Asian Film Recommendations
DOR
Two Ron Toe 9,903 Posts
I've gone through a ton of flicks the past 6 months (I blame it on 7 for $20 & Bit sites) Anyone got anything I should be looking for? I'm now going through older flicks that I grabbed and never watched right away.I grabed this way back, but just finally got to it lastnight.
Pretty good all around. I enjoyed it.What else have you seen, or looking forward to, that we on the strut should keep an eye out for?Lastnight I also watched the first eps of Tale of the Nine Tailed Fox. Anyone into Korean dramas? It's got alot of cheese in it. But some of the action & EFX were pretty good. Is the rest of the season alright?
Pretty good all around. I enjoyed it.What else have you seen, or looking forward to, that we on the strut should keep an eye out for?Lastnight I also watched the first eps of Tale of the Nine Tailed Fox. Anyone into Korean dramas? It's got alot of cheese in it. But some of the action & EFX were pretty good. Is the rest of the season alright?
Comments
It's an older Hong Kong from '99 - it's amazing. The cinematography alone is mindblowing.
so who was the hot guy? takeshi kaneshiro?
ps. see the mc article in the recent new yorker? good pic, but her thighs are not visible.
Thats why I put "Asian"... Cause it don't matter... I'm talking anything from the region. Shit, even dope Bollywood would do.
I didn't wanna just put HK/Mainland/Thai/Korean/Japanese/etc etc etc.
No, ur wrong... I've been into more than "kung fu" & "hot asian gurl" films for over 20 years...
Has anyone seen Always yet? I'm looking forward to that.
And yeah, I've seen that! I agree! Great piece of film making.
it's very flattering - quick history, her talents, achievements, cross-over appeal...here it is: article they don't show the pic unfortunately.
relax dude. i was just projecting.
um, i like the oldies so uh, pather panchali has always been a fav. i like the frame ratio. its more of a square than a rectangle. old school stylee. pound for pound, i dig ozu. kinda slow, though, but if i watch a foreign flick, its got to be slow. i have to allow for time to read the subtitles. i think this is why i dont usually get the contemporary joints. movies these days move fast and while im reading the damn subtitles im missing out on something. i hate that. tokyo olympiad is beautiful but long. too long. nothing beats riefenstahl, but this dude comes close.
I hear what ur sayin'. I tend to watch anything with subs twice. Once just to just take it in and on the 2nd view, just to catch the small stuff.
That said, I could never get through Tokyo Olympiad even once.
"steeped in hip hop"
"carey resembles U2"
wtf?[/b]
good god this is why i dont read.
ps
yes i know sasha is a man. but homegirl's trying to flash on mariah. im texting my homegirls as we speak dammit.
i hear you. well then scratch ozu off that list too.
there's also something called the loyal 47 ronin or something like that by a different dude. i think its 8 hours long. fuck that shit.
your love is messing with your judgement.
L I E S ! ! ![/b]
perhaps a picture by the riverbanks and camping grounds of Cali to apologize?
Y0!
I've seen a most of those. But you did just remind me to look out for Last Bang. I forgot about it. Thx...
Are you still going to that spot on Dundas? In the basement??
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You fire me PM???s but I can???t send them back. You box is always full man. Clean it up so I can get at you!! Here???s some of the Asian (well, some countries) shit that???s dropped recently on DVD (ie you can find them around the way) and that I???ve checked out in no particular order???actually I???ll start with the Drama???s;
Nine Tailed Fox (Korea) ??? I give you props. I couldn???t get passed the second episode???the guy and girl were too ???I don???t know. I think you know where I???m going with this. They looked like they came out of some 80's music video. I haven???t seen it all, so let me know...I still have it upstairs...lol
???30??? (China) ??? I have no idea what the actual English name is. I can???t find it anywhere for sale online. I got some TIVO version with translated sub???s and I think the actual release isn???t until late this year. It???s a 30 hour series from China, basically ripping of ???24???. Instead of each show being 1 hour, each show = 1 day???so it takes place over 30 days. I???ll call it ???30??? since nobody else has given this a name yet.
???Identity??? (Korea) ??? This drama has like 8 names. Twitch reviewed it not too long ago and raved about it. It???s about a guy who has an ??? I don???t know, I don???t want to ruin it, but it???s to do with identities and shit. This was praised BIG TIME but I just couldn???t get into it. I don???t think I???m cut out for the Korean drama???s man??? that???s on me??? If you don't mind 9 tailed, you'll LOVE THIS SHIT. This is one of the few drama's I was able to sit through.
Now on to the films;
Princess Aurora (Korean) ??? Basically cashing in on the success of Park. Revenge film that???s similar to SFLV but not as good. Very nice looking, but the whole revenge theme is faulted through a poor build up. I thought the purpose of revenge was something else, and upon finding out what it was for (although bad), didn???t impact me. Might want to pass
Diary of June (Korea) ??? Se7en type of thriller. They find a body and inside there is a capsule containing a piece of a letter. They start finding more capsules, and the letter starts to form. It had a lot of potential, but for some reason it didn???t move me. I waited for this one too, wondering why there wasn???t much buzz coming out of Korea. I now know why
Negotiator (Japan) ??? This should have been shot in English. They could have made $$ with this shit. POPCORN heaven. Basic plot involving terrorists on subways, a remake (of Miike???s film), comedic moments, good CGI. Nothing original, but who needs originality. Snakes on a Plane is dropping!!
Hinokio (Japan) ??? I just realized that sounds like Pinochio???and for good reason. This is a nice film, but I sure as hell can???t tell you to watch it. You might smack me. It???s a family movie that the US needs to remake for parents and children. It???s about a child that cannot go to school because of a sickness, so they send a robot. The robot walks etc??? looks like a humanoid, but ???cute??? like a toy robot. The child can see through the robot???s eyes (webcam) and talk etc??? It???s a great idea, just not something I think you???d like
Princess Racoon (Japan) ??? Interesting shit. Played at CANNES last year. Some play type thing with some surreal elements. I won???t lie, I watched it without English so I don???t know what went down. The English version is coming out any day now. This is worth a look.
Mr Socrates (Korea) ??? Mafia finds a street kid and holds him captive. Beat him daily until he agree???s to educate himself. The education is so he can become a cop, and in turn work on the inside for the mafia. Again, not a bad idea but the execution lacked. The acting killed this one.
Lorelei (Japan) ??? Japan???s action film for 2005. Submarine warfare. Imagine an average American film in Japanese. Lol. Not worth finding.
Shinobi (Japan) ??? WTF???you know, I watch my arthouse. I love my strange film???I don???t need them to make sense???but when I see a name like ???Shinobi??? (ala the video game) I expect some action, and not in the form of love poems. It???s a fuck???n romantic film!? Avoid this shit like AIDS
Takeshis???(Japan) ??? A film in which he plays both him ???on screen??? life and his ???off screen??? life in a homage to himself. If you haven???t seen a lot of his movie???s, you may get lost. I???ve seen a ton of his shit, but not all???and I missed some of the jokes.
Aegis (Japan) ??? Imagine this???more average film from the country that sells $44 DVD???s without English subtitles for the films you REALLY WANT (ie Blood and Bones). Just letting you know to pass
The Great Yokai War (Japan) ??? I assume you have this already. Miike???s children fantasy movie. Imagine little red ridding hood crossed with alice in wonderland crossed with Ichi the Killer???s director. Anyhow, it???s a remake of the 70???s films. It???s a bit long, but worth picking up
The Duelist (Japan) ??? This is a trip. A drama/action/samurai/comedy/musical/arthouse/surreal fuck???n mess. The first time I watched this thing I had to stop it after 40 minutes because I couldn???t figure out what the hell was going on. It???s a fuck???n mess, but it???s such a mess it???s interesting. The cinematography is great IMO???I???d consider it
Welcome to Dongamakol (Korea) ??? One of the bigger let downs of 2005 for me. This was #1 at the Korean Box office last year. I have no idea why. The CGI was fuck???n brutal (not essential to the plot mind you), and I didn???t really find the movie to be that memorable. Maybe I missed something because of my limited knowledge on Korean politics/history.
Zinda (Bollywood) ??? The remake of OLDBOY. It???s dead on. Scene for Scene. If you want to see OLDBOY with worse acting and a smaller budget (with parts in English), this is the movie for you. Otherwise avoid
The World (China) ??? Eh???not bad, but SLOW. SLOW???SLOW???.SLLLLOOOOWWW
FEARLESS (China) ??? Yup???see this one!
On a side notes, I???ve also seen ???TSOTSI??? (South Africa) which won the Oscar this year. It was a let down. Very average, even for it???s genre. Should NEVER have won the Oscar. NEVER. The acting was stiff, the story had some weak points IMO, and it was way too short. Whoever compares this to City of God is a bit foolish IMO. They aren???t even in the same class.
I???ve really been focusing on Europe recently. Hungary is really impressing me. A LOT???
Anyhow...someone tell me I'm a fool now...lol
YOUR NOT A FOLL! But some more reviews of movies you liked would be nice. It's good to know what to shy away from, now tell me what I must[/b] see. (Plaese.)
ESSENTIAL!
how about
Come Drink With Me
"In 2001, there was director Ang Lee, villainess Cheng Pei-Pei, and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". 35 years before, there was legendary director King Hu (AKA Hu King-Chuan) ("A Touch Of Zen"), beloved heroine Cheng Pei-Pei, and this film--universally considered one of the best Hong Kong movies ever made. Here Cheng is Golden Swallow, who teams with a swordsman named Drunken Cat to battle a corrupt Buddhist monk with mystical martial arts powers. Without question, this production set a new standard for Asian action movies."
Yes & "A Touch Of Zen" is pretty cool. While we're talking old school, I'll also throw out "Executioners from Shaolin" & "The Kid With The Golden Arm".
Fearless is amazing & I have a good subtitle file if anyone needs.
"Three Times"
"2046"
"Election"
This was a good Hong Kong horror flick, "Ab-normal Beauty" Oxide Pang Chun (2004):
"Sars War" Taweewat Wantha (Thailand, 2005) was a ridiculous film but fun enough to watch.