What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

[grim_tales]

Have you seen I Saw The Devil? Really dark but also a great film.

[Heka]

Sorry that I only review good movies. I blame Hung for this.

Versus (Japan, 2000) - 4/5
I don’t usually like zombie flicks but just add Tak Sakaguchi to any genre and you instantly make it things awesome. This guy (Tak) was some random chinpira (チンピラ) streetfighter picked up from the street to do some more fighting on the big screen. Most of his dialogue is Urusai! In different forms but that’s no problem since he’s very good at delivering that line. Fortunately for this movie CGI wasn’t that prevalent in the year 2000 so we get to enjoy the good old fashioned special effects.

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (Japan, 2003) - 4/5
I had my doubts about this movie but they turned out to be false. This movie was in fact quite sweet and grossly more realistic than many other works that deal with handicapped people. Speaking of this, I played through Katawa Shoujo a few weeks back. This movie made KS look like some fairy tale with its “American style” happy endings. The ending of the movie is very strong. Hungfist suggested I should watch this film with one girl I like. I don’t know if she would be happy or sad after seeing this. I guess the intro song is a good indicator that this movie isn’t all fun and games. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAYD9E0rr4c.

Ramblers (Japan, 2003) - 4/5
Well well, I was told that some people may find this movie boring. Apparently I’m not one of those people. This movie is 100% plot less wondering in a wintery Japan. This movie depicts real life more accurately than most movies. There is no plot in one’s real life either. The minimalistic humour in this movie might be lost on some people. If you want to find out how to make a good movie (comedy) with minimal plot and dialog check this one out.

Battlefield Baseball Japan (Japan, 2003) - ?/5
I really liked this movie but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. This is one of the most stupid movies I’ve ever seen. Fortunately the makers of this film know this and the movie does not take itself too seriously. The overacting done by the cast was hilarious. There are also plenty of jokes and gags that miss the mark, often by quite a lot, but when the credits roll the experience was vastly on the positive side. I would have watched this movie just for the on scene where Tak Sakaguchi starts spontaneously singing about some extraordinary stuff.

Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (Japan, 1981) - 4,5/5
This is Kitono’s Outrage with a lot less “Nanda kore!?” and a lot more eye candy. Hiroko Yakushimaru puts modern idols to shame. The 80s in Japan were a strange time since back then idols could both act and sing. Nowadays they usually lack both of these skills. The idea of a high school girl as a yakuza boss shouldn’t work but somehow it does. The normal Yakuza plot were almost everybody dies works really well in this movie. Kaikan!!

[Keung]

Peppermint Candy
- The most boring piece of shit I've ever seen.

Arahan - ★★½
- I wasn't watching most of the time. Texting, pausing for a smoke, etc...I'll give it another watch soon.

My Scary Girl - ★★★★½
- Brought a tear to my eye.

Seoul Raiders - ★★½
Ghost House - ★★★★

[gasteropod]

Seoul Raiders - ★★½

I recall being very disappointed with this, compared to Tokyo Raiders it was boring as shit.

[Yi-Long]

Arahan - ★★½
- I wasn't watching most of the time. Texting, pausing for a smoke, etc...I'll give it another watch soon.

I quite enjoyed the movie. A bit too much wire-fu/CGI at times, but the story was entertaining and the fight in the diner was absolutely amazing. A fun popcorn action-flick.

[Keung]

I'm really into Korean stuff lately.

Maundy Thursday - ★★★★

[Xenon]

Versus (Japan, 2000) - 4/5I don’t usually like zombie flicks but just add Tak Sakaguchi to any genre and you instantly make it things awesome. This guy (Tak) was some random chinpira (チンピラ) streetfighter picked up from the street to do some more fighting on the big screen. Most of his dialogue is Urusai! In different forms but that’s no problem since he’s very good at delivering that line. Fortunately for this movie CGI wasn’t that prevalent in the year 2000 so we get to enjoy the good old fashioned special effects.

At least someone on this forum has taste...

[gasteropod]

Natural City (2003) - 2/5

Korean Blade Runner with melodramatic music and slow motion, meh.

[Heka]

Karate Girl (Japan, 2011) - 1/5
The biggest problem with this movie is that the kicks and punches in it do less damage than I did to Hung's apartment in five seconds when we had to move around some furniture. Call me a savage but I would have liked to see some 70s Chibaesc violence spiced up with some good old titillation. I also have to mention that I was slightly lost in translation since roughly 80% of the movie lacked subtitles because of a curious turn of events. Then again it's not like the dialogue in this movie is anything too special that is absolutely required to understand what's going on. The one point is for Rina Takeda who's gorgeous and talented, maybe not as an actress but in many other ways. I would much rather see her fight for real than on the big screen.

Hokuriku Proxy War (Japan, 1977) - 5/5
Maybe the reason why KG got such a low score from me was the fact that the movie I saw at Hungfist's place few days prior to it was Kinji Fukasaku's Yakuza masterpiece Hokuriku Proxy War. The eternal winter of the movie resonates really well with the Finnish audience and the work done by Hiroki Matsukata in the lead role was excellent. The classic yakuza story where everybody tries to screw each other over works well and keeps the audience guessing what is going to happen next and who is going to get killed in some gruesome fashion. I also have to give some special praise to the lovely Yumiko Nogawa who plays the role of a perfect yakuza "wife".

[gasteropod]

The biggest problem with this movie is that the kicks and punches in it do less damage than I did to Hung's apartment in five seconds when we had to move around some furniture.

[grim_tales]

The biggest problem with this movie is that the kicks and punches in it do less damage than I did to Hung's apartment in five seconds when we had to move around some furniture.

That made me laugh as well

[HungFist]

Karate Girl (Japan, 2011) - 1/5

Oh man, how can a man be so lost...

Reasons why KG is good
- Features two lovely girls beating guys up!
- Even though the fights are over choreographed and not "real fighting"　(how many movies are?), they're a lot of fun. The 13 year old Hina Tobimatsu especially is amazing doing all her stuff without wires or special effects.
- Tatsuya Naka and Richard Heselton kick major ass, and the final fight is very atmospheric.
- The dialogue is full of awesome cheesy lines, like "she's a real female dragon", "she's a super karate shoujo", and "Kuranai karate is a superior thing" (bad guy's last words after he's beaten)
- Old school "space-sounds", awesome end kill, and maniac villain laughter that could've come from Bin Amatsu's mouth
- Rina's theme song

The lack of power is true, though, and occasionally distracting, but never mind. You can't expect too much from teenage girls, especially with Hina being 13...

In conclusion I might quote my review from last summer:

"Someone could of course complain Takeda and Tobimatsu don’t have half of Sonny Chiba’s killing power. But Chiba never had school uniform. Case closed!"

[HungFist]

Here's the lovely end credits from K.G. with sparring and behind the scenes footage:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pePwXv-Y7SM

Note that Hina does her action in very long takes. It's a shame the film features more edits than were used when filming it...

[Keung]

Sympathy For Lady Vengeance - ★★★★★

[Heka]

Hazard (Japan/USA, 2005) – 4,5/5
Sion Sono is a cool dude. This is kinda like GTA the movie, wacky characters in an over the top New York. I’m quite sure that the Americans couldn’t make a movie like this. Come to think of it I doubt anybody else than Sion Sono could have made a movie like this. Like in all the Sono movies I’ve seen the ending is really strong. I think sometimes we all would like to fly and to most of us this movie is the closest we get to actually doing it.

[HungFist]

the lovely Yumiko Nogawa who plays the role of a perfect yakuza "wife".

This is the difference between us - I was just bored with Nogawa, but find Yoko Takahashi (高橋洋子) absolutely adorable





Heroes Shed No Tears (Kong Kong, 1986) – 4/5
John Woo’s terrific jungle actioner is one of the manliest movies ever made. Gambling, girls, guns, drugs and some of the most impressive pyrotechnics to be found anywhere. Even the character of foreign solder is one hellava cool dude! It’s basically a reverse hit team film where a group of badasses armed to the teeth capture a drug lord and get a small army after themselves. Shot in beautiful landscapes, with almost non-stop action (only interrupted by a more comedic middle third), and touching macho family drama. This is to guys what Titanic is to the girls! Plus, it’s so violent the film wasn’t released until two after it was made. Rarely seen but always loved, as some wise man once put it.

Hazard (Japan, 2002/2005) – 4.5/5
Sion Sono’s utterly fantastic New York film is the archetype of a movie the Japanese Government prays no one would make. Sono went to New York to find the dirtiest streets to let his Japanese punks on the loose. Shot mostly guerilla style, with hugely energetic camerawork and amazing performances, it’s probably the best Japanese gang film since Kinji Fukasaku’s best days in the 1970’s. A super grainy yet beautiful film that, like Dirty Harry might say, slanders all nationalities and races evenly. Jai West’s insanely energetic performance as a Japanese-English mixing punk is the film’s brightest highlight. Fun fact: Sono originally went to NY to shoot a flashback for his Tokyo S&M murder case film. When he came back, he had a NY film in his pocket, and no Tokyo film was ever shot. Then the producer took off with the money gansta style and the release was delayed by years!

[Markgway]

I'd love to see Woo's original cut of Heroes... Sunset Warrior.

[grim_tales]

I didnt know that there was another cut, Mark.
Heroes... was very good, I've been meaning to pick it up

[Xenon]

The Tigers (1991) - mediocre cop drama with some OK action at the end. Could/should have been much more. The broken subtitles on the DVD didn't help, either. 5/10

Death Trance (2005) - decent action scenes, and not much anything else. It's hard to care for the action when whole movie is a gigantic mess with failed humour, "meh" characters, annoying little girl and uninteresting story. Throw in some shitty and pretentious drama at the end and you get one huge stinker of the movie. Versus 2 this is not and does not even come close. 3/10

Dangerous Cops (1987) aka Abunai deka - well this was certainly painful to endure. The main characters look cool but unfortunately act retarded, the humour is super unfunny and made me cringe most of the time, the "action" is boring and the story convoluted. I really should stop picking my movies based on the DVD covers and cinema posters... Couldn't even sit this one through. Dropped it after an hour or so. 1/10

[HungFist]

I'd love to see Woo's original cut of Heroes... Sunset Warrior.

I heard the studio was a bit rough on Woo's vision... that being said, I'm not sure whether Woo's version would be better. The current version is terrific, and some of the stuff that Woo apparently opposed (the drug scenes?) is among the film's highlights.

A bit odd to hear Woo calling this his first real movie... considering he already made the fucking fantastic Last Hurrah for Chivalry in the 70's... I don't know how much of Hurrah was his handicraft, but I'd definitely rank it among the best wuxia films of all time.

Japanese Wife Next Door (Japan, 2004) – 2/5
Director/actor Yutaka Ikejima (Blind Love’s main character) over-praised pink comedy stretches the limits of softcore. The sex filled, near hardcore comedy does have its share of hilarious humor and surprisingly competent comedy performances, but overdoses the sex and manages little else. At 60 minutes it loses its interest before the epic climax.

Death Trance (Japan, 2005) – 4.5/5
Back on the radar with the underwhelming Yakuza Weapon, it’s a good time to revisit Tak Sakaguchi’s best film, Death Trance. A brief look at the character list says it all: Grave, Mountain Bandit, Capoeira User, Fallen Angel, Ninja B, Flying Vampire, Goddess of Destruction... Directed by Japan’s most interesting action choreographer Yuji Shimomura, it’s a nuclear reactor of Japanese martial arts films. Fans of high flying Hong Kong action or gory and ultra-stylised posing will be disappointed, though – even despite its various fantasy elements Death Trance is a more realistic, hard core fighting film than most genre pics. Stylish forest-punk, the lack of comedy and CGI in action (the overtly sexual final fight aside), and Sakaguchi’s slightly Chiba esque performance add to the action fest. A Versus beater? Yes!

Hokuriku Proxy War (Japan, 1977) – 4.5/5
Kinji Fukasaku’s swansong for jitsuroku yakuza films excels with its memorable setting. In Hokuriku it’s constantly windy, snowing, and freezing cold, and the yakuza are even more brutal than in Hiroshima. Hiroki Matsukata, who was one of the most important jitsuroku actors, does excellent job as opportunistic yakuza willing to betray almost anyone to make his way to the top. Sonny Chiba pops up in a supporting role as big shot yakuza. Strong storyline, good balance between hectic violence and moodier bits, and yet another ballsy as motherfucker score by Toshiaki Tsushima. Some comedic touches and over-acting by some of the supporting cast slightly weaken the impact of what is one of Fukasaku’s best movies.

[Heka]

Heroes Shed No Tears (Hong Kong, 1986) - 3,5/5
Watching too many Lone wolf and Cub movies has changed my view on movies like this. The action is top notch, certainly some of the best ever put on film. The problem is that sometimes the film borderlines on ridiculous. For example the scene in the end where there is a tragic confession of love. This scene actually made me laugh for all the wrong reasons. I know it's kinda pointless to review the storyline and drama in a John Woo movie but I can't help myself. What I meant by that Lone Wolf thing I nowadays prefer the emotionless hero who is stoic in every situation. Plus that kid was an annoying fuck. I give special praise for that one American dude who was living the Southeast Asian dream.

[thelostdragon]

All that 'Hero Shed No Tears'-talk.
http://youtu.be/M0HUoJ2Ecp8

[Keung]

Once Upon A Time In High School - ★★

The spirit of Bruce Lee lives on? Bollocks...

[Heka]

Bounce Ko Gals (Japan, 1997) - 4/5
Fuck yeah, finally a movie about girls who engage in dubious business and still live a happy life. The twisted Christianity based morality of the west dictates that all "bad girls" need to suffer a bad faith. The Japs look at the problem of loneliness and selling company very differently. Tokyo is again like another planet with its 24/7 hectic pulse. I really like how the story of the movie happened in a very narrow window of time. This movie really makes me want to see Tokyo. It's also very likely that I will in the near future if everything goes according to plan.

Hard Revenge Milly (Japan, 2008) - 2,5/5
I have to admit I was way too tired when watching this movie. Me and Hung actually had to go to the convenient store to buy some cheap green tea to keep me awake while watching this. Milly (Miki Mizuno) looks nice and can swing her weapons but the cheapness of the production shows. For example, I have no idea where these low budget Jap films get the cameras, lighting and lenses that make their films look super yellow and devoid of natural light. Nishimura did good work with the splatter effects.

Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle (Japan, 2009) - 4/5
Well this movie was a clearly better effort from director Takanori Tsujimoto. Surprisingly having a real budget really helps. Who would have thought? The gear porn in this film is really good. So many different gas masks, webbing sets and guns. Things like that fill my heart with joy. The doctor character (Masahiro Kômoto) is a blast. So is the incredibly gay bad guy (Kazuki Tsujimoto). The action has also been stepped up a notch and I could swear that Miki Mizuno has spent some time in the dojo working on her moves.

[HungFist]

Hard Revenge Milly (Japan, 2008) – 3.5/5
Takanori Tsujimoto’s 45 minute contribution to the neo-action double feature series, unevenly paired with the family friendly tokusatsu adventure The Masked Girl. Tsujimoto’s film is a mini-budgeted, but relatively stylish revenge film with a hefty load of handmade gore by Nishimura Eizo, and some promising action. The film’s strength, however, is Miki Mizuno’s ice cold performance as a woman hunting down the brutes who slaughtered her family. The uneven soundtrack features some stand out bits.

Hard Revenge Milly: Bloody Battle (Japan, 2009) – 4.5/5
A bigger budgeted, 75 minute running sequel improves on almost all areas. The visual design is very stylish with an atmospheric mixture of post apocalypse and Japanese cyberpunk, the gore is very impressive, and the gunplay / nunchaku / katana /martial arts action downright terrific. While Mizuno is no real life martial artist, she keeps up with Kensuke Sonomura’s terrific choreography quite well. The storyline has lost some of its kick, but supporting characters (awesome gay villain + loads of gas mask wearing underlings) compensate. Excellent ending theme, too, plus some very moody scenes in a gun shop. An ultraviolent and ultrastylish action thriller, one of the best Japan has produced in decades.

Bounce ko gals (Japan, 1997) – 4.5/5
Masato Harada’s enjo kosai film with an odd balance between fresh, naturalistic expression and heavy socio-politics. The latter could trash the entire film, with half of the dialogue feeling more like spoken for the audience than natural interaction between characters. The method is taken far enough to become an acceptable stylistic choice and give some scenes a documentary feel – and a strong sense of a director who has something to say. Balancing the table is a load of very natural and lively scenes and fantastic Tokyo night imagery. The outcome is more accessible than Hideaki Anno's experimental but (at least) equally impressive Love & Pop, which essentially told the same storyline but without any of Harada's underlining and explanations.

Bounce ko gals holds a special place in my memories for being one of the first Japanese films I ever saw – something that made a 14 year old small town kid think there’s something fascinating about that strange, sick and beautiful culture. 11 years later, I’m a month away from moving to Japan – for the second time.



I apologize for the constant high ratings, but we're having a fucking epic movie week with Heka!

and dammit, heka was faster cause he doesn't take screencaps