Licio123 181 Posted April 4, 2017 Shin Godzilla was soooooooo good. Anno is a sick bastard, the critique on the japanese society on this movie is so dry, but a lot of fun. The monster design was really nice on later stages. Love how they used old SFX! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted April 4, 2017 Shin Godzilla looks neat as fuck. Kinda looks like the best kaiju film since forever. Really looking forward to seeing it. Also like that it's supossed to be much bleaker and don't have your regular slick hollywood/blockbuster cliches, cuz that shit doesn't fit a proper kaiju film. Really looking forward to the new american Godzilla too, deapite the first one being weak as fuck. Michael Dougherty is a suoerb director and both Trick 'r Treat and Krampus are modern classics. He could do something great with this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Licio123 181 Posted April 4, 2017 8 hours ago, Bear said: Shin Godzilla looks neat as fuck. Kinda looks like the best kaiju film since forever. Really looking forward to seeing it. Also like that it's supossed to be much bleaker and don't have your regular slick hollywood/blockbuster cliches, cuz that shit doesn't fit a proper kaiju film. That's exactly it. It's not an action movie. Yes, it has a lot of destruction and Zilla goodness, but it taps onto the nuclear fear that resurfaced in Japan, especially after 3/11 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted April 4, 2017 (edited) The problem with Godzilla (2014) , as far as I see it, isn't that it is an action-adventure or anything. But a poor plot and subplot, awful characters, a shitty Godzilla design, godawful pacing and more. The entire film just feels so superficial. The characters have no personality. They have no character. They're a bunch of empty shells who doesn't offer anything at all, running around acting like idiots. The only decent character was Bryan Cranston's, and he got killed way too early. And at the end the entire film felt more like a shitty american disaster films from 1998, rather than a Godzilla film. Which is awful considering it's a Godzilla film. I will add one thing tho, where I seem to have quite a different opinion than "everybody else", and that is that I like how little screentime Godzilla is given. When done properly this would've just added so much suspense to the entire film, but when they did as they did it didn't add anything at all. Just fuck this film, and like the first american Godzilla it is best forgotten. I'll take any of the Japanese Godzilla films over these two anyday. Even the bad Japanese Godzilla films like King Kong vs. Godzilla, Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, Godzilla vs. Megalon, Godzilla vs. Gigan, The Return of Godzilla, Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, Godzilla's Revenge/All Monsters Attack and Son of Godzilla are more worth as they provide plenty entertainment. It's shit, but it's very fun and entertaining shit for those of us who enjoy that kind of stuff. Edited April 4, 2017 by Bear Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mind of the sun 71 Posted April 8, 2017 Survive Style 5+ is one of my favorite Japanese movies. Great comedy with Tadanobu Asano, Sonny Chiba (small role) and even Vinny Jones. 1 Jigsaw9 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xtreme1 15 Posted May 23, 2017 (edited) Anybody seen Onibaba? Really enjoyed this one, even if the ending could've been a bit more thought out.onibaba bae Edited May 23, 2017 by xtreme1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted May 23, 2017 I've written up and down about Onibaba for 10+ years already. Brilliant, brilliant film with a unique folk-horror vibe that gets me every single time. Masterpiece! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Visutox 188 Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) Could anyone suggest me some historical movies? Watched The Ballad of Narayama a few years ago and I loved the hell out of it, same for Letters from Iwo Jima. Like I said on the other films' thread I'm about to watch Silence, but I don't know any other movies about Japan's history that I could watch. Edited June 25, 2017 by Visutox Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted June 25, 2017 24 minutes ago, Visutox said: Could anyone suggest me some historical movies? Watched The Ballad of Narayama a few years ago and I loved the hell out of it, same for Letters from Iwo Jima. Like I said on the other films' thread I'm about to watch Silence, but I don't know any other movies about Japan's history that I could watch. Men Behind the Sun Hong Kong film about the Unit 731 during World War II. It's flawed, but it's brutal as fuck. Exploitation horror. The 47 Ronin Based on the story about the 47 ronin who avenged the death of their master. But there's a billion jidaigeki films based on true events Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Visutox 188 Posted June 25, 2017 (edited) Neat! Thanks man. Will check them out. Yeah there's lots of them, can't figure out what to start with, lol. Edited June 25, 2017 by Visutox Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted June 26, 2017 You could also try films like Children of Hiroshima, Hiroshima (1995) and The Human Condition trilogy, even though it might not be exactly what you're looking for. Children of Hiroshima is a so-called docufiction film, being something like half-and-half fiction and documentary. Hiroshima (1995) is a film about the decision-making processes that led to the dropping of the atomic bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Human Condition trilogy is based on a autobiographical novel by Junpei Gomikawa. Again, maybe not exactly what you're looking for, especially The Human Condition trilogy, but it's well worth your time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokage 5930 Posted June 26, 2017 I recently finally got around to watching Why Don't You Play in Hell? by Sono. All I can say is: this dude has yet to disappoint me with any of his movies. I've seen six of them now, and I loved all of them. Only real gripe I have here is that the fake blood effects are pretty terrible at some points, but I half suspect that may have been intentional. Plot-wise and character-wise, the movie's just the usual mix between interesting and total batshit insanity that the man seems to excel at. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted June 26, 2017 Why Don't You Play in Hell? has some of the worst special effects I've ever seen. The overall film is over the top and violent as fuck, but the special effects are like something from a SyFy flick. It's lazy as fuck and an absolute disgrace. I can tolerate that kind of special effects if your film is called Sharknado or some shit like that, because these are godawful in every way and the CGI fits right in. But Why Don't You Play in Hell? is actually a well-directed film full of quality in all departments throughout the entire film, with the exception of the special effects. And therefore it makes no sense to me whatsoever why he'd do that. It just seems lazy as fuck IMO. It was a huge dealbreaker for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plastic_rainbow 2162 Posted July 22, 2017 (edited) Stuff I watched since my last post. Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974): Believe it or not this the first film I've seen from Shuji Terayama. Yeah....shame on me. But I really enjoyed it. His strange and dream-like visual is part of the allure, but I like the poetic writing in it too. I feel like his films need multiple viewings to really appreciate all the art put into it though. There's just so much that can be analyzed from each scene. It was still a good first watch nevertheless and I hope to watch more of his films. Don't Look Back (1999): This I randomly decided to watch. It's a mediocre coming of age film among two young boys, finding their first love and experiencing changes in their friendship. The film mainly gives you a glimpse of the daily life of the two 10 year olds and is not the kind of film for something more complex and engaging. There are many heartwarming moments between the playfulness and foolishness of the still innocent children and it can be an enjoyable watch for the lighthearted. However, I think the film could have been more developed if it was 15-30 minutes longer. Marebito (2004): This film left me a really dark feeling after watching it. I was very impressed by the dreary, haunting atmosphere and it felt like I was swept into it, never being able to get back out. It really played with my mind and the idea that these strange creatures and an underworld could exist has been etched in me. Neat film. Ichi the Killer (2001): So I finally watched this film. It's one of the few that I never watched during my angsty teenage years because I was too intimidated by the gore at the time lol. And man, it was quite the roller coaster. I thought it was just gonna be all about the gore, but there's some interesting back story in it too. Spoiler One thing that really made me wonder though was why the cut made onto Kakihara's forehead disappeared after he fell off the roof? During that scene, I recalled the quote when he said that the human body regenerates itself and I actually thought he was gonna come back alive for a moment lmao. Takashi Miike must have done that to play tricks on me.....Did anyone else notice this though? Also the scene when he pierced his ear holes felt so REAL. I was wearing earphones while watching. Edited July 22, 2017 by plastic_rainbow Also, I read in a magazine that the white liquid used on the title screen of Ichi was made from real semen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokage 5930 Posted July 22, 2017 Shuji Terayama is wonderful, watch his shorts as well, the imagery in them is something else. I recently downloaded Throw Away Your Books, Rally In The Streets & Farewell To The Ark... Turns out the latter was a goddamn Russian dub, so I'll have to find another version somewhere lol.. Can't wait to get around to watching them tho 1 meat reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted August 10, 2017 Haruo Nakajima passed away recently. If you mention the name Haruo Nakajima, or just show people a picture of his face, most people will shrug their head and ask you who it is. So who is he? Haruo Nakajima is the man who portrayed Godzilla 12 times between 1964 and 1972, and who have been other monsters such as Mothra, King Kong, Baragon, Rodan, Moguera, Varan, Gaira and more as well. He's not got a big name in the world of cinema and he's not got a face a lot of people will recognize, but a legend nonetheless. All hail! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokage 5930 Posted August 10, 2017 RIP, but also... Mothra was actually also a person in a suit? wait what? for some reason i always thought it was a puppet for some reason... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted August 11, 2017 For most part it is a huge puppet, but I know Haruo Nakajima portrayed Mothra in her larval form. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jiji94 78 Posted August 30, 2017 I still need to watch the rest of Shunji Iwai's films, but man, I can't seem to forget a single scene from The Bride of Rip Van Winkle? This is a long film, around three hours or more. I started watching it with no idea of what I was getting into and just thought it would be kind of a simple movie..? Idk. It started showing it wasn't what I expected it to be after the first twenty minutes. Each hour is so different and honestly this movie hurt my brain so bad at times I had to pause just to scream and run around until I calmed down. I mean, it's not hard to understand, it's just.. I can't even talk about it without spoiling. I frickin' watched it last September and I still am not over it and the plot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted September 6, 2017 (edited) Shin Godzilla - Hell yeah! This is how you make a proper fucking Godzilla film. Thought this film was superb from start to finish, despite some truly dodgy and ugly CGI every now and then. Really liked the weirdness of Godzilla's looks, and how fucking awkward he looked combined with the immense and destructive powers that he showed. He actually looked pretty fucked up (in a good way), menacing, and felt like a proper threat and had that classic movie monster feeling and look to it. Superb soundtrack too. Wasn't quite sold on some of the English dialogue, tho. Some of it felt really forced and corny, but I don't really mind. I can look past that. All in all a really, really good Godzilla, kaiju and monster flick film. As even though the directors approach this film with a different view and idea than the older, classic stuff, they still manage to capture and pay respect to the original Godzilla films in a lovely way. Edited September 6, 2017 by Bear Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted September 10, 2017 Takashi Miike live-action adaption of Blade of the Immortal looks so fucking sweet. Miike is the perfect director of a film like this too, as he's gonna make the entire film a big, fucking bloodbath. Can't wait! 1 clow_eriol reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KoreanGringo 11 Posted November 3, 2017 Wanna new stuff from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, but it's only in jap territory, no dvd or blu ray releases :/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bear 1817 Posted January 3, 2018 On 10.9.2017 at 7:14 PM, Bear said: Takashi Miike live-action adaption of Blade of the Immortal looks so fucking sweet. Miike is the perfect director of a film like this too, as he's gonna make the entire film a big, fucking bloodbath. Can't wait! So what did people think of this? I though the poster was iffy as fuck, but I knew that if there's one man who could make this cool it's Miike. He just does whatever the fuck he wants and he's not afraid to do his own things and go his own ways. If you ask me I'd say this is his best film since 2003's Gozu, or maybe even his best since 2002's Graveyard of Honor. I thought this was faithful enough to the source material that the majority of the fans of the manga will enjoy it, and at the same time it was so over the top, bloody, violent and cartoonish that it'll please fans of cult films and with time I am pretty sure this will gain the status as a cult film. The two and a half hours went incredibly fast. Very pleased! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimHarper 28 Posted January 21, 2018 On 3 November 2017 at 9:14 AM, KoreanGringo said: Wanna new stuff from Kiyoshi Kurosawa, but it's only in jap territory, no dvd or blu ray releases :/ The excellent Cteepy is available on UK BR and HK DVD with English subs. Keep an eye on a Hong Kong DVD website called DDDHouse. They have an impressive stock on Asian films for reasonable prices, most of them with English subtitles. I've been filling my shelves with their DVDs for years, Jim Harper. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JimHarper 28 Posted January 21, 2018 On 6 June 2016 at 8:51 PM, plastic_rainbow said: W I must also mention Kokuhaku (Confessions) because it was probably the movie that got me into watching other Japanese movies. It's a pretty well-known movie outside of Japan too. Great dark psychological thriller based on a novel (which I've still yet to read). If you enjoyed Confessions, you should check out the other films based on that author's works: The Snow White Murder Case, a slightly more light-hearted murder mystery, and Penance, a six-hour mini-series directed by horror legend Kiyoshi Kurosawa. It's long and involved but one of the director's best works of recent years, and well worth seeing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
