Our last thread went for two years!
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Asian Cinema
sitenoise — 10 years ago(March 05, 2016 04:34 PM)
Our last thread went for two years!
Our Little Sister
Umimachi Diary (2015)
Japan
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
10/10
About half way through I was filled with joy by this movie about nice people getting along with very little drama in their lives. About 3/4 of the way through I started to question the feasibility of the venture and began to imagine ways the film might introduce some drama. I took a break. When I came back I was happy to be in the company of these people again. This is a beautiful film. Of the 1% or so of directors in the world I'm aware of,
Koreeda
has just cemented himself as the greatest living one.
A Hard Day
Kkeut-kka-ji-gan-da (2014)
South Korea
Director: Seong-hoon Kim
7.3/10
This is what I love about Korean cinema. A ridiculous premise played straight: A guy, on the way to his mother's funeral, thinks he just hit a man with his car and killed him. He ends up stashing the body in his mom's coffin. With her in it. Gotta be the best "sorry mom" you'll ever see.
There are two kills in this movie that are also what I like about K-cinema. They're quick, subtle, and huge.
I'm not generally a fan of
Sun-kyun Lee
. He seems to whine his way through most films. But here it works. Fun movie.
Exit
Hui guang zoumingqu (2014)
Taiwan
Director: Hsiang Chienn
6/10
Exit isn't meant to be a pleasant film, but it seems like it wants to be an important one. It thinks it's doing a woman power thing, but the director spoils his own movie by injecting his personality into it. There's a lot to admire, but I didn't enjoy it.
Over Your Dead Body
Kuime (2014)
Japan
Director: Takashi Miike
6.8/10
Great atmosphere. A group of actors rehearsing a stage play, Kaiden. Most of it is shot on the stage. A bloody fetus notwithstanding this is Miike the professional more than Miike the provocateur. It will bore most Miike fans, but I liked it.
The Silenced
Gyeongseonghakyoo: Sarajin Sonyeodeul (2015)
South Korea
Director: Hae-young Lee
6.9/10
This film deserves to be
Whispering Corridors
5 more than the film that was released with that name. The school here is a private one up in the forested mountains with basements and caves providing some eerie sets. I wish it would have stuck with eerie and psychological. It gets a little bloody at the end. I didn't see that coming, and/but it works. The girls at the school are there because they have some disease, like tuberculosis. Their families don't want to care for them any more so they won't be missed if something happens to them. Drum roll.
Kuro
Hanare banareni (2012)
Japan
Director: Daisuke Shimote
5.7/10
Long takes where nothing happens fill this film that follows three characters who hang out at at an abandoned seaside inn. I could have liked this a lot but, a few things: one of the guys is supposed to be a hip young fashionable director who wears a scarf and a hat. I don't think the actor who plays him has ever worn a scarf or a hat in his life. It shows. So he was no fun. The second guy had most of the narrative drift, but he's completely nondescript. No harm, no foul, but it doesn't make the film good. Finally, the girl is a pretty cool, tough, smart whippersnapper, who for no reason, or the wrong reasons, is also a little mean. No point to that (in this context) except for deducting points.
Office
O piseu (2015)
South Korea
Director: Won-Chan Hong
5.1/10
I had high hopes for this one: a group of office workers unravel after learning that one of their colleagues took a hammer to his family. Yep. This film starts off with a guy bashing his wife, his mother, and his son to death with a hammerSouth Korean style in concept, but it's tamer than usual. We don't actually see it, but we know it happens.
Most of the scary tension points are the result of a dream or a hallucination. Or worse, something unexplained that's similar. It's a very common trick in horror movies. Think
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
. The problem here is that after each one happens, you realize it hasn't developed the narrative and so it feels cheap.
A Bizarre Love Triangle
Cheoleobtneun anaewa paramanjanhan nampyeon geurigo taekwon sonyeo (2002)
South Korea
Director: Mu-yeong Lee
4.9/10
I stumbled across this opportunity to watch me some vintage
Hyo-jin Kong
. She is, of course, awesome as a lesbian martial arts instructor. But this film is less than B-grade humor, and for some reason, instead of just telling the story they have some people from outer space in the future tell it. Things get tied up at the end but the film isn't worth it for other
Hyo-jin Kong
devotees to seek out.
Mojin - The Lost Legend
The Ghouls (2015)
China
Director: Wuershan
5/10
There are a few really good action/suspense scenes in this film about a group of grave robbers, but that's it. The humor is mostly the obnoxious kind, and the 'romance' angle was of the kind where one party insults the other one for the whole movie so we'd never guess there's love brewing. This film is that dumb.
Watched some Oscar bait just to keep up -
ebossert — 10 years ago(March 06, 2016 09:03 AM)
Ahhhhh. A fresh thread.
Part 8 of my Asian Horror Year In Review playlist is now up. It covers movies released from 1987-1989:
Here are the films I saw this week.
Highly Recommended
Accident (2009) (Chinese Thriller) (repeat viewing) The leader of a team of hitmen (who kill people and make their deaths look like accidents) grows suspicious when one of his team members dies in an apparent accident. This film is a non-stop exhibition of paranoia. The scriptwriting is first-class as it straddles the line between chance and intent through a number of events that may signify an orchestrated murder by another party. Pacing is surprisingly deliberate, but this could be considered a positive because it allows the paranoia to take center stage. The accidents themselves are very cool, Louis Koo gives a great performance, and the direction is top notch.
Office (2015) (Korean Mystery Horror) After a section chief murders his family, a detective questions the mans co-workers but suspects that they are hiding something. This is a proficiently executed slow burn that feels somewhat unconventional due to its emphasis on the relentless, psychological pressures of competing in an office environment. This provides a sufficiently dramatic basis for the violence. I work in an office myself, so two additional elements worked well for me: (1) the concept of a psycho killer who hides and lives within an office building; and (2) the fact that danger is manifested by working late at night. The way the mystery is crafted holds interest throughout. This is nicely directed and acted (Ah-sung Ko is really good), with a creepy vibe that is earned thru excellent sound design. Some intense moments to enjoy down the stretch.
Recommended
Socialphobia (2014) (Korean Drama) After an internet message board poster leaves vicious comments on a soldiers death, a group of young men seek out the persons house in order to scare her. An unexpected event occurs, which forces these people to perform their own investigation so that the incident does not negatively impact their futures. This focuses quite a bit on social media. Its glacially paced, which results in some dull patches, but its got enough to hold interest and is well-acted.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2: Sword of Destiny (2016) (Chinese Action) I went into this expecting a typical period action film thats less artsy than its predecessor, and thats basically what I got. Nicely shot, with some impressive locations. Good fights are peppered throughout the best of which involve Donnie Yen on an iced-over pond and Michelle Yeoh in a dark room (fighting a witch). There is use of wires (as expected) and some use of CGI (but not too much). The characters and story are generic, which makes this feel like a by-the-book movie. Certainly a style-over-substance affair, but a watchable one.
Not Recommended
The Visit (2015) (American Horror/Comedy) M. Night Shyamalan continues his streak of underwhelming films with this tale of two siblings who become frightened by their grandparents disturbing behavior while visiting them on vacation. Right from the start, the comedy simply does not work. The rapping kid is annoying, and the lame humor basically just destroys any sense of dread or fear. Plenty of idiotic moments to sit thru, as well as some terrible performances by the grandparents. Everything feels so staged and fake. The dialogue is boring to sit through, so this flick feels longer than its 94-minute runtime. Attempts at serious drama are embarrassing. This is a very poor effort, and I have no idea why its getting positive reviews.
Bottom of the Barrel
Apartment 1303 (2012) (American Horror) Following a family dispute, a woman moves out of her home and moves into apartment 1303 on the thirteenth floor of a downtown Detroit apartment building. However, a 9-year-old neighbor explains that a previous occupant of her new apartment killed herself. Strange things begin to occur in the apartment. This is a remake of a Japanese horror film that fails miserably to live up to the fairly low standards of the mediocre original. This is god awful garbage that is almost incomprehensibly worthless on every single level! Immediately the viewer will notice the atrocious acting; Rebecca De Mornay is at her worst, but this film showcases one of the most embarrassing performances by a lead actress in years (Julianne Michelle). The dialogue is abysmal and totally artificial. The scare tactics are as lazy as humanly imaginable. The only redeeming factor is the unintentional laughter that it provokes. This is truly one of the worst horror films of recent memory.
YouTube Asian Movie Review Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/anticlimacus100 -
plsletitrain — 10 years ago(March 06, 2016 06:04 PM)
So glad to see you're the host of our Recently seen thread!
Although I tried to fasttrack watching some Asian stuff so I can do the honors of starting the recently seen thread. Only to find out you beat me to it
So to compensate, I made this post to see my name on the first page.
lol Welcome to my life.
I've been quite slow with my viewings lately as I'm re-watching the anime series Fushigi Yuugi (Mysterious Play). I'm still on episode 9, out of 52 episodes, so goodluck to me as I still have a long way to go.Silentium-
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Grey_Gorilla248 — 10 years ago(March 09, 2016 12:11 AM)
Hello all. It's been several years since I've frequented the IMDb boards, so it's good to know this community is still going strong. I'm trying to get back to watching more Asian films and the most recent recommendation I took upon viewing was Koreeda's
Our Little Sister
.
Having seen some of his earlier films, I came into it knowing it would be a slow burn of a family drama. Although it was, I was not disappointed at all. The acting was nothing short of great, and I genuinely felt as if I was invited into the lives of these sisters and became empathetic to their situation a quarter-way into the film. The attention I gave it may also be due to the actress who plays the oldest sister, Haruka Ayase. Having just seen
Cyborg Girl- another recommended film by some of you - I was not only surprised to know she starred in this but was surprised at her 7 year transformation as an actress and a woman (or maybe I shouldn't be?). Much more mature now - yet still breathtakingly beautiful - she played the part of the older and responsible sister quite convincingly. But the actress who really shone here was the titular little sister, Suzu Hirose. The expressions she portrayed with limited dialogue kept me invested. Koreeda has a knack for choosing and directing child actors and actresses. I wouldn't mind watching any of her future starred films.
In short, I loved it. The pacing was slow and deliberate but I felt as if I wanted to spend more time with the family in the end. Thanks for the tip.
- another recommended film by some of you - I was not only surprised to know she starred in this but was surprised at her 7 year transformation as an actress and a woman (or maybe I shouldn't be?). Much more mature now - yet still breathtakingly beautiful - she played the part of the older and responsible sister quite convincingly. But the actress who really shone here was the titular little sister, Suzu Hirose. The expressions she portrayed with limited dialogue kept me invested. Koreeda has a knack for choosing and directing child actors and actresses. I wouldn't mind watching any of her future starred films.
-
ebossert — 10 years ago(March 13, 2016 08:24 AM)
Part 9 of my Asian Horror Year In Review playlist is now up. It covers movies released from 1990-1991:
Here are the films I saw this week.
Highly Recommended
The Piper (2015) (Korean Horror/Drama) This film is inspired by the Pied Piper of Hamelin legend. Shortly after the Korean war, a father and a son are wandering through the country and make a stop in a remote village, where the residents still believe the war to be ongoing. During his visit, the protagonist attempts to help the villagers with their rat infestation problem, but he gets a bit too nosy regarding the local secrets. The horror elements are backloaded, but the opening 45 minutes do a very nice job at establishing the characters and conflicts. This builds a nice dramatic impact when the horror arrives. Direction and performances are solid. This is an old school, classy, legend-inspired horror.
Trouble Every Day (2001) (French Horror) While visiting France with his new wife, a man (disturbed with thoughts of murder) seeks out a neuroscientist for help. Unfortunately, the doctors wife (Beatrice Dalle) suffers from the same condition and must be locked indoors to prevent her from murdering people. Viewer be warned that there are some really nasty, disturbing scenes of bloody violence. Some of the violence is also mixed with sexual content. Its truly disgusting stuff, but it is also elevated above mere exploitation due to the overall quality of the film. Sound design and direction are very impressive. This is deliberately paced but still piles on a menacing tone and tension. Minimal dialogue helps matters.
Room (2015) (Canadian/Irish Drama/Thriller) A kidnapped mother and son live their lives in a small room. This begins rather slowly but efficiently builds tension with the situation. If the viewer is lucky enough to avoid an online plot synopsis, they will be treated to an unforeseen turn of events that adds more depth to the characters and premise. Very good performances anchor this emotionally affecting drama.
Recommended
Mermaid (aka Mei Ren Yu) (2016) (Chinese Fantasy Comedy) An estate project involving reclamation of the sea threatens the livelihood of the mermaids who rely on the sea to survive. So they dispatch one of their own to seduce and kill the project manager. Director Stephen Chow gives us a charmingly wacky, high energy film that moves at a brisk pace from start to finish. The premise allows for some unorthodox character interaction, which is especially entertaining. Like some of his other flicks, there are some serious moments that are introduced but they work well despite resulting in some tonal shifts. The special effects are lower grade, but they dont distract quite as much due to the comedy genre. The environmental theme and characters are basic, but this is certainly fun and quite different.
Bronson (2008) (British Comedy/Drama) A young man who was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending three decades in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his violent alter-ego. Tom Hardy is very good in this; its definitely one of his livelier roles and hes frankly hilarious as an incredibly surly dude who loves to punch people in the face. I was totally surprised at the amount of humor present, since IMDb inexplicably does not list it as a comedy. The script meanders around and is a bit odd, but it works overall.
The Witness (2015) (Chinese Thriller) A former policewoman, blinded by an auto accident, crosses paths with a serial killer who targets women. This is a remake of the Korean film Blind (2011), with the same director returning here. The original film was good, but this film is just as entertaining, if not better. It is a conventional thriller that is executed well and has a bit of heart. The acting is good and the characters are likeable. Some good set pieces are introduced, like a chase involving a motorcycle and a rollerblader, as well as a pretty good finale.
Not Recommended
Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015) (American Horror) A prequel set before the haunting of the Lambert family that reveals how psychic Elise Rainier reluctantly agrees to use her ability to contact the dead in order to help a teenage girl who has been targeted by a dangerous supernatural entity. This has the same general flaws as its precedessors, with loads of boring filler material that is infused with jump scares. Dermot Mulroney is terrible and Lin Shaye is yet again completely unwatchable. There are some incredibly dumb scenes in this, especially during the latter half. The big confrontation between the psychic and the spirits has some eye-rolling dialogue.
YouTube Asian Movie Review Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/anticlimacus100 -
zelena33 — 10 years ago(March 14, 2016 11:32 AM)
Saw some of those films recommended here and some others:
1.
Our Little Sister
: I wish I could have liked this half as much as you guys. I'm on board with Koreeda but I think his films are split into two types: those with problems and those without problems. Little Sister suffered from a severe lack of a problem. I appreciated all the nicey-nice, especially considering some of the horror we accidentally get exposed to in films (see below). It's a nice break from that and a refreshing atmosphere generally. But when they started complementing each other's pickled cabbages and supportively showing up for every junior-varsity soccer practice my internal screaming irony meter started going nuts. Like, come on.
I got really bored of this film about halfway through and bailed, because it was very clear nothing was ever going to happen. Koreeda sometimes thinks he can just Ozu his way through a film with nothing in particular happening. But his characters and his photography are not as good as Ozu. I also bailed on
Still Walking
. He is just Woody Allening his way through films, enjoying making them, but he doesn't care how they 'come out.' But his films
Like Father, Like Son, and Nobody Knows
, where there is a very severe problem, are world-class good. I guess it says a lot for a filmmaker if he is different things to different people.
Some Japanese films are just too sincere and don't rise to a higher level of self-awareness..
2. Like this one,
Jinkusu!!!
Also had some charm, but never rose above the one-dimensional level. Just too dry and pat for me. Okay, it had a few good jokes, when referencing Western films in a very Japanese way. I did enjoy the comparative Japan-Korean thing. Especially since it has been much discussed here.
3.
Flying Colors
(2015) right up the same alley. If you like very straight, sincere heartwarming Japanese fare, you'll be gratified with this one. But as film cute girls doing cute beep It's not enough, and I start to fast-forward through the last half hour.
4.
The Witness
makes me think that for lack of a better plan, the Chinese are trying to just make Korean movies with Korean scripts and Korean directors. This one is about average for a Korean thriller. Well it's on
youtube
in high quality so it don't cost you nothin' to watch it.
5. On a slightly higher level,
Black Coal, Thin Ice
is another very Korean Chinese movie. This is certainly one of the best Chinese films I've seen so far. I'm still optimistic their output will improve. Certainly when they overthrow the communists it will. Great cold-weather setting in this one. Harbin is not on my shortlist of must-see places, thanks anyway.
6.
Spirited Away
. The stuff of nightmares.
7.
Lost In Thailand
. As stupid as this film is, it's got to be one of the best "movies" out of China so far, in an 80s American comedy kind of way. You can almost see the tectonic plates of China's culture grinding, this thing is so new to itself. If you like a good stupid comedy once in a while, this one doesn't fail to deliver, but it also has a lot of that toe-curlingly bad Chinese quality to it. Too straight, too baldly corporate and censor-friendly. Shallow, crass consumerism, the worst kind of new-money materialism, objectification of da girls Some Chinese films come from the same place, theatrically, as those corporate rah-rah sessions where everyone demonstrates excellent posture and team spirit for the boss. Gag me with a spoon. The one major cockup of this film was the inevitable Fan BingBing cameo, where she should have strode out gamely, but instead really came off as the flint-hearted corporate whore she is. Yikes. Would it kill you to smile once?
8.
Devil and Angel
(2015) was another really bizarre one. I still just can't decide what I think of this one. It's bad, but really interesting and enjoyable in some ways. Weirdly square Beijing millennial hipsters. There's something about Chinese films with the sound like they overdub everything and you feel like you're in a strangely one-dimensional and tedious dream; everything a little bit at arm's length, sonically. Visually, there's an element of 1980s London punk underground to it that I'm sure they are not even aware of. Pretty bad film apart from the hilarious supporting role from unknown hottie Lele Dai. Must-see for anthropologists of China.
9.
Deadpool
. The worst movie I have ever seen [half of, before walking out] by a long shot.
10.
Penny Pinchers
(2011). I don't know how I missed this one, but it's every bit as good as your average good krom-kom. Laugh out loud funny in parts, a little crude but not offensive, dialed right into the zeitgeist of millennial generation Koreans, touching and clever and twisty. CJ Entertainment just bats this kind of thing out like a machine; it really is exactly what it says on the tin. Han Ye-Seul is so incredibly nice to look at, I enjoyed every frame of this film. The girl knows how to wear a flannel shirt. Was thinking man, what is it about the -
sitenoise — 10 years ago(March 14, 2016 12:32 PM)
I entertained the notion of punting on
Little Sister
for a moment about half way through, then I decided to reassess my notion of what a film is supposed to do = ie., resolve conflict. Thanks Aristotle, but you're old. I applaud Koreeda for exploring "nice". It's got to be one of the greater challenges a film maker faces because of a reality TV culture that wants Jerry Springer BS vs the notion that
nice
means it belongs on the Hallmark Channel. And I'm weird in that I really don't give a turd what a film does if I like hanging out with the people in it.
Sidebar
: Name one Korean film maker whose photography is better than Koreeda's. I challenge you. Korea doesn't seem to be known for photography. Production Values, yes. Sorry, but Monkees. In
Still Walking
, the shot of the kids reaching for the Sakura. Come on. Beat that with any moment from any film made by a Korean.
I'm bummed you didn't like Jinks!!!. I thought you'd at least have fun with it. I'm sure all those scenes of the Japanese doing their bowed head thing irritated you, while it entertained me. That scene where K tells J to smile and then K throws a perfect smile at her and J simply can't do it. Too good. Brilliant film.
Black Coal, Thin Ice
kicks ass. You might try the director's
Night Train
. More more bleak. There's nothing Korean about his films but if being
good
means
Korean
to you, then okay.
Can't tell by your unwritten words if you know this (I bet you do) but
The Witness
is a Korean film. A remake by the same director of his
Blind
(Beul-la-in-deu) [2011]. It's in my queue out of curiosity. I don't know what to make of this kind of thing.
Lost In Thailand
is the kind of movie I will never watch. Too bad it's what China is trying so hard to accomplish. But then again, I've all but completely given up on Hong Kong movies. They are mostly worse than the worst of Hollywood.
China has moved way out in front in terms of trying to sell movies with posters of people making stupid faces. So sad. Very few Japanese posters do that. Bless them. Korea is somewhere in the middle but advancing quickly on China. Sads.
Penny Pinchers
= queued -
zelena33 — 10 years ago(March 14, 2016 01:16 PM)
Hey on a side note, I'd love to see your top 10 list of asian comedies. If I am reading your taste in films right, you can't stomach the crass broad comedies, and a lot of what you like is the arthouse style that is sometimes too dry and humorless for me. What kind of comedy is up your alley?
Believe me, I'm not bashing Koreeda and I will watch all his films on the strength of Father, Air Doll, and Nobody. And I know you're not directing the Jerry Springer thing to me, cause I don't resemble that remark. It's just for him particularly, that I think HIS films with a plot are much better than the ones without. I could give you a list as long as my arm of pure atmosphere films I dig starting with
Lucrecia Martel
who not so famously remarked 'story is overrated' that's not the issue. I agree, nice people are underrepresented in the media.
Yeah funny you mentioned the bowing the head think in Jinkusu, I did enjoy that, and it reminded me actually of what's-his-name in Last Life in the Universe. A very Japanese thing, observed and visualized by that Thai director.
Black Coal, not Korean style? Seriously sitenoise? I thought I was watching Yellow Sea, or that other one, same director. It's totally formulaic Korean thriller in style and script. Name another Chinese film it remotely resembles. What I forgot to say about this one is it struck me as Jia Zhang-ke does a korean thriller. I dug it.
Yes I know Witness was korean, that's what I was trying to say in my contorted way. It was decent but could have been one hour, not two.
These Lost in Thailand type films greatly inform my impression of what's going on in China, which I have no end of appetite for, so I don't regret watching them. Even though it is basically warmed-over Tiny Times.
Name one Korean film maker whose photography is better than Koreeda
Easy. Chang-dong Lee. Neither of them are an Ozu, they're about on par. Pretty straight and classical. But there is some more fancy photography on display in flicks like Mother, Han Gong-ju, I'm not your go-to Kim Ki-duk fan but Spring, Summer? Come on. I would agree the Korean film industry probably pushes things in a more pop direction visually, whereas in Japan directors have a more classical auteur style. I think it's more just how they are trying to identify themselves and what they're doing. I don't see a lot that looks experimental coming out of Japan. Apart from the TV commercials..
Penny Pinchers is great fun if you're not expecting too much. Don't expect anything really intelligent. -
sitenoise — 10 years ago(March 14, 2016 03:48 PM)
'scuse my sensitivity re: Koreeda.
And no, you do not resemble my Springer remark.
Little Sister
came as a revelation to me. Remarkable in what it accomplished. I watched the Tawainese Film
Exit
at about the same time. It's a fantastic film that clearly wants to annoy.
Little Sis
was my anecdote, and it took on other-worldly powers.
I don't know if I can muster a Top Ten Asian Comedies. The phrase itself sounds strange. Asian Comedy?
I liked
Satoshi Miki
, Japan's Christopher Guest. That's the closest I'll get to laughing at someone with bad table manners.
I instructed my little database to show me everything I rated 8 or above with "comedy" in the genre. None of them are comedies.
Visitor Q
.
Why Don't You Play in Hell?
Setting aside stuff like that, and a few Zhang Yimou (comedy?) films, and even
Air Doll
and
I'm a Cyborg, But That's Ok
here's things I think are meant to be comedy:
Like Asura
Director: Yoshimitsu Morita
A Stranger of Mine
Director: Kenji Uchida
Green Mind, Metal Bats
Director: Kazuyoshi Kumakiri
Don't Laugh at My Romance
Director: Nami Iguchi
Adrift in Tokyo
Director: Satoshi Miki
Cafe Isobe
Director: Keisuke Yoshida
Crush and Blush
Director: Kyoung-mi Lee
Chaw
Director: Jeong-won Shin
Let the Bullets Fly
Director: Wen Jiang
And tied for number 10 is all these krom koms:
Someone Special
Director: Jin Jang
When Romance Meets Destiny
Director: Hyeon-seok Kim
A Good Day to Have an Affair
Director: Mun-il Jang
Hellcats
Director: Chil-in Kwon
Lost and Found
Director: Jeong-hwa Jeong
My Wife got Married
Director: Yun-su Jeon
Hello, Schoolgirl
Director: Jang-ha Ryu
Kiss Me, Kill Me
Director: Jong-hyeon Yang
Venus Talk
Director: Chil-in Kwon
What's yours?
You may be right about
Black Coal
. I didn't watch it as a thriller, and it seems more deliberate than what I see from Korea.
Re: the Koreeda photography challenge. No way. Clearly you have a more informed and educated point of view than I do but I think that shadows you from the more fun naive approach I take. Kim ki-duk doesn't count because he doesn't represent the Korea we usually speak about here (but that would have been a good one).
Mother
had very good sets and visuals but (to me) they're compositions, not the poetic realizations of nature and humanity that Koreeda sees.
Maborosi
is a 90 minute painting. I've never stopped a Lee film to gawk at its beauty.
So we'll disagree, but I think your subtext that S Korea knows
There's No money in Art, so why bother?
is true. I'm too precious to play in the real world. -
zelena33 — 10 years ago(March 14, 2016 08:27 PM)
sitenoise:
Oh yeah, Kim Ki Duk, you got me there. Except he's arbitrarily disqualified from being Korean. Lolz
Asian comedies, I think we've inadvertently started a whole new thread again. Or have we done this one before? Please don't take this as trollerly, kwite the kontrary, komrade I made my ratings private cause I hate when people troll me about it but I scrolled through some of your imdb ratings, and I get the impression you don't watch comedies much, and when you do, you hate them. Am I off base? I exaggerate a little. But Play in Hell, Zhang Yimou? Man! Adrift in Tokyo is a comedy, I'm gonna kill myself. I guess I would say my favorite kind of film is an intelligent comedy, and my second favorite, stupid comedy.
I don't have my ratings organized, but from the Japanese for example,- Swing Girls/Waterboys/Robo Ji/Wood Job! This director can't pump em out fast enough to satisfy me.
- Other similar J-coms like Judge! Woodsman and the Rain, Linda Linda Linda, Thermae Romae
I guess what you hate most is what we can call Hong Kong Stupid: Everything starring or directed by Stephen Chow. You're not-enjoying at least 40 hours of solid good stuff there. Personally I find his stuff stupid on the outside, very intelligent on the inside. Love it.
From Korea, practically every film, as we know, is a family/buddy/action/romantic-dramedy with elements of political documentary. They all make me laugh. I like all of it including the really dumb stuff like Please Teach Me English, 200 Pound Beauty, Miss Granny, Plan Man, etc. whereas Crush and Blush, Castaway on the Moon and Sunny are the really high-end stuff. Not necessarily comedy, but funny.
I jest but I will probably watchlist all those krom-koms you mentioned - I've only seen a couple of them. I generally thank myself when I just pull out an ordinary Korean flik rather than taking a chance on the latest Chinese movie.
S Korea knows There's No money in Art, so why bother? is true
Wow I see it completely 180 degrees off from that, so it's an interesting outlook. That's what comes from good discourse.
-
sitenoise — 10 years ago(March 14, 2016 10:59 PM)
Not necessarily comedy, but funny.
That's where I draw the line. I told you none of the films with comedy in the genre (from IMDb) were comedies. I'm like the Oscars: comedies aren't real movies, or whatever. Not saying it's true. It's just how I roll. I think you're funny.
Black Coal, Thin Ice
just arrived, cough, in BluRay, so I watched it again. Some drag. I'm less the Guey fan than I've been. But that ice-skating scene. Where did that travel to? I've only recently come to terms with the fact that a song and dance number at the end can be a winner.
I can see what you mean about the Korean thriller template. I think I may have already called the scene where the three guys are sitting on the floor and the cop gets shot, "Korean". The meme it belongs to is
"Hey! It's Twin Peaks in the Provinces, People"
. His previous film set that precedent, wonderfully. Films like
Stolen Life
, kind of,
Blind Shaft/Blind Mountain
;
Bejing Blues
, backwards. That's where I watch it from, I guess. The unwashed brethren of Cultural Revolution stuff like
Balzac the Seamstress
, and
Shanghai Dreams
. This is the nail on the head.
Kim ki-duk is only Korean when he's needed to be. -
plsletitrain — 10 years ago(March 16, 2016 03:24 AM)
That youtube link on Memories of Murder was enjoyable (although when you mentioned analysis I thought it would crack the unsolved (??) mystery of the serial killer). I never noticed that ensemble staging thing.it was accurate. And befitting. Although, doesn't most films do that??
I have totally left Koreeda that now I'm reminded again to do my homework. It's really so hard for me to look for his movies but of all the drumroll 2 films I've seen from him, they were all impressive.Silentium-
-
zelena33 — 10 years ago(March 16, 2016 03:09 PM)
I thought it would crack the unsolved (??) mystery of the serial killer).
Yeah, I'm glad it didn't! That's part of what I like about that film is the unresolved thing. It makes the film sort of open-ended, like
the Silence of the Lambs
. He's still out there
I don't know which Koreeda films you saw, but
Like Father, Like Son
was my fav. I found it incredibly moving, and one of the most mature films I've ever seen. I think I underrated it as an "8," and will probably watch again soon. -
plsletitrain — 10 years ago(March 16, 2016 06:16 PM)
"That's part of what I like about that film is the unresolved thing. It makes the film sort of open-ended.."
Yeah me too. I was actually awestruck at the end that I had to do some quick research about the real story behind it. Funny because I watched it thinking it was a closed case already so I had to alert my detective senses trying to figure out who the culprit was so I can finally boast to the world how I managed to crack the mystery only to find out that it was still unsolved.
I've seen After Life and Airdoll from Koreeda and I think I gave both a 10. I like the serenity I find in his films, and weird that whenever I see his face on photos, it just suits his craft. He's someone I really love to explore and see a lot of movies from but for reasons beyond my technological know-how, I can't get my hands on those. :(((Silentium-
-
ebossert — 10 years ago(March 20, 2016 07:22 AM)
Part 10 of my Asian Horror Year In Review playlist is now up. It covers movies released from 1992-1993:
Here are the films I saw this week.
Highly Recommended
Flash Point (2007) (Chinese Action) (repeat viewing) After being exposed, an undercover cop (Louis Koo) enlists the help of Donnie Yen, who then promptly beats the living hell out of anyone who stands in his way. The pacing is back-loaded toward the final half hour (offering a 15-minute finale), but its well worth the wait. Dramatic elements are weaker than Kill Zone, but never get boring. The action presents itself in a variety of ways: a great footchase; a tense shootout in a high grassy field; and a stunningly brutal one-on-one fist-fight in an abandoned house with so many bone-crunching moves that even the most hardened action fans will lose count. The choreography is a refreshing mix of kickboxing and grappling that is rarely seen in cinema. And dont forget Donnies over-the-top mannerisms, which do provide some laughs now and then. This film helped to propel the Yensters red-hot streak of awesomeness over the past decade. Director Wilson Yip is a key reason for this.
Recommended
Sa-kwa (aka Sorry Apple) (2005) (Korean Romance) Fresh off a painful break-up, a woman gets involved with a man in a rushed attempt to get married but relationship problems later arise. This film is anchored by the presence of three very good actors So-ri Moon, Tae-woo Kim, and Sun-kyun Kim. The supporting cast is solid as well. The female lead does come off as a selfish wench at times, but it makes her character interesting. This film is not concerned with plot, so the interaction is key and it delivers, but the runtime of two full hours does feel a bit too long. Regardless, this is good quality stuff.
The Tiger: An Old Hunters Tale (2015) (Korean Thriller/Drama) Set during the early 1900s, during Japans occupation of Korea, some hunters are dispatched to take out a vicious tiger that is killing workers. This film stars Min-sik Choi and Man-sik Jeong, who are both really good in this (not surprisingly). Natural environments are nicely captured, especially during the winter scenes. The tiger effects are also shockingly convincing, which yields many attack sequences. There are some intense scenes to enjoy, as well as some dramatic interaction between the humans and animals. The runtime of 139 minutes does feel a bit too long, leaving some dull patches along the way.
Pitch Black (2000) (American Sci Fi Horror/Thriller) (repeat viewing) A commercial transport ship and its crew are marooned on a planet full of bloodthirsty creatures that only come out to feast at night. (The premise reminded me in some ways of the Isaac Asimov novel Nightfall.) Unorthodox sunlight and sand effects do make you feel like you are on a distant planet. The horror elements dont even really pick up until after the one-hour mark, but the script successfully maintains interest throughout. Radha Mitchell and Vin Diesel really drive things forward and I enjoyed both of their characters. There are a few cool moments down the stretch too, with the line of sight moment being my personal favorite.
Baptism of Blood (1996) (Japanese Horror/Drama) (repeat viewing) A fatal skin disease forces a beautiful actress to retire from the silver screen. Decades later, this woman attempts to prolong her life through her daughter. Despite the title, the violence in this film is almost non-existent with the exception of one excellent surgery sequence involving archaic-looking machinery. The structure of the story is unorthodox, with the two halves of the film focusing on two different characters, separated by a defining moment between them. There are flaws (some of the early moments come off as fairly cheesy), but they dont take away much. Dramatic and story-driven horror, with a few very unexpected moments. This based off of the works of Kazuo Umezu.
Shopaholics (2006) (Chinese Comedy/Romance) (repeat viewing) Cecilia Cheung, Lau Ching Wan, and Jordan Chan star in one of the most frenetically paced Hong Kong comedies of all time. A girl woos a psychiatrist and a billionaire while attempting to cure her demonic-compulsive shopping syndrome. Yes, this is silly stuff that uses fake psychology throughout (and the romance is extremely shallow), but it is very breezy and very easy to sit through. The actors are energetic and fun to watch. The wedding finale is pure craziness.
Paris Holiday (2015) (Chinese Romance) A wine company executive (Louis Koo) flees to Paris after his marriage proposal is denied, but is forced to share a flat with a lady artist (Amber Kuo). This is a bit cheesy at times with its melodramatic music, but the leads are properly developed, have good chemistry, and are likeable. Nice views of Paris are an obvious plus.
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) (American Sci Fi Action) (repeat viewing) The wanted criminal Riddick arrives on a planet called Helion Prime, a -
sitenoise — 10 years ago(March 26, 2016 11:24 PM)
It's been like Halloween around here with six degrees of
Ryuichi Hiroki
.
The Creepiest
An Adolescent
Shôjo (2001)
Japan
Director: Eiji Okuda
5/10
The guy who directed this film is
Sakura Ando's father
. He directed Sakura's nude scene in her feature film debut,
Out of the Wind
(
Kaze no sotogawa (2007)
). In show-biz families that may be a non-event, or even a bold and smart thing to do. It's a little creepy to me. He directs and stars in this film about a 40-something cop and a fifteen year old girl who fall in love. This thing got "good press" when it ran the festival circuit for the great lengths it went to in trying not to be creepy: like making the girl tough, smart, and the aggressor. Yeah, poor cop, what's he supposed to do?
I applaud the convoluted script which allows for this kind of synopsis (from IMDb):
Tomokawa is a tough guy turned bored cop who spends much of his time sating lonely housewives and looking after retarded teen Sukemasa. One day while hanging out at a bar, he is approached by a 15-year-old enjo kosai named Yoko, offering a round of illicit sex in exchange for cash. Though he demurs, their paths cross again and soon a relationship of sorts forms. Yoko, it turns out, is Sukemasa's sister; and both are the children of his old flame Yukie, a grasping, self-centered woman. Moreover, Yoko's grandfather is responsible for the massive tattoo sprawling across Tomokawa's back. Tomokawa soon takes both teens under his wing, protecting them from their heartless mother, and their lecherous stepfather. Soon, Yoko gets a similarly massive tattoo illustrating her bond with her policeman savior.
It's all true. The savior cop demurred, and etc. Tomokawa kidnaps runaway dogs and keeps them for a long time so that when he finally returns them to lonely housewives they are so grateful they have sex with him. That's in the script. But he's friends with a retarded teen. See how balanced he is? The cop and the girl are both so far out there
misunderstood-with-baggage
they were destined for one another.
Lolita
films are nothing new and this might be a good one as far as they go. It's restrained, not too graphic; there's interesting photography and directorial choices made; May Ozawa (~20) is "daring" and "courageous" [festival-speak for 'does nude scenes'] as the young girl; the script is well-contrived; there's spiritualism. Great lengths.
Watching Eiji Okuda direct himself and show his butt as irresistible to a fifteen year old girl was never going to work for me. YMMV. I watched it as a geezer-fantasy anecdote to the teen-fantasy poison I'd just gone through.
To wit:
I watched a couple more by
Jinkusu!!! (2013)
director
Naoto Kumazawa
to see if we had another
Ryuichi Hiroki
type who could do these pure love teen flicks.
Close Range Love
Kinkyori ren ai (2014)
Japan
Director: Naoto Kumazawa
4/10
A twenty-something teacher and a 16 year old student fall in love.
Too soon.
Nana Komatsu
(Kanako, from
World of Kanako
Kawaki (2014)
) nails the "model gaze". That is if you have to turn your head and look up at someone, you do so by turning your head first with your eyes closed, and then when your lined up with whomever you're going to look at, you open your eyes and Bang! I saw
Gary Oldman
demonstrate this move on the Conan O'Brien show. It's very effective: Scary if you're a guy; sexy if you're a girl.
From Me to You
Kimi ni todoke (2010)
Japan
Director: Naoto Kumazawa
5.8/10
This is really good at what it is: an afterschool special that aims to promote and show what friendship is. Schoolgirl
Sawako
has a
Sadako
haircut. Whoa! Good work, parents. She's delicately bullied by negatively portrayed characters. Her ultra low volume baby talk, with stuttering, is unbearable. After she comes out of her shell she's okay. Of interest are actresses playing two side characters:
Misako Renbutsu
as one of her friends; and
Mirei Kiritani
as beotch girly-girl who wants the affection of the stud who likes Sawako. After he rejects her, Kiritani says to the stud, "
You really don't have the eyes for women. This cute girl won't appear before you again
." So heartfelt. Kiritani rocked it. It was her Ryuichi Hiroki money shot. More on her later.
Misako Renbutsu
first caught my eye in
Switching: Goodbye Me
Tenkôsei: Sayonara anata (2007)
. Then in Ryuichi Hiroki's
River (2011)
. Those were starring roles. She's in a supporting role here but adds to the film. I think she's going to be one of these kids who turns into an actress.
Heroine Disqualified
Hiroin shikkaku (2015)
Japan
Director: Tsutomu Hanabusa
6.3/10
This is the closest the Japanese may get to a krom kom, even though it moves at a snail's pace comparatively, and it's with kids.
Mirei Kiritani
brings energy to the 4th wall breaking princess who wants the stud who likes the delicately bullied girl. Wait! Didn't I already see this? Kiritani's character and Ryuichi Hiroki money shot from the aforementioned
From Me to You
got her this starring role. She delivers exaggerate -
zelena33 — 10 years ago(March 27, 2016 10:26 AM)
Hilariously well-written reviews I want some of whatever you put in your coffee this morning.
I also kind of enjoyed
the Revenant
, but just for the photography. Because there ain't no plot, except maybe "me kill bad guy." I had to look it up, and apparently this was the first feature shot on the new Arri 6k digital cinema camera, which they won't even sell to you. You have to rent it. This is what digital cinema will all look like in five years or so. I have to grudgingly agree with everyone else about dicaprio - let the guy have his oscar. But Iñárritu, I'm not a fan. I hated
Birdman
a lot, and generally the guy's stuff strikes me as vapid and pretentious.
Your incredibly sardonic review of
the Adolescent
almost makes it a must-see, although from the trailer, a tough-guy cop on a bicycle is never gonna work for me. The Lolita subject is a bottomless goldmine of bad fiction, because oh man, too big a subject. Really only Nabakov could do it, and I'd probably rather read the novel for the third or fourth time. If a writer doesn't have the intellectual firepower to take on all of society, he can't confront this subject.
And yes, the
Heroine Disqualified
trailer looks like that girl is doing just enough histrionic shouting and foot stomping to make me happy. She almost has to say "yah!" in Korean, doesn't she? Might check that one out just to see the Japanese doing kdrama.
From Me To You
was somewhere down on my watchlist and will now probably get the boot. -
sitenoise — 10 years ago(March 27, 2016 11:47 AM)
I admire something you bring up from time to time which floats in above my pay grade: cameras. You wrote about the Korean
Treacherous
's cell-phone ready digital lensing (I think), and Zhang's first foray into digital film making. This is all lost on me. I can walk into any number of friends' house and notice immediately that the aspect ratio on their TV is off (amazing how many people suffer through this, although I think newer TVs auto-adjust), and there was a period where something was going on and all HDTV had a Soap Opera look to it. But beyond that, I got nothing.
I've noticed that a lot of Japanese indies look like they were shot on VHS handhelds but it hasn't bothered me much. It sort of adds to their charm.
A Drowning Man
is a good example. And I've noticed that even the indiest of indie Korean films look like a million bux. Why is that?
I watch a lot of movies on my laptop, and a lot on big TVs (25"-55", via HDMI from my laptopI was never happy with earlier connections). I've never noticed a digital coldness, but I also don't watch many "old" movies that might provide comparison. (I'm presently trying to work through
The Human Condition
finished part 1 of the first film, but the acting is so stiff and Western to me and the music is horrible, I'm not sure I can go onbut I digress .).
How do you watch most movies? When you say "This is what digital cinema will all look like in five years or so", is that a good or bad thing? I watched
Revenant
on a 55" and found it jaw-droppingly beautifuleven looked all warm and analoggy to me. (Great plot synopsis on that one, btw) I'm afraid that if you explain this to me it might ruin my film watching career. lol -
zelena33 — 10 years ago(March 27, 2016 03:04 PM)
Oh yeah, I'm what they call an 'impassioned amateur' photographer
and pretty obsessed with the technical end of that stuff. I know exactly what you mean about the soap opera thing, and you hit the nail on the head. Recently I tried to watch Apocalypse Now with a friend on his fancy huge TV, and it looked unbearably intolerable. At first I really thought his TV was converting the 24 frames per second (which is what film is) into 30 frames per second (which is television). But that wasn't it. It is a color setting on the TV which tends to really juice the color for TV, whereas film has a certain gramma curve (contrast setting), meaning blacker blacks and whiter whites. Everybody needs to find that 'film' color setting on their TVs, like STAT. It solved it instantly.
I really have mixed feelings about digital. A lot of photographers say resolution of cameras is overrated, and it doesn't really make sense to shoot in say, 8k, if your TV is 1080p. You won't see the detail. But there is another factor. Look at your jeans right now. What color are they? If you sample a 1 cm square area, it will be on average, "blue." But when you look closely at it in detail you can see that it's white, blue, black, grey, white, blue etc. So the resolution of the camera initially effects the realism of the color, even when it is downgraded to say 1080p. That's part of why the Revenant looked so awesome to you.
The other thing with that camera which they were "showing off" with The Revenant is the sensitivity. It's getting to the point where some digital cameras are more sensitive in low light than film. This new ARRI is two clicks more sensitive than anything else, so they shot in dusk/dawn natural light outdoors, and it's something you have literally never seen before. Total eye candy. I should add that all cameras and TV/projection systems still have significantly less of this 'dynamic range' than the human eye, so this is somehting you can expect to see vast, mind-blowing advancements in your lifetime. Think of when you get pulled over by the cops and there is that flashing light in your mirror. Nothing that bright has (or could) ever popped off a movie screen. But eventually.
I still find digital cold and clinical in a way, partly because each frame looks exactly like the prior one - there is no randomness like you get from the organic nature of chemicals on film - each frame is different. Also, there is sometimes just way too much detail seen, and photography is much more about what you exclude from the frame yet still manage to plant in the viewer's imagination to me anyway. One of my fav photogs (Alec Soth) said smth like photography is what happens in the space between the photographer and the subject; what you're looking at is the effect the subject has on the photog basically. Sometimes the viewer has the same feeling. Movie magic.
I notice in Japanese film a certain tendency toward big, classical film looking photography, the festival-ready kind of look; in Koreeda, Iwai.. And on the other hand a lot of that uber-modern Japanese TV commercial look. Even Koreeda said he hired the cinematographer for Like Father, Like Son based on a TV ad he had done
http://www.mtv.com/news/2772656/hirokazu-koreeda-interview-like-father-like-son/
. He was like, 'give me that look.' The Koreans, like we have talked about, are pretty much an artist's colony. I think they are all shooting for 'street credibility' with each other for world-class artsy quality. They just got swag.
I'm totally in favor of digital if it means that good scripts get made. A lot of people in the US want to like indie films, but there are really few, because there is so much conformity of thought. They are mostly just small-scale films. But in Asia I think it's different, I think it's a blessing that they can get their stuff done for $0.5-3 million; their films are more honest and real, less ironic and self-conscious than American indie. So digital helps make that happen-able.
I'm gonna ruin your impression of me: I mostly watch everything on my 15" laptop
Did see the Revenant (and a lot of hollywood crap) in the theater though.
As Mark Twain said, I'm sorry I wrote such a long forum post. I didn't have time to write a short one.