Bear

On 28.3.2017 at 8:40 AM, The Moon said:

I don't even know if it's considered an anime, but The Belladonna of Sadness is one of my favorite films.

 

It's an anime for sure and of all the anime's I've seen this is easily up there with Angel's Egg as far as originality and uniqueness, but even more so because of the striking visuals. Beautifully drawn, and the use of watercolours really sets it apart. I love the beautiful, grotesque, surreal and erotic imagery which makes the entire film somewhat nightmarish. This film more or less sums up this entire thread and its subject. A must-see for sure, but not for everyone.

 

I have not seen the two first films of the "trilogy", tho. Anyone seen A Thousand and One Nights and Cleopatra? As far as I know these two films are way different in style and tone, being very standard visually and being more regular pornographic in nature? Anyone know this?

 

 

 

 

Also, rewatched Berserk this week. It's so fucking good. Dark, grim and gritty dark fantasy. I also love how the animations are so flawed throughout the series. It just really adds to the atmosphere. Hate the intro and outro songs, tho, but the rest of the soundtrack is neat as fuck.

 

How's the films, and how's the new series?

 

I've understood it so that the two first films are basically remakes of the series, while the third offers something new? But how about the new series? Never heard about it before today. A bit sceptical because of the CG animation, tho. Not a fan of CG animations at all, unless it's used sparsely. I rarely manage to fully appreciate full CG animations.

Since I'm home I'll throw in a few more recommendations for Takashi Miike:

 

The Happiness of the Katakuris

Really weird mixture of horror, comedy and musical. Surreal, odd and weird remake of Kim Jee-woon's cult classic The Quiet Family. This is actually one of the best remakes ever, just so it's said. It's different from the original, but at the same time very familiar (if you've seen the original).

 

Dead or Alive: Hanzaisha

Ultra-violent, bizarre, wild and fucking crazy. Yeah, watch this gem of a film!

 

The Bird People in China

While not my favourite film, this is probably the man's best films as far as script, dialogue, characters and direction goes. It's quite the opposite of what he's known for, but it shows that he's got some serious skills.

 

Deadly Outlaw: Rekka

One of his many yakuza films, and a great one as well. It's a very typical Miike film. Over the top and wild. The entire soundtrack to this film is Satori by Flower Travellin' Band, which is cool as the album is a proper masterpiece.

 

Shinjuku Triad Society, Rainy Dog and Ley Lines (also known as Black Triad trilogy)

Some very early Miike crime films. Classics!

 

Graveyard of Honor

Great remake of Kinji Fukasaku's 1975 film of the same name. If you've not seen the original I would recommend getting into that one first, but this is a great remake of a classic yakyza film.

 

Sukiyaki Western Django

A film you'll most likely hate or love. Doesn't seem to be anything inbetween in Miike's western, which combines plenty elements of Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy and Akura Kurosawa's Yojimbo. It's in English (or, engrish if you want), and that's something that bothers a lot of people as the majority of actors seems to concentrate more on pronnouncation than acting. I like it a lot, and the engrish just adds to the fun.

 

Young Thugs: Nostalgia

Brutal violence, comedy. Yeah, a very Miike-esque film from the late 90's.

 

Young Thugs: Innocent Blood

I believe I have seen this film been called "a violent comedy" and a "cinematic bloodbath", which is spot on.

 

Yakuza Apocalypse

Absurdity level 10,5. Vampire yakuzas, a guy dressed up as a frog. A love/hate type of film.

 

Agitator

Yakuza! Great film.

 

But as you can see, there's a lot to choose from. From around 95-04 (or something) he seemed to be obsessed with yakuza tales. Often very bleak, gritty and brutal, but a lot of them are quite different from eachother nonetheless.

 

He's a great director with his own thing going on. But the further back you go, the darker, grittier and more fucked up it gets in many ways. His characters, plot and overall look used to be a lot less slick and polished. There's something so very perverse about the way he shows and present his violence on screen, and I absolutely love and adore it .

 

If I had to recommend a few to begin with:

 

Fudoh: The New Generation

Gozu

The Happiness of the Katakuris

Dead or Alive: Hanzaisha

The Bird People in China

Shinjuku Triad Society

Visitor Q

 

Not necessary because these are my favourites (even though some of these are his best), but because they all are great films, but they show some very different sides about him.

1 hour ago, Zeus said:

It's very interesting you pick that album of all albums @YuyoDrift. Back when Monochrome Heaven was a toddler, it was PLAY DOLLs that got the lion's share of attention. Everyone wanted more PLAY DOLLS or at least some Knightmare. Albums like Diamond and Mar Maroon were not welcome here. I guess that entire generation of fans went the way of the dodo not too long after because no one talks about PLAY DOLLs anymore. Also, I listened to it the other day and I thought it was hot trash save for a few tracks. VII is so much better.

 

I don't talk about Play Dolls, but I listen to it quite often and I have done so since it's release. Think it is a brilliant album and on par with Not Obtain, if not better. Two of the darkest, most depressing VK/jrock albums I've heard, and that's something I appreciate a lot. Really despise everything they've done after Play Dolls and Not Obtain, though.

 

 

Cool topic. Will come back to this later.

Visitor Q is really good if you'd like to watch something quite fucked up.

 

His remake of 13 Assassins is very good, but the original is way better.

 

Gozu and Foduh are both masterpieces.

Full Metal Yakuza is great.

 

Three Extremes are excellent.

 

Both Crows Zero filmes are great, but a bit too boyband-esque for my taste. Always wish that they was a bit tougher around the edges with less pretty boys.

 

And that's all I bother now on my phone.

 

He's got some remakes to his name and while some, like 13 Assassins, are very good, the originals are in all cases way, way better. Always watch the originals first.

 

 

Will come back later. Magnificent, unique director who's really managed to find his own style.

 

4 hours ago, lichtlune said:

 

Watched the blu-ray of this recently. Beautiful as an art film but I don't know if I would call it a masterpiece or not.

 

Which is understandable. It's a heavy film that really requiers and asks a lot from the viewer, but I think this film is pure magic.  Repeated viewings are probably not a bad idea for a film like this.

Best thing about going to concerts or clubs/bars in Trondheim is the bus home at 3am. 9 out of 10 times it's just brilliant. Most times I'm actually laughing for the entire ride (60-90 minutes, depends a bit). Unlike in Oslo where there's always some shit going on on the bus or among the people waiting, here there's only joy. Overly drunk people who do stupid shit and make fools of themself, some nice people and just good atmoshere all the way, all over the place.

 

Even the hour and half wait for the bus was amazing. One drunk, pessimistic dad of three, one overly drunk mom of three and me. And some people who come and go of course. Hilarious!

 

 

Plenty great recommendations so far, but don't be afraid to start discussions about these type of films/series, guys.

 

Seen a lot of 'em, and while most of what I have seen are series I really like, they're different from what I'm mostly into at the moment. The visual style of them just aren't what pleases my eyes at the moment. They're a bit too flashy, too colorful and too cute looking. Metropolis, Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne and Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade however are exactly the kind I prefer myself at the moment. The way the stories are told, the visual style of them. Love it! Especially Metropolis hits the bulls eye. Brilliant film!

 

While Higurashi no Naku Koro nistory-wise has a lot of what I am into at the moment, the overall visual style is just too cute and colorful for me at the moment. The look of this series is like the upbeat, happy music of An Cafe and Sug. Personally I am looking for films and series with a darker, more gritty look.

 

Le Portrait de Petit Cossette is another one that fits my taste, especially the visual style of it. Good show, this. Seems to be very overlooked.

Nah, I am calm. So don't go there, brah. But you were right. It was a poor title that gave the wrong first impression and was easy to misunderstand.

2 minutes ago, IGM_Oficial said:

I thought it was about hentai

 

If it was about hentai I'd have called the thread "hentai". But I'll change the title.

By the way, Angel's Egg is an overlooked masterpiece. Slow-burning, surrealistic and poetic anime with barely any dialogue at all. It's not as much about plot, characters and all that, but rather an atmospheric trip, or just an experience, that offers something different. Probably the most unique anime I've ever seen. It's not even 80 minutes long, but 85% of everyone who  watch this will be bored to death and the 80 minutes will feel more like 578 minutes. But this is perfect IMO. Highly recommended for people with some patience who appreciate atmosphere, visual style and the artsy side of things.

 

I couldn't find a better title for this thread, but I would like to have an own thread for anime that are suited for adults, rather than kids/teens. Because whenever I've started talking about this in the anime thread it's kinda dwoned in the talk of everything else which is probably more popular. And with "adult" I am basically thinking about anime that is much darker and psychological, more violent and gory, features erotica, or deals with themes that'll go way above the head of most teens. It's a bit vague I guess, but I think you'll get what I mean when you see the lists of examples.

 

Series:

Cowboy Bebop*

Ergo Proxy

Serial Experiments Lain

Neon Genesis Evangelion

Elfen Lied

Hellsing

Gungrave

Cyber City Oedo 808

Berserk

 

 

Films:

Perfect Blue

Akira

Ninja Scroll

Ghost in the Shell

Angel's Egg

Memories

Wicked City

Vampire Hunter D

Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust

 

*I understand that Cowboy Bebop might seem a bit out of place to some here, but its touches of neo-noir, sophistication, philosophical concepts of boredom and loneliness and more adult themes such as drugs and homosexuality makes it a very adult series.

 

 

Anyone ever see anime that's either Lovecraftian or very cosmic horror-inspired? Would be real cool!

I have been able to vote for 10 years, yet I have never placed a vote. Fuck politicians, fuck pilitics and fuck anyone involved in politics, both from the outside and inside. They're all awful liars. Fuck 'em all.

6 minutes ago, Tokage said:

^

Have that one sitting around on my PC, probably gonna have to get around to playing it soon, it seems to be exactly the kind of stuff I love

 

Was the same with me. Bought it 4-5 months ago or something, but I've only played Rocket League since then and haven't found the time to play this. But I've found out that playing an online, competetive game like Rocket League while drinking isn't a good idea, so today I decided to start on this while getting drunk. So far, so fucking good. Excellent so far!

 

Also have a lot of other games I'll have to play which I bought right before christmas or so. But Rocket League have prevented me from doing so

Started playing Odallus: The Dark Call today. 40 minutes in and it's totally neat. Like a mix of Castlevania og Metroid, with a brilliant soundtrack on top. It's nothing revolutionary, but so far it's a real fun action-adventure platformer.

 

 

 

Sounds neat! After hearing two tracks this album is already better than their debut album and EP. Way ahead of both! I'm surprised by how epic this song sounds, but it still sounds like it's from the same album as the first, more Nifelheim'esque track. Diggin' this, and the cover art is just beyond rad.

Seeing Ram-Zet live today. Ram-Zet isn't a band I listen to anymore, but back in the day I was a massive fan. They're from the same area as me, one of the first band I saw live and I sitll have my old Ram-Zet tshirt, bought at a hippiestore with tons of posters with Bob Marley and cannabis and whatnot. I think the tshirt must be something like 12-13 years old not. I haven't really tried to get into their last two albums, but I've heard them a few times. Much more avant-garde and playful than their earlier, schizophrenic stuff. But I am excited anyway. It's a small scene with the capacity of 150 people, and even 150 is pushing it a lot. 50-80 of those will have a terrible view of the scene. So yeah, we're talking a real intimate concert here. Hopefully they'll just go full retard with the theatrics, because I am expecting something theatrical and over the top here.

 

Also, I am sure I would still enjoy at least their three first albums if I play them again. A mixture of avant-garde black and goth metal with focus on atmosphere rather than riffs. I always liked the schizophrenic feeling of their music. It's weird.

 

 

On 22.3.2017 at 7:20 AM, ghost said:

Saw Magic Sword and Carpenter Brut last night.
Amazing synth show!
 

 

I am so fucking jealous of this. I don't even have the vocabulary to tell you exactly how jealous I am. Carpenter Brut are the masters of retrosynth and Magic Sword is brilliant as well. So.Fucking.Jealous!

Under-World is great and I don't get the hate for Fuyu no Castanet at all. I've said it many times and I'll gladly say it again: fantastic song!

Some good and bad news. We'll start with the bad, sad and awful ones:
 

Quote

With great grief in our souls, we inform you that our friend and colleague, Gabriel “Negru” Mafa, passed today, March 21st 2017, aged 42.
We deeply regret the death of the man who founded and maintained Negură Bunget and who dedicated his life to the sacred side of our culture, bringing it to life through music and transmitting it to various generations from all over the world.
We hope that his legacy will continue to enchant and console those whom he left behind.
With regret and sadness, we offer our condolences to his family and to those who knew and cherished him in this life.

 

 

Heart attack at the age of only 42 years old. Damn. Negura Bunget in their prime years (02-06) were amazing. Some of the most honest and spritual black metal you'll find, with Om as the absolute highlight. But their early, more straight-forward black metal stuff and the symphonic black metal of Wiccan Rede are great as well, and some of their later stuff, like Măiestrit and Vîrstele pămîntului are good. But with Vîrstele pămîntului, the first one without Hupogrammos and Sol Faur, you could already sense that a huge part of the band was gone. A huge step down in quality. So the loss of Hupogrammos and Sol Faur just didn't do this band good at all as they manage to continue the sound of Negura Bunget much better in Dordeduh than what Negru did with Negura Bunget.

 

Anyway, fantastic, creative drummer.

 

 

This song, this album. Holy shit! Perfection.

 

 

 

But the good news are that Peste Noire are on their way to record the new album.

 

Quote

"On the road to record the 7th KPN album with the sound engineer of "L'Ordure à l'état pur" (the best one we ever worked with - you never change a winning team)."

 

Fuck yes!

No idea how long I've been around under different usernames, shared accounts and whatnot, but it's been a while. Not sure why I've been here for so long as I've never been big on actually discussing (Japanese) music. But I did. And it's not because of downloads either, because I have not grabbed much from here. Probably the drama and the bans. And the film threads back when they were super active.

 

Yeah, good job keeping it this active for so many years, though. Very impressive by both admins/mods and mortal users.

But I haven't made a single comment on your taste though, have I? Like I said, I like their debut and thought this might be cool. But I was really disappointed and thought it was shit, and I don't get why I shouldn't be allowed to say that or why you feel offended by that?

The fuck happened to these guys? Their debut album is a decent Mourning Beloveth-esque death/doom album, but this new song was godawful. Will not check out any further.

How bad editing ruined Iron Fist’s fight scenes

 

Both scene included in that link are nothing short of shocking. Garbage!

Under the Shadow - How frightening and terrifying can a PG-13 film be, you ask? Well, this films shows us that it can scare even the toughest shitless. This Iranian horror film blends drama and horror into a terrifying experience. It's rather slow-burning, it's simple and it's low-budget, but it's so very effective in its simplicity. It's as intelligent as it is scary, and I can appreciate that. That's a plus. The atmosphere, the cinematography, the way the film changes throughout. Brilliant! Top this with a breathtaking performance by Narges Rashidi and you've got yourself a real treat.

 

In some ways it reminds me of The Babadook, but it's got as much in common with both Repulsion and Pan's Labyrinth.

 

There is also plenty of symbolism and social commentary going on throughout the film, and some of it might feel like it's forced upon you, but it's well-done and doesn't get in the way of anything.

 

Say what you want about films like It Follows, You’re Next, Berberian Sound Studio, The House Of The Devil, The Babadook, Kill List, The Witch, A Field in England, Martyrs, Amer, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears and so on, but all these films, even The House Of The Devil which feels like an authentic late 70's-early 80's horror films, has brought something new and fresh to the horror genre in the 21's century. You don't have to like them, but that's the truth. And Under the Shadow is one more of those. Fresh, unique and amazing.

 

Hands down!

 

I think The Young Offenders might be the best comedy since Superbad, and debutants Alex Murphy and Chris Walley are really impressive in their roles. Hilarious from start to end. Fantastic!