Black Belt (2007) Review aka Kuro-Obi
"Black Belt" International Theatrical Poster
Director: Shunichi Nagasaki
Cast: Akihito Yagi, Tatsuya Naka, Yuji Suzuki, Fuyuhiko Nishi
Running Time: 120 min.
Cast: Akihito Yagi, Tatsuya Naka, Yuji Suzuki, Fuyuhiko Nishi
Running Time: 120 min.
By Mighty Peking Man
After their karate master passes away, two of his best students take opposite directions in life. Giryu (Akihito Yagi), chooses a more philosophical approach, practicing his master’s passive, yet effective, teachings on karate. Taikan (Tatsuya Naka), follows a more savage path, fueled by what he believes karate is all about. The two clash and duel it out, but only one will be their master’s successor and inherit his Black Belt.
If you ever decide to check this movie out, try not to watch it back-to-back with any other martial arts movies. If you do, Black Belt will expose just how light, unrealistic and cartoony those titles really are – all 99% of them.
If you’re looking for some over-the-top Tony Jaa/Jackie Chan/Jet Li type stuff, you won’t find it here. There are no guys flying around on wires, nobody flipping around on moving vehicles, and not a single elephant to walk on; The choreography in Black Belt consists of fights that appear to be as natural and realistic as they possibly could for the camera. As cut and dry as the sequences are, they’re so intense that you can feel the power.
The non-action segments of the film are simple and straightforward. I’m not the biggest Japanese film conessiur, but a similar title that comes to mind would be Kitano Takeshi’s Hana-Bi (aka Fireworks). They both have a calm, somewhat generic, but beautiful, feel to them. But low and behold, when it’s time for some violence, the viewer WILL notice.
One thing’s for sure, that scene in Fists of Fury – where Bruce Lee walks into a dojo full of karate men and kicks their asses with no problem – will never feel the same again.
Martial arts movies aren’t supposed to be this good.
Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 10/10
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Shinjuku Triad Society (1995) Review aka China Mafia War
"China Mafia War" US DVD Cover
Director: Takashi Miike
Producer: Tetsuya Ikeda, Toshiki Kimura, Ken Takeuchi, Tsutomu Tsuchikawa
Cast: Takeshi Caesar, Kyosuke Izutsu, Ren Osugi, Kippei Shiina, Tomorrow Taguchi, Airi Yanagi
Running Time: 100 min.
Producer: Tetsuya Ikeda, Toshiki Kimura, Ken Takeuchi, Tsutomu Tsuchikawa
Cast: Takeshi Caesar, Kyosuke Izutsu, Ren Osugi, Kippei Shiina, Tomorrow Taguchi, Airi Yanagi
Running Time: 100 min.
By The Reviewer With No Name
I was really, really looking forward to this film. The day I got it I was so exited and happy to own such a somewhat unknown and unheard of film from Takashi Miike. Well, I was hugely let down and disappointed at the film. All the reviews I read promised extreme violence and a good storyline. What I was treated to was soft core homosexuality and ridiculous violence. Even though this was an early Miike film, I can’t believe that he actually made films before this one, it boggles my mind.
Like most Miike films, this started off with an intro that got you into the film, then, lets you down in every way possible. There are a lot of things I wanted to like about the film, but it was just the some of the sick humor that runs rampant throughout the film, the best of which being right after the opening where a girl gets her asshole fingered, in front of a cop with a boner. Yeah the sexual stuff is pretty extreme, the film is littered with rapes and sex. The sex however is more homo then hetro, sorry to the fans of this, but I just don’t dig on soft core homosexuality in my films. I’ve read many reviews dismissing Gonin for the homoerotic content. Only if they could see this, actually, I’d recommend it just to see how fucked up this actually is. The homo sex scenes include blowjobs, rapes and straight sex. Most of the sex with this one guy who looks like a 12 year old kid. One scene where someone gets raped started out funny, then got sick. Yeah, I’m a bit of a homophobe, but I got tired of the sex after the fourth blowjob that lasts about two minutes.
Not much with the story either, it sounded good when I read it but it didn’t deliver. The plot itself trys to dig deep in some scenes but ends up getting slower and slower by the films pace. The acting is actually very good, and that gives it a slight redeemable quality. The main character does an excellent job, as does some others. The main bad guy doesn’t say a word throughout the entire film really, but he actually did good as a complete psycho (I think he’s in DOA: Birds in one scene where Sho and Riki turn into kids and surround someone who’s stargazing). It also stars Ren Osugi, who’s a Miike regular and has been in some of Kitano’s films as well (Horibe in Hana Bi) puts in a decent performance as what appears to be a third-rate gang leader who is interested in black market shit like organ selling, too bad something realistic like that wasnÔt as exploited as the homosexual content.
Like a lot of other Miike films, this has an inter-oriental cast. The main character himself is part Chinese, and about 15 minutes of the film is spent in Taiwan. The main bad guy is actually Taiwanese/Japanese and speaks both languages throughout the film. That’s a bit cool, also how a lot of the dialogue switches from Japanese to Mandarin in some key scenes that are between normal characters who are Japanese.
Then comes an ending where Miike gets totally lazy and makes us figure out what happened. It’s not in a positive way like Ichi the Killer or Audition, it’s Miike being lazy with both the direction and plot finale. The finale is weak as hell also. I was at least expecting one or two shootouts or something violent in it like it promised but there was about 5 shootings (at one time) and an eyeball ripped out of someones eye socket. The climax is reasonably bloody but I won’t give that away. And there’s a moronic throat slitting that contains the stupidest and fakest looking bloodspray ever in a film.
Nothing more nothing less about the film except what I’ve mentioned above. A so-so music score mix of quirky industrial beats and sounds. But that’s it.
All in all, this is a weak film in almost every respect besides some good acting and some funny sick moments. But I would only recommend it to the hardcore Miike fan. I can’t call myself a hardcore Miike fan because I basically blind bought this. Miike’s done MUCH, MUCH better with films like DOA: Birds and City of Lost Souls, because this was a nothing more then a weak attempt at a gritty crime cop drama.
The Reviewer With No Name’s Rating: 3/10
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Battle Royale 2: Requiem (2003) Review
"Battle Royale 2: Requiem" Japanese Theatrical Poster
Director: Kinji Fukasaku, Kenta Fukasaku
Writer: Kenta Fukasaku
Producer: Shigeyuki Endo
Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Shugo Oshinari, Ayana Sakai, Riki Takeuchi, Natsuki Kato, Ai Iwamura, Masaya Kikawada, Aki Maeda, Takeshi Kitano, Sonny Chiba
Running Time: 134 min.
Writer: Kenta Fukasaku
Producer: Shigeyuki Endo
Cast: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Shugo Oshinari, Ayana Sakai, Riki Takeuchi, Natsuki Kato, Ai Iwamura, Masaya Kikawada, Aki Maeda, Takeshi Kitano, Sonny Chiba
Running Time: 134 min.
By Equinox21
When good ideas go bad. Ok, so I can understand the point of Battle Royale. I loved the first movie. It made sense (in a sadistic sort of way) to have hooligan kids killing each other off. Fine. No problem. But why would they then, for the sequel, dress the kids up as soldiers, give them all assault rifles and send them in, under threat of collar-induced-head-explody, to kill Shuya Nanahara and his “terrorist” element of previous survivors of Battle Royale? It made no logical sense.
BRII was an excuse to show more kids getting shot and blubbering to each other about secret crushes and high school love in their death throes. Of course, after the initial idea fails, to kill Shuya the military sends in hundreds of actual soldiers. Well, that’s all fine and dandy; however, why not just nuke the island? It’s not as though they weren’t planning on killing everyone there anyway. Instead they sacrificed scores of highly trained soldiers in the assault against the untrained kids. Huh? Why??
I don’t know what Kinji Fukasaku was thinking when he decided to make a sequel. A sequel to Battle Royale wasn’t a bad idea in and of itself, however, what they decided to do with the story was. Turning Shuya from a troubled teen into a terrorist mastermind in 3 short years was simply too far fetched (even for the world of the BR movies) to be truly enjoyable.
The best thing about the movie was the character of Kitano’s daughter. I thought that was a very cool addition to the movie and to the story. It really tied the two movies together far better than what they did with Shuya.
Overall, stay away from BRII if you enjoyed the first one. It will only spoil your impression of the originality of BR. And, if you DO watch BRII, try not to laugh too hard at the absurd overacting of Riki Takeuchi playing a character named… Riki Takeuchi.
Equinox21′s Rating: 5/10
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Posted in Japanese, Reviews Tagged Aki Maeda, Kenta Fukasaku, Kinji Fukasaku, Tatsuya Fujiwara Leave a comment
Battlefield Baseball (2003) Review
"Battlefield Baseball" International Theatrical Poster
AKA: Battlefield Stadium
Director: Yudai Yamaguchi
Producer: Ryuhei Kitamura
Cast: Tak Sakaguchi, Atsushi Ito, Hideo Sakaki
Running Time: 87 min.
Director: Yudai Yamaguchi
Producer: Ryuhei Kitamura
Cast: Tak Sakaguchi, Atsushi Ito, Hideo Sakaki
Running Time: 87 min.
By Equinox21
Without knowing anything about the movie Battlefield Baseball, I decided to pick it up (a bootleg, unfortunately, as it’s the only format that’s affordable) only because it was a re-teaming of actor Tak Sakaguchi and producer Ryuhei Kitamura of Versus fame. I was expecting another bloody action packed extravaganza, starring Tak as Jubeh kicking ass and taking names. Well, it’s not exactly that, at all. In fact, it’s about as different from Versus as you can get, while still embodying a similar feel.
While Versus is an action movie through and through, Battlefield Baseball is a total slapstick comedy, complete with song and dance (pretty miserably sung by Tak, I might add). The plot involves a high school team that gets slaughtered by a rival team that doesn’t PLAY Baseball… it FIGHTS Baseball. Jubeh transfers to the losing High School and is convinced to pick up the sport he gave up years earlier, after his powerful pitch accidentally killed his father. Jubeh becomes the savior of the team, which is then reduced to whoever can be scraped up to fill the ranks, as the regular players have all been killed in horrible, nasty ways by the evil, zombie-like high school team (who all look like Clive Barker creations).
BB is more like a live action anime movie than any other film I’ve ever seen. The characters (especially the evil ones who are all painted blue) are so animated and over the top that it wouldn’t have shocked me if they had actually been ANIMATED. But, alas, it was only a hokey, live action movie that was reminiscent of something you might see in anime form. The comedy doesn’t really work for the most part, but there were a few scenes that had me chuckling.
Don’t get Battlefield Baseball expecting another Versus or Azumi. That was my mistake. Even though I enjoyed it, it’s a completely different movie from Versus and Azumi. Tak Sakaguchi still rules, and I’ll still check out anything that Ryuhei Kitamura is involved in, and even though it was amusing, Battlefield Baseball is, unfortunately, not one of either of their best efforts.
Equinox21′s Rating: 7/10
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Eye, The 2 (2004) Review
"The Eye 2" US DVD Cover
Director: Pang Brothers (Oxide Pang, Danny Pang)
Writer: Lawrence Cheng Tan-Shui, Jojo Hui
Producer: Peter Chan Ho-Sun, Lawrence Cheng Tan-Shui, Jojo Hui
Cast: Shu Qi, Eugenia Yuan Lai-Kai, Jesdaporn Pholdee, Phillip Kwok Chun-Fung, Rayson Tan
Running Time: 98 min.
Writer: Lawrence Cheng Tan-Shui, Jojo Hui
Producer: Peter Chan Ho-Sun, Lawrence Cheng Tan-Shui, Jojo Hui
Cast: Shu Qi, Eugenia Yuan Lai-Kai, Jesdaporn Pholdee, Phillip Kwok Chun-Fung, Rayson Tan
Running Time: 98 min.
By Raging Gaijin
I have good memories of “The Eye”. I saw in the theatre many years ago but I remember it being an altogether absorbing and chilling horror film. Angelica Lee gave a solid performance, the Pang Brothers’ directing was stylish without being overbearing, and it had the scariest opening credits sequence I have ever seen. And, while it may be because it was one of the first Asian horror movies I’d viewed, it seemed fairly original. Yeah, it owes a lot to “The Sixth Sense” but at least there weren’t any long-haired ghosts with glaring eyes crawling out of electonical devices. In short, “The Eye” is what I would consider Asian horror done right.
Alright, everything I just said about “The Eye”? Throw that out the window because “The Eye 2″ is the polar opposite of its predecessor. The direction of the Pang Brothers is as stylish as ever, but this is just a sequel that did not even need to be made. “The Eye” had a definite sense of closure about it and, really, “The Eye 2″ has very little to do with the original film. Everything about it screams ‘We did this for money!’ right down to the casting of global superstar Shu Qi in the lead. No offense to Shu Qi: she is more than adequate in the lead role, but not even her presence could save this movie.
I think the main problem lies in Shu Qi’s character. She’s a depressed and suicidal young woman. The only proactive things she does in this movie is try to kill herself during the first ten minutes, seek help from a janitor, and then try to kill herself again at the end of the movie. In other words, she’s a victim. She’s a character who lets everything happen to her and her reaction is usually to just pass out. In fact, she passes out and then wakes up in the hospital at least three or four times during the entire 98 minutes of the film. It gets old really fast. This is not to say that you *can’t* write a compelling story about a depressed and suicidal person… but these screenwriters didn’t. There comes a point when you have to make your main protagonist actually do something in retaliation against the forces assailing them. It’s honestly hard to care for Shu Qi’s character when she spends most of the movie crying, screaming, or in the hospital. Shu Qi herself performs all these scenes with aplomb but it just doesn’t matter: this not the kind of person you base a movie around.
The rest of “The Eye 2″ is filled with the familiar Asian horror clichés and “Sixth Sense” retreads. Shu Qi sees dead people, some of which are Asian women with long black hair who float through the air. The movie’s most original aspect is its take on reincarnation. I always thought that Buddhists had a rather positive take on the subject but in “The Eye 2″ it’s not altogether pleasant. It seems that when women are pregnant, the dead soul of someone waiting to be reincarnated hovers beside them until they were ready to give birth. As they’re about to deliver their child, the ghost will *swim up the birth canal and into the womb* to be reincarnated within the baby. So, yeah, this is original…but it also looks absolutely ridiculous on film! Imagine a CGI-ghost floating through the air and then straight up a pregnant woman’s legs. Yeah, it’s just plain silly and it completely ruins the dread-filled tone the Pang Brothers are going for.
It’s a shame too, because I like the Pang Brothers. I’ve liked them since I saw “Bangkok Dangerous”. I think they’re both talented filmmakers and I’ll continue to watch their films, but they completely missed the mark with “The Eye 2″, which feels like a slapped-together attempt to cash in on the success of the first one. I’d recommend you avoid it unless you’re a die-hard fan of Shu Qi (or you just want to see her vomit, which she does at least twice here). Unfortunately, “The Eye 2″ is just another nail in the coffin of Asian horror, which is swiftly becoming a tired and clichéd genre.
Raging Gaijin’s Rating: 5/10
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Eye, The (2002) Review
"The Eye" US DVD Cover
Director: Pang Brothers (Oxide Pang, Danny Pang)
Producer: Peter Ho-Sun Chan
Cast: Angelica Lee (Sin Je), Lawrence Chow, So Yut Lai, Candy Lo Hau-Yam, Ko Yin Ping, Edmond Chen, Ben Yuen, Winson Yip, Chutcha Rujihanon, Pierre Png, Wang Sue Yuen
Running Time: 98 min.
Producer: Peter Ho-Sun Chan
Cast: Angelica Lee (Sin Je), Lawrence Chow, So Yut Lai, Candy Lo Hau-Yam, Ko Yin Ping, Edmond Chen, Ben Yuen, Winson Yip, Chutcha Rujihanon, Pierre Png, Wang Sue Yuen
Running Time: 98 min.
By Numskull
Much like the well-intentioned but underwhelming Inner Senses, The Eye stays a healthy distance away from the camp where past Hong Kong horror films have traditionally spent their summer vacations and attempts to capture the tension and dread typical of newer Japanese films in this category. Alas, it falls short of its mark. It’s certainly better than the dinky little Kiddie Koaster, but can’t match the thrills offered by the roller coasters that the big kids ride (and wait three and a half hours in line for).
We’ve got Angelica Lee as Mun, a woman with bony Carrie-Anne Moss shoulders who has been blind since age two. She undergoes a corneal transplant with the elder Dr. Lo to restore her vision, then begins to see ghosts and flickers of an unfamiliar place while at home. But, since the sensation of seeing is new to her and she doesn’t quite trust her new eyesight yet, she does not fully realize that these are supernatural phenomena. At least, not at first. Eventually, the movie shows us so damn many phantoms, apparitions, revenants, and what have you while advancing the rest of the plot at a snail’s pace that the only horrified cries from the audience will be along the lines of: “Okay. She sees ghosts. WE GET IT!!!”
At long last, the younger Dr. Lo, the specialist who has been helping Mun get acquainted with her new fifth sense, assists her in tracking down the cornea donor to get some answers. Off to Thailand they go, and the facts they learn about the previous owner of Mun’s peepers are more disturbing than the visions she’s encountered thus far.
And so on.
The Eye isn’t a bad film, but, all things considered, I wasn’t impressed. The big problem is that it has very tough competition in Japan’s crop of horror movies from the last few years and it’s hard not to make unfortunate comparisons. It doesn’t have Ringu’s tick-tock impending doom; nor Kairo’s quiet, bizarre otherworldliness; nor Kakashi’s smothering sense of isolation; nor Ju-On’s primal, jolt-a-minute rawness. What it does have is one very effective scene involving an elevator, a fact-based ending that scores a few points for ballsiness, and a premise with more potential than was utilized. That’s about it. I won’t make the absurd generalization that Hong Kong can’t make a good horror film, because the potential is certainly there. Keep trying, people.
Numskull’s Rating: 6/10
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Pee Hua Kurd (2002) Review aka The Beheaded
"Pee Hua Kurd" Thai DVD Cover
Director: Komsan Tripong
Cast: Thep Phongarm, Theng Therdtherng, Thanisorn Satayamongkol, Note Chernyim, Noppawan Srinikorn, Jaturong Mokjok, Chanis Yaisamer
Running Time: 120 min.
Cast: Thep Phongarm, Theng Therdtherng, Thanisorn Satayamongkol, Note Chernyim, Noppawan Srinikorn, Jaturong Mokjok, Chanis Yaisamer
Running Time: 120 min.
By Numskull
This limp-wristed Thai film (all three of it) seems to be afflicted with the cinematic equivalent of multiple personality disorder. It starts off with a ten minute, Mr. Vampiresque segment in which a sorcerer named Master Gorey visits a graveyard with his three bumbling fuckwit assistants: Puag (cross-eyed), Koa (hard of hearing), and Muek (irritable bowel syndrome). He accidentally summons a small army of zombies and one of his underlings ends up having to have snake venom sucked out of one of his butt cheeks. This was done previously in Corey Yuen’s “High Risk”, but it’s funnier here. All in all, this opening sequence promises a good amount of amusement in the upcoming 110 minutes. The rest of the film’s failure to keep that promise can only be described as “spectacular”.
For the next hour and change we are subjected to a dull and meandering story about Diew, a wandering good guy who shows up in this little town looking for a “Mr. Groan”, his late father’s kick boxing teacher. The town is run by Chief Khem and Mr. Yang. The former has a son named Maad who beats people up for not paying protection money and always wins the yearly festival’s boxing competition; the latter has a son named Mompong who always wins the buffalo race at the same festival. Naturally, it’s up to Diew to defy the powers that be and win the heart of Tuptim, the local beauty, while he’s at it. However, that stuff has to wait until after Diew meets up with Master Gorey (aka Mr. Groan, big surprise) and bails Puag, Muek and Koa out of the trouble they keep landing themselves in. Nothing remarkable here except for the fact that the hero has an infuriating, high-pitched, girly voice that makes you wish the bad guys would come along and chop his head off.
And you know what? They do. Oh, don’t look so shocked. That’s Diew’s severed head grinning at you on the DVD package. Besides, what the hell did you expect from a movie called “The Beheaded”?
So, Diew and his trusty buffalo are killed in an ambush and subsequently framed for murder. Such a shame, he won the boxing match, he won the buffalo race, he seemed like such a nice boy, his voice could cut glass in cold weather, blah blah blah. Maad abducts Piptin and her friend Sa, and since Master Gorey and his trio of dipshits can’t do much about it, Diew comes back from the dead to wreak bloody revenge upon all of the villains. Even his buffalo rises from the grave, hell-bent on goring every evildoer in sight. Obviously, the buffalo is the coolest character in the film. Even more obviously, this is the movie’s other big tone shift; the supernatural element makes a big comeback, especially when Gorey has a sorcerers’ duel with a villainous mystic. Gone, though, is the outright buffoonery of the now distant opening scene. The Beheaded scores some points for being unique, but very few for overall entertainment value. When the most likable character is a large, hoofed mammal, you know you’ve got problems. The lackluster fight scenes and sappy romance aspect are impossible to ignore. Only the opening, which is like a mini-movie in and of itself, is truly worth your time.
Numskull’s Rating: 4/10
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Tom Yum Goong (2005) Review aka The Protector
"Tom Yum Goong" Thai Theatrical Poster
AKA: Warrior King, Honour of the Dragon, Revenge of the Warrior
Director: Prachya Pinkaew
Writer: Prachya Pinkaew, Kongdej Jaturanrasamee
Producer: Prachya Pinkaew
Cast: Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Xing Jing, Johnny Nguyen, Nathan Jones, Bongkoj Khongmalai, David Asavanond, Dean Alexandrou, Lateef Crowder, Damian De Montemas, Don Ferguson, Jon Foo, Ron Smoorenburg, David Ussawanon
Running Time: 110 min.
Director: Prachya Pinkaew
Writer: Prachya Pinkaew, Kongdej Jaturanrasamee
Producer: Prachya Pinkaew
Cast: Tony Jaa, Petchtai Wongkamlao, Xing Jing, Johnny Nguyen, Nathan Jones, Bongkoj Khongmalai, David Asavanond, Dean Alexandrou, Lateef Crowder, Damian De Montemas, Don Ferguson, Jon Foo, Ron Smoorenburg, David Ussawanon
Running Time: 110 min.
By Kioko
I’ve been a martial arts fan for over 20 years now. So from the Bruce Lee films, to Jackie Chan, to Jet Li, I have seen most of these trend setting films for the genre and have a deep appreciation for them. Right now Tony Jaa is unmatched, and will be for sometime now. No one can touch him. Tom Yum Goong confirms Tony Jaa as the next in line for the martial arts film genre. It’s simply outstanding!
Tony Jaa makes no apology for his brutal, creative, fresh style. He has the intensity of Bruce Lee, the choreographic genius of Jackie Chan, and the Rise-to-Stardom success of Jet Li. With all it’s predecessors in mind. This movie has things that have never been done before. Muy Thai boxing is taken to yet another authentic level. What’s more impressive is it’s practical yet entertaining use of it. Vs. Capoeria – an African Brazillian martial art form never before seen on film, Wu Shu Kung Fu, Pro Wrestling, and the historical Warrior(Elephant) Thai Boxing.
The camera is forgiving, pulling back for us to see what is going on. And the story, although quite simple, is more intricate than people give credit for It’s probably best to know Thai and Chinese – yet the English Dialogue keeps you somewhat informed. The theme of the boy’s relationship with the Elephant continues through the film, with a nice way of brining it together at the end. No complaints about a dragging storyline, the quick fade to blacks and cut to next scenes moved it right along for me.
You cannot be considered a martial arts film fan until you see this movie.
Kioko’s Rating: 10/10
By Yi Long
Saw Tom Yoon Gung in the theatre on opening’s day: GREAT FLICK. If you thought Ong-Bak was good, TYG is at least twice as good, action-wise. Looks like Tony has listened to all the criticism that was aimed at his first movie, and really did something about it.
I’m sure most of you are already familiar with the story so I won’t waste my limited online time discussing it… (Story is so-so, treating Sidney like it’s only a few square miles big, since the characters keep running into each other…)
The first fight-scene is in Thailand where Tony goes to battle with the gangsta’s responsible for kidnapping his elephants. Very hard, kick-ass action, although it only lasts maybe a couple of minutes, it’s pretty sweet and raw. It’s followed by a boat-chase scene which is OK, and has a funny moment in it as well when the boat jumps through a billboard… but the ending CGI (I think it was CGI) was a lil’ unconvincing; not that it really bothered me.
After the boat scene Tony heads to Sidney, where he quickly runs into the gang responsible for importing his stolen elephants. After a brief street light on/near the pier, in which he gets kicked around a bit, he enters the warehouse where the gang is, and has a Jackie Chan-style gang-fight, taking on tons of opponent who come in on bikes and skates; with Tony jumping and hopping through and making use of the environment, and it’s totally kick-ass. Tony outdoes Jackie here. There’s also a nice Dragons Forever style shot, where he makes a backflip which is filmed from above (Remember the Yuen Biao flip in Dragons Forever?) where he takes out a guy on a motorcycle. Anyway, the action is really sweet.
After that scene there’s some story blahblah…
Anyway, there’s a big scene where he enters the restaurant and Tony tries to outdo the brilliant one-shot, one-take John Woo (Hard Boiled) action scene, in which he moves through the building, taking out MANY bad guys, without a cut, which is really impressive since there are some heavy falls and some stunts etc involved. The fight sequences are pretty basic which is understandable, considering the complicity of the whole scene. Very VERY impressive, and extremely ambitious for such a young film-maker. Really shows he cares for giving his fans something special and new… which is great news of course
When he’s at the top of the building, the camera finally cuts and we get a very nice fight between Tony and a chinese guy, who is kind like the ringleader. He has some good skills, although he keeps doing the same (very nice looking) move a bunch of times…
First Tony gets kicked around a bit, then he gets angry and starts beating up ‘Johnny’ or whatever his name was… and a few henchmen join the fight. Good fight.
Story blahblah…
Burning buddhist temple, sprinkler has sprayed the ground FULL of water. First fight is between Tony and a black Capouira guy. Extremely impressive fight. One of the best in martial arts movie history, considering the moves and the water. Cinematography is very good.
It’s followed by a wushu guy with sword. Also pretty good, don’t really remember much of it but that’s cause I’m usually not that interested in weapon fights.
After that fight, the big TROY dude comes in, using the ancient martial art called Bob-Sapp-Do, which consists of storming forward, grabbing, and using haymaker etc. don’t remember much of that either, except Tony scarring the guys forehead with the Ong-Bak move where he jumps on the guy’s shoulders and the using both elbows on his head…
In the end-fight he takes on a zillion guys in black suits (no idea why they were in the building btw…), including a really really short cameo by Ron Smoorenburg, where he (Tony) uses Hapkido style grab-and-breaks, which is kind like Jet’s first fight in Fist of Legend (although I probably like Jet’s fight better simply because it’s a lil bit ‘cooler’, although I’m being very biased here of course, and this fight in TYG is MUCH longer and more impressive action- and choreography wise…
After the zillion guys, the TROY guy returns, aided by his two brothers Huey and Louie … plus the main bad villainess (haven’t really mentioned that transvestite before… mainly cause there wasn’t a need for it…) who uses a whip and a leather suit. It’s OK. I really don’t care much for these kind of fights where the main villains lack martial arts skills, since it kind limits the choreography.
Anyway, action of the movie was GREAT. Sadly, the version I saw didn’t have English subs (Gee, I wonder why…). Story-wise it was pretty basic, but I guess we’re all kind expecting that from these movies anyway. There are a bunch of plotholes (like ‘Johnny’ returning just to kill the main bad white guy, then never even returns in the movie…), and it’s a shame that the soundtrack isn’t anywhere as special or memorable as Ong-Bak’s.
There’s also a very bad CGI scene where they tell about the ancient warriors using that martial art he does; it’s really REALLY bad.
Really looking forward to seeing it again, though I’m sure it will be a while considering the @#%$ that has been going on with Ong-Bak thus far…
So, What we have here is a movie that in terms of budget and ambition is a lot bigger then Ong-Bak. We see real progress in what Tony is giving us, having listened to the criticisms of his first movie, notably that it had no real impressive villains, and that he used the slow-mo replay too often, and fixed it. The story is truly one big fucking mess, but as an action show-piece, this is fucking entertaining and impressive, and seeing Tony really giving his fans what they want, can only make you very excited about his future
projects!
projects!
Yi Long’s Rating: Verdict: 8/10; Crappy story, Amazing action-sequences: Must-see flick if you’re into action!
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Posted in Reviews, Thai Tagged Johnny Tri Nguyen, Nathan Jones, Prachya Pinkaew, Tony Jaa Leave a comment
Nang Nak (1999) Review
"Nang Nak" Spanish Theatrical Poster
AKA: Return from the Dead, Nang Nak: Ghost Wife
Director: Nonzee Nimibutr
Writer: Wisit Sartsanatieng
Cast: Indhira Jaroenpura, Winai Kraibutr, Pramote Suksatit, Pracha Thawongfia, Manit Meekaewjaroen
Running Time: 101 min.
Director: Nonzee Nimibutr
Writer: Wisit Sartsanatieng
Cast: Indhira Jaroenpura, Winai Kraibutr, Pramote Suksatit, Pracha Thawongfia, Manit Meekaewjaroen
Running Time: 101 min.
By Mighty Peking Man
Nang Nak is the story of Nak (Indhira Jaroenpura), a pregnant woman whose husband, Mak (Winai Kraibutr), is sent off to fight in a war. While he’s away, she gives birth with strange complications. Months later, after recuperating from a serious war injury, Mak returns and is reunited with Nak. However, things are not what they seem. Neighbors begin to turn up dead and friends begin to warn Mak about his “wife”. Does he listen? Of course not.
Nang Nak won four awards at the 1999 Pan Asian Film Festival, including one for Best Picture. Kind of makes you wonder if the judges were blind and deaf? Okay, maybe not blind, but certainly deaf. Nang Nak is full of beautiful camera work, exotic locales, and lavish costume/set design. Kudos to some of the visual effects. Those dead people sure looked dead and Plastic Man’s cameo was pretty impressive; But this is where the fun stops, folks.
Nang Nak really never goes anywhere. It’s boring, drawn out and is never scary. It’s 101 minutes long, but would have worked better as a short film. If you like Mark Dacascos lookalikes and Thai wenches with dyke-haircuts, then this Bud’s for you.
My best advice: Skip Nang Nak and visit your favorite Thai Restaurant instead. Tell the hostess Miss Nak sent you, and maybe you’ll get some free shit out of it. By the way, the story of Nang Nak is based on a well-known Thai legend (you know, like Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster and The Bible).
Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 3/10
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Last Life in the Universe (2003) Review
"Last Life in the Universe" Japanese Theatrical Poster
Director: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang
Writer: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, Prabda Yoon
Producer: Wouter Barendrecht, Duangkamol Limcharoen, Nonzee Nimibutr
Cast: Tadanobu Asano, Sinitta Boonyasak, Laila Boonyasak, Yutaka Matsushige, Riki Takeuchi, Takashi Miike, Yoji Tanaka, Sakichi Sat
Running Time: 112 min.
Writer: Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, Prabda Yoon
Producer: Wouter Barendrecht, Duangkamol Limcharoen, Nonzee Nimibutr
Cast: Tadanobu Asano, Sinitta Boonyasak, Laila Boonyasak, Yutaka Matsushige, Riki Takeuchi, Takashi Miike, Yoji Tanaka, Sakichi Sat
Running Time: 112 min.
By Alexander
Comparisons between Pen-Ek Ratanaruang’s Last Life in the Universe and Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express are inevitable: both are photographed by Christopher Doyle; both are studies of quirky characters; both explore the relationships of disparate yet similarly lonely men and women who meet under unusual circumstances. However, aside from a shared DP and few similarities in pacing and plot, Last Life in the Universe is but a shadow of the richness and fun that is Chungking Express.
The first half hour held promise. We’re introduced to a quiet, obsessive compulsive, suicidal and lonely man named Kenji, a librarian. Tadanobus Asano (in a complete 180 from his role as Ichi) effectively tempers the seriousness of his role with an appealing blend of bumble and earnestness. He manages to make being a total square attractive. Asano’s performance, coupled with Doyle’s cinematography, make for an enjoyable and intriguing introduction.
But when Kenji meets Thai native Noi (Sinitta Boonyasak), a sexy, chain-smoking bar hostess the film stumbles and never recovers. The circumstance in which they meet for the first time is novel and well-filmed, but the ramifications of their meeting are nil. Nothing happens. He cleans her house. They watch television. They eat. They talk in a combination of Japanese and English. They… well, that’s about it. Not an ounce of chemistry between the two. Not an iota of growth in Kenji, despite his introduction to a world completely alien to his own.
Ultimately, the film looks great, and Asano-as-bookworm is interesting to watch. But if you’re looking for a film with energy, intrigue and even an ounce of passion, I’d recommend looking elsewhere.
Or just watch Chungking Express again (THAT never gets old, does it?).
Alexander’s Rating: 6/10
By Ningen
The commercial was the main reason for me to check this Thai flick out, but it had better editing and pacing than the actual film. Tadonobu Asano plays a nerdy suicidal yakuza named Kenji who runs into a working girl of Thai descent named Noi (Played sufficiently, but not impressively by Sinitta Boonyasak.) who’s trying to cut ties with her thuggish beau. The two leads both lose their siblings, due to uncontrolled circumstances, and manage to slowly bond as a result, despite the language barrier. The pair rely on Engrish for the majority of the film in order to communicate, whenever their limited Japanese and Thai fail them. The majority of the film also consists of them eating and watching old-school Thai films, among other things. In other words, nothing happens until the end, when the Thai and Japanese gangsters go after the couple.
Unfortunately, like Tarantino, the director for Last Life wasn’t very good at filming action sequences, so he comes up with a vague and unsatisfying ending to keep the film’s dark atmosphere, just when the situation was looking up. And like the Asian cast in Kill Bill, the talent is wasted in this film. For some reason, the main characters are underdeveloped, while the gangsters are given more dimension, even though Asano and Boonyasak are more appealing than the criminals. And Christopher Doyle’s masterful camerawork is either overused on unimportant scenes and settings. So, in conclusion, I consider Last Life in the Universe an example of wasted potential.
Ningen’s Rating: 7/10
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Jan Dara (2001) Review
"Jan Dara" Korean DVD Cover
Director: Nonzee Nimibutr
Producer: Peter Chan, Jo Jo Yuet-Chun Hui, Duangkamol Limcharoen, Nonzee Nimibutr
Cast: Christy Chung Lai-Tai, Santisuk Promsiri, Eakarat Sarsukh, Wipawee Charoenpura, Pathawaran Timkul
Running Time: 113 min.
Producer: Peter Chan, Jo Jo Yuet-Chun Hui, Duangkamol Limcharoen, Nonzee Nimibutr
Cast: Christy Chung Lai-Tai, Santisuk Promsiri, Eakarat Sarsukh, Wipawee Charoenpura, Pathawaran Timkul
Running Time: 113 min.
By T-Style
Ah, the long awaited film for whoever that wanted to see some celebrity tits. To make it more clear for those who aren’t familiar of this film, three words: Christy Chung’s Tits. Before watching this film, I haven’t read any review for this and had no expectations at all which is not needed if all I intended to see was some tits. For those who are pondering weather this big fuss about Christy tits is just a quick half a second glimpse or not since that’s what I assumed, well it ain’t. Intercourse, intercourse and some more intercourse. Lets just say, it was a good amount of screen time for them titties. I hope that wasn’t a spoiler. A spoiler would be telling someone about a porno that the guy didn’t climax in the climax which would be a funny climax.
Let me set aside all my nasty thoughts of this movie and stop being a pervert. No, I can’t. The whole movie was about sex. This is the American Pie of Thailand. But of course, with a deeper story and better acting. The movie is about a kid name Jan. His father has this never ending hatred toward Jan due to his mothers death right after Jan’s birth which leads to the dads theory that he’s a curse, a burden of the family or something. The majority of the movie shows how Jan deals with his dad and at the same time, enjoying a shitload of sex when the new neighbor comes along played by actress Christy Chung. A coming of age sex drama that you shouldn’t watch with yo mama.
Even without Christy’s appearance straight after the title appears, the movie still hold my interest for quite some time. Maybe cuz it’s rare seeing a 5 year old watching his dad fuck as a credit opener. Maybe I’m just a sick fuck that’s into sick shit. Sadly, even with all the fucking here and there, three-fourths into the movie gets quite pointless but tolerable which works it way into a disappointing ending. Disappointing endings don’t always necessarily mean a bad movie though.
Without Christy Chung, this movie would have no selling point. It would have been just something softcore outta the porn section on the shelf, watching some old dude fuck his endless troops of Thai maids. Watching the old dude’s son fuck Thai maids. Watching old dude son’s friend fuck Thai maids. Oh? What’s this?! Christy Chung getting banged? Yeah, there ya go.
T-Style’s Rating: 6.5/10
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Quiet Family, The (2002) Review aka The Quiet Family: A Ruthless Comedy
"The Quiet Family" Korean Theatrical Poster
Director: Kim Ji Woon (Kim Ji Wun)
Producer: Lee Eun
Cast: Choi Min Shik, Song Kang Ho, Park In Hwan, Na Mun Hee, Ko Ho Kyeong, Lee Yun Seong, Jee Su Won, Lee Ki Young, Ki Ju Bong, Jeong Ji Hyeon
Running Time: 105 mins.
Producer: Lee Eun
Cast: Choi Min Shik, Song Kang Ho, Park In Hwan, Na Mun Hee, Ko Ho Kyeong, Lee Yun Seong, Jee Su Won, Lee Ki Young, Ki Ju Bong, Jeong Ji Hyeon
Running Time: 105 mins.
By Equinox21
Welcome to The Misty Inn Where guests check in, but they don’t check out! And, as the saying goes, the family that kills together stays together. The Quiet Family is a movie about a group of people who make such stupid decisions and are so dysfunctional you just want to scream, but in you just end up laughing at the absurdity of their situation.
The movie starts off with the family taking over the Misty Inn, located near a hiking trail but no paved roads, so it gets very few visitors. The family consists of the father, Kang Taegoo (Park In-hwan), the mother, Mrs. Kang (Na Mun-hee), the uncle (Choi Min-sik [Shiri, Chihwaseon]), the son, Yeongmin (Song Kang-ho [JSA, Foul King]), and the two daughters, Mina (Go Ho-kyeong) and Misoo (Lee Yun-seong). After a few weeks of absolutely no guests visiting the inn, one strange man finally shows up. And of course, during the night, he kills himself. When the family finds him in the morning, they are afraid that if the police investigate they’ll be accused of murdering him, so they bury him in the woods. Following this is more guests checking in and dying in various ways, some are morbid but some are downright hilarious.
This movie is the epitome of a black comedy. Never have I laughed so hard at such blatant disregard for human life. Seeing the family get itself into one sticky situation after another and making one stupid decision after another only makes this a darker movie, because with every bad decision they inevitably end up with more bodies.
The acting all around was very good, but of course Song Kang-ho steals the show, yet again. That guy will instantly make any movie better! Choi Min-sik also shines as the uncle. This was the first movie of his that I’ve seen where he did any sort of comedy, and he pulled it off well. The soundtrack was enjoyable as well, until the song “I Think I Love You” came on over the ending credits.
The Quiet Family is a great black comedy that most people should enjoy. It’s not too gory, but there is a high body count. The movie isn’t perfect, there are a few plot points that don’t get resolved by the end, but it’s still enjoyable nonetheless.
Equinox21′s Rating: 8/10 (subtracted points for unresolved plot points, added points for a funny movie, and Song Kang-ho’s performance)
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Posted in Korean, Reviews Tagged Choi Min-sik, Kim Jee-Woon (Kim Ji-woon), Song Kang-Ho Leave a comment
Real Fiction (2000) Review
"Real Fiction" American DVD Cover
Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Writer: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Harry Lee, Seung-Soo Shin
Cast: Jin-mo Ju, Jin-ah Kim, Min-seok Son, Je-rak Lee, Ki-yeon Kim, Sun-mi Myeong
Running Time: 83 min.
Writer: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Harry Lee, Seung-Soo Shin
Cast: Jin-mo Ju, Jin-ah Kim, Min-seok Son, Je-rak Lee, Ki-yeon Kim, Sun-mi Myeong
Running Time: 83 min.
By Mighty Peking Man
I’m currently on a “Ki-du Kim” natural high. I love his unorthodox style of filmmaking, his morbid approach to storytelling and his fascination with toying with viewers’ minds using uncanny visuals. Ki-duk Kim is definitely on the verge – if not already – of becoming one of the craftiest filmmakers of our time. He’s Korea’s answer to a subtle Takashi Miike, he’s a hint of Hong Kong’s Wong Kar-Wai, and shares a common mental image with Hollywood names like Paul Schrader and Abel Ferrara (at Abel’s best, that is.). No one really knows what to expect when watching his films, yet, they all have one thing in common – they’re not easy to watch. Mind you, I’ve only seen a few of his films: “Bad Guy”, “The Isle” and now “Real Fiction”, the subject of this review.
Jin-mo Ju (outstanding actor from “Musa”) plays a quiet, estranged sketch artist who makes a living by drawing people for money, mostly in busy parks where loads of people are having a good time with friends and family. For some unexplained reason, he wears a headset that is somehow capturing the reception of a pay phone near by. This allows him to hear conversations – good and bad – between two people. Perhaps, this is his way of experiencing something that’s missing from his loner-lifestyle? The artist barely speaks, never smiles, and shows no emotion other than his stone-faced image of someone that’s in low-spirits. And, the fact that a mysterious lady with a camcorder is filming him, non-stop, doesn’t make the guy any happier.
However, the artist has more to worry about than the lady with camcorder. He’s constantly bullied. Not only by local gangs taking his earnings, but by customers who aren’t satisfied with their finished portraits. “That doesn’t really look like me, so I’ll just give you half of what I owe you”, says one man. Another person decides to pay him, but throws the money on the ground. Meanwhile, that lady with the camcorder is still filming…
The artist is about to explode.
“Real Fiction” is a movie about revenge and self-respect. More importantly, it’s about what it would take for one to accomplish such acts; or how someone can spark off one’s inner-psychotic behavior. It’s violent, vividly obscene and abstract. As straight-forward as the plot may sound, don’t be expecting a linear ride. Without giving anything away, “Real Fiction’s” ending could easily make or break how you really feel about the film – or better yet, it might give you something to discuss.
“Real Fiction” was supposedly shot in a single afternoon, using the most conventional tactics of guerrilla filmmaking. Know this, only adds to the film’s productive quality.
Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 7/10
By Numskull
“Brood for decades – pure hate distilled, Then bottled up much longer; Revenge: a draught I’ll serve you chilled When time has made it stronger.”
- Skyclad, “Vintage Whine”
After watching this movie for just a few minutes, it becomes quite clear that it was shot on very little money over a very short period of time. And you know what? It kicks ass. Real Fiction is a shining example of the greatness that low budget film making can achieve.
File the plot under “so simple it’s brilliant”: a taciturn young sketch artist (whose only form of respite is listening in on other peoples’ phone conversations), at the beginning of what looks like it’s going to be the latest in a long run of shitty, miserable days, encounters a girl who nonchalantly hangs around him with a camcorder and a man in an otherwise abandoned theater who seems to know everything about his life and stirs up some painful memories. Enraged and strangely empowered by his meeting with this odd couple, he sets off on a quest to liberate himself from the huge amounts of anger and frustration built up inside him. Camera girl follows him, not saying a word, recording his every move for reasons about which he neither knows nor cares.
And that’s pretty much it.
Beautiful.
Real Fiction is a “love it or hate it” movie if ever there was one. Some will find it unbearably silly/petty (not to be confused with Silly Putty) while others, like myself, will grin like Pee Wee Herman in a porno theater as the nameless artist slakes his burning-like-the-deepest-pits-of-Hell thirst for revenge; revenge to which, in most cases, he is definitely entitled. Most of the characters in Real Fiction are assholes of the first water, and its protagonist, besides getting some long overdue payback on those who have wronged him, is also lashing out at the human race’s casual attitude about petty, everyday acts of cruelty, rudeness, and degradation…an attitude that has plagued our wretched species since Day One.
Cinematographer Cheol-hyeon Hwang had the easiest job in the world. There are only a handful of cuts and angles and most of the shots are as long as your arm. This, plus the noticeable lack of music in many scenes and the fact that most of the film takes place in real time, adds to the oddball, documentary-style sense of reality. While the main camera tends to remain motionless, camera girl’s somewhat unsteady hand (relax, it ain’t The Blair Witch Project) sometimes moves with imperfect timing, further increasing the film’s overall realism.
Jin-mo Ju is excellent as the unnamed sketch artist, simultaneously meek but stoic at first, then haunted and singularly possessed. His vacuous stare is essential in establishing his character’s broken spirit and aura of low self-esteem and emotional numbness. There are noteworthy performances amongst the supporting cast as well, especially the actress who plays the woman in the comic book shop (actually more like a pay ‘n’ read library than a shop…that sucks).
Three minor flaws mar this excellent movie. (Partial spoilers ahead, especially flaw #2.)
The first is an easily overlooked continuity error: when the guy who’s fucking the artist’s girlfriend walks out of the flower shop she works in, he leaves his cell phone behind and then calls it, indicating that she should hang on to it for the time being. Problem: he’s only been gone for a minute or so. Wouldn’t it have been easier for him to just go back and retrieve it? Yes, but oh well.
The second is the scene where the artist kills the guy who works at Super Viagra by putting a bag of snakes over his head. The guy holds onto the bag as though his life depended on it, when, in fact, his life depends on getting it the fuck OFF. Lame.
The third flaw may not be a flaw at all depending on how you interpret the movie’s perplexing conclusion; the film takes a rather bizarre new path in its last few moments and finishes with a very big, albeit weird, surprise ending. All that I’ll say about it is that it has to do with the angles from which Camera Girl shoots. You may very well notice it yourself while watching the movie, but wait until all is said and done before you pass judgment.
I also have gripes with the DVD itself, but it’s important to separate a work of art from the means through which we may experience it. The package says that Real Fiction is 95 minutes long. It lies. IT LIIIIIIIES!!! The film clocks in at just 82 minutes and change, and feels even shorter than that. Also, the picture is full frame only, and whoever was in charge of the transfer from the theatrical aspect ratio made some poor decisions about what should be trimmed from the screen. Last but not least, the cast and crew information is only in Korean, even though the menu is in English.
An utterly superb “little” movie that you can show to your less worldly friends to show them how superior your tastes are (and if any of them says “Well, shit, this is just people talking, the camera doesn’t even move, what a waste of time” then sever all ties with them immediately). The film is very easy to follow and the subtitles contain far fewer errors than most Hong Kong DVDs. Hats off to (almost) everyone involved; Real Fiction delivers more entertainment than just about any obscenely-budgeted, self-proclaimed “blockbuster” you can name.
Numskull’s Rating: 9/10
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Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring (2003) Review aka Spring Again, Spring Summer Fall Winter… and Spring
"Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring" Korean Theatrical Poster
Director: Kim Ki-duk
Writer: Kim Ki-duk
Producer: Lee Seung-Jae
Cast: Oh Yeong-Su, Kim Jong-Ho, Seo Jae-Gyeong, Kim Yeong-Min, Ha Yeo-Jin, Kim Ki-duk
Running Time: 106 min.
Writer: Kim Ki-duk
Producer: Lee Seung-Jae
Cast: Oh Yeong-Su, Kim Jong-Ho, Seo Jae-Gyeong, Kim Yeong-Min, Ha Yeo-Jin, Kim Ki-duk
Running Time: 106 min.
By Slaxor
“Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…And Spring” tells the story of a monk from childhood to his adult years.
Well this may be the most visually beautiful movie I have ever seen. If you told me tomorrow I could be living on the floating temple on the lake from this movie if I just shaved my head, converted to Buddhism and gave up the outside world I’d be bald, kneeling and praying before you could finish the offer.
The tone of the movie is very calm as is the acting. The only time it felt out of place was when the focker who plays the lead in Fall hams it up a bit upon his arrival but later redeems himself. Another great thing is that almost everything in the movie ties in and has some sort of meaning. I say almost which leads me to my first gripe.
About 3/4′s in we could probably wrap the movie up in about 15-20 minutes and send me home happy but for no reason whatsoever our lead decides, “hey, lets learn some kung-fu” and begins self-teaching himself with a manual. Ok, so the movie deals with Buddhism which can be associated with martial arts. However, it never ties in to anything and doesn’t have enough time to be used. One could say our lead was getting rid of past anger but I’m not buying it.
The casting is pretty good with the standout being the actor that plays the elder monk. Throughout the movie as we go through the stages of the younger monks life he is replaced by a different actor in each season for obvious age differences. The old monk on the other hand is only made to look older each time and every time a new season starts and were left to wonder if the next actor to play the lead might not be as good as the previous. Well for that we have the elder monk to fall back on for great acting. This of course leads to my only other beef with the movie and that is when this character is no longer in the film were subjected to a new actor for the lead with no one familiar.
I guess writing this now I’ve come to realize that this movie probably would have been perfect had they eliminated the gratuitous kung-fu training. The movie is probably 2/3′s Spring, Summer and Fall. The other 3rd is a long winter that overstays its welcome with this viewer.
Overall if your a fan of Korean dramas but prefer them to be the more enlightening kind instead of the ones that make you wanna slit your wrists like SFMV then check this out.
Slaxor’s Rating: 7.5/10
By Equinox21
When I found out a few weeks back that Kim Ki-duk’s new movie, Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter· and Spring, was going to be playing at a local theater in Milwaukee, I was pretty excited. Then I’d started to read a bit more about it and my expectations started dropping slightly. Until my viewing of this movie last night, I’d only seen one other Kim Ki-duk movie, The Isle, which I absolutely loved but which was really quite twisted. But, from what I was reading, SSFWaS started sounding like it would turn out to be a boring melodrama about the stages of a man’s life. Boy, am I glad I was wrong. It was a terrific film that deserves all the accolades it has thus far received.
The plot is very straight forward, because there isn’t a lot to it. It just follows the stages of a young monk’s life as he is mentored by an old monk on their floating monastery (inhabited by only the two of them and their ever changing pets). It’s the way that the story is told that makes it so interesting. Not only does the title of the film represent the stages of life of the young monk, but it also represents the actual seasons that those stages are shown in. During the Spring segment, the young monk is just a little boy and the film takes place during Spring. During Summer, the young monk is in his teens. And so on. This was a very effective and enjoyable method of conveying the story.
The film employed a more Buddhist theme than simply centering around 2 monks. The film could be seen as coming full circle by the end (when you see the film and understand what I mean), which is a very eastern/Buddhist philosophy (even if it is simple and even a bit clich*d). It also doesn’t hurt that Kim Ki-duk found the most picturesque valley in South Korea to film this in. The cinematography was absolutely spectacular.
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter· and Spring was an amazing film by an extremely talented director (who, by the way, also played the young monk in the Winter segment). I wasn’t quite sure I’d like this film when I’d read a few things about it, but it certainly didn’t let me down in any way whatsoever. Do yourselves a favor and check it out.
Equinox21′s Rating: 9/10
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Samaria (2003) Review aka Samaritan Girl
"Samaria" Korean Theatrical Poster
Director: Kim Ki-duk
Writer: Kim Ki-duk
Producer: Kim Ki-duk, Jeong-min Bae, Jeong-min Baek
Cast: Gwak Ji-Min, Seo Min-Jeong, Lee Eol
Running Time: 95 min.
Writer: Kim Ki-duk
Producer: Kim Ki-duk, Jeong-min Bae, Jeong-min Baek
Cast: Gwak Ji-Min, Seo Min-Jeong, Lee Eol
Running Time: 95 min.
By Equinox21
Kim Ki-duk’s newest movie, Samaria, takes on the problem of child prostitution in a way only Kim Ki-duk can present it. In what could have been a tremendously risqué and dangerous film to make, he takes on the subject in such a way that the focus is taken off the actual act and onto the mentality of the two children who are taken advantage of by their pedophile clients.
The movie is told in 2 (or possibly even 2 and a half, depending on how you look at it) different parts. The first focuses on Yeo-jin, who manages her friend Jae Yeong’s prostitution endeavors in attempt to earn enough for the two of them to travel to Europe, and who eventually takes over the “business” when Jae Yeong dies. The second part focuses on Yeo-jin’s father, a detective who discovers his daughter’s horrible secret and does everything in his power to undermine it (without letting her know that he’s aware of it). This second part of the movie is what really makes an impact. The father follows Yeo-jin around and makes sure the guys who want to sleep with her don’t get that chance. His despair at what his daughter has gone through makes all his actions understandable, and even forgivable.
Even though Samaria dealt with a subject that should not be a matter of “entertainment”, what Kim Ki-duk does with it makes it a real joy to watch. The story really makes it stand out as one of the year’s great movies (so far). Everyone who likes Kim Ki-duk’s artistic (and sometimes difficult to watch) films should definitely check out Samaria.
Equinox21′s Rating: 8.5/10
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Isle, The (2000) Review
"The Isle" Korean Theatrical Poster
Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Writer: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Lee Eun
Cast: Seo Jeong, Kim Yu-seok, Park Seong-hee, Cho Jae-hyeon, Chang Hang-seon
Running Time: 100 min.
Writer: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Lee Eun
Cast: Seo Jeong, Kim Yu-seok, Park Seong-hee, Cho Jae-hyeon, Chang Hang-seon
Running Time: 100 min.
By Alexander
The only thing that saved this exploitive and pretentious piece of trash from a 0/10 is the gorgeous cinematography. The people responsible for The Isle may not know how to engender audience sympathy, write dialogue, use lighting or tell a story, but they sure know how to film scenery.
Never has a leading actress had to do so little in a film to “earn” a paycheck than Seo Jeong. She’s ocassionally mute, and other than being able to clench her teeth whilst skinning frogs and electrocuting fish, baring her breasts, manning a small motorboat and enduring repeated kicks to the crotch, Seo Jeong does little else but absorb abuse. Had I been able to muster an ounce of sympathy for her character I might have enjoyed The Isle. Movies are always better when we care about the people in them, after all. Even the character of crazed Eihi in Miike’s Audition has a relatively well-developed backstory, and although we might ultimately despise her, we at least understand her motivations, however twisted they may be. Hee-jin’s story, unfortunately, is told in a seconds-long scene of her looking pained at the sight of what is apparently her ex-lover’s motorcycle. That’s it. No rationale behind her want of the weirdo on the yellow float despite his violent attempt to rape her; no explanation behind the ease at which she kills or the intensity of her jealousy. For the most horrific scene in the film to resonate beyond being simply shocking, we NEED to know what drives her to that moment. (And despite her irrational and sometimes violent behavior before she does this, NOTHING in the film suggests she is capable of doing something as vile and horrific as THAT. Incredibly, Miike’s Eihi looks sane in comparison.) Otherwise, it’s just sensationalistic, exploitative and pointless.
Much ado about nothing, you say? The entire film revolves around the unconventional “relationship” of Hee-jin and Hyun-sik. (He’s just as fucked up as she is, by the way.) But because they’re both psychotic assholes, there’s no one or nothing to root for or care about. I wanted them both to just fucking die, by suicide, a blow to the head or from giant sharks devouring their floats. Anything, really, to spare ME any more pain. But what did I get for enduring two hours worth of animal maiming, sexual abuse and embarrassingly overt symbolism? An abrupt and clumsy existentialist ending that provided, at least, one laugh-out-loud moment in an otherwise grim and utterly pointless film.
Alexander’s Rating: 2.5/10 (The lake is pretty!)
By Equinox21
Unsure of what to expect, I went into viewing The Isle with an open mind. I’m glad I did, because this is a movie you simply can’t prepare yourself for. It was a slow moving film that emitted feelings of isolation, loneliness, jealousy, revenge and, most of all, strangeness.
Though the movie never specifically tells us the names of the characters, the central characters are Hee-jin (Seo Jeong, in my opinion, a Korean dead ringer for Faye Wong) and Hyun-shik (Kim Yu-seok). Hee-jin is silent the entire movie. She just goes about her business of boating customers out to little floating platforms with small huts on them for fishing outings. Along with carrying customers out to these platforms, Hee-jin’s job includes ferrying guests of the customers (most often local prostitutes) out to them, cleaning and repairing the platforms, and even occasionally selling her body to the lonely fishermen. However, because it’s such a secluded place, it is the perfect place for wanted men to hide out, which is what Hyun-shik is doing there. Slowly, Hee-jin and Hyun-shik fall for each other, and their mutual affection is solidified in a cringe-inducing scene the first of a few.
I absolutely loved the feel of this movie. As I mentioned, it moves very slowly, however, each scene is important in describing the characters’ attitudes and establishing their backgrounds. The atmosphere builds from the secluded surroundings and the nigh constant grey sky. Also, this is an extremely quiet movie. It probably has the least amount of dialogue in any movie I’ve ever seen, however, the characters’ actions speak volumes. A picture is, after all, worth a thousand words.
There were some truly strange scenes in this one. I can’t explain it; I don’t want to give it away as the impact of these scenes are part of the establishment of the feel for this movie. They’re shocking, and in a way disturbing, but not to the point of being unwatchable. The last scene is one that you could talk about and analyze for hours.
This is a good movie, although very strange. The closest movie I can compare it to, as far as oddness, is Miike’s Audition. You shouldn’t miss this one, if only for having a truly interesting Asian cinema conversation piece.
Equinox21′s Rating: 9/10 (minus a point for this movie inflaming my animal rights sensibilities)
By Mighty Peking Man
This movie freaked me out. Not in a jump-out-of-your seat way, but in a subtle “what the fuck?” sort of way. What attracted me to “The Isle” was it’s trailer which I saw almost a year ago on one of my Universe discs. Now, anyone who has seen the trailer can only imagine what kind of film this is – it hints mysterious, dark, quiet, wicked, brutal, sexual…and it all takes place on a secluded fishing island. And now, a year later, I finally watched it — talk about a trailer that lives up to the film in every single way! Written and directed by Kim Ki-Duk (“Bad Guy”, “Real Fiction”), “The Isle” is a horrifying look into one of the strangest relationships I’ve ever seen.
Meet a erratically mute woman named Hee-jin, the operator of a “fishing island” somewhere on the waters in a cul de sac-like lake/mountain atmosphere. The area she runs consists of a few floating rooms (a boat with a small house-like room that fits about two or three people), where the guests pay to stay and fish overnight, and sometimes by the hour. Yes, these floating fishing rooms are the perfect place for prostitution. Not only are there call-girls dropping into the fishermen leisure, but Hee-jin, in addition to running the isle and selling fishing tackle and food, also makes a buck or two selling herself at night.
One day a mysterious man named Hyon-shik rents one of the floating rooms from Hee-jin. Hyon-shik is introduced as a fella with a sadistic past, and now, he has secluded himself from the world and has chosen the “fishing island” as the choice of place for suicide. At night time, while others are fishing or getting it on with whores, Hyon-shik is contemplating whether or not he should blow his head off. Each time he’s about to, Hee-jin barges in and just glares at him. Hee-jin, who obviously has an eerie unexplained past as well, notices an instant connection with him and his grief; not to mention his tears and pain.
When Hyon-shik notices affection from Hee-jin, he puts his current problems (and gun) aside. The two start to share friendly gestures, such as giving each other gifts, and gently smiling at each other from a distance. At one point, Hee-jin even sends a prostitute over to Hyon-shik to secure his sexual desires. As Hyon-shik and Hee-jin become closer, things start to get violently strange.
This is where I stop writing about the plot for spoilers sake.
This is also where I say that Kim Ki-Duk is officially on my list of cool directors. Not only (like numskull says in his “Real Fiction” review) can this guy create magic with a extreme low-budget, but his peculiar vision makes him one of the most talented film directors of our time. Just to have a little fun with words, think of Kim Ki-Duk as a combination of Wong Kar-Wai and Takashi Miike (in his more “Audition”-phase).
“The Isle” is a morbid, yet beautiful art-house film. It’s filled with painful visuals (such as a real fish swimming in water with it’s sides torn off) and symbolic formalities that tickle our thought provoking minds. To top it off, it’s one hell of a disturbing film that needs to be seen. And talk about an ending worth a thousand words.
Highly recommended.
Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 9/10
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Bow, The (2005) Review aka Arrow
"The Bow" International Theatrical Poster
Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Writer: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Kim Ki-Duk
Cast: Jeon Seong-Hwan, Han Yeo-Reum, Seo Ji-Seok
Writer: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Kim Ki-Duk
Cast: Jeon Seong-Hwan, Han Yeo-Reum, Seo Ji-Seok
By Equinox21
I thought it would be really difficult for me to be disappointed with a Kim Ki-Duk movie, but after seeing The Bow, I realize it’s not that tough at all. The Bow’s not a terrible movie, and it does have a lot going for it, it’s just that after seeing many KKD movies, this one started feeling like a parody of his other films; What with the characters never speaking, the movie taking place entirely on the water and the strange and somewhat supernatural ending.
An old man runs a fishing business off his houseboat. He has a smaller boat that he uses to ferry people on and from the larger boat for their fishing excursions. On his houseboat is a 16 year-old girl that lives with him, who he had gotten when she was 7. He’s overly protective of her because he’s planning on marrying her the day she turns 17 (which he counts down on a calendar), and guards her with his bow, by firing “warning shots” at fishermen on his boat that get too touchy with the girl. In the nearly 10 years that the girl has lived with him, she’s never left the boat, and she’s always obedient and very respectful of the old man. Things start to change when a high school aged boy comes on the boat for a fishing trip with his father. The girl starts acting out, because of the old man’s actions.
While the movie started out ok, it quickly became obvious that this film could not live up to the standards of its predecessors. The old man was an obvious greedy pervert, who had apparently kidnapped the girl for his own ends. Though he never assaulted her as a child, and was waiting for her to turn 17, it’s still disturbing the way he looks at her and treats her as a child, all the while waiting for her to mature so he can nail her. It even gets to the point that he starts marking off extra days on his calendar so he can marry her earlier than he had originally intended. The film also plays far too much into the teen angst, immature relationship department. When the girl decides to leave, the old man tries to kill himself, dragging the girl back to him. It’s just like high school kids might do.
The aspect of the two main characters not speaking quickly became annoying to me, because it was so out of place in this film. In other Kim Ki-duk films, like The Isle or 3-Iron, it fits the characters or situations well. In this film, the characters do speak occasionally, only they whisper into each other’s ears. What’s the point? In The Bow, the main characters are the only ones that don’t speak, while all the minor characters talk almost incessantly. If Kim Ki-Duk’s desire was for the movie to not be mistranslated for foreign markets, his goal would have failed due to the minor characters all speaking.
Again, the film isn’t all bad. I absolutely loved the music. It was almost eerie in parts, and joyful in others. The music was supposed to have all come from the old man or the girl playing the bow as an instrument, instead of using it as a weapon.
Overall, I can’t suggest this film over any of the other Kim Ki-Duk films I’ve seen. It just seemed too much like a new Kim Ki-Duk cliché, instead of a new Kim Ki-Duk film. See it only after you’ve seen all of Kim Ki-Duk’s other films, which were much better.
Equinox21′s Rating: 6/10
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Birdcage Inn (1998) Review
"Birdcage Inn" International Theatrical Poster
Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Lee Kwang-Min, Yoo Hee-Suk
Cast: Lee Ji-Eun, Lee Hye-Eun, Ahn Jae-Mo, Jeong Hyeong-Gi, Son Min-Seok, Jang Dong-Jik, Lee In-Ok, Jang Hang-Seon, Bang Eun-Jin, Seo Won
Running Time: 103 min.
Producer: Lee Kwang-Min, Yoo Hee-Suk
Cast: Lee Ji-Eun, Lee Hye-Eun, Ahn Jae-Mo, Jeong Hyeong-Gi, Son Min-Seok, Jang Dong-Jik, Lee In-Ok, Jang Hang-Seon, Bang Eun-Jin, Seo Won
Running Time: 103 min.
By Mighty Peking Man
From the lurid-mind of director Kim Ki-Duk comes yet another film exploring the gritty world of sex-for-sale. I haven’t seen all of his films, but I have seen enough to make the simple observation that the guy has some kind of obsession telling stories that revolve around the business of prostitution. For a director like Kim Ki-Duk, it’s never bad thing. Though films like “The Isle”, “Bad Guy”, and “Birdcage Inn” share a similar element in their plots, each one stands on it’s own originality.
“Birdcage Inn” is a story about Jina, the new call girl at the Birdcage Inn. The Birdcage Inn is a hotel that is operated by a poor family – a father, mother and their two kids. The family relies on Jina’s income as a whore to pay the expenses that keep the hotel alive for business; as well as putting food on the table. Still, the family is barely getting by and practically living very low-class. There’s not much known about Jina, but one thing is clear, she’s not happy with her job status (is there a whore who is?). When Jina’s not working, she takes the time to enjoy the beauty of looking at the ocean. Jina is also a terrific artist, but God only knows why she doesn’t use her artistic talents instead of selling her body. It’s apparent that Jina is obviously torn from something that happened in her unexplainable past.
Hyemi, the daughter of the family, resents Jina from the beginning. Not only does Hyemi hate the fact that her family runs such a scummy business, but she blames Jina for being the primary tool. Jina notices Hyemi’s rude attitude towards her, but still tries to win her affection by doing nice things for her and buying her items she can’t afford. Still, Hyemi doesn’t budge. The plot thickens when unexpected things *cough* start to happen: Jina’s old pimp shows up out of the blue demanding that he still gets a cut of her earnings, Hyemi’s young brother develops a small crush on her which leads to trouble, Jina gets involved with an Andy Lau-wannabe (I had to mention this), and worst of all, Hyemi’s boyfriend gets in between Hyemi and Jina.
So far, “Birdcage Inn” is the most straight-forward, softest, and viewer-friendly of all of Kim Ki-Duk’s work. Sure, you still get the brief sex scenes, beatings (it’s not a Korean film without a few slaps and punches), and downbeat situations. For the most part, the film is definitely on a linear-dramatic level which may have been the main problem with the film. How can I not expect a few shocks here and there after seeing his previous films that set the standard for Kim Ki-Duk’s work? Those damn expectations ruin it for ya each time, I tell ya.
“Birdcage Inn” isn’t a bad film, I was just expecting something big to happen, but it never did – at least in my eyes. The cast was great, the direction was fine, but the story needed something. Overall, “Birdcage Inn” was a disappointment. If you want to see what Kim Ki-Duk can really do, try “The Isle”.
Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 5/10
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Bad Guy (2000) Review
"Bad Guy" Korean Theatrical Poster
Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Writer: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Lee Seung-Jai
Cast: Cho Je-Hyun, Seo Won, Kim Yoon-Tae, Choi Duk-Moon, Choi Yoon-Young, Shin Yoo-Jin, Kim Jung-Young
Running Time: 100 min.
Writer: Kim Ki-Duk
Producer: Lee Seung-Jai
Cast: Cho Je-Hyun, Seo Won, Kim Yoon-Tae, Choi Duk-Moon, Choi Yoon-Young, Shin Yoo-Jin, Kim Jung-Young
Running Time: 100 min.
By Mighty Peking Man
A vigorous-looking man (Cho Je-Hyun) notices a beautiful college girl (Seo Won) waiting for her boyfriend to pick her up. The man walks up and sits besides the girl, turns his head and just stairs at her – no facial expression of any sort, just an ice-cold stare that may hint an instant obsession. The woman glances back to him, quickly gives him a look of annoyance, gets up, and walks away. The boyfriend arrives shortly after the woman departs the bench where the peculiar man still sits and continues to look at her. As the couple walks away, the estranged man barges in between them, unlawfully grabs the girl and kisses her. As his tongue is deep down her throat, the girl’s boyfriend does everything he can to stop the maniac, which includes smacking him on the back with a sidewalk ashtray – it doesn’t phase him. All of the sudden, the man lets her go. The boyfriend continues to pound him on the face. The man takes the punches and calmly walks away without defending himself. The girl yells at the man as he leaves, demanding an apology. Ignoring the girl, the man walks off into a group of curious spectators who had just witnessed the bizarre scene…
The scene just described is the opening to “Bad Guy”, the first film that I’ve seen by Kim Ki-Duk, an award-winning director known for his bizarre, controversial and violent work; such as “Real Fiction”, “The Isle” and “Alligator”. I’ve done a little research on Kim Ki-Duk, and from what I’ve gathered, he can easily be recognized as one who parks his car in the same garage as Takeshi Kitano, Abel Ferrara and a little bit of Takashi Miike – a group of talented filmmakers that are no strangers to disturbing themes. The better way to describe Kim Ki-Duk’s filmmaking style is rawness and grit, but with a larger eye for surrealism and dream-like melancholy. In the case of “Bad Guy”, the fine line between fantasy and truth can be absurd to the viewers. Basically, as straight-forward as the film is, it throws you off with unexplained visuals that were intentionally meant to short the hell out of our thinking caps.
The opening sequence, explained in the first paragraph, is one of the most intriguing I’ve seen in recent times. However, the rest of the film doesn’t hold up as well, which shouldn’t be a surprise to most. As the film goes on, it quickly switches into a tale of a woman forced into prostitution to pay off her debts. What we see is sad and almost unbearable considering the reasons she’s in this position to being with. It’s definitely an interesting look into the world of prostitution and gives us a crash course idea on how the underground hooker-ring works in some foreign places.
Also in the mix is the story of a man whose intentions are never quite clear. It doesn’t help that his written character doesn’t speak (a scar on his neck hints that his throat was slashed in the past) nor does he show any kind of facial expressions, unless he’s angry. Is he obsessed? Does he have feelings? Does he get off on watching women lose their virginity to strangers? Towards the film’s ending, it appears that we’re finally able to figure out what the man’s deal was, but just as we think we do, we’re put back to square one. All this leaves us with a “huh?” as the credits begin to roll. Maybe it was the director’s intention to keep us thinking. If it was, it was almost to the point of ridicule.
All the performances are satisfactory. Cho Je-Hyun comes across as a silent James Russo-type. The beautiful, and I mean beautiful, Seo Won gets the job done. However, something tells me that the two leads were limited to giving their all, due to the script and direction.
I look forward to seeing more of Kim Ki-Du’s work. As for “Bad Guy”, I certainly would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy it. If it weren’t for the many unexplained tidbits, it could have easily been a favorite of mine. All I can say is let your imagination flow.
Mighty Peking Man’s Rating: 7.5/10
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Art Museum by the Zoo (1999) Review
"Art Museum by the Zoo" Korean Theatrical Poster
Art Museum By The Zoo (1999)
Director: Lee Jeong-Hyang
Producer: Lee Chun-Yeon
Cast: Ahn Seong-Ki, Shim Eun-Ha, Lee Seong-Jae, Song Seon-Mi
Running Time: 109 min.
Director: Lee Jeong-Hyang
Producer: Lee Chun-Yeon
Cast: Ahn Seong-Ki, Shim Eun-Ha, Lee Seong-Jae, Song Seon-Mi
Running Time: 109 min.
By Mlindber
I think the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had while watching any Korean films are the times when I’m confronted with a genre that I don’t particularly like and manage to come out really enjoying the film. I never liked the romantic comedy in Hollywood films as of late. At least the older romantic comedies from the 30s and 40s actually had good acting and a unique approach to a genre heavily reliant on scripted events. I’ve seen all of this and more in films like Art Museum By the Zoo.
At its core, Art Museum By the Zoo is a very simplistic film, following a very telegraphed script in a manner that is hard not to guess where it ends up. The plot is nothing special, with a man, Chul-su (played by Lee Sung-jae) coming back from the army only to find his girlfriend, Da-hye (Song Seon-mi) moved away and a slightly annoying girl, Chun-hi (Shim Eun-ha) moved into her apartment. Because he is only back from the army for a few days, Chul-su tries desperately to reconnect with his old girlfriend, but soon finds himself appreciating the company of Chun-hi more and more. Chun-hi, a wedding photographer/script writer, is at first annoyed with Chul-su, but soon “learns to love him”, finally allowing him access to her personal life through his assistance with her latest script.
As the film progresses, we see the main characters struggle over writing a script for the movie within a movie sequences, blatant misunderstandings of intentions and language, and a subtle warming up to each other. Events happen that seemingly come out of nowhere in order to keep the plot moving. The film does not make a big deal out of said events, as it knows the limits of its audience’s attention. What we are left with is a very upbeat film that offers moments of insight into a romance constructed in front of us. The film doesn’t hide its blatant chick-flickness, but it doesn’t relish in it either. Somehow, be it through the talented main actress (Shim Eun-ha, from Tell Me Something and Christmas in August), or the somewhat irrational humor, the movie works on a different level. It remains fun without being overly sappy.
Overall, I enjoyed the film, and find myself liking romantic comedies more and more, albeit only if it brings something unique to the genre. The overly stylized Hollywood movies that destroy reality and then relish in the destruction (films like, oh How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days) are not my taste.
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