The Asian Film Thread

Originally Posted by jouhou

The plot is like frequency but the time paradox theory is different and there's no action but it's still worth the watch.

There's a movie that came out in HK a few years ago called A World without Thieves. Many people liked it. Synopsis on http://imdb.com/title/tt0439884/

Thanks for listing your titles, I'll check them out. I like melodramas.

A World Without Thieves was indeed an excellent movie. I can vouch almost any move starring Andy Lau (none of you guys mentioned Internal Affairs I-III??) are superb. There's only one clear exception:

http://www.lovehkfilm.com/reviews/we...rious_file.htm

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Dhsu

I watched Oldboy about a week ago, but I don't think I need to reiterate what's already been said many times over about it. My teeth still hurt every time I think of that movie.

Will be sure to check out Mr. & Lady Vengeance soon.

I watched "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" lately and it sucks... I hope the last part of trilogy is better.

:doggy:

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

What about Tampopo? That was a great Japanese film.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Haha, I just remembered something called "Sicily 2 Kilometers", something korean. It's a appearently a Comedy/Horror (Yes, horror and comedy...). It's not scary at all, but it's seriously HILARIOUS! Anybody wanting a good laugh should check it out

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I haven't seen Initial D yet. It's a HK movie starring Edison Chan, Jordan Chan, Shawn Yu, and Jay Chou. Some people said it was a blow off movie. For those who've already seen it, what do u think?

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by lazuli

Yay for Asian movies

I just got done watching Failan (South Korea, 2001). This is the 2nd Korean movie I've seen (first was Oldboy, like many people's :P). It was pretty good and even got a tear or two from me at the end...I have to say I felt it was a bit too sappy though. Both Oldboy & this featured a sort of always-smiling, angelic type saintly girl juxtaposed against the brutal violence in the rest of the film. (I wonder if this is a pattern throughout all Korean films?) It just seems like this type of character is crippled by too much one-dimensionality (as the embodiment of purity) and could not really exist in the real world. But still a good film, I'd give it 7.5/10.

I just saw Failan and it is sad. I haven't seen much K-movies so I don't know if there's a pattern. I like it and I'll admit that I was crying throughout the last hour of the movie.

I'm plan to watch "Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu". It's a Japanese movie and it's also sappy but I like that so I look forward to it.

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The Promise and Fearless are being released in US cinemas in May and August respectively as wide releases. I'm looking forward to seeing both of them even though people have said the Promise sucked. Anyone seen it?
http://impawards.com/2006/promise.html

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Shinka

The Promise and Fearless are being released in US cinemas in May and August respectively as wide releases. I'm looking forward to seeing both of them even though people have said the Promise sucked. Anyone seen it?
http://impawards.com/2006/promise.html

I saw it this weekend and didn't like it much. I wasn't too impressed with the acting, and some of the effects were sort of cheesy. In a way it was a bit fun, but overall I found it more boring. At least in my opinion not worth submission for an oscar.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Glad you liked Failan, jouhou. I felt they were laying on the sappiness a bit thick in the 2nd half so I kind of felt smothered, but I must admit I got really touched at the end.

Got a real good surprise the other day with Postman Blues (1997, Japan). Sort of a multi-genre off-beat film... Quirky like Tarantino, except, well, not sucky :X (sorry to any QT fans, can't stand his films). Anyway, the way the two "sides" of the movie ran parallel and contrasted was well-done and frequently hilarious ("Is he fast?" "...Like a rocket."). A touch sad when they intersected at the end though . My only complaint is that it felt slow at times. 9/10!

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Well, I watched Godzilla: Final Wars yesterday. I've got to say that I found the whole mutant/human storyline to drag on for far too long. I wanted to see more of Godzilla beating the crap out of everything around him. I don't feel this is an appropriate temporary finale for the big beast. I found the little Minira to be the most stupidiest looking thing I've ever seen. It should have never been in the movie at all. Nonetheless, when Godzilla is on the screen beating things up this movie is good, otherwise everything else is crap. Ryuhei Kitamura is one of the worst Japanese directors. I found Godzilla: Final Wars to be too The Matrix like in it's fight scenes. Bullet time, slow motion shots, etc. A complete rip off. I did like when the American Zilla was put to waste in a matter of seconds by the big G. Apparently that scene got a standing ovation by the Japanese. I don't recommend this film to the average viewer. Godzilla fans might like this, but then again they may not.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by kapsi

I watched "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" lately and it sucks... I hope the last part of trilogy is better.

:doggy:

If you didn't appreciate SFMV, don't expect to be captivated by SFLV. The general consesnsus is that oldboy is the greatest of the three, usually because of its visual overload. I find SFMV to be the greatest of the Revenge Trilogy.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I have gotten to the point where I pretty much only stock up on Japanese films now adays, surprise, surprise...

Anyway, some recent pictures for me include:

Kamikaze Girls: What a lovley, insane little comedy this turned out to be. Probably one of the more enjoyable films I have seen in quite some time.

Survive Style 5+: Like Kamikaze Girls in style, only much more off the wall. Not for everyone's tastes, but I enjoyed it.

Lupin the 3rd - Strange Psychokinetic Strategy: Live action Lupin done rather... poorly, I'm afraid. At least the assassin nun group was cool.

ESPY: Interesting little 1970's sci-fi picture, to say the least. Not what I would call a great film, but I'm a sucker for Japanese cinema from this decade so I enjoyed it quite a bit along with the contemporary score. Also always great to see Kaoru Yumi in her prime.

Originally Posted by The GreyFox

Nonetheless, when Godzilla is on the screen beating things up this movie is good, otherwise everything else is crap. Ryuhei Kitamura is one of the worst Japanese directors. I found Godzilla: Final Wars to be too The Matrix like in it's fight scenes. Bullet time, slow motion shots, etc. A complete rip off.

I fully agree with you. I got to attend the world premiere of the film in LA back in 2004, and left the theater extremely dissapointed by the whole thing (although the experience of attending the event was great). Even at the world premiere, people couldn't help but laugh at "the one" sequence where he stops the laser blasts/bullets mid-air. I don't know if I would say that all of Kitamura's movies are bad, though... I did enjoy his Azumi flick.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I just saw Please Teach Me English. While my experience with Korean rom-coms is limited, from what I've read and what I little I know, the film seemed to fit the mold precisely. Nothing new, but it was a fun watch. Some quirky CG and animations pop up in some unexpected moments, perhaps another staple of the genre I'm not aware of, but it is chockful of off-the-wall antics that I've come to expect from these things. The male lead here is the male lead from Volcano High; good or bad, that's for you to decide.

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There is one Asian film I recommend to everyone if you haven't seen it:

Shaolin Soccer

Stephen Chow is a golden god!

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Heh...that's like recommending Ayumi Hamasaki in a J-Pop thread.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I recently saw the great yokai war which was a pretty fun movie and had a few laughs. Great movie for kids.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Shinka

The Promise and Fearless are being released in US cinemas in May and August respectively as wide releases. I'm looking forward to seeing both of them even though people have said the Promise sucked. Anyone seen it?
http://impawards.com/2006/promise.html

I'm not too sure about Promise, but I'm looking forward to seeing Fearless. I believe it was supposed to be Jet Li's last movie too. He's not the best actor I've seen, but he has some really good moves. It's a shame that he doesn't use the spear or bamboo pole in too many of his movies.


I just got around to seeing Shaolin Soccer. (HAH! I'm, like, really late on that) Ehh...I dunno. I didn't really like it. Sure, it had its good moments and quirky style, but overall, I wasn't impressed by the storyline at all-- very predictable and dull. I'm not saying that the movie itself was dull though; in fact, it has some of the most original, hilarious things I've seen.

Spoiler:

Namely the two singing scenes!

I must admit, however, that it was a fun (and funny!) movie.

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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0289181/

Has anyone seen Failan?

Wow, this movie was actually emotionally touching. The character development is wonderful. You can read other reviews, because honestly, I can never fully write some of the emotions I feel after watching something like this.

All those missed chances that just bypass us. Makes you wonder to never take anything for granted...

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I just saw a film cowritten by Park Chan-Wook called the Humanist. It's this black comedy involving a rich brat and two of his friends trying to get their way out of a murder charge. I don't know how much he wrote, but it's pretty bad, with a lot of gross-out humor that just comes off as sophomoric. One of the guys was from Attack the Gas Station though. Just a little side note, but it doesn't redeem that film in any sort of way.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Lately, the only asian films I've watched fit into the teeny-bopper stereotype. Blade of the Rose, Seven Swords, etc. I not really for the local films here because the films are usually catered to mass appeal. Mass appeal is unfortunately translated as very predicatable, melodramatic tear fests. The probably only thing that can save these movies is if their are really good actotrs on board.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

My friend just mentioned the "Asian Film Festival" to me. I've missed it the past two years but this year I marked it down on my calendar. To find out about it just do a search on any search engine with "Asian Film Festival". I'm not sure which cities participate in this so you have to find out for yourself.

FELIPE NO

I watched Oldboy yesterday. What a fucked up movie. I sort of called the big suprise for Daesu though. Man, gross.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by nabhan

I watched Oldboy yesterday. What a fucked up movie. I sort of called the big suprise for Daesu though. Man, gross.

Not Asian, but what about The Crying Game for twisted?

Spoiler:

Chick had a penis.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

So, has anyone checked out Shinobi yet? I just watched it today, and to be honest, I can't say I recommend it. There were some nice moments (the ending might remind some of Oldboy), but overall, everything about it just seemed mediocre to me.

If you're curious though, it won't hurt to give it a shot. I've seen much worse ways to spend an hour and a half. Also, I've heard it's actually based on a manga...anyone know which one? I'd be interested in checking it out.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I've just finished watching Sekai no chuushin de ai wo sakebu(Crying out love in the center of the world) which is a japanese drama. I must say this topped most of the movies I've seen even the korean dramas. Here is a music video for you guys who are interested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2pxT...0out%20love%20

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.