Fallen Angels, by Wong Kar Wai. Very stylish noir gangster film that doesn't make complete sense. I liked it better than Chungking Express, which has nothing to do with gangsters and blonde wigs, but meanders and repeats a lot more. They're almost related films in a Pulp fiction/Reservoir Dogs sort of way.
Tampopo, classic comedy about a Ramen cook and her Rocky-like training.
Young and Dangerous 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 (Born to be King). Triad gangster story, can be repetetive and cheesy at times, but still enjoyable.
The Returner, an over the top action flick with too many CGI effects for its own good. Sort of a cross between Iria, Independance Day, The Matrix, and countless other movies. Shamelessly cool.
The Storm Riders, by Wai Keung Lau, an over the top fantasy action flick with tons of special effects. A Man Called Hero, another film, is a more contemporary, somewhat cheesy but still impressive special effects action flick that takes place in America. A cheesier scifi action movie, Legend of Tekken, was also made by the same guy.
Bride with White Hair, another special effects action movie.
I'm not sure if there's a name for the genre of some of these, but I'm noticing a lot of over the top special effects loaded action movies with epic, dramatic plots, despite being overdone and extremely melodramatic or goofy in a lot of cases.
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Anonymous2004-12-26 4:50
I really liked The Returner.
One of the things almost everybody complains about it is that it's not original - and well, it's true, it's quite possibly one of the least original movies in existance since it shamelessly borrows elements from a whole lot of sci-fi movies (Matrix, Terminator, Independance Day.. even ET!).
I thought that was what made it great though. It's like a big homage to all those movies, and it rips off so much that all packaged together it makes its own unique movie.
I also thought the two leads were pretty nifty. Played good characters and had good chemistry with each other.
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Kirbz!fkKgK7nk/62004-12-26 6:47
zOMG! taichi master!(twin warriors in dubbed version) That! was a bad ass movie! the really old school martial arts movies are just so bad ass.
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Anonymous2004-12-26 6:50
tanpopo was funny
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Anonymous2004-12-26 14:18 (sage)
I just got Love & Pop in the mail. I really look forward to watching it.
I've loved any of Takeshi Kitano's more recent movies (about the last five or six he has done).
Anything by Shuji Terayama is incredible. He was really really fascinating.
And I'm a pretty big fan of anything with Machida Kou/Machizo.
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Bento!sRg2SqGvH.2004-12-26 17:53
Go watch "A better tomorrow" 1-3 Its one of the best Hk movie series ever. Pulp Fiction was based on part 2 which is arguebly the best in the series but thats like saying Godfather 2 was better than 1.
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Sub!.bc9zrwsEM2004-12-27 20:21
drunken master 2<3
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Anonymous2004-12-27 20:57 (sage)
nahh 2 > 3
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tksh2004-12-28 20:35
I really have a hard time getting into Takeshi's films. I don't hate them but of the ones I've seen, they're usually a bit too far out for me. Short attention span I guess.
I did like the TV movie version of Grudge though, thought it was pretty freaky despite the incredibly bad makeup. HK movies Infernal Affairs, "gong wu" (jaing hu), and the new Kung Fu Hustle are my current favourites.
Oh, besides the obvious Sassy Gal/Il Mare Korean choices, I really enjoyed the Korean film Oldboy. When I watched Kill Bill, I thought that was a pretty okay movie on the revenge theme. Then I watched Oldboy and thought, wow, that was so much better.
Casshern was probably my biggest disappoint ever though..
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Anonymous2004-12-28 22:08
Casshern is one of the worst movies I've seen and I wish I could have those two hours of my life back.
Most deceptive trailer EVER.
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Anonymous2004-12-29 4:21 (sage)
Casshern is very beautiful at times. But overall.. goodness..
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Aborn!2004-12-29 7:57Aborn!
Aborn!
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anon!jpoO3JpRA22004-12-29 18:54
>Tampopo, classic comedy about a Ramen cook and her Rocky-like training.
Aha! Yes! God, I love Tampopo, such a weird funny movie.
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Anonymous2004-12-31 20:10
Mamoru Oshii's live-action sci-fi "Avalon" was a real surprise. What aroused my curiosity was that it's a Japanese production, but the actors, language, and scenery are Polish.
The film follows the life of a young woman who's trying to reach the highest level in a virtual-reality MMORPG/wargame called Avalon. Many have tried before her, including some of her former teammates, but they all have failed and fell into comas. She meets a mysterious character within the game who is capable of helping her achieve her goal.
The first 10 minutes are pure action but the rest of the film takes a slower pace and explores themes of reality similar to "The Matrix" (or many of Philip K. Dick's works, if you prefer). Although the film leaves much food-for-thought and certainly requires multiple viewings to get anything substantial out of it, it can also be enjoyed an a purely superficial level.
The imagery in neary every scene is nothing short of beautiful. The CGI scenes within Avalon are very well-done. The majority of the film has a sepia tone, not only within Avalon but also in the outside world. The locations for some of the external scenes are probably the best one can find in Poland, and these color-manipulated scenes match the atmosphere of the film perfectly.
The film score by Kenji Kawai contains lots of choir and orchestra pieces and is really great too.
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Anonymous2005-01-01 17:38
i need a dvdr of avalon... divx sucks
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Anonymous2005-01-01 18:55 (sage)
>>15
Or you could buy it. It's not like it is very expensive at all.
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Kakihara2005-01-06 6:30
Takashi Miike films all the way.
Check out 'Audition' and make sure you watch right to the end - IMPORTANT: DO NOT READ REVIEWS BEFORE SEEING THIS FILM - POTENTIAL MAJOR SPOILERS
Otherwise - Old Boy, Dark Water (currently being remade with Jennifer Connelly), Uzumaki, Suicide Circle, 3 Extremes - are all worth checking out.
This is a really good site: http://www.mandiapple.com/snowblood/index2.htm
enjoy
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Anonymous2005-01-06 14:34
Fuck yello Monkey
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A Homeless Man!M0GHzwUDJk2005-01-08 18:42
Just watched 'Monday' tonight, starring Shinichi Tsutsumi. Very darkly funny movie, and strangely enjoyable. Directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka, the guy who played Kaneko (the former cop who lost his gun) in Ichi the Killer.
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Anonymous2005-01-09 21:09
Shaolin Soccer.
MIGHTY IRON LEG
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Anonymous2005-01-09 22:21 (sage)
stephen chow flicks are hilarious (most of them). i loved God of Cookery.
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smashmethod2005-01-10 23:28 (sage)
anything by Wong Kar Wai is great. i loved 2046.
the best martial arts movie of 2004 has to be Ong Bak, Muay Thai Boxing rocks.
I'm waiting to see Kung Fu Hustle, it should be great.
House of Flying Daggers is great, but they cut out some great violent and blood scenes in the international version, if you want to see a great movie, get the asian version.
The films im really excited about are Intial D and DragonBlade (the first 3D animated HK film).
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Anonymous2005-01-11 9:16
Older Stephen Chow movies are a riot.
God of Gamblers 3, when he gets time warped back to Shanghai.
Ahhh McDonFook.
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Anonymous2005-01-11 12:52
Ah. All For The Winner and God Of Gamblers movies... Brings back memories.. Good stuff, good stuff.