Chinese (and other Asian) films

Discussion in 'Whatever' started by SaintOfSpinners, Nov 7, 2012.

  1. patrickvaz

    patrickvaz Addicted

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2014
    Messages:
    866
    Location:
    Baltimore City, MD
    Name:
    Patrick
    Instagram:
    thelynxevades
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    Soooo if anyone wants to be blown away by an Indonesian action film... I watched this a couple nights ago and it is just non-stop from start to finish. It's pretty much flaw-free. I might be kind of late because it came out in 2012, so forgive me if all you kind people already know about it. It is not on Netflix but is on fmovief. Getting ready to watch part 2 (just came out) right now...!
     
  2. hellscrape

    hellscrape Comment King

    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2013
    Messages:
    1,171
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    this is the most action movie that's ever kicked me in the balls with it's non-stop actionery and ball-kickery


    seriously, though, it's an amazing movie. Pure adrenaline.
     
  3. GoldenArmKid

    GoldenArmKid Line of Credit

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2009
    Messages:
    1,524
    Location:
    New Zealand
    Name:
    Jared
    flickr:
    goldenarmkid
    Instagram:
    goldenarmkid
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    Absolutely love these two films, really need to grab a copy of the second one for the collection.
    Modern material Arts Classics and there are very few of those these days.
     
  4. Kingboy D

    Kingboy D Comment King

    Joined:
    May 6, 2008
    Messages:
    1,071
    Location:
    Sunny South Florida
    Name:
    Myles
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    Yeah, both are great. I just saw the second one a few nights ago. The first is just pure non-stop adrenaline-pumping action. Not much of a story, just a scenario played out. The second movie does more with the story and character development, but the action scenes (though not as frequent) are much more intense and graphic. Crazy good.

    Others I've seen over the past few months (some were mentioned on the previous page):

    Special ID with Donnie Yen. Skip it. His early movies might have been good, but his more recent ones suck.


    Journey to the West. Fun movie in terms of both action and comedy - this one I would recommend. I actually laughed out loud a few times during the movie. That is pretty rare these days.





    47 Ronin (with Keanu Reeves), although an Eastern production, was not a bad flick.


    The Sorcerer and the White Snake Trailer (with Jet Li) was pretty good. Recommended. Well-made movie.





    Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon was good. If you liked the first one, you will like this one too.





    Man of Tai Chi, Ip Man: The Final Fight, and Wo Hu: Operation Undercover were all average. Skip.
     
  5. bunnyboy

    bunnyboy Side Dealer

    Joined:
    Jun 23, 2008
    Messages:
    2,268
    Location:
    germanymey
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    ^^
    Although I agree with mostly everything else you wrote, I felt The Sorcerer and the White Snake was fucking unbearable and exemplary for everything that's wrong with Chinese cinema these days. Jet Li seemed VERY tired...
     
  6. stklbck

    stklbck Fresh Meat

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2014
    Messages:
    83
    Location:
    London-UK
    Name:
    Sam
    Instagram:
    stklbck
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    i highly recommend 'the chaser', its a great thriller, not a kung fu flick but i urge you to seek it out!
     
  7. SaintOfSpinners

    SaintOfSpinners Side Dealer

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2007
    Messages:
    2,017
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Instagram:
    monkwgun
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    Both Raids rocked but I preferred the first a bit. Second felt like it was trying to hard and one scene didn't make any sense at both its beginning and end points.

    The Chaser is a good solid cop film from Korea. Painful.

    I am a long time Tsui Hark fan and felt that Young Detective Dee was his best work in a long time. Convoluted as all his films are. Pure fantasy. If your a fan of stuff like Never Ending Story this should be a blast. Plus Tsui films with 3D in mind for all his action shots.

    Journey To The West is the first of a trilogy. Story of the monkey king. A fun romp for any fan of Stephen Chow though he doesn't appear in it. he did write and direct the film.

    Donnie Yen... So sad. He has done a string of awful movies the past couple of years. I do hope he makes a come back. Flash Point is the film to watch of his.

    How about India?
    Just watched Gangs of Wasseypur. Over 7.5 hours. Epic! Truly a great film. India's Godfather. Kind of. Helps you understand modern issues in mid east conflicts and how useless it is to get involved. Kind of. Seriously great movie.

    and
    The Lunchbox. Another near perfect film from India. It's almost a love story. Maybe more of a 'rebirthing' story.

    I like finding these hidden gems. At least hidden from our main stream culture.
     
  8. SaintOfSpinners

    SaintOfSpinners Side Dealer

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2007
    Messages:
    2,017
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Instagram:
    monkwgun
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    It's been a while so...

    New Stephan Chow coming!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jskKf5YDDAI

    Chronicales of the Ghostly Tribe was a lot of fun. Kind of a Raiders of the Lost Arc vs Kaiju with mysticism.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEmPPiNpXRQ

    The Assassin was gorgeous but you have to appreciate a slow Kurosawa type film. Ended feeling a bit empty but many great scenes over all.

    Monk Comes Down the Mountain is fun. Not great but it satisfies the desire for an old Shaw Brothers style story.

    SPL2 has a lot of good fights though I wish Tony Jaa could do more then a full room run and leap. It lacks Donnie Yen but his recent Kung Fu Killer was one of better action films in a while, so there's that.

    That's it for those I think worth mentioning.
     
  9. toothaction

    toothaction Team Tsubu Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2011
    Messages:
    13,150
    Location:
    Detroit
    Name:
    David
    flickr:
    toothaction
    Instagram:
    thebeautifulpuffin
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    You know, one of us really should just start a Now in Theatres thread, as there is more to a balanced diet of film than horror, sci-fi, streaming platforms and Criterion discs, heh, but I figured a necro bump was in order here as I wanted to mention...

    Bong Joon-ho's Parasite is as good as they say, and I'd like to strongly encourage you all to hit the multiplex (or 2 screen arthouse) to spend a couple of hours with it in proper bigness. Further, if you've managed to avoid press and previews thus far, I'd ask that you make the trip without knowing anything more than the title and director! Yeah, that involves some trust, but on the outside chance you end up hating it, I'd actually consider PayPal-ing you a refund for having trusted me.

    I really, really, really want to type out a little persuasive essay on the film's merits, but am of course sitting on my hands until maybe a few of you report back that they took the field trip, too.

    End of transmission.
     
    Last edited: Nov 8, 2019
    Kerk1 and ungawa222 like this.
  10. ungawa222

    ungawa222 Mini Boss

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2006
    Messages:
    4,635
    Location:
    NOW QUASI IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND
    Name:
    Mike
    Instagram:
    mohair_stones
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    Going tonight! Can't wait.
     
    toothaction likes this.
  11. toothaction

    toothaction Team Tsubu Staff Member

    Joined:
    Feb 10, 2011
    Messages:
    13,150
    Location:
    Detroit
    Name:
    David
    flickr:
    toothaction
    Instagram:
    thebeautifulpuffin
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    BONG!
     
    debparis, doomboy and obsessedpanda like this.
  12. ungawa222

    ungawa222 Mini Boss

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2006
    Messages:
    4,635
    Location:
    NOW QUASI IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND
    Name:
    Mike
    Instagram:
    mohair_stones
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    Awesome. Well-deserved.
     
  13. SaintOfSpinners

    SaintOfSpinners Side Dealer

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2007
    Messages:
    2,017
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Instagram:
    monkwgun
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    I think I am the only one that didn't like this film. Maybe I should rewatch it. Great directing. Great acting. Interesting premise. Horrible people and no redemption.

    Also...
    I felt the end was a different movie or story. Suddenly in the boys fantasy about the dad being stuck in the house it felt it was a story about the house and not the family. That the house was haunted and it required a sacrifice. Someone had to suffer, living in the basement, having their life energy drained away.
     
  14. ungawa222

    ungawa222 Mini Boss

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2006
    Messages:
    4,635
    Location:
    NOW QUASI IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND
    Name:
    Mike
    Instagram:
    mohair_stones
    Chinese (and other Asian) films
    In that final scene/metaphoric equation:
    Opulent house = upper strata of society
    Basement dad = the underclass

    Also, I had a friend (who's one who routinely goes to movies having paid no attention to what they are about/might contain) go with his wife and elderly Japanese mother-in-law. He reported that mom-in-law absolutely hated the movie, not because of the deep unease or horrifying violence, but because she found the poor family completely irredeemable and horrid and could not identify with them as protagonists.

    EDIT to just say that, IMO, that was part of the point: the poor family are supposed to be largely unlikable/unsympathetic to the viewer. They're like the villagers in Seven Samurai. Just because they are unlikable or do shitty things does not make them any less the victims of the system they find themselves in.
     
    Last edited: Feb 13, 2020
    bunnyboy likes this.

Share This Page