Last movie you saw.

[Bear 1817]

5 hours ago, Flame-X said:

While Takashi Kitano as Aramaki fits well in the physical department, I'm not sold on the acting. Then again, Japanese acting has always felt subpar to me

 

Are you serious?

[Flame-X 441]

Yes, I am. Maybe I'm just not used to it but nothing was memorable to me.

[Bear 1817]

That's quite surprising, I have to say. Especially the years 60's through the 70's they had an immense collection of fantastic actors, and many whom I personally consider to be among the best actors ever.

 

60's and 70's Japan

20's and 30's America

50's through 70's England

20's Germany

 

These countries in these eras produced the best actors IMO. Now don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean that these countries have been weak outside of this eras, or that other countries didn't deliver great actors, but during these times these countries just couldn't stop pumping out brilliant actors, one after another. It was amazing.

 

 

I am also a huge fan of Takeshi Kitano, both as a director and actor. A huge, huge man in the world of cinema IMO. And I will have to admit that he is the only reason I am gonna see Ghost in the Shell, because everything else looks like complete dgshit in this film, judging by the clips and images I've seen. But I am drawn to the film becuase I love the shit out of Takeshi Kitano. I kinda hate that.

[Flame-X 441]

I've only seen a handful of Japanese movies. So far, the performances in the live action Rurouni Kenshin did well in my eyes. 

 

If you can recommend a few titles for me to check out with the best Japanese acting, I'll check them out when I have time. Thanks!

[Bear 1817]

That's a bit of a tough one. Or, it kinda isn't. But it depends a lot on what you like. I could go on recommending Seven Samurai which is one of the greatest films ever as far as story, directing and acting goes, but unless one is actually into jidaigeki and is up for a four hour long epic adventure drama it's easy to become a bit biased, which would probably make it a bit harder to appreciate the greatness of the film.

 

But fuck that, I will recommend it anyway:

 

Seven Samurai (Toshirô Mifune and Takashi Shimura)

Harakiri (Tatsuya Nakadai)

The Sword of Doom (Tatsuya Nakadai)

Lady Snowblood (Meiko Kaji)

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (Tomisaburo Wakayama)

A Colt Is My Passport (Joe Shishido)

Sonatine (Takeshi Kitano)

Twilight Samurai (Hiroyuki Sanada)

Samurai Reincarnation (Sonny Chiba)

 

 

Just to mention a few, and I've tried to mix it up a bit as far as genres and stuff goes. Some of these, especially Harakiri and Twilight Samurai, might be way too slow for many, especially Harakiri and Twilight Smurai, but they're absolutely brilliant films with top, top actors and performances.

 

Should also be noted than Tomisaburo Wakayama, Meiko Kaji and Sonny Chiba which are fantastic in a different way than e.g Toshirô Mifune and Tatsuya Nakadai, which is the reason why they played in way different films too. And so on.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

On 3/20/2017 at 2:25 PM, Bear said:

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!

 

I just watched this yesterday. Fun stuff!  Thx for bringing it to my attention.

[Tokage 5930]

Just to jump in on that 'subpar japanese acting' discussion from earlier ITT: I'm inclined to agree, at least when it comes to modern day Japanese cinema. ESPECIALLY so when you're dealing with a live-action adaptation of a manga, videogame, anime or anything of the sort. I half suspect that it's partially also because of the whole 'tarento'/ idol industry they have going on over there, where managements try really hard to push their pop musicians into acting / gravure idols into acting and all that sort of ""good"" stuff...

[Bear 1817]

Sure, but that goes for all countries. Though, I can imagine it being much more of a thing in asian countries like Japan and South-Korea. But that doesn't take away all the fabolous actors in Japan, both of the past and present. Watch films like Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade,  Love and Honor, Dolls, Love Exposure and Departures and tell me that's not some serious, top class acting.

 

I cannot praise Twilight Samurai enough btw. Well, all of Yoji Yamada's Samurai Trilogy (Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade,  Love and Honor), but Twilight Samurai is the highlight of these three fantastic films. Everything about it, from the way it is shot and set to how it's told and acted are just beyond superb. Beutiful!

[Visutox 188]

Watched Logan today, it was really great. I'm not familiar with the X-men universe whatsoever even though I know a few things about it, and the only "on-screen" knowledge of Wolverine I ever had until today was the second film of the character. All that being said (and repeating myself), this was a very good movie despite some crucial and evident flaws that, imo, prevented this movie from being an excellent one. Not disappointed though, and if you hesitate going to the movies to watch it then don't. It's definitely worth your time (and money). 

Edited April 3, 2017 by Visutox

[Flame-X 441]

Saw the Case for Christ movie last night. Before seeing it, I was very skeptical about how this was gonna turn out since most christian movies are awful, and I say this as a christian myself. Only a few that comes to my mind such as Ben-Hur, Passion of the Christ, and Hacksaw Ridge are great. To my surprise though, this was actually decent. Few scenes are well shot, the acting wasn't awful, and paced evenly throughout. I wish the investigation scenes spent more time on exploring the details but that would run the risk info dumping making the movie dry and boring. But yes, not bad overall.

[violetchain 912]

Got a "deadly game" movie craving again, and the last few western ones I watched were atrocious, so I watched some Asian ones.

 

Death Bell (2008) - Frustrating. I actually thought the main characters were really charming, but all the other characters are just so obviously filler that it's almost insulting. For some reason only like 3 out of 20 students care enough to help solve most of the puzzles, with the teachers doing most of the work? The killings were also bizarrely brutal, and I don't understand how the murderers were able to be in so many places at once.

 

Me & 23 Slaves (2014) - I kind of liked this one, despite the ridiculous amount of Japanese thriller cliches (awkward incest romance, girl prostituting herself for host jerk's love, evil cult leader, crazy sadistic loner torturing people in bizarrely elaborate ways, evil scientist brainwashing people, random fanservice crossdressing, etc). Basically, these retainer-like devices turn people into masters and slaves, based on who wins a game, and the goal is to turn all 23 players into your slave. The most interesting part of it is that the challenged player chooses the game, and there's a bit of room for them to play with the wording. Plus Kanata Hongo is one of the leads, and he's perfect for the role. The guy was born to play angsty, sneaky brats.

 

As the Gods Will (2014) - Students play twisted versions of various Japanese children's games to decide who lives. I thought this was one of the better movies I've seen in this genre (although I guess the bar is not really set that high). The CGI monsters are so cartoonish and over the top, and there's a Gantz-like hint of humour throughout the film that's really refreshing. Plus, despite the many, many deaths, the way most of them are shot is very stylized, which is a plus for me since I'm not a fan of gore. 

[efuru 255]

Yesterday I watched The Blackcoat's Daughter and it was really good. Surprisingly scary without much happening until the end. Great build up and I like the twist at the end. 

[LIDL 692]

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol.2

 

It was awesome!

 

There was so many references and cameos, both inside and outside MCU. It was a nerdy heaven to catch each one of them.

Also, there were 5 post credits scenes! One happened right after the films, then 4 others are on each time the credits sequence ended.

Each of them are fun to watch. Either it is about upcoming MCU films or not, I cannot tell. You gotta see it for yourself.

 

I am sad because of some scenes but it was filmed beautifully. I can't tell why I am sad tho, it is major spoiler.

 

Other than that, it is still in the essence of the first film, except with more actions and bonding.

 

I am wondering if  the third one gotta be connected to what happened to the end of the movie. Or not. I can't wait!

 

Since it is only going to release in USA  in May, if you planned to see this film already, you are in for a joyride! And if you haven't any plan, go and watch it, it is so fun and worth it.

 

Oh also, see it in 4DX or IMAX if you can, its was filmed beautifully! I am impressed!

 

[Jigsaw9 6783]

14 hours ago, efuru said:

Yesterday I watched The Blackcoat's Daughter and it was really good. Surprisingly scary without much happening until the end. Great build up and I like the twist at the end. 

 

I agree, awesome movie.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

We Are X - I was really excited to see this cuz I'm a sucker for good music documentaries, but it was actually surprisingly boring. Also, one of the most miserable/sappy docs I've ever seen, lol. Basically I'd only recommend this to someone who knows zero information about the band and likes melodramatic over-sentimental stuff. If you at least know the main points of the band's history, there won't be any special insight or anything of interest here, except for a few seconds of pretty slow-motion footage you've already seen in the trailers.

Edited May 11, 2017 by Jigsaw9

[Tokage 5930]

Last movie I watched was the live-action Ace Attorney adaptation. For all intents and purposes, this is pretty much without any shred of a doubt the absolute BEST videogame-to-movie adaptation I've seen so far. It basically condenses most of the first game into one movie (with the exception of the 5th case), but the first and third case are both kind of swiftly glossed over, with the 3rd case especially getting shafted pretty hard. There's some pretty significant changes here and there (e.g. certain characters' appearances are pretty radically altered), but overall, if you're familiar with the games you won't be surprised by any random significant 'live action Death Note'-tier alterations to the plot or anything. Miike did a pretty damn fine job translating the game's zany atmosphere into film format, and I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel adapting either the second or final case of AA2 (altho 2-4 technically already briefly gets shown during the ED sequence for like... 20 seconds) or the main plot of AA3. I was disappointed to find no jokes about step ladders, though : ^ (

Overall, worth a watch, esp if you're into the games. 

 

Also, Miike really seems to love his 'group of tough guys walking towards the camera' shots, I feel like at least 70% of all movies i've seen by him had it in some variety...

[Ada Suilen 652]

On 26/3/2017 at 6:32 AM, JukaForever said:

Just saw "Life"

 

It was a pretty nice suspenseful film and a great sci-fi movie overall  ....  but fuck that ending

I quote you completely

On 1/4/2017 at 5:32 AM, Flame-X said:

Saw Ghost in the Shell last night. Live action of course.

 

Before I give my thoughts, here's a disclaimer. I went into this movie without any presupposition or expectations. I believe it's fair to judge a movie by its own merits rather than comparing it to its original source. Because going to see the movie with those preconceived mindset will automatically disappoint viewers. With that out of the way, let's dive into this.  

 

My first impressions on the movie: Good! This has one of the best dystopia cyberpunk setting I've seen in a movie next to Bladerunner.  Yes, it is infested with CG but my goodness, that cinematography! It's jaw droppingly beautiful, it also does a great job with the world building. It's such an incredible visual treat. The music is another thing that deserves a mention. As far as I know, Kenji Kawai wasn't the main composer for this but his most well known track is used for the ending credits. I think the movie did an amazing job with the shelling sequence in the beginning of the movie. What's interesting about the story here is that it may be the most character driven for Major since she's facing her internal struggles questioning what or who she is and searching her lost memories. Even though she still kicks ass, we see her in the most vulnerable state when personally conflicted. There's a certain critical part of the story that reveals what Major was before her brain was transplanted in the body she uses now. As for as the acting goes, Scarlett did a fine job as the Major. I honestly don't think there's any other actress that could've pulled it off both physique and acting wise. Still not sure about that hair though (lol). The actor who played Batou was perfect. Aramaki who was played by Takashi Kitano only spoke in Japanese but had some cool lines. The action scenes are well done for the most part. There are slowmo scenes used but done tastefully. The water fight may be my favorite.

 

Unfortunately, this movie isn't safe from Hollywood's meddling with the script. My biggest problem is the end villain. Very typical hollywood corporate villain. I would prefer the first antagonist because the motive behind his actions played a more interesting role that wasn't a straight up villain and he had a connection with the Major. Thematically, the movie gets a little muddled. There were times where it tries to get the psychological thing down on humanity and AI, but that later gets ditched after the 2nd act for the sake of Major's personal identity quest. While Takashi Kitano as Aramaki fits well in the physical department, I'm not sold on the acting. Then again, Japanese acting has always felt subpar to me. The CG may be a miss in some areas. The scene with Major chilling under water with jellyfishes in the background was the most obvious CG looking thing by far. You can tell it won't age well. There was one action scene in the 2nd act that nearly gave me a seizure thanks to super bright flickering stun batons.

 

Overall, I enjoyed it. I'm not sure if this is worth the full price of a movie ticket but I do recommend seeing it on the big screen. Don't judge a book by its cover.

 

Rating: 7/10

I've seen it too and yes, even if I thought it should have last a bit more, it has been a thrilling ride (the cinematography and the score were simply amazing)

 

Here are the movies I've seen in this week:

-Fast and Furious 8: This movie sold me thanks to the plot, linked to my favourite character of the franchise and the improvement of the team (I won't spoil more about that!) and Charlize Theron was tremendously hateful there. ---> 9/10

-Kong: Skull Island: Better than expected I guess, more logical to the version with Naomi Watts imo, with a good work from Tom Hiddleston and the rest of the cast (for J-rock fans you should watch carefully the prologue of the movie) ---> 8.5/10

-Guardians of Galaxy vol.2: and Marvel retakes the best shape ever with this incredible movie with a great cast (even the cameos were damn great!), wonderful plot and exciting cinematography, confirming this ensemble as better than the Avengers. ---> 9.5/10

[frozen_bug 25]

^^ That seems to be a love it or hate it movie. I enjoyed it.

 

Nerve. I liked it.

[JukaForever 758]

Bon Cop/Bad Cop 2

 

Great sequel, not as quippy as the first one but just as good.

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

Watched Inside Out and I don't think I've ever seen a pixar film that tackled realistic issues about young adolescence before, and in a very clever way too. Great film.

 

I also watched Lucky Seven (1986), an old Chinese film from my childhood, because I was randomly thinking about it at work. It's a fun martial arts comedy about 7 martial arts kids and a women getting beat up by mafia guys (and vice versa), to kinda quote someone from youtube. Quite the gem if you're into that kind of stuff. Plus, the theme song is pretty damn catchy.

Spoiler

 

 

[Visutox 188]

After more than a decade, I finally found the time to watch the first X-Men trilogy and it was pretty cool. The three films were equally good without being transcendent. I can't pick up a favorite but the worst one might be the third. Not because it was bad but because it had some potential to be great and didn't do what I expected it to achieve. Such a pity. Still, I enjoyed my time.

 

Also watched 君の名は (Your Name.), and I really loved that one. It's been a while since a movie had impressed me this much, it really was a touching story. Pretty well done and the characters were interesting, funny and really great. I'm definitely gonna recommend this movie to anyone that hasn't been able to watch it yet. 

[JukaForever 758]

Moonlight

 

I cannot believe the director only did like 1 movie before this like WTF This is probably the best coming-of-age movie I have seen

[Visutox 188]

I've been catching up on movies I couldn't watch in 2016 (there were so many of them anyway, so yeah lol), and this is what I've watched so far:

 

Watched the second X-Men trilogy and holy shit, that was great! I didn't expect them to be so solid and hell they are. My favorite is probably the second one, but the two others aren't far behind. That said though, my favorite character has got to be Quicksilver, he literally made the films better (the man deserves his own movie, like, really). I'm stoked for more! 

 

I was skeptical about Rogue One, since SW7 was good but didn't make me feel anything. This one started really dull, a little boring at times, but then things kept getting better and thank fuck because I would have been sooo pissed off otherwise. One thing that I loved are the fucking landscapes, so damn beautiful. The second half of the film was worth it, thought it was really good and the connexion it made with A New Hope was sweet. I liked this one.

 

And one of my favorite Marvel movies might probably be Doctor Strange, it was so good! This one must have been THE one to watch at the movies. It was really fun and spectacular, and that CGI was nuts. Crazy stuff.

 

 

 

 

[Mind of the sun 71]

Alien Covenant

Had some intense moments for sure, but i wish they would not have included the 'alien' at all and just called it Prometheus 2.

It just felt like they forced the creature in the film to please fans, especially in the 3rd act, where it became a completly different movie compare to the rest.

Michael Fassbender as David/Walter is the best part of the film and he got ALOT to do in this one.

 

7/10

 

Wonder Woman

Was not planning on seeing this one since i felt a little tired of superheroes .  Also DC's previous films, Suicide Squad and BvS wasn't that great.

Im happy i did go and see it though, because it was fantastic. First 30 minutes are a bit slow but other than that its great. Alot of goosebumps and laughter.

Also a bit emotinal as well, especially towards the end.  

Looking forward to see Wondar Woman in future DC films.

 

9/10

 

[Bear 1817]

Once upon a time, Todd Phillips was a fairly respected director. He wasn't a deep director, he wasn't an artsy director and he wasn't a classy director. But he delivered some good rides, time after time after time. Hated: GG Allin and the Murder Junkies and Frat House are  both good documentaries, and Road Trip, Old School and Starsky & Hutch are really good comedies, especially the two last ones. I'd even go as far as to call them modern semi-classics.

 

Then came School for Scoundrels, and everything went to hell, with him following it up with shitfests like The Hangover trilogy and Due Date.

 

So you could say that my expectations were rather low as I began streaming his newest film, the biographical drama/comedy War Dogs. The film is heavily heavily fictionalized and dramatized, and while it does feature some of the comedy he's gotten known for, it's a much darker and serious film than what he's made in the past. It's a bit too long, but it was cool enough, was well-directed and nicely acted. Especially Jonah Hill as a fucked up sleazebag comes off really good in the film. He's the driving force in the film.

 

It's not his Phillips' best film, but it is surely worth a look.

 

 

 

And I watched a film called Premium Rush yesterday. Action-thriller about a bicycle messenger who's being followed around New York. It's over the top, stupid as fuck and a general shitfest of a film, but the high-octane action and chase scenes work really well and makes it somewhat very enjoyable. A nice film if you want something light a late saturday night.

 

Still hate the shit out of Joseph Gordon-Levitt tho. One of the most punchable faces in cinema.

Edited June 18, 2017 by Bear