Ang Lee
266 connections found
Filmography
Hulk 2003 
Brokeback Mountain 2005 
The Ice Storm 1997 
Gemini Man 2019 
Life of Pi 2012 
Chosen 2001 
Sense and Sensibility 1995 
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk 2016 
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000 
Taking Woodstock 2009 
Lust, Caution 2007 
Eat Drink Man Woman 1994 
The Wedding Banquet 1993 
Ride with the Devil 1999 
Pushing Hands 1991 View:
Connections, in both directions
The only thing about it that speaks to Hollywood is its mood, a glorious homage to the classic films of the 1940s, particularly espionage thrillers like Hitchcock's "Notorious."
An erotic, violent melodrama, filled with echoes of such Hitchcock movies as "Notorious" and "Suspicion," Lee's movie is composed of one highly flammable ingredient after another.
A spy-who-loved-me story reminiscent of Notorious (had Hitchcock added S&M sex), the NC-17 Lust is lush and seductive.
Several Hitchcock references are made during the movie, and the before long it becomes obvious that Lust, Caution�s natural touchstone is his Notorious, which definitively covered similar, sexually embroiled ground.
It’s a crackerjack set up for a B-movie romp, think “Face/Off” as a prime example.
If this film had been made in the 1990s by a filmmaker within Bruckheimer’s usual stable, this could have been a disposable but fun action sci-fi romp in the vein of Face/Off , but as is it doesn’t work as either a throwback or a modern blockbuster.
The gimmick, turning swiftly standard thanks to modern VFX — the script in some form has been circulating since 1997, contemporaneous with Face/Off’s release — is that both characters are played by Smith himself, de-aged with CGI for his younger iteration, with whom the older Smith often shares the frame.
It seems that de-aging CG technology was finally decent enough (more on that in a minute) for a green light, but the finished product is something like Face/Off without the gonzo energy.
The concept for Gemini Man has been in the works since 1997, the year of John Woo’s conceptually related Face/Off and, despite the high-tech innovations, feels exhumed from a pre-millennium time capsule.
It looks, on the surface, to be a vapid throwback that can’t walk in the massive shoes left behind by similar hits like Face/Off.
However, the smart-aleck references to Brokeback as his "gay cowboy picture" definitely do it a disservice -- besides, the very concept of gay-cowboy movies is pretty old hat (see the subtext in Howard Hawks' Red River, not to mention the Andy Warhol-Paul Morrissey film, Lonesome Cowboys).
The widely reported carryings-on in Brokeback Mountain also reminded some reviewers of the supposedly subtextual implications of Howard Hawks’ Red River (1948), with John Wayne and the posthumously “outed” Montgomery Clift, as well as George Roy Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), with Paul Newman and Robert Redford—the latter lacking even the gossipy whispers of Clift’s sexual orientation to sustain the subtextual suppositions.
Hailed as a landmark of mainstream tolerance (and to the "mainstream"'s shame, that's exactly what it is), Brokeback Mountain feels more like an antiseptic gimmick that attempts to hijack the conventions of a traditionally-masculinized genre (despite Red River and Johnny Guitar and The Hired Hand) to further demonstrate, as if further demonstration were needed, that two men in love is as natural, tempestuous, and ineffable as heterosexuality.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Directed by Jane Campion
influenced by Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Plot Themes
The film’s plot recalls “Brokeback Mountain” with only one gay cowboy, and indeed a 2001 edition of the Savage novel has an afterword by “Brokeback” author Annie Proulx.
No matter: The action unfolds on a booming Montana cattle ranch circa 1925, a quarter-century since the kindly George Burbank (Jesse Plemons) and his viperous older brother Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch) started working the business their parents gave them — they exude what “Brokeback Mountain” author Annie Proulx referred to as “quiet wealth” in the afterward she wrote for the republication of Savage’s novel.
It starts like an old Howard Hawks western but, as it deals with repression and yearning, edges ever closer to the world of Campion’s earlier, New Zealand-set period piece, The Piano, or even of Brokeback Mountain .
While the western tone and subject matter has drawn comparisons to "Brokeback Mountain," the story feels distinctive, and owes as much to Campion's signature movie "The Piano" with its strained relationships in a harsh, remote environment.
The movie is engaging enough, though all the best visuals have been lifted from more imaginative movies—Cast Away and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button being two of the more obvious points of reference.
In that regard, it recalls “Cast Away,” the 2000 film that starred Tom Hanks as a thoroughly modern American stranded on a remote island.
It’s kind of like Cast Away, if Wilson had wanted to eat Tom Hanks.
In his big-screen debut, Sharma's an ideal find, holding the screen as well as Tom Hanks in "Cast Away."
To describe it in somewhat flippant (but not totally inaccurate) showbiz shorthand, basically this is “Cast Away” in a lifeboat, substituting a shipwrecked Indian teenager and Richard Parker for Tom Hanks and the volleyball he names Wilson.
Like Tom Hanks' arguably career-best work in 2000's " Cast Away ," Sharma is riveting to watch even in total isolation, the camera holding on him and his ordeal while the viewer grows more and more sympathetic to his plight.
If the inspiration comes from such movies as “Life of Pi” and the recent adaptation of “Planet of the Apes”, then “The Jungle Book” is the advanced level.
Just four years ago, the Bengal tiger in “Life of Pi” was a jaw-dropping creation.
Working far from the jungle in a building in downtown Los Angeles, Favreau and his VFX team have built a fantasy world to rival James Cameron's in Avatar and Ang Lee's in Life of Pi.
Yet after a while, I stopped caring about how the filmmakers achieved such visual plausibility and sumptuousness, which is on par with, if not better than, recent effects-driven triumphs "Life of Pi" and "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes."
Completamente filmada en estudios de casa en Los Ángeles, The Jungle Book nos presenta el avance en VFX más significativo en la industria desde que filmes como Avatar, Life of Pi y Rise/Dawn Planet of the Apes lo hicieron.
The density and detail of the jungle are rendered sensuously by digital effects experts culled in part from the teams behind Gravity, Life of Pi and Avatar, and by the cinematographer Bill Pope.
Much of the early film-festival coverage of "Moonlight" singled it out as an exploration in particular of black masculinity, eliciting additional comparisons to the gay themes to "Brokeback Mountain."
Where has been the black equivalent of Brokeback Mountain or Carol ?
An outline can't convey the provocative depth of Jenkins' screenplay, challenging black masculinity comparable to what Brokeback Mountain did for white machismo.
Adapted from Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue, Jenkins’ film is already being compared to Brokeback Mountain, another story about a thwarted gay romance.
It is one of the most well-written, well-acted and thought-provoking films of 2016, nothing less than a groundbreaking masterpiece, with content as compelling as other films such as “Brokeback Mountain” and “Precious.”
Jenkins pairs the melancholic power of the repressed sexuality in “Brokeback Mountain” and “Carol” with the subtle textures of burgeoning masculinity in “Boyhood.”
The film's notion of taking the story to its Jekyll and Hyde roots (and, in the process, echoing such modern devil-inside-me takes as Altered States, which Hulk both visually and thematically evokes) is a good one.
"Hulk" also tears a few pages out of Paddy Chayefsky's "Altered States" with its isolation tanks, twisting limbs and trippy hallucinations (jellyfish hover over a desert plain, frogs explode, neon-colored cells multiply under a microscope), yet it can't reproduce the love story between two geniuses that was at the core of Chayefsky's terrifying tale.
As represented by the title, Hulk isn’t a physical thing – it’s a mentality, an idea, manifest of the materials implicit evolutionary connotations (an equally appropriate title had already been used, that being Ken Russell’s Altered States).
American Beauty (1999)
Directed by Sam Mendes
influenced by The Ice Storm (1997), Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Themes
Like "The Ice Storm," which this movie resembles in the way a flashy, virtuosic stage musical recalls a dense psychological play on the same theme, "American Beauty" juxtaposes the world of the adults (glossy, hypocritical, vicious) with the domain of the wise-cracking, yearny kids: noxiously discontent Jane and mysterious Ricky, who (in a "Rear Window" touch) keeps watching and filming her from across the yard.
I'd be hard-put to recall another movie (certainly not Ang Lee's detached and clinical "The Ice Storm") that has so skillfully integrated exuberant humor with heartbreaking pathos.
As Carolyn embarks on her own affair, the libidinous stirrings of the parents mirror -- and, in Lester's case, intersect -- the erotic awakenings of the children, a la The Ice Storm .
At times evoking elements of Todd Solondz' controversial Happiness and Ang Lee's brilliant The Ice Storm, American Beauty weds compelling drama with black comedy.
Like Ang Lee’s The Ice Storm, we might see characters realize that there are rules, and that breaking them devastates our own lives and the world around us.
In many ways, this is a film comparable to that Ang Lee masterpiece "The Ice Storm"--both have foregrounds that, at first glance, resemble the texture of a Thomas Kinkade painting, when in fact their interiors are dark and menacing, usually occupied by everlasting tribulations.
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
Directed by Mark Osborne
influenced by Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Visuals Plot
There are nods to the fighting styles of Jackie Chan and Jet Li, as well as homages to the wire-fu and computer enhanced approaches used in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix .
There’s very little here that conjures up specific scenes—though there are clear echoes of Ang Lee’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)—but rather an overall sense of the tropes of the genre.
Kung Fu Panda references underdog sports movies such as Karate Kid and martial arts epics such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and while its storyline might seem familiar (in fact, very familiar if you've seen the recent live-action Jackie Chan/Jet Li hit, The Forbidden Kingdom), there's enough invention and irreverence to make the film feel fresh.
But in order to figure out why I liked the film without loving it, I went back to one of my favorite human/animal adventure films, Carroll Ballard's exquisite "The Black Stallion."
Stories of human-animal bonds are most powerful when, like The Black Stallion or How to Train Your Dragon, they let the animal act like an animal, free of anthropomorphizing cuteness.
As a boy-and-his-animal tale, the director creates an inter-species relationship that is reminiscent of The Black Stallion ; Richard Parker becomes a fully-developed character in his own right, and the developing bond with his owner is extraordinarily compelling because of it.
It’s “Life of Pi” without the effects but just as thrillingly pieced together.
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Directed by Louis Leterrier
influenced by Hulk (2003), Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Plot
But is it too much to ask for a little believability? Louis Leterrier's "The Incredible Hulk" -- conceived as a do-over after Ang Lee's cerebral 2003 "Hulk" proved to be such a disappointment to fans of the Marvel comic series -- is so fattened up with special effects that it seems to be insulating itself against audience disapproval.
The origin story that so many of these movies get bogged down in is done away with as a series of brief shots over the opening credits: they were doing an experiment, something went wrong, now Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) can turn into the Hulk and is on the run from the government.
An attempt to reboot the franchise after Ang Lee’s angst-ridden arthouse “Hulk” (2003) made fanboys plotz, “The Incredible Hulk” is Rock’em Sock’em Robots to the 10th power.
Frankly, it's going to be much easier for me to compare the two than to judge The Incredible Hulk on its own merits.
Unlike “Hulk,” Ang Lee’s disappointing 2003 film based on Stan Lee’s 1962 Marvel comic book series and, in turn, the 1978-1982 television show that starred Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, Louis Leterrier’s new version gets it right.
Transporter 2 director Louis Leterrier takes over at the director’s chair from Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee, bringing his action movie sensibilities with him in the process.
Suraj Sharma in “Life of Pi.”
The lost-at-sea survival tale “Adrift” is based on a true story, but it plays out like mediocre “Life of Pi” fan fiction that started with the premise “What if Pi were a young woman wearing short shorts and bikinis and the tiger in the boat was an older, hunky Brit?”
“Adrift” can’t help but evoke vivid memories of other, similar tales of isolation and overwhelming obstacles from recent years, and if we’re being honest it doesn’t quite live up to the sumptuous imagery and religious awakenings of “Life of Pi,” or the overwhelming suspense and catharsis of “Gravity,” or even the futile despair of “All is Lost.”
Cast Away had Tom Hanks talking to a volleyball while Life of Pi brought in animals and a spiritual theme.
All of this has been done better in other adrift at sea movies (“All Is Lost,” “Life of Pi”) and this film is further weighted down by a back and forth story line between the couple’s fight for survival and distracting flashbacks to their shallow romance.
Speaking of large landforms, Kormákur previously helmed the survival in nature dramatic thriller "Everest," and like that film he creates a completely believable visual scenario here that, if ever presented as a double feature with Redford's film, "Life of Pi" or even "Titanic," could assure those uneasy about being out on the water with no land in sight will remain on terra firma.
David: Writer/director J.C Chandor's new film about a sailor stranded in the Indian Ocean will inevitably be compared to Tom Hanks' "Cast Away", and to director Ang Lee's brilliant "Life of Pi".
Certainly, the plot will make it easy for some to tag this Life of Pi without the tiger, Cast Away without the volleyball, Gravity without George Clooney.
An impressively spare, nearly dialogue-free stranded -at-sea drama that strips characterization down to basic survival instinct, this emotionally resonant one-man showcase for Robert Redford faces a fair number of marketing challenges, given its audacious minimalism and proximity to a much splashier castaway adventure, “Life of Pi.”
The unsentimental tone is refreshing after the mawkishness of Ang Lee's Life of Pi, yet something is missing—a sense of Redford's social position, maybe, or other details that might better individualize him.
And that's without the awe-inspiring special effects of "Gravity" (where Sandra Bullock's character eventually ends up alone while stranded in outer space) or last year's "Life of Pi" (where Suraj Sharma's protagonist got to interact with a "real" tiger on his lifeboat, while flashbacks and present day interludes broke up the "stranded at sea" storyline).
The conception leaves itself open to satire, of course: I half expected Our Man to collide with the kid from “Life of Pi,” or Wilson the soccer ball from “Cast Away,” or be rescued by Tom Hanks from “Captain Phillips.”
Like him or not, Lee knows his predecessors, Hulk’s indebtedness to the surreal drama of the 1930’s horror lexicon knowingly indicated by two shots – one of the Hulk, one of Bruce Banner – lifted from Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein and Dreyer’s Vampyr (not to mention Jennifer Connelly, channeling countless damsels from decades past with a new sense of modern feminine empowerment).
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Directed by Sam Peckinpah
influenced Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Visuals
Absolutely true -- the movie has the blood of Sam Peckinpah running through its veins (and I'm not referring to its violence but its lifeblood) -- particularly "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia" and "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid."
Like the meat-and-potatoes adventure plot that gave way to Avatar ’s state-of-the-art CG character effects, Will Smith’s run-and-gun shtick is capable test subject for Lee’s experiments.
I’m keenly aware that anyone pooh-poohing an innovative new technology – especially one that’s being used by Mr. Cameron for the surely inescapable (once they finally arrive) Avatar sequels – inevitably sounds like those clueless old farts they trot out in the chapter of the film history books about the transition from silent movies to talkies.
While watching Gemini Man, I instantly started hoping the Avatar movies (for just one example) would all be in 4K at 120 FPS with Dolby Vision and 3D.
The saddest thing about Gemini Man is that unlike The Tingler with its buzzing seats, or Polyester with its sniff-scratch cards, or Avatar with its awe inspiring 3D, there is nothing that will carry on in history about this film.
It’s as silly and mundane a set-up as any from 25 years ago, but it’s also perfectly fertile ground for Lee to cultivate the most forward-thinking action film since Avatar.
It merits comparison to Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” and James Cameron’s “Avatar” in the way it uses 3D technology to further theme and advance storytelling instead of as mere gimmick.
It’s a bit reminiscent of Ang Lee’s Hulk: a mix of larger-than-life monsters and a hefty dose of the id.
This isn't a respectable failure, like, say, Ang Lee's Hulk, which was a movie that took chances that never paid off.
Sure, there probably have been worse introductions to superheroes on screen–Ang Lee’s “Hulk” is one and the first Tim Story “Fantastic Four” is another–but Campbell is a better filmmaker than the latter and working from far better source material than the former, so one wonders how this could have faltered so badly.
The "Hulk" movies don't work, though they've tried and tried again.
Based on this movie, they may need to reboot it immediately, Hulk-style.
Then, 30 or 40 minutes into the movie, a younger version of Brogan — later revealed to be a good-old-fashioned clone — is sent to tie up loose ends, with older Smith the next one to be hit (Looper much?).
If you want to see a good movie in which a character meets his younger self, watch the 2012 film Looper .
In particular the premise echoes Rian Johnson’s 2012 film Looper (though this is presumably coincidental given that the script has been kicking around since the 1990s with rewrites by many hands).
Rian Johnson’s Looper (2012), for example, executed a similar idea with more finesse and wit.
If Rian Johnson can get us to accept Joseph Gordon-Levitt in prosthetics as a young Bruce Willis in Looper, it’s fair to say we’ll buy any two actors in the right story.
Looper examined the premise in far more depth, albeit with time travel laced in.
Like Tim Burton’s Batman Returns, Hulk is a superhero movie only incidentally about superheroes, the visceral flights of fancy a mere manifestation of the core themes of parent/child conflicts and the resulting scarring.
Strong characterizations and meaty themes can carry comics movies as well as they do domestic dramas, as Batman Returns and Daredevil have shown.
The best comic-book movies — Tim Burton’s “Batman,” the Catwoman sections of “Batman Returns,” and Bryan Singer’s first “X-Men” — sprang from heroes who were working out their childhood traumas and the pain of being “different.”