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

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Apr 2006, 19:35

What is 14 Amazons rated? I cant believe its only a PG if its bloodier than Heroic Ones (OK HO wasnt that bloody TBH).

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 15 Apr 2006, 19:43

That 'PG' is bogus. The film hasn't been rated in either the USA or UK. It would probably be an '18' in the UK even today and definately an 'R' stateside.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Apr 2006, 19:47

Sounds good then!

Lone Wolf and Cub: Babycart to Hades - 3/5

Not as good as the first 2 films IMO, but I loved the OTT final battle with Itto taking on an entire army who are armed with guns and arrows

Funny I cant even identify the spoken language as Japanese, I know my friend said the film is et 400 years ago (?) so the Japanese must be very old and hard to understand.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Apr 2006, 20:46

The Realm of the Senses (1976) - ?/5

I had to send this back as it didnt work. Looks very well made and shot so far from what I've seen.
Isn't most of the footage basically hardcore? How the hell did it get past the BBFC?!

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 15 Apr 2006, 20:51

It's not hardcore... although some of it is unsimulated.

The thing is, it is a highly erotic film but not pornographic.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 15 Apr 2006, 20:53

Shadowless Sword (Korea - 2006): 4,5/5

A very good swordplay film, which is really close to Bichunmoo in terms of imagery, characters and fighting techniques (Shin Yun-Jun even uses the Bichun style from Bichunmoo at one point).

As usual, Yun So-Yee is absolutely perfect. She had already blown me away in Arahan, but she's even better when playing a swordswoman.

The cinematography is superb. It's nice to see that Kim Yun-Jun has improved a lot since Bichunmoo.
Ma Yuk-Sing's choregraphies are fantastic, as usual.

It's also nice to see some comedy in a korean swordplay film. Of course it's not as funny as Flying Dagger or Butterfly Sword, but it's a nice touch anyway.

There are loads of nice references to Bichunmoo, Swordsman 2, and even Ashes of Time.

Overall, a great korean swordplay film to add to my collection.

BTW: The version I've seen is 115 minutes long. It is the so-called "extended international version".

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Apr 2006, 20:53

OK
Actually I've heard (stated on the BBFC site). the video version is about 6 minutes shorter than the cinema print - what gives?

Not that I'm any hurry to see a less cut version but still.
Unsimulated? You mean its actual sex?

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 15 Apr 2006, 20:55

Those Raiden style hats in Lone Wolf and Cub are cool

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 15 Apr 2006, 21:31

grim_tales wrote:OK
Actually I've heard (stated on the BBFC site). the video version is about 6 minutes shorter than the cinema print - what gives? Not that I'm any hurry to see a less cut version but still.
Unsimulated? You mean its actual sex?

Haven't seen that in years, but yes, it's about a passionate love affair between a man and a woman that completely consumes them. They cannot bear to be apart from each other, in a completely sensual way.

I could be WAY off base here, but seems like the ending part was based on a real life event? Hmm, I'll have to look into whether or not that's right.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 16 Apr 2006, 00:03

From what I know there's some brief hardcore footage in the film, which the BBFC left alone because it was an arthouse film no ill-educated pleb was going to see. They did optically reframe a bit where a woman yanks a little boy's penis because it contravines the child protection act.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 16 Apr 2006, 00:26

Tom,

I'm really looking forward to this ever since I have heard that Kim Young-jun is making a new swordsplay film with Shin Hyeon-jun again. Does the New Line Cinema logo appear at the beginning of the film?

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 16 Apr 2006, 00:35

Tom2681 wrote:Shadowless Sword (Korea - 2006): 4,5/5

A very good swordplay film, which is really close to Bichunmoo in terms of imagery, characters and fighting techniques (Shin Yun-Jun even uses the Bichun style from Bichunmoo at one point).

As usual, Yun So-Yee is absolutely perfect. She had already blown me away in Arahan, but she's even better when playing a swordswoman.

The cinematography is superb. It's nice to see that Kim Yun-Jun has improved a lot since Bichunmoo.
Ma Yuk-Sing's choregraphies are fantastic, as usual.

It's also nice to see some comedy in a korean swordplay film. Of course it's not as funny as Flying Dagger or Butterfly Sword, but it's a nice touch anyway.

There are loads of nice references to Bichunmoo, Swordsman 2, and even Ashes of Time.

Overall, a great korean swordplay film to add to my collection.

BTW: The version I've seen is 115 minutes long. It is the so-called "extended international version".

Comedy

hope its doesnt ruin the film like The Duelist did!

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 16 Apr 2006, 00:49

romerojpg wrote:Comedy hope its doesnt ruin the film like The Duelist did!

Exactly what I thought! Of course, with a score of 4.5/5 Tom will say it won't, but we all know his Top 10 list. And although I agree that some of the films, he picked to be in his top 10 list, are good films, he still has "Twins Effect 2" in there.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 16 Apr 2006, 01:03

As long as its comedy like say Memories of Muder, or other more serious toned comedy from Korea I wont mind. Slapstick sex jokes and funny music, with speeded up running isnt good

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 16 Apr 2006, 05:25

romerojpg wrote:As long as its comedy like say Memories of Muder, or other more serious toned comedy from Korea I wont mind. Slapstick sex jokes and funny music, with speeded up running isnt good

Somehow i strongly doubt that your going to find humor similar to Memories of Murder in Shadowless Sword.

Anyway thanks for the review Tom. I'll probably pick up the LE in Korea.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 16 Apr 2006, 06:31

LD wrote:Does the New Line Cinema logo appear at the beginning of the film?

Yes it does.

Romero wrote:Comedy... hope its doesnt ruin the film like The Duelist did!

I haven't been able to watch more than 20 minutes of The Duelist. Too much style, zero substance (just like Nowhere to Hide).

Nah, the comedy touches are quite subtle.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Apr 2006, 09:38

Markgway wrote:From what I know there's some brief hardcore footage in the film, which the BBFC left alone because it was an arthouse film no ill-educated pleb was going to see. They did optically reframe a bit where a woman yanks a little boy's penis because it contravines the child protection act.

Yeah thats' right. The UK DVD uses a French print, its a pretty good transfer.

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 16 Apr 2006, 10:38

Running Wild (Korea - 2006) 2,5/5

I remember being quite disappointed with A Bittersweet Life last year.
It was a nice film, but there was nothing special about it. It was just "average".
And now, it's time for Running Wild (aka The Animal / Yasu).

Same problem. Same opinion. While Yu Ji-Tae and Kwon Sang-Wu are amazing, the story is quite confusing and some characters are under-developed. (maybe the extended cut will fix it).

The fights look good for the most part, but the soundtrack by Kenji Kawai is horrible. It sounds like he just remixed some soundclips from Seven Swords and put them in the background during the action scenes.

Overall, a fairly uninteresting film. Too bad, I was expecting so much more.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 16 Apr 2006, 10:59

Tom2681 wrote:Too much style, zero substance (just like Nowhere to Hide).

Woooo... quite a statement.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Apr 2006, 11:02

I'm guessing LD likes Nowhere to Hide?

I havent seen it BTW, but I'd like to see it

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 16 Apr 2006, 11:06

I've watched Nowhere to Hide 3 times to make sure I hadn't missed anything.
I didn't find anything in this film. It's completely empty.

Sure the camerawork is great, but that alone doesn't make a film...

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 16 Apr 2006, 13:19

3 times, wow. I had hard time getting it through once.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 16 Apr 2006, 13:25

NOWHERE TO HIDE is probibly THE best Korean film ever made (that I have seen)

BiscLimpkit · Post by **BiscLimpkit** » 16 Apr 2006, 13:37

Densha Otoko (aka Train Man) 4/5

Densha Otoko appears to be TV director Masanori Murakami's first feature length project. The story originated from an actual online transcript, which documented one internet nerd's pursuit for love with a pretty Tokyo girl. This later evolved into a Manga, then a novel and even a play, before being adapted for cinema and TV. Popular young actor Takayuki Yamada, who has such J-dramas as Sekai no Chushin de and Waterboys under his belt, handles the role of Train Man - a 22 year old dweeb who is too nervous to confront a girl he met on the train. As a result, he resorts to a website, where a group of anonymous online buddies decide to help him out. Through advice, arguements and pressure, he slowly develops a relationship with his dream girl.

I'm not sure how faithful the film is to the actual events but Densha Otoko paints a reasonably accurate picture of the whole "otaku" (Japanese for 'geek') culture. We have a wide range of individuals helping him out, from video game enthusiasts to those who live in social isolation. The whole online community thing is now pretty common worldwide - people are not afraid to open up to strangers. In that respect, the film has done well to portray our reliance on the internet in an amusing yet heart-felt manner.

Even the romance angle was quite nicely done; the lead female (played by Miki Nakatani) is made to look like a naturally beautiful woman, someone you could easily meet on the train and not some hard-to-approach celebrity. However this relationship gradually slips into familiar melodramatic territory, something the Japanese are great experts of. Incidentally, Takayuki Yamada is more convincing in the sentimental chapters. His timing for comedy requires a little practise and his nervous twitchings do begin to irritate after a while. Having said that, there is still enough humour to bind the story together and deliver a well rounded rom-com.

Additional note...
The HK region three is remarkably annoying in the sense that it has dual English-Chinese subtitles (like in Sekai no Chushin de). This is a bad move, as it masks a lot of the cool Japanese smilies and text transcript. The Dolby and DTS mixes however, are fantastic.

ReconFive · Post by **ReconFive** » 16 Apr 2006, 20:29

Missing in Action 3: Braddock - 4.5/5
Classic Golan&Globus cheese. One of Chuck Norris's better 80s flicks.
..although nothing comes close to Invasion USA