Asian Cinema = yay

[Holly Goodhead]

I really like watching them for some reason..and rarely understand them, yet i'm left satisfied.

Seen:
Battle Royale
Casshern
Oldboy
Versus
Tale of Two Sisters
Ichi the Killer
The Eye
Rashomon
House of Flying Daggers
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

Haven't seen:
2046
Hero
Internal Affairs
Tokyo Drifters
Battle Royale II
Audition
Suicide Circle
Returner
Twilight Samurai



What are some other good asian films?

 

[deathshead2]

seven Samurai

 

[Holly Goodhead]

give me a god damn summary! and pictures

 

[hey yo its sean]

Is Casshern any good?

 

[Holly Goodhead]

Is Casshern any good?

it was pretty...it was all green screen like Sky Captain/Sin City. the bad guys reminded me of X-Men character ripoffs (Magneto/Toad/Mystique/Sabertooth).

as for the story, i cant really tell you.

 

[Riven]

House of Flying Daggers

(epic story about a rebel uprising against a ruler in feudal China, if you liked Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, you'll love this)

In The Mood For Love

(Romantic story about two people who fall in love after discovering their respective partners have been cheating on them. Poetically strange atmosphere ensues)

2046

(semi-sequel to In the Mood for Love. The protagonist is a writer trying to deal with the sadness over his failed relationships by writing a surrealistic sci-fi novel. More poetic weirdness and lush cinematography ensue)

Bin Jip

(a young man meets two people, a man and a woman, who break into houses when the owners are on vacation. A mysterious love-triangle ensues)

Hero

(about a warrior who travels to the court of the emperor, to tell him he has killed the three master assasins threatening the emperor's life. The story is told from three different viewpoints, which begs the question: what is the truth?)

The Seven Samurai (and anything by Kurosawa for that matter)

 

[Holly Goodhead]

I want to see 2046, and I still haven't seen HOFD and Hero..

 

[kypade]

l think you'd probably like Tokyo Drifter if only for the colors. Otherwise...l dunno...what kinda stuff are you looking for? Most of those ones are pretty gory killy horror types...is that what you like? In the Mood for Love, Chungking Express, Yi Yi are all really good, but nothing like the ones you mentioned. Hana-Bi (Fireworks) if you can find it is probably a safe bet for anyone who will stand subtitles. ld think of more, but...cant really.

 

[deathshead2]

give me a god damn summary! and pictures

A veteran samurai, who has fallen on hard times, answers a village's request for protection from bandits. He gathers 6 other samurai to help him, and they teach the townspeople how to defend themselves, and they supply the samurai with three small meals a day. The film culminates in a giant battle when 40 bandits attack the village

 

[Paradoxium]

I hated House of Flying Daggers. Check out Infernal Affairs instead, the premise is cool; so much so Martin Scorsese decided to rip it off for his "The Departed" film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338564/
http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/infernal_affairs.html

A story between a mole in the police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop.

 

[Riven]

I hated House of Flying Daggers. Check out Infernal Affairs instead, the premise is cool; so much so Martin Scorsese decided to rip it off for his "The Departed" film.

Rip off? How about remake ? It's no secret that it's based on Infernal Affairs or anything...

 

[Holly Goodhead]

i like violent movies, except i cover my eyes when i see gross things. i pretty much watched Ichi the Killer with my eyes closed.

 

[Holly Goodhead]

i havent seen the prequel to Ichi the Killer..or Battle Royale 2..

 

[Paradoxium]

Rip off? How about remake ? It's no secret that it's based on Internal Affairs or anything...

That movie doesn't need a remake, it was fine in the first place. I am calling it a ripoff because I don't think this "remake" willl top the source.

 

[hey yo its sean]

i havent seen the prequel to Ichi the Killer..or Battle Royale 2..

I'm in the minority when it comes to Battle Royale 2. I like it. Hella people don't.

 

[Holly Goodhead]

I heard its good for the first 30 minutes, then the rest sucks because his son took over.

 

[hey yo its sean]

Yeah. You should check it out anyway, just to see for youself.

 

[kritic]

I heard the second sucked as well, I don't care to see it. Ichi 0 was ok, it was a different Director than Takashi Miike, so it wasn't as stylized.

The Dead or Alive trilogy is excellent, along with Audition and Happiness of the Katakuris.

Check out this old flick, Ricki Oh for some hilarious brutality.

I think from what you have seen, you are more into Japanese cinema than Chinese, and yes, there is a difference. I prefer Japanese, and recommend nearly every Kurosawa film, including Ikiru and Ran.

If you like the horror types, you may like Suicide Circle. It's pretty good up unil the strange ending, where it kind of goes all whack.... which is pretty much the same for all japanese films. I recently saw Evil Dead Trap, it wasn't too bad, actually. Returner, although not Japanese, is completely awesome, in my opinion. Next time you get on AIM PM me, I like talking about Japanese films.

edit: I also recently saw Twilight Samurai, and it was incredible, absolutely amazing, I forgot to recommend that.

 

[Holly Goodhead]

i have to buy all these now

 

[Wolfwood]

I hated House of Flying Daggers. Check out Infernal Affairs instead, the premise is cool; so much so Martin Scorsese decided to rip it off for his "The Departed" film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338564/
http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/infernal_affairs.html

Personally, I liked House of Flying Daggers just a little more then Hero. Infernal Affairs is deffinately fantastic though, I loved it.

I would recommend Musa: The Warrior

A period epic set in 14th-century China about a group of Koryo (Korean) envoys who are arrested and sent into exile by the Ming. On their way back to Korea, they manage to rescue a Ming princess from the rival Mongol forces.

What about anime? There are tons of great Asian animated movies. Such as:

Spirited Away
Howl's Moving Castle
Princess Monoke

Well alright, anything by Hayao Miyazaki basically.

 

[unknownuser]

Zatoichi is a good one too

Zatoichi is a 19th century blind nomad who makes his living as a gambler and masseur. However, behind this humble facade, he is a master swordsman gifted with a lightning-fast draw and breathtaking precision. While wandering, Zatoichi discovers a remote mountain village at the mercy of Ginzo, a ruthless gang-leader. Ginzo disposes of anyone who gets in his way, especially after hiring the mighty samurai ronin, Hattori, as a bodyguard. After a raucous night of gambling in town, Zatoichi encoutners a pair of geishas--as dangerous as they are beautiful--who've come to avenge their parents' murder. As the paths of these and other colorful characters intertwine, Ginzo's henchmen are soon after Zatoichi. With his legendary cane sword at his side, the stage is set for a riveting showdown.

 

[Wolfwood]

That movie doesn't need a remake, it was fine in the first place. I am calling it a ripoff because I don't think this "remake" willl top the source.

It probably wont top the source, but I'll must likely see it anyways because it does have a pretty good cast.

EDIT: I just remembered Shaolin Soccer and Kung Fu Hustle, very funny movies with great action.

Shaolin Soccer- After a fateful mistake costs him his career, an ex-soccer player bum meets a shaolin kung fu student trying to spread the word of kung fu. The ex-soccer player helps him reconcile with his five brothers, and teaches them soccer, adding shaolin kung fu as a twist.

Kung Fu Hustle- Set amid the chaos of pre-revolutionary China, small time thief, Sing, aspires to be one of the sophisticated and ruthless Axe Gang whose underworld activities overshadow the city.

 

[hey yo its sean]

I'm not sure if romantic comedies are your thing, but go rent/buy My Sassy Girl. One of my favorite movies ever.

Description(courtesy of Aznfilms): Kyon-wu (Cha Tae Hyeon) is a good for nothing lazy-bones college kid. With little ambition and an even less tolerance for studying, Kyon-wu spends his days with his friends hanging out and doing nothing. Forced by his mom to go over to his aunt's house for a matchmaking session, Kyon-wu meets a half-drunked girl (Jun Ji Hyeon) on the subway. Although captivated by her looks, Kyon-wu is soon disgusted with her when he finds out that she's a "yupgi" girl - a loudmouth, violent, hate-all-things shrew. Things start to heat up when they keep bumping into each other one time after the next. Is this really fate or is it some kind of sick joke?

 

[Psycho Hulk]

seven Samurai

Seven Samurai is always excellent! I had the DVD on Repeat for like a week and I watched it all the way through almost everytime.
-----

Twilight Samurai is also very good, but it's a much slower movie with alot of heart. It's a beautiful story!

Seibei Iguchi, a low-ranking samurai, leads a life without glory as a bureaucrat in the mid-XIX century Japan. A widower, he has charge of two daughters (whom he adores) and a senile mother; he must therefore work in the fields and accept piecework to make ends meet. New prospects seem to open up when Tomoe, his long-time love, divorces a brutal husband. However, even as the Japanese feudal system is unraveling, Seibei remains bound by the code of honour of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedences. The consequences are cruel.

----

 

[Mentok]

Haven't seen:
2046
Hero
House of Flying Daggers
Internal Affairs
Tokyo Drifters
Battle Royale II
Audition
Suicide Circle
Returner
Twilight Samurai
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

2046- Very good film... although the story gets very weird (as do most asian films) towards the end

Internal Affairs- I love it... saw it at the australian Premiere and have the DVD

Tokyo Drifters- I am yet to see this series, but heard its quite good.

Battle Royale II- Its ok... nothing compared to the ifrst one.

Returner- good... slightly boring action film... very cool CGI work.

AS FOR OTHER FILMS?

INITIAL D- Chinese telling of a Japanese street racing tale... Good, very nice drifying action on film.

ARAHAN- Nice Korean flick action/comedy very funny stuff.

GODZILLA FINAL WARS- Godzilla. Nuff said.

TETSUJIN-28- Yay for giant remote controlled robots.

PRINCESS BLADE- Ninja story... good.

VOLCANO HIGH- Weird Korean action flick... very odd.