What asian film/series have you just seen.. marks out of 5

[HungFist]

Assault Girls (Japan, 2009) - 3.5/5
Mamoru Oshii upgrades Assault Girls into a feature length film. It's 70's minutes of most entertaining gun pornography with about as much depth as you'd expect from a girls with guns sci-fi actioner. Review to come.

[HungFist]

The Woman with Red Hair (Japan, 1979) – 1/5
Tatsumi Kumashiro has always been a bit of film historical curiosity. More film awards than one can keep track of, and a career spent mostly in Nikkatsu pink film; he could have left the studio any time he wanted. But Kumashiro preferred (relative) artistic freedom and continued to make socio critical character dramas in the pink film genre. The Woman with Red is a typical example of this. Firmly falling under the misery-cinema tag, it’s a dull and pessimistic slice of life drama with no likable characters. Acting and tech credits are solid, but there isn’t much visual gloss when Kumashiro spends half of the running time in a small rundown apartment with his two troubled characters. The critics, of course, loved Kumashiro’s work. Junko Miyashita was nominated for the best actress by the Japanese Academy, and Kinema Jumpo named the film as one of the 100 best Japanese movies of the century.

[HungFist]

Love Exposure (Japan, 2008) - 5/5
3rd time. Amazing. A serious contender for the decade's best movie. But I've said enough already, so instead I'll just quote others.

"This is cinema at its most daring, outrageous and defiant, and it needs to be seen to be believed"

"Forget everything you've ever seen before and go on a ride you will never forget"

"An epic masterpiece that is going to dominate the filmscape for decades"

"There’s that extremely rare feeling of watching something truly unique unfold in front of your eyes"

"An absolutely fantastic experience, so intense you’ll be still struggling to assimilate it all for weeks after you’ve seen it"

[thelostdragon]

I'd so love to see this. The long running time though makes it almost impossible to watch schedule-wise.

[Yi-Long]

I just hope it will get a proper and decent R2 release, uncut and with a good transfer...

Is it out in Germany, LD? If so, which label released it?

[thelostdragon]

It was shown in theatres over here and is still running in some arthouse theatres. It was released by r-e-m (Rapid Eye Movies) and will soon hit to DVD.

[Yi-Long]

Is R-E-M also the DVD-publisher? Or will maybe Amasia pick it up?
Was it the uncut version?

[saltysam]

House Of Traps 2/5

Final Venoms Mob Shaw movie from Chang Cheh is let down by some plodding pacing and a lack of action.The House of Traps itself is interesting but underused.Sun Chien doesn't even get to fight in this one!

Coweb 2/5

Weird title for this new chinese actioner designed to showcase the talents of young female newcomer Jiang Lui Xia. Simplistic plot but plenty of action which unfortunately is filmed in a routine manner and despite the film's many fight scenes none relly stand out as memorable.the girl has talent but needs a better fight director.

[thelostdragon]

Is R-E-M also the DVD-publisher? Or will maybe Amasia pick it up?
Was it the uncut version?

r-e-m will also be releasing the DVD. Amasia is actually Splendid Entertainment.

[HungFist]

with R.E.M you're almost certainly gonna end up with NTSC to PAL transfer.

[bradavon]

Are there that many TVs still in existence in Europe that cannot handle NTSC? I just wonder why they still do this.

[Yi-Long]

Is R-E-M also the DVD-publisher? Or will maybe Amasia pick it up?
Was it the uncut version?

r-e-m will also be releasing the DVD. Amasia is actually Splendid Entertainment.

Thanks
I don't think R.E.M. releases movies here in Holland. We do get Amasia releases, which seem to be in pretty good quality, most of the time. The just released The Rebel here, but I'm waiting for it to be priced lower (it's now 13 bucks, which I think is too much for a movie, especially in an age where in a few years time I'll probably have to 'upgrade' my collection to BluRays)

[Markgway]

MURDERER (2009)

2/4

For two-thirds this a plodding psychological thriller (with a couple of bloody shock moments to keep you awake)... then it goes bananas with the most outrageous twist ever. Almost worth seeing just for how balls-out twisted it gets.

[brooce-leroy]

Murderer 2/5

More or less what Mark said. It does have the most outrageous twist ever. I have wanted to see it ever since I read a review about this most ridiculous of twists. I believe a recent Hollywood horror/thriller also has a similar twist. I also wanted to see it because I heard that Aaron Kwok gives a very OTT ham stuffed performance, of which he doesn't disappoint. Towards the end, he has all but turned into the Simon Yam style acting back in his CAT III psycho days! I like Eddie Cheung (especially in Johnnie To's films) but he is wasted here, as is Chin Kar Lok and Chen Kwoon Tai. The latter two's characters could have been played by anyone off the street such is their lack of screentime/dialogue, and I wouldn't call them cameo roles either. I guess it was supposed to be The Aaron Kwok show. What is funnier is that, in the dvd's making of, the makers think they have created a psychological thriller masterwork.

[Markgway]

I thought Eddie Cheung did a good job.

[grim_tales]

Ooo, a twist film, will have to check it out

[saltysam]

Lone Wolf & Cub:Sword Of Vengeance 4/5

Great first movie is this classic series of films.Not particularly action-packed but superbly atmospheric.Think the role of Daigoro was better done by the kid in the tv series though.

[HungFist]

Gozu (Japan, 2003) – 3/5
Takashi Miike's strangest movie follows a young yakuza ordered to eliminate his big brother who has gone mad. The task turns into a surreal journey to hell. Ichi the Killer writer Sakichi Sato’s screenplay is 100% insane, sometimes too intentionally so. Nevertheless, there are moments of brilliancy, and the actors are perfect in their roles.

Tokyo Gore Police (Japan, 2008) – 3,5/5
Yoshihiro Nishimura's literally jaw dropping gore opus features some of the most impressive handmade special effects in recent memory. And plenty of blood (four thousand litres were used, according to the director). Audition's Eihi Shiina stars as an engineer hunter tracking down mutants who can replace body parts with deadly weapons such as chainsaws. Yes, it’s Blade Runner in red. Sometimes Nishimura tries too hard – the wrist cutting scene in the beginning being a good example – but he’s also got some sense of style; the main character drives an old Saab turned into a police car in the Shinjuku neon light jungle. Additional fun is provided by movie director cameos, including Takashi "I hate the Japanese" Shimizu, and Paul Verhoeven esque commercials (Suicide is kawaii!!, by Noboru Iguchi). All in all, it’s unbelievable Nishimura managed to shoot this all in just two weeks and with no time for rehearsals. Thrilling trash, just don't expect technical merits on other areas than special effects.

Yes, my initial review from 2008 states the opposite. I thought I'd surprise you.

Below are 2 amazing, spoiling screencaps, not work safe:
upload/HungFist/PDVD_040.jpg
upload/HungFist/PDVD_068.jpg

[gasteropod]

I love the bit where she fires a rocket downwards to fly up onto a rooftop at the beginning.

[HungFist]

That's actually a scene I think could have been much better with better editing and sound effects. It looks better in this (superb) trailer than in the film:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bNuHJmtTpQ

[saltysam]

Lone Wolf & Cub:Baby Cart At The River Styx 4/5

Ogami and Daigoro continue their amble through Japan,nonchantly killing various bandits and would be assassins on the way.much more action than the first one,and possibly the best of the series.The Gods Of Death were awesome characters.

[HungFist]

New Battles without Honor and Humanity (Japan, 1974) – 3/5
Fukasaku’s yakuza epic takes a restart; new story, old cast, same theme. Bunta Sugawara plays a yakuza henchman who makes a hit and spends 8 years behind the bars. When he’s released, his old boss (Nobuo Kaneko) has seemingly lost his touch, and sworn brother Tomisaburo Wakayama plans to take over and turn against his own family. Fukasaku deals with the interesting loyalty dilemma, but mixes in a bit too much humor (Kaneko overacts on the border of comic relief, despite his character being vital for the storyline). The camerawork is handheld documentary style as should in the films of the genre, but perhaps a touch less hectic than in some other Fukasaku movies. Supporting cast includes Toei regulars from Reiko Ike to Tsunehiko Watase and Hiroki Matsukata.

New True Story of a Woman Condemned to Hell (Japan, 1976) – 1/5
Koyo Ohara’s final film in the True Story trilogy isn’t quite the worst wip garbage Nikkatsu has to offer, but lacks real merits nevertheless. A handful successful elements can be pointed out – a couple of beautiful tattoos, and an instantly recognizable Downtown Boogie Woogie Band score – but they do little to electrify the otherwise impassionate movie.

[HungFist]

School Day of the Dead (Japan, 2000) – 2/5
First of all, it must be said School Day of the Dead is a really dumb film. The silly screenplay comes close to turning some scenes into unintentional comedy. However, it should also be noted that Kyoko Fukada is at her most charming in this film. It’s entirely thanks to her that the film holds up till the end, more or less. For lovers / haters of Japanese ghost horror it might be good to tell in advance that School Day of the Dead does not feature any supernatural elements.

Patriotism (Japan, 1966) – 2/5
Yukio Mishima’s black & white and silent short film is a piece of interesting history, but not much else. It does get quite graphic in the harakiri scene, considering the production year. Mishima ended his own life in similar fashion four years later.

[grim_tales]

A Bittersweet Life: 4.5/5

Very good film, very violent. The hotel worker/enforcer's boss's girlfriend is sweet The music in the film is excellent.

[grim_tales]

The music in the fim is excellent.