What ELSE (other than KUNG FU) has everyone been watching?

[DiP]

Young and Innocent (1937)

Pretty entertaining film by Hitchcock about mistaken identity (a trademark in some of his best works) although it lacked intensity and suspense to be of top quality material. But it does have some strengths throughout the film in terms of film-making (direction, editing, cinematography, suspense). Overall, it's not quite a classic but it shows grown maturity by Hitchcock as a filmmaker. Rating: 7/10

Foreign Correspondent (1944)

A Hitchcock film about journalism and conspiracies in the UK during WW2. I liked it a little more than Y&I because the material allowed Hitchcock to take great advantage of suspense for a story about covering mysteries surrounding a kidnapping group attempting to provoke revolution in UK with the help of an important politician. Good performances and the resolutions (in the story) were nicely pulled off, including the ending (realistically reflects the then current real-life situation in which the film depicts). Rating: 7.5/10

The Wrong Man (1956)

I'm surprised there hasn't been much talk about this film. For once was this a getaway from realizing novels into film material, and once did Hitchcock get to treat a story as realistic (yet maintaining his style) as ever. This is another film that uses the theme of mistaken identity and psychological trauma (a basis for Psycho) but this was based on a true story of an innocent man who was mistaken for a robber who held up people several times. Great performance by Henry Fonda and everyone else and thanks to Hitchcock's direction, the story keeps the artistry minimal and conveys the message in a way everyone can relate to. A masterpiece, up there with Hitchcock's most defined works. Rating: 10/10

[jmungus]

HINDSIGHT

after a string of fun experiences with 2011 movies outta korea, HINDSIGHT was a big step back.
this movie tries to accomplish many things. too many perhaps. anyhow, it fails all the way.
technically, its a romantic crime comedy.
as for the "romance", its a platonic love thing between an aging (sorta ex) mobster and a minor assassin chick. stupid idea as it turns out. their choice for a theme to keep the flick together turns out to be another snoozer. its cooking and unfortunately not the chow sing chi god of cookery kind. just basic lameness all the way!
as for the "crime" aspects, they`d dig into some rather random and not-so-eventful mob shenanigans in the aftermath of their former top dogs passing away.
and finally, as for the comedy- there seem to be a handful of wanna be amusing elements that never take off, they just drown in the sea of hope for s/t engaging to finally happen & the general vibe of boredom.
either the director (famous for "il mare") had been given corny material to work with or theres your reason why he wouldnt do more than like 4 movies in 15 years or something.
also, hes certainly in love with his choice of (usually quite pretty) frames, as he seems to celebrate em anytime the plot allows him to.
being a fan of elegant and crafty cinematography and photography myself, i can appreciate that. its not enough though.
on another note, the acting (all in all) was just "passable" imo.
3.8/10 in the case of HINDSIGHT means: its 20-30mins too long and if u have the gift of knowing when to fast forward, it becomes a "watchable, but still unrecommended affair".



RANGO extended version

had watched this in the theater. back then, it had left me a bit dissatisfied (translates to s/t like a 7/10 score) but i couldnt put my finger on the why.
now after revisiting RANGO on dvd, i believe i know why- the titular character aint that cool. i fail to associate with him, i dont feel a rush rooting for him, i like reptiles and i love JD, but heres me thinking of rango as one of my least appreciated animated critters. bummer. still the flick has spectacular cgi and proves to be a thoroughly fun ride. 8.2/10



'DISNEYS TRANSFORMERS' aka REAL STEEL

here we go again. provided with a screenplay and execution made of the finest parameters the hollywood-movie maker super computer could deliver.
the cheese, the predictability and a kid actor who couldnt rise to the occassion aside, its an entertaining show, pushing all the right buttons etc blahzay blah.
i just wonder when the hollywood movie maker will be available as an iphone app.
no mysteries about REAL STEEL tho, 7/10. hollywood blockbuster cinema, not at its very best, but damn competitive.



YAKUZA WEAPON aka bullet ballet from planet dumpster aka man im glad i dont smoke as much as tak sakaguchi

sushi typhoon madness. toned down a bit in favour of a more coherent screenplay.
thats how i like it and thus i`ve enjoyed YW a lot more than my last few encounters with flicks associated with the j-splatter-action-trash subgenre (ie "...frankenstein girl", "helldriver", "mutant girls squad").
mr. tak 'i dont give a rats ass' sakaguchi delivers yet another fun, no holds barred performance worthy of a razzie award (which in his case, is a compliment).
the movie is actually about something- the yakuza order and code of honour, a dysfunctional father and son relationship (not exactly in a way seen between hardy and nolte in "warrior"... the excellent wicked awesome "warrior" i might add), internal yakuza feuds, 2 lovers who need to find proper grounds for a healthy relationship & challenging one`s inner demons and expectations.
given that YW consists of 70-80% of pure mayhem, the above themes were not exactly fleshed out as one can imagine ;-)
probably loved "shozo vs the killer nurses" best, was a little disappointed in the final "(bionic) shozo vs tetsu" matchup.
fun stuff, "good movie", i rate it 6.2/10, although it doesnt really seem to matter. anything between 2 and 9 is probably acceptable. now im lookin forward to "deadball" tonite. "battlefield baseball" wasnt exactly satisfactory back in the days, lets see what sakaguchi has in store for me revamping the baseball theme in a crazy over the top context.



WARRIOR

i feel like i need to mention again that "warrior" is one badass flick, but i guess ya`ll know that by now. a must see. 9/10

[DarthKato]

Originally Posted by jmungus

WARRIOR

i feel like i need to mention again that "warrior" is one badass flick, but i guess ya`ll know that by now. a must see. 9/10

Was the minus one on the score for it being too badass?

[The Silver Fox]

I'm burned out on kung fu films. I've started getting a lot more(mostly) Asian horror movies. Flying Witch Head movies from Indonesia/Thailand, Insane gore and Long Haired Ghouls from Japan, Revenge and angst filled teen ghosts from Korea/weird religious themed stuff from the Philippines...this stuff is so addictive.

[AlbertV]

Le Doulos (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1962) - great French gangster film that revolves around the mystery of whether Jean-Paul Belmondo's Silien is revealed to be a police informer or not when his boss, played by Serge Reggiani, is nearly busted for a heist right after he gets out of prison. Excellent plot twists and turns and a shocking ending IMO.

[jmungus]

Was the minus one on the score for it being too badass?

nah. maybe 1 or 2 minor issues and a bunch of micro issues.
besides, YOU rate movies way too generously dude
but i like the idea..... although the movie thats too badass to stomach its awesomeness resulting in a bomb rating doesnt exist. yet.
extra kudos to warrior tho. neither am i a big fan of drama, nor do i like nick nolte & the same goes for MMA fighting.

ps: now im off to the show they call SWORD OF THE STRANGER. its a very nice one waiting for its first revisitation.
pps: my sincere condolences, silver fox. tho we do not call u 'ravenhead girl' now, do we ?!!
anyhoo, u`ll be back with the gung-funatics before u know it (*devilishly frantic silver fox type laughter here*)
i`ve celebrated the 30th anniversary of discovering the kf genre and 25 years of fandom last year (starting my collection with dubbing off rental tapes and tv broadcasts in´86) and i`ve had my share of mild kf flick burn out syndrome too twice or thrice.
in 2011 i`d take it easy; must have watched approx. 3/month. there were longish periods back in the day when i`d watch 5-10/week

[masterofoneinchpunch]

Originally Posted by jmungus

...RANGO extended version

had watched this in the theater. back then, it had left me a bit dissatisfied (translates to s/t like a 7/10 score) but i couldnt put my finger on the why.
now after revisiting RANGO on dvd, i believe i know why- the titular character aint that cool. ...

Because it is Don Knotts. It's a film I liked quite a bit (I saw it in the theater as well). So many movie allusions it is crazy.

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The Captains (2011: William Shatner):

I thought this was quite good. Shatner does quite a suprisingly effective job in interviewing "The Captains" (Patrick Stewart, Scott Bakula, Christopher Pine, Kate Mulgrew, Avery Brooks, himself) especially when he tends to wax existentialism throughout the reviews (mortality seems to be more and more on his mind over the years :D). As expected he sometimes makes it about himself, but he is free with praise and often leads the participants into topics that are rarely discussed by interviewers. Shatner is quite funny in this and does well to put his participants at ease. How he surprises Kate Mulgrew is a highlight of the film.

Avery Brooks is strange, though I wonder how much was pretend and how much was serious. It is hilarious when he is tinkering with the piano while trying to spout a poetic statement out that is partially relevant to the question Shatner asked (sometimes his response is only through the piano keys and a bizarre gaze towards Bill).

Patrick Stewart is just as stoic as his role as Picard when he discusses his failed marriages, the fame from Star Trek (he was not expecting the series to last), how his original seriousness for the role was slowly broken by a fun cast and crew. The interviews with him I feel are the highlights of the documentary.

There is even a Christopher Plummer interview here as well. I suppose you can fit him in the documentary because he was a Klingon Captain (Hab SoSlI' Quch!)

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Le Doulos: I'm a big Melville fan so this was an easy purchase for me (on Criterion). I will also highly recommend it to anyone interested in French cinema.

[ShaOW!linDude]

MYSTERY MEN (1999) --- stars Ben Stiller (Mr. Furious whose power is just getting mad), William H. Macy (The Shoveler who wields a shovel), Hank Azaria (The Blue Rajah who flings forks and assorted cutlery), Janeane Garofalo (The Bowler who uses a bowling ball with her father's head encased in it), Geoffrey Rush (Casanova Frankenstein, evil genius), Paul Reubens (The Spleen who farts noxious fumes with accuracy), Kel Mitchell (Invisible Boy who may or may not be invisible), Wes Studi (The Sphinx who speaks in lame riddles), Greg Kinnear (Captain Amazing), Tom Waits (Doc Heller, eccentric non-lethal weapons maker), Claire Forlani. Based on the Dark Horse comic book series by Bob Burden.

A trio of B-class wannabe superheroes (Mr. Furious, the Shoveler, and the Blue Rajah) seek recognition and the opportunity to prove themselves. The movie is good; not great. It could've been a lot funnier but it has it moments. The secondary characters are what really make the film enjoyable. GK is obnoxiously egotistical as Capt. Amazing and you gotta love GR's villainous name "Casanova Frankenstein". The action isn't too bad and it's a pretty good send-up of the superhero genre. I like it. Just wish it was funnier. If you've never seen it, it's worth a rental or dvr it. It'll make you chuckle, for sure.

Best line is delivered by the Shoveler on the way to Casanova Frankenstein's castle to put an end to his attempt to destroy the city: "We have a blind date with Destiny........and it looks like she ordered the lobster."

[DarthKato]

Originally Posted by jmungus

nah. maybe 1 or 2 minor issues and a bunch of micro issues.
besides, YOU rate movies way too generously dude
but i like the idea..... although the movie thats too badass to stomach its awesomeness resulting in a bomb rating doesnt exist. yet. extra kudos to warrior tho. neither am i a big fan of drama, nor do i like nick nolte & the same goes for MMA fighting.

A movie like that needs to be made for the world to witness. Though the sheer awesomeness of it may lead to the viewers experiencing blindness and/or madness.Still would be worth it though.

[Son Of A Gun]

Saw the most beautiful film! Getting Home (2007) by Zhang Yau (mandarin)




I really recommend this film.

Story of a loyal man who promises his dead workmate that he'd take his body back to his village to be buried. So he carries the corpse for miles and miles on a adventure filled road trip. All the time having to tell people that he's just passed out from drinking too much. Black comedy with a tender touch.