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

[HungFist]

The Master - 1/5

I haven't seen this for a long time. It's horrible, haha. I'd give it a 0/5 if it didn't have Jet or Yuen Wah in it.

[Pretty cool film, one of Li's better ones

I thought it wasn't too bad.

Yep, it has a nice early 90's B-film wibe to it. I like the L.A setting too.

Speaking of Jet Li, his problem (in general) is that he doesn't really have a movie persona. You know, Jackie is the funny guy, Sammo is the fatso (what's the Cantonese word? Fei lo?), Chow Yun Fat is the cool guy, Donnie Yen is the big-ego man, Bruce Lee is the fucking legend... but Li isn't really anything. Sometimes he's a funny guy, sometimes a serious guy, sometimes a good guy, sometimes a bad guy...

The most impressed I've been with Li is probably Rogue Assassin (War). Not a good film, but Li was really good as a bad guy... (ironically, Li apparently hated that film and probably didn't think that highly of his character either, or?)

[Yi-Long]

I actually prefer Jet Li over Jackie, Donnie and Chow Yun Fat.Not only do I feel he's the superiour on-screen martial artist, but I feel he's the best actor out of most of them, plus he has a whole lot of charisma combined with a coolness when needed...

[HungFist]

Well, maybe Jet would be the "young guy who can do kung fu" in my mind... but charisma isn't the first thing that comes to my mind...

[Markgway]

I think of Jet as the righteous young man (obviously not so young now).

He does make a great villain though (see also Lethal Weapon 4, The Warlords)

The Master was filmed soon after Dragon Fight (in 1989) but shelved for about three years.

[bradavon]

It's called not wanting to be typecast Hung. Something I imagine annoys Jackie at times.

It's not often he plays villains. I think of him as the serious martial artist, like Donnie Yen. He doesn't play comedic roles to often either. He's definitely got charisma. You've managed to pick one of the few films where he doesn't.

[HungFist]

It's called not wanting to be typecast Hung.

It called not being very good in any role

Not wanting to be typecast is one of the reasons why there are hardly any cool actors working anymore. It's also the reason why hardly any good action heroes exist anymore...

[Shingster]

Jet's a decent actor, good enough to not need a screen persona, but to say he has more acting ability and charisma than Chow Yun Fat is absolutely bonkers!
Oh and fei does mean fat in cantonese (AFAIAA).

[HungFist]

The definition of Movie Star:

[romerojpg]

Jet's a decent actor, good enough to not need a screen persona, but to say he has more acting ability and charisma than Chow Yun Fat is absolutely bonkers!

Times 100

[Beat TG]

I actually prefer Jet Li over Jackie, Donnie and Chow Yun Fat.Not only do I feel he's the superiour on-screen martial artist, but I feel he's the best actor out of most of them, plus he has a whole lot of charisma combined with a coolness when needed...

Better actor than Chow Yun-Fat? As an opinion, that's cool but I find it false as a fact in every way. Chow's got way more diversity and has played many different roles, the type that would signify the body of work of an actor. As an action star getting into acting, Jet's no doubt adaptable and serviceable but personally I think Donnie has matched him equally with some of the recent films he's done like Ip Man films, Bodyguards & Assassins and Wu Xia. I agree that Jet is a better actor than Jackie though.

[Yi-Long]

I'm not a big fan of Chow Yun Fat as an actor. I thought he was mediocre in Hard Boiled, even though I love the movie, as well as quite meh in Once a Thief.

I don't think he has ever REALLY impressed me with his acting, in the way some other actors have. Not that he's bad or lacks anything, but some actors just REALLY come through the screen as authentic and they really bring something special.

Now, I'm not saying I feel that Jet Li is an AMAZING actor, but I just prefer him over Chow Yun Fat, the few times he gets a slight chance to actually showcase that acting.

[Markgway]

For me Chow is usually at his best working with John Woo or Ringo Lam.

[Heka]

Tokyo Fist (Japan, 1995) – 4/5
A hardcore movie that's more about the visuals than the actual story if I'm completely honest. But what visuals they are. Tokyo has never looked this surreal in any movie that I've seen. The place looks like it's from another planet. The story is about two ex high school friends who are reunited under somewhat strange circumstnaces and both are involved with the same woman and boxing. The director Shinya Tsukamoto plays one of the boxers and his brother Koji plays the other. The boxing is even more ridiculous than in Rocky but that's besides the point. One does not box for money, fame or women but to be the baddest dude on the planet. A must watch if you enjoy breathtaking cinematography.

[HungFist]

The Killer (HK, 1989) – 5/5
Woo’s masterpiece and the best action movie ever made. Some unintentional Sally Yeh –silliness aside it’s a perfect mix of Melville, Peckinpah, and Chang, with Woo’s own bullet aesthetics and touchingly nostalgic, even naïve male bonding. While the action scenes are some of the best ever made, it’s usually the bits that come before that are the best – such as the ambush at the beach which is pure editing perfection. The film is best viewed as the French Version Longue (based on the Taiwanese cut, and hence in Mandarin) which is notably superior to the Hong Kong theatrical cut. While it adds some new scenes, most of the additions are small bits, only a few seconds, which improve the flow make the action scenes more stylish.

Tokyo Fist (Japan, 1995) - 4/5
Tetsuo director Shinya Tsukamoto's body horror pic is essentially cyber punk without cyber. Tsukamoto himself stars as a Tokyo salesman ascending into madness as his school buddy turned boxer (Tsukamoto's brother Koji Tsukamoto) shows up and tries to steal his woman. Aside mixing hard rock cinema and extremely moody pieces the film is also well written, with three main characters going through very different transformation processes. Small human and humoristic details give the characters more depth, although towards the end there is also some repetition in the screenplay that could have been cut out. The film has, however, only gotten better over the years. Tsukamoto's Tokyo photography is some of the best found in any movie, and really nails anxiety in the post-bubble concrete hell that was the mid-90’s Tokyo.


Side note: Tsukamoto directed, edited, shot, produced, wrote, starred in, and did art direction for this film!

[Yi-Long]

I liked The Killer the first couple of times I watched it, but it didn't age well...

Still a good movie, but I would rather watch Hard Boiled, Bullet in the Head, Once a Thief, and A Better Tomorrow.

[HungFist]

This must be something like 11th viewing for me... watched it a ton of times when I was 14... now I hadn't seen it for years. Was pleased to see it's still the best action film ever made... and one of the best film ever in general

I've only seen the HK theatrical version once. Half of my favorite scenes are either missing, missing parts, or feature different (inferior IMO) music. The ending shoothout makes almost no sense at all in the HK version because it's missing so many bits (resulting in jarring edits and broken continuety) and even plays some parts in the "wrong" order.

[bradavon]

Pity the extended cut is only available on that rough as old boots French DVD with awful burnt in Engrish subtitles.

[HungFist]

Not exactly "rough as old boots", exept maybe to a Hollywood snob who never saw what real movie prints look like

The Engrish subs and Mandarin audio are regrettable, but don't especially bother me as this is the way I always saw the film. The mono track is strong, the print is just fine, and the film edit is so much superior to the HK cut that I couldn't imagine watching any other version. Somewhat relieved I don't have to keep up with new crap blu-rays...

[grim_tales]

The print isnt TOO bad when you consider it's obviously been taken from a workprint, and been cleaned up as best possible. Does a camera/film negative even exsist for the longer cut?

[Markgway]

Thirst (2009-South Korea-USA) **

Bloody black comedy-horror about vampirism; well-made, but too relentlessly unpleasant for my taste.

[HungFist]

Thirst (2009-South Korea-USA) **

Bloody black comedy-horror about vampirism; well-made, but too relentlessly unpleasant for my taste.

Loved the first 2/3, but then it got all Korean melodramatic and noisy. Would love to see her again in HD, though

[grim_tales]

Bugger, I missed this

[bradavon]

Not exactly "rough as old boots", exept maybe to a Hollywood snob who never saw what real movie prints look like

It's close to rough as old boots but I was really talking about the subs. I cannot stand those burnt in English/Chinese subs that make it so much harder to follow the film. We're already at a loss not being in a language we understand.

I'm confused though, one minute you say the Taiwanese extended cut is stronger, the next the Hong Kong cut. Which is it? I'm very happy with my HKL. It has excellent subs.

Does a camera/film negative even exsist for the longer cut?

Like Fist of Legend, I guess not. You'd think some Taiwanese company would have it in their faults though.

[HungFist]

Not exactly "rough as old boots", exept maybe to a Hollywood snob who never saw what real movie prints look like

It's close to rough as old boots

Like I said, maybe by your limited standards.

the next the Hong Kong cut.

I did? When?

[bradavon]

Like I said, maybe by your limited standards.

Sorry I forgot your middle name was god . I watch DVDs/BDs too btw.

I did? When?

You didn't. My mistake. I misread it.