The official list of Asian movies *you must see*

I'm halfway out of the loop as to what is good asian cinema to see that is talked about in the forums, so I wanted to compile a list of movies that one must watch. Here's what I've seen so far:

Shaolin Soccer

Returner

Battle Royale - Before I watched this movie for the first time, the only thing I had known about it was that it was some kickass Japanese movie, so I went into this movie not knowing what was going to happen. The concept still messes with my mind.

Attack the Gas Station

Volcano High

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Now, please inform me of what I've missed. :)

Hero
Storm Riders
Bichunmoo
Twins Effect (Some won't agree with this choice. It was a good blend of comedy and action imo)

I'm still waiting for the HK DVD release of Ong-Bak because I've heard it will rock your socks off.

Hmmmm:
Versus-One of my faves!
Azumi-Ninja chick whooping ass
Hero (Jet Li)-Absolutely breathtaking
Returner-Average but some cool scenes
God Of Cookery (Stephen Chow) Funny kung-fu cooking!
Uzumaki-"twisted" Japanese horror
Ping Pong-Just a great film...
Battlefield Baseball-average
The Avenging Fist-Pretty cool, was supposed to be a live action Tekken
Storm Warriors-Awesome fights, complicated story
Zu Warriors (the newer one)-Great FX
Jam Films-A collection a short films. Very entertaining.
The Twins Effect-Vampire hunters, kung-fu
Ichi the Killer-If you can handle some sick shit, check this one out!
Audition-Just watch it!!
Fight Back to School-Funny Stephen Chow flick
Hope this helps!

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Originally Posted by Hot Like Wasabi

I'm still waiting for the HK DVD release of Ong-Bak because I've heard it will rock your socks off.

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Tell me more!! Never heard of this movie.

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Originally Posted by animegirl20

The Avenging Fist-Pretty cool, was supposed to be a live action Tekken

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:yuck: I didn't care for that one at all, I'm glad it was given to me. Cool concept but I just didn't dig it. Sammo playing a fat Ekin Cheng was funny though.

Oh and another one is A Man Named Hero. That was a cool one.

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Originally Posted by animegirl20

Tell me more!! Never heard of this movie.

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Everything you need to know http://www.the-nextlevel.com/board/s...hlight=ong-bak
:D

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Originally Posted by Shinobi128

I'm halfway out of the loop as to what is good asian cinema to see that is talked about in the forums, so I wanted to compile a list of movies that one must watch. Here's what I've seen so far:

Shaolin Soccer

Returner

Battle Royale - Before I watched this movie for the first time, the only thing I had known about it was that it was some kickass Japanese movie, so I went into this movie not knowing what was going to happen. The concept still messes with my mind.

Attack the Gas Station

Volcano High

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Now, please inform me of what I've missed. :)

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Oh, man. There's a lot. Do you only mean more recent ones?

Here are some that seem to have gotten a lot of hype more recently that you didn't mention, that I've seen. And some other oldies but goodies off the top of my head.

Feel Good Mainstream Comedies
My Sassy Girl
Ping Pong
Save the Green Planet (This one goes out of it's way to defy any genre, it's really not a feel good movie at all. Or a comedy really =/)

Cheese
Wild Zero

Horror
Tale of Two Sisters
Jistatsu Circle

Awesome
Electric Dragon 80,000V
Ichi the Killer

Drama
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Hana-bi

Last Life in the Universe was a really great movie you should definitely check out. It's a really mellow movie starring Todanobu Asano and Takashi Miike is in it briefly.

Anything by Wong Kar Wai (Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, Fallen Angels, Chungking Express), Shinya Tsukamoto (His newest A Snake in June is really good. You've probably seen or heard of Tetsuo, so you can base your feelings on him more or less around that, though he seems to have calmed down a little bit.) I really like everything I've seen by Kiyoshi Kurosawa too (Cure, Bright Future, Pulse, Charisma to name some). The new Zatoichi movie is really great also.

Oh, and All About Lily Chou Chou is a really great "coming of age" (hate that classification) high school movie. It's definitely my favorite thing I've seen by Shunji Iwai. Love and Pop is another one of those, about pseudo-prostitute high school girls by Hideaki Anno (Evangelion) that I thought was good, with lots of crazy camera angles and Todanobu Asano (who seems to be in every Japanese movie made in the last ten years).

I'm sure I missed a lot, but that's all I can think of for now. Hope you could get some ideas anyway, sorry if some are too obvious.

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Originally Posted by Salsashark

The new Zatoichi movie is really great also.

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I just picked this one up and it is an awesome movie. Can't go wrong with blond haired, blind samurai!

I guess anime doesn't count. I've seen Returner and Volcano High listed, and I HATED those movies. Returner could've been 15 minutes long, no scratch that, it had enough substance to fill a 2 minute music video, if you cut in the band playing half the time. Anyways, stuff not listed-
Just about anything Kurosawa
Branded to Kill
Shanghai Express
Eastern Condors
I full heartedly endorse Shaolin Soccer. It's probably my favorite asian film outside of Kurosawa and certain anime films.

just a side note: Shaolin Soccer is out in theatres now. if you've got a theater lucky enough to screen it.

Big Trouble in Little China...


:D

I ordered Shaolin Soccer on DVD from Hong Kong a couple days ago. I'll probably get it in a couple weeks and couldn't be more excited. It looks awesome.

I got the all region dvd w/ English subtitles if anyone was wondering. So I'm safe from it not working.

What other Stephen Chow movies are good to order? My DVD collection needs some more obscure, but awesome DVDs.

Return of the five deadly venoms!

High and Low
Hidden Fortress
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Seven Samurai

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Originally Posted by cka

Return of the five deadly venoms!

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Hell yeah!

Blind, deaf, legless & Retard kung fu!

It does not get any better than this.

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Originally Posted by pixelassassin

I ordered Shaolin Soccer on DVD from Hong Kong a couple days ago. I'll probably get it in a couple weeks and couldn't be more excited. It looks awesome.

I got the all region dvd w/ English subtitles if anyone was wondering. So I'm safe from it not working.

What other Stephen Chow movies are good to order? My DVD collection needs some more obscure, but awesome DVDs.

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It's all about God of Cookery! Kung-food at it's best!

Hmm...good question.

Mizuno Haruki - Very good. Mizuno's portrayal of a repressed woman, frustrated by the male world and bound by her imagined shackles of penislessness is just amazing.
AV - phone booth upskirt, is a good one.
Japanese porn sexy - Is a bit short, and lacks any real payoff, but is very acessable to the casual user.
Japanese Idol [Harumi Nemto] - I can't really reccomend at all.
Japanese Idol [Yuka - bikini with bicycle] - Now this one, rocks. A girl, her bikini and her bicycle. Fantastic.

hah.

The staples: Hard Boiled, The Killer and Police Story (2 was really good too).

Zatoichi - the remake with Takeshi Kitano
Filan - some depressing korean movie
Sex is Zero - hilarious korean movie
Ping Pong - fucking classic
and most Cecilia Cheung movies...

Hmm, I come to this thread a bit late but lets see and discuss the names that has been listed so far :)

Japan:

Returner - Fun scifi/action flick. Not very original, but gets the job done. Some cool sfx and action scenes. People like Green and Mr K, what were expecting from this? A hard hitting drama?

Gojoe - Samurai action drama. Huge bodycount and some decent action.

Red Shadow - Fun ninja flick. Different style then usual, some neat action, and comedy thrown into the mix.

Versus - Swords, Guns and Zombies. Crazt blend of yakuza, hk action and zombie films. Some claim it to be action masterpiece, others will say its worthless bore. I liked it enough to recommend. Rushei Kitamura definately got sense of style and action.

Azumi - More Kitamura. Samurai action with elements of drama. Does a decent job, and some of the action is cool, but I felt it was overly long, and was missing some fun.

Aragami - Even more Kitamura. Cool short film, about the dual of the samurai and demon. Some nicely stages sworfighting and camera work.

Alive - Kitamura again. I have mixed feelings on this one. On one hand it has cool visual style and interesting story (where I could understand it due to the lack of English subs on my dvd), on other its very slow and only have couple of action sequences, so anyone looking for non stop action look elsewhere.

Battle Royale 1&2 - First BR is a masterpiece, and 2nd is solid action movie, but definately not on the level of the original.

Princess Blade - Cool action drama, with fights choreographed by Donnie Yen. Not straight action film, but what it had, I thought was fun.

Zatoichi - Takeshi Kitano's remake. I only seen few parts of it, and its a weird package. Bloody samurai swordfighting and weird sing and dance numbers.

Ping Pong - Havent seen this, but heard alot of good things about it.

Muscle Heat - Pretty cool action flick. Has Kane Kosuki (son of 80s most famous Ninja Sho Kosugi), and HK Ken Lo. Some very cool action scenes and fights.

Now films of Takeshi Miike:

Ichi the Killer - surreal crime/action story. Lots of violence and blood. Definately not for squemish.

Full Metal Yakuza - Miike's take on Robocop. Bizzare, sometimes funny and bloody.

Dead or Alive trilogy - bizzare crime/action series, with first being the best one.

More Japanese stuff:

Avalon - scif- virtual reality film. Interesting concept and story
Juon - The grudge - creepy horror ghost story
Uzumaki - visually cool and creepy horror
Kairo - Another cool horror film
Junk - Japanese mix of Reservoir Dogs and Fulchi's zombie flicks. Low budge, bloody, and I found it fun. But hate by many.
Suicide Circle - Another bizzare horror.
Wild Zero - Rock N Roll vs Zombies and Aliens. While not spectacular as many fans claim it to be. It solid fun gore fest.
Battlefield Baseball - Havent watched all of it yet, but so far weird. But decent.

Of course most of Akira Kurosawa films, especially his samurai films.

Takeshi Kitano films, my favorite is Ha-na-bi (Fireworks).

Ok, Will be back later with HK and Korean movie coverage. :)

The Foul King.

This is a fun little korean comedy. I like it a lot. The problem is the most prominent version available is the Chinese bootleg, which is dubbed in Mandarin and they really ruined the movie. If you can find the actual Korean version, then highly recommended. Amazon sells the bootleg btw :curse:

Despair, how can you watch movies without subtitles? That would drive me nuts! Where do you get most of your stuff?

Hooray, Japanese film time.

As for the Kitamura films mentioned, I'd have to say Versus is the most important to see if you want to see Kitamura at his best. At least, it explains where the action style in the MGS TTS cutscenes came from.

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Originally Posted by Despair

Battle Royale 1&2 - First BR is a masterpiece, and 2nd is solid action movie, but definately not on the level of the original.

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I liked BR2, heh. The very blatant anti-American sentiment seemed sort of heavy-handed, but it was an enjoyable film overall. I hated the ending, however. BR1 eclipses it in every way, but I did enjoy BR2.

Ichi the Killer and Audition are winners, though Ichi is nonstop fun (if you like that sort of thing), and Audition takes a lot of time to build to anything, perhaps way too much time, but when it does finally get going... it's fucking ridiculous. Worth a look.

I have Ju-on, haven't watched it yet... Uzumaki I need to see, I read the comic series and liked it a great deal. Fucked up stuff... very disturbing artwork. I can't imagine what a movie was like.

Junk was a pretty fun, nontraditional zombie film. I maybe paid too much for it, but it was, for the most part, pretty enjoyable for what it is.

Now, if you want to talk even more nontraditional zombie films... Stacy. To this day I cannot tell you exactly what happened in Stacy. Sometimes Japanese people scare me. This movie is totally fucked up, and not always entertaining, but when it's good, it's great. If you like the idea of an army of schoolgirl zombies, look no further.

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Originally Posted by Despair

Wild Zero - Rock N Roll vs Zombies and Aliens. While not spectacular as many fans claim it to be. It solid fun gore fest.

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No. Wrong. You are dead wrong. Wild Zero is the best goddamn movie of all time. :mad:
I'm a huge Guitar Wolf fan, and I've been dying to see Wild Zero for years. I finally got to at Otakon last year. Seeing it the first time with a ton of people who were digging it was awesome. The random screaming "TOBIOOOOO" was an excellent added bonus. So was the fact that we were watching it with English subtitles... while it was dubbed into German. Yeah, German Wild Zero. Nuts.

Anyway, Wild Zero is a must see for anyone, especially since the DVD is pretty easily attainable now. The disc slipped its release date a couple times last year, which infuriated me beyond belief. I was so desperate to see it again, heh.

If you're into sci-fi, I recommend checking out Zeiram, it's the movie that Iria was inspired by. Great atmosphere and really good practical effects. This movie aired years ago on the Sci-Fi Channel, and I saw it when I was pretty young... it stuck with me since then. I finally own the sequel, but I just got it a little while back and still have not seen it, so I can't comment yet.

And for the gorehounds... I have to recommend the Guinea Pig series, at least, the second movie. I've only seen the first two, and I have to say that the first one, Devil's Experiment, was trash. The second one, however, Flower of Flesh and Blood, is the movie Charlie Sheen sent to the FBI years ago thinking it was an actual snuff film. This launched an investigation of said film and the Guinea Pig guys had to release a making-of video to show that it wasn't real. The effects aren't THAT good so much that you'll think it's real, but they're good... damn good. It's a vicious movie, the entire movie basically consists of the torture and dismemberment of a girl for something like 40 minutes. A psycho dressed up as a samurai handles this job with much enjoyment.

Obviously the squeamish will want to stay the hell away from this movie. Several people I work with and I are involved with minor effects work, I mean, we can make burns, we can do zombies, torn throats, minor wounds, gunshot splatter and so forth, but we've never even thought to approach something of this magnitude. If you're interested in the soon-to-be-lost art of practical effects from a time when CG wasn't feasible for this stuff and you don't mind a little gore, this movie can be quite enjoyable. Also, if you're a sick fuck, you will love this movie. I was able to eat a bag of popcorn while watching it, while my roommate held a pillow up to obscure my side of the room from his vision while he watched the Simpsons. Because he's a puss.

Anyway, forget Japan, despite these awesome films, Hong Kong kicks their ass when it comes to action movies and all kinds of stuff. Next post, I'll get down to that stuff.

Can't believe I forgot Shiri. It's been out for a couple of years here in the US. Oh and I was just at Best Buy and what did I see? Vampire Effect (aka Twins Effect). Can't believe it's already out here.

I'm going to make an assumption and say that all of you who own these movies have teh bootlegs? ;) Isn't it because the official DVD's have no english subtitle option?

Well, I do have couple of boots, but most of Japanese disks, and all of my Korean and HK films are official. And yeah, most of Japanese R2 disks dont have English subs, so I got used to watch some of them without those :)

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Originally Posted by animegirl20

Despair, how can you watch movies without subtitles? That would drive me nuts! Where do you get most of your stuff?

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Well, Sometimes it is hard to watch films without subs, but I do try to gather as much info about the plot as I can, so it does help. Plus since I watch mostly action/horror, those two are easier to get through without subs than if it was a drama.

As for the place to get dvds from, I used to use CDJapan alot (for Japanese dvds), Ebay, YesAsia and few other places. Lately though I get most of the films off Bittorent.

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Originally Posted by Despair

People like Green and Mr K, what were expecting from this? A hard hitting drama?

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Something that wasn't absolutely awful.

I dont have any boots and of all my movies have english subs

The japanese film Popoya was quite good.

I'm disapointed no one has mentioned "Shower" yet.

From what I remember "King of Masks" was pretty good too... but I was really, really drunk when I saw it.

By the way, both of those movies have seen American release, and you can rent them at Blockbuster.

Definatly see Shower... its really good. And its not porn, so shut up.

I liked Ong-Bak. A Thai martial arts flick. Good shit.

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Originally Posted by Hot Like Wasabi

I dont have any boots and of all my movies have english subs

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Ok, but will the discs play in all DVD players? I have a region free DVD player, but everyone else I know IRL doesn't have one.

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Originally Posted by Grave

Hooray, Japanese film time.

No. Wrong. You are dead wrong. Wild Zero is the best goddamn movie of all time. :mad:
I'm a huge Guitar Wolf fan, and I've been dying to see Wild Zero for years. I finally got to at Otakon last year. Seeing it the first time with a ton of people who were digging it was awesome. The random screaming "TOBIOOOOO" was an excellent added bonus. So was the fact that we were watching it with English subtitles... while it was dubbed into German. Yeah, German Wild Zero. Nuts.

Anyway, Wild Zero is a must see for anyone, especially since the DVD is pretty easily attainable now. The disc slipped its release date a couple times last year, which infuriated me beyond belief. I was so desperate to see it again, heh.

.

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this man is 100% correct, it really is the best movie of all time. oh, and guitar wolf is one of the best bands ever.

Samurai Fiction, The Odd One Dies, and Electric Dragon 80,000V are my top picks of the moment. If only there was a domestic Electric Dragon DVD. I weep.

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It's all about God of Cookery! Kung-food at it's best!

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Haha, yeah I ordered that aswell from Amazon.com (through a seller in the used section, but it wasn't used it was new - just sold through Amazon) for $4.25. I was happy until I realized it was ten bucks for shipping so it wasn't that great of a deal. $15 American in the end. So I got Shaolin Soccer for $25 USD and God of Cookery for $15 USD. I'm Canadian so it's about 50 bucks CAN. Not too bad for 2 apparently awesome films.
I really hope they are!

Japanese flick I forgot to mention: Tetsuo: The Iron Man. Fucked up movie. I don't want to say much about it, other than that there is little of a coherent plot, and watching this movie will do bad things to your mind and possibly your stomach.

You might know the director, Shinya Tsukamoto... he played Jijii in the movie version of Ichi the Killer. By the way, I've been reading the Koroshiya 1 manga... crazy stuff. It's not all translated yet, and at the pace that Band of the Hawks seems to move, it likely will never be, but what's out serves excellently for those who want something to compare the movie to.

Anyway, a ton of movies I love come from Hong Kong and China. I'm not going to mention Crouching Tiger, everybody's already seen it, and if not, they should get on it. A favorite of mine is one I rented on a whim a few years back and was so glad I did: The Emperor and the Assassin. Beautiful film, amazingly shot and it's a wonderful story. Chen Kaige is awesome. It clocks in at almost 3 hours, but it's without a doubt worth a look.

As I mentioned zombie flicks from Japan before, a really good HK one is Bio-Zombie. If you like Sam Lee's bizarre facial expressions, you will enjoy this movie, guaranteed. He and Jordan Chan play the two best-named guys in the world, Woody Invincible and Crazy Bee. These two bootleg VCD store delinquents and their run in with zombies in a shopping center (sound familiar yet?) is a hilarious, bizarre movie that is easily attainable in the US now. For years nobody had picked this up for distribution and I had to get a region 0 DVD, but I've seen it around, and my friend Dave tells me some Blockbusters actually stock it. The premise sounds like a Dawn of the Dead ripoff, but trust me, it's anything but. It's more in the vein of Wild Zero, though considerably less rocking.

Speaking of Sam Lee, I have a soft spot for Gen-X Cops. Brainless action movie with young HK actors working undercover and doing "edgy" things. It's a lot of fun, and Jackie Chan makes a cameo at the end which is actually quite funny. Recommended.

Jeez... Jackie Chan. I'm totally going to skip over this, because that could start a whole different thread. I will say that the Police Story movies are too often overlooked.

John Woo's movies are usually awesome, too. The Killer and Hard Boiled are two better known ones, and for good reason. Awesome stuff. A Better Tomorrow is also excellent.

I'll add more to this later when more stuff comes to mind.

edit: Or maybe right now. Jeez. Wong Kar-Wai's films! Chungking Express and Fallen Angels = amazing.

Ichi the Killer should be at the top of your list.

I've also really been into Uzumaki lately. It's bizarre even by Japanese standards, and different enough from the manga to not be just another watered down film adaptation, but not too different to enjoy. An R1 release is slated for June / July, so keep an eye for it.

The Eye is really neat, too. Losses some steam once they leave Hong Kong, and her doctor was grating as fuck, but it's a smart, effective creepshow. The elevator scene is hair-raising brilliance.

There's also this one fairly recent Korean horror film that blew me away, but I can't think of the name at the moment. The Tale of Twin Sisters? It was a complex and moody gem, whatever its title was.

Samurai Fiction- Really cool new black and white samurai movie. More of a comedy, but has some pretty cool fighting scenes, though not the best.

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Originally Posted by Clash_Master

High and Low
Hidden Fortress
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Seven Samurai

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I'm greatly saddened that it took 12 posts for Kurosawa to be brought up... and only one person bothers to post a few films. Seriously people what the hell? How can you list Asian films without including one of the greatest Japanese directors of all time?

Also be sure to add to those 5 films:
Rashomon
Throne of Blood
Ran
Ikiru
Red Beard

Seriously people, get your asses out and see his stuff NOW!!!!

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Originally Posted by bbobb

Throne of Blood

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Best adaptation of MacBeth, EVAR.

Anyway, aside from what's already been mentioned:
Fist of Legend

Someone please tell me about God of Cookery. I loved Shaolin Soccer, and if this is anything like it (as in, using martial arts / super powers to do ordinary things), then I'm all over this. I normally despise Asian comedies, but Soccer was genuinely funny, and I'm hoping Cookery is as funny and kickass awesome action as Soccer was.

A whole host of the Shaw Releases from Celestial.
Eight Diagram Pole Fighter and Two Champions of Shaolin come to
mind as top picks though. Also Come Drink With Me just for the mood.
the Celestial releases are really well made in general.

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Originally Posted by bloodyarts

Someone please tell me about God of Cookery. I loved Shaolin Soccer, and if this is anything like it (as in, using martial arts / super powers to do ordinary things), then I'm all over this. I normally despise Asian comedies, but Soccer was genuinely funny, and I'm hoping Cookery is as funny and kickass awesome action as Soccer was.

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I don't think GoC had as big a buget as SS and there isn't as much action. Most of the action is towards the end. It's more about slapstick humor and visual jokes. I really liked it though, probably because I LOVE Iron Chef.

ong bak(anybody who has seen it knows it owns), whasango, azumi, versus, battle royale(fuck the sequel), storm riders, shaolin soccer and the live action GTO tv series.

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Originally Posted by Kakihara

I've also really been into Uzumaki lately. It's bizarre even by Japanese standards, and different enough from the manga to not be just another watered down film adaptation, but not too different to enjoy. An R1 release is slated for June / July, so keep an eye for it.

The Eye is really neat, too. Losses some steam once they leave Hong Kong, and her doctor was grating as fuck, but it's a smart, effective creepshow. The elevator scene is hair-raising brilliance.

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i second both these titles. especially Uzumaki. i think it's more comedic, but at the same time it stays faithful to the manga. i've been waiting for the R1 release for the past couple of years now, even though i could've bought the R3 release years ago.

action wise, a lot of the good ones were mentioned already, but one that wasn't is So Close, starring Karen Mok, Zhao Wei, and Shu Qi. some nice fighting sequences, like the one with Karen Mok in the elevator.

Came really late to this one...most of the "Mainstream" titles have been mentioned I think. A lot mentioned are okay, but don't represent their respective cinema's well, such as the Returner, which was overall a poor film...but I don't regret watching it. A much better Takeshi Kaneshiro Japanese film is Space Travelers. Odd One Dies was decent enough, not great, not bad, decent.

Very few Mainland Chinese films were mentioned, so I'll go ahead and make a few recommendations. These films are usually dramas and are character driven rather than plot driven. Zhang Yimou's "The Road Home" with Zhang Ziyi is a brilliant film about a poor village girl's love and dreams for the future. Not One Less is another good one about a younger girl who becomes the teacher for a classroom in a small village. One of the students disappears and she goes to track him down. Happy Times (another Xhang Yimou film) is a very touching and funny film about a blind girl and a poor man who tries to make her happy by pretending to have her run a massage parlor in his ficticious hotel...suprisingly upbeat, until the ending, of course...

Hero and Crouching Tiger are sort of the blacksheep of the Mainland film industry because they stand out so much from the typical films we see. Both are recommended as fantasy action films with depth. Earlier films, such as Shanghai Triad and To Live are also recommended with Gong Li keeping us interested throughout. Also her best performance was probably in Raise the Red Lantern.

HK cinema has a lot of gems right now...especially as others mentioned the release of all the old Shaw films as they were meant to be seen.

I Loved "The Eye" thought it was brilliant -- though the Pang bros earlier Bangkok Dangerous I thought was pretty poor...though a lot of people embraced it and likened it the "smart" genre of action films, such as Hard Boiled and others.

More recent HK films THAT NEED TO BE SEEN -- Infernal Affairs trilogy. Best HK crime drama series in years. See these films. Heroic Duo is another solid film, but not on the level of IA.

Also, just about any of the string of Milky Way films with Lau Ching Wan (and some without)...Expect the Unexpected, Hero Never Dies, Running Out of Time 1&2, The Mission, Longest Night, and non-MW ones The Victim and BEYOND HYPOTHEMIA (Lau meets a hit woman, Wu Chien Lien, and their relationship develops amidst her violent life) -- see this film!

God of Cookery is very funny IMO. Also check out King of Beggars for a good action/comedy film. Also, Fist of Fury 91 is pretty good with a funny cameo of Corey Yuen as the master of the house that Chow ends up living in.

Korean cinema is really taking off...try My Wife is a Gangster 1 and 2 -- great mix of action and comedy. Bichunmoo, an action drama that some feel is over-dramatic -- I love it. Resurrection of Little Match Girl -- just rewatched this one and damn do I love this movie. A video game adventure in real life, sort of similar concept to Avalon but the execution and stories are much different. Get the boot for this one because no subs on the official release.

Japanese cinema isn't my thing as much as HK and now Korean -- I hate Takashi Miike, though I felt City of Lost Souls was pretty good because it was closest to HK style cinema...he has a great flair for action scenes, though he doesn't do enough of them and instead shocks us with the rest of his films...sorry but Ichi is at the bottom of my list...

I thought Azumi was weak (and yes I love Versus and actually liked Alive more than Azumi also) -- and much prefer Princess Blade. Also see Kunoichi Lady Ninja for a fun cheezefest.

Best Japanese film I've seen in years is Ping Pong -- an abosultely brilliant film (get the soundtrack too, it is insanely good). But as I said, I don't watch a lot of Japanese films...so my viewpoint is rather limited.

Overall, Asian films have so much to offer and there is so much diversity, even within one country's films, it's hard to talk about a masterlist of must see films...especially when you have such a spectrum of films from mainland Chinese dramas to Japanese shock cinema.

So yeah what everyone else said is a good start and then once you find your niche, you can develop from there...

I finally watched My Wife is Gangster 2 past weekend, and was pretty dissapointed. It took turn to the worst, with alot of silly comedy, and just not enough good action. The only things in it I actually liked was the opening battle on the rooftops, and couple bits in the later half. Otherwise it was complete waste :(

I also should remove Battlefield Baseball(Stadium) from the list, since it was another good awful film :(. The only good thing about it was presence ofTak Samoguchi(I hope I got his name right) of Versus fame. Otherwise - Blech.

Infernal Affairs is indeed a must see film. I still havent watched the part 2&3, but first is excellent. Heroic Due was dissapointing though. As with pretty much majority of recent HK films I have seen. Unless something changes, I will give up on HK films :(

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Originally Posted by Despair

I finally watched My Wife is Gangster 2 past weekend, and was pretty dissapointed. It took turn to the worst, with alot of silly comedy, and just not enough good action. The only things in it I actually liked was the opening battle on the rooftops, and couple bits in the later half. Otherwise it was complete waste :(

I also should remove Battlefield Baseball(Stadium) from the list, since it was another good awful film :(. The only good thing about it was presence ofTak Samoguchi(I hope I got his name right) of Versus fame. Otherwise - Blech.

Infernal Affairs is indeed a must see film. I still havent watched the part 2&3, but first is excellent. Heroic Due was dissapointing though. As with pretty much majority of recent HK films I have seen. Unless something changes, I will give up on HK films :(

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Tak Sakaguchi ;)

:o Oh damn, don't give up!!! Well I know you don't really like the cheesiness of films like Twins Effect so I could see how you would want to give up, but I'm all over that stuff (just ordered Protege De La Rose Noire)...but yeah the quality hasn't been there as much, the closest quality work is IA series.

Korean cinema is getting too good, so I find myself leaning in that direction a lot lately, but Japanese cinema for the most part is still a bit to over the top for me...

But I agree that Gangster 2 was a much different film -- I really liked it, but the action elements weren't there...it was mostly a comedy...the first one is much better...part 3 may make up for that, we will have to see...

- Shall We Dance? (There was a Chinese movie similar to this movie. I can't remember what it was called, but it makes a mockery, even criticizes the ending of Shall We Dance and even though it was a shit movie the finale made me laugh.)
- Tampopo (For the hobo omlette cooking scene alone)
- Tai Chi Master (Jet Li's best in my opinion. Sadly, you don't see straight up class like this anymore.)

My favourite Asian movies right here.

I haven't really tapped in to the drama genre of Asian films...ssbomberman, besides the ones you listed what are some other ones to look for? I would also like to know about some comedies too!

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Originally Posted by animegirl20

I haven't really tapped in to the drama genre of Asian films...ssbomberman, besides the ones you listed what are some other ones to look for? I would also like to know about some comedies too!

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Hmmm...that's a tough decision because there are so many from every country. Most Mainland Chinese films are dramas. HK has its share too, films like Centre Stage with Maggie Cheung, Hong Kong 1941 with Chow Yun Fat, Comrades Almost a Love Story, and others...honestly I am just getting into these genres myself, having spent the bulk of years collecting all the action stuff coming out.

Korea and Japan have a lot of great dramas too...I'v heard good things about "The Way Home," I think it is, and a newer one "Spring Summer Fall Winter...and Spring" something like that...honestly, I am not too much of an expert on Korean cinema as I'm just tipping the iceberg myself.

For comedies -- I would definitely recommend some of the Korean comedies mentioned here, like Sex is Zero and the romantic comedy/drama My Sassy Girl is outstanding. I've heard good things about Please Teach Me English and My Tutor Friend so I will be picking those up soon. As for HK, it has tons of good comedies. Besides Stepen Chow, I have heard good things about La Brassiere and some of the other romantic comedies out of HK...The Hui brothers did some great work years ago...Aces Go Places series is very good.

I woul check out www.kfccinema.com and http://www.asiandvdguide.com/ for more indepth guidance. Those forums have a lot of info if dig deep enough.

There are plenty of good dramatic films in Korean cinema:

JSA: Joint Security Area, Sympathy for Mr Vengeance, and many others (I will list those when I get home).

I have less knowledge of comedies, since I barely touched the genre, mostly concentrating on action myself. Few titles as Attack the Gas Station, Guns and Talks, Foul King, My Sassy Girl, Save the Green Earth (more of a dark humor) are recomended.

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Originally Posted by Shinobi128

I'm going to make an assumption and say that all of you who own these movies have teh bootlegs? ;) Isn't it because the official DVD's have no english subtitle option?

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Actually, a number of Japanese DVDs now have English subs. I watched R2 Dolls with English subs, I meant to see Ashita ga aru sa, which had them, but never did, and I know that Azumi and Returner both have English subs. There are of course more, but those are the few that come to mind.

The only problem with Japanese movie DVDs, of course, is that they are horribly overpriced, even if you live in Japan.

I've always wondered about non-HK people when watching Stephen Chow's movies (Shaolin Soccer, God of Cookery, etc) because as someone who grew up with it, the style of comedy he uses just feels distinctly Canto-centric. I just can't help comparing the dialogue and and the subtitles and feel how lacking the subtitles are... (not to mention how many bizarre HK pop culture references you'll miss)

In any case, I'm have been a big Stephen Chow fan for a long time... if you like his style of comedy, nearly all his movies, even his worst stuff like King of Comedy and Love on Delivery (one of my favorite Stephen Chow movies of all time!) are worthwhile... well at least to me. Personally, I'd watch them all (especially his classics like Flirting Scholar, Justice My Foot and From Beijing With Love) :D

Apart from all his movies, I can recommend :

- Storm Riders - best of all the new "HK CG" films. Great blend of all the technology and standard HK movie making... rather than the excessive stuff like Legend of Zu (which was to be nearly unwatchable).

- Infernal Affairs Trilogy - one of the best HK movies in recent years. Interesting premise and plotlines... phenomenal writing for a mainstream HK hit. Great cast and good performances throughout the series. The third part is by far the weakest of the 3. The first 2 are almost equally good (although the 2nd one can NOT stand on it's own)

- Battle Royale. Nuff said. I thought BR2 was horrible and lost nearly everything that made BR1 appealing.

- My Sassy Girl. Unbelievably hilarious romantic comedy. It's sweet and cute enough to be a chick flick without being horribly sappy. Does drag a little towards the end but one of my favorite Korean movies ever.

- God of Gamblers. An absolute HK pop culture phenomena back when it was released. This is an absolute classic and one of Chow Yun Fat's most memorable roles. It's really unfortunate but all the other 'HK Gambling' movies are pretty lackluster... except for "All for the Winner" (?) (aka the Saint of Gamblers) which was Stephen Chow's breakout performance (it's a crime this movie isn't out on DVD!)

- Young and Dangerous Trilogy. This is a trilogy that just kept getting better and better until they overmilked it and it imploded. The first 3 movies should be considered HK movie essentials though. There are no better triads movies out there in my book. Great balance of comedy and drama... and they somehow managed to make all the movies without a single real Cantonese swear word. Amazing :D

- As a side note, I think Versus and Volcano High are way overrated.

- A Better Tomorrow. Chow Yun Fat's defining role bar none. This movie is just a classic of HK cinema and it's influence can still be felt today in HK cinema and pop culture. The main character was simply used as the stereotype for coolness for many years after this movie came and went. I consider this John Woo and Chow Yun Fat's finest collaboration.

- Ju-on the Grudge. Haven't seen it yet. I don't dare to. LOL. I hear it's one of the scariest Japanese movie ever. The trailer alone scared me for days.

There's probably a boatload more... just give me some more time to think...

Well, Better Tomorrow is great, but JW and CYF were better in The Killer and Harboiled.

See Ju-on. While it didnt really scared me, it had alot of creepy moments, that might be too much for other people :)

I really like both God of Gamblers, and CYF follow up, Return of God of Gamblers. Both contained and mixed cool action sequences with tense card play, and coolness of CYF.
I also enjoyed God og Gamblers: The Early Stage(or was it the Beginning?). It also had some very nicely done action, with Jordan Chan being actually a total badass. Leon Lai was ok as young CYF character, but not as good as former.

Sex is Zero, people.

Sex is Zero.

I thought Sex is Zero was overrated too. I just didn't find it that funny.

Im amazed that it took so long for people to mention Raise the Red Lantern and as bbobb pointed out, Kurosawa.

I mentioned him 7 posts in.
People keep mentioning God of Cookery. I've seen that, and Love on Delivery. Shaolin Soccer is the only Stephen Chow you need to see, from what I can tell. Someone also mentioned Bio Zombie, that's a really fun movie.

Biozomibe is simultaneously the best and worst Asian movie ever made. Just make sure you watch the terrible dub. It's the best and worst part.

I hear Kick the Moon is a good comedy by dir. of Attack the Gas Station.
anyone seen that one?

well just to add to this list:

Knockabout: Yuen Biao, Sammo Hung and Lau Kar Wing.

all three of them are unbelievable as the movie is one big fight scene.
the fights get progressively more intricate and much respect is paid
to Lau Kar Wing in the final fight scene which is the greatest two on one fight
i have ever seen.

Anyone like Takeshi's Brother (besides me), and are there other good Yakuza-themed movies worth checking out?

Oh and Returner was awful. I guess I expected more than I should have.

I just saw Ikiru. Very moving film, it will haunt me for a long time I think. Made my black heart weep.

I'll mention "Spring, Summer, Autmumn, Winter, and Spring Again" one more time (see my incredibly unpopular thread below), just because it's out now, and it's far better than most of the stuff that's been listed in this thread. Go see it.

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Originally Posted by Prince Planet

I'll mention "Spring, Summer, Autmumn, Winter, and Spring Again" one more time (see my incredibly unpopular thread below), just because it's out now, and it's far better than most of the stuff that's been listed in this thread. Go see it.

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I think people in this thread are mostly mentioning the more well-known stuff than the dramas/serious stuff. I've been reading about this one since it got a limited U.S. release. Korean cinema has come a long way and is getting really good. I'm going to check it out as soon as I have some spare cash.

My own little list of recommended HK movies:

Once a Thief
Hard Boiled
Drunken Master (Fist) 1
Shaolin Soccer
Flirting Scholar
Infernal Affairs

Happiness of The Katakuri's was the most fun and outragous movie I've seen in a long time.

Anything form Zhang Yimou is worth looking for - I didn't even know about Hero. Nice thread :)

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Originally Posted by Core Boy

Happiness of The Katakuri's was the most fun and outragous movie I've seen in a long time.

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word. the song and dance number with the navy guy is the best thing ever put on film.

New Legend of Shaolin

The Magnificent Butcher

Duel to the Death

Another I forgot to recommend:

Audition

Starring: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Jun Kunimura
Director: Takashi Miike

You need to register a free account, then check out the article of Asian movies to look forward to.

Cannes aka Asia West

Zhang Yimou has a new one called "House of Flying Daggers". I'm happy.

And even more tantalizing is "Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence".

ive bought the special edition of battle royale and i cant say its anytihng special. yes its a good movie but the way people go on about it here....

the eye is a pretty freaky idea for a flick as well. picked that up not too long ago.

i want to see hero and casshern as well.

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Originally Posted by Taito

Anyone like Takeshi's Brother (besides me)

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i liked it too. Beat Takeshi didn't need to speak a single word of english and he pwned the film. Omar Epps threw in a decent performance too.

i also recommend the Happiness of the Kuturaki's. they also show it on either IFC or Sundance from time to time too.

BOUNCE! Kogals.

Anyone see that Korean martial arts/comedy flick released this year called Arahan?

Thought it was really cool. Definitely one of the better action movies I've seen recently. A nice balance of action and humor, the fight scenes (particular the sword fighting scenes) were impressive.

Here's one of several movie posters for this film:

http://image.cineseoul.com/image/pos...r019370-k3.jpg

Hot.

Ninja's wearing headphones?

I have an asian video store near me so I hope to gain some use from this thread. :nod:

Yeah, I really want to see Arahan. Heard alot about it. I also want to see Silmido.

Also one day Sword in the Moon will be released on dvd too.

Damn... now I need to see Arahan.

I don't take movies all that seriously, so I can usually enjoy a movie even if it is just silly nonsense. I liked things like Returner and Heroic Trio.

Some recommendations that I haven't seen mentioned
Trick (even better if you also watch the TV series, but not required)
Weather Woman
So Close (silly, but fun)

Things I need to see
Bounce Kogal
Casshern
My Sassy Girl
Arahan
Azumi
Spring, Summer, Autmumn, Winter, and Spring Again
Ashita ga arusa
Moon Child
Volcano High

I'm sure I've forgotten a few.

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Ashita ga arusa

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Any connection to the drama starring Downtown?


edit: YES THERE IS. Is it available subtitled? I have to see it. That was easily one of my favorite dramas.

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Originally Posted by shidoshi

Some recommendations that I haven't seen mentioned
So Close (silly, but fun)

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i mentioned it here. definitely a fun little movie.

and i'm not sure it screened in Japan yet, but i thought Marronnier was a cheesy, but fun horror flick. the movie was incredibly low-budget, and the actors were manga artists (with a special appearance by Junji Ito). big props to the director for basically working on the entire film himself. he created all of the dolls, special effects, and even built the entire dungeon at the end of the movie.

also check out Please Teach Me English. one of the funniest films i've ever watched. i even shed a tear near the end of the film because some of it was kinda sad.

If there is one obscure Stephen Chow flick I should talk about, it is something translated as "love of delivery" or maybe love on delivery. I never got it straight. Its about a guy that learns kung fu to impress a girl, but ends up with a shifty teahcer. He exploits him and teaches him fake kung fu.

One of my faves.

Arahan is on my to get list...

I'll add Korean movies: Spirit of Jeet Kun Do and Wonderful Days...

Please Teach Me English is a fabulous film...glad you recommended it...

All of these I think are really good, starred ones are my faves, with two stars being some of my favorite movies Asian or not:

Japanese:

Tampopo**: Somewhat wacky comedy that could be described as Zen and the art of Ramen making; kind of a Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name saves a noodle shop. I love this movie.

Shall We Dansu?**: A more understated comedy than Tampopo; an office worker takes Ballroom dance lessons.

Onibaba

Kwaidan

Chushingura (1962)*: This is the story of the 47 Loyal Retainers/Ronin/Samurai as directed by Hiroshi Inagaki. Don't be fooled by Toshiro Mifune listed in the credits and used on the cover of the DVD; his role is small. However, this movie single handedly expresses Feudal Japan better than any movie I've ever seen. Not only that, but this movie has some of the most beautiful cinematography ever. The movie is long as it deals with many, many characters over a couple of years span before they wreak their revenge. Much heavier character study than it is an action film, which it does not portend to be. Inagaki also directed the Samurai Trilogy.

Rashomon**: My favorite Kurosawa film.

Throne of Blood*

The Hidden Fortress

Sanjuro


Chinese:

Shower

To Live** : This is one of the most incredible historical dramas I've ever watched. I have a great deal of interest in Chinese history during the 20th century, from the end of Imperialism, through the Civil War between Chiang Kaishek's Kuomintang army and Mao's Communist army, Mao's Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution and the effect on the personal and national identities of the people of China, and this movie covers it better than any I've seen. It's epic but personal.

Farewell My Concubine**: Certainly a well known film, it too covers the same era as To Live, but from a different class's perspective. Where To Live showed the effect of brutal totalitarianism on lower level society, Farewell My Concubine shows it from the point of view of the Arts class of peoples.

The Blue Kite: Another movie about the above topic and time period.

Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl: And yet another. During the Cultural Revolution, children from the city were forced to leave their families and go to the farthest reaches of the Chinese countryside, where the ground is barren and frozen, so they could get their hands dirty. Mao's driving philosophy behind this was to turn the social classes on their heads, break the spirit of the individual, and destroy filial duty because it was a tennet of Confucianism. This movie is directed by Joan Chen and is a sad, sad, sad, sad movie about a girl whose new station in life reduces her to almost an animal whose only escape from reality is to perform sexual favors for Army men who promise to put her paperwork through to get her sent home. They never do.

King of Masks*

Raise The Red Lantern

Judou

The Story of Qiu Ju

Not One Less

Temptress Moon: This movie was not all that well reviewed when it came out. I think it's brilliant. Some reviewers just claimed they didn't understand it, which I can certainly see. To me though, the movie has a heavy, heavy subtext about the destructiveness of British Colonialism through the Boxer Rebellion and the Opium Trade.

Hong Kong:

The Bride With White Hair

A Better Tomorrow*

The Killer

Hard Boiled

Shaolin Soccer**

Taiwan:

Eat Drink Man Woman**: Light comedy about a father and his 3 grown daughters. Features lots of wonderful food, good humor and is pretty touching too.

Yi Yi: ...A one and a two**: Directed by Edward Yang, this is a very long look at life affirmation. A business man attending his brother's wedding runs into his high school sweetheart whom he's not seen since those high school years. Now he can't get her out of his mind and decides to call her. There is an unspoken union between the two, and a prime opportunity for a tryst, but does he take it, now married with children and middle aged? Meanwhile, his wife is on sabbatical trying to find god through a crazy priest, his daughter has made a new friend who there seems to be something wrong with, just out of the picture, his young son has found a love of photography and his mother has fallen into a coma. A trip to Japan and a burgeoning friendship with a Japanese businessman answers many of his questions about his own life. This is a special film, not a comedy, actually a drama and to me is just a really, really interesting movie.

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To Live** : This is one of the most incredible historical dramas I've ever watched.

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I think I saw the first half of this in a class a few years ago. Thought it was really good but never looked it up =\

I suppose I should.

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Originally Posted by rezo

Any connection to the drama starring Downtown?
edit: YES THERE IS. Is it available subtitled? I have to see it. That was easily one of my favorite dramas.

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The Japanese DVD release has English subs.

Is the drama out there in the fansub community? I've never seen it, so I probably should.

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Originally Posted by rezo

I think I saw the first half of this in a class a few years ago. Thought it was really good but never looked it up =\

I suppose I should.

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Yeah, probably..., as the first part generally deals with life before Communism while the remainder deals with the absolute lunacy and horror of Mao Zedong's reign, shown through the ordeals of the one family. This movie contains one of the most shockingly intense dramatic moments ever, which I won't spoil, only to say it has to do with a hospital scene. Jeesh, I well up just thinking about it.

If you're interested in stories of this time, I highly recommend the book Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang. I think it's required reading for a lot of high schoolers these days, but am not sure. Regardless, it's a harrowing, amazing memoir and To Live covers the same time period as that book.

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The Japanese DVD release has English subs.

Is the drama out there in the fansub community? I've never seen it, so I probably should.

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It was shown on TV in So. Cal when it came out(I had an av/sig combo of it way back then)

Unfortunately, I've never found it in the fansub community. I was looking too, since I didn't record it when it first came on =\

But thanks, I'll definitely get the japanese DVD. I didn't see anything saying it had english subtitles at yesasia, so I wasn't sure.

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Yeah, probably..., as the first part generally deals with life before Communism while the remainder deals with the absolute lunacy and horror of Mao Zedong's reign, shown through the ordeals of the one family.

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Yeah, the teacher mentioned that the second half was quite different, though I don't remember the details anymore. I'll definitely get a copy of it though.

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Originally Posted by Scourge

Kwaidan

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i recommend this too. it's slow going, but each of the stories are very well done. for a horror film, it's beautiful.

Tai Chi Master has my interest. Anyone who has seen this do you recommend ordering it and what is unique about it? How does anyone rate Storm Riders with Sonny Chiba?

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Originally Posted by Despair

Yeah, I really want to see Arahan.

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I watched this about 2 weeks ago and I thought it was pretty good. Perfect mix of comedy, action and drama. The special effects could have been a tad better though, and some of the fight choreography (especially the sword work) was a little weak. Fun flick though.

storm riders was pretty cool, albeit dry in some areas. sonny chiba did a badass job(like always). the movie is a tad dated with it's fight scenes relying heavily on CG...but hey; at least you get to stare at hsu qi for an hour. *drool*

btw: anybody worth their salt needs to see shaolin soccer. that shit is comedy gold.

http://www.pimp-productions.com/medi...wall-kick2.gif

Recently saw Battle Royale- great movie. Beat Takeshi, AKA Vic Romano, was awesome. It's the first time I've seen him outside of MXC and I have to admit, I'm interested in finding more movies he's in because he was totally hilarious. The movie itself was pretty brutal and hard-hitting and did a pretty good job of showing how people might act in such a fucked-up situation.

Also saw Wild Zero, and I'm mixed on it. Guitar Wolf fucking rule. If the movie was all them it would have been the greatest movie ever. Alas, we had to deal with Ace and his transvestite girlfriend, which really dragged shit down. Great movie whenever Guitar Wolf was on-screen.

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Originally Posted by Despair

Muscle Heat

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Sounds like gay porn.

Has anybody seen the following and how are they:

1) The Road Home (Directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Zhang Ziyi) - I've got a good feeling this is probably great, considering the director, but I want impressions.

2) Springtime In A Small Town (Directed by Zhuangzhuang Tian) - This is a remake of a classic Chinese film and is directed by the man who did The Blue Kite (movie about The Cultural Revolution, etc.). Also think this is probably good considering the Fifth Generation director involved.

and one more:

Maborosi - amazon.com description:

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Hirokazu Kore-eda's haunting, graceful Japanese film features a concentrated and powerfully reserved performance by Makiko Esumi as Yumiko, a young woman whose life is defined by the death and disappearance of her loved ones. As a child, she witnessed her grandmother's walking away from her family; as an adult, she must face the fact that her husband has committed suicide.

Impeccably lit and framed, this self-consciously classical first feature blends characteristics of two of the great Japanese masters: a sensitive portrait of a woman's suffering is reminiscent of Mikio Naruse and a serene, minimalist style is suggestive of Yasujiro Ozu. At times, Kore-eda seems to be trudging too dutifully in the path of his illustrious predecessors, and there is little in the film that could be qualified as original. Yet Maborosi remains convincing in its subtle, sustained moods and the quiet confidence of its approach. --Dave Kehr

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Originally Posted by Dolemite

Also saw Wild Zero, and I'm mixed on it. Guitar Wolf fucking rule. If the movie was all them it would have been the greatest movie ever. Alas, we had to deal with Ace and his transvestite girlfriend, which really dragged shit down. Great movie whenever Guitar Wolf was on-screen.

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I thought the same thing. They were so damn cool, but the parts with Ace were just plain stupid. I wonder if Guitar Wolf has a live performance DVD?

Last night I watched Tokyo Godfathers. Good flick. Rent it next time you get the chance

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Originally Posted by animegirl20

I thought the same thing. They were so damn cool, but the parts with Ace were just plain stupid. I wonder if Guitar Wolf has a live performance DVD?

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Actually, the parts with ANYONE who wasn't Guitar Wolf were plain stupid- the fat chick with her toothless boyfriend, the hotpants-wearing club owner, the female arms dealer with the chicken legs...enough already. The whole flick should have been Guitar Wolf riding around on flaming motorcycles/muscle cars while fighting Zombies and UFOs while screaming "Rock and Roll!!".

BTW, if you're interested in seeing Guitar Wolf live (and who wouldn't?), check out their site (it has an English option). They're touring the U.S. this year, look at the schedule page to see if they'll be rocking your neighborhood. They'll be in NY next month, I'm seriously considering going.

I gota get my hands on High and Low. God I'm in love with Toshiro Mifune, Grace Kelly watch your back.

A Tale Of Two Sisters

Excellent scary psychological thriller

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2004/06/2...4_review.shtml

Don't know if it's out in the US or not, but the DVD is region 0 in Europe, so it'll play anywhere.

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Originally Posted by Xeno G

Hell yeah!

Blind, deaf, legless & Retard kung fu!

It does not get any better than this.

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That was the sequel. Actually it wasn't even a sequel. It was a film starring the same actors that was released as "The Return of The Five Deadly Venoms" just to sell more copies.

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Originally Posted by cka

Return of the five deadly venoms!

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The Toad must have a weak spot.

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Originally Posted by Core Boy

Happiness of The Katakuri's was the most fun and outragous movie I've seen in a long time.

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He had a knife. Why didn't he use it?

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Originally Posted by Dolemite

Recently saw Battle Royale- great movie. Beat Takeshi, AKA Vic Romano, was awesome. It's the first time I've seen him outside of MXC and I have to admit, I'm interested in finding more movies he's in because he was totally hilarious. The movie itself was pretty brutal and hard-hitting and did a pretty good job of showing how people might act in such a fucked-up situation.

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get yourself a copy of Brother. fucking good yakuza film where he just runs the shit out of LA with Omar Epps. subtitling choice for the dvd is weird, though. you can either watch it entirely subtitled (including the english dialog), or entirely raw (no subtitles for either language).

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Originally Posted by freddiebamboo

A Tale Of Two Sisters

Excellent scary psychological thriller

http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2004/06/...04_review.shtml

Don't know if it's out in the US or not, but the DVD is region 0 in Europe, so it'll play anywhere.

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i don't know about the rest of the US, but i know it's definitely playing here in NYC at one theatre in the Village. it's probably nearing the end of it's run, too, since it's been out for a month.

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Originally Posted by NoboruWataya

God I'm in love with Toshiro Mifune

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While I do not share your apparent desire for him, he is a great actor. He totally rocked in Seven Samurai.

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Originally Posted by Hubbitron

That was the sequel. Actually it wasn't even a sequel. It was a film starring the same actors that was released as "The Return of The Five Deadly Venoms" just to sell more copies.

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This is true. After all, they got killed in the original, how could they return?

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Originally Posted by Ashen Victor

get yourself a copy of Brother. fucking good yakuza film where he just runs the shit out of LA with Omar Epps. subtitling choice for the dvd is weird, though. you can either watch it entirely subtitled (including the english dialog), or entirely raw (no subtitles for either language).

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Just read up a little bit on it on the net after reading your post. Movie sounds good, I'll have to check it out. Thanks.