Bullets 'n' Babes

Millionaires Express 4/5

LOL you guys seen this? Top stuff. There are a lot of characters/stars and it's good to see such diversity in everyone's fighting. Love the secret agent sketch but felt that certain characters were underused. In fact I'm beginning to wonder if they had any significance to the story.

Love the samurai scenes and the choreography. The humour is translated reasonably well.

Overall, fun enjoyable movie.

Get Shorty 4/5

Aye good slick entertainment. Wonder if I should watch Be Cool...

I ejoyed Millionaires Express Bisc

Violent Cop - 4/5
A dark, nihlistic cop drama in the Dirty Harry mould with a simplistic but totally effective plot. Kitano's Akuma makes Eastwood's Harry Callahan seem like a total pussy. Talk about a strong directorial debut for Kitano.

Sonatine - 4/5
I really enjoyed this film. Kitano's execution was great IMO. The actors all did great jobs I thought. It was funny how deadened to violence all the Yakuza guys seemed, they did alot of "standing around and looking bored".

I'm eager to see more Kitano now. My copy R4 Hana-bi "Director's Suite" edition (w/ the 5.1 remix) should be ready to pick up from the shop soon (I ordered it throught their website and chose the pick up option in order to save on shipping). Will prolly get Boiling Point as soon as my pay is wired to my account.

"Hana-Bi" is one of my favourite films ever.

Try to get hold of "Kikujiro No Natsu" (aka. "Summer of Kikujiro"). It's his first cinematic take on comedy.

If you are looking for a strong love film, check out "Dolls" which he directed only. It is a very calm film, but very well made in my opinion.

I don't know about "Zatoichi" for you though. If you liked his other works, this one might be a bit unexpected. Personally, I liked it, but it's not everybody's business.

thelostdragon wrote: Try to get hold of "Kikujiro No Natsu" (aka. "Summer of Kikujiro"). It's his first cinematic take on comedy.

If you are looking for a strong love film, check out "Dolls" which he directed only. It is a very calm film, but very well made in my opinion.

I'll be getting the R2UK's of Brother, Kikujiro (both of which are bloody cheap) and Dolls (which is abit pricy to import for a near barebones disc) one of these days.

I don't know about "Zatoichi" for you though.

I saw it at the cinemas in late 2004 and fucking loved it. Early last year I bought the UK 2-discer LE in the tin (for the DTS track, unaltered colours and the oodles of English-subbed extras), bloody lovely DVD set. If I hadn't have seen Zatoichi I prolly wouldn't have known about his other films or the man himself. I have a big Zatoichi Miramaxe poster on my bedroom wall.

Oh is "Getting Any?" any good? It looks fucking stupid IMO.

Chinese Tall Story: 4/5

Title of the film: A Chinese Tall Story.
Alternate title: A Chinese Odyssey 2005 on ecstasy.
Director: Jeff Lau (Chinese Odyssey, Chinese Odyssey 2002).
Music: Joe Hisaishi (Kitano movies).
Cool actors: Charlene Choi, Nicolas Tse, Fan Bing-Bing.

How do I summarize the plot to a friend if my phone's almost out of batteries: "Monk Tripitaka and the Monkey King have reached India and found the buddhist sutras. But the evil Tree Spirit attacks and captures the Monkey King, who sends the Monk away for his own protection. Now Tripitaka has to find a way to save him (and the world)."

Jeff Lau is back, and he's probably on drugs this time.
He's managed to turn the story of The Monkey King into a love-story between an ugly Charlene Choi and Nic Tse with relative ease.
He's also managed to spoof every genre and every movie ever made in 102 minutes.
A Chinese Tall Story is not as fun as "Twins Effect 2", it's not as poetic as "A Chinese Odyssey", and the actors aren't as charismatic as in "A Chinese Odyssey 2002". Still, the silliness of the ensemble more than makes up for it.

The scene that I love and would like to see one last time on my death bed: "Charlene's wacky suicide attempt".

The thing that makes me want to throw a molotov cocktail on the movie screen: "The lack of emotion in the dramatic scenes. TBH I was expecting more from Jeff Lau".

When the movie's done, how many of the 20 viewers will grab the Monkey King's Golden Staff and start beating up deities ? 16. ( 16/20 or 4/5 ).

Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love 3.5/5

I'm once again mesmerised by Mira Nair's grasp of fine visuals and music, showcasing the elegance of 16th century India. This period drama paints an intimate picture of love, lust and power but ultimately lacks a narrative focus.

Still fun to watch though.


Welcome to Dongmakgol 5/5

What a debut! Absolutely triumphant, hilarious, delightful and heart-felt. That boar sequence is the greatest piece of South Korean cinema ever.

Tom2681 wrote:When the movie's done, how many of the 20 viewers will grab the Monkey King's Golden Staff and start beating up deities ? 16. ( 16/20 or 4/5 ).

Haha I like the way you analyse films. Very cool.

However, what makes me think that I'm going to be one of the four viewers not grabbing any Monkey Golden Staff?

Nah I'm going to be checking this out at some point.

Twins Effect 2 was about as fun as my penis accidentally getting caught in a mousetrap.

brooce-leroy wrote:Twins Effect 2 was about as fun as my penis accidentally getting caught in a mousetrap.

Nice..... er review Bruce... ... So does that mean you really enjoyed that movie then?

Hi everyone! ..i'm back from film school for now, probably until June or July. I've been very busy with that so i have not posted in a while..but i'm back now

Anyway..

Princess Aurora - 4/5
Really enjoyed this. I don't like the way people have been automatically comparing this to Lady Vengeance just because its a female-taking-righteous-revenge movie. Sure SFLV is a better film overall, but Aurora is good on its own merits. Recommended.

Ultraviolet - 1.5/5
Embarrassingly terrible comeback for Kurt Wimmer after the fantastic Equilibrium. Weak story, pretty bad cgi, so-so fight choreography, lame bloodless PG-13 fights, atrocious dialog, and Milla Jovovich (a very bad thing, IMO). This all adds up to one of the worst action films i've seen in a while. It doesn't even work as mindless fun. Please avoid.

Say Yes - 4/5
Very well done Korean semi-rip-off of The Hitcher with alittle bit of Breakdown thrown in. The story centers on a young happy couple on vacation together, who are being terrorised by a psychotic guy (wonderfully played by Park Joong-Hoon). Aside from the absurd ending, this was a very enjoyable and well made thriller.

Welcome to Dongmakgol - 4.5/5
Everyone knows what this is by now so i wont go into details, but its deffinetly as great as everyone says.

Eight Below - 4/5
The best Disney produced live-action film i've seen. The dogs are fantastic and obviously steal the entire movie. If you are a dog person and appreciate good adventure/survival stories, check this one out.

I enjoyed Equilibrium Recon like you The script was full of holes though
I don't know about Dongmakgol but I've heard its really good.
BTW, welcome back!

brooce-leroy wrote:Twins Effect 2 was about as fun as my penis accidentally getting caught in a mousetrap.

LMAO!! Man I'm going to be laughing about this in the shower tomorrow. So funny!!

Grim, Dongmakgol is absolutely awesome. Probably my favourite South Korean film that I've seen in recent years.

I've been a fool, not to mention an idiot, for not wanting to see this sooner. It was only thanks to Romero's dodgy pronounciation that made me check this title out.

ReconFive wrote:Hi everyone! ..i'm back from film school for now, probably until June or July. I've been very busy with that so i have not posted in a while..but i'm back now

Anyway..

Princess Aurora - 4/5
Really enjoyed this. I don't like the way people have been automatically comparing this to Lady Vengeance just because its a female-taking-righteous-revenge movie. Sure SFLV is a better film overall, but Aurora is good on its own merits. Recommended.

Ultraviolet - 1.5/5
Embarrassingly terrible comeback for Kurt Wimmer after the fantastic Equilibrium. Weak story, pretty bad cgi, so-so fight choreography, lame bloodless PG-13 fights, atrocious dialog, and Milla Jovovich (a very bad thing, IMO). This all adds up to one of the worst action films i've seen in a while. It doesn't even work as mindless fun. Please avoid.

Say Yes - 4/5
Very well done Korean semi-rip-off of The Hitcher with alittle bit of Breakdown thrown in. The story centers on a young happy couple on vacation together, who are being terrorised by a psychotic guy (wonderfully played by Park Joong-Hoon). Aside from the absurd ending, this was a very enjoyable and well made thriller.

Welcome to Dongmakgol - 4.5/5
Everyone knows what this is by now so i wont go into details, but its deffinetly as great as everyone says.

Eight Below - 4/5
The best Disney produced live-action film i've seen. The dogs are fantastic and obviously steal the entire movie. If you are a dog person and appreciate good adventure/survival stories, check this one out.

Welcome back Recon!! How was film school? You've got a lot of old threads to read.

Thanks for the reviews. I was hoping that Ultraviolet would be decent (after Equilibrium) but I'm not holding my breath. Might try and check out Aurora next despite reading some dodgy reviews (I've found that we generally have similar tastes in movies).

I'm guessing Romero will love Ultraviolet whatever...

TMNT: Season 2 - first few episodes: 3/5

Surprisingly fun to watch and its' cool to see all the cut footage (never saw it back in the day). The humour is a bit goofy at times though and the action is rather slapstick based.

grim_tales wrote:I enjoyed Equilibrium Recon like you The script was full of holes though
I don't know about Dongmakgol but I've heard its really good.
BTW, welcome back!

I actually thought equilibrium was rather bland and so-so. I'm certainly hoping that ultraviolet is much better!

Supernatural eps 3-9 4/5

most seem to lack a little in plot, although some cool special effects.

the freaking monkey in ep 9 that claps the symbols together, why are they so freaky?

Saw 2 2.5/5

Not as good as the first one (which I thought was more serviceable than spectacular). It tries to be very clever, and in doing so, stretches plausibility to the limit. Some good "eeeeuueew" moments though.

Verdict: More (blunt-ish) hacksaw than chainsaw.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance 4.5/5

Aye total quality. Surprisingly effective and beautifully crafted samurai flick. Noticed how there is no sound whatsoever with the exception of dialogue, random music riffs and the "swoosh" of a katana. Love the bright red colour of Japanese blood.

That took a while for me to get used to as well Bisc, I mean there can be just one "swoosh" and there is no sund whatsoever when a guy falls down

Hana-bi - 4.5/5
An utterly fantastic film, as good as everyone said it was.

Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx 4.5/5

Yup felt this was an improvement on the first and it is easy to spot how much this film has been referenced worldwide. A truly influential title with fantasic camera work. Plus it was good to see some father/son development (albiet, somewhat subtle).

Might need to do a Grim and buy the Thai boxset now.

Oldboy - 9.5 out of 10

WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW, WOW

I had my reservations about seeing this and tbh if it wasn't for the Korean SFLV DVD maybe being a Limited Edition it would be even longer before I saw it. A far few films on this forum that get pretty much unanimous praise I've thought were average at best. But for once guys I have to agree

I saw Oldboy last night and oh my god what a fantastic film. It's not often you see a film that is completely flawless.

The music was perfect for each scene and VERY cool at that, Min-sik Choi (is that right?) was so utterly cool but also weak at the same time. The action was great, that corridor fight reminded me of Double Dragon.

The cinematography was excellent, as was the acting, directing and script. I really can't fault the film. I didn't see the twist coming AT ALL I was SO shocked. What a revelation! And then for Min-sik Choi to decide to be hypnotised so he can forget she's his daughter genius. I can't believe he cut his tongue out, it oddly fitted though. The guy who locked him up was really twisted.

I suppose if I had one niggle it would be that certain parts weren't explained as much as I'd like but then again films which explain everything are very annoying.

OUTSTANDING FILM.

Brad wonders off to buy SFMV R1 and SFLV Korean LE