SpecialsTarget
Disturbing yet enthralling
Asad Almond
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
Quiet Muffin
This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
This is a 6-minute short film from 2001 and it is also part of the BMW promo short movie collection. The director here is 2-time Academy Award winner Ang Lee and fittingly there is also an Asian touch to this film. The script comes from David Carter, who wrote several of these shorts. Unfortunately, I was not too impressed by this one here. This may have to do with my general lack of interest in speed or cars. The only scene I liked was the one with the fake monk, the whole car chase thingey before that did not do too much for me and same goes for the Hulk reference at the end. And why wouldn't the child duck down in the car with the permanent shooting going on. Still, I have to say that my negative rating is not because there is a lack of stars in here compared to the one that has Gary Oldman, James Brown, Danny Trejo and Marylin Manson for example. This one is equally forgettable. It's all about the script really and "Chosen" is not a grand achievement in terms of that. So, all in all, not recommended.
HypnoticEye
While John Frankenheimer's AMBUSH was a hardboiled vignette, Ang Lee's THE CHOSEN is an attempt at doing a lighthearted mixture of action and comedy. Unfortunately Ang Lee's comedy falls flat. While he might showcase the BMW's maneuverability to good effect; The actual chase between Clive Owen's enigmatic driver escorting a small Tibetan boy and the mysterious henchmen seeking to harm his charge, is staged in a light jokey tone that eliminated all tension and replaces it with uninspired slapstick.
Indeed, as the film progresses to its punchline of a conclusion, one suspects that Ang Lee was seeing how to make a film that kids would like along with adults in preparation for his then-upcoming HULK movie (as hinted at near the end). While the final result might be something BMW owners can show to their children, adults will find themselves bored and frustrated.
Wayne Wayne Wayne Jr
You can actually download this freely from BMW's website. As it is a plug for BMW, it is strongly focused on the automobile scenes. BMW, however, did allow Lee enough license to create a captivating film. It is somewhat enigmatic, yet the necessary information is beautifully presented, leaving the viewer more curious than frustrated. Clive Owen is no great shakes, but he gets the job done. The car scenes are beautifully executed and filmed. The kind of cinema that makes you want to go buy a BMW. Watch in the end as Lee alludes to a future project.
bradeeoh
Ang Lee took to the helm for this second movie in the "The Hire" series. If you think his beautiful style of choreography and cinemotography only applies to humans, or if you never thought about it before, take a look at this one, my favorite entry in the series.The driver is hired to transport a young asian immigrant, who is obviously of some mystical importance, from the docks to a location in the city. Almost immediately after the young passenger straps in to the second-only-to-the-M5 540i 6-speed, the bad guys present themselves and the chase is on.What follows is truly a ballet on wheels. A whole bunch of clumsy american cars and a "lesser" German car show their deficiencies to the amazing skill and ability of The Driver and his performance machine.A first for the series occurs in this film when we see The Driver take a role outside of the car, and you'll see that the role that is played adds a depth to the Driver, and the storyline.On a cool side-note, you'll notice a certain...er... "character"... imprinted on the gift that the young passenger gives to The Driver - this was a subtle reference by Ang Lee that completely put to rest rumors that had been floating around the net, and concretely said to the world - "Yes, I am directing this movie due out in 2003"take notice.:)Overall, though all the other films had great things to offer ("The Star" being absolutely hilarious), this is my favorite. 10/10
