roseart

I just ordered:

- Big Bullet
- Legend of Zu
- Jakarata

because of what people of said in this forum. I am also looking at some others for my next order, and wanted to get some feedback on the ones I bought, and the one I am interseted in getting. (Trigger?)

Here are the others on my list to buy:

- Running Out of Time
- The Mission
- Beat
- Flying Dagger

These are recent movies that I liked, so it will give you a better idea of what I am interested in:

- Shiri
- Fireworks
- Battle Royale
- Brother
- Shoalin Soccer
- Hot War

Thanks in advance

tangno

just curious as to why you order from HKFlix is it because it is cheaper when you order a few movies at a time?

But I've seen Running out of time, pretty solid movie, kept me guessing alittle. Two good performances by the main stars.

roseart

To support DVDTalk, and I find their prices reasonable.

gabegarwick

Hehe, Looks like you're slightly ahead of me on a couple roseart.

I just got Big Bullet, Brother, Hot War and 10 or something others yesterday. I watched about an hour of Brother last night. I like it.

I own and have seen The Mission. I know that some have not cared for it. True, it did not have a lot of depth. And the transfer could have been better (Mei Ah). But, I still liked the movie. Has a good cast in it.
Two memorable scenes I liked from the movie (I think both were the main action sequences in the movie, imagine that)
1. The shootout outside the bar/restaurant place where they were pinned down for a while.
2. The scene in the mall.

I really liked the tempo of these scenes.

If you haven't yet seen Purple Storm, I'd definitely recommend it.

cheers,
Gabe

roseart

Thanks, Gabe

My brother showed me some scenes from PS a couple of months ago, and I loved it, but totally forgot about it, till you said something. THANKS

So, other than the 2 memorable scenes, was it a good ACTION/DRAMA the rest of the movie?

gabegarwick

I though it was good, yes. More drama than action (enough action to keep it moving along). Anthony Wong, Francis Ng and Roy Cheung too...

Have you seen Violent Cop (Kitano)? I liked it very much.
I also liked Nowhere To Hide a lot(Korean film). I can try to get a review up if you like...

Actually, check this if you like (my movies)
my DVD list
(the new/unwatched category, I can't comment on just yet

I imagine you've seen quite a few of them already, but feel free to ask about any that interest you.

cheers,
Gabe

Trigger

Running Out of Time is good
I was gonna suggest Purple Storm, but I see you've already decided on that.
I'd also add:
Time and Tide
Fulltime Killer
Attack The Gas Station
My Schoolmate The Barbarian
Tokyo Raiders
2000 A.D.
God of Cookery - Stephen Chow
King of Comedy - Stephen Chow

These I have but haven't watched yet. I've seen good reviews of them though, so they might be worth looking into:
Hit Team
Ultimatum
Double Tap
Big Bullet
Hot War

The rest are for consideration:
China Strike Force (if you turn your brain off)
Martial Angels (terrible movie, but hot girls)
And alot of people swear by Beastcops, but it seemed slow to me - I have to give it another chance at some point.
If you want a good drama - check out Ditto
Visible Secret is decent for a horror.
Gen-X Cops isn't that bad - but avoid Gen-Y Cops.

roseart

I just placed another order for Purple Storm & The Mission.

I have not seen Violent Cop. Because I liked Brother & Battle Royale, I got Gonin, Boiling Point, & Fireworks. I loved Fireworks, but wasn't that impressed with Gonin or Boiling Point. How is Violent Cop compared to these 2?

I would love a review for Nowhere to Hide.

roseart

I have seen Time and Tide, Attack The Gas Station, & Tokyo Raiders (loved this one), and liked them all.

After seeing Shoalin Soccer, I was going to look into other Chow movies. Could you maybe give a small review of God of Cookery & King of Comedy?

Also wouldn't mind a little info on Fulltime Killer & My Schoolmate The Barbarian, I haven't heard much about these 2.

My brother wasn't that impressed by 2000 A.D., but I wouldn't mind finding more out about it either.

Please let me know about these, when you get around to seeing them.

gabegarwick

Don't know how Violent Cop compares to the others, except for Brother (finished it last night). I haven't seen any of his others yet. Violent Cop was good, had lots of what I call 'space' in the movie. Similar to Brother in this aspect. 'Space' in the movie allows you time to think about what's going on and what the writer/director/et al. is trying to say. Not a fast paced film at all, this didn't stop it from having some faster paced scenes. As with Brother, Kitano's character often expresses his emotions thru silence, posture, and expression. The quality of the picture itself was lacking a bit, but then again, it was done in the early 80's I think.

I'll try to get review of Nowhere to Hide up before the weekend.
cheers,
Gabe

roseart

Yeah, it seems that the "space" you talk about, is in all Kitano's films. I will try Violent Cop....

I saw these on your list, and I was wondering if you could give me your take on God of Cookery & Gen X Cops...

Thanks

p1forest

I agree. While others haven't cared for the movie, I enjoyed it well enough (not great or anything, though). I especially agree with your opinion of the two scenes you mention. The tempo was pretty interesting, very different from most movies.


I'd add my support for these movies (at least the ones I've seen).

Purple Storm
Time and Tide (although some people bash it)
Full Time Killer
Attack the Gas Station
Tokyo Raiders
God of Cookery
King of Comedy
Double Tap
China Strike Force (like you said, turn your brain off)
Gen-X Cops - (like you said, not too bad)

Sounds like you and I have similar tastes; I'll check out the others you recommended that I haven't seen.

Roseart, I'd recommend most other Stephen Chow movies, when you consider than many of them are about $5-6 usually.

roseart

$5-6 usually???? They are $15.95 @ HKFlix, where am I going wrong???

gabegarwick

Hehe, I've got some of those other titles: need to watch still: Fulltime Killers, Double Tap, Hot War...

Tokyo Raiders: I 2nd that! I dug it too...

I will comment briefly on a few of the others I have seen though: Hit Team, God of Cookery, and Beast Cops. If you want more detail, ask

Hit Team: Setting= present. A decent flick, not quite what I would label 'top-tier' material though. Don't let that comment stop you from buying though.
One guy on a SDU squad gets injured and will be a permanent paraplegic if he doesn't have a very expensive operation in Switzerland soon. His squadmates try to scrape up the money for the operation but fall short. They then decide to pursue other means of financial supplement. (I don't want to spoil it for you). Transfer was good enough that I don't remember having any complaints. Recommended if you like police/swat action with a little moral dilemma thrown in on the side.

God of Cookery: Funny! Satire of Iron Chef (tv show) at times. Setting= present. Chow plays a chef. The most famous chef in Hong Kong. He is popular, and at the same time powerful. But he abuses his powers, is mean to the staff etc. One day his agent/mgr. & an apprentice of his set him up and destroy his image. He ends up penniless. He is befriended by a female street vendor and they try to predict the next food craze or new product. They do this and stage Chow's return/revenge. Cooking tournament at the end to regain his title. (Any guesses on who wins?)
Good transfer, bright clear pictures. -I cracked up laughing in this movie more than Shaolin Soccer. Highly Recommended.

Beast Cops: I have only seen Michael Wong so far in this movie and so am not fit to judge his performance here... Setting=80s-present. Anthony Wong plays a cop who likes to gamble in the backroom casinos. (underground?) He is roommates with Sam Lee, another cop. Sam chases girls all the time. Anthony doesn't seem to do much policing either. Then their new lieutenant shows up (Michael Wong). Anthony offers to let Michael stay in his apartment too. (a little crowded) The new boss (Michael) is big on policing. (You of course know that this will bring trouble with the mobs used to getting their way.) Then things get a little hairy as Michael starts dating a mobsters girl. Anthony's mob connections cause him troubles too. Lots of knife-play (machete-play too). All of this building up to a finale that was very well done. IMO, a movie that held together clear to the end. Movie felt slow in a few spots, but picked up again. Picture was a bit soft & muted colors in places. No harm done. "The egg-custard is very good here." {Awareness bulletin from Gabe: This movie is fairly violent & bloody in several scenes. Please choose target audience accordingly}
Highly Recommended.

Cheers,
Gabe
(I gotta get back to work!) {hehe}

rkndkn

Watched "Jakarta" twice within this past week. I enjoyed the structure of the film. This is a hard one to say much about without spoiling it. The second time, I appreciated the style of the film even more. A fun movie.

I'm another fan of "The Mission", although the picture quality IS quite horrid. I'd call it more of a drama than straight-out action. But I felt the contrast between these bodyguard's "slow" times, and the moments when they must suddenly spring into action, was what made it interesting.

I also enjoyed "Full Time Killer", especially the homage to "Point Break". Nice contrast between the personalities of the 2 killers.

gabegarwick

Okay, last one for now

Gen-X-Cops is the familiar basic police story. =(police must try to stop bad people after they have stolen the dangerous chemical/weapon/bomb/noodle). Okay, 'noodle' was a joke.

Setting= present. Anyway, Eric Tsang (short guy) plays Inspector Chan on the force. He apparently is prone to stress related nervous/mental breakdowns. (good performance by Tsang) He gets the run-around during the investigation (no assigned duties). He strikes out on his own with the goal to prove that he is a capable inspector. He sweet-talks 3 underdogs from the police academy into working for him. (Enter the young talents). Sam Lee, Nicolas Tse, Stephen Fung. A good motley trio. They go undercover and work their way into the bad-guys gang. Someone makes accusations that the 3 boys are working with the criminals. Inspector Chan is then officially removed from the case. The 3 end up wanted for murder. They still end up trying to solve the investigation. Setting=present day. Has a young/energetic pop culture feel to it. I have the Columbia/Tristar release, both original and english audio are available. Good picture quality. The 3 young actors on the police force also did almost all their own stunt work. There is a making of documentary...kinda cool to watch after the movie. Good energy displayed in the film. Some gun-play, some hand-2-hand, a couple bigger stunts. Oh yeah, and Jaymee Ong I think as Haze. (hottie) {did we forget her in the other thread Trigger?}
I kept putting off getting this for quite a while. I was pleased when I finally watched it.
Recommended.

cheers,
Gabe

p1forest

Sorry, I should have been more specific. Many of Stephen Chow's older and less popular movies are that cheap from stores in Hong Kong (HiVi Zone, DDDHouse, etc.). Of course, that means you pay more in shipping, also. However, if you buy enough DVD's at once, the savings per DVD offset the shippings costs.

tangno

roseart

thats why i asked you in the beginning how come you get it at HKflix, I see them at DDDhouse much cheaper then 16 dollars... I recently ordered two big shipments and received them very quickly probably due to the order being of 35 and 50 quantities.

but i like dddhouse and will stick by them unless i find another movie much cheaper somewhere else.

p1forest

Not to hijack, but mmmm........Jaymee Ong....Shame on you guys if you didn't include her in your thread

roseart

Yeah, I would like to use them, but right now I can only buy using PayPal, but when my $ starts to flow again, I will switch to DDD. To many good thing said about them not to.

roseart

Thanks Gabe

Just placed the following order:

Violent Cop
Gen-X-Cops
Fulltime Killer
The God of Cookery
King of Comedy

Trigger, no input????

Trigger

Geez - at least give me a few minutes to sleep and eat... I posted late late last night and normally I wouldn't be on again until like 11pm, but I was checking email and decided to come on here...

Anyway -
Well - God of Cookery defies description - it's a film best seen without knowing anything about it - it's the first Stephen Chow I saw and it's still my favorite. King of Comedy is a typical Stephen Chow and it's rather recent... it's got comedy, action, parody, romance and drama. He plays an aspiring actor who can't get a part and ends up falling in love with a call girl. Some people didn't like it so much, but these seem to mostly be people who had been into Stephen Chow for awhile when that came out and perhaps they were expecting more. I enjoyed it alot and that's why I'd suggest these 2 to start with because I think they are the ones that hooked me on the guy and made me purchase every film he has available on DVD.

My Schoolmate the Barbarian is a little hidden gem - I didn't know what it was about when I bought it, I just wanted to see it. I buy so many because they cost about what it would cost to rent them since I order from DDDHouse and I don't have any late fees and I don't have to give them back. Anyway - this one is about this rich kid having to change schools and by accident gets transfered to this school that would be the equivalent to the Bronx Zoo or East Compton High School. He quickly makes enemies and is forced to fight. They have these kung-fu matches after school on top of desks and they're quite brutal. The movie's plot was rather thin, but the action made it worth a thumbsup from me.

Fulltime Killer if you liked Running Out Of Time. It's another Andy Lau film, but in this he plays an arrogant hitman who wants to be considered the best at his job. It's a decent flick and surely worth your time. You'll enjoy it I think if you like Running Out Of Time.

2000 A.D. is kinda like Purple Storm, but it is more on the stylish side. It's kinda flashy - I enjoyed it... not a film that really stimulates your brain cells, but it's what HK cinema is all about. It's a really nice DVD as well.

No offense to HKflix - they're great (customer service is tops) for titles that DDDHouse doesn't have, but if you're placing orders of 15 or more DVDs - DDDHouse can't be beat in price. I've ordered most of my DVDs from DDDH and I'm sure I would've been able to only order like 1/3 or 1/4 as many if I had to go through Poker or HKflix. Example - I just ordered 13 DVDs from Pokerindustries and it cost just a little less than my order to DDDHouse for 50 DVDs. If I had ordered 50 DVDs from Pokerindustries, it would've cost me over $1000 but it only cost just over $300 at DDDhouse.

Anyway - I haven't seen Violent Cop, but that sounds like a solid order to me. Hope you enjoy. If you want more suggestions after you watch that stuff - let me know.

roseart

Thanks, Trigger and will do....

Klotera

About some titles mentioned in this thread:

*Purple Storm: Decent action/thriller movie that makes you question the morals of "reprogramming" a bad person to be good. But, it also felt a little hollow in that I didn't fell like I cared much about the characters. It's an solid movie, but after Shiri - it feels a little empty.

*King of Comedy - This is one of my very favorites. It's hilarious, has a great romantic story mixed with his desire to become a big actor. It's all just done real well and the film just has a certain feel to it that hits me. Cecilia is amazing in this movie, by the way. I liked Shaolin Soccer, but I still love this one much more.

*Tokyo Raiders - I really enjoy this film. It is just fun. The flash and stylish camera stuff is cool. It's got all kinds of twists in the plot, but this film doesn't take itself too seriously either. It's got a certain comedic edge to it. As soon as you see the first fight, you know its gonna be cool with all the stylish camera shots and the cool samba-techno music. I also enjoyed another Jingle Ma film, Fly Me To Polaris. So, between TR and FMTP I decided I should check out Hot War (also Jingle Ma). I should be getting that soon, and look forward to more of Jingle Ma's stylishness.

*Gen-X Cops - A lot of people don't like this film, but I love it. It is just pure enjoyment. It's got a solid story and some decent action. But, there are a few other traits that truly make it stand out. Number one is the bad-ass villain, played by Toru Nakamura. He is seriouly the most bad-ass villain I've seen in a long time. Second, all three leads are cool as hell and having characters that you like really helps. Third, it is stylish. Not stylish in a Tokyo Raiders way, but in a cool "Gen X" type of way. They manages to catch some style and flash from generation X while keeping this a solid and mature film, rather than a stupid tennie-bopper movie.

gabegarwick

Hehe, I just finished watching Hot War. I'll post my thoughts tomorrow. Just as a forewarning though. The voice track sounded like it was recorded with socks over the microphones. Muffled sounding. I had to change the audio profile on my receiver and boost the center channel to get acceptable quality. The movie itself was pretty good. Got better as it went along. Sheesh, there I go telling all about it. No more, the rest tomorrow.

sleepy sleepy,
Gabe