| Author | Message | ||
     Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.178.116 |
I finally saw this latest film by Korean director Kim Ji-woon (The Foul King, The Quiet Family, A Tale of Two Sisters, etc.) and recommend it unreservedly. It's great swashbuckling fun, with elements of Chinese wu-xia movies, Mad Max, Indiana Jones, and, of course, spaghetti westerns. I don't know when it'll be out on DVD but if you get the chance to see it at the cinema, do so - it's hugely entertaining. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.242.126 |
Sounds great! I recently pre-ordered Takeshi Miike's latest: a weird homage to the spaghetti western. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.178.116 |
Sukiyaki Western Django, Zed? It sounds interesting, but I've seen quite a bit of bad feedback on it so far. By the way, the 'Weird' in Kim's film refers to the character played by Song Kang-ho (the lead actor in The Host and about a hundred other great Korean movies) - he's on top form here. | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.242.126 |
That's the one, Huw. I've only seen good reviews, and the trailer is amazing. I love Miike, but his films are certainly love-em-or-loathe-em affairs. There's little middle ground. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.178.116 |
Yep - I am looking forward to it, and hope the less than positive comments I've seen are unfounded (although the fact that Tarantino has a role in it doesn't fill me with hope, I must admit). | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.244.148.141 |
I will see The Good, the bad, the weird one of these days. Didn't the director also make the rather good gangster movie "a bitter-sweet life"? This one looks like great fun. About the Miike western, well I couldn't finish watching it, it was so very boring in my opinion. The movie is like a joke that starts off well but lasts far too long. I recently saw one of Miike's latest ones, one of hist first success films (in Japan) in fact: Crows Zero about youth gangs in a dysfunctional school. A bit like the background of A clockwork Orange, but unfortunately without Kubrick. That movie, like so many Miike films, started off ok enough but quickly became boring as well. I still have "A big bang love" here to see. It should be rather good. The one asian film I am most looking forward to is Tsukamoto's "Nightmare Detective 2". First reactions are that it's better than part 1 which was perhaps Tsukamoto's most commercial movie, but also very suspenseful and so well made. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.189.194 |
Tom, I liked A Bittersweet Life but it's probably my least favourite of Kim's movies. His versatility is impressive - he seems to be equally adept at comedy, horror, action, crime... he's simply an extremely accomplished all-round filmmaker, I think. Together, I think that he and Bong Joon-ho ('Memories of Murder', etc.) make a strong case for South Korea being one of the world's strongest sources of innovative, interesting cinema. I find Miike's stuff hit-or-miss, to be frank. I love some of it, but other stuff leaves me unimpressed. He's a far more uneven filmmaker than Kim. Perhaps he should make fewer films - he's staggeringly prolific. Tsukamoto is an interesting director (and writer and actor, now I think on it). I liked Nightmare Detective, and am looking forward to the sequel. | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 84.193.86.250 |
Huw, I fully agree with ypur opinion on modern korean cinema: it is perhaps the most vibrant and fresh cinema today, a bit like Hong Kong was in the 1990s. I am looking forward to the upcoming film of the director of Oldboy (one of my fave films ever) - a vampire story. I alo agree with your opinion on Miike. He has a few good movies but he's so uneven. And a few nasty shocks in a film do not necessarily make a good film. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.184.2 |
Tom, the forthcoming Park Chan-wook vampire film you mention is called Thirst (unless I'm misremembering) and stars Song Kang-ho, who must be one of the most in-demand actors in Korea right now, given the string of films he's been in (JSA, The Quiet Family, Memories of Murder, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Antarctic Journal, The Host, The Good, the Bad, the Weird, etc.). I think it's due out this year (was about to say 'next year', then remembered it's 2009!). | ||
| Joel (Joel) Username: Joel Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 91.110.138.9 |
"I also agree with your opinion on Miike." (Tries to suppress mental image of Mrs Ashley in a brief moment of passion.) | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 62.4.248.22 |
By the way, for those in the forum who have not yet seen "Memories of Murder": check it out. It is in my not so humble opinion one of the best thrillers I ever saw, meaning it can stand besides a movie like "the silence of the lambs". Yes, it's that good. Brits can buy it for example here: http://tinyurl.com/9x5dwl | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.243.65.83 |
Meanwhile I was able to see "The good, the bad and the weird". It's a lot of fun, simply the idea of a korean western is fun, and the execution is excellent. The plot is not that deep, but there is this non-stop energy, nods to a number of well-known action/adventure movies and some unorthodox camerawork that makes for interesting viewing. Recommended if you can catch it on a festival, or later on dvd. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.187.30 |
Glad you liked it, Tom. You're right, it's not deep at all - it's good for what it is, though: an action/adventure/comedy with some great camerawork and a nice sense of humour. Memories of Murder is one of the best films on the subject of serial killings, I think. Have you seen Bong Joon-ho's earlier film Barking Dogs Never Bite? It's a good one. | ||
| Tom_alaerts (Tom_alaerts) Username: Tom_alaerts Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.243.16.26 |
Huw, I didn't see the Barking Dogs movie, I will keep it in mind. I did see the more recent Korean serial killer thriller "Chaser". In general well made, good suspense, it also looks a bit limited by its budget, and it's towards the end rather shocking in that edgy Korean moviemaking way. Worth watching. | ||
| Jamie Rosen (Jamie) Username: Jamie Registered: 11-2008 Posted From: 99.240.155.122 |
Huw, Zed -- I shall be seeing Sukiyaki Western Django in theatres later this month. The local repertory-turned-second-run-turned-repertory cinema is back on top form, and will also be showing such films as Tokyo Gore Police, Let the Right One In, and Sick Nurses. I'm not sure how many of them I'll get to see, but this is a promising start to the year. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.185.235 |
Sounds good, Jamie. Sick Nurses was on here last year, but I didn't manage to see it. There are so many Thai horror films out these days, they're impossible to catch up with! I have Tokyo Gore Police on order, and can't wait to see Let the Right One In (a film about which I've read only good things). Let us know how they are! I hear that The Good, the Bad, the Weird is going to be playing in UK cinemas in early February too. | ||
| Huw (Huw) Username: Huw Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 218.168.185.235 |
Wow, that was good timing - just after posting that, my copy of Tokyo Gore Police appears on my doorstep! I also received a new Korean film that looks intriguing - Hansel and Gretel. While we're discussing Asian cinema, has anyone seen Miyazaki Hayao's latest, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea? It starts playing here on the 23rd (around the start of Chinese New Year) and, being a big fan of Miyazaki, I can't wait. Tom, I haven't seen The Chaser yet, but I notice it's on at a local cinema. Another one to try to catch - so many movies... | ||
| Zed (Gary_mc) Username: Gary_mc Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 81.96.242.126 |
Yes, Jamie, please post a review here when you've seen it! | ||
| John Llewellyn Probert (John_l_probert) Username: John_l_probert Registered: 03-2008 Posted From: 213.253.174.81 |
Well a fairly dreary weekend at Probert Towers was livened up considerably yesterday afternoon by a viewing of The Good The Bad & The Weird. No idea if this is on Region 2 yet (or Region 1 for that matter - mine was a Region 3 disk) but I thought it was great. I'm a sucker for movies with scenes set on trains anyway and the opening thrity minutes of this sold me completely. The plot is really rather bonkers and doesn't entirely hold together but the photography is often stunning (particularly in the quieter moments) and I found some of the set pieces utterly involving. |