| Youth of the Beast. Another great yakuza flick from Seijin Suzuki that oozes with style. The linear storytelling makes it a bit more grounded compared to the wild Branded to Kill and Tokyo Drifter. Kamikaze Girls. A really fun film to watch. Cinematography is brilliant, especially the way color is used. |
BluntZApr 13, 2012 8:51 AM
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| It's Kind of a Funny Story. Loved it. |
| Le voyage dans la lune (1902) |
| Chicken Heart and Last Life in the Universe. Enjoyed both. Chicken Heart has some hilarious moments but is still a pretty subtle film. Like Touka said, the direction and cinematography is very Kitano-esque. Last Life in the Universe is one of the most gorgeous films I've seen. Cinematography is by Christopher Doyle so fans of Wong Kar Wai should definitely check it out. |
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| Ok so first impression after reading this entire forum which took me the better part of three hours while also attempting to track down some of these movies mentioned, is man I'm tired. Movies that I had to track down include The Terrorizers, Ikinai, Eureka, and Confessions to name a few I couldn't find by conventional methods. As for last movie I watched, that would be Fullmetal Alchemist: Milos no Seinaru Hoshi of which I didn't think was as bad as I had been reading. Particularly pertaining to the animation. Was it as good as Brotherhood's? It's contrast ratio was certainly lower, but it wasn't quite as bad as some people made it out to be. I found the movie entertaining. It felt like a longer new episode to lets say the original series. I say the older series because brotherhood was slap-sticky at moments, while this movie was mostly serious and dark in subject matter. If you're a fan of the FMA franchise then you will probably enjoy this film. Take note at how I was specific about saying the franchise and not just Brotherhood. Other thoughts? Yes my brain still hurts a little from reading about so many movies. Most I've seen, many I haven't and added to my already impossible list of movies and anime to watch. If you don't know me already it's nice to meet you all. After reading this forum I I hope I'll have some great movies to contribute. I don't remember seeing anyone mention Katsuhito Ishii's The Taste of Tea however it is mentioned in another forum after closer scrutiny. I do think I remember someone mentioned Funky Forest which is also really good along with Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl and Party 7.There doesn't appear to be any subtitles out for his newest film Smuggler, so I'll just have to wait patiently and hope that it gets one. I'd prefer it get picked up by major English studio and distributed soon of course. The raw is out and I'm temped to stumble through it with my terrible Japanese. Ishii is also responsible for Redline's story and collaborative screenplay, which was recently highbrowed in CnC but we'll leave that alone. Sorry for this wall o text. I'll try to keep it a little briefer in this forum, but I certainly do have a lot to say when it comes to movies. My blogging addiction started on Netflix and evolved to ning, and this is one of the places I've ended up although I do still post on Movie Fans from time to time of which one of favorite groups used to be Films of Japan. Edit: So I was actually able to find and watch The Yellow Handkerchief finally. I've been trying to get it for more than a year now. Was the wait worth it? I'd say it was pretty touching. Somewhat predicable but the acting was good and the story was obviously interesting enough to get a Hollywood remake of which I probably won't watch. Pretty tired now but it was an interesting night reading this forum and the favorite Japanese film forum. The internet hunt to find them was equally rewarding even though it was deja vu, this time I didn't let no or any one browser stop me. Consequence? Yeah I noticed that my google chrome is still being redirected to the same people attacking MAL, when I search with google on occasion. Only when I use google chrome though. Why just Chrome, even though I supposedly have their addresses blocked? I have no idea, I wished they'd quit it though. |
Orion1Apr 24, 2012 5:04 PM
| Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence was on Direct watch on Netflix so I gave it a watch last night. I watched if after Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol which was mediocre at best for an action film. As for Mr. Lawrence Kitano delivered probably one the best performance I can remember. His shouting of Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence will probably forever be etched into my mind as one of the most poignant examples of cultural recognition. Ironically the film itself was a 'b' movie at best. Many fascinating aspects, but collectively it didn't flow well and the story was a bit protracted. The homo-erotic aspects going on in the film were very fascinating. |
| I Saw the Devil. A twisted but beautifully shot revenge flick. The narrative gets a bit sloppy and it could have been a half an hour shorter but it's a rewarding watch if you can handle the brutality. Getting Any. The only Kitano film I had not seen. Pretty much a collection of skits, some funnier than others. You can tell he was losing his mental balance with this one. Although it's kind of funny, it's difficult to recommend even to fans. Check it out if you like Glory to the Filmmaker or Takeshis'. |
BluntZMay 3, 2012 2:07 AM
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| I just watched "The Bow" by Ki-duk Kim who also directed Samaritan Girl, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, Bad Guy and 3-Iron. It reminded me of a fable or fairy tale that might be told around a campfire. Not amazing but still very enjoyable tale. I just started Eureka [2000]. So far so good. Back to the film. Edit: Holy cow Eureka was a long and drawn out experience. It had some great elements and the slow pacing was great at moments, but the moive would not end. There were at least three moments where I was expecting it to end and it just kept dragging. Still a very enjoyable movie, but I'm thinking there are scenes that should have been cut and then added as special features. |
Orion1May 4, 2012 3:39 AM
| Reservoir Dogs |
| Samaritan Girl and Suicide Club. Samaritan Girl is practically three genres of film. It transitions from teenage drama to hard boiled noir and settles into familial drama within 90 minutes. The result is a somewhat uneven experience but still effective and enjoyable. Suicide Club has some great visuals and social commentary but lacks execution.Overall, it's an interesting, but flawed take on the pied piper story within the context of modern Japan. |
BluntZMay 6, 2012 9:39 PM
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| @Bluntz: Looks like it's time for you to move on to Suicide Clubs/Circles sequel called Noriko's Dinner Table and possibly another of Sono's works Strange Circus if you haven't seen it already. As for Samaritan Girl, I liked but not as much as Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring, Bad Guy and 3-Iron. |
| Coldfish is the only other film I've seen from Sono and I like it more than Suicide Club. I have Love Exposure on the back burner though so I might watch soon. I'll check out the other films you mentioned. Agree with you on Samaritan Girl, 3-Iron is one of my favorite Korean films. I plan on watching Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter soon. Saw Ritual last night. Pretty interesting film directed by the same guy who did Evangelion. Camerawork is eccentric just like the main characters and the development of the their relationship is compelling. The reoccurring monologues by Iwai's character are a bit excessive and detract from the story told on screen, but overall a film worth checking out. |
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| Coldfish is conveniently on Netflix instant watch right now, so I'll check it out tomorrow. As for Shiki-Jitsu (Ritual) I found a really crappy version not even 700mbs but It's the best I could find for now. Hopefully it will get a legit English release eventually. It seems like a title Viz, media blasters or FUNimation would want to add to their movie licenses. Another movie on NF instant watch right now is a movie called 'Goth' by Gen Takahashi based on Otsuichi's' manga. I'd recommend it if people haven't seen it. I haven't read the manga yet, but I definitely want to get started now. |
Orion1May 8, 2012 2:27 AM
| Blade 2 Iron Sky |
| Shame Oh, boy. That was a tough watch. Great performance by Michael Fassbender, though. |
| Chakushin Ari/One Missed Call |
 |
| War of Arrows, a historical action piece from Korea. It's a typical genre flick but is decently executed. On Netflix if anyone is interested. |
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| Just watched the new' Hara Kiri. In short the color and visuals were beautiful, but the added gore didn't help make it any better than the original of which I think might still be a little better.The wooden sword aspect was grueling though. |
 Beatrock Love Just finished watching this. Even though the ending was rushed and kinda stupid, overall this was a pretty fine and decent movie. The story is about a Japanese rock band where the main singer wants out of the group and become a solo artist, much to the dismay of his group members. The best thing about the film is by far the acting. I don't know if these are actors or musicians, because if they're musicians, then it's probably some of the best acting I've ever seen done from musicians. And I'm not even talking about playing the guitar and singing, because most of the movie are scenes where they actually have to act, and the actors' chemistry was so good I couldn't even tell if they were real musicians or actors playing musicians. The main actor, whatever his name is, gave one hell of a performance, especially the subtle romance he has in this movie, the acting was just great in those scenes. Although the budget for the movie probably wasn't high, the cinematography was really eye-catchy and the movie was very well-shot. I would recommend this film. |
| Miike's Hara-Kiri. Good movie, but does not hold a candle to the original. |
If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| Just watched the movie "Outrage". Dam, I want more yakuza movies now. |
| *haven't posted in quite some time* so I'll post three Three Outlaw Samurai, Kagemusha, Pale Flower |
| Love Exposure. My favorite film from Sono by far. An epic, hilarious, and immensely touching story about young love in a nonsensical world. Can't recommend this one enough. |
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| @Bluntz: Love Exposure was a hilariously perverted twist on Japanese sub pop culture. It's not surprising that it's a Sono movie. I don't think I'd go as far as saying it was my favorite from Sono though. Strange Circus still holds that title for me. As for me I watched a Jackie Chan movie called Little Big Soldier last night. Not extraordinary but still a fun action period piece with some great new chan moments and kung-fu. Saturday night I finally manged to watch Dear Doctor. |
Orion1May 29, 2012 12:46 AM
| I think there's a lot more to Love Exposure than just its commentary on "hentai" sub culture. Particularly how constructs of gender sexually oppress human beings and how other human beings and religious institutions take advantage of the resulting anguish. I believe the struggle between the two main characters is a microcosm of this human condition. Granted I've only seen three Sono films, the other two being Cold Fish and Suicide Circle, but Love Exposure is the first I've seen that doesn't sacrifice its story or message in order to fit into some gore-esque niche. I have Strange Circus and Guilty of Romance on the back burner and I look forward to giving them a watch. |
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| I'm not sure if I'd go as far as to call it Hentai, but etchi for sure. Perverted vs. Pornographic. As for the religious allegories I see your point. Foot Loose just came into my mind, LoL. In a way the two aspects of the movie are deeply Sono and yes highlight the hypocrisy of religion. One side very perverted and the other very allegorical. I haven't seen Cold Fish or Guilty of Romance myself yet. I'll check out Cold Fish soon, and Guilty of Romance a little later. The Human condition has become very bland to me lately. I used to use the shit out plot designs and how there importance exemplified "The Human Condition" but now I shy away from using it as often unless a particular movie really captures a certain aspect in human life that really resonates with my sense of the "big picture" in our existence. Love Exposure for me is inseparable from Sono's niche style of directing and is certainly not anywhere close to touching the level of religious hypocrisy that other movies like The Mission achieved. I'll just say I enjoyed his take on religion and expert pantie pervs. combined in a way that Sono does so well. |
Orion1May 31, 2012 4:02 AM
| "hentai" actually means perverted in Japanese, not pornography. That's why you have characters constantly calling themselves and each other 'hentai' throughout the film. It was not until pornography started to come over to the U.S. that a particular genre came to be known as hentai. I get your point about using the phrase, "human condition" but I was referring to a specific condition, not using it as a blanket term. There are certainly films out there that have better commentary on religion but religion is only one aspect of Love Exposure. Surely The Mission and Love Exposure use completely different methods of story telling so to compare them based solely on their use of religion is a bit of a stretch. But we all have our opinions and that's just my two cents. |
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| Oh Bluntz, I know what hentai means but the word is really contextual and more harsh. Etchi just seemed to me as a more appropriate 'English' word usage to describe pantie chasing photography because it didn't involve actual Ero, even if etchi can be construed as sexual. I did find it interesting that it's most commonly thought that the origin of etchi is actually derived from the first character in the word Hentai. The wiki is actually very informative on the subject. Contextually in Japan pantie chasing is something people would call perverted or hentai 'behavior' but it's interchangeable with etchi behavior, which would most commonly be translated as naughty or dirty. When I posted "Perverted vs. pornographic", I was talking about it contextually as it might be misunderstood by many westerners as pornographic. As for whether or not there is an actual hentai sub culture? I'm not so sure it could be classified as culture. There are certain perverted fetishes that might be loosely seen as sub cultures of the more popular Japanese mainstream culture. Oh course many of those fetishes are certainly not only Japanese and have a much larger sub culture around the world and on the "internets". The human condition thing is really just a pet peeve of mine. As for the comparison I was making with The Mission, it wasn't religion itself but the hypocrisy in which Love Exposure showcases that I was pointing out as not really being something meriting the grandiose word usage of "The Human Condition". The movie is enjoyable for niche Japanese fans, but certainly not universally likable. As for me I really like Sono's work and his perverted themes. Hence why I liked Strange Circus more. |
 Zatoichi The Last Not recommended. I'm sure there are better Zatoichi movies out there. First of all, the guy who plays Zatoichi here is that Shingo guy from SMAP. Now I'm not saying he can't act, he did a fine job, but the samurai he played definitely wasn't Zatoichi, it seemed like someone else the entire time. But the biggest problem with this movie was the story, it was so boring and stuff you seen a million times before. There were some nice cinematography, but the story really became tedious around halfway. The best character in this movie was the villain, who didn't seem like a villain at all, you almost like the guy, but Zatoichi had to kill him at the end of course. Whatever, I didn't like it. |
| Saw Guilty of Romance last night. Some interesting visuals but Sono gets caught up with themes to the point where he forgets how to tell a story. Prometheus, besides some gripping scenes and spectacular visual effects, this is an uninspired effort from Ridley Scott. Unbelievably stupid characters, poor writing, and disjointed story telling. |
BluntZJun 9, 2012 12:35 PM
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| Address Unknown - Possibly the most uncomfortable I have ever felt watching a film, though that isn't to be taken as a criticism. The only bad thing I have to say is the American actors are terrible!! Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring - This gave me the complete opposite feel to the previous Kim Ki-Duk film. Despite the sadder and slightly darker side, it was a really calming film thanks to gorgeous surroundings, I really enjoyed it :) Re-watched - All About Lily Chou-Chou - First time I've watched it in years and I fell in love with it all over again ^_^ |
| Rewatched Fallen Angels, As Tears Go By, and Chungking Express. Been on a bit of a WKW binge ;) |
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| Lala Pipo - Crazy and outrageous, I loved it :P Re-watched - Sonatine, awesome film :) |
| Recently watched When the Last Sword is Drawn. Sooo good. |
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| Karigurashi no Arrietty |
|
| Hidden Blade - Great samurai flick with a throwback feel. Fighting Elegy - An 'ok' film from Suzuki based on the novel of the same name. |
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| Accidentally watched Woman of the Lake by Yoshishige Yoshida instead of August in the Water. It was a pleasant mistake though. It reminded me of a Hitchock film, the way it used suspense in the beginning of the movie and made an ordinary love affair seem sinister. After finishing the film it certainly seems like the writer had some issues with keeping his waifu faithful and decided to write a story about it. I suppose you could also look at it as an anthropological look into human Promiscuity. The movie seems to reinforce societal monogamous values romantically. Interesting watch. |
Orion1Jul 22, 2012 1:29 PM
| 500 days of Summer. |
| -Fixing- |
Orion1 said: I just finished watching a 2009 Korean movie that won the 4th Asian film award for best picture called Mother. I'm not going to say too much other than this movie was like the Asian equivalent to What's Eating Gilbert Grape, twisted into a crime drama. Not bad.  If you haven't seen it already, check out Memories of Murder. Same director and similar atmosphere. I think the abundance of crime/murder dramas coming out of Korea is attributed to Memories of Murder's success ;p Batman Dark Knight Rises - An average superhero movie, meh Le Samourai - A visually stunning and meticulously executed noir film. Evil Spirits of Japan - This film is a trip. Tells the story of a yakuza boss and a police detective who look alike and decide to switch lives. The relationship between the two characters and their environment is a commentary on corruption in 1970's Japan. But it's the way the film depicts the internal struggle of these men that makes it engaging. Highly recommended. |
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
| Oskar (1967) with Louis de Funes Prometheus Boogie el aceitoso Mardock Scramble: the Second Combustion Running Out of Time Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol - bored ... |
| @BluntZ: I really didn't understand all the hype about Batman Rises either. It was a decent action movie. I suppose the best part of it was how Nolan left the ending up for interpretation. Is Batman dead? |
ridojiri said: ah. may i ask how you found the second combustion otonashi_? Usually i watch online, but if you want to download look on nyaa torrents. |
| @Orion1 lol that video. I'm willing to go a certain distance for superhero movies (in terms of suspending disbelief), but DKR's writing is so bad that I feel it oozes with Nolan's arrogance. The attempt to tie it in with Begins while pretending TDK never happened also came off as really desperate. |
Movie of the Week Humanity and Paper Balloons ( Sadao Yamanaka, 1937 ) If you are a fan of (or simply interested in) Japanese films then please join the Cinema of Japan club! Thank you (: |
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