Best asian action/ martial arts type film in the past while?

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 02 Nov 2006, 21:43

I've got about $25 of credit at yesasia, so was wanting to buy some decent action films. But have no idea what's good.

Am leaning towards the Hero DC as don't know of anything else to buy, but want to know what else to get!

If there aren't any decent action or martial arts films, then anything that is a good film, but not a soppy romance. Horrors or thrillers are good I guess.

Cheers guys and gals.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 02 Nov 2006, 21:56

SPL but Kill Zone is out now.
Hero DC is good.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 03 Nov 2006, 02:25

Here is a list of some of my favourite action/thrillers you can get for that money. I won't post the titles of which I know you have seen them (e.g. A Moment of Romance). The list is from my DVD Profiler and desiplays some of the films I have rated with 5, 4.5 or 4 out of 5.

Wild Card (Korean Cop-actioner. Two cops go after a team of young murders who kill their victims by swinging a metal ball on their heads. Strange, but decent and very stylish.)
Memories of Murder (Korean police thriller)
Sonatine (Kitano)
Hana-Bi (Kitano)
Friend (Korean mafia film)
Beat (Korean gangster drama)
Joint Security Area (Korean military drama)
Tube (Korean no-brains non-stop modern day action)
Go (Japanese youth drama about a half Korean guy half Japanese guy living in Japan)
Bullets Over Summer (HK cop flick starring my man Francis Ng)
Shinobi (Japanese samurai/fantasy. If you are a bit familiar with a bit of Japanese history, you'll notice many famous characters, such as Yagyu family members, Tokugawa Ieyasu or Hattori Hanzo. You'll know the latter from "Kill Bill".)
High and Low (Kurosawa, awesome kidnapping thriller. You should probably get the bfi disc, though.)
The President's Barber (no action, but a hilarious Korean comedy starring no other than Song Kang-ho.)
Marathon (again, no action here. But if you liked "Rain Man" you'll like this Korean drama about an authist who trains for a long marathon).
A Gambler's Story (HK - Director Marco Mak adds his own stylistic touches to the gambling genre as he mixes it with decent dramatic elements which benefit a lot from the lead actor, Francis Ng.)
Arahan (Korean action comedy with some nice martial arts, choreographed by Jong Doo-hong.)
Three... Extremes (Three horror short films. One by Park Chan-wook ("OldBoy"), one by Takashi Miike and one by Fruit Chan.)
Love Battlefield (Probably the best recent independent HK love/action/thriller with one of the most haunting soundtracks in recent HK films, too. It had a very strong and touching effect on me as it reminded me of why I love movies so much.)
Breaking News (HK actioner... does not belong to Johnnie To's better efforts, but the opening sequence where a long ass shootout in an alley is shown without a cut and without the use of music is definitely worth the full price of the DVD.)
Silmido (Nice Korean military action drama.)
Attack the Gas Station (Korean popcorn film for the sole purpose of entertainment. You'll enjoy this if you usually enjoy watching people getting smacked around on the head for two hours.)
Fulltime Killer (Johnnie To and Andy Lau. Enough said.)
Running out of Time (Johnnie To and Andy Lau. Enough said.)
Full Alert (Ringo Lam directed this battle between Lau Ching-wan and Francis Ng.)

I hope this was a bit of help. I'm pretty sure that there will be some films you have already seen.

And degen... you liked all the films I recommended to you, didn't you?

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 03 Nov 2006, 02:36

Fearless.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 03 Nov 2006, 02:40

I'd wait for a subtitled version. There is an inofficial version that features this (or lets call it at its actual name: a bootleg), but this is not available at YesAsia.

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 03 Nov 2006, 09:32

Lost - have actually seen or got most of those ones you recommended (so yeah, I do like the films you've recommended!), but I'll add to my possibles list Shinobi, Tube and Arahan.

I''m also gonna have to read up on this SPL. Seen it mentioned quite a few times, but I sometimes just kinda figured it was an obscure reference to football in scotland!!!

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 03 Nov 2006, 11:11

Ok, ended up buying:

SPL $16
Hero DC $13
Wild card (Korean release) $4!!!
The Anarchist (some korean film) $2!!!

WIth the $25 credit it only cost me about $9.50!! Can't complain!!

Cheers for recommendations!

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 03 Nov 2006, 11:33

SPL is nonsense btw.

Money not well spent.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 03 Nov 2006, 12:21

degeneration wrote:Ok, ended up buying:

SPL $16

Awesome!

Hero DC $13

Awesome!

Wild card (Korean release) $4!!!

Great! Wonderful price for the Korean release.

The Anarchist (some korean film) $2!!!

I expected much more of this film, because it was written by Park Chan-wook and stars Jang Dong-gun.

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 03 Nov 2006, 13:28

Markgway wrote:SPL is nonsense btw.

Money not well spent.

Well technically I didn't spend!! This one and the other two cheapy ones could be the ones I got for free, and then I bought Hero DC, which is money well spent...

degeneration · Post by **degeneration** » 03 Nov 2006, 13:31

thelostdragon wrote:
degeneration wrote:Ok, ended up buying:

Wild card (Korean release) $4!!!
Great! Wonderful price for the Korean release.

The Anarchist (some korean film) $2!!!
I expected much more of this film, because it was written by Park Chan-wook and stars Jang Dong-gun.

Was only going to go for Hero and SPL, but figured at those prices, I may as well give them a go.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 03 Nov 2006, 13:39

You won't regret getting "Wild Card".

As for SPL... I don't know what Mark is talking about. It is really the best recent HK action film you can get at the moment.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 03 Nov 2006, 17:16

hey,

But what Mark says is law.

Nice selections by LD, shows someone more is in-tune with the underrated HK flicks...

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 03 Nov 2006, 17:21

So you like SPL too, Ken?

I thought it was vapid piffle, all-too-typical of recent HK cinema.

There ARE still good HK movies, just nowhere near as many as there used to be.

I can't pretend otherwise.

Hero was a damn good buy though. 8)

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 03 Nov 2006, 17:34

hey,

So you like SPL too, Ken?

Of course. You know how our tastes differ so you should've figured that out on your own.

Some need to stop living in the past too much and either accept what's out there or proclaim Hong Kong cinema dead. If you're only after action, I won't argue if you decide to proclaim that. Thankfully there are still much to look forward to in many other genres. Shame many others won't or dare look that far.

Hero was overrated. Visually a masterpiece, storytelling left me empty. Zhang Yimou belongs elesewhere genre-wise.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 03 Nov 2006, 18:32

I fear change...
Hero was outstanding

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 03 Nov 2006, 23:03

Knetan wrote:Nice selections by LD, shows someone more is in-tune with the underrated HK flicks...

Huh? Which of the HK films I have listed are underrated? Rather unknown (undiscovered) by most, I'd say. I'm sure if these films had come along with lots of advertisement, people would like them as much as they do like the overrated films.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 03 Nov 2006, 23:06

hey,

for me, sometimes it's an awfully thin line between underrated and unknown....never know how to define.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 03 Nov 2006, 23:45

I refuse to just accept current HK cinema for what it is when I know what it has been. It's like getting the finest steak in a restaurant for 20 years and then someone telling you it's been taken over by Burger King. Sometimes you get a good burger, sure, but it's hardly the same.

There are too many popstars instead of actors, too many rubbish scripts, too many directors who think flashy visuals are an aceptable substitute for a good story... it has nothing to do with the number of action movies. I've watched many comedies and dramas too.

Let's take a look at LD's list from my perspective:

Bullets Over Summer **.5
A Gambler's Story ***
Dumplings *.5
Love Battlefield **
Breaking News **.5
Fulltime Killer *
Running out of Time *.5
Full Alert ***
SPL **

Those are honest scores out of ****

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 04 Nov 2006, 00:05

Whoa, you rated "Breaking News" higher than "Fulltime Killer" and "Running out of Time".

What's so wrong with "Love Battlefield"? What is it that you didn't like about SPL? Just interested in your point of view.

What is a good recent HK film to you?

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 04 Nov 2006, 01:31

Not pure HK-films, perhaps, but I thought Fearless and Hero were excellent.

Not just because they were "action" but because they were crafted with care and artistry.

SPL had some nicely brutal, bone-crunching fights, but nothing else. Where was the character, the dialogue, the meaning??? It was utterly vapid.

I'm struggling to remember much about Love Battlefield, but it didn't make much of an impression on me.

Breaking News wasn't bad. Loved the opening gunfight. Usual Johnnie To flaws of course. Fulltime Killer was awful, stupid drivel. Running Out of Time I didn't like, can't remember why off-hand.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 04 Nov 2006, 01:39

Markgway wrote:Running Out of Time I didn't like, can't remember why off-hand.

Yet, you seemed to remember it well enough to give it a rating of 1.5.

Shingster · Post by **Shingster** » 04 Nov 2006, 01:58

Knetan wrote:Thankfully there are still much to look forward to in many other genres. Shame many others won't or dare look that far.

The problem is that when you consider how much Korea and Japan have just completely outshined HK cinema over the last 5yrs, it's no wonder Asian film fans do not have the motivation to "look a little deeper".

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 04 Nov 2006, 02:51

Markgway wrote:Hero was a damn good buy though. 8)

And that's more a Chinese than HK film.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 04 Nov 2006, 05:03

hey,

The problem is that when you consider how much Korea and Japan have just completely outshined HK cinema over the last 5yrs, it's no wonder Asian film fans do not have the motivation to "look a little deeper".

That is in all honesty very true, am not denying that. That's why I keep pushing that there is in fact something still to be had from Hong Kong cinema. Not AS much as before or AS much as Korea or Japan but still...