万道剑尊之逆天而行

　　The Biblical story of Salome, a girl who agrees to perform the "dance of the seven veils" in return for John the Baptist's head on a silver platter.

　　Based on the novel by Karel Capek, the prominent Czech writer of the early 20th century who coined the word robot for his play R.U.R., the story revolves around a discovery of Krakatit - a powerful explosive - by Prokop, an experimental scientist who, following an accidental explosion in his lab, slips in and out of delirium. When he realises that, in a delirious period, he has given the formula for making Krakatit to one of his colleagues, he tries to find the man, who does not realize how dangerous a thing Krakatit is. In the process, he nearly gives his discovery away again to foreign interests, a group of anarchists, and even greater forces of darkness...

　　沉寂七年的北漂演员郝贝事业迎来翻身契机，正当灯红酒绿男欢女爱之际，突然出现一个七岁的儿子小龙，小龙一口咬定郝贝就是自己的亲生父亲，由此两人引发了一连串爆笑又不失温馨的囧事。

　　一个红衣屠夫赫然出现在泰国国内，他全身上下被血红色的雨衣所包裹，手里拖着巨大的红色行李箱。红衣屠夫行踪诡异，手段残忍，专以成年男性为猎杀对象，死者生前无不遭到痛苦折磨，而且全部遭到阉割。在此期间，连政府官员的纨绔公子哥也被杀害。红衣屠夫在全国上下引起轰动，警方更是压力巨大，焦头烂额。
　　阿泰是一名因杀人罪而入狱10年的重刑犯，他童年时的一个玩伴与红衣屠夫有着类似的手段。警方据此线索，开始将突破口锁定在阿泰身上。为了尽快离开监狱，阿泰许诺将抓住凶手，警方也承诺还其自由。阿泰根据屠夫留下的种种线索试图还原真相，不过这却是一场费解而危险的猫鼠游戏……

　　一群强盗每年都要骚扰墨西哥的一个小村庄。村里的长者派三名农夫去美国，目的是寻找武艺高强的枪手来保卫村庄。最后一共来了7名高手，他们去墨西哥的理由每个人都各不相同。他们人单力薄，要对付100多个前来掠食的强盗。经过一番激战，终于将盗贼歼灭，但七人中亦折损四人，令人伤感不已。

　　Fraught with over obvious symbolism, Hartley's early feature is nonetheless a joy to watch. Hal here shows us his uncanny ability to cast his characters perfectly came early in his career.
　　Adrienne Shelley is a near perfect foil to herself, equal parts annoying teen burgeoning in her sexuality (though using sex for several years); obsessed with doom and inspired by idealism gone wrong she is deceptively – and simultaneously – complex and simple. Her Audrey inspires so many levels of symbolism it is almost embarrassingly rich (e.g., her modeling career beginning with photos of her foot – culminating her doing nude (but unseen) work; Manhattan move; Europe trip; her stealing, then sleeping with the mechanics wrench, etc.)
　　As Josh, Robert Burke gives an absolutely masterful performance. A reformed prisoner/penitent he returns to his home town to face down past demons, accept his lot and begin a new life. Dressed in black, and repeatedly mistaken for a priest, he corrects everyone ("I'm a mechanic"), yet the symbolism is rich: he abstains from alcohol, he practices celibacy (is, in fact a virgin), and seemingly has taken on vows of poverty, and humility as well. The humility seems hardest to swallow seeming, at times, almost false, a pretense. Yet, as we learn more of Josh we see genuineness in his modesty, that his humility is indeed earnest and believable. What seems ironic is the character is fairly forthright in his simplicity, yet so richly drawn it becomes the viewer who wants to make him out as more than what he actually is. A fascinatingly written character, perfectly played.
　　The scene between Josh and Jane (a wonderful, young Edie Falco . . . "You need a woman not a girl") is hilarious . . . real. But Hartley can't leave it as such and his trick, having the actors repeat the dialogue over-and-over becomes frustratingly "arty" and annoying . . . until again it becomes hilarious. What a terrific sense of bizarre reality this lends the film (like kids in a perpetual "am not"/"are too" argument).
　　Hartley's weaves all of a small neighborhood's idiosyncrasies into a tapestry of seeming stereotypes but which delves far beneath the surface, the catalyst being that everyone believes they know what the "unbelievable truth" of the title is, yet no two people can agree (including our hero) on what exactly that truth is. A wonderful little movie with some big ideas.