Review of Boarding Gate (2007) by Aurelius D — 23 Jul 2009

Wow I am seriously wondering why exactly I watched this movie. I guess this is the problem of having Netflix instance access. Anything with an actor I like ends up in my queue. I saw Michael Madsen and was like oh yeah lets watch that...I feel dirty first off. The first movie I remember of Asia was Fast and Furious, then Land of the Dead. This is a FAR FAR fall from those. Will have a hard time looking at Mr Blond again. Really not sure how a person should feel after watching this. It starts with Madsen and a gun at a range. I'm like this has potential to be violent and good times. Guess I should have read what it was going to be about first. Then comes Asia as some kind of...whore/ex-whore breaking it off with Madsen. Next thing you know there is a drug deal gone bad and she's back talking Madsen supposedly ending it with him but sure enough her actions don't back up her stance. She talks a good game, being all hard and wanting to let him go but she is like a hooker that just can't say no when someone gets aggressive with her. It's like a really twisted perverse love story only I don't think there is any love there. Watching the story unfold I'm at a loss for words. There is a twist I didn't see coming to where she starts a new life. it's kind of like one of those dark flicks like Get Carter remake with Stallone or 8 mm. It's real dark and leaves you feeling seriously dirty.

There is also the simple fact that at times there is like chinese or French spoken and unfortunately there are no subtitles. This has the habit of leaving one feeling lost sometimes. This isn't to say that the dialogue is all that convincing or moving. It merely seems to be lines strung together to, I guess help the plot along. It's not that they characters don't look natural saying the lines or the things they do, it's just the way they deliver them feel like there is no heart behind them and someone is coaching them. I find it seriously hard to get invested in this film as I don't really feel any pull or meaning behind it. I guess this was suppose to be something to show off Asia's acting chops and it feels almost too natural for her to carry on the way she does. Something to be said for an actor/actress to act like they aren't acting at all but I think it adds to the "cheap" feel of the characters. Almost feel like she really is a whore but then again who in Hollywood isn't?