
French murder-mystery-musical. Very good, with some fun twists.
I'm a little odd. A little off-kilter. I'm not crazy, just a trifle strange. Make sure you read more than one entry, and you might start to understand.
Set in Canton, China in the 1940s, the story revolves around a hapless wannabe gangster who aspires to become a member of the notorious "Axe Gang." Other characters include an obnoxious landlady and her apparently frail husband who exhibit extraordinary powers in defending their turf.You can't properly describe this movie, without just telling every little detail about it, and then it just sounds outlandish and silly, and it is, but it's wonderful.
Chris Vognar observes in the Dallas Morning News: "Casino doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it does spin the franchise in some gritty new directions. The characters seem less like props in an ongoing adolescent fantasy. The tone isn't as cute or vapid as most installments; it's actually a little sinister compared with any recent Bond. ... The movie feels both old and new. It is quietly, casually revisionist in its reinvention." Manohla Dargis in the New York Times underlines the difference: "Here what pops off the screen aren't the exploding orange fireballs that have long been a staple of the Bond films and have been taken to new pyrotechnic levels by Hollywood producers like Jerry Bruckheimer, but some sensational stunt work and a core seriousness. Successful franchises are always serious business, yet this is the first Bond film in a long while that feels as if it were made by people who realize they have to fight for audiences' attention, not just bank on it.