Dame's "Memoirs Of A Geisha" mini review. — Page 2

I have not read the book. o I am hoping you are all as pleased with it as I was. I am interested in reading all of your thoughts.

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I hope I enjoy this film (which I probably will). I just hope it doesn't spawn a huge number of historical epics with Asian characters though (in the same way I hope Brokeback Mountain doesn't spawn a string of movies about unhappy gays). It seems like the only films Hollywood can make with Asian main characters are historical movies or ones with martial arts.

The contemporary Asian American experience has basically been ignored by Hollywood and television. (save for The Joy Luck Club and Margaret Cho's canceled tv show).

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Just an FYI: Michelle Yeoh is Malaysian.

I thought so. But the moderator last night introduced her as from Japan.

Ugh, I find that insulting; the moderator should have done some basic research (Michelle Yeoh's last name is a dead giveaway she's not Japanese). There IS a difference between the Asian countries, after all. It's like mistaking an Italian for a Frenchman.

By the way, Michelle Yeoh was born in Malaysia, but her ethnic heritage is Chinese. She's been a huge star all over Asia and specifically Hong Kong and China for ages.

And you're right, MichaelBennett, she was robbed of an Oscar nomination for CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON.

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She also knows martial arts!

I love Michelle.

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Going by trailers only, I feel confident in saying that this movie appears to be a lock in atleast the art direction category.

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DAME, I sincerely hope you're right in your prediction.

I've read the novel 7 times, studied its context, etc. It's amazing.

Not to mention (and I will be unapologetically political)- ALL ASIAN CAST! FU Hollywood, it's about time!

Yes, yes, we all love The Joy Luck Club. That was over 12 years ago! It's about F***ING TIME.

That's ME in my avatar, I am South Asian and an actor, and I am sooooo ready.

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Here's some other reviews.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr/reviews/review_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001525055

http://www.variety.com/ac2006_review/VE1117928913?nav=reviews&categoryid=1986&cs=1

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This film is slipping in the Tomato Meter every day. 42%?
Rotten Tomatoes

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Wow, Variety gives it a rave. This is exciting. At the very least it's a treat to see Michelle Yeoh on the big screen again.

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Metacritic/RottenTomatoes score will climb. Some reviews in the 80 to 100 range just surfaced today. Thank goodness the Oscarwatchers are proving too quick to sound the death knell on this film. *sigh of relief* I want to like this.

That's because we have small-time film critics (who are really academics) posting reviews that slam the film for its anthropological politics and all that jazz.

This is how Geisha is doing so far with more the well known critics from RT and MC (I got some of these from the National Society of Film critics website)

100-81 = excellent; 80-61 = good; 60-41 = average; 40-21 = fair; 20-0 = poor. (NSFC rating system)

New York Observer - 100/100
TIME Magazine - 100/100 (he hasn't said a score but he called it wonderful and raved about it in one of his articles)
Washington Times - 84/100
Variety - 80/100
LA Weekly - 80/100
New York Daily News - 80/100
Hollywood Reporter - 80/100
Reelviews - 75/100
Rollingstone - 75/100
Boston Globe - 67/100
Screen International - 62/100
Boston Herald - 60/100
Slate - 60/100
Los Angeles CityBeat - 55/100
Atlanta Journal-Constitution - 38/100
Salon.com - 33/100

Average so far: 70


70 and above is VERY good. Several BP winners have ended up around there or below. Not saying 'Geisha' will win best pic - just that a review above 70 is typically considered good.

Also, some of the critics who hated Geisha also hated Brokeback Mountain and other major Oscar contenders.

MetaCritic is a better resource, I think. It sticks to major reviewers and is generally accurate.

Um...despite the fact that this is a Japanese story taking place in Japan YET the movie is entirely in English with mostly Chinese actors (not even using a Japanese accent?) I find that irritating.

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