Touch of Evil review

 Number 163 on the top 1000 films of all time is Orson Welles' 1958 noir classic Touch of Evil.

Miguel Vargas, of the Pan-American Narcotics commission, (Charlton Heston) is honeymooning in a Mexican town with his wife Susan (Janet Leigh.) When a carbomb kills a construction magnate and his wife, Vargas takes it upon himself to investigate.  However, this sends him hurtling to a collison with the Los Roblos detective assigned to the case: the obtuse Captain Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles.) Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff and Marlene Dietrich star in supporting roles.

If Double Indemnity kicked off the noir genre, it was Touch of Evil that solidified the genre in American cinema.  Strong lighting mixed with quirky camera angles and morally-grey characters made for a compelling watch.  This was in no short part to Orson Welles' performance as Quinlan.  Although he was the villain of the piece, he was a villain with a tragic backstory.  

Granted he was grumpy, ruthless and racist, notably with how he wanted to falsely arrest the young Sanchez, without a shred of evidence, he also had a great deal of depth.  I wouldn't necessarily say he was sympathetic, but he was empathetic.

This isn't to disparage Charlton Heston as Miguel Vargas.  He was great as well, but he was more of your cut-and-dry hero who lacked the same depth that Quinlan had.  Although at times, Touch of Evil was a little dialogue/exposition heavy, out of the three Orson Welles films I've seen, including this one: Citizen Kane, The Third Man, this one was definitely my favourite.

My Sassy Girl review

 Number 162 on the top 1000 films of all time is the Korean romantic-comedy My Sassy Girl.

Gyeon-Woo (Cha Tae-Hyun) is a college student who is very unlucky in love.  When he has a chance encounter with an unnamed woman, (Jun Ji-hyun) he soon becomes deeply enamoured with her.  But will she prove to be his break in love?

My Sassy Girl has pedigree.  Upon its release it became the highest-grossing romantic comedy in Korea and one of the highest-grossing films of all time especially within Far East Asia as a whole.  However, I do freely admit that it wasn't for me.  Personally, I didn't think the humour was very funny.  It seemed too lean heavily into gross-out humour.  When Gyeon-Woo first meets the unnamed woman, it's when she is drunk on the train.  Shortly after she throws up.  I didn't find this funny, but more disgusting.  Maybe that's just me.

I think the film works better as a romance rather than a comedy.  I was far more invested in the romantic elements than I was the comedic ones.  I was far more interested in seeing Gyeon-Woo falling deeper in love with the unnamed woman who initially treats him very cruelly.  This is soon revealed to be the girl's way of expressing her affection for him.  Although the two part ways, they reunite in what was a very sweet ending.  

So ultimately, I wasn't the keenest on this film.  It worked far better as a romance than a comedy, although the ending was quite delightful to watch.