Reply to Topic
I'm not sure how a film about the obsession of a government controlling the youth is lighthearted or fun
Asian Movie Challenge
Well, it's not light hearted compared to a chick flick, but it's light hearted for an ultra-violent film. Maybe it wasn't the best choice of words though.
X
Favorite Movies
Happy Together (Wong Kar-wai,1997)
Happy Together was my first Kar-wai film and I love the irony of title a lot because you wouldn't except it to be the complete opposite to happy at all. Also, another thing that I loved about the film is the character development and the thoughts that this movie provides when you see it for the first time. If you haven't seen a Wong Kar-Wai film, I would recommend you to watch this film.
Rating of film: 4/5 stars
Asian Movie Count: 6
Happy Together was my first Kar-wai film and I love the irony of title a lot because you wouldn't except it to be the complete opposite to happy at all. Also, another thing that I loved about the film is the character development and the thoughts that this movie provides when you see it for the first time. If you haven't seen a Wong Kar-Wai film, I would recommend you to watch this film.
Rating of film: 4/5 stars
Asian Movie Count: 6
X
User Lists
Happy Together is mid-tier Wong. For my money, Wong Kar-Wai falls like this (with somewhat arbitrary rankings in tiers, though Days of Being Wild still seems his best to me):
The Masterpieces:
Days of Being Wild
In the Mood for Love
Chungking Express
Strong, Striking Works:
Fallen Angels
Happy Together
The Grandmaster
Brief Flashes of Brilliance:
2046
Ashes of Time
The Failures:
As Tears Go By
My Blueberry Nights
The Masterpieces:
Days of Being Wild
In the Mood for Love
Chungking Express
Strong, Striking Works:
Fallen Angels
Happy Together
The Grandmaster
Brief Flashes of Brilliance:
2046
Ashes of Time
The Failures:
As Tears Go By
My Blueberry Nights
__________________
Mubi
Mubi
X
Favorite Movies
Swallowtail (1996)
This was a refreshing break from the cheap thrills I've been getting lately. It's a crime drama about an orphan immigrant girl living in a ghetto. After her mother dies she's passed off to a prostitute who takes care of her. The film had a lot of diversity in its pace, at times it was sad, at others it was funny, and still at other times there was a sense of action and adventure. The quality of acting was kind of a mixed bag, but the story is excellent and I really loved the main character, Ageha. She looks about twelve or thirteen, and is just this sad lonely girl. But she is really quite charming. I definitely recommend this film!
Zotis' Count: 16
X
Favorite Movies
Just saw Children Who Chase Lost Voices, 5 cm per Second, She and Her Cat, Voices of a Distant Star, and Garden of Words today. My rating = 
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Just saw Children Who Chase Lost Voices, 5 cm per Second, She and Her Cat, Voices of a Distant Star, and Garden of Words today. My rating =
Makoto Shinkai is currently (since Takahata and Miyazaki retired) the master of animated melodrama.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Guaporense, if you haven't seen Dragon's Heaven, you should check it out. It's on youtube. It's one of my favorites, a very beautiful OVA from the 80's.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
I have watched and it is on this very same thread. It is indeed one of the most visually impressive pieces of animation ever made.
How about Gal Force: Eternal Story (1986), or Demon of Steel (1987)?
Anyway, back to the challenge, I just finished watching...
Whispering Corridors (1998)
A Korean horror movie about a school struck by tragedy when their teacher commits suicide on the first day of school. I am really starting to get a taste for Korean horror movies, they are really well done in a classic horror sense. Unlike typical horror movies this movie doesn't try to shock you with graphic images or brutal violence, rather it focuses on telling a chilling tale of frightening events. It's very character and story driven. I'm going to be looking for more like this.
Zotis' Count: 17
Edit: And I just watched another one.
Blue (2001)
It's been a while since I've seen a truly stunning film. This was very slow paced and emotional. The atmosphere was so well done. I could feel what the characters were going through. It was so beautiful.
Zotis' Count: 18
Last edited by Zotis; 07-05-14 at 12:08 PM.
X
Favorite Movies
I had to make sure I rewatched Cold Fish before this was over. It's been a couple of years since I've seen it so I got that, "what the hell?!" feeling watching it.
I always kind of feel pretty twisted saying a movie about a seriel killer is "fun" but it is. It's gory and gruesome and twisted. It's also a dark character study and not just a movie with a body count.
But this is a movie where the less you know the better, so you should just go watch it. B+
My Asian Movie Count: 26
I always kind of feel pretty twisted saying a movie about a seriel killer is "fun" but it is. It's gory and gruesome and twisted. It's also a dark character study and not just a movie with a body count.
But this is a movie where the less you know the better, so you should just go watch it. B+
My Asian Movie Count: 26
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
I recently rewatched Stalker (do rewatches count?) and forgot to tab it here. I love this movie. It shows the passage of time wonderfully, it's simple in story but complex in it's ideas. Also visually beautiful.
Swan's Asian movie count: 5
Swan's Asian movie count: 5
They do count but you can only count a movie for the challenge once. So if you watch Stalker again, you can't add it to your total again.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Some update on my list (I am planning on watching 100 Asian movies and Animated movies (including western ones), before I can do a good top 100 animated films list (I have already written a top 100 but I will try to refine it a bit more including watching all major western animated films before making the thread).
70 - The Wind Rises (2013) - -
Re-watched it after first watching it in march. It's perhaps one of the weakest Miyazaki films but still a great film and among the best films of the last several years. One interesting thing is how realistic is the film: Miyazaki understands how poor and underdeveloped Japan and Italy were in the 1930's relative to countries such as Germany (something that even some western historians fail to grasp). The main theme of the film is the contrast between the idealistic feelings of the engineer who builds planes for his love of the technology and the use of his work for bombing of civilian areas.
71 - Princess Mononoke (1997) - +
If you compare this film with the one above the superiority of this over the latter is abundantly clear. This is my 6th (or 7th watch?) of this masterpiece. Easily among the greatest works of art of the 20th century, it synthetises all the elements of brutal teenager epic animation (being more brutal than most action films while being more epic than Lord of the Rings) while redefining the meaning of art within animation, as one Japanese film critic put it, the art of Princess Mononoke has a certain tactility that one cannot observe in any earlier animation or paintings in general.
One very interesting thing is the representation of the Deer God, which Miyazaki wrote represents the abstract concept of the deep dark forest with it's mysteries as existing in the Japanese collective subconscious. Miyazaki said that one thing that modern industrial civilization has lost (specially in Europe) is this concept and this respect for the mysteries of nature. Notice that the dark and mysterious forest of the Deer God is replaced in the film by tamed vegetation in the end, representing the changes in the view and reality of nature over the course of modern history, from a powerful and mysterious entity to a tamed set of biological entities under human control. The intuitive way which the film conveys these notions making it accessible to teenagers (which was Miyazaki's intent).
Miyazaki also wrote that his goal in making Princess Mononoke was to make a more realistic period drama since Kurosawa and Mizoguchi period dramas, while being great movies, are more of a reflection of the realities of post-war Japan rather than an accurate representation of Japan during the middle ages. Princess Mononoke is based on modern archaeological research and depicts the various social groups existing in medieval Japan besides the more traditional social classes depicted in most movies (Samurai and peasants), including groups that played important social roles and also the fact that during the Muromachi period the role of the central Japanese government was much reduced compared to later periods and compared to the way conventionally depicted. Princess Mononoke represents one of the most realistic representations of the middle ages in the history of screen fiction (besides the obvious fantasy elements, which are obvious differently from other films which claim to not have fantasy elements but depict a completely unrealistic past).
72 - Gunbuster (1988) -
An obvious classic, it is perhaps the best giant robot work of screen fiction of all time (dis-considering the ones where the giant robots are only background to other more "artsy" endeavors), Gunbuster is a must for the enthusiasts of giant robot cartoons or just of excellently executed science fiction (and extremely over the top feats of engineering and military power).
Completely over the top, over the course of a few decades it shows humanity advancing from the level of technological and industrial cabilities of the late 20th century to a civilization capable of compressing Jupiter and using it's mass to create a black hole bomb in order to exterminate the monsters coming from the center of Via Lactea by destroying the galaxy's core with a giant black hole. And it also shows a single craft piloted by two little girls destroying fleets of thousands of starships over the space of a few seconds. Ludicrous and fun. Also it contains a lot of erotic content and is one of the purest examples of nerd oriented animation ever made, it's Hideaki Anno's personal work depicting the things he loves.
73 - Very Private Lesson (1998) -
One of the weakest animated films I watched. It's an erotic comedy that is completely forgettable and is interesting only from the point of view of a historian of animation in depicting a very generic direct to video erotic comedy from the 1990's.
74 - Tamayura (2010) -
Directed by the genius Junichi Sato, it is one of his weaker works and is the one he wrote. He usually did not write his other works which explains why it's so mediocre since his direction is great but his writing is very mediocre and the whole thing is forgettable. (note: this is a 64 minute long direct to video animation divided into 4 16 minute episodes)
75 - Evangelion: Death and Rebirth (1997) -
One of the 5 Evangelion films already released. It's the worst one as it only consists of a collection of scenes extracted from the TV series edited in a way that forms a compilation of scenes that dump character information. Interesting but ultimately meaningless product of the franchise.
76 - Patlabor: The Movie (1989) - +
Early Mamoru Oshii work, very characteristic of his style and indeed a very fine film and worthy addition to his catalogue. I think I have finished watching all Oshii's animated films (he also directed 4-5 live action ones though), but his significant work is mainly in animation, Miyazaki even put his name among the top 3 greatest animators (besides himself).
70 - The Wind Rises (2013) - -
Re-watched it after first watching it in march. It's perhaps one of the weakest Miyazaki films but still a great film and among the best films of the last several years. One interesting thing is how realistic is the film: Miyazaki understands how poor and underdeveloped Japan and Italy were in the 1930's relative to countries such as Germany (something that even some western historians fail to grasp). The main theme of the film is the contrast between the idealistic feelings of the engineer who builds planes for his love of the technology and the use of his work for bombing of civilian areas.
71 - Princess Mononoke (1997) - +
If you compare this film with the one above the superiority of this over the latter is abundantly clear. This is my 6th (or 7th watch?) of this masterpiece. Easily among the greatest works of art of the 20th century, it synthetises all the elements of brutal teenager epic animation (being more brutal than most action films while being more epic than Lord of the Rings) while redefining the meaning of art within animation, as one Japanese film critic put it, the art of Princess Mononoke has a certain tactility that one cannot observe in any earlier animation or paintings in general.
One very interesting thing is the representation of the Deer God, which Miyazaki wrote represents the abstract concept of the deep dark forest with it's mysteries as existing in the Japanese collective subconscious. Miyazaki said that one thing that modern industrial civilization has lost (specially in Europe) is this concept and this respect for the mysteries of nature. Notice that the dark and mysterious forest of the Deer God is replaced in the film by tamed vegetation in the end, representing the changes in the view and reality of nature over the course of modern history, from a powerful and mysterious entity to a tamed set of biological entities under human control. The intuitive way which the film conveys these notions making it accessible to teenagers (which was Miyazaki's intent).
Miyazaki also wrote that his goal in making Princess Mononoke was to make a more realistic period drama since Kurosawa and Mizoguchi period dramas, while being great movies, are more of a reflection of the realities of post-war Japan rather than an accurate representation of Japan during the middle ages. Princess Mononoke is based on modern archaeological research and depicts the various social groups existing in medieval Japan besides the more traditional social classes depicted in most movies (Samurai and peasants), including groups that played important social roles and also the fact that during the Muromachi period the role of the central Japanese government was much reduced compared to later periods and compared to the way conventionally depicted. Princess Mononoke represents one of the most realistic representations of the middle ages in the history of screen fiction (besides the obvious fantasy elements, which are obvious differently from other films which claim to not have fantasy elements but depict a completely unrealistic past).
72 - Gunbuster (1988) -
An obvious classic, it is perhaps the best giant robot work of screen fiction of all time (dis-considering the ones where the giant robots are only background to other more "artsy" endeavors), Gunbuster is a must for the enthusiasts of giant robot cartoons or just of excellently executed science fiction (and extremely over the top feats of engineering and military power).
Completely over the top, over the course of a few decades it shows humanity advancing from the level of technological and industrial cabilities of the late 20th century to a civilization capable of compressing Jupiter and using it's mass to create a black hole bomb in order to exterminate the monsters coming from the center of Via Lactea by destroying the galaxy's core with a giant black hole. And it also shows a single craft piloted by two little girls destroying fleets of thousands of starships over the space of a few seconds. Ludicrous and fun. Also it contains a lot of erotic content and is one of the purest examples of nerd oriented animation ever made, it's Hideaki Anno's personal work depicting the things he loves.
73 - Very Private Lesson (1998) -
One of the weakest animated films I watched. It's an erotic comedy that is completely forgettable and is interesting only from the point of view of a historian of animation in depicting a very generic direct to video erotic comedy from the 1990's.
74 - Tamayura (2010) -
Directed by the genius Junichi Sato, it is one of his weaker works and is the one he wrote. He usually did not write his other works which explains why it's so mediocre since his direction is great but his writing is very mediocre and the whole thing is forgettable. (note: this is a 64 minute long direct to video animation divided into 4 16 minute episodes)
75 - Evangelion: Death and Rebirth (1997) -
One of the 5 Evangelion films already released. It's the worst one as it only consists of a collection of scenes extracted from the TV series edited in a way that forms a compilation of scenes that dump character information. Interesting but ultimately meaningless product of the franchise.
76 - Patlabor: The Movie (1989) - +
Early Mamoru Oshii work, very characteristic of his style and indeed a very fine film and worthy addition to his catalogue. I think I have finished watching all Oshii's animated films (he also directed 4-5 live action ones though), but his significant work is mainly in animation, Miyazaki even put his name among the top 3 greatest animators (besides himself).
Last edited by Guaporense; 08-02-14 at 01:04 PM.
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
Hey Zotis where can I find Blue?
The uploader, Ruby Kang, also has other good films uploaded.
X
Favorite Movies
So, what about an update?
Kardiogramma (Darezhan Omirbayev, 1995)
Interesting though quite irregular story about a kid who lives with his family in the desert and has to spend a while in a sanatorium in the city. The movie is focused on the changes that take form through his preadolescence, and that are influenced by two factors: his rising interest on sexuality, through his fantasies with a nurse, and the inability to communicate properly with the other kids, because he can't speak Russian. In the end it is a coming-of-age storyline that has a bit of a camp feeling, but probably too short and sporadic for its own good.
Twelve months - Sekai Meisaku Dôwa: Mori wa ikiteiru (Kimio Yabuki & Tetsuo Imazawa, 1980)
A little charming story that adapts an old Russian fairytale. The biggest issue I have with it is the limited animation; now, this isn't necessarily a problem, but it becomes for example when Anja runs. Where it really shines, though, is in the visual depiction of the scenarios, with a very beautiful use of snow. On the other hand, the characters are not really thoroughly developed and the pace of the story is rushed, but I think this is a consequence of its fairytale narrative and don't see this as a flaw. In the end, this is a solid effort that brings a quite effective atmosphere.
Vampire Hunter D (Toyoo Ashida & Carl Macek, 1985)
Not bad but not really overwhelming either, the best thing it has for is its horror imagery and the tragic personality of D. The rest of the elements are either too irregular or not outstanding at all, so the movie is entertaining but ultimately forgettable. Despite it has some great sequences here and there, I didn't build a particularly good attachment to the characters nor to the story and the animation is not really solid.
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (Yoshiaki Kawajiri, 2000)
A sequel with more points of interest -like an ambiguous love story- in the plot, and way better in terms of aesthetic and animation; that, as well, exploits the tragic personality of D quite well. On the other hand it and despite it's more solid overall, it doesn't have the creativity factor that the 1985 movie had in some sequences, the style is more refined but also more bland. The storyline though flows much better, except for the last 15-20 minutes that come off as rather gratuitous and unexplained.
Swan lake - Sekai Meisaku Dôwa: Hakuchô no mizûmi (Kimio Yabuki, 1981)
I have never seen the original ballet, but the story of Swan lake has been interesting me for a long while. I can't judge how does this adaptation apply, but from what I read it is reasonably close to the original text. Anyway and like Twelve months, it is a charming fairytale story that takes a lot of advantage from its setting; the effort overall is more solid and in some points -the use of Tchaikovsky pieces- fascinating, there are some very beautiful scenes in there. On the other hand, I wasn't particularly fond of the villains. Odille's role ends up being rather secondary and Rothbart overall is not a very enthralling villain, he is supposed to be stunning and pathetic at the same time, but doesn't work particularly well in either way.
Treeless mountain (So Yong Kim, 2009)
Maybe the most surprising aspect of this family melodrama is its restrained and subtle style, for a story that is actually very harsh and bound to show poetic excesses. There are still some dialogues and scenes that could have been cut out in that sense, but they are in the minority and the movie manages to approach the feeling of lonesomeness and disorientation of the two kids -with two astounding performances- through the whole process in a very elegant way.
Legend of Lemnear - Legend of Lemnear: Kyoukuguro no tsubasa valkisas (Kinji Yoshimoto, 1989)
I have been watched a few of these exploitative OVAs from the 80s lately, and despite it's not a "genre" I'm very fond of, I still think that unlike some of its companions Legend of Lemnear does have redeeming factors in its story and character depiction, and it is reasonably solid and interesting. The artstyle on the other hand is good enough, and the animation looks fine with some well-choreographied action scenes. Not really memorable but it's worth the try.
Andromeda stories (Masamitsu Sakaki, 1982)
Despite it is a rather clichéd story, and the narration ends up being rushed and sacrificing development to integrate all the elements in the plot, it is consistent in its elements and brings some very interesting points, specially on a twist at the ending that I found quite surprising. It still has a considerable number of flaws, but they don't manage to outnumber the good aspects of the story that make it worth.
They were eleven - Jûichi-nin iru! (Satoshi Dezaki & Tsuneo Tominaga, 1986)
A Ten little niggers-like intrigue story about survival and teamwork in a spaceship where one of the crew members shouldn't be there. The mystery about the identity of the stowaway is the main point of interest of the story and it is very well-developed overall, though the conclusion is kind of disappointing. On the other hand, this movie stands out in its character depiction, each one of the eleven is given a distinct personality and despite some of them get more focus -like the main character- you end up knowing all of them well. It manages to be tricky and ambiguous, making you doubt about every element, even those that seemed clear at the beginning. The animation is very solid and the sci-fi/technobabble scenario is convincing enough. It has some flaws though, among them, as said, the ending; but also some comedic sequences that kind of kill the mood when they appear, and the disappointing treatment of Tada's power, which ends up being quite cheap and underexplained.
Leda: The fantastic adventure of Yohko - Genmu senki Leda (Kunihiko Yuyama, 1985)
Eeh... not really good. Overall it is a quite unimaginative story with flat characters and many elements put together in a way that looks kind of chaotic and rushed. It would be completely worthless, were it not for something that I admit took me totally out of surprise, the visual depiction of Yohko's dreams in a few sequences, with a great use of shading and colouring.
Asian movie count: 23
Kardiogramma (Darezhan Omirbayev, 1995)
Interesting though quite irregular story about a kid who lives with his family in the desert and has to spend a while in a sanatorium in the city. The movie is focused on the changes that take form through his preadolescence, and that are influenced by two factors: his rising interest on sexuality, through his fantasies with a nurse, and the inability to communicate properly with the other kids, because he can't speak Russian. In the end it is a coming-of-age storyline that has a bit of a camp feeling, but probably too short and sporadic for its own good.
Twelve months - Sekai Meisaku Dôwa: Mori wa ikiteiru (Kimio Yabuki & Tetsuo Imazawa, 1980)
A little charming story that adapts an old Russian fairytale. The biggest issue I have with it is the limited animation; now, this isn't necessarily a problem, but it becomes for example when Anja runs. Where it really shines, though, is in the visual depiction of the scenarios, with a very beautiful use of snow. On the other hand, the characters are not really thoroughly developed and the pace of the story is rushed, but I think this is a consequence of its fairytale narrative and don't see this as a flaw. In the end, this is a solid effort that brings a quite effective atmosphere.
Vampire Hunter D (Toyoo Ashida & Carl Macek, 1985)
Not bad but not really overwhelming either, the best thing it has for is its horror imagery and the tragic personality of D. The rest of the elements are either too irregular or not outstanding at all, so the movie is entertaining but ultimately forgettable. Despite it has some great sequences here and there, I didn't build a particularly good attachment to the characters nor to the story and the animation is not really solid.
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (Yoshiaki Kawajiri, 2000)
A sequel with more points of interest -like an ambiguous love story- in the plot, and way better in terms of aesthetic and animation; that, as well, exploits the tragic personality of D quite well. On the other hand it and despite it's more solid overall, it doesn't have the creativity factor that the 1985 movie had in some sequences, the style is more refined but also more bland. The storyline though flows much better, except for the last 15-20 minutes that come off as rather gratuitous and unexplained.
Swan lake - Sekai Meisaku Dôwa: Hakuchô no mizûmi (Kimio Yabuki, 1981)
I have never seen the original ballet, but the story of Swan lake has been interesting me for a long while. I can't judge how does this adaptation apply, but from what I read it is reasonably close to the original text. Anyway and like Twelve months, it is a charming fairytale story that takes a lot of advantage from its setting; the effort overall is more solid and in some points -the use of Tchaikovsky pieces- fascinating, there are some very beautiful scenes in there. On the other hand, I wasn't particularly fond of the villains. Odille's role ends up being rather secondary and Rothbart overall is not a very enthralling villain, he is supposed to be stunning and pathetic at the same time, but doesn't work particularly well in either way.
Treeless mountain (So Yong Kim, 2009)
Maybe the most surprising aspect of this family melodrama is its restrained and subtle style, for a story that is actually very harsh and bound to show poetic excesses. There are still some dialogues and scenes that could have been cut out in that sense, but they are in the minority and the movie manages to approach the feeling of lonesomeness and disorientation of the two kids -with two astounding performances- through the whole process in a very elegant way.
Legend of Lemnear - Legend of Lemnear: Kyoukuguro no tsubasa valkisas (Kinji Yoshimoto, 1989)
I have been watched a few of these exploitative OVAs from the 80s lately, and despite it's not a "genre" I'm very fond of, I still think that unlike some of its companions Legend of Lemnear does have redeeming factors in its story and character depiction, and it is reasonably solid and interesting. The artstyle on the other hand is good enough, and the animation looks fine with some well-choreographied action scenes. Not really memorable but it's worth the try.
Andromeda stories (Masamitsu Sakaki, 1982)
Despite it is a rather clichéd story, and the narration ends up being rushed and sacrificing development to integrate all the elements in the plot, it is consistent in its elements and brings some very interesting points, specially on a twist at the ending that I found quite surprising. It still has a considerable number of flaws, but they don't manage to outnumber the good aspects of the story that make it worth.
They were eleven - Jûichi-nin iru! (Satoshi Dezaki & Tsuneo Tominaga, 1986)
A Ten little niggers-like intrigue story about survival and teamwork in a spaceship where one of the crew members shouldn't be there. The mystery about the identity of the stowaway is the main point of interest of the story and it is very well-developed overall, though the conclusion is kind of disappointing. On the other hand, this movie stands out in its character depiction, each one of the eleven is given a distinct personality and despite some of them get more focus -like the main character- you end up knowing all of them well. It manages to be tricky and ambiguous, making you doubt about every element, even those that seemed clear at the beginning. The animation is very solid and the sci-fi/technobabble scenario is convincing enough. It has some flaws though, among them, as said, the ending; but also some comedic sequences that kind of kill the mood when they appear, and the disappointing treatment of Tada's power, which ends up being quite cheap and underexplained.
Leda: The fantastic adventure of Yohko - Genmu senki Leda (Kunihiko Yuyama, 1985)
Eeh... not really good. Overall it is a quite unimaginative story with flat characters and many elements put together in a way that looks kind of chaotic and rushed. It would be completely worthless, were it not for something that I admit took me totally out of surprise, the visual depiction of Yohko's dreams in a few sequences, with a great use of shading and colouring.
Asian movie count: 23
X
Favorite Movies
X
User Lists
.jpg)
Nightmare (2000)
It was okay. Kind of a typical horror movie. It wasn't anything special, but it wasn't bad either. There was one particularly unrealistic flaw when a woman was watching a video tape where the camera angles were sometimes from the view of the person filming and sometimes from impossible angles, even capturing the camera man in them, or also at times when the camera man wasn't even filming. That was the only major flaw I noticed.
Zotis' Count: 19
X
Favorite Movies
Let the reign of Korean teen horror films continue!
Memento Mori (1999) A.K.A. Whispering Corridors 2
I really liked this movie. It was a bit hard for me to keep track of the characters because the Korean names and faces get a bit confusing. I'm just not really accustomed to it, so they kind of look and sound alike. But I really did enjoy the characters and the story. There were a lot of flashbacks so the plot was a bit hard to follow, but it was a very deep and well developed plot. I love these kinds of movies because I really feel like I can relate to the characters.
Wishing Stairs (2003) A.K.A. Whispering Corridors 3
Yet another one, and really all three movies in this series are terrific. This one is as good as the others. They're all great stories with great characters. This one was a bit stronger in the horror aspect of the genre than Memento Mori, but perhaps not quite as strong in its plot. It still has a solid plot though. What is up with Koreans and suicide and revenge? I like movies with or about suicide. Suicide is something that has always interested me. Anyway, these movies are great, go watch them NAEOW!!!
White: The Melody of the Curse (2011)
An entertaining thrill ride. A bit of that scare you in the face with shocking images type of horror. The story, characters, and acting were all decent. It really isn't anything special though. It revolves around K-pop idols, which is honestly a world I have never seen before. I didn't mind it, but I couldn't really care less for the music itself. Just another cheap thrill. Watch it if you're bored I guess.
Zotis' Count: 22
Memento Mori (1999) A.K.A. Whispering Corridors 2
I really liked this movie. It was a bit hard for me to keep track of the characters because the Korean names and faces get a bit confusing. I'm just not really accustomed to it, so they kind of look and sound alike. But I really did enjoy the characters and the story. There were a lot of flashbacks so the plot was a bit hard to follow, but it was a very deep and well developed plot. I love these kinds of movies because I really feel like I can relate to the characters.
Wishing Stairs (2003) A.K.A. Whispering Corridors 3
Yet another one, and really all three movies in this series are terrific. This one is as good as the others. They're all great stories with great characters. This one was a bit stronger in the horror aspect of the genre than Memento Mori, but perhaps not quite as strong in its plot. It still has a solid plot though. What is up with Koreans and suicide and revenge? I like movies with or about suicide. Suicide is something that has always interested me. Anyway, these movies are great, go watch them NAEOW!!!
White: The Melody of the Curse (2011)
An entertaining thrill ride. A bit of that scare you in the face with shocking images type of horror. The story, characters, and acting were all decent. It really isn't anything special though. It revolves around K-pop idols, which is honestly a world I have never seen before. I didn't mind it, but I couldn't really care less for the music itself. Just another cheap thrill. Watch it if you're bored I guess.
Zotis' Count: 22
Last edited by Zotis; 07-11-14 at 04:36 AM.
X
Favorite Movies
I always forget about those Whispering Corridors films, I should just get on that now.
Punch (2011)
Coming of age dramedy, Korean style. Kinda blows my mind how it packs so many stories into itself at once, but nothing terribly profound, just a great, funny film about the future after high school and the society around you. The crotchety neighbor will make anyone laugh, the main teacher was tastefully written, and I really love how the romantic sub-plot didn't really become a focus at the end. I just like this country's style, man.
Silenced (2011)
Based on true events (which I read were worse than in the film), it deals with a school for the deaf where the faculty abuses/rapes the students. If you feel like hating humanity and the (lack of) justice system, it's a splendid option. The main character is sort of an everyman, so his fleshing out is predictable but the way the film handled the material was professional and powerful. Couldn't have been made here.
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013)
Finally! Netflix added it yesterday. Stephen Chow shows his blossoming as a director, and the story is of course entertaining, partially moving, just like Shaolin Soccer, but with demons. No complaints, I got exactly what I expected. Now I just need to read the classic literature.
Asian film count….uh, damn, something like 이십사
Punch (2011)
Coming of age dramedy, Korean style. Kinda blows my mind how it packs so many stories into itself at once, but nothing terribly profound, just a great, funny film about the future after high school and the society around you. The crotchety neighbor will make anyone laugh, the main teacher was tastefully written, and I really love how the romantic sub-plot didn't really become a focus at the end. I just like this country's style, man.
Silenced (2011)
Based on true events (which I read were worse than in the film), it deals with a school for the deaf where the faculty abuses/rapes the students. If you feel like hating humanity and the (lack of) justice system, it's a splendid option. The main character is sort of an everyman, so his fleshing out is predictable but the way the film handled the material was professional and powerful. Couldn't have been made here.
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013)
Finally! Netflix added it yesterday. Stephen Chow shows his blossoming as a director, and the story is of course entertaining, partially moving, just like Shaolin Soccer, but with demons. No complaints, I got exactly what I expected. Now I just need to read the classic literature.
Asian film count….uh, damn, something like 이십사
X
Favorite Movies
X