Oldboy Remake

[YellerDog]

Unlike Ichi the Killer, it's actually a movie.

[Dolemite]

It's a good movie, octopus is delicious, what is the problem.

I just dig octopuses. They're intelligent creatures with feelings and shit, and their potential is only limited by their relatively short lifespan (average is 2-3 years). With the advanced problem-solving and memorization skills they display, if they had human lifespans they'd probably take over the fucking world.

US Let me In wins for ditching the CG cats.

Yeah, in favor of shitty CG vampire little girls. That part where she transforms or whatever and kills the dude in the tunnel was fucking horrible.

I do remember the cats being pretty bad, though, so it's a toss-up in that regard.

[Frogacuda]

From a review of an early screening:

The ending is even more incestuous than the original. The “big twist?” Still in there as is.

So I don't know what the fuck you guys are on about.

[Dolemite]

Unlike Ichi the Killer, it's actually a movie.

Takashi Miike movies are a good example of shit being over-hyped, yeah.

[Dolemite]

From a review of an early screening:

Yeah, I had a feeling that his "daughter" on the TV news program in the trailer was probably an actress pretending to be her to mislead both Josh Brolin's character AND people who had already seen the original movie.

[MechDeus]

From a review of an early screening:

So I don't know what the fuck you guys are on about.

Personally, my worry is that they would focus on the twist and story instead of the mood and journey of the main character.

[Mzo]

Me, specifically? Why do you think that?

From your opinions on other similar movies and the reviews you've linked here and there.

I wouldn't say the original Oldboy is the greatest movie ever made or anything, but I went in knowing nothing and found it to be pretty damn good. It's a good time watching the dude get revenge and get fucked over. Not watching it because of an octopus scene or whatever is pretty ridiculous but sure!

edit: You had me at "even more incestuous." Maybe I'll watch it now!

[Hubbitron]

I think the self mutilation scene near the end is harder to watch than the octopus scene, however both of them make this film sort of stand out.

[Diff-chan]

I'm trying not to. While I've seen some amazing movies from that part of the world, I can't count the number of Asian "masterpieces" that I've checked out and been completely disappointed by.

Think about the sorts of people who claim they are "masterpieces". We're talking about guys like the NeoGAF Japanese culture expert, so everything Asian is automatically better than everything else.

Oldboy is still really good. Looking at that director and that time period, I'd put it above Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (one of the vastly overrated Asian movies) but behind J.S.A., which is a legitimately great movie.

[MechDeus]

Some great press out there for this!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmen...rst-film-ever/

It’s no secret that the theatrical cut of Oldboy, which runs 105 minutes, is basically a Cliff Notes version of the full cut. According to Josh Brolin, the original version (allegedly) runs three hours and is superior to the version we got to see, giving more time to character development among other things. Seeing this version, it’s clear that it is a heavily compromised vision, cut to the bone of all but the essential moments needed to get the film’s plot from point A to point B and so-forth. Putting aside the reputation of the Korean film from which this was remade or the pedigree in front-of and behind the camera, Oldboy is a painfully mediocre film with little to keep our rooting interest.

What entertainment exists comes in the form of supporting players. Sharlito Copley does amusing “weird” as a mysterious man who claims to have the answers, but at a price. Samuel L. Jackson, working with Spike Lee for the first time since Jungle Fever helped make Jackson a star in 1991, is amusing even if he exists mostly to do violence or have violence done to him. I suppose we’re supposed to care about the “token girl” played by Elizabeth Olsen, but all I could think is how sad it was that Ms. Olsen had to settle for a role that requires her to play a scene that resembles a C-grade bondage fantasy. There is so little “movie” here that even the climactic revelations are painfully telegraphed purely because the film emphasizes everything we need to see by showing us nothing else.

I'm just kidding, most all the reviews hate it.