netflix Link IMDb Link

Cruel Gun Story is the story of a heist gone wrong followed by deceit, betrayal and mixed allegiances. Jo Shishido at his swaggering machismo best with his omnipresent sunglasses (day or night) stars as a criminal recently sprung from prison in order to head an armored car robbery. With twists and turns, and more double-crosses than you can count, Cruel Gun Story does a fairly good job of keeping suspense through most of the film. Unfortunately, towards the end, it starts to fall apart since I saw the ending a mile away. Even so, there’s still enough to like about it (like knife fights and shootouts) if you’re into classic Japanese films.

Puzzle

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Original Title: Dodoiyuheui peurojekteu, peojeul Release Date: 2006 Director: Tae-kyung Kim Netflix Link IMDb Link

Puzzle is not a bad little heist/whodunnit film, even if we’ve already seen most of the elements that comprise it in everything from Melville’s Le Cercle Rouge to Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. Still, Puzzle adds an element of surprise. Very slowly it reveals layer after layer of truth until you’re left with a muddled view of everyone in the movie, but it settles itself down in the end to reveal a most unexpected outcome. It’s not action packed; it’s more of a psychological thriller and providing thrills is not necessarily high on its list of priorities. It is nicely shot, well acted and could almost seem like a watered-down Johnnie To film if you didn’t know any better. If you like any of the filmmakers I’ve mentioned in this review, you’ll probably appreciate this film as long as you keep your expectations to a minimum.

The Negotiator

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Original Title: Koshonin Release Date: 2003 Director: Takashi Miike Netflix Link IMDb Link

The Negotiator is a fairly straight-forward detective yarn about a robbery turned hostage situation. The plot does a decent job at not being entirely transparent. It manages to stave off the important clues until near the end. I only figured out the entirety of who, why and how just slightly before they revealed it. If you’re looking for one of Miike’s more controversial gangster films or blood-gushers, you should look elsewhere. But if you like low-key mystery stories that reveal a little at a time, The Negotiator delivers.

Unlucky Monkey

	Rating: 5 out of 5 Japanese: アンラッキー・モンキー Release Date: 1998 Director: Hiroyuki “Sabu” Tanaka Netflix Link IMDb Link

A well-conducted symphony of errors, coincidences and the unexpected form this oddly satisfying caper/gangster film. Setting the tone with a foreshadowing diatribe of doom, the story takes us through a seemingly unceasing, snowball effect of chance occurrences. Our unlucky monkey is like a pinball spinning out of control from one random danger to another in an almost noir-like manner. With some sadness, a lot of emotional turmoil, a sardonic, far-fetched plot, some excellent performances, especially by Shin’ichi Tsutsumi, and an ending which is left open to interpretation, Unlucky Monkey was an unexpected and welcome find.

Le Cercle Rouge

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Release Date: 1970 Director: Jean-Pierre Melville Netflix Link IMDb Link

A stylish and slick film about a battle of wits between cop and con featuring heists, murder and level-headed criminals. Most notably, Alain Delon as a recently release prisoner, and Yves Montand as a sniper battling with insanity make this film. There is no more dialog than entirely necessary and, fortunately, there are very few female characters; it mainly deals with the interactions of men, Melville’s strong suit. The story is rather simple, possibly overly-simple by today’s standards, but it’s the four main characters that keep Le Cercle Rouge relevant. Its slow pace seems intentional, yet not plodding as every detail eventually fits into the story. Le Cercle Rouge is a classic of French cinema and certainly one of Melville’s better films.

Adrenaline Drive

	Rating: 4 out of 5 Japanese: アドレナリンドライブ Release Date: 1999 Director: Shinobu Yaguchi Netflix Link IMDb Link

Cute, clever, engaging and pretty funny, Adrenaline Drive is an entertaining oddball Japanese film. You have to be a fan of that quirky, understated Japanese humor to really enjoy this movie though. There are a couple of minor plot holes but nothing that threw me off track enough to make it an issue. Adrenaline Drive reminds me a lot of Katsuhito Ishii’s Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl. I mean that in a good way. In fact, after watching this film, I threw in my copy of Shark Skin Man and would recommend watching them as a double feature.