Trigger

Wonderful Days Korean Animation

Beautiful, fantastic, and brilliant. I don't understand why people say the story sucks - the story is great. Awesome animation too. The story isn't gonna change your life or anything, but it's certainly good - far from sucky. 8/10 -

I'm happy to expand on some of these reviews if anyone wants (or cares).

Trigger

Save the Green Planet - S. Korea

Ok - for some reason I thought this was going to be a comedy. It's not. There are some funny moments in it - enough to keep it just lighthearted enough to stomach. It is a gruesome film though - almost deep and thought provoking, but not really. It's one of those films that plays with your mind... there's a little bit of Misery and Silence of the Lambs in here. STGP has alot of tension and suspense and moments where it flip-flops on you just to keep you on your toes. I really liked it. I give it an 8.5/10 and a Definitely one to check out.

Sex is Zero - S. Korea

It is indeed a comedy pea in the same pod with American Pie and Porkys, but it can't sustain its... um... ahem - anyway, it's pretty funny. The third act gets a little too melodramatic for its own good, but Sex is Zero still manages to be a good flick. There's plenty of gross-out humor and genuine laughs to be had. The film does take a serious turn along the way and in true Korean cinema style, it goes a little overboard. Hollywood comedies that include drama are usually light enough on the drama, but those Koreans are really into their drama - and here it's layed on fairly thick. In the end, I did enjoy this film overall. I'd rate it a 7.5/10 and give it a .

mrwilson

Gruesome like Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance?

Heliosphann

Just watched this today!!! I agree with Trigger in that the Story isn't that bad. While very straightforward it's nothing new or revolutionary, but it remains entertaining (albeit suffers from the short run time and lack of character development, but hey it took them 6 years as it was). Speaking of the Animation... WOW. Amazing stuff. The blend of CGI, 2D (and a few live action set pieces) creates a highly stylized atmosphere that provides great detail and setting. The color pallete also goes from the most dirty browns and metallics to the lush colors of stained glass. The CGI provides a great sense of fluidity and movement while still remaining highly detailed and realistic.

This is a must see for any fan of animation... They didn't screen this for the Pixar employee's for no reason.

*NOTE ON DVD* Thought I'd add about the EXCELLENT quality of the 2-Disc Bitwin release. 16x9 Anamorphic transfer was close to flawless as far as I could tell. Everything looked crisp and colorful without any noticable compression errors. The DTS track $*&#ING ROCKED!!! Seriously, this was one the best DTS tracks I've heard. Great use of spacial effects as well as surrounds.


I'm going to watch Save the Green Planet this weekend, I'll write about it as well.

Trigger

I dont think I saw that flick.


re: Wonderful Days - I actually thought the story was full of symbolism and found it to be pretty deep (and yes, pretty simple) and I thought the characters were developed fine - sure, I would've liked a bit more on a few characters, but they weren't as important as individuals as they were as a whole. Focus on one or two characters more than they did and the message would've been lost. I'm thinking that this films biggest complainers (present company excluded ) either didn't understand it or they're just being nitpicky.

poncekim

Trigger, subs are available for little match girl.

I forgot where I got it, but it is available on a website that has tons of subs for asian movies. I found the link through asiandvd guide forum, as it was made by someone who posted there. I assume this is where the bootleg got its subs.

gabegarwick

I enjoy your reviews as always Trigger, thanks for taking the time to do them.

Okay, I'll skip Tube (heard mixed reviews, more bad than good).

Currently on my korean movie buy list:
-Save the Green Planet
-Kilimanjaro
-Marrying the Mafia ?(dunno about this one)?
-Whasango (Volcano High)
-My Sassy Girl
-Wonderful Days (cool looking anime -mixed reviews) Website w/ trailer

Interested in what you think of KT (Killing the Target). If my memory is correct, isn't that about an assassination plot? (It sounded interesting when I read the preview synopsis long ago) ---...Ah yes, found it , a synopsis may be read here

Cheers,
Gabe

poncekim

Yes, Save the green planet is gruesome like Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. There is quite a bit of beatings, torture and a moment of self-inflicted pain.

Trigger, you should catch SFMV.

Trigger

This guy is kinda a jerk... I don't feel comfortable ordering from him... his email correspondence leaves much to be desired.

poncekim - thanks for the subs heads up. I'll check it out when my disc arrives.

gabe - no problem... if I can spare someone from getting a bad movie, then I've done a good deed. Didn't I do a review for Marrying the Mafia? Could've sworn... Anyway - I'll get to KT sometime next week.

Trigger

I just watched another...

Can't Live Without a Robbery (a.k.a. Thief Maker) S. Korea

Wow. This is one fantastic film. If you liked My Wife is a Gangster, you should love this film. I can't think of a film that made me laugh this much short of a Stephen Chow movie. We had to take a break and go outside cuz we were laughing so hard. It kinda runs out of steam in the last 5-10 minutes, but not entirely. It's a great flick from start to finish. Lemme know if you wanna know what it's about or whatever, but I gotta highly recommend this flick and I give it a 9.5/10 and an enthusiastic

By the way - the DVD is really nice and has plenty of extras that are worth watching. Sound and video are both great and the subs are consistantly good. Ace for the DVD too.

jrutz

Thanks, Trigger. I'll have to add this to my short list. Cheapest place is DVDAsian.com, $19.95 (and in stock) in case anyone is interested.

Jeremy

Trigger

Yesasia has it for 18.95. That's where I got it.

jrutz

I looked on Yesasia and couldn't find a listing - not under Thief Maker, not under Can't Live Without a Robbery, and not under Totuk Matgon Motsara. Can you post the link, now that you have us DVDTalkers interested?

Personally, I prefer DVDAsian.com because their shipping is cheap and they ship from the US. But that's just me.

Jeremy

Trigger

http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.asp...ection-videos/

Try searching just the word 'robbery'

Yesasia has FREE shipping for orders over 40 bux. Can't get much cheaper than that.

eXcentris

FYI just got the 2 Juon tv movies I'm not too good at reviewing tech aspects since I'm not that fussy so I popped them in for a quick check and they look well... as if you're watching tv. Since these are tv movies I guess that's what one should expect. Picture was clear and I didn't notice any artifacts, shimmering, scratches, etc... certainly looks better than VHS. So I'm happy with picture quality. Subs are white with black border so they are easy to read. Sentences were gramatically correct without spelling errors, so good job there as well. Menus are the standard static type with music. Standard (subbed) options as well: Play Movie, Chapters, Staff, Trailers. Dolby Digital logo appears after the disc is loaded but pre-amp switched to Dolby Pro Logic when movie started. Not sure why that is... maybe someone else might explain.

So overall, I'm happy with the quality of these discs. My Malata had no problems loading/reading them. Haven't tried them in my Sony yet.

Ordered on the 15th, got them on the 23rd. A week is more than acceptable since I assume this is mostly a one man operation. Don't expect e-mail correspondence though. He doesn't seem to send order acknowledgments or shipping confirmations. This lack of communication might put some 1st time buyers off since you pay with Paypal as soon as you order. I had set a 10 day limit before I e-mailed him. Didn't have to do that.

For those who haven't read the 1st page of this thread, these were ordered from:

http://www.angelfire.com/ny/ctenosaur/dvd/

Trigger

Hmm... let us know if the movies are any good.

eXcentris

Now now, one thing at the time.

eXcentris

Ok, I watched both movies.

Ju-on (tv movie)

Man this is creepy as hell! It's very slow moving, the plot will make you go , but it succeeds in establishing a very tense and edgy atmosphere. The acting is very good and includes
Yanagi Yuurei (Ring, Ring 2), Chiaki Kuriyama (Battle Royale, she will also be in tarentino's Kill Bill), Yoriko Douguchi (Cure, Charisma, Tomie). The plot follows 2 timelines, that of the original family (mostly the boy) where the "curse" originated, and that of the family that occupied the house after them. Scenes switch from one timeline to the other which is rather confusing at times. Then for the last 1/2 hour, there's a third timeline (linear this time) about the realtor who is trying to sell the now empty house and knows of it's history, so he enlists the help of his sister who has some psychic powers. That last part is the weakest of the film.

Overall, extremely creepy and well done. If you are a fan of slow moving films like Ring, Dark Waters, and Kairo, who take the time to slowly build a creepy atmospheres you'll like this one. Despite the low production values (I think there's one CGI shot in this film, it's not only very apparent, it's also a lot more funny than it is scary ) Is has plenty of good scares and really gets under your skin.

Ju-on 2 (tv movie)

Picks up where the 1st one left off except that bummer! the 1st 30 min of the movie are just scenes from the 1st film (namely the 1st family and the realtor part, the 2nd family is omitted) that were put in there as a recap I guess... So you are left with about 40 min (the film is short) of "new" stuff. Essentially, the realtor has sold the house to a couple so you follow their story as well as that of the realtor, his son, his psychic sister, and his parents, all of whom now have to deal with the "curse". It's ok, but never manages to achieve the same tense atmosphere the 1st movie did. It has a coupe of good scares but overall it's far from the creepiness of the 1st one. So I'd recommend this one but only if you care to know what happens to the realtor and his family after the 1st movie ends.

P.S. Haven't seen Ju-on: The Grudge yet since that got held up at customs... YesAsia has reshipped this to me but I haven't got it yet. I don't know how much it copies from the original and if it actually explains the origin of the "curse" or if it just assumes that you've seen the 1st tv movie which the Japanese public probably did.

eXcentris

Now back to original Trigger programming.

Trigger

Heh... back to me. Thanks for the reviews... I guess I'll have to pick them up after all - although I might hold off until I hear your verdict on Grudge and see how it compares to mine.

Haven't watched anything yet - watched Steal It If You Can (Can't Live Without a Robbery or Thief Maker if you like) again... still stand by my assertion that it's a solid flick - wasn't as funny the second time cuz I knew it was all coming, but still a great flick. For those who have seen Neighbors (John Belushi and Dan Ackroyd) and 'got it' - you're likely to really dig this.

bobertkay99

Anyone know anything about English subs for Resurrection of the Little Match Girl? I also thought it had english subtitles.

mrwilson

The legit release doesn't have them.

bobertkay99

Is there a translation of the script or dialogue online somewhere? I would really like to know whats going on while watching.

Heliosphann

There's a perfect copy of the Korean EnterOne release availible with good english subs, easily obtained on Ebay. I usually don't buy boots, but since they decided not to put English subs on unlike almost every other Korean release... Their loss.

Not that I'd even recommend tracking down the boot because of the film... It's a complete utter mess and only fans of Korean cinema or people who are thinking about making a film and need to know NOT what to do should check it out.

Trigger

Oh - I'm looking for a DVDSubber file for Match Girl - anyone knows where to find it, let me know.


I watched one tonight:

Conduct Zero (Korea) (aka Manner Zero or No Manners, etc)

Bleh... the trailer was interesting enough, the film was just kinda allright with a cop-out ending. It's just about some school and some kid who's the king of the school. Rumors fly around the school about how much ass he can kick all the time and he's basically a slacker and a bully. Then 3 new people transfer to the school - two boys and a girl. One of the boys is a nerd, the other is a rival tough guy and the girl is also a nerd. The king falls for the nerd girl and the rival tough guy wants to fight him... blah blah - it's just kinda whatever. There were moments where the film looked like it could be really cool, but they just didn't follow through on any of it. It was kinda funny here and there, but nothing really gut-busting.

The DVD is really nice at least. I got it through Sensasian. It's only worth picking up if you're into mellow comedy/drama flicks. It's a 6/10 and a mild just cuz it didn't suck or anything - it just wasn't all that great.