slop101

Nope. I personally hated it. And I think it got worse as it went, especially the 2nd season. I watched the whole thing, hoping it'd get better, and it didn't. Most of the people who watched the whole thing felt the same.

sleepyhead55

So the second season was worse than the first one? I had a real hard time finishing off season one on Netflix. Too bad because the premise was interesting. When I finished watching Season one, I just thought what a giant waste of time I had just spent watching all those eps.

hanshotfirst1138

Aren't the scenes from the longer cut included on the DVD as "deleted scenes?"

I'm still a purist who thinks there was no reason for the new score, but whatever. What's wrong with the transfer? It's odd that US DVD is the one to preserve the original score.

I think in martial arts cinema, after Jony Jaa Panom and Jeeja Yanin, Iko seems to the next big thing at the moment.

flixtime

Pieta (2012 - South Korea) - A major prize winner at the Venice Film Festival, this is the latest - his 18th - film from acclaimed director KIM Ki-duk. The story revolves around a barbaric loan collector/enforcer running roughshod over a downtrodden machine shop district and a mysterious older woman who inserts herself into his life. The promo artwork obviously plays heavy with Christian imagery - the Pieta sculpture, Jesus, and the Virgin Mary. To my eyes, I'd put forth that PIETA can better be described as the deconstructed, from-hell, bastard offspring of A CHRISTMAS CAROL/SCROOGE. I can't say for sure that I would have made that connection if I had viewed PIETA at any other time of the year besides during these last few weeks in December, but I think that relating PIETA to A CHRISTMAS CAROL/SCROOGE is a fair claim to make. That being said, the first forty minutes didn't do a whole lot for me...just another Korean exercise in pointless on-screen misery. However, after that, the story/characters find footing and I found the film quite captivating - in a "I'm real curious to see how this all plays out" way - over the final hour...so I was quite pleased with the final hour of the movie, though I would have preferred some reworking of the climax. The film did receive a lot of attention because of the assorted acts of violence throughout the runtime. I do think it would have been a better overall experience if some of the violence, and primarily the sexual violence, masturbation scenes, implied animal violence, etc. had been omitted. I don't think the scenes added anything to the experience besides being there for shock value. As such it made the film feel like the work of a wild child, attention-seeking, upstart filmmaker (aka maybe early KIM Ki-duk) versus being a more mature, established, confident 18th work from an International master. Those who had an interest in recent Asian mayhem such as I SAW THE DEVIL, BEDEVILLED, CONFESSIONS, REVENGE A LOVE STORY, etc. might find PIETA too of interest as it can be lumped into that group in terms of story. I would note though that PIETA - with regard to production values/technicals - is very much low-budget, indie in nature (so don't expect anything like the polish/craftsmanship of something such as the director's 3-IRON).

flixtime

To revisit some earlier posts:

DVDTalker hanshotfirst..."yup" I believe the deleted scenes from MERANTAU likely represent the bulk of the cut material (and perhaps all of the cut material). My comment with regard to THE RAID transfer is simply based on some the reviews I read...they seemed less than enthusiastic...A/V aspects don't interest me as much as many, so I was perfectly content with the quality of the Blu. Also, with regard to the musical score of THE RAID, I prefer the original music because it seems less intrusive.

DVDTalker eXcentris, not to be a wisenheimer, but with regard to your request for Asian cinema recommendations...I'd say you ain't missing much...lots of the same old same old...actually an "Asian" recommendation that might prove most satisfying is the Hindi film KAHAANI (be careful reading about it as it is spoiler sensitive). Of course, you should consider THE RAID...I didn't care much for it at all...but most others seemed to very much like it. Actually with regard to THE RAID, I thought both ATTACK THE BLOCK and LA HORDE were much better offerings in terms of the seige setting.

And to follow-up on FORBRYDELSEN and the U.S. remake THE KILLING which a few of you have talked about. I did recently watch the first two seasons of FORBRYDELSEN. I came away highly impressed. I watched the first episode of THE KILLING and it - in terms of the performers - simply cannot match the excellence of the original Danish cast. As to FORBRYDELSEN there are some points that might lead one to not enjoy it...but they are "nature of the beast" issues which I don't think could have been avoided. Since it concerns a murder investigation that plays out over twenty episodes, you do have to sit through the elimination process with regard to suspects...after watching the first few episodes, I didn't think the show could sustain things over twenty episodes but thankfully I was wrong in that regard. While having a natural/realistic procedural quality to the investigation, the show does certainly have that "entertaining" giallo-esque quality that presents every new character in a "guilty", point-your-finger-at-the-screen-saying-he-did-it-he-did-it light. But again I thought this helped the "fun" factor while not diminishing the great poignancy of the actual murder case. A significant complaint might be that there are a few investigative trails that likely needn't have been explored if folks just spoke up. For instance, if I were being investigated for murder, I'd be rather forthcoming to get myself out of things, so if disclosing that "I wear pink-ruffled, granny panties" was required to eliminate myself from investigation then I'd be rather cooperative in that regard. So, yeah, there are some times when an investigative angle leads to nowhere after a few episodes...you do have an unpleasant aftertaste in the sense that you believe the character being investigated should simply have disclosed his/her "secret" much earlier instead of being so evasive and uncooperative over some minor personal embarrassment, issue of privacy, etc. But again, this sort of storytelling might be necessary to sustain things for twenty episodes...aka a "nature of the beast" issue. All that being said, those that might have been bothered more by these issues, would likely find Season 2 of FORBRYDELSEN a more satisfying experience as a lot of those complaints are greatly diminished in Season 2 (only ten episodes)...at the same time Season 2 lacks the great emotional hook of the murder case from Season 1. FORBRYDELSEN (at least based on the first two seasons) is highly recommended in my book.

flixtime

The Concubine (2012 - South Korea) - Latest entry in the period, costume drama genre...unsurprisingly involving royal court scheming and assorted dirty doings. It was quite decent enough. The intrigue revolves primarily around four main characters and perhaps another half-dozen supporting players. A main drawback is that you don't really have any clear protagonist to latch onto and thus give you a rooting interest...you're just sort of detached while watching the trainwreck of goings on. THE CONCUBINE isn't in the league of something like THE SERVANT or A FROZEN FLOWER. Still, genre fans should find it satisfying enough.

flixtime

The Taste of Money (2012 - South Korea) - Curiously this felt a lot like the previous movie - THE CONCUBINE - instead of a period setting though, this felt like a royal court drama except in a modern setting...in this case a super rich, blue-blood family, and just as in THE CONCUBINE here too you have a queen bee type matriarch lording over everyone. This is Director IM Sang-soo's most recent following on THE HOUSEMAID remake from a couple years back. Those who have seen that movie will find a lot familiar here in style and setting and tone...including the antiseptic and clinical and icy feel of the main setting - the family home. Basically the story follows our protagonist - a young male family assistant - as he is indoctrinated into the decadent lifestyle of this rich family...the film follows him as he searches his soul and must decide whether to yield to temptation or leave it all behind. The pacing is certainly measured, and there is some ample sex in the opening half-hour. I found the film enjoyable mostly for its atmospheric environment. There is a fair amount of English spoken, primarily in scenes with a Filipino housemaid (yes, she gets naked) and also another American business partner of the family...the usage of so much English did sort of break the atmospheric mood I thought. All this being said, there is a huge problem...the movie totally fizzles out over its final quarter...so much so that the entire experience evaporates to nothingness (kind of like how I felt about DJANGO UNCHAINED). I don't recall rating THE HOUSEMAID remake much beyond okay enough, but it is certainly the preferable viewing option when measured against THE TASTE OF MONEY.

A couple of points of interest...both versions of THE HOUSEMAID make appearances in this film, they are the movies playing on the screen in the family's home theater.

And a much more notable point of interest...I expect most of you are familiar with the name Darcy Paquet...of koreanfilm.org fame. Well, you know that American business partner I mentioned earlier (the character's name is Robert Altman by the way), well that character is played by Darcy...not a bad looking fella. And you know how I mentioned the ample sex early in the film, well Darcy actually gets in on the action...chiefly, a barely-clad hottie riding around on Darcy's back while he is crawling around on a bed in his underwear. And later, well, I'm just wondering if Darcy used a body-double or if that is indeed his bare bottom on screen. Man, after all these years reading his site and his reviews...it just feels totally strange now.

flixtime

Still a lot of catching up to do with regard to Korean films released in 2012, but as of this moment, I'd say my top three are:

1) AS ONE - entirely commercial and formulaic and covering well-worn ground with regard to North Korea - South Korea "can't we all just get along" territory...still I found it highly entertaining. Unlike a past top pick such as POETRY, I can't say that AS ONE would hold as much interest to International audiences, but as a fan of Korean cinema I was quite pleased by it.

2) ARCHITECTURE 101 - First off, HAN Ga-in just might be the most beautiful woman in film as of this writing. It was really nice to see her after so long. Some might recall her as the female lead from ONCE UPON A TIME IN HIGH SCHOOL from 2004. Well, eight years later, this is only her second film credit (it seems she married well - and spent her time with TV work). The director is LEE Yong-joo and this is the directorial follow-up to 2009's underappreciated horror film POSSESSED (if you like horror film then do check it out). I can't say that ARCHITECTURE 101 was anything special either...the film alternates between the present day and flashback scenes. The flashback portion is a coming-of-age romance...while the present day section is sort of about trying to see if life offers any do-overs. While I enjoyed the film, it also felt like nothing really special either....yet, once the entire movie was complete, it curiously settled with a much greater weight...at least for me...the sort of thing where an air of melancholy settles over you as you relate this film to your own life and your own past and wonder about words not spoken, paths not taken, what might have been, etc. Thus, maybe this film will play better to a slightly older audience.

3) ROMANCE JOE - now I'm not sure if I should count this as a 2012 release since that is the date of its general release in Korea or go by its festival release date of 2011. This was somewhat the opposite of ARCHITECTURE 101 in that I found myself involved in the viewing experience, but then the movie ends and leaves you with sort of an empty, oh well, I wish there was more feeling.

I'm not saying that anyone should run out and grab the above three, simply saying that so far they are the best of 2012 in Korean cinema (though not up to the best of year's past...and just one more note, MY WAY would have been there but it is a 2011 release)


What else...I watched UNBOWED and find some of the positive reviews it has received to be rather headscratching. It's basically entirely uncinematic...a so-so, TV-grade courtroom drama...I'd say skip it. Also watched DERANGED...it was okay enough but you wouldn't be missing anything either if you bypass it.

Also watched the three-hour and nineteen minute arthouse offering CAFE NOIR. I don't generally like to label anything as "pretentious" but that low-hanging fruit is something I can see being grabbed at to describe this film for sure. Let's just say that if Tarantino mines genre/cult fare for inspiration, then the director here has interests that are more cultured and high-brow (or artsy-fartsy if you're inclined to go the "pretentious" route). The film is split with the first half on Disc 1 of the set, and the second half on Disc 2. They are connected through the male lead but I can't say that the film really comes together as a whole...it is somewhat more like watching two separate films in a way. One point to note...the first half is in color while the second half is mostly in black-and-white (not sure if it is actual black-and-white, leaning that they shot in color and just drained it to be black-and-white). I liked the first two-thirds of the Part 2 the best. It is basically a Korean rendition of LE NOTTI BIANCHE (which was also recently done by India as SAAWARIYA)...or for you bibliophiles Dostoevsky's WHITE NIGHTS (and this book is actually shown on-screen to start Part 2). Anyway, I came away from CAFE NOIR rather satisfied...again not much in terms of any story or character resonance...but thankfully there was a lot in terms of individual scenes which I appreciated...more of it worked than not worked. I enjoyed the director's selection of music and there is a nice dance number performed during the LE NOTTI BIANCHE-like portion. But yeah, CAFE NOIR, is entirely one for the seasoned arthouse crowd.


On a non-Korean note, and to follow-up on an earlier post, I'm past the halfway point on Denmark's FORBRYDELSEN Series 3 (supposedly the final series), and - as was the case with the earlier seasons, I'm quite enjoying this one as well...essential viewing for fans of the mystery crime genre.

sleepyhead55

flixtime,

Have you seen the Thieves? It's coming out on BD in a few weeks and I'm thinking of blind buying it since I love heist films. I've seen comparisons to Oceans 11 (Clooney version) and while I think those films are OK, I don't love them.

flixtime

Greetings sleepyhead, haven't caught THE THIEVES yet...slated to do so during my next wave of Korean viewings.

I did watch THE GRAND HEIST...it too is a lightweight caper entry from South Korea...made more interesting by its period setting...and certainly a branch off the OCEAN'S 11 tree. While it was quick-paced and entertaining enough, it also had too much lowbrow humor...mid-grade at best and disposable fare.

Also caught Thailand's RED EAGLE 2010 from director Wisit Sasanatieng (TEARS OF THE BLACK TIGER, the nicely done CITIZEN DOG, THE UNSEEABLE). I believe the only English-friendly release is the Taiwanese DVD. I did once see a U.K. pre-order DVD but it disappeared later. RED EAGLE is a reboot of a previous line of Thai films from forty years ago. The filmbizasia review of this masked crimefighter film is entirely accurate, so I won't offer much more, except that purely in terms of entertainment value I'd grade it out a little better than did filmbizasia. Yeah, the film has all the problems described by filmbizasia...but somehow - in terms of entertainment value - it added up to slightly more than the sum of its parts.

As to TV viewings, once I wrap up FORBRYDELSEN III, I'll likely move on to Germany's IM ANGESICHT DES VERBRECHENS aka IN THE FACE OF CRIME...revolving around the Russian mob in Germany.

Also debating whether to jump in on Denmark's BORGEN now or wait until Series 3 is also released down the road.

flixtime

Finished up the third and final series of FORBRYDELSEN. I preferred it over the second series. The third series doesn't bring anything new to the table not seen in the previous two series, and some might be disappointed in that it feels too reminiscient of the first series. For me personally that is the main reason I preferred series three over series two.

As I mentioned previously, there are some issues that might not work for some...the "nature of the beast" type issues that I mentioned as being prevalent in series one, well there is quite a bit of that "curious withholding of important information" type stuff in the final four episodes. I'm okay with that aspect because I felt it was, for the most part, acceptable in order to increase the "entertainment" value of the show. Also, there is a "realism" issue in series three...has to do with a character getting shot and not really exhibiting any ill effects in following episodes. So if you are expecting a more realistic crime series like THE WIRE, then maybe certain aspects of FORBRYDELSEN will annoy you. All-in-all, I was very happy with the show...it certainly reset my Euro-crime journey back to equilibrium after the awfulness of the two French series - BRAQUO and SPIRAL.

xage

Some decent HongKong Movies to Ponde!

Tai Chi Zero


Motor Way


Mr & Mrs Incredible

flixtime

Aravt (2012 - Mongolia) - the IMDb listing can be found under GENGHIS: THE LEGEND OF THE TEN. First off - and contrary to what the cover of the U.K. DVD would have you believe - Genghis Khan is not even in the movie.

An "aravt" is the smallest unit of soldiers in the army of Genghis Khan, more precisely a group of ten men. Thus, this movie is about the mission assigned to one of these aravts. In this case they are tasked to seek out a prominent physician and bring him to assist Genghis Khan's army...at the beginning of their journey they come upon a massacred homestead and find one surviving person - a baby...complications arise when the baby turns out as belonging to a recently vanquished opposing tribe...the defeated tribe too in search of the physician...thus the chase ensues.

I'd be hard-pressed to come up with the name of the last Mongolia-produced film I watched; I actually can't even think of one.

As a fan of Westerns, the film started out quite well with lots of scenic shots of the landscape...and the cast of ten soldiers - while not really given much individual development - were likeable and easy to root for. The story is 92-minute B-movie simplicity, but that was fine too. About midway, the inexperience in filmmaking did start to show in instances. There is a brief flashback/dream sequence that - while being an attempt at character development - didn't really work as it drops you out of the movie. Also around the midway point, you do start to feel a tone of Asian melodrama slipping in to some scenes...which is okay for me...but I realize some viewers don't much care for it. The action too is a slightly mixed offering...often it is fine, but sometimes in key instances it is a little amateurish. I thought too that the filmmakers did a poor job in two of the central skirmish scenes. The scenes felt choppy as if too much material was edited out and thus the skirmishes came across as somewhat incoherent and illogical. For example, one minute everyone is involved in close-quarters mounted combat, and the next second the bad guy is pointing and saying something like "get them they are getting away"...and then you only see a few of the ten guys in the aravt and you are left wondering as to what happened...did the others get killed...but they didn't as they show up later...so the skirmish scenes were poorly done. Also, the bad guys in the movie seemed curiously intimidated by this one aravt even though the bad guys were significantly greater in number. Technically too, there is one scene near the end where a few of the sound effects were a fraction out-of-synch with the action on screen.

All that being said, and taking into consideration this movie is from Mongolia, I was pleased with the viewing. I loved the outdoors cinematography...the landscape and horses...and I found the aravt group to be warm and likeable. Also, the film was very interesting from a historical and cultural perspective. In that sense, the tone to the storytelling (there is a narrator from time-to-time) is certainly one of reverance and paying tribute to these men of the aravt.

Anyway, this film seems to have gone rather unnoticed, and I suppose it really is only a fair effort. At the same time, when you consider its homegrown Mongolian roots, it seems rather unfortunate that it might not have popped on the radar of Asian cinema fans at least.

I watched it via Hong Kong DVD, search "aravt". The subtitles could have used a little work, but I suppose they were acceptable enough. And "yes" my dear Gollums, ARAVT is also available via your precious Blu-ray...again Hong Kong.

flixtime

Since things have gone a bit adrift of the main topic anyway, and, well, since Germany does border on Denmark, then I guess this can go here too...



Im Schatten (2010 - Germany) - quiet, low-key, and minimalist crime film about a recently-released from prison criminal and his consideration of pulling off one last job before heading off into the sunset. This film contains absolutely nothing new under the sun, but that's okay given that the traditional genre elements are delivered in such a finely crafted effort. To be clear, there is nothing flashy at all about this movie...very much a plain vanilla B-entry...but the naturalism and realism work in its favor. I thought the lead actor - Misel Maticevic - had a nice presence...kind of like a lesser (and younger) Liam Neeson. There's only a half-dozen moments of violence in the 80+ minute runtime, but, while split-second in their brevity, they do come hard and fast...very effective. IM SCHATTEN aka IN THE SHADOWS was as good as it could've been for what it was. Director Thomas Arslan did a real nice job. Though everything in this film has been done before and there isn't anything that imprints once the end credits roll, that doesn't prevent me from certainly recommending this movie to crime genre fans. Watched via the English-friendly German DVD.

flixtime

Himizu (2011 - Japan) - The latest from Director Sion Sono. If you put in the effort to see beneath the madness - and madness is plentiful without question - but if you don't let that distract you, well, what you will experience is a work of great power, wondrous beauty, and deep humanism. As the film was laying its foundation, I will admit that the shrill female lead was bordering too close to annoying, and too the continual slappings and punchings were approaching overflow. But you know what, the storytelling was so well-handled that everything going on snowballed into a film deserving of high praise...just a supremely interesting work over all. On a superficial note, HIMIZU - at times - had a vibe, in terms of ominous tone and structure to another praiseworthy film of late - TAKE SHELTER. I am not saying they are similar films at all, but on the surface HIMIZU, on occasion, did have me recalling TAKE SHELTER. I'll tell you what, Sion Sono is one interesting cat...such a unique talent; I am very thankful for this latest effort...the type of movie that, for me, helps counterbalance against a couple dozen lesser viewings. HIMIZU - a journey towards coming-of-age and self-discovery - rates unquestionably as highly recommend! Watched via the English-friendly, UK DVD (also available on Blu-ray).

eXcentris

A bit late but thanks.

I have 'The RAID' on Blu-ray but haven't watched it yet so we'll see. I liked both 'Attack the Block' and 'La Horde'.

'Kahaani' is on Netflix so I'll give that a look.

Now it seems that we'll have to disagree on the following:

I watched 'My Way' on Netflix and while it was entertaining, I wasn't impressed. It was essentially 'Taegukgi redux', but not as good. I found it corny, overly melodramatic and bombastic (score), and most of the action scenes/battles were a mess, as in "throw as much chaos at the screen as you can". Essentially the Korean equivalent of a Bay/Bruckheimer film. Plus, it was somewhat disjointed because it tried to bite more than it could chew. Would have worked better as a mini-series.

On the other hand, I watched all three seasons of "Spiral" within a week and really enjoyed it. Sure it's slow and it took me a few episodes to get into it but I got hooked. I found all the intricacies about the French judicial system fascinating and the characters really grew on me. The first season is the weakest, but I thought the second (especially) and third seasons were great. That said, it's very "French" and I'm used to watching quite a bit of French films/series, so perhaps this familiarity with the pace/language (didn't use subs) played a part here.

flixtime

Darned, I spelled "siege" wrong.


But before doing so you'll have to face a momentous decision...watch THE RAID with the Shinoda score or the original score...omg...what to do. Yup, I don't really think it makes much of a difference...I prefer the less intrusive original score myself...but again I suspect that is a minority viewpoint.

Hope you like KAHAANI. I actually enjoyed it even more the second time...familiarity with the story actually helped the experience.

I kind of anticipated that you wouldn't care for MY WAY as much as I did. I seem to recall way back somewhere in this thread that you didn't care for 71 INTO THE FIRE as much as I did either.





I watched both TAICHI ZERO and TAICHI HERO. I suppose if I was whining in the past about Hong Kong/China not being able to make even average/watchable/entertaining movies anymore, well given that undemanding standard, I suppose these two films were at least okay in that regard...if I were being liberal in assessing them...if you have a big enough budget to throw plenty up on the wall, so to speak, then some of it is bound to stick. I suppose, at least for the first part, there should be some credit for trying something different in terms of stylings...even if simply inspired by something like SCOTT PILGRIM...and even if some of it was unsuccessful. The second part is much less stylized in that sense, and sort of starts off in sleep mode. Part 1 - ZERO was the better film of the two. Still I don't think the experience was a success in any measurable way. Yeah, the action is fine...and the costume, set, art, props, CGI stuff is satisfying eye-candy. But outside of the folks responsible for the aforementioned stuff, and this applies generally to Hong Kong/China cinema...everyone else...directors, and especially the actors and writers...just need to go away. TAICHI ZERO is an apt title in the sense that it perfectly describes the lack of charisma exhibited by the male lead protagonist. And in Part 2, he sorts of falls to the backdrop for most of the running time as Part 2 seems more centered on a newly introduced character as the main protagonist. The Chinese government needs to shut down some of those martial arts/opera training schools, or at least raid them for suitable candidates to groom as writers. These TAICHI films were just too poor in terms of storytelling and structure. I don't know how Hong Kong and China in all good conscience can even come around to holding any types of domestic film awards shows...they just don't make enough good movies...they need to do what baseball did (not voting anyone in to the Hall of Fame (not that I agree with that decision)) but really...VIRAL FACTOR getting nominated for any type of Best Film Award...what a joke. And I have seen A SIMPLE LIFE, and thought it was just okay...a maid takes care of your family for sixty years and you see to it that she is comfortably taken care after her health fails...congratulations on your human decency...or was it simply a sense of being honor-bound to do so...in either case if she were my maid/servant, I suspect I would have done an even better job in taking care of her. But yeah, I get why it is appreciated given the competition which consists of vacuous, assembly-line product without any substance...while I am always hopeful with regard to Hong Kong/China crime/swordplay/action genre fare...most of it just seems totally lazy and entirely indistinguishable these last few years. Hmm...hadn't expected to go so longwinded...and just covering the same old ground too...may be time to step aside and clear the way for a fresh voice around here.



Anyway, I opted out of BORGEN for now and instead went with Sweden/Denmark's TV series THE BRIDGE aka BRON aka BROEN...should get to watching it next month.

xage

While waiting for Coldwar, I begun checking the Sequel to Tai-Chi Zero called Tai-Chi Hero




Since when Germany in Asia? this is weird

flixtime

The Silent War (2012 - China/Hong Kong) - Latest entry in the period espionage sub-genre...following on entries such as LUST CAUTION, SHANGHAI, THE MESSAGE, QIU XI, etc. As compared to those, THE SILENT WAR is far more character-based and talky. And I say character-based instead of character-driven, because this drama has no drive...it is dry, dull, unengaging, and lacking in suspense...thoroughly sleep-inducing in its hour-long first half especially. Looking back, the film was too slow to start and doesn't really open until about forty minutes into the movie. It would have benefited from trimming 20-25 minutes of fat in that opening forty minutes. The second hour at least flirts with getting to fair/average. But there really isn't anything to recommend about THE SILENT WAR as it is thoroughly lacking in entertainment value. You can cut a pretty looking trailer for this movie for sure, but that's about the only thing it has going on.

I'm getting grumpy again with regard to Hong Kong/China. COLD WAR, THE ASSASSINS, THE BULLET VANISHES, TRIAD, BACK TO 1942, THE GUILLOTINES, etc.,...I hope something in there turns out decent. Man, forty percent of the world's population if you combine China and India...and so few good films.

I have Sion Sono's GUILTY OF ROMANCE on-hand, but given how much I liked HIMIZU, I want to give it some distance before watching it.


Anyway, maybe I need a little German vacation - couch-based of course - so time for German week maybe...DAS LETZTE SCHWEIGEN, UNTER DIR DIE STADT, POLL, BARBARA, DIE SUMME MEINER EINZELNEN TEILE, etc.,...oh yeah, I have just started the TV series IM ANGESICHT DES VERBRECHENS...too early to say much, but I'm liking it so far...a Latvian/Jewish German cop investigating the Russian mafia...which reminds me that I need to watch Latvia's DEFENDERS OF RIGA sometime too. The opening scene of the show was really nice...a young and attractive Ukrainian woman swimming nude in a lake...but I'm just not talking the fact she was naked...it was a nicely done scene otherwise...she swims underwater and sees an old WWII German tank and such (could have done without her "vision" which was a little cheesy though). Actually for those who care - at least based on the first two episodes - there is quite a bit of nudity in the show.

Not too long back I wrapped up JUSTIFIED Season 3 and SONS OF ANARCHY Season 3...watching both in proximity you can really see them as FX assembly-line product...same locations, same guest actors, some similar secondary plot points (involving Dad characters on each show, how they work women in for eye-candy). Season 3 of JUSTIFIED had both too much and too little going on...just too spread out in terms of a compelling story arc...still has some great lines of dialogue though. SONS OF ANARCHY is more a case of like it-don't like it...it is better than JUSTIFIED in focusing on the story arc (though Season 3 also feels padded out to start)...my main issue though is that it is tough to root for the folks on SONS OF ANARCHY...they all come across as an overgrown, undermatured, gang of loser-bullies. Actually, Season 1 of MAGIC CITY was better than either Season 3's whether it be JUSTIFIED of SONS OF ANARCHY.

sleepyhead55

I still have to watch Himizu but isn't Guilty of Romance closer to Cold Fish or Love Exposure? I liked Love Exposure but found Cold Fish rather cold. They're both good films I just liked Love Exposure more.

Slightly OT but they're doing an US version of Bron/Broen starring Diane Kruger and Ted Levine. Supposed to hit US TV airwaves in the summer on FX.

flixtime

Hey sleepyhead, I'm anticipating that GUILTY OF ROMANCE is going to be something like COLD FISH but not as good...plus the fact that so much has been cut from the International version currently available kind of gives me pause.

Given the news you mention, looks like I timed my pick-up of BRON/BROEN pretty well.


Zombie 108 (2012 - Taiwan) - Yup, this leans more than not towards the shlock end of the spectrum, but, you know what, I thought it was made with sincerity and heart. This is decidedly a horror-comedy, so those looking for a hardcore zombie film can bypass this effort. Some of you old-timers might recall that Thai horror-comedy from 2004 - SARS WARS - well that might be an apt comparison as to what you should expect from ZOMBIE 108. This movie is a Category III entry so yeah, sensitive viewers might find some of the material crude and tasteless...but again it is Category III so that shouldn't come as a surprise. In terms of the horror/action/suspense portion of the film aka is it scary/exciting/thrilling...then the answer is clearly no...but that doesn't necessarily mean that the horror/action aspect is a total washout in terms of entertainment.

As to the comedy aspect...and some might recall that I'm not a funny guy...well, I was pleasantly surprised at how effective this was in that regard. To paraphrase some bits I found amusing..."but you got bit by a zombie too"...reply "it's okay, I have a strong immune system"...sue me I got a laugh out of it. And there's some lighter moments with a salt-and-pepper duo of Americans which I found funny...silly but funny. And they take a shot at, well presumably it was Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien...or maybe it was Tsai Ming-liang...basically taking a shot at a director who utilizes taxpayer money to make a movie where the camera doesn't move for five minutes...I believe the filmmakers involved with ZOMBIE 108 did some grassroots funding to make their film. And there was one bit with a little girl, and she gets so scared in one scene...and I think she really got scared and wasn't acting...but she got so frightened that I'm not sure if her running off-camera was as per the director's intentions or if the poor kid was truly trying to runaway from the character scaring her...okay so maybe it is a little twisted that I found it funny, but I did.

So you do get a little bit of everything with ZOMBIE 108 including nudity...again it is Category III. And too you get a little parkour...should clarify, but it's not nude...thankfully...because it isn't a woman doing the parkour stuff.

Technically speaking, I wasn't happy with the camerawork during action scenes...too close and unsteady. And generally, the framing during the film felt too tight as if the 2.35:1 aspect ratio should have been opened up top and bottom to 1:85:1.

This really isn't the type of effort where you analyze acting, story, character, etc.,...again SARS WARS from years back is the ballpark we are in. But I did find the performers to be an appealing and effective enough bunch.

I seem to recall enjoying SARS WARS...it was what it was. Thus too I enjoyed ZOMBIE 108...during the course of its 80+ minute runtime, it was entertaining and surprisingly amusing, and was consistent enough too that, in terms of pass-fail, it'd earn a passing grade.

DJariya

Hey guys

I'm going to be in Hong Kong next Tuesday for the start of a 2 week vacation.

I have a question on a few recent HK releases I may pick up. Any buzz on these?

http://www.dddhouse.com/v3/product_d...8&LanguageID=0

Naked Soldier


http://www.dddhouse.com/v3/product_d...roductID=13379

Cold War

http://www.dddhouse.com/v3/product_d...roductID=13421

The Guillotines

flixtime

DJariya, hopefully some of the fellas will get to those films before you head off to Hong Kong...while you await feedback I will say that with regard to Hong Kong/China/Taiwan films, the first two places I follow for reviews are filmbiz.asia and lovehkfilm.com...I quite respect their opinions.

I'll get to COLD WAR within the next week...for whatever it may or may not be worth, I'll post my thoughts. Would've slated it sooner...was going to do THE SILENT WAR and COLD WAR back-to-back but my experience with THE SILENT WAR put me off that idea. THE GUILLOTINES is in-transit so I don't know when I'll get to it. NAKED SOLDIER...I might pick up as "filler" on a future order.

That being said, I'm really not expecting anything especially memorable from them...hopefully they turn out at least average/watchable/entertaining.

Have a nice vacation!


The Assassins (2012 - China) - This felt a lot like a (much) lesser version of CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER with a sprinkle of the conflicted assassin vibe you get at the end of HERO. Therefore, it is another royal court intrigue piece. As expected, everything of course looks great...sets, costumes, cinematography. The issue again is the writing...the movie simply did not make me care about the story or characters...the first half was totally meh. To be fair, it does start to warm in the second half...such that the climactic portions at least have a pulse. But just too many aspects in relating the story were handled too poorly, including the underdeveloped romantic triangle aspect. As a completist-type fan of the genre, I did find pieces here and there that I did enjoy...so I was able to take away some satisfaction with the viewing, but in the days to come memory of this movie will fade and blend in with almost all the other period drama/swordplay/fantasy films to come out of Hong Kong/China these past few years...I've seen them all and it'd be a challenge to distinguish one from the other. Being lenient, I'd label THE ASSASSINS as just okay.

Mordred

I've kinda gotten away from Asian Cinema in the last two years and was wondering if there's anything that's come out recently that I have to see.

For the record, I'm not really into ancient period movies, I seem to be mostly into Korean cinema lately, dramas are okay but I'm more into crime/action/horror films. Not really into silly slapstick although The Good, The Bad, and The Weird is one of my favorite movies of all time. I love films from Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, Kim Ji-Woon and Takeshi Kitano. Any recommendations?

flixtime

Mordred, I certainly hope some others chime in to offer a different perspective, because from my side of things...well, I regret that I can't really offer you much feedback...basically just repeating what I said to eXcentris aka you ain't missing much. Any recommendations I would have for you would be a simple rehashing of movies I've mentioned liking before in this thread...and my more enthusiastic recommendations with regard to what you are looking for likely go back more than the two years you've mentioned. Meaning stuff like the Korean horror film POSSESSED, the drama POETRY is close enough to what might interest you too, REVENGE A LOVE STORY from Hong Kong...maybe entries from Japan such as COLD FISH and VILLAIN and CONFESSIONS...so basically things I've mentioned in the past...but again in the event you've been a follower of this thread then I'm not relating anything of current use. And, yeah, India's KAHAANI might be something that'd interest you.


The Thieves (2012 - South Korea) - if you are an enthusiastic fan of the caper/heist film genre then by all means do check it out...for everyone else I'm not so sure...it's a bedtime story...it put me to sleep...well, not really, it was just very dull...at least for the first 75-minutes. As to that opening portion, well, my thinking while watching it unfold was "there is no reason to watch this versus simply rewatching OCEAN'S ELEVEN (new version)". THE THIEVES had no sense of creativity or personality...it was an artificial, uninspired, and manufactured product engineered to pander to the mass Asian (South Korea, China/Hong Kong, Japan) box-office. I was not pleased with things. At that 75-minute point, thankfully the film perks up as it goes from being a lame OCEAN'S ELEVEN light caper movie to something more weighted towards being a grittier, post-heist-fallout film. So it picks up for fifteen minutes, then slips back again for fifteen, before closing up again with some nice action prior to the final ten minute wrap-up. Therefore, this final hour is more on-par as to what one might reasonably expect from a film in this genre. Generally speaking I'm somewhat neutral with regard to the casting of the ten thieves...I actually found slightly more appealing the Chinese portion of the crew led by Simon Yam...and too I thought it might've helped a bit if they had reeled our sassy girl - Jeon Ji-hyun - in a bit in terms of her performance. I understand why International audiences would gravitate towards this film, but as an overall experience, I actually had a better time with South Korea's THE GRAND HEIST (which I commented upon earlier). My issue with THE THIEVES being that I can't imagine myself ever having interest in watching the first hour-plus of this film...there is just nothing there.



Also watched Takashi Miike's HARA-KIRI remake...like his 13 ASSASSINS remake, I was not unentertained...but both seemed rather pointless and my lasting impression will be a simple "why?". I thought the new HARA-KIRI started off okay enough for the first act (forty minutes) but then spent way too much time in overdoing the backstory of our protagonist...and then the closing portion too was lacking in power.