grim_tales wrote:So why was Oh Desu imprisoned anyway? I've forgotten
Bare with me if this ain't 100% accurate, been a while since I've seen it.
Daesu sleeps with Woojin's sister, this causes bad rumours about her spread, like her getting pregnant. She commits suicide and Woojin blames Daesu. Woojin was also sleeping with his sister.
It's all convolted nonsense in retrospect. I agree with previous posters, the last hour is supreme weak sauce.
Die Hard 4 - 2.5/5
Better than I expected it to be. Entertaining brain dead movie, not a patch on the genius of DH 1.
DH1 > DH3 >>>>> DH2 > DH4.
The Last Detail - 3.5/5
Charming comedy-drama from Hal Ashby and finely written by Robert Towne. Loveable performances from all the three Jack Nicholson, Otis Young and Randy Quaid.
Five Easy Pieces - 3.5/5
Cozy family drama with the sincerest performance that I've seen from Nicholson to date.
Head - 3/5
Highly entertaining drug-addled madness.
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada - 4/5
A finely written Rashomon-esque script by Guillermo Arriaga, this time free from the ponticating that's seen in his collaborations (and increasingly contrived and ego-boosting) with Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu. Has that great raw and no-bullshit direction style typical of films directed by actors, where performances and writing take centre stage.
Tremendous performances from both Tommy-Lee Jones and Barry Pepper.
Last edited by EvaUnit02 on 19 Aug 2007, 11:03, edited 1 time in total.
grim_tales wrote:So why was Oh Desu imprisoned anyway? I've forgotten
Bare with me if this ain't 100% accurate, been a while since I've seen it.
Daesu sleeps with Woojin's sister, this causes bad rumours about her spread, like her getting pregnant. She commits suicide and Woojin blames Daesu. Woojin was also sleeping with his sister.
It's all convolted nonsense in retrospect. I agree with previous posters, the last hour is supreme weak sauce.
been a few years since I last saw it but from I recall
Daesu did not sleep with the girl. Woojin probably didn't sleep with her either, but was in love with her. Daesu started spreading rumours and she killed herself because of that.
It is unknown whether Lee Woo-Jin slept with his sister or not. Yes, she had a big belly when they pulled her out of the water, but it doesn't mean she was really pregnant.
All Oh Dae-Soo did was tell his brother that Lee Woo-Jin was having sex with Lee Soo-Ah. AFAIK, he didn't even know that the two were related.
Then, Dae-Soo's brother started to spread the rumour (which lead Soo-Ah to her suicide). Blinded by revenge, Woo-Jin focused on the wrong guy. To some extent, all the characters are victims in OldBoy.
I used to be "the man who loves the movies you hate".
Now I'm just "that weird french guy with a cat avatar who comes to BnB once a year for no reason and then disappears again".
Ghost Soup – 2/5
This being a re-watch I knew what to expect, although it didn’t make the first 35 minutes any easier. A prime example of how even a great director can deliver pure garbage. Everything from music to acting and storytelling is downright awful. Not really boring but irritating for sure. But the last 20 minutes is different. It’s cheap but still extremely enjoyable, makes you feel good. You’ll even start seeing the characters in different light. I wanted to hang Dave Spector in the beginning, and wouldn’t have touched Ranran Suzuki with stick. And when the movie is about to end I’m starting to have romantic thoughs of her...
Fried Dragon Fish – 2/5
Released just months prior to the great Uchiage hanabi, shita kara Miruka? Yoko kara Miruka?, Fried Dragon Fish is another unsuccesful TV movie by Iwai. His attempt to create a solid b-grade detective movie is plagued by poor acting and hasty execution. The second half flows better than the first, but once the movie is over the chances are the only things to have stuck in your memory are Tadanobu Asano’s presence and the ending song by Chara.
Undo – 2,5/5
Undo begins with a black screen opening credits sequence accompanied by a promising score by Remedios. Familiar but not too conventional. Until later on when it becomes too underlining. This is a problem that applies to the whole movie. The first third is impressive, appart from some mistreat of turtles, with a nice muted brownish colour scheme and grain. The acting by Tomoko Yamaguchi is good and Iwai gets close to her, especially in the ”kissing” scene. But then the rope hell begins. The acting becomes worse, Iwai relies on simpliness even when the characters are nearly unapproachable, and even the visual look chances when more brightness and clarity is applied. The best scene of the middle part, Etsushi Toyokawa entering the web filled room, isn't even Iwai’s style, it’s closer to Burton. The ending isn’t much better, even if the movie still looks better than your average drama and the music works.
Hana and Alice – 4/5
Iwai does the impossible; a good teen drama comedy. Not really surprising from the director, just something that doesn’t happen often in the genre. Hana and Alice is definitely one of the lesser films of Iwai’s recent output but a damn entertaining movie nevertheless. The visuals are charming as expected and the soundtrack, of which Iwai was responsible for himself, works nicely. Biggest thanks goes to cast, with absolutely adorable performances by Anne Suzuki and Yu Aoi. Tomohiro Kaku is very good in the male lead, too, and Ayumi Ito appears in small supporting role.
Last edited by HungFist on 19 Aug 2007, 17:24, edited 1 time in total.
I really like Ghost Soup, has a wonderfully quirky story and always gets a watch around christmas by me. Undo is a beautiful, haunting tale of a relationship that has run its course, and the acting is totally appropriate to the story! I'm also absolutely stunned that you don't seem to know who Etsushi Toyokawa and Tomoko Yamaguchi are (seeing as you got them both mixed up)! The former was one of the main stars of Love Letter and a pretty prolific star ffs!
Solid police movie by Danny Lee with straight, valid concerns that at this time wasn't about dishing out justice like we saw in TWIST. Lee has done and appeared in better flicks in similar vein though, prime material from this period probably being his own directed LAW WITH TWO PHASES and Billy Chan's gritty NO COMPROMISE.
The climax of THE LAW ENFORCER stands out though as a well-edited and tense reel of film.
Mishiranu wagako (1991) – 1,5/5
Even the great one started low. Real low. Iwai’s supernatural non-sense features a pretty shot or two, and a nice theme tune, too. The rest is garbage that may have slight interest value for hard core fans like me.
Koroshi ni kita otoko (1991) – 1/5
And lower we go. Z-grade ’memories come back haunting’ assassin drama only succeeds in angering the viewer.
Maria (1992) – 2/5
Interesting main character and some good parts (that cut out too fast) make this 24 minutes somewhat watchable. Unfortunately there’s still some abysmal scenes and Iwai hasn’t gotten rid of his non-sense scripts.
Kani kan (1992) – 2/5
This time we have a decent storyline for a 15 min short, but Iwai doesn’t do much other than transfer the dialogue to film. Restless camera and editing is used to cheer up some scenes. Obviously a work of a director who had not yet found his style. Toshiya Saka of Sailor fuku to kikanju (1981) plays a cop.
Genshi monogatari (1992) – 4/5
After all the preceeding misery this really took me by a surprise. Genshi monogatari is a brilliant TV work taking fully place in one appartment. Starring only one actor Iwai follows a young woman’s life for one day’s period with the skill we would later come to expect from him. Terrific cinematography, minimalistic setting and a good score together create a mesmerizing piece of Iwai art.
Omelette (1992) – 2/5
And downhill we go again. Omelette isn’t totally bad but fails to leave any sort of lasting impression. Yuta Yamazaki, the young star of Uchiage hanabi, shita kara Miruka? Yoko kara Miruka?, plays the lead role.
Yuki no oosama (1993) – 2/5
Where did Iwai’s ambition go? Yuki no oosama is a generic drama piece that could’ve been directed by anyone. Appart from a single shocking burst of dark humour there isn’t anything to set this appart from all the other similiar TV productions.
Lunatic Love (1994) – 3/5
Iwai surprises with a tight psycho thriller that may lack deeper coherence but developes a pretty tense atmosphere near the end. Audiovisual side shows some ambition too, although again it’s more about energy than coherence. Nothing more than a low budget TV thriller, but a good one at that.
Me too. Arlington Road is excellent. I didn't see the twist coming at all, very dark. The opening shot is great too.
Markgway wrote:Not sure yet as I gave up after an hour... too abstract and mannered for my tastes... mind you I'm still a little curious as to why the guy was imprisoned?
Well if you hadn't given up so easily you'd know the answer. Trust me it's a belter of a reason. Oldboy is a masterpiece and gets better and better as it goes on, the ending is amazing. I didn't see it coming at all.
Tom is right though it's best to watch it in one go.
Markgway wrote:And what was with that gross Octopus eating?
Pretty sick and unecessary even for a Korean.
They eat Octopus in Korea. I fail to see how it's less gross than black pudding or many other foods, such as rotten Whale.
Markgway wrote:And what was with that gross Octopus eating?
Pretty sick and unecessary even for a Korean.
They eat Octopus in Korea. I fail to see how it's less gross than black pudding or many other foods, such as rotten Whale.
Dog, Shark or Dolphin anyone?
Because we dont eat our animals alive esspecially a dog!
Your right anyway Mark, the films wayyyyy overated to hell. The end is stinking like shite.
Still well worth watching mind you, just to see how bad it ends I have not had the balls to rewtch it yet, but I did sell my Korean set for well over £100 so hey I liked the film for that reason.
I feel Old Boy is a very very good movie.... but it doesnt make for enjoyable watching. It's a bit heavy and depressing and glooming etc... plus once you know the ending... you know!?
So I'd give it a high rating, 4 or 4,5 outta 5... but I might watch a 3/5 movie more often and enjoy it more.
Cyclo is another example of a great movie, which isnt entertaining to watch...
I was there, the big BNB blackout of november, 2008. We lost many that day...
gotta agree with slasher here, Hopkins is one of my favourite actors, and i wasnt dissapointed by this film, very nicely done and some good courtroom drama, i thought maybe the ending was a bit of a let down but still it worked well with the film.
Yi-Long wrote:I feel Old Boy is a very very good movie.... but it doesnt make for enjoyable watching. It's a bit heavy and depressing and glooming etc...
I suppose you have not seen "Sympathy for Mr. Vengenace" then, have you?
Shingster wrote:I really like Ghost Soup, has a wonderfully quirky story and always gets a watch around christmas by me. Undo is a beautiful, haunting tale of a relationship that has run its course, and the acting is totally appropriate to the story! I'm also absolutely stunned that you don't seem to know who Etsushi Toyokawa and Tomoko Yamaguchi are (seeing as you got them both mixed up)! The former was one of the main stars of Love Letter and a pretty prolific star ffs!
I hate Ghost Soup with great passion, but I do like the message. But Undo I enjoy and own, lovely little film and I like the transfer.
HungFist wrote:Genshi monogatari (1992) – 4/5
After all the preceeding misery this really took me by a surprise. Genshi monogatari is a brilliant TV work taking fully place in one appartment. Starring only one actor Iwai follows a young woman’s life for one day’s period with the skill we would later come to expect from him. Terrific cinematography, minimalistic setting and a good score together create a mesmerizing piece of Iwai art.
I'll have to find my copy and give this one a viewing. Never bothered to try any of them before for obvious reasons.
I might have a bit of an Iwai kick myself soon. After you rating Swallowtail positively I want to make sure I still hate it.
Shingster wrote:I really like Ghost Soup, has a wonderfully quirky story and always gets a watch around christmas by me. Undo is a beautiful, haunting tale of a relationship that has run its course, and the acting is totally appropriate to the story! I'm also absolutely stunned that you don't seem to know who Etsushi Toyokawa and Tomoko Yamaguchi are (seeing as you got them both mixed up)! The former was one of the main stars of Love Letter and a pretty prolific star ffs!
I hate Ghost Soup with great passion, but I do like the message. But Undo I enjoy and own, lovely little film and I like the transfer.
I remember there was a zoom to Toyokawa's face (probably the doctor telling him something) that was so bad it nearly made me cry.
Lourdes wrote:
HungFist wrote:Genshi monogatari (1992) – 4/5
After all the preceeding misery this really took me by a surprise. Genshi monogatari is a brilliant TV work taking fully place in one appartment. Starring only one actor Iwai follows a young woman’s life for one day’s period with the skill we would later come to expect from him. Terrific cinematography, minimalistic setting and a good score together create a mesmerizing piece of Iwai art.
I'll have to find my copy and give this one a viewing. Never bothered to try any of them before for obvious reasons.
I might have a bit of an Iwai kick myself soon. After you rating Swallowtail positively I want to make sure I still hate it.
The box set is indeed a bit hard to recommed since only two of the eight shorts are good, and Genshi monogatari is the only one that I can really recommed. Lunatic Love (yes Shing, it stars Toyokawa ) I like but probably wouldn't dare to recommed it to other people. I bought the box from Jeroen maybe a year ago. I watched the first three but didn't feel motivated to go on...
Some time ago Jeroen stated he had lost his love for Lily, and at the same time Tom and Eva were bashing Iwai's work and I got motivated into rewatching it (ended up loving Lily even more than before... and btw, I think I did one more re-timing for the scrip, let me know if you want a copy) as well as the rest of Iwai's work I own...
Markgway wrote:Whether they feel pain or not is irrelevent.
Would it be OK if someone chews your leg off while you watch provided you've been given local anesthetic first?
I suspect you're just trying to wind me up because you know how I feel on the subject.
It's a fucking octopus! It only has rudimentary cognition ya daft sod!
Of course i'm not trying to wind you up, I'm trying to make you see sense! An octopus doesn't process pain like we do, nor does it have such a heightened realisation of itself being eaten. I highly doubt it contemplates the philosophical and theological ramifications of it being chomped to death by Choi Min-shik.
