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

tom2681 · Post by **tom2681** » 07 Dec 2007, 23:28

2LDK (Yukihiko Tsutsumi - 2003): 3 / 5

That's what I call "guilty pleasure".

I know this isn't a good film. There isn't enough plot, the camerawork isn't particularly inspired, the whole thing looks gray and lifeless, the pace is awkward... oh, and the ending sucks.

But I like it. Don't know why. Maybe because it isn't pretentious at all.
Two girls beating the shit out of each other with chainsaws, knives and samurai swords. Nothing more, nothing less.

Not a bad way to spend 70 minutes, in my humble opinion.
Will buy the french DVD.

HungFist · Post by **HungFist** » 08 Dec 2007, 00:54

No One’s Ark (Japan, 2003) – 4,5/5
Before reaching for the mainstream success with Linda Linda Linda Nobuhiro Yamashita was one of Japan’s most interesting directors. His near-perfect second film No One’s Ark is even better than my previous Yamashita favourite, Realism no yado. The well written storyline of a young couple trying to set up their own business in the early 90’s Japan is simple but engaging. There are several scenes that in the hands of a less talented director could easily turn awkward but Yamashita handles them masterfully. The film is filled with silent humour, and director’s skill with music and visuals create several impressive scenes. The acting is also perfect.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 08 Dec 2007, 10:28

A Bittersweet Life - 4.5/5
This achieves nothing but pure cinematic elegance, a quality that's very rare in today's movies. If you enjoy Brian De Palma's films, then you'll like this one too.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 08 Dec 2007, 13:15

The Detective 2/5

watchable but instantly forgettable film from oxide pang.Aaron Kwok stars as a wannabe private eye/detective on the trail of a mysterious killer of a group of friends.the first hour or so was pretty decent but i lost interest towards the end.overlong.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 08 Dec 2007, 14:30

Hmmm, sorry about that, salty. It was shipped out to me a few days ago. Will let you know about my personal opinion.

saltysam · Post by **saltysam** » 08 Dec 2007, 15:50

thelostdragon wrote:Hmmm, sorry about that, salty. It was shipped out to me a few days ago. Will let you know about my personal opinion.

no problem LD. it was worth a watch and only £4

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 08 Dec 2007, 16:54

The Weather Man - 4/5
Watched it again. It's a very good film and very quiet for Hollywood standards.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 08 Dec 2007, 17:08

Yi-Long wrote: The 'You are Wrong!' cat greets you, Brad!

Best post on thsi forum in months!

now thats a cat. Right click save.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 08 Dec 2007, 17:27

thelostdragon wrote:The Weather Man - 4/5
Watched it again. It's a very good film and very quiet for Hollywood standards.

Based on Pirates 1 and Ring I've no interest in enduring another Gore Verbinski film. Mouse hunt didn't look particularly good either. I did quite like The Mexican though, but it's far from a classic.

This may sum up The Weather Man well:

"Billed as a quirky, character-driven comedy, Verbinski’s sabbatical from Pirates Of The Caribbean is, despite stalwart performances from Cage, Davis and Caine, about as fun as sitting in a soaking wet overcoat for 90 minutes."

I've no idea though.

http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/rev ... DID=117319

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 08 Dec 2007, 17:52

Give it a shot, brad. I only knew it was a Verbinski film when the credits rolled. I don't see any similarities to his other films. The guy is right, though, the film is not fun to sit through. But that's due to the fact that it is not supposed to be a funny film. There are some light jokes, but none of them will make you laugh out loudly. It's not a comedy, but a dramatic family story about a man who has a successful career, but fails to succeed in his private life, although he is a good man.

IMDB rating 7/10 with 20,000 votes.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0384680

Trailer:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/paramount ... erlrg.html

Doesn't really catch the tone of the overall film, though.

Yi-Long · Post by **Yi-Long** » 09 Dec 2007, 00:33

romerojpg wrote:
Yi-Long wrote: The 'You are Wrong!' cat greets you, Brad!

Best post on thsi forum in months! now thats a cat. Right click save.

I wanted to find an existing 'cat with text' picture, so I just googled 'you're wrong cat' or something like that, and one of the pics that came up was this one, except without the text... so I quickly added the text in photoshop

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 09 Dec 2007, 00:58

You went to all that effort for me, me and my bait are touched.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 09 Dec 2007, 01:00

The Cat wins.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 09 Dec 2007, 03:54

bradavon wrote:You went to all that effort for me, me and my bait are touched.

Come back fails. Hang your head in shame Alexei.

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 09 Dec 2007, 09:51

Pulse (Kairo) - 4/5
Terrifically shot and edited piece of thought-proking psychological horror. Briming to the edge with atmosphere.

The Quiet Family - 3/5
Sharply written and well acted.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 09 Dec 2007, 12:11

Undeclaed War - 3.5/5
Brutal Ringo Lam terrorist thriller, with a "Rush Hour"-like buddy-duo, only that this has been shot in 1990. East meets West. Danny Lee and... uhm... some white guy team up to hunt down the head of a terror organisation who is planning his next attack in HK.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 09 Dec 2007, 16:18

EvaUnit02 wrote:Pulse (Kairo) - 4/5
Terrifically shot and edited piece of thought-proking psychological horror. Briming to the edge with atmosphere.

It's great isn't it. It's one of the best Ringu type films. I know not one of the best names for the genre.

I owned the HK DVD for years and thought it was good. I watched it shortly before picking up the R4 and my god it's atrocious. The Japanese DVD is only DD2.0 though so that's a complete non-starter.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 09 Dec 2007, 16:25

thelostdragon wrote:Undeclaed War - 3.5/5
Brutal Ringo Lam terrorist thriller, with a "Rush Hour"-like buddy-duo, only that this has been shot in 1990. East meets West. Danny Lee and... uhm... some white guy team up to hunt down the head of a terror organisation who is planning his next attack in HK.

[Mark-mode]

CRAP....donkey balls and sweat.

http://www.sogoodreviews.com/reviews/undeclaredwar.htm

EvaUnit02 · Post by **EvaUnit02** » 09 Dec 2007, 16:32

bradavon wrote:I owned the HK DVD for years and thought it was good. I watched it shortly before picking up the R4 and my god it's atrocious. The Japanese DVD is only DD2.0 though so that's a complete non-starter.

PQ on the R4 is great, and the DD5.1 mix is really well done.

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 09 Dec 2007, 16:36

bradavon wrote:It's great isn't it. It's one of the best Ringu type films. I know not one of the best names for the genre.

It's a Kiyoshi Kurosawa, it defies genre.

I was actually going to do a comparison of the R2J and R2UK yesterday but decided not to bother. Now I know you two have two other versions for comparison I'll put one up.
Lucky I was too lazy to post back my R2UK rental yesterday.

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 09 Dec 2007, 16:41

Remakes better.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 09 Dec 2007, 16:51

Knetan wrote:
thelostdragon wrote:Undeclaed War - 3.5/5
Brutal Ringo Lam terrorist thriller, with a "Rush Hour"-like buddy-duo, only that this has been shot in 1990. East meets West. Danny Lee and... uhm... some white guy team up to hunt down the head of a terror organisation who is planning his next attack in HK.
[Mark-mode]

CRAP....donkey balls and sweat.

http://www.sogoodreviews.com/reviews/undeclaredwar.htm

He he he! I enjoyed it for what it is.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 09 Dec 2007, 17:17

Lourdes wrote:I was actually going to do a comparison of the R2J and R2UK yesterday but decided not to bother. Now I know you two have two other versions for comparison I'll put one up.

Eva or I can add R4 captures but the HK DVD went in the bin after I couldn't get rid on eBay a few months back.

It was truly shocking, it looked like a bootleg VCD.

EvaUnit02 wrote:PQ on the R4 is great, and the DD5.1 mix is really well done.

I heard the original audio is DD2.0 (apparently it's on the credits) hence the Japanese DVD being DD2.0. Even if that's true the 5.1 mix is so good I wouldn't want to watch it without it.

I originally went for the HK DVD as it too has DD5.1. AFAIK only the R4 and HK DVDs have 5.1 audio.

Knetan · Post by **Knetan** » 09 Dec 2007, 17:39

thelostdragon wrote:
Knetan wrote:
thelostdragon wrote:Undeclaed War - 3.5/5
Brutal Ringo Lam terrorist thriller, with a "Rush Hour"-like buddy-duo, only that this has been shot in 1990. East meets West. Danny Lee and... uhm... some white guy team up to hunt down the head of a terror organisation who is planning his next attack in HK.
[Mark-mode]

CRAP....donkey balls and sweat.

http://www.sogoodreviews.com/reviews/undeclaredwar.htm
He he he! I enjoyed it for what it is.

And that's ok.

See, that's how you end a forum fight.

thelostdragon · Post by **thelostdragon** » 09 Dec 2007, 17:46

Did it even start, yet?