The Asian Film Thread

I don't watch many Asian movies, although I loved Battle Royale.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Everyone should check out 3-Iron. It's an indie Korean film directed by Ki-duk Kim, who does these great slow moving and mellow films that are just really powerful, his films are a total experience in itself.

It's hard to describe the plot. Basically a jobless college graduate breaks into people's houses to live for a couple days while they're on vacation. He breaks into one house to find a housewife there that's being abused by her husband so they run away together. Stuff (but not hilarity) ensues.

Also check out Afterlife, a Japanese film by the guy who did Nobody Knows. It's an interpretation of what the afterlife (natch) is, in which you have to pick one memory from your entire life and you relive that one moment over and over for all eternity, forgetting everything else.

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

Originally Posted by sprouticus

Has anybody seen Park Chan-wook's first film, JSA (Joint Security Area)?

I've seen it. It's my personal favorite of the films I've seen by him as well as one of my favorite Korean films overall.


oh, and it was not really his first film

Originally Posted by Jan

Currently I'm most interested in Korean movies an dramas. Korea is currently the collest place on earth so can anyone advice on some good movies other then Oldboy and the obvious. ^^

I wonder which the obvious ones are!

Anyway, here is a gang of films I can recommend wholeheartedly:

JSA
On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate
...Ing
Reversal of Fortune
My Wife is a Gangster
My Sassy Girl
A Good Lawyers Wife
3-Iron
Barking Dogs Never Bite
Samaria
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
Bad Guy
Who's got the tape
Crying Fist
A Bittersweet Life
Malaton
Friend
The Quiet Family

Originally Posted by jouhou

People say Stephen Chow (Chow Sing Chi) movies are pretty funny.
I've only seen about 2-4 of his movies. It has stupid comedy but it's so funny.
Anyway, maybe someone can recomend some of his title since I haven't seen many.

Take your pick. If you like one you're likely to like them all, really.

Some of my personal favorites include Love on Delivery and Royal Tramp 1 and 2.

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

I saw Moon Child about three weeks ago and even though it was longer than I thought it should've been, Gackt and Hyde did a pretty good job acting. However, having Hyde as a vampire was a little weird. I think Gackt did a good job of portraying a gangsta. Overall, the movie was good, even in the end.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Hadn't been to GFF in a while before that little hiatus, but I find it funny that it seems so sudden that a fair amount of people suddenly used Asian film avatars. Geum-Ja, Sun-Woo...

Since everything's been restarted, how about discussion of a rather popular Asian film...

Let's go ahead with Tom Yum Goong.

I've gotta say I never would have thought "Give me back my elephant" would be a compelling enough driving force for a film but this one completely disproved me. All that crunching was satisfying in every sense of the word. That first real fight (with the guy with the therapeutic jars on his back) was so abruptly started (flying knee kick) that it just got the movie started for me. Everything was "elephant, elephant, elephant" for the first ten minutes, and then finally he lost the damn thing and everything went uphill. I came for an action movie, and I got it.

Most amazing jew boots

Originally Posted by seanne

I wonder which the obvious ones are!

...

Woah nice. Thanks for the list! I just discovered A Bittersweet Life yesterday thanks to a friend. I still need to watch it though. Looks awesome.

Seen Samaria and a few of the others, but some of those you listed are new to me.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Lady Miyomi

I saw Moon Child about three weeks ago and even though it was longer than I thought it should've been, Gackt and Hyde did a pretty good job acting. However, having Hyde as a vampire was a little weird. I think Gackt did a good job of portraying a gangsta. Overall, the movie was good, even in the end.

Oh god, I'm sorry but are you fucking insane? That movie was horrid. Horrid. A blatant rip off of everything Anne Rice, no not because of the vampires but because they stole pratically every idea and scene from her books (the dancing with the corpse? Give me a break). It made me cry for all the wrong reasons and their acting skills were awful. If there was an Japanese equalivent of a Razzie, they'd take every one.

Gackt is a pretty sexy bastard though. It just bummed me out because they could have done a pretty decent film but I guess Gackt's writing is really not up to snuff. As if any other outcome would have been true.

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

Originally Posted by nabhan

I'm going to rent Taegukgi tomorrow, which I'm assuming most of you have seen but I hadn't even heard of until yesterday. It's supposed to be very good, so I guess I'm kind of excited.

Hopefully the hype won't kill it for me.

Taegukgi is a great movie. I thought it was very hollywood-ish, but still a great film.

Originally Posted by sprouticus

Has anybody seen Park Chan-wook's first film, JSA (Joint Security Area)?

Yes! It's one of my favorites, it's an amazing story in my opinion.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Syndrome

I'm gonna watch something called A Tale of Two Sisters soon, same director as in A Bittersweet Life (Ji-Woon Kim). I heard it's a very scary psychological horror, just my taste :)
Any comments on it?

I watched this movie the other week, and I whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of psychological horror. If you don't mind not knowing what the hell is going on until the very end of the movie, you'll probably like it. ;) It contains some of the old stand-bys of Asian horror (chicks with long dark hair, etc), but it focusses more on the relationship between the characters (mainly the sisters and their stepmother) than on cheap scares. Though there's a few of those too, and pretty good ones at that. There's one I saw coming a mile away, but it still managed to make me jump when it finally happened.

I've been watching random Asian horror lately, though I haven't seen very many yet. Watched The Eye the other night, which was actually really, really good. Very Sixth Sense-ish, if a bit more depressing at the end.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Amanda

I watched this movie the other week, and I whole-heartedly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of psychological horror. If you don't mind not knowing what the hell is going on until the very end of the movie, you'll probably like it. It contains some of the old stand-bys of Asian horror (chicks with long dark hair, etc), but it focusses more on the relationship between the characters (mainly the sisters and their stepmother) than on cheap scares. Though there's a few of those too, and pretty good ones at that. There's one I saw coming a mile away, but it still managed to make me jump when it finally happened.

I've been watching random Asian horror lately, though I haven't seen very many yet. Watched The Eye the other night, which was actually really, really good. Very Sixth Sense-ish, if a bit more depressing at the end.

I read a review on it some time ago, where the guy who wrote it said he was about to give the movie a 4/10 or something, but then he read a little about the movie and lastly saw it one more time. He then understood the movie fully, and gave it a 10/10
In other words, I guess I have to have my eyes open during the movie.

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

Originally Posted by Syndrome

I read a review on it some time ago, where the guy who wrote it said he was about to give the movie a 4/10 or something, but then he read a little about the movie and lastly saw it one more time. He then understood the movie fully, and gave it a 10/10
In other words, I guess I have to have my eyes open during the movie.

Oh, absolutely. Unless you're particularly keen, you're probably not going to know exactly what's happening until the very end, and it can get frustrating at times if you're one of those people who's prone having "What the fuck is going on?!" moments when watching movies. But the plot's actually not OVERLY complicated. Just obscure, and it saves most of the revelations until the very end. Though personally, I liked it just fine the first time around. Even when things get confusing, the relationship and emotion between the characters is still strong enough to carry the movie.

When you finish the movie the first time, go online and read up on it so you can finish piecing all the particularly weird bits of the story together. Then watch it a second time. With the initial viewing plus doing the reading online, it will make much more sense the second time around.

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

I remember loving a Tale of Two Sisters after watching it for the first time even though I was confused about a lot of stuff just because it was really beautiful and I wasn't expecting that from a "horror" movie.

I recently checked out the Myth with Jackie Chan, Everlasting Regret, and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. The Myth was pretty good, not my favorite Jackie flick but it was entertaining. Everlasting Regret I ended not liking as much as I thought I would even though I'm a Sammi Cheng fan. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance was amazing, can't wait to see Lady Vengeance.

I recently bought Election off of ebay after confirming with the seller that it was the official HK DVD but what ended up in the mail? A bootleg. How lame, I guess I've learned my lesson.

I was speaking idiomatically.

the most scared and mesmerized I think I have ever been by a movie was when I was watching the magnificent A Tale of Two Sisters. I bought it on word of mouth only, and am very glad I did, as it is now my favorite foreign film. it's so beautiful and frightening. it has great set design and music and really brilliant acting.
the whole movie is just so inspired and amazing. I can't sing its praises enough.

on another note, I finally saw Battle Royale 2, and that sucked.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Has anyone who's seen BR2 actually thought it was good? I hear the director's cut does wonders for the film. I doubt it.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by evergreen

Has anyone who's seen BR2 actually thought it was good? I hear the director's cut does wonders for the film. I doubt it.

What a piece of trash that movie was. From the beginning till the end, I couldn't stand it. And boy did I force myself to finish that load of the crap in the name of the first BR.

Save yourself some pain man. Don't watch that utter piece of shit.

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

Already have. I just hadn't seen the director's cut.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I rewatched the live-action of "Hotaru no Haka" the other day. I heard it takes a different perspective on the story than the anime version (which I haven't seen, so I can't make any comparisons). But still the movie was excellent. I cried, which is a rarity.

I also saw "Full Time Assassin" (Chuen Jik Sat Sau), an action movie with Andy Lau and Takashi Sorimachi (GTO, whut). The whole thing was cheesy as shit but I found myself loving every second of it.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

I just saw "My Sassy Girl" and "Windstruck" today. (About time..)
My Sassy Girl is really good, great ending too. I thought the character development was well done and it's great to hear oldies and classical songs in this movie. Windstruck is just a nice extra but that's all.

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

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

Originally Posted by jouhou

I just saw "My Sassy Girl" and "Windstruck" today. (About time..)
My Sassy Girl is really good, great ending too. I thought the character development was well done and it's great to hear oldies and classical songs in this movie. Windstruck is just a nice extra but that's all.

I didn't get to see "Widstruck" until much later and didn't know that it was related to the other movie. "My Sassy Girl" was actually the first Korean movie I watched.

I just recently finished "Il Mare." Its story resembles something from the American movie, "Frequency," except they write letters and use one mailbox.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Rydia

I didn't get to see "Widstruck" until much later and didn't know that it was related to the other movie. "My Sassy Girl" was actually the first Korean movie I watched.

I just recently finished "Il Mare." Its story resembles something from the American movie, "Frequency," except they write letters and use one mailbox.

Well, it's not directly related. It's more like spiritually related. I mean, she has the same characters in her movies, they meet the same way too but there's differences like her depression periods and her occupation. The plot fits but the circumstances don't.

I haven't watched Il Mare yet but I look forward to it. Many gave it a good rating.

Double Post:
Ok, I just saw Il Mare and I liked it a lot. I thought it was very sweet.
It has a really nice slow and quiet mood. I love that but some people can't stand it.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

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 think I will try to get my hands on 3-Iron next.

Edit: omg, an Asian movie like Frequency? Must get!

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by jouhou

Double Post:
Ok, I just saw Il Mare and I liked it a lot. I thought it was very sweet.
It has a really nice slow and quiet mood. I love that but some people can't stand it.

I admit that I put the movie down for almost a year because I couldn't finish it due to the slow pace. I finally finished it a few weeks ago and it was indeed worth it.

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

Originally Posted by lazuli

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.

Edit: omg, an Asian movie like Frequency? Must get!

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.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Not sure if this counts, I just finished watching Spy Samurai, pretty good film. I really liked the black and white. But I also heard some cars in the backround which doesnt fit samurai era :P

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059303/

There's nowhere I can't reach.