Better Luck Tomorrow: Amazon.ca: Perry Shen, Jason Tobin, Justin Lin, Julie Asato: DVD

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Customer Reviews

55 Reviews

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

Average Customer Review

3.7 out of 5 stars (55 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars derived from a true story that really happened in taiwan, Sep 26 2003

By

justareader (yorba linda, ca United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Better Luck Tomorrow (DVD)

i think justin lin might got the whole story from the true happenstence in taiwan since lin was definitely from taiwan. the only difference is that a bunch of young guys tried to kill another one and thought he's stone dead but then suddenly the guy revive like jesus chist and that blew all the young killers's minds and made them all cry like babies....and all the killer-students were indicted and jailed afterwards. did you notice that except one adult teacher and one coach, this movie is totally without adults or parents shown? the mtv generation is of course in no need of parents to butt in anywhere and anytime. this is a pretty good movie but still dragged along a bit.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Unique & Intriguing, July 16 2004

By

Thomas Yan Ong "feilung888" (Azusa, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Better Luck Tomorrow (DVD)

This movie is one of a kind. I've never seen a film about Asian American youth before. Sure there are Asian American movies like "Joy Luck Club" and "The Picture Bride", but this is different because it deals with Asian American youth in explicit detail. I grew up an Asian American, and I can see a lot of my personal experiences and a lot of stories from friends and family in this movie. The general population loves to stereotype Asians as smart nerdy mathematicians, but they don't know the dark side of Asian Americans. This film covers both sides of the story. More movies like this should be made... maybe a sequel.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Very nicely done !!!, July 14 2004

By

B. Viloria "dodomaster" (Maryland USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Better Luck Tomorrow (DVD)

Justin Lin's little masterpiece is a simple foray into yet an untapped racial genre, that of Asian Americans. Parry Shen plays the balanced one, Ben Manibag, the one we as Asians would love to associate it. Ben is surrounded with over the top delinquents and we somewhat initially feel good that Ben is untainted and quite more humane, even though he does participate in the group's crime-spree escapades. However, his obsession with Stephanie (Karin Ana Cheung) clouds his reasoning as he delves into his "gang" as a respite from his inability to win her love.

Stephanie's boyfriend posed as a the conflicting character that finally rips apart our good old boy Ben as he is torn with being a good person, but hopelessly in love with Stephanie. The beating was a real shocker and didn't seem to fall in line with Ben's character, which is my only peeve about the movie...the movie then just slowly digest into some melancholic musings and somehow the ending seem unfinished, unpolished, unresolved, and quite unimpressive...there was no resolution of conflict...we are shown Stephanie revelation yet we are still all unsure if the two can ever be together because of what Ben did...

Virgil (Jason Tobin) is great...we can all seem to associate that weird Asian buddy of ours with Virgil...this movie is way heads above any Asian American movie including The Debut (Gene Cagayon's own teenage angst experiment) and American Adobo (i'm Filipino so i can only relate it with these movies!).

Better Luck Tomorrow is a nicely done movie and i would heartily recommend it not just to Asian Americans, but to everyone tired of the crass and boring Tarentino-variety shockers and violent smash and bang bang thrillers. Justin Lin created a rare gem and something as Asians should all aspire, an original work of cinematic art without the sugar coat and culture-centric approach. Well done indeed. BTW, I'm a transplanted East Coaster originally from Southern California so I'm a bit partial to the movie's location shots - beach, spanish tiled roofs, fast cars, asians everywhere :)

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars All right
I was not that impressed by the movie. It's like a delinquent movie, except that the youths are Asian. Read more

Published on July 7 2004 by chicoer2003

1.0 out of 5 stars a complete bomb
I was barely able to finish it, I so completely lost interest in EVERY aspect of it. There was nothing compelling about any of the characters. Read more

Published on May 14 2004