PoochyB’s Flick Reviews

Not bad. Not bad at all. If you liked Infernal Affairs and the star-studded Hollywood-remake of it, The Departed (with Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Mark Wahlberg), you’ll probably like We Own the Night. No surprise that Mark Wahlberg is in this one as well.

Joaquin Phoenix is the star here. The first film I saw him in was Inventing the Abbotts. On an off-tangent here, Inventing the Abbotts was a revolutionary film of sorts for me because it introduced me not only to Joaquin Phoenix, but also Billy Crudup, Liv Tyler, and Jennifer Connelly (one of my favorites). He then went on to star opposite Vince Vaughn in Return to Paradise as Anne Heche’s brother. You probably also know him as the bad guy from Gladiator, with Russell Crowe. This guy is one amazing actor. He’s got this brooding attitude that the scar on his lip works well with.

Best line of the movie was when Robert Duvall, as NYC police chief, said, “If you piss in your pants, you can only stay warm for so long.” It means “do things the right way and don’t take shortcuts.” At least that’s what I got out of it.

Phoenix runs a club where mobs hang out and deal drugs. His dad (Duvall) and brother (Wahlberg) are NYPD. They make life difficult for Phoenix. Shit goes down and Wahlberg gets shot by a mobster. To exact revenge, Phoenix becomes an informant. Oh, Eva Mendes plays his girlfriend. She oozes sex appeal, but I’m not that big of a fan. She’s probably best known as Denzel Washington’s baby-mama in Training Day or Will Smith’s better half in Hitch.

The action’s decent, probably because I was expecting it the whole time and received it only sparingly. The Russian mob portrayal in this film is easily outdone by Viggo Mortensen character (by himself) in Eastern Promises.

We Own the Night was written and directed by James Gray, who also wrote and directed Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix in The Yards. I’ve never seen that one, but will probably check it out after watching this one.

Duvall “If you piss in your pants, you can only stay warm for so long.”

Ken Leung rocks. Ever seen Keeping the Faith with Ben Stiller, Edward Norton, and Jenna Elfman? Remember that scene where the Asian dude is trying to sell Norton the sound system? That’s Ken! Hilarious!

On to Shanghai Kiss. I raved about this movie to everyone after I watched it. Honestly, it’s an OK film. But the reason I liked it so much was because it resonated so much with my, I dunno, fantasies… A blonde girlfriend in the States. Visiting Shanghai and hooking up with a hottie at a karaoke bar. Then meeting the Asian girl of my dreams at a bar…

But seriously. You figure it like this: For a film with an Asian lead to make it to the big screens, it’s got to have at least a decent story. Leung delivers. In case you’ve never seen Keeping the Faith, Leung is the bad guy from Jackie Chan’s Rush Hour (the dude with the dyed beach blonde hair). Hayden Panettiere from Heroes and Remember the Titans (she was Denzel Washington’s assistant coach’s daughter) plays the girlfriend from the States. Kelly Hu from The Scorpion King and X-Men 2 is the dream girl from Shanghai.

I haven’t heard of either directors, so I’m not going to mention them for now. But solid movie and solid acting! A must-see for any Chinese-American.