The New Asian Films Thread - Page 8

Anyone else seen the Japanese movie "Go" (2001)?

Any opinions?

Opening 7 minutes 15 seconds (subtitles only in German, sorry)*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZOj06s3Ktk

Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDjVl...eature=related

*It's just a sample, not the whole film. What's the rule about these things? I'm not intending copyright violations - please let me know if it's too big.

Not seen Go, sorry.

Answering myself here: yes, very good indeed. It's directed by Yau Nai-Hoi, who wrote both Election movies and The Mission, co-produced by Johnnie To, and it has "Milkyway joint" written all over it. Great, clever, exciting procedural, with some humor and heroic bloodhsed melodrama thrown in for good measure. One of the most female friendly action flicks I've seen in recent memory (Kate Tsui gets billed after Simon Yam, but can pretty much lay claim to main character honours, and Maggie Shiu's potty mouthed superior is great, too.) It also works very well as an origin story - wouldn't mind a sequel detailing Tsui's further exploits. Hong Kong's rep may not be what it once was, but between this,Time & Tide, the first two Infernal Affairs and Johnnie To's recent filmography, the last decade really wasn't too bad for HK crime flicks.

Bought this movie back when the HK DVD first came out and thought it was really cool. Lots of energy and some likable characters. It's been awhile since I've seen it but I'd definitely recommend it. I let a buddy borrow it and he also dug it.

Maggie Shiu is always reliable, she and Ruby Wong need to team up for an actopm buddy film.

Well, I can only say that I highly recommend "Go". As well as that American film of the same name from 1999 now that I think about it.

Now that I've seen! Possibly the only instance where my unfortunate teenage crush on Katie Holmes was vindicated (little did I know what further horrors awaited her!)

FIRST LOVE: THE LITTER ON THE BREEZE (1997)

Character actor Eric Kot Man-fai (who you may remember as the obnoxious DJ Soft in CITY HUNTER) directed this Hong Kong romantic comedy with what appears to be leftover material from CHUNGKING EXPRESS and FALLEN ANGELS, using two of the cast members, cinematographer, and Wong Kar-wai/Jet Tone backing the project.

Kot, wearing a huge afro wig and sunglasses, narrates and interrupts Godard-style. The opening is a mess of behind-the-scenes footage and abandoned story threads. The film eventually settles into a pair of quirky, unrequited love stories: in the first, Takeshi Kaneshiro plays a garbageman seeing a pretty young mainlander who sleepwalks; in the second, a married grocery store owner (Kot again) believes the woman (Karen Mok) he jilted ten years ago is stalking him and his family.

The film plays like an extended parody of Kar-wai cinema. Kaneshiro is playing a variation on his wacky, loveless loner and there are references to CHUNGKING EXPRESS, ASHES OF TIME, and more. Attempts at a meta statement land with a thud, Kot's intrusions are annoying, and I had no investment in the characters because the movie is an elaborate (unfunny) in-joke. It might be even more insular than FULL FRONTAL.

Christopher Doyle's photography and the stars (Kaneshiro, Mok, and radiant Lee Wai-wai as the sleepwalker) make it bearable, and there are some eye-catching HK locations.

I don't know how much of a release this got overseas, and I doubt if many Kar-wai fans even know of its existence. That's probably a good thing.

Available on Region 2 from Artificial Eye.

Has anyone seen Fukasaku's New Battles without Honor or Humanity trilogy? I love the first five films, but the premise between the new films seems odd. Basically, the films still focus on the Yamamori family in Kure, but all the actors play different characters.

Whoa, never even heard of this! Did they transplant it to the present or was it still a period piece?

Personally, my fave Fukusaku I've seen is his 60's stuff - Blackmail Is My Life and If You Were Young: Rage have this awesome combination of Japanese New Wave energy and full-on righteous anger that totally defies the japanese "land of tradition, respect for elders" stereotypes. I also love Graveyard Of Honor, though I can't say it's a pleasant experience.

Only caught the first installment of the original BWH&H series and thought it repetitive (that theme music everytime anyone dies!) and confusing, but it does have one of the all-time badass ending lines.

In 1998, the Mei Ah release of this was one of the first 10 DVDs I ever bought. It's kind of mind-boggling that it was seen as worth picking up by Artificial Eye, and I say that as someone who liked the film. It's definitely not for everyone. It's not even for very many someones and it never crossed my mind that it might end up getting a release outside of Hong Kong.

This film always felt kind of like it has a commentary track that you can't turn off. I like how it starts off showing you what it isn't, but might have been, before settling down (sort of) into what it actually is. Both of the stories that eventually form out of this chaos work, but the one about the sleepwaking girl and the garbage collector is the one that sticks out in my memory. I ought to revisit this film at some point, it's been so many years since I watched it.

Eric Kot's 2001 follow-up DRAGON HEAT (the title of which was stolen by Bey Logan and the Weinsteins for the US release of the 2005 movie DRAGON SQUAD) is a thousand times more spastic. I admire it for managing to exist, but it's a genuinely difficult film to endure, one designed to not just trigger a seizure in the viewers brain, but to trigger a new, never-before-seen kind of seizure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8xeoEAUlw0

Still a period piece from what I can tell. I came upon the trailer while searching on Youtube. It's not surprising no one knows about these films, as from what a quick Google search has showed, their is literally no information about them out there!

It's funny that you should mention the repetition of the theme song from the original series, as after the first film they stop using it completely. It shows up in the beginning of the second film, but thats it. A shame! I really loved it!

The trailer for 'A Woman, a gun and a noodle shop', Zhang Yimou's remake of Blood Simple. Instead of just doing a general remake, he's taken the film and placed it in a period chine setting, which is an interesting way to approach the film.

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/s...ndanoodleshop/

Not surprising. He pushed Cao Yu's Thunderstorm (1934) all the way back to the 920s (!) for CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER.

Has anyone here seen MY DREAM IS YOURS (1988), also known as NIGHTMARE or DREAMS and starring Joey Wong and Jacky Cheung?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095618/

The review in Tom Weisser's Asian Cult Cinema describes a group of thieves who steal valuables from dreams and bring them into the real world. Twenty-two years before INCEPTION. Maybe someone has more information on this movie (Reggie?) ... I'm finding precious little.

He also added a heavy dose of slapstick comedy but according to Variety's review, Sony Pictures Classics has cut most of that out of the US version along with changing the title from A SIMPLE NOODLE STORY. Because one fucking Weinstein Company wasn't enough - apparently we needed a spare.

Original Chinese trailer w/subtitles here. It may as well be for a different film.

I've actually never heard of it - but I have that book and it's not reliable to put it kindly. Weisser makes shit up.

This film apparently is real - HKMDB has a poster and some reviews. (LINK - had to use Google Cache because you can't directly link to HKMDB?!) It may be one of the many HK films to not make it to DVD - but I bet there's a VCD out there. If not that, then definitely a LaserDisc. Here's someone who was selling one on eBay a couple of months ago.

Thanks, Reggie! I was really just looking for a synopsis, but the link you provided was a big help.

Agreed -- the Weisser book is ridiculous with a high volume of bullshit, but if I didn't keep it as a reference guide I wouldn't know about the more obscure HK titles.

Variety may have it wrong. Slant reports a 95 minute running time (same as the Chinese version) and mentions the comic moments.

http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/re...odle-shop/4977

A WOMAN, A GUN AND A NOODLE SHOP

Sony has lopped off the concluding musical number but otherwise I imagine this is intact. The print that I saw in Manhattan ran about 92 minutes and had a lot of slapstick.

Anyway, if you have a chance to catch this I would strongly recommend doing so. It boldly, immediately acknowledges itself as a remake and then proceeds to wipe the floor with BLOOD SIMPLE in nearly every department. Zhang's visual artistry, comic finesse, daring shifts in tone, compassion for misfits, ability to ratchet up tension (during a mostly dialogue-free, farcically violent second act), are all on hand. Also, by pushing the story back mid-19th century and playing cleverly to the period, it seems at times as if BLOOD SIMPLE -- over 25 years old -- is the imitator. Probably the finest compliment I could give a remake.

I'm not enthused AT ALL about financially rewarding Sony's latest round of bullshit cuts, but this level of praise actually has me considering buying a ticket and doing my best to ignore the ensuing dirty feeling. Actually, looking at the Sony Classics website, it's not coming anywhere near me, so I'll just go ahead and wait for the uncut Edko Blu-ray under the original A SIMPLE NOODLE STORY title to turn up on YesAsia.com. Dilemma conveniently averted.

It played one theater in NYC for 2 weeks. I wanted to go back ... too late.

One screen in New York? For Zhang Yimou? From SONY? I'm not even sure what fraction of an assed attempt at a release that is, but it's way less than half. And the self-destructive feedback loop that is the distribution of Asian cinema in the US continues:

1. Fuck up the marketing and/or distribution (in either quality or quantity - but typically both).
2. Blame audience for not responding to your terrible yet elusive marketing, or for not being able to find a theater running your film.
3. Make a note to spend even less time, effort, thought, and money on marketing and distribution next time.
4. Repeat.

What's sadfunny is that Stumblin' Sony's the company that knocked CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON out of the park, apparently without quite grasping how they sold it (and apparently without anyone else grasping it either)*. Hint: MARKET TO WOMEN, DUMBASSES. Get women on board and you can generate a situation where those women ask their boyfriends/husbands what they'd rather see:

A: Any given American "chick flick".
B: Any given movie containing swordfights.

I'm pretty sure I know how that conversation plays out the vast majority of the time. The distributor's job is to make that conversation happen.

*Watching the Sony trailers for CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON, HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS, and CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER in that order is like watching a train fly off the rails in slow motion. They honestly didn't seem to know what they had gotten right in the first place. The marketing just gets more incoherent and insecure right before your eyes, and that's taking into account the moderately laughable narration in the CTHD trailer that uses the word "warrior" one time too many. At least it conveys a sense of what the film's about.

What really excites me is that Jackie Chan is going to do ARMOUR OF GOD 3: ZODIAC.

It's great that he's going back to his old classics. I am really going to be looking forward to it.

I've been able to tolerate the last decade of Hong Kong projects because Chan has become more nuanced as an actor. SHINJUKU INCIDENT and LITTLE BIG SOLDIER are failures, yet Chan's understated approach gives each role a strength the films don't really deserve.

There's a lot of mediocrity, but nothing unwatchable. Even ROB B HOOD has its moments.

John Woo's latest film 'Reign of Assassins' with Michelle Yeoh has a trailer and it looks pretty damn good. I should add it's co-directed by Woo, the other director is Su Pao Yin, I'm hoping that the two director's styles don't clash too much during the film. It's nice to see Yeoh back in action.

Reign of Assassins

NathanW, Hopefully...Reign Of Assassins will arrive in the, US, as it looks really cool!

Legend of the Fist, Reign of Assassins and Detective Dee are all coming out around the same time in Asia. And they all got pretty good reviews at TIFF.

I think I'm interested in Detective Dee the most. It's supposed to be the return of "fun Tsui Hark" and Andy Lau fights a talking deer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oziP4KOgi38

Agreed on DETECTIVE DEE. Andy Lau vs Talking Deer in a Tsui Hark movie that appears to focus on spontaneous human combustion, with Sammo Hung on board as action director... sounds like a good time to me.

Skeptical on LEGEND OF THE FIST - Grady Hendrix of New York Asian Film Festival and Kaiju Shakedown notoriety has proven to be reliable in his opinion (in my opinion) in the past, and this...

...does not inspire confidence. I'll still check it out when Well Go releases it Stateside, but with drastically dialed-back expectations.

reggie-wanker, you should be writing about Asian movies somewhere (that is if you don't already). You really know your shit and I have enjoyed reading your posts ever since that election thread.

Even Donnie's costume looks like he ripped off Kato.

What's good coming out of Korea lately?

Kim Ji-Woon's 'I Saw the Devil' is getting some good buzz. Also, there's a film called Jeon-Woo Chi: Taoist Wizard that looks like fun.

Jeon Woo-Chi: Taoist Wizard

I don't follow it as closely as I used to either.

I caught "Dectective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame" at the Venice International Film Festival last month. This is a very fun and action packed movie, heres hope that someone like Magnolia Pictures can pick this up Stateside. This movie is Tsui Hark at his best (and I've seen a lot of Hark's stuff).
Also managed to catch Takashi Miike's new samurai movie "Thirteen Assassins" as well. The movie is loaded with frantic action and some surprises, but you must wait almost an hour before the assault on the villians fortress. A major highlight of the screening was that Miike was in the audience. I uttered that immortal line from "Audition", "Kiri, kiri, kiri, kiri" before and after the screening. Someone in the audience got the reference and smiled at me.

Ryu Seung-Wan (City of Violence) has a new film coming out and it's a crime film starring his brother Ryu Seung-Beom. Ryu can be hit and miss but when he hit's, he's really good. I'm hoping this'll be good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kV1K74iqL78

Per Variety's review, the Weinstein Company is "tinkering" with John Woo and Su Chao-Bin's REIGN OF ASSASSINS prior to its eventual, unscheduled-as-of-yet North American/South African release. In other words, if you're unlucky enough to live in a Weinstein-contaminated zone, it's probably best to import the eventual Blu-ray/DVD from a country where a less shitty company is handling it. It'll surely be out on disc everywhere else on Earth before the Weinsteins even schedule a release date to quietly miss.

Here comes the remixed score.

I watched Dororo the other night, it mixes up different genres like Spaghetti Western and Fantasy to nice effect. It's a really weird film but it was fun to watch, although the lead actress was really fucking annoying.

So... Tsui Hark secretly shot a movie in-between DETECTIVE DEE and his currently-in-production 3D wuxia FLYING SWORDS OF DRAGON GATE, starring Jet Li. It was supposed to be a 3D equipment test for the Jet Li movie, but it seems Tsui decided "fuck it, I've got a camera and a crew, let's just make a 3D movie." That movie's called CATCHING MONKEY and it's in post production currently; not bad for a movie that was apparently thrown together VERY quickly. Tsui was spotted checking out 3D gear in March and was at work on the 3 month "camera test" in July.

EDIT - here's more from the "camera test" shoot.

via Twitch.

Christ he works fast, that reminds me, I caught the trailer for Sex and Zen Extreme Ecstasy 3D, this is clearly why the camera was invented.

Really enjoyed 13 Assassins aside from the shoddy CG flaming buffalo's. Recently watched Ip Man 2 (not as good as the first one but still solid), Legend of the Fist: Return of Chen Zen (very comic-booky but definitely enjoyable), and Man from Nowhere (also a lot of fun if a bit thick on the melodrama). Still have Fire of Conscience, 14 Blades, and Yatterman to check out as well as a ton of shaw brothers flicks.

I'm hoping to see 13 Assassins next week. I really liked The Man From Nowhere, if you'd told me the film had Won Bin as a total badass, I would've laughed in your face but goddamn if he sold it.

Saw Reign Of Assassins at the Prince Charles the other day (free entry, since I'm a member, AND they gave me a free blu-ray of a Donnie Yen movie as well - fucking love that place). It's produced and co-directed by John Woo, but I figure that's mostly a marketing hook, because even though the film tackles some of the classic Woo themes (clandestine existences, honour, betrayal), it's not really of a piece with his work. What it is, though, is a pretty godamned entertaining wuxia flick, with none of the pompousness that we've come to expect from the genre in recent years. Michelle Yeoh is amazing - and still beautiful! - in the role of a woman seeking to escape her past, and Woo-sung Jung has a very interesting, progressive role as her new husband who - for most of the movie - seems entirely outclassed by her and totally comfortable with this state of affairs. It all looks gorgeous, there's plenty of highly entertaining choreography, some insane silly plot twists that remind one of 80's Hong Kong cinema at its finest, and the whole thing just has a very good spirit about it. Highly reccomended.

Anyone seen The Thieves? I've heard its a sort of Oceans's 11 type flick.