Good New

[englandmj7]

You can get Battle Royale at almost any video store, excellent film fyi, although the second one was horrible.

[red]

anywhere i can get my hands on these movies? they sound crazy but i think they'd be good movies.

lol "high school class gets deported to an island and must kill each other to survive.." holy shit. imagine if you were in that situation and you had to kill your best friend/close friends and your girlfriend...:confused:

the guy you're talking about was in GQ a couple months ago and they said he's a really good up and coming actor despite the fact that he's a dwarf/midget.

i like all the descriptions to these movies.. but where can i get my hands on them without having to order/rent them through the net?

may i also suggest reading the battle royale book?

[Yakboy Equals Nurturer]

Saw The Machinist recently. Was OK. Well shot and atmospheric, but I was expecting something with a little more substance than a re-hashing of Fight Club meets Memento. Most impressive thing about it is Christian Bale's weight loss for the role (especially when the fact that the next movie he did was Batman Begins is taken into consideration). Holy. Fucking. Shit.

Grizzly Man is easily my favorite film of the last year. Anyone who liked it should check out Herzog's documentary about his working and personal relationship with Klaus Kinski; My Best Fiend. I'm not always a huge fan of Herzog's films, but he makes great documentaries.

[minya]

Wow, this is a fantastic thread!!! Thanks so much. Gonna hit up my local indie videostore.

I really want to see United 93. How could I have forgotten Match Point? Originally I only rented it because of Scarlett Johansson but I was absolutely blown away. I was almost nauseous with tension the entire time. Incredible film.

I thought Battle Royale was extremely overrated.

I also didn't like the Machinist much. I agree that Christian Bale's weightloss is disturbing, and almost a reason to see it, but it was a pretty poor film IMO. It completely, totally ripped off Jacob's Ladder.

[red]

Wow, this is a fantastic thread!!! Thanks so much. Gonna hit up my local indie videostore.

I really want to see United 93. How could I have forgotten Match Point? Originally I only rented it because of Scarlett Johansson but I was absolutely blown away. I was almost nauseous with tension the entire time. Incredible film.

I thought Battle Royale was extremely overrated.

I also didn't like the Machinist much. I agree that Christian Bale's weightloss is disturbing, and almost a reason to see it, but it was a pretty poor film IMO. It completely, totally ripped off Jacob's Ladder.

i got the movie because i heard its allens new film. then i saw scarlett. perfect.

[doctorgnar]

History of Violence - Cronenberg's the man, it's like Tarantino meets David Lynch, but not that good, but still really fucking good.

Squid and the Whale - must see, especially if you grew up in the 80s, and/or spent lots of time around academic types, and/or have divorced parents. Jeff Daniels, probably at his best.

Oh, and a mongo-cosign for Old Boy, probably one of the best movies I've ever seen. Also see: Audition, http://imdb.com/title/tt0235198/, check it out, nothing I say will do it any justice.

[englandmj7]

^^ Takeshi Miike tries WAY too hard to make things nonsensical to the point that it ruins the film....Audition is absurd, as was Ichi The killer. The only decent factor is the gore (assuming that is what you are into of course)....

i got the movie because i heard its allens new film. then i saw scarlett. perfect.

Now I am a Scarlett Johansson fan, she is a great looking girl, but I was never been obsessed like many are. Putting that aside, did anyone else literally fall in love with her in this film, like it hurts to not be watching it over and over again?....her presence in the movie is fucking amazing; oh dream woman, when will you and Natalie Portman become lesbian lovers and move to Silicon Valley together?

[damnIam]

Awesome, never heard of it...will check it out immediately.

[minya]

^^ Takeshi Miike tries WAY too hard to make things nonsensical to the point that it ruins the film....Audition is absurd, as was Ichi The killer. The only decent factor is the gore (assuming that is what you are into of course)....

Agreed... Audition is a piece of shit. It's an interesting gimmick but a terrible movie. Miike himself said that's what he was aiming to do (i.e., bore the audience to death with 2.5 hours of meaningless dumb bullshit and then.. 15 minutes of.. you know), so I can't really recommend it.

Oldboy was very good but not mind-blowingly good imho. I would definitely watch it again though.

that said, Visitor Q is definitely a Miike movie worth watching. Hoooooooooooooo boy.

Now I am a Scarlett Johansson fan, she is a great looking girl, but I was never been obsessed like many are. Putting that aside, did anyone else literally fall in love with her in this film, like it hurts to not be watching it over and over again?....her presence in the movie is fucking amazing; oh dream woman, when will you and Natalie Portman become lesbian lovers and move to Silicon Valley together?

Yeah, she was absolutely gorgeous in this film... interesting though, I found her character very flawed, and I appreciated that... the conversation between Scarlett/Jonathan (I forget the char. names) in the bar where she says, and I paraphrase, "men fall in love with me at first sight; they think I'm perfect.. little do they realize I'm human like everyone else" -- the film definitely developed on that theme. I dunno. I loved the movie. I want to see it again.

Match Point *could* have been better if it had some see-through-panty shots like the intro to Lost in Translation.

[doctorgnar]

Saying that Audition is a gimmicky film, or was a piece of shit, neglects to aknowledge the importance of a whole world of film that uses an unorthodox apporoach to the narrative and the pacing of a film.

It is uncomfortable for most people with western sensibilities to watch a film that moves at a "slow," meandering pace, but that does not mean that for a movie to be any good it has to be a constant assault on the senses or a cheap shot at your emotions.

If you were looking for Saw when you watched Audtion, than you were dissapointed. If you had the patience or the mental capacity to appreciate the subtlties and find satisfaction in powerful moments rather than grand plot building and a bunch over-produced and distracting edits, then yes, Audition probably seemed like quite a piece of shit.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

i liked audition-------------GOZU is MIIKE to the extreme. check it.

oldboy is good-ish, but not as great as i would have hoped. and the eating of live octopus was rather crass and unnecessarily mean. added nothing to the film whatsoever.

[minya]

Saying that Audition is a gimmicky film, or was a piece of shit, neglects to aknowledge the importance of a whole world of film that uses an unorthodox apporoach to the narrative and the pacing of a film.

It is uncomfortable for most people with western sensibilities to watch a film that moves at a "slow," meandering pace, but that does not mean that for a movie to be any good it has to be a constant assault on the senses or a cheap shot at your emotions.

Haha. Hardly. There are plenty of Western movies that move at slow, meandering paces. Quite a few of them I've enjoyed myself, actually.

I'm guessing you didn't watch the interview with Miike on the Audition DVD? He said, essentially, "I hoped to bore the audience as much as I could, so that the final 15 minutes would be that much more shocking."

The film is boring as all-get out, and it's supposed to be that way. That's pretty much textbook "gimmick" as far as I'm concerned.

[doctorgnar]

Haha. Hardly. There are plenty of Western movies that move at slow, meandering paces. Quite a few of them I've enjoyed myself, actually.

I'm guessing you didn't watch the interview with Miike on the Audition DVD? He said, essentially, "I hoped to bore the audience as much as I could, so that the final 15 minutes would be that much more shocking."

The film is boring as all-get out, and it's supposed to be that way. That's pretty much textbook "gimmick" as far as I'm concerned.

No, textbook gimmick would be a film that was boring for the sake of it being boring. Audition was "boring" in order for certain moments to have more impact, to stand out, and have time to linger while still in the world of the narrative.

And, since when does it matter what the artist has to say? The artist is not the judge of his work. Once it's out there it's ours.

Sorry, I know this thread isn't about my argument. You made a good point, Minya.

[lil brown brother]

if youre into oldboy ... its a trilogy .. there's Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, though imo oldboy was the best. Lucky Number Slevin is also a nice newer film. Slim Susie is also a good indie film which just came out from sweden. revolver and layer cake are also good films.

check out tony takitani too...

[greentea]

[don't spoil movies.]

[Whodinihimself]

I bought Ichi the Killer based on a friends review...thought it was weak.

Although I'm out of the loop on current films heres a few I like that havent already been mentioned:

Being John Malkovich

Mystic River

Adaptation

The Terminal

Gummo (Weird - only for those with an open mind)

Pee Wee's Big Adventure (Tim Burton at his best)

Strange Brew (Its a Canadian classic comedy!)

[greentea]

[don't spoil movies.]

haha my bad.

[snugglepony]

Haha. Hardly. There are plenty of Western movies that move at slow, meandering paces. Quite a few of them I've enjoyed myself, actually.

malick anyone?

[englandmj7]

if youre into oldboy ... its a trilogy .. there's Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, though imo oldboy was the best. Lucky Number Slevin is also a nice newer film. Slim Susie is also a good indie film which just came out from sweden. revolver and layer cake are also good films.

What? Really?!! Like with the same characters/actors/actresses? Are they good enough to rent? Out already?

[evisu 2000]

they're related by theme only. i didn't really like any of them (including old boy), although i thought sympathy for mr vengeance wasn't too bad. overall though i think chan wook park is quite overrated.

[Analyst]

I kinda liked this Japanese film called the Princess Blade, which brings to life a popular Japanese comic book about mercenary who avenges her mother's death. Kinda cool film and worth a look.

Anyone see Suicide Club? Japanese film about a group of high school students who meet on the internet to plan their suicides. The movie starts with about 50 high school girls jumping in front of a subway train.

[birminghamjim]

i also thought oldboy was a little over rated, in the same way as irreversible i suppose, as it was all a bit melodramatic.

to answer whoever asked, all the films i highlighted are available from blockbuster in the uk or ebay (survive style 5+).

anyway, i've thought of a couple more after readind the thread. all the talk of miike, i'm surprised no one has mentioned beat takeshi yet http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001429/ . i have seen, and can reccomend violent cop, sonatine, hana bi and kikujiro, all directed by and starring takeshi. he acts with a trademark reticence, using the odd facial tick or silent stare when most actors would be rabbiting away. the film all have a zen like calmness, and in the former three at least, punctuated with occasional stoccato violence. for me the moment of dull boredam are swamped by the occasional blast of beautiful poignancy, but i can understand why some people would not like his stuff.

2046 - this film is directed by the hong kong based director wong kar wai (or kar wai wong, is it zhang ziyi or ziyi zhang, i find chinese names more than a little confusing.) to get to the point, this is without doubt the most arrestingly aesthetically beautiful film i have ever seen. for the first 45 mins i was mesmerised...until i realised the plot, though kinda cryptic, is actually fairly trite. the cinematographer is an australian named christopher doyle (worked on hero as well) and i erccomend this film as an example of that art at its absolute very best. the use of light, of contrast, the saturated colours, and the composition of every single shot are an absolute joy. admittedly the film is booooooooring. apparently one of the director's previous effort, in the mood for love, is better and i have been meaning to catch it for a year or two now. anyway, check out the trailer: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212712/

la haine - i know this film is more than ten years old now and so doesn't really fir in with the new(er) remit of the thread, but if for some reason it has passed anyone by i feel it is my duty to reccomend it as one of the very best films of the nineties. the recent riots in paris have re-highlighted this film as being as important today as it was when first released. this is an absolute tour de force from the director and actors alike. it follows the story of three friends in a rough parisian suburb (or banlieue, not the same as the suburbs of the uk or US, more an urban ghetto or hinterland), and their lives throughout the 24 hours after a night of local rioting sparked off by alleged police brutality (remember the recent riots??). they are the children of immigrant families, a north african, an african and a jew. it may seem that it is a little bit 'bennetton advert' to have three ethnicities as protagonists, but this is the only small criticism that i can think of for la haine ('hate' in french), and the performances negate this fairly quickly. shot in stark black and white, and with stretches of boredom, mischief, surrealism and violence, the director, kassovitz, runs the film with an amazingly assured hand the belies his young age, and the odd directorial flourich he throws in only enhance the scenes in question. the shot when the helicopter rises above the sun scorched banlieue, with a dj playing a mix of piaf's non regrette rien and a french verion of krs one's sound of the police out of a grotty flat window is one of my favourite shots of all time: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113247/

watching hard candy at the cinema next (unless i've missed it), i'll be back to tell y'all what i reckon, laters

edit - sorry for all the sp. mistakes, i can't be arsed to go back over them. i can spell, i just can't type.

[rogue_audio]

la haine - i know this film is more than ten years old now and so doesn't really fir in with the new(er) remit of the thread, but if for some reason it has passed anyone by i feel it is my duty to reccomend it as one of the very best films of the nineties. the recent riots in paris have re-highlighted this film as being as important today as it was when first released. this is an absolute tour de force from the director and actors alike. it follows the story of three friends in a rough parisian suburb (or banlieue, not the same as the suburbs of the uk or US, more an urban ghetto or hinterland), and their lives throughout the 24 hours after a night of local rioting sparked off by alleged police brutality (remember the recent riots??). they are the children of immigrant families, a north african, an african and a jew. it may seem that it is a little bit 'bennetton advert' to have three ethnicities as protagonists, but this is the only small criticism that i can think of for la haine ('hate' in french), and the performances negate this fairly quickly. shot in stark black and white, and with stretches of boredom, mischief, surrealism and violence, the director, kassovitz, runs the film with an amazingly assured hand the belies his young age, and the odd directorial flourich he throws in only enhance the scenes in question. the shot when the helicopter rises above the sun scorched banlieue, with a dj playing a mix of piaf's non regrette rien and a french verion of krs one's sound of the police out of a grotty flat window is one of my favourite shots of all time: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113247/

Absolutely spot on! Incidentally, it's just been reissued as a double disc. I picked it up in Fopp last week for £10.

[Cue]

History of Violence - Cronenberg's the man, it's like Tarantino meets David Lynch, but not that good, but still really fucking good.

Squid and the Whale - must see, especially if you grew up in the 80s, and/or spent lots of time around academic types, and/or have divorced parents. Jeff Daniels, probably at his best.

Oh, and a mongo-cosign for Old Boy, probably one of the best movies I've ever seen. Also see: Audition, http://imdb.com/title/tt0235198/, check it out, nothing I say will do it any justice.

cool, my dvd rental/postal thingy just sent Audition, will have a watch tonight

[lil brown brother]

well its called the vengeance trilogy..all about revenge Lady Vengeance just came out in asia you might find it at a Korean/Chinese video place. like i said oldboy is the best of all three. the takeshi kitano version of zatoichi is good too if you like a blonde zatoichi. 2046 has good cinematography but i think In The Mood For Love is a way better movie, better story whereas 2046 can be kinda weird. As far as Survive Style 5 its ok but you might want to check out Sharksin Man and Peach Hip Girl whichis in the same genre but imo is way better thanstyle 5 with better characters. and oh yeah i also recommend My Sassy Girl a funny movie

[airfrogusmc]

Squid & the Whale very good

Owning Mahony also very good.

[birminghamjim]

Absolutely spot on! Incidentally, it's just been reissued as a double disc. I picked it up in Fopp last week for £10.

yeah, i saw it had been re-released. i've got the 10th anniversary edition - anything worth watching on the double dvd? i'm not usually a big fan of dvd extra's, i generally prefer to judge a film on its own merits, but as la haine was/is so politically charged (it was shown in a private screening to the french cabinet upon release) it gives decent opportunities for interesting extra's. i've just re watched that aerial shot i raved about in my last post, and it's not quite as good as i remember it, still pretty good though.

anyway, screencaps for you enjoyment (i hope this works and they're not too big)

another new-ish film i forgot:

goodbye lenin - a very charming german film set around an east german family during the fall of the berlin wall. the plot is a little bit contrived, pleasant enough though, but this film has buckets of charm. goodbye lenin has a certain pleasant nostalgia for some of the soviet communist systems. in fairness it neither condones nor condemns east or west, and much more importantly it has many directorial references to kubrick and a foxy russian nurse. a very nice interesting little film: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301357/

*possible spoiler reg. magda goebells, if you don't know what she did, and are going to watch downfall, don't read on*

downfall - i've only seen the second half of this film, and so cannot vouch for it absolutlely wholeheartedly, but if the whole is nearly as good as what i've seen then it is amazing. a german production, it concerns the final few days of the life of adolf hitler and his most important minion as they sweat it out in his bunker within the devastated berlin. the performances in this film are amazing, bruno ganz, as hitler, didn't put a foot wrong in his portrayal as one of the most (rightly) demonised men in history. all the supporting cast were v good as well, a stand out scene being when magda goebells, one of hitlers most fanatical supporters, poisoned her children, a wretched and desperate scen that got to me. i must watch this film all the way through, and i reccomend it to everyone as a ver important piece of work. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363163/

[Cue]

there's a few good suggestions for asian films here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/asian-invasion.shtml

was a great series actually, Jonathan Ross def loves the stuff and he's passion for Asian cinema really comes through

[minya]

Damn, birmingham, you really know how to review films. Great writeups and thoughts. Thanks for the recommendation for La Haine.

[snugglepony]

apparently one of the director's previous effort, in the mood for love, is better and i have been meaning to catch it for a year or two now.

oh man. jim...

i can't believe you watched 2046 without having seen in the mood for love, especially since 2046 is a bit of an alternate-universe-sequel to it. regardless, do yourself a favor and see it soon (while you're at it, just rent all of wong kar wai's films); the picture virtually defines the word 'smoldering.' not to mention that tony leung's wardrobe is about as superfuture as possible...