ong bak 3..

G.P. 506: The Guard Post (2008)

>>: B

Fallen Angels (1995). Strapping neon lights in the dark underbelly of Hong Kong sets the stage for this uber-hip tale of isolationist tragedy of love-shorn fallen heroes as they try to make their way amongst the cold heartless throngs of civilization. Where connections of life are hostile, our players literally create from scratch a method to link a distant humanity to their otherwise meaningless lives. The result is pure visual bliss. To not be pleasurably mesmerized by this flick is a treason best left without a conviction. The story is a haphazard scramble of lost souls loosely linked by a cinematic art form best left undefined. The direction is just as indescribably perfect, like putting into words the puissance of Mona Lisa's hinting smile. The camera man must have enjoyed a cocktail of methamphetamines washed down with steroids, the result being a wonderfully frenzied complex of voyeuristic energies and incongruous situations whose symbolic import are indelibly brought together in this flick's perfect ending. The only problem was that, as in all of life, the good times all must come to a painful end, a lustful need for more conjugated to an emptiness that life verite' seems unwilling to fulfill.
Genruk

"Ong-bak 3" 3/10

Tony Jaa's nightmare (or trainwreck, if you will) has finally come to an end. Thank God for that.

What we get in this one is, 25 minutes of breaking down, 45 minutes of building up again and 20 minutes of uninspired revenge action. The final fight with Jaa vs. Dan Chupong (again) says it all. Two of Thailands best action stars against each other and not a single cool stunt comes out of it.

I'm certain Jaa is totally drained after this director experience and i'm even more certain we won't see him in a directors seat for a long time. Coz damn..

kung fu hustle

Ninja Assasin

Ninja Assassin 7/10 + A Tale of Two Sisters 8/10

Meatball Machine

Takashi Mike Double Feature
 

Ichi the Killer (2001)

One bloody hell of a Yakuza story from Takashi Mike! Specially spectacular in gore department and also the characterization of sadomasochistic don Kakihara!

Waited too long to see this Mike masterpiece and absolutely loved it after watching it yesterday for the very first time.

>>: A-

Visitor Q (2001)

OMG!...OMG!...:eek:

But have to give total credit to Mike for his brave effort in portrayal of such a utterly screwed up dysfunctional family. This extreme showcase may symbolizes the hidden picture of their grief, distances & helplessness that exits between every member of the family & in the society of course, which is again driven crazy by the phenomenon of media exploitation that blurs the difference between reality TV and the nature of reality itself. The only question remains...What are we supposed to feel?

>>: A-

Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972)

Female Convict Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)

Brilliant! 2 "Woman-in-prison exploitation" films with fascinating art house treatments! Loved the Bava-like colorful style of capturing scenes with surreal sensibilities and undeniably the social & political overtone. In his first film Director Shunya Ito I think to some extent critically tried to explore a darker side or meaning of a national symbol (Flag) in multiple shots which is all about his artistic approach in protesting the corrupted systems; and that continues even in a greater scale in the 2nd film where there's a wonderful little scene just at the beginning of a prison revolt...prisoners thrown their sandals up in the air and just for a moment there we see the hats of the prison guards instead of the prisoner's sandals...! Now that's an ironic touch from a class film maker. A truly visionary, one of a kind experience. Hate to wait for the next 2 installments of the series; hopefully going to watch them very soon.

>>: A

Hell yeh... those two are awesome. Have you seen Lady Snowblood or Sex & Fury?

I saw Sex & Fury once but that was bit long ago and haven't seen LSB yet...hope to see it soon.

bodyguards & assassins
meatball machine
three kingdoms: resurrection of the dragon

Female Convict Scorpion: Beast Stable (1973)

>>: A-

Entrails of a Virgin (1986)

Over the top Asian sexploitation or should I say "torture porn" flick?

>>: C+

The Machine Girl--My favorite
Tokyo Gore Police

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl (2009). Geysers of arterial blood are made into an art form with the same respect as the fountains that grace a nation's great historical sites. Well, maybe respect is too strong a term, but the blood ballets are just one of the many squishy splendors offered up in this madness-strewn flick from Japan. Offensively violent, voyeuristic, insensitive, and stereotypical, this one has it all. The story itself seems a random crank-induced series of subplots that ultimately come together to form this entry's finale. These schoolgirls and their clicks, heck nigh everyone, are ineffably zany. They must be seen to be believed as entertainment. The CGI, like everything else, is used in excess, a trait that the Japanese have cultivated into a vaunted cultural trademark. The score helps to drive the lighthearted fun, a wonderful respite from the gallons of redness spilled. How the Japanese can take sheer lunacy, exploit it for all that it is worth, and then serve it up in such a splendid fashion will forever be a mysterious trait that need not be explained as long as they keep churning out more inexplicably good fun. Merci beaucoup.
Genruk

Female Prisoner #701 Scorpion: Grudge Song (1973)

Urami-iiiii-bushi~~loved this song!

>>: B+

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl

Had been looking forward to viewing this one for a while and I have to say, I was really disappointed. While yes, it absolutely is riddled with some fantastic over-the-top splatter, I ultimately found it a bit empty and wanting. I don't know - Maybe I was turned off by the incredibly offensive Dark Skin Club (complete with black face) or maybe I was annoyed by the Wrist Cutters Club - I don't know - The combination of the two just seemed like some kind of inappropriate inside joke that I just didn't get because while ultimately they do merge into our main story in the end, I still don't see the point.

Even the odd mechanics, violence, and gore couldn't really turn me on - I'm actually pretty confused as to why I was so turned off on this one - Quite frankly, I love Tokyo Gore Police and found Machine Girl perfectly entertaining, but Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl is just weird (not in a good way, offensive (not in a good way) and ultimately disappointing.

2.75/5

I can't say DON'T SEE IT however because I honestly do think that there are members of this forum that would enjoy it... I just personally found it lacking. I will have to make up for this anti-climatic disappointment by watching Tokyo Gore Police and Meatball Machine this weekend.

Meatball Machine

Really enjoyed this one - Fantastic Japanese Troma splatter - It's weird, bizarre, bloody fantastic body horror. Almost felt like a modern retelling of Tetsuo in some ways.

It's up there with Tokyo Gore Police and Ricky-Oh in terms of great JA splatter. Definitely recommended if you're looking for something bizarre, absurd and fantastic.

4/5.

I really should get round to seeing Meatball Machine sounds great.

Shame to hear Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl isn't up to much.

Fulltime Killer (2001). Where the story proper is lacking, style and execution step up to fill the void, as in many exceptional Hong Kong bullet fests. And where less intrepid directors would exhibit prudence, Johnnie To dispenses the cool and the corny with such confidence that it is all taken in bloody stride, creating fresh cinematic geography to be exploited and enjoyed. The acting was awesome, with Andy Lau and Takashi Sorimachi portraying diametric opposites of character whose fates must collide by order of the cosmos. Kelly Lin fits in as shy, gorgeous, and bored, inevitably attracting the cross hairs of the competition in their amorous designs. Simon Yam, playing a satellite in uniform, a crime drama must, suddenly turns up center stage towards the end of the flick, a hallmark trait of foreign flicks that are not constrained by cinematic dogma. The main focus is on the style of action, and To delivers scene after scene of bullet ballets where stylistic innovation triumphs over the plausible, all to the delight of the audience. For those seeking cinema verite steer clear, but for those seeking the inimitable style of Hong Kong action then having a peek at Fulltime Killer will surely compensate one's investment. Merci beaucoup.
Genruk

Yes, yes you should see Meatball Machine. ;)

Re: Vampire Girl... - Honestly, you might enjoy it a lot more than I did... They made some choices in the movie that I just found offensive and couldn't get over (like they had a "Black" club - all of the students in Black Face)... I think that probably most people would get the joke as just being outrageous - But I couldn't get by it.

Haven't seen any of them. So thanks for the rec, Chrono.

Btw, totally agree with you about VG vs FG. I didn't like it too...pretty average & disappointing effort.

Tokyo Gore Police (2008). It took me more than a year to fabricate an appreciation for movies such as this or Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl, but now I cannot seem to get enough of them. Too much of a good thing is now never enough. Detractors of Tokyo Gore Police cannot restrain themselves from mentioning its shortcomings, but they seem to have missed the point, and likely more than that. The crazy editing may be wild but is far from incompetent. It speaks volumes without having to literally tell the viewer what the movie is up to. Various comparisons to Miike and Cronenberg are fair but seem to intimate a sort of cheap imitation, but I say these that Tokyo Gore Police stands on its own two feet. The story, while seemingly simple, might just have its roots deeper than that of a Starship Troopers mentality; I would go so far as to surmise that this was an extreme parody of samurai culture disturbingly blended with Nazism. The gore here speaks for itself . Honestly, I would love to learn just how many gallons of the red juice was actually spilled in the creation of this movie. The acting toed the line perfectly, wooden expressions and extreme histrionics fitting in well with the genre. The effects were a makeup artist's dream, full of amplified bizarre and fun outrages. The overall effect is that I simply cannot wait to check out the next speed-infused gore-fest that Japan has to offer.
Genruk

Moju / Blind Beast (1969)

A fascinating psycho-sexual tale of art, pain & pleasure. Liked that splendid set of Michio's studio.

>>: A-

Sorum (2001). Sorum is a movie that dances around genres with a fear of commitment that only adds to the grim details of our character's lives. Unlike other movies, it does not fall prey to the contrived necessity to reveal the complete back plot by way of ostensible flashbacks. Instead it relies on the intelligence of the audience to figure it out, or not. The characters here are a shifty lot, creating a splendid layer of suspicion as to who is going to be the bad guy, if such a creature is to make an appearance. Likable the characters are not. Set in about as dreary a housing complex that has ever existed, this home ground symbolizes the lives of our players, a corrupt morality where life's baggage keeps piling up unattended, with stagnation sure to seek rot as its faithful companion. This is the setting for a typical South Korean cinematic affair, a convoluted tale of shady characters whose shenanigans are sure to catch up with them. The only question is what form will their dirty deeds manifest in order to play havoc on the remainder of their lives. The acting was strong; they all captivated my whole attention in that I wanted to know just what sort of past could have created such misery. Director Jong-chan Yun's debut is a solid one. He crafts a creepy tale that relies on filming basics, eschewing any need for tricky tactics to mask any shortcomings. Not a film for everyone, but for those that enjoy a slow burner with lots of character meat to chew on, Sorum is sure to satisfy us in one way while challenging us in another.
Genruk

LOVE that movie.

Have you watched Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky? If you're looking for quality splatter, it's not to be missed!

Also, you might found a few recommendations in this thread, here:

http://horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36131

deadly outlaw: rekka
chanbara beauty
geisha assassin (geisha vs ninja)
hero

Aftershock (2010)

A heart pounding epic human drama, with its title being interpreted quite literally and referring to the emotional and psychological scars of the earthquake that continue to affect its victims even generations after the event.
The film opens in 1976 with the Tangshan earthquake, which lasted just 23 seconds, but which leveled the city and resulted in a death toll of more than 240,000. The plot follows a family caught up in the horror, with father Fang Daqiang being killed while trying to rescue his children, leaving his wife Li Yuanni in the unthinkable position of having to choose between saving either her young son Fang Da or daughter Fang Deng.
By spanning several decades, it does a pretty good job of developing its characters in convincing fashion, and the story is engaging, moving & boosted by a decent script and some very solid acting.

The film has been submitted to the 83rd Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film. I really hope at least it gets the nomination.

Highly recommended to all here. Specially NE, CG, PD and V, don't miss it.

>>: A+

Voices


Really good

Which one is that? There's a movie called Voice and a movie called Voices and I get them mixed up...

Same here:D

But I think NE saw the AfterDarkHorrorFest one which is also known as Someone Behind You.

Yah- that's the one!

Vengeance

Johnnie To is a very stylish director

Johnny Hallyday is a charismatic actor

nice combo

you can't go wrong with johnnie to



death tube

Ahh - I really liked that one. Haven't seen the other one yet, but Voices was a good, solid horror flick I thought.

Aaaww.. love that new signature pic of yours.

Why thank you! Look! I made one for you!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...ogrl/angra.jpg

Very nice. And true. :cool:

bahahaha - It looks good on you. :cool: