What Have You Just Seen... Marks Out of 5

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 29 Mar 2006, 23:01

Yeah, damn these white socks! Ruined the whole film for me, especially the action parts when he kicked and his pants moved up exposing the white socks!

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 30 Mar 2006, 00:17

thelostdragon wrote:Yeah, damn these white socks! Ruined the whole film for me, especially the action parts when he kicked and his pants moved up exposing the white socks!

I think we should ask HKL to reissue the film with the white socks digitally altered to the colour medium grey... what do you think dear?

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 30 Mar 2006, 10:08

Adventures of TinTin: The Blue Lotus - 4/5

Another great episode

The Making of Kong: The Eighth Wonder of the World (so far, after about 40 mins) - 4/5

Very interesting so far

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 30 Mar 2006, 10:27

Hey,

I also noticed in "Knockabout" - Ennio Morricone's "coyote" riff from The Good The Bad and the Ugly features several times (that was what Bey said anyway)

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 30 Mar 2006, 11:20

Take Care of My Cat (2001, S. Korea) - 4/5
A well done coming-of-age drama about 5 girls (who were friends in high school) trying to find their way in the world. I liked how it never felt contrived and what little melodrama there was executed without any hokiness. Well done JEONG Jae-eun on a successful film.

Top Gun - 3.5/5
A well made popcorn film with great action. It did have it's fair share of cheese and the homoerotic subtext was hillarious.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 30 Mar 2006, 11:27

From the Queen to the Chief Executive ?/5
Damn it! I started watching this yesterday, but had to turn it off at the 30 min. mark as I was bugged by people talking on the phone and so on. I hope I can finish watching this today as it started out really good. I have this on DVD at home ever since Knetan recommended it to me years ago.

Currently catching up on my unwatched DVDs as you might have noted ("Go" for example).

brooce-leroy · Post by **brooce-leroy** » 30 Mar 2006, 13:39

Project A 4/5

Top class entertainment.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 31 Mar 2006, 23:51

Ice Age: The Meltdown 2/5

Had some nice moments but the material didn't feel overly fresh. Plus it really annoyed me that Diego, a carnivore, is never seen eating meat. I liked the first one but was disappointed by the sequel.

The Great Escape 4/5

Another one off the imdb's top 250. It's amazing how much this game influenced the computer game, Commandos. Great, suspenseful drama and it was surprising to see so much humour. Very enjoyable entertainment.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 31 Mar 2006, 23:56

The Great Escape 4/5

I much prefer La Grande Illusion, the 1937 Jean Renoir classic that inspired The Great Escape.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028950/

#249 on the top 250.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 01 Apr 2006, 00:01

Cheers Tom. Looked like it just made it on that list.

Another film for me to hunt down.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 01 Apr 2006, 00:08

Looked like it just made it on that list.

Used to be #179 a few months back. I wonder what happened.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 01 Apr 2006, 00:23

That list fluctuates all the time. Generally there is little movement within the top 100 but from 100-250, titles come and go.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 01 Apr 2006, 11:07

Adventures of TinTin: The Broken Ear

3/5

Good, exciting episode right up to the ending

brooce-leroy · Post by **brooce-leroy** » 01 Apr 2006, 13:05

Wheels On Meals 4/5

Awesome. Best cameraderie between the three brothers IMO.

xXx 2: The Next Level 1/5

Oh dear......

Shen · Post by **Shen** » 01 Apr 2006, 13:09

Ong Bak 4/5

3rd time i watched this now...sometimes it gets a little tedious but the action well makes up for that and i love the dvd only for the that at the end they mute that annoying girl, muay screaming and play music over it that really annoyed me when i watched the film it totally ruined the end and got on my nerves, but now PA made it all better

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 01 Apr 2006, 16:32

Be With You (aka Ima, ai ni yukimasu) (either 4/5 or 4.5/5, I can't decide)

Mio loses her battle with an illness but assures her husband and son that she will return during the rainy season one year after her death. A year passes and a woman resembling Mio is found in the forest. The problem is that she has no memory, but the family find a way to love each other all over again. However good things are not meant to last - just as Mio appeared with the rain, she can also disappear with the rain.

Be With You is an overwhelming emotional experience that fuses spiritual and fantasy elements. This is exactly the type of J-dorama execution that I love. Great use of music and picturesque visuals. Fantastic heart-felt performances, which were not as melodramatic as I had expected. I'll admit, the film didn't feel too special initially but the closing chapter was absolutely superb. Really does leave an emotional impression at the end. Be With You is the first feature length production by director Nobuhiro Doi. Considering the quality of this and his TV series Strawberry on the Shortcake, I've a lot of faith in this guy and look forward to his future works.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 01 Apr 2006, 19:34

Swallowtail Butterfly 4.5/5
Wonderfully directed and totally unpredictable film by Iwai. Definitely not everybody’s cup of tea due to the constant U-turns in both story and style. But for me this represents movie-making at its best.

Picnic 4.5/5
Another Iwai masterpiece. Weird, fucked up and absolutely beautiful. Soundtrack is also very good, and the visuals are stunning. One of the most memorable films I’ve seen for years.

The Thin Red Line (1998) 5/5
There was one scene of unnecessary heroism that really didn’t fit the context. Nothing else to complain. One of the 10 best movies ever made.

The Last Boy Scout 2.5/5
Moderately entertaining action flick. The kind of film you are happy to watch once, but wouldn’t bother seeing again anytime soon.

Legend of the Eight Samurai 4/5
Slow start, but later turns into a very entertaining fantasy-swordplay adventure. Nice visuals, decent action, great 80’s pop soundtrack (though some of you may disagree about it being ”great”) and a superb cast (Shinichi Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi, Hiroyuki Sanada and the incredibly cute Hiroko Yakushimaru)

Wheels on Meals 4/5
I own the original language HKL version and like it very much. I’ve never seen the famous international version, and I don’t really intend to either. I like the original score, and my life will be a lot easier if I don’t have to worry about getting the original OOP megastar disc with inferior PQ and english dub, even if the music is superior. Ignorance is a bless (especially if you are a fan of HK cinema).

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 01 Apr 2006, 21:06

Godzilla (1954) - 4.5/5

Very good film indeed. Really liked this (if thats the right word). Very moving.
Now, while this shares the basic plot with the later Godzilla movies of the 60's and 70's and even King Kong in the sense that they're fantasies about prehistoric monsters who come to life wreak havoc and destruction on big modern cities. the original Godzilla also has a much more serious subtext which is played completely straight, about the dangers of nuclear weapons and testing and the horrific damage they can do. Some people in the film want to kill Godzilla and others want to study him for scientific purposes (you can draw parallels with Kong here again actually, Carl Denham wants to use Kong for entertainment, some want him killed and, in the 2005 version at least, Ann Darrow pleads that Kong not be killed, he is not a "beast" unless he is pushed to be).

The events of 1945 (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) would still have been very fresh in people's minds, and the nuclear tests by the US in the Pacific at Bikini Atoll were in 1954 (I think), so it could be said that this film is a reaction to that.
Yes, Godzilla is a "big monster" movie, but I feel its really not as goofy as you may expect. You really feel for the people who are caught up in the destruction (even if they're not the main characters).

In contrast, in Kong (1933 and 2005) the film focuses on the more fantastic aspects and is less serious IMO. Both Kong and Godzilla are great movies for different reasons though.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 02 Apr 2006, 18:52

Musa the Warrior Director's Cut - 3.5/5

Decent period epic but my goodness was it far too long. I reckon it could easily have been half an hour shorter, as I felt some of the battles added little to the storyline or indeed the character development. Great set pieces and performances though. Battle segments were nicely captured as well.

So I'm quite tempted by the Premier Asia disc now. While I'm at it, I might try and source their copy of Volcano High as I wasn't a fan of the original 2 hour cut.

PS: What does Musa mean? Is it Korean for "warrior" or something? I didn't hear it being mentioned in the film...

Shen · Post by **Shen** » 02 Apr 2006, 19:31

Hide and Seek 4/5

Love this film, although i think some of it is unescessary, but great fil. the sound quality on the dvd is awful though, really awful that kind of ruined it a little

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 02 Apr 2006, 19:35

@Bisc:
Musa is very close to the japanese word Musha. Both mean "Warrior".
Musa, however can mean both "Warrior" and "Warriors". I personally don't agree with Premier Asia who decided to call it "The Warrior".
Afterall, Musa is about a GROUP of warriors.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 02 Apr 2006, 19:39

Musa does not mean "warrior". It means "swordsman" or literally "swords warrior".

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 02 Apr 2006, 19:49

Nitpicker.

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 02 Apr 2006, 21:13

Cheers Tom and LD.

Koma 2.5/5

I'm not exaggerating guys... but I almost fainted after watching this. Definately not for the squeamish. OTT violence and gore I can handle but when it comes to kidney stealing, even the thought of it makes me want to hurl.

You know, one time our student union had a stage show where a couple of dudes stuck pins through their bodies and hammered nails into their faces - I really DID faint that time. It goes to show how weak my state of mind is. I'd make a terrible surgeon.

Anyway the film is a fairly standard horror/thriller. The story isn't particularly exciting but is somehow ties itself together... more or less. I had to open my window just to get some fresh air though... I still don't feel too good.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 02 Apr 2006, 21:24

Stay away from "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" then.