Watched another Korean film, Madeo (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1216496/) this time. Fairly solid film, I personally thought the first half of the film was a bit better than the second, mostly due to some weird plot turns towards the end. Cinematography was great, which seems to be a common characteristic within Korean films in general. I'd definitely recommend seeing it, especially if you're a fan of Memories of Murder or The Host, considering it's by the same director 8.5/10
Movie of the year for me! It was pitch perfect. I wouldn't change a thing.
Absolutely adored the visuals and the soundtrack was amazing as well.
Can't wait to get it on Blu-ray.
This movie is right up there with my all time favourite movies: Lost in Translation and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Treasure of Sierra Madre: Just watched this in my film class, was really surprised at the fact that I really enjoyed it, as most of the stuff we watch in that class is average at best.
Cube: I liked this movie, but felt it kinda lacked in the gore factor. I'm not even a fan of gory movies or anything, but if you're gonna do one you should at least go all the way. Don't want to poo-poo this too much though it was a decent movie with an intresting premise, and leaves me wanting to watch it's sequels (I hear this is a mistake but whatever I'm intrigued.)
My favorite film of the year is Korean if you need a new fix Harson. Look for the film Breathless if you can find it. I watched these two the last two days:
Velvet Goldmine - ** My biggest problems of the piece is that it has this dated 90s flair that seems to bog down films that were made stylistically during this period and also that the glam rock songs they made for the film sounded more like 90s alt-rock non-hits that tried to mimmick glam rock. With that, I like how the narrative unfolded even though I thought it feels muddled and didn't have a clear idea on where to go. Todd Haynes could probably make the film better today than he did then.
To Catch a Thief - *** Should be considered one of the lesser Hitchcock films for it didn't seem like a technical marvel like his other works even though it did have an interesting premise and was executed in a fun manner even though it didn't play up Cary Grant's strengths like it could have. Charade is like 1000s of times better though which I kept on thinking of while watching it.
I ordered it off Yes Asia last week for $23 (Thanks to your recommendation a few pages back ), came in on Wednesday and I watched about half of it last night. Had to go somewhere in the middle of the night so I wasn't able to finish it, probably won't be able to finish it until tonight once I get out of class. It's definitely a change of pace, I'm so used to incredibly polished - Hollywood like presentation from Korean films (Probably since my experiences are restricted to mainstream Korean films), and this definitely has that independent feel. I can't really give a concrete review yet but I like what I've watched so far, you can't help but like Soon-Hong despite him being a complete douche :lol
I ordered it off Yes Asia last week for $23 (Thanks to your recommendation a few pages back ), came in on Wednesday and I watched about half of it last night. Had to go somewhere in the middle of the night so I wasn't able to finish it, probably won't be able to finish it until tonight once I get out of class. It's definitely a change of pace, I'm so used to incredibly polished - Hollywood like presentation from Korean films (Probably since my experiences are restricted to mainstream Korean films), and this definitely has that independent feel. I can't really give a concrete review yet but I like what I've watched so far, you can't help but like Soon-Hong despite him being a complete douche :lol
His character reminds me very much of that of Clint Eastwood's in Gran Torino actually. I am glad you bought it. It sucks the film has no US distro for it (and if you are going for an Asian fix, you should get Love Exposure which is in my top 5 of the year and is way incredible).
His character reminds me very much of that of Clint Eastwood's in Gran Torino actually. I am glad you bought it. It sucks the film has no US distro for it (and if you are going for an Asian fix, you should get Love Exposure which is in my top 5 of the year and is way incredible).
I always buy my films I have a pretty awesome Asian owned rental store near by though, they have a lot of foreign films for rent so I get a lot of my stuff from there as well.
In regard to Love Exposure, is that the 4 hour film? Would you happen to know where I could purchase it for a relatively reasonable price?
you know what? I semi-liked it. It suffers from the atrociously cheesy writing and bad puns that plagued the X-Men movies, but the difference here is that there are some ridiculously over-the top action scenes insteada the dull shit we used to get in the franchise. So if you're looking for massive CGI-driven mutant action, this is the movie.
The plot involves Wolverine and his youth in Canada circa 1845, getting his adamantium, kicking ass, getting his ass kicked by a number of mutants, and forgetting all his past.
good stuff:
Movie starts off with an actually awesome montage where Wolvs and Victor fight in several wars, starting from the Independence one until Vietnam. I liked the way it's done, with the dynamic duo running from war to war without pause.
Zero, a mutant with um, the ability to shoot his gun,'s got the most awesome gun reloading move ever seen. There's also Blob, Gambit, Wraith, Deadpool, and a whole buncha mutants I wont spoil here.
Sabretooth jumps around in a incredibly cool way, and Schreiber looks like he's having fun and he actually makes Victor a really detestable piece of shit. Jackman is great as Logan but there were no doubts about it. I only wish his hairdo wasn't so perfect the whole time.
now, the bad things: plot is miserable, it's basically Logan going from A to B and fighting along the way. The number of differences from the comic book are way too many and go way too far, reaching new levels of stupidity:
I can close an eye on Logan and Victor being brothas (it is hinted at it in the Origin mini, but never confirmed) but Silver Fox as Emma Frost' sister? WHAAA? Please don't tell me I'm wrong and this actually happens in the comics. Logan and Victor fighting for the American government? Lol, ok. The Weapon X program an American thing? Lol, ok. Blob in the Team X? Lol, ok. But really, the Emma thing is just too much
. There's zero character development, and I mean brain dead. It all moves way too fast, some stuff makes no sense, dialogues are silly to say the least.
there are a coupla cameos, all very good, expecially "that little guy" because he's involved in a really cool action sequence
all considered, t'was a ridiculous action movie, and I had fun watching it. Stay after the credits, that's gonna be the stupidest sequel teaser ever made :lol
You really shouldn't feel saddened by Soon-Hong's unfortunate demise, considering his character through out the film (although he is humanized in the later half of the film) but it's pretty damned hard not to.
Pretty powerful debut by Mr. Yang Ik-Joon, didn't realize that the director was also the lead actor till I looked at the film's IMDB, almost makes the film that much better.
I always buy my films I have a pretty awesome Asian owned rental store near by though, they have a lot of foreign films for rent so I get a lot of my stuff from there as well.
In regard to Love Exposure, is that the 4 hour film? Would you happen to know where I could purchase it for a relatively reasonable price?
It is getting a UK DVD release but you can find it on YouTube in its 4 hour entirity on YouTube under its original Japanese name. If you want to buy it, I do believe it can be found cheap on Ebay.
I am glad you loved Breathless. The ending is quite powerful and it is hard to shake out. You might want to spoiler tag your last post a little bit for people who want to be surprised.
I watched this the other night for the first time:
Cinema Paradiso: Director's Cut - ***
In here is a terrific film but I am sure some of the fat really bogs it down. There is no reason for this film to be nearly 3 hours in length and I am sure the original theatrical surely has to be much better. I did get incredibly emotional in the film but there was something about the love story angle that wasn't believable and it seems like the film spent too much time focusing on that instead of the his love of cinema.
Annie Hall: Superb. Can't believe it took me this long to see it. Diane Keaton is absolutely bewitching, and Tony Roberts is wonderful as Alvy's deadpan friend.
The Brothers Grimm: A bad film, but an interesting watch. The scene with the boy at the well and the mud-creature is astonishing.
I must be lame as fuck, but I saw zombieland and The hangover and that shit was fucking bad. Galifikanis was pretty fucking funny in hangover tho. Zombieland was just downright awful. I used to like that kid in The Squid in the Whale but he was just painful in zombieland. Overall though, with that story with the girls from LittleMissSunshine, that movie was a giant pile of shit
I must be lame as fuck, but I saw zombieland and The hangover and that shit was fucking bad. Galifikanis was pretty fucking funny in hangover tho. Zombieland was just downright awful. I used to like that kid in The Squid in the Whale but he was just painful in zombieland. Overall though, with that story with the girls from LittleMissSunshine, that movie was a giant pile of shit
Dead Girl - ** While an interesting concept, it could have been executed better and turned out to be a little predictable. Even though I saw the ending coming, I am glad they went to that direction. Not so easy to watch with a girl you have been dating for a bit. Haha.
Room with a View - ** Mostly amusing on Daniel Day Lewis' bizarro presence with some slight quirks in the narrative but overall, the film is too dry and really insignificant in the scheme of all things. My first Merchant Ivory film I have seen in a long time and didn't really inspire me to watch their other productions.
Down by Law - ***** I watch this like once every couple of months. It is my all time favorite film. Someday I will write more than that the next time I watch this. Oh yeah, I watched this twice since I rented it a couple of days ago. I hope it makes it way to Blu-ray soon.
Have you seen Thirst Alternative? I saw it back in August but it has released on DVD in Asia and is coming to the US next Tuesday, Bluray was announced for release in the UK in Jan as well. Interested in hearing your thoughts on it, I was disappointed to say the least.
A Bittersweet Life was fucking awesome, I really can't get enough of these good Korean films. I wasn't expecting so much action.
I've REALLY enjoyed the Korean films i've seen recently, not one weak link.
Oldboy
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
The Host
Memories of Murder
JSA
A Bittersweet Life
The Good The Bad and the Weird The Chaser
Once Upon a time a Highschool
Friend (Chingoo)
Save the Green Planet A Tale of Two Sisters
Shiri
I watched The New World over the weekend on blu. If you guys read reviews, it 70% hate. I thought it was a very very good movie. I was never bored, I thought the acting was A+. Anyways if you liked the pacing of The Thin Red Line, check this movie out.
Colin Ferrell and Chrisyian Bale Shine like you have never seen them. Although Bale is only in it for the last hour of a two hour forty min movie. I really enjoyed it, but I think its because I got what the point was.
I honestly think this might be my favorite movie of the decade. And yeah, the Blu-ray is beautiful.
I just saw The Men Who Stare at Goats. It was pretty damned funny, and when it was content to just be a comedy, it really worked. The pseudo-dramatic stuff didn't do much for me, but I appreciated the effort.
Have you seen Thirst Alternative? I saw it back in August but it has released on DVD in Asia and is coming to the US next Tuesday, Bluray was announced for release in the UK in Jan as well. Interested in hearing your thoughts on it, I was disappointed to say the least.
Yeah, I saw it not too long ago. Probably only within the last month at the smallest theater in Austin. I liked it much better than Lady Vengence whose last half really fell apart and the abomination that was I'm a Cyborg but that's Ok. I think after those two, my bar was lowered for Park. I thought it was an interesting take on the genre and I wanted to give the film a positive review on the perspective shots alone (when he is carrying her and jumping on buildings). Not his best but I left satisfied and much more than my friend Ryan who thought it was his worst film. Did you ever see his first film JSA? Great great powerful film that would be his best if it wasn't for including terribly bad English actors.
Yes! Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War is one of the biggest and best Korean movies. Thirst should be out pretty soon, too.
I really enjoyed The Good, the Bad, and the Weird. From a pure entertainment perspective, it is my favourite Korean film. I think you've gotten the other major recent Korean movies. I usually find Asian movies to be much more interesting in concept than execution, but over the last while there have been some really good Korean films.
I honestly think this might be my favorite movie of the decade. And yeah, the Blu-ray is beautiful.
I just saw The Men Who Stare at Goats. It was pretty damned funny, and when it was content to just be a comedy, it really worked. The pseudo-dramatic stuff didn't do much for me, but I appreciated the effort.
yeah it was a pretty damn funny movie, the audience seemed to enjoy. jeff bridges absolutely stole the show, although everyone was on point. some couple brought their damn toddler to the movie who laughed fuckin loud, and everyone was pissed off. they ended up leaving though.
Me and few friends decided to have Sabu marathon this weekend and we kicked off with Monday. It's been a while since I last saw Monday so I really didn't remember it that well but it sure was funny. Still Postman Blues ranks above Monday imo and it will be our next flick. Here is trailer for the film if anyone is interested http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlpIAtOssS0
That was what Kassovitz told everybody when he was in essence disowning the thing, but this was the 'uncut' version on dvd, and it still just went nowhere.
Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill! - *** My first Russ Meyer film and probably the best starting point. Worth the trashy cult status and I think a better time period stamp than Easy Rider.
Shoot the Piano Player - **** 1/2
A really funny entertaining tribute to noir films and is probably the 2nd best Trauffet film I have ever seen. A great surprise.
Tonight I think I am going to rent Black Lizard on VHS since I found a video store in Austin that has it. After the Pats and Colts game of course.
Hard to watch at times because the protagonist is such a nihilstic bastard, but at the same time you're kinda rooting for him, because other then being an utterly despisable, violent parasite, you also feel kinda sorry for him. This movie shows Great Britain at it's ugliest, and it's a pretty depressing movie, but the dialogue is brilliant.
Good Luck / Barthalo! (Robert Lakatos, 2008). I'm not really sure what to think of this. It kinda drags on, part mockumentary, part slice of life.. IMDb's description:
How to hit the Jackpot? This question is not a simple one to answer for anybody. But it is even harder to solve for the two friends from this film, the "big hat" Gypsy, and his Hungarian body - both of them Transylvanians. Many times they don't succeed, but even if they do, their success don't last long. But they know something not all of us know: how to enjoy life. In this neorealistic comedy even if the situations are set up by the director, the two main characters are playing themselves, and solving the problems in their own way. In fact the camera follows the adventures of a real friendship in different countries, through different cultures.
I decided the other day I needed to see more Mike Leigh films. I have only seen Happy Go Lucky and Secrets and Lies but haven't seen the latter in well over a decade.I love love love Happy Go Lucky though. One of my favorites of the decade.
This is the first movie I've ever seen of him, but I'm planning to check out Vera Drake and Happy-Go-Lucky soon. Leigh is often compared with Ken Loach (or the other way around, they're bot great directors) and I have a lot of love for Loach' work.
You started with a good one. Naked is really fabulous. Did you get the sub-text that the protagonist was like Christ (the angry at his father one) and that snooty dude like Satan?
I saw Volver last weekend, I'd been meaning to see it for three years now, quite like it. This week I'll be watching Fargo and The Big Lebowksi, which should I watch first?
I saw Volver last weekend, I'd been meaning to see it for three years now, quite like it. This week I'll be watching Fargo and The Big Lebowksi, which should I watch first?
You started with a good one. Naked is really fabulous. Did you get the sub-text that the protagonist was like Christ (the angry at his father one) and that snooty dude like Satan?
I must admit I didn't really get that - the latter part (snooty dude = devil) makes sense, but Johnny being Jesus - I must've not picked up him being specifically pissed off with his father. He just seemed discontent with everything and everybody.
I thought the scene with the night guard was really interesting. Also, with the girl from the cafetaria, how that developed was downright scary and bizarre. So was Jeremy's laugh, by the way. Christian Bale got one-upped seven years before he did AP.
Zombieland - Hilarious and enjoyable. 4/5 first watch and 3/5 for after.
The Grudge - Terrible in almost every way, but fun to make fun of as we watched it. My greatest question is
why the detective, who knew the house was haunted and killed a dozen people, saw the ghost on the video, and went there to burn it down... why did he investigate the noise?
I also want to know why the ghosts made the particular noises they made. The production itself was okay so 2/5.
First Blood: Rambo - I was really surprised by this movie given it's reputation. I'm pretty sure nobody was actually killed by anyone else. And the ending was nothing like what I had expected, but it was alright overall. I can see this being a really fast-paced movie for it's time. 3/5
Twilight - Watched this for the explicit purpose of making fun of it with my brother and I suppose also to see how insane many girls in America are. It was terrible as expected, although Bella's friend was pretty good as a comedic side character, very much like Kristen Wiig. 1/5
The Fall - Not too terribly meaningful but incredibly endearing, genuine, and visually stunning. 4/5
Twilight - Watched this for the explicit purpose of making fun of it with my brother and I suppose also to see how insane many girls in America are. It was terrible as expected, although Bella's friend was pretty good as a comedic side character, very much like Kristen Wiig. 1/5
I need to see that one, just to see if it's as awful as the book.
Skjult - I quite enjoyed it, actually. Relied more on psychological horror than blood, gore and guts. It also had a slight Silent Hill-ish vibe to it IMO. 3.5/5
Watched on Netflix instant queue last night. I'm in love with Sally Hawkins. That is all. Oh, and the film was great as well. Made me all happy!
And then I followed it up with this, also on Netflix instant queue, which turned my smile upside down. An absolutely soul-shattering film. This is the first Romanian film I've ever seen and I'm glad I started with it. The controlled direction (awesome long takes), engaging story, and believable acting worked so well to create a stunning and devastating film. Highly recommended. Both films.
I have absolutely no idea what to think about this film. I liked it as I watched it, but I have no idea what to think about the ending. Has anyone seen this and could provide me with answers?
I have absolutely no idea what to think about this film. I liked it as I watched it, but I have no idea what to think about the ending. Has anyone seen this and could provide me with answers?
you can see the son of the married couple and the son of the man who kills himself talking to each other about something. Whatever it is we don't know, but it seems a bit conspiratory to me.
I take it the ending is whatever you think it means.
8.5/10
I have a pretty awesome Asian owned rental store near by though, they have a lot of foreign films for rent so I get a lot of my stuff from there as well.
