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

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 13 Jul 2006, 09:03

Has anyone seen LWAC No. 6? I thought it was great, actually lots of fun (though it looked pretty stupid in the R1 trailer IIRC).

Whats with the ending? Did Retsudo escape?

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 13 Jul 2006, 11:59

Hey,

Last night I had a gander at 400 Blows Criterion but I didnt watch it properly.
The transfer looked excellent for such an old film.

Tom what does Antoine call his teacher? The Criterion subs say "sourpuss", when I watched the film in school it was "Big Lugs" or "Big Ears" or something.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 13 Jul 2006, 14:36

grim_tales wrote:Has anyone seen LWAC No. 6? I thought it was great, actually lots of fun (though it looked pretty stupid in the R1 trailer IIRC).

Worst in the series, but still an excellent movie. Totally under-rated. The 15 minute segment following the opening credits is simply perfect.

grim_tales wrote: Whats with the ending? Did Retsudo escape?

Yes

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 13 Jul 2006, 14:51

Thanks

Funny way to end the series then, IMO. If No 6 is the worst (IYO), whats the best?

What versions do you have? I'm happy with the Thai set I have.

The scene with Ogami taking on a whole army of bad guys who are skis/sleds etc is crazy

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 13 Jul 2006, 16:05

grim_tales wrote: If No 6 is the worst (IYO), whats the best?

1. Baby Cart in Peril
2. Land of Demons
3. Sword of Vengeance
4. Baby Cart at River Styx
5. Baby Cart to Hades
6. White Heaven in Hell

grim_tales wrote: What versions do you have?

Animeigo

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 13 Jul 2006, 16:11

Cool. As I say I have the Thai set which I'm happy with (which seem to be almost identical to the R1's, AV and subs wise). No liner notes though.
I cant remember what I thought was the worst, I saw Sword of Vengeance first, maybe the fact I saw it first influences me

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 13 Jul 2006, 18:07

1st ever Rainbow episode "Shapes" (1972) -?/5

WTF

Very different from the 80's episodes I grew up with.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 13 Jul 2006, 23:14

dragonhero005 wrote:Grave of the Fireflies

I never thought an anime could be so touching and seem so realistic.
Highly recommended!

4.5/5

Indeed a great film. There are many other animes which are very touching as well. But it's true that "GotF" is a stand-out piece of cinema.

dragonhero005 · Post by **dragonhero005** » 14 Jul 2006, 17:27

Expect... the Unexpected

A good To movie - just as I had expected. The acting and the music is very good, the characters likeable and the story doesn´t move on too slow. At first I didn´t know what I should think about the title, because the movie seemed to be almost over and nothing unexpectably had happed. I thought that "The unexpected" could have been this love-comedy-like ending, which would not have fitted this dark movie at all. But there was still something to come.
I had expected that maybe one of the good guys turns out to be a bad one... but no! Instead all the good guys die.
What a weird ending that was... I had wished the movie to end in a different way...
And because there are no English subtitles for the special features on the disc I couldn´t even watch To´s explanation for the ending he chose.

It´s still a good movie and can be recommended.

3.5/5

EDIT: I changed the 3/5 into a 3.5/5. 3points is a bit hard and I didn´t say that I don´t like the movie. Not at all. I´ll rewatch it soon. But I was quite disappointed from the ending when I wrote this...

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 14 Jul 2006, 17:31

hey,

who knows who chose what on ETU as credited director Patrick Yau clearly was yanked from the picture. I love the film btw, saw its simple little human characters and its ballsy ending as totally agreeable. You simply shoudn't get away with that. Milkyway did.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 14 Jul 2006, 22:32

One of the better Milkyway films.

dragonhero005 · Post by **dragonhero005** » 16 Jul 2006, 09:56

The Fast & The Furious: Tokyo Drift

My friends took me to the cinema to see this masterpiece (just as they did when part 1 and 2 where at the cinema

).
Well... it was quite funny. The main actor is supposed to be under 18 years of age, but he´s got more hair on his upper-body than Chuck Norris had in his best days...

Well, fast cars and gorgeous women are not always enough to entertain me. What I also didn´t like was the fact that the movie somehow delivers a message like: Those kids have no future and are proud of it - and that´s good this way!

The only thing I really liked besides the good sound effects and the girls was (EDIT: great) Sonny Chiba. I didn´t know he´s in this movie and was quite surprised when I saw him...

2,5/5

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 16 Jul 2006, 12:49

Bullet Ballet - 4/5
More Tsukamoto. Strange, violent and beautiful. Not as powerful as Tokyo Fist, but still a great film. Shot completely in black & white. The ending is just wonderful.

Vital – 4/5
The best Tsukamoto I’ve seen so far. Visually mindblowing. In terms of cinematography and design this can be compared to recent Wong Kar-Wai films. Excellent performance by Asano.

Public Enemy - 3/5
I was afraid this might be similiar to Nowhere to Hide, which is one of the worst Korean films I've ever seen, but luckily it wasn’t. The characters are hard to like, but somehow fascinating at the same time. Just like the whole movie.

As Tears Go By - 3,5/5
I was lucky enough to catch this on a big screen. It was the only Wong Kar-Wai film I had not yet seen. I wasn’t expecting much, but I was positively surprised. The triad part didn’t work that well most of the time, but the rest was great. No Doyle here, but the visuals were really great nevertheless.

Twin Dragons - 4/5
What a surprise. I thought this was supposed to be one of Jackie's lesser movies, but it turned out great. Very funny humour combined with excellent action.

Come Drink With Me – 3/5
The beginning didn’t look very promising, but the action choreography get better as the film advances and the set ups are gorgeous.

Undo – 3,5/5
Nice short movie by Iwai, even though it’s nowhere near as great as Picnic (then again, nothing is). Slow start, but interesting story and another great score by the Remedios.

The Hills Have Eyes - 3/5
Not quite as gory and intense as it should’ve been, but still a very entertaining film. Looking forward to seeing Aja’s remake.

Annie Hall - 2,5/5
I’ve never been a huge fan of Allen. Annie Hall is a typical Woody film; mostly entertaining, sometimes great, sometimes boring. Diane Keaton was great, though.

Manhattan - 2,5/5
Better than Annie Hall. Again, it tends to get slightly boring at times, but the cinematography was great and I loved the ending. I feel like I’m gona like this more the next time I see it.

The Swamp – 1,5/5
This award winning TV movie is Korean cinema at its worst. A slow and boring film with forced artistry all over it. A couple of good scenes and a slightly amusing ending save this from being a complete disaster.

Sukeban Deka: The Movie - 3/5
A bit slow at times, but the last 20 minutes is dynamite. Great soundtrack, cute girls and campy fight scenes. Besides, a movie which features a scene in which a high school girl shoots down a helicopter with a yo-yo can’t be all bad.

Kurgan · Post by **Kurgan** » 16 Jul 2006, 18:38

The Lord Of The Rings - 5/5

Having finally seen all the films over the past three days in their extended formats, I have to say I was hugely impressed. Consistently brilliant in all areas, which considering the sheer size and scale of the films, is even more impressive. The length of the films wasn't really a problem, given the epic nature of it.

When I watched them at the cinema, I had a problem with the second film as, in terms of story, nothing had really changed from the first. The heroes were still far away from where they had to be, the situation was still dire etc.
All that's changed is that watching them in sequence rapidly just highlights that it's become a lot worse for them all.
Superb.

But then, most of you already knew that

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 17 Jul 2006, 09:57

Glad you enjoyed them

I think the first film is due a watch again from me.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 17 Jul 2006, 13:32

A Scanner Darkly - 4/5
Terrific scifi film about the long-term effects of drug use. Very funny scenes between the stoned characters as well, especially Robert Downey Jr. who steals every scene he's in.

The rotorscoped animation was very stylish and effectively showed the effects of drug hallucination. Keanu Reeves' and Winona Ryder's wooden acting made them seem like perfect stoners.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 17 Jul 2006, 18:07

hey,

Red Dust 4/5

Romance set against the backdrop of war and revolution with a dynamite lead performance by Brigitte Lin.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 17 Jul 2006, 23:07

dragonhero005 wrote:late Sonny Chiba.

Late Sonny Chiba?! Huh? When did he die?

the68monkey · Post by **the68monkey** » 18 Jul 2006, 04:02

Over the Hedge (4 out of 5)

Took my kids to see this one today and it was good! Lots of quite funny moments in this latest from DreamWorks. I'm not sure why it was rated PG, except that perhaps the scenes with The Verminator were slightly violent. :violent1: And perhaps some of the humor with the skunk was a bit much without a warning? Hmmm, I don't know. Most Disney films are far more violent, with your standard killing of the nurturing parent or whatnot.

It wasn't a GREAT film, but it was a fun one. William Shatner as Avril Levigne's dad was quite funny, too. But my favorite character would have to be Hammy the Squirrel. Best scene? After super-hyper Hammy gets caffeinated up with an energy drink.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 18 Jul 2006, 18:57

Father of the Pride - 3/5

CGI animated comedy from Dreamworks about a family of lions and other animals that was on Sky 1 a couple of years back (I think). Certainly amusing and quite funny, but not uproariously so. I did laugh a few times but some gags fall flat.
Good voice work by John Goodman and Carl Reiner though.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 18 Jul 2006, 20:36

hey,

Yesteryou, Yesterme, Yesterday 4/5

a Hong Kong version of The Wonder Years basically, right down to the running commentary style narration, but well handled by Samson Chiu (When I Fall In Love...With Both - another strong recommendation by me). Quite frank and affecting in a welcome low-key way.

Shen · Post by **Shen** » 19 Jul 2006, 01:13

Harry Potter 1-4 - 4/5

These movies are actually pretty cool, although alot is seemingly ripped from LotR (dumbledore looking like gandalf, Lucious malfoy looking like saruman etc etc) the special effects are cool, and the stories arent half bad. i didnt get tired of watching them since the humour is good, and the movies are quite cool

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 19 Jul 2006, 10:41

Rear Window - 4.5/5
Haven't watched this Hitchcock classic before. Very, very good. Love the cinematography.

Shen · Post by **Shen** » 20 Jul 2006, 01:30

Shaolin Soccer - 4/5

good god i didnt laugh this hard at a film ever! although i previously said i didnt like his movies much this one is hilarious! watched it with my dad, we were both in hysterics at points. this movie is so cool...his best film i saw so-far. kung fu hustle isnt a patch on this. the out-takes were great too, the one with th e egg throwing, so funny. but man awesome movie

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 20 Jul 2006, 09:31

The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) Criterion - 5/5

A masterpiece IMO. I'd forgotten how good the film was, very moving.
Jean Pierre Léaud is superb as the young rebel, Antoine who has a diificult life thanks to an oppressive teacher and his parents, so he keeps running away, and takes refuge in the cinema. Its clear that the Antoine character was modelled on the real-life Truffaut (the director) as he had the same sort of experiences.

The video quality is excellent on the new Criterion and the subtitles seemed fine.

Tom have you seen the film? What does Antoine call the teacher? Little.. something.

The subtitles translate it as "Sourpuss" (?) and the old Tartan VHS said "Big Lugs" or "Big Ears".