i like it.

Like a supermodel. Beautiful and very slow.

Damn you Whitey, I dont have the internet at home so I cant order stuff. I've got to get that sorted.
When you say they're like the Evil Dead films what do you mean? Funny, cheesy?

Was that tetsuo : Iron fist? Either way thats the only one of them ive seen, pretty odd but pretty entertaining! Probably already been mentioned but audition is a must. Bought itchi the killer (live movie) recently, didnt think much of it. But still, the top spot for asian cinema and indeed cinema has to be battle royale for me. Ive still not watched number 2 yet after owning it for months and months for fear it will piss me off too much by being a substandard sequel trying to cash on a film that was so good it needed no sequel!

Battle Royal 2 is nowhere near as good as the first one. Its majorly bogged down with moralistic issues about terrorism.
Ichi rules fool. The anime is sick as well.
Audition is brutal. Its great how the story goes mad at the end. The sound of the leg being cut freaks me out. The woman is crazed as well "diki-diki-diki!"

I have seen Tetsuo:Iron man in both HMV and Virgin but is stupid prices at £20 so it stay on shelf. It tatty bonkers.

I watched Flying daggers and I didn't find it slow but I was disappointed by the ending as it promised lots and in the end kind of muttered the meaning out like a teenager saying sorry to his parents.

I liked Ichi.

In audition, I believe it's Kiri not Diki. Japanese for deeper so I'm told.

'house of flying daggers' suffered greatly from a re-write towards the end or pre-production / start of production, when anita mui was struck down by cancer (such a shame) and, out of respect, zhang yimao wouldn't re-cast, thus the final third of the film had to be changed considerably.

still, i thought it was pretty damn good.



as for 'tetsuo', you can get it from play for £7.99 - you could always place an order whilst onlie at work...



i wasn't really arsed about 'ichi the killer', saw the full version (available from all good dutch online retailers) a while ago and i wasn't really impressed. so, he made a film that was trying to upset a few people, it probably did, wahey...

I dunno if Miike sets out to cause a stir - the man's just bizarre - look at Gozu and Izo. I wasn't that fussed about Ichi, really. Although the tortue with oil was pretty shocking. And I liked that dude's cheeks.

Not at all, just in the respect that the second one is very similar to the first one.

Yeah,confirms that ive done the right thing by not watching it!

I have to admit i am still interested to see the anime ichi movei, just to see of it can better its live counterpart! Sorry, it just didnt grip me in the way most extreme films do.

The bit of audition that freaked me a little was the scene with the phone ringing, i wont say any more so i dont ruin it for thoes who havnt seen it yet and hopefuly you know the bit im talking about! I think the fact that it is so normal at the begining adds to the effect! It slowly decends with things getting odder and odder into pure horrific madness!

Watched Infernal Affairs last night. Absolutely loved it. I really wanna get two and three now.

Good stuff Jeff - Saw it at the cinema and bought the DVD ages ago and still haven't watched it. I must get round to that - the box is so shiny!

I saw this a while back. Beautifully shot and a pretty good plot, but I thought the showdown at the end was a bit drawn out. There is such a thing as milking a shot too much, y'know. By the way - which ending did you like the best?

I'm too much of a wimp to watch Ichi and Audition.... in fact pretty much any film that has Takashi Miike's name on the box... (I saw the trailer for Ichi and my stomach did a somersault.

Yes! Loved that film, I hope 2 and 3 are as good.

Battle Royale 2, a Royale pain in the arse. Didn't even watch to the end because it got so dull. I tried, i really did!

House of flying daggers, I liked it, some scenes are incredible, like at the peonie pavillion with the peanut game, that was awesome, but the bamboo forest scene left me a little disappointed, it was quite ambitious but I think they just wen t a bit too far. I think perhaps less wirework and CG would have benefited this movie but it was following a certain trend. This is perhaps wy i like ong bak so much, a refreshing change.

Also, saw Spiritual Boxer recently. I was a bit dissapointed, I've bever seen a shaw brothers movie before and was expecting a lot, but it didn't really deliver. It was good, but it wasn't a WOW film like I was expecting.

the first 'infernal affairs' is clearly the best, the second one is okay, if not slightly confusing in places. it helps if you're a big anthony wong and eric tsang fan (which i am) as it's mainly about their characters.

the third film is pretty poor, too much kelly chen (who i don't really rate), but tony leung is back in the fold, which is good. it's just a shame that it's filled with an extremely convoluted plot, some cod psychology and is generally a bit poor.

you should try dipping into some older hong kong thrillers;

'long arm of the law'
'the killer'
'a better tomorrow 1 & 2'
'fallen angels'



i never even bothered with 'battle royale 2' - it just looked so crap, i thought i'd save the time and money...

Give Dead or Alive a whirl

ED: Oh, and Happiness of the Katakuris...

Does it really matter. Less of the anal nitpicking please.

Watched Tetsuo last night... Demented is the word. I don't know that i've seen a film thats more messed up in my life.
The Ichi anime isn't a cartoon of the same plot, its a prequel of sorts which ends where the film starts. The film is based on a Manga by the way, Miike didn't make it up.
Also got Save the Green Planet over the weekend. Great stuff. A film with a message and messed up gore. Funny in places too.
Got infernal Affairs a while ago. Really cool. Need to get the sequels some time

Anal nit-picking is what I live for.

EDIT: Meant to add but was distracted by the anal: Zatoichi is brilliant. A must see film. Tale of Two sisters scared my girlfriend more than it scared me which is a first but it's still good though confusing in parts.

'save the green planet' is a very funny, if not very, very dark comedy. i like.

as i said before, the 'infernal affairs' sequels aren't really worth bothering with.

'a tale of two sisters' is excellent, as are all of kim woo-jin's films

'zatoichi' - the kitano version - isn't particularly good. it's okay, but it's no 'lone wolf and cub' and i hear that the original 25+ zatoichi films are much better. also, worst cgi blood in a film ever...

Thats reminded me, i don;t know why, of another good one, Twilight Samurai. I was a bit confused by the start but it soon broadens out into a wonderful film. Despite the name, there are only 2 fights in the whole thing if i remember rightly and our 'hero' doesn't really want to get involved in either. In on e he just uses a lump of wood thats lying around. But it such a good film, i can't recommend it enough.

Bullet proof monk......ha ha, just kidding its shit (and not even aisan cinema)

indeed, 'twilight samurai' is an excellent film, but it's a drama, so you shouldn't be too suprised by the lack of action.

on a related note, yoji yamada's new film (well, newish) 'the hidden blade' is getting it's r3hk release next thursday. plotwise, it sounds very similar to 'twilight samurai' - a struggling samurai becomes involved with a woman from an abusive relationship and get's drawn into the violence that dogged the end of japan's fuedal era.

still, i've heard that it's still excellent.

Yep, although the title suggests swinging swordplay and gruesome death duels

I can't remember if anyone's mentioned it, but I watched Joint Security Area again the other night, and I think it's absolutely brilliant. Park Chanwook's first film, and it's almost on a par with Oldboy - it leaves Sympathy for Mr Vengeance in the dust.

Speaking of ol' Park, is anyone going to catch Sympathy for Lady Vengeance at the London Film Festival?

I dont think I'll be able to resist getting Infernal Affairs 2 and 3. Need to see it so I can at least say that its shit.

I really enjoyed the new Zatoichi. Beat Takeshi rules. The old school Zatoichi films kick ass. Zatoichi at the Fire Festival is a classic.

'j.s.a.' - i still haven't got round to watching this, although i do like park chan-wook's work. as for 'oldboy' being a better film than 'sympathy for mr vengeance' ('sfmv'), i'm not sure i'd go along with that.

i enjoyed (if 'enjoyed' is the right word?) 'sfmv' a lot more than 'oldboy'. it's a much grittier, less commercial film, where as 'oldboy' is a very glossy and decidedly mainstream, considering it's subject matter. still, i'm looking forward to 'sympathy for lady vengeance' - the dvd hits in november - but not as much as i'm looking forward to his next two films.

one is a romance, between a girl in a mental institution, who's convinced that she's an android, and another patient. the other is a vampire film!

Watched DEAD OR ALIVE THE FINAL last night. The lesser of the three DOA films by far but still something there to enjoy, especially Riki Takeuchi's ever increasing quiff.

I agree that SFMV has more of an indie feel to it, but I think Oldboy is the better film. Both are pretty grim viewing, but SFMV doesn't feel like it gels as well - it feels a bit more like a series of set pieces that have been glued together (and I thought the ending felt a bit forced). It could also be that I admittedly have a bit of a soft spot for Oldboy, because it's one of the very few films that have blown me away in last five or so years.



Now those I have to see.

What did people who have seen it make of cashern? I seem to be more inclined to dislike it but it has its moments. I think i need to watch it again!

Watched it recently and was a bit dissapointed. It looked good, and as you say had its moments, but it wasn't very satisfying.

aah, 'casshern' was so hyped up last year, that when i finally saw it at l.i.f.f. it was pretty much an amazing looking let down. still, i got the thai dvd (a cheap port of the r2j release) and watched it again, after about six months.

without the burden of expectation, i really enjoyed it...

I think the suit the guy wore was one of the weakest aspects, it was supposed to be ultra strong metal but was clearly fabric. I liked, chunks of it, and some of the stuff that they never explained was interesting, like what WAS the black lightning bolts? All in all, I'd say worth watching, but not highly recommendable.

I pretty much agree with you guys - it looks good and has some fabulous moments but is ultimately disappointing.

There is not nearly enough action in something that is essential a superhero film - for all the long, dull character scenes there should have been some payoff. More frequently I find the pacing of Asian cinema difficult - with some notable exceptions - and I don't have any problem with my attention span. For me, they drag on unnecessarily. There is no need for character pieces to be this lethargic - just look at Sideways. Perhaps the problem was condensing the source material into a two-ish hour film - but again, something like Batman Begins shows there can be a balance between back story and development.

Jubei - I quite liked the suit - the fabric appearance of it actually enhanced the concept that it was some super-futuristic armour that didn't need to be bulky or made of metal plates.

You see, i thought it compared to the other effects it looked quite amatuerish (sp?).

One scene i thought was excellent was when he went crazy on the massed ranks of robots.

It actually reminded me of Sky Captain quite a lot. I guess it was the heavy reliance on CG, although in both of these films, I didn't see it as as much of a problem as, say, the Star Wars movies. It fitted with the look the film was aiming for.

I'm reminded of another scifi film with an alien ship or something which looked like a big bird, Returner i think? That was quite a poor film.

I don't think any of these have been mentioned (apart from Versus that is)

Happiness of the Katakuris - i highly doubt that that is spelt right, but its essentially a zombie musical. perfect. I thought it was by the same director as Versus, but i just checked and i think thats wrong. oh well.

Battlefield Baseball - now this IS by the same director as Versus. and its great. Roughly, its Shaolin Soccer but with baseball. roughly.

Wild Zero - Zombies. Bikes. Rock n Roll. What more is there to say?

The Isle - really surprised me in that i found it very moving and fairly disturbing. but i don't think i'll be going fishing any time soon.

yep, it's miike's remake of kim ji-woon's debut feature 'the quiet family' which, is great. i hear mixed reports on 'happiness of the katakuris' though...





actually, it's not directed by kitamura, but yamaguchi yudai - the co-writer of 'versus' and is, apparently, a whole lot of fun.





guitar wolf's own zombie film, you can't really go wrong...





when i think back to 'the isle', i remember it being quite a beautiful film. then, i think back to individual scenes and think of just how intense and often disturbing they were. great stuff, from a great director.

Love BB...again one of the most boring sports in the world makes a grat movie.




Must be the first rom-zom-com (or was that one of the Return Of The Living Dead sequels) but without a doubt the first first rock'n'roll-transsexual-rom-zom-com. Anything with Guitar Wolf gets an automatic high ranking in my book - sadly, with the passing of Bass Wolf the chances of a sequel are very slim

Indeed, i believe kitamura was the producer on battlefield baseball....i was just cutting corners before. honest!

oh, and i forgot Uzumaki the only film to include death by washing machine.

if anyone doesn't love sanjay gupta, they need their head checking, especially when his new film is;

'zinda'





has anyone seen 'kaante' or 'musafir'?

Ya know, that poster could easily have been for Oldboy.

indeed, now it's just a poster for the bollywood rip-off 'oldboy'...

this is a rather luke-warm response for the news that sanjay gupta, the most exciting bollywood director of our time, is about to re-hash 'oldboy', one of korea's biggest ever film exports...

i, for one, am very excited about this. i wonder if they'll keep the incest in?

To be honest, I have no interest in Bollywood films. So many constraints on the films content really limits things.

Watched a great film called "Born to Fight" on Saturday. Like Ong Bak but more of an action film feel. Loads of gunplay, full contact stunts and a cheesy but entertaining storyline. Great fight scenes as well.

things are changing, it's not all singing and dancing, although that's not always bad when it does happen. get yourself along to your local bollywood dvd emporium and give some sanjay gupta a try. 'musafir' - a reworking of 'u-turn' - is meant to be excellent, 'kaante' - a bastard remix of 'reservoir dogs', 'heat' and 'usual suspects' is a big bag of fun...

open your mind to bollywood...





i love 'born to fight' - i watched the un-subbed thai dvd at 0730 on a saturday morning, as soon as my postie brought it to my door. it's definately an action film, not a martial arts film, but it is choreographed and directed by punna rittkrai - the guy who 'discovered' tony jaa and choreographed 'ong-bak' and 'tom yoong gum'.

it's actually a remake of a film that he made in 1978 - 'gerd ma lui' - i have the thai vcd of the original, but i haven't got round to watching it yet. i've watched about half a dozen of his older films (quite a compliment to him as watching poor quality, unsubbed thai vcds is not usually my first choice...). some of his older films are poor, but there's a couple that are fantastic.

zing!

err, i mean zinda!!!

can anyone convert the trailer from real media to asf or quicktime?

thanks...

Got Oldboy, Sonatine, Violent Cop, Boiling Point and Hana Bi yesterday. Seen them all before but they're top quality so I had to buy them.
Also got Wild Zero and Junk. Will be watching those tomorrow, looks like some crazy shit.

Junk is a pretty enjoyable zombie fest. Wild Zero is just an absolute work of nutty genius.

Junk sucked. Wild Zero messed my mind up. Is that actually a hermaphrodite?

Got Happiness of the Katakuris. Wow. I actually laughed out loud. Great songs, visuals, cast and story. Among the best films I've seen this year.

You know how at the end/beginning of every year those bi-weekly magazines come out with an attachment to collect Stargate DVDs/Marvel Figures/Toy buses etc.

Well if you want to start a nice little Hong Kong film collection the "Hong Kong Legends" bi-weekly comes out at the end of the month - first 4 issues are

Fist Of Fury
Drunken Master
Once Upon A Time In China
The Killer

1st issues £2.99 then probably about £5.99 each after that.

http://www.deagostini.co.uk/hongkonglegends/

The Killer - excellent film.

Other 'heroic bloodshed' films to see would be Hard Boiled (the warehouse fight is awesome), A Better Tomorrow (the corridor scene is superb) and City on Fire (Tarantino nicked pretty much the whole plot for Reservoir Dogs from this film).