Japanese Movies/Discussion/Recommendations

gaijinmark wrote:Turtles Swim Faster than Expected, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455577/[/list:u] Anybody seen this? Any opinions?

I've seen it ... It's a quirky, occasionally funny little movie that needs several viewings to understand the point(s) it's trying to make...

If I recall, Geez said he was bored by it...

Yup. Bored.

I think I also used the word; "blech"

But to be fair, I did not watch it several times.

Thanks for the opinions guys. I saw that it has Eri Fuse in it, she was such a crackup in Jikou Keisatsu I thought I might give it a shot. I still might if it drops in my lap, but I don't think I'll go out of my way to look for it now. Thanks again. :bow:

gaijinmark wrote:Thanks for the opinions guys. I saw that it has Eri Fuse in it, she was such a crackup in Jikou Keisatsu I thought I might give it a shot.

Not only her, but Iwamatsu Ryo from Jiko Keisatsu who seems to be always paired up with her... :)

(Oh, and Iwamatsu also played Nodame's dad in NC... :)

(click to enlarge)
[image]

I still might if it drops in my lap, but I don't think I'll go out of my way to look for it now. Thanks again. :bow:

Asian DVD Club has the DVD iso for download if you're interested (I can seed it if need be).... Or I can just burn you a copy and drop it in the mail. :victory:

EDIT: And there are English subs. :victory:

I just zipped through what had to be about the dumbest movie I've seen in years.

"Exte: Hair Extensions"

A horror movie. A horror movie with lots of hair F/X.

A dumb as dirt horror movie.

I like Horror movies. Great looking girls, amazing special effects, strange twisted plots. It's some of my favorite stuff.

But this thing took stupid and pointless to a new level. And it's not like they were going for "camp" or "tongue in cheek". It just stank.

I had a lot more fun last night watching "Hero", the 2007 movie based on the Kimura / Matsu TV series from a few years ago.

I'm not talking about the TV special titled "Hero" that aired just before the movie. The TV Special was awful. In fact, it was so bad that I let the movie sit on the shelf for a couple of months before watching it.

I shouldn't have waited. The movie was terrific... though I have to add a disclaimer.

I really enjoyed the TV series. The style, the cast, the spirit of the show.

That's why I enjoyed the movie. See... the movie is nothing but an extended final episode of the TV show. The original cast was back, The original energy was back, they had a bunch of wonderful guest stars (including Matsu's father) and for an episode of a TV show... the production values were top drawer.

But if you didn't see the series... or if you didn't enjoy the series... there's really no point in watching the movie.

Behold the new direction of Japanese cinema. Now that the TV newtorks own the movie studios... we're gonna be seeing a lot of extended play versions of old TV shows.

Geezer wrote:I just zipped through what had to be about the dumbest movie I've seen in years.

"Exte: Hair Extensions"

Oh, another one I have but haven't watched.

To the bottom of the pile with you!

just saw Bleach ~ the Diamond Dust Rebellion~

or you could call it Bleach movie 2. 8/10

as much as i hate the manga, i thought the movies are kinda great coz boy am i glad to finally see a story.

monta wrote:just saw Bleach ~ the Diamond Dust Rebellion~

or you could call it Bleach movie 2. 8/10

as much as i hate the manga, i thought the movies are kinda great coz boy am i glad to finally see a story.

I thought the second movie was better than the first Bleach film.

Tu_triky wrote:

I thought the second movie was better than the first Bleach film.

yup, me too. i thought it was a cool and very decent movie.

there was only one thing that bothered me

Spoiler — click to reveal

they kinda forced it a bit too hard to make Ichigo look as the 'lead'. The whole thing was about Hitsugaya, and there were so many strong captains, but it just had to be Ichigo. At least when the two of them collaborated in defeating that dragon thing, Hitsugaya could've been the one who ended it

Watched Sweet Rain http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1067086/ I liked it. Kaneshiro did a good job as a well-meaning, somewhat naive angel of death.

I recently watched Zenzen Daijoubu (2008) [Fine, totally fine] starring Arakawa Yoshi of Tiger and Dragon/Memories of Matsuko/Drugstore Girl/etc. fame. It also stars the guy who played Ucchie from Kisarazu Cat's Eye, and he also played a role in Sexy Robo as well, actor Yoshinori Okada.

It also stars actress Kimura Yoshino. This is one quirky comedy somewhat in the same vein as Adrift in Tokyo (although that movie was bit more sophisticated in its execution).

The humor is funny, odd, and well-crafted. If you're looking for an oddball comedy you might do well to watch this film. Slow-paced but delivers enough laughter to keep you interested.

monta wrote:

yup, me too. i thought it was a cool and very decent movie.

there was only one thing that bothered me

Spoiler — click to reveal

they kinda forced it a bit too hard to make Ichigo look as the 'lead'. The whole thing was about Hitsugaya, and there were so many strong captains, but it just had to be Ichigo. At least when the two of them collaborated in defeating that dragon thing, Hitsugaya could've been the one who ended it

Yeah I see what you're saying given the fact he was the protagonist of the entire film.

I have started uploading the 2007 movie batch I was talking about a month ago or so.

My laptop was down for few weeks and I couldn't finish translating/encoding last few movies, but it's done at last.

http://www.mininova.org/tor/1863626


Be warned this torrent may take as long as 2 weeks to be fully seeded...

I just want to sneak in a quick thank you to 8thSin. Thanks to your uploads and subs I've had the chance to enjoy a bucket full of movies that I probably wouldn't have seen without your hard work and generosity. So thank you very much.

On to the movies. I just watched "Nezu no Ban" (Wakeful Nights") http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0794319/

And if you have any interest in "Rakugo" you'll probably enjoy this movie. (Yeah, I'm mostly writing this note for Tu_triky.)

I was introduced to the Japanese artform of comic storytelling in "Tiger & Dragon", and although much of the show was lost on me, (that's a whole other conversation) I did get a "feel" for the form.

Since then I've seen a couple of other pieces based on Rakugo, and when I saw the cast list for this movie, and read that it was about a group of Rakugo performers... I grabbed it. (Netflix rental)

The movie doesn't focus on individual performances. It's about a series of wakes as the older members of the company die off, and the stories the remaining members tell about them.

Much like "Tiger & Dragon" the movie itself is a series of "Rakugo" stories, acted out by the whole cast.

A wonderful cast. And really, a very good movie.

Geezer wrote:I just want to sneak in a quick thank you to 8thSin. Thanks to your uploads and subs I've had the chance to enjoy a bucket full of movies that I probably wouldn't have seen without your hard work and generosity. So thank you very much.

On to the movies. I just watched "Nezu no Ban" (Wakeful Nights") http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0794319/

And if you have any interest in "Rakugo" you'll probably enjoy this movie. (Yeah, I'm mostly writing this note for Tu_triky.)

I was introduced to the Japanese artform of comic storytelling in "Tiger & Dragon", and although much of the show was lost on me, (that's a whole other conversation) I did get a "feel" for the form.

Since then I've seen a couple of other pieces based on Rakugo, and when I saw the cast list for this movie, and read that it was about a group of Rakugo performers... I grabbed it. (Netflix rental)

The movie doesn't focus on individual performances. It's about a series of wakes as the older members of the company die off, and the stories the remaining members tell about them.

Much like "Tiger & Dragon" the movie itself is a series of "Rakugo" stories, acted out by the whole cast.

A wonderful cast. And really, a very good movie.

Thanks, Geezer. I'll look into it. I definitely enjoyed the works I've seen thus far that use Rakugo as a backdrop for the story, namely Tiger & Dragon and the film Shabaredemo, Shabaredemo (thanks shin2).

I recently saw the film Koi Suru Madori (2007). It's a fairly unremarkable story about a young woman studying as art student who gets drawn into the life of her neighbor. The young woman portrayed by Yui Aragaki opens up as the film progresses, in tandem with the film itself, which starts slowly but picks up toward the end.

I haven't seen Aragaki in many performances but this was by far her best, leaving her stereotypical "idol" performances behind her.

I don't think this film would be everyone's cup of tea but I found the film fairly gratifying when looked at in retrospect.

Geezer wrote:
On to the movies. I just watched "Nezu no Ban" (Wakeful Nights") http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0794319/

Manta ray abuse! Call the SPCA.

Re: Wakeful Nights There were times I was laughing till I cried and times I thought, "This is disgusting" :confused:

8thSin wrote:I have started uploading the 2007 movie batch I was talking about a month ago or so.

My laptop was down for few weeks and I couldn't finish translating/encoding last few movies, but it's done at last.

http://www.mininova.org/tor/1863626


Be warned this torrent may take as long as 2 weeks to be fully seeded...

:woot: :woot: Thanks 8thSin :glomp:

I recently saw Hirokazu Koreeda's Wandafuru raifu (aka After Life) (1998). I didn't really care for it, honestly. Although the interviews conducted in the after life seemed quite real, I thought the film wasn't that compelling. Perhaps its obvious exploration of life's meaningfulness in the face of death wasn't as engaging to me as it may be to others...after seeing quite a few Japanese films now I have found this Modus operandi of having dead characters play the central figures in the film to be quite common and not quite so innovative.

Altogether I found the film boring.