Japanese Movies/Discussion/Recommendations

The Man wrote:

Woah, you know Daniel Wu, pcmodem? That guy's up-and-coming. His English is as flawless as a Watabe Atsuro's. Wu might be able to do what was expected of Chow Yun Fat and Jet Li (not that "the Hollywood way" is the best one).

I don't know Daniel Wu, per se -- if I did, my friend L. would kill me for not setting her up with him. His English is flawless because he's born and raised in San Francisco.
-PCM

Geezer wrote:BMW

I'm getting to the point where I'll take a chance on anything Nakai Kiichi's in.

He was such a great bad guy in Musashi I wasn't sure if I wanted to see him in anything else. He made me dislike him.

Then I saw him take on one of the most complex, sympathetic characters I've ever seen in "When the Last Sword is Drawn".

And followed that up with his comic performance as the lead in "Uso Koi".

The guy really is something.

I feel that way about Abe Hiroshi: he was so dastardly in Musashi as Gion Toji, yet completely goofy and hilarious as Dr. Ueda in the Trick series...

bmwracer wrote:
I feel that way about Abe Hiroshi: he was so dastartdly in Musashi as Gion Toji, yet completely goofy and hilarious as Dr. Ueda in the Trick series...

Yeah, Abe Hiroshi impressed me in My Little Chef, only role I've seen him in after having first seen him in Hero. Acting skills aside, he's got a good speaking voice as well, which is an asset for an actor. Looking foward to seeing him in Trick.
-PCM

vibius wrote:It stars Nakai Kiichi,...

I forgot to mention that it also has Megumi Okina in it (you might know her from the Heaven Cannot Wait drama). She looks like a itty bitty little thing next to Nakai-san. (the db says she's 155cm, that's pocket-sized!)

The whole segment is only about 25 minutes long. I had to go watch it again, I find it so funny.

I love stumbling across people unexpectedly.

The other day I was looking through some of my movies to get a list of Moriyama Yuko's titles because I'd just seen her as a regular in "Sweet Home", and to my surprise, there's Abe Hiroshi staring in "Moon Over Tao".

I became a fan of Abe's after seeing him in Trick, Shotgun Marriage, Wedding Planner, Hero, and Musashi.

But there he was, playing the action hero in a movie I've had for santa knows how long.

Good actor. Bad movie.

Geezer wrote:Good actor. Bad movie.

That's a drag. I'm usually pretty tolerant with movies, sometimes even a bad movie can be entertaining on some meta-level.

One Japanese movie I really don't like is "Pistol Opera". I like the director (Suzuki Seijun), and the lead actress (Esumi Makiko). But I really thought that movie stunk. I thought the acting was all around horrible.

But maybe I just don't get it. If anyone here likes that movie, explain it to me! :)

Downloaded Miike's One Missed Call and Zebraman, sadly there are currently no Eng subs for the movies. The two movies are most wanted subs at Kloofy's wish list. Just gotta wait for the subs, perhaps Dustoff will handle the translation? :woot:

Pemu wrote:Downloaded Miike's One Missed Call and Zebraman, sadly there are currently no Eng subs for the movies. The two movies are most wanted subs at Kloofy's wish list. Just gotta wait for the subs, perhaps Dustoff will handle the translation? :woot:

I want to see Zebraman too!! seeing Sho Aikawa with dorky costume hehehe..

Yay..I've pre-ordered Cashern!! :woot:

Akakage wrote:

I want to see Zebraman too!! seeing Sho Aikawa with dorky costume hehehe..

You'll see another "well known" japanese cult character featurin in the movie :woot:

Akakage wrote:
Yay..I've pre-ordered Cashern!! :woot:

The movie will have English subtitles!

Pemu wrote:You'll see another "well known" japanese cult character featurin in the movie :woot:

Really? Hmm I should order it I guess..hahaha.

Pemu wrote:The movie will have English subtitles!

I know that!!

Btw..Pemu long time no see!! where've you been?!!

Akakage wrote:Btw..Pemu long time no see!! where've you been?!!

I think he's been mostly lurking and posting sledomly. :)

Pemu wrote: The movie will have English subtitles!

Whoa, I definetely need to pick Casshern up now. :woot:

Akakage wrote:

I know that!!

Btw..Pemu long time no see!! where've you been?!!

ahochaude wrote:

I think he's been mostly lurking and posting sledomly. :)

As Ahochaude stated. I've been practicing my infiltration method to the forum and try to be as sneaky as possible. Just a drill before Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is released in November *just kidding* :woot:

The annual international film festival begins in two weeks. Some Japanese movies will be shown at the festival such as: Zatoichi, Gozu, One Missed Call, Steamboy, Hard Luck Hero (a V6 movie, included in Akakage's stalkin list :hehe:) etc. (hopefully) No sign of Innocence :shakehead: Steamboy and Hard Luck Hero sound interesting, gotta buy the tickets in advance or they will be sold out in no time :grumble:

More movies to be confirmed as the festival draws closer. I haven't picked up the brochure yet, it's being distributed in the centre, too lazy drag myself there. The site opens the followin week, movie listings will appear.

Btw Eng subs for One Missed Call is available at Kloofy's, whee!!! Thanks Dust Off! Zebraman subs is expected soon :hehe:

Just a question: Is the Battle Royale movie in black and white or color?
I saw a poster thing with the characters and stuff on there, and it was black and white.. I find it a bit strange. :sweat:

Sudeki wrote:I think Dragon Head was a good movie.

Just a question: Is the Battle Royale movie in black and white or color?
I saw a poster thing with the characters and stuff on there, and it was black and white.. I find it a bit strange. :sweat:

Hi there, Sudeki. Welcome to the board.

I'm not sure why the pics you saw were in black and white (if they were from a press release, that'd probably make sense as most press release photos, I think, are in black and white in order to be newspaper-friendly for respective film reviews usage), but Battle Royale is a film that is NOT in black and white, but, you know something? It WOULD make for a really good b&w film; certainly has that noir feel at times.

Hear, hear. Nice to see your posts again, Pemu.

The Man wrote:

Hi there, Sudeki. Welcome to the board.

I'm not sure why the pics you saw were in black and white (if they were from a press release, that'd probably make sense as most press release photos, I think, are in black and white in order to be newspaper-friendly for respective film reviews usage), but Battle Royale is a film that is NOT in black and white, but, you know something? It WOULD make for a really good b&w film; certainly has that noir feel at times.

Ah, well that explains the black and white.
Also, thanks for the welcome. ^^

Pemu wrote:The annual international film festival begins in two weeks. Some Japanese movies will be shown at the festival such as: Zatoichi, Gozu, One Missed Call, Steamboy, Hard Luck Hero (a V6 movie, included in Akakage's stalkin list :hehe:) etc. (hopefully) No sign of Innocence :shakehead: Steamboy and Hard Luck Hero sound interesting, gotta buy the tickets in advance or they will be sold out in no time :grumble:

LoL..hehee.. :hehe: My stalking list!! it was a fun movie btw. I was not disappointed at all. It went to Berlin Festival too .

Btw Eng subs for One Missed Call is available at Kloofy's, whee!!! Thanks Dust Off! Zebraman subs is expected soon :hehe:

Zebraman with subs? really ... :woot: cannot wait!! Aikawa Sho in dorky costume!

Just finished watching Zebraman.

BEST SUPER HERO MOVIE EVER!!!

I recently saw "Kishiwada shounen gurentai: Boukyou hen", directed by Miike Takashi. (The title is something like The Nostalgic times of the Kishiwada Youth Gang").

I'm not much of a Miike fan (ducks for cover), but this is probably my favorite of all his films and definately recommendable. It does not contain the exploitive sex/gore that many equate with Miike. Instead, it's about a boy growing up in Japan during the time of the Apollo moon landings.

There is some violence between groups of boys, but most of it is off-screen, and the result is generally humorous.

Takenaka Naoto plays the boy's loutish father, with great humor. Takaoka Saki plays the boy's school teacher, and I thought she was very good, reminds me of Matsuyuki Yasuko in a way. The boy that plays the lead role is quite good and handles his role like a pro.

It's a good film, and it'll probably put a smile on your face.

P.S. I guess Kishiwada is in Osaka ... you'll hear lots of Osaka-ben in this movie :)